Washington D.C., Feb 14, 2018 / 02:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged Catholics to join Pope Francis Feb. 23 in a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Su… […]
Baltimore, Md., Feb 14, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a new pastoral letter, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “principles of nonviolence” are the keys to “address and resist injustice” in the Baltimore area.
“The wisdom of Dr. King’s teaching is both timely and important for our family of faith, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and indeed for our whole society,” wrote Archbishop Lori in his February letter.
“We urgently need to retrieve, understand, embrace and put into practice his teaching and legacy,” he continued.
Archbishop Lori’s letter comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination. The civil rights leader was fatally shot April 4, 1968, on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn.
“Now is the time for all of us to reconnect with Dr. King and his teaching,” Archbishop Lori said, noting that “Dr. King’s wisdom is more necessary than ever in our violent and fragmented society.”
“Violence, racism and a host of social problems exist in different forms and degrees…no family, no neighborhood, no community is immune from violent crime, domestic violence, drug abuse, racism and many other social problems,” the archbishop said.
Archbishop Lori pointed to a surge of gun violence in Baltimore in 2017, a year in which the Baltimore Police reported that 301 people in the city were killed with guns.
He also noted that “the sin of racism” has “has tarnished the soul of our society.”
Lori said that “lack of education, unemployment, a dearth of decent and affordable housing; a proliferation of illegal weapons; drug abuse and gangs; the disintegration of the family; homelessness” are among conditions which “create despair and spawn violence in our neighborhoods.”
“In this stark environment, Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence are more necessary than ever: they are prophetic words of hope that can light the path forward,” the archbishop said.
According to the archbishop, the principles of nonviolence advanced by Dr. King are “meant to change us” by addressing every person’s heart with a call to conversion.
Lori explained King’s six principles of nonviolence, which were the foundation of his pastoral letter.
First, he said that nonviolence was a way of life for “courageous people,” who bear “witness to the truth by living it and seeks not to coerce others into conformity, but rather to persuade them in love.” The archbishop said the sacraments of baptism and confirmation are crucial for this kind of courage.
Secondly, nonviolence seeks to “win friendship and understanding.” This means, according to Lori, that every person’s common humanity “is the basis for friendship that crosses the lines of race, ethnicity, politics and culture.”
Nonviolence also seeks to “defeat injustice, not people.” The archbishop said this principle seeks to deter “those who would harm the innocent and defenseless,” while also persuading individuals against the evils of racism.
Nonviolence also teaches that “suffering can educate and transform.” This means that suffering is a means to purification, out of which a “pure and peaceful heart flows.” The letter pointed to the witness of the early Christian martyrs who showed love in the face of violence.
The fifth principle of nonviolence rules that individuals should choose “love instead of hate.” Lori encouraged a “radical form of love that refuses to engage in any form of violence.” He noted that selfless love always seeks the good of the other in every relationship, which, he said, can powerfully transform society.
Nonviolence also believes that “justice will ultimately triumph.” This means that hope rules every action, despite suffering and injustice, Lori said.
“These principles took shape as Dr. King held up the experience of his people to the light of the Gospel and the Christian Tradition. Thus, they constitute not an abstract philosophy, but an applied theology of liberation,” he said.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s principles of nonviolence call for a change of heart. However, they also call for action,” said Archbishop Lori.
The archbishop said the archdiocese would use King’s principles to actively challenge the local community through information, education, personal commitment, negotiations, direct action, and reconciliation.
To that end, the archdiocese has created a website to springboard discussions.
“I cannot do this alone. This is something we must do together,” urged the archbishop.
The letter’s plan of action includes four efforts: building the local network of services to more effectively serve the community; forming cooperative relationships among the parishes within the archdiocese; reaching out to people on the peripheries to personally walk with them; and promoting stronger efforts towards ecumenical and interfaith partnerships that will build lasting community.
Lori also encouraged Catholics to work for the re-evangelization of each parish community in the archdiocese.
“For so many reasons, we do well to heed the prophetic teaching of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to put it into practice,” Archbishop Lori said.
“Guided by his principles, we will take a further step in being ‘a light brightly visible,’ a Church that brilliantly reflects the light of Christ.”
Rome, Italy, Feb 14, 2018 / 11:06 am (CNA).- A missionary priest and expert on the Church in China has expressed caution, and a limited optimism, about a rumored agreement between China and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops.
Fr. Bernard Cervellera is the editor-in-chief of Asia News, a media project of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, PIME.
In an interview with CNA, he said that an accord could lead to greater freedom for Catholics in the Communist country, though he questioned the Chinese communist party’s intentions, asking whether true religious freedom is possible under a regime that so far has sought to eradicate religion.
The priest stressed that if an agreement is reached, the Vatican will need to push “for more religious freedom.”
“You can’t simply deliver the Church, but there must also be more religious freedom,” he said.
Asia News covers the Church in China closely, and reported the news that in October 2017 a Holy See delegation went to China asking two bishops – Peter Zhuang Jianjian of Shantou in and Bishop Joseph Guo Xijin of Mindong– to step down in favor of government-appointed bishops.
In 1951 Beijing broke official diplomatic ties with the Vatican. Since the 1980s they have loosely cooperated in episcopal appointments, however, the government has also named bishops without Vatican approval.
The result has been an increasingly complicated and tense relationship between the government-supported Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the so-called “underground Church,” which includes priests and bishops who are not recognized by the government.
Many Catholics parishioners, priests and bishops who have rejected government control have been imprisoned, harassed and otherwise persecuted. Churches have also been destroyed by the Chinese government.
Currently every bishop recognized by Beijing must be a member of the patriotic association, and many bishops appointed by the Vatican who are not recognized or approved by the Chinese government have faced government persecution.
However, as part of a proposed agreement, which sources close the situation have said is “imminent” and could come to fruition as early as this spring, the Vatican is expected to officially recognize seven bishops who are out of communion with Rome, including 2-3 whose excommunications have been explicitly declared by the Vatican.
Most notably, the new deal would also apparently outline government and Vatican roles in future episcopal selection. Reportedly, the details of the deal would be similar to the Vatican’s accord with Vietnam, in which the Holy See would propose three names, and the Chinese government would choose the one to be appointed bishop.
Cervellera told CNA that the Chinese government has tended to view religions as dangerous sources of terrorism and division, which threaten societal coexistence.
For that reason, he said, making a concession for the sake of a deal is “likely the step that’s needed to show that the Church isn’t interested in overthrowing the Chinese government.”
Referring to recent statements made by Cardinal Joseph Zen, Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong and a leading opponent of the deal, Fr. Cervellera told CNA that “this agreement is an agreement that doesn’t ‘sell’ the Church,” but depending on how much the Vatican is willing to concede, could place the Church’s fate “completely in the hands of the government.”
Cervellera pointed to a government crackdown on religion, involving a stricter enforcement of rules which, as of Feb. 1, ban anyone under 18 from attending religious services. It’s also now forbidden to hold any sort of youth group activity, even if it’s not held at a church, he said.
Cervellera said that a fellow priest had observed that the government “has turned churches into a special type of ‘nightclub’ only for adults.”
If young people are removed from religion, he said, “you are practically condemning religions to death,” and this “was always the project of the Chinese Communist Party, always. Because the Patriotic Association was born to control religions so that little by little…they die from suffocation.”
On the other hand, he said, a deal Vatican deal with the government on appointing bishops could “facilitate the Vatican in deciding the candidates without problems, and help (with) the daily management of the Church,” he said.
But if the Vatican doesn’t insist on more breathing room, “both the official and the underground, the Church will continue being suffocated. Because what is lacking is religious freedom.”
On Monday a group of 15 influential Chinese Catholics, most of whom are from Hong Kong, wrote an open letter to bishops’ conferences around the world voicing their opposition to the deal, saying the government should have no role in choosing bishops and warned of schism should an accord be reached.
The signatories, which include Hong Kong politicians, university professors, lecturers, researchers, lawyers and human rights activists, specifically referenced the seven “illicit” bishops in question, saying “they do not have the trust of the faithful, and have never repented publicly.”
“If they were to be recognized as legitimate, the faithful in Greater China would be plunged into confusion and pain, and schism would be created in the Church in China.”
However, on Sunday, Feb. 11, Bishop Joseph Guo Xijin of the Mindong Diocese – one of the bishops asked to step down by the Vatican delegation in 2017 – said he would be willing to step aside in favor of government-backed Bishop Zhan Silu, who was formerly excommunicated by Rome.
According to the New York Times, Bishop Guo – who has placed in detention multiple times and is currently living under police surveillance – said he would respect any agreement that is reached, and that if he were presented with an official, verifiable Vatican document asking for his resignation, “then we must obey Rome’s decision.”
“Our consistent stand is to respect the deal made between the Vatican and the Chinese government,” he said, explaining that “the Chinese Catholic Church must have a connection with the Vatican; the connection cannot be severed.”
Though he would respect any deal that is reached, Guo also cautioned that there is still hesitancy on the part of Chinese authorities to let the Vatican have a final say over Catholic spiritual life, and that while they might not explicitly say the local Church has to “disconnect” from Rome, this has at times been implied.
What the Chinese authorities don’t realize, he said, is that by having the local Church cut ties with the universal Church would make Chinese Catholics “second-class believers,” because Catholics in other countries get to have a say in the rules that govern the global Church, whereas Chinese faithful don’t.
Guo said he at one point told the Chinese government that “when you restrict churches in China to contact Rome, in fact you are slapping your own face…We need to participate so that the Chinese voice” is not lost, but is heard within the universal Church.
However, despite recent crackdowns and a lingering reluctance on the part of the government, Guo said he believes restrictions on Catholics have loosened, and “the government is gradually opening up to it.”
In his comments to CNA, Fr. Cervellera said a deal would certainly make the process of choosing bishops easier, and it could open wider channels of communication with between the Vatican and the government.
“Now it’s truly complicated for the Vatican to make their needs heard to the Chinese Church,” so an agreement could make things easier, but “this doesn’t mean more free.”
Referring to rumors that the proposed deal would follow the Vietnam model, he said in this case “at least there is great assurance that the criteria in which the candidates are chosen is based on faith,” because with the patriotic association, the criteria are mainly in their own interests.
However, he voiced doubt that a deal might be as close as this spring, as authorities in the past have said multiple times that an agreement was near, but it never happened.
“I say this not because it’s pessimistic, but there are many, many problems inside the (Chinese community),” including an attitude on the part of some who don’t want an agreement.
Concerns have also been raised that should an agreement be made, it would potentially harm the Holy See’s relationship with Taiwan, as they are the island nation’s only European ally and one of only 20 countries who recognize their authority over Beijing.
On this point, Fr. Cervellera stressed that the agreement, “if it happens, is an agreement on the appointment of bishops, it’s not an agreement on diplomatic relations.”
In his view, “more time is needed” before discussing diplomatic ties between the Vatican and China.
Taiwan, he said, while having few allies, still has commercial offices all over the world, “and they are able to manage commercial relations throughout the world even without having this legal recognition from European countries. I think there will always be the possibility.”
If the Holy See lands this deal with China, “I don’t think it will be a big problem [for Taiwan],” he said, because “it’s not that the Vatican can forget about Taiwan, because it’s always a lively Church, so the Vatican must have relations with the community of Taiwan.
Overall, though skeptical, Fr. Cervellera said he hopes that if an accord is reached, it would help lead “to a greater influence of religions on Chinese society.”
A big problem Chinese society has, he said, is that it is very materialistic and lacks values, so beyond the “so-called national consciousness” that seeks to control and subordinate citizens, “there is nothing.”
“So to find a way to give spiritual values, to inflate spiritual values to give dignity to the people, this is an important task,” he said.
“I don’t know if this will happen through an agreement on the nomination of bishops. I hope, but this is certainly the mission of the Church, the entire global Church and the universal Church regarding China: to do it in such a way that Chinese development is a development inside the dignity of the human person…I hope that the Church is able to make [China] more human.”
Shrewsbury, England, Feb 14, 2018 / 10:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Young people still desire to marry despite the crisis surrounding marriage in the contemporary U.K., and Catholics need to defend marriage as God intends it, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbur… […]
Vatican City, Feb 14, 2018 / 09:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- At Mass for Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis invited everyone to live the 40 days of Lent as a time to “pause” from things which keep us from virtue and to return home to the loving and merciful embrace of God the Father.
“Return without fear to those outstretched, eager arms of your Father, who is rich in mercy, who awaits you. Return without fear, for this is the favorable time to come home,” the Pope said Feb. 14.
“[Lent] is the time for allowing one’s heart to be touched…” he continued, explaining how “persisting on the path of evil only gives rise to disappointment and sadness. True life is something quite distinct and our heart indeed knows this. God does not tire, nor will he tire, of holding out his hand.”
Marking the start of the Lenten season Feb. 14, Pope Francis prayed the Stations of the Cross at St. Anselm Church in Rome before processing the short way to the Basilica of Santa Sabina for the celebration of Mass, benediction, and the imposition of ashes.
The traditional procession is composed of cardinals, bishops, priests, the Benedictine monks of St. Anselm, the Dominican friars of Santa Sabina, and lay people. As they make their way between the two churches, they sing the Litany of the Saints.
The practice of beginning the Lenten season of prayer and penance this way was started by Pope John XXIII when he came for the opening of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in 1961.
In his homily at Mass, Pope Francis criticized distrust, apathy and resignation, stressing that Lent is the ideal time to uproot these and other temptations from our hearts. He listed out different ways we can do this through the actions of pausing, seeing, and returning to the Father.
He offered several suggestions of how to pause, including refraining from showing off, or from an attitude which gives rise to unproductive thoughts and self-pity, and which lead us to forget our call to encounter others and share in their burdens.
He also urged an end to the desire “to control everything, know everything, destroy everything,” which he said stems from a lack of gratitude for our life and what we’ve already been given.
Lent is also a good time for the “creative power of silence” in order to “leave behind the unrest and commotion that fill the soul with bitter feelings which never get us anywhere,” he advised.
“Pause from this compulsion to a fast-paced life that scatters, divides and ultimately destroys time with family, with friends, with children, with grandparents, and time as a gift… time with God,” he stated.
The Pope also called out “haughty looks” and “fleeting and pejorative comments,” and urged a break from words stemming from a lack of “tenderness, compassion and reverence for the encounter with others, particularly those who are vulnerable, hurt and even immersed in sin and error.”
Francis urged people instead to look upon and contemplate those actions which promote faith, hope and charity, and to look upon the faces of the vulnerable and in need, like families who, despite hardship, still strive to make their homes “a school of love.”
He also advised people to see the faces of children and youth, yearning for a future, to see the faces of the elderly reflecting “God’s wisdom at work,” and to see the faces of sick people and their caretakers, whose vulnerability reminds us of the value of every person.
“See the remorseful faces of so many who try to repair their errors and mistakes,” he continued, “and who from their misfortune and suffering fight to transform their situations and move forward.”
Finally, the Pope encouraged everyone to take time during Lent to “see and contemplate the face of Crucified Love.”
“See and contemplate the real face of Christ crucified out of love for everyone, without exception,” he said. “For everyone? Yes, for everyone. To see his face is an invitation filled with hope for this Lenten time, in order to defeat the demons of distrust, apathy and resignation.”
Vatican City, Feb 14, 2018 / 05:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis again offered some reflections and tips for the Liturgy of the Word, saying faithful who attend Mass lack a fundamental “right” if they do not receive a well-prepared and well-preached homily.
In the Liturgy of the Word, the Lord speaks for both pastors and faithful, and he “knocks on the door of those who participate in Mass, each one in their condition of life, age and situation,” the Pope said Feb. 14.
Because of this, after the readings are done, people in the pews are entitled to a “well-written, well-preached” homily, he said, explaining that “when the Word of God is not well-read or preached by the priest, deacon or bishop, the faithful lack a right. We have the right to hear the word of God.”
Pope Francis spoke to some 10,000 pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly general audience address on Ash Wednesday, continuing his catechesis on the Mass.
Though the weather was dreary, Francis told attendees that “if the spirit has joy, it’s always a good day.”
He focused his reflections for the day on the Creed and the Prayers of the Faithful, saying that after the brief moment of silence after the homily is finished, “our personal response of faith is included into the profession of faith.”
“There is a vital link between listening and faith, they are united,” he said, adding that faith isn’t the result of a “fantasy of human minds,” but rather comes from “listening, and listening involves the Word of Christ.”
When we recite the Creed, then, it allows the entire congregation to both meditate on and profess “the great mysteries of faith, before their celebration of the Eucharist.”
Francis said that our response to the Word of God is also seen during the Universal Prayer and the Prayers of the Faithful, during which we pray for the needs of both the Church and the world.
He noted how during the Second Vatican Council, the prelates who participated wanted these prayers to take place after the Gospel and the homily, especially on Sunday and feasts, “so that with the participation of the people, they prayed for the Holy Church, for those who govern us, for those who are found in various necessities, for all men and for the salvation of the world.”
Turning to Scripture, he noted how in the Gospels Jesus said that “if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask what you want and it will be done.”
Many times “we don’t believe this, because we have little faith,” he said. But if we have faith “the size of a mustard seed,” as Jesus said, “we will receive everything.”
When the congregation unites in offering their prayers to God, this is also a time for the faithful to express their own personal desires to God, he said, adding that “it is the strongest time in the liturgy to ask the Lord for what we want, what we desire.”
“It will be done, in one way or another, but it will be done,” he said. And if someone is struggling with faith, he urged them to pray the same prayer as the man in the Gospel who had asked Jesus to heal his child, saying “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.”
Francis also encouraged priests not to be afraid to be spontaneous with the prayers of the faithful, since they focus on the concrete needs of their community and of the world, and to avoid the use “of conventional and short-sighted formulas.”
Washington D.C., Feb 14, 2018 / 01:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Or, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
On Ash Wednesday, millions of Catholics throughout the English-speaking w… […]
Rome, Italy, Feb 14, 2018 / 12:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A major rocket launch by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, on Feb. 6 has been hailed as a major step toward cheaper and more frequent spaceflight – and the eventual po… […]
Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 13, 2018 / 05:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Under current legislation, in the state of Florida there is no minimum age requirement for an individual to be criminally indicted as an adult.
However, Bishop William Wack of Pensacola-Tall… […]
Minya, Egypt, Feb 13, 2018 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Coptic Orthodox Church will dedicate on Thursday a new church to the 21 Martyrs of Libya, who were beheaded by the Islamic State, three years after their deaths.
The church will be opened Feb. 15, according to Fides News Agency. It is located in the village of al-Our in Egypt’s Minya Governorate. The village was home to 13 of the martyred men.
“Any way that the Church of today can honor her martyrs is a blessing. The story of these 21 brave men is worth telling. In way too many places Christians are under siege from the dark forces of extreme hatred, and their freedom is conditioned by this hatred,” Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn told CNA.
The church may someday house the 21 martyrs’ remains, which were identified in a mass grave on the Libyan coast in September.
The Coptic Orthodox Church recognized the 21 Coptic Christians as martyrs to be commemorated every Feb. 15 within only a week of their murder in 2015 along the Libyan coast, which was filmed by the Islamic State and released in an internet video.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers had historically been considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, though they are not considered so any longer.
Although Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi authorized the building of the new church, its construction in a village that is 70 percent Muslim has faced resistance.
“Some of the villagers protested and threw stones when construction started on the church. Churches are a sensitive subject throughout Egypt, even though about 10 percent of the population is Christian. It’s hard to get permits to build them,” Jane Arraf of NPR reported from al-Our.
Christians in Egypt face a constant threat of violence. Earlier this week, a man was found guilty of stabbing Coptic Orthodox priest, Samaan Shehata, to death last October.
On Palm Sunday last year, two Islamic State suicide bombings at Coptic churches in Egypt claimed the lives of 47 people.
“We pray for our Coptic brethren as they continue to witness to their beautiful faith and way of life in Christ Jesus. They live in the most terrifying of circumstances, never knowing the hour or the place of the next attack. May the prayers of the Mother of God be their comfort and strength,” said Bishop Mansour, who continued: “Egypt was the first place of refuge for the holy family and continues to be a place of refuge for God’s holy family, mystically present in his Coptic Christians.”
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