Clerical Whispers

Student union attempts to restrict pro-life talks

2012-01-30T00:24:00.010Z

Students at University College London will vote on a motion this month which would force Catholic chaplaincies to invite pro-abortion speakers to pro-life discussions.

The motion says: “Any future open events focusing on the issue of termination invite an anti-choice speaker and a pro-choice speaker as well as an independent chair, to ensure there is a balance to the argument.”

Students will vote on a pro-abortion motion which could mean the student union adopting an official pro-abortion stance and formally affiliating itself to the organisation Abortion Rights.

The motion notes: “On October 31 2011, UCLU Catholic Society advertised a ‘discussion’ around the issue of abortion which consisted of one pro-life speaker. It is also noted that people who held opposing views were invited to attend.”

The motion continues: “An official pro-choice policy would not prevent students who disagree with termination on ethical or religious grounds from exercising their right not to seek a termination. Pro-choice policy encourages students to make well-informed decisions regarding their bodies and their futures. When clubs and societies invite pro-life speakers they should also invite a pro-choice speaker to balance the debate and vice versa.”

Liam O’Hara, a PhD student at University College London, said she was “disturbed” by the resolution.

She said: “Not only did it propose that the UCL union adopts an official pro-choice stance and affiliates with the Abortion Rights UK organisation, but that it requires any student society to inform the Union when it proposes to hold events on the topic of abortion. The draconian measures continue, requiring that the societies must provide an independent chair and a pro-abortion speaker against the pro-life speaker."

“These measures will allow the union to curtail the freedom of speech and freedom of association of any pro-life or Catholic society at UCL wishing to discuss the topic of abortion. In order to continue to act according to their consciences, such student societies will have to disaffiliate with the union and meet off-campus. The spirit of the resolutions are completely hostile to any contradictory point of view: to be pro-life is a form of secular heresy in the Union’s view. Furthermore, they are patronising bright UCL students who come to university in order to be challenged."

“If the union is successful, I would encourage students who object to opt-out of Union membership and boycott the union’s facilities.”

Chaplain says Mexican officials committed sacrilege at prison chapel

2012-01-30T00:23:00.008Z

A prison chaplain in northern Mexico accused soldiers and police of committing sacrilege as they tore apart his chapel during an early morning raid meant to uncover drugs and weapons.

Father Robert Coogan, an American priest based in Saltillo, Mexico, 190 miles southwest of the Texas border at Laredo, said soldiers and police burst into the Christ the Prisoner Chapel, "broke open the tabernacle and threw the hosts to the ground and walked on them."

"The prison has been searched before, but the soldiers or police never committed sacrilege," Father Coogan said in an email to Catholic News Service.

Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo expressed his displeasure with the Jan. 24 raid and sacrilege, saying in a statement issued the same day, "No possible explanation exists that justifies what happened."

"We're deeply outraged by these acts because, in addition to attacking the faith of the majority of the Mexican people, they violate the rights of religious freedom," said the statement distributed by the Diocese of Saltillo.

Bishop Vera has promised to celebrate Mass Jan. 27 outside the prison for those wishing to protest the sacrilege.

For the past decade, Father Coogan has ministered to inmates in the Saltillo lockup, where conditions have deteriorated to the point that Los Zetas, the cartel of soldiers-turned-enforcers, wield authority over the prison population.

The National Human Rights Commission said last year in its most recent prison survey that "self-rule" was present in the facility. The warden was murdered in a hit outside of the prison in December.

Coahuila state officials told reporters the raid was carried out at the request of the administration of Gov. Ruben Moreira Valdez. The governor, along with his brother, former Gov. Humberto Moreira Valdez, have been at odds with Bishop Vera and the Diocese of Saltillo.

The diocese said the more than 450 soldiers and police found "150 grams" (5.25 ounces) of synthetic drugs, cans of beer, hard liquor and more than 100 knives, along with refrigerators, TVs, video game consoles, microwave ovens and approximately $400 in cash.

Father Coogan said prisoners always have had appliances, which are permitted and used to keep and prepare food brought by family members -- who, in Mexico, often end up feeding their imprisoned loved ones.

"The poor families who sacrifice to make the life of their imprisoned members a little easier are the most affected" by the raid, he said.

Rep. Smith: HHS mandate is attempt to end Catholic health care

2012-01-30T00:22:00.006Z

Representative Chris Smith thinks that the Obama administration’s decision to force religious organizations to purchase health insurance plans in violation of their consciences is an attempt to force “Catholic health care to cease to be.”

“That’s the end goal here. I think we have to be very blunt about it,” he said in a Jan. 23 interview with CNA.

The Republican congressman from New Jersey also responded to President Barack Obama’s Jan. 22 statement on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States.

President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to abortion, which he called a “fundamental constitutional right.”

He added that the 1973 decision “also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.”

Rep. Smith said that President Obama’s statement reveals his “bigotry and prejudice against the unborn child,” whom he fails to include as a family member.

He also observed that the president’s professed commitment to avoid interfering with the private matters of citizens is inconsistent with his administration’s Jan. 20 decision to require virtually all health care plans to cover sterilization and contraception – including abortion-causing drugs – at no cost.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also announced that its finalized “preventative services” mandate would not contain an expanded religious exemption for employers who object to its requirements on religious grounds.

Since it was first proposed, the religious exemption policy has been harshly criticized as being too narrow.

The overwhelming majority of religious organizations will not qualify for the exemption, which applies only to organizations that exist for the purpose of inculcating religious values and that primarily serve and employ members of their own faith.

Rep. Smith said that the mandate violates the conscience rights not only of those who object to contraception, but also those who object to abortion.

The early abortion drugs Plan B and Ella are included in the “preventative services” that insurance companies are required to cover.

The congressman warned that the “misguided” policy might be a foreshadowing of further coercive abortion policies in the future.

He explained that during the heath care overhaul debate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) offered the preventive health care amendment, upon which the HHS mandate is based.

Sen. Mikulski was asked during the debate if she would exclude abortion as a “preventative service” and she said no.

Rep. Smith said this illustrates a move toward saying that “preventive health care equals abortion, because you’ve got to get rid of that unwanted pregnancy.”

A pro-abortion mindset sees an unwanted child as a “disease” or “a tumor to be excised,” he explained.

Rep. Smith also stated that “coercion is embedded” in the legal abortion movement, and that he believes more attempts to force compliance can be expected under the current administration.

He illustrated his point by noting that “coercion begins in the first place against the baby,” who has “no say in the violence that’s coming his or her way.”

Congressman Smith said that Americans must realize the significance of the threats being posed by the Obama administration’s attacks on conscience rights.

“The mask is off,” he said. “It’s about time we woke up.”

Lay movements answer problems of today’s world, Vatican official says

2012-01-30T00:21:00.005Z

Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, said that lay ecclesial movements are a gift to the Church and an answer to the difficulties modern society presents.

“The ecclesial movements and new communities are a timely response of the Holy Spirit to the challenges the world poses to the Church in our times,” he said.

Cardinal Rylko made his remarks during a Mass on Jan. 22 in Cordoba celebrating the one thousandth retreat lead by the movement Cursillo – a Spanish lay community founded in 1944.

The “Church looks to you with great hope and counts on you,” the cardinal told the 2,000 Cursillo members gathered at the Cathedral of Cordoba.

Cardinal Rylko listed what he called the three tasks for lay associations and ecclesial movements today, and that is to be “schools of holiness, mission and communion.”

“The world needs truly holy Christians, and for this reason the lay movements and associations should be missionary and evangelistic, and true schools of communion,” he said.

Later during the Mass, Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba noted that through the Cursillo movement, “thousands and thousands of people have encountered Jesus in his Holy Church.”

He told the group members the Church embraces them and encourages them to evangelize modern society.

Washington archbishop testifies against state's 'gay marriage' bill

2012-01-30T00:20:00.009Z

A Washington state bill that would recognize same-sex “marriage” poses a “grave challenge” to the common good, Archbishop of Seattle J. Peter Sartain warned.

The principles of marriage are “built into human life itself,” he told the state Senate’s Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee on Jan. 23.

Washington state's Senate may have enough votes to soon pass legislation recognizing “gay marriage,” the Associated Press reported.

The bill is also believed to have enough support in the House and Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Catholic Democrat, has said she will sign it into law.

In his remarks, however, Archbishop Sartain said that because “only the union of a man and woman can generate new life,” no “other human relationship is its equivalent.”

The attempt to redefine marriage, then, “ignores the origin, purpose and value of marriage to individuals, families, and society,” he underscored.

Changing the definition of marriage would also mean there would be “no special laws to support and recognize the irreplaceable contribution that these married couples make to society and to the common good by bringing to life the next generation.”

“Marriage makes a contribution to the common good of society unlike any other relationship, through the procreation, rearing and education of children,” he said. “I urge you to uphold the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”

Six other U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex unions as marriages.

The legislation, S.B. 6239, may require religious organization to provide accommodations, facilities, and services for the solemnization or celebration of same-sex “marriages,” if the organizations offer marriage services to the public for a fee.

The provision could have a financial impact upon churches which rent out facilities for marriages but have religious and moral objections to same-sex unions.

In a statement earlier this month, the Catholic bishops of Washington state said that the proposed legislation would add to “the forces already undermining family life today.”

LA archbishop calls on Catholics to oppose HHS mandate

2012-01-30T00:19:00.006Z

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles urged lay Catholics to defend the faith after the Department of Health and Human Services refused to reverse a contraception mandate set to take effect in Aug. 2013.

“In this case, the government is imposing a narrow, radically individualistic idea of religion,” Archbishop Gomez said in a column published this week in his archdiocesan newspaper, the Tidings.

On Jan. 20, Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the administration would not expand a religious exemption for employers who object to its “preventative services” mandate.

The policy, originally introduced in an Aug. 2011 interim rule, requires health insurance plans to cover contraception – including drugs that cause abortion – and sterilization free of charge.

To qualify for a religious exemption under the policy, religious organizations must employ and serve primarily members of their own faith and must exist for the purpose of teaching religious values.

Many religious organizations objected to the rule, however, saying that they would not qualify because they provide education, health care and other services to people of all religions. But the Obama administration dismissed their requests, saying that the religious exemption would not be expanded.

“As many have noted,” Archbishop Gomez said, the exemption for religious groups is so narrow that “much of what Jesus Christ did would not qualify as a 'religious' ministry.”

Everything the Church does, including healthcare, education and ministry to the poor, is “religious,” he emphasized.

“All of our ministries and institutions are motivated by our love for God and our mission to spread the Gospel.”

“We don't do these things,” he added, “because we are social workers or philanthropists. We do them because we are disciples.”

Archbishop Gomez said that what he finds most disturbing about the recent announcement is the government's attempt to redefine Catholic charities, hospitals and colleges as non-religious institutions.

The administration is “presuming to have to competence and authority” to define what “religious faith is and how believers should express their faith commitments,” he warned.

“These are powers our government has never before assumed itself to have.”

He called on all Catholics, especially the laity, to “step up to their responsibilities for the Church's mission” and “to be leaders in helping to shape the values and moral foundations of America's future.”

The archbishop also noted the “prophetic advice” that Pope Benedict gave in his Jan. 19 address to U.S. bishops.

The Pope told the bishops of “the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity” that has the “courage to counter a reductive secularism” which is determining “the future of American society.”

Archbishop Gomez encouraged Catholics to pray for the nation's leaders and entrusted his intentions to Mary Immaculate, Patroness of America.

Bethlehem university takes concerns to Vatican

2012-01-30T00:18:00.010Z

The Israeli-built wall between Jerusalem and the West Bank is deterring staff and students from attending Bethlehem Catholic University, officials from the school say.

“We lose students but we also lose faculty who have been teaching at the University and who come from Jerusalem but don´t want to go through that humiliation every day,” Brother Jack Curran, the university’s Vice President for Development, told CNA on Jan. 18 during a two-day visit to Rome.

“The young people are very resilient and are willing to put up with a lot but it does concern us for the future,” he said.

The barrier is a 26 foot wall erected by Israel to separate itself from the Palestinian-controlled West Bank.

Israel says the wall protects them from Palestinian terrorism.

Opponents of the wall say it breaks international law and illegally annexes parts of Palestinian territory.

Bethlehem Catholic University sits close to the wall on the Palestinian side, but many of its students come from East Jerusalem, which lies on the Israeli side.

“There are students, now about 20 percent of students, who go through the checkpoints of the wall every day, twice a day, coming and going,” explained Br. Curran, an American from upstate New York, who has been in Bethlehem for nine years.

“Bethlehem is the only Catholic university in the Holy Land, so any Christian or Catholic students in Jerusalem who want to go to a Catholic university have to do that,” he explained.

Br. Curran said that many of the students find the routine of checkpoints and searches “wearing and tearing on their spirits.”

“They tell us the hardest part is not going through the wall but the thoughts about what happens when you’re on your way to the wall: ‘Will I be strip searched or taken off the bus and forced to sit in the sun for an hour or two, or will it be that I’m waved through?’”

Bethlehem Catholic University was founded in 1973 as a joint venture between the Vatican and the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

Initially the school only had 112 students enrolled, but this year it has over 3,000 attending classes.

Br. Curran finds his students are remarkably resilient in the face of adversity.

“Amazingly, their spirits are still very positive and upbeat and they come every day,” he said. “They have a choice to come or not. But they do come and we’re grateful that they do.”

Br. Curran is more concerned about losing staff members who find the extra difficulties created by teaching in Bethlehem simply “too much for their spirits to bear.”

He offered the example of Palestinian academics who are not allowed to fly out of Tel Aviv Airport in Israel to attend international conferences but, instead, have to travel to Amman, Jordan.

The trip to Amman involves an overnight stay on both the outgoing and return journey.

“It practically doubles the expense of any travel that has to happen, and so when a faculty member has to think about going to a conference they have to think about the extra burden,” he explained.

“Meanwhile, the staff who live in Jerusalem have to go through that wall twice a day. And after a few years of doing that many decide to look for a job elsewhere, regrettably so.”

Br. Curran said Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in 2009 was extremely helpful to the university because he said “tough things” to the leaders in Israel and Palestine.

In his meetings with Vatican officials in recent days, Br. Curran has been urging the Holy See to continue speaking out, because “their words do have an impact.”

“We look forward to the rest of the international community to be likewise critical of the injustices wherever they occur, whether they are on the Israeli side or the Palestinian side,” he stated.

“In many ways, it seems to me that it boils down to issues of human rights – justice – and then when these are addressed, we will see peace and prosperity being possible.”

Nothing has changed with papal approval, explains Neocatechumenal priest

2012-01-30T00:17:00.005Z

Father Ricardo Reyes Castillo, a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, said Pope Benedict XVI’s approval of the movement’s non-liturgical celebrations “has changed absolutely nothing.”

The Panamanian priest told CNA on Jan. 23 that the papal approval of the celebrations contained in the Neocatechumenal Catechetical Directory means “simply that the Church has confirmed that the rites used in the different stages of formation in the Neocatechumenal

Way are in accord with the tradition of the Church.”

“This is just another step in the process through which the Church lovingly follows the faithful who belong to this experience of faith,” he added.

The Pontifical Council for the Laity approved the ceremonies outlined in the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way, specifying that this approval applied to those celebrations “which are not, by their nature, already regulated by the liturgical books of the Church.”

Fr. Reyes said the members of the movement “are grateful because they feel guided and protected under the wings of the Church, which has always shown herself to be a mother.”

On Jan. 20, Pope Benedict XVI met with more than 7,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way and thanked them for their valuable service to the Church.

He encouraged them to proclaim Christ and reminded them of the public nature of the Eucharist, saying their communities should be integrated into the local parishes where they are present.

Descendant of Drogheda to become a cardinal

2012-01-30T00:16:00.007Z

A DESCENDANT of an immigrant family from Drogheda will be declared a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in February.

Archbishop Thomas Collins (65) of Toronto, home to Canada's biggest Catholic population, will be among the 22 new cardinals to be appointed on February 18.

'To be a member of the College of Cardinals, really, is a great honour and I'm very grateful for it,' he told the Canadian media last week.

Appointed an archbishop in 2007, he becomes the 16th Canadian cardinal in the history of the church.

A native of Guelph, Ontario, he revealed to the Drogheda Independent that his relatives left Drogheda in 1827 but he isn't sure what part of the town they come from.

'The Collins family who owned the hardware store is the same family,' he added.

The Archbishop's mother and sister visited Maurice and Monica Collins many years ago and recalled their son, Declan, who was a priest and was killed in Africa.

Although he doesn't have any connections with his Drogheda relations these days, he visited the town in 2008 on a brief visit while passing through Ireland.

Archbishop Collins was tipped to become a cardinal in 2010 but was passed over on that occasion, with many feeling that, at 63, he was too young!

He is highly regarded in Canada as an 'earthy, clear and charitable' individual, with the Pope always showing great faith and confidence in him.

He drew much comment and respect when speaking about abuse scandals in recent years, quoted in one homily as stating 'We cannot escape the horror of this by pointing out that almost all priests serve faithfully — though that fact is a grace that gives joy to the Catholic people. But even one priest gone wrong causes immense harm, and throughout the world priests have done unspeakable evil.'

He was also one of the nine bishops who visited this country to help investigate the Church's response to the sexual abuse crisis.

Thieves seeking silver, brass and lead prey on churches

2012-01-30T00:15:00.015Z

With its cottages of honey-coloured stone and 12th-century church, Ashton Keynes in Wiltshire could be the archetypal unspoilt English village.

Here the Thames is barely a stream, and the pace of life runs as slowly as the river's waters.

So parishioners at Holy Cross church thought nothing of hauling their 19th-century brass lectern out of storage to give it a bit of a show.

No matter that the church was unlocked and unsupervised during the day.

But one Sunday morning last September, they had a nasty surprise.

"Somebody said, 'Where's the lectern?' and it had gone," says Peter Tuck, lay minister.

News this month that the item had been spotted in Romania, at an antiques fair, was an even greater shock.

Gaye Horrell, treasurer at the church, expressed amazement that it had not been melted down, and Wiltshire police initially thought the email informing them of the find – from a

curious local who had noticed the inscription referred to Ashton Keynes – was a spoof.

The local force is now confident of getting it back, but Tuck is cautious. "The local police have been speaking to Interpol but we've no idea if they still know where it is, whether they've got hold of it or whether it's been sold."

The lectern, an exuberant, gothic-revival imitation of a type common in medieval churches, takes the shape of an eagle standing on a golden orb.

The eagle refers to Saint John the Evangelist and is said to symbolise the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his gospel.

Experts suggest it could make up to £3,000 if sold as an antique, though it might take many months to find a buyer.

While this bit of church kit appears to have escaped the scrapyard, the high price of metals is the main factor in the flurry of recent thefts.

Artefacts used in services or to adorn altars can be just as tempting as lead roofs and gutters.

The Ecclesiastical insurance company has seen the number of metal theft claims by churches increase from 1,700 in 2010 to more than 2,600 last year.

Manchester Cathedral's busy urban setting couldn't be more different from that of Holy Cross, but it faces a similar threat.

On 13 January, someone walked into the medieval building on Victoria Street in the city centre and took a silver altar cross.

Elegantly designed in 1957 and donated to the cathedral by the Mothers' Union, it had adorned its lady chapel for decades.

"The cathedral is open to the public every day," says the dean, Rogers Govender. "We do not charge an entry fee, and of course the place is vulnerable."

For Govender and his congregation, the value of such objects goes far beyond what they might fetch for scrap.

"I feel really saddened that a house of God is not respected, that somebody could steal from it – and especially steal a cross which is the central symbol of our faith."

Anne Sloman, chair of the Church Buildings Council, said stolen silver was likely to be melted down.

"That would be the worry – that the value of the solid silver is worth more than the artefact."

She and her colleagues have been lobbying for better regulation of scrap merchants, particularly when it comes to cash payments for metal, which many see as the root of the problem.

The recent spate of thefts, brazen in more ways than one, has left churchwardens everywhere facing a dilemma.

"A lot of country churches do lock – but we feel it's very important the church is kept open," says Tuck in Ashton Keynes. "There's a churchyard that's still used and families come up to visit the graves. The church is there if they want to pop in for 10 minutes."

St Mary's Church, Bishopsbourne, nestled in the gently rolling Kent countryside, looks even

less likely than Holy Cross to make the news for anything other than its well-kept hedgerows.

"Even though it's a country church it's a bit grand," says the priest-in-charge, Stephen Hardy.

"In Victorian times it had quite a makeover, including tiles by William Morris and an Edward Burne-Jones window. That's when the pieces came."

He is talking about two large candlesticks covered in semi-precious stones, a 60cm (2ft) high altar cross, a church plate, a bookrest, five small vases and a small candlestick, all made of brass.

They all disappeared just after Christmas.

Churchwarden Gill Applin made the discovery while tidying up in the church.

Hardy believes that by climbing up on to the organ, thieves were able to make their way over a screen into the vestry, where the brasses were kept.

"It was quite a shock," says Hardy. "As a young girl guide, Gill used to clean these things and now she's in her sixties. They're very much part of the family, you know."

Three people were arrested in connection with the case, but the items have not been recovered.

Such stories are repeated up and down the country.

St Michael with St Bartholomew Church in Great Lever, Bolton, lost brass crosses and silver chalices in a raid last year.

More recently at the Catholic church of St Joseph in Sheringham, Norfolk, thieves took the bronze "corpus" of Christ from a crucifix above a grave.

In Lewisham, south London, a bronze memorial to soldiers who died in the first world war was taken from the porch of St Mary the Virgin.

A couple were caught on CCTV wheeling it in a shopping trolley and convicted of theft but the memorial is still missing.

"We've got no intention of locking the church here in Bishopsbourne," says a defiant Hardy.

"We don't want to go down that sort of route. Churches are spaces that people do like to go into whether or not they're of great Christian faith. People like the quiet of a church, as a place to pray and reflect. Obviously we'd want to take measures to make access to the vestry even harder. But we'll manage. The other week a parishioner brought in two candlesticks she had at home to use on the altar and we put up a wooden cross."

Tireless worker behind first saint

2012-01-30T00:14:00.010Z

DETERMINATION to see Mary MacKillop become Australia's first saint and tireless work for the Catholic Church have earned Father Paul Gardiner an OAM.

Father Gardiner, 88, of Penola, started researching Mary MacKillop's life in 1983.

He served as Postulator for the Cause of the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop from 1985 to 2008.

"I sometimes wondered in Rome, working on this day after day, year after year, whether anyone else was interested in this, but we got there eventually," he said.

He researched and wrote Positio for the Cause of Mary MacKillop, a three-volume, 1500-page book on the life and miracles of Mary MacKillop.

This work led to her earning the title Venerable, her beatification and eventual canonisation.

Father Gardiner celebrated Australia Day with family and friends in country Victoria and said he considered being awarded the Order of Australia Medal more a recognition of the work of St Mary MacKillop than of his efforts to have her canonised.

"She was, from a human point of view, a very admirable person and if people imitated her behaviour - apart from her religious depth and her faith in God - if people imitated her ordinary way of dealing with her fellow humans, I think it would be a much better Australia," he said.

Sr Maria Casey, from NSW, who assisted Father Gardiner, also has been awarded an OAM.

Wakefield crash priest in the clear

2012-01-30T00:13:00.011Z

A Catholic priest who bumped into a woman’s car outside a church hall in Wakefield has been cleared of drink driving.

Charges against Canon Peter Maguire were dismissed after prosecutors failed to prove he had been drink driving in a public place.

Wakefield Magistrate’s Court heard last Tuesday that Canon Maguire appeared “unsteady on his feet” and “vacant” when he was challenged by Scarlett Hindle, who had been at a puppy owners’ club at the church hall at St John The Baptist Catholic church, Newland Lane, Normanton.

But Canon Maguire, 73, pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence - with his solicitor arguing that the incident took place on private land belonging to the church.

The court heard Miss Hindle had been attending a puppy club in the church hall on the evening of Aug 30 last year.

Giving evidence at the trial, Miss Hindle said: “After the club had finished, someone who ran it came in and asked who owned the blue Astra and I said ‘me’.”

“She said I think the priest has just hit your car.”

Miss Hindle then went into the car park and challenged Canon Maguire, who by that time was making his way into his home at the church presbytery.

She told the court he was “unsteady on his feet and seemed a little bit vacant.”

Miss Hindle said he suggested that they could sort out the superficial damage to her rear bumper between them.

But Miss Hindle called the police, who visited Canon Macguire’s home a short time later.

A statement from PC Matthew Grayson said that the priest admitted having “a couple of social drinks” and provided a positive breath test.

He was taken to Pontefract Police Station shortly before 10pm where further tests were taken and charged with one offence of drink driving and two other charges relating to his driving documents.

Although the facts of the charges were not disputed, Father Maguire’s solicitor Dennis Lofthouse told the court that they had occurred on private land belonging to the church and used by people on church business.

He said: “Only people with specific reason to go there should go there and because of that I would say it is a private, not a public place.”

Dismissing all charges, bench chairwoman Hazel Chowcar said the prosecution had not satisfied the court that the car park was open for general public use a the time of the incident.

She told Canon Maguire: “We therefore find the case not proved and dismiss all charges against you.”

Outside court, Mr Lofthouse said: “There was no evidence that he had or intended to drive on any public road. He regrets what happened. He would apologise to his congregation as he did apologise to the young lady.”

Catholic League: Jewish Rabbis Even Greater Abusers Than Catholic Priests

2012-01-30T00:12:00.016Z

Bill Donohue, the head of the pedophile priests supporting Catholic League, in an attempt to deflect attention from the regular, serious, and unresolved sexual transgressions, sexual assault, and child rape within the Catholic Church, pointed the finger at Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, saying, “[t]he most serious cases of the sexual abuse of minors currently taking place are among Orthodox Jewish rabbis in Brooklyn.”

Donohue, proving the ludicrousness of the existence and purpose of his entire organization, lambasted Jay Leno for a joke he made about an L.A. Bishop who recently resigned after revealing he had fathered two children.

Donohue claims also that Leno has “a long track record of bashing Catholicism.”

So, rather than work to fix the root causes of systemic and felonious issues within the Church, Donohue chooses instead to attacks its critics, hoping, praying that no one will notice the Catholic Church’s role and reputation in America is rapidly diminishing, even among America’s Catholics.

Jay Leno, according to the Catholic League, Thursday said, “I thought bishops could only move diagonally. I didn’t know they could move up and down.”

Donohue’s group added,

When making these remarks, Leno gestured with his hands, waving them side to side, and then up and down.

Leno went on to say, “Isn’t it amazing the bishop of L.A. confessed to fathering two children? But, hey, he didn’t use birth control, so at least he followed the church rules. Ya gotta give him credit for that.”

“The most serious cases of the sexual abuse of minors currently taking place are among Orthodox Jewish rabbis in Brooklyn, yet Leno would never tell a joke at their expense,” Donohue said in a statement.

“The rate of HIV/AIDS among homosexuals is 50 times higher than in the rest of the population, yet Leno would never tell a joke at their expense. [Note: making such jokes would be equally offensive.] But if there is one wayward Catholic clergyman, it’s not only acceptable to ridicule him, it’s okay to mock the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

(The disclaimer above is Donohue’s, not ours.)

Donohue offered no proof of his allegations, nor did he offer any compassion, help, or hope for any victims, regardless of religious affiliation.

Donohue, who earlier this month claimed that rape victims of the Catholic Church’s pedophile priests are “professional victims,” and “a pitiful bunch of malcontents” unable to move on, apparently is learning that we’re watching his every word. In the past, Donohue would not have inserted the HIV/AIDS disclaimer.

In fact, just two months ago, Donohue called AIDS a “self-inflicted wound,” claiming that if “homosexuals” followed the teachings of the Church they would not “self-destruct.”

But Donohue’s default position of trying to point the finger elsewhere is offensive and misguided.

No doubt there are child abuse problems in the Jewish community also, but Donohue neither works for the Jewish community, nor the Islamic community, nor any other community.

If Donohue spent his time working to prevent abuse, working to help victims of child rape by the Catholic Church — rather than, say, assist Archbishop Dolan to bash 16-year old abuse victims — then perhaps he would be qualified to point fingers and call his organization the “Catholic League.”

Because right now, it’s merely a league of one extraordinary bigot.

Vandalized, decapitated Jesus statue deemed a total loss

2012-01-30T00:11:00.006Z

A statue of Jesus was decapitated this weekend outside a Columbia Road church named after Mother Teresa.

The Reverend Jack Ahern, of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta at St. Margaret’s church, said that when he arrived at the church early Sunday morning, he found the statue without its head and knocked partially off its stand.

“The head was to its side in multiple pieces. It’s almost like he whacked the head first, and then pushed it off its base,” Ahern said.

Ahern said the statue was originally at St. William’s church in Savin Hill, but was moved to Blessed Mother Teresa several years ago.

Ahern said the statue touched, and was touched by, many.

“The statue was right by the sidewalk,” he said. “Kids and adults would walk by and touch the hand of Jesus.”

The statue is beyond repair, Ahern said.

He added that the parish has not yet discussed replacing it.

Boston police said they received a call for vandalism Sunday morning and will further investigate the incident.

Catholic church gets strict on money matters

2012-01-30T00:09:00.008Z

Ottawa's Catholic Archdiocese has changed its financial rules in the wake of a gambling scandal involving a former priest.

The archdiocese said a recent incident involving a Glebe neighbourhood church did not spark the changes.

But it did say changes were needed at its Catholic churches and now there are 12 new requirements detailed in a 15-page document.

The new changes to parish financial policy include having two signatures, including the pastor's, on all cheques; that bags for collections be tamper-proof; two unrelated people be involved in the handling and counting of cash and that council and committee members will not be paid for their service.

An audit of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, a church at 194 Fourth Avenue, discovered the church collected $3 million over five years of its former pastor's tenure, but had a net deficit of $40,000.

Rev. Joe LeClair, who is originally from Prince Edward Island, left the church in May after his problems with gambling and depression went public.

He entered rehab soon after and attended for a short time.

Ottawa police also investigated financial irregularities at the church because the archdiocese said it was beyond its investigative resources.

120101 Parish Finance Protocol Package

Liam Neeson 'considers converting to Islam'

2012-01-30T00:08:00.008Z

Liam Neeson is considering converting to Islam, according to newspaper reports.

The desire to convert has sprung from spending time filming in Turkey, according to The Sun.

The Northern Ireland actor, who comes from a Catholic background, told the newspaper that the call to prayer in Istanbul drove him to distraction for the first week of filming but he then began to find it "the most beautiful, beautiful thing".

Neeson, a former altar boy in Ballymena, said: "There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim."

The actor has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards during his career.

He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List and Michael Collins.

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson for 15 years before her death on 2009, when she suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort, in Quebec.

It’s not the first time Neeson has spoken about religion.

The 59-year-old faced criticism in 2010 after refuting claims by author C.S. Lewis that Narnia lion Aslan is based on Christ.

Neeson – who voiced the character in the film adaptation – instead claimed Aslan was based on other spiritual leaders including Mohammed and Buddha.

“Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries,” he said at the time.

“That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.”

Underground Protestant pastor unexpectedly released

2012-01-30T00:07:00.010Z

The Chinese government unexpectedly released a Christian religious leader.

After his arrest last year, Rev Shi Enhao was sentenced to two years of forced labour.

According to the ChinaAid Association, which had launched a campaign for his release, he was scheduled to spend one more year behind bars. He had been convicted for "holding illegal meetings and organising illegal venues for religious meetings."

Shi is the vice president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, a network of Protestant churches that is outside of the Three Self-Patriotic Movement, an organisation set up by Mao Zedong to control the country’s Protestant communities.

Like the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the movement operates as a de facto official Church on behalf of the regime. However, freedom of religion and pastoral activities within its ranks are limited.

In order not to submit to the government, many Protestants have set up ‘house churches’, small private places of worship run by clergymen who do not belong to the Three Self-Patriotic Movement.

As in the case of the underground Catholic Church, the government has come down hard on Protestant house churches.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has welcomed Rev Shi’s unexpected release. At the same time, it c calls on Chinese authorities to free other Christian clergy unjustly jailed, people like Alimujiang Yimiti, who was given a 15-year sentence in 2011, Gao Zhisheng, a Christian human rights lawyer whose whereabouts were unknown until recently when he “reappeared” in a prison in northern China, and Fan Yafeng, head of the Shengshan House Church.

ChinaAid’s campaign is similar to one recently launched by AsiaNews on behalf of three underground bishops and six priests, who have disappeared or are known to be held by police.

The year 2011 was terrible for human rights and religious freedom in China. The government has in fact intensified its crackdown against Catholics and other Christians as well as Tibetan Buddhists and Muslim Uyghurs.

What is more, as a way to resist international pressures, China's State Administration of Religious Affairs last month appointed nine spokespersons to brief the media, answer queries online and "enhance understanding of religious matters."

Orthodox Church in support of Putin: yes to crack down on immigration

2012-01-30T00:06:00.011Z

The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed its support for the proposal of the Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin for a crackdown on immigration in Russia.

This according to spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who is increasingly under the spotlight since the Church has emerged as a possible moderator between the opposition calling for a "Russia without Putin" and the central power, that wants to perpetuate the status quo.

"It is positive that the issue has been raised and that is to say that illegal immigration must be curbed with more stringent rules," said Chaplin, head of the Patriarchate Department for Relations with society.

"I think most people will support these measures, which will become proposed laws in the near future," he said in an interview with Interfax.

If elected president on March 4, Putin has proposed examinations in Russian language, history and law for immigrants to get a residence permit. Leveraging on "national and religious identity", the premier has also proposed stricter rules on immigration and internal trials for those who violate criminal laws.

It is a sensitive issue in Russia. Putin and President Dmitri Medvedev, have addressed it several times in the last year, after tensions between football fans in December 2010 transformed itself into a real urban warfare involving nationalists and Caucasian immigrants.

According to experts, the prime minister is trying to rally support among nationalists who support the protest movement against electoral fraud in the law of 4 December.

Putin has distanced himself from the nationalists, however, warning that the attempt to build a mono-ethnic nation is "the shortest route to the destruction of the Russian State and people."

Chaplin agrees with the head of the government that there must be no room for hatred or hostility based on ethnicity.

"Representatives of different countries are already suffering today and this hostility is an issue that should be treated with utmost care, because it can lead to conflicts threatening the future of Russia," warns the representative of the Patriarchate.

Even though immigration is the lifeblood for the Federation which for decades is languishing in "demographic coma”, it has become a source of strong tensions.

Thanks to immigration, experts believe in 2011 Russia reversed the demographic trend from negative to positive, for first time in over 20 years.

Change in the seminary - David Quinn

2012-01-30T00:05:00.010Z

Are reforms at Maynooth for the better or a return to the sort ofrigidseminary life of yesteryear, asks David Quinn.

Last week, this newspaper reported changes that are being undertaken at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, in the wake of the Apostolic Visitation conducted on behalf of the Pope by Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York.

One of the changes is a clearer separation between the seminarians and the lay student population of NUI Maynooth.

A lot of people probably don't realise the extent to which the seminary at Maynooth has been overwhelmed by the secular university.

The number of seminarians undergoing priestly formation at St Patrick's -- running into dozens -- is now only a small fraction of the much bigger lay student population which runs into thousands.

The days when clerical students dominated student life overall in Maynooth town are long gone.

What is more, the drastic shrinking of the clerical student population, and the huge expansion in the lay student population has coincided with a deliberate collapsing of the wall which once separated the clerical students from the rest of the world.

Cardinal-designate Dolan believes there should be a clearer separation between the two student bodies once again and this is what the president of St Patrick's, Msgr Hugh Connolly, has undertaken to do.

Changes

One change, as reported by The Irish Catholic last week, is the installation of doors to ''partition the seminarians' living quarters from the rest of the campus to which only members of the seminary community now have keys''.

Another recommended change, not yet undertaken, is that the two student bodies have separate dining facilities.

The big question of course is whether this is a change for the better or a return to the sort of rigid seminary life of yesteryear.

Back in the 1980s, Blessed John Paul II ordered an inspection, or Apostolic Visitation, of America's seminaries.

In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, sweeping and radical changes were made to seminary life right across the United States, as elsewhere. Some of the reforms were needed and others were of far more dubious value.

The visitation was undertaken by Cardinal William Baum, then Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Among the problem areas it found in the seminaries were the following: A ''blurring of the concept of priesthood'' and an ''undifferentiated notion of ministry''; inconsistencies in spiritual direction; under-achieving, unchallenging courses in theology; ambiguity and confusion about the nature and content of the Magisterium of the Church; overemphasis on practical field work experience to the detriment of theological study and reflection; failure to state clearly the seminary's expectations of students.

As an outsider, it is extremely difficult to tell which, if any, of the above difficulties are or were to be found at Maynooth.

This was the purpose of Dr Dolan's visitation.

Msgr Connolly told The Irish Catholic last week that he could not speak about the visitation for reasons of confidentiality.

Tradition

The main reason we know about the efforts to better separate the clerical students from the lay students at Maynooth is because it is visible and undeniable.

Is it a change for the better or a retrograde step? That probably depends.

Those who would argue strongly against this move are most likely those who have unhappy memories of their own formation which was often very rigid and authoritarian and unworldly, even anti-world.

If this change augurs a return to those days, then it is change for the worse.

However, in reaction against the way in which clerical students were once formed, it is possible to let the pendulum swing in completely the opposite direction and to have, for example, almost no separation at all between the seminary and the life of the rest of the students.

In fact, it would be an almost complete repudiation of the Christian spiritual tradition, indeed of almost any spiritual tradition, to believe there is nothing to be gained by withdrawing from the world for a period of time in order to better find God.

This is the very meaning of the word 'retreat' for example, to retreat from the world and spiritual retreats are still offered all over the country.

Contemplatives withdraw from the world entirely of course, and most priests and religious are not contemplatives.

It is not their calling to withdraw from the world in prayer.

They are meant to be witnesses to the Gospel of Christ in the world.

But this is not to say there is nothing to be gained spiritually by withdrawing from the world, either partially or completely, for a given period of time.

It should also be remembered that while Christians are called to be in the world, they are not supposed to be 'of the world'.

The changes flagged in this newspaper last week are very obviously an attempt to create a better distinction between life in the seminary, and the wider world.

If this produces overly pious, unworldly priests, then it will prove over time to be a bad change.

But if it produces more prayerful priests, priests who are holier, and not holier-than-thou, priests who have deeper spiritual lives, then it can only be a change for the better.

Above all, what the Church needs right now are holy men and women to lead it.

We should bear in mind also that Cardinal-designate Dolan has experience of reforming seminaries.

He was head of the North American College (NAC) in Rome, the US Church's version of the Irish College and helped to implement sweeping changes to the life of the seminarians while there.

Those changes have led to the NAC becoming one of the most vibrant seminaries in the whole American system.

With proper leadership, something of the same kind can happen in Maynooth.

Back to the cloister (Comment)

2012-01-30T00:04:00.016Z

You may remember that last year a number of Cardinals and Archbishops visited Ireland to investigate the Irish Catholic Church.

They were asked to report to the Pope on what reforms were needed in the Irish Church in the wake of the child abuse scandals and how they were handled.

The word now is that their first report – on Irish seminaries – has beenreceived, though it has not been published officially.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York investigated Irish seminaries and from developments in Maynooth it would seem that his wish is that a distinctive community be created whereby seminarians can be differentiated from other students on the Maynooth university campus.

Already, it seems, the Maynooth authorities have taken steps in implementing this approach.

Doors have been installed to partition the seminarians’ quarters from the rest of the campus; a separate entrance has been constructed at the rear of the seminary building; and there are proposals to build a separate dining hall.

Back to the cloister?

Sometimes with the best will in the world experts can get things exactly wrong.

And I fear that this is what has happened. It doesn't bode well for the other awaited reports. On the face of it closing down the shutters to cocoon student-priests seems not just like a failed strategy but a rejection of reason and common sense.

It seems more like sorting out the Irish Catholic Church along the new (old) lines rather than having anything to do with the reasons for the investigation in the first place.

Who believes that creating a hothouse atmosphere along the pre-Vatican Two seminary lines will contribute to the protection of children?

If history is to teach us anything, surely it’s quite the opposite.

Keeping out the tide is a failed strategy.

Better to teach people how to swim.

Exactly the opposite happened when I was in Maynooth over forty years ago.

Then the approach, inspired by the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council, was to open up the windows and let the air blow through the dusty corridors.

When I entered Maynooth in 1966, the seminary hadn¹t changed in a century and a half. It was, effectively, a kind of voluntary prison-camp.

You couldn’t get out of the place unless you needed treatment for a medical complaint and even then you almost had to apply for a visa.

We all dressed in Roman collars and soutanes, all of our waking time.

(We even wore soutanes over our football togs as we made our way to a match).

There were no televisions; you couldn¹t have a bottle of Mi-Wadi in your room and the Western People (like other local papers) was banned. It was a weird existence, that effort to keep the world at bay and God only knows the effect it had on us – or the damage it did to us.

We were being trained as monks – with a formation and spirituality to go with it – even though everyone knew that we¹d never see the inside of a monastery for the rest of our working lives.

Eventually reason prevailed and much of the old seminary structure was dismantled as seminarians were encouraged to take responsibility for their lives, to make adult choices, to understand the world in which we would seek to minister, to realise that pre-packaged answers (no matter how convincing they sounded in the hothouse atmosphere of the seminary) would butter very little toast after we were ordained.

Now, it seems, we¹re going back to the old wisdom – that seminaries need to be different.

Student-priests will be taught how to say Mass in Latin. Holy Communion will be received on the tongue.

Soutanes are back with a vengence and once ordained (or you become a black monsignor) you can wear a cummerbund (that’s a belly-band to the rest of us) over your soutane and under your surplice.

There are unprintable comments for such patent nonsense.

You know it's becoming hard to blame a priest-friend of mine who surveys the restoration policies emanating from Rome and who wearily concludes that there’s a fate worse than retirement or even death and that’s coping with the new wisdom in our Church that isn’t so much out of touch as completely out to lunch.

Craggy island rules.

God help us all.

Some years ago when the Patten Commission in the North sought to reform the problematic RUC in order to usher in a new policing dispensation, Maurice Hayes, a shrewd observer, argued forcibly against training policemen and women in a hothouse atmosphere, away from the general community in which they would work.

The worst thing, he argued, would be to create a separate educational institution, especially a separate residential educational institution, because such a strategy for the key formative years would lead to a detachment from the community.

This, in so far as we can judge, is exactly what’s going to happen (is already happening) in our seminaries.

In my time we were encouraged to integrate with the general student body – few in numbers though they were then.

We were encouraged to participate in inter-university debates. We were told to listen to the questions our contemporaries had, to suss out ‘the signs of the times', to measure our wisdom against the wisdom of the world so that we might minister effectively to the needs of our people.

Now there’s an almost Gadarene rush back to the safety of the cloister as if in some way this will serve the needs of our Church in the future.

We know that part of the problem with the Church’s failure to deal with the abuse scandals was that debilitating institutionally protective mind-set that the seminary did so much to form.

We know that if we want to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ – which is what the Church is for – we need to immerse ourselves more and integrate more in the culture in which we minister.

We know that we need open-minded and astute priests who will respect and be comfortable with the complexities of life today.

And we know that priests trained as hothouse flowers and who parrot a received wisdom will be ineffective agents of the Good News in today¹s world.

It isn’t as if we didn’t know all that.

So how come, time and again, a small cadre of well-meaning but injudicious churchmen try to convince us about the wisdom of putting the tooth-paste back into the tube?

Or does nothing matter anymore, apart from dismantling the vision of the Second Vatican Council and the memory of Blessed John XXIII?

Belfast bishop defends faith-based education

2012-01-30T00:03:00.007Z

A Belfast-based Catholic bishop has criticised opponents of faith-based education for portraying its supporters as social "luddites" and divisive bigots.

Dr Donal McKeown also said that media descriptions of recent criminal attacks as ''sectarian'' reinforce those who want to banish religion from education.

He speculated that most of the attacks were based on perceived political rather than theological differences.

Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr McKeown made his remarks last night in Belfast's Church of Ireland Cathedral.

He was speaking at a ceremony marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

He urged the churches to continue to prioritise working together to ensure access to explicitly faith-based education in Northern Ireland.

He said that some had accused faith-based schooling of dividing Christians and turning them into violent bigots.

He also accepted the right of people of no religious convictions to a secular education.

Nuns mark 150 years in Ireland

2012-01-30T00:02:00.008Z

The Bon Secours nuns marked 150 years in Ireland with the launch of an exhibition last Tuesday night which highlights their contribution to Irish society.

The exhibition, entitled Benediction, was commissioned by the order with help from Cork City Council.

Sr Marie Ryan, who leads the Bon Secours Sisters in Ireland, said while they are widely known for their hospitals, they also carry out important work in communities across the country.

"I hope that this exhibition goes some way to highlighting the breadth of work the Bon Secours Sisters have been part of since first arriving in Ireland 150 years ago."

The exhibition was launched at the Cork Public Museum by congregation leader, Sr Patricia Eck, who travelled from US.

"Since the foundation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, our mission has been to reveal God’s healing love to all we meet," she said.

"Our Sisters in Ireland have been doing so to great effect for 150 years and I’m delighted to be here to recognise and thank the Sisters for their important work."

Among the guests were Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Terry Shannon, and Bishop of Cork and Ross John Buckley.

Mr Shannon said the Sisters have a long-standing tradition in Ireland, while the group’s history in Cork stretches back to 1867.

"This exhibition is a wonderful way to acknowledge the contribution the Sisters have made to Irish society," he said.

The exhibition is open to the public Monday to Friday from 11am-1pm and 2.15pm- 5pm,and on Saturdays from 11am-1pm and 2.15pm-4pm.

Admission is free.

Archbishop Aymond focuses on St. Peter's character

2012-01-30T00:01:00.007Z

St. Peter should be the model for all bishops because he allowed God to use his strengths and weaknesses, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans has said.

“My brothers, as we come to this tomb, as we have the privilege to stand before the remains of Peter, this great man, we certainly pray for ourselves as shepherds of the Church, that we can have the mind and heart of Christ to follow the example of Peter,” he said in his Jan. 23 homily.

The Mass in the Crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica marked the start of an official visit to the Vatican by the bishops of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Archbishop Aymond focused his reflections on the Gospel passage in which St. Peter declares Jesus is “the Christ.”

He said the passage displays the apostle’s “profession of faith, his leap of faith, the courage, the boldness to step out into the deep and to say ‘You are indeed the messiah, you are the one who was promised.’”

But Archbishop Aymond also contrasted the strengths of St. Peter’s character with other times in his life when he failed to follow Jesus, even to the point of betraying him.

“It is important for all of us in ministry, in particularly for those of us in the episcopal ministry, that we look at the entire profile of Peter’s personality – his gifts as well as his weaknesses,” Archbishop Aymond told his fellow bishops.

“Peter’s weakness do not minimize his holiness ... because we see that Jesus uses both Peter’s strength as well as his weaknesses,” he observed.

Through this experience, the archbishop explained, St. Peter “learns humility and learns obedience,” giving an example for all bishops.

Archbishop Aymond is making the “ad limina” visit to Rome with 21 other bishops between Jan. 23 and 31.

The trips take place every five years and involve a meeting in which the bishops brief the Pope on the Church in their individual dioceses, visit with various Vatican departments, and make a pilgrimage to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The group is the fifth delegation of U.S. bishops to make their way to Rome in recent months, leaving 10 more groups on the American roster.

After this morning’s Mass, the bishops met with officials at the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for Clergy. Six of the bishops also had an audience with Pope Benedict.

In the evening they attended at reception at the United States Embassy to the Holy See, hosted by Ambassador Miguel H. Diaz.

Eucharistic Congress 2012 - Prayer

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000Z

Lord Jesus,
You were sent by the Father
to gather together those who are scattered.

You came among us, doing good and bringing healing,
announcing the Word of salvation
and giving the Bread which lasts forever.

Be our companion on life’s pilgrim way.

May your Holy Spirit inflame our hearts,
enliven our hope and open our minds,
so that together with our sisters and brothers in faith
we may recognise you in the Scriptures
and in the breaking of bread.

May your Holy Spirit transform us into one body
and lead us to walk humbly on the earth,
in justice and love,
as witnesses of your resurrection.

In communion with Mary,
whom you gave to us as our Mother
at the foot of the cross,
through you
may all praise, honour and blessing be to the Father
in the Holy Spirit and in the Church,
Now and forever.

Amen

India: The young, missionary Church challenges intolerance

2012-01-29T00:19:00.018Z

India has been for a long time (and perhaps still is) the ‘Country of Missions’ par excellence and has become the focus of an intense effort of Christianization made by the traditional Christian Churches and also by the recently formed Evangelical Churches.

And yet, India sends abroad one of the highest number of priests, missionaries and nuns in the world.

People in some areas of India have been reported to live in a state of persecution on all levels, at the hands of Hindu Radicals, supported by local and state authorities.

Recently in Bangalore there was a congress organized jointly by the Catholic Conference of Bishops of India and the Conference of Major Superiors.

This was the first congress on the theme of ‘Missions Overseas’. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai hosted the event.

The secretary general of the CBI (Catholic Bishops' Conference of India) has invited the organizers to arrange another national conference like this one as soon as possible.

The conference was called “Imac 2012” and it took place at the Institute of Theology of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Kernataka state, which as we are about to show is also one of the most affected by the drama of anti-Christian persecution.

The conference was attended by about forty dignitaries including the representatives of 25 missionary organizations, of religious congregations and dioceses.

Bishops of Catholic dioceses, Major Superiors of congregations, experts on missions and Indian missionaries with a great deal of experience in the field exchanged stories and ideas for four days.

According to Fr. Balthazar Castellino of the Missions Etrangères in Paris (Mep) currently in Madagascar, missionaries from India nowadays are present in 166 different countries. According to the information provided by Fr. Castellino, there are 6543 nuns, 940 priests, 226 diocesan priests and 159 Indian monks working in missions today.

Fr. Castellino warns that these figures fluctuate because the information is fragmented at best. The missionary, who is also the secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Madagascar said that the number of Indian missionaries currently in the field is about 15,000.

This is not an exaggerated figure, far from it, this number is bound to increase in the near future. More than 214 religious congregations today send Indian missionaries abroad.

The conference helped disprove the stereotype by which Indian missionaries are presumed to be mostly in Europe and North America. The testimonies of those present and the statistics presented at the Imac 2012 showed how the great majority of these missionaries actually work in Africa, South America and in the Pacific area.

Following this first conference the attendees released a statement highlighting the need to rapidly create an official structure in the Indian Church to educate and prepare future missionaries, but also to give support in terms of supplies and money to the Christianization effort, as well as the need to create a website and information centre.

There is another side to the Church in India, a sad one. It seems absurd that Karnataka, the very state where the conference took place, should also be the state where Christians (and other religions too) are most severely and widely persecuted.

During the recent Christmas festivities Karnataka was found to be, for the third year in a row, the most dangerous place in India for religious minorities. According to the Protestants who are the more frequent but not the only victims of Hindu violence, in the last year there have been 49 cases of violence and hostility against Christians.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India every year publishes a study on this phenomenon that for social, economic and political reasons is not likely to subside.

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), also based in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, has documented at least six cases of aggression against Christians between Christmas eve and new year’s eve last year.

For example near Mangalore, at Christmas, twenty assailants burst into a house where people were celebrating Christmas. These men were members of a society called Hindu Jagran Vedike. They attacked defenceless men, women and children with sticks and stones.

“These attacks are scandalous and are a stain on the image of a democratic and secular India,” declared Sajan K. George, President of the GCIC. But the real and essential problem is the impunity the Hindu radicals enjoy, in this instance for example five people were arrested but also quickly released by the authorities.

It is hardly surprising that the assaults have multiplied after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a radical Hindu party, came to power in the State of Karnataka in 2008.

That year there were at least 28 cases of aggression against Christians, which became 48 the following year and 56 in 2010.

Benedict XVI meets with heads of all dicasteries

2012-01-29T00:18:00.011Z

Vatican sources have stated that the plenary assembly dealt with problems relating to internal communication and the phrasing and checking of documents.

These types of meeting, where all Vatican “ministers” are called together, are scheduled haphazardly.

In recent times they have tended to take place twice a year so as to allow a broad discussion of topics on the agenda.

The meeting in question was held in the Vatican’s Bologna Hall.

The last meeting of its kind took place on 13 June 2011 and was defined as a meeting to coordinate the Curia.

The last meeting of this breadth and with the same levels of participation, was held on 12 November 2010.

One of the issues discussed, was the dicastery for the New evangelisation, led by Mgr. Rino Fisichella, which at the time was still in the process of being established.

Glasgow priest appointed to Vatican's UN office

2012-01-29T00:17:00.006Z

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."

Astronomer for the Vatican says U.K. a star

2012-01-29T00:16:00.017Z

Brother Guy Consolmagno, a staff astronomer and the curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory, travels about 100,000 miles each year, splitting his time between Tucson, Ariz., and Rome.

The planetary scientist also gives 40 to 50 talks annually at universities, schools and parishes around the world.

"Virtually all the cost of my travel is covered by the people inviting me to talk," said Guy, 59.

"And whenever possible I stay in local Jesuit communities, at one of our schools or parishes, which also certainly cuts down the cost of travel. Because I am a brother, people sometimes mistakenly call me a monk, but that is not technically correct. A monk takes a vow to stay within a monastery, but Jesuits live 'in the world.' Indeed our founder, St. Ignatius, once said that our vocation is to travel. Certainly, I do!"

The author of several books, including "The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican" and "God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion," Consolmagno has an asteroid named for him: 4597 Consolmagno.

Q: For those making a trip to the Vatican, what would you advise them to visit?

A: Well, everyone knows to see St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum. But most people, when they go to the museum, rush ahead to see the Sistine Chapel and miss out on some wonderful artwork on the way. In particular, I recommend that when you first get into the museum, where the signs all point to the left, turn right instead. This gets you to the coffee shop and the Pinacoteca, the small but wonderful collection of paintings. I find the series of musical angels by Melozzo da Forli are particularly charming. But the best part is a series of eight astronomical paintings by Donato Creti, made in the early 1700s, which show the planets as seen through a telescope. They include the first color depiction of the great red spot on Jupiter. Another wonderful sight, which requires advance reservations, is to explore the Scavi, the excavations underneath St. Peter's. (http://www.vatican.va)

Q: I understand you served in Kenya with the Peace Corps. What are some of your memories of that time?

A: That was 30 years ago, and I know that Kenya has changed a lot since then. What I remember most was how wonderful the people were and how much the countryside reminded me of a Tolkien painting — odd volcanic mountains and glorious but very strange vistas.

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A. I am quite partial to the United Kingdom, so I would have to start with London, Liverpool and Glasgow. Tokyo is fascinating and continually surprising. I lived many years in Boston and I still love to visit there because it's full of history, great museums and great food — and you can walk to nearly all of it. But lately my heart has been stolen by New York. As a Jesuit, I get to stay in parishes built to serve immigrants of the 19th century that are now in neighborhoods that are just wonderful to wander around. And, yes, I know that's six cities.

Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A: One trick I have never heard anyone else describe is that for long overnight flights, I put myself to sleep by listening to favorite audio books. Because I know the book well, it doesn't keep me awake. And when I realize that I have skipped a few chapters, it relaxes me by letting me realize I really have gotten some sleep.

Pope Benedict praises Twitter-like forms of communication

2012-01-29T00:15:00.012Z

He may be a traditionalist in terms of doctrine, but Pope Benedict XVI has again proved he is au fait with the latest developments online in an address praising the potential of social networks as well as warning of their limitations.

In what will be seen as a discreet reference to Twitter, he said: "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."

Reflecting on new forms of interaction in advance of the church's World Communications Day, the leader of more than a billion Catholics worldwide said: "The process of communication nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers."

He called for the relentless chatter of the internet to be balanced by silence and contemplation.

"Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers," he said.

"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."

"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."

Benedict held out the possibility that some sites might foster better communication than others, and urged the faithful to take note of them.

"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."

The Catholic church has made significant efforts to keep up with the digital revolution.

Last June Benedict tweeted using an iPad to announce the inauguration of a Vatican news service, and the hierarchy gave its blessing to an iPhone app that lets believers keep track of their sins.

The official Vatican twitter feed is at twitter.com/news_va_en and daily bulletins, including papal encyclicals and addresses, are posted on the Holy See's website.

Survey finds American majority in favor of abortion restrictions

2012-01-29T00:14:00.006Z

A supermajority of Americans supports significant restrictions on abortion, in contradiction to the Supreme Court decisions which require permissive laws nationwide, a new survey sponsored by the Knights of Columbus says.

“Almost four decades after the Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which resulted in the almost totally unrestricted abortion regime of today, these decisions continue to be out of step with the vast majority of Americans,” said Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll survey found that 79 percent of Americans say they would not allow abortion after the first three months of pregnancy.

Another 51 percent said they would only allow abortion, at most, in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother or they would not allow it at all, the Knights reported Jan. 23.

Eighty-four percent of survey respondents said that laws can protect both the life of the unborn and the health and well-being of the mother, an increase of three percent since a survey two years ago.

“Far from being settled law, the inadequacy of the Court’s reasoning on abortion in Roe and Doe is readily apparent to most Americans. Once a survey moves beyond the labels of pro-life and pro-choice, we see a fundamental unity among Americans in favor of significant abortion restrictions,” Anderson said.

The survey questions on abortion were part of a broader survey that will be released in February.

The survey polled 1,053 adults in the continental U.S. from Dec. 15 through Dec. 27, 2011.

It claims a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Catholic Healthcare West adopts non-Catholic governing structure

2012-01-29T00:13:00.006Z

Catholic Healthcare West, one of the largest health systems in the U.S., is changing its name to Dignity Health while adopting a non-denominational governing board in an effort to expand.

The new structure and name will help the organization to “grow nationally while preserving the identity and integrity of both its Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals,” Dignity Health said Jan. 23.

The system’s Catholic hospitals will continue to be Catholic under the direct sponsorship of their founding religious congregations and will adhere to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services produced by the U.S. bishops.

The non-Catholic hospitals will continue to be non-Catholic and will adhere to the “Statement of Common Values.”

Those rules prohibit abortion and in-vitro fertilization but not sterilization procedures like tubal ligations, the Sacramento Bee reports.

Sr. Judy Carle, S.M., vice chair of the Dignity Health Board of Directors, said the organization’s new name reflects its identity.

“The value of dignity is embedded in our culture. Our mission, vision and values were all formed out of the recognition of the inherent dignity of each person.”

Sr. Carle also cited a declining number of religious sisters as a reason for the structural changes.

The changes follow “several years of discussions” between the system’s sponsoring congregations, board of directors and management team about its future.

Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco, where Dignity Health is headquartered, consulted with other bishops and determined that the changes are consistent with Catholic morals and may proceed.

The system came under major scrutiny because of a 2009 incident at Catholic Healthcare West’s St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

The hospital’s ethics board decided that a direct abortion could be performed on a woman who was suffering severe medical complications.

On Dec. 21, 2010, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix revoked the Catholic status of the hospital.

The bishop’s investigation found that the hospital and its parent company were involved in a pattern of behavior that violated Catholic health care ethics, including the creation and management of a government program that offers birth control, sterilization procedures and abortion.

Lloyd Dean, the president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare West, said concerns about the system’s Catholic affiliation have hindered potential agreements with other hospitals.

“I have been contacted over the last couple of years by many, many different constituencies who have an interest in Catholic Healthcare West and what we have accomplished,” he told the Sacramento Bee.

Potential partners have asked about their future as a non-Catholic entity within the system, whether they will have to become Catholic hospitals themselves, and what the Catholic influence over them will be, he said.

The hospital system operates in California, Arizona and Nevada. There are 25 Catholic and 15 secular hospitals in the system. It is the fifth-largest in the country with about $11 billion in revenue and 6.2 million patients treated in 2011.

The system is also seeking to triple in size.

Dignity Health, in a Frequently Asked Questions bulletin, said the system’s long-term plans call for a “more integrated care” to enhance quality and reduce costs. The new structure and name “enable us to grow into a national system, welcoming both Catholic and non-Catholic care centers into the system, while respecting the identity and integrity of each.”

The change was necessary, the system said, because “inclusiveness has always been a priority for our sister sponsors” and because they wanted to ensure continued partnership with “others who share our values.”

The change “preserves our ministry in the Catholic tradition.”

The system’s governing structure is also changing.

Catholic Healthcare West’s original governing board was headed by the Corporate Members body, which was composed of representatives from each of the system’s six sponsoring religious congregations.

The board of directors was the second level of governance and was appointed by the Corporate Members.

In the new Dignity Health structure, the Board of Directors is the top level of governance and is non-denominational.

Spanish bishop urges Christians to remain hopeful in despair

2012-01-29T00:12:00.006Z

Archbishop Carlos Osoro of Valencia in Spain called on Christians in Europe to remain hopeful in the Lord, despite difficult circumstances in life.

Catholics must “keep alive the hope that comes from God, especially in this time of despair and disappointment, ” he said during a Mass at the Cathedral of Valencia on Jan. 22, the feast of the archdiocese's patron St. Vincent the Martyr.

“We live in a time in which we must not allow ourselves to be disturbed by the human situations that happen to us,” the archbishop remarked. “What comes from God is much more important than what comes from man, because what comes from God is hope and God gives man a way out.”

“It is precisely in a culture of despair and of disappointment where Christians must be present,” he underscored, “because God is hope, He is love, and God’s embracing of my life is what I also must share with others.”

For this reason, he added, Christians must never react to the present-day circumstances with “hatred, separation or rupture, nor consider others to be a bother or a permanent inconvenience.”

'Faith of our fathers' endures

2012-01-29T00:11:00.010Z

RITE AND REASON: The truth of the Christian message will always find a way through to humanity.

THE SENSE that Christianity’s slow death since the Enlightenment has been accelerating in recent decades in the West has, for some observers, been sharpened by the current dramatic slump in Catholicism’s fortunes in Ireland.

One might perhaps do worse than heed a piece of advice I heard years ago from a German priest. In situations of crisis, he liked to invoke the “Gamaliel Principle”.

By this he meant the principle enunciated by the famous Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel, in Acts 5: 34-39, when he advised against trying to stamp out the nascent Christian movement on the grounds that, if it were from men only, it wouldn’t last, but if it were from God, it couldn’t be stamped out. In other words, truth is ultimately in God’s hands, not ours.

Yet, a more pessimistic assessment of the dire situation in which the Catholic Church now finds itself in Ireland, would of course claim that it is not facing extinction, but has already long been spiritually extinct. Having sacrificed their language in the 19th century in the struggle for survival and advancement, the Irish proceeded to sacrifice their religion in the 20th, in a continued pursuit of not just survival, but success.

This view, which sees the demise of Irish Catholic Christianity as beginning ironically with Catholic Emancipation, can certainly be contested. But the impression is hard to deny that over recent centuries “traditionalism” has been a more powerful force in Catholic life in Ireland than “tradition”.

The distinction comes from the late church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”

The “living faith of the dead”, or “the faith of our fathers,” can still give life, and continues to do so at a practical level throughout Ireland.

But the public face of Catholicism has come to resemble a death-mask, no longer capable of registering awareness of a new age or radiating any vital connection with truth.

But this in itself may not be too alarming.

Christianity is neither a substitute for the world, nor a call to control and exploit the world.

Rather, Christianity sees itself as its leaven, or as the “salt of the earth.” Yet, if it fails to fulfil this purpose, it “is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men” (Mt 5: 13).

This may be a way of interpreting the current state of religious affairs in Ireland. It may be the divine judgment on what Catholicism has largely become at this juncture in Ireland’s history.

But becoming reduced, as a result of this visitation of the “Wrath of God,” to a “minority culture,” may not be the worst thing in the world. In fact, it might even be closer to the Christian ideal.It is salutary to recall that Christianity tells us we have no abiding city in this world (Heb 13: 14). And cities built by Christian peoples can even disappear almost entirely, without Christianity ceasing to exist or to be true.

The places most associated with the growth of Christianity, the places where the decisive church councils were held, where the beliefs of Christianity were refined and the great Christian thinkers flourished – almost all lying nowadays in modern Turkey and north Africa – are no longer Christian.

Yet Christian truth can endure.

So, it may well be that Ireland’s and indeed Europe’s public culture generally will, as time goes on, lose more and more of its hitherto overwhelmingly Christian veneer.

But the enduring truth of the Christian message will always find a way through to humanity.

For religion is not something we have, but something we are.

Similarly, the church claims that Christian truth is not something we have, but what God is.

And the living God can always be relied on to awaken living faith in the discerning human heart.

How the truth of Christianity will express itself in the future can safely be left in Gods hands.

Rev Dr Martin Henry is lecturer in dogmatic theology at St Patricks College, Maynooth.

Vatican says website gets up to 10,000 hits a day

2012-01-29T00:10:00.005Z

The Vatican's news website is getting between 8,000 and 10,000 hits a day with peaks of up to 16,000 hits over Christmas, the head of the Holy See's social media department said on Tuesday.

The website, which brings together all the Vatican's official communications and news from the Catholic Church around the world, was launched in June.

The data was announced by archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at a Vatican press conference.

Celli said the average time visitors spent on the site in English, Italian and Spanish was around two minutes, which he said showed that those consulting it were not doing so "by mistake" but were reading some of its continent.

Almost a third of visitors -- 27 percent -- were from the United States, followed by browsers from Italy, Germany and Spain.

There were also many visitors from Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

Celli said most the visits to the website were through social media networks -- with 65 percent from Facebook and 30 percent from Twitter.

Church of England's fudge on female bishops is breathtaking (Comment)

2012-01-29T00:09:00.007Z

The Church of England's House of Bishops – for which, read the archbishops of Canterbury and York – has explained how they hope to mollify the opponents of female clergy.

The proposals are breathtaking.

The archbishops envisage that the Church of England, once it has female bishops, will continue ordaining men who do not accept these women, finding them jobs they will deign to accept, and promoting some of them to be bishops who will work to ensure the continued supply of male priests who refuse to accept female clergy.

In fact, the church will pay three bishops (the formerly "flying" sees of Ebbsfleet, Richborough, and Beverley) to work full time against their female colleagues, and to nourish the resistance.

The General Synod, last summer, rejected the archbishops' plan to fix a reservation in law where the opponents could live as if nothing had changed. Now they have brought back the same proposals, but call them "a code of practice" instead. In theory, this gives both sides what they want. In reality neither will find it easy to accept.

Obviously this will be unacceptable to most supporters of women's ordination. But the cream of the joke is that it will probably be unacceptable to their principled opponents as well. The unscrupulous ones will, of course, be very happy with the deal.

Despite all these concessions, there will be female bishops, as there are already female priests, and these will be treated exactly the same as male ones – except by the men who don't want to treat them equally and who believe that God has called them to undermine women's authority wherever it appears.

This is apparently Rowan Williams's idea of justice.

It's also the logical outcome of a set of hurried choices made 20 years ago when the Church of England panicked itself by actually taking the decision to ordain female priests. People talked then as if the opponents – about a third of the clergy – would walk out en masse if they were forced to confront the reality of this decision.

So in keeping with Newton's law of Synodical inertia (which states that every decision must be accompanied by an equal and opposite decision) the Synod then decided that anyone who wanted to pretend that women would not now be priests must be helped to do so.

Parishes that did not want female priests were given a legal right to reject them.

Priests who could not accept male bishops who were in favour of women were given their own "flying bishops".

Women, it seems, were legally priests but it was entirely optional to believe that they were really, or in God's eyes, priests at all.

The expectation, then, was that resistance would die out by natural wastage. This did not happen. Presented by the Synod with the opportunity to organise, the opponents of women did just that. They were nothing if not sincere. Nor were they all Anglo-Catholic.

The Anglo-Catholic rump finally negotiated the deal it had wanted all along two years ago, and was allowed to join the Roman Catholic church as an "ordinariate".

This has been a monumental damp squib, and has no money, few members, and even fewer friends.

Not even an archbishop could fear anything from that quarter.

But the conservative Evangelicals are another matter. They refuse to believe that anyone is a "priest" (as opposed to a "minister") but they also refuse to accept that women should have authority over men. They are much richer, better organised, more numerous, but just as disloyal as the Anglo-Catholics.

But they are also legalistic.

They may be unable to accept any deal that spells out women will soon be on top – as, in principle, the proposed legislation leaves them: appointing a male surrogate "does not restrict or impair the authority of the diocesan bishop in any way", says the document.

This statement is extraordinary because it is unacceptable to opponents, because they might believe that it's true, and to the supporters of women, because they see very clearly that it is false.

It may be possible to fudge questions about the nature of a communion wafer in this way.

But I don't think it will do for a matter of employment law.

Italian cardinal brands tax evasion a sin

2012-01-29T00:08:00.007Z

It has long been regarded as more of a national sport than a misdemeanour.

And it has long benefited from the seemingly boundless indulgence of the Italian Roman Catholic church.

But now the head of the Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, has unambiguously declared that "evading taxes is a sin".

He called for "serious, effective and relentless" action against tax dodgers.

The cardinal's remarks are a boost to the technocratic government of Mario Monti, which is running a high-profile drive to root out evasion as it struggles to eliminate Italy's budget deficit and start paying back the country's €1.9tn (£1.6tn) public debt.

Among those often accused of avoidance, if not evasion, is the church itself. Its premises are exempt from property tax.

Critics have long maintained that the church takes unfair advantage of a 1982 law intended to benefit non-profitmaking organisations by claiming exemption for income-generating properties it owns, such as private clinics and guesthouses run by religious orders.

This and other tax breaks enjoyed by the church have been the subject of an inquiry by the European commission.

Monti's predecessor, Silvio Berlusconi, keen to maintain the support of the church in the face of sex allegations levelled against his private life, was reluctant to act.

Bagnasco's comments prompted speculation of an agreement to pre-empt the threat of action by Brussels against the Italian government.

Massimo Franco, a columnist for the daily Corriere della Sera, said: "The most likely hypothesis is that the cardinal's words put the seal of approval on an already drafted accord."

The head of the Italian bishops told his fellow prelates the church did not seek "improper self-exemption".

Churches now uninsured

2012-01-29T00:07:00.009Z

Timaru's Presbyterian and Catholic churches are without earthquake insurance.

While the date looms for the demolition of Temuka's Trinity Presbyterian Church, the dilemma continues for others.

The Catholic church has been told no earthquake coverage is available, while the Presbyterian church is hopeful of a solution.

Timaru Presbyterian Parish closed Chalmers Church and St Pauls in November after unease grew about worshippers' safety during an earthquake.

Although engineers have cleared Chalmers for use, the building is still considered earthquake-prone and will need strengthening.

The parish had been quoted $57,000 for full insurance cover this year, up from $20,000 in the past 12 months.

Ansvar, the company that insured the churches, cancelled its policies at the end of last month.

It faces $700 million in claims from the Christchurch earthquakes and elected not to renew earthquake policies.

Timaru Presbyterian Parish clerk Ken Falconer said he understood all parishes throughout New Zealand were in a similar situation.

"The cost is quite prohibitive; we've got to look at the overall picture and make the right decision."

Mr Falconer said Timaru's four Presbyterian congregations would consult with each other over the next couple of months and hope for no more quakes.

Presbyterian insurance group secretary Douglas Langford confirmed most churches in New Zealand were not covered for earthquake damage. He was not sure which parishes could or couldn't afford earthquake cover.

"We're going through the process of which parishes want it. Those parishes that want the facility will have it."

He said the bulk of churches would have earthquake cover within two months.

Catholic Diocese of Christchurch financial administrator Paddy Beban said the market was not prepared to give the church earthquake insurance.

"Our broker has been working with insurance companies; you can only take what the market is prepared to give. We're not sitting on our hands."

St Mary's in Timaru sustained considerable damage during the quakes when one of the church tower pinnacles fell and movement was recorded on the east side of the building.

Restoration fund chairman Ray Bennett said the church would likely receive an earthquake assessment at the end of this month.

Anglican Church spokesman Lloyd Ashton confirmed all the parishes were covered for earthquake damage.

"Replacement earthquake cover was confirmed before the end of last year."

Meanwhile, Temuka's Trinity Presbyterian Church will likely be demolished next month as contractors sort through the resource consent.

Archdiocese investigating priest charged with indecent exposure

2012-01-29T00:06:00.006Z

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has launched its own investigation into a Towson priest arrested this month on charges of indecent exposure at an adult store.

Mark Stewart Bullock, 47, is scheduled for a March 6 court appearance in District Court in Harford County on misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum fine of $1,000 and three years in prison. Church officials have removed "all his faculties to function as a priest," said Sean Caine, archdiocese spokesman.

"The archdiocese is doing its own investigation and will be speaking to anyone who might help us understand what is happening in his life," Caine said. "We need to understand what circumstances led to this incident. In the meantime, he is not allowed to present himself as a priest."

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Those who attend the Immaculate Conception parish in Towson called Bullock — who had entered the priesthood when he was middle-aged — a thoughtful preacher with a beautiful singing voice. He had been serving as associate pastor.

Known as "Father Stew," Bullock was ordained in 2006 with six others, the largest group of candidates in the past decade. He was 41, the oldest of the group, and had run a floral business before entering the seminary. His first assignment as an associate pastor was at St. John the Evangelist parish in Severna Park. He came to the Towson parish in July 2010.

Bullock was on a week's vacation at the time of his arrest Jan. 16 at Bush River Books & Movies, an adult store on Pulaski Highway in Abingdon. Two deputies from the Harford County Sheriff's Department were investigating complaints of indecent exposure at the store when they discovered Bullock nude from the waist down in a theater inside the business. According to charging documents, Bullock, who was seated on a couch, could be seen by patrons at the front of the building.

He was identified by his driver's license and gave his address as 200 Ware Ave., the rectory at Immaculate Conception parish. He has since relocated to a relative's home and could not be reached for comment.

Most priests' first-year assignments last only three years, but Bullock had stayed at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park church an extra year, according to a letter the parish pastor wrote to church members upon Bullock's departure.

In the letter, the Rev. Jim Proffitt wrote that the church had "been blessed by [Bullock's] caring compassion and inspired by his preaching." Proffitt could not be reached for comment Monday.

At Immaculate Conception, Bullock was known for his preaching and singing abilities, said John Gaburick, an usher and member of the pastoral council.

"He gave very good, well-thought-out homilies," Gaburick said. "They made you think. He had a tremendous voice."

A letter from the Rev. Joseph F. Barr, pastor of Immaculate Conception, was distributed to adults who attended Mass over the weekend, starting Saturday evening, Gaburick said. The letter informed them of the arrest, the investigation and Bullock's status.

Gaburick said he was astonished upon hearing the news. Bullock was reserved and "kind of laid back," he said.

"If I mirror the feeling of our people, no one's going to say, 'I thought so,'" said Gaburick, who has attended the church since the early 1970s.

Leon Podles, who lives in Florida but attends Mass at Immaculate Conception when he visits family in Baltimore, also noted Bullock's preaching skills and singing voice.

On Christmas, Bullock delivered a sermon that contrasted the hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with his visit to military-occupied Bethlehem, Podles said.

"[His sermons] were well thought-out and designed to get people's attention," Podles said.

Bullock is no longer allowed to say Mass, administer sacraments, wear clerical clothing or live at the rectory, Caine said.

Church officials have ordered Bullock to undergo a psychological evaluation. His removal from the ministry is indefinite and could become permanent pending the outcome of the investigation and the results of the evaluation, officials said.

"We expect that all employees of the church, whether priests or laity, model certain behaviors," Caine said. "When that does not occur, appropriate actions must be taken. The results of our investigation will dictate what those actions are."

Caine, a member of Immaculate Conception parish and its council, said the congregation is trying to understand what has happened and is coping with a range of emotions.

"This is a strong parish and will move forward," he said.

In his letter, Barr asked anyone with information relevant to the case to contact Monsignor Jim Hannon, associate director of clergy personnel, at 410-547-5302.

History is Made Again as U.S. Ordinariate Receives First Parish

2012-01-29T00:05:00.009Z

While parishes have previously been received into the Catholic Church in anticipation of the new Anglican Ordinariate, history was made on Sunday, January 22 when the first parish was received by the Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Since the Ordinariate's canonical structure is still being established, the parish remains under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Baltimore for the time being.

Mount Calvary Episcopal Church, who had voted to join the Ordinariate in October 2010, had to wait until their property issue with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland was settled.

Fortunately, they were eventually able to keep their building and ended up as the first parish received by the new Ordinary. Their reception took place Sunday morning with a packed out church of parishioners and supporters from the Episcopal and Catholic world in attendance.

Reverend Jeffrey Steenson, the newly selected Ordinary, made it clear during the Mass that he was operating by direction of Cardinal-designate Edwin O'Brien, Apostolic Administrator for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He will be officially installed as the Ordinary on February 12.

The Solemn Mass of Confirmation and Reception into the Roman Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter included the best of Anglican hymnody, anthems and chant superbly presented. Lasting more than two hours, for those who appreciate the contribution of Anglican liturgy and music, this was a time when heaven and earth touched.

During his homily, Father Steenson likened the beginning of the Ordinariate to a newly designed airplane that has yet to be flown. "We still don't know if all the equipment is going to work correctly right away," he shared with a grin.

He went on to say that the Ordinariate is being built on an "abundance of faith, hope and charity. We hope these things will see us through in the Ordinariate."

One of the key themes Fr. Steenson continues to highlight is the Ordinariate as a means of evangelization.

"We are called to do the work of the evangelization of souls; the call to be fishers of men."

Addressing the parishioners of Mount Calvary who were about to be received, he said, "Many of them may be wondering (about the rite of confirmation), 'Haven't I done this before?'"

To answer the question, he took the congregation back to the third century. Even in the early church, there were Christians who had left the Catholic Church, separated from those who gathered around Peter and His Successors.

During that century, when some wanted to return to the Church, a discussion ensued by the bishops of the time whether they should be allowed to repent and return. St. Cyprian, St. Dionysius and other influential bishops felt that those who have fallen away should return as if they had never been a part, through baptism.

Pope St. Stephen resisted their pressure, remaining committed to the vision of reconciliation, that nothing was more important than rejoining separated brethren. He declared that they could be reconciled and instructed that, because of their break in the relationship, they should have hands laid on them as a sacramental sign of the love and grace of the Holy Spirit.

As Fr. Steenson explained, this was continuing to happen, even today; Pope Benedict initiated the Ordinariate as an act of enormous pastoral kindness toward those who desired to come in.

At the end of his remarks and just before receiving the members of the parish, he took time to thank Bishop Sutton of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for "his gracious gift," regarding the settlement with Mount Calvary on the building.

"I have been a bishop and I know what it cost to do this," Steenson said, "and it cost him a lot."

Approximately 34 parishioners were received on Sunday, including their Rector, Jason Catania and Associates, David Reamsnyder, Anthony Vidal and Dr. John Huntington.

Talking with Jason Catania after Mass, he expressed his great joy that they have finally been received. "These great people have been through so much and have hung in there," he said, "and I'm so glad we've made it."

Catania and his associates will be among those candidates who will now begin pre-ordination formation toward being ordained as Catholic priests. In the meantime, they will continue to serve in administrative capacities with the parish until the direction of Father Carleton Jones, OP, who has been appointed as their chaplain.

Present for the Mass were many of the sisters from All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, MD. They made national news in 2009 when the Anglican convent was received into the Roman Catholic Church. They were later canonically established as a religious order within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The All Saints Sisters' relationship with Mt. Calvary goes back to 1872 when the parish's rector, Joseph Richey, invited three sisters to come from England and help them serve the poor in Baltimore.

The sisters were all smiles during and after the Mass, as the parishioners with whom they have loved, worked and worshiped now joined them in the Catholic Church.

While Mount Calvary has maintained a national reputation over the years as a strong Anglo-Catholic parish with high-church liturgies, one cannot talk of them without highlighting the incredible work they have done with the poor in heart of the city.

In addition to other projects, the parish and the sisters began the Joseph Richey House in 1980, an in-patient and home care hospice. Then in 2011, they began a pediatric hospice called Dr. Bob's Place - the only hospice in the region dedicated to children.

As a side-note, following the Mass, Fr. Steenson also conducted the first baptism of the Ordinariate. Solemn Evensong and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was held later in the day, with Fr. Eric Bergman of the St. Thomas More Society in Scranton officiating and Fr. Dwight Longenecker as the preacher. We will be posting a story on the evensong at future time.

Online petition against receiving communion in the hand

2012-01-29T00:04:00.005Z

Two priests from the Diocese of Sale in Victoria have started an online petition calling for Pope Benedict to change current communion practices to eliminate receiving the Eucharist in the hand, reports the US Catholic.

The petition by Fathers Andrew Wise and John Speekman is accompanied by a blog that details their case and some of the support they've received.

The petition cites "great spiritual harm inflicted on the Christian faithful" by the current practice and claims that receiving communion in the hand causes "the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament."

Pope: in relentless din of global communication, silence allows space for God

2012-01-29T00:03:00.010Z

In the world of communication, " people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware."

Hence the need to give space also to silence, "that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive " and to allow "others" to speak and therefore achieve a more complete communication.

These are the basic considerations that Benedict XVI expressed in his message by elaborating on the theme of the 46th World Communications Day - which this year is celebrated Sunday, May 20 - "Silence and the Word: path of evangelization."

In the document, the Pope’s considerations are related to the fundamental fact that solitude and silence are "privileged spaces to help people to find themselves and that truth which gives meaning to all things. The God of biblical revelation speaks without words. "

Silence and the Word, writes Benedict XVI are ": 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. When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning. 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; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves. 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". In silence we see "the most authentic communication taking place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other. Joy, anxiety, and suffering can all be communicated in silence – indeed it provides them with a particularly powerful mode of expression. "

" When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary." " 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." This makes sense especially in today's dynamic communications " 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. 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, however, 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. 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 skeptical opinions and experiences of life – all of us are in search of truth and we share this profound yearning today more than ever. "

"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. "

And "as shown in the cross of Christ, God also speaks through His silence." " The eloquence of God’s love, lived to the point of the supreme gift speaks in the silence of the Cross."

" If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God." " We need that silence which becomes 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 (1 Jn 1:3). Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love. "

"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 evangelization: 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. "

Fr. Gheddo to cloistered: a "prayer campaign " for the Church in China

2012-01-29T00:02:00.008Z

A "prayer campaign" for the Church in China, "which is at the most difficult and decisive crossroads in its recent history" is the request that the PIME father Piero Gheddo and Angelo Lazzarotto have made to 530 cloistered convents in Italy.

In formulating their request, Fr Gheddo writes that the Chinese Church "today is a beautiful hope for the universal Church and especially for the mission in Asia, the continent that is home to 80-82% of the world’s non-Christians!" but that it is "divided and is in danger of falling into a schism".

A danger that Fr Lazzarotto illustrates retracing the crisis "triggered November 20, 2010 when the communist authorities decided to impose an Episcopal ordination in the city of Chengde (Hebei province) without Papal consent."

"In the summer of 2011, the government imposed two other Episcopal ordinations, June 29 in Leshan (province Sichuan) and July 14 in Shantou (Guangdong Prov), even though they had been informed of the reasons why the Pope could not and would not give his approval. So the Holy See had to declare that the two priests who agreed to be ordained bishops did so contrary to the laws of the Church and as a result, automatically incurred excommunication. China protested. "

"Unfortunately – observes Fr Lazzarotto - the communist government does not hesitate to use bribes and even physical violence to achieve its goals. Last year it even sent the police to force several bishops to attend the Assembly in December 2010, and to perform the Episcopal ordinations. The government has created the Catholic Patriotic Association for this reason, which ends up marginalizing the bishops. This absurd use of force to impose specific religious choices, dishonors the prestige of the New China before the world. Numerous observers and scholars say there are far-left factions that are trying to take over the government apparatus: Let us not forget that preparations are underway for a major Communist Party Congress and leadership change.

As for the prospects for the Church in China, "there is need, of course, for new bishops. But the Church in China is in an emergency situation because since the closure of the seminaries, for 30 years, there have been no new ordinations. Today, the possible candidates for the episcopacy are all young men of about 35-40, and often lack experience. Thus, together with many bishops and other delegates who have tried in every possible way to refuse participation in the above mentioned events, there are those who have not been able to resist. It is difficult to know if their participation was voluntary or not because often they are chiefly concerned with ensuring the operation of facilities essential to the life of the Church, since the control over diocesan finances is often in the hands of members of the Patriotic Association. It is also common knowledge that a lot of money is flowing through the Association to a growing number of dioceses, parishes and seminaries, so those who do not cooperate with the government pay a huge financial cost. And, as always, accepting money means a loss of independence. "

In this context, "the past several attempts to find an understanding with the Communist authorities in China have failed because of the sabotage of certain forces interested in maintaining the state of conflict. But Benedict XVI, as his predecessors, never misses an opportunity to express his confidence in the Church in China, as well as his high esteem for the Chinese people and his respect for the government that guides them". And "even the Beijing authorities can not ignore the considerable prestige the Pope enjoys at an international level. Therefore, they too are open to improving relations with the Vatican."

"A constructive dialogue should be sought, in my opinion, in the practical field. The Catholic communities want to work for social peace and the common good. But it must be ensured that the Church can operate according to her traditions. In choosing candidates for the episcopate is essential that priests are suitable in terms of personal and ecclesiastical requirements. It cannot be acceptable that some entities, desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, place themselves above the bishops themselves in the leadership of the church community. As Pope Benedict XVI clearly stated. "

Reaching a valid and lasting agreement, in the opinion of Fr Lazzaretto, "requires a real miracle. We need, therefore, a crusade of prayer, knowing that 'nothing is impossible for God'. For this Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly called on Catholics worldwide to join the prayer of their brothers and sisters of the Republic of China. They have great faith in the Virgin Mary, venerated in many sanctuaries, especially in Sheshan (near Shanghai) where she is invoked as Help of Christians. In particular, the Pope recommended us to seek Mary’s intercession to "enlighten those who are in doubt, to call back the straying, to console the afflicted, to strengthen those who are ensnared by the allure of opportunism."

Amsterdam chief rabbi's remarks on gays cause outrage

2012-01-29T00:01:00.008Z

THE CHIEF Rabbi of Amsterdam, who is based in New York, says he believes his life will be in danger if he visits the Netherlands, following his suspension last week for signing a declaration which describes homosexuality as “an illness” and “an unacceptable lifestyle choice”.

Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag was suspended by Amsterdam’s orthodox community after he signed a public statement supported by 185 rabbis, mental health professionals and Jewish community leaders, maintaining that homosexuality is an aberrant behaviour which can be “modified and healed”.

The Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality caused outrage among liberal Jews when it stated: “We emphatically reject the notion that a homosexually inclined person cannot overcome his or her inclination or desire. Such behaviours are changeable.”

However, it was the fact that Rabbi Ralbag – who usually visits the Netherlands once or twice a year to issue legal rulings – signed the declaration using his official title of Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam which angered the city’s orthodox community.

“Rabbi Ralbag’s signature may give the impression that the orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam shares his views. That is absolutely untrue,” said a statement by the community’s board.

“Homosexuals are welcomed by Amsterdam’s Jewish community.”

The orthodox community’s board announced the rabbi’s suspension and demanded a face-to-face meeting to discuss his views.

Such a meeting looks unlikely to happen any time soon.

On Monday the rabbi announced that he and his wife believed their “lives would be in danger” if they visited the Netherlands.

He declined to give details of any specific threat, but said he had reason to take his concerns “extremely seriously”.

The transatlantic row continued to escalate, with fears of a schism between the more liberal and less liberal wings.

In Jerusalem, the deputy director of the Dutch Israel Centre, Esther Voet, called on Rabbi Ralbag to resign. “We need a chief rabbi in Amsterdam who is aware of our traditions – and that is not someone who flies in twice a year.”

However, the Conference of European Rabbis criticised the Amsterdam organisation for suspending Rabbi Ralbag, saying he had “done no more than restate what the Torah says about homosexuality”.

In the US, New Jersey rabbi Steven Pruzansky blamed Dutch tolerance for the clash.

“Dutch society is so tolerant, with legal prostitution and a sharp reduction in fidelity in marriage, that it is impossible for Jews to embrace the moral message of the Torah. They are in spiritual shock.”

Eucharistic Congress 2012 - Prayer

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000Z

Lord Jesus,
You were sent by the Father
to gather together those who are scattered.

You came among us, doing good and bringing healing,
announcing the Word of salvation
and giving the Bread which lasts forever.

Be our companion on life’s pilgrim way.

May your Holy Spirit transform us into one body
and lead us to walk humbly on the earth,
in justice and love,
as witnesses of your resurrection.

Amen

Pope: crisis of faith, a challenge even for Ecumenism

2012-01-28T00:24:00.013Z

The ecumenical commitment has borne "quite a few good fruit", but runs "the risk of a false irenicism and indifference," that is of becoming, a search for "rules for a praxis capable of improving the world."

"The center of true ecumenism, however, is the faith in which man finds the truth that is revealed in the word of God" and the unity of Christians is "a means and almost a prerequisite to announce the faith in an increasingly credible manner", especially at this time, in which "the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame without fuel in large parts of the world”.

The meeting this morning with the participants in the plenary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith gave Benedict XVI the opportunity to return once again to highlighting the timing and problems of the ecumenical journey, just a few days after the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for 'Christian unity.

A theme that Benedict XVI and his congregation have faced in prospect of the Year of the faith.

"We are facing a deep crisis of faith, - once again said the pope - a loss of religious meaning, which is the biggest challenge for the Church today. The renewal of the faith must be the priority in the commitment of the whole Church. "

"The theme of Christian unity is closely connected with this task."

"Today, we see quite a few good fruit from ecumenical dialogues, but we must also recognize that the risk of a false irenicism and indifference, quite alien to the mind of Vatican II, which demands our vigilance. This indifference is caused by the increasingly widespread view that the truth is not accessible to man, and therefore there is a need to find rules for a praxis capable of improving the world. So then faith would be replaced by a moralism without any deep foundation. The center of true ecumenism, however, is the faith in which man finds the truth that is revealed in the word of God. Without faith the whole ecumenical movement would be reduced to a form of "social contract" adhered to in a common interest."

"The logic of Vatican II is completely different: the sincere search for full unity of all Christians is a dynamic, animated by the Word of God."

"The crucial issue, which marks all ecumenical dialogue, is the question of the structure of revelation - the relationship between Scripture and tradition alive in the Holy Church and the ministry of the successors of the Apostles as witnesses of the true faith. The discernment between Tradition and traditions is critical. "

In this regard, the Pope said that "an important step in this discernment" was made in the measures for groups of faithful coming from Anglicanism, who enter the Catholic Church, "while preserving their own spiritual, liturgical and pastoral traditions which comply the Catholic faith."

"There is, in fact, a spiritual richness in the various Christian denominations, which is an expression of the one faith and a gift to share."

"Today, then, is one of the fundamental issues raised by the problem of the methods adopted in the various ecumenical dialogues. They too must reflect the priority of faith. Knowing that the truth is the right interlocutor in any real dialogue."

"In this sense, we must address the controversial issues with courage, always in the spirit of brotherhood and mutual respect."

Study documents also have "great importance", but "they must be recognized in their true significance as contributions to the competent Church Authorities, which alone are called to judge them in a definitive way. Ascribing a binding or conclusive weight to these texts regarding the thorny issues of dialogue, without proper evaluation by the Church, ultimately, would not help the path towards full unity in faith”.

The last issue addressed by Benedict XVI was "the moral issue, which constitutes a new challenge for the ecumenical journey. In dialogue we can not ignore the great moral questions about human life, family, sexuality, bioethics, freedom, justice and peace. It would be important to talk about these issues with one voice, drawing on the basis in Scripture and the living tradition of the Church. This tradition helps us to decipher the language of the Creator in His creation. By defending the fundamental values of the great tradition of the Church, we defend mankind, we defend creation. "

Clergy Bashing Queers In Limerick (1)

2012-01-28T00:23:00.042Z

A few weeks ago, we became aware via contact from the colleague of a priest in the Mid-West area that a group down there by the name(s) of MyLGBT (on Facebook) and Rainbow Support Services are actually discriminatory towards clergy!!!

From the information passed to us, it seems that last summer, a message was sent around by this 'organisation' seeking volunteers to take part in a 'peer education' programme and amongst the very few who responded was a priest.

He had his meeting with the youth officer by the name of Ms Dee Dooley neé Nugent and all seemed to be going well until another email was then sent by aforementioned Ms Dooley to the priest a few weeks later stating that they had done a background check and as a result, she claimed that the priest had been lying about their identity, and we quote...."we believe that if it were to come out that we had a person on our voluntary panel that is lying about their identity that it would be detrimental to the work we do to help our clients." (end quote)

She then further went on to say, "and Vanessa Buswell our coordinator and myself would be more than happy to discuss the matter with you further. Please feel free to contact us to make an appointment to call into to the office to see us both."(end quote)

The priest did indeed attempt on numerous occasions to make contact with them, but to no avail despite the invitation to so do.

He even went so far as to exercise his rights under the Data Protection Act to see from what source such malignant information in relation to him was sourced, and even supplied a letter written to him by his Bishop and other documents to attest to his sacerdotal ordination etc.

Rainbow Support Services failed to even acknowledge receipt of the letter (which was registered and a record of its delivery we have to hand) and eventually when the priest managed make contact with Ms Dooley she advised him she was "under directions from her boss not to communicate with you or even have a conversation with you about any of this." (end quote - taken from the recorded telephone call transcript).

And so it remains: this 'organisation' gets money from the HSE to provide a service, seeks volunteers, does background checks, makes assumptions based on false information, then when the real evidence is produced they realise they have ballsed up and then decide to shut down and go into denial in the hope the whole thing will go away.

We attempted to get in touch with the priest concerned but understand he is currently unavailable for personal reasons for at least next 2 months, and were then given his solicitors contact details.

His solicitor advised us that due to the breaking of the law in relation to failure to respond to Data Protection request and the matter being one of defamation, he has been instructed to instigate legal action against Rainbow Support Services, and could comment no further on the matter.

It seems Rainbow Support Services may well be needing to use more of its very straitened finances to fight this particular self inflicted cockup - and its services are also questionable to the extent that it doesn't have a website (under construction since 2007) and depends on other sites to 'advise the community of its services' - when they work.

This same organisation has had more addresses than the Irish post office has post office boxes alone, and only operates Monday to Thursday - when its telephone numbers work and the same said telephones are answered (which aint often in both cases).

They accused someone of having something to hide but yet they are hiding themselves by failing to respond to Data Protection requests, ignoring emails and telephone calls and then stating quite baldly they are under orders not to speak about the matter.

That will last only so long, and we will keep you all informed of its progress as we suspect this may yet get a little more interesting as time goes on!!

The irony of all this is that the Church is often seen as been neglectful and ignorant of the LGBT community the world over, and yet when they step forward to help this is the crap they get....many may say tis Karma...we call it a bad judgement call!!

Israel and the Vatican continue negotiations, next meeting on 11 June 2012

2012-01-28T00:22:00.006Z

The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the State of Israel and the Holy See held a plenary meeting yesterday hosted by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to carry on negotiations pursuant to Article 10, paragraph 2, of the Fundamental Agreement, dealing with economic and fiscal matters.

The meeting was chaired by Danny Ayalon, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mgr Ettore Balestrero, under-secretary for Relations with States.

A joint communiqué states that the negotiations took place in an open, friendly and constructive atmosphere. Substantive progress was made on issues of significance.

The parties have agreed on the next steps towards the conclusion of the Agreement, and will hold the next plenary meeting on 11 June 2012 at the Vatican.

The negotiations begun on 11 March 1999 and are required by the 1993 Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel.

Multiethnic Karachi, a challenge for Mgr Coutts in his new mission

2012-01-28T00:21:00.008Z

“Karachi was a fairly peaceful city,” said Mgr Joseph Coutts as he remembered it from the time when he attended the local seminary to become a priest.

It was “not subject to sporadic bursts of violence and terrorism, as it is now,” the newly appointed bishop added as he described the southern Pakistani metropolis, which is also the capital of Sindh province.

Speaking to AsiaNews about the city, which he knows very well, he stressed its multiethnic and multicultural character, which will be the main challenges of his new pastoral posting.

On Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the new archbishop of Karachi, in lieu of Mgr Evarist Pinto, in place since 2002, who has reached the normal age limit.

The 66-year-old Mgr Coutts was born on 21 July 1945 in Amritsar, British India. Since 1998, he headed the Diocese of Faisalabad, where he took the placed of Mgr John Joseph who killed himself in protest against the country’s blasphemy law.

Following studies at Karachi’s Christ the King Seminary, he was ordained priest on 9 January 1971 in Lahore. After that, he completed ecclesiastical studies in Rome from 1973 to 1976, and then became professor of philosophy and Sociology at Christ the King Seminary in Karachi from 1976 to 1980.

Appointed rector of St. Mary's Minor Seminary in Lahore, he was later elected as the Vicar General of Diocese of Lahore where he served from 1986 to 1988.

On 5 May of that year, he was appointed bishop of Hyderabad. In this diocese, he defended the rights of landless farmers and was instrumental in creating the new Vicariate Apostolic of Quetta.

After ten years of service in Hyderabad, he was transferred to the Diocese of Faisalabad on 27 June 1998.

Thus, Mgr Coutts performed his episcopacy in three of Pakistan’s provinces, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan.

As prelate, he opened avenues of dialogue with leading Muslim clerics and scholars in Faisalabad, and helped build bridges among the different communities.

For his efforts, he was honoured in 2007 with the Shalom Prize by the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt in Germany for his commitment to peace and interfaith harmony in Pakistan.

At present, he serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan and head of Caritas Pakistan.

“I am not a total stranger to Karachi,” the new archbishop of Karachi told AsiaNews. “I did my philosophy and theology studies there and then taught at the Major Seminary for four years while being pastorally engaged in a number of parishes.”

“But that was many years ago. Karachi was a fairly peaceful city then, not subject to sporadic bursts of violence and terrorism, as it is now. The population too has exploded largely because of refugees who have settled” in Pakistan’s southern metropolis.

“Karachi is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural megacity of around 15 million people,” he noted, that “grew in size and importance after the creation of Pakistan in 1947.”

By contrast, “Faisalabad with about 3 million people is in the heart of the Punjab”, which “In spite of its size, [. . .] still has a rural flavour with a homogeneous population. The Christians in the diocese live mainly in the surrounding small towns and villages. The way of living and problems of citizens in both the cities are dissimilar. The climate too is very different as the two cities are about 1,400 kilometres apart, one inland the other on the Arabian Sea coast.”

Cousin of priest who quit Church takes over parish

2012-01-28T00:20:00.007Z

A CATHOLIC priest who quit the Church for "private reasons" has been replaced at Masses by his cousin.

Ian Kennedy stunned the tiny congregation at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Ballinafad, Co Sligo, last week when he announced he was leaving the clergy.

Now his cousin, Father Alan Conway, a curate in Boyle, Co Roscommon, has been drafted in to the small Sligo hamlet to say weekend Masses.

"He was here last Sunday and made no mention of Father Ian or why he decided to leave his ministry," said one parishioner yesterday.

Fr Conway sits on the Elphin Diocese Vocations Committee, responsible for recruiting men to the priesthood.

Asked about Mr Kennedy's decision to leave the clergy, Fr Conway declined to comment.

Family friends say Mr Kennedy wants to "start a new life" outside the Church.

He was staying in the past few days at a house in Ballinacarrow, around 15km from Ballinfad.

"He won't go public on his reasons for leaving the priesthood because he believes it is an entirely private matter," said one Church insider yesterday.

"He leaves the Church with full support of both his congregation and the priests of the diocese. He wants to get on with a new life and perhaps meet someone and get married."

That view was echoed by one elderly parishioner in Ballinafad yesterday.

"He is welcome back here anytime. If he does meet someone and get married, we'd hope he would get married here in our chapel," she said.

"It's just a pity priests can't marry. If they could, we might still have an excellent parish priest."

Pubs hope to avoid Good Friday court battle over game

2012-01-28T00:19:00.006Z

Limerick publicans have their fingers crossed that they are not facing into another Good Friday drink court battle with the huge Munster versus Ulster Heineken Cup quarter-final set for the Easter weekend at Thomond Park.

One of the four games is set to be played on Good Friday, and the rest on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Amid huge controversy Limerick publicans had to get court permission to open on Good Friday for a Magners League game against Leinster in 2010, despite objections by the State. They were given limited opening hours from 6pm to 11pm.

Vintners’ leader David Hickey of Souths said: "We are hoping the game will be on Saturday or Sunday, but not Good Friday. Dublin publicans will also be hoping the same for the Leinster home game. But we have to wait and keep our fingers crossed until the fixtures are finalised."

Limerick Chamber of Commerce estimate the game will be worth more €10 million to the Limerick economy.

Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Jim Long said: "It promises to be a massive money spinner as the Northern supporters are great supporters and they will have plenty to spend given it’s a venue where they don’t have to go by air and then there is the sterling difference."

Ivan Tuohy, general manager of the Clarion Hotel, where the Munster team stay for home games, said they are already getting a steady flow of bookings.

He said: "It’s great having the team stay as guests can meet them in the lobby. The squad take up 30 of our 158 rooms and this one is going to be great for us and every other hotel in the city."

John Cantwell, manager of Thomond Park said Ulster will get 25% of the allocated tickets.

"We will have a full house and all our 1,300 hospitality sit-down meal packages will be taken up. Even if it is fixed for Good Friday, all our 16 bars will be open as we are one of the three venues in the country which have a sports event licence to sell alcohol on Good Friday. But Saturday would be our preferred date," he said.

Third of Church property to be still handed over

2012-01-28T00:18:00.007Z

Nearly a decade after the controversial indemnity deal for religious orders was signed, only two thirds of properties agreed have been legally handed to the State as part of the compensation agreement for abuse victims.

Latest figures show that 40 of the agreed 61 lands and buildings were legally transferred to the State by last month.

The slow negotiations saw only three extra properties transferred across during the last six months.

So far, just 65% of properties worth €40.9 million under the deal, have been transferred to the State by religious orders. The agreement was originally signed on June 5, 2002.

Correspondence from the secretary general of the Department of Education reveals 21 properties remain to be fully signed over to the State.

"The Congregations have agreed to transfer these properties under the indemnity agreement, subject to good and marketable title being furnished," wrote Brigid McManus in her letter to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee.

"Physical transfers of the properties have taken place and all of these properties are in use or available for use by intended recipients. While they have transferred physically, the Chief State Solicitor’s office continues to pursue the legal requirements issue under the indemnity agreement."

But committee chairman John McGuinness last Monday has called for an end to the dragged-out talks on the properties and said the Government needed to press Church authorities to close the deal.

"It has been a slow and painful process to get the Church to focus on this and deliver the deal. From the latest information, there needs to be a concentration of minds so the properties can go across with full title.

The State needs to push the Church authorities on this."

Of the lands yet to be fully transferred to the state, 12 are in Cork and four are in Waterford. The others are in Westmeath, Limerick, Dublin, Monaghan, Kerry.

The €40.9m transfer of properties so far is separate from extra cash payments which form part of the €128m deal for religious orders.

Religious groups have agreed to contribute €54.5m in cash, €10m for counselling services and €63.5m in property transfers.

Emigration not choice for many, says bishop

2012-01-28T00:17:00.008Z

MANY PEOPLE emigrating from Ireland today have no other option available to them, the chairman of the Irish Bishops’ Council for Emigrants, Bishop John Kirby, said last Monday.

“Sadly, for many Irish people today emigration is not a lifestyle choice, but a necessity. Our new emigrants are forced to leave behind family and loved ones because of circumstances outside of their control,” he said.

Bishop Kirby made the comments in a statement issued “in response to the recent public debate on the causes affecting contemporary Irish emigration”.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan was criticised last week after he said emigration was chosen freely by many people.

“There are always young people coming and going from Ireland. Some of them are emigrants in the traditional sense, but simply there are people who want to get off the island,” Mr Noonan said.

“For a lot of people going, it’s not being driven by unemployment at all. It’s being driven by wanting to see another part of the world.”

He later said his comments had been reported out of context and said he meant emigration was a lifestyle choice for some people.

Bishop Kirby said “while some Irish people may choose to work abroad – and this was especially true during the economic boom – many of our people now emigrating have no other option available to them”.

Our new emigrants, he said, were forced to leave behind family and loved ones because of circumstances outside of their control.

“Many Irish people across the age groups must now take on the challenge of building a new life for themselves abroad. At a human level this will be very difficult as they cope with loneliness and isolation.”

He said that since the 1950s the Catholic Church in Ireland had provided chaplains to Irish communities in Britain, the United States and Australia to support their pastoral and spiritual needs.

“Our chaplaincies in London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Sydney are experiencing increased demand for advice concerning issues such as spiritual and emotional support, medical, employment, accommodation, legal and immigrant status. We have found that many of the problems presenting are similar in nature to those we have dealt with in previous generations. The reality is that the new generation of Irish emigrants have had this lifestyle choice made for them as a consequence of the downturn in the economy.”

Call for prostitution legislation to be updated

2012-01-28T00:16:00.007Z

LEGISLATION NEEDS to be introduced to deal with organised prostitution, much of which takes place in private settings where the purchase of sex is not an offence under existing Irish law, according to Ruhama, the organisation that offers support to those affected by prostitution.

A discussion document on the possibility of such legislation criminalising the purchase of sex will be issued by the end of the month, according to the Department of Justice.

Although it is an offence to solicit prostitution in a public place, it is not an offence to sell or purchase sex, except in the case where someone knowingly solicits a person who has been trafficked for the purpose of prostitution.

Gerardine Rowley, communications and policy manager with Ruhama, said legislation needed to be updated given that internet and mobile phone technology has revolutionised how prostitution is organised.

“Since the 1993 Sexual Offences Act we have seen the introduction of the internet. The modus operandi of criminals has changed very much, so we need legislation to address how pimps are organising prostitution,” she said, adding that off-street prostitution was now the most common form.

She said that, although the advertisement of prostitution is illegal, pimps get around this by using servers located in a foreign jurisdiction to bypass legislation.

The criminalisation of the purchase of sex would help cut off demand for what are “hugely lucrative” and “serious organised crimes of prostitution” while also serving to raise awareness.

“Legislation can be used to change attitudes and when you change attitudes you change behaviours,” Ms Rowley said.

However, Ruhama is against any legislation that further criminalises women involved in prostitution. “This is not an equal transaction. Most of these women are vulnerable and do not have the same power as those buying sex.”

In December last year 27 men appeared before Limerick District Court charged with soliciting prostitution services from undercover female gardaí. They were charged under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 which makes it an offence for a person “who in a street or public place” solicits a person for the purposes of prostitution. However, this does not cover the common situation where prostitution is arranged via mobile phones and email.

CSO figures show that between the start of 2010 and September 2011 gardaí recorded 276 offences relating to prostitution, including soliciting or loitering in a public place.

They recorded a further 111 offences relating to brothel-keeping and 15 relating to the organisation of prostitution.

A group including representatives of the Department of Justice and gardaí travelled to Sweden last September to meet officials and experts to examine 1999 Swedish legislation which provides that a person who obtains or attempts to obtain a casual sexual relation, in any place, in return for payment commits an offence.

A report on the visit was published by the department at which time Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said a consultation document would be prepared to inform future legislation in this area.

The seventh Chinese cardinal in the history of the Church: John Tong Hon

2012-01-28T00:15:00.008Z

As they celebrate the New Year and enter the Year of the Dragon, Chinese Catholics have additional reasons for rejoicing: Pope Benedict XVI will make Hong Kong’s Bishop John Tong Hon a cardinal on February 18 and, for the first time in history, there will be three Chinese in the College of Cardinals.

Tong is the seventh Chinese cardinal in the history of the Church, and the first to be born in Hong Kong.

A quiet, scholarly, reserved, spiritual man, he spent ten of the first twelve years of his life in mainland China and has visited there many times since.

A student of Chinese philosophy, he gained a Master’s degree in the subject at the Chinese University in Hong Kong in the 1970s, and later taught it in the seminary. A source who knows him well says this mild-mannered man has absorbed much of the Confucian and Taoist way of thinking, and this is reflected in his style of leadership.

Since 1980 he has been Director of the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong, the leading Catholic research centre on the Church in China, and is one of the most informed people on this subject. He is also a member of the China Commission established by Pope Benedict.

A prudent man, with no illusions about the Communist regime in Beijing, he participated in negotiations with the authorities there prior to the British handover of Hong Kong in 1997. Indeed, this bishop and basketball player was one of the religious leaders officially invited to the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing on 6 August 2008.

He firmly believes that “only dialogue and negotiation can resolve conflicts” as he told Fr Gianni Criviller in a lengthy interview for Asianews, reproduced in Tripod (Hong Kong, 2009). At the same time he insists that Beijing has to “allow complete religious freedom and human rights to all our brothers and sisters in the Church”, if it wants normal relations with the Catholic Church. As cardinal, he can play a significant role by helping bridge the gap between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities.

Bishop Tong considers himself “unworthy and privileged” to be named cardinal, he told Hong Kong’s Sunday Examiner, January 9. He regards this honor as “a sign of the Pope’s great love and concern for the Catholic Church in China, and an encouragement for the efforts of the Hong Kong diocese in its efforts to promote reconciliation and full communion between the China Church and the Universal Church.”

Born to non-Catholic parents on 31 July 1939, the first of three children (two boys and one girl), when he was two years old when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong and his family had to move to Macau (his mother’s birthplace). Soon after, however, to ensure his safety, his parents sent him to stay with his paternal grandmother in a village in Guangdong province, mainland China (where his father was born). He remained there until the age of six.

After the war ended on 15 August 1945, he was reunited with his family in Canton, and started primary school. But then his father, an accountant, fell ill with tuberculosis, and his mother had to work as a teacher to support the family. “Those were very hard times. It was in those days that I learned endurance and tolerance”, he told Criviller.

After the war, his mother, who had studied in a Catholic school, decided to become a Catholic and was baptized. In the following years the whole family followed suit.

In those years, the Communists and the Nationalists engaged in fierce fighting in northern and central China, and many wounded, destitute soldiers sought refuge in Canton where the Tong family lived. The young John witnessed the compassion and love shown by the Catholic missionaries (American Maryknollers) in Canton to these people, and was greatly impressed. His parish priest, who introduced him to Catholic primary school, was among them and his example inspired him to become a priest.

When the Communists came to power in China, the priests suggested it would be better for him to go to Macau to pursue his vocation. His parents trusted the Church and agreed that it would be good for him to leave China, he told Criviller.

Tong entered Macau seminary in 1951, at the age of 12. His father, 42, died in the mainland the following year, and his beloved grandmother died some time later. After six years in Macau, he moved to the Holy Spirit seminary, Hong Kong, to study philosophy and theology. He was sent to Rome to study theology in 1964, where the Second Vatican Council was still in session. Ordained priest by Pope Paul VI, January 1966, he later gained a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Urban University.

On his return to Hong Kong, he went to live at the seminary and has resided there ever since. From 1970 onwards, he taught theology and Chinese philosophy there. In 1979, Bishop (later cardinal) Wu appointed him head of the newly created diocesan Holy Spirit Study Centre, a post he has held to this day. In 1992, the cardinal made him one of the Vicar Generals of the diocese in 1992, a post he held for seventeen years.

Pope John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong, December 1996. Pope Benedict named him coadjutor bishop, January 2008, and bishop on 15 April 2009, after Cardinal Zen’s resignation.

When he receives his red hat on February 18, there will then be three Chinese in the College of Cardinals: Tong, Zen and Paul Shan Kuo-hsi (Taiwan). But Tong is the only one under the age of 80, with the right to vote in the conclave to elect the next pope.

High tension between Moscow and Constantinople

2012-01-28T00:14:00.012Z

The two Orthodox patriarchates are increasingly divided by the arrest of Archimandrite Ephraim.

Constantinople rejects Moscow’s “interference” following the affair.

Synod at risk?

It came after more than two weeks - the official response of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the arrest of Archimandrite Ephraim, Abbot of Vatopedi, the main monastery of Mount Athos - and it did not spare a barb at the orthodox “brothers” of Moscow who sought to use the event to increase their influence on the Holy Mountain.

The silence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on whom The Holy Mountain formally depends, has made headlines: in support of the popular monk - friend to many of the powerful in Greece - the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow immediately jumped into the fray with vehement declarations.

Patriarch Kirill actually ended up writing a letter to Greek President Karolos Papoulias to ask for his release.

In a statement issued on 10 January, the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate remains extremely cautious on the subject of Ephraim, whose business activism was watched with some concern by Phanar.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople expressed “sorrow” for what happened to the Archimandrite, but reiterates its “established policy” to “respect…the independent investigation of the justice system,” avoiding “any kind of interference in outstanding judicial matters, especially inasmuch as it is not privy to the content of the relevant legal briefs.”

But the more interesting note concerns the “interference” of the Moscow Patriarchate, which - thanks to the closeness it developed with Ephraim - has tried to assert its authority on Athos at the expense of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The move has created tension, especially after the Archimandrite’s decision to bring Athos’ most precious relic - a belt that belonged to the Virgin Mary - “on tour” through Russia. Now, after his arrest, it even calls into question the Pan-Orthodox Synod that has been in preparation for years.

The statement of the Patriarchate of Constantinople reads: “As a result of statements made on the part of a sister Orthodox Church on this matter, the Ecumenical Patriarchate emphasizes that, as its canonical territory, the Holy Mountain indeed comprises Orthodox monks of different ethnicities but this does not lend a Pan-Orthodox character that would permit any kind of intervention therein by other Autocephalous Churches.”

It is if to say: “Moscow, stay out of the issue of Athos, and don’t take advantage of the Ephraim affair to appropriate what is not yours.”

Madrid refuses to withdraw the “blasphemous” photo

2012-01-28T00:13:00.008Z

The news agency ACI Prensa has declared that the active citizens’ web-platform Hazteoir urged the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, to withdraw a blasphemous photo showing actor Asier Etxeandia with the painting of Christ by Velázquez covering his genitals.

The photo is part of the exhibition “Camerinos”, which took photographer Sergio Parra twelve years of his professional career .

The exhibition includes fifty images on foil sheets, 1.50 x 2.25 metres, the pictures were taken without any preparation and without any subsequent retouching.

The images show various theatre, dance and music performers moments before going on stage.

The black and white photos show luxury dressing rooms, make-shift dressing rooms, world renowned artists and emerging talent.

The members of Hazteoir and other groups like Maslibres.org and AES demand that the Mayor withdraw the black and white photo taken by Sergio Parra called ‘Infierno’ (hell) from the exhibition at the Teatro Español (in Plaza de Santa Ana).

The photo shows the subject with his arms above his head and a ‘wound in his side’.

After being displayed at the Merida Theatre Festival, in July 2011 the photo was withdrawn following the decision of the Estremadura committee.

In that instance the complaints forced the president José Antonio Monago to order the withdrawal.

The exhibition in the Teatro Español, which still includes the photo, opened Friday and since then it has received several complaints.

The spokesperson of MasLibres.org, Olga Cuquerella said that the Mayor of Madrid , Ana Botella, has been asked to withdraw the photo immediately.

The petition was signed by 20,000 people.

According to Europa press, the spokeswoman declared the image offensive to ‘ religious feelings’ and said that it ‘ attacked the right of Christians “to require respect for their symbols”.

She added that she hopes the mayor will accept this petition following the example of Josè Antonio Monago, taking stock of what happened with the exhibition during the Merida Theatre Festival”.

The HazteOir.org petition, which can be accessed on the website, says:

Mrs. Ana Botella, I do not want blasphemous exhibitions to be organized with my contribution. I demand for the photo entitled ‘Infierno’, currently showing at the Teatro Español, of which you are in charge, to be withdrawn from the exhibition because it is detrimental to religious feelings and the right of Christians to require respect for their symbols. Following the citizens’ appeal, the photo was withdrawn by José A. Monago. I beg you to do the same. Regards

What happens when the carnival comes to church...

2012-01-28T00:12:00.011Z

Rivers of beer and sensual pole dancing in church.

Protestant pastor Klaas Bakker had offered Saint Catherine, a historical sacred building towering over the main square in the Dutch city of Doetichem, as the location for an annual ceremony held by the local carnival company.

But, contrary to the agreement established with local religious authorities, the event’s organisers put up a pole in the central nave of what had once been one of the main places of Catholic worship in the region, until the Protestant Reformation.

The images of the lap dancer strutting her stuff in church have caused a scandal in the Netherlands.

What happened in Doetinchem is the latest of a series of events that have transformed sacred buildings into highly unsuitable venues.

A few days ago, Spanish Catholics protested through the mass media about some images which showed actress Paz Vega undressing in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Incarnation, patron of Gerena, in the Archdiocese of Seville, for the new Lambertz calendar.

“CatharinaKerk” in Doetinchem, the central church that was transformed into a dance club for one night only, suffered serious damages during the Second World War bombings and underwent a long restoration programme from 1948 to 1963.

Originally a Catholic church, it passed into the hands of the Protestants in 1591 during the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands. There are also two castles that form part of the ecclesiastical complex: De Kelder and Slangeburg.

Meanwhile, besides the trend of churches where worship still takes place, being used for “indecent purposes”, another phenomenon is also spreading across Northern Europe: Churches are being sold and used for other activities, whilst still maintaining their original structure.

This phenomenon is particularly prominent in the UK, where approximately 50.000 temples of worship are experiencing problems with expenses and many are already being used to house shops, markets or offices.

The phenomenon is also taking root in Italy, where some churches have undergone restructuring and now include a kitchenette. Then there are the small and solitary churches that are stuck in the middle of nowhere; or scenic structures overlooking the sea.

Some are luxurious baroque structures standing in historical centres while others resemble lofts. They have all been deconsecrated and passed down through the centuries from the Church to private owners (mostly decayed noble families) and put on sale.

In this case, architects and designers are employed to transform them into chic homes and offices.

In Italy, the oldest deconsecrated church on sale is the Volterra. It dates back to the year 850 and is worth 1, 6 million Euros. For some, permission has already been obtained to change the intended use of the building and can thus be turned into homes; as in the case of one church in Florence’s Careggi area, in which a 170 m space has been used to build a kitchenette.

For many churches, a plan has already been laid out to make them more comfortable. Chapels annexed to disused convents, immersed in spacious gardens, are very attractive and are ideal for agritourism businesses.

The Holy See and the national episcopates have warned time and time again that sacred buildings cannot just be used in any which way, not even after they have been deconsecrated, if their external appearance is obviously that of a church.

If the structure in question is a warehouse being used temporarily as a centre for religious worship, this poses no problems for ecclesiastical authorities the day it falls into disuse.

But the structure in question is a church, it will require certain care.

A certain cultural and religious sensitivity will need to be shown in relation to structures that remain places of worship in people’s collective memory.

In the calendar for the German chocolate company Lambertz, the Spanish actress Paz Vega was photographed nude inside a church in Seville.

The images represent a mix of eroticism and traditional religious imagination.

The Secretary of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Incarnation in Gerena, Antonio Manuel Marín defended himself against the protests of faithful, saying he had given permission for the photo shoot to go ahead, unaware that the actress was going to take her clothes off.

The calendar’s producers appealed to the “right to art” and Paz Vega herself assured: “I did not wish to cause offence. I did this with love, in honour of my country and my tradition.”

The Archbishop of Seville, Juan José Asenjo condemned what happened, including it among “the acts that undermine the sentiments of faithful, wound the sensitivity of those who worship the holy patron of Gerena and go against the regulations set forth in canonical law concerning the use of sacred places.”

Christians in Algeria: The challenge of staying unified and keeping going

2012-01-28T00:11:00.008Z

How do Christians in Algeria, who represent just 1% of the majority Muslim population, feel about Christian Unity?

The week of prayer for Christian unity worldwide, includes them too, even though they are only a very small minority in the largest country of the African continent.

‘This is the land of St. Augustine and in the 3rd Century, the Christian faith flourished here” explains Sister Sandra Catapano of the Missionary Sisters of our Lady of Apostles, who lives in the city of Orano.

“But after several waves of Islamic invasion, the Christian faith only survived by being passed down from generation to generation. In the last century it has suffered two major losses, first the departure of a large number of French Christians who went home after Algeria was declared independent in 1962 and second later on the loss of assets and jobs. Now it is only a modest presence in the country, socially loved by many and officially tolerated.”

But unexpectedly immigration has revitalized Christianity in Algeria. Six years ago many Christians arrived, they came from African Countries beyond the Sahara desert, they were students or were looking for work. This situation prompted questions and support by the community in Orano and has fuelled the desire of many to understand and interact with other religions.

“Our parish church, the cathedral of St Maria, has opened its doors to hundreds of Christians, to Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestants, to the Coptic-Orthodox and Coptic-Catholic Egyptians and to thousands of Asian workers. They don’t have an official place of worship or religious representatives here. So we meet in our Church which after mass hosts various prayer groups. More over during the major festivities, after the celebrations, everyone stays behind in the Centre, which is named after our illustrious bishop, Mgr. Pierre Claverie who was killed 1996, to share a festive meal and different groups take turns to cook. With the help of the authority figures of the different ethnic communities we support a scheme whereby a priest can visit the immigrants who are in hospital. There have been many births in the last few months and many parents, including from other Christian faiths, have asked us to baptize their children.”

The parish pastoral council is also ecumenical, there are 25 members including 5 representatives of other religions and they all participate in the life of the only Christian centre within reach, the cathedral of St Maria. There are also some young people like Tiaret.

“Last time” reminisced sister Sandra” he told us of his joy in seeing a small prayer group form among the young Protestants. The young people of our community join them is prayer and the Protestants in turn join in with them in Friday communion. This also happens in the city of Tlemcen. It is not unusual to hear people here say that the Catholic Church here in the land of Algeria is like a family to them, a place of integration!”

Faith and football: An unfortunate pairing

2012-01-28T00:10:00.011Z

The relationship between football support and religious belief represents a controversial chapter in the history of football.

The Hungarian Mtk team of Budapest, the Dutch team Ajax and Tottenham in England, are all Jewish clubs par excellence.

Their supporters wave flags donning the Star of David and encourage their favourite players with slogans like “joden” or “yid”. But in today’s era of ‘social networks’ and global communication, some infamous religious-diplomatic incidents have been occurring.

A spokesperson of the Israeli Centre of Information and Documentation (CIDI) referred to the hashtag on a message posted on a trending topic (words or topics that are tagged at a greater rate than other tags) on Twitter as ‘extremely distasteful’.

The hashtag #jodengaaneraan (rough translation: the Jews never had it) was used in connection to a football match due to take place in a week’s time, between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord Rotterdam.

Ajax is often referred to as Jewish, while any mention of Feyenoord players often includes hashtags such as #BommenopRotterdam (Bombs on Rotterdam) which are a clear reference to the bombing of the city during the Second World War. Some tweets include links to images of the match.

The director general of CIDI, Ronny Naftaniel, says that the organization is trying to put a stop to hashtags but without success. “We weren’t able to contact Twitter,” he said.

A trending topic is a word/topic often used or discussed on Twitter.

“Of course, it is about football and of course it is about supporters. But if you say this with your head held high, apparently with a certain amount of pride, then you are on the same level as the Nazis,” said Mr Naftaniel.

The director general of CIDI refused to clarify whether the use of such words does in fact constitute a felony; ‘it’s definitely hurtful,” is all he said. CIDI is collaborating with the Dutch football association in order to prevent anti-Semitic slogans during football matches. Many people on Twitter condemn the hashtag. Previous tweets seemed to orchestrate the hashtag as a trending topic.

Jewish icons are widely used in Ajax merchandising. Tottenham’s ‘spurs’ stadium (‘White Hart Lane’ in North London, in the heart of the capital’s Jewish quarter), for example, also sells bagels, the ring shaped bread role that is typical of Jewish baking.

Tottenham supporters call themselves the “Yid Army”. In Glasgow, Scotland, “the ‘Old Firm’ derby (the collective name for the two main football clubs) between the Protestant Rangers and the Catholic Celtic, turns football matches at Ibrox Park Stadium into religious derbies: Protestants versus Catholics, English versus Irish, loyalists versus Independentists, the Orange Order against the Fenians.

Green and white are the colours of the Irish team, Celtic and blue is the colour of the Rangers who are loyal to the Crown and the Anglican faith. Rangers supporters are referred to as ‘Hun’ and are Protestant and pro-English. Celtic’s supporters live in Glasgow East and are referred to as ‘Tim’ (short for Timothy).

Thanks to an old ethnic-religious law, only Protestants could play in the Rangers, and only Catholics in the Celtic team. Today this is no longer the case, but fines are still issued to Rangers players caught making the sign of the cross.

In Turkey the Galatasaray, the country’s oldest football club is linked to the old Ottoman elite of the Lyceé Galatasaray.

Therefore the complex relationship between faith and football is truly an interreligious matter which involves all three main monotheistic faiths and even Buddhism. It is not just a team issue, but also a personal one.

In 1999 Giampaolo Mattei, a journalist of the L’Osservatore Romano the Vatican newspaper, interviewed 74 managers and players, asking them about religion and then wrote a book entitled Grazie a Dio (Praise the Lord) published by Piemme.

The Brazilian national team has many ‘Athletes of Christ’, Evangelical Baptist players who read the Bible every day and fervently carry out their apostolates. The former AC Milan and Italian national team midfielder, Demetrio Albertini, is deeply Catholic and his brother is a parish priest in Barbaiana, in the Northern Italian municipality of Lainate.

Another midfielder, former Roma player Damiano Tommasi was a conscientious objector and worked with Caritas, he nearly entered into priesthood (but then met his wife Chiara.

“The Lord calls whoever he wants to”). George Weah, from a Christian family embraced Islam and said: “I pray regularly, 5 times a day, even in the street or if I am playing. I understood that Islam was the right religion for me and all the black people in the world.”

Roberto Baggio says he found the strength to overcome trials and obstacles thanks to Buddha. ‘After the accident I had, many doctors told me my career was over. Buddhism helped me achieve what I had been hoping for.”

The manager trainer of the very Catholic Irish national team, Giovanni Trapattoni was himself well “trained” in faith matters from an early age thanks to his home and his local church in Cusano Milanino “I come from a very Catholic family and my sister is a nun, I pray every day in the morning and in the evening and I always encourage my players to go to mass. I think that by attending mass a team finds better cohesion and serenity. You might lose a match, but you never lose sight of what really counts.”

On the other hand, Didier Deschamps, former Juventus midfielder and trainer and current Marseille Football club manager, lost his faith after the death of his brother in an air-crash: “If God existed, he would not allow such injustice. I thank my parents for a strict and rigorous education, a deep Catholic education. I am sorry I lost my faith in God, I am sorry for them as well as for me. I am an honest person. Honesty and gratitude I believe are the most important values.”

OSCE at the Vatican : Religious freedom a factor for stability

2012-01-28T00:09:00.010Z

“People in general have the idea of the OSCE’s role in the past but not about our role today and in the future”, says President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, Petros Efthymiou.

On Monday last he led a delegation to meetings at the Vatican with Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, and President of the Council for Inter-religious dialogue Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran.

“We don’t have security in Europe”, he adds. “We have the Euro-Atlantic dimension of security with NATO, we have the European Union, but we don’t have the Eurasian dimension of security. We have a void that stretches from Vienna to Kazakhstan. The OSCE is the only instrument that we have to work together, the United States and Russia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe”.

Security, cooperation and stability are not guaranteed by the absence of arms alone, notes Efthymiou.

More importantly through ensuring the fundamental human rights of the populations in the countries it encompasses (56 in total).

For that very reason, one of the biggest tasks the OSCE carries out is sending out election monitoring missions, particularly to countries struggling to establish democracy.

The Holy See has been a full member of the Organisation since its establishment in 1975.

December last, Archbishop Mamberti addressed the OSCE Ministerial Council held in Vilnus, Lithuania, where he encouraged the OSCE’s attempts to support religious freedom and praised the organisation’s concern to safeguard religious freedom in the participating states.

Special attention was put on education, religion, belief, religious symbols and expression in view of emerging restrictive legislation in some EU countries.

In filling the Eurasian void and in its battle against all forms of discrimination, the President Efthymiou says the Holy See is a key partner in “generating values and principles within the OSCE”.

“We are fully harmonised with the Holy See’s position on these issues” he concludes “especially when there are attempts to use religions for political purposes”.

Australian priest found dead in Cebu river

2012-01-28T00:08:00.006Z

Police are investigating the death of an Australian Roman Catholic priest, whose body was found floating in a river on the southern island province of Cebu.

The Rev. Douglas Leslie Rowe, 69, was found dead in the village called Can-asuhan in Carcar City, around 25 miles south of Cebu City, The Manila Times reported. He had been inspecting a parcel of land with two Filipino female companions.

Police said Rowe's companions -- Jan Rebutaso, a nun, and local real estate broker Sunshine Hoyo -- went off to take pictures of the land and left Rowe near the river at his request.

When the women returned they saw the Jesuit priest's body in the river, the Times' report said.

"His undergarments were below his knees," a police officer told the newspaper. "The two women rushed Rowe to hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival," the officer said.

Police said they are keeping an open mind about the death of Rowe, who was from Midland, a

suburb in Perth in Western Australia, until they get a forensic report.

But police said the women claimed the priest suffered from heart disease, was hypertensive and diabetic. He "could have suffered a heart attack or stroke while relieving in the river. We still don't know. There is an ongoing investigation," police officer Vicente Garcesa said.

Rowe was the founder of the Patrist Society of the Sons and Daughters of God the Father, based in Australia and had put up churches in Cebu City and in Meru in Kenya -- the two countries where the group had missions.

Rowe had specialized conducting retreats for nuns, priests and bishops for several years and was an author of several religious books, the official Web site of the order says.

He was also an accomplished jazz and classical musician.

In the Philippines every week the order feeds poor children "who have no proper home, no proper parents and probably no future," the Web site says.

"We also house children who have home related problems. We teach children and adults about God and about prayer."

Cebu City is about 360 miles south of Manila and regarded as the seat of Christianity in the Philippines because Western explorers, including Ferdinand Magellan, landed on the island's shores.

Missionary priests have been the target of rebel kidnappers in the Philippines but mainly south of Cebu on the island of Mindanao, a more heavily Islamic and also rebellious area.

Between 120,000 and 150,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the struggle between government troops and rebel groups seeking an independent Mindanao region.

One rebel group is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But the MILF also has had peace agreements with the central government and has actively helped free kidnapped people, including priests.

In November 2009, the MILF helped behind the scenes to free the Rev. Michael Sinnott, a Catholic priest.

The MILF leadership negotiated with disaffected rebel factions who were holding Sinnott hostage to hand him hand over.

Sinnott was walking in his garden the month before when men stormed his residence and hustled him into a waiting van that later was found abandoned along the coast.

Fears for his health mounted during his abduction because he required medication as a result from a heart bypass operation.

Sinnott, 79, and a native of Wexford, Ireland, was ordained in 1954 with the Missionary Society of St. Columban, an order that has been working with the poor of the Philippines since 1929.

Despite the good work done by the Columbans, the order suffered a kidnapping in August 2001 that resulted in the death of the Rev. Rufus Halley, who was killed by his abductors.

Mass celebrated in the Vatican for late president Havel

2012-01-28T00:07:00.007Z

A Requiem mass for the former Czechoslovak and Czech president Vaclav Havel, who died on December 18 aged 75, was celebrated by Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, in St Peter's Basilica Friday.

Sodano commemorated his personal meetings with Havel in the Czech Republic during the visits of the late Pope John Paul II and during Havel's visit to the Vatican.

Sodano pronounced one sentence in Czech. He recalled the statement of Havel, a playwright, dissident and politician, about the history of the Czech nation being firmly connected with Christianity.

The ceremony was concelebrated by Jan Mraz, rector of the Czech Nepomucenum College, and Giovanni Coppa, the first Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic.

Cardinal Sodano also quoted from the letter that Pope Benedict XVI sent to Czech President Vaclav Klaus after Havel's death.

The 45-minute mass was held 30 days after Havel's death according to the Catholic tradition and it was attended by about 100 guests, Czech ambassador to Vatican Pavel Vosalik told CTK.

The participants were representatives of Czech compatriots, Italy's representatives as well as diplomats from other countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Honduras, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia.

Close relatives and friends did not take part in the ceremony.

Havel's office said formerly widow Dagmar would not arrive over her work schedule.

A Requiem mass for Havel, last Czechoslovak and first Czech president (1998-2003) was held in St Vitus's Cathedral at Prague Castle on December 23.

Vatican says 2012 papal visit to Lebanon ‘very possible’

2012-01-28T00:06:00.009Z

A visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon later this year is “very possible,” according to the Vatican’s official spokesman.

The Pope would use the visit to deliver a document – known as an apostolic exhortation – that is the fruit of the discussions that took place at last October’s Synod for the Middle East.

“In the context of the publication of a synod document, it is very possible and reasonable for the Pope to go to Lebanon and deliver this message,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., told CNA on Jan. 23.

“Lebanon is certainly a country that desires the Pope’s presence. Given that the Pope has already been to the Holy Land, Lebanon is a place that would be an option to host the Pope for this purpose,” Fr. Lombardi said.

The Italian media is already speculating that the Pope will travel to the country in mid-September. Possible dates include Sept. 13, the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, and the following weekend, Sept. 22-23.

Pope Benedict could make stops in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut and the seat of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate, Bkerké, as part of his trip.

“Well that’s very much the hope there at the moment,” said Monsignor John Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, who recently visited Lebanon.

“There is a lot that would have to go into such a decision, and there are a lot of parties that will have to weigh in on that,” he told CNA, adding that a papal trip “certainly would be a most welcome sign to the people and to the Church there.”

Just over a quarter of the Lebanese population is Catholic, with the majority of those belonging to the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern Church in communion with Rome.

Blessed Pope John Paul II made a two-day visit to Lebanon in 1997 to sign the apostolic exhortation “A Hope for Lebanon,” which drew together the work of the Special Assembly for Lebanon of the Synod of Bishops in 1995.

A papal visit later this year would be Pope Benedict’s first journey to the Middle East since the emergence of the “Arab Spring,” a series of popular uprisings across the region that have toppled a number of dictatorships over the past year.

Mexican Archbishop Calls for Gang Cease-Fire During Papal Visit

2012-01-28T00:05:00.013Z

Archbishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago called on organized crime groups to ensure there is peace during Pope Benedict XVI's March 23-26 visit to Mexico.

The archbishop said in a press conference Sunday that he was asking criminal organizations to observe a cease-fire during the papal visit "in the name of all of Mexico."

"To those who do evil, if my word reaches them in some way, tell them to take into account that the time we are going to experience is one of peace and grace," the archbishop said.

Criminals "in the end are human beings" and will hopefully "avoid doing anything that will give us an experience of pain and death," Martin Rabago said.

Officials should provide security so people can travel on highways in peace, the archbishop said.

Pope Benedict is scheduled to stay at Leon's Colegio Miraflores during his visit to Mexico.

On March 25, the pontiff is slated to meet with Mexican and Latin American bishops at the Leon cathedral.

Facilities at Guanajuato Bicentenario Park, where Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in the morning on March 25, should be ready by the first week of March, Martin Rabago said.

The outdoor venue will accommodate about 750,000 people, who will need a ticket to enter.

Young people from the Queretaro, Celaya, Irapuato and Leon dioceses will form a human wall along the route that the pope's vehicle will travel.