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ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - February 14, 2009
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
Solidarity With Peter
Alternative Texts
Praying With Patients
After the Wedding Is Over
A response to: Pope Urges Prayers for "Ship of Peter"
My heartfelt solidarity goes to the Holy Father and Vatican City State. This small but renowned state has supported Catholics worldwide in good or difficult times without compromise. We are blessed to have at the helm Pope Benedict XVI as a Pontiff who is not only superbly intelligent but also humble in his demeanor and approach. A great ambassador for unity, Benedict XVI will surely breathe air into the two lungs his predecessor John Paul II worked so tirelessly to fill. May we all work and pray together in unity in order to fulfill God's Plan for a "civilization of love."
Paula Hagan
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A response to: Alternative English Texts for Mass
One of the great comforts being a Catholic while living overseas was that, with my Vatican II missals (Weekday and Sunday), I could always be assured of being well-prepared for the liturgy when attending Mass in a language other than my mother tongue. It also helped me gain some proficiency in the languages of the countries I was in, as alternatives to the standard Vatican II Mass readings were rare.
The same has not been true when I've been back in the United States. Alternatives to the regular texts are not uncommon, and even some of the simplified English in the new translations sound awkward as they strive to eliminate any kind of wording that might cause offense to our gentle listeners. I think it is more a cultural position where Americans prefer a literal and direct approach, while the Church in the United Kingldom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand -- and wherever else English is used -- choose a more literary and interpretive one.
Daniel Brosky
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A response to: We All Need Prayer
I am also an R.N. and have worked many years in neurological medical surgery, in the emergency department and then in same-day surgery. Oftentimes I have asked patients if they would like to pray and they have always said "yes." They are usually very frightened before going into surgery and this helps to calm them down.
I always pray for my patients, but sometimes they do not know it! You can usually tell who wants it and who doesn't. My job now entails making the pre-operative phone calls the day before surgery. I pray silently as I do the interview, and this enables me to say the right words to calm the patients.
I feel this nurse did the right thing and should be allowed to keep her job. It is a part of the patient care to address the spiritual side of the patient. Much discernment must be used though, as some patients would be offended. I am glad others are supporting this nurse and hope and pray she is appreciated and respected and is able to return to work right away.
Thank you
Lesley Vaitekunas, R.N., sfo
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A response to: The Family's Essential Role
Fr. John Flynn’s article on “The Family’s Essential Role” in society makes a number of excellent points. Cardinal Brady says, “The family based on marriage as the foundation of society is a truth revealed by God in the Scriptures, but it’s also one of the most precious human values.” He goes on to point out that, “the welfare of marriage and the family are of public interest, and are fundamental to the common good. They are, therefore, entitled to special consideration and care from the state.” The importance of these ideas was repeated and stressed by several speakers at the last World Meeting of Families.
However, the community and the Church must not leave the issue of broken marriages solely in the hands of government bureaucrats and the so called professional laity, such as judges, lawyers, social workers, psychiatrists and the police. When couples get married in Church, the Church must also be there when there are marriage problems. We cannot leave it for governments alone to solve the question of failing marriages. We need to take politics out of this institution, so that it can regain its integrity.
We do a pretty good job at fighting against the evils of abortion and same-sex “marriage.” If we worked equally hard in making sure that marriages remain strong long after the ceremony is over, we would also help reduce the very things that threaten the survival of traditional marriages.
A couple of groups that are good examples of this are Marriage Savers and Retrouvaille. The Church can take a stronger stand against all this state interference in the sacrament of marriage and family life. If left to the courts and the professional, as it is now in most countries, we undermine and abandon the very sacrament we claim to be the foundation of society because it's God's gift to civilization.
Lou Iacobelli
HMWN Radio Maria
www.hmwn.net
Toronto,Canada
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