ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - June 15, 2009
VATICAN DOSSIER Pope Backs Nuns' Work to Stop Human Trafficking New President Named for Aquinas Academy Consultors for Saints, Communication Dicasteries WORLD FEATURES Pius X Society: Restructuring of Ecclesia Dei Imminent Who Brought Down Pius XII? Sydney Youth Day Rocks On New Evidence Says Pius XII Helped Jews NEWS BRIEFS Cardinal Offers Christ's Peace in Amazon Conflict IN FOCUS Change Is Possible for Gays, Says Psychologist CIVILIZATION OF LOVE Religion, Ethics and the Market
CLASSIFIED ADSCatholic on-line journal of arts and ideas: Logos Review (Summer Issue)
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Backs Nuns' Work to Stop Human Trafficking
Conference Gathers Religious, Experts to Compare Notes
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is lauding the commitment made by women religious to put a stop to human trafficking and rebuild the lives of those victimized by this phenomenon.
The Pope affirmed his support for the initiative in a telegram signed by his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The papal message was sent to a four-day international conference being held in Rome on what various congregations of women religious are doing to oppose human trafficking. The conference began today.
The Holy Father contended that it is important to bring about "a renewed awareness of the inestimable value of life and an ever more courageous commitment to the defense of human rights and the overcoming of every type of abuse."
The Pontiff expressed his "deeply-felt appreciation for the laudable initiative" that has gathered together not only religious and experts, but also members of the International Organization for Migration.
Prophetic role
For his part, the recently named president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, Archbishop Antonio Vegliò, inaugurated the working sessions by expressing his "admiration for the work [already] done."
The archbishop underlined the dramatic reality of human trafficking; L'Osservatore Romano reported him saying that data he has received indicate the phenomenon could be much more widespread than what is reported, victimizing as many as 4 million people across the globe.
In the Friday press conference presenting the conference, it was reported that 2.5 million people are affected by trafficking, which is a $150 billion business -- money that goes in the pockets of those who control the markets of prostitution, trafficking in organs, and forms of slavery that predominantly affect women and children.
In this context, Archbishop Vegliò affirmed, the Church has a role that is "not only important, but also prophetic."
He said that before all else, it is important to "know the factors that encourage and especially attract prostitution, and the strategies used by recruiters, traffickers, intermediaries and those who abuse the victims."
Then, in the commitment made by the religious to combat human trafficking, the Vatican official affirmed that personal and spiritual formation is needed, so that they know how to deal with difficult and broken lives that need to be reconstructed.
Out of the dark
Archbishop Vegliò also highlighted the importance of collaboration and interchanging information.
"Many women religious are already doing excellent work in this area," he said. "You have to know about this [work] and share it more thoroughly at the national and global level."
To overcome human trafficking, information is decisive, the archbishop affirmed. He suggested "working with the press to ensure adequate information about this grave problem. The more hidden it remains, the longer it will endure."
Archbishop Vegliò assured that his dicastery is ready to offer all the support possible to help the religious in their efforts. But he also asked to be privy to the information sharing since, "we also have the need to know and share the ways in which this is proceeding so that we can also contribute to this grand undertaking."
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New President Named for Aquinas Academy
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Lluis Clavell of Opus Dei as president of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas in Vatican City.
The Vatican press office announced the appointment today of the priest, who was already serving on the academy's academic council, and is also a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
He was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1941 and was ordained a priest in 1966.
Monsignor Clavell is currently a professor in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he formerly served as rector.
The St. Thomas Aquinas academy was founded in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and has the objective of carrying out research, explaining and disseminating the teaching of its patron.
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Consultors for Saints, Communication Dicasteries
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named new consultors for both the Congregation for Saints' Causes and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
The Vatican announced Saturday the new appointments. They include three Salesians and two members of the Franciscan family, as well as two laypeople for the saints dicastery; and two laypeople for the communications dicastery.
For the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the Holy Father named: Salesian Fathers Jesús García Gutiérrez and Aimable Musoni, both of the Pontifical Salesian University, and Salesian Father Francesco Motto of the Salesian Historical Institute. He named Conventual Franciscan Father Zdzislaw Jozef Kijas, president of the Pontifical Theological Faculty St. Bonaventure; and Capuchin Father Gabriele Ingegneri, of the Capuchin Historical Institute. The two laypeople to join that dicastery are both professors in Rome: Ulderico Parente of the San Pio V University and Francesco Celsi of the Santa Maria Asunta University.
For the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, he named: Francesco Casetti of the Catholic University of Milan; and Alvito Joseph Socorro de Souza, secretary of SIGNIS - The World Catholic Association for Communication.
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WORLD FEATURES
Pius X Society: Restructuring of Ecclesia Dei Imminent
Faces Threat of New Excommunications in Germany
By Kris Dmytrenko
TORONTO, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- An announcement that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now oversee discussions with the Society of St. Pius X is imminent, says the society's general superior.
Bishop Bernard Fellay revealed to ZENIT that the congregation told him to expect the publication of a statement issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative) by Benedict XVI on the new structure of Ecclesia Dei before June 20.
The bishop confirmed that he met June 5 with Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. During a visit today to Toronto, the general superior explained that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, established precisely to oversee the process of healing the society's separation from the Church, will remain a distinct entity within the Church's dicastery for doctrinal matters.
"According to what we have heard," noted the bishop, "most probably, one of the monsignors of the congregation will be the executive head of Ecclesia Dei. So it will be very tightly united with the congregation."
Along with three other bishops ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988 without Vatican approval, Bishop Fellay had been automatically excommunicated, only to have the penalty lifted in January by Benedict XVI.
The Society of St. Pius X still lacks the canonical status required for the legitimate exercise of ministry, which, according to the Pontiff in a letter sent in March to all the Church's bishops, will only be granted when the society accepts the authority of the Second Vatican Council, along with the magisterial teachings of popes since the council.
Since 2000, the pontifical commission has been led by Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, whom Bishop Fellay describes as "very friendly" to the society. The bishop shared that, even after his June 5 meeting with Cardinal Levada, he remains unsure how the expected changes will affect negotiations with the Vatican.
"I don’t know [Cardinal Levada] enough to really answer the question. […] When we were received it was very courteous. He was gentle. […] I don’t frankly know what and if there will be a real change."
New excommunications
Most pressing for the new Ecclesia Dei leadership will be averting a new series of excommunications. On June 27, Lefebvrite Bishop Alfonso de Galaretta is scheduled to ordained three priests and three deacons in the society's Zaitzkofen seminary in Bavaria, Germany. Bishop Gerard Muller of Regensburg has warned the society that, until the issue of canonical status is resolved, the ordinations lack proper authorization and would thus merit disciplinary action.
"Our bishop is waiting for Rome to advise on how to respond," said diocesan spokesperson Jakub Schotz earlier this month. "But it will almost certainly result in the excommunication for these priests and the bishop who ordains them."
Bishop Fellay counters that the Society of St. Pius X already delayed subdiaconate ordinations in Regensburg earlier this year, and that he believes that the Vatican now "has no basic problems" with the upcoming priestly ordinations.
"We cannot just now say, 'stop breathing,'" he argues in defense of the society's continued administration of the sacraments. "We need to breathe. And, definitely, if the Pope was so good to take away the excommunications, that mean he doesn’t want us now to die."
The society is planning to proceed with the ordinations, despite Bishop Fellay’s concern that new excommunications could "jeopardize everything" and derail the society’s discussions with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Central to those talks will be the society's unambiguous condemnations of the Second Vatican Council, particularly in reference to the council’s affirmations of religious liberty, ecumenism and the separation of Church and state.
While the Swiss-born superior general prefers to resolve these doctrinal issues before he accepts canonical status in the Church, he insists that he is open to reaching a provisional compromise position with the Vatican.
"If Rome gives us enough guarantee, so to say, of survival, I think probably we would certainly consider it," he said. "We have no problem with the Church recognizing us, of course."
* * *
Kris Dmytrenko is an associate producer of the Toronto-based Salt and Light Television Network. Salt and Light will air an exclusive interview with Bishop Bernard Fellay on the Sunday, June 28, episode of Witness, hosted by Basilian Father Thomas Rosica.
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Who Brought Down Pius XII?
L'Osservatore Director Blames Communists, Church Division
ROME, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The director of the Vatican's semi-official daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano contends that the Black Legend surrounding Pope Pius XII and Nazism has two causes: Communist propaganda and division within the Church.
Giovanni Maria Vian affirmed this when he talked with ZENIT about a book that he edited titled "In Difesa di Pio XII: Le Ragioni della Storia" (In Defense of Pius XII: The Reasons of History).
Benedict XVI's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, presented the book last week.
Vian uses the expression "leggenda nera" (black legend) in referring to the controversy surrounding Pius XII, which claims the Pope did too little to stop the Nazi horrors against the Jews. He said that at the Pope's death in 1958, he was unanimously praised for his efforts during the Second World War, but since then he has truly been "demonized."
How was such a reversal of image possible, a reversal that took place within the space of a few short years, beginning more or less around 1963?
Vian attributes this campaign against the Pope first of all to Communist propaganda, which intensified during the Cold War.
"The line that the Pope and the Holy See assumed during the years of conflict, averse to totalitarianism but traditionally neutral, was, according to actual deeds, favorable to the anti-Hitler alliance and was characterized by a humanitarian effort without precedent, which saved many human lives," he observed. "This line was, in any case, anti-Communist, and because of this, already during the war, the Pope became the target of Soviet propaganda as being in cahoots with Nazism and its horrors."
Soviet propaganda against Pius XII was powerfully re-launched in Rolf Hochhuth's play "Der Stellvertreter" (The Deputy), performed for the first time in Berlin on Feb. 20, 1963, which presented the Pope's silence as indifference to the extermination of the Jews, Vian said.
Already then, Vian continued, it was noted that the play took up many of the ideas proposed by Mikhail Markovich Scheinmann in his book "Der Vatican im Zweiten Weltkrieg" (The Vatican in the Second World War), first published in Russian by the Historical Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, a propaganda instrument of Communist ideology.
From the inside
Vian contended that there were also those within the Church who promoted the discrediting of Pius XII because of the division between "progressives" and "conservatives" that developed during and after the Second Vatican Council.
Pius XII's successor, John XXIII, "was very early hailed as ‘the good Pope,' and without nuance was more and more set [by some] in opposition to his predecessor: because of the radically different styles, but also because of the unexpected and clamorous decision to convoke a council," he remarked.
But, Vian continued, Catholic criticism of Pius XII began already in 1939 with the questions of the French Catholic philosopher Emmanuel Mounier, who criticized the Pope's "silence" about Italian aggression in Albania. Pius XII was also criticized by Polish groups in exile, who reproved him for his silence about the German occupation of their homeland.
Vian suggested that with division in the Church beginning in the 1960s, those who opposed conservatives attacked Pius XII -- who was presented as their symbol -- fostering and using the arguments of the black legend.
Justice at last
The director of L'Osservatore Romano stressed that this book did not stem from the intention of an aprioristic defense of the Pope, "because Pius XII does not need apologists who do not help to clarify the historical question."
Vian stressed that Pius XII's low key approach -- not only in regard to the Nazi persecution of Jews (which was denounced without clamor but unequivocally in the Christmas message of 1942 and in an address to cardinals on June 2, 1943,) but also in regard to other Nazi crimes -- had the purpose of trying not to aggravate the situation of the victims, while the Pontiff worked to help them in other discreet ways.
"Pacelli often questioned himself about his attitude, which was nevertheless a conscious choice that he endured in order to save the greatest possible number of human victims rather than continually denouncing the evil with the real danger of still greater horrors," Vian explained.
He noted that the aim of the book is above all to contribute to restoring to history and the memory of Catholics a Pope and a pontificate that, for many reasons, is of capital importance and that remains obscured in public opinion by the polemics caused by the black legend.
The book brings together pieces by Cardinal Bertone; the journalist and historian Paolo Mieli; the late Jewish biologist, physician and writer, Saul Israel; the historian and founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, Andrea Riccardi; Archbishops Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; and finally a homily from Benedict XVI and two speeches in memory of his predecessor.
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Sydney Youth Day Rocks On
Celebrations Mark 1st Anniversary
SYDNEY, Australia, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- One year after World Youth Day, Sydney is preparing to celebrate the anniversary of Benedict XVI's encounter with young people through a whole month of celebrations.
A press release from the Archdiocese of Sydney announced the events planned for a "blockbuster July."
The U.S. singer Matt Maher will kick off the month with July 3-4 concerts.
Immediately after, July 5-11 there will be a week of conferences by Catholic apologist Tim Staples, an ex-Baptist and Pentecostal minister who found his way to the Church after meeting a fellow marine who challenged his faith.
Not only did he become Catholic, but he spent six years as a seminarian and earned a degree in philosophy. Staples discovered that his vocation was not to the priesthood, and upon leaving the seminary he dedicated himself to Catholic apologetics and evangelization.
He gives talks on issues such as: "Why Be Catholic," "Back and White -- Moral Clarity in a World of Grey," "God or Allah? Islam through Christian Eyes," "The Shocking Truth About The Pope" and "Nuts and Bolts -- Answering the Top 10 Arguments Against the Catholic Church."
The press release explained that this initiative responds to a message from young people in the "extensive research" after the youth day, that "they want to continue the experience of catechesis."
It added, "They want to learn about their faith, understand the teachings of the Catholic Church and be equipped to share their faith and knowledge with others."
Pub talk
In another event, the youth will visit Sydney's pubs July 19-26 for a program called SCENE, which stands for Sydney Congress Embracing the New Evangelization.
This Catholic congress will include music, testimonies and talks in pubs around the city, bringing together "hundreds of young people" and "guests speakers tackling the really hot and controversial topics of the day."
Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous of Sydney affirmed, "It is one thing to discuss key questions among ourselves as Catholics, it is another to go into the public forum and raise the issues that are current and important."
He explained that the topics, which include "Are Condoms the Answer," "Reclaiming Masculinity" and "What is Truth?" are "issues that occupy people's daily conversation."
"They are in the newspapers, on talk-back radio and the subject of many television programs," the prelate noted. They are "debated in the workplace, university, social occasions and in society."
He added, "Pub talks will provide young people with an informal and relaxed environment in which they can engage with the important questions that are currently 'in the air.'"
That same week, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are sending a three-friar rock band from New Jersey for a Catholic Underground program July 18-24, which will include Mass, workshops and a holy hour.
These events are planned to bring back some of the memories of World Youth Day. Father Stan Fortuna, Franciscan rapper and the founder of Catholic Underground, appeared at the youth day, as did Matt Maher.
The month will also include family days, a vocations expo and evangelization in the streets.
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On the Net:
Sydney archdiocese: http://sydney.catholic.org.au
SCENE: www.scene.org.au
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New Evidence Says Pius XII Helped Jews
Foundation to Publish 2,300 Pages of Documents
NEW YORK, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- A foundation that promotes interreligious dialogue announced that it has more than 2,300 pages of original documents illustrating Pope Pius XII's efforts to help Jews in the face of Nazism.
Gary Krupp, president of the New York-based Pave the Way Foundation, affirmed this today in a statement to ZENIT, and stated that the documents from the years 1940-1945 will be made available to the public for research.
The president, himself a Jew, reported that these papers, found through the organization's private research, give "strong support to the argument that Pope Pius XII -- Eugenio Pacelli -- worked diligently to save Jews from Nazi tyranny."
As a part of a private research project, the foundation found the documents in a monastery in Avellino, Italy. The foundation's statement noted the possibility that "many more vital documents could be found in larger dioceses, if researchers simply took the time to look."
Krupp continued: "Since presumed history has been the justification for hatred, vendettas and wars throughout civilized human existence, aren't the historians charged with a moral and vital responsibility to get the story straight? People are killed every day because of historical vendettas.
"A personal disappointment resulting from our research was the realization that we all have been let down by many who represent themselves as historians.
"These individuals, with private agendas, have simply failed to research the evidence of this era properly and have remained silent when the absurd fanatics manipulate the truth."
If our foundation, he said, as "amateur fact finders, can uncover so much information, how is it that the so-called historians and academic institutions have allowed the 46-year-old assessment of Pius XII to continue unchallenged, impacting the opinions and relationships of over one billion people?"
Finding the truth
The foundation will offer these documents for worldwide historical study on its Web site.
The statement acknowledged a "universal academic response" to "reserve judgment of Pacelli until the Vatican opens the un-catalogued section of full papacy of Pius XII."
It added, "The result of this academic negligence has negatively impacted the opinions and relationships of over one billion people."
The foundation also reported its findings from research on some of the Vatican Secret Archives documents.
It noted the discovery of "many examples of the direct actions and of the pastoral ministry of Eugenio Pacelli to save Jews from Nazi tyranny" as well as "documented proof" of his "direct intercession to protect the Jews of Palestine from the Ottoman Turks in 1917 and his encouraging the idea of the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine in 1925."
The statement observed that "universal" gratitude to Pius XII was "radically changed" five years after his death, through a fictional play by Rolf Hochhuth called "The Deputy."
The foundation reported the "confirmed testimony that this play was part of a KGB plot called 'seat 12,' which was strategically planned to destroy the reputation of the Catholic Church."
This research, the foundation stated, supports the "undeniable conclusion" that "Pope Pius XII was a true hero" of World War II.
It concluded: "Quite possibly he saved more Jews than all of the world's religious and political leaders combined. Moreover, in the true spirit of heroism, he did all this with the direct threat of German rifles leveled 200 yards beneath his very windows."
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On the Net:
Pave the Way Foundation:
www.ptwf.org
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NEWS BRIEFS
Cardinal Offers Christ's Peace in Amazon Conflict
Peruvian Prelate Urges a Eucharistic Nation
LIMA, Peru, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- As Eastern Peru continues to be pressured by an ongoing clash between the government and Amazon Indians, Lima's archbishop has called for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament to build a "Eucharistic Peru."
Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani called for devotion to Christ in the Eucharist when he celebrated Sunday's feast of Corpus Christi.
Peru has seen nearly two months of conflict as thousands of Indians are blocking the roads of eastern Peru. They are trying to force a repeal of laws passed to facilitate foreign investment and oil exploration, farming and logging in the Amazon. Some 60 tribes of Indians live in Peru's section of the jungle.
The cardinal urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament to "shape the life of the country, so that each one of us will be sowers of peace, of joy, and thus we will make of our nation a 'Eucharistic Peru.'" Following the Mass, he led the traditional Eucharistic procession through the chilly autumn morning, with thousands of adorers.
Cardinal Cipriani affirmed that "in the interior of each person there is this daily struggle between this good of the life of Christ and the evil of the life of sin. From this struggle comes joy, peace, justice, unity, affection, family and children; or it erupts into violence, lies, hate, abuse, and this first fracture goes against the Eucharist."
He added: "When we think of our brothers in the heights of the Andean south or when we consider the infinite variety of Peruvians in the forest, in the mountains, or on the coast, what does the Eucharist mean for all of them? It means sacrament of union in Christ; and this Christ asks all of us to be sowers of peace, of truth and of reconciliation."
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IN FOCUS
Change Is Possible for Gays, Says Psychologist
APA Admits Homosexuality Also Due to Environmental Factors
By Genevieve Pollock
ENCINO, California, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- A Catholic psychologist who specializes in reparative therapy with homosexuals says it's possible for those with same-sex attractions to change, despite agenda-driven ideologies that state the opposite.
Joseph Nicolosi, founder and director of the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic in Encino, spoke with ZENIT about his experience as a clinical psychologist and the former president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH).
NARTH, a "scientific, non-religious and non-political" organization, recently put out an article about the little known revision of the American Psychological Association's (APA) statement on homosexuality, which was highlighted last month in a WorldNetDaily article titled "Gay Gene Claim Suddenly Vanishes."
Nicolosi explained that NARTH has been actively working on a research project compiling scientific data to dispute the APA's claim on homosexuality, targeting three unscientific assumptions that form the basis of their policy.
He stated that these erroneous assumptions are: "Psychotherapy does not change homosexuality, trying to change the homosexual person will harm him, and there is no greater pathology in homosexual persons than in heterosexual persons."
The psychologist asserted that the "APA is not governed by scientists, but by political interests."
"There has been no new data to justify their policies," he added, "but they tend to give in to social and political pressure," and thus "NARTH has been putting pressure on them to scientifically back up their stance on the biological nature of homosexuality."
Now, Nicolosi reported, the APA has "diminished its position saying homosexuality is biologically determined." They have dropped the specific reference to a hypothetical "gay gene," he affirmed.
In other words, he said, they are beginning to recognize that homosexuality is also due to environmental factors, not just biological elements.
"In fact," he stated, "I and many of my colleagues at NARTH believe it is more environmental than biological."
Nicolosi noted that "the most important scientific information" gives "much more evidence for environmental causes of homosexuality than for biological."
Possible
The most essential point however, the psychologist affirmed, "is that change is possible, that men and women can come out of homosexuality."
"This idea of 'once gay, always gay' is a political position, not a scientific position," he added.
The therapist affirmed that he has seen this in his own private practice, and that it is also substantiated in a body of scientific research.
Nicolosi, also the author of "Healing Homosexuality: Case Stories of Reparative Therapy" and "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality," asserted that many people have already adopted the erroneous assumptions put forth by the APA.
There is a need to assist and minister to men and women "who are looking for help to come out of homosexuality," he said, "because so many times they are just told 'Well, you're born this way,' pointing to the APA and saying 'because they said it.'"
He expressed the hope that as the APA recognizes the efficacy of therapy with homosexual persons, more psychologists will be encouraged to be involved in this type of treatment.
"Within our profession," the psychologist explained, "we trump politics with science." In other words, if we challenge the APA with scientific data, it "has to override any political or special interest forces."
The therapist emphasized the need for all people to share this message with homosexual persons that "you don't have to be gay."
Encouragement
If you know a homosexual person, he said, "encourage that person, educate him, give that person information, take the opportunity to let him know that choice is possible."
"They need to believe it," he added.
Nicolosi explained: "It is a very hard therapy. First of all, it is hard in itself because you have to dig deep into emotional issues. Homosexuality is not about sexual issues, but emotional. There are the emotional underpinnings that have to be addressed.
"Then not only are you having to deal with those emotional underpinnings that are challenging on an individual level, but you have the other battle of a culture that is saying to you, 'You're homophobic; you're naïve; you're not facing reality; you're just a guilt-ridden Christian, get with it.
"You're fighting a culture that is not supporting you, plus you have your own individual battle. So it's a two-front war."
"With the AIDS epidemic, this could be about life and death here," he asserted. "We're not talking about something insignificant."
The psychologist underlined the need to "inform and educate young people."
He explained: "So when a 15-year-old boy goes to a priest and says, 'Father I have these feelings, I have these temptations,' that priest should say, 'you have a choice; if you don't want to be gay there are things that you can do.'"
"The boy should not to be told, 'God made you this way,'" Nicolosi said.
Scientific data
He continued: "This is not about going after an oppressed minority. It's not about pointing out pathology for the sake of pointing out pathology.
"This is telling young people, look, if you go down this road, you are likely to have a higher level of depression, anxiety, failed relationships, sexual promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse than people who live their lives heterosexually. You will get involved in more, to be polite, esoteric exotic sexual practices. It goes on and on and on.
"And that's just science, simply a comparison of two groups."
The therapist added, "This notion that you are going to fall in love with a man and live happily ever after is Hollywood. The reality is that it's a hard lifestyle."
Nicolosi, also a national speaker on the topic, urged the development of more Catholic programs, noting that other faiths have already been putting forth a "vital ministry helping people coming out of homosexuality."
"Our doctrine is clear," he said, "and even if we have a weaker ministry, our doctrine on homosexuality is more brilliant than anything the Protestant denominations can come up with."
The psychologist specifically referenced a 1986 document signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope, addressed to the Catholic bishops "On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons."
In the letter, the cardinal, at that time prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, outlined the moral underpinnings and practical considerations of the pastoral care of "those whose suffering can only be intensified by error and lightened by truth."
In this light, Nicolosi underlined the importance of helping homosexual persons who want to change, because "if you are Christian, you have to believe that you are intended for the opposite sex" and that "sexual complementarity is part of the natural law."
This is something that "should be evident to everyone," as "our Christian anthropology," he stated, and yet "it is amazing" how many people are confused about this.
"They actually believe, or want to believe, either for personal reasons or political reasons, that God created two kinds of people: homosexuals and heterosexuals," Nicolosi noted.
"It is seeping into the consciousness without critical evaluation," he cautioned, the resignation that "God just made them that way."
Courage
The psychologist appealed to priests to not be intimidated to teach about homosexuality from the pulpit, noting that he has met many Catholics who are "discouraged that there is no resource for them."
"We have Courage as the only orthodox Catholic ministry, and it's underfunded, underrepresented and essentially pushed to the side," he stated.
He reported that "Courage is only represented in 10% of the parishes in this country" and thus many "men and women who want to come out of homosexuality" are left without resources on a local level, making it "very tough for them."
Nicolosi suggested that if a priest is working with a homosexual person and is uncertain about how to help, to refer him to a reparative therapist, "who really knows about this particular kind of treatment."
"Not to just any generic psychotherapist," he added, "but to a therapist who has training in sexual re-orientation change."
Referencing Cardinal Ratzinger's letter, he warned against a "studied ambiguity" in the face of the real need homosexual persons have for outreach from the Church.
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On the Net:
National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality Web site:
www.narth.comCardinal Ratzinger's Letter:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html
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Civilization of Love
Religion, Ethics and the Market
Moral Responsibility Is Key to Economic Recovery
By Carl Anderson
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, JUNE 15, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Shortly after the fall of European communism two decades ago, then Czech President Vaclav Havel addressed his nation on the importance of individual responsibility within an economic system.
Speaking of the failure of communism, he said: "We live in a morally contaminated environment. We fell morally ill because we became used to saying something different from what we thought. We learned not to believe in anything, to ignore each other, to care only about ourselves. […] We have to understand this legacy as a sin we committed against ourselves. […] If we realize this, hope will return to our hearts."
Today, with the world economy in the midst of a deep recession, and with pundits and politicians debating a variety of proposed legal or technical corrections, we would do well to keep Havel's words of individual moral responsibility in mind as a necessary part of any real solution.
When he spoke in 1990, the world had just watched transfixed as the Iron Curtain fell in Europe. Indeed, one of the two financial and political systems that had defined most of the 20th century almost instantaneously disappeared from the European continent.
The idea of atheistic communism as a viable economic force had been debunked, leading at least one commentator to proclaim that "the end of history" was at hand.
But as Benedict XVI has pointed out in many contexts, triumphalism is dangerous.
Lessons learned
Now, as we face an economic crisis of enormous proportions, we cannot simply celebrate the two-decade anniversary of the demise of the Eastern Bloc, we must also look at what went wrong in our economy, and how we can repair it.
The importance of each individual's moral decision-making will be critical if we are to succeed.
There were a few, in the days before -- and immediately after -- the collapse of Soviet Communism, who were prescient enough to have predicted trouble ahead for Western economies, if they ignored morality. Their words are all the more relevant today.
Two men in particular stand out for their foresight: Karol Wojtyla and Joseph Ratzinger.
While decrying the "determinism" of Marxism, and its atheistic outlook in a 1985 paper "Market, Economy and Ethics," Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, warned that an economic crisis in the West was possible. His concern was a decline of ethics in economic matters.
In fact, he warned that a decline of ethics "born and sustained only by strong religious convictions" could actually "cause the laws of the market to collapse."
Shortly after the walls began coming down in 1991, Pope John Paul II, widely recognized for the role he played in the collapse of communism, also warned against a market economy that excluded spiritual values.
He made clear that a system that sought to replace Marxism with consumerism -- and thus reduced "man to the sphere of economics and the satisfaction of material needs" -- in the end both made the same error as a central tenet of Marxism and was not an adequate solution ("Centesimus Annus," 19).
Both Benedict XVI and John Paul II have made clear that any economic system that pushes God and morality aside rests not on bedrock, but on sand.
As Cardinal Ratzinger wrote in his 1985 paper: "Even if the market economy does rest on the ordering of the individual within a determinate network of rules, it cannot make man superfluous or exclude his moral freedom from the world of economics. […] These spiritual powers are themselves a factor in the economy: The market rules function only when a moral consensus exists and sustains them."
Greed and ambition
Earlier this year, a Knights of Columbus-Marist Survey found that at least 90% of Americans -- and 90% of executives -- believe that business leaders see career advancement and personal financial gain as primary motivations for business decisions. Only 31% of Americans and 32% of executives believed that "the public good" was a strong motivating factor.
The same poll also showed that three-quarters of Americans and more than nine out of 10 executives believe a business can be both ethically run, and successful.
Little wonder that a subsequent poll showed that Americans -- and American Catholics especially -- value Benedict XVI's opinion on both economic and spiritual issues. By overwhelming margins they are interested in what he has to say about the shortsightedness of greed and selfishness, and the building of a society where spiritual values play an important role.
Much pain could have been avoided if the individual members of our economy had heeded our Pope's words in 1985, or his predecessor's in 1991, and if capitalism with a conscience had been the norm.
Let us pray that people pay more attention when Benedict XVI's new social encyclical is released, and that the solutions our politicians and pundits consider will not only transcend the technical and legal, but also include the ethical.
* * *
Carl Anderson is the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus and a New York Times bestselling author.
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Catholic on-line journal of arts and ideas: Logos Review (Summer Issue)
The Logos Review is an on-line journal of arts and ideas in the contemplative tradition of the Church, in union with the Magisterium. The Summer Issue includes an essay entitled "Beyond Creationism," plus poetry, original music, short fiction, and other items of interest.
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