Vatican City, Jul 31, 2012 / 02:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With exactly one year to go until the 28th World Youth Day begins in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Benedict XVI is praying this August that young people will engage in evangelization.
“That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth,” the official Vatican statement from July 31 says.
Pope Benedict’s mission prayer intention echoes almost exactly the theme for next year’s event in Brazil, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
It also comes only days after he used his traditional Sunday Angelus address to send his best wishes to those organizing the six-day international festival, which will take place July 23-28, 2013.
“It is a valuable opportunity for many young people to experience the joy and beauty of belonging to the Church and living the faith,” the Pope said at the July 29 Angelus gathering.
Rio de Janeiro will be Pope Benedict’s fourth World Youth Day since being elected pontiff seven years ago. The international assembly will follow successful events in Cologne in 2005, Sydney in 2008 and Madrid in 2011. It will also be the first World Youth Day to be hosted by a South American country since the event convened in Buenos Aires in 1987.
At present, over 2 million pilgrims are expected to make the journey to Brazil next year.
“I look forward to this event and would like to encourage and thank the organizers, especially the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, working diligently to prepare the reception of young people from around the world take part in this important ecclesial meeting,” the Pope added at the Angelus remarks.
Encounters between the 85-year-old Pope and young people have been a constant feature of his 23 apostolic visits outside of Italy. His message has always been constant and challenging – true happiness is to be found in following Jesus Christ.
“God wants us to be happy always. He knows us and he loves us,” he told young people in the Mexican city of Guanajuato during his last foreign visit, which was to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012.
“If we allow the love of Christ to change our heart, then we can change the world. This is the secret of authentic happiness.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
LA to host massive Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration
Los Angeles, Calif., Jul 31, 2012 / 03:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Over 100,000 Catholics will gather at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 5 to celebrate and honor Our Lady of Guadalupe in a city where the image of the Virgin is everywhere.
Andrew Walther, vice president of media and communications for the Knights of Columbus, said the free event is “a celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her role as the mother of all Catholics in America.”
The Knights of Columbus are co-sponsoring the Guadalupe Celebration this Sunday with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Walther told CNA on July 31 that Los Angeles is “an incredibly important city” for devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“This is going to be one of the largest Catholic celebrations ever in the U.S. It’s going to be certainly one of the largest Catholic celebrations in Los Angeles in a generation.”
Event speakers include Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus and Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, postulator of St. Juan Diego’s cause for canonization.
The Guadalupe Celebration will also display the Relic of the Tilma of St. Juan Diego, a small piece of the cloak on which the image of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in 16th century Mexico. The Archdiocese of Mexico gave the relic to Archbishop John Cantwell of Los Angeles in 1941. It is the only relic of the tilma in the U.S.
Walther said it is hard to avoid pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Los Angeles, in churches and in secular life.
“She’s ubiquitous,” he said. “She’s on the walls of markets. She’s on T-shirts. She’s on car windows. She is, in a very visible way, present in Los Angeles.”
Organizers hope the Guadalupe Celebration will be “a really visible testament to the unity of Catholics in California,” Walther continued.
“It’s going to be a real testament to the love that Catholics have for Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s going to be a real testament to the unifying force that is Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s going to be a really good example of the vibrancy of the Catholic Church.”
In addition, the celebration will host international performers like Eurovision winner Dana Scallon and Mariachi artist and actor Pedro Fernandez. The event will also feature retired Major League Baseball catcher Mike Piazza, “Braveheart” producer Steve McEveety, actor Eduardo Verastegui and film director Alejandro Monteverde.
Walther said Our Lady of Guadalupe is “very important” to the Knights of Columbus in her role as Patroness of the Americas.
The first Knights of Columbus council in Los Angeles was named for her. Supreme Knight Carl Anderson co-authored a book on her titled “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love.”
The Catholic fraternal and charitable order co-sponsored the Tilma relic’s 2003 tour around the U.S. The knights’ first International Marian Congress, held in Arizona in 2009, included a Guadalupe Festival that drew 22,000 people.
While Mexicans and other Hispanics are particularly devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Walther said the relic tour showed her broad appeal.
“People expected that we would have only Hispanic crowds,” he said. “The fact was, everybody came out for Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
He explained that Catholics honor the Virgin Mary because they understand that when Jesus Christ on the cross presented his mother to the Apostle John to serve as his own mother, “that was something he was doing for all of us.”
“We all have a mother in Mary,” he said, adding that those in the Americas have a particular mother in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Mary is a very important figure for us in terms of having a spiritual mother who all of us have in common,” said Walther.
He said the Guadalupe Celebration venue should be “very full.” Attendees should arrive early because seating is “first come, first serve.”
More information can be found at: http://www.guadalupecelebration.com.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Andrew Walther, vice president of media and communications for the Knights of Columbus, said the free event is “a celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her role as the mother of all Catholics in America.”
The Knights of Columbus are co-sponsoring the Guadalupe Celebration this Sunday with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Walther told CNA on July 31 that Los Angeles is “an incredibly important city” for devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“This is going to be one of the largest Catholic celebrations ever in the U.S. It’s going to be certainly one of the largest Catholic celebrations in Los Angeles in a generation.”
Event speakers include Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus and Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, postulator of St. Juan Diego’s cause for canonization.
The Guadalupe Celebration will also display the Relic of the Tilma of St. Juan Diego, a small piece of the cloak on which the image of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in 16th century Mexico. The Archdiocese of Mexico gave the relic to Archbishop John Cantwell of Los Angeles in 1941. It is the only relic of the tilma in the U.S.
Walther said it is hard to avoid pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Los Angeles, in churches and in secular life.
“She’s ubiquitous,” he said. “She’s on the walls of markets. She’s on T-shirts. She’s on car windows. She is, in a very visible way, present in Los Angeles.”
Organizers hope the Guadalupe Celebration will be “a really visible testament to the unity of Catholics in California,” Walther continued.
“It’s going to be a real testament to the love that Catholics have for Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s going to be a real testament to the unifying force that is Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s going to be a really good example of the vibrancy of the Catholic Church.”
In addition, the celebration will host international performers like Eurovision winner Dana Scallon and Mariachi artist and actor Pedro Fernandez. The event will also feature retired Major League Baseball catcher Mike Piazza, “Braveheart” producer Steve McEveety, actor Eduardo Verastegui and film director Alejandro Monteverde.
Walther said Our Lady of Guadalupe is “very important” to the Knights of Columbus in her role as Patroness of the Americas.
The first Knights of Columbus council in Los Angeles was named for her. Supreme Knight Carl Anderson co-authored a book on her titled “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love.”
The Catholic fraternal and charitable order co-sponsored the Tilma relic’s 2003 tour around the U.S. The knights’ first International Marian Congress, held in Arizona in 2009, included a Guadalupe Festival that drew 22,000 people.
While Mexicans and other Hispanics are particularly devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Walther said the relic tour showed her broad appeal.
“People expected that we would have only Hispanic crowds,” he said. “The fact was, everybody came out for Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
He explained that Catholics honor the Virgin Mary because they understand that when Jesus Christ on the cross presented his mother to the Apostle John to serve as his own mother, “that was something he was doing for all of us.”
“We all have a mother in Mary,” he said, adding that those in the Americas have a particular mother in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Mary is a very important figure for us in terms of having a spiritual mother who all of us have in common,” said Walther.
He said the Guadalupe Celebration venue should be “very full.” Attendees should arrive early because seating is “first come, first serve.”
More information can be found at: http://www.guadalupecelebration.com.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Switzerland approves controversial pre-natal test for Down's Syndrome
Bern, Switzerland, Jul 31, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- The government of Switzerland has sparked controversy by legalizing a new prenatal test that detects the presence of Down’s Syndrome – a move that could lead to an increase of abortions in the country.
Called “Prenatest,” the procedure will be made available in the country starting in August, according to Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag. It uses blood samples from the mother to detect the presence of Trisomy 21 or Down’s Syndrome in her unborn child.
The German company LifeCodexx, which developed the test, calls it a “safe alternative to traditional invasive methods.”
According to data from the United Nations, each year between three and five thousand children are born with Down’s Syndrome throughout the world.
In a June interview, Spain-based physician Dr. Esteban Rodriguez Martin told CNA that prenatal tests for Down’s Syndrome result “in abortion in more than 85 percent of the babies who have the condition in the countries where unborn human life does not enjoy legal protection.”
Martin said that in countries like Spain, as soon as Down’s Syndrome is detected, the parents are informed “so they can decide whether or not to request an abortion, which would be performed in a public health care facility.”
In response, Martin said there are numerous foundations in Spain working to gain traction across Europe in raising awareness on the dignity of those suffering from Down’s Syndrome.
“In Spain, through Right to Life and HazteOir, we hope that the new regulations on abortion announced by the Mariano Rajoy administration will protect the lives of those who might be born with a handicap and penalize those practices intended to facilitate their intentional destruction.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Called “Prenatest,” the procedure will be made available in the country starting in August, according to Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag. It uses blood samples from the mother to detect the presence of Trisomy 21 or Down’s Syndrome in her unborn child.
The German company LifeCodexx, which developed the test, calls it a “safe alternative to traditional invasive methods.”
According to data from the United Nations, each year between three and five thousand children are born with Down’s Syndrome throughout the world.
In a June interview, Spain-based physician Dr. Esteban Rodriguez Martin told CNA that prenatal tests for Down’s Syndrome result “in abortion in more than 85 percent of the babies who have the condition in the countries where unborn human life does not enjoy legal protection.”
Martin said that in countries like Spain, as soon as Down’s Syndrome is detected, the parents are informed “so they can decide whether or not to request an abortion, which would be performed in a public health care facility.”
In response, Martin said there are numerous foundations in Spain working to gain traction across Europe in raising awareness on the dignity of those suffering from Down’s Syndrome.
“In Spain, through Right to Life and HazteOir, we hope that the new regulations on abortion announced by the Mariano Rajoy administration will protect the lives of those who might be born with a handicap and penalize those practices intended to facilitate their intentional destruction.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Monday, July 30, 2012
Law reuniting immigrant families gains support from US bishops
Washington D.C., Jul 30, 2012 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- The U.S. bishops have joined more than 130 organizations urging legislation to help reunite children who have been separated from family members due to immigration measures against their parents.
The Help Separated Families Act will help improve the chances that “children placed in the child welfare system as a result of immigration enforcement actions against their parents can ultimately reunify” with their family members, the groups said.
In a July 23 letter to members of Congress, they argued that the bill plays a “critical” role in ensuring that “child welfare practice upholds the principles of child well-being and family unity.”
Signatories of the letter included national and state-level organizations such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, National Alliance for Immigration Reform, Texans United for Families and DREAM Activist California.
The organizations voiced support for the Help Separated Families Act of 2012, which was introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.).
The bill would forbid immigration status alone from being a factor in decisions about child placement. It would prohibit questions about caregivers' immigration status, except for purposes of eligibility for relevant services and programs.
In addition, the proposed legislation would ensure that certain forms of foreign identification are adequate for a background check.
It would also provide for waivers of certain requirements that that would otherwise stop children from being placed with a relative due to a minor legal infraction.
Furthermore, the bill would prohibit child welfare agencies from filing for termination of parental rights in most cases when a parent's immigration proceedings are the main reason for the child being in foster care.
Signers of the July 23 letter argued that the Help Separated Families Act is a step forward in overcoming several significant “barriers to reunification.”
“The statistics clearly demonstrate that immigration enforcement activities are tearing families apart, sometimes permanently,” they said.
They pointed to reports by the Department of Homeland Security that over 46,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were removed from the U.S. during the first six months of 2011.
In addition, a report by the Applied Research Center indicates that about 5,100 children are currently in the child welfare system because of their parents' detention or removal.
“When a child enters the child welfare system, reunification efforts are often complicated by disconnects between the immigration system and state child welfare systems,” the signatories explained.
Although it is considered ideal to place children separated from their parents with other family members, many child welfare agencies will not place children with undocumented relatives, even if they are otherwise qualified to be caregivers, they said.
Furthermore, they observed, parents who are detained or removed for immigration reasons sometimes experience an “inappropriate termination of their parental rights” because they are not able to participate in family court hearings or meet case plan requirements.
To address these problems, the signers of the letter urged members of Congress to support the Help Separated Families Act.
Doing so, they said, will help to ensure that immigration enforcement policies do not leave children “permanently and unnecessarily torn apart from their parents or other family members.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
The Help Separated Families Act will help improve the chances that “children placed in the child welfare system as a result of immigration enforcement actions against their parents can ultimately reunify” with their family members, the groups said.
In a July 23 letter to members of Congress, they argued that the bill plays a “critical” role in ensuring that “child welfare practice upholds the principles of child well-being and family unity.”
Signatories of the letter included national and state-level organizations such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, National Alliance for Immigration Reform, Texans United for Families and DREAM Activist California.
The organizations voiced support for the Help Separated Families Act of 2012, which was introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.).
The bill would forbid immigration status alone from being a factor in decisions about child placement. It would prohibit questions about caregivers' immigration status, except for purposes of eligibility for relevant services and programs.
In addition, the proposed legislation would ensure that certain forms of foreign identification are adequate for a background check.
It would also provide for waivers of certain requirements that that would otherwise stop children from being placed with a relative due to a minor legal infraction.
Furthermore, the bill would prohibit child welfare agencies from filing for termination of parental rights in most cases when a parent's immigration proceedings are the main reason for the child being in foster care.
Signers of the July 23 letter argued that the Help Separated Families Act is a step forward in overcoming several significant “barriers to reunification.”
“The statistics clearly demonstrate that immigration enforcement activities are tearing families apart, sometimes permanently,” they said.
They pointed to reports by the Department of Homeland Security that over 46,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were removed from the U.S. during the first six months of 2011.
In addition, a report by the Applied Research Center indicates that about 5,100 children are currently in the child welfare system because of their parents' detention or removal.
“When a child enters the child welfare system, reunification efforts are often complicated by disconnects between the immigration system and state child welfare systems,” the signatories explained.
Although it is considered ideal to place children separated from their parents with other family members, many child welfare agencies will not place children with undocumented relatives, even if they are otherwise qualified to be caregivers, they said.
Furthermore, they observed, parents who are detained or removed for immigration reasons sometimes experience an “inappropriate termination of their parental rights” because they are not able to participate in family court hearings or meet case plan requirements.
To address these problems, the signers of the letter urged members of Congress to support the Help Separated Families Act.
Doing so, they said, will help to ensure that immigration enforcement policies do not leave children “permanently and unnecessarily torn apart from their parents or other family members.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Pakistan Church says Asia Bibi must be defended cautiously
Rome, Italy, Jul 30, 2012 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church in Pakistan said that all of the efforts to prevent the execution of Catholic mother Asia Bibi requires prudence on the part of her defenders.
According to Gaudium Press, the director of the National Committee on Justice and Peace of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, Father Emannuel Yousaf Mani, said the concern about the international campaigns to help Bibi is understandable.
“But the life of this woman is very important to us, and we will do nothing to endanger her life...We should wait in silence for the Court to hear her appeal.”
Bibi's case gained worldwide attention in 2010 when she was condemned to death for allegedly violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which state that anyone who offends Islam will be hanged. Critics say the country's blasphemy laws are often unjust and have become a tool for abusing religious minorities as well as vengeance between Muslims.
Bibi is still awaiting a ruling on the appeal of her death sentence and has been moved to an isolated cell without any windows, sink or toilet because of Muslim threats against her life.
Fr. Yousaf said that caution on the part of the Church in Pakistan arises from concerns that those who “pressured for an indult in favor of Bibi ended up being killed by Muslim extremists.”
A “pardon amidst a climate of contentious public opinion,” he added, “would not necessarily save the lives of Asia Bibi and her family.”
Muslim Governor Salman Taseer was the first to lose his life for his support of Asia Bibi when he was gunned down in 2011 by a member of his own security detail, who afterwards said he was proud that he had killed him because of his comments criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
That same year, a group of extremists killed the only Catholic in the Pakistani government, Shabaz Bhatti, who was the Minister of Affairs for Minorities and who opposed the law on blasphemy and spoke out publicly in defense of Bibi.
Lastly, Anne-Isabelle Tollet, the journalist and author of the book, “Get Me Out of Here,” which recounts the personal drama of Asia Bibi, said all the members of Bibi’s family “are under death threats and live in hiding, moving frequently and unable to work.
The children miss their mother very much and they have stopped going to school out of safety concerns. The youngest child is only nine years old.”
Asia Bibi is currently in solitary confinement due to the threats she receives from other inmates. One Muslim cleric named Peshawar has offered 5000 Euros to the person who kills her.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
According to Gaudium Press, the director of the National Committee on Justice and Peace of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, Father Emannuel Yousaf Mani, said the concern about the international campaigns to help Bibi is understandable.
“But the life of this woman is very important to us, and we will do nothing to endanger her life...We should wait in silence for the Court to hear her appeal.”
Bibi's case gained worldwide attention in 2010 when she was condemned to death for allegedly violating Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which state that anyone who offends Islam will be hanged. Critics say the country's blasphemy laws are often unjust and have become a tool for abusing religious minorities as well as vengeance between Muslims.
Bibi is still awaiting a ruling on the appeal of her death sentence and has been moved to an isolated cell without any windows, sink or toilet because of Muslim threats against her life.
Fr. Yousaf said that caution on the part of the Church in Pakistan arises from concerns that those who “pressured for an indult in favor of Bibi ended up being killed by Muslim extremists.”
A “pardon amidst a climate of contentious public opinion,” he added, “would not necessarily save the lives of Asia Bibi and her family.”
Muslim Governor Salman Taseer was the first to lose his life for his support of Asia Bibi when he was gunned down in 2011 by a member of his own security detail, who afterwards said he was proud that he had killed him because of his comments criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
That same year, a group of extremists killed the only Catholic in the Pakistani government, Shabaz Bhatti, who was the Minister of Affairs for Minorities and who opposed the law on blasphemy and spoke out publicly in defense of Bibi.
Lastly, Anne-Isabelle Tollet, the journalist and author of the book, “Get Me Out of Here,” which recounts the personal drama of Asia Bibi, said all the members of Bibi’s family “are under death threats and live in hiding, moving frequently and unable to work.
The children miss their mother very much and they have stopped going to school out of safety concerns. The youngest child is only nine years old.”
Asia Bibi is currently in solitary confinement due to the threats she receives from other inmates. One Muslim cleric named Peshawar has offered 5000 Euros to the person who kills her.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Vatican daily slams 'confused' Gates Foundation policies
Vatican City, Jul 30, 2012 / 08:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano has published an article sharply criticizing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for securing $4.6 billion dollars over the next eight years to promote contraceptives, starting in Africa.
In her July 29 front-page story, reporter Giulia Galeotti said Melinda Gates, who self-identifies as Catholic, “has gone astray.”
Gates, the wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, helped organize a July 11 summit to garner funding pledges for family planning in Africa and southeast Asia. Summit attendees included African heads of state and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a video for the event, whose NGO partners include abortion providers like the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International.
In her article, Galeotti argued that in her attempts to push contraception in developing countries, Gates “is confused by a misinformation and by issues that persist in this area.”
“To still believe in a Catholic Church that, through opposition to the condom, allows women and children to die because of misogynous intransigence is an unfounded and offensive interpretation,” she underscored.
Galeotti noted that “as Paul VI wrote in Humanae Vitae (perhaps the most notorious victim of this kind of false information), the Church is in favor of the natural regulation of fertility, that is, the methods based on the interpretation of the body’s signs and indicators.”
She pointed to the research of the Australian couple, John and Evelyn Billings, who discovered the natural method knowing as the Billings Ovulation Method.
“It allows women to determine whether or not they are fertile, and based on this determination they can choose their sexual behavior,” she said.
Galeotti noted that the Chinese government has promoted the Billings Method with great success in its search to find a method that is free and does not endanger the health of women.
She rejected the skepticism towards the Billings Method – which has a 98 percent accuracy rate – by those who claim it is unscientific or naïve, adding that baseless accusations are probably not spread by coincidence. Galoetti noted that the method is easy to learn and practice, even by people who are illiterate, and does not require help from third parties.
Another “inconvenient” fact about it is that is completely free and thus deprives the pharmaceutical industry of profits from chemical contraceptives.
Although every foundation is free to donate to whatever cause it wishes, it is not free “to persist in misinformation and present things in a false way,” Galeotti said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In her July 29 front-page story, reporter Giulia Galeotti said Melinda Gates, who self-identifies as Catholic, “has gone astray.”
Gates, the wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, helped organize a July 11 summit to garner funding pledges for family planning in Africa and southeast Asia. Summit attendees included African heads of state and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a video for the event, whose NGO partners include abortion providers like the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International.
In her article, Galeotti argued that in her attempts to push contraception in developing countries, Gates “is confused by a misinformation and by issues that persist in this area.”
“To still believe in a Catholic Church that, through opposition to the condom, allows women and children to die because of misogynous intransigence is an unfounded and offensive interpretation,” she underscored.
Galeotti noted that “as Paul VI wrote in Humanae Vitae (perhaps the most notorious victim of this kind of false information), the Church is in favor of the natural regulation of fertility, that is, the methods based on the interpretation of the body’s signs and indicators.”
She pointed to the research of the Australian couple, John and Evelyn Billings, who discovered the natural method knowing as the Billings Ovulation Method.
“It allows women to determine whether or not they are fertile, and based on this determination they can choose their sexual behavior,” she said.
Galeotti noted that the Chinese government has promoted the Billings Method with great success in its search to find a method that is free and does not endanger the health of women.
She rejected the skepticism towards the Billings Method – which has a 98 percent accuracy rate – by those who claim it is unscientific or naïve, adding that baseless accusations are probably not spread by coincidence. Galoetti noted that the method is easy to learn and practice, even by people who are illiterate, and does not require help from third parties.
Another “inconvenient” fact about it is that is completely free and thus deprives the pharmaceutical industry of profits from chemical contraceptives.
Although every foundation is free to donate to whatever cause it wishes, it is not free “to persist in misinformation and present things in a false way,” Galeotti said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Following conscience is a duty
Worcester, Mass., Jul 29, 2012 / 01:00 pm (CNA).-
“I’m not Catholic, so this doesn’t apply to me.”
Some respond thus to the government’s mandate that employers pay for health insurance that covers contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs.
The Health and Human Services Department mandate is part of the 2010 health care reform law, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that this law is an acceptable exercise of Congress’ taxing powers.
But Catholics are not saying that paying for contraception is bad for Catholics; they’re saying it’s bad for society, according to Christopher Klofft, assistant professor of theology at Assumption College.
He cautioned against getting into arguments about this issue, urged charity if one does, and offered reasons for hope.
He spoke about “What it means to be Catholic and American” at the diocese’s closing of the Fortnight for Freedom Monday at St. Stephen’s Church. Bishop McManus and several priests celebrated Mass there, assisted by several deacons.
The June 21-July 4 Fortnight was a campaign supporting religious liberty, which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for, partly in response to the HHS mandate that would force Catholic agencies to pay for procedures and drugs they oppose. Limits on Church service to immigrants is another concern.
In his homily Bishop McManus recalled Pope John Paul II warning about threats to religious liberty in the United States 20 years ago. Improper responses are recoiling in fear or reacting in anger, he said. Prayer is the ultimate source of strength; with God, all is possible.
St. Paul, the diocese’s patron, said everything works for good for those who love God and urged Christians to live according to what they’ve learned, the bishop said. He said Catholics have learned from their faith that everyone is made in God’s image, and civil authority has no ability to diminish their freedom.
Faith without works is dead, Bishop McManus said. Christians are called to serve, especially the most vulnerable – the unborn, the immigrant, the poor and unemployed – and will be judged on this.
He said Catholics have stood together to counter threats to their freedom, and this is not about one political party, but about the moral fabric of society.
Risking one person’s freedom risks everyone’s freedom, he said. He said they want to be able to say America is a place where there is “liberty and justice for all.”
“All persons have a right to basic health care,” Professor Klofft said in his talk. But the issue here is freedom of conscience.
“What we stand up for is the Truth,” the way the world really is, he said.
He used ideas from “The Sources of Christian Ethics,” by Servais Pinckaers.
Some might say: “I am free to do whatever I want to do,” but that is “a freedom of indifference” that doesn’t care about others or oneself, Professor Klofft said. In contrast, Pinckaers writes about “the freedom for excellence.”
“You can either accept God’s will for your life, or you can not accept God’s will for your life,” Professor Klofft said. “Are we faithful to the call” to relationship with God?
One’s choices in life should work toward answering the question: “What is it I am called to do to be a human being? … When we sin we choose not to live the way God has called us to live. It’s like sitting on a tree branch and sawing off the branch.”
Professor Klofft, using Pinckaers, spoke of forming a character that continues to make good decisions, likening this to learning to play a musical instrument.
At first, one might practice because one’s parents insist on it. Later, one might be encouraged to continue because of praise. Later, one might play for the beauty of the music. So too, people might do right to avoid punishment, reach a point where they are praised for being responsible, and later act as they do because “if I was to not do this, I would not be who I am.”
“In Catholic moral theology your conscience must be followed,” Professor Klofft said, referring to Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1776-1802. “Our conscience is the very life of the Spirit” indwelling in us.
How does one develop this?
“We make the conscious, willed decision to make good choices.”
“Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions,” the catechism says in section 1782. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.”
Professor Klofft spoke of people saying, “The Church nowadays is so obsessed with authority.”
His response?
“Our shepherds are to help us be the best human beings we can be. Thank God I don’t have to figure all this out myself.”
Listeners applauded.
“Can a Catholic disagree with Church teaching?” he asked.
“No!” responded a listener.
People choose to be American first and “fit our Catholic beliefs” into that, Professor Klofft said. But how can one be a good American without a relationship with God, which makes people good human beings, who are needed to form a good state. He said people must stand for truth, human rights and freedom for excellence.
He said he believes there is reason for confidence and spoke of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which may be used to challenge the mandate. People must have conversations about this, he said.
“This is not about winning arguments,” however, he said. “Don’t ever start a conversation over the internet and expect it to reach a fruitful” conclusion.
He suggested asking something like, “Why are you opposed to me having my conscience protected?” Catholics tend to go on the defensive, he said, and urged, “Control the conversation if you’re going to have the conversation.” He also offered Jesus’ advice: “Do not cast your pearls before swine.”
“Always remember to conduct yourselves with charity,” Professor Klofft urged, saying people will win more hearts with love than with “intellectual bullying.” Listeners applauded.
“God has already won; it was won on the cross,” he said, and urged listeners to show others the reason for their hope.
“I like his reasonable thinking,” John Martin, of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough, said of Professor Klofft.
“Chris’ advice was just so good,” said Herman Millet, also from St. Luke’s. “Rather than be confrontational, we should just ask a question.”
“I thought the presentation was very good,” said Frances E. Pike, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for the Worcester Diocese. “We really have to get people out to pray and stand up for what we believe in. The reason we … take care of the poor is because of our Catholic faith.
And we pray every day. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a spiritual ministry. I think that each one of us has a personal responsibility to see their friends and neighbors are getting the care they need.”
Speaking about the Supreme Court decision, Rose Thoman said: “I was heart-broken; I cried; I could relate it to Roe v. Wade. I’ve worked in the pro-life movement for 40 years.” A member of St. John, the Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton, she worships at St. Benedict Abbey in Still River.
The decision will degrade society as “abortion destroyed morality among our young,” and the mandate could lead to killing the elderly, she said.
What solution does she see?
“That’s what I’m worried about,” she said. “I don’t see it happening under this administration. Our only hope is to replace our president with someone who will overturn the Supreme Court decision. That’s what Romney promised.”
Speaking of President Barack Obama, running for re-election against Mitt Romney, she said, “He’s holding the life of every person in his hands through this Obamacare,” and people don’t recognize its power.
Editor’s Note: Bishop McManus’ homily from this Mass can be heard and seen on the homepage of the diocesan website, www.worcesterdiocese.org.
Posted with permission from the Catholic Free Press. Official newspaper for the diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“I’m not Catholic, so this doesn’t apply to me.”
Some respond thus to the government’s mandate that employers pay for health insurance that covers contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs.
The Health and Human Services Department mandate is part of the 2010 health care reform law, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that this law is an acceptable exercise of Congress’ taxing powers.
But Catholics are not saying that paying for contraception is bad for Catholics; they’re saying it’s bad for society, according to Christopher Klofft, assistant professor of theology at Assumption College.
He cautioned against getting into arguments about this issue, urged charity if one does, and offered reasons for hope.
He spoke about “What it means to be Catholic and American” at the diocese’s closing of the Fortnight for Freedom Monday at St. Stephen’s Church. Bishop McManus and several priests celebrated Mass there, assisted by several deacons.
The June 21-July 4 Fortnight was a campaign supporting religious liberty, which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for, partly in response to the HHS mandate that would force Catholic agencies to pay for procedures and drugs they oppose. Limits on Church service to immigrants is another concern.
In his homily Bishop McManus recalled Pope John Paul II warning about threats to religious liberty in the United States 20 years ago. Improper responses are recoiling in fear or reacting in anger, he said. Prayer is the ultimate source of strength; with God, all is possible.
St. Paul, the diocese’s patron, said everything works for good for those who love God and urged Christians to live according to what they’ve learned, the bishop said. He said Catholics have learned from their faith that everyone is made in God’s image, and civil authority has no ability to diminish their freedom.
Faith without works is dead, Bishop McManus said. Christians are called to serve, especially the most vulnerable – the unborn, the immigrant, the poor and unemployed – and will be judged on this.
He said Catholics have stood together to counter threats to their freedom, and this is not about one political party, but about the moral fabric of society.
Risking one person’s freedom risks everyone’s freedom, he said. He said they want to be able to say America is a place where there is “liberty and justice for all.”
“All persons have a right to basic health care,” Professor Klofft said in his talk. But the issue here is freedom of conscience.
“What we stand up for is the Truth,” the way the world really is, he said.
He used ideas from “The Sources of Christian Ethics,” by Servais Pinckaers.
Some might say: “I am free to do whatever I want to do,” but that is “a freedom of indifference” that doesn’t care about others or oneself, Professor Klofft said. In contrast, Pinckaers writes about “the freedom for excellence.”
“You can either accept God’s will for your life, or you can not accept God’s will for your life,” Professor Klofft said. “Are we faithful to the call” to relationship with God?
One’s choices in life should work toward answering the question: “What is it I am called to do to be a human being? … When we sin we choose not to live the way God has called us to live. It’s like sitting on a tree branch and sawing off the branch.”
Professor Klofft, using Pinckaers, spoke of forming a character that continues to make good decisions, likening this to learning to play a musical instrument.
At first, one might practice because one’s parents insist on it. Later, one might be encouraged to continue because of praise. Later, one might play for the beauty of the music. So too, people might do right to avoid punishment, reach a point where they are praised for being responsible, and later act as they do because “if I was to not do this, I would not be who I am.”
“In Catholic moral theology your conscience must be followed,” Professor Klofft said, referring to Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 1776-1802. “Our conscience is the very life of the Spirit” indwelling in us.
How does one develop this?
“We make the conscious, willed decision to make good choices.”
“Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions,” the catechism says in section 1782. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.”
Professor Klofft spoke of people saying, “The Church nowadays is so obsessed with authority.”
His response?
“Our shepherds are to help us be the best human beings we can be. Thank God I don’t have to figure all this out myself.”
Listeners applauded.
“Can a Catholic disagree with Church teaching?” he asked.
“No!” responded a listener.
People choose to be American first and “fit our Catholic beliefs” into that, Professor Klofft said. But how can one be a good American without a relationship with God, which makes people good human beings, who are needed to form a good state. He said people must stand for truth, human rights and freedom for excellence.
He said he believes there is reason for confidence and spoke of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which may be used to challenge the mandate. People must have conversations about this, he said.
“This is not about winning arguments,” however, he said. “Don’t ever start a conversation over the internet and expect it to reach a fruitful” conclusion.
He suggested asking something like, “Why are you opposed to me having my conscience protected?” Catholics tend to go on the defensive, he said, and urged, “Control the conversation if you’re going to have the conversation.” He also offered Jesus’ advice: “Do not cast your pearls before swine.”
“Always remember to conduct yourselves with charity,” Professor Klofft urged, saying people will win more hearts with love than with “intellectual bullying.” Listeners applauded.
“God has already won; it was won on the cross,” he said, and urged listeners to show others the reason for their hope.
“I like his reasonable thinking,” John Martin, of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough, said of Professor Klofft.
“Chris’ advice was just so good,” said Herman Millet, also from St. Luke’s. “Rather than be confrontational, we should just ask a question.”
“I thought the presentation was very good,” said Frances E. Pike, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for the Worcester Diocese. “We really have to get people out to pray and stand up for what we believe in. The reason we … take care of the poor is because of our Catholic faith.
And we pray every day. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a spiritual ministry. I think that each one of us has a personal responsibility to see their friends and neighbors are getting the care they need.”
Speaking about the Supreme Court decision, Rose Thoman said: “I was heart-broken; I cried; I could relate it to Roe v. Wade. I’ve worked in the pro-life movement for 40 years.” A member of St. John, the Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton, she worships at St. Benedict Abbey in Still River.
The decision will degrade society as “abortion destroyed morality among our young,” and the mandate could lead to killing the elderly, she said.
What solution does she see?
“That’s what I’m worried about,” she said. “I don’t see it happening under this administration. Our only hope is to replace our president with someone who will overturn the Supreme Court decision. That’s what Romney promised.”
Speaking of President Barack Obama, running for re-election against Mitt Romney, she said, “He’s holding the life of every person in his hands through this Obamacare,” and people don’t recognize its power.
Editor’s Note: Bishop McManus’ homily from this Mass can be heard and seen on the homepage of the diocesan website, www.worcesterdiocese.org.
Posted with permission from the Catholic Free Press. Official newspaper for the diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Human dignity guides Church's AIDS work in Philippines and worldwide
Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2012 / 03:02 pm (CNA).- The alarming spread of HIV in the Philippines must be addressed with an approach that puts human dignity and responsibility first, a top Church adviser on the AIDS epidemic told CNA.
“In the Philippines, as in all countries of the world, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has focused on the dignity of the human person and on the responsibility that such dignity entails in caring for oneself and all other persons,” Monsignor Robert Vitillo said in a July 27 interview.
Portrayed by critics as a set of “conservative” taboos, the Church's ethical teachings actually offer the only authentic solution to the epidemic in a country where infection rates have dramatically risen, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser on HIV and AIDS said.
“The teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to sexual activity is relevant and valid for all persons,” he said. “This teaching should be received and understood in the context of responsible personal relationships and not simply as a public health instruction for one or other population group.”
“I have no doubt about the wisdom of Catholic Church teaching in this regard,” the monsignor stressed, noting that these principles “have been confirmed by public health evidence” in several countries.
Msgr. Vitillo's comments came on the last day of the July 22-27 XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., during which he spoke July 25 about progress on a global effort to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission during the next three years.
During the global conference, the Church came under fire from critics for its approach to AIDS in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where the United Nations Development Program says HIV infections have increased by 25 percent since 2001.
According to the UN, 87 percent of these new infections are due to homosexual activity. Critics want the Church to help make this behavior “safer,” and to do the same for activities such as drug use and prostitution.
“Catholics For Choice” adviser Magdalena Lopez, who also spoke at the International AIDS Conference, alleged in a July 24 editorial that the Church “inhibits AIDS work” in the Philippines.
The country, she said, is “in desperate need” of a law to promote condoms and “reproductive health,” while the Church opposes such a bill.
In her column for the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Lopez said the Philippines bishops should support the “unique needs” of groups such as “men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, sex workers, (and) sailors,” rather than discouraging their behaviors and rejecting efforts to facilitate them.
In his July 26 article “Gay sex fuels HIV rise in Catholic Philippines,” AFP reporter Jason Gutierrez cited activist Ana Santos' belief that “religious edicts” were influencing society “so that sexually active people often did not buy condoms or contraceptives because of shame.”
Msgr. Vitillo told CNA/EWTN News that this kind of “false allegation” against the Church's AIDS strategy stemmed from a “mechanistic” focus on managing inherently harmful behaviors, to the neglect of human dignity and true responsibility.
In countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand, there is “strong evidence” that infection levels dropped “due to adoption of more responsible behavior” including sexual abstinence outside marriage, fidelity within marriage, and avoidance of drug use.
The Church's approach, the priest said, is not sectarian or judgmental, but realistic in the highest sense. By contrast, supposedly “value neutral” prevention strategies are often driven by highly questionable assumptions about human nature and morality.
“Few approaches can be seen as 'value neutral,'” Caritas' adviser observed, pointing out that many approaches presented as such are really based on notions of “seeking pleasure without accepting any responsibility for one’s actions,” or making “consent” into society's only moral standard.
“The Church promotes risk avoidance, rather than mere risk reduction,” Msgr. Vitillo said. “It calls for responsibility in interpersonal relationships.”
“While such responsibility often calls for sacrifice, it also opens up those called to marriage to much deeper and comprehensive fulfillment rather then restricting them to momentary physical pleasures that often result in the manipulation or 'use' of one or other sexual partner.”
Since the early 1990s, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser has facilitated several training workshops on HIV and AIDS prevention and care in the Philippines. He will return to the country later this year to hold additional training sessions at the request of the country's bishops.
Caritas designated the AIDS epidemic as a “priority area” for its work in 1987. Since then, it has worked to stay on the cutting edge of scientific and medical research, while bringing a faith-based perspective to bear in preventing discrimination against those infected with HIV.
“In most parts of the world,” Msgr. Vitillo recalled, “the Church was among the first organizations to promote a compassionate and non-discriminatory response to HIV,” taking in many seriously ill patients who “were rejected even by their own families.”
More recently, the Church has responded with vigilance to the spread of AIDS in Eastern Europe, with Caritas and other Catholic groups providing counseling, HIV testing, medications, home care, and social support.
This approach, the Caritas adviser said, is accompanied by spiritual support as well as “assistance to change the drug-taking and sexual behaviors that put people at risk of HIV infection.”
There, as in the Philippines and around the world, the Church works “in keeping with the age-old values that date back to the teaching handed on by Jesus Christ Himself,” centering its AIDS prevention message “within the gift and vocation of marriage to which many people are called.”
This approach, Msgr. Vitillo said, is rooted in true compassion and realism, based on “a sense of the dignity that God grants to each one of us and of the responsibility He expects from us.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“In the Philippines, as in all countries of the world, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has focused on the dignity of the human person and on the responsibility that such dignity entails in caring for oneself and all other persons,” Monsignor Robert Vitillo said in a July 27 interview.
Portrayed by critics as a set of “conservative” taboos, the Church's ethical teachings actually offer the only authentic solution to the epidemic in a country where infection rates have dramatically risen, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser on HIV and AIDS said.
“The teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to sexual activity is relevant and valid for all persons,” he said. “This teaching should be received and understood in the context of responsible personal relationships and not simply as a public health instruction for one or other population group.”
“I have no doubt about the wisdom of Catholic Church teaching in this regard,” the monsignor stressed, noting that these principles “have been confirmed by public health evidence” in several countries.
Msgr. Vitillo's comments came on the last day of the July 22-27 XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., during which he spoke July 25 about progress on a global effort to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission during the next three years.
During the global conference, the Church came under fire from critics for its approach to AIDS in the heavily Catholic Philippines, where the United Nations Development Program says HIV infections have increased by 25 percent since 2001.
According to the UN, 87 percent of these new infections are due to homosexual activity. Critics want the Church to help make this behavior “safer,” and to do the same for activities such as drug use and prostitution.
“Catholics For Choice” adviser Magdalena Lopez, who also spoke at the International AIDS Conference, alleged in a July 24 editorial that the Church “inhibits AIDS work” in the Philippines.
The country, she said, is “in desperate need” of a law to promote condoms and “reproductive health,” while the Church opposes such a bill.
In her column for the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Lopez said the Philippines bishops should support the “unique needs” of groups such as “men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, sex workers, (and) sailors,” rather than discouraging their behaviors and rejecting efforts to facilitate them.
In his July 26 article “Gay sex fuels HIV rise in Catholic Philippines,” AFP reporter Jason Gutierrez cited activist Ana Santos' belief that “religious edicts” were influencing society “so that sexually active people often did not buy condoms or contraceptives because of shame.”
Msgr. Vitillo told CNA/EWTN News that this kind of “false allegation” against the Church's AIDS strategy stemmed from a “mechanistic” focus on managing inherently harmful behaviors, to the neglect of human dignity and true responsibility.
In countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand, there is “strong evidence” that infection levels dropped “due to adoption of more responsible behavior” including sexual abstinence outside marriage, fidelity within marriage, and avoidance of drug use.
The Church's approach, the priest said, is not sectarian or judgmental, but realistic in the highest sense. By contrast, supposedly “value neutral” prevention strategies are often driven by highly questionable assumptions about human nature and morality.
“Few approaches can be seen as 'value neutral,'” Caritas' adviser observed, pointing out that many approaches presented as such are really based on notions of “seeking pleasure without accepting any responsibility for one’s actions,” or making “consent” into society's only moral standard.
“The Church promotes risk avoidance, rather than mere risk reduction,” Msgr. Vitillo said. “It calls for responsibility in interpersonal relationships.”
“While such responsibility often calls for sacrifice, it also opens up those called to marriage to much deeper and comprehensive fulfillment rather then restricting them to momentary physical pleasures that often result in the manipulation or 'use' of one or other sexual partner.”
Since the early 1990s, Caritas Internationalis' special adviser has facilitated several training workshops on HIV and AIDS prevention and care in the Philippines. He will return to the country later this year to hold additional training sessions at the request of the country's bishops.
Caritas designated the AIDS epidemic as a “priority area” for its work in 1987. Since then, it has worked to stay on the cutting edge of scientific and medical research, while bringing a faith-based perspective to bear in preventing discrimination against those infected with HIV.
“In most parts of the world,” Msgr. Vitillo recalled, “the Church was among the first organizations to promote a compassionate and non-discriminatory response to HIV,” taking in many seriously ill patients who “were rejected even by their own families.”
More recently, the Church has responded with vigilance to the spread of AIDS in Eastern Europe, with Caritas and other Catholic groups providing counseling, HIV testing, medications, home care, and social support.
This approach, the Caritas adviser said, is accompanied by spiritual support as well as “assistance to change the drug-taking and sexual behaviors that put people at risk of HIV infection.”
There, as in the Philippines and around the world, the Church works “in keeping with the age-old values that date back to the teaching handed on by Jesus Christ Himself,” centering its AIDS prevention message “within the gift and vocation of marriage to which many people are called.”
This approach, Msgr. Vitillo said, is rooted in true compassion and realism, based on “a sense of the dignity that God grants to each one of us and of the responsibility He expects from us.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Steubenville axes Catholic chapel from logo after legal threat
Steubenville, Ohio, Jul 26, 2012 / 05:03 pm (CNA).- In response to a threatened lawsuit from an atheist group, the Steubenville, Ohio city council says it will remove from its new city logo an image of the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s chapel.
The action drew criticism from Franciscan University’s vice president of advancement Michael Hernon.
“We find it particularly troubling that an out of town and out of touch group targeted the University for removal from the logo solely because of our religious identity,” Hernon said July 25 on behalf of the university.
“For more than 65 years, Franciscan University of Steubenville has proudly served as an integral part of this community and we were honored to have our chapel included in the new city of Steubenville logo.”
The city’s present logo, unveiled in December 2011, displays in silhouette the downtown cityscape and various landmarks of the city including Historic Fort Steuben, the Veterans Memorial Bridge and Franciscan University’s Christ the King Chapel.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation had threatened legal action over the logo’s inclusion of the chapel and the cross.
Annie Laurie Gaylor told the Steubenville Herald-Star that the logo is a symbol “that Steubenville is a theocracy and is a Christian city where non-Christians or non-believers are not favored citizens.”
She said a Steubenville citizen had contacted her organization to complain about the logo, which Gaylor said violates the U.S. Constitution because it includes the chapel.
“While we understand that Franciscan University is a part of the city, the city may not depict the university chapel and cross because to do so places the city's imprimatur behind Christianity,” she said.
On July 24 city officials decided to change the logo, citing concerns that a legal fight would be very expensive for the city.
Henan said the city included chapel because it represents Franciscan University, the “world-renowned center of higher learning and one of the largest employers in the region.”
Steubenville businessman Mark Nelson, who helped designed the logo for the city, told the Herald-Star he found it “very frustrating that one person or a small group can complain and ultimately change the city’s logo.”
Henan said that the university declined the city’s offer to be represented on the logo by another chapel building because the chapel and its cross are the “centerpiece” of the university logo and are “at the heart of our Catholic educational mission.”
He said the chapel’s presence in the logo does not endorse any one religion but “merely signifies one of the many treasures of Steubenville.”
Deacon Greg Kandra of New York, writing at the Patheos.com blog “The Deacon’s Bench,” strongly criticized the opposition to the logo.
“This sort of foolishness only goes to show that politically correct yahoos on the left have at last become what they most despised among people on the right: intolerant, judgmental, petty and ... picayune.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
The action drew criticism from Franciscan University’s vice president of advancement Michael Hernon.
“We find it particularly troubling that an out of town and out of touch group targeted the University for removal from the logo solely because of our religious identity,” Hernon said July 25 on behalf of the university.
“For more than 65 years, Franciscan University of Steubenville has proudly served as an integral part of this community and we were honored to have our chapel included in the new city of Steubenville logo.”
The city’s present logo, unveiled in December 2011, displays in silhouette the downtown cityscape and various landmarks of the city including Historic Fort Steuben, the Veterans Memorial Bridge and Franciscan University’s Christ the King Chapel.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation had threatened legal action over the logo’s inclusion of the chapel and the cross.
Annie Laurie Gaylor told the Steubenville Herald-Star that the logo is a symbol “that Steubenville is a theocracy and is a Christian city where non-Christians or non-believers are not favored citizens.”
She said a Steubenville citizen had contacted her organization to complain about the logo, which Gaylor said violates the U.S. Constitution because it includes the chapel.
“While we understand that Franciscan University is a part of the city, the city may not depict the university chapel and cross because to do so places the city's imprimatur behind Christianity,” she said.
On July 24 city officials decided to change the logo, citing concerns that a legal fight would be very expensive for the city.
Henan said the city included chapel because it represents Franciscan University, the “world-renowned center of higher learning and one of the largest employers in the region.”
Steubenville businessman Mark Nelson, who helped designed the logo for the city, told the Herald-Star he found it “very frustrating that one person or a small group can complain and ultimately change the city’s logo.”
Henan said that the university declined the city’s offer to be represented on the logo by another chapel building because the chapel and its cross are the “centerpiece” of the university logo and are “at the heart of our Catholic educational mission.”
He said the chapel’s presence in the logo does not endorse any one religion but “merely signifies one of the many treasures of Steubenville.”
Deacon Greg Kandra of New York, writing at the Patheos.com blog “The Deacon’s Bench,” strongly criticized the opposition to the logo.
“This sort of foolishness only goes to show that politically correct yahoos on the left have at last become what they most despised among people on the right: intolerant, judgmental, petty and ... picayune.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Archbishop Aquila praises heroic actions during theater shooting
Denver, Colo., Jul 25, 2012 / 03:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Those who offered their lives to save their loved ones in the recent Colorado theater shooting exemplified the Christian virtues of courageous sacrifice and selfless love, said Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver.
Such acts of courage testify to “the natural goodness that is present within the human person,” he told CNA on the evening of July 24.
Stories of heroism are beginning to emerge from the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colo. where one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history took place early on July 20.
Twelve people were killed and 58 more injured when a gunman entered the theater during the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire on the crowd.
Reports have emerged that four of the victims were young men who died while shielding their girlfriends from bullets.
Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, Alex Teves and John Larimer all gave their lives to protect their girlfriends – Jansen Young, Samantha Yowler, Amanda Lindgren and Julia Vojtsek, respectively – from the gunfire in the theater.
Several of these women spoke to the media after the shooting, crying as they told how their boyfriends – who were all in their 20s – used their bodies to block them from harm, knowing that they were risking their lives.
In another story of heroism, 21-year-old Stephanie Davies reportedly rescued her friend Allie Young by pulling her into an aisle and applying pressure to the bullet wound on her neck, refusing to run or hide despite her friend’s urging.
Archbishop Aquila said that these accounts remind him of the Gospel passage from John that says, “No greater love has one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
He explained that for people of faith, those who truly seek the common good and those of great character, the response in a crisis situation is “to always protect the other.”
“We see within that a living out of the Gospel values, and also the dignity of the human person,” he said. “There’s a natural instinct to protect life.”
Archbishop Aquila also commented on the spiritual courage displayed by victim Pierce O’Farrill, who survived after being shot three times in the theater.
Shortly after emerging from surgery, O’Farrill was interviewed by radio host Todd Schnitt. Asked what he would say to James Holmes, the alleged shooter, he responded, “I’m truly blessed to have forgiveness in my heart, and I do forgive him completely for what he’s done.”
“I honestly would like to see him. I would like to talk to him. I’m a man of deeply devoted faith,” O’Farrill explained. “Jesus is my world, and Jesus is how I get through every single day, and that’s how I got through this ordeal.”
O’Farrill said that he has been praying for Holmes, and if he had the chance to speak with him, “the first words that I would say are, ‘I forgive you, James.’”
The 28-year-old, who works as the vehicle donation coordinator for the Denver Rescue Mission, said that he “was blessed” to survive the shooting and emphasized that what happened was “not God’s fault.”
He also said that he believes Holmes should receive life in prison rather than the death penalty.
Archbishop Aquila said that O’Farrill’s willingness to forgive such a “heinous evil” shows “the depth of his faith.”
“Christ himself is the one who has conquered sin. He has conquered death,” the archbishop said. “By recognizing that, one’s heart can be moved to forgive the perpetrator of this kind of violence.”
He stressed that while it might take time, forgiveness is important in ultimately healing the wounds left by sin and avoiding continued resentment and bitterness.
“Forgiveness for the Christian is absolutely essential,” he said. “We have to remember that Jesus Christ himself died a violent death and that he forgave from the cross.”
Archbishop Aquila recently visited the parents of one of the victims from the July 20 shooting. He told them to think of themselves as standing under the foot of the Cross with Mary and John, and he encouraged them to go to Mary, a finite human being like themselves who “watched her son die a violent death.”
“She knows the suffering that is present in the hearts of these parents who have lost their child in the shooting,” he said.
The archbishop encouraged continued prayer during the coming weeks and months that God may bring comfort and peace to the victims of the shooting and their families.
“The Holy Spirit is present,” he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Such acts of courage testify to “the natural goodness that is present within the human person,” he told CNA on the evening of July 24.
Stories of heroism are beginning to emerge from the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colo. where one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history took place early on July 20.
Twelve people were killed and 58 more injured when a gunman entered the theater during the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire on the crowd.
Reports have emerged that four of the victims were young men who died while shielding their girlfriends from bullets.
Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, Alex Teves and John Larimer all gave their lives to protect their girlfriends – Jansen Young, Samantha Yowler, Amanda Lindgren and Julia Vojtsek, respectively – from the gunfire in the theater.
Several of these women spoke to the media after the shooting, crying as they told how their boyfriends – who were all in their 20s – used their bodies to block them from harm, knowing that they were risking their lives.
In another story of heroism, 21-year-old Stephanie Davies reportedly rescued her friend Allie Young by pulling her into an aisle and applying pressure to the bullet wound on her neck, refusing to run or hide despite her friend’s urging.
Archbishop Aquila said that these accounts remind him of the Gospel passage from John that says, “No greater love has one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
He explained that for people of faith, those who truly seek the common good and those of great character, the response in a crisis situation is “to always protect the other.”
“We see within that a living out of the Gospel values, and also the dignity of the human person,” he said. “There’s a natural instinct to protect life.”
Archbishop Aquila also commented on the spiritual courage displayed by victim Pierce O’Farrill, who survived after being shot three times in the theater.
Shortly after emerging from surgery, O’Farrill was interviewed by radio host Todd Schnitt. Asked what he would say to James Holmes, the alleged shooter, he responded, “I’m truly blessed to have forgiveness in my heart, and I do forgive him completely for what he’s done.”
“I honestly would like to see him. I would like to talk to him. I’m a man of deeply devoted faith,” O’Farrill explained. “Jesus is my world, and Jesus is how I get through every single day, and that’s how I got through this ordeal.”
O’Farrill said that he has been praying for Holmes, and if he had the chance to speak with him, “the first words that I would say are, ‘I forgive you, James.’”
The 28-year-old, who works as the vehicle donation coordinator for the Denver Rescue Mission, said that he “was blessed” to survive the shooting and emphasized that what happened was “not God’s fault.”
He also said that he believes Holmes should receive life in prison rather than the death penalty.
Archbishop Aquila said that O’Farrill’s willingness to forgive such a “heinous evil” shows “the depth of his faith.”
“Christ himself is the one who has conquered sin. He has conquered death,” the archbishop said. “By recognizing that, one’s heart can be moved to forgive the perpetrator of this kind of violence.”
He stressed that while it might take time, forgiveness is important in ultimately healing the wounds left by sin and avoiding continued resentment and bitterness.
“Forgiveness for the Christian is absolutely essential,” he said. “We have to remember that Jesus Christ himself died a violent death and that he forgave from the cross.”
Archbishop Aquila recently visited the parents of one of the victims from the July 20 shooting. He told them to think of themselves as standing under the foot of the Cross with Mary and John, and he encouraged them to go to Mary, a finite human being like themselves who “watched her son die a violent death.”
“She knows the suffering that is present in the hearts of these parents who have lost their child in the shooting,” he said.
The archbishop encouraged continued prayer during the coming weeks and months that God may bring comfort and peace to the victims of the shooting and their families.
“The Holy Spirit is present,” he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Cardinal says deceased Cuban activist was rooted in Catholic faith
Havana, Cuba, Jul 25, 2012 / 04:06 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana recalled his friendship with the leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya, saying the late dissident's activism found inspiration in the Catholic faith.
During the funeral Mass on Tuesday for Paya, who died in a car accident on July 22, Cardinal Rivara said, “Oswaldo clearly had a vocation to politics, and as a good Christian, this did not take him away from his faith or his religious practice.
On the contrary, he always sought inspiration in his Christian faith for his political activities,” the cardinal said.
“Oswaldo lived the piercing role of being a lay Christian with a political philosophy in complete fidelity to his ideas, without as a consequence ceasing to be faithful to the Church until the end of his days.”
The cardinal also recalled the words Pope Benedict XVI spoke during his departure address in Havana, in which he said that in Cuba, “Nobody should be kept from joining in this passionate task through the restricting of their fundamental rights and from obtaining the necessary strength to build a society in solidarity in which nobody feels excluded.”
Participation in the public life of the country is a duty of the laity and not the Church hierarchy, he stressed.
During the Mass attended by hundreds of Cubans, Cardinal Rivera also read a message of condolence from Pope Benedict XVI, who expressed his “spiritual closeness” to Paya’s family and his desire for the “full recovery” of those wounded in the accident, which also took the life of dissident Harold Cepero.
“Benedict XVI asks that his deepest condolences and spiritual closeness by expressed to the families of the deceased, and he implores the Almighty for the complete recovery of those who were injured,” the message said.
After the Mass, family members and friends attended the burial at the Colon Cemetery in Havana.
Dissidents and members of the opposition in Cuba posted messages on Twitter denouncing the government for dispatching agents around the church during the funeral Mass. Local officials have also come under fire over suspicions that Paya's death was carried out by the government.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
During the funeral Mass on Tuesday for Paya, who died in a car accident on July 22, Cardinal Rivara said, “Oswaldo clearly had a vocation to politics, and as a good Christian, this did not take him away from his faith or his religious practice.
On the contrary, he always sought inspiration in his Christian faith for his political activities,” the cardinal said.
“Oswaldo lived the piercing role of being a lay Christian with a political philosophy in complete fidelity to his ideas, without as a consequence ceasing to be faithful to the Church until the end of his days.”
The cardinal also recalled the words Pope Benedict XVI spoke during his departure address in Havana, in which he said that in Cuba, “Nobody should be kept from joining in this passionate task through the restricting of their fundamental rights and from obtaining the necessary strength to build a society in solidarity in which nobody feels excluded.”
Participation in the public life of the country is a duty of the laity and not the Church hierarchy, he stressed.
During the Mass attended by hundreds of Cubans, Cardinal Rivera also read a message of condolence from Pope Benedict XVI, who expressed his “spiritual closeness” to Paya’s family and his desire for the “full recovery” of those wounded in the accident, which also took the life of dissident Harold Cepero.
“Benedict XVI asks that his deepest condolences and spiritual closeness by expressed to the families of the deceased, and he implores the Almighty for the complete recovery of those who were injured,” the message said.
After the Mass, family members and friends attended the burial at the Colon Cemetery in Havana.
Dissidents and members of the opposition in Cuba posted messages on Twitter denouncing the government for dispatching agents around the church during the funeral Mass. Local officials have also come under fire over suspicions that Paya's death was carried out by the government.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
SSPX set three conditions for reunification with Rome
Rome, Italy, Jul 25, 2012 / 06:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Society of St. Pius X's three conditions for re-uniting with Rome have been revealed in a letter sent by their General Secretary to the society’s superiors across the world.
“The freedom to accuse and even to correct the promoters of the errors or the innovations of modernism, liberalism, and Vatican II and its aftermath,” is listed as part of the first condition in the July 17 letter from Fr. Christian Thouvenot.
The interpretation and legacy of the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962-1965, now seems to be the major stumbling block for the society in their ongoing negotiations with the Vatican aimed at healing their 24-year rift.
The new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, told CNA July 20 that “the assertion that the authentic teachings of Vatican II formally contradict the tradition of the Church is false,” although he added that there are “gradations” in the authority of different council documents.
The breakaway traditionalist group also listed “the exclusive use of the Liturgy of 1962” and a “commitment of at least one bishop” as their second and third conditions for reconciliation with Rome.
The former would seem to be guaranteed by Pope Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum” while the latter would also seem to be covered by the Vatican’s present offer of personal prelature status for the society. A personal prelature is a Church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries. The only personal prelature at present is Opus Dei whose prelate is also ordained a bishop.
Fr. Thouvenot also listed three other “desirable conditions” for re-unification. These are “a separate ecclesiastical court” within the Church’s wider judicial system, the “exemption of the houses of the SSPX from the diocesan bishops” and the creation of a pontifical commission in Rome “for the tradition” that would be directly under the direction of the Pope with “the majority of the members and the president in favor of tradition.”
The Vatican is currently awaiting an official reply from the society which would involve them accepting a “Doctrinal Preamble” which includes a full adherence to the dogmatic content of the Second Vatican Council. Even if they refused to sign the document at the present moment, the Vatican has suggested that further dialogue will be possible.
“The purpose of dialogue is to overcome difficulties in the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council,” said Archbishop Muller told CNA.
The Society of St. Pius X was founded in 1970 by the Frenchman Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in response to errors he believed had crept into the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council.
The society has had a strained relationship with the Church since its founder ordained four bishops against the will of Pope John Paul II in 1988.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“The freedom to accuse and even to correct the promoters of the errors or the innovations of modernism, liberalism, and Vatican II and its aftermath,” is listed as part of the first condition in the July 17 letter from Fr. Christian Thouvenot.
The interpretation and legacy of the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962-1965, now seems to be the major stumbling block for the society in their ongoing negotiations with the Vatican aimed at healing their 24-year rift.
The new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, told CNA July 20 that “the assertion that the authentic teachings of Vatican II formally contradict the tradition of the Church is false,” although he added that there are “gradations” in the authority of different council documents.
The breakaway traditionalist group also listed “the exclusive use of the Liturgy of 1962” and a “commitment of at least one bishop” as their second and third conditions for reconciliation with Rome.
The former would seem to be guaranteed by Pope Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum” while the latter would also seem to be covered by the Vatican’s present offer of personal prelature status for the society. A personal prelature is a Church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries. The only personal prelature at present is Opus Dei whose prelate is also ordained a bishop.
Fr. Thouvenot also listed three other “desirable conditions” for re-unification. These are “a separate ecclesiastical court” within the Church’s wider judicial system, the “exemption of the houses of the SSPX from the diocesan bishops” and the creation of a pontifical commission in Rome “for the tradition” that would be directly under the direction of the Pope with “the majority of the members and the president in favor of tradition.”
The Vatican is currently awaiting an official reply from the society which would involve them accepting a “Doctrinal Preamble” which includes a full adherence to the dogmatic content of the Second Vatican Council. Even if they refused to sign the document at the present moment, the Vatican has suggested that further dialogue will be possible.
“The purpose of dialogue is to overcome difficulties in the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council,” said Archbishop Muller told CNA.
The Society of St. Pius X was founded in 1970 by the Frenchman Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in response to errors he believed had crept into the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council.
The society has had a strained relationship with the Church since its founder ordained four bishops against the will of Pope John Paul II in 1988.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Chaplain says faith can help officers cope with Aurora shooting
Denver, Colo., Jul 24, 2012 / 03:23 pm (CNA).- A strong faith in God can play an important role for law enforcement officers struggling to deal with the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., said a chaplain who has experience ministering to those involved in tragic killings.
“There is a kind of spiritual journey that takes place,” said Gino Geraci, who serves as a chaplain for the Denver division of the FBI.
A Christian pastor, Geraci has had significant experience dealing with law enforcement officers and experiences of tragedy and trauma. He was a first responder in the 1999 Columbine high school shooting and to the recent movie theater shootings that left 12 dead and 58 injured.
Geraci spoke with CNA on July 20, shortly after returning from the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colo., where one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history took place.
Earlier that morning, during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” a gunman entered the theater, where he opened fire on a crowd of moviegoers.
Law enforcement officers subsequently arrested the suspect and worked to disarm his nearby apartment, which he had extensively “booby-trapped” before leaving.
In the coming days and weeks, Geraci will be offering prayer, encouragement, counseling and support to FBI officers who were involved in handling the shooting and its aftermath.
While officers “are trained to deal with tragedy and trauma,” the gravity of a situation like the recent rampage can be overwhelming, he explained.
For many officers, the events of July 20 may be “one of the most difficult experiences” they will ever face, he said, adding that the experience of trauma can also be “cumulative.”
“It’s impossible to not have it affect you,” he said, and these effects can be physical, spiritual and emotional.
In the aftermath of a tragedy such as a mass killing, officers sometimes exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as mood changes and difficulty sleeping, he explained. These symptoms may be short-lived, or they can become long-term.
“Over the next days and weeks, all of the agencies will require officers who are principally involved to talk to someone,” he noted.
This procedure is important because “police officers are first and foremost human beings,” he said, explaining that the officers are parents whose children go to the movies, and they cannot help but bring these facts with them as they deal with the senseless violence that took place on July 20.
Tragedies such as the Aurora shooting can prompt officers to ask big life questions that they may not have given much thought before, Geraci said. They may be led to consider the topics of evil, human existence and eternity for the first time or in a new way.
In the spiritual journey that follows, some people end up being strengthened in their faith, while others are left with “uncertainty and ambiguity” that can create problems in their lives, even occasionally leading them to commit suicide.
For chaplains, it is important to help the officers “understand and process” what they are experiencing, he said, stressing that “we want to be supportive.”
Faith can play an important role in helping with this process, Geraci added, noting that those with a strong faith often have an easier time getting through the difficult periods that follow a tragedy.
A belief in eternal life and a loving Creator can provide a perspective through which officers can comprehend the tragic events, he observed.
“You understand that there is a good God that you can trust,” Geraci explained.
“They have an anchor that they can go to.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“There is a kind of spiritual journey that takes place,” said Gino Geraci, who serves as a chaplain for the Denver division of the FBI.
A Christian pastor, Geraci has had significant experience dealing with law enforcement officers and experiences of tragedy and trauma. He was a first responder in the 1999 Columbine high school shooting and to the recent movie theater shootings that left 12 dead and 58 injured.
Geraci spoke with CNA on July 20, shortly after returning from the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colo., where one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history took place.
Earlier that morning, during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” a gunman entered the theater, where he opened fire on a crowd of moviegoers.
Law enforcement officers subsequently arrested the suspect and worked to disarm his nearby apartment, which he had extensively “booby-trapped” before leaving.
In the coming days and weeks, Geraci will be offering prayer, encouragement, counseling and support to FBI officers who were involved in handling the shooting and its aftermath.
While officers “are trained to deal with tragedy and trauma,” the gravity of a situation like the recent rampage can be overwhelming, he explained.
For many officers, the events of July 20 may be “one of the most difficult experiences” they will ever face, he said, adding that the experience of trauma can also be “cumulative.”
“It’s impossible to not have it affect you,” he said, and these effects can be physical, spiritual and emotional.
In the aftermath of a tragedy such as a mass killing, officers sometimes exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as mood changes and difficulty sleeping, he explained. These symptoms may be short-lived, or they can become long-term.
“Over the next days and weeks, all of the agencies will require officers who are principally involved to talk to someone,” he noted.
This procedure is important because “police officers are first and foremost human beings,” he said, explaining that the officers are parents whose children go to the movies, and they cannot help but bring these facts with them as they deal with the senseless violence that took place on July 20.
Tragedies such as the Aurora shooting can prompt officers to ask big life questions that they may not have given much thought before, Geraci said. They may be led to consider the topics of evil, human existence and eternity for the first time or in a new way.
In the spiritual journey that follows, some people end up being strengthened in their faith, while others are left with “uncertainty and ambiguity” that can create problems in their lives, even occasionally leading them to commit suicide.
For chaplains, it is important to help the officers “understand and process” what they are experiencing, he said, stressing that “we want to be supportive.”
Faith can play an important role in helping with this process, Geraci added, noting that those with a strong faith often have an easier time getting through the difficult periods that follow a tragedy.
A belief in eternal life and a loving Creator can provide a perspective through which officers can comprehend the tragic events, he observed.
“You understand that there is a good God that you can trust,” Geraci explained.
“They have an anchor that they can go to.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Vatican warns Peruvian bishops to not be 'used' by former Catholic university
Lima, Peru, Jul 24, 2012 / 04:08 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has urged the bishops of Peru to not be manipulated by administrators of the former Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in wake of the Holy See's decision to strip the school of its “Pontifical” and “Catholic” titles.
In a letter sent to the president of the Peruvian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Salvador Pineiro, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone asked that the bishops not allow the conference “to be used as an instrument by the rector’s office of the university.”
The Vatican removed the school's Catholic credentials on July 21 after months of discussions between both sides, which began after a 2011 Vatican inspection of the university carried out by Cardinal Peter Erdo of Budapest. He traveled to Peru, where he found the Lima-based institution at odds with the Catholic Church in several significant areas of policy.
In a letter published July 22 in local newspaper El Comercio, Cardinal Bertone encouraged Archbishop Pineiro to support the Holy See’s position and the Archdiocese of Lima, and to firmly reject “any contrary intervention.”
He also said it was inappropriate that five members of the Bishops' Conference, who were unelected to do so by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Peru, “participate in an organization established by statutes that have not been legitimately approved.”
Cardinal Bertone’s request came after the bishops in question issued a statement on April 17 calling for a “comprehensive solution” to the dispute and setting as a condition that the Archdiocese of Lima drop its lawsuit over the intentions of Jose Riva-Aguero, who donated land to the university in his will.
Riva Aguero stipulated that the university could use the land as long as a representative of the Church was allowed a permanent seat on its governing board.
“That statement has contributed to the misinformation, and therefore it would be appropriate for the conference to repair the misinformation,” Cardinal Bertone said in his letter.
The Vatican Secretary of State also expressed “bewilderment” over a number of initiatives promoted by the former Catholic university.
These included the school's recognitions of Gregorio Peces-Barba, an anti-Catholic Spanish ideologue and one of the authors of the controversial school course Education for the Citizenry in Spain, and Father Gaston Garatea, who was suspended from priestly ministry by the Archdiocese of Lima for holding positions contrary to Catholic teaching.
Cardinal Bertone also referred to the university’s Theology Department and its required reading of the book, “Liberation Theology: Perspectives,” by Liberation Theology proponent Father Gustavo Gutierrez.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In a letter sent to the president of the Peruvian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Salvador Pineiro, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone asked that the bishops not allow the conference “to be used as an instrument by the rector’s office of the university.”
The Vatican removed the school's Catholic credentials on July 21 after months of discussions between both sides, which began after a 2011 Vatican inspection of the university carried out by Cardinal Peter Erdo of Budapest. He traveled to Peru, where he found the Lima-based institution at odds with the Catholic Church in several significant areas of policy.
In a letter published July 22 in local newspaper El Comercio, Cardinal Bertone encouraged Archbishop Pineiro to support the Holy See’s position and the Archdiocese of Lima, and to firmly reject “any contrary intervention.”
He also said it was inappropriate that five members of the Bishops' Conference, who were unelected to do so by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Peru, “participate in an organization established by statutes that have not been legitimately approved.”
Cardinal Bertone’s request came after the bishops in question issued a statement on April 17 calling for a “comprehensive solution” to the dispute and setting as a condition that the Archdiocese of Lima drop its lawsuit over the intentions of Jose Riva-Aguero, who donated land to the university in his will.
Riva Aguero stipulated that the university could use the land as long as a representative of the Church was allowed a permanent seat on its governing board.
“That statement has contributed to the misinformation, and therefore it would be appropriate for the conference to repair the misinformation,” Cardinal Bertone said in his letter.
The Vatican Secretary of State also expressed “bewilderment” over a number of initiatives promoted by the former Catholic university.
These included the school's recognitions of Gregorio Peces-Barba, an anti-Catholic Spanish ideologue and one of the authors of the controversial school course Education for the Citizenry in Spain, and Father Gaston Garatea, who was suspended from priestly ministry by the Archdiocese of Lima for holding positions contrary to Catholic teaching.
Cardinal Bertone also referred to the university’s Theology Department and its required reading of the book, “Liberation Theology: Perspectives,” by Liberation Theology proponent Father Gustavo Gutierrez.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Philadelphia archdiocese promises vigilance as priest is sentenced
Philadelphia, Pa., Jul 24, 2012 / 04:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archdiocese of Philadelphia offered prayer and a pledge to protect children July 24, as Monsignor William Lynn received a three to six year prison sentence for his handling of an abusive priest.
“From the challenges the Church has faced both nationally and locally over the past decade, we understand the full gravity of sexual abuse,” the archdiocese said in its response to the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina on Tuesday.
In a statement released after the sentencing, the archdiocese reaffirmed its commitment “to protecting children and caring for victims,” while also offering its prayers “for Msgr. Lynn and his family at this difficult time.”
Msgr. Lynn, the archdiocese's secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was found guilty June 22 on one felony count of endangering a child. The charge stemmed from his response to the case of Edward Avery, a now-laicized priest serving a jail sentence for abusing an altar boy during the 1990s.
The prosecution presented evidence that Msgr. Lynn reassigned Avery to live near a church school, despite having substantiated a claim of abuse against the priest. After being reassigned, Avery sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy in 1999.
Defense lawyers said the clergy secretary had worked diligently to investigate abuse cases and bring them before the late Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, who had authority over whether or not to remove priests from ministry.
“I did the best with what I could,” Msgr. Lynn said before receiving his sentence on Tuesday. “But the fact is my best was not good enough to stop the harm, and for that, I am sorry.”
His sentence, just short of the seven year maximum, may exceed that of Avery himself – who is serving two-and-a-half to five years for conspiracy and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. A second charge against Monsignor Lynn in the Avery case, accusing him of conspiracy, was rejected by jurors.
No senior U.S. Catholic official has previously been criminally convicted on charges deriving from abuse by another member of the clergy.
Defense attorneys called the sentence unfairly harsh, saying Msgr. Lynn had received a sentence not ordinarily given even to those who are present as direct eyewitnesses of abuse.
While accepting the former official's conviction, the Philadelphia archdiocese said that “fair-minded people will question the severity” of the near-maximum sentence. The archdiocese hopes that the punishment will be “objectively reviewed” and “adjusted.”
Meanwhile, a new trial is expected for Fr. James Brennan, who is accused of attempting sexual assault in 1996. Msgr. Lynn was acquitted of a second endangerment charge stemming from Fr. Brennan's alleged actions.
In Tuesday's statement, the Philadelphia archdiocese acknowledged it had become a national “epicenter” for the issue of clerical abuse.
“We know there is legitimate anger in the broad community toward any incident or enabling of sexual abuse,” the Church said in its statement. “The trial of the past several months has been especially difficult for victims, and we profoundly regret their pain.”
“Since the events some ten years ago that were at the center of this trial, the Archdiocese has changed,” the statement stressed.
“We have taken dramatic steps to ensure that all young people in our care are safe, and these efforts will continue even more forcefully now and in the years ahead.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“From the challenges the Church has faced both nationally and locally over the past decade, we understand the full gravity of sexual abuse,” the archdiocese said in its response to the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina on Tuesday.
In a statement released after the sentencing, the archdiocese reaffirmed its commitment “to protecting children and caring for victims,” while also offering its prayers “for Msgr. Lynn and his family at this difficult time.”
Msgr. Lynn, the archdiocese's secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was found guilty June 22 on one felony count of endangering a child. The charge stemmed from his response to the case of Edward Avery, a now-laicized priest serving a jail sentence for abusing an altar boy during the 1990s.
The prosecution presented evidence that Msgr. Lynn reassigned Avery to live near a church school, despite having substantiated a claim of abuse against the priest. After being reassigned, Avery sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy in 1999.
Defense lawyers said the clergy secretary had worked diligently to investigate abuse cases and bring them before the late Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, who had authority over whether or not to remove priests from ministry.
“I did the best with what I could,” Msgr. Lynn said before receiving his sentence on Tuesday. “But the fact is my best was not good enough to stop the harm, and for that, I am sorry.”
His sentence, just short of the seven year maximum, may exceed that of Avery himself – who is serving two-and-a-half to five years for conspiracy and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. A second charge against Monsignor Lynn in the Avery case, accusing him of conspiracy, was rejected by jurors.
No senior U.S. Catholic official has previously been criminally convicted on charges deriving from abuse by another member of the clergy.
Defense attorneys called the sentence unfairly harsh, saying Msgr. Lynn had received a sentence not ordinarily given even to those who are present as direct eyewitnesses of abuse.
While accepting the former official's conviction, the Philadelphia archdiocese said that “fair-minded people will question the severity” of the near-maximum sentence. The archdiocese hopes that the punishment will be “objectively reviewed” and “adjusted.”
Meanwhile, a new trial is expected for Fr. James Brennan, who is accused of attempting sexual assault in 1996. Msgr. Lynn was acquitted of a second endangerment charge stemming from Fr. Brennan's alleged actions.
In Tuesday's statement, the Philadelphia archdiocese acknowledged it had become a national “epicenter” for the issue of clerical abuse.
“We know there is legitimate anger in the broad community toward any incident or enabling of sexual abuse,” the Church said in its statement. “The trial of the past several months has been especially difficult for victims, and we profoundly regret their pain.”
“Since the events some ten years ago that were at the center of this trial, the Archdiocese has changed,” the statement stressed.
“We have taken dramatic steps to ensure that all young people in our care are safe, and these efforts will continue even more forcefully now and in the years ahead.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Monday, July 23, 2012
Vatican denies speculation about Vatileaks suspects
Vatican City, Jul 23, 2012 / 01:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican is denying newspaper claims that three officials close to Pope Benedict XVI were found complicit in the recent leaking of sensitive papal information to the media.
“The Secretariat of State expresses its firm and total disapproval of those publications, which are not based on objective criteria and seriously damage the honor of the people concerned, who have served the Holy Father faithfully for many years,” said a statement issued by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State on July 23.
The allegations were printed in the July 23 edition of the Italian daily newspaper “La Repubblica” after they appeared in the online edition of German newspaper “Die Welt” last week.
Both articles claimed that the role of three senior Vatican officials in the so-called “Vatileaks” scandal was uncovered by an investigative Commission of Cardinals, led by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz.
“Being called before a commission in the course of its investigations in no way means that a person is a suspect,” Father Federico Lombardi said on Vatican Radio July 23.
“It is evident that the three people mentioned in the article may have been called to appear, but this says nothing about their being suspected of shared responsibility or ‘complicity.’”
Both Fr. Lombardi and the Vatican Information Service subsequently publicly confirmed the names of the three officials in question.
They are Italian Cardinal Paolo Sardi, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, German Bishop Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and a German laywoman, Ingrid Stampa, who is Pope Benedict’s private secretary and housekeeper.
Fr. Lombardi suggested that original article in “Die Welt” was ignored in the rest of the German media because it contained inaccuracies and accusations that were without any proof.
The report from the Commission of Cardinals was presented to Pope Benedict XVI in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo late last week.
“The fact that the results of the investigations have not yet been made known by the authorities concerned, in no way legitimizes the publication of unfounded and false interpretations and theories. It is not this kind of information that the public has the right to know,” the July 23 Secretariat of State statement concluded.
Meanwhile, the only person charged so far as part of the “Vatileaks” investigation has been granted house arrest after nearly two months in custody. Paolo Gabriele, Pope Benedict’s butler, was given parole July 21.
The 46-year-old Italian was charged on May 26 with the “aggravated theft” of confidential Vatican documents found in his apartment. Over the next few days the Vatican’s justice system will decide whether to send him for trial or acquit him.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“The Secretariat of State expresses its firm and total disapproval of those publications, which are not based on objective criteria and seriously damage the honor of the people concerned, who have served the Holy Father faithfully for many years,” said a statement issued by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State on July 23.
The allegations were printed in the July 23 edition of the Italian daily newspaper “La Repubblica” after they appeared in the online edition of German newspaper “Die Welt” last week.
Both articles claimed that the role of three senior Vatican officials in the so-called “Vatileaks” scandal was uncovered by an investigative Commission of Cardinals, led by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz.
“Being called before a commission in the course of its investigations in no way means that a person is a suspect,” Father Federico Lombardi said on Vatican Radio July 23.
“It is evident that the three people mentioned in the article may have been called to appear, but this says nothing about their being suspected of shared responsibility or ‘complicity.’”
Both Fr. Lombardi and the Vatican Information Service subsequently publicly confirmed the names of the three officials in question.
They are Italian Cardinal Paolo Sardi, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, German Bishop Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and a German laywoman, Ingrid Stampa, who is Pope Benedict’s private secretary and housekeeper.
Fr. Lombardi suggested that original article in “Die Welt” was ignored in the rest of the German media because it contained inaccuracies and accusations that were without any proof.
The report from the Commission of Cardinals was presented to Pope Benedict XVI in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo late last week.
“The fact that the results of the investigations have not yet been made known by the authorities concerned, in no way legitimizes the publication of unfounded and false interpretations and theories. It is not this kind of information that the public has the right to know,” the July 23 Secretariat of State statement concluded.
Meanwhile, the only person charged so far as part of the “Vatileaks” investigation has been granted house arrest after nearly two months in custody. Paolo Gabriele, Pope Benedict’s butler, was given parole July 21.
The 46-year-old Italian was charged on May 26 with the “aggravated theft” of confidential Vatican documents found in his apartment. Over the next few days the Vatican’s justice system will decide whether to send him for trial or acquit him.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
New president of Caritas Latin America elected
Santiago, Chile, Jul 23, 2012 / 04:07 pm (CNA).- Bishop Jose Luis Azuaje of El Vigia-San Carlos in Venezuela has been elected the new president of Caritas Latin America and the Caribbean, in place of Bishop Fernando Bargallo.
Bishop Azuaje’s term began on July 16 and will end in 2015 at the World Assembly of Caritas International.
He has replaced Argentinean Bishop Fernando Bargallo, who stepped down after the publication of controversial photos of him shown with a woman on a beach in Mexico.
The regional coordinator of Caritas Latin America and the Caribbean, Father Francisco Hernandez, thanked Bishop Bargallo for his work with the agency. Bishops from other branches of Caritas in the region also expressed their gratitude to him.
Bishop Azuaje was born on December 6, 1957, in Valera, Venezuela. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Trujillo on May 5, 1984, at the age of 26.
He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Barquisimeto on March 18, 1999. On July 15, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of El Vigia-San Carlos.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Bishop Azuaje’s term began on July 16 and will end in 2015 at the World Assembly of Caritas International.
He has replaced Argentinean Bishop Fernando Bargallo, who stepped down after the publication of controversial photos of him shown with a woman on a beach in Mexico.
The regional coordinator of Caritas Latin America and the Caribbean, Father Francisco Hernandez, thanked Bishop Bargallo for his work with the agency. Bishops from other branches of Caritas in the region also expressed their gratitude to him.
Bishop Azuaje was born on December 6, 1957, in Valera, Venezuela. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Trujillo on May 5, 1984, at the age of 26.
He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Barquisimeto on March 18, 1999. On July 15, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of El Vigia-San Carlos.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Islamists attack Christians, Iraqi refugees in Damascus
Damascus, Syria, Jul 23, 2012 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- The Syrian rebels’ attack on Damascus has allowed radical Islamist groups to attack Iraqi refugees, Christians allegedly loyal to the Syrian government and other civilians.
Local Christians have expressed dismay and outrage at the attacks on defenseless civilians, a local source told Fides news agency.
The rebel group Liwa al-Islam, a Wahhabi group whose name means “The Brigade of Islam,” has claimed responsibility for killing top generals in President Bashar Assad’s government. On the morning of July 23, its members also killed an entire Christian family in the Damascus neighborhood of Bab Tuma.
Militants blocked the car of Nabil Zoreb, a Christian civil officer. They ordered him, his wife Violet, and his two sons George and Jimmy to get out of the car. The militants then killed them all.
In southeastern Damascus, Islamist fighters with the Muslim Brotherhood ally Jehad al Nosra attacked the homes of Iraqi refugees. They ransacked the homes, burned them and forced the occupants to leave.
The refugees said “gangs of Muslim terrorists attacked and chased us.”
Rebel forces struck the capital of 1.7 million on July 14. The fighting destroyed homes, burned cars and damaged the city’s electrical grid. The government said it had repelled most of the rebels July 23, according to the Associated Press.
The situation in Damascus is deteriorating, with residents facing long lines for gasoline and bread. Thousands have fled into neighboring Lebanon.
There are about 200,000 internally displaced people from Damascus. They have moved from one neighborhood to another city or different suburbs to escape the fighting.
As they wage their battle with government forces, rebel groups have taken positions in neighborhoods and civilian buildings.
Families, elderly women and children of all ethnicities and religions have fled to the predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Jaramana, Qassaa. Young Christians are coordinating refugees and sending them to schools, churches, mosques and public buildings with space to welcome them.
Humanitarian aid is being provided through Caritas Syria, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Community of St. Egidio.
Young Christian volunteers are also working on garbage collection, which is becoming a health threat in the intense summer heat.
The interfaith non-violence movement Mussalaha, whose name means “Reconciliation,” has said that both government loyalists and rebels can join its movement on condition that they give up weapons. It advocates for building reconciliation beginning with families, tribes, clans and communities.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Local Christians have expressed dismay and outrage at the attacks on defenseless civilians, a local source told Fides news agency.
The rebel group Liwa al-Islam, a Wahhabi group whose name means “The Brigade of Islam,” has claimed responsibility for killing top generals in President Bashar Assad’s government. On the morning of July 23, its members also killed an entire Christian family in the Damascus neighborhood of Bab Tuma.
Militants blocked the car of Nabil Zoreb, a Christian civil officer. They ordered him, his wife Violet, and his two sons George and Jimmy to get out of the car. The militants then killed them all.
In southeastern Damascus, Islamist fighters with the Muslim Brotherhood ally Jehad al Nosra attacked the homes of Iraqi refugees. They ransacked the homes, burned them and forced the occupants to leave.
The refugees said “gangs of Muslim terrorists attacked and chased us.”
Rebel forces struck the capital of 1.7 million on July 14. The fighting destroyed homes, burned cars and damaged the city’s electrical grid. The government said it had repelled most of the rebels July 23, according to the Associated Press.
The situation in Damascus is deteriorating, with residents facing long lines for gasoline and bread. Thousands have fled into neighboring Lebanon.
There are about 200,000 internally displaced people from Damascus. They have moved from one neighborhood to another city or different suburbs to escape the fighting.
As they wage their battle with government forces, rebel groups have taken positions in neighborhoods and civilian buildings.
Families, elderly women and children of all ethnicities and religions have fled to the predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Jaramana, Qassaa. Young Christians are coordinating refugees and sending them to schools, churches, mosques and public buildings with space to welcome them.
Humanitarian aid is being provided through Caritas Syria, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Community of St. Egidio.
Young Christian volunteers are also working on garbage collection, which is becoming a health threat in the intense summer heat.
The interfaith non-violence movement Mussalaha, whose name means “Reconciliation,” has said that both government loyalists and rebels can join its movement on condition that they give up weapons. It advocates for building reconciliation beginning with families, tribes, clans and communities.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Sunday, July 22, 2012
50-year member: Catholic Daughters offers friendships, service
Omaha, Neb., Jul 22, 2012 / 01:00 pm (CNA).-
Any guest in Josephine Valasek's midtown apartment quickly discovers what's important to the 89-year-old member of St. Cecilia Parish in Omaha: faith and family.
A crucifix and a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa hang on the hallway wall, and dozens of photographs of her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews are framed on shelves or taped on cabinet and refrigerator doors.
“I just love to spoil them,” said Valasek of her family.
Valasek, who never married, also has been devoted to the Catholic Church through organizations such as the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, which is holding its national convention in Omaha July 18-21.
This year, Valasek will be recognized for her 50-year-membership in the Catholic Daughters, one of the oldest and largest organizations of Catholic women in North and South America. She has led her local court, or chapter, as regent, helped raise money for various charities and meets monthly with other members.
Valasek joined Catholic Daughters' Court Columbia, the first Catholic Daughters' court in Omaha, in 1962.
Rose Kobza, current regent of Court Columbia, said she has known Valasek for about 16 years and appreciates her friend's dedication to her court, parish and family. For example, Valasek for years helped care for her sister, who died last month at age 101, Kobza said.
And when Kobza first became regent, she often sought Valasek's help.
“I really depended on her. She's always so friendly and she knows everybody,” said Kobza, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Omaha.
Valasek said involvement in Catholic Daughters has helped her as well, through friendships with many women who share her faith and values and information about church issues.
The Catholic Daughters' ministries include helping others by building homes for the less fortunate, fighting pornography, supporting priests and religious, battling abortion and euthanasia and helping disaster relief efforts.
Valasek said she is willing to help at the Catholic Daughters' national convention later this month, and will attend the officer installation Mass July 21 at St. Cecilia Cathedral.
A native of Spaulding, Neb., Valasek moved to Omaha in the 1940s to attend College of Saint Mary. She later attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University, and devoted her life to working with children as a teacher and school counselor in Omaha. She retired in 1991.
Valasek has been active at St. Cecilia Parish since the 1960s. For many years, she brought Communion to the sick and homebound as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion, and for more than 20 years, she has overseen the distribution of the holy oils passed out to parishes during Holy Week. She also is a member of the Omaha Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women.
Being active in the church and church organizations has helped her stay busy and has strengthened her faith life, she said.
“I don't think anybody ought to just exist just for herself. I think you need to share your talents and do what you can to make people happier,” Valasek said.
Posted with permission from Catholic Voice. Official newspaper for the Diocese of Omaha, Nebraska.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Any guest in Josephine Valasek's midtown apartment quickly discovers what's important to the 89-year-old member of St. Cecilia Parish in Omaha: faith and family.
A crucifix and a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa hang on the hallway wall, and dozens of photographs of her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews are framed on shelves or taped on cabinet and refrigerator doors.
“I just love to spoil them,” said Valasek of her family.
Valasek, who never married, also has been devoted to the Catholic Church through organizations such as the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, which is holding its national convention in Omaha July 18-21.
This year, Valasek will be recognized for her 50-year-membership in the Catholic Daughters, one of the oldest and largest organizations of Catholic women in North and South America. She has led her local court, or chapter, as regent, helped raise money for various charities and meets monthly with other members.
Valasek joined Catholic Daughters' Court Columbia, the first Catholic Daughters' court in Omaha, in 1962.
Rose Kobza, current regent of Court Columbia, said she has known Valasek for about 16 years and appreciates her friend's dedication to her court, parish and family. For example, Valasek for years helped care for her sister, who died last month at age 101, Kobza said.
And when Kobza first became regent, she often sought Valasek's help.
“I really depended on her. She's always so friendly and she knows everybody,” said Kobza, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Omaha.
Valasek said involvement in Catholic Daughters has helped her as well, through friendships with many women who share her faith and values and information about church issues.
The Catholic Daughters' ministries include helping others by building homes for the less fortunate, fighting pornography, supporting priests and religious, battling abortion and euthanasia and helping disaster relief efforts.
Valasek said she is willing to help at the Catholic Daughters' national convention later this month, and will attend the officer installation Mass July 21 at St. Cecilia Cathedral.
A native of Spaulding, Neb., Valasek moved to Omaha in the 1940s to attend College of Saint Mary. She later attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University, and devoted her life to working with children as a teacher and school counselor in Omaha. She retired in 1991.
Valasek has been active at St. Cecilia Parish since the 1960s. For many years, she brought Communion to the sick and homebound as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion, and for more than 20 years, she has overseen the distribution of the holy oils passed out to parishes during Holy Week. She also is a member of the Omaha Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women.
Being active in the church and church organizations has helped her stay busy and has strengthened her faith life, she said.
“I don't think anybody ought to just exist just for herself. I think you need to share your talents and do what you can to make people happier,” Valasek said.
Posted with permission from Catholic Voice. Official newspaper for the Diocese of Omaha, Nebraska.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Catholics to mark opening of Olympic Games with Masses
London, England, Jul 22, 2012 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic Church in England and Wales will celebrate special Masses to open the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, which begin on July 27.
James Parker, Catholic Executive Coordinator for the 2012 Games, said many past Olympians and sports professionals from across the world and the London area are Catholics who “take in the thrill of the games.”
“These men and women better than most know the importance of keeping God firmly positioned within their sporting journey,” he said.
“They are being invited to join the rest of the Catholic community in giving thanks to God for the many opportunities that the Games present not only to our nation but to the whole world at this time.”
A July 28 Mass at Westminster Cathedral will celebrate the start of the 30th Olympic Games.
A Mass for the start of the 14th Paralympic Games will take place at St. George’s Cathedral in Southwark on Sept. 8.
The organizers ask attendees to be aware that transportation is likely to be difficult, especially around Westminster Cathedral during the Olympic Games.
The Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark and the Bishop of Brentwood will be present at the Masses. Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the apostolic nuncio to England and Wales, will attend the Olympic Mass, as will Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nievez of Puerto Rico.
Neither Mass requires a ticket and there will be no reserved seats.
Parker said the Catholic bishops hope to see people from many different cultures in attendance and have asked those who can to consider coming in their national dress.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has created the Catholic 2012 Office to reach out to attendees of the games.
Invitations to the Mass can be downloaded from the website http://www.Catholic2012.com.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
James Parker, Catholic Executive Coordinator for the 2012 Games, said many past Olympians and sports professionals from across the world and the London area are Catholics who “take in the thrill of the games.”
“These men and women better than most know the importance of keeping God firmly positioned within their sporting journey,” he said.
“They are being invited to join the rest of the Catholic community in giving thanks to God for the many opportunities that the Games present not only to our nation but to the whole world at this time.”
A July 28 Mass at Westminster Cathedral will celebrate the start of the 30th Olympic Games.
A Mass for the start of the 14th Paralympic Games will take place at St. George’s Cathedral in Southwark on Sept. 8.
The organizers ask attendees to be aware that transportation is likely to be difficult, especially around Westminster Cathedral during the Olympic Games.
The Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark and the Bishop of Brentwood will be present at the Masses. Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the apostolic nuncio to England and Wales, will attend the Olympic Mass, as will Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nievez of Puerto Rico.
Neither Mass requires a ticket and there will be no reserved seats.
Parker said the Catholic bishops hope to see people from many different cultures in attendance and have asked those who can to consider coming in their national dress.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has created the Catholic 2012 Office to reach out to attendees of the games.
Invitations to the Mass can be downloaded from the website http://www.Catholic2012.com.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Marian celebration draws hundreds of thousands to Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2012 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Some 300,000 people participated in the 112th anniversary of the Pontifical Coronation of Our Lady of Itati, the patroness of the province of Corrientes in Argentina.
A Mass in honor of the Our Lady if Itati was celebrated on July 16 by Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes.
During his homily, Archbishop Stanovnik underscored Mary’s virtue in serving others, and stressed the importance of following her example, especially in family life.
“The evangelist notes that Mary went with haste, which reflects her interior disposition towards service,” the archbishop said. “The Church aspires to promote citizens who are more responsible in their obligations and more conscious of their rights.”
The devotion to Our Lady of Itati has its origins in the account of Spanish Jesuit missionary and a group of locals who converted to the Catholic faith, who were saved from an attack by another tribe after they prayed the rosary.
According to the story, a passage was opened through Yaguari River and the people of Itati were saved due to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
On July 16, 1900, at the doors of the Shrine of the Most Holy Cross of the Miracles in Corrientes, Our Lady of Itati was crowned by Bishop Rosendo de la Lastra y Gordillo, on behalf of Pope Leo XIII, before all the bishops of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and a multitude of the faithful.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
A Mass in honor of the Our Lady if Itati was celebrated on July 16 by Archbishop Andres Stanovnik of Corrientes.
During his homily, Archbishop Stanovnik underscored Mary’s virtue in serving others, and stressed the importance of following her example, especially in family life.
“The evangelist notes that Mary went with haste, which reflects her interior disposition towards service,” the archbishop said. “The Church aspires to promote citizens who are more responsible in their obligations and more conscious of their rights.”
The devotion to Our Lady of Itati has its origins in the account of Spanish Jesuit missionary and a group of locals who converted to the Catholic faith, who were saved from an attack by another tribe after they prayed the rosary.
According to the story, a passage was opened through Yaguari River and the people of Itati were saved due to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.
On July 16, 1900, at the doors of the Shrine of the Most Holy Cross of the Miracles in Corrientes, Our Lady of Itati was crowned by Bishop Rosendo de la Lastra y Gordillo, on behalf of Pope Leo XIII, before all the bishops of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and a multitude of the faithful.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Hearing outlines forced marriages, conversions in Egypt
Washington D.C., Jul 19, 2012 / 04:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A recent hearing in the nation's capital drew attention to the growing accounts of Coptic women in Egypt being kidnapped and forced to marry and convert to Islam against their will.
Nearly a year and half since the country's revolution, Egypt remains in the “fires of transition,” where “order seems to hang by a thread,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J), chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On July 18, the commission – also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission – held a hearing on increasing accounts of abduction, forced conversion and coerced marriage among young Coptic women in Egypt.
Witnesses warned that the violent actions, as well as the government’s failure to acknowledge and address them, could have grave consequences on the future of democracy and human rights in the country.
The urged the U.S. and the entire international community to stand up on behalf of the Coptic women who are victims of these crimes.
Michele Clark, adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, testified at the hearing, presenting the findings of a new report that she co-authored on the subject.
While exact numbers are difficult to pinpoint, attorneys interviewed for the report said that disappearance and abductions cases have been increasing in recent months, with one attorney referring to nearly 1,000 women petitioning in recent years to have their Christian identities restored.
As the number of abdications seems to be rising, it appears that fewer young women are returning to their families, the attorneys added. While there is speculation that they may be trafficked overseas, this possibility has not yet been confirmed.
The individuals interviewed also said that the disappearances are the result of “organized and systematic planning.” They often involve attempts to befriend victims, or else use force and fraud.
Abductors target vulnerable young Coptic women, members of a religious minority who come from “closed, insular communities,” Clark said. They physically separate these women from their families and proceed to abuse, threaten and brainwash them.
Clark called for local police in Egypt to investigate and report all disappearance claims and for the national government to keep a registry documenting disappearances.
Furthermore, she said, children of parents who convert should retain their birth religion until age 18, which is the legal age of consent in Egypt.
She asked the Coptic Church to maintain a registry documenting disappearances, abductions, forced marriages and conversions among Coptic women, as well as to educate its members about these threats.
Clark recommended that a legal defense fund be established to help Coptic families in need of an attorney. She also called on international organizations to acknowledge the significance of the problem and stop referring to the disappearances as mere “allegations.”
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also testified at the hearing, discussing the commission’s ongoing concerns about the state of religious freedom within the country.
For years, religious freedom conditions in Egypt “have been extremely problematic,” she said, explaining that the nation’s transitional government “continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Despite some “hopeful developments” in recent months, “Copts and other religious minorities aren’t being sufficiently protected,” she warned.
In the last year alone, sectarian violence has left some 100 people dead, she observed.
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Lantos Swett recommend that the U.S. government “take strong action in support of religious freedom” by working to urge Egypt to include “robust” constitutional protections for religious freedom, to remove discriminatory decrees and to prosecute crimes against religious minorities.
“Copts must be protected - along with every other member of Egyptian society - from attacks on their right to order their lives and practice their beliefs in dignity and peace,” she said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Nearly a year and half since the country's revolution, Egypt remains in the “fires of transition,” where “order seems to hang by a thread,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J), chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On July 18, the commission – also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission – held a hearing on increasing accounts of abduction, forced conversion and coerced marriage among young Coptic women in Egypt.
Witnesses warned that the violent actions, as well as the government’s failure to acknowledge and address them, could have grave consequences on the future of democracy and human rights in the country.
The urged the U.S. and the entire international community to stand up on behalf of the Coptic women who are victims of these crimes.
Michele Clark, adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, testified at the hearing, presenting the findings of a new report that she co-authored on the subject.
While exact numbers are difficult to pinpoint, attorneys interviewed for the report said that disappearance and abductions cases have been increasing in recent months, with one attorney referring to nearly 1,000 women petitioning in recent years to have their Christian identities restored.
As the number of abdications seems to be rising, it appears that fewer young women are returning to their families, the attorneys added. While there is speculation that they may be trafficked overseas, this possibility has not yet been confirmed.
The individuals interviewed also said that the disappearances are the result of “organized and systematic planning.” They often involve attempts to befriend victims, or else use force and fraud.
Abductors target vulnerable young Coptic women, members of a religious minority who come from “closed, insular communities,” Clark said. They physically separate these women from their families and proceed to abuse, threaten and brainwash them.
Clark called for local police in Egypt to investigate and report all disappearance claims and for the national government to keep a registry documenting disappearances.
Furthermore, she said, children of parents who convert should retain their birth religion until age 18, which is the legal age of consent in Egypt.
She asked the Coptic Church to maintain a registry documenting disappearances, abductions, forced marriages and conversions among Coptic women, as well as to educate its members about these threats.
Clark recommended that a legal defense fund be established to help Coptic families in need of an attorney. She also called on international organizations to acknowledge the significance of the problem and stop referring to the disappearances as mere “allegations.”
Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, also testified at the hearing, discussing the commission’s ongoing concerns about the state of religious freedom within the country.
For years, religious freedom conditions in Egypt “have been extremely problematic,” she said, explaining that the nation’s transitional government “continues to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Despite some “hopeful developments” in recent months, “Copts and other religious minorities aren’t being sufficiently protected,” she warned.
In the last year alone, sectarian violence has left some 100 people dead, she observed.
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Lantos Swett recommend that the U.S. government “take strong action in support of religious freedom” by working to urge Egypt to include “robust” constitutional protections for religious freedom, to remove discriminatory decrees and to prosecute crimes against religious minorities.
“Copts must be protected - along with every other member of Egyptian society - from attacks on their right to order their lives and practice their beliefs in dignity and peace,” she said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Spanish bishop voices support for fishermen amid economic crisis
Santander, Spain, Jul 18, 2012 / 04:04 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- On the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patroness of fishermen, a Spanish bishop expressed solidarity with fishermen and their families amid the economic crisis affecting their industry.
In his July 16 message, Bishop Vicente Jimenez Zamora of Santander said Our Lady of Mount Carmel is “the advocate and captain of the seas” and that Jesus chose fishermen to be his “first evangelizers.”
“The men and women who work on the seas are aware of the saving presence of Jesus and his mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, during their long hours of hard and dangerous work,” he said.
“The problems facing those who work on the seas are aggravated by the persistent economic and ethical crisis,” Bishop Jimenez Zamora added.
He said their families often endure the prolonged absence of the father, the ups and downs of the fishing market, the importing of fish from other countries, and other problems.
During his remarks, the bishop offered a special prayer for the fishermen who have died on the seas during the last year and for their families.
“May Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose image is carried about on the Cantabrian Sea, through our cities, fields and valleys, accompanied by the fervor of her children, be the star that guides us to Christ, the safe port of salvation,” he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In his July 16 message, Bishop Vicente Jimenez Zamora of Santander said Our Lady of Mount Carmel is “the advocate and captain of the seas” and that Jesus chose fishermen to be his “first evangelizers.”
“The men and women who work on the seas are aware of the saving presence of Jesus and his mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, during their long hours of hard and dangerous work,” he said.
“The problems facing those who work on the seas are aggravated by the persistent economic and ethical crisis,” Bishop Jimenez Zamora added.
He said their families often endure the prolonged absence of the father, the ups and downs of the fishing market, the importing of fish from other countries, and other problems.
During his remarks, the bishop offered a special prayer for the fishermen who have died on the seas during the last year and for their families.
“May Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose image is carried about on the Cantabrian Sea, through our cities, fields and valleys, accompanied by the fervor of her children, be the star that guides us to Christ, the safe port of salvation,” he said.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Denver's new archbishop urges fidelity to Christ
Denver, Colo., Jul 18, 2012 / 06:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his role as Denver's new shepherd, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquilla told the archdiocese that his heart for the community is that they follow Christ above all else.
“My vision ... is the same vision that was given to us 2000 years ago,” Archbishop Aquila said during the homily of his installation Mass July 18.
“That is that Christ is always to come first,” he told the hundreds gathered in the Basilica Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, “and we are to proclaim this Gospel, we are to do whatever he tells us.”
He urged locals to not view their faith in Christ “as a private act,” but as a public witness of “choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him.”
A former Denver resident, Archbishop Aquila was installed as the fifth archbishop in the same cathedral where he was ordained a priest in 1976.
His appointment closes a 10-month vacancy in Denver, which was left when Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was assigned to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. An attendee of the event, Archbishop Chaput was was given a standing ovation when publicly thanked by his successor.
Other guests at the installation Mass included over 400 priests, former Denver archbishop Cardinal James F. Stafford, U.S. Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo M. Viganò, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
During his homily Wednesday, Archbishop Aquila told the packed cathedral that Catholics should live out the call to follow Christ by declaring “the dignity of the human person and human life” and by refusing actions that are in violation of natural law.
Specifically, he said that the people of the Archdiocese of Denver need to oppose the federal contraception mandate.
Announced in January by the Obama administration, the federal rule will require religious groups to provide health insurance that covers contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates employers' beliefs.
“If we truly believe in the dignity of the human person and human life,” the archbishop said, “we must stand opposed to the violation of conscience.”
He added that with defending the dignity of the human person also comes the defense of traditional marriage because it “preserves the dignity of who we are created” as men and women.”
The new archbishop then acknowledged all the men and women religious in attendance, calling them “a complete counter-witness to everything that this world today stands for,” due to their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
“You are a counter-witness to the evils and rampant rejection of the dignity of human sexuality and of chastity,” he told them, “You are a contradiction to the secularism that says you can live life and be happy without God.”
Lay people, the archbishop noted, have the crucial role of living authentically Christian lives in the midst of the world.
“If you are truly to be disciples,” he said, “you are not to be hidden in the world, but rather to be a bright light to the world.”
All Catholics in the archdiocese, he said, have a call to have “attitudes of docility and receptivity” as well as “trust, kindness and obedience.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“My vision ... is the same vision that was given to us 2000 years ago,” Archbishop Aquila said during the homily of his installation Mass July 18.
“That is that Christ is always to come first,” he told the hundreds gathered in the Basilica Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, “and we are to proclaim this Gospel, we are to do whatever he tells us.”
He urged locals to not view their faith in Christ “as a private act,” but as a public witness of “choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him.”
A former Denver resident, Archbishop Aquila was installed as the fifth archbishop in the same cathedral where he was ordained a priest in 1976.
His appointment closes a 10-month vacancy in Denver, which was left when Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was assigned to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. An attendee of the event, Archbishop Chaput was was given a standing ovation when publicly thanked by his successor.
Other guests at the installation Mass included over 400 priests, former Denver archbishop Cardinal James F. Stafford, U.S. Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo M. Viganò, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
During his homily Wednesday, Archbishop Aquila told the packed cathedral that Catholics should live out the call to follow Christ by declaring “the dignity of the human person and human life” and by refusing actions that are in violation of natural law.
Specifically, he said that the people of the Archdiocese of Denver need to oppose the federal contraception mandate.
Announced in January by the Obama administration, the federal rule will require religious groups to provide health insurance that covers contraception, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates employers' beliefs.
“If we truly believe in the dignity of the human person and human life,” the archbishop said, “we must stand opposed to the violation of conscience.”
He added that with defending the dignity of the human person also comes the defense of traditional marriage because it “preserves the dignity of who we are created” as men and women.”
The new archbishop then acknowledged all the men and women religious in attendance, calling them “a complete counter-witness to everything that this world today stands for,” due to their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
“You are a counter-witness to the evils and rampant rejection of the dignity of human sexuality and of chastity,” he told them, “You are a contradiction to the secularism that says you can live life and be happy without God.”
Lay people, the archbishop noted, have the crucial role of living authentically Christian lives in the midst of the world.
“If you are truly to be disciples,” he said, “you are not to be hidden in the world, but rather to be a bright light to the world.”
All Catholics in the archdiocese, he said, have a call to have “attitudes of docility and receptivity” as well as “trust, kindness and obedience.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Spanish priest retracts opposition to Church teaching
Madrid, Spain, Jul 17, 2012 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- In response to questions by the Vatican's doctrinal office, Spanish priest Father Manuel Pousa I Engronat has retracted positions in his book that are contrary to Church teaching.
In his work titled “Father Manel. Closer to Earth than to Heaven” which published in February of 2011, Fr. Pousa said he had “blessed” homosexual unions among prison inmates and that he supported “voluntary” celibacy and women's ordination. He also said he had paid for someone’s abortion.
The priest's retraction was published in the May edition of the Archdiocese of Barcelona’s newspaper, where he stated that believes that “the Magisterium of the Church does not err, and specifically on the questions of abortion, contraception and homosexuality.”
According to the website Germinans Germinabit, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a series of questions to Fr. Pousa in January of this year. His answers were returned on Feb. 5 and on April 20, the congregation ordered that they be published in their entirety.
In his statement, Fr. Pousa explained that his desire to “live the universal brotherhood proclaimed by the Lord Jesus” has occasionally led him to make “erroneous or inaccurate statements, such as that priests are not necessary to celebrate the Eucharist, or that women could be priests, or that many things in the Church could be changed.”
Fr. Pousa pledged he would remove from his book “those phrases that would be contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the Church. I wish to live in ‘hierarchical communion’.”
“Speaking in the terms of the Second Vatican Council, I believe and state, and I do so in writing, that there is one Church, the People of God and the Body of Christ,” he said.
He concluded his statement by asking that “what he has always publicly and privately manifested be accepted.
That I have lived and wish to live my faith in this God manifested in Jesus Christ and in his Church, through the gift that Jesus and the Church gave me to be able to live it in my priestly ministry, exercised with humility and gratitude, aided by the grace of God and the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
In his work titled “Father Manel. Closer to Earth than to Heaven” which published in February of 2011, Fr. Pousa said he had “blessed” homosexual unions among prison inmates and that he supported “voluntary” celibacy and women's ordination. He also said he had paid for someone’s abortion.
The priest's retraction was published in the May edition of the Archdiocese of Barcelona’s newspaper, where he stated that believes that “the Magisterium of the Church does not err, and specifically on the questions of abortion, contraception and homosexuality.”
According to the website Germinans Germinabit, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a series of questions to Fr. Pousa in January of this year. His answers were returned on Feb. 5 and on April 20, the congregation ordered that they be published in their entirety.
In his statement, Fr. Pousa explained that his desire to “live the universal brotherhood proclaimed by the Lord Jesus” has occasionally led him to make “erroneous or inaccurate statements, such as that priests are not necessary to celebrate the Eucharist, or that women could be priests, or that many things in the Church could be changed.”
Fr. Pousa pledged he would remove from his book “those phrases that would be contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the Church. I wish to live in ‘hierarchical communion’.”
“Speaking in the terms of the Second Vatican Council, I believe and state, and I do so in writing, that there is one Church, the People of God and the Body of Christ,” he said.
He concluded his statement by asking that “what he has always publicly and privately manifested be accepted.
That I have lived and wish to live my faith in this God manifested in Jesus Christ and in his Church, through the gift that Jesus and the Church gave me to be able to live it in my priestly ministry, exercised with humility and gratitude, aided by the grace of God and the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
Cardinal Dolan sees US as 'mission territory'
New York City, N.Y., Jul 17, 2012 / 04:41 pm (CNA).- The U.S. and other Western nations are “mission territory” for the Catholic Church in modern times, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York stressed in a July 17 online posting.
“I was raised – as were most of you – to think of the missions as 'way far away' – and, to be sure, we can never forget our sacred duty to the foreign missions,” the New York archbishop wrote on his “Gospel in the Digital Age” blog.
“But, we are a mission territory, too. Every diocese is. And every committed Catholic is a missionary. This is at the heart of what Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI call the New Evangelization.”
Cardinal Dolan voiced his agreement with Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who observed in a June 2012 speech to the Catholic Press Association that his own archdiocese was “now really mission territory … for the second time.”
While the Philadelphia archbishop's statement may seem startling, Cardinal Dolan said it was “right on target” – not simply due to troubles facing the Church in Philadelphia, but because of the larger crisis of faith sweeping through Western societies.
“Our beloved Archdiocese of New York is also mission territory,” the cardinal and U.S. bishops' conference president observed. Although his local church is financially and administratively sound, it faces the same spiritual challenges that prompted Archbishop Chaput's remark.
“Maybe, we have gotten way too smug. We have taken our Catholic faith for granted,” the New York archbishop suggested.
The entire Church, he said, can no longer “coast on the former fame, clout, buildings, numbers, size, money, and accomplishments of the past.”
On July 12, the Gallup polling organization released figures showing a historic drop in U.S. resident's confidence in religious institutions. Only 44 percent of Americans, from various faith backgrounds, now say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in “the church or organized religion.”
That figure marks the lowest point since at least 1973, when religious organizations were ranked as the country's most trusted institutions with around 66 percent confidence. The figure has generally declined since then, reaching previous lows of 45 percent in 2002 and 46 percent in 2007.
But Catholics should not be “depressed” by Western countries' shift away from religious belief and practice. Instead, they should be “awakened and challenged,” Cardinal Dolan said.
Today, he said, the Church is “with the apostles on Pentecost Sunday as we embrace the New Evangelization.” The campaign to re-evangelize historically Christian societies is the topic of an October 2012 synod in Rome, which will begin the Year of Faith called by Pope Benedict XVI.
“You and I are missionaries,” the New York archbishop told the faithful, emphasizing that the conversion of others “starts inside” with one's own conversion.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
“I was raised – as were most of you – to think of the missions as 'way far away' – and, to be sure, we can never forget our sacred duty to the foreign missions,” the New York archbishop wrote on his “Gospel in the Digital Age” blog.
“But, we are a mission territory, too. Every diocese is. And every committed Catholic is a missionary. This is at the heart of what Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI call the New Evangelization.”
Cardinal Dolan voiced his agreement with Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who observed in a June 2012 speech to the Catholic Press Association that his own archdiocese was “now really mission territory … for the second time.”
While the Philadelphia archbishop's statement may seem startling, Cardinal Dolan said it was “right on target” – not simply due to troubles facing the Church in Philadelphia, but because of the larger crisis of faith sweeping through Western societies.
“Our beloved Archdiocese of New York is also mission territory,” the cardinal and U.S. bishops' conference president observed. Although his local church is financially and administratively sound, it faces the same spiritual challenges that prompted Archbishop Chaput's remark.
“Maybe, we have gotten way too smug. We have taken our Catholic faith for granted,” the New York archbishop suggested.
The entire Church, he said, can no longer “coast on the former fame, clout, buildings, numbers, size, money, and accomplishments of the past.”
On July 12, the Gallup polling organization released figures showing a historic drop in U.S. resident's confidence in religious institutions. Only 44 percent of Americans, from various faith backgrounds, now say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in “the church or organized religion.”
That figure marks the lowest point since at least 1973, when religious organizations were ranked as the country's most trusted institutions with around 66 percent confidence. The figure has generally declined since then, reaching previous lows of 45 percent in 2002 and 46 percent in 2007.
But Catholics should not be “depressed” by Western countries' shift away from religious belief and practice. Instead, they should be “awakened and challenged,” Cardinal Dolan said.
Today, he said, the Church is “with the apostles on Pentecost Sunday as we embrace the New Evangelization.” The campaign to re-evangelize historically Christian societies is the topic of an October 2012 synod in Rome, which will begin the Year of Faith called by Pope Benedict XVI.
“You and I are missionaries,” the New York archbishop told the faithful, emphasizing that the conversion of others “starts inside” with one's own conversion.
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post
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