"When struggling with one's faith......Don't let go of the Lord's hand" - says Pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In times of trouble, doubt or deep spiritual crisis, never let go of believing in God, because he will help lead people out of darkness, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"Let us always be led by God, carry out his will every day even if often it doesn't correspond to our plans, and trust in his providence that he never leaves us on our own," he said during his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI hall Dec. 29.

In his catechesis, the pope described the life of St. Catherine of Bologna, an abbess of the Poor Clares and "a woman of great wisdom and culture" who lived in the 15th century.

Despite the many centuries that separate her time and today, St. Catherine still speaks to modern men and women, said the pope.

"Like us, she suffered from many temptations -- the temptations of disbelief and sensuality, she suffered from a difficult spiritual battle, she felt abandoned by God and she found herself in the darkness" of doubting her faith, he said.

However, throughout all of her struggles, St. Catherine "always held onto the Lord's hand," he said.

Because she never let go of trusting in God's will and let herself always be guided by him, "she went along the right path and found the road leading to the light," he said.

"In this way, she is also telling us 'Have courage' even when struggling with one's faith or when feeling doubt" or uncertainty, he added. "Don't let go of the Lord's hand, believe in God's goodness and that way we will go along the right road," said the pope.

St. Catherine of Bologna wrote the "Treatise on the Seven Spiritual Weapons" in which she describes "the many graces she received and lists the most effective means of resisting the temptations of the devil," he said.

The pope said her treatise showed how to fight temptations and deceptions, which cause doubt and uncertainty about one's faith and vocation; her writing represents "a beautiful spiritual program for every one of us even today."

The pope listed the seven spiritual weapons as the following:

-- Take great care to always work for the good.

-- Know that nothing truly good can ever be done by oneself.

-- Trust in God and never be afraid of the battle against evil either in the world or inside oneself.

-- Reflect often on the words and life of Jesus, especially on his passion and death.

-- Remember that everyone must die.

Apostolic Letter due today to ensure Financial Propriety and Transparency in Vatican

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican , today, according to some reports, plans to publish three important documents regarding its financial operations, including a papal letter on financial impropriety and a new statute to prevent money-laundering and other illegal practices.

The documents come several months after Italian treasury police, in a money-laundering probe, seized 23 million euros (US$30 million) that had been deposited in a Rome bank account by the Vatican bank.

The Vatican has been working for some time with Italian and international authorities to comply with procedures that ensure funds are not used for terrorism or money-laundering. The new documents apparently represent the fruit of those efforts.

In response to early and inaccurate leaks, the Vatican press office identified the new documents today:

– an apostolic letter by Pope Benedict XVI “concerning prevention and countermeasures against illegal activities in the financial and monetary sector.”

– a statute regarding the “Financial Information Authority.”

– a law concerning prevention and countermeasures against the laundering of funds from criminal activities and the financing of terrorism.

The Vatican said a lengthy communiqué would accompany the documents, to facilitate their “correct interpretation.”

In 2009, Pope Benedict named Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, an Italian banker and professor of financial ethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, as president of the Vatican bank, known formally as the Institute for the Works of Religion. The appointment was seen at the time as a move toward greater transparency in the bank’s operations.

Italy’s seizure of Vatican bank funds in September upset Vatican officials, who said the operations in question were legitimate and documented. A statement issued by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State said the Vatican bank was committed to “full transparency” in its operations.

The Vatican bank was involved in a major Italian banking scandal in the 1980s, when fraud led to the collapse of Italy’s Banco Ambrosiano. Although denying wrongdoing, Vatican bank officials made what they called a “good-will payment” of about $240 million to the failed bank’s creditors.

China's State newspaper critical of Pope's Christmas message

WHILE THERE has been no official response from the communist government to Pope Benedict XVI’s criticism of China in his Christmas message for limiting freedom of religion, a state newspaper came out yesterday with a strongly worded editorial warning the Vatican to stop meddling in Beijing’s business.

“The pontiff sounded more like a western politician than a religious leader . . . before the pope attacks China’s internal affairs, he may want to rethink the Vatican’s so-called role as a protector of religious freedom,” said the Global Times , the English-language edition of the People’s Daily.

“China has large numbers of Catholics, other Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Taoists. Were they all to report to certain foreign power centres, China would not be complete,” it said.

Relations between Beijing and the Holy See have been poor since the communists kicked foreign clergy out in the 1950s and severed ties with the Vatican. China’s officially atheist government requires that Christians of all denominations worship in state-registered churches. Since the years after the revolution in 1949, the communists have refused to allow Catholics to recognise the authority of the pope; instead they have to join the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which has five million members.

The Vatican estimates about eight million Chinese Catholics worship secretly in underground churches not recognised by the government.

The Vatican is one of the few states in the world that give diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. This is a key irritant to relations between the Holy See and Beijing.

There are ongoing talks about switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. However, there are many hurdles, not least Beijing’s demand to have a veto over whom the Vatican appoints as a bishop.

In recent years under Pope Benedict, relations have improved. Disputes over appointments in China’s official church have been avoided by quietly conferring candidates, which means that most state-approved bishops have a Vatican blessing, but occasionally Beijing appoints bishops who do not meet Vatican approval.

Recently this has led to a deterioration in relations, prompting the pontiff’s remarks, and possibly signalling a tougher approach by the Vatican .

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Pope sits down to lunch with 500 poor persons

To mark the 100th birthday of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta -- and keeping with this pontificate's preference for acts of concrete charity at Christmas -- on St. Sthephen's Day, 26th Dec.,- this year replaced by Feast of The Holy Family - Pope Benedict XVI hosted a lunch for some 500 of Rome's neediest served by the shelters and kitchens of the Missionaries of Charity, the Indian-based community founded by the universally-beloved Nobel Peace laureate, the "Saint of the Gutters."

Held in the packed atrium of the Paul VI Audience Hall -- the same spot where the Pope recently hosted lunches for the delegates to October's Synod of Bishops and, last month, the College of Cardinals -- likewise present with the throng were Mother Teresa's successor at the MC's helm, Sr Mary Prema, and Fr Sebastian, the superior of the order's community of men.

Of the large group, fourteen guests of the shelters joined the pontiff at the head table. To the whole room, however, Benedict delivered the following remarks, (translation is not "official")



Dear friends,

I'm very happy to be here today with you, and I extend warm greetings to the Reverend Mother-General of the Missionaries of Charity, to the priests, sisters, contemplative brothers and and all of you here to enjoy this brotherly moment together.

The light of the Lord's Birth fills our hearts with the joy and peace announced by the Angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those whom he loves." The Baby that we see in the manger is God himself who made himself man, to show us how much he desires our good, how much he loves us: God has become one of us, that he might make himself close to each of us, that he might conquer evil, liberate us from sin, give us hope, that he might tell us that we are never alone. We can always look to Him without fear, calling Him Father, sure that in every moment, in every situation of life, even the most difficult ones, He never forgets us. May we say ever more often: Yes, God himself takes care of me, he loves me, Jesus was born for me, too; I must trust in him always.

Dear brothers and sisters, clinging to the light of the Baby Jesus, of the Son of God made man, illuminates our lives to transform them in light, which we see especially in the lives of the saints. I think of the witness of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, a reflection of the light of the love of God. To celebrate a hundred years since her birth is cause for gratitude and for reflection, that we might have a renewed and joyous charge toward the service of the Lord and our brothers and sisters, especially the neediest among us. As we know, the Lord himself wanted to be needy. Dear Sisters, Priests and Brothers, dear friends, love is the force that changes the world, because God is love. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta lived love for everyone without distinction, but with a preference for the poorest and most abandoned: a luminous sign of the fatherhood and the goodness of God. She knew to recognize in each person the face of Christ, who she loved with her whole self: the Christ who she loved and received in the Eucharist she continued to find in the streets and pathways of the city, becoming living "images" of Jesus who crosses over the wounds of man with the grace of his merciful love. Whoever asks why Mother Teresa became so famous, the answer is simple: because she lived in a humble, hidden way, for love and in love of God. She herself affirmed that her greatest prize was to love Jesus and serve him in the poor. Her tiny figure, whether with her hands joined together or embracing a sick person, a leper, the dying, a child, is the visible sign of an existence transformed by God. Amid the night of human suffering, she became resplendent in the light of divine Love and helped so many hearts find the peace only God can give.

Let us thank the Lord, that in Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we all have seen how our existence can change when it encounters Jesus; it can become for others a reflection of the light of God. To many men and women, in situations of sorrow and suffering, she gave consolation and the certainty that God doesn't abandon anyone, ever! Her mission continues among many, here and in other parts of the world, who live her charism of being missionaries and missionaries of Charity. Our thanks to you is great, dear Sisters, dear Brothers, for your humble, discreet, almost hidden presence in the eyes of men, but extraordinary and precious to the heart of God. To man often in search of happy, fleeting illusions, your witness of life says where true joy is found: in sharing, in giving, in loving with the same generosity of God that destroys the logic of human selfishness.

Dear friends! Know that the Pope loves you, carries you in his heart, brings you all close in a fatherly embrace and prays for you. Every wish for a Merry Christmas! Thank you for wanting to share the joy of these feast days with me. I call upon the maternal protection of the Holy Family of Nazareth who we celebrate today -- Jesus, Mary and Joseph -- and I bless all of you and your dear ones.

C of E Bishop says Judges and Politicians discriminate against Christians

According to today's The Telegraph the Anglican Bishop of Winchester yesterday said that the Human Rights Act is protecting the rights of minority groups while encouraging judges and politicians to discriminate against Christians.

Michael Scott-Joynt said that there was an 'imbalance' in the way in which of its way to protect the rights of minorities. 'sexual minorities' such as homosexuals were treated compared with those of Christian faith went out

At the same time, for the first time in British history politicians and judges were largely ignorant of religion and so failed to appreciate the importance Christians placed on abiding by the scriptures rather than the politically correct values of the secular state.

For full report see HERE

Christmas Blessings

A Blessed Christmas to all readers.

A special greeting to those who are alone, or suffering, either through grief and bereavement or with physical and/or mental health difficulties, or poverty. May they share their sufferings and offer them to the God-child Who was placed on a wooden manger when born and Who was on a wooden cross as He died. For over the wood of the manger lays the shadow of the Wood of The Cross ,

So much does this God love us. He shares our sufferings in abundance.

Prayerful good wishes for all who are working to provide services for others at this time, doctors, nurses, carers and all who work in hospitals, homes and shelters, as well as police and telephone, gas and electricity engineers and fire brigades and ambulance service and the soldiers abroad, not forgetting the many parish priests and others working in parishes throughout the land, as well as those cooking for families.

May the peace which the Christ child came to give be with you and yours, now and always.

Pope to give Thought for the Day on Friday morning.

Pope Benedict XVI is going to deliver the Thought For The Day on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Eve morning at 7.45am.

The Holy Father recorded Thought For The Day in Rome on Wednesday. Gwyneth Williams, controller of Radio 4, said: "I'm delighted Pope Benedict is sharing his Christmas message with the Radio 4 audience.""It's significant that the Pope has chosen Thought For The Day to give his first personally scripted broadcast - and what better time to do so than on the eve of the biggest celebration on the Christian calendar.

"Thought For The Day is broadcast within the Today programme at from Monday to Saturday. It offers approximately three minutes of personal reflection from faith leaders and believers of a variety of religious denominations.BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, who is Catholic, is understood to have approached Vatican officials about a contribution from the Pope ahead of his state visit.

Added at 18.35 0n Thursday I understand that the Pope's talk will be at 7.48am on Friday

The National Secular Society has expressed anger over the broadcast. NSS president Terry Sanderson said in a statement: "After the overkill from the BBC during the Pope's visit, this indicates the corporation's obsession with religion, whereas the nation is largely indifferent to it."

Source: BBC

My comment: methinks the last paragraph indicates Mr. Sanderson is the one obsessed with Religion.

Thank God! Some conversions come slowly.

Catholics suffering State promoted violence in Vietnam: Church raided; Redemptorist arrested

WASHINGTON D.C., December 21 (CNA) - As violence against Catholics by the Vietnamese government continues, Rep. Chris Smith appealed to President Obama for a resolution designating Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

Beatings, Church raids, arrests – and even deaths – are some of the violent incidents inflicted on Catholics by authorities in Vietnam over increased conflict on property rights. Throughout the last several decades, in provinces throughout the country, tensions have mounted between the Communist government and local parishioners as officials have repeatedly attempted to claim land where Catholic churches and facilities are situated.

One of the latest violent outbreaks involved a funeral procession earlier this year, where government agents clashed with 500 Catholics and at the parish cemetery of Con Dau. Police arrested 59 people as part of the incident.

On May 4, Catholics had conducted a funeral procession for an 82-year-old woman and tried to bury her in the cemetery, which had been seized by the local government to build a tourist resort.
Police broke up the procession, “beating over 100 mourners, arresting dozens and deliberately beating two pregnant women so as to kill their unborn babies,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said in a Dec. 15 congressional hearing.

Rep. Smith said a pall bearer at the funeral by the name of Nam Nguyen was later kicked and bludgeoned to death by police in July while his wife knelt in front of the them, begging them to stop.
“The reign of terror on this 85 year-old Catholic community continues to this day,” he said, “and shows no sign of abating.”

Vietnam journalist Joseph An Dang provided CNA with a report on how police recently raided the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ho Chi Minh city, belonging to the Redemptorist order.

On Dec. 8, local officials interrupted scheduled liturgical celebrations and ongoing Christmas preparations. Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, the provincial superior, was taken in for questioning where the Redemptorists were accused of preaching anti-government sentiment, instigating disorder, inciting riots and violating social media codes.

The government has allegedly threatened more raids in days to come.

Rep. Smith said in his remarks to Congress that although Vietnam was listed as a CPC in 2004 and 2005 – with demonstrable progress for Catholics in the area – the country has since been removed. He claimed that the Vietnam government promising concrete actions as well as a major trade agreement with the U.S. led to Vietnam being taken of the CPC list.

After this, he said, many “religious believers who expected a thaw and reform and openness were arrested or rearrested and sent to prison.”

He added that the CPC – and the penalties described by the International Religious Freedom Act – has in the past and “can again a useful tool in performing reform in Vietnam.”

“Congress, the president, and all those who espouse fundamental human rights ought to be outraged at Vietnams's turn for the worse,” he added. “We should stand with the oppressed, not the oppressor.”

“President Obama should re-designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern for its egregious violations of religious freedom.”

Family & Life Responds to ECHR Judgment and stresses important aspects which received scant attention in media

The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of A,B, and C v. Ireland has given rise to a good deal of confusion regarding its implications for Ireland’s law on abortion. A number of important points need to be borne in mind which have received scant attention in media reports.

Firstly, the Court did not find fault with Ireland’s law on abortion, in fact it recognised that “the protection in Ireland of the right to life of the unborn” is a “legitimate aim” of Irish law. It dismissed the claims of plaintiffs A and B that their rights were infringed by the fact that they could not lawfully obtain abortions in Ireland on grounds of health and wellbeing. The Court dismissed the Irish government’s worrying contention that A and B might have gained approval for abortions in the domestic courts. This is welcome. The Court also stated explicitly that “Article 8 cannot ... be interpreted as conferring a right to abortion”.

The case made by C was unsubstantiated and unsupported by any medical evidence for her claim that her pregnancy endangered her life. By the time that C underwent her abortion it had been confirmed that she did not have an ectopic pregnancy. She was, in fact, able to avail of medical care in Ireland subsequent to her abortion. The Court acknowledged the finding of the 1999 Green Paper on abortion that “there was no medical evidence to suggest that doctors in Ireland did not treat women with cancer or other illnesses on the grounds that the treatment would damage the unborn,” and the testimony of the Chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1999 that “where there is a direct physical threat to the life of the pregnant mother, we will intervene always.”

The legal action of the three women was backed by major Irish and international abortion advocates. In addition to the Irish Family Planning Association (an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation), which funded the litigation, Doctors for Choice (Ireland), the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the Center for Reproductive Rights and the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Programme all submitted observations to the Court.

What the Court found was that C’s rights were infringed by the fact that there is no legislation providing a framework for the implementation of the Irish Supreme Court’s ruling in the X Case. The problem is fundamentally one relating to that judgement. The reason there is no such legislation is that it is widely recognised that it would be impossible to draft legislation within the parameters of the X Case judgement that would not widely permit abortion in circumstances that would be unacceptable to a substantial majority of the Irish people. The X Case provided no gestational time limit for abortion and, by recognising a threat of suicide as grounds for abortion, opened the possibility, in effect, of abortion on demand. In the absence of a revisiting of the X Case judgement by the Supreme Court, the only means whereby this problem can be resolved is a further amendment of the Irish Constitution that would allow for legislation clarifying the circumstances in which doctors can intervene to save the life of a pregnant woman. This is why Family & Life is in favour of such an amendment.

If the government believes what it argued in this case, then it must act to ensure that current medical practice which ensures that essential medical treatment is provided to all women in Ireland continues. Medical interventions necessary to save a mother’s life, even if the life of her unborn child is unintentionally lost, are legal and available, but the deliberate killing of the unborn must remain a crime

I would recommend adding FAMILY & LIFE HERE to your favourite sites.

Pope speaks of abuse by priests, and pornography, in Annual Address to Roman Curia

VATICAN CITY, 20 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father held his traditional meeting with the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and members of the Roman Curia and of the Governorate of Vatican City State, in order to exchange Christmas greetings.

Recalling the principal events of the past twelve months, the Pope noted how "with great joy we began the Year for Priests and, thanks to God, were able to conclude it with much gratitude, though it was very different to how we had imagined. Among us as priests and among the laity, also and especially the young, a renewed awareness arose of the great gift of the priesthood of the Catholic Church, which was entrusted to us by the Lord. One again we came to understand how beautiful it is that human beings are authorised to pronounce the name of God and, with complete authority, the word of forgiveness, and thus that they are able to change the world, to change life. How beautiful it is that human beings are authorised to pronounce the words of consecration. ... How beautiful it is to be able to remain, with the strength of Lord, close to mankind in his joys and sorrows".

"Thus our shock was even greater when, precisely in this year and in a dimension that we could not imagine, we became aware of the abuse of minors committed by priests who distort the Sacrament into its antithesis: under the veil of the sacred they inflicted profound harm on human beings in their infancy, causing damages that lasts a lifetime.

"In this context", the Pope added, "a vision of St. Hildegard of Bingen came to my mind, who disturbingly describes what we experienced this year".

"In St. Hildegard's vision the face of the Church was soiled with dust, and this is how we saw it. Her vestments were torn, and the fault was of priests. Just as she saw and expressed her vision, so have we lived this year. We must humbly accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves. We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair, as much as possible, the injustice committed. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our announcement, in our entire way of determining Christian existence, that such a thing could happen.

"We must discover a new resolve to be faithful and good. We must be capable of penance. We must strive to do everything possible, when preparing people for the priesthood, to ensure such a thing can never happen again. This is also the place to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone working to help victims, to restore their trust in the Church and their capacity to believe in her message.

"In my meetings with victims of this sin, I have also always encountered people who, with great dedication, remain close to those who are suffering or have been damaged. This is also an occasion to thank the many good priests who humbly and faithfully transmit the Lord's goodness and who, amidst so much devastation, are witnesses of the beauty of the priesthood, a beauty which has not been lost".

The Holy Father went on: "We are aware of the particular gravity of this sin committed by priests and of our consequent responsibility. Yet we cannot remain silent concerning the context of our time in which we see these events taking place. There is a market for child pornography which, in some way, seems to be increasingly considered by society as something normal. The psychological devastation of children in whom human beings are reduced to the level of a market commodity, is a frightening sign of the times".

In this context, the Holy Father mentioned the problem of drugs, "which with increasing strength extends its tentacles to the entire world. ... All pleasure becomes insufficient and excess under the delusion of intoxication turns into violence that rends entire regions. And all this in the name of a fatal misunderstanding of freedom, in which precisely man's freedom is undermined and in the end completely cancelled.

"To oppose these forces we must look at their ideological foundations. In the 1970s it was theorised that paedophilia was entirely consistent with man and with children. This, however, was part of a basic perversion of the concept of 'ethos'" in which "nothing is good or bad in itself, everything depends on the circumstances and on the intended goal. ... Morality was replaced with a calculation of consequences, and by this process ceased to exist. The effects of these theories are evident today. Against them, Pope John Paul II, in his 1993 Encyclical 'Veritatis splendor', indicated with prophetic force the great rational tradition of Christian 'ethos' as the essential and permanent foundations for moral action. Today this text must once again be placed at the centre as a way to form consciences".

Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the Synod of the Churches of the Middle East which began when he consigned the "Instrumentum laboris" during his apostolic trip to Cyprus in June. "Even if full communion is not yet granted to us", said the Pope referring to the Orthodox Church, "we have nevertheless established with joy that the basic form of the ancient Church unites us profoundly with one another: the sacramental office of bishops as the bearer of apostolic tradition, the reading of Scripture according to the hermeneutic of the 'Regula fidei', the understanding of Scripture in its manifold unity centred on Christ, developed under divine inspiration, and finally, our faith in the central place of the Eucharist in the Church's life".

"We witnessed impressive manifestations of the rich Christian culture of the Christian East. But we also saw the problems. ... The wrongs and the deep wounds of the past were all too evident, but so too was the desire for the peace and communion that had existed before. Everyone knows that violence does not bring progress; indeed, it gave rise to the present situation. Only in a spirit of compromise and mutual understanding can unity be re-established. To prepare the people for this attitude of peace is an essential task of pastoral ministry.

"During the Synod itself", he added, "our gaze was extended over the whole of the Middle East, where the followers of different religions - as well as a variety of traditions and distinct rites - live together. ... In the turmoil of recent years, the tradition of peaceful coexistence has been shattered ... with the result that we witness with increasing alarm acts of violence in which there is no longer any respect for what the other holds sacred. ... In the present situation, Christians are the most oppressed and tormented minority. For centuries they lived peacefully together with their Jewish and Muslim neighbours. During the Synod we listened to wise words from the Counsellor of the Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon against acts of violence targeting Christians. He said: when Christians are wounded, we ourselves are wounded. Unfortunately, though, this and similar voices of reason, for which we are profoundly grateful, are too weak. Here too we come up against an unholy alliance between greed for profit and ideological blindness.

"On the basis of the spirit of faith and its rationality", the Pope went on, "the Synod developed a grand concept of dialogue, forgiveness and mutual acceptance, a concept that we now want to proclaim to the world. The human being is one, and humanity is one. Whatever damage is done to another in any one place, ends up by damaging everyone. Thus the words ... of the Synod must be a clarion call, addressed to all people with political or religious responsibility, to put a stop to Christianophobia; to rise up in defence of refugees and all who are suffering, and to revitalise the spirit of reconciliation".

The Holy Father also dwelt on his apostolic trip to the United Kingdom in September, during which he beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman, focusing his remarks on "two points that are connected with the theme of the responsibility of Christians at this time and with the Church's task to proclaim the Gospel".

On the subject of his meeting with the world of culture at Westminster Hall in London, the Pope noted how "Alexis de Tocqueville, in his day, observed that democracy in America had become possible and had worked because there existed a fundamental moral consensus which, transcending individual denominations, united everyone. Only if there is such a consensus on the essentials can constitutions and law function. This fundamental consensus derived from the Christian heritage is at risk wherever its place, the place of moral reasoning, is taken by purely instrumental rationality. ... In reality, this makes reason blind to what is essential. To resist this eclipse of reason and to preserve its capacity for seeing the essential, for seeing God and man, for seeing what is good and what is true, is the common interest that must unite all people of good will. The very future of the world is at stake".

On the subject of Cardinal Newman, the Holy Father highlighted the blessed's conversion to a "faith in the living God" in which he recognised that "God and the soul, man's spiritual identity, constitute what is genuinely real, what counts. ... Where such a conversion takes place, it is not just a person's theory that changes: the fundamental shape of life changes. We are all in constant need of such conversion: then we are on the right path.

"The driving force that impelled Newman along the path of conversion was conscience", meaning "man's capacity for truth: the capacity to recognise precisely in the decision-making areas of his life - religion and morals - a truth, the truth. At the same time, conscience - man's capacity to recognise truth - thereby imposes on him the obligation to set out along the path towards truth, to seek it and to submit to it wherever he finds it. ... The path of Newman's conversions is a path of conscience - not a path of self-asserting subjectivity but, on the contrary, a path of obedience to the truth that was gradually opening up to him".

Finally, the Holy Father also made brief mention of his trips to Malta, Portugal and Spain where, he said, "it once again became evident that the faith is not a thing of the past, but an encounter with the God Who lives and acts now".

AC/ VIS 20101220 (1770)

Consolata Missionaries ask for death sentence on men who killed Priest to be commuted

The Consolata Missionaries have issued a statement protesting over the death sentence verdicts delivered by Lady Justice Jessie Lessite in the High Court of Nairobi, Kenya to two men found guilty of murdering Fr Giuseppe Bertaina IMC, aged 81, on 19 January 2009.

While the Consolatas said they appreciated the speed in which the case had been solved, if Fr Giuseppe's killers were executed, it be be "an offence to his memory".

In an official statement, Superior Fr Aquiléo Fiorentini and the Council of the Consolate Missionary Institute said:

1. We consider it a positive step that the High Court has taken into consideration and solved this case, contrary to what happened in similar cases never solved like the murders of Fr Michele Stallone IMC killed at Loyangallani in 1965, Fr Luigi Graiff IMC killed at Parkati (Baragoi) in 1981, Fr Luigi Andeni IMC killed at Archer’s Post in 1998 and Bishop Luigi Locati IMC of Isiolo killed in 2005, just to name a few.

2. The Superior General, however, has already sent for filing, in the High Court of Nairobi, a letter in which he requests that the death sentence pronounced by the court against the two persons considered guilty of the murder of our confrere, Fr Giuseppe Bertaina should not be carried out but rather commuted at most to life imprisonment. As Christians, and even more as missionaries, we are totally against the death penalty, as we are also against every feeling and act of violence.

3. We also consider that, if the death sentence were to be carried out, this would be a great offence to the memory of Fr Giuseppe Bertaina, who spent all his existence for the life and promotion of the people of Kenya, working with passion and generosity for the formation of several generations of students. It is because of this commitment for life that he met his death and he could not desire anything else but redemption and life.

Source: MISNA

"The present college of Catholic bishops of China cannot be recognised as an episcopal conference by the Apostolic See"

VATICAN CITY, 17 DEC 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office has released the following English-language communique concerning the Eighth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives, which took place in Beijing from 7 to 9 December.

"With profound sorrow, the Holy See laments the fact that from 7 to 9 December there was held in Beijing the Eighth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives. This was imposed on numerous bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful. The manner in which it was convoked and its unfolding manifest a repressive attitude with regard to the exercise of religious liberty, which it was hoped had been consigned to the past in present-day China. The persistent desire to control the most intimate area of citizens' lives, namely their conscience, and to interfere in the internal life of the Catholic Church does no credit to China. On the contrary, it seems to be a sign of fear and weakness rather than of strength; of intransigent intolerance rather than of openness to freedom and to effective respect both of human dignity and of a correct distinction between the civil and religious spheres.

"On several occasions the Holy See had let it be known, first and foremost to the bishops, but also to all the faithful, and publicly, that they should not take part in the event. Each one of those who were present knows to what extent he or she is responsible before God and the Church. The bishops in particular and the priests will also have to face the expectations of their respective communities, who look to their own pastor and have a right to receive from him sure guidance in the faith and in the moral life.

"It is known, moreover, that many bishops and priests were forced to take part in the assembly. The Holy See condemns this grave violation of their human rights, particularly their freedom of religion and of conscience. Moreover, the Holy See expresses its deepest esteem for those who, in different ways, have borne witness to their faith with courage and it invites the others to pray, to do penance and, through their works, to reaffirm their own will to follow Christ with love, in full communion with the universal Church.

"Addressing those whose hearts are full of dismay and profound suffering, those who are wondering how it is possible that their own bishop or their own priests should have taken part in the assembly, the Holy See asks them to remain steadfast and patient in the faith; it invites them to take account of the pressures experienced by many of their pastors and to pray for them; it exhorts them to continue courageously supporting them in the face of the unjust impositions that they encounter in the exercise of their ministry.

"During the assembly, among other things, the leaders of the so-called Episcopal Conference and of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association were appointed. Concerning these two entities, and concerning the assembly itself, the words written by Pope Benedict XVI in his 2007 Letter to the Church in China continue to apply.

"In particular, the present college of Catholic bishops of China cannot be recognised as an episcopal conference by the Apostolic See: the 'clandestine' bishops, those not recognised by the government but in communion with the Pope, are not part of it; it includes bishops who are still illegitimate, and it is governed by statutes that contain elements incompatible with Catholic doctrine. It is deeply deplorable that an illegitimate bishop has been appointed as its president.

"Furthermore, regarding the declared purpose to implement the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration of the Church, it should be remembered that this is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, which from the time of the ancient Creeds professes the Church to be 'one, holy, catholic and apostolic'. It is therefore lamentable also that a legitimate bishop has been appointed president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

"This is not the path that the Church must follow in the context of a great and noble nation, which attracts the attention of world opinion for its significant achievements in so many spheres, but still finds it hard to implement the demands of genuine religious freedom, despite the fact that it professes in its Constitution to respect that freedom. What is more, the assembly has rendered more difficult the path of reconciliation between Catholics of the 'clandestine communities' and those of the 'official communities', thereby inflicting a deep wound not only upon the Church in China but also upon the universal Church.

"The Holy See profoundly regrets the fact that the celebration of the abovementioned assembly, as also the recent episcopal ordination without the indispensable papal mandate, have unilaterally damaged the dialogue and the climate of trust that had been established in its relations with the government of the People's Republic of China. The Holy See, while reaffirming its own wish to dialogue honestly, feels bound to state that unacceptable and hostile acts such as those just mentioned provoke among the faithful, both in China and elsewhere, a grave loss of the trust that is necessary for overcoming the difficulties and building a correct relationship with the Church, for the sake of the common good.

"In the light of what has happened, the Holy Father's invitation - addressed on 1 December 2010 to all the Catholics of the world to pray for the Church in China which is going through a particularly difficult time - remains pressing".

Dublin Archdiocese took 17 years to report abusive priest to Police

DUBLIN’S CATHOLIC archdiocese did not report child abuse allegations against now laicised priest Tony Walsh to the Garda until 17 years after it first received a complaint.
During that period, Walsh was likely to have abused “hundreds of children”, according to a chapter of the Murphy report published for the first time yesterday.
The report also reveals how a decision by an Irish church tribunal to remove Walsh from the priesthood in 1993 was overturned by the Vatican on appeal.
During this appeals process Walsh abused another child, which led to his being jailed for the first time.
In an observation, also published for the first time yesterday, the Murphy commission said “a major factor” in Rome’s decision to commute Walsh’s dismissal “appears to have been the lack of the imputability by reason of paedophilia”.
The commission found it “a matter of grave concern that, under canon law, a serial child sexual abuser might receive more favourable treatment from the Archdiocese or from Rome by reason of the fact that he was diagnosed as a paedophile”, and as such subject to “urges” beyond his control.
The Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said last night he did not think “that was a reflection of what canon lawyers think [now]”. In the case of ongoing trials in Dublin, paedophilia “was never offered as a defence”.
He added, however, in the past “most of the Irish bishops felt that dealing with the Congregation for Clergy was disastrous”.
Whereas the laicisation of Tony Walsh by Dublin might have been “appropriate as an exemplary sentence”, he was “not sure laicisation is always the best way”, he continued. It meant, for instance, that “over the years I had no control over Tony Walsh”.
Archbishop Martin, who earlier issued an apology to Walsh’s victims, said that “it was an appalling thing that Walsh was allowed continue for so long.”
The publication yesterday of chapter 19 of the Murphy report followed the imprisonment of Walsh on December 6th for abusing three boys in the 1970s and 1980s. He was sentenced to 16 years, four of which were suspended.
While the first complaint against Walsh was made in 1978, gardaí were first contacted about him in 1991 when a boy’s mother made a complaint. The then chancellor of the Dublin archdiocese Msgr Alex Stenson rang the relevant Garda station seeking details. Asked by a garda whether Walsh had a record, Msgr Stenson “evaded” the question, according to his own notes.

The commission acknowledged that Cardinal Desmond Connell “did act decisively once he became Archbishop” in 1988 where Walsh was concerned.

It was Cardinal Connell who decided to have Walsh laicised “and he pursued this course in spite of the advice, and indeed interference, of his judicial vicar (Msgr Gerard Sheehy) and in spite of the Roman Rota (Appeal Court)”.

The commission also found it “unacceptable” that two gardaí who had concerns about Walsh in 1990 and 1992 “failed to pursue a thorough criminal investigation”. A criminal investigation “of sorts” got under way in 1991 but “was effectively shelved because the Church was carrying out its own penal process”, it said. The archdiocese finally contacted the Garda over complaints about Walsh in May 1995.

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Cardinal Seán Brady's Statement on judgment by European Court .

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has issued the following statement in response to the judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights on A, B, and C v. Ireland:

"Today's judgment leaves future policy in Ireland on protecting the lives of unborn children in the hands of the Irish people and does not oblige Ireland to introduce legislation authorising abortion" - Cardinal Brady

The judgement given today by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the legal position on abortion in Ireland raises profound moral and legal issues which will require careful analysis a'nd reflection. Today's judgment leaves future policy in Ireland on protecting the lives of unborn children in the hands of the Irish people and does not oblige Ireland to introduce legislation authorising abortion.

The Irish Constitution clearly says that the right to life of the unborn child is equal to that of his or her mother. These are the fundamental human rights at stake. The Catholic Church teaches that neither the unborn child nor the mother may be deliberately killed.

The direct destruction of an innocent human life can never be justified, however difficult the circumstances. We are always obliged to act with respect for the inherent right to life of both the mother and the unborn child in the mother's womb.

No law which subordinates the rights of any human being to those of other human beings can be regarded as a just law.

At the beginning of Advent on 27 November last Pope Benedict spoke about the coming of Christ into our world in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Father reflected on the light that this sheds on the wonder of all human life. The embryo in the womb, he said, is not just a collection of cells but "a new living being, dynamic and marvellously ordered, a new individual of the human species. This is what Jesus was in Mary's womb; this is what we all were in our mother's womb."

As a society we all have a responsibility to respond sensitively to any woman who finds herself dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. I urge anyone in this situation to contact CURA, the crisis pregnancy support service.

Source: Irish Catholic Media Offoce

Court "fails to respect Ireland’s national sovereignty ": European Convention on Human Rights is not part of Irish Law

The European Court of Human Rights yesterday ruled that Irish abortion laws violated the rights of one of three women who sought terminations in Britain. The woman, who was in remission for a rare form of cancer, feared it might return as a result of her pregnancy.

While abortion in Ireland is technically allowed if a woman's life, as distinct from health, is at risk, the court said that was not made possible for the woman involved.

The ECHR unanimously ruled this that the woman's rights were breached because she had no “effective or accessible procedure” to establish her right to a “lawful abortion”. The woman—known only as “C”—had a rare form of cancer and feared it would relapse when she became pregnant. She claimed she was unable to find a doctor willing to make a determination as to whether her life would be at risk if she continued to term. In the absence of any medical evidence, the court concluded that neither the “medical consultation nor litigation options” relied on by the Government constituted “effective or accessible procedures”.

“Moreover, there was no explanation why the existing constitutional right had not been implemented to date,” the court ruled. “Consequently, it concluded that Ireland had breached the woman's right to respect for her private life given the failure to implement the existing Constitutional right to a lawful abortion in Ireland.”The court ruled that there had been no violation of the rights of the two other women involved in the case—A and B.

All three women were supported in their litigation by the Irish Family Planning Association, an organisation which receives state funding.

The Irish Government defended Ireland’s ban on abortion before the court and said Ireland’s abortion laws were based on “profound moral values deeply embedded in Irish society”.

Pro-abortion groups responded to the ruling by saying the State had no choice other than to legislate for abortion.

The Catholic Primate, Cardinal Seán Brady, said the ruling raised profound moral and legal issues which require careful analysis.“Today’s judgment leaves future policy in Ireland on protecting the lives of unborn children in the hands of the Irish people and does not oblige Ireland to introduce legislation authorising abortion,” he said.

The direct destruction of an innocent human life could never be justified, however difficult the circumstances, he said. “We are always obliged to act with respect for the inherent right to life of both the mother and the unborn child in the mother’s womb.”

Pro-life groups have protested over the ruling and will be campaigning against its implementation.

“Today’s judgement represents a total disregard for either the right to life of the unborn or the practice of medicine in Ireland and can only be described as politically motivated interference in the sovereignty of the Republic of Ireland”, commented David Manly of the Irish campaign group, Family and Life.

Family and Life said in a statement: "Today’s judgment makes a mockery of the very notion of human rights by ignoring the most fundamental right of all, the right to life. If the government believes what it argued in this case, then it must act to ensure that current medical practice which ensures that essential medical treatment is provided to all women in Ireland continues. Medical interventions necessary to save a mother’s life, even if the life of her unborn child is unintentionally lost, are legal and available, but the deliberate killing of the unborn must remain a crime."

The ruling will put pressure on the Irish Government to introduce legislation or official guidelines on access to abortion for women in similar situations.

John Smeaton, national director of the Society for Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said: "The court has misinterpreted the Irish Constitution and confused abortion with healthcare. The Irish Constitution does not confer any right to abortion, nor can the right to life of unborn children in any way be held to be in competition with the right to life of their mothers. Abortion is not healthcare, and Ireland, where abortion is banned, has the world's best record for maternal health. If implemented in law, this judgement would legalize abortion in a wide range of circumstances.

"This case was never about helping women faced with a crisis pregnancy. It was instigated by the international abortion lobby, which has with the ultimate aim of forcing governments across the globe to recognise access to abortion as a legal right.

“This warped decision lacks all legitimacy. It is vitally important that the people of Ireland continue to stand-up for the rights of unborn children who are the youngest and most vulnerable members of society. Abortion not only kills children: it is deeply damaging to women", concluded Mr Smeaton.

Patrick Buckley, of European Life Network Ireland and of SPUC, said: “The court has failed to respect Ireland’s national sovereignty by unilaterally misinterpreting the Irish Constitution's protection of the right to life. Ireland must dismiss out of hand this interference in a very sensitive national and constitutional issue. Europe is again deciding over the heads of the Irish people. We wonder what will be next tomorrow?

“In protecting the unborn from abortion Ireland is fulfilling its duty under international human rights law to protect the lives of its innocent citizens. In any case, the Irish Supreme Court has already ruled* that the Irish Constitution trumps the European Convention on Human Rights, because the Convention is not part of Irish law and therefore not directly applicable in Irish cases”, concluded Mr Buckley.

Importance of RE recognised in new report

New research among young people, including school leavers and those in full time education, indicates that Religious Education (RE) is a valued subject that leaves a lasting impression on those who study it. This timely research comes as the government sets out its Schools White Paper, calling for a return to traditional humanities-based subjects.

The study, released this morning, was commissioned by the RE Council of England and Wales (REC), and involved 1,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 years. It found that 80 per cent of respondents thought studying RE could promote better understanding of different religions and beliefs. This figure rose to 83 per cent amongst those who had studied RE at GCSE and was consistently higher for young women (85 per cent among the 19-21 year olds). There was notable support for this sentiment from all religions and beliefs, including 77 per cent of those who said they were atheists.

Professor John Howson, former government advisor and managing director of Education Data Surveys said: “This is an authoritative survey that clearly demonstrates the key place of Religious Education in the school curriculum. In our increasingly diverse world, it is important that young people have the opportunity to understand the nature of faith and belief in society. It is very encouraging that 83 per cent of those who took a GCSE felt that studying Religious Education in schools can help to promote a better understanding of different religions and beliefs up to eight years after taking the course.”

RE lessons are part of every school’s core curriculum and a majority of students go on to choose to take a GCSE in RE as one of their humanities subjects. Respondents were asked if they had been positively influenced by studying RE at school; those who had taken a GCSE were more likely to have been positively influenced.

Dr Brian Gates, Emeritus Professor of Religious and Moral Education at the University of Cumbria and chair of the REC added:
“Our research has shown RE has a measurable impact on those who study it; RE in schools shouldn’t be viewed as controversial or a minefield but an essential part of the humanities mix. RE is a rigorous academically based subject that will equip and inform future generations about the origins and meanings of the different beliefs, ethics and opinions found in Britain and around the world.”

Today RE lessons explore different religions and beliefs as well as allowing children and young people the opportunity to discuss and question accompanying moral and social responses. The study asked young people what they remembered about their RE lessons at school. The most popular memory was learning about several different religions, the second was debates on right and wrong.

The memories of RE were consistent across the group, with 57 per cent of the younger 16-18 year old age group remembering debates on right and wrong, compared with 42 per cent of the 19-24 group, perhaps reflecting an increased focus on moral
and ethical issues.

The sample was a representative cross-section of all religions and beliefs. Among them, only 32 per cent disagreed with a statement that there should be more effective teaching about Christianity so they can better understand English history, culture and society.

Gates concludes: “This current and topical study shows RE is relevant to young people today and has a lasting impact on them. The REC is calling for the subject remain a statutory part of the school curriculum, alongside other humanities such as History and Geography.”

In response to the statement, Dr Oona Stannard, head of the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales, said: "The contents of today's statement from the RE Council about young people and Religious Education confirms what many of us have long known. Religious Education (RE) is a crucially important subject in the curriculum and pupils recognise this and its importance to their lives. They want to study RE.

"It is in RE that pupils have the opportunity to learn about the importance of faith and belief both to those of faith and in the wider terms of its impact on society, cultures and life style. RE is the subject where pupils engage in the larger, philosophical questions of life and, as the RE Council survey has shown, have the space to discuss issues of right and wrong. Done well, RE also helps young people to make more sense of history and to better understand English literature.

"We must listen not only to what young people have told us about the importance of RE, but also to what other evidence and common sense tells us - Religious Education is crucial to individuals' development and contributes to the well being of society.

"I hope that the RE Council's research will be a wakeup call for Government and Ministers as they plan their strategies to raise standards and to review the curriculum. The omission of RE from the proposed English Baccalaureate is a blunder, but I hope that Government will have the grace to acknowledge this as a mistake that can easily be rectified."

Source: RE Council of England and Wales (REC)/CES

My comment: I have always believed that RE is an important part of life. I also believe that what is taught should be true. How sad that many of our "Catholic" programmes get it so wrong! Not to mention the Hymns that we use e.g. "My God Loves me" which has the heretical statement, from a Catholic point of view, that "He comes to me, in sharing bread and wine" (Protestant). He doesn't. He comes to us in sharing His Body and Blood (Catholic). Yet how often is that hymn used in RE programmes and assemblies. as well as in Mass. St. John Chrysostom once said about prayer "pay attention to the words you are using, and remember you are speaking them to One who is listening"

Bishops' Conference of England & Wales lauches new Web resource for those suffering Domestic Abuse

A new web resource for Catholics experiencing domestic abuse has been launched by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales Domestic Abuse Working Group.

The aim of CEDAR (Catholics Experiencing Domestic Abuse Resources) is to create an environment within the Catholic community in which domestic abuse is understood and recognised as unacceptable and where appropriate responses are available.

Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, David McGough said: "Domestic abuse is possibly the most widespread and yet most hidden form of abuse in society today and I know from many years experience as a parish priest that our own Catholic Community is no exception.

"From our point of view, the bishops of England and Wales, we are quite clear in our understanding as to why this resource is so necessary and the roots from which our concerns spring.

"First and foremost, domestic abuse is not tolerated because the inherent dignity of every individual is something that is rooted in nature. For those of faith there is a vision that each and every person is formed in the image and likeness of God. That image and likeness is to be cherished and safeguarded.

"The Church's teaching over many years is that the home is the place where that precious image is developed; is safeguarded. But in situations where that is not the case, we do first of all need to recognise that where abuse is occurring; we need to listen to the victims. Often it will be the parish priest who will be approached; that's not to say that the parish priest is the only person who could be approached; it could be the leader of any organisation or anyone in the parish who is a part of the community."

The CEDAR website is aimed at all those who serve in any capacity in the Church; it recognises that domestic abuse is not just between spouses but also impacts elderly people being cared for by family members. It features a range of existing resources as well as new resources developed specifically for this initiative. These include a series of podcasts, featuring, among others, Archbishop Bernard Longley, who affirms the Church's position on domestic abuse.

In addition to raising awareness about the CEDAR website - Elizabeth Davies, Marriage and Family Life Project Officer - would like to see the new CEDAR door stickers put up inside every church toilet door throughout England and Wales. The stickers highlight the new CEDAR website address and the National Domestic Abuse helpline number. She also hopes that parish volunteers will be equipped with the new CEDAR prayer cards which again highlight the Domestic Abuse helpline number and web resources.

For more information see HERE

The European Court of Human Rights ruling on abortion in Ireland due on Thursday

The European Court of Human Rights is issuing a ruling this week on whether Ireland’s restrictions on abortion violate women’s human rights. The ruling, which could have significant implications for Irish abortion law, is based on a case taken by three women in Ireland who say their health was put at risk by being forced to go abroad for abortions, according to a report in the Irish Times, issued by Lifezine today.

The court is due to issue its ruling at a public sitting of the court’s grand chamber this Thursday, rather than a more common written judgment. The Strasbourg-based court, which is separate from the EU, adjudicates on human rights issues among all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. The identities of the women – known as A, B and C – are confidential. Two of them are Irish and one is a Lithuanian national who was residing in Ireland.

All of them travelled to the UK to have an abortion after becoming pregnant. They include a woman who ran the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the baby develops outside the womb; a woman who received chemotherapy for cancer; and a woman whose children were placed in care as she was unable to cope.

If the court rules that the women’s rights were breached, it is likely the Government would come under pressure to legislate for abortion under the circumstances of the 1992 “X” case, where the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was lawful where the life and health of the mother were at risk.

Equally, however, the court could rule that the availability of medical treatment, support and advice in Ireland meant the women’s rights were not breached; or that the applicants should have their cases heard first in Irish courts to satisfy the requirement of the convention to avail of all domestic legal remedies.

The women, who are funded by the Irish Family Planning Association (the Irish affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which is really anti-parents and pro-abortion)– argued before the court last December that they were subject to indignity, stigmatisation and ill-health as a result of being forced to travel abroad for their abortions.

The Government, however, robustly defended the laws and said that Ireland’s abortion laws were based on “profound moral values deeply embedded in Irish society”. It argued that the European Convention on Human Rights had consistently recognised the traditions of different countries regarding the rights of unborn children.

However, it maintained that the women’s challenge sought to undermine these principles and align Ireland with countries with more permissive abortion laws.

In a statement, Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign – which participated in the case as a third party – said the court had a strong duty to make clear the distinction between abortion and necessary medical treatments in pregnancy. “The Pro Life Campaign hopes the court’s findings respect human life at all stages of development. After all, without the right to life all other rights are meaningless,” she said.

MY Comment: The practice of courts extending or even making "law" should be prescribed by international law duly made by sovereign nations. The "right" to abortion was first introduced in US by the Supreme court, not by legislators and certainly not by the people.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation of course is anti-parent and pro-abortion, in my opinion.

I hope all will pray for the gift of Right Judgment for the European Court judges between now and Thursday

Fr. Kit Cunningham RIP

Father Kit Cunningham, the much-loved former Rector of St Etheldreda's in Ely Place, London, died yesterday at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. He was 79 and was suffering from a lung infection.

A Rosminian, Fr Kit served at St Etheldreda's for more than 32 years. He supported dozens of charities, was the founding editor of the Westminster Record which he worked on for 25 years, and for many years chaired the Catholic Writers Guild.

May the Lord have mercy on his soul.

Anniversary of Clapham Junction Rail crash

Today is the anniversary of the train crash at Clapham Junction that claimed thirty five lives in 1988. May they rest in peace.
Kindly remember them in your prayers and also their families.

I was a full time chaplain in the hospital to which most of the dead and injured were brought and was actually distributing Communion there when the "major disaster" call came though on my bleep. and air-call.

Priests from surrounding parishes came in to help during that day, including Father Mildew aka as Fr. Clifton, and the area bishop and the archbishop.

The A & E department had just been blessed in an ecumenical service on the previous Sunday.

Report on Anti-Christian Intolerance and Hate Crimes in Europe

VIENNA, Austria, DEC. 10, 2010 A report released today documents several instances of anti-Christian hate crimes throughout Europe, as well as evidence of intolerance and discrimination. It calls for international action on behalf of Christians.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe released the five-year report today.

It was publicized to coincide with the two-day Human Dimension Implementation Meeting on Freedom of Religion of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which ended today in Vienna.

The observatory's director, Gudrun Kugler, noted that "intolerance and discrimination against Christians includes the denial of rights of Christians, such as in the area of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience."

She continued: "Religious freedom is endangered especially with regard to its public and its institutional dimension.

"We also receive many reports on the removal of Christian symbols, misrepresentation and negative stereotyping of Christians in the media, and social disadvantages for Christians, such as being ridiculed or overlooked for promotion in the workplace."

"We work toward greater awareness of a growing problem in Europe as a first step of a remedy," Kugler said. "Our goal is equal rights for all, including Christians."

The observatory has a Web site through which it has been monitoring and cataloging instances of anti-Christian discrimination.

In the report's section on hate crimes involving violent attacks on Christian individuals, several instances were documented. Among these, it listed attacks on pro-life activists in Vienna last September, the beating of a Catholic priest as well as an Orthodox priest in Germany, a violent attack on four Franciscan monks in their monastery in Italy, and many other examples.

It also noted that in November 2009 the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics showing a 9% increase in crimes against religious groups the previous year, and a 25% increase in hate crimes against Catholics.

The report noted, "While Christianity holds a majority in Europe at least in numbers, it faces acts of intolerance, partly inflicted by small radical groups."

"Discriminatory laws are created when intolerance is paired with legislative power," it added. "It is the duty of the political community to be aware of and tackle the phenomenon of intolerance and discrimination against Christians as a call for equal rights and freedoms for everyone."

The observatory published several recommendations to address these problems.

It urged the governments of individual European nations to "refrain from interferences and to modify legislation that discriminates against Christians."

It called on the authorities to "recognize and condemn intolerance and discrimination against Christians and ensure the right of Christians to participate fully in public life."

The observatory encouraged the European Union "to respect, without prejudice, the protection of the autonomy of churches in accordance with Article 17 (1) of the Lisbon Treaty and to promote more dialogue with church leaders on the issue of intolerance and discrimination in accordance with Article 17 (2)."

Addressing the Fundamental Rights Agency, it appealed them to "make freedom of religion, speech and conscience a priority of their work."

The report recommended to the OSCE members to "use all their means to work against intolerance against Christians" and to collaborate "more closely with representatives of Christian churches."
FULL REPORT HERE

Wisconsin chapel approved as first US Marian apparition site

Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has given his approval to a chapel in the town of Champion as now the first approved Marian apparition site in the United States.

On Dec. 8, 2010 –the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception– the bishop decreed with “moral certainty” after a two year investigation that the Virgin Mary had indeed appeared to a young Belgian immigrant woman, Sr. Adele Brise, on three occasions in October of 1859.

Since 1861, the site of those apparitions has been home to a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary under her title “Our Lady of Good Help.” Following a two-year investigation of the alleged apparitions, Bishop Ricken proclaimed them “worthy of belief,” and confirmed his diocese's official recognition of the popular shrine.

During each of those three apparitions, a lady in shining white clothes appeared to Adele. The third time, she identified herself as “the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.”

“I wish you to do the same,” she told the 28-year-old woman, who had intended to become a nun before coming to America. Adele and her family lived on a small homestead in Wisconsin, which had become a U.S. state only 11 years earlier.

The Virgin Mary also gave her a mission of evangelism and catechesis: “Gather the children in this wild country, and teach them what they should know for salvation … Go and fear nothing. I will help you.”

Adele Brise went on to become a Third Order Franciscan. She traveled throughout the frontier state giving religious instruction to children and adults, striving to fulfill the heavenly mandate. Her work was especially important at a time when Wisconsin severely lacked priests, and simply attending church could involve a strenuous journey.

Near the chapel, her community of Franciscan women also established a school. When a fire ravaged the area near the apparition site in 1871, the chapel and school were the only buildings left standing, along with their convent and a surrounding area of land consecrated to the Virgin Mary.

In 1890, six years before she died, Sister Adele's adopted hometown of Robinsonville renamed itself after the Belgian town of Champion. The Franciscan sister had asked for the change, in honor of a childhood promise she had made to the Virgin Mary to enter a Belgian religious order in that region.

Bishop Ricken told CNA that Sister Adele's own life was among the most convincing testimonies to the validity of the apparition. Rather than calling attention to herself or the apparitions, she had humbly devoted the rest of her life to fulfilling the instructions she had received.

“She went all over this area, and visited the homes that were scattered far and wide,” Bishop Ricken said, recounting the sister's Franciscan spirit of humble
simplicity. “She walked most of the time, and she'd spend several days with the children teaching them the catechism and talking with the parents about their faith.”

“She really had an evangelistic spirit … and lived that out, not just immediately after the message, but her whole life long.”

Bishop Ricken said the simplicity and clarity of Mary's message also testified to the truth of the apparitions. Her instructions to Sister Adele were “simple, but very much loaded with the main message of the Gospel and with the teachings of the Church.”

The bishop also recalled discovering “countless stories of answered prayers,” including reports of “what many call miracles,” among those who had visited the shrine to seeking intercession from Our Lady of Good Help.

Although the bishop's approval of the apparitions is new, his recognition of the chapel's status as a diocesan shrine simply confirms what pilgrims have implicitly understood about the sacred place for over 150 years.

Bishop Ricken explained that he has heard “story after story” of “incredible” cures and conversions – and understands that the events of October 9, 1859 are still having life-changing effects among the faithful. Like the famous French apparition site at Lourdes, the shrine in Champion has a collection of crutches that pilgrims have discarded as unnecessary after receiving healing there.

Fr. John Doefler, rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, indicated there could be an even more profound connection between the Blessed Virgin's appearance in Lourdes, and the apparition to Adele Brise. He pointed out that she had appeared to Adele Brise one year after her appearances to St. Bernadette Soubirous, and announced herself in a way that connected both events.

“In Lourdes, Mary identifies herself as the Immaculate Conception,” Fr. Doefler explained.“Here, she identifies herself as the Queen of Heaven … Between the two of them, it encompasses all of the Marian mysteries” – from the very beginning of her life, to its culmination in “the Assumption and the Coronation.”

Give Mary the gift of our prayer and listen to her, urges the Pope

Benedict XVI blessed a basket of roses today that was later placed at the feet of the Column of the Immaculate, but reminded those present that the most precious gift one can give to Mary is prayer.

The Pope said this yesterday, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, during his annual visit to the image of the Immaculate Conception in Rome's Piazza di Spagna. The column of the Immaculate was erected in 1857, shortly after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

"We are gathered around this historic monument, which today is all surrounded by flowers, sign of the love and devotion of the Roman people for the Mother of Jesus," the Pontiff said. "And the most beautiful gift, and most pleasing to her, that we offer is our prayer, the one we bear in our hearts and which we entrust to her intercession.

"They are invocations of gratitude and supplication: of gratitude for the gift of faith and for all the good that we receive daily from God; and supplication for our different needs, for the family, health, work, for every difficulty that life has us encounter."

The Holy Father then reflected that even more important than gifts or offerings is the act of listening to what Mary has to say.

"She speaks to us with the Word of God, which became flesh in her womb. Her 'message' is none other than Jesus, who is her whole life," the Holy Father stated.

"With a look full of hope and compassion," the Pontiff affirmed, Mary tells each and every person: "Fear not, son, God loves you! He loves you personally; he thought of you before you came into the world and called you into existence to fill you with love and life; and because of this, he has come to meet you, he made himself like you, he became Jesus, God-Man, in everything similar to you, but without sin; he gave himself for you, to the point of dying on the cross, and thus has given you a new life, free, holy and immaculate."

Look of love

"Mary's look is God's look on each one of us," he continued. "She looks at us with the very love of the Father and blesses us."

"Even if everyone spoke evil of us, she, the Mother, would say the good, because her immaculate heart is attuned to God's mercy," Benedict XVI said. "Thus, she sees the city not as an anonymous agglomeration, but as a constellation where God knows everyone personally by name, one by one, and calls us to shine with his light.

"And those that in the eyes of the world are the first, for God they are the last; those who are little, are great for God. He recognizes in each one the likeness with his Son Jesus, even if we are so different!

"But who more than she knows the power of Divine Grace? Who better than she knows that nothing is impossible for God, capable in fact of drawing good from evil?"

The Pope reminded those present the message of Mary "is a message of trust for every person of this city and of the whole world. A message of hope not made of words, but of her own history."

"Thank you, O Mary Immaculate, for always being with us," the Holy Father said in a prayerful appeal to Our Lady. "Always watch over our city: comfort the sick, encourage young people, sustain families. Infuse the strength to reject evil, in every form, and to choose the good, even when it costs and entails going against the current. Give us the joy of feeling loved by God, blessed by him, predestined to be his children."

Congregation for the Clergy writes on The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Citations:
Gen 3,9-15.20:

Ep 1,3-6.11-12:
Lc 1,26-38:
‘Hail Mary, full of grace’. For thousands of centuries, millions of times per day the Virgin Mary is greeted by the faithful with the greeting of the Archangel, that we hear resonating a new in today’s Gospel. The sons of the Church learn from the words of the Archangel Gabriel that the fullness of the mystery of God’s grace was realised in Holy Mary. St Paul, the Apostle teaches us that the Father made all fullness dwell in His Incarnate Son (c.f. Col 1:12-20), which overflows from Christ’s head and spills out on His Mystical Body that is the Church. Before descending in Body, Christ’s fullness was spread in a unique and unrepeatable way on Mary, predestined from eternity to be the Mother of God.

Significantly in the first reading, the liturgy recalls the figure of Eve, the mother of all the living. The Father’s of the Church saw in Mary, the new Eve that unties the knot bound by the first woman. The knot of disobedience tied by Eve, was untied by the obedience of Mary. As Eve was created in purity and integrity, also the new Eve was miraculously preserved from the contamination of original sin because she had to give humanity the Word, who was incarnated for our ransom.

Saint Irenaeus compares the virginity of the pure earth from which Adam was drawn to the virginity of the immaculate humanity of Mary from which the Second Adam was drawn. ‘And as the protoplast himself Adam, had his substance from untilled and as yet virgin soil (for God had not yet sent rain, and man had not tilled the ground (Genesis2:5)) so did He who is the Word, recapitulating Adam in Himself, rightly receive a birth, enabling Him to gather up Adam [into Himself], from Mary, who was as yet a virgin’. (Adversus hereses III, 21:10 http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/index3.htm)

Blessed Pope Pius IX on the 8th December 1854 proclaimed the Dogma of the faith revealed by God that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin" (Denz. – Schonm, 2083). If the official proclamation of the dogma is relatively recent, the profession of faith by Christians and the liturgy is very ancient in this regard. Furthermore, four years later the same Virgin Mary, appearing in Lourdes to St Bernadette, confirmed the truth of the doctrine by presenting herself with the title ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’.

Mary’s predestination to this singular grace – consistent with the suspension of the universal degree by which every man, from the moment of his conception is contaminated with original sin – leads us to ponder in the deepest depths the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity’s salvific plan. God, One and Triune had foreseen from the very beginning the future incarnation of the Word cumulating in the redemption of human nature that had fallen into sin. He therefore predestined pure Mary, so that He could draw from her uncontaminated humanity, which the Son could adopt in order to re-establish in Himself the original purity of creation and reorientate it to eternal glory.

For this reason, in the second reading of today’s liturgy, St Paul reminds us that God wants to see us holy and immaculate before Him. The purity of our origins seamed to be irredeemably lost. However, in Immaculate Mary, God found the perfect solution to reverse the disaster made from the misuse of our liberty, and returned humanity to the original purity that seamed hopelessly lost.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception is a direct consequence of her Divine Maternity. St Anslem of Aosla wrote: ‘Assuredly, it was fitting that the Virgin be beautified with a purity than which a greater cannot be conceived, except for God's. For, toward her, God the Father was so disposed to give His only Son was naturally one and the same common Son of God the Father and of the Virgin.’ (De conceptu virginali et originali peccato, XVIII)

This link between the privilege of Divine Maternity and Mary’s Immaculate Conception results also in her superiority with respect to us. She is a perfect image of the Church in heaven, the new triumphant Jerusalem, that won’t have any marks nor will there be pain and death. This is why today’s preface recites: …she was to be a worthy mother of your Son, your sign of favour to the church at its beginning, and the promise of its perfection as the bride of Christ, radiant in beauty’. Also in heaven Mary isn’t or will ever be only a disciple, but her Son’s most exalted. She is and will always be the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, the Queen of the Angels and Saints. Therefore, the preface of the Mass adds: ‘…You chose her from all creatures to be our advocate with you and our pattern of holiness.’

Mary was Immaculate because she had to be the Mother of God. She, herself has received the original grace of purity and the final state of the blessed life that we also, by collaborating with Divine Grace, hope one day to receive.

Immaculate Mary is full of grace. She is not only Christ’s disciple, that with the help of grace has overcome the chains of sin, but she is totius Trinitatis nobile triclinium, the noble resting place of the Holy Trinity (St Thomas Acuinas, Exposito Salutatioris Angelicae, I). The Immaculate, full of grace will always be Mother and Queen for that elect part of the Church that we hope one day to join, that will one day will joyfully sing in front of the Almighty.

The above was received yesterday by email from the Congregation for the Clergy.

Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee

A Labour Legacy - Family breakdown costs £20billion - most on break-up of co-habiting couples

Half of all children born today will see their parents split up before the age of 16, according to a shocking study of Broken Britain.

The collapse of cohabiting relationships, rather than divorce, is to blame for the rise in family breakdown, says the research.

It calls for the government to 'reassert marriage' and help strengthen the relationships of unmarried new parents.

The number of children who will face family breakdown has soared from 40 per cent to 48 per cent over the last decade, according to analysis of official figures.

The report undermines the claims of politically correct campaigners - endorsed by the last Labour government - who have said there is no difference between marriage and cohabiting and that it was not for government to interfere with people's choice of how they arranged their lives.

The report, carried out jointly by the Centre for Social Justice think tank ( sey up by Tory Ian Duncan-Smith )and the Bristol Community Family Trust, found that family breakdown costs taxpayers £20billion every year.

While more than half of children are born to married parents, divorce accounts for just one in five family break-ups for the under fives - and just 14 per cent of the costs.

The collapse of cohabiting relationships costs taxpayers four times as much.

The report says: 'Of every £7 spent on family breakdown among young families (by the taxpayer), £1 is spent on divorce, £4 is spent on unmarried dual registered parents who separate and £2 is spent on sole registered parents.


Comment: The above counts only some financial cost - nothing about emotional cost and the health costs arising from that, nor about the "social" costs.

Anglican parish in Canada votes to join Catholic Church

A small congregation of Anglicans in the western province of Alberta, has voted to accept an invitation from the Pope to join the Catholic Church.

Most of the 70 members of the St John the Evangelist Anglican parish in Calgary, voted in favour of the change last month after a year of talks with Catholic Church officials.

“We accept, unreservedly and with humility and gratitude, the invitation of His Holiness Pope Benedict to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church,” reads the motion the congregation approved.

The Vicar, Fr Lee Kenyon, a married father of two children, was not available for comment. In a message on the parish website on Monday, he said:

“As we go forward on our new spiritual journey, we welcome your prayers and understanding, but please respect our privacy during these trying times."

Rev Kenyon and his parishioners will now undergo a course of religious instruction before they join the Church next Easter.

Issues such as ownership of the church building have yet to be discussed. The Anglican Diocese of Calgary has not commented yet.

Neil MacCarthy, a spokesman for Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto, who has been appointed by the Vatican to work as the liaison for cpnversions from the Anglican Church said: “We want to welcome them and express joy at their desire to become members of the Catholic community,”

“At the same time we also have to recognize that there is still a process that needs to be undertaken. We are responding from a request from the community. It is not a case where we are actively trying to go after communities saying, ‘Hey, we want you to join here.””

MacCarthy said Calgary’s St John Anglican congregation was the first parish to take such a step in Canada, but there were others also expressing interest.

He said it was too early to say whether the Catholic Church in Canada would set up an Ordinariate for Anglicans on the lines of the model being developed in the UK.

For more information see: HERE

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York designated a Basilica

New York City’s first Catholic cathedral, a landmark Gothic Revival church built in downtown Manhattan two centuries ago, when sailing ships crowded the harbour and DeWitt Clinton was mayor, was elevated to the status of a basilica on Sunday, honoring a rich history of succor to waves of immigrants.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan led the afternoon vespers at which St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in downtown Manhattan was officially inaugurated as a basilica.
Under vaulting stone arches and golden Florentine light slanting over a crowded nave through stained-glass windows, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, an ornament of old New York at Prince and Mott Streets in NoLIta, was officially inaugurated a basilica at afternoon vespers led by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan.

The designation — an act formally approved by Pope Benedict XVI in March to fulfill a hope expressed by Archbishop Dolan at the cathedral’s bicentennial last year — changed not a brick about the cathedral, built from 1809 to 1815 by Joseph François Mangin, the architect who designed City Hall.

Although the title carries symbolic privileges and responsibilities, including acting as the pope’s home parish on visits to the Archdiocese of New York, the designation was foremost an acknowledgment of the church’s history of ministering to generations of Irish, Italian, Hispanic and Asian immigrants; of sheltering orphans and nurturing soldiers; and of defending parishioners from 19th-century anti-Catholic mobs.

“It recognizes our history,” said Msgr. Donald Sakano, the pastor. “But even more, it indicates that we have a role, a mission.”

He was referring to his basilica’s future in changing neighborhoods, including NoLIta, Little Italy and SoHo, where immigrants once crowded into cold-water flats and artists found refuge in spacious lofts. In recent years, the area has been transformed by the arrival of fancy boutiques, specialty shops, multi-million-dollar apartments and, from his perspective, a new generation of souls.

“Now we are surrounded by young people,” Monsignor Sakano said. “It’s a young, vibrant, trendy area.”

St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was the first seat of the Diocese of New York, which was established in 1808. But it lost that distinction in 1879, when the new and much larger St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue at 50th Street was completed and became the seat of a growing New York archdiocese.

The old cathedral was damaged by fire in 1866, but restored in 1868. It is a soaring brick-and-stone edifice, 120 feet long with a vault of 85 feet, topped by a bell tower reminiscent of an old California mission. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The interior is stunning, with gracefully slender columns supporting arches that seem to soar in all directions. Chandeliers suspended on long chains light the aisles. Marble floors lead to a bright marble altar that is surrounded by carved motifs of saints, screens of gold leaf and a painting depicting the Resurrection. In the choir is a Henry Erben organ.

Beneath the church is a labyrinth of mortuary vaults. In the church graveyard were buried many of New York’s early bishops and prominent Catholics, including Pierre Toussaint, a black man born a slave in Haiti, who became a prominent abolitionist and whose canonization is under consideration in Rome. His remains were removed to the Midtown cathedral in 1990.

St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, named for Ireland’s patron saint, is a trove of Catholic history. Elizabeth Ann Seton, America’s first native-born saint, established an orphanage on the site. The rectory was home to Archbishop John Hughes, who assembled parishioners to defend against marauding anti-Catholic Nativists, and to John McCloskey, America’s first cardinal, who received his red cap in a ceremony attended by the future president, Chester A. Arthur.

On Sunday, Archbishop Dolan, wearing a white miter, carrying a gold staff and accompanied by his archdiocesan predecessor, Cardinal Edward M. Egan, led a procession of bagpipers, clerics and fraternal orders into the church for the ceremonies.

The pews were packed, and crowds stood in the aisles. The organ boomed and hymns were sung. Archbishop Dolan blessed two symbolic artifacts, a bell and a colorful umbrella, items that traditionally accompanied a pope in Roman street processions. These were now to be entrusted to the new basilica.

In a homily, Archbishop Dolan spoke of the church’s historic past and future vitality.

“The title basilica is awarded to a church because of its historical, spiritual, cultural and artistic value,” he said. “This is still a living, breathing, loving, embracing, serving parish.”