Pastoral workers slain in 2011

Twenty-six pastoral workers--including 18 priests, four sisters, and four laity--were killed in 2011, according to the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Seven were killed in Colombia, five in Mexico, three in India, two in Burundi, and one each in Brazil, Paraguay, Nicaragua, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Tunisia, Kenya, the Philippines, and Spain.

Solemnity of Mary - Mother of God - Reflection by Congregation for the Clergy

The following reflection for Sunday's solemnity has been issued by the Congregation for the Clergy

Solemnity of Mary - Mother of God

The connection between the Lord’s birth and Mary’s Divine maternity is clearly expressed in one of St Cyril of Alexandria’s (†444) twelve anathemas, which was accepted by the Council of Ephesus (431) and defined the dogma of the faith that Mary of Nazareth is the Mother of God: ‘If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is God in truth, and therefore that the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God, for she bore in a fleshly way the Word of God made flesh, let him be anathema’. (Denz-Schonm, 252 - www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dfi.htm#cg ) Only a few days ago we adored the presence of the Word Incarnate in the humble manager at Bethlehem.   Now, the Church invites us to turn our gaze towards that other magnificent figure in the crib, the Mother of God, God made flesh.

In recent times the devotion to the Mother of God has weakened in some sectors of the Church.  There were concerns, by some, that honouring Mary too much may turn our attention from the adoration of Christ.  It was therefore deemed appropriate the radicalise the Christo centricity, highlighting only the uniqueness of Christ’s salvific mediation to the detriment of the participative mediation of the angels, saints and the Mother of God.  In doing so they have forgotten the ancient adage:  ad Jesum per Mariam – ‘to Jesus through Mary’.  The Mother always leads us towards her Son, and never further away from Him.  The II Vatican Council expressed this teaching through the following words:  :  ‘For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ.’ (Lumen Gentium, n.60 www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/8cjb1.htm ).

In reality we must recognise that Mary’s role does not constitute an obstacle, but rather is an efficacious aid the admission of faith in Christ.  The Mother of God, with her virginal purity also represents and defends the purity of Christian doctrine.  The following beautiful Marian antiphon is found in the breviary: ‘Gaude, Maria Virgo, cunctas haereses tu sola interemisti in universo mundo – Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, thou only hast killed all heresies in the universal world’.  The renowned biblical scholar, Ignatius de la Potterie, commented on this antiphon as follows: ‘It is not that Mary had done something in her life against heresies, but the recognition of Mary in the Marian dogmas, that is a sign and bulwark of the steadfastness of the faith’. 

Cardinal Ratzinger, in his book-interview with Vittorio Messori, (Report on the faith) highlighted that ‘Mary triumphed over every heresy’.  If we grant Mary the place that is suggested in Tradition and dogma, we find her already truly central to the Christology of the Church.  The first dogmas, regarding her perpetual virginity and divine maternity, and also the ultimate dogmas (the Immaculate Conception and her bodily Assumption into heavenly glory), are the secure basis for the Christian faith in the incarnation of the Son of God. The Marian Dogmas implicitly confess both faith in the living God, who can intervene in the material world, and also, the faith regarding the ultimate realities (resurrection of the flesh and therefore the transfiguration of the same material world).  Also, one hopes for the realisation of the project to re-introduce, preferably on the feast of Mary’s bodily Assumption to heaven on the 15^th August, the beautiful antiphon put aside for the liturgical reform.’  (in 30 Giorni, 12 [October 1995], p.71).

It isn’t possible to be Christocentric if we are not solidly Marian.  In these days the Church prays in a particular way for peace.  It is appropriate that the faithful turn to the ever Virgin Mother of God, to obtain from the Lord, through her intersession, the gift of peace for every one of us, for the Church, and the world.

Citations of

Num 6,22-27:                                               www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9bcawkf.htm       

Gal 4,4-7:                                                         www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9aggmzd.htm                

Lc 2,16-21:                                                     www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9ayxwpb.htm

                                                                                www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9a422ub.htm

                                                                                www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9baokzb.htm

Monsignor John Elliott KCHS R.I.P.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of

Monsignor John Elliott KCHS

who died on 25th December 2011

May he rest in peace

Monsignor John was for many years secretary to the late Archbishop Cyril Cowderoy.

May the Lord have mercy on each soul.

Archbishop Peter Smith's Homily at Midnight Mass in St. Georges's Cathedral, Southwark

My dear brothers and sisters, when we look back at the news headlines over the past year, many of them have been anything but good. There has been a continuous stream of bad news: from the on-going tragedy of the war in Afghanistan to the civil disturbances and deaths in countries involved in the so-called “Arab Spring”. We have witnessed a series of natural disasters - earthquakes and floods in Japan and Asia, famine in East Africa, and in this past week more devastating floods in the Philippines and yet another earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. These natural disasters have occurred in the shadow of the deepening financial crisis and global economic recession which has brought its own suffering to so many - growing unemployment, especially amongst the young, rising prices and a growing gap between the rich and the poor. And in England last summer we saw appalling scenes of rioting, violence and destruction by a small number of criminals and disaffected young people. The list could go on!

Yet, in the midst of this bleak and depressing picture we have also witnessed some wonderful examples of light and hope. Alerted to the famine in Africa, within weeks the people of this country donated more than £40 million to help the starving; and more recently, another £27 million for the BBC’s “Children in Need” appeal despite the severe economic difficulties we all face. Following the riots here in London, we saw local communities spontaneously getting together to help clear up the damage and offering comfort and help to the victims. And many of us will have experienced acts of goodness and kindness at a more personal level - in our families and in our neighbourhoods day by day. So despite all the gloom and anxiety, the light and goodness of the human spirit has continued to shine out in the midst of adversity. Those acts of good neighbourliness remind us that although we human beings can be selfish and self-seeking, our human nature is basically good.

And as we celebrate this wonderful feast of the Incarnation, we see why that is. For tonight we rejoice in the fact that the Almighty and Merciful God, who created us in his own image and likeness, reached out in love and became one like us in all things but sin. Isaiah prophesied that unique moment in history: “The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow, a light has shone … for there is a child born for us, a son given to us.” On the night that Christ was born, Luke tells us that the angel appeared to the shepherds and said, “Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” He is, in the words of St. John, “a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower”, because the truth is that in that vulnerable, new-born child “we see our God made visible and so are caught up in the God we cannot see.”

He came to save us from our self-centredness and isolation, and to show us through his own example how to reach out to others in that love which is always life-giving. He came to meet us where we are, and immersed himself fully in our confused and messy world, asking us to open our hearts to welcome him.

Reflecting on that, reminded me of the famous painting by Holman Hunt entitled “Christ the Light of the World”. In that painting, Christ is depicted standing in the darkness of the night, with a lantern in his hand, knocking at a door. The door is covered by climbing plants and brambles, and clearly hasn’t been opened for a very long time. And when you look more closely at the door, you see that there is no handle on it. Was this an oversight by the artist, a mistake? No, it wasn’t. It was a deliberate omission, because Holman Hunt’s insight was based on the words of the Book of Revelation, Christ “stands at the door and knocks.” He longs to come in, but waits patiently to be admitted, because the door to our hearts can only be opened from the inside.

So if there are times when we feel afraid to approach God, through guilt, through apprehension, or feelings of unworthiness, we need to take to heart again the message of the angel to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid.” Why? Because in this new-born child in Bethlehem, we are invited to see and experience the sheer tenderness of the love and compassion that he offers unconditionally to all who are willing to open their hearts to him. And that love has the power to transform our lives, and enable us to love others as he has first loved us.

The challenge for each one of us is to allow Jesus Christ to be born again in our own hearts; to allow his love to become incarnate in us and share it with others. Then we become lights which bring hope to a world which at times seems to grow so dark with selfishness and sin. He calls us is to continue his work of love by making our own unique contribution to the task of healing human brokenness, to fostering peace and harmony in human relationships, and to bringing a little of his light into the darkness and confusion of the world in which we live. We don’t need to be anxious or afraid, because the great joy of Christmas, the good news that we celebrate tonight is simple yet profound: that no matter how deep or oppressive the darkness in our world or in our own hearts, the light of God's love and compassion is always brighter, stronger and more enduring. That is the good news we celebrate tonight.

Midnight Mass in Iraq cancelled - Iraqi Christians will spend Christmas in "great fear"

2011-12-24 Vatican Radio
Chaldean Catholic officials have cancelled traditional Christmas Eve midnight Masses in Iraq because of security risks. They said Iraqi Christians will spend Christmas in "great fear" because of the risk of new attacks.
“We have many difficulties because of the situation that there is no peace and no security, permanent security,” said Bishop Mar Shlemon Warduni, Auxiliary Bishop of the Patriarchate of Babylon, Iraq, of the Chaldean Catholic Church. “So for these days of Christmas and the New Year, we hope to celebrate the feast, but not Midnight [Mass], because there are too many difficulties.”
Bishop Warduni said that, despite many difficulties, for Christians in Iraq, “Our duty is to pray for peace.” He spoke of his prayer during this holy season: “And so we ask the Child of Bethlehem to give us this security and peace, to give us joy and peace, and we cry with angels ‘Glory be to the Lord in the highest heaven, and peace on the earth. We ask him this only, and not only for the Iraqi people, for Christians in Iraq, but for everybody in the Middle East.”


Comment: The above is yet another consequence of that evil which was exacerbated by Messrs Blair and Bush and another reason for all of us to repent of our own actions and of those actions that we permit to be done in our name. May  the Peace that Christ came to bring be shared by everyone .

A Blessed, and Peace-filled Christmas to you and yours, alive or dead, that peace which only Christ can give.

Christmas Homily of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin

"Welcome to each and every one of you, old and young, gathered here on this holy night to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  I greet those for whom this CathedralChurch is their regular spiritual home, especially those who have prepared and who enrich our worship.  I greet those who are here on this Christmas night from aboard and from other parts of Ireland.  I greet those whose bonds with Church life have slackened, but for whom this night still has a special place in their hearts.  I greet those who bear within them the hurt and wounds and doubts of life’s hardships, especially if that hurt has sprung from their experience of the Church.

"All of us here this evening belong together.  The message of this holy night is addressed to each of us.  We are all called to open our hearts in a new way to the message of the birth of Jesus and to change our hearts.  The simplicity of the Christmas message can be deceptive.  It is a simple message but it is a stark one also.  It is a stark call to all of us to rediscover the simplicity of our faith and to rediscover how to live simply.   It is the simplicity of the message of the birth of Jesus which draws out from us what is best in us and brings us a happiness which the sophistication of much of modern life distorts our vision from recognising.  May that simplicity fill each of our lives this evening and if only for an instant allow us to realise where true happiness in our lives is rooted.

“God’s grace has been revealed and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race”, we heard in our reading from Saint Paul.  The loving kindness of our God has appeared in Jesus Christ.

Saint Luke begins his account of the birth of Jesus by reminding his first readers and all of us that Jesus appeared into the world of real history.  Saint Luke reminds us of the names of specific rulers; he reminds us of the events of a census which secular historians of the time also register.

      "So in this introduction to the story of Christ’s birth we encounter in the first place the Emperor Caesar Augustus and the Governor of Syria Quirinius: real historical figures.    We hear about a known census which was designed, as is the case with a census in our times, to record a picture of the real world and of its demographic make-up.

Saint Luke is at pains to indicate that Jesus was born into the concrete reality of history.  Jesus is not an un-incarnated idea, he is a person.  Jesus does not belong to the world of fantasy or that of the disassociated pious images of many devotional cards; he is not a just another figure within a marketable or commercialised annual event.  Jesus is a person who came into the real history of humankind and still today is present in the history of our world.  Jesus’ birth changed history.  Jesus who is God took human flesh and became incarnate in the world.   In Jesus God’s loving kindness truly entered human history in a new and determinant manner.

"This historical introduction into Saint Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus has another significance.  The history with which Saint Luke begins his account is that of the history books, the history of geopolitics; it is about emperors and governors; it is about demographics and about taxes.   The census of Caesar Augustus aimed at consolidating his power and extracting taxes to support, in every corner of its territory, the supremacy of the dominant political power of the day, the Roman Empire.

"Jesus appears in that concretely verifiable world but his birth cannot be identified with that world.  The census reminds us of the desire of the emperor to dominate and exploit; the design of God appears in a totally different and surprising manner.  God chose to reveal his plan of salvation not through the structures of geopolitical power and influence, but within the reality of a simple, lonely, anxious and disadvantaged family: Mary and Joseph. They travel alone to reach Bethlehem. Mary is expecting her child.  They are isolated, exposed and vulnerable.  They seek to understand. They have no armies or large business enterprises to protect them.  They have no place of outward human security.   Joseph provides the only shelter he can, that of his love and protective concern

The birth of Jesus takes place yes within the politics of human history; but the real truth of that birth can be understood only when we identify with the simple love and trust of Mary and Joseph.  Their extraordinary sense of responsibility to protect what is their precious gift lies far away from any sense of power or self-interest or the protection of possessions. Jesus who is the Lord of creation with his birth appears into our history in a manner in which our history is incapable of understanding, except by those whose faith was based on the simple humility which had marked the faithful believers who lived in expectation of the fulfilment of the promise, about which we heard in the first reading.   

"The loving kindness of God appeared in Jesus, but it was not understood and accepted.   In the Gospel reading of tomorrow morning’s Mass we will recall the words of Saint John:  Jesus was among his own yet he was rejected by those who were his very own.  When we reflect on the situation of the Church and the difficulties that the men and women of our generation encounter in believing, it is very easy to point the finger and say that it is all due to society or to culture or to secularization and even to hostility against faith and against the Church. We have always to remember that the first rejection that Jesus encountered was rejection by his very own.  Renewal in the Church must first come from conversion within the Church.  Conversion is not about fleeing from the realities of the world and society and culture and secularization, it is about understanding them in a different light.  Jesus is the light that enlightens but also the light that enables us to discern the realities of our life in a different way.

"The loving kindness of God appears not in palaces, not in luxury hotels not even in the simplest village hostel, but in what was for the powerful an insignificant space.  Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room for him in the inn.  This was not an accident of over-booking.  It is not because accidentally there was no room; Jesus chooses to be born precisely into that space which belongs to those, at any time in history, for whom there is no room, those who are excluded from normal hospitality, those who live without security.  But it would be wrong to interpret that by saying that Jesus was born on the margins.  Jesus is born – and that is what we celebrate tonight – not on the margins of real life, but to parents who pilgrim looking for that space in which the love of God is truly at home.  That is the message of the birth of Jesus.  Our calling too is to journey discerning those spaces in our world, in our lives and in our hearts in which the love of God will be truly at home.

"In today’s world and in today’s Ireland there are many who are seeking to see where God belongs in their lives.  They seek to understand and perhaps rekindle the faith that they have inherited.  That heritage had however for many lost its simplicity and had become entwined with establishment.  The starting point of their search for adult faith is all too often still the abstract God of ideas and ideologies and the theological formulae of their youth.  It is often an idea of God coloured by symbols of outward establishment.  Today all of us have to reorient our sights and our vision and look to find God in the person of Jesus, a radical framework in which often the mentality and the thought-patterns and the ideologies of the day do not hold centre-stage.

"Faith in God can only mature when we unite ourselves and identify ourselves with this Jesus who appears as the revelation of the loving kindness of God.  That revelation – and this is what is central in the Christmas Gospel narrative - takes place in a manner which the powerful both politically and religiously are inevitably destined to overlook or miss its meaning.   If our God is a God conceived in terms of power or prodigies or judgementalism, then we have made our own God; we have made our own God either to reject or on to which we project our own anxieties and fears.

"The birth of Jesus in such stark simplicity is not an accident.  Jesus chose to be born in those circumstances to show us who God is.  Jesus is born uncontaminated from any of the false sophistication and self-seeking that has brought emptiness and greed and frustration into the lives of many and indeed into society.   The Christian God is not a distant much less an absent God, but a God who is present in history but who cares for and directs history.

"Jesus is not an idea or an ideology but a person, a person who reaches out to us and whom we can encounter in prayer.  You do not pray to an idea or an ideology.  The loving kindness of our God has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ.  On him we build our trust.

"Let each of us here on this holy night allow this special moment of Christmas to capture our hearts for the simplicity and loving kindness of our God, not just this evening, not as something that we celebrate tonight and then leave aside until next Christmas, but as light and direction for our own lives and light and direction for building a different society for the entire year to come.   May we respond with conviction to that call of Christmas to rediscover the simplicity of our faith and to rediscover how to live simply."

Cardinal Sean Brady's Christmas Reflection (2) Midnight Mass on BBC from St. George's Cathedral, Southwark

 "This is my hope and my prayer for Christmas 2011, that each of us will rediscover the simplicity, hope and joy of the first Christmas. I pray that Ireland as a country will become a gentler, kinder, more compassionate, more caring and more neighbourly place." - Cardinal Brady

As a young boy growing up in the Drumlin country of east Cavan, I loved to walk  through the darkness to the top of the nearest hill on a Christmas Eve.  I would stand there, looking out, in awe, over the surrounding countryside and the twinkling Christmas lights at every house as far as the eye could see. The lights seemed all

the more magical and reassuring as they broke through the dark of a cold winter's night.

Darkness, of course, is a powerful metaphor for the many painful experiences that can overshadow our lives. I think of the darkness that can overwhelm us in grief, or in tragedy, or when we have been hurt, disappointed or abused by someone we trusted.

I think of the 'dark times' we are experiencing as individuals and as a country because of the current economic crisis. The Sacred Scriptures speak to us of the darkness of sin, of our tendency to let selfishness and pride block our immense capacity for generosity and love.

The simple, compelling truth we celebrate at Christmas is that into all of this darkness, God has sent us the purest and brightest light of all. He has sent his only Son, so that we might have life and have it to the full. He came, not as a powerful, commanding leader but as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in the lowliness of a manger.

Few scenes capture the utter commitment of God to each of us and to the future of humanity more than this iconic, captivating image of the birth of our Saviour. God was so wise to offer us salvation in such a simple and compelling way. What had more hope of challenging the selfishness, pride and greed that threaten to destroy us than the simplicity, dignity and wonder of a new born child? What could set us free from our preoccupation with having rather than being and living for others more than the uncluttered, compelling intimacy of the manger?

Deep down, I believe we all yearn for a gentler, kinder and more generous world, the kind of world that Christmas represents. I believe we yearn for a less complicated, less anxious and less frenetic life than the busy, sometimes cruel, consume-all-you-can kind of life that exhausts so much of our time and energy today.

This is my hope and my prayer for Christmas 2011, that each of us will rediscover the simplicity, hope and joy of that first Christmas. I pray that Ireland as a country will become a gentler, kinder, more compassionate, more caring and more neighbourly place. Just as those Christmas lights broke through the cold and dark of the Cavan countryside when I was young, I pray that the generosity, reverence for God and respect for God's creation that has been our hallmark and gift to the world since the time of St. Patrick, will continue to break through the many dark clouds that have engulfed our country in recent years. I pray that we will rediscover our Christian soul and our caring, neighbourly spirit as we gaze upon the utter love of God and his plans for a peaceful world in the new born child in the manger.

As we prepare to welcome people from all over the world to Dublin for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in June of next year, I also pray in humility and in hope that those who through anger, or hurt, or disillusionment, or distraction have become disconnected from their local parish community, will rediscover the joy, the hope and the love which is at the heart of our faith. I hope that they will find the strength and courage to see beyond the human failings of individuals and rediscover the beauty, the consolation and the strength for living that comes from Communion with Christ and with one another, in the Eucharist, the theme of the International Eucharist Congress. I pray that this Christmas, many people will rediscover the peace and joy of the Mass, where Christ is born among us always.

May Christ, and his life and goodness, be born in each of us and in our country this Christmas and may we find in Him our greatest hope in challenging times.   

+Seán Brady

Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland

Midnight Mass from St. George's Cathedral, Southwark

Bishop of Paisley's letter to Prime Minister Cameron

Right Hon. David Cameron MP, Prime Minister

10 Downing St.

London SW1A 2AA
 20th December 2011

Dear Prime Minister,

I was pleased to read news reports of a speech you gave recently in Oxford

marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible in which you acknowledged

the fundamental contribution of Christianity to British society, called for a

revival of Christian values, and acknowledged the importance of the Christian

faith and of other religious faiths to the majority of people in Britain today.

I welcome your words at a time when many of us are concerned that freedom of

religion, understood not simply as freedom to worship, but also as freedom to

express and teach our faith, is in danger of being eroded in the United Kingdom

by illiberal limitations being placed on what Christians can say and do. I hope

that your wise words will be reflected in the decisions reached by Parliaments

and Assemblies, by the courts and by regulatory bodies up and down the land.

With my best wishes to you and your family for Christmas,

Philip Tartaglia,

Bishop of Paisley

The crisis in Dublin Archdiocese, according to The Irish Times

The following is an editorial from the Irish Times

ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID Martin conceded with admirable honesty this week that the Dublin Archdiocese is facing its greatest crisis in almost two centuries. The number of priests in parish ministry is in decline, church attendance dwindling, and even among regular Sunday Mass-goers weekly giving is not enough to sustain parish life in the diocese. This crisis is partly due to the damaging revelations in recent years about child abuse and the Catholic Church’s ingrained failure to deal appropriately with this crushing problem. But similar revelations have been seen in every other European country. The crisis Dr Martin and his diocese are facing is one created in part by the growth of secularism and the decline in faith.

But among those who still find faith and comfort in the Catholic Church, this is a crisis that cannot be left waiting for episcopal solutions. The number of Catholics who expect the church to be there when they need it is far greater than those who are regular Sunday Mass- goers. The average Catholic still wants and expects the church to be there for the rites of passage – baptisms, weddings and funerals – to provide schools for their children and pastoral care for ageing parents, and to be a moral leaven within society. None of this comes without a cost. Yet only one Catholic family in three in Dublin is contributing to the upkeep of their local parish. And the average contribution of €2.13 is less than the bus or Luas fare from most Dublin suburbs to the city centre.

As Dr Martin knows, cracks have long been visible in the edifice. Now he must fear there is a danger that the building is beginning to crumble. Parishes are being clustered, so some parishes are without a parish priest and share a moderator or administrator with neighbouring parishes. Pressures on the diminishing number of clergy mean many funerals have an evening removal without the presence of a priest. What is afflicting the Dublin archdiocese is soon going to haunt other dioceses in Ireland – if they are not already aware of similar trends.

A crisis can be faced as either a threat or an opportunity. Some solutions can be found within the Catholic Church in Ireland. Dr Martin is aware of the need for a new catechesis or planned teaching for adult Catholics, and there is a pressing need too for the development of lay ministries, although this too is hampered by the ever-dwindling financial resources. But the most obvious answers are outside the control of Dr Martin and his colleagues in Ireland. Yet, for the majority of priests in Ireland today, these are no longer radical concepts.

Now is the time for Irish bishops to put new pressure on Rome to consider other options in ministry: the development and deployment of permanent deacons, both men and women. Remaining on the current course is arguably the road to interminable decline – despite many Irish Catholics wanting the church to be a central part of their lives. In that context, an end to celibacy and acceptance of married priests; and, eventually, the ordination of women to the priesthood, must be considered if a road to regeneration is to be found.

Comment: A Happy and Blessed Christmas to all.
I am off to North Wales, D.v. where they seem to be managing without many married priests i.e. former Anglican married clergy, though many parishes have been clustered and not all will have Mass on Christmas day and very few will have a midnight Mass. Deacons seem to abound.

In Southwark, where I  have been helping a parish on Sundays  for past few months due to illness of the Parish Priest, the situation is not yet being faced honestly by people. The Parish where I supply will have two Christmas Masses instead of usual four - one vigil Mass at 6.00pm and one Christmas Day Mass at 10.00am. And they will be offered by a seriously ill  PP.   But will the people be understanding? Guess!

Christians in the Middle East

 Dr Rowan Williams, introduced and closed an almost five-hour debate in the House of Lords on the situation of Christians in the Middle East on Friday. Lord Wood of Anfield and Lord Howell of Guildford concluded the debate on behalf of the Opposition and the Government.

Read the full Hansard record of the debate here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldtoday/l_01.htmor watch it on http://www.parliamentlive.tv.

You can also listen to Archbishop's introductory remarks on:http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/canterbury//data/files/resources/2277/ABC-speech-in-HoL-on-Christians-in-the-Middle-East.mp3

Dr William's concluding remarks can be heard here:  http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/canterbury//data/files/resources/2277/ABC-concluding-remarks-in-HoL-on-Christians-in-the-Middle-East.mp3

Source: ICN

Comment: One of the advantages of taking time out from blogging in Advent is that I can attend to more serious matters such as reading or listening to some worthwhile programmes such as above which I watched on BBC Parliament channel yesterday and  which I just felt compelled to share.

Murdered Missionary Priest remembered as bronze bust unveiled

A MISSIONARY priest who was murdered in Kenya two years ago has been remembered with a specially commissioned bust unveiled in his home village.

Fr Jerry Roche (68) was beaten to death during a robbery at his home near Kericho, Kenya, in 2009.

He was due to retire in Limerick last year after more than four decades working in Africa.

His sister Eileen and brother Christy returned from Chicago for a special afternoon Mass at St Bartholomew's Church in Athea, Co Limerick, yesterday before a bronze bust was unveiled on the adjacent grounds. They were joined by his other sister Hannah who now lives in Dublin.

Designed by renowned sculptor Alan Ryan Hall of Valentia Island, the priest's niece Aine Cunningham said the bust reflected what was important in her uncle's life.

"That's what he lived for -- the rosary beads and the Bible. Not a day went by that he didn't say the rosary. It was a time for him to reflect and meditate -- it was very important to him," Ms Cunningham said.

"We never expected anything like this. He would be very humbled by it all." She said her uncle lived his life as he preached.

"When he came down off the altar, he was the same man as he was when he was up there.

"There was a bit of roguery in him, too. He was the life and soul of every party and loved his music and dancing. When he was back here, he would love to go out," she added.

Three men -- Isaac Bett, Jackson Kosgey and Joshua Makori -- were sentenced to death in a Kenyan court for Fr Roche's murder. It is understood the sentence is on appeal.

In a spirit which they say would reflect Fr Roche's wishes, his family has pleaded for clemency for the trio.

"He didn't believe in violence. The taking of a human life is not for another human to do and retribution by death would solve nothing. He would not want it.

"They are behind bars and let's leave it there," Ms Cunningham said.

Also present in Athea yesterday were former parishioners of Fr Roche's who travelled from Granagh in Co Cork, Castleisland in Co Kerry and Bruff in Co Limerick. A documentary on Fr Roche's life was shown after the bust was unveiled.

Michael Woulfe -- a life-time friend of Fr Roche -- said the priest loved returning home to Athea. "He was going to retire here. The sad thing about it, he had almost completed his last parish and was building his last church in Kenya.

"He always worked in very dangerous environments and circumstances, but he never had any fears or worries."


Comment: the above is just a short interruption to my Advent withdrawal from blogging. Normal service may resume in January, D.v. 

On assent to Vatican ll by VG of Opus Dei in L'Osservatore Romano

Msgr. Fernando Ocariz, the vicar general of Opus Dei and one of the Vatican experts involved in discussions with the Society of St. Pius X, has written a lengthy article, below, for L’Osservatore Romano on the assent that Catholics owe to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

The forthcoming 50th anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council (25 December 1961) is a cause for celebration, but also for renewed reflection on the reception and application of the Conciliar Documents. Over and above the more directly practical aspects of this reception and application, both positive and negative, it seems appropriate also to recall the nature of the intellectual assent that is owed to the teachings of the Council. Although we are dealing here with a well-known doctrine, about which there is an extensive bibliography, it is nevertheless useful to review it in its essential points, given the persistence - also in public opinion - of misunderstandings regarding the continuity of some Conciliar teachings with previous teachings of the Church's Magisterium.

First of all, it is not pointless to recall that the pastoral motivation of the Council does not mean that it was not doctrinal – since all pastoral activity is necessarily based on doctrine. But, above all, it is important to emphasise that precisely because doctrine is aimed at salvation, the teaching of doctrine is an integral part of all pastoral work. Furthermore, within the Documents of the Council it is obvious that there are many strictly doctrinal teachings: on Divine Revelation, on the Church, etc. As Blessed John Paul II wrote: “With the help of God, the Council Fathers in four years of work were able to produce a considerable collection of doctrinal statements and pastoral norms which were presented to the whole Church” (Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, 11 October 1992, Introduction).

Assent Owed to the Magisterium

The Second Vatican Council did not define any dogma, in the sense that it proposed no doctrine with a definitive act. However, even if the Magisterium proposes a teaching without directly invoking the charism of infallibility, it does not follow that such a teaching is therefore to be considered "fallible" - in the sense that what is proposed is somehow a “provisional doctrine” or just an “authoritative opinion”. Every authentic expression of the Magisterium must be received for what it truly is: a teaching given by Pastors who, in the apostolic succession, speak with the “charism of truth” (Dei Verbum, n. 8), “endowed with the authority of Christ” (Lumen Gentium, n. 25), “and by the light of the Holy Spirit” (ibid.).

This charism, this authority and this light were certainly present at the Second Vatican Council; to deny this to the entire episcopate gathered to teach the universal Church cum Petro and sub Petro, would be to deny something of the very essence of the Church (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 24 June 1973, nn. 2-5).

Naturally not all the affirmations contained in the Conciliar documents have the same doctrinal value and therefore not all require the same degree of assent. The various levels of assent owed to doctrines proposed by the Magisterium were outlined in Vatican II’s Constitution Lumen Gentium (n. 25), and subsequently synthesised in the three clauses added to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in the formula of the Professio fidei published in 1989 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Blessed John Paul II.

Those affirmations of the Second Vatican Council that recall truths of the faith naturally require the assent of theological faith, not because they were taught by this Council but because they have already been taught infallibly as such by the Church, either by a solemn judgement or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. So also a full and definitive assent is required for the other doctrines set forth by the Second Vatican Council which have already been proposed by a previous definitive act of the Magisterium.

The Council’s other doctrinal teachings require of the faithful a degree of assent called “religious submission of will and intellect”. Precisely because it is “religious” assent, such assent is not based purely on rational motives. This kind of adherence does not take the form of an act of faith. Rather, it is an act of obedience that is not merely disciplinary, but is well-rooted in our confidence in the divine assistance given to the Magisterium, and therefore “within the logic of faith and under the impulse of obedience to the faith” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Donum Veritatis, 24 May 1990, n. 23). This obedience to the Magisterium of the Church does not limit freedom but, on the contrary, is the source of freedom. Christ’s words: “he who hears you hears me” (Lk 10:16) are addressed also to the successors of the Apostles; and to listen to Christ means to receive in itself the truth which will make you free (cf. Jn 8:32).

Documents of the Magisterium may contain elements that are not exactly doctrinal — as is the case in the documents of the Second Vatican Council — elements whose nature is more or less circumstantial (descriptions of the state of a society, suggestions, exhortations, etc.). Such matters are received with respect and gratitude, but do not require an intellectual assent in the strictest sense (cf. Instruction Donum Veritatis, nn. 24-31).

The Interpretation of Teachings

The unity of the Church and unity in the faith are inseparable, and this also involves the unity of the Magisterium of the Church in every age, since the Magisterium is the authentic interpreter of Divine Revelation transmitted by Sacred Scripture and by Tradition. This means, among other things, that an essential characteristic of the Magisterium is its continuity and consistency through history. Continuity does not mean an absence of development; down the centuries the Church deepens in her knowledge, in her understanding and, consequently, also in her magisterial teaching of Catholic faith and morals.

A number of innovations of a doctrinal nature are to be found in the documents of the Second Vatican Council: on the sacramental nature of the episcopate, on episcopal collegiality, on religious freedom, etc. These innovations in matters concerning faith or morals, not proposed with a definitive act, still require religious submission of intellect and will, even though some of them were and still are the object of controversy with regard to their continuity with earlier magisterial teaching, or their compatibility with the tradition. In the face of such difficulties in understanding the continuity of certain Conciliar Teachings with the tradition, the Catholic attitude, having taken into account the unity of the Magisterium, is to seek a unitive interpretation in which the texts of the Second Vatican Council and the preceding Magisterial documents illuminate each other. Not only should the Second Vatican Council be interpreted in the light of previous Magisterial documents, but also some of these earlier magisterial documents can be understood better in the light of the Second Vatican Council. This is nothing new in the history of the Church. It should be remembered, for example, that the meaning of important concepts adopted in the First Council of Nicaea in the formulation of the Trinitarian and Christological faith (hypóstasis, ousía), were greatly clarified by later Councils.

The interpretation of the innovations taught by the Second Vatican Council must therefore reject, as Benedict XVI put it, “a hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture,” while it must affirm the “hermeneutic of reform, of renewal within continuity” (Discourse, 22 December 2005). These are innovations in the sense that they explain new aspects which have not previously been formulated by the Magisterium, but which do not doctrinally contradict previous Magisterial documents. This is so even though, in certain cases — for example, concerning religious freedom — these innovations imply very different consequences at the level of historical decisions concerning juridical and political applications of the teaching, especially given the changes in historical and social conditions. An authentic interpretation of Conciliar texts can only be made by the Magisterium of the Church herself. Therefore, in the theological work of the interpretation of passages in the Conciliar texts which arouse queries or seem to present difficulties, it is above all necessary to take into account the sense in which they have been interpreted in subsequent Magisterial interventions. Nevertheless, there remains space for legitimate theological freedom to explain in one way or in another how certain formulations present in the Conciliar texts do not contradict the Tradition and, therefore, to explain the correct meaning of some expressions contained in those passages.

Lastly, in this regard, it does not seem superfluous to call to mind that almost half a century has passed since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council and that in these decades four Roman Pontiffs have succeeded one another on the Chair of Peter. An assessment of the teaching of these Popes and the corresponding assent of the Episcopate to that teaching should transform a possible situation of difficulty into a serene and joyful acceptance of the Magisterium, the authentic interpreter of the doctrine of the faith. This must be possible and is to be hoped for, even if aspects that are not entirely understood remain. In any case, there remains legitimate room for theological freedom and for further opportune in-depth study. As Benedict XVI wrote recently: “the essential content that for centuries has formed the heritage of all believers needs to be confirmed, understood and explored ever anew, so as to bear consistent witness in historical circumstances very different from those of the past” (Benedict XVI, Motu Proprio Porta Fidei, 11 October 2011, n. 4)

An Taoiseach joins boys of Palestrina Choir to start celebrations

Boys from the renowned Palestrina Choir of St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin joined an Taoiseach Enda Kenny  on Friday November 25th for a musical launch of their hectic December Programme and their latest recording “O Sacrament Most Holy”.

The choir, made up of boys from all over Dublin has been at the heart of musical and liturgical celebrations in the city centre Cathedral for over 80 years.

Next month, the boys will perform live at the RDS for a specially commissioned Christmas Concert on December 8th, will host a concert for residents in our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross and perform the magnificent Handel’s Messiah in the Cathedral during Christmas week (December 20th) This is in addition to their weekly celebration of Mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral every Sunday morning.

The new CD from the Palestrina choir (O Sacrament Most Holy) has been produced in advance of next years’ International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. When the Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin in 1932, former Palestrina chorister John Count McCormack sang ‘ Panis Angelicus’ in the Phoenix Park, backed by a choir of 500, led by members of the Palestrina.

This new recording, in a unique tribute to the past and present, includes an original performance of Panis Angelicus by Count Mc Cormack and a new recording of the famous hymn by the current Palestrina tenor, Jacek Wislocki.

Further details on the CD and choir programme are available from www.palestrinachoir.com

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR DECEMBER

VATICAN CITY, 30 NOV 2011 (VIS) - Benedict's general prayer intention for December is: "That all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect".

  His mission intention is: "That children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation".

This, I hope, will be my last post until after Advent.  The latest news will still appear daily in Catholic Culture Commentary in side bar