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The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - July 03, 2009
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VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Approves Cardinal Newman Miracle
Schedule Released for Papal Trip to Prague
Spain's Nuncio Named to Bishops Congregation
Former Vatican Radio Director Dies at 76
WORLD FEATURES
Officials Discuss Investigation of Paul's Tomb
Miracle Healing Advances Cardinal Newman's Cause
NEWS BRIEFS
Congo Needs $12M Just for Basics: Caritas
GOD'S MEN
No Matter What, He Always "Acts Like a Priest"
ROME NOTES
Hope for Child Soldiers; Papal Economics
Pope Approves Cardinal Newman Miracle
Recognizes Martyrdom of Dachau Victim, Spanish PriestsVATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Today, Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of decrees recognizing miracles, martyrdom and heroic virtue in several causes for canonization.
A Vatican communiqué reported that the Pope received in private audience Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, and authorized the congregation to promulgate the following decrees.
Miracles attributed to the intercession of the following:
-- Blessed Cándida Maria de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola (1845-1912) (born Juana Josefa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus.
-- Servant of God John Henry Newman (1801-1890), English cardinal and founder of the Oratories of St. Phili p Neri in England.
-- Servant of God Angelo Paoli (1642-1720) (born Francesco), Italian professed priest of the Order of Carmelites of the Strict Observance.
-- Servant of God Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas (1843-1927) (born Soultaneh Maria), cofounder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem.
The martyrdom of the following:
-- Servant of God José Samsó i Elías (1887-1936), Spanish diocesan priest, pastor and archpriest of Santa María de Mataro, killed during religious persecution in Spain.
-- Servant of God Teófilo Fernández de Legaria Goñi (1898-1936) (born Beniamino), and four companions, professed priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, killed during religious persecution in Spain in 1936.
-- Servant of God Georg Häfner (1900-1942), German diocesan priest, killed in the concentration camp of Dachau, Germany.
-- Servant of God Zolt an Ludovico Meszlenyi (1892-1951), Hungarian titular bishop of Sinope and auxiliary of Esztergom, killed at Kistarcsa, Hungary.
Proclamation of the heroic virtue of the following was also approved:
-- Servant of God Engelmar Unzeitig (1911-1945) (born Uberto), German professed priest of the Congregation of Missionaries of Mariannhill.
-- Servant of God Anna María Janer Anglarill (1800-1885), Spanish founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Holy Family of Urgell.
-- Servant of God Maria Serafina del Sacro Cuore di Gesu Micheli (1849-1911) (born Clotilde), Italian founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Angels.
-- Servant of God Teresa Manganiello (1849-1876), Italian laywoman of the Third Order of St. Francis.
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Schedule Released for Papal Trip to Prague
VATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict's schedule for his September visit to the homeland of the Infant of Prague was released today.The Pope's three-day apostolic journey to the Czech Republic, Sept. 26-28, will include a meeting with the president of that nation, the celebration of vespers with priests and seminarians, an address to ecumenical representatives and the academic community, as well as a meeting with youth.
His first stop will be at the Church of Our Lady Victorious, which houses the Infant Jesus of Prague.
The next day, the Holy Father will meet with ecumenical representatives. His address to the academic community will take place that evening at Prague Castle.
On Monday, Sept. 28, he will visit the church of St. Wenceslas and celebrate Mass for the feast of that saint, patron of the Czech Republic. H e returns to Rome that afternoon.
The Czech Republic has a population of about 10 million, some 27% of which is Catholic. According to a 2001 census, almost 60% of the population is not affiliated with a religion.
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Spain's Nuncio Named to Bishops Congregation
Saskatoon Prelate Moved to Saint-BonifaceVATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, 71, currently serving as nuncio to Spain, as secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.
A Vatican communiqué announced the appointment today of the prelate who will replace Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, 75, who was himself moved to another position, as archpriest of Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
The former archpriest, Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, resigned for reasons of age. His final year in the post, which he held since 2005, was marked by the many celebrations of the Pauline Jubilee.
The Pontiff also appointed Monsignor Giorgio Corbellini, 62, vice secretary-general of the Governor's Office for Vatican City State, as president of the Cent ral Labor Office of the Holy See, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of bishop.
Bishop Corbellini is replacing Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, who is resigning due to age.
Canada
To head Manitoba's Saint-Boniface Archdiocese, the Holy Father named Bishop Albert LeGatt, 56, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
He succeeds retiring Archbishop Émilius Goulet.
Albert LeGatt was born in Melfort. He was ordained a priest in 1983 and a bishop in 2001.
The Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface has some 119,000 Catholics served by 115 priests, 18 permanent deacons and 356 religious.
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Former Vatican Radio Director Dies at 76
VATICAN CITY, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A former director of Vatican Radio, Jesuit Father Pasquale Borgomeo, died Thursday in Rome after a long illness. He was 76.Father Borgomeo was with Vatican Radio for 35 years, and died "with a spirit of acceptance of God's will, accompanied by the prayers of his brothers in the Society of Jesus, his family and friends, and especially, the Holy Father, who was informed of his worsening health," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, his successor.
Father Lombardi is the director of the Vatican press office, including Vatican Radio and Television.
Father Borgomeo's funeral will be held Saturday.
The priest left the directorship of Vatican Radio in 2005 due to his health condition. He had been named the director 20 years before, in 1985, and this after working as an editor with Vatic an Radio since 1970. Father Borgomeo had referred to his role as an "exciting adventure."
Pasquale Borgomeo was born in Naples in 1933. He joined the Jesuits in 1948 and was ordained in 1963.
L'Osservatore Romano said that the priest "pursued no other objective than bringing the voice of the Pope [...] to all the corners of the earth."
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Officials Discuss Investigation of Paul's Tomb
Note Findings Concur With TraditionROME, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Investigation into the tomb held to be St. Paul's does not confirm that it is in fact the Apostle who is buried there, but it also does not contradict that tradition, Vatican officials noted.
Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Ulderico Santamaria, director of the diagnostic laboratory for the conservation and restoration of the Vatican Museums, discussed the investigations during a press conference today.
Benedict XVI had asked that the results of the research would not be announced until the close of the Pauline Jubilee Year, which ended last Monday. The Holy Father himself was the first to divulge the findings, dur ing his homily at the Vespers service that brought the jubilee to an end.
The Pope explained: "A tiny hole was drilled in the sarcophagus, which in so many centuries had never been opened, in order to insert a special probe which revealed traces of a precious purple-colored linen fabric, with a design in gold leaf, and a blue fabric with linen threads. Grains of red incense and protein and chalk substances were also found. In addition, minute fragments of bone were sent for carbon-14 testing by experts unaware of their provenance. The fragments proved to belong to someone who had lived between the first and second centuries. This would seem to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition which claims that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul."
Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo classifed the results as "not only interesting but also [results] that mesh with" what is believed about the location of Paul's remains.
The cardinal, who se resignation as archpriest of the basilica for reasons of age was accepted today, indicated that further investigations could be a possibility in the future.
He noted that to actually open the sarcophagus will be difficult, because it will require dismantling the papal altar on top.
For his part, Santamaria explained how the technique of drilling into the sarcophagus "reduced to a minimum [...] the risks of deteriorating the interior by preventing any oxygen from getting into the tomb."
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Miracle Healing Advances Cardinal Newman's Cause
Birmingham Oratory Prepares for BeatificationBIRMINGHAM, England, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Members of the Oratory in Birmingham are preparing to celebrate the imminent beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, after today's announcement that Benedict XVI approved a miracle through his intercession.
A press release distributed by the bishops' conference of England and Wales affirmed that the beatification of the theologian and Catholic convert is now certain.
The miracle that was approved by the Pope as a step in the cause of canonization was the 2001 healing of Deacon Jack Sullivan of the Boston, Massachusetts, area.
Sullivan, now 70, had a debilitating back injury that interrupted his diaconal studies and threatened to leave him paralyzed. After receiving this diagnosis, he went to his home and turned on the televi sion as a distraction from the pain and disappointment.
A program about the life of Cardinal Newman was being aired, and it ended with a request to contact the postulate for the cause of his beautification if any favors were received through his intercession.
Sullivan recited a prayer to the cardinal, and the next morning, he awoke free of pain.
He was able to return to his studies, but eight months later, in April 2001, the pain came back. He once again prayed for Cardinal Newman's intercession, and when the pain disappeared, doctors stated that there was no human explanation for the immediate recovery.
Sullivan, who was ordained a permanent deacon in September 2002, affirmed, "Upon hearing of the recent developments in Rome regarding Cardinal Newman's cause for beatification, I was left with an intense sense of gratitude and thanksgiving to Almighty God and my intercessor Cardinal John Henry Newman."
He continued, "I have dedicated my v ocation in praise of Cardinal Newman, who even now directs all my efforts."
Anticipation
In Rome, Father Edoardo Cerrato, procurator-general of the Oratory, stated, "On behalf of the 82 houses of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, Newman's own congregation, I welcome this decision with joy and look forward to the ceremony of beatification with great anticipation."
Father Paul Chavasse, provost of the Birmingham Oratory, which was Cardinal Newman's community, affirmed, "The prayers of Christ's faithful all over the world have now been answered."
The priest noted that it is "providential that the beatification of this great English theologian will occur in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, a major theologian in his own right whom Cardinal Newman has influenced profoundly."
Cardinal Newman was declared venerable in 1991 by Pope John Paul II.
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On the Net:
Cardinal Newman's cause for canonizat ion: www.newmancause.co.uk
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Congo Needs $12M Just for Basics: Caritas
KINSHASA, Congo, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The international Caritas organization has launched an appeal for $12 million to give basic care to some 400,000 displaced people in Congo, particularly rape victims.The aid agency reported today that fighting since the start of the year has increased, thwarting hopes that the situation would improve with the arrest several months ago of the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
There are some 1.3 homeless people who need food, shelter and medical care. That same number of children are suffering from malnutrition. And during the first quarter of this year, there were at least 1,330 cases of rape in South Kivu, the agency reported.
Caritas is particularly concerned about Congolese women and children. With this appeal, the aid organization plans to provide medical care and counseling for 250 survivors of rape.
Caritas Congo National Director Bruno Miteyo explained: "The war is far from over in Congo and neither is the misery for the people. Hundreds of thousands more have been driven from their homes in fresh clashes between militias and the government. Their homes have been looted or burned.
"Protection from attack, rape and looting is the most urgent need. The people also urgently need food, health care and security. Caritas is able to reach the most vulnerable through parish and diocesan networks."
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On the Net:
Caritas Congo appeal: www.caritas.org/activities/emergencies/UrgentAppealCongo.html
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No Matter What, He Always "Acts Like a Priest"
University President Speaks on Divine ProvidenceBy Father David M. O'Connell, CM
WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- I wanted to be a priest for as long as I can remember. I think it was my pastor's visits to my dying grandmother, in particular, that first attracted me.
He was so kind to her and so gentle. He brought her holy Communion and what we called then the sacrament of "extreme unction" during her final illness.
The whole aura surrounding his visits, the mysterious sound of the Latin prayers, and the comfort that he brought her and my family were things that fascinated me.
I went to Catholic school and became an altar boy at an early age -- all these experiences strengthened my desire to become a priest.
Often times, I tell people that I heard "the call" on a bus. I say that because I first became acquainted with the Vincentians through some vocation literature left on a bus seat that I found one day.
I had never heard of the Vincentians (Congregation of the Mission) before, or of St. Vincent de Paul, their founder. I liked what I read; I made a visit to the seminary and I was hooked!
My seminary years were happy ones. I loved to study and truly enjoyed the company of the other seminarians and priests.
I had good parents and three brothers of my own, so this was really a multiplication of my own family! And they were wonderful, happy and holy priests who taught us.
I loved the Mass and prayers we said together, the Order of Day, the work and the fun we had.
From the time I entered until the day I was ordained, the seminary truly formed me by exposing me to the very best education and the very best role models in the priesthood: Vincentians who were "other Christs" by following the path of St. Vincent de Paul.
God's plan
I do not recall any specific ambition as I prepared for ordination, although my superiors seemed to be moving me in the direction of further studies and eventual teaching.
St. Vincent spoke so often to the confreres about "Divine Providence" and I guess I just left it up to the Lord.
To be perfectly honest, I have never asked for any assignment in these more than 27 years of priesthood, and I can truly say that I have always been happy in the work and ministry I have been given.
I surmised my superiors' intentions accurately. My first assignment as a priest was teaching in an archdiocesan high school in suburban Philadelphia, 15 minutes from my parents' front door!
I loved every minute! It was demanding work but I learned how to teach.
I still hear from many of the students I taught in the early '80s -- for some I witnessed their marriag es, baptized their children, watched their families grow and, in some few cases, officiated at their funerals.
It was great to hear them call me "their priest."
As a seminarian, an older priest once counseled me always to remain "a man of the Church."
That phrase has stayed with me through doctoral studies in canon law, seminary teaching, chancery and tribunal work, university teaching and administration.
Going through formation and early priesthood at a time when the Church and attitudes within and outside the Church were changing so rapidly, even radically, I always tried to remain anchored in that wise priest's advice.
Such an approach earned me the labels "conservative" or "traditional" among my fellow priests, but that never caused me much grief. I really did not care what people said. I still do not. Such words are cheap.
Fast forward to my present assignment as president of The Catholi c University of America in Washington, D.C. I have served almost a dozen years here and, as with all my other assignments, I have been happy.
To be a priest
I think the common thread running through my life has been the celebration of the Eucharist, personal prayer, the love of family, the company and support of good priests, a clear sense of identity and purpose, the ability to preach and "be" a priest no matter where I have been or what I have been asked to do.
A faculty member once remarked about me, intending to be critical, "No matter what he does, he acts like a priest!" As though I would be anything else? As though I could be? I'll take such criticism any day.
Last year, I had the privilege to host Pope Benedict XVI on our campus during his U.S. visit.
I had met him several times before and, although we did not have a great deal of private time together during his visit, he drew close to me as we rode in the elevator together and said, "I wish to thank you, Father, for what you have done here."
I thanked him for his kindness, looked up to the heavens and said, "Take me now -- it doesn't get any better than this!"
How fortunate I have been! How blessed to share in Christ's priesthood!
I thank God every day for my old pastor, for that bus ride and for all that has happened since! Ad multos annos!
* * *
Vincentian Father David O'Connell has been president of The Catholic University of America since 1998. He is also a consultor for the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, and a national spokesperson on the implementation of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" in Catholic institutions. He was ordained a priest in 1982.
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Hope for Child Soldiers; Papal Economics
UN-led Delegation Thanks Benedict XVIBy Edward Pentin
ROME, JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- It's been called the worst kind of slavery, yet it continues to this day: Children used as soldiers, possibly as many as 250,000 worldwide, who are forced to kill their neighbor, sometimes even their parents, siblings and friends.
Last week, Benedict XVI paid tribute to those trying to end this horrific scourge and help these children return to normal life. Speaking at the end of his weekly general audience June 24, he told a visiting U.N.-led delegation fighting against the use of children as combatants of his "deep appreciation" for their commitment.
"I think of all the children of the world, in particular those who are exposed to fear, abandonment, hunger, abuse, illness, death," the Holy Father said. "The Pope is close to all these little victims and remembers them in prayer."
According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, a coalition of human rights organizations, although many children have been freed from wars that have recently ended, thousands more have been drawn into new conflicts such as those in Ivory Coast, Sudan, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.
The children, some as young as five, are trained not only to use weapons, but also to lay mines and explosives, to scout, spy, or act as decoys, couriers or guards. They can also be forced to perform logistical or support functions, and many of the girls are coerced into sexual slavery. Most are poorly fed and have little or no shelter. And even if their captors release them, they are often stigmatized back home and shunned by their communities.
Yet there is hope for those who survive and manage to escape. According to the United Nations, largely thanks to the work of faith communities and, in particular, the Catholic Church, they have access to food and shelter, and are helped toward rehabilitation and reintegration.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. secretary-general's representative for children and armed conflict, said she had partly come to the Vatican to personally thank Benedict XVI for the work the Church is doing in this area. The Church, she told a Rome press conference June 24, is doing "enormous good work" to help these children. Through its vast networks, she said, the Church raises awareness through education, and acts as an "early warning system" to help protect and prevent children from being abducted.
Hosted by the Sant'Egidio lay community, which itself has often supported the rehabilitation of these children, the press conference also heard from Grace Akallo, a 29-year-old former child soldier from Uganda. Thanks to the work of the Church, she was given a new life after being kidnapped from her Catholic school and taken to Sudan where she was forced into marriage, taught how to use firearms and where she met other children who had been coerced into killing relatives and friends.
She eventually found freedom, was rehabilitated thanks to her former headmistress -- a nun -- who simply read to her, and ended up attending a university in Uganda. She is now a graduate student in the United States.
"What these children need most is love and acceptance because most of society rejects them," Akallo said, and stressed the importance of "prevention and protection" for these children. Education of society is vital, she said, and recalled how on returning home she was "pulled from buses, called names and sometimes beaten over the head because they believed I had committed crimes."
Also speaking was Sacred Heart Sister Rosemary Nyerumbe who runs a center for former child soldiers in northern Uganda. "We all have the responsibility and obligation to restore the lost dignity and innocence of these children," she said. "You can open the door of your house, but the most important thing you can do is open the door of your heart and reach out to these children."
* * *
Pope talks, people listen
Benedict XVI's views on the current financial crisis, included in his first social encyclical -- which will be released July 7 -- could possibly become a bestseller in the United States if a recent survey carried out by the Knights of Columbus holds true.
The Knights' poll of a broad sample of Americans in March this year showed that 57% of U.S. citizens were eagerly wanting to hear Benedict XVI discuss "the short sightedness of personal greed and selfishness" that is thought to be the main cause of the current crisis. A further 55% wanted to hear him explain how a society can be built "where spiritua l values play an important role."
Also interesting is that an earlier survey carried out by the Knights in February showed widespread public discontent with business ethics: 76% of Americans polled believed that corporate America's moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction, and 90% of respondents, and 90% of executives, see career advancement and personal gain as primary factors that corporate executives take into account when making business decisions. Moreover, nearly two-thirds believed that religious beliefs should significantly influence executive's business decisions, and over two-thirds of executives agree.
The encyclical, which Benedict XVI signed Monday, the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, comes just days after the financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail for defrauding thousands of investors of billions of dollars. It will also appear on the eve of the Group of Eight summit of world leaders in Italy, July 8-10.
" What our poll shows is that the American public sees something very seriously wrong and sees ethics as part of the solution," says Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. "Since the country is overwhelmingly Christian in the sense that most Americans are baptized Christians, and one out of four are Catholic, the view of the Pope on these matters is going to be very important in the United States."
Anderson, who was visiting Rome this week, believes that the Pope is one of the few world figures who can speak out on these ethical questions with authenticity, and do so without favoring either the political left or right. "We have to give Benedict XVI his own space and not try to claim it from one side," says Anderson, who is urging the public to read the encyclical with an open mind. "I think a Christian ought to approach an encyclical from a standpoint of how am I going to be changed, not whether or not it affirms a position on something."
And although he predicts the Holy Father will underline the necessity of an ethical foundation to sustaining the free market system, he does not expect the Pope to enter into technical aspects or specific policy. "What he's going to say is that a Christian, if he understands his two commandments of love of God and love of neighbor, can no longer ask Cain's question: Am I my brother's keeper? He understands he has a responsibility to his brother and understands who his brother is. Benedict has said time and again: We're part of a human family, therefore we need to have a certain solidarity. [...] If you have that general ethical disposition, you're going to make decisions in a context that are going to be far better than if you don't."
The supreme knight, who was once a special assistant to Ronald Reagan, is surprised that despite more than 90% of Americans believing there is a kind of unethical foundation to the current crisis, "no body wants to talk about it," thereby leaving a vacuum which the government is presently filling. It's therefore time, he says, for corporate leaders to "fess up to some ethical responsibility."
Not only would that "resonate very well" with the American public, he believes, but it would also help preserve the sustainability of the free market which is currently in "real jeopardy."
The Pope has already given clues about the content of the encyclical, saying the current global economic crisis proves that the rules and values that have dominated the economy in past years need to be replaced by a concept that is "respectful of the needs and rights of the weakest." He also took the opportunity at his weekly general audience July 1st to "stress the importance of ethical and moral values in politics."
But this theme of establishing an ethical foundation is an idea the Holy Father has had for some time. In a prescie nt speech he gave in Rome in 1985, he said it is "becoming an increasingly obvious fact of economic history that the development of economic systems which concentrate on the common good depends on a determinate ethical system, which in turn can be born and sustained only by strong religious convictions." Conversely, he warned, "it has also become obvious that the decline of such discipline can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse."
"An economic policy that is ordered not only to the good of the group -- indeed, not only to the common good of a determinate state -- but to the common good of the family of man demands a maximum of ethical discipline and thus a maximum of religious strength," he said.
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