ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - February 11, 2008
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VATICAN DOSSIER Pope Urges More Spiritual Exercises ANALYSIS Condom Fallacies WORLD FEATURES Cardinals Hoping for a 5th Marian Dogma Scratching the Surface of Turkey's Religious Heritage Cardinal: Confused World Obscuring Gender Identity Nuncio Fears Destabilization of Balkans NEWS BRIEFS Dateless? An Angel to the Rescue INTERVIEW Meeting Cuba's Contemplatives DOCUMENTS Pope's Q-and-A Session With Roman Clergy, Part 1 Cardinals' Letter Promoting Marian Dogma
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Urges More Spiritual Exercises
Says This Form of Retreat Can Offer Experience of God
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is promoting retreats known as spiritual exercises, saying the days of prayer are an opportunity of a strong experience of God.
In an audience Saturday with the Italian Federation of Spiritual Exercises, the Pope made an appeal for the promotion of the retreats, which are based on a practice begun by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556).
The Holy Father himself began his annual spiritual exercises last Sunday.
Benedict XVI told members of the Italian federation that "while multiple spiritual initiatives grow and providentially spread, above all among youth, it appears however that the number of participants in authentic courses of spiritual exercises is decreasing, and it appears that this is verified as well among priests and among members of institutes of consecrated life."
He affirmed that spiritual exercises are "a strong experience of God, sustained by listening to his word, understood and welcomed in one's personal life under the action of the Holy Spirit, which in a climate of silence, prayer and by means of a spiritual guide, offer the capacity of discernment in order to purify the heart, convert one's life, follow Christ, and fulfill one's own mission in the Church and in the world."
For this reason, the Bishop of Rome said he hoped that "together with other laudable forms of spiritual retreat, that there is not a diminishing in participation in spiritual exercises, characterized by that climate of complete and profound silence that favors the personal and community encounter with God and the contemplation of the face of Christ."
The Pope contended that "in an age in which there is an ever stronger influence of secularization, and, on the other hand, in which there is experienced a widespread need to encounter God, the possibility of offering spaces of intense listening to his Word in silence and prayer should not falter."
This implies, he added, making an effort to have houses dedicated to spiritual exercises, where there are well formed "guides and men and women leaders who are available and prepared, gifted with those doctrinal and spiritual capacities that make them masters of the spirit, experts in and passionate for the word of God and faithful to the magisterium of the Church."
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ANALYSIS
Condom Fallacies
Short-Sighted Campaigns Spread Diseases
By Father John Flynn, LC
ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The issue of wide-scale distribution of condoms is in the news once more. In the days preceding Brazil's Carnival celebrations authorities announced they would be handing out 19.5 million free condoms, reported Reuters on Jan. 28.
A British medical journal, the Lancet, also recently criticized the Church for its opposition to condoms. An editorial in the Jan. 26 edition of the journal chided Benedict XVI for not changing Church teaching so that condoms could be used by Catholics in preventing HIV/AIDS infections.
The simplistic assumption that condoms are the solution to sexually transmitted diseases is, however, increasingly being proved false. In its Jan. 26 issue, the British Medical Journal published a forum on condoms, with contrasting articles for and against on the topic.
Even the article in favor of condoms, by Markus Steiner and Willard Cates, admitted that in addition to condoms there is a need for "risk avoidance and risk reduction approaches." Such measures, they explained, include delayed initiation of sexual intercourse, and mutual faithfulness.
In his article putting forward the "no" case, Stephen Genuis clearly stated: "Firstly, condoms cannot be the definitive answer to sexually transmitted infection because they provide insufficient protection against transmission of many common diseases."
Genius also pointed out that: "Epidemiological research repeatedly shows that condom familiarity and risk awareness do not result in sustained safer sex choices in real life."
More of the same
Faced with such arguments about the failure of condoms and sex education campaigns, the reaction is often to call for more of the same. A typical example was the recent news from Australia, where it was found that 60% of Australian women who have unplanned pregnancies were using contraceptive pills or condoms.
According to the Jan. 30 report by the Melbourne-based Age newspaper, family planning groups responded by calling for more sexual education programs.
Nevertheless, in his British Medical Journal article Genius pointed out the fallacy of such arguments. In relation to condom and "safe sex" campaigns, he said: "The relentless rise of sexually transmitted infection in the face of unprecedented education about and promotion of condoms is testament to the lack of success of this approach.
"In numerous large studies, concerted efforts to promote use of condoms has consistently failed to control rates of sexually transmitted infection -- even in countries with advanced sex education programs such as Canada, Sweden and Switzerland."
In countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, where sexually transmitted infections have diminished, Genius argued that a careful scrutiny of the data reveals that the changes resulted not from condom use, but from changes in sexual behavior.
"Innumerable adolescents saturated with condom focused sex education fail to have their fundamental human needs met and end up contracting sexually transmitted infections," Genius concluded.
Africa experience
Excessive reliance on condoms to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa was criticized in a book published last year. Helen Epstein, in "The Invisible Cure: Africa, The West, And the Fight Against Aids," (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), also had reserves about sexual abstinence campaigns, but did admit the importance of changing sexual behavior.
In trying to find the causes of the high degree of infections in Africa, researchers found that a relatively high proportion of African men and women had simultaneous sexual relations with two or three partners. Compared to serial monogamy more common in Western countries the concurrent relationships greatly increase the risk of a rapid diffusion of sexual diseases.
Epstein was highly critical of the AIDS campaigns run by Western groups. Organizations such as Population Services International, Family Health International and Marie Stopes International were first active in population control efforts, she noted. In more recent years their activity in campaigns promoting condom use resulted in publicity that in effect promoted sexual activity, and in some cases "bordered on the misogynistic," Epstein added.
The message was that casual sex was nothing to worry about, so long as you used a condom. Apart from promoting behavior that only fueled infections, Epstein also commented that often the campaigns clashed with local sensibilities concerning decency and self-respect.
Changing behavior
Epstein also criticized the organizations and the United Nations for playing down the role of infidelity in the spread of HIV/AIDS. She recounted her experience at an international AIDS conference in Bangkok, where researchers presenting evidence about the importance of fidelity in preventing infection were "practically booed off the stage."
Another book published last year, "The AIDS Pandemic: The Collision of Epidemiology With Political Correctness" (Radcliffe Publishing), also pointed out the need to change sexual behavior, instead of a wholesale reliance on condoms.
James Chin, professor of epidemiology at the University of California at Berkeley, devoted a large part of his book to an analysis of the numbers of HIV/AIDS sufferers, pointing out how often the figures are vastly inflated.
Chin also argued that the fears of a large-scale infection in the general population are unfounded, given that the sexual behavior of most people does not lend itself to falling prey to HIV/AIDS. The greatest risk of being infected is found among homosexuals and those who have multiple and concurrent partners, he explained.
The positive contribution that religion can make in changing sexual behavior was recognized in a RAND Corporation study published last year. People who are HIV-positive and say religion is an important part of their lives are likely to have fewer sexual partners and are less likely to spread the virus, according to the study: "Religiosity, Denominational Affiliation and Sexual Behaviors Among People with HIV in the U.S."
"Religiosity is an untapped resource in the whole struggle against HIV and AIDS, and should be looked at more thoroughly," commented Frank Galvan, lead author of the study in the April 3 press release accompanying the report.
Christian concept of sexuality
The Church's view about condoms does not, however, base itself on to what extent it may help resolve health problems. Sexuality, explains No. 2332 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, affects all of the human person, body and soul. It concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and procreate, and forming communion with others.
Sexuality is truly human and personal when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, a relationship that is a complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman, the Catechism observes (No. 2337).
Benedict XVI addressed the HIV/AIDS issue in a couple of recent speeches made when receiving the credentials of new ambassadors. On Dec. 13, in his address to Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi from Namibia, the Pope recognized the urgent need to halt the spread of infections.
"I assure the people of your country that the Church will continue to assist those who suffer from AIDS and to support their families," the Pope stated.
The Church's contribution to the goal of eradicating AIDS, the Pontiff continued, "cannot but draw its inspiration from the Christian conception of human love and sexuality." This vision sees marriage as a total, reciprocal and exclusive communion of love between a man and a woman, Benedict XVI explained.
The same day, in a speech to Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding, Gambia's new ambassador to the Holy See, the Pope stated that while medicine and education have a part to play in combating HIV/AIDS: "Promiscuous sexual conduct is a root cause of many moral and physical ills and must be overcome by promoting a culture of marital faithfulness and moral integrity."
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WORLD FEATURES
Cardinals Hoping for a 5th Marian Dogma
To Declare Mary as Mother of Humanity
ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Five cardinals have sent a letter inviting prelates worldwide to join them in petitioning Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma they said would "proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary."
The text, released last week, includes the petition that asks the Pope to proclaim Mary as "the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race."
The signatories of the letter are five of the six cardinal co-sponsors of the 2005 International Symposium on Marian Coredemption, held in Fatima: Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India; Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, retired archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India; Cardinal Riccardo Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, Philippines; and Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, retired archbishop of Mexico City.
Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, who died last August, was the sixth cardinal co-sponsor of the 2005 conference. He was the president of the Pontifical Council of the Family from 1974 until he resigned in 1990.
The secretariat of the five cardinal co-patrons released the English translation of the letter, which includes a translation and the original Latin text of the "votum," or petition, that was formulated in 2005 and presented formally to the Pope by Cardinal Telesphore in 2006.
The petition states: "We believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family."
Ecumenism
Pointing to ecumenical concerns, the petition continues: "It is of great importance [...] that people of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption."
The text adds that the move would be "the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome."
In a press statement released along with the letter, the cardinal co-sponsors reiterated the same ecumenical concern and said the proclamation of a fifth Marian dogma would be a "service of clarification to other religious traditions and to proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary."
The statement added, "This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary's role in salvation for our time. [...] Should this effort prove successful, a proclamation would constitute a historical event for the Church as only the fifth Marian dogma defined in its 2,000-year history."
Cardinal Aponte Martínez, one of the cardinal co-patrons said: "I believe the time is now for the papal definition of the relationship of the Mother of Jesus to the each one of us, her earthly children, in her roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces and advocate.
"To solemnly proclaim Mary as the spiritual mother of all peoples is to fully and officially recognize her titles, and consequently to activate, to bring to new life the spiritual, intercessory functions they offer the Church for the new evangelization, and for humanity in our serious present world situation."
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Scratching the Surface of Turkey's Religious Heritage
Bishop Comments on Importance of Year of St. Paul
By Antonio Gaspari
ANKARA, Turkey, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Perhaps it's not immediately visible, but the Christian heritage of Turkey is accessible if one simply begins to scratch the surface, said the president of this country's episcopal conference.
Bishop Luigi Padovese, apostolic vicar of Anatolia, said this when talking to ZENIT about the program and objectives of the Year of St. Paul, which Benedict XVI called for June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009.
The prelate said the organization of pilgrimages and trips to the places touched by St. Paul is marked above all by its religious goals.
"The purpose is to awaken in the Christians of Turkey and the world the consciousness of their own identity," he said.
To reach this goal, a host of initiatives ranging from a new Turkish translation of the Pauline letters, to an October pilgrimage for the nation's minority-Catholic population, to a short Pauline catechism, are in the works.
Bishop Padovese said one of the main goals is helping Christians to understand what it means to be Christian.
St. Paul, he said, "gave a universal dimension to the Christian reality and showed that Christianity is a novelty more than a continuity, because, as Tertullian said, 'one is not born a Christian, but becomes one,' and Paul helps us to understand where we are and who we are. Paul recalls the Christian identity.
"It is not just about the continuity with the Jewish religion -- that relationship exists and one has to recognize it, but the Incarnation is an enormous qualitative jump and the 'scandal of the cross and Resurrection' goes beyond all imagination."
A place and time
Bishop Padovese said the Pauline jubilee "is an opportunity to make known to the world's Christians the importance of the Apostle Paul," with special reference to his mission in Turkey.
"In those times," recalled the apostolic vicar, "this region was more flourishing and rich, a meeting point for culture, peoples and religions which enabled the inculturation and expansion of Christianity."
The jubilee is also offering an opportunity to reach out to religious and civil leaders. A warming of relations with non-Catholic Christians and with Turkish authorities are hoped-for effects of the Pauline year.
Bishop Padovese explained that Orthodox leaders, including Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, have been involved in meetings to plan the jubilee.
And, he said, the Turkish authorities have shown themselves to be very interested in the Pauline year "although they have not responded to the petition to build a church in Tarsus dedicated to St. Paul."
Seeking Christ
From the archeological and historical point of view, Bishop Padovese lamented that with the passing of years "Christianity has been very much erased." But, he said, if the surface is scratched, "one can still find a great deal of the Christian presence."
"In the large cities," he said, "many churches have been lost and many others transformed into mosques." In Tarsus, for example, "there was a beautiful church built as a basilica that is currently a mosque."
"But on the perimeter, signs of Christianity are still visible," the prelate affirmed. In Antioch of Pisidia, for example, a Church dedicated to St. Paul has been found, where the apostle pronounced the speech about the mission."
"In fact," Bishop Padovese stated, "in Turkey, St. Paul preferentially performed his apostolate. The studies support that of the 10,000 miles that Paul traveled, a good part of them were in Turkey. And it is enough to take the Acts of the Apostles to realize up to what point Paul lived and traveled the lands of modern-day Turkey."
Need for unity
The apostolic vicar will pre-announce the opening of the jubilee in a June 21 event in Tarsus, a week before the Pauline year officially begins. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, leaders of the Orthodox Churches, and civil authorities from Ankara will participate.
The bishops' conference also published a pastoral letter for the jubilee. In it, they recall the importance of ecumenical relations.
"Before being Catholic, Orthodox, Syrians, Armenians, Chaldeans or Protestants, we are Christians. Our duty to be witnesses is founded on this," the letter stated. "We cannot let our differences generate distrust and damage the unity of the faith; we cannot permit non-Christian to be estranged from Christ because of our divisions."
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Cardinal: Confused World Obscuring Gender Identity
Says God's Plan Is Source of Happiness
By Marta Lago
ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Living one's masculine or feminine identity according to God's plan is a source of happiness, but the world is confused about what that means, says the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko affirmed this to ZENIT during the international conference on the theme "Woman and Man: The 'Humanum' in its Entirety." The Vatican conference marked the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem." Benedict XVI addressed the conference participants Saturday, the day it ended.
Cardinal Rylko gave the inaugural address Thursday, affirming that John Paul II's letter is still relevant because we find ourselves faced with the "rapid and profound transformation of models of feminine and masculine identity and the relation between the sexes."
The cardinal said this is a consequence of "new cultural paradigms" and among these, there are two dominant tendencies of radical feminism: "Empowerment," which wants to defend femininity, "making woman the antagonist of man"; and the "ideology of gender," which wants to eliminate sexual difference, understanding it "exclusively as the result of sociocultural conditioning."
An "extremely confused" concept of masculine and feminine identity is derived from these, the prelate contended, which reflect a modernity without points of reference that substitutes a plurality of opinions for truth.
Families threatened
The cardinal said this tendency "particularly threatens and calls into question" the figure of the mother and the father, and thus the institution of heterosexual marriage and two-parent families.
Concretely, he pointed to the fact that "a great battle for the human person is going on, a battle for his dignity and transcendent vocation; it is being fought around women and the concept of femininity."
Conscious of this, the Pontifical Council for the Laity has followed "with great interest all that which is happening in the vast world of women at a cultural level, at a social level and at a political level," the cardinal explained to ZENIT.
"We, as a dicastery concerned precisely with the laity, are particularly committed to confronting this great challenge of the Church today, and above all lay Catholics have to confront it, because," he stressed, "this anthropological challenge is not aimed simply at the Church in the abstract but precisely at Catholic men and women."
"There needs to be a denunciation of the injustice and the discrimination against women, there needs to be a denunciation of the dangerousness of the new cultural paradigms promoted at a global level in the world today, but above all there needs to be witness," he said. This witness must be translated into "a positive proclamation that it is worthwhile to live one's own identity, masculine and feminine, according to God's design, that this is beautiful and gives so much happiness," he told ZENIT.
New feminism
In his address, Cardinal Rylko recalled the teaching of John Paul II: "Femininity and masculinity," he said, "are complementary, not only from the physical and psychological point of view, but ontologically." It is "thanks to the masculine and feminine duality that the 'human' is fully realized."
He continued: Neither "a static and homogeneous equality" nor "an abyssal and inexorably conflictual difference": the man-woman relationship is natural and answers to God's plan, which is the unity of the two, "which enables each," the late Pope wrote, "to experience their interpersonal and reciprocal relationship as a gift which enriches and which confers responsibility."
The person "always and only exists as feminine and masculine," the cardinal added.
Indeed it was John Paul II who invited the laity "to be promoters of a new 'feminism,'" which knew how to "recognize and express the true feminine genius in all of its manifestations of civil coexistence, overcoming all forms of discrimination, violence and abuse," Cardinal Rylko affirmed.
"The moral and spiritual strength of a woman," John Paul II said in "Mulieris Dignitatem," "is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way," and this sensibility is necessary for every human person," the prelate recalled.
For this reason, Cardinal Rylko emphasized that "there also emerges a special role for women in the evangelization of culture."
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Nuncio Fears Destabilization of Balkans
Says It Could Become Another Middle East
By Will Taylor
BELGRADE, Serbia, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As Serbia braces for a declaration of independence from the predominantly ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo, the apostolic nuncio to the Balkan nation expressed hopes that the region doesn't destabilize and become another Middle East.
Serbian President Boris Tadic has been pressing for international talks this week on the status of Kosovo, claiming the province's ethnic Albanian leadership is threatening to "illegally" declare independence Feb. 17.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has not confirmed the date, but Friday he proclaimed that, having received the backing of about 100 nations, Kosovo's split from Serbia is "a done deal."
Asked about the turmoil in the region, the apostolic nuncio to Serbia, Archbishop Eugenio Sbarbaro, told ZENIT, "We are in the middle of a very difficult situation and we don't know what will happen. The great majority are not happy and the possibilities are there that could result in another Middle East; I hope not, but the premises are there."
Serbia remains strongly opposed to the secession of the province, which it considers to be the cradle of its statehood and religion. According to a 2002 census, Serbia's population -- excluding Kosovo -- is 85% Serbian Orthodox, 5.5% Catholic and 3.2% Muslim.
While in Kosovo the population is 90% Albanian Muslims, 6% are Serbian Orthodox Christians and 4% are Albanian Catholics, Serbian Orthodox maintain close ties to historically and culturally important Orthodox monasteries in the region.
Resistance
Anticipating the imminent declaration of independence, some 200 minority Serb representatives in Kosovo met this week to discuss the situation, and ultimately pledged to reject any such declaration, boycott Kosovo's parliament, and to set up their own institutions in the northern part of the breakaway province -- including an assembly that will regulate the lives of Serbs in Kosovo.
The decision is reminiscent of the early 1990s when ethnic Albanians ignored Serbia's revocation of the province's autonomy and set up their own institutions, resulting ultimately in an ethnic Albanian insurgency that was hammered by Serbian forces and which subsequently forced NATO to bomb the region and install a U.N. administration.
With the fate of the disputed territory now nearing a conclusion, both political and religious tensions continue to mount in the volatile region.
Remarking on the complexity of the overall circumstances, Archbishop Sbarbaro told ZENIT, "Here, you cannot separate the political and religious issues. Emotionally, they are at the heart of the historic traditions."
The Serbian Orthodox Church made its position clear with regard to an independent Kosovo last May at the Holy Assembly of Bishops in Belgrade, saying the move "would signify a trampling of divine and human justice, the abrogation of the age-old internationally recognized and confirmed rights of one of Europe's Christian nations, and would create a precedent with unjust consequences, not only for the Balkans and Europe, but for the entire world."
Pressed to elaborate about the religious aspect of the current tensions, Archbishop Sbarbaro stated: "Ecumenically it's a very delicate situation because the Orthodox Church in Serbia is thinking that Kosovo is the same as if they take away the Vatican from the Catholics -- that's their feeling.
"And they also think that the West is against this country because they are Orthodox; they think it could be the Catholics who are behind that position. So again, ecumenically speaking it's a very delicate issue and should be handled in a very delicate manner."
Papal audience
Benedict XVI received in audience the president of Kosovo on Feb. 2. After the meeting with Sejdiu, the Vatican stated in a communiqué that the Holy Father expressed "his closeness to the entire population of that land, where Christianity has been present since the first centuries of our era."
He said the current Catholic population of some 65,000 faithful "performs an important service -- especially in the fields of health care and education -- in favor of all Kosovars, whatever their ethnic or religious background."
"As for any possible declaration of independence by Kosovo," the statement added, "the Holy See will follow developments on the ground with particular attention and, in her appraisal thereof, will bear in mind the position of the international community."
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NEWS BRIEFS
Dateless? An Angel to the Rescue
Web Site Offers Novena Prayer to St. Raphael
LONDON, FEB. 11, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Singles worried about spending the upcoming Valentine's Day by themselves are being encouraged to seek help through the prayers of an angelic matchmaker.
A Web site of the Catholic Enquiry Office, part of an agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, is encouraging Catholic singles to pray a novena to the Archangel Raphael.
Raphael is traditionally considered an ally in the realm of love and relationships thanks to the role he played in helping Sarah and Tobit in the Old Testament.
The book of Tobit explains how Raphael delivered Sarah from an evil spirit that had brought about the death of seven husbands on seven successive wedding nights.
Monsignor Keith Barltrop, director of the Catholic Enquiry Office, explained, "Many people have testified to the help they have received in finding a life partner through the prayerful help of the archangel. At this time of year, significant numbers are seeking someone special, or maybe dealing with recent heartbreak. St. Raphael is there to help."
Singles are being encouraged to join a novena starting Feb. 14, using the following prayer:
For the Choice of a Good Spouse
St. Raphael, you were sent by God to guide young Tobias in choosing a good and virtuous spouse. Please help me in this important choice which will affect my whole future. You not only directed Tobias in finding a wife, but you also gave him guidelines which should be foremost in every Christian marriage: "Pray together before making important decisions."
Amen.
The online resource includes tips from a matchmaking expert, information about the archangel and intercessory prayer, true love stories and a competition offering the prize of a meal for two.
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INTERVIEW
Meeting Cuba's Contemplatives
Interview With Dominican Sisters in Havana
By Eduardo Quiñones García
HAVANA, Cuba, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Dominican contemplative nuns have been praying for 320 years in Havana, and their vocation is a source of great joy, says the current prioress.
ZENIT visited the convent of St. Catherine of Siena in Nuevo Vedado, Cuba, founded in 1688. The first nuns were Cuban natives who wanted to be religious sisters, but could not be accommodated in the only existing monastery on the island. They founded their own convent, which remained in Havana until superiors decided the peace of nearby El Vedado would be more suited for their life. Since 1984, the sisters have been in the current building, in what is now the metropolitan area of Havana.
Seven nuns -- two Cubans, two Mexicans and three Colombians -- presently live in the convent, filling their days with prayer and embroidery.
The prioress of the monastery, Sister Ofelia of St. Joseph, is a native of Mexico but has lived in Cuba for 15 years. Sister Yolanda of the Child Jesus is a native Cuban, and already has celebrated 44 years behind the walls of the convent. Sister Ofelia and Sister Yolanda say they are happy in their vocation, which offers something new every day.
Q: Do young women who arrive to the convent aim to reach the heights of contemplation?
Sister Yolanda: Yes. But this is not like earning an academic degree. It is simply getting rid of everything in order to place oneself at the disposal of God, who gives, enlightens and transforms. He gives the strength and so it is like an emptying of everything so that the Lord can fill it.
St. Dominic did not bind us to any method. He proposed a very simple path of prayer. He said, first read the sacred Scriptures, the Divine Office or what you have. Go from reading to prayer; from prayer to meditation; and from meditation to contemplation. That was the only method he left us. So that's where a young woman begins -- she reads, goes deeper and makes her petitions, her prayers, which she reflects upon and thus the Lord is revealed to her. One does not acquire contemplation, but rather the Lord gives the light.
Q: When one of you feels the spontaneous call to prayer, to contemplation, doesn't it interrupt your work?
Sister Ofelia: It is not interrupted. When one lives in that union with God one can continue with work, but firmly united to him. And I can sew, clean, do whatever, but it does not take me from that union with God, which is lived in each moment ...
Sister Yolanda: One should live in an atmosphere of contemplation. And at times the Lord speaks more when we are working than when we are praying.
Q: Then we could say that you do not silence the call to recollection, but that you try to live a continual prayer?
Sister Ofelia: Quite so. A continual prayer that is lived in each moment, and in everything that is done, God is present. I can say this by experience, that I can be cleaning and cooking and feel the Lord there. Everything that is done is for love of God.
Q: We know words are insufficient for explaining what contemplation is. How would you describe it according to your own experience?
Sr. Ofelia: The experience of God is something so personal. That encounter that is between God and yourself, in which one is lost in that silence, in that time, we could say, when God enters into our soul, into our heart, so that he can do what he desires, and we leave ourselves in that divine love.
Nevertheless, this experience, this contemplation, I have always seen that ... it not only remains in me, but it brings others to participate, my own community, all the faithful, all the people whom I know, whom I love and whom I don't know; because I am conscious that the experience reaches every ear; because I have seen it, I have proven it in the moment in which one is allowed to be loved by God! And that divine love cannot be expressed with words.
Sister Yolanda: When one begins on the path of the life of prayer, the first thing we should realize is who we are: a sinner -- that by myself I can do nothing and one should be convinced of that. Because there are always very self sufficient people who fancy themselves capable of many things. And the Lord makes them see that one is nothing; that everything you have is because of him.
So, once one is in that surrender and seeking the Lord, he is the one who makes himself found! And he manifests himself to us in different ways. That is to say, God is love. And when one says God is good, this brings us to delight in the Lord without abusing with presumption the grace of God. I think that it is a character of the Dominican spirituality that one delights not only in God; that is, to enter into contact with God, we enter into contact also with humanity, and we feel that desire for everyone to love the Lord and we ask him: May everyone adore and praise you!
Q: You are in a cloister withdrawn from the world, but you are close to it and to humanity, to our pains and hopes. What is your experience of this?
Sister Yolanda: The Holy Father Paul VI, speaking of that union we nuns have spiritually with the world, said that in the convents, all the feelings, passions, desires and needs of humanity vibrate in their highest intensity. And I think that goes into our prayer: We vibrate [with these needs] as intensely as possible. Because of this we are generators of life and grace with the help of the Lord.
Q: What would you recommend to Christian youth without a vocation to contemplative life but who feel a desire to grow in the spiritual life and to love God deeply?
Sister Yolanda: Well, that they dedicate some time each day to their personal prayer. This will go introducing them to the life of virtue and makes them free and dignified persons. That, in reality, is the Christian vocation: supreme dignity in Christ.
Q: How would you define your cloistered lives and what keeps you here? Are you happy?
Sister Ofelia: I am happy in my vocation; it is as if it was the first time. For me life in the cloister is not routine. It is a different dawn since each day has its joys, sufferings and concerns, but even more happiness. When one gives oneself more to God and the years pass -- I say this by experience -- the cloister, contemplative life, it is a gift of God.
Sister Yolanda: I agree that contemplative life is a great gift of God, and that each day is something new. There is no place for routine as people think, because daily there are new things, from the encounter with the Lord to what might happen later. Also his presence is new, it is a work of his mercy and infinite love in the world and among us. Yes, I can say that I am also very happy.
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DOCUMENTS
Pope's Q-and-A Session With Roman Clergy, Part 1
On the Importance of the Permanent Diaconate
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Following a Lenten tradition, Benedict XVI met Thursday with parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome. During the meeting, the participants asked the Pope questions. Here is a translation of the first question and the Holy Father's answer.
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[Deacon Giuseppe Corona:]
Holy Father, I would like first of all to express my gratitude and that of my brother deacons for the ministry that the Church so providentially has taken up again with the [Second Vatican] Council, a ministry that allows us to fully express our vocation. We are committed in a great variety of works that we carry out in vastly different environments: family, work, parish, society, also the missions of Africa and Latin America -- areas that you indicated for us in the audience you granted us on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the diaconate of the Diocese of Rome.
Now our numbers have grown -- there are 108 of us. And we would like for you to indicate a pastoral initiative that could become a sign of a more incisive presence of the permanent diaconate in the city of Rome, as it happened in the first centuries of the Roman Church. In fact, sharing a significant, common objective, on one hand increases the cohesion of diaconal fraternity and on the other, would give greater visibility to our service in this city. We present you, Holy Father, the desire that you indicate to us an initiative that we can share in the way and the manner that you wish to specify. In the name of all the deacons, I greet you, Holy Father, with filial affection.
[Benedict XVI:]
Thank you for this testimony as one of the more than 100 deacons of Rome. I would like to also express my joy and my gratitude for the Council, because it revived this important ministry in the universal Church. I should say that when I was archbishop of Munich, I didn't find perhaps more than three or four deacons, and I very much favored this ministry because it seemed to me to belong to the richness of the sacramental ministry in the Church. At the same time, it can equally be the link between the lay world, the professional world, and the world of the priestly ministry -- given that many deacons continue carrying out their professions and maintain their positions -- important or those of a simple life -- while on Saturday and Sunday they work in the Church. In this way, you give witness in the world of today, as well as in the working world, of the presence of faith, of the sacramental ministry and the diaconal dimension of the sacrament of Orders. This seems very important to me: the visibility of the diaconal dimension.
Naturally as well, every priest continues being a deacon, and should always think of this dimension, because the Lord himself made himself our minister, our deacon. We can think of the gesture of the washing of the feet, with which he explicitly shows that the master, the Lord, acts as a deacon and wants those who follow him to be deacons, that they fulfill this role for humanity, to the point that they also help to wash the dirtied feet of the men entrusted to us. This dimension seems very important to me.
On this occasion, I bring to mind -- though it is perhaps not immediately inherent to the theme -- a simple experience that Paul VI noted. Each day of the Council, the Gospel was enthroned. And the Pontiff told those in charge of the ceremony that he would like one time to be the one who enthrones the Gospel. They told him no, this is the job of the deacons, not of the Pope. He wrote in his diary: But I am also a deacon, I continue being a deacon, and I would like to also exercise this ministry of the diaconate placing the word of God on its throne. Thus, this concerns all of us. Priests continue being deacons, and the deacons make explicit in the Church and in the world this diaconal dimension of our ministry. This liturgical enthroning of the word of God each day during the Council was always for us a gesture of great importance: It told us who was the true Lord of that assembly; it told us that the word of God was on the throne and that we exercise our ministry to listen and to interpret, to offer to the others this word. It is broadly significant for all that we do: enthroning in the world the word of God, the living word, Christ. May it really be him who governs our personal life and our life in the parishes.
Now, you have asked me a question that, I must say, goes a bit beyond my strengths: What would be the tasks proper to the deacons of Rome. I know that the cardinal vicar knows much better than I the real situations of the city and the diocesan community of Rome. I think that one characteristic of the ministry of the deacons is precisely the multiplicity of the diaconate's applications. In the International Theological Commission, a few years ago, we studied at length the diaconate in the history and also the present of the Church. And we discovered just that: There is not just one profile. What they should do varies, depending on the preparation of the persons and the situations in which they find themselves. There can be applications and activities that are very different, always in communion with the bishop and with the parish, naturally. In the various situations, various possibilities arise, also depending on the professional preparation that these deacons could have. They could be committed in the cultural sector, which is so important today, or they could have a voice and an important post in the educational realm. We are thinking this year precisely of the problem of education as central to our future, and the future of humanity.
Certainly the sector of charity was in Rome the original sector, because those called presbyters and deacons were centers of Christian charity. This was from the beginning in the city of Rome a fundamental area. In my encyclical "Deus Caritas Est," I showed that not just preaching and the liturgy are essential for the Church and for the ministry of the Church, but rather equally important is the service of caritas -- in its multiple dimensions -- for the poor, the needy. Thus, I hope that all the time, in the whole diocese, even if in distinct situations, this continues being a fundamental dimension, and also a priority for the commitment of the deacons, even if not the only one, as is also shown in the early Church, where the seven deacons were chosen precisely to permit the apostles to dedicate themselves to prayer, liturgy and preaching. Also afterward, Stephen found himself in the situation of having to preach to the Greeks, to the Jews who spoke Greek, and thus the field of preaching was amplified. He is conditioned, we could say, by the cultural situation, where he has a voice to make present in that sector the word of God. In that way, he makes more possible the universality of the Christian testimony, opening the doors to St. Paul who witnessed his stoning, and later, in a certain sense, was his successor in the universalization of the word of God. I don't know if the cardinal vicar would like to add something; I'm not as close to the concrete situations.
[Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for the Diocese of Rome:]
Holy Father, I can just confirm, as you said, that also concretely in Rome, the deacons work in many sectors, for the most part, in parishes, where they concern themselves with the ministry of charity; but, for example, many are also involved in ministry to the family. Since almost all of the deacons are married, they offer marriage preparation, give follow-up to young couples, and things like that. They also offer a significant contribution to the ministry of health care; they help also in the vicariate -- where some of them work -- and as you heard, in missions. There is a certain missionary presence of deacons. I think that, naturally, in the numerical plane, the greatest commitment is in the parishes, but there also exist other sectors that are also opening, and precisely because of this, we now have more than a hundred permanent deacons.
[Translation by Kathleen Naab]
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Cardinals' Letter Promoting Marian Dogma
"Over 500 Bishops Have Sent Their Request for This Solemn Definition"
ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is an English translation of the letter written by the five cardinal co-sponsors of the Fatima Symposium on Marian Co-redemption and sent to the world's bishops and cardinals asking them to sign a petition that asks Benedict XVI to proclaim Mary as the Spiritual Mother of Humanity.
The letter was sent Jan. 1, solemnity of the Mother of God, and signed by Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India; Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, retired archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India; Cardinal Riccardo Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, Philippines; and Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, retired archbishop of Mexico City.
* * *
Dear Brother Eminences and Excellencies:
In May 2005, we, as cardinal co-patrons, sponsored a Mariological symposium convened on the subject of the cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the work of human Redemption at the favored Fatima shrine in Portugal.
After extensive theological presentations delivered by a significant number of cardinals, bishops, and theologians, we concluded the symposium by enacting a votum to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. The votum reads as follows:
Your Holiness, Benedict XVI,
In an effort to enhance the ecumenical mission of the Church, and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness, we, the undersigned cardinals and bishops who have convened in the favored Marian Shrine of Fatima (May 3-7, 2005), wish to express to you, Most Holy Father, our united hope and desire for the solemn papal definition of the doctrine of the Church regarding Mary Most Holy as the Spiritual Mother of all humanity, the Co-redemptrix with Jesus the Redeemer, Mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one Mediator, and Advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.
In a time of significant confusion amidst the many diverse ecclesial bodies of Christianity, and as well among non-Christian peoples concerning this Marian doctrine, we believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 61) in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family.
It is of great importance, Holy Father, that peoples of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption.
Therefore, Your Holiness, with filial obedience and respect, we wish to present you with this votum of our solidarity of hope for the papal definition of the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God as the spiritual Mother of all peoples in her three maternal roles as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate, as the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome, and as well as for the greater understanding and appreciation of this revealed doctrine concerning the Mother of the Redeemer by the People of God at the outset of this third millennium of Christianity.
We thereby submit this votum accompanied by one possible formulation of the Marian doctrine which we, please God, pray may be solemnly defined by your Holiness:
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man, gave to humanity from the Cross his mother Mary to be the spiritual Mother of all peoples, the Co-redemptrix, who under and with her Son cooperated in the Redemption of all people; the Mediatrix of all graces, who as Mother brings us the gifts of eternal life; and the Advocate, who presents our prayers to her Son.
On June 7, 2006, our brother, Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, presented the above votum in Latin to His Holiness on behalf of all the cardinal and bishop participants at the 2005 Fatima Symposium, together with the published acta from the symposium. The Holy Father received the votum and the acta with an accentuated gratitude and his expressed intention to study carefully the acta.
We now write to you, brother cardinals and bishops, to inform you of this votum for the solemn definition of Our Lady as the Spiritual Mother of humanity and its essential roles, and respectfully request your own prayerful consideration regarding the possibility of adding your own esteemed assent to this votum to Our Holy Father. We have enclosed a copy of the original Latin votum for your examination and, if you felt so inspired by Our Lady, you would be free to sign and to forward it on to His Holiness.
Certainly, if it so pleased the Holy Father to proceed with this request, any final formation of the definition would in no manner be bound to the formulation of the enclosed votum, but rather left entirely to his unique charism as the Successor of Peter. It is also noteworthy that over the course of the past fifteen years, over 500 bishops have sent their request for this solemn definition to the Holy See, along with approximately 7 million petitions from the Catholic faithful worldwide.
We thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request on behalf of Our Lady, Mother of the Church and Queen of the Apostles. May she guide you in your discernment of this matter to the wisdom of Jesus Christ, our divine Redeemer, through the counsel of the Holy Spirit, all leading to the fulfillment of the perfect will of our Heavenly Father.
With cordial best wishes in Jesus and Mary,
Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, India; President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India; Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez, Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India
Riccardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, Philippines
Ernesto Cardinal Corrippio Ahumada, Primate Emeritus of Mexico
Cardinal Co-sponsors of the Fatima Symposium on Marian Coredemption
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