NEWS ABOUT THE CHURCH & THE VATICAN

Catholics in China weigh Pope's authority
08 May 2006


XIAN COUNTY: Worshippers at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in China's rural northern Hebei province do not need prayer books.

The Catholic faith runs so deep around here, some 180km south of Beijing, that most of the locals packing the building for the 5am Sunday Mass know the service and hymns by heart.

The grand Gothic-style cathedral, built in 2000 after the previous one was demolished towards the end of Mao Zedong's 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, held about 900 for the dawn service - early enough for the ruddy-faced farmers who filled many pews to get in a full morning in the fields afterwards.

Hebei is the epicentre of Chinese Catholicism, and even deep at its grassroots some worshippers said they were alarmed at Beijing's unilateral ordination of two bishops this month, a move condemned by Pope Benedict for not being approved by the Vatican.

"The Pope is a good Pope and he wouldn't say anything against China without a reason," said one of the parishioners.

China and the Vatican cut ties after 1949, when the Communist Party seized power on the mainland. In recent years, the two sides have warily explored restoring formal relations, but how much say the Vatican should have in selecting and controlling China's church leaders remains a key dispute.

There are some 10 million Catholics in China, divided between an "underground" church loyal to the Holy See and the state-approved church that respects the Pope as a spiritual figurehead but rejects effective papal control. But even in the state-approved church, growing numbers of clergy and parishioners expect their bishops to have the pope's blessing.

The feeling that the Pope, not China's religious authorities, should decide who serves the church is widespread among Chinese Catholics, interviews in Hebei suggested.

"Our clergy and parishioners all feel a deep sense of communion with the Pope which is immoveable," a senior member of the official church told Reuters. Speaking by phone, he asked that his name not be used, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

"Some of us are deeply pained about the events of the last two weeks. We feel the events are very difficult to understand while China-Vatican ties were improving," he said.

In recent years, Beijing and the Holy See have come to an understanding that usually allows prospective priests and bishops to seek Vatican approval before taking up posts.

In Beijing, a spokesman for the State Bureau of Religious Affairs defended the decision to consecrate the two bishops, saying it was made by believers.

But bishops were pressured to take part in installation services opposed by the Vatican, said the Chinese church figure.

"We believe that faith is not political and should not be used for political ends, but that is what has happened in these two weeks."

He said the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association was seeking to consolidate its influence ahead of any normalisation of ties with the Vatican - possibly with the approval of higher government officials.

"I feel they are wrecking and blocking any improvement in China-Vatican relations," the church figure said of the Association.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral is the centre of the Cangzhou Diocese, which covers a nearby city of that name. Its bishop Joseph Li Liangui is accepted by both Rome and Beijing.

But here and across Hebei, Catholics are proud of their disdain for government control.

On Saturday, the Cangzhou Diocese celebrated its 150th anniversary since French Jesuits founded it. Thousands of parishioners turned out for the dedication of a graveyard dedicated to the area's priests, some of them tortured to death during Mao's Cultural Revolution, said parishioners.

The church figure said that in both the clandestine and much of the government-recognised church, believers would ultimately take their cue from the pope.

"His word has supreme authority. From the start, we have never made the slightest concession on matters of faith, but we need to normalise our status."

We have been posting items about the book "The Da Vinci Code" in ODDS AND ENDS, but now that some cardinals are getting into the picture, we will post stories about the action/reaction of leading Church figures to this execrable anti-Christian excrudescence of popular culture in this thread. This is a Reuters story on
today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2006-05-07T141257Z_01_L07736154_RTRUKOC_0_US-VATICAN-DAVINCI.xml&pageNumber=2&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-Arti...
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Cardinal Arinze urges legal action
against 'The Da Vinci Code'
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, Sunday, May 7, 2006 (Reuters) - In the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da Vinci Code", a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he founded.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code - A Masterful Deception."

Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should get tough.

"Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget," Arinze said in the documentary made by Rome film maker Mario Biasetti for Rome Reports, a Catholic film agency specializing in religious affairs.

"Sometimes it is our duty to do something practical. So it is not I who will tell all Christians what to do but some know legal means which can be taken in order to get the other person to respect the rights of others," Arinze said.

"This is one of the fundamental human rights: that we should be respected, our religious beliefs respected, and our founder Jesus Christ respected," he said, without elaborating on what legal means he had in mind.

A transcript of the documentary, due to be screened in Rome later this month just before the release of the film version of the best-selling book at the Cannes Film Festival, was made available to Reuters.

The book, written by Dan Brown, has sold more than 40 million copies.

The novel is an international murder mystery centered on attempts to uncover a secret about the life of Christ that a clandestine society has tried to protect for centuries.

The central tenet of the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children.

"Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you," Arinze said.

This appeared to be a reference to protests by Muslims around the world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Last month, another broadside against "The Da Vinci Code" was launched by Archbishop Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican doctrinal office which was headed by Pope Benedict until his election last year.

Amato urged a boycott of the film and Arinze, like his fellow cardinal [NB: Amato is not a cardinal!], also blasted the credibility of the book.

"'The Da Vinci Code' presents (Christianity) wrongly ... any film produced on the basis of that book is already in error from the word go, no matter how interesting it might appear," Arinze said.

Catholic group Opus Dei has told Sony Pictures that putting a disclaimer on the movie stressing it is a work of fiction would be a welcome show of respect toward the Church.

In the novel and film, Opus Dei is characterized as the latest in a series of secretive groups that has worked over the centuries to obscure truths about Jesus Christ.

Opus Dei is a controversial conservative Church group whose members are mostly non-clerics and are urged to seek holiness in their everyday professional jobs and lives. It has rejected criticisms that it is secretive and elitist.

The movie, which is being released by Sony Pictures division Columbia Pictures, stars Tom Hanks. Sony Pictures is the media wing of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.

From ZENIT - www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=88596

More Countries Under U.S. Scrutiny

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom this week issued its annual report on the global situation. As well, it announced this year's recommendations to the U.S. secretary of state on "countries of particular concern" -- CPCs, in government lingo.

Under its International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the United States designates as CPCs those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief.

After last year's report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice designated as CPCs the following countries: North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Vietnam and Myanmar (formerly Burma). This week's report recommended that these eight countries remain on the list, and that Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan be added.

The commission, or USCIRF for short, also has a "Watch List" of countries plagued by serious problems with regard to religious liberty. This year's report added Afghanistan to the list of Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.

The USCIRF is also closely monitoring the situations in India, Russia and Sri Lanka. As well, it continues to be "especially concerned" about Iraq.

Regarding the latter, the USCIRF report stated that "fundamental questions remain about the final content of the constitution, and how the provisions on religious freedom and other fundamental rights will be implemented through enabling legislation."

As a consequence human rights, including religious freedom, continue to be at risk. The report also expressed concern over the violence in Iraq due to religious intolerance, as well as the attacks on places of worship.

Minority communities, including Christian Iraqis, are particularly in danger. Due to the continuing violence Christians are leaving the country, and the USCIRF warned that the exodus may mean the end of the long-established Christian presence.

Regarding Afghanistan's presence on the Watch List, the report commented that conditions have improved since the days of the Taliban regime, but that the last year has been problematic for religious freedom.

The new Afghan Constitution has flaws, including a lack of clear protections of the right to freedom of religion or belief, the report contended. This has resulted in a growing number of criminal prosecutions and other official actions taken against individuals.

The constitutional defects are exacerbated by the country's Supreme Court, "which continues to be headed by a Chief Justice who disavowed to the Commission his support for core international human rights standards."

In addition, the government's failure to effectively control much of the country outside the capital, Kabul, has led to a progressively deteriorating situation for religious freedom and other human rights in many of the provinces.

China, meanwhile, has tightened controls over religious leaders, the U.S. report said. USCIRF members visited China for the first time last August. Among other encounters they met with representatives from the "patriotic" religious organizations. These officially approved bodies are limited to five beliefs: Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam,
Protestantism and Taoism.

The cost of official recognition has been high, the USCIRF noted. The approved organizations must submit to government monitoring of their activities. They have also accepted restrictions on what doctrines and traditions can be taught. Some Christian leaders reportedly have had to refrain from teachings involving the second coming of Jesus, divine healing, the practice of fasting, and the virgin birth.

"Most of China's religious practice occurs outside the system of government-approved religious organizations," the USCIRF report stated. This is in spite of severe legal penalties for those involved in unapproved religious activities.

Buddhists in Tibet and Muslims in the Xinjiang region also face serious restrictions in the practice of their religions, and the report accused authorities of severe abuses of human rights in these two regions.

Another country on the CPC list is Vietnam. The government "continues to commit systematic and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief," the U.S. report stated. In May 2005, the U.S. State Department announced an agreement with Hanoi on benchmarks to demonstrate an improvement in religious freedom conditions.

"Vietnam's record on fulfilling this agreement is mixed," the USCIRF contended. Some prisoners have been released and a number of places for religious worship were opened. Some of the restrictions on Buddhists and Catholics have also been eased. But many restrictions still stand.

Sudan was another country singled out in the report as being of concern. On Jan. 9, 2005, the warring parties in the North-South civil war signed a peace agreement. The provisions regarding religious liberty, however, have not been respected, according to the U.S. report.

Conditions have improved somewhat in the South, according to the report. But in the northern part of Sudan all inhabitants, including Christians and followers of traditional African religions, are subject to Shariah, or Islamic law. Government approval is required for the construction and use of places of worship, and while permits are regularly granted to build mosques, permission to build churches is routinely denied.

In fact, for more than 30 years, the government has denied permission to construct Catholic churches in areas under its control. Churches built without permission are often razed. In addition, church-owned properties that are legally recognized are vulnerable to seizure. The report noted the case of a Catholic recreational facility that was confiscated by the government for the private use of the National Congress Party.

While not applied in recent years, the death penalty in Sudan still exists for apostasy from Islam. Converts to Christianity generally face so much social pressure and official harassment that they cannot remain in the country.

Religion is also a point of conflict in Nigeria. The U.S. report stated that since President Olusegun Obasanjo came to power through popular elections in 1999, more than 10,000 Nigerians have been killed in sectarian and communal attacks and reprisals between Muslims and Christians.

Recent conflicts include the killing of at least 120 Muslims and Christians during protests last February over the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. The protests fueled underlying religious and ethnic tensions.

Christians in the northern states, where Shariah has been adopted, complain of discrimination at the hands of Muslim-controlled governments and describe their communities as having the status of second-class citizens.

Another country that has been on the USCIRF's blacklist is Saudi Arabia. This year's report commented that the government continues to ban all forms of public religious expression other than one officially-recognized school of Sunni Islam. Private religious practice is also repressed by authorities.

As well, the report accused the Saudi government of continuing to finance "activities throughout the world that support extreme religious intolerance, hatred, and, in some cases, violence toward non-Muslims and disfavored Muslims."

Religiously motivated violence persists in Pakistan, the report noted as it explained why the country was recommended to be added to the CPC list. Moreover, the government's response to this problem, while it has improved, "continues to be insufficient and not fully effective."

The report noted that a number of the country's laws frequently lead to imprisonment on account of religion or belief. Complicating the situation is the Pakistani government's political alliance with militant religious parties, which has strengthened these groups and given them influence in the country's affairs. Call it the flip side of separation of church and state.

Vesakh is the most important Buddhist holiday, on which the principal events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, are commemorated, but especially his birthday (April 9). In the countries of Theravada Buddhism, it is celebrated on May 12 this year. In the countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism, the events of the Buddha's life are comemmorated on different days.

For the occasion, the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialog (before it was merged into the Pontifical Council for Culture) disseminated the following message for all Buddhists. It is dated February 14, 2006, but was only released by the Vatican Press Office on Friday, 5/15/06. The message focuses on the concept of love in Deus caritas est and how agape could well correspond to metta in Buddhist teaching.

This is the original message, which was written in English, but although it is written in the first person, no signature was provided in the Vatican release. Might it have been written by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald who was president of the Council for Inter-Religious Dialog in February (and has since been reassigned to be Apostolic Nuncio to Egpyt and representative of the Holy See in the Arab League?)
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Dear Buddhist Friends,

1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue I offer to you and to all Buddhist communities around the world my very best wishes for Vesakh. I hope that you may have a joyful feast.

2. As is now customary, I would like to take this occasion to share with you some thoughts which may help to strengthen the relations between our two communities. This year these reflections are based on Pope Benedict XVI's first letter to Catholics throughout the world. This letter, God is Love, or according to its Latin title Deus caritas est (DCE), examines the nature of love. His Holiness the Pope is convinced that this word, so frequently used and yet so often misunderstood, needs to have its true meaning restored in order to become a beacon of light for everyday life.

3. Pope Benedict speaks about two types of love: first eros, the love between a man and a woman, a love which seeks personal satisfaction; then agape, a love which seeks the good of the other, although that person may not be liked or even not known. For Christians this second type of love is only possible if it is grounded in love for God, in response to God's love for human beings. So love of God and love of one's fellow human beings are inseparable, forming one single commandment. "Love grows through love. Love is 'divine' because it comes from God and unites us to God" (DCE 18).

4. We Christians believe that the perfect manifestation of agape is founded on Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who spent his whole life spreading the Good News of God's love in both words and deeds. The ultimate expression of this love was when Jesus gave his life for the whole of humanity. Moreover Jesus is the source of agape, in particular through the gift of Himself in the Eucharist. Drawing from this source, Christians strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by showing love for their brothers and sisters, especially for the poor and suffering.

5. Through our dialogue we have come to appreciate the importance that you Buddhists give to love for one’s fellow human beings which is expressed in the concept of metta, a love without any desire to possess but only to help others. It is understood as a love which is willing to sacrifice self-interest for the benefit of humanity.

So metta, according to Buddhist teaching, is not confined to benevolent thought, but extends to the performance of charitable deeds, to the service of one and all. It is indeed a universal benevolence. Nor should one forget that other virtue, karuna, through which is shown loving compassion for all living beings.

6. In this world where the word love is so often used and misused would it not be useful for Buddhists and Christians to rediscover its original meaning according to their respective traditions and to share their understanding with one another? This would be an encouragement for the followers of both traditions to work together to build up relations based on love and truth, to promote mutual respect, to foster dialogue and to further collaboration in the service of those who are in need.

7. These considerations lead me to a final wish, namely that the feast of Vesakh may be a time when the friendship between Buddhists and Christians is consolidated and collaboration in the spirit of agape and metta is strengthened. In this spirit I wish you a very Happy Vesakh.

Vatican City, 14 February 2006

VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed several of the new cardinals, elevated at the March 24 consistory, to membership in various dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

The Vatican press office reported the appointments Saturday. These were the appointments to the Vatican congregations:

-- Doctrine of the Faith: Cardinals Jean-Pierre Ricard and Antonio Cañizares Llovera
-- Divine Worship and the Sacraments: Cardinals Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and Franc Rodé
-- Sainthood Causes: Cardinal William Levada
-- Bishops: Cardinals William Levada and Franc Rodé

-- Evangelization of Peoples: Cardinals Carlo Caffarra and Joseph Zen Ze-kiun
-- Clergy: Cardinal Sean O'Malley
-- Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life: Cardinals Sean O'Malley and Agostino Vallini
-- Catholic Education: Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz

These were the appointments to various pontifical councils:

-- Promoting Christian Unity: Cardinal William Levada
-- Executive Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Family: Cardinals Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk and Carlo Caffarra
-- Justice and Peace: Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino
-- Legislative Texts: Cardinal Agostino Vallini

-- Interreligious Dialogue: Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales
-- Culture: Cardinal Franc Rodé
-- Social Communications: Cardinals Gaudencio Rosales, Nicolas Cheong Jin-suk and Stanislaw Dziwisz

Other appointments were:

-- Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See: Cardinal Agostino Vallini
-- Pontifical Commission for Latin America: Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/05/2006 14.27]

From www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=54442&eng=y :


The Pope Is Asking China
for Freedom, Not Forgiveness
The Chinese authorities have begin ordaining
illegitimate bishops again. But this time
the Vatican is responding firmly. It is
the new course inaugurated by Benedict XVI
by Sandro Magister


ROMA, May 8, 2006 – The consecration of two bishops not approved by the Holy See, which was carried out in China in recent days, seems to set back by six years the history of relations between the Vatican and Beijing.

There was also a consecration of bishops not approved by Rome on the feast of the Epiphany in the year 2000. That time there were five bishops, but there should have been twelve of them. Seven of them dropped out after they heard about the Holy See’s disapproval. One of the bishops ordained on that occasion, Peter Fang Janping, was among those who consecrated one of the two bishops ordained recently.

But the official reactions of the Holy See today are much different than they were six years ago.

On January, 4, 2000, two days before the illegitimate ordinations, the Holy See limited itself to releasing – in Italian only – this brief and timid communication, which was read by Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls:

“I must express the surprise and disappointment on the part of the Holy See that this decision should come at a moment when a number of voices are being raised that leave a good deal of hope for the normalization of relations between the Holy See and Beijing, while this action poses obstacles that will certainly cause difficulties in this process.”

But this time, the protest was forceful and detailed. And Navarro-Valls delivered it on May 4, in Italian and English. Here it is in full:

“I can inform you of the position of the Holy See regarding the episcopal ordination of the priests Joseph Ma Yinglin e Joseph Liu Xinhong, which took place, respectively, last Sunday, April 30, in Kunming (province of Yunnan) and Wednesday, May 3, in Wuhu (province of Anhui).

“The Holy Father has learned of the news with profound displeasure, since an act so relevant for the life of the Church, such as an episcopal ordination, has been carried out in both cases without respecting the requirements of communion with the pope.

“It is a grave wound to the unity of the Church, for which severe canonical sanctions, as it is known, are foreseen (cfr. canon 1382 from the Code of Canon Law).

“According to the information received, bishops and priests have been subjected – on the part of external entities to the Church – to strong pressures and to threats, so that they take part in the episcopal ordinations which, being without pontifical mandate, are illegitimate and, besides, contrary to their conscience. Various prelates have given a refusal to similar pressures, while others were not able to do anything but submit with great interior suffering. Episodes of this kind produce lacerations not only in the Catholic community but also in the internal conscience itself.

“We are therefore facing a grave violation of religious liberty, notwithstanding that it is sought to present the two episcopal ordinations as a proper act to provide the pastors of vacant dioceses.

“The Holy See follows with attention the troubled path of the Catholic Church in China and although aware of some peculiarities of such a path, believed and hoped that similar, deplorable episodes would by now belong to the past.

“Holy See considers it now her precise duty to give voice to the suffering of the entire Catholic Church, in particular to that of the Catholic community in China and especially to those bishops and priests who have been obligated, against conscience, to carry out or to participate in the episcopal ordination, which neither the candidates or the consecrating bishops want to carry out without having received the pontifical mandate.

“If it is true the news according to which other episcopal ordinations are to take place in the same manner, the Holy See would like to repeat and stress the need for respect of the liberty of the Church and of the autonomy of her institutions from any external interference, and eagerly wishes that such unacceptable acts of violent and inadmissible constrictions are not repeated.

“The Holy See has, on various occasions, stressed her willingness for honest and constructive dialogue with the competent Chinese authorities to find solutions that would satisfy the legitimate needs of both parties.

“Initiatives such as the above mentioned do not favor such dialogue but instead create new obstacles against it.”

The comparison between this communiqué and the one made six years ago is one of many indications of the change of course adopted by the Vatican in regard to China: it is a change that has been particularly accentuated after Joseph Ratzinger’s election as pope.

What dominated in the years gone by was a prudent Realpolitik. Vatican diplomacy adopted the same line of “appeasement” with Beijing that had long characterized, in Europe, its relations with the communist regimes behind the iron curtain.

One document that expresses this approach at the highest level was the message of John Paul II on October 24, 2001, to participants at the international conference “Matteo Ricci: For a Dialogue between China and the West.”

A year earlier, on October 1, 2000, John Paul II had beatified 120 Chinese martyrs at St. Peter’s Square. And the Chinese authorities had protested stridently, as if this beatification had been an offense to the Chinese people, all the more so because it had been celebrated on one of their national holidays.

But in the John Paul II message cited above, there isn’t even a single line in defense of the beatification of those martyrs.

Nor are there any references to the persecutions that continued to afflict Christians in China; nor to the massacre, over recent decades, of countless bishops, priests, and faithful; nor to the incarcerations; nor to the torture and forced labor; nor to the systematic violation of basic rights of liberty.

It was entirely the opposite. It was John Paul II who asked for “forgiveness and understanding” for the “errors” committed in China by the Church. In the pope’s text, the formulation of these errors parallels almost exactly the accusations systematically charged against the Vatican by Beijing, including the charge of its having been at the service of hostile “foreign powers.” One leading proponent of this accommodating stance toward China on the part of the Vatican has been cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Curiously, Etchegaray published a book of memoirs on his visits to China and his meetings with Chinese authorities in March of 2005, precisely when this “realist” politics was coming to an end.

Recounting one of his trips, which he made in 2000, after the contested beatification of the 120 Chinese martyrs, Etchegaray wrote that he had undergone two consecutive “interrogations,” lasting a total of four and a half hours, carried out by two “very highly placed” officials. He said nothing during the interrogations.

Instead, after returning to Rome, in an interview with Vatican Radio he described as “highly displeasing the canonization’s coinciding with the national holiday of the Chinese people. This deeply wounded their sensibilities, which are so delicate after all the humiliations they have suffered from the Western powers.”

Rome has no lack of news on the oppression of which the Chinese Catholics are victim. But until a few years ago, as a rule, the Vatican did not denounce these actions publicly. Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, then-director of Fides, the news agency of the Vatican Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, was accused of paying too much attention to these issues, and was removed from his post in 2002 at the behest of the secretariat of state.

The two steps that the Chinese authorities systematically demand from the Vatican are the cessation of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and non-interference “in internal Chinese affairs, including those of religion.” The “internal affairs” that the regime has reserved to itself contain the appointment of bishops.

In regard to the first point, the Vatican secretariat of state – in the person of cardinal Angelo Sodano himself – has said on a number of occasions that it is ready to transfer its nunciature from Taipei to Beijing, “not tomorrow, but this very evening.”

As for the appointment of bishops – at least as long as the person responsible for relations with China was archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, now the secretary for the administration of the patrimony of the Apostolic See – the example used in the Vatican was that of Vietnam, where since 1966, despite the lack of diplomatic relations, the Holy See has proposed three candidates for each episcopal nomination, and the government has the right to choose from among these the one it believes to be the most docile.

But Chinese Catholics have always distrusted these two solutions, especially when they are disconnected from each other. And one of the most critical voices has long been that of the bishop of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen Zekiun. This is the bishop whom Benedict XVI has made cardinal.

In any case, for a few years now and until a few days ago – and again May 7 with another ordination in Shenyang – the new bishops consecrated in China have been installed with the “de facto” joint approval of the Church of Rome and of the Chinese political authorities.

In the meantime, the Holy See has gradually approved almost all of the bishops previously appointed by the regime, and has pushed for the unification of the two branches of the Chinese Church: the official Church, which is the only one recognized by the government, and the “underground” Church, which lacks this recognition. It has been noted that the support of the faithful for the bishops, including the official ones, is all the stronger as their union with the pope of Rome is more evident.

In October of 2005, Benedict XVI gave a strong signal in this direction by inviting four bishops from mainland China to the worldwide synod being held at the Vatican. Three of these belonged to the official Church, and one to the clandestine Church. The four did not receive permission to go, but the gesture was very striking nonetheless.

Speaking at the synod on October 12, bishop Zen of Hong Kong drew these conclusions from the whole affair:

“It has become more and more clear that the Chinese bishops ordained without the approval of the Roman pontiff are accepted neither by the clergy nor by the faithful. It is to be hoped that in the face of this 'sensus Ecclesiae' the government of Beijing will see the advantage of coming to a normalization of the situation, even if the 'conservative' elements within the official Church are creating resistance for obvious motives of self-interest.”

The “conservatives” within the official Church include, for example, Beijing bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, who is not recognized by Rome and is unwelcome to most of the faithful, and one of the new bishops ordained in recent days, Joseph Ma Yinglin, who is also a member of the People’s National Congress, the Chinese parliament.

But above all, there are the “conservatives” within the communist regime, for whom the normalization of relations between the Vatican and China would be a catastrophe. This is the view, in particular, of the Patriotic Association that controls the official Church.

Its vice-president, Anthony Liu Bainan, does everything he can to keep the Church nationalist and separated from Rome, and it is especially to him that the recent resumption of illegitimate ordinations is due. It is clear that this objective clashes with the project of a “harmonious society” as enunciated by president Hu Jintao.

The resumption of illegitimate episcopal ordinations on April 30 and May 3 has temporarily given an advantage to the “conservatives.” And the initial silence of the Vatican authorities was also greeted with alarm by the newly nominated cardinal Zen, who declared in an interview: “I cannot be the only one to protest. If we remain silent, we are preparing the way for an unconditional surrender.”

But a few hours later, on May 4, the Holy See published the forceful declaration reproduced above. It states that the illegitimate bishops and those who consecrated them are subject to excommunication (according to the canon cited, number 1382 of the Code of Canon Law), but that they are spared from this because they have acted under constraint.
[N.B. by Teresa - The underlined clause is implied but not stated in the Vatican statement!]

In the note, the Holy See restates that it is not withdrawing from dialogue with the Chinese authorities, in order that “such unacceptable acts of violent and inadmissible constrictions not be repeated.”

For Benedict XVI, the central issue for China is definitely that of religious liberty. Or rather, that of liberty plain and simple.

Same-sex marriage has serious implications for religious liberty, legal experts say

Boston, May. 08, 2006 (CNA) - The legalization of same-sex marriage has launched the most significant cultural battle of our time and will have severe and far-reaching consequences for churches and religious organizations, many legal experts say.

In the cover story of the May 15 issue of the Weekly Standard, Maggie Gallagher predicts that the decision to legalize gay marriage will trickle down through the legal system and negatively impact churches on all fronts.

Her comprehensive report offers the insights and observations of several legal experts, who attended a December conference on the issue organized by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

Gallagher is president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and coauthor of The Case for Marriage.

The recent conflict over gay adoptions in Boston and the decision of Catholic Charities in that city to withdraw from the adoption business is only one sign of the huge cultural battle to come between religious liberty and sexual liberty, Gallagher suggests. Gay marriage has already been legalized in Massachusetts.

“People who favor gay rights face no penalty for speaking their views, but can inflict a risk of litigation, investigation, and formal and informal career penalties on others whose views they dislike,” Gallagher writes.

“Meanwhile, people who think gay marriage is wrong cannot know for sure where the line is now or where it will be redrawn in the near future. ‘Soft’coercion produces no martyrs to disturb anyone's conscience, yet it is highly effective in chilling the speech of ordinary people,” she continues.

“Precisely because support for marriage is public policy,” she writes, “once marriage includes gay couples, groups who oppose gay marriage arel ikely to be judged in violation of public policy, triggering a host of negative consequences, including the loss of tax-exempt status.”

“Because marriage is not a private act, but a protected public status, the legalization of gay marriage sends a strong signal that orientation is now on a par with race in the non discrimination game,” she states.

Among a number of legal experts, Gallagher interviews Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, who sees the coming conflicts as pervasive. The problem is not that clergy will be forced to perform gay marriages or prevented from preaching their beliefs, he says, the problem is the sweeping and unpredictable impact it would have on American law.

He says same-sex marriage will affect religious educational institutions in at least four ways: admissions, employment, housing, and regulation of clubs.

In addition, he foresees future conflict with the law in regard to licensing, as well as psychological clinics, social workers, marital counselors, etc.

He also warns that the expression of opposition to gay marriage in the corporate world will not be suppressed by gay advocates but by corporate lawyers,“who will draw the lines least likely to entangle the company inlitigation,” Gallagher writes.

According to Stern, churches might be able to defend their tax-exempt status basedon the First Amendment, but "the parachurch institutions are very much at risk and may be put out of business because of the licensing issues."

Gallagher also interviewed Robin Wilson, an expert in family and health care law, who unlike Stern, believes that public-support arguments may be advanced to compel churches to participate in same-sex marriage or risk losing their tax-exempt status.

Wilson also points out that the First Amendment did not prevent religious hospitals from being punished for refusing to perform abortions, once abortion became a constitutional right. It was Congress and state legislatures that stepped in to provide statutory religious exemptions. The same will likely need to happen regarding same-sex marriage.

Gallagher also interviewed Georgetown law professor Chai Feldblum, known for her work on civil rights issues, especially gay civil rights. She has drafted many federal bills to prohibit “orientation discrimination,” reports Gallagher.

Feldblum also sees how anti-discrimination laws pose a burden on religious groups. "When we pass a law that says you may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, we are burdening those who have an alternative moral assessment of gay men and lesbians," she told Gallagher.

Most of the time, the need to protect the dignity of gay people will justify burdening religious belief, Feldblum argues. But that does not make it right to pretend these burdens do not exist or do not matter.

While the burdens must be considered each time a law is passed, she said she believes sexual liberty should win out in most cases “because that's the only way that the dignity of gay people can be affirmed in any realistic manner.”

Battle of the Bishops

How China's two unauthorized promotions have renewed its long-running feud with the Vatican
By SIMON ELEGANT/BEIJING
Sunday, May 7, 2006
Time Magazine

It's not surprising, given their common penchant for intrigue and suspicion, that the rulers of China and the Roman Catholic Church have had a hard time getting along. Beginning five centuries ago, emissaries from the Vatican visited Beijing to seek permission to conduct missionary work in China. During the Qing dynasty they built iron globes and trellises for the Emperor--astronomical instruments that at the time were considered cutting-edge technology. That approach didn't work: a later Emperor banned all Christian missionary activity, sending the clerics packing. He kept the Vatican's gifts, however, on a tower overlooking the thick stone walls that once protected the city from unwelcome outsiders.

China has opened itself up to the world since then, but wariness about the Vatican persists. The latest episode in the stormy relationship unfolded last week, when the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), the state-controlled church to which 4 million Chinese Catholics belong, ordained two new bishops without the Vatican's permission. Considering that Rome has claimed absolute authority over clerical appointments for almost two millenniums, its reaction to the news was predictably swift. Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls said that Pope Benedict XVI learned of the appointments with "great sadness." That may have been the understatement of the year, as Navarro-Valls also said church law calls for the automatic excommunication of the two new bishops and those who installed them. Hong Kong's Bishop Joseph Zen, who was recently promoted to Cardinal and has mediated between Beijing and Rome, called China's moves "very damaging to the relationship. It can't be worse than this."

It certainly couldn't have come at a worse time for China's Catholics. Since the Communist takeover in 1949, all Catholics have had to join the state-sanctioned CPCA or face persecution. Out of the estimated 12 million Catholics in the country, a majority are thought to worship at secret underground churches that are loyal to the Vatican. Since his elevation to the papacy, Benedict has sought to repair ties so that those faithful can practice in the open. The goal was full diplomatic relations and possibly even a papal visit to China by 2008, when Beijing will be host of the Olympics. In recent years, says Father Bernardo Cervellera, director of the Rome-based Asia News Service, the Beijing church has quietly ceded to the Vatican's choices on bishops. Meanwhile, top church officials have floated the idea of breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

For China's rulers, improving relations with the Vatican would seem to fit with their efforts to burnish the country's international prestige. But the government remains cautious about expanding religious freedoms, mindful, no doubt, of the role the Catholic Church played in the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. And despite the Vatican's charm offensive, Beijing has refused to negotiate the release of the scores of Catholics loyal to Rome who sit in Chinese prisons, according to Nicolas Becquelin, China researcher for the New York City–based Human Rights Watch. To some, China's decision to ordain the two bishops was a deliberate bid to reassert its authority over the country's Catholics. Becquelin believes that church officials may have overestimated China's flexibility. "There was never any intention by Beijing to change or loosen its grip on religion," he says. "Either they got an agreement on their terms, or they maintain the status quo under which they have pretty good control of the underground Catholic Church."

The question is whether Beijing's moves have wrecked the possibility of détente with Rome. Navarro-Valls said that the Pope was willing to continue discussions about normalizing relations so long as Beijing agreed to stop ordaining bishops on its own. But some Vatican officials say that Beijing may not find Benedict in such a generous mood in the future. Says a senior Vatican official: "It's a demonstration of bad faith on the part of the Chinese government ... [they] are used to playing these mind games, of using brinkmanship." Of course, that's a game the Vatican knows how to play as well.

With reporting by Jeff Israely/ Rome

From cafebabel.com

Europe, the Vatican's new crusade?

In an EU where interest groups are pulling both for and against secularism, the Vatican has found ways to work to further its goals

One Europe, one God? (Giulio Zucchini) With no mention of God in the Draft European Constitution and Turkey as a candidate for membership, some fear that the EU might become detached from its Judaeo-Christian roots. In particular, the Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, has promised to combat what it sees as the excesses of secularism and nihilism in the world, starting with Europe. Any struggle would be incomplete without adversaries and allies. But what are the EU and its institutions to the Vatican? Are they allies, or a threat?

Family values

During a recent audience of the Pope with members of the European Parliament from the European People´s Party and European Democrats (EPP-ED), the Pope seemed to stress the role of the EU as an ally. Of the Draft Constitution, even though it contains no reference to God, the Pope said that it contributed to maintaining a "structured and ongoing relationship with religious communities" at EU level. The EPP-ED was not shy about stating its willingness to cooperate with the Pope. "The EPP-ED Group, as an advocate of Judaeo-Christian values, is determined about the spiritual and moral dimension of the European project," said its leader, Hans-Gert Pöttering.

The situation for the Vatican seems ideal. With the recent enlargement, several large and predominantly Catholic countries have joined the EU, most notably Poland. Where EU policymaking is concerned, this could make the Council more receptive to the messages of the Vatican. The presence in the European Parliament of the Polish League of Families, a group of extreme right MEPs, together with the fact that the EPP-ED is the largest political group in Parliament, means the Vatican has strong potential allies in that institution. However, it was the same Parliament that forced the Italian candidate for the European Commission, Rocco Buttiglione, to step down because of his views on the role of women and homosexuality. Views that he said were based on his Catholic faith.

Future imperfect?

And whereas recent enlargement may well have suited the Vatican, future enlargement seems more like a threat. Council, Commission and Parliament have all agreed to allow Turkey to try and become a member of the EU. In 2004, the then Cardinal Ratzinger said that Turkey, in which the majority of the population is Muslim, is "in permanent contrast to Europe." Though his name has changed to Pope Benedict XVI, it seems unlikely that his views on Turkey have changed as well.

Finally, EU legal experts have recently criticized the Vatican's practice of concluding bilateral treaties called concordats with EU member states. The recent concordat with Slovakia centres on the right of doctors and others to conscientious objection when it comes to, for instance, abortion. In their report to the European Commission the EU legal experts have raised questions concerning the compatibility of such concordats with EU law.

The enemy of my enemy…

So the relationship between the EU and the Vatican is not always an easy one. Still it seems that the current Pope seeks to make the EU his ally where he can, his adversary only where he thinks he must. In Brussels, both the Vatican's ambassador - his Papal nuncio - and the Commission of the Conference of Bishops from EU countries (COMECE) work to monitor and influence EU policymaking. The Vatican, like any interest or lobby group, seeks its allies and finds its adversaries in different places for each dossier it has an interest in. Even though the EU does not always see eye to eye with the Vatican, the Pope has chosen to try to work together where possible. Pope Benedict XVI seems to have taken the words of Jesus in Luke 9:50 to heart: "But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you."

Holy See OKs Revised Norms in Sex-Abuse Cases
U.S. Bishops Get a Decree Signed by Cardinal Re

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Congregation for Bishops has granted its "recognition," its permission to implement, to the U.S. bishops' revised norms on dealing with clerical sex-abuse allegation.

The Vatican dicastery gave its permission for the "Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons," adopted by the bishops' conference last June.

The decree of the congregation, signed by its prefect, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, grants the recognitio indefinitely.

The decree, dated Jan. 1, was received by Bishop William Skylstad, president of the episcopal conference, during an April meeting at the Vatican congregation which was part of the annual spring meetings of the officers of the bishops' conference with the heads of offices of the Holy See.

Bishop Skylstad has issued a decree promulgating the revised "Essential Norms." They are in force as of next Monday, and bind, as particular church law for the United States, all dioceses and eparchies (dioceses of the Eastern Catholic Church) of the U.S. bishops' conference.

A document containing essential norms was first adopted by the U.S. conference in June 2002, and was subject to revision by a mixed commission made up of representatives of the Holy See and members of the episcopal conference.

The result of the mixed commission's work was the original Essential Norms which were adopted by the U.S. conference in November 2002. They received the required "recognition" by the Congregation for Bishops on Dec. 8, 2002, and were promulgated by the then conference president four days later.

A side-by-side comparison of the 2002 and 2006 norms appears at www.usccb.org/ocyp/2005RevisedEssentialNormsComparison.pdf

In the first official Chinese government reaction to the recent repercussions of illegal episcopal ordinations in China, it is claimed that the Vatican was informed by the Chinese beforehand but it failed to respond! But the spokesman also continued to make "friendly noises". Here is the AP report:
---------------------------------------------------------------

China Promises to Improve Vatican Ties
The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

BEIJING -- China said it was eager to improve relations with the Vatican following a feud over the consecration of Chinese bishops without papal approval, but it demanded Tuesday that the Holy See break ties with rival Taiwan.

"The Chinese side is sincere in improving relations with the Vatican side and are willing to work together with the Vatican side," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "We also urge the Vatican to adopt the correct way in handling the question of Taiwan."

A Chinese priest performs mass at Beijing's northern cathedral in China Monday May 8, 2006. China's official Roman Catholic church named a new bishop _ reportedly with papal endorsement _ as Beijing rejected Vatican criticism of the unauthorized ordination of two other bishops.

China's Catholics were forced to cut ties to the Vatican after the 1949 communist revolution. But the Holy See and China's church communicate informally and most Chinese bishops have received papal endorsement.

China's Roman Catholics were forced to cut ties to the Vatican after the 1949 communist revolution.

China's ordination of two bishops last week without the approval of Pope Benedict XVI angered the Vatican, which warned that those who took part might face excommunication.

The clash set back recent efforts by Benedict to reach out to Beijing in hopes of forming official relations. Vatican officials earlier indicated they were considering cutting diplomatic ties with Taipei to pave the way for that to happen.

Liu criticized the Holy See for not informing China that it was opposed to the appointments sooner: "Recently, we have informed the Vatican side on the decision to appoint these bishops but the Vatican side did not respond but made wanton accusations after the consecrations," he said. [Really!!!]

Liu defended China's practice of picking its own Catholic bishops, saying the more than 170 bishops and archbishops selected that way over the past 50 years "made valuable contributions to the development of Chinese religious affairs."

There was no new reaction from the Vatican. However, the Vatican has made clear on several occasions it is ready to shift its diplomatic representation from Taiwan to Beijing.

The foreign minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, said in March that the "time is ripe" for the Holy See and Beijing to establish diplomatic relations.

In addition, the Vatican made clear in its original reaction to the consecration of the two bishops that it wanted to continue "honest and constructive dialogue" with China "to find solutions that would satisfy the legitimate needs of both parties."

WCC, Vatican to create guidelines on evangelization, proselytism

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Continued misunderstanding over what constitutes proselytism and what represents evangelization has prompted the Vatican and the World Council of Churches to draw up guidelines for making sure ethical norms are followed in converting people of other religious beliefs to Christianity.

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue together with the council's Office on Interreligious Relations and Dialogue planned a series of meetings aimed at assessing the nature of religious conversions and creating "a code of conduct" for Christian churches to follow when spreading the Gospel to people of other faiths.

The first of three closed-door meetings was to run May 12-16 in Lariano, a small town south of Rome. The three-year joint project is titled "Interreligious Reflection on Conversion: From Controversy to a Shared Code of Conduct."

Msgr. Felix Machado, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, said that in some countries, especially where Christianity is a minority religion, an individual's conversion from the dominant faith tradition to Christianity "is sometimes mistakenly called proselytism."

"We want to maintain our right to convert people, but it should be done according to church teachings," he told Catholic News Service May 9.

Proselytism often describes the use of unscrupulous methods of persuasion -- such as psychological pressure, spiritual threats or material enticements -- to win converts.

However, according to Catholic Church teaching, evangelization entails proclaiming the Gospel "in a manner that respects human dignity," the monsignor said.

Two of the documents produced by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 -- the Declaration on Religious Freedom ("Dignitatis Humanae") and the Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity ("Ad Gentes") -- emphasized that no one should be forced to act contrary to his or her beliefs or be forced to accept the Christian faith.

However, these guidelines in spreading the Gospel are not part of the practice of every Christian denomination.

Msgr. Machado said some Christian organizations can be very aggressive in their attempts to convert people of another faith, which can result in making people suspicious of all Christians as having a hidden agenda to proselytize.

"We want to convert people; we don't hide that," the monsignor said, but the question of "how it's done" needs clarification.

Without that clarification, evangelization might be mistaken for proselytism and that "hinders interreligious dialogue and mission work," he said.

The Vatican and the WCC, whose membership includes more than 340 Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican churches and communities in more than 120 countries, have invited 30 participants from several religious traditions to take part in the first meeting. Participants will represent Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and traditional African religions, as well as Catholic and other Christian denominations.

Msgr. Machado said participants hold a range of opinions about religious conversion from those who oppose or support it to those who are indifferent to a person's spiritual transformation.

The meeting "is not to debate, but to listen to people" and their experiences and concerns, he said.

The idea for the joint study project arose out of the religious tensions in India, where Christians are often "falsely accused" by Hindus of proselytizing, Msgr. Machado said. "People don't have a clear idea" about the church's mission and mandate and that proclaiming the Gospel is not about coercion, but that "it's a proposition" guided by ethical norms, he said.

[Part of a general trend in vocations or a loss of confidence in the Jesuits in particular?]


Jesuits acknowledge drop in vocations

Rome, May. 10, 2006 (CNA) - The General House of the Society of Jesus reported this week that the number of Jesuits in the world has dropped by 286 during the last year, thus confirming a 16 year-long downward trend in the order’s vocations.

According to the Fides news agency, as of January 1, 2006, there were 19,564 Jesuits in the world, whereas in 2005 the number was 19,850.

The current number of Jesuit priests is 13,735 (231 less than in 2005), the number of brothers is 1,865 (56 less than in 2005), and the number of novices is 897 (down from 909 in 2005). Only the number of scholastics has seen an increase of 13 since last year, totaling 3,067.

The median age of 57 is another important factor for the Jesuits. The average age of priests is 63, scholastics, 29, and brothers, 66. Geographically, in Latin America there are 2,957 Jesuits, 60 less than in 2005. In North America there are 3,034, 183 less than in 2005. In Europe there are 6,447, 192 less than in 2005.

The Jesuits have seen growth in Asia, however, with 42 new members this year among a total of 5,698. In Africa their numbers are 5,698—up by 429 from 2005.

An important part of the universal mission entrusted to the Society is carried out by the Houses in Rome directly dependent on the Father General (General House, Gregorian University, Istituto Biblico, Istituto Orientale, Vatican Observatory, Vatican Radio, "La Cività Cattolica", other hostels and formation houses), reports Fides.

The 446 members of these houses who still belong to their original provinces in the year 2005-2006 include 3 cardinals, 374 priests, 39 scholastics and 30 Brothers.

11 May, 2006
CHINA
Cardinals, monasteries and faithful worldwide join prayer campaign
The three Asian cardinals created by Benedict XVI have joined. Convents and priest are praying also for the conversion of the Patriotic Association and Liu Bainian.


Rome (AsiaNews) – The three Asian cardinals created by Benedict XVI, parishes, convents, priests on pension, association, families and individual believers. The invitation of AsiaNews to the Catholic world to join in prayers for China’s underground Church is finding support from everywhere. The intention of the prayer campaign is strength and courage for priests and bishops who the Patriotic Association (PA) has sought to separate from the Pope through pressure and threats. And some are praying for the conversion of the Association and of Liu Bainian, its deputy chairperson, the man largely behind the illicit Episcopal ordinations.

Cardinal Zen said from Hong Kong: “We want to pray so that our Christian and Catholic roots of affection and ties with the Pope will remain strong. We are sure the vast majority is strong and convinced of wanting to remain in the one and only flock, with the Pope at the head as the supreme shepherd. With our prayers, we want to express the fact that we admire them for their strength and that we are supporting them in what is such a difficult time”. Joining in the prayer campaign, Cardinal Cheong, the archbishop of Seoul, said: “Many people in Korea hope China will have freedom of worship.” He recalled that the “Communist government” of Beijing is seeking to create “patriotic” groups for Buddhists and Protestants too, “offering them great support”. For his part, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, telling of his personal union with the prayer, said he wanted to discuss the “campaign” with other bishops in the Philippines too.

AsiaNews sources from Beijing have said news of the world’s response to the prayer campaign is circulating in the underground and official Church.

In the West, internet and blog sites are spreading the idea.

A monastery of Poor Clares in Virginia in the United States is praying so that “the Holy Spirit may convert the hearts of all those responsible for evil”; on the same lines, from Galles, another monastery of Poor Clares wrote that “every day we pray for the conversion of Liu Bainian. We will seek to redouble our efforts”. A group of priests on pension added from the United States: “We will pray also that the Patriotic Association will convert and become part of the Church.”

A parish priest from Prato said: “At the end of each Holy Mass, I will ask that we may say a prayer to Our Lady for China’s ‘official’ Catholics and their shepherds.” Some Italian priests have declared their intention to include the Church in China in the Mass intentions of this month, while some believers will ask their parish priests to do the same, apart from spreading the message of the campaign among their friends, and dedicating a day of fasting for China.

And among the many other responses, there is a Canadian who recalls his Chinese origins, an American who remembers studying together with Mgr Paul Pei, who has just been ordained a bishop with the consent of the Pope, an English woman who promises a novena for missionaries to St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Promise of prayers has poured in from Australia, Poland, Taiwan and Bosnia.

And this is after just three days.

Georgetown Researchers: U.S. Catholics Remain Loyal to Church in Wake of Sex Abuse Scandals

Washington, D.C. - Reactions to sexual abuse allegations among Catholic clergy have not led to any measurable numbers of Catholics leaving the Church nationally.

A new working paper by the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University shows that the proportion of the U.S. population identifying themselves as Catholics has remained constant since 2000. The study also shows stability in weekly levels of Mass attendance from 2000 to 2005.

“Although most Catholics have expressed dissatisfaction with some aspects of the Church’s handling of the issue of sexual abuse, most are also loyal to their faith in that they have not changed their patterns of Mass attendance or parish giving,” the study’s conclusion states.

The study indicates that Catholics have become less likely to give financially to their diocese. The percentage of Catholics indicating giving to their diocesan annual appeal declined from a high of 38 percent in 2002 to 29 percent in 2005.

“However, this decline cannot be attributed solely to Catholic reactions to the accusations. Respondents more often cited personal financial reasons for their change in giving than the sexual abuse scandal,” said Mark Gray, one of the paper’s co-authors.

As of 2005, levels of satisfaction with Church leadership had rebounded from low points in 2002 when news of sexual abuse allegations regarding clergy gained national news attention.

The study, including surveys that were commissioned, in part, by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), examines how the nation’s lay Catholics were affected by revelations of clergy sexual abuse and by revelations about Church leaders’ handling of the problem. It provides a review of evidence from survey research conducted by CARA, primarily summarizing results from ten national telephone polls of adult self-identified Catholics conducted between January 2001 and October 2005. Among topics covered include affiliation, Mass attendance, giving, and confidence in Church leadership.

The full working paper is available at: cara.georgetown.edu/pubs/CARA%20Working%20Paper%208.pdf

About CARA

The Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate was founded by Catholic leaders in 1964 to put social science research tools at the service of the Catholic Church in the United States.

[Will this never end?]


China's Catholics divided by new bishop appointment

Fri May 12, 2006 3:48am ET
By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sparring between Beijing and the Vatican is set to intensify on Sunday as China installs another bishop apparently without the blessing of the Pope, extending a row over who rules China's divided Catholic Church.

Zhan Silu, also called Vincent Zhan, will become bishop of Mindong Diocese in eastern Fujian province, and he -- like two other bishops appointed in China in past weeks -- apparently lacks the Holy See's approval, which bishops even in China's state-controlled church have regularly sought in recent years.

"I did write to the Vatican to ask for recognition, but I've never heard anything back," Zhan said on Friday. "For me, Vatican approval is important, but I also have to consider local needs."

Zhan's impending appointment is the latest episode in a row that has deepened a rift between China and the Vatican, which have been exploring diplomatic ties after decades of division since the Chinese Communists won control of the mainland in 1949.

There are some 10 million Catholics in China, divided between an "underground" church loyal to the Holy See and the state-approved church that respects the Pope as a spiritual figurehead but has no formal ties with the Vatican.

Zhan, 45, was appointed a bishop in 2000, when China appointed five contrary to Vatican opposition, and he has since been based in Fujian. But he has not been formally installed as a head of a diocese or led a full Mass as bishop.

On Sunday, he in effect comes off the reserves bench to replace the former bishop of Mindong, based in the small city of Ningde, who died last year aged 88.

A priest from Fujian familiar with Zhan said priests even in the state-recognised church there were considering boycotting the ceremony as Rome had not signaled its approval, but were under pressure from government officials to attend.

"Some priests are very worked up about this," he said. "Because he has not been recognized by the Vatican, priests have not cooperated with him and so he hasn't consulted them."

He said the church in Fujian, an avidly commercial province where people have a history of spurning central control, is sharply split between the government-approved church and a large, often strong-willed "underground" church loyal to Rome alone.

"I don't think the Vatican has approved of Zhan because of his background and because the underground parishioners there are so opposed," he said. Zhan holds a senior post in the Communist Party-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

Zhan said he had invited representatives of the large underground Catholic church to his ceremony, but they had not responded. "We have different views about things," he said.

Officially atheist China traditionally refused to allow the Vatican to appoint bishops, saying it would be interference in its internal affairs.

In recent years, Beijing and the Holy See came to an implicit understanding that allowed prospective bishops to seek Vatican approval before taking up their posts, said Father Jeroom Heyndrickx, director of the Verbiest Institute at Louvain University in Belgium, who often travels to China.

But in past weeks, China has consecrated a bishop in Wuhu in the eastern province of Anhui and another in Kunming in southwestern Yunnan, drawing harsh criticism from Pope Benedict himself.

"It is such a pity, because there was a kind of peaceful evolution going on, with the (Chinese) authorities closing one eye to approval from Rome," said Heyndrickx.

[Modificato da benefan 12/05/2006 19.59]

[According to Tom, it is just good fun.]


Tom Hanks hits back at 'The Da Vinci Code' boycott calls
Thu May 11, 4:40 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Hollywood actor Tom Hanks criticised calls from church groups and religious leaders for a boycott on his new film, "The Da Vinci Code", insisting they are taking it too seriously.

"We always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown," the star told London's Evening Standard newspaper ahead of the movie's release later this month.

"But the story we tell is loaded with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense."

Hanks, who plays central character Robert Langdon in the film version of author Dan Brown's controversial best-selling 2003 novel, told the newspaper movie-goers would be making a "very big mistake" to take it at face value.

"It's a damn good story and a lot of fun ... all it is is dialogue. That never hurts."

Critics of "The Da Vinci Code", which gets its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France next week, claim its theme -- that Jesus Christ had children with Mary Magdalene and their bloodline continues -- is blasphemous.

Those who have come out in opposition include the conservative Catholic organisation Opus Dei, accused in the fictional film of covering up the secret. Opus Dei members have said it perpetrates "lies" about the Catholic Church.

Angelo Amato, a key aide to Pope Benedict XVI, has also said director Ron Howard's film had enraged The Vatican and urged the public to shun the movie, describing it as perversely anti-Christian.

---

Scritto da: benefan 12/05/2006 19.58
[Will this never end?]


China's Catholics divided by new bishop appointment

Fri May 12, 2006 3:48am ET
By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sparring between Beijing and the Vatican is set to intensify on Sunday as China installs another bishop apparently without the blessing of the Pope, extending a row over who rules China's divided Catholic Church.

Zhan Silu, also called Vincent Zhan, will become bishop of Mindong Diocese in eastern Fujian province, and he -- like two other bishops appointed in China in past weeks -- apparently lacks the Holy See's approval, which bishops even in China's state-controlled church have regularly sought in recent years.
.....

---

I think that we all need to start praying about this, not only for the sake of the church in China but also for the sake of our beloved PAPA.

I agree. Poor Papa must be quite upset over this mess. Imagine how confusing all this is. You need a score card to keep track of who is ours and who is theirs.