Chinese activist’s escape prompts calls for US action

Beijing, China, Apr 30, 2012 / 02:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The escape of Chen Guangcheng, a human rights advocate who opposed China's brutal one-child policy, is resulting in calls for the U.S. to protest human rights abuses within the communist country.  

"This is a test of Premier Wen's commitment to fundamental human rights, the rule of law, and common decency," said Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs a U.S. House subcommittee on human rights.

"It is also a test of America's resolve to safeguard human rights whenever and wherever those rights are violated."

Chen Guangcheng, who was blinded by a childhood illness, is a human rights lawyer who has spoken out strongly against China's one-child policy, which is often implemented through forced abortion and sterilization.

After spending more than four years in prison, Chen was placed under house arres! t in Sept. 2010 without formal charges.

News reports indicate that he has escaped house arrest and is currently under U.S. protection in Beijing, although both President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department have declined to comment on the situation.

Chen Guangchen's flight from his home in the village of Dongshigu began with him feigning severe illness and an inability to move about two months ago, the Associated Press reports. He fled his home on the night of April 22 and managed to walk several hours, before activist He Peirong gave the exhausted and battered escapee a ride in her car.
 
News of the escape broke just days before U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and other diplomatic officials were scheduled to travel to China for meetings on May 3 and 4.   

Clinton drew criticism in 2009 when she said that human rights concerns should not "interfere" with U.S.-China cooperation on economic, environmental an! d security issues.

But Rep. Smith said that the numero! us U.S. leaders traveling to the country might be a "gift." He emphasized the need to "push for human rights like never before."

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also called on U.S. officials to "take every measure to ensure that Chen and his family members are protected from further persecution."

"This event points to the broader issue of human rights in China," said Romney in an April 29 statement. 

He explained that U.S. policy towards China "must confront the facts of the Chinese government's denial of political liberties, its one-child policy, and other violations of human rights."

Although he is "extremely pleased" by news of the escape, Smith said that he remains "extremely concerned" about the safety of Chen's family members and friends. 

Reports suggest that several of his relatives and friends have been arrested or subjected to harsh treatment since his escape.
The Texas-based human rights group ChinaAid has posted an online video of Chen confirming his escape and discussing his "brutal treatment" by the authorities, which he described as "even harsher" than the stories that have been circulating about him.

Chen said that over the past years, he has been beaten, robbed and refused medical attention. He and his wife and elderly mother have all been violently assaulted on multiple occasions, he said.

In the video, Chen asked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to investigate and punish those responsible for the corruption involved in his abuse and home arrest. He also asked that the safety of his family be guaranteed.

Smith said these demands are "reasonable" and should be reiterated by the United States.

He also asked Secretary of State Clinton to engage in ongoing discussions with the Chinese government on the broader issue of human rights. 

"The cruelty and extreme violence ag! ainst Chen and his family brings dishonor to the government of China an! d must end," Smith said.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Chinese activist’s escape prompts calls for US action

Beijing, China, Apr 30, 2012 / 02:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The escape of Chen Guangcheng, a human rights advocate who opposed China's brutal one-child policy, is resulting in calls for the U.S. to protest human rights abuses within the communist country.  

"This is a test of Premier Wen's commitment to fundamental human rights, the rule of law, and common decency," said Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who chairs a U.S. House subcommittee on human rights.

"It is also a test of America's resolve to safeguard human rights whenever and wherever those rights are violated."

Chen Guangcheng, who was blinded by a childhood illness, is a human rights lawyer who has spoken out strongly against China's one-child policy, which is often implemented through forced abortion and sterilization.

After spending more than four years in prison, Chen was placed under house arres! t in Sept. 2010 without formal charges.

News reports indicate that he has escaped house arrest and is currently under U.S. protection in Beijing, although both President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department have declined to comment on the situation.

Chen Guangchen's flight from his home in the village of Dongshigu began with him feigning severe illness and an inability to move about two months ago, the Associated Press reports. He fled his home on the night of April 22 and managed to walk several hours, before activist He Peirong gave the exhausted and battered escapee a ride in her car.
 
News of the escape broke just days before U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and other diplomatic officials were scheduled to travel to China for meetings on May 3 and 4.   

Clinton drew criticism in 2009 when she said that human rights concerns should not "interfere" with U.S.-China cooperation on economic, environmental an! d security issues.

But Rep. Smith said that the numero! us U.S. leaders traveling to the country might be a "gift." He emphasized the need to "push for human rights like never before."

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also called on U.S. officials to "take every measure to ensure that Chen and his family members are protected from further persecution."

"This event points to the broader issue of human rights in China," said Romney in an April 29 statement. 

He explained that U.S. policy towards China "must confront the facts of the Chinese government's denial of political liberties, its one-child policy, and other violations of human rights."

Although he is "extremely pleased" by news of the escape, Smith said that he remains "extremely concerned" about the safety of Chen's family members and friends. 

Reports suggest that several of his relatives and friends have been arrested or subjected to harsh treatment since his escape.
The Texas-based human rights group ChinaAid has posted an online video of Chen confirming his escape and discussing his "brutal treatment" by the authorities, which he described as "even harsher" than the stories that have been circulating about him.

Chen said that over the past years, he has been beaten, robbed and refused medical attention. He and his wife and elderly mother have all been violently assaulted on multiple occasions, he said.

In the video, Chen asked Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to investigate and punish those responsible for the corruption involved in his abuse and home arrest. He also asked that the safety of his family be guaranteed.

Smith said these demands are "reasonable" and should be reiterated by the United States.

He also asked Secretary of State Clinton to engage in ongoing discussions with the Chinese government on the broader issue of human rights. 

"The cruelty and extreme violence ag! ainst Chen and his family brings dishonor to the government of China an! d must end," Smith said.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

St. John of Avila celebrated as soon-to-be Doctor of the Church

Madrid, Spain, Apr 30, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- At the conclusion of their annual meeting on April 27, the bishops of Spain issued a statement lauding Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming official proclamation of St. John of Avila as a Doctor of the Church.

The "originality" of St. John of Avila is found in his "consistent and ever-current theological knowledge, in the soundness of his teaching and in his vast knowledge of the Fathers, saints and great theologians," the bishops said.

St. John of Avila will be the fourth Spaniard to be made a doctor, after St. Isidore of Seville, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avilia, and the thirty-third person ever to be given the honor. Pope Benedict is expected to officially name him Doctor of the Church in Rome this year although a date for the ceremony has not yet been scheduled.

In their statement, the Spanish bishops noted that St. John of Avila ranks among the Church's doctors because of his study and contemplation of the mysteries of the faith "with unique clairvoyance" and for his ability explain them and to help the faithful live their lives in accord with Church teaching.

John of Avila was born in 1499 or 1500 in the town of Almodovar del Campo, where he grew up and learned his faith. He studied law at the University of Salamanca and Liberal Arts and Theology at the University of Alcala. He was ordained a priest in 1526. 

In 1946 he was declared patron saint of the secular clergy in Spain by Pope Pius XII, and in 1970 he was canonized by Pope Paul VI. 

He was known for his work promoting vocations at every level in the Church, whether to the priesthood or religious life, or to building of the vocation of the laity.

The saint was also considered a man who was "generous and in love with God and lived detached from material possessions," they added.

The bishops recalled that after he was ordained a priest in 1526, he celebrated his first Mass in his home town and celebrated the occasion "by inviting the poor to his table and distributing his abundant inheritance to them."

It was said of him at the time that "if the Church were to lose the Bible, he could restore it on his own because he knew it by heart."

He was also known for his important writings, including a treatise on the spiritual life entitled, "Audi, Filia," which he began writing while being held in prison by the Inquisition in Seville. He was eventually absolved of the false accusations against him.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Atheist group calls for removal of war memorial, firefighter tributes

Woonsocket, R.I., Apr 29, 2012 / 01:02 pm (CNA).- A longstanding memorial to veterans killed in two world wars, topped by a non-descript, three-and-a-half foot white Latin-style cross is the latest target in the Ocean State of a self-described atheist and agnostic freethinkers group.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group dedicated to the separation of church and state, is calling for the immediate removal of the memorial from public property where it rests on a small island outside the City of Woonsocket's Fire Department headquarters. The group has also asked that two items displayed on the Fire Department's Web site — the Fireman's Prayer and a graphic of an angel consoling a grieving firefighter that appears on a page under construction to honor brethren who have died in the line of duty — also be removed.

In letters received by the mayor and fire chief on April ! 16, the Freedom From Religion Foundation asked the City of Woonsocket, R.I. to relocate the memorial to private property and for the Fire Department to remove the prayer and graphic from its Web site.

In an interview provided to the John DePetro Show on News Talk 630 WPRO and 99.7 FM, Mayor Leo T. Fontaine of Woonsocket. indicated he would not capitulate to the group's request.

"I'm not going to fold. This monument is not going to go away," Mayor Fontaine said.

The mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but said in the radio interview that he has received hundreds of e-mails from all over the country from people offering their support to the city, including pro bono legal representation if the organization decides to file suit against the city.

In the Freedom From Religion Foundation's letter to the city, Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Market notes that it is illegal for the city to display "patently religi! ous symbols and messages on city property."

Market sa! id that both the Web site and the Latin cross demonstrate a preference for religion over nonreligion.

"Such government endorsements of religion run afoul of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution," Market said in the letter, which requests a written response from the city outlining the steps it intends to take in resolving this matter.

Fire Chief Gary Lataille, in an interview with Rhode Island Catholic Wednesday at his office in Fire Station 2, which overlooks the memorial, said he has no plans to take any action at the request of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

"When the mayor, as public safety director or a court orders me to remove it, I will," Lataille said.

The chief said that the department's Web site has existed for about 10 years, and in that time, he isn't aware of any complaints about the prayer, which is universally accepted among the brotherhood of firefighters, or any imagery depicted.

The memoria! l, first dedicated in 1921 to city of Woonsocket resident William Jolicoeur, who is hailed as a "World War I Hero," has begun to show signs of age.

Several cracks are present in the base of the monument, and a large chunk of the pedestal supporting the cross has eroded from one corner.

The mayor said that although ironic, it might prove to be the complaint about the monument that will eventually save it from falling into a deeper state of disrepair.

"If anything … they have brought this monument into greater prominence," Mayor Fontaine said in the radio interview.

According to Msgr. John Allard, chaplain of the Fire Department and pastor of St. Agatha and Precious Blood churches in Woonsocket, the cross is a "landmark" that has existed for almost a century in a city heavily populated by the descendents of French-Canadian immigrants who settled in the area during the early 1900s and who worked in local textile mills.

"I! t's ridiculous," said Msgr. Allard, a Woonsocket native. "I think! that there are many serious issues in the country. This is a distraction."

Eleanor Michaud, a St. Agatha parishioner, said the Fire Department should not have to remove the prayer and graphic of the angel from its Web site.

"They have the right of free speech," Michaud said.

Roger Fisette, a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish, also supports keeping the prayer and graphic on the Web site, but feels moving the monument to private property may be the best option.

"If it were on private property, it would cause less commotion," Fisette said, noting how organizations such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation can benefit from the increased exposure they receive in such cases.

Lifelong Woonsocket resident Bernard Fontaine, an employee of the Museum of Work and Culture, doesn't understand why the monument is suddenly a topic of controversy after not drawing much attention for several decades.

"It's just a simple landmark a! nd meaningful to those who believe," he acknowledged.

The monument was erected in 1921 in memory of William Jolicoeur, a member of the American Expeditionary Forces killed in France during World War I. In 1952, it was rededicated by the Disabled American Veterans in honor of three brothers, Alexandre, Henri and Louis Gagne, all killed during World War II.

According to the Woonsocket Centennial History, 1888-2000, the 1921 dedication was an international event, with a high-profile visit by Marshall Ferdinand Foch, commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War I. Foch participated in the dedication of "Place Jolicoeur," the monumental plaza alongside Fire Station 2.

The site where the monument rests was once a traffic island in the middle of a busy roadway. But when flooding prompted the city to change the traffic pattern, "Place Jolicoeur" became part of the fire station's parking lot.

When Tom Poole, a disabled Marine Corp! s veteran heard about the call for the monument's removal, he spent s! everal hours keeping vigil by it Tuesday and Wednesday in a show of respect for the departed soldiers it represents.

He disagrees with the Freedom From Religion Foundation's view of the memorial as a religious symbol.

"This was a memorial to some people who paid the ultimate sacrifice during two of our wars," said Poole, 53, a Woonsocket native.

"Who do these people from Wisconsin think they are coming into our backyard and telling us what to do?" he said.

Bert Paul, a parishioner at All Saints Parish who retired 12 years ago as Woonsocket's deputy fire chief after nearly 31 years of service, said during a visit to the memorial site Wednesday that he was stunned by the recent turn of events.

"I was stationed here for 30 years, and we never had any problem with that at all. Most of us are just flabbergasted by this," he said.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken this action on the heels of a recent federal c! ourt ruling calling for the removal of a prayer banner from the auditorium of a public high school in Cranston, R.I. The organization had offered its support, and later awarded a scholarship to the plaintiff, Jessica Ahlquist, an atheist and student at the school.

Joseph V. Cavanagh, a First Amendment attorney and member of the legal team which represented the City of Cranston in the recent suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union over the removal of the prayer banner at Cranston West High School, believes the motivation to oppose the monument and Web site prayer is a direct attack on the faith.

"This seems to be yet another alarming example of the insidious effort to drive religion and therefore God, out of our lives here in America," Cavanagh said. "Our freedom to believe, to worship, and to practice our faith is clearly under attack. All of us need to pray more for fortitude and for the perseverance to battle peacefully but vigorously for our ! rights to freely practice and embrace our beliefs, or else we will soon! look back with great regret for the freedom we have given up not only for ourselves but for the generations to come."

Posted with permission from the Rhode Island Catholic, official newspaper for the Diocese of Providence.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

CCHD praised for defunding group linked to gay advocacy

Washington D.C., Apr 29, 2012 / 04:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops' anti-poverty program won support for defunding a Colorado immigrant aid organization over its intricate involvement with a coalition that violates Church teaching.

"Despite its claims to the contrary," the southwestern Colorado nonprofit Compañeros played a major role in a statewide coalition promoting homosexual behavior, said Michael Hichborn, spokesman for a Catholic watchdog group.

Hichborn told CNA on April 27 that the bishops' program made the right call in axing funds to Compañeros, a founding member – with representation on the board of directors – of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which actively supports gay unions.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which serves as the U.S. bishops' program to fight domestic poverty, made national headlines when it recently decided to cut funding of Compañeros, an immigrant rights organization in Pueblo, Colorado.

Like other groups across the country that receive funding from the Catholic Campaign, Compañeros had signed a pledge agreeing that it would not publicly stand for anything that violates Church teaching.

But Hichborn said that Compañeros is "intimately linked" with the Colorado Immigrant's Rights Coalition, to the point that "there is no way to distinguish the actions" of one from the other.

He pointed to numerous recent examples of efforts by the coalition to advocate same-sex unions.

Multiple officials from the coalition have publicly criticized the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the U.S.

The coalition has participated in a 2010 gay pride parade in Denver and has praised the efforts of gay activist groups towards greater recognition of same-sex couples.

The group also voiced support for "transgender rights" in a public statement and sponsored a community organizing retreat with the Gay and Lesbian Fund.

In its 2011 legislative report, the coalition said that it was "proud to actively support the 2011 civil unions bill" in the state and looks forward to doing so again in the future.

It also applauded the work of "our sister coalition for LGBT justice, One Colorado," an organization dedicated to promoting "gay rights" within the state.

Katherine Chrisman, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Pueblo, confirmed that the decision to defund Compañeros was due to its formal connection with the Colorado Immigrant's Rights Coalition.

She explained that the organization's leaders were "offered repeated and extended opportunities to change their mind" but instead chose to remain a member of the coalition.
Compañeros' executive director Nicole Mosher told the New York Times that she was "shocked" and "confused" by the decision.

"We have no reason to believe that we are in any way going against Catholic teachings," she said. 

The decision to defund the organization also upset Catholics United, a left-leaning social justice group, which responded to news by leading efforts to raise money for Compañeros through private donations.

The D.C.-based organization helped to create With Charity For All, an "alternative donation site" for organizations that lose funding from the Church because they violate Catholic teaching.

The With Charity for All website criticizes the recent funding decision, calling it "tragic" and accusing the U.S. bishops of promoting a "right-wing political agenda."

Hichborn, however, believes the Catholic Campaign for Human Development was right to withdraw funding from a group whose actions contradict "immutable Catholic moral teaching."

He explained that Catholics have an obligation "to avoid even the appearance of scandal."

"When a Catholic-run agency gives money to an organization that is intimately involved with groups promoting abortion or homosexuality, it gives the appearance of scandal," he said.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Seven-year-old girl fulfills dream to hug Pope Benedict

Vatican City, Apr 26, 2012 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A 7-year-old Italian girl got her wish granted after this week's Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square, when she was able to give a hug to "her friend" Pope Benedict XVI.

Miriam Gentile, who suffers from cerebral palsy, was born in the city of Catanzaro on April 22, 2005, three days after Benedict XVI's election to the papacy. She has been receiving treatment for her condition at the Gemelli and Bambino Gesu Hospitals in Rome.

At the conclusion of the General Audience on April 25, she personally greeted the Pope and gave him what the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano described as "an unforgettable hug that was simple, spontaneous, and an expression of joy and affection."

Her father, Marino Gentile, said Miriam "watches the Pope on television all the time, because seeing him makes her happy."

Among those attending the General Audience this week a group of children aged 5-12 from the Italian city of Parma participating in a program to promote sports as "a healthy way to have fun," said the group's spokesman, Giuseppe Formisano.

Olympic gold-medal skier Maria Hofl-Riesch of Germany also attended the audience to offer the pontiff best wishes for his 85th birthday on April 16, and the seventh anniversary of his pontificate on April 19.

The German skier is one of many celebrities who shared their testimonies about the Pope in a new book entitled, "Benedict XVI: Celebrities Talk About the Pope," published to mark his birthday.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Vatican stresses fidelity to Church in evangelization of China

Vatican City, Apr 26, 2012 / 06:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The evangelization of China hinges on fidelity to the Church and the Pope, says the 5th Commission for the Catholic Church in China hosted by the Vatican April 23-25.

"Obedience to Christ and to the Successor of Peter is the presupposition of every true renewal and this applies to every category within the People of God," read the communique issued April 26.

Although "aware of the particular difficulties of the present situation," the commission said, "evangelization cannot be achieved by sacrificing essential elements of the Catholic faith and discipline."

China has an estimated eight to twelve million Catholics, with about half of those people worshiping in government-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Founded in 1957, it does not acknowledge the authority of the Pope.

Today's communique paid particular tribute to the "bishops and priests who are detained or who are suffering unjust limitations on the performance of their mission." Admiration was also expressed for the "strength of their faith and for their union with the Holy Father."

Pope Benedict XVI himself set out his policy on China in 2007 in an open letter to Chinese Catholics. He criticized the limits placed by the Chinese government on the Church's activities, including the right to appoint bishops.

The lifting of such restrictions, said today's document, is crucial so that "the face of the Church may shine forth with clarity in the midst of the noble Chinese people."

This clarity is "obfuscated," however, by "those clerics who have illegitimately received episcopal ordination" and "by those illegitimate bishops who have carried out acts of jurisdiction or who have administered the sacraments."

This week saw the episcopal ordination of Bishop Methodius Qu Ailin in the Chinese diocese of Hunan. The 51-year-old had the approval of both the Holy See and Chinese Government. In attendance, however, was at least one bishop ordained in recent years without Rome's blessing.

"The behavior of these bishops" said the communique "in addition to aggravating their canonical status, has disturbed the faithful and often has violated the consciences of the priests and lay faithful who were involved."

The communique concluded with a reminder that May 24 has been set aside as a Day of Prayer for the Church in China. The date marks the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians and will "provide a particularly auspicious opportunity for the entire Church to ask for energy and consolation, mercy and courage, for the Catholic community in China."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Cuban dissident says no disrespect meant by Church outburst

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Apr 25, 2012 / 04:09 pm (CNA).- Cuban dissident Andres Carrion said he did not intend to offend the Catholic Church when he shouted "freedom" during the papal Mass in the country on March 26.

"It was not my intention to tarnish the Mass, and I have said so to various priests I have spoken with and they have understood me," he said. "I am a Catholic and I didn't have any intention to harm the Church or the image of the Pope."

Minutes before Pope Benedict XVI began Mass at Antonio Maceo Revolutionary Square in Santiago during his recent visit, Carrion shouted, "Down with Communism! Down with the dictatorship! Freedom for the people of Cuba!"

He was quickly subdued by state-security agents and beaten by a supposed member of the Red Cross.

In an April 24 interview published by the newspaper El Pais, Carrion said he has sent a letter to the Archbishop of Santiago explaining the reasons for his protest "and to apologize to the Pope and to the entire Catholic community."

"But they and everyone else should understand that we Cubans have no freedom of expression," he said. "Because of this, we look for an opportunity to be heard, and I thought that that was an opportunity that could not be passed up." 

Carrrion said he does not belong to any political party and that he was motivated only by a sense of civic duty and principle. 

"We Cuban needed to do something so the world could know about the violations and the huge problems that we face here with freedom of expression and human rights," he explained. "I carried all of that around inside of me for a long time and that was the time to say it."

Carrion said he spent 20 days in prison after the incident, and although he was not physically mistreated during his detainment, he was kept in a dark cell and only allowed to have the lights on ten minutes during the morning and ten minutes at night.

He was eventually released and forced to sign agreement with further restrictions.  

"I have to check in at the police station each week, I cannot leave my town without asking permission, I cannot meet with members of the opposition or give interviews, I cannot participate in protests."

But "I have not followed hardly any of that," he added. "They are not going to silence me in this way."

Carion said that before heading to Antonio Maceo Square on March 26, he said goodbye "to my mother, my sister, my wife…I told her that morning before going to Mass, 'I love you very much.'" 

"I thought I would not return, I thought that was going to be the last day of my life."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

On terrorist anniversary, Cardinal calls for end of violence in Peru

Lima, Peru, Apr 24, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- During the 15th anniversary of the rescue of 71 hostages from the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani issued a new call for an end to violence in Peru.

"In our prayers we will remember all our brothers and sisters, alive and deceased, who on this day took part in this operation that moved the entire world to rescue the hostages and the Japanese embassy," said Cardinal Cipriani, who at the time represented the Vatican in the negotiations for peaceful resolution.

"Let us pray that there never be any more violence in our country, that we may be united in this."

On December 17, 1996, members of the Tuparac Amaru terrorist movement seized control of the Japanese ambassador's residence, taking some 72 guests hostage. They refused to release them unless the government set free 400 imprisoned members of the movement. 

Four months later, on April 22, 1997, 142 commandos of the Peruvian military stormed the residence by force and rescued 71 of the hostages. One hostage, two commandos and all fourteen terrorists died in the operation.

"Violence always begins with a lie; later, that interior lie is expressed in words, offending others; and then it translates into physical violence, death, explosions, abuse," the cardinal said. As the lie grows, as "ideology of violence" eventually emerges, leading people to justify killing each other.

Cardinal Cipriani encouraged members of the faith to counteract this mentality by demonstrating their conversion of heart through good works. 

"If you are a father, show it in your patience, in your joy, in your love for your wife; if you are a mother, in your love for your husband," he said. "If you are a young person, show it in your obedience, in your studies and in your behavior."

"In order to be holy, you need humility, you need to ask for help and strive each day to act better. Let us be living witnesses of Christ, not so much in word but in deeds of faith and love. That is the great challenge of being witnesses of Christ."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Bishop calls Eucharist the cure for restless, modern culture

Rome, Italy, Apr 24, 2012 / 06:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop William S. Skylstad, a former president of the U.S. bishops' conference, believes that the Eucharist is the solution for today's anxious and frenetic society. 

"There's a sort of unbridled restlessness which touches our lives and touches the life of the culture, constantly searching and sometimes searching in the wrong way but Jesus today is the answer," he said in a homily at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome April 24.  

"Indeed as St Augustine commented some centuries later 'our souls are restless Lord until they rest in thee' for it is the Eucharist that gives us rest and peace and life and for that we can be very grateful."

The 78-year-old Bishop Skylstad headed the U.S. bishop's conference from 2004 – 2007 and is currently serving as Apostolic Administrator of Baker Diocese in Oregan.

He is now in Rome with 14 other bishops from the northwest states on their "ad limina" pilgrimage to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, April 23 – 27.

During their brief visit to the Eternal City the bishops from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska will also meet with Vatican officials and Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the health of the Catholic Church in their region.

Bishop Skylstad also proposed to his fellow bishops that Our Lady was another source of refuge for modern society. He told them that the Basilica of St Mary Major was one of 26 churches in Rome to be named after the mother of Jesus describing this as "an astonishing number" reflecting "how powerfully she has impacted upon us in the Church where the honoring of Mary has become deeply embedded in our Catholic DNA."

The basilica, he explained, was built in the year 432 in the wake of the Council of Ephesus where Mary was declared to be "Mother of God" or "Theotokos" in Greek.

"As we pray for our folks back home in the dioceses in which we serve, today we honor Mary," concluded Bishop Skylstad, "and we ask that she continues to mother the Church and continues to mother the dioceses in which you and I serve and that she continues to mother us as bishops that we might be servants of the Lord."

Today bishops from the northwest held meetings with the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for Divine Worship and Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life. Tomorrow morning on April 25 they will offer Mass at the tomb of St. Peter in the Vatican basilica.



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Widower and father of four ordained a priest in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 23, 2012 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Antonio Salvador De Iacovo, an Argentinean widower and father of four, was recently ordained to the priesthood following thirty years of marriage.  

"God will softly lead you, inviting you to follow him from among many options," Father De Iacovo observed. "God wants us all to be saints, in the place where we are at."

After the priest's wife passed away in 2007, he decided two years later in 2009 to return to the vocation he was drawn to as a young man.

Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes, who presided over his ordination, recalled that Fr. De Iacovo was a fellow seminarian with him in 1968 and 1972.

"In the call of Jesus, (Father De Iacovo) found the answer to this deep desire to follow the Lord and be faithful to him," the archbishop said. "This makes us think that there were two desires that met: that of Jesus who calls and man who responds to him."

"Not only are we restless, but the heart of God is also restless for man. He waits for us, he seeks after us, he comes out even when it is late, lest there still be men and women whom no one has invited," Archbishop Stanovnik added.

The archbishop said the hands and life of the new priest are now "at the disposal of the hands of Jesus" to forgive, console and strengthen the faithful. 

"May his hands and his life be always at the disposal of Christ and his Church, so that many can experience with confidence the forgiveness and mercy of God," he said.

According to Church teaching, a widower whose children are no longer dependents is eligible to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Chuck Colson remembered for public Christian witness

New York City, N.Y., Apr 23, 2012 / 05:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The death of Charles W. "Chuck" Colson drew remembrances from many national and Christian leaders who praised the former political operative's work in prison ministry, Evangelical-Catholic dialogue and religious freedom advocacy.

"There can be little doubt that Chuck Colson was one of the most important public Christian figures in recent decades. He gave gravitas to the new emergent Christian Right," R.R. Reno, editor of the interreligious journal "First Things," told CNA April 23.

"Like Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Chuck recognized that our increasingly secular liberal elites posed a threat to the uniquely religious character of American culture," Reno said.

"This did not mean he thought the differences between Protestants and Catholics are irrelevant, but he saw that the common challenge joins us together."

Colson died at a Falls Church, Va. hospital on April 21 at the age of 80. The Naples, Fla. resident became ill March 30 while speaking at a Colson Center of Christian Worldview conference in Lansdowne, Va. He was treated for a brain hemorrhage earlier this month.

A former Marine, Colson served as a Republican political strategist and a self-described "hatchet man" who attacked the enemies of President Richard Nixon. He helped organize illegal actions to discredit Daniel Ellsberg, a former Pentagon official suspected of leaking a classified history of the Vietnam War to the media, The Washington Post reports.

In August 1973, during intense legal scrutiny amid the Watergate scandals, Colson converted to Christianity. In 1974, he pled guilty to charges of obstruction of justice related to the Ellsberg case and served seven months of a one to three-year sentence in a federal prison in Alabama.

He left prison convinced of the need to crusade for U.S. prison reform including an end to inhumane conditions and prison rape. In 1976 he founded Prison Fellowship, which at its peak attracted 50,000 prison ministry volunteers. It currently has a presence in 100 countries around the world.

Colson then became involved in inter-Christian dialogue and was a signatory to the 1994 document Evangelicals and Catholics Together. He was a key author of the 2009 Manhattan Declaration, which called on Christians to defend human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom. The declaration attracted half a million signatories.

Reno praised Colson for keeping religious faith "at the center of the public witness of Christians who felt called to engage in politics."

According to the editor, Colson saw that when Protestants and Catholics are joined to "make common cause for the moral truths of the Gospel" they can "rediscover what we share as a common Christian faith."

Catholic political commentator George Weigel remembered Colson's "absolute commitment" to reconciling Christian divisions.

"Chuck Colson did not invent the evangelical-Catholic alliance that is one of the most potent cultural forces in 21st century American politics; but he legitimated it for vast numbers of evangelicals who were not altogether sure, twenty-some years, that Catholics were their brothers and sisters in Christ," he said in a statement provided to CNA.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said Colson "inspired tens of thousands of volunteers to heed the words of Jesus to visit Him in prison."

"By his example, he taught Christians how to fully integrate one's Christian faith with a role in the public realm," Perkins added. "Chuck Colson challenged us to follow God's instruction to be salt and light in every place that we set our feet."

Colson's eulogists included House Speaker John Boehner.

"He was a man who experienced tremendous lows yet went on to spark a movement of ideas and people focused on spiritual transformation," Boehner said April 21.

"Through the full picture of the life Chuck Colson led, Americans saw that a broken man can accept the gift of redemption and embrace a new life devoted to the service and redemption of others. This will be his legacy."

Colson is survived by Patty, his wife of 48 years, three children, and five grandchildren.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Archbishop Sartain praises 'wonderful contribution' of women religious

Rome, Italy, Apr 23, 2012 / 07:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Peter J. Sartain of Seattle praised American religious women as a "great gift" days after being asked by Pope Benedict to help reform the U.S.'s Leadership Conference of Women Religious. 

"What I hope and pray for every day is that I, first of all, do as the Lord asks and do as the Holy Father asks," said the archbishop, describing the task of renewal ahead to CNA on April 23.

He said he hopes "to work in a positive way," recognizing "the wonderful contribution of religious women in the United States, and to work in a way that shows our continued love and support for their extraordinary contribution."

Archbishop Sartain made his remarks in Rome only days after Pope Benedict XVI also publicly praised the contribution religious women make to the U.S. Church and society.
 
"In coming months I will have the honor of canonizing two new saints from North America," the Pope said in a Saturday April 21 address to the Papal Foundation, a U.S.-based charitable institute.

The pontiff described Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and Blessed Mother Marianne Cope – both who are set to be canonized on Oct 21. –  as "striking examples of sanctity and heroic charity" who also "remind us of the historic role played by women in the building up of the Church in America."

"Those are exactly my views," Archbishop Sartain echoed, "which makes me very happy because obviously in the United States the role of women has been important from the very beginning."

The archbishop explained that it was the women religious of Archdiocese of Seattle who were the "pioneers" in the "evangelization of the Gospel, care for the poor and the sick and education," as happened elsewhere across America.

Controversy ignited, however, when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ended a four-year audit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious on April 18, concluding that the organization was in the midst of a "crisis" of belief.   

Among its key findings, the assessment documented serious theological and doctrinal errors in presentations at the conference's annual assemblies in recent years.

Several depicted a vision of religious life that is incompatible with the Catholic faith, the assessment said, with some attempting to justify dissent from Church teaching and showing "scant regard for the role of the Magisterium."

The document also cited one address which spoke of "moving beyond the Church" and even "beyond Jesus."

Archbishop Sartain stressed that he firmly believed the vocation of women religious continues to be a "great, great gift" to the Church and the world.

He praised what he called the "total consecration of one's life, of the life of these religious women to Christ, who in every way are giving themselves in sacrifice and love to be the embodiment of the Gospel itself and to be in relationship with Christ their entire lives."

"I think it is such a wonderful witness to the world and something I have had the benefit of seeing throughout my whole life and the four dioceses that I have served," he said. 

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has more than 1500 members, whose congregations represent over 46,000 religious sisters. The average age of membership is 74.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Miami archbishop laments pressures against religious liberty

Miami, Fla., Apr 24, 2012 / 12:08 am (CNA).- Efforts to restrict religious liberty break with American traditions and seek to "delegitimize" the Catholic Church's participation in public debate, said Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami.

"America's 'first freedom,' the freedom of religion, is under great stress if not under outright assault – and not just for Catholics," Archbishop Wenski wrote in the Miami Herald April 23.

He said the Health and Human Services mandate requiring insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause abortion represents "an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government."
 
The mandate not only forces religious institutions to "facilitate and fund" products and procedures "contrary to their own moral teaching," he noted, but also defines which institutions are religious enough to meet an exemption.

Archbishop Wenski said the fundamental issue in the mandate debate is "whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide coverage for contraception or sterilization, even if that violates their religious beliefs."

"The Church cannot not oppose this unjust (and we believe unconstitutional) mandate," he said.

The archbishop said the Catholic bishops will seek remedies from both Congress and the courts "rather than facing the shuttering of our schools, universities and hospitals by the federal government."
Despite the present difficulties, he praised U.S. constitutional guarantees for religious freedom.

"America's first freedom, the freedom of religion, has honored America's diversity by permitting the inclusion of all its citizens in contributing to the common good of all," he said.

"Separation of church and state does not require the exclusion of religion from society. To exclude people of faith from making their contributions and their proposals in the public square would impoverish us all."

He suggested the new restrictions are evidence of a "reductive secularism" that has more in common with the French Revolution than with American traditions.

Archbishop Wenski warned of various other threats to religious liberty, including a "draconian" anti-immigrant law in Alabama that he said "criminalizes" Bible classes for undocumented immigrants; the exclusion of Catholic Charities from foster care and adoption services in several states; the State Department's apparent revision of religious liberty to mean "merely freedom to worship"; and a recent court decision that barred conscience accommodations for federal contractors opposed to abortion.

Such efforts "seek to delegitimize the Church's participation in public debate about issues that will determine the future of American society," he charged.

The archbishop said the Catholic Church does not seek privileges for herself but seeks the freedom to advocate her views in the public square and "to witness to them coherently so as to contribute to human flourishing in society."

He noted that in November Florida voters can vote to approve the Florida ballot initiative Amendment 8 to protect faith-based agencies and organizations from state-level laws and regulations that affect religious freedom.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Canadian media criticized for irresponsible 'exorcism' reporting

Saskatoon, Canada, Apr 24, 2012 / 02:07 am (CNA).- Canadian news outlets are sensationalizing an event that was not treated as demonic possession and did not prompt a search for an exorcist, according to the Diocese of Saskatoon's communications office.

Communications coordinator Kiply Yaworski told CNA that the public had been misled by "headlines that were completely false," suggesting that an exorcism had been performed by a local priest in March.

"There was no rite of exorcism," said Yaworski. "No one here was calling it that." She said media outlets were erroneously connecting the "blessing of a distraught man" to the topic of possession and exorcism, "just to get people to click on their stories."

Yaworski was eager to clear up misunderstandings about an event reported by CBC News on April 13, under the headline "Exorcist expertise sought after Saskatoon 'possession'."

According to CBC News, the incident involved a "shirtless middle-aged man, slouched on a couch and holding his head in his hands," who had "used a sharp instrument to carve the word 'Hell' on his chest."

"When the priest entered the room," the Canadian outlet reported, "the man spoke in the third person, saying 'He belongs to me. Get out of here,' using a strange voice."

CBC's article acknowledged that the priestly blessing the man received was "not a formal exorcism." Bishop Donald Bolan, the only Catholic leader named in the article, reportedly said it was unclear whether the man was possessed or merely mentally disturbed.

But his comments were placed alongside those of the unnamed "church leaders," who were said to be "considering whether Saskatoon needs a trained exorcist" after "a case of what is being called possible demonic possession."

Yaworski blasted the misleading portrayal of the blessing that had occurred in March, and said Bishop Bolan's considerations about a diocesan exorcist had not been affected by the incident at all.

Bishop Bolan did tell CBC that the diocese was "kind of looking at what the diocese of Calgary does," with its "special commission for spiritual discernment" which looks into unusual cases. Yaworski explained that these comments were a general reflection, not a response to the March incident.

The spiritual discernment commission in Calgary does not discuss its cases with the media. On April 20, this prompted the Toronto Sun to claim that the Calgary diocese was "working in mysterious ways" with the Church in Saskatoon, through its "shadowy" and "closely-guarded" commission.

Yaworski dismissed the notion of a "shadow" and "mysterious" commission in Calgary, and suggested the media were mistakenly imagining a secretive attitude in cases where the Church simply seeks to protect family and personal privacy.

On April 17, the Saskatoon diocese issued an official statement on the original March occurrence, acknowledging that it had "captured media attention."

During the incident, the diocese said, "a priest blessed a distraught and emotional man with holy water and prayed with the family, before advising them to call the police."

In his statement on the matter, Bishop Bolan stressed the reality of supernatural evil, but confirmed that no exorcism had occurred in the March incident.

"In Jesus' ministry there were exorcisms, and so it is not something that we can lightly dismiss," he said.

"But the headline that the bishop of Saskatoon is looking for an exorcist was a vast oversimplification. Catholic dioceses, like other Christian communities, must look at how best to respond to requests in this area."

"Our resurrection faith is that life is stronger than death, that God brings hope out of despair and light out of darkness," Bishop Bolan said. "It is more important to affirm the goodness of the love of God than to speculate about the nature of events such as these."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Widower and father of four ordained a priest in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 23, 2012 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Antonio Salvador De Iacovo, an Argentinean widower and father of four, was recently ordained to the priesthood following thirty years of marriage.  

"God will softly lead you, inviting you to follow him from among many options," Father De Iacovo observed. "God wants us all to be saints, in the place where we are at."

After the priest's wife passed away in 2007, he decided two years later in 2009 to return to the vocation he was drawn to as a young man.

Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes, who presided over his ordination, recalled that Fr. De Iacovo was a fellow seminarian with him in 1968 and 1972.

"In the call of Jesus, (Father De Iacovo) found the answer to this deep desire to follow the Lord and be faithful to him," the archbishop said. "This makes us think that there were two desires that met: that of Jesus who calls and man who responds to him."

"Not only are we restless, but the heart of God is also restless for man. He waits for us, he seeks after us, he comes out even when it is late, lest there still be men and women whom no one has invited," Archbishop Stanovnik added.

The archbishop said the hands and life of the new priest are now "at the disposal of the hands of Jesus" to forgive, console and strengthen the faithful. 

"May his hands and his life be always at the disposal of Christ and his Church, so that many can experience with confidence the forgiveness and mercy of God," he said.

According to Church teaching, a widower whose children are no longer dependents is eligible to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Chuck Colson remembered for public Christian witness

New York City, N.Y., Apr 23, 2012 / 05:26 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The death of Charles W. "Chuck" Colson drew remembrances from many national and Christian leaders who praised the former political operative's work in prison ministry, Evangelical-Catholic dialogue and religious freedom advocacy.

"There can be little doubt that Chuck Colson was one of the most important public Christian figures in recent decades. He gave gravitas to the new emergent Christian Right," R.R. Reno, editor of the interreligious journal "First Things," told CNA April 23.

"Like Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Chuck recognized that our increasingly secular liberal elites posed a threat to the uniquely religious character of American culture," Reno said.

"This did not mean he thought the differences between Protestants and Catholics are irrelevant, but he saw that the common challenge joins us together."

Colson died at a Falls Church, Va. hospital on April 21 at the age of 80. The Naples, Fla. resident became ill March 30 while speaking at a Colson Center of Christian Worldview conference in Lansdowne, Va. He was treated for a brain hemorrhage earlier this month.

A former Marine, Colson served as a Republican political strategist and a self-described "hatchet man" who attacked the enemies of President Richard Nixon. He helped organize illegal actions to discredit Daniel Ellsberg, a former Pentagon official suspected of leaking a classified history of the Vietnam War to the media, The Washington Post reports.

In August 1973, during intense legal scrutiny amid the Watergate scandals, Colson converted to Christianity. In 1974, he pled guilty to charges of obstruction of justice related to the Ellsberg case and served seven months of a one to three-year sentence in a federal prison in Alabama.

He left prison convinced of the need to crusade for U.S. prison reform including an end to inhumane conditions and prison rape. In 1976 he founded Prison Fellowship, which at its peak attracted 50,000 prison ministry volunteers. It currently has a presence in 100 countries around the world.

Colson then became involved in inter-Christian dialogue and was a signatory to the 1994 document Evangelicals and Catholics Together. He was a key author of the 2009 Manhattan Declaration, which called on Christians to defend human life, traditional marriage and religious freedom. The declaration attracted half a million signatories.

Reno praised Colson for keeping religious faith "at the center of the public witness of Christians who felt called to engage in politics."

According to the editor, Colson saw that when Protestants and Catholics are joined to "make common cause for the moral truths of the Gospel" they can "rediscover what we share as a common Christian faith."

Catholic political commentator George Weigel remembered Colson's "absolute commitment" to reconciling Christian divisions.

"Chuck Colson did not invent the evangelical-Catholic alliance that is one of the most potent cultural forces in 21st century American politics; but he legitimated it for vast numbers of evangelicals who were not altogether sure, twenty-some years, that Catholics were their brothers and sisters in Christ," he said in a statement provided to CNA.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said Colson "inspired tens of thousands of volunteers to heed the words of Jesus to visit Him in prison."

"By his example, he taught Christians how to fully integrate one's Christian faith with a role in the public realm," Perkins added. "Chuck Colson challenged us to follow God's instruction to be salt and light in every place that we set our feet."

Colson's eulogists included House Speaker John Boehner.

"He was a man who experienced tremendous lows yet went on to spark a movement of ideas and people focused on spiritual transformation," Boehner said April 21.

"Through the full picture of the life Chuck Colson led, Americans saw that a broken man can accept the gift of redemption and embrace a new life devoted to the service and redemption of others. This will be his legacy."

Colson is survived by Patty, his wife of 48 years, three children, and five grandchildren.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Archbishop Sartain praises 'wonderful contribution' of women religious

Rome, Italy, Apr 23, 2012 / 07:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Peter J. Sartain of Seattle praised American religious women as a "great gift" days after being asked by Pope Benedict to help reform the U.S.'s Leadership Conference of Women Religious. 

"What I hope and pray for every day is that I, first of all, do as the Lord asks and do as the Holy Father asks," said the archbishop, describing the task of renewal ahead to CNA on April 22.

He said he hopes "to work in a positive way," recognizing "the wonderful contribution of religious women in the United States, and to work in a way that shows our continued love and support for their extraordinary contribution."

Archbishop Sartain made his remarks in Rome the same day Pope Benedict XVI also publicly praised the contribution religious women make to the U.S. Church and society.

"In coming months I will have the honor of canonizing two new saints from North America," the Pope said in a Monday address to the Papal Foundation, a U.S.-based charitable institute.

The pontiff described Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and Blessed Mother Marianne Cope – both who are set to be canonized on Oct 21. –  as "striking examples of sanctity and heroic charity" who also "remind us of the historic role played by women in the building up of the Church in America."

"Those are exactly my views," Archbishop Sartain echoed, "which makes me very happy because obviously in the United States the role of women has been important from the very beginning."

The archbishop explained that it was the women religious of Archdiocese of Seattle who were the "pioneers" in the "evangelization of the Gospel, care for the poor and the sick and education," as happened elsewhere across America.

Controversy ignited, however, when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ended a four-year audit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious on April 18, concluding that the organization was in the midst of a "crisis" of belief.   

Among its key findings, the assessment documented serious theological and doctrinal errors in presentations at the conference's annual assemblies in recent years.

Several depicted a vision of religious life that is incompatible with the Catholic faith, the assessment said, with some attempting to justify dissent from Church teaching and showing "scant regard for the role of the Magisterium."

The document also cited one address which spoke of "moving beyond the Church" and even "beyond Jesus."

Archbishop Sartain stressed that he firmly believed the vocation of women religious continues to be a "great, great gift" to the Church and the world.

He praised what he called the "total consecration of one's life, of the life of these religious women to Christ, who in every way are giving themselves in sacrifice and love to be the embodiment of the Gospel itself and to be in relationship with Christ their entire lives."

"I think it is such a wonderful witness to the world and something I have had the benefit of seeing throughout my whole life and the four dioceses that I have served," he said. 

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has more than 1500 members, whose congregations represent over 46,000 religious sisters. The average age of membership is 74.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Portraitist seeks to capture essence of the popes

Arlington, Va., Apr 22, 2012 / 01:04 pm (CNA).- Since childhood, Cuban-American portraitist Sylvia Castellanos has been intrigued by the human face. That fascination and her love of drawing have led her to paint hundreds of portraits — from Washington, D.C., dignitaries to Central American Maya campesinos.

And with each portrait, her hope is to capture the person's soul. Not a small task in itself, but her objective became even more challenging when she chose to paint the Church's spiritual leaders Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

"I had a personal desire to paint the popes because this is my Church and these are the leaders of my Church," said Castellanos, who began painting Pope John Paul II in the last months of his life.

"I was in my 20s when he was elected pope," she said. "You would have to have been there to understand the significance of this young pope who liked to ski and mountain climb, who was so vibrant, alert and intelligent."

"With the passage of time, he had become this old man with Parkinson's disease who could hardly walk."

"I wanted to try to catch something to bring back into people's consciousness that this was the real man and this is how he deserves to be remembered," she said.

Since Castellanos immigrated with her family to the United States from her native Havana at age 9, she said she was "especially interested that John Paul came from a country enslaved by communism."

"I learned later that he was doing things behind the scenes to fight communism, and that made him especially dear to me."

After she completed the portrait in 2006, it was exhibited for five years at Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, where she received much praise for capturing the pope's essence. She values such compliments highly, especially since she never met Pope John Paul, nor his successor, Pope Benedict, whom she began painting in 2010.

Mostly self-taught, Castellanos painted her first "commissioned" portrait at the age of 13. Her portrait of Abraham Lincoln for a school project drew the attention of her principal, who commissioned her to do a portrait of the assistant principal for $10.

Years later, after obtaining a graduate degree from Princeton University in New Jersey, Castellanos moved to the Washington metro area in the early 1970s. For the remainder of the decade she served as research director of the Senate Steering Committee while doing commissioned portraits for prominent people on Capitol Hill, including Congressional members and international personnel. During those years she studied with portraitist Danni Dawson at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.

"That was the only study of art I have ever done," said Castellanos. "She taught me the things fundamental to my outlook."

"I seek to catch emotions in the way a perfume maker captures a fragrance so that by uncorking a bottle, people can experience again the full dimension of the scent," said Castellanos.

To capture the essence of Pope Benedict, Castellanos pored through photographs.

"People who have met Benedict talk about the kindness and holiness he gives off. I wanted to catch that," she said.

Castellanos completed her first portrait of the pope late in 2010, but after carefully observing viewers' reactions, Castellanos was dissatisfied with her work. She stored the painting for a year and half until this past January when she began repainting his face from scratch. This time she's pleased with the result.

"The whole point of doing a portrait is to capture the person, his emotions and who the person is. If you don't do that, it's not a good portrait," Castellanos said. "People say I've got the likeness now, and I hope that is the case."

With two important dates coming up for Pope Benedict — his birthday April 16 and the anniversary of his ascension to the papacy April 19 — Castellanos hopes she can find the right place, possibly in Washington, to exhibit her work.

"The Church will be marking both these events, and maybe my painting can have a small role in whatever form its commemoration takes," she said.

Her ultimate ambition is for the painting to be exhibited at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Castellanos hopes her portrait of Pope Benedict will appeal to those outside Catholic circles, as well.

"To the extent that it's seen by non-Catholics, I hope they will appreciate the personal quality that I tried to include," she said.

"And when they look at it they will say, 'so this is what he is like as a person.'"

Posted with permission from The Catholic Herald, official newspaper for the Diocese of Arlington, Va.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Author says women's conference should return to authentic religious life

Washington D.C., Apr 22, 2012 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An expert on religious women in America believes that renewal within the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) will require "very strong self-evaluation" and cooperation with the Vatican's recent call for reform.

"After having studied this for many years, I think it was 40 years in the making," said Ann Carey, author of the 1997 book "Sisters in Crisis: The Tragic Unraveling of Women's Religious Communities."

Carey told CNA on April 20 that ever since the LCWR revised its statutes in 1971, it has had a rocky relationship with the Vatican.

"The Vatican was patient, trying to give the sisters some guidelines to modify the direction they were taking, and they resisted that," she said.

On April 18, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that it had appointed Archbishop J. Pet! er Sartain of Seattle to lead reform efforts within the conference.

The announcement came as the findings of a multi-year doctrinal assessment of the women's conference were released, raising concerns of dissent from Church teaching on topics including homosexuality, the sacramental priesthood and the divinity of Christ.

Carey said that members of the LCWR have "definitely" exhibited doctrinal problems and have also "made it quite clear that they are intent on changing the nature of religious life."

They have also spoken of "loyal dissent," as if to suggest that "it is permissible for one to disagree with Church teaching as long as one professes loyalty to the Church," she added.

Carey explained that many of the problems illuminated in the Vatican's assessment are the result of a "misinterpretation of Vatican II documents."

In the early 1960s, the Second Vatican Council called on religious orders to renew and upda! te themselves, removing "outdated" rules and customs so as! to engage the modern world.

For example, many religious orders were continuing the custom of waking up at dawn and going to bed at twilight, she said. This rule was left over from a time before electricity was in use, and it is now unnecessary and outdated.

But while the council called for renewal by returning to the orders' original founding ideas and adapting them to modern times, many people misinterpreted this call and instead proceeded to "totally throw off some of the essentials of religious life," she said.

The result was an abandonment of central elements of religious life, such as living and praying in community, serving in a corporate apostolate and wearing some type of distinctive religious garb, she explained.

Carey said that after Vatican II, members of many religious orders began to live in apartments and find their own jobs, separate from a corporate apostolate such as teaching or care for the sick.

In addition, th! ey threw off the "loyalty and faithfulness to the Church" as well as the "deference to the hierarchy" that had previously characterized religious life.

The changes were so drastic that they caused some women to leave the LCWR, Carey said. These women formed another group, which eventually became an alternative superiors' conference known as the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious.

This more traditional group, which requires its members to adhere to the essentials of religious life as understood by the Church, is attracting the bulk of young vocations today, she noted.

If the conference is to undergo a true renewal, Carey said, its members must re-examine the Church's understanding of religious life and make a firm commitment to live as "representatives of the Church," in union with the local bishop.

She emphasized that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is not trying to return to the pre-Vatican II days but ! is instead promoting an "accurate interpretation of those documents�! � and the life they portray.

Carey said it will be "very interesting to watch" as the situation progresses. While she does not know what will happen, she said there are ultimately only two possible outcomes.

It is possible that the LCWR will cooperate with the Vatican's reform efforts and see that they have gotten away from Church teaching, she explained.

However, she is unsure whether that will happen, because some of the group's members are "very convicted that what they're doing is the right thing."

The other option is for the conference to relinquish its canonical status and simply continue as a professional group, which Carey believes will cause them to "lose a lot of their members."

She said that some of the group's members value their canonical standing and have simply continued their membership with the conference over the years because they had always done so.

No matter what the organization decides, ! "there will be dissenting voices," predicted Carey.

She explained that the LCWR consists of the leaders of various religious orders, so it is actually only made up of about three percent of the religious women in America. She said that she knows many individual sisters with no say in decisions of the conference who are "very unhappy" with the organization and "welcome this move" by the Vatican.

Carey also commented on the possibility of the group asking the Vatican to establish a new category of consecrated life that would better fit them.

While other types of consecrated life – such as hermits and consecrated virgins – do exist, she said, there would still be a pressing need to address the theological problems exhibited by the conference.

"For valid religious to be embracing teachings that are dramatically opposed to the official Church teaching is very scandalous and damaging," she said.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Ailing Venezuelan bishop says President Chavez must repent

Caracas, Venezuela, Apr 19, 2012 / 02:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Retired Bishop Eduardo Herrera Riera of Carora, who is suffering from terminal cancer, called on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to repent of his "injustices" against the country.

"As a Head of State, you have the most gravest of obligations, first and foremost, to procure the peace and security of Venezuelans," the bishop said in an open letter April 9. "Unfortunately, you have been very weak and negligent in confronting this most serious of problems."

The controversial president has battled illness himself in recent years, traveling last month to Cuba in order to have a potentially cancerous tumor removed.

Bishop Herrera listed several ethical concerns as well as human rights complaints against the Venezuelan leader and urged him to repair damage caused if he wants to share in "eternal happiness in the ! Kingdom of our Lord and God."

Below is the full text of the bishops' letter:

To Mr. Hugo Chavez Frias, President of the Republic.

I write you as the elderly 84-year-old bishop emeritus of Carona, suffering from the serious side-effects of powerful chemotherapy and radiation, which has left me extremely weak because of my weight loss of more than 35 pounds.

I am a walking skeleton unable to move on my own, and I must use a wheelchair constantly. All of this makes me certain that my death draws near and should make you understand the sincerity and healthy desire that move me to speak to you as clearly as possible…

There is a phrase Jesus uses in the Gospel, which, by the way, Cardinal Urosa just mentioned on television, which says: "Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Heavenly Father."  You have displayed various acts of faith and trust in God, calling him "My! sweet God," hugging and kissing crucifixes, visiting the Sh! rine of Santo Cristo de la Grita and many other similar things.

If this is all sincere, it is very praiseworthy and I applaud you for it.  However, unfortunately this is not enough to receive God's forgiveness and enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Repairing the evil and the injustices that have been done to people and to institutions is also strictly necessary, and in your pride you have committed such acts on innumerable occasions.  Sacred Scripture calls pride "the great sin," and that is what led the most beautiful and powerful Archangel Lucifer to rebel and to want to emulate the power of God, rising up against Him, together with a group of angels who followed him in his mad endeavor.  But God sent the powerful Archangel Michael against them, who fought them, overcame them and sent them to the terrible and eternal sufferings of hell.  Since then, Lucifer, known today as Satan and who did not lose his gifts of intelligence and power, has ! worked non-stop to bring all human beings who despise the infinite love and mercy of God our Father into his realm.

As I said, Mr. President, you have committed numerous and very grave injustices.  Just to remind you of a few of the most emblematic cases: The unjust imprisonment of Maria de Lourdes Afiuni and of three police chiefs.  In the same way, innumerable other cases have caused great suffering to individuals and their families.

All of this can and should be repaired by your order, which I am sure would be obeyed immediately upon opening the prison doors of all political prisoners, as well as the doors of the country to those in exile who have been forced to leave their country and flee the almost certain reprisals that you would carry out against them.

Another very grave sin you have committed, Mr. President, are the expropriations or thefts, as you were clearly told by Maria Corina Machado. Carried away in your very own pride, like th! underous Jupiter you said, "Expropriate, Expropriate," without cons! idering the laws that oversee this matter, that is, without an evaluation beforehand, an agreement with the person or persons in question and a just payment for the goods expropriated.

If you want God's forgiveness, you should make reparation at once and pay the hundreds of that have been affected, whether they are individuals or institutions.

Moreover, there is another evil, Mr. President, which you have brought upon the country: Your inexplicable preaching of hatred and violence that has brought to all the cities of our country a painful river of blood that flows daily through our streets.

As a Head of State, you have the most gravest of obligations, first and foremost, to procure the peace and security of Venezuelans, beginning with all those who illegally bear arms, and to attack firmly and decisively all violent groups, after a serious study carried out by the many competent experts on this question in our country.

Unfortunately, you have ! been very weak and negligent in confronting this most serious of problems.  If you don't step up to solve this terrible evil with decisiveness and courage, God will hold you accountable for your negligence.

Mr. President, there may be other sins I should bring to your attention, but I don't want to conclude without making you see your fault in your inexplicable negligence in decisively confronting the horrific corruption that is plaguing Venezuela, so much so that many believe you are an accomplice in these matters.

This has resulted in the corruption of the majority of our judges who issue unjust rulings and the decisions taken by the most powerful officials of the State, whom you manipulate according to your own pleasure, without any control or respect for the Constitution and our laws.  God will hold you accountable for all of this, if you do not immediately correct these grave faults.

I am sending you this long letter publicly because ! I want your followers to read it as well. They too, if they wish to sav! e their souls, have the gravest of obligations to ask for God's forgiveness with the greatest sincerity of heart and to make reparation for all of the abuses and injustices that have been committed.

As you can see, my esteemed President, I have addressed you, perhaps very coarsely, but with the holiest and best of all wishes that some day we may meet each other to enjoy eternal happiness in the Kingdom of our God and Lord.

Sincerely,
Eduardo Herrera Riera
Bishop Emeritus of Carora

"As I live – oracle of the Lord GOD – I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live."  Ez 33:11



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Vatican's UN observer says Americans must defend global religious liberty

Washington D.C., Apr 19, 2012 / 06:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- American Catholics must defend authentic religious freedom around the world to prevent the threat of religious persecution at home, said the head Vatican representative to the United Nations.

"What is at stake here is the future of humanity itself," underscored Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, who serves as the Holy See's permanent observer to the U.N.

The archbishop delivered the keynote address at the eighth annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

The April 19 event drew a crowd of roughly 1000, including former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and bipartisan members of Congress.

In his address, Archbishop Chullikatt spoke of his time as apostolic nuncio to Iraq, where he saw what it meant to risk death for living out the Christian faith.

"I have seen the horrors of sec! tarian violence," he said, explaining that people he knew were arrested, tortured and even killed, suffering martyrdom for their faith.

"These are not abstract issues. These are not mere statistics," he said. "They were and are my friends, my colleagues, my neighbors."

The archbishop explained that this experience is "etched deeply" in his memory and inspires him to speak out on behalf of all those who are persecuted for living their faith.

"These martyrs of faith must not be forgotten," he said.

The past century has shown what happens when religious freedom is stifled and God is set aside, he cautioned.

"Faith in God and respect for religious freedom go hand in hand," he said. "The one who respects the existence of God will always and everywhere respect also religious freedom."

Archbishop Chullikatt said that the human person has a fundamental and "sacred" right to seek, profess and share the truth.
He emphasized that "authentic religious liberty is mo! re than just freedom of worship." It must also include, among other things, "the right to preach, educate, evangelize and participate in the political process, as well as in public life."

Noting the irreplaceable role of religion in society, he added that religious freedom is not only a moral issue, but also "a non-negotiable civil right, given by the Creator and not by the state."

He explained that government "transgresses the limits of its authority" when it fails to respect the God-given right to religious freedom by coercing people to violate their religious beliefs or prohibiting them from participating in public life.

Although religious freedom is formally recognized as a civil right in most constitutions and national documents, there are many areas of the world where it is not fully respected, the archbishop said.

He voiced concern over increasing intolerance towards religion in many parts of the world today, often directed! at Christians.

In the West, religion is treated as a destabilizing threat to modern society, he added.

Despite its strong Christian history, believers in much of Europe find themselves marginalized, impeded and discriminated against, as secular forces attempt to remove the voice of religion from society, he explained.

Archbishop Chullikatt warned that although the West has not yet reached a level of violent persecution and oppression, "it is from this marginalization and denial of religious freedom" that such violence is born.

Constant vigilance is necessary, he said, stressing that Americans cannot assume that liberty will always be secure at home and atrocities can only happen in other countries. 

Catholic bishops across America have warned that a domestic erosion of religious liberty has already begun, manifest in part by a federal health insurance mandate that will require religious individuals and institutions to violate! Church teaching by offering contraception, sterilization and abortion-! inducing drugs.   

The archbishop urged Catholics to speak up for the religious freedom of their spiritual brothers and sisters around the world.

He explained that "by defending their rights, we shall be defending our own rights."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Vatican announces reform of US women's religious conference

Washington D.C., Apr 18, 2012 / 01:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican called for reform amid a doctrinal "crisis" within the U.S.'s Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), appointing Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to lead renewal efforts.

The appointment was made as the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith revealed the findings of its multi-year doctrinal assessment of the women's conference, which has more than 1,500 members throughout the country.

The assessment document explained, "it is clear that greater emphasis needs to be placed both on the relationship of the LCWR with the Conference of Bishops, and on the need to provide a sound doctrinal foundation in the faith of the Church."

Initiated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2008, the assessment was carried out by Bishop Leonard P. Blair of Toledo, Ohio, a member of the U.S. bis! hops' doctrine committee.

Among the key findings of the assessment were serious theological and doctrinal errors in presentations at the conference's annual assemblies in recent years.

Several of the addresses depicted a vision of religious life that is incompatible with the faith of the Church, the assessment said. Some attempted to justify dissent from Church doctrine and showed "scant regard for the role of the Magisterium."

The document cited one address about religious sisters "moving beyond the Church" and even beyond Jesus. Such positions – which constitute "a rejection of faith" and "serious source of scandal" – often go unchallenged by the LCWR, it said.

It also noted a lack of sufficient doctrinal formation in material prepared for new superiors and formators, which may be reinforcing confusion on Church doctrine.

Furthermore, it voiced concerns about "certain radical feminist themes incompatible wi! th the Catholic faith" that were prevalent in some programs ! and presentations sponsored by the conference, and risked distorting Church teaching on the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity, the Eucharist and the inspiration of Sacred Scripture.

The assessment observed that letters from LCWR officers have suggested dissent from Church teaching on human sexuality and protested the Holy See's actions on women's ordination and ministry to homosexual persons.

It also said that while the women's religious group has been a strong advocate of social justice issues, it has remained silent on the right to life from conception to natural death, a prominent topic in the U.S. public debate surrounding abortion and euthanasia. 

To address these "serious doctrinal problems," Archbishop Sartain has been mandated for up to five years to work with LCWR leadership in renewal efforts.

The archbishop will report regularly to the Holy See and will be aided by Bishop Blair and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki! of Springfield, along with an advisory group including clergy, religious women and other experts.

Archbishop Sartain will work with the conference to revise its statues, which will be submitted for approval by the Holy See, and to review its links to affiliated organizations.

Future speakers and presentations at major programs and assemblies will be subject to the approval of the archbishop, who will also work to create new formation programs to provide a deeper understanding of Church teaching.

In addition, Archbishop Sartain will "review and offer guidance" in the application of liturgical norms and texts," ensuring, for example, that the Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours are given proper priority in LCWR events.

Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the findings of the doctrinal assessment are aimed at "fostering a patient and collaborative renewal of this conference of m! ajor superiors."

He expressed hope that the new measures will ! help "provide a stronger doctrinal foundation" for LCWR's "many laudable initiatives and activities."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Catholics defend Spanish bishop over gay lifestyle criticism

Madrid, Spain, Apr 18, 2012 / 04:04 pm (CNA).- An international group of Catholic doctors voiced support for a Spanish bishop who has come under media fire for criticizing destructive behaviors within the local gay community.

"Catholic doctors profoundly respect persons with homosexual traits," but "do not support the practice of homosexuality," said the International Federation of Catholic Doctors Associations in an April 17 statement siding with the bishop.

Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla of Alcala de Henares has faced intense criticism after remarks given in a Good Friday sermon in which he condemned sexual practices he believes to be harmful.

As part of a larger cultural critique of sexual behavior in modern society, he lamented how some with same-sex attraction "corrupt and prostitute themselves or go to gay night clubs" in order to "validate" their struggle.

"I ! assure you what they encounter is pure hell," he said on April 6.

Despite outcry from local politicians and some within Spain's gay community over the bishop's homily, the Catholic federation supported his remarks as a valid insight. They pointed out the broader issues Bishop Reig Pla brought up such as the scourge of sex trafficking in Europe and controversial sex-ed programs aimed at young children.

"Catholic doctors profoundly lament the failure of modern states and of public international institution to combat 'sexual tourism,' involving adults or children," the association said in its statement.

They also joined the bishop in denouncing "the contents of some textbooks," especially those used in Spain's recently axed Education for the Citizenry course, which encouraged children "to 'explore' all areas of sexuality."

"We are right in every way to consider these lessons perverse," the doctors said, "And Bishop Reig is right! in every way to condemn these and other abuses of the human b! eing."



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Bishops should follow St. Peter's example even to death

Vatican City, Apr 18, 2012 / 08:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of San Jose, Calif. said that St. Peter's example of following Jesus even to death should inspire present day bishops to do the same.

"The question we need to ask, it seems to me, is this – Domini quo Vadis? Lord, where do you go? And Jesus answers, and he always does, that even in spite of ourselves we need to follow where he is leading," said Bishop McGrath at morning Mass at St. Peter's tomb in Rome.    

He was joined by his fellow bishops from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah who are in Rome this week, April 16 – 21, for their "ad limina" pilgrimage to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul.

He recalled the traditional story of St. Peter fleeing the persecution of the early Church in Rome only to meet a vision of Christ travelling in the opposite direction.

"H! e asked Jesus, 'Domini, quo Vadis?' or 'Lord, where do you go?' Jesus answered 'I go to be crucified again,'" explained Bishop McGrath. "After the vision Peter understood the message and he stayed here in this city and continued Christ's ministry."

Bishop McGrath said that St. Peter found his courage to follow Christ because he was "truly overcome by the joy of the resurrection." This was the "the joy that fueled him on his journey to follow Christ" and "it must also fuel you and I today," he told the bishops.

This is why St. Peter who was "a simple fisherman" was empowered to live "a life of faith and, yes, doubt" and "in the end followed Christ's call even to his death."

This week's "ad limina" visit also gives bishops an opportunity to discuss the health of their diocese with various Vatican departments.

Following Mass this morning the episcopal delegation held a series of meetings the Congreg! ation for Catholic Education, the Congregation for Divine Wors! hip and the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization. This evening they will attend a reception at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post

Sacrifice of Titanic's Catholic priests recalled on 100th anniversary

Denver, Colo., Apr 17, 2012 / 03:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Three Catholic priests, including one hailed by Pope Saint Pius X as a martyr for the faith, were among the victims of the Titanic disaster remembered during its 100th anniversary on April 14-15.

All three of the European-born priests – Father Juozas Montvila of Lithuania, Father Josef Peruschitz, O.S.B. of Bavaria, and English rector Father Thomas Byles – are said to have declined lifeboats in order to offer spiritual aid to travelers who perished in the shipwreck, which claimed 1503 lives.

An eyewitness account of the 1912 sinking, published in the Jesuit journal "America," described how "all the Catholics on board desired the assistance of priests with the greatest fervor."

The priests led passengers in recitation of the Rosary, and "aroused those condemned to die to say acts of contrition and prepare themselves to me! et the face of God." According to the eyewitness, they were "engaged continuously giving general absolution to those who were about to die."

Fr. Byles and Fr. Peruschitz had offered Mass on the morning of Sunday, April 14, only hours before the supposedly "unsinkable" ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

Prior to the crash, both men had preached sermons on humanity's need for the spiritual "lifeboat" offered by Jesus Christ amid the dangers of the world.

Born in Yorkshire, England during 1870, Fr. Byles converted to Catholicism from Anglicanism in 1894. He ministered to Catholics on the Titanic while traveling to the U.S. for the wedding of his brother, who had also entered the Church.

After Fr. Byles' death in the shipwreck, St. Pius X reportedly described him as a "martyr." A plaque at his onetime parish recalls his "heroic death in the disaster," after "earnestly devoting his last moments to the religious co! nsolation of his fellow passengers."

Fr. Peruschitz ! was also described by eyewitnesses as declining a place on the lifeboats. The Bavarian priest-monk, born in 1871, was traveling on the Titanic to take up his new position as principal of a Benedictine high school in Minnesota.

His body, like those of the other two priests, was not recovered. A memorial at his onetime monastery in Bavaria reads: "May Joseph Peruschitz rest in peace, who on the ship Titanic piously sacrificed himself."

The youngest of the three priests, Fr. Juozas Montvila, was born in 1885. Ordained in 1908, he secretly ministered to Eastern Catholics in Lithuania, whose faith had been outlawed by authorities of the Russian Empire.

Under government pressure, Fr. Montvila was forced to leave the country in order to continue his priestly ministry. He boarded the Titanic in Southhampton, England, with the intention of emigrating to the U.S.

Reports from the sinking ship recounted how the Byzantine-rite priest "served his cal! ling to the very end." Since then, there have been efforts toward his canonization.



Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post