Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 18, 2020 / 02:18 pm (CNA).- Police are appealing to the public for help and a parish is requesting prayers after a tabernacle containing the Eucharist was stolen from a church in Boone, North Carolina on June 16.
“… […]
CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2020 / 01:13 pm (CNA).- Over the last seven decades at least 3,000 children were sexually abused by Catholic clergy or officials in France, according to the latest statements from an investigating commission, with many more feared to… […]
Washington D.C., Jun 18, 2020 / 10:55 am (CNA).- The U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference (USCCB) praised the Supreme Court on Thursday for a decision that keeps the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program intact — for no… […]
Vatican City, Jun 18, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- With a new 200-page document, the Vatican is encouraging Catholics to put their faith into action to promote integral ecology and care of creation, following the inspiration of Pope Francis’ encyclica… […]
CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2020 / 08:00 am (CNA).- An English bishop has hailed the restoration of a cross atop his cathedral as “a sign of hope” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury said June 16: “In this year of global pandemic, it seems especially appropriate to see the cathedral cross restored as the sign of hope in the victory of life and love. Raised high above the cathedral, this cross that will continue to shine on the skyline of Shrewsbury for generations to come.”
The wrought iron cross was installed at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and St. Peter of Alcantara, Shrewbury, in 1856, the year the cathedral opened.
According to Shrewsbury diocese, the cross is an early example of the work of the Arts and Crafts movement, which was inspired in part by the ideas of architect Augustus Pugin, who designed the cathedral located in the county of Shropshire in western England.
The diocese said the cross was in “dire need” of restoration due to rust and other damage. The conservation specialist M. Salt Limited removed the cross for the first time since its installation, repairing it and repainting it. It was restored to the cathedral’s bell tower the day that Catholic churches in England were permitted to reopen for private prayer following the coronavirus lockdown.
In a June 16 press statement, the diocese said: “There is no documentary evidence to show who designed and commissioned the cross though architects suspect it was AW Pugin’s son, Edward, who took the responsibility to finish the cathedral after the death of his father in 1852.”
Conservation expert Mike Salt suggested that the wrought iron cross was inspired by Jean Tijou, a French Huguenot ironworker who made gates and railings for Hampton Court Palace, King Henry VIII’s favorite palace.
The body of the cathedral cross is made of wrought iron with charcoal iron used to form ornate leaves. Salt said the use of charcoal iron indicated the cross was made using the repoussé technique associated with Tijou, in which metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side.
Salt said: “In my mind therefore, the cross is historically important not only because it demonstrates the best in the [Arts and Crafts] movement, but also because it demonstrated that it was still possible to reproduce Tijou’s work in a modern environment. I would like to think that its repair and conservation has continued that theme.”
The work on the cross is part of an ambitious restoration project at the cathedral, which is one of the smallest in England.
Davies, who became the 11th bishop of Shrewsbury in 2010, has brought the Tabernacle back to the center of the cathedral. He has also obtained permission to remove wooden platforming that created an extended sanctuary in 1980s.
Writing in the Catholic Herald in 2019, Davies said: “The new cathedrals of England were built to create sacred space for the people of our land. In Shrewsbury, we are seeking to renew this mission so that our cathedral may continue to present the vision of the Catholic faith to new generations who might know little of its beauty.”
“This mission is ultimately to lead us to recognize Jesus Christ truly present in the mystery and reality of the Eucharist.”
Vatican City, Jun 18, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- A Jesuit doctor serving the homeless in London has said that the coronavirus crisis has opened a “window of opportunity” for rough sleepers.
Fr. Paul O’Reilly, SJ, told CNA that the pande… […]
CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2020 / 06:35 am (CNA).- Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is making a private visit to Germany to see his ailing brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger.
CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language partner agency, said June 18 it had confirmed with sources close to the pope emeritus that Benedict XVI was visiting his 96-year-old brother in Regensburg.
It is believed to be Benedict XVI’s first trip outside Italy since he stood down as pope in 2013.
CNA Deutsch reported that the private family visit was motivated by the state of Msgr. Ratzinger’s health.
Benedict, 93, made the journey from Rome to his Bavarian homeland with his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein.
Georg Ratzinger is a former conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg.
On June 29, 2011, he celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest in Rome together with his brother. Both were ordained priests in 1951.
CNA Staff, Jun 18, 2020 / 03:00 am (CNA).- Sister Thea Bowman was the granddaughter of a slave, an advocate for racial justice, and the first African American woman to address the U.S. bishops’ conference. Two years ago, her sainthood cause was opened.
“She was an outstanding teacher and she was an outstanding speaker. And she had a voice like an opera star and she could sing really beautifully, and people loved to be with her,” said Sister Charlene Smith, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA).
“I often say she was a whole lot like Jesus. People love to be around her, and I was one of those people that was lucky enough to be around her.”
Smith, who was friends with Bowman for 35 years, recounted the impact that Bowman made on many of those around her. In 2012, Smith co-authored a biography of her friend, entitled, “Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman.”
At age 51, Bowman became the first African American woman to address the U.S. bishops’ conference. Wheelchair-bound and fighting cancer, she delivered a memorable address about race and Catholicism before inviting the bishops to join her in singing and swaying to a Negro Spiritual.
That spunk, Smith told CNA, was part of Bowman’s charismatic personality as she traveled and taught and spoke around the country.
Sister Thea was born Bertha Bowman in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1937 to a lawyer and a teacher.
Although she was raised Protestant, she decided to become a Catholic at the age of nine. Visiting a variety of Christian denominations, she was moved by the kindness and generosity of the Franciscans Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, whose school she subsequently attended.
When she turned 15, she moved to Wisconsin and entered the order’s novitiate. Although her parents tried to persuade their daughter to enter an African-American community, she was determined to enter the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, whose warmth and love had drawn her to the Catholic faith six years prior.
At the time, she was the first and only black sister of the community in La Crosse. Smith said Bowman encountered some instances of racism even within the convent.
“I never saw any example of racism extended to Sister Thea when she was in our community, but there are sisters from other communities, African American sisters, to whom Thea apparently mentioned that once in a while, some of our older sisters, who had never been around anybody who was African American, were not always positive about Sister Thea,” she said.
When she began teaching at a Catholic elementary school in La Crosse, Bowman would teach about racial diversity, and about the importance of love.
“She taught children to use their hand. And the five fingers were the five different colors of skin, black and brown and yellow and red and white,” Smith said.
“And she knew that we were all not a melting pot. She was never very interested in that particular metaphor. She was a whole lot more interested in saying that we are more like a salad,” Smith continued. “So when you are a salad, you don’t lose your characteristics, you remain individuals. And the whole point is to love one another. And that’s what she did.”
As the civil rights movement grew in the years that followed, Bowman worked to advance racial justice. She helped establish the National Black Sisters Conference and advocated for an increased representation of American-American people in Church leadership. She called for more encounters between white and non-white Catholics, and for a welcoming of music from different cultural backgrounds.
Bowman became a noted public speaker, and traveled around the country, talking about race and the Catholic faith. She continued to travel and teach even after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984, even landing an interview with 60 Minutes.
In 1989, Bowman delivered what would become a famous speech at the spring meeting of the U.S. bishops’ conference.
“What does it mean to be black and Catholic?,” asked Sr. Thea. “It means that I bring myself, my black self.”
“I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African-American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as gift to the Church.”
Bowman had a profound impact on the bishops, and on many other people who heard her words.
“When that speech was over, they wheeled her off the podium and out into a hall. And one by one, the bishops came to her and knelt before her, in her wheelchair, and asked for her blessing. That’s how much they thought about her,” Smith said.
Bowman died March 30, 1990. Her canonization cause was opened by the Diocese of Jackson in 2018.
Smith said Bowman’s impact lives on after her death, with schools named after the sister, events held in her memory, memorials established in her honor, and at least 40 books mentioning her story and influence.
Smith said Bowman would likely find hope in the recent protests demanding racial equality and justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“Right now this is a time when we’re learning. I think the people in the United States are learning a whole lot more about our history, how we were terrible to the Native Americans and how we were terrible to the African Americans, and so we’re learning history,” she said. “Thea knew all of that and she let it be known that she knew that.”
“I’m sure she’s watching what’s going on in the United States. And I think she’s cheering for the African Americans and all of the people who have been subjected to pain and injustice,” Smith continued. “She was very much concerned that people be treated fairly, be treated as children of God. So she’d be happy with what’s going on.”
It’s important to understand that the recent and sometimes violent protest marches in hundreds of American cities were made possible by a larger, and more destructive march through American society that began decades ago. The […]
CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2020 / 05:29 pm (CNA).- Catholic leaders say the Church has an important role in working for racial justice, but that protesting for justice does not imply endorsement of the positions […]
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