Secular clergy numbers fall by a sixth in two years

The number of diocesan priests in England and Wales fell by more than 15 per cent from 2010 to 2012, according to the latest figures compiled by the Catholic Directory.

The total figure of priests across all dioceses dropped from 3,200 in 2010, to 2,708 in 2012, a decline of 15.4 per cent, or almost a sixth.

Over the same period, there was an increase in the number of retired priests, from 776 to 805, a rise of 3.7 per cent.

The decline in secular clergy is revealed in the new 2014 edition of the directory. 

The directory did not include statistics last year due to concerns about their reliability but the new editor, Sr Catherine Wybourne, says she has received up to date information from all the dioceses.

While recent years have seen an increase in the number of seminarians in England and Wales the decline in the number of priests continues to pose a problem for dioceses.

Earlier this month, The Tablet reported that at least four churches had been closed in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, in cases where the Archdiocese said the “future is not sustainable”. 

Parishes are also being merged and the Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, has said he cannot guarantee to provide a resident priest for each parish.

The Bishop of Northampton, Peter Doyle, last month disclosed that he is struggling to provide a priest for every parish.

In his diocese there are just 39 priests serving 69 parishes and 27 Mass centres.

Women’s ordination group to meet in Catholic church for first time

A women’s ordination group will hold their annual meeting in a Catholic church for the first time in their history.

Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO), which was founded in 1993, announced in their latest newsletter that their next annual gathering is due to take place at St Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Bristol.

They described the news that the gathering was taking place in a Catholic church for the first time as “historic” adding that their meeting, on 4 October, will focus on the theme of women in the diaconate.

“This appears to be a subject in the air at present and poses the question: could it be opened to women in the future and if so would members of CWO support the idea?” the newsletter stated.

The question of whether women could be ordained deacons has long been discussed and was recently advocated by then Archbishop of Freiburg and Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Robert Zollitsch, who suggested a specific office of deacon for women.

Fr Richard McKay, the parish priest of St Nicholas Tolentino, said he was happy for the parish to host the meeting and personally supported the ordination of women.

“I understand not everyone would agree – that’s not a problem. But I do think it is a problem that you are not allowed to debate and discuss the matter.”

In 1994 Pope John Paul II said that the Church had no authority to ordain women and that this view “is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.”

On women’s ordination Pope Francis has said: “the Church has spoken and says no … that door is closed.”

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor and Ann Widdecombe add weight to campaign to buy recusant mansion Sawston Hall

A fundraising campaign has been launched to purchase one of England’s grandest recusant homes to put it back into church hands.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and former MP Ann Widdecombe have pledged their support for a bid to buy Sawston Hall, near Cambridge, which has been put on the market for £4.75 million.

The Grade-I listed Tudor mansion has three priest holes, some of which were built by St Nicholas Owen, who died under torture in 1606 having helped to conceal priests during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was canonised as one of the 40 martyrs of England and Wales and another of that group, St Robert Rigby, is also closely associated with Sawston.

The sixteenth-century house has five bedrooms, four reception rooms and a chapel and is set in 57 acres of land.

It was the family seat of the Huddlestone family for 500 years – in 1553 John Huddlestone had sheltered the future Mary I – but left the family’s hands in the 1980s.

It is owned currently by Stephen Coates, a hedge fund manager, who lives there with his family.

The campaign group, Save Sawston Hall, who want to buy the house, say they would transform it into a Catholic Heritage Centre and open it up for retreats and to the general public.

It has contacted prominent Catholics including the former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Bishop of East Anglia, Alan Hopes, is due to visit next week.

Spokesman Brian Plunkett said: “The house is … going to be a place for education, for understanding, for pilgrimage and rest. I’ve knocked on many, many doors and most of them are opening.”

This Roman Catholic Church Seems Completely Normal From The Outside But Go Inside And… NO

This quaint Roman Catholic Church located in the Czech Republic is known as the Cemetery Church of All Saints.

The name is a little strange for a church, but straightforward. 

And literal. 

That’s because, once you step inside the church, you’ll see the bones from 40,000 – 70,000 people adorning the walls. 

Thousands of human bodies are hanging from the walls, ceilings and fixtures inside of this church.

It’s hard to determine if this is respect for the dead or some kind of twisted art display. 

Given that the bones were exhumed and arranged, at the beginning, by a monk, it seems like it is the former.

Either way, it would be hard to take a breath inside of this church, knowing that thousands of dead bodies surround you, forever silent.

1. You would never guess that something so gruesome is on display within this church.
 
2. Thousands of skeletons hang inside of this church, mainly in the Sedlec Ossuary which is located beneath the main room.
 
3. Needless to say, this creepy church is one of the Czech Republic’s most popular tourist destinations
 
4. People are drawn to morbid oddities
 
5. And a church filled with dead people arranged in decorative patterns is definitely morbid
 
6. Lots of the bodies were buried in the cemetery during the plague in the 14th century
 
7. In the 1400s, a church was built on top of the cemetery and all of the bones were exhumed and put in the ossuary below
 
8. An ossuary is a room that holds the bones of the dead, similar to a mausoleum
 
9. It’s hard not to be impressed by these terrible, but beautiful, works of art
 
10. Someone at the church seems to have a sense of humor

Pope advances sainthood cause of Sisters of Charity of Quebec founder

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of eight candidates, including the founder of the Sisters of Charity of Quebec.

During a meeting Monday with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing that Mother Marie-Anne-Marcelle Mallet lived the Christian virtues in a heroic way and is venerable.

Mallet, who was born in Montreal in 1805 and died in Quebec in 1871, founded the Sisters of Charity with five other sisters in 1849. 

The institute, dedicated to the care of children, the sick and the elderly, operates today in Canada, the United States, Japan, Paraguay, Argentina and Congo.

The pope also recognized the heroic virtues of six other people. 

In each case, verification of a miracle attributed to the venerable person's intercession is needed for his or her beatification.

Also on Monday, the pope recognized the martyrdom of Fr. Pedro Asua Mendia, a Basque priest and architect killed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.

The recognition of Asua's martyrdom clears the way for his beatification.

Vatican sources: Pope Francis intends to visit US in 2015

Pope Francis has expressed an intention to visit the United States in September 2015, according to Vatican sources who spoke to NCR on background this week, who stressed that nothing is official and the date is too far into the future to be certain.

The primary motive for the trip would be the eighth edition of the World Meeting of Families, an event held every three years that was launched under Pope John Paul II in 1994 and is held in various parts of the world. 

The Vatican announced in February 2013, shortly before the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, that the next edition will be Sept. 22-27, 2015, in Philadelphia.

The family has been a major preoccupation both for the church generally and for Francis personally. Among other things, the pope has dedicated the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled for October, to the theme of the family.

Because the General Assembly of the United Nations generally meets in September, there is also speculation that Francis might combine the Philadelphia outing with a stop in New York to address the U.N.

Popes have not always attended previous versions of the World Meeting of Families, and there has been uncertainty ever since the election of Pope Francis whether he would make the trip.

This week, however, two senior Vatican officials on background told NCR that Francis has expressed a desire to do so. Given that the dates are still roughly 20 months away, however, they cautioned that many things could change.

As a rule, the Vatican does not confirm the dates of papal trips until shortly before they occur.

An official in the Philadelphia archdiocese told NCR on Friday that "these trips are never 'set' until they're official" and that church officials in Philadelphia have had "no official indication."

"We hope, but we don't know," he said.

If it happens, the trip would be noteworthy not just as Francis' first outing to the United States, but because of the context of a major Catholic event focused on the family.

Defense of the traditional family, defined as a union between a man and a woman and open to children, has been a major concern for the Catholic church both in the United States and in other parts of the world, especially in light of a growing push for legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

When Pope Francis met with French President François Hollande on Friday, for instance, a Vatican statement afterward said among other matters, the two men had discussed "the family" and "bioethical issues." 

The Socialist Hollande signed a gay marriage law in May 2013 after backing it during the 2012 French elections.

Some Catholic lawmakers in various parts of the world have cited the pope's now-famous remark aboard the papal plane in July with regard to gays, "Who am I to judge?", to justify votes in favor of gay marriage.

A Maltese bishop, however, recently said after a meeting with Francis that the pope had reaffirmed a 2010 statement while he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, that gay marriage represents an "anthropological regression."

In a September 2012 interview, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia told NCR he was concerned the Meeting of Families might be seen as a massive rally against gay marriage.

"The enemies of the church's position will say that's what it is," Chaput said. "It's important for us not to let that happen."

Despite the risk, Chaput said in that September 2012 interview that a papal visit would be a boon for the church in Philadelphia.

"Everywhere I've been where the pope has gone, it's been a moment of grace for the local church," Chaput said.

"I experienced that in an extraordinary way in Denver, where I inherited a diocese that had hosted World Youth Day," he said, referring to the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993. "That visit changed the face of Denver."

Privately, Vatican officials have expressed concern about a possible outing to the United States for a different reason: Francis is uncomfortable expressing himself in English. On the other hand, they note, that linguistic handicap has not prevented him from garnering high approval ratings among the country's Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

A late December CNN poll found that 88 percent of American Catholics have a favorable view of the pope, with the survey's director saying that Francis is "arguably the most well-regarded religious figure among the American public today."

Cardinal coordinator has high hopes for pope's agenda

Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, coordinator of the Council of Cardinals, has high hopes that the council will bring the central administration of the church up to date.

"There is a lot of hope and high expectations of the commission I was appointed to lead. I am sure that Pope Francis is in favor of making the Curia more agile and easier to work with," Rodriguez Maradiaga told KNA, the German Catholic news agency, on a visit to Germany in January.

The most important priority is to change the mentality of the Curia, Rodriguez Maradiaga said. The pope is against careerism, he said: Many priests who worked in the Curia had up to now automatically become bishops, archbishops, and even cardinals -- "but that no longer corresponds to the mentality of the world church, and bishops from all over the world have voiced their displeasure. Working for the Curia is a service and not a career or a position of power," the cardinal said.

Rodriguez Maradiaga said further important steps can be taken to make the Curia truly representative of the world church -- that is, more international -- and to give local bishops' conferences greater decision-making powers. "There are many questions that do not need to be decided by the Roman Curia," he said.

As to the Council of Cardinals: "One day, soon after he was elected, the Holy Father called me and said, 'Listen. I want to set up a commission. Do you feel you could lead it?' " 
Rodriguez Maradiaga replied he could.

"And that was how it began," he said.

"When we meet in one of the ordinary meeting rooms at the guest house, we address problems openly in a climate of confidence. We are here to serve and to make recommendations. That is what we have collected the chief concerns of the world church for," he said.

Asked when the first outcome of the Council of Cardinals' discussions would be available, Rodriguez Maradiaga said Pope Francis doesn't like precipitous decisions, so the council is proceeding by the Jesuit method of spiritual discernment, "which means devoting time to listening, dialoguing, praying, and only then arriving at decisions."

The council began with the question of the Synod of Bishops, as it was essential to expand the Second Vatican Council's doctrine of collegiality, he said, and then went on to the organization of the Curia, beginning with the State Secretariat and the dicasteries or ministries. 

Third on the list would be the pontifical councils, and the fourth session would deal with a constitution for the Curia.

"But as the C-8 is now a permanent institution, it will continue to advise the pope on reform. There is a great deal of hope. One suggestion is to found a Congregation for the Laity, who are, after all, the majority in the church," Maradiaga said.

The cardinal was questioned on three issues that have made headlines in the German church in recent months: the apparent tendency of Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a cardinal-designate, to contradict the pope; whether the bishop of Limburg, who has been told to take a time out by the pope until his finances are audited, will be allowed to return to his diocese; and how the German church, which is one of the richest churches in the world, is to put the pope's option for the poor into practice.

Müller is "still learning," the cardinal said. As a German theology professor, Rodriguez Maradiaga told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper that Müller is convinced something could "only be wrong or right -- and that's it. But I say: The world, my brother, is not like that. You should be a little more flexible when you hear other opinions so that you don't only say: No, this is fixed and final."

As to Limburg, Rodriguez Maradiaga said it would not be possible for the bishop to return. "I know that many of the faithful in the Limburg diocese are hurt. You don't pour alcohol on open wounds in order to heal them."

The German church is probably the most generous of any in the world church, and that was its contribution to the option for the poor, Rodriguez Maradiaga said.

"Could it be that no other local church in the world church is as generous and bestows as much aid as the German church? And that, too, is the option for the poor," he concluded.

Feathery fiascos: the unfortunate prey for peace

Photographers in St. Peter’s Square last Sundat caught the sad scene of a freshly released dove being attacked by a crow and seagull.

The annual dove launch by the pope and two children is meant to highlight the church’s call for peace in the world.

But, unfortunately, the forces of nature (namely hungry predator birds circling the square) usually prevail every year and the symbol of peace becomes prey.

I did a story several years ago that looked at the problem and an easy solution that would not appall bird lovers and would keep the children’s month of peace tradition flying.

Perhaps the advice and the story originally published Feb. 13, 2004, are worth repeating?

Wing and a prayer: Vatican doves sometimes turn chicken

By Carol Glatz 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The noble white dove has come to symbolize peace, fidelity, fraternity and hope, but the Vatican seems to have seen more than its fair share of doves suffering from a fear of flying.

Some might even say those doves are really just chicken.

What’s meant to be an impressive launch from the fifth-story window of the pope’s studio instead turns into a feathery fiasco. In 1998 both doves recoiled from their release and turned tail back inside the apostolic palace.

Delighted, Pope John Paul II said, “It is clear this is a house of peace, because the doves don’t want to leave.”

This scene of one or both doves diving for papal cover has been repeated over the years.

Most recently, on Jan. 25, call it stage-fright, call it premonition: One dove refused to leave the pope’s windowsill while the more gutsy of the two flew off to a grisly fate. One Italian newspaper reported the bird of peace was later found injured from a seagull attack.

The dove-launch over St. Peter’s Square occurs the last Sunday of every January after the pope’s Angelus.

The annual avian event started 25 years ago, said Father Antonio Magnotta, assistant to the Rome branch of Italy’s Catholic Action youth group. He said the group asked the Vatican if the kids could help celebrate what’s considered the month of peace with their bishop, Pope John Paul.

Each year, two children join the pope at the end of his noonday prayer, read a message of peace and help launch two white doves.

If only symbolism could be so simple.

“The problem is they toss the doves out with too much force; the bird doesn’t know where it’s going, so it boomerangs back to get its proper bearings,” said Bernard de Cottignies, veteran Vatican Radio journalist and messenger-dove fancier with several champion birds under his cote.

“To get a good takeoff they should slowly open their hands, let the bird get its sense of direction, and then it will go when it’s ready,” he said.

Launching techniques aside, how much is known about where the doves go at the end of the show?

“They head to the Vatican gardens, I think,” Father Magnotta said.

But officials at the Vatican’s immaculately pruned gardens told CNS that there are no white doves there.

“We have lots of grey pigeons, but white doves? I never saw them here,” said the head of the gardens, Elio Cortellessa.

De Cottignies said the white doves end up homeless and starving.

“White doves are usually bred for meat and lack the homing instinct of messenger-doves” — which are also known as “racing pigeons,” he said.

Another problem with farm-raised fowl, he said, is that the white dove cannot fend for itself in the city.

But luckily for the doves, there was a Good Samaritan looking out for them for a while.

“For five years I picked up the stray doves, half-starved and lost in St. Peter’s Square on my way home from work to take them to a friend’s house in the country,” confessed de Cottignies.

Although the release of doves onto St. Peter’s Square is wholly organized by Italian Catholic Action, once upon a time the Vatican used doves in its beatification and canonization ceremonies.

According to a Franciscan Web site, the Mass’s offertory after the act of canonization was made up of “wax candles, bread, wine, water, two turtle doves, two pigeons and a number of smaller birds” in gilded cages.

These offerings were presented to the pope and were meant to “lift up our hearts and minds to the love and contemplation of the supernatural,” the Web site explained.

“I remember in 1976 when the Scottish Jesuit martyr (John Ogilvie) was canonized, the Jesuits turned up with wine and a dove,” said Msgr. Charles Burns, a church historian who spent more than 25 years as an official of the Vatican Archives.

But Archbishop Piero Marini, the pope’s master of liturgical ceremonies, said that after the Second Vatican Council, the use of doves and other symbols in liturgical ceremonies was phased out in favor of simpler gifts.

“But the present-day tradition of the children coming to the pope’s window to release the doves is very nice,” Msgr. Burns said. “It’s a lot like Noah’s Ark,” the dove flying back from land, symbolizing hope and peace.

De Cottignies said there is a solution that would not appall bird lovers and would keep the children’s month of peace tradition flying.

“They could use white messenger-doves. They would have a much more stunning takeoff since the bird knows where home is and would head straight there with impressive speed,” he said.

New auxiliary bishop named for Sacramento

The Vatican has announced that Msgr. Myron Joseph Cotta of Fresno has been assigned as the new auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Sacramento, Calif.
“I am humbled by the faith the Holy Father and the papal nuncio have placed in me,” said Bishop-designate Cotta in a Jan. 24 press release announcing his appointment.
“As I prepare to leave the Diocese of Fresno, I thank God for the call to the episcopacy and for the many blessings I have experienced over 26 years of ordained priesthood among God’s people.”
The Bishop-designate currently serves as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Fresno, a position he has held for the past 15 years. In addition, he served as diocesan administrator of Fresno following the death of Bishop John Steinbock in December 2010, and prior to the appointment of Bishop Armando Ochoa.
Born on March 21, 1953, Bishop-designate Cotta grew up on a dairy farm in the Merced County community of Dos Palos. His grandparents were Portuguese immigrants from the Azores Island of Terceira.
He attended both public and Catholic elementary schools, and received an associate degree from West Hills Community College in Coalinga.
The bishop-designate attended the seminary of St. John’s in Camarillo, Calif., was ordained to the priesthood on Sept. 12, 1987, holding a bachelor’s degree and a Master’s of Divinity degree.
His previous pastoral assignments include serving as parochial vicar of St. Anthony Parish in Atwater (1987-1989); administrator of Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Laton (1989-1992); and pastor of Our Lady of Miracles Parish in Gustine (1992-1999).
Bishop-designate Cotta speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish. In addition to his duties as Auxiliary Bishop, he will also serve as Vicar General for the Diocese of Sacramento.
In the press release announcing the appointment, Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto stated that “I am grateful to His Holiness for giving me a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus as an able co-worker in this favored part of his vineyard.”
“Bishop-designate Cotta is a son of the Central Valley. He knows our people, he knows our land and mountains, but, most of all, he knows the Lord Jesus and is eager to share the Lord’s wisdom and charity with others.”
The episcopal ordination for Bishop-designate Cotta will take place Tuesday, March 25, in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord.

New Harrisburg, Pa. bishop 'stunned' by appointment

The Vatican announced that Bishop Ronald Gainer will be leaving his post in Lexington, Ky. to take the helm in the diocese of Harrisburg, Pa. – a transfer which is both a surprise and a joy.
“While I was completely surprised and, quite frankly, stunned by the news of my transfer, I willingly and happily accept our Supreme Pastor’s decision as God’s will for us and for me,” Bishop Gainer stated in a Jan. 24 press release announcing the transfer.
Bishop Ronald William Gainer, 66, will succeed Bishop Joseph P. McFadden as the eleventh Bishop of the Harrisburg, Pa. diocese, who died last year on May 2, 2013.
“In the coming weeks there will be opportunities for me to express my sincere gratitude to all the faithful of the diocese and to say our good-byes,” he said, but “for now I humbly ask for a remembrance in your daily prayers and at Mass, as together we face the challenges of this transition.”
Asking for special prayers on behalf of all of the faithful in the Harrisburg diocese, the bishop assured them that I will continue to pray for the faithful of the Lexington Diocese.”
Bishop Gainer was born on Aug. 24, 1947 in Pottsville, Pa., and was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1973 for the diocese of Allentown. He was consecrated and installed as the Bishop of Lexington, Ky. on Feb. 22, 2003.
The bishop completed his studies at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1973, having earned a Master of Divinity degree summa cum laude, as well as a licentiate in Canon Law and a diploma in Latin Letter from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1986.
For the majority of his priesthood, Bishop Gainer has served in parish, campus ministry, marriages and family, and tribunal positions, and was Secretary of Catholic Life and Evangelization for the Diocese of Allentown.
On a national level, the bishop is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Administrative Committee, as well as a member of the Committee on Priorities and Planning.
He has served as Chair of the Region V of the USCCB, and has also worked on the Committee on Catholic Education, the Committee for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, as well as a regional representative to the USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.
The bishop was also a liaison with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, and is a part of the Sacred Heart School of Theology Board of Directors.
The Diocese of Harrisburg is complies of 15 counties in Central Pa., including: Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union and York, and has an estimated 249,238 registered Catholics.
The Mass for Bishop Gainer’s installation will take place in the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Harrisburg on Tuesday, March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph.
As of the public announcement of the transfer, Bishop Gainer has officially become the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Lexington.

St. Therese devotees to launch Little Way social media campaign

Not long before he resigned, Pope Benedict XVI had written several times about the need for evangelization of the rapidly growing “digital continent” of social media.
 
This got Katie Moore and Lindsay Olson thinking. Both have devotions to St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), a cloistered Carmelite nun whose “little way” of finding God in everyday life inspired Pope John Paul II to the point that he declared her a doctor of the Church.

As publicist and marketing coordinator, respectively, for Image Books in Colorado Springs, Moore and Olson have been big fans of a book from the late Bishop Patrick Ahern, “Three Gifts of Therese of Lisieux” (Image), and were inspired with the idea to see if they could draw attention to St. Therese by getting #LittleWay to trend on the social media platforms of Twitter and Vine on Feb. 4, dubbed “The Day of the Little Way.”

“We like to think that Twitter is a tool that St. Therese would love because it is a simple, small way we can share our faith, potentially with enormous reach,” Olson said. “It’s 140 little — but powerful — characters. ‘The Day of the Little Way’ will call the shepherds forward (for the digital continent). Instead of hiding in the wings, Catholics be front and center on social media.”

Olson pointed out how Pope Francis continued the Twitter account @Pontifex started by Pope Benedict XVI, which with the push of a button reaches millions of followers around the world. . . . and that is before any retweets.

“Our hope for ‘The Day of the Little Way’ is that Catholics everywhere will recognize this powerful tool for their faith, and that they’ll choose to actively live their faith by the example of St. Therese in a little way on Twitter and Vine,” Olson said.

Participants will be asked in their posts to share stories of kindness from a stranger or a time when charity was practiced on another. They can also post, using the hashtag #LittleWay, their favorite quote from St. Therese, a passage from Bishop Ahern’s book or just a personal prayer.

In his book, former New York Auxiliary Bishop Ahern called St. Therese “a saint for our times.”

“It really hits on the fact that Therese is relatable, even in modern times,” she said. “St. Therese had a simple, yet powerful, faith that was rooted in her unconditional love for God. Her faith serves as a beautiful example of how we should all strive for sainthood.”

Moore said the #LittleWay event is in part a tribute to Bishop Ahern’s love for St. Therese.

“Bishop Ahern was always looking for new ways to share that love with others,” she said.

In “Three Gifts of Therese of Lisieux,” Bishop Ahern, who died in 2011, identified three gifts of St. Therese that were meaningful to him: her universal appeal, her conviction and her “little way.”

“It was his hope that these gifts would provide inspiration to others who are seeking to find more meaning in their faith and their journey to find God,” Moore said.

“The Day of the Little Way” also excites Olson and Moore because they are not sure what to expect when Feb. 4 arrives.

“One of the powerful things about Twitter is that you never know who you’re reaching when you Tweet,” Olson said.

One story of a stranger’s kindness that Moore can share occurred once when she was praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament in an adoration chapel. A stranger approached her and asked her to step outside, proceeding to give her a rosary.

“What he didn’t know was that I had been praying about a difficult decision and was looking for some kind of sign to let me know that I was on the right track,” she said. “This small gesture had a powerful impact on me because it reminded me of the closeness of God. I knew then that God wouldn’t abandon me in my time of need and that, if I remained open to His will, He would help me make the right choice.”

Olson recalled how, while once working in a public library, a man brought his son to her desk with a stack of DVDs that the son had stolen. The father went on to explain that he had been in prison for 10 years and missed out on key years for raising his son, but he did not feel it was too late to help him.

“He said, ‘I screwed up, but I’m here now and I know where the wrong path leads. I found the Lord in jail, ma’am, and he saved me,’” Olson recalled. “Now it’s my job to show that love to my son, even if it’s hard sometimes. I love my son. I want him to act like a man who is proud of himself. So he’s here to say he’s sorry for stealing. And I’m here to say I’m sorry to him for missing those 10 years.”

Moore and Olson suspect there are millions of such “hidden” stories out there that have not been told. They hope that, on Feb. 4, the digital continent will be awash in them.

Interested participants in “The Day of the Little Way” can learn more on the publisher's website.

Manoppello's Holy Face shrine sees uptick in US interest

The Shrine to the Holy Face of Christ tucked into Italy's Appennine mountains is starting to catch the attention of the world, particularly that of American Catholics.
 
“We have a lot of Italians, of course, and many Germans but now we're seeing more and more pilgrims from the U.S.,” said Sister Blandina Paschalis Schloemer, a Trappist nun and daily pilgrim that lives within eye-shot of the shrine.

The modest basilica there houses a curious image of the face of Jesus Christ. Depending on the light, it is at times visible and at others transparent.
Sr. Paschalis Schloemer herself proved that the face is exactly proportionate to that on the Shroud of Turin, but whereas in the Shroud Christ’s eyes are closed here they are open.

Some believe it is the storied “veil of Veronica,” the cloth Veronica used to dry Christ's face as he carried the cross to his crucifixion. Others say it is the “resurrection cloth,” a “sudarium” that covered Christ’s face in the tomb. Still others take it as a centuries-old hoax.

What is certain is that none of them can prove how the image – which is present on a fine mussel-silk cloth without the use of any pigments – was created.

Paul Badde, the German author of “The Face of God,” is convinced that it is the one and only “Holy Sudarium,” the “napkin” from Christ's sepulchre that Saint John refers to in his gospel. In revealing Christ’s face at the moment of the Resurrection, he calls it “the first and authentic page of all the gospels.”
Badde’s book is the story of how he reached that conclusion. When it was published, he sent the first copy to then-Pope Benedict XVI in the autumn of 2005. The German Pope subsequently dedicated his first trip to the shrine.

Badde said that interest in the “Santo Volto” has been gradually increasing ever since.

“Benedict XVI's visit there set a point of no return,” he told CNA. “In 10 years time we may hardly recognize the place.”

He said that Americans are playing a “key role” among the pilgrims in a place that “had never been heard of” until the 2006 visit. The Chinese are also discovering the Holy Face, and buses filled with pilgrims from Brazil and Argentina are pulling through.

Just last weekend, Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston offered an introduction to an exhibit on the “holy face” unveiled in New York City. While the Capuchin cardinal avoided taking sides on the debate of the image’s provenance, he did allude to the strength of such depictions.

“Images of Christ have the power to move our hearts, they can catechize without words and allow us to contemplate the beautiful face of God revealed in His own Son,” Cardinal O'Malley says in his introduction.
              
In Manoppello, the shrine is run by Cardinal O'Malley's own Capuchin brothers. And, the increasing international popularity isn't lost on them. The latest edition of the Manoppellan friars' 50-page color magazine dedicates the leading article to an Italian-language re-print of Cardinal O'Malley’s presentation at the New York “Encounter” event.
Later in the publication, U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, who heads the Vatican's top court, is photographed as he celebrates Mass before the veil.
Pilgrims in recent months include another Vatican cardinal, world bishops, ambassadors from Germany and Costa Rica to the Holy See and even the American Catholic broadcaster EWTN's European regional director.
For Sr. Paschalis Schloemer, it’s no surprise that interest is increasing. She says it’s the real deal.
“Here, he says, 'For you I am here.' He is always here and he is waiting for us and for every human being.
“When we open our hearts, he can manifest himself,” she said. “He can show himself and speak to us.”

Anti-superstition health drive launched after child dies in India

Negligence and blind faith led to the death of a student in far north-east India, and the Church there has responded with an anti-superstition education campaign for parents.
The child was a student at St. Xavier's primary school in Lazu, part of the Miao diocese in Arunachal Pradesh state. 

At a regular school health check up before the Christmas break, he was diagnosed with appendicitis.
St. Xavier's principal, Fr. Joy Moc, urged the parents to seek medical treatment for their son at a hospital during the Christmas vacation.
But trusting in supernatural, magical cures, and having blind faith, the parents failed to follow Fr. Moc's advice, and their son has died from the rupture of his appendix.
“An innocent life is lost,” Fr. Moc told CNA Jan 23.
“We do not want to repeat these incidents in future.”
In an effort to educate parents so that such an avoidable death can be prevented in the future, the Diocese of Miao has launched a health and anti-superstition campaign in Lazu.
On Jan. 17, more than 500 students and faithful of the diocese participated in the medical awareness program. A “Say No to Superstition” march was held, with participants holding banners with the slogan, as well as “health is our right,” “go to the doctor when you are sick,” and “right medicine at the right time.” The banners were written in India's official languages, Hindi and English, as well as the local language Ollo.
Bishop George Pallipparambil  expressed his sympathy with the community, and assured his solidarity as he prayed for the boy.
St. Xavier's school collaborated with the local Catholic “Seva Kendra,” or social center, to educate and empower the local population with regard to health care.
Three religious sisters conducted workshops on various health awareness topics to make people to respond to timely medical needs so as to avoid such tragic events in the future.
They explained the importance of timely medical treatment, immunizations, and personal cleanliness, in addition to prayer for health.
An official of the Assam Rifles, a national paramilitary force which assists in communications, medical assistance and education in such remote areas as the Miao diocese, spoke to those gathered about the free medicines available to them at the Seva Kendra.
A physician from the nearest hospital, located some 25 miles away, educated the people about illnesses and their treatment.
The students of St. Xavier's also performed an educational skit on the unfortunate death.
At the program's conclusion, those assembled pledged to care for themselves and their families by going to physicians when sick and “saying no to superstitions.”
Arunachal Pradesh, home to the Miao diocese, is a remote part of India, and part of it is claimed by China; the diocese borders both China and Burma.
The area is mountainous, home to the easternmost portions of the Himalayas. Its mountainous terrain and remoteness has led to challenges of poverty, a lack of infrastructure, and underemployment.
In 2011, the per capita GDP of the state was $1,300, and the literacy rate was 67 percent.
In a Dec. 6 interview, Bishop Pallipparambil told CNA that “ignorance and the shackles of superstition are also big challenges, and so to tackle them, education is a priority need.”
The Miao diocese was established in 2005, and Bishop Pallipparambil, a Salesian, is its first bishop. The diocese is home to 83,500 Catholics across an area of nearly 17,000 square miles.
The diocese's total population is roughly 500,000, with Christians – most of them Catholic – comprising some 19 percent of the population. The largest religious group is Hindus, with large minorities of Buddhists and traditional religions, as well as small numbers of Muslims, Sikhs, and Jains.

Welby oversees Channel Islands

OVERSIGHT of the Channel Islands has been delegated to the Archbishop of Canterbury by the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Timothy Dakin.

Lambeth Palace announced on Wednesday that the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Trevor Willmott, would assume interim episcopal oversight of the Islands on behalf of Archbishop Welby. 

This arrangement, to be put in place within weeks, had Bishop Dakin's "fullest support".

The news follows a pastoral visit to Jersey by Bishop Willmott, and the Bishop at Lambeth, the Rt Revd Nigel Stock, last month. The visit was requested by Bishop Dakin "so that a fresh perspective can be taken on safeguarding". 

It took place after Bishop Dakin announced that an investigation into a safeguarding complaint in Jersey, conducted by Dame Heather Steel, would not be published, "on legal advice" (News, 29 November).

An earlier report had been highly critical of how the complaint had been handled (News, 15 March).

In addition to the Steel review, Bishop Dakin had commissioned a former Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd John Gladwin, to conduct an inquiry into the relationship between the Jersey deanery and the diocese of Winchester. This report has not yet been published.

Lambeth Palace said on Wednesday that the new oversight arrangement was "entirely separate from issues to do with the Islands' formal relationship with the Church of England".