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The Church Around the World

Contents - Feb 2011 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Challenges ahead for the Church in 2011 - Michael Gilchrist Book Review: Cardinal Pell and Pope Benedict XVI's interview - Cardinal George Pell News: The Church Around the World Liturgical rights of Catholics must be upheld - Fr Martin Durham Marriage: US bishops signal a tougher stance in the culture wars - Michael Gilchrist Vocations: Following in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi - Kay Cozad Key issues of ecumenism: new Vatican president's assessment - AD2000 Report Science and Christian faith: the case for intelligent design - Babette Francis That ubiquitous F word: don't demean the sacred - Fr Max Barrett CSsR Young children: never too early to love God - Bishop Arthur Serratelli Pope Benedict honours Catholic Women's League member Brenda Finlayson - AD2000 Report IVF: The Catholic Church and reproductive technologies - Fr John Fleming Letters: Euthanasia - Leon Voesenek Letters: Apostles' wives - Francis Vrijmoed Letters: Leadership - Joe Lopez Letters: Correction - M.J. Gonzalez Letters: From India - Fr S. John Joseph Books: Isabel of Spain: The Catholic Queen, by Warren Carroll - Terri M. Kelleher (reviewer) Books: Christ Our High Priest, by Cardinal Albert Vanhoye - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: MOTHER BENEDICT: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, by Antoinette Bosco - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: MOTHER ANGELICA: Prayers and Personal Devotions, by Raymond Arroyo - Br Barry Coldrey (reviewer) Books: Order books from www.freedompublishing.com.au Reflection: The great but neglected harvest of inactive Catholics - Joseph Agius

Bishops respond to "gay marriage" push

During the Plenary meeting of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, held from 22 to 26 November in Sydney, the bishops discussed at length issues relating to marriage and same-sex relationships and their recognition in law, in response to recent moves by governments to change these laws.

The bishops' discussion touched on a number of important areas, including the motion in the Federal Parliament moved by the Greens MP, Adam Bandt, on 15 November that local members should consult their constituents on same-sex marriage.

In response to this the bishops agreed on the wording of a petition to be used in churches in order to make parishioners' views known to their local members.

"As a parishioner of ... (within your electorate) [I ask you to] please consider my position on the meaning of marriage.

"Given the variety of domestic arrangements available in Australia, I request that you protect the unique institution of marriage as traditionally understood and actually lived as the complementary love between a man and a woman."

Ireland's crisis of faith

On 20 November Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin spoke frankly about the crisis of faith in Ireland. He was addressing members of the Legion of Mary at a Mass marking the 30th anniversary of its founder Frank Duff's death.

Archbishop Martin acknowledged that many church leaders had failed profoundly in their pastoral duties. More than this, he said, they had demonstrated "arrogance and power seeking," acting in a way that alienated many believers and contradicted the message of the gospel.

These failures and abuses, he said, caused the Church to lose its remaining social influence and much of its credibility. The blows came at a time when many Irish Catholics were already drifting away from the Church to "live as if God did not exist."

He also highlighted the "crisis of vocations to the priesthood," noting that he recently presided at a Mass in memory of 20 priests who had died within the past 12 months. "A further dozen or so priests retired from active ministry during the same period," he said. "And yet, in the past year I ordained just one new priest for the diocese [of Dublin]."

While in no way minimising either the abuse scandals or the priest shortage, Archbishop Martin referred to a deeper crisis, one that concerned "the very nature of faith in Jesus Christ," and the question of Jesus' identity and mission.

He proposed that the Church could only address its more obvious problems by returning to what he called "the fundamental question" of "Who is Jesus Christ?"

"Can we be happy to celebrate first communion services which put people into debt for thousands of Euro," he asked, "while neither the children nor their parents have been led to a true understanding of the Eucharist and the Church? Can we be satisfied when confirmation is looked on by many as a graduation out of Church life?"

Archbishop Martin pointed to the example of Frank Duff and the Legion of Mary as an indication of what was needed to call Irish Catholics - clergy and laity - back to the essence of their faith.

Catholic News Agency

Christians are the world's most persecuted

Christians are the world's most persecuted religious group, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, told a summit of international leaders meeting in Kazakhstan on 1 December.

During a two-day meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Cardinal Bertone urged member nations to fight anti-Christian discrimination in the same way that it fights discrimination against other religious groups.

The 56 member countries of the organisation include the United States and Canada, as well as European nations, former Soviet bloc countries, and Turkey, among others. Cardinal Bertone said that that worldwide more than 200 million Christians "live in difficult conditions" because of legal and cultural restrictions on worship and religious freedom. "It is well documented that Christians are the most discriminated and persecuted religious group."

EWTN News

English Anglican bishops join Catholic Church

In January, five English Anglican bishops, who announced in November that they were leaving the Church of England, were the first to join a new "personal ordinariate" established by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.

The Catholic bishops unveiled their plans for the new ordinariate, or jurisdiction, in a statement on 19 November which said that Pope Benedict XVI would formally establish the ordinariate and name a bishop to lead it in early January 2011.

In their announcement, the English and Welsh bishops said the new procedures for accepting Anglican converts had been worked out over the past year in cooperation with the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Under the timetable they laid out, the three former Anglican bishops who are not retired would be ordained to serve as priests in the new ordinariate. The other two bishops, who are retired, would be ordained by Lent 2011.

"This will enable them, together with the ordinary and the other former Anglican Bishops, to assist with the preparation and reception of former Anglican clergy and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church during Holy Week," the bishops said.

In addition, the statement envisaged that Anglican clergy who decided to convert would begin "a period of intense formation for ordination as Catholic priests."

Former Anglican Bishop John Broadhurst, one of the five who announced his resignation from the Church of England on 7 November, said he was pleased with the plans announced by the English and Welsh bishops.

Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet, another of the five, laid his mitre and crozier at Our Lady's feet in his last sermon as a bishop of the Church of England.

"Jesus prays for the gift of Unity," he preached. "It is that gift of Unity, I believe, which is offered to us, and through us eventually to all separated Christians, in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. It is because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, abiding in his Church, that I believe I must accept it and invite others to come with me on the journey."

Catholic World News

Brazilian bishops defend unborn

Four dioceses in the Brazilian state of São Paolo have announced a joint effort to prevent the legalisation of abortion. They are pushing for changes to the state constitution that would protect life from conception to natural death.

The move would prevent the legalisation of abortion in the state.

Hermes Nery, the coordinator of the pro-life commission for the Diocese of Taubate, explained that the initiative was launched on 27 November with the aim of collecting 300,000 signatures to put forth a proposal for changes to the Sao Paolo state constitution.

"The federal constitution already states that life cannot be violated, but it does not spell out at what point. We want the state constitution to explicitly declare that human life begins at conception and ends with natural death," Nery said.

Bishop Carmo Joao Rhoden of Taubate told Vatican Radio, "I think this initiative is important, considering that all the polls show that the Brazilian people are pro-life and therefore against abortion. They are for the protection of human life from the moment of conception."

Bishop Luiz Gonzaga Bergonzini of Guarulhos told the publication Status on the Defense of Life that the effort was a first step towards preventing the legalisation of abortion in the federal Constitution.

Bishop Gonzaga has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Workers' Party in Brazil, to which outgoing President Lula da Silva and President-elect Dilma Rousseff belong.

Catholic News Agency

Chinese bishop ordained without papal approval

The Vatican has denounced China for ordaining a bishop without papal approval in a statement which also called for his excommunication.

On 20 November, Fr Joseph Guo Jincai was consecrated the Bishop of Chengde city in Hebei province, the first time in five years that China has carried out an ordination without papal consent, which the Holy See described in an unusually strongly-worded statement as a "painful wound" to the Church.

In addition, the Vatican accused Beijing of pressuring other Catholic bishops to attend Guo's consecration ceremony.

Over the years, the Holy See's objections against China's consecrations have been dismissed by Beijing as foreign meddling in the nation's internal affairs.

Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the government's Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, said he believed the Pope cared for Chinese Catholics and didn't think the excommunication would be formalised, adding, "The Pope loves China; he won't make such a decision."

In recent years, while Pope Benedict XVI has tacitly approved bishops from a list of candidates proposed by Beijing, there have been tentative steps towards rapprochement between the two sides. However, the attempts at cooperation haven't kept up with the demand for new bishops as ageing ones pass away and the number of China's Catholics increases in line with economic growth.

As a result, Beijing has at times decided to ordain its own bishops, which the Holy See regards as a "grave violation of Catholic discipline."

WantChinaTimes.com

English seminarians on the increase

Seminaries in England have seen a rise in the number applicants during 2010, the highest number in over a decade, according to a statement from the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales on 15 November. There were 56 new seminarians for the year.

The bishops believe that Pope Benedict's recent visit to the UK may continue to boost future numbers.

"The number of people responding to the call of Christ to be priests and religious has been rising slowly but surely," said Fr Stephen Langridge, Chairman of the Vocations Directors of England and Wales.

At their annual seminar in Birmingham in November 2010, vocation directors discussed what had contributed to the increased interest in vocations within the UK. One example, the recent "Invocation" festival held in Birmingham in July for Catholic young adults, drew close to 300 men and women seeking further vocational discernment. The event was so popular that it has been scheduled for 2011.

In addition to this initiative, several dioceses and religious orders are running discernment groups for young men and women while vocation seminar participants also noted World Youth Day Madrid in 2011 as an opportunity for young people to enrich their knowledge of Catholicism and increase their individual vocation discernment.

Fr Christopher Jamison, director of the National Office of Vocation, who attended the Birmingham seminar, noted the life of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, whom the Pope beatified during his recent papal trip. "When everybody in the Church takes seriously Newman's insight that 'God has created me to do him some definite service,' then a greater number discover their call to the priesthood and religious life."

Catholic News Agency

Death of Bishop of Sandhurst

Bishop Joseph Grech of Sandhurst (Bendigo), Victoria, died on 28 December after a short illness, aged 62. His funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinal George Pell in Bendigo's Sacred heart Cathedral on 6 January.

During his time as Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Pell consecrated Bishop Grech as an Auxiliary Bishop in 1999 while in 2001 he installed him as the new Bishop of Sandhurst.

Maltese-born Bishop Grech was the Australian Bishops' delegate for Youth and Young Adults and for Migrants and Refugees and was closely associated with Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 24 No 1 (February 2011), p. 4