ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - May 20, 2008
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VATICAN DOSSIER Congress to Consider Communication Training WORLD FEATURES Denver Prelate Addresses Obama's Catholic Fans Lebanese Prelate to Ask Bush's Help With Neighbors Church in Detroit Marks 175th Birthday Bishop: British Parliament Approves "Horror" NEWS BRIEFS Iraqi Bishop Assails Execution of Prelate's Abductor Buddhists, Christians Consider Point of Union INTERVIEW On Bishops, Local Churches and Movements LITURGY Praying for the Departed DOCUMENTS Pope's Address to Armenian Patriarch Karekin II
VATICAN DOSSIER
Congress to Consider Communication Training
VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The Pontifical Council for Social Communications is aiming to get a better look at what Catholic universities are doing to train communications professionals.
The council announced that it will hold its first congress for faculties of communication from Catholic universities this Thursday through Saturday at Rome's Pontifical Urbanian University.
The conference, which will be attended by professors in communication from Catholic universities of various countries, aims "to strengthen and expand the cooperative relationship" between the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and representatives of the universities, a communiqué from the council reported.
Organizers also hope "to give the council a fuller understanding of the range of activities taking place in these institutions and a greater appreciation of the qualifications, talents and skills of those who work within them," the message added.
The congress will look at the changing world of communications and the challenges that face those dedicated to the academic formation of future professional communicators, as well as the identity and mission of communications faculties in Catholic universities, and the ethical formation of communicators.
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WORLD FEATURES
Denver Prelate Addresses Obama's Catholic Fans
Says Voters Need to Be Ready to Meet Abortion Victims in Next Life
DENVER, Colorado, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Denver is wishing the group "Roman Catholics for Obama" good luck in their endeavors to change their presidential candidate's position on abortion. He says they'll need it.
Archbishop Charles Chaput dedicated Monday's column in the Denver Catholic Register to "Thoughts on 'Roman Catholics for Obama.'"
He began his reflection noting his own change in attitude regarding pro-abortion politicians.
"Forty years ago this month Bobby Kennedy was still alive and running for the Democratic Party's 1968 presidential nomination," Archbishop Chaput recalled. "I was a seminarian in Washington, D.C. I was also an active volunteer on Kennedy's campaign. […] After RFK [was assassinated], the meaning of the 1968 election seemed to evaporate. I lost interest in politics.
"I didn't get involved again until the rise of Jimmy Carter. Carter fascinated me because he seemed like an untypical politician. He was plain-spoken, honest, a serious Christian and a Washington outsider. So I supported him during his 1976 campaign when I was a young priest working in Pennsylvania. […] Carter had one serious strike against him. […] I knew Carter was wrong in his views about Roe v. Wade and soft toward permissive abortion.
"But even as a priest, I justified working for him because he wasn't aggressively 'pro-choice.' True, he held a bad position on a vital issue, but I believed he was right on so many more of the 'Catholic' issues than his opponent seemed to be. The moral calculus looked easy. I thought we could remedy the abortion problem after Carter was safely returned to office."
Stymied efforts
Archbishop Chaput recounted how his outlook on the abortion issue in politics began to change.
"Carter lost his bid for re-election, but even with an avowedly pro-life Ronald Reagan as president, the belligerence, dishonesty and inflexibility of the 'pro-choice' lobby has stymied almost every effort to protect unborn human life since," he noted. "In the years after the Carter loss I began to notice that very few of the people, including Catholics, who claimed to be 'personally opposed' to abortion really did anything about it. Nor did they intend to.
"For most, their personal opposition was little more than pious hand wringing and a convenient excuse -- exactly as it is today. In fact, I can't name any 'pro-choice' Catholic politician who has been active, in a sustained public way, in trying to discourage abortion and to protect unborn human life -- not one.
"Some talk about it, and some may mean well, but there's very little action. In the United States in 2008, abortion is an acceptable form of homicide. And it will remain that way until Catholics force their political parties and elected officials to act differently."
An issue for today
Archbishop Chaput explained that he was speaking of his experience because the group "Roman Catholics for Obama '08" used his own words in an explanation of their current position regarding the potential Democratic nominee for president, Barack Obama.
The group quoted the archbishop as saying: "So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't. But I do know some serious Catholics -- people whom I admire -- who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain.
"And most important: They don't keep quiet about it; they don't give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite -- not because of -- their pro-choice views."
The rest of the story
But Archbishop Chaput clarified in Monday's column that the next sentence of the quoted piece adds a key element to his position.
It said: "But [Catholics who support 'pro-choice' candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a 'proportionate' reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It's the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life -- which we most certainly will. If we're confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed."
The Denver archbishop noted how "Roman Catholics for Obama" say they have "arrived at the conclusion that Senator Obama is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook […] despite our disagreements with him in specific areas."
"I'm familiar with this reasoning," Archbishop Chaput said. "It sounds a lot like me 30 years ago. And 30 years later we still have about a million abortions a year. Maybe Roman Catholics for Obama will do a better job at influencing their candidate. It could happen. And I sincerely hope it does, since Planned Parenthood of the Chicago area, as recently as February 2008, noted that Senator Barack Obama 'has a 100% pro-choice voting record both in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois Senate.'
"Changing the views of 'pro-choice' candidates takes a lot more than verbal gymnastics, good alibis and pious talk about 'personal opposition' to killing unborn children. I'm sure Roman Catholics for Obama know that, and I wish them good luck. They'll need it."
--- --- ---
On the Net:
The archbishop's column: http://www.archden.org/images/ArchbishopCorner/NewspaperColumns/ab_chaput_webcolumn.pdf
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Lebanese Prelate to Ask Bush's Help With Neighbors
Cardinal Sfeir Continues Tour to Seek Peace in Mideast
HOUSTON, Texas, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The Maronite patriarch of Antioch said he will ask U.S. President George Bush for help so that Lebanon can be sovereign and independent.
Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir said this Monday during a visit to Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Catholic Church in Texas, reported the Houston Chronicle.
"We need to be assured that neighboring countries will not attack, invade, undermine or compromise the sovereignty of Lebanon," Cardinal Sfeir said. "I am asking for [Bush's] help so Lebanon will be sovereign and independent and have the best situation with all her neighbors."
The patriarch is scheduled to meet with Bush on Thursday.
Cardinal Sfeir is on a multi-continent trip that he began May 4. His first stops included Qatar and South Africa, and during the U.S. leg of the trip, he has stopped in New York, Philadelphia, and Houston, Texas.
On Thursday, he addressed the U.N. Security Council, where he spoke of the various issues facing Lebanon. He also met privately with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Fighting in Lebanon escalated May 7 when the nation's cabinet banned the communication system used by the Shiite Hezbollah group. More than 80 people have since been killed. The Pope appealed for peace in Lebanon after praying the midday Regina Caeli on May 11 in St. Peter's Square.
Lebanon's complex political and social situation has resulted in a power vacuum in the country. Since November, opposing factions have been unable to come together to elect a president.
Loving one another
In Philadelphia on Friday at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Cardinal Sfeir expressed his confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Noting the first feast of Pentecost, the cardinal said, "This same Holy Spirit can still change things today! As the Holy Father said recently, 'The Church is in a perpetual state of Pentecost.' Yes, even though the world around us remains imperfect in so many ways, we are always in a state of Pentecost if our hearts are open to repentance, forgiveness, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
"We gather today to offer this Divine Liturgy and to pray for a new outpouring of this Holy Spirit. We invoke the tender care of the Mother of God, Mary, to pray for Lebanon and her people. […] It is that Holy Spirit who gives us the grace to love another as he loves us."
Faith and reason
While in Philadelphia, the cardinal also received an honorary doctorate from Villanova University, which is a sister school with Lebanon's American University of Science and Technology.
He thanked the priests who had visited Lebanon and invited him to Philadelphia to receive the degree.
"Visiting Lebanon is so very important to the Lebanese, because there, you can see for yourself the special character of Lebanon, home to Sts. Sharbel, Rafka, Nemtallah and now, most recently Blessed Jaques Haddad, and where even today the desire for holiness and love of hospitality is still part of the very soul of the Lebanese people," the cardinal said. "One still sees and experiences in Lebanon the conviviality among religions and cultures.
"Unfortunately, we also note -- as we sadly see today -- the challenges, failures and intense pressures present where different opinions and political currents meet and conflict."
Cardinal Sfeir said that despite everything, Lebanon's Catholic education system is thriving.
"How important it is for our young people to know the world in all its cultures, to be steeped in the richness of Catholic tradition, to honor faith and reason, to live by Catholic principles of social justice and ethics, and to take the time to know others well -- even those whose ideas are different from our own," he stated. "This is also what makes Lebanon so precious. In Lebanon all Catholic education -- elementary, secondary, and higher education -- continues to thrive; we hope it always will."
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Church in Detroit Marks 175th Birthday
Cardinal Calls Faithful to Gratitude for God's Gifts
DETROIT, Michigan, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- As the Church in Detroit celebrated its 175th anniversary, its archbishop recalled how missionaries brought the faith to the area and how its faithful must be missionaries for the coming generations.
Cardinal Adam Maida reflected on the foundation and development of the local Church in Detroit during his homily Sunday at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral.
"Every anniversary affords us an opportunity to pause and remember, to consider with joy and gratitude, the blessings we have received," he said. "With the serenity of time, we can put into perspective the events, people, and experiences that have made us who we are today. Even now, 175 years later, many of the things that have happened, and the way they have happened, have no obvious human logic or clear explanation; ultimately, our personal and communal history is always something of a mystery."
Cardinal Maida affirmed that God is always at work, "even through tragedies and sufferings and the apparent 'accidents' of history."
"For example," he said, "Detroit might well have been established as a diocese in 1827 instead of 1833, and Gabriel Richard might well have been our first bishop instead of Frederic Résé. But God had other plans."
The cardinal noted some of the salient events in the Church's 175-year history, including the great fire of 1801, the beginning of the construction of the Sacred Heart Major Seminary during the Great Depression, the establishment of the provincial seminary after World War II, and the synod in 1969 to incorporate the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
The unsung
"Certainly, over the years, some names of lay leaders stand out with special prominence," he said, mentioning a few of them. But, the cardinal added, "Perhaps the most significant people of our faith heritage are names known only to God, unsung heroes of the laity, who raised their families, shared the faith with their children, and put their faith into concrete action through works of justice and peace in the marketplace, offices, factories, or the world of the professions."
Cardinal Maida noted some of the causes for rejoicing on the anniversary celebration.
"Among other things today, we can rightly rejoice and celebrate the way our strong presence and united voice have affirmed the dignity of all persons --the rights of the unborn, workers, and immigrants, as well as the psychologically and mentally challenged," he said. "Our belief in the mysteries of faith does not pull us away from social concerns but, rather, makes us all the more sensitive to all human needs, gifts and possibilities.
"As the gifts and needs of the metro area Church have evolved over the decades, the Church has always been ready with a response of hope and a new vision for society."
Cardinal Maida referred to the teaching of Benedict XVI to say that the faithful should be grateful for the gifts of God.
"Throughout his long career as a scholar, and now as our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has consistently emphasized that a critical starting point for all Christian theology is recognizing that, as human beings, we are basically receivers," the cardinal said. "Everything that we are and everything that we have is a gift of God … and God would never give us anything or allow anything unless there was in it the potential for us to share more deeply in his goodness."
Mystery and gift
He continued, "One of the challenges of our lives -- individually and communally -- is learning to appreciate the extraordinary gifts of God which surround us on all sides. Every gift is indeed a mystery, something that needs to be unpacked or opened."
Finally, the cardinal looked toward the future: "I must admit I feel a bit like Moses on Mount Nebo looking toward the Promised Land, knowing that someone else would be leading God's people on the next stage of their journey. Having served as your archbishop for these 18 years, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the life of the Church on every level.
"As we learn from the Holy Trinity, our attention must always be directed outward; if God is 'missionary' in his love and energy, as his Church, we must do the same.
"Missionaries brought us the faith and we must be missionaries to the next generation and the generations to come as our children and grandchildren call forth from us ever-new responses of faith, hope and love."
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Bishop: British Parliament Approves "Horror"
Life Academy Leader Denounces Law OK'ing Hybrids
VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- British Parliament has now approved one of the horrors that has always been rejected by ethics, says the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Members of Parliament approved 336-176 on Monday evening the creation of hybrid embryos, made by introducing human DNA into animal ova. The measure aims to compensate for a "shortage" of human embryos used for embryonic stem cell research.
Bishop Elio Sgreccia told Vatican Radio that the law is particularly grave from the ethical point of view since "it constitutes an offense against the dignity of man. It is an attempt of fertilization between species that until how has been prohibited by all the laws on artificial fertilization."
"Human-animal union, even if it is not sexual, represents one of the horrors that has always brought rejection in ethics," he said.
The prelate emphasized that "every time the wall between man and animal has been broken, very grave consequences, even involuntary ones, have arisen."
According to the new law, hybrid embryos should be destroyed within 14 days of their creation. Implantation in uteri of either women or animals is also prohibited.
This means, Bishop Sgreccia explained, that for the law, embryos younger then 15 days "are not worth anything -- something that is scientifically false."
And if these embryos were left to live, "monstrosities could arise, or infections could be promoted, since the passage of human DNA to animal DNA could create unknowns."
In this situation, Bishop Sgreccia contended, "We must pray for a type of conversion of the press: Instead of obeying the indications of interested groups, they should obey the truth, so as not to create illusions, with the objective of human compassion, about paths that have not yet offered any results."
False scenario
Many press reports of the debate have painted the vote as a case of science versus religion, and particularly science versus the Catholic Church.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed in an article in Monday's Observer that morality was on the side of the creation of human-animal hybrids. He said scientists and researchers "believe they can combine this work with a deep commitment to the highest ethical standards and a sincere respect for religious beliefs."
The same day, a spokesman for the Church in Scotland, Peter Kearney, clarified, "There is nothing moral about the treatment of human life as a commodity, which is what this bill does."
The London Times also published Saturday two letters to the editors, in which non-Catholic Christian leaders and a representative of Islam affirmed that the debate over the creation of hybrids is not about faith.
A letter signed by 15 Christian leaders noted: "We have been somewhat concerned that anyone reading the newspapers of late may have got the impression that opposition to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill comes narrowly from Roman Catholics. It doesn’t. Indeed, opposition is in no way restricted to people of faith.
"However, as the bill commences its consideration in the House of Commons we would like to make it plain that as people from other Christian traditions we are completely opposed to the creation of animal-human hybrids, savior siblings and the removal of the obligation on IVF clinics to consider the child’s need for a father.
"This is not a narrowly Roman Catholic issue, nor is it a narrowly Christian issue nor indeed is it a narrowly religious issue. It is a human issue. We need to fight to uphold and protect our humanity."
Doctor A. Majid Katme added that Muslims are also against the idea of hybrids: "Islam prohibits the making of a new creation through a cross-species -- human-animal -- hybrid. […] Every human embryo is a human being and is fully respected and protected in Islam -- yet the bill will destroy countless of thousands of embryos.
"We fully support scientific and medical progress aimed at finding the causes and treatment of diseases. Seeking to use stem cells from this new unnatural, man-animal production is knocking on the wrong door, especially when there have been many successful medical results using adult stem cells, an ethical alternative.
"Muslim doctors, Muslim parents and the British Muslims generally will oppose strongly this bill, a minefield of dangers and immorality."
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NEWS BRIEFS
Iraqi Bishop Assails Execution of Prelate's Abductor
Says Slain Archbishop Wouldn't Have Wanted It
BAGHDAD, Iraq, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The Church in Iraq is opposing the death penalty for one of the kidnappers involved in the March death of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.
"If he were still alive, Archbishop Rahho himself would not permit that someone would die for him," Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad told
AsiaNews. "Let us recall that the principles that have always inspired the Church are forgiveness and reconciliation."
Bishop Warduni was the representative of the Church who tried to contact the kidnappers after they abducted Archbishop Rahho on Feb. 29 outside of a church where he had led the Way of the Cross; it was a Friday of Lent. During the kidnapping, his three companions were killed.
For days there was no news from the archbishop or his kidnappers. Finally, after a phone call from the assailants, the archbishop's body was found March 13 in a shallow grave. He was 65.
On Sunday, it was announced that Ahmad Ali Ahmad, an alleged militant from al-Qaida, was condemned to death for involvement in the crime. No date has been given for his execution.
Bishop Warduni affirmed, "Violence should not call for more violence! We are on the side of justice, not the death penalty."
Other Iraqi bishops have made similar public declarations.
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Buddhists, Christians Consider Point of Union
By Miriam Díez i Bosch
ROCCA DI PAPA, Italy, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Buddhists and Christians can find a point of unity and understanding in the Buddhist concept of compassion and the Christian understanding of love, concluded experts at an interreligious dialogue meeting.
The Buddhist and Christian representatives, gathered April 26-30 in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, by the Catholic lay Focolare movement, considered the unifying elements in their respective traditions.
Focolare Father Cinto Busquet spoke with ZENIT about the importance of the meeting: "The sincere and radical openness to the religious experience of the other, on the base of love and compassion lived among us, has permitted being able to have together a shared experience of God, who has illuminated both us Christians and our Buddhist brothers."
Father Busquet, who has worked for more than 17 years in Japan, said the participants were able to speak freely of their faith experiences.
"Certainly, and following their tradition, our Buddhist friends do not speak of God, but rather of Buddha or Darma, but both we and they have been able to speak with full liberty of the respective faith experiences, feeling welcomed and profoundly understood by each other in the infinite mystery of God," he said.
Ryoko Nishioka, from Japan, noted how the meeting was the third of its kind. He said it "had a special significance, since as Buddhists and Christians we have gone deeper into what Buddhist compassion and Christian love mean. I believe that in the practice of this love and understanding, we can find depth."
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INTERVIEW
On Bishops, Local Churches and Movements
Interview With Speaker From Laity Council Conference
By Jesús Colina
ROME, MAY 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- About 150 bishops gathered near Rome last week for the second conference on the role of ecclesial movements.
The theme of this year's conference, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, was a phrase Benedict XVI recently directed to German bishops: “I Ask You to Go Out and Meet the Movements With Much Love.”
One of the main speakers at the event was Father Arturo Cattaneo, a canon law professor from Venice. Father Cattaneo spoke with ZENIT about what he told the bishops.
Q: On Pentecost 1998, John Paul II addressed the ecclesial movements, recalling, "Their birth and spread has brought to the Church's life an unexpected newness which is sometimes even disruptive. This has given rise to questions, uneasiness and tensions." Ten years later, what would you say about this?
Father Cattaneo: I would recall above all that on that occasion the Pope addressed the movements, affirming that after "a testing period" and [a time of] verifying, a "new stage," that of "ecclesial maturity," was opening before them. In the 10 years that have passed since then, that "maturity" -- also thanks to the solicitude of Benedict XVI -- has continued consolidating itself. This is particularly notable regarding [the movements'] insertion into the local Churches. Naturally, this does not mean that all the problems have been resolved, also because the Church -- as a living organism -- requires that every reality be continually updating itself.
Q: What makes it difficult to find solutions to the problems that still exist?
Father Cattaneo: The difficulties often flow on the one hand, from prejudices, misunderstandings or narrowness on the part of the faithful of the local communities, and on the other hand, of imprudence, inexperience or exuberance on the part of the members of the movements. Moreover, as the late Father Jesús Castellano observed -- "the charisms don't exist in a pure state, and sometimes in the name of charisms, there can be distortions."
A continuous work of perfection is thus needed, and on the part of the bishop, there needs to be not only the promotion of the charismatic richness, but also discernment, watchfulness and the correction of possible distortions.
Q: How can these difficulties and tensions be overcome?
Father Cattaneo: Principally with dialogue animated by charity, with a bit of patience and good will to understand and to make oneself understood. Everyone should -- as Cardinal Ratzinger observed -- "allow themselves to be educated by the Holy Spirit," so they can have "an interior sense of the multiple forms that a lived faith can take on." Both sides -- movements and local communities -- should find the path that leads to those attitudes that Paul speaks about in his hymn to charity.
Q: You have spoken to the bishops. Can you tell us something of what you have told them?
Father Cattaneo: I have summarized it in four points, corresponding to the essential characteristics of the Church, which are a gift but also a task. Christ, through his Spirit, allows the Church to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and he calls her to fulfill in an ever better way each one of these characteristics. Every diocesan bishop should promote in the Church entrusted to him unity in plurality, catholicity in the sense of openness to the universal Church, as well as the apostolicity that implies complementarity between institution and charism. Acting in this way, the bishop will contribute to the holiness of his particular Church as the first servant of the Spirit.
Q: Could you explain how this guarantees the integration of the ecclesial movements?
Father Cattaneo: The service of the bishop to unity should be carried out with the awareness that a diversity of ministries, charisms, and ways of life and apostolate are not an obstacle to the unity of the local Church, but rather a richness. It must be considered that the character of communion, precisely of the Church, includes, on one hand, the most solid unity, and on the other hand, a plurality and a diversification, which are not obstacles to unity. A narrow understanding of unity leads to a pastoral uniformity that makes it difficult for the various movements be inserted [in the diocese] and [carry out their] apostolic action.
On the other hand, the catholicity of the particular Church has special relevance to the theme that we are speaking about. One of the predominant characteristics of the new ecclesial movements is their universal dimension. As a reality of the universal Church, in virtue of the mutual interiority between universal Church and local Church, the movements are called to act in the particular Churches, enriching them and preserving them from the danger of "separationism" or of "localism."
Q: Doesn't the opposite danger also exist, however? That of a movement never rooting itself in the local Church?
Father Cattaneo: Certainly the characteristic universality of the movements should not make them forget that the Church also possesses an essential local dimension. The movements will be, therefore, fully ecclesial in the measure that they root themselves in the various local Churches. The universal vision of the Church, which represents one of the valuable contributions of the movements to the local Churches, could be deformed, becoming a vision platonically "universalist," and this would work to the detriment of attention given to the reality and the problems of the local Church.
This is also love for the Church. The members of the movements, remaining faithful to their particular charism, should try to inject it creatively into the life of their respective local Churches, without limiting themselves to being present in diocesan organizations. The fields of ecclesial action proper to the lay faithful is that of family, social, professional, political, cultural, athletic life, etc. With this capillary presence in the life of the diocese, they will keep the charism of the movement from seeming like a foreign body within it.
It's something analogous to the insertion of a new musical instrument into an orchestra, which while conserving its characteristics, adjusts to the particularities that it finds there with the goal of producing a true symphony, and this, thanks to the leadership of the orchestra director, who, in our case, is the bishop.
Q: And how can we understand the complementarity between institution and charism?
Father Cattaneo: Between institution and charism there cannot be contraposition -- as there is not between Christ and his Spirit -- but rather complementarity, the putting into action of which corresponds in a particular way to the diocesan bishop. [The bishop] should avoid an excessive and bureaucratic development of the institutional dimension in detriment of the charismatic one.
In reflecting on the insertion of the movements in the particular Churches, there exists the temptation of inappropriately referring to the binomial institution-charism, allowing oneself to be dragged along by a clearly unacceptable dialectic. On various occasions, John Paul II emphasized that the institutional aspect and the charismatic aspect in the Church "are co-essential."
One should, therefore, affirm that in each reality of the Church, both the institutional and the charismatic dimension are found, even if in varying degrees. It would thus be an error to think of the diocesan pastoral structures as mere institutional organizations, just as it would be erroneous to place the ecclesial movement in a purely charismatic realm, without institutional references.
Q: What is the bishops' responsibility in promoting this complementarity?
Father Cattaneo: The importance of the sacred ministry being understood and lived charismatically was emphasized by Ratzinger, observing, among other things, that only in this way "no institutional stiffness arises. There subsists instead, an interior openness to charism, a type of antennae for detecting the Holy Spirit and his action […] and lines of fruitful collaboration in the discernment of spirits will be found."
He called for guarding against the innate danger of an excessive institutionalism. The Church certainly needs organizational structures, also of human right, but if these institutions "become too numerous and preponderant, they endanger the ordering and vitality of its spiritual nature. The Church should continually verify its institutional ensemble, so that it doesn't become excessively heavy, [so that it] doesn't stiffen into a coat of armor that suffocates the spiritual life that is proper and unique to it."
Q: You concluded by speaking of the bishop as a servant of the Spirit. In what sense?
Father Cattaneo: The bishop is the first minister of the Sanctifying Spirit. He exercises the function of moderator of "episkopé," at the service of the Spirit of Christ, ensuring that the various apostolic initiatives based in the charisms develop in harmony and contribute to the edification of the Church in fidelity to the apostolic tradition. Their jurisdiction is not then understood as a center from which flow all the ministries and apostolic initiatives in their Churches, but rather as a center that unifies, coordinates, encourages, promotes and moderates, always aware of the responsibility of supporting the manifold action of the Spirit.
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LITURGY
Praying for the Departed
And More on May Crownings
ROME, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: The text of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) for vespers of Wednesday of Week 3 (that is, the English translation used in the United States) has the following intercession: "Be merciful to the faithful departed / -- keep them from the power of the Evil One." Someone asked: What power does the Evil One have over the faithful departed? I didn't have a satisfying answer. I thought that it was a matter of a poor translation, but I looked up the text in Officium Divinum, Liturgia Horarum, Iuxta Ritum Romanum, and found the following text: "Misericordiam tuam fratribus nostris concede defunctis / -- neque in potestatem maligni spiritus tradas eos." In view of the Church teaching on the particular judgment -- and that the prayer seems to be talking about the departed, not the dying -- I was at a loss to explain the meaning of this intercession. -- D.S., Lincoln, Nebraska
A: These intercessions were composed quite quickly during the 1960s. Even though they are found in the liturgical books, their nature as intercessions means that they are a rather weak source from the doctrinal point of view. It is therefore quite possible that some infelicitious expressions might have slipped through the textual revisions.
Also, since the liturgical norms allow bishops' conferences wide leeway in composing new intercessions for the Liturgy of the Hours, not all translations will present the difficulty highlighted by our correspondent. Indeed, the version of the breviary used in most English-speaking countries contains a completely different text for the day in question.
That said, while the controversial text can lead to misinterpretations, I believe it is subject to a perfectly orthodox interpretation.
If we take the second part of the intercession as a distinct statement, we run up against a problem for, as our reader points out, the departed receive an immediate particular judgment, after which the Evil One has no power over those who enter either heaven or purgatory.
However, the two parts of the intercession must be seen as an integral whole. And, indeed, one of the forms of proclaiming this intercession is for the priest to say the entire prayer with the people giving a common response as in done in the prayers of the faithful at Mass.
In this case, the expression "Keep them from the power of the Evil One" is intimately tied to the petition "Be merciful" addressed to God.
Thus we ask that God's mercy be expressed in not allowing those who have died to fall into the power of the Evil One. As such, the prayer most likely refers to the moment of judgment itself as the venue where this mercy and this prevention of Satan's dominion is exercised.
In this way the petition is not essentially different from many other of the Church's prayers for the departed in which God's mercy is invoked for the souls of the deceased. That the particular judgment is immediately after death has never impeded the Church recommending prayer for the dead.
God is not limited to our categories of time and space, and even when we pray for those who have passed away long after they have gone, or even pray generically for the dead, we know that God will use the prayer to greatest advantage.
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Follow-up: May Crownings of Mary
Related to our comments on May crownings (see
May 6), a reader from the state of Washington asked:
“Regarding the crowning of Mary during the month of May, is this something that is normally included during holy Mass? I ask this because the time-honored tradition here in our cathedral is that the Blessed Mother is crowned inside the church either during or after holy Mass and on a special day other than Mother's Day. Last year the new priest moved it all outside on Mother's Day, a secular holiday.
"Normally this would not seem so important, yet all of the Church's holidays or seasons are being changed to celebrate the seasons, which I am told is a pagan tradition. Advent is now become 'Harvest Festival.' Lent is now become 'the Miracle of Spring.' Easter is now 'Happy Resurrection Day,' and so on. And it appears that now our Blessed Mother is gradually being moved out of the Church.”
As mentioned in our previous column, there is no official rite for a May crowning.
Unlike the solemn crowning of an image by the bishop, it would not be liturgically correct to perform the popular devotion of May crowning within Mass. It may be done, however, immediately before or after.
There is nothing that would impede the May crowning of a statue of Our Lady that is within a church if this is the custom. It is sometimes more practical, however, to crown an outside statue.
From what our reader commented, I surmise that the new priest has acted in good faith out of practical and pastoral concerns. After all, he has transferred, not abolished, the practice of a May crowning.
It is quite possible that the new setting allows for a more spontaneous and festive tribute to Our Lady than within the church.
While we all lament the secularization of Christian feasts, I think that the choice of Mother’s Day is not incongruent. After all, Mary is our Blessed Mother and this action is a way of filially honoring her as both our mother and our queen.
Perhaps the priest has been influenced by the practice in some Latin American countries which celebrate Mother’s Day on May 10. It is not infrequent in these countries to have special devotions to Mary on this day.
Certainly a new pastor should always move with prudence and consultation before changing legitimate and long-established parish customs. In the end, however, he must decide on what he believes is in the best interest for the good of the souls entrusted to him.
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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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DOCUMENTS
Pope's Address to Armenian Patriarch Karekin II
"It Is the Holy Spirit Who Brings About the Church
VATICAN CITY, MAY 20, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered on the occasion of the May 9 visit of Karekin II, patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
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Your Holiness,
Dear Brothers in Christ,
It is with heartfelt joy that I welcome Your Holiness, and the distinguished delegation accompanying you. I cordially greet the prelates, priests and lay-people who represent the worldwide family of the Catholicosate of All Armenians. We come together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who promised his disciples that "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Mt 18:20). May the spirit of brotherly love and service, which Jesus taught to his disciples, enlighten our hearts and minds, as we exchange our greetings, hold our conversations and gather in prayer.
I gratefully recall the visits of Catholicos Vasken I and Catholicos Karekin I to the Church of Rome, and their cordial relations with my venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. Their striving for Christian unity opened a new era in relations between us. I recall with particular joy Your Holiness' visit to Rome in 2000 and your meeting with Pope John Paul II. The ecumenical liturgy in the Vatican Basilica, celebrating the gift of a relic of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was one of the most memorable events of the Great Jubilee in Rome. Pope John Paul II returned that visit by travelling to Armenia in 2001, where You graciously hosted him at Holy Etchmiadzin. The warm welcome you gave him on that occasion further increased his esteem and respect for the Armenian people. The Eucharist celebrated by Pope John Paul II on the great outdoor altar, within the enclosure of Holy Etchmiadzin, was a further sign of growing mutual acceptance, in expectation of the day when we will be able to celebrate together at the one table of the Lord.
Tomorrow evening, each of us, in our respective traditions, will begin the liturgical celebration of Pentecost. Fifty days after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will pray earnestly to the Father, asking him to send his Holy Spirit, the Spirit whose task it is to maintain us in divine love and lead us into all truth. We will pray in a particular way for the unity of the Church. On Pentecost day, it was the Holy Spirit who created from the many languages of the crowds assembled in Jerusalem one single voice to profess the faith. It is the Holy Spirit who brings about the Church's unity. The path towards the restoration of full and visible communion among all Christians may seem long and arduous. Much remains to be done to heal the deep and painful divisions that disfigure Christ's Body. The Holy Spirit, however, continues to guide the Church in surprising and often unexpected ways. He can open doors that are locked, inspire words that have been forgotten, heal relations that are broken. If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can work miracles again in the Church, restoring the bonds of unity. Striving for Christian unity is an act of obedient trust in the work of the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church to the full realization of the Father's plan, in conformity with the will of Christ.
The recent history of the Armenian Apostolic Church has been written in the contrasting colours of persecution and martyrdom, darkness and hope, humiliation and spiritual re-birth. Your Holiness and the members of your delegation have personally lived through these contrasting experiences in your families and in your own lives. The restoration of freedom to the Church in Armenia has been a source of great joy for us all. An immense task of rebuilding the Church has been laid on your shoulders. I cannot but voice my great esteem for the remarkable pastoral results that have been achieved in such a short time, both in Armenia and abroad, for the Christian education of young people, for the training of new clergy, for building new churches and community centres, for charitable assistance to those in need, and for promoting Christian values in social and cultural life. Thanks to your pastoral leadership, the glorious light of Christ shines again in Armenia and the saving words of the Gospel can be heard once more. Of course, you are still facing many challenges on the social, cultural and spiritual levels. In this regard, I must mention the recent difficulties suffered by the people of Armenia, and I express the prayerful support of the Catholic Church in their search for justice and peace and the promotion of the common good.
In our ecumenical dialogue, important progress has been made in clarifying the doctrinal controversies that have traditionally divided us, particularly over questions of Christology. During the last five years, much has been achieved by the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Catholicosate of All Armenians is a full member. I thank Your Holiness for the support given to the work of the Joint Commission and for the valuable contribution made by your representatives. We pray that its activity will bring us closer to full and visible communion, and that the day will come when our unity in faith makes possible a common celebration of the Eucharist. Until that day, the bonds between us are best consolidated and extended by agreements on pastoral issues, in line with the degree of doctrinal agreement already attained. Only when sustained by prayer and supported by effective cooperation, can theological dialogue lead to the unity that the Lord wishes for his disciples.
Your Holiness, dear friends: in the twelfth century, Nerses of Lambron addressed a group of Armenian Bishops. He concluded his famous Synodal Discourse on the restoration of Christian unity with visionary words, that still affect us today:"You are not wrong, Venerable Fathers: it is meritorious to weep over days past in discord. However, today is the day that the Lord has made, a day of gladness and joy (…) Let us then pray in order that our Lord give tenderness, sweetness in greater abundance still, and that He develop on earth, by the dew of the Holy Spirit, this seed; perhaps, thanks to His power may we also produce fruits; so that we may restore the peace of the Church of Christ today in intention, tomorrow in fact". This is also my prayerful wish on the occasion of your visit. I thank you most warmly and assure you of my deep affection in the Lord.
© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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