San Francisco, Calif., Jun 25, 2021 / 13:13 pm (CNA).
On June 23, 2021, First Thingspublished Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s paragraph-by-paragraph response to “Statement of Principles,” a document developed by 60 Democratic legislators in response to the USCCB vote to create their own Eucharistic document.
Each of the Democratic signers of the statement is pro-abortion.
Archbishop Cordileone’s rejoinder surfaces logical inconsistencies and practical contradictions as well as theological errors contained within the “Statement of Principles.”
To the point that Democratic members are “committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the poor, disadvantaged, and the oppressed, protecting the least among us and ensuring that all Americans of every faith are given meaningful opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country,” Archbishop Cordileone offered the rebuttal that “One of the ‘basic principles’ of Catholic belief is…[d]on’t intentionally kill, or collude in enabling others to kill, innocent human life.
“Catholic principles build systematically on one another. The protection of innocent, defenseless life is first and foundational,” he argued, pointing out the illogical nature of pursuing goods without securing the greater and more fundamental good that undergirds them.
The Archbishop of San Francisco also pointed out practical contradictions in the statement. He noted that although these legislators profess “admirable words” on issues like reduction of child poverty and recognition of human dignity, these “Catholic members of Congress support laws that have the effect of destroying the natural family through marriage redefinition, no-fault divorce, and other similar policies” which exacerbate child poverty.”
He further argued that “the broken family is a leading cause of poverty but it also results in a host of other social ills, such as youth violence, incarceration, and substance abuse.”
The Archbishop also found practical contradictions in claims that Democratic legislators promote alternatives to abortion, such as adoption.
Additionally, he addressed theological errors in the document, including the need to consider the difference in kind and degree of various sins, and corrected a misrepresentation of the role of conscience.
“It’s hard to see this passage as anything less than evasion,” commented Archbishop Cordileone on the claim that primacy of conscience can give a moral right to hold abortion as a good. “Conscience is not deciding what’s right or wrong for oneself. We don’t invent truth; we search it out with ‘the Church’s guidance,’ and then submit ourselves to it.
“Conscience is the faculty to know and do what’s right in concrete situations, whether we find it politically convenient or not.”
Finally, he refuted the accusation that bishops were beginning a “weaponization of the Eucharist”—a charge Cordileone vehemently denies.
“The bishops’ motivation is pastoral: the salvation of souls and reparation of scandal. There is nothing punitive in stating and restating the truth of Catholic belief, and its implications for an authentically Catholic life,” he stated.
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Saint Peter’s Chapel and Native American Museum at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, New York. / Photo courtesy of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site
Chicago, Ill., Jul 13, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Shrines to various saints can be found in every part of the world, including every state in the U.S. Each one is dedicated to faith and prayer, but one shrine in the northeastern United States also has a distinct mission of connecting pilgrims with Native American culture and sharing the fascinating history of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first American Indian to be canonized a saint.
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site in Fonda, New York, honors not only the life of St. Kateri, whose feast day is July 14, but also the life and history of the local Indigenous people to whom she belonged.
“We have cultivated strong ties to both the Catholic Mohawk community and the traditional Mohawk community,” said Melissa Miscevic Bramble, director of operations at the St. Kateri Shrine, in an interview with CNA. “We see it as our mission to educate about her Mohawk culture as well as her Catholic faith.”
Who was St. Kateri?
Called the Lily of the Mohawks, Kateri Tekakwitha was the child of a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother but was orphaned at age 4 when the rest of her family died of smallpox. Her own early bout with the illness left lasting scars and poor vision.
She went to live with an anti-Christian uncle and aunt, but at age 11 she encountered Jesuit missionaries and recognized their teaching as the beliefs of her beloved mother. Desiring to become a Christian, she began to privately practice Christianity.
Beginning at about age 13, she experienced pressure from her family to marry, but she wanted to give her life to Jesus instead. A priest who knew her recorded her words: “I have deliberated enough. For a long time, my decision on what I will do has been made. I have consecrated myself entirely to Jesus, son of Mary, I have chosen him for husband, and he alone will take me for wife.”
At last, she was baptized at about age 19, and her baptism made public her beliefs, which had been kept private up until then. The event was the catalyst for her ostracism from her village. Some members of her people believed that her beliefs were sorcery, and she was harassed, stoned, and threatened with torture in her home village.
Tekakwitha fled 200 miles to Kahnawake, a Jesuit mission village for Native Amerian converts to Christianity to live together in community. There, she found her mother’s close friend, Anastasia Tegonhatsiongo, who was a clan matron of a Kahnawake longhouse. Anastasia and other Mohawk women took Kateri under their wings and taught her about Christianity, and she lived there happily for several years until her death around age 23 or 24.
Although she never took formal vows, Tekakwitha is considered a consecrated virgin, and the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins took her as its patron. She is also the patron saint of traditional ecology, Indigenous peoples, and care for creation.
A shrine with a special mission
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site has a unique mission of archaeological and historical research related to Kateri Tekakwitha and her people. Welcoming several thousand visitors per year, the shrine ministers not only to Christians but also to all American Indians.
According to its website, the shrine and historic site “promotes healing, encourages environmental stewardship, and facilitates peace for all people by offering the natural, cultural, and spiritual resources at this sacred site.” Describing itself as a sacred place of peace and healing with a Catholic identity, its ministry and site are intended to be ecumenical and welcome people of all faiths.
In keeping with this mission, the shrine’s grounds include an archaeological site, the village of Caughnawaga, which is the only fully excavated Iroquois/Haudenosaunee village in the world. St. Kateri lived in this village, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can also visit the Kateri Spring, where Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized.
“The water from the Kateri Spring is considered holy water by the Catholic Church,” Bramble said. “People are welcome to come take the waters, and we regularly get reports of healing. We’ve sent that water all over North America to folks who have requested it.”
Besides the archaeological site, the main grounds of the shrine include St. Peter’s Chapel, housed in a former Dutch barn built in 1782; museum exhibits of Native American culture and history; St. Maximilian Kolbe Pavilion; a Candle Chapel dedicated to St. Kateri; Grassmann Hall and the Shrine office; a friary; a gift shop; an outdoor sanctuary; and maintenance facilities. The 150-acre property includes hiking trails that are open to the public year-round from sunrise to sunset.
Outside the Candle Chapel, which is always open for prayer, visitors can participate in a ministry of “Kateri crosses.”
“St. Kateri was known for going into the forest, gathering sticks, binding them into crosses, and then spending hours in prayer in front of crosses she created,” Bramble said. Sticks are gathered from the shrine grounds and visitors are invited to make their own “Kateri crosses” and take them home to use as a prayer aid. Bramble shared that the shrine sends materials for Kateri crosses to those who aren’t able to visit, including recently to a confirmation group.
The feast day weekend
The Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine has a schedule of special events planned for St. Kateri’s feast day on July 14. Bramble said they anticipate several hundred visitors for the feast day events this year, which include Masses, a healing prayer service, and talks. (A listing of the full schedule can be found here.)
The weekend Masses, which include special blessings and the music of the Akwesasne Mohawk Choir, “incorporate American Indian spiritual practices in keeping with the Catholic Church,” Bramble said. “The Akwesasne Mohawk Choir is made up of descendants of St. Kateri’s community who lived in the area historically.”
Bramble described numerous events each year that partner with the local American Indian community, such as the fun-filled “Three Sisters Festival” in May (celebrating corn, beans, and squash — the “three sisters” that were staples of Native cuisine), healing Masses during Indigenous Peoples’ Week in October, and a recent interfaith prayer service with Mohawk elders.
“There is a reestablished traditional Mohawk community a few miles west of the shrine, and we feel very blessed that we’ve been able to cultivate a very cooperative and mutually respectful relationship with the folks there,” Bramble said.
The Saint Kateri Shrine is also a great place for families. Events often include activities and crafts for children, there is an all-ages scavenger hunt available at the site, and the shrine’s museum is “a phenomenal educational opportunity.”
Bringing together American Indian archaeology and history with the story of St. Kateri, the shrine and its programs shed light on the saint’s story and keep alive the traditions and history of her people.
Lansing, Mich., Aug 22, 2019 / 05:30 pm (CNA).- Parents of five adoptive children were present in court on Thursday in support of a Catholic adoption agency in Michigan that is threatened with closure by a new state policy.
Co-producer Angelo Libutti directs a scene of the feeding of the 5000. / Courtesy of Angelo Libutti.
Tehachapi, California, Nov 1, 2021 / 14:02 pm (CNA).
On a cold and windy October day, 171 volunteers came from near and far to the mountains of … […]
3 Comments
The so-called Statement of Principles is a century-and-a-half out of date, also penned by cerebral ghouls who would substitute noise for reasoned thought and the “primacy” of self-will for conscience. This from St. John Henry Cardinal Newman:
“[C]onscience has rights BECAUSE it has duties; but in this age, with a large portion of the public, it is the very right and freedom of conscience TO DISPENSE WITH conscience, to ignore a Lawgiver and Judge, to be independent of unseen obligations.… Conscience is a stern monitor, but in this century it has been superseded by a COUNTERFEIT which the eighteen centuries prior had never heard of, and could not have mistaken for it if they had. It is the right [rite!] of SELF-WILL” (From a Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875, CAPS added).
The so-called Statement of Principles is a century-and-a-half out of date, also penned by cerebral ghouls who would substitute noise for reasoned thought and the “primacy” of self-will for conscience. This from St. John Henry Cardinal Newman:
“[C]onscience has rights BECAUSE it has duties; but in this age, with a large portion of the public, it is the very right and freedom of conscience TO DISPENSE WITH conscience, to ignore a Lawgiver and Judge, to be independent of unseen obligations.… Conscience is a stern monitor, but in this century it has been superseded by a COUNTERFEIT which the eighteen centuries prior had never heard of, and could not have mistaken for it if they had. It is the right [rite!] of SELF-WILL” (From a Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875, CAPS added).
Abp. Cordileone’s response to the so-called Statement of Principles is well-worth reading. As is Dan Lipinski’s article, also in First Things.
“Protecting the least among us.”
Wanna run that one by me again?