The
Church in Cuba
Every
five years a group of Cuban bishops travel to
visit with the Pope and to visit the tomb of St.
Peter. On Friday morning the bishops met with
Pope Benedict, who told them that, 'At this historic
moment, the Church in Cuba is called to 'offer
all Cuban society the only true hope: Our Lord
Jesus.' >From the beginning of his talk with
the bishops, the Pope pointed to, 'the vitality
of the Church in Cuba, as well as its unity and
its commitment to Jesus Christ'. He also noted
that the life of the Church in Cuba has undergone
a 'profound change' over the last 20 years, and
even more so following 'the historic visit to
Cuba in 1998 by my venerated predecessor Pope
John Paul II'.
'At this historic moment, the Church in Cuba is
called to offer all Cuban society the only true
hope: Our Lord Jesus. ... This means that the
fomentation of ecclesial life must be given a
central role in your aspirations and your pastoral
project,' the Holy Father said. After thanking
priests for 'their faithfulness and tireless service
to the Church and the faithful', the Pope turned
to the topic of priestly vocations. Benedict XVI
said that he hoped 'an increase in vocations and
the simultaneous adoption of appropriate measures
in this field, may soon enable the Cuban Church
to have a sufficient number of priests, as well
as the churches and places of worship necessary
to accomplish her strictly pastoral and spiritual
mission'.
In
order to address the need for more native Cuban
priests, the Archdiocese of Havana began construction
on a new seminary in July 2006. The new seminary
will hold more than 100 seminarians. 'It is necessary',
Pope Benedict said, that the Church not be afraid
of 'encouraging the young to follow the footsteps
of Christ, Who alone is capable of satisfying
their longing for love and happiness'. He also
urged the bishops to ensure that those in training
to be future priests receive 'the best possible
spiritual, intellectual and human formation'.
Such training will enable them to identify themselves
with the Heart of Christ, and to shoulder 'the
commitment to the priestly ministry', he said.
The
shortage of priests in Cuba and the difficulties
faced with obtaining visas for missionary clergy
has led the Church in Cuba to stress the formation
of the laity to strengthen the Church. Noting
how the bishops pastoral plan calls for the formation
of 'a committed laity', the Holy Father invited
the prelates to encourage 'an authentic process
of education in the faith at various levels, with
the help of well-trained catechists'. Other points
of formation that the Pope emphasized were, encouraging
the 'reading and prayerful meditation upon the
Word of God', for the faithful, 'as well as their
frequent attendance at the Sacraments of Penance
and the Eucharist'.
The
Pope also stressed how, with an 'intense spiritual
life and the support of a solid religious education',
the laity 'will be able to offer convincing testimony
of their faith in all areas of society, illuminating
them with the light of the Gospel. In this context,
it is my hope that the Church in Cuba, in keeping
with her legitimate aspirations, may enjoy normal
access to the social communications media', an
area where the government has intervened in the
past. On the subject of the pastoral care of marriage
and the family, the Holy Father encouraged the
prelates 'to redouble their efforts so as to ensure
that everyone, and especially the young, gains
a better understanding of - and feels ever more
attracted by - the beauty of the true values of
marriage and the family.
At
the same time, it is necessary to encourage and
offer the appropriate means so that families can
exercise their responsibilities, and their fundamental
right to a religious and moral education for their
children'. Benedict XVI related his joy to the
bishops that the Church in Cuba is so generously
dedicated to 'serving the poorest and the most
disadvantaged' and offered his 'heartfelt encouragement
to continue bringing a visible sign of God's love
to those in need, the sick, the elderly and the
imprisoned'. The audience with the bishops ended
with the Pope saying that he hoped that the approaching
beatification of Servant of God Fr. Jose Olallo
Valdes 'may give fresh impulse to your service
to the Church and the people of Cuba, always being
a leavening for reconciliation, justice and peace'.
[CNA] 1445.1
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Europe
Two
matters of concern
The
Catholic Family Institute (C-Fam) reports this
week on two matters of European concern.
1.
Over-stepping its mandate
Samantha
Singson writes : 'In a recently released research
paper on the European Union (EU) social agenda,
scholar Maciej Golubiewski argues that the EU
has overstepped its mandate by pursing a regime
of 'moral regulation' by funding controversial
social policy initiatives on the family and the
beginning and end-of-life issues. The European
Institutions are doing this despite the frequent
objections of individual EU member states.
In 'Europe's Social Agenda: Why is the European
Union Regulating Morality?,' Golubiewski uses
the term 'moral regulation' to encompass all EU
social and human rights policies and initiatives
that intrude or potentially intrude on democratic
national jurisdiction over moral matters.
He argues that the 'moral regulation' agenda in
the EU is the result of a confluence of several
social, political, and legal trends over the last
three decades, including an ascendant influence
of powerful non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
increasing numbers of EU bureaucracies concerning
themselves with moral and social issues, and the
diversification of legal and bureaucratic venues
for promoting social schemes under the label 'human
rights,' among other trends.
The paper catalogues controversial programs and
policies that are sponsored by the EU such as:
competitions and publicity campaigns aimed at
'influencing national norms surrounding the notions
of family, appropriate sexual behavior, and even
church-state relations,' bureaucratic promotion
of reproductive rights encompassing abortion,
criticism of pro-life views, anti-religious educational
programs aimed at youth, and funding of NGOs that
explicitly advocate the legalization of abortion.
Golubiewski outlines the EU's legal and institutional
structure and argues that over the last twenty
years, treaty revisions have enabled NGOs to influence
the policymaking process with little accountability.
Coupled with an erosion of influence of national
parliaments, he argues that the 'moral regulation'
agenda has been able to take hold because of states'
misplaced assumption that state sovereignty is
protected by the current EU framework and treaty
provisions.
Golubiewski points what he calls the 'weak letter
of the subsidiarity principle' that was supposed
to guarantee respect for localized self-government
and he argues that 'sovereignty serves as a much
better principle of democratic control ... because
the locus of control remains closer to the more
transparent and accountable institutions of the
democratic state.'
Golubiewski offers several recommendations to
combat the growing 'moral regulation' agenda in
Europe. Golubiewski urges national governments
to scrutinize programs that fund controversial
initiatives; seek greater transparency and control
over the funding of NGOs; eliminate largely unaccountable
advisory expert networks; and demand greater transparency
and accountability of the European Parliament
to member states.
The author concludes that 'Only timely and effective
action by national capitals to assert their rights
can protect and preserve national traditions of
marriage, family, and human life - arguably the
most important issues of our time.'
Golubiewski is a Polish national working on a
doctorate in international relations at Johns
Hopkins University and serves as C-FAM's analyst
of European affairs. Golubiewski's paper is the
latest in the White Paper Series from the International
Organizations Research Group, the research arm
of the C-FAM (Catholic Family and Human Rights
Institute), publisher of the Friday Fax. Council
of Europe to Allow Adoption by Homosexual Couples'.
2.
Adoption of Children
Maciej Golubiewski writes : 'A committee
connected to the Council of Europe next week will
consider signing the European Convention on the
Adoption of Children which would allow for the
adoption of children by homosexuals.
The drafters of the convention claim that the
convention currently in force is outdated 'due
to social and legal changes which have occurred
in Europe since the late 1960s.' Specifically,
the drafters of the report say the new convention
is necessary because of pressures from countries
such as Sweden that have recently allowed homosexual
couples to adopt children.
The convention that is to be replaced was drafted
in 1967 and has been ratified by nearly a half
of the member states of the Council of Europe
permits adoption only 'by two persons married
to each other…or by one person.' Article
7 of the new convention, on the other hand, allows
adoption 'by two persons of different sex who
are married to each other, or … have entered
into a registered partnership together; [or] by
one person.' The new convention also contains
a special clause that allows member states 'to
extend the scope of this convention to same-sex
couples…; [and] different-sex couples and
same-sex couples who are living together in a
stable relationship.'
The Committee of Ministers will also consider
disallowing member states to express reservations
to the controversial aspects of the new convention.
This would eliminate the ability of more traditional
countries, like Poland, to ignore these new and
controversial policies.
Isabel Hillestad of the Institute for Family Policies
in Norway believes that 'such radical views do
not represent what the majority of Europeans think…and
will put further pressure on all other countries
to accept [same-sex marriage], first in Europe,
later in the rest of the world.' Hillestad expressed
dismay that a convention, which should guard the
interest of a child to have a stable family, would
allow adoption by unmarried heterosexual and homosexual
couples. She says in Norway 'the risk for break-up
is 2-3 times higher for cohabiting couples.' She
also pointed out that registered homosexual couples
have much higher break-up rate than married heterosexual
couples in Norway.
Pat Fagan of the US-based Family Research Council
has shown through social science data that remains
consistent through out the world that children
thrive best in a stable environment with both
a mother and a father, an environment that two
men or two women cannot provide by definition.
Fagan further argues that children have a human
right to the married love of their parents.
If signed by the Committee of Ministers, the new
convention will replace the original convention
of 1967, and will be sent to the parliaments of
the member states of the Council of Europe for
ratification. It will become binding law only
in countries that ratify it.
The Council of Europe is distinct from the bodies
around the European Union; it is larger with 47
Member States and also older. The Council of Europe
is considered the chief protector and promoter
of human rights in Europe. [C-FAM] 1445.2
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The
radical onslaught
'Its
called cultural relativism'
Dawn
Eden, the US author and chastity campaigner, relates
the story of her lecture tour in the Catholic
high schools in Ontario where the girls 'competed
to wear the shortest skirts' and students defiantly
told her that they 'loved sex.'
Eden
described Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School
in Strathroy, as her 'toughest crowd' from which
some students after the talk wrote threatening
and abusive messages on her weblog.
Eden
wrote of her shock at encountering the atmosphere
in the publicly funded Ontario Catholic school
system: 'One school where I spoke yesterday, likewise
Catholic and state-funded, had a display table
on testicular cancer just inside the front door.
Now, I realize it's important for young men to
learn about such things-but it was disconcerting
to walk into a Catholic school and be greeted
with a sign shouting, 'MY LEFT NUT.''
Sponsored
in part by the London Area Right to Life Association,
Eden, who normally addresses audiences of young
adults, was giving talks to high schools for the
first time. Eden is a former rock music industry
journalist and more recently, the author of 'The
Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfilment While
Keeping Your Clothes On'. She gives lectures around
the US and participates in panels and discussions
on helping young people recapture chastity as
a way of life.
She
expressed her sympathy for young people under
pressure to go along with the crowd. 'Seeing the
way the Ontario girls competed to wear the shortest
skirts reminded me of how the social pressure
to conform could be unbearable,' she wrote.
But
the real surprise came after the lecture at Holy
Cross when students left messages on Eden's website
so abusive that the Religious Life coordinator
for the London Ontario school board later apologized.
One
student wrote, 'You are a SLUT!! You're not a
virgin! Face reality. PS- Just because we wear
short skirts does not make us whores! Many of
us are still virgins and wear short skirts! ALSO,
a lot of us LOVE SEX!!!! So what?! You're just
making us want to have sex more. So just shutup
cuz no one cares about your life.'
Another
specifically cited the doctrine of cultural relativism
to justify her sexual activity. [Note: all grammatical,
punctuation and spelling errors were in the original.]
'I'm
a catholic and i absolutely love having sex...
does it mean im a bad person? No, i think that
chastity should be up to the person, I believe
in making my own decisions on my lifestyle, based
on what i feel is right its called cultural relativism.'
But
two notes from the student calling himself 'Jay'
were most alarming, both threatening violence.
'HCC [Holy Cross Catholic] has had GREAT assemblies,
you ruined that streak, even the teachers say
so, Sorry to be harsh, but you need a good smack
in the face.' And, 'And I know many girls from
HCC who where their skirts short, and i mean short,
and their all virgins, you dont know us, lay on
your death bed and think about it.'
Eden
noted the general absence of a Catholic religious
nature at some of the Ontario Catholic high schools
she visited. She learned that in the Catholic
schools, being state funded, as many as 25 per
cent of the student body are non-Catholics. She
was also told that of the Catholic students, 'only
a minority' attend Mass. 'As a vice principal
told me, they have a (well deserved) reputation
for wearing the shortest skirts.'
She
also said, however, that despite the well-documented
movement in Ontario's public Catholic schools
away from the traditional Catholic devotional
practices once normal in Catholic schools, some
of the students themselves 'had a strong devotional
sense that was deeply touching,' and that 'surprised'
even the school's staff. Eden's small supply of
wooden cross necklaces and prayer cards were snapped
up by the students.
She
wrote, 'The kids hear about sex all day from their
peers who are putting forth the idea that everybody's
doing it-a message that their schools' staff do
not always attempt to dispel.' She described as
'exhilarating' that the work of 'getting the students
to see that not everybody was in fact doing it'.
Eden
concludes, 'How short were the skirts? Don't get
me started.'
'I
can't say what it's like at Catholic schools in
the States, but the state-funded schools here
do not appear to police the uniforms...Honestly,
these girls were walking around (and sitting on
the floor) in hemlines that would make a Ziegfeld
girl blush.'
'It
amazed me that the boys in the audience could
pay any attention to me at all with the epidermis
buffet going on all around them.'
Ontario's
Catholic teachers are all forced to belong to
a union that has for many years strongly opposed
the Church's moral teachings. The union intervened
in a legal action on behalf of a student that
successfully forced his Catholic school to allow
him to bring his homosexual lover to the school
prom.
The
province's bishops have not taken strong actions
to bring the union in line. The main school religion
programs, approved by the bishops, have received
much criticism for their weak presentation of
Catholic teaching and excessive emphasis on 'social
justice' issues.
Despite
these negative factors, some Ontario Catholic
schools, thanks to faithful School Boards, teachers,
principles and parents, as well as some bishops
who have accepted there are serious problems in
the schools they must personally address, do manage
to give authentic Catholic moral and spiritual
formation to their students.
[LifeSiteNews]
1445.3
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International
news
Argentina
'Homosexuality has a cure'
The
eminent Spanish psychiatrist Enrique Rojas gave
a speech this week in Buenos Aires declaring that
homosexuality is 'a clinical process that has
an etiology, pathogeny, treatment, and cure'.
Speaking at the Buenos Aires International Book
Fair about his book 'Goodbye, Depression', Rojas
characterized homosexual orientation as a 'disorder'
rather than an illness, and stated his opinion
that 95% of cases are caused by environmental
factors, according to the Spanish news service
Terra. The disorder, according to Rojas, is the
result of an absent father, overweening mother,
or sexual abuse in childhood.
Rojas
blasted the homosexual movement for promoting
the development of homosexual tendencies in young
people, and particularly condemned the practice
of allowing homosexual couples to adopt children.
The child is deprived of a right to grow up 'in
a normal environment, heterosexual, which is the
standard' he said. 'Heterosexuality is what is
normal, the natural condition of human bengs.'
According to studies from the United States, Canada,
and New Zealand, there is a 70-80 percent chance
that a child adopted by homosexuals will develop
the same tendencies, Rojas said. Rojas is the
author of various books on psychology, including
'Who Are You?', 'The Light Man' and 'Remedies
for Coldness'. [LifeSiteNews] 1445.4
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Cardinal
Pell expresses concern over Bill of Rights
Archbishop
of Sydney Cardinal George Pell has responded to
a proposed bill of rights by arguing that such
rights are best protected by a democratically
elected parliament instead of courts of law, the
West Australian reports. The cardinal also expressed
concern that if such a proposal is enacted, it
could spark a 'culture war' in Australia similar
to the cultural, moral, and legal conflicts in
the United States. A recent Australia 2020 summit
included among its proposals a charter or bill
of rights. Cardinal Pell suggested the proposal
was motivated by distrust of majority rule. 'Rights
are best protected by the common law and by parliament
when the people are equally aware of their responsibilities,'
he told an audience at the Brisbane Institute
on Tuesday night.
'Democratic law-making is imperfect, but preferable
to rule by the courts.' Cardinal Pell noted that
a charter of human rights has been applied by
the Canadian Supreme Court, which he said has
progressively lowered standards of evidence. 'So,
it is not only in areas of life, family, freedom
of religion, discrimination and equality that
a bill or charter of rights causes trouble,' he
said. The cardinal asserted that when judges abuse
their powers to defend human rights, the majority
of people respond negatively. He noted the irony
that this type of reaction is exactly what the
legislation is supposed to avert.
'We don't have a culture war here in Australia
in the way the United States does, but a bill
or charter of rights could help provoke one,'
Cardinal Pell said, according to the West Australian.
He also noted the ineffectiveness of a similar
bill of rights in conflict-torn Zimbabwe.The government
of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has committed
to an inquiry on the bill of rights proposal,
but reportedly has ruled out any model that would
undermine the authority of parliament. Other opponents
of the proposed bill of rights have said it would
give too much power to the courts and increase
frivolous lawsuits. [CNA] 1445.5
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Cuba
New seminary
The Italian news agency SIR has reported that
more than 100 seminarians will be able to study
in the new seminary of the Archdiocese of Havana,
the first to be built in 50 years in Cuba. Construction
of the new seminary began in July of 2006 and
will be some 10 miles outside Havana, on 54 acres
of land. The old seminary will be transformed
into a cultural center dedicated to the Servant
of God Fr. Felix Varela. 'Under the name that
will identify the future institution will the
following phrase be inscribed, perhaps in parenthesis:
'Old Seminary of St. Charles and St. Ambrose','
said Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino. [CNA] 1445.6
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Holy
Land
Cardinal barred from Western Wall
An
ecumenical delegation of Irish Christian leaders
was barred from visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem
on May 1 because some of the clerics were wearing
pectoral crosses. Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh
was leading the ecumenical group, which was making
a 4-day visit to the Holy Land. When the group
made an unscheduled visit to the Western Wall,
a Jewish worshipper confronted them, objecting
to their crosses. A security guard agreed that
the group could not approach the wall-- the remaining
section of the old Temple-- unless they agreed
to remove their crosses. The clerics refused to
do so. Cardinal Brady later sought to downplay
the incident, suggesting that further negotiation
might have resolved the problem and allowed the
Christian leaders to pray at the site. But a tight
schedule made it difficult for the delegation
to continue talks with security officials at the
site. 'We were under constraints of time,' the
cardinal told the Irish RTE television network;
'and we decided to move on.' Cardinal Brady reported
that the delegation had received an apology from
a senior Israeli government official, social minister
Isaac Herzog, and said the group considered the
matter closed. The Israeli government had not
been informed in advance about the clerics' plan
to visit the Western Wall. [CWNews] 1445.7
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UK
Adoption agency pull-out
As
dioceses begin to pull out of adoption work without
a legal battle, barrister Neil Addision, national
director of the Thomas
More Legal Centre argues in this week's Catholic
Herald that the Church must take the adoption
fight to the courts'. He writes: 'For evil to
triumph all that is required is for good men to
do nothing' is a cliche, but it is nevertheless
true. With the great range of anti-discrimination
and 'hate crime' legislation which has been put
into force in a relatively short period of time,
we are engaged in a great social experiment: namely,
to discover to what extent can a free society
tell people what they cannot do or say and still
remain a free society.
Pope
Benedict touched on this paradox in his recent
encyclical Spe Salvi; he argued that, when
a state tries to create a perfect society and
abolish all evil, the state itself becomes the
only arbiter of morality - and that way lies totalitarianism.
Nobody. I think, denies that we live in a secular
society where the Church is one voice among many.
But what we as a society are still sorting out
is what model of secular society are we to follow:
that of America or that of Soviet Russia? . .
. The Church cannot withdraw from its social activities
without compromising its essential nature and
being seen as irrelevant. But that means that
the Church and its organisations must be willing
to fight to defend their right to provide services
in accordance with Catholic principles.
The
Church may not win, but if Catholic agencies are
to be closed down and children are to be deprived
of these services, let that be done, and be seen
to be done, by the Government - and not by the
Church. To surrender the Catholic adoption agencies
without legal challenge is unjustifiable and could
have grave implications for the future of Catholic
life in this country'. [Catholic Herald] 1445.8
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UK
Elderly abused in care homes
The
first ever audit of calls to England's social
care watchdog shows that more than 1,000 were
made in just six months by people who suspected
their relations or friends were being abused by
care workers. Social services chiefs estimate
that a further 60,000 "alert calls"
are made directly to local councils every year.
The
Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has
uncovered homes where residents were routinely
tied to their beds and chairs, locked up or dragged
around by their hair. Some were refused food to
punish "bad behaviour", denied trips
to the lavatory or stolen from by staff.
Article continues
The
figures show that 1,043 calls were made to the
CSCI in the six months ending in March, regarding
506 residential homes and agencies providing home
helps. No national statistics are kept on the
number of cases logged when relations contact
councils to raise concerns.
The
audit was disclosed by the CSCI as it prepared
to publish, on Wednesday, its first guide to all
4,000 residential homes in England for the elderly
and disabled, giving each a star rating so that
relations can compare factors such as the use
of sedatives, staff training, and social activities.
The
inspectorate has already said 248 homes do not
meet basic safety standards. Investigations have
revealed a woman of 85 who had her fingernails
ripped off by a care worker, a 78-year-old covered
in cigarette burns, and a number of thefts of
pensions by "home helps".
Charities
are calling for new laws to oblige councils that
are told about possible abuse to investigate,
as is the case in child protection. They say the
current voluntary system means social workers
and police fail to step in even when relations
identify risks.
Gary
Fitzgerald, chief executive of the charity Action
on Elder Abuse, said: "If you include abuse
carried out by relatives and friends, studies
suggest there could be 500,000 cases each year
across Britain." [Sunday Telegraph] 1445.9
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UK
'Humanzee'
A
leading scientist says the Human Fertilisation
and Embryology Bill the British parliament is
considering is so grisly that it would allow scientists
to mate humans and chimps. Dr. Calum MacKellar
says he's worried the bill, which promotes human
cloning, would allow interspecies mating. MacKellar,
director of research at the Scottish Council on
Human Bioethics, says he worries the bill would
open the door for the 'humanzee,' created by breeding
apes and humans. He told the Scotsman newspaper
that he thinks a new species could theoretically
be born if the bill allows the grisly science
to move forward.
'The Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill prohibits
the placement of animal sperm into a woman The
reverse is not prohibited. It's not even mentioned.
This should not be the case,' he explained. If
the process isn't banned, he worried scientists
are likely to try it. While mating humans and
other species wouldn't be successful, MacKellar
told the newspaper he thinks it would work with
apes since their DNA most closely resembles that
of human beings. 'If you put human sperm into
a frog it would probably create an embryo, but
it probably wouldn't go very far,' he said. 'But
if you do it with a non-human primate it's not
beyond the realms of possibility that it could
be born alive.' He said the result of the crazy
experiments could be a debate about whether the
'humanzee' had legal rights and whether the new
species should be exploited for its organs for
patients.
American
bioethicist Wesley Smith says 'Of course they
should outlaw putting human sperm into animal
eggs.' And he worries what would happen if that
wasn't prohibited in the UK as evidenced by MacKellar's
concern that 'mad scientists' exist within the
field. 'And therein lies the rub: If he is right--and
I have my doubts--but, if it is true, then it
means that a significant percentage of life scientists
accept no reasonable limits on their experimentation,
which will eventually require society to force
them to cease and desist,' he explained. 'And
then we will hear the squawking from the Science
Establishment about how the great unwashed are
restricting freedom of inquiry,' Smith concluded.
[LifeNews] 1445.10
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UK
Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill
A
leading pro-life group in England says it hopes
pro-life organizations and MPs will drop attempts
to include an amendment to limit abortions to
a bill that advances human cloning. The Society
for the Protection of Unborn Children says it
will be hard enough to defeat the cloning bill.
Some pro-life MPs and groups have been hoping
to attach an amendment to the Human Fertilisation
and Embryology (HFE) bill that would limit late-term
abortions. They are currently allowed on healthy
unborn children up to 24 weeks into pregnancy
even though babies can survive a premature birth
before that. Lawmakers are looking to drop the
abortion limit to 20 weeks.
But
John Smeaton, the director of SPUC, says no amendments
may come up and he pointed out that Lord David
Steel, the author of the 1967 abortion law, is
asking colleagues to reject any amendment to limit
abortions. He says some pro-life advocates have
misinterpreted Steel's supposed regret that there
are now too many abortions. He also rejected calls
from Professor Stuart Campbell, who produced the
'walking in the womb' 3-D ultrasound images, who
said today he supports the late-term abortion
limits but wants to expand abortions earlier in
pregnancy.
'It
really is time for the idea of trying to restrict
abortion via the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Bill to be dropped,' Smeaton said. 'Even if a
nominal adjustment to the current 24-week threshold
(which applies only to one clause in the Abortion
Act) were to be agreed by Parliament, this would
almost certainly be accompanied by a widening
of the grounds for abortion before, and possibly
after, that new threshold,' he explained. 'Introducing
amendments aimed at restricting abortion will
not only fail, but will simply increase the pressure
upon the government and those as yet uncommitted
parliamentarians to support an 'updating' of the
abortion law ... that will result in the law increasing
the number of abortions,' Smeaton said.
Smeaton
urged pro-life groups to rally together to urge
the public and MPs to oppose the HFE human cloning
bill. 'Those motivated by pro-life concerns already
have their work cut out for them opposing the
HFE Bill and defeating the [expected] pro-abortion
amendments,' he said. [LifeNews] 1445.11
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USA
Archbishop Wuerl responds to criticisms
Archbishop
Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, has responded
to criticisms about allowing pro-abortion politicians
to receive Communion. In a column that appears
in this week's edition of the archdiocesan newspaper,
'Catholic Standard', the archbishop argues
that any decision to bar prominent Catholics from
receiving the Eucharist should be made by the
bishop in their local dioceses. Archbishop Wuerl
indicated that he would not bar a politician from
receiving Communion unless the bishop of that
politician's diocese had taken that step. He explained
that he has 'always respected the role of the
local Church and the ministry of the individual
bishop as shepherd of the Church entrusted to
his care.'
The
archbishop was clearly responding to public protests
that arose from pro-life Catholics after House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Ted Kennedy,
John Kerry, and Chris Dodd received Communion
during a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.
None of those individuals is enrolled in the Washington
archdiocese. Pelosi is from California; Kennedy
and Kerry are from Massachusetts; Dodd is from
Connecticut. In his column the archbishop did
not indicate how he would respond to a pro-abortion
Catholic politician who resided in Washington.
The
column by Archbishop Wuerl appeared soon after
New York's Cardinal Edward Egan had released a
public statement criticizing former Mayor Rudy
Giuliani for receiving Communion at a papal Mass
in New York. Cardinal Egan said that Giuliani
should not have received Communion because of
his public support for legal abortion. In his
Catholic Standard column Archbishop Wuerl
cited the policy approved by the US bishops' conference
in 2004, leaving the question to the discretion
of individual bishops, to be decided on a diocese-by-diocese
basis. That approach drew some criticism during
the papal trip from Cardinal William Levada, the
prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, who indicated his uneasiness about
what he called 'territorial morality.'
The
archbishop's column put some demands on other
bishops to admonish politicians who flout Church
teachings. 'A decision regarding the refusal of
Holy Communion to an individual is one that should
be made only after clear efforts to persuade and
convince the person that their actions are wrong
and bear moral consequences,' Archbishop Wuerl
wrote in the Standard. 'Presumably this
is done in the home diocese where the bishops
and priests, the pastors of souls, engage the
members of their flock in this type of discussion.'
[CWNews] 1445.12
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USA
Funeral for aborted babies
Pro-life
groups are planning a funeral for the babies who
were victims of abortion at a Michigan abortion
center and then thrown in the dumpster. The incident
caused a national controversy when the Womancare
abortion business received only a slap on the
wrist for violating illegal dumping laws. Monica
Miller of the Citizens for a Pro-Life Society
found the patient records, medical waste and bodies
of unborn children in the dumpster. Albert Hodari,
who runs the abortion center, didn't receive a
fine from the state, but local officials continue
to investigate the matter. Miller's group told
LifeNews.com on Thursday that it plans a solemn
Requiem Mass with Bishop John Quinn, the Auxiliary
Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, on Saturday
morning. A private burial of the aborted babies
at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan
will follow the Mass. The burial has the support
of Fr. Frank Pavone, the national director of
Priests for Life, who is calling on all of the
nation's Catholic priests today to offer a Mass
within the next few days for the 'Hodari babies.'
[LifeNews] 14445.13
Top
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Event
HFE
Parliamentary protest
The
Lawyers Christian Fellowship write : The Second
Reading of the Human Fertilisationand Embryology
Bill in the House of Commons will take place on
Monday, 12th May. At Second Reading MPs vote on
the 'principle' of the whole Bill. This is usually
a formality and then the Bill goes through to
its Committee Stages, Report and Third Reading
where MPs can vote on specific amendments. With
faith and humility we must come together to pray
for a great miracle. The 12th May is the day after
Pentecost and exactly 2 years since the miraculous
defeat at Second Reading of the Joffe Bill which
would have legalised euthanasia in this country.
We would like Christians everywhere to come in
their hundreds and stand outside Parliament and
pray for this miracle; pray that MPs will vote
against the principle of the Bill.
If such a vote is won then the Bill will be defeated
right from the onset. PLEASE COME to our prayer
vigil outside Parliament, invite members of your
church, Christian groups, family and friends.
The Plan is to gather at 2 pm on 12th May in Old
Palace Yard, opposite St Stephen's Entrance to
the House of Lords, Westminster. It is vital that
MPs continue to be lobbied at this time. We must
continue our campaign, contacting our MPs to secure
their vote against the Bill at Second Reading
and beyond if necessary. A key point to make at
this time is that there appears to be insufficient
Parliamentary time to debate properly the huge
issues at stake. Make it clear that their vote
on this matter will affect how we will vote at
the next General Election. A miracle is needed
to stop this Bill. We believe in the God of miracles
- please pray that the Lord will intervene, delivering
us from this Bill and that righteous laws will
be upheld in our land. [LCF] 1445.14
Top
www.catholic-family.org
Book
reviews
Pope
Benedict XVI
In
the Footsteps of Joseph Ratzinger by Princess
Alessandra Borghese. ISBN 978-187-121-810
£7.95. Benedict XVI : Fellow Worker
for the Truth by Laurence Paul Hemming. Burns
& Oates, ISBN 0-86012-409-6. Both books :
Family Publications, Denis Riches House, 66 Sandford
Lane, Kennington, Oxford OX1 5RP. Telephone 0845
0500 879. Overseas +44 1865 558336. Email: sales@familypublications.co.uk
Website www.familypublications.co.uk]
Tim
Matthews writes : It was while staying in
Bavaria with her good friend Princess Gloria Thurn
und Taxis that Alessandra Borghese decided to
compile 'In the Footsteps'. With encouragement
from her friend, she planned that that they would
both make a tour of the places where Joseph Ratzinger
had grown up, where he matured as a priest and
a man, and which still remain dear to him and
his brother, Georg.
Originally
published in Italian under the title 'Sulle
tracce di Joseph Ratzinger', the book has
been translated by Sebastian Cresswell-Turner
in a curiously direct style that has the happy
effect of making you feel that you are hearing
the author speaking directly in her natural, slightly
broken Italian accent. No great literary masterpiece,
it does nevertheless have the pleasing air of
a series of spontaneous postcards sent home from
a couple of enthusiastic travelling teenagers;
the reports embroidered with some telling little
vignettes that transform it into something more
than a straightforward travel book. There are
47 coloured illustrations, some almost like amateur
family snaps.
Princess
Gloria has known the Ratzingers for some years.
'When Gloria and I were deciding on the best place
to start our journey, we opted for what might
at first might seem a rather strange choice: namely
to keep for later the places where Ratzinger spent
his childhood and adolescence - the region bordered
by the rivers Inn and Salzach - and to start instead
from Munich' - Bavaria's capital'.
Setting
off, the couple visit numerous Marian shrines,
Baroque churches, towns and old monasteries in
this profoundly Catholic region: Bavaria, the
author points out, is often referred to as Germany's
Catholic enclave, with more than half of its inhabitants
practising Catholics. For some 700 years the unity
of the Bavarian people was maintained by the Wittelsbach
family (the present head of this ancient house,
incidentally, is Duke Franz of Bavaria - a direct
descendant of King James I and so, some claim,
really our legitimate monarch).
In
Munich, they pay a visit to the city's oldest
church, St Peter, where above the altar stands
a large statue of the Apostle wearing a tiara.
'Tradition dictates that it is taken off whenever
a Pope dies, only to be put back - this rite being
marked with a solemn procession - when a new one
is elected'. Joseph Ratzinger studied for the
priesthood in Munich, was a lecturer at the university,
eventually returning as archbishop. The author
reminds us how he recalled his ordination here
in Munich cathedral.
'It
was a glorious sunny day which I will always remember
is the most important in my life. One must not
be superstitious, but just when the old Archbishop
laid his hands on my head, a bird - perhaps a
lark - rose up from the high altar of the cathedral
and sang a joyful song. I felt as though a voice
from on high was saying that this was right, that
I was on the right path'.
From
Munich onwards to two monasteries : to Maria Eck,
built by Benedictine monks in 1626, and to the
Abbey of Scheyern, which Ratzinger visited immediately
after he was made Archbishop of Munich and to
which he has since returned 23 times. In the visitors'
book, Alessandra notes, he wrote: 'Thank you for
the peace that comes from listening to the word
of the Lord in this community dedicated to serving
God'.
Close
to the heart of the Pope is the Marian shrine
of Altötting, for over 1,250 years the spiritual
capital of Bavaria. 'From childhood onwards, the
young Joseph used to come here with his parents;
and in the years to come, numerous public and
private occasions brought him back here to kneel
at the feet of the Madonna in the Chapel of Mercy'.
The last time had been with his brother Georg,
only a few months before he became Pope Benedict
XVI'.
From
Altötting, the Princesses set off to visit
the scenes of Ratzinger's childhood and early
youth. In his birthplace, Marktl am Inn, they
meet the town mayor, Hubert Gschwendtner, who
had the excellent idea of twinning Marktl Inn
with Wadowice, the home town of Pope John Paul
II. With the help of the manager of a local bank,
the mayor now hopes to found a Marktl am Inn spiritual
centre for studying the life and teachings of
Joseph Ratzinger.
From
Marktl to Joseph Ratzinger's 'town that I dreamed
of as a child' - Tittmoning -- where, 'we sat
down in a café in front of which there
was a large statue of the Virgin Mary. Nearby,
at number 39 on the main square, our attention
was drawn to the residence where the Ratzinger
family lived from 1929 to 1933 and which today
houses the Sparkasse bank'.
In
Traunstein they visit the church which the Ratzinger
brothers offered their first Mass. In the town
the brothers both studied at the seminary of Saint
Michael, and then from Traunstein to the Monastery
of Au 'where the young Joseph took harmonica lessons'.
The couple enter the 17th century church. 'In
the picture of the Assumption above the altar,
the Virgin Mary wears an expression of joy that
is almost contagious'.
At
Aschau am Inn, they find that the house in which
the Ratzinger family lived from 1932-1937 no longer
exists : the site now marked by a simple stone
plaque bearing the papal coat-of-arms and now
a place of pilgrimage.
It
was at Aschau that Joseph Ratzinger made his first
Communion on a beautiful Sunday morning in March
1936. 'The sun was shining, and music was playing.
There were about 30 boys and girls from my town.
The essential thing about this memory is that
I realised that Jesus had come into my heart.
This was the gift of love, and one that was full
of joy. I understood that a new stage was beginning
in my life, and that it was important to remain
faithful to this meeting, to this communion. And
so I carried on with my life, thanks to God'.
In
Regensburg (Ratisbon), the couple have luncheon
with the Pope's brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger
(an old friend of Princess Gloria), who explained
how, for the last 40 years, the town has been
their family home. Msgr. Ratzinger is Kapelmeister
of the cathedral and director of its famous youth
choir. It was to Regensburg that Joseph Ratzinger
hoped that one day he might be able to retire.
The last time he was here was in January 2005,
just a few months before he was elected Pope.
In the sitting-room of Georg's house is a small
calendar, the pages of which you tear off day
by day: the date of Friday, January 7, is frozen.
Honey, made by bees in the garden, where Benedict's
friend Chico the cat still prowls, is sent regularly
to the Papal Kitchens in Rome.
Life
and thought
At
a more intellectual level, Laurence Paul Hemming
has compiled a helpful introduction to the Pontiff's
life and thought in Benedict XVI : Fellow Worker
for the Truth.
Benedict,
says Hemming (until recently Dean of Research
at Heythrop College, University of London) is
a man steeped in the history, tradition and intellectual
life of the Church whose published works include
an 'astonishing' commentary on the Creed, and
a lengthy commentary on the Second Vatican Council.
As a sign of the depth of his thought, Benedict
has a capacity for sympathy even for those with
whom he disagrees - and a willingness to enter
into dialogue and unafraid of facing challenging
questions. 'Benedict's theology', says Hemming,
'is anything but derivative, and is in fact a
theology whose age is yet to come and may only
now be dawning'.
Where
Benedict has questioned contemporary theology
it has been in its tendency to systematize, even
destroy piety through its pursuit of intellectual
purity. He has always been concerned about the
way in which the Church addresses the wider world,
and it was through reading Fr Henri de Lubac's
'Catholicism' that he detected 'a quiet debate
with both liberalism and Marxism', that his thoughts
developed.
It
was under de Lubac's influence that he pursued
his studies which led to a doctoral thesis on
Saint Bonaventure -- a thesis which led him into
some trouble. He admitted that in it he had put
forward some arguments 'with a forthrightness
not advisable in a beginner'. He was given the
opportunity to re-write the thesis; an acceptable
version rose from the ruins, but he took the experience
to heart and ever since has been able to sympathise
with those in similar circumstances.
In
1966 Benedict was appointed to a chair of Dogmatic
Theology at the University of Tübingen where
he found a strong Marxist influence at work ,
'eliminating God and replacing him with the political
life of man'. In the activities of the students,
he saw 'the frightful face of this atheistic piety…
its psychological terror,
