Vatican commission affirms scripture as 'soul of theology'

Catholic theology can be judged by its fidelity to Biblical revelation, the Vatican's International Theological Commission affirmed March 8 in a new document on the role of theologians.

“Theology in its entirety should conform to the scriptures, and the scriptures should sustain and accompany all theological work,” the commission said in its document “Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria.”

Fidelity to scripture is essential, the commission stated, “because theology is concerned with the truth of the Gospel, and it can know that truth only if it investigates the normative witness to it in the canon of sacred Scripture.” 

Such investigation “relates the human words of the Bible to the living Word of God,” Jesus Christ himself.

The International Theological Commission assists the Vatican's highest doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its examination of questions about Church teaching. 

The commission's current president, Cardinal William J. Levada, is also the prefect of the congregation.

Cardinal Levada authorized the release of the new document, which has been in the works since 2004. 

Attributed to the commission as a whole, the text was drafted in accordance with further studies led by Monsignor Paul McPartlan, a theology professor at the Catholic University of America.

The document begins by acknowledging the growth in new areas of theology following the Second Vatican Council. 

During the same period, however, there has been “a certain fragmentation of theology,” making it difficult for the discipline to maintain “its own true identity.”

While there is room for a legitimate diversity of theological insights, the Church also needs “a common discourse … to communicate the one message of Christ to the world.”

According to the commission members, true Catholic theology “arises from an attentive listening to the Word of God,” “situates itself consciously and faithfully in the communion of the Church,” and is “orientated to the service of God in the world” through the communication of revealed truth.

Remedies for the “fragmentation” of theology, they suggested, can be found in the Second Vatican Council's official teachings – particularly in “Dei Verbum,” its text on the topic of divine revelation.

“The ‘study of the sacred page’ should be the ‘very soul of sacred theology,’” the commission recalled, quoting Vatican II's “core affirmation with regard to theology.” 

Thus, “biblical themes should have first place” for modern theologians, as they did for the early Church Fathers.

Catholic theology can also be judged by its faithfulness to the Church's constant tradition – which includes its forms of prayer and worship, its formulation of creeds, and the moral rule of life which it sets out for its members. 

While pursuing deeper insight into revealed truth, Catholic theology “recognizes the teaching authority of ecumenical councils, the ordinary and universal magisterium of the bishops, and the papal magisterium,” the theological commission recalled.

Theology, according to the commission, is essentially “a work of reason illuminated by faith,” involving both the acceptance of divine revelation and the active engagement of the mind.

The harmony of faith and reason, a key theme of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, is strongly affirmed in the new document's final chapter – which stresses the value of reason, in contrast with postmodern philosophies that devalue it.

“By the use of reason, the believer grasps the profound connections between the different stages in the history of salvation and also between the various mysteries of faith which illuminate one another,” the commission observed.

“On the other hand, faith stimulates reason itself and stretches its limits.”

“Reason is stirred to explore paths which of itself it would not even have suspected it could take. This encounter with the Word of God leaves reason enriched, because it discovers new and unsuspected horizons.”

Abuse agency clear on loophole

THE Catholic Church's national abuse agency claimed it was a small business as a legal loophole to evade a complaint that it broke privacy laws.

The strategy worked, with the Australian Information Commissioner accepting that the Victorian branch of Towards Healing was exempt from privacy requirements, as a small business with an annual turnover of less than $3 million.

A victim of abuse, who does not want to be named, went to Towards Healing's Victorian office because he explicitly did not want Melbourne Response - the protocol used by the Melbourne archdiocese - to be involved, his lawyer, Paul Holdway, has told The Age.

 

But the Towards Healing office referred the complaint to Melbourne Response without his knowledge or consent.

''He felt absolutely devastated, invaded, angry. It was a psychological injury,'' Mr Holdway said. 

''He felt he had been lied to. Anything like this triggers people back into the depression or whatever the ailment may be.''

Mr Holdway asked for an explanation, but never got a response. So in May 2010, the victim complained to the privacy commissioner. He got a reply that September, saying Towards Healing regarded the sharing as a proper use, not disclosure to a third party.

The victim disputed this, saying they were separate entities. 

Then, in May 2011, the privacy commission, now renamed the Australian Information Commission, replied, saying that Towards Healing in Victoria claimed it was a small business with a turnover of less than $3 million and thus exempt under small business exceptions in the Privacy Act. 

In other words, it was indeed a separate entity, but one that was exempt.

The victim replied that Towards Healing operated as a health service, which would remove the exemption, but this month the AIC decided Towards Healing was exempt and the complaint would not be investigated.

Mr Holdway said what annoyed him most was that church agencies claimed to be separate, ''but when it suits them they say, 'oh no, we are on the same team' ''.

Towards Healing's Victorian director, Kerry Buchecker, said the victim's complaint should have been made to the Melbourne archdiocese, and had been made to Towards Healing in error. 

''The referral we made complied with our privacy policy, which the victim acknowledged in writing when the complaint was made.''

Former Vauxhall man stole £80k from Catholic church social club

A FORMER Vauxhall worker has been jailed for stealing nearly £80,000 from a Catholic church social club where he was treasurer.

James Varnals, 63, of St Margaret’s Avenue, stole from the St Joseph’s Parish Centre Club, in Gardenia Avenue, over three years to fund his gambling habit.

Varnals was left in sole charge of the club’s accounts after becoming treasurer in July 2008, and Luton Crown Court heard on Friday that the club’s steward would pass on the details of each week’s takings to him.

His job was to work out the club’s expenses and create a balance sheet, but discrepancies came to light when the club got into financial difficulties and a committee member, who was an accountant, investigated.

Police were called and Varnals admitted taking the money.

Sandra Beck, prosecuting, said: “He claimed that at no time did he steal more than £1,100. He didn’t realise how much money he had taken. He was waiting for one big gambling success to pay it back.”

Defence counsel Stuart Sprawson said Varnal’s gambling addiction had started with bingo.

“Things progressed and eventually he became ill with that addiction,” he said.

Mr Foster said Varnals, a grandfather, had frittered away his redundancy payout from Vauxhall, where he had been a middle manager.

Judge Richard Foster said it was “tragic” to see him in the dock.

“You and people like you have been the backbone of this town. You went on to carry out public spirited work by becoming treasurer at St Joseph’s social club but it it there that the praise has to stop. But you took money that you knew was not yours, using false accounting to cover your tracks.”

Jailing Varnals for 16 months, he said: “A custodial sentence is the only option.”

Vatican rule allows some priests to marry

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has had a very firm rule - if you're a priest, you can't get married. 

But there are exceptions to the rule of celibacy.

Married for 30 years, Rev. Doug Grandon has fathered six children and enjoyed a successful career as an Episcopal pastor in the Protestant Church. 

But in 2003, he realized his calling was to the Catholic Church.

"The Catholic church is the fullest expression of what Jesus meant Christianity to be," Grandon said. "And I wanted to be a part of that."

Pope John Paul II issued a little known edict that said Protestant priests wishing to become Catholic shouldn't break their marriage vows. It took five years of schooling and a blessing from Pope Benedict to make Grandon one of 77 priests in the US who have converted allegiance to the Vatican.

Grandon's wife Lynn was "really angry" when he said he wanted to convert. In giving up his protestant ministry, Grandon took a considerable pay cut. 

The Catholic Church hasn't quite figured out how much to pay a priest with a family.

It's a good thing Lynn runs the Denver Diocese "Respect Life" office. 

She's the breadwinner now.

Last June, Grandon joined his new parish, the Church of the Risen Christ. The 45-year-old congregation hosts 3,200 families. 

Monsignor Ken Leone, the former pastor of the church, says his parish had never heard of anyone like Grandon.

"When they heard about a married priest with a wife and six kids coming, one lady said to me, 'Well, I'll never go to confessional to him. Because don't you know that husbands tell their wives everything?'"

Leone hopes that "we look at the man, we don't look at just the fact that he's married."

So, should all Catholic priests have the option to marry?

"Having married priests like us in the Latin rite allows them to look and see how it would work, if they wanted to change it," Grandon said.

Faith and religion contributor the Rev. Edward Beck told "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Gayle King and Erica Hill it's good that men like Grandon have the option to become a Catholic priest.

"It's pushing the conversation. What we're seeing is, it can work," he said.

Beck, however, said he couldn't do it personally.

"I could not do what I do, in the full capacity that I do it, and be married with children. It would not work. Something would suffer."

"The idea with celibacy is you're single-minded, you're single-hearted," Beck said. "You can really give yourself to your ministry, to God, to what you do."

World Council of Churches against human rights abuses in Papua

The World Council of Churches (WCC) condemns the continued violations of human rights in Indonesia's Papua - the "Dutch New Guinea" in the days of colonialism - and calls on Jakarta to take "necessary measures" to demilitarize the area, freeing political prisoners and remove its ban on peaceful assembly. 

In a document released by the movement for interreligious dialogue Interfidei (based in Yogyakarta), WCC leaders support the protests of Papuans over the "underdevelopment" of a region rich in raw materials and even natural resources, coupled with the lack of health facilities , basic education and environmental degradation. 

"The Papuans - add the Christian leaders - are very concerned about the lack of employment opportunities for indigenous peoples."

A recent project sponsored by Jakarta encourages migration to Papua, especially from the provinces of Java and Sulawesi. 

The initiative has encouraged the emergence of new economic activities, at the expense of increasing loss of portions of territory for the natives and the gradual erosion of their cultural identity. 

They are becoming more and more "marginalized in their own land" and still today, according to human rights organizations, victims of torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests by the Indonesian authorities.

In 2001 the authorities in Jakarta passed law a "special autonomy" for locals of the province, but its practical application has never materialized and the indigenous people continue to report "unfair treatment". 

Now, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is giving voice to their grievances and, together with representatives of civil society, calls for the cancellation of the norm and the granting of a true "right to self-determination." 

The document published by WCC also calls to mind the brutal repression of peaceful assembly in October last year and calls for urgent measures to restore law and justice, in order to obtain a "peaceful solution".

At the time of colonialism, Papua was under Dutch influence, but was never "occupied" at a political level. 

The eastern province of the Indonesia Archipelago, formerly known as Irian Jaya, is rich in natural resources and has been the scene of a violent military campaign in the days of Sukarno, who led the annexation in 1969 by exploiting a United Nations Interim Directive. 

The iron fist of the Suharto regime between 1967 and 1998 and the massive invasion of foreign multinationals and companies in Indonesia have encouraged the emergence of a separatist movement. 

The current name of Papua was sanctioned in 2002 by former President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Police threatens violence against Cồn Dầu Catholics

Cồn Dầu Catholics can expect another crackdown. 

Police said it would use violence against anyone who resisted relocation to allow for the construction of a tourist facility. 

In the last few days, a dozen police agents and state officials have raided the homes of families that have not yet moved since the government issued the removal order two years ago.

In 2010, Đà Nẵng authorities ordered the demolition of Cồn Dầu parish church and cemetery and the homes around them to build a hotel and tourist resort without compensation or help in relocation. 

The parish was founded 135 years ago.

In their latest action, police threatened the parish vicar, Fr Emmanuel Nguyễn Tấn Lực. 

"In his homily, Fr Emmanuel said that he had to sign the demolition permit and remove the crucifix from the cemetery," some parishioners told AsiaNews. After that, bulldozers will knock down the area. 

"The cemetery still contains the graves of many parishioners, whose family refused to comply with the eviction order. Some 50 children are buried under the altar."

Members of the congregation are also concerned about the vicar. 

The authorities ordered him to stop all his pastoral activities within three months. 

Many wonder whether the bishop, Mgr Joseph Châu Ngọc Tri, was forced to sign Fr Emmanuel's transfer orders or whether there are ulterior motives.

The area affected in Cồn Dầu covers ten hectares, including the cemetery, where parishioners laid their dearly departed for 135 years.

In the past, the government had designated the graveyard as an historical site to be protected. 

However, on 4 May 2010, police stopped the funeral procession of Maria Tan, 82, and prevented her from being laid to rest.

Clashes between some 500 parishioners and police agents followed, leaving left scores of Catholics wounded and 59 arrested.

At the time, the authorities took away Maria Tan's body and cremated it against her expressed wishes. 

In fact, she wanted to be buried next to her husband.

Anti-Putin punk band divides Orthodox community

The case of anti-Putin punk-feminist group, Pussy Riot, - arrested for a desecrating performance staged at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in February - is dividing the Christian community in Russia. 

Accused of bullying, insulting religion, inciting hatred and violation of public order, two of the girls, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested after high-ranking Russian Orthodox Church officials demanded an exemplary punishment against their "Punk Prayer" performance in which they invoked the intercession of the Virgin" to free Russia from Putin. " 

The two artists are on a hunger strike against what they call their "illegal incarceration": both are mothers of young children and then they are entitled at least to the house arrest. Their lawyers have appealed, but now the young women face up to seven years in prison.

The case is the subject of heated debate in the media, as in the Orthodox community, and has also been embraced by the anti-Putin opposition. A group, while condemning the act, has launched an appeal to the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, inviting him to have a "Christian attitude" and to "abandon the persecution of the artists." 

The appeal was signed by at least two thousand people, including some Catholics, as reported by Interfax. Even the blogger Alexei Navalny - Christian, but non-practicing - has denounced their detention, as a "senseless cruelty."

It is reported that the spokesman for the Patriarchate, Vsevolod Chaplin, is behind the demands for  a "severe" sentence for Pussy Riot.  

He however, continues to deny any pressure from the Russian Church on the political and judicial authorities and instead calls on the faithful to "defend" the sacred places.

Sporadic demonstrations in support of the women in prison were held in front of police headquarters in Moscow and some of the Orthodox churches of the city. For one day, on March 8, the same Christ the Saviour Cathedral was closed "for technical reasons", after some supporters of the band had organized a picket. 

The real reason explained Kirill Frolov, a member of the Association of Orthodox experts, was "to prevent hooliganism" of those who "would like to carry out sacrilege" in the house of God. But some believers, who wished to pray in the church that day - according to the website credo.ru - said they disagreed with the closure and the Patriarch, who has used harsh words against girls.

On 10 March, during the last opposition rally against the victory of Vladimir Putin in the Russian presidential elections, on Novy Arbat inMoscow, along with the usual caricatures of politicians and anti-Putin slogans, in a group of Orthodox have appeared holding icons and crosses, praying for the release of the two artists.

"Our group has angered authorities, especially after the song 'Putin is afraid' (sung in Red Square and that made the girls famous on the internet) - Pussy Riot explain on their blog - We will not surrender: we have already written a new song and we're waiting for the right time to talk".

Papal Nuncio's low-key style signals change for the church

THE new Papal Nuncio to Ireland drove on the 'wrong side' of the road -- for him -- when he travelled to a Eucharistic Congress at the weekend.

Pope Benedict XVI's representative here, Archbishop Charles Brown (53) from the US, who is used to driving on the right, drove himself to the Kildare and Leighlin Diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Carlow town, Co Carlow, on Saturday.

He had no entourage and made a low-key entrance to the Cathedral of the Assumption, where he attended prayer services, workshops, and concelebrated Mass.

He did not leave until late on Saturday evening and spent the day meeting Catholics from the diocese.

The laid-back approach of the Papal Nuncio surprised onlookers who said it reflected a "new departure" for the Catholic Church.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Archbishop Brown said the church was "doing everything" possible to find "good and holy bishops" for dioceses where positions were vacant throughout the country.

"There are a number of dioceses in Ireland that are waiting for bishops, not just Kildare and Leighlin. The fact we've had a change of nuncios certainly slows down that process," he said.

"All I can say is that we're doing everything we possibly can to find good and holy bishops."

Archbishop Brown said it was "hard to say" what the timeframe would be for appointing new bishops.

Reception

The Papal Nuncio arrived in Ireland one month ago and described his reception as "extraordinarily warm and kind".

On the question of attracting Irish people back to their faith after the clerical sex abuse scandals, Archbishop Brown said the church needed to "continue to preach the gospel of Christ".

"If we preach the gospel of Christ to people... I know that people will respond."

More than 1,400 people took part in the Eucharistic Congress.

Archbishop upbeat on same-sex forum

THE CHURCH of Ireland primate Archbishop Alan Harper said its two-day General Synod conference on human sexuality at the weekend could have been “a bear pit”, but that “just didn’t happen”.

The conference was announced by the church’s bishops last October following disclosures the previous month that the Dean of Leighlin (Carlow) the Rev Tom Gordon and his male partner of 20 years had entered a civil partnership last July.

The archbishop said there was “a genuine willingness” on the part of the 450 people in attendance at the weekend “to listen and engage”. 

He dismissed as “caricature” a view that same-sex issues seemed to upset more church members in Northern Ireland than in the Republic.

The Archbishop of Dublin Dr Michael Jackson said the conference, which began on Friday at the Slieve Russell hotel in Co Cavan, was “tremendous”.

He felt personally it had helped remove heat from the internal debate in the church on same-sex issues.

It also helped clarify a view of some that a stance on principle did not equate with a prejudice.

Both archbishops were speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of the conference on Saturday.

Archbishop Harper commented that nowhere else in the world-wide Anglican Communion, currently riven by debate on the same-sex issue, had there been such a conference.

Visitors at the conference from other Anglican provinces had commented favourably on it as a method, he said.

The church’s standing committee is meeting tomorrow, but he could not say whether it would propose a motion to the General Synod in May arising from the weekend conference. 

“Personally I’d prefer if the motion came from the synod itself,” he said.

The conference had been “unusually fortunate in that people put themselves up there” to speak about the same-sex issue from personal experience, he said.

These included parents, an Irish gay clergyman and gay people “from further afield”. He felt the Church of Ireland was breaking new ground on the issue.

Earlier, in a joint statement, the archbishops acknowledged that while “there are still difficult issues for us as a church, there is not an atmosphere of division”.

They “observed a common desire to welcome all people to participate in the life of the church, while accepting there were no easy answers to difficult questions”.

Speaking at the conference, Canon Ginnie Kennerly, chairwoman of the Church of Ireland’s pro-gay Changing Attitude Ireland group, said the Church of Ireland “has always had gay clergy, but this has only been accepted openly in their own immediate circle”.

This “closeting of gay clergy now has to end, because it forces them into dishonesty, threatens them with unemployment or exile, and fosters hypocrisy in the church,” she said.

She added that “in the name of justice and of Christ’s care for marginalised people of whatever kind, I can only stand firm in my support of gay clergy’s right to fulfil their vocation openly and without fear.”

Cardinal Brady meets clerical abuse victims

The Catholic Primate Cardinal, Seán Brady, and representatives of a number of religious orders met victims and survivors of child abuse in Armagh Monday.

After the three-hour meeting, Cardinal Brady said he had apologised wholeheartedly and without reservation for the abuse the victims had suffered as children.

He said he had reaffirmed the church's commitment to co-operate fully with the inquiry into institutional abuse set up by the Stormont Assembly.

A spokesman for the victims group said it had been a very positive meeting.

However, John McCourt added that they continue to press the Catholic Church to reveal all the information it had about child abuse in its institutions.

Apostolic Vicar in Syria: “Kofi Annan should work without prejudices”

There is a chance for peace in Syria, if an observer like Kofi Annan “can listen and enter into the psychology of the Syrian people,” said Franciscan Father Joseph Nazzaro, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, to Vatican news agency Fides. 

The Vicar sent an appeal to the guest of the United Nations during this turbulent time in Syria: “Come to truly enter into the issues, without prejudices and without bringing pre-packaged solutions. If this cannot happen, nothing will be resolved.” 

“Annan’s visit,” explains Father Nazzaro, “holds a real chance for peace if the leader is able to enter into the psychology and the life of Syrian people. 

The key will be to listen to the government, its opposition, society, and minorities, without the influence of external forces and pressures from other states.”

“Analysing the overall picture, the Syrian issue - still - is necessarily part of the context of the Middle East and its recent changes. 

The situation in Syria is not new, but its roots are ancient. In dealing with this situation, history, culture, and the expectations of an entire people need to be taken into consideration.” 

“Every country has something that can be improved: the West can help correct and improve Syria without imposing its own ideology, but instead allowing a consciousness to mature. The West must understand this by entering into the Syrians’ state of mind. We cannot think only of economic, trade, and geopolitical interests,” notes the Vicar.

As a Christian community, which in Syria represents 8% of the population, “we are living through this difficult time, waiting and praying. 

Syria has, up until this point, given us assurances, preserving Christian communities, in practice and in compliance with the faith. 

Syrian Christians are afraid of a future that could lead to suffering and persecution: look what happened in Iraq or Egypt. 

Our hope is a national reconciliation and a pacification of the country, respecting the rights and dignity of every human being.”

Catholic Blair says “yes” to same-sex marriage

Back in 2007 he converted to Catholicism and as Prime Minister he introduced civil unions for same-sex couples. 

Now Tony Blair is going even further, backing the legalisation of same-sex marriages in Britain.

This is in open defiance to the Pope and Catholics who are vehemently opposed to the proposal that was made by Britain's Conservative PM, David Cameron. 

The proposal was also met with strong disapproval from leaders of the Anglican Church, despite the fact that many of their vicars and deans are in favour of the change.

Last Sunday, a letter from two archbishops was read out to Catholic congregations in England and Wales, explaining that the new law would undermine the institution of marriage and the family. 

Despite this, the Independent on Sunday revealed, Blair has allegedly told friends he "strongly supports the Prime Minister's proposal."

Blair who was responsible for the introduction of civil partnership laws for same-sex couples and for reducing the age of consent for homosexuals to 16, had kept out of the same-sex marriage debate until now.  

Despite the opposition shown by the clergy, Cameron and some of his most conservative ministers are still in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. 

Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister who will launch a public consultation on the issue this month, stated that marriage is "owned by the people" not by the church.

Poland: The Church settles its accounts

Even though for fourteen years Poland has had an agreement that is almost identical to the one Italy had in 1984, it has not yet unravelled the issue of funding for the Catholic Church operating on the Country. 

Until yesterday, both State and Church utilized legal tools dating back to the People’s Republic whose memory would be best forgotten. 

Firstly the Ecclesiastical Fund (Fundusz kościelny) formed in 1950, in theory to help the so-called patriot-priests, but in practice to finance the opposition to the Church and its employees, guilty of being faithful to the Pope and the Vatican. 

The high clerics themselves have highlighted this when solicited by the notice given by the second government led by Tusk, according to which it’s time to review the relations between State and Church.

In his keynote speech to the Sejm (lower house) on the last 18 November, the Prime Minister announced his intention to include priests in the national pension scheme.

It would therefore be safe to presume that the ecclesiastical fund will be fully dismantled. If necessary, said Tusk “we are ready to change the agreement.” 

As a first reaction to the news, the Church representatives, aside from requesting to have a say in the proposed changes, admitted to the necessity of creating a “new, global model to fund the Church.” 

The current fund was deemed “anachronistic” and its balance for years has reportedly been ‘difficult to calculate’.

Lately, According to a Catholic lawyer of great renown, the fund recently had 90 millions zloty (1€ = 4 zloty), when it should have had 200 million. “The state needs to give money to the Church, not the other way round,” many say. There is no need to review the agreement, it should simply be put into practice.

A few days ago, in Warsaw, the press agency of Polish bishops KAI (Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna), presented  the first report on Church finances in Poland. 

A document which was necessarily drafted in haste, under the pressure of recent events. Looking at it one can see that in Poland the Church has survived thanks to the ‘taca’ (collection money). 

In other words Catholic followers have covered 80% of all expenses of the ecclesiastical institutions at all levels, from parishes to the Polish Episcopal Conference.

In the Church’s financial chain in Poland the fundamental link are the parishes, which after covering their expenses, transfer to the dioceses 15-20% of their income. 

This varies between 30,000 and 300-400,000 zloty, depending on parish size and region. 

30% of followers regularly give collection money on Sundays. 

Donations range between 0.50 and 1.20 złoty per person. 

Income figures include christening (between 25 and 250 zloty), wedding and funeral donations that as a rule should belong only to the priest.

The report has revealed for the first time that priests earn between 800 to 5500 zloty per month, with an average ranging between 1,500 and 2,500 zloty, which is below the national average (3682 zloty). 

That money, as highlighted in the report, is not tax free. 

The state gives the Church more or less half a billion zloty a year (first and foremost to its social activities, but also to building restoration projects), while the Church pays out several billions in educational, charitable and cultural activities. 

The Polish branch of Caritas alone spends something like 482 millions zloty a year.

While waiting for the government to comment on the report, the idea suddenly came about of halving the number of military chaplains, who amount to less than 150. 

The first military bishop in the country who is now Archbishop of Gdansk, Leszek Slawoj Glodz spoke straight away of a ‘ Zapater-ism’ in Polish key.

The settling of accounts between the Polish State and the Church has only just begun.

Radiation could have created Holy Shroud image

The Shroud of Turin, the linen sheet which, according to tradition, Jesus’ body had been wrapped in and carries the imprint of a man who was crucified in the same way described in Gospels, is still a mystery. 

A recently published study has concluded that the most likely hypothesis for the explanation of the origin of the image imprinted on the shroud is radiation, particularly the “corona discharge effect.”

This is according to Giulio Fanti, Professor of Professor of Mechanical and Thermic Measurements at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Padua who has been carrying out research on the Shroud for a number of years. 

The academic has presented the results of his study in an article that has just been published by the Journal of Imaging Science and Technology.

“Ever since the Italian photographer Secondo Pia obtained the first photographic reproductions of the Shroud in 1898, many researchers have put forward image formation hypotheses,” Fanti told Italian daily newspaper La Stampa. 

“Many interesting hypotheses have been examined to date, but none of these is able to explain the mysterious image fully. None of the reproductions obtained manages to portray characteristics that are similar to the ones found on the Turin Shroud.”

The article scientifically examines all core hypotheses, comparing them to 24 of the Shroud’s unique characteristics, deemed to be the most important of the more than one hundred features published up until recently in international scientific journals. 

The first hypotheses formulated by researchers who analysed the first photographs taken of the Shroud in the early 1900’s are being reviewed and examined. For example the theories which attributed the formation of the depicted figure to chalk or ammonia, to the effect of lightening or a mould containing zinc powder. 

“I therefore took the most sophisticated of all the hypotheses into consideration, such as those relating to the diffusion of gas or to the Shroud’s contact with the body that had been wrapped in a sheet soaked in aromas and various other substances,” Professor Fanti said.

 “During my research - Fanti went on to say – I also considered the possibility of the combination of more than one mechanism in the image’s formation, returning to the ideas of those who, as of the second half of the last century, started to doubt the authenticity of the Shroud and therefore started suggesting image reproduction techniques used by medieval artists.”

Among the “artistic” theories cited in the article, are those put forward by Delfino Pesce and Garlaschelli. “I emphasised the fact that even the results of experiment results obtained in the 21^st Century are hugely different from the extremely unique characteristics of the Shroud.” 

Many academics have presented excellent artistic copies from a macroscopic perspective; but unfortunately these fail to reproduce a number of microscopic elements, making the final result valueless.”

However, the conclusion reached after examining the possibility of radiation as the origin of the image, is different. Fanti refers to the theories put forward by other academics and describes the results obtained by ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), which recently used excimer lasers. 

The Professor observed that “The radiation theory allows us to come closer to the particular characteristics of the Shroud image, but still poses one important problem: only small sections of the image, measurable in terms of square centimetres can be reproduced; otherwise resources that are not yet available in the laboratory would be required.” 

The experiments carried out by Professor Fanti in Padua, in collaboration with Professor Giancarlo Pesavento, have required “voltages measured at approximately 500.000 volts in order to obtain Shroud-like images that were just a few centimetres long.”

The results of the scientific analysis carried out by Fanti have been summarised in two tables which show that radiation release represents the most reliable theory. 

And among the radiation theories, “only the corona discharge effect (a certain form of electrical discharge) theory seems to provide an answer to all the unique characteristics of the image of the body on the Shroud,” event though, in order to get such a large figure as the one depicted on the Turin Shroud, “you would need voltages of up to tens of millions of volts. Or, you would have to look outside the field of science and see the phenomenon as linked to the resurrection,” Professor Fanti said.

Vatican goes increasingly digital

French is no longer just the preferred language of papal diplomacy. 

This tongue, which has been the traditional language of prestigious Holy See ambassadors has also now become an instrument for web communication. 

The Holy See's official news website www.news.va now has a French version as well. 

In addition to the existing Italian, English and Spanish versions, the portal which publishes news from all the Vatican's various media channels now offers a section in the language spoken by Abbé Pierre and Georges Bernanos. 

But French is not just the diplomatic language of the Holy See; the European Union's diplomatic service has two main working languages: English and French. It is not true therefore that French is declining as a diplomatic language.

The Vatican news website, which was launched over a year ago, is now available in four languages. 

The website receives between 8000 and 10.000 viewings each day, with peaks of 16.000. Viewing time is usually two minutes, which indicates that those who log on to the website do not do so by chance; they stay logged on, read and carry our searches. 

People from about 180 countries across the world visit the portal, mostly from the U.S. (27%), followed by Italy, Germany, Spain, Canada and Brazil. 53% of visitors are new while the remaining 47% are regulars.

The vast majority of www.news.va contacts come from social networks: 65% from Facebook and around 30% from Twitter. 

“Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers,” the Pope had highlighted in his message for the 46^th World Day of Social Communications. 

“In our time, the internet is becoming ever more a forum for questions 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 recognize 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.”

“Amid the complexity and diversity of the world of communications,” the Pope pointed out, “many people find themselves confronted with the ultimate questions of human existence: Who am I? What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope?"

It is important to affirm those who ask these questions, and to open up the possibility of a profound dialogue, by means of words and interchange, but also through the call to silent reflection, something that is often more eloquent than a hasty answer and permits seekers to reach into the depths of their being and open themselves to the path towards knowledge that God has inscribed in human hearts.”

Facebook and chat applications should not be scorned, as they “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.” 

So social networks are good, Benedict XVI said, but people should refrain from creating fake profiles. 

The Pope blessed the social revolution sparked by the Internet, but sent a word of warning to youngsters not to limit themselves to virtual means of communication and not to live in a “parallel world.” 

Whilst participating in “social networks” and searching for a ever growing number of “friends”, one must stay “faithful to oneself” and never give into tricks or “illusions” such as the creation of a false identity through one's own profile. 

“Social networks,” which an increasing number of people, particularly youngsters, are joining, offer “new opportunities for sharing, dialogue, exchange, solidarity and for the formation of positive relationships.” 

But people must “steer clear of the dangers,” that is “seeking refuge in a sort of parallel world or excessive exposure in the virtual world.”

Webcams should also be made the most of. 

Up until 2009, the Shrine of Fatima was the only missing link; since then, all sacred ceremonies and events are shown on “live-cam”. 

The electronic eye which was installed three years ago in the Portuguese shrine, completed the world's “web-coverage” of the areas where the Virgin Mary is worshipped. 

Meanwhile, the “holy cam” unites Franciscan sites, from Assisi to the recent display of Fr. Pio's body and the Vatican offers internet surfers “non stop” coverage of its most interesting observation points. 

A virtual pilgrimage across the five continents (from the World Youth Day in Sydney to the papal procession in Lourdes); an internet mapping system blessed by the Holy See. The Church is able to respond to the requests of faithful through the immediate language of web cams. 

A reality strategy that spreads out like a spider's web across the globe, from Lourdes to the Sacred Mount of Europa, from the Swiss shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits at Einsielden Abbey to Benedict XVI's beloved “Marienkirch” in Berlin, from Bavaria's Altötting shrine to the Notre Dame in Indiana,from the Virgen de la Fuensanta in Murcia, to St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow and from Paris' Cathedral to the chapel of the Nativity in Oberndorf, where “Silent Night” was composed.

 

From Germany's Lübeck Cathedral to Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, from the sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca in Bologna, from the Duomo Cathedral in Milan to the Shrine of Mariazell, from the Virgin Square in Valencia to the Basilica of Superga in Turin. 

A live cam evangelisation began in June 2001 and the pioneers of the “religious webcam” were the Capuchin Friars of San Giovanni Rotondo, who installed a number of “electronic eyes” that offered 24/7 coverage of Fr. Pius' crypt and all masses celebrated.  

A sort of “home-made world vision” that was intensified by the display of St. Pius' corpse which the Pope attended on 21 June 2009. 

In September 2008, on occasion of the Pope's visit, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes installed a web cam system to provide live coverage of events taking place in front of the Grotto of Massabielle, the Basilica of the Rosary and the flat ground where processions take place. 

To celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December 2009 the monks of the Sacred Convent of Assisi inaugurated their own web cam system with live coverage of the solemn mass in the Lower Basilica.

Every evening Franciscans hold a web chat with faithful via the website www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it

The Vatican has also installed a web cam that provides live coverage of the garders of the Pontifical Villas of Catsel Gandolfo.  

Other webcams cover St. Peter's Square, John Paul II's tomb, St. Peter's dome and the Vatican Governorate and Basilica. In spring 2010 a webcam was installed in Turin's Dome, displaying the Holy Shroud. 

In the sanctuary of Medjugorje there are three webcams up and running (one of which has been fixed onto the sanctuary's altar) which give live coverage of mass celebrations inside the sanctuary and the processions which take place outside.

Christians have no right to wear cross at work, says Government

In a highly significant move, ministers will fight a case at the European Court of Human Rights in which two British women will seek to establish their right to display the cross. 

It is the first time that the Government has been forced to state whether it backs the right of Christians to wear the symbol at work.

A document seen by The Sunday Telegraph discloses that ministers will argue that because it is not a “requirement” of the Christian faith, employers can ban the wearing of the cross and sack workers who insist on doing so.

The Government’s position received an angry response last night from prominent figures including Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

He accused ministers and the courts of “dictating” to Christians and said it was another example of Christianity becoming sidelined in official life.

The Government’s refusal to say that Christians have a right to display the symbol of their faith at work emerged after its plans to legalise same-sex marriages were attacked by the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.

A poll commissioned by The Sunday Telegraph shows that the country is split on the issue.

Overall, 45 per cent of voters support moves to allow gay marriage, with 36 per cent against, while 19 per cent say they do not know.

However, the Prime Minister is out of step with his own party.

Exactly half of Conservative voters oppose same-sex marriage in principle and only 35 per cent back it.

There is no public appetite to change the law urgently, with more than three quarters of people polled saying it was wrong to fast-track the plan before 2015 and only 14 per cent saying it was right.

The Strasbourg case hinges on whether human rights laws protect the right to wear a cross or crucifix at work under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

The Christian women bringing the case, Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin, claim that they were discriminated against when their employers barred them from wearing the symbols.

They want the European Court to rule that this breached their human right to manifest their religion.

The Government’s official response states that wearing the cross is not a “requirement of the faith” and therefore does not fall under the remit of Article 9.

Lawyers for the two women claim that the Government is setting the bar too high and that “manifesting” religion includes doing things that are not a “requirement of the faith”, and that they are therefore protected by human rights.

They say that Christians are given less protection than members of other religions who have been granted special status for garments or symbols such as the Sikh turban and kara bracelet, or the Muslim hijab.

Last year it emerged that Mrs Eweida, a British Airways worker, and Mrs Chaplin, a nurse, had taken their fight to the European Court in Strasbourg after both faced disciplinary action for wearing a cross at work.

Mrs Eweida’s case dates from 2006 when she was suspended for refusing to take off the cross which her employers claimed breached BA’s uniform code.

The 61 year-old, from Twickenham, is a Coptic Christian who argued that BA allowed members of other faiths to wear religious garments and symbols.

BA later changed its uniform policy but Mrs Eweida lost her challenge against an earlier employment tribunal decision at the Court of Appeal and in May 2010 was refused permission to go to the Supreme Court.

Mrs Chaplin, 56, from Exeter, was barred from working on wards by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust after she refused to hide the cross she wore on a necklace chain, ending 31 years of nursing.

The Government claims the two women’s application to the Strasbourg court is “manifestly ill-founded”.

Its response states: “The Government submit that… the applicants’ wearing of a visible cross or crucifix was not a manifestation of their religion or belief within the meaning of Article 9, and…the restriction on the applicants' wearing of a visible cross or crucifix was not an ‘interference’ with their rights protected by Article 9.”

The response, prepared by the Foreign Office, adds: “In neither case is there any suggestion that the wearing of a visible cross or crucifix was a generally recognised form of practising the Christian faith, still less one that is regarded (including by the applicants themselves) as a requirement of the faith.”

The Government has also set out its intention to oppose cases brought by two other Christians, including a former registrar who objected to conducting civil partnership ceremonies for homosexual couples.

Lillian Ladele, who worked as a registrar for Islington council in north London for 17 years, said she was forced to resign in 2007 after being disciplined, and claimed she had been harassed over her beliefs.

Gary McFarlane, a relationship counsellor, was sacked by Relate for refusing to give sex therapy to homosexual couples.

Christian groups described the Government’s stance as “extraordinary”.

Lord Carey said: “The reasoning is based on a wholly inappropriate judgment of matters of theology and worship about which they can claim no expertise."

“The irony is that when governments and courts dictate to Christians that the cross is a matter of insignificance, it becomes an even more important symbol and expression of our faith.”

The Strasbourg cases brought by Mrs Chaplin and Mr McFarlane are supported by the Christian Legal Centre which has instructed Paul Diamond, a leading human rights barrister.

Judges in Strasbourg will next decide whether all four cases will progress to full hearings.

If they proceed, the cases will test how religious rights are balanced against equality laws designed to prohibit discrimination.

Andrea Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “It is extraordinary that a Conservative government should argue that the wearing of a cross is not a generally recognised practice of the Christian faith."

“In recent months the courts have refused to recognise the wearing of a cross, belief in marriage between a man and a woman and Sundays as a day of worship as ‘core’ expressions of the Christian faith."

"What next? Will our courts overrule the Ten Commandments?”

Growing anger among Christians will be highlighted today by Delia Smith, the television chef and practising Roman Catholic, who will issue a Lent appeal on behalf the Church’s charity, Cafod, accusing “militant neo-atheists and devout secularists” of “busting a gut to drive us off the radar and try to convince us that we hardly exist”.

ICM Research interviewed an online sample of 2,001 adults between March 7 and March 9.

Interviews were conducted across the country and results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.