VOLUME 1, ISSUE 11  •  MARCH 14, 2015

Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: Jesus is waiting for us

In Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, Pope Francis sees a lesson about the liturgy

Let Jesus cleanse your heart, Pope Francis says

Marginalizing women leads to sterile society, says Pope

Pope Francis: We can’t fool Jesus

Vatican declines ransom offer for stolen Michelangelo letters

Simplicity, humility, divinity – God never makes a scene, Pope says

How did the Vatican respond to the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI?

Pope Francis talks ISIS, jokes about being a ‘coward’ when it comes to physical pain

Pope Francis carries his late grandma’s words with him every day

Archbishop Romero, Salvadoran martyr, to be beatified May 23

Curia reform may include an office for negotiations in the Secretariat of State

When it comes to faith, there’s no room for compromise, Pope says

Pope reiterates lessons from Korea in meeting with nation’s bishops

Pope Francis declares Holy Year for Mercy

Pope Francis says he wanted to enter US from Mexican border

Two years into papacy, Francis continues path set in first moments

WORLD NEWS

Euthanasia supporters in Chile accused of exploiting sick teen

Nuns in Burma encourage empowerment of women, end to inequality

From Poland to Papua New Guinea, a great task awaits the new Bishop of Wewak

An exodus with little hope – report finds crisis of unaccompanied minors fleeing Syria

Italian bishop to offer Good Friday Way of the Cross meditations at Colosseum

Economic progress for Syria’s women proves a silver lining amid war

Malawian bishops visit flooded areas, showing solidarity and delivering aid

March 15, 2015: A day of fasting, prayer for war-torn Syria

Abortion support blights European Parliament report, critics charge

Journalist blasted for lying in confessional, recording priests’ answers

Will Pope Francis visit the fragile Central African Republic later this year?

Holy See’s hospital works to help inmates re-enter society

U.S. NEWS

Prepping for media ahead of World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia

Big business overreach? Corporations push Supreme Court to legalize ‘gay marriage’

Touchdown! Notre Dame scores big on HHS mandate at Supreme Court

Lawsuit against national pro-life group dies at the Sixth Circuit Court

A top-notch contender: Knights of Columbus among world’s most ethical companies

A milkshake for the Pope: One sweet way to support Francis in Philly

Don’t kill the disabled – Maryland lawmakers warned against assisted suicide bill

Catholic dissenters’ convention keynoter: A pornographic sex columnist?

Pope Francis names new bishops for Spokane, Lexington dioceses

Bishops push for religious freedom protections in adoption, foster care

CNA exclusive poll: Americans agree – protect religious liberty

Catholics supporting Archbishop Cordileone on school identity feel silenced, pressured

FEATURES

Sanity-saving hacks for tired parents

The Taste for God

A new model of Catechumenal formation needs promotion

Is NFP just Catholic birth control?

Movie review: ‘Run All Night’ proves to be a tale of regret and redemption

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • March 15, 2015

Monday • March 16, 2015

Tuesday • March 17, 2015

Wednesday • March 18, 2015

Thursday • March 19, 2015

Friday • March 20, 2015

Saturday • March 21, 2015

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Volume 1, Issue 11 • March 14, 2015

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: Jesus is waiting for us

by CNA/EWTN News • March 7, 2015

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on March 7, 2015. (Petrik Bohomil/CNA)

Vatican City — What’s so important about an encounter? Pope Francis thinks one encounter is key to everything.

“Everything in our life, today as at the time of Jesus, begins with an encounter,” the Pope said at a March 7 audience. Christ is always there first: “when we arrive, He is there waiting.”

He reflected on the life of Monsignor Luigi Giussani, founder of the Communion and Liberation movement. His life was not an “encounter with an idea,” the pontiff said, but “with a Person, with Jesus Christ.” It was in this context of encountering Christ that Msgr. Giussani taught about freedom, since “Christ gives us true freedom.”

Around eighty thousand Communion and Liberation members from 50 countries gathered in St. Peter’s Square Saturday morning to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Msgr. Giussani. The papal audience also coincided with the 60th anniversary of the movement’s founding.

Fr. Giussani was born Oct. 15, 1922, in the Italian city of Desio, located just north of Milan, the country’s second most populous city.

Upon his death on Feb. 22, 2005, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was a close friend and confidant of Giussani, delivered the homily at his funeral.

Pope Francis expressed his gratitude for the priest known as Don Giussani, praising his writings and the positive impact they made on him and his own priesthood. He also praised the priest’s “deeply human way of thinking” which reached the “most intimate yearning of man.”

Pope Francis said the Communion and Liberation movement “has not lost its freshness and vitality” after sixty years, but he reminded those present to remember always that Jesus Christ is its only center. “All spiritualities, all charisms within the Church, must be ‘decentralized’: at the center, there is only the Lord!”

The Pope cited St. Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts, called charisms, in the First Letter to the Corinthians. The apostle says that love that comes from God is “proper” and “allows us to imitate him.”

The Pope said that a charism is not meant to be “preserved in a bottle of ‘distilled water’,” or “turned to stone.” Nor can it be “reduced to a museum of memories, decisions, rules of conduct.”

Pope Francis reflected upon Christian morality, describing it as a response to God rather than a force of its own.

Christian morality is not “a titanic, voluntaristic force” or a “solitary challenge facing the world,” the Pope said. Rather, morality is the response to a mercy that is “surprising, unpredictable, even ‘unjust,’ according to human criteria.”

This mercy is from God, “who knows me, who knows my betrayals and loves me all the same, who esteems me, embraces me, calls me again, hopes in me, awaits me.”

The Communion and Liberation movement traces its roots back to Msgr. Giussani’s close ties with the Catholic “Gioventù Studentesca” (“Student Youth”) group that was born in 1954 at Milan’s Berchet High School, where he was a teacher.

The movement is composed mainly of lay persons. It also has members who are priests, religious, and consecrated lay men and women.

Pope Francis concluded his address by imploring God’s blessing and Mary’s protection, reminding the faithful to remember him in their prayers.

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VATICAN NEWS

In Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple, Pope Francis sees a lesson about the liturgy

by CNA/EWTN News • March 7, 2015

Pope Francis at June 2014 Eucharistic Procession. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Jesus’ cleansing of the moneychangers from the Temple is a reminder to Christians of the need for “authentic worship” and “conformity between liturgy and life,” Pope Francis said.

The Pope warned against entering the “Lord’s House” while behaving in a way contrary to “justice, honesty, and charity toward one’s neighbor.”

Worship and liturgical celebrations, he explained in a homily, are “a privileged environment for listening to the Lord’s voice, which guides us on the path of righteousness and of Christian perfection.”

Pope Francis delivered his March 7 homily at Rome’s Church of Ognissanti — the Church of All Saints.

He began with a reflection on the Gospel of St. John’s account of Jesus’ confrontation with money changers and merchants within the Temple in Jerusalem.

Driving out the merchants and money changers, Jesus said: “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade” (John 2:16).

Christ’s words, the Pope said, refer not only to those conducting business within the Temple, but “above all a type of religiosity.” Jesus’ act of cleansing and “purification” is a reminder of the need for authenticity in worship.

Pope Francis added that Christians do not go to church only to “observe a precept,” or to feel right with God but to “encounter the Lord” and discover the “strength to think and act according to the Gospel.”

“The Church calls us to have and promote an authentic liturgical life,” the Pope said, explaining that this is “harmony between that which the liturgy celebrates and that which we experience in our lives.”

More than a “doctrine” or a “rite to be executed,” the liturgy is “fundamentally a source of life and light for our faith.”

Pope Francis cited “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, which he said “reaffirms the essential bond that unifies the life of Jesus’ disciple and liturgical worship.”

The Pope reflected on the liturgical season of Lent as a “time of interior renewal” and for remission of sins. He stressed the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

This sacrament “helps us grow in union with God, regain lost joy, and experience the consolation of feeling personally welcomed by the merciful embrace of the Father.”

The pastoral visit to the Church of Ognissanti marks the 50th anniversary of Blessed Pope Paul VI’s 1965 visit to the same parish. Pope Paul VI celebrated the Mass in the vernacular for the first time there according to the new norms of the Second Vatican Council.

On Saturday, Pope Francis recalled Paul VI’s inaugural Mass in the “language of the people.” He expressed his hope that the anniversary would revive in everyone “love for God’s house.”

“Hearing the Word of God, proclaimed in the liturgical assembly, sustains you in the journey of your Christian life,” he said.

He concluded his homily with a call for a renewed commitment to the purification of the Church’s “spiritual edifice.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Let Jesus cleanse your heart, Pope Francis says

by CNA/EWTN News • March 8, 2015

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 18, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis drew a penitential lesson from Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple, encouraging Christians to allow Jesus to drive out ”all the behaviors that are against God, against our neighbor, and against ourselves.”

“Does the Lord feel at home in my life? Do we allow Him to ‘cleanse’ our hearts and to drive out the idols, those attitudes of cupidity, jealousy, worldliness, envy, hatred, those habits of gossiping and tearing down others?” the Pope asked in his Angelus address March 8, according to Vatican Radio.

Before thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, the Pope reflected on the Sunday gospel reading about Jesus’ confrontation with moneychangers and merchants in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Driving out the merchants and money changers with a whip, Jesus said: “Take these things away; you shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” (John 2:16).

The Pope noted how the people and the disciples saw this action as a “prophetic gesture.”

”Jesus cleanses with tenderness, with mercy, with love. Mercy is His way of cleansing,” Pope Francis said. “Let us, each of us, let us allow the Lord to enter with His mercy – not with the whip, no, with His mercy – to cleanse our hearts. The whip of Jesus with us is His mercy. Let us open to Him the gates so that He would make us a little cleaner.”

Pope Francis encouraged Christians to “travel in the world as Jesus did” and to “make our whole existence a sign of love for our brothers, especially the weakest and poorest.”

“Let us build for God a temple of our lives,” he continued. “If we are witnesses of this living Christ, so many people will encounter Jesus in us, in our witness.”

The Pope also reflected on the nature of Jesus’ body as a temple of God.

“His body, destroyed on the Cross by the violence of sin, will become in the Resurrection the universal meeting place between God and men,” he said. “And the Risen Christ is Himself the universal meeting place – for everyone! – between God and men.”

“For this reason, His humanity is the true temple where God is revealed, speaks, is encountered,” the Pope added.

The true worshippers of God are not only “the guardians of the material temple, the keepers of power and of religious knowledge.” God’s true worshippers are also “those who worship God ‘in spirit and truth’.”

Pope Francis connected Christians’ call to become temples of God with the reception of the Holy Eucharist.

“Every Eucharist that we celebrate with faith makes us grow as a living temple of the Lord, thanks to the communion with His crucified and risen Body,” the Pope said. “Jesus recognizes that which is in each of us, and knows well our most ardent desires: that of being inhabited by Him, only by Him.”

“Let us allow Him to enter into our lives, into our families, into our hearts,” the pontiff concluded.

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VATICAN NEWS

Marginalizing women leads to sterile society, says Pope

by CNA/EWTN News • March 8, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in Saint Peter’s Square during his General Audience on Oct 1, 2013. (Petrik Bohumil/CNA)

Vatican City — Women across the globe received a special greeting on Sunday from Pope Francis, who stressed the importance of their unique perspectives on the world.

“A world where women are marginalized is a sterile world,” the Pope said during his address to the crowds who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square to take part in the recitation of the Angelus with the Pope.

“Not only do women carry life,” he said, “but they transmit to us the capacity to see otherwise – they see things differently.”

Women also pass on the ability to “understand the world with different eyes, to feel the most creative, most patient, most tender things with the heart.”

The Pope’s words came on International Woman’s Day, celebrated each year on March 8 throughout the world.

To mark the occasion, the Holy Father offered his greeting to all those who “seek each day to build a more human and welcoming society.”

He also offered a “fraternal thanks” to those women who in, in thousands of ways, bear witness to the Gospel and work in the Church.”

Pope Francis’ remarks come alongside a conference held on Sunday at the Vatican aimed at giving a voice to those women working on the fringes of society.

The gathering, titled “Voices of Faith,” brought together various women – human rights activists, policy makers, academics — to give witness to their work in areas of poverty and the defense of human dignity and equality.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: We can’t fool Jesus

by CNA/EWTN News • March 9, 2015

Francis in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday General Audience on June 4, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Rome, Italy — Christians cannot hide their lives from Jesus, Pope Francis has said. Instead, they must recognize their sins and trust in the mercy of God.

During the season of Lent, the Pope said, we should ask ourselves: “Does Jesus trust me, or do I lie to him?” Do I behave as a Catholic who then “lives as a pagan?” One might say “Jesus does not know, no one will tell him.” But he knows.

“We cannot fool Jesus,” the Pope said, because “he knows us from within.”

His comments came in a Sunday homily to the congregation of the Roman parish of Santa Maria Madre del Redentore, Holy Mother Mary of the Redeemer, during a March 8 pastoral visit to the suburb of Tor Bella Monaca.

“Jesus knows all that which is within our hearts,” the pontiff continued. “We cannot fool Jesus,” pretending “to be holy, and close his eyes” and leading a life contrary to what He desires.

Pope Francis said we would do well to “enter into our hearts and gaze at Jesus,” who sees the good and the bad, and ask him: “Do you trust me? I am a sinner.”

The pontiff said that unless a person has a righteous heart, loves those who need love, and follows the Beatitudes, he is not Catholic, but a hypocrite.

“Open your heart to the mercy of Jesus!” the pontiff said.

Pope Francis reflected on the scene from the Gospel of John in which Jesus overturns the tables in the Temple of Jerusalem, driving away the merchants and money-changers.

As Jesus found the Temple filled with “filth,” so also we find in our hearts selfishness, arrogance, pride, greed, envy, and jealousy.

The Pope said Christians should ask the Lord to come and “clean our souls,” as he cleansed the Temple.

In the Gospel account, Jesus used a whip to drive out the money changers, the Pope said.

The “whip” with which he cleanses the soul, however, is mercy.

When we open our heart to mercy, whereby “our heart, our soul” is cleansed, the Pope concluded, “Jesus will trust in us.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Vatican declines ransom offer for stolen Michelangelo letters

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 9, 2015

Michelangelo’s fresco ‘The Creation of Adam’ on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Oct. 29, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — After receiving an offer from a former employee to regain missing letters signed by Michelangelo for a price, the Vatican has said that it is not biting the bait, but is cooperating with police.

“Years ago certain documents by Michelangelo (one written by him, another with his signature) were found to be missing from the Archives of the Fabbrica of St. Peter’s,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said in a March 8 statement to journalists.

Fr. Lombardi’s comments referred to the 1997 theft of the letters, which he said was at that time reported to the cardinal-president of the Fabbrica and archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Virgilio Noe, by the then-archivist Sister Teresa Todaro.

The spokesman revealed that the current president of the Fabbrica, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, has recently “received a proposal to buy those documents back for a certain price.”

“Of course he refused, since the documents were stolen. The Vatican Gendarmerie is in contact with the competent authorities of the Italian police for the appropriate investigations.”

The Italian daily “Il Messaggero” reports that the man who approached Cardinal Comastri was a former employee of the Fabbrica. He apparently had the letters verified by an antique dealer, and told the cardinal he could help the Vatican reacquire them for a price of 100,000-200,000 euro.

Meaning the “fabric” of St. Peter’s, the Fabbrica was founded in 1523 by Pope Clement VII as a committee to oversee the construction of the new basilica and maintain it.

The Fabbrica oversees all aspects of the basilica, including internal and external maintenance, and is in charge of the preservation and decoration of the building.

Among the artifacts in their archives are documents, letters, scrolls, drawings and paintings. The committee is headed by the cardinal who serves as the archpriest for St. Peter’s Basilica.

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VATICAN NEWS

Simplicity, humility, divinity – God never makes a scene, Pope says

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 9, 2015

Pope Francis at the general audience on Sept. 25, 2013. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Vatican City — If there’s one thing that marks the presence of God, it’s humility rather than making a scene, Pope Francis said Monday.

“This is how the Lord acts: He does things simply. He speaks silently to you, to the heart,” Francis told attendees of his March 9 daily Mass, held in the chapel of the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse.

When it comes to God and his action in the world, it is “the simple things” that mark his presence, the Pope said, adding that the humility of God “is the divine style, never the spectacle.”

He pointed to Biblical history as evidence of God’s simple style. Even as far back as creation, God chose to form man out of mud rather than use a “magic wand” to create him.

From Moses to David to the baby Jesus in the manger, the Bible teaches us that God’s divine way is one of humility, Pope Francis explained.

When God freed his people from slavery, he did it “through the faith and confidence of a man, Moses. When He desired to cause the fall of the powerful city of Jericho, He did so through a prostitute. And for the conversion of the Samaritans, He required the work of another sinner,” he said.

The Pope also spoke of David and Goliath, saying that it “seemed crazy” for such a small child to fight against a well-armed giant with just a sling and some stones.

As for the Magi, when they were told that a great king had been born, they went to Bethlehem and “what did they find? A little child, a manger. The simple things, the humility of God … this is the divine style.”

Francis drew a parallel between the day’s first reading from the Second Book of Kings and the Gospel from Luke, which tells of how the Nazarenes, who at first admired Jesus, exploded “with outrage” when he criticized their lack of faith.

With perhaps a little gossip and hypocrisy involved, those listening to Jesus were happy until he called a few of them out, and then “Fury erupted, and even violence … they drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill … they wanted to throw Him down!”

This attitude, the Pope said, is similar to that of Naaman in the first reading, who was commander of the Syrian army, but also a leper.

Naaman at first rejected Elijah’s instruction to wash himself in the Jordan River seven times in order to be healed, because he was expecting a big gesture, the Holy Father said. But eventually, Naaman took the prophet’s advice and was cured of his leprosy.

In both cases, the people “wanted a spectacle,” Francis said, but “the style of the good God is not to produce a spectacle: God acts in humility, in silence, in the little things.”

Even Jesus faced the temptation to create a spectacle while in the desert when the devil tempted him to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple so that the people would believe in him after seeing a miracle.

Instead, Jesus responded with Scripture and resisted that temptation, because the power of God is “revealed in simplicity, in humility,” Pope Francis said, encouraging those present to use Lent as a time to think about all the simple ways God has helped them to move forward.

“Let us remember in our lives the many time we have felt these things: the humility of God is His style; the simplicity of God is His style.”

The liturgy and the sacraments also manifest humility rather than “a worldly spectacle,” he concluded, and in our personal lives, we can also “consider the many times the Lord has visited us with His grace, and always with this humble style, the style He calls us, too, to have: humility.”

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VATICAN NEWS

How did the Vatican respond to the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI?

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • March 10, 2015

The RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine, May 7, 1915. (Library of Congress)

Vatican City — The 1915 torpedoing of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania, which galvanized anti-German sentiment in the US during World War I, was much-discussed at the top of the Vatican’s ranks, revealing the Holy See’s approach to current events and its place in international diplomacy.

The Vatican discussion over the controversy was demonstrated Sunday by the prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, Bishop Sergio Pagano. He was speaking March 8 in Aquino, in Italy’s Lazio region.

The Lusitania departed New York May 1, 1915, sailing to England. Germany had declared the seas around the UK a war zone, and the German embassy to the US warned people not to travel on the ship.

It was torpedoed by a German U-boat on May 7, between Ireland and England. Of the 1,959 people on board, 761 survived but 1,198 died.

While it was a passenger ship, the Lusitania was also carrying munitions to the UK, and had been listed as an armed merchant cruiser. In any case, among the dead 128 Americans, and the Lusitania’s sinking was important in shifting public opinion in the US against Germany, opening the way for the 1917 US entrance into World War I.

Much as the Lusitania’s sinking shocked Americans and the Allies, it was also the subject of discussion in the Vatican – Bishop Pagano explained that he had “bumped into” the discussion while examining archives for the 100th anniversary of World War I, and that the case “may well represent how the Catholic Church balances its decisions.”

The story is based on a series of letters exchanged among Benedict XV; his Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri; and Cardinal Francis Aiden Gasquet, who worked in the Vatican Library.

Bishop Pagano recounted that “the news scandalized all the newspaper in Europe, while L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See’s newspaper, published only a short article on the sinking.”

He explained that Cardinal Gasquet, who was a Benedictine born in London, “was very upset that the newspaper of the Holy See was not expressing its concern in louder terms, since he sought the good and wanted the Church always to speak the language of truth, without compromise.”

So Cardinal Gusquet wrote to the Pope, claiming that “in all history, such an example of a collective murder so coldly planned as that of those aboard the Lusitania will be barely found.”

He also wrote, Bishop Pagano said, that while the torpedoing had raised “a right distain,” the “short article in the Vatican’s official media barely mentioned any condemnation.”

“There are times when the silence of authority is equal to a silent consent to the breaking of law,” the cardinal concluded in his letter to Benedict XV.

According to Bishop Pagano, “the Pope asked Cardinal Pietro Gasparri to study the issue, and Cardinal Gasparri wrote his opinion, pretending to be an anonymous advisor.”

Benedict XV then forwarded the opinion to Cardinal Gasquet.

“Cardinal Gasparri’s opinion, though expressed behind anonymity, was a bit surprising,” Bishop Pagano recounted.

The Secretary of State had responded that it had to be known whether the Lusitania was armed or not. If it was not armed, he said that it had to be known if it was at least carrying arms or ammunition for England. And finally, if none of this circumstances were the case, he said the sinking was ‘very grave’, but that the submarine war was waged by Germany in response to the Anglo-French blockade. He thus concluded that “it was not opportune for the Holy See to publicly protest.”

Cardinal Gasquet responded harshly; according to Bishop Pagano “he was not surprised the German administration had organized this large-scale murder ‘inspired as it is by anti-Christian and Nietzschean principles.’”

Cardinal Gasquet added that “he never considered it would be possible to find someone defending these principles” from within the Secretariat of State.

The entire discussion was reconstructed by Bishop Pagano from letters in the Vatican archives, and he considered that “a wider question should be raised: What was the Holy See to do during a war that was causing so many deaths?”

“According to Cardinal Gasquet, the Church had to speak out loudly. According to Cardinal Gasparri, the Church had to bring together all positions. According to Benedict XV, the Church had to speak out, though in a prudent way,” Bishop Pagano explained.

Benedict’s concern for prudence was meant to ensure the Church would have the freedom to help those affected by the war, the bishop added.

In any case, the discussion demonstrates the Holy See’s importance on the international arena, and how it must ponder any decision in the light of the love for truth, as well as focusing its attention on the common good.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis talks ISIS, jokes about being a ‘coward’ when it comes to physical pain

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 10, 2015

Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square before the Wed. general audience on May 28, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis gave a recent interview with an Argentinian shanty town’s community paper, where he touched on how he feels about ISIS threats and jested about his lack of tolerance for physical pain.

“Look, life is in God’s hands. I told the Lord: ‘you are taking care of me. But if your will is that I die or that they do something to me, I ask you only one favor: that it doesn’t hurt. Because I’m a big coward when it comes to physical pain,’” the Pope told La Carcova News in an interview published March 9.

Pope Francis made his comments as one answer to a series of questions posed to him by young people. La Carcova is edited by the shanty town community of “Gran Buenos Aires.”

Among the topics Francis addressed were drug trafficking, faith, hope for derailed lives, virtual realities and politics. He also touched on the possibility of a trip to his native Argentina in 2016.

Please see below for the full English translation of the Pope’s interview.

You speak a lot about the peripheries; it is a word that you use frequently. What do you think about when you speak of the peripheries? Us, the people in the slums?

When I speak about the peripheries, I speak of limits. Normally, we move about in spaces that in some way we control. That is the center. In the way that we leave the center, we begin to discover other things. When we look at the center from the perspective of the new things we discover, from our new points of view, from that periphery, we see that reality is different. One thing is to see reality from the center and another thing is to see it from the farthest place that you have arrived.

An example. Europe, seen from Madrid in the 16th century was one thing, but when Magellan arrived at the end of the American continent and looked at Europe, from there he understood something different. The reality is seen better from the periphery than from the center: the reality of a person, from the existential peripheries and also the reality of thought. You could have a well developed thought, but when you are confronted with someone that is outside that idea, in some way you have to defend it, you start to argue, and you are enriched by the peripheral thought of the other.

You know our problems. The use of drugs continues to advance and has not been detained, it enters the slums and attacks our youth. Who has to defend us? And how can we defend ourselves?

It is true, it is advancing and has not stopped. There are counties that are slaves of drugs and that worries us. What worries me more is the triumph of drug traffickers. These people claim victory, have won, have triumphed. That is the reality. There are countries and areas where everything is under the control of drug cartels. With respect to Argentina, I can only say this: it was a place where drugs passed through, now drugs are consumed. I am not certain, but I believed that they are also made there.

What is the most important thing that we must give our children?

Belonging, belonging to a home. Belonging is given through love, with care, with time, in hand, listening to them, playing with them, giving them what they need in every moment for their growth. Overall, giving them a place to express themselves. If you do not play with your children, you are keeping them from experiencing gratefulness. If you do not give them a place for them to say what they feel and can even argue with you, because they feel free, you are not allowing them to grow.

But the most important thing is faith. It hurts me a lot when I meet children that do not know how to make the sign of the cross. These children have not received the most important thing a father and mother can give them: the faith.

Do you believe that there always exists the possibility for change, even in difficult situations where people have been very tested by life, and in social or international situations that are the cause of great suffering for people. Where do you get this optimism, even when despair exists?

Every person can change, even the most tested. I know people that were done with life, and are now married and have a home. This is not optimism, that is assurance in two things: first, in man, in the person. The person is the image of God and God does not scorn his image, he redeems it in some way. Second, in the strength of the Holy Spirit which changes our conscience. It is not optimism, it is faith in the person, because he is a child of God. God does not abandon his children. I like to repeat the phrase that we, the children of God, we mess up all the time, we make mistakes, we sin, but when we ask for forgiveness, he always forgives us. He never gets tired of forgiving, it is us, when we believe ourselves to be important, that get tired of asking for forgiveness.

How can we become sure and consistent in the faith? I mean: people live ups and downs, sometimes conscience of the presence of God and that God is a companion along the way, but at other times, this is forgotten and behaves as if God did not exist. Can stability be achieved with a subject like the faith?

Yes, there are ups and downs. In some moments we are conscious of the presence of God, other times we forget about that. The Bible says: the truth of man, of the person on earth is combat. Meaning, you have to be in peace and fighting. Training to not fail, not let down your guard, and on the other hand, enjoying all of the beautiful things that God give you in life. That means, one must be alert, no being defeatist, nor pessimistic.

How to be consistent in the faith? If you do not deny feeling it, you are going to feel it very close to you, you are going to find it in your heart. Another day, it is possible that you do not feel anything. And nevertheless faith is present, right? It is necessary for one to get accustomed to the faith not being a feeling. Sometimes the Lord gives us the grace to feel it, but faith is something more. Faith is my relationship with Jesus Christ, I believe that he saved me. That is the sweet spot of the faith. Go and seek the moments of your life in which you have felt bad, where you were lost, where you did not hit the mark, and look how Christ saved you. Embrace it, that is the source of your faith. When you forget, when you feel nothing, embrace that, because that is the basis of your faith – and always with the Gospel in your hand. Carry a small book of the Gospel in your pocket. Keep it in your house. This is the Word of God. That is how one is nurtured in the faith. At the end, faith is a gift, it is not a psychological attitude, and if you are given a gift, you have to accept it, right? Accept, then, the gift of the Gospel and read it. Read it and listen to the Word of God.

Your life has been intense and full. We also want to live a full and intense life. How can we avoid living pointlessly? How can someone know if they are living without purpose?

Well, I lived a lot of pointlessness. It was not so intense and full. I am just another sinner. What happens is that the Lord made me do things that are seen, but how many times are there people that are not seen. And the good that they do! The intensity is not directly proportional to what people see. The intensity is lived from within and is lived being nurtured from the faith. How? Doing fruitful things, works of love for the good of people. Maybe the worst sin against love would be to renounce being a person. There is a person that loves you, and you deny it as if you did not know it. God is loving you and you deny it. He who loves us most is God. To deny God is one of the worst sins that there is. Saint Peter committed that sin, he denied Jesus Christ … and they made him Pope! So, what is left for me? So no … go ahead!

Do you have anyone close to you that does not agree with you?

Yes, of course.

What is it like with them?

It was never hard for me to listen to other people. Each time that I listen to them, it is always good for me. The times that I did not listen to them, it hurt me because even though you do not agree with them, they always, always are going to give you something or they are going to put you in a situation in which you will have to rethink things. This enriches you. It is the way of behaving with those that do not agree with you. Now, if I do not agree with that person and I stop greeting them, I close the door on them and I do not let them speak, I do not ask them anything, it is evident that I remove myself. This is the richness of dialogue. Dialoging, listening, one enriches himself.

The trend today is to push youth towards virtual relationships. This also happens in the slums. What can be done for them to leave their fantasy world and help them to live in reality and develop true relationships?

I would distinguish between the fantasy world and virtual relationships. Sometimes virtual relationships are not fantasies, they are real, they are real things and very concrete. Evidently the most desireable is not a virtual relationship, meaning, a physical, affectionate relationship in time and with contact. I think that the danger that we run today is to have a very large capacity for information, of being able to virtually move inside of a series of things that can convert us into youth-mannequins. A young-mannequin is well informed, but what do they do with everything they have? The way of being fruitful in life is not to go accumulating information or maintaining only virtual communication but rather to change the world in a concrete way. Ultimately, that means loving.

You can love another person, but if you do not extend your hand, you do not give a hug, it is not love; if you love someone enough to marry them, meaning to desire to give yourself to them completely, and you do not hug them, you do not give them a kiss, it is not true love. Virtual love does not exist. Declaring virtual love exists, but true love anticipates physical, concrete love. Let us go to the essential of life, and that is the essential. So, no youth-mannequin that will only be informed of virtual things, but rather youth that feel and with their own hands – this is the essential – to carry out one’s life. I like to speak about the three languages: the language of the head, the language of the heart and the language of the hands. There has to be harmony amongst them. Such that you think what you feel and what you do, you feel what you think and what you do, and you do what you feel and what you think. That is the essential. To only stay in the virtual world is like living in your head without a body.

Is there something you what to recommend to the Argentinean government in this year of elections?

First, a clear electoral platform. That each one say: we, if we are the government, are going to do “this.” Very concrete. An electoral platform is very healthy, and helps people to see what each one thinks. In one of the elections a few years ago, there was an important anecdote about what some astute journalists did. At about the same time, they ran into three candidates. I do not remember if they were congressman or governors. And they asked each one: what do you think about such thing? Each one gave their response and one of them, a journalist said to him: “but what you think is not the same thing as the Party you represent. Check your Party’s electoral platform …” Sometimes the same candidates do not know their electoral platform. A candidate has to present himself to society with a very clear platform, well studied, explicitly saying: “If I am elected congressman, mayor, governor, I am going to do “this”, because I think that “this” is what has to be done”.

Second, honesty in the presentation of one’s own position. And third – it is one of the things that we have to achieve, I hope we can achieve it – is an unfinanced electoral campaign, not financed. Because in the financing of campaigns, many interests enter and the bill must be paid later on. So, one has to be independent of whoever could finance the campaign. It is an ideal, of course, because there is always a lack of money for posters, for television, but the financing could at least be public money. In this way, I – a citizen- know that I finance this candidate with this determined amount of money. For it to be totally transparent and clean.

When will you go to Argentina?

At the beginning of ‘16, but nothing is certain yet because other trips must be organized and to other countries.

We hear on television a lot of news that hurts us, that there are fanatics that want to kill you. You are not afraid? And those of us that care about you, what can we do?

Look, life is in the hands of God. I told the Lord: take care of me, but if your plan is that I die or that they do something to me, I ask you only one favor: that they do not hurt me. Because I am a big coward when it comes to physical pain.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis carries his late grandma’s words with him every day

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 11, 2015

Francis greets pilgrims during his March 11, 2015 general audience in St. Peter’s Square. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis said Wednesday that the elderly play a key role in the lives of the youth, and revealed that he still keeps the letter his grandmother wrote him for his ordination in his daily prayer book.

“I still treasure the words my grandmother wrote to me on the day of my ordination. I carry them with me to this day inside my breviary,” the Pope told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his March 11 general audience.

In the book interview “The Jesuit,” Pope Francis referenced a text written by his grandmother, which he kept in the breviary that he carried with him, Andrea Tornielli of Vatican Insider noted.

The text reads, “May these my grandchildren, to whom I have given the best of my heart, have a long and happy life, but if on some painful day, sickness or the loss of a loved one fills you with grief, remember that a sigh before the Tabernacle, where the greatest and most august martyr resides, and a gaze at Mary at the foot of the Cross, can make a drop of balm fall on the deepest and most painful wounds.”

Francis, the eldest of five children, spent much of his childhood under the guidance of his grandmother, Rosa, who looked after the future Pope when his younger siblings were born. She played a key role in his upbringing, and he had a great respect for her.

When the hearts of the elderly are free from “past resentments and present selfishness,” he said, they become attractive for the youth, “who hope to find in them a strong support in their faith and meaning for their lives.”

He specifically pointed to the importance of prayer for the elderly, in which they are able to thank the Lord for many blessings that would otherwise go unnoticed, and intercede for the needs and hopes of the youth.

The purifying ability of faith and prayer can also help society to find “the wisest way to teach the young that the true meaning of life is found in self-sacrificing love and concern for others.”

Simeon and Anna are two biblical figures who provide a model for how the elderly can live the final stages of their lives, the Pope said, noting that he himself is included in this category.

The image of the two elderly prophets in the temple attentively waiting for the coming of the Messiah point to the “centrality of prayer,” he said, noting that this prayer is a gift both for families and the Church.

Because we are called by the Lord to follow him in every moment and circumstance of our lives, the elderly have a “special mission” to fulfill and are given the grace to do it, Francis explained.

He said that because of this the final stage of their lives is not a time to “give up” and become marginalized, and recalled how Simeon and Anna both received new strength to praise God when they recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

“Grandparents today are called to form a permanent choir in the great spiritual sanctuary of our world, to support with prayer and to instill courage with their testimony to those struggling in the field of life,” Francis said.

The Pope prayed that in a world which frequently overlooks and discards the elderly, the Church can be a beacon which recognizes “their contribution and gifts,” and helps them to foster “a fruitful dialogue between the generations.”

“How I wish that the Church can overcome the culture of waste, promoting the joyful reunion and mutual acceptance of different generations!” he said, and encouraged pilgrims to pray for this intention.

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VATICAN NEWS

Archbishop Romero, Salvadoran martyr, to be beatified May 23

by CNA/EWTN News • March 11, 2015

Archbishop Oscar Romero. (Javier Hidalgo via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Vatican City — May 23 will be the beatification date for El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken advocate for the poor and repressed who was martyred in 1980 while celebrating Mass.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the postulator of Archbishop Romero’s cause, was expected to announce the beatification date on Wednesday, according to Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.

Pope Francis approved the beatification after a Feb. 3 audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The congregation’s theologians on Jan. 8 unanimously recognized the El Salvadoran’s assassination as an act of hatred for the faith, a characteristic of martyrdom.

Oscar Romero y Galdamez was Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 until March 24, 1980, when he was shot while saying Mass at a San Salvador hospital.

He was a vocal critic of the human rights abuses of the repressive Salvadoran government. He spoke out on behalf of the poor and the victims of repression.

El Salvador in the 1970s was marked by extreme economic inequality, resulting in an increase in protests and rebellions. These were met by government repression through death squads and forced disappearances. A civil war between military-led governments and left-wing guerilla groups began in 1979 and lasted until 1992.

Archbishop Paglia said Archbishop Romero was “a pastor who gave his life for his people.” He dedicated his life to “helping, relieving and defending those who are poorest and who are weakest.”

“Romero’s witness of martyrdom starting from Latin America, through Pope Francis, can help the whole of America, the whole of Europe,” Archbishop Paglia told CNA Feb. 5.

He said the Salvadoran archbishop was killed due to “hatred for a faith that, combined with charity, would not stay silent when faced with the injustices that implacably and cruelly afflicted the poor and their defenders.”

Archbishop Romero became particularly outspoken after the March 1977 murder of his friend and teacher, the Salvadoran Jesuit priest Father Rutilio Grande. The priest and two companions were killed by machine gun fire on the way to evening Mass.

Before the archbishop’s murder, 30 priests in his archdiocese were lost to murder or expulsion. The death squads also killed many catechists and abducted many lay faithful.

No one has been prosecuted for Archbishop Romero’s assassination, but right-wing death squads are suspected.

Archbishop Romero’s cause for canonization was officially opened in 1993, but investigations in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith delayed the progress of the cause from 2000 to 2005. His beatification cause was complicated by political factors and false reports.

Both Pope Francis and Benedict XVI have held Archbishop Romero in high regard.

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VATICAN NEWS

Curia reform may include an office for negotiations in the Secretariat of State

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • March 11, 2015

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Jan. 25, 2015. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — The Vatican Secretary of State suggested Wednesday that an ‘office for pontifical mediation’ may established within the ranks of the Secretariat of State, in order to function as a link between the on-the-ground commitment of papal diplomacy and its commitment within international institutions.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin said March 11 that “facing an increase of armed conflicts – both internal and external – which are caused because of a lack of preventative actions or because of a lack in managing the post-conflict times, an attention to prevention (through the new office) will highlight the real meaning of the Holy See’s presence in the international community.”

He was speaking at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he gave a lecture on “The diplomatic activity of the Holy See in the service of peace.”

According to Cardinal Parolin, the Holy See “works substantially on the international scene not to guarantee a generic security – made more difficult in this period of lasting instability – but to sustain an idea of peace as the fruit of just relations, of respect for international law, of the protection of fundamental human rights beginning with those of the least among us, the most vulnerable.”

“Without the commitment of pontifical diplomatic representations, how many believers would suffer of limits because of their faith? How many of the Church’s institutions would not maintain the vital connection with its central government that provides them guidelines, supports them, and gives them credibility?”

The cardinal also noted that “in the field of civil society, which forms of ethical guidance would be lacking were the Holy See not present in different intergovernmental contexts, in the areas of cooperation, disarmament, the struggle against poverty, the eradication of hunger, care for the sick, and promoting literacy?”

The Secretary of State noted that the Holy See has an understanding of peace “different from what is expressed in current international law,” since the Holy See “is convinced that no action for peace may be reasonable and valid if it keeps – even tacitly – references to war.”

Cardinal Parolin also urged a reform of the “ius ad bellum” (the right to war), and asked to foster instead a “ius contra belllum” (a right against war): that is, “norms capable to develop, make current and above all impose the already previewed international tools to bring controversies peacefully to an end, thus avoiding the use of arms.”

“I refer to dialogue, negotiations, treaties, mediation, and conciliation,” he said, which are “often considered as mere palliative means deprived of the necessary effectiveness.”

According to the Secretary of State, this may be the specific role of the Holy See.

Cardinal Parolin recalled that “during the 1980s, within the Secretariat of State’s Council for the Public Affairs, which is today the Section for the Relations with States, an office for the pontifical mediation was established.”

The office was established “in order to develop the juridical-political issues to bring the Argentine-Chilean dispute over the Beagle Channel to an end.”

This goal was finally achieved Nov. 29, 1984, when the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed. The treaty “put into effect the solution proposed by the Holy See.”

Cardinal Parolin emphasized that the Holy See has always acted for this purpose. He also mentioned Leo XIII’s mediation to end the conflict between Spain and Germany for the Caroline Islands in 1885, and the recent restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States.

The cardinal proposed the restoration of the office for pontifical mediation in order to foster the Holy See’s commitment to international dialogue.

Speaking with journalists before the conference, Cardinal Parolin stated that “Pope Francis is completely convinced of the need for more dialogue, and he always gives us indication to do it.”

“The current conflicts or the clash of civilization, as it used to be called, may be achieved only through dialogue, which we have to carry forward with faith and hope, because sometimes the outcomes seem to be poor and would lead us to use other tools,” Cardinal Parolin said.

The cardinal said dialogue must be carried forward also with China, since this “can benefit peace in the world,” and so, “although there are problems at the level of the local Churches,” it is necessary “to think of solutions able to help the dialogue.”

Cardinal Parolin will travel to Belarus tomorrow, where he will bless the first stone of the new apostolic nunciature to be established there.

As Belarus borders Ukraine, it was expected that the Secretary of State was going to meet with Ukrainian representatives to try to mediate the crisis, but the cardinal dismissed the prospect.

He however added that “going to Belarus may be considered in a sense as a support to the mediation efforts that this country has and continues to make in the Ukraine crisis.”

Cardinal Parolin also lamented the “indifference of the international community” to many of the wars now being waged.

“For example, the war in Syria does not grab the attention it grabbed at first, and this is the biggest danger: to forget about these wars, and that theseconflicts thus get worse, and continue to create pain.”

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VATICAN NEWS

When it comes to faith, there’s no room for compromise, Pope says

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in remembrance of Bishops and Cardinals who died during the past year on November 4, 2013. (Alberto Chincilla/CNA)

Vatican City — It is the saints – not the hypocrites – who carry the Church forward, Pope Francis said Thursday, cautioning that there is no middle ground on the path to heaven.

“Jesus says: ‘Whoever is not with me is against me.’ And there is no compromising. You are either on the path of love or on the path of hypocrisy,” the Pope told attendees of his March 13 daily Mass, held in the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse.

He told participants that the only options for a Christian are to either let oneself be loved by God’s mercy or to “do as you please according to your own heart that hardens day by day along this path.”

“Whoever is not with me is against me: there is no third choice to be made. Either you are a saint or you take the other route,” the Pope reiterated, saying that the person who chooses his own will not only “loses out,” but, does something worse: “he wastes and wrecks. He is corrupt and he corrupts.”

Pope Francis centered his reflections on the day’s readings, which first in the Book of Jeremiah spoke of a disobedient people who embraced evil even after God gave them everything, and then how Jesus in the Gospel of Luke was accused of casting out demons with demons when he freed a possessed man.

When we look at the history of God, it is as if “God was weeping,” Francis said, and pointed out that Jesus himself wept when he looked at Jerusalem before his passion and death.

Jesus wept, he said, because in his heart he held this history “where faithfulness had disappeared.”

If we follow our own will, “our heart hardens and becomes of stone. And the Word of the Lord cannot penetrate. Thus the people get more and more distant,” the Pope said, noting that each person runs this risk in their own personal histories.

Francis then turned to the Gospel reading, saying that the accusation of Jesus as someone who drives our demons with the power of other demons is a prime example of this hardened heart that is closed to the voice of God.

He said the scene is one typical of the “lawmakers,” who think that life is reduced to the following of laws they themselves create.

“This has also happened in the history of the Church!” Francis observed, and drew attention to the example of “poor Joan of Arc,” who, although she was eventually canonized a saint, was accused of being a heretic and was burned at the stake.

Throughout history, God always sent prophets to tell his people that he loved them, while in the Church today the Lord sends us the saints, he said, explaining that they are the ones who sustain the Church, rather than the powerful or the hypocrites.

Saints, he said, “are those who are not afraid to let themselves be caressed by the mercy of God. That’s why the saints are men and women who understand pain, suffering and human misery, and they accompany the people of God. They do not despise the people.”

Francis encouraged attendees, especially during Lent, to ask themselves an essential question: “do I listen to the voice of the Lord or do I do what I please?”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope reiterates lessons from Korea in meeting with nation’s bishops

by CNA/EWTN News • March 12, 2015

Pope Francis speaks to religious communities at the Training Center ‘School of Love’ in Kkottongnaeon, South Korea, Aug. 16, 2014. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Vatican City — His trip last August to South Korea was on Pope Francis’ mind Thursday when he met with the nation’s bishops, who are visiting Rome for their ad limina meeting.

“Your presence today brings to mind fond memories of my recent visit to Korea, where I experienced first-hand the goodness of the Korean people, who so generously received me and shared with me the joys and sorrows of their lives,” Pope Francis wrote in his March 12 address to the bishops of South Korea, delivered in the Vatican’s Consistory Hall.

The Korean bishops were joined by Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, who serves the Church in Mongolia.

“My visit to your country will remain a lasting encouragement for me in my ministry to the Universal Church,” the Pope said.

He explained that he wanted to continue reflecting on the nature of episcopal ministry as service, “by highlighting three aspects of my visit: memory, youth and the mission of confirming our brothers and sisters in the faith.”

The memory of the martyrs Paul Yun Ji-chung and his companions is important to Francis, who said their beatification was “one of the most beautiful moments of my visit to Korea … in enrolling them among the Blessed, we praised God for the countless graces which he showered upon the Church in Korea during her infancy, and equally gave thanks for the faithful response given to these gifts of God.”

These early Korean martyrs “not only fostered their personal relationship with Jesus, but brought him to others … their example is a school which can form us into ever more faithful Christian witnesses by calling us to encounter, to charity and to sacrifice,” the Pope said.

“The lessons which they taught are particularly applicable in our times when, despite the many advancements being made in technology and communication, individuals are increasingly becoming isolated and communities weakened.”

In light of this isolation, Pope Francis urged the bishops to “work together with the priests, religious men and women, and lay leaders of your dioceses, to ensure that parishes, schools and centers of apostolate are authentic places of encounter: encounter with the Lord who teaches us how to love and who opens our eyes to the dignity of every person, and encounter with one another, especially the poor, the elderly, the forgotten in our midst.”

“When we encounter Jesus and experience his compassion for us, we become ever more convincing witnesses of his saving power; we more readily share our love for him and the gifts with which we have been blessed.”

The Pope then turned to the theme of the Korean youth, “who greatly desire to carry forward the legacy of your ancestors.” He said that “just as the witness of the first Christians calls us to care for one another, so our youth challenge us to hear one another.”

Young people “challenge us to share the truth of Jesus Christ clearly and in a way that they can understand,” he noted, and “test the authenticity of our own faith and fidelity … the young very quickly will call us and the Church to task if our lives do not mirror our faith. Their honesty in this regard can be a help to us, just as we seek to assist the faithful to manifest the faith in their daily lives.”

Pope Francis encouraged the bishops “to keep before you the young whom you serve” in the process of formulating and revising pastoral plans for dioceses. “Be close to them, and show them that you are concerned for them and understand their needs. This closeness will not only strengthen the institutions and communities of the Church, but will also help you to understand the difficulties they and their families are experiencing in their daily lives in society. In this way, the Gospel will penetrate ever more deeply the life of the Catholic community as well as that of society as a whole.”

He finally turned to the topic of confirming the brethren in the faith, saying that “I ask you, above all, to be servants, just as Christ came to serve, and not to be served. Ours is a life of service, freely given, for each soul entrusted to our care, without exception.”

The Pope exhorted his fellow bishops to support one another, and to serve their priests, religious, and laity.

He then turned particularly to Bishop Padilla, who shepherds the roughly 1,000 Catholics in Mongolia, who live amid a population of 2.9 million.

“Though a small community in a vast territory, it is like the mustard seed which is the pledge of the fullness of God’s Kingdom,” Pope Francis said. “May these reflections encourage the continuing growth of that seed, and nourish the rich soil of the Mongolian people’s faith.”

He concluded, saying, “I would like to express my appreciation in a particular way to the Catholic community in Mongolia for their efforts in building up the Kingdom of God. May they remain fervent in their faith, always trusting that the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit is at work within them as missionary disciples.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis declares Holy Year for Mercy

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 13, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square before his general audience on April 16, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — During his homily for a Lenten penitential service, Pope Francis announced an extraordinary Jubilee to start at the end of the year, and which will be dedicated to a theme close to the pontiff’s heart: mercy.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I have thought about how the Church can make clear it’s mission of being a witness of mercy,” the Pope told attendees of his March 13 penitential liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“It’s a journey that starts with a spiritual conversion. For this reason I have decided to declare an Extraordinary Jubilee that has the mercy of God at its center. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy.”

The biblical passage the theme for the Holy Year is taken from is Luke Chapter 6 verse 36, in which Jesus tells his disciples “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”

“I am convinced that the whole Church will be able to find in this Jubilee the joy of rediscovering and making fruitful the mercy of God, with which we are all called to give consolation to every man and every woman of our time,” Francis said, and entrusted the Holy Year to Mary, Mother of Mercy.

Pope Francis made his announcement during a penitential liturgy opening the second “24 Hours for the Lord” event, which he originally called for in Lent of last year.

An initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the event is designed to widen access to the Sacrament of confession by having parishes open their doors for an extended period of time with priests available to those who come.

Francis’ announcement of the Extraordinary Jubilee for mercy not only falls on the opening of the 24 hours for the Lord event, which follows the theme “God rich in mercy,” but also the two year anniversary of his pontificate.

The Jubilee, also called a Holy Year will open this year on Dec. 8 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – and will close Nov. 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

It will also coincide with the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. The Jubilee will be organized by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization.

Sunday readings during Ordinary Time for the Holy Year will be taken from the Gospel of Luke, as he is often referred to as “the evangelist of mercy.” Among the well-known parables of mercy present in Luke’s Gospel are that of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the merciful father.

The official announcement of the Jubilee will take place on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, with a public proclamation in front of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Each of the four papal basilicas in Rome have a holy door, which are normally sealed shut from the inside so that they can’t be opened. The doors are only opened during Jubilee years so that pilgrims can enter through them in order to gain the plenary indulgence that is connected with the Jubilee.

The rite of the opening of the Holy Door is intended to symbolically illustrate the idea that the Church’s faithful are offered an “extraordinary path” toward salvation during the time of Jubilee.

After the Holy Door opens in St. Peter’s Basilica, those of the other three Roman basilicas, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major, will be opened.

In ancient Hebrew tradition the Jubilee Year was celebrated every 50 years and was intended to restore equality among the children of Israel by providing opportunities for families who had lost their property and even their personal freedom to regain them.

It was also a year in which the wealthy were reminded that their Israelite slaves would again become their equals and regain their rights.

The Catholic tradition of practicing the Holy Year began with Pope Boniface VIII in 1300, and since 1475 an Ordinary Jubilee has been celebrated every 25 years in order to allow each generation to experience at least one during their lifetime.

However, as is the case with Pope Francis’ 2016 Holy Year of Mercy, an extraordinary Jubilee can be called for a special occasion or for an event that has a particular importance.

Until now there have only been 26 ordinary Jubilee celebrations, the last of which was the Jubilee of 2000.

The Holy Year is traditionally a year of forgiveness of sins and also the punishment merited by one’s sins. It is also a year for reconciliation between enemies, conversion and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The first extraordinary Jubilee was called in 16th century, and the most recent have been in 1933, when Pope Pius XI called one to celebrate 1900 years of Redemption, and in 1983 when St. John Paul II proclaimed one to honor 1950 years of Redemption.

Mercy is a dear to Francis, and is the central topic of his episcopal motto “miserando atque eligendo,” that he chose when ordained a bishop in 1992.

A possible translation of the motto, taken from a homily given by St. Bede in which he commented on Jesus’ calling of St. Matthew, could be “with eyes of mercy.”

In his first Angelus address as the Bishop of Rome, March 17, 2013, Francis said that “Feeling mercy, that this word changes everything.”

Mercy, he said then, “is the best thing we can feel: it changes the world. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to understand properly this mercy of God, this merciful Father who is so patient.”

In the English version of his first Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium,” the word “mercy” appears 32 times.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis says he wanted to enter US from Mexican border

by CNA/EWTN News • March 13, 2015

(Daniel Bernal via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Vatican City — In a lengthy interview with a Mexican multimedia group Pope Francis hit on several topics including his visit to the U.S., where he symbolically wanted to enter from the country’s border with Mexico.

When asked by journalist Valentina Alazraki why he chose not to go to Mexico as part of his trip to the U.S. in September, Francis said that “I thought about doing it, because I wanted to enter the United States from the Mexican border.”

“But, if I was going to Ciudad Juarez, for example, and entered from there, or Morelia, and entered from there, there would be a bit of havoc: how can one go from there and not come to see the Señora, the Mother!” he said, referring to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a title given to Mary after she appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531 on the Hill of Tepeyac, later to become a part of the Villa de Guadalupe in Mexico City, telling him to have the city’s bishop build a church in the place of her appearance.

When the bishop asked for a sign, Mary told Juan Diego to pick roses that were growing on the hillside, even though it was the middle of winter.

She arranged them in his tilma – a poncho-like cape made of cactus fiber – and when Juan Diego dropped them in front of the bishop, an image of Mary exactly as Juan had described, appeared on the tilma. The image is still housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Pope Francis said that if he went to Mexico he would have to visit the image, and explained that one can’t visit Mexico “just for a bit. Mexico requires a week.”

“So I promise a trip to Mexico as it deserves, and not to hurry and pass through. It’s because of this I decided not to go to Mexico.”

The Pope’s interview was conducted by Alazraki, a correspondent for Mexican multimedia company Televisa. It was filmed by Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Center, and published to coincide with the two-year anniversary of Francis’ pontificate March 13. The full transcript is at Vatican Radio in Spanish, and with extensive portions in English.

Among other topics Francis touched on, including his recent comment on the “Mexicanization” of Argentina and whether or not he likes being Pope, the pontiff spoke of immigration and the importance of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Not only do Mexican citizens cross the border, but also people coming from Central America and Guatemala, who he said cross all of Mexico “to look for a better future.”

Immigration today “is the fruit of unrest in the etymological sense of the word, a fruit of hunger, of the search for new frontiers,” he said. The same can be said of Africa, where migrants cross the Mediterranean by the overcrowded boatload.

Francis noted how they leave their own countries often due to hunger, war or a lack of work, and said these things all find a common cause in the “tyranny of an economic system that has the god of money in the center and not the person.”

“People are discarded. So a country creates – whether it’s America, Africa, wherever it is – creates an imposed economic situation, of course, which discards people, which makes them go to the other side to look for work, or food or well-being.”

Migration today is painful problem for the entire world, he said, but voiced his satisfaction that Europe has begun to review its immigration policy.

Migration was a topic the Pope touched on when he visited the European Parliament and the Council of Europe in November. He said then that Europe’s leaders needed to give a stronger response to the increase in migration, and urged them to work toward finding effective policies.

In his interview, Pope Francis turned to the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is the destination of thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe each year, as an example of how migration policies have improved.

Returning to the U.S.-Mexican border, the Pope noted how it’s an area currently involved in “a great fight against drug trafficking.”

“I don’t want to throw out statistics and then create a diplomatic problem for myself – but I’ve been told, and I saw it in a magazine, I think (the United States) are among the top drug consumers in the world and the border in which the drugs enter, the main one, is the Mexican (border),” he said.

Francis then pointed to the area of Morelia in Mexico, saying that it is one place particularly ravaged by drug trafficking organizations.

The traffickers, he said, “know how to carry out their work of death, they are messengers of death, whether it’s by drugs, or to ‘clean’ those who oppose drugs.”

He recalled the 43 students who were disappeared in Mexico last fall, and are presumed to have been killed by a drug gang after being handed over by corrupt police. The students, Francis said, are asking in a sense for justice and to be remembered – not for revenge.

Pope Francis also referred to his recent elevation of Morelia’s archbishop, Alberto Suarez Inda, as cardinal in February.

One of the reasons for the appointment, he said, is because the cardinal – to use a colloqial expression – is “in the (frying) pan.”

“In other words he’s a man that is in a very hot area and is a witness of a Christian man, of a great priest,” Francis said.

In the wide-ranging interview, he also discussed the Church in Latin America and the growth of evangelical communities; his pontificate; the Roman Curia; the Synod on the Family; and the scourge of child sex abuse by clergy.

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VATICAN NEWS

Two years into papacy, Francis continues path set in first moments

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 13, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday general audience on August 27, 2014. (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)

Vatican City — The infant moments of Francis’ papacy deeply signified what his future mission would be like, reflected Catholics who were present for his election two years ago.

After white smoke wafted up from the Sistine Chapel signaling a new pope, the crowd in St. Peter’s Square was jubilant with expectation. “The Holy Spirit was palpably present,” related Kathryn Jean Lopez, founding director of Catholic Voices USA.

“It had been raining for days,” she said. “There was something Lenten, penitential and appropriate, reflecting the season and the pope-lessness of the moment.”

About an hour later, Pope Francis stepped onto the balcony above St. Peter’s Basilica and gave the crowd – and the world – his first Urbi et Orbi blessing – “to the city and the world.”

The Italians were ecstatic when his papal title “Francis” was announced, said Kim Daniels, senior advisor to Catholic Voices USA.

“‘Francesco! Francesco!’ they kept saying,” Daniels said. “St. Francis [of Assisi] is so important to all of us, and especially to Italians.”

And Pope Francis has followed the example of his patron saint. Firstly, he puts his faith into concrete action and “interacts with people directly,” Daniels said.

St. Francis also preached love of peace and care for the environment. “I think it’s clear that Pope Francis is pointing in that direction as well, as we look forward to the ecology encyclical coming out this summer,” she continued.

With the crowd at fever pitch, the new pope asked for silence and prayer. That was an “extremely powerful moment,” Daniels described.

“The silence really spoke something about the humility at the heart of our faith and reminded us that we find God in silence.”

Pope Francis then summoned his audience to accompany him and each other on the “camino” or “journey,” one of “fraternity, of love, of trust among us.” This language of “journey” was also significant.

“An important key to his papacy has been that he seeks to walk with God’s holy, faithful people,” Daniels said. He “consistently focuses on the concrete situations faced by real people including especially the poor and forgotten, instead of pointing to abstract ideas.”

Other Catholics related how Pope Francis has influenced them personally.

“He has also not neglected to remind us, day in and day out, of the importance of our families and how each one is a domestic church, where we learn generosity and fidelity from one another,” said Grazie Christie of The Catholic Association.

Francis catches everyone “off guard” but this challenges them in a good way, her colleague Ashley McGuire explained.

Whether it be his “trading in the papal palace for a humble apartment” or “choosing to ride in a Ford Focus,” Francis has laid out “a pattern to be followed and at the same time mercifully reaches us where we are, at a level we can understand, take to heart, and turn into action that brings Christ to our world.”

On Friday, Francis announced a Holy Year for Mercy, an extraordinary jubilee year that will begin Dec. 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

“God had mercy on us in giving us Pope Francis,” Lopez responded. “It’s the same Church, but it’s one where the first pope from the Americas pleads with us to meet Jesus, know Jesus, share Jesus. To be the people of the Sermon on the Mount already.”

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WORLD NEWS

Euthanasia supporters in Chile accused of exploiting sick teen

by CNA/EWTN News • March 7, 2015

(CDC/Debora Cartagena)

Santiago, Chile — Proponents of a euthanasia bill in Chile are exploiting a sick young girl for political purposes, the girl’s father has charged.

Fourteen-year-old Valentina Maureira suffers from cystic fibrosis – a degenerative and incurable illness. The teen garnered national attention when she taped a video asking to meet with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to ask her to authorize an injection that would allow her to “go to sleep forever.”

After the video had been seen worldwide, Valentina changed her mind and chose to promote a message championing organ donation and fighting for life, not only in her case but for everyone affected by cystic fibrosis.

“Now she has decided to fight for her life and that of other children suffering from her grave illness,” her father, Freddy Maureira, told a local radio station.

“She also asked the president for a video camera in order to tape her testimony for the purpose of helping other children in the same situation,” he said.

But while Valentina no longer wants to die, the president of the Chilean Senate Health Committee, Guido Girardi, used the occasion to announce that he will resurrect discussion on the euthanasia bill that he helped author.

“I am going to bring back the debate on death with dignity to establish as a human right the power to decide what to do when faced with terminal illnesses without a solution,” Girardi said during his speech in Parliament.

In an interview with CNA, human rights lawyer Pablo Urquizar warned that resurrecting the bill does not dignify the lives of the most vulnerable. Rather, he said, “what this does is treat persons like disposable objects because of the complex state of their health and vulnerability.”

“Behind these euthanasia bills is the ideology of the disposable, which tries to make us see that the intentional death of a person in an absolutely vulnerable state is the solution for the problem of their sickness,” Urquizar continued.

In statements to the press, Valentina’s father accused Senator Girardi of exploiting his daughter’s situation for political ends.

The senator had previously presented two bills de-penalizing euthanasia in 2000 and 2006, but the Health Committee did not discuss them.

Another senator promoting the bill is Fulvio Rossi, who will soon become the president of the Senate Health Committee. He has stated that “a human being ought to have the right to be able to exercise freedom and to be able to decide not only how to live but also how and when to die.”

Some members of Parliament had harsh criticisms for the proposal, including Senate Health Committee member Jaqueline van Rysselberghe, who said euthanasia is nothing more than a type of “homicide.”

“As doctors we are trained to be able to assist, improve, and help people so that that go through their illnesses in a better way, and … (not) to be able to kill people regardless of the condition they have,” she said.

Euthanasia is penalized by law in Chile by article 393 of the Penal Code. There has been three active motions presented between 2011 and 2014 to change this, but they never were a priority on the legislative agenda.

The debate over legalizing euthanasia is added to the list of bills to be considered on the agenda of Chilean President Bachelet’s government. Others bills are directly related to the issues of life and family, including the legalization of abortion and redefinition of marriage.

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WORLD NEWS

Nuns in Burma encourage empowerment of women, end to inequality

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • March 9, 2015

Burmese members of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd celebrate International Women’s Day 2015 in Yangon. (Sr. Elizabeth Joseph, RGS)

Yangon, Burma — A community of women religious held a workshop in Burma’s largest city over the weekend to mark International Women’s Day, exploring sex inequality and women’s rights in the southeast Asian nation also known as Myanmar.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd’s workshop was held March 6-7 in Yangon, and focused on the ways in which forms of violence against women threatens holistic human development and hinders Burma’s growth.

According to Sr. Elizabeth Joseph, RGS , the reasons the community of Good Shepherd nuns took up the challenge of celebrating International Women’s Day was “to empower women’s potentials under our care, and to help them realize their dignity and value, because women in Burma are oppressed in many ways.”

“We Good Shepherd Sisters are called to live and work for people at the margins, especially women and children … we are women for women,” Sr. Elizabeth Joseph told CNA March 7.

International Women’s Day is celebrated March 8 in numerous countries around the world, to inspire women and celebrate their achievements.

“We want to hear how women in our care feel about themselves being a woman and how they recognize their strength and abilities,” Sr. Elizabeth reflected. “We want to see our women as human beings with dignity, instead of as victims; and all kind of violence against women to be stopped.”

“I believe that violating women’s right is like killing your future,” she said.

More than 65 women joined the nuns gathered at their convent in Yangon for the workshop, exploring the challenges faced by Burmese women at home and in the workplace.

Sr. Lucy, RGS, gave a keynote presentation on the “12 critical areas of concern” to women in Burma, discussing poverty; education; health; violence; armed conflict; the economy; women in power and decision-making; institutional mechanisms for women’s advancement; human rights; media; environment; and children.

During group discussion focusing on the realities facing Burmese women, the participants pointed out that women’s rights are violated at home, at work, and in society, and in many ways only a few are aware of their rights and the procedures of the legal system.

Further, participants observed the general subjugation of women to men’s authority in Burma, as well as women being targeted for slave labor and human trafficking.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have been in Burma since 1865, and their work there is focused on programs for evangelization and empowerment; advocacy against human trafficking; prison ministry; health; and education.

Sr. Elizabeth reflected that seeing the brightness on the face of participants, “we are happy to be women – even though we are in a bad and poor situation, we will stand together for our women.”

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WORLD NEWS

From Poland to Papua New Guinea, a great task awaits the new Bishop of Wewak

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • March 10, 2015

The highlands of Papua New Guinea. (eGuide Travel via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Wewak, Papua New Guinea — Next month, a Polish missionary to Papua New Guinea will continue his 23-year ministry to the Melanesian nation with the added responsibility of serving as Bishop of Wewak, on the country’s northern coast.

On Feb. 6, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Jozef Roszynski, S.V.D., as Bishop of Wewak; his episcopal consecration is to take place April 25.

“Fr. Joe is a lively man, and loved by the people, the priests and religious of the diocese,” said Fr. Victor Roche, general secretary of the Papua New Guinea bishops conference.

Fr. Roszynski was born in 1962 in the Polish town of Nidzica, and at the age of 19 he joined the Society of the Divine Word. He professed religious vows in 1982, and attended seminary from then until 1989, obtaining a master’s degree in theology from the Catholic University of Lublin.

In 1989 he was ordained a priest of the Society of the Divine Word, and he served two years as a priest in Poland, and then spent a year studying English.

Fr. Roszynski arrived to Papua New Guinea in October, 1992, where he has since served. He has spent all but two of the past 23 years in the Wewak diocese, serving various parishes. He began by learning the pidgin language and culture. He has been a district superior and acting provincial for the Society of the Divine Word, and has been assisting at the parishes in the Wewak diocese which are without resident priests..

He also spent two years in Madang, studying human resources and counseling at Divine Word University.

“The Diocese of Wewak is the biggest in Papua New Guinea for number of parishes, a traditionally Catholic area,” Fr. Giorgio Licini, communications director for the Papuan bishops conference, told CNA March 7.

Some 61 percent of the diocese’s population is Catholic: more than double the national average of 27 percent. The diocese of more than 14,000 square miles has 45 parishes, and only 37 priests, both diocesan and religious.

Fr. Licini recounted that the new bishop, who carries vast experience, has to steer through several challenges in the Wewak diocese, especially with the “financial crisis, a number of dysfunctional priests, and many parishes lacking priests.”

He added that the predisposition to alcoholism common among some of the indigenous tribes along the Sepik river will also be a particular challenge for the new bishop.

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WORLD NEWS

An exodus with little hope – report finds crisis of unaccompanied minors fleeing Syria

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 10, 2015

A young Syrian refugee at school in Ramtha, Jordan. (Kevin Jones/CNA)

Washington, D.C. — The countries neighboring Syria are swamped with millions of refugees from its civil war which creates special risks for young children, according to a new report by the U.S. bishops.

More than half of the 3.8 million Syrian refugees have been children fleeing the civil war and the onslaught of Islamic State, said the bishops’ report “Refuge & Hope in the Time of ISIS.”

“The number of unaccompanied children and other vulnerable children from Syria and elsewhere is rising, yet there are few protection mechanisms in place to identify and rescue them from harm,” the director of the U.S. Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services, Nathalie Lummert, stated.

“What we are seeing is an exodus of the next generation in Syria, with little hope for their future.”

The report was based on a visit to Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria – all countries affected by the Syrian refugee crisis – by a delegation of U.S. bishops back in September and October. The bishops met with refugees, authorities, social workers, and “victims of trafficking, torture, trauma, gender-based violence, and religious persecution.”

The crisis has been compounded by the onslaught of Islamic State forces and has now reached a “tipping point,” said Anastasia Brown, interim executive director for the bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services. The international community must intervene, the report insisted.

In Turkey, the hardest-hit of the host countries mentioned in the report, “some of the most vulnerable, including unaccompanied minors, fall through the cracks.”

Women and children refugees faced special challenges, from the threat of human trafficking, to child labor, to a long-term lack of education.

The number of unaccompanied refugee children is “likely much higher” than reported because of the strain the refugee crisis has taken on surrounding countries and their ability to identify and care for the children.

Those children who are identified and housed are “largely left to fend for themselves,” the report continued. The unaccompanied children end up “out of sight and out of mind” through lack of oversight.

In one story featured, a 14 year-old girl arrived at the Greek border with an older man she claimed was her brother. In an interview with an NGO, however, she broke down and revealed that her mother sold her into slavery to pay a smuggler.

On their own, the children are even more susceptible to xenophobic violence and being trafficked into Europe.

Turkey presents especially grotesque circumstances for young refugees. One Afghan boy interviewed said that other boy refugees fell into the sex trafficking industry. Many young women are sold for sex slavery or forced marriages.

“The men use the females and discard them after a short period of time – disgraced and shamed,” the report stated. Turkish brothels have popped up “consisting solely of Syrian refugee females.”

Furthermore, the host countries have not built a path to integration or resettlement for the masses of unaccompanied children, leaving them without much of a future. “There is virtually no access to resettlement or other durable solutions for these children,” the report stated.

Another major problem child refugees face is lack of education whether because of legal obstacles or children having to work to help support their family.

Turkey in particular offers an “extremely serious lack of formal education,” where less than one in three refugee children living outside a camp attends school. Some refugees have not attended school in four years, putting the next generation at a serious disadvantage when they enter the adult labor force.

The international community must mobilize to aid the beleaguered refugees, insisted Bishop Eusebio Elizondo Almaguer, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chair of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, in a Jan. 31 letter to the “refugees and All Coming to Your Aid.”

The bishop implored “President Obama and other concerned world leaders” to work for a solution where refugees could return home.

“We also advocate for alternative durable solutions, such as resettlement, for those who need immediate relief or for whom such return would not be safe and humane,” he added.

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WORLD NEWS

Italian bishop to offer Good Friday Way of the Cross meditations at Colosseum

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • March 11, 2015

The eleventh Station of the Cross, from the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center, Norwood, Ohio. (elycefeliz via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Rome, Italy — The bishop who preached the final Lenten spiritual exercises for St. John Paul II has been chosen to prepare meditations for the Way of the Cross to be celebrated on Good Friday at the Colosseum before Pope Francis.

Bishop Renato Corti, 79, is Bishop Emeritus of Novara; he told Vatican Radio March 7 the meditations he has prepared focus on the keyword ‘protecting’.

In 2005, Bishop Corti was called by St. John Paul II to preach to the Roman Curia for the traditional Lenten Spiritual Exercise in the Vatican, the last St. John Paul II attended: the Pope died a week later, on April 2, 2005.

The Roman tradition of holding the Way of the Cross at the Coloseum on Good Friday goes back to the pontificate of Benedict XIV, who died in 1758.

The tradition was revived in 1964 by Bl. Paul VI, while under St. John Paul II the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum became a worldwide television event; the Pope himself used to carry the Cross.

The Pope personally chooses the person who writes the meditations for the stations, and the papal choice can indicate the issues the Pope wants to zero in on.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was chosen to write the meditations of the 2005 Way of the Cross, the last under St. John Paul II, and his meditations became the program of his pontificate when he was elected Bishop of Rome weeks later.

In 2007, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong discussed the difficult situation of China after Benedict XVI had sent a letter to Chinese Catholics, and in 2013 Cardinal Bechara Rai and a group of young people from Lebanon demonstrated the Pope’s attention to the dramatic situation of Christians in the Middle East.

Pope Francis chose Archbishop Giancarlo Bregantini in 2014, well known for his commitment against the Mafia when he was bishop in Calabria; and Bishop Corti in 2015, a talented and much appreciated preacher.

Bishop Corti told Vatican Radio his keyword for the meditations is ‘to protect or ‘to take care of’ – Italian ‘custodire’ – and he was inspired by St. Joseph’s role as protector of the Holy Family.

Protecting will be discussed in three key topics: the Word of God, the Eucharist, and forgiveness. The meditations will be also filled with a prayer for the coming synod, so that “the works of synod will be accompanied by mercy and truth.”

“I also recalled some grave facts which exist, and which are negations of protecting; for example, the evil done to youth, the abandonment of the poor, and the already-forgotten pillars of peace as recalled by Pope John XXIII: truth, justice, liberty, love.”

Current issues which Bishop Corti will discuss include the abolition of the death penalty; an end to torture; human trafficking; and the persecution of Christians around the world. He will also discuss those “signs of the Kingdom of God which is coming” such as the missionary sisters who care for orphans and child soldiers.

He added that the meditations for the Way of the Cross will be empathetic and engaging, trying to see things from Christ’s point of view rather than being merely descriptive.

A love for mission has always characterized Bishop Corti – while Bishop of Novara, he made several visits to Africa and Latin America.

He was born in 1936, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Milan in 1959, at the age of 23. He then was consecrated as Auxiliary Bishop of Milan in 1981; then, he served as Bishop of Novara from 1991 to 2011, when he retired.

Since retiring, Bishop Corti has spent much of his time preaching spiritual exercises.

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WORLD NEWS

Economic progress for Syria’s women proves a silver lining amid war

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • March 11, 2015

Reem Alhaswani at a Caritas Internationalis / Voices of Faith press conference. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — The destruction of Syria’s ongoing war has unearthed an unexpected jewel in the refugee camps of Lebanon: the chance for women to gain an education and the tools for rebuilding their homeland.

“We’re empowering women,” Syrian refugee Reem Alhaswan told CNA March 8, so that when they return to their home country, “they can build their society in a better way.”

The war and subsequent refugee crisis can be seen as an opportunity for women living in the camps to use “this very bad situation” in order to gain experience and develop their skills, she said.

Alhaswan, 27, is one of more than a million Syrian refugees currently residing in Lebanon, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

She is the founder and project manager of Basmeh & Zeitooneh – an initiative that helps women refugees develop practical skills so they can help to support themselves financially.

In addition to selling hand-embroidered items, the women are learning to read and are being educated on issues such as domestic violence and human rights.

Beginning in 2013 as a small woman’s workshop in the Shatila refugee camp outside Beirut, the project now helps more than 150 Syrian and Palestinian women.

Forced to flee Syria in 2012 and live as a refugee in Lebanon, Alhaswan’s story gained international attention this Sunday at the Vatican’s Voices of Faith (VoF) women’s conference, where she received the Women Sowers of Development award for her work.

Gathering women from around the world, this year’s VoF brought together women from various fields – including human rights activists, policy makers and academics – to give witness to their work in areas of poverty and the defense of human dignity and equality.

First held in 2014, the VoF conference was established in response to Pope Francis’ call to “broaden the space within the Church for a more incisive feminine presence.”

Dressed in a simple black frock embroidered by some of the women helped by her initiative, Alhaswan told CNA ahead of the event how those taking part in the program are being empowered with new skills learned through her workshop.

The Women Sowers of Development award, which Alhaswan received on behalf of her fellow refugees, was launched last year by VoF and Caritas Internationalis. The 10,000 euro prize was also awarded to Caritas Nicaragua for its work in helping rural women learn how to grow and sell their own food.

Ahead of the conference Chantal Götz, executive director of Fidel Götz Foundation which sponsors VoF, told CNA the annual event is an opportunity to celebrate the “unsung heroines” of the world.

“The Catholic Church would be unparalleled in its contribution to humanity” if the world was made aware of the “wealth of knowledge, wisdom and skills” of the women working behind the scenes for the betterment of society, she said.

Women have grown accustomed “to working away quietly, expecting nothing in return, shunning the limelight, delighting in the pleasure of doing what they feel they ought to be doing,” Götz observed.

Martina Liebsch, who is responsible for policy and advocacy at Caritas Internationali, told CNA that the aim of the award was to specifically and concretely showcase the work women do, while giving them “opportunities to develop their talents and to be there at the service of their families and communities.”

Through this award, the organizers wanted to demonstrate what women are capable of if given the “education, technical knowledge and resources,” she said.

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WORLD NEWS

Malawian bishops visit flooded areas, showing solidarity and delivering aid

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

Archbishop Thomas Msusa of Blantyre and Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga distribute food to flood victims in Malawi’s Thyolo district, March 10, 2015. (Louis Suwedi/ECM Media Office)

Blantyre, Malawi — Malawi’s bishops are making solidarity visits to areas in the country’s southern and central regions to deliver aid items collected for those affected by devastating floods in January which displaced more than 230,000 from their homes.

“We commend the oneness and unity in joy and tribulation which the Catholic Church in Malawi has shown, and we continue to ask well-wishers to keep contributing towards this noble cause,” Archbishop Thomas Msusa of Blantyre said March 10 at an event held in the Thyolo district.

“The demand for relief items in the affected 15 districts is still huge,” he added at the visit to displaced persons living in shelter camps in the area.

Representatives from each of Malawi’s eight dioceses delivered money, clothes, food, and non-food items valued at 1 billion Malawian kwachas, or $2.2 million. The aid was collected from Catholic parishes and institutions across the country.

Archbishop Msusa acknowledged the generosity shown by the faithful in Malawi, who contributed about 240 metric tons of assorted items that includes clothes, shoes, blankets, beddings, kitchen utensils, and non-perishable foods such as chips, corn, and beans.

He described how the Malawi bishops had designated Feb. 8 “as a special Sunday for the collections of relief items to support thousands of our brothers and sisters affected by the floods,” adding that “we dedicated all the collections for the AMECEA thanksgiving Mass Jan. 31 towards the support of the flood victims.”

Launching the flood disaster response project, Archbishop Msusa noted that the Church in Malawi and worldwide has been alarmed and grieving that thousands of people have been displaced and rendered homeless, houses and crops destroyed, and many more injured.

Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo, acting secretary general for the Malawi bishops conference, thanked the universal Church for hearing the appeal for assistance towards the flood disaster: “Our brothers and sisters across the world, through Caritas International, mobilized resources for the flood response in Malawi.”

Fr. Chimombo also appealed to the Catholic faithful in leadership positions “to live to their Christian values by advocating for the poor, as well as resilient building policies so that events like these disasters do not always catch Malawians off guard.”

Prince Henderson, communications officer for the Malawi bishops, noted that both Gift Mafuleka of the Malawian Department of Disaster Management Affiars and the Traditional Authority Ngolongoliwa, a local government body in Thyolo district, had commended the Church for responding to the president’s call to support household affected by the flooding.

Two weeks of heavy rain in January claimed more than 275 lives and displaced more than 230,000 persons from their homes in 15 of Malawi’s 28 districts.

In addition to homes, infrastructure such as roads and bridges were damaged. Tens of thousands of farm animals, the primary form of capital for most farmers, have died or remain vulnerable to starvation and disease. The contamination of water has also raised concerns around the spread of such diseases as malaria and diarrhea.

According to Voice of America, the flooding washed away more than 158,000 acres of farmland in the country where agriculture accounts for 30 percent of GDP.

Pope Francis sent a message of solidarity to the country Jan. 24, assuring Malawians of “his prayers for the victims, their families and all affected by this catastrophe.”

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March 15, 2015: A day of fasting, prayer for war-torn Syria

by CNA/EWTN News • March 12, 2015

(Carole AlFarah/Aid to the Church in Need)

Damascus, Syria — As the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Syrian civil war approaches, the head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has called for a world day of prayer and fasting for peace in his country.

“Lent is a way of the cross, and we are in the fifth year of the way of the cross of our Arab countries, especially in Syria, Iraq and Palestine, but also in Lebanon, which is influenced in a dramatic way by the wars that have flared up around it,” wrote Gregorios III, Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch and Bishop of Damascus, in a Feb. 24 letter.

Patriarch Gregorios’ letter appealed for a world-wide day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, to be observed March 15-16, 2015.

The Syrian conflict first began March 15, 2011, when demonstrations protesting the rule of Bashar al-Assad and his Ba’ath Party sprang up nationwide. In April of that year, the Syrian army began to deploy to put down the uprisings, firing on protesters.

Since then, the violence has morphed into a civil war which has claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people. There are 3.8 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Turkey and Lebanon, and an additional 8 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war.

The patriarch’s prayer initiative is being supported by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, which has given $6.6 million in aid since the civil war began.

“With the spread of the conflict into the neighbouring countries, the situation has become still more desperate, the more so since the interest on the part of the international community has clearly dwindled,” Baron Johannes Heereman, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need, said March 4. “That is why we are providing emergency aid for families in Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and other affected areas. We are helping to supply basic foodstuffs, medicines, primary medical care, financial help with rent for lodgings, heating and electricity. But money can only help to ease the suffering, not end the war.”

Patriarch Gregorios wrote that “Our countries’ Golgotha is very great: the greatest tragedy of the region’s territories and even of the world since the Second World War. As bishops, our role is to be with our people, alongside our people, before our people, behind our people and in the service of our people. We want to wash the feet of those who suffer, as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. Yet we ask forgiveness from our faithful, because, despite our efforts, we are unable really to meet all their needs which are increasing on a daily basis.”

“We are at a loss before the great pain and great suffering of our people in all its Christian and Muslim communities. This is tragedy and suffering on a global scale, which affects everyone. All have been affected by poverty, hunger, cold, lack of clothing, illness, sufferings and disability. The great majority of our faithful suffer from all that, especially in Syria. All are equal now in this kind of suffering.”

The patriarch lamented the vast numbers of Melkite Catholics leaving Syria, urging “everyone to stay, to be patient, strong, always to hope and to hang on to hope, faith and trust in God’s will … we, as pastors are staying with all those who are staying, and are serving them wholeheartedly and with all our strength. We are making continuous efforts to help everyone, by all means at our disposal.”

He thanked Pope Francis for his prayers for and solidarity with the people of Syria, “and also for his material assistance through the Roman dicasteries and the various organisations related to the Vatican.”

Patriarch Gregorios welcomed the news of the return of some faithful to their homes, including at Ma’loula, Al-Qusayr, and Homs, and at the rebuilding of homes and churches in these towns and in Al-Nabek and Yabrud.

He added, “We are also glad about the compensation given by the State and for the aid of our faithful and we also thank all the international institutions and our friends who are helping us in this direction.”

“From the very depths of our suffering and pain in Syria we cry out with our suffering people, who are walking on the bloody way of the cross, and appeal to the whole world: Enough! Enough! Enough of war on Syria!” he concluded.

“We believe in the power of the prayer and fasting in this Great Lent, and we call for a day of solidarity with Syria, a day of fasting and prayer for hope and peace in Syria.”

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Abortion support blights European Parliament report, critics charge

by CNA/EWTN News • March 13, 2015

The European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Strasbourg, France — The European Parliament has ignored the needs of children by adopting a human rights report that supports abortion access in the name of “human dignity” while encouraging efforts to redefine marriage, critics have said.

“Children are entitled to special care and assistance according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe affirmed March 12.

“Human rights are universal but the European Parliament has proven today that there is no common understanding of what human dignity is,” the federation continued. “Europe does not need abortions, but better support for mothers and improved relationship and sexual education.”

On Thursday the European Parliament adopted its annual report on global human rights. The document, known as the Panzeri Report, called on the European Union and its member states to “recognize the inalienable rights of women and girls” to “safe and legal abortion.” The report also professed that “everyone has the right to life” and human dignity is “inviolable” and must be “respected and protected.”

The Brussels-based organization Christian Action Research and Education criticized the self-contradictory nature of the resolution. It said the Panzeri Report “denied the most basic right to millions: the right to life.” While the organization praised the report’s efforts to help victims of violence, war, and religious persecution and its addressing of child labor, the death penalty and asylum seekers, these were “blighted” by the effort to make abortion a universal right.

The nature of marriage was also addressed in the report.

The resolution encouraged EU institutions and member states to “further contribute to reflection on the recognition of same-sex marriage or same-sex civil union as a political, social and human and civil rights issue.”

It singled out for condemnation Moldova’s constitutional support for marriage as a union of one man and one woman. An initial draft of the report also singled out Croatia, Slovakia, and Macedonia.

The Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe said the resolution’s statement on marriage “threatens the right of children to have a father and a mother.” It said children’s best interest should be considered, and their needs “should be respected” and “cannot be neglected in favor of adults’ desires.”

The approval of the Panzeri Report follows quickly on another pro-abortion rights move in the international parliament.

On March 8 the European Parliament passed another resolution adopting the Tarabella Report, which stated that the legislative body “maintains that women must have control over their sexual and reproductive health and rights, not least by having ready access to contraception and abortion.”

The resolution said that the international body also supports actions to “improve women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services.”

The resolution was approved by a vote of 441 to 205, with 52 abstentions.

Supporters included the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The European People’s Party, the largest group in the parliament, split its vote, according to the U.S.-based Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues.

Christian Action Research and Education said the report is supposed to focus on equal pay, equal rights, and “specific rights violations” that require EU intervention to promote women’s interests.

The organization said the report is merely the parliament’s opinion, but that it will nevertheless be used to support “the ongoing push of the abortion lobby, destroying lives and harming women and their families.”

For its part, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe said the Tarabella Report is “contradictory.” Although it reaffirmed the principle of subsidiarity, the report also tries to frame abortion as a “fundamental rights perspective.”

The federation objected to the parliamentary report’s criticism of national referenda on marriage and its promotion of same-sex “marriage,” an issue which the European Union does not have competence to address.

More than 157,000 people have signed a petition against the two reports on the website CitizenGo.com.

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Journalist blasted for lying in confessional, recording priests’ answers

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • March 13, 2015

(Angela Marie via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Bologna, Italy — The confessional is one of the most private and privileged places in the world. So when an Italian journalist violated the bond of trust between penitent and priest, the Archbishop of Bologna decried her “grave lack of respect” for all Catholics.

Laura Alari writes for Quotidiano Nazionale, which is headquartered in Bologna. She authored a series of four articles in the newspaper which disclosed the responses of priests in the area when she approached them under the pretext of seeking Confession.

Alari went to Confession several times, inventing delicate issues for herself: she pretended to be a lesbian mother asking to baptize her daughter; a woman who cohabitates with her same-sex partner; and a divorced and civilly remarried woman who receives Communion every Sunday.

She then reported the responses of priests when they heard her “confessions.”

Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna responded with a statement March 11: “In bewilderment at the incident and with a soul wounded by a profound sorrow, I mean to reiterate that these articles objectively constitute a grave offense against the truth of Confession, a sacrament of the Christian faith.”

He said Alari’s articles “show a grave lack of respect for believers, who have recourse to it as one of the most precious of goods because it opens up to them the gifts of the mercy of God; and for confessors, by exposing them to the doubt of a possible deceit, which can disrupt the freedom of judgment, which is founded upon a relationship of trust with the penitent, like that between a father and son.”

The cardinal emphasized that Alari’s articles were written by “deliberately tricking the confessor and thereby violating the sacredness of the sacrament, which as a first condition requires sincerity of contrition on the part of the penitent.”

Cardinal Caffarra recalled that the publication of the contents of a confession is among the most grave crimes in the Church, which are under the direct competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

That congregation made clear in norms released May 21, 2010 that among the most grave crimes which it is charged with investigating is that “which consists in the recording, by whatever technical means, or in the malicious diffusion through communications media, of what is said in sacramental confession, whether true or false, by the confessor or the penitent.”

“Anyone who commits such a delict is to punished according to the gravity of the crime, not excluding, if he be a cleric, dismissal or deposition,” reads the norms, to which Cardinal Caffarra averted in his statement.

Alari was also faulted by the Italian Professional Order of Journalists.

Enzo Iacopino, president of the organization, told Avvenire March 12 that their ethical rules “do not allow journalists to hide their identity and to act in disguise, unless the life of the same journalist is in danger, or unless declaring the identity would render writing the article impossible … but discovering what the Church states regarding the divorced and remarried, and baptism, does not require a glimpse through the keyhole.”

“What did she find? Priests who are faithful to the Church’s Magisterium and who approach the faithful with humility, in order to find with each person the best and most human way to face their problems,” Iacopino stressed.

On the other hand, Andrea Cangini, editor of Quotidiano Nazionale, responded saying, “If you interview any person in his functions, you will have answers that may be biased. Only in this way have we been able to understand how the average parish priest reacts. It is interesting.”

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Will Pope Francis visit the fragile Central African Republic later this year?

by CNA/EWTN News • March 13, 2015

Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui blesses an ex-Seleka figher at Camp Beal. (Archdiocese of Bangui/Aid to the Church in Need)

Bangui, Central African Republic — The Archbishop of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, said on Thursday that Pope Francis will visit his country in November. The Pope has expressed his desire to visit the nation, which has been engaged in a civil war for more than two years, but the Holy See says nothing is yet official.

Armed conflict broke out in CAR in December 2012, and the country has since been gripped by violence between the mostly Muslim and foreign Seleka, and the largely Christian anti-balaka.

In a March 12 interview, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that Pope Francis will visit CAR this November, saying, “The papal visit is a sign of the goodness of God and a consolation. He is coming to us as a father – and precisely at a moment when we have just been through a long crisis that has left deep scars.”

“I am hoping that it will bring new strength to the people of the Central African Republic. The message of life that the Pope will bring with him is a message of peace and reconciliation. That’s precisely what our country so urgently needs.”

CNA contacted Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy See press officer, about the news.

Fr. Lombardi responded March 13 that “there is nothing official. The opportunity to go to Central African Republic is currently being considered.”

“However, I would stress that the Pope expressed the wish to go to Central African Republic during the press conference in the flight back from Philippines,” he added.

On his Jan. 19 flight, Pope Francis had responded to a question about visiting Africa, saying: “I will respond hypothetically. The plan is to go to the Central African Republic and Uganda. These two, this year. I think that this will be towards the end of the year, because of the weather.”

Violence broke out in CAR in December 2012. Seleka rebels, loosely organized groups that drew primarily Muslim fighters from other countries, ousted the president and installed their own leader in a March 2013 coup.

In September 2013, after 10 months of terrorism at the hands of the Seleka, anti-balaka self-defense groups began to form. The conflict in the nation took on a sectarian character, as some anti-balaka, many of whom are Christian, began attacking Muslims out of revenge for the Seleka’s acts.

“Both sides have committed terrible crimes, have murdered, raped, destroyed churches and mosques, and entire villages,” Archbishop Nzapalainga lamented in his interview with Aid to the Church in Need.

As the conflict continued, it crossed political, tribal, and religious groups, leaving thousands dead and more than 1 million displaced.

Despite the implementation of a transitional government in January 2014 and the presence of international peacekeeping forces, the country has yet to achieve lasting peace and stability.

Archbishop Nzapalainga said that “the peacekeeping troops have succeeded in bringing a measure of calm to our country. In Bangui, in particular, we hardly see any more armed fighters on the streets.”

While there are fewer armed fighters in Bangui, he reported that the city remains host to more than 30,000 displaced persons “living in refugee camps, at the airport, in various different Catholic churches and also in the central mosque … they are living in oppressive conditions. They are still deeply traumatized and fearful. Many cannot return home, because their houses have been destroyed. The children cannot get to school, while for the men and women there is no work.”

Since April 2014, foreign peacekeepers have been in CAR from the African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations.

“The withdrawal of the European peacekeeping troops – who restored order above all in the Muslim quarters of Bangui – is set to start March 15. I appeal to the world community to keep these troops here,” Archbishop Nzapalainga stated.

David Smith, an analyst who specializes in CAR, told Deutsche Welle this month that “the country is still not at peace, even though over the last 20 years there have been numerous peacekeeping operations that have temporarily brought about peace.”

Assessing the progress made by peacekeepers, the U.N. estimated in March that from a high of more than 1.1 million persons displaced from their homes, now only 630,000 remain displaced.

Archbishop Nzapalainga continued: “I sometimes compare the Central African Republic with a sick man. The peace troops are like a doctor who has restored our country to the status of a convalescent. But I fear that violence will break out again when the U.N. troops leave.”

Already delayed, elections are scheduled for July and August. Yet according to Bloomberg News, the transitional government “has failed to extend its authority beyond Bangui,” and the country is divided between anti-balaka zones in the west, and Seleka-controlled areas in the east.

Archbishop Nzapalainga affirmed that “at the moment there is no possibility of free elections in our country. People are still too deeply fearful and there is still widespread mistrust.”

“The first priority must be security, and the disarming of the rebels. The only answer to the violence is dialogue. And we need the world’s prayers.”

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Holy See’s hospital works to help inmates re-enter society

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • March 14, 2015

A view of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Jan. 25, 2015. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Rome, Italy — On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass for inmates at the Rebibbia New Complex Prison in the suburbs of Rome. But the Vatican’s concern for those at the prison does not stop there.

Since 2011, the overcrowded prison has partnered with the Holy See-owned hospital Bambino Gesù in a work education program to help train inmates and help them be re-accepted in society. The prison’s inmates have worked for the hospital in a call center established at the prison. They have been trained at the prison by the hospital’s personnel.

“This is how we integrated our call center operators through employing people with high possibility to live in social exclusion,” a source in the Bambino Gesù hospital explained.

Rebibbia prison has an official capacity of 1,200 inmates, but at present it houses some 1,750 people across 14 sections.

The work education program will help some of these inmates prepare to transition back into society.

At present there are seven inmates working in the call center from Monday to Saturday.

The program has now entered a new stage. On March 11, its first inmate left the prison on probation to work at the hospital’s call center headquarters in Rome.

The Vatican announced this week that Pope Francis will celebrate Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the prison on Holy Thursday. He will wash some inmates’ feet and the feet of inmates from the nearby women’s penitentiary.

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Prepping for media ahead of World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia

by Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • March 8, 2015

(Matthew Keefe via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Philadelphia, PA — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s visit the United Kingdom in 2010 was supposed to be a disaster. Several people were calling for his arrest upon arrival. No one was expected to show up for his audiences, except maybe a few protestors.

But by the time the Pope arrived and began his visit, the wind had shifted significantly. Catholic Voices, a project founded by lay people specifically for the Pope’s visit, had stepped in and provided media training to faithful Catholics who wanted to convey the joy of the Gospel through the media.

“There were some beautiful conversations about the faith on mainstream media during a visit that sparked something of a renewal in the Church there, thanks be to God,” said Kathryn Lopez, founding director of the United States branch of Catholic Voices.

After successfully reshaping the narrative of Benedict’s UK visit, the media training initiative spread to 12 other countries. The United States branch has been working hard to prepare Catholics to speak with the media for Pope Francis’ visit in the fall for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

“The international media will be there and Catholics there are eager to talk to them about the joy of family life in the light of the Gospel,” Lopez told CNA. “In his encyclical Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis says the light of faith illuminates everything. Oh how our nation and the world – and the people of Philadelphia – need this gift.”

Lopez said the goal of Catholic Voices is not to tell people exactly what to say, but rather to help people frame compelling arguments in a compassionate way, even when faced with hostility against the Church. They are trained in simple communications principles and are encouraged to draw from their personal experiences of faith and God.

Sharla Cloutier went through Catholic Voices training in the U.S. right before the election of Pope Francis. She said Lopez put her through the paces during mock interviews by springing difficult questions on her right away, like: “So Sharla, why does the Catholic Church hate women?”

“You haven’t lived until you’ve sat across from Kathryn in a TV studio for a mock interview, lights shining down, all miked up,” she told CNA. “They really prepared us for anything!”

Because the training involved learning how to better communicate rather than memorized messages of exactly what to communicate, Cloutier said she felt better prepared to handle tough questions about her faith and to stick to her talking points. Ultimately, she believes the training led her from her job in business consulting to full-time pro-life work as a regional director with the Vitae Foundation.

The communication principles are helpful in every day conversations about faith as well, Cloutier noted. Once she found herself explaining Catholic teaching to relatives who thought the Church hated abortion only because it potentially decreased their numbers. She also had to explain to friends why she couldn’t donate to an organization that supported human embryonic stem cell research.

“Sometimes the Holy Spirit leads you into discussions whether you’re ready for them or not,” she said.

The training sessions in Philadelphia are especially focusing on issues of marriage and family life leading up to Pope Francis’ visit to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia at the end of September this year.

“Catholic Voices is working with folks in Philadelphia who want to tell that story to do so – talking about the challenges face the family, what works in helping families flourish, even why family matters,” Lopez said.

Catholic Voices USA has teamed up with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the World Meeting of Families volunteers to provide training to a variety of people before the papal visit. Ultimately, the goal is to present the Church in a compassionate and compelling light, and to lead people back to the sacraments.

“Obviously Saul won’t fall from his horse on account of every three-minute interview you do on radio or TV, but Heaven knows what God will make of each media opportunity,” Lopez said. “So best we be faithful and civil!”

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Big business overreach? Corporations push Supreme Court to legalize ‘gay marriage’

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 8, 2015

Wall Street. (Michael Aston via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — With the Supreme Court set to rule on a potentially far-reaching marriage case this summer, several hundred corporations are pushing for the court to require “gay marriage” recognition nationwide.

Reuters reported last week that almost 400 businesses had filed a “friend of the court” brief favoring a redefinition of marriage in a set of cases before the Court that will decide whether states, under the Fourteenth Amendment, must grant same-sex “marriage” licenses and recognize “gay marriages” conducted in other states.

The list of businesses includes a host of media, communications, and entertainment companies: Thompson Reuters Corporation, Disney, Viacom, Inc., Bloomberg, Verizon, DirectTV, Google, Comcast, CBS, and AT&T.

Social media companies Facebook and Twitter signed on to the brief. Even a few professional sports teams joined the list: the National Football League’s New England Patriots and Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays.

In addition, the list of businesses included financial companies, hotel companies, retail giants, and food and beverage corporations like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Miller Coors.

But Ryan Anderson, an author and scholar on marriage, religion and freedom, argued that big business should not push the Supreme Court to decide something that should be determined by the states.

“There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that requires the states to redefine marriage, and big business should not lobby the Supreme Court to say otherwise,” he told CNA.

“That so many big businesses are lobbying the Court, though, puts to rest the claim that gays and lesbians are a politically powerless ‘suspect class’ that is in need of special protections from the Court,” he continued. “The debate about marriage should be worked out democratically, not cut short by the Court.”

The companies’ argument for legalizing “gay marriage” was on the grounds that a division is created between states that have redefined marriage and those that have not.

This division, the legal brief said, creates a “fractured legal landscape” that “harms employers and employees alike,” resulting in inconsistent policies and a hindered ability to attract and retain employee talent.

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear oral arguments on marriage April 28. The case is expected to be decided in June.

The case stems from the Sixth Circuit Court decision in November upholding traditional marriage amendments in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The judges decided that the question of marriage should be left to the citizens and state legislatures and not the judiciary.

“Of all the ways to resolve this question, one option is not available: a poll of the three judges on this panel, or for that matter all federal judges, about whether gay marriage is a good idea,” the judges stated.

“Better in this instance, we think, to allow change through the customary political processes, in which the people, gay and straight alike, become the heroes of their own stories by meeting each other not as adversaries in a court system but as fellow citizens seeking to resolve a new social issue in a fair-minded way,” the circuit opinion concluded.

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Touchdown! Notre Dame scores big on HHS mandate at Supreme Court

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 9, 2015

The University of Notre Dame’s Golden Dome. (Matthew D. Britt via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — In a potentially groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court nullified a federal court ruling against the University of Notre Dame on the HHS contraception mandate and sent it back for reconsideration by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The university is “gratified” by the decision, said vice president of public affairs and communications, Paul J. Browne. They had requested the case be remanded by the Court in light of the Hobby Lobby decision last June.

“Notre Dame continues to challenge the federal mandate as an infringement on our fundamental right to the free exercise of our Catholic faith,” Browne said.

Notre Dame is one of well over 100 non-profit institutions to sue the federal government over a mandate requiring that employers provide health care plans covering contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause early abortions.

After the initial mandate was announced, hundreds of organizations, churches, and business across the country voiced their religious objection. The government subsequently developed an “accommodation,” under which non-profit employers who religiously objected to offering such coverage could send a notice of objection to a third party who would then offer the coverage.

Notre Dame and other plaintiffs have argued that they would still be violating their religious convictions by cooperating in such a way with the contraception coverage, which they believe to be immoral.

The university’s request for an injunction offering protection from the mandate was initially denied, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling last February. The university then appealed its case to the Supreme Court.

The contraception mandate “violated our religious beliefs by requiring Notre Dame’s participation in a regulatory scheme to provide abortion-inducing products, contraceptives, and sterilization,” Browne stated.

Last June, the Supreme Court issued a major ruling on the contraception mandate, saying that the federal regulation cannot be applied to “closely-held corporations” – including arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby – if their owners have religious objections to it.

Now, the Supreme Court is instructing the appeals court to reconsider Notre Dame’s case, taking into account the Hobby Lobby ruling in support of religious freedom.

Some observers said the Court’s Monday decision could foreshadow this religious freedom protection being reinforced more broadly for other religious employers as well.

The Becket Fund, which supported the university in a “friend of the court” brief, called Monday’s ruling “a major blow” to the mandate and a “strong signal” that the Court will uphold the religious freedom of institutions like Notre Dame in similar cases.

The ruling is all the more important because the university was the only non-profit organization without legal protection from the mandate, the Becket Fund added. The government was using the Seventh Circuit’s denial of an injunction to argue against other non-profit organizations who were suing, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor.

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Lawsuit against national pro-life group dies at the Sixth Circuit Court

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 10, 2015

(Keith Burtis via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — Ruling in favor of a national pro-life group, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a district court’s decision to toss out a defamation lawsuit brought by a former congressman.

“Last year the U.S. Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit affirmed our right to free speech and today the Sixth Circuit confirmed the substance of that speech,” stated Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

The group had claimed that a former Democratic congressman voted for taxpayer-funded abortion in supporting the Affordable Care Act. He later sued them for defamation.

“Everything we have argued and continue to argue is true,” stated Dannenfelser.

“Five years into Obamacare, it is now evident that SBA List’s warnings were true. This law is forcing Americans to pay for abortions in numerous ways, and SBA List had a right to say so,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. The legal group had filed a friend-of-the-court brief with Susan B. Anthony List.

The case began in 2010 when the Susan B. Anthony List claimed that then-Rep. Steve Driehaus’ (D-Ohio) vote for the Affordable Care Act was a vote for taxpayer-funded abortion. Driehaus had promised he would not vote for the law unless it contained the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which expressly prohibited funding of abortion.

The amendment was not included as a part of the final law, but President Obama issued an executive order promising not to fund abortion through the law. Driehaus voted for the law and used the executive order to defend his pro-life record.

Critics argued at the time that the executive order was a mere gimmick that would have no legal effect over the law. Investigations since then have suggested that abortions are in fact being funded under the health care law, despite the executive order.

“The parties dispute the meaning and effect of this Order, but acknowledge that executive orders do not amend statutes,” the court’s judgment read.

Driehaus, upon running for re-election as a pro-life Democrat, claimed that the SBA List made a false statement that he supported taxpayer funding of abortion, and filed a complaint with the Ohio Election Commission. They ruled that a “probable violation” of election law had occurred.

The Susan B. Anthony List then sued Driehaus and the commission claiming that the state’s law violated its First Amendment right, that the government was unconstitutionally reviewing and critiquing its speech about a political figure.

The case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled last June that the group had the First Amendment right to challenge the state’s election law. A federal court struck down the Ohio law in September, which the Alliance Defending Freedom argued had unconstitutionally allowed the state to “act as a ‘truth commission’” in determining the veracity of statements made about a politician.

In addition, Driehaus had sued the group for defamation. A district court threw out that case, and the Sixth Circuit upheld the decision.

The judges unanimously ruled that the group’s statement was not false and that Driehaus had not proven the group had malicious intent behind its statements about him. They wrote that “the gist or sting of the statements appears to have at least some truth, to be substantially true, or to be subject to differing interpretations.”

The SBA List argued as much after the circuit court’s ruling. “The Affordable Care Act provides new federal tax subsidies that will finance elective abortion coverage for millions of women who did not have such insurance, expands state Medicaid program coverage of elective abortion for millions of women in dozens of states, and uses federal funds to finance elective abortion coverage for members of Congress and their staff,” stated Dannenfelser.

The judges pointed out that Driehaus refused to support the health care law unless the pro-life Stupak-Pitts Amendment was enacted – but even though it was not in the final version of the bill, he supported it anyway.

“The Executive Order adds language, but is not part of the PPACA and does not alter the statutory text,” they added.

“For SBA List to overcome Driehaus’s defamation claim, it is enough that the statements had some truth, were substantially true, or were subject to differing interpretations. Driehaus’s own change of position demonstrates that they were.”

The charge of defamation has five counts that must be met, the judges explained. In the decision they only weighed two of the counts: if the statement was false, and if “the defendant acted with the requisite degree of fault in publishing the statement.”

The court ruled the statements were not false, and then argued that the group also did not act with the intention of making false statements.

The judges wrote, “we can find no evidence to support Driehaus’ claim that SBA List ‘knew’ the statements were false or entertained serious doubts as to their truth.’ Rather, all of the evidence supports a finding that SBA List did then, and does now, believe emphatically that the statements are true: that the PPACA includes taxpayer funding for abortions.”

“Driehaus cannot show any basis by which we could find actual malice. Consequently, SBA List is entitled to summary judgment on this defamation claim,” they concluded.

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A top-notch contender: Knights of Columbus among world’s most ethical companies

by CNA/EWTN News • March 10, 2015

Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, speaks to CNA, June 26, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

New Haven, CT — You have probably heard about their work with charitable organizations and the international councils that they’ve founded across the globe. You may have benefited from their life insurance program, or know someone who belongs to the fraternal organization. But this year, they have been recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies for the second consecutive year.

The Knights of Columbus have been honored by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company, acknowledged for their exceptional performance in business transparency, ethics, and sustainability.

“Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Knights of Columbus for this extraordinary achievement,” Timothy Erblich, CEO of Ethisphere, stated March 9.

Ethisphere is a leading global herald for ethical business practices, known for recognizing organizations that advance ethical conduct and transparency in their work operations.

In an effort to recognize businesses of principal, Ethisphere developed a comprehensive program which assesses companies for their performance based on five categories: ethics and compliance, corporate citizenship and responsibility, culture of ethics, governance, and leadership, innovation, and reputation.

With these considerations, Ethisphere’s high-level advisory panel reviews the vetted businesses and rates their core ethics. Every year, they announce the organizations that meet these standards and recognize them as global leaders in ethical business practices.

For the second year in a row, the Knights of Columbus were recognized as a Ethisphere’s 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company, one of only four companies in the Life Insurance category that were honored.

“For more than 130 years, the Knights of Columbus have been protecting the financial future of Catholic families and providing charity to those on the margins of society,” stated Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus.

According to the Ethisphere Institute, the Knights of Columbus have one of the highest rated life insurance programs in North America, making them one of the top-notch contenders in the world for their provided services.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization, present in 15,000 councils around the world. Because of their charitable work across the globe, the Ethisphere Institute considers this year’s recognition as a sign of their commitment to positively impact society, making them one of the leading ethical stakeholders globally.

How do they do it?

Anderson attributes the Knights of Columbus’ success to foundational Catholic values and their commitment to lending a helping hand.

“That founding principal of helping those in need is at work in every aspect of our business, guiding our corporate governance, our professional agency force, our investments, and our day-to-day business operations,” Anderson stated, noting that Catholic principals are the primary guide to their business model.

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A milkshake for the Pope: One sweet way to support Francis in Philly

by CNA/EWTN News • March 11, 2015

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, enjoys a milkshake at Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Philadelphia, March 9, 2015. (Sarah Webb/CatholicPhilly.com)

Philadelphia, PA — As the City of Brotherly Love prepares to host the next World Meeting of Families – and Pope Francis’ first papal visit to America – a restaurant has come up with a tasty fundraiser to benefit planning efforts.

Beginning in April, Potbelly Sandwich Shop’s Philadelphia locations will sell a custom shake dubbed the #PopeInPhilly – a shortbread cookie and vanilla ice-cream concoction – for $3.90, with 50 cents of each sale being donated to the World Meeting of Families preparations.

“We couldn’t be more excited by this initiative or more grateful to Potbelly Sandwich Shops for its unique approach to supporting the 2015 World Meeting of Families and Pope Francis’ visit,” Executive Director of World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, Donna Crilley Farrell, said March 9.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, handpicked the limited edition milkshake from among other contenders, such as the “World Family Mashup” and the “PHL Liberty Bell”, at a special tasting event with area Catholic school students.

“This is a fun – and delicious – way for citizens to help as we plan for this once-in-a-lifetime event, and to have Archbishop Paglia with us from Rome to select the flavor only adds to the growing excitement,” Crilley Farrell said.

The fundraiser stems from Potbelly’s corporate mission, “To Make People Really Happy”, Neighborhood Marketing Manager Jennifer Jaiswal said.

“We want to spread the Potbelly love by giving back to the neighborhoods in which we do business through fundraising, support and community involvement,” she said. “We are proud to support this exciting event, which allows Philadelphia to shine through!”

The World Meeting of Families will convene for the first time in the United States Sept. 22-27, 2015. The official theme will be “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”

Held every three years, the event was established by St. John Paul II in 1994 with the Year of the Family, aimed at strengthening family bonds around the world.

For those who have given up sweets for Lent, don’t worry.

The #PopeInPhilly shake will be available at Potbelly’s three Philadelphia locations until Sept. 30, shortly after the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families.

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Don’t kill the disabled – Maryland lawmakers warned against assisted suicide bill

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 11, 2015

(NikonGirl1969 via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Annapolis, MD — A physician-assisted suicide bill in Maryland preys on those who are vulnerable or disabled, and promotes suicide as an acceptable solution to life’s problems, said critics testifying before the state’s lawmakers.

Among those testifying against the bill was Super Bowl-winning former NFL player O.J. Brigance, who was diagnosed eight years ago with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”

Sitting in a wheelchair and speaking through a voice-generating machine, he recounted how he was able to accept the initially “overbearing burden” of his diagnosis, which generally means death within two to five years. The former football player has gone on to become a senior advisor for the Baltimore Ravens, write a book, and start a foundation to help those living with ALS.

“Since being diagnosed, I have done a greater good for society in eight years than in my previous 37 years on earth,” Brigance said.

“Because I decided to live life the best I could, there has been a ripple effect of goodness in the world.”

Maryland’s proposed “Death with Dignity” Act would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication for patients deemed “competent” who have terminal diagnoses of six months or less.

A handful of states currently allow for physician-assisted suicide, and a number of others have seen efforts to legalize the practice in recent months. Colorado saw a similar measure rejected last month, after it received staunch opposition from disability rights groups who said that it was ripe for abuse and unfairly discriminated against the disabled.

Critics of assisted suicide measures say that such laws send the social message that suicide is an acceptable, or even preferable, way to handle pain and suffering. When this is the case, they argue, the disabled and vulnerable are at risk of pressure – from family members, insurance companies, or society in general – to end their own lives.

They also note that “terminal” diagnoses are sometimes mistaken and voice fears that physician-assisted suicide could lead to the legalization and acceptance of involuntary euthanasia for those deemed unworthy to live.

Several of these concerns were also raised in regards to the Maryland proposal.

“Our concerns about the bill are shared by numerous other groups, including members of the medical community, disability groups, advocates for vulnerable elders, and others,” stated Mary Ellen Russell of the Maryland Catholic Conference in her written testimony before lawmakers.

“We wish also to convey our deep dismay about the message this legislation sends to those who might feel that their illness and the care they require is nothing more than a burden to their families and the rest of society.”

Aside from the moral problem of physician-assisted suicide itself, the bill is severely flawed, argued the Maryland Catholic Conference.

The conference noted that the bill does not require patients to undergo a mental health screening for illnesses like depression, which may influence the request for death. Some studies have found that many patients, when treated for depression, withdraw their request for assisted suicide.

In addition, the conference observed, patients’ families do not have to be notified of their decision; doctors may only “recommend” they should. And no medical professional has to be present when the patient ingests the lethal dose of medication, which could lead to situations of abuse or fraud if the wrong person – intentionally or unknowingly – takes the fatal medication.

“There is no life that we consider not worth living, no person who does not deserve to be valued simply because they are a living human being,” Russell stated.

While it’s understandable that someone with a terminal diagnosis would be afraid, that fear should be met with compassion rather than a lethal prescription, she continued.

“We insist firmly that the answer to those fears should be a demand for appropriate medical treatment that provides adequate pain management and excellent palliative or hospice care.”

Russell invoked the words of Pope Francis in suggesting that the term “quality of life” is misinterpreted to mean material quality of life, “forgetting other more profound dimensions of existence – interpersonal, spiritual, and religious.”

“In fact, in the light of faith and right reason, human life is always sacred and always ‘of quality’,” she quoted Pope Francis.

Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities emphasized to EWTN News Nightly on Jan. 5 that assisted suicide bills target the vulnerable.

The sick and the elderly who have received terminal diagnoses are frail and may think they are a “burden” to their families and society, he said. When states prohibit suicide generally, but allow it for these particular cases, they actually discriminate against this population.

“That’s not a free choice issue, that’s a discrimination issue. That’s the state saying ‘your life is not worth living’,” Doerflinger said.

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Catholic dissenters’ convention keynoter: A pornographic sex columnist?

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

Dan Savage at Inforum, June 11, 2013. (Josh Rodriguez via Flickr CC BY 2)

Seattle, WA — Dan Savage coordinates an annual pornography festival. He has made obscene tirades about Pope Benedict XVI, denigrated the practice of monogamy, insulted high school students and publicly harassed politicians he opposes.

Now, dissenting Catholic group Dignity USA has invited the explicit sex columnist as a keynote speaker to its biennial convention in Seattle this June.

Dignity USA executive director Marianne Duddy-Burke called Savage “an important, provocative, and sometimes controversial figure in the LGBT community and the broader culture.” She told CNA that he would speak on how his Catholic roots have influenced his advocacy and his actions.

Savage is known for both his shock-factor style and outspoken criticism of the Catholic Church.

In a 2012 event at the chapel of the United Church of Christ-affiliated Elmhurst College near Chicago, he suggested Benedict XVI was secretly gay and claimed the Pope believed that legal recognition of same-sex “marriage” will make people forget how babies are conceived and cause humanity to go extinct.

Savage has claimed that expecting monogamy from men is a “mistake” and “a disaster for marriage.” In 2011, he told the New York Times Magazine that he practices a “monogamish” relationship with his male partner in a same-sex “marriage” that allows for infidelity.

The columnist berated Christian students who walked out on his speech at the National High School Journalist Conference in Seattle in April 2012. During his talk, he also attacked biblical condemnations of homosexual acts.

In a November 2013 appearance on an Australian television show dedicated to “dangerous ideas,” Savage proposed that population control has the greatest potential to change the world for the better. While professing “pro-choice” sympathies, he also said, “I think abortion should be mandatory for about 30 years … that’s a dangerous idea.”

Savage, who has described himself as an atheist and received an award from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has shown a few positive responses to Catholicism. In November 2013, Savage appeared to be touched by Pope Francis’ embrace of a severely disfigured man. He made the comment on Twitter “God, I love the Pope!”

Savage created the It Gets Better Project with the stated intention of reducing bullying of youth who identify as homosexual and transgendered. He has sometimes blamed Christian morality for causing teen suicide.

The Dignity USA conference website described Savage as “a writer, TV personality, and activist best known for his political and social commentary, as well as his honest approach to sex, love and relationships.” Dignity USA noted that Savage’s sex column is widely syndicated. It said Savage created his anti-bullying campaign “to inspire hope (for) young LGBT people facing harassment.”

He most recently made news for his reaction when political commentator Dr. Ben Carson stated that homosexuality is a choice and cited apparent changes in male prisoners’ sexual orientation. Carson later backed away from his comments.

In response, Savage challenged Carson to prove his point by performing a homosexual act on him before a camera crew.

Savage has also drawn attention for attacks on political figures. He encouraged internet users to “google-bomb” Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s last name so that it would become associated with a graphic sexual term online.

During the 2000 Republican presidential primary campaign, Savage wrote column for The Stranger magazine describing his work posing as a volunteer for the Gary Bauer campaign while he suffered from the flu. He claimed that he went around the campaign’s Iowa office licking doorknobs, staplers, phones, computer keyboards, pens and the rims of clean coffee cups to attempt to “get as many of his people sick as I can” with the flu in revenge for Bauer’s criticism of “gay marriage.”

Duddy-Burke told CNA that Dignity USA has asked Savage “to address his views on marriage, relationships, and the impact of the It Gets Better Project.”

“We anticipate a spirited discussion with him in which diverse views will be expressed.”

The Dignity USA convention has two other keynote speakers: Father Paul Coutinho, S.J., an author and speaker who has served on the faculty of Missouri’s Saint Louis University; and Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a self-described social justice lobby.

Sr. Campbell has led the “Nuns on the Bus” advocacy campaign that has the support of the group Faith in Public Life and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden. She also delivered a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Dignity USA rejects Church teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts and has campaigned in support of “gay marriage.” The group says that it is advocating for a change in Church teaching on homosexuality.

Dignity USA has been the beneficiary of several six-figure grants from the LGBT activist Arcus Foundation to support the Equally Blessed Coalition, which also includes the groups New Ways Ministry and Call to Action. A 2014 grant of $200,000 to the coalition through Dignity USA was intended “to support pro-LGBT faith advocates to influence and counter the narrative of the Catholic Church and its ultra-conservative affiliates,” the foundation said on its website.

“The effort will build advocacy and visibility in connection with two special events, the Synod of the Family and World Youth Day,” the foundation explained.

The Arcus Foundation is engaged in a strategy of recruiting and promoting religious allies. Together with the Ford Foundation, it has spent at least $3 million in grants to counter efforts to preserve or expand religious liberty protections.

In a statement promoting the convention, Dignity USA’s Duddy-Burke was critical of the U.S. bishops’ efforts to defend religious freedom and secure religious exemptions for Catholic charities, hospitals, and universities with conscientious objections to recognizing same-sex relationships.

Dignity USA said it would keep working to ensure that the voice of those who disagree with Church leaders “is carried to all the places it needs to be heard.”

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Pope Francis names new bishops for Spokane, Lexington dioceses

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

St. Peter’s Square. (Camille King CC BY-SA 2.0)

Vatican City — On Thursday the Vatican announced that Bishop Thomas Anthony Daly has been tapped to lead Spokane’s Catholic population, while Fr. John Stowe O.F.M., Conv. will take the reins in Lexington.

Bishop Daly was born in San Francisco, Cali., in 1960 and until now has served as auxiliary bishop for the diocese of San Jose.

He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco in 1982, and completed his ecclesiastical studies at the St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park. The bishop later went on to receive his masters in Pedagogy from Boston College, in Massachusetts in 1996.

May 9, 1987, marked the day of his ordination to the priesthood, after which he served as assistant priest for Our Lady of Loreto parish in Novato until 1992.

After leaving Our Lady or Loreto Bishop Daly served as a teacher and chaplain for Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, where he served until 2003.

He simultaneously served as Parochial Vicar for both St. Cecilia parish in Lagunitas and St. Mary parish in Nicaso from 1995-1999. The future bishop also served as a part-time chaplain for the San Francisco Police Department until 2003.

Bishop Daly also served as chaplain of the St. Vincent School for Boys and associate director of Catholic Charities CYO until 2002.

The same year he was named as director of priestly vocations for the diocese, and in 2003 was appointed as a Consultant and Member of the Archdiocesan Council of Priests.

The latter is a position he held until his nomination as auxiliary bishop of the San Jose diocese in 2011. His ordination to the episcopate took place that May.

As an auxiliary, Daly served as Vicar for Clergy and was a member of the board of directors for St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, where he also served as rector from 2013-2014.

Since 2014 he has also held the role of parish priest for St. Nicholas parish in Lost Altos, after serving as rector for St. Patrick’s seminary.

Fr. John Stowe O.F.M. Conv., who will be the third bishop of Lexington, was born in 1966 in Amherst, Ohio. After finishing high school, he went on to get his bachelor’s degree in both history and philosophy from St. Louis University.

After receiving a Masters in Divinity and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology with an emphasis in Church History from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Cali., the bishop-elect made his solemn vows with the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1992, and was ordained a priest for them in 1995.

In 2002 he was invited to serve the diocese of El Paso, in Texas, as Moderator for the Curia and Vicar General. He later also served as chancellor for the diocese.

He served as Provincial Vicar of the Conventual Franciscan’s province of Our Lady of Consolation, and from 2010 until now has served as rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio.

The new bishop-elect also speaks Spanish, in addition to his native English.

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Bishops push for religious freedom protections in adoption, foster care

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

(Hussain Isa Alderazi via Flickr March 29 2007 CC BY-NC 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — With increasing pressure on adoption and foster care agencies to act against their religious beliefs, the U.S. bishops are pushing for legislation to protect them.

“Our first and most cherished freedom, religious liberty, is to be enjoyed by all Americans, including child welfare providers who serve the needs of children – the most vulnerable members of society,” said a March 9 letter.

The letter was authored by Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chair of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty committee; Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who heads the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chair of the marriage defense subcommittee.

The letter was sent to Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), sponsors of new proposed legislation, the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2015.

The bill would ensure that federal and state funds and contracts cannot be withheld from child welfare providers because they refuse services out of conscience.

Religiously-affiliated adoption and foster care agencies have already been threatened for not providing children to same-sex couples against their beliefs. Agencies in three states – Massachusetts, California, and Illinois – and the District of Columbia have lost their state contracts for not doing so.

In Illinois, the law has caused over 3,000 children to leave religiously-affiliated foster care agencies, the bishops’ conference said.

And one voice in particular must not be left out of the adoption decision – the biological parents. They have the right to determine who they want adopting their child, the bishops insisted.

“Indeed, women and men who want to place their children for adoption ought to be able to choose from a diversity of adoption agencies, including those that share the parents’ religious beliefs and moral convictions,” they wrote. “The Inclusion Act recognizes and respects this parental choice.”

The bill’s sponsors hailed the American tradition of religious social services, saying it must be upheld.

“Faith-based organizations have always played an extraordinary role in caring for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Millions of Americans are better off today because of their noble work,” said Rep. Kelly at the bill’s introduction.

“No provider should ever have to forfeit their First Amendment rights in order to create a better life for a child.”

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CNA exclusive poll: Americans agree – protect religious liberty

by CNA/EWTN News • March 12, 2015

(Marist College Institute for Public Opinion)

Denver, CO — Religious freedom battles continue to take place in courtrooms around the country, but in the court of public opinion, religious liberty wins easily.

Fifty-four percent of respondents to a new Marist Poll survey, sponsored by Catholic News Agency, support or strongly support First Amendment religious liberty protections or exemptions for faith-based organizations and individuals, “even when it conflicts with government law.”

Only 38 percent of respondents oppose or strongly oppose these protections. Support was strongest in the South, while opposition was strongest in the Northeast and Midwest. By age, Generation X respondents aged 33-48 were the strongest supporters, followed by Millennials aged 18-32.

Respondents over age 67 were the most likely oppose such protections.

About 55 percent of all Catholics, and 58 percent of practicing Catholics, support these protections. Support was strong among Republicans and unaffiliated voters, as well as among 46 percent of Democrats.

The survey comes at a time of increasing controversies over religious freedom.

Catholic adoption agencies have been forced to shut down in several states because they cannot place children with same-sex couples, while federal rules have mandated that Catholic employers provide health plan coverage for sterilization and contraception, including drugs that can cause abortions.

Those in the wedding industry, including owners of small bakeries, florists and photographers, have been sued because they could not in good conscience take part in a same-sex ceremony. Some have lost in court.

But while the law may not always be on the side of these conscientious objectors, most Americans are.

About 65 percent of Marist Poll respondents opposed or strongly opposed penalties or fines for individuals who refuse to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples “even if their refusal is based on their religious beliefs.” Only 31 percent supported or strongly supported such penalties.

Opposition or strong opposition to such penalties was above 60 percent for all generations, with 71 percent of Baby Boomers opposed.

Most Americans also reject penalties for public officials with reservations about taking part in same-sex ceremonies.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents opposed or strongly opposed penalties or fines for public officials who refuse to perform same-sex “marriages” even if their refusal is based on religious beliefs. While Millennial generation respondents were significantly more likely to support penalties, still 49 percent of them opposed such action.

The survey did reveal a generation gap about children and parenting.

Respondents were asked their opinion on the view that it is best for children to have both a mother and a father rather than two parents of the same sex.

While 53 percent of all U.S. respondents supported or strongly supported this view, only 42 percent of Millennials did. Twenty-seven percent of this youngest generation opposed this view and 28 percent strongly opposed it.

Sixty-nine percent of Republicans endorsed married opposite-sex parents as best, compared to 47 percent of independents and 41 percent of Democrats.

On the question of whether to teach details about homosexual behavior in sex education classes, respondents were closely divided, with 49 percent favoring and 47 percent opposing.

The Marist Poll surveyed 1,169 U.S. adults from Feb. 25-March 1. It claims a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. It is run by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College at Poughkeepsie, New York.

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Catholics supporting Archbishop Cordileone on school identity feel silenced, pressured

by Kevin Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • March 12, 2015

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at a press conference for the 2012 USCCB Fall General Assembly, Nov 13. (Michelle Bauman/CNA)

San Francisco, CA — Amid a PR campaign and protests against Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s attempt to clarify Catholic teaching in the San Francisco schools, those who support the archbishop say their voices are not being heard.

“People are afraid to speak up because most of their colleagues oppose the additions to the handbook and because of just how disturbingly negative yet powerful the voices of opposition are,” a Catholic teacher who has worked at an archdiocesan high school for several years told CNA. “The media campaign against the archbishop has also caused fear among his supporters.”

His words were echoed by a former teacher of theology now living in Marin County, who asked not to be identified by name. She said that some of the archbishop’s supporters are concerned they will face “defamation of character and ostracism.”

“I believe the archbishop’s new additions to the Catholic high school handbooks are coming from a place of love and responsibility and not from hate, contempt or intolerance,” she said. “I am not surprised that he continues to be personally and politically attacked. It has never been easy to be Catholic and the teachings are challenging to many, but once understood and prayerfully engaged, their truth, beauty and goodness are unparalleled.”

The San Francisco archdiocese on Feb. 3 announced that explanations of Catholic teaching, as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other church documents, would be added to the faculty and staff handbooks for its four high schools. The archdiocese said the changes to the handbook did not contain anything new but were intended to “clarify existing expectations that Catholic teachers in their professional and public lives uphold Catholic teaching.”

Much of the media coverage surrounding the changes focused on the handbook’s expectations that teachers not publicly contradict Catholic teaching on sexual morality and abortion.

The former theology teacher told CNA that the handbook discusses tenets of the Catholic faith that are “often misconstrued, confused and opposed in today’s culture.”

“Without clearly stating them, how can you expect the staff members to effectively understand and carry out the integrity of the mission?” she asked.

Some local politicians have threatened legal action against the archdiocese, while the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution critical of the handbook changes. Over 350 employees, about 80 percent of the staff and faculty at the archdiocese’s four Catholic high schools, signed a petition against the handbook additions. Students, teachers and parents have also engaged in several protests.

Jim Jordan, an organizer of the petition and a teacher at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, told CBS SF that the handbook language has a “judgmental context” that undermines Catholic education’s mission and “the inclusive, diverse and welcoming community we prize at our schools.”

CNA’s source in the archdiocesan schools had a different view of the controversy.

“How ironic is it that those who support strengthening Catholic identity are made to be the problem?” he asked. He lamented that the petition referred to Catholic teaching as “harmful” and “hurtful” and was publicized via school e-mail.

The teacher, who did not want to be identified by name, said he was saddened to see “such misguided anger directed at the archbishop” and frustrated that so many teachers lacked “a shared vision of ministry.”

At the same time, he emphasized his support for the Catholic schools. He said they are “safe and welcoming places for students and families” with “a profound sense of community.”

The former theology teacher said teaching in the archdiocese was “a wonderful experience” and she had students who were “very open, inquisitive and respectful.”

However, she said she found “many teachers,” including self-identified Catholics, who “actively work to undermine the Catholic mission of the school.”

“I was often confused as to why these teachers did not seek employment at some of the great public schools right down the street. Only God can know a person’s heart and reasons for acting.”

She said she was not surprised at the controversy, given that Jesus and his teaching “were rarely welcomed without protest.”

“Being a follower of Christ requires a submission to His teachings, it does not mean creating your own brand of spirituality,” she said.

A public relations campaign could be aggravating the controversy. Sam Singer, founder of the influential San Francisco-based communications firm Singer Associates, told the SF Weekly that “concerned parents” are paying for his services in their dispute with the archbishop. Singer’s social media accounts are publicizing negative interpretations of the archbishop and the archdiocese while promoting stories siding with the protesters.

His other clients include big names like the Chevron oil company, as well as Cordileone critics like the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The morning of an Ash Wednesday protest, Singer on his Google+ account posted a critical story about local priests and said, “Everyone is praying that the Pope will remove the San Francisco Archbishop and these priests.”

Rather than pray for Archbishop Cordileone’s removal, the current Catholic teacher told CNA he prays “for a strengthening of our Catholic schools and their role in forming students, for an examination of conscience for all who serve as teaches in the archdiocese, and for a recommitment to our shared calling.”

“But ultimately, I pray for God’s will to be done.”

“Mr. Singer has no real interest in this situation and it’s sad to see him using teachers, parents, and students for his own profit and to slander the archbishop,” he added.

Vivian Dudro, a San Franciscan Catholic mother of four, said the involvement of Singer makes the controversy over Catholic schools into “a real David and Goliath story.”

She too was critical of Singer’s stated desire for Pope Francis to remove Archbishop Cordileone.

“It breaks my heart to hear that Catholics are praying this Lent for the removal of their shepherd instead of praying to become better disciples of Christ,” she said. “I am praying for courage for our archbishop and his priests.”

One of Dudro’s daughters had been accepted to Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School eight years ago, but went elsewhere. Dudro said the cost of the school would have been too burdensome and she worried the education there “would not be in conformity with the Church.”

She said friends with a daughter at the school had been “scolded and ridiculed” when they excused their daughter from a sex ed class that taught condom use.

The University of San Francisco, a Jesuit institution, will host a March 16 forum for parents, teachers, students and their allies opposed to the archdiocese. The university’s Institute for Catholic Education and Leadership and the group Concerned Parents and Students-Teach Acceptance are co-sponsoring the event.

Forum speakers include Brian Cahill, a former executive director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities affiliate who has often criticized the archdiocese; Jim McGarry, a former Catholic school religious studies teacher; and Leslie C. Griffin, a constitutional law professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas who has previously worked with the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Dissenting Catholic groups have also seized on the controversy. An early petition against the archbishop was created by Jim Fitzgerald, executive director of Call To Action. His group’s JustChurch project specifically opposes morality clauses in Catholic schools.

Other petitions have been launched in support of Archbishop Cordileone, such as a CatholicVote.org effort that collected over 35,000 signatures.

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Sanity-saving hacks for tired parents

by Jenny Uebbing • March 9, 2015

As demonstrated so, um, eloquently? Painstakingly honestly? in my post last week, I’m tired. I’m a tired, washed up old young mom, and I need all the help I can get.

I’m guessing, based upon the overwhelming response of solidarity, that there are a few of you out there, too.

Jen Fulwiler wrote a great piece a couple years ago that examined the fundamental difficulty we face in modern motherhood, focusing on the way the breakdown of physical community - real community - like the kind that used to be found in neighborhoods (and maybe still is in yours, if you’re fortunate) has fundamentally altered our daily landscape.

It’s more or less necessary for mental health for most adults to have some human interaction on a daily basis. If it must be virtual, then so be it, and hence, the explosion of social media and the mommy blog movement.

But it’s so much better if it’s in person.

Even I, a dyed in the wool introvert if ever there was one, will cop to the truth that staying home all day alone with little kids is hard. Part of what makes it so is the isolation.

Another large contributing factor? Being “it” in terms of entertainment, authority, empathy, etc. for a small army. Or even for a single kiddo - some of my toughest days of SAHMing were with my firstborn in his infancy, when I, still fresh from a dynamic office environment, found myself suddenly and deafeningly alone all day long, all week long. It was a huge adjustment.

Of course, now I look back on that time and long for uninterrupted stretches of napping potential and housekeeping prowess (though, to be fair, at the time I was probably crouched over the packnplay making sure he was breathing if ever he did sleep), but, c’est la vie, hindsight is blinding.

I’m 5 years into the game now, which isn’t a lot of time, but it’s long enough to get through college (ahem, just barely, in my case) and so it’s long enough to pick up a few tips and tricks of the trade for surviving the eternal winter of staying at home with small children. Here are some of my favorite go-to’s:

1. You are not their entertainment (but sometimes Netflix is)

I had really high hopes of being a screen free, hands on Montessori style mother when my first two were very small. I set up little activity corners for them and filled them with objects to sort and stack, and I monitored their consumption of media carefully.

I still do this, at least as far as piles of toys in the basement corners can be considered “curated content for exploration” and I’m still very careful about what they watch. See me painstakingly select “Netflix Kids” and pull the screen up, inviting them to thoughtfully choose between the Wild Kratts and Daniel Tiger. Watch me scrutinize the clock, calculating the time between now and dinner, and then make a generous dispensation for “just one more” episode. Notice me generously donating additional siblings to the dynamic to make playtime more interesting (and giving our sports teams a deeper depth on the roster, down the road.)

Y’all, this is survival mode. And a wise old mother once told me that the advent of television was God’s gift to mothers to offset the decline in childhood mortality in the industrial age.

(Which is horrible, okay? And a joke! But definitely one that I’m still laughing at … )

Oh, and a painfully necessary addendum to the above paragraph? Nothing against screen free parenting, Montessori schools, or moms who like to craft with their kids. We’re all wired a little differently on the inside, aren’t we? And that’s ok.

2. DVD players are in cars now

When we bought our nothing too fancy 9 year old mini van, it might as well have been a spaceship for all the upgraded features it boasted over, say, a Roman city bus. One of those prominently emphasized by our enthusiastic salesman was the drop down DVD player. I scoffed, because surely my children could enjoy car rides around town in the MIRACLE OF A SINGLE FAMILY VEHICLE and not also be expecting onboard entertainment, but wouldn’t you know, the thing does come in handy at times.

For example, during the 12th consecutive day of light snowfall and temperatures in the 8-11 degree Farenheit range. You know what those days are awesome for? Driving aimlessly around town blasting the Frozen: Sing along! edition for 50 or 60 minutes of choreographed boredom busting. And maybe hitting the drive through at the end. Boom, morning over.

3. Indoor wading pools

At our house, summer is for backyard water play. By 9 am we’ve got the slip n slide unrolled, the baby pool filled, and a sizable mud pit attracting diaper clad cousins fermenting in the side yard. In the winter when the mercury rises about 50, my poor native Coloradan children who were born without a sense of temperature or a knack for appropriate public attire (geographical disabilities) have been known to strip off their shirts, kick off their shoes and run hopeful into the backyard, searching for the hose. (No, kids, it’s rolled up for the season. Please put your Tevas on and curb your enthusiasm till May.)

But there’s always the bathtub. I know the trend this week is to breath a deep sigh of relief and admit that your child hasn’t been bathed in 2 weeks or longer, but when I read the articles that starting circulating last week on the importance of building up microbes or something, I laughed until the tears came, because not only have we had the most hideous winter of illness on recent record, but my kids take 2-3 baths per day. Yeah. Can’t believe they’re not immune to all sorts of ailments!

And you know what? I don’t care if it has destroyed their delicate immune systems (which I don’t believe for a second) because of two things: first, they’re just as wet all summer long because of the aforementioned wading pool fetish, and second, we don’t use soap. Because it was long ago emptied down the drain in a fit of toddler creativity.

Bam, microbes intact.

4. Costco is a wonderland

You probably recall that Target and I are on a break right now (3 months strong, and the budget to show for it!) but you’d best believe that the biggest adjustment to life outside the Bullseye was what to do with the children on those frigid days when milk and diapers and morale were all running low. Well, now we go to Costco, the magical land of free samples, giant carts, and comfortable furniture to lounge about on. And maybe a salty hot dog at the end, if everyone behaves themselves.

I’m never excited to go, but I’m always glad we went. Because everybody’s tummies are full and 2 hours have mysteriously ticked by and I have 48 cans of crisp cold La Croix to stock my fridge for preggie happy hours.

5. Phone a friend

Some days are just beyond redemption. So why not throw reason to the wind and welcome another 2-4 dirty children into your home for some good old fashioned team parenting with a friend or sister? 3 whining kids of your own might feel overwhelming, but when there are 7 of them all clamoring for snacks and thundering through the kitchen in superhero capes, it usually feels more comical than anything else. Some of my most successful “playdates” have resulted from 3 pm phone calls to a desperate friend in a similar situation, only to find us 40 minutes later sipping wine in relative chaos while our beautiful babies trash one or the other of our basements. If you can’t beat ‘em, multiply ‘em … and pour yourself a drink.

6. The one-hour recharge

For some days there is simply no other remedy than escape. And so, with dinner made (or not) and kids handed off to daddy, I flee the house at the bedtime hour. This accomplishes the twofold purpose of preserving my mental health for another sunrise, and allowing daddy some wonderful bonding time when the children are at their absolute most precious. Wink.

Sometimes it’s a hot tea at the coffee shop down the road, sometimes it’s a solo trip to the grocery store, and sometimes it’s a half hour in Adoration, but I swear by these little escape trips that leave me exponentially refreshed and recharged and able to kiss sweet sleeping foreheads and mean it when I return by 8 pm.

So there you have it, some of my most effective trade secrets (and admissions that would have shamed me 5 years ago. You live, you learn.)

What helps you keep your nurturing neurons firing?

Jenny Uebbing is the content director of our marriage and family life channel, where her blog Mama Needs Coffee will be permanently hosted. She lives in Denver, CO with her family, where she writes and speaks on Church teachings on marriage, contraception, NFP and bioethics.

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The Taste for God

by Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. • March 11, 2015

Of the 21,000 restaurants in New York City, more than half specialize in Italian cuisine. Whether the 12,000 serve Milanese, Venetian, Roman, Florentine, or Sicilian, Italian food reigns supreme. People never lose their taste for ‘Italian,’ it seems.

Taste in Sacred Scripture

Hunger, thirst, taste, and tongue are words often used in Sacred Scripture. When the Jews were trekking across the desert toward the Promised Land, they grumbled against God; ‘why did you bring us to this place? There’s no food to be found here.’ The Lord heard their prayer. In the mornings, he rained down on them sweet cakes, called manna. In the evenings, quail were miraculously provided for them in abundance.

What Is Taste?

Strictly speaking, taste refers to the appetite and is understood in the physical sense, as the intake of food and liquid. In its basic expression, taste grasps what is bitter, sweet, salty, and sour. Tasting food is meant to be enjoyable, but suppose one loses the sense of taste? To be sure, it’s an unnerving disorder but can be cured by stimulating the taste buds with medication and natural remedies.

Food provokes a reflex of pleasure or revulsion. Certain kinds bring the expectation of pleasure and our eagerness to enjoy them. Sweets and fast foods are included in this category. Other kinds of foods conjure up disagreeable reactions, and we avoid them. Brussel sprouts may feel like the loneliest vegetable on the shelf.

Taste

Taste, good or bad, is an analogous word extending to clothing and entertainment, to one’s choice of friends, and other aspects of life.

Good taste is restrained. Bad taste is excessive.

The adage, taste must not be questioned (de gustibus non disputandum est), has its limits. Sound taste is not arbitrary but is based on the particulars of truth. Bitter is bitter and not sweet.

Good taste pleases. It gives the sense of what is balanced and appropriate, a sense of what is polite and tactful. Good taste applies to table manners and public courtesy, caring for the body, and to attitudes of the mind that reveal one’s choices.

Bad taste offends. Vulgarians are bearers of bad taste.

Impeccable Taste

Those with impeccable taste acquire the art of discrimination. They have an eye for quality and “can infallibly distinguish art from kitsch, and excellent quality from average or merely good quality.” (Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord, I: 481).

A Sommelier and a Nose in the wine and perfume profession respectively have acquired the sense of discriminating taste. We call them connoisseurs.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Audrey Hepburn were known for their impeccable taste in clothing, their elegant simplicity. Experts who know when something is too much, too little, or just right have transformed their professions into art forms. The art of impeccable taste is a never-ending process because it chooses the better of two goods.

When Emperor Joseph II complained to Mozart that there were too many notes in his opera, “The Marriage of Figaro,” the composer indignantly replied: ‘Too many notes, Sire? Not too many. Just enough.’

The Taste for God

The practice of Lenten asceticism is meant to intensify one’s taste for God. In the Psalmist’s exhortation to “taste and see how good the Lord is,” taste is used in the spiritual sense (Ps 34:8). It participates in the act of faith. The goal of spiritual taste is enjoyment and union with God. Those with a distaste for God or for the things of God may suffer from acedia or sloth, “a loathing of the spiritual good as if it is something contrary to ourselves” (Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, “Acedia‘s Resistance to the Demands of Love: Aquinas on the Vice of Sloth”).

Acedia or sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, was first discussed by the fourth-century desert fathers, but it is a contemporary problem.

Acedia is an aversion of God, a restless resistance to God, and a distaste for spiritual things because of the effort involved in pursuing them.

Those who live in the sacrament of the present moment live with purpose, directionally and dynamically. They are aware that “in him, we live, and move, and breathe, and have our being” and that whatever they do is done to praise, reverence, and serve God (Acts 17:28; St. Ignatius of Loyola). The taste for God is beautifully expressed in Psalm 63:2-3, 9:

“O God, you are my God, for you I long;

for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you!

Like a dry, weary land without water …

My soul clings to you;

Your right hand holds me fast.”

Defamation of Character, Lying, and Slander

The tongue is a small organ of the body with power beyond description. The first of its uses is of course to taste food. But in the epistle of St. James (1:26), we are told to bridle our tongue because it acts like a sharp razor. As a two-edged sword, it can devise wicked things and craft treachery (Ps 52:2). It takes only a spark to start a forest fire and destroy the entire forest. Similarly, through gossip and ridicule, the tongue can destroy a person’s reputation.

Lying or slander is a serious offense against one of God’s commandments, the Eighth in the Christian tradition; it is a tragedy as well. Where does one go to retrieve a shattered reputation?

Men and women are daily scorned by talk-show hosts who, in the name of humor, earn their millions at the expense of their victims, the Catholic Church, included. Some of it is light banter; much of it is not. Profanity is an integral part of these programs. Do the hosts suffer from a paucity of vocabulary?

Talk-show hosts with unbridled tongues act as questionable role models for our youth. By validating their cynical humor, we are unwittingly raising a generation of cynics who roll their eyes at the mere mention of words like love, charity, and kindness but applaud ridicule of others.

1 Corinthians 13 overrides these harsh sentiments with a few beautiful thoughts: “Love does not dishonor others; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.”

Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY, holds degrees in philosophy (Ph.L), musicology (Ph.D.), theology (M.A.), and liturgical studies (Ph.D). She has taught at all levels of Catholic education and writes with a particular focus on a theology of beauty and the sacred arts. Her e-mail address is jroccasalvo@optonline.net.

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A new model of Catechumenal formation needs promotion

by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion • March 12, 2015

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is one of the most successful features of post-Vatican II liturgical renewal. It replaced the old inquiry class model, in which the priest (generally a priest) taught the inquirer (or inquirers) on doctrine and morals. The place of formation was the classroom, the symbol was the blackboard, and the leader was a lecturer. This model continues in some parishes today.

With the near demise of the inquiry class model after Vatican II, there emerged a second (and current) model which focuses on personal religious experience in a group setting. The model is akin to the therapy group (like that of Alcoholics Anonymous). The place of formation is the living room, the leader is a therapist, and the symbol is the mirror – in which one sees only oneself.

In this newer approach, it is commonplace to hear an emphasis on personal experience over doctrine. Doctrinal formation is secondary to personal story-telling and group reflection.

Without wishing to return to the old inquiry class format, or keeping the current experience-based model, there is, perhaps, a third way of viewing and practicing RCIA formation which would avoid the problems of the first and second models, yet incorporate the strengths of both.

Just over 30 years ago, the Yale University theologian George Lindbeck wrote a landmark book entitled, The Nature of Doctrine. While Lindbeck was not concerned with the RCIA, his theological insights are helpful in envisaging a more adequate model of RCIA formation.

Lindbeck begins by showing how Christian doctrine can easily be locked into a rigid and excessively abstract mold, and it has great difficulty connecting with people’s experience. This style of theology is what is found in the first model of the RCIA.

Lindbeck points out, however, that the newer style of theology (found in model two of the RCIA) that has emerged in recent decades is no less problematic because it tends to view truth as dwelling in individual hearts and minds, and to regard doctrine at best as a guide to the clarification of inner religious experience. This kind of theology is overly subjective and even anti-intellectual.

Lindbeck proposes a style of theology that is neither strictly doctrinal nor strictly experiential. He calls it “cultural linguistic.” What this means at its simplest is that RCIA formation should focus on the history, symbols, art, language, culture, practices, devotions, spirituality – and most all the liturgy – of the Church.

As a guide to this approach, I would identify Fr. Robert Barron’s outstanding series, Catholicism. RCIA formation in this model would help initiate catechumens into the rich and wonderful world of Catholic life. It would teach them how to learn the culture and speak the language of Catholicism.

In this kind of formation, the locale of formation is the church building, the leader is the holy man or woman, and the symbol is the icon in which one encounters Christ.

If the old inquiry class is out of fashion today and the experience-based model is becoming increasingly so, it is not because doctrine, on the one hand, and experience, on the other, are unimportant, but because they are set in opposition to each other.

In the third mode, doctrine and experience, knowledge and spirituality, the rational and the intuitive are integrated. Doctrine and experience clarify each other.

What we need today is a form of RCIA formation that incorporates the strengths of solid doctrinal formation with the spiritual vitality that is such an important feature of Catholic life.

Msgr. Mannion is pastor emeritus of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Salt Lake City. He holds a Ph.D in sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America. He was founding president of The Society for Catholic Liturgy in 1995 and the founding editor of the Societys journal, Antiphon. At the invitation of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago he founded the Mundelein Liturgical Institute in 2000.

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Is NFP just Catholic birth control?

by Jenny Uebbing • March 13, 2015

Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is not equivalent to contraception.

It is not “Catholic birth control,” contrary to popular belief. Contraception necessitates a step taken, a physical or chemical interference in the life-giving process of human sexuality.

Delaying conception through abstinence on days of known fertility, on the other hand, or to use Bl. Pope Paul VI’s phrase, “the intentional spacing of children,” does not tamper with or disable the life-giving potential of sex.

On the contrary, using knowledge of one’s cycle to avoid a pregnancy virtually bows down in the face of Divinely created human fertility and says “I defer to your awesome power”— there’s no funny business about shutting down or circumventing or cutting off or wrapping up and proceeding as if nothing has changed.

So in this way, fertility awareness, aka NFP, is birth control in the fullest sense of the phrase, is about the furthest possible thing from contraception. A better term for it might simply be self control.

Instead of enabling sterilized, life-denying sex, it summons temperance. Prudence. Delayed gratification. Radical notions, yes, but the underpinnings of healthy, Christ-centered marriages.

NFP says, in effect, “I recognize the gift of my sexuality, of my fertility, and of my spouse. Since we have discerned that now is not a prudent time to welcome a new life into our family, we offer the gift back to the Giver in gratitude and embrace the temporary sacrifice of abstinence … even when it’s a difficult offering to make.”

And it’s sometimes a very difficult offering — both the abstaining part and the “maybe we really are ready to welcome another baby after all” part.

The Church isn’t anti contraception because She is anti science or anti technology, but rather, because contraception is fundamentally anti-woman and anti-life. And anything that opposes life itself definitely opposes the Source of all life.

It’s not a matter of finding a “natural” way to avoid getting pregnant; it’s about coming to terms emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually to the reality that sex and procreation are intentionally, inextricably linked. For a reason.

God invites us into this sacred space to participate in the act of bringing forth new life – He literally delegates us to become co-creators, laboring alongside Him to fulfill His plans for humanity.

It’s a fearfully wonderful thing. So much more than a collaboration of hormones and body parts and endorphins. Of course it is that too, but not only that.

Sex is not primarily recreational, no matter how insistantly the modern world insists otherwise. Sex is fundamentally transformational, bringing together husband and wife in a tangible representation of the Trinity itself.

And sex is inescapably pro-creational, as many a remorseful teenager or a frightened single mother can attest to. Oftentimes even despite our best efforts to frustrate it’s design.

But that’s the bottom line: we can’t control it because we didn’t design it. And the moment we forget that and presume to exercise our own authority over this sacred space, we depart from it’s real meaning.

When we have sex, we shouldn’t forget for a moment that this is the place where God breaks into history and introduces new, unrepeatable and unspeakably dignified immortal souls into the human race. It is beautiful, fearful, wonderfully made.

That is what contraception – be it in the form of a condom, a pill, an implant, an IUD or permanent sterilization – refuses to acknowledge; and the false sense of domination it produces has led many a couple down a disastrous and unfulfilling path.

NFP isn’t the Catholic solution to the problem of “too many children;” rather, it is the Church’s response to the gaping void of too little love.

Jenny Uebbing is the content director of our marriage and family life channel, where her blog Mama Needs Coffee will be permanently hosted. She lives in Denver, CO with her family, where she writes and speaks on Church teachings on marriage, contraception, NFP and bioethics.

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Movie review: ‘Run All Night’ proves to be a tale of regret and redemption

by Carl Kozlowski • March 13, 2015

In a strange way, Liam Neeson might just be the most Catholic action hero we’ve ever seen in movies. He’s actually Catholic (despite bizarre rumors after “Taken 2” that he was going to embrace Islam, he never has) and spoken highly about it plenty of times including in a hilarious appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show.

But what I’m referring to is the moral gravitas he brings to his action films. In the “Taken” trilogy, he was a secret agent who would stop at literally nothing to save his family when they were endangered. In the underrated classic “The Grey,” he has an amazing transformation from atheist to believer as he faces death in the Alaskan wilderness against nature and voracious wolves.

But in the past six months, he has really dived into issues of forgiveness, redemption and whether revenge can ever be righteous, first with last fall’s “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” and this weekend with the absolutely brilliant “Run All Night.”

Liam plays Jimmy Conlon, whose best friend since childhood is Sean Maguire (Ed Harris, in his best role in a decade), who grew up to be a crime kingpin in New York City. Jimmy was Sean’s best assassin, who would kill anyone Sean asked and do so with inventive brutality or ace shooting skills.

The problem is, Jimmy’s guilty conscience caught up with him eventually. He left his family to protect them from ever being harmed in a revenge move by criminals, but his son Michael never understood and grew up to utterly disown him and ban Jimmy from meeting his own children. Jimmy is barely surviving now, having quit his violent ways but frequently drinking and admitting to Sean that he can’t sleep at night due to seeing the faces of all he killed.

One other thorn in Jimmy’s side is a police detective named John Harding (Vincent D’Onofrio), who confronts Jimmy in a diner and taunts his guilt in the hopes of finally knowing all the names of Jimmy’s victims and being able to bring closure to their families. Jimmy drives him away, but soon comes to realize how badly he need this cop, whom he respects for being an honest one.

What really brings Jimmy problems is that a high-rolling Albanian drug dealer has arrived in New York, hoping to convince Sean to help him flood New York with high-grade heroin. Sean refuses, having gone relatively legit 20 years before when he saw that the cocaine he helped distribute in the ‘70s and ‘80s had destroyed countless lives. The Albanian is not happy, especially with Sean’s sleazy son Danny, who he had paid to guarantee Sean’s interest. With Sean refusing to play ball, the Albanian wants his fat payoff back – but he doesn’t know the kid has blown it all, and Sean refuses to bail his son out of trouble on this one.

The Albanian coincidentally hires Jimmy’s now-grown son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) through a limo service to go to his money meeting with Danny. But when Danny tricks the Albanian and his men, and instead ruthlessly shoots them, Michael races away from the scene. Danny goes to Michael’s house to kill Michael off to prevent him being a witness, but at the same time Jimmy has been made aware of what’s going down and has shown up at Michael’s house too – just in time to kill Danny as he’s about to shoot Michael.

Jimmy calls Sean and admits he killed his son Danny, and tries to explain it was a matter of saving his own son. But there are rules in mob life, and the prime one in place now is that Sean’s thugs get to kill Michael and even the playing the field, no matter what. Jimmy refuses to follow that code and warns Sean that if he tries to kill them, he’ll rat out everybody they’ve ever killed to police detective Harding.

And so the game is on, intricate pieces set into place exquisitely. A father and son on the run to clear their names, a dad determined to atone for his past and reconcile with his son, a son who slowly learns to trust, then love his dad after a lifetime of resenting him, plus corrupt cops, countless mob thugs and an ace hired killer (played by rapper/actor Common) out to stop them, and one honest cop as their only way out.

Yes, that is a long setup to explain, but that’s just the first half hour of the movie. How many action movies put even a sliver of such thought into their plotting? Thriller fans should be elated that here is a rarity: a modern action movie that makes you think and respects your intelligence as well as your spirit.

Now, I need to make it clear that this movie is packed with foul language and violence. The fistfights and a couple of stabbings are intense but not gory, and there’s a lot of shooting and car chases, not to mention a brilliant string of showdowns in a public housing complex that I wouldn’t dream of giving away. There is also a lot of foul language, including unfortunate uses of Jesus’ and God’s names in vain on many occasions and the usual array of R-rated bad words.

But anyone who has seen R-level action movies won’t be shocked. This is the gritty world of low-level mob men, who are clearly not paragons of decency. Yet “Run All Night” is a much deeper exploration of right and wrong, of the desire to change and whether it can actually occur, of guilty consciences haunting men for decades after their worst behavior, and of families torn apart by evil actions and whether they can piece themselves back together.

Those moments in “Run All Night “ – and they’re plentiful – are moments of thought and beauty, giving us Catholics much to chew on and contemplate amid this Lenten season. Writer Brad Ingelsby did a similarly smart thriller called “Out of the Furnace” that went too far to recommend morally, but he nails it here, along with director Jaume Collet-Serra as they bring us a New York filled with regret and redemption.

Carl Kozlowski has been a professional film critic and essayist for the past five years at Pasadena Weekly, in addition to the Christian movie site Movieguide.org, the conservative pop culture site Breitbart.coms Big Hollywood, the Christian pop culture magazine Relevant and New City newspaper in Chicago. He also writes in-depth celebrity interviews for Esquire.com and The Progressive. He is owner of the podcasting site radiotitans.com, which was named one of the Frontier Fifty in 2013 as one of the 50 best talk-radio outlets in the nation by talkers.com and will be relaunching it in January 2014 after a five-month sabbatical. He lives in Los Angeles.

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SUNDAY • MARCH 15, 2015

Fourth Sunday of Lent

First Reading (2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; NRSVCE)

All the leading priests and the people also were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of the Lord that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy.

They burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had made up for its sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom and also declared in a written edict: “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up.”

Second Reading (Eph 2:4-10; NRSVCE)

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Gospel Reading (Jn 3:14-21; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

MONDAY • MARCH 16, 2015

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

First Reading (Is 65:17-21; NRSVCE)

For I am about to create new heavens

and a new earth;

the former things shall not be remembered

or come to mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I am creating;

for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,

and its people as a delight.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem,

and delight in my people;

no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,

or the cry of distress.

No more shall there be in it

an infant that lives but a few days,

or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;

for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,

and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Gospel Reading (Jn 4:43-54; NRSVCE)

When the two days were over, Jesus went from that place to Galilee (for he himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

TUESDAY • MARCH 17, 2015

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

First Reading (Ez 47:1-9, 12; NRSVCE)

Then the angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

Gospel Reading (Jn 5:1-16; NRSVCE)

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids — blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath.

WEDNESDAY • MARCH 18, 2015

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

First Reading (Is 49:8-15; NRSVCE)

Thus says the Lord:

In a time of favor I have answered you,

on a day of salvation I have helped you;

I have kept you and given you

as a covenant to the people,

to establish the land,

to apportion the desolate heritages;

saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”

to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”

They shall feed along the ways,

on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;

they shall not hunger or thirst,

neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,

for he who has pity on them will lead them,

and by springs of water will guide them.

And I will turn all my mountains into a road,

and my highways shall be raised up.

Lo, these shall come from far away,

and lo, these from the north and from the west,

and these from the land of Syene.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the Lord has comforted his people,

and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

my Lord has forgotten me.”

Can a woman forget her nursing child,

or show no compassion for the child of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

Gospel Reading (Jn 5:17-30; NRSVCE)

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

“Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

THURSDAY • MARCH 19, 2015

Solemnity of Saint Joseph

First Reading (2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; NRSVCE)

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Second Reading (Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; NRSVCE)

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Gospel Reading (Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a; NRSVCE)

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.

FRIDAY • MARCH 20, 2015

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

First Reading (Wis 2:1a, 12-22; NRSVCE)

For the wicked reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,

“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,

because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;

he reproaches us for sins against the law,

and accuses us of sins against our training.

He professes to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a child of the Lord.

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father.

Let us see if his words are true,

and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;

for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,

and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

Let us test him with insult and torture,

so that we may find out how gentle he is,

and make trial of his forbearance.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death,

for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”

Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,

for their wickedness blinded them,

and they did not know the secret purposes of God,

nor hoped for the wages of holiness,

nor discerned the prize for blameless souls.

Gospel Reading (Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30; NRSVCE)

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near.

But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret.

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come.

SATURDAY • MARCH 21, 2015

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

First Reading (Jer 11:18-20; NRSVCE)

It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew;

then you showed me their evil deeds.

But I was like a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

And I did not know it was against me

that they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

let us cut him off from the land of the living,

so that his name will no longer be remembered!”

But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,

who try the heart and the mind,

let me see your retribution upon them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

Gospel Reading (Jn 7:40-53; NRSVCE)

When they heard these words of Jesus, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law — they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

Then each of them went home.