NEWS ABOUT THE CHURCH & THE VATICAN

Vatican II Texts Were Misinterpreted, Says Pope
Explains Roots of Crisis That Hit Church in Wake of Council

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The crisis that arose in the Church after the Second Vatican Council wasn't due to the conciliar documents, but rather in their interpretation, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope made a long analysis of the legacy left by the 1962-1965 gathering of the world's bishops, when he met today with his aides in the Roman Curia to express his Christmas greetings.

The Holy Father asked rhetorically: "What has been good and what has been insufficient or mistaken?" in the implementation of the Council.

According to Benedict XVI, the reception of the Council's messages took place according to two interpretations that "confronted each other and have had disputes between them."

The first interpretation is the one the Pope called "hermeneutics of discontinuity and rupture" "between the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Church."

According to this view, what is important about the Council is not its texts but the spirit of renewal brought to the Church, the Holy Father said. This view, he observed, "has often been able to make use of the media's liking, and also of a part of modern theology."

Of reform

The other interpretation is "the hermeneutics of reform," which was proposed by the Popes who opened and closed the Council, John XXIII and Paul VI, and which is bearing fruits "in a silent but ever more visible way," said Benedict XVI.

According to this view, the objective of the Council and of every reform in the Church is "to transmit the doctrine purely and fully, without diminutions or distortions," conscious that "our duty not only consists in guarding this precious treasure, as though we were concerned only with antiquity, but in dedicating ourselves with a firm will and without fear to the work that our age calls for," the Pope said.

"One thing is the deposit of faith, that is, the truths contained in our venerated doctrine, and another [is] the way in which they are enunciated, preserving however the same meaning and fullness," he said, echoing John XXIII.

In this way, the Council presented a "new definition of the relationship between the faith of the Church and some essential elements of modern thought," Benedict XVI pointed out. He insisted that "the Church, both before as well as after the Council, is the same one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, journeying through time."

"Today we can look back with gratitude to the Second Vatican Council," he added. "If we read and receive it, guided by an appropriate hermeneutic, it can be and will be increasingly a great force for the always necessary renewal of the Church."

www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=82067

In the RFC forum, I posted a couple of stories by German Journalist Paul badde (who covers the Vatican for the German newspaper Die Welt) about an icon in northeastern Italy that may have the imprint of Christ's face. Here is an update on that
icon, from the British newspaper Telegraph.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/24/wvatican24.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/12/24/ixwo...
----------------------------------------------------------------
12/24/2005
Vatican intent on preserving veil of mystery over Veronica's silken icon
By Hilary Clarke in Manopello



The icon kept at the Sanctuary of Volto Santo, in Manopello, a little mountain town in eastern Italy.

An Italian bishop yesterday paid his respects to a mysterious icon that has been kept for centuries in a remote monastery, raising hopes that it may be recognised by the Church as a holy relic.

The icon is believed by the people of the Abruzzi region to be the Veil of Veronica, a piece of cloth imprinted miraculously with the image of Christ's face when he died. The Vatican has refused to recognise its authenticity, since it has in its vaults its own relic purporting to be the saint's veil.

But interest in the icon, kept in a monastery in the village of Manopello, is mounting so fast that the Vatican appears to be moving towards accepting the view of the image's passionate supporters.

The local bishop, Bruno Forte, presided over a candlelit ceremony at the monastery yesterday to mark the start of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of what locals call the "Holy Face" [Volto Santo]. He also agreed to give anyone who visits the church in 2006 "plenary indulgences" or extra pardons, suggesting tacit Vatican acceptance of the icon.

"Official acceptance after centuries of silence would have enormous theological and iconographic implications," said Father Heinrich Pfeiffer, a German Jesuit priest and art teacher at the Gregorian university in Rome, who claims that the image is indeed the Veil of Veronica, brought from Jerusalem to Italy after Christ's death and finally to the monastery by a pilgrim in 1606.

If Fr Pfeiffer is right, and the Manopello veil is original, it would mean the other Veil of Veronica, held in St Peter's but seen by just a few people over the past 500 years, is a fake.

According to Church teaching, St Veronica mopped Jesus's brow as he carried his cross to Calvary. She has become the patron saint of photography and her name is said to come from "vera icona" or "true icon".

Fr Pfeiffer believes the importance of the veil is on a par with the Turin Shroud, and provides a real guide to what Jesus looked like.

Stretched between two panes of glass in a gold and jewel-encrusted frame, the 9 x 7in relic is an extraordinary sight: a cross between a transparency and hologram of a Mediterranean-looking man with a bruised face and a broken nose. The detail, including stained teeth, wispy beard and plucked eyebrows is almost like a photo, or at least a negative.

When the light is dimmed, the colour seeps from the face and the marks become darker, giving the image the look of the face of a beaten corpse.

When held up against daylight the image disappears, and when viewed from the front of the altar its eyes change expression so that it appears to look sideways.

The monks claim there are no traces of paint on the image. The veil is believed to be made of byssus, a super-fine silk made from the "beard" that mussels use to attach themselves to rocks.

Byssus was used in the ancient world to make the finest cloth for pharaohs and Jewish high priests, and Chiara Vigo, a Sardinian craftswoman who is one of the few people in the world who knows how to make the cloth, confirms that the "Holy Face" is made of a similar material.

Fr Pfeiffer says that a sixth-century Syrian text from Kamulia in Cappadocia says that the image was on a material "drawn out of water" and was not "painted by hand".

The Vatican is unwilling to be drawn into the dispute over the authenticity of the image. A spokesman for the Pontifical Council for Culture said: "It could be an art history issue. Some people say the Turin Shroud was painted using an unknown painting technique and at the most should just be considered a relic. Maybe it was painted using the same as yet unproved technique.

"The Vatican can't pronounce on all the icons in existence. It's like the Turin Shroud. Those who don't believe it are not put out of the Church" he said.

The claim that it contains no paint can be believed when looking at it, but no independent scientific tests are allowed to be made on the icon. The Capuchin monks charged with its safekeeping say they cannot open it for testing because the last time it was examined closely in the 18th century it disappeared into thin air and came back only after the whole village prayed for several days.

The following is the official site on the Volto Santo
www.voltosanto.it/Italiano/prenotainfo.php
The site indicates versions in English and German, but I am unable to access them by clicking on the language icon!

From ZENIT's Italian service on 12/23/05:

A year after the tsunami that devastated parts of Southeast Asia, Caritas, the international Catholic charity organization, said it had contributed 450 million dollars to help the victims of the catastrophe.

Denis Vienot, president of the organization, told the news agency Fides, “Our response helped save lives, has given hope and helped to prevent epidemics and violence.”

“However, much remains to be done to guarantee the victims adequate housing, assure them of steady means of support, and peace, so that each family can proper without fear.”

Almost a million people were helped by Caritas in the first phase of the emergency. The $450 milllion given by Caritas was raised through donations from all over the world.

In India, Caritas provided food and basic needs to 118,000 families; constructed 3000 temporary homes; and provided boats and other necessities to help 7500 fishermen to resume their occupation. Additionally, 800 persons were given work training.

In Sri Lanka, Caritas helped 24,000 families during the emergency. It has since provided school materials to 17,000 pupils, repaire 37 schools, constructed 16,000 homes, and provided boats, motors and nets to 3000 fishermen.

In Indonesia, Caritas extended aid to 250,000 in Aceh province. It has reconstructed the hospital and set up two ambulatory clinics in Banda Aceh; 11 more are under construction. It helped restore water systems for 74,000 persons, constructed 25,000 homes and is helping rehabilitate 25,000 persons affected by trauma.

Vatican Warns Against Marrying Muslims
LAST UPDATE: 12/27/2005 7:00:54 AM


United Press International


A number of Catholic cardinals are warning Italian women against marrying Muslims.

Church officials say some 20,000 mixed marriages took place this year alone, the BBC reported.

The Catholic Church's official position is to encourage dialogue between Rome and other religions, including Islam. But two documents published in Rome have called for extreme caution by Catholic women contemplating marriage to a Muslim, the BBC said.

Vatican Cardinal Stephen Hamao wrote last year about what he called the bitter experiences European women have had in marrying Muslims.

The difficulties are compounded if the couple then goes to live in a Muslim country, the cardinal warned.

Cardinal Ruini, the head of the Italian bishops, said last month that in addition to the problems any couple faces setting up a family, Catholics marrying Muslims have to reckon with extra difficulties arising from deep cultural differences.

Sarah El Deeb Associated PressBETHLEHEM, West Bank

Christian pilgrims packed Bethlehem's Manger Square and the Vatican on Christmas Day to pray for a tranquil 2006 and remember those killed in the terrorist attacks and natural disasters that marked the waning year.
Pope Benedict XVI praised signs of hope in the Middle East, while grieving relatives gathered at beaches and mass graves in Asia to pay tribute to the tens of thousands killed when the tsunami crashed into the region's coastlines a year ago.
In rainy Bethlehem, where a February truce brought a downturn in five years of Palestinian-Israeli violence, about 30,000 tourists visited Manger Square outside the fortress-like, fourth-century Church of the Nativity, built over the grottoes that mark Jesus' birthplace.
But a reminder that peace remains elusive loomed at the edge of town: a 25-foot barrier that Israel built to keep Palestinian suicide bombers out of Israel.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, said the wall has turned the West Bank town of Bethlehem into a prison. Yet he struck an optimistic tone in his message at the traditional midnight Mass.
''There seems to be a new Palestinian and Israeli political reality, despite the many complications and hesitations that surround it,'' Sabbah said.
Worshipers lined up to get in packed Bethlehem churches, a contrast to the sparse turnouts of previous years.
At St. Catherine's Church, attached to the older Church of the Nativity, Andrea Mrakic, a 24-year-old Italian Embassy worker, said his prayers were for all people, ''especially here, so that everyone can be in peace, happy with each other and enjoying each other.''
''In the last year, something has improved. But the road is still very long,'' he said.
In the Vatican, Benedict carried on the tradition of the late Pope John Paul II of reflecting on violence and poverty in his ''Urbi et Orbi'' message, Latin for ''to the city and to the world.''
''A united humanity will be able to confront the troubling problems of the present time: from the menace of terrorism to the humiliating poverty in which millions of human beings live,'' he said.
A rainstorm drenched thousands of pilgrims in front of St. Peter's Basilica, but they cheered the pope.

The Pope has quietly tried to rein in liturgical liberties taken by the group called
Neo-Catechumenals who have been claiming that Pope John Paul II authorized them to proceed
with their "do-it-yourself" liturgical practices, including saying Sunday Mass on Saturdays.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Liturgy: Benedict XVI Brings the Neocatechumenals Back to the Right Way
The confidential document in which the pope cracks down on abuses in how
the Neocatechumenal Way celebrates the Mass

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, December 27, 2005 – In his powerful pre-Christmas address to the curia, Benedict XVI
dedicated a passage to the synod of bishops on the Eucharist, which was held in the Vatican last October.

The pope expressed his appreciation of the fact that “there is a reawakening in the Church
of the joy of adoring the risen Lord present in the Eucharist flesh and blood, body and soul,
divinity and humanity.”

He recalled that this revival of Eucharistic adoration was also displayed during World Youth Day
last August in Cologne.

And he contrasted with this a tendency that arose after the council, a tendency he sees as negative:

“In the period of liturgical reform, the Mass and adoration were often seen as
conflicting with one another: according to a widespread objection at the time,
the Eucharistic bread was given to be eaten, not contemplated.”

This tendency has left its mark on how the liturgy is celebrated in many places.
And it still finds significant proponents.

For example, in the synod of last October, the archbishop of Agana on the island of Guam,
Anthony Sablam Apuron, president of the Pacific bishops’ conference, asked that
the practice of receiving communion while seated be extended, because “if the Eucharist
is a banquet, then this is the most appropriate posture.”

He was seconded by Zbigniew Kiernikowski, bishop of Siedlce in Poland, who said that
in order to emphasize fact that the Mass is a banquet, “the bread should look like food,”
and “the chalice should be extended to be drunk from.”

Both of these bishops gave as an example to be followed the way in which the Mass
is celebrated among the Neocatechumenals.

And in fact, among the new movements that have arisen in the Catholic Church,
the Neocatechumenal Way is the one that goes the farthest in introducing innovations
to the celebration of the Mass.

In the Neocatechumenal Way, communion is taken while seated around a large square table,
with a large loaf of bread that is divided among the participants and wine
that is passed from hand to hand and is taken in large swallows.

But communion is not the only area in which there is a departure from the traditional liturgy.
There are significant innovations in other parts of the Mass.

For example, the readings from the liturgy of the Word are commented upon by the catechists
of the group, who make lengthy “admonitions” followed by “resonances” from many of those present.
The priest’s homily is hardly distinguished, or not distinguished at all, from the rest of the comments.

The times and places for the Mass are also unusual.

The Neocatechumenals do not celebrate their Masses on Sunday, but on Saturday evening,
in small groups and separate from the parish communities to which they belong.

Each Neocatechumenal group corresponds to a different stage of the Way, so each group
of 20-30 persons has its own Mass. If there are ten groups of Neocatechumenals in a parish,
there will be ten different Masses on Saturday evening, in ten separate locations.

The statutes approved by the Holy See in 2002 require that the Masses of the Neocatechumenals
be “open to other members of the faithful” (article 13.3), but in fact nothing has changed.
The greetings, presentations, and applause during the entrance ceremony form
a natural barrier to outsiders.

Benedict XVI has written the last word on all of this.

In mid-December, the founders and directors of the Neocatechumenal Way –
Spaniards Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernandez, and the Italian priest Mario Pezzi –
received a two-page letter from cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, with a list of “decisions of the Holy Father”
which they must obey.

The letter is reproduced down below. Of the six points detailing the pope’s directives,
only one permits the Neocatechumenals to continue what they are doing. This regards
placing the exchange of peace before the offertory, a traditional practice
in the Christian liturgy which is still in use today, for example, in the Ambrosian Rite
celebrated in the archdiocese of Milan.

All the other points require the Neocatechumenal Way to eliminate a large portion
of its liturgical innovations.

Until recently, the founders and directors of the Way had shielded these practices
by claiming they had received verbal authorization from John Paul II. But with Benedict XVI,
playtime is over.

And it’s coming to an end for the liturgical abuses practiced throughout the Church.
In this regard, pope Joseph Ratzinger’s document in conclusion of the synod of the Eucharist
will be of great interest.

Cardinal Arinze’s letter was delivered to Argüello, Hernandez, and Pezzi under confidentiality.
But on December 22, the Vatican affairs journalist Andrea Tornielli broke the news of it
in the newspaper “il Giornale.”

Here it is, in its entirety:

"I am to inform you of the Holy Father’s decisions..."

Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum
Prot. 2520/03/L
From Vatican City, December 1, 2005

To the esteemed Mr. Kiko Argüello, Ms. Carmen Hernandez, and Rev. Father Mario Pezzi,

Following the conversations with this Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline
of the Sacraments on the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist in the communities of the
Neocatechumenal Way, in keeping with the guidelines issued in the meeting with you
on November 11 of this year, I am to inform you of the Holy Father’s decisions.

In the celebration of the Holy Mass, the Neocatechumenal Way shall accept and follow
the liturgical books approved by the Church, without omitting or adding anything.
Furthermore, in regard to some elements the guidelines and clarifications are emphasized as follows:

1. Sunday is the “Dies Domini” as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wished to illustrate
in the Apostolic Letter on the Lord’s Day. Therefore the Neocatechumenal Way must enter
into dialogue with the diocesan bishop in order to make it clear that the community
of the Neocatechumenal Way is incorporated into the parish even in the context of
the liturgical celebrations. At least one Sunday per month, the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way
must participate in the Holy Mass of the parish community.

2. As for any admonitions issued before the readings, these must be brief.
Adherence must also be shown to what is set out in the “Institutio Generalis
Missalis Romani” (nn. 105 and 128) and to the Praenotanda of the
“Ordo Lectionum Missae” (nn. 15, 19, 38, 42).

3. The homily, because of its nature and importance, is reserved to the priest or deacon
(cf. Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 767 § 1). As for the occasional contribution of testimonies
on the part of the lay faithful, the proper places and methods for these are indicated in
the Interdicasterial Instruction “Ecclesiae de Mysterio,” which was approved “in specific form”
by Pope John Paul II and published on August 15, 1997. In this document, sections 2 and 3
of article 3 read as follows:

§2 - “It is permitted to have a brief instruction that helps explain better the liturgy
that is being celebrated, and even, in exceptional circumstances, a few testimonies,
as long as these conform to the liturgical norms, are offered on the occasion of
Eucharistic liturgies celebrated on particular days (for seminarians, the sick, etc.),
and are thought truly helpful as an illustration of the regular homily delivered by
the celebrating priest. These instructions and testimonies must not assume characteristics
that might cause them to be confused with the homily.”

§3 - “The possibility of ‘dialogue’ during the homily (cf. Directorium de Missis cum Pueris, no. 48)
can be used occasionally and with prudence by the celebrating minister as a means of exposition,
which does not transfer to others the duty of preaching.”

Careful attention must also be paid to the
Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” no. 74.

4. On the exchange of peace, permission is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way
to continue using the indult already granted, pending further instructions.

5. On the manner of receiving Holy Communion, a period of transition (not exceeding two years)
is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way to pass from the widespread manner of receiving
Holy Communion in its communities (seated, with a cloth-covered table placed at the center
of the church instead of the dedicated altar in the sanctuary) to the normal way in which
the entire Church receives Holy Communion. This means that the Neocatechumenal Way must begin
to adopt the manner of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ that is provided in the liturgical books.

6. The Neocatechumenal Way must also make use of the other Eucharistic Prayers
contained in the missal, and not only Eucharistic Prayer II.

In short, the Neocatechumenal Way, in its celebration of the Holy Mass, should follow
the approved liturgical books, keeping in mind what is laid out above under the numbers 1,2,3,4,5, and 6.

Acknowledging the favors that the Lord has bestowed upon the Church through the many activities
of the Neocatechumenal Way, I take this occasion to extend to you my best regards.

+ Francis Card. Arinze
Prefect

----------

Esteemed
Mr. ARGÜELLO Kiko, Ms. HERNANDEZ Carmen, Rev. Fr. PEZZI Mario
Via dei Gonzaga, 205
ROMA

THE LATEST "GOSSIP" ON PAPA NAMING NEW CARDINALS

Pope to name new cardinals?

Vatican, Dec. 29 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) may soon name new members of the College of Cardinals, according to rumors in the Italian press.


The ADN Kronos news agency has gone so far as to say that the Pope will call a consistory for February 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Citing "informed Vatican sources," ADN Kronos said that the consistory will be announced-- and presumably the new cardinals will be identified-- on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany.

PROTECTOR OF THE FAITH, PROTECTOR OF EMBRYOS

Here is an article commenting on Papa's recent remarks about embryos and how that relates to issues currently being debated in various countries.

www.lifenews.com/nat1935.html

[Modificato da benefan 29/12/2005 19.00]

FIRST MEDIA RESPONSE ON PAPAL DIRECTIVE TO NEOCATECHUMENALS

The media have found out about Papa's attempt to bring the Neocatechumenal group more in line with the church's standard practices at Mass. I'm sure we can expect many more articles soon, mostly negative and critical of Papa and dredging out the old stereotypes of him.

news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051229/lf_afp/vaticanpopereligion_0512...

I wasn't too sure where to post this but since there is no thread about speculation and fantasy on church history which is what this is about, I will post this here. To anyone who lives in the US you may have seen a program on ABC Primetime about Pope Joan:"the female pope". The program says that she came from Germany and disguised herself so that she could enter the seminary. They say that she had a lover and traveled up the church hieracy becoming secretary to the Curia, then a cardinal and then pope. They also mentioned that her "reign" lasted until 855 A.D. Diane Sawyer went to Rome and was in the streets in front of St. Peter's asking people if they had heard of a female pope. Some said no, a man said that yes he had heard of it and that she was from a long time ago. She asked some nuns and priests and they said that they had never heard of a female pope. Afterwards she spoke to a man who talked about "The Street of the female pope" in Rome. The story goes that Joan was going to the Church of the Lateran and was on her way back to the Vatican and as she was riding on her horse she began to have contractions and had her baby right there on the street.
Diane Sawyer was later in St. Peter's and spoke about the Bernini (sp?) Altar. On the columns of the altar there is a marble piece with the papal crown and below it there was a woman face. Of course she starts to go on and on about how this could be the face of Joan the female pope because as you go along each one the face of the woman becomes more dramatic as if, so says Sawyer, the woman is in labor. Then the 8th figure has a smiling face which she speculates is the face of the newborn baby. They talked to someone who said that they were a Bernini (sp?) historian and said that the reason that the faces were like this was because a Pope (I cannot remember which one) had a niece who was pregnant and having a painful time and prayed to God about it. They then spoke to a former nun who said that this was ridiculous, why would a Pope have his niece's face on the columns of the holy altar and that it was that face of "pope joan." But I wonder why if pope joan was such a shame to the Catholic church as she says then why would they have her face on the columns ?? of course this is a lot of speculation and rumors because there is no concrete proof other than a supposed document that says there was a female pope, and many historians they brought on to discuss this agree that there is no female pope. Finally, the ex-nun (Why oh why they would find a ex-nun a credible source I don't know) said that women in those times began to get more involved and have a more prominent place in the church and that because of "pope joan" the future popes began to crack down. They said that many priests who were married had to give up their wife even if they were "good upstanding citizens" and one lady that they brought on said that if a priest wouldn't give up his wife, the bishop would sell her into slavery.

I'm suprised and dissapointed that ABC would show something like this and I hope that those who watched it don't say: see that's why the church won't let the priests get married or believe some other parts of this fairy tail.

Dear Lori -
There is a saying that people throw stones at the tallest trees in the forest.
The Catholic Church, being the largest and most stable religious institution in the world,
has always attracted the worst persecutions and most malicious accusations and innuendo.
That continues to this day.

In this media-driven age, the scurrilous attacks now also come in forms such as
"The Da Vinci Code" and the program you mentioned.

One of my favorite bloggers, Curt Jester, at
www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/
comments on the ABC program in his Dec, 28 blog, and refers us to:
www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/2.2/mar_apr98_coverst...
for an informative and interesting read on "Pope Fiction."
One of the five "fictions" cited and debunked is the Pope Joan myth.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 30/12/2005 14.12]

Dean Poling

VALDOSTA — Since arriving in Rome earlier this week, St. John’s Catholic Church Youth Choir and supporters have visited Trevi Fountain and the Vatican as the local group prepares to sing for the pope on New Year’s Day, says Father John O’Brien.

On Sunday, St. John’s Youth Choir is scheduled to sing for Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the New Year’s Papal Mass. In addition to the papal performance, the St. John’s group, which is comprised of fourth to eighth graders, had been scheduled to tour various parts of Rome, and travel to Assisi, famed for its native son St. Francis, to sing during the Mass in the Basilica di St. Francesco.

Choir Director Donna Farwell and approximately 60 local choir members and adults left Monday by various routes to meet in Philadelphia. From there, they flew together to Rome, O’Brien says. The group is scheduled to return Monday.

The invitation for a papal performance came more than a year ago, when John Paul II was still pope. The invitation to St. John’s remained after John Paul II’s death last spring. The invitation came as a result of a St. John’s Youth Choir performance in November 2004 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah. The Valdosta choir’s members were among hundreds of children from 12 parishes in three dioceses performing in Savannah. By early 2005, based on St. John’s Savannah performance, the Vatican invited the choir to perform for the Holy Father for New Year’s Day 2006.

Farwell originally believed the invitation was a parishioner’s idea of a joke. After all, how often is a South Georgia group invited to sing for the pope? A confirmation of the invitation came soon enough, and St. John Youth Choir began raising money to fund the trip, which cost roughly $2,500 per person.

Last month, choir members raised the last of the needed money with a local concert, singing songs they expected to perform this week. These songs include “Jubilate Deo,” “Look Around,” “Panis Angelicus,” “I Will Greatly Rejoice,” “I Wonder As I Wander,” “The Sound of Music,” “Ave Verum Corpus” and “Do You Know Your Shepherd’s Voice.”

Farwell had also planned for the choir to perform a Polish carol called “Lulajze Jezuniu (lullaby Jesus).” Originally, she had planned for the choir to sing this song in honor of the Polish roots that Farwell shared with Pope John Paul II. This traditional Polish Christmas carol was arranged for the choir by Farwell’s father shortly before his death, she told The Valdosta Daily Times earlier this year.

Farwell’s father, Feliks Gwozdz, was a classmate of Karol Josef Wojtyla, John Paul II’s birth name, at the University of Krakow in Poland. Feliks Gwozdz and wife Eugenia were Jewish Poles. Nazis placed the couple in separate concentration camps during World War II. They survived the Holocaust, found each other, immigrated to the United States and converted to Catholicism.

Earlier this year, Farwell still planned for the choir to sing the Polish carol in John Paul II’s honor during a scheduled meeting with Pope Benedict XVI prior to the mass.

by Steven Cuevas
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5074599

The Catholic Church in Germany
is profiting from the Benedict effect

Joseph Ratzinger’s election in April as Supreme Pontiff to succeeed John Paul II as Benedict XVI
Has aroused renewed interest in the Catholic Church. So says German Cardinal Karl Lehmann happily.

Interviewed on Bavarian radio, the German prelate underscored that there had been an increase in
The number of faithful coming back to the Church and a strong decrease in the numbers of those thos are leaving the church.

In Germany, those who claim to profess a faith officially pay an annual tax which reverts to thei r Church. Therefore, many Germans have left their churches to avoid paying this ta .

Rainer Stephan, a theologian who is involved in the efforts by the Catholic Church to attract back the faithful, undercored that the importance given by media coverage to the dfeath of John Paul II, to the election of his successpr. And to Benedict XVI’s participation inWorld Yout Day in Clogne, had ontrributed greatly to the rebirth of interest in relegion this year.

In the diocese of Mainz, the number of persons who registered themselves as Catholic increased by 20% compared to 2004, while the numbner of those who left the Church decreased by 25%.

The consumer society has its limits. With 5 million unemployed and Germany’s economic crisis, Stephan notes that people are reflecting more deeply on the sense of events. He notes that even his Protestant colleeagues are noting the same thing.

Cardinal Lehmann expressed the hope that Benedict XVI's visit to Bavaria in September will help maintain the impetus observed in 2005.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 01/01/2006 18.00]

A VIEW OF THE FUTURE OF THE US CATHOLIC CHURCH

In Louvain, Belgium, Bishop William Skylstad, president of the US Catholic Bishops Conference, talked about the current state of the Catholic Church in the US and what he sees as the challenges it faces in the near future.

www.acl.be/PDF%20Published%20Files/Skylstad%20lecture,%2005-1...

[Modificato da benefan 01/01/2006 17.57]

Pope to name new cardinals?

Vatican, Dec. 29, 2005 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI may soon name new members
of the College of Cardinals, according to rumors in the Italian press.

The ADN Kronos news agency has gone so far as to say that the Pope will call a consistory
for February 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Citing "informed Vatican sources,"
ADN Kronos said that the consistory will be announced-- and presumably the new cardinals
will be identified-- on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany.

The rumors of a consistory have circulated quickly in Rome. Pope Benedict and
his immediate staff aides have closely guarded the confidentiality of
the Pope's thoughts and policy decisions. The sudden burst of public speculation
could signal that news of the pending consistory has passed beyond the pontifical household.

The timing also seems right for a consistory. The College of Cardinals now has 111 members
who are below the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave;
the regulations established by Pope Paul VI in 1975 allow for 120 cardinal-electors.

Moreover, there are many leading prelates who appear to qualify for red hats. For example,
Archbishops William Levada and Fran Rodé are now prefects of major Vatican congregations--
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Religious,
respectively-- whose leaders have always been cardinals.

Other Vatican officials who could join the College of Cardinals might include Archbishop
Agostino Vallini, the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura;
Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; Archbishop
Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue;
and even potentially Archbishop John Foley, the American-born president of the Pontifical
Council for Social Communications.

Moreover, there are many archdioceses around the world which are traditionally led by prelates
with the rank of cardinal. Archbishops André Vingt-Trois of Paris, France;
Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Toledo, Spain; João Bráz de Aviz of Brasilia, Brazil;
and Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland would be among the leading candidates for
the College of Cardinals.

The timing of a consistory could also be tied to the announcement of new appointments
to the leadership of the Roman Curia. Several prominent Vatican officials have now served
well beyond the ordinary retirement age of 75. Most prominent among these is
the Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who is now 78 and has held his current post
for 14 years. Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the governor of the Vatican city-state, is also 78.
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos will turn 77 in July, by which time he will have served
over 10 years as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

Other Vatican officials who have passed their 75th birthdays include Cardinals Julian Herranz,
president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Stephen Fumio Hamao,
president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants; Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical
Council for Culture; and Ignace Moussa I Daoud, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

If he does announce a consistory, Pope Benedict is likely to make some unexpected appointments,
offering evidence of his own policies and priorities. A cardinal's red hat
is the highest honor that the Pope can bestow on a living cleric.

During his long pontificate Pope John Paul II held nine ordinary consistories,
naming 231 cardinals, of whom 169 are still alive.

There has not been a consistory since October 2003, when Pope John Paul II named
30 new cardinals and created 2 others in pectore-- that is, secretly. Since the Pope died
without having revealed the identity of those two prelates, they cannot assume
their role as cardinals unless the deceased Pontiff left behind some indication of their identity.

www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=41525

A representative of the Neo-Catechumenal Way in the United States puts a positive spin on the recent Pontifical instructions regarding the movement's unusual liturgical practices:

www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=82282

ROME, JAN. 1, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A bishop, 20 priests, two men religious, two women religious and a layman were added to the list of pastoral mission agents who met violent deaths last year.

Those 26 deaths compare with 15 recorded in 2004. The new figure appears in the "Martyrology of the Contemporary Church," published by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

It refers not only to missionaries in the strict sense of the term, but also to all the Church personnel who were killed or sacrificed their lives as part of their witness to the faith.

The highest number of victims was registered in the Americas, with the loss of eight priests, two women religious and two men religious.

"Colombia, with four priests and one nun killed, is still the nation where social conflicts are most acute and where the Church pays a heavy price for its commitment to reconciliation and social justice in the name of the Gospel," noted the dicastery.

"Two more priests were killed in Mexico," it said. "They had been working in areas of profound degradation."

U.S.-born Sister Dorothy Stang, 73, of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, died on Feb. 12 in Brazil. She has carried out her apostolate for 40 years in small communities of the interior of the Amazon region.

She was shot in the back at point-blank range by two gunmen in the Esperanca settlement, in the southwestern state of Para. Less than one week earlier she had reported death threats by four farmers of the area.

African strife

On Oct. 27 members of the Missionaries of the Poor, a religious congregation of diocesan right, were killed in Kingston, Jamaica. Suresh Barwa, 31, a native of India, and Filipino Marco Candelario Lasbuna, 22, fell victims of a bullet to the head while they were working in the kitchen of a Missionaries of the Poor house.

The report, moreover, that "Africa was bathed with the blood of a bishop, six priests and a layman."

The victim were either killed "probably by criminals looking for easy money," "or deliberately eliminated with bloody ferocity in Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo- Brazzaville, and Nigeria."

Among those who died in Africa was Father Thomas Richard Heath, 85, a U.S.-born Dominican religious. He died Jan. 13, days after being attacked during an attempted robbery at a religious house in Kisumu, Kenya.

Added to the list of those killed was Swiss Ursuline Sister Margaret Branchen, 74, an obstetric nurse, who died Dec. 28. She was attacked at a clinic where she worked in Ngqeleni, near Mthatha, in South Africa. The police believe the crime was committed in a robbery attempt. News of her death was made known Friday, according to the Missionary Service News Agency.

Four priests lost their lives in Asia because of the Gospel: three in India and one in Indonesia, the report said.

Belgium was also the scene of the murder of a priest, as was Russia.

Nicora???
*ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EXCLUSIVE*

Now this is interesting....

ADN Kronos, the Italian news agency, is reporting that the new front-runner to succeed Cardinal Angelo Sodano as Vatican Secretary of State is none other than the Pope's stockbroker: Cardinal Attilio Nicora, president of the APSA, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which handles the Holy See's investment portfolio.

The succession to Sodano, who turned 78 last month, was already a heated topic of discussion in the waning days of John Paul II before gaining further fervor in these first months of the papacy of Benedict XVI.

The latter uptick is particularly due to a foreseen adjustment of the role of the Secretariat of State in light of the presence of the first head of the Holy Office to be elected Pope in almost half a millennium. Stato has unofficially enjoyed a "superdicastery" status as the curial clearinghouse since the days of Pius XI and officially since Paul VI's curial reform, Regimini Ecclesiae Universae. Of course, of the 20th century Popes, Pius XII held the Secretary's post for nine years, John XXIII was a lifer in the diplomatic corps before going to Venice and Paul VI spent a decade as one of two pro-Secretaries of State when Pius decided to not fill his old job after the death of Cardinal Luigi Maglione in 1944. With the Grand Inquisitor now Pope, the pecking-order of precedence is seen to be in for a change.

Nicora, 69 in March, has been Benedict's point-man on a study looking into what has been called the "simplification" of the Roman Curia, which the Pope intends to undertake deep in the New Year. There have been flow-charts in B16's study over the last few months.

The entrance of Nicora's name into a speculation pool which has included, among many others, the seasoned papal diplomats Cardinals Jean-Louis Tauran and Crescenzio Sepe and Archbishops Diarmuid Martin, Leonardo Sandri and Giovanni Lajolo (the latter two currently serving as Sodano's chief aides) is surprising as the APSA chief has no experience whatsoever in the Holy See's diplomatic corps which, as master of San Damaso, he would head.

The cardinal spent most of his priesthood as a professor of canon law at the seminary in his native Milan, later rising to its rectorship. Ordained an auxiliary bishop of Milan shortly after he turned 40, most of his episcopate was spent in close collaboration with the Holy See, not as a curialist but as an officer of the CEI, the Italian bishops' conference. He became bishop of Verona in 1992, went back to the CEI in 1997, was elected its full-time vice-president in 2000, and was finally brought into the Curia to head APSA in 2002, succeeding Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, the well-regarded former nuncio to Washington (and widow of Benelli).

Although the impact of the Cardinal-Secretary in the area of internal church politics is negligible, given the expansive outward focus of his dicastery, it is worth noting that when he was made a cardinal in 2003, John Allen placed Nicora in a group which, in the correspondent's view, "embod[ies] a throwback form of traditionalism that seeks to translate church teaching quasi-automatically into social policy."

And in one of those quotes which tends to stick with those who know the subtext, an aquaintance of the potential Secretary's said of Nicora late 2002 in the pages of NCR that, "If I needed someone to baptize my son, he wouldn’t necessarily be the man I would call. But to balance my bank account, yes, sure."

Take that for what it's worth.

PAPA SETS THEMES FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY EVENTS

Pontifical council says Holy Spirit is theme of next three youth days

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While choosing themes for the next three celebrations of World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI asked young Catholics to reflect on how the Holy Spirit leads people to encounter Christ, to love others and to go out to the world to spread the Gospel, said the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

The council, which coordinates the local annual celebration of World Youth Day and organizes the international gatherings of young people with the pope, published the list of themes for 2006-2008.

The next international gathering, the council said Jan. 3, will be held July 15-20, 2008, in Sydney, Australia.

The theme for the 2008 event is "You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Has Come Upon You; and You Will Be My Witnesses." The quotation is taken from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

"Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet and a Light to My Path" is the theme chosen by Pope Benedict for the 2006 celebrations, which will be held on the diocesan level, the council said.

In 2007, also on the diocesan level, young people will focus on the theme "Just as I Have Loved You, You Also Should Love One Another."

"The thread running through these three years of preparation is the link between the Holy Spirit and mission," the council said.

"As is customary," the notice said, "the theme and the pastoral approach of these World Youth Days will be developed in the traditional message that the Holy Father addresses to young people for Palm Sunday," the date most dioceses mark World Youth Day locally.

The following is a translation of two items published on line yesterday and today
by kreuz.net, a Catholic news agency in German. The subject is yet another one of the theologians
who became "famous" (and therefore lionized in the media) for insisting on teaching
their own beliefs about certain matters of Catholic doctrine rather than what the Magisterium teaches.

Like Leonardo Boff and Eugen Drewermann, to name two examples, Gotthold Hassenhuettl disagrees
with the Church Magisterium on important points and insists on propagating his own beliefs
by teaching and publishing them but refuses to accept being disciplined for such disobedience.
Boff and Drewermann have
left the priesthood; Drewermann also announced recently he has left the Catholic Church.

The discipline the Church has imposed on such insistently wayward priests
has consisted mainly in suspension of their priestly functions and withdrawal of their permission
to teach as Catholic professors (they can teach whatever they want wherever they want
as long as they do not do so in the capacity of a "Catholic professor") - sanctions which
do not seem unreasonable given their insistence on preaching and teaching their own doctrine
rather than the Church's.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Suspended priest Gotthold Hassenhuettl,82, an Austrian-born theologian living in Germany,
will appeal to Pope Benedict XVI, to protest the recent withdrawal of his permission
to teach as a Catholic professor by Mons. Reinhard Marx, Bishop of Trier, Germany, according to
a report by Sudwestrundfunk, a radio station in southwestern Germany.

Hassenhuettl is Emeritus Professor of Dogma in the Faculty of Philosophy of
the University of Saarland.

Hassenhuettl was also quoted as saying that his suspension as a priest was already
a “completely exaggerated reaction.” He was suspended in June 2004 by the Vatican because
he publicly advocated inter-communion, which the Catholic Church does not approve of.

Bishop Marx notified Hassenhuettl of the withdrawal of his permission to teach
as a Catholic professor on January 2. He said that whoever teaches in the name of the Church
cannot perform that function according to his individual views, but only on the basis
of what the Church itself teaches.

Therefore, Marx’s letter continues, whoever does not recongize Church authority and
is not prepared to follow Church instructions, cannot teach in the name of the Church.

Marx pointed out that Professor Hassenhuettl has declared many times that he will not follow
some Church teachings:

“Your last writing, and even those before December 8, 2005, have made it very clear
that you have not given in in any way, that you continue to believe that your behavior
is the right one and that therefore you do not see any ground to accept the Church discipline
which led to your suspension precisely on this ground, “ Marx wrote.

Critics of Hassenhuettl have also accused him of being an atheist, because he preaches
a watered-down idea of God, saying that “God” is merely a subjective word for
“the experience of love between and among human beings.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

CAN'T THE GUY JUST STAY RETIRED?

Why, at 82, does Hassenhuettl feel the need to unretire and go back into teaching, causing headlines and problems in the process? You can see in many of these suspended theologians hubris as wide as an expressway.

[Modificato da benefan 05/01/2006 18.44]

Benefan, you are true,
he want to teach because he is the only person od the world who knows who God is.
I don't know where the humbleness is in this case.

On the other hand we have religion freedom so these theologicians may found their own churches or religion organisations.
Then teach in name of them as they want.

Critics of Hassenhuettl have also accused him of being an atheist, because he preaches
a watered-down idea of God, saying that “God” is merely a subjective word for
“the experience of love between and among human beings.”

I have many friends who have this opinion about the "God", too. And they also think all religions are the same.

A NICER BIT OF NEWS

From Catholic World News:

Taizé leader meets with Pope

Jan. 05 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI met on January 5 with Brother Alois, the new leader of the Taizé community.

Brother Alois, a German Catholic, became head of the ecumenical community in August 2005. He succeeded Brother Roger Schutz, the founder of Taizé, who was killed on August 16 when he was stabbed by a deranged woman during a public prayer service.

Since the time of Pope John XXIII, the head of the Taizé community has met with the Roman Pontiff each year in a private audience. This is the first such meeting for Brother Alois in his new leadership role.

Pope Benedict welcomed Brother Alois to the Vatican shortly after the conclusion of an annual European meeting of the Taizé community. From December 28 through January 1, the group hosted about 50,000 young people in Milan. It was the 28th annual gathering of young European Christians sponsored by Taizé. In a message that he sent to the meeting, Pope Benedict had encouraged the young participants to follow the example of Brother Roger and of Pope John Paul II, and "be peacemakers in your turn."

The Taizé community was founded by Brother Roger in 1940. Dedicated to fostering unity among Christians, the Taizé community now includes 100 monks of different Christian denominations, from 30 different countries. Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims, mostly young people, visit the community's center in Burgundy.

Brother Alois told after meeting:

For us was this meeting very important due to fact brother Roger met Holy father every year. I want to follow this tradition and express our community and will live for christian unity and with young people go to the sourse of faith.
That source is Christ which cannot be separated from community of church.
I wanted to thank Holy father especially, for words he spoke the day after the death of br. Roger during Angelus in Castel Gandolfo and then repeated in Cologna WYD.
Benedict XVI prayed for br. Roger in front of Cologna Cathedral and then greeted personally every brother from Taize community who were present there.
I wanted to thank him for the gesture which gave us courage.

I delivered to Holy father unfinished paper of br. Roger which came into being in August, before his death.
Pope read the last sentence, which ended with three dots:
"If our community is able to create in human family possibility for enlargement..."
Br. Roger didn't end this sentence.
Pope told us: "Go on, go on in this work."


Wow, sorry for bad translation it was originally in czech and did the best I can.

STATE VS. CHURCH ON ABORTION AND PRO-LIFE ISSUES


From the Guardian Unlimited:

EU challenges Vatican's draft abortion treaty

· Pope proposes conscience opt-out for Slovakia
· Lawyers warn of breach of union's obligations

Nicholas Watt in Brussels
Thursday January 5, 2006

An attempt by the Vatican to reduce the number of abortions in one of central Europe's most staunchly Roman Catholic countries is being challenged by the EU. A legal panel appointed by the European commission has attacked a draft treaty between Slovakia and the Vatican that would have restricted sensitive medical treatment such as abortions and IVF.

The group of lawyers warned that the treaty, known as a concordat, could place Slovakia in breach of its obligations as a member of the EU. Slovakia could find itself "violating its obligations", says the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights.

The panel's intervention came in a 41-page report on the draft treaty, which was drawn up in March 2003. The treaty would allow healthcare workers in hospitals founded by the Catholic church to refuse to perform abortions or carry out fertility treatment on "conscience" grounds if they believe such work conflicts with their faith.

Their concerns were backed by the EU group. It said "certain religious organisations" should have the right not to perform "certain activities where this would conflict with [their] ethos or belief". But it added: "It is important the exercise of this right does not conflict with the rights of others, including the right of all women to receive certain medical services or counselling without any discrimination."

Approximately 70% of the population in Slovakia - which joined the EU in May 2004 - is Catholic.

"There is a risk that the recognition of a right to exercise objection of conscience in the field of reproductive healthcare will make it in practice impossible or very difficult for women to receive advice or treatment ... especially in rural areas."

Pope Benedict XVI is keen to maintain the work of his predecessor - the first Slav Pope - in extending the Vatican's influence across eastern Europe. If the agreement between the Vatican and Slovakia is passed into law it will have the status of an international treaty because the Holy See is a sovereign state.

As the late Pope's closest confidant, when he was known as Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict tried directly to influence members of the convention drawing up the ill-fated EU constitution. He is known to have telephoned a senior German MEP on the convention to demand that the constitution refer to a Christian God. This failed, as did the constitution when French and Dutch voters rejected it in referendums last year.

Campaigners welcomed the findings by the EU panel. Keith Porteous Wood, of Britain's National Secular Society, said: "We welcome this opinion which shows conscience clauses in EU member countries cannot be taken advantage of regardless of the consequences for others.

"This concordat would enable those Slovaks wishing to enforce Catholic doctrine, for example, on abortion and contraception in the performance of their duties regardless of the adverse implications on the patients, which could be severe. The draft also discriminated in favour of Christians in certain areas to the detriment of those of other faiths or none."

The Vatican has signed similar agreements with Italy, Latvia and Portugal on "religious conscientious objection", but these have been more limited.

GREEK ORTHODOX LEADER TO MEET POPE

From Forbes.com

Orthodox Leader Says He Will Meet Pope
By MITCH STACY , 01.05.2006, 05:49 PM

The spiritual leader of the world's 200 million-plus Orthodox Christians said Thursday that he is eager to meet with Pope Benedict XVI sometime in the coming year in an effort to heal the long-standing rift between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Visiting this heavily Greek community northwest of Tampa for the annual Feast of the Epiphany celebration, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I told reporters that the pope plans an official visit sometime this year to his headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey.

"We are in very good relationships with the present pope, Benedict XVI, and I'm in the very happy position to announce to you that we are going to restart the dialogue on the international global level between the Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church," Bartholomew said in Greek through an interpreter, Archbishop Demetrios, who is primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.

The last official talks between two churches five years ago broke off without an agreement on theological issues that have divided them for almost 1,000 years.

Bartholomew had received a warm reception from the Vatican after inviting the pope to Turkey for the Feast of St. Andrew in November. But they were subtly rebuffed when the government of primarily Muslim Turkey, instead of approving the visit, issued its own invitation to Benedict for an unspecified date in 2006.

Because Benedict is also the head of state of the Vatican, any visit to Turkey would need to be coordinated with the Turkish government.

Bartholomew said Thursday that "within this year that has already begun, the new pope is going to visit officially the ecumenical patriarchy."

Both the current patriarch and the current pope appear deeply committed to bridging the rift between their estranged churches and helping to unite two of the largest branches of Christianity.

"The commitment of the Catholic Church to the search for Christian unity is irreversible," the pope said in June.

Pope John Paul II was praised by Greek religious and political leaders for his efforts to ease the division between the churches. John Paul visited Greece in 2001, the first pope to do so in nearly 1,300 years, meeting with Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Rifts between the two ancient branches of Christianity began as early as the fifth century over the rising influence of the papacy and later over wording of the creed, or confession of faith. The split was sealed in 1054.
______________________________________

After leaving Tampa, Patriarch Bartholomew will travel to New Orleans to view with New Orleans Catholic archbishop, Alfred Hughes, the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

GEORGE WEIGEL ON THE DOCUMENT ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE PRIESTHOOD

This was printed in The Tidings Online today.

Forming priests in today's culture
By George Weigel

Now that the initial dust over the Congregation for Catholic Education's recent Instruction on homosexuality and candidacy for the priesthood has settled, three points seem worth underscoring.

The first point is one of historical and theological context.

On Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Church marked the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council --- a reforming Council intended by John XXIII to prepare the Church for what John Paul II would later call a "springtime of evangelization."

The evaluation of clinicians can be helpful in forming a judgment about a man's capacity for living chaste celibate love in today's sexual free-fire zone. But the final call rests with the Church's pastoral authorities.

Historically, we must remember that every great period of reform in Catholic history has included a reform of the priesthood and the consecrated life. Theologically, we must understand that there can be no "reform" of any facet of Catholic life without reference to "form:" in this case, the "form" in question is the priesthood understood as an iconic embodiment of the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ. Christ's eternal priesthood, in turn, involves Christ's spousal relationship with his bride, the Church. Keeping those truths of history and theology in mind is essential for reading the recent Instruction from Rome correctly --- which is to say, as a reforming document.

The second point is one of cultural context.

Living chastity is no easy business in the sex-saturated culture of the contemporary West. It's impossible to walk through a mall, turn on your computer or television, or browse through a bookstore without being bombarded by sexual imagery of every imaginable sort. The challenge of living chastely in these circumstances is a tough one for everybody: single, married or celibate, lay or ordained. That is one important reason why the appropriate authorities in the Church --- pastors, diocesan vocation directors, seminary faculty, seminary rectors, religious superiors, and, above all, bishops --- must be as certain as humanly possible that a man is capable of living the demanding vocation of chaste celibate love before he is called to Holy Orders.

That responsibility cannot be out-sourced to psychologists and psychiatrists. Why? Because, in the final analysis, it's a judgment of pastoral prudence, not a clinical judgment. The evaluation of clinicians can be helpful in forming a judgment about a man's capacity for living chaste celibate love in today's sexual free-fire zone. But the final call rests with the Church's pastoral authorities. And as the Long Lent of 2002 made unmistakably clear, it is a responsibility that cannot be shirked.

Candidates for the priesthood, whether diocesan or religious, also have a responsibility here, particularly given the challenging cultural circumstances in which they propose to serve. Any prospective candidate for ordination should be prepared and willing to demonstrate his capacity to live chaste celibate love before he asks the Church to confirm his vocation to the ordained ministry. Indeed, a willingness to do so might be considered an important sign of whether or not a man's sense that God is calling him to a priestly vocation is a true discernment.

The third point takes us to the bottom of the bottom line.

Will this document make any difference? That is, will it help foster a genuine and enduring reform of the priesthood? That is entirely up to local bishops, in the case of the diocesan priesthood. A bishop must take the time and trouble to know his seminarians before he issues the canonical call to Orders. If a bishop's first real encounter with a man he is to ordain happens on the day of that man's ordination, something is seriously wrong.

As for men's communities of consecrated religious life, which seem to be the primary (albeit not exclusive) locus of unchaste clerical "gay culture" today, no Roman document can substitute for courageous leadership by religious superiors, calling all under their authority to live the "more excellent way" by honoring the majesty of their vows.

In the providence of God, the Long Lent of 2002 could not have been meaningless: it was, in retrospect, a call to the entire Church to take the reform of the Church's ordained ministry with the urgency Vatican II proposed. The recent Instruction is a response to that call, and should be welcomed as such.

George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

TIRED OF VEGGIE TALES?

I know I am. I agree with the Germans.
______________________________________

German faithful want more energetic Catholic teaching

Jan. 06 (CNA/CWNews.com) - The great majority of German Catholics believe it is important that children and young people be given a more active and intense presentation of the faith, according to a poll carried out among some three thousand German Catholics.

The results of the poll, revealed by the Work of St. Boniface, show 86% consider instruction in the faith to be urgently needed, and 71% complained about the lack of formation in the faith.

Asked about the persons most responsible for their faith, 97% said credited their parents or some relative, 73% credited a priest or religious, 43% said a religion teacher, and 18% credited others.

64% said society makes it difficult for young people to become interested in the faith. Asked about the message they would send to people today, 68% said, “God welcomes you without buts or conditions,” 33% said, “Seek peace among people,” and 62% said, “Life after death.”

The majority of those surveyed said passing on the faith to one’s children is extremely important.

On 1/2/06, I posted this short alert:

A representative of the Neo-Catechumenal Way in the United States puts a positive spin
on the recent Pontifical instructions regarding the movement's unusual liturgical practices:

www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=82282

It turns out that Jimmy Akin, one of my favorite Catholic bloggers tackled the spokesman's
spin in his blog on 1/3/05:
--------------------------------------------------------------

The interview was PURE SPIN on Gennarini's part. I mean, it goes beyond putting
a positive face on the matter. The man is either grossly misinformed about what
the letter says or he is in denial.

He represent the letter as fully vindicating and approving multiple things that
the NW does in its Masses (not just the one cited--correctly--by Magister) and totally
ignores the numerous requirements and cautions expressed in the letter regarding how things
are to be done. He conveys the impression that the Vatican has simply rubber stamped current
practice when the tone taken in the letter is very different, often saying--in essence--
"Look, if you want to do something like this then you can ONLY do it if you start observing
the following conditions."

The height of misrepresentation occurs when Gennarini addresses the manner in which
The NW distributes Communion:

Finally, the way of distributing Communion as it currently takes place, is allowed
for a long period of time, if only "ad experimentum." Such a grant shows that this practice
is not irreverent, but fully legitimate, as can be attested by anyone who participates
in a Eucharist of the communities.

This concession is written within the context of the final approval of the statutes
of the Neocatechumenal Way, which are right now approved also "ad experimentum."
When this period "ad experimentum" ends, the interdicasterial commission of the five
congregations which approved the statutes … will verify the necessary adaptations.

This not only states that the NW manner of distributing Communion is "fully legitimate"
and allowed "ad experimentum" (i.e., for purposes of experiment to see if the arrangement
should be made permanent), it also seems to suggest that at the end of the approval process
For the NW's statutes that the Vatican may permanently allow this manner of distributing
Communion.

Now here's what the letter from Cardinal Arinze actually says:

5. On the manner of receiving Holy Communion, a period of transition (not exceeding two years)
is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way to pass from the widespread manner of receiving
Holy Communion in its communities (seated, with a cloth-covered table placed at the center
of the church instead of the dedicated altar in the sanctuary) to the normal way in which
the entire Church receives Holy Communion. This means that the Neocatechumenal Way must begin
to adopt the manner of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ that is provided
in the liturgical books.

There is no "ad experimentum" approval given in there for how the NW distributes Communion.
Quite the opposite. They've been given two years to clean up their act.

Gennarini is also exceptionally disingenuous when he says:

Without the intervention of the Holy Father, the approval of these liturgical variations
would have never taken place. We feel fully confirmed by Peter. Those who are trying to oppose
Benedict XVI and John Paul II are altering the reality.

Judge for yourself who is altering reality, here.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Gennarini replied to Akin, and Akin came back with his usual efficient point-by-point
rebuttal of tendentious articles, so if you want to follow what happened after the
above 1/3/06 blog, visit
www.jimmyakin.org/2006/01/neocatechumenal_1.html
which conveniently links to all the referenced documents.

By the way, I discovered Akin when I was trying to track down
background information on the ridiculous suit filed by those opportunistic and unscrupulous
American lawyers who implicated Joseph Ratzinger in some sexual abuse cover-up. And I found out
that as early as April 25 - 6 days after Ratzinger became Pope, that's why I said opportunistic -
in response to a British newspaper article that anticipated the American action, Akin had done
a masterful job of dismantling the structure of lies and half-truths that constitute the article -
and the accusation. For that alone, Akin is well worth the visit.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/01/2006 15.25]