Kennedy in "area of disobedience": Brisbane chancellor

Fr Peter Kennedy's decision to lead parishioners to a new worship location at the Trades and Labour Council (TLC) building does not mean that St Mary's parish itself is in exile, Brisbane Chancellor Fr Adrian Farrelly has said.

Fr Farrelly, a canon lawyer, said this was because St Mary's parish South Brisbane has "a past, present and a future", The Catholic Leader reports.

"St Mary's parish started in 1893 ... it has a present and it will have a future," Fr Farrelly said.

"In other words St Mary's will continue on its present site if Fr Peter and his followers go into exile, as they're calling it, this certainly doesn't mean the parish has gone into exile."

Fr Farrelly also told The Catholic Leader that Fr Kennedy was "clearly in an area of disobedience" by setting up such a community and so was acting contrary to a promise of obedience to his bishop made on his ordination day.

He also noted that Archbishop John Bathersby, in his February 6 letter to Fr Kennedy this year, which removed him as St Mary's administrator, had also indicated that "those who follow you should realise they will not be in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or the Archdiocese of Brisbane."

Fr Farrelly was responding to media reports that Fr Kennedy intended to lead members of St Mary's parish to the TLC building 200 metres down the road from the church after his final Mass there on April 19.

Fr Kennedy announced his decision in the wake of mediation talks between Brisbane archdiocese and representatives of St Mary's parish held on March 26. He did not attend the mediation.

Speaking on radio, Fr Farrelly said communion with the Catholic Church hangs on three main issues - "faith, sacraments and governance" - and that "any move by a priest or a group of people to set up another community would need to be looked at from the point of view of those three key issues."

Fr Farrelly later said it was now a matter of seeing what Fr Kennedy "actually does".

"... We need to wait and see what the reality of the situation becomes. Ecclesiastical penalties can be imposed for such disobedience to the archbishop's wishes.

"However, the Church still looks for a change of heart; it's still hoped that Fr Peter may reconsider his plans."
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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)

Vatican's "sadness" over arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

"Profound sadness" over the latest arrest of Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, and for the situation of other bishops and priests who are "deprived of their freedom" has been expressed by the Vatican Commission for the Church in China, which gathered from March 30 to April 1, and yesterday afternoon held a session together with Benedict XVI.

The arrest of Bishop Jia , took place just as the Commission's work was beginning.

The final statement, published today by the Vatican press office, recalls that this lack of freedom is not "an isolated case," and cites "other ecclesiastics," such as many official bishops and priests, "who are subjected to undue pressure and limitations on their pastoral activities."

Many prelates recognized by the government, but who have reconciled with Rome, continue to be subjected to "forced vacations," far from their faithful, and to political sessions that last for months, in order to convince them of the goodness of the Party's religious policies, and to subject themselves to the policies of the Patriotic Association.

The members of the Commission desire in the first place to express to them their "assurances of their fraternal closeness and constant prayer, in this season of Lent, illuminated by the Paschal Mystery."

The statement frankly expresses that these situations of "uneasy relations with the civil authorities" "create obstacles to that climate of dialogue with the competent authorities" which the pope - in his letter to Chinese Catholics - said he hoped to have.

For a long time, the Vatican had not explicitly mentioned the names and situations of persecution in China, although last year, Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, invited by the pontiff to write the meditations for the Via Crucis at the Colosseum, had dwelt upon the issue of China at length, but without mentioning the country by name.

The statement explains that the work of the Plenary Commission focused this time on "the formation of seminarians and of consecrated persons, and on the ongoing formation of priests."

The approximately 3,000 priests (official and underground); the more than 1,500 seminarians (official and underground); the more than 5,000 sisters and novices (official and underground) often have no one who can provide them with formation because of past and present persecution.

They lack resources (publications, contacts); they suffer from the significant gap between elderly and young priests, without the generation in between, corresponding to the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when the seminaries, churches, and convents were closed.

More than anything else, they need help in confronting the new situations facing society: urbanization, consumerism, materialism, migrants, scientific atheism, etc.

The statement asserts that "in union with the bishops of the Church in China, those mainly responsible for the ecclesial communities, efforts will be made to promote a more adequate human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral formation of the clergy and of consecrated persons who have the important task of acting as faithful disciples of Christ and of members of the Church, and of contributing to the good of their country as exemplary citizens."

There is also an exhortation to a more decisive missionary impulse by Chinese Catholics in the country and abroad.

The statement recalls that the pope, in his letter, had urged the Church in China to feel the mission of the Church in Asia and the world as its own.

"The Church," Benedict XVI says in the letter, "always and everywhere missionary, is called to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel. The Church in China must also sense in her heart the missionary ardour of her Founder and Teacher . . . Now it is your turn, Chinese disciples of the Lord, to be courageous apostles of that Kingdom. I am sure that your response will be most generous" (no. 17).

According to unofficial reports, Benedict XVI appreciated the Commission's work and fully approved the final statement.
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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)

Religious groups welcome adverts pledge

RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS, including Veritas and the Irish Catholic newspaper, have welcomed the announcement by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan that he plans to soften restrictions on religious advertising on television and radio.

Their comments came as it emerged that the Minister was lobbied on the matter by a number of church figures, including the Bishop of Clogher and chairman of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s communication commission, Dr Joseph Duffy.

He wrote to the Minister last October asking him to consider an amendment to legislation.

Dr Duffy’s letter to the Minister was sent after the Bill’s second stage reading in the Dáil. The bishop said he wanted to bring a statement from the bishops’ conference to the Minister’s attention.

The bishops asked that broadcasting of religious advertisements be permitted as long as the advertisement in question was not contrary to the common good.

“I would appreciate it if you would consider this amendment in the context of the Committee Stage of the Broadcasting Bill 2008,” Bishop Duffy wrote to Mr Ryan. The bishop also wrote to the Oireachtas communications committee with the same request.

The Broadcasting Bill 2008 was scheduled to begin report stage in the Dáil yesterday but other matters used up the time and it is now expected to be discussed today.

Mr Ryan said on Tuesday that current legislation had sometimes been interpreted in a narrow way and existing regulations might have encouraged that situation. “I don’t want to completely restrict advertising that has a religious connotation,” he said.

Veritas chief executive Maura Hyland welcomed Mr Ryan’s comments. A Christmas radio advertisement by Veritas, which is owned by the Catholic bishops, was banned by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) last December.

“The interpretation of the present broadcasting legislation made the job of Veritas, a legitimate trader in an open market place, virtually impossible,” Ms Hyland said. “We had a very good meeting on this particular issue with officials from the Department of Communications last month and clearly our concerns expressed have been listened to.”

BCI chief executive Michael O’Keeffe said his organisation would also welcome an amendment, “as it endorses the views expressed and the suggestions made by the commission to the Department of Communications in regard to this matter”.

Editor of the Irish Catholic newspaper Garry O’Sullivan described Mr Ryan’s comments as “a victory for common sense”. He said several advertisements for the Irish Catholic had been banned from radio stations.

Independent Senator Rónán Mullen welcomed what he described as a “sensible” move. “Some recent decisions by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland concerning religious advertising have been bizarre.”
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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: IT)

Northern Ireland - Lest We Forget (1969 - 2009)

1991

05 January 1991	Jervis Lynch
21 January 1991	Cullen Stephenson
27 January 1991	Sean Rafferty
18 February 1991	David Corner
24 February 1991	Peter McTasney
01 March 1991	Paul Sutcliffe
01 March 1991	Roger Love
03 March 1991	John Quinn
03 March 1991	Dwayne O'Donnell
03 March 1991	Malcolm Nugent
03 March 1991	Thomas Armstrong
04 March 1991	Michael Lenaghan
13 March 1991	Lord Kaberry
18 March 1991	Francis Taggart
28 March 1991	Eileen Duffy
28 March 1991	Katrina Rennie
28 March 1991	Brian Frizzell
03 April 1991	Samuel Bell
06 April 1991	Spence McGarry
09 April 1991	Derek Ferguson
10 April 1991	Colm Marks
13 April 1991	Ian Sproule
13 April 1991	Samuel McCrum
17 April 1991	John O'Hara
03 May 1991	Stephen Gillespie
13 May 1991	Robert Orr
17 May 1991	Douglas Carruthers
21 May 1991	Wallace McVeigh
25 May 1991	Eddie Fullerton
25 May 1991	Terence O'Neill
27 May 1991	Edward Spence
31 May 1991	Paul Blakely
31 May 1991	Robert Crozier
31 May 1991	Sidney Hamilton
03 June 1991	Peter Ryan
03 June 1991	Lawrence McNally
03 June 1991	Anthony Doris
06 June 1991	Ruairi Finnis
17 June 1991	Brian Lawrence
19 June 1991	Anthony Harrison
29 June 1991	Gerard Burns
29 June 1991	Cecil McKnight
18 July 1991	John McMaster
19 July 1991	Thomas Hughes
21 July 1991	Thomas Oliver
05 August 1991	Eric Boyd
09 August 1991	Gary Lynch
10 August 1991	James Carson
12 August 1991	Padraig O'Seanachain
15 August 1991	Ronald Finlay
15 August 1991	James Woods
16 August 1991	Thomas Donaghy
16 August 1991	Martin O'Prey
17 August 1991	Simon Ware
24 August 1991	Martin Watters
31 August 1991	Francis Crawford
03 September 1991	Seamus Sullivan
10 September 1991	John Hanna
13 September 1991	Kevin Flood
16 September 1991	Bernard O'Hagan
17 September 1991	Erik Clarke
19 September 1991	John Haldane
28 September 1991	Larry Murchan
29 September 1991	Kevin McGovern
10 October 1991	Harry Ward
10 October 1991	Hugh Magee
13 October 1991	Karl Hegney
14 October 1991	Henry Conlon
15 October 1991	John McGuigan
16 October 1991	Brian McCabe
25 October 1991	Sean Anderson
02 November 1991	Philip Cross
02 November 1991	Craig Pantry
03 November 1991	Gerard Maginn
06 November 1991	Michael Boxall
09 November 1991	Kathleen Lundy
09 November 1991	Colin Lundy
13 November 1991	William Kingsberry
13 November 1991	Samuel Mehaffey
13 November 1991	Stephen Lynn
13 November 1991	Kenneth Lynn
14 November 1991	Desmond Rogers
14 November 1991	Fergus Magee
14 November 1991	John Lavery
15 November 1991	Francis Ryan
15 November 1991	Patricia Black
24 November 1991	Robert Skey
24 November 1991	Colin Caldwell
25 November 1991	James McCaffrey
27 November 1991	Kenneth Newell
15 December 1991	Colm Mahon
21 December 1991	Robin Farmer
21 December 1991	Barry Watson
21 December 1991	Thomas Gorman
21 December 1991	William Johnston
22 December 1991	Aidan Wallace

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

Lord,
come to us:
free us from the stain of our sins.
Help us to remain faithful to a holy way of life,
and guide us to the inheritance you have promised.

Daily Meditation

We pray more intensely now, just a week before Holy Thursday.

We desire more and more that we might be free.

Sorrow leads to profound gratitude,
when we experience the depth of unconditional love offered us.

The gratitude of a loved sinner leads to great generosity.

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant so that since he has died,
those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised to them.
The Entrance Antiphon - Hebrews 9:15

Intercessions

Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world,
that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death.

Let us praise him and cry out to him:
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
- that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.

Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
- that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.

Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
- that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your Church.

Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
- and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.

Closing Prayer

Lord,
all I want is to be faithful to you in my life,
but so often I fail.

Free me from my many sins
and guide me to the life I will share with you.

I wait for your promise to be fulfilled
with great hope in my heart
and your praise on my lips.

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 2)

Catholic schools accused of bias

CHILDREN from Eastern Catholic churches are being discriminated against in Australian Catholic schools, according to complaints by Australia's Eastern Catholic bishops that are attracting international attention.

Eastern Rite bishops met in Sydney last month, protesting to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the national Catholic Education Commission and Catholic education offices.

Two priests from the Ukrainian Catholic Church wrote a report published on Catholica, an online Catholic forum, claiming that Catholic schools were harming the Eastern students' Christian upbringing.

Eastern Rite churches are Catholic churches that recognise the Pope but have their own rites and traditions. Four Eastern churches have bishops in Australia: the Ukrainian, Maronite, Melchite and Chaldean Catholic churches.

Catholica editor Brian Coyne told The Age there was strong tension between the Eastern churches and the Vatican over perceptions that Eastern Rite churches were treated as second-class Catholics, and particularly over delays to a decision to appoint a Ukrainian patriarch.

Perth academic and Catholic commentator Andrew Kania said whenever an Eastern Catholic child in a Catholic school was alienated, the Latin Church revealed itself as not completely understanding its own identity and mission.

There are about 35,000 Ukrainian Catholics in Australia, with thousands of children in Catholic schools, while immigration from the Middle East has greatly increased the numbers of other Eastern Rite children.

According to the priests' report, Eastern Rite children are being so indoctrinated in Latin spirituality at school they tend to abandon their Eastern church heritage.

"The cold reality is harsh. Many things continue to happen which do harm to the Christian upbringing of Eastern Catholic children," it said.

Clergy refused communion to children who were entitled to receive it.

There were many attempts to confirm children who had already been confirmed, and schools treated the prayer rope as a piece of jewellery and forbade students to wear them.
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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)

US gay bishop: 'Church should bless marriage, not legalise it'

Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the US, has called for a separation between state and religion in the signing of marriage licences, the Emory Wheel reports.

Speaking at a lecture titled 'The faith of a gay bishop' at Emory University last night, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire said that despite religious officials frequently signing marriage licences, the state should handle the legal aspect of the ceremony, leaving churches to provide blessings.

This way, he argued, states could legalise the marriages of opposite-sex or same-sex couples regardless of religious institutions' views on homosexuality.

Robinson also argued that progressive Christians need to "rescue" the Bible from the religious right, saying "It will take religious people and religious voices to undo the harm that has been done by religious institutions … It’s time to start demanding separation of church and state.”

He attacked several anti-gay arguments based on the Bible, citing the example of eating pork and wearing two types of cloth together as also being classed as "abominations".

He said: "You can’t take a 20th century word, stick it back into an ancient text, and expect it to mean something entirely unknown to the authors of the text. These verses are quoted as if our world has never changed.

“Although I believe the New and Old Testaments to be the word of God, I do not believe it is the words of God,” he added, making a distinction between the human authors of the texts and the spirit in which they were written.

Robinson also cited verses in the Book of Genesis that are used to argue against non-heterosexual activity, saying they should be taken in the context of their time.

According to the bishop, the verses which forbid the spilling of a man's seed should be considered in light of the Ancient Hebrews, who as a minority struggling to multipy, saw the waste of semen as murder.

In a lecture last week at Copley Square in Boston, Robinson said the Exodus story was "the greatest coming out story in the history of the world" because it relates to freedom and release from slavery.

Last month, he gave evidence before New Hampshire's legislature on a bill that will legalise gay marriage.

"Ladies and gentleman of the Judiciary Committee, don't let the religious opponents to marriage equality you will hear from today and in the days to come make you afraid to do what is right," he said.

The bill was approved by the state house last week and will pass to the Senate.
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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: PN)

God Hates Fags church raises money for LGBT support group

Members of the US Westboro Baptist Church, who chant slogans such as "fags burn in hell", have unintentionally raised money for a gay rights group.

LGBT activists have set up a scheme in which people are asked to donate money for every minute the Phelps family protest against gays.

The vehemently homophobic church, whose leader Fred Phelps runs GodHatesFags.com, turned up to picket outside the White House on Monday, calling President Obama the 'antichrist' for his support of equality.

However, Phelps and his church were met by LGBT supporters who protested against them, raising money for local group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence.

The scheme was thought up by Driving Equality, an organisation that has held various 'Phelps-A-Thons'.

Visitors to the website www.phelps-a-thon.comcan sponsor the Westboro Baptist Church by choosing an amount to donate for every minute the group chants slogans such as “god hates fags".

All of the proceeds go towards local LGBT support groups, or to Driving Equality.

Driving Equality aims to raise $25,000 (£17,374) and has already raised over $10348 (£7,192).

Some of this money is to fund founder Chris Mason's 100-day, 16,000-mile road trip through 48 states to advance LGBT equality.

There have been other 'Phelps-A-Thons' at places such as Harvard and SUNY and Mason has appealed for more, saying that he can organise the sponsoring events wherever the fundamentalist family visit.

"Let me know and I will add a Phelps-A-Thon for your community. We can work together to raise money for your local gay/straight alliance or LGBT community centre," he said.

Last month, the church threatened to picket a London primary school after it held lessons on same-sex relationships as part of LGBT History Month.

Around 30 parents took their children out of George Tomlinson School in February to protest over the curriculum.

The group stated: "God hates the UK and the Tomlinson School fag tyranny, where conscientious parents face religious persecution for withdrawing their children on lying fag so-called history.

"This is yet another warning to the UK to repent of their manifold sins of the flesh, or perish."

Despite the threat, the group did not arrive to chant outside the school.
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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: PN)

Sweden approves same-sex marriage

Six of the seven parties in Swedish parliament have backed a proposal to introduce a gender-neutral marriage law.

The proposal passed today with a 261 to 22 vote and 16 abstentions.

The only party to oppose the ruling were the Christian Democrats, stating that the party wanted to maintain "a several hundred-year-old concept" of marriage.

It is not yet certain that the changes will affect church marriage ceremonies, but in February, a majority of Church of Sweden bishops said the church should no longer handle legal marriage registrations, DPA reported.

The new legislation comes into effect as of May 1st, replacing the current legislation established in 1995 approving registered partnership much like civil partnerships in the UK.

Couples with a 'registered partnership' can either retain this status or apply to the relevant authorities to have it amended.

The president of the Swedish Federation for LGBT Rights, Soren Juvas, called the ruling “a great victory” and Evon Frid of the Left Party said it was “a positive change”.

A poll for the Sifo Institute published in January 2008 found that 71 per cent of Swedes think gay people should be allowed to marry.

In January 2007 the Church of Sweden, which was disestablished in 2000, began offering religious blessings to gay unions and actively welcomed LGBT clergy.

A Lutheran denomination, it claims more than 7 million members out of a population of 9 million

Last year the Church agreed that marriage and partnership were equivalent forms of unions.

It recommended however that the term "marriage" be referred only to heterosexual couples.
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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: PN)

Abortion is a ‘defeat for medicine,’ says archbishop of Sao Paulo

During a pro-life rally on March 29 outside the Cathedral of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer announced to the more than 5,000 people gathered that "abortion is a defeat for medicine."

After explaining to his audience that "the health of women who are raped can be recovered through medicine," the cardinal pointed out that "abortion is a radical attack against life. The Church supports everything that is done to save life. Abortion is a defeat for medicine."

The cardinal said the state should create laws that defend life from the moment of conception.

"We cannot give the State the right to legally throw away the lives of the defenseless. It is a question of citizenship, not of religion," he continued.

Various pro-life leaders and lawmakers were present at the event, including Marilia de Castro of the National Movement of Citizens for Life.

"We are going to defeat the measures that aim to kill our children," she 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: CNA)

Holy Cross Superior writes to Obama over Notre Dame invite

Holy Cross Superior General, Fr. Hugh W. Cleary, released an open letter to President Barack Obama addressing the Notre Dame scandal and claiming that Obama has “made a mistake” on his support for legalized abortion.

However, Fr. Cleary said that he is unable to rescind the invitation since Notre Dame is legally seperate from the Holy Cross order.

Opening his letter to Obama, Fr. Cleary explained the history of the University of Notre Dame and its founding by the Congregation of the Holy Cross, of which he is the Superior General.

Fr. Cleary was also careful to note that he does not have authority over the decision -making of the university, a power which rests in the hands of its Board of Fellows and Board of Trustees.

He did say, on the other hand, that he exercises personal authority over all Holy Cross priests, including Fr. John Jenkins, the university's president.

The Holy Cross Superior General then congratulated the President for being awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree and spent the next 13 pages of his letter addressing Obama’s support for abortion rights and posing the question, “How are we Catholics to participate in all levels of government without betraying our consciences?”

After complementing Obama's intellect and understanding of “the issues of our day,” Fr. Cleary then asked Obama not to “dismiss [Catholic] views too off-handedly, without giving them the serious attention and reflection they deserve.”

Already, said Fr. Cleary, many faithful Catholics “feel out of the mainstream” when it comes to our “nation’s direction and decision making.”

Brushing aside the idea that the Notre Dame outrage is “partisan politics,” Fr. Cleary said that he wants to “rejoice in [Obama’s] presence at Notre Dame,” but wonders how Catholics should “deal with [him], or any other government leader, who upholds what we believe to be the intrinsic evil of abortion.”

Fr. Cleary called on Obama to re-evaluate the “civil laws framing our United States cultural values” which see a human embryo growing as just “new tissue, a kind of cancerous, biological growth infecting a woman’s body and threatening a woman’s independent way of life.”

In a reference to slavery, Fr. Cleary said that the United States has a history of defining “parameters of human life when it suits our self interest” saying that slavery was a way of “denying that a black human being of African decent” was not fully human for the sake of “economic progress,” just like many argue an unwanted child could be for a struggling mother.

He also questioned how a Catholic should respond to a government and a president that are willing to support the Freedom of Choice Act, which would force faith-based hospitals to perform abortions, or deny health care workers their freedom to choose life. Obama’s logic would then make it “lawful to choose abortion but it [would] be a crime to choose life,” a postiion that Fr. Cleary believes would be a government “persecution of the Catholic Church.”

Pondering the possible passage of FOCA, he wondered if it would mean that Catholics should “flee to Canada in protest” or the desert as early Christians did to escape the “sinful society seemingly beyond conversion.”

The Pope’s visit to Africa, Fr. Cleary said, is another example of “Catholic bashing” and persecution of the Church by the “free press.” By focusing on a sound-byte by the Pope, instead of his entire “thoughtful and gracious answer” the “industrial news media complex” has shown it is more eager to “make news and money” than properly report and enforce the values. Cleary also said he feared that media owners have become the “new teaching hierarchy of the culture wars,” which the Catholic Church cannot compete with.

Drawing his letter to a close, the Holy Cross superior told President Obama that “[Catholics] want to be taken seriously. We insist on taking ourselves seriously, that is why there has been so much protest and turmoil in regard to your presence at Notre Dame.” He then offered a topic for Obama’s commencement speech: “how Catholics can be taken seriously for our faith convictions without being dismissed off-handedly and shunned.”

To read the letter, please click here.
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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 calls for an ethical G20 solution that remembers the poor

Ahead of the G20 gathering in London, Pope Benedict XVI has written to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to insist that any solution to the financial crisis involves the inclusion of ethics and be founded upon a "positive faith in the human person," especially those in extreme poverty.

Gordon Brown, who currently chairs the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from industrialized and emerging nations, received a letter from Pope Benedict as the leaders prepare for their April 2-3 meeting.

The Pope praised the "noble objectives" they have set themselves, saying that they arise from the conviction "that the way out of the current global crisis can only be reached together, avoiding solutions marked by any nationalistic selfishness or protectionism."

The upcoming G20 summit, the Pope noted, is intended to "coordinate, with urgency, measures necessary to stabilize financial markets and to enable companies and families to weather this period of deep recession, as well as to restore sustainable growth in the world economy and to reform and substantially strengthen systems of global governance, in order to ensure that such a crisis is not repeated in the future."

Examining what led to the current global recession, the Holy Father said that "a key element of the crisis is a deficit of ethics in economic structures." This same crisis, he insisted, "teaches us that ethics is not 'external' to the economy but 'internal' and that the economy cannot function if it does not bear within it an ethical component."

The Holy Father also drew upon his recently concluded trip to Africa to impress upon the G20 leaders the gravity of their decisions. While in Africa, the Pope wrote, he was able to "see first hand the reality of severe poverty and marginalization, which the crisis risks aggravating dramatically."

And although the poor would be the most affected population, Pope Benedict pointed out that their voice has little chance of being heard by the G20, where "sub-Saharan Africa is represented by just one State and some regional organizations."

This, he writes, "must prompt a profound reflection among the summit participants, since those whose voice has least force in the political scene are precisely the ones who suffer most from the harmful effects of a crisis for which they do not bear responsibility."

The solutions arrived at by the G20 must involve "a courageous and generous strengthening of international co-operation, capable of promoting a truly humane and integral development. Positive faith in the human person, and above all faith in the poorest men and women - of Africa and other regions of the world affected by extreme poverty - is what is needed if we are truly to come through the crisis once and for all, without turning our back on any region, and if we are definitively to prevent any recurrence of a situation similar to that in which we find ourselves today," he wrote.

The Pope concluded his letter by expressing the wish to add his voice "to those of the adherents of various religions and cultures who share the conviction that the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015, to which leaders at the UN Millennium Summit committed themselves, remains one of the most important tasks of our time."

Gordon Brown replied to the Pope's letter by saying that he agreed with the Holy Father's ideas and that "...we stand ready to support the most vulnerable in society. It is vital that rich countries keep their promises on aid, even in these tough times."
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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)

Archbishop says 'no time for alibis' on international development

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has warned politicians that now is “no time for alibis” on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Archbishop also praised Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his role in promoting the MDGs, the set of eight goals aimed at reducing poverty across the world by 2015.

"This is no time to think of alibis for that because there is no economic problem that is just local in our world," he said.

"We have already seen growth rates slowing down in Africa. It is estimated that perhaps as many as over 50 million people could be in absolute poverty in the next few years."

The Archbishop said that solving the problems of poverty around the globe should be one of the top priorities at this week’s G20 meeting of world leaders. He said that failure to do so would only compound the mistakes of the past and lead to more injustice in the future.

He went on to criticise “virtual reality economic products”, which he claimed caused people to lose touch of the limits of the real world.

On the global economic crisis, Dr Williams said, "I'm certainly not saying this is just a wake-up call and we ought to be glad of the bracing message. People really are suffering and that's a major problem. But if we can at least take the opportunity of saying: how did we get here? Is this a sensible way to run an economy? Is this a sensible way to run a human race?

"We have not seen the signs of coming problems; we have thought that there are cost-free and risk-free kinds of investment; and we have wanted the kind of economy where we are so much in control that risk is minimised."
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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)

Patriarch Kirill to chair Kiev celebrations dedicated to the Baptist of Russia

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia is going to visit Ukraine on July 27.

Such decision was taken at the Patriarch’s meeting with Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine in Moscow as the latter arrived in the Russian capital to participate in the Holy Synod, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church press-service has told Interfax-Religion on Tuesday.

Metropolitan Vladimir conveyed Patriarch Kirill official invitation of the Ukrainian Synod to visit Kiev.

Thus, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church is to chair celebrations dedicated to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of Russia, as he is commemorated on July 28.
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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)

ADL slams archbishop who said more Catholics than Jews died in Holocaust

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has condemned the words of a Brazilian Catholic Archbishop who suggested in a magazine interview that "more Catholics than Jews have died in the Holocaust, but this is usually not told because Jews own the world's propaganda."

In a statement released Wednesday, the ADL said the remarks by Archbishop Dadeus Grings of Porto Alegre, Brazil, highlight the continuing fallout from the case of Bishop Richard Williamson, who declared that no Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

"We warned last month that every day that goes by in which Bishop Williamson fails to publicly recant his Holocaust denial only gives license to others to engage in Holocaust denial," stated ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman.

"Now we see another Catholic cleric distorting the Holocaust.

"The church must take strong and public action against these Holocaust deniers who represent the Catholic Church to the world," continued the statement.

"It is especially important that Pope Benedict make it clear that there will be consequences for those clergy who engage in Holocaust denial."
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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: JP)

Young Poles 'rejecting' Catholicism

Young Poles are turning their back on Catholic values, a survey has found, as Poland commemorates the fourth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.

Only 3 per cent of Poles aged 24 to 34 want to live their lives as Catholics while 51 per cent placed the pursuit of love as the most important aspect of their lives.

Living a life of luxury was the second most desirable goal at 34 per cent, the poll carried out by the Polish market research company SMG/KRC discovered.

Despite some 95 per cent of Poles describing themselves as Catholic, the survey also concluded that in Poland's flourishing urban areas only 21 per cent of the selected ago group attended mass on a regular basis, with the majority only going to church for weddings, christenings and funerals.

Such information will deal a blow to the belief that the age group would become a bastion of Catholic values. Sometimes called the "John-Paul generation" because their formative years coincided with the papacy of the former Archbishop of Kraków, many in Poland thought that they would adhere to the values and morality promoted by the Polish Pope.

But while the late Pontiff, who died on April 2, 2005, remains a deeply revered and respected figure in his homeland, his influence, and that of the Catholic Church, has waned.

Younger Poles, benefiting from a wealth freedoms that communism denied the older generations, have embraced many of Western Europe's more liberal and secular values.

Although the survey is the latest to suggest the influence the Catholic Church has in Poland is slowly being chipped away, Father Wieslaw Dawidowski, a priest in Warsaw, while conceding that "the

Church is still redefining its role" in post-communist society, said that people should not read too much into numbers.

"Statistics are relative, and sometimes they have little meaning, and what matters to me is what people have in their hearts," he said. "Pope John Paul II did not say that churches should open their doors, but people should open the doors of their hearts to Christ, and that is a substantial difference."
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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: TTCUK)

Church denies gay priest test

Reports that the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is ‘testing’ would-be priests to ensure they are not gay have been denied by the church.

When asked by MCV if they test prospective priests for homosexuality, the Melbourne seminary’s rector stated: “No, we do not.”

Last week the Herald-Sun reported that ‘The Melbourne Catholic Church has embraced a Vatican recommendation to test potential priests for sexual orientation’.

The article also stated that Archdiocese of Melbourne spokesperson James O’Farrell had confirmed Carlton’s Corpus Christi Catholic seminary was adhering to guidelines set down by the Vatican.

One of the recommendations is to test prospective priests for homosexuality.

The seminary has consequently denied that they carry out such tests.

O’Farrell told MCV that he did confirm that psychological testing was done, but that he never said tests for homosexuality were included.

“My comments were that we are applying broad psychological tests,” O’Farrell said. “I never mentioned homosexuality specifically.

The rest of the article was the work of the journalist.”

O’Farrell said the psychological tests were used to prepare men for priesthood.

In November last year the Vatican approved testing to screen out priests with homosexual tendencies.

The Vatican went so far as to ban celibate gay men, due to homosexuality being “a type of deviation”.

It has not been explained how the testing is carried out.
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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: RCNC)

Italian 'preachers manual' out

An Italian priest has come up with a manual to answer what he thinks is a preacher's common prayer, how to keep his flock interested in what he's saying.

The guide, available on the Verona diocese website, is called Everything A Priest Should Know To Keep The Faithful From Getting Bored.

The author, Father Mario Masina, says preachers should kick off their sermons with ''a question, an anecdote, a news story, something topical but not too blown up by the media''.

It is crucial to vary styles of delivery ''to keep up a feeling of spontaneity'' but at the same time preachers must ''read up on everything'' to avoid giving the impression that they're ''just trotting out something for the umpteenth time''.

The most important thing, Father Masina says, is ''knowing when the end is coming up'' - which shouldn't be more than ten minutes from the start, and ''preferably sooner''.
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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)

Benedict prays for John Paul II beatification

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday prayed for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, ahead of the fourth anniversary of his death on Thursday.

"Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of the death of the servant of God," said Benedict, addressing a group of Polish pilgrims at Saint Peter's Square.

"May the spiritual legacy of your great compatriot inspire your personal, family, social and national life. Together with you I pray for the gift of beatification."

Large numbers of Polish pilgrims are expected to arrive in Rome on Thursday.

John Paul II's beatification Paul II was put on the 'fast track', when Benedict waived the usual five year waiting period in May 2005.

But Monsignor Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said John Paul II was was not on the list of upcoming cases.

"We cannot predict a precise schedule...all the stages, including the examination of the miracle, have to be conducted in a particularly thorough way," said Amato.

"Because it is the case of such a well known and loved pope, the fluency of the case merits a thorough methodological and content-driven approach, in light of the foreseen procedures. Fluency does not mean rush or superficiality. On the contrary, it implies promptness and professionalism."

Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005.

The issue of beatification for John Paul II was put on the 'fast track', when Benedict waived the usual five year waiting period in May 2005.
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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: AKI)

Controls on religious ads for broadcast to be relaxed

MINISTER FOR Communications Eamon Ryan will soften current restrictions on religious advertisements that are broadcast on television and radio.

The move follows a controversy at the end of last year when a Christmas radio advertisement by Veritas, which is owned by the Catholic bishops, was banned by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).“We want to allow more freedom and flexibility in order to be more sensitive around the issue of religious advertising,” the Minister told The Irish Times last night.

“Advertising shouldn’t be used for promoting a particular religion or as an agent for recruitment. At the same time, I don’t want to completely restrict advertising that has a religious connotation.”

The Broadcasting Bill 2008 is scheduled to begin report stage in the Dáil today.

The Minister said the Broadcasting Act 2001 had sometimes been interpreted in a narrow way.

Existing regulations may have encouraged a situation whereby the legislation was applied in a disproportionate manner, he said.

Current legislation does not allow for the broadcast of “an advertisement which addresses the issue of the merits or otherwise of adhering to any religious faith or belief or of becoming a member of any religion or religious organisation”.

The Minister will propose that this overarching restriction will remain in place. However, it is understood that legislative changes being proposed will result in lighter restrictions on religious advertising.

They aim to encourage a focus on the content of advertisements, rather than on whether the body behind the advertisement has objectives of a religious nature.

The Bill also proposes amalgamating the BCI and Broadcasting Complaints Commission into a new Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. This will regulate both independent and public sector broadcasters, and will be directed to develop clear guidelines to interpret the new legislation.

In December of last year, an advertising agency acting for Veritas made three unsuccessful bids to meet BCI wording requirements for an advertisement.

The BCI deemed that certain lines, including “Christmas: aren’t we forgetting something?” and “Why not give a gift that means more?” went against legislation.

A leading Catholic theologian, Fr Enda McDonagh, described as “ridiculous” and “plain silly” the decision to ban the advertisement.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin also criticised the ban. “I sincerely hope there is room in legislation on broadcasting currently before the Oireachtas that will see an end to bizarre interpretation of rules around religious advertising,” he said at the time.

Before Christmas 2007, at BCI instigation, Veritas had to remove the word “crib” from an advertisement before it could be broadcast.

The Department of Communications held a public consultation on the ban on religious advertising on radio and television in January 2004. Over 150 submissions were received by the department.

At the time, the BCI offered the department assistance on the issue but felt it was outside its remit to suggest a legislative change.
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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: BTI)