ABOUT THE CHURCH AND THE VATICAN

See preceding page for earlier posts on 1/5/09.


Bishop Yao Liang, 87, imprisoned in China
for loyalty to the Vatican, dies
by MICHAEL WINES

Published: January 5, 2010


BEIJING — Leo Yao Liang, a Roman Catholic bishop who spent 28 years in Chinese prisons during Mao’s rule for his refusal to renounce his allegiance to the Vatican, died on Dec. 30 in Xiwanzi, a town in north China’s Hebei Province.

Bishop Yao was 87 and had been ill with a severe cold for about two weeks before his death, according to Song Feng, the president of the Catholic Association of Xiwanzi Church.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation, which is based in Connecticut and advocates religious freedom for Catholics in China, stated on its Web site that the report of Bishop Yao’s death had apparently been delayed because Chinese authorities sought to withhold the news.

Short and stout, with a shock of white hair and a booming voice, Bishop Yao presided almost up to his death over daily open-air Masses that drew hundreds of worshipers, and Sunday Masses that often attracted a thousand people. The Chinese authorities forbade him to carry out his administrative duties as bishop but did not overtly interfere with his clerical activities.

China’s government does not recognize the Roman Catholic Church or its bishops. Instead, it promotes a government-affiliated faith, the Patriotic Catholic Association. But millions of Chinese are believed to remain loyal to the Vatican and attend so-called underground churches like those that Bishop Yao led. There are reported to be 15,000 Catholic worshipers in Xiwanzi diocese, where he was secretly made an auxiliary bishop in 2002.

For years after his release from prison in 1984, Mr. Song said, Bishop Yao urged his parishioners to follow a course of quiet but steadfast opposition both to the Patriotic Catholic Association and to government restrictions on their right to worship. But after Pope Benedict XVI made improved relations between the Vatican and Beijing a priority, he said, Bishop Yao began working to repair relations with the government.

The mourners at his weeklong funeral, which concludes with his burial on Wednesday, have included a number of local government officials, Mr. Song said.

Yao Liang was born in Hebei in 1923 and became a priest in 1946, according to the Kung Foundation. But after the Communist Party took power in 1949, Catholicism was outlawed, and Bishop Yao’s religious work became more and more circumscribed. In 1956 the government sent him to a labor camp, and in 1958 he was sentenced to prison for life after refusing to abandon his allegiance to the Vatican.

Bishop Yao said little about his 28 years of imprisonment.

“Only sometimes he would complain to close friends about the unspeakable experience,” Mr. Song said. “He personally witnessed people being killed by the P.L.A.” — the People’s Liberation Army — “when he was taken to prison, and he was very traumatized.”

His 1984 release came as the Chinese government relaxed many of the restrictions of the Mao era. While many Catholic priests were still persecuted and Catholicism was strongly discouraged, worshipers were tacitly allowed to congregate at underground churches.

Mr. Song said that Bishop Yao was assigned by the government to be the pastor at a remote rural church in a mountainous area 25 miles from Xiwanzi. In 1997 he came to Xiwanzi, a town of about 7,000 people about 160 miles north of Beijing, close to the border with inner Mongolia.

Even at an advanced age, his problems with the government did not end. In 2006 the authorities ordered Mr. Yao to spend two and a half years in isolation from outsiders, studying Chinese religious laws, after he was held responsible for two conflicts between the government and underground churches.

Bishop Yao was directly involved in the first incident, in which worshipers built a new Catholic church and staffed it with priests not certified by the government, Mr. Song said. But he had no role in the second, in which angry Catholics laid siege to local government offices for three days during a dispute with a Patriotic Catholic organization.

Bishop Yao’s death, not quite a year after he was released from detention, leaves mainland China with 94 Vatican-approved bishops. The authorities are reported to have stepped up security for his burial in the Xiwanzi church graveyard, a ceremony that is expected to attract thousands despite record snows in the area.

Mons. Guido Marini, the master of pontifical liturgical ceremonies, addressed a Clergy Conference at the Vatican Wednesday evening on the liturgy - much of it based on applying the principles and ideas of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI in keeping both with Church Tradition and the Vatican litrugical constitution Sacrosanctum concilium.

The Clergy Conference is sponsored by the Australian and American Confraternities of Catholic Clergy as their first joint annual event and decided to hold it in the Vatican in the Year of Priests. The conference venue is the Domus Sancta Marthae.



Thanks to

for this document.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPIRIT OF THE LITURGY
Vatican City, January 6, 2010
A Conference for the Year of the Priest

by Msgr. Guido Marini,
Pontifical Master of Liturgical Ceremonies


I propose to focus on some topics connected to the spirit of the liturgy and reflect on them with you; indeed, I intend to broach a subject which would require me to say much. Not only because it is a demanding and complex task to talk about the spirit of the liturgy, but also because many important works treating this subject have already been written by authors of unquestionably high caliber in theology and the liturgy. I’m thinking of two people in particular among the many: Romano Guardini and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

One the other hand, it is now all the more necessary to speak about the spirit of the liturgy, especially for us members of the sacred priesthood. Moreover, there is an urgent need to reaffirm the “authentic” spirit of the liturgy, such as it is present in the uninterrupted tradition of the Church, and attested, in continuity with the past, in the most recent Magisterial teachings: starting from the second Vatican council up to the present pontificate.

I purposefully used the word continuity, a word very dear to our present Holy Father. He has made it the only authoritative criterion whereby one can correctly interpret the life of the Church, and more specifically, the conciliar documents, including all the proposed reforms contained in them.

How could it be any different? Can one truly speak of a Church of the past and a Church of the future as if some historical break in the body of the Church had occurred? Could anyone say that the Bride of Christ had lived without the assistance of the Holy Spirit in a particular period of the past, so that its memory should be erased, purposefully forgotten?

Nevertheless at times it seems that some individuals are truly partisan to a way of thinking that is justly and properly defined as an ideology, or rather a preconceived notion applied to the history of the Church which has nothing to do with the true faith.

An example of the fruit produced by that misleading ideology is the recurrent distinction between the preconciliar and the post conciliar Church. Such a manner of speaking can be legitimate, but only on condition that two Churches are not understood by it: one, the pre- Conciliar Church, that has nothing more to say or to give because it has been surpassed, and a second, the post-conciliar church, a new reality born from the Council and, by its presumed spirit, not in continuity with its past.

This manner of speaking and more so of thinking must not be our own. Apart from being incorrect, it is already superseded and outdated, perhaps understandable from a historical point of view, but nonetheless connected to a season in the church’s life by now concluded.

Does what we have discussed so far with respect to “continuity” have anything to do with the topic we have been asked to treat in this lecture? Yes, absolutely.

The authentic spirit of the liturgy does not abide when it is not approached with serenity, leaving aside all polemics with respect to the recent or remote past. The liturgy cannot and must not be an opportunity for conflict between those who find good only in that which came before us, and those who, on the contrary, almost always find wrong in what came before.

The only disposition which permits us to attain the authentic spirit of the liturgy, with joy and true spiritual relish, is to regard both the present and the past liturgy of the Church as one patrimony in continuous development.

A spirit, accordingly, which we must receive from the Church and is not a fruit of our own making. A spirit, I add, which leads to what is essential in the liturgy, or, more precisely, to prayer inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, in whom Christ continues to become present for us today, to burst forth into our lives. Truly, the spirit of the liturgy is the liturgy of the Holy Spirit.

I will not pretend to plumb the depths of the proposed subject matter, nor to treat all the different aspects necessary for a panoramic and comprehensive understanding of the question.

I will limit myself by discussing only a few elements essential to the liturgy, specifically with reference to the celebration of the Eucharist, such as the Church proposes them, and in the manner I have learned to deepen my knowledge of them these past two years in service to our Holy Father, Benedict XVI.

He is an authentic master of the spirit of the liturgy, whether by his teaching, or by the example he gives in the celebration of the sacred rites.

If, during the course of these reflections on the essence of the liturgy, I will find myself taking note of some behaviours that I do not consider in complete harmony with the authentic spirit of the liturgy, I will do so only as a small contribution to making this spirit stand out all the more in all its beauty and truth.


1. The Sacred Liturgy, God’s great gift to the Church.

We are all well aware how the second Vatican Council dedicated the entirety of its first document to the liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium. It was labeled as the Constitution on the sacred liturgy.

I wish to underline the term sacred in its application to the liturgy, because of its importance. As a matter of fact, the council Fathers intended in this way to reinforce the sacred character of the liturgy.

What, then, do we mean by the sacred liturgy? The East would in this case speak of the divine dimension in the Liturgy, or, to be more precise, of that dimension which is not left to the arbitrary will of man, because it is a gift which comes from on high.

It refers, in other words, to the mystery of salvation in Christ, entrusted to the Church in order to make it available in every moment and in every place by means of the objective nature of the liturgical and sacramental rites. This is a reality surpassing us, which is to be received as gift, and which must be allowed to transform us.

Indeed, the second Vatican Council affirms: “...every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others...” (Sacrosanctum concilium, n.7)

From this perspective it is not difficult to realise how far distant some modes of conduct are from the authentic spirit of the liturgy. In fact, some individuals have managed to upset the liturgy of the Church in various ways under the pretext of a wrongly devised creativity.

This was done on the grounds of adapting to the local situation and the needs of the community, thus appropriating the right to remove from, add to, or modify the liturgical rite in pursuit of subjective and emotional ends. For this, we priests are largely responsible.

For this reason, already back in 2001, the former Cardinal Ratzinger asserted:

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“There is need of, at the very least, a new liturgical awareness that might put a stop to the tendency to treat the liturgy as if it were an object open to manipulation.

We have reached the point where liturgical groups stitch together the Sunday liturgy on their own authority. The result is certainly the imaginative product of a group of able and skilled individuals.

But in this way the space where one may encounter the “totally other” is reduced, in which the holy offers Himself as gift; what I come upon is only the skill of a group of people. It is then that we realise that we are looking for something else.... something different.

The most important thing today is to acquire anew a respect for the liturgy, and an awareness that it is not open to manipulation. To learn once again to recognise in its nature a living creation that grows and has been given as gift, through which we participate in the heavenly liturgy.

To renounce seeking in it our own self-realisation in order to see a gift instead. This, I believe, is of primary importance: to overcome the temptation of a despotic behaviour, which conceives the liturgy as an object, the property of man, and to re-awaken the interior sense of the holy.” (from ‘God and the World’, translation from the Italian edition).

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To affirm, therefore, that the liturgy is sacred presupposes the fact that the liturgy does not exist subject to the sporadic modifications and arbitrary inventions of one individual or group.

The liturgy is not a closed circle in which we decide to meet, perhaps to encourage one another, to feel we are the protagonists of some feast. The liturgy is God’s summons to his people to be in His presence; it is the advent of God among us; it is God encountering us in this world.

A certain adaptation to particular local situations is foreseen and rightly so. The Missal itself indicates where adaptations may be made in some of its sections, yet only in these and not arbitrarily in others.

The reason for this is important and it is good to reassert it: the liturgy is a gift which precedes us, a precious treasure which has been delivered by the age-old prayer of the Church, the place in which the faith has found its form in time and its expression in prayer.

It is not made available to us in order to be subjected to our personal interpretation; rather, the liturgy is made available so as to be fully at the disposal of all, yesterday just as today and also tomorrow.

“Our time, too,” wrote Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “calls for a renewed awareness and appreciation of liturgical norms as a reflection of, and a witness to, the one universal Church made present in every celebration of the Eucharist.” (n. 52)

In the brilliant Encyclical Mediator Dei, which is so often quoted in the constitution on the sacred Liturgy, Pope Pius XII defines the liturgy as “...the public worship... the worship rendered by the Mystical Body of Christ in the entirety of its Head and members.” (n. 20)

As if to say, among other things, that in the liturgy, the Church “officially” identifies herself in the mystery of her union with Christ as spouse, and where she “officially” reveals herself.

What casual folly it is indeed, to claim for ourselves the right to change in a subjective way the holy signs which time has sifted, through which the Church speaks about herself, her identity and her faith!

The people of God has a right that can never be ignored, in virtue of which, all must be allowed to approach what is not merely the poor fruit of human effort, but the work of God, and precisely because it is God’s work, a saving font of new life.

I wish to prolong my reflection a moment longer on this point, which, I can testify, is very dear to the Holy Father, by sharing with you a passage from Sacramentum Caritatis, the Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness, Benedict XVI, written after the Synod on the Holy Eucharist.

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Emphasising the importance of the ars celebrandi also leads to an appreciation of the value of the liturgical norms... The eucharistic celebration is enhanced when priests and liturgical leaders are committed to making known the current liturgical texts and norms...

Perhaps we take it for granted that our ecclesial communities already know and appreciate these resources, but this is not always the case. These texts contain riches which have preserved and expressed the faith and experience of the People of God over its two-thousand-year history.” (n. 40)

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2. The orientation of liturgical prayer

Over and above the changes which have characterised, during the course of time, the architecture of churches and the places where the liturgy takes place, one conviction has always remained clear within the Christian community, almost down to the present day. I am referring to praying facing east, a tradition which goes back to the origins of Christianity.

What is understood by “praying facing east”? It refers to the orientation of the praying heart towards Christ, from whom comes salvation, and to whom it is directed as in the beginning so at the end of history.

The sun rises in the east, and the sun is a symbol of Christ, the light rising in the Orient. The messianic passage in the Benedictus canticle comes readily to mind: “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Orient from on high hath visited us”.

Very reliable and recent studies have by now proven effectively that, in every age of its past, the Christian community has found the way to express even in the external and visible liturgical sign, this fundamental orientation for the life of faith.

This is why we find churches built in such a way that the apse was turned to the east. When such an orientation of the sacred space was no longer possible, the Church had recourse to the Crucifix placed upon the altar, on which everyone could focus.

In the same vein many apses were decorated with resplendent representations of the Lord. All were invited to contemplate these images during the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy.

Without recourse to a detailed historical analysis of the development of Christian art, we would like to reaffirm that prayer facing east, more specifically, facing the Lord, is a characteristic expression of the authentic spirit of the liturgy.

It is according to this sense that we are invited to turn our hearts to the Lord during the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy, as the introductory dialogue to the Preface well reminds us. Sursum corda - “Lift up your hearts” - exhorts the priest, and all respond: Habemus ad Dominum - “We lift them up unto the Lord.”

Now if such an orientation must always be adopted interiorly by the entire Christian community when it gathers in prayer, it should be possible to find this orientation expressed externally by means of signs as well. The external sign, moreover, cannot but be true, in such a way that through it the correct spiritual attitude is rendered visible.

Hence the reason for the proposal made by the then Cardinal Ratzinger, and presently reaffirmed during the course of his pontificate, to place the Crucifix on the center of the altar, in order that all, during the celebration of the liturgy, may concretely face and look upon Lord, in such a way as to orient also their prayer and hearts.

Let us listen to the words of his Holiness, Benedict XVI, directly, who in the preface to the first book of his Complete Works, dedicated to the liturgy, writes the following:

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The idea that the priest and people should look at one another during prayer was born only in modern Christianity, and is completely alien to the ancient Church. The priest and people most certainly do not pray one to the other, but to the one Lord.

Therefore, they look in the same direction during prayer: either towards the east as a cosmic symbol of the Lord who comes, or, where this is not possible, towards the image of Christ in the apse, towards a crucifix, or simply towards the heavens, as our Lord Himself did in his priestly prayer the night before His Passion (John 17.1)

In the meantime the proposal made by me at the end of the chapter treating this question in my work The Spirit of the Liturgy is fortunately becoming more and more common: rather than proceeding with further transformations, simply to place the crucifix at the center of the altar, which both priest and the faithful can face and be lead in this way towards the Lord, whom everyone addresses in prayer together. (Trans. from the Italian.)

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Let it not be said, moreover, that the image of our Lord crucified obstructs the sight of the faithful from that of the priest, for they are not to look to the celebrant at that point in the liturgy! They are to turn their gaze towards the Lord!

In like manner, the presider of the celebration should also be able to turn towards the Lord. The crucifix does not obstruct our view; rather it expands our horizon to see the world of God; the crucifix brings us to meditate on the mystery; it introduces us to the heavens from where the only light capable of making sense of life on this earth comes. Our sight, in truth, would be blinded and obstructed were our eyes to remain fixed on those things that display only man and his works.

In this way one can come to understand why it is still possible today to celebrate the holy Mass upon the old altars, when the particular architectural and artistic features of our churches would advise it. Also in this, the Holy Father gives us an example when he celebrates the holy Eucharist at the ancient altar of the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the Baptism of our Lord.

In our time, the expression “celebrating facing the people” has entered our common vocabulary. If one’s intention in using this expression is to describe the location of the priest, who, due to the fact that today he often finds himself facing the congregation because of the placement of the altar, in this case such an expression is acceptable.

Yet such an expression would be categorically unacceptable the moment it comes to express a theological proposition. Theologically speaking, the holy Mass, as a matter of fact, is always addressed to God through Christ our Lord, and it would be a grievous error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is the community.

Such an orientation, therefore, of turning towards the Lord must animate the interior participation of each individual during the liturgy. It is likewise equally important that this orientation be quite visible in the liturgical sign as well.


3. Adoration and union with God

Adoration is the recognition, filled with wonder, we could even say ecstatic, (because it makes us come out of ourselves and our small world) the recognition of the infinite might of God, of His incomprehensible majesty, and of His love without limit which he offers us absolutely gratuitously, of His omnipotent and provident Lordship.

Consequently, adoration leads to the reunification of man and creation with God, to the abandonment of the state of separation, of apparent autonomy, to loss of self, which is, moreover, the only way of regaining oneself.

Before the ineffable beauty of God’s charity, which takes form in the mystery of the Incarnate Word, who for our sake has died and is risen, and which finds its sacramental manifestation in the liturgy, there is nothing left for us but to be left in adoration.

“In the paschal event and the Eucharist which makes it present throughout the centuries,” affirms Pope John Paul II in Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “there is a truly enormous capacity which embraces all of history as the recipient of the grace of the redemption. This amazement should always fill the Church assembled for the celebration of the Eucharist.” (n.5)

“My Lord and my God,” we have been taught to say from childhood at the moment of the consecration. In such a way, borrowing the words of the apostle St. Thomas, we are led to adore the Lord, made present and living in the species of the holy Eucharist, uniting ourselves to Him, and recognising Him as our all. From there it becomes possible to resume our daily way, having found the correct order of life, the fundamental criterion whereby to live and to die.

Here is the reason why everything in the liturgical act, through the nobility, the beauty, and the harmony of the exterior sign, must be condusive to adoration, to union with God: this includes the music, the singing, the periods of silence, the manner of proclaiming the Word of the Lord, and the manner of praying, the gestures employed, the liturgical vestments and the sacred vessels and other furnishings, as well as the sacred edifice in its entirety.

It is under this perspective that the decision of his Holiness, Benedict XVI, is to be taken into consideration, who, starting from the feast of Corpus Christi last year, has begun to distribute holy Communion to the kneeling faithful directly on the tongue.

By the example of this action, the Holy Father invites us to render visible the proper attitude of adoration before the greatness of the mystery of the Eucharistic presence of our Lord. An attitude of adoration which must be fostered all the more when approaching the most holy Eucharist in the other forms permitted today.

I would like to cite once more another passage from the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum caritatis:

During the early phases of the reform, the inherent relationship between Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was not always perceived with sufficient clarity. For example, an objection that was widespread at the time argued that the eucharistic bread was given to us not to be looked at, but to be eaten.

In the light of the Church's experience of prayer, however, this was seen to be a false dichotomy. As Saint Augustine put it: ‘nemo autem illam carnem manducat, nisi prius adoraverit; peccemus non adorando – no one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it.’

In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church's supreme act of adoration.

Receiving the Eucharist means adoring him whom we receive. Only in this way do we become one with him, and are given, as it were, a foretaste of the beauty of the heavenly liturgy.” (n.66)

I think that, among others, the following passage from the text I just read should not go unnoticed: “[The Eucharistic celebration] is itself the Church's supreme act of adoration.”

Thanks to the holy Eucharist, his Holiness, Benedict XVI, asserts once more: "The imagery of marriage between God and Israel is now realised in a way previously inconceivable: it had meant standing in God's presence, but now it becomes union with God through sharing in Jesus' self-gift, sharing in his body and blood.” (Deus Caritas est, n.13)

For this reason, everything in the liturgy, and more specifically in the Eucharistic liturgy, must lead to adoration, everything in the unfolding of the rite must help one enter into the Church’s adoration of her Lord.

To consider the liturgy as locus for adoration, for union with God, does not mean to lose sight of the communal dimension in the liturgical celebration, even less to forget the imperative of charity toward one’s neighbour.

On the contrary, only through a renewal of the adoration of God in Christ, which takes form in the liturgical act, will an authentic fraternal communion and a new story of charity and love arise, depending on that ability to wonder and act heroically, which only the grace of God can give to our poor hearts. The lives of the saints remind and teach us this.

“Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians.” (Deus caritas est, n. 14)


4. Active Participation

It was really the saints who have celebrated and lived the liturgical act by participating actively. Holiness, as the result of their lives, is the most beautiful testimony of a participation truthfully active in the liturgy of the Church.

Rightly, then, and by divine providence did the second Vatican Council insist so much on the necessity of promoting an authentic participation on the part of the faithful during the celebration of the holy mysteries, at the same time when it reminded the Church of the universal call to holiness.

This authoritative direction from the council has been confirmed and proposed again and again by so many successive documents of the magisterium down to the present day.

Nevertheless, there has not always been a correct understanding of the concept of “active participation”, according to how the Church teaches it and exhorts the faithful to live it.

To be sure, there is active participation when, during the course of the liturgical celebration, one fulfills his proper service; there is active participation too when one has a better comprehension of God’s word when it is heard or of the prayers when they are said; there is also active participation when one unites his own voice to that of the others in song....

All this, however, would not signify a participation truthfully active if it did not lead to adoration of the mystery of salvation in Christ Jesus, who for our sake died and is risen. This is because only he who adores the mystery, welcoming it into his life, demonstrates that he has comprehended what is being celebrated, and so is truly participating in the grace of the liturgical act.

As confirmation and support for what has just been asserted, let us listen once again to the words of a passage by the then Cardinal Ratzinger, from his fundamental study “The Spirit of the Liturgy”:

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What does this active participation come down to? What does it mean that we have to do?

Unfortunately the word was very quickly misunderstood to mean something external, entailing a need for general activity, as if as many people as possible, as often as possible, should be visibly engaged in action.

However, the word ‘part-icipation’ refers to a principal action in which everyone has a ‘part’...By the actio of the liturgy the sources mean the Eucharistic prayer. The real liturgical action, the true liturgical act, is the oratio....This oratio — the Eucharistic Prayer, the “Canon” — is really more than speech; it is actio in the highest sense of the word. (pp. 171-2)

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Christ is made present in all of his salvific work, and for this reason the human actio becomes secondary and makes room for the divine actio, to God’s work.

Thus the true action which is carried out in the liturgy is the action of God Himself, his saving work in Christ, in which we participate.

This is, among other things, the true novelty of the Christian liturgy with respect to every other act of worship: God Himself acts and accomplishes that which is essential, whilst man is called to open himself to the activity of God, in order to be left transformed.

Consequently, the essential aspect of active participation is to overcome the difference between God’s act and our own, that we might become one with Christ. This is why, that I might stress what has been said up to now, it is not possible to participate without adoration.

Let us listen to another passage from Sacrosanctum Concilium:

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The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration.

They should be instructed by God's word and be nourished at the table of the Lord's body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all. (n. 48)

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Compared to this, everything else is secondary. I am referring in particular to external actions, granted they be important and necessary, and foreseen above all during the Liturgy of the Word.

I mention the external actions because, should they become the essential preoccupation and the liturgy is reduced to a generic act, in that case the authentic spirit of the liturgy has been misunderstood.

It follows that an authentic education in the liturgy cannot consist simply in learning and practicing exterior actions, but in an introduction to the essential action, which is God’s own, the paschal mystery of Christ, whom we must allow to meet us, to involve us, to transform us.

Let not the mere execution of external gestures be confused with the correct involvement of our bodies in the liturgical act. Without taking anything away from the meaning and importance of the external action which accompanies the interior act, the Liturgy demands a lot more from the human body. It requires, in fact, its total and renewed effort in the daily actions of this life.

This is what the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, calls “Eucharistic coherence”. Properly speaking, it is the timely and faithful exercise of such a coherence or consistency which is the most authentic expression of participation, even bodily, in the liturgical act, the salvific action of Christ.

I wish to discuss this point further. Are we truly certain that the promotion of an active participation consists in rendering everything to the greatest extent possible immediately comprehensible?

May it not be the case that entering into God’s mystery might be facilitated and, sometimes, even better accompanied by that which touches principally the reasons of the heart?

Is it not often the case that a disproportionate amount of space is given over to empty and trite speech, forgetting that both dialogue and silence belong in the liturgy, congregational singing and choral music, images, symbols, gestures?

Do not, perhaps, also the Latin language, Gregorian chant, and sacred polyphony belong to this manifold language which conducts us to the center of the mystery?


5. Sacred or liturgical music.

There is no doubt that a discussion, in order to introduce itself authentically into the spirit of the liturgy, cannot pass over sacred or liturgical music in silence.

I will limit myself to a brief reflection in way of orienting the discussion. One might wonder why the Church by means of its documents, more or less recent, insists in indicating a certain type of music and singing as particularly consonant with the liturgical celebration.

Already at the time of the Council of Trent the Church intervened in the cultural conflict developing at that time, re-establishing the norm whereby music conforming to the sacred text was of primary importance, limiting the use of instruments and pointing to a clear distinction between profane and sacred music.

Sacred music, moreover, must never be understood as a purely subjective expression. It is anchored to the biblical or traditional texts which are to be sung during the course of the celebration.

More recently, Pope Saint Pius X intervened in an analogous way, seeking to remove operatic singing from the liturgy and selecting Gregorian chant and polyphony from the time of the Catholic reformation as the standard for liturgical music, to be distinguished from religious music in general.

The second Vatican Council did nothing but to reaffirm the same standard, so too the more recent magisterial documents.

Why does the Church insist on proposing certain forms as characteristic of sacred and liturgical music which make them distinct from all other forms of music?

Why, also, do Gregorian chant and the classical sacred polyphony turn out to be the forms to be imitated, in light of which liturgical and even popular music should continue to be produced today? The answer to these questions lies precisely in what we have sought to assert with regard to the spirit of the liturgy.

It is properly those forms of music, in their holiness, their goodness, and their universality, which translate in notes, melodies and singing the authentic liturgical spirit: by leading to adoration of the mystery celebrated, by favouring an authentic and integral participation, by helping the listener to capture the sacred and thereby the essential primacy of God acting in Christ, and finally by permitting a musical development that is anchored in the life of the Church and the contemplation of its mystery.

Allow me to quote the then Cardinal Ratzinger one last time:

---

Gandhi highlights three vital spaces in the cosmos, and demonstrates how each one of them communicates even its own mode of being.

Fish live in the sea and are silent. Terrestrial animals cry out, but the birds, whose vital space is the heavens, sing. Silence is proper to the sea, crying out to the earth, and singing to the heavens.

Man, however, participates in all three: he bares within him the depth of the sea, the weight of the earth, and the height of the heavens; this is why all three modes of being belong to him: silence, crying out, and song.

Today...we see that, devoid of transcendence, all that is left to man is to cry out, because he wishes to be only earth and seeks to turn into earth even the heavens and the depth of the sea.

The true liturgy, the liturgy of the communion of saints, restores to him the fullness of his being. It teaches him anew how to be silent and how to sing, opening to him the profundity of the sea and teaching him how to fly, the nature of an angel; elevating his heart, it makes that song resonate in him once again which had in a way fallen asleep.

In fact, we can even say that the true liturgy is recognisable especially when it frees us from the common way of living, and restores to us depth and height, silence and song.

The true liturgy is recognisable by the fact that it is cosmic, not custom-made for a group. It sings with the angels. It remains silent with the profound depth of the universe in waiting. And in this way it redeems the world. Ttrans. from the Italian)

---

At this point I would like to conclude the discussion. For some years now, several voices have been heard within Church circles talking about the necessity of a new liturgical renewal. Of a movement, in some ways analogous to the one which formed the basis for the reform promoted by the second Vatican Council, capable of operating a reform of the reform, or rather, one more step ahead in understanding the authentic spirit of the liturgy and of its celebration; its goal would be to carry on that providential reform of the liturgy that the conciliar Fathers had launched but has not always, in its practical implementation, found a timely and happy fulfillment.

There is no doubt that in this new liturgical renewal it is we priests who are to recover a decisive role. With the help of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of all priests, may this further development of the reform also be the fruit of our sincere love for the liturgy, in fidelity to the Church and the Holy Father.

Msgr. Guido Marini
Pontifical Master of Liturgical Ceremonies

US appeals court dismisses
Holocaust survivors' suit
against Vatican bank



SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 7 (AP) -The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last week dismissed a lawsuit by Holocaust survivors who alleged the Vatican bank accepted millions of dollars of their valuables stolen by Nazi sympathizers.

The court on Dec. 29 upheld a lower court ruling that said the Vatican bank was immune from such a lawsuit under the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which generally protects foreign countries from being sued in U.S. courts.

Holocaust survivors from Croatia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia had filed suit against the Vatican bank in 1999, alleging that it stored and laundered the looted assets of thousands of Jews, Serbs and Gypsies who were killed or captured by the Nazi-backed Ustasha regime that controlled Croatia.

They sought an accounting from the Vatican, as well as restitution and damages. The court didn’t rule on the allegations, saying in its decision that the Vatican bank was a sovereign entity entitled to the protections of the foreign sovereign immunities act, and that therefore U.S. courts had no jurisdiction.

“The reason we’re disappointed is the court found that dealing in gold teeth from concentration camps was not a commercial act,” said Jonathan Levy, who represents the survivors.

Levy said he didn’t plan to appeal the judgment. The victims are also suing the Franciscans, the Roman Catholic order, on identical charges, and that portion of the lawsuit is going ahead, he said.

Jews move to halt spitting
at Christians in Jerusalem

Jan. 5, 2010


Globally speaking, the most serious new tension dividing Jews and Catholics is Pope Benedict XVI’s decision just before Christmas to advance the sainthood cause of Pius XII, the wartime pontiff whose alleged “silence” on the Holocaust has long been a subject of polarizing historical debate.

On the ground in Jerusalem, however, Jewish/Christian animus has a much more prosaic cause: Spitting.

Recently, the Jerusalem Post carried a piece quoting Rabbi David Rosen, a veteran of Catholic/Jewish dialogue, acknowledging that incidents of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at priests, nuns and other Christian clergy is “a part of life” in Jerusalem.

[When was the last incident - if any in modern times - that Christians committed any such overt anti-Semitic acts? And did Christian anti-Jewish feeling in the past, say in the Middle Ages, ever include spitting at them?]

Such incidents have been occurring for the last twenty years and are now on the rise, according to the story, although they appear to be limited to Jerusalem.

The piece quoted a Texas-born Franciscan, Fr. Athanasius Macora, who heads the Christian Information Center inside the Jaffa Gate, who said that he’s been spat upon by ultra-Orthodox Jews as much as fifteen times in the last six months – not only in the Old City, but also outside his Franciscan friary.

The Rev. Samuel Aghoyan, an Armenian Orthodox cleric, said he’s been spat upon fifteen to twenty times, most recently in November.

“I was walking back from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and I saw this boy in a yarmulke and ritual fringes coming back from the Kotel, and he spat at me two or three times,” Aghoyan said.

“Every [Christian cleric in the Old City] who’s been here for awhile, who dresses in robes in public, has a story to tell about being spat at,” Macora said. “The more you get around, the more it happens.”

Israeli authorities have taken these reports seriously enough that the Foreign Ministry convened a meeting with municipal officials in Jerusalem and representatives of the ultra- Orthodox Haredi Community.

In a sign that the Israelis are worried about possible international repercussions, that meeting was announced in a press release issued this morning by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See in Rome.

The press release contained a letter denouncing the harassment of Christian clergy from the Beth Din Tzedek, the tribunal of the Orthodox Jewish Community and the highest instance of the Jewish ultra orthodox community in Jerusalem.

The text of that letter appears below.

---

Recently, repeated complaints have been made by gentiles regarding recurring harassment and insults directed at them by irresponsible youths in various places in the city, especially in the vicinity of Shivtei Yisrael Street and adjacent to the grave of Shimon the Just.

Besides desecrating the Holy Name, which in itself represents a very grave sin, provoking gentiles, according to our sages – blessed be their holy and righteous memory – is forbidden and is liable to bring tragic consequences upon our own community, may God have mercy.

We hereby call upon anyone who has the power to end these shameful incidents through persuasion, to take action as soon as possible to remove these hazards, so that our community may live in peace.

May the Holy One, blessed be He, spread the tabernacle of a merciful life and peace upon us and on the House of Israel and Jerusalem, as we look forward to the coming of the righteous Messiah speedily and in our time, Amen.

Signed this day, the 13th of Tevet 5770 (30/12/2009) by the Haredi Community Tribunal of Justice, in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

---

The words of the tribunal are clear and simple, and all who hear them and can prevent these deeds will hopefully do so.

Coptic bishop real target
in Christmas attack in Egypt


Cairo, Jan. 8 (AsiaNews) – Coptic bishop Anba Kirollos was the real target in last Wednesday's drive-by shooting against a Coptic church in Nag Hammadi.

Meanwhile, police found one of the cars used by gunmen in the attack on the Eve of Orthodox Christmas, but thousands of Christians attending the victims' funeral slammed law enforcement and pelted police cars with rocks.



"I was the one intended to be assassinated by this plot, and when it failed the criminals turned round and started shooting and finishing off the young ones," Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammagi Diocese told Middle East Christian Association (MECA) today in an interview.

In the evening of 6 January, at the end of the Christmas vigil, at least three gunmen began spraying bullets from two cars against people filing out of the church.

A security guard and six Christians were killed, mostly young men in their early 20s. A young couple and a 14-years-old boy were also among the dead.

Bishop Kirollos said there had been threats in the days leading up to the Christmas Eve service, a reason he decided to start Mass an hour earlier than normal. "For days, I had expected something to happen on Christmas Eve," he said.

The bishop left the church minutes before the attack. "A driving car swerved near me, so I took the back door," he said. "By the time I shook hands with someone at the gate, I heard the mayhem, lots of machine-gun shots."

For the prelate, Egyptian security forces were negligent. Even though that they had been warned of the tense situation, they did not provide adequate protection to the church.

Tensions between Christians and Muslims in Nag Hammadi have been rising in the past few months after a young Christian man was accused of raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl.

For Copts, the rape charges are a pretext, and point to the fact that police has not arrested the accused. However, because of the accusations, which were made in November, Christians have been attacked in Farshout, Abu Shusha, Aerky and Alshokeify, which are part of the parish of Nag Hammadi.

According to Egypt's official news agency, police have recovered one of the two cars used in the drive-by shooting and identified the three perpetrators.

However, during yesterday's funeral, attended by at least 5,000 faithful, police had to use tear gas to stop people from stoning them. Some ambulances were also attacked.

"People are angry and worried," Bishop Kirollos said. Some Copts point out that for years TV, radio and newspapers have preached intolerance towards Copts.

Copts, who account for nearly 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million, are the Middle East's largest Christian community but complain of routine harassment and systematic discrimination and marginalisation.



Six Egyptian Copts killed
in Christmas Eve attack




Mourners of the Copts killed early Jan. 8 (Christmas Day in the Orthodox world); right, interior of the church the victims attended.

CAIRO, Jan. 8 (AFP) – Attackers in a car raked a crowd of shoppers in a south Egypt town with gunfire, killing a policemen and six Coptic Christians on the eve of their Christmas celebrations, a security official said on Thursday.

The drive-by shooting took place late Wednesday in the southern Egyptian town of Nagaa Hammadi as Copts were preparing for Christmas which they celebrate January 7 along with other Orthodox communities, the official said.

Witnesses however gave a conflicting account of the attack, saying the gunmen struck as worshippers emerged from midnight mass at the main church in Nagaa Hammadi.

"Three unidentified individuals in a car opened fire on Christians in a shopping district as they were making purchases for Christmas," the security official said, as cited by state-run MENA news agency.

Nine other Copts were wounded in the shooting, he added.

The gunmen also opened fire "in front of a convent located in an rural area" near the town, in the province of Qana, 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of Cairo, the official said.

Witnesses, cited by local officials, said the main gunman, a Muslim, is wanted by police and linked the incident to the abduction of a 12-year-old Muslim girl in November who was allegedly raped by a Coptic youth.

"The first elements of the investigation, based on testimony of people on the ground, indicate that the main shooter is a town resident identified as Mohammed Ahmed Hussein, who is wanted by the police," one official said.

This was the deadliest since 20 Copts were killed in sectarian clashes in 2000, also in southern Egypt.

In November, hundreds of Muslim protesters torched Christian-owned shops in the town of Farshut, near Nagaa Hammadi, and attacked a police station where they believed the suspected rapist was being held.

That incident was the latest in a string of sectarian tensions in 2009 between Muslims and Egypt's Copts -- the Middle East's largest Christian community who represent roughly 10 percent of Egypt's 80-million population.

Copts have complained over the years of frequent discrimination, harassment and that they are the targets of sectarian attacks. They also allege they are overlooked in top jobs in the army, police and judiciary.



Christmas Eve services at the St. Mark Church in Cairo's Abbassiya district (seen in top panel, with its spire framed between two mosques) with Pope Shenouda.

On Wednesday, the head of the Coptic minority, Pope Shenuda III, led a Christmas midnight mass at the Abbassiya church in Cairo which was attended by thousands of worshippers.

Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who has been widely tipped as being the next head of state, was among several prominent figures who attended the mass, an AFP photographer said.



Earlier today, Cardinal Kasper, as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, sent a letter of condolence and solidarity to Coptic Orthodoc Pope Shenouda III. The letter is in English:

---

His Holiness Shenouda III
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark

Your Holiness,

With sadness I have heard the tragic news of the death and injury of several Coptic Christians after a Christmas midnight Mass in Nag Hamadi in Upper Egypt.

Please know that I am united in prayer with Your Holiness and with the Coptic Christian Community at this time. Whenever our Christians suffer unjustly it is a wound to the Body of Christ in which all believers share.

Together we share this sadness, and together we pray for healing, peace and justice. All Christians must stand united in the face of oppression and seek together the peace that only Christ can give.

I pray for the happy repose of the souls of the deceased and the healing of the injured, as well as comfort for the families of the victims.

With esteemed respect, I remain yours in Christ,

Walter Cardinal Kasper
President

---

Vietnam archdiocese condemns
crucifix attack as 'sacrilege'



Hanoi, Vietnam, Jan 8, 2010 (CNA) - The Archdiocese of Hanoi has condemned a recent police attack on Catholic parishioners and the destruction of a cemetery crucifix by the city police as a “sacrilege.”

“Blowing up the crucifix in the cemetery of Dong Chiem Parish with explosives is the most severe form of sacrilege. It's insults the Catholic faith,” said Fr. John Le Trong Cung, Vice Chancellor of the Hanoi Archbishopric in a statement on Friday.

An estimated 600 to 1000 heavily armed police officers and a large number of trained dogs were deployed to the area to protect the army engineering unit assigned to destroy the stone crucifix. The troops and police reportedly claimed they were acting on a policy that requires all religious symbols to be inside a religious premise, J.B. An Dang told CNA.

“Facing such an extreme act of sacrilege, parishioners of Dong Chiem begged the police to stop destroying their crucifix. But in response they were shot at close range with tear gas canisters. Around a dozen brutally beaten, two of them were seriously injured and hospitalized,” claimed Fr. John Le.

According to J.B. An Dang, the two seriously injured victims were transported by police after the attack to a clinic where they received no medical attention. It was only until later in the day when the priests and parishioners found them and brought them to another hospital that they received proper care.

“We are now coping with severe grief and shock, for what happened to the crucifix was an act of sacrilege to the Christ, our Lord,” lamented Fr. John Le. “To desecrate the crucifix is to desecrate the most sacred symbol of the Christian faith and of the Church. To brutally assault the unarmed, innocent civilians is a savage and inhumane act as human dignity is severely hurt.”

“This gross conduct should be condemned!” he insisted.

Following the attack, priests and leaders of deaneries in the archdiocese swarmed to the area to offer support and sympathy. “They consoled the victims and concelebrated Mass, praying for the injured and for Dong Chiem parish as a whole,” said Fr. John Le.

Though the attack took place on the parish cemetery mount, the Vietnamese government has denied the Church's ownership of it, citing the Communist land policy which claims that all land belongs to the people and to the state, as acting manager for the people.

Fr. John Le refuted this, saying “the mount has always been in the ownership of the parish since its establishment more than a hundred years ago.”

Concluding his statement with a plea, Fr. John Le asked for “fervent prayers from all priests, religious, seminarians, and all faithful, for Dong Chiem parish to be steadfast in bearing our Christ's cross. Let us pray for our country to become just, democratic, and civilized, where sacred values are respected and human rights protected.”

For 5 billion people,
religious freedom
is a forbidden dream


Because of rounding, totals may be >100%.

The Pew Forum has shown this with the biggest study ever conducted on the issue.
Government restrictions are compounded by social hostilities.
Even the most liberal countries are not immune.







ROME, January 8, 2010 – The chart above classifies the fifty most populous nations in the world on the basis of their respective restrictions on religious freedom: both the restrictions imposed by governments, increasing from left to right, and those produced by violence on the part of persons or groups, increasing from bottom to top.

Violations of religious freedom will be a major theme in the speech that Pope Benedict XVI will give on January 11 – as at the beginning of every year – to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

The theme is not a new one. But never before has it been analyzed with the scientific precision achieved by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington, in the study from which the chart is taken.

The study includes 198 countries, leaving out North Korea, because of the insurmountable scarcity of data, and covers the two-year period from the middle of 2006 to the middle of 2008.

A summary of the study and the complete 72-page report can be downloaded for free from the website of the Pew Forum:

> Global Restrictions on Religion, December 2009
pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/restrictions/restrictionsfullre...

In the chart, the size of the circles is proportional to the population of each country. As can be seen, among the countries with more restrictions on religious freedom, a huge impact is made by India and China, each with a population of well over one billion.

With the addition of other densely populated, illiberal countries, it ends up that 70 percent of the 6.8 billion people in the world live in countries with severe or extremely severe limitations on freedom of religion.

Conversely, only 15 percent of the global population lives in countries with acceptable levels of religious freedom.

Naturally, religious freedom encounters different obstacles in the various countries.

In China and Vietnam, for example, the populations do not show hostility toward one religion or another. It is the government that imposes severe limitations on expressions of faith. In China, the restrictions affect the Buddhists of Tibet, the Uyghur Muslims, the Christians without government recognition, and the followers of Falun Gong.

The opposite happens in Nigeria and Bangladesh. There, the governments opt for moderation, while it is in civil society that acts of violence are exploding against one religion or another.

In India as well, hostility is more the work of social factions than of the authorities, although they also impose heavy restrictions.

Among the 198 countries, there is only one in which the levels of hostility against "enemy" religions reach the highest points both on the part of the government and on the part of the population. And it is Saudi Arabia.

But Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, and Iran also have overall levels that are very negative, on a par with India. In Egypt, restrictions of religious freedom mainly affect the Coptic Christians, who are about ten percent of the population.

Half of the countries in the world prohibit or severely limit missionary activity. Some governments support only one religion (in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Cambodia, Buddhism) repressing all of the others.

In some countries, the hostility is between factions of the same religious sphere. In Indonesia, the most populous Islamic country on the globe, it is the Ahmadi Muslims who suffer. And in Turkey, the Alevi Muslims, although they number in the millions.

On a map of the world included with the report, with the individual countries colored according to the level of restriction of religious freedom, it is immediately clear that the areas with greater freedom are those in which Christianity is more present: Europe, the Americas, Australia, and sub-Saharan Africa.

But there are some restrictions even here. In Greece, only Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Muslims can organize as such and own property. The Christians of other confessions cannot.

In France, the law that prohibits Muslim girls from wearing the veil in schools also bans Christians from wearing a cross that is too visible, and Sikhs from wearing the turban.

In Great Britain, even though the head of state is also head of the Church of England, a ruling has permitted a company to require its Christian employees to conceal the symbols of their faith in the workplace, while leaving members of the other religions free to wear their symbols.

And in Israel? In 2009, for the first time in ten years, not a single killing of Jews by Muslim suicide terrorists was recorded.

This development is beyond the time frame of the Pew Forum study. But the study did find other restrictions on religious freedom in Israel: above all with the privileges granted, for example in marriage legislation, to Orthodox Jews, although they are only a small segment of the Jews living in the country.

[Magister then recaps the recent story about Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians in Jerusalem.]

The spokesman for the Archdiocese of Vienna has communicated with Lella's blog and with the editors of Il REsto del Carlino, the Bologna newspaper which published what was described as an interview with Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, which leads off with the Cardinal saying unequvocally that he believes the Virgin Mary appeared to the 'visionaries' in Medjugorje. [See note in preceding page of this thread, after the text of the statement by the Bishop of Mostar saying the cardinal's visit to Medjugorje has made things more difficult for him and his diocese.]

The spokesman said the cardinal never gave the interview nor authorized any statements made in his name other than what he told the Coatian newspaper Vecernji list, which the German news agency kath.net published under the headline "The Church has not made a judgment about Medjugorje". (I will try to translate it when I have the time.)

More importantly, the spokesman pointed out, the cardinal never said that Benedict XVI may one day visit Medjugorje.

In the interview with the Croatian newspapeer, Cardinal reiterated the position of the Yugoslav bishops' inquiry in the 1990s, concurred in by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that nothing supernatural was proven to have occurred in Medjugorje.

But in three other kath.net stories published before the Croatian interview, Schoenborn was quoted as saying, "I would gladly return to Medjugorje"; "The events at Medjugorje conform to the 'grammar' of Marian apparitions"; and in a news conference in Vienna after coming back from a well-covered 'private visit' to Medjugorje, he expressed the wish that the "Medjugorje 'phenomenon' be integrated into the normal pastoral ministry".

While I am happy indeed that Schoenborn has belied the extreme statements attributed to him in the 'Carlino' article - apparently fabricated out of thin air - it seems nonetheless that he himself personally believes in the apparitions, and that the circumstances of his visit as narrated by the Bishop of Mostar in the latter's January 4 statement were less than proper, to say the least. Especially for someone with his rank who is known to be a close associate of the Holy Father.

I do not know if his spokesman has seen fit to reply to the various specific 'reproaches' in Bishop Peric's statement, but if he has not, then he should. At the very least, the cardinal is being disingenuous to claim he stands by the position of the Vatican while indicating by his actions and other statements that he does not share it.

Which is quite clear from the following story about the Schoenborn visit to Medjugorje and its repercussions:


Schoenborn defends visit
to Medjugorje
By Anna Arco

Issue of January 10, 2010



Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has defended his decision to visit Medjugorje after he was criticised by the local bishop who does not believe claims that the Virgin Mary is appearing there.

[No one is questioning his right to visit wherever he wants to go. It is the manner of the visit which is questionable and somehow, dishonest and arrogant. Why did he not have the elementary courtesy to inform the local bishop, to begin with? Probably because he wanted to do what he wanted to do without having to owe any courtesy to the bishop.]

The Archbishop of Vienna said his visit to the Bosnian town was an attempt to "de-dramatise" the "Medjugorje phenomenon".Cardinal Schönborn said the alleged Marian apparitions, which were first reported in 1981, had taken a secondary place in Medjugorje to the emergence of a "school of normal Christian life".

He said: "[Medjugorje] is about faith in Christ, prayer, the Eucharist, about lived love of neighbour, about the essentials of Christianity and the strengthening of Christian daily life."

The cardinal, who leads the Austrian bishops' conference and is a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said he did not intend to make a decision on Medjugorje ahead of the universal Church.

He said he wanted to stick to the guidelines set up by the 1991 Zadar Declaration, the last formal statement about the apparitions, which forbids official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and which he described as "wise and directing".

The declaration, issued collectively by all the bishops of the former Yugoslavia after three lengthy investigations into the claims of apparitions, ruled that the apparitions were "non constat de supernaturalitate" which roughly translates as "not established as supernatural" . It remains the official position of the Church.

Cardinal Schönborn had come to Medjugorje, he said, to see the tree that had borne such fruits as Cenacolo, a community which helps to rehabilitate drug users, and Mary's Meals which helps feed starving children around the world.

He celebrated Midnight Mass in St James's church in Medjugorje as well as meeting Franciscans and hearing confessions. He also joined one of the six seers, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, in climbing "Apparitions Hill", the hillside where the Virgin Mary is alleged to have appeared.

Later Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno issued a statement heavily criticising Cardinal Schönborn.

He said he "regretted" the cardinal's visit which, he said, contributed to new suffering to the local Church and did not contribute to "peace and unity [that is] so necessary".

Bishop Peric said Cardinal Schönborn's public appearance at Medjugorje gave "some believers the erroneous impression that the cardinal's presence acknowledged the authenticity of the Medjugorje 'apparitions'".

Bishop Peric said the cardinal's visit could be "interpreted as supportive" to "a growing number of new communities and disobedient associations of the faithful in Medjugorje which can be read as an encouragement for their ecclesiastical disobedience".

[One would think that someone like Schoenborn would have empathy for the pastoral problems arising from disobedient clergy and parishioners!]

He said that the diocese was riddled with problems, including schismatic Franciscans in parishes associated with the "Medjugorje phenomenon", who have been suspended from the priesthood but continue to celebrate Mass.

He also drew attention to the fact that the two priests most closely linked to the alleged apparitions have been disciplined. Fr Tomislav Vlasic was expelled from the Order of Friars Minor last year and laicised at his own request by the Holy See. Fr Jozo Zovko has been denied priestly faculties in the diocese since 2004.

Bishop Peric also said that Cardinal Schönborn had not notified either the diocese or the parish that he planned to make a visit to the place where six children witnessed the alleged apparitions.

The bishop said: "I understand that a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church enjoys the right to profess and preach the Gospel throughout the Catholic Church. But with regard to public appearances outside their own diocese there exists also among bishops a certain ecclesiastical code of conduct; the bishop or cardinal who intends to come to another diocese and appear publicly, announces himself in first instance to the local bishop, which is encouraged also by ecclesiastical prudence. I hold that such ecclesiastical prudence and such a rule should have been especially applied in this case."

During his homily at St James's church Cardinal Schönborn said: "These days, we have all come to Medjugorje to be especially close to the Mother of the Lord. To be more exact, we have to say that we have come here because we know that the Mother of the Lord wants to be close to us."

He compared the Medjugorje apparitions with the angels at the Nativity, which are mentioned by the shepherds in the Gospel but are not described at the scene. Mary and Joseph, he said, had to hear about the angels from the shepherds.

Cardinal Schönborn said: "We also didn't see the Gospa. But there are people here who told about it. And we trust that the Mother of God really is close to us. Belief comes from hearing. And it impresses me that first, in the Gospel of today, there is talk about hearing. We have to listen to the Good News first. We have two ears, two eyes, and only one mouth. That means we have to listen much, watch much, and then talk also.

"And what are we supposed to say? We are supposed to report what we have seen and heard. The world needs a new evangelisation and that is only possible through people for whom it is impossible to keep silent about what they have seen and heard." [WOW!]

In 1981 six children reported seeing the Virgin Mary on a hillside outside the town of Medjugorje. Since the first sighting, she has reportedly appeared to the seers over 40,000 times and imparted hundreds of messages to them.

Four Christian churches attacked
in Malaysia over controversy
on the use of 'Allah'



Three Protestant places of worship, and one Catholic church attacked by Islamic fundamentalists.
Offices and cars are vandalized by those who do not want non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah'
despite a Supreme Court ruling allowing it.


Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 8 (AsiaNews) - "There is no immediate danger, but the situation is still worrying."

This was the comment to AsiaNews by Fr Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Catholic weekly Herald, on last night’s attack of "three Protestant and one Catholic church ".

The priest also confirms "a national propaganda campaign" of the Muslim majority, so that "the name of Allah can only be used to refer to the God of Islam."

Around midnight on Wednesday an explosion damaged the administrative offices of Metro Tabernacle Church, a Protestant church in Kuala Lumpur. Three other Christian places of worship, including the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Petaling Jaya, were also attacked.

The assailants threw a Molotov cocktail inside the building, which caused minimal damage. Fr. Lawrence reported that in addition to places of worship some "cars owned by Catholics” were attacked, with “bodywork damaged and broken windows, but there are no injuries."

The anger of the fundamentalist wing in the country was unleashed by the December 31st decision by High Court judges allowing Christians to use the word "Allah" in reference to God, contrary to a government ban. The government has announced it will appeal the ruling.

Today a protest rally, sponsored by 58 Muslim NGOs, was held on the streets of the capital which was attended by about 300 people.

"There have been no reports of incidents during the protest - confirmed Fr Lawrence to AsiaNews - because the police did a good job. The security forces have are committed to keeping the peace and preventing calm an escalation of violence".

The priest said that there is a campaign of propaganda in Malaysia that seeks to "put pressure on the Government": Islam is the state religion, it must maintain a dominant position, and the rules must be in accordance with Islamic law.

"We are worried - says the priest - but the situation is not dangerous as of yet. We have established close cooperation with the government to help restore peace in the country”.

In order to avoid further violence, Fr. Lawrence confirms that "we will not use the word Allah in the editions of our newspaper until the judiciary issues the final ruling."

"Today the TV has broadcast the Friday prayers all over the country - concluded the priest - During the sermon it was repeated several times that Allah is the God of Muslims and they alone can use it. It is an attempt to put pressure on judges, to cancel the ruling of the High Court. With a climate like this, it is not possible to carry out a fair and just trial".


Personally, I do not see why the Christians in Malaysia would insist on using the term 'Allah' for God. What is wrong with the term 'God'? Everyone understands it.

Sure, out of principle, anyone should be able to call 'God' anything appropriate. But if using 'Allah' when you are not Muslim in a country that is so bigoted as to limits its use only to Muslims, then why insist and provoke trouble unnecessarily? God is not any less God if he is not called Allah! C'mon, already!

Besides, if you follow the extremists' logic, Christians who use the word 'Allah' for God would then have to speak of Jesus as the 'Son of Allah' - which would really constitute blasphemy, and high-octane fuel to the fundamentalist fire, because a) they believe Jesus is only a prophet, and one less than Mohammed; and 2) their 'Allah' does not have a 'Son'.



Vietnamese bishops say destruction
of a cemetery cross is typical of
government action to end disputes
by J.B. An Dang


The brutal attack on the crucifix of the cemetery in Hanoi and the destruction of sacred symbols
are "ingredients of the policies" of Communist regime to resolve disputes.
The bishops call for dialogue to find a peaceful solution.
The faithful build a new bamboo cross; the police arrest five Catholics and close down the site.


Hanoi, Jan. 9 (AsiaNews) - The bishops of North Vietnam, in solidarity with the Archbishop of Hanoi, have expressed dismay at the destruction of sacred symbols of faith and for the brutal attack on the Catholic community.

At the end of a meeting held yesterday in the office of the archdiocese in the capital, the 10 bishops declared that the destruction of the crucifix in the churchyard of the parish of Dong Chiem, on 6 January, and violence against the faithful are "two ingredients of government policy in resolving disputes with religions".

Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, archbishop of Hanoi, along with the North Vietnamese bishops, personally visited the faithful of the parish of Dong Chiem, victims of the brutal police attack.

In a gesture of defiance toward the government, the faithful erected a new cross in bamboo (see photo), in the same place where the cross destroyed in recent days was located. They want to affirm the right of ownership of the land that "has belonged to the parish for more than 100 years and will not be abandoned."

In response, the police arrested five Catholics and prevented access to the area. The place where they were conducted is currently unknown. The officers have so far not destroyed the new bamboo cross. The state media, however, have taken over the smear campaign against Catholics, accusing them of "fostering hatred" in the country.

Following Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet’s visit to the Vatican and his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, there were signs of hope that the pending conflict between the Church and the communist government could find "a peaceful solution through dialogue."

However, the attack against the faithful of the parish of Dong Chiem recalls the methods used against the faithful in Tam Toa and Bau Sen (in the diocese of Vinh) and Loan Ly (Archdiocese of Hue).

The two dioceses were the scenes of violence by government officials and police, which destroyed the symbols of faith, beat and arrested faithful and priests and seized the properties of Catholics last year.

The North Vietnamese bishops have warned the government not to use measures that might create "further discontent, anger and mistrust among the people" and reiterated the previous statements of the Bishops Conference, which call for a change "in the laws governing the possession of land and property".

Hanoi denies these rights, because "the land belongs to the people" and "the State administers it". The bishops respond that the right to own private property is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must be respected.

At the end of their message, the bishops confirm their willingness to "collaborate with the government" for the good of the country and the construction of a "big family" where all members can coexist peacefully.

The Holy See's diplomatic net:
Russia is the latest acquisition

In the past half century, the Pope's ambassadors in the world have doubled.
Bilateral diplomatic relations have tripled.
Still not 'related' are China, Saudi Arabia, and a few other states.





ROME, January 14, 2010 – Speaking three days ago to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Benedict XVI said that the Church of Rome "keeps its doors open to all, and wants to have with all relations that may contribute to the progress of the human family."

He recalled with satisfaction that lately, full diplomatic relations have been established with Russia.

And it is hoped that the same thing will happen soon – the Pope implied – with Vietnam (in spite of the episodes of anti-Catholic violence that have taken place there in recent days, diplomatically silenced by L'Osservatore Romano).

On the same day as the pope's address to the ambassadors, the Vatican Secretariat of State released a brief informational note with the new developments over the past year in the field of diplomatic relations.

With Russia as the latest arrival, there are 178 countries that today have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. To these must be added the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and in a special form, the Palestinian Liberation Organization. And also: the many intergovernmental organizations and international programs in which the Holy See participates as an observer or member.

The Holy See has established concordats, accords, or conventions of various kinds with many of these states and organisms. For example, over the past year, with the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with Austria, and with Brazil.

So there are very few countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Church of Rome. Among these, in addition to Vietnam, are the People's Republic of China and Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, January 10, on the eve of the Pope's meeting with the ambassadors, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference Avvenire published a detailed overview of the Vatican's global diplomatic network by one of the most seasoned Vatican watchers. Here's what he wrote:


The 16 states who have no relations with the Holy See
and the latest information on ambassadors and nuncios
by Gianni Cardinale


In 1978, the Holy See had full diplomatic relations with 84 countries. In 2005, there were 174. With Benedict XVI, they have risen to 178.

During his pontificate, relations were established in 2006 with newly independent Montenegro, in 2007 with the United Arab Emirates, and in 2008 with Botswana. Finally, last December 9 it was the turn of the Russian Federation, with which relations of a special nature were already in place, like those that continue to exist with the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

The countries with which the Holy See has diplomatic relations also include China-Taiwan, but since 1979 there has not been a nuncio there, but only a simple "interim chargé d'affaires." And this in anticipation of finally being able to transfer the nunciature to Beijing.

The People's Republic of China, in fact, is the largest of the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. But it's not the only one.

Apart from Kosovo – whose international status is still controversial – the Holy See does not yet have relations with sixteen countries, most of them in Asia, many of them with majority Muslim populations.

There is no Vatican representative in nine of these countries: Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, the Maldives, Oman, Tuvalu, and Vietnam. While in seven other countries there are apostolic delegates, pontifical representatives to the local Catholic communities but not to the government. Three of these countries are African: the Comoros, Mauritania, and Somalia. And four of them are Asian: Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar.

Nonetheless, the Holy See has had formal contact with some of these countries. At the Mass for the inauguration of Benedict XVI's pontificate, there were representatives from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Oman, and Vietnam. While at the solemn funeral for John Paul II, representatives from Brunei and Somalia were present.

Formal negotiations over full diplomatic relations have begun with Vietnam – and the visit of President Minh Triet to the Vatican last December 11 was encouraging in this sense – while with China there are semi-official contacts between members of the secretariat of state, the Chinese ambassador to Italy, and the authorities of the office for religious affairs of the Chinese regime.

Pontifical diplomacy has also started work to establish relations with Oman. But discussion seems to be completely off-limits for Muslim states like Saudi Arabia – where Catholic worship is still officially prohibited, although the Pope's audience with King Abdullah on November 6, 2007, was a positive sign – or like the Maldives, where priests are not even allowed to come to assist the many Catholic tourists present in the archipelago.

Currently there are about eighty countries with ambassadors to the Holy See residing in Rome. The others are diplomats living in other European capitals. The Holy See does not accept ambassadors who are simultaneously accredited to Italy.

A further signal of the growing diplomatic interest in the Holy See comes from the fact that with Benedict XVI, ambassadors from Australia, Cameroon, the Seychelles, and East Timor have established themselves in Rome.

At this moment, there are 101 apostolic nuncios active all over the world, some of them covering multiple countries. Almost half of them, 50, are Italian, a percentage sharply lower than in the past (in 1961, the Italian nuncios were 48 out of 58, 83 percent; and in 1978, 55 out of 75, 73 percent).

This reduction is destined to continue, seeing that with Benedict XVI, 26 first-time nuncios were elevated to the episcopate, only ten of them Italian (38 percent).

However, Italian pontifical representatives are still appointed for ecclesiastically and politically important countries like France, Spain, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Israel (Jerusalem and Palestine), Russia, and Italy itself.

Most of the other nuncios come from the rest of Europe (27, of whom seven are Spanish, six Polish, five French, three Swiss), but also from Asia (14, of whom six come from India and four from the Philippines), from North America (six, all from the United States), from Africa (three) and from Latin America (one).

With Benedict XVI, the network of nunciatures has been reinforced in Africa, where two new offices have been opened: in Burkina Faso in 2007, and in Liberia in 2008. Libya has decided to give the green light to the construction of the nunciature in Tripoli. Further signs of interest – reciprocated – that the Holy See is fostering in a continent that is sometimes forgotten by the great powers.

This article saves me having to post anything on Mary Daly or Edward Schillebeeckx, as I had meant to do at the time they died recently. I knwo I do not have to post anything ever more about Daly, who from the little I have read, appears to have been completely out of bounds, but I think there is an article or two that presents Schillebeeckx's life and theological record fairly that I should translate and post for the record.


As the flame of Catholic dissent dies out...
By CHARLOTTE ALLEN

Jan. 14, 2010


Mary Daly, a retired professor at Boston College who was probably the most outré of all the dissident theologians who came to the fore of Catholic intellectual life in the years right after the Second Vatican Council, died on Jan. 3 at age 81.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, which might be called the golden age of Catholic dissidence, theologians who took positions challenging traditional church teachings — ranging from the authority of the Pope to bans on birth control, premarital sex, and women's ordination —dominated Catholic intellectual life in America and Europe. They seemed to represent a tide that would overwhelm the old restrictions and their hidebound adherents.

Now, 45 years after Vatican II concluded in 1965, most of those bright lights of dissident Catholicism — from the theologian Hans Küng of the University of Tübingen to Charles Curran, the priest dismissed from the Catholic University of America's theology faculty in 1987 for his advocacy of contraception and acceptance of homosexual relationships — seem dimmed with advanced age, if not extinguished. They have left no coherent second generation of dissident Catholic intellectuals to follow them.

Prof. Daly certainly pushed the envelope. In 1968, she published "The Church and the Second Sex," a book that accused the Catholic Church of oppressing and "humiliating" women by excluding them from its "patriarchal" hierarchy. The title of her most famous work, "Beyond God the Father" (1973), is self-explanatory.

At some point afterward, Prof. Daly, despite being raised Catholic and earning degrees in theology and literature from three different Catholic colleges plus the University of Fribourg, left the hurch to embrace ever more belligerent brands of feminism.

She got into trouble with Boston College, the Jesuit institution where she had taught since 1966, for barring men from her advanced classes in women's studies.

In the wake of a sex-discrimination complaint launched by a male student, Prof. Daly and her employer engaged in a round of litigation during the late 1990s that culminated in her voluntary retirement in 2001.

She spent her last years promoting vegetarianism, anti-fur activism, a protest of Condoleezza Rice's 2006 commencement speech at Boston College, and the coining of male-baiting neologisms (an example: "mister-ectomy"). [DIM]8pt[=DIM][Ms Daly, from excerpts of her writings I read in other articles, including laudatory ones, shortly after her death, appears to have been severely afflicted with anti-Catholic derangement syndrome in its most vicious form. Her language was unbelievably nasty!]

The trajectory of her life story is not unusual among Catholic dissidents. The Young Turk of Vatican II — and pet of the progressive Catholic media of the time — was Hans Küng. A Swiss-born, movie-star-handsome priest whom Pope John XXIII had made a peritus, or theological adviser, to the council, Father Küng swept through a tour of U.S. Catholic universities to accolades in 1963.

And his 1971 book questioning papal infallibility — which got him stripped of his license to teach Catholic theology in 1979 — turned him into a living martyr among progressives. He is still at Tübingen (last heard from in October blasting Pope Benedict XVI's overtures to conservative Anglicans as "angling in the waters of the extreme religious right"), but he's 81.

The Belgian Dominican priest Edward Schillebeeckx, who had worked unsuccessfully to persuade the assembled bishops of the Second Vatican Council to downgrade the authority of the Pope — and who was condemned in 1986 for holding that there was no biblical support for the ordaining of Catholic priests — died in December at age 95.

The Rev. Charles Curran, who was a controversial figure at Catholic University as early as 1967, when he was temporarily removed from his tenured position over his views on birth control, and who moved to Southern Methodist University after his final dismissal from Catholic two decades later, is now 75.

Another prominent figure in liberal Catholic intellectual circles is Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, who is famous for her assertions that Jesus was a feminist and that God should be referred to as "she" as well as "he," as well as for her advice that progressive orders of nuns treat representatives of a planned Vatican investigation like "uninvited guests." [Another prime example of un-Christian, not to say uncivil, behavior! Hardly a role model for anyone. The epitome of the nun mae nasty by narcissistic arrogance and unfounded female chauvinism.]

She is also past retirement age and is listed as "professor emerita" at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif.

So where is the second generation of brilliant progressive Catholic theologians? There are plenty of liberal lay Catholics.

The Church's ban on artificial birth control is nearly a dead letter, a majority of Catholics say they believe their church should ordain women, and 40% have no moral objections to abortion, according to a 2009 Gallup poll.

But dissident Catholicism seems to have lost steam as an intellectual movement, and not only because the issues relating to sex and papal authority that originally sparked Catholic dissidents have not changed in nearly 50 years.

The first-generation dissidents were products of a strong and confident traditional Catholic culture against which they rebelled, one whose intellectual standards grounded them in the faith they later came to question.

Sister Schneiders, for example, earned four degrees from Catholic institutions, including the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Yet most Catholics of her generation have not passed on the tenets of their faith to their children — the offspring of the Vatican II generation tend either to be churchless or not to go to church — or, in the case of academics, to their students. It's hard to rebel when you don't even know what you are rebelling against.

Not that conservative Catholicism is in any better straits; it's a vibrant but niche branch of the religion, and its leading intellectuals — Robert George, Mary Ann Glendon — aren't theologians.

[I do not know what Ms. Allen's background is, but how can she ignore intellectuals like Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver and Archbishop Raymond Burke at the Vatican whose advocacy of Catholic orthodoxy has been significant and brilliant in recent years? Or George Weigel, who is a theologian, even if he is not a priest.]

But it is fair to note that when Prof. Daly died, she left behind no young Mary Dalys to continue waging her quixotic war against the faith that shaped her, whether she liked it or not. [Not that the 'shaping' did her any good, judging from the disgraceful self-deconstruction she subsequently underwent.]


And thank God, if it is a fact that Catholic dissidence in our time has passed its peak and is in decline, even if only in the United States, which is the context for the above article.

I disagree that it is dying out. Not in Europe, and not in the United States. There is a whole crop of dissidents publishing ultra-liberal Catholic magazines in the USA like America, Commonweal and the National Catholic Reporter, with a constellation of aspiring Kuengs and Schneiderses, whose attacks on Catholic orthodoxy are no less vicious if with far less 'star power'.

Arab Christians try to revive Cana -
site of Jesus's first miracle
By DIAA HADID



KUFR KANA, Israel, Jan. 20 (AP) – In this small Galilee town where tradition says Jesus turned water to wine, an ambitious priest hopes to perform his own miracle — revive a shrinking flock.



Father Masoud Abu Hatoum, nicknamed "the bulldozer" for his enthusiasm, has come up with a few ideas, like re-enacting the New Testament story of Jesus transforming the water for guests at a wedding in the Galilee hamlet of Cana, now this northern Israeli town of Kufr Kana.

"We have to attract people," said Abu Hatoum, who looks as much rock star as priest with his trim beard and large wrap-around sunglasses.

But he will have a tough time slowing the hemorrhage of Christians from this bleak, economically depressed town, as the young move away to cities like nearby Nazareth, which offer bigger Christian communities, more jobs and better marriage prospects.

"Our youths leave the village, they tell us: 'We don't want to die here.' We get old, and they leave," said 65-year-old Said Saffouri, a parishioner whose two sons have moved out of town.

Migration and low birth rates have diminished Christian populations across the Middle East. Israel's community of 123,000 Arab Christians is one of the few in the region whose numbers have held steady — it grew slightly by 2,000 in 2009. But it does face a problem of rural flight to big cities, which leaves traditional small Christian towns like Kufr Kana to waste away.

Kufr Kana was entirely Christian at the beginning of the 20th century, but Muslims began settling in the village first as traders, and then as refugees fleeing fighting during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, locals said. Now the village is home to 16,000 Muslims and 4,000 Christians.

The remaining Christians are already discussing what happens when their community dies out completely: Would local Muslims one day have to oversee the Christian holy sites or would members of the clergy stay behind to do so?

Relations with Muslims tend to be cool but polite. Some Christian residents describe warm friendships with Muslims — while others claim Muslims want them banished from town. Mostly, Christians said they just felt outnumbered.

From a distance, the town reflects its overwhelmingly Muslim population. Visitors can see three minarets spiking up amid the jumble of concrete block houses, with not a church spire in sight.

On a recent Sunday, the Roman Catholic service at the stone-and-marble Cana Wedding Church only drew about 20 worshippers, most of them middle-aged. Another couple of dozen turned out at the smoky, dim and ornate Greek Orthodox church nearby in the old village center, where volunteers built a display for stone jars the church says held the water Jesus turned into wine.

Abu Hatoum's Greek Catholic church attracted some 40 worshippers. That turnout is a tribute to the energetic priest. Before he was sent to the village from Nazareth in the summer of 2009, the church had about 10 regular worshippers, residents said.

Since taking the job, Abu Hatoum announced a series of events he hopes will revive community spirits and encourage the young to stay in town.

For Christmas, Abu Hatoum erected a scaffolding strung with blinking lights around 90 feet (27 eters) high over his church and he billed it the tallest Christmas tree in the Holy Land.

"I would have made it higher," he said laughing, "but I would have needed a license for that."

The gimmick was enough to attract an Israeli television crew, and a spot for the priest on local radio, pleasing parishioners who said nobody had expressed interest in their church before.

In July, Abu Hatoum plans to put on a play depicting Jesus' miracle at Cana. He hopes to pull off a Cana marriage miracle of his own in October with a mass wedding ceremony.

But the grim economics of the town work against his bid to resuscitate the community. With no local industry, the few jobs in Kufr Kana are in schools, the municipal administration, grocery stores, hair salons and mechanic shops.

A few souvenir shops stocked with wine cater to the thousands of Christian tourists who breeze through every year. But the village is only a brief stop on most itineraries, and tourists contribute little to local coffers, said Islam Amara, of the Kufr Kana municipality.

Most Arab towns in Israel have the same concrete-block bleakness and appear impoverished compared to Jewish communities nearby — a legacy of decades of budgetary discrimination by Israeli governments and mismanagement by local municipalities.

Christians are a tiny part of Israel's Arab minority of some 1.4 million, or 20 percent of the country's population of 7.4 million. Another 50,000 Christians live in the West Bank and Gaza, among nearly 4 million Muslims.

The relatively more prosperous cities of Nazareth and Haifa, both with large Christian minorities, give Kufr Kana's young Christians an escape route from boring village life.

The more they leave, the stronger the feeling of isolation among those who remain.

"We just don't feel welcome here," said Janette Elias, 60. Two of her three sons now live in Nazareth, Jesus' traditional boyhood city, about a 10-minute drive away.

Church volunteer Ihab Mukabal, 31, says his brother hopes to find an apartment in a nearby Jewish town. "There's nothing to attract people to stay here," Mukabal said.

The unkempt cemetery behind Abu Hatoum's modest church highlights the community's decline.

The oldest marked graves belong to twins Fadel and Fadil Dbayeh, born in 1899 when Kufr Kana was entirely Christian. By the time they died, in 1965 and 1966, Christians and Muslims were equally numbered, locals say.

The number of those buried in the cemetery was double those who attended church that Sunday.

Vatican issues preliminary document
on agenda for the Middle East Synod




Vatican City, Jan 19, 2010 (CNA) - The Vatican Press Office presented on Tuesday the "Lineamenta" document in preparation for the convocation of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Middle Eastern Bishops.

The document aims to stimulate discussion for the creation of a "working document" that will provide guidelines for the upcoming synod, which will be held in the Vatican from Oct. 10 - 24 of this year.

"The initiative concerns the 'anxiety' of the successor of St. Peter 'for all the Churches' and is an important event demonstrating the interest of the Universal Church in the Churches of God in the Middle East," reads the introduction of the document.

To ensure that the synod is based on current issues and addresses the needs of the Middle Eastern Churches, the Pre-Synodal Council for the Middle East composed the "Lineamenta," which provides draft guidelines for the meeting.

Between the introduction, three chapters and conclusion, the document provides participating dioceses with 32 questions regarding themes based on personal religious practice, church life, ecclesial communion and Christian witness.

Answers to these questions will be gathered by the general secretariat of the synod by Easter to be compiled into an "Instrumentum laboris," or working document to be presented by Pope Benedict XVI to the Eastern Catholic Churches when he visits Cyprus at the beginning of June.

One question sure to draw attention is the interaction between Christianity and Islam.

The bishops plan to look at the role of the internet in spreading radical branches of the region's religions. "In response to this situation (growth of the Internet), Islamic fundamentalist groups are becoming widespread," the preparatory document stated.

Governments that abide by Sharia law were also mentioned as creating a situation that "always constitutes discrimination and, therefore a violation of a person's human rights."

In a press conference at noon on Tuesday at the Holy See Press Office, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, gave an overview of specific issues included in the document.

The first chapter covers "The Catholic Churches in the Middle East," which offers a brief history of the Eastern Churches and current challenges they face, such as "political conflicts in the region (Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon); ... and freedom of worship and of conscience, lamenting the considerable number of obstacles to exercising this fundamental right of individuals and of all religious communities."

"Ecclesial communion" is the theme of the second chapter, which touches on Eucharistic communion with the Universal Church, communion with the Successor of Peter and communion among bishops, clergy and lay-faithful. Chapter three looks at the "Christian witness" to the Gospel through faith and works and relations with other religions. This section also looks at the contribution of Christians in each region.

Touching on the theme brought up in the final chapter of dialogue between Churches and Christians in the Middle East, the archbishop said that it exists, "but it needs to be increased." He also commented that some Christian-Jewish dialogue exists between Palestine and Israel through various associations, but that their rapport is still conditioned by politics.

Regarding Muslims, the document proposes the "need to promote dialogue, also in order to know one another better, ... and as the best way to resolve problems."

The conclusion of the "Lineamenta," added Archbishop Eterovic, "re-proposes the reasons - not so much political reasons as those of faith - why it is essential that Christians remain in the Middle East and continue to make their specific contribution for a more just, peaceful and prosperous society."

Did Schoenborn have to be told by the Holy Father to reply to the Bishop of Mostar? To have ignored the Bishop's personal letter to him as well as the statement released to the press was an unseemly show of discourtesy to the bishop and arrogance (he did not think the Bishop's strong statement was worth answering). And to have waited until January 15 when he was in the Vatican to fax his reply to the Bishop would seem to indicate he acted only when prodded, one can only think, by the Pope himself!

Cardinal Schoenborn's belated reply
to Bishop Peric's January 2 statement



The diocesan Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, Msgr. Ratko Perić, sent a personal letter on 2 January, to His Eminence Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, after his stay in Medjugorje for the New Year 2010, and on the same day a communique was released expressing his surprise regarding the Cardinal's statements and his visit to Medjugorje.

Upon his return to Vienna, the Cardinal has had several interviews in various media. In an interview with Orientierung, on 10 January, he expressed his opinion „that he did not violate the right of a Bishop and of a Cardinal!“

In mid January, the Cardinal participated, as a member, at the Plenary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and on the morning of 15 January he was received in a private audience by Pope Benedict XVI.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Cardinal sent a letter in German from Rome to the Bishop of Mostar by fax.



The part of the letter which refers to the Cardinal's visit to Medjugorje follows:

---

Rome, 15 January 2010
Excellency! Dear brother in Christo,
I have received your recent letter dated 2 January. I regret if you have the impression that my pilgrimage to Medjugorje did a disservice to peace. Rest assured that this was not my intention.

---

The Cardinal ends his letter with the following words:

---

The Mother of God and her divine Son will certainly lead all things towards that which is good. In this trust, I greet you fraternally united in the Lord and remain,
Yours,
+ Christoph Card. Schönborn O.P.

---

CDF and FSSPX theologians
hold second meeting
Adapted and translated
from Italian news reports


ROME, January 18 - Discreetly, almost secretly, the second meeting between theologians of the FFSPX and their counterparts at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith/Ecclesia Dei took place on Monday at the CDF offices, according to I-Media, the French news agency that specializes in Vatican news.

The meeting took place the day after Benedict XVI's visit to the Rome Synagogue [and during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity). Two of the Vatican II teachings about which the FSSPX seeks clarification during these talks are dialog with other religions, including Judaism; and relations with the other Christian churches.

The meeting also took place a few days before the first anniversary of the Vatican decree that lifted the excommunication of the four FSSPX bishops, which the Vatican announced last year at the conclusion of the Week for Christian Unity.

The first meeting for the doctrinal discussions took place on Oct. 26.

The National Catholic Reporter takes a gloating view of this development, as if 'widesprfead non-compliance' [the 'widespread' may not necessarily be true - it could simply be wishful thinking on the part of the NCReporter] were to be hailed and praised. Unfortunately, this dissident magazine appears to be the only Anglophone periodical following up this visitation story - and that is because they are a platform for the dissident nuns.

Obedient orthodox nuns appear not to have a voice in the media at all. It has become such that I dread seeing the word 'sister' or 'nun' in any news story, because I can almost be 100% certain that it will be about one of these Chittister-like harpies who are no longer women nor nuns but genderless, aggressive macho activists who have lost all sense of Christian love.

Yet, one can only feel ashamed and outraged by the incredible arrogance and flagrant disobedience of many nuns to the Church and their legitimate superiors therein, in this, as in so many other matters. It is so wrong when so-called consecrated persons set up their own rules as though they had consecrated themselves to their own self-aggrandizement rather than to genuine service - which is always humble and obedient - to Christ and his Church.

Mother Millea urges U.S. religious
to comply with study:
First official recognition
of widespread noncompliance
to questionnaire request
By Thomas C. Fox

January 22, 2010



Mother Mary Clare Millea, superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and charged by the Vatican with directing a three-year study of U.S. women religious congregations, has sent letters to religious leaders asking once again for their full cooperation in filling out questionnaires, which are part of the process.

The questionnaires, sent last year to the heads of some 325 religious communities, were to have been returned by Nov. 20. A substantial number of the religious communities -- some women religious leaders saying the "vast majority" of the communities [Aha! A self-serving statement, but why does the magazine use 'widespread' in its headline without the quotation marks?] -- refused to comply with an initial Millea request to fill out all the questions on the questionnaire and instead filled out only some or none.

A number of religious communities chose, instead, to return to Millea their order's Vatican-approved constitutions. [What does that mean? Is it formal notice that they have no intention of abiding by those constitutions anymore?]

The decisions by congregation leaders not to comply followed nearly two months last fall of intensive discussions both inside and across religious congregations. They followed consultations with civil and canon lawyers, and come in the wake of what some women religious see as widespread support by laity for their church missions.

Effectively, the acts of noncompliance were mechanisms by U.S. women religious to signal their collective displeasure at what they view as an unnecessary and ill-formed investigation of their religious communities. [That is not for them to say. The Vatican has a right to inspect any religious community under its supervision.]

Millea's letter, dated Jan. 12 and placed this week on the official apostolic visitation web site , was the first official acknowledgement of the failure of religious communities to fully comply with the Vatican request for information about the religious communities.

In her letter, Millea said she had returned recently from a meeting in Rome with Cardinal Franc Rodé, prefect for the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and the cleric who first initiated the study, formally called an apostolic visitation.

"When I recently met with Cardinal Rodé, he assured me that the Holy Father continues to show his interest in and support of the apostolic visitation," Millea stated.

"The cardinal was pleased to hear about the wholehearted and genuine responses of many congregations to the questionnaire. However, I also shared with him my sadness and disappointment that not all congregations have responded to this phase of dialogue with the Church in a manner fully supportive of the purpose and goals of the apostolic visitation.

"He encouraged me to ask those who have not yet fully complied to prayerfully reconsider their response. I take this opportunity, then, to once again invite all major superiors who have not responded fully to the questionnaire to do so.

"I make this request in light of the fact that the questionnaire serves as an integral part of the visitation process. It offers you and your sisters a privileged opportunity to present to the apostolic see your congregation's unique charismatic identity, as well as your communal and ministerial expression of religious life.

"It likewise affords the apostolic see a way to listen to the joys, accomplishments, hopes and concerns of your sisters and to seek, together with you, strategies for enhancing the vitality of your institute."

Millea said she is aware of the "questions and concerns" women religious have concerning the questionnaire and her staff is eager to resolve these issues.

"It would be helpful for us if you would inform the apostolic visitation office if you intend to amend your response to the questionnaire," she wrote

The Vatican initiated the study one year ago, saying its purpose is to determine the quality of life in religious communities, given the decline in vocations in recent decades. From the outset, women religious complained they were never consulted before Vatican officials announced the investigation and there is no transparency in the process. Some called the effort demeaning and intrusive.

"For nearly a year now, we women religious have been engaged in a communal seeking of love in truth, a dialogue with the Church," the Millea letter states, reaffirming that the purpose of the study is to "enhance the vitality of our congregations, to affirm our sisters and to encourage new membership."

Millea said that in the Phase 1 of the process she engaged in dialogue with superiors general and listened to their hopes and dreams, convincing her of their "love for and pride in their sisters."

"During Phase 2 of the apostolic visitation, you were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding fundamental aspects of your congregation's identity, present life style and future projections. As I reflect on the fine input submitted by many major superiors in response to the questionnaire, I see that the process is generating much self-evaluation and dialogue between congregational leaders and their sisters. I commend and thank those of you who have shared your stories and hopes, an expression of an authentic search for growth in charity, illumined by the light of truth."

Millea stated that the Phase 3 of the apostolic visitation will begin in April 2010 with on-site visits to "a representative sample of institutes, conducted by teams of religious who will act individually and collectively in the name of the apostolic see." She said visitors were chosen from among religious nominated by superiors general and others "and represent a variety of congregations and areas of expertise."

"Prior to conducting the on-site visits, all potential visitors will participate," she reiterated, "in an orientation workshop during which they will pronounce a public profession of faith and an oath of fidelity to the apostolic see. This profession carries with it a special grace which will strengthen the visitors in their delicate and important task."

The on-site visitors, Millea explained, will engage primarily with the members of leadership teams and a representative group of the sisters. The visitation team members will then formulate a report for her in which they will seek to articulate "the accomplishments, the key strengths and challenges" of each visited community, making appropriate recommendations.

Phase 4 of the visitation process, Millea wrote, will draw from the data gathered in the previous phases and she will prepare for Rode's congregation a summary report of each institute, whether or not an on-site visit has taken place. "Each institute will subsequently receive feedback from the Vatican "for the purpose of promoting its charismatic identity and apostolic vitality in ongoing dialogue with the local and universal church."

Finally, Millea said she was pleased to have received an invitation to the Jan. 14 reception for the opening of the Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America exhibit, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Millea attended the event.

Archbishop Nichols praises papal decree
for encouraging Catholic-Anglican dialogue





Rome, Italy, Jan 26, 2010 (CNA) - The president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said this week that the publication of the Apostolic Constitution allowing Anglicans the option of entering into full communion with the Catholic Church “will have important consequences” in England.

The Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, was issued by Pope Benedict last November.

In an interview with Vatican Radio in Rome, where the archbishop is with other English prelates for their ad limina visit, Archbishop Nichols said, “The reaction to this document is, in a certain sense, measured. There was a strong reaction at first, which was inflated by the media. Now we are in a phase of evaluation, reflection and prayer.”

In order for there to be a “complete assessment of the Pope’s initiative,” the archbishop said, “one must consider the important announcement of the start of the third phase of ARCIC talks, the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission. In my opinion, the two are related.”

“The response of the Holy Father has given a positive stimulus to ARCIC's debates,” he continued adding that the coinciding of the launch of ARCIC III and Anglicanorum coetibus is not a coincidence.”

“In our joint declaration,” Archbishop Nichols stated, “the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury and I have said that this move by the Holy See will end a period of uncertainty, and consider this to be a positive contribution to a wider dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole, which will have important consequences for the country.”





Irish bishops meet to discuss
priest abuse issues before
February meeting with the Pope
by PATSY McGARRY

January 23, 2009


Irish bishops met in a day-long extraordinary meeting of the Irish Episcopal Conference Friday in Maynooth.

In a statement after their meeting the bishops said they had been listening to the “widespread and justifiable anger and frustration from survivors, priests and laity across their dioceses” since publication of the Murphy report.

They have also said they recognise that “in the critical area of safeguarding children, people want accountability and transparency in terms of policy and procedures”.

They said that since their winter meeting last month they had “asked the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church to explore with statutory authorities, North and South, ways of ensuring that the Church’s policies and practices in relation to the safeguarding of children represent best practice and that all allegations of abuse are being handled properly”. Such discussions were “ongoing.”

The welcomed the invitation from Pope Benedict to meet them in the Vatican on February 15th and 16th next. The Pope’s request “was made in the context of the very serious situation that prevails in the Irish Church”, they said.

They discussed preparations for the Pope’s pastoral letter to the faithful of Ireland, which he indicated he would prepare after his meeting at the Vatican on December 11th with the Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop Martin.

The letter is expected to be addressed to Ireland’s Catholics during Lent, which begins this year on February 17th, Ash Wednesday.

The bishops said last night that this letter would be followed by a “listening and consultation process which will take place with the lay faithful, clergy and religious”.

They encouraged support for the people of Haiti and offered their sympathy and prayerful support to the people of Ardagh and Clonmacnois following the fire which gutted St Mel’s Cathedral there on Christmas Day. The meeting was attended by 18 bishops from Ireland’s 26 dioceses.

At the same time, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin expressed surprise at claims made last month by the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan that he had attacked the latter’s integrity.

It followed a call by Archbishop Martin, following publication of the Murphy report on November 26th last, for all current and former Auxiliary Bishops of Dublin to be accountable for their actions on child protection issues.

He said that bishops mentioned in the report should either admit their mistakes over the handling of priests who abused and step down, or stand over their claim that theyd done nothing wrong.

Bishop Drennan had been an Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin for seven of the years investigated by the Murphy Commission. He was one of 18 bshops present at the Maynooth meeting.

In a radio interview, after the Archbishop made his comments, Bishop Drennan said last month: “I dont know if Archbishop Martin intended it or not but it has put a question mark over my integrity, yes, Now that Ive responded to him and given him the evidence he needs he might want to reflect on that and see what response he should make to it.

Archbishop Martin said: “Im surprised that anybody would say that by asking people to be accountable, to stand up and explain themselves, that was an attack on anyones integrity.” He said he had received lots of correspondence supporting him for saying people should be accountable, which didnt mean heads should roll, he said.

It is convenient to use the CNS story for now because I don't have to do any translating, but I think the Italian news reports were more to the point when they chose to lead with Mons. Oder's disclosure of Jobn Paul II's efforts to deal with the possibility of resignation if he became incapacitated - in which he sought the theological input of Cardinal Ratzinger. After all, John Paul's self-mortification was already public knowledge before this book and news conference.



Postulator confirms that John Paul II
practiced self-mortification
By Cindy Wooden



VATICAN CITY, Jan. 26 (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II always took penitence seriously, spending entire nights lying with his arms outstretched on the bare floor, fasting before ordaining priests or bishops and flagellating himself, said the promoter of his sainthood cause.

Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator of the late Pope's cause, said Pope John Paul used self-mortification "both to affirm the primacy of God and as an instrument for perfecting himself."


Right photo, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, emeritus Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood, was with Oder at teh news conference.

The monsignor spoke to reporters Jan. 26 at the launch of his book, "Why He's a Saint: The Real John Paul II According to the Postulator of His Beatification Cause."

Earlier in the day, two Italian news Web sites reported that an October date had been set for Pope John Paul's beatification, but Msgr. Oder said nothing could be confirmed until physicians, theologians and cardinals at the Congregation for Saints' Causes accept a miracle credited to the late Pope's intercession and Pope Benedict formally signs a decree recognizing it.

Msgr. Oder's book, published only in Italian, is based largely on what he said he learned from the documents collected for the beatification process and, particularly, from the sworn testimony of the 114 people who personally knew Pope John Paul and testified before the Rome diocesan tribunal investigating his fame of holiness.

Because of the reticence surrounding the process, the witnesses who served as the source for particular affirmations in the book are not named, although some are described loosely as members of the papal entourage or the papal household.

"When it wasn't some infirmity that made him experience pain, he himself would inflict discomfort and mortification on his body," Msgr. Oder wrote.

He said the penitential practices were common both when then-Karol Wojtyla was archbishop of Krakow, Poland, as well as after he became pope.

"Not infrequently he passed the night lying on the bare floor," the monsignor wrote, and people in the Krakow archbishop's residence knew it, even if the archbishop would mess up the covers on his bed so it wouldn't be obvious that he hadn't slept there.

"As some members of his closest entourage were able to hear with their own ears, Karol Wojtyla flagellated himself both in Poland and in the Vatican," Msgr. Oder wrote. "In his closet, among the cassocks, there was a hook holding a particular belt for slacks, which he used as a whip and which he also always brought to Castel Gandolfo," the papal summer residence south of Rome.

In the book, Msgr. Oder said Pope John Paul firmly believed that he was doing what St. Paul professed to do in the Letter to the Colossians: "In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ."

He also said the Pope, who had a notorious sweet tooth, was extremely serious about maintaining the Lenten fast and would lose several pounds before Easter each year, but he also fasted before ordaining priests and bishops and for other special intentions.

Msgr. Oder's book also marked the publication for the first time of letters Pope John Paul prepared in 1989 and in 1994 offering the College of Cardinals his resignation in case of an incurable disease or other condition that would prevent him from fulfilling his ministry.

For years there were rumors that Pope John Paul had prepared a letter instructing cardinals to consider him resigned in case of incapacity.

But even a month before his death in April 2005, canon law experts in Rome and elsewhere were saying the problem with such a letter is that someone else would have to decide when to pull it out of the drawer and apply it.

Church law states that a Pope can resign, but it stipulates that papal resignation must be "made freely and properly manifested" -- conditions that would be difficult to ascertain if a Pope were already incapacitated.

Msgr. Oder wrote that in Pope John Paul's 1994 letter the stressed syllables in spoken Italian are underlined, making it appear that the Pope had read it or was preparing to read it to the College of Cardinals.

The 1989 letter was brief and to the point; it says that in the case of an incurable illness that prevents him from "sufficiently carrying out the functions of my apostolic ministry" or because of some other serious and prolonged impediment, "I renounce my sacred and canonical office, both as Bishop of Rome as well as head of the holy Catholic Church."

In his 1994 letter the pope said he had spent years wondering whether a Pope should resign at age 75, the normal retirement age for bishops. He also said that, two years earlier, when he thought he might have a malignant colon tumor, he thought God had already decided for him.

Then, he said, he decided to follow the example of Pope Paul VI who, in 1965, concluded that a Pope "could not resign the apostolic mandate except in the presence of an incurable illness or an impediment that would prevent the exercise of the functions of the successor of Peter."

"Outside of these hypotheses, I feel a serious obligation of conscience to continue to fulfill the task to which Christ the Lord has called me as long as, in the mysterious plan of his providence, he desires," the letter said.

2 Jesuit priests in a Berlin college
committed serial rapes in the 1980s-1990s




BERLIN, Jan. 28 (Translated from Apcom) - A new scandal has come to light that casts another shadow on the Church's already badly damaged image with regard to priests committing sexual offenses against minors, this time in Germany.

Fr. Klaus Mertes, rector of one of the most prestigious high schools in Berlin, the Jesuit-run Canisius College located in Berlin's Tiergarten (Zoo) district, has presented his apologies in a statement to the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost for a 'systematic series of sexual violence" committed against their students by two teachers in the 1980s and 1990s.



The rector said that testimony by several students have convinced him that these offenses were not isolated or sporadic but systematically committed for more than a decade.

At least two priests were alleged to be responsible for the offenses but both have reportedly left the order and no longer teach at Canisius College.

Fr. Mertes said that after he heard from some of the victims, he has written to some 600 students of Canisius in that time period - many of whom now occupy high positions in politics and finance.

"I was overwhelmed by the violence of the assaults recounted," Fr. Mertes said. "I assured the victims of my total discretion, and that it was up to them to decide whether to go to the police or seek public opinion".



In this Year for Priests, and even afterwards, we all owe our priests and religious a daily prayer that they may all seek to be holy, and for those who have erred to find conversion and some way to make up for their offenses.

The Traditional Anglican Communion is not only the largest organized group of Anglicans intending to cross over en masse to Roman Catholic church - it was also the group whose leadership actively pursued the initiative with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for almost a quarter century. Nor has the TAC been any less diligent, after the Vatican issued the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus.

Consider this recent pastoral letter from the TAC primate. It was perhaps the most notable ecumenical gesture preparatory to this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It is also a remarkable summary of the developments that led to this point, and it annotates the provisions of Anglicanorum coetibus as it affects the members of TAC. It is also very revealing of how the TAC early on accepted the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the most complete and authentic compendium of the Christian faith. It is a most beautiful document!



On the Gathering of the Anglicans:
The Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum Coetibus'

---

A Pastoral Letter to the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful
of the Traditional Anglican Communion

20th January 2010


My Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters,


Introduction: The dreams of Christian unity


Few things could be expected to excite more controversy than the reunion of churches that have long been living in animosity.

Europe, and the world that Europe colonised, has been shaped in its languages, its politics, its law, as well as its religion, in large part by those animosities. The identity and culture of people and nations have been significantly shaped by religious conflict and division.

The healing of religious division has been one of the most welcome features of 20th century Christianity. The great conflicts of the last century between Christianity and communism, and between Christianity and Fascism, that turned that century into one of the most persecuting since the great persecutions of the Roman Empire, diminished the sense of division and emphasised the wisdom of unity.

In the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church embraced the vision of unity. For Anglicans, dramatic meetings occurred between Archbishops of Canterbury and Bishops of Rome. With great optimism the two churches embarked on theological examinations of the issues that had divided them for centuries and began what at first were tentative and awkward steps in cooperation. Even praying in each other’s churches demanded a confrontation with the habits and assumptions of generations.

At the same time, Christians in Europe and in the Third World began to experience the challenges of a militant and fundamentalist Islam. Confrontation and persecution began afresh. In Europe and the developed world, a renewed interest in pagan and humanist philosophy, combined with a diminished sense of identity of Christians with their churches led to a dramatic diminishing of religious practice and belief.

It was against this background that the Anglican/Roman Catholic dialogue took place. At first optimistic, the dream of full organic unity – what Pope Paul VI described as the supreme grace of true and perfect unity in faith and communion – faded from reality.

I raise these issues because it is of great importance now that people in our Communion clearly understand why Archbishop Falk, Bishop Crawley of Canada and myself stood in St Peter’s Square, Rome some 17 years ago.

We had spent the day with the Pontifical Council for Christian unity, briefing it on the developments within the Anglican Communion that had led to the formation of the Traditional Anglican Communion and of our yearning for the unity that was even then becoming improbable between the Anglican Communion and Rome.

The publication by Pope Benedict XVI of the Apostolic Constitution is the culmination of the prayers, dreams and efforts of Traditional Anglican Communion bishops for a quarter of a century, and of the prayers, dreams and efforts of many other Anglicans around the world.

In his recent letter to our bishops, Cardinal Levada spoke to us of the delicate process of discernment that will no doubt need to be embarked upon by many of our Anglican brothers and sisters, and no less of the many difficult practical issues that will need to be faced.

I speak to you now, as the one whom my fellow bishops elected to carry through the work of unity between the Traditional Anglican Communion and the Holy See, to assist and deepen that delicate process of discernment.


Our Petition

As is normal in such circumstances, our petition to the Holy See has remained confidential until a formal response has been received. The letters to those who signed the petition mark that formal response. As a result, in order to deepen our understanding and promote discussion, I am releasing the petition with this pastoral letter.

The petition notes the history of recent Roman/Anglican conversations, and the extraordinary note of optimism in the 1960s. It then notes the abandonment by the Anglican Communion of those things held by Rome and Holy Orthodoxy as essential to Apostolic Faith.

It then notes the development of the Anglican resistance and the faithfulness that began with the conference at St Louis. The teaching of the Affirmation of St Louis is set out, particularly as it relates to the sacramental life of the Church and the nature of the Church itself.

The petition particularly notes the words of the Affirmation where it states we declare our firm intention to seek and achieve full sacramental communion and the visible unity with other Christians who worship the Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity and who hold the Catholic and apostolic Faith in accordance with the foregoing principles.

Our Communion has always understood that those words apply most significantly to the Catholic Church. (I might add, lest there be any confusion, that I use the word Catholic Church as the formal entity headed by the Bishop of Rome, and which consists of a number of Rites, some in the East and some in the West, of which the Roman Rite is the most populous. In common conversation, of course, it is called the Roman Catholic Church in many parts of the world. In a part of the petition where we quote a Roman authority, the words Roman Catholic Church are actually used.)

The petition then notes the formation of the Traditional Anglican Communion and its spread. It indicates the way in which its growth has been shaped by the advice given at that first meeting 17 years ago in Rome. It notes the expansive process of consultation and synodical debate that had already taken place as a precondition for the petition being submitted.

Then comes the heart of the petition. Firstly, it knowledge the wide consultation with Roman Catholic people throughout the world. One observation was particularly influential in the 12 months during which the petition was being prepared. It accurately describes the founding purpose of our Communion, and then goes on to acknowledge the four great aspects of the Anglican heritage that we desire to be cherished in any unity:

Because the Lord has not yet returned in glory, the complete unity and communion of believers for which He prayed has not yet been achieved, but each believer and each church and ecclesial community, recognising the life-changing unity engendered by our shared baptism, is called to make Christian unity a lifelong commitment, just as we are called to spread the Gospel to the whole world.

Recognising that obligation, and with great confidence in the Lord and in the power of the Holy Spirit, a worldwide community of Anglican Christians has united under the name “The Traditional Anglican Communion” for three main purposes:

•To identify, reaffirm and consolidate in its community the elements of belief, sacraments, structure and conduct that mark the Church of Christ, which is one throughout the world:
•To seek as a body full and visible communion, particularly eucharistic communion, in Christ, with the Roman Catholic Church, in which it recognises the fullest subsistence of Christ’s one Church; and
•To achieve such communion while maintaining those revered traditions of spirituality, liturgy, discipline and theology that constitute the cherished and centuries-old heritage of Anglican communities throughout the world.

The Bishops and Vicars-General who assented to the petition and solemnly signed it on the altar then make four solemn declarations.

The first concerns the Ministry of the Bishop of Rome. The late Pope John Paul II wrote to the churches that are not in communion with the Bishop of Rome, setting out in fresh language and in the light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council the ministry exercised by that Bishop, and seeking the views of those churches on the way in which they could use his ministry of unity and authority.

Unity and authority are the two qualities that have most eluded the churches of the Reformation. Anglican history is riddled with the problems caused by lack of authority. Recent Anglican history has seen the creation of one instrument of unity after another, but no one has discovered an instrument by which authentic teaching can be given to God’s Anglican people.

The bishops in their petition described the limits on their exercise of authentic apostolic authority that is created by their lack of communion (especially Eucharistic communion) with catholic bishops throughout the world.

The second declaration concerns the nature of the Church. It is fundamental to the life of the church that its bishops and the churches they lead be in Eucharistic Communion with the See of Rome to which bishops of the ancient church looked as the instrument of unity and Catholic authenticity.

At the same time, reflecting the Second Vatican Council, the bishops did not deny the unity that already exists among Christian communities. This petition is about more perfect unity – a unity so deep that the Eucharist can be shared.

The third declaration concerns the teaching of the Church as it has been received from Jesus through the Apostles and their writings, confirmed by the authentic tradition of the Church and proclaimed to the world at this time.

The fullest statement of contemporary Christian belief, the bishops believe, is to be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is deeply biblical and patristic, and addresses matters that puzzle and confront Christians at the present moment.

The bishops understand that not everything in the Catechism is of equal authority, and also understand that the faith must be proclaimed to every generation in language that accurately portrays what the Church has received.

Therefore they acknowledge that the Catechism is the most complete and authentic expression and application of the Catholic faith in this moment of time, and that they signed a copy on the altar as attesting to the faith they aspire to teach and hold.

None of the bishops would claim to understand every aspect of the faith with perfection, and none would claim to teach perfectly at all times. But they do claim to aspire to teach and to hold the faith that is set forth in the Catechism.

The fourth declaration is in effect the actual petition. The Bishops state that we seek a communal and ecclesial way of being Anglican Catholics in communion with the Holy See, at once treasuring the full expression of catholic faith and treasuring our tradition within which we have come to this moment. We seek the guidance of the Holy See as to the fulfillment of these our desires and those of the churches in which we have been called to serve.

The petition concludes with an act of trust and faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.


The Response: the Apostolic Constitution

You may recall that Cardinal Levada wrote to me in July 2008 acknowledging that the situation within the Anglican Communion in general had become markedly more complex since the submission of our proposal.

At the same time the Cardinal assured me of the serious attention which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was giving to the prospect of corporate unity raised in our petition.

An Apostolic Constitution is a document of the highest authority, making a permanent addition to the body of Canon Law. There is also a set of norms, which are in effect the regulations for implementing the Constitution. There is also provision for norms unique to each place where the Constitution is implemented.

It requires and deserves detailed and careful study. As with any body of law, the Constitution must be interpreted accurately and carefully.

Before discussing sections of this document, I would draw your attention to the title. It speaks of Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church. There at the outset are the three critical factors: Anglicans, full communion, and Catholic Church.


Section 1: the Church

Everything else flows from this section. Once we are clear about the Church that Jesus founded and left to us “until the end of time”, our duty becomes clear. False understandings of the nature of the Church have encouraged the endless creation of new “churches”.

In the second paragraph of the Constitution, there are three statements that set out the reason why the Pope felt bound to respond positively to the petitions of the Anglicans.

•The first statement is that of the Church as a people gathered into the unity of God. It is the unity of the Trinity that is the unity of Christian people. Founded by Jesus Christ, the Church is an instrument of communion with God and of unity among all people. Unity is therefore of the sacred essence of our relationship with God. It is not in any way a political option that can be taken or left.

•The second statement is that every division among the baptised wounds the very nature of the Church itself and distorts its ability to fulfil its purpose. There is a telling quotation from the Second Vatican Council (reflecting Saint Paul at his most passionate) that disunity “openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature.”

•The third statement reminds us all that at the most sacred part of his ministry, Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his followers.

In the light of this understanding of the Church, the Constitution goes on to speak deeply of the way in which our unity as Christians in the Church is manifested, particularly in the Breaking of Bread. It then speaks, and this is important for Anglicans, of the governments of the Church by the College of Bishops united with the head of the College, the Bishop of Rome.

It then speaks of the many elements of sanctification and of truth – note sanctification, not just truth – that are beyond those visible confines of the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome. And it states that these gifts which belong to the Church of Christ are forces “impelling” towards Catholic unity.

In other words, where we have cherished our traditions and been faithful to the Gospel, we have created a force that drives the unity of the Church!

The gathering of all Christians into a single Eucharistic communion is the imperative of all unity. This section concludes, once again, with a reference to “Anglican faithful who desired to enter into full communion in a corporate manner”.


Section 2: “Ordinariates”

The instrument by which the Constitution creates communities of Anglicans in full communion with the Catholic Church is the “Ordinariate”. This is essentially a new structure created for this purpose, but with some affinity with structures created for military personnel.

The integrity of Anglican communities is protected (among other things) by the fact that each of these structures is equivalent to a diocese. Each of these structures is ruled by an “ordinary”.

Section 5 of the Constitution spells out the powers of the Ordinary. The Ordinary exercises these powers jointly with the local diocese in Bishop or Bishops. Not under or over, but jointly.

In section 6, these powers are amplified. It is the Ordinary who accepts candidates for Holy Orders, including those who have exercised the Ministry of Deacon, Priest or Bishop as Anglicans. It is the Ordinary who can apply to ordain married men to the priesthood. It is the Ordinary who can receive clergy from other Rites of the Catholic Church. It is the Ordinary and the local Diocesan Bishop or Bishops who can create agreements for common pastoral and charitable activities with other local catholic clergy. It is the Ordinary who establishes seminary programs and houses of formation for the particular needs of students to be formed in the Anglican Patrimony. It is the Ordinary who can establish religious houses and other institutes of consecrated life.

The Ordinariates will have governing structures designed to replicate the structures of Anglican dioceses. The governing council, comparable to a standing committee, has the right to nominate the ordinary.

This is a major change to the practice in the Western Church, a safeguard to Anglican identity, and an important part of Anglican ways. The election of a bishop has an important bearing on the pastoral relationship of a bishop and his people.

Finally it has provided that admission to an Ordinariate is by application in writing, or by receiving the sacraments of initiation (baptism and confirmation) within the Ordinariate.


The Standard of Belief

The wording of the Constitution is very significant. The Statements of Faith that have previously been used for people coming individually into communion with the Catholic Church have been replaced in this case by Catechism.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate.

This reflects the statement made by the bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion in their petition. It is a deeply pastoral solution to the question of statements of faith. Many members of our community have been using the Catechism as a reference and a sourcebook for years. Its language is contemporary and its methodology, based on the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and the liturgical Creeds, is already familiar to Anglicans.

Many of the things being denied at this moment in the world have been taken for granted for centuries. The nature of God, the revelation of God in Christ, the nature of holy scripture, the authority of Christian moral teaching about life and sexuality, the attack on the nature of marriage, and the widespread abandonment of holiness of life (especially among some of those consecrated to religious and priestly life), have all posed enormous problems for those who seek to teach and understand the Christian faith.

The Catechism is a contemporary document addressing contemporary problems of contemporary unbelief.


Liturgy

The Constitution has a particularly beautiful passage when it speaks of the liturgy that will be practiced within the Anglican Ordinariates.

Without excluding liturgical celebrations according to the Roman Rite, the Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.

In the norms, it is further explained that clergy will have the right to celebrate not only the Anglican liturgy but also both current forms of the Roman rite.

A great deal of work has already been concluded in the updating and expanding of Anglican service books. The calendar of saints for instance in the Prayer Book of 1662 has no additions since then, in spite of the manifest sanctity of so many Christians since that date. Much more work needs to be done and will be a very high priority for those engaged in implementing the Constitution.


Questions

Over the past several months a number of questions have been raised. Some of these have been raised in a spirit of controversy and denial of the actual provisions of the Constitution and its norms. I regret this.

Each of our communities, and each person within them, must address the very profound issues that the Constitution raises. These issues include their relationship to Christ in his Church, the needs of the church in our present world of intense difficulty for Christians, the long-standing policy concerning unity of the College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion, which has often been publicised in the official organs of our Communion, the state of global Anglicanism and the possibility of it returning to some resemblance of catholic order which might allow a person professing catholic faith to maintain with a clear conscience life within it.

We also need to be aware of the very close way in which the Constitution addresses our petition. As I stated recently, we ought not to rush into a rash or hasty decision, but equally we ought not to delay what is clearly the will of Christ for his Church.

Does the Constitution adequately protect the heritage of Anglicans?

The structures proposed for Anglican Catholics are entrenched in canon law, are governed by Anglican pastors and Ordinaries, and protected by governing councils that have specific rights to give consent to the Ordinary and in some cases to determine matters of policy and to nominate the Ordinary. The clergy elect half the members of the governing councils.

Matters of the formation and admission of clergy, liturgical matters, the establishment and regulation of parishes, and the maintenance and deepening of Anglican spirituality, history, theology and pastoral practice are all within the competence of the Ordinariate.

The establishment and ongoing support of these structures has been left with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, where we have already found a warm and understanding reception.

The Ordinaries will meet as a college since they will visit Rome at five-year intervals as a distinct group to report on their progress, to find mutual support, and to pray at the tombs of the Apostles. I would hope that the Concordat of the Traditional Anglican Communion could be adapted to provide a meaningful structure that supports the Anglican Catholic Ordinaries.

What of those who are not yet ready to make this decision?

I have been discussing this question with national groups of our bishops and with some of those whom Catholic Bishops Conferences have appointed to liaise with us. There is no time limit on the acceptance of this Constitution. It is designed to have a lifetime of centuries.

Some people are ready and anxious to move now; others are seeking more time for prayer and reflection. Others are confused by the surge of public argument about the Constitution. We are committed to the pastoral care of all our people, those who will quickly move into full communion and those who are not yet ready. We are already discussing the structures for this.

The Traditional Anglican Communion will not disappear, but will endure for the same purpose that it was created to fulfil, and which is so clearly described in the text of our petition.

What of the re-ordination of clergy?

One of the most controversial aspects of the Anglican/Roman relations in the past century has been that of Anglican orders. Rome ruled in 1896 that Anglican orders were null and void.

The Anglican response at the time was a beautifully written argument. More significantly, Anglicans began to seek the involvement in their Episcopal and priestly ordinations of bishops whose orders Rome recognized. This was a tacit admission that there might be value in the Roman argument, while arguing against the Roman argument. A very Anglican position!

In more recent times, because of this involvement of others in Anglican ordinations, some Anglican clergy entering into full communion with the Catholic Church have been conditionally ordained rather than ordained absolutely. In very recent years, this practice has been abandoned and absolute re-ordination has been adopted.

There are several reasons for this. The first is the practical abandonment of apostolic practice and belief in the Anglican Communion in the matter of the sacrament of Holy Order. Not only the ordination of women to all three sacred orders, but the redefining of the Anglican understanding of itself as part of the “Church Catholic” that the ordination of women has necessitated, has introduced more than grave doubt about the validity of any Anglican Communion ordinations.

It is now difficult to determine whether any particular Anglican Bishop has any intention to do as the Church has always done, when he (or she) specifically intends to do that which the Church has never done. The almost complete elimination of what was once a dominant Anglo-Catholicism from many provinces of the Anglican Communion has removed the clearest statement of Catholic belief about Holy Orders from the Anglican consciousness.

Our own Traditional Anglican Communion has been very careful to do the best that was available. At that original meeting in Rome, we were encouraged to use consecrating bishops from the Polish National Catholic Church. We already had, and we received an assurance that Rome recognised their orders. We have used Anglican Rites for ordination that have been submitted by Anglican authorities to Rome in the early days of ARCIC.

We have done our best, in the context of an ecclesial body actively seeking catholic unity. Our conversations about the situation regarding Orders that we have conferred are serious and continuing.

The following points are important:

•For some 30 years, Rome has required Anglican priests who are ordained as priests in full communion with the Catholic Church to date their ordination from the Anglican ordination.

•Re-ordination is an issue because the Church requires absolute certainty in the matter of future sacramental life. I have been told that the TAC should understand this because we ourselves moved beyond the Anglican Communion in order to ensure the validity of sacramental life. Rome is now seeking the same assurance.

•The present Pope has written meaningfully of the situation of the sacramental life within churches separated from fullness of communion with the Catholic Church. There is no denial of the fact that God acted through our ministry to confer sacramental grace.

•There is quite deliberately not a judgement on the past, which is left to God and His Providence, but there is a demand for certainty in the future.

It is my wish, and I believe the wishes of my fellow bishops, that every deacon and priest in our Communion has a certainty of validity that rests, not on the winning of a theological argument, not on the best that was available at the time, but on the indisputable certainty of Catholic practice.

I have said to a number of priests that when they are saying Mass in the crypt of St Peter’s on the tombs of the Apostles, I want them to be able to look to one side and the other and to know with absolute certainty that their priesthood has the same objective reality as the priesthood of those on either side.

Finally, I commend this development to your prayers and the deepest parts of your conscience. I believe with all my heart that this is a work of God and an act of great generosity by Pope Benedict.

The Anglican tradition that we treasure will only survive, I believe, across the generations yet to come if it discovers the protection of apostolic authority.

It is my cherished wish that each of us can stand at the altar with our fellow Christians and receive the same Eucharistic Christ. That is the ultimate test of unity. In the centuries since the church in the West became fractured there has been no offer such as the one that is now before us.

For Anglicans, Unity has been a dream beyond reach. Now it is a dream that can be fulfilled. I understood when I became a member of the Traditional Anglican Communion (in a dark period of my life when it became impossible to practice my priesthood in a diocese about to ordain women) that this was a Communion heading towards a goal.

It had separated from the Anglican Communion. Instead of drifting at the whim of wave and wind, it had chosen to head towards the only realistic destination, that from which Anglicans had separated centuries before. I was grasped by that vision of those who founded this Communion.

We are now in the waves just beyond the harbour entrance. Pray God that we have the courage to enter and make our homes there.

May God bless and cherish each one of you.

Archbishop John Hepworth
Primate

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