170th anniversary of first Catholic Mission to Aborigines

The 170th anniversary of the first Catholic Mission to the Aborigines in Australia was celebrated by Star of the Sea Catholic Parish at St Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, Dunwich, on North Stradbroke Island this past Sunday, reports the The Redland Times.

The mission was located at Dunwich when four priests of the Congregation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ (Passionists) three from Italy and one from Switzerland arrived on North Stradbroke Island in May, 1843.

The anniversary was marked by a Commemorative Mass, at 9am and celebrated by Archbishop Mark Coleridge. It included eight baptisms, symbolic of the first baptisms performed by the Passionists.

There was also an acknowledgement to National Sorry Day, to remember the people from the Stolen Generation.

Following the Mass, the launch of a photographic exhibition, "Growing up Catholic", was held at North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum.

Curated by Michael Aird, the exhibition, a project funded by Brisbane's Murri Ministry, documents the Catholic history of North Stradbroke Island.

Following the launch, there was a presentation by Dr Stefano Girola from the School of Theology, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane.

Catholic hierarchy still on a learning curve in dealing with abortion

The Roman Catholic hierarchy has formally stated its position on abortion by declaring definitively that the direct and intentional killing of the unborn is immoral. Yet, my dog-eared old Maynooth textbook tells me otherwise. 

Abortion is there defined as the expulsion of a living but non-viable foetus from the womb. 

The expulsion is then further defined as direct abortion, if the means used are such as to kill the foetus by the very nature of the act; as in craniotomy, for example.

But it is indirect abortion, if the means used have as their immediate and direct effect the prior purpose of protecting the life of the mother; even if it is clearly foreseen that the act will result in the expulsion of a not yet viable foetus.

Hence the first legal rule: “Indirect abortion is permissible for sufficiently grave reasons.” 

Next, taking the example of the induction of premature labour as a case of indirect abortion, my trusty old textbook informs me: “if the means used (eg induction of premature labour) have as their immediate and direct effect the health of the mother, although it is foreseen that this means the expulsion of the foetus”, then, the second, more precise legal formulation reads: “The induction of premature labour and indirect abortion are permissible for sufficiently grave reasons.” 

This legal ruling might have been written specifically for the tragic Halappanavar case. Especially since no hard and fast distinction between threats to the health and threats to the life of the mother is entertained.
Death’s door 

Instead, the emphasis is on threats to the health of the mother that may be so gravely serious, that they may be foreseen to threaten her very life. 

And the obvious difference this makes to justifying a medical intervention is this: that the termination does not have to wait until the woman is at death’s very door, when it may be too late; as in the case of the gravest and imminent threat of sepsis, for example, that could be prevented or treated earlier. 

It is not just the right, it is the inalienable duty of our Government to legislate, and most crucially in matters most critical for life, and death. 

No other authority – and certainly not one that, although it has performed quite credibly in its textbook legislation for abortion, but has performed so poorly on the ethics of contraception, and on the moral and legal rules for dealing with an abusive clergy – can avoid the impression that it is still on a learning curve in applying its own legislation on abortion; as it pleaded already when it finally took responsibility for clerical abuse.

Suicidal ideation does of course pose a particular set of problems for abortion legislation. It is a deadly force that brutally invades the centre of consciousness and conscience, and by its name and nature it directly threatens the lives of those it infects with the dark desire for self-destruction. 

So that the invitation to those who want to end a pregnancy to approach relevant medical experts for a full diagnosis of their case should open up the more promising possibility for the suicidal to consider other ways forward, made easier by the assurance that if the unfortunate woman cannot tame her suicidal ideation so as to contemplate any other way forward, the abortion may proceed; thereby offering a possibility of which most of those who suffer from suicidal ideation never avail.
Cause of relief 

Since the causes of suicidal ideation are so inscrutable for those already dead, and pose a further burden of grief for loved ones, it should be a cause of relief that someone may come forward and tell confidentially what the actual cause of their suicidal ideation is. 

It is, of course, impossible to rule out the prospect of some women abusing the claim to be suicidal in order to be allowed to abort for other reasons. 

But as the relevant principle in jurisdiction has it: the abuse of a law by some does not take away the right of others to use that law; and we would have to have a very poor view of women to paint a picture of exponentially increasing numbers of them wanting abortions on lifestyle whims.

Watchdog receives 242 allegations against Church

The watchdog charged with safeguarding children in the Catholic Church received 242 new allegations last year, including one of alleged abuse.

Launching its annual report, the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland said two of the allegations dated since 2000, but the vast majority dated from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The number of new allegations last year was a slight increase on the number for 2011, and comes as the watchdog continues its review of Irish dioceses.

Reviews of 10 dioceses and three religious orders have already indicated 723 allegations involving some 320 priests, leading to 26 prosecutions.

Currently 21 dioceses have been reviewed with more to come. The reviews should be completed by year end, with progress expected on reviews of the remaining congregations and missionary unions by the end of next year.

According to the report, “During 2012–13, an increasing number of survivors reported their abuse directly to the National Office”, but the body’s CEO, Ian Elliott, said it was not yet at the stage where children were themselves contacting the board.

All the notifications of alleged abuse — some of which date back to the 1940s — were passed to the gardaí/PSNI and where appropriate to the Health and Social Care Northern Ireland/HSE, although in some cases the board was contacted after the statutory authorities.

Mr Elliott said the more recent allegations, including the one from last year, highlighted the need for continuing vigilance. “It is not just a case of mopping up past abuse,” he said.

In the previous annual report, the board said Church authorities faced a challenge when neither the criminal nor social services agencies follow through on investigating the allegation that has been passed to them.

In the latest report, the board said: “This continues to present a significant challenge.”

The report also shows there were 113 requests for advice last year. Some 52 came from the dioceses and 61 requests were made by 35 religious congregations or missionary societies.

Mr Elliott said the National Case Management Reference Group (NCMRG) — an initiative originally intended to provide advice and support to a limited group of dioceses and religious — was now expanding, with 15 of the 26 dioceses involved.

According to the report: “Between Jan 2012 and the end of Mar 2013, the NCMRG reviewed 67 cases belonging to 12 dioceses and 20 orders/missionary societies.”

“We have identified and accepted the task of undertaking another eight safeguarding reviews in the next tranche. When these are completed, we will have finished 22 of the 26 dioceses, along with seven of the major religious orders,” Mr Elliott said.

He said the Catholic Church was “vast and disparate” but said he had “no reason to believe” the work of the safeguarding team would be blocked by anybody in future.

Since May 1, Church authorities have adopted new guidelines originally drafted by the board on the way in which allegations are responded to, relating to the issue of the accused continuing in ministry.

Did the pope perform an exorcism?

Religious observers are asking: "Is Pope Francis an exorcist?" after an incident in St Peter's Square.

The pope laid his hands on the head of a young man after celebrating Mass. 

The man heaved deeply a half-dozen times, convulsed and shook, and then slumped in his wheelchair as Francis prayed over him.

The television station of the Italian bishops' conference said it had surveyed exorcists, who agreed that Francis either performed an exorcism or a prayer to free the man from the devil.

The Vatican was more cautious, saying Francis "didn't intend to perform any exorcism. 

But as he often does for the sick or suffering, he simply intended to pray for someone."

Fuelling the speculation is Francis' obsession with the devil, a frequent subject of his homilies. 

There has also been an apparent surge in demand for exorcisms among the faithful despite the irreverent treatment the rite often receives from Hollywood.

In his very first homily as pope on March 14, Francis warned cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel the day after he was elected that "he who doesn't pray to the Lord prays to the devil."

He has since mentioned the devil on a handful of occasions, most recently in a May 4 homily when in his morning Mass in the Vatican hotel chapel he spoke of the need for dialogue - except with Satan. "With the prince of this world you can't have dialogue: let this be clear!" he warned.

Experts said Francis' frequent invocation of the devil is a reflection both of his Jesuit spirituality, his Latin American roots - and a reflection of a Catholic Church weakened by secularization.

"The devil's influence and presence in the world seems to fluctuate in quantity inversely proportionate to the presence of Christian faith," said the Rev. Robert Gahl, a theologian at Rome's Pontifical Holy Cross University. "So, one would expect an upswing in his malicious activity in the wake of de-Christianisation and secularisation" in the world and a surge in things like drug use, pornography and superstition.

Francis laments not being able to listen to confessions outside the Vatican

As a bishop and then cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a relentless confessor and the homilies and speeches he has give over these first few months testify to this. 

For Francis, engaging in dialogue with faithful during confession is key. 

But now he is Pope he is no longer able to “leave” the Vatican and listen to confessions in parishes as he used to do back in Buenos Aires.

Francis hinted at this in the off-the-cuff speech he gave during the Pentecost Vigil mass in St. Peter’s Square, on Saturday 18 May. 

The Pope addressed a crowd of over 200.000 people, from over 150 ecclesial movements, associations and new communities. 

“We need to become courageous Christians – he said – and go out and search for those who are the body of Christ, those who are the body of Christ!” “When I go to listen to confession – I can’t yet because to go out and listen to confession, well … I can’t leave this place, but that’s another issue – when I used to go and confess people in my previous diocese…,” the Pope said.

When he said the words “I can’t leave this place”, the Pope seemed to turn round to his collaborators. He went on to say that he always asked penitents: “Do you give money to beggars?” “Yes Father!” “Good, good.”  

Then he would ask them a couple more questions: “Tell me, when you give money, do you look the person you are giving it to in the eye?” “Oh, I don’t know, I never stopped to think about it.” 

“And when you give money to a beggar do you touch their hand or do you just toss the money at them?” This is the problem, the Pope said. “Christ’s body, touching Christ’s body, taking the poor person’s burden on to our own shoulders.”

Francis spoke about another experience he had as confessor in the homily he gave during the mass he celebrated in the Vatican parish of Sant’Anna on the first Sunday after his election to the papacy (17 March). He described the conversation he had with a man he was confessing. 

When the man heard Bergoglio talk about the mercy of God, he said to him: “Oh father, if you knew what my life was like you wouldn’t speak to me like that! I have really messed things up in the past!” 

And Bergoglio replied: “All the better! Go to Jesus: he’ll be happy to hear about these things! he forgives and forgets; he has a special gift for doing so. He forgets he gives you a kiss and a hug and simply tells you: “I do not condemn you, go and from now steer clear of sin.” 

That’s the only piece of advice he will give you. A month later we find ourselves in the same situation…We turn to the Lord again. The Lord never tires of forgiving, never! We are the ones who tire of asking forgiveness.”

It was not long after pronouncing these words that Francis appeared at the window of the papal study in the apostolic palace to pray the Angelus for the first time. There, he spoke of mercy once again, speaking about another experience he had as a confessor. 

“I remember when I had only just become a bishop in the year 1992, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima had just arrived in Buenos Aires and a big Mass was celebrated for the sick. I went to hear confessions at that Mass. And almost at the end of the Mass I stood up, because I had to go and administer a First Confirmation. And an elderly woman approached me, humble, very humble, and over eighty years old. I looked at her, and I said, “Grandmother” — because in our country that is how we address the elderly — do you want to make your confession?”. 

“Yes”, she said to me. “But if you have not sinned…”. And she said to me: “We all have sins...”. “But perhaps the Lord does not forgive them”. “The Lord forgives all things”, she said to me with conviction. “But how do you know, Madam?”. “If the Lord did not forgive everything, the world would not exist”. I felt an urge to ask her: “Tell me, Madam, did you study at the Gregorian [University]?”, because that is the wisdom which the Holy Spirit gives: inner wisdom focused on God's mercy. Let us not forget this word: God never ever tires of forgiving us!”

In an interview with journalists Francesca Ambrogetti and Sergio Rubin (“El Jesuita”) – published in book format – Bergoglio said he reminded fathers often during confessions to find time to play with their children.

During the homily for his morning mass in St. Martha’s House in the Vatican, last 17 May, the Pope mentioned another experience he had in the confessional. 

Although on this occasion there was no direct reference to his own experience as confessor, the possibility he may have been talking about something that happened to him cannot be excluded: “One day I heard about a priest, a good parish priest who worked well; he was nominated bishop but he felt ashamed because he didn’t feel worthy; he felt spiritually tormented. So he went for confession. The confessor listened to him and said: “Don’t be afraid. Look at the big stew Peter made of things and yet he was still made Pope; go for it!” That’s what the Lord is like. That’s what the Lord is like. The Lord makes us grow up by arranging many encounters with Him, despite our weaknesses, when we recognise them, despite our sins…”

This examples illustrate how important the meetings and conversations Francis - who was once a parish priest and spiritual leader - had with penitents during confession, were to him.

This is a trait he has in common with John Paul I, who would spend time listening to confessions even when he was a bishop. 

Sister Antonia Luciani Petri claims the openness Bergoglio showed to contraception before Paul VI’s “Humanae Vitae” was published, was down to his dialogue with faithful.

Does the Venice Biennale need a Vatican pavilion? (Comment)

The Vatican is to show religious art this year at its Venice Biennale debut – a surprise entrant that may ruffle a few feathers.  

Italy is a Catholic country, but should the Biennale reflect Italian belief? 

Isn't it a worldwide art event where all ideas, traditions and cultures are equal? 

Surely there is no more reason for the Vatican to show art at the Biennale than for the Church of England to run the British Pavilion.

If visitors to the Biennale want a religious moment, they do not need to see whatever contemporary take on Catholic art the Vatican plans to unveil, for this city is full of Christian masterpieces that offer a contemplative sacred retreat from the hubbub of the art festival.

They can visit the church of San Zaccaria, between the Biennale gardens and Piazza San Marco, to see Giovanni Bellini's ethereally calm and stilled 1505 masterpiece that shows the Virgin and saints beneath a golden mosaic dome. 

Or go to the church of Santa Maria della Salute, whose interior is the grandest and most dwarfing enclosed space in Venice, a sombre manifestation of divine mystery built to mark a devastating 17th-century plague.

In the Accademia gallery hangs Titian's Pieta, his introspective last work praying for his own and his son's survival in another plague outbreak, while the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni and Scuola di San Rocco are among the city's distinctive religious institutions whose walls and ceilings groan with great art.

The Biennale is about superyachts. 

It is about art that will be forgotten in time for the next Biennale, when everything will be new, new, new all over again. 

It is fun, but not profound. 

I saw plenty I liked last time but none of it has stayed in my heart, where Titian's Frari altarpiece, arguably the greatest artwork in Venice, has a permanent place.

The Vatican should stick to what Catholic Italy does best – quiet churches, free to enter, where glories of Renaissance and baroque art surprise the unsuspecting visitor with feelings of awe and intimations of something beyond this frenetic life, with its Biennales that come and go.

Vatican official: current Code of Canon Law drafted during ‘naïve’ time

The Vatican official who is helping oversee the revision of the chapter of the Code of Canon Law that deals with canonical penalties said in an interview that the current code was drafted during “a period that was a bit naïve.” 

The 1983 Code of Canon Law was drafted during the 1970s, a time when canonists believed “we are all good” and that “penalties should be applied rarely,” said Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, a Spaniard and priest of Opus Dei who serves as secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. 

Because “penal law was not working” in addressing sexual abuse cases, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was obliged to act administratively, Bishop Arrieta added. 

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, out of concern for the “integrity and consistent application of discipline in the Church,” gave the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts the mandate to revise the chapter, Bishop Arrieta said in 2010. 

Episcopal conferences have reviewed a first draft of proposed changes.

Feel the Spirit

The number of Catholics drawn to Charismatic Renewal is being given a huge boost by thousands of migrants. 

They are now taking their worship into parishes.

Around 3,000 Catholics are meeting every month for catechesis and prayer at a vast Pentecostal ­convention centre at West Bromwich, near Birmingham. 

The gatherings were started by migrants from southern India, and initially the services were in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala. But in the last two months they have been conducted in English, as interest has spread among English-speaking Catholics.

The meetings are a visible sign of how very devout Catholics are bringing new life and energy to parishes in the UK. Many of the newcomers feel a deep sense of calling to help restore the Christian faith in their adopted land. 

Until now, their influence has often remained beneath the radar as their activities have been within their own culture and language group, but things are changing as these groups grow in confidence.

Their charism flows directly from the worldwide ecclesial movement known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR), which appeared in the Church following Vatican II in the late 1960s. 

Statistician David Barrett has estimated that more than 100 million Roman Catholics worldwide had been baptised by the year 2000, and there have been many more since. Like the first disciples at Pentecost, charismatics use biblical charisms – such as tongues, prophecy and healing – as part of their normal Christian life. 

In England, the CCR has always been small, but in places like India and Latin America the concept has been accepted and encouraged by the clergy and episcopacy, and so has flourished.

In Kerala, one of the key vehicles of Charismatic Renewal has been the many charismatic retreat centres that have sprung up in the last couple of decades. These are nothing like the gentrified affairs that take place in England, but retreats for the masses with miracles and radical conversions. 

At the Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor, on the banks of the Chalakudy River, people simply show for the week without booking. Beds are in dormitories. On one occasion, 45,000 ­people arrived and as there were only enough beds for half that number, the visitors arranged a “hot bed” system, with men sleeping during the day and women sleeping at night. There was preaching and meals were served 24 hours a day, so everyone could follow the retreat.

Not surprisingly, after 25 years, this activity has led to a surge in vocations. There are prayer groups in seminaries; and charismatic initiation courses, like the “Life in the Spirit” seminars, are part of the formation programme at such seminaries as St Thomas’ in the Diocese of Palakkad, where the local bishop, Jacob Manathodath, takes his priests on charismatic retreats for spiritual refreshment.

One of the most established and best organised of the Indian charismatic groups now in the UK is Jesus Youth. This is a Catholic youth missionary movement that originated in Kerala 25 years ago, but which has now spread all over the world, mainly through economic migration. Many of those who have come to the UK are well-educated IT specialists and hospital workers who have made their faith a priority in their lives. Their strategy has been to gather existing members of Jesus Youth together, then reach out to Indian Catholics – and on to the second generation born in the UK – before finally approaching the indigenous population.

The group is now at the cusp of this difficult final stage, as it has to deal with not just the Gospel but cultural issues and the secular British mindset. During Easter week, several people from the leadership team and their families attended Celebrate, the Catholic Charismatic family week that takes place in Ilfracombe, Devon, to experience English culture and the late-night fringe in the bar, as well as talks and workshops.

Through perseverance and prayer, Jesus Youth UK is making friends, and last October it was given a disused presbytery in Sheffield by the cathedral dean, Fr Chris Posluszny, to serve as its official HQ. The inner city parish of St Charles Borromeo was at risk of closure because of falling numbers but Jesus Youth has started 24-hour adoration sessions from Friday 9 p.m. to Saturday 9 p.m. supported by members of Jesus Youth from all over the country, who come on a rota basis, often remaining to attend Sunday Mass.

Abhy Thomas, one of the Jesus Youth leaders, whose wife is a parish youth worker in Buckinghamshire, explained: “The parish are loving it. They see so many youngsters here, leading the choir and attending Mass. We have whole families come from Bristol and Brighton, often with three or four children. The parishioners are amazed that people will come and sit for 24 hours’ adoration to pray for them and the area. Everyone has got hope now.” 

Another successful venture Jesus Youth has been running in the UK for three years is “Awakening”, a 24/7 time of intercession for 100 days between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost. The venture was originally based in a single parish, but now encompasses 35 parishes, each taking a time slot on a rota system to pray for the movement and revival in the UK generally.

Another group with roots in Kerala is the network associated with the Sehion Retreat Centre at Attappady. This is headed up by Fr Soji Olikkal, a young priest from the Diocese of Palakkad, who was appointed chaplain to the Syro Malabar Catholics in the UK in 2010. For him, coming to England was a major culture shock. As he explained: “I found that the spirit of atheism was very strong in the schools and I was concerned about the effect that this was having on the children of our families, so I prayed to the Lord, saying ‘What is your plan for these children?’”

As a result, Fr Soji began what have become known as the Second Saturday Conventions. These began in his parish, Blessed Robert Grissold in Coventry, with about 60 people and a few children. “We didn’t just babysit the children,” he recalled. “We really preached the Word of God to them in ways that were appropriate to their age, with action songs, skits and memorisation of Bible verses.” 

The word got out among the Kerala community and numbers grew so much, with coaches coming from across the country, that they now regularly fill the 3,000 places at the Bethel Convention Centre in West Bromwich. Fr Soji and his team have also run five-day residential evangelisation schools for 10- to 16-year-olds in Warrington, Southampton, Brighton, Bristol and Northampton, each attended by 60 teenagers, all keen to become full-time evangelists.

Fr Soji credits the huge expansion of the ministry to the signs and wonders and healings that happen at the gatherings. “The Lord did some miracles among the children – healing them of things like eczema,” he said. “That’s why the children brought their friends.” Charismatic groups in other parts of Britain have also become involved. Damian Stayne, founder of the Cor et Lumen Christi community, in Chertsey, Surrey, was recently invited to lead a miracle service and will return in June to run his charism school, during which he teaches participants to use the biblical charisms of healing and prophecy.

Among the growing number of those from a non-Indian background attending the Second Saturdays are Deacon David Palmer and his wife June, from the same deanery as Fr Soji. “My wife and I were blown away by what we saw at Second Saturdays,” said Palmer. 

“Some of the teenagers’ testimonies about their efforts at evangelising fellow school pupils and the testimonies of healing were amazing. Their exuberance and willingness to evangelise is just what we need in the Church in the UK today.”

Pope Francis sends letter to young prisoners in California

Letter to editor from Archbishop Martin

Dear Sir,

I write as a citizen of Ireland who happens also to be the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.  

Independent of the role of politicians and of judges, the Constitution of Ireland belongs in the primary place to all the citizens of Ireland, whose right to express their views should not just be respected but encouraged.

My concern in this letter is limited to one aspect of the Heads of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013, namely the protection of perfectly healthy unborn children at a stage of their development where there is the clear presumption that they are viable outside the womb.  

There seems to be an inference that in cases where the pregnant woman’s life might be in danger that such a child would loose its constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

My anxiety is that it would to be permissible under Head 4 for medical specialists to certify that the “medical procedure” necessary to avert the risk to the mother’s life consists of the “termination of her pregnancy” in such a manner that will bring an end to the life of the unborn before delivery at a stage when, if a different method of terminating the pregnancy were used, the child would be delivered alive.

It would seem to me that in such a case the only medical treatment which would be in line with the constitutional protection of the life of the such an unborn child would be one in which the child be safely delivered and that reliance on a destructive abortion in such a situation would be in patent contrast with the evident meaning of the words of article 40.3.3 of the Constitution.

There is a growing impression that the judgment of the X-case “is the constitution”.  

I believe that it is an interpretation given in a specific case which does not supersede or relativise the clear constitutional right to equal protection for unborn life in the circumstances which I have outlined.  

Indeed under Head 4 it would give the life of such an unborn child less protection than is guaranteed in liberal abortion laws in other countries.

+Diarmuid Martin

The church has lost control of marriage (Opinion)

Our county courthouse is across the street from our parish church. 

Weddings are performed on both sides of the street.

We both use the "vocabulary" of marriage, but the words don't have precisely the same meaning.

Let's face it -- the church has lost control of the cultural conversation on marriage. Just about any parish priest can tell you that. Even devout Catholics often ignore the church's teaching and views on marriage.

They live together before they are married. 

They have babies outside of wedlock. 

They get married outside the church, often in entirely secular settings. 

They don't stay married very long. 

They divorce with the same frequency as the general population. 

They remarry without benefit of annulments from the church. 

They often don't consult with us on whether they can go to Communion. 

And lately, in a dozen states and 14 countries, some very Catholic, they are marrying people of the same sex and bringing their babies to church for baptism.

The church was the dominant voice on marriage for a long time. For about 1,000 years, it defined marriage in Western Europe. 

From the time of Gregory the Great (pope from 590 to 604) until the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the law of the Catholic church was basically the law of Western Europe on marriage and family life. Admittedly, the enforcement was spotty. 

Different social classes and different cultures obeyed in different ways. 

But if you wanted to get married, you had to come to church. If you wanted an annulment (no divorce) you had to ask the church.

It took us a few hundred years to develop a jurisprudence of marriage. 

The church combined Germanic tribal law and Roman civil law into the ecclesiastical law of marriage, still reflected in our modern canon law. 

From the Romans, we got the idea that marriages had to be ratified by a ceremony (ratum). 

From the Germans, we got the idea that marriages had to be consummated by sex (consumatum).

The church dominance of the marriage conversation began to ebb with the Protestant Reformation. Witness the six wives of Henry VIII.

With more religious voices, there was less religious consensus, but when the church extended its reach to the New World and Asia and Africa, we still could dominate the conversation for Catholics.

But that ebbed more and more with the Industrial Revolution. Women began working outside the home. They had their own money. Many did not marry at all.

Since World War II, we have increasingly had less to say about marriage. No-fault divorce in the U.S. made it easy to end marriage. New sexual ethics and contraception detached sex from marriage. Financial independence of women reduced the need women had for marriage. And a globalized world means there are more and more interreligious and cross-cultural marriages.

One other thing in the American context -- the poor don't get married. The middle class and the rich are postponing marriage until they are older. And babies are born outside of marriage.

In 2012, the University of Virginia's National Marriage Project released a report called "The State of Our Unions: Marriage in America."

It said people are waiting to get married. First marriages now take place on average at age 27 for women and 29 for men, the oldest ever in the United States. They also report that by age 30, two-thirds of American women have had a baby, most out of wedlock. 

Overall, 48 percent of first births today are to unmarried women. They also report that college-educated people get married before they have children and tend to stay married, while less-educated people tend not to get married.

Marriage is a good thing for children and for their parents. It contributes to human happiness. The National Marriage Project's report says men and women who are married are much more likely to be "highly satisfied" with their lives than unmarried men and women.

And now there is gay marriage. One thing the gay marriage debate has made clear -- the church no longer controls the conversation on marriage. Look at Rhode Island, the most Catholic state in the U.S., where the bill passed its House 56 to 15.  

Catholic legal scholar Jesuit Fr. John Courtney Murray said back in the 1940s, "The church has a right and duty to speak, but we do not have the right to expect that our viewpoint will always be reflected in the civil law."

We can have a respectful dialogue without one party or the other dominating the conversation. I hope the church both listens and speaks.

Increasingly, people are making their own arrangements on marriage. That's what Fr. Raymond O'Brien calls "private ordering" in an article in the Arkansas Law Review. Private ordering means people do what they want, how they want. They don't expect the Catholic church or the law to have much to say about it.

I see "private ordering" every year, when people request weddings in farm fields, on piers or on boats, at the top of mountains or poolside at hotels.

They think of the wedding as purely personal and secular. Often, couples fly off to Las Vegas or some other destination for a wedding and later come to us for a blessing (validation). 

Personally, I prefer validations. They are sacramental, spiritual.

Our parish does only about 12 to 15 weddings each year, the same number we did 20 years ago when we had half as many parishioners. Even the children of the most devout parishioners are not getting married or getting married outside of the church.

Maybe all these competing voices on marriage will clarify at least one thing: When you come to the Catholic church for marriage, you are not just looking for a legal union or a bundle of rights; you are looking for a sacrament.

They don't offer sacraments across the street at the courthouse.

Rome university launches course on liturgical music

A pontifical university in Rome has launched a master's program in Gregorian chant and the use of the organ at Mass so as to build unity among Catholics world-wide.
“The most important thing is that music, when it is truly liturgical, creates community,” Father Jordi Piqué, dean of the Pontifical University of Saint Anselmo's liturgical institute, said May 20.
“When one hears a Mass that is sung or the organ interpreting a beautiful melody, it’s never individualistic, it’s always as a group,” he added at the Benedictine Abbey where the university is located.
Fr. Piqué, who plays the organ, is from the Benedictine Abbey of Montserrat, Spain, and was named dean of the program six months ago.
“The Pontifical Liturgical Institute has always had liturgical sources as its base and since the Second Vatican Council studies have been adapted to spread and make liturgy be valued by the faithful,” he explained.
“A very important part of liturgy is the music and chants, and now we’ve been able to unite with the Pontifical University of Sacred Music and offer this Master's.”
The degree will require that students study Gregorian chant with “a scientific reflection” as well as seeing its central place, “directed within the liturgy.”
Classes for the two-year program will be held every Thursday evening and will be divided into three main topics: liturgy, music, and theology.
The university will regularly invite speakers to lecture on topics such as organ improvisation, the sources of Gregorian chant, and music composition.
Students will also learn about how to use the principles of Gregorian chant to compose chant in their own vernacular languages.
There will also be guests for the course including the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will lecture on the vision of music within the liturgy.
“The biggest challenge of liturgical music is the same as always been: to take modern-day musical languages and translate them into liturgical languages, or vice versa,” reflected Fr. Piqué.
“We have to invite composers to adapt popular and modern day music, but within the environment of the (Eucharistic) celebration.”
Fr. Piqué believes that music can help people pray, but that liturgical celebrations should include times of silence, as well.
“Music needs silence,” he stated.
In explaining the essential link between Gregorian chant and the Roman liturgy, Fr. Piqué noted Saint Augustine's well-known dictum, “who sings, prays twice.”
St. Benedict directed his monks to “sing with pleasure, sing with wisdom,” he added.
He noted that liturgical participation includes not only singing the chants, but attentively listening to them as well.
“Whoever sings, or listens to music, is praying,” he explained, “because you are praying when you are listening” and that “by singing, you reveal what your heart contains.”
He also believes that sacredness has not been lost, but is “transforming itself and taking on new forms that are related to our times.”
Fr. Piqué noted the increasing use of Gregorian chant at Mass, and interpreted it as a refuge from the hurried pace of modern life.
“But our times are very filled with noise, and so music within the liturgy is taking on again the calm, tranquil and serene aspect that this open and serene dialogue with God needs to have,” he concluded.

Enniscorthy Eucharistic Gathering/ Faith Festival

The parishes of St Aidan’s and St Senan’s in Enniscorthy town jointly present the Enniscorthy Eucharistic Gathering/ Faith Festival.

The celebrations will be officially opened by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and closed by Bishop Denis Brennan. 

During the week-end Enniscorthy castle will play host to an exhibition of various religious artefacts and photographs showcasing the celebration of faith in the diocese throughout the ages.

The weekend will also be packed with a wide range of events including witness talks by top speakers Mr John Waters and Micky Harte (Tyrone Football Manager), Maeve Carlin and Bishop Brendan Leahy. We will also have youth events and school programs. 

The aim of the Eucharistic Gathering is to reach out to everyone not only in our own Diocese but further afield and encourage them to join with us as we celebrate our faith.

I have attached the programme of events for the week-end and for more information please check our website at www.staidanscathedral.ie

What is the Church doing about Cardinal O’Brien? (Opinion)

This is the sort of headline that no Catholic can want to read: “Three months on, a cardinal is banished but his church is still in denial.” 

The subtitle goes on: “Cardinal Keith O’Brien has been told to leave Scotland for ‘prayer and penance’, after resigning over charges of sexual misconduct. But his accusers still wait for a proper inquiry.” 

You can read the whole article, by Catherine Deveney, who first broke the story, here and a further article here.

What is depressing about the article in contained in the words “three months”. It is three months since the Cardinal O’Brien story broke, and still it rumbles on. In other words, three months have passed, and still the Church has not formulated an adequate response to the crisis occasioned by the cardinal’s fall. 

The Church needs to take control of this story and assure the faithful that the matter is being dealt with firmly and with reasonable speed. We also need the assurance that adherence to the truth is paramount.

Instead, reading what Ms Deveney has to say, we get the impression that headless chickens are still ruling the roost, partly as a result of the way power is devolved in the Catholic Church. 

Who deals with this?

Is it the Scottish bishops? 

Is it their media office? 

Is it the Nuncio in Wimbledon? 

Is it Cardinal Ouellet in Rome? 

Is it the Pope himself? 

This sorry state of affairs is compounded by the fact that three of the complainants are serving priests. If priests can’t get a hearing, who can?

It is, it seems to me, a disastrous mistake to assume that Ms Deveney and the complainants are somehow “the enemy”: to circle the wagons at this point in the hope that this terrible mess will simply go away is not an acceptable solution. It has to be faced honestly.

There are questions to be asked, but they have to be the right questions. We do not need to know what it was the cardinal has done, for he himself has told us enough on that score. But there are some things that we do need to know.

Here’s a list:

• What is the Church planning to do for the complainants, three of whom are serving priests, so that they receive justice?

• What is the Church planning to do to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen again?

• Given that Cardinal O’Brien was made a bishop and later a cardinal after (we assume) extensive consultation among the people of God, despite the fact that his lifestyle must have been well known, what is the Church going to do to ensure that such tainted appointments do not happen again?

As with other cases, as I have said before, the past cannot be undone, and scandals there will, sadly, always be in the Church, human nature being what it is. 

But we can do something about the present. 

We can make some form of amends to those who have been scandalised, and we can face up to the past and try our best to learn from our mistakes.

Ms Deveney’s article ends with the prophecy that there is more to come. 

The Church needs to act, not in self-defence, but in defence of the truth.

A New Pope and An Old Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal (Contribution)

As white smoke billows out of the chimney chute of the conclave, 1.2 Billion Catholics around our cerulean globe raise their hands in celebration of the dawning of a new era and the appointment of a new Pontiff; Pope Francis.
 
“Out with the old and in with new” is a technique utilized by corporations to assuage the contemporaneous concerns of shareholders in times of trouble. 

And similar to the smoke and mirrors act thrown out by capitalists is the one being thrown out by the theologians. 

What is being talked about is the new pope, but what isn’t being talked about is what happened to the old one.

Two months have passed, and rumors continue to circulate as to why Pope Benedict XVI abdicated his responsibilities and the papal throne; the first pope to do so in over six centuries. 

Was it his health? 

Did divine intervention from the Pope’s boss give him a sign that he was needed somewhere else? 

The questions and requests for explanation became lost in the cries of a crowd who cheered for their new leader, but I find the Vatican’s response of, “Well we don’t know why he resigned, but look, here is our new leader let’s talk about him” sitting inside my stomach about as well as a three day old Cool-Ranch taco.

Think about it. 

How dirty does a corporation have to be in order for a person who has dedicated his entire life to it, to look at clandestine reports that he has received as the head of the organization and say, “You know what…nope…can’t do it.” 

Compounding concerns is the fact that the leadership of some of the most nefarious companies in the word decided to go down with ship instead of abandoning it. 

For instance, look at the hegemony of Enron. Even with the feds breathing down the Carlo Franco adorned necks of the executive board, they decided to play the scene out until the final curtain fell.

What is even more disconcerting is the reason that floats to the top of the list. That Pope Benedict XVI found such widespread pedophilia within the Catholic Church’s membership that he couldn’t bear to defend the indefensible. 

A further concern is the dearth of information the public has regarding the investigation that Pope Benedict XVI launched in order to probe how much kiddy diddling was actually going on. 

One source reports that the Catholic Church has paid as much as $3 Billion to settle claims of molestation that have bird-dogged it the last two decades. 

Let me state that again; $3 Billion. If they handed $1 Million to each of the claimants (unlikely) that stepped forward there would have to be at least 3,000 cases in order to reach that amount. 

That’s an awful lot of violated altar-boys. Unsettling is the knowledge that the boiler-plate conditions of a settlement almost always require the person receiving the money to refrain from going to the media, possibly the police, or disclosing the settlement amount to the public. 

So we will never have the basic, but important, questions regarding kiddy diddling answered: how much, how often, and where.

I realize how difficult the situation has been for the Catholic Church. After all, the Catholic Church’s stance has always been black and white even if the issues are elephant gray. 

Unfortunately, an underage missionary in the missionary position isn’t abortion or gay-marriage, and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room to make an argument. 

Kid-fucking is about as far into black as you can go, and there is no penance that will absolve the church of its sins. Like the civil war soldier that has contracted gangrene on one of his limbs, this isn’t about curing, it’s about surviving. 

Of course the Catholic Church isn’t going to cease to exist overnight, but the world is watching closer than any cloud riding deity, and as the CEO of any fortune 500 company can tell you, it’s not what a corporation does during the good-times that make it viable, but what it does in the bad. 

Right now Transparency and Truth is the only thing that could save a morally bankrupt Catholic Church.

Something needs to change and although the Church’s worst fear is change it is going to have to make a decision. Because going left or right, doing one thing or another are choices that anyone can see, but forbearing from making a choice is a choice all on its own.

The Catholic Church’s unendorsed slogan has always been WWJD, but would Jesus have paid-off the victims with one of Caesar’s coins if he caught one of his apostles inside an altar-boy outside the sacristy.

I don’t think so, most reasonable people don’t think so, but in these unchartered waters the Catholic Church does think so. A rather taciturn religious constituency seems to revel in being complacent and hoping to God that everything just works out instead of demanding to get an explanation as to why Pope Benedict XVI stepped down.

All in all, the irony might be lost others, but it’s not on me. The same blind faith that has built the Catholic Church might ultimately be the same blind faith that demolishes it by repelling other believers when that attitude is applied to explanations involving clerical molestation. 

No matter what anyone’s opinion is, one would have to agree that the Catholic Church’s leadership is allowing their ark of moral fortitude to drift from conservative waters, into archaic ones’. 

I find a sad kind of humor when I get into conversations with people, and have to relax my defense of a Catholic-Church which purports to be guided by the hand of God by admitting that the Church isn’t bad or evil, just Misguided.

Syrian Church asks followers not to use Chinese coffins

The Mar Thoma Syrian Church in Kerala is discouraging its followers not to use China-made coffins as is not “environment friendly.”
"This particular coffin pollutes the environment and hence it should not be used," said Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan, the supreme head of the Church.

The Church found the "Swarga Petti" (heavenly box) an unfriendly product as it takes long to decay in the soil.

The Metropolitan, in an article in the latest issue of Sabha Tharaka, the Church’s official mouthpiece, asked people to use environment friendly products.

The Tiruvalla-based church also asked them to tap solar energy.

The Mar Thoma Church has followers close to a million, mostly concentrated in central Kerala districts.

The people who adhere to the Church are considered wealthy in comparison to other Christians.

Even their funeral processions are taken out with pomp and show with expensive and decorative coffins, hiring of choirs to sing the devotional songs and distribution of 'heavy' food packets after the coffin ritual.

Kurian Jacob, who hails from Kottayam and belongs to the Syrian Orthodox church, said over the years, the generally accepted norm was to buy a coffin which is made of rubber wood and decently decorated. Its price started from 2,500 rupees.

"The prices of Chinese coffin starts from 10,000 rupees," he added.

The Church has also asked its followers to see that the sacred cloth (Sossapa, that spots a cross) which is put on the body should be made of cotton and not silk, as the latter does not disintegrate.

Maronite patriarch slams Lebanese politicians who "don't deserve to rule"

Maronite Patriarch Mar Bisharah Al Rahi used extremely strong language to criticise Lebanese politicians during a tour of Latin America.

Speaking at a meeting with the Maronite community in Colombia, he said it was unacceptable that "after six years of discussions and wasting time," they have not been able "to reach common ground over an electoral law." 

The patriarch also raised the issue of poverty in the country, noting that one third of the population survives because of US$ 8 billion in annual remittances from relatives living abroad. 

Bisharah Al-Rahi replaced Card Nasrallah Sfeir, who promoted national unity during Syria's occupation of Lebanon. Now that Syria is in crisis, al-Rahi spoke at the meeting in Colombia about his strong concern over the evolution of the crisis in Syria and its possible repercussions on Lebanon.

"We have always demanded others not to meddle in our local affairs and it's not acceptable for us to interfere in the conflict in Syria," a worried cardinal said.

The Maronite patriarch's statement echoes rising tensions along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Hizbollah, a Shia-based party, is pro-Assad and has provided Damascus with men to fight the widespread opposition. At the same time, a growing number of Lebanese Sunnis have joined the fight against the Syrian regime.

In recent days, fighting at al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border saw the participation of Lebanese Sunnis. Media reports indicate that Hizbollah lost about 20 fighters.

Lebanon has always been an example of Christian-Muslim social and political coexistence. 

However, between 1975 and the 1990, the country was torn apart by a bloody civil war between sectarian factions, fuelled by outside forces like Syria and Israel.

Should Syria's civil war spill over into Lebanon, it might reignite sectarian rivalry among the most extremist groups in the country's various religious communities.

Egypt, more attacks on Coptic Orthodox community, two churches set on fire

The Egyptian Coptic community faces a new escalation of attacks by Islamists. 

On 17 May, two churches were attacked with Molotov cocktails in the district of Dakhela, west of Alexandria, Egypt, and Menpal in Upper Egypt.

In Alexandria over 20 thousand Muslims attacked the church of St. Mary setting fire to the entrance of the building and shattering windows. A man died of a heart attack in the attack.

In response to the violence, hundreds of Copts left their homes to create a human wall around the building. 

According to witnesses some Islamists armed with pistols and knives fired on the crowd, causing some injuries.
At the origin of the clashes is a dispute between two neighbors. Basem Ramzy Michael, a Coptic Christian, is reported to have behaved inappropriately towards the sister of Alloshy Hamada, a Muslim with a criminal record. In a short time the dispute between the two erupted into a sectarian clash.

A similar incident occurred last May 13, in the village of Menbal, Matay district, north of the province of Minya, where a Muslim mob stormed the church called the Tadros el-Mashreki and assaulted one person inside. The assailants threw stones at the building, looted Christian shops nearby and burned cars. The Coptic minority has been threatened with expulsion from the village. 

Once again the violence was sparked by a trivial quarrel between two young people. Some young Muslims are reported to have made advances to a group of Coptic girls, as they entered the church. Irritated at having been ignored the group waited for the young Christian girls to leave the Church and threw bags filled with urine at them. 

The young people were rescued by some Christians peers who have started a heated argument with Muslims. As in other cases, the news spread across the village. In a short time a crowd of Islamists rallied in front of the church, forcing young people to take refuge inside.

Ehab Ramzy, a Coptic Christian, prosecutor in the province and former member of parliament, said Menbal has a Muslim majority, while Manshiet Menbal, 10 kilometers away, has Coptic majority. "The Christians of the two villages - he explains - have nothing to do with the fight that took place in Manshiet Menbal. The young people were attacked just because they are Christian." 

Two young Muslim men were arrested by police in Menbal. In the coming days there will be a reconciliation meeting between the two communities. "Now - he adds - the security forces are trying to arrest some young Copts. They have become a bargaining chip to seek reconciliation."

AsiaNews sources underline that the attacks against the Coptic community are now a daily occurrence and are being ignored by the police, who because of the climate of chaos, let communities resolve disputes among themselves, although this can result in dead or wounded. 

The most serious incident took place on April 7 in front of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo, where a group of Islamists attacked funerals of four Christians killed in sectarian clashes that took place on April 5 in the district of Khosous, on the outskirts of the capital, with stones and Molotov cocktails. 

The assault, which took place before the eyes of the police, left two dead and over 80 injured. 

A church building caught fire.

Martin wades into abortion debate

As the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers “be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable”.

Archbishop Martin warned in his Pentecostal sermon that “the Christian believer is on the side of the life of the mother and that of the unborn child, life at its very beginnings and life at its end”.

He also urged doctors and nurses to ensure their “great tradition” of protecting the lives of mothers and their unborn children survives.

“We thank God for those who work within our healthcare system and who give constant witness, even in difficult circumstances, to ensuring that both mother and baby survive and flourish. This is a great tradition of which we can be proud and which we must see to it that it survives and is not weakened,” he said.

In a sermon that referred to the importance of community and unity over individualism, he warned of the dangerous consequences “when an economic system or a political programme moves away from serving the common good.....when we almost feel that we can act as God”.

“We live in a world in which for many individualism, self-expression and self-sufficiency become the sole driving force of human activity........ Growth, progress, economic interest and profit are pursued for their own sake, without any regard for the consequences for other areas of life, whether on the poor and excluded, or the environment, or on the global good of inclusion,” he said.

“A world view based only on human ambition inevitably leads to divisions and confusion. In our recent past, an economic system became infested with personal greed and uncontrolled ambition — and it was even trumpeted — only then to collapse like a pack of cards and create new divisions. We see the divisions of poverty and precariousness, lack of hopeful employment for our young people, of emigration, of our inability to maintain important services of solidarity.” he said.

Last week Archbishop Martin, in a letter to a newspaper, criticised the “growing impression” that the judgment in the X case “is the Constitution”.

“I believe that it is an interpretation given in a specific case which does not supersede or relativise the clear, constitutional right to equal protection for unborn life in the circumstances which I have outlined. Indeed it would give the life of such an unborn child less protection than is guaranteed,” the archbishop said in his letter to The Irish Times.

The archbishop also said he felt anxiety in relation to instances where an unborn child is viable yet doctors consider an abortion to save the mother’s life.

May - Month of Mary

 

Sé do Beatha Mhuire

Sé do Beatha Mhuire,
Tá lán do ghrást, Tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mhná
Agus is beannaithe toradh do bhrionne Íosa.

A Naomh Mhuire mháthair Dé
Ghúi orainn na bpeacaí
Anois agus ar uair ár mbáis. 

Amen.