CF
NEWS
NEWS
SERVICE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC FAMILIES
CONTENTS
Holy
See
A new document on the Doctrine of the Church
Made public on Tuesday was an important document
from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith: 'Responses to some Questions Regarding
Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church.'
It is dated June 29, Solemnity of Sts. Peter
and Paul, Apostles, and bears the signatures
of Cardinal William Joseph Levada and Archbishop
Angelo Amato S.D.B., respectively prefect and
secretary of the congregation.
The document has been published in Latin, Italian,
French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese
and Polish. The complete English-language version
is given below:
'Introduction
'The
Second Vatican Council, with its Dogmatic Constitution
'Lumen gentium,' and its Decrees on ecumenism
('Unitatis redintegratio') and the Oriental
Churches ('Orientalium Ecclesiarum'),
has contributed in a decisive way to the renewal
of Catholic ecclesiology. The Supreme Pontiffs
have also contributed to this renewal by offering
their own insights and orientations for praxis:
Paul VI in his Encyclical Letter 'Ecclesiam
suam' (1964) and John Paul II in his Encyclical
Letter 'Ut unum sint' (1995).
'The consequent duty of theologians to expound
with greater clarity the diverse aspects of
ecclesiology has resulted in a flowering of
writing in this field. In fact it has become
evident that this theme is a most fruitful one
which, however, has also at times required clarification
by way of precise definition and correction,
for instance in the declaration 'Mysterium
Ecclesiae' (1973), the Letter addressed
to the Bishops of the Catholic Church 'Communionis
notio' (1992), and the declaration 'Dominus
Iesus' (2000), all published by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith.
'The vastness of the subject matter and the
novelty of many of the themes involved continue
to provoke theological reflection. Among the
many new contributions to the field, some are
not immune from erroneous interpretation which
in turn give rise to confusion and doubt. A
number of these interpretations have been referred
to the attention of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith. Given the universality
of Catholic doctrine on the Church, the Congregation
wishes to respond to these questions by clarifying
the authentic meaning of some ecclesiological
expressions used by the Magisterium which are
open to misunderstanding in the theological
debate.
'Responses to the Questions.
'First
Question: Did the Second Vatican Council change
the Catholic doctrine on the Church?
'Response: The Second Vatican Council
neither changed nor intended to change this
doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and
more fully explained it.
'This was exactly what John XXIII said at the
beginning of the Council. Paul VI affirmed it
and commented in the act of promulgating the
Constitution Lumen gentium: 'There is no better
comment to make than to say that this promulgation
really changes nothing of the traditional doctrine.
What Christ willed, we also will. What was,
still is. What the Church has taught down through
the centuries, we also teach. In simple terms
that which was assumed, is now explicit; that
which was uncertain, is now clarified; that
which was meditated upon, discussed and sometimes
argued over, is now put together in one clear
formulation.' The Bishops repeatedly expressed
and fulfilled this intention.
'Second Question: What is the meaning of
the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists
in the Catholic Church?
'Response: Christ 'established here on
earth' only one Church and instituted it as
a 'visible and spiritual community', that from
its beginning and throughout the centuries has
always existed and will always exist, and in
which alone are found all the elements that
Christ himself instituted. 'This one Church
of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as
one, holy, catholic and apostolic. ... This
Church, constituted and organized in this world
as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church,
governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops
in communion with him'.
'In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution 'Lumen
Gentium subsistence' means this perduring, historical
continuity and the permanence of all the elements
instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church,
in which the Church of Christ is concretely
found on this earth.
'It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine,
to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ
is present and operative in the churches and
ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion
with the Catholic Church, on account of the
elements of sanctification and truth that are
present in them. Nevertheless, the word 'subsists'
can only be attributed to the Catholic Church
alone precisely because it refers to the mark
of unity that we profess in the symbols of the
faith (I believe... in the 'one' Church); and
this 'one' Church subsists in the Catholic Church.
'Third Question: Why was the expression 'subsists
in' adopted instead of the simple word 'is'?
'Response: The use of this expression,
which indicates the full identity of the Church
of Christ with the Catholic Church, does not
change the doctrine on the Church. Rather, it
comes from and brings out more clearly the fact
that there are 'numerous elements of sanctification
and of truth' which are found outside her structure,
but which 'as gifts properly belonging to the
Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic Unity.'
''It follows that these separated churches and
Communities, though we believe they suffer from
defects, are deprived neither of significance
nor importance in the mystery of salvation.
In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained
from using them as instruments of salvation,
whose value derives from that fullness of grace
and of truth which has been entrusted to the
Catholic Church.'
'Fourth Question: Why does the Second Vatican
Council use the term 'Church' in reference to
the oriental Churches separated from full communion
with the Catholic Church?
'Response: The Council wanted to adopt the
traditional use of the term. 'Because these
Churches, although separated, have true sacraments
and above all - because of the apostolic succession
- the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means
of which they remain linked to us by very close
bonds,' they merit the title of 'particular
or local Churches,' and are called sister Churches
of the particular Catholic Churches.
'It is through the celebration of the Eucharist
of the Lord in each of these Churches that the
Church of God is built up and grows in stature.'
However, since communion with the Catholic Church,
the visible head of which is the Bishop of Rome
and the Successor of Peter, is not some external
complement to a particular Church but rather
one of its internal constitutive principles,
these venerable Christian communities lack something
in their condition as particular churches.
'On the other hand, because of the division
between Christians, the fullness of universality,
which is proper to the Church governed by the
Successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion
with him, is not fully realized in history.
'Fifth Question: Why do the texts of the
Council and those of the Magisterium since the
Council not use the title of 'Church' with regard
to those Christian Communities born out of the
Reformation of the sixteenth century?
'Response: According to Catholic doctrine,
these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession
in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore,
deprived of a constitutive element of the Church.
These ecclesial Communities which, specifically
because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood,
have not preserved the genuine and integral
substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot,
according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches'
in the proper sense.
'The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience
granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, ratified and confirmed these Responses,
adopted in the Plenary Session of the Congregation,
and ordered their publication.'
Commentary
The
Responses are accompanied by a commentary which
explains: 'In this document the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith is responding
to a number of questions concerning the overall
vision of the Church which emerged from the
dogmatic and ecumenical teachings of the Second
Vatican Council. ... The Council 'of the Church
on the Church'.'
'This new document of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, which essentially summarizes
the teaching of the Council and the post-conciliar
Magisterium, constitutes a clear reaffirmation
of Catholic doctrine on the Church. Apart from
dealing with certain unacceptable ideas which
have unfortunately spread around the Catholic
world, it offers valuable indications for the
future of ecumenical dialogue. This dialogue
remains one of the priorities of the Catholic
Church. ... However, if such dialogue is to
be truly constructive it must involve not just
the mutual openness of the participants but
also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic
faith.'
'Catholic ecumenism might seem, at first sight,
somewhat paradoxical. The Second Vatican Council
II used the phrase 'subsistit in' in order to
try to harmonize two doctrinal affirmations:
on the one hand, that despite all the divisions
between Christians the Church of Christ continues
to exist fully only in the Catholic Church,
and on the other hand that numerous elements
of sanctification and truth do exist outwith
the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church
whether in the particular Churches or in the
ecclesial Communities that are not fully in
communion with the Catholic Church.'
'Although the Catholic Church has the fullness
of the means of salvation, 'nevertheless, the
divisions among Christians prevent the Church
from effecting the fullness of catholicity proper
to her in those of her children who, though
joined to her by baptism, are yet separated
from full communion with her.' The fullness
of the Catholic Church, therefore, already exists,
but still has to grow in the brethren who are
not yet in full communion with it and also in
its own members who are sinners.' [Vatican Information
Service]
Responses
Leading
Protestant figures have criticized the new Vatican
document affirming the central role of the Catholic
Church. Rev. Setri Nyomi, the general secretary
of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches,
protested the Vatican statement in a letter
to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of
the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.
Rev. Nyomi said that the new Vatican statement,
which says that Protestant groups are not 'churches'
in the proper sense, 'makes us question the
seriousness with which the Roman Catholic Church
takes its dialogues with Reformed family and
other families of the Church.' The World Council
of Churches (WCC) also expressed disagreement
with the Vatican. In its own statement addressing
the role of the Catholic Church, the WCC argued
that the term 'catholic' should be understood
to mean 'universal.' In that sense, the WCC
argued, 'Each church is the Church catholic
and not simply a part of it. Each church is
the Church catholic, but not the whole of it.'
[CWNews]
Meanwhile,
Inside the Vatican reports on the reaction
from Moscow. 'The following brief report contains
a rather favorable Russian Orthodox reaction
to the Holy See's document on the Church, published
July 10. The report comes from the Russian news
agency Interfax, which has close links to the
Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. The
man quoted, Metropolitan Kirill, whom we have
come to know over the past few years during
meetings in Moscow, Vienna and Rome (and who
has granted interviews in the past to Inside
the Vatican), is the equivalent of the 'foreign
minister' of the Russian Orthodox Church, although
that term would be inappropriate to use in regard
to a Church official. Kirill's work of representing
the Patriarchate in various forums around the
world has made him one of the most visible of
the Russian Orthodox Church's leaders, and one
of the most authoritative and influential. Interfax
reports : 'The Russian Orthodox Church has called
'honest' the position of the Vatican published
in a document of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith stating that the Catholic Church
is the only Church approved by Christ. 'It is
an honest statement. It is much better than
the so-called 'church diplomacy'.' It shows
how close or, on the contrary, how divided we
are,' Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad,
who heads the Moscow Patriarchate Department
for External Church Relations, told journalists
in Moscow. For an honest theological dialogue
to happen, one should have a clear view of the
position of the other side,' because 'it helps
understand how different we are,' he said. Basically,
the Vatican's current document has nothing new
and is in 'full conformity with the doctrine
of the Catholic Church,' Metropolitan Kirill
said. 'The Orthodox Church is, according to
Apostolic Succession, successor and heir to
the old, undivided Church. Which is why everything
contained in the Catholic document rightfully
applies to the Orthodox Church,' the Metropolitan
added. [Inside the Vatican] 1369.1
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Our
common missionary role
The
missionary role is common to all baptized, who
are called everywhere to be bearers of the message
of peace, says Benedict XVI. The Pope communicated
this message to the thousands who gathered in
St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus on Sunday.
This was the Holy Father's last Angelus address
from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the
Vatican before leaving for a vacation in the
Alpine Dolomites mountain range in northern
Italy. Reflecting on Sunday's Gospel, in which
Jesus sends out 72 disciples to the villages
where he is planning travel, the Pontiff commented
on the meaning of the missionary mandate for
each believer. Benedict XVI affirmed that the
Evangelist Luke emphasizes that 'the mission
is not reserved to the Twelve Apostles, but
is extended to other disciples,' and that in
'God's field there is work for everyone.'
He
said, 'Christ does not limit himself to sending
out. He also gives the disciples clear and precise
rules of conduct.' Jesus sends them out ''two
by two,' so that they help each other and give
an example of fraternal love,' said the Pope.
'[Jesus] notes that they will be 'like lambs
among wolves,'' he continued, 'despite everything
they must be peaceful and in every situation
bring a message of peace.' The Pontiff added:
'They will not take clothes or money with them,
so as to live by what Providence offers them;
they will care for the sick, as a sign of God's
mercy; where they are rejected, they will leave,
limiting themselves to warning those who reject
them that they are responsible for rejecting
the kingdom of God.' Benedict XVI expressed
his desire that 'this Gospel reawaken in all
the baptized the awareness of being missionaries
of Christ, called to prepare the way for him
with words and with the testimony of their lives.'
After praying the Angelus, the Bishop of Rome
greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In
English, recalling that 'the harvest is plenty
but the labourers are few,' he encouraged those
present to pray to the Lord so he will 'continue
to bless his Church with confident and generous
workers.' [Zenit] 1369.2
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The
Aparecida Document
Benedict XVI has authorized the publication
of the document that is fruit of the 5th General
Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America
and the Caribbean, held last May in Brazil.
The Pope opened the conference in Aparecida
during his first apostolic journey to South
America. A letter signed June 29 and authorizing
the publication of 'The Aparecida Document'
was released today by the Vatican press office.
Meanwhile, the ordinary assembly of the Latin
American bishops' council is underway in Havana,
Cuba, where the bishops are discussing how best
to apply the conclusions of the general conference.
The Holy Father's letter to the bishops expresses
his gratitude for having been at the conference,
'in which I was united with you in your affection
for your beloved people and in the shared concern
to help them be disciples and missionaries of
Jesus Christ, so that they might have life in
him.' The Pontiff recalled 'the spirit of communion
that characterized this general conference.'
And he said: 'I authorize the publication of
the final document, asking the Lord that, in
communion with the Holy See and with respect
for the responsibility of every bishop in his
own Church, it may be a light and a stimulus
for fruitful pastoral and evangelizing work
in the years to come.' Benedict XVI affirmed
that the 130-page document contains 'numerous
pastoral indications, motivated by thoughtful
reflections in light of the faith and the current
social context. I read with particular appreciation
the exhortation for priority to be given, in
pastoral programs, to the Eucharist and the
sanctification of the day of the Lord,' he said,
referring to points 251 and 252 of the document.
The Pope also underlined the importance the
text gives to strengthening 'the Christian formation
of the faithful in general and of pastoral workers
in particular. In this context,' the Holy Father
said, 'I was happy to learn of the desire to
create a 'continental mission,' which episcopal
conferences and dioceses are all called to study
and put into effect, channeling all their vital
energies to this end.' [Zenit] 1369.3
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The Family
Cameron
signals tax-support for families
Britain's
conservative leader David Cameron signalled
this week that he will go into the next election
pledging a root-and-branch review of Britain's
tax and benefits in favour of marriage. The
Tory leader has already said he wants to restore
tax breaks for married couples, but on Sunday
stressed the need to 'go right through our tax
and benefits system and ask ourselves why it
is encouraging people to live separately'. The
promise appears to set out clear battle lines
with Gordon Brown, who has already ruled out
restoring tax help for married couples as unfair
to unmarried couples and single parents.
In an article in Monday's 'Telegraph',
Janet Daly drew attention to the hard fact 'based
on overwhelming evidence: children are far less
likely to fall into crime and addiction, to
fail at school and to end up as teenage parents
if they are raised by two parents who remain
together. And those two parents are far more
likely to remain together if they are married
than if they are cohabiting. The statistical
support for these propositions is now so crushing
as to extinguish any rational argument to the
contrary. All that remains for anyone with a
serious intention of improving the health of
British social life is to offer mechanisms that
will encourage and support the two-parent family
structure, while attempting as humanely as possible
to salvage the condition of those who find themselves
outside of it. To those who believe that even
the utterance of such words constitutes anachronistic
bigotry, can I point out that there is also
a mountain of evidence to show that most single
mothers themselves believe that marriage is
the ideal state for raising children.
The
great majority of single women with children
say that they want a man who will make a lifelong
commitment to them and their families. Which
brings us to the question of how things now
stand, and what is to be done. At the moment,
those single mothers who would like nothing
more than a married partner with whom to raise
their children - not to mention the rest of
us whose lives are affected by the consequences
of their plight - are being actively sabotaged
by the tax and benefit system. For single parents
living on the margins in precisely those deprived
sections of the community about which we are
all concerned, the financial advantages of remaining
apart and the concomitant penalties for living
together are now so great as to constitute a
positive barrier to the kind of family structure
that is most likely to protect their children
from disaster. This column has rehearsed these
arguments over and over again but at the risk
of stupefying tedium, I will relate just one
damning statistic that Frank Field published
recently: on the present tax credit system,
a couple with two children would have to work
100 hours more to get the same take-home pay
as a single parent with two children. So what
would it take to reverse this absurd and wicked
state of affairs in which parents are being
bribed by the state to remain apart, and fathers
who are inclined to be feckless have an ideal
pretext for remaining so'? [Telegraph] 1369.4
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The
Radical Onslaught
'Parents
must bend to the State'
In the United States, the Maryland State Board
of Education has ruled that the right of the
state supersedes the rights of parents in teaching
children about homosexuality. The Board said
the 'right (of parents) is not absolute. It
must bend to the State's duty to educate its
citizens.
The
ruling means that the teaching of homosexuality
as an accepted and approved lifestyle in Maryland
public schools can move forward. Some professionals
feel that the Maryland curriculum could become
the model for promoting the homosexual lifestyle
in public schools across the nation
The
new policy prohibits any unfavourable view of
homosexuality from being presented. The Board
has been trying to incorporate the promotion
of homosexuality into their sex-education classes.
A federal judge overturned a previous attempt
to include the promotion of homosexuality because
of the curriculum's expressed hostility toward
Christianity. But in approving the new curriculum,
the Board refused to hear arguments from those
who oppose the promotion of homosexuality in
the classroom.
AFA
suggests that parents find out if sex education
is being taught in their schools and, if so,
ask to examine the curriculum being used. To
read the Washington Post article on this
affair, click here
[AFA] 1369.5
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'Education
for Citzenship'
In Spain, the Provincial Catholic Federal Association
of Parents of Students said this week it has
received more than 3095 complaints against the
Education for Citizenship course just in the
Spanish province of Toledo. 819 complaints came
from parents with children in public schools
while 2276 came from parents with children in
private and parochial schools. 'These figures
confirm that Toledo has the highest number of
objections in all of Spain. This extraordinarily
high number is due to the intense informational
campaign carried out by our two organizations
with collaboration from Professionals for Ethics,'
the federation reported. The parental organization
has made over 40 presentations throughout the
province of Toledo warning parents about the
risks of the Education for Citizenship class,
which it says the government is using to indoctrinate
young people. 'We have explained to people that
this is material that is clearly sectarian and
secular, and we have informed them about the
importance the course gives to relativism and
the extraordinary influence of gender ideology
and radical and exclusive feminism. And lastly,
we have told them about the inadmissible identification
made in the course between positive law and
the moral good,' the group said. The parental
organization said the number of objections continues
to rise, with more than thirty different organizations
working together to defend the rights of parents
and to protect children from state indoctrination.
[CNA] 1369.6
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'The
fight goes on'
The
Family Education Trust's Annual General Meeting
and Conference in 2006 featured an address by
Mrs Lynette Burrows on 'The fight for the family
goes on'. She observed how scarcely any permissive
legislation passed during the last thirty years
had been introduced in response to public demand
and expressed concern that once morality is
defined by the wishes of the governing class,
our traditional freedoms can no longer be considered
safe.
'Government
has become ungovernable; that is, it cannot leave
off governing. Law has become lawless; that is, it
cannot see where laws should stop. The chief feature
of our time is the meekness of the mob and the madness
of the government.' [G K Chesterton].
She
noted how political correctness had become the
perfect tool to both enforce permissiveness
and impose censorship and cited G K Chesterton's
warning about the ease with which governments
that reject moral absolutes are able to manipulate
public opinion. Since permissiveness was dependent
on mood rather than principle, there was the
very real danger that any number of atrocities
could be permitted without proper moral scrutiny
when the mood changed. [Family Education Trust]
1369.7
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Britain
supports population control in Africa
The British government has confirmed that it
supports population control in Africa. Speaking
in the House of Lords, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
said: 'The Government are committed to improving
sexual and reproductive health, including family
planning, across Africa. In 2006, [the Department
for International Development] provided £25.1
million to [the United Nations Population Fund]
and £7.5 million to the International
Planned Parenthood Federation to support work
on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We also work at country level and are funding
reproductive health services in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and
Zimbabwe, enabling women, men and adolescents
to avoid unwanted pregnancy and HIV.' She also
said: 'We firmly believe that policy should
be driven not by moral ideology, but by a firm
evidence base,' adding that she meant this specifically
in reference to issues such as abortion. [House
of Lords, Hansard]. Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political
secretary, commented: 'The British government's
renewed commitment to spreading the culture
of death abroad makes all the more worrying
Baroness Amos' nomination to the post of European
Union special representative to the African
Union.' [SPUC] 1369.8
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Secularist
Europe silences pro-lifers
Paul
Belien, in the Brussels Journal of June
25, 2007, writes : 'Last week, a German court
sentenced a 55-year old Lutheran pastor to one
year in jail for Volksverhetzung' (incitement
of the people) because he compared the killing
of the unborn in contemporary Germany to the
holocaust. Next week, the Council of Europe
is going to vote on a resolution imposing Darwinism
as Europe's official ideology. The European
governments are asked to fight the expression
of creationist opinions, such as young earth
and intelligent design theories. According to
the Council of Europe these theories are 'undemocratic'
and 'a threat to human rights.'
Without
legalized abortion the number of German children
would increase annually by at least 150,000
-- which is the number of legal abortions in
birth dearth Germany. Pastor Johannes Lerle
compared the killing of the unborn to the killing
of the Jews in Auschwitz during the Second World
War. On 14 June, a court in Erlangen ruled that,
in doing so, the pastor had 'incited the people'
because his statement was a denial of the holocaust
of the Jews in Nazi-Germany. Hence, Herr Lerle
was sentenced to one year in jail. Earlier,
he had already spent eight months in jail for
calling abortionists 'professional killers'
-- an allegation which the court ruled to be
slanderous because, according to the court,
the unborn are not humans.
Other
German courts convicted pro-lifers for saying
that 'in abortion clinics, life unworthy of
living is being killed,' because this terminology
evoked Hitler's euthanasia program, which used
the same language. In 2005, a German pro-lifer,
Gunter Annen, was sentenced to 50 days in jail
for saying 'Stop unjust [rechtswidrige]
abortions in [medical] practice,' because, according
to the court, the expression 'unjust' is understood
by laymen as meaning illegal, which abortions
are not.
Volksverhetzung
is a crime which the Nazis often invoked
against their enemies and which contemporary
Germany also uses to intimidate homeschoolers.
Soon, the German authorities will be able to
use the same charge against people who question
Darwin's evolution theory.
Indeed,
next Tuesday, the Council of Europe (CoE), Europe's
main human-rights body, will vote on a proposal
which advocates the fight against creationism,
'young earth' and 'intelligent design' in its
47 member states.
According
to a report of the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly,
creationists are dangerous 'religious fundamentalists'
who propagate 'forms of religious extremism'
and 'could become a threat to human rights.'
The report adds that the acceptance of the science
of evolutionism 'is crucial to the future of
our societies and our democracies.'
'Creationism,
born of the denial of the evolution of species
through natural selection, was for a long time
an almost exclusively American phenomenon,'
the report says.
'Today
creationist theories are tending to find their
way into Europe and their spread is affecting
quite a few Council of Europe member states.
[T]his is liable to encourage the development
of all manner of fundamentalism and extremism,
synonymous with attacks of utmost virulence
on human rights. The total rejection of science
is definitely one of the most serious threats
to human rights and civic rights. The war on
the theory of evolution and on its proponents
most often originates in forms of religious
extremism which are closely allied to extreme
right-wing political movements. The creationist
movements possess real political power. The
fact of the matter, and this has been exposed
on several occasions, is that the advocates
of strict creationism are out to replace democracy
by theocracy. [...] If we are not careful, the
values that are the very essence of the Council
of Europe will be under direct threat from creationist
fundamentalists.'
According
to the CoE report, America and Australia are
already on their way towards becoming such undemocratic
theocracies where human and civic rights are
endangered. Creationism is 'well-developed in
the English-speaking countries, especially the
United States and Australia,' the report states.
'While
most curricula in Europe today unashamedly teach
evolution as a recognised scientific theory,
the same does not apply to the United States.
In July 2005, the Pew Research Center conducted
a poll that showed that 64% of Americans favoured
the teaching of intelligent design alongside
the theory of evolution and that 38% would support
the total abandonment of the teaching of evolution
in publicly owned schools. The American President
George W. Bush supports the principle of teaching
both intelligent design and the theory of evolution.
At the moment, 20 of the 50 American states
are facing potential adjustments of their school
curricula in favour of intelligent design. Many
people think that this phenomenon only affects
the United States and that, even if it is not
possible to be indifferent to what is happening
on the other side of the Atlantic, it is not
the Council of Europe's role to deal with this
issue. That, however, is not the case. On the
contrary, it would seem crucial for us to take
the appropriate precautions in our 47 member
states.'
Though
one may disagree with people who take the Book
of Genesis literally (believing that God created
the world in six days and rested on the seventh),
surely secularist political organizations telling
people what they may or may not believe, constitute
a far greater threat to human rights than religious
institutions telling their faithful how to vote.
In the voting booth people are free to do what
they like, whilst in contemporary Europe people
are no longer free to publicly voice their own,
deeply felt opinions in public.
In
Germany, believing abortion to be as murderous
as the holocaust is a crime, and educating your
own children is a crime too. In France, saying
that 'homosexual behaviour endangers the survival
of humanity' is a crime, and so is the distribution
of pork soup to the poor. In Belgium, speaking
out against immigration is a crime.
In
the latest issue of the Dutch conservative magazine
Bitter Lemon the Dutch author Erik van Goor
writes that European courts are silencing conservative
and orthodox citizens. Freedom of speech no
longer exist, says van Goor.
'While many in the West still idolize the second-hand
fighters for free speech, such as [Ayaan] Hirsi
Ali and Theo van Gogh, the true victims of curtailment
are deliberately kept under wraps. Hirsi Ali,
[Pim] Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh were not curtailed
by the state or by court, Johannes Lerle is.
The former voiced mere opinions -- expressions
of a public opinion which one may or may not
value or believe. The latter -- Dr Lerle --
shows that what is at stake is not merely opinions,
but a moral order which is being questioned;
a reality of life and death which is at risk.'
Hirsi
Ali, Fortuyn and van Gogh did not defend Europe's
traditional Christian moral order. People such
as Johannes Lerle and Christian Vanneste, the
French parliamentarian who was convicted for
'homophobia,' do. The latter are being persecuted
by Western Europe's political regimes -- a phenomenon
which is ignored completely by the Western mainstream
media, who participate in the persecution.
[Paul
Belien is the editor of the Flemish quarterly
Secessie and the editor-in-chief of The
Brussels Journal. He is a columnist at the
Flemish weekly Pallieterke and at the
Flemish monthly Doorbraak and a regular
contributor to the Flemish conservative monthly
Nucleus, which he co-founded in 1990. Paul
can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com
] 1369.9
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International news
IRAQ
Christians released
Four
Chaldean Christians kidnapped a week ago are
now free. The four hostages, all related to
each other, were abducted July 4 about 100 kilometers
(60 miles) south of Kirkuk, after escaping the
Dora neighborhood where they had been receiving
death threats, AsiaNews reports. Travelling
to their home village in Iraqi Kurdistan, the
group was stopped by two cars full of terrorists
near Emerli, the same city struck on July 7
by a violent attack that left 170 dead and 250
wounded. All four hostages were released through
the mediation of the Chaldean Church and the
sheiks of Kirkuk. Before returning home, the
four men visited Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk,
who joyfully said that all the victims 'thanked
God and those who prayed for their deliverance.'
[Zenit] 1369.10
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IRAQ
The Archbishop of Kirkuk on 'daily realities'
Speaking
to the Italian news agency SIR, Archbishop Louis
Sako of Kirkuk (Iraq) said this week the situation
of the persecution of Christians in Iraq requires
that 'changes be made to religious education
in schools, at home, and in general at places
of worship, that the clergy be reformed and
made more attentive to modern society and that
respect for human rights be demanded of the
government. Terrorists attack all Iraqis without
distinction of creed. Armed assaults, murders
and kidnappings are daily realities,' the archbishop
said. 'The agitators of the dissolved Baath
party, the criminals that were part of the regime
before the war, the Arab fighters (Moujahidin)
and Muslim fundamentalists all want to prevent
a democratic, pluralistic and modern Iraq. Criminals
want money, party members want power, fundamentalists
want to be the sole bearers of truth and therefore
those who oppose them are intimidated,' he explained.
In this situation, the archbishop continued,
Christians are 'the first victims because they
are seen as similar to Americans and because
thus they have a certain level of well-being
that makes them the target kidnappings.' However,
he said, 'The country can be rebuilt under the
guidance of the UN.' [CNA] 1369.11
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IRELAND
'Celebrate Life' rally
'The turnout for the Irish pro-life rally 'Celebrate
Life' was far beyond expectations, said an ecstatic
Eoghan De Faoite, Chairman of the organising
rally committee and leader of the pro-life group
Youth Defence. 'We were thrilled with the day',
The rally, which set off from the General Post
Office, on Dublin's main street, had heads spinning
as the colour and the enthusiasm of the crowd
grabbed the attention of thousands of Dublin
shoppers on a busy Saturday afternoon in Ireland's
Capital. The rally was headed up with a banner,
held by a number of young women, calling on
the Irish Government to keep their pre-election
pro-life promise and not legislate for abortion
or allow for embryo research. Prior to the recent
Irish Parliamentary elections (24th May), pressure
was put on the main political parties, by Pro-life
lobby groups, to guarantee, that if elected;
they would not enact anti-life legislation.
The
two main political parties gave this guarantee
and Mr De Faoite stated that this rally was
to remind the new Irish government of this pro-life
commitment. The rally arrived at the Irish Parliament
Buildings to the sound of the song 'Life is
Life' booming out from a public address system.
The street was closed off by the Irish Police
to accommodate the massive crowd and the rally
participants took full advantage dancing and
singing as they approached the stage where they
were to be addressed by a number of pro-life
speakers. Speakers included members from the
groups Youth Defence, the Pro-life Campaign,
and the Mother and Child Campaign. Also Fr.
Brian Mc Kevitt O.P., editor of the Catholic
'Alive' newspaper, gave a talk on the media
and on the recent abortion controversy surrounding
the 'human rights' group, Amnesty. 'Though this
rally has given a huge boost to the pro-life
cause in Ireland, we cannot become complacent.
We need to continue to pray and act to make
sure Ireland remains abortion free', concluded
Mr De Faoite. [LifeSiteNews] 1369.12
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KENYA
Pregnancy centres
With
some leaders of several African nations calling
for the legalization of abortion, including
some abortion advocates in Kenya, leaders of
the Catholic Church there say more should be
done to fund pregnancy centres. They say these
centers can provide better alternatives to abortion
and give pregnant women in the southeastern
African nation tangible pregnancy help and assistance.
Fr. Pascal Mwambi, a priest at the Holy Ghost
Cathedral Church in Mombasa, also called on
pro-life people in the country to vote out any
politicians who say abortion should be legalized.
'The word abortion stands on its own as murderous
whether we add the adjective legal/illegal or
clandestine/non-clandestine,' Fr Mwambi said,
according to a report in The Nation newspaper.
The
Catholic leader also said that his church is
flooded with requests from women who have had
abortions for counseling because of the grief
and regret they feel afterwards. 'If priests
or religious leaders could tell all about the
repentant abortionists or women involved, we
could realize that they feel guilty. But we
are bound by the professional seal of confession
on such matters,' said the priest. 'The women
have unhealed wounded hearts. Who knows if they
will ever get another child of their own? When
the law already exists in favour of an evil
such as abortion, what we need to do is to try
and vote for a lesser evil one if we can not
do away with it completely. When politicians
vote in Parliament, they not only need to listen
to the voices of their supporters but also to
their inner voice,' Fr Mwambi said. His comments
come after a tribunal last week which saw pro-abortion
politicians from several nations cal for legal
abortions in the face of figures that allegedly
show some women dying from unsafe illegal abortions.
Pro-life advocates say legalizing abortion doesn't
make it any safer and merely adds another victim
in addition to the mother. [LifeNews] 1369.13
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PHILIPPINES
Kidnapped priest
Government
officials in the Philippines have announced
that they believed a kidnapped Catholic priest
is being held by the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.
But Church leaders are skeptical about the claim.
The government has not explained why officials
are convinced that Father Giancarlo Bossi--
the PIME missionary who was abducted on June
10-- is being held by Abu Sayyaf, a group with
ties to Al Qaida. Catholic sources in the Philippines
told the AsiaNews service that they saw 'gaping
inconsistencies' in the government's report.
As one source observed, 'if no one has yet made
real contact with the kidnappers, then there
is no basis to establish their identity.' The
skeptics add that Islamic guerrillas have not
been active in the Pavao area where Father Bossi
was seized. A tough new anti-terror law goes
into effect on July 15 in the Philippines, and
officials would have greater investigative power
if the kidnapping could be classified as a terrorist
act rather than a common crime, observers note.
Moreover the Manila government could expect
aid from the US in a battle against Islamic
terrorists. Father Bossi's colleagues among
the PIME missionaries believe that the priest
is being held for ransom by a criminal group
without any special political ambitions. [CWNews]
1369.14
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POLAND
Society of St Pius X and the motu proprio
A
spokesman for the traditionalist Society of
St. Pius X in central and eastern Europe has
welcomed the papal motu proprio allowing
wider use of the Tridentine Mass, but said that
the move is not enough to resolve problems between
the Vatican and the Lefebvrite group. 'The Pope's
motu proprio is a step in the right
direction,' said Father Karl Stehlin. Speaking
to the Polish newspaper Rzeczspospolita>,
he observed that the SSPX that been 'faithful
to this Mass for the last 40 years, even though
many priests and laity were persecuted for it.'
However, Father Stehlin noted, the traditionalist
group is not yet ready to return to full communion
with the Holy See. The papal document strongly
affirmed the use of the Novus Ordo Mass, and
the SSPX priest observed: 'The post-conciliar
rite of the Mass in unacceptable. We also criticize
the Vatican position on the subject of religious
freedom,' the SSPX spokesman said. In an earlier
statement Bishop Bernard Fellay, the SPPX superior,
had also said that Summorum Pontificum is
a positive step, but affirmed that the Lefebvrite
group remains at odds with Rome. Bishop Fellay
said that the Vatican should now withdraw the
decree of excommunication that was leveled against
SSPX bishops. If the Vatican takes that step,
he said, the SSPX would be prepared to discuss
other doctrinal concerns. [CWNews] 1369.15
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SPAIN
Demonstrations in support of secular schools
A
group of young people broke into the offices
of the Spanish Federation of Centers of Education
this weekend and sprayed graffiti on the walls
in support of 'public and secular schools' and
against private education. Isabel Bazo, president
of the Federation, denounced the vandalism and
said that approximately twenty individuals wearing
masks and wigs defaced pictures of Pope Benedict
XVI and several business leaders, accusing them
of manipulating young people and expressing
their rejection of any form of education that
is not state-sponsored. She stressed that freedom
of education is a constitutional right and that
private education is necessary for the development
of the country, and 'it is solicited by parents
and valued by society in general.' [CNAA] 1369.16
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UK
(Northern Ireland)
Artificial life-support ruling
A
Northern Ireland high court judge ha | |