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Macau diocese angered by government light show on church ruins

October 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Macau, China, Oct 4, 2019 / 07:01 pm (CNA).- A diocese in southern China expressed disappointment Wednesday regarding a patriotic light-show that had been projected on the remains of a famous Catholic church.

For three consecutive nights beginning Sept. 29, the Macau Government Tourism Office projected government principles and symbols onto the Ruins of St. Paul’s, located at Freguesia de Santo António on the western side of the Macau peninsula.

The event was named the “Glorious Splendor in Celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.” It projected pro-government statements, including Macau’s integration into China 20 years ago, and Chinese symbols, such as the country’s flag.

The Diocese of Macau expressed disappointment in the light show in an Oct. 2 statement. The display was projected onto the church’s southern facade – the last standing piece of the church – but did not represent the church’s history. The ruins are also known as “the facade of the Church of the Mother of God.”

The wall had been carved in the 1600s by exiled Japanese Christians. It features images such as the Blessed Mother standing victoriously over a seven-headed dragon. Jesuit Carlo Spinola, an Italian missionary, is believed to have designed the facade, which includes styles of both Eastern and Western culture.

In an Oct. 2 statement, Father Cyril Jerome Law, the diocese’s chancellor, said the remains are an important symbol of the Church despite the property currently being under government control. He said the light show should complement the church’s historical origin.

“[The] faithful of the Diocese have expressed strong views over the matter,” he said.

“The show in question evoked reactions of discontent from quite a number of faithful of different nationalities, since it is deemed that the use of the historical monuments ought to correspond to its intended character,” he added.

In response to the chancellor’s statement, a Macau official said many people were happy with the light show. Alexis Tam Chon Weng, secretary for social affairs and culture, told Macau News that since its beginning, the program has not received any push back.

“I don’t think there was any problem with the contents of the mapping show,” Tam said. “There have never been any problems since the Macau Light Festival started five years ago.”

Both parties have expressed the need for more communication between the diocese and the government. Tam said he would strengthen dialogue with the Church in Macau. He expressed the need for mutual “tolerance” and understanding, Macau News reported.

Law agreed that there must be more opportunities for dialogue. He said, if the light show continues, it should represent the historical monument’s religious significance.

“The Diocese is willing to engage in dialogue and to exchange ideas with relevant agencies, in the common endeavour to preserve and promote the precious historical monuments of Macau,” he said, according to Wednesday’s statement.

“As the façade of St Paul’s represents the profound and long-standing Catholic heritage in Macau, the Diocese wishes to propose that, should there be other ‘mapping shows’ to be held in the future, their contents would do well to be related to the religious context of the said monument.”

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Ruthenian women’s community established as eparchial monastery

October 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 1

Parma, Ohio, Oct 4, 2019 / 04:18 pm (CNA).- The Ruthenian Bishop of Parma last week erected Christ the Bridegroom Monastery as a female monastery sui iuris of eparchial right.

The decision was made “in light of the present circumstances and the spiritual needs of the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom, and for the good of the people of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma for the Ruthenians.”

Bishop Milan Lach’s decree was given Sept. 27. As a sui iuris monastery of eparchial right, the community does not depend on another monastery, it is governed by its own typicon (rule of life), and it was erected by its bishop.

Sister Natalia, a rasophore (novice) of the community, explained to CNA that “our canonical establishment is a promise that our eparchy is here for us and desires our presence. It’s a promise, too, that we are here for our eparchy, as we are for the world – dedicating our lives in prayer, fasting, and hospitality.”

She said that “what we hope to give to our eparchy, and to the world” is “a witness of the joy and love that come from radically loving Christ as our Spouse.”

With the canonical establishment, the monastery feels “a greater responsibility to live the life laid out in our typikon,” Sister Natalia reflected. “There is also a tangible change in the atmosphere of our community – an abundance of joy and peace, fruits of the Holy Spirit.”

Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, located in Burton, Ohio, fewer than 40 miles east of Parma, was first established in 2009; Bishop Lach’s decree completes the canonical process of its founding.

The bishop wrote that through the community of Christ the Bridegroom, the eparchy “has experienced in a fruitful way the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In religious consecration, the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom express and model in a new manner the gift of monastic life.”

“In silence, prayer, and hospitality, the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom are called to rediscover the spousal language from the falsifications of our culture, displaying faithfully not only that monastic consecration refers to mankind’s union with God in Heaven, but also that longings of human hearts for the beloved are meant to be fulfilled in the intimate union with Christ and participation in the life of the Holy Trinity.”

The monastery “seeks to hark back to the original call of God for all baptized Christians to seek the Kingdom of God above all else with the holiness of their lives,” Bishop Lach reflected.

In accord with the monastery’s formal establishement, the stavrophore (life-profesed) nuns elected Mother Theodora as the hegumena (abbess) Sept. 29, and the following day, the decree was publicly announced and Mother Theodora’s institution as hegumena was celebrated.

“We are so grateful to Bishop John Kudrick for his invitation to begin living this life ten years ago, for taking the initial canonical steps in our foundation, and for his spiritual fatherhood. We are also so grateful to our current bishop, Bishop Milan, for taking the final steps needed to reach this canonical approval as an eparchial monastery and for loving us as a father,” the monastery said Oct. 1.

The community has six members (four stavrophores and two rasophores), who observe poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Bishop Kudrick, who was Ruthenian Bishop of Parma from 2002 to 2016, outlined his vision for the monastery in January 2008. He saw it as a response to St. John Paul II’s 1995 apostolic letter Orientale Lumen, which called for a renewal of monastic life among the diaspora of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

The community first formed in April 2009, and was received into the eparchy as a community in March 2010. Mother Theodora became the community’s first stavrophore nun in November 2011, and in August 2015 the community was established as a public association of the faithful.

The monastery typically has Divine Liturgy on Sundays and one other day during the week. On weekdays, the daily schedule begins with Matins at 6:30 am and goes until Compline, which ends at 9:30 pm. At noon the community prays one of the Hours, as well as special intentions and the day’s epistle and gospel, and Vespers is celebrated in the evening. The remainder of the day has time set aside for exercise, personal prayer, silence, work, free time, recreation, studies, and meals.

The monastery includes several poustinias (small retreat houses) for guests to make short retreats.

The community will hold a benefit dinner called “The Bridegroom’s Banquet” Oct. 19 at St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church in Brecksville, Ohio.

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Senators introduce bill requiring states to report abortion figures

October 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Washington D.C., Oct 4, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Senators have introduced legislation that would require states to report abortion statistics to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, including in all cases where babies survive botched abortions.

The Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2019 would make certain Medicaid family planning funds to states conditional upon their gathering and reporting comprehensive abortion data to the CDC.

“Requiring comprehensive reporting from every state will finally give Americans-regardless of your stance on the issue-an accurate look at abortion trends in our country,” stated Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who introduced the legislation last week with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

Currently, state reporting on abortions is voluntary. Currently, the CDC relies on data that has significant gaps, as three states—California, Maryland, and New Hampshire which together represent around 15% of the U.S. population—do not report abortion data, the office of Sen. Cotton said.

Cosponsors of the Senate bill include Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) has also pointed out that incomplete abortion data makes it harder to chart abortion trends in the U.S. with any certainty.

The CDC’s national reporting surveillance system “lags two years behind other vital statistics systems, namely birth and death data,” CLI said in a statement, “and misses more than a fifth of all abortions performed in the U.S.” The three states that do not report abortions account for around 20% of abortions in the U.S., according to CLI estimates.

The Senate bill would also require states to report instances of unborn children surviving abortion attempts.

“The American people deserve to know how many babies are born alive during abortion attempts in our country,” Cotton stated. “This is life or death information, yet most states don’t collect it.”

Earlier this year, following the introduction of a controversial Virginia state bill that would have allowed abortions when a woman was in active labor, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said that, if a baby survived an abortion attempt, under the legislation it would be made “comfortable” and the doctors and mother would discuss what to do—rather than automatically care for the baby.

Members in the House and Senate introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act that would mandate that any baby surviving a botched abortion would receive the same standard of care as would be given to “any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”

CLI has reported that, according to one CDC health policy data request, 143 babies survived abortion attempts nationwide between 2003 and 2014, but the CDC added that the number may be an underestimate. Better state reporting could help increase the certainty of how many children survive botched abortion attempts.

A companion bill to the Senate bill, H.R. 3580, was introduced in the House by Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Gary Palmer (R-Ala.).

The bill introduction comes after Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced legislation last week, S.2950, the Dignity for Aborted Children Act, to require the respectful treatment of the remains of abortion victims by abortion providers.

That legislation was introduced after the remains of more than 2,200 unborn babies wee found in the residence of deceased South Bend, Indiana abortionist Ulrich Klopfer.

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New Zealand bishop resigns over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ with young woman

October 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 2

Palmerston North, New Zealand, Oct 4, 2019 / 03:10 pm (CNA).- The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a bishop in New Zealand, following an investigation into a complaint of “unacceptable behaviour of a sexual nature” made by a young woman.

Bishop Charles Drennan, 59, was the subject of an investigation by Cardinal John Dew of Wellington. Drennan had led the Diocese of Palmerston North since 2012.

Under Vos estis lux mundi, recent guidelines for investigations into misconduct claims against bishops which Pope Francis announced in May, metropolitan archbishops are placed in charge of investigations into suffragan bishops. Cardinal Dew is Archbishop of Wellington, to whom the rest of New Zealand’s diocesan bishops are suffragan.

Dew said Oct. 4 that upon receiving the young woman’s complaint, the New Zealand Church’s independent investigation body, the National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS), contracted an “independent, licenced investigator” to investigate under Dew’s oversight. The woman requested that details of the complaint remain private, Dew said.

In its Oct. 4 bulletin announcing episcopal resignations and appointments, the Vatican did not specify the reason for Drennan’s resignation.

Bishop Drennan stood aside from his duties during the investigation and both he and the complainant participated in the investigation. Dew said the Church has been in ongoing contact with the woman and is committed to continuing to support her.

“The Catholic Church has no tolerance for any inappropriate behaviour by any of its members. I encourage anyone who experiences such behaviour to bring it to the attention of the Church, police or any organisation with which they feel comfortable,” Dew said Oct. 4.

The Associated Press reports that Drennan was a member of the New Zealand church team of priests and sisters selected to respond to the country’s Royal Commission inquiry into sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in state and faith-based care between 1950-1999. He was also secretary of the New Zealand bishop’s conference.

Drennan was also chosen by the nation’s bishops as a delegate from New Zealand to the Vatican’s 2015 Synod on the Family, and he also attended the Synod on the New Evangelization in 2012.

He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Christchurch in 1996, and was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Palmerston North in 2011, succeeding as ordinary the following year.

 

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Ecological ritual performed in Vatican gardens for pope’s tree planting ceremony

October 4, 2019 CNA Daily News 18

Vatican City, Oct 4, 2019 / 10:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis witnessed an indigenous performance at a tree planting ceremony in the Vatican gardens Friday during which people held hands and bowed before carved images of pregnant women. 

A group of people, including Amazonians in ritual dress, as well people in lay clothes and a Franciscan brother, knelt and bowed in a circle around images of two semi-naked pregnant women in the presence of the pope and members of the curia.

After witnessing the ritual, Pope Francis set aside his prepared remarks, opting instead to offer the Our Father without comment. 

The ceremony in the Vatican gardens — organized by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, and the Order of Franciscan Friars Minor — was described as a celebration of the feast of St. Francis and the opening of the Synod of bishops on the Pan-Amazon region Oct. 6-27.

Participants sang and held hands while dancing in a circle around the images, in a dance resembling the “pago a la tierra,” a traditional offering to Mother Earth common among indigenous peoples in some parts of South America. No explanation was provided by the event organizers as to why the dance was performed for the Feast of St. Francis or what it symbolized. 

Pope Francis remained seated in a chair outside the group throughout the ceremony. 

A representative from the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said after the event that the dicastery’s officials were invited to attend the event, but neither orgnized nor promoted it.

People carried bowls of dirt from different places around the world, each symbolizing a different issue from ecological devastation to migration. The dirt was placed around a tree from Assisi, which was planted as a “symbol of integral ecology.”

After what appeared to be the offering of prayers by participants, who prostrated themselves on the grass around a blanket upon which fruit, candles, and several carved items were set, an indigenous woman approached the pope and presented him with a black ring, which appeared identical to the one she was wearing.

The ring appeared to be a tucum ring — a black ring worn in Brazil and Latin America as a sign of dedication to certain social causes, and often associated with liberation theology advocate Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga.

The Vatican declined to comment on the ring. 

Prior to the pope’s decision not to offer his prepared remarks, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, spoke about Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si.

“Not only is our environment deteriorating globally, little effort is also made to safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology,” Turkson said.

“God’s Word transformed ‘chaos’ at the dawn of creation into a ‘cosmos,’ an ordered world system, capable of supporting human life, and suitable to be home for man. And the lesson here is simple: ‘Chaos’ with the Word of God becomes ‘Cosmos.’ Conversely, ‘Cosmos’ without God’s Word turns into ‘chaos,’” he said.

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