Clerical Whispers

Monday, March 31, 2008

For the Pope, John Paul II and Faustina Kowalska are Apostles of Divine Mercy

A few days shy of the anniversary of John Paul II’s death, Benedict XVI announced during the Regina Caeli today that he would preside over a Mass in memory of the great Polish pope.

The Mass will open the First World Congress on Apostolic Divine Mercy in Rome.

Card Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, is among the organisers.

“Mercy,’ said Benedict XVI, ‘is in reality the core of the Evangelical message; it is the name of God itself, the face with which He revealed Himself in the Ancient Covenant and fully in Jesus Christ, incarnation of Creative and Redemptive Love. This love of mercy illuminates the face of the Church as well, and manifests itself via the Sacraments, in particular that of the Reconciliation, and charity, community and individual works. All that the Church says and does is a manifestation of God’s mercy for man. When the Church has to reiterate an unrecognised truth or a good thing that was betrayed, it does so driven by a merciful love that men may have life and have it more abundantly (cf Jn, 10:10). From Divine Mercy, which pacifies the hearts, comes true peace in the world, peace among different peoples, cultures and religions.”

It was thanks to John Paul II that the second Sunday of Easter (Dominica in Albis) became the ‘Sunday of Divine Mercy’.

“This occurred at the same time as the canonisation of Faustina Kowalska, a humble Polish nun born in 1905 who died in 1938, a zealous messenger of the Merciful Jesus.”

“Like Sister Faustina,” the Pope added, “John Paul II was several times the Apostle of Divine Mercy. That unforgettable Saturday, 2 April 2005, when he closed his eyes to this world, was the eve of the Second Sunday of Easter, and many noted the singular coincidence with its Marian dimension, that of being the first Saturday of the month and that of Divine Mercy. In effect the heart of his long and multifaceted pontificate lies in that; his entire mission in the service of the truth about God and man and peace in the world is summarised in this announcement, which he made himself in Krakow-Łagiewniki in 2002, when he inaugurated the Shrine of Divine Mercy: ‘[A]part from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind.’ His message, like that of St Faustina’s, leads back to the face of Christ, the supreme revelation of God’s mercy. Constantly contemplating that face, that is the heritage he left us, and which we welcome and make our own with joy.”

At the end of his reflection, Benedict urged the faithful to place the congress that opens today (Monday 31st March 2008) in Rome “under the celestial protection of Mary, Holiest Mater Misericordiae. To her we trust the great cause of peace in the world so that God’s mercy may accomplish what is impossible to human forces alone, and inspire courage for dialogue and reconciliation.”
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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

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Easter 2008

Loving Father,
I feel your love for me
and for all who have been brought into your family.

I ask you to watch over me
and let me feel the love you shower on me.

I have been born again in baptism
and long for the undying life you offer me.

Help me to share this gift of faith
you have bestowed on me.

Catholicism more powerful in Scotland

Part of the growing interest in the country’s national history and culture seems to have been possible because of the relative decline of the Presbyterian ascendancy, particularly in its Orange manifestation. The legacy of the Scottish Reformation had always made Scotland uneasy with aspects of its own past, not least its historic links with Catholic Ireland […].

Scotland’s close historic, linguistic and ethno-cultural ties to Ireland (outwith the north-eastern counties) were long suppressed or ignored during the years of Presbyterian ascendancy : in 1923 the Church and Nation Committee of the Kirk of Scotland even published an infamous racist report on Irish immigration […].

Combating the Kirk’s reservation about aspects of Scotland’s native and hybrid cultures had been going on for centuries : in 1960, it began to be clear that the power, dignity, restraint and repression of Calvinist culture in Scotland was failing. In Aberdeen at the beginning of the 1960s, Christmas day was a normal working day for many : by the time a Free Kirk headmaster had a Christmas tree at his school chopped down in the 1970s, his action was widely regarded as both newsworthy and ridiculous […].

Deep distaste for Catholicism, once a staple diet even among moderate Anglicans, was beginning to be a lost cause in Scotland, though among traditional and relative immobile sectors of society such bigotry remains a force, particularly in the west central belt. […].

To some extent, the decline of the Presbyterian in Scotland was simply a function of a general increase in western European secularism, and it is undeniable that Scotland has become more secular, though at a slower rate than England, where only half the proportion of the population go to church.

What has been distinctive, however, is the development, following John Paul II’s visit of 1982, and the general decline in rampant anti-Catholicism in Scotland, of the Catholic Church’s role (despite declining congregations) as the major clerical voice in Scotland.

Throughout the 1990s the voice of the Scottish bishops was increasingly heard on matters of public morality and social solidarity, in a country more open to Catholic social teaching on the Continental model […] than its southern neighbour.

When the most senior bishop, Thomas Winning (1925-2001), Archbishop of Glasgow, was installed as a Cardinal in 1994, it was seen of a dignitary of national significance, much more so perhaps than had been the case when its predecessor, Joseph Gray, had become Scotland’s first Cardinal since the Reformation in 1969.

The much stronger opposition to abortion in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK led to unsuccessful pressure for it to become a devolved issue, and in 2007 the Holyrood administration apparently assured to the Catholic Church that it would be exempted from gay adoption legislation : if this was the case, Westminster ignored the assurance.

If Presbyterian has declined in importance in Scottish life since 1960, Catholicism has become relatively more powerful , and has - in recent years at least – become closely associated with an open and positive – if coded and cautious- attitude towards Scottish Independence, both in its bishops’ letters and in its pronouncement of some of its senior clerics : in 2007, Cardinal O’Brien was the first name outside politics to appear on the BBC website congratulating Alex Salmond on being elected First Minister.

Increasingly, instead of being viewed as alien and Irish […]., the decline of the Union institutions - including the Kirk – has opened a role for the Irish example in Scotland […].The Catholic Church has – despite increasing secularism in general – benefited from Presbyterianism’s decline : it is also the only faith community in Scotland able to challenge the Church of Scotland in numbers and significance.

The Episcopal Church, the Scottish branch of the Anglican Communion, has only 35-40,000 members, and all other Christian denominations have fewer, as do all other faiths with the exception of Islam (up to 50,000 in 2007).

By contrast, there are 800,000 baptized Catholics in Scotland, though fewer than half are practising.
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Greek Orthodox leaders attack civil unions proposal

Leaders in the Greek Orthodox Church have denounced the government’s plan to introduce a civil partnerships law, saying it effectively sanctioned prostitution.

The denunciation comes even though the new head of the church has signalled he would not oppose the bill, Religious Intelligence reports.

The 13 bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church’s standing committee said on March 17 that the bill was unacceptable.

“The Church accepts and blesses the established wedding, according to Orthodox traditions, and considers any other type of similar relationship to be prostitution,” the committee said.

On March 13 Justice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis briefed Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All-Greece on the government plan to allow unmarried couples to register their unions with civil notaries, making their relationship equal to marriage in the eyes of the state.

After his meeting with the justice minister, Archbishop Ieronymos affirmed the Church’s fidelity to the Bible, the rules of the Church, the ecumenical synods, and the “holy tradition.”

“As a result, there are clear limits and in respect to this matter, the Church does not have the right to ask for it to be watered down or to have any other request granted,” the archbishop said, according to the Athens newspaper Kathimerini.

Archbishop Ieronymos said the “Church cannot keep a check” on cohabitation and fornication through “enforcing measures like the police.”

Bishop Anthimos of Thessaloniki was asked to explain the difference of opinion between the Church’s standing committee and the archbishop.

He said Archbishop Ieronymos’ comments were the “opinion of one person, this is the opinion of 13.”

Bishop Anthimos was considered a candidate for the archbishopric of Athens before Archbishop Ieronymos was elected to the office on February 7.

The Greek Orthodox Church claims about 90 percent of Greeks as members.
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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

Decline of marriage harming education, say teachers

The increasing number of children raised outside families is leading to a series of problems, including school failure, poverty and crime, teachers in the UK have claimed.

Children brought up in households without married mothers and fathers are increasingly struggling in class, according to the 160,000-strong Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

One teacher said that, in some cases, mothers had up to eight children by different fathers.

This created a "very dysfunctional" home environment, undermining Government attempts to raise the levels of education.

Official UK data illustrates a trend away from the traditional family. There are now almost two million single parents in Britain, an increase of 250,000 over the past 10 years.

One teacher told the Daily Telegraph last week: "No matter how brilliant the lesson or how much has been spent on rebuilding the school, if a child comes in angry and in emotional turmoil because of their family life they will not learn.

"Family stability or the lack of it is an important determinant of a child's education outcomes. But this means that we have a significant problem in Britain because we already have worrying levels of social dysfunction and family breakdown and the situation is getting worse."

Head teachers have warned this month that schools were being expected to patch up social problems rather than focusing on educational issues as they were seen as the "only solid bedrock" in many children's lives.

Addressing the union's conference in Torquay, Mr Whalley said society did not find it "easy to accept that our modern attitudes towards family relationships can have negative consequences for our children".

The Government said its Children's Plan, a new policy blueprint, would increase the number of social services officers attached to schools. The conference was also told that teenage suicide rates are being fuelled by exposure to computers and television, creating an increased sense of "isolation" among young people.

They are more likely to spend hours in their bedrooms not communicating with family members or sharing problems than previous generations.

The problem has been exacerbated by increased stress caused by examinations and the rise in family breakdown, it was claimed.
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Men of the cloth shepherd Zubik's flock

Bishop David Zubik set the course before he left the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay six months ago, and his administrators see it as their role to continue it until a new bishop is installed.

"Bishop Zubik was the captain of our ship … it's our responsibility to keep steering it," said Deacon Tim Reilly, the diocesan director of administration.

Since Zubik's departure in September for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Reilly and the Rev. John Doerfler, the diocesan chancellor, have overseen the day-to-day operations of the diocese.

They operate under the guidance of Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee, who was appointed apostolic administrator by Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Robert Morneau, the auxiliary bishop of the diocese and pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez.

Because the Roman Catholic Church law places limitations on each role, the four are needed to fill the void. Diocesan officials don't know when a new bishop will be named, but little has changed since Zubik's departure in keeping with his wishes and church law, Reilly and Doerfler said.

"We've been discussing new things that we'll be ready to talk about with a new bishop," Reilly said.

"In the meantime, our role is to respond to the needs of the people and we'll do that on an as-needed basis."

The process of naming a bishop rests outside local control.

The Congregation of Bishops in Rome vets potential candidates, and the apostolic nuncio — a diplomatic papal representative — of the United States weighs in.

At dioceses across the country, there are nine vacancies and 11 bishops serving who are older than 75.

Church law dictates that bishops submit a letter of resignation when they reach that age.

A great deal of secrecy surrounds the process, and the announcement of the appointment — both who it will be and when it will happen — is as much news to the diocese as it is the public, Doerfler said.

"We really have absolutely no idea," Reilly said. "That's the way the process works."

Because the Green Bay diocese covers 16 counties with a Catholic population of about 380,000, the wants of the 160 parishes are varied. And many are taken care of at the local level.

"The center of the Catholic church is the parish — that's where the centers of our faith lies and our outreach," Doerfler said.

Although Doerfler and Reilly both work to push the overall mission of the church and address sweeping administrative issues, Reilly is responsible for operations, while Doerfler works mainly in his expertise of church law.

They meet once a week, touch base with the archbishop and collaborate on decisions made by the diocese.

"Archbishop Dolan has been very generous to make himself available to us," Doerfler said.

The two-month gap between Zubik's announcement and his departure offered a natural transition period.

"All of the work that Zubik has done — lots of things were already in place that we've merely just continued," Reilly said.

"Transition really hasn't been that difficult."

For example, Zubik's Faith Alive initiative, which replaced the Green Bay Regional Association of Catholic Education, is a broad-based approach to diocesan education that has continued.

Likewise the Advancing the Mission campaign, a fundraising initiative begun under Zubik's tenure to help revitalize parishes, has also progressed, Doerfler said.

Of course, an unanticipated community debate over a homeless shelter in Green Bay did put the diocese in the middle of a controversy.

The diocese opened the shelter at 411 St. John St. in November in defiance of city zoning requirements after the city failed to approve an alternative plan to the Churches Offering Temporary Shelter program, which previously operated the shelter at St. John's.

Zubik had been supportive of the shelter prior to leaving but thought another agency would take up the cause.

"Ultimately an awful lot of time was spent to try to work with the people involved and with the community in such a fashion that we were true to the ministry," said Reilly, who said he's satisfied with the outcome. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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

Benedict of Bavaria…A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger, Bavarian and Pope! (Contribution)

Recently I had the chance to read the galley proofs for the upcoming book, Benedict of Bavaria by Brennan Pursell.

This significant work on the complex developments of Joseph Ratzinger’s life from his birth in Bavaria to the Chair of Saint Peter in Rome portrays not only the personality of the pope, but also the dynamics of the man.

Quite a bit of description is written about the Pope’s formative years as a child in Bavaria, his relationships with his family and his unique and strong ties to his country.

These factors are with strong devotional faith in his Catholic Church are the foundational roots of the man we know today as Benedict XVI.

The intense description of Benedict’s sense of, heimat, homeland is evident throughout the entire book. When we think of Benedict’s predecessor, we think of Poland.

Most appropriately, Benedict is a man that embodies all of the cultural, religious, academic and theological aspects of his beloved Bavaria.

Through the significant exploration of the world of Joseph Ratzinger the image and motivation of Cardinal Ratzinger and finally Benedict XVI emerge and are given their proper motivations.

Benedict is clearly a man motivated by love of his homeland, love of his Church and love of God in this book by Brennan Pursell.

A point that is keenly noted in this book is the unbiased and honest portrayal of Benedict as a man; priest and developing person is emphasized.

The prejudicial classifications of Joseph Ratzinger as the embodiment of German nationalism, and the derogatory references to him as the Panzier Kardinal are set aside and the portrait of a genuinely gifted, intellectually and spiritually person become the most apparent.

The books author takes us through the developmental stages of the Holy Father’s life from youth, to seminary days, to early priesthood, to academic professorship, to episcopate, Cardinal and finally Pope.

With each progression Benedict’s genuine personality emerges, a personality that is shaping the destination of modern Catholicism.

Most importantly, Pope Benedict’s life clearly shows the deeply rooted Catholic faith and the rich traditions of Bavarian culture that form the Pope’s intellectual and spiritual motivations as an academic theologian, an expert at Vatican II, a curial official and now Pope.

In an amazing manner the author, Brennan Pursell offers a very personal, yet logical glimpse at all of the factors that lead to the development of Benedict the Pope.

At the same time, the book provides a remarkably clear and colorful reflection of the Bavarian upbringing of Joseph Ratzinger that most determined his entire life.

The intense intellectual ability of the Pope is pointed out in this book. However, the ability of Benedict XVI to be a source of personal affection and closeness are not forgotten either.

After one reads this work, perhaps the world will finally have a deeply felt and spiritual portrait of Benedict XVI that has been misunderstood for so long.

Benedict’s development as a true Renaissance theologian and believer is strongly evident in the speculations of the future of this papacy.

What is clear however is that Benedict’s determination, intellectual capacity and strong faith will motivate the Catholic and secular world to a new birth of Christian understanding during this papacy.

Benedict’s personal character is marked by the continuity of past, and present in the pastoral move to the Church’s future.

Once we understand Benedict the man, we will appreciate the theological premises of Benedict the Pope.

The book is available from Circle Press at http://circlepressusa.com/zencart/index.php and is $24.95. The book can be pre-ordered from this site, and is available for retail purchase in late March, early April.

Catholics and all people interested in a dynamic understanding of Benedict XVI should order and read this book…it will answer all of the questions anyone has about Benedict of Bavaria.
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Saudi monarch proposes monotheistic religious dialogue with “our brothers”

A proposal for religious dialogue presented by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has prompted warm reactions from several Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders in what could be a major development in inter-religious relations, the Associated Press reports.

"The idea is to ask representatives of all monotheistic religions to sit together with their brothers in faith and sincerity to all religions as we all believe in the same God," King Abdullah said Monday night at a Riyadh seminar on "Culture and the Respect of Religions."

King Abdullah said he presented the idea to Pope Benedict XVI when he visited the Vatican in November of last year. Saying the Pope had “warmly welcomed” him in “a meeting of a human to a human which I would never forget,” the king said he aimed “to seek the consent of Allah according to what he ordered in the religions: the Torah, Bible and Quran.”

“I pray for Allah to let us meet on one word,” the king said, according to a statement published on the website of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The king said he planned to hold conferences to learn the opinion of Muslims from other parts of the world, after which he would meet with “our brothers” in Christianity and Judaism "so we can agree on something that guarantees the preservation of humanity against those who tamper with ethics, family systems and honesty."

Specifics of the proposal remained unclear, such as whether Israelis could take part in the initiative and whether restrictions on religious freedom in Saudi Arabia could be relaxed. The kingdom bans non-Muslim worship services and objects of veneration from other religions, including crosses and Bibles.

Under Saudi law, the conversion of a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.

King Abdullah’s initiative comes at a time when peace negotiations have stalled and tensions have heightened in the Middle East. Muslims have been angered by cartoons published in Europe that insult the Prophet Muhammad. Pope Benedict’s recent baptism of a prominent Muslim convert has also generated controversy.

However, King Abdullah reportedly had the crucial approval of top Saudi Arabian clerics.

Some analysts have suggested the king’s proposal has resulted from increased inter-religious dialogue among world religious leaders since the terrorist attacks of September 11.

John Esposito, founding director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, said that the Saudi religious establishment has been very active in interreligious dialogue since the September attacks, according to the Associated Press.

Esposito said this kind of appeal from the king is especially significant.
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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

Bishop Tobin calls on parish priests to encourage prayer during week of Pope’s U.S. visit

Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the United States is an opportunity for pastoral renewal, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said in a letter dated March 24 to all the diocesan priests.

He called on priests to devote the week of Sunday, April 13 to prayer for the Holy Father. "Let us pray for our Holy Father's health and safety, and for the spiritual success of his pastoral mission," he wrote.

The Bishop went on to encourage priests to organize activities for their parishes during that week, such as public recitations of the Rosary and a Eucharistic Holy Hour.

He also encouraged them to ask children, youth groups and the homebound of the parish to pray, in addition to offering Mass intentions to the Pope.

Although the Holy Father will visit only New York and Washington, D.C. during his visit April 15-20, the trip is a "wonderful gift" to the Diocese of Providence and to the entire country, Bishop Tobin said.

Bishop Tobin concluded the letter with a call for unity: "While our prayer for Pope Benedict may take many forms, let us be one in our Catholic Faith, and in our love and respect for our Holy Father."
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Ecclesia Dei president offers clarification on motu proprio

In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, the head of the Ecclesia Dei commission has indicated that priests do not require permission from their bishops in order to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Latin liturgy.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos told L'Osservatore Romano that "all can celebrate" the traditional Latin Mass.

While the "ordinary form"-- the Novus Ordo-- remains "the Mass that normally all priests say," the cardinal said that Pope Benedict, in his motu proprio broadening access to the traditional liturgy, authorized all priests to use the older liturgy.

"Some ask permission, as if this were some sort of concession or exception," Cardinal Castrillon said.

"But there is no need for that."

The Colombian cardinal, whose Ecclesia Dei commission supervises the implementation of the motu proprio, said that "some practical difficulties" have delayed the worldwide acceptance of the motu proprio.

But when questioned about the criticisms of that document expressed by some bishops, the cardinal said that it was "a controversy born from a lack of understanding."

He said that the Ecclesia Dei commission plans new efforts to educate the clergy about the liturgical norms in order to eliminate those misunderstandings.

When asked how the wider use of the older liturgy might affect relations with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Castrillon said that Summorum Pontificum could help to pave the way for a restoration of the traditionalist group to full communion with the Church.

However, the cardinal took pains to say that members of the SSPX are not separated from the Catholic Church.

"The excommunication applied only to the four bishops," he said.

While the Mass celebrated at SSPX chapels is not licit, he said, it is unquestionably valid.

"Certainly neither the priests nor the faithful are excommunicated," he added.
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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

Cardinal seeks to keep pressure on Brown over embryo bill

Controversial Scottish Catholic leader Keith O'Brien, accused of making intemperate and inaccurate remarks over the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, has vowed to keep the pressure on PM Gordon Brown.

The Prime Minister announced a partial free vote on the government side in a recent compromise over 'conscience' issues in the Bill, which includes strictly limited provision for research into deadly diseases using tiny admixed embryo cells.

The Catholic Church opposes any human embryo research, saying that the cells have the moral status of a human person. Other churches and religious groups take a different view, though there is widespread disquiet about the drift of such research among faith groups.

Cardinal O'Brien has been on holiday since likening the use of microscopic animal cells to 'Frankenstein" like research, a comment which provoked accusations of telling untruths from Lord Winston and senior scientists.

However, a spokesperson for the Cardinal said on BBC Radio 4 two days ago that he would be making a speech in Gordon Brown's parliamentary constituency today, emphasising his continued opposition to the legislation and saying that the concession on voting was not enough.

Supporters of the Bill have accused the Cardinal and others in the churches of bullying and misrepresenting to get their way.

MPs will now be able to follow their individual consciences in three areas - including allowing scientists to create embryos with human DNA and animal cells.

But the PM says he expects all Labour MPs to back the whole bill when it comes to the final Commons vote.

Gordon Brown offered the deal after warnings that some Catholic Labour MPs and cabinet ministers were ready to rebel. Others have accused him of a 'sell out'.

Liberal Democrat and Tory MPs had been offered a free vote at all stages of the Bill, and some political reformers argue that there should be more open voting in parliament and less control by the party whipping system.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill come 18 years after previous legislation in the area, and after a two-year debate.

It has the backing of the General Medical Council, science research bodies and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority - an expert panel that includes former Anglican Bishop of Oxford Lord Harries.

A number of faith and anti-abortion groups have vociferously opposed it.

The Association of Medical Research Charities says that although there are ethical issues in allowing scientists to create embryos that combine human DNA and animal cells for research, the move presently under consideration is strictly controlled and offers "considerable benefits" to future patients.

In a letter to the PM the network of 200 charities goes on to say the charities believe there is considerable public support for the move.

The letter states: "... public understanding of the importance of the use of early-stage embryos and ensuing stem cell research remains robust; there is a real acknowledgement of its potential for those who are ill."

Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian think tank Ekklesia says that in reality opinion within the churches and other religious communities is divided both on the current Bill and on the longer term prospects of research in the biosciences.

But he described Cardinal O'Brien's rhetoric as "inflammatory and unhelpful", adding that it has "further politicised a debate that needs to be thoughtful and rational."
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George Weigel discusses implications of Pope’s baptism of Muslim convert

George Weigel, a Catholic scholar and biographer of Pope John Paul II, in a recent interview with National Review Online addressed Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter vigil baptism of Magdi Allam, a prominent Italian journalist from a Muslim background.

Weigel also discussed the relevance of Allam’s baptism to relations between Muslim and non-Muslim countries and to debates about religious freedom in the Muslim world.

“Magdi Allam,” Weigel said, “has courageously defended the religious freedom of all while sharply criticizing those currents of thought in Islam which would deny the right of religious conversion to Muslims. Now he fights the war of ideas from a different foxhole, so to speak.”

Weigel said the most effective Muslim allies in war against jihadism will be “those Muslims who want to make an Islamic case for tolerance, civility, and pluralism.”

He said Osama bin Laden’s version of Islam, in addition to being the enemy of much of the non-Islamic world, is also the enemy of those Muslims who do not share his conception of what Islam requires.

Weigel, drawing on the themes of his recent book “Faith, Reason, and the War against Jihadism,” said that Pope Benedict’s Regensburg Lecture “identified the linked problems at the center of a lot of turbulence in world politics today.”

These problems, according to Weigel, included both the detachment of faith from reason, as shown in jihadism, and the loss of faith in reason, as manifested in western Europe and American “high culture.”

The Muslim theological separation of faith from reason encourages the idea that God can and does command the irrational, such as the killing of innocents. Westerners’ loss of confidence in reason, Weigel said, “leaves the West intellectually disarmed in the face of the jihadist challenge.”

At Regensburg, Weigel said, the Pope gave the world a “vocabulary with which to deal with these problems,” which Weigel characterized as “the vocabulary of rationality and irrationality.”

Weigel suggested that the United States would be much less likely to achieve victory in a contest with Islamic radicalism if its next president does not understand “the nature of the enemy or the multifront struggle in which we are necessarily engaged.”
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Cardinal Sandoval says social justice needed to combat violence

The Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, said this week the solution for overcoming violence is not more violence, “but rather doing justice and giving the poor the help they need in order to overcome poverty.”

The Church is very concerned about the violence that has become more acute in the country, and she hopes officials “can control and repress organized crime and give people a little bit of peace and security,” Cardinal Sandoval said recently.

After noting that drug-trafficking is “a completely immoral and harmful activity for the country,” he called on Christians to be consistent and to reject such acts.

“We are going to pray very much to the Lord and not do business or make agreements in any way with drug trafficking, because that only encourages it and makes it grow,” the cardinal stated.

He pointed out that while there is no automatic excommunication for drug traffickers in the state of Guadalajara, the bishops of the region have imposed excommunication on those who kidnap and their accomplices.
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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

Cardinal: Liberalized use of Tridentine Mass already is bearing fruit

Pope Benedict XVI's outreach to traditionalist Catholics by liberalizing the use of the Tridentine Mass already is bearing fruit, said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos.

The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei," which coordinates care for traditionalist Catholics, said that thanks to the pope's action "not a few have asked to return to full communion, and some already have returned."

In an interview published in the March 28 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Cardinal Castrillon said the Oasis of Jesus the Priest monastery of 30 cloistered nuns in Spain "has already been recognized and regularized" by his office and "there are cases of American, German and French groups" who have begun the process.

The cardinal insisted that the only traditionalists excommunicated were the four bishops ordained by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988 without Vatican permission.

The priests who have followed those bishops, he said, "are only suspended," and so the Masses they celebrate "are without a doubt valid, but not licit." The religious who have followed the schismatic bishops need to have their congregations or monasteries recognized by the Vatican, he said.

In addition, he said, "there are individual priests and many laypeople who contact us, write to us and call us for a reconciliation and, on the other side, there are many other faithful who demonstrate their gratitude to the pope" for his July letter authorizing widespread use of the liturgy according to 1962 Roman Missal.

In his letter, the pope said the Mass from the Roman Missal in use since 1970 remains the ordinary form of the Mass, while celebration of the Tridentine Mass is the extraordinary form.

Cardinal Castrillon said wider use of the pre-Second Vatican Council rite "is not a matter of returning to the past, but is a matter of progress," because it gives Catholics the richness of two liturgical forms instead of one.

Asked whether he was worried that bringing back into the church "men and women who do not recognize the Second Vatican Council" would alienate some of the faithful who see the council's teaching as a compass for the church, Cardinal Castrillon said he did not think the problem "is as serious as it could seem."

The excommunicated leaders of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre, "have expressly recognized Vatican II as an ecumenical council," he said, but they disagree with the way the documents have been interpreted and put into practice.

"These are theological discussions that could take place within the church where, in fact, there exist different interpretive discussions about the council texts, discussions that could continue also with the groups who return to full communion," the cardinal said.

The eucharistic celebration is a sign and source of the unity of the church, he said, and Pope Benedict's decision to keep alive the older form of the Mass is an effort to preserve a rich tradition while promoting unity.

"We must never forget that the supreme point of reference in the liturgy, as in life, is always Christ. Therefore, we should not be afraid, including in the liturgical rite, to turn toward him, toward the crucifix, together with the faithful to celebrate the holy sacrifice," he said.
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Disclaimer

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

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

Sotto Voce

(POSTING 6,500)

Tobacco-free zone? Pope urged to stomp out butts in Vatican City

Papal visits tend to bring out special interest groups, and one already has surfaced in the United States.

Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco, a Rhode Island-based organization, is asking Pope Benedict XVI to support its campaign for a tobacco-free society.

The group's petition, posted online, appeals to the pope not only to denounce the sale and use of tobacco during his April 15-20 visit to the United States, but also to declare Vatican City the world's first tobacco-free state.

"We hope to convince him to make this gesture as an example to other religious and political leaders and policymakers," the petition says.

Some might dismiss the initiative as a publicity grab, but there is no denying that tobacco is a serious health issue.

The World Health Organization says tobacco kills 5.4 million people a year, and with smoking rates on the rise in developing countries, the death toll could rise to 8.3 million over the next 20 years.

The Vatican used to be known as a safe haven for cigarette smokers. That changed dramatically in 2002, when Vatican City prohibited smoking in offices and public places.

But employees and visitors continue to puff away in outdoor areas of the 109-acre state, and turning the Vatican into a totally smoke-free zone would probably not go down well.

On a recent morning, one employee sat outside the Vatican's health care center, taking a cigarette break. The butts on the nearby cobblestones indicated this as a smokers' meeting ground.

"If you smoke inside, it's a 30 euro (US$47) fine -- or so they say," the employee said.

A Vatican police officer said it's possible for workers to be suspended from their jobs if they persist in smoking in office areas. But like others, he said banning smoking outside would seem too draconian.

"We're not in Singapore," he remarked, an allusion to Singapore's strict laws on things like gum-chewing and littering.

In St. Peter's Square one can light up with no problem. No one tries to enter St. Peter's Basilica with a lit cigarette, but smokers -- including ushers on break -- can be seen on the basilica's steps.

One Brazilian tourist visiting Rome in March leaned against the facade of the basilica and finished a cigarette as his wife and daughter toured the inside.

"Naturally, I'd never smoke inside," he said quickly.

Bishop Renato Boccardo, secretary general of the Vatican City governor's office, is proud of the fact that smoking has been drastically curtailed.

"It's changed a lot. For a while, even after the no-smoking rule, people still smoked. But now it's entered into the general mentality," he said.

Bishop Boccardo made waves a few years ago when, as a papal trip planner, he shut down smoking on the plane that took the pope on his foreign visits.

For years after Alitalia instituted a ban on in-flight smoking, members of the papal entourage and journalists continued to light up on the pope's chartered plane. They were encouraged by the fact that Alitalia gave every passenger a free carton of cigarettes.

"I just didn't understand why, especially with the pope aboard, we were making an exception to this law. So we said, 'Enough. No more smoking on this plane,'" Bishop Boccardo said.

Some have pointed out that, even though the Holy See has expressed support for a World Health Organization convention on tobacco control, the Vatican continues to sell tobacco products to its employees at a discount.

"We've noted to the proper Vatican officials that this seems to be a contradiction," said Bishop Jose Redrado Marchite, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.

Certain steps are being taken in that regard. For one thing, the price difference between cigarettes sold at the Vatican and in Italy has been reduced, and so there's less demand.

Bishop Boccardo said the Vatican is moving gradually to phase out tobacco sales.

"We can't do this overnight, but the project is to keep reducing the sale of tobacco products, precisely to show the sensitivity of the Holy See toward this question," the bishop said.

On a moral level, the church has never defined smoking as a sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the gift of physical health requires "reasonable care" of the body, and more specifically says: "The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco or medicine."

Anti-smoking activists would say any use of tobacco is an abuse, considering its demonstrated harmful effects. But the church has not pronounced on that question.

"It's harmful, yes. But so is eating too much meat, which raises cholesterol levels. It's hard to say exactly when something like this becomes a sin," said Bishop Redrado.

It's a problem previous generations of church leaders didn't worry about much.

The 19th-century Pope Pius IX, for example, built a tobacco factory for cigar rolling in Rome's Trastevere neighbourhood.

The Latin inscription boasts that the pope thus provided the city with "a factory for processing nicotine leaves."
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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

Priest defrocked after decades-old sexual abuse alleged

A man accused of sexual abuse decades ago in the Bismarck Diocese has been officially removed from the priesthood by the Vatican, citing "ecclesiastical crimes against youth."

Joel Melarvie, chancellor of the Bismarck Catholic Diocese, said that an announcement of the laicization (removal from priesthood) of James Pommier was placed in the diocesan monthly "Dakota Catholic Action" to inform people in the diocese of Pommier's status and to offer an opportunity for victims to come forward.

"If anyone has been abused, (we want them) to contact the diocese, to let us know,"Melarvie said. "We want to work with them to come to some resolution for the pain they suffered."

Born in 1925 in Lignite, Pommier's first assignments were as assistant pastor at St. Patrick's in Dickinson in 1954 and at St. Vincent's in Mott in 1955, Melarvie said. His first two assignments as parish pastor were at St. John's in New Leipzig in 1957-61 and at Immaculate Conception in Max in 1961-62.

That was followed by positions as parish administrator at St. Peter and Paul in Fallon, 1962 and at Sacred Heart in Scranton in 1963. From 1963 to 1970, he was pastor at St. Theresa's in Carson, and in 1970, he became pastor at St. Boniface in Grenora.

Pommier then went to St. Joseph's Hospital in Minot, where he served as a chaplain from 1970 to 1977.

In 1977, Pommier left the Bismarck Diocese without the knowledge or permission of the bishop, presumably moving to the state of Washington, Melarvie said.

Pommier's diocesan file indicates that following the removal of his faculties (the permission to perform priestly functions) by the Archbishop of Seattle in 1985, the Bismarck Diocese's Bishop John Kinney removed his faculties as well in 1990.

Pommier's movements during those years aren't entirely clear, Melarvie said, although rumors reached the diocese that, after the removal of his faculties in the Archdiocese of Seattle, Pommier was representing himself as a priest in the Great Falls and Billings, Mont., areas.

"We received an inquiry from a parish pastor in a small community in the Great Falls-Billings Diocese, about three years ago," Melarvie said.

"When we found out what he was doing, Bishop (Paul Zipfel) notified all civil authorities and the state of North Dakota, as well as the (relevant) diocesan bishops."

Bismarck's canonical council sent its case for Pommier's laicization to Rome; once approved by the Vatican in December 2007, the information on Pommier was sent to all bishops in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Melarvie said.

At this point, the Bismarck Diocese has not heard that Pommier is making any effort to promote himself as a priest, Melarvie said.

To their knowledge, Pommier is living in Washington state, he said.

Melarvie said Pommier's diocesan file indicates that the first accusations were made anonymously by three boys in 1962. Other accusations were made in 1964, in 1968 or 1969, in 1971, in 1973 or 1974, and in 1977.

The file does not indicate what responses or actions Bishop Hilary Hacker may have taken to these allegations, Melarvie said.

Melarvie said that in recent years, the diocese has met with the alleged victims. In addition to counseling, financial settlements have been made with four individuals during the period of 2004 to 2007 in the amount of $326,083, he said.

"The important thing is the people who have been abused," Melarvie said. "For some, their faith has been shattered. Others are stronger. But all have been greatly hurt."

Melarvie said that the majority of those who came forward said they were in their early to mid-teens when the alleged abuse occurred, with one person reported to be age 10.

"We all recognize that the church has carried a great burden of sorrow for the victims of clerical sexual abuse," he said. "Our effort now not only in Bismarck but through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is to prevent such a recurrence by informing parents and all staff members and volunteers of the issues of child abuse, and give them the tools to prevent it."

A priestly convocation Monday through Thursday at the Seven Seas in Mandan will focus on boundary issues, said Bishop Zipfel.

"We're aware of the need to keep that in front of our mind's eye, to be very mindful of that," he said.
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Disclaimer

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

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

Sotto Voce

Protesters aim to drown out Blair's speech on religion after 'illegal war'

Anti-war protesters plan to create a "wall of sound" to disrupt Tony Blair's debut speech on religion, it emerged yesterday.

The former prime minister, a recent convert to the Roman Catholic Church, is to speak on the subject of "faith and globalisation" at Westminster Cathedral next Thursday.

Thousands of demonstrators who object to his role in taking Britain to war in Iraq are planning to disrupt the event by drowning out his words.

Robin Best of the Stop the War Coalition, which is organising the protest, said: "We want people to bring musical instruments and sound making implements of every kind - drums, trumpets, saxophones, violins, cymbals, whistles, sirens, horns, rattles, saucepans and cans to bang.

"We want every type of band, choir and musical group to join us, all with the aim of drowning out the speech of a man who should not be in a cathedral pulpit but in the dock of a criminal court."

He added: "No doubt Blair will be pontificating about the 'values' and 'morality' of his 'faith' and how they guided him in making 'difficult' decisions, like the slaughter of up to one million Iraqis and the total destruction of their country in an illegal war.

"Blair is a war criminal who should have been silenced five years ago by MPs in parliament, when they had the chance to vote against a war which they knew was opposed by the vast majority of people in this country."

A number of high-profile "celebrities", who have not yet been publicly named, are also expected to attend the protest and may speak against Mr Blair's role in the Iraq war.

Mr Blair was invited to give a lecture by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the spiritual leader of the Catholics of England and Wales who received him into the Church just days before Christmas.

His conversion, though widely expected, drew criticism from Catholic commentators because of he had pursued a war the Vatican had vigorously opposed.

Less than a month before British troops went into action five years ago, Mr Blair was invited to Rome by Pope John Paul II where in the course of a 15-minute meeting he was told in no uncertain terms that the Catholic Church was opposed to military action.

The Pope explained that Christians were called to be "guardians of peace" and that a war would “disturb the whole of the Middle East region and exacerbate tensions that unfortunately are already present".

The Pontiff told Mr Blair that the "future of humanity will never be able to be assured by terrorism and the logic of war".

Mr Blair, however, later told Michael Parkinson that he felt he was carrying out God's will by invading Iraq.

Catholic peace activists will also be demonstrating on the cathedral piazza but they are planning a silent vigil before the major demonstration begins.

However, they will be holding up banners quoting Pope John Paul's warnings against the war in Iraq.

Pat Gaffney, the general secretary of Pax Christi UK, a Catholic peace movement, said: "Many people are dismayed that he has been able to act against clear Catholic teaching on this."

Bruce Kent, the former MP and veteran Catholic peace activist who will be attending the event, said he would like to see Mr Blair acknowledge his mistakes.

"Mr Blair launched an illegal war on false pretences in violation of the United Nations charter. I don't think he has a good enough track record to be preaching on 'faith and globalisation'."

Catholic officials have said in the past that Mr Blair's conversion "is not retrospective" and that he does not have to account for previous actions and beliefs.

Pope Benedict XVI received the news of his conversion "with joy".

Shortly after leaving Downing Street last June, after a decade in office, Mr Blair accepted the role as the Middle East peace envoy of the quartet of the U.S., EU, Russia and the UN.

Earlier this month he also accepted a job at the Ivy League Yale University – one of the top three universities in the U.S. - giving seminars on "faith and globalisation", in which he will focus on how religion can be used to further international relations.

In Britain, he also plans to launch the Tony Blair Faith Foundation within the next few months, and this will have the similar objectives.

Mr Blair is able to command fees of £75,000 for lectures in the U.S., but it is believed that he has agreed to speak at Westminster Cathedral for free.

More than a thousand free tickets allocated for the event have already been snapped up.

For security reasons, the Catholic Church kept the identity of the first of its guest speakers a secret but it was leaked to the press.
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Parents vent fury at nuns over closure

CATHOLIC nuns came under fire from angry parents last night as their exorbitant financial demands on a top private school were revealed.

It would have needed a billionaire like Bill Gates to save Newcastle school La Sagesse from closure after the school’s founding order of nuns trebled the rent to £100,000 a year.

Their demands, made through their solicitor, left governors no choice but to tell devastated pupils, parents and staff their successful school must close.

And parents voiced their feelings of hurt and betrayal at how the Catholic Church could let the 100-year-old school come to such a sad end, leaving 200 pupils looking for new schools and 54 members of staff out of work.

Head of governors, Professor Kathleen McCourt told a packed hall of parents and pupils: “It would have taken a lot of money, I mean a lot of money, to keep the school going. I wish Bill Gates was here tonight, but sadly he’s not.”

At a meeting for parents at the school last night, the school’s solicitor John Anderson revealed the terms of the new lease including a trebling of the rent to £100,000 a year with further increases every five years. The school was told it must fund maintenance and insurance for the 10-acre site, where land is worth up to £2m an acre.

He said: “The nuns would only communicate with us through their solicitors. In some cases they did not respond to our letters at all. The terms of the lease meant it was impossible for us to sign it.”

The school said dwindling numbers and competition from other schools had been a factor and no suitable alternative sites for the school could be found.

Prof McCourt added: “We looked at every alternative, but none of them were viable. We even considered taking the convent to court. But it was decided no terms the court could have imposed would have been sustainable.

“We went to see Bishop Kevin Dunn before his death. The diocese has no money available to fund an independent school. His illness meant he could not help further. We thought long and hard about our options but sadly in the end our only option is to close.”

The anger of parents turned towards the Catholic Church which they feel has done nothing to protect what is the only private Catholic School in the area.

Donna Carrick-Daly, 35, a midwife from Stocksfield whose daughter Rosanna, four, has been at the school for two years, said: “I was in shock when I heard it was to close. It is so sad that in the end it has all come down to money.

“I feel hurt and betrayed and am in emotional turmoil over the nuns’ decision and can’t believe the Catholic Church has done nothing. I am going to take this all the way to Rome.”

The £3,000-a-term school which has been on the site since 1912, will close on August 31.
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Parents must be at centre of debate on religious teaching

SO, you're all agreed. The Catholic Church should not have a veto over who gets to teach the Catholic faith in State-run primary schools.

Nor, one presumes, should the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterians, the Pentecostals, the Muslims or any other religious group.

But can we also agree that they should at least have a say?

This would seem reasonable. If a Church of Ireland child is to be taught the faith of the Church of Ireland in a State-run school it would surely amount to towering arrogance on the part of the State not to give the Church of Ireland any say in the matter?

The future of religion in our schools was back in the frame this week with the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) condemning the Catholic Church for allegedly seeking the final say over who gets to teach Catholicism in the proposed State-run primary schools.

The Church says it sought no veto.

These schools, which will be under the patronage of the VEC on behalf of the State, are a natural, understandable and entirely defensible response to the fact that fewer people want denominational schools than in the past, or else want a greater variety of faith-based schools made available to them.

Patronage

This new model of primary school patronage gives rise to two very important questions. First, should religion be taught in these schools at all? Secondly, if it is, how should it be taught?

The answer to question one is, emphatically, yes. If religion is not taught in these schools then parents who want their children to be taught the tenets of their faith during school hours will simply keep their children away from the new State-run schools and send them elsewhere.

This would defeat the whole purpose of these schools, which is to expose children from different backgrounds and different faiths to one another in the interests of social integration.

As to the second question, how should religion be taught, there are three basic options. One is to teach the children their own religion separately and during school hours. The second is to teach them a generic religion course, and the third is to teach them their separate religions outside of school time, but on the school premises.

Let's dismiss option three straight away because this is simply a small variation on the option not to teach religion in the school at all. All sorts of things get taught on school property after school hours and no-one thinks they are part of the school curriculum. So allowing the various faiths to be taught on school property, but after school hours, de facto pushes religion out of the school.

The second option, teaching a generic religion course, might please some parents but it will anger others. For one thing, it might implicitly teach that all religions are basically the same, which they clearly are not. But it would again mean that those parents who want their children to be taught their specific faith during school hours would keep their children away from these State-run schools, again defeating the goal of social integration.

So it looks like there is little practical alternative to teaching the various religions to the various sets of children during school hours, and if the faith of the Catholic Church, or the Church of Ireland, or of the Muslims is to be taught, then the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the Muslims must be consulted about the matter. Otherwise the State is saying it is up to it how religion gets taught. This would have the effect of alienating religious believers from the State, hardly something conducive to social integration.

Of course at this point, from stage-left, come those who cry 'segregation!' When pupils in a secondary school divide up into their various groups to learn French or Italian or Spanish, they are merely being separated.

But if they go their various ways to learn their various religions they are being 'segregated', as though it is being done against their will, or against the will of their parents.

This is scare-mongering and needs to be treated as such. In fact, the general accusation that faith-based schools are inherently 'segregationist' and 'socially-divisive' is scare-mongering.

It treats religion, de facto, as a threat to the common good, something to be tolerated (barely), rather than actively approved and certainly not something that should receive any funding from the State irrespective of what parents might want.

And what parents want must be at the centre of this debate. What parents want should be the main, although not the only, determinant of our education system. Otherwise the State would be given far too much say over how their children are educated.

In the matter of our schools the State must be our servant, not our master.

Within certain limits, our schools must reflect the choices of parents, including their choice as to how their children should be taught religion.
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Moscow Patriarchate to “monitor” Catholic orphanages

The Russian Orthodox Church has decided that it will closely and constantly monitor the activities of Catholic social organisations, especially orphanages.

The decision was taken at a meeting of a joint working group on problems between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches that was held in the city of Vladimir, east of Moscow.

“The working group is ready to do such monitoring,” said working group Co-Chairman Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. It will “try to work out a common vision of ways that could make Orthodox-Catholic interrelation [. . .] more systematic.”

For Archpriest Chaplin, who is also Vice Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations at the Moscow Patriarchate, this means that Orthodox children in Catholic orphanages and other Catholic institutions will obligatorily receive spiritual assistance and services from Orthodox clergymen.

There are no precise data on the exact number of children in Catholic orphanages, but according to some experts, the number is no more than 200 throughout the entire Russian Federation.

The Orthodox clergy’s request is understandable and reasonable, but the rights and interests of Orthodox children are already protected. Orthodox children in fact are already cared for by Orthodox priests and are free to practice their faith according to the principles of their Church.

One example among many: Father Igor Vyzhanov from the Department for External Church Relations at the Moscow Patriarchate baptised a child in April 2006 inside the St John Bosco Orphanage.

Over the years the approach of the Catholic Church to the education of minors has not changed. None the less, Catholic social activities will be “monitored”.

Like the 19 March meeting between Patriarch Aleksij II and the Mother of God archbishop that was postponed upon request by the Patriarchate, the Vladimir meeting represents another lost opportunity to talk about issues that are “sensitive” in the relationship between the two sister Churches, issues like visas for foreign religious, the return of Church property seized by the Soviet state, or the absence of Catholics from the Inter-faith Council of Russia (whose members include Orthodox, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists.
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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

Friday, March 28, 2008

Easter 2008

Lord God,
by the sacrifice of your son, Jesus,
you have helped me to forgiveness and reconciliation.

Help me to be more understanding,
to love as you have loved us --
utterly forgiving and forgetting of my many flaws.

Help me to live in this new way of loving
as I celebrate my new life in your Easter mystery.

Good chimes roll for cathedral bells

ONE of Ireland's most famous cathedrals yesterday welcomed back a set of historic bells from a painstaking refurbishment programme in England.

St Fin Barre's Cathedral, in Cork, formally welcomed back the restored bells - several of which were forged almost four centuries ago.

The bells were formally welcomed back to their home by St Fin Barre's Dean Nigel Dunne, and Tower Captain Heather Heaslip.

The oldest of the bells dates from 1751 - and are actually older than the current cathedral building, which was the focus of a lavish reconstruction in the 19th century.

St Fin Barre's ranks as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country and is reputed to be built on the site of the burial place of Cork's patron saint.

The carillion - or bell ringing mechanism - became famous because it was traditionally used to welcome cruise liners into Cork harbour.

The bells were used to replicate the theme music of the Laurel and Hardy movies when the two famous US comedians arrived in Cork on a liner in the 1950s.
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Major church and presbytery renovations planned in Thurles

Work is to begin shortly in Thurles, Co.Tipperary, on upgrading the town's second church at Bohernanave and two presbyteries.

The development follows a major refurbishment on the town's cathedral which was completed only a few years ago.

Both the interior and exterior of St Joseph's and St Brigid's Church, Bohernanave, are to be renovated at an estimated cost of almost €850,000.

The work includes a new heating system, the upgrading of wiring and lighting, the extension of the sanctuary and the removal of confession boxes at the entrance.

The church will also be re-carpeted and redecorated, and outside, the tower, cross, soffits and fascia will be renovated and the car park will be extended.

Meanwhile, the adjacent presbytery is to be altered to provide more private quarters for the resident clergy and improved office accommodation.

It is also planned to provide multi-purpose meeting rooms at Bohernanave which when added to the proposed enhancements to the presbytery will add over half a million euro to the bill facing the town's parishioners.

The town's second presbytery attached to the Cathedral of the Assumption is also to be renovated and updated.

Archbishop Dermot Clifford said he was confident the people of the parish would support the projects.

He remarked that he always got "a real kick" out of celebrating Mass at Bohernanave because he said it had a "real sense of intimacy which I don't get in other churches".

The forty-seven year old church was designed in accordance with the Liturgical Norms of Vatican II and no worshipper is more than fifty feet from the altar.

Administrator Fr Martin Hayes said that renovation plans had been in preparation for two years before they were unveiled.

"We feel we have brought together a vision for the future of Bohernanave and the parish of Thurles" he said.

"We are confident this is a viable and presentable project which will be supported by the people of the parish".

Fr Hayes said Bohernanave was an important place of worship for the parishioners of Thurles.

The church, which opened in 1971, was built on a site donated by a parishioner and the total cost of building it and the presbytery at the time was €127,000.
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Getting married? It could end in divorce in ten years

Are you going to a wedding this week-end?

Nearly half the happy couples you see walking down the aisle will divorce before they reach their 10th wedding anniversary.

One in ten of the marriages will not make it past five years and 45 per cent will, ultimately, end in divorce, if the current rate of breakdowns continue.

The United Kingdom now has the highest rate of divorce since records began, with the rate rising from 37 per cent two decades ago to a new high of 45 per cent in 2005, according to figures released from the Office of National Statistics.

The latest divorce predictions come a day after the ONS published figures showing that the proportion of men and women in England and Wales choosing to marry was at the lowest level since the figure was first calculated in 1862.

Churches and organisations supporting marriage yesterday called for couples to be given much more preparation before marrying, but admitted that this is increasingly difficult with the decline of religious services in fa-vour of civil ceremonies.

A spokesman for the Church of England said: “Projections are dangerous things but these are worrying figures”.

He added: “The church sees marriage as a good thing. It recommends marriage to couples as something that can help them to grow together in God’s love. But it also offers good preparation and support through the marriage. Often today this kind of preparation and support is lacking.”

The latest figures show that the proportion of marriages in England and Wales ending in divorce by the 50th anniversary has risen from 34 per cent in 1979-80 to 45 per cent in 2005.

The good news is that if a couple manage to stay married for ten years the survival rates improve. At 20 years, only 15 per cent will end up in divorce and beyond the 25 year mark – the Silver Wedding – just a few will end in the divorce courts.

“Divorce rates in 2005 suggest that approximately forty five per cent of marriages will end in divorce,” the ONS said in its Spring Population Trends bulletin.

It added that if divorce and mortality rates remain unchanged from 2005, ten per cent of those marrying now will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with 45 per cent of marriages ending due to divorce and 45 per cent due to the death of one partner.

Couples who marry young and those who remarry have a higher proportion of their marriages ending in divorce, the ONS said.

Terry Prendergast, of Marriage Care, said the figures indicated that a lot of people were failing to prepare properly for marriage or entered into marriage with an unrealistic perspective.

He said that people marrying in the Roman Catholic Church had to undergo preparation, but there was no similar system for those who choose a civil ceremony.

“One of the difficulties with marriage is that it is often a dynamic and troubling relationship. Couples are driven on by the intense emotional drive of their coming together but have not thought about how they are going to live together or what it means to be in a long term relationship,” Mr Prendergast said.

He also highlighted the unrealistic expectations portrayed in Hollywood films of people living happily every after. “Couples need to be helped to manage their marriages and negotiate their way through difficulties,” he said.

Mr Prendergast said that Marriage Care, a relationship counselling organisation drawn from the Roman Catholic community, frequently saw people who thought that their marriage problems were terminal but after discussion realised that with give and take it was viable.

Claire Tyler, Chief Executive of Relate said: “Divorce is clearly a reality for many people today and these figures bring into sharp focus not only the number of adults coping with relationship breakdown, but also the children affected by divorce.

“More must be done to help fragile relationships survive. Firstly we need to see earlier intervention for couples hitting problems in their relationship so that they are able to access help before they reach crisis stage. Secondly, we need to do more to help children learn about healthy relationships within schools.”

Yesterday’s figures also show that 22 per cent of 146,956 births in England and Wales in 2006 were to mothers born outside of England and Wales – the highest proportion since the collection of information on parents’ country of birth began in 1969.

The ONS figures also showed that 69 per cent of the projected UK population rise of 10.5 million between 2006-2031 will be driven directly or indirectly by migration.

Forty seven per cent or 4.9 million of the increase will be a result of net migration into Britain with the remainder being the result of births to new migrants.
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