March for Life reveals 2021 theme, with unity as focus

Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2020 / 08:51 pm (CNA).- After rescinding a controversial policy concerning sacramental anointing of the sick, the bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts told priests Friday afternoon that anointing of the sick is “suspended” within the Diocese of Springfield.

Earlier this week, Bishop Mitchell Rozanski authorized a change to norms for the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, permitting a nurse, rather than a priest, to conduct the physical anointing, which is an essential part of the sacrament.

“I am allowing the assigned Catholic hospital chaplains, standing outside a patient’s room or away from their bedside, to dab a cotton swab with Holy Oil and then allow a nurse to enter the patient’s room and administer the oil,” Rozanski told priests in an email March 25.

On Friday afternoon the diocese told CNA it had rescinded that policy.

In fact, Rozanski emailed Springfield priests Friday afternoon explaining that “After further discussion and review, I am rescinding my previous directive and temporarily suspending the Anointing of the Sick in all instances.” 

The sacramental anointing of the sick is conferred upon those Catholics who are in danger of death.
 
“The first grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also of the body if such is God’s will. Furthermore, ‘if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven,’” the catechism adds.

The catechism explains that “as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.”

According to the Church’s canon law, parish pastors “have the duty and right of administering the anointing of the sick for the faithful entrusted to their pastoral office. For a reasonable cause, any other priest can administer this sacrament with at least the presumed consent of the priest mentioned above.”

Canon law specifies certain circumstances under which the sacrament is expected to be administered, among them are cases “of doubt whether the sick person has attained the use of reason, is dangerously ill, or is dead,” and when a sick person has “at least implicitly requested it when they were in control of their faculties.”

In his Friday email to priests, Rozanski noted that the diocesan Chrism Mass would be postponed, and told priests that “Should you run out of either the Oil of the Sick or Oil of the Catechumen, you may bless these oils to replenish your stock.”

The Church’s canon law says that bishops and their equivalents in law can bless the oil to be used in anointing of the sick, while other priests may do so “in a case of necessity, but only in the actual celebration of the sacrament.”

The Diocese of Springfield did not respond to questions regarding the intended length of Rozanski’s temporary suspension.

The bishop’s Friday announcement came as the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ conference liturgy committee issued a memo to U.S. bishops, informing them that “with regard to the Anointing of the Sick, it is not possible for the anointing with oil to be delegated to someone else, such as a nurse or doctor.” That memo seemed to refute the liceity of Rozanski’s March 25 policy.

[…]

West Chester, PA, Jan 31, 2020 / 03:19 am (CNA).- A new sacrament formation program for the deaf and hard of hearing is offering adult catechetical information in American Sign Language.

Designed by Ascension Press, Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language became available on Jan. 6. It was developed by Father Sean Loomis, the chaplain for the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Creators of the new project hope the materials, designed specifically for the deaf community, can fill in gaps left by other catechetical programs and address some of the unique challenges faced by the hearing impaired, who may struggle with participating in Mass, Confession, and the Catholic community.

“A huge challenge among the deaf is that they are very uncatechized, and while that is certainly the case with the vast majority of Catholics, that catechesis is impoverished in a significant way” for those who are deaf, Loomis told CNA.

“Most deaf people at this point aren’t even interested. They already feel turned off,” he said. “So like 1% of deaf people even go to church because they feel like the church of any denomination really has nothing to offer them.”

The new project offers three-part videos on each sacrament. Each segment is about 6-10 minutes long, and together they discuss the presence of the sacrament in scripture and tradition, the theology of the sacrament, and the sacrament’s personal significance.

“The first video … [introduces] them to the scriptural defense of where Christ established the sacraments so that they get exposed to the Word of God as well as the writings of the Church fathers…So that they see what the Catholic church believes is not something we fabricated somewhere along the way, but has been the same belief from the very beginning age of the Church all the way until now,” he said.

“The second video for every sacrament … is about the theology of it,” he said. “It’s the catechesis behind it. It’s what’s really going on in the divine plan when this sacrament is received. So it’s sort of the dogmatic approach.”

“The third one is about living the grace. So now that you are a baptized individual, for example, what does that mean about your life? I want them to practice the mental exercise of taking theory and abstract theology and applying it concretely to their very individual and specific life,” he added.

The program also includes a workbook, which offers quotes from saints and the catechism, as well as works of art. Loomis stressed the value of artwork as a visual stimulus for deaf Catholics to pray and learn about Church history.

“I also have Visio Divina,” he said, a type of prayer “where they look at a piece of artwork and learn how to read that Christian art to see what it is that they actually believe. In that way, I’m trying to expose them to the wealth of the Christian artwork that has been part of our heritage.”

“That is specifically something I thought would help them encounter God in a way that’s unique to their culture and their specific needs.”

Fr. Loomis is not deaf, but began learning American Sign Language during seminary, after being asked to consider deaf ministry. He practiced sign language each week with a local deaf man to gain proficiency.

After years of practice, Loomis said he has come to better understand the isolation and misunderstanding that often faces the deaf community. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is particularly challenging, he said.

“They can go to a hearing priest and write their sins down on a sheet of paper, which some will do. And of course, they experience a diminished satisfaction with that since they can’t receive any feedback from the priest…They’re not consoled by the words of absolution because they can’t hear them.”

Under Loomis’ leadership, the Deaf Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been able to designate interpreters for 13 different churches, and to offer a Mass entirely in American Sign Language.

“When I offer Mass, I don’t voice it and then have an interpreter stand nearby. I do the entire thing in American Sign Language so that they can experience the incarnation of Christ who comes to them as they are, in persona Christi, through my priesthood,” he said.

Father Shawn Carey, director and chaplain of the deaf apostolate for the Archdiocese of Boston, understands firsthand the significance of these ministries.

Carey, who was born deaf, told CNA that he faced difficulties in accessing catechetical classes as a child.

Growing up in Massachusetts, Carey’s family had to approach a few Catholic parishes to find a first communion class that would be willing to work with him. Eventually, he said, one pastor decided to hire a private tutor for him instead.

While improvements have been made in some areas, challenges still exist today, including Mass without interpreters and theological videos with captions, he said.

“[However,] we are making progress,” he said. “We do have a good number of deaf priests who’ve been ordained, which is great. So that’s a real positive.”

Progress has been made with additional resources as well, he added, although more remains to be done. Carey has recently been involved in translating the youth catechism YouCat into American Sign Language. A series of weekly videos will be released to discuss YouCat’s 527 questions.

Carey said that as a deaf priest, he has been able to connect with the deaf community and bring them closer to the sacraments and the faith. One of his favorite memories in the ministry was leading deaf Catholics on a pilgrimage for World Youth Day in Krakow. He said it was an opportunity to build bridges between the deaf community and others in the Church.

“I think that for me as a deaf priest, it is really beneficial to be able to minister to people who are deaf, because we have a similar background and shared experiences of struggles growing up … [We have] a lot in common that people who are not deaf wouldn’t necessarily understand.”

[…]

CNA Staff, Jun 25, 2020 / 04:34 pm (CNA).- Two statues of St. Junipero Serra have been moved from a Catholic mission and church in southern California amid fears of vandalism as protests around the state continue to topple statues.

The Mission San Juan Capistrano and its neighboring church have removed statues of Serra from their outside displays this week.

Diocese of Orange spokeswoman Tracey Kincaid told the OC Register that the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano moved the statue “out of precaution.” The statue, which was anchored to a pedestal at the entrance, was removed on June 23.

The mission next door relocated the statute from its front courtyard to its Sala building. The 104-year-old statue has been displayed for almost 80 years. It will soon be part of a mission exhibit on the life of Serra.

“The statue was moved to ensure its protection and was relocated to also ensure its continued access to the public,” mission staff said in a June 24 Facebook post.

The basilica was built in 1986 to accommodate the growing Catholic community, which outgrew the mission’s smaller Serra Chapel. The Mission San Juan Capistrano was established by Serra in 1776.

Serra statues are among numerous depictions of historic figures pulled down in the past week amid ongoing protests and riots throughout the country. While some protests have torn down the statues of Confederate figures, as part of a call to end systemic racism, other statues have also been torn down from prominent locations, including one of George Washington.

During the eighteenth century, Serra founded nine Catholic missions in the area that would later become California, many of those missions would go on to become the centers of major California cities.

Serra helped to convert thousands of native Californians to Christianity and taught them new agricultural technologies. Critics have lambasted Serra as a symbol of European colonialism and said the missions engaged in the forced labor of Native Americans, sometimes claiming Bl. Serra himself was abusive.

But Serra’s defenders say that Serra was actually an advocate for native people and a champion of human rights. They note the many native people he helped during his life, and their outpouring of grief at his death.

Biographers note that Serra frequently intervened for native people when they faced persecution from Spanish authorities. In one case, the priest intervened to spare the lives of several California natives who had attacked a Spanish outpost.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco issued a June 20 statement highlighting the saint’s good works, saying, “St. Serra made heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish conquerors, especially the soldiers…”

“For the past 800 years, the various Franciscan orders of brothers, sisters and priests that trace their inspiration back to him have been exemplary of not only serving, but identifying with, the poor and downtrodden and giving them their rightful dignity as children of God,” the archbishop said.

The California Catholic Conference of Bishops similarly defended Serra, saying, “The historical truth is that Serra repeatedly pressed the Spanish authorities for better treatment of the Native American communities. Serra was not simply a man of his times.”

“In working with Native Americans, he was a man ahead of his times who made great sacrifices to defend and serve the indigenous population and work against an oppression that extends far beyond the mission era,” they said.

“And if that is not enough to legitimate a public statue in the state that he did so much to create, then virtually every historical figure from our nation’s past will have to be removed for their failings measured in the light of today’s standards.”

[…]