ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - July 24, 2008
VATICAN DOSSIER Pope Sends Message to Saudi-Organized Conference Evangelizing a Globalized Africa WORLD FEATURES Opus Dei Marks 1 Year in Russia Youth Day Seen as Formation for Secular World School Revolts Point to Unresolved Kenyan Violence NEWS BRIEFS Slain Priest Recalled at Nepal Interreligious Meeting Children Call for Greater Voice INTERVIEW Abortion's Aftershocks 40 Years of "Humanae Vitae" (Part 1) DOCUMENTS Papal Message for World Mission Sunday
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Sends Message to Saudi-Organized Conference
Says Dialogue Is Key to Peace
VATICAN CITY, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Dialogue based on love and truth is the best recipe for achieving peace, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this in a message to the World Conference on Dialogue, held in Madrid, Spain, and sponsored by the Mecca-based Muslim World League.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who delivered the meeting's closing address, transmitted the papal message to participants.
King Juan Carlos of Spain and spiritual representatives of virtually all religions attended the conference, held from July 16-18 and convoked by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
In his address, the French cardinal expressed the Pope's greeting to participants and said that the Holy Father believes "that dialogue between believers, based on love and truth, is the best way to contribute to the harmony, happiness and peace of the peoples of the earth."
Common denominator
Cardinal Tauran added that King Abdullah was "courageous" in proposing that the conference focus on "our common denominators, namely, in profound faith in God and in the noble principles and lofty moral values that constitute the essence of religion."
"Over these days, it has been made clear that it is possible to meet, to look at one another face to face, to respect our respective creeds, and to learn a new way of engaging in dialogue," said the cardinal, as reported by L'Osservatore Romano. "We have stressed the numerous convictions we share: faith in the oneness of God author of life; responsibility to protect creation and the earth's resources; the sacred character of the human person and his or her dignity, as well as the fundamental rights derived from it; the common concern to offer young people ethical and religious principles; the strength of love that all believers possess; and the centrality of natural law."
The cardinal shared two "personal considerations," inspired by this historic meeting.
"The first is that we have made available to all members of the societies to which we belong the wealth of our convictions and our thoughts," he said. "My second conviction is that, insofar as believers, we are a gift for society. […] This reality makes it imperative that religious liberty be regarded as something more than the need to have places of worship, which is the least one can hope for."
"Religious liberty must also include the possibility that believers may participate actively in public dialogue through social, political and cultural responsibilities in which they must be a model," exhorted the papal representative.
3 objectives
Cardinal Tauran highlighted three objectives: "to promote mutual knowledge; to encourage the objective study of religions; and to form people in interreligious dialogue."
"I do not wish to say that all religions are more or less the same," he affirmed. "I wish to say that all who seek God have the same dignity.
"Benedict XVI has always warned against interreligious dialogue ending up in syncretism. We all know that interreligious dialogue cannot be based on ambiguity.
"As believers, Jews, Christians and Muslims, we do not believe in fate. We know that, having received a heart and intelligence from God, we can change, with his help, the course of history."
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Evangelizing a Globalized Africa
Culture Council Considers Challenges, Goals
VATICAN CITY, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The challenge of evangelization and inculturation is a mission that is old, but ever new, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this in a message that was read Wednesday at a Pontifical Council for Culture conference under way in Tanzania. The conference, which runs through Saturday, is on "Pastoral Prospects for the New Evangelization in the Context of Globalization and Its Effects on African Cultures."
In his message, the Holy Father recalled how evangelizing culture and inculturating the Gospel "is an old yet ever new mission." He called on the prelates to find "new and effective ways to present the immutable truth of the Gospel and, especially, the values of the joy of life and of respect for the unborn child, the important role of the family, and a profound sense of communion and solidarity which are present in African cultures."
According to a communiqué from the pontifical council, the conference "forms part of a series of initiatives, which intend to promote the pastoral approach to culture in different parts of the world."
African members and consultors of the pontifical council and bishops in charge of the pastoral care of culture in their respective episcopal conferences are attending. The last meeting of this kind took place in South Africa in 2004.
"In the current context, with the cultural environment and lifestyles intensely affected by the effects of globalization, the Church strives to promote the inculturation of the faith along with a new Christian humanism which will allow men and women in Africa to be fully African and fully Christian," the communiqué added.
Modern slavery
Archbishop Giancarlo Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, was scheduled to give the opening address. He was unable to attend the conference, and the secretary of the council, Father Bernard Ardura, read the address the archbishop had prepared.
The archbishop mentioned that the challenges include "oblivion to the common good, social behavior guided by the logic of the market, the destruction of models of life transmitted by family, school and parish, and the exaltation of individualism."
The poorest countries, wrote the president of the pontifical council, are those most exposed to the dangers of a poorly-understood globalization, which leads to "the destruction of the values handed down by ancestral cultural traditions, the undermining of consciences, and the cultural uprooting of entire generations which are drawn into a spiral that leads to poverty and misery."
Yet, the archbishop added, in a context of globalized secularization the Church has the chance to make "Christian humanism" flower, "re-proposing the great moral values" and proclaiming "the word of God, which is capable of making deserts of indifference and superficiality bear fruit."
The Catholic Cultural Center "Bagamoyo" run by the Spiritan Fathers is the venue for the meeting.
Bagamoyo was one of the major ports of the slave trade, where slaves were brought from Central and East Africa to be sent to the markets of Zanzibar. A mission was opened in 1868 for those who had escaped from the slave traders or had been ransomed by the missionaries.
"While choosing the theme," the pontifical council communiqué affirmed, "the organizers have not overlooked the fact that secularization involves a modern form of slavery, neither less oppressive nor less damaging to the dignity of the human person."
"The Church," it added, "is conscious of the fundamental cultural dimension of sustained development, indispensable for the future of the African continent. Therefore, particular weight will be given to the cultural values present in Africa that are at the service of the dignity of the human person."
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WORLD FEATURES
Opus Dei Marks 1 Year in Russia
Notes Richness of Christianity's History There
By Miriam Díez i Bosch
MOSCOW, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The Opus Dei prelature has completed a year of service in Russia, a year in which its members say they have learned the great richness that the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches can contribute to one another.
Opus Dei opened houses in Russia one year ago. The archbishop of the Mother of God Archdiocese in Moscow gave two parishes to priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, which is an association of clergy intrinsically united to Opus Dei. It is made up of the clergy of the prelature, who are automatically members, and other diocesan priests and (transitional) deacons. The Prelate of Opus Dei is its president.
To mark the first anniversary of Opus Dei's work in Russia, Masses were celebrated on or near the June 26 feast of the prelature's founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá
Father Alejandro Burgos, one of the priests who took a Russian parish, told ZENIT that "Russia has always been a Christian country, with great love for Mary, who has especially protected her. The imprint of Communism has been very deep, but at present there are quite a few positive elements: a good percentage of Russians are already baptized. The asphyxiating laicism, which so undermined religious life in the West, does not exist."
"Moreover, to speak of faith in Russia is to speak of ecumenism," he said. "Personal relations between Catholics and Orthodox in general are not bad. We enjoy plurality in unity, as we feel great unity in the faith and the great richness that each confession can contribute to the other."
Among the things which have most impressed the Opus Dei faithful is "the great faith and devotion of many Russian faithful who were able to sacrifice themselves for Christ for so many years," Father Burgos added.
To learn
Gabriela Santa Maria, one of the faithful who is in Russia to take part in this new apostolic endeavor, explained to ZENIT that "although for the time being it is on a small scale, we come with the hope of being able to support these Russian brothers of ours and the Church in this country, and to learn much from them. We know that our work here is just beginning, and that for years many men and women sacrificed much to live their faith with integrity."
"The Christian spirit is essential, as is that of the Opus Dei, to pursue what unites, to try to work and collaborate sincerely with all men of good will in the many fields of common interest," she added. "This way of working is what a pluralist world urgently needs, and what is expected of Christians, who must be salt and light.
"With joy we can say that in Russia we can count on the affection of many people belonging to the Orthodox Church, and also non-Christians who feel attracted to the profound and relevant message of St. Josemaría."
In this year dedicated to St. Paul, celebrated both by the Catholic and Orthodox Church, "we are praying especially for Christian unity," explained Santa Maria.
"Since our arrival in Moscow," she continued, "we have counted on the affection of the [Orthodox] patriarchate, as expressed, for example, by the vice-president of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of Foreign Ecclesial Affairs, archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who welcomed Opus Dei's personal prelature and pointed out that its energy and fidelity "to Christian ideals merit great respect."
For his part, Father José Antonio Senovilla García, Opus Dei's vicar in Moscow, said that the prelature has gone to Russia to "help the people encounter Jesus Christ and thus find God in daily life. We have come to learn from the Russian people."
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Youth Day Seen as Formation for Secular World
Think-Tank Leader Invites Catholics to Confidence
By Anthony Barich
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Knowing the Catholic faith and holding fast to its truths is the best way to evangelize and overcome intolerance, a founder of the Acton Institute told an audience in Sydney.
Father Robert Sirico, co-founder and president of the U.S.-based think tank, told ZENIT on Wednesday that there is "no reason" to be defensive about the Catholic faith.
World Youth Day, he said, is a perfect example of the faith being presented to the secular world confidently and without compromise.
"World Youth Day itself is part of ongoing formation -- for both Catholics and the secular world," he suggested. "It's when we're unsure of ourselves that we become defensive, and I don't think there's any reason for that.
"We need to engage people of different lifestyles and beliefs and propose to them, not impose upon them, the truth of the faith, and engage in an honest conversation about it."
"Seeing 300,000 people on the streets of Sydney gives one a sense that they're not alone and that the Catholic faith has a plausibility that we can recommend to the world," he added.
The Acton Institute, dedicated to the study of free-market economics informed by religious faith and moral absolutes, launched in Sydney on July 4 its documentary "The Birth of Freedom."
Tolerant
The documentary is "exploding the myth" that being religious is by definition intolerant, the priest explained.
It makes the case that the institutions of human liberty, the resistance to various forms of enslavement, misogyny and non-acceptance emerge from a Christian idea of the inherent dignity of the human person.
Father Sirico said that other social institutions emerged from around that: law courts, the right of contract, the right of private property, free exchange, free expression and the right of religious practice.
"These things are unknown in the ancient world, and it's very telling that they emerge from the Judeo-Christian West," he said. "There's a reason for that, and I think it's our anthropology and our understanding of who the human person is."
The film credits Catholic monasticism as the first institutions to embrace the "spirit of innovation."
It also notes that many agents for social change in the history of Europe and the United States were motivated by belief in God, and publicly stated so. These included Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln.
"We want our secular friends to understand the liberty that we take for granted, and what the roots of that liberty are," Father Sirico said. "Our hope is to vigorously respond to the myth that religion and religious commitment is a form of intolerance and 'the Dark Ages.' The Dark Ages were a myth, as the film says. Some of the greatest achievements in human invention come from that very period."
Father Sirico said there is a common perception that "atheists are 'free thinkers' where as religious believers are 'shackled.' We just want to basically explode the myth that religion is intolerant, or that the embracing of truth is itself an act of intolerance.
"We have to get over the idea that holding to the truth means that we disrespect people and their liberty. We may disagree with people, but we ought never to disrespect their person."
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School Revolts Point to Unresolved Kenyan Violence
Bishops Hope That Generation Is Not Lost
NAIROBI, Kenya, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Though Kenya's prime minister was in London this week assuring investors that his country is back on track after post-election violence, the scars from those weeks of conflict have left their mark.
According to the nation's bishops, one of the consequences of the January-February violence over disputed election results is a revolt in schools.
President Mwai Kibaki was declared winner over Raila Odinga in the contested election last December. The unrest ended with a power-sharing deal in which Odinga was named prime minister, taking office in April.
But the weeks of violence have left a scar on discipline in schools, the bishops lamented. According to the Fides news agency, more than 300 secondary schools are in revolt in Kenya. In some situations, including a minor seminary in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, the students themselves have sacked and burned school buildings.
Cardinal John Njue, archbishop of Nairobi, called a press conference Wednesday to explain the Church's position on the situation. The bishops' conference released a full statement that day, signed by Bishop Maurice Crowley, chairman for the Commission for Education, which explained the prelates' view of the causes of the unrest and steps toward a solution.
The bishops list 31 underlying causes of the situation, including the post-election violence, but also detailing a social situation characterized by a lack of solid family structures and a corrupt educational system.
"Heroes"
Regarding the post-election violence, they wrote: "[Some students'] moral responsibility was totally killed. They burned houses, saw other people running away, children falling from tiredness, hunger and thirst for water. They became immune from any feeling of humanity. They regard[ed] their deeds as successful when they saw people being killed, maimed and property being destroyed. What we are witnessing now is the result of this demonization of moral responsibility.
"They were not reprimanded by the parents or the elders. In fact, they were regarded as heroes. When the students returned to school, they went with the idea that to be successful and a hero they need to disrupt and destroy the system."
But the bishops are clear that the violence following December's election is just one factor. They also decried elements leading to the unrest, which range from inadequate parent-teacher associations to a lack of employment opportunities to norms that have eliminated vacation time, as well as students' use of cell phones to encourage and report on their revolts.
The list of solutions suggested by the bishops is equally broad. It includes ideas such as continuing education for teachers, steps taken to improve the student-teacher ratio, and funds from both the ministry of education and tuition fees being delivered promptly.
"Kenya," the statement concluded, "cannot afford to lose a generation through irresponsibility and irrationality."
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NEWS BRIEFS
Slain Priest Recalled at Nepal Interreligious Meeting
KATHMANDU, Nepal, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- An interreligious meeting for prayer was held in the capital of Nepal to show the need for greater union in response to violence against minorities.
The meeting recalled the July 1 slaying of Salesian Father John Prakash, 62, who directed a school in Sirsiya in the Morang district of the South Asian country. The Nepal Defense Army, a group of militants seeking to return the country to a Hindu state, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Those attending the prayer meeting recalled Father Prakash's missionary commitment, urging all to do good, regardless of their religious affiliation.
"He was a person capable of great compassion for the poor and the marginalized. His commitment to Don Bosco school in Sirsiya was appreciated by all," said Bishop Anthony Sharma, the country's first and only bishop, serving as apostolic vicar of Nepal.
Keshav Chaulagin, secretary of Nepal's Interreligious Council, expressed solidarity with the Catholic community and added that people of all religions should condemn the murder of the Salesian.
L'Osservatore Romano noted that a "slow process" has begun in Nepal "to foster dialogue: four feasts of as many religious minorities have been recognized, including Christians' Christmas."
The minorities requested this government measure when Nepal was declared a lay state in 2006. Nepal was previously the world's only Hindu nation
The country has more than 29.5 million inhabitants, over 80% of whom are Hindus. Christians constitute 0.4% of the population.
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Children Call for Greater Voice
TALAGANTE, Chile, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Children should have a greater voice in politics and the Church, concluded an apostolic movement dedicated to kids and adolescents.
The Apostolic Movement of Children and Adolescents (MOANI, for its initials in Spanish) concluded today its 12th international encounter.
Olivie Thouret, president of the movement, affirmed in the inaugural address that "the voice of children is an important testimony in the universal Church."
MOANI was established in France in 1929 under the guidance of Father Gaston Courtis, who began a children's magazine. It is now present in 50 countries and seeks to aid children to live their faith according to their age.
Carlos Carvacho, spokesman for the 12th encounter, told ZENIT that a delegation led by children gave a statement to the Chilean government to "suggest a greater participation by children in public politics pertaining to them, and to inform [the officials] of the work undertaken by the movement in [Chile] and the world for more than a half century."
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INTERVIEW
Abortion's Aftershocks
Interview With Author Michaelene Fredenburg
By Karna Swanson
SAN DIEGO, California, JULY 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).- When a woman decides to abort, she mistakenly believes the procedure will erase the pregnancy and that life will return to normal, says the founder of a forum for those affected by abortion.
Michaelene Fredenburg is the author of "Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One's Abortion Experience," and founder of AbortionChangesYou.com, an Internet site that seeks to help those who have been affected by abortion to face the tragic truth of their actions.
In this interview with ZENIT, Fredenburg talks about why the affects of abortion are often unexpected, and how she is working to help others begin the process of healing.
Q: The first part of your book consists of testimonies from people whose lives were changed by an abortion. Why is it that abortion is normally seen as an answer, and that the negative consequences of the procedure are unexpected?
Fredenburg: Any number of reasons can contribute to a sense of urgency to “erase” a pregnancy including the desire to keep the pregnancy a secret, the abandonment of a partner, or the lack of economic resources.
Although one out of three women of childbearing years have had an abortion in the United States by age 45, we rarely talk about our abortion experiences with even our closest friends and family members. Because we don’t talk about our experiences, most couples have no working knowledge about how an abortion may impact them in the future.
Q: Many women wrote that even though they were sure the decision to abort was the right one, they immediately regretted it. How should we interpret that immediate regret?
Fredenburg: There is often the expectation that life will go back to the way it was before the pregnancy. However, when a man or woman realizes that this isn’t possible, he or she may experience powerful feelings of regret. The reasons for choosing abortion that were compelling before the procedure may appear weak or very different after the procedure.
Of course, not all women will experience immediate regret. In fact, men and women have a variety of reactions after an abortion ranging from relief to paralyzing guilt and grief. Many individuals experience conflicted emotions that are both positive and negative. While I had an immediate reaction after my abortion, there are others that will experience a delay of months, years, or even decades.
I spoke with a man recently who told me he pressured his girlfriend into an abortion 35 years ago. He didn’t think about the abortion at all until 5 years ago. For some reason, he began to think about the fact that he would have an adult child that might possibly be married with children, making him a grandfather. The more he thought about this, the more concerned he grew about his ex-girlfriend. The concern turned into guilt -- something that has become a bigger and bigger burden for him.
Q: In the second section of the book you give those affected by abortion the opportunity to tell their story, which you say is an important part of beginning the healing process. Can you take us through that process?
Fredenburg: An important part of beginning the healing process is to validate your experience -- to acknowledge that your experience is real and that it’s significant. Documenting the events that led up to and took place during and after the abortion will help you to start making sense of your own abortion or the abortion of someone close to you. I recommend completing this activity privately as this will give you the freedom to express the truth of your experience without worrying about what other people think about you or how your words may impact those involved. However, if you begin to feel overwhelmed, please reach out to a trusted family member, friend, or spiritual leader for support.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to tell your story. The important thing is to start and, over time, finish telling it. If you’ve experienced or been touched by more than one abortion, it’s helpful to explore the story of each one separately.
You may find the process of documenting your experience to be extremely painful, or you may feel relieved as you express thoughts and memories that have been buried deep inside. Although your story will be unique, it is important to remember that you are not alone. I have included questions in "Changed" that can help you to tell your story.
Q: There is also a Web site that goes along with the book. What do you hope through the book and the Web site? What services do you offer those affected by abortion?
Fredenburg: The book "Changed" is a gentle invitation for men, women, family members and friends to begin the healing process. Individuals who haven’t been personally touched by abortion, but who wish to gain a better understanding of what others are experiencing, can also utilize the book. I know from personal experience how difficult it is to face the loss and pain that my abortion created. That is why I wrote the book in a friendly informal manner -- just like we’re sitting with each other having a conversation. I included space to write or draw as you move through the “Healing Pathways.” The Afterword by Dr. Gary Strauss paints a picture of what the healing process looks like and includes special notes for men.
AbortionChangesYou.com is a safe confidential place that can be visited any time of the day or night. The interactive content allows visitors to anonymously explore at their own pace while still feeling a sense of community. The “Find Help” locator -- at the top right hand on each page -- allows visitors to enter their ZIP code and find after abortion healing resources in their area.
Q: You also speak frankly of your own abortion. What was the key for you to begin healing from an abortion? Does one ever fully heal from an abortion?
Fredenburg: My healing process began when I reached out for help and learned that I wasn’t alone. Just knowing that my reaction was “normal” and that what I was experiencing after my abortion had a name -- reproductive grief -- gave me hope that I could heal. Finding compassion and understanding, instead of the judgment and condemnation that I feared, also gave me the courage to continue my journey to wholeness. Knowing that I didn’t have to make the journey alone kept me going when I felt discouraged.
You can find a place of peace and wholeness after an abortion. As Dr. Gary Strauss says in the Afterword of "Changed," “It is not a matter of ‘if’ we can find healing, but ‘when’ we will begin the healing journey.”
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting, rather it is a process that allows us to let go of the pain and keep moving forward.
Q: What one piece of advice would you give to a young woman, or someone involved in some way in an abortion, who is just beginning to heal?
Fredenburg: Healing is an unpredictable process -- each person’s timeline for healing is unique and varied. Be patient with yourself and know that you are not alone.
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Abortion Changes You:
www.abortionchangesyou.com
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40 Years of "Humanae Vitae" (Part 1)
Interview With Dr. Thomas Hilgers
By Robert Conkling
ROME, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Had it not been for "Humanae Vitae," much of the natural reproductive medicine practiced today might not exist, says the co-founder of Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro).
Dr. Thomas Hilgers is the co-founder of the Pope Paul VI Institute, located in Omaha, Nebraska. He is also the co-developer of the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and author of "The Medical and Surgical Applications of NaProTechnology."
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the publication of the encyclical "Humanae Vitae," July 25, 1968, the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals held their annual meeting in Rome last month.
In this interview with ZENIT, Hilgers speaks of the beginnings of the Pope Paul VI Institute and the effect "Humanae Vitae" has had on his professional career.
Part 2 of this interview will be published Friday.
Q: Where did the idea of founding the Pope Paul VI Institute begin? What was your inspiration?
Hilgers: I was in medical school when all the discussion on birth control was occurring in the Catholic Church. Pope John XXIII had appointed the papal birth control commission who were meeting and listening to experts in medicine, philosophy, theology and sociology and they were going to be looking into the Church’s position on contraception.
As news was leaking out from this commission, it seemed to me that they were probably going to recommend a change in the Church’s position --but I was only getting one side of the story.
When "Humanae Vitae" came out in July 1968 I thought I better read a copy of it. So I went up to my Newman Club chaplain at the University of Minnesota and I asked him where I could find a copy of "Humanae Vitae." And his comment to me was, “What do you want to read that kind of trash for?”
This irritated me. It was not his role to make an editorial comment to me. He was a priest, a Catholic priest. He ought to at least be sharing what the Church was saying, and not be so afraid of it.
A couple of months later the Knights of Columbus ran an advertisement as a Sunday supplement. For 25 cents I could send away for a copy of it. I did and when I received it and read it, I became an instant convert.
At the end of "Humanae Vitae" Pope Paul VI called on men of science, physicians and health care professionals to do something, get involved. I thought he was talking to me directly. So I did.
I had done a lot of research in medical school. I had worked with some people at the University of Minnesota and learned about it and discovered I liked doing research. So I began my first research project in December 1968 in a natural family planning system. It did not go very far, but at least it was my start.
After a few years doing additional training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, I met Dr. John Billings in 1972. I had heard a presentation on the Billings Method and that really got me on track to where I really wanted to go with all this. The Billings Method was new and had a different concept behind it and I thought it was worth studying.
It too was coming under attack like everything in this field does and I thought somebody ought to take the time to do an independent review of it.
We started in 1976 when I was on faculty at St. Louis University School of Medicine. And within about a year and a half we discovered this language, a common language that women could use when they made their observations, that physicians would know what they were observing and what their teachers could relate to. And everyone was using the same language. It was terrific. That was the beginning of it all.
So our work started with the investigation of a natural method of family planning. It turned out that the Billings Method, which under standardization became the Creighton Model of the ovulation method, was a natural for a gynecologist to recommend to his patients who were having other problems like infertility, miscarriages, abnormal bleeding or whatever the gynecologic condition was. If they were of reproductive age, I asked women to chart their cycles.
Q: Did you see this benefit of charting that early on?
Hilgers: Yes, I did in one sense. In one of the Billings’ atlases published in 1974 or 1976, there was one chart from one patient that was an infertility patient, and they showed things on that chart that was not charted by women of normal fertility. The women had charted dry cycles. And I thought I had no reason to believe that the Billings’ had published something that was not true. I just believed it.
One of the funny things is, when we did our first introductory session in 1976, there were two people with infertility problems who showed up. At the end of the presentation I talked to them to try to get them to sign up. But they didn't want to. They thought it had nothing to offer them.
Nonetheless, it continued to attract people with fertility problems, so we got an early start on that and we started to apply the system to other gynecologic conditions as well.
So we had about 15 years where we were not only studying the system from a family planning point of view, where we were looking at it in depth, but we were beginning to apply it and learn from our patients with gynecologic and reproductive problems.
In 1991, I published a little book called the "Medical Applications of Natural Family Planning: A Physician’s Guide to NaProTechnology.” That was the first time that word was introduced. That book had an incredible impact on people and I have always wondered why. I did not think of it as that great a book.
It was amazing to me, because we were now having physicians come into our program. That was real exciting for me personally because I had been working for a long time without any support at all.
Our understanding of this continues to grow and develop. We still do not understand everything by any means. So in 2004 we published the medical textbook and now we are trying to implement that and continue to do research.
Q: When you started this work back in the early 1970s, did you ever envision that 30-plus years later, you would be seeing the developments you have?
Hilgers: No. I have often said with regard to the developments that have occurred, they occurred in part because I have never closed the door on things. People have asked me, what my goals and objectives were. I reply, “I don’t have any goals and objectives.” And this is because I didn't know where this work was leading us.
So I realized over time that one begins to see things that we would never have seen had we shut the door in 1978 and said that’s all we need to know.
We kept the door open and more and more things would come to us, whether it was a woman with infertility, repetitive miscarriage or recurrent ovarian cysts, or whatever the situation was, we kept learning and to a great extent that door continues to be open. But then we began to realize that with NaProTechnology, that door was open wide and we had something that was really worth pursuing.
But to answer your question very directly, we had absolutely no idea and certainly no goal to begin to do this. It was just what we began to see as we did our research.
Q: So you were open to things as they developed?
Hilgers: We did not have a plan as though when we completed the plan we would be done. I am sure at the time that if someone had asked me, “I want to know if this method works as a family planning system, as a method to avoid a pregnancy,” I probably would have said that it is effective and that is where we were at the time.
But it was not an end point in itself because as a gynecologist, vaginal discharges or vaginal bleeding as signals of underlying problems, made a lot of sense to me. Even though as a gynecologist, we hardly know anything about these things and even to this day, I am flabbergasted by how little gynecologists know about these things.
It has been an incredible journey in that regard because you just do not expect things like that to happen.
Question: What would you like to see happen within the institutional Church?
Hilgers: There are probably two sides to that question. At our conference I addressed what role "Humane Vitae" and the Catholic Church played in the development of NaProTechnology. It is absolutely clear to me that none of this would be here if it were not for the Church -- period!
I can personally track it back to when you asked what was my motivation. My motivation was "Humanae Vitae." Its clear and simple, I can remember the day that I read it. The day I realized that something had to be done in this area. But of course I had no idea that it would develop the way it has.
At the same time the Church had an absolutely clear role, that had the Church not done its part, this would never have been accomplished. I am totally convinced of that. And then you wonder had we never had that insight, that direction from the Church, what would have happened? If the Church had not spoken there would be no hope today in reproductive medicine or pro-life areas.
Now from the other side of the coin, "Humanae Vitae" also brought in a lot of dissent and controversy and I do not think the Church has responded well to this at all. I think the Church leaders are way to timid and have been intimidated by those people who dissented.
They, the leaders, the bishops and higher up, and even the priests and Catholic religious have not taken the time to study this, study the events that have been occurring, study the developments over this period of time, so they can come out with their own sense of confidence about the developments.
We need the organization of the Church to be able to move this forward. It is clear to me also that the Church needs to continue to be involved, but this time in a much more practical way to see that people get stimulated to do this work and make funds more available.
It has been a very great struggle doing this without any outside funding. In that sense the Church continues to have a huge role and of course the Church has to continue to lead in the philosophical and theological areas as well, what with in-vitro fertilization, cloning, embryonic stem cell research. This all comes off of contraception and obviously we still need people working on these issues as well.
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DOCUMENTS
Papal Message for World Mission Sunday
"Servants and Apostles of Christ Jesus"
VATICAN CITY, JULY 24, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is Benedict XVI's message for the 82nd World Mission Sunday, to be celebrated Oct. 19.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On the occasion of the World Mission Day, I would like to invite you to reflect on the continuing urgency to proclaim the Gospel also in our times. The missionary mandate continues to be an absolute priority for all baptized persons who are called to be "servants and apostles of Christ Jesus" at the beginning of this millennium. My venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Paul VI, already stated in the Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi": "Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity" (n. 14). As a model of this apostolic commitment, I would like to point to St Paul in particular, the Apostle of the nations, because this year we are celebrating a special Jubilee dedicated to him. It is the Pauline Year which offers us the opportunity to become familiar with this famous Apostle who received the vocation to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, according to what the Lord had announced to him: "Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles" (Acts 22: 21). How can we not take the opportunity that this special Jubilee offers to the local Churches, the Christian communities and the individual faithful to propagate the proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the world, the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Cf. Rm 1: 16)?
Humanity is in need of liberation
Humanity needs to be liberated and redeemed. Creation itself - as St Paul says - suffers and nurtures the hope that it will share in the freedom of the children of God (cf. Rm 8: 19-22). These words are true in today's world too. Creation is suffering. Creation is suffering and waiting for real freedom; it is waiting for a different, better world; it is waiting for "redemption". And deep down it knows that this new world that is awaited supposes a new man; it supposes "children of God".
Let us take a closer look at the situation of today's world. While, on the one hand, the international panorama presents prospects for promising economic and social development, on the other it brings some great concerns to our attention about the very future of man. Violence, in many cases, marks the relations between persons and peoples. Poverty oppresses millions of inhabitants. Discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons drive many people to flee from their own countries in order to seek refuge and protection elsewhere. Technological progress, when it is not aimed at the dignity and good of man or directed towards solidarity-based development, loses its potentiality as a factor of hope and runs the risk, on the contrary, of increasing already existing imbalances and injustices. There is, moreover, a constant threat regarding the man-environment relation due to the indiscriminate use of resources, with repercussions on the physical and mental health of human beings. Humanity's future is also put at risk by the attempts on his life, which take on various forms and means.
Before this scenario, "buffeted between hope and anxiety... and burdened down with uneasiness" ("Gaudium et Spes", n. 4), with concern we ask ourselves: What will become of humanity and creation? Is there hope for the future, or rather, is there a future for humanity? And what will this future be like? The answer to these questions comes to those of us who believe from the Gospel. Christ is our future, and as I wrote in the Encyclical Letter "Spe Salvi", his Gospel is a "life-changing" communication that gives hope, throws open the dark door of time and illuminates the future of humanity and the university (cf. n. 2).
St Paul had understood well that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope. Therefore, he perceived that the mission was pressing and urgent to proclaim "the promise of life in Christ Jesus" (2 Tm 1: 1), "our hope" (1 Tm 1: 1), so that all peoples could be co-heirs and co-partners in the promise through the Gospel (cf. Eph 3: 6). He was aware that without Christ humanity is "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2: 12) - "without hope because they were without God" ("Spe Salvi," n. 3). In fact, "anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2: 12)" (ibid., n. 27).
The Mission is a question of love
It is therefore an urgent duty for everyone to proclaim Christ and his saving message. St Paul said, "Woe to me if I do not preach it [the Gospel]!" (1 Cor 9: 16). On the way to Damascus he had experienced and understood that the redemption and the mission are the work of God and his love. Love of Christ led him to travel over the roads of the Roman Empire as a herald, an apostle, a preacher and a teacher of the Gospel of which he declared himself to be an "ambassador in chains" (Eph 6: 20). Divine charity made him "all things to all, to save at least some" (1 Cor 9: 22). By looking at St Paul's experience, we understand that missionary activity is a response to the love with which God loves us. His love redeems us and prods us to the missio ad gentes. It is the spiritual energy that can make the harmony, justice and communion grow among persons, races and peoples to which everyone aspires (cf. "Deus Caritas Est", n. 12). So it is God, who is Love, who leads the Church towards the frontiers of humanity and calls the evangelizers to drink "from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God" ("Deus Caritas Est", n. 7). Only from this source can care, tenderness, compassion, hospitality, availability and interest in people's problems be drawn, as well as the other virtues necessary for the messengers of the Gospel to leave everything and dedicate themselves completely and unconditionally to spreading the perfume of Christ's charity around the world.
Evangelize always
While the first evangelization continues to be necessary and urgent in many regions of the world, today a shortage of clergy and a lack of vocations afflict various Dioceses and Institutes of consecrated life. It is important to reaffirm that even in the presence of growing difficulties, Christ's command to evangelize all peoples continues to be a priority. No reason can justify its slackening or stagnation because "the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church" (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi", n. 14). It is a mission that "is still only beginning and we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service" (John Paul II, Encyclical "Redemptoris Missio", n. 1). How can we not think here of the Macedonian who appeared to Paul in a dream and cried, "Will you come by to Macedonia to help us?". Today there are countless people who are waiting for the proclamation of the Gospel, those who are thirsting for hope and love. There are so many who let themselves be questioned deeply by this request for aid that rises up from humanity, who leave everything for Christ and transmit faith and love for Him to people! (cf. "Spe Salvi", n. 8).
Woe to me if I do not preach it! (1 Cor 9: 16)
Dear Brothers and Sisters, "duc in altum"! Let us set sail in the vast sea of the world and, following Jesus' invitation, let us cast our nets without fear, confident in his constant aid. St Paul reminds us that to preach the Gospel is no reason to boast (cf. 1 Cor 9: 16), but rather a duty and a joy. Dear brother Bishops, following Paul's example, many each one feel like "a prisoner of Christ for the Gentiles" (Eph 3: 1), knowing that you can count on the strength that comes to us from him in difficulties and trials. A Bishop is consecrated not only for his diocese, but for the salvation of the whole world (cf. Encyclical "Redemptoris Missio", n. 63). Like the Apostle Paul, a Bishop is called to reach out to those who are far away and do not know Christ yet or have still not experienced his liberating love. A Bishop's commitment is to make the whole diocesan community missionary by contributing willingly, according to the possibilities, to sending priests and laypersons to other Churches for the evangelization service. In this way, the missio ad gentes becomes the unifying and converging principle of its entire pastoral and charitable activity.
You, dear priests, the Bishops' first collaborators, be generous pastors and enthusiastic evangelizers! Many of you in these past decades have gone to the mission territories following the Encyclical "Fidei Donum" whose 50th anniversary we celebrated recently, and with which my venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Pius XII, gave an impulse to cooperation between the Churches. I am confident that this missionary tension in the local Churches will not be lacking, despite the lack of clergy that afflicts many of them.
And you, dear men and women religious, whose vocation is marked by a strong missionary connotation, bring the proclamation of the Gospel to everyone, especially those who are far away, through consistent witness to Christ and radical following of his Gospel. Dear faithful laity, you who act in the different areas of society are all called to take part in an increasingly important way in spreading the Gospel. A complex and multiform areopagus thus opens up before you to be evangelized: the world. Give witness with your lives that Christians "belong to a new society which is the goal of their common pilgrimage and which is anticipated in the course of that pilgrimage" ("Spe Salvi", n. 4).
Conclusion
Dear Brothers and Sisters, may the celebration of World Mission Day encourage everyone to take renewed awareness of the urgent need to proclaim the Gospel. I cannot fail to point out with sincere appreciation the contribution of the Pontifical Mission Societies to the Church's evangelizing activity. I thank them for the support they offer to all the Communities, especially the young ones. They are a valid instrument for animating and forming the People of God from a missionary viewpoint, and they nurture the communion of persons and goods between the different parts of the Mystical Body of Christ. May the collection that is taken in all the parishes on World Mission Day be a sign of communion and mutual concern among the Churches. Lastly, may prayer be intensified ever more in the Christian people, the essential spiritual means for spreading among all peoples the light of Christ, the "light par excellence" that illuminates "the darkness of history" ("Spe Salvi", n. 49). As I entrust to the Lord the apostolic work of the missionaries, the Churches all over the world and the faithful involved in various missionary activities and invoke the intercession of the Apostle Paul and Holy Mary, "the living Ark of the Covenant", the Star of evangelization and hope, I impart my Apostolic Blessing to everyone.
From the Vatican, 11 May 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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