Northern Ireland - Lest We Forget (1969 - 2009)

1990

02 January 1990	Harry Dickey
07 January 1990	Martin Byrne
09 January 1990	Olven Kilpatrick
13 January 1990	Edward Hale
13 January 1990	Peter Thompson
13 January 1990	John McNeill
22 January 1990	Derek Monteith
28 January 1990	Charles Love
07 March 1990	Samuel Marshall
08 March 1990	Thomas Jamison
11 March 1990	Eamon Quinn
20 March 1990	William McClure
28 March 1990	George Starrett
04 April 1990	Roger Bradley
09 April 1990	John Bradley
09 April 1990	John Birch
09 April 1990	Steven Smart
09 April 1990	Michael Adams
15 April 1990	Eoin Morley
18 April 1990	Martin Corrigan
25 April 1990	Brian McKimm
27 April 1990	Kenneth Graham
05 May 1990	Graham Stewart
16 May 1990	Charles Chapman
27 May 1990	Stephen Melrose
27 May 1990	Nicholas Spanos
01 June 1990	Robert Davies
01 June 1990	Michael Dillon-Lee
04 June 1990	Patrick Boyle
06 June 1990	James Sefton
06 June 1990	Ellen Sefton
30 June 1990	John Beckett
30 June 1990	Gary Meyer
15 July 1990	William Sloss
15 July 1990	Martin Hughes
24 July 1990	Joshua Willis
24 July 1990	William Hanson
24 July 1990	David Sterritt
24 July 1990	Catherine Dunne
26 July 1990	Patrick Flood
30 July 1990	Ian Gow
31 July 1990	John Judge
18 August 1990	Andrew Bogle
07 September 1990	Emmanuel Shields
17 September 1990	Louis Robinson
23 September 1990	Colin McCullough
23 September 1990	William Allister
23 September 1990	George Friars
30 September 1990	Martin Peake
30 September 1990	Karen Reilly
06 October 1990	Denis Carville
09 October 1990	Desmond Grew
09 October 1990	Martin McCaughey
15 October 1990	Samuel Todd
16 October 1990	Dermot McGuinness
16 October 1990	Steven Craig
20 October 1990	David Pollock
23 October 1990	William Aitken
24 October 1990	Francis Hughes
24 October 1990	Stephen Burrows
24 October 1990	Stephen Beacham
24 October 1990	Paul Worrall
24 October 1990	Vincent Scott
24 October 1990	David Sweeney
24 October 1990	Patrick Gillespie
24 October 1990	Cyril Smith
25 October 1990	John Skey
26 October 1990	Thomas Casey
02 November 1990	Albert Cooper
07 November 1990	Gary Campbell
08 November 1990	Malachy McIvor
10 November 1990	David Murphy
10 November 1990	Thomas Taylor
10 November 1990	Norman Kendall
10 November 1990	Keith Dowey
22 November 1990	Alexander Patterson
29 November 1990	Raymond Robinson
01 December 1990	Hubert Gilmore
03 December 1990	David Shiels
20 December 1990	Wilfred Wethers
30 December 1990	Fergal Caraher

Prayer to St Mark The Evangelist

PRAYER

(traditional language)

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist hast given to thy Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank thee for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

PRAYER
(contemporary language)

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Lent 2009

Daily Lent Prayer

"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Opening Prayer
Father of mercy,
hear the prayers of your repentant children
who call on you in love.

Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
one God, for ever and ever.

Daily Meditation

In our reflection, Jesus is about to face a fiery furnace,
which represents the full rejection of all our sins,
and the crushing defeat of death itself.
Praying the Stations again,
might help us grow in a sense that this is all "for me," for my freedom.

We grow in a sense of repentance and deep sorrow.
We grow in a desire to celebrate
the glorious Light in the midst of all darkness.

Rid yourself of all your sins
and make a new heart and a new spirit.
Gospel antiphon, based upon Ezekiel 18:31

Intercessions

Blessed be God, the giver of salvation, who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in himself,
when all would be made new. With great confidence let us ask him:
Lord, renew us in your Spirit.

Lord, you promised a new heaven and a new earth; renew us daily through your Spirit,
- that we may enjoy your presence for ever in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Help us to work with you to make this world alive with your Spirit,
- and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.

Free us from all negligence and sloth,
- and give us joy in your gifts of grace.

Deliver us from evil,
- and from slavery to the senses, which blinds us to goodness.

Closing Prayer

Loving Creator,
I know in your great love for me,
you see the deep sorrow in my heart.

Hear my prayers which are offered with such trust in you.

Be with me in both mind and heart
as I renew my life in your spirit.

Year of Vocations

Prayer for Vocations

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to the faithful that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God.

Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will.

Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labour in God's holy service.

Amen.

Vocations 2008 - Promo Video

Pauline Year (29th June 2008/09) Prayer

Glorious Saint Paul,
Apostle full of zeal,
Martyr by Christ's love,
obtain for us a profound faith,
a firm hope,
a burning love for the Lord
so that we can say with you:
"It is no longer I but the Christ who lives in me."

Help us to become apostles
who serve the Church with a pure conscience,
witnesses of its greatness and its beauty
amid the darkness of our time.

With you we praise God our Father,
"To Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ
from age to age forever."

Amen.

A virtual tour of the Vatican (Part 1)

Argentinean archbishop rejects 'Spanish-style' apostasy campaign

During his weekly program, "Keys to a Better World," Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata in Argentina rejected the "campaign of collective apostasy" launched in the country that is similar to one in Spain in which ex-Catholics or those who wish to renounce their faith present letters of apostasy to the diocese with the request that their names be removed from baptismal registries.

"Who are the people promoting this? And what is that bothers them in particular? What kind of ideology is behind this campaign, as it clearly has been very cleverly put together?" the archbishop asked.

"What they really want is to protest the public and cultural presence of the Church," he continued.

"What really bothers these movements is that the Church still has influence on the Argentinean people… What bothers them specifically is that the faith has become culture and the purpose here is to uproot the faith from the culture in which the people live."

"For us," the archbishop explained, "this campaign must be a motive, a sort of incentive for the renewal of our faith, not only individually but prominently in daily life and in its cultural expressions."

Archbishop Aguer called for a "recovery of the awareness that through baptism we are witnesses of Christ and we should manifest our faith in daily life, without the need for extraordinary actions but in the daily story of life," in order to "strengthen our awareness as baptized and to give thanks to God for having received this gift of baptismal grace which makes us Christians and members of the Catholic Church."
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

English and Welsh bishops prepare new document on Church’s social doctrine

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has announced it’s drafting a new document on the Church’s social teaching in response to concern over the global financial crisis.

The bishops plan to explain how the Church’s social teaching springs from the message of the Gospel.

“The document we are about to write has great importance for our Church in England and Wales,” said Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff, who, as leader of the group is charged with drafting the document.

The archbishop said that the document will not only help “to set out in a creative and constructive way the Church’s contribution to the debate about the sort of society we want to make, but also to give our own people confidence in their generous work for the common good which is part of the Kingdom of Christ.”

According to a press release, the document will have four sections: “the current social and cultural context (with globalisation, the need for a moral ecology of the markets and the changing meaning of family life being, among others, areas for exploration); the theological context; possible topics and crowd of witnesses – a section which would look at contemporary examples of men and women, and organisations and communities whose life and work are inspired and sustained by the Gospel.”
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

Irish Catholic Church urgently needs a national synod now (Contribution)

BUFFETED by a succession of scandals, the latest of which involves the Diocese of Cloyne and Bishop Magee, and lacking decisive leadership and pastoral vision, the Irish Catholic Church now urgently needs a national synod.

Bearing in mind the recent warning from the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, that people’s patience with the church is “not everlasting”, it is surely time for the bishops to, collectively, take their courage in their hands and initiate a national consultation.

Over the past 20 years many Catholics have indeed lost confidence in the church, as Archbishop Martin emphasised.

That’s now a given.

The question, therefore, becomes what to do about it.

The hand-wringing must stop.

As a prelude to a national assembly or national synod, the time has come to begin a national consultation on a diocese by diocese basis.

If that were to start now, the national synod could take place prior to the Eucharistic Congress to be held in Dublin in 2012.

The idea of a consultation leading to a national assembly or a synod is not new.

Last August the former Northern Ireland ombudsman Nuala O‘Loan said Ireland’s Catholic bishops needed to arrive at an agreement on an island-wide basis on the issues facing the future of the Catholic Church here.

Her proposal received the immediate backing of Bishop Willie Walsh of Killaloe, who said he would have “no difficulty with a national assembly if people thought it would be worthwhile”.

There is only one way to find out. But the project will be doomed to frustration if the Bishops feel they must first go cap-in-hand to Rome seeking official ‘permission’ for the entire process. It is surely time for a display of Celtic or Hibernian Catholicism.

Strangely enough, a blueprint that might well serve as a DIY guide for the Irish bishops is contained in a new novel from an acclaimed American writer on religious affairs.

Robert Blair Kaiser covered the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) for TIME magazine, and went on subsequently to cover religion for the New York Times and Newsweek.

Now, in a novel entitled Cardinal Mahony, Kaiser dramatises a valiant attempt by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles to radically transform the American Catholic Church, so that it might serve as a redemptive model for the global church.

He determines to abandon the model of the church enshrined in the Code of Canon Law and to embrace the church of “the people of God” (one of the pivotal insights of Vatican II).

At one stage, the fictional Cardinal Mahony realises that his best chance of winning support for his radical plan is to get it backed by a National Synod representative of the entire American Church.

The cardinal is understandably hesitant, knowing that Rome will never sanction such an assembly.

When he outlines his fears to a retired bishop, the latter utters the following response: “The US bishops don’t need the Vatican’s permission to do what they need to do in America. All they need is balls. But few US bishops have them”.

Given the need for such a synod in Ireland, one could easily substitute “few Irish bishops” for “few US bishops” and not lose a wink of sleep.

It is exactly what the late Fr Joe Dunn had in mind back in 1994 when he wrote a book entitled No Lions in the Hierarchy, using, of course, strictly non-anatomical language.

Many disillusioned Catholics have already lost patience with the church here.

A national assembly could be the beginning of the way back, but it must have a genuine Irish agenda, not a Vatican-sanitised one.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: LN)

Italian bishops set up crisis fund

The Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) has set up an unprecedented loan security fund to help families who have lost all sources of income due to the economic crisis.

The 30-million-euro fund, financed by parishioners' donations in an accord with the Italian Banking Association (ABI), will provide security for loans worth 300 million euros.

Families with three or more children or those supporting a sick member will be able to apply for loans, and immigrant and non-Catholic families are equally eligible.

''This isn't charity for the poor but a measure that respects people's dignity, permitting them to pay back what they have received at a fixed rate to be decided and whenever it is possible for them,'' said CEI Secretary-General Msgr Mariano Crociata.

The Catholic Church was aware ''of the gravity and extent of the financial and economic crisis under way'', Msgr Crociata said.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 families will be able to benefit from the loans, which will be paid out at a rate of 500 euros a month for no longer than a year.

Loans may be extended if the family has not found a new source of income within 12 months.

The security fund will be financed by a national collection to take place in all Italian churches on May 31 as well as donations made by bank transfer so that even non-believers can show ''solidarity'', Msgr Crociata added.

He said the nation-wide initiative will flank similar projects already under way in many Italian dioceses.

The new loans will be arranged through local centres of Catholic aid group Caritas.

Families in which parents are unmarried will not be eligible for the loans. Rocco Buttiglione, president of the centrist UDC Catholic party, praised the initiative, saying it ''made (him) proud to be Catholic and embarrassed to be Italian''.

''This is something the government and parliament should have done,'' he said.

Carlo Giovanardi, the government's pointman on family affairs, said the government had set up an ''analogous initiative'' to institute a 25-million-euro loan security fund in an emergency anti-crisis decree at the end of 2008.

That fund was aimed at helping people cope with spending following the birth of a child, he said.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: ANSA)

Is ordaining women as bishops a mistake?

The General Synod of the Church of England is proceeding with plans to ordain women as Bishops - though the first female bishop is not expected until at least 2014.

Here, two commentators from within the Church argue the case for, and against ordaining women.

IN FAVOUR: Christina Rees, Women and The Church

The Church of England's theology and tradition both support ordaining women as bishops.

We believe that men and women are made equally in the image of God, equally responsible for our actions, equally given the abilities and qualities for ministry and leadership and equally called to be Christ-like in service to the world.

Above all, we believe that all cultural, racial and gender differences become unimportant in themselves when a person becomes a Christian.

Women, as well as men, are called to communicate the message of God's unconditional love, and we need to have women and men leading together if we are to see a more complete picture of who we are as people created equal in the eyes of God.

Our tradition, the way we do things and what we believe, is always changing as we respond to how we believe God is leading us and what we understand the Bible to be teaching.

Since King Henry VIII founded the Church of England, we have claimed the authority to develop our own policies and our own ways of how we organise and govern our Church.

For instance, the Church of England ordains our own deacons, priests and bishops even though the Roman Catholic Church considers all our orders to be 'null and void' and does not even allow its own priests to marry.

The Church of England is the Established Church in England and, as Archbishop William Temple said over 50 years ago, it exists primarily for those who are not its members.

If for no other reason, in order to reach out to all people in this nation, we should have women serving as bishops.

When women are bishops the Church will show that it takes seriously the message at the heart of the Gospel.

AGAINST: The Rt. Rev. John Broadhurst, Bishop of Fulham and chairman of Forward in Faith

On face value most reasonable people would say: "Why not?"

Women are doctors, politicians and lawyers. Big business has women of ability in positions of leadership.

So why is there persistent opposition from male and female Christians of all ages?

Much will depend on how you view the Church. Is it simply a human construct?

For me the church is a God-given society founded by Jesus Christ and formed by him during his ministry.

If that is so we need to be very careful about how we dabble with his structures and teaching.

Though Jesus was quite revolutionary in his attitude to women, and certainly did not conform to the traditions of the age, he nevertheless chose only male apostles.

Male apostles and bishops has been the consistent tradition of the Church for 2,000 years.

Some claim this is simply because it was inconceivable socially.

This is untrue as some heretical groups broke that tradition.

To consecrate women bishops is to break with the past and begs the question: 'Is there anything objectively true about the faith?'

The Church of England has already been seriously divided over women priests.

This innovation has damaged relationships with the two Churches that structurally claim to be descended from the Apostles - the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

To ordain women bishops would further divide the Church of England and increase the divisions between the churches.

A bishop is meant to be a focus of unity and a teacher of the faith.

How can women bishops be a focus for unity when many reject them?

More than that, how can they be teachers and guardians of the faith when to many they are a sign that the historic faith has been rejected?
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: BBC)

Photo Caption Pic Competition

What is the Papal PR Maestro saying to Il Papa considering he is for the push by all accounts...

Suggestions to CW please and the prize...a copy of the Irish Priests newly released DVD.

Looking forward to hearing from you!!

Pope's press spokesman 'to resign' following PR disasters, say reports

The Pope's press officer, Fr Federico Lombardi, is to resign after Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land, according to Italian and German press reports.

Hat tip: Catholic Church Conservation, a traditionalist blog run by Chris Gillibrand in Brussels.

Fr Lombardi, a Jesuit, presided over the mega-disaster of the Williamson affair.

The Pope's decision to lift the SSPX excommunications was not his responsibility, but the Church's failure to anticipate the row and its grotesquely slow response to the worldwide row most certainly was.

Then he allowed a question about Aids, condoms and Africa to be asked aboard the papal plane, which the Pope handled with less than total assurance and clarity.

Sorry to have to make that point, but the fact that the Vatican press office felt it necessary to tinker with his quotes afterwards is revealing, don't you think?

By the way, do have a proper read of Gillibrand's influential blog.

There is an item about the Bishop of Leeds which is worth looking at.

Chris has strong connections in Rome; I wonder if he has been in touch with them over the past few days.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: TTCUK)

(Posting 14,900 since 15/12/2006)

CIA reveals new information about assassination attempt on Polish pope

Less than a year after the assassination attempt on the late Pope John Paul II the American authorities assumed that it was carried out on the inspiration of the Kremlin – reports Polska daily.

This is the main conclusion of the documents declassified by the CIA and revealed for the first time in Polish media.

According to Polska daily, the 1985 report is very clear in stating that “the Bulgarian military intelligence carried out an attempt assassination attempt on the order of the Soviet Army.”

CIA investigation also shows how KGB tried to cover up the truth about the assassination attempt on the late Pope – adds the paper writing that the revealed documents shed a new light on the first moments after the tragic event as well as on the investigation carried out on the matter.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: PRZ)

Benedict XVI emphasizes importance of the human response to God’s call

The Holy Father’s message for the 46th World Day of Prayer for Vocations was released by the Vatican press office.

In his document, Pope Benedict speaks of discerning and trusting in God’s will in order to fulfill God’s plan for salvation.

The day for vocations, which is scheduled to be celebrated on May 3, the fourth Sunday of Easter, has the theme "Faith in the divine initiative - the human response."

To read the full document, please click here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=807

Excerpts from the text are given below:

"The exhortation of Jesus to His disciples: 'Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into His harvest' has a constant resonance in the Church. Pray! The urgent call of the Lord stresses that prayer for vocations should be continuous and trusting."

"The vocation to the priesthood and to the consecrated life constitutes a special gift of God which becomes part of the great plan of love and salvation that God has for every man and woman and for the whole of humanity."

"In the universal call to holiness, of particular relevance is God's initiative of choosing some to follow His Son Jesus Christ more closely, and to be His privileged ministers and witnesses. ... Responding to the Lord's call and docile to the movement of the Holy Spirit, over the centuries, countless ranks of priests and consecrated persons placed themselves totally at the service of the Gospel in the Church. Let us give thanks to God, because even today He continues to call together workers into His vineyard.

"While it is undoubtedly true that a worrisome shortage of priests is evident in some regions of the world, and that the Church encounters difficulties and obstacles along the way, we are sustained by the unshakeable certitude that the One Who firmly guides her in the pathways of time towards the definitive fulfillment of the Kingdom is He, the Lord, Who freely chooses persons of every culture and of every age and invites them to follow Him according to the mysterious plans of His merciful love.

"Our first duty, therefore, is to keep alive in families and in parishes, in movements and in apostolic associations, in religious communities and in all the sectors of diocesan life this appeal to the divine initiative with unceasing prayer."

"What is asked of those who are called ... is careful listening and prudent discernment, a generous and willing adherence to the divine plan, and a serious study of the reality that is proper to the priestly and religious vocations, so as to be able to respond responsibly and with conviction."

"In the Eucharist, that perfect gift which brings to fulfillment the plan of love for the redemption of the world, Jesus offers Himself freely for the salvation of mankind. ... It is priests who are called to perpetuate this salvific mystery from century to century. ... In the celebration of the Eucharist it is Christ Himself Who acts in those whom He chooses as His ministers; He supports them so that their response develops in a dimension of trust and gratitude that removes all fear, even when they experience more acutely their own weakness, or indeed when the experience of misunderstanding or even of persecution is most bitter."

"To believe in the Lord and to accept His gift, therefore, leads us to entrust ourselves to Him with thankful hearts, adhering to His plan of salvation. When this does happen, the one who is 'called' voluntarily leaves everything and submits himself to the teaching of the divine Master; hence a fruitful dialogue between God and man begins, a mysterious encounter between the love of the Lord Who calls and the freedom of man who responds in love."

"This intertwining of love between the divine initiative and the human response is present also, in a wonderful way, in the vocation to the consecrated life. ... Attracted by Him, from the very first centuries of Christianity, many men and women have left families, possessions, material riches and all that is humanly desirable in order to follow Christ generously and live the Gospel without compromise, which had become for them a school of deeply rooted holiness."

"The response of men and women to the divine call, whenever they are aware that it is God Who takes the initiative and brings His plan of salvation to fulfillment, ... expresses itself in a ready adherence to the Lord's invitation. ... Without in any sense renouncing personal responsibility, the free human response to God thus becomes 'co-responsibility', responsibility in and with Christ, through the action of His Holy Spirit; it becomes communion with the One Who makes it possible for us to bear much fruit.

"An emblematic human response, full of trust in God's initiative, is the generous and unmitigated 'Amen' of the Virgin of Nazareth, uttered with humble and decisive adherence to the plan of the Most High. ... I want to entrust to her all those who are aware of God's call to set out on the road of the ministerial priesthood or consecrated life.

"Dear friends, do not become discouraged in the face of difficulties and doubts; trust in God and follow Jesus faithfully and you will be witnesses of the joy that flows from intimate union with Him."
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

Pope Benedict XVI - April 2009 Intentions

April 2009

General: That the Lord may bless the farmers with an abundant harvest and sensitise the richer populations to the drama of hunger in the world

Mission: That the Christians who work in areas where the conditions of the poor, the weak and the women and children are most tragic, may be signs of hope, thanks to their courageous testimony to the Gospel of solidarity and love.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: EWTN)

Bishops set out crucial EU election priorities

European bishops have appealed to voters to put moral concerns top of the agenda in the forthcoming EU elections.

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), made the call in a statement following their Spring plenary meeting in Brussels at the weekend.

The bishops urged voters only to back candidates who promise:

• to respect human life from conception to natural death as integral to all European Union legislation, programmes and policies;
• to support the family founded on marriage understood between one man and one woman as the basic unit of society;
• to advance the social rights of workers providing them with working conditions which respect their health, safety and dignity;
• to endorse economic governance based on ethical values in order to achieve sustainable human development within the European Union and at a global level;
• to promote justice in relationships of the European Union with developing countries through financial assistance and innovative partnerships;
• to demonstrate solidarity by shaping policies that help the weakest and poorest in our societies (in particular people with disabilities, asylum seekers, migrants);
• to protect creation by fighting climate change and encouraging a moderate lifestyle; and
• to promote peace in the world through coordinated and coherent external EU policy.

The bishops note that ''the Catholic Church has supported the process of European integration since the beginning and continues to do so''.

''The participation of Christians is essential in order to rediscover the 'soul of Europe', which is vital to fulfil the fundamental needs of the human person and the service of the common good.

''After 64 years of peaceful development and 20 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain, which ended the division of the continent, the process of European integration deserves to be appreciated, in spite of some shortcomings,'' the bishops said.

COMECE changes

Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor has replaced Archbishop Diarmuid Martin as the Irish Chuirchs representative to COMECE.

Dr Treanor is a former General Secretary to the Brussels-based organisation, a post he held for many years before his appointment to Down and Connor last year.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: IC)

Planning for World Youth Day in Madrid begins

Pope Benedict XVI has introduced his upcoming World Youth Day message, recalling “with deep gratitude” the 2008 event in Sydney and looking forward to the 2011 international event to be held in Madrid.

Marking the 24th annual World Youth Day this coming Palm Sunday, the Pope will celebrate a Mass at which possession of the World Youth Day Cross will transfer from Australian youth to Spanish youth.

Calling World Youth Day Sydney “a most memorable encounter” of spiritual renewal, he said “the joy of celebration and spiritual enthusiasm experienced during those few days was an eloquent sign of the presence of the Spirit of Christ.”

The Pope noted the World Youth Day 2009 theme is taken from 1 Tim 4:10: “We have set our hope on the living God.”

To plan World Youth Day 2011, the organizing committees of Sydney 2008 and Madrid 2011 will meet April 3 to 5 with delegates from about 70 countries.

They will be joined by about 150 people who work in youth ministry around the world and representatives from 35 international Catholic communities, association and movements.

The sessions will begin on Friday with a greeting from Cardinal Stanislaw Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Speakers will hear evaluations of Sydney 2008 with talks by Cardinal George Pell and Bishop Anthony Fisher, who will speak about the fruits of the event in Sydney and in all of Australia.

A Mass presided by Cardinal Pell will conclude the first day.

Saturday sessions will discuss World Youth Day in Madrid, with Archbishop of Madrid Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela and Bishop César Franco Martínez.

Bishop Josef Clemens, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, will present the Pope’s message for the 24th World Youth Day, while Cardinal Ryłko will give concluding remarks.
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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

U.S. State Department overlooks ‘especially dire’ religious freedom violations in Iraq

Newly public information shows that the U.S. State Department in January rejected a recommendation that Iraq be named a Country of Particular concern due to “especially dire” threats to minorities’ religious freedoms.

The State Department also granted waivers for Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, where religious freedom violations have been called “appalling.”

A U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) press release reports that on Jan. 16 Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice formally designated Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).

The Bush administration classified the same countries as CPCs in 2006.

The latest CPC list was not made available until last week, when the State Department released it in response to a USCIRF inquiry.

The president is required to encourage improvements in CPC countries through tools such as sanctions. CPCs may be granted a waiver on such restrictions if the president determines it is in U.S. interests. Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were given waivers by the outgoing Bush administration, while no sanction was cited to be applied to any other country.

Lamenting official inaction, the USCIRF expressed disappointment that the State Department did not accept its recommendation to designate Pakistan, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Iraq as CPCs.

In December 2008, with little media coverage, USCIRF released the Report of the United States Commission on Religious Freedom on Iraq.

The Commission in its report recommended Iraq be designated a CPC “in view of the ongoing severe abuses of religious freedom and based on the Iraqi government’s toleration of these abuses as described in this report, particularly abuses against all of Iraq’s most vulnerable and smallest religious minorities.”

Acknowledging a decline in violence in Iraq since May 2007, the Commission said “there has been continued targeted violence, as well as threats and intimidation against persons belonging to religious minorities, and other egregious religiously-motivated abuses are continuing and widespread. The lack of effective government action to protect these communities from abuses has established Iraq among the most dangerous places on earth for religious minorities.”

The December 2008 report said the situation is “especially dire” for ChaldoAssyrian Christians, other Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis. Adherents are targeted by violence and often flee to other parts of Iraq or other countries.

“These communities report that their numbers in Iraq have substantially diminished, and that their members who have left the country have not to date showed signs of returning in significant numbers,” the report said.

“Legally, politically, and economically marginalized, these small minorities are caught in the middle of a struggle between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the central Iraqi government for control of northern areas where their communities are concentrated. The combined effect of all of this has been to endanger these ancient communities’ very existence in Iraq.”

Felice Gaer, USCIRF chair, said in a March 27 statement that the Commission is “disappointed” that Secretary Rice refused to designate any new countries and that Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia were granted waivers.

“Religious freedom conditions in Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are appalling and a specific U.S. government response is required,” Gaer said.

Saudi Arabia has been a CPC since 2004 and has received a waiver every year. USCIRF said there has been “little or no improvement” in the kingdom’s religious freedom conditions.

Gaer criticized inaction on religious freedom violations, saying:

“State Department efforts to negotiate with certain countries to bring about improvements in religious freedom certainly might be an appropriate reason for delaying CPC designation, but the Commission concludes that the State Department should have acted years ago in the case of a number of the countries our Commission recommended for CPC designation, under our statutory authority.

“As it reviews the previous Administration's CPC designations, we hope the Obama Administration will recognize the added value that CPC status can bring to American public diplomacy on human rights.”

USCIRF’s 2009 Annual Report will be delivered to Congress, the President and the Secretary of State on May 1.

It will recommend nations to be designated as CPCs and recommend nations for the USCIRF Watch List.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

Pope initiates Apostolic Visitation of the Legion of Christ

Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, L.C., General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, announced Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI has requested an Apostolic Visitation of the institutions of the Legionaries of Christ that will likely begin after Easter.

In an announcement sent to members of the Legion, Fr. Corcuera makes public the decision announced by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a letter dated March 10.

"I have thanked the Holy Father from the bottom of my heart for offering us this additional assistance in facing our present vicissitudes related to the grave details of our father founder’s life," Fr. Corcuera says in a letter.

"We are deeply saddened and sorry, and we sincerely ask for forgiveness from God and from those who have been hurt because of this."

"We are now preparing to receive the Apostolic Visitors who, over the upcoming months, will visit to familiarize themselves closely with the life and apostolate of the Legion of Christ," Corcuera’s letter continues.

In his letter to Corcuera, Cardinal Bertone writes: "In this holy season of Lent, a time of grace and salvation, I am pleased to remember that many people benefit from the works of education and service which the Legionaries of Christ carry out in various parts of the world."

"The Holy Father," Cardinal Bertone continues, "is aware of the noble ideals that inspire you and the fortitude and prayerful spirit with which you are facing the current changes. He encourages you to continue seeking the good of the Church and society by means of your own distinctive initiatives and institutions."

"In this regard, you can always count on the help of the Holy See, so that with truth and transparency, in a climate of fraternal and constructive dialogue, you will overcome the present difficulties."

"In this respect, the Holy Father has decided to carry out an Apostolic Visitation to the institutions of the Legionaries of Christ through a team of Prelates."

In a press release, the Legion explained the decision by saying "the Holy Father has decided to help us to overcome our difficulties through an Apostolic Visitation."

On the topic of who will be conducting the visits and when they will take place, the press release notes that "we are still awaiting notification of this information from the Holy See. Most likely, the Apostolic Visitation will begin after Easter and will last for several months."

"While the Apostolic Visitation is taking place, our life and apostolate will continue along its ordinary course. We are ready to welcome the Visitators to our centers and institutions with faith and supernatural spirit, cooperating with them and facilitating their mission," the Legionaries’ statement says.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CNA)

Churches dismiss BNP’s Jesus election poster

Three British Churches have dismissed a new advertising campaign to be launched by the BNP featuring Jesus and his teaching on persecution.

The far-Right party's new poster advert quotes John 15.20, in which Jesus says: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

The advert then asks: “What would Jesus do?”

The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church said they wanted to reminded people of the true Christian message of love for all people following the inclusion of Jesus in the poster.

Christine Elliott, Secretary for External Relations for The Methodist Church, said: “When Jesus was asked about what was the most important rule of life he said, 'Love God with all of your being and love your neighbour as yourself.'

“It’s ironic that the BNP is using the world’s most famous Jew to promote its racist message.

“Our traditions have a history of promoting racial justice and inclusion and rejecting messages of hate and fear.

“It is always important that people go out and vote, especially in these extremely difficult economic times. Sadly, in the past, economic problems have been exploited by extremists as opportunities to scapegoat minorities.”

BNP leader Nick Griffin sent an email to BNP supporters on Sunday in which he said the aim of the advert was to attract more Christian voters.

The BNP was, he said, “the only political party which genuinely supports Britain’s Christian heritage” and “will defend our ancient faith and nation from the threat of Islamification”, reports Ekklesia.

Mr Griffin also criticised moves within the church to ban membership in the BNP, referring to the recent vote in Church of England’s General Synod banning Church members from joining the party.

“Jesus was viewed as a revolutionary figure, hated and hounded to death, not by 'evil men' but by the corrupt hypocrites who ran the church. Has nothing changed in two thousand years?” he wrote.

“On June 4th, the leaders of Britain's churches will find out that millions of good decent people support the British National Party.

“It's not racist to support British jobs for British workers or to be opposed to militant Islam, it's just common sense and in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.”

Co-director of Ekklesia, Jonathan Bartley, said the advert was a “gross misrepresentation” of Jesus Christ and Christianity.

“Jesus was completely opposed to bigotry. He is recorded in the Gospels as challenging those who didn’t welcome foreigners - not as working for their exclusion," he said.

The three Churches will launch an election pack at the end of April, which will call on local church leaders to engage positively with politicians and reject racist political activity.
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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CT)

Archbishop warns against embracing secularism

A leading Catholic clergyman has said that Britain has increasingly abandoned spiritual and moral principles in favour of secularism and warned that such a change had damaged social cohesion.

The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, who is also a contender to replace Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, said that faith had become only a private matter while the nation continues to define itself by secular and material standards, reports The Telegraph.

The Archbishop claimed that social values such as compassion, respect and tolerance would be lost if disconnected from their roots in Christian teaching. He also argued that schools should be allowed to teach right and wrong and claims that critics do not realise the importance of the contribution of faith schools.

Writing in a book about the rise of secularism, the Archbishop said, "Our politicians seem to live in a different world, a world that is purely secular and material, a world that does not permit a mature consideration of the key role of religious belief.

"Behind this is the assertion that religious influences are bad for you, and that ignorance of religion is better than exposure to it and the study of it.

"Why is this so? It lies in the distorted and truncated notion of reason which shapes our society and, to a large extent, the education it offers.

"Quite simply we have sold our soul to a positivistic understanding of reason. By this is meant that knowledge and reasoning are limited to what can be positively seen, measured and physically tested through hypothesis, experiment and observation.

"What positive knowledge and reasoning cannot do is provide anything that is normative in value or moral judgement. They can discover, magnificently, what can be done. They cannot, properly, provide and answer to the question, 'But should it be done?' "Moral reasoning overcomes the.. 'individualism' of a positivist culture.

"A society which limits itself - and its education - to a positivistic understanding of reason will find itself unable to determine shared moral principles and values. Such a society will lack cohesion."

He added, "How ironic it is that in our public culture a cynicism about religious faith has taken hold. Have we, quite simply, lost our nerve when it comes to the reality of religious belief?

"We have lost our nerve because, as a society, we have taken the road of relegating all these matters to the sphere of the private and of seeking to build our society, our cohesiveness, on the secular/material instead.

"Yet there will never be a truly cohesive society that does not take seriously the spiritual quest of its people... The rigorously secular, liberal project of community cohesion is mistaken in its fundamental view of the human person and simply will not work."

The book is titled “The Nation That God Forgot” and was co-edited by Edward Leigh, a Conservative MP. Leigh claimed that Britain was the “most extreme” case of secularisation in West, reports the Telegraph. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CT)

Abusive priest warnings from early 1950s: New US evidence

Evidence has emerged in the US that the founder of an American religious order wrote regularly to bishops and to the Vatican warning that sexual abuser priests should be laicised and even searched for an island to purchase to isolate such offenders.

As early as the mid-1950s, decades before the clergy sexual abuse crisis broke publicly across the US Catholic landscape, the founder of a religious order that dealt regularly with priest sex abusers was so convinced of their inability to change that he searched for an island to purchase with the intent of using it as a place to isolate such offenders, according to documents recently obtained by National Catholic Reporter.

Fr Gerald Fitzgerald, founder of the Servants of the Paracletes, an order established in 1947 to deal with problem priests, wrote regularly to bishops in the United States and to Vatican officials, including the pope, of his opinion that many sexual abusers in the priesthood should be laicised immediately.

Fr Fitzgerald was a prolific correspondent who wrote regularly of his frustration with and disdain for priests "who have seduced or attempted to seduce little boys or girls."

His views are contained in letters and other correspondence that had previously been under court seal and were made available to NCR by a California law firm in February.

Fr Fitzgerald's convictions appear to significantly contradict the claims of contemporary bishops that the hierarchy was unaware until recent years of the danger in shuffling priests from one parish to another and in concealing the priests' problems from those they served, NCR says.

The letters between Fitzgerald and a range of bishops, among bishops themselves, and between Fitzgerald and the Vatican, also make clear that the hierarchy was aware of the problem and its implications well before the problem surfaced as a national story in the mid-1980s.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: CTHN)

Police arrest underground Zhengding bishop Jia Zhiguo

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, the underground bishop of Zhengding (Hebei), was arrested yesterday by police and taken away to an undisclosed location.

The arrest took place in conjunction with the meeting at the Vatican of the Plenary Commission on the Church in China.

Yesterday afternoon at four o'clock (local time), 5 police officers and two vehicles appeared outside the bishop's home and took him to an undisclosed location.

Bishop Jia, 74, suffers from various disturbances because of past imprisonments and his age, and the faithful of the diocese are concerned that this new arrest could endanger his life.

For years, Jia has endured arrest and isolation by the police, who have kept him away from his community for months. During these periods, the police have tried to indoctrinate him on the religious policies of the Party, and to force him to join the Patriotic Association (PA).

This time, the motives are even more serious, and strike at the heart of the Vatican's attempts to reconcile the official and underground Church in Hebei, the region with the highest concentration of Catholics.

Months ago, Jang Taoran, the bishop of Shijiazhuang (Hebei), the diocese of the official Church in the area, reconciled with the Holy See, and agreed - at instructions from the Vatican - to work with Bishop Jia Zhiguo, becoming his auxiliary bishop.

Bishop Jia would become, instead, the ordinary bishop of the diocese, while remaining in the underground Church and without the recognition of the government.

The two bishops have met frequently, and have begun to construct a common pastoral plan. But as soon as the Patriotic Association became aware of these signs of reconciliation, it required the bishops to stop meeting together, and put them under police surveillance 24 hours a day.

According to some local sources, the police told Bishop Jia Zhiguo that "this unity [editor's note: between the two bishops] is bad because it is desired by a foreign power like the Vatican. If there must be unity, it must come through the government and the PA."

When Bishop Jia resisted joining the PA, the police began to laugh at the bishop, saying that the government will put another bishop in his place, and that for him "it is time to retire, since he is sick."

The meeting of the Vatican Commission on the Church in China, which will continue until tomorrow, was intended to address the issues involved in the implementation of the pope's letter to Chinese Catholics, which was published in June of 2007.

In it, Benedict XVI had urged the official Church and the underground Church to foster reconciliation, and had called the ideals and the structure of the Patriotic Association "incompatible" with the Catholic faith, because it intends to create a national Church independent from the Holy See.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: AN)

Pope: the priesthood, an "intertwining of love" between divine initiative and free human response

The priesthood and consecrated life are an "intertwining of love" between divine initiative and free human response, and even if in some parts of the world there is a "worrisome shortage" of people who accept the "call" of God, believers should not lose confidence that He who guides the Church will provide for its needs.

This means keeping alive "in families and in parishes, in movements and in apostolic associations, in religious communities and in all the sectors of diocesan life this appeal to the divine initiative with unceasing prayer."

This is the appeal that Benedict XVI has addressed to the faithful in the message, made public today, for the 46th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be celebrated next May 3. The theme is "Faith in the divine initiative - the human response."

Since the vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life constitutes "a special gift of God," it is "he, the Lord, who freely chooses persons of every culture and of every age and invites them to follow him according to the mysterious plans of his merciful love."

The "free human response" requires, on the part of those called, "careful listening and prudent discernment, a generous and willing adherence to the divine plan."

It is, the pope says, "acceptance of and identification with the plan that God has for everyone; a response which welcomes the Lord’s loving initiative and becomes, for the one who is called, a binding moral imperative, an offering of thanksgiving to God and a total cooperation with the plan which God carries out in history."

Put in this perspective, "the one who is 'called' voluntarily leaves everything and submits himself to the teaching of the divine Master; hence a fruitful dialogue between God and man begins, a mysterious encounter between the love of the Lord who calls and the freedom of man who responds in love, hearing the words of Jesus echoing in his soul, 'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide' (Jn 15:16).

"This intertwining of love between the divine initiative and the human response is present also, in a wonderful way, in the vocation to the consecrated life."

"Attracted by him, from the very first centuries of Christianity, many men and women have left families, possessions, material riches and all that is humanly desirable in order to follow Christ generously and live the Gospel without compromise, which had become for them a school of deeply rooted holiness. Today too, many undertake this same demanding journey of evangelical perfection and realise their vocation in the profession of the evangelical counsels. The witness of these our brothers and sisters, in contemplative monasteries, religious institutes and congregations of apostolic life, reminds the people of God of 'that mystery of the Kingdom of God is already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven' (Apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata, 1)."

The awareness that "the call" is "the initiative of God" provides, in Benedict XVI's message, the answer to the question about "who can consider himself worthy to approach the priestly ministry."

The answer "is never patterned after the timid self-interest of the worthless servant who, out of fear, hid the talent entrusted to him in the ground (cf. Mt 25:14-30), but rather expresses itself in a ready adherence to the Lord’s invitation."

"Without in any sense renouncing personal responsibility, the free human response to God thus becomes 'coresponsibility', responsibility in and with Christ, through the action of his Holy Spirit; it becomes communion with the One who makes it possible for us to bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:5)."

According to the example of Mary's complete trust in the divine initiative, the pope concludes, "do not become discouraged in the face of difficulties and doubts; trust in God and follow Jesus faithfully and you will be witnesses of the joy that flows from intimate union with him."
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: AN)

Legion of Christ to be investigated

Pope Benedict XVI has ordered an investigation into the activity of influential Catholic religious order the Legion of Christ after reports of sexual impropriety by its late founder.

It was revealed in February that Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, who died last year at the age of 87, had fathered a daughter now in her 20s.

Father Maciel had previously been disciplined by the Vatican in 2006 for the sexual abuse of seminarians and young priests in the 1940s and 1950s.

In a letter published on the Legion's website, Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone told the movement that the pope had nominated a team of prelates who will make ''apostolic visitations'' to the Legion's institutions before submitting a report on their activity.

Bertone said the pope wanted to help the Legion deal with its current problems with ''truth and transparency'' but stressed that Benedict had renewed his ''solidarity and prayers'' for the movement and those associated with it.

Father Alvaro Corcuera, director general of the Legionaries, said he ''thanked the Holy Father from my heart'' for offering help ''to face our present vicissitudes related to the grave facts in our father founder's life''.

He added that the Legionaries were ''deeply saddened and sorry'' about Maciel's sexual impropriety and asked ''for forgiveness from God and from those who have been hurt through this''.

In 2006 Benedict approved disciplinary action against Father Maciel, who had been accused of sexual abuse, telling the Mexican priest to observe a ''reserved life of prayer and penitence'' and to avoid saying mass in public.

The move, coming at the end of a long investigation, was seen by Vatican-watchers as showing that top officials believed at least some of the allegations were true.

The accusations first became public in the late 1990s.

Father Maciel, the highest-ranking Catholic official to be disciplined for sexual abuse, denied all the allegations against him.

At the time the Vatican said its action regarding the priest should be seen ''independently'' of the order he founded.

The Legion of Christ has a high standing in the Catholic Church and Father Maciel was frequently praised and supported by Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II.

Father Maciel founded the Legion of Christ in Mexico in 1941, and the order now operates in some 20 countries, including Spain and the United States, and has enjoyed rapid growth in Latin America.

It has has some 700 priests and 1,300 seminarians worldwide. The lay branch of the order, Regnum Christi, reportedly has 70,000 members.

The Legion of Christ also runs a pontifical university in Rome.
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Disclaimer

No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.

The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.

Sotto Voce

(Source: ANSA)