Vatican declaration on Fraternity of Pius X

The following declaration was issued on Monday morning (29th October 2012) by the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei'
"The Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei' takes this occasion to announce that, in its most recent official communication (6 September 2012), the Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X has indicated that additional time for reflection and study is needed on their part as they prepare their response to the Holy See's latest initiatives.
 
"The current stage in the ongoing discussions between the Holy See and the Priestly Fraternity follows three years of doctrinal and theological dialogues during which a joint commission met eight times to study and discuss, among other matters, some disputed issues in the interpretation of certain documents of Vatican Council II. Once these doctrinal dialogues were concluded, it became possible to proceed to a phase of discussion more directly focused on the greatly desired reconciliation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X with the See of Peter.

"Other critical steps in this positive process of gradual reintegration had already been taken by the Holy See in 2007 with the extension of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite to the Universal Church by the Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum' and in 2009 with the lifting of the excommunications. Just a few months ago, a culminating point along this difficult path was reached when, on 13 June 2012, the Pontifical Commission presented to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X a doctrinal declaration together with a proposal for the canonical normalisation of its status within the Catholic Church.
"At the present time, the Holy See is awaiting the official response of the superiors of the Priestly Fraternity to these two documents. After thirty years of separation, it is understandable that time is needed to absorb the significance of these recent developments. As Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI seeks to foster and preserve the unity of the Church by realising the long hoped-for reconciliation of the Priestly Fraternity of St Pius X with the See of Peter - a dramatic manifestation of the 'munus Petrinum' in action - patience, serenity, perseverance and trust are needed".

Pope appoints Kukah to Vatican’s Pontifical Council

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, as a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican City.  

The 13-member Council is the highest decision and policy-making body for the Council for the Holy Father.
 
Kukah’s appointment is coming after the appointment of the Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan as a Cardinal.
 
The Bishop has recently had sundry of appointments and awards.
 
In May, the President of the Conference of Bishops of English and French speaking West Africa appointed Kukah as the Chairman of the Commission on Culture, Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism.
 
In February, he was elected Chairman of the Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
 
He had earlier served the Council in five-year tenure when Francis Cardinal Arinze served as the President of the Council.
 
He was a delegate at the just-concluded Synod of Bishops for the New Evangelisation in the Vatican.

Five centuries of blinding light (Contribution)

Every day at least 10,000 people  – 20,000 in high-tourist season – enter the Sistine Chapel. 

People from all backgrounds, languages and cultures, from every religion or no religion. 

The Sistine Chapel has a fatal attraction; it is an object of desire, that essential point of arrival for  international people of museums, for migrants of  so-called “cultural tourism”.

On 31 October 1512 Julius II celebrated Vespers, inaugurating the vaulted ceiling after Michelangelo's unbelievable effort which lasted four years (1508-1512). 

The Pope never could have imagined that the more than thousand of metres of frescoes were to bring about a violent torrent, a bearer of happiness but also devastation, as Woelfflin's beautiful metaphor from 1899 goes.

In fact after the ceiling, art history radically changed in Italy and Europe. It would never be the same again. 

The vaulted ceiling began a season of art that textbooks call “mannerism”. 

The ceiling, according to Giorgio Vasari, was to  become a beacon destined to light the history of styles for the many future generations of artists.

Today five million visitors a year inside the Sistine Chapel, 20,000 per day at peak periods, certainly bring about a difficult problem. 

The anthropic pressure with dust, the humidity which bodies bring with them inside, the carbon dioxide produced by perspiration involves discomfort for visitors and damages to the painting in the long run.

We could limit access, introducing a maximum number of entries. And we will do this, if the pressure from tourism were to increase beyond a reasonable level and if we were to fail in resolving the problem efficiently. 

But I believe, despite what has come out in the media, that in the short to medium term limiting entry will not be necessary. 

However it is necessary to implement the most advanced technological provisions capable of ensuring the removal of dust and pollution, the fast and effective exchange of air, and temperature and humidity controls. 

Giovanni Urbani, a great master of our studies, said that our era has not been graced with a new Michelangelo. 

But we have been graced with technology which allows us, if used correctly, to preserve Michelangelo's work which history has given us under the best conditions, for the longest possible time.

Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage

In Baltimore's St. Vincent de Paul church, Fr. Richard T. Lawrence read a nuanced letter from Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori at all the weekend's Masses. 

It concluded: "Each one of us -- as Catholics and faithful citizens -- must show up on election day and do our part by voting against Question 6," the Civil Marriage Protection Act.

"The archbishop's thoughts on this question are powerful, and will be persuasive in conscience to many" and should be read and prayed over by all, said Lawrence, who has been St. Vincent's pastor for 39 years.

He then stated his own homiletic thoughts:

I cannot tell you how any of this will come out, but I will tell you that I stand in genuine awe of all those parents, native-born, naturalized, documented and undocumented, who strive with every fiber of their being to ensure that their children have more opportunities than they had.

And I will continue to stand in genuine awe of all those couples -- straight, gay and lesbian -- whose day-to-day, year-to-year, and decade-to-decade faithfulness to each other is to me a sacrament, a believable embodied sign, of the absolute faithfulness of God to us all.

Lori's letter to all parishes said the approaching election placed in the voters' hands "the momentous choice of whether to maintain marriage as the union of one man and one woman in Maryland, or to irrevocably dismantle our state's legal recognition of the most basic unit of our society -- the family unit of mother, father and child.

"Maryland has long provided to domestic partners many of the same protections married couples receive," the letter states. "These include medical decision-making and hospital visitation rights; exemption from inheritance and real estate tax laws, and government health benefits, to name just a few. Recognizing this fact, do not be fooled in thinking it is necessary to redefine marriage for all of society simply to provide other couples [with] benefits."

"Redefining marriage is not only unnecessary ... We cannot underestimate the long-term consequences that redefining marriage would have on children, on the family, and on the religious freedoms of individuals and institutions who continue to hold fast to our deeply held beliefs about marriage," the letter continues."

Lawrence then said in his homily that religious and civil law are separate and that "evil" civil law, like segregation, should be resisted in conscience while other civil laws, like taxes, can be complied with in conscience "even when we disagree with them."

"Even some marriage laws fall into this category," he said. "While the federal courts respect the rights of churches not to hire anyone for a ministerial position whose marriage does not comply with the laws of that church, we do hire and pay spousal benefits, such as medical insurance, for employees whose marriages are not valid in the eyes of church law."

"It seems to me, therefore," Lawrence continued, "that even if we do not believe that gay marriage ever could or should be allowed in the church, we could live with a provision that allows civil marriage of gay and lesbian couples. Personally, however, I would go farther than that."

Turning to decisions at Vatican II (1962-65), Lawrence said an eventual change in church teaching was possible, "and we could come to recognize the total, exclusive and permanent union of gay and lesbian couples as part of the sacrament of matrimony."

Lawrence cited Genesis 1:18, in which God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."

The church has always "been willing to marry couples in the church even though their ages suggest strongly that the procreation and education of children is no longer a possibility," Lawrence said.

"Could we not then say that their devotion to and support of each other ... could be recognized by the church as a valid sacrament of God's unrelenting faithfulness to us just as much as the union of an elderly straight couple?" he asked. "Neither will procreate children, but both can be sacraments of God's faithfulness in the living out of their commitment to each other."

Lawrence stressed such was not the teaching of the church, but said, "I personally believe that this is a possible line of future development in theology and perhaps eventually even in church teaching. And if this is even a possibility, could we not judge that civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples ought to be allowed by the state at this time?"

The pastor said if Question 6 passes, he will not perform gay or lesbian weddings at St. Vincent's or anywhere else, just as he did not officiate at the second wedding of his niece, whose first marriage was not annulled.

"I attended as a sign of my love and support for her, but I could not perform the ceremony," he said. "In the same way, I have attended, and will continue to attend, the weddings of gay and lesbian persons whom I love and support, but I cannot perform the ceremony."

"But could not civil law be allowed to progress where church law cannot go, at least not yet? Personally, I believe that it can and that it should," he said. "So there you have it: the official teaching of the church and my personal reflections."

The St. Vincent parishioners gave Lawrence a standing ovation.

Dismissal of case against Kansas City priest lets SNAP off hook

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is off the legal hook -- for now.

For months, the leading advocacy group for U.S. clergy sex abuse victims has been part of a legal saga in county court here after a judge ordered the group to give access to 23 years of internal documents and files to lawyers defending priests accused of abuse.

The case, which centers around a Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocesan priest accused of abuse, sparked the possibility that the group and its executive director, David Clohessy, might be found in contempt for withholding some of the requested documents.

On Tuesday, however, lawyers for both the plaintiff and the man he accuses of abuse, Fr. Michael Tierney, announced in Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court they had agreed to dismiss the case pending an appeal to higher courts on other issues.

"SNAP isn't off the hook by this," said Rebecca Randles, the attorney for the person accusing Tierney, following Tuesday's ruling. "It's a reprieve. It isn't a [stay]."

The dismissal puts on hold the issues surrounding SNAP and its documents until Missouri's Court of Appeals or its Supreme Court decides on the other issues.

The appeal is expected to center on a July 20 decision from Jackson County Judge Ann Mesle that dismissed the Kansas City diocese as a co-defendant in the case. 

Mesle ruled that because Tierney is accused of abusing the plaintiff off diocesan property, the diocese cannot be assumed liable for the priest's actions.

Prior to Tuesday's dismissal, Tierney's lawyers had asked Mesle to find SNAP in contempt of court for not fulfilling the judge's previous orders for access to its documents.

Randles said her client, who has chosen to remain anonymous, decided to dismiss the case to immediately appeal Mesle's ruling on the Kansas City diocese's involvement in the case, not because of the issues involving SNAP.

The agreement between the alleged victim's lawyers and Tierney's lawyers allows Randles to file an appeal on the ruling regarding the Kansas City diocese, then to re-file the case in Jackson County Circuit Court once those appeals are exhausted.

That agreement, Randles said, was "developed over months." The timing with regard to SNAP's issues in the case, she said, was "fortuitous" and "not planned."

Brian Madden, an attorney representing Tierney, said he and his client "have no say in this."

"The plaintiff can decide to dismiss ... and re-file once, so long as it's not made it to trial," Madden said.

The lawsuit, first filed in September 2010, states that in 1971, Tierney invited a then-13-year-old to Tierney's mother's house to help Tierney move boxes. 

Once there, Tierney wrestled with him and touched him sexually, the plaintiff alleges in the suit.

Mesle said in her July order that she "struggled" with the ruling to dismiss the diocese from the case, but previous rulings by Missouri's Supreme Court and its Court of Appeals effectively tied her hands.

One case Mesle cited specifically was the Supreme Court's 1997 decision in Gibson v. Brewer. 

In that case, an alleged abuse victim brought suit against the St. Louis archdiocese, claiming the diocese acted negligently in its supervision and retention of the priest accused of abuse.

While the high court agreed in its decision that the archdiocese was not immune from civil liability stemming from acts by its clergy, it ruled that questions of hiring and retaining clergy "necessarily involve interpretations of religious doctrine, policy and administration."

"Such excessive entanglement between church and state has the effect of inhibiting religion, in violation of the First Amendment," the justices wrote. In order to prove negligent supervision of the priest by the archdiocese, the justices added, the abuse would have to occur "upon the premises in possession" of the diocese.

Because of that ruling, Mesle said in her July decision the plaintiff "would face the insurmountable obstacle that the alleged incident happened off the premises of Defendant Diocese."

With Randles' forthcoming filing for appeal in the Kansas City case, which she said she is considering filing directly to the state's Supreme Court, the justices will have to decide whether to readdress the issue of priest supervision.

As for SNAP, things remain on hold.

Madden said once the case against Tierney is dismissed, the court loses jurisdiction over the motions filed in front of it, including his motion to hold the victims' advocacy group in contempt.

The documents already obtained from the group "are under a protective order, so they're confidential. They will be held in confidence," he said.

Mesle approved the confidentiality agreement regarding SNAP's documents in April and mandated that documents defense lawyers had access to should be marked as confidential and kept in the possession of one of SNAP's lawyers, and notes of all access to the documents should be kept in a log.

The files requested from SNAP included all correspondence with members of the press that mention Tierney or the diocese; all documents that refer to priests currently or formerly associated with the diocese; and all correspondence with members of the public "that discusses or relates to repressed memory in conjunction with cases involving" the Kansas City diocese.

Tierney's defense lawyers had argued that SNAP could be inappropriately coaching victims it helps regarding issues of repressed memory.

SNAP previously had filed appeals to prevent the handover of documents to Missouri's Court of Appeals and its Supreme Court to stop the document request, which it lost.

SVP fears budget cuts will hit lone parents

The Society of Saint Vincent De Paul (SVP) has said that it fears December's budget will hit lone parents hardest, particularly those who are aiming to return to work.

Speaking at the weekend, the SVP head of Social Justice and Policy, John Mark McCafferty, said that lone parents suffered the most in the 2012 budget and there are real fears that they could be hit hardest again. 

In particular Mr McCafferty said that there could be a complete erosion of Welfare to Work supports, a move that would hit lone parents hardest.  

Speaking at the launch of the party's pre-budget submission, he also confirmed that SVP had sought an urgent meeting with the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD to make her aware of their concerns. 

He added that despite some of the rhetoric coming from government circles, the government is imposing severe hardship on those with the lowest incomes and the least resources.

According to SVP's pre-budget submission, more than 400,000 home visits are carried out by 10,500 SVP volunteers each year, and that many of these people have been hit by 30 different cuts that have been made due to the government's austerity programme. 

According to SVP, 175,000 households across the country are now struggling to pay mortgages, an estimated 200,000 households are now using moneylenders and 29,000 families are now on Family Income Supplement (FIS).

SVP also confirmed that its newly elected national President Geoff Meagher, has forwarded these statistics to the ECB / IMF / EU troika and asked them to review the Irish government’s austerity programme. 

The SVP also confirmed that it is spending more than €70 million annually to help people in need.

Prayer For The Deceased

Our Father….

Hail Mary….

Glory Be….

Eternal light shine upon them, and may their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us (x3)

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us (x3)

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel: 

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -by the Divine Power of God -cast into Hell, Satan and all the Evil Spirits,who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen

Catholic Church accuses Stonewall of intolerance over 'bigot' prize

The Catholic Church has accused Stonewall, the campaign for gay rights, of being intolerant of dissenting views after a Cardinal was branded 'bigot of the year' at an awards ceremony. 
  
Cardinal Keith O'Brien was named in the controversial category at Stonewall's annual award ceremony in London. 

The charity said the move was voted for by 10,000 supporters and came after the cardinal went "well beyond what any normal person would call a decent level of public discourse" over the last year, which has seen heated debate over plans to introduce gay marriage in Scotland.

But the Catholic Church criticised the charity's award, saying it revealed "the depth of their intolerance" and a willingness to demean people who do not share their views. 

The row came after Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson picked up a politician of the year gong from the equality group.

Ms Davidson was awarded the title in recognition of her becoming the first openly gay leader of a major UK political party.

But she criticised the bigot of the year category, saying it was "simply wrong" to use such terminology. 

Ms Davidson, who attended the ceremony presented by broadcaster Gok Wan, said: "There are many voices in this debate and just as I respectfully express my sincerely held belief that we should extend marriage to same-sex couples, I will also respect those who hold a different view." 

The annual ceremony honours those who have made a positive contribution to the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Scotland and around the world.
 
Ms Davidson was selected from a shortlist of five politicians including Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
 
Upon receiving the award, the Scots Tory leader was quick to urge Stonewall to drop its controversial "bigot" category.
 
She said: "I think it's important for young people growing up to see that it doesn't matter your politics, gender or sexuality, there should be no barrier to success. This is why I am so supportive of Stonewall's Role Models leadership programme. But where I disagree with Stonewall in these awards is the need to call people names like 'bigot'. It is simply wrong. The case for equality is far better made by demonstrating the sort of generosity, tolerance and love we would wish to see more of in this world." 
 
Coutts, the Queen's bankers, and Barclays threatened to withdraw their support for the event unless the 'bigot' category was dropped.

The Cardinal, who has strongly opposed Scottish Government plans to extend marriage to same-sex couples, has previously described gay marriage as a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right". 

Stonewall Scotland director Colin Macfarlane said: "It's fitting that Stonewall's 10,000 supporters voted decisively to name Cardinal O'Brien as 'Bigot of the Year'. We've never called anyone a bigot just because they don't agree with us, but in just the past 12 months the Cardinal has gone well beyond what any normal person would call a decent level of public discourse." 
 
Speaking later on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland, Mr Macfarlane said some of the language used recently by the Cardinal has been "vicious" and "cruel" and has caused upset to gay people and their loved ones. 

Defending the "bigot" category at the award ceremony, he told the programme: "The very fact is the people that were nominated for bigot of the year have this year called gay people Nazis, they've compared them to bestialitists and to paedophiles and one of the nominees suggested that gay people should be put in front of a firing squad and shot dead. I think what we are doing is highlighting the fact that very cruel, very nasty, very pernicious language is being used by some people, and in particular by the Cardinal who won. I think we're right to highlight that, I think we're right to shine a light on that kind of discrimination, hence why bigot of the year was one of our award categories." 
 
A spokesman for the Catholic Church said Stonewall's announcement last night "reveals the depth of their intolerance and willingness to attack and demean those who don't share their views." 

The statement also called into question Government funding of the organisation.
 
It said: "Numerous public bodies give sizeable financial donations to Stonewall including the Scottish Government, these intolerant and intimidatory tactics should mean that this funding is now questioned and examined as a matter of urgency." 

The Catholic Church in Scotland's parliamentary officer John Deighan told the BBC today: "It's an outrage that an organisation like this, which is funded massively by the public purse, should hold such a position. It shows a lack of judgment, it calls into question the role that they should have in any of the functions that they have."
 
Cardinal O'Brien is said to have stated that same-sex relationships are "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being" and compared equal marriage to slavery and child abuse. 

Under his leadership the Catholic Church in Scotland has pledged to "declare war" on marriage equality and committed an additional £100,000 for the fight.

Rev. Bourgeois offers apology to women barred from priesthood in Catholic Church

The Rev. Roy Bourgeois, who has been criticized by the Catholic Church for his support of women's ordination, discussed his views Thursday night at Claremont Graduate University.

"I really want to begin with an apology," Bourgeois said during a panel discussion. "To all the women in the Catholic Church and also I think in society for taking so long to see this injustice. To see the root of our church's teaching all about sexism. No excuses, I was asleep, I think, for many years and one of the many participating in what we call prejudice. I've come to see after much reflection that in life prejudice is our greatest enemy. We learn prejudice. And we can unlearn it."

Bourgeois was part of a group that also featured Gina Messina-Dysert, visiting assistant professor in the department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University; Rosemary Radford Ruether, visiting professor of religion; and Jane Via of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests.

Via said she agreed with the sentiment expressed by Ruether that the Catholic Church was much larger than the Vatican, which has condemned the idea of women being ordained.

"The Vatican is a tiny, tiny group of very powerful elderly, mostly Caucasian males," Via said.

"That's who they are. But the power they exert, over women and children, especially in non-industrialized societies worldwide is enormous. Women will never be able to push their way into that power structure without becoming ordained first," she said.

Via said she will not walk away from the Catholic Church despite her disagreements.

"My personal attitudes about that are that I am intelligent, articulate, I'm well-educated and if every voice like mine leaves the Catholic Church there will be no one left to speak for women," she said.

The packed audience inside the Albrecht Auditorium cheered Via's comment.
Bourgeois said the issue of women's ordination

"Who are we as men to say to women our call is authentic but your call is not?" Bourgeois said.

"Who are we as men to reject God's call to women to the priesthood? What arrogance. And what I saw in our church's teaching at its very root was that sin of sexism. And as we all know, sexism, like racism, like homophobia and all those other forms of discrimination is wrong. It's wrong," Bourgeois said.

He said such a rule is an injustice against the church.

"And of course an injustice against our loving God who calls both men and women into the priesthood," Bourgeois said.

"What do we do? You and I when we see an injustice with such clarity. What we do know is silence is the voice of complicity. In order to sleep at night, I had to break my silence."

Church teaching holds that the priesthood is reserved for men, since Christ chose only men as his apostles.

Proponents of women's ordination say there is no theological basis for excluding women from the priesthood, that there is evidence of women priests in the early church and that the Vatican's ban is purely sexist.

Minister has turned the page on school patronage

OPINION: Quinn is driving an agenda of change that finally recognises and respects the inalienable constitutional rights of parents.

FINTAN O’TOOLE states that the approach of Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn to the patronage of primary schools is disastrous.

He argues that the Minister’s approach will result in “formalised apartheid” and that everything in the Minister’s strategy is inimical to the idea of a republic. He suggests if we were in the business of building a new republic from scratch, the first thing we would do would be to educate all our children together.

But Ireland is not in the business of building a new republic from scratch, nor are we in the business of building a new education system from scratch.

If we were, it is likely that we would indeed ask, as O’Toole suggests, what kind of primary education system is best for a diverse 21st-century republic? And the answer to this question, if we are to believe the results of recent surveys, would likely be “schools in which children of all religions and none would be educated together”.

But we are starting from where we are, not from where we would wish to be. The reality of the Irish primary school system is that over 96 per cent of more than 3,000 primary schools are owned and run by the churches (over 90 per cent by the Catholic Church).

The churches entered into a legal agreement with the State at various stages over the past 180 years that the schools would be run by them and unless they voluntarily agree to divest them, these schools cannot be taken from the churches. This is the reality which we as taxpayers, and the Minister as our elected representative, have to face.

O’Toole accepts that it would not be feasible to build a whole new system of primary education, nor would such an option ever have been realistic. More than 35 years ago, when the first Educate Together school (the Dalkey School Project) was set up, there was active resistance by church and State to the sanctioning of even one such school.

In the subsequent decades, there were many obstacles to the setting up of multidenominational schools, but thanks to the persistence and determination of groups of parents throughout the country, there are now more than 60 Educate Together primary schools in Ireland.

Efforts were made in the 1970s, and on a number of occasions since then, to persuade successive administrations to seek the views of parents on patronage before new schools were built and automatically handed over to church control in new greenfield areas in the suburbs of growing towns and cities. 

This did not happen and as a result, hundreds of new buildings were vested in the churches that might well have been vested in a more inclusive patronage system or might have been put into public ownership, as is the situation in other EU countries, had the views of parents been sought.

However, it is never too late to begin again, and it is in that context that I welcome the decision of Ruairí Quinn to seek the views of parents on their choice of patron in a number of urban areas. In this regard, we are in a better and more benign situation today than we have ever been.

We have had an objective and balanced appraisal of the current ownership and patronage system carried out by the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism, which consulted with interested parties in an open and transparent way.

The patrons of some church-owned schools, most notably the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, have agreed that there should be a greater diversity in the system of patronage and have indicated a willingness to divest some of their schools and transfer them to a different patron.

Most important of all, we have a Minister who is willing to take on what was regarded in the past as an intransigent issue and is driving an agenda of change which finally recognises and respects the inalienable constitutional rights of parents.

The Minister has made a welcome start by seeking the views of parents in five urban areas. He is committed to expanding the survey to a further 40 urban areas. He can go further.

Many of our existing school buildings, in both rural and urban areas, are old and will require replacement in the years ahead.

As obsolete buildings become due for replacement, an opportunity will arise to seek the views of the parents in those areas on the model of patronage that they would prefer. In some cases they will opt to retain the present form of church patronage, in other cases they may well opt for a more inclusive form of patronage.

This may appear to some to be a slow form of change but the process will be democratic and over a generation or two, the balance of patronage is likely to change and the system will gradually reflect more accurately the values of the people.

---

ÁINE HYLAND is emeritus professor of education at University College Cork. She was a founder member of the Dalkey School Project in the 1970s and was chairwoman of Educate Together from 1989 to 1996.

Ulster-born cleric named ‘bigot of the year’ by gay rights group

The Northern Ireland-born leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland has been named Bigot of the Year by a gay rights charity. 

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who grew up in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, was given the title at the annual Stonewall awards, in London last night.

He topped the shortlist of five because of his comments attacking same-sex relationships and describing them as “harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing” before comparing them to slavery.

Ulster peer Lord Ken Maginnis had been in the running for the award after making a number of controversial comments, including describing homosexuality as “a rung on the ladder” to bestiality.

Earlier this year, the former Fermanagh South Tyrone MP quit the UUP just a few months after party leader Mike Nesbitt stripped him of the party whip at Westminster for describing homosexuality as “unnatural and deviant”.

Awards sponsors Barclays and Coutts banks have said they will axe funding if the bigot category is not dropped next year. 

But Stonewall's chief executive, Ben Summerskill, says it has no intention of dropping it.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson won Politician of the Year but was booed by guests at the Victoria & Albert Museum for also criticising the bigot award.

Ms Davidson, a lesbian, said it was important for young people to see that politics, gender or sexuality shouldn’t prevent success.

She added: “But where I disagree with Stonewall in these awards is the need to call people names like ‘bigot'. It is simply wrong. The case for equality is far better made by demonstrating the sort of generosity, tolerance and love we would wish to see more of in this world.” 
 
Factfile

The other 2012 Stonewall Awards

• Hero of the Year: Rev Giles Fraser

• Broadcast of the Year: Britain’s Got Talent (ITV1)

• Entertainer of the Year: Sue Perkins

• Journalist of the Year: Owen Jones and Hugo Rifkind

• Politician of the Year: Ruth Davidson MSP

• Publication of the Year: Gay Star News

• Sports Award of the Year: Rugby Football League

• Writer of the Year: Jeanette Winterson

How the Council helped end the male monopoly on theology

Although the Second Vatican Council may initially come across as a chauvinist event, nothing was quite the same after the Council, even for women.

Like the laity, women did not  participate actively in the most important event of the 20th century: the 23 women whom Paul VI invited to attend Council proceedings in 1964, were simply members of the audience and had no right to speak, reports Vatican Insider.

But historical research has revealed that these women, who had to wear a black veil and were called “mothers” by the Synod Fathers, were in fact instrumental in ensuring that the Second Vatican Council addressed issues relating to the status of women and their rights in the Catholic Church.

It is partly because of them that there are female theologians in the Catholic Church today: thanks to the Council, the male monopoly on theology ended.

On the 50^th anniversary, female Italian theologians promoted “an opportunity to reflect on” the way in which the Catholic Church “was able to see gender difference as a contribution of intelligence and a reserve of enthusiasm.”

A conference entitled “Female theologians reinterpret Vatican II. Accepting history, preparing for the future” was held on October 4 at the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome and was attended by historians and theologians from across the world, including Hervé Legrand, Gerald Mannion, Maureen Sullivan, Massimo Faggioli, Tina Beattie and Mercedes Navarro Puerto.

Marinella Perroni is a doctor in theology; she teaches the New Testament at a Pontifical University, has priests among her students and is President of the association of Italian women theologians (Coordinamento teologhe italiane - CTI). Without Vatican II her role would simply not exist.

This is one of the greatest legacies of the Council, which admitted 23 “mothers”. Looking through the biographies of these 23 women, one understands “the concrete contribution they gave, despite the fact they were forbidden to speak: the Council - the CTI president stressed – gave rise to the idea of joining theological faculties, marking the end of the male monopoly on theology. Women became interpreting figures.”

Perroni, who was born in 1947 and lectures at the Pontifical University of St. Anselm in Rome, clearly outlines her stance and that of female Italian theologians on the debate over whether the Second Vatican Council should be read as a “break” with Church tradition or as an event showing “continuity” with this tradition.

“As theologians, we deliberately decided – she commented – not to take part in this “continuity-break” controversy: it is badly presented and does not interest us. In our opinion, theological research follows other paths and this becomes an academic diatribe.”

Pope: eternal life is not a "duplicate" of the present, but being in full communion with God

The death of a Christian is not the end of everything, " death opens to life, to eternal life, which is not an infinite duplication of the present time, but something entirely new. Our faith teaches us that true immortality to which we aspire is not an idea, a concept, but a relationship of full communion with the living God: it is being in His hands, in His love, and becoming in Him one with all the brothers and sisters that He created and redeemed, with the whole of creation.. "

"The hope that does not disappoint" of faith was evoked today by Benedict XVI in the Mass celebrated, as every year, in memory of the cardinals and bishops who died during the year. 

A ritual, celebrated in a packed St Peter's Basilica, which the Pope linked to those of the past few days, the "atmosphere of the Communion of Saints and the commemoration of the faithful departed is present and alive in our hearts". 

"In particular, visits to gravesides have allowed us to renew bonds with loved ones who have left us; death, paradoxically, preserves what life can not hold. How our deceased lived, what they loved, feared and hoped for, what they rejected, we discover in a very singular way from the graves, which are almost like a mirror of their existence, of their world: they call to us and lead us to re-establish a dialogue which death has placed in crisis. "

" Thus, cemeteries are a kind of assembly point, in which the living meet their dead and with them rediscover the bonds of communion that death could not break. And here in Rome, in those peculiar cemeteries that are the catacombs, we feel, as in no other place, the deep bonds with ancient Christianity, to which we feel so close. As we enter the corridors of the catacombs - as well as those of the cemeteries of our cities and our countries - it is as if we cross an immaterial threshold and enter into communication with those custodied within, their past, made of joys and sorrows, losses and hopes. This occurs because death is still relevant to man today just as then, and even if many things of the past have become alien to us, death is still the same".

"Faced with this reality, human beings of all ages look for a glimmer of light that brings hope, that still speaks of life, and visits to cemeteries also express this desire.."

To the "question of death" the Christian responds with faith, with the "firm hope that is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ." The faith that the cardinals and bishops who have left the earthly life this year had. They were " friends of the Lord, trusting in his promise, even amid difficulties and persecutions, they kept the joy of faith, and now live in the house of the Lord forever, enjoying the heavenly reward, filled with happiness and grace. The pastors whom we remember today have, in fact, served the Church faithfully and with love, facing sometimes costly tests, in order to ensure attention and care to the flock entrusted them. The variety of their skills and tasks, were an example of diligent supervision, of wise and zealous dedication to the Kingdom of God, providing a valuable contribution to the post-conciliar season, a time of renewal throughout the Church. "

Msgr Sako: Baghdad Cathedral tragedy a reference point for our faith

The memory of the large number of innocent Iraqis who have shed their blood unjustly - Christians and Muslims - is an important occasion to renew  faith in God and strengthen faith and hope. 

But at the same time we must all condemn these heinous acts of violence that are an insult to religion and to humanity.

The second anniversary of the massacre in the cathedral of Baghdad October 31, 2010, in which 58 innocent people were killed, and the 37 Christian "martyrs" killed in Kirkuk since 2003 were commemorated in the Kirkuk cathedral by Chaldean Archbishop, Msgr. Louis Sako, during a ceremony in which families of the 37 victims carried a photo of their lost loved one in procession and placed it on the altar (in the photo).

In the crowded cathedral, Halla, sister of Hindi Saad, a 29 year old engineer who was kidnapped on 11 August 2005 and then killed and his body thrown onto the street, witnessed the meaning of faith for her family.

"It does not matter - she said with tears in her eyes - what we experience, it is important how we live and how we can turn these events into an encounter with God and with others, and that we make it a source of grace and renewal, life and resurrection, without abandoning ourselves to the absurdity of our brutal tragedy. "

"We did not expect this end for my brother Saad, who was in the heyday of his youth. We immagined a bright future for him, but God's plan was different. On 11 August 2005, he was abducted and brutally murdered . We were shocked and very sad, especially our parents. Words are unable to express what we experienced, but what we could not cope on our own, we discovered this spiritually through our prayer: we pondered the example of the Virgin Mary when they tortured her young son Jesus and crucified Him unjustly .. We found comfort in prayer and the power of faith: our Saad was a believer and an honest man, the words of Revelation confirmed us in the faith: "Be thou faithful unto death, I will give you the crown of life." (2:10-11). "We are confident that our Saad is in the Father's glorious kingdom because the Lord's promise is real ".

"This evening my family and I renew our faith and trust in the Lord and say: to Him, all glory and praise and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, forever and ever. Amen."

During his homily, the Archbishop said that the sacrifice of the martyrs is a reference point for our faith. "Again tonight we celebrate the memory of a great number of innocent Iraqis who have shed their blood unjustly Christians and Muslims. This is an important time to renew our faith in God and strengthen our faith and hope. At the same time we must all condemn these heinous acts of violence, which is an insult to religion and humanity and that does not honor our present civilization. "

"The tragedy of the Church of Our Lady of Salvation is still vivid in our memory but also attacks on mosques in the name of God is an offense to God and does not have anything in common with God nor with humanity. For our part, we Christians, we deplore this acts of injustice and we strongly believe that change and democracy are not brought about with weapons, but with dialogue and the willingness of collaboration. And that the God who created us is love and mercy, and He will not allow thei blood to have been shed in vain, but will welcome it as a satisfactory gift in His glorious kingdom .. And this blood is the seed of hope, peace, stability and security for our country. "

"Living together is not a formula, but it is the integration of human, social, spiritual and political culture. This requires the willingness of political leaders to dialogue, to work together and maintain the unity of the country, peace, justice and harmony. Enough violence, defend the lives of people, each person killed is a huge loss for us and for our country. "

Maronite patriarch slams corruption and search for political power

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has come out swinging at corruption, which is becoming all-pervasive in government and public life.

The patriarch, who has just been made a cardinal and who will formally receive his biretta at the next consistory on 24 November, did not mince words when he slammed those who seek power for personal gains.

This morning, Mgr al-Rahi left no doubts as to where he stood, as he spoke at the start of a seminar in Bkerke, the Lebanese town that is the home to the Patriarchate of Antioch of the Maronites.  

The 14 March alliance, which is close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, has called for the resignation of the Hizbollah-dominated 8 March coalition government, after a car bomb killed Internal Security Forces intelligence chief Wissam Hassan on 19 October. 

Following the attack, the alliance decided to boycott all government activities, including parliamentary sessions.

"The Church condemns all political" action "that is solely limited to achieving personal gains at the expense of the public interest and that aims at obstructing state institutions ... in search for power," the patriarch said in his statement.

Political action is a "moral duty" that is "incompatible with corruption, despotism and dependence on money or abroad."

Yesterday, the prelate met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, praising the latter's call for serious dialogue among the parties for the greater good of the country.

For the patriarch, only dialogue can provide an opportunity for a "transition to a better political and economic period".

Nostra Aetate: the Church's new outlook towards other religions

As he gazed at the opening of the fourth session in the council hall, Nikkyo Niwano, a Buddhist cleric invited as an observer, remembers the Solemn Mass. 

What "appeared before me was a sight in which multitudes of human beings, hailing from all over the world, seemed to be waiting, holding their breath, to hear the Buddha speak." 

Thanks to the reminiscences of the Japanese scholar, we can understand how important it was within the Church to reflect about relations with other religions. In fact, if Niwano expressed admiration for Paul VI's open and respectful attitude, he was equally surprised by the changing views within the Church towards other religions, which he realised had a momentous historical significance.

Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions issued by the Second Vatican Council on 28 October 1965, is with Dignitatis Humanae the second most important Church document of the modern era, this according to Benedict XVI. 

Born out of the need to re-kindle the friendship with the Jewish people following the horrors of the Holocaust, the discussions at the assembly ended up taking a different path, as it faced the issue of the relationship with Islam and other great religions.

Re-establishing a relationship with Jews was a priority. In1962, when the Second Vatican Council opened, only two decades had passed since the terrible Nazi persecution of the Jews. 

At the time, the horror of the Holocaust was driving public opinion to reflect on the singularity of what had happened then. Within the Church, increasingly people were becoming aware of the errors committed during Christianity's 2,000 years of history, and of the great responsibility Christians had in the violent explosion of anti-Semitism in the heart of Europe. "The first council held after Auschwitz could not say nothing about such matters," said theologian Yves Congar in what is an obvious reference to centuries of learnt Christian Judeophobia.

John XXIII had already expressed a desire to issue a declaration on the Jews. In June 1960, after an audience with Jewish scholar Jules Isaac, the pontiff set up a commission on relations with Jews. Initially, the Council Fathers thought about including a chapter in their work on ecumenism, but eventually, a decision was made to issue a separate document that would address relations with other religions.

The change in perspective was largely a function of balance of forces. Arab bishops were especially able to persuade their colleagues to include a reference to dialogue with Islam. However, the problem became more obvious when it was realised that a broader theological and human perspective was needed on all religions, and on relations Christianity had with them.

Early on, developments were not easy. People were not yet ready and the "Jewish question" was still a very touchy issue within the Church community. In June 1962, the Council's Central Preparatory Commission set aside De Judaeis, the first draft written by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity chaired by Card Bea, because of highly charged positions on diplomatic relations with Arab countries. A new draft came was tabled in November 1963, after long and providential discussions between Bea and Pope John XXIII, who were both convinced of the gravity and urgency of a Church position on the extermination of six million Jews. 

What emerged was an entirely different view on what the relationship between Judaism and Christianity ought to be compared to the Latin Church's tradition in the second millennium.
In the new text, Israel's presence was recognised as part of the plan of salvation and an important element in divine pedagogy, in the unfolding of the history of Revelation, as the single and inescapable link between the people of the New Testament and the descendants of Abraham. In addition to deploring the persecution and expressions of anti-Semitism, Nostra Aetate laid down the grounds for a renewed friendship with the Jewish people.

However, the final document cast a wider net. As historian Alberto Melloni noted, the declaration includes "two distinctive discursive levels. The first and more important one is that of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Christianity cannot be thought without Judaism since the latter is constitutive, essential and organic to its existence. 

However, from the analysis of this relationship comes a second element, namely a key to interpret and analyse the relationship between the Christian faith and other religions."

Whether the product of geopolitical considerations or diplomatic expedience, the brief passages in the Council declaration on relations with other religions are in fact ground-breaking. For the first time, terms like "dialogue" and "respect" became part of Church vocabulary. At the same time, they revealed in all their dramatic quality the theological tensions caused by the debate over the value to give other religions versus the issue of salvation.

In the German preface to his writings on the Council, the pope wrote, "In a carefully written and extraordinarily meaningful document, a topic was raised whose significance could not be predicted back then. It is increasingly clear now what kind and how much work must be undertaken to differentiate, clarify and understand its content. As people gradually came to know the latter, it became clear that the extraordinary document had its flaws. In it, religion was only seen in a positive light; from an historical and a theological point of view, all its sick and deranged forms were ignored."

Notwithstanding the Council declaration's prophetic value, we must also admit, as the current pontiff does, that History has come up with new challenges. What Nostra Aetate could just hint at, now requires an in-depth reflection that time has imposed. Thanks to John Paul II's intuitive understanding, the experience and dialogue at Assisi in 1986 and many magisterial interventions, the Church has taken great steps forward in redefining the relationship among religions worldwide.

From recognising in the Council declaration that other religions and faiths had some seeds of truth, the Church has come a long way, to the point where dialogue has become generalised, so much so that in some cases there have been theological and pastoral excesses that needed careful magisterial corrections (Dominus Iesus is one example).

The journey undertaken by the Church in the recent past has also forced other religions to confront the need to deal with modernity. Such is the case with Islam. The few lines dedicated to the followers of Muhammad in the original Council declaration show that the Council Fathers were far from imaging how vital the dialogue with the Muslim world would become after Islam took centre stage in large parts of the world.

Nevertheless, Nostra Aetate continues to be the basis for a positive approach to the Muslim world. It has provided ideas to the Muslim world on how to address modernity. Certainly, as the pope correctly noted, it lacks a lucid analysis of fundamentalisms and the dangers of a violent and intolerance vision of faith. But then, in 1965 the Council Fathers lived in a world divided between blocs, with the United States and Soviet Union facing off in an escalation of provocations and challenges that cast the shadow of nuclear war. At the time, 9/11 and the frightful clash of civilizations were still far into the future.

Bishop pays tribute to ACCORD's work in special broadcast Mass

At a special Mass broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster to mark ACCORD’s golden jubilee, Bishop Anthony Farquhar said the work done by the marriage care agency to ease domestic difficulties over the last fifty years was often carried out against a backdrop of civil and community tensions in the North.

In his homily, the Bishop said these civil and community tensions, “at times spilled over, particularly into the area of inter-Church marriages,” and as a result the pressures that exist for all marriages were often accentuated for couples in inter-Church relationships.  

“Through ACCORD many such couples received invaluable help from ministers of other denominations,” he added, acknowledging the contribution of leaders from other Churches.

Though there will always be those in relationships who claim they don't need a piece of paper or a certificate to seal their love, the auxiliary bishop of Down and Connor said ACCORD’s philosophy is that marriage is a two-way relationship between the couple and indeed a three-way relationship celebrated and lived in the presence of God.

The special anniversary broadcast Mass was transmitted live on BBC Radio Ulster from St Mary’s, Chapel Lane, in the centre of Belfast.  

“The downtown Church of St Mary's where we meet may well be known to many; shoppers, inner city workers, bus-pass users of one sort or another. You may frequent the church on weekdays. It is a parish of few resident parishioners but of many weekday visitors,” the Bishop commented.

Welcoming the special broadcast Mass, Deirdre O’Rawe, Regional Director ACCORD Northern Ireland said it was, “particularly appropriate," that it took place in St Mary's Church as, "it was in this particular parish that CMAC/ACCORD came into being fifty years ago.”  

She also paid tribute to Bishop Farquhar’s involvement with ACCORD over the years.

ACCORD’s core services are marriage and relationship counselling and marriage preparation programmes, which are available to all who need them, regardless of denomination, race, creed or ability to pay.  

It is Ireland’s leading nationwide agency supporting marriage and relationships through 60 locations across the island of Ireland.

The aim of ACCORD is to help couples prepare for, achieve and sustain their marriage and family relationships, to offer on-going relationship support and assist them in times of difficulty or crisis. 

Ahead of the radio Mass, BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence programme broadcast a discussion on the work of ACCORD today, and its contribution to marriage support over the last fifty years in which ACCORD representatives, Denis Bradley and Mary Goss, spoke of their experience in agency’s marriage education and counselling services.