1442.8
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United Nations
Agricultural
subsidies
The
secretary general of the UN has questioned whether
agricultural subsidies stunt the development of
food supplies in poor countries, the Fides news
service reports.
'It
is time for wealthier nations to rethink old-fashioned
programs of agricultural subsidies that penalize
poorer nations,' Ban Ki-Moon told and audience
in Accra, Ghana, at a UN conference on trade and
development.
Faced
with the lack of food supplies, various nations
have forbidden export of food items and others
have begun initiatives to facilitate the import
of agricultural materials. 'If not handled properly,
this crisis could trigger a cascade of other multiple
crises', 'the UN Secretary General said, foreseeing
the possibility of not only an economic crisis,
but also a political one, with disastrous consequences
on a worldwide level.
While
Ban Ki-Moon heavily criticizes the subsidies made
by the economically stronger nations to their
agricultural producers, Senegal's President Abdoulaye
Wade has launched a campaign against those whom
he defined as croque-morts, who viciously
starve others for their own advantages. 'The food
aid is a pretext that has turned into a business
performed by some NGOs, and in some cases, a great
fraud,' the Senegalese president affirmed. Wade
called for an investigation of 'the scandal of
the century, 'the 'economy of hunger,' that only
benefits alleged 'humanitarian workers' and not
the people in need.
Senegal
is one of the African nations most affected by
the international agricultural crisis. [CWNews]
1442.9
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Rapid
urbanisation
Archbishop
Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer
to the United Nations in New York, delivered an
address on 9 April before the 41st session of
the Economic and Social Council's Commission on
Population and Development.
Speaking English, Archbishop Migliore said that
'migration and the urbanisation of societies should
not be purely measured in terms of their economic
impact. In finding ways to address the serious
challenges posed by massive internal and trans-national
migrations, let us not forget that at the heart
of this phenomenon is the human person'.
'New environmental, social and economic problems
emerge with the birth of mega cities', he said.
'But one of the most pressing and painful consequences
of rapid urbanisation is the increasing number
of people living in urban slums. As recently as
2005 over 840 million people around the world
lived in such conditions'.
Such people, he warned, 'become trapped in a vicious
cycle of extreme poverty and marginalisation.
... They feel powerless to demand even the most
basic public services' and 'policy makers and
civil society actors must put these people and
their concerns among the priorities in their decision-making'.
'If', Archbishop Migliore concluded 'we are to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015,
greater concern must be given to those communities,
in which approximately 675 million still lack
access to safe drinking water and two billion
live without access to basic sanitation. National
and international policies would do well to ensure
that rural communities have access to higher quality
and more accessible social services'. [Vatican
Information Service] 1442.10
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Europe
Sexual-orientation
discrimination law shelved
The
BBC reports that an initiative to attempt to include
sexual orientation into comprehensive anti-discrimination
law for all member states of the European Commission,
the ruling body of the European Union, has been
shelved.
A
blanket anti-discrimination bill that covered
all forms of discrimination on the grounds laid
out in Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty was
part of the commission's work programme for 2008.
Jan
Jarab of the Employment Department of the Commission
told the BBC's The Record: Europe that 'signals'
from some member states, including Germany, indicated
that there would not be the required unanimous
consent on a blanket anti-discrimination law that
would include 'sexual orientation'.
'So
at present we are envisaging a bit of a compromise
which means a directive that will be specific
to disability, which of course is a discrimination
ground that we can justify, referring to the new
international convention on disabilities.' Given
the opposition, Jarab said the Commission will
be pressing for a recommendation, instead of a
directive.
Germany
is said to be opposed not on moral grounds, but
because of opposition from business groups who
warned of costs for employers and service providers.
The
EU Observer reports that the Czech Republic is
known to be opposed to a 'horizontal' comprehensive
anti-discrimination law, while Sweden, Finland,
Spain and the UK are strongly in favour. Conservative
MEPs are strongly opposed, while Liberals in the
parliament, the Socialists, the Greens, as well
as the far left are in favour.
In
February this year, the European Union's commissioner
for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities,
Vladimir Spidla, initiated legal proceedings against
Germany and 11 other member states for failing
to implement the EU's directives. A 'letter of
formal notice' was sent to Germany and 'complementary
letters of formal notice' to Latvia and Lithuania.
Spidla's letter complained that Germany's same-sex
civil union registration does not sufficiently
match the rights granted couples in natural marriages.
In
addition, the commissioner singled out Estonia,
France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Republic of
Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Sweden,
and the Czech Republic in a memo that set out
in detail the transgressions of each country on
'discrimination' laws and warned that a 'reasoned
opinion or letter of formal notice' would be sent
to each. [LifeSiteNews] 1442.11
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Project
Europe
The Salesians are aiming to have a greater impact
on Europe, particularly by finding new ways of
evangelizing youth.
The
religious community has launched 'Project Europe,'
with the aim of leading the continent back to
its Christian roots. The initiative is one of
the conclusions of their General Chapter, celebrated
in Rome from March 3 to April 12, with the participation
of 232 Salesians.
According
to a statement from the congregation, this project
is similar to 'Project Africa,' which was launched
by the Salesians of the late 1970s and resulted
in a surge of missionary activity on that continent.
'Project
Europe' responds to desires expressed by Benedict
XVI when he received the chapter fathers in audience
March 30.
Father
Pascual Chávez, rector major of the Salesians,
mentioned the initiative in the closing address
of the General Chapter.
'Today,
more than ever, we become aware that our presence
in Europe needs to be rethought,' he said. 'This
consideration is aimed at redimensioning our Salesian
presence for greater impact and effectiveness
in this continent. That is, seeking a new form
of evangelization in order to respond to the spiritual
and moral needs of these young people, who to
us appear as wanderers without guides and without
destination.'
Priorities
Father
Chávez, summarizing the conclusions of
the General Chapter, highlighted three priorities
for the congregation. He first focused on spirituality,
putting the word of God and the Eucharist at the
center of Salesian life.
He
further emphasized the element of community life
and finally the mission, especially to new frontiers
including 'formation and education at all levels.'
The
rector major also focused on imitating the founder
of the Salesians, St. John Bosco.
'What
would Don Bosco do today?' he asked. 'We don't
know. But we know what he did yesterday and therefore
we can know what to do in order to act like him
today. It is a question of knowledge and imitation.'
Father
Chávez stressed the saint's identity as
a 'priest-educator.'
'This
is the model that we have,' he said, 'and we are
called upon to reproduce as faithfully as possible.'
[Zenit] 1442.12
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Bridge Building
European Christians and Muslims are intensifying
dialogue and planning future encounters focused
on building bridges between the two faiths.
The
Committee for Relations With Muslims in Europe,
established by the Conference of European Churches
and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences,
met in Hungary from April 17 to 20. A number of
Muslim guests participated in the meeting and
the group jointly worked on preparations for a
Christian-Muslim conference scheduled for October.
Cardinal
Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest,
spoke at the meeting, expressing his hopes that
Christians and Muslims in Europe deepen their
relationship of collaboration.
In
some countries in Eastern and Central Europe,
he noted, Christians and Muslims live together
in an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence, and
this carries a significant message to western
countries.
During
the October conference, representatives of the
two faiths will join in considering the role of
religion in a secular society; religion as institution
and as personal faith; how Christians and Muslims
consider each other and how mutual respect can
be promoted by way of education; and building
bridges in the challenges facing our communities.
The
agenda of the Esztergom meeting also included
dialogue concerning the Oct. 13, 2007, open letter
from 138 Muslim religious leaders addressed to
authorities of Churches and Christian confessions.
The
dialogue reflected the 'interest that this text
has roused,' a communiqué from the meeting
reported. And it mentioned the initiatives that
have come from the letter, including the Catholic-Muslim
Forum that is being established, as well as an
expected encounter between a delegation of the
138 Muslim scholars and Benedict XVI. [Zenit]
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The radical onslaught
'Who
needs the Pope when we've got Fr. McBrien'?
'As
a service to the community,' Sacred Heart Schools
in Atherton (near Redwood City) is holding a public
lecture by Fr. Richard McBrien, a dissident theologian
at Notre Dame University.
McBrien's
April 27 talk will be entitled, 'Benedict XVI
and the Future of the Catholic Church.' The lecture
'will be especially timely since the Pope will
have just finished his visit to the US on April
20,' said an advertisement on the Sacred Heart
Schools web site (Sacred Heart Schools include
St. Joseph's School of the Sacred Heart Preschool
and Kindergarten, St. Joseph's School of the Sacred
Heart Lower and Middle Schools, and St. Joseph's
School of the Sacred Heart Preparatory School).
The
web site provides a link to a McBrien article
from June 2007, 'Pope Benedict's Third Year,'
in which the theologian notes that 'liberal, reform-minded
Catholics have been relieved' that Benedict has
not acted as they had feared and that 'conservative
Catholics… have been disappointed that he
has not… continued the hard-line approach
adopted by his predecessor, John Paul II, and
in keeping with the former cardinal's record as
long-time head of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith.' McBrien then discusses the views
of two writers who, last year, opined that ''the
old Ratzinger' is beginning to show his teeth.'
One
of those writers, David Gibson offered the 'ban
on gays in the priesthood,' the restoration of
the traditional Latin Mass, 'renewed stands against
married priests, and against divorced-and-remarried
Catholics receiving communion,' and Benedict's
reinforcement of papal primacy as evidence of
'the old Ratzinger' returning, said McBrien.
Yet,
given other moves by Benedict - particularly his
approval of the 'International Theological Commission's
call for a re-consideration of the long-standing
belief in Limbo' - McBrien concluded that the
two writers 'are possibly correct in their assessments,
but the evidence is thus far inconclusive.'
In
regard to the Limbo document, McBrien said he
himself has 'pointed out several times… that
a setting aside of Limbo would cause serious problems
for fundamentalist Catholics who sincerely, but
wrongly, believe that no one can be saved without
the sacrament of Baptism.' McBrien says he has
'also pointed out (but cannot go into it again
here) that the disappearance of Limbo would also
require a re-consideration of the Church's traditional
understanding of Original Sin -- another neuralgic
issue for Catholic fundamentalists.'
McBrien,
however, has viewed Benedict as perhaps not progressive
enough. In a column last September, McBrien called
'convoluted' a June 29, 2007 explanation from
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
that the Church of Christ 'subsists' only in the
Catholic Church. The explanation, 'Responses to
Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the
Doctrine of the Church,' was an encapsulation
of Dominus Iesus, issued by the congregation when
Ratzinger was its prefect.
In
his September article, McBrien said he preferred
the opinion that Vatican II 'broadened the boundaries
of Christ's Church to include Protestants, Anglicans,
Orthodox and separated non-Orthodox Christians.'
And as for Dominus Iesus (approved by Pope
John Paul II), it, perhaps, 'should not be followed,'
said McBrien.
The
school's announcement of McBrien's upcoming lecture
notes, 'He has written 21 books, the most recent
of which is Lives of the Saints. The other
ones that most of us have in our own libraries,
and have used in both the classroom and the parish,
are Catholicism, The HarperCollins Encyclopedia
of Catholicism, and Lives of the Popes,
which has been translated into Polish.'
What
the announcement failed to mention was that the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee
on Doctrine released an April 9, 1996 statement
on McBrien's book Catholicism saying, in
part, 'for some readers it will give encouragement
to dissent.' The review said McBrien's book 'gives
very little weight to the teaching of the magisterium,'
and that it 'treats magisterial statements on
the same level as free theological opinions.'
In addition, said the USCCB committee, in certain
areas, 'the book regards the 'official church
position' as simply in error.'
Sacred
Heart Schools, Atherton, is part of an international
network of schools founded in 1898 by the Society
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It enrolls 1,045
students, kindergarten through 12th grade. Tuition
ranges from $16,760 to $26,885 per year depending
on grade level. [CalCatholic] 1442.14
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Shameful
Yale art-project
At
Yale University a senior in Davenport College,
art major Aliza Shvarts '08, wants to make a statement.
She plans to display her senior art project, a
documentation of a nine-month process during which
she artificially inseminated herself 'as often
as possible' while periodically taking abortifacient
drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will
feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages
as well as preserved collections of the blood
from the process. The goal in creating the art
exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation
and debate on the relationship between art and
the human body. [Yale Daily News] It is reported
that a university official is now warning that
the project will be banned. [LifeSiteNews] 1442.15
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International news
Chile
Vandalized statue
The
president of the Bishops' Conference of Chile,
Bishop Alejandro Goic, deplored the recent vandalizing
of a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the
Cathedral of Santiago. 'It is a deplorable and
profoundly lamentable act that wounds the faith,
love and devotion that the Chilean people have
traditionally had for the Mother of God in a historic
statue venerated by the entire Chilean nation,'
the bishop said. Bishop Goic said, 'We don't know
who did it, the police need to investigate.'
He
explained that the entire body of Chilean bishops
will go to Santiago for the closing of their meeting
'to make amends for an offense committed against
the faith.' Witnesses said they saw a man in his
mid-30s dressed in black carry out the vandalism.
Police have identified four men as possible suspects
in the act. The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
was dressed in vestments made in 1833 that were
burned completely during the attack. Workers in
the Cathedral were able to put out the flames
before the statue was completely destroyed. Speaking
to Radio Cooperativa, Father Francisco Javier
Manterola, pastor of the church, said, 'The structure
is still there, but all of the mantles, the clothing,
the adornments and the insignias given to her
by the Armed Forces and even by the president,
were burned.' [CNA] 1442.16
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The
Vatican has approved the beatification of Cardinal
John Henry Newman, the Birmingham Mail
reports. John Henry Newman was born in 1801. As
an Anglican priest, he led the Oxford Movement
that sought to return the Church of England to
its Catholic roots. His conversion to Catholicism
in 1845 rocked Victorian England. After becoming
an Oratorian priest, he was involved in the establishment
of the Birmingham Oratory. He died in 1890 and
is buried at the oratory country house Rednall
Hill. The Catholic Church has accepted as miraculous
the cure of an American deacon's crippling spinal
disorder. The deacon, Jack Sullivan of Marshfield,
Massachusetts, prayed for John Henry Newman's
intercession. At his beatification ceremony later
this year, John Henry Newman will receive the
title 'Blessed.' He will need one more recognized
miracle to be canonized. The case of a 17-year-old
New Hampshire boy who survived serious head injuries
from a car crash is being investigated as a possible
second miracle. [CNA] 1442.4
