CF
News
News
service of the National Association of Catholic Families
Prayer
intention for May
Pope
Benedict's general prayer intention for May is: 'That
Christians may use literature, art and the mass media
to greater advantage in order to favour a culture which
defends and promotes the values of the human person'.
His mission intention is: 'That the Virgin Mary, Star
of evangelisation and Queen of the Apostles, may still
guide today with maternal affection the missionaries,
both men and women, throughout the world, just as she
accompanied the Apostles in the early stages of the
Church'. [Vatican Information Service] 1444. 1
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Reflections
on US visit
In
yesterday's general audience, which was held in St.
Peter's Square, the Pope dedicated his remarks to his
recent apostolic trip to the U. S. A. and the headquarters
of the United Nations, from 15 to 21 April. After recalling
how the motive for his U. S. visit was the bi-centenary
of the elevation of the country's first diocese, Baltimore,
to the status of metropolitan archdiocese, and the foundation
of the sees of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville,
the Holy Father affirmed that his aim had been 'to announce
to everyone the message that 'Christ is our Hope', the
phrase which was the theme of my visit'.
During
the meeting with President George Bush in the White
House, said the Pope, 'I had the opportunity to pay
homage to that great country, which from its beginnings
was built on the foundation of a harmonious union between
religious, ethical and political principles, and which
still constitutes a valid example of healthy laicism,
where the religious dimension, in the diversity of its
expressions, is not only tolerated but turned to advantage
as the 'soul' of the nation and the fundamental guarantee
of the rights and duties of human beings'.
The
Holy Father then went on to explain that he had supported
his 'brother bishops in their difficult task of spreading
the Gospel in a society marked by no small number of
contradictions, which also threaten the coherence of
Catholics and even of the clergy. I encouraged them
to make their voices heard on the moral and social questions
of the day, and to form the lay faithful so they become
good 'leavening' in the civil community on the base
of that fundamental cell which is the family. In this
context, I exhorted them to re-present the Sacrament
of Marriage as a gift and an indissoluble commitment
between a man and a woman, the natural environment in
which to welcome and educate children.
'The Church and the family, as well as schools', the
Pope added, 'must co-operate in offering young people
a solid moral education. . . . Reflecting upon the painful
question of sexual abuse of minors by ordained ministers,
I told the bishops of my closeness, and encouraged them
in the task of binding wounds and strengthening their
relationships with their priests'. During the Eucharistic
celebration held in the Nationals Stadium in Washington,
said Pope Benedict, 'we evoked the Holy Spirit' upon
the Church in America that she 'may face current and
future challenges with courage and hope'.
And
when meeting with representatives of other religions
'in what may be considered as the homeland of religious
freedom, I recalled how such freedom must be defended
with congruous efforts to avoid all forms of discrimination
and prejudice. I also highlighted the great responsibility
religious leaders have, both in teaching respect and
non-violence and in upholding the deepest questions
of the human conscience'. On the subject of his visit
to UN headquarters in New York, the Pope pointed out
that 'providence gave me the opportunity to confirm'
- on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights - 'the importance of that Charter, recalling
its universal foundation, in other words the dignity
of the person who was created by God in His image and
likeness in order to co-operate in . . . His great plan
of life and peace'.
In
St. Patrick's Cathedral the Pope had celebrated Mass
for priests and consecrated people. 'I will never forget',
he said, 'with how much warmth they congratulated me
for the third anniversary of my election to the See
of Peter. It was a moving moment, in which I particularly
felt the support of all the Church for my ministry.
And I could say the same about my meeting with young
people and seminarians'.
At
Ground Zero 'I lit a candle and prayed for all the victims
of the terrible tragedy' of 11 September 2001, said
the Pope. And he concluded his reminiscences of his
U. S. visit with the Eucharistic celebration in New
York's Yankee Stadium which he described as 'a feast
of faith and of brotherhood. . . . To that Church which
now faces the challenges of the present time, I had
the joy of announcing 'Christ our Hope', yesterday,
today and forever'. Prior to the audience, the Pope
blessed a statue of St. John Leonardi (1541-1609), founder
of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, which has
been placed in a niche on the exterior wall of the Vatican
Basilica. On 8 august 2006, the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, by virtue
of the powers granted by Benedict XVI, proclaimed him
patron saint of pharmacists. [Vatican Information Service]
1444. 2
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George
Weigel on the US visit
As
Pope Benedict XVI's presence and words linger with Americans,
George Weigel is offering his analysis of last week's
trip in an article for Newsweek. The Pope, Weigel says,
not only managed to deftly change the false perceptions
of many, but also delivered words of challenging wisdom
to Americans.
'From
his first moments at Andrews Air Force Base,' Weigel
begins, 'it was clear that this was no hard-edged theological
enforcer, no Rottweiler. Instead of the cartoon Ratzinger,
America was introduced to a modest, friendly man, a
grandfatherly Bavarian with exquisite manners and a
shock of unruly white hair, full of affection and admiration
for the United States. '
This
changed perception of Benedict XVI was also accompanied
by the crumbling of any anti-Catholic prejudice on behalf
of the U. S. government, Weigel writes.
'Now,
an evangelical Texas Methodist pulled out all the ceremonial
stops to welcome the Bishop of Rome on the south lawn
of the White House - and the Bishop of Rome, a former
American POW, could be seen singing the refrain of the
'Battle Hymn of the Republic' along with the U. S. Army
choir. '
The
change in the perception of Pope Benedict changed within
the Church too, says Weigel. 'The transformation of
the papal image was complete when Benedict XVI surprised
everyone (including many senior churchmen) by meeting
privately for conversation and prayer with five Boston-area
victims of clergy sexual abuse. '
According
to Weigel, this transformative chapter began even before
the Pontiff landed on American soil. 'On the flight
to America, the Pope had forthrightly seized control
of this issue, speaking of his own 'shame' over the
behavior of priests who had abused the young; he later
acknowledged the parallel and related disgrace of bishops
who had failed in their duty to protect the flock. Still,
it took that meeting with those who had suffered at
the hands of something both they and he loved - the
Catholic Church - to drive home the point that Benedict
XVI was not just a friendly scholar. By meeting, praying,
and, by all accounts, crying with those who had been
deeply hurt, Benedict made unmistakably plain what those
who had known him already knew: that he is a man with
a pastor's heart and a true priest's compassion. '
Benedict
XVI's pastoral touch could also be seen when he preached
at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. His forthright
challenges to his listeners, whether young or old, serve
as a 'reminder to pastors of all denominations that
'preaching up,' rather than 'preaching down,' is the
way to inspire and nourish,' Weigel asserts.
All
of this was accompanied by the pomp and ceremony that
surrounds a papal visit, but to only see the glitz would
be to miss the substantial ideas the Holy Father proposed,
says Weigel.
Most
notable for George Weigel are the Pope's ideas 'about
the way the world works, ideas about inter-religious
dialogue, and ideas about Christian ecumenism. ' All
three of these categories of thought are united by a
common thread: 'the Benedictine project of turning noise
into conversation through the recovery of moral reason,'
he proposes in his Newsweek article.
Human
Rights: The World's Moral Vocabulary
First
noting that the 'primary purpose of Benedict's trans-Atlantic
pilgrimage was to address the General assembly of the
United Nations', Weigel says that the Pontiff's goal
at the U. N. was to give the world body a means of beginning
the process of reform.
This
type of reform is the can only take place if the Western
problem of a loss of 'faith in reason' is addressed.
The West has 'a very shaky hold on the conviction (fundamental
to western civilization from Socrates through the scientific
revolution) that human beings can know the truth of
things, including the moral truth of things. '
This
crisis of faith in reason, writes Weigel, 'seems to
Benedict not just a grave problem in itself, but a grave
political problem: for how can the conversation, debate,
and argument that are the lifeblood of any humane politics
happen when everyone is speaking a different language,
no one can agree on a translator, and the very need
for 'translation' is regarded by the post-modern avant-garde
as impossibly old hat?'
The
solution that the Pope pointed to was the language of
human rights, which 'are based on the natural law inscribed
on human hearts and present in different cultures and
civilizations. '
The
Holy Father, in arguing this point, makes 'a claim that
can be engaged be non-believers, as well as by believers
of all religious traditions that cherish reason,' Weigel
notes.
Truth-Centered
Dialogue
'The
Pope also had some important and challenging things
to say about turning-noise-into-conversation among religions,
and within the fractured Christian household. '
The
Pope, among other things, made clear at the meeting
with other religions that, 'in his mind, tolerance doers
not mean avoiding differences in an exchange of pleasantries
and banalities; rather, he gently suggested, true dialogue
means taking differences seriously and exploring them,
within a bond of civility created by mutual respect
in the quest for truth,' explains Weigel. The Catholic
author and academic explains that for Benedict XVI,
'genuine interreligious dialogue' does not 'avoid the
hard questions; it begins with the hard questions. '
'It
is not difficult to imagine that Benedict had in mind
here the dialogue he has been slowly nurturing with
Islam: a dialogue focused on religious freedom and the
separation of spiritual and political authority in the
state. Unlike those veterans of the Catholic-Islamic
dialogue who have long preferred to avoid those questions,
Benedict insists, quietly but firmly, on beginning with
them. Whether his approach helps support those Islamic
reformers working to build an Islam that can live with
pluralism and political modernity is one of the great
questions on which a lot of 21st century history will
turn. ' Weigel then turns to the address that Benedict
delivered to the ecumenical gathering of Christians,
a group that often appears fractured by division.
In
this provocative speech, Weigel claims that 'Benedict
sharply raised the ecumenical ante by asking his fellow
Christian leaders to consider whether those divisions
did not reflect a 'relativistic approach' to Christian
doctrine and moral teaching'.
The
Pope pointed out that this relativistic approach is
strangely parallel to secularist critiques of Christianity:
a 'relativism' about the truth of Christian faith that
is shaped by the assumption that 'science alone is 'objective,''
an assumption that relegates all religious conviction
'to the subjective sphere of individual feeling. '
According
to Weigel, 'Benedict's personal answer to that question
is, undoubtedly, yes. '
'Which
suggests that this man who once took a professor's post
at Tubingen precisely to deepen his own theological
dialogue with Lutheran colleagues now realizes that
the real future of serious ecumenical conversation lies
with the Catholic Church's encounter with those Christian
communities (largely, but not exclusively, evangelical)
that still believe that the Gospel and the creeds stand
in judgment on our theological speculation, rather than
vice-versa. The Gospel and the creeds, the Pope suggested,
are the boundaries within which real conversation can
grow from ecumenical noise. '
Among
the observations that strike George Weigel about the
Pope's visit is that, 'it was refreshing to be in the
presence of an adult - an adult who treated his hosts
as adults by paying them the compliment of making serious,
sustained arguments. ' In addition, 'The American majority
was reaffirmed in its conviction that religiously-informed
moral argument has a place in public life; the non-believing
minority experienced a religious leader who took care
to speak in a language non-believers could understand,'
he writes.
Indeed,
'by showing his pastor's heart,' says Weigel, 'one of
the world's most learned men embodied a truth of which
both he and John Paul II were firmly convinced: faith
and reason go together. ' [CNA] 1444. 3
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Lourdes
pilgrimage
Made public on Monday was a Letter from the Pope addressed
to Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris,
France, to mark the hundredth anniversary of an annual
pilgrimage by young people from the province of Paris.
This year's pilgrimage, which takes them to Lourdes,
is being held from 22 to 27 April. In his Letter to
the cardinal, who is also president of the Conference
of Bishops of France, the Holy Father mentions the fact
that 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the apparition
of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in the grotto
of Massabielle.
Benedict
XVI calls on young people to imitate Mary's response
when she was 'invited to follow an amazing yet disconcerting
journey. Her readiness led her to experience a joy of
which all previous generations had sung', he writes.
'Our 'yes' to God', the Pope continues, 'makes the font
of true happiness gush forth. It frees the 'I' from
everything that closes it in on itself. It brings the
poverty of our lives into the richness and power of
God's plan, without restricting our freedom and our
responsibility. . . . It conforms our lives to Christ's
own life'. The Holy Father then encourages the young
'enthusiastically to celebrate the joy of loving Christ
and of believing and hoping in Him, and trustingly to
follow the path of initiation you have before you. I
particularly invite you', he writes, 'to take up the
witness of your ancestors in the faith, and to learn
to welcome the Word of God - in silence and meditation
- so that it can mould your hearts and produce generous
fruits in you'.
This pilgrimage, Pope Benedict concludes, 'is also a
good time to allow yourselves to be asked by Christ:
'What do you want to do with your lives?' May those
among you who feel the call to follow Him in the priesthood
or in consecrated life - as have so many young participants
in these pilgrimages - reply to the Lord's call and
put yourselves totally at the service of the Church,
with a life completely dedicated to the Kingdom of heaven.
You will never be disappointed'. [Vatican Information
Service] 1444. 4
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'Baseless
rumours'
Rumours suggesting that Benedict XVI's health is failing
are 'baseless,' confirmed the Vatican. Jesuit Father
Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office,
said this in statements to the press after the French
newspaper Le Figaro published an article Saturday
that raised questions regarding the Pontiff's health.
The report also speculated on future successors to the
papacy. The spokesman said the article's assertions,
published less than one week after the Pontiff ended
his five-day apostolic trip to the United States, were
'paradoxical. ''
Benedict
XVI is well and it is paradoxical that doubts about
his health are being manufactured precisely after his
return from his demanding trip [to the U. S. ], during
which his schedule was not lightened in any way, and
given the obvious joy with which the Pope responded
to the welcome he received,' he said. 'It is curious
that the doubts about the Pope's health emerged in a
moment in which everything proved that they had no basis,'
Father Lombardi added. On his April 15-20 trip to the
United States the Pope followed an intense schedule
that included delivering 19 speeches and homilies in
five days.
Le Figaro's assertions were based on reports that
Benedict XVI appeared tired as he celebrated Mass April
19 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, and that
after the ceremony he was helped by aides so as 'to
not trip under the great weight of the liturgical vestments.
'Father Lombardi responded, 'Any priest who celebrates
with very heavy and long vestments is helped so that
he does not trip on the stairs of the altar. '
The
French newspaper also observed that the Pope didn't
hold a general audience on the Wednesday after his return
to Rome following trip so he could rest. The Vatican
spokesman said the audience had been canceled two months
before the trip to the United States, and that 'the
necessity of rest after a trip across the ocean is completely
obvious, as anyone who has had to change time zones
knows well. ' [Zenit] 1444.5
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Scripture-reading
survey
A
press conference held on Monday morning in the Holy
See Press Office presented the results of a survey into
'the reading of the Scriptures in a number of countries
(USA. , UK, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Italy,
Poland and Russia'. The research was promoted by the
Catholic Biblical Federation and by GFK-Eurisko. Participating
in the press conference were Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Bishop
Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, Italy, who is also president
of the Catholic Biblical Federation; and Luca Diotallevi,
co-ordintaor of the research group and professor of
sociology at the University of 'Roma Tre'.
Presenting
the results of the survey, Archbishop Ravasi dwelt on
the need to underline the importance of the Bible, commenting
that the philosopher Blaise Pascal was right to affirm
that Scripture contains passages that console people
of all conditions and other passages that disquiet them.
Bishop Paglia explained that with a view to the forthcoming
Synod on 'The Word of God in the Life and the Mission
of the Church', due to be held in October, the Catholic
Biblical Federation 'had felt it would be useful to
undertake research in a number of countries in the world
- while bearing in mind the various Christian traditions
- in order to acquire concrete information on Christians'
relationship with Scripture'.
The survey, he said, 'confirmed in full Vatican Council
II's pastoral intuition to exhort the faithful to rediscover
Scripture as the primary source of spiritual life'.
It also reaffirmed 'the bond that exists between the
Bible and the Eucharist', because 'the majority of those
interviewed indicated the Sunday celebration as the
place in which they habitually listen to the Word of
God'. In examining 'the role of the Bible in ecumenical
dialogue', the survey highlighted how 'Scripture remains
the most effective 'place' Christians have to progress
together along the path of unity. . . . The answers
also showed that there no longer exists that diversity
among the various Christian traditions - a diversity
evident in the past - concerning their relationship
with Scripture'. Another factor to emerge was 'the considerable
expectations that the men and women of our time have
towards Holy Scripture' which 'is considered with great
respect by everyone'.
Among Christians 'it is widely held that the Bible contains
the Word of God, that it is an inspired work capable
of giving meaning to life, and that it has far greater
authority than other ecclesial manifestations', although
the values it contains 'are difficult to put into practice'.
For this reason, said Bishop Paglia, one of the great
challenges is 'the responsibility of preaching, which
on the basis of the Scripture must constitute an authoritative
appeal to believers and to all those who seek'. 'Listening
to the Scriptures favours the cohesion of listeners',
he said. 'Indeed, listening to the Word of God truly
'makes' the Church'. Hence 'reading Scripture in the
company of the Church' makes it possible to avoid 'the
two most dangerous obstacles: a fundamentalist reading,
. . . and an individualist pseudo-psychological reading
which leads readers to reflect themselves in the pages'.
The
prelate concluded his remarks by highlighting the need
'to find space for the 'schools of the word', the 'schools
of the Gospel', and the 'schools of reading and listening
to the Bible'. . . . It is in this perspective', he
said, 'that we must see 'lectio divina', the oldest
and riches method of listening to Scripture' which must
be given 'new spaces and new forms until it becomes
the habitual way of approaching the Word of God in our
Christian communities'. For his part Professor Diotallevi
explained that some 13,000 interviews had been completed
during the course of the survey, which he described
as 'the most systematic scientific undertaking yet attempted
to compare, on an international scale, levels and forms
of familiarity with the Scriptures of Christian tradition
among the adult population'.
'The
Bible in the areas we examined', he said, 'is not the
text of a minority but an important point of reference
present - in different degrees and ways - in the life
and culture of broad majorities of the population. .
. . It may be affirmed that between a third and a quarter
of adults in the countries examined have read a Bible
passage at least once in the last 12 months'. Professor
Diotallevi noted the existence of 'a gap dividing the
Anglo-Saxon world from central and eastern Europe'.
In the former, 'the sensation of the closeness of God
is anything but extinct and the practice of prayer is
anything but marginal. A very large majority of people
look to the Bible as a source of truth, as the source
of a message that has to do with life'. It also emerged
from the survey that 'the practice of reading the Bible
depends statistically, more than on shared religious
beliefs, on participation in events and groups which
already adopt this practice. . . .
Reading the Bible in no way echoes political polarisation
between 'right' and 'left'', said Professor Diotallevi
noting in conclusion the prevalence among the populations
examined 'of a position favourable to studying the Bible
in schools. In particular those in favour exceed 50
percent in Russia, Poland, Italy, UK and Germany'. [Vatican
Information Service] 1444.6
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Suffering
Africa
Don't forget the tragedies and suffering of Africa,
Benedict XVI is urging the faithful. 'I ask you to pray
for them and to be their voice,' the Pope appealed on
Sunday after praying the Regina Caeli with several thousand
people gathered in St. Peter's Square' The news from
some African countries continues to cause profound suffering
and much concern,' he said. 'I ask you not to forget
about these tragic events and the brothers and sisters
who are involved in them!' The Pontiff mentioned three
specific situations, beginning with Somalia, especially
in Mogadishu, where 'bitter armed conflicts are worsening
the humanitarian crisis of this dear people, which for
too many years has been oppressed by brutality and misery.
'In Darfur, continued the Holy Father, 'despite a momentary
glimmer of hope, remains a tragedy without end for hundreds
of thousands of defenseless and abandoned persons. 'Benedict
XVI then commented on Burundi: 'After the recent bombardments
that struck and terrorized the capital city of Bujumbura
and also affected the apostolic nunciature, and in the
face of the threat of a new civil war, I invite all
the parties involved to take up again without delay
the way of dialogue and reconciliation. 'The Pope concluded:
'I ask the local political authorities, the leaders
of the international community and every person of goodwill
not to give up on efforts to bring and end to the violence
and the honor the commitments that have been made, in
a way that will provide a solid basis for peace and
development. 'We entrust our petitions to Mary, Queen
of Africa. ' [Zenit] 1444.7
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The Family
Spain's
anti-family laws
The
president of the Spanish Forum on the Family, Benigno
Blanco, said this week, 'In the last four years the
government has promoted a true ideological revolution
in the regulation of marriage and the family,' passing
laws that 'are doctrinaire and sectarian and are inspired
by the theory of gender' that causes so much harm.
During
the presentation of the book, 'Challenges of the 21st
Century for the Family,' Blanco said, 'With express
divorce, the theory of gender, the law on assisted reproduction
and the law on education with Education for Citizenship,
the essence of the nuclear family and its principles
have been attacked. The institution of the family is
the most powerful interpersonal bond of solidarity that
society has known, and at the same time it is the true
'social security',' Blanco said. But 'when the State
attempts to assume this function, it does so with much
less efficacy and great social cost. '
He
also stated, 'The family creates the ecological niche
for human existence and is the atmosphere for the creation
of life,' and for this reason there is an increasing
awareness in Europe that 'we need the family, and for
this reason the governments compete to help it. '
In
reiterating that the family is 'an institution worthy
of being protected' that has stable marriage as its
foundation, Blanco indicated that in Spain, 'of the
11 million nuclear families that exist, 8 or 9 million
are marriages, and thus it is reasonable to demand that
this institution be given legal protection. ' [CNA]
1444.8
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Europe
Undermining
Ireland's abortion laws
The
European Union's reform treaty could undermine Ireland's
ability to restrict abortion, according to a Danish
member of the European parliament. Mr Jens-Peter Bonde
said that the treaty could end the union's consensus-based
culture and enable a majority of nations to impose their
will everywhere. Ireland's law on abortion was one of
several examples he gave of laws which might be affected
by this change. Disagreeing, Ms Máiréad
McGuinness, an Irish Fine Gael MEP, said a ban on abortion
was in the country's constitution. Labour and Fianna
Fáil also vigorously rejected Mr Bonde's claims.
[The Irish Independent] 1444.9
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International news
Australia
Same-sex union laws
The
Australian government announced yesterday that it will
change around 100 federal laws in order to grant homosexual
couples extensive legal and financial benefits, but
will not change legislation forbidding same-sex 'marriage'.
The new laws will afford same-sex couples benefits previously
reserved to married couples. For instance, children
raised by same-sex couples will be deemed dependents
for tax and unemployment benefits purposes. Also, same-sex
couples will qualify as 'family units' with regard to
pension considerations. While the legislative overhaul,
expected to be complete by mid-2009, affects social
security, health, aged care, veterans' payments, and
employment entitlements, the government decided not
to redefine marriage.
'The government believes that marriage is between a
man and a woman so it won't amend the marriage act,'
said Attorney-General Robert McClelland. Pro-homosexual
activists are pleased with the law changes, but disappointed
that the Federal Marriage Act, defining marriage as
union of one man and one woman, was not altered. 'Gay
and lesbian Australians will not be fully equal until
we are allowed the right to marry the partner of our
choice,' claimed Rodney Croome of the Australian Coalition
for Equality. In an opinion article in today's theage.
com, Croome compared the mistreatment of individuals
with homosexual inclinations, to past mistreatment of
slaves and women. 'Indeed, in centuries past the second-class
status of blacks and women was sealed by laws that denied
them the right to marry the partner of their choice
in much the same way same-sex partners are denied that
right today,' wrote Croome.
Cardinal
George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, has been an outspoken
critic of the sort of comparisons Croome drew today.
In an October 2007 essay, Pell decried a 'false analogy
drawn between alleged discrimination against homosexuals
and racial discrimination. ' 'Opposition to same-sex
marriage is therefore likened to support for laws against
inter-racial marriage (which continued in some US states
until the 1960s), and opposition to homosexual adoptions
is likened to refusing to adopt children to black parents.
The analogy is false because allowing blacks and whites
to marry did not require changing the whole concept
of marriage; and allowing black parents to adopt white
children, or vice versa, did not require changing the
whole concept of family, or for that matter, the whole
concept of childhood,' Pell explained.
Efforts
to gain legal recognition for same-sex 'marriages' has
been part of an on-going battle in Australia. In June
2006, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) passed
a law that gave same-sex unions practically all of the
rights and benefits given to married couples. In response,
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock had Governor-General
Michael Jeffrey declare the ACT law invalid because
it made same-sex civil unions too similar to marriage.
[LifeSiteNews] 1444.10
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Belgium
Euthanasia for children
Teenagers
would be given the right to medically assisted suicide
and the parents of terminally ill younger children would
be able to choose euthanasia under new proposals from
members of Belgium's coalition government. The plans
to extend rules allowing doctors to perform euthanasia
on terminally ill people suffering 'constant and unbearable
physical or psychological pain' come amid a heated Belgian
debate on the issue. Under existing Belgian laws, in
place since 2002, patients, other than newborn babies,
must be over 18 to qualify for assisted suicide, a situation
that Bart Tommelein, leader of Belgium Liberals, wants
changed. [The Telegraph] 1444.11
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Brazil
Steep rise in vocations
Vatican Radio reports that over the previous decade,
there has been a 40% rise in the number of vocations
to the priesthood and religious life in Brazil. The
average age of seminarians in Brazil is 22. In the last
seven years alone, Brazilian vocations to Opus Dei also
increased fivefold. [CWNews] 1444.12
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India
'Reconverts' to Hindu faith
Nearly
1,800 converts to Christianity 'reconverted' to their
original Hindu faith in a mass ceremony heled in Mumbai
on April 27, the AsiaNews service reports. Swami Narendra
Maharaj, who led the ceremony, claimed that over 40,000
Hindus have returned to that faith after having been
persuaded by 'luring and misleading' missionaries to
adopt Christianity. Hindu activists have charged that
Christians are engaged in a systematic campaign to gain
converts by underhanded means in poor tribal regions.
Bishop Percival Fernandez, an auxiliary in the Mumbai
archdiocese, denied the claims of coerced conversions
and challenged Hindu activists to produce anyone with
a credible complaint that he had been converted 'by
force or deception. ' [CNA] 1444.13
Top
www.catholic-family.org
Ireland
Editorial challenged
Fr Séamus Murphy SJ, Senior Lecturer in philosophy
at the Milltown Institute, Dublin, in a letter to the
'Irish Times', took issue with a recent editorial
in that newspaper. The editorial in question, 'Faith
in our schools' referred to Ireland's educational system
as having been run on 'a model that delegated control
of most schools to the churches'. According to Fr Murphy,
the use of the word 'delegated' is remarkable, suggesting
that control of education properly belongs to the state.
Article 42 of Bunreacht na hÉireann (The Irish
Constitution) identifies the family as the 'primary
and natural educator' of children, and recognizes the
primacy of parents' rights in education. He noted that
the widespread undermining of family and parental rights
must greatly increase State power, at the expense of
freedom. 'There is such a thing as 'soft totalitarianism'',
he said, 'and the attack on family and religion from
various quarters feeds it'. [Family & Life] 1444.14
Top
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Ireland
Palliative
care
Just
100 out of the 20,000 beds in Ireland's healthcare system
are devoted to palliative care. The National University,
Galway, surveyed 300 institutions and also found regional
variation, and staff working in palliative care without
special training. The health service said it had recently
increased funding. [Irish Times, SPUC] 1444.15
Top
www.catholic-family.org
Japan
Conflict with NeoCatechumenal Way
A delegation of bishops from Japan visited the Vatican
this week, hoping to resolve a conflict with the NeoCatechumenal
Way, which operates a seminary in Japan, the UCA News
service reports. The visit by four Japanese bishops
was the 3rd such trip to Rome. 'We hate to come so often
but we had to give the serious nature of the problem
that needs to be resolved', Archbishop Okada of Tokyo,
president of the bishops' conference, told UCA News.
The archbishop said that the NeoCatechumenate had caused
'sharp painful division and strife within the Church
in Japan. ' He characterized the lay movement as a group
engaged in 'powerful sect-like activity' that was damaging
the unity of the small Catholic community in Japan.
[CWNews] 1444.16
Top
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Malays
Newspaper's use of the word 'Allah'
A
Catholic newspaper in Malaysia on Friday continued its
fight to use the word 'Allah' to signify God in its
newspapers. The newspaper has appealed to the High Court
to hear its case, Agence France Presse reports. On Friday
before an audience of two hundred, including Archbishop
of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam, High Court Judge Lau
Bee Lan decided that the arguments from both sides would
be heard on Tuesday to determine if the case should
proceed.
In
January the Catholic weekly The Herald almost
had its publishing license revoked because it used the
word 'Allah' in its Malay section. 'Allah' is both the
Malay and the Arabic word for God. Authorities warned
the paper not to use the word again in the future. The
Malaysian Cabinet last year ruled that the word could
be used only by Muslims. The internal security minister
also issued a ban on its use in a non-Muslim context.
When the paper's license was renewed in January, the
publishers assumed they could use 'Allah. '
They
are seeking to ensure their right to use the word even
after the permit expires in October. 'We are asking
the court to say the decision was wrong and quash it
and declare that The Herald can use the word
'Allah' in its publication,' the paper's lead counsel,
Porres Royan, told reporters after an initial hearing
at the Kuala Lumpur High Court last Friday. 'If we don't
comply with the decision beyond October, the government
can refuse to renew our publication permit based on
the earlier order,' said Annou Xavier, a lawyer for
the paper.
Many
Malaysians are concerned about what they see as a growing
'Islamization' of the country. The Herald circulates
among the country's 850,000 Catholics, with articles
written in English, Chinese, Tamil, and Malay. [CNA]
1444.17
Top
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Netherlands
Increase in legal euthanasia
Legal euthanasia by doctors in the Netherlands is on
the increase. While just over 1,900 people were killed
that way in 2006, more than 2,100 died because of it
last year. In three cases, doctors reportedly breached
guidelines. [Dutch News] It would seem that these figures
refer only to cases of euthanasia by specific and positive
intervention. Previous reports have indicated that the
largest number of euthanasia deaths occur in less explicit
ways, such as increasing existing medication to fatal
levels. [SPUC] 1444.18
Top
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Spain
Hospital chaplains
Bishop
Demetrio Fernandez of Tarazona in Spain has defended
the right of Catholic chaplains to work in hospitals,
saying that spiritual care is a right of the infirm
and not a privilege of the Church, as the Socialist
Party has sought to portray it. In a message, Bishop
Fernandez said the attempt to expel chaplains from local
hospitals was due to a desire to 'eliminate God from
public life,' as the presence of priests 'is the living
presence of God in the world of health care, in order
to respond to a right and need of the infirm. Suppress
chaplains and we will have expelled God from hospitals.
'
Such
a move would also take important ethical guidance away
from patients and family members, he said. 'The sick
and their families go to him (the chaplain) during the
long hours of illness and find in him consolation and
many times guidance in how to act. ' 'Chaplains are
a hindrance to the plans against life that are being
and will be implemented,' the bishop continued. 'Respect
for life from conception to natural death is a matter
of common sense, which chaplains continually reiterate,'
he added. Likewise, he said, the work of chaplains is
not to proselytize, as 'they do not minister to those
who are of other religions. If the sick person is Jewish
or Muslim, they have the right to be visited and cared
for by a minister of their own faith,' he said.
For this reason, Bishop Fernandez concluded, the campaign
against chaplains has been 'intentionally unleashed,'
and therefore intervention by the justice department
has been requested. Bishop Fernandez thanked chaplains
for their pastoral work and said he hoped that 'on my
own death bed I will have at my side a Catholic priest
who will help me pass from this world to the next in
the peace of God. ' [CNA] 1444.19
Top
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UK
Apostacy
Your prayers, please, for Autumn Kelly, 29, who according
to news reports has decided to apostatise in order that
after her May 17th marriage to the Queen's eldest grandson,
Peter Phillips, he will not have to surrender his place
in succession to the Throne under the Act of Settlement
of 1701. This sad news comes within a week of the forthcoming
Feast of the Martyrs of England and Wales. 1444.20
Top
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UK
Abortion on request
The
law may be changed to allow 'abortion on request' by
ending the need for doctors to give permission for a
termination, it has been disclosed. The change is being
backed by Lord Steel, the architect of Britain's abortion
laws, who has called for a more liberal regime to bring
Britain into line with many Continental nations. Under
the existing Abortion Act, drawn up in 1967, a termination
can take place only after two doctors formally agree
that the procedure is medically necessary.
That
requirement may become the subject of a Commons vote
next month when MPs debate the Human Fertilisation and
Embryology Bill, which could be used to amend Lord Steel's
1967 Abortion Act. Lord Steel said he would like his
Abortion Act to be changed to end the requirement for
two doctors to give permission for a termination during
the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The former Liberal
Party leader said the change would create a regime of
'abortion on request. Other countries, our neighbours,
have overtaken us,' he said. 'Most of our European neighbours
allow a woman's right to chose up to the first trimester
- not abortion on demand but abortion on request. '
Lord Steel was speaking as he outlined his opposition
to attempts by pro-life MPs to use the embryology Bill
to reduce the legal time limit on abortion from 24 weeks.
The Bill has now left the Lords.
For the two-doctors rule to be removed, MPs would have
to put forward an amendment in the Commons next month.
Evan Harris, a Liberal Democrat MP who is leading the
parliamentary pro-choice campaign in the Commons, said
such an amendment was 'not ruled out'. But he said he
hoped the Government would propose the changes. Dr Harris
is a member of the Commons Science and Technology Committee,
which last year concluded that the requirement for medical
consent to abortion should be removed. 'The argument
being, it isn't different from any other treatment,'
Dr Harris said, suggesting that the two-doctor requirement
can be a 'barrier' which means abortions take place
later in pregnancy.
Dr
Harris and other pro-choice MPs say the law should be
informed by the views of the medical profession, which
is pressing for an end to the two-doctor rule. The Royal
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists last year
told the science committee inquiry into abortion that
the legal requirement for two signatures in the first
three months of pregnancy was 'anachronistic' and should
be scrapped. The British Medical Association also wants
abortion to be available in the first three months on
the basis of 'informed consent. ' MPs on all sides expect
heated clashes next month in the Commons, which has
not voted on abortion time limits for nearly 20 years
[Telegraph] 1444.21
Top
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UK
Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill
The
lower house of the UK parliament is expected soon to
debate the government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology
(HFE) Bill, possibly the week after next. [LifeNews]
MPs will be lobbied on the bill at the House of Commons
on 14 May and a guide to lobbying is available from
SPUC by emailing lizfoody@spuc. org. uk. A page on SPUC's
website, accessible from the homepage, describes the
bill and includes links to a briefing. SPUC is calling
on its supporters to ask MPs to oppose the bill, which
it calls the most serious legislative threat to early
human life since the 1990 embryology law. The date of
the Commons debate may be published tomorrow. Lord Steel
of Aikwood, whose 1967 private bill led to wide-scale
abortion in Britain, defends the legislation and argues
against a reduction in abortion time limits. He asserts
that his Christianity is compatible with his pro-abortion
approach. His article mentions how, unlike Britain,
some other European countries do not require doctors'
consent for abortion. [Independent, SPUC] 1444.22
Top
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UK
Abortions for 12-year-olds
The
Sunday Times has revealed that between ten and fifteen
twelve year-old girls in Britain have abortions every
year. The Times acquired the numbers from a reluctant
Department of Health only after an appeal through freedom
of information legislation and an order from the information
commissioner. The documents also showed that in 2004,
142 thirteen-year-old girls had abortions, up from 138
in 2003. The Times reports that the government
refused for three years to release the numbers.
The response from abortion advocates, however, has been
that the number of girls is 'tiny' and that the British
people simply need to accept the fact that children
are having sex and becoming pregnant and that abortion
continues to be the best solution. The Times
quotes Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy
Advisory Service, which runs a chain of abortion clinics,
who said, 'Children grow up very quickly in our society.
They are maturing faster physically, psychologically
and socially, and society just has to come to terms
with that. Both parents and teachers need to be able
to provide them with the sex education information they
need. '
Furedi's
comments follow closely on her assertion earlier this
month that the nearly 200,000 abortions committed in
Britain in 2006 were 'not a problem'. This weekend Britain's
newspapers and broadcast news carried the story of Britain's
new thirty-something generation of grandmothers, women
who had children in their teens and whose daughters
have now grown up to do the same. Since the inception
of the Labour government's policies on sex education
in schools and ever-increasing state support for single
mothers, the teen pregnancy rate has soared to be the
highest in Europe.
Meanwhile
the government continues to recommend still more 'Sex
and Relationship Education' (SRE), be offered to ever
younger British school children, while admitting that
there has been no research guiding the policies. The
Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF)
said in a media release, 'Evidence shows that quality
SRE has a direct impact on reducing teenage pregnancy
rates and is an essential strand of the Government's
Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. ' The DCSF asserts that
SRE 'delivery is still patchy. We know that many young
people feel they are not getting sex and relationship
education which provides them with the knowledge and
skills they need to make safe and well-informed choices.
'
The
government's assertion of 'evidence' that SRE reduces
teenage pregnancy, however, is difficult to confirm
since Jim Knight, the Minister of State for Schools
and Learners admitted that the Department for Children,
Schools and Families has never commissioned any research
studies on the subject. Knight told the House of Commons
in February, 'The Department has not commissioned research
on the impact of SRE on the attitudes and lifestyle
choices of young people. ' Nevertheless, despite the
lack of evidence that their methods work to reduce teenage
pregnancy rates, Knight maintained that the Department
has 'given a commitment to review best practice in effective
SRE and how it is delivered in schools. '
He
would say only that the Department has 'listened to
young people' who, he said, 'feel that they do not currently
have the knowledge they need to make safe and responsible
choices about relationships and sexual health'. On March
25, when asked what assessment he has made of the effectiveness
of SRE, Knight again told the House of Commons that,
despite its 'commitment to review best practice' the
Department still had no idea what exactly that may entail.
Knight said 'The Department has not made an assessment
of the effectiveness of sex education in England. '
He repeated the Departmental slogan that they have 'given
a commitment to review best practice in effective sex
and relationship (SRE) and how it is delivered in schools.
We have listened to young people and recognise that
many feel that they do not currently have the knowledge
they need to make safe and responsible choices about
relationships and sexual health. '
In
early April, the Department of Children, Families and
Schools issued a tart statement saying it did not agree
with the assessment of Mr. Justice Coleridge, a Family
Division judge for England and Wales, who said that
the 'epidemic' of 'family failure', and in general the
government's approach to young people, sex and marriage,
have been a disaster for Britain. In a speech in Brighton
to lawyers from the group Resolution, the judge said
in his practice he had been witness to a 'never ending
carnival of human misery - a ceaseless river of human
distress' in the form of broken families and that almost
all of British society's social ills can be traced directly
to the collapse of the family life. 'We are experiencing
a period of family meltdown whose effects will be as
catastrophic as the meltdown o
