Havana, Cuba, Feb 29, 2012 / 12:05 pm (CNA).- Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer said his commitment to fight for freedom in the country is inspired by the Gospels and the Catholic Church.
"I have always believed we should be in the place God wanted us to be and that we should contribute as committed Christians," said Ferrer, who serves as coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba.
The activist was recently detained by state police for political dissent in eastern Cuba and was released on Feb. 28.
"What I see in the Gospels is that we cannot remain indifferent to the land where we live, to the nation where we were born, that we should do everything possible so that freedom and the fundamental rights of the person are respected," he told CNA.
Ferrer was among the 75 dissidents jailed by the Castro government in what's known as the Black Spring of 2003.
He was cond! emned to 25 years in prison and was released in 2011 thanks to the Church's intervention. However, he refused to be expatriated to Spain and now leads the Patriotic Union of Cuba, which seeks a peaceful transition to democracy for the country.
Ferrer explained that his political ideas "are in large measure based on the Gospels and the Social Doctrine of the Church," and that he fully shares John Paul II's vision – outlined in his encyclical Centesimus Annus – on the need for nations to be governed by democratic systems and by the authentic rule of law.
He criticized the Communist regime of the Castro brothers for violating the rights and freedoms of Cubans, as well as those who do nothing to change the country and "stand on the sidelines" waiting for others to make sacrifices.
"I think that is a somewhat non-committal, if not almost cowardly attitude," he said. "Every lay Catholic, every Christian should make a commitment to ! ensure a legal framework exists in every nation that allows al! l people to defend their ideas, not only religious ones, not only their faith in God, but also their political and cultural ideas, in every area, in the freest way possible."
Cubans ought to have the freedom to choose from more than just the one Communist party that exists in the country, Ferrer added, noting that Communism goes against Christianity in its tendency towards totalitarianism.
"This is the reason or my desire and my commitment for change in Cuba," he said.
On the state of Cuba after John Paul II's visit in 1998, Ferrer said that although few things have changed, any positive advancements are due to the "sacrifice of heroic men and women, with courage and faith like that of the early Christians."
"The rights and fundamental freedoms of Cubans continue to be violated," he said. "There have been very few social, economic and cultural rights, if any."
He said John Paul II was very clear and precise in hi! s messages to Cuba, which Cubans have yet to fully embrace. "We cannot ask the Pope to do our job for us," he said.
Ferrer's remarks to CNA come just weeks before Pope Benedict's heavily anticipated trip to the country from March 25-28.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
New exhibit reveals Vatican Secret Archive documents to public
Rome, Italy, Feb 29, 2012 / 03:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For the first time in history, the Vatican is making public over 100 historical documents from its Secret Archives.
"They are revealed as a cultural context, as a fascinating appeal to the memory of our past, the past of the Church, of empires, kingdoms, duchies and republics," said Cardinal Raffaele Farina, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.
The "Lux in Arcana" exhibit at Rome's Capitoline Museum was created to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Vatican's Secret Archives and includes notable items such as the 1521 decree from Pope Leo X excommunicating German monk Martin Luther.
The display also features a 1530 petition asking Pope Clement VIII to annul Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and an 1887 letter from a North American Indian chief – written on a s! trip of bark – addressing Pope Leo XIII as the "Grand Master of Prayers."
Cardinal Farina sees the Secret Archive documents as "an incentive to raise the standard of knowledge beyond the empty stereotype to which, if I am not mistaken, much of the current so-called 'culture of the masses' unfortunately leads."
The Vatican archive has 52 miles of shelves that hold 35,000 documents, some of which date back to the 8th century. Usually only professional scholars are given access to the collection, which is one of the greatest and oldest institutional archives in the world.
The exhibition is a joint venture between the Vatican and, among others, the city authorities in Rome. It was inaugurated on the morning of Feb. 29 with a private visit by Cardinal Farina, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the head of the Vatican's council for culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, and various other dignitaries from Church and stat! e, including Mayor Gianni Alemanno of Rome.
Altho! ugh most of the documents are written in Latin, other languages are also on display.
A 1603 letter written by Pope Clement VIII to a religious community in Cuzco, Peru is written in the indigenous Peruvian language of Quechua.
Also featured is a handwritten letter in French from Mary Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, penned just weeks before she was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth of England. In it she describes at length her sufferings, professes her Catholic faith, and commends her soul to God.
There are even diplomatic letters written in the Vatican's own encrypted code. They were used to prevent secret messages between the Holy See and its diplomats from being intercepted by hostile powers. The oldest of these "ciphered" texts in the Vatican Archives dates back to the first half of the 14th century.
The Secret Archives were created in 1612 by Pope Paul V. It remained closed until 1881 when Pope Leo XIII opened them to acad! emics. Around 1,500 researchers now visit the archive every year.
The "Lux in Arcana" exhibition at Rome's Capitoline Museum runs until Sept. 9, 2012.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"They are revealed as a cultural context, as a fascinating appeal to the memory of our past, the past of the Church, of empires, kingdoms, duchies and republics," said Cardinal Raffaele Farina, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.
The "Lux in Arcana" exhibit at Rome's Capitoline Museum was created to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Vatican's Secret Archives and includes notable items such as the 1521 decree from Pope Leo X excommunicating German monk Martin Luther.
The display also features a 1530 petition asking Pope Clement VIII to annul Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and an 1887 letter from a North American Indian chief – written on a s! trip of bark – addressing Pope Leo XIII as the "Grand Master of Prayers."
Cardinal Farina sees the Secret Archive documents as "an incentive to raise the standard of knowledge beyond the empty stereotype to which, if I am not mistaken, much of the current so-called 'culture of the masses' unfortunately leads."
The Vatican archive has 52 miles of shelves that hold 35,000 documents, some of which date back to the 8th century. Usually only professional scholars are given access to the collection, which is one of the greatest and oldest institutional archives in the world.
The exhibition is a joint venture between the Vatican and, among others, the city authorities in Rome. It was inaugurated on the morning of Feb. 29 with a private visit by Cardinal Farina, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the head of the Vatican's council for culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, and various other dignitaries from Church and stat! e, including Mayor Gianni Alemanno of Rome.
Altho! ugh most of the documents are written in Latin, other languages are also on display.
A 1603 letter written by Pope Clement VIII to a religious community in Cuzco, Peru is written in the indigenous Peruvian language of Quechua.
Also featured is a handwritten letter in French from Mary Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, penned just weeks before she was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth of England. In it she describes at length her sufferings, professes her Catholic faith, and commends her soul to God.
There are even diplomatic letters written in the Vatican's own encrypted code. They were used to prevent secret messages between the Holy See and its diplomats from being intercepted by hostile powers. The oldest of these "ciphered" texts in the Vatican Archives dates back to the first half of the 14th century.
The Secret Archives were created in 1612 by Pope Paul V. It remained closed until 1881 when Pope Leo XIII opened them to acad! emics. Around 1,500 researchers now visit the archive every year.
The "Lux in Arcana" exhibition at Rome's Capitoline Museum runs until Sept. 9, 2012.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
College students, professors call on university to obey Vatican
Lima, Peru, Feb 29, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- A group of professors, students and alumni of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru are urging the school to obey the Vatican and update its statutes in accord with Church teaching.
Members from the Riva Aguero University Association – named after the principal benefactor of the university – called on school officials to "fully comply with the petition made by the Holy See, as the university would not exist were it not for the effort of the Catholic Church."
The Vatican has given the Pontifical University of Peru until Easter 2012 to comply with the Church's requirements for Catholic colleges, marking the first time the Holy See has set a deadline for a university to reform.
University officials have been refusing to comply with the Church's guidelines for Catholic universities, which were laid out the papal d! ocument "Ex Corde Ecclesiae." The apostolic constitution was promulgated in 1990 by Pope John Paul II to clarify what is expected of an authentically Catholic university.
The association said in a Feb. 27 statement provided to CNA that the Church "has the right to create educational institutions in harmony with the principles of the faith and her Magisterium."
Members noted that the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has been identified "since its founding in 1917" as a Catholic institution dedicated to the "teaching of the doctrine of the Church, under the protection of the Holy See."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Members from the Riva Aguero University Association – named after the principal benefactor of the university – called on school officials to "fully comply with the petition made by the Holy See, as the university would not exist were it not for the effort of the Catholic Church."
The Vatican has given the Pontifical University of Peru until Easter 2012 to comply with the Church's requirements for Catholic colleges, marking the first time the Holy See has set a deadline for a university to reform.
University officials have been refusing to comply with the Church's guidelines for Catholic universities, which were laid out the papal d! ocument "Ex Corde Ecclesiae." The apostolic constitution was promulgated in 1990 by Pope John Paul II to clarify what is expected of an authentically Catholic university.
The association said in a Feb. 27 statement provided to CNA that the Church "has the right to create educational institutions in harmony with the principles of the faith and her Magisterium."
Members noted that the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru has been identified "since its founding in 1917" as a Catholic institution dedicated to the "teaching of the doctrine of the Church, under the protection of the Holy See."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Spanish Civil War seen as religious conflict, biographer says
Madrid, Spain, Feb 28, 2012 / 12:05 pm (CNA).- Biographer Joseph Pearce says the famous South African poet Roy Campbell saw the Spanish Civil War as a religious conflict between Christianity and atheistic modernism.
In a recent interview with CNA, Pearce said Campbell – who was the inspiration behind the character Aragorn in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" – believes "the war in Spain was a battle between Christian tradition and atheistic modernism. In other words, he saw it as a religious conflict."
As the publication nears for his new book, "Roy Campbell: Spain Saved My Soul," Pierce pointed to an episode in the poet's life in which he saved various manuscripts written by St. John of the Cross from anti-clerical forces.
While living in Toledo in the 1930s, Campbell and his wife Mary became close friends with the Carmelite friars, "one of whom became their confe! ssor," while "Mary became a third order Carmelite."
"For this reason the friars confided in the Campbells and considered them the best people to safeguard the extremely valuable papers of the great saint and poet," Pearce said.
During "the assault by anti-clerical forces on his home, Campbell was worried that his family would be killed, especially if the manuscripts were discovered.
Faced with this mortal situation, he prayed to St. John of the Cross and promised to translate his poetry into English if he and his family survived," Pearce recounted.
Campbell was considered one of the greatest translators of St. John of the Cross as well as one of the most significant poets of his time, the biographer added. "Critics acclaimed him, and his works became bestsellers."
Although Campbell was "never very political, at least not in terms of ideology," he "passionately opposed the Nazis as well as the Com! munists, and he fought in the British army during World War II! ," Pearce said.
His estrangement from the Bloomsbury Circle – a group of early 20th century writers who criticized religion – was inevitable, even before his conversion to Catholicism, Pearce added.
"He had already distanced himself from its hedonistic progressivism since its beginnings and never felt comfortable with the group," Pearce said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In a recent interview with CNA, Pearce said Campbell – who was the inspiration behind the character Aragorn in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" – believes "the war in Spain was a battle between Christian tradition and atheistic modernism. In other words, he saw it as a religious conflict."
As the publication nears for his new book, "Roy Campbell: Spain Saved My Soul," Pierce pointed to an episode in the poet's life in which he saved various manuscripts written by St. John of the Cross from anti-clerical forces.
While living in Toledo in the 1930s, Campbell and his wife Mary became close friends with the Carmelite friars, "one of whom became their confe! ssor," while "Mary became a third order Carmelite."
"For this reason the friars confided in the Campbells and considered them the best people to safeguard the extremely valuable papers of the great saint and poet," Pearce said.
During "the assault by anti-clerical forces on his home, Campbell was worried that his family would be killed, especially if the manuscripts were discovered.
Faced with this mortal situation, he prayed to St. John of the Cross and promised to translate his poetry into English if he and his family survived," Pearce recounted.
Campbell was considered one of the greatest translators of St. John of the Cross as well as one of the most significant poets of his time, the biographer added. "Critics acclaimed him, and his works became bestsellers."
Although Campbell was "never very political, at least not in terms of ideology," he "passionately opposed the Nazis as well as the Com! munists, and he fought in the British army during World War II! ," Pearce said.
His estrangement from the Bloomsbury Circle – a group of early 20th century writers who criticized religion – was inevitable, even before his conversion to Catholicism, Pearce added.
"He had already distanced himself from its hedonistic progressivism since its beginnings and never felt comfortable with the group," Pearce said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Women oppose contraception mandate on legal, medical grounds
Washington D.C., Feb 28, 2012 / 01:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Women in fields ranging from law to medicine denounced the Obama administration's contraception mandate, arguing that it violates religious freedom and promotes a culture that degrades women.
"This whole idea of contraception, sterilization and abortifacients as being necessary for a woman's health is actually demeaning to women," said Gloria Purvis, a policy director at a major financial services company and board member for the Northwest Pregnancy Center and Maternity Home.
She explained that this idea is based on the belief "that women, because of our fertility, are deficient, and we need fixing," and warned that the mandate "further presses this false perception into the American psyche."
Purvis took part in a Feb. 27 panel of women at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. that spoke out against the Ja! n. 20 mandate announced by the Obama administration.
The federal rule, which has sparked intense protest from religious groups in recent weeks, will require employers to provide health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortifacients.
Purvis, who has also served on the National Black Catholic Congress' Leadership Commission, said that the Catholic Church is engaged in a spiritual battle for religious freedom.
She added that the ability to create and foster life is already "undervalued" in our culture and predicted that if the mandate succeeds, it will further an attitude of "hostility toward motherhood."
The Catholic Church offers true liberation for women, she said, explaining that "it's the Church that allows me full membership without asking me to check my fertility at the door."
Dr. Marie Anderson, chief medical officer of the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, Va., said that as an OB-GYN, she! feels set up to be a "pawn" in the administration's att! acks on liberty and human dignity.
Anderson, who serves as the president of the Northern Virginia Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, said that women should not accept a culture that assumes they will allow their bodies to be "violated" by medication.
"People talk about the pill as if it were candy," she said. "And it's not."
She outlined a long list of serious side effects associated with the birth control pill, including deadly blood clots and strokes.
Anderson said that it is "just wrong" to "break" a healthy reproductive system with medication."It's taking fertility, which is a healthy state, and calling it a disease."
She added that birth control rejects the amazing opportunity for "taking part in a miracle, that of bringing a life into a world" and instead "turns sexual relations into merely a contact sport."
"Women deserve better," she said.
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, di! rector of operations for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, emphasized that the debate "is a First Amendment issue."
She said that it is "completely untrue" to suggest that the current debate is a battle between the Catholic Church and American women.
Nor is it "an access issue," she added, explaining that income-based clinics across the country already offer access to contraception for those who desire it.
Rather, she said, it is about the rights of religious individuals who deserve to be treated as full citizens.
"It's not for the government to decide what qualifies as violating my own conscience," added Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director to the Judicial Crisis Network.
The American founders understood human nature and created a limited government in order to fight against the human "tendency" toward tyranny, Severino explained.
They knew that rights come from God, not the government, an! d they listed freedom of religion as the first of these cherished right! s in the First Amendment, she said.
Severino denounced the modern idea that government has the authority to force people to violate their consciences. "That is the definition of tyranny," she said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"This whole idea of contraception, sterilization and abortifacients as being necessary for a woman's health is actually demeaning to women," said Gloria Purvis, a policy director at a major financial services company and board member for the Northwest Pregnancy Center and Maternity Home.
She explained that this idea is based on the belief "that women, because of our fertility, are deficient, and we need fixing," and warned that the mandate "further presses this false perception into the American psyche."
Purvis took part in a Feb. 27 panel of women at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. that spoke out against the Ja! n. 20 mandate announced by the Obama administration.
The federal rule, which has sparked intense protest from religious groups in recent weeks, will require employers to provide health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortifacients.
Purvis, who has also served on the National Black Catholic Congress' Leadership Commission, said that the Catholic Church is engaged in a spiritual battle for religious freedom.
She added that the ability to create and foster life is already "undervalued" in our culture and predicted that if the mandate succeeds, it will further an attitude of "hostility toward motherhood."
The Catholic Church offers true liberation for women, she said, explaining that "it's the Church that allows me full membership without asking me to check my fertility at the door."
Dr. Marie Anderson, chief medical officer of the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, Va., said that as an OB-GYN, she! feels set up to be a "pawn" in the administration's att! acks on liberty and human dignity.
Anderson, who serves as the president of the Northern Virginia Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, said that women should not accept a culture that assumes they will allow their bodies to be "violated" by medication.
"People talk about the pill as if it were candy," she said. "And it's not."
She outlined a long list of serious side effects associated with the birth control pill, including deadly blood clots and strokes.
Anderson said that it is "just wrong" to "break" a healthy reproductive system with medication."It's taking fertility, which is a healthy state, and calling it a disease."
She added that birth control rejects the amazing opportunity for "taking part in a miracle, that of bringing a life into a world" and instead "turns sexual relations into merely a contact sport."
"Women deserve better," she said.
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, di! rector of operations for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, emphasized that the debate "is a First Amendment issue."
She said that it is "completely untrue" to suggest that the current debate is a battle between the Catholic Church and American women.
Nor is it "an access issue," she added, explaining that income-based clinics across the country already offer access to contraception for those who desire it.
Rather, she said, it is about the rights of religious individuals who deserve to be treated as full citizens.
"It's not for the government to decide what qualifies as violating my own conscience," added Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director to the Judicial Crisis Network.
The American founders understood human nature and created a limited government in order to fight against the human "tendency" toward tyranny, Severino explained.
They knew that rights come from God, not the government, an! d they listed freedom of religion as the first of these cherished right! s in the First Amendment, she said.
Severino denounced the modern idea that government has the authority to force people to violate their consciences. "That is the definition of tyranny," she said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Pope comes to Mexico as messenger of peace
Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 28, 2012 / 04:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict will visit Mexico as a messenger of peace and hope "amid the state of insecurity, violence and drug trafficking" in the country, says a spokesman for the local bishops' conference.
Father Antonio Camacho Munoz, executive secretary for the Mexican bishops' communications committee, told CNA that the Pope is coming to encourage the faithful "to continue journeying, to have faith in Jesus that everything is going to be okay."
The pontiff's March 23-25 trip will "confirm his brethren in the faith," the priest added. "He is coming to support us, to encourage us and to tell us that he is with us, that we are not alone."
Fr. Camacho said the bishops and priests of Mexico hope that Benedict XVI will breathe new life into the Great Continental Mission, and that his visit is not only for Mexico but for a! ll the Americas.
"His desire is to visit a Spanish-speaking country that has a mature faith, tradition and a large presence" of Catholics, he noted. "By choosing Leon in Guanajuato, he also sees all the history, so that he can deliver a message from here not only to Mexico but to all of Latin America and the world."
Fr. Camacho said that while the memory of Blessed John Paul II remains strong in the country, Mexicans know that "it is not so much the name that is important but the office of the Pope, as Vicar of Christ, who is coming to visit us."
"Mexico knows how to welcome the Pope," he said, adding that the extensive media coverage of the visit will help millions of viewers – unable to attend in person – follow the events on television, radio and the internet.
"The Church has taken a lead role, because the international signal during the Holy Father's entire stay will be managed by the Bishops' Conference of Mexi! co," he explained. "The international feed will be provide! d through Vatican Television and from there distributed to the entire world free of charge."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Father Antonio Camacho Munoz, executive secretary for the Mexican bishops' communications committee, told CNA that the Pope is coming to encourage the faithful "to continue journeying, to have faith in Jesus that everything is going to be okay."
The pontiff's March 23-25 trip will "confirm his brethren in the faith," the priest added. "He is coming to support us, to encourage us and to tell us that he is with us, that we are not alone."
Fr. Camacho said the bishops and priests of Mexico hope that Benedict XVI will breathe new life into the Great Continental Mission, and that his visit is not only for Mexico but for a! ll the Americas.
"His desire is to visit a Spanish-speaking country that has a mature faith, tradition and a large presence" of Catholics, he noted. "By choosing Leon in Guanajuato, he also sees all the history, so that he can deliver a message from here not only to Mexico but to all of Latin America and the world."
Fr. Camacho said that while the memory of Blessed John Paul II remains strong in the country, Mexicans know that "it is not so much the name that is important but the office of the Pope, as Vicar of Christ, who is coming to visit us."
"Mexico knows how to welcome the Pope," he said, adding that the extensive media coverage of the visit will help millions of viewers – unable to attend in person – follow the events on television, radio and the internet.
"The Church has taken a lead role, because the international signal during the Holy Father's entire stay will be managed by the Bishops' Conference of Mexi! co," he explained. "The international feed will be provide! d through Vatican Television and from there distributed to the entire world free of charge."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
New Evangelization synod expected to focus on family's role
Rome, Italy, Feb 28, 2012 / 04:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The October 2012 Synod of Bishops in Rome is likely to identify the family as the key place for beginning the re-evangelization of the Western world.
"The primary place for the transmission of faith was identified in the family," said a communiqué issued by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops on Feb. 27.
"There the faith is communicated to young people who, in the family, learn both the contents and practice of Christian faith."
The statement was the result of the secretariat's seventh meeting in a series intended to pave the way for the Synod of Bishops, which will be held in the Vatican from October 7-28. Over those three weeks the bishops of the world will gather to discuss "The New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith."
The Ordinary Council of the General ! Secretariat consists of senior clerics from around the globe, including Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and is currently preparing a working document that the Synod will base its discussions on.
At the secretariat's Feb. 16 meeting in Rome, the role of the family emerged during their discussions on "the recipients of the new evangelization and the identity of Christians in their relationship with Christ."
They recognized that other bodies within the Church have to support the family in its evangelization.
"The indispensable efforts of families are then extended by catechesis in ecclesial institutions, especially through the liturgy with the sacraments and the homily," said the communiqué, "or by giving space to parish missions, popular piety, movements and ecclesial communities."
The council members also debated "a crisis in faith which is also a crisis in the transmission of faith," at this present ! time.
They said the "fruitlessness of current e! vangelization" is often tied to "the influence of modern culture which makes the transmission of the faith particularly difficult" and "represents a challenge for both Christians and the Church."
"In this context," they said, "the Year of Faith will be a good occasion to develop the gift of the faith received from the Lord, to live it and transmit it to others."
The Year of Faith will be launched by Pope Benedict XVI in October so that it coincides with the Synod of Bishops. It will run from October 11, 2012, until November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Christ the King.
Announcing the initiative last October, the Pope said he wanted the year to give "new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ."
He is particularly eager to re-evangelize traditionally Christian countries that have become m! ore secularized in recent decades, a task that is known as undertaking the New Evangelization.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"The primary place for the transmission of faith was identified in the family," said a communiqué issued by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops on Feb. 27.
"There the faith is communicated to young people who, in the family, learn both the contents and practice of Christian faith."
The statement was the result of the secretariat's seventh meeting in a series intended to pave the way for the Synod of Bishops, which will be held in the Vatican from October 7-28. Over those three weeks the bishops of the world will gather to discuss "The New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith."
The Ordinary Council of the General ! Secretariat consists of senior clerics from around the globe, including Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and is currently preparing a working document that the Synod will base its discussions on.
At the secretariat's Feb. 16 meeting in Rome, the role of the family emerged during their discussions on "the recipients of the new evangelization and the identity of Christians in their relationship with Christ."
They recognized that other bodies within the Church have to support the family in its evangelization.
"The indispensable efforts of families are then extended by catechesis in ecclesial institutions, especially through the liturgy with the sacraments and the homily," said the communiqué, "or by giving space to parish missions, popular piety, movements and ecclesial communities."
The council members also debated "a crisis in faith which is also a crisis in the transmission of faith," at this present ! time.
They said the "fruitlessness of current e! vangelization" is often tied to "the influence of modern culture which makes the transmission of the faith particularly difficult" and "represents a challenge for both Christians and the Church."
"In this context," they said, "the Year of Faith will be a good occasion to develop the gift of the faith received from the Lord, to live it and transmit it to others."
The Year of Faith will be launched by Pope Benedict XVI in October so that it coincides with the Synod of Bishops. It will run from October 11, 2012, until November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Christ the King.
Announcing the initiative last October, the Pope said he wanted the year to give "new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ."
He is particularly eager to re-evangelize traditionally Christian countries that have become m! ore secularized in recent decades, a task that is known as undertaking the New Evangelization.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
New video supports conscience law against HHS mandate
Washington D.C., Feb 28, 2012 / 06:06 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Advocate organization has launched a new video in an effort to defend religious liberty against the HHS mandate and rally support for the proposed Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.
"People of faith across the country are joining together in support of our religious liberties," Matt Smith, president of the D.C.-based organization, said Feb. 27.
The video, titled "Catholic Advocate: Consultation," criticizes the HHS mandate of Jan. 20 and the "accommodation" announced on Feb. 10 for failing to respond to concerns raised by religious groups. These actions will force religious institutions "to do something that goes against their beliefs," it says.
"Catholic Bishops, who interpret the doctrine of the Church, and leaders of other religious groups, were not consulted. Yet, the head of Planned Parenthood was … and! the mandate was finalized without addressing our concerns."
Many Catholic institutions self-insure and will still be required to pay for contraception coverage, even though it is against their beliefs, the video notes.
"Insurance companies have already said their costs will go up and be passed along to customers," it adds.
The video asks concerned citizens to contact Congress and tell its members to support H.R. 1179 and S. 1467, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.
"Help defend our religious liberties," it urges.
Catholic Advocate has also launched the website www.ProtectOurConscience.org, which provides resources for Catholics who want to speak out against the final HHS rule. The organization reports that at least one parish in each congressional district in every U.S. state has produced letters to Congress through the program.
"Some are trying hard to make ! this about a different issue," Smith said. "Make no m! istake, when those in power try to rip through the fabric of what America stands for, the voices of the people unite."
In October, Catholic Advocate released a video "Common Ground," which called on President Obama to live up to the promises he made at Notre Dame.
The new Department of Health and Human Services rule presently requires all employers' new health plans to cover FDA-approved sterilization and contraception, including drugs that can cause abortions. The rule currently allows a narrow religious exemption that does not cover most Catholic universities, health care systems and charities.
It also establishes a one-year period for religious employers to bring their insurance plans into compliance.
The Obama administration has proposed mandating that insurance companies, not religious employers, provide the coverage. Critics have said the move is an "accounting trick" that does not address conscientious objections.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"People of faith across the country are joining together in support of our religious liberties," Matt Smith, president of the D.C.-based organization, said Feb. 27.
The video, titled "Catholic Advocate: Consultation," criticizes the HHS mandate of Jan. 20 and the "accommodation" announced on Feb. 10 for failing to respond to concerns raised by religious groups. These actions will force religious institutions "to do something that goes against their beliefs," it says.
"Catholic Bishops, who interpret the doctrine of the Church, and leaders of other religious groups, were not consulted. Yet, the head of Planned Parenthood was … and! the mandate was finalized without addressing our concerns."
Many Catholic institutions self-insure and will still be required to pay for contraception coverage, even though it is against their beliefs, the video notes.
"Insurance companies have already said their costs will go up and be passed along to customers," it adds.
The video asks concerned citizens to contact Congress and tell its members to support H.R. 1179 and S. 1467, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act.
"Help defend our religious liberties," it urges.
Catholic Advocate has also launched the website www.ProtectOurConscience.org, which provides resources for Catholics who want to speak out against the final HHS rule. The organization reports that at least one parish in each congressional district in every U.S. state has produced letters to Congress through the program.
"Some are trying hard to make ! this about a different issue," Smith said. "Make no m! istake, when those in power try to rip through the fabric of what America stands for, the voices of the people unite."
In October, Catholic Advocate released a video "Common Ground," which called on President Obama to live up to the promises he made at Notre Dame.
The new Department of Health and Human Services rule presently requires all employers' new health plans to cover FDA-approved sterilization and contraception, including drugs that can cause abortions. The rule currently allows a narrow religious exemption that does not cover most Catholic universities, health care systems and charities.
It also establishes a one-year period for religious employers to bring their insurance plans into compliance.
The Obama administration has proposed mandating that insurance companies, not religious employers, provide the coverage. Critics have said the move is an "accounting trick" that does not address conscientious objections.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Monday, February 27, 2012
Cardinal Burke points to Bl. John Paul II as model of saintly suffering
Rome, Italy, Feb 27, 2012 / 12:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Raymond L. Burke thinks that Blessed John Paul II's life and teachings are a model for how Christians should view suffering.
"Blessed John Paul II is extraordinary," Cardinal Burke said Feb. 25. "His own life is a testimony to suffering embraced in order to love more."
"But in addition to that he was also the great teacher, especially in this document 'Salvifici Doloris,' which he wrote after the attempt on his life."
Cardinal Burke spoke to CNA after giving the keynote address at "The Boundaries of the Human" conference in Rome. The Feb. 25-26 gathering was organized by the groups The Life Guardian Foundation, Family of the Americas, and the Italian pro-family group Associazione Famiglia Domani.
In his speech, Cardinal Burke challenged "a mechanical approach" that views the sick person mer! ely "as an object burdened with great suffering," leading to "the conclusion is that their life no longer has meaning."
Instead, he said, "the mystery of suffering" should be seen as "something to be lived and to be accepted as an invitation to love God and our neighbor more completely." It is also an opportunity for others to "demonstrate the same kind of love" in how they care for those who are suffering.
This way of seeing suffering was lived out by Bl. John Paul II, he said.
"Here is a person who from his very early years of life experience one great suffering after another," recalled Cardinal Burke.
Born in 1920 in the Polish town of Wadowice, Bl. John Paul II lost his mother, brother and father in the early years of his life. He then suffered the hardship of Nazi occupation, which was followed by Communist persecution.
"And what do we see but a man who grows ever greater in love, embracin! g the priestly vocation and becoming a heroic priest and bisho! p and eventually Pope."
Cardinal Burke described the final days of Bl. John Paul II's life in 2005 as "perhaps one of the most powerful lessons he gave to us" on how to suffer. The way the Pope died, he added, was "extraordinarily beautiful and inspiring."
Cardinal Burke recalled how Bl. John Paul II rejected the medical description "vegetative" because the person suffering "does not become a vegetable or an animal – he remains a human being."
"Even if he is not able to respond in any way perceptible to us, our relationship with that person grows and develops and can even become heroic in its virtue," the cardinal said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"Blessed John Paul II is extraordinary," Cardinal Burke said Feb. 25. "His own life is a testimony to suffering embraced in order to love more."
"But in addition to that he was also the great teacher, especially in this document 'Salvifici Doloris,' which he wrote after the attempt on his life."
Cardinal Burke spoke to CNA after giving the keynote address at "The Boundaries of the Human" conference in Rome. The Feb. 25-26 gathering was organized by the groups The Life Guardian Foundation, Family of the Americas, and the Italian pro-family group Associazione Famiglia Domani.
In his speech, Cardinal Burke challenged "a mechanical approach" that views the sick person mer! ely "as an object burdened with great suffering," leading to "the conclusion is that their life no longer has meaning."
Instead, he said, "the mystery of suffering" should be seen as "something to be lived and to be accepted as an invitation to love God and our neighbor more completely." It is also an opportunity for others to "demonstrate the same kind of love" in how they care for those who are suffering.
This way of seeing suffering was lived out by Bl. John Paul II, he said.
"Here is a person who from his very early years of life experience one great suffering after another," recalled Cardinal Burke.
Born in 1920 in the Polish town of Wadowice, Bl. John Paul II lost his mother, brother and father in the early years of his life. He then suffered the hardship of Nazi occupation, which was followed by Communist persecution.
"And what do we see but a man who grows ever greater in love, embracin! g the priestly vocation and becoming a heroic priest and bisho! p and eventually Pope."
Cardinal Burke described the final days of Bl. John Paul II's life in 2005 as "perhaps one of the most powerful lessons he gave to us" on how to suffer. The way the Pope died, he added, was "extraordinarily beautiful and inspiring."
Cardinal Burke recalled how Bl. John Paul II rejected the medical description "vegetative" because the person suffering "does not become a vegetable or an animal – he remains a human being."
"Even if he is not able to respond in any way perceptible to us, our relationship with that person grows and develops and can even become heroic in its virtue," the cardinal said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Young people are the world's treasure, says 92-year-old bishop
Bogotá, Colombia, Feb 27, 2012 / 12:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Colombian bishop who will turn 93 on March 9 told young people worldwide that they are the future and "the greatest treasure of the earth."
Bishop Emeritus Gregorio Garavito of Villavicencio will celebrate his golden jubilee as a bishop and 70 years as priest in 2012.
"My family was very poor but very religious," he said, recalling the upbringing that lead to his vocation. "We prayed the rosary, we read the catechism, and slowly the decision to be a priest filled me with peace."
In an interview on Feb. 22 with the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, he said he feels "an immense peace and spiritual joy over the excitement of knowing that God has chosen him as a messenger."
The bishop said he was 17 at the time he heard the call to become a priest and said he "has never forgotten that day."
Bishop Garavito remembered traveling to remote areas to evangelize, noting how creative he had to be in bringing the Gospel to risky places.
"I have always trusted in God. When you entrust your life to Him, you fear nothing," he underscored. "I think that all these non-conformist movements in the world spring up because young people are hungry for Christ."
Bishop Garavito lamented changes in Colombia's constitution in 1992 that no longer required religion to be taught in public schools. This caused harm to the family and led to the high rate of divorce in country today, he said.
He also warned seminarians they are living in "an eroticized world where temptations abound. Pray with your hearts to be free of temptation and for your faith to increase, that you may serve God with pride."
Only pure love will save the human person, he said. "Do not be afraid of God, He awaits us, He loves us, and we seem to flee from Him. A times ! it seems like we are embarrassed of our relationship with Him.! Continue on the journey, Jesus goes ahead of you, as the friend who will never let you down."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Bishop Emeritus Gregorio Garavito of Villavicencio will celebrate his golden jubilee as a bishop and 70 years as priest in 2012.
"My family was very poor but very religious," he said, recalling the upbringing that lead to his vocation. "We prayed the rosary, we read the catechism, and slowly the decision to be a priest filled me with peace."
In an interview on Feb. 22 with the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, he said he feels "an immense peace and spiritual joy over the excitement of knowing that God has chosen him as a messenger."
The bishop said he was 17 at the time he heard the call to become a priest and said he "has never forgotten that day."
"I have always trusted in God. When you entrust your life to Him, you fear nothing," he underscored. "I think that all these non-conformist movements in the world spring up because young people are hungry for Christ."
Bishop Garavito lamented changes in Colombia's constitution in 1992 that no longer required religion to be taught in public schools. This caused harm to the family and led to the high rate of divorce in country today, he said.
He also warned seminarians they are living in "an eroticized world where temptations abound. Pray with your hearts to be free of temptation and for your faith to increase, that you may serve God with pride."
Only pure love will save the human person, he said. "Do not be afraid of God, He awaits us, He loves us, and we seem to flee from Him. A times ! it seems like we are embarrassed of our relationship with Him.! Continue on the journey, Jesus goes ahead of you, as the friend who will never let you down."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
New book tells Asia Bibi's story from prison
Lahore, Pakistan, Feb 27, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A new book on Asia Bibi's imprisonment and death sentence in Pakistan includes an unpublished letter she wrote to her husband and children urging them to have faith in God.
"My children, don't lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ," Bibi says in her book, "Get Me Out of Here," released the week of Feb. 20.
Spanish publisher LibroLibres issued the new memoir, which was written by Bibi in her prison cell with the help of French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet.
Bibi's case gained worldwide attention in 2010 when she was condemned to death for violating Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which state that anyone who offends Islam will be hanged. Critics say the country's blasphemy laws are often unjust and have become a tool for abusing religious minorities as well as vengeance between Muslims.
Bibi is still awaiting a rulin! g on the appeal of her death sentence and has been moved to an isolated cell without any windows, sink or toilet because of Muslim threats against her life.
In her letter to her family, Bibi movingly addresses her husband Ashiq and their five children while she awaited the granting of the appeal of her death sentence.
"Even since I have returned to by cell and have known that I am going to die, all my thoughts have turned to you, my beloved Ashiq, and to you, my beloved children. Nothing pains me more than to leave you alone in total anguish," she said.
However, despite her fear, Bibi encouraged her family to keep alive their desire to be happy even though life is not always easy.
"We are Christians and poor, but our family is a light...I still don't know when they will hang me, but be at peace, my loves, I shall go with my head held high, without fear, because I will be in the company of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, w! ho will welcome me into their arms," she said.
Below ! is the full text of her letter:
My beloved Ashiq, my beloved children:
Since I have returned to my cell and have known that I am going to die, all my thoughts have turned to you, my beloved Ashiq, and you, my adoring children. Nothing pains me more than to leave you alone in total anguish.
Imran, my oldest son of 18 years, I hope you find a good wife who you will make as happy as your father has made me.
Nasima, my firstborn daughter of 22 years, you already have a husband whose family has embraced you so much. Give your father little grandchildren who you will raise in Christian charity like we have raised you.
My sweet Isha, you are 15, yet still a little rowdy. Your father and I have always considered you to be a gift from God. You are so kind and generous…Don't try to understand why your mother is no longer at your side, but you are so present in my heart. You have a small place there reserved only for ! you...
Sidra, you are only 13, and I know that since I have been in prison you have taken charge of the home, you are the one caring for your older sister Isha, who needs so much help. I am so sorry I have thrust you into adult life, when you are such a young girl and should still be playing with your dolls.
My little Isham, you are only 9 and you are going to lose your mother. My God, how unfair life can be! But since you will continue going to school, you will be well prepared to defend yourself against the injustice of men.
My children, do you lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ. Better days shall smile upon you and up there, when I am in the arms of the Lord, I will continue to watch over you. But please, I ask the five of you to be prudent, I ask you not to do anything that would offend Muslims or the laws of this country.
My daughters, I hope you are fortunate enough to find a husband like your father.
Ashiq, I have loved you since the first day, and the 22 years we have ! spent together prove it. I have never stopped thanking heaven for finding you, for being fortunate to have a marriage that was based on love and not arranged, as usually happens in our province. We both had personalities that perfectly matched…Slanderous individuals have crossed our path. Behold, there you are alone with the fruit of our love: keep guard over the courage and pride of our family.
My children…the greatest desire of your father and I has been to be happy and to make you happy, even though life is not easy every day. We are Christians and poor, but our family is a light. I would have liked so much to see you grow up, to continue raising you and to make you into honest persons...And you will be! …I still don't know when they will hang me, but be at peace, my loves, I shall go with my head held high, without fear, because I will be in the company of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, who will welcome me into their arms.
My good husband, continue ! raising our children like I would have liked to have done with you. Ashiq, my beloved children, I shall leave you forever, but I will love you for all eternity.
Mom
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"My children, don't lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ," Bibi says in her book, "Get Me Out of Here," released the week of Feb. 20.
Spanish publisher LibroLibres issued the new memoir, which was written by Bibi in her prison cell with the help of French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet.
Bibi's case gained worldwide attention in 2010 when she was condemned to death for violating Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which state that anyone who offends Islam will be hanged. Critics say the country's blasphemy laws are often unjust and have become a tool for abusing religious minorities as well as vengeance between Muslims.
Bibi is still awaiting a rulin! g on the appeal of her death sentence and has been moved to an isolated cell without any windows, sink or toilet because of Muslim threats against her life.
In her letter to her family, Bibi movingly addresses her husband Ashiq and their five children while she awaited the granting of the appeal of her death sentence.
"Even since I have returned to by cell and have known that I am going to die, all my thoughts have turned to you, my beloved Ashiq, and to you, my beloved children. Nothing pains me more than to leave you alone in total anguish," she said.
However, despite her fear, Bibi encouraged her family to keep alive their desire to be happy even though life is not always easy.
"We are Christians and poor, but our family is a light...I still don't know when they will hang me, but be at peace, my loves, I shall go with my head held high, without fear, because I will be in the company of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, w! ho will welcome me into their arms," she said.
Below ! is the full text of her letter:
My beloved Ashiq, my beloved children:
Since I have returned to my cell and have known that I am going to die, all my thoughts have turned to you, my beloved Ashiq, and you, my adoring children. Nothing pains me more than to leave you alone in total anguish.
Imran, my oldest son of 18 years, I hope you find a good wife who you will make as happy as your father has made me.
Nasima, my firstborn daughter of 22 years, you already have a husband whose family has embraced you so much. Give your father little grandchildren who you will raise in Christian charity like we have raised you.
My sweet Isha, you are 15, yet still a little rowdy. Your father and I have always considered you to be a gift from God. You are so kind and generous…Don't try to understand why your mother is no longer at your side, but you are so present in my heart. You have a small place there reserved only for ! you...
Sidra, you are only 13, and I know that since I have been in prison you have taken charge of the home, you are the one caring for your older sister Isha, who needs so much help. I am so sorry I have thrust you into adult life, when you are such a young girl and should still be playing with your dolls.
My little Isham, you are only 9 and you are going to lose your mother. My God, how unfair life can be! But since you will continue going to school, you will be well prepared to defend yourself against the injustice of men.
My children, do you lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ. Better days shall smile upon you and up there, when I am in the arms of the Lord, I will continue to watch over you. But please, I ask the five of you to be prudent, I ask you not to do anything that would offend Muslims or the laws of this country.
My daughters, I hope you are fortunate enough to find a husband like your father.
My children…the greatest desire of your father and I has been to be happy and to make you happy, even though life is not easy every day. We are Christians and poor, but our family is a light. I would have liked so much to see you grow up, to continue raising you and to make you into honest persons...And you will be! …I still don't know when they will hang me, but be at peace, my loves, I shall go with my head held high, without fear, because I will be in the company of Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, who will welcome me into their arms.
My good husband, continue ! raising our children like I would have liked to have done with you. Ashiq, my beloved children, I shall leave you forever, but I will love you for all eternity.
Mom
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Cardinal Dolan joins letter against mandate 'accommodation'
Washington D.C., Feb 27, 2012 / 04:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan joined more than 500 university presidents, academics and religious leaders in a letter denouncing President Obama's contraception mandate "accommodation."
The letter, released Feb. 14 with the title "Unacceptable," characterizes the administration's proposed accommodation as a "cheap accounting trick" that insults the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and other believers.
Cardinal Dolan, who serves as Archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. bishops' conference, joined other signers from numerous religious and political perspectives.
The Becket Fund, which released the letter and is fighting the mandate in court, said the letter is "an unprecedented coming together of people to defend religious liberty and the rights of conscience agains! t a deeply misguided and unjust governmental action."
The Obama administration announced on Feb. 10 that insurance companies, rather than religious employers, must provide coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.
While the action was billed as a compromise, the letter says that the new rule "still coerces religious institutions and individuals to purchase insurance policies that include the very same services."
"It is no answer to respond that the religious employers are not 'paying' for this aspect of the insurance coverage," the statement reads. "For one thing, it is unrealistic to suggest that insurance companies will not pass the costs of these additional services on to the purchasers."
The letter's original drafters included Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon, Princeton professor Robert P. George, Yuval Levin of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Notre Dame profess! or O. Carter Snead, and The Catholic University of America pre! sident John Garvey.
Along with Cardinal Dolan, signers include U.S. bishops' conference vice-president Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr. Paige Patterson, Rabbi David Novak of the University of Toronto, Muslim scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, and former Anglican Primate of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola.
The number of signatories to the letter has increased since Feb. 13, when around 200 had signed it.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
The letter, released Feb. 14 with the title "Unacceptable," characterizes the administration's proposed accommodation as a "cheap accounting trick" that insults the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and other believers.
Cardinal Dolan, who serves as Archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. bishops' conference, joined other signers from numerous religious and political perspectives.
The Becket Fund, which released the letter and is fighting the mandate in court, said the letter is "an unprecedented coming together of people to defend religious liberty and the rights of conscience agains! t a deeply misguided and unjust governmental action."
The Obama administration announced on Feb. 10 that insurance companies, rather than religious employers, must provide coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.
While the action was billed as a compromise, the letter says that the new rule "still coerces religious institutions and individuals to purchase insurance policies that include the very same services."
"It is no answer to respond that the religious employers are not 'paying' for this aspect of the insurance coverage," the statement reads. "For one thing, it is unrealistic to suggest that insurance companies will not pass the costs of these additional services on to the purchasers."
The letter's original drafters included Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon, Princeton professor Robert P. George, Yuval Levin of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Notre Dame profess! or O. Carter Snead, and The Catholic University of America pre! sident John Garvey.
Along with Cardinal Dolan, signers include U.S. bishops' conference vice-president Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr. Paige Patterson, Rabbi David Novak of the University of Toronto, Muslim scholar Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, and former Anglican Primate of Nigeria Archbishop Peter Akinola.
The number of signatories to the letter has increased since Feb. 13, when around 200 had signed it.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Bioethicist welcomes Pope's call for ethical infertility treatments
Vatican City, Feb 27, 2012 / 04:43 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI's call for more research into ethical treatments for infertility as an alternative to in vitro fertilization is being applauded by a leading Catholic bioethicist.
"The Pope is quite right when he says that IVF is a profit making business – they make a lot of money and their success rates are not great," Dr. Edward Furton of the National Catholic Bioethics Center told CNA on Feb. 27.
"The profit motive here is not good. There are lesser known, more ethical, more effective methods which are being ignored because these labs are making money telling couples that IVF is the best or only option."
Pope Benedict made his remarks on Feb. 25 at a workshop hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Life to discuss ethically treating infertility. He said he is concerned that the field of human procreation seems to be ! dominated "by scientism and the logic of profit," which often "restricts many other areas of research."
The academy was holding its 18th General Assembly in Rome on the theme of "The diagnosis and treatment of infertility." The body consists of 70 specialists appointed by the Pope and drawn from different branches of the biomedical sciences.
"The Church is attentive to the suffering of infertile couples," the Pope told academy members, "and her concern for them is what leads her to encourage medical research."
"Research into diagnosis and therapy is the most scientifically correct approach to the question of infertility, as well as being the most respectful of the human condition of the people involved," Pope Benedict said.
He also underscored the Catholic position that IVF is an unethical means of treating infertility, and that "that community of love and life which is marriage, represents the only worthy 'pl! ace' for a new human being to be called into existence."
The Pope's IVF comments drew criticism from some sections of the global media in the following days. "Pope Benedict XVI faces backlash over rant against IVF treatment," read a typical headline in the Australian Herald Sun newspaper.
"I think part of difficulty is that most people do not think about governing principles but they look simply at results. So IVF produced a beautiful baby and so it must be good, they think," Furton said.
"But over time people will begin to see clearly, even those who pay no attention to principles, the damaging effects of IVF," he asserted, pointing to the use of IVF to produce children of a certain sex or genetic disposition.
"We are playing with very strong natural forces which we think we can control but cannot," explained Furton. "For example, we should not be deciding how many boys and how many girls there are in world."
Furton also believes that many sections of the media fa! ll prey to the erroneous assumption that "technology can solve moral problems." But "human problems" will always rely upon "making sound moral choices," he noted.
"Otherwise, you end up with the kind of solutions that only produce further problems," such as introducing the human hand "between reproduction and new human life," which introduces "moral chaos and extra difficulties."
The Catholic Church also objects to the destruction of human embryos during the process of IVF treatment. The Pope also called for treatments that are the "expression of the concrete possibility of fruitful dialogue between ethics and biomedical research."
Furton said "a lot of good work is being done" across the globe in developing treatments that are both ethical and more effective than IVF. He particularly praised the work of Milwaukee's Marquette University and Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Neb.
! On Saturday, Pope Benedict also wished to console infertile couples who! cannot be helped by science. He reassured them that "their matrimonial vocation is not thereby frustrated."
"The vocation to love, in fact, is a vocation of self-giving and this is something which no bodily condition can impede," he said. "Therefore, when science cannot provide an answer, the light-giving response comes from Christ."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"The Pope is quite right when he says that IVF is a profit making business – they make a lot of money and their success rates are not great," Dr. Edward Furton of the National Catholic Bioethics Center told CNA on Feb. 27.
"The profit motive here is not good. There are lesser known, more ethical, more effective methods which are being ignored because these labs are making money telling couples that IVF is the best or only option."
Pope Benedict made his remarks on Feb. 25 at a workshop hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Life to discuss ethically treating infertility. He said he is concerned that the field of human procreation seems to be ! dominated "by scientism and the logic of profit," which often "restricts many other areas of research."
The academy was holding its 18th General Assembly in Rome on the theme of "The diagnosis and treatment of infertility." The body consists of 70 specialists appointed by the Pope and drawn from different branches of the biomedical sciences.
"The Church is attentive to the suffering of infertile couples," the Pope told academy members, "and her concern for them is what leads her to encourage medical research."
"Research into diagnosis and therapy is the most scientifically correct approach to the question of infertility, as well as being the most respectful of the human condition of the people involved," Pope Benedict said.
He also underscored the Catholic position that IVF is an unethical means of treating infertility, and that "that community of love and life which is marriage, represents the only worthy 'pl! ace' for a new human being to be called into existence."
The Pope's IVF comments drew criticism from some sections of the global media in the following days. "Pope Benedict XVI faces backlash over rant against IVF treatment," read a typical headline in the Australian Herald Sun newspaper.
"I think part of difficulty is that most people do not think about governing principles but they look simply at results. So IVF produced a beautiful baby and so it must be good, they think," Furton said.
"But over time people will begin to see clearly, even those who pay no attention to principles, the damaging effects of IVF," he asserted, pointing to the use of IVF to produce children of a certain sex or genetic disposition.
"We are playing with very strong natural forces which we think we can control but cannot," explained Furton. "For example, we should not be deciding how many boys and how many girls there are in world."
Furton also believes that many sections of the media fa! ll prey to the erroneous assumption that "technology can solve moral problems." But "human problems" will always rely upon "making sound moral choices," he noted.
"Otherwise, you end up with the kind of solutions that only produce further problems," such as introducing the human hand "between reproduction and new human life," which introduces "moral chaos and extra difficulties."
The Catholic Church also objects to the destruction of human embryos during the process of IVF treatment. The Pope also called for treatments that are the "expression of the concrete possibility of fruitful dialogue between ethics and biomedical research."
Furton said "a lot of good work is being done" across the globe in developing treatments that are both ethical and more effective than IVF. He particularly praised the work of Milwaukee's Marquette University and Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Neb.
! On Saturday, Pope Benedict also wished to console infertile couples who! cannot be helped by science. He reassured them that "their matrimonial vocation is not thereby frustrated."
"The vocation to love, in fact, is a vocation of self-giving and this is something which no bodily condition can impede," he said. "Therefore, when science cannot provide an answer, the light-giving response comes from Christ."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Former Regnum Christi women found new consecrated community in Chile
Santiago, Chile, Feb 26, 2012 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago, Chile announced this Saturday that he has canonically erected a new female association of consecrated life with a group of women who recently left Regnum Christi, the lay association linked to the Legionaries of Christ.
Archbishop Ezzati's "foundational canonical act" created the new public association Totus Tuus in his private chapel on Feb. 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the archbishop's statement released to Catholic News Agency reports. The archbishop was accompanied by Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, the group of women founders, and the archbishop's personal secretary Fr. Jose Antonio Varas.
The founders are "women who traveled from eight different countries in Europe and America, including Malén Oriol, until recently Assistant General of the Consecrated of Regnum Christ! i," the statement said.
Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati said he consulted the Holy See regarding the opportunity to create the Association Totus Tuus and received the "favorable opinion" of Pope Benedict XVI.
The archbishop was one of the five visitors the Pope appointed to investigate the troubled Legion of Christ between 2009 and 2010.
The name Totus Tuus, Latin for "All Yours," is taken from Bl. John Paul II's papal coat of arms. It refers to the full consecration to Mary.
Archbishop Ezzati has appointed Cardinal Errazuriz "to accompany the Community Totus Tuus during its first year of life."
Cardinal Errazuriz, the Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago, has extensive experience in the field of consecrated life. He was Secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life between 1990 and 1996.
On Feb. 14, Regnum Christi officially announced that Malén Oriol, the assista! nt for consecrated life to the General Director, sent a letter! to all the consecrated women announcing that she had presented her resignation to Cardinal Velasio De Paolis.
In her letter, she mentioned that some consecrated women have asked the Holy See for permission to live out their consecration not as members of the Regnum Christi movement but under the authority of a bishop.
"As of yet, Malén has not clarified if she intends to form part of this new group," the Regnum Christi statement said.
"We don't yet have details of this initiative, but we wish them all the best in their new endeavor and pray that they will be blessed with great success in their spiritual growth and service to the Church," the statement said.
The Legion of Christ has faced significant Vatican scrutiny after revelations that its founder, Fr. Marcel Maciel, led a double life.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Archbishop Ezzati's "foundational canonical act" created the new public association Totus Tuus in his private chapel on Feb. 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the archbishop's statement released to Catholic News Agency reports. The archbishop was accompanied by Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, the group of women founders, and the archbishop's personal secretary Fr. Jose Antonio Varas.
The founders are "women who traveled from eight different countries in Europe and America, including Malén Oriol, until recently Assistant General of the Consecrated of Regnum Christ! i," the statement said.
Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati said he consulted the Holy See regarding the opportunity to create the Association Totus Tuus and received the "favorable opinion" of Pope Benedict XVI.
The archbishop was one of the five visitors the Pope appointed to investigate the troubled Legion of Christ between 2009 and 2010.
The name Totus Tuus, Latin for "All Yours," is taken from Bl. John Paul II's papal coat of arms. It refers to the full consecration to Mary.
Archbishop Ezzati has appointed Cardinal Errazuriz "to accompany the Community Totus Tuus during its first year of life."
Cardinal Errazuriz, the Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago, has extensive experience in the field of consecrated life. He was Secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life between 1990 and 1996.
On Feb. 14, Regnum Christi officially announced that Malén Oriol, the assista! nt for consecrated life to the General Director, sent a letter! to all the consecrated women announcing that she had presented her resignation to Cardinal Velasio De Paolis.
In her letter, she mentioned that some consecrated women have asked the Holy See for permission to live out their consecration not as members of the Regnum Christi movement but under the authority of a bishop.
"As of yet, Malén has not clarified if she intends to form part of this new group," the Regnum Christi statement said.
"We don't yet have details of this initiative, but we wish them all the best in their new endeavor and pray that they will be blessed with great success in their spiritual growth and service to the Church," the statement said.
The Legion of Christ has faced significant Vatican scrutiny after revelations that its founder, Fr. Marcel Maciel, led a double life.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Word on Fire donates 'Catholicism' to US military
Chicago, Ill., Feb 26, 2012 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- "Catholicism," the popular 10-part series written and hosted by Father Robert Barron, is being donated to all facets of the Catholic faith communities in the U.S. military across the world by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
More than 450 sets of the documentary are being sent to support military priests, chaplains and lay leaders serving the pastoral needs of those on ships, deployed overseas, in V.A. medical centers and on U.S. Military installations around the world.
"The 'Catholicism' series provides an effective opportunity to engage active duty young adults in the Catholic faith," said Mark Moitoza, the Vice Chancellor for Evangelization at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
"We estimate that there are about 300,000 Catholic young adults in the military and our archdiocese recently has been making a concerted effort to r! each out to these young men and women serving our country."
In this sweeping documentary, Father Barron tells the story of Catholicism around the world using art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition. The production crew travels to some of the most magnificent and sacred sites around the globe.
"The 'Catholicism' series is not just a documentary about the Church but a means of instilling faith, hope, and love, especially for those, like the members of the military, who might be separated from loved ones or find themselves immersed in the most difficult of circumstances," said Father Barron.
"It is my hope that this gift will serve as a sign of the Church's comfort and care for all the men and women who serve their country."
Vice Chancellor Moitoza said the series highlights the beauty and impact of the Catholic faith around the world.
"Many in the military have the opportunity to visit these mu! seums, shrines and historical places which shape one's under! standing of what it means to be a disciple in the world today," he added.
"'Catholicism' is a great way for people to find a home in their faith."
Public television stations across the country including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia have aired over 1500 episodes of the series, and it is also airing on EWTN.
As the nation's only archdiocese without geographical boundaries, the Archdiocese for Military Services endorses priests for on-site ministry at more than 200 locations throughout the country and around the world. It serves Catholics and their families in the U.S. armed forces, V.A. medical centers and overseas civilian posts.
Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 million Catholics depend on these priests to serve their spiritual and sacramental needs.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
More than 450 sets of the documentary are being sent to support military priests, chaplains and lay leaders serving the pastoral needs of those on ships, deployed overseas, in V.A. medical centers and on U.S. Military installations around the world.
"The 'Catholicism' series provides an effective opportunity to engage active duty young adults in the Catholic faith," said Mark Moitoza, the Vice Chancellor for Evangelization at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
"We estimate that there are about 300,000 Catholic young adults in the military and our archdiocese recently has been making a concerted effort to r! each out to these young men and women serving our country."
In this sweeping documentary, Father Barron tells the story of Catholicism around the world using art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition. The production crew travels to some of the most magnificent and sacred sites around the globe.
"The 'Catholicism' series is not just a documentary about the Church but a means of instilling faith, hope, and love, especially for those, like the members of the military, who might be separated from loved ones or find themselves immersed in the most difficult of circumstances," said Father Barron.
"It is my hope that this gift will serve as a sign of the Church's comfort and care for all the men and women who serve their country."
Vice Chancellor Moitoza said the series highlights the beauty and impact of the Catholic faith around the world.
"Many in the military have the opportunity to visit these mu! seums, shrines and historical places which shape one's under! standing of what it means to be a disciple in the world today," he added.
"'Catholicism' is a great way for people to find a home in their faith."
Public television stations across the country including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia have aired over 1500 episodes of the series, and it is also airing on EWTN.
As the nation's only archdiocese without geographical boundaries, the Archdiocese for Military Services endorses priests for on-site ministry at more than 200 locations throughout the country and around the world. It serves Catholics and their families in the U.S. armed forces, V.A. medical centers and overseas civilian posts.
Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 million Catholics depend on these priests to serve their spiritual and sacramental needs.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Lenten campaign invites Catholics to confession
Washington D.C., Feb 26, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- A pastoral initiative in the nation's capital this Lent will encourage Catholics to experience God's love and mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
"Lent is a time to heal," said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C.
The cardinal announced that his archdiocese will once again take part in a penance campaign known as "The Light is On for You" and will be joined by the faithful of Arlington.
All Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington will be open for Confessions and silent prayer every Wednesday during the season of Lent from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
In an online video, Cardinal Wuerl discussed the campaign as an opportunity for the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ by uniting themselves to his merciful love, which "absolves us from our faults."
&nbs! p;
He invited all Catholics, especially those who have fallen away from the Church or the Sacrament of Penance, to experience "a renewal of spirit through the gift of confession."
The campaign, which has become an archdiocesan tradition, originally started in 2007. Other dioceses across the U.S. and Canada have introduced similar efforts based on it.
The initiative's website, www.thelightison.org, offers resources including a guide to confession, examinations of conscience and frequently asked questions about the sacrament.
"The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the story of God's love that never turns away from us," said Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington in a video explaining the Lenten campaign.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a "tangible instrument" that allows us to truly "experience" God's forgiveness, he said.
Through the sacrament, we can "experience God's love! that heals us, forgives us, strengthens us and sets us free,�! �� he explained.
The bishop urged Catholics not to fear that their sins are too horrendous for God to forgive.
"His love is bigger than all the sins of humanity put together," he stressed, adding that the priest will help those who do not remember how to go to confession.
Bishop Loverde pointed to examples of Christ's mercy in the Scriptures, including the parable of the prodigal son, the forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery and the promise to the repentant thief on the cross.
God will also forgive our sins if we come before him with "an open heart" and desire to do better, he said.
He urged those who have fallen away from the sacrament to "come back home" and allow this Lent to be "a new springtime" for all members of the Church.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"Lent is a time to heal," said Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C.
The cardinal announced that his archdiocese will once again take part in a penance campaign known as "The Light is On for You" and will be joined by the faithful of Arlington.
All Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington will be open for Confessions and silent prayer every Wednesday during the season of Lent from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
In an online video, Cardinal Wuerl discussed the campaign as an opportunity for the faithful to deepen their relationship with Christ by uniting themselves to his merciful love, which "absolves us from our faults."
&nbs! p;
He invited all Catholics, especially those who have fallen away from the Church or the Sacrament of Penance, to experience "a renewal of spirit through the gift of confession."
The campaign, which has become an archdiocesan tradition, originally started in 2007. Other dioceses across the U.S. and Canada have introduced similar efforts based on it.
The initiative's website, www.thelightison.org, offers resources including a guide to confession, examinations of conscience and frequently asked questions about the sacrament.
"The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the story of God's love that never turns away from us," said Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington in a video explaining the Lenten campaign.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a "tangible instrument" that allows us to truly "experience" God's forgiveness, he said.
Through the sacrament, we can "experience God's love! that heals us, forgives us, strengthens us and sets us free,�! �� he explained.
The bishop urged Catholics not to fear that their sins are too horrendous for God to forgive.
"His love is bigger than all the sins of humanity put together," he stressed, adding that the priest will help those who do not remember how to go to confession.
Bishop Loverde pointed to examples of Christ's mercy in the Scriptures, including the parable of the prodigal son, the forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery and the promise to the repentant thief on the cross.
God will also forgive our sins if we come before him with "an open heart" and desire to do better, he said.
He urged those who have fallen away from the sacrament to "come back home" and allow this Lent to be "a new springtime" for all members of the Church.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Government assault may have just begun, Cardinal Dolan warns
Washington D.C., Feb 23, 2012 / 03:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Obama's contraception mandate may only be the beginning of a historic attack on religious freedom, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan warned his fellow U.S. bishops in a Feb. 22 letter.
"If the government can, for example, tell Catholics that they cannot be in the insurance business today without violating their religious convictions, where does it end?" asked the cardinal, addressing the U.S. episcopate in a letter coauthored with the bishops' religious freedom chair Bishop William E. Lori.
The Health and Human Services' contraception mandate "violates the constitutional limits on our government, and the basic rights upon which our country was founded," wrote the cardinal and bishop. They noted that religious liberty "does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us."
The dispute with the administration is ! "not about Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals," and "not just about contraception, abortion-causing drugs, and sterilization – although all should recognize the injustices involved in making them part of a universal mandated health care program."
"It is about people of faith. This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all."
In a letter released in both English and Spanish, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori gave their fellow bishops an update on the Health and Human Services mandate, finalized Feb. 10 over the objections of the Catholic Church and other religious groups.
The mandate requires many religious ministries to cover contraception and sterilization, including abortion-causing drugs, in their health plans. The U.S. bishops have rejected the rule, along with a promised change purportedly shifting the burden to insurers.
In their letter, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori confirmed that Health and H! uman Services' original rule – forcing religious groups to u! nderwrite the "preventive services" directly, rather than contracting to provide them through premium payments to insurers – had become law without change.
"The mandate to provide the illicit services remains," they wrote. "The exceedingly narrow exemption for churches remains. Despite the outcry, all the threats to religious liberty posed by the initial rules remain."
Those initial rules drew public condemnation from over 180 Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops in the U.S., as well as 53 of the country's Eastern Orthodox bishops and thousands of other religious leaders.
Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori thanked the U.S. Catholic bishops for their "remarkable witness of our unity in faith and strength of conviction during this past month."
"We came together, joined by people of every creed and political persuasion, to make one thing resoundingly clear: we stand united against any attempt to deny or weaken the right to r! eligious liberty upon which our country was founded."
"We have made our voices heard, and we will not cease from doing so until religious freedom is restored."
They insisted that President Obama "should rescind the mandate."
But the bishops' fight for their constitutional "free exercise of religion," guaranteed in the First Amendment, may have just begun.
"Recent actions by the administration have attempted to reduce this free exercise to a 'privilege' arbitrarily granted by the government as a mere exemption from an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism," Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori observed.
Even the contraception mandate's "unduly narrow" religious exemption – which allows institutions to opt out if they primarily employ and serve adherents of their own faith, for the purpose of inculcating religious values – "is instituted only by executive whim" and "can be taken away easily."
The b! ishops' president and religious freedom chairman reaffirmed their suppo! rt for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The bill which would amend the federal health care reform law under which the contraception rule was made, to strengthen its conscience protections.
They urged other bishops to share the English and Spanish versions of the letter with the faithful of their dioceses, and to contact legislators through the action alert at www.usccb.org/conscience.
"Above all," the cardinal and chairman reflected, "we rely on the help of the Lord in this important struggle … Let us continue to pray for a quick and complete resolution to this and all threats to religious liberty and the exercise of our faith in our great country."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"If the government can, for example, tell Catholics that they cannot be in the insurance business today without violating their religious convictions, where does it end?" asked the cardinal, addressing the U.S. episcopate in a letter coauthored with the bishops' religious freedom chair Bishop William E. Lori.
The Health and Human Services' contraception mandate "violates the constitutional limits on our government, and the basic rights upon which our country was founded," wrote the cardinal and bishop. They noted that religious liberty "does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us."
The dispute with the administration is ! "not about Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals," and "not just about contraception, abortion-causing drugs, and sterilization – although all should recognize the injustices involved in making them part of a universal mandated health care program."
"It is about people of faith. This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all."
In a letter released in both English and Spanish, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori gave their fellow bishops an update on the Health and Human Services mandate, finalized Feb. 10 over the objections of the Catholic Church and other religious groups.
The mandate requires many religious ministries to cover contraception and sterilization, including abortion-causing drugs, in their health plans. The U.S. bishops have rejected the rule, along with a promised change purportedly shifting the burden to insurers.
In their letter, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori confirmed that Health and H! uman Services' original rule – forcing religious groups to u! nderwrite the "preventive services" directly, rather than contracting to provide them through premium payments to insurers – had become law without change.
"The mandate to provide the illicit services remains," they wrote. "The exceedingly narrow exemption for churches remains. Despite the outcry, all the threats to religious liberty posed by the initial rules remain."
Those initial rules drew public condemnation from over 180 Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops in the U.S., as well as 53 of the country's Eastern Orthodox bishops and thousands of other religious leaders.
Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori thanked the U.S. Catholic bishops for their "remarkable witness of our unity in faith and strength of conviction during this past month."
"We came together, joined by people of every creed and political persuasion, to make one thing resoundingly clear: we stand united against any attempt to deny or weaken the right to r! eligious liberty upon which our country was founded."
"We have made our voices heard, and we will not cease from doing so until religious freedom is restored."
They insisted that President Obama "should rescind the mandate."
But the bishops' fight for their constitutional "free exercise of religion," guaranteed in the First Amendment, may have just begun.
"Recent actions by the administration have attempted to reduce this free exercise to a 'privilege' arbitrarily granted by the government as a mere exemption from an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism," Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori observed.
Even the contraception mandate's "unduly narrow" religious exemption – which allows institutions to opt out if they primarily employ and serve adherents of their own faith, for the purpose of inculcating religious values – "is instituted only by executive whim" and "can be taken away easily."
The b! ishops' president and religious freedom chairman reaffirmed their suppo! rt for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The bill which would amend the federal health care reform law under which the contraception rule was made, to strengthen its conscience protections.
They urged other bishops to share the English and Spanish versions of the letter with the faithful of their dioceses, and to contact legislators through the action alert at www.usccb.org/conscience.
"Above all," the cardinal and chairman reflected, "we rely on the help of the Lord in this important struggle … Let us continue to pray for a quick and complete resolution to this and all threats to religious liberty and the exercise of our faith in our great country."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Catholic charity struggles to help those effected by Greek crisis
Athens, Greece, Feb 23, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- Catholic charity Caritas Greece is working harder than ever to help those who are suffering, especially the poor and vulnerable, from the country's financial disintegration.
"This crisis will increase the vulnerability of the population and put the country's future at stake if no action is taken," said Jorge Nuño Mayer, secretary general of Caritas Europa.
"It is obvious that with negative resources, the life of a considerable part of the Greek population – the poor, the young, the elderly, the unemployed – is at stake," Nuño said in a Feb. 17 article on the charity's website.
Caritas Greece, a member of the European Caritas network, has a refugee center for immigrants living in Athens and its surroundings. It serves 300 meals a day, offers Greek and English lessons and provides vaccinations for children as well as relief k! its with clothes, blankets and baby milk.
But the center has only five employees – a guard, cook, secretary, cleaner and social worker. And the number of volunteers, currently 70, may reduce if the country's situation does not improve.
"We have many problems because nine out of ten immigrants in Europe pass through Greece," said Begoña Kalliga Castiella, a Spanish journalist who has been volunteering there for seven years.
"The Greeks are now only employing Greeks so these people remain stuck here until they can escape to another European country – usually through Italy."
"The aim of Caritas Athens' Refugee Centre is to help immigrants so sometimes we have to turn away Greeks, but we tell them of other places where they can get help," said Castiella, who serves as newspaper ABC's correspondent to Greece.
In recent times the charity has been receiving a larger number of Afghans, Middle Easterners and Africans. Greek ! Catholics make up only 0.5 percent of the population, making C! aritas in the country smaller as compared to its work in other countries like Germany.
Castiella, who has been living in Greece for 32 years, says the charity is barely surviving as the state is not offering any help.
Her remarks come as the country faces a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate amid severe austerity measures.
On Feb. 23, the Greek Parliament approved a bond swap that would eliminate $142 billion off the country's privately held debt. A $172 billion bailout was also recently approved to prevent Greece from going bankrupt and keep the country in the euro currency system.
The new measures were decided days after thousands of protesters took to the streets against the government's earlier resolution to reduce the minimum wage by 22 percent.
However, despite attempts to salvage the situation, new financial projections show that the country's economy could shrink even more this year.
The population, which is also contendi! ng with further reductions in pensions, is struggling to cope with the rising cost of living induced by taxes and inflation.
Caritas secretary Nuño said he is additionally concerned about the civil unrest in the country.
"We also fear that the current riots are having serious repercussions on the Greek economy," he said. "All these scenarios can lead to more poverty, unemployment and even a deterioration of the social system."
"The European Union and Greek politicians cannot let a country fall into a black hole of poverty," he emphasized. "It would be a shame for the entire EU. The present and the future of the Greek people, especially of the poorest, must be top priority in political decisions."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"This crisis will increase the vulnerability of the population and put the country's future at stake if no action is taken," said Jorge Nuño Mayer, secretary general of Caritas Europa.
"It is obvious that with negative resources, the life of a considerable part of the Greek population – the poor, the young, the elderly, the unemployed – is at stake," Nuño said in a Feb. 17 article on the charity's website.
Caritas Greece, a member of the European Caritas network, has a refugee center for immigrants living in Athens and its surroundings. It serves 300 meals a day, offers Greek and English lessons and provides vaccinations for children as well as relief k! its with clothes, blankets and baby milk.
But the center has only five employees – a guard, cook, secretary, cleaner and social worker. And the number of volunteers, currently 70, may reduce if the country's situation does not improve.
"We have many problems because nine out of ten immigrants in Europe pass through Greece," said Begoña Kalliga Castiella, a Spanish journalist who has been volunteering there for seven years.
"The Greeks are now only employing Greeks so these people remain stuck here until they can escape to another European country – usually through Italy."
"The aim of Caritas Athens' Refugee Centre is to help immigrants so sometimes we have to turn away Greeks, but we tell them of other places where they can get help," said Castiella, who serves as newspaper ABC's correspondent to Greece.
In recent times the charity has been receiving a larger number of Afghans, Middle Easterners and Africans. Greek ! Catholics make up only 0.5 percent of the population, making C! aritas in the country smaller as compared to its work in other countries like Germany.
Castiella, who has been living in Greece for 32 years, says the charity is barely surviving as the state is not offering any help.
Her remarks come as the country faces a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate amid severe austerity measures.
On Feb. 23, the Greek Parliament approved a bond swap that would eliminate $142 billion off the country's privately held debt. A $172 billion bailout was also recently approved to prevent Greece from going bankrupt and keep the country in the euro currency system.
The new measures were decided days after thousands of protesters took to the streets against the government's earlier resolution to reduce the minimum wage by 22 percent.
However, despite attempts to salvage the situation, new financial projections show that the country's economy could shrink even more this year.
The population, which is also contendi! ng with further reductions in pensions, is struggling to cope with the rising cost of living induced by taxes and inflation.
Caritas secretary Nuño said he is additionally concerned about the civil unrest in the country.
"We also fear that the current riots are having serious repercussions on the Greek economy," he said. "All these scenarios can lead to more poverty, unemployment and even a deterioration of the social system."
"The European Union and Greek politicians cannot let a country fall into a black hole of poverty," he emphasized. "It would be a shame for the entire EU. The present and the future of the Greek people, especially of the poorest, must be top priority in political decisions."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
GOP candidates slam contraception mandate as attack on family
Mesa, Ariz., Feb 23, 2012 / 06:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Republican presidential candidates denounced the Obama administration's contraception mandate as an attack on family and religious freedom, which they described as fundamental pillars of society.
"I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama," said former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
At a Feb. 22 debate at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Ariz., the candidates condemned a federal mandate that would require employers to offer health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.
Although the Obama administration has offered an "accommodation" for religious freedom, the U.S. bishops and many other religious g! roups are not satisfied with it. The accommodation would require employers to purchase health care plans from insurance companies that would offer the controversial products and procedures free of charge.
Romney called the mandate "unbelievable" and said that the "accommodation" offered by the administration was "not appropriate" because "obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying" for the coverage it opposes.
"This isn't an argument about contraceptives," but rather, a discussion about whether America will preserve "the foundation of the nation, which is the family," he said.
Romney criticized the Obama administration's narrow view of religion and defended his own record of working with religious organizations to ensure that the law allowed them to practice their beliefs freely.
In his remarks, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said that there is a need to fix the broader problem that "the family is ! fracturing" in America.
"What we're seeing! is a problem in our culture," he explained.
While campaigning, Santorum has said that he is willing to speak about issues that most other politicians avoid, such as "the dangers of contraception."
During the debate, he explained that the decline of the American family must be addressed rather than ignored because it is negatively impacting society.
More than 40 percent of children in America are born out of wedlock, many of them to young parents, he observed. When we have "children being raised by children," there is a greater risk of poverty, drug abuse and other problems, he said.
He advocated funding for abstinence programs rather than contraception as a means of easing these problems in society.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul also weighed in on the debate.
Gingrich said that there was a "legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion."
Paul, a former OB-GYN, agreed that moral problems are affecting the culture of America. "It's the morality of society that we have to deal with," he said, adding that "the pills can't be blamed."
He later claimed during the debate that "the morning after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill" and so "you can't separate the two." Paul drew criticism, however, for misrepresenting the morning after pill, which unlike contraception, terminates a pregnancy that already exists by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
The four remaining GOP candidates have all describe themselves as pro-life during their campaigns and have vowed to defund Planned Parenthood.
They have also pledged to defend the religious freedom of Catholics and all Americans in their policies.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama," said former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
At a Feb. 22 debate at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Ariz., the candidates condemned a federal mandate that would require employers to offer health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.
Although the Obama administration has offered an "accommodation" for religious freedom, the U.S. bishops and many other religious g! roups are not satisfied with it. The accommodation would require employers to purchase health care plans from insurance companies that would offer the controversial products and procedures free of charge.
Romney called the mandate "unbelievable" and said that the "accommodation" offered by the administration was "not appropriate" because "obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying" for the coverage it opposes.
"This isn't an argument about contraceptives," but rather, a discussion about whether America will preserve "the foundation of the nation, which is the family," he said.
Romney criticized the Obama administration's narrow view of religion and defended his own record of working with religious organizations to ensure that the law allowed them to practice their beliefs freely.
In his remarks, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said that there is a need to fix the broader problem that "the family is ! fracturing" in America.
"What we're seeing! is a problem in our culture," he explained.
While campaigning, Santorum has said that he is willing to speak about issues that most other politicians avoid, such as "the dangers of contraception."
During the debate, he explained that the decline of the American family must be addressed rather than ignored because it is negatively impacting society.
More than 40 percent of children in America are born out of wedlock, many of them to young parents, he observed. When we have "children being raised by children," there is a greater risk of poverty, drug abuse and other problems, he said.
He advocated funding for abstinence programs rather than contraception as a means of easing these problems in society.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul also weighed in on the debate.
Gingrich said that there was a "legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion."
He later claimed during the debate that "the morning after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill" and so "you can't separate the two." Paul drew criticism, however, for misrepresenting the morning after pill, which unlike contraception, terminates a pregnancy that already exists by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
The four remaining GOP candidates have all describe themselves as pro-life during their campaigns and have vowed to defund Planned Parenthood.
They have also pledged to defend the religious freedom of Catholics and all Americans in their policies.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Seven states, Catholic plaintiffs file largest lawsuit against HHS mandate
Lincoln, Neb., Feb 23, 2012 / 07:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Obama's contraception mandate is facing its biggest legal challenge yet, in a lawsuit brought by seven state attorneys general, a school, two women, a charitable group, and a major Catholic insurer.
In their lawsuit filed Feb. 23 against the federal government, the 12 plaintiffs challenge the rule they say "would coerce religious organizations … to directly subsidize contraception, abortifacients, sterilization, and related services in contravention with their religious beliefs."
They maintain that the administration's rule, requiring insurance coverage of the controversial drugs and devices, is an "unprecedented invasion" of their "First Amendment rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and free association."
"This case illustrates that the federal government's rule punishes people of faith in all si! tuations, just because they want to make decisions according to their own religious beliefs," Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman told CNA on Feb. 23.
"In this case you have individuals, Catholic agencies, a religious school, a nun, and a variety of states – trying to defend their citizen's right not to have their religious freedom attacked by this federal mandate involving abortion-inducing drugs and other items."
The lawsuit is the fifth and largest so far against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who confirmed on Feb. 10 that many religious institutions would be forced to underwrite "preventive services" as part of federal health care reform.
Other defendants named in the suit include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, all of whom are being sued in their capacity as officials of the U.S. government.
The 12 plaintiffs include the attorneys gener! al of Nebraska, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Ohio! , and Oklahoma. They are joined by Catholic Social Services, Nebraska's Pius X Catholic High School, and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America.
Two Catholic women, Sister Mary Catherine, C.K., and lay missionary Stacy Molai, are also suing Sebelius, Geithner, and Solis.
While all of the plaintiffs allege a government violation of the First Amendment, they do so on particular grounds due to their individual circumstances.
The Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, also known as the Catholic Mutual Group, was founded in 1889 and currently provides coverage to over half of U.S. Catholic dioceses along with over 250 religious orders and other institutions.
"Insurers are often run by people with religious faith, who should not have to choose between their belief and their participation in our society," Bowman noted, explaining the importance of Catholic Mutual Group's involvement in the suit.
Because the group does not primar! ily employ workers who share its religious beliefs, it would be subject to the contraception mandate if it chose to change its employee health care plans to switch from those it offered as of March 2010.
Catholic Social Services, a Nebraska-based charitable organization, does not qualify for the mandate's religious exemption because it serves people of all faiths. Pius X high school, similarly, could be forced to cover services which its current insurance plan excludes for moral reasons.
According to the seven state attorneys general, the contraception coverage rule's implementation would force many non-exempt religious institutions to stop offering health insurance for reasons of conscience.
Many of these employees, the lawsuit notes, would have to shift to Medicaid in order to comply with the federal health care law's individual coverage mandate – placing a financial burden on states already facing a spike in Medicaid enrollments because of the he! alth care law.
Both of the individual plaintiffs object on moral! grounds to subsidizing contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs through their health plans.
Sr. Mary Catherine's plan would be subject to the mandate, while Molai may have to choose between a morally offensive plan, and the loss of health insurance in the future.
Bowman told CNA that the broad spectrum of plaintiffs showed the mandate's dramatic impact on religious liberty throughout society. He praised the state attorneys general for their willingness to defend freedom for all faiths.
"This is not an issue that is isolated to one church," said Bowman. "The Federal government's actions attack the freedom of all Americans to live and practice whatever their faith is, without being forced to violate the sanctity of human life and sexuality."
"It is the duty of government to protect the rights of the citizens – because those rights come from God. They don't come from the federal government that claims the ability to ! define who's 'religious' and who isn't."
"The states in this case are doing what the government should do, which is to protect American citizens from the attack on freedom that the federal government, and the people in charge of it at the moment, are waging against religious believers."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In their lawsuit filed Feb. 23 against the federal government, the 12 plaintiffs challenge the rule they say "would coerce religious organizations … to directly subsidize contraception, abortifacients, sterilization, and related services in contravention with their religious beliefs."
They maintain that the administration's rule, requiring insurance coverage of the controversial drugs and devices, is an "unprecedented invasion" of their "First Amendment rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and free association."
"This case illustrates that the federal government's rule punishes people of faith in all si! tuations, just because they want to make decisions according to their own religious beliefs," Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman told CNA on Feb. 23.
"In this case you have individuals, Catholic agencies, a religious school, a nun, and a variety of states – trying to defend their citizen's right not to have their religious freedom attacked by this federal mandate involving abortion-inducing drugs and other items."
The lawsuit is the fifth and largest so far against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who confirmed on Feb. 10 that many religious institutions would be forced to underwrite "preventive services" as part of federal health care reform.
Other defendants named in the suit include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, all of whom are being sued in their capacity as officials of the U.S. government.
The 12 plaintiffs include the attorneys gener! al of Nebraska, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Ohio! , and Oklahoma. They are joined by Catholic Social Services, Nebraska's Pius X Catholic High School, and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America.
Two Catholic women, Sister Mary Catherine, C.K., and lay missionary Stacy Molai, are also suing Sebelius, Geithner, and Solis.
While all of the plaintiffs allege a government violation of the First Amendment, they do so on particular grounds due to their individual circumstances.
The Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, also known as the Catholic Mutual Group, was founded in 1889 and currently provides coverage to over half of U.S. Catholic dioceses along with over 250 religious orders and other institutions.
"Insurers are often run by people with religious faith, who should not have to choose between their belief and their participation in our society," Bowman noted, explaining the importance of Catholic Mutual Group's involvement in the suit.
Because the group does not primar! ily employ workers who share its religious beliefs, it would be subject to the contraception mandate if it chose to change its employee health care plans to switch from those it offered as of March 2010.
Catholic Social Services, a Nebraska-based charitable organization, does not qualify for the mandate's religious exemption because it serves people of all faiths. Pius X high school, similarly, could be forced to cover services which its current insurance plan excludes for moral reasons.
According to the seven state attorneys general, the contraception coverage rule's implementation would force many non-exempt religious institutions to stop offering health insurance for reasons of conscience.
Many of these employees, the lawsuit notes, would have to shift to Medicaid in order to comply with the federal health care law's individual coverage mandate – placing a financial burden on states already facing a spike in Medicaid enrollments because of the he! alth care law.
Both of the individual plaintiffs object on moral! grounds to subsidizing contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs through their health plans.
Sr. Mary Catherine's plan would be subject to the mandate, while Molai may have to choose between a morally offensive plan, and the loss of health insurance in the future.
Bowman told CNA that the broad spectrum of plaintiffs showed the mandate's dramatic impact on religious liberty throughout society. He praised the state attorneys general for their willingness to defend freedom for all faiths.
"This is not an issue that is isolated to one church," said Bowman. "The Federal government's actions attack the freedom of all Americans to live and practice whatever their faith is, without being forced to violate the sanctity of human life and sexuality."
"It is the duty of government to protect the rights of the citizens – because those rights come from God. They don't come from the federal government that claims the ability to ! define who's 'religious' and who isn't."
"The states in this case are doing what the government should do, which is to protect American citizens from the attack on freedom that the federal government, and the people in charge of it at the moment, are waging against religious believers."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Nuncio urges Mexican priests to spiritually prepare for Pope
Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 23, 2012 / 12:08 pm (CNA).- Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico, called on priests in the country to prepare themselves spiritually to welcome Pope Benedict during his March 23-25 visit.
"Undoubtedly this is one of the best ways to prepare one's self as a priest and as the Church for such an important event: though information and formation for one's self and for others, always in and from the truth," Archbishop Pierre said during a meeting with priests of the Archdiocese of Mexico City on Feb. 19.
He noted the great social impact Pope Benedict has had as a pastor, leader and thinker, "especially during these times of secularism and modernization." Yet beyond this impact, "what interests us is understanding his message, his testimony and his guidance in the faith."
Archbishop Pierre encouraged priests to be "docile disciples cons! umed by missionary zeal" and to bring "to the heart of the culture" a "unified and complete meaning of human life which neither science, nor politicians, nor the economy nor the media can provide."
"Mexico waits to hear the Pope speak to her of God! May Jesus Christ speak to all men and women and remind each Mexican believer of his or her great vocation to become greater disciples and missionaries," he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"Undoubtedly this is one of the best ways to prepare one's self as a priest and as the Church for such an important event: though information and formation for one's self and for others, always in and from the truth," Archbishop Pierre said during a meeting with priests of the Archdiocese of Mexico City on Feb. 19.
He noted the great social impact Pope Benedict has had as a pastor, leader and thinker, "especially during these times of secularism and modernization." Yet beyond this impact, "what interests us is understanding his message, his testimony and his guidance in the faith."
Archbishop Pierre encouraged priests to be "docile disciples cons! umed by missionary zeal" and to bring "to the heart of the culture" a "unified and complete meaning of human life which neither science, nor politicians, nor the economy nor the media can provide."
"Mexico waits to hear the Pope speak to her of God! May Jesus Christ speak to all men and women and remind each Mexican believer of his or her great vocation to become greater disciples and missionaries," he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Vatican workshop focuses on ethical treatment of infertility
Vatican City, Feb 23, 2012 / 12:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pontifical Academy for Life is hosting a one-day workshop on treating infertility in an ethical way.
Using in vitro fertilization to treat infertility is often unnecessary, as well as immoral, says Fr. Renzo Pegoraro, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
"There is a strong risk" of missing solutions to infertility by treating it with assisted reproductive technology, he told CNA. He believes the IVF approach to infertility is motivated by "the idea that technology can offer a solution without trying to resolve the real problem of infertility."
The Pontifical Academy for Life began its 18th general assembly on Feb. 23 and will finish on Saturday, Feb. 25 with a papal audience. As a part of its meeting, the academy is hosting a public workshop on Feb. 24 that is dedicated to discussing treatments for infer! tility.
The workshop will feature 16 experts that come from Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy and the United States, and will be held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall.
Fr. Pegoraro, who is both a medical doctor and moral theologian, hopes the discussions will help explain why infertility is on the rise across the world and what ethical solutions are available.
"There are a lot of possibilities at the therapeutic level with medical, hormonal and surgical treatments that are the first line of approach in this field," he said. He also thinks that trying to discover the underlying reasons for infertility can unlock the problem.
He pointed to developed countries where "lifestyle factors" often play a significant part in causing infertility. These include "the age of childbearing for women, and the problems of smoking, obesity and alcohol use, and probably also a psychological stress in the life of the people."
In! the case of developing countries, he says "infections are m! ore relevant," along with "infective or sexually transmitted disease and major hygienic problems that have an impact on the couples."
Fr. Pegoraro estimates that 15 percent of couples in the developed world are affected by infertility, while in developing countries that figure can rise to 30 percent.
Given those statistics, the focus of the workshop will be to urge the scientific community to improve its approach to preventing infertility and "to offer an update on the management of infertility at a diagnostic and therapeutic level."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Using in vitro fertilization to treat infertility is often unnecessary, as well as immoral, says Fr. Renzo Pegoraro, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
"There is a strong risk" of missing solutions to infertility by treating it with assisted reproductive technology, he told CNA. He believes the IVF approach to infertility is motivated by "the idea that technology can offer a solution without trying to resolve the real problem of infertility."
The Pontifical Academy for Life began its 18th general assembly on Feb. 23 and will finish on Saturday, Feb. 25 with a papal audience. As a part of its meeting, the academy is hosting a public workshop on Feb. 24 that is dedicated to discussing treatments for infer! tility.
The workshop will feature 16 experts that come from Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy and the United States, and will be held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall.
Fr. Pegoraro, who is both a medical doctor and moral theologian, hopes the discussions will help explain why infertility is on the rise across the world and what ethical solutions are available.
"There are a lot of possibilities at the therapeutic level with medical, hormonal and surgical treatments that are the first line of approach in this field," he said. He also thinks that trying to discover the underlying reasons for infertility can unlock the problem.
He pointed to developed countries where "lifestyle factors" often play a significant part in causing infertility. These include "the age of childbearing for women, and the problems of smoking, obesity and alcohol use, and probably also a psychological stress in the life of the people."
In! the case of developing countries, he says "infections are m! ore relevant," along with "infective or sexually transmitted disease and major hygienic problems that have an impact on the couples."
Fr. Pegoraro estimates that 15 percent of couples in the developed world are affected by infertility, while in developing countries that figure can rise to 30 percent.
Given those statistics, the focus of the workshop will be to urge the scientific community to improve its approach to preventing infertility and "to offer an update on the management of infertility at a diagnostic and therapeutic level."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Youth catechism is best selling Catholic book worldwide
Rome, Italy, Feb 23, 2012 / 03:13 pm (CNA).- The co-creator of the Church's catechism for young people has revealed that it's now the top selling Catholic book in the world.
"The latest figures show that Youcat has sold 1.7 million copies worldwide. It's been a great success in nearly every country where it has been published," said German publisher Bernard Meuser in a Feb. 23 interview with CNA.
"For example, it is number one in Spain, number one in America, and number one in Germany along with the Pope's latest book."
In 2006 Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and Meuser decided to work on catechism that transmitted the Church's teachings "in a way that younger people can understand." He said Cardinal Schönborn's key advice was that "if you do something for young people, you should do it with young people."
Over the next five years the two men worked ! with theologians, educators, priests, and over 60 young people to create "Youcat." The name is an abbreviation of "Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church."
The distinctive, slim, yellow volume was published ahead of the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, and contains 527 questions and answers. They are accompanied by numerous quotations, images and illustrations including their trademark "stick man" who becomes animated by the rapid flicking of each page.
"I was astonished that the young people liked the book so much," Meuser said. "We've had so much praise from young people and, yes, they really like the stick man." The Youcat Facebook page has also garnered over 21,000 followers to date.
The book is currently published in 20 languages, but Meuser said that by next year that total will rise to 30, including Chinese and Arabic.
One of Pope Benedict's hopes for the book has also come to fruition. The catechism has ge! nerated many study groups, including one in the Philippines th! at has over 12,000 participants.
Meuser praised God, "who helped us from the beginning," for the project's success.
"I really think it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"The latest figures show that Youcat has sold 1.7 million copies worldwide. It's been a great success in nearly every country where it has been published," said German publisher Bernard Meuser in a Feb. 23 interview with CNA.
"For example, it is number one in Spain, number one in America, and number one in Germany along with the Pope's latest book."
In 2006 Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and Meuser decided to work on catechism that transmitted the Church's teachings "in a way that younger people can understand." He said Cardinal Schönborn's key advice was that "if you do something for young people, you should do it with young people."
Over the next five years the two men worked ! with theologians, educators, priests, and over 60 young people to create "Youcat." The name is an abbreviation of "Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church."
The distinctive, slim, yellow volume was published ahead of the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, and contains 527 questions and answers. They are accompanied by numerous quotations, images and illustrations including their trademark "stick man" who becomes animated by the rapid flicking of each page.
"I was astonished that the young people liked the book so much," Meuser said. "We've had so much praise from young people and, yes, they really like the stick man." The Youcat Facebook page has also garnered over 21,000 followers to date.
The book is currently published in 20 languages, but Meuser said that by next year that total will rise to 30, including Chinese and Arabic.
One of Pope Benedict's hopes for the book has also come to fruition. The catechism has ge! nerated many study groups, including one in the Philippines th! at has over 12,000 participants.
Meuser praised God, "who helped us from the beginning," for the project's success.
"I really think it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Government assault may have just begun, Cardinal Dolan warns
Washington D.C., Feb 23, 2012 / 03:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Obama's contraception mandate may only be the beginning of a historic attack on religious freedom, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan warned his fellow U.S. bishops in a Feb. 22 letter.
"If the government can, for example, tell Catholics that they cannot be in the insurance business today without violating their religious convictions, where does it end?" asked the cardinal, addressing the U.S. episcopate in a letter coauthored with the bishops' religious freedom chair Bishop William E. Lori.
The Health and Human Services' contraception mandate "violates the constitutional limits on our government, and the basic rights upon which our country was founded," wrote the cardinal and bishop. They noted that religious liberty "does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us."
The dispute with the administration is ! "not about Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals," and "not just about contraception, abortion-causing drugs, and sterilization – although all should recognize the injustices involved in making them part of a universal mandated health care program."
"It is about people of faith. This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all."
In a letter released in both English and Spanish, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori gave their fellow bishops an update on the Health and Human Services mandate, finalized Feb. 10 over the objections of the Catholic Church and other religious groups.
The mandate requires many religious ministries to cover contraception and sterilization, including abortion-causing drugs, in their health plans. The U.S. bishops have rejected the rule, along with a promised change purportedly shifting the burden to insurers.
In their letter, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori confirmed that Health and H! uman Services' original rule – forcing religious groups to u! nderwrite the "preventive services" directly, rather than contracting to provide them through premium payments to insurers – had become law without change.
"The mandate to provide the illicit services remains," they wrote. "The exceedingly narrow exemption for churches remains. Despite the outcry, all the threats to religious liberty posed by the initial rules remain."
Those initial rules drew public condemnation from over 180 Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops in the U.S., as well as 53 of the country's Eastern Orthodox bishops and thousands of other religious leaders.
Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori thanked the U.S. Catholic bishops for their "remarkable witness of our unity in faith and strength of conviction during this past month."
"We came together, joined by people of every creed and political persuasion, to make one thing resoundingly clear: we stand united against any attempt to deny or weaken the right to r! eligious liberty upon which our country was founded."
"We have made our voices heard, and we will not cease from doing so until religious freedom is restored."
They insisted that President Obama "should rescind the mandate."
But the bishops' fight for their constitutional "free exercise of religion," guaranteed in the First Amendment, may have just begun.
"Recent actions by the administration have attempted to reduce this free exercise to a 'privilege' arbitrarily granted by the government as a mere exemption from an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism," Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori observed.
Even the contraception mandate's "unduly narrow" religious exemption – which allows institutions to opt out if they primarily employ and serve adherents of their own faith, for the purpose of inculcating religious values – "is instituted only by executive whim" and "can be taken away easily."
The b! ishops' president and religious freedom chairman reaffirmed their suppo! rt for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The bill which would amend the federal health care reform law under which the contraception rule was made, to strengthen its conscience protections.
They urged other bishops to share the English and Spanish versions of the letter with the faithful of their dioceses, and to contact legislators through the action alert at www.usccb.org/conscience.
"Above all," the cardinal and chairman reflected, "we rely on the help of the Lord in this important struggle … Let us continue to pray for a quick and complete resolution to this and all threats to religious liberty and the exercise of our faith in our great country."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"If the government can, for example, tell Catholics that they cannot be in the insurance business today without violating their religious convictions, where does it end?" asked the cardinal, addressing the U.S. episcopate in a letter coauthored with the bishops' religious freedom chair Bishop William E. Lori.
The Health and Human Services' contraception mandate "violates the constitutional limits on our government, and the basic rights upon which our country was founded," wrote the cardinal and bishop. They noted that religious liberty "does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us."
The dispute with the administration is ! "not about Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals," and "not just about contraception, abortion-causing drugs, and sterilization – although all should recognize the injustices involved in making them part of a universal mandated health care program."
"It is about people of faith. This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all."
In a letter released in both English and Spanish, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori gave their fellow bishops an update on the Health and Human Services mandate, finalized Feb. 10 over the objections of the Catholic Church and other religious groups.
The mandate requires many religious ministries to cover contraception and sterilization, including abortion-causing drugs, in their health plans. The U.S. bishops have rejected the rule, along with a promised change purportedly shifting the burden to insurers.
In their letter, Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori confirmed that Health and H! uman Services' original rule – forcing religious groups to u! nderwrite the "preventive services" directly, rather than contracting to provide them through premium payments to insurers – had become law without change.
"The mandate to provide the illicit services remains," they wrote. "The exceedingly narrow exemption for churches remains. Despite the outcry, all the threats to religious liberty posed by the initial rules remain."
Those initial rules drew public condemnation from over 180 Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic bishops in the U.S., as well as 53 of the country's Eastern Orthodox bishops and thousands of other religious leaders.
Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori thanked the U.S. Catholic bishops for their "remarkable witness of our unity in faith and strength of conviction during this past month."
"We came together, joined by people of every creed and political persuasion, to make one thing resoundingly clear: we stand united against any attempt to deny or weaken the right to r! eligious liberty upon which our country was founded."
"We have made our voices heard, and we will not cease from doing so until religious freedom is restored."
They insisted that President Obama "should rescind the mandate."
But the bishops' fight for their constitutional "free exercise of religion," guaranteed in the First Amendment, may have just begun.
"Recent actions by the administration have attempted to reduce this free exercise to a 'privilege' arbitrarily granted by the government as a mere exemption from an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism," Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Lori observed.
Even the contraception mandate's "unduly narrow" religious exemption – which allows institutions to opt out if they primarily employ and serve adherents of their own faith, for the purpose of inculcating religious values – "is instituted only by executive whim" and "can be taken away easily."
The b! ishops' president and religious freedom chairman reaffirmed their suppo! rt for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The bill which would amend the federal health care reform law under which the contraception rule was made, to strengthen its conscience protections.
They urged other bishops to share the English and Spanish versions of the letter with the faithful of their dioceses, and to contact legislators through the action alert at www.usccb.org/conscience.
"Above all," the cardinal and chairman reflected, "we rely on the help of the Lord in this important struggle … Let us continue to pray for a quick and complete resolution to this and all threats to religious liberty and the exercise of our faith in our great country."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Catholic charity struggles to help those effected by Greek crisis
Athens, Greece, Feb 23, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- Catholic charity Caritas Greece is working harder than ever to help those who are suffering, especially the poor and vulnerable, from the country's financial disintegration.
"This crisis will increase the vulnerability of the population and put the country's future at stake if no action is taken," said Jorge Nuño Mayer, secretary general of Caritas Europa.
"It is obvious that with negative resources, the life of a considerable part of the Greek population – the poor, the young, the elderly, the unemployed – is at stake," Nuño said in a Feb. 17 article on the charity's website.
Caritas Greece, a member of the European Caritas network, has a refugee center for immigrants living in Athens and its surroundings. It serves 300 meals a day, offers Greek and English lessons and provides vaccinations for children as well as relief k! its with clothes, blankets and baby milk.
But the center has only five employees – a guard, cook, secretary, cleaner and social worker. And the number of volunteers, currently 70, may reduce if the country's situation does not improve.
"We have many problems because nine out of ten immigrants in Europe pass through Greece," said Begoña Kalliga Castiella, a Spanish journalist who has been volunteering there for seven years.
"The Greeks are now only employing Greeks so these people remain stuck here until they can escape to another European country – usually through Italy."
"The aim of Caritas Athens' Refugee Centre is to help immigrants so sometimes we have to turn away Greeks, but we tell them of other places where they can get help," said Castiella, who serves as newspaper ABC's correspondent to Greece.
In recent times the charity has been receiving a larger number of Afghans, Middle Easterners and Africans. Greek ! Catholics make up only 0.5 percent of the population, making C! aritas in the country smaller as compared to its work in other countries like Germany.
Castiella, who has been living in Greece for 32 years, says the charity is barely surviving as the state is not offering any help.
Her remarks come as the country faces a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate amid severe austerity measures.
On Feb. 23, the Greek Parliament approved a bond swap that would eliminate $142 billion off the country's privately held debt. A $172 billion bailout was also recently approved to prevent Greece from going bankrupt and keep the country in the euro currency system.
The new measures were decided days after thousands of protesters took to the streets against the government's earlier resolution to reduce the minimum wage by 22 percent.
However, despite attempts to salvage the situation, new financial projections show that the country's economy could shrink even more this year.
The population, which is also contendi! ng with further reductions in pensions, is struggling to cope with the rising cost of living induced by taxes and inflation.
Caritas secretary Nuño said he is additionally concerned about the civil unrest in the country.
"We also fear that the current riots are having serious repercussions on the Greek economy," he said. "All these scenarios can lead to more poverty, unemployment and even a deterioration of the social system."
"The European Union and Greek politicians cannot let a country fall into a black hole of poverty," he emphasized. "It would be a shame for the entire EU. The present and the future of the Greek people, especially of the poorest, must be top priority in political decisions."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"This crisis will increase the vulnerability of the population and put the country's future at stake if no action is taken," said Jorge Nuño Mayer, secretary general of Caritas Europa.
"It is obvious that with negative resources, the life of a considerable part of the Greek population – the poor, the young, the elderly, the unemployed – is at stake," Nuño said in a Feb. 17 article on the charity's website.
Caritas Greece, a member of the European Caritas network, has a refugee center for immigrants living in Athens and its surroundings. It serves 300 meals a day, offers Greek and English lessons and provides vaccinations for children as well as relief k! its with clothes, blankets and baby milk.
But the center has only five employees – a guard, cook, secretary, cleaner and social worker. And the number of volunteers, currently 70, may reduce if the country's situation does not improve.
"We have many problems because nine out of ten immigrants in Europe pass through Greece," said Begoña Kalliga Castiella, a Spanish journalist who has been volunteering there for seven years.
"The Greeks are now only employing Greeks so these people remain stuck here until they can escape to another European country – usually through Italy."
"The aim of Caritas Athens' Refugee Centre is to help immigrants so sometimes we have to turn away Greeks, but we tell them of other places where they can get help," said Castiella, who serves as newspaper ABC's correspondent to Greece.
In recent times the charity has been receiving a larger number of Afghans, Middle Easterners and Africans. Greek ! Catholics make up only 0.5 percent of the population, making C! aritas in the country smaller as compared to its work in other countries like Germany.
Castiella, who has been living in Greece for 32 years, says the charity is barely surviving as the state is not offering any help.
Her remarks come as the country faces a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate amid severe austerity measures.
On Feb. 23, the Greek Parliament approved a bond swap that would eliminate $142 billion off the country's privately held debt. A $172 billion bailout was also recently approved to prevent Greece from going bankrupt and keep the country in the euro currency system.
The new measures were decided days after thousands of protesters took to the streets against the government's earlier resolution to reduce the minimum wage by 22 percent.
However, despite attempts to salvage the situation, new financial projections show that the country's economy could shrink even more this year.
The population, which is also contendi! ng with further reductions in pensions, is struggling to cope with the rising cost of living induced by taxes and inflation.
Caritas secretary Nuño said he is additionally concerned about the civil unrest in the country.
"We also fear that the current riots are having serious repercussions on the Greek economy," he said. "All these scenarios can lead to more poverty, unemployment and even a deterioration of the social system."
"The European Union and Greek politicians cannot let a country fall into a black hole of poverty," he emphasized. "It would be a shame for the entire EU. The present and the future of the Greek people, especially of the poorest, must be top priority in political decisions."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
GOP candidates slam contraception mandate as attack on family
Mesa, Ariz., Feb 23, 2012 / 06:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Republican presidential candidates denounced the Obama administration's contraception mandate as an attack on family and religious freedom, which they described as fundamental pillars of society.
"I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama," said former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
At a Feb. 22 debate at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Ariz., the candidates condemned a federal mandate that would require employers to offer health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.
Although the Obama administration has offered an "accommodation" for religious freedom, the U.S. bishops and many other religious g! roups are not satisfied with it. The accommodation would require employers to purchase health care plans from insurance companies that would offer the controversial products and procedures free of charge.
Romney called the mandate "unbelievable" and said that the "accommodation" offered by the administration was "not appropriate" because "obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying" for the coverage it opposes.
"This isn't an argument about contraceptives," but rather, a discussion about whether America will preserve "the foundation of the nation, which is the family," he said.
Romney criticized the Obama administration's narrow view of religion and defended his own record of working with religious organizations to ensure that the law allowed them to practice their beliefs freely.
In his remarks, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said that there is a need to fix the broader problem that "the family is ! fracturing" in America.
"What we're seeing! is a problem in our culture," he explained.
While campaigning, Santorum has said that he is willing to speak about issues that most other politicians avoid, such as "the dangers of contraception."
During the debate, he explained that the decline of the American family must be addressed rather than ignored because it is negatively impacting society.
More than 40 percent of children in America are born out of wedlock, many of them to young parents, he observed. When we have "children being raised by children," there is a greater risk of poverty, drug abuse and other problems, he said.
He advocated funding for abstinence programs rather than contraception as a means of easing these problems in society.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul also weighed in on the debate.
Gingrich said that there was a "legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion."
Paul, a former OB-GYN, agreed that moral problems are affecting the culture of America. "It's the morality of society that we have to deal with," he said, adding that "the pills can't be blamed."
He later claimed during the debate that "the morning after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill" and so "you can't separate the two." Paul drew criticism, however, for misrepresenting the morning after pill, which unlike contraception, terminates a pregnancy that already exists by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
The four remaining GOP candidates have all describe themselves as pro-life during their campaigns and have vowed to defund Planned Parenthood.
They have also pledged to defend the religious freedom of Catholics and all Americans in their policies.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"I don't think we've seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscience, religious freedom, religious tolerance that we've seen under Barack Obama," said former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
At a Feb. 22 debate at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Ariz., the candidates condemned a federal mandate that would require employers to offer health insurance plans that include contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.
Although the Obama administration has offered an "accommodation" for religious freedom, the U.S. bishops and many other religious g! roups are not satisfied with it. The accommodation would require employers to purchase health care plans from insurance companies that would offer the controversial products and procedures free of charge.
Romney called the mandate "unbelievable" and said that the "accommodation" offered by the administration was "not appropriate" because "obviously the Catholic Church will end up paying" for the coverage it opposes.
"This isn't an argument about contraceptives," but rather, a discussion about whether America will preserve "the foundation of the nation, which is the family," he said.
Romney criticized the Obama administration's narrow view of religion and defended his own record of working with religious organizations to ensure that the law allowed them to practice their beliefs freely.
In his remarks, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum said that there is a need to fix the broader problem that "the family is ! fracturing" in America.
"What we're seeing! is a problem in our culture," he explained.
While campaigning, Santorum has said that he is willing to speak about issues that most other politicians avoid, such as "the dangers of contraception."
During the debate, he explained that the decline of the American family must be addressed rather than ignored because it is negatively impacting society.
More than 40 percent of children in America are born out of wedlock, many of them to young parents, he observed. When we have "children being raised by children," there is a greater risk of poverty, drug abuse and other problems, he said.
He advocated funding for abstinence programs rather than contraception as a means of easing these problems in society.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul also weighed in on the debate.
Gingrich said that there was a "legitimate question about the power of the government to impose on religion."
He later claimed during the debate that "the morning after pill is nothing more than a birth control pill" and so "you can't separate the two." Paul drew criticism, however, for misrepresenting the morning after pill, which unlike contraception, terminates a pregnancy that already exists by preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
The four remaining GOP candidates have all describe themselves as pro-life during their campaigns and have vowed to defund Planned Parenthood.
They have also pledged to defend the religious freedom of Catholics and all Americans in their policies.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Seven states, Catholic plaintiffs file largest lawsuit against HHS mandate
Lincoln, Neb., Feb 23, 2012 / 07:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Obama's contraception mandate is facing its biggest legal challenge yet, in a lawsuit brought by seven state attorneys general, a school, two women, a charitable group, and a major Catholic insurer.
In their lawsuit filed Feb. 23 against the federal government, the 12 plaintiffs challenge the rule they say "would coerce religious organizations … to directly subsidize contraception, abortifacients, sterilization, and related services in contravention with their religious beliefs."
They maintain that the administration's rule, requiring insurance coverage of the controversial drugs and devices, is an "unprecedented invasion" of their "First Amendment rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and free association."
"This case illustrates that the federal government's rule punishes people of faith in all si! tuations, just because they want to make decisions according to their own religious beliefs," Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman told CNA on Feb. 23.
"In this case you have individuals, Catholic agencies, a religious school, a nun, and a variety of states – trying to defend their citizen's right not to have their religious freedom attacked by this federal mandate involving abortion-inducing drugs and other items."
The lawsuit is the fifth and largest so far against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who confirmed on Feb. 10 that many religious institutions would be forced to underwrite "preventive services" as part of federal health care reform.
Other defendants named in the suit include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, all of whom are being sued in their capacity as officials of the U.S. government.
The 12 plaintiffs include the attorneys gener! al of Nebraska, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Ohio! , and Oklahoma. They are joined by Catholic Social Services, Nebraska's Pius X Catholic High School, and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America.
Two Catholic women, Sister Mary Catherine, C.K., and lay missionary Stacy Molai, are also suing Sebelius, Geithner, and Solis.
While all of the plaintiffs allege a government violation of the First Amendment, they do so on particular grounds due to their individual circumstances.
The Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, also known as the Catholic Mutual Group, was founded in 1889 and currently provides coverage to over half of U.S. Catholic dioceses along with over 250 religious orders and other institutions.
"Insurers are often run by people with religious faith, who should not have to choose between their belief and their participation in our society," Bowman noted, explaining the importance of Catholic Mutual Group's involvement in the suit.
Because the group does not primar! ily employ workers who share its religious beliefs, it would be subject to the contraception mandate if it chose to change its employee health care plans to switch from those it offered as of March 2010.
Catholic Social Services, a Nebraska-based charitable organization, does not qualify for the mandate's religious exemption because it serves people of all faiths. Pius X high school, similarly, could be forced to cover services which its current insurance plan excludes for moral reasons.
According to the seven state attorneys general, the contraception coverage rule's implementation would force many non-exempt religious institutions to stop offering health insurance for reasons of conscience.
Many of these employees, the lawsuit notes, would have to shift to Medicaid in order to comply with the federal health care law's individual coverage mandate – placing a financial burden on states already facing a spike in Medicaid enrollments because of the he! alth care law.
Both of the individual plaintiffs object on moral! grounds to subsidizing contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs through their health plans.
Sr. Mary Catherine's plan would be subject to the mandate, while Molai may have to choose between a morally offensive plan, and the loss of health insurance in the future.
Bowman told CNA that the broad spectrum of plaintiffs showed the mandate's dramatic impact on religious liberty throughout society. He praised the state attorneys general for their willingness to defend freedom for all faiths.
"This is not an issue that is isolated to one church," said Bowman. "The Federal government's actions attack the freedom of all Americans to live and practice whatever their faith is, without being forced to violate the sanctity of human life and sexuality."
"It is the duty of government to protect the rights of the citizens – because those rights come from God. They don't come from the federal government that claims the ability to ! define who's 'religious' and who isn't."
"The states in this case are doing what the government should do, which is to protect American citizens from the attack on freedom that the federal government, and the people in charge of it at the moment, are waging against religious believers."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In their lawsuit filed Feb. 23 against the federal government, the 12 plaintiffs challenge the rule they say "would coerce religious organizations … to directly subsidize contraception, abortifacients, sterilization, and related services in contravention with their religious beliefs."
They maintain that the administration's rule, requiring insurance coverage of the controversial drugs and devices, is an "unprecedented invasion" of their "First Amendment rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and free association."
"This case illustrates that the federal government's rule punishes people of faith in all si! tuations, just because they want to make decisions according to their own religious beliefs," Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman told CNA on Feb. 23.
"In this case you have individuals, Catholic agencies, a religious school, a nun, and a variety of states – trying to defend their citizen's right not to have their religious freedom attacked by this federal mandate involving abortion-inducing drugs and other items."
The lawsuit is the fifth and largest so far against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who confirmed on Feb. 10 that many religious institutions would be forced to underwrite "preventive services" as part of federal health care reform.
Other defendants named in the suit include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, all of whom are being sued in their capacity as officials of the U.S. government.
The 12 plaintiffs include the attorneys gener! al of Nebraska, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Ohio! , and Oklahoma. They are joined by Catholic Social Services, Nebraska's Pius X Catholic High School, and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America.
Two Catholic women, Sister Mary Catherine, C.K., and lay missionary Stacy Molai, are also suing Sebelius, Geithner, and Solis.
While all of the plaintiffs allege a government violation of the First Amendment, they do so on particular grounds due to their individual circumstances.
The Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, also known as the Catholic Mutual Group, was founded in 1889 and currently provides coverage to over half of U.S. Catholic dioceses along with over 250 religious orders and other institutions.
"Insurers are often run by people with religious faith, who should not have to choose between their belief and their participation in our society," Bowman noted, explaining the importance of Catholic Mutual Group's involvement in the suit.
Because the group does not primar! ily employ workers who share its religious beliefs, it would be subject to the contraception mandate if it chose to change its employee health care plans to switch from those it offered as of March 2010.
Catholic Social Services, a Nebraska-based charitable organization, does not qualify for the mandate's religious exemption because it serves people of all faiths. Pius X high school, similarly, could be forced to cover services which its current insurance plan excludes for moral reasons.
According to the seven state attorneys general, the contraception coverage rule's implementation would force many non-exempt religious institutions to stop offering health insurance for reasons of conscience.
Many of these employees, the lawsuit notes, would have to shift to Medicaid in order to comply with the federal health care law's individual coverage mandate – placing a financial burden on states already facing a spike in Medicaid enrollments because of the he! alth care law.
Both of the individual plaintiffs object on moral! grounds to subsidizing contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs through their health plans.
Sr. Mary Catherine's plan would be subject to the mandate, while Molai may have to choose between a morally offensive plan, and the loss of health insurance in the future.
Bowman told CNA that the broad spectrum of plaintiffs showed the mandate's dramatic impact on religious liberty throughout society. He praised the state attorneys general for their willingness to defend freedom for all faiths.
"This is not an issue that is isolated to one church," said Bowman. "The Federal government's actions attack the freedom of all Americans to live and practice whatever their faith is, without being forced to violate the sanctity of human life and sexuality."
"It is the duty of government to protect the rights of the citizens – because those rights come from God. They don't come from the federal government that claims the ability to ! define who's 'religious' and who isn't."
"The states in this case are doing what the government should do, which is to protect American citizens from the attack on freedom that the federal government, and the people in charge of it at the moment, are waging against religious believers."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Cuban archbishop thwarts police violence against women protestors
Havana, Cuba, Feb 22, 2012 / 12:03 pm (CNA).- A leading Cuban archbishop intervened to prevent 14 members of the Women in White protest group from being assaulted by Cuban police agents.
Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez told CNA on Feb. 21 that the police had been waiting for the women, who were on their way to the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre.
"The women have been going to the Basilica of El Cobre to pray like any other believer who goes to church to pray, but they told me that have been receiving threats, that there have been reprisals against them and that they were being harassed," said Archbishop Garcia, who serves as president of the Cuban bishops' conference.
Cuban dissident Prudencio Villalon, who accompanied the women to the Basilica, said they declared a hunger strike on the steps of the church on Sunday after Mass, in response to the threats they received from! a large contingent of state police in the area surrounding the church.
Tipped off about the incident by a priest from the basilica, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia arrived with two vehicles to evacuate the women to safety.
"Authorities should be aware of the matter," archbishop Garica said. "Although the protest is essential political in nature, the Church supported them."
According to local newspaper El Nuevo Herald, the incidents occurred during a weekend in which police detained some 30 members and sympathizers of the Women in White in Santiago, Chile.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez told CNA on Feb. 21 that the police had been waiting for the women, who were on their way to the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre.
"The women have been going to the Basilica of El Cobre to pray like any other believer who goes to church to pray, but they told me that have been receiving threats, that there have been reprisals against them and that they were being harassed," said Archbishop Garcia, who serves as president of the Cuban bishops' conference.
Cuban dissident Prudencio Villalon, who accompanied the women to the Basilica, said they declared a hunger strike on the steps of the church on Sunday after Mass, in response to the threats they received from! a large contingent of state police in the area surrounding the church.
Tipped off about the incident by a priest from the basilica, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia arrived with two vehicles to evacuate the women to safety.
"Authorities should be aware of the matter," archbishop Garica said. "Although the protest is essential political in nature, the Church supported them."
According to local newspaper El Nuevo Herald, the incidents occurred during a weekend in which police detained some 30 members and sympathizers of the Women in White in Santiago, Chile.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Live Lent with courage, Pope urges Christians
Vatican City, Feb 22, 2012 / 12:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As he observed Ash Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to live the 40 days of Lent with faith and patience, aware that God will bring light, truth and joy into the darkness.
"In these 40 days that will lead us to Easter may we find new courage to accept with patience and with faith situations of difficulty, of affliction and trial, knowing that from the darkness the Lord will make a new day dawn," the Pope said Feb. 22, the first day of Lent.
"And if we are faithful to Jesus and follow him on the way of the Cross, the bright world of God, the world of light, truth and joy will be gifted to us once more."
The Pope delivered his comments at his weekly general audience, which was held in the Vatican's Pop Paul VI Hall and was attended by over 7,500 pilgrims.
He explained that in the early Church it was only tho! se preparing to be baptized who would observe the 40 days of Lenten preparation. Subsequently, however, all Christians were invited "to experience this journey of spiritual renewal, to conform themselves and their lives to that of Christ," including those who had fallen away from the Church.
The Pope said that the "participation of the whole community" emphasizes that "redemption is not available to only a few, but to all, through the death and resurrection of Christ."
"The time leading up to Easter is a time of 'metanoia,' a time of change and penance, a time which identifies our human lives and our entire history as a process of conversion, which begins to move now in order to meet the Lord at the end of time," he said.
Pope Benedict noted that the Church calls the 40 days leading up to Easter "Quadragesima." And it does so with a "clear reference to Sacred Scripture," where the number 40 often symbolically used to expre! ss "a time of expectation, purification, and return to the L! ord," he taught.
The Pope said that the "Christian liturgy of Lent" is meant to spur a "journey of spiritual renewal" and time more focused on learning how to imitate Jesus, who showed Christians "how to overcome temptation with the Word of God."
The Pope asked those at today's audience to note how God sustained his people, even in the wilderness. After their exodus from Egypt, for example, God preceded the Jewish people "in a cloud or a pillar of fire, ensured their daily nourishment showering manna upon them, and bringing forth water from rock." It was in many ways a "time of the special election of God" or, added the Pope, "the time of first love," of a people for their God.
But time spent in the desert can also be "the time of the greatest temptations and dangers," Pope Benedict observed, pointing out that this happened to Jesus but "without any compromise with sin." Jesus always sought "moments of solitude t! o pray to his Father" but it is in those moments he was most assailed by "temptation and the seduction of devil." It was there, for example, that he was offered "another messianic way, far from God's plan."
Just as this dynamic is found in the Old and New Testaments, the Pope said, it can also be found in the "condition of the pilgrim Church" as it makes its way through "the "wilderness' of the world and history."
This wilderness is made up of "the aridity and poverty of words, life and values, of secularism" and the "culture of materialism which encloses people within a worldly horizon and detaches them from any reference to the transcendent," he said.
It is in such an atmosphere that "the sky above us is dark, because it is veiled with clouds of selfishness, misunderstanding and deceit."
At the same time, "the wilderness can become a period of grace" for the Church, because "we have the certainty th! at even from the hardest rock God can cause the living water to gush fo! rth, water which quenches thirst and restores strength."
Pope Benedict finished by saying that this hope in God's power should sustain the Church and each Christian during the following 40 days.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
"In these 40 days that will lead us to Easter may we find new courage to accept with patience and with faith situations of difficulty, of affliction and trial, knowing that from the darkness the Lord will make a new day dawn," the Pope said Feb. 22, the first day of Lent.
"And if we are faithful to Jesus and follow him on the way of the Cross, the bright world of God, the world of light, truth and joy will be gifted to us once more."
The Pope delivered his comments at his weekly general audience, which was held in the Vatican's Pop Paul VI Hall and was attended by over 7,500 pilgrims.
He explained that in the early Church it was only tho! se preparing to be baptized who would observe the 40 days of Lenten preparation. Subsequently, however, all Christians were invited "to experience this journey of spiritual renewal, to conform themselves and their lives to that of Christ," including those who had fallen away from the Church.
The Pope said that the "participation of the whole community" emphasizes that "redemption is not available to only a few, but to all, through the death and resurrection of Christ."
"The time leading up to Easter is a time of 'metanoia,' a time of change and penance, a time which identifies our human lives and our entire history as a process of conversion, which begins to move now in order to meet the Lord at the end of time," he said.
Pope Benedict noted that the Church calls the 40 days leading up to Easter "Quadragesima." And it does so with a "clear reference to Sacred Scripture," where the number 40 often symbolically used to expre! ss "a time of expectation, purification, and return to the L! ord," he taught.
The Pope said that the "Christian liturgy of Lent" is meant to spur a "journey of spiritual renewal" and time more focused on learning how to imitate Jesus, who showed Christians "how to overcome temptation with the Word of God."
The Pope asked those at today's audience to note how God sustained his people, even in the wilderness. After their exodus from Egypt, for example, God preceded the Jewish people "in a cloud or a pillar of fire, ensured their daily nourishment showering manna upon them, and bringing forth water from rock." It was in many ways a "time of the special election of God" or, added the Pope, "the time of first love," of a people for their God.
But time spent in the desert can also be "the time of the greatest temptations and dangers," Pope Benedict observed, pointing out that this happened to Jesus but "without any compromise with sin." Jesus always sought "moments of solitude t! o pray to his Father" but it is in those moments he was most assailed by "temptation and the seduction of devil." It was there, for example, that he was offered "another messianic way, far from God's plan."
Just as this dynamic is found in the Old and New Testaments, the Pope said, it can also be found in the "condition of the pilgrim Church" as it makes its way through "the "wilderness' of the world and history."
This wilderness is made up of "the aridity and poverty of words, life and values, of secularism" and the "culture of materialism which encloses people within a worldly horizon and detaches them from any reference to the transcendent," he said.
It is in such an atmosphere that "the sky above us is dark, because it is veiled with clouds of selfishness, misunderstanding and deceit."
At the same time, "the wilderness can become a period of grace" for the Church, because "we have the certainty th! at even from the hardest rock God can cause the living water to gush fo! rth, water which quenches thirst and restores strength."
Pope Benedict finished by saying that this hope in God's power should sustain the Church and each Christian during the following 40 days.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
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