E F pastor emeritus

New Papal Nuncio arrives in Ireland

2012-02-01T22:19:00.000Z

The new Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles John Brown, arrived in Ireland on Tuesday 31st January and was greeted at Dublin Airport by Cardinal Seán Brady Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland.

Two priests Murdered

2012-02-01T13:05:00.003Z

MEXICO CITY, JAN. 31, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Just one day apart two priests were killed in the neighboring countries of Mexico and Guatemala. Church officials are attributing their deaths to the activity of criminal bands in the first case and to endemic violence in the second.

Father Genaro Díaz of the parish of the Immaculate Conception, located in Atizapán, Mexico, was killed Saturday morning in the presbytery.

Bishop Héctor Luis Morales Sánchez of the Diocese of Nezahualcóyotl lamented the priest's death at the hands of criminal gangs.

Given the lack of security, he ordered churches to be kept closed to avoid robberies and possible attacks.

The bishop expressed his condolences to the family of the murdered priest and called for the formation of families so that people will be raised with values "and we won't have incidents such as the ones we are lamenting now."

Just the day before, on Friday morning, the Church in Guatemala was mourning the death of Father David Donis Barrera, 60, who belonged to the community of Santa Rosa and was traveling with the sacristan of the Holy Family parish, Vicente Donis Barrera, who was unharmed.

Father David was brutally murdered at the highway on the border with El Salvador. He had just celebrated Mass and was on his way to Guatemala City, when a car accident took place.

The driver of the other vehicle went up to the priest and, apparently in reprisal for the accident, shot him several times. Guatemala, with 14.3 million inhabitants and an average of 16 murders a day, is one of the most violent countries of Latin America. In 2011, some 6,000 people were killed.

Hundreds of local residents, in addition to representatives of the Church, attended the priest's funeral service on Sunday.

Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, retired archbishop of Guatemala City, was emphatic in his condemnation of the incident.

"This death is added to the thousands of Guatemalans who lose their lives in this country, both at present as during the armed conflict," he said. He invited those present to pray and to act in favor of peace.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Chair of Westminster Diocese Justice & Peace committee addresses Occupy London campaign

2012-02-01T10:06:00.003Z

Church leaders from several denominations joined a day of music, poetry and talks with the Occupy campaigners by St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday. Fr Joe Ryan, chair of Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Committee, and Parish Priest at St John Vianney's in West Green, north London, was one of the speakers.

Fr Joe told the crowd: "I consider it a privilege to speak to you today as a citizen of London, a servant of humanity and a Catholic priest. I have dedicated over 40 years of my life to working with and for people in this city, many have been underprivileged.

Since 15 October 2011, I have been an ardent supporter of Occupy London. I wish to thank you for what I call 'The Parliament of the Streets'. You have raised and discussed issues often confined only to the corridors of power; you have brought those ideas to our streets. You have raised voices for those who have no voice of their own; you have tackled unjust structures which make the rich richer and the poor poorer. You have been a voice of perseverance and presence to all. For this I thank and congratulate you.

"Where do we go from here? You have given us all a wake up call. It is now over to all of us to get engaged in the important issues of today, unemployment, accountability and transparency from our leaders. We demand change for the common good. We demand democracy and justice."

"May I ask a question? When did you earn your last million pounds? When did you last get a million pounds bonus? I am not talking today only of Stephen Hester – but all the 'Stephen Hesters' who are given obscene bonuses. And today I hear George Osborne, stating that Mr Hester could be given much more; so we should be thankful. I would like to remove the word ‘BONUS’ from the Oxford English Dictionary!

"If I do a job, bake a cake, repair an engine, clean the street, carry out a heart transplant … I am doing my job and getting paid. Do I deserve a bonus? I rest my case!

"So we need to work together. We need to leave aside our differences and work for a better world. We need to start with ourselves; get our friends engaged and speak to like-minded people. We need to be certain that the effort of each individual is vital.

"We need to work with those involved in making a better world; those involved in the care of other people. I think of Amnesty International; the various peace movements; ending war and the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Keep up the good work of Occupy London, there are many who stand in solidarity with you."

Stephen Hester has since declined his bonus, and the whole issue is currently being publicly debated. Fr Joe commented: "this is the tip of the iceberg, but at least I see the beginning of some new rational thinking on the matter of obscene bonuses."

Did the Pope discuss controversial "leaks" with Dicastery heads?

2012-01-31T13:04:00.004Z

I do not normally publish unconfirmed reports but the following seems to me to have the ring of truth, and I also think that turning the eye of publicity on possible corruption in the Vatican can only be for the good long term. A few weeks ago I declined to publish a report which named a prominent cardinal in the Vatican and his nephew in connection with the alleged "corruption"

Pope Benedict XVI held a special meeting on January 28 with heads of the offices of the Roman Curia. The Vatican did not disclose the reason for the meeting, but informed sources suggested that the main topic was the controversy inside the Vatican over charges of corruption and cronyism in business dealings.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State, has come under fire since the revelations that Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano had campaigned vigorously for changes in the Vatican’s business practices, and argued that he should be allowed to continue that campaign, rather than being assigned to his current post as apostolic nuncio in the United States.

Leading Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli reports that the Vatican investigated Archbishop Vigano’s complaints and determined that they were unfounded. However, Tornielli notes, it is odd that a prelate who made unfounded accusations would receive a sensitive diplomatic assignment. There has been considerable tension within the Roman Curia over both the archbishop’s complaints and the response by the Secretariat of State.

At the January 28 meeting, one source said, a key question was the public airing of a confidential letter from Archbishop Vigano to Pope Benedict XVI. Top Vatican officials are clearly rattled by the leak, and disconcerted by the negative public impact. The Vatican has often been charged with maladroit handling of public-relations issues during this pontificate, and the previous one, but has rarely been hurt by leaks of confidential information.

Pope Benedict has held meetings with the leaders of the Roman Curia on several occasions, to discuss major developments and plan a coordinated response to problems. In February 2006 he summoned the curial officials to discuss his plans to lift excommunications of the leaders of the Society of St. Pius X; in November 2006, to speak about the excommunicated Archbishop Milingo and his crusade against clerical celibacy; in November 2010, to reveal his plan to establish a new Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization.

Again, the Vatican does not announce the reasons for such meetings with dicastery heads, and the above list of topics relies on unconfirmed reports. On at least one occasion, in April 2006, the Pope held a meeting with his curial aides, and Vatican-watchers never learned the reason.

Southwark Archdiocese Centre for Catholic Formation seeks Adviser

2012-01-30T21:40:00.000Z

The Centre for Catholic Formation is seeking to appoint an

Adviser for Disability and Adult Formation

Salary: £31,280
Applications are invited from practising Catholics for the above post.
This full-time post is open to those with suitable experience and qualifications in the field of Disability, Adult Formation and Parish Catechesis.

The person appointed will work as a member of a Team and will contribute to the ongoing work of the Centre for Catholic Formation in its role as the diocesan agency for adult faith formation.

Closing date for applications: midnight on Sunday, 26th February 2012.

Further details of the post, together with an application form, are available
from:
Fr David Gibbons, Director,
Centre for Catholic Formation,
21 Tooting Bec Road,
London, SW17 8BS.
Telephone: 020 8672 7684/2422
Email: dgibbons@ccftootingbec.org.uk

Religion is the source of most complaints to Irish Broadcasting Corporation (RTE)

2012-01-30T17:03:00.000Z

Religion is the source of most complaints to RTÉ, according to documents published under Freedom of Information requests.

According to the freedom of information request sent by the Irish Examiner newspaper to the Department of Communications, RTÉ's treatment of Fr Kevin Reynolds on the Prime Time Investigates programme, its decision to scale back on the broadcasting of Mass on Radio na Gaeltachta, and its continued broadcast of the Angelus, dominated the bulk of complaints against the state broadcaster over the past two years.

A breakdown of the 25 complaints showed that six of the complaints related to RTÉ's decision to broadcast the Prime Time documentary, Mission to Prey, despite offers by Fr Reynolds, wrongly accused of raping a young woman and fathering a child, to undertake a paternity test.

Fr Reynolds, who is parish priest of Ahascragh in County Galway, later won a defamation case against RTÉ and the state broadcaster was later forced to issue two public apologies to him.

Five letters related to the broadcasting of the Angelus at both noon and 6:00pm with it being the described as a, ''blatant contradiction of RTÉ's statutory obligation of impartiality.’’

The Angelus, which has been broadcast on RTÉ for over 60 years, has long been a source of controversy. The former Northern Ireland First Minister and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble famously described Ireland as the only country in the world where the 6:00pm evening news does not start on time.

Interestingly, Radio na Gaelteacta's decision in 2010, to reduce the broadcast of the Mass in Irish to just once a month, which due to public pressure was later reversed, also attracted three complaints.

The station famously received a rebuke at the time from the then Minister for the Gaelteact Eamon O'Cuiv over the station reneging on its responsibilities to minorities under the 2007 Broadcasting Act.

Communist infiltrated Government in Ireland plans Constitutional Change on children of Married persons

2012-01-30T07:21:00.004Z

LEGISLATION to allow the children of married parents to be adopted is being prepared, according to Ireland's Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald.

She told The Irish Times her department was working on adoption legislation to accompany the children’s rights referendum.

“In Ireland historically there were a large number of children who might have been adopted but couldn’t be for constitutional reasons. Many were in very good foster homes where the foster parents wanted to adopt them,” she said.

“There will be a new situation if people pass the referendum,” she added.

The Coalition Government in Ireland contains Labour ministers who are avowed communists.
Just as in Britain, the minor party in the coalition seems to be dictating and demanding immoral laws, whether in sexuality, marriage, education or religion.

First Woman Member of Austrian Parliament beatified

2012-01-29T17:23:00.001Z

A married woman and politician, who founded a Catholic religious congregation is being beatified in Austria today.

The extraordinary woman, who began life as a Jew, converted to Catholicism, had a family, a political career and founded a congregation of nuns, is held up as a model for evangelisation by the leader of the Catholic Church in Austria, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.

Hildegard Burjan was born in 1883 into a liberal Jewish family in Germany. She studied literature, philosophy and sociology in Switzerland and Berlin and obtained a Ph.D. in 1908. The year before, 1907, she married the Hungarian entrepreneur Alexander Burjan. In 1909 she was surprisingly healed from a grave sickness, which brought about her conversion to Catholicism.

She moved with her husband to Vienna, where she had her only daughter Lisa. It was a difficult pregnancy, which threatened her life a number of times. Her doctors advised her to abort the baby, but she categorically refused.

In Vienna, she got to know a group of Catholics who wanted to put Pope Leo XIII's social encyclical Rerum Novarum into practise. Hildegard started to interest herself in the social issues of the day, in particular the working conditions and spiritual welfare of poor women and children.

In 1912, she founded the Society of Christian Women Working at Home and in 1918 the Society for Social Help.

A year later, on October 4, 1919, she founded the congregation of sisters named Caritas Socialis.

The order cares especially for women and children in difficult conditions and for elderly and terminally ill people. It plays a major role in the hospice movement in Austria.

Beginning in 1918, Hildegard Burjan became politically active in the Christian-Social Party. In 1919, she was elected to parliament and became the first woman member of the Parliament of Austria, campaigning in particular on issues such as equal wages for men and women and social security for the working class as well as social and spiritual care for poor families.

Rancorous anti-Semitism forced her out of politics and she devoted herself to the congregation she founded, Caritas Socialis. She died in 1933.

In 1963, the then Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Franz König began her beatification process. In 2001, the Holy See recognised a miracle attributed to her and in 2007, she was declared Venerable.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside at the solemn beatification ceremony today, which takes place in St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, leader of the Catholic Church in Austria, said the former MP is a model for his Mission First evangelisation project.

Evangelisation, “is all about deeds. At such times we need models and Hildegard Burjan is just such a model.”

New Cistercian Priest to be ordained today

2012-01-29T07:47:00.004Z

The Cistercian Community in Mellifont in County Louth will welcome another man to the priesthood today.

Cardinal Seán Brady will ordain Br Joe Ryan to the priesthood at Mellifont Abbey at Collon County Louth today, Sunday.

Brother Joseph who has worked at Mellifont Abbey for a number of years, was ordained a deacon by Cardinal Sean Brady on November 1 2011. Speaking at Brother Josesph’s ordination as a deacon, Cardinal Archbishop Brady said that he was, “delighted that Brother Joseph Ryan is being ordained deacon so that in his preaching he can share with his congregations the fruits of his life of prayer and meditation and so lead them into deeper faith and communion with Christ and with one another. We ask God to bless him and all deacons.”

Originally from the village of Littleton near Thurles in County Tipperary brother Joseph was born Larry Ryan in 1956 one of a family of nine, three girls and six boys. Larry was born into a staunch hurling family and is the son of former Tipperary hurler the late Larry Ryan who died in 1995 and is the nephew of former Tipperary Senior hurling Captains Johnny and Paddy Ryan

The Original Mellifont Abbey was founded in 12th Century

Meanwhile Cardinal Brady's office confirmed that there are currently ten seminarians studying for the priesthood from the Archdiocese of Armagh..

.

PLEASE PRAY FOR for the new Father Joseph and all seminarians TODAY

TODAY IS WORLD LEPROSY DAY

2012-01-29T06:20:00.001Z

MESSAGE FOR WORLD LEPROSY DAY

VATICAN CITY, (VIS) - Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, has written a message for the fifty-ninth World Leprosy Day, which falls on Sunday 29 January. The message is entitled: "In the Fight Against Hansen's Disease the Commitment of All Men of Good Will in Required".

Extracts from the English-language version of the message are given below:

"Mycobacterium Leprae has not as yet been eradicated, even though the official number of new cases of the infection continues to decrease and at the present time are about 200,000, according to the estimates of the World Health Organisation for the years 2010-2011. In addition to supporting the free distribution of those drugs and medicines that are required, one should, therefore, further promote speedy diagnosis and perseverance in receiving therapies. It is of fundamental importance, furthermore, that the work directed towards sensitising and training communities and families that run the risk of contagion be strengthened.

"The Gospel phrase 'Stand and go; your faith has saved you', chosen by the Holy Father Benedict XVI as the theme for the twentieth World Day of the Sick which will be held on 11 February of this year throughout the world, constitutes an exploration and a call that touches in a particular way those who have been afflicted by this infection; in this passage from St. Luke, indeed, we are told about ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, readmitted to the community and reintegrated into the social and occupational fabric.

"As is emphasised by the Holy Father in his Message for this year, 'help us to become aware of the importance of faith for those who, burdened by suffering and illness, draw near to the Lord. In their encounter with him they can truly experience that he who believes is never alone! God, indeed, in his Son, does not abandon us to our anguish and sufferings, but is close to us, helps us to bear them, and wishes to heal us in the depths of our hearts".

"This love, which is also expressed through individual action and through Church institutions and volunteer organisations, amongst which the Raoul Follereau Foundation and the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, as well as the successes that have been obtained hitherto in terms of a strong reduction in the number of people infected by this disease, certainly do not exempt governments and international organisations from increasing the attention they pay to, and their work to combat, the spread of leprosy, or from their responsibilities as regards prevention, in educational and hygiene/health-care terms, and the 'readmission' of people who have been cured, as well as support for all the victims of infection".

"Those who have attained a cure can ... communicate all their interior riches and experience and at the same time, in helping their neighbour, all their dignity and profundity as people touched by suffering and involved in working for the health of the community to which they belong.

"This will amount to a further and relevant contribution to progress in the fight against Hansen's disease which for millennia has constituted a terrible scourge and involved automatic exclusion from society. Indeed, only the involvement of everyone - and at all levels - will allow the transformation of leprosy from being a threat and a scourge into being a memory, however frightening, of the past".

CON-AVA/ VIS 20120127 (570)

French Government in attempt to reduce level of Divorce

2012-01-28T21:23:00.001Z

The French Government is to introduce longer civil ceremonies and a, “marriage preparation kit” that will remind soon-to-be husbands and wives what they are signing up for, in a bid to reduce the country's high divorce levels.

Currently, the French divorce rate is 50 per cent.

Announcing the new plans, minister of state for family affairs Claude Greff said that, currently, civil ceremonies were too impersonal, too short (some take as little as five minutes) and failed to give couples a sense of their rights and responsibilities, The Irish Times reports. “Many citizens discover much later what the civil code involves, but by then it’s too late. I want to make the risks clear,” she said.

France’s divorce rate in 2010 was 50 per cent, according to the national statistics office, and rose to 66 per cent in the Paris region. The “preparation kit” was suggested by an official working group charged with finding ways of reducing the marriage breakdown numbers.

The group was told many married couples knew little about their commitments to their in-laws or their financial obligations after divorce. “We have to make sure people know what they’re getting into,” said the national federation of Catholic family associations.

Not everyone has endorsed the initiative, however. François de Singly, a sociology professor at Paris Descartes University, dismissed as naive the idea that a better grasp of the law would strengthen marriages.

“It’s not the marriage that produces the divorce. It’s ultimately the absence of love or the waning of love,” he said.

“Why is the state getting involved in this? It would be a total intrusion into private life. If the government imposes preparation or a sort of entrance exam for civil marriage, it will not reinforce marriage. I fear it could destabilise it further.”

French voters go to the polls in four months to elect a President and some see the timing of the move as a bid to attract family values voters to Mr Sarkozy's cause. Mr Sarkozy, who has been divorced twice, dismissed reports last week that he might include same-sex marriage in his election manifesto.

Abortion is a synonym for Murder - Sri Lanka bishops

2012-01-28T17:11:00.000Z

The government proposes abortion "only" for unwanted pregnancies. The Bishops' Conference "categorically" and "firmly" opposes any attempt to "legalize murder, in all its forms."

Colombo (AsiaNews) - The Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (Cbcsl) is "firmly" opposed to the proposed abortion law. "The human race - the statement of the Catholic bishops - is not safe if the child is not protected in the womb." The government emphasizes that the bill will only cover “unjustifiable pregnancy ", but promised to consider "alternatives" offered by religious groups opposed to abortion.

However, the Cbcsl declares: "We categorically reject any attempt to legalize abortion, a synonym for murder. Therefore, we ask the government not to proceed with this law, since murder, in all its forms, is an abominable crime. "

"The Bible - the bishops continued - teaches that all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). The Church has always affirmed that God is the author of life, the supreme and sacred gift He has given us. Our biggest obligation is to protect human life from conception to natural death. "

Responding to criticism of the Church, Tissa Karaliyadda, Minister for Development of the child and the woman, said the bill is for "those girls and women victims of unwanted pregnancies, the result of the violence of men."

"Blessed John Paul II - the Cbcsl has stressed - teaches that the Church should be at the service of life, in the midst of a culture of death of our days."

Although abortion is illegal in the country in recent years the Sri Lanka Family Health Bureau (a body set up by the Ministry of Health, ) recorded an increase of cases: in 2008 there were about 700 cases a day, 250 thousand for the year in 2011 rose by a thousand, for a total of 300 thousand abortions a year.

The same figures from the Ministry of Health – which appear purposely inflated- even speak of 500 abortions a day in Colombo, the capital of the state. The total population of the island is about 20 million.

Buddhists (the majority of Sri Lankans) also have sided against

Is Archbishop Vigano fighting a lone battle against "Corruption" in Vatican City State?

2012-01-28T09:51:00.002Z

An Italian television programme has claimed that a former top Vatican City official was moved to another post, against his will, after he complained about the way contracts were being awarded.

The programme: 'The Untouchables' broadcast by the La 7 channel on Wednesday night, showed several letters sent last year by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, when he was deputy-governor of Vatican City, to superiors, including Pope Benedict, about the corruption.

The Vatican issued a statement Thursday criticizing the methods used in the journalistic investigation. But it seems to have confirmed that the letters were authentic by expressing "sadness over the publication of reserved documents."

As deputy governor of the Vatican City for two years from 2009 to 2011, Vigano was the number two official in a department responsible for maintaining the Vatican gardens, buildings, streets, museums and other infrastructure.

Vigano said in the letters that when he took the job, he discovered a web of corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to outside companies at inflated prices.

In one letter, Vigano tells the Pope of a smear campaign against him (Vigano) by other Vatican officials who wanted him transferred because they were upset that he had taken drastic steps to save the Vatican money by cleaning up its procedures.

"Holy Father, my transfer right now would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments," Vigano wrote to the Pope on 27 March, 2011.

In another letter sent to Pope Benedict on April 4, 2011, Vigano says he discovered the management of some Vatican City investments was entrusted to two funds managed by a committee of Italian bankers "who looked after their own interests more than ours."

Vigano says in the same letter that in one single financial transaction in December, 2009, "they made us lose two and a half million dollars."

The program interviewed an anonymous man it identified as a member of the bankers' committee who said Vigano had developed a reputation as a "ballbreaker" among companies that had contracts with the Vatican, because of his insistence on transparency and competition.

In one of the letters to the Pope, Vigano said Vatican maintenance workers were demoralized because "work was always given to the same companies at costs at least double compared to those charged outside the Vatican."

Even though, Vigano's cost-cutting and transparency campaign helped turned Vatican City's budget from deficit to surplus during his tenure, in 2011 unsigned articles criticizing him as inefficient appeared in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

On March 22, 2011, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone informed Vigano that he was being removed from his position, even though it was to have lasted until 2014.

In early April, Vigano wrote to the Pope, telling him that he had worked hard to "eliminate corruption, private interests and dysfunction that are widespread in various departments." In the same letter he said: "no-one should be surprised about the press campaign against me" because he tried to root out corruption and had made enemies.

Despite his appeals to the Pope that a transfer, even if it was a promotion, "would be a defeat difficult for me to accept," Vigano was named ambassador to Washington in October of last year after the sudden death of the previous envoy to the United States.

Yesterday, the Holy See Press Office director Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, issued a statement in which he questioned the journalistic methods in which the programme had been made, and expressed his "disappointment at the revelation of reserved documents", noting that such things often form part of the "biased coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church".

He pointed out that two considerations "had not given space in the course of the debate". Firstly, he said: "the activities of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano as secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State certainly had many positive aspects, as he contributed to the efforts being made to ensure administrative rigour, economisation and the improvement of what was a difficult overall economic situation. ... However, a fairer evaluation would have taken account of the trends of the market, the investment criteria adopted over recent years, and other important circumstances."

He continued: "Certain accusations - some very serious - made during the course of the programme, especially those concerning the members of the Finance and Management Committee of the Governorate and the Secretariat of State, will lead both the Secretariat of State and the Governorate to adopt all measures (including if necessary legal measures) to protect the honour of morally upright and highly professional people who serve the Church, the Pope and the common good."

"In any case, the positive criteria of correct and transparent management which inspired Archbishop Vigano certainly continue to guide the current directors of the Governorate. ... This is in keeping with the policy to which the Holy See is committed of increasing transparency and attentively monitoring of economic activities".

Secondly, he said: "the difficult process of discerning the various aspects involved in managing a complex institution such as the Governorate - which are not limited to administrative rigour - was presented in a superficial and biased manner, highlighting the evidently negative aspects with the simplistic result of presenting the structures of government in the Church as being, not so much affected by human frailty (which would be easily understandable), as profoundly characterised by arguments, divisions and power struggles. ... Yet, all this disinformation will certainly not obscure the daily and serene efforts towards increasing transparency in all Vatican institutions. ... In this context, it must be decisively affirmed that entrusting Archbishop Vigano with the role of apostolic nuncio to the United States - one of the most important roles in Vatican diplomacy given the importance of the country and of the Catholic Church there - is proof of unquestionable respect and trust".

Anti-euthanasia Ruling Hailed as Major Pro-Life Victory: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Sets Forth Principles

2012-01-27T12:07:00.001Z

BRUSSELS, Belgium, JAN. 26, 2012 .- A decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to pass a resolution that calls for the prohibition of euthanasia, is being hailed as a major pro-life victory.

In a communiqué today, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) reported that the resolution passed, setting the principle: "Euthanasia, in the sense of the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit, must always be prohibited." This is the first time in recent decades that euthanasia has been so clearly rejected by a European political institution, the council explained.

It is a major victory in the battle to defend life and the ECLJ noted that it came a year after the European Court asserted that there is no right to euthanasia or assisted suicide under the European Convention. The resolution should also have an impact on a forthcoming decision by the European Court in the case of Koch v. Germany, concerning a ban on assisted suicide in Germany, said Grégor Puppinck, Director of the ECLJ.

The purpose of the resolution (No 1859/2012), passed Wednesday, is to define the principles that should govern the practice of "living wills" or "advance directives" in Europe.

The "living wills" or "advance directives" are aimed at enabling patients to express in advance their wishes regarding medical intervention or treatments, in case they are not able to express their preferences at the time of the intervention. The directives may apply, for example, when there is doubt about whether to resuscitate a patient or to continue to use extraordinary means to maintain someone alive.

Because these "living wills" or "advance directives" are open to many abuses, and can be a backdoor for introducing euthanasia or assisted suicide into legislation, the PACE has made a list of principles on how to govern this practice in the 47 states of the Council of Europe.

According to the ECLJ the list is based on principles elaborated in three documents previously adopted in the Council of Europe, including the convention on human rights and biomedicine (Oviedo Convention), which legally binds the majority of member states. Because of growing concerns about euthanasia, the Assembly judged it is necessary to state explicitly the basic principle that intentional killing must always be prohibited.

"This resolution is a clear indication that the growing majority of Europeans is opposed to euthanasia," said Puppinck.

Even if this resolution is not legally binding on member states, it has a real influence on the legislative process and on the judicial process, especially on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the ECLJ communiqué stated.

"Children of Catholic parents have “first claim” on admission to Catholic schools" says Cardinal Sean Brady, after attack by Labour TD.

2012-01-27T08:32:00.004Z

The Catholic Primate of All Ireland has said the Church is committed to upholding the constitutional rights of parents who wish to provide their children with a Catholic education.

Speaking at the launch of Catholic Schools Week 2012 at St Mary’s College Dundalk, Cardinal Seán Brady said the Church held the view that the children of Catholic parents have “first claim” on admission to Catholic schools, just as Protestant children have first claim to admission to Protestant schools, and Muslim children have first claim to admission to Islamic schools. Wherever possible, provided they have places and resources, Catholic schools, he added, would welcome children of all faiths and none.

Welcoming the representatives of the various bodies involved in Catholic education and TD Damien English, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education, the Cardinal underlined that Catholics schools continue to “form a vital part of the local community.”

Paying tribute to the work done by members of Boards of Management in the Republic and Boards of Governors in Northern Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh said they form the structures that have underpinned governance in the Irish education system for decades. These volunteers offer their wisdom and life experience out of loyalty to the local community and their keen appreciation of the importance of a good school for the sake of the pupils and of the community.

“These Boards are exemplary models of subsidiarity at work in our parishes,” the Cardinal commented.

“They are expressions of local participative democracy in our educational system of which we should all be proud,” he said.

The Cardinal referred to the findings of recent research among a broad sample of school boards, which showed that 88 per cent of respondents felt that their board was functioning effectively. “This is good because it is accepted that there is a strong correlation between governance effectiveness and school effectiveness,” the Cardinal stated.

One of the key roles of the Board of a Catholic School is to, “preserve the religion and moral ethos of the school,” the Archbishop of Armagh explained. He said his hope for this year’s Catholic Schools Week was that it would help the community to better appreciate the, “invaluable service to the community,” that Boards of Management and Boards of Governors provide.

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland noted that there are 26,600 members of Boards of Management in the Primary sector in the Republic alone, representing parents, teachers, the local community and the patron. The patron is the representative of that section of the community that holds the school in trust for the sake of the community, not only the present community but the community of years to come.

The Director General of the Conference of Religious of Ireland, Sr Marianne O’Connor, OSU, paid tribute to the, “enormous contribution generations of religious sisters, brothers and priests in partnership with lay teachers have made to the education of children in the Catholic tradition.”

She also welcomed the “establishment of new forms of trusteeship for schools which will foster the Catholic education needs of children for generations to come.”

In his keynote address at St Mary’s College in Dundalk, Fr Ron Nuzzi, Director of Catholic Leadership Programmes in the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, discussed how Catholic schools can be Eucharistic communities. The American academic explained that in the US as in Ireland, those involved in this field grapple with the question of, “what is uniquely Catholic about our school?”

“Whatever humanises divinises,” he suggested, might be the ethos of Catholic schools. This outlook would allow every subject to be seen as contributing to the development of students and in the participation in the mystery of the Incarnation.

Everything that happens in the life of the school should be seen as having a religious purpose, Fr Nuzzi said, and added that the school, the home, and the altar, are the places of ongoing formation and incarnation.

Fr Nuzzi, whose research interests are focused on school leadership issues that help hasten the revitalisation of Catholic schools in the US, referred to the Congregation for Catholic Education’s 1997 document, The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, which asserted that Catholic schools are at the heart of the Church and participate in the evangelising mission of the Church.

The priest of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, who was ordained in 1984, told the representatives of Catholic education from North and South of the border, that the leaders of Catholic school communities had an obligation to protect and grow relationships as well as heal them when they became damaged. Citing the Incarnation, the Trinity and the Paschal mystery as the bedrock of the faith, Fr Nuzzi said Catholic education needed more Catholic educators who could enter into these mysteries.

“The best way to teach doctrine is to live it in a way that is inviting,” he said.

While he acknowledged that academic excellence is not a Gospel value, he said Canon Law #806 is the benchmark for Catholic schools and it demands that Catholic schools be as good as they possibly can or at least as good as the local competition.

He suggested that what makes a school Catholic is tied to the importance given to the central mystery of the faith – the Eucharist. Referring to Pope John Paul II’s exhortation to, “Open wide the doors of the heart”, he stated, “Catholic schools are the best means of evangelisation the Church has ever invented.”

Catholic Schools Week will continue until February 4. During that time, RTÉ Radio 1’s A Living Word will offer personal reflections on the value and experience of Catholic Schools. This year’s celebration will conclude on February 5 with a Mass broadcast from St Patrick’s College Thurles to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the college, which became a major seminary in the 1860s.

Comment: Sadly St Patrick's College , Thurles, ceased to be a Seminary for students to priesthood a few years ago , and is now a College of Further Education awarding its degrees to lay students. It is owned and run by the Archdiocese of Cashel & Emly.

The cardinal's statement follows another attack by the Labour partner of the present Government:

Religious ethos has no place in Irish schools according to a prominent Labour TD.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, vice-chair of the Oireachtas education committee, told The Irish Catholic “religious ethos has no place in the educational system of a modern republic.” His comments came as senior Church sources accused the Labour Party of “bullying” Catholic schools by falsely accusing them of breaking the law over enrolment policies that admit Catholic children ahead of other children if the school is over-subscribed.

The accusation comes in a Labour Party document circulated to Catholic schools.

The document, known as the Clontarf Report, insists that the schools are acting illegally when they give preference to Catholic children in the event of demand for places outstripping availability. However, one senior Church source told The Irish Catholic, “There isn't anyone working in the legal profession who would take such a claim seriously. This is nothing more than bullying'.”

Bosnian Catholics face increasing Islamic fundamentalism

2012-01-26T17:15:00.000Z

.In Bosnia-Herzegovina,nuns now only leave the convent in pairs out of fear of abuse.

Nuns wearing habits are subjected to verbal abuse in public more and more frequently. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Ivanka Mihaljevic Bosnian Provincial Superior of the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King said that everyday life is becoming increasingly difficult as more and more Muslim extremists are immigrating from Saudi Arabia and opening businesses.

The nuns often have no other choice but to buy from them, but in doing so are also subjected to discrimination and humiliations. For example, once when bread loaves were in plain sight in a shop, the proprietor told Catholic nuns that he was out of bread, rather than sell to them.

“Again and again, we are made to feel unwelcome, even though this is our home,” said Sister Ivanka emphasised, who explained that native Bosnian Muslims are peaceable, and are often ashamed of the behaviour of their more extreme colleagues who migrate to the country.

The Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King in Sarajevo are particularly committed to promoting the peaceful coexistence of all religions. They have launched a three-year program entitled, I extend to you my hand for peaceful coexistence.

In this initiative, Catholics, Muslims and Serbian Orthodox Christians are jointly working to promote tolerance, non-violence and mutual respect. This year the joint effort against verbal abuse tops the agenda. The Bosnian Province of the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King comprises 260 nuns, of whom 15 live in Sarajevo.

Cardinal Vinko Puljic, the Archbishop of Sarajevo, has also highlighted the growth of extremism in the country and said that the growing process of Islamisation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is being funded by radicals in the Middle East. During an ACN interview, he said that there are already 3,000 to 5,000 Wahhabis (members of a radical Islamic reform movement), in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the group is seeking to gain influence in society.

“Muslim centres and mosques have been built in many places with oil-dollars from Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“Nobody in the government has the courage to do anything to prevent this development. In recent years, at least 70 new mosques have been built in Sarajevo alone.”

While mosques are being built or repaired, Cardinal Puljic pointed out that building approval for churches can be delayed for years, adding that Church property confiscated under communism has still not been returned. The Archbishop of Sarajevo went on to say, “Catholics are systematically disadvantaged” and demanded equal treatment for Catholics in employment, education and other spheres of life.

Despite these problems, the cardinal said the Catholic Church is seeking greater cooperation between different ethnic and religious groups.

“We are a minority, but we are a constructive force that wishes to make a contribution to the success of society.”

The country is close to 40 per cent Muslim and 31 per cent are Serbian Orthodox. Catholics are 10 per cent.

Of the 820,000 Catholics who lived in Bosnia-Herzegovina before the 1992- 1995 war, only 460,000 remain and emigration is ongoing.

Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark meets Home Secretary to discuss the safeguarding of Traditional Marriage

2012-01-25T17:15:00.003Z

On Monday, 23rd January 2012, Archbishop Peter, Chairman of the Bishops' Conference Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship, met with the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to discuss the Government's plans to introduce legislation to permit same-sex marriage.

The Archbishop, representing the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, expressed opposition to any change in the traditional understanding of marriage as being a contract between a man and a woman. Furthermore, he questioned the need for such change as civil partnerships already offer broadly the same legal rights as marriage.

During the meeting the Home Secretary confirmed that it was not Government policy that Churches who refused to conduct same-sex marriages should have the ability to issue marriage licences withdrawn.

Mr William Fittall, Secretary General of the Church of England’s General Synod, was also present at the meeting which had been suggested by the Church of England.

The Standing Committee of the Bishops' Conference discussed ways on how to campaign against the Government's plans at its meeting this morning (Wednesday, 25th January).

“We can never give up until our world comes to know the truth” says Archbishop at Mass for the aborted children

2012-01-25T08:30:00.001Z

Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 24, (CNA/EWTN News).- At a Jan. 21 Mass mourning the deaths caused by the legalization of abortion in the U.S. 39 years ago, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles urged Catholics to build a culture of life.

“We can never give up until our world comes to know the truth” he said, noting that the humanity of the unborn is not a simply a “religious” or Catholic truth, but “a truth of biology, a truth of science.”

During his homily at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Archbishop Gomez said that the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1973 defied another “great truth” that our nation was founded on – that all men and women are created equal and are born with God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“The Supreme Court, in effect said that our rights do not come from God but instead are bestowed by the government,” he said.

The archbishop's comments come one day after the Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the Obama administration would not expand a religious exemption for employers who object to its requirement for health insurance plans to cover sterilization and contraceptives – including abortifacients – free of charge.

Archbishop Gomez warned that if our rights do not come from God, then they are threatened by the “random whims” of those in political power.

He drew attention to the fact that slavery was also once upheld by the Supreme Court.

“Slavery was evil when a majority in this country held that it was good. It was wrong even when the Supreme Court said it was right.”

The archbishop's remarks touched on the day's Gospel reading from the book of Mark which told of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the first born children, known as the Holy Innocents, by King Herod.

He invoked the prayers of the Holy Innocents for the state of California and the United States and said that Herod still exists today in the injustice done to the unborn and families.

“King Herod is a symbol for all those rulers and forces in our world that are afraid and jealous of God . . . all those who seek to cast out God from the world he created an to erase the memory of him from society.”

The protection of human life and the family, he added, is vital for civilization because “in the child and the family we see the love of God.”

He encouraged those in attendance to be “guardians of the light of life” just as St. Joseph was when he responded to the voice of God telling him to flee into Egypt.

“We need to tell the world of the good news of this Child – that the Son of God became a child of Mary so that every mother's child can become a child of God.”

Pope refers to Websites, and need for silence in Message for world Communications Day

2012-01-24T15:21:00.001Z

The following are extracts from the Pope's Message:

On this "World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved".

"Silence is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth. ... By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible. ... When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary. Deeper reflection helps us ... to make evaluations, to analyse messages; this makes it possible to share thoughtful and relevant opinions, giving rise to an authentic body of shared knowledge. For this to happen, it is necessary to develop an appropriate environment, a kind of 'eco-system' that maintains a just equilibrium between silence, words, images and sounds.

"The process of communication nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers. Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers. ... Indeed, people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware. If we are to recognise and focus upon the truly important questions, then silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive".

"Ultimately, this constant flow of questions demonstrates the restlessness of human beings, ceaselessly searching for truths, of greater or lesser import, that can offer meaning and hope to their lives. Men and women cannot rest content with a superficial and unquestioning exchange of sceptical opinions and experiences of life - all of us are in search of truth".

"Attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks which can help people today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning, as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God. In concise phrases, often no longer than a verse from the Bible, profound thoughts can be communicated, as long as those taking part in the conversation do not neglect to cultivate their own inner lives. It is hardly surprising that different religious traditions consider solitude and silence as privileged states which help people to rediscover themselves and that Truth which gives meaning to all things. The God of biblical revelation speaks also without words: 'As the Cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by His silence".

"If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God. ... In speaking of God's grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. Out of such contemplation springs forth, with all its inner power, the urgent sense of mission, the compelling obligation 'to communicate that which we have seen and heard' so that all may be in communion with God".

"In silent contemplation, then, the eternal Word, through Whom the world was created, becomes ever more powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed. ... This plan of salvation culminates in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. He has made known to us the true face of God the Father and by His Cross and Resurrection has brought us from the slavery of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God. The fundamental question of the meaning of human existence finds in the mystery of Christ an answer capable of bringing peace to the restless human heart. The Church's mission springs from this mystery; and it is this mystery which impels Christians to become heralds of hope and salvation, witnesses of that love which promotes human dignity and builds justice and peace.

"Word and silence: learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak. This is especially important for those engaged in the task of evangelisation: both silence and word are essential elements, integral to the Church's work of communication for the sake of a renewed proclamation of Christ in today's world".

MESS/ VIS 20120124 (890)

Published by VISarchive 02 - Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Glasgow appointed Attaché at Holy See's UN Office

2012-01-24T10:56:00.001Z

The Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, Monsignor Peter Smith, has been appointed to the Vatican's United Nations Embassy. Mgr Smith will become Attache at the New York office where the Holy See has UN Permanent Observer Status. The appointment becomes effective on 1 March.

Fr Tom White will succeed Monsignor Smith as Chancellor and as Parish Priest of St Mary's Calton and as Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies.

Commenting on the appointments, Archbishop Conti said: "Mgr Smith has served with great dedication as Vice Chancellor and then Chancellor of the Archdiocese for almost 25 years. I have benefited greatly from his support. We cannot do better than to agree to the appointment of Mgr Peter as Attache, even if it means losing him for a while from the active service of the Archdiocese."

Mgr Smith said: "I am very much looking forward to taking up the new role, though it will be a wrench to leave the Parish of St Mary's and my friends and colleagues at the Archdiocese. I am delighted that Fr Tom has been appointed to succeed me in the various roles I vacate and am grateful to the Archbishop for releasing me from the Archdiocese for a while to take up this new post."

Source: Archdiocese of Glasgow

Retiring Church of Ireland (Anglican) Dean expresses disappointment at Catholic church and ecumenism

2012-01-23T16:45:00.004Z

THE DEMORALISED state of the Catholic Church in Ireland “may have something to do with its lack of ecumenism”, the Very Rev Robert MacCarthy (71), Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral ( The Anglican "National" Cathedral) in Dublin, has said.

“While I have been happy to welcome the present Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin as a preacher here, I have to say that there has been no reciprocal invitation to the Pro-Cathedral,” he said.

Ecumenism in Dublin seemed “to be equated to fellowship between the two archbishops; that should merely be the first step”, he said in his final sermon as dean at evensong in St Patrick’s yesterday. He steps down from the position on Wednesday.

Last month he announced his retirement as life had been “made more difficult” for him by the attitude of some members of the cathedral chapter and board.

“They have not supported me all along and they can find someone else to carry on,” he said.

Yesterday, he recalled that when he was elected dean in 1999, “a bishop remarked that it would be interesting to see how an iconoclast did as an icon”. The “special position” of a dean of St Patrick’s in the Church of Ireland “was resented by the previous Protestant Archbishop of Dublin [John Neill], who challenged my position as ordinary, declined to preach in the cathedral and abolished the cathedral parish”, he said.

The Church of Ireland itself showed every sign of splitting into “a sort of Catholic sect in the South with married clergy and a body indistinguishable from other Protestant sects in the North”.

The former and current Catholic archbishops of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, had “both refused to appoint a Roman Catholic chaplain to St Patrick’s, and in this they were supported by their Anglican colleague”, even while such chaplaincies were “commonplace” in England. He disagreed with those members of his church who felt it could benefit from the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in Ireland. They had been “lucky that there was no inquiry into sexual abuse within the Church of Ireland – if there had been, I doubt if we would have been found to be blameless”. Clericalism “was at the root of the church’s ills” and was “alive and well in the Church of Ireland.” He did not attend a reception at Dublin Castle in 2001 to mark Cardinal Connell getting the red hat, “since the invitation was in the names of the then Taoiseach and his then mistress”.

He said “the affair was well summed up by a priest friend of mine at Maynooth who said: ‘Isn’t it great to see the Protestants standing up for what we once believed in’.” As a member of the board of the Rotunda Hospital, he “was in a minority of one in opposing the move of the hospital to the Mater site”. He introduced elections to the board and in return it passed a vote of no confidence in me and “attempted to muzzle my public utterances”. Dealing with the board and chapter at St Patrick’s “has shown me how unchristian the institutional church can be”, he said.

COMMENT: There are two Anglican ( C of I) cathedrals in Dublin - one Diocesan and one "National" - they are within a few hundred yards (metres) of each other. Swift was one time Dean at St Patrick's. There has always been "holy rivalry" between both cathedrals! Where should ecumenism begin? The Dean left his money to build a lunatic asylum.

"He left the little wealth he had,
To build a home for fools and mad.
And showed by one satiric touch.
No nation needed one so much"
From Lines on the Death of Swift.....written by Swift!

ECUMENICAL SERVICE: Homily Notes of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland

2012-01-23T06:27:00.002Z

ECUMENICAL SERVICE AT SAINT PATRICK’S CHURCH (CHURCH OF IRELAND) DALKEY

19th January 2012

Fifty years ago the Roman Catholic Church worldwide was preparing for the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Pope John XXIII had surprised the Church by his call for a Council. He surprised many, particularly; by the stress he placed on the Vatican Council as an event to foster the unity of all Christians.

Many were surprised and puzzled at what the Pope intended, not least here in Ireland. In the early 1960’s, contacts between the Churches were becoming more common and more cordial, but the idea of them really coming together seemed remote, especially on the terms that appeared to be on offer. The few contacts were, if anything, social rather than theological.

I remember at school debates finding it easier to be on the side opposing the thesis that the Christian Churches would come back into the Roman Catholic Church or that the chances of the Council achieving the unity of all Christians were high. Times were different. In our debates we tried to understand what were for our vocabulary new words, such as “ecumenical”, which Dubliners delightfully preferred to call “euceminical” or even “economical” or an Italian word which was even more complex to pronounce and explain “aggiornamento”.

Pope John XXIII won the day. I am not sure if fifty years ago in January 1962 he really knew what his Council would attain. All I can say is that all of us here this evening are indebted to him and he must be smiling down seeing that one who fifty years ago was a sceptical school debater opposing his dreams, is not just here in a Church of Ireland Church as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin but absolutely at home in this Church.

Fifty years onwards here in Dublin, gatherings for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have become truly family events for our Christian Churches. Relationships have been transformed. New friends have become part of our family as the ethnic mix of our population has become more and more diverse and varied Churches of different traditions, especially from the Orthodox tradition and from Africa, have enriched our Christian presence in Dublin. Our celebration here this evening is repeated during the Week of Prayer across this city and the entire country.

We thank God for what has been achieved in these years. This evening’s celebration in Dalkey is the fruit of on-going cooperation between the Churches in this area over many years.

Yet we know that our divisions remain and that these divisions are still a stumbling block to our capacity to bring united witness to the Gospel; to our ability to witness fully to our faith in Jesus Christ, whose prayer was that “that they be one” would be a distinctive characteristic of his disciples.

Our common witness is all the more needed today at a time when change and diversity could lead to further social division. Our common witness of Christian caring is all the more needed as many of our brothers suffer the effects of our economic crisis and social change. Our common witness to Jesus Christ is needed to respond adequately to the spiritual hunger of many. Our common witness to Jesus Christ is more necessary if we wish to be heard and appreciated and understood in and contribute to the common good of a society which is becoming increasingly secularised.

There is no easy path to Christian Unity. Short cuts will end up bringing short circuits. We need conversion and conversion is painful. Conversion requires change. We know however that change is not just our work, but a response to a call to change which comes from the Lord and which will be attained fully when the trumpet of resurrection resounds fully in our cosmos. But the path to unity must be followed day by day through our common conversion and our day-to-day convergence.

Fifty years ago Pope John XXIII addressed in his thoughts and in his prayers what he intuitively understood would be the path to unity at that moment. Whither the path of ecumenical dialogue today and here in Dublin? Where are we going?

I felt that in my answer to that question I might cheat a little. I am going to take up and comment on the points that Archbishop Michael Jackson took up last evening at our common opening service for Christian Unity in the Catholic parish of Milltown. I hope that you will not be offended if I take up someone else’s thoughts. It is not that I am simply stealing someone else’s sermon. I think that it is significant that I can take up that sermon and make it my own; that I wish to do so and that my colleague and friend Archbishop Michael is happy to know that I am doing so as an indication of the convergence of our thoughts.

My hope is that these common thoughts can also be a sort of programme or indication of the way forward for our Churches in Dublin, working together in our unity already achieved and on our path towards full unity, remembering as Archbishop Jackson so rightly and succinctly pointed out that: “We are less different from one another than history has made us”.

In his homily, Archbishop Jackson suggested that firstly “there needs to be a common voice of humility on the part of all churches in Ireland, a voice which gives priority to service over leadership”. Here I would endorse the Archbishop’s comments except perhaps that I would look on the term leadership in a slightly different sense. The Churches must lead; but they must lead in humility and service. If we do that and do it together then I believe we can exercise a true and necessary leadership within society regarding which are the values that our society requires.

This is not to say that the Churches have a monopoly of values. In today’s society I could not agree more with Archbishop Jackson’s comment that we “need to cease pushing ourselves, invading the space of others. We need to accept the integrity of intention of others”. We need a different type of presence of Church in society. Those who truly follow a Jesus, who came to serve, if they remain authentic followers of that Jesus, can in a unique way enlighten a society suffering the wounds of past greed and arrogance and self-centredness and can bring vision and hope for those seeking to understand meaning in their lives.

Many onlookers might comment that the Churches should first look to the sinfulness in their own ranks before they point fingers at others. I do not deny this. But I also truly believe that there is a sense in which our own path of repentance and conversion can - if fully authentic - make us better witnesses of a humility which helps us to identify with sinfulness and brokenness in others.

Secondly Archbishop Michael appealed to make greater use of “the abundant capacity of lay people”. That capacity, I would add, is varied: there is the specific expertise of lay men and women which they acquire in their daily calling of living the Christian message in the world. There is the participation of lay men and women in the structures and services of our Churches. There is the vital role of Christian parents in transmitting the faith in a modern culture and leading their children into authentic Christian life.

I believe that parents in all our Churches have more in common that we imagine in that challenging task. I believe that here we can do more together to help parents in their task of transmitting the faith to the next generation.

Archbishop Jackson’s third point was precisely addressing the faith of young people, building on the commitment they have “to justice and fair-mindedness, to friendship and to versatility at which we ought all to marvel”. Looking back to fifty years ago I entered into the seminary exactly one week before the opening of the Second Vatican Council. My faith was shaped by that moment of change and renewal and reform in my Church. It was about a forward-looking, hope-filled Church. We need to regain that spirit of hope and to do that we need rejuvenation; we need to guarantee space to the prophetic voice of the coming generations and we must listen to that voice.

Fourthly Archbishop Jackson reminded us not just of our need to address the challenges of economic recession and the hurt that it has caused but that “the poor always are at the heart of the Gospel”. The Christian response to the unjust and oppressive poverty of those who are today left excluded and precarious, is not just through doing things for them, but in changing ourselves to be in the forefront of living a genuine Gospel style of life in contrast to a society that entraps. Not only can we Christians do that together, we can do it better together.

In all of this the Churches and the Christian community do not act alone, in isolation from others, much less feeling superior to others. “Ecumenism of itself is not enough… Christian Churches together need to engage in the common cause of humanity” with those of other faiths and those whose beliefs cannot be categorized into our confessions and structures. In this I would add that a truly pluralist society would welcome that presence of men and women of faith in society and its institutions and in the public square. Republics are not by their nature agnostic, but tolerant and welcoming to the values of all those who live them out in a respectful way.

Archbishop Jackson’s final point is one that I could share with enthusiasm: “we need to be joyful, to rejoice, to let the trumpets sound” A Church which bemoans its tiredness will never attract anyone. A Church which simply bemoans the woes of society will never energize or enthuse anyone. It was Pope John who spoke of “prophets of doom” in the Church and its leadership.

When I had the idea of taking up or as I said copying someone else’s homily, it seemed an easy task. But it has not been quite so easy. In the same way, while watching the Church of Ireland and Catholic Archbishops of Dublin taking up and supporting each other’s ideas is something new and exciting, the path forward is still not an easy one. It requires a further conversion that requires that we come closer together, putting aside some traditions to which we have been attached, or overcoming attachments to power and position to which each of our Churches on account of our history have become accustomed.

All of us as Christians have to learn more deeply how we can serve, love and suffer for the Church. That is the path of ecumenism. There are no short cuts to unity but this path of sincerely loving, serving and suffering for the Church is the path that Pope John XXII and the great reformers of the Church in our days, of whatever denomination, faced with trust in the Lord and thus made the Churches more united and the world a better place.

Each year we come together at this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We come back year after year not having realised our dream, but knowing that in ways unexpected we have found new signs of hope through the presence of the Spirit in unexpected ways and places. We know that what the Lord has begun with us he will bring to fulfilment and we give thanks and praise to that God in whom we place our trust.

The decline in births is what has led us to the present situation of economic crisis says president of IOR

2012-01-21T05:57:00.001Z

ROME, JAN. 19, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The decline in births, from the 70s to our days, is what has led us to the present situation of economic crisis.

This was the affirmation made at a symposium on the family held at the Italian Parliament, which included a presentation from Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, president of IOR, the Italian initials for the Istituto per le Opere di Religione, often referred to as the Vatican's Bank.

"If the six of us speakers here today were the government, we would have resolved the economic problem immediately, because we would know where to point: the family," Tedeschi exclaimed.

Then, he outlined what he termed the five No's, illustrating the negative effects that come about when "births are interrupted and the family and children are ignored in the Western world."

No Growth of the Economy: "In the last 30 years children were not born, and the number of inhabitants that we had in Italy in 1980 has remained unchanged; hence how can the GDP grow when it grows only when there is more consumption?"

No Saving: "One of the phenomena of our days is that the banks have no liquidity, the reason is that there has been no saving for more than 25 years.

"In 1975-'80 the rate of savings accumulation of Italian families was 27%; today it is 4.5%! Of 100 lire earned, 27 were put in the bank, they entered the cycle of investments and brokerage. Today all that is earned is consumed, there are no resources for financial markets."

No Marriages: "How is it that today there is no possibility of getting married before 32 years of age? Because a young couple cannot afford to purchase a house, due to the fact that, even if they are professionals, they earn half of what was earned 30 years ago, due to an increase in tax rates from 25% to 50%."

No Elderly: "Children are not born and the population ages and is of pensionable age. Economically this means an increase in fixed costs. Society has no more money to look after the elderly and as a result is studying the so-called sudden death."

No Work: "To be able to consume, we have moved the most important work to Asia. Half of what was first produced in the Western world, today is imported because it costs less. By moving production, jobs have also moved. Hence, there is no longer work and 70%-80% are employed in the service sector."

PRIESTLY LIFE REQUIRES EVER-INCREASING THIRST FOR SANCTITY, says POPE

2012-01-20T15:09:00.000Z

VATICAN CITY, 20 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall the Holy Father received seventy professors and students of the diocesan seminary of Rome, the "Almo Collegio Capranica". Tomorrow the 555 year-old college will be celebrating the feast of its patroness St Agnes, and it was on that third-century virgin and martyr that the Holy Father focused his remarks.

"For St. Agnes martyrdom meant agreeing to spend her young life, generously and freely, completely and without reserve, so that the Gospel could be announced as the truth and beauty which illuminates existence. ... In martyrdom Agnes also confirmed the other decisive element of her life: her virginity for Christ and the Church. Her path to the compete gift of self in martyrdom was, in fact, prepared by her informed, free and mature choice of virginity, testimony of her desire to belong entirely to Christ. ... While still young Agnes had learned that being a disciple of the Lord means loving Him, even at the cost of one's life".

"Formation for the priesthood likewise requires integrity, maturity, asceticism, constancy and heroic fidelity in all aspects. All this must be founded upon a solid spiritual life animated by an intense relationship with God, as individuals and in the community, with a particular care for liturgical celebrations and frequent recourse to the Sacraments. Priestly life requires an ever-increasing thirst for sanctity, a clear 'sensus Ecclesiae' and an openness to fraternity without exclusion or bias", said the Holy Father.

"Part of a priest's journey of sanctity is his decision to develop, with God's help, his own intellect, his own commitment: an authentic and solid personal culture which is the fruit of constant and impassioned study. Faith has an indispensable rational and intellectual element. ... Those who also achieve maturity in this global cultural formation will be more effective educators and animators of that worship 'in spirit and in truth' about which Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria. Such worship ... must become ... a process whereby man himself, as a being gifted with reason, becomes worship and glorification of the living God".

"Always maintain a profound sense of the history and traditions of the Church", the Pope told his audience. "Here you have the opportunity to open yourselves to an international horizon. ... Learn to understand the situations of the various countries and Churches of the world. ... Ready yourselves to approach all the men and women you will meet, ensuring that no culture is a barrier to the Word of life, which you must announce even with your lives".

"The Church expects a lot from young priests in the work of evangelisation and new evangelisation. I encourage you in your daily efforts that, rooted in the beauty of authentic tradition and profoundly united to Christ, you may bring Him into your communities with truth and joy".

AC/ VIS 20120120 (490)

"Ireland Stand Up" group calls for Irish Government to re-open Embassy to Holy See

2012-01-20T07:35:00.004Z

The Irish Government is coming under pressure from a broadly based Catholic lay group, with support from members of different political parties, to re-open its Embassy to the Holy See.

On January 18, more than a hundred members of the Group, known as Ireland Stand Up, met for five hours with one-third of the members of the Irish parliament. 50 of the 166 members of parliament’s lower house (the Dail) and 25 of the 60 members of its upper house (the Seanad) were present.

Even more significant was the presence of the Junior Minister of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Lucinda Creighton, together with representatives of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and several other ministers, as well as Ireland’s new ambassador to the Holy See, David Cooney, who is also Secretary General of the DFA.

Their presence was a clear sign that the coalition Government is taking this campaign seriously, according to political commentators.

On 3 November 2011, the Dublin Government announced its decision to close the Embassy to the Holy See and appoint a non-resident ambassador as its diplomatic representative there, for the first time in 81 years. It said it was doing so ‘for economic reasons’, but many believe the rationale was more political than economic.

Soon after, a number of Catholic lay people started a Group, known as Ireland Stand Up, to campaign for the re-opening of the embassy. Mary E. Fitzgibbon, the Group’s spokesperson, said the campaign was inspired by a Dublin mother who was offended by the embassy closure. The Group, using the social and other media, is urging people across the country to write to the Government asking it to reverse its decision, to re-open the embassy, and to invite Pope Benedict XVI to the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, next June. More than 15,000 people have so far written to the government, it said.

At the meeting in Dublin, widely reported in the Irish media, Ms. Fitzgibbon traced the history of Ireland’s relations with the Holy See from the year 432 when Pope Celestine I sent Saint Patrick to the country to the founding of the Irish State, and the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1929. “We do not believe the decision was economic”, she stated.

Significantly, Colm Keaveney, a parliamentary member of the Labour Party (one of the coalition partners in government) agreed. “I personally believe we can afford it,” he said.

Another parliamentarian, Brian O’Domnhaill, of the main opposition party, Fianna Fail, asked why the Government had chosen to close its embassy to the Holy See rather than the one to Malawi.

Responding for the Government, Lucinda Creighton, the Junior Minister, said an Irish diplomatic presence to the Holy See “is very important, not just for Catholics in Ireland, but for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ strategy”.

"Our foreign policy agenda is at one with the Vatican. When it comes to the priorities for us, human rights, hunger, all of these freedoms that we promote all over the world, particularly in Africa, we do it hand in hand, side by side with the Vatican”, she stated, according to a report in The Irish Examiner.

"From a strictly foreign affairs perspective”, she said, “I think it would be very desirable in the future to step up our relations with the Vatican again. Now is obviously not going to be possible, but certainly in due course.”

When that time comes, she added, “I’ll certainly be one of the loud voices calling for it to happen."

Speaking to Ireland’s RTE television afterwards, Ms. Fitzgibbon expressed the campaigners’ satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting. “I think they are taking it very seriously. They were very much open to dialogue”, she said.

She revealed that the parliamentarians had invited the Group to speak to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Irish Parliament.

The departing Australian ambassador to the Holy See says that countries without a resident diplomatic presence in Rome are losing out diplomatically.

“It is so much easier to do the job if you’re on the ground in Rome,” said Ambassador Tim Fischer , who is stepping down from his post this month.

MY Comment; Just to remind readers: Ireland now has a non resident ambassador to the The Holy See due to the machinations of a Communist/Atheist labour member in the Irish Cabinet

International Eucharistic Congress to have an ecumenical programme

2012-01-20T07:17:00.002Z

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough, Dr Michael Jackson, joined together at the Church of Saints Columbanus and Gall in Milltown on Wednesday to launch The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated from 18th- 25th January and brings Christian congregations together to pray and reflect. The theme of the week is “We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

There are a number of events taking place across the Archdiocese of Dublin to mark The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, including an ecumenical service tonight in St Patrick’s Church, Dalkey.

The organising committee of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress chose the beginning of The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity as the occasion for the launch of the ecumenical programme of the Congress.

The ecumenical programme will take place on the first day of the Congress, (Monday 11th June) and will celebrate and reflect on the relationship of Communion into which Christians are drawn through baptism. A liturgy of Word and Water will be celebrated by Archbishop Martin and Archbishop Jackson.
For further information

Communications Office, Archdiocese of Dublin

Tel: 01 8360723

Web: www.dublindiocese.ie

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Stolen Relics returned to Holycross Abbey

2012-01-19T07:29:00.000Z

A number of religious relics of the True Cross, stolen from the historic Holycross Abbey in County Tipperary last October, have been recovered by Gardaí.

The relics, said to be part of the true cross on which Christ was crucified, as well as a gold and bronze cross, were stolen in a daring raid by a gang of three men on Tuesday October 11. The gang used a portable angle grinder to forcibly cut the relic, which had been in the Abbey for nearly 900 years, from its steel cabinet located beside the altar in the Abbey.

The theft caused much sadness in the parish of Holycross and among the wider Catholic community, and local parish priest Fr Tom Breen had made several appeals in both the local and national media for their safe return.

In recent weeks, Fr Breen told parishioners in Holycross that the Abbey would be getting a piece of the true cross that it had previously gifted to the Ursuline Sisters in Blackrock in Cork City after the Abbey was restored in 1979.

Now however, and following an extensive investigation by Gardaí, the relics have been recovered relatively intact, unharmed, and returned to a delighted Fr Tom Breen in Holycross.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening the Archbishop of Cashel & Emly Dermot Clifford (pictured) said, “It is truly wonderful that the precious relics of the one True Cross from Holycross Abbey have been found, relatively undamaged, through the sterling efforts of the Garda Síochána. On behalf of the people of the Diocese of Cashel & Emly, may I express our thanks to the Gardaí. This is a joyous day and one for which thousands of people had been praying for since the relics were stolen last October. It is still a mystery to us all as to why the relics were stolen as they had little monetary value. However we must now find measures to protect the relics.”

Catholic Church to launch global initiative on safeguarding

2012-01-19T06:39:00.000Z

Bishops and Religious Superiors from across the world will come to Rome in February for the launch of the Catholic Church’s global initiative on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Towards Healing and Renewal is being offered by the Gregorian University in Rome and consists of a major symposium followed by the launch of a multi-institution e-learning centre which will run for the next three years – the Center for the Protection of Children based in Munich, Germany. Delegates for the symposium will come from 110 Bishops’ Conferences and also be Superior Generals of more than 30 Religious Orders, making this a truly international gathering focusing on safeguarding by the Catholic Church.

This initiative has the support of several Vatican Congregations as well as the Secretary of State and the symposium, which will run from February 6-9, will have speakers from all continents in recognition of the global nature of safeguarding the vulnerable. The speakers include the testimony of a victim of abuse, who will address the delegates about the need for victims to be heard and how to effect positive change.

Following the 2011 circular letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to Bishops’ Conferences requiring all Dioceses in the world to develop guidelines within the next year on the handling of all abuse allegations, the symposium will play a significant role in enabling Bishops and major religious superiors to move towards creating a consistent global response. Cardinal Levada, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, will give the opening address at the Symposium conference, and representatives from the CDF have had a very active role in giving shape to Towards Healing and Renewal.

The e-learning centre based in Munich (Germany), more formally known as the Centre for the Child Protection of Children of the Institute for Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University, which will be run by Hubert Liebhardt, Visiting Professor at the Gregorian University as well as serving at the University of Ulm, has full funding secured for three years. It will enable the dissemination of good practices to assist in the setting up of local structures to introduce robust procedures to deal quickly and effectively with all allegations of abuse and will go live at the conclusion of the symposium.

Towards Healing and Renewal will also act as a catalyst in developing a culture of listening and healing within the Church.

Full details of the symposium and the speakers are available at: http://www.thr.unigre.it.

Source: CCN/UniGre

Presence of Catholics on internet "essential" says Archbishop

2012-01-18T19:24:00.000Z

ROME, ITALY, January 16 .- Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, emphasized that the presence of Catholics on the internet is essential.

He noted that in 2009, roughly 440 million Catholics went online.

Archbishop Celli made his comments at Mercy University in the Swiss city of Fribourg during a meeting organized by the Bishops’ Conference of Switzerland and the Swiss Press League. The event was held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the pastoral instruction on social communications, “Communio et progressio.”

According to L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Celli said society has passed from the “era of information” to the “era of conversation,” in which the content is itself the object of dialogue.

Speaking about the social media, the archbishop said, “Language, understanding of communities and visibility are the great challenges facing those who want to be present in the new digital continent.”

He noted the important contributions to the world of communications made by Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI and said Catholics must meet the challenge of stepping into this “courtyard of the gentiles,” where God is unknown to many.

Israeli "settlers" still attacking Christians . When will international Jewry challenge Israel's Injustice?

2012-01-18T09:31:00.002Z

It was one of those 'little' incidents that never get reported, but is part of the fabric of daily violence suffered by Palestinians of all ages. On 9 January 2012, settlers from Kiryat Arba firebombed the car of the Jawdi Jaber family in the Beqa'a Valley and stoned their house. A Christian Peacemaker team visited the family on 12 January while it was also monitoring the situation in the nearby neighborhood of al-Bowereh where the Israeli military had demolished a hilltop outpost.

Jeff Halper, of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions wrote about the incident:

This morning I got a call from Jawdi Jaber, a Palestinian friend from the Baka Valley near Hebron. Settlers from Kiryat Arba, the large settlement/city built on his land and literally on top of his house, had thrown a barrage of rocks and stones at his family’s home and had burned his car.

'It wasn’t much of a car, a battered old 1979 Peugeot mini-van, but it was vital for his family. Jawdi used it to make frequent visits to the hospital with his ill 90 year-old mother, not being able to afford an ambulance each time. On very rainy days he’d take his kids to school: four miles on foot over rocky mountain paths on most days, and not infrequently the kids would be attacked by Israeli settlers in the area, sometimes with baseball bats.

'When he had something to sell (the Israeli authorities tore out all his irrigation pipes this year and most of his crops – tomatoes, cucumbers and grapes – dried up and died), he would load the vegetables in his van and take them to the market in Hebron. The car was 'the arms and legs of the family,' he told me this family, his voice resigned and quiet.

It was one of those “little” incidents that never get reported, part of the fabric of daily violence suffered by Palestinians of all ages.

“I have never known a day of just normal happiness my whole life,” Jawdi recently told me. In 2001 he tried to build a small home for his wife and five children on his family’ land adjacent to his parents’ four-room home in which 17 people were living; in 2002 it was demolished by the Israeli authorities, only one of the 26,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished in the Occupied Territory since 1967 because Israel refuses to grant Palestinians building permits.

Jawdi’s brother Atta, who lives on the hill opposite, has had his home demolished three times. In January, 2000, settlers invaded Atta’s house on a Friday, threw the family out of their home, stayed there over the Sabbath (under police protection), then, on Saturday night, burned the home, desecrated the Quranic passage over the door and left. No one arrested.

If anyone tries to tell you that Israel does not engage in ethnic cleansing or that what it does is for reasons of “security,” take them to the Jaber family. Nice people (Jawdi and Atta both speak fluent English) whose wives, Aisha and Rudina, will make you delicious maklubeh and who kids are bright and photogenic – but be aware, you are in the presence of genuine heroes. These are people who are scared, wounded, traumatized, sad, impoverished and oppressed, but they are sumud, steadfast. The Jabers will prevail. They have the strength to resist whatever violence, injustice and pain the Israeli government, its settlers and its apathetic population can bring to bear. Indeed, theirs are the shoulders upon which our world rests.

Only one thing can break them. Not the American 'superpower' with its hi-tech military and 'pro-Israel' Congress and Administration, not America’s European lackey governments with no courage to enforce the human rights they so loudly proclaim, but us. We can break the Jabers will to resist if we abandon them, if we, the good and privileged people, remain silent. Imagine yourself standing with Jawdi and his family this morning beside their smoldering car. What are you going to do about it?"

Source: Christian Peacemakers

My comment: The "settlers" are thieves who, with the connivance and sanction of Israeli Government has stolen property from, in many cases, people who lived in those areas long before foundation of Israel as a state in 1948.

ECUMENISM? Or another Euro scandal? Russian Orthodox Patriarch appeals for release of Greek Orthodox abbot

2012-01-18T07:01:00.003Z

The Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, has asked for the release of Abbot Ephraim from the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece.

From a legal news piece, the case is now turning into a diplomatic and “ecumenical” incident.

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill and Russian government authorities have sent messages to Greek President Karolos Papoulias, expressing his personal concern at the arrest of Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, on charges of fraud.

The Abbot is being accused of “scandalous” transactions between the State and the monastery.

“It is my duty to express our mutual concern to the head of the Greek State and to ask for the release of Archimandrite Ephraim, the superior of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, from his detention,” the message published on the Russian Orthodox Church’s website read.

Patriarch Kirill said he was deeply concerned about the arrest of Archimandrite Ephraim.

“I am not questioning the powers of the Greek police and I hope that a fair and impartial judgement will be made with regards to the property of the Vatopedi Monastery. However, I am perplexed by the monk’s arrest. He is not a danger to society and has repeatedly declared his willingness to cooperate with investigators, prior to the case was heard in court,” Kirill emphasised.

The Patriarch also said he was deeply concerned about Archimandrite Ephraim’s state of health, which was not taken into consideration at the time of his arrest.

“In Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, Moldova and other Countries whose populations form the traditional flock of the Russian Orthodox Church, millions of faithful are alarmed at the measures adopted by the police with in relation to the dominance of the monastery on Mount Athos. The monastery is well known throughout the entire Orthodox world, particularly during the Greek Orthodox celebrations for the Christmas season,” he continued.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed its concern regarding the arrest of Archimandrite Ephraim.

Fr. Ephraim accompanied a group on a month long tour around the Virgin Mary’s Belt in Russia last autumn.

On that occasion, around three million faithful worshiped the sacred object from the monastery on Mount Athos.

The arrest of Abbot Ephraim, the head of the thousand year old monastery, sparked protests in Russia, another stronghold of Christian Orthodoxy, where faithful described the arrest as a violation of human rights.

Ephraim is the highest profile figure within the Orthodox Church to be arrested as a result of the government’s latest crackdown on corruption: a chronic problem that has contributed to generating the seismic debt crisis that has stuck Greece.

But far from quelling the rage of public opinion with regards to widespread corruption, the Abbot’s arrest has sparked a general outcry among religious and conservative circles in Athens and Moscow.

But Ephraim’s case has also reopened another more sinister Pandora’s Box: the scandal which broke out years ago, pointed to the Vatopedi Monastery as the centre of an “empire of affairs involving real estate and a series of companies which were mostly off-shore companies in Cyprus,” Forbes writes.

In 2009, the then Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis announced early elections, which he then lost as a result of the scandal surrounding the dealings between the Greek State and the monastery.

Towards the end of 2008, the Greek media leaked the details of the shady dealings between the State and the monastery. In the past, the Vatopedi Monastery had sued the State for a large area of forest and a lake in the northern part of its territory: in the end, the Court recognised as genuine an old document which, lo and behold, acknowledged the Vatopedi property.

Almost immediately, the Vatopedi Monastery forged a deal with the State: once the forest and the lake were returned to it by the court, these were exchanged with a building in central Athens and a tourist complex near Mount Athos.

“The media claim that the State suffered one million Euros in damages (but during the parliamentary inquiry incredible figures as high as 1 billion Euros came to light)” Forbes commented.

“The affair was facilitated by frequent and friendly visits by Abbot Ephraim to Greek institutions, whose doors always remained open to him.”

The monks at Vatopedi Monastery showed great entrepreneurial flair, the consequences of which were not completely predictable.

What is certain is that they did little good to the Euro zone. On the “inter-Orthodox” relations front, the situation is evolving. Metropolitan Hilarion visited Greece with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and of All Russia, Kirill, and by invitation of His Blessedness the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Hieronymus.

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Athenian temple dedicated to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, in the Kolonaki quarter.

Celebrating with him were Bishop Feodorit of Nazianzus, Bishop Prokopy of Cristianupol, clerics from the Greek Orthodox Church and clerics from the Greek Orthodox Church delegation. Metropolitan Hilarion launched an appeal for dialogue: “The Holy Patriarch Kirill asked me to pass on words of encouragement and love to You. The Russian Orthodox Church always has and always will stand by the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek people. We are aware of the difficulties facing the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek people and we nurture the hope that with the help of God, these difficulties will be overcome as soon as possible.”

Furthermore, he added: “Today everyone is talking about the financial and economic crisis in Greece. But there are problems everywhere and people are suffering everywhere. But the spiritual dimension that the Church gives us helps us overcome life’s difficulties.”

The “minister of Foreign Affairs” of the Patriarchate of Moscow wished “the Greek Orthodox Church, its clergy, its monks and its lay people peace and prosperity and peace and prosperity to Greece and that the people of this blessed Country may live in prosperity.”

He also urged people “to remember their Christian roots, because through faith, our people will reach salvation.”

Finally, he offered an icon of Saint Serge as a gift, saying: “may the Lord bless you for many years to come."

Reminds me of not too distant past when abbeys thrived and the people went without! I have long been of the view that the Reformation would not have been supported by the people unless the people had already been alienated by the greed of the Abbeys.

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Californian Bishops support pro-life and anti-death penalty initiatives (2) NEW DIRECTOR OF VATICAN PRESS

2012-01-17T12:25:00.005Z

SACRAMENTO, CALIF., January 15 (CNA) .- A proposed California ballot initiative to require parental notification for abortions and another initiative to end the death penalty both won the support of the state’s Catholic bishops, who say the proposals will bring “common sense, compassion and prudent justice” to public policy.

Both initiatives bring into focus “important moral issues” about how society treats “nascent life, family life, and even a sinful or errant life.”

Social policy should “respect and support the role of parents” while justice should “uphold human dignity as it protects the community,” the bishops said.

Backers of both initiatives are trying to gather enough support to place them on the 2012 ballot.

The bishops detailed the reasons for their support in a statement published by the California Catholic Conference.

The Parental Notification Initiative would require a girl aged 12-17 to include her parents in a decision to obtain an abortion. Current law allows secrecy for “confidential medical services,” which the California bishops said could allow a girl to have multiple abortions at state expense without her parents’ knowledge.

Parents are responsible for their daughters’ medical and emotional needs, but present policy denies them accurate information about her health, the bishops added.

“As Catholics, we believe and teach that we bear the image of God. We come to life as the result of humanity’s collaboration in God’s creative work,” they said.

The family has the duty to care for children, and government “serves best” when it supports families in “their irreplaceable task of nurturing the next generation.”

The bishops also support an initiative its sponsors call SAFE California, an anti-death penalty measure which claims to offer Savings, Accountability and Full Enforcement.

The proposal would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without parole.

“We have long held that the use of the death penalty is no longer necessary to protect the community,” the bishops said.

“As Catholics we hold human life as sacred. In the exercise of justice, this principle must prevail in the manner we treat one another, even for those who have done grave harm. Justice requires proportionate and effective means in the protection of society. As citizens, we find the use of the death penalty unnecessary, impractical and expensive.”

NEW DIRECTOR OF VATICAN PRESS

VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has appointed Fr. Sergio Pellini S.D.B. as director general of the Vatican Press

My comment: I hope there will be an improvement in Vatican Press
I have added to sidebar three new search items; "International Catholic News" and "News from Catholic Ireland" or at least from that part that still is! I have also added a search facility for more Catholic churches, chiefly in Ireland though one in West Sussex, which broadcast Mass daily.

Some major European Archdioceses to launch re-evangelisation projects

2012-01-17T05:40:00.000Z

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2012 / 07:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Church leaders from 12 major European dioceses who are hope to re-evangelize their cities during Lent 2012 met this week in Rome to finalize plans for a new initiative called “Metropolitan Missions.”

“The climate of unity among the cities that share same project was very strong,” Auxiliary Bishop Jean Kockerols of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium told CNA at the conclusion of the Jan. 9 meeting.

“It was very interesting to hear from the other 11 cities who are working on the same priority,” he added.

Also represented were the Metropolitan Archdioceses of Barcelona, Budapest, Cologne, Dublin, Lisbon, Liverpool, Paris, Turin, Warsaw and Vienna. The meeting was hosted by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, which is headed by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

The Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels is calling its Lenten series of events “Metropolis 2012 – Paths of Conversion.” The organizers plan for the Feb. 22 – April 15 series to create a stir in the Belgian capital by making “everyone more aware of what it means to be Christian.”

The Cathedral Church of Sts. Michael and Gudula will host one of the events, which will involve five afternoons of testimonies on the theme of “conversion paths.” The gatherings will feature a series of famous Belgians reading and reflecting upon passages of the Confessions of St. Augustine.

On Palm Sunday, 15 churches across Brussels will open their doors for anyone to visit and, over a cup of coffee, ask any questions about the Catholic faith. The Sacrament of Penance will also be available.

On Good Friday, April 6, there will be an all-day reading of the Gospel of St. Mark in the historic downtown church Notre-Dame-du-Finistère. This will also be broadcast on large screens in the streets surrounding the church. The chapters and verses of the Gospel will be interspersed with musical interludes played by violin and harp.

Meanwhile, both Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard and his auxiliary Bishop Jean Kockerols are planning to touring parishes to provide teachings sessions on the Catholic faith. Many other events at the parish level are also promised.

The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. He said he wanted it to “promote a renewed evangelization” in traditionally Christian countries which are living in a “progressive secularization of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God.’”

This year’s “metropolitan missions” are the first of their kind. If deemed successful, they could be introduced elsewhere around the world, including the United States, in the coming years.

Vatican Congregation calls on Bishops' Conferences to prepare renewed Apologetics material for the people

2012-01-16T06:40:00.005Z

In the Catholic Church, it's true that everything old can be new again, and the Vatican wants one of those things to be the art of "apologetics" -- dusted off and updated to respond to new challenges, including those posed by militant atheists.

The term "apologetics" literally means "to answer, account for or defend," and through the 1950s even Catholic high school students were given specific training in responding to questions about Catholicism and challenges to church teaching.

At least in Northern Europe and North America, the effort mainly was a response to Protestantism.

Today, while sects and fundamentalist groups challenge Catholics in many parts of the world, almost all Catholics face objections to the idea of belief in general, said Legionary of Christ Father Thomas D. Williams, a professor at Rome's Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University.

Father Williams is author of "Greater Than You Think: A Theologian Answers the Atheists About God," written in response to the late Christopher Hitchens' book, "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," and similar works.

Over the past 50 years, apologetics lost its general appeal because "it was considered proselytism," an aggressive attempt to win converts that was replaced by ecumenical dialogue, he said. It didn't help that many Catholics started seeing all religions as equally valid paths to salvation, so they thought it was best to encourage people to live their own faith as best they could without trying to encourage them to consider Christianity.

Among the Regina Apostolorum students, he said, there is a renewed interest in apologetics -- usually covered today under the heading of fundamental theology. "You can change the name, make it gentler and nicer, but you always have to give reasons for your hope and belief," he said.

While there have been scattered attempts to train Catholics to explain their faith to others since Vatican II, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has asked for a more widespread effort to get apologetic material into the hands of Catholics.

In early January, the congregation issued a note on preparing for the Year of Faith, which will begin in October. Addressing national bishops' conferences, the congregation said, "It would be useful to arrange for the preparation of pamphlets and leaflets of an apologetic nature" so that every Catholic could "respond better to the questions which arise in difficult contexts" from sects to moral relativism and from secularism to science and technology.

The congregation included a reference to the biblical admonition from the First Letter of Peter: "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope."

MY COMMENT: An emphasis also on using only sound textbooks in schools would be very welcome from Bishops' Conference.

Priest jailed for gambling with parish funds

2012-01-16T06:26:00.001Z

A popular Catholic priest known for his devotion to his parish and work with the homeless, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison on Friday, after he used parish funds for gambling.

Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, 59, who was parish priest at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, was convicted of taking $650,000 (£424,000) to support his gambling habit.

In October, McAuliffe pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and falsifying documents sent to the archdiocese in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He was also removed from his parish and stripped of duties to the diocese.

In his defence, his lawyer Margaret Stanish said Fr McAuliffe had been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression, but in recent months had been receiving gambling addiction treatment, and had been doing well.

“Some supporters see the potential for something good to come from the realization that their trusted spiritual leader also suffers from human frailty, a frailty that merits forgiveness in accordance with their religious beliefs,” she wrote.

She pointed out that Fr McAuliffe had also begun returning the money to his parish since May and had already paid back $13,420.

But US District Judge James C Mahan who sentenced the priest was not persuaded by the defence. He focussed on the length of time the deception has gone on and told the priest he had abused his position of trust.

Fr McAuliffe offered a remorseful apology, AP reported, saying he felt "guilt, shame and self-loathing''.

Dozens of parishioners came to the court to support Fr McAuliffe. Karen Kinney wrote in a letter to the court: “I speak for myself and many from our very large congregation, that we are sorry for what Fr Kevin has done, but all the good that he has done for all of us over these many years has outweighed the sin of taking the money from our Church."

Pope speaks of proper understanding of Justice and Peace

2012-01-16T06:13:00.001Z

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 13, 2012 - Justice is not a mere human convention and peace is not the mere absence of war, Benedict XVI affirmed today.

The Pope said this when he received members of the General Inspectorate for Public Security in the Vatican in a traditional meeting that takes place every year in January for the exchange of New Year greetings.

"Defending public order, especially in an area so heavily frequented by tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, is no simple task," he said, according to the Vatican Information Service. "The See of Peter is the centre of Christianity, and many Catholics wish to come here at least once in their lives to pray at the tombs of the Apostles. The presence, both of the Holy See and of such large numbers of cosmopolitan visitors who come to be at the heart of the Catholic Church, is certainly not a problem for the city of Rome or for Italy as a whole; rather, it is a source of richness and a reason to be proud."

The Holy Father went on to note parts of the globe where Christians do not enjoy peace, and are "paying their adherence to Christ and the Church with their lives."

"In my message for the World Day of Peace this year, I underlined the importance of educating young people in justice and peace, two terms much used in our world, though often inappropriately," he recalled.

"Justice," the Holy Father explained, "is not a mere human convention. When, in the name of supposed justice, the criteria of utility, profit and material possession come to dominate, the value and dignity of human beings can be trampled underfoot. Justice is a virtue which guides the human will, prompting us to give others what is due to them by reason of their existence and their actions. Likewise, peace is not the mere absence of war, or the result of man's actions to avoid conflict; it is, above all, a gift of God which must be implored with faith, and which has the way to its fulfilment in Jesus. True peace must be constructed day after day with compassion, solidarity, fraternity and collaboration on everyone's part."

"As policemen and women," the Bishop of Rome told his audience, "always be true promoters of justice and sincere builders of peace. Let us pray to the Mother of God, Queen of Peace, to support our intentions and activities with her maternal intercession. To her we entrust this year of 2012, that everyone may live in mutual respect and strive after the common good, in the hope that no act of violence will be committed in the name of God, supreme guarantor of justice and peace."

Vatican out of touch, again!

2012-01-15T12:30:00.005Z

My comment: For many years the Vatican published the Pope's Prayer Intentions, monthly. Now it has decided to publish them for a whole year! Just shows how out of touch, pastorally, the Vatican is. Does it really expect people to remember for a whole year? Remembering for a month was difficult enough! Why, oh Why? Did it mean 2012 or 2013 as per email? Or are we all behind the Vatican? :-)

VATICAN CITY, January 13 (CNA/EWTN News) .- The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published Pope Benedict XVI’s prayer intentions for the year 2013.

Highlights from the 2013 intentions include prayers for participants in World Youth Day, which is slated to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during July of that year. Other intentions emphasize global respect for human life and the environment as well as specific prayers for the protection of families.

Pope Benedict will also be praying for the Year of Faith, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, and is set to conclude in 2013.

The Pope's entire list of prayer intentions for 2013 is as follows:

January

General: That during this “Year of Faith” Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and joyfully bear witness to the gift of faith in Him.

Missionary: That the Christian communities of the Middle East, which frequently suffer discrimination, may receive the strength of fidelity and perseverance of the Holy Spirit.

February

General: That migrant families, in particular mothers, may be sustained and accompanied in their difficulties.

Missionary: That peoples experiencing war and conflicts may be the protagonists in the building of a future of peace.

March

General: That respect for nature will grow, with the awareness that all creation is the work of God entrusted to human responsibility.

Missionary: That bishops, priests and deacons may be tireless proclaimers of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

April

General: That the prayerful and public celebration of the faith may be a source of life for the faithful.

Missionary: That the particular Churches in mission territories may be a sign and instrument of hope and resurrection.

May

General: That those who administer justice will always act with integrity and upright conscience.

Missionary: That seminarians, especially from mission Churches, may always be pastors according to the heart of Christ, fully devoted to the proclamation of the Gospel.

June

General: That a culture of dialogue, listening and reciprocal respect may prevail among the nations.

Missionary: That in the areas where the influx of secularization is strongest, Christian communities may learn to effectively promote a new evangelization.

July

General: That the World Youth Day taking place in Brazil may encourage all young Christians to become disciples and missionaries of the Gospel.

Missionary: That throughout the Asian continent, doors may be opened to the messengers of the Gospel.

August

General: That parents and teachers may help the new generations to grow up with a upright conscience and a consistent life.

Missionary: That the particular Churches of the African continent, faithful to the Gospel proclamation, may promote the building of peace and justice.

September

General: That the men and women of our time, often immersed in noise, may resdiscover the value of silence and learn to listen to the voice of God and their brothers and sisters.

Missionary: That Christians who suffer persecution in numerous regions of the world may be prophets of the love of Christ by their testimony.

October

General: That those who feel weary from the heaviness of life, and even long for its end, may sense the closeness of God’s love.

Missionary: That the celebration of World Missions Day may make all Christians aware that they are not only recipients but also proclaimers of the Word of God.

November

General: That priests experiencing difficulties may be comforted in their sufferings, sustained in the doubts and confirmed in their fidelity.

Missionary: That the Churches of Latin America may send missionaries to other Churches as a result of the continental mission.

December

General: That children who are victims of abandonment and of every form of violence may find the love and protection they need.

Missionary: That Christians, enlightened by the light of the incarnate Word, may prepare humanity for the coming of the Saviour.

Pastoral Letter from Msgr. Keith Newton to mark anniversary of Ordinariate.

2012-01-15T11:20:00.002Z

"My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, 15th January 2012, marks the first Anniversary of the erection by the Holy See of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman. A year is not a long time in the life of any institution particularly that of the Catholic Church, but as it was such an historic moment we should not let it pass without reflection.

An Anniversary is an opportunity both to look back with thanksgiving and look forward in hope. It has been an extraordinary year as we have moved from places we have known and loved to find a new and welcoming home in the Catholic Church. I echo the words of St Paul writing to the Church at Corinth “I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given to you in Christ Jesus” 1 Cor 1:4. I give thanks to God for your courage and faith sometimes at great personal cost. Many people have travelled a similar road before us, our patron Blessed John Henry Newman being one of many, but what is unique is that we have travelled together responding to the generous invitation made by our Holy Father Pope Benedict specifically to people like us. Although there have been difficulties and anxieties many people have told me of the joy and fulfilment of entering into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. We can also be thankful for those Catholic congregations and countless individuals, lay and ordained, who have so wonderfully supported and encouraged us over the year. We have much to thank God for. There have, of course, been disappointments and setbacks on the way but these have been outweighed by the warmth of the welcome and the knowledge of being in communion with the See of Peter and countless millions across the world. This is something we have prayed and longed for but has been realised for us in a way we could never have envisaged beforehand. It puts into practice the Holy Father’s vision that it is possible for Christians from different traditions to be united in a common faith, expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and in communion with the successor of Peter.

Of course, there have been some misunderstandings; partly because the Ordinariate has begun in a modest way, many Catholics have had no personal contact with Ordinariate groups or individuals. It is up to all of us to help people understand and to make a reality the vision that Pope Benedict has set before us, that the Ordinariate should be ‘a prophetic gesture’ to contribute to the wider goal of visible unity between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. It is to help us to experience in practice how we can share the gifts we have received to strengthen each other for our mission to a world that desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. As we keep the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this month we should pray even more urgently for the unity of Christ’s Church which Pope Benedict reminded us, during his visit to the United Kingdom last year, is a particular charge and care for the successor of Saint Peter.

What of the future? We face it with faith and hope, committing it to the Lord. There is a constant stream of men and women being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate, we expect several new groups to be received at Easter and we are preparing for a number of ordinations to the priesthood around Pentecost. In addition several young men are exploring the possibility of ordination within the Ordinariate. This is all extremely encouraging but could be a strain on our limited financial resources. I ask you to be generous in your financial stewardship; not simply making your financial contributions in response to needs but in response to God’s overwhelming generosity to us in Christ “who though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” 2 Cor 8:9. If we all do this we will be able to prepare for the future with confidence.

Finally I want to encourage you all. We are part of an historic moment in the Church, we each have an important part to play in realising the possibilities and opportunities this year has set before us, remembering that nothing will be achieved without prayer and holiness of life. St Paul writing to Timothy encourages him to train himself in godliness and continues “for to this end we toil and strive because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially those who believe” 1 Tim 4:10.

As we look forward to the future with hope we entrust the life and mission of the Ordinariate to the prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham and Blessed John Henry Newman.

With the assurance of my prayers,

The Right Revd Mgr Keith Newton

Ordinary"

Reposted at 11.20am. Original post at 5.45am was accidentally deleted ( by me).

Columban priest writes on assassination of priests and journalists in Philippines

2012-01-14T07:31:00.001Z

The power of the truth to set free the public from ignorance, indifference and apathy is what arouses public outcry and brings about civil and political action for human rights. Journalists, priests and pastors are frequently giving voice to the long oppressed aspirations of the indigenous people and it provokes violent retaliation.

Another outspoken journalist, Christopher Guarin, 41, publisher and editor-in-chief of the daily tabloid 'Tatak' was killed in General Santos city in the Southern Philippines last week. He had foretold his own assassination on the radio the morning he was set upon by gunmen and shot dead as he fled wounded from his car saving his wife and child.

The Philippines is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists and broadcasters. As many as 150 have been killed since the fall of Marcos and the restoration of democracy in 1986. Chris Guarin is the tenth media person murdered since president Aquino won the election in May 2010. It’s dangerous, deadly, and difficult to expose the injustice and exploitation of the poor and denounce the environmental destruction that causes much death and destruction as seen in the smashing of villages by floods and rampaging logs.

The recent slogan of the Department of Tourism – "It's more fun in the Philippines" has got it wrong. Everyone is asking and guessing what is more fun, life or death? Sex tourism is no fun at all for the hundreds of thousands of hapless trafficked and exploited women and children and it's no fun to be receiving death threats for speaking and writing the truth. As a writer and journalist myself, I have received a few death threats in my time and it's no fun what-so-ever. Nor is the culture of impunity that allows the killers to go free since local and corrupt politicians and big corporate interests are suspected to be the masterminds behind the killings.

Pastors and priests, the prophets and practitioners of justice and the social teachings of the Church are not spared. Father Fausto "Pops" Tentorio was brutally murdered last 17 October 2011 in his Church compound. With his brave and courageous fellow missionaries of the PIME Italian missionary society, he defended human rights and stood with the indigenous people of North Cotabato in Mindanao against giant international and local mining companies. The indigenous people see the corporations ready to rip and tear the forests and river valleys apart to get at the mineral deposits on their ancestral lands. Most of these mineral riches, which belong to the people, will go to the corporations, a tiny 5% portion to the national government but a big share to the wealthy families and business people. The local government officials who sign the permits will get their payoff too.

There are few, if any benefits, for the people who have true ancestral claims to the mineral rich lands that are loaded with gold, silver, nickel, copper and many more worth an estimated US$840 billion. Former President Gloria Arroyo's government gave generous incentives and tax holidays to foreign mining corporations and their local mining partners, an open invitation to gouge and exploit.

She gave mining corporations an income tax holiday for 4 to 8 years and a special low 5% tax rate when the eight years are up. They also get tax-free importation of equipments and exemption from paying the 12% value-added taxes. There are exemptions from wharfage dues, and lots more privileges that Filipinos cannot enjoy. The minerals can be exported even without refinement and processing. It's a virtual give away of the national wealth. In stark contrast, the Australian government has just passed a law that imposes a whopping 30% mining tax on all corporations extracting minerals in Australia.

Great are the riches at the end of the mining rainbow for the international corporations in the Philippines with their local cronies if they can defeat the fierce opposition of the indigenous people supported by the church and the non-government people's rights organizations.

Last week the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) identified a big businessman and a senior police inspector as the masterminds in the killing of Father Tentorio, according to an arrested hit-man. The slain priest and many others have given their lives in the struggle for the rights of the people and the environment.

Fr Shay Cullen is a Columban Missionary who has worked in the Philippines for the past 30 years. For more information see:http://www.preda.org

Punjabi Government in Pakistan destroys a Catholic church and school and homes

2012-01-13T05:34:00.001Z

The Punjab government in Pakistan stands accused of 'brutal injustice' for sending bulldozers into a Church-owned site and demolishing homes for poor, elderly and homeless people, a school for poor girls and a church.

Poverty-stricken families living on the two-acre site in Lahore were woken at 6.30am and asked to evacuate their homes. All the buildings on the site were destroyed including a small church and at least seven houses – which still had the occupants’ belongings inside.

With nowhere to go, a number of families and people working in the school camped out overnight on the demolished site, in Allama Iqbal Road, in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu district, and the following morning, yesterday (11 January) a protest march was held.

Stating that the Church had proof of ownership of the site dating back to 1887, Catholic Bishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore condemned the state government of Punjab, accusing it of “carrying out a criminal act of land-grabbing”. Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need from Lahore, he said he had summoned priests of the diocese to a crisis meeting to prepare a High Court writ to reclaim the site.

Condemning the demolition job, Bishop Shaw said: “What the state government of Punjab has done is a very, very brutal act of injustice.

“How can they do such a thing, just to come in, wreck a charitable institution and ruin the lives of people living there? They do not listen to anybody.”

He added: “This is a criminal act of land-grabbing by the government functionaries.”

Warning of further government action to seize Church-owned property, he said: “Everybody is worried now that the state government and especially the ruling party in the Punjab Province [the Muslim League ‘N’] have their eye on our buildings and land.”

One of those who lost their homes was Zoniba Richard, aged 62. She said her belongings were destroyed, that she was homeless and without family to go to.

Mrs Richard said she slept out in the cold on the first night after the demolition.

Asked about her plans for the future, she said: “I don’t know. I can only trust in God.”

She was interviewed on the site by Joris van Voorst tot Voorst, National Director of Aid to the Church in Need's office in the Netherlands.

He happened to be in Lahore at the time on a fact-finding exercise and was on the scene within hours of the incident alongside Dr Pieter Omtzigt, also from the Netherlands.

Dr Omtzigt said: “The rights of minorities are being trampled upon.”

Reverend Dr Alexander John Malik, Anglican Bishop of Lahore, also condemned the demolition and demanded that the Punjab government rebuild what had been destroyed. He said that a Blasphemy Law case should be registered for the desecration of the Bibles, crosses and the church without prior ecclesiastical permission.

In a message from the Anglican Church of Pakistan, the bishop stated that the demolition “manifests unaccounted power and explains grave injustice and cruelty towards non-Muslims/religious minorities in Pakistan”.

Saying that the Church had not received prior warning of the demolition plans, Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, National Director of the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), spoke to Aid to the Church in Need from the site. He said: “People are very sad. They are very angry. They are still sitting in the place that they call home.”

The priest added: “We have the papers to show who the rightful owners of the site are.

The government must have done something which was not correct to change the facts of the case.”

Fr Yousaf said that the site is still registered in the name of the Lahore Charitable Association, a trust made up of clergy and lay people from different Christian denominations with the Catholic Bishop of Lahore presiding as chairman.

He said that controversy over the ownership had arisen a few years ago when the main building on the site was used as a refuge for destitute women run by religious Sisters.

One of the women given refuge converted to Islam and began harassing the Sisters and querying the rightful ownership of two rooms which she had occupied.

The state authorities were notified and their subsequent discussions with the Church broke down.

According to local newspaper reports, local government officials claim the site was declared state land by the authorities in 2007. Since then, he said, the government had notified the owners of the centre several times. It is understood that the site is very valuable and that the state government is anxious to profit from it.

Critics have pointed to a dramatic change in policy towards minority groups since the death of Salman Taseer, Governor of the Punjab, who was assassinated on 4 January 2011 for his outspoken criticism of oppression of minority groups.

Source: ACN

Clifton Diocese produces new podcast series on ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’

2012-01-12T18:43:00.000Z

A new podcast series: ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’ has beeen launched by Clifton Diocese. The series is written and presented by Clifton Diocese former Director of Schools and Colleges, Ian McNiff. A booklet to accompany the podcasts.

The series is an ideal starting point for individuals, groups and parishes to begin to look at the Church’s social doctrine.

Bishop Declan writes an introduction to the ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’ booklet which you can download in the multimedia panel on the right. He says: “Our diocesan pastoral guidelines ‘Called to be a People of Hope’ challenge us to build our Catholic communities by deepening our prayer, enabling communion and strengthening us for mission. Our podcast series ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’ and this accompanying booklet help us to engage and strengthen our understanding of mission.

“Recently as a diocese we have focused on deepening our prayer with the preparations for the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal. This reminded us that the Mass is the central prayer of the Church.

“Also a great deal of work went into the preparation of ‘Parishes in Communion for Mission’. This looked at the vision we have for our parishes and the communion of life that we are called to build.

“The booklet and the podcasts, ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’, focus on the mission of the Church. As I said in ‘Called to be a People of Hope’: ‘We are the disciples for today. We are called to live the gospel and witness to the truth of God. Our communities are to be living signs of a people sent in God’s name to a broken world of which we are part, to bring healing and hope, reconciliation, justice and new life.’

“‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’ can be a starting point to discover our mission as Catholics. The Gospel needs to be lived in the reality of people’s lives so that it can transform us and enable us to live as a newly created people. The will be a valuable resource for our schools, colleges and parishes.

“I would like to thank all those who have helped in the production of ‘Exploring Catholic Social Teaching’ - in particular Ian McNiff our former Director of Schools and Colleges. I commend it to you as a way to live Gospel values more deeply.”

Our first podcast sees Ian talking about the themes of Catholic social teaching. You can listen to and download the podcast in the multimedia panel on the right.

In the first podcast on 8 January Ian talks about the principles of Catholic social teaching. The series will then continue each Saturday, exploring the dignity of the human person, community and the common good, rights and responsibilities, the preferential option for the poor, solidarity, dignity of work, and care for creation.
The podcast may be heard her: http://www.cliftondiocese.com

Archbishop Peter Smith expresses concern over various legal reform matters in letter to The Times

2012-01-11T18:22:00.003Z

In a letter published in The Times on Wednesday, 11th January 2012, Archbishop Peter expressed his concerns over welfare reforms being debated in the House of Lords.

He said that the proposed cap on household benefits would 'especially hurt larger families because it takes no account of family size, potentially forcing them to cut back on essentials such as heating and food, and in many cases resulting in the loss of their home'.

He also expressed concern over the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, saying that restricting legal aid would 'affect thousands of children whose parents are involved in civil cases, as well as victims of domestic abuse'.

Full text of the Archbishop's Letter:

Sir,

In coming weeks Parliament will take crucial decisions on amendments to two Bills, which will have a profound impact upon thousands of families.

The proposed cap on household benefits in the Welfare Reform Bill will especially hurt larger families because it takes no account of family size, potentially forcing them to cut back on essentials such as heating and food, and in many cases resulting in the loss of their home. This impact will at least be mitigated if the Bill is amended so that child benefit is not counted towards the capped amount. There are other issues, too, not least claimants being liable for the cost of official errors, even if they are unaware of those errors.

At the same time, restrictions to the availability of legal aid outlined in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will affect thousands of children whose parents are involved in civil cases, as well as victims of domestic abuse, fewer of whom will be entitled to support. The result is likely to be increased long-term public costs as well as greater suffering.

The experience of the member charities of our Caritas Social Action Network has underscored the increased poverty facing our society as a result of these changes.

While we all recognise that difficult decisions have to be made, it is vitally important to meet the fundamental needs of the most vulnerable families to prevent them from being pushed into further hardship.

THE MOST REV PETER SMITH
Chairman, Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship
London SW1

The Pope teaches: THE PRAYER OF JESUS AT THE LAST SUPPER

2012-01-11T18:12:00.000Z

___________________________________________________________

VATICAN CITY, 11 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Jesus' prayer during the Last Supper was the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his general audience, which was held this morning in the Paul VI Hall in the presence of 4,000 faithful.

The Pope explained how the emotional backdrop to the Last Supper, in which Jesus bade farewell to His friends, was the immanence of His approaching death. Moreover, in the days in which He was preparing to leave His disciples, the life of the Jewish people was marked by the approaching Passover, the commemoration of the liberation of Israel from Egypt.

"It was in this context that the Last Supper took place", the Holy Father said, "but with an important novelty". Jesus "wanted the Supper with His disciples to be something special, different from other gatherings. It was His Supper, in which He gave something completely new: Himself. Thus Jesus celebrated the Passover as an anticipation of His Cross and Resurrection".

The essence of the Last Supper lay in "the gestures of breaking and distributing the bread, and sharing the cup of wine, with the words that accompanied them and the context of prayer in which they took place. This was the institution of the Eucharist: the great prayer of Jesus and the Church". The words the Evangelists use to describe that moment "recall the Jewish 'berakha'; that is, the great prayer of thanksgiving and blessing which, in the tradition of Israel, is used to inaugurate important ceremonies. ... That prayer of praise and thanks rises up to God and returns as a blessing. ... The words of the institution of the Eucharist were pronounced in this context of prayer. The praise and thanksgiving of the 'berakha' became blessing and transformed the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus".

Jesus' gestures were the traditional gestures of hospitality which a host would extend to his guests, but in the Last Supper they acquired a more profound significance, Pope Benedict explained. Christ provided "a visible sign of welcome to the table upon which God gives Himself. In the bread and the wine, Jesus offered and communicated His own Self". Aware of His approaching death, "He offered in advance the life that would shortly be taken from Him, thus transforming His violent death into a free act of the giving of Self, for others and to others. The violence He suffered became an active, free and redemptive sacrifice".

"In contemplating Jesus' words and gestures that night, we can clearly see that it was in His intimate and constant relationship with the Father that He accomplished the gesture of leaving to His followers, and to all of us, the Sacrament of love", said the Pope. During the Last Supper Jesus also prayed for His disciples, who likewise had to suffer harsh trials. With that prayer "He supported them in their weakness, their difficulty in understanding that the way of God had to pass through the Paschal mystery of death and resurrection, which was anticipated in the offer of bread and wine. The Eucharist is the food of pilgrims, a source of strength also for those who are tired, weary and disoriented".

Benedict XVI went on: "By participating in the Eucharist we have an extraordinary experience of the prayer which Jesus made, and continues to make for us all, that the evil we encounter in our lives may not triumph, and that the transforming power of Christ's death and resurrection may act within each of us. In the Eucharist the Church responds to Jesus' command to 'do this in remembrance of me', she repeats the prayer of thanksgiving and blessing and, therewith, the words of transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord. Our Eucharistic celebrations draw us into that moment of prayer, uniting us ever and anew to the prayer of Jesus".

"Let us ask the Lord that, after due preparation also with the Sacrament of Penance, our participation in the Eucharist, which is indispensable for Christian life, may always remain the apex of all our prayers", the Pope concluded. "Let us ask that, profoundly united in His offering to the Father, we too can transform our crosses into a free and responsible sacrifice of love, for God and for our fellows".

At the end of his catechesis the Holy Father delivered greetings in a number of languages to the pilgrims present in the Paul VI Hall, inviting them to participate with "faith and devotion" in the Eucharist which, he said, is indispensable for Christian life as well as being the school and culmination of prayer. Addressing young people, the sick and newlyweds, he pointed our that last Sunday's Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord is an occasion to reflect upon our own Baptism. "Dear young people", the Pope exclaimed, "live your membership of the Church, the family of Christ, joyfully. Dear sick people, may the grace of Baptism ease your sufferings and encourage you to offer them to Christ for the salvation of humanity. And you, dear newlyweds, ... base your marriage on the faith which you received as a gift on the day of your Baptism".

AG/ VIS 20120111 (880)

Archbishop Smith issues statement on Falconer report

2012-01-11T06:18:00.000Z

Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark has issued the following statement on behalf of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in response to the Falconer Report on Assisted Dying.

“Many people have understandably questioned the credibility of the Falconer commission. Its set-up was promoted by Dignity in Dying (formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society), it was bankrolled by one of that organisation's Patrons, and three quarters of its members, including Lord Falconer himself, are on the public record as supporting the legalisation of assisted suicide. It will have come as little surprise to many that they have recommended a regime for legalised assisted suicide that is even laxer than the one proposed by Lord Joffe six years ago - which was roundly defeated in Parliament.

“I have been impressed and heartened by the wide range of thoughtful critical responses to the report, particularly from those with disabilities, and medical and legal experts of all faiths and none. They are right to point out that to legalise is to normalise, and that our society cannot change such a fundamental law which is

there to protect the vulnerable without grave long term consequences. We must do more to care well for those who are dying, and support more and better hospice and palliative care. Legalising assisted suicide is not the answer.”

Archbishop Martin pays tribute to journalist who exposed clerical and institutional abuse

2012-01-10T19:02:00.001Z

ARCHBISHOP Diarmuid Martin has led tributes to a groundbreaking journalist who lifted the lid on clerical and institutional abuse in Ireland.

Mary Raftery's fearless investigations to uncover generations of abuse led to the setting up of several State inquiries which shocked the nation.

She died this morning at the age of 54 following an illness, and is survived by her husband, David Waddell, and their son, Ben.

Archbishop Martin said work by the late broadcaster and journalist contributed to the Church being a better place for children.

"Bringing the truth out is always a positive thing even though it may be a painful truth," he told RTE.

"I believe that through her exposition of sins of the past and of the moment that the church is a better place for children and a place which has learned many lessons."

The award-winning broadcaster was best known for 1999 RTE documentary series, States Of Fear, which unveiled the extent of physical and sexual abuse suffered by children in the Irish childcare system during the 20th century - particularly in industrial and special schools run by religious orders on behalf of the Irish state. It was followed by a co-authored book on the issue.

The Irish Government responded with the setting up of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.

Published nine years later, the Ryan Report revealed the church hierarchy and Irish Government covered up almost four decades of sexual abuse and beatings by priests and nuns on children in state care, with serial abusers moved from school to school.

Ms Raftery also produced and directed Prime Time Investigates: Cardinal Secrets in 2001, which led to the Murphy Report into child sexual abuse in Dublin and, later, in Cloyne.

World Day for Migrants and Refugees - statement by Bishop Patrick Lynch and programme for the day

2012-01-10T15:51:00.003Z

The Catholic Church in England and Wales has greatly benefited from the "faith and witness" of migrant communities not only in our present day, but down the years, according to the lead Bishop for Migration.

In a statement released to coincide with the World Day for Migrants and Refugees celebrated on Sunday 15 January, Bishop Patrick Lynch said that parishes have been greatly enriched by “the strong sense of community and commitment to family life within many of our migrant communities, by their love for the Scriptures, by their devotion to Our Lady and especially by their joyful participation in the celebration of the Eucharist.”

The Bishop gave thanks for the faith, commitment, witness and devotional life of migrant communities:

“So we pray in thanksgiving for all the migrant communities who down through they years have enriched the Church here in England and Wales by their faith and their faithfulness, by their commitment and their witness and by their devotion and devotions.”

In recent years, Catholic Churches in England and Wales, particularly in urban areas, have seen a growing number of parishioners from Africa and Asia, from Eastern and Western Europe, from the islands of the Caribbean and more recently from South America.

Bishop Patrick Lynch will concelebrate Mass with Archbishop Peter Smith at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark at 15.30 pm on Sunday 15 January to mark the World Day for Migrants and Refugees. This Mass, organised by The Scalabrini Fathers for the Filipino community, additionally celebrates the Feast of Sto. Nino. Over a thousand people are expected to attend from various Filipino communities across London and the South East. The Filipino ambassador, his Secretary and representatives from the Philippine embassy will also be in attendance.

Bishop Lynch will also celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus parish, Camberwell at 11.00 on that day.

Itinerary
Sunday, 15 January 2012

Programme for Sto.Nino/World Day for Migrants and Refugees celebration at St George’s Cathedral Southwark.

14.30 Novena Prayer for Sto. Nino, followed by Benediction.
15.00 Sinulog Dance, carrying the images of Sto. Nino.
15.30 Mass celebrated by Archbishop Peter Smith. Bishop Patrick Lynch will concelebrate the Mass, together with Canon John O’Toole, Dean of the Cathedral, The Scalabrini Fathers and Filipino priests.
17.00 Reception at Amigo Hall and presentations. 1,000 Filipino dinners are being prepared for the celebration.

FULL TEXT of Statement may be read on CCEW website. www.catholic-ew.org.uk/

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Time is overdue to stop purchasing The Tablet

2012-01-09T18:40:00.008Z

I am often surprise and disappointed that some of my friends still subscribe to The Tablet and put it on sale. Frankly I hope they will stop doing so when they read John Smeaton's most recent post on that evil magazine which, in my humble opinion, does the devil's work.

It is also time, imho, that bishops and archbishops stopped writing for it..

John Smeaton's post can be read HERE

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Protest in St. Peter's Square

2012-01-09T06:30:00.000Z

A group of about forty young people from different countries held a peaceful demonstration yesterday morning just after the Angelus address by the Pope

The Indignation Movement in recent months has organized numerous protest actions world-wide pointing the finger at those who caused the economic crisis. The protest at St. Paul’s in London was one such.

The protesters, some wearing a shirt with the rainbow colours of peace, started at the end of the Angelus address by Benedict XVI, who gave them space to sit in St. Peter's Square. They sat in a circle under the eyes of law enforcement officers and police.

Then they rolled on the ground with a banner that read, "Get up and walk", words borrowed from the famous passage in which the Gospel says that Jesus heals the paralytic and used by the protesters as an invitation to participate in the mobilization of the Indignant. The sit-in continued until 14.00.

Personally I am glad that the Vatican authorities facilitated the protest, notwithstanding that such protests can be exploited by those with a different agenda.

Pope teaches that Sacrament of the Sick deserves "greater consideration" and not only when person is at end of life.

2012-01-07T10:17:00.002Z

Anointing of the sick is a sacrament that deserves “greater consideration” today because of the spiritual benefits to minister and recipient, Pope Benedict XVI has said.

The Pope’s words appeared in a message for the 2012 World Day of the Sick, released by the Vatican this week. The day itself is celebrated annually on February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. I hope to publish the message when I receive an authenticated copy

Pope Benedict noted that the sacrament, formerly known as extreme unction, may be administered in “various human situations connected with illness, and not only when a person is at the end of his or her life”.

Anointing with olive oil recalls the “double mystery of the Mount of Olives,” the Pope said, as both the location of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus confronted his passion, and the place where he ascended into heaven. Oil thus acts “as God’s medicine … offering strength and consolation, yet at the same time [pointing] beyond the moment of the illness toward the definitive healing, the Resurrection.”

Pope Benedict said that anointing of the sick is one of the Church’s two “sacraments of healing”, together with the “medicine of confession”, penance.

When a sick person confesses sins to a priest, “a time of suffering, in which one could be tempted to abandon oneself to discouragement and hopelessness, can thus be transformed into a time of grace,” the Pope said.

Both penance and the sacrament of the sick “have their natural completion in Eucharistic Communion,” Pope Benedict said. “Received at a time of illness,” Communion associates the “person who partakes of the body and blood of Christ to the offering that he made of himself to the Father for the salvation of all.”

Accordingly, the Pope said, parishes should ensure that the elderly and the sick enjoy the “possibility of frequently receiving Holy Communion”

Bishop Patrick Lynch comments on Stephen Lawrence death

2012-01-07T06:47:00.003Z

Following the convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the racist attack and killing of Stephen Lawrence, Bishop Patrick Lynch SSCC, auxiliary in Southwark and President of the Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ) issued the following statement:

"The death of Stephen Lawrence was a tragic event and our thoughts and prayers at this time are for his parents and family who have suffered greatly for the last eighteen years. They have conducted themselves with great dignity over those years and worked tirelessly in the face of huge obstacles and prejudice to ensure that justice was done.

"It is a great pity that it has taken so long and that in itself has contributed to the frustration and anger felt by many. It is also a reminder to all of us that we must do our best to repair and heal the damage done to our communities and society and continue to work together - as faith communities; as local councils, as police authorities, as community leaders and schools - to forge stronger partnerships so that our streets and neighbourhoods will be safer, our community relations will be stronger and racism and racial injustice will be eliminated from our society."

Source: Archdiocese of Southwark

The new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Mgr Charles Brown, will be conferred with Episcopal ordination by the Pope at Mass in the Vatican this morning

2012-01-06T07:51:00.001Z

The new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Mgr Charles Brown, will be conferred with Episcopal ordination by the Pope at Mass in the Vatican this morning and become Archbishop Charles Brown.

During the 9:30am Mass celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Pope will also make Mgr Marek Solczynski, the new Apostolic Nuncio to Georgia and Armenia, Archbishop.

Later, at noon today Italian time, the pontiff will pray the angelus from the window of his study in the Vatican, and address pilgrims.

Archbishop-elect Brown, originally from New York, was appointed to be the Papal Nuncio to Ireland last month. His ordination ceremony this morning will be televised live on EWTN.

The New Yorker’s family, including his mother, will be present.

The new Nuncio served as curate in the Parish of St. Brendan in the Bronx from 1989 when he was ordained a priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City until 1991.

From 1994, he worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the branch of the Vatican that oversees church doctrine, which at the time was headed by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict in 2005.

In naming him as nuncio to serve as the Vatican's ambassador to Ireland, the Pope also elevated Archbishop Brown to the formal title of archbishop of Aquileia, named after an early Christian centre in Italy.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, in a move seen by some as a bridge mending exercise, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the 45th World Day of Peace 2012 and his theme of Educating Young People in Justice and Peace.

In his address, Pope Benedict had said that he believed a commitment to justice and to peace is fundamental to achieving human rights.

Speaking about the Pope’s message the Taoiseach said that Ireland had demonstrated, “an instinctive respect for peace, justice and human rights” through its participation in the EU, the Northern Ireland peace process, and its engagement with the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations.

“It is absolutely right that these values are transmitted to the next generation. It is the case also that the honour and duty of passing on those values falls to those formally charged with the education of our young and beyond that the whole of society.”

He continued, “Both within our own country, and in the wider world, Ireland is at the fore of those promoting peace, justice, security and development. This is a commitment and an engagement that we take with the utmost seriousness and this is why, this year, for the first time, Ireland is seeking election to the United Nations Human Rights Council.”

Last year, Mr Kenny delivered a scathing attack on the Vatican and later the government closed its embassy there.

While the new ambassador from the Vatican will be based in Dublin, Ireland’s Ambassador to the Vatican, David Cooney, will remain resident at Iveagh House in Dublin.

AFTER MASS today the Pope is expected to announce the new Consistory for appointment of new cardinals.

Anglican Bishop of Carlisle issues statement on self-appointed Assisted Dying Commission

2012-01-06T05:43:00.000Z

The 'Commission on Assisted Dying' is a self-appointed group that excluded from its membership anyone with a known objection to assisted suicide. In contrast, the majority of commissioners, appointed personally by Lord Falconer, were already in favour of changing the law to legitimise assisted suicide. Lord Falconer has, himself, been a leading proponent for legitimising assisted suicide, for some years.

The commission undertook a quest to find effective safeguards that could be put in place to avoid abuse of any new law legitimising assisted suicide. Unsurprisingly, given the commission's composition, it has claimed to have found such safeguards.

Unlike the commissioners, we are unconvinced that the commission has been successful in its quest. It has singularly failed to demonstrate that vulnerable people are not placed at greater risk under its proposals than is currently the case under present legislation. In spite of the findings of research that it commissioned, it has failed adequately to take into account the fact that in all jurisdictions where assisted suicide or euthanasia is permitted, there are breaches of safeguards as well as notable failures in monitoring and reporting.

The present law strikes an excellent balance between safeguarding hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people and treating with fairness and compassion those few people who, acting out of selfless motives, have assisted a loved one to die.

Put simply, the most effective safeguard against abuse is to leave the law as it is. What Lord Falconer has done is to argue that it is morally acceptable to put many vulnerable people at increased risk so that the aspirations of a small number of individuals, to control the time, place and means of their deaths, might be met. Such a calculus of risk is unnecessary and wholly unacceptable.

Rt Revd James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle

(Lead Bishop for Healthcare Issues)

Anti-euthanasia groups criticise biassed report: (2) Right To Life says report should be rejected

2012-01-05T07:07:00.000Z

Anti-euthanasia groups have robustly rejected the calls for the legalisation of assisted suicide by the Commission on Assisted Dying that was chaired by Lord Falconer. In a 400-page report published on Thursday, 5 January, the commission, which has been severely criticised for its pro-assisted-dying bias by the British Medical Association among other respected medical, disability and religious groups and organisations, is asserting that the law should be changed to permit assisted suicide for patients who are terminally ill and have under a year to live.

The Falconer Report recommends that such patients should be allowed to request a lethal dose of drugs from their doctor which they would take themselves. ALERT, the anti-euthanasia group, Not Dead Yet UK, and Care Not Killing alliance strongly oppose the recommendations.

Elspeth Chowdharay-Best of ALERT said: “The report by Lord Falconer’s so-called Commission on Assisted Dying is less solid than it seems on the surface. There is no firm ground in its proposals anywhere. In spite of much talk of safeguards stand on the pretty green scum and you will sink into the mud. It is extremely dangerous and must be rejected.”

Dr Peter Saunders of Care Not Killing said: “The very last thing we need, especially at a time of economic recession, when many families are feeling financial pressure and health budgets are being cut, is a law allowing assisted suicide.

“This would place pressure on elderly, sick and disabled people to end their lives, for fear of being an emotional or financial burden or exhausting an inheritance, and would be a recipe for abuse and exploitation for those with an interest in their deaths.

“The law is there to protect vulnerable people, not to give liberties to a very small number of those who are determined to die. The current law works well. It provides a strong deterrent to would-be abusers whilst at the same time giving discretion to judges and prosecutors to temper justice with mercy in hard cases. It does not need fixing and we tamper with it at our peril.”

Baroness Jane Campbell of Not Dead Yet UK said: “As the biggest reason given for wanting to die early is being a burden on families and others, we believe this reason must be addressed and resolved before considering legislating on assisted dying.

“We believe there is much evidence in the commission's findings to show how difficult it is for people to receive a good level of palliative care and social care across the country. It also acknowledges that both the Swiss clinic and Oregon are not safe or good examples of assisted dying in practice.

“We also all know the NHS is currently not in a position to make it possible for people to have a proper choice. They are often left without dignity or pain relief, which therefore demonstrates clearly why individuals faced with this possibility, say they want help to die rather than suffer this lack of support. We can change the second but not the first scenario.

“We want to change bad attitudes, lack of social care and health care, before thinking about the possibility of assisted dying. We do not want the law changed now.”

Right To Life says report should be rejected

Right to Life, the pro-life pressure group, has rejected the conclusions of the inquiry by the Commission on Assisted Dying.

The group says it is confident that Parliament will also reject the report, which calls for the legalisation of assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients, in view of "the continuous and unanswerable criticism surrounding the blatant and outrageous bias in favour of a change in the law among the membership of the commission and that it was funded by individuals and groups campaigning for such a change in the law."

Right to Life is warning the public, however, that widespread opposition to the changes demanded by the Report may lull people into a false sense of security that might give an advantage to those demanding assisted suicide.

In a statement, Phyllis Bowman, the chief executive of Right to Life, said: “The fact that the present Parliament will most probably reject the Falconer Commission Report and any possible suggestion of legalising assisted dying brings real dangers of lulling British society into a sense of complacency.

“The report of the discredited commission is far too glib in its acceptance of many claims made by the providers of euthanasia in overseas states and areas.

“For example it repeatedly quotes doctors overseas providing euthanasia who claim that they have no evidence or scant evidence of patients being pressured or unduly influenced into opting for death. Yet, in this country every disability rights group opposes assisted dying because of the very real pressure or manipulations actually experienced by some of their members. It mostly occurs in a minority of cases – very much a minority.

"But, the fact is that it does occur and it is the duty of a compassionate society to do everything possible to ensure that the vulnerable are fully protected.

”We also have to be aware that neither Lord Falconer nor the members of his discredited Commission will go quietly away. They will carry on their campaign as relentlessly as hitherto and are very much a danger to the sick, the disabled and to the aged.

“Their gravest error has been ignoring the effects of the euthanasia programme in countries such as Holland.

“Throughout the report they have sought to give the impression that in Holland and elsewhere strict controls are kept on the practice of voluntary assisted dying. Yet, the latest announcement from Holland on the fact that the government is considering the introduction of mobile euthanasia units gives a clear indication of the dominant mentality in the Netherlands.

“The reason offered for this is that 80 per cent of people with dementia or mental illness are being ‘missed’ by the euthanasia laws and the mobile units would allow patients to be ‘treated’ in their own homes.

“Although there is no suggestion of patients suffering from dementia being provided with euthanasia in the present report, the fact is that Alzheimer’s disease and similar illnesses have been used to justify their whole campaign.

“We can also be sure that the BBC personnel – so many of whom are as committed to the euthanasia ideology as they are in Dignity In Dying and in the Falconer Commission – will not give up and society must remain constantly vigilant.”

For further information see: http://www.righttolife.org.uk

The Archbishop of Cardiff, Most Rev George Stack, criticises Welsh Assembly proposals on presumed consent

2012-01-04T08:05:00.001Z

The Archbishop of Cardiff, Most Rev George Stack, has condemned a Welsh Government proposal to introduce a 'presumed consent' policy on organ donation.

At present, organs cannot be removed from people who have died without their prior consent or the permission of next of kin. Under the new rule, those not wishing to donate organs will have to officially opt out of the scheme.

A consultation currently underway will reach its conclusion at the end of this month. The proposals, supported by Health Minister Lesley Griffiths, First Minister Carwyn Jones and Newport West Labour MP Paul Flynn, also have the backing of the Kidney Wales Foundation and the British Medical Association who say they will save lives.

But Archbishop Stack said the issue was an example of when there were “differing views of what constitutes the common good”. He said: "I agree with my fellow church leaders that our organs should be donated as a gift to others and not as a duty..."

He said: "Our bodies are not ‘an asset of the state’." .. “The dignity of the human person demands that our autonomy be respected in this profoundly important area.”

In September, during an address to the governing body of the Church in Wales the Anglican Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan questioned whether any state had the legitimate power to rule on this issue. He also claimed the policy would undermine people's trust in doctors and nurses.

He said: “Giving organs is the most generous act of self-giving imaginable, but it has to be a choice that is freely embraced, not something the state assumes. Put more crudely, it can turn volunteers into conscripts.”

Instead he called for more effort to be made to raise the profile of organ donation and to encourage people to join the organ donor register.

Conservative Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies has argued that international evidence shows that introducing presumed consent is not the best way of increasing the numbers of donors. The group Patient Concern has warned that under the proposed system “everyone would be turned into conscripts or conscientious objectors”.

In November, an American study published by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – one of the world’s leading medical institutions – concluded that an opt-out system was not the best way of solving the shortage of donors in the United States and raised “sticky” ethical issues.

While 13 European nations already have presumed consent legislation the study said: “It does not appear that by simply having presumed consent legislation on the books that donation rates will rise.”

Archbishop Martin's Homily for World Day of Peace, January 1st 2012

2012-01-03T08:50:00.001Z

Introduction

On this first day of 2012, World Day of Peace, we come together as a believing community to invoke the gift of God’s peace for our own hearts and lives, for our communities, for our nation and for our world.

We enter 2012 with many doubts and anxieties. As believers we also enter into this New Year with a spirit of indomitable hope and with renewed commitment to work together to build up what is good.

We pray especially this morning for our nation, its leaders and all its citizens and all those who live among us. We pray that our spirit of realistic Christian hope will contribute to build in 2012 a renewed sense of national purpose and of solidarity with all those who suffer.

We place our lives before the God of mercy praying for the gift of healing of our brokenness and forgiveness of our sins.

Homily:

The year that has just ended was a remarkable one in many parts of the world. Leaders and regimes which appeared strong and unassailable fell. Economies which seemed strong showed their internal fault-lines. Men and women and families who felt that their livelihoods and savings were sustainable to support their desire for a better life encountered the drama of a new precariousness.

2011 was a year of change. In many parts of the world change was the fruit of expressions of the desire of ordinary citizens to attain a more just and truthful world, a world respectful of their aspirations and the hopes of their children, which the traditional structures of power had failed to achieve. In many parts of the world huge non-violent movements emerged and provoked unforeseen change.

Certainly the power of modern communications contributed to enable true power to be exercised by those who had been systematically and deliberately excluded from power. Mass movements, very often of the young, brought to the forefront of political reflection the values that are needed to initiate change and sustain the longing of people worldwide for change. It is a lesson for all of us that the fundamental aspirations of people for justice and truth can never be suppressed.

Curiously the Christmas season reminds us of an earlier such movement: that initiated by John the Baptist. Secular history records the impact that the movement John established had. Huge masses went to see this extraordinary figure in the wilderness who prophesied that something extraordinary was about to take place in history and to ask of the prophet: “what are we to do”.

The Jewish historian Josephus describes John as “a good man, [who] commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God”. Josephus notes that “[many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words”.

But, as with many who freely call for change in how power is exercised, John met with another reaction also. Josephus again notes: “Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late”.

Certainly Josephus wrote his history from a political point of view. But it still remains that the coming event to which John pointed would be one in which the values of justice and truth, love and peace would dominate and that those who base their lives and power-base on other values only place their own future and security in jeopardy despite whatever power they have.

Pope Paul VI initiated the World Day of Peace to be celebrated on the first day of each civic year as a reminder to all of us that the peace which is desired by so many for their own hearts, their own communities and indeed for their world will only come when a logic of sheer power or interest or protection of personal or institutional position is replaced by a logic of integrity, honesty and truthfulness.

Pope Paul VI choose the first day of the civic year as a way of opening a dialogue between the message which comes from the Gospel of Jesus and the structures of the world It was not an attempt to impose a religious point of view but to show how the content of the message of Jesus is one which can be understood by men and women of any worldview and be made real for the good of the world.

Our society needs such dialogue between faith and life, between reason and faith. This is particularly the case for our own Irish society in which there has been a radical change in the way in which we base and root the values which underlie our peaceful living together as a pluralist society.

The Catholic Church, the faith of the majority of the citizens of the nation, had a dominant influence on the values which keep our social interaction intact. A new situation now exists and this requires a change in the manner of interaction between Church and State. Faith in Jesus Christ cannot be imposed on any individual. When attempts are made to impose faith on a society then the originality of faith is inevitably damaged.

However this does not mean that faith has no contribution to the political or even the economic life of a society. There have been dark moments in the history of the Catholic Church which have been unveiled in recent years. Church leaders have over the years overstepped the boundaries of their legitimate mandate. Yet the contribution of individual believers and of the Church as an institution to Ireland’s development and social culture has overall been positive. A mature future-oriented dialogue between Church and Irish culture should build on those positive aspects of our past.

Certainly criticism or even rejection of the Catholic Church and what it represents is legitimate. But criticism is different from negative and cynical caricature of faith or spin. Caricature of faith does little to build up in society the values that endure. By its very nature spin can turn into perpetual motion in which there remain few anchors around which to base values. A society which seeks only quick answers is the least apt to identify the values that endure.

John the Baptist announced something that was to be truly significant for human history. His movement created great interest and expectation among people of true faith and created anxiety in those who comprised the religious and political establishment of his day.

Yet the epochal event that takes place, as is recorded in today’s Gospel reading, seems to be anything but world shattering. The story of Jesus’ birth and his mission strangely does not make the chronicles of secular history. His birth goes unnoticed. It is not just the simplicity and lack of any link with power that strikes us, but the very isolation of the event. In Jesus, God takes up abode within our human history and history continues without even taking notice, except within a very small group of those who were on the margins of society. When the shepherds reach Bethlehem even

those gathered around this child are puzzled by the news the shepherds bring. Jesus’ identity can only be discovered through the eyes of faith. Mary is the one who shows what must be the reaction of the person of faith of any time in history regarding the identity of Jesus and his place in our lives and in our history. She treasured what she heard but she also pondered what she had heard and seen in the light of faith. Renewal of the Church always involves deepening and renewal of our faith and its relevance to our lives. Renewal of the Church must also enable its prophetic voice to stand out uncompromised by the culture of any day.

A mature dialogue between Church and society in Ireland requires renewal in the Church. The International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held here in Dublin this year, must become a moment in which Catholic Christians reflect on what their faith in Jesus Christ means in today’s society. It must be a moment in which all of us attempt to ponder on who Jesus is and on his significance for our lives in our century.

Eucharist is central to the Christian message. For the Christian, Eucharist is not an optional extra to leading a good life. Eucharist is the focal point for establishing what the good life means: it is a life of communion with Christ and communion with one another. A Eucharistic life-style is not just about outward piety; it is about the fundamental communion of love of the God revealed in Jesus Christ and how that communion of love should be the mark of the Christian community. In the Eucharist we are called to be sharers with the very life of God and then to be uncompromising witnesses to that love in our society. Like the shepherds as they return from Bethlehem we should go out from each celebration of the Eucharist glorifying and praising God through the way we live.

We celebrate the Eucharist here today on this first day of the new civic year as a community of believers open to work with men and women of different views confident from our faith that the God revealed in the humble birth of Jesus Christ is a God who cares day by day for the world he created.

This morning we commend all those who are called to leadership in our world, all those suffer and are alienated in any part of the world, all those groups who courageously work for justice and solidarity even in the face of violent opposition, to the God of whom we heard in our first reading: the God who will bless and keep us, who will allow his face shine on us, who is gracious to us in our needs who alone brings us his peace that endures.

The Homily for World Day of Peace, January 1st 2012, from Archbishop Martin at Mass in St. Mary's Church, Haddington Road

Park in which one million attended Papal Mass is celebrating 350 years in Dublin

2012-01-03T07:01:00.004Z

IT has hosted concerts and papal visits, seen murders and motor racing, and now one of Europe's largest city parks will be commemorated with a year-long celebration.

Dublin's Phoenix Park is 350 years old this year and the Office of Public Works (OPW) plans a series of historical re-enactments, lectures and family fun days to celebrate.

First conceived as a park to breed deer and game, it was designed to keep up the "splendure of government" on the orders of King Charles II in 1662. Not until 1747 was the 707-hectare (1,752-acre) park opened to the public, but the people of Dublin got an enduring treasure.

Almost one-third is covered by trees, mainly broadleaf species such as oak, ash, lime and beech, while a herd of fallow deer has lived there since the 1660s.

It is also home to some of the capital's finest buildings, including the Viceregal Lodge, the official residence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland built in 1754, which later became Aras an Uachtarain in 1922.

The Magazine Fort, built in 1734, still remains, along with the Francis Johnston's buildings, which were added in 1801. The Victorian People's Flower Garden is also in place, along with Dublin Zoo, which opened in 1830, making it one of the world's oldest.

Pride

Such was the high esteem with which the park was regarded, that 'The Dublin Builder' noted in 1861: "The Phoenix Park is justly regarded with pride by every citizen, and with astonishment and delight by every stranger. For extant and natural beauty it stands unequal."

Yesterday, OPW Minister Brian Hayes announced details of the Phoenix Park 350 celebrations which will include the creation of a new arboretum, and restoration of the Frame Yard at the Victorian Walled Garden.

A new Phoenix Park archive will be housed in one of the park lodges, and Chesterfield Avenue will be opened for pedestrians and cyclists at weekends from the Phoenix Monument to the Mountjoy roundabout.

A street party will be held at Easter, while there will also be historical re-enactments.

"I am delighted to announce that the park is celebrating the 350th anniversary of its establishment and the OPW has proudly been looking after it since 1860," Mr Hayes said.

"This is a magnificent amenity for all in the heart of Dublin city and access to this wonderful space is free. I look forward to seeing the various projects and events unfold throughout the year."

The park is also associated with major sporting events, including motor racing which has been hosted since 1903. The Phoenix Cricket Club was formed in 1830 and is one of the oldest in the world, while the All-Ireland Polo Club was founded in 1873.

In 1979, more than one million people attended an open air Mass during the papal visit of John Paul II. The park also had its darker hours, most notably in 1882, when the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and his undersecretary Thomas Henry Burke, were stabbed to death with surgical knives while walking from Dublin Castle. An insurgent group called 'the Invincibles' claimed responsibility.

Comment: For many years the park was where the Papal Nunciature was situated. I remember queuing for hours when a former nuncio was "lying in state" there after his sudden death. Eventually the nunciature was moved from the park and a new premises was found for it on the Navan Road. The American Ambassador now has his residence in the park. How times have changed!

U.S. Ordinariate established for Anglicans seeking full communion with Catholic Church; Father Jeffrey N. Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop, appointed to lead

2012-01-02T07:30:00.003Z

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 1, 2012 - The Vatican announced today the establishment of a U.S. ordinariate for Anglicans seeking full communion with Rome under the stipulations outlined in "Anglicanorum coetibus."

In announcing the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith also announced the leader of the new ordinariate: Father Jeffrey N. Steenson, a former Episcopal bishop. In 2005, he was made bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande in New Mexico. On Dec. 1, 2007, he resigned as bishop and was received into the Catholic Church.

Subsequently Fr. Steenson studied at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome. He was ordained to the diaconate in 2008, and to the priesthood on Feb. 21, 2009. Since then he has taught at the University of St. Thomas and at St. Mary's Seminary, both in Houston, Texas. Fr. Steenson is married and has three grown children.

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter will be based at Our Lady of Walsingham Parish in Houston.

An ordinariate is similar to a diocese, though national in scope. It will include parishes, groups and individuals of the Anglican heritage across the United States. Parishes will be fully Catholic, while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage, particularly in the liturgy.

"The Pope's gracious response represents an important and exciting new step along the difficult path toward Christian unity," declared a message on the Web site of the ordinariate.

According to report by the Associated Press, Fr. Steenson decided to leave the Episcopal church after they elected the first openly homosexual bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

True home of Anglicanism

At the time Fr. Steenson said he was "deeply troubled" about the direction of the U.S. denomination and he described the Catholic Church as the "true home of Anglicanism."

Reportedly more than 100 Anglican priests and more than 1,400 individuals have applied to become Catholic in the U.S. ordinariate.

The U. S. ordinariate is the second to be established following the Pope's decision in 2009 to create a structure for Anglicans who wished to unite to the Catholic Church. In November 2009, Benedict XVI issued an apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, which authorized the ordinariates. The first ordinariate was established in England and Wales in January 2011.

Monsignor Keith Newton, ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (England and Wales), welcomed the move. In a statement on that ordinariate's Web site he said: "Fr. Steenson is a warm and compassionate priest with a wealth of experience, and I am delighted by his appointment."

"As we enter in 2012, we pray that many more will take up Christ's call -- ut unum sint -- and fulfill the prayer of generations for an Anglicanism united but not absorbed," he added.

"Today's events are the fulfillment of the hopes of many Anglicans in the United States who have longed and prayed for reconciliation with the Catholic Church while retaining cherished elements of the Anglican patrimony," said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington.

Cardinal Wuerl was the Vatican's representative for the implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus in the United States.

Priest resumes active ministry after voluntarily standing aside due to false allegations

2012-01-01T15:56:00.001Z

Father Sean Cahill voluntarily stood down from duties at St Malachy's Church in Castlewellan after the claim was made against him in early 2010.

In August last year it emerged that no charges would be brought against the priest.

Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor welcomed Fr Cahill back to ministry at St Malachy's at Sunday morning's Mass.

Bishop Treanor said the unfounded allegation had had a devastating impact but stressed the priest returned with his character unblemished.

"After thorough and lengthy investigation by the police and the Public Prosecution Service, an investigation with which Fr Sean Cahill and the diocese co-operated fully, the PSNI, the Public Prosecution Service, the Social Services and I, as Bishop of this Diocese, are satisfied that there was no basis for the allegation," he told the congregation.

"The preliminary canonical enquiry was completed and Fr Sean Cahill has resumed priestly ministry, the same innocent priest he was when he voluntarily stepped aside in February 2010.

"Unfounded allegations have a devastating effect on any person, but the allegations levelled against Fr Sean Cahill, who has dedicated his life to selfless service of Church and community, damage not only his life but also his family, his parish, his diocese, the Church and wider society. In addition, such baseless allegations do colossal damage to the cause of the genuine survivors of abuse, including clerical abuse.

"Today however is a day for joy at the start of a new year. Fr Sean Cahill now resumes ministry in the Diocese of Down and Connor in the knowledge that his suffering over the past two years, borne with such personal courage and strength, supported by his family, by friends and by you, his parishioners, is at an end."

Bishop Treanor thanked the congregation for the support they had given the priest during the past two years.

Mary, Mother of God and new beginnings

2012-01-01T08:27:00.000Z

Happy Feastday, Holy Mother.

Happy New Year to all readers and bloggers

Pastoral workers slain in 2011

2011-12-30T18:10:00.000Z

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

2011-12-29T08:23:00.001Z

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.

2011-12-28T16:25:00.002Z

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

2011-12-26T08:41:00.002Z

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"

2011-12-25T07:05:00.004Z

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

2011-12-24T16:35:00.001Z

"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

2011-12-23T06:16:00.002Z

"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

2011-12-22T07:05:00.001Z

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

2011-12-18T12:00:00.003Z

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

2011-12-13T05:50:00.003Z

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

2011-12-12T10:01:00.001Z

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

2011-12-03T08:49:00.003Z

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

2011-12-01T17:35:00.000Z

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

2011-12-01T06:40:00.003Z

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

Address by Bishop Mark Davies on Holocaust memorial Day

2011-11-29T06:00:00.003Z

Thank you for your invitation to join you on this Holocaust Memorial Day. I have been asked in these opening words to address the importance of the Holocaust specifically for Christians and to thereby consider the theological significance of the Holocaust to the Christian mind. As Blessed John Paul II expressed this, “no one is permitted to pass by the tragedy of the Shoah …” and no Christian can pass by the Holocaust without profound reflection. A Christian reflection might focus upon the mystery of evil, upon the sins of Christians and the need of repentance on the heartfelt prayer of Blessed John Paul II that our relationship “be healed for ever”. However, today in this short address I wish to focus upon the significance to the Christian mind of the attempted annihilation more than 60 years ago of that people who were called by the Lord, “before all others”.

I can only begin this reflection from silence, the silence often remarked upon at the scenes of the Holocaust where it is said the birds no longer sing. Four years ago I travelled with a group of Catholic priests to Auschwitz-Birkenau and my abiding memory will be of the silence which marked that day and continued in the group long into the evening. It is not only a human response to such horror but also as Pope Benedict described on his visit to that same camp in 2006: “To speak of this place of horror, in this place where an unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible … In a place like this, words fail; in the end there can only be a dread silence …” It is a silence which must also mark this Holocaust Memorial Day. A silence which becomes in Pope Benedict’s words, a heartfelt cry to God which leads us to bow our heads before the endless number who suffered and were put to death and a plea to the living God that this must never happen again (28th May 2006).

We are painfully conscious that mass crimes, acts of genocide and cruelty on an unimaginable scale have continued to disfigure history. We think of the trial continuing today of the former rulers of Cambodia and we cannot forget the return of “eugenic” thinking directed against the unborn and the most vulnerable deemed “unfit to live” or threatened with “mercy killing.” The struggle against evil continues. Yet the Holocaust causes us in Blessed John Paul II’s words on his return to Poland in 1979: “to think with fear of how far hatred can go, how far man’s destruction of man can go, how far cruelty can go” (Mass at Brezeinka Concentration Camp 7th June 1979). “For the death camps,” he insisted, “were built for the negation of faith – faith in God and faith in man – to trample radically not only on love but on all signs of human dignity, of humanity. A place built on hatred and contempt for man …” And as he reflected as a now aged Pope on the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the prisoners at Auschwitz in 2005, “may it serve today and for the future as a warning: there must be no yielding to ideologies which justify contempt for human dignity …”

As Christians we cannot fail to see that amidst all the victims of Nazism it was a chosen people who marked down for systematic and total destruction. Both Pope Benedict and Blessed John Paul point to the significance of this will to annihilate the people, “who draws its origin from Abraham, our father in faith” (Romans 4:12) to the people who in the words of the Apostle Paul, “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises …” (Romans 9:4-5).

Here I wish to share with you a story which was brought to my attention in a publication I was given Jerusalem earlier this year. It begins in the South Tyrol (a German-speaking region of Italy) in the last months of the Second World War. In the autumn of 1944 the remaining youth of the town all Catholics were conscripted into the collapsing armies of the Third Reich and in January of the following year despatched to the Eastern front under the command of SS officers. One boy, a medical orderly, finding his friend dead heard the officer sneer, “Now you may love your enemies; isn’t that what you were told by this Jew Jesus?” And he gave a courageous reply which he later realised flowed from his Christian faith and upbringing, “Yes, I love the Jews … they are the people of Jesus.” German soldiers were executed for lesser offences against Nazi ideology but somehow he survived amid the chaos of those days and became after the war a Catholic priest who dedicated much of his life to increasing understanding between the faith of Israel and the faith of the Church. As a teenager he had seen what Pope Benedict wishes to frequently reminds us as Christians that the Jewish people are “our fathers” in faith. “The people chosen by the Lord before all others to receive his word,” as the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares (CCC 839).

In this one, small incident in a barn on the Silesia in 1945 we see something of the hope which Pope Benedict expressed last year on his visit to the Synagogue of Rome that the memory of these events of the Holocaust “compel us to the strengthen the bonds that unite us so that our mutual understanding, respect and acceptance may always increase.” The Nazi reign of terror we recall today was based on a racist myth on an idolatry of race and state but as both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have reminded us it was also a radical rejection of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is, “the God of Jesus Christ and all who believe in him”. For “the Almighty” Hitler and the Nazis spoke of was a pagan idol as Pope Benedict declared in Berlin’s Reichstag Building in September this year This idol Pope Benedict said “wanted to take the place of the Biblical God, the Father and Creator of all men”. “By wiping out this people,” he had declared at Auschwitz, “they intended to kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles to serve as a guide to mankind, principles that remain eternally valid.” And contemporary historians point to the logical intention of the National Socialist State rooted in this idolatry of man, of race, of the state to destroy not only the Jewish race but Christian morality and the faith of the Church.

For it strikes us as both Jews and Christians as to how the Holocaust so explicitly trampled on every one of the “The Ten Words” “The Ten Commandments” in a systematic eradication of morality: “you shall not kill,” “you shall not steal,” “you shall not bear false witness.” As Pope Benedict reflected with the Jewish community in Rome earlier this year, “the Ten Commandments call us to respect life and to protect it against every injustice and abuse, recognising the worth of each person, created in the image and likeness of God … Bearing witness together to the supreme value of life against all selfishness, is an important contribution to a new world where injustice and peace reign, a world marked by that “shalom” which the lawgivers, the prophets and sages of Israel longed to see.”

The study of the Holocaust must lead, as I have tried to suggest in this brief talk to a deeper appreciation of the close bonds between the Jewish people and Christians recognising our common roots and the rich spiritual patrimony we share. An ideology which grew at the centre of European civilisation sought to remove from the face of the earth in this Holocaust the people called by the Lord before all others. This must surely lead us to recognise every continuing assault upon the value and dignity of every human life and person and to recognise in this the denial of the Creator. This must call us to vigilance in the face of the developing ideologies and mindsets of our time so often hostile to the Judeo-Christian foundations on which our civilisation was built. So as Pope Benedict reflected on the memory of the Holocaust: “the past is never simply the past; it tells us the paths to take and the paths not to take.”

May the memory of this day, reflected upon by Christians and Jews, help all humanity to take those right paths. Amen.

Comment: Amen. Amen. Amen.
I appreciate that several others have already drawn attention to the important and welcome address by Bishop Davies .
I often wonder, in the light of the terrible sufferings of the holocaust, why more good and faithful Jews do not speak out against the atrocities being perpetrated by the Israeli Zionists in Palestine.

Archbishop of Dublin comments on RTE case

2011-11-28T07:54:00.006Z

THE second most senior Catholic Church leader in Ireland last night heaped pressure on RTE bosses over their handling of the case of Fr Kevin Reynolds.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, questioned the accountability of RTE managers and said that in a similar situation, a bishop would be told to "voluntarily resign" rather than temporarily stand aside.

He is the most senior Catholic Church figure to be openly critical of the national broadcaster's handling of the case -- which centres on false allegations that Fr Kevin Reynolds sexually abused a teenage girl in Kenya in 1982, fathered a child by her and abandoned the child.

The false allegations were broadcast on a 'Prime Time Investigates' programme called 'A Mission to Prey'.

A paternity test showed Fr Reynolds was not the father of the child.

Fr Reynolds, the parish priest of Ahascragh in Co Galway, successfully sued RTE in relation to the programme, broadcast in May.

The payout is believed to be in the region of a seven-figure sum.

Dr Martin's criticism comes just days after two senior RTE figures -- managing director of news Ed Mulhall and head of current affairs Ken O'Shea -- stepped aside pending the outcome of three probes into the case.

Dr Martin was also critical of the length of time it took RTE to "hold their hands up and admit mistakes were made".

"If this were in the church the bishops would be told to voluntarily resign rather than stand aside. The level of accountability has to be questioned here, it took a long time before people came and held their hands up and said 'look we made a serious mistake here'," he said.

The senior cleric said he felt it important that people step aside while an investigation was carried out but added he felt there was a tendency at RTE to "identify some kind of a mid-management person in these cases".

He said the Reynolds case raised "basic questions about the controls that there are in an organisation which would allow this to happen to anybody".

"This was a very serious allegation, the man offered to have a paternity test done, so we need to understand why, and who, and at what level those decisions were made," he said.

"There is an investigation going on to see exactly what happened but I imagine the journalist felt there were sources there and we will have to see whether or not the security checks were in place and properly adhered to," he added.

The archbishop said he would not cast any judgments while investigations into the case were ongoing but it "worried him" how a story was broadcast which was later described by RTE in its apology as "baseless and untrue".

"What worries me is RTE say this is without foundation, baseless and untrue. How did it come that it was adjudicated that there was a semblance of truth here?" he asked.

"I don't know what evidence was presented to whoever asked Fr Reynolds to step aside but RTE made their programme, they seemed to be defended by many people the next day, 'Morning Ireland' picked it up and the Minister for Justice made statements on it and now we hear it was without foundation," he added.

Archbishop Martin said he had never heard an apology from RTE "in such clear terms" and called for greater accountability in the media.

"In the UK you have the issue of the behaviour of some 'News of the World' journalists -- obviously self monitoring hasn't always worked. We have to foster press freedom and respect it, but if journalists can act irresponsibly or newspapers or public broadcasting authorities then we need a situation where there is accountability to satisfy the public that this kind of thing can't happen to you or I," he concluded.

Meanwhile some newspapers reported over the weekend that a priest had made the original allegations and that the story had purportedly been confirmed by a teacher in Kenya.

My Comment: They (the Media) just will not admit their errors! So much for self regulation. I wish Archbishop Martin produced evidence that a bishop would be told to voluntarily resign. i do not remember that happening in Ireland

I HOPE to publish one more post tomorrow and then no more for remainder of Advent. I hope I shall be "Watching" in every sense of that!