[ZE120120] The World Seen From Rome
ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - January 20, 2012
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SPECIAL
VATICAN DOSSIER
ANALYSIS
WORLD FEATURES
Where God Weeps
INTERVIEW
DOCUMENTS
SPECIAL
Pope Praises Neocatechumenate's Missionary Zeal
Reflects on Meaning of Liturgy
By Salvatore Cernuzio
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that the Neocatechumenal Way is a "special gift that the Holy Spirit has given our time," and he lauded the members of the Catholic lay group for their commitment to the proclamation of the Risen Christ, at the cost of "abandoning personal and material safety, even leaving your own countries."
The Pope said this today to the crowds of members of the Neocatechumenal Way who packed Paul VI Hall. An official degree formally approving the celebrations of the Way was proclaimed, the culmination of roughly 15 years of careful study by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
The audience also included the formal sending-out of 100 families -- with a total of 362 children -- and the priests who have answered Christ's call to go on mission, leaving everyday life to devote themselves to the proclamation of the Gospel.
The families are headed to eight destinations, six of them European and two American, which were marked out on a posterboard presented to the Holy Father: France (Alby, Nice, Bayonne, Toulouse, Strasbourg), Belgium (Antwerp), Slovenia (Ljubljana), Austria (Vienna), Estonia (Tallinn) and Great Britain (Manchester). In addition, Venezuela (Güria) and the United States (Lawrence, Cambridge and Brockton).
"New presences of the Church in the world, requested by the bishops," as Kiko Argüello, the founder of the Way, described them in his speech, in areas that are "difficult and secularized."
History
The meeting opened with an invocation to the Holy Spirit, followed by Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, reading the decree that was the culmination of the audience today.
Bishop Clemens retraced the steps that mark the history of the Way: from the approval of the statutes on May 11, 2008, to that of the Catechetical Directory "as a binding aid for the Neocatechumenal Way," on Dec. 26, 2010, up to today with the "green light" by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the "favorable opinion" of the Congregation for Divine Worship, to the celebrations contained in the Catechetical Directory that "by their nature are not already in the liturgical books of the Church."
Argüello then took the floor, stressing the importance of the Kerygma, or the good news of the risen Christ that permeates the entire Neocatechumenal itinerary that is "all celebratory, based on the power of the tripod of the Word, Eucharist and community, pillars of the Christian life."
Viva!
Around 11:30 a.m., accompanied by the notes of the song "Mary Blessed Mary," Benedict XVI arrived, immediately met by applause and by the affectionate cry "Viva il Papa!" (Long live the Pope!)
After the presentations, Father Mario Pezzi proclaimed the Gospel of Matthew of the glorious resurrection of Christ, in response to which the Orchestra and Chorus of the Neocatechumenal Way performed two songs of the Symphony "El Sufrimiento de los Inocentes"("The Suffering of the Innocents").
"This year I have the joy to meet you and share with you this moment of sending out for the mission" began the Pontiff, addressing an affectionate greeting "to all the priests, seminarians, families, formators and members of the Neocatechumenal Way."
"Your presence today," he continued, "is a visible testimony of your joyful commitment to living the faith, in communion with the whole Church and with the Successor of Peter, and to be courageous heralds of the Gospel."
"Bringing Christ to the people and bringing people to Christ," the Pope said, "this is what breathes life into each work of evangelization," stressing that the Neocatechumenals carry this out "in a way that helps those who have already received baptism rediscover the beauty of the life of faith, the joy of being Christian."
The Holy Father encouraged members of the Way to continue this mission and "offer your original contribution to the cause of the Gospel."
Sunday Eucharist
With regard to the celebrations in the "Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way," which "are not strictly liturgical, but are part of the itinerary of growth in faith," the Pope, quoting Article 13 of the statutes, confirmed the possibility that members of the Way "may celebrate the Sunday Eucharist in small communities, after the first Vespers of Sunday in order to facilitate the rapprochement to the wealth of the sacramental life by people who have strayed from the Church, or have not received adequate training."
At the same time, the Pontiff reflected on the public character of the Holy Eucharist.
"The celebration in small communities, regulated by the liturgical books, which should be followed faithfully, and with the particular features approved in the Statutes of the Way, has the task of helping those who are undergoing the Neocatechumenal itinerary to receive the grace of being inserted into the saving mystery of Christ, which makes possible a Christian witness capable of assuming the traits of radicality," he said. "At the same time, the gradual growth in faith of the individual and of the small communities should promote their integration into the life of the larger ecclesial community, that finds in the liturgical celebration of the parish, in which and for which the Neocatechumenate is implemented (cf. Statutes, art. 6), its ordinary form. But even during the way it is important not to separate from the parish community, right in the celebration of the Eucharist which is the true place of the unity of all, where the Lord embraces us in the various states of our spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-34156?l=english
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1,000 Families on a Mission
Pontiff Sends Out 17 More Neocatechumenal Way Groups
By Salvatore Cernuzio
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- At an audience today with some 7,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way, Benedict XVI sent another 17 groups for the "missio ad gentes" and the Catholic lay group received the news that the celebrations characteristic of the Way have received Vatican approval.
The 17 groups sent out today -- to live, for example, among the Aborigines in Australia, to Papua New Guinea and to the most secularized parts of Europe -- join hundreds of these communities in working toward the new evangelization around the globe.
These "missio ad gentes" teams are comprised of three or four families, who together with a priest, are sent to areas where a bishop has requested them.
Before the audience, ZENIT spoke with Kiko Argüello, who along with Carmen Hernández initiated the Way, asking him to comment on the event.
Argüello: One of the proofs of the validity of this itinerary to form adult Christians are the mission families. Currently there are nearly 1,000 families of the Neocatechumenal Way in mission in different parts of the world.
This missio ad gentes means a new presence of the Church.
There are many people today who are completely secularized and no longer go to church, they are not interested in the churches, but when they see a group of Christians who love each other, that interests them, they are impressed by how they relate to one another.
We have many experiences of people who have asked to be baptized after seeing how we relate among ourselves, how we love one another.
I must say that in Europe many people suffer from loneliness. This is a terrible reality, typical of modern cities: the number of people living alone, the quantity of people who are alcoholic, the huge number of suicides, divorces, abortions...
It's obvious that we need a new presence of the Church.
We answered the call of John Paul II, who in the symposium of the European bishops in 1985 said to the European bishops that the situation in Europe is very difficult, that Europe is headed toward apostasy, that the families are being destroyed.
Do not be afraid, said the Pope, on the contrary, we must nourish the hope that the Holy Spirit is already responding: we must return to the Cenacle, the first apostolic model when the Church lived in the houses and the people who came into contact with these communities were amazed, and wanted to become Christian.
This is what the Neocatechumenal Way is doing. Following the directions of John Paul II, we form Christian communities in even the most heathen environments, such as in Chemnitz, which was the model city of communist East Germany, where 98% of people are not baptized. The bishop of Chemnitz requested two missio ad gentes [teams], which have already resulted in two communities, with people who were not baptized. These people were surprised to see how a Christian community lives.
The missio ad gentes is a new presence of the Church, it is the answer for the new evangelization, it is the new evangelization in action.
The Pope is very happy to send 18 new missio ad gentes to Europe, in southern France to Toulon, Albi, Montpellier, Bayonne.
ZENIT: What do you think of the approval of the celebrations that mark the stages of Christian initiation brought forward by the Neocatechumenal Way?
Kiko: The recognition of the validity of this Christian initiation is a historic moment for us, it's what we were waiting for. After years of study and analysis by the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments, it has been approved.
In the recognition of validity, it says that the celebrations that mark the stages of growth in the itinerary of maturation of the new man are wonderful and are truly inspired, they help people convert and become Christian, they help them to grow in faith and unite themselves to Jesus Christ.
We are pleased and grateful to God for this recognition.
After so much suffering and hard work we are grateful to the Church, which officially recognizes the validity of this Christian initiation for the creation of a new man.
We insert the new man into a Christian community. It is our task to show what the pagans saw in antiquity, when they cried out, "Look how the Christians love one another."
In ancient times there were the same problems as there are today: people were alone and suffered from loneliness and despair. When a man falls prey to the devil, he no longer knows how to love and becomes confused.
St. Paul wrote that Christ died for man so that man might live no longer for himself. In this way, he explains that the man separated from God is condemned to suffer from his own selfishness.
We are very grateful to Benedict XVI and the Church for this act in which we see and confirm that the Church is Mother and Teacher.
[Translation by Peter Waymel]
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The approval comes after 15 years of study by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and concludes the path for the approval of the Neocatechumenal Way: In 2008 the Holy See approved the final version of the Statutes and in 2011 approved the doctrine contained in 13 volumes of the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way.
Today Benedict XVI sent out 17 missio ad gentes teams: 12 to Europe (Albi, Nice, Bayonne, Toulon, Strasbourg, Lyon, Antwerp, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Tallinn, Vienna, Manchester), four to America (three in Boston and one in Venezuela), and one in Africa, in Libreville (Gabon). In addition, other families for the missio ad gentes were also sent, already formed, to the Ukraine, among the Australian Aborigines, and to Papua New Guinea.
These teams are added to the other 40 that have already been sent all over the world by Benedict XVI in previous years.
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Founder's Thanksgiving
Kiko Argüello Shares Impressions of Papal Audience
By Salvatore Cernuzio
ROME, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Joy is still sparkling in Kiko Argüello's eyes a few moments after the Neocatechumenal Way founder leaves this morning's audience with Benedict XVI.
With good reason: After a decade and a half of study, the Vatican announced today that the celebrations used by the Way along the journey of Christian initiation have the Church's approval.
After speaking with Argüello shortly before the audience, ZENIT caught up with him again right afterward.
ZENIT: Kiko, let's start with a simple question: how did the meeting this morning go?
Argüello: Fantastic! It was really wonderful that the celebrations that mark all the stages of Christian gestation that the Way has created, have been confirmed.
We were waiting for this moment, and finally the Church has confirmed the Neocatechumenal Way as a Christian initiation, in its doctrine, liturgy and its stages. What is important, above all, is the fact that the Pope has reiterated that the communities can celebrate the Sunday Mass as a community.
It is a sociological fact of immense importance, which means that the small community is the salvation for the New Evangelization. The Eucharist, in fact, creates and forms the Christian community, it makes it stable, unites it.
ZENIT: And with regard to the missio ad gentes (the family groups sent on mission by the Pope)?
Argüello: The missio ad gentes is also a small community in the midst of persons who are completely pagan or far away from the Church. What we see is that these people are attracted to the "small community" represented by the mission families; they are surprised by the love they show to others and among one another. They agree to be catechized in their homes and become, thus, a small community themselves.
ZENIT: What richness does all this bring to the Church?
Argüello: We can say that we are writing a new page in history: the new evangelization, in the midst of an epochal crisis affecting all of society, called secularization. A lot of people, we don't know why, "harass" the churches; in some countries, especially European ones, they have arrived at the point of selling or closing them.
For this reason, I am happy and surprised when, with these missions ad gentes, in fact, there are people who say "thank you, because otherwise I'd never have entered a church" or give thanks for the "the love and acceptance" they breathe in the houses of these brothers who welcome them.
In fact, there are many people who come to catechesis, and who don't want to go away: eleven o'clock at night and they still haven't left. This happens because the people in our society feel very lonely ...
ZENIT: By now it's been 40 years that the Neocatechumenal Way has continued to bear fruit; just think of the large number of vocations. What do you think of these gifts that the Lord is giving the Way and above all to the Church?
Argüello: What do I think? ... that the Lord is very good to us. I really thank God, because although we had and we have many difficulties and sufferings, he has has never abandoned us, but always supported and sustained us. The meeting today is a testimony of that.
ZENIT: In what direction is the Way moving now?
Argüello: Toward the start-up of a new evangelization all over the world.
We are looking toward new horizons; for example, even the Orthodox Church has lately shown interest in our journey of faith.
Above all, I believe, however, that we must prepare for China, Vietnam, throughout Asia in short, and in fact we have several families ready to go on mission into the Eastern part of the world.
ZENIT: And besides that, five new seminaries have been created to prepare young people to leave for China?
Argüello: Exactly! We asked for 20,000 young people who feel called to become priests and evangelize in China, and 5,000 stood up.
Now these boys will be screened, trained, we have to see who will complete their studies and so on. In short, China, Asia!
ZENIT: Finally, Kiko, is there anything you would like to say to all those who are part of the Neocatechumenal Way, but also to all Christians?
Argüello: Yes, I want to express a simple wish for them: to find Christ and find, therefore, the true life that leads to eternal life. I hope that all can really meet with Jesus Christ, because he gives you his nature and his eternal life and changes your existence completely, he helps you and prepares you.
[Translation by Peter Waymel]
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VATICAN DOSSIER
Benedict XVI Encourages Seminarians to Study Hard
Notes Faith-Reason Synthesis Unique to Christianity
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today told those preparing for the priesthood that their path to holiness also includes a commitment to their studies.
The Pope said this today in an address to the community from one of the Diocese of Rome seminaries, the Almo Collegio Capranica, which he received in audience for the feast of St. Agnes, patron of the college.
He said that priestly formation requires integrity and asceticism, as well as "heroic constancy and fidelity."
"Deep down there should be a solid spiritual life animated by an intense relationship with God on the personal and community level, with particular care shown in liturgical celebrations and the frequenting of the sacraments," the Holy Father encouraged. "The priestly life requires a growing desire for holiness, a clear sensus Ecclesiae and an openness to a fraternity without exclusions or partiality."
And he said that the priest's path to holiness also includes a decision to develop his intelligence and cultural knowledge, the "fruit of passionate and constant study."
"Faith has its own intellectual and rational dimension that is essential," the Pontiff explained. "For a seminarian and a young priest still struggling with academic study, it means assimilating the synthesis between faith and reason that is peculiar to Christianity. The Word of God became flesh, and the priest, the true priest of the Incarnate Word, must become more transparent, luminous and profound, to the eternal Word which is given to us. He who is mature also in this, his global cultural training, can be a more effective educator and promoter of that worship 'in spirit and truth' of which Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman."
Universal
Benedict XVI also encouraged the seminarians to steep themselves in the experience of the Church's universality.
"Always have a deep sense of history and tradition of the Church," he invited them. "Being in Rome is a gift which should make you especially sensitive to the depth of the Catholic tradition. You touch it with your hands already in the history of the building that houses you. In addition, you live these years of training in a special closeness with the Successor of Peter, which enables you to perceive with particular clarity the size of the universal Church and the desire that the Gospel may reach all peoples. Here you have the opportunity to broaden your horizons with experiences of internationality; here, above all, you breathe Catholicism.
"Take advantage of what is offered, for future service to the Diocese of Rome, or your dioceses of origin! By friendship, which springs from living together, learn about the different situations of the nations and Churches around the world and learn to form in yourselves a Catholic view. Prepare yourselves to be close to every person you meet, not allowing any culture to be a barrier to the Word of life, which you proclaim also with your life."
The Pope concluded by reminding the seminarians that "the Church expects much from the young priests in the work of evangelization and new evangelization."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-34158?l=english
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ANALYSIS
Death Penalty on Decline in United States
Report Shows Historic Low
By Father John Flynn, LC
ROME, JAN. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- For the first time since capital punishment was reintroduced in the United States in 1976 the annual number of new death sentences fell below 100 last year. Shortly before the end of the year the Death Penalty Information Center released "The Death Penalty in 2011: Year End Report."
New death sentences dropped to 78 in 2011. This compares with the high point in 1996, which saw 315 capital punishment sentences. The decline started in the late 90s, which had seen an average of about 300 annual sentences. Since then the number has steadily dropped.
The number of executions also declined, down to 43, three fewer than the previous year.
Only 13 states carried out executions in 2011, 74% of which were in the South, the report pointed out. Only eight states, however, carried out more than one execution. As usual Texas was the state with most executions, with 13. Even so the report pointed out that this number is a 46% decrease from 2009, when there were 24 executions, and also a drop from 2010, when there were 17 executions.
Since 1976 out of the overall number of 1,277 executions Texas has accounted for no less than 477, which is 37% of the total. In 2011, nevertheless, there were only eight new death sentences.
In January, the Illinois legislature voted to repeal the death penalty. In its place is the option of a sentence for life without parole. This made Illinois the fourth state in as many years to abolish capital punishment.
One of the reasons behind the change in Illinois was the cost of the death sentence. A state commission found that $100 million had been spent on assisting counties with death penalty prosecutions over the past seven years.
"The evidence presented to me by former prosecutors and judges with decades of experience in the criminal justice system has convinced me that it is impossible to devise a system that is consistent, that is free of discrimination on the basis of race, geography or economic circumstance, and that always gets it right," said Governor Pat Quinn as he signed the bill abolishing the death penalty.
This brings down to 34 the number of states that have the death penalty.
As well, in Oregon in November, Governor John Kitzhaber halted a pending execution and declared that no additional executions would occur during his tenure.
Among other news at the state level, in Ohio, the Chief Judge of the state's Supreme Court convened a 21-person commission to study the problems with the death penalty. Meanwhile, the report said that in Pennsylvania a justice of the Supreme Court described the appellate work being done in many capital cases as marked by "disarray and inconsistencies" and called "for immediate reform."
Opinion
Support for the death penalty also continued to decline. According to the report an annual Gallup Poll on the death penalty revealed that last year only 61% of people were in favor of the death penalty, the lowest level recorded in recent decades.
The report also observed that the application of death penalty sentences continues to be very arbitrary. In 1972 the Supreme Court stopped the use of the death penalty because it considered it was being applied in an unpredictable and arbitrary way.
Following changes to the laws in some states the Supreme Court allowed the use of the death penalty in 1976. Nonetheless, according to the Death Penalty Information Center death sentences continue to be applied in a very inconsistent fashion.
This accusation was reinforced by a study recently carried out by Professor John Donohue of Stanford Law School. He examined the death penalty sentences handed out from 1973 to 2007 in the state of Connecticut.
In its summary of his findings on Jan. 12 the Death Penalty Information Center reported that Donohue concluded that "the state's record of handling death-eligible cases represents a chaotic and unsound criminal justice policy that serves neither deterrence nor retribution."
Donohue found that "arbitrariness and discrimination are defining features of the state's capital punishment regime."
According to his study there is no meaningful difference between death-eligible murders in which prosecutors pursue the death penalty and those in which prosecutors do not.
Racial factors also heavily influence the likelihood of receiving a death sentence. Defendants who belong to a racial minority that commit death-eligible murders of white victims are six times more likely to receive a death sentence as minority defendants who commit murders of minorities, Donohue found.
Meanwhile, early news in 2012 suggests that the trend away from the death penalty will continue. On Monday, the Death Penalty Information Center reported that the Pennsylvania Senate recently passed a resolution to initiate a study of the death penalty. It will look at issues such as fairness, equality and costs of capital punishment.
Only three people have been executed since Pennsylvania reinstated the death penalty in 1978, but there are more than 200 prisoners on death row.
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WORLD FEATURES
US Bishops Decry Ruling on Abortifacients in Health Plans
Say Obama Decision Is 'Literally Unconscionable'
WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The president of the U.S. episcopal conference says that a decision made by Barack Obama today is effectively a message that "we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences."
This was Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan's response to a decision to continue to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. Today's announcement means that this mandate and its very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.
"In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences," said Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement.
The cardinal-designate continued, "To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their health care is literally unconscionable. It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty."
The Health and Human Services (HHS) rule requires that sterilization and contraception -- including controversial abortifacients -- be included among "preventive services" coverage in almost every health care plan available to Americans.
"The government should not force Americans to act as if pregnancy is a disease to be prevented at all costs," added Cardinal-designate Dolan.
At issue, the U.S. bishops and other religious leaders insist, is the survival of a cornerstone freedom that ensures respect for the conscience of Catholics and all other Americans.
"This is nothing less than a direct attack on religion and First Amendment rights," said Franciscan Sister Jane Marie Klein, chairperson of the board at Franciscan Alliance, Inc., a system of 13 Catholic hospitals. "I have hundreds of employees who will be upset and confused by this edict. I cannot understand it at all."
Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, voiced disappointment with the decision. Catholic hospitals serve one out of six people who seek hospital care annually.
"This was a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection," Sister Keehan said.
Cardinal-designate Dolan urged that the HHS mandate be overturned.
"The Obama administration has now drawn an unprecedented line in the sand," he said. "The Catholic bishops are committed to working with our fellow Americans to reform the law and change this unjust regulation. We will continue to study all the implications of this troubling decision."
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Where God Weeps
India: the Laity Must Be Uplifted
Bishop From Bihar State Speaks on the Priority of Education
ROME, JAN. 20, 2011 (Zenit.org).- India is the world's largest democracy and second most populous country, with a population estimated at 1.21 billion. The country is highly diverse with many languages, cultures, and religions although the population is still influenced by the Hindu caste system. Most converts to Christianity are dalits -- the very lowest caste in Indian society, historically referred to as "untouchables."
Marie-Pauline Meyer for Where God Weeps in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need spoke with Bishop Sebastian Kallupura of the Buxar Diocese in northern India, about the situation of the Church in the nation.
Q: You are a bishop of the Diocese of Buxar. Where is this diocese?
Bishop Kallupura: India is a large country, which is divided into 25 states. One of the largest states in the north is Bihar. We have about 25,000 Catholics and maybe another 20,000 from other Christian groups. So we are a microscopic minority in fact. It is a peaceful area. The Hindus are strong in their beliefs and the people have a very mild disposition. Even their language which is called Bhojpuri -- the official language is of course Hindi -- sounds very musical, like the Italian language. The people are generally very affectionate and there is no conflict.
Q: India still has a caste system. Do the Christians in your diocese belong to a caste?
Bishop Kallupura: Once they become Christians of course they no longer belong to a caste. The local population, prior to embracing Christianity, usually belong to a caste and often those in the lowest rung, the so-called dalits most respond to our faith. They are socially, economically, educationally quite backward. We bring them the message of Christ and we help them in any way we can educationally, socially, and economically through our social outreach programs. The dalits respond and willingly embrace our faith.
Q: Can you explain the caste system?
Bishop Kallupura: In the Hindu religion, members are divided into different groups or castes. People are divided according to trade in a way. The highest are the Brahman, the priestly class who are in the temple service. The warrior class who engaged in warfare especially in the olden days is called the Kshatriyas. Another group belongs to the Vaishya caste, including the businessmen or industrialists of today. Then there are the Shudra, the artisans and agriculturalists, and finally the dalit -- the lowest rung in the caste system. Even within each of these castes, there are sub castes which make it difficult for individuals to get out of this system. Those who belong to the highest caste, however, do not shed their caste affiliation because of the benefits. Those in the lowest rung, the dalits, can achieve some upward mobility socially through education but they still carry the stigma of their caste and so they often go to the urban areas where, through their education, it allows them to work and maintain some degree of anonymity.
Q: You do not belong to a caste. Does this fact influence, for example, your relations with the government?
Bishop Kallupura: I do not belong to a caste. The Indian Constitution does not recognize the caste system and it is illegal to discriminate based on caste affiliation; in reality however, people do. I do not have a problem with the government; neither do I have a problem with the people. In the mission areas, people think that we Christians belong to a caste, the Christian caste. Some people find it difficult to think of a society without a caste system. That is their mindset. Once the dalits embrace Christianity, they shed their Hindu and caste affiliation officially, constitutionally and of course the Church does not recognize caste affiliations.
Q: The Church undertakes education for the poor; does this mean that there is no universal education especially for those among the lowest members of society?
Bishop Kallupura: That is the problem. There is nobody to educate these people, especially the dalits, for whom we are working. There are government schools, but they are there in name only; teachers do not show up and children don't bother showing up either. The wealthier people are able to send their children somewhere else to be educated. But the poor people are not educated. Nobody cares for them. So this is where we missionaries go. We have our schools. The government does not support many of these schools yet they recognize these schools.
Q: Is this one of your projects as a bishop?
Bishop Kallupura: This is one of my priorities. Educationally speaking our people are very backward, so I want to uplift them for, unless the laity is uplifted, the Church cannot be the true Church. The laity has to be educated and have to develop in life. My priority is to uplift them, educate the youth, and educate the children as people with dignity.
Q: You have so much energy to do this?
Bishop Kallupura: I have my faith in Jesus and naturally, it is he who will help me. He is the one who gives me the strength and in any case it is not on my own volition that I do this. He called me to this place. He called me and ordained me to be the bishop. He has asked me to do this job, and I do this with his help.
Q: What is your Episcopal motto?
Bishop Kallupura: My motto is "Honor to all." It is in the Bible when St. Peter asks people to honor everybody. So "Honor to all" means that I want to build a diocese where everybody is honored, not only the bishop, priests and religious but everyone; the lay people and people of other faiths because we are all human beings.
Q: What then is the most important thing for you when you meet people? What is the first thing you say?
Bishop Kallupura: Immediately I say "Jesu" which means praise be Jesus Christ. If I meet Hindus or others who do not share our belief, I greet them with "Pranam," which is another way of greeting people and we become friends; then we start a conversation. We do not start with religion, but eventually we get there. Then they find out that I am a priest and a bishop. They will ask why I am a priest. Then I share that I have had a God experience.
Q: Can you share with us this God experience?
Bishop Kallupura: I have a tremendous prayer experience. The moment I sit in prayer I know that Jesus is with me filling me with grace and life. Somehow, the Lord listens to my prayers and they are answered. I pray for others and myself and he listens especially when I pray for others. That is the kind of experience; I am with the Lord.
Q: What do you pray for your diocese?
Bishop Kallupura: My diocese is very new and we do not have any infrastructure. I am lacking in personnel. I need priests, and lay people. We are also financially lacking. We do not have anything. So I have to go around begging from the people. I see one good thing, however, in that everybody's very accommodating. We have a small church and the people sleep in the church. There is also a school and they sleep in the veranda by putting the benches together. This is how we are.
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This interview was conducted by Marie-Pauline Meyer for "Where God Weeps," a weekly television and radio show produced by Catholic Radio and Television Network in conjunction with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
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INTERVIEW
Cardinal-designate O'Brien on Defending Freedom
Former Baltimore Archbishop Comments on 'Ad Limina' Visit
By Ann Schneible
ROME, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Christians must remain ever vigilant in confronting movements that seek to infringe upon religious freedom.
This was the reminder voiced by Cardinal-designate Edwin O'Brien when he spoke to ZENIT today about Benedict XVI's address Thursday to U.S. bishops on their "ad limina" visit.
The archbishop of Baltimore from 2007 till last year, and now the Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Cardinal O'Brien also served for a decade as the archbishop for the Military Services.
The Holy Father announced Jan. 6 that the 72-year-old prelate will be made a cardinal next month.
ZENIT: What have been your impressions of this ad limina visit, especially in light of the upcoming consistory in which you will be created Cardinal?
Cardinal-designate O'Brien: Well, I don't see much connection, but I'm certainly taking an extra interest in things Roman, since I will be living here soon, as soon as my successor is installed -- and I hope that's very soon, but we've had no word on that yet. I will be moving permanently here to Rome, and the visits to these dicasteries have given me some good insight, some good orientation, and kind of a sense of expectation for what awaits me here.
ZENIT: The Holy Father in his discourse to the bishops spoke about the issue of religious freedom. Throughout the world Christians have been facing persecution, both through the secularization of the West and also with violent persecution in other places. What does it mean for you to be created a cardinal at this point in Church history?
Cardinal-designate O'Brien: Aside from being created a cardinal, I think we in the United States have always been concerned about persecution and intolerance around the world. I don't think we ever expected it to come in the form it is coming in our own country, where the government is impinging on some very good work we are trying to do, to force on us values that are foreign to the Judeo-Christian heritage.
The highlight of this ad limina visit has been the visit with the Holy Father. I don't think any of us expected as magnificent an allocution as we heard yesterday. He was right on, and made the proper distinctions and it applies perfectly to our country. I hope that we can make best use of that to help our fellow Americans realize that slowly but surely, "Big Brother" is closing in on religious communities such as ours and the good work we're trying to do.
ZENIT: Could you speak a little more about this problem of the government infringing on religious freedom, such as regards abortion and same-sex marriage. For instance in Baltimore, there was the instance of the mayor speaking in favor of same-sex marriage.
Cardinal-designate O'Brien: In Baltimore, a couple of years ago, we had a novel requirement which would never have been dreamed of, where our pregnancy counseling centers were told by law, passed by the city council, that they had to put a sign up saying: "We do not provide birth-control or abortion services." Why did we have to do that? That was totally arbitrary on their part, and an attempt to put us out of business in favor of Planned Parenthood. The courts so far have ruled in our favor on this.
[Moreover,] if we imitate other states that have passed legislation regarding same-sex marriage, the next step will be that we have to teach this as appropriate in all our schools, that every one of our institutions has to accept the principle, and the reality in their communities and wherever they work. The next step will be as it is in European countries: if you speak openly about the immorality of same-sex marriage, you're open to prosecution. It's a slippery slope, and it's certainly going to happen.
The basic thing is, that to compare this to discrimination by race, discrimination by color -- that's pigmentation, that's real discrimination. But we're talking about the basic fundamental institution of marriage from the very beginning, from Scriptures and through civilized nations has [always] been between a man and a woman open to children. When we try out of sympathy or emotion to change that, it's a huge and dangerous initiative, and one that is dangerous for our future.
ZENIT: As the Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, could you speak about the conflicts that are going on in the Holy Land, and how the Church in Rome can be present to the Christians there?
Cardinal-designate O'Brien: My responsibility will be to support the Christian institutions in the Holy Land, primarily -- but not exclusively -- as they relate to the patriarch of Jerusalem. And to encourage members of the order to take interest in what's going on there: [such as] the diminishing number of Christians, and the many obligations we have in schools and hospitals, seminaries, the obligations we've taken on to support these Christian institutions, and many Catholic institutions, and the people living there. [With] so few people living there, help has to come from outside. That is the principle goal that I will have: to educate, to encourage members of the order to take greater interest -- not only by their donations, and by their participation in the activities of the order, but certainly by pilgrimage.
Our main emphasis is the personal sanctity of every member of the order. If we accomplish that -- and have that especially [present] in this upcoming Year of Faith -- and work on the new evangelization with the various lieutenancies and members of our order, I think the rest will fall into place. Our attention and our help to the institutions in the Holy Land and our patriarch there will follow pretty quickly. We're doing a lot already, but throughout the Church, this new evangelization reminds us that we never are where we should be. There's always more we can do, and we should not presume without grace. And grace is available to us, and I think there will be many graces during this Year of Faith.
ZENIT: You were the archbishop of the Military Services. What is the state of the military chaplaincy, and how can this new evangelization be brought to the military?
Cardinal-designate O'Brien: From 1997-2007 I was the archbishop for the military services, which includes 1.5 million Catholics in the armed forces of the United States and their families, and veterans' hospitals, over 170 of them. Archbishop Broglio is now the military ordinary, and he's doing a wonderful job. Our biggest problem is bringing the faith to our brave and generous men and women of our armed forces and their families. And without priests we can't do that adequately. We should have more than 800 priests serving in all the branches, and we're well below 300 right now. And it's still diminishing.
There are some good signs of vocations; Archbishop Broglio has done wonderful work, and I think there are over 30 seminarians now studying. They will belong to the various dioceses of the country, but after three years of ordination they will join the military. That's a first, it's a huge step forward. And I hope that, as a result of the experiences that some of our men have had in combat, and in the armed forces, the sense of generosity, of self-sacrifice, of discipline, there are ample signs that vocations are coming as a result of the reality of sin and hardship and suffering that's taken place, and the importance of the Church to meet those needs. I think that's what our young people are going to respond to when it comes to vocations.
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DOCUMENTS
Papal Address to Seminary of Diocese of Rome
"Faith Has Its Own Intellectual and Rational Dimension That Is Essential"
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today to the community from a seminary of the Diocese of Rome, the Almo Collegio Capranica, for the feast of St. Agnes, patron of the college.
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Your Eminence,
Your Excellency, Dear Brothers!
It is always a joy for me to meet the community of the Almo Collegio Capranica, which for over five centuries has been one of the seminaries of the Diocese of Rome. I greet you all with affection, and of course in particular Cardinal Martino and the rector, Msgr. Ermenegildo Manicardi. And I thank your Eminence for the kind words. On the occasion of the feast of St. Agnes, patroness of the College, I would like to offer some reflections that her figure suggest to me.
St. Agnes is one of the famous Roman maidens, who illustrated the genuine beauty of faith in Christ and friendship with Him. Her dual status as Virgin and Martyr reflect the fullness of holiness's dimensions. This is a fulness of holiness that is requested also of you by your Christian faith and the special priestly vocation with which the Lord has called you and binds you to Him. Martyrdom, for St Agnes, meant the generous and free acceptance of giving her own young life, in its entirety and without reservation, that the Gospel might be preached as truth and beauty that illuminate life. In the martyrdom of Agnes, received courageously in the stadium of Domitian, there shines forever the beauty of belonging to Christ without hesitation, relying on Him. Even today, for anyone who steps into Piazza Navona, the effigy of the saint from atop the gable of the church of St. Agnes in Agony, reminds him that our city is based also on the friendship with Christ and witness to his Gospel, of many of its sons and daughters. Their generous surrender to Him and to the good of their brothers is a primary component of the spiritual physiognomy of Rome.
In martyrdom, Agnes also seals the other crucial element of her life, virginity for Christ and for the Church. The total gift of martyrdom is prepared, in fact, by the conscious, free and mature choice of virginity, a witness to the will to belong totally to Christ. If martyrdom is a final heroic act, virginity is the result of a long friendship with Jesus that has matured in the constant hearing of His Word, in the dialogue of prayer, in the Eucharistic encounter. Agnes, still young, learned that being a disciple of the Lord means loving Him by putting all her life at His disposal. This dual qualification -- Virgin and Martyr -- calls to mind in our reflection that a credible witness of the faith must be a person who lives for Christ, with Christ and in Christ, transforming their lives according to the higher needs of Grace.
The formation of the priest, too, requires integrity, completeness, ascetic exercise, heroic constancy and fidelity in all the aspects that constitute it; deep down there should be a solid spiritual life animated by an intense relationship with God on the personal and community level, with particular care shown in liturgical celebrations and the frequenting of the Sacraments. The priestly life requires a growing desire for holiness, a clear sensus Ecclesiae and an openness to a fraternity without exclusions or partiality. The path of holiness of the priest forms part also of his choice to develop, with the help of God, his intelligence and his own commitment, a real strong personal culture, fruit of passionate and constant study. Faith has its own intellectual and rational dimension that is essential. For a seminarian and a young priest still struggling with academic study, it means assimilating the synthesis between faith and reason that is peculiar to Christianity. The Word of God became flesh, and the priest, the true priest of the Incarnate Word, must become more transparent, luminous and profound, to the eternal Word which is given to us. He who is mature also in this, his global cultural training, can be a more effective educator and promoter of that worship "in spirit and truth" of which Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:23). Such adoration, which is formed by listening to the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, is called to become, especially in the Liturgy, the "rationabile obsequium" of which the Apostle Paul speaks, a cult in which the man himself in his totality as a being endowed with reason, becomes adoration, glorification of the living God, and that can be achieved not by conforming to this world but being transformed by Christ, renewing the way we think, to discern the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
Dear students of the Capranica College, your commitment to the path of holiness, also with a solid cultural background, is the original intention of this institution, founded 555 years ago by Cardinal Domenico Capranica. Always have a deep sense of history and tradition of the Church! Being in Rome is a gift which should make you especially sensitive to the depth of the Catholic tradition. You touch it with your hands already in the history of the building that houses you. In addition, you live these years of training in a special closeness with the Successor of Peter, which enables you to perceive with particular clarity the size of the universal Church and the desire that the Gospel may reach all peoples. Here you have the opportunity to broaden your horizons with experiences of internationality; here, above all, you breathe Catholicism. Take advantage of what is offered, for future service to the Diocese of Rome, or your dioceses of origin! By friendship, which springs from living together, learn about the different situations of the nations and Churches around the world and learn to form in yourselves a Catholic view. Prepare yourselves to be close to every person you meet, not allowing any culture to be a barrier to the Word of life, which you proclaim also with your life.
Dear friends, the Church expects much from the young priests in the work of evangelization and new evangelization. I encourage you so that in the daily fatigue, rooted in the beauty of authentic tradition, deeply united to Christ, you are able to bring it into your communities with truth and joy. With the intercession of Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, and Mary Most Holy, Star of the Evangelization, may your commitment today contribute to the fruitfulness of your ministry. I cordially impart to you and your loved ones my Apostolic Blessing. Thank you.
[Translation by Peter Waymel]
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Pope's Address to Neocatechumenal Way
"The Church Has Recognized in the Way a Special Gift That the Holy Spirit Has Given Our Time"
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today to members of the Neocatechumenal Way.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
This year I have the joy to meet you and share with you this moment of sending out for the mission. A special greeting to Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández and Father Mario Pezzi, and an affectionate greeting to you all: priests, seminarians, families, formators and members of the Neocatechumenal Way. Your presence today is a visible testimony of your joyful commitment to living the faith, in communion with the whole Church and with the Successor of Peter, and to be courageous heralds of the Gospel.
In the passage we heard from St. Matthew, the apostles received a clear mandate from Jesus: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19). At first they doubted, in their hearts there was still uncertainty, wonder before the event of the Resurrection. And it is Jesus himself, the Risen one -- the Evangelist underlines -- who draws close to them, makes his presence felt, sends them to teach all that he has communicated to them, giving a certainty that accompanies every preacher of Christ: "And behold I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). They are words that resonate strongly in your hearts. You have sung Resurrexit, expressing faith in the Living One, the One who, in a supreme act of love has conquered sin and death and gives to man, to us, the warmth of the love of God, the hope of being saved, a future of eternity.
In these decades of life of the Way, one of your strong commitments has been to proclaim the Risen Christ, responding with generosity to his words, often abandoning personal and material safety, even leaving your own countries, facing new and not always easy situations. Bringing Christ to the people and bringing people to Christ: this is what breathes life into each work of evangelization. You do it in a way that helps those who have already received the baptism of faith discover the beauty of the life of faith, the joy of being Christians. The "following of Christ" requires the personal adventure of looking for him, of going with him, and always involves going out of the closed-ness of one's ego, breaking down the individualism that often characterizes the society of our time, to replace selfishness with the community of the new man in Jesus Christ. And this happens in a deep personal relationship with him, in listening to his word, in walking the path that he has shown us, but it also happens inseparably with believing with his Church, with the saints, in whom one always discovers again and again the true face of the Bride of Christ.
It is a commitment -- we know -- that is not always easy. Sometimes you are present in places where there is need for a first proclamation of the Gospel, the mission ad gentes; often, however, in areas that, despite having known Christ, have become indifferent to faith: secularism has eclipsed the sense of God there, and eclipsed Christian values. Here, your commitment and your testimony is like yeast that, with patience, in time, with sensus Ecclesiae, causes the dough to rise. The Church has recognized in the Way a special gift that the Holy Spirit has given our time, and the approval of the Statutes and of the "Catechetical Directory" are a sign of this. I encourage you to offer your original contribution to the cause of the Gospel. In your valuable work, seek always a deep communion with the Apostolic See and with the Pastors of particular Churches, to which you belong: the unity and harmony of the body of the Church are an important witness to Christ and his Gospel in the world we live in.
Dear families, the Church thanks you; it needs you for the new evangelization. The family is an important cell for the ecclesial community, where one is formed in human and Christian life. With great joy I see your children, many children who look to you, dear parents, to your example. One hundred families are leaving for 12 missions ad gentes. I invite you not to be afraid: he who carries the Gospel is never alone. I greet with affection the priests and seminarians: love Christ and the Church, communicate the joy of having met him and the beauty of having given Him everything. I also greet the itinerants, directors and all the communities of the Way. Continue to be generous with the Lord: He will sustain you with his consolation!
A while ago I was reading the decree with which the celebrations which are in the "Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way" are approved; celebrations which are not strictly liturgical, but are part of the itinerary of growth in faith. It is another element that shows you how the Church accompanies you with a patient discernment that includes your richness, but also looks to the communion and harmony of the whole Corpus Ecclesiae.
This gives me the opportunity to offer a brief thought on the value of the liturgy. The Second Vatican Council defines it as the work of Christ the Priest and of His Body the Church (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). At first glance this might seem strange, because it seems that the work of Christ refers to the historical redemptive action of Jesus, his Passion, Death and Resurrection. In what sense, then, is the liturgy the work of Christ? The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are not only historical events; they reach into and penetrate history, but also transcend it and are always present in the heart of Christ. In the liturgical action of the Church there is the active presence of the Risen Christ who makes present and effective for us today the same Paschal Mystery; it draws us into this act of gift of Self that in his heart is always present, and causes us to participate in this presence of the Paschal Mystery. This work of the Lord Jesus, who is the real content of the Liturgy, the entering into the presence of the Paschal Mystery, is also the work of the Church, which, as his body, is a single entity with Christ -- Totus Christus caput et corpus -- says St. Augustine. In the celebration of the sacraments, Christ immerses us in the Paschal Mystery for us to pass from death to life, from sin to new life in Christ.
This applies most especially for the celebration of the Eucharist, which, being the summit of Christian life, is also the cornerstone of its rediscovery, to which the Neocatechumenate tends. As your Statutes read, "The Eucharist is essential to the Neocatechumenate, as a post-baptismal catechumenate, lived in small communities" (art. 13 §1). Precisely in order to promote the rapprochement to the wealth of the sacramental life by people who have strayed from the Church, or have not received adequate training, the Neocatechumenals may celebrate the Eucharist in small communities, after the first Vespers of Sunday, according to the provisions of the diocesan bishop (cf. Statutes, art. 13 §2). But every Eucharistic celebration is an action of the one Christ together with his one Church and therefore essentially open to all those who belong to this Church. This public character of the Holy Eucharist is expressed in the fact that every celebration of Holy Mass is ultimately directed by the Bishop as a member of the Episcopal College, responsible for a particular local church (cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution. Lumen Gentium, 26). The celebration in small communities, regulated by the liturgical books, which should be followed faithfully, and with the particular features approved in the Statutes of the Way, has the task of helping those who are undergoing the Neocatechumenal itinerary to receive the grace of being inserted into the saving mystery of Christ, which makes possible a Christian witness capable of assuming the traits of radicality. At the same time, the gradual growth in faith of the individual and of the small communities should promote their integration into the life of the larger ecclesial community, that finds in the liturgical celebration of the parish, in which and for which the Neocatechumenate is implemented (cf. Statutes, art. 6), its ordinary form. But even during the way it is important not to separate from the parish community, right in the celebration of the Eucharist which is the true place of the unity of all, where the Lord embraces us in the various states of our spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body (cf. 1 Corinthian 10:16f).
Courage! The Lord does not fail to accompany you and I assure you of my prayers and I thank you for the many signs of closeness. I also ask you to remember me, too, in your prayers. May the Holy Virgin Mary with her maternal gaze assist you and may my Apostolic Blessing sustain you, which I extend to all the members of the Way. Thank you!
[Translation by Peter Waymel]
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