VOLUME 1, ISSUE 43  •  OCTOBER 24, 2015

Table of Contents

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VATICAN NEWS

What will the Synod’s final document look like?

The miracle behind the canonization of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux

Pope Francis: 50th anniversary of Synod renews the call to discipleship

Pope Francis: Four new saints point to humility – not worldly power

‘Genuine religious faith’ is a force against terrorist savagery, Holy See tells UN

Pope prays for peace in the Holy Land amid escalating violence

Cardinal Pell: Catholic means universal, not continental

Strengthen marriage with truth and mercy, Venezuela’s Cardinal Urosa tells synod

How Benedict XVI played a special role in a Pope’s cause for sainthood

That notorious 2014 synod report? We got it an hour after the media did, cardinal says

What the Holy See told the U.N. about outer space

Vatican calls rumors over Pope Francis’ health false and irresponsible

Marriage doesn’t take away your freedom – quite the opposite, Pope says

Synod finds strong support for Church teaching in communion debate

Church unity and truth serve the family, Archbishop Gomez says from synod

At U.N., Holy See delegation speaks up for indigenous peoples

Holy See urges U.N. to ban nuclear weapons, work towards peace

Pope Francis creates Vatican office combining laity, family, life issues

The saint and the synod – John Paul II’s legacy still seen in Church teaching

The problem of porn – are bishops talking about it?

Pope Francis to youth: The Bible can change your life. Now read it!

Gay Catholic to Synod: Please protect teaching on homosexuality

WORLD NEWS

For German bishops mercy comes at a price, critics charge

Ghana’s bishops ask country to work for fair elections in 2016

Filipinos pray as they prepare to host the International Eucharistic Congress

Spain’s socialist party would ban religion classes – even in private schools

Sodalitium Christianae Vitae issues statement in wake of accusations

For Thai Cardinal, the art of living includes witness to the Gospel

Catholics in Cuba call on government to remove religious restrictions

U.S. NEWS

Archdiocese: News reports distorted Newark archbishop’s efforts to guide priests

Hyatt Hotels changes policy around the globe, removes on-demand porn

Archbishop Chaput: In Philly and in synod, support for Francis is obvious

How a ‘culture of distraction’ is keeping millennials from marrying

Denver archbishop: Would German bishops side with Henry VIII or Thomas More?

With release of religious freedom report, global watchdog gets funding renewal

In wake of papal visit, pro-life opinion rises in United States

Major evangelical group recognizes growing opposition to death penalty

Aid for Syrian refugee crisis falls far short, Congress told

U.S. House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, but not without controversy

Why one Catholic entrepreneur is starting a ‘food revolution’ for the sick

FEATURES

Some scary movies worth seeing this weekend

Prosperity Gospel is a travesty of the Good News of Christ

‘The Martian’ and why each life matters

Celebrating All Hallows’ Eve: Part II

Discrimination on trial

‘Steve Jobs’ an emotional portrait of a complex man

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • October 25, 2015

Monday • October 26, 2015

Tuesday • October 27, 2015

Wednesday • October 28, 2015

Thursday • October 29, 2015

Friday • October 30, 2015

Saturday • October 31, 2015

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Volume 1, Issue 43 • October 24, 2015

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VATICAN NEWS

What will the Synod’s final document look like?

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • October 16, 2015

Inside the Synod Hall during the meeting of bishops and cardinals on Oct. 14, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — As the second week of the synod draws to a close, it remains to be seen what the final product from the global meeting of bishops will be.

The Synod on the Family, which gathers bishops from around the world for a three-week meeting in Rome, builds upon a previous gathering last year. The final document from last year, known as the Instrumentum Laboris, serves as this year’s starting point.

However, nearly all of the bishops’ small groups this year have asked for a substantial re-writing of the second part of the Instrumentum Laboris. As a result, it is not yet clear what the final report from this year’s meeting will say.

Once the synod fathers present their final report to Pope Francis, the Holy Father will have the option of issuing a post-synodal exhortation, though no decision has yet been made.

Fr. Antonio Spadaro, who is one of the Synod delegates personally appointed by Pope Francis, included the request for a post-synodal document among the 40 key points he highlighted from the small group reports.

“The final document will have some limitations. A Holy Father’s post-synodal exhortation could be imagined,” Fr. Spadaro wrote in his notes.

The drafting committee for the Synod’s final report met Oct. 14, in order to harmonize all the ‘modi’ (amendments) the groups proposed for the working document.

At the moment, it is still unclear what the final report will look like: it is possible that it will be an amended version of the starting document, or it could be primarily a brand new text.

However, 11 out of 13 small groups advanced requests for a substantial re-writing of the second part of the working document, titled “The Family and the Socio-Economic Context.” Almost all of the small groups asked that the document include more abundant references to the Holy Scriptures. One of them went further, and formally asked for a magisterial document about the Church’s teaching on the family.

Small group English A directly advanced this request for a post-synodal exhortation, recognizing “the limitations of a document that will be approved at the conclusion of this Synod.”

The small group known as French A said that the second part of the working document “is not firmly enough grounded on the Holy Scriptures,” and asked for a more in-depth description of the Divine Pedagogy. The group also asked that the document will “speak more broadly of fidelity and indissolubility as a gift and a call, rather than as a duty.”

The same concerns were expressed by the small group French B. The bishops of this group wished that the text of the working document would “make more use of the language of Biblical theology;” they unanimously observed that the “first part of the first chapter needs a deep revision and a complete rewriting,” and for this purpose “amendments are not appropriate.”

Furthermore, the group requested that the final text be “the clearest and simplest possible,” avoiding “ambiguities that would be of detriment for the understanding of the vocation and mission of the family.”

The group French C asked for a “more unified approach” that would avoid “false oppositions,” like those “between theology and pastoral care, between the fullness of the vocation and the wound, between truth and mercy.” For this reason, the group wrote a full new paragraph, in order to give “a framework” which helps to read through the other paragraphs.

English group B discussed the need for Divine Pedagogy as a lens to understand “our ministry as mirroring God’s patience and mercy,” while the group English C stressed “the need to present the indissolubility of marriage as a gift from God rather than a burden,” and “to draw more deeply and richly from the Scripture, not just citing Biblical text, but in presenting the Bible as a matrix for Christian married and family life.”

The group English D identified the lack of a definition of marriage as “a serious defect,” which “causes ambiguity throughout the text.”

Italian group A made a call to “fill the text of the working documents on the presentation of doctrine with the spiritual and Holy Spirit dimension.”

The Italian B small group suggested a substantial re-writing of the text. The group’s report recounts that the bishops asked to cut some paragraphs, and to adjust others with the purpose of creating “a more cohesive and incisive text.”

The group also noticed “the lack of references to God’s Word and the complete lack of reference to the Church’s tradition.”

However, the group was conscious that the Synod’s final report might have some limits. “(T)here is the need on one side to ask for a magisterial document on the issue, and on the other side to make further pastoral verifications” on marriage and family, it said.

The group Italian C provided a wide, theological reflection on the text, and asked that “the Synod would return to the springing source of the message of Jesus” and to its “ability to accompany the stages of the family life.”

All of these concerns will be analyzed by the drafting committee for the final report. Composed by ten people personally appointed by the Pope, the drafting committee is called to harmonize all the amendments presented – at the moment, the text has received some 700 amendments – in a new text that will be submitted for the Synod’s approval.

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VATICAN NEWS

The miracle behind the canonization of the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux

by Alvaro de Juana (CNA/EWTN News) • October 17, 2015

A tapestry of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, hanging in St. Peters Square Oct. 16, 2015, in preparation for their canonization on Sunday. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Seven-year-old Carmen has an extraordinary story. Because of her Blessed Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin, the parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux, will be canonized this Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square.

The little girl was born prematurely in Spain in 2008 at just six months into pregnancy. She was fighting for her life for several weeks because of a cerebral hemorrhage and other severe ailments.

But her loved ones and many Carmelite sisters sought the miraculous intervention of the Martins. The Vatican recognized the baby’s healing as miraculous.

Little Carmen’s parents, her mother Carmen and her father Santos, have told her story in an exclusive interview with CNA.

“We’re just another family who received this miracle with open arms, as you’d expect. But we and Carmen are normal people like anybody else,” Santos said.

The baby Carmen is now seven years old.

“Our daughter was born at hardly six months gestation, after a pregnancy with many complications, and her organs were very underdeveloped. Complications set in right away: cerebral hemorrhage, bacterial infection … her situation was getting worse to the point we were extremely worried,” Santos explained.

Both parents were both going through “a terrible situation.”

“For some parents dealing with such a dramatic situation it would stir up feelings of helplessness, grief, guilt and despair … on top of that we had a five year old son and we were trying to keep this situation from affecting him,” Santos said.

The doctors told them to prepare for the worst. Every day had major significance.

“Carmen was getting worse and worse,” her father said. She was so weak that for 35 days her parents could not even so much as touch their daughter in order to avoid infecting her.

“The doctors thought there was no longer anything more they could do for her and after that they let us touch her,” Santos and Carmen said, adding “during this whole process we never lost faith, we clung to our faith and it helped us very much.”

“For us faith is the foundation of our family, and as they say: without faith, there is no hope.”

Little Carmen was born on the feast day of Saint Teresa of Avila, so her parents sought out a monastery or church connected with the saint.

“We saw our answer come to us through prayer. Carmen was still alive — even though she was still very sick — so we were determined to look for a place even harder,” Santos said. “So I searched on Google for some place to pray to Saint Teresa and right away popped up the monastery of Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa in the town of Serra in Valencia Province.”

“I went there one afternoon, but I got there almost at night and I couldn’t get in because it was closed. So I told one of the Carmelite sisters on the intercom what was going on with Carmen and she told me they would pray.”

The sister also told Santos that he could come there Sunday for Mass.

“We were going to Mass there, we were praying and we would quickly turn around because we needed to get back to see our daughter since the hospital was 25 miles away.”

After four or five Sundays, the Carmelite sisters became close to the parents of the sick baby. This was how the parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux came fully into their lives.

Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin married in 1858 just three months after they met. They lived in celibacy for nearly a year, but went on to have nine children. Four died in infancy, while the remaining five daughters entered religious life.

The Martins were known for living an exemplary life of holiness of prayer, fasting and charity. The couple frequently visited the elderly and invited poor people to dine with them in their home.

Their daughter, St. Terese of Lisieux, became a Carmelite nun known as the Little Flower. She authored the deeply influential spiritual autobiography “Story of a Soul.” She was canonized in 1925 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1997.

The canonization cause for another of their daughters, Leonia Martin, opened in 2015.

The Martins were beatified in 2008.

“Saint Therese’s parents were beatified on October 19, four days before Carmen was born,” Santos said.

The Carmelite sisters gave little Carmen’s parents some pictures of the Martins, a prayer and a short biography of the married couple.

“The prioress told us that perhaps these blesseds, who had miraculously cured a child, could also help us,” Santos said.

“That very same night we began to pray to them,” he said. Other sisters in other convents also joined in prayer for the suffering baby.

“Beginning the next day there were a series of changes and Carmen’s state,” the girl’s father said.

The next day Carmen was transferred to another hospital and she began to recuperate noticeably. She began to breathe without a machine and her infections began to subside. On the third day she left the intensive care unit, though it took several years to know whether she suffered side-effects from the hemorrhage.

Carmen was finally released from the hospital on Jan. 2, 2009 the same day as the birthday of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

Fifteen days later, the relics of Blessed Louis and Zelie came to Lerida, Spain. The Carmelite sisters encouraged the family to go.

There, they met the postulator for the Martins’ cause for Sainthood and explained their daughter’s healing. The postulator pursued the case, and the investigation for the Martins’ possible canonization began in November 2009.

It was not until March 2015 that investigators approved Carmen’s miracle that would raise the Martins to the altars.

The family received the news on March 18 during the popular Fallas de Valencia festival.

“Our whole family was going down San Vicente Street in Valencia right in the middle of the Offering of Flowers to the Virgin of the Defenseless to give her our bouquet. All of a sudden our cell phone went off and, after six years, they gave us the big news.”

“It was a very special and moving moment, it couldn’t have been at any other time, just when we were at the feet of the Virgin,” Santos recalled with great emotion.

Baby Carmen’s parents have told her everything about how she was healed, adapted for her age.

“For us it was always a miracle, and even more when we could see she was responding to everything and recuperating,” her parents said. “It’s different to experience something like this than when somebody tells you about it. When it happens to you, your faith is reaffirmed.”

Carmen’s parents said they were already strong believers before the miracle, but now they practice their faith more.

The whole family will witness the canonization along with family and friends. They are “a little nervous and anxious” as they await the ceremony. But they also have “a lot of joy.”

This is the first time the Church will canonize a married couple at the same ceremony.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: 50th anniversary of Synod renews the call to discipleship

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • October 17, 2015

Pope Francis walking out of the Paul VI Hall after Synod sessions during the Synod of Bishops on October 9, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis presided over celebrations marking 50 years since the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, in which he reflected on the role of the synod in fulfilling our call as disciples to be servants.

“Never forget! For disciples of Jesus, yesterday and today, the only authority is the authority of service; the only power is the power of the Cross,” the Pope said Saturday to the Synod fathers gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.

Citing Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus says “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,” the Pope added:

“You shall not be so: In this expression we arrive at the heart of the mystery of the Church, and we receive the light needed to understand the hierarchical service.

Pope Francis was speaking on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, established September 15, 1965 under the pontificate of Paul VI at the close of the Vatican II council. Since its establishment, there have been fourteen ordinary general synods, and three extraordinary synods.

This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops is the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”

Over the course of his Oct. 17 address, the Pope spoke on the nature of “synodality” within the context of the Church’s mission.

“The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve even in its contradictions, the church requires the strengthening of synergies in all areas of her mission. The journey of synodality is the journey which God expects from the Church in the third millenium.”

Pope Francis observed that the concept of lay persons, pastors, and the bishop of Rome journeying together is an “easy concept” to express, but less so to put into practice.

He spoke of the establishment of the duel synods on the family over the course of a year, and whether or not it is possible to examine this theme without input from families.

“But, how is it possible to speak on the family without consulting families, listening to their joys ad hopes, their sufferings and agonies?”

This was made possible, he said, by the questionnaires sent to the particular Church in order to consult these families.

Pope Francis went on to explain the importance of reciprocal listening within a synodal Church, explaining that listening is “more than feeling,” citing the Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes.

“It is a reciprocal listening in which everyone has something to learn,” be they the faithful, the college of bishops, or the bishop of Rome himself.

“The Synod of Bishops is the point of convergence of this dynamism of listening conducted at all levels in the life of the Church.”

Pope Francis added: “Through the Synod fathers, bishops act as authentic stewards, interpreters and witnesses of faith of the entire Church, who must be able to carefully distinguish the frequently changing public opinion.”

Here, the Pope cited his words at the vigil held before the Synod, in which he reminded the synod fathers of the gift of listening to God in order to do his will.

That the Synod always acts both cum Petro et sub Petro (both with Peter and under Peter), “is not a limitation of freedom, but a guarantee of unity,” the Pope said.

Citing the concept of “ierarchica communio” (hierarchical communion) adopted during Vatican II, he explained: “Bishops are joined with the Bishop of Rome by the bond of episcopal communion (cum Petro) and are at the same time are hierarchically subject to him who is the Head of the College (sub Petro).”

“Synodality, as a constitutive dimension of the Church, offers us the most appropriate interpretive framework for understanding the same hierarchical ministry,” he said.

The Pope went on to explained how Jesus established the Church with the Apostolic College as its head, and Peter – the “rock” – serving as its base. He used the example of an “inverted pyramid,” with the summit being at the base.

Pope Francis elaborated on the pontiff’s place within the synodal Church.

“The Pope is not, by himself, above the Church; but (he is) within it as a baptized person among the baptized, and within the episcopal college as a bishop among bishops, called to at the same time – as the successor of the Apostle Peter – to guide the Church of Rome, which presides in love over all the Church.”

Pope Francis concluded: “As a Church which ‘walks together’ with men, participating in the travails of history, cultivating the dream which is the rediscovery of the inviolable dignity of peoples and the function of authoritative service, can help even civil society establish itself, in justice and fraternity, generating a more beautiful world (which is) more worthy of man for generations which come after us.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis: Four new saints point to humility – not worldly power

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 18, 2015

Pope Francis canonizes four new saints in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 18, 2015. (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)

Vatican City — On Sunday Pope Francis canonized four new saints, whose greatest legacy he said was their tireless imitation of Jesus in humble service to others, which is something each of us are asked to emulate.

“The men and women canonized today unfailingly served their brothers and sisters with outstanding humility and charity, in imitation of the divine Master,” the Pope said Oct. 18.

“The radiant witness of these new saints inspires us to persevere in joyful service to our brothers and sisters, trusting in the help of God and the maternal protection of Mary,” he told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Mass.

Among the four newly canonized individuals recognized for their exemplary virtue are Italian priest Fr. Vincent Grossi, Sister Mary of the Immaculate Conception, and married couple Louis and Zelie Martin.

Known for being the parents of the 19th century French saint Therese of Lisieux, Saints Louis and Zelie Martin are the first married couple to ever be canonized together.

Pope Francis praised the couples’ humble attitude toward others, which is evident in the way that they practiced service within the family, “creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.”

He also pointed to Italian saint Vincent Grossi’s great zeal in attending to the needs of his flock, particularly the youth, as well as 20th century St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception’s extraordinary humility in serving the less fortunate, especially the children of the poor and sick.

In his homily Francis focused on the day’s first reading from Isaiah, in which the prophet depicts the image of the Servant of the Lord, who despite coming from a prestigious lineage, is “despised, shunned by all, a man of sorrows.”

“He does not do great things or make memorable speeches; instead, he fulfills God’s plan through his humble, quiet presence and his suffering,” the Pope said.

Because his mission is carried out in suffering, “this enables him to understand those who suffer, to shoulder the guilt of others and to make atonement for it.”

Jesus is the Servant of the Lord Isaiah was referencing, Francis explained, noting that it is thanks to his life and death, “marked by an attitude of utter service,” that we have been saved and reconciled with God.

Pope Francis then turned to the Gospel reading from Mark, in which the disciples James and John are urged by their mother to ask Jesus to sit in places of honor at his right and left in God’s Kingdom, following their own hierarchal vision of what it would be like.

“Their horizon was still clouded by illusions of earthly fulfillment,” he said, explaining that Jesus gives their worldly notions a “jolt” by speaking of his own earthly journey.

In telling the disciples that “the cup that I drink you will drink … but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant,” Jesus assures them that they can share in his mission of suffering, but didn’t promise the honor they were looking for, the Pope said.

“His response is to invite them to follow him along the path of love and service, and to reject the worldly temptation of seeking the first place and commanding others.”

What Jesus’ words in the Gospel tell us is that service is the way authority is exercised in the Christian community, he said, adding that “those who serve others and lack real prestige exercise genuine authority in the Church.”

After giving the disciples a model of what not to do, Jesus then points to himself as the example to follow, the Pope noted. He said that it is by imitating Jesus that the community gets a new outlook on life.

In coming “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” Jesus shows us that “he enjoys dominion because he is a servant, glory because he is capable of abasement, kingship because he is fully prepared to lay down his life.”

“By his passion and death, he takes the lowest place, attains the heights of grandeur in service, and bestows this upon his Church.”

Francis said that there is “no compatibility” between the worldly understanding of power and the humble service which characterizes true authority to Jesus’ own teaching and example.

“Ambition and careerism are incompatible with Christian discipleship; honor, success, fame and worldly triumphs are incompatible with the logic of Christ crucified,” he said. “Instead, compatibility exists between Jesus, the man of sorrows, and our suffering.”

Jesus, the Pope continued, knows our struggles firsthand thanks to his incarnation, and exercises his priesthood with mercy and compassion.

“The fact that he is without sin does not prevent him from understanding sinners,” he said, adding that the Lord’s glory doesn’t come from “ambition or the thirst for power.”

Rather, his glory is that of someone “who loves men and women, who accepts them and shares in their weakness, who offers them the grace which heals and restores, and accompanies them with infinite tenderness amid their tribulations.”

Each of us through baptism are called to share in Christ’s mission, receiving the charity that flows from his heart and passing it on to others, he said.

We then become “channels of his love and compassion, especially for those who are suffering, discouraged and alone.”

Pope Francis closed his homily by praising the example of the new saints, and praying that from heaven, “may they now watch over us and sustain us by their powerful intercession.”

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VATICAN NEWS

‘Genuine religious faith’ is a force against terrorist savagery, Holy See tells UN

by CNA/EWTN News • October 18, 2015

Pope Francis addresses interreligious leaders in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jan. 13, 2015. (EWTN)

New York City, N.Y. — The papal nuncio to the United Nations on Wednesday stressed the religious rejection of the “utter savagery” of terrorism and violence.

“Genuine religious faith is in fact a source of unity and strength against fundamentalist terrorism and encourages individuals and societies to opt for non-violent means to air their grievances and to obtain justice,” Archbishop Bernardito Auza said Oct. 14 to a U.N. committee discussing anti-terrorism measures.

“Pope Francis has called repeatedly on all religious communities and leaders never to use religion as a pretext for committing acts of violence.”

Archbishop Auza is the apostolic nuncio leading the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations. He said the Holy See is concerned about the manipulation of religion to promote terrorist activities.

He also praised international anti-terrorism efforts, including the U.N.’s adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

“The Holy See welcomes this cooperation as an expression of international solidarity to promote peace and security for all, especially for persons and groups who are under direct terrorist threats, such as those who promote fundamental human rights and those belonging to religious and ethnic minorities,” the archbishop said.

“In the last year, we have witnessed a dramatic evolution of terrorist activities into forms of utter savagery never seen before, such as beheadings, crucifixions and the destruction of places of high historic and symbolic value, all transmitted live to the horror of us all, as well as by atrocities directed against entire communities and, indeed, against entire countries.”

Archbishop Auza cited Pope Francis’ Sept. 25 speech to the United Nations. The Pope focused on the “painful situation” of the Middle East, North Africa, and other African countries where Christians and other cultural or ethnic groups “have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property.”

The Pope lamented the extortion, expulsion, and enslavement these victims have suffered.

“These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs,” Pope Francis said last month.

Archbishop Auza advocated efforts to prevent the rise of terrorist sympathies.

“We must dry up the swamps where terrorism breeds: by education and mutual respect, by perseverance in dialogue at all levels, by the rule of law and good governance, by engaging entire local communities most at risk of radicalization and achieving their satisfactory social integration, by creating job opportunities especially for the young who are susceptible to terrorist propaganda,” he said.

The U.N. plays “a crucial role” in terrorism prevention efforts, the archbishop continued.

“The Holy See is convinced that the fight against international and all forms of terrorism cannot be won solely by recourse to the most sophisticated weapons,” he said. He stressed the importance of diplomacy, peacekeeping, the rule of law, adherence to the U.N. charter and international law, and respect for fundamental human rights.

“An arbitrary application of unilateral measures, a selective approach to human rights and a disregard for cultures and religions cannot win hearts and minds,” he continued. “Such actions come across as brazen demonstrations of superiority and deliberate acts of provocation, thereby increasing feelings of victimization among populations, especially among young people.”

Archbishop Auza cited U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech: freedoms of speech and worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.

“These are the fundamental freedoms that terrorists abhor. These are fundamental freedoms that we must uphold,” the archbishop said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope prays for peace in the Holy Land amid escalating violence

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 18, 2015

Pope Francis prays with journalists on the papal flight en route to South Korea on August 14, 2014. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Vatican City — Following multiple knife attacks in the Holy Land this weekend, Pope Francis has appealed for courage and strength in bringing an end to violence and the desire for revenge.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I follow with great concern the situation of strong tension and violence afflicting the Holy Land,” the Pope said Oct. 18, before leading pilgrims in the traditional Angelus prayer.

“At this time great courage and strength of spirit is needed in order to say no to hate and revenge and to accomplish gestures of peace.”

Francis asked pilgrims to pray “so that God reinforces everyone, government leaders and citizens, with the courage to oppose violence and made concrete steps of distention.”

“In the current context of the Middle East it’s more crucial than ever to make peace in the Holy Land: this is what God and the good of humanity asks of us.”

The Pope’s plea came after he celebrated Mass for the canonization of four new saints, including Italian priest Fr. Vincent Grossi, Sister Mary of the Immaculate Conception, and married couple Louis and Zelie Martin, who are the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux.

Violence and tensions in Gaza and the West Bank have spiked in the month of October, leaving seven Israelis dead as a result of attacks by Palestinians with either knives, guns or cars, CNN reports.

Additionally, 44 Palestinians have been killed this month in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, including those who carried out the attacks.

Protesters have also rioted in Palestinian territories, throwing rocks, which at times has prompted Israeli security forces to open fire.

On Friday five Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Five other Palestinians, most of them teens, carried out knife attacks Saturday in the cities of Hebron, Jerusalem and Qalandia. In four of the five cases, the attackers were shot and killed.

The weekend’s incidents add to the more than 1,770 injured either by live fire or rubber bullets in the month of October alone, according to al-Najjar.

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VATICAN NEWS

Cardinal Pell: Catholic means universal, not continental

by Ann Schneible and Walter Sanchez Silva (CNA/EWTN News) • October 19, 2015

Cardinal George Pell at the Vatican Press Office, Oct. 19, 2012. (Matthew Rarey/CNA)

Vatican City — In a wide-ranging interview, Australia’s leading prelate affirmed his alliance with Pope Francis, and also stressed that, in a universal church, doctrine does not change from one country to the next.

“You cannot have two people in the same situation with the same dispositions; one goes to Communion and it (is) a sacrilege and in the country next-door it is a cause of grace,” said Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican secretariat for the economy, in an exclusive interview with CNA.

“‘Catholic’ means ‘universal,’ not ‘continental’,” he said.

Although the former archbishop of Sydney did not mention the German bishops’ conference by name in Saturday’s interview, some members of that conference have stated they would pursue their own pastoral approaches regarding marriage and the family regardless of what the Synod decides.

Speaking on his perceptions of the Synod on the Family, which has just entered its third and final week, the cardinal also put to rest claims that he is at odds with Pope Francis.

The Pope is “a very good listener,” he said, adding that the two are on the same page when it comes to the protection of doctrine at the Synod.

“One of my concerns is for doctrine, and the Pope has said the doctrine will not be touched. I am not a rebel or an opponent of the Pope,” Cardinal Pell said.

The Australian prelate gave a good-humored response to the media buzz surrounding the letter to Pope Francis, a version of which was leaked Oct. 12, in which 13 cardinals allegedly expressed their concerns over the new Synod procedures.

“I think one of the reasons was that there was not much excitement in the first week, and the press wanted some excitement,” he said, suggesting that the controversy surrounding the letter had been overblown.

He explained that it is not unusual for a cardinal to write letters to the Pope, adding that he did not believe any of the 13 signatories were responsible for releasing the letter to the press.

This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”

The full transcript of Cardinal Pell’s interview with CNA is below:

What is your evaluation of this Synod at the beginning of the third week?

Cardinal Pell: I think that we have worked hard at the Synod. We have made substantial progress. We are about to vote on the third part of the document. On the first two parts, on the overwhelming majority of issues, there was a very strong consensus.

Are you still concerned about the methodology and about the commission in charge of writing document?

Cardinal Pell: No, I think our concerns have been substantially addressed: the Holy Father said doctrine will not be touched; there will be a final document; we will vote on that document paragraph by paragraph. And, the Holy Father said there will be no manipulation.

With regard to the voting: It will be just paragraph by paragraph, or will it also be for the full document?

Cardinal Pell: I’m not quite sure. Now, I think just paragraph by paragraph.

Turning to the letter signed by thirteen cardinals: Why do you think that this letter has created so many negative reactions?

Cardinal Pell: I think one of the reasons was that there was not much excitement in the first week, and the press wanted some excitement.

A big part of the cardinal`s duty is to write letters to the Pope. I’ve written quite a few letters to the popes over the years. Why was it leaked? I do not know. None of the thirteen signatories leaked it, I’m quite sure.

You have been described by some as being opposed to the Pope? Is this the case?

Cardinal Pell: Certainly not. I work very closely with the Pope. I help look after the finances. I’m a member of the C9 (Council of Nine Cardinals that advises the Pope).

The Pope has asked for free discussion. He’s a very good listener. You can make your case to him and he will listen. And, the Pope lines up with me; one of my concerns is for doctrine, and the Pope has said the doctrine will not be touched. I am not a rebel or an opponent of the Pope.

Would you say there an atmosphere of freedom in the Synod?

Cardinal Pell: Yes, of course. Yes. People are able to speak what is in their minds and are doing that.

We have the A group in English. We have a very good atmosphere, complete freedom to speak. We vote. There are clear divisions once in a while. But, it’s a mature, adult, Christian community and conversation.

Coming as you do from the “peripheries” of Oceana – specifically Australia – what are your expectations of the Synod?

Cardinal Pell: Whether it is the periphery of the world depends on where you start. We think our part of the world is the center, and perhaps in South America you do also.

What do I expect? What I would like is a list of the best practice; examples from all around the world of strategies and practices that help the church. For example, in the Syro Malabar church so much of their family life over the years is celebrated with prayers in the family.

Also, I think we need some clear teaching from the Synod, and then hopefully from the Holy Father, because there is some measure of confusion and we want to be clear about mercy and truth that lie at the heart of the Christian moral teaching, and Christian sacramental teaching, which have to be at the heart of family life.

What were your thoughts after hearing what the Pope said (Saturday) morning?

Cardinal Pell: I think the Pope said very little that was new. It was the 50th anniversary of the Synod. We often emphasize the deficiencies of the Synod, but the Synod is a wonderful invention. Universality of the church is on view with diversity of pastoral approaches. It was wonderful to hear the witness of the testimonies from the (laypersons). They were much more interesting, I think, than we bishops were. So, I think the Synod has basically been going well.

There is this controversial issue of Communion for divorced and remarried or not, but what is important is to emphasize that doctrine is one; there are many theologies. So, you cannot say that in Germany they will believe in the Divinity of Christ and in Poland they will say Christ is not Divine. You cannot have two people in the same situation with the same dispositions; one goes to Communion and it (is) a sacrilege and in the country next-door it is a cause of grace.

Cardinal Arinze said you cannot nationalize right and wrong. We have one creed, one baptismal formula, one faith. One God, one faith, one baptism. “Catholic” means “universal,” not “continental”. We are not ruled by synods. We are led by individual bishops and led by the Holy Father and the Holy Father (Saturday) morning emphasized the central role of the Successor of Peter. He emphasized, too, that he is the authentic guarantee of the tradition. We only can live and work within the tradition, the essentials of the tradition.

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VATICAN NEWS

Strengthen marriage with truth and mercy, Venezuela’s Cardinal Urosa tells synod

by CNA/EWTN News • October 20, 2015

Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas speaks with CNA, Feb. 13, 2015. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — Both truth and mercy can be found in consistent Catholic teaching on marriage, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas told the Synod of Bishops on Thursday.

“United to Christ, who has overcome the world, the Church is called to maintain the splendor of truth even in difficult situations,” he said in his Oct. 15 intervention. “Mercy invites the sinner and it becomes forgiveness when one repents and changes one’s life. The prodigal son was greeted with an embrace from his father only when he returned home.”

Cardinal Urosa said the synod “must indicate lines of action that strengthen marriage, making it more attractive to young people, and keeping it alive in the hearts of the spouses over time.”

He said Catholic teaching provides mercy “to assist more effectively those in irregular situations to alleviate their moral suffering and to better live their Catholic faith.”

“We are all driven by the desire to find a better solution to this painful situation. We must do it with the spirit of the Good Shepherd and the truth that sets us free,” he continued.

The cardinal’s comments to the Synod of Bishops come amid continued debate over access to Communion for Catholics who have divorced-and-remarried civilly. The Church has taught, as in Familiaris consortio, that those persons are unable to be admitted to Communion because “their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist” and because “if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.”

Cardinal Urosa stressed the need for repentance and the need for the synod to show “the strength and continuity” of Catholic teaching.

He cited St. John Paul II’s 1981 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio, the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, and the 2007 ‘Aparecida document’ of the Fifth Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops. These all reaffirmed pastoral care for couples in an irregular situation, while acknowledging that they may not receive Communion.

The Aparecida document was approved by then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who would be elected as Pope Francis in 2013.

“Can we contradict those teachings?” Cardinal Urosa asked.

The cardinal said the synod must work “in the light of the revealed truth and with eyes of mercy.” He said the synod is called “to reflect very clearly the teaching of the Gospel and of the Church through the centuries about the nature and dignity of Christian marriage” and to reflect “on the greatness of the Eucharist” and the need for those who receive Communion to be rightly disposed.

Cardinal Urosa noted the synod’s working document discussions about providing a “penitential journey” for those who have divorced and remarried. He said this penitential journey should end in conversion and a firm decision for the penitent to amend his or her life and to live in continence.

Please find below the full text of Cardinal Urosa’s Oct. 15 intervention at the synod:

The Proposal of Admission to the Eucharist for the Divorced and Remarried

I refer to numbers 121, 122, and 123 of the Instrumentum Laboris in which is considered the proposal for the acceptance to the table of the Eucharist – counting on certain conditions been met, among them a penitential journey – or the divorced and remarried, yet maintaining the conjugal life .

We are all driven by the desire to find a better solution to this painful situation. We must do it with the spirit of the Good Shepherd and the truth that sets us free. In the evangelical spirit of mercy, I think the penitential journey should conclude in conversion and the purpose of amendment and to live in continence, as taught in other words by Saint John Paul II in Familiaris consortio 84.

I wonder: Can we forget the words of the Lord in the Gospel, Matthew 19, and the teaching of Saint Paul (Rom 7:2-3; 1 Cor 7:10; Eph 5:31) and of the Church over the centuries? Can we dismiss the teachings of John Paul II in his 1981 apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio? This document, published a year after the 1980 Synod on the Family, seriously considered and consulted by the Pope over many months of study and reflection, in communication with experts from various theological disciplines, clearly rule out this possibility (FC 84) .

We also have the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992 with the traditional doctrine on the conditions for access to Communion and the Church’s teachings on sexual morality. (CCC 1650) We also have the Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of September 14, 1994, written specifically on this issue. Can we forget the concluding document of the Fifth Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops in Aparecida, which asks us: “Accompany with care, prudence and compassionate love, following the guidelines of the magisterium, couples who live together out of wedlock, bearing in mind that those who are divorced and remarried may not receive communion.” (n. 437)

Can we contradict those teachings? Can we forget the very recent statement by Pope Benedict XVI in his 2007 apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis, reiterating the practice of the Church, rooted in Sacred Scripture (cf. Mk 10: 2-12) of not admitting to the sacraments the divorced and remarried, since their state and their condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and made present in the Eucharist? (n. 29)

United to Christ, who has overcome the world (cf. Jn 16:33), the Church is called to maintain the splendor of truth even in difficult situations. Mercy invites the sinner and it becomes forgiveness when one repents and changes one’s life. The prodigal son was greeted with an embrace from his father only when he returned home.

This Synod, without a doubt in the light of the revealed truth and with eyes of mercy, is called to reflect very clearly the teaching of the Gospel and of the Church through the centuries about the nature and dignity of Christian marriage, on the greatness of the Eucharist and on the need of having the necessary dispositions to be in union with God to be able to receive Holy Communion; on the need for penance, repentance and the firm purpose of amendment for the repentant sinner to be able to receive Divine forgiveness; and the strength and continuity of both dogmatic and moral truth of the ordinary and extraordinary Magisterium of the Church. It provides as well lights inspired by mercy to assist more effectively those in irregular situations to alleviate their moral suffering and to better live their Catholic faith.

Furthermore, the Synod must indicate lines of action that strengthen marriage, making it more attractive to young people, and keeping it alive in the hearts of the spouses over time. In this matter it will provide Pope Francis with very important elements to promote an intense evangelization of the family, and a re-appreciation of the sacrament of marriage.

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VATICAN NEWS

How Benedict XVI played a special role in a Pope’s cause for sainthood

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • October 20, 2015

John Paul I, whose cause for beatification is open. (ANSA)

Vatican City — On his path to beatification, John Paul I can count on a very special supporter: Pope emeritus Benedict XVI.

Years ago, he was among those who witnessed the compilation of John Paul I’s ‘positio,’ the dossier of documents and testimonies that will determine the virtues of a candidate for sainthood.

That dossier has now been completed, Bishop Giuseppe Andrich of the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre announced Aug. 26. The bishop heads the native diocese of John Paul I.

Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Bishop of Rome Aug. 26, 1978, taking the name John Paul I. He died unexpectedly on Sep. 28, hardly a month later.

John Paul I is still remembered each Aug. 26 in Canale d’Agordo, the small town in northeastern Italy where he was born. There, a Mass is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of his election to the papacy.

When Bishop Andrich announced the progress of John Paul I’s cause at the last commemorative Mass, he said the ‘positio’ included a testimony by Benedict XVI.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was among the witnesses for John Paul I’s cause of beatification when the diocesan procedure began in 2003.

There are two steps for a cause of beatification before it is examined in Rome. A diocese or religious institute gathers testimony about the life and virtues of the Servant of God. The candidate’s public and private writings must be collected and examined.

This documentary phase of the process can take many years, as it did in the case of John Paul I. In the meantime, Cardinal Ratzinger had been elected Bishop of Rome, as Benedict XVI.

As a Pope, he was directly involved in the final decision for an eventual canonization. Therefore, he could no longer be included in the list of witnesses for John Paul I.

The diocesan phase of the investigation ended in 2006. The Congregation for the Cause of Saints examined of the volumes of documentation and authorized the beginning of the so-called ‘Roman phase.’

In this step, the congregation commits the case to an official called a relator, who oversees the cause through the rest of the process and ensures the dossier is properly prepared.

Even this process can take years.

In the same period that John Paul I’s cause advanced, Benedict XVI resigned, Feb. 14, 2013. He could once again be a witness in the cause of his predecessor.

Stefania Falasca, a journalist and vice postulator of John Paul I’s cause of canonization, said that after Benedict XVI’s resignation the postulator again asked for his testimony in the case.

The postulator of John Paul I’s beatification cause is Bishop Enrico dal Covolo, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University.

Benedict XVI sent his testimony in written form. It is considered an “extra procedural” testimony, as it came when the diocesan phase had already concluded.

After the positio is submitted, theologian consultants to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, together with the congregation’s Promoter of Faith, will vote on whether to approve the document for further consideration.

If they approve, the members of the congregation then will give a decision. If they too approve, the cause for beatification will be referred to Pope Francis for approval.

A miracle has already been attributed to the intercession of John Paul I: the 1992 healing of Giuseppe Denora, from the Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti. Denora was suddenly healed from a malignant stomach tumor after he sought the late Pope’s intercession.

St. John Paul II declared his immediate predecessor a Servant of God on Nov. 23, 2003. If John Paul I’s cause advances, he will be given the title “Venerable.”

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VATICAN NEWS

That notorious 2014 synod report? We got it an hour after the media did, cardinal says

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 20, 2015

Cardinal Wilfird Napier speaks at the Vatican Press Office on Oct. 14, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — Cardinal Wilfrid Napier says the highly controversial midterm report from last year’s synod gave weight to issues discussed by only “two or three” people, and was unseen by most synod fathers until after it hit mainstream media.

He also alluded to an agenda in the writing of the final report from last year’s synod, which he was involved in drafting, saying that in the process some issues were once again “being pushed in a certain direction.”

At an Oct. 20 press briefing, the cardinal was asked by a journalist if his recent endorsement of the book “The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation of Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family” by journalist Edward Pentin was somehow in opposition to his assertion at the beginning of the briefing that the African bishops are “optimistic” about this year’s new methodology.

In response, Cardinal Napier said that “I think the first thing to say is that there were certain individual items that were of concern at last synod, and one in particular was the presentation of the interim report as if it had come from the synod, as if it was part of the synod’s deliberation.”

“That was not true because we received the document about an hour after you guys had received it in the media, and we only then started reading it,” he said.

Controversy erupted during last year’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family when halfway through the midterm report was published, containing strikingly open language in regards to homosexuality and a penitential path to the sacraments for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

“Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community,” the document read, asking: “Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?”

The question of homosexuality, it continued, “leads to a serious reflection on how to elaborate realistic paths of affective growth and human evangelical maturity integrating the sexual dimension.”

The document, which served as a basis for last year’s final report, drew stark criticism from the majority of synod fathers, particularly during the small group sessions, with many calling for drastic changes to be made for the final report.

Although the 62 paragraphs of the final report reflected some changes, including a clearer affirmation of Church teaching and doctrine on the debated issues, as well as more references to scripture, the only paragraphs not to receive the two-thirds majority in the voting process were those addressing the topics of homosexuality and communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

In his comments at the briefing, Cardinal Napier said that when last year’s midterm report was published, it was “already saying things which I know were only said in the hall by at the most two or three people,” and presenting them “as if they were the reflection of the synod.”

“Now that certainly gives you the impression that the synod is being pushed in a certain direction,” he said, noting that he also served on the commission charged with drafting the final document, “and there were certain issues that once again, were being pushed in a certain direction.”

“So in that sense that a particular ideology or agenda, whatever you would like to call it, seemed to have been in operation.”

When asked about his involvement with a letter leaked last week that was sent to Pope Francis from 13 cardinals expressing concern for this year’s synod process, the cardinal said that it was a private letter between the cardinals and the Pope.

The text of the letter as well as a list of 13 cardinal signatories, of whom Napier is said to be one, were published by Vaticanista Sandro Magister Oct. 13. In it, the signatories expressed concern that this year’s Synod on the Family lacked the “openness and genuine collegiality” needed to accomplish its purpose.

In the letter, dated Oct. 5, prelates allegedly addressed the Pope with the aim of alerting him to concerns that new procedures imposed on this year’s gathering, in contrast to previous synods, could hinder the participants in their responsibilities.

Cardinal Napier didn’t comment specifically on his involvement in the letter, but said it was “written in the spirit of what Pope Francis had said at the beginning of last year’s synod when he said please speak openly and honestly, but listen with humility. And it was said to him in that spirit.”

Pope Francis responded the next day, when, addressing the synod participants on the first day of discussion, he cautioned against “a hermeneutic of conspiracy” surrounding the gathering.

“That made a huge difference then in the scale of confidence and of trust that the concerns had registered, they were being taken care of, and therefore from there on everyone was going to work in the synod with all they’ve got,” the cardinal said.

“I think that’s what I’ve experienced, and that has been why I feel this synod takes up where that first week of the last one had left off, where we were all optimistic and looking forward to really working together on the issues as a team.

The synod, he said, is moving forward in a spirit of “collegiality and synodality,” where participants are “walking together as colleagues in the direction of what’s best for the Church.”

Others in attendance at Tuesday’s briefing were Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona and Cardinal Alberto Suarez Inda of Morelia, Mexico.

Among the issues addressed by the panel were the unanimous call for a longer, more thorough marriage preparation process, the need to act more swiftly in declaring cases of marriage nullity, families who suffer due to organized crime, accompaniment of couples already married, cohabitation, single parent families, homosexuality, drug and alcohol addiction and child-headed households.

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VATICAN NEWS

What the Holy See told the U.N. about outer space

by CNA/EWTN News • October 20, 2015

Earth in space. (NASA and Vadim Sadovski via shutterstock.com)

Vatican City — When the United Nations met on Monday to discuss the peaceful uses of outer space, the Holy See chimed in by voicing its hopes for a more inclusive attitude in space exploration that would incorporate the good of all peoples, despite economic or social inequalities.

“It is … of utmost importance that the opening of outer space for scientific and peaceful research be for the benefit of us all,” stated Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

“The Earth, the common home of the whole human family, is entrusted to us to be, as the Bible says, ‘cultivated’ and made ‘fruitful,’ with the responsibility to take care of it,” Archbishop Auza continued, saying that “the harmony of celestial bodies and their relationship with the Earth condition the rhythm of our life and even our daily activities.”

Pointing to Pope Francis’ latest encyclical Laudato Si, Archbishop Auza called the Earth “a gift for the enjoyment of the whole of humanity.” He said the celestial activities in the universe affect everyone’s daily life, and should therefore be open to everyone’s benefit.

Additionally, the archbishop called for an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space in order to help ensure fairness and safety in the use of outer space.

The Vatican’s presence at the U.N. is under the delegation of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. This relationship allows the Holy See to comment and make statements at U.N. assemblies, although it may not vote.

On Oct.19, a U.N. General Assembly committee met to discuss “cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space,” where they deliberated over the various issues presented by space exploration and satellites.

“Satellites render useful services both in our daily activities and in the long-term protection and care of our planet,” stated Archbishop Auza, saying that they are also “fundamental to timely responses to humanitarian crises and effective disaster management.”

In addition to giving weather updates, satellites can also save lives by warning of impending storms, gather information to improve life on earth, and give indications of climatic changes. According to Archbishop Auza, the global usefulness of these technologies must be made accessible to all of humanity and not just the elite nations.

The archbishop pointed to various obstacles surrounding universal access to outer space resources, such as the increasing capital costs of space exploration and the use of property rights for major discoveries or inventions.

The Holy See also highlighted other concerns with outer space technology, saying that its benefits are in danger of exploitation, potentially causing chaos and disaster rather than working for the common good.

“My delegation is concerned that outer space technology, designed to improve our lives and care for the planet, could be manipulated or attacked to cause chaos or even catastrophic disasters,” Archbishop Auza noted.

“Any hostile action against satellite systems could severely affect emergency rescue services,” he continued.

The archbishop suggested that all outer space activity should be checked with a universal code of conduct, so that the good that comes from satellite navigation and intergalactic exploration is not tainted.

“States must work together to ensure that these benefits do not become yet another cause of increasing economic and social inequalities. They need to become a shared resource for the common good and contribute to sustainable development of the entire global community.”

“My delegation hopes that the development of an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities will ensure a fairer and safer use of outer space,” said Archbishop Auza, voicing hope that future outer space exploration will share its riches with all of humanity.

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VATICAN NEWS

Vatican calls rumors over Pope Francis’ health false and irresponsible

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • October 21, 2015

Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi at the Vatican Press Office on Feb. 11, 2015. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Vatican City — The director of the Holy See press office has denied reports in the Italian press that Pope Francis is suffering from a brain tumor, and denounced its dissemination as “gravely irresponsible.”

Wednesday’s statement by Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., came in response to an Oct 21 report by Italian agency Quotidiano Nazionale alleging that the Pope had been diagnosed with a small but curable brain tumor.

“The dissemination of totally unfounded news regarding the Holy Father’s health by an Italian press agency is gravely irresponsible and unworthy of attention,” reads the Oct. 21 statement.

Fr. Lombardi also pointed out that Pope Francis’ busy schedule has continued without issue.

“Moreover, as everyone can see, the Pope is carrying out his very intense activity without interruption in a way that is absolutely normal.”

Pope Francis is taking part in the Synod on the Family currently underway in the Vatican. Over the course of his pontificate he has cancelled few meetings and visits, maintaining an intense schedule including pastoral visits, presiding over major Vatican events, and papal trips, the latest of which was to the United States and Cuba.

Fr. Lombardi reconfirmed the Italian news agency’s article as false at a Vatican press briefing later the same day, saying the details of the report had been verified as having never taken place. He added that the publication of the report was unjustifiable.

The director of the Holy See press office also confirmed at Wednesday’s briefing that “the Pope enjoys good health,” as evidenced by his presence at the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope has some difficulties with his leg, but “his head, it seems to me, is absolutely perfect,” he said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Marriage doesn’t take away your freedom – quite the opposite, Pope says

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • October 21, 2015

Newly married couples meet Pope Frnacis in St. Peter’s Square during the general audience on Sept. 9, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — Pope Francis on Wednesday said that contrary to modern notions, fidelity in marriage does not rob us of personal freedom but instead is a fundamental attribute of all human relationships based on love.

“Freedom and fidelity are not opposed to each other,” the Pope said in his latest catechesis on the family, delivered during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct 21.

The strength and beauty of love, including in the context of friendship, come from the fact that the persons involved are connected without loss of freedom, he said.

“Without freedom there is no friendship; without freedom, there is no love; without freedom, there is no marriage.”

Pope Francis observed that the sense of “honor” in being faithful appears to be undermined in modern times. He attributed this to the “misunderstood right to seek ones own satisfaction at all costs and in any relationship, which is exulted as a non-negotiable principle of freedom.”

Rather, he said, “Fidelity to promises is a true masterpiece of humanity! No loving relationship – no friendship, no form of love, no happiness in the common good – arrives at the height of our desire and hope” without “this miracle of the soul.”

The Pope also appealed for prayers for the bishops participating in the Synod on the Family, which is in its third and final week in the Vatican.

“May the Lord bless their work, conducted with faithful creativity,” with faith that the “Lord is faithful to his promises,” he said.

This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”

In his Oct. 21 address, Pope Francis recalled how last week’s catechesis on the family centered on the importance of promises parents make to their children, whereas this week’s reflection centers on man and woman’s fidelity to each other.

The entire family is founded upon a promise, the Pope said. The fidelity between husband and wife brings with it the responsibility to love and educate children, to care for elderly parents, and to protect and care for the “weakest members of the family.”

“The marital promise broadens to share the joys and sufferings with all fathers, mothers, and children, with generous openness toward human coexistence and the common good.”

In contrast, the Pope said, “a family that is closed in on itself,” is a “contradiction” of that same promise.

Fidelity is a self-fulfilling promise, a faith which “wants to be truly shared, and a hope which wants to be nurtured together.”

Honor and fidelity “cannot be bought or sold,” he said.

“No other school can teach the school of love if the family cannot. No law can impose the beauty and heritage of this treasure of human dignity, if the personal connection between love and generation is not written on our flesh.”

Pope Francis appealed for fidelity in love to be seen as honorable in society once again.

“This principle of fidelity to the promise of love and generations is written in God’s creation as a perennial blessing, which is entrusted to the world.”

The Pope reflected on the family in the context of Saint Paul’s words on the union between Christ and his Church.

“Love for the human family, in good times and bad, is a point of honor for the Church!”

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VATICAN NEWS

Synod finds strong support for Church teaching in communion debate

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 21, 2015

Bishops meet at the Vatican’s Synod Hall on Oct. 21, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — Despite pastoral challenges posed by divorced-and-civilly-remarried Catholics, many synod fathers are in favor of current Church teaching and practice according to a new round of small group reports.

“The majority without full consensus affirmed the current teaching and practice of the Church regarding the participation in the Eucharist of those who are divorced and civilly remarried,” reads a new report from group “A” of the four English-speaking synod circles.

“We acknowledged that this pathway may be difficult, and pastors should accompany them with understanding, always ready to extend God’s mercy to them anew when they stand in need of it.”

The vast majority of the group’s members affirmed the current pastoral practice regarding the reception of communion by divorced-and-civilly-remarried individuals.

Members also stressed that the decision as to whether or not persons in such circumstances should be allowed access to the sacrament “ought not to be left to individual episcopal conferences,” as has been suggested by some.

“To do so would risk harm to the unity of the Catholic Church, the understanding of her sacramental order, and the visible witness of the life of the faithful.”

Published Oct. 21, the prelates’ observations came in the third set of small group reports released during this year’s synod of bishops on the family. There are 13 languages groups, which include English, Spanish, Italian, French and German.

The strongest advocates of Church teaching and current pastoral practice were found among the Italian and English-speaking groups. Spanish-speaking groups were unclear, and the German group voiced support for change. Although the topic came up within the French-speaking groups, it was not a major point of discussion – rather than focus on access to communion, they touched on the Pope’s revamped annulment process.

Pope Francis officially opened the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Sunday, Oct. 4, with the event closing Oct. 25.

The gathering is divided into three parts, with each week dedicated to one of the three sections of the instrumentum. So far the bishops have spent the first two weeks discussing the document’s first section, “Listening to the challenges of the family, and the second, titled “Discernment of the family vocation.”

In the final week participants have turned to the third part, “The mission of the family today,” which has been the most widely discussed section so far.

In the report for the English speaking group “C,” participants noted that there was general agreement among them that a “more effective pastoral accompaniment” was needed for divorced and civilly remarried persons.

However, the group said there was “little enthusiasm” when it came to the penitential path proposed by the meeting’s guiding document, called the “Instrumentum Laboris.”

When the group cast a vote on whether further study on the question would be possible in order to see if the Church could move in that direction, “the vote was evenly divided.”

In the end the group said they voted to replace paragraphs 122-125 of the Instrumentum Laboris “with an affirmation of the Church’s current discipline” in terms of the reception of communion, and they recommended “the forms of participation mentioned in Familiaris Consortio, 84.”

Paragraph 84 of St. John Paul II’s 1981 Apostolic Exhortation is dedicated entirely to the situation of divorced and remarried persons, and was mentioned by several of small groups as a text that ought to be have greater reference in the final report.

Group “D” of the English language circles relayed that they had “a long exchange” on pastoral approaches to divorced persons, whether civilly remarried without an annulment or not remarried.

Members expressed “significant concern” that no matter what is decided, it “should not lead to greater confusion among our people.”

It was noted that one bishop in the group said the topic of opening access for divorced and remarried persons without an annulment to the Eucharist was a matter of such serious doctrinal substance that “it could only be handled at an ecumenical council and not at a synod.”

Distinction was also made on the expressions used when referring to people in such difficult marital situations, with some synod fathers stressing the need to say these persons must “abstain” from receiving the Eucharist, rather than saying they are “excluded” from it.

The word “abstain,” they said, “is more accurate and not as negative.”

Group “D” emphasized that life in the Church can’t be reduced to just receiving communion, and cited catechumens – those preparing to enter the Church – as one example of the “huge segments” of faithful who throughout the history of the Church did not receive the sacrament, yet were “clearly considered” full members.

A call was made within the group for a special commission that would study the issue of admittance to communion for the divorced and remarried “over a longer period of time with greater theological precision.”

A suggestion was also made for a more thorough study of the idea of spiritual communion – the desire to seek spiritual union with Christ in the Eucharist.

Likewise, the English speaking group “B” suggested that during the upcoming Jubilee for Mercy, a special commission be established to do an in-depth study of “the ways in which the disciplines of the Church which flow from the indissolubility of marriage apply to the situation of people in irregular unions.”

On the topic of spiritual communion, the group said noted that there are likely many situations in which people living in irregular unions and who are therefore living “in contradiction with the full meaning of the Eucharist” are not necessarily living in a continuous state of sin.

These people “may thereby rightly have a loving desire for Eucharistic union with Christ,” they said, observing that while “their objective state may prevent them from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, they may properly develop the practice of Spiritual Communion, and thereby become more open to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and union in the Church.”

On the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried individuals, group “B” proposed a path of discernment and “reverential listening” that begins by listening to those in search of support.

“The first purpose of this attentive accompaniment would be to foster deeper discipleship with Christ based on the enduring bond of baptism, rather than addressing the question of admission to the sacraments of penance and Holy Communion,” they said.

Certain points involved in such a process, they explained, would include listening to the story of the first marriage and its possible invalidity, attending to the wounds caused by divorce to all individuals, taking into account the stability and responsibility of the second marriage and a focus on spiritual formation and growth.

A big discussion point for most groups was the topic of pastoral care for families with homosexual members as well as homosexual individuals themselves.

While some groups opted to remove any references to homosexuality from the final report, the “C” group said this solution “won little support” for them.

They asked that the section of the report dedicated to homosexuality be briefer, and that “a clear statement of Church teaching that same-sex unions are in no way equivalent to marriage.”

Other groups felt that the topic of pastoral care for persons with homosexual tendencies and their families deserved an entire synod meeting on its own.

Group “A” asked specifically that the synod “affirm and propose anew the entirety of Church teaching on love and chastity,” and encouraged parents and families to be confident in the teaching as they walk with each other “in responding to the Gospel’s call to chaste living.”

Many groups also addressed the topic of the gifts and challenges mixed marriages present, and stressed the need to have a more complete, comprehensive marriage preparation with couples playing a greater role in forming other couples.

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VATICAN NEWS

Church unity and truth serve the family, Archbishop Gomez says from synod

by CNA/EWTN News • October 21, 2015

Archbishop Jose Gomez at the Pontifical North American College on May 2, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — The Catholic Church needs “a new missionary confidence and courage” that draws on Church unity and the recognition of God’s unwavering vision for the family, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles has said.

“We need to find creative, positive ways to proclaim God as Creator and to show the beauty of his plan for the human person and the family,” he said in an Oct. 20 column for L.A.’s Angelus News.

“With the unity of our doctrine and practice, and the rich diversity of our local traditions of popular piety, the Church has tremendous resources to resist pressures and worldly powers and to proclaim the Gospel to a new generation.”

He said it was striking for him to realize “that the Church today is able to truly pray, teach and evangelize in one voice – as one family of God, drawn from every nation, people and language, united in our faith in the Gospel and our communion with the Holy Father in Rome.”

Archbishop Gomez is currently at the Synod of Bishops, which is meeting at the Vatican Oct. 4-25 to consider the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the world.

The archbishop reflected upon the Sunday joint canonization of Louis and Zelie Martin, a nineteenth-century French married couple whose daughters included St. Terese of Lisieux. He praised their “humble, hidden life” rooted in daily Mass and the duties of everyday life.

They knew love, joy, suffering and sadness, he said, adding that such saints are not rarities.

“There are holy spouses and holy families in every part of the world today – ordinary men and women trying to live faithfully by the Church’s teachings and the grace of her sacraments,” he said.

“This is what the Synod on the Family is meant to be all about – helping spouses in their vocations as husbands and wives, helping them to meet the challenges they confront in society, inspiring them to live out God’s beautiful plan for their lives.”

The archbishop cited Pope Francis’ description of marriage as “God’s dream for his beloved creation.”

“Jesus Christ revealed this dream by coming into the world in a human family,” Archbishop Gomez continued. “The Holy Family of Nazareth shows us that every family is meant to be an ‘icon’ of God, an image of the Holy Trinity in the world.”

Archbishop Gomez said marriage and the family are gifts from God inscribed in the order of creation. He stressed the marital vocation of men and women to “a communion of love that is faithful for life and fruitful in creating new life.”

“These basic truths of creation are the source for everything that the Church believes, teaches and practices about marriage and family,” he said. “The Church is called to proclaim these truths to the world in all their fullness and in all their beauty.”

Archbishop Gomez suggested that media coverage can distort Catholic teaching to depict it as a political policy or position.

“Catholicism is a vision of creation, a vision of the human person and the human family, a vision that is grand and transcendent,” he countered. All Church teaching, practices, and discipline flow from this vision, “given to us by God in the Scriptures and the Church’s living Tradition.”

The archbishop reflected on the state of the family.

“At the root of the family crisis is a crisis of confidence in God – a loss of the sense that he is our Father and Creator, and that he has a plan, a ‘dream’ for his creation, a plan for our lives. The family today is threatened by the same ‘anthropocentric’ and ‘technocratic’ mentality that Pope Francis warns about in ‘Laudato Si,’ his encyclical on creation,” Archbishop Gomez said.

This mentality rejects the realities of creation and human nature and sees nature, social institutions and the human body and mind as material to be engineered.

The archbishop suggested that some Catholic bishops’ sense of urgency and even anxiety at the synod drew on the sense of the “profound” family crisis and the economic, cultural and ideological threats to the family.

For Archbishop Gomez, these threats include forced sterilization and abortion, embryonic experimentation, contraception, the redefinition of marriage and the “surgical manipulations of femininity and masculinity.”

“In confronting this broad cultural crisis of the family, the Church needs to proclaim once more the beautiful truth about the human person and God’s loving plan for creation and the family,” Archbishop Gomez said, adding: “if we lose the family, we lose God’s plan for our lives and for the world.”

Archbishop Gomez did not ignore non-Catholics and inconsistent Catholics.

“The Church is also called to reach out with tenderness to those who are having trouble understanding and living these truths,” the archbishop said.

He also noted Pope Francis’ call after the 2014 synod not to sacrifice truths in order to “please the people.” He recalled the Pope’s warning against a deceptive view of mercy that “binds wounds without first curing them.”

Archbishop Gomez said that “kindness and compassion can never be separated from God’s plan.”

“A person’s conscience is sacred. But our conscience is only reliable if it is formed according to the truth that God has written into our hearts and the loving plan he has for our lives,” he said.

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VATICAN NEWS

At U.N., Holy See delegation speaks up for indigenous peoples

by CNA/EWTN News • October 21, 2015

U.N. flag outside of the United Nations Headquarters building in New York City. (United Nations via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

New York City, N.Y. — The Holy See’s delegation to the United Nations reminded policymakers on Monday to listen to indigenous peoples’ concerns in efforts to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development.

“Their input in the decision-making process is vital, because the very survival of their identity and heritage could be at stake,” Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the apostolic nuncio heading the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations, said Oct. 19.

The archbishop addressed a UN agenda item on the rights of indigenous peoples. He stressed their right to develop in a way that is as much as possible coherent and harmonious with their values.

“This can only be assured if the indigenous peoples themselves have a say in their own development,” he added.

Archbishop Auza said the Holy See backed increased efforts to promote and protect the human rights, identity, culture, and tradition of indigenous peoples. He also encouraged efforts to take into account indigenous peoples’ wisdom and experience in finding approaches that foster their wellbeing and promote their interests.

Success in achieving sustainable development, he said, requires “an authentic sense of fraternity and collective responsibility for the wellbeing of our fellow human beings and for the world in which we live.”

The archbishop said that indigenous peoples can teach others about how to care for and love “our common home.”

“They are unique in their respect for the environment and for their attention to the needs of their community. Their tradition that spans millennia is characterized by a profound respect for nature as a gift and as a good common to all,” he said.

“For them, it is not simply a matter of moral obligation but common sense to consider future generations when taking from the land or when engaging with national governments for their own development.”

Archbishop Auza characterized indigenous communities as a counterexample to practices, habits, and trends that are “often expressions of selfish consumerism and are detrimental to our environment.”

The nuncio stressed the Holy See’s commitment to indigenous peoples’ integral development. The delegation called on policymakers at all levels to respect their rights to their homelands and natural resources.

The archbishop stressed the importance of just laws that regulate the relationship between indigenous peoples and extractive industries operating in their ancestral lands. These lands in many cases have “great spiritual, cultural, and environmental significance.”

He cited several parts of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato si’. The Pope similarly stressed the need for special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions.

“They are not merely one minority among others, but should be the principal dialogue partners,” the Pope said, adding, “for them, land is not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values.”

The Pope’s encyclical said that indigenous people care for their own land best when they remain on it. He noted pressure on these peoples to abandon their homeland because of agricultural or mining projects “undertaken without regard for the degradation of nature and culture.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Holy See urges U.N. to ban nuclear weapons, work towards peace

by CNA/EWTN News • October 22, 2015

(Romanova Natali via shutterstock.com)

New York City, N.Y. — Citing Pope Francis’ recent words on avoiding war and promoting peaceful coexistence between nations, the Holy See addressed the United Nations general assembly last Friday, urging them to ban nuclear weapons around the world and take more serious steps to promote peace programs.

“As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is becoming ever clearer that war does not and cannot resolve conflict,” stated Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Oct. 16.

“Preventive means, mediation, peacekeeping, and peace building are the most useful tools in our hands. We must employ them much more fully than we presently do,” he continued.

Pope Francis made a similar appeal to the UN Sept. 25 during his trip to the United States, saying it was crucial for the UN to “work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.”

Archbishop Auza echoed the Pope’s comments, noting that civilian deaths are growing in numbers due to weapons of war. Cluster munitions and chemical weapons - although forbidden - have increased, giving cause for concern in modern-day combat around the globe.

“The conflicts scarring landscapes and moving peoples from homes to perilous deserts and seas - indeed, to cemeteries - testify to the lack of political will to stamp out the gun culture that still stands as an obstacle to the peaceful development of peoples,” Archbishop Auza stated, saying that governments should take more serious steps to reduce the production of and dependence on arms.

The archbishop also challenged the UN to do more to promote preventive measures, saying the investment in weaponry and military far outweigh the United Nations’ efforts towards peace and stability.

“The resources spent on militarization and weapons development continue to rise, while the funding for all the United Nations programs for peace and development pales in comparison,” he asserted.

In addition to encouraging the growth of peace programs, the archbishop sadly noted the “parlous state of nuclear weapons negotiations,” saying that “nuclear deterrence is an obstacle to real and lasting peace.”

When the UN met to discuss the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons at the NPT Ninth Review Conference last spring, a final document on the matter was never produced, delaying any action against the use of nuclear weaponry, according to Archbishop Auza.

The archbishop went on to quote Pope Francis, who also expressed concern over the use of nuclear weapons during his address to the General Assembly, when he underscored the “urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons” with “the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons.”

Instead of giving way to destructive weapons, Archbishop Auza encouraged trust between nations, saying that confidence in peaceful negotiations – rather than combat – should take precedence.

“True and lasting peace among nations cannot consist in possession of a matching supply of equally destructive armaments but only in mutual trust,” he stated.

“If we give negotiations, political goodwill and full verification a chance to work, the world will not be doomed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons,” the archbishop stated.

Archbishop Auza also echoed the words of Pope Francis who recently encouraged dialogue across the nations to ensure the total and complete prohibition of nuclear weapons.

“The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy,” the archbishop reiterated, quoting the Holy Father.

Archbishop Auza then voiced support of any efforts and resources used to expose the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and war, believing that the general public should be made aware of nuclear aftermath.

“Let us listen to the overwhelming call of the international community for urgent progress towards the elimination of nuclear weapons,” Archbishop Auza stated, “because the only guarantee that nuclear weapons are never used is their complete elimination.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis creates Vatican office combining laity, family, life issues

by CNA/EWTN News • October 22, 2015

Pope Francis walking out of the Paul VI Hall during the Synod on the Family, Oct. 9, 2015. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis announced Thursday to the Synod on the Family that he has chosen to establish a new office in the Roman Curia that will deal with issues of laity, family, and life, as part of his reform of the curia.

“I have decided to establish a new Dicastery with competency for Laity, Family and Life, that will replace the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family,” Pope Francis said Oct. 22, according to a communique from the Holy See press office.

“To this end, I have constituted a special commission that will prepare a text delineating canonically the competencies of the new Dicastery. The text will be presented for discussion to the Council of Cardinals at their next meeting in December.”

The Pope added that in addition to the pontifical councils for the laity and the family, the Pontifical Academy for Life will also joined to the new office.

This move is significant because it streamlines three separate offices into one; it is also meant to give greater attention to issues relating to the laity in the Church.

Pope Francis’ decision has been widely anticipated since he established, shortly after his March 2013 election as Bishop of Rome, the Council of Cardinals to advise him on the reform of the Roman Curia.

The cardinals’ council was established in April 2013, and originally included eight cardinals from around the world; its number was later expanded to nine.

The group first met in October of that year; at an Oct. 3, 2013 press briefing, Holy See press officer Fr. Federico Lombardi revealed that “the council also plans to give more specific attention to issues relating to the laity, so that this dimension of the life of the Church is properly and effectively recognized and followed by the governance of the Church.”

“Now there is a Pontifical Council for the Laity, but it is still possible to think of ways of strengthening this aspect,” he added.

Catholic News Agency reported Oct. 30, 2013 that Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, who co-ordinates the Council of Cardinals, had said that curial reform could develop the laity’s role in the Church’s ranks by creating a ‘Congregation for the Laity’, which would include the pontifical councils for the family and the laity, and the Pontifical Academy for Life.

It was noted then that the reform of the Roman Curia was expected to streamline the body by reducing the number of pontifical councils, and subsuming them within an increased number of congregations.

Pope Francis’ announcement called the new office a dicastery – a word which covers both congregations and pontifical councils. While he failed to refer to the new body as a congregation, that can nevertheless be reasonably expected – both given Cardinal Rodríguez’ statements, and the fact that it will include two existing pontifical councils.

There had been in 2014 some speculation that the expected ‘Congregation for the Laity’ would also include the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, but the Pope’s announcement has not borne out that prediction.

The Council of Cardinals last met in September, and it was reported at that time that they had formally submitted to the Pope a proposal for a congregation for laity, family, and life.

By then, it had been decided that the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers would not be included in the ‘laity congregation’, but rather in a second, new, congregation for charity, justice, and peace, which would subsume also the pontifical councils for justice and peace, migrants, and Cor Unum.

While Pope Francis’ recent announcement does not mention a new dicastery for charity, justice, and peace, it may still be reasonably expected in the coming months.

The next meeting of the cardinals’ council is scheduled for December.

Pope Francis reflected on the program of curial reform in February, at the opening of a consistory of cardinals. Speaking Feb. 12, he emphasized that reform “is always that of promoting greater harmony in the work of the various dicasteries and offices, in order to achieve more effective collaboration in that absolute transparency which builds authentic synodality and collegiality.”

“Reform is not an end in itself,” he said, “but a way of giving strong Christian witness; to promote more effective evangelization; to promote a fruitful ecumenical spirit; and to encourage a more constructive dialogue with all.”

Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia has already resulted in the creation of a Secretariat for the Economy and a Secretariat for Communications.

Ultimately, it is expected that assisted by the Council of Cardinals, Pope Francis will promulgate a new apostolic constitution describing the Roman Curia. The curia is currently governed by St. John Paul II’s Pastor bonus, which was issued in 1988.

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VATICAN NEWS

The saint and the synod – John Paul II’s legacy still seen in Church teaching

by Angela Ambrogetti (CNA/EWTN News) • October 22, 2015

Pope John Paul II, circa 1991. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Vatican City — Though it has been more than 10 years since the death of Pope John Paul II, the saint’s impact can still be seen in those working to uphold Church teaching at the Synod on the Family, said his former secretary.

“The teaching of the magisterium of the Church and of John Paul II is always current,” said Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv.

He told CNA that the words and writings of St. John Paul II are being frequently invoked by bishops at the synod who are defending the Church’s teachings on marriage.

Responding to calls for the Church to permit the divorced-and-remarried to receive Communion, he said, “many bishops have recalled the great teaching of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI which they expressed clearly, that it would be against the doctrine of the Church, against the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of Penance, against grace.”

Archbishop Mokrzycki, who is the president of the Ukrainian Bishops Conference, is among the synod fathers gathered in Rome for the Oct. 4-25 Synod on the Family, which gathers bishops from around the world to discuss issues relating to families in the Church today.

But many remember Archbishop Mokrzycki for another role – one of John Paul II’s two personal secretaries during the last nine years of his life.

Archbishop Mokrzycki spoke to CNA’s sister agency, ACI Stampa Oct. 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II. He discussed the Pope’s legacy, relevance to the synod, and what it was like to live beside a saint. The full transcript of the interview is below:

Q: Your Excellency, today – Oct. 22, the feast of St. John Paul II – is a special day for you personally and for the universal Church. It might be difficult for you to explain how you feel, but maybe we can try?

It is a great joy for us, and I don’t only mean the Polish people, but for the entire Church, to think about the day of the election of John Paul II, who after his election won over the whole world, particularly the Italians, because he said those beautiful and famous words: “I don’t know if I can explain myself well in your – in our – Italian language. If I make a mistake, correct me.” And from then on, all the children of Italy when they met him said: you asked us to correct you, so say it right!

It was a special day for the entire Church, and we saw it for the entirety of his long pontificate, he was an extraordinary man.

Q: What was it like to live with a saint? Was it more joy, or work?

Both – joy and fatigue, because John Paul II was a very strong man with himself and with others. We worked a lot and made others work a lot. And this is also why we saw that his pontificate was very interesting and very rich.

Q: What has he taught you as a bishop and as a pastor that is useful for your mission today?

The Holy Father was not only the head of the universal Church, not only the head of the Vatican State, but was above all a pastor, the bishop of the diocese of Rome, and he underlined this a lot during his pontificate. He wanted to visit all the parishes of the diocese. And at the end when we saw that he had so much fatigue and couldn’t visit the parishes anymore, about 20 parishes remained and he wanted to meet them just them same, and so he invited all the parishes that he still hadn’t visited to the Paul VI Hall. And we saw that the Romans were very grateful for this great gesture of love, because they saw that the Pope didn’t neglect them, he didn’t forget them, and even if he couldn’t go, he invited them to his house. And so also for me.

He was a great pastor. I was able to learn from him a vision of pastoral life, of concern for all levels, of love for one’s neighbor, of charity and of bringing people to salvation. The great ones, the poor, the little ones; I saw how with great love he embraced each and every one.

Q: Of the magisterium of John Paul II, a large part was dedicated to the family. Right now you are busy with the synod on the family. How does this magisterium enter into the synodal debate?

During the pontificate of John Paul II, above all in the years in which I was with him, the Pope didn’t speak a lot about his family. He sometimes spoke about his father, sometimes about his sister that he lost as a child and his brother who was a doctor that died young. But he made it visible that around him was a great family of friends, a great family of the Church. And then I saw that in the years I was with him many families came to find him from different parts of the world: from Poland, from Italy, from the United States. He had the capacity of maintaining contact with many people, with many families and not only Christians. Also and above all with many Jewish families. And in this I saw the importance of contact with the family, and as the Pope he underlined the role of the family in the life of the Church and in the life of society.

From the beginning of his pontificate, he placed a lot of focus on the great role of the family. He dedicated a cycle of catechesis in the Wednesday audiences to the passage in Genesis which says: male and female I created them. And then there is the apostolic letter to the family, Familiaris Consortio. He was very committed in the development of this theme and was close to the family, to emphasize the great importance of the family in daily life, and the necessity of being close to the family in order to live better the vocation of each one. Because every person has a vocation, to be a religious sister, a priest, a doctor. But to be a family is a great beauty, but also a committed vocation that requires responsibility, and is also difficult to live. Because of this, John Paul II wanted to help this vocation to grow.

Q: Now 10 years after John Paul II’s death, what is his legacy today?

The teaching of the magisterium of the Church and of John Paul II is always current. Of course society has changed a bit, because culture changes, circumstances change. Also during this synod the bishops have brought different problems and family difficulties. Some wanted to be a little bit “progressive” and offer Communion to the divorced-and-remarried, but many bishops have recalled the great teaching of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI which they expressed clearly, that it would be against the doctrine of the Church, against the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of Penance, against grace. Certainly the teaching of John Paul II was perhaps very demanding, but real. If we want our faith to have value, we must bear some sort of difficulty, because only then are we faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Q: What does your diocese bring to the synod?

For me, it was a great experience, because I was able to hear testimonies and the vision of life and of the Church throughout the world on the different continents. But I want to say above all that we bishops are very close to families, we want to help people grow in the vocation of being in a marriage, a family. And we know that this vocation is very beautiful, very important, but we also want to help families realize their vocation and their commitment.

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VATICAN NEWS

The problem of porn – are bishops talking about it?

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • October 23, 2015

(Catholic News Agency)

Vatican City — It hasn’t gotten a lot of media coverage so far, but the rampant effects of pornography on families worldwide have sparked concern and dialogue among the synod’s bishops – particularly the Americans.

“Porn demeans the best in the male spirit. It addicts them to a kind of cheap junk food, when real women with minds and hearts, beliefs and hopes, are much more interesting,” Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia told CNA Oct. 19.

“Happiness is built on reality, with all of its warts and joys – not on illusions. Pornography is nothing but illusions.”

The Vatican’s synod on the family was opened by Pope Francis on Oct. 4, and it will run until Oct. 25. This year’s event follows the theme “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world,” and follows 2014’s extraordinary synod on the family, which focused on pastoral challenges regarding family life.

So far, this year’s discussion has tended to be reduced in Western secular media to two issues: communion for divorced-and-civilly remarried, and Church teaching and pastoral care regarding homosexuality.

However, actual topics brought up during meetings have been much broader, with synod fathers touching on themes such as domestic violence, violence against women, incest and abuse within families, marriage preparation and pornography.

Archbishop Chaput is a member of the synod’s English-speaking “D” small group, which has been one of the most vocal about the need to include greater reference to the harm done to families by the use of pornography.

Other members of the group include Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto, who serves as moderator for the group, Cardinal Daniel Di Nardo of Galveston-Houston, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles as well as a number of African and Asian prelates.

In his comments to CNA, Archbishop Chaput said that although pornography has typically been a largely male problem, it’s something that many women struggle with as well.

Porn, he said, “does huge damage to families. It isolates individual family members by creating private sexual obsessions. And it wrecks the intimacy between husbands and wives with notions of ‘perfect’ sex that bear no relation to real human beings.”

“It’s a terrible cheat,” he said, adding that it robs husbands and wives of “the richness of a long-term, mutually rewarding sexual friendship … and substitutes a shabby replacement that can never really feed the human heart.”

And the damage isn’t just isolated to individual families – it affects the larger family of the Church, he noted.

“The number of our Catholic clergy who struggle with this problem is very unsettling, and it has nothing to do with celibacy,” the archbishop said, noting that protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis contend with the same issue.

“Pornography’s always been a problem. Ancient Rome was famous for it. Sex is powerful and fascinating, and people have always abused its appeal … It’s an epidemic; or more accurately a pandemic. Anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world can find all the porn he or she wants,” he said.

Cardinal Daniel Di Nardo backed the concern in an Oct. 20 interview with CNA, saying that no matter where a person lives, pornography is still a major issue due to the easy access provided by the internet and social media.

“The problem came up with all the bishops,” he said, referring to the synod. But in the United States the problem is such a major issue that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is currently drafting a statement to address it, he said.

Pornography “represents the dark side of what can happen in terms of the internet and so many forms of social media that this also becomes a breeding ground for so many distortions of human sexuality,” the cardinal said.

Whether the person using porn is young, middle aged or older, it’s “a major issued for families nowadays.”

Cardinal Di Nardo noted that he often hears from the priests in his diocese that when families who are in difficulty come to them for help, frequently “you find out that part of the issue started with someone in pornography.”

“We worry about our young people, but this even happens in terms of married couples. It’s so pervasive, that’s the problem. It’s very pervasive. So we think it’s an important issue to deal with.”

Archbishop Jose Gomez also spoke to CNA about the issue Oct. 20, reflecting that the phenomenon of pornography is not “a victimless or private activity,” but is “truly a social sin.”

“Pornography is a scourge in every country, it is being fueled by globalization through the Internet and global travel,” the archbishop said. “Everyone knows there are links between the porn industry and prostitution and human trafficking and child abuse.”

Another important point the archbishop stressed is the fact that pornography is a corporate phenomenon with large, big-name companies across the globe both promoting the use of porn and profiting from it.

“Obviously, there are cable television companies and the cable networks, and global hotel chains – many of them are making pornography available in every room.”

One example of those companies is the Hyatt Hotel chain, which recently decided to cut off access to on-demand video pornography in all their locations across the globe.

Archbishop Gomez stressed that “there are a lot of other companies involved in this. We need to start a conversation with the business community and get them thinking about ‘divesting’ from pornography as a dimension of their corporate responsibility.”

Many of these companies have policies not to support environmental pollution or discrimination, so “we have to help them to see how pornography promotes injustice and cruelty against women and children and how it is polluting the human ecology, the moral ecology,” he said.

Married Brazilian auditors in the synod Pedro and Ketty de Rezende also spoke to CNA Oct. 20, sharing their concerns surrounding pornography as both a married couple, and as parents.

Ketty affirmed that pornography “was definitely a topic” in the synod discussion, and voiced her concern that “with the easy access kids have to all of the media, they can very easily access pornography.”

She and her husband noted that the problem with pornography is not just its harmful effects, but that it “goes way beyond that” to the commitment to live in chastity that every baptized person makes.

“When we are baptized we assume a commitment to chastity, because that’s the only way you can entirely participate in the communion of the Church,” Pedro said.

“Any form that involves the person in a context that’s against the morals taught by the Church is not just negative for the person, but also negative as in what that person can bring to society. Pornography is just one of the forms.”

Ketty emphasized the importance of educating one’s family on chastity. Quoting Bl. Pope Paul VI, she said that “contemporary man values more witness than teachers, and if he listens to teachers it’s because they’re witnesses.”

“The whole family has to witness virtues, they all have to live it and when they all live it the children naturally pick it up … That’s one of the virtues we really have to make clear in the world today,” she said.

“So what I really think is one of the major issues in the synod is a call to chastity.”

The couple also shared some of the ways they have found to be effective in terms of teaching their children about chastity, naming the use of scripture and just being with their children and being aware of what they are exposed to as two key points.

“First we live our faith by reading the Word of God. I think the Word of God is one of the first to call us to chastity, right? Only the pure will actually see God,” Ketty said.

She emphasized the need to remember that “our faith is a meeting with a person, it’s meeting Jesus. And that’s the first call to a chaste life.”

Other than that, “it’s being with our kids, warning them also, ‘look maybe this book isn’t something that’s good for you to read, this film isn’t really appropriate,’” she said, adding that it’s also helpful to show kids other options that “don’t harm their souls or their minds with unchaste things.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis to youth: The Bible can change your life. Now read it!

by CNA/EWTN News • October 23, 2015

Pope Francis visits a Roman parish, Feb. 8, 2015. (Lauren Cater/CNA)

Vatican City — The Bible is so dangerous that some Christians risk persecution to have one. But for Pope Francis, its life-changing role in daily life is important too.

“The Bible is not meant to be placed on a shelf, but to be in your hands, to read often – every day, both on your own and together with others,” he wrote in the prologue to a Bible for youth in Germany.

He encouraged young people to read the Bible together the way they play sports or go shopping together.

“Why not read the Bible together as well – two, three, or four of you? In nature, in the woods, on the beach, at night in the glow of a few candles … you will have a great experience!”

“Read with attention! Do not stay on the surface as if reading a comic book! Never just skim the Word of God!” he exhorted, according to a translation by the news site Aleteia.

The Pope encouraged young people to ask what God says to them through the Bible.

“Has he touched me in the depths of my longing? What should I do?” he encouraged them to ask. “Only in this way can the force of the Word of God unfold. Only in this way can it change our lives, making them great and beautiful.”

The Pope’s comments come in the prologue to the German edition of the YouCat Bible. The youth Bible is from the makers of the YouCat catechism for youth.

The new Bible edition includes the text of the Bible packaged in a modern layout with a storyline, line drawings, and color photographs accompanied by explanations and quotations.

The YouCat Bible was proved popular at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Fifteen publishers from countries including the U.S., Poland, and Argentina signed agreements to publish the Bible.

Bernhard Meuser, project manager at YouCat, said the youth Bible is among the top ten most valuable licenses at the book fair.

YouCat has printed six million copies of its youth catechism, published in 2011. The catechism is now available in 39 languages.

In the prologue to the YouCat Bible, Pope Francis reflected on his own much-used Bible.

“If you could see my Bible, you would not be particularly impressed,” he said. “What – that’s the Pope’s Bible? Such an old, worn-out book!”

But he would not trade it for a new one.

“I love my old Bible, which has accompanied me half my life. It has been with me in my times of joy and times of tears. It is my most precious treasure,” he said. “I live out of it, and I wouldn’t give anything in the world for it.”

Pope Francis praised the new Youth Bible for its testimonies from saints and young people.

“It is so inviting that when you start to read at the beginning, you can’t stop until the last page,” he said.

He encouraged readers not to let the Bible disappear on a shelf and collect dust.

“There are more persecuted Christians in the world today than in the early days of the Church. And why are they persecuted? They are persecuted because they wear a cross and bear witness to Jesus. They are convicted because they own a Bible,” he said.

The Pope described the Bible as a “highly dangerous book.” Some countries treat someone with a Bible “as if you were hiding hand grenades in your closet.”

He questioned whether the Bible can be just a piece of literature or a collection of old stories, given how many Christians are persecuted for it.

“By the word of God has Light come into the world, and it will never go out,” he said.

Pope Francis also recounted his own Bible reading habits.

“Often I read a little and then put it away and contemplate the Lord. Not that I see the Lord, but he looks at me. He’s there. I let myself look at him. And I feel — this is not sentimentality — I feel deeply the things that the Lord tells me,” the Pope said.

“Sometimes he does not speak. I then feel nothing, only emptiness, emptiness, emptiness … . But I remain patiently, and so I wait, reading and praying.”

The Pope said that sometimes he falls asleep while praying.

“But it does not matter. I’m like a son with the father, and that is what’s important.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Gay Catholic to Synod: Please protect teaching on homosexuality

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • October 23, 2015

(jclk8888 via Pixabay CC0)

Vatican City — With the pastoral care of homosexual persons on the agenda of the Synod on the Family, one man with same-sex attraction has appealed to the synod fathers to protect the Church’s teaching on this issue.

“I would love (the synod fathers) to know that we exist, that we are so concerned that culture is going to change the truth in the Catholic teachings about same-sex attraction,” said Paul Darrow in a recent interview with CNA.

Paul, whose story is featured in the 2014 documentary Desire for the Everlasting Hills, produced by the Courage apostolate, had given his testimony at an Oct. 3 conference aimed at reaching out to bishops preparing for the Synod on the Family.

As he recounts in the documentary, Paul had become involved in the New York City gay scene in the 1970s, working as an international fashion model. After years of moving from one partner to the next, maintaining hatred for the Catholic Church, he settled in Sonoma County with his partner, Jeff. He attributes his ultimate conversion to Catholicism to Mother Angelica after coming across one of her programs on EWTN.

He is now a member of Courage, an apostolate which offers pastoral support for men and women with same-sex attraction. Courage organized the Oct. 3 event, and is active in prison ministry and the pro-life movement.

The question of homosexuality has arisen several times over the course of the three-week Synod on the Family, which wraps up later this week. Running from Oct. 4-25, it is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops is the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”

Paul Darrow spoke to CNA about the Synod on the Family, homosexuality, and his conversion to Catholicism. The text of the interview is below:

What do you want to communicate to the Synod Fathers?

Paul: In a nutshell I would love to communicate to them that there is a group of Catholics, men and women, who care so much about the Lord that they seek in every way to follow the Lord’s teachings: A group with same-sex attraction. And this particular group – many of us are Courage members – who love God so much, we’re not asking for him or for the Catholic Church or for the Synod to make any changes regarding the teachings on same-sex attraction.

Having lived that lifestyle for a lifetime, I’ve been at other places in my life where I would have loved to say: Well, it would be great if same-sex marriage was accepted by the Church; it would be great if they would not have a problem with people who are not monogamous; or it would be great for the Church to accept promiscuity …

I would love (the Synod fathers) to know that we exist, that we are so concerned that culture is going to change the truth in the Catholic teachings about same-sex attraction.

Having been informed by your past experiences, what does it now mean for you to love another person?

Paul: When I was six years old, I thought I was in love with Linda Dixon. We promised that we would marry each other. When I was 13 years old, I was in love with another girl. But, I also really liked these guys. So, as we all know, who we loved at 15 or 14 or 13, in a lot of cases, in most cases – although there are exceptions – we weren’t really mature enough to understand what love really meant. So, having lived the homosexual lifestyle in a very promiscuous, self-indulgent, self-serving way, I thought I was in love with so many men. I realize now that it was of course the conquest, because as soon as a man loved me back, I was looking for another man.

It was an immature love. I’m not saying in any way that people with same-sex attraction are immature. But I’m saying: basing love, as much as it is in the homosexual lifestyle, as much as it is based on sexual intimacy, makes it immature.

Now that I’ve opened my heart to Jesus and have become a devout Catholic, I realize I wasn’t even capable of loving anyone except myself.

I realize in hindsight that, when I was a child I knew true love. I really knew how to love somebody, like my mother. But, that type of ability to really be able to love somebody evaporated when I fell into the same-sex attraction lifestyle of just using people, and manipulating them. I had a manipulative type of love. I loved them as long as they would think I was wonderful, as long as they would do what I wanted to do. Again, that wasn’t love.

Now, my love has changed.

… Now when I (do prison ministry), I literally love these men as human beings, because so many of them were in a situation that so many of us could be in if we had just followed our desires just a little bit more.

I just understand now what love is. My heart was really closed to true love, to real love, selfless love, until I realized that Jesus had selfless love for me. That changed everything.

Groups like Courage offer pastoral care to persons with same-sex attraction in the context of the Church’s teaching on chastity. However, there are other groups who believe pastoral care should include support for those living in homosexual relationships. What impact does this latter approach have, especially on young people who are still unsure about their sexuality?

Paul: A word comes to my mind, and it’s counter-culture … (which) means, going against the culture.

Some (of these other groups) I’m familiar with. I’ve been part of some of those groups before I came to the Catholic Church, many years ago. I call these other groups “counter-Catholic.” Each one of those groups, as I look at them, are asking the Catholic Church to do something that is for their benefit – not for their spiritual benefit; not for their spiritual growth – rather, simply because it’s a worldly thing they want to have incorporated into the Catholic Church.

Some of these groups would like to have gay marriage approved by the Catholic Church, because they feel: We’re together, we love each other, etc. They just want it to be sanctified by the Church. They’re requesting something that makes their life easier. They’re not requesting to carry a cross, like husbands and wives who are faithful to the Church have to do every day; carry a cross for their children, put their children’s benefit before their own out of love for their children; put their wives’ needs before their own because of their love for their wives, etc.

From my experiences from these types of groups, they just want us to change for them.

The thing that amazes me is that there are so many churches that have given in since Martin Luther’s time. There are so many churches that accommodated people’s desire to not follow the teachings of the Lord. I think I would prefer that they go to other churches, and change the other churches. They’d probably have better luck at it, because the other churches seem to cave in more easily … whereas our Church has been true for thousands of years to truth.

If that were to change, many people (like myself) would be so devastated, because then it takes the truth out of our Church, and our Church wouldn’t be the Church that we love.

Many among the millennial generation, including otherwise devout and well-formed Catholics, have a difficult time understanding why the Church teaches what it does on the question of homosexuality. Based on your life experiences, having lived this lifestyle, why do you think younger people have such a difficult time?

Paul: It’s the younger people, but it’s also the parents, the cousins, some of the sisters and brothers, the whole family unit. When someone comes to a family, especially a young person, and says: “I have this thing that is different, and I want you to accept it, it’s the way I want to live because I was born that way,” the family caves in because they love their children so much. Even if it isn’t in their own family, they know children like that in other families, and they will think: What’s so bad about that? Why can’t the Church just accommodate them? They’re good people. I know them. They take care of my grandmother. They feed my dog. They bring me things when I need help.

But again, it’s one of those situations that has nothing to do with truth. Where do you stop going down that slippery slope? You could be one step away from saying: We want to be able to have abortions. We want to be able to have birth control. All of these things are about human desire. But the value of life, and the purpose of a man and a woman, the purpose of marriage, the purpose of the Temple of the Holy Spirit being our body, those things aren’t changing.

It’s communication. They need to hear it from people who do understand, who can speak about it. People like myself who’ve lived both sides. If they only knew how much we love them!

What message would you give to a young person struggling with their sexuality, perhaps having dappled in the lifestyle?

Paul: (It depends) if they were a Christian, if they were Catholic, if they believed in God. I heard a very wise priest once, who’s a theologian at a Catholic university. Someone asked him a question: “A lot of these fellows are older; these women and men who are living these chaste lives. I’m 22 years old. Are you telling me that I have to go an entire lifetime without sexual intimacy?” The response was: “No, you cannot have that type of intimacy because that’s not the type of intimacy that Jesus ever spoke about.” That is so crystal clear. Now, if it’s an atheist, it would have to be a different approach.

But that makes it very clear, very black and white, why it’s an issue.

Hopefully the parents and the teachers who understand the truth would educate themselves to what exactly would you say, and what are the mistruths.

Hearing about God’s incomparable love, endless mercy, had a lot to do with me thinking the Catholic Church wasn’t maybe as bad as I thought it was, and maybe led me to hate the Catholic Church a little less than I did.

The more I heard about that love, and mercy, and compassion, the more I understood it. Then, when I went into a Catholic Church, and saw all of the love and compassion, and how different these people were living than the people I hung out with most of my life, it opened up my heart. But, that would have fallen short had I also not learned about the spiritual truth, and the spiritual truth really does exist.

They’re not mutually exclusive, but a lot of people think that it has to be all about love and compassion. But, (for example, they) can have love and compassion for a woman who (goes) through an abortion. It’s such a sad thing: they need to be loved, and need to have compassion, but somewhere, somebody should probably tell them a little bit about life. But also, God often intervenes.

You can change on a dime once you hear the truth.

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WORLD NEWS

For German bishops mercy comes at a price, critics charge

by CNA/EWTN News • October 19, 2015

(PKpix via shutterstock.com)

Berlin, Germany — As controversy continues to swirl around proposals by the German bishops at the Synod on the Family, the German bishops themselves have faced heightened criticism in recent years.

Critics point out that while Cardinal Walter Kasper and most of his fellow German bishops have been leading the charge to allow those in “irregular” marital situations – those who are divorced and remarried – to receive Communion, they have simultaneously denied the sacraments, including even Confession, to those who opt out of paying Germany’s “church tax”: a position seen by critics as hypocritical.

In both cases, the German position is at odds with Church teaching: admitting to Communion those formally not allowed, and forbidding those whom the Vatican says can validly receive the sacraments.

The German definition of mercy, critics say, is a “pay to pray system” that has its “financial” limits.

The bishops in Germany “are notoriously the most merciful in wishing to grant Communion to the divorced and remarried, but at the same time are the most ruthless in de facto excommunicating those who refuse to pay the church tax, which in their country is obligatory by law,” Sandro Magister wrote last October in his “Settimo Cielo” blog for L’Espresso.

The church tax earned the Church in Germany an income of more than $7 billion in both 2012 and 2013.

Critics charged that the German bishops are on one hand saying that mercy demands Communion be given to those living in what Christ called adultery, while simultaneously banning those who may be living according to Church teaching, but for whatever reason choose not pay their church tax, from all the sacraments.

“In Germany the church tax (kirchensteuer) is obligatory, such that to be able to not pay it, one must declare their departure from the church to which they belong, whether Catholic or Protestant, by a public act made before a competent civil authority,” Magister explained.

When Germans register as Catholic, Protestant, or Jew on their tax forms, the government automatically collects an income tax from them which amounts to 8 or 9 percent of their total income tax, or 3-4 percent of their salary.

The “church tax” is given to the religious communities, rather than those communities collecting a tithe. The Church uses its funds to help run its parishes, schools, hospitals, and welfare projects.

Many Germans have de-registered in recent years, so as to avoid paying the additional tax. Magister noted that the number of persons declaring their departure from the Church has been substantial – in 2010, the figure was more than 180,000.

The number of de-registrations has been heightened this year, as the church tax is now being withheld from capital gains, as well as from salary.

Many of those who have de-registered from the Church on the German government’s forms continue to practice the faith, and have de-registered to avoid the tax altogether, or to support the Church with private tithes.

In response to the numbers de-registering, the German bishops issued a decree in September 2012 calling such departure “a serious lapse” and listing a number of ways they are barred from participating in the life of the Church.

The decree specified that those who do not pay the church tax cannot receive the sacraments of Confession, Communion, Confirmation, or Anointing of the Sick, except when in danger of death; cannot hold ecclesial office or perform functions within the Church; cannot be a godparent or sponsor; cannot be a member of diocesan or parish councils; and cannot be members of public associations of the Church.

If those who de-registered show no sign of repentance before their death, they can even be refused a religious burial.

While these penalties have been described as “de facto excommunication,” the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, wrote in a March 13, 2006 document that opting out of taxes in a civil situation was not the same as renouncing the faith, and thus excommunication did not apply to such persons.

The German group Union of Associations Loyal to the Pope has said it is ironic that one could reject Church teaching on any number of issues, including the indissolubility of marriage, and still be considered Catholic – as long as one paid the church tax.

The group charged that the “selling of sacraments” through the tax system was even worse than the abuses protested by Martin Luther at the start of the Protestant Reformation.

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WORLD NEWS

Ghana’s bishops ask country to work for fair elections in 2016

by CNA/EWTN News • October 20, 2015

Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu of Konongo-Mampong, president of Ghana’s bishops’ conference, walks to the Vatican’s Synod Hall, Oct. 9, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Accra, Ghana — The Catholic bishops of Ghana have asked the country’s election commission to register all eligible voters and to work to ensure confidence in the accuracy of the voter registry.

They also urged Ghana’s government to provide the necessary resources and logistics to the electoral commission to update the voter registry.

They hoped and prayed that all stakeholders, especially political parties, will be honest and truthful in helping the Electoral Commission “conduct a fair, transparent and honest exercise to win the confidence of the Ghanaian public in the register and the electoral process as a whole.”

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference discussed election issues in an Oct. 12 statement on the voter’s registry. Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu of Konongo-Mampong, the conference president, signed the statement, the Catholic News Agency for Africa reports.

The voter registry compiled in 2012 recorded about 14 million voters out of 25 million citizens. Some critics have said the count of registered voters is too high relative to the current population of Ghana. Concerns also include the registration of voters younger than the voting age of 18, and the presence of non-citizens on the voter registration.

They noted allegations that more than 76,000 names of people from neighboring countries have been found on Ghana’s voter rolls. If allegations about voter registration flaws are true, the bishops said, “it will be necessary to have a new Voters’ Register to enable people to have confidence in the electoral process.”

Ghana’s bishops acknowledged the difficulties of maintaining a voter’s registry.

They advised better education on voter registration and better training for voter registration personnel. They also called for more transparency in identifying and verifying registered voters.

Ghana will hold its next general elections in 2016.

The NGO Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index ranked corruption in Ghana at 47 on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being least corrupt. The NGO ranks the country 61 out of 175 countries. By Transparency International figures, Ghana is perceived to be less corrupt than its immediate neighbors in West Africa.

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WORLD NEWS

Filipinos pray as they prepare to host the International Eucharistic Congress

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • October 21, 2015

Eucharistic adoration. (Elisa Pires via JMJ Rio 2013 via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Cebu, Philippines — As the Philippines prepare to host the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in January, the country’s Catholics are preparing by praying over the gathering’s theme, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

The Eucharistic Congress will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Cebu Jan. 24-30, 2016.

“We feel privileged, and thank the Lord for the opportunity to host the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, because our country had hosted the same congress back in 1937,” said Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu.

“The theme, ‘Christ in you our hope of glory’, is centered on Jesus who is with us, because he is the fulfillment of the Father’s plan,” the archbishop told CNA.

The Eucharistic Congress will be an opportunity for catechesis and fostering a Eucharistic ecclesiology.

Archbishop Palma noted Filipinos’ enthusiasm for the faith, coupled with their challenges, including economic poverty.

“We may be poor in many aspects of life, but I believe, as Pope Francis has said, ‘We are happy in faith.’”

The archbishop added that Catholics in the Philippines have something to offer those who will visit Cebu for the Eucharistic Congress.

“We believe that when the participants come, they will also share our own way of thanking the Lord, and will experience other dimensions of the faith, such as our Filipino popular religiosity, devotions, the way we pray, and our joyful fellowship. They will have an insight into the faith life of the Filipino people.”

The International Eucharistic Congress is expected to draw to Cebu more than 15,000 participants from over 90 countries around the world. More than 1,000 local families have agreed to open their homes to delegates.

Archbishop Palma reflected that the Filipino bishops are preparing for the congress by focusing on families as “Eucharistic disciples.”

Speakers at the Eucharistic Congress include Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York; Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles; Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja; and Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay.

Other speakers include Fr. Mark Francis, CSV; Fr. Francis Moloney, SDB; Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP; Archbishop Piero Marini, president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses; and Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila.

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WORLD NEWS

Spain’s socialist party would ban religion classes – even in private schools

by CNA/EWTN News • October 22, 2015

(Dystopos via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Madrid, Spain — As Spain prepares for its general election in December, Pedro Sánchez, the leader of the nation’s socialist party, has said that if elected his government will pull religion courses from both public and private schools.

Sánchez leads the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), the largest opposition party in the nation. General elections will take place Dec. 20, for all the seats in the lower house of Spain’s parliament, and more than three-quarters of the seats in the upper house.

The proposal to remove religion courses from all schools in Spain is part of the first draft of the PSOE’s platform, which was reviewed Oct. 19 by the Standing Executive Committee.

The platform states that the Spanish government must promote “necessary reforms in the current legal framework, as well as international agreements,” in order to “promote a secular public school where religious instruction is not included either in the curriculum or the school schedule.”

Under the proposal, not even private schools, run independently of the government, could offer religion courses for students to take during school hours. They could only do so as an extracurricular activity.

The spokesman of the Spanish Conference of Catholic Bishops, Father José María Gil Tamayo, speaking to Spain’s largest radio network (COPE), noted that no student is obliged to take religious instruction classes, but it is obligatory for the course to be offered by the schools.

Fr. Gil Tamayo also emphasized that this course forms part of “a curriculum that is on a par with the rest of the subjects” and “this is a matter of parents exercising their right within the educational system, laid down in the constitution, for their children to be educated in accordance with their religious and moral convictions.”

According to the PSOE platform, the religion course could no longer be used in calculating the average grade used to obtain a scholarship or be admitted to a university.

In this regard Father Gil Tamayo pointed out that the PSOE, perhaps looking for a few votes, is only “stirring up a problem (for itself), “ and emphasized that the party “needs to keep in mind that the moderate people of this country, the voters of the PSOE, proportionate to the major religious denomination in Spain, are Catholics.”

PSOE is one of six parties vying in Spain’s general election. The current ruling party is the People’s Party, which is conservative and Christian democratic. The social democratic PSOE last led the Spanish government from 2004-2011, under prime minister José Rodríguez Zapatero.

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WORLD NEWS

Sodalitium Christianae Vitae issues statement in wake of accusations

by CNA/EWTN News • October 22, 2015

(Sodalitium Christianae Vitae)

Lima, Peru — The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae issued a statement on Wednesday announcing its commitment to the investigation of mistreatment, including sexual abuse, allegedly committed by its founder.

The Oct. 21 statement was released after the publication in Peru of a book containing testimonies against Luis Fernando Figari, founder of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

“The testimonies refer to acts of abuse and mistreatment, including sexual abuse. It is a cause for deep grief and shame if such acts could have been committed by Luis Fernando Figari, the founder and for many years the Superior General of our community,” read the statement which bore the signature of Alessandro Moroni Llabrés, the community’s current superior general.

Moroni also stated that “we are creating an ad hoc committee, with the participation of experts from outside our community, that would be available to meet with any person who may have been affected.”

“At the same time we are committed to thoroughly investigating and clarifying the truth about the incidents, which are intolerable, because they involve grave suffering for persons who trusted our community, and they betray our deepest values.”

The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is a society of apostolic life which was founded in 1971 in Peru, and granted pontifical recognition in 1997. Alejandro Bermúdez, executive director of CNA, is a member of the community.

Figari stepped down as superior general of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in 2010.

In addition to Peru, the community operates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, and Italy.

Please find below the full text of the statement of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae:

We wish to communicate the following to the general public:

1. With the publication of the book Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados (Half Monks, Half Soldiers) by the journalist Pedro Salinas, various reports and commentaries have come out in the press and social media. As authorities of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, we released a public statement which we now consider insufficient.

2. The testimonies refer to acts of abuse and mistreatment, including sexual abuse. It is a cause for deep grief and shame if such acts could have been committed by Luis Fernando Figari, the founder and for many years the Superior General of our community. We condemn the incidents that may have occurred, especially the sexual abuse, which so deeply wound people.

3. The book compiles assorted testimonies that are plausible and that need to be thoroughly clarified. Additionally, there are former members of the Movement who say they were victims of various kinds of abuse by Luis Fernando Figari. We know there are allegations that have been submitted to ecclesial tribunals, but they are not accessible because the tribunals withhold the information in order to issue their legal opinion with independence. On the other hand, Luis Fernando Figari says he is innocent of all accusations, but to date has not wanted to make any public statement, as would be his moral obligation. The current Superior General of the Movement has communicated all of this to the pertinent ecclesial authorities, and we know they are moving forward with an investigation, of which we hope for results in the next few months.

4. We reiterate our desire to accompany all of those affected, we ask their forgiveness with all our heart, and we offer them our help in whatever way may be needed. To make this happen in an effective way we are creating an ad hoc committee, with the participation of experts from outside our community, that would be available to meet with any person who may have been affected. At the same time we are committed to thoroughly investigating and clarifying the truth about the incidents, which are intolerable, because they involve grave suffering for persons who trusted our community, and they betray our deepest values. We are available to cooperate in whatever may be necessary with civil and ecclesial authorities.

5. We know that as a community we are faced with a great challenge going forward, which involves putting in place all means necessary so that such things as have been reported never happen in our institution.

Lima, October 21, 2015

Alessandro Moroni Llabrés, Superior General

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For Thai Cardinal, the art of living includes witness to the Gospel

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • October 23, 2015

Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Feb. 20, 2015. (Andreas Dueren/CNA)

Rome, Italy — Every Christian has a role to play in evangelization, and the first step is to take the Word of God into their hearts, the Archbishop of Bangkok has said.

“We need to give a concrete testimony of faith in living the Word of God, building small Christian communities and then we also have the obligation to announce the Good News,” Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij told CNA.

He explained that Christians must interiorize the Word of God and then put it into practice. Christians must live their witness of Christ in daily life at home, in the family, and at work. This will give credibility to the work of evangelization.

Thailand’s Catholic bishops have declared a Holy Year in the country to advance the New Evangelization and to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the first Synod of Ayutthaya, held in 1664.

In April the bishops hosted the first Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Thailand.

They deliberated on the theme, “The Disciples of Christ Live the New Evangelization.”

Cardinal Kriengsak served as the plenary council’s president. He said the council helped orient pastoral guidelines for the future in order to build the Church in Thailand and to help the community as a whole.

He reiterated the need for Christian witness “first to proclaim and then to evangelize.”

The cardinal noted that Thailand’s Catholic community is very small; itmakes up less than one percent of the population.

The cardinal was in Rome Oct. 11 to take possession of his titular church, Santa Maria Addolorata Church. He spoke there with special focus on youth formation, noting their role as the future of the Church and the future leaders of the society.

He said that taking possession of a titular church in Rome, the diocese of the Pope, shows the fidelity and unity of the local Church and the universal Church.

Cardinal Kriengsak explained in Rome: “even if I stay far in the East, my heart beats with the Pope, with the community.” He said his cardinal’s ring also unites him with the Pope and the Catholic community.

The cardinal’s motto on his coat of arms is the Latin phrase “Verbum Crucis Dei Virtus est,” which means “The language of the Cross is the power of God.”

“Right from my seminary days, I adored the crucified Christ who showed his intense love in redeeming humanity,” he said.

Cardinal Kriengsak, 66, was born in 1949 near Bangkok. He studied at St. Joseph’s Seminary in his home diocese and finished his philosophical and theological formation at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Bangkok in 1976. He was installed as bishop of Nakhon Sawan, in west central Thailand, in 2007. Two years later, he was installed as Archbishop of Bangkok.

Pope Francis made the archbishop a cardinal in the 2015 conclave. His predecessor in the Bangkok archdiocese, Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, was Thailand’s first cardinal.

Cardinal Kriengsak is also a supporter of the Focolare movement, a multi-religious spiritual and social renewal movement founded in Italy by Chiara Lubich, a Catholic laywoman. Lubich’s cause for beatification opened in January 2015.

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Catholics in Cuba call on government to remove religious restrictions

by CNA/EWTN News • October 23, 2015

(Steward Cutler via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Havana, Cuba — Through one of its media outlets, the Havana archdiocese on Thursday called on the Cuban government “to definitively remove the restrictions that weigh down upon all religious institutions, and allow them to freely carry out their work.”

“Religious freedom is something more than freedom of worship,” reads the Oct. 22 editorial in Palabra Nueva, the Archdiocese of Havana’s magazine.

The editorial discusses the role of the Church in Cuba, including its mediation in the release of polticial prisoners who were jailed in 2003 and Pope Francis’ involvement in the diplomatic thaw with the United States.

Palabra Nueva addressed the significance of the last three Popes having visited Cuba, beginning with St. John Paul II in 1998.

“Many people paid attention to his message and invitation of openness to the world, of having no fear of opening the mind and heart to Jesus Christ, the source of truth and hope, but others did not. Part of the world did listen to the Pope’s invitation and began to approach (the government), but the Cuban leadership did not reciprocate the gesture. It is common to conclude that visit was just a parenthesis in the life of the country, even though in reality it was much more than that,” the editorial stated.

The magazine noted that Benedict XVI came “to demonstrate his support for a process of a new and long hoped for dialogue between the Church and the Cuban Government, began in 2010. He also made it clear the desire of the Church to be part of the process of reforms that had been initiated.”

Pope Francis’ recent visit “leaves a spiritual wake of widespread acceptance,” and the things the Pope called for “have gotten through to a lot of Cubans … Only the spiritually short sighted did not appreciate his closeness, simplicity and his desire to communicate with all Cubans.”

“In the same way, his words were well received by the young people when he proposed to them to not stop dreaming if they really want a different world, and to not ‘shrink back’ and to ‘create societal friendship.’”

Palabra Nueva said that after 17 years, the seed sown by St. John Paul II is beginning to be seen.

“In reality the still weak flame of hope has been rekindled among us, which can be strengthened by an internal opening up and rapprochement among Cubans. It would be a mistake to try to ignore the revealing and painfully sincere response of those young people to the pope’s call to dream, ‘if they let us!’’

It stated that “a coherent step would be to recognize, once and for all, the place that belongs to the Church in society,” not just as an institution, “but in its entire composition, from the laity to the bishops, the clergy and all those in consecrated life, since we all have a place and a mission in society. The desire for engagement is high but it is not accompanied by laws and social structures.”

The editorial recalled that on July 7, 2013 President Raul Castro said that it was time for religious institutions to help in face of the “grave deterioration or loss of urban and civic values in the country.”

“In reality,” the editorial noted, “there is little the churches and other religious manifestations that exist today in Cuba can do in that regard, if their ability for action is not facilitated, or if conditions are not created that would allow them and guarantee them their ability to act in a permanent and transparent manner, no matter how great their desire to show their co-responsibility is or how bad the loss of values by the citizens.”

Because religious freedom regards more than freedom of worship, “it’s not right to try to have the Church only occupy itself with the things of God in the church building and keep it isolated form the social sphere, and accept its social participation only when it suits the politicians. The perspective should not be what suits the Church or the politicians but rather what is best, most beneficial and useful for society and the citizens.”

Therefore, “recognizing the belief and religious practice of the majority of Cubans, and the urgency of the country to reclaim its values … and when everyone’s collaboration is needed in the process of the changes the country is going through in order to avoid ‘falling into the abyss,’ a necessary step would be to definitively lift the restrictions weighing down on religious institutions and allow them to freely carry out their work.”

“Now is the time. If religion is not the opiate of the people, then in whose interest is it to keep lit an imaginary pipe or disseminate an artificial drug?” the editorial concluded.

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Archdiocese: News reports distorted Newark archbishop’s efforts to guide priests

by Kevin J. Jones (CNA/EWTN News) • October 17, 2015

A newly married couple receive Communion at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Sept. 14, 2014. (Lauren Cater/CNA)

Newark, N.J. — A memo from the Archbishop of Newark to his priests on the reception of the Eucharist aimed to provide guidance amid the challenges of modern life, but was “taken wildly out of context” in media reports.

James Goodness, the Newark archdiocese’s communications director, told CNA Oct. 15 that the memo is about principles, not rules or particular law. He said these principles aim to call on priests to “walk with the people” in their situations and “to cherish and welcome them to participate as they can, according to the faith.”

“This direction is very much in line with the thinking and actions of Pope Francis,” Goodness said.

He added that the Pope is “reminding priests today that Church teaching will not change, but that we are all called to help people to understand the teaching, resolve differences, and bring about conversion.”

Archbishop John Myers of Newark’s Sept. 22 memo provided principles to help preserve and protect the Catholic faith “in the midst of an increasingly secular culture.”

Archbishop Myers said the Church will “continue to cherish and welcome her members” and “invite them to participate in her life to the degree that their personal situation permits them honestly to do so.”

The memo explained that non-Catholics should not receive Holy Communion nor should “any Catholic who publicly rejects Church teaching or discipline” in public statements or by joining or supporting organizations that reject Church teaching.

“They are asked to be honest to themselves and to the Church community,” the memo continued.

The memo said that the archdiocese’s parishes and other institutions should allow their facilities to be used only by persons and organizations which agree with Catholic teaching “or, at least, not oppose them.”

“Catholics, especially ministers and others who represent the Church, should not participate in or be present at religious events or events intended to endorse or support those who reject or ignore Church teaching and canon law,” the archbishop’s memo said.

The memo drew hostile coverage from several news outlets and speculation about its motives.

Goodness said there was no special reason for the document to be sent now except as a response to “confusion and misunderstanding on the teachings of the Church with regard to marriage.”

“Archbishop Myers felt that, in his role as teacher of the faith in this archdiocese, it would be appropriate for him to give some advice and direction to priests and others involved in parish ministry as they deal directly with people who are facing some of the challenges about married life and living according to the faith,” Goodness told CNA.

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Hyatt Hotels changes policy around the globe, removes on-demand porn

by Maggie Maslak (CNA/EWTN News) • October 18, 2015

(Concept Photo via shutterstock.com)

Chicago, IL — In a major policy shift, the global hotel and resort chain Hyatt Hotels is cutting off access to on-demand video pornography in all of their hotel rooms across the globe, according to the advocacy group National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).

“With this step, Hyatt is proving itself to be a leader among corporations that value a positive and safe environment for their consumers,” stated Patrick Trueman, president of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, in an Oct. 14 statement.

“By removing on-demand pornography, Hyatt is also taking a stand against prostitution and sex trafficking, which are crimes that often takes place in hotels,” Trueman continued.

As part of its new policy “this content will not be introduced to any new Hyatt hotels, and it will be discontinued or phased out at all hotels,” according to the New York Times.

Hyatt’s policy change follows the steps of other major hotels, including Omni and Marriott, who have moved away from allowing on-demand pornography in their guestrooms over the past few years. The Scandinavian hotel chain Nordic Hotels also discontinued pay-per-view pornography channels in 2013.

The most recent hotel chain to withdraw on-demand video pornograpy was Hilton Worldwide, who announced their policy change in August. The Huffington Post reported that the company no longer allows on-demand pornography in guestrooms because it was not consistent with Hilton’s vision and goals.

These policy shifts underscore the increasing acknowledgement of the association of pornography with sexual exploitation, which is one of the reasons why many international hotel chains are taking steps to eliminate on-demand pornography in their guestrooms, according to NCOSE.

“Pornography not only increases the demand for prostitution and sex trafficking, but sex trafficking victims are also often used in, and trained how to perform sexually by pornography,” Trueman stated.

NCOSE also believes that pornography is strongly linked to various psychological and neurological dangers – a connection which many hotels are coming to recognize.

“Hyatt was eager to work with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation after we reached out to the corporation to share concerns about the neurological and psychological harms of pornography,” Trueman noted.

“NCOSE is grateful to Hyatt for its policy change and commitment to oppose sexual exploitation,” Trueman continued, commending the hotel chain for their policy change.

CNA contacted Hyatt about the reported change in policy, but did not receive a response.

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Archbishop Chaput: In Philly and in synod, support for Francis is obvious

by CNA/EWTN News • October 19, 2015

Pope Francis with Archbishop Charles Chaput at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 24, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Rome, Italy — In an Oct. 19 interview, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said that despite an implied assertion in America Magazine over the weekend, no synod father is an “opponent” of Pope Francis.

“If the welcome we gave Pope Francis in Philadelphia last month looked like ‘opposition,’ people need a trip to a really good eye doctor,” the archbishop told CNA, adding that Pope Francis “has explicitly invited candor and open discussion.”

On Oct. 16, Archbishop Chaput published an article in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “How to Read the Vatican Family Gathering.” Two days later, America Magazine ran an article referencing the “Pope’s Opponents” and cited Archbishop Chaput’s column.

In addition to responding to that article, Archbishop Chaput also spoke at length during the CNA interview on pornography, calling it a “kind of cheap junk food” that is built on illusions and robs men and women of an authentic relationship.

The full transcript of the interview with Archbishop Chaput is below:

During these weeks, one issue that synod fathers appear to voice increasing concern over is pornography. How big of a problem is this as it relates to the family?

Pornography’s always been a problem. Ancient Rome was famous for it. Sex is powerful and fascinating, and people have always abused its appeal. But modern technologies make it a lot easier to access and much, much more widespread. It’s an epidemic; or more accurately a pandemic. Anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world can find all the porn he or she wants. And note that word “she.” Pornography used to be a largely male problem. Today, many women use it as well.

Porn does huge damage to families. It isolates individual family members by creating private sexual obsessions. And it wrecks the intimacy between husbands and wives with notions of “perfect” sex that bear no relation to real human beings. It’s a terrible cheat. It steals the richness of a long term, mutually rewarding sexual friendship between husband and wife, and it substitutes a shabby replacement that can never really feed the human heart.

By the way, porn also damages the larger family of the Church. The number of our Catholic clergy who struggle with this problem is very unsettling, and it has nothing to do with celibacy. Married Protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis have the same issues.

In Western secular media, the synod seems to have been reduced to the two issues of communion for divorced and civilly remarried, and Church teaching and pastoral care regarding homosexuality. If pornography is truly a global epidemic, would it stand to reason that it’s a more relevant topic to a synod on the family, versus the two aforementioned issues?

There’s an old Roman saying that hard cases make bad law. In other words, sensible leaders make laws for the norm, informed by the ideal – not the exceptions. A synod on the family should logically focus first on intact families trying to live their Catholic faith, raise their children well, and deepen the love between husband and wife. These families – and we have many millions of them in my country — need support and encouragement from the Church. They also deserve some sincere gratitude and praise for their efforts.

The divorced and civilly remarried, and persons with same-sex attraction, need the help of the Church as well. No one should diminish the importance of their needs. The cornerstone of the Church, though, is healthy families open to new life. If we neglect them, if we don’t make them our first priority, then we cripple the witness of the Church in the decades ahead.

The harm done to women via pornography — and its direct connection to human trafficking — is something that’s getting mainstream validation. But we hear less about porn’s effect on men. What’s your view?

Porn demeans the best in the male spirit. It addicts them to a kind of cheap junk food, when real women with minds and hearts, beliefs and hopes, are much more interesting. Happiness is built on reality, with all of its warts and joys — not on illusions. Pornography is nothing but illusions.

Christian men are meant to have a little bit of knighthood in their hearts. The world makes fun of purity, but a clean heart and mind are the foundation of a man’s courage. And men who want to be what God intends them to be need courage, because their job is to provide, to protect, to teach by example, and to lead by putting the people they love before themselves. Pornography undermines all of that.

Do you find that other language groups are concerned about this issue? What do you hope the synod accomplishes in this regard?

I don’t know enough bishops in other language groups to offer an opinion. And the synod has so much material to cover that pornography probably can’t be a significant focus. But I think all the synod fathers would see pornography as both a symptom and a contributing cause of many of today’s marital problems.

Just two final questions: First, in an interview with Cardinal Wuerl, America Magazine placed you in a list of the “Pope’s opponents.” Is that the case?

If the welcome we gave Pope Francis in Philadelphia last month looked like “opposition,” people need a trip to a really good eye doctor.

Second, what do you think would be at the base of such claim?

The Holy Father wants a collegial environment for the Church. He has explicitly invited candor and open discussion. I believe he means what he says. It would be very strange for any bishop to doubt that; or for anyone to discourage or mischaracterize an honest difference of views among the synod fathers. That’s especially true as it applies to cardinals. One of their main jobs is to offer their best counsel to the Pope. So I suppose you need to ask America’s editors why they ran their story. The reason escapes me.

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How a ‘culture of distraction’ is keeping millennials from marrying

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 20, 2015

(Ivan Galashchuk via shutterstock.com)

Washington, D.C. — Consumerism. A culture of distraction. Fear of commitment. These are some of the factors driving today’s young people away from marriage, said a theologian reflecting on the words of Pope Francis in the U.S.

“In short, the habits of life promoted by the culture prior to marriage scarcely help form in young people the habits needed for a life of marriage and family,” Dr. David L. Schindler told CNA in a recent interview.

Dr. Schindler is the dean emeritus at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

“Young Catholics” are not immune to this “cultural trend wherein the time between ages 20 and 30 becomes a period when you graduate from college and get an apartment, and you live and you get to know people and have a lot of space for yourself,” he said.

The problem with this trend is that when young people finally make up their minds to get married, they are not prepared for such a commitment, because “it makes all kinds of demands. It interrupts careers, for example,” Schindler noted.

He referenced the words of Pope Francis, who warned Congress and the U.S. bishops during his visit to the United States last month that the culture is a key contributor to the phenomenon of young people choosing not to get married.

In his Sept. 26 address to U.S. bishops in Philadelphia, Pope Francis stated that “we are living in a culture that pushes young people not to form families: some because they don’t have the material resources to realize a wedding, or a life together. But others just choose this because they think they’re better off this way – but that’s the temptation, to not lay a foundation, to not have a family.”

He went on to say that in a society with more large retail stores and fewer small neighborhood shops, choices are more abundant but business and relationships have become more impersonal. With the rise of social media and virtual “friends” and “followers,” many suffer from “loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized,” the Pope said.

Living in this state, youth are thus “paralyzed” when faced with the prospect of marriage and put off their decision until conditions are “perfect.”

“Meanwhile, life goes on, without really being lived to the full,” Francis added. “For knowledge of life’s true pleasures only comes as the fruit of a long-term, generous investment of our intelligence, enthusiasm and passion.”

The problem Pope Francis was diagnosing takes multiple forms today, Dr. Schindler said.

First, a “culture of distraction” hinders people from pursuing a deeper relationship with God through daily contemplative prayer – which is the most important thing a person can do, especially to combat the negative effects of this culture, he said.

“We are greatly afflicted today with an activist Christianity that is increasingly enabled by our omnipresent technological devices,” he said.

“The problem is that, if you’re not centered in the one thing necessary, which is the relationship to God,” he added, “then you end up searching for depth and for infinity of some sort, but it’s inevitably a bad infinity. It’s just one thing after another, instead of something that takes you into the true depth of reality.”

Another false promise of today’s culture is that commitment is bad because it is by nature exclusive, depriving us of other choices, Schindler explained. Thus, “we have difficulty in saying ‘forever’.”

However, he added, commitment “enables inclusivity of the right sort – an integrated inclusivity that enables reaching the depths and not merely the surfaces of love.”

For example, an Olympic athlete or a professional musician has spent years perfecting his craft and saying no to many other distractions and commitments along the way. Only through limiting his options and saying “no” to many other good things could an artist or athlete become great, Schindler explained.

In the same way, a couple can only achieve a deep love for each other through exclusivity, commitment, and sacrifice. “Marriage is about relationship and love and being present to other people in a way that takes time, involves sacrifice, and the like,” he said.

Because many do not have deep relationships with God and others – which are “necessary” to our very being, Schindler said – there is a “poverty” here that is key to understanding Pope Francis when he talks about caring for the poor.

“The people that really, truly, suffer the most in our culture and most need our assistance are the people that are without relation,” he said. These include unborn persons who are rejected by their parents, as well as those who lack a “coherent family.”

Schindler also stressed that the effects of today’s culture don’t just reach young single people; they also affect even those who get married and have children.

“In a word, the answer to consumerism is coherent relationships – and coherent means relationships where people don’t walk away when it gets difficult, where they’re in it with you forever,” he said.

For many young people who are the children of divorced parents, this is a major problem.

People approach marriage today as if they’re buying a house, Schindler said. Just like they might “upgrade” to a new house at the first opportunity, they may divorce and find another spouse they feel fits their needs better down the road.

However, “the root reason why divorce is evil,” he continued, is because the child “is not merely metaphorically but truly the unity of the two spouses.” Thus if the spouses split and divorce, the child’s very identity is “split.”

“The price children, and men and women, are paying for this in our culture today is unimaginable,” he said.

And when couples do get married, many turn to contraception to prevent children or in-vitro fertilization to create them, Schindler continued. Both of these practices violate Church teaching, because they undermine children as a gift, treating them as an object or a product that one is entitled to when one feels that it will “fit” into their life plans.

With all these problems and negative effects presented to us by a consumeristic culture, what is the best remedy for young Catholics?

First and foremost, it is “daily prayer,” Schindler insisted, “by which I mean, especially in our culture, truly contemplative prayer” that is not self-centered, but rather silent “adoration and listening” before God.

“You can’t reach God, who infinitely transcends us, without at the same time reaching into your own depths, which involves being quiet,” he said.

“It’s not very glamorous to propose prayer,” he admitted. “But I think we need most to follow the saints. We don’t need more administration and more programs and the multiplication of websites and the multiplication of meetings. All those things may have their place, but they usually come at the expense of remaining mostly on the surface of things.”

When you practice contemplative prayer, he said, “you think about things differently. You become more patient. Your dealings with people, what you expect out of life, all those things unfold differently.”

In addition to prayer, young people need to personally encounter the witness of strong marriages and religious communities, which can inspire them to make commitments of their own, Schindler stressed.

“Young people will get over their fear of commitment when they see and experience its being lived,” he said. “Whatever else we do, we must put before them an alternative that shows the beauty of a freedom that has said forever, that is being lived – above all in families and in consecrated life.”

“We need to show them the beauty of local community, of the depth of joy that can come from ‘staying in place’ and not moving about so incessantly,” he said.

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Denver archbishop: Would German bishops side with Henry VIII or Thomas More?

by CNA/EWTN News • October 20, 2015

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver gives a catechesis session during World Youth Day in Rio July 25, 2013. (Estefania Aguirre/CNA)

Denver, CO — If divorced-and-remarried Catholics should receive communion, as Cardinal Walter Kasper and many of the German bishops suggest, does that mean St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher died for nothing?

In his latest column Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver asked this question and pointed to similarities between Cardinal Kasper’s push for allowing remarried Catholics to receive communion and English bishops granting Henry VIII’s “annulment.”

“As with those who advocate for communion for the civilly remarried, the English bishops were uncomfortable with embracing divorce and remarriage outright,” he said in his Oct. 19 column.

“Instead, they chose to bend the law to the individual circumstances of the case with which they were confronted, and King Henry VIII was granted an ‘annulment’ — on a fraudulent basis and without the sanction of Rome.”

The case for Henry VIII’s divorce came from a “strong utilitarian argument”: the king’s personal happiness and the well-being of the country.

Similarly, Archbishop Aquila said, some of the German bishops at the Synod on the Family “are pushing for the Church to allow those who are both divorced and remarried to receive communion, while other bishops around the world are insisting the Church cannot change Christ’s teaching.”

Two men we now recognize as saints, Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher, refused to join England’s bishops in recognizing the king’s divorce and remarriage. Both men were beheaded and later canonized.

Now similar arguments are being heard in Rome as some of the German bishops are calling for divorced-and-remarried Catholics to be able to receive communion, the archbishop observed.

“And this begs the question: Do the German bishops believe that Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher sacrificed their lives in vain?”

In contrast to Cardinal Kasper’s comment that “heroism is not for the average Christian,” Jesus tells us plainly that “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” the Denver archbishop said.

While those who find themselves “on the margins of the faith” must be welcomed with mercy in the Church and parish life, he noted, we must also remember that “mercy always speaks the truth, never condones sin, and recognizes that the Cross is at the heart of the Gospel.”

What is offered by those who support communion for divorced-and-remarried Catholics is “cheap grace,” Archbishop Aquila said, citing Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work, “The Cost of Discipleship.”

“Jesus showed us throughout his ministry that heroic sacrifice is required to follow him,” he said.

When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to him, Jesus first protected her from her accusers. Then, he told her to turn from her old ways and “sin no more,” the archbishop said.

He contrasted this approach with that of Cardinal Kasper, who holds that we “can’t say whether it is ongoing adultery” when a divorced Christian engages in “sexual relations” with a new partner.

However, Archbishop Aquila said, “the Catholic Church has always taught that divorce and remarriage is simply adultery by another name,” according to Christ’s own teaching in Mt. 5:32, Mk. 10:12 and Lk. 16:18.

“On remarriage, and many other issues, no one would say that the Church’s teaching, which is Christ’s, is easy,” he acknowledged. However, the teaching is clear and the Church must abide by it.

“Let us pray that all concerned will listen to those words of eternal life, no matter how difficult!”

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With release of religious freedom report, global watchdog gets funding renewal

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 20, 2015

The U.S. Capitol building. (Phil Roeder via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill reauthorizing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, ending a period of speculation about the future of the religious freedom watchdog.

The extension comes two days after the release of annual State Department report on global religious freedom, for which the commission is an advisor.

Senate bill S. 2078 reauthorizes the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through September 30, 2019 with some amendments made to the organization’s operations.

Congress had granted the commission a nine-month temporary extension last December, and the House included a temporary extension in its stopgap spending bill that saved it from expiring this year at the end of September. The House later passed the Senate bill on Oct. 6 and sent it to the president to be signed into law.

The U.S. Bishops Conference had asked for the commission’s reauthorization in an Aug. 26 letter to Congress, calling religious freedom “critical to the health of societies” and warning of “a worldwide pandemic of religious intolerance.”

The conference also praised USCIRF for “its vital role in promoting human dignity and human rights around the world by monitoring and promoting religious freedom.”

USCIRF was set up under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 as an independent government religious freedom watchdog that monitors abuses of human rights and religious freedom around the world. It issues an annual report on the global state of religious freedom and makes recommendations to the State Department before the agency’s yearly religious freedom report is published.

Included in these recommendations are countries USCIRF says the State Department should add to its list of “Countries of Particular Concern,” or countries with serious violations of religious freedom that are “systematic, ongoing, and egregious.”

The U.S. can take various courses of action concerning such countries, including imposing economic sanctions or negotiating a bilateral agreement.

Although USCIRF had recommended that eight new countries be designated as countries of particular concern, the State Department made no additions to the CPC list in its 2014 International Religious Freedom report. Nine countries occupy the current list — Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

USCIRF had recommended that Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam be added to the list.

It added that the agency should expand its definition of “countries of particular concern” to include countries where a non-state actor is committing serious and continued abuses of religious freedom and the government is either non-existent or powerless to stop the abuses.

The State Department’s 2014 International Religious Freedom report, published last Wednesday, did highlight the rise of religious persecution by non-state rebel and terror groups in Asia and Africa. Non-state actors “are now the principal persecutors and preventers of religious tolerance and practice,” Secretary of State John Kerry warned in his remarks introducing the report.

In Iraq and Syria, for example, forces of the Islamic State have conducted a systematic campaign of terror and violence, killing and displacing hundreds of thousands of Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims, the report noted.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, the terror group Boko Haram – whose name means, “Western education is sinful” – continued its bloody “quest to impose its political and religious beliefs,” the report stated, killing “more people in 2014 than the previous five years of the conflict combined” according to estimates.

In addition, 2014 saw a disturbing rise in public anti-Semitism in Western Europe, the report noted, which “left many pondering the viability of Jewish communities in some countries.” This largely took the form of hate speech and the desecration of synagogues and Jewish memorials, but it did erupt in violence like with the killing of four at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in May of 2014.

Religious freedom advocates hailed the primacy given in the report to non-state actors as the top violators of religious freedom.

“I’m really happy with the direction they’re going,” said Professor Robert Destro of the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, about the State Department in an interview with CNA. He admitted that the inclusion of “non-state actors” in the report was the “biggest thing” he was looking for when reading it.

“The fact that this report gives more attention to violent Islamist extremism is to be welcomed,” added Dr. Tom Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

However, although the State Department’s reports have generally diagnosed the “problem” well, a good report does not automatically mean good policy, Farr noted.

“The United States should have an active, aggressive, all-hands-on- deck policy of advancing the institutions and habits of religious freedom in key countries around the world,” he said.

The agency’s Ambassador at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein, has been “stellar,” Farr continued, but he must have the proper support for his job.

“He needs the authority and the resources to develop strategies and programs that are more than reports and words,” Farr stressed.

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U.S. NEWS

In wake of papal visit, pro-life opinion rises in United States

by CNA/EWTN News • October 20, 2015

Pope Francis addresses the United States Congress, Sept. 24, 2015. (L’Osservatore Romano)

Bridgeport, CT — Pope Francis’ visit to the United States has given a boost to Americans’ stated support for the pro-life cause, the results of a survey conducted this month suggest.

About 62 percent of Americans voiced support for life at every stage of its development, including the unborn, according to a Marist Poll conducted this month. The survey shows an increase of six percentage points since August.

Among practicing Catholics, about 81 percent agreed, an increase from 76 percent.

Americans’ support for religious freedom appeared to increase by seven percentage points to 85 percent, with practicing Catholics’ support increasing seven percentage points to 87 percent.

Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, said Pope Francis’ presentation of Catholic values “resonated in the minds and hearts of the American people.”

“His ability to generate so much consensus on such a diverse number of issues, some of which are seen as very complicated here, speaks to his ability to preach Gospel values convincingly, in our country and in our time,” Anderson said Oct. 19.

The Knights of Columbus sponsored the Marist Poll survey of 1,095 U.S. adult residents Oct. 1-9. It follows Pope Francis’ stops in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City during his Sept. 22-27 visit.

The results indicate Americans’ support for marriage as a union of one man and one woman increased four percentage points, to 55 percent. About 60 percent of practicing Catholics believe the Church’s teaching about marriage, an increase of seven percentage points.

About 84 percent of respondents agreed with the need for more respect for the earth and the environment, with 81 percent of practicing Catholic respondents in agreement – an increase of ten percentage points since the papal visit.

The papal trip appears to have given Americans clarity about the Pope’s vision for the Church. In April, only 43 percent of Americans and 73 percent of practicing Catholics said they were clear about the Pope’s vision. After his trip, 55 percent of Americans and 88 percent of practicing Catholics said the same.

About 74 percent of respondents said they view the Pope favorably, an increase from 58 percent in August. About 90 percent of practicing Catholics view the Pope favorably, an increase of seven percentage points.

Fewer than 24 percent of Americans saw the papal visit as political. Most agreed that it was “mostly about values,” the Knights of Columbus said.

Most Americans said they followed media coverage of the papal visit in some way, as did 96 percent of practicing Catholics. Seventy percent of practicing Catholics said they followed the coverage “a great deal” or “a good amount.”

Over half of Americans feel better about their own faith because of the papal visit, as do 86 percent of Catholics. Poll respondents said they were more likely to engage in charitable activity as a result of the trip.

Americans do appear to diverge with Pope Francis on the death penalty. Only 41 percent of respondents opposed the death penalty, though opposition appeared to slightly increase after the papal visit.

The Marist Poll claims a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points for the sample of all U.S. respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 7.7 percentage points for Catholic respondents.

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal charitable organization with more than 1.9 million members worldwide.

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U.S. NEWS

Major evangelical group recognizes growing opposition to death penalty

by CNA/EWTN News • October 21, 2015

The lethal injection room at New Mexico State Penitentiary. (Ken Piorkowsk via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Evangelicals has issued an expanded statement on the death penalty that for the first time recognizes Christian opposition to state execution of criminals.

“A growing number of evangelicals call for government resources to be shifted away from the death penalty,” National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson said Oct. 19.

“Our statement allows for their advocacy and for the advocacy of those of goodwill who support capital punishment in limited circumstances as a valid exercise of the state and as a deterrent to crime.”

The National Association of Evangelicals’ Board of Directors approved the new resolution Oct. 15 at its semiannual meeting.

Previous statements had focused only on arguments in favor of the death penalty.

The new statement says “leaders from various parts of the evangelical family have made a biblical and theological case either against the death penalty or against its continued use in a society where biblical standards of justice are difficult to reach.”

The National Association of Evangelicals’ resolution cited the fallibility of human systems of justice and the potential for wrongful convictions. It also noted a desire to advance “God’s grace, Christian hope and life in Christ.”

It acknowledged a “growing number of evangelicals” who advocate that the government shift resources away from the death penalty to favor life in prison without parole for criminal offenders.

The statement cited Mosaic law’s “stringent” standards for witnesses in death penalty cases, including requirements of at least two eyewitnesses willing to stake their own lives on the truthfulness of their testimony.

“The contemporary American system is unlikely to reach such standards of evidence, and given the utter seriousness of capital crimes, the alarming frequency of post-conviction exonerations leads to calls for radical reform,” the resolution said.

In addition, the resolution recognized evangelicals who support the death penalty in legitimate circumstances where evidence is overwhelming and there are no issues of the accused’s limited mental competency. They see the death penalty “as a legitimate exercise of the state’s responsibility to administer justice, and as a deterrent to crime,” the resolution said.

“Despite differing views on capital punishment, evangelicals are united in calling for reform to our criminal justice system.”

The National Association of Evangelicals says it represents over 45,000 local churches in almost 40 different denominations.

The Pew Research Center in April reported that 71 percent of white Evangelicals support the death penalty, compared to 53 percent of Catholics, 48 percent of the religiously unaffiliated and 37 percent of Black Protestants.

While the Catholic Church has historically allowed the use of the death penalty, Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” noted growing opposition to capital punishment and observed modern society’s ability to render criminals harmless without denying them “the chance to reform.” The encyclical taught that government must limit itself to “bloodless means” of protecting society where possible in order to conform to human dignity.

Pope Francis went beyond this in his September 2015 speech to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. He called for the global abolition of the death penalty.

“I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes,” the Pope said in his Sept. 24 speech.

Death penalty opponents have successfully persuaded many drug companies to halt the sale of several drugs for use in executions. The State of Ohio has delayed executions until 2017 due to its lack of supplies for the lethal drugs.

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U.S. NEWS

Aid for Syrian refugee crisis falls far short, Congress told

by CNA/EWTN News • October 22, 2015

Migrants in Europe. (Sean Callahan/Catholic Relief Services)

Washington, D.C. — Although numerous countries and organizations are working together and putting billions of dollars into relief efforts, “the scale of suffering has outpaced their ability to respond,” said Catholic Relief Services COO Sean Callahan.

“Despite these generous responses, the exodus to Europe cries out that so much more must be done,” Callahan told members of Congress on Tuesday.

Over the last three years, Catholic Relief Services and their partners have assisted nearly 800,000 people and spent over $110 million in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Churches, NGOs, and neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan have leant a helping hand to refugees.

But even the cooperation of all these groups is not enough, said Callahan, who recently traveled to southeastern Europe where he saw firsthand the thousands of refugees entering Europe each day.

He spoke about his experiences in an Oct. 20 testimony before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission.

“It is heart-breaking to imagine walking in their shoes; to imagine one’s life in such chaos,” he said. “First, suffering violence in one’s home community; then biding time in a neighboring country, humbly accepting charity. And then finally to conclude that your family has no future and so someone must undertake a supreme act of love and sacrifice, risking a treacherous and unknown journey so that the rest of the family may live.”

Guided by little more than their phones and social media updates about which border crossings are open, many refugees run into serious challenges, and some are taken advantage of along their trip, which costs roughly $3,000 a person, Callahan said.

Under the umbrella of Caritas Internationalis, Catholic Relief Services is working with partners in Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia as well as other faith-based organizations.

Right now, a large focus is just making sure the refugees’ basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter are being met. Since many of those crossing over from Syria are sleeping out in the open, Catholic Relief Services and its partners have set up shelters with beds, showers and toilets. For those who need medical attention, an aid station staffed by doctors has been set up on the Hungarian border to care for “the most vulnerable refugees.”

Looking forward, Callahan indicated that the crisis has become so great that long-term relief must be sought.

“The exodus of Syrians and Iraqis from the region signals a new phase in the Syrian conflict,” he said.

He urged support of the bi-partisan Middle East Refugee Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act which would release 1 billion dollars from the federal government for response to the refugee crisis, including resettlement of some to the United States.

So far the U.S. has provided $4.5 billion in funding, but according to experts, $20 billion a year in the Middle East and $30 billion a year Europe would help fund “adequate” support for the refugee crisis, Callahan said.

“We must continue robust funding and seek to collaborate with other donors, including the Gulf States, to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.”

Callahan suggested that efforts to protect and educate child refugees – of whom there are as many as 1.5 million – be redoubled.

The U.S. can also continue its “historic leadership in refugee resettlement” by opening its doors to significantly more refugees, he said.

“When the U.S. helps to resettle particularly vulnerable populations, including religious and ethnic minorities and those with complex medical needs, it helps each the burden of neighboring countries hosting particularly large refugee populations.”

Looking at the crisis on an even larger scale, the U.S. should work towards a “political solution” to the conflict in Syria, Callahan continued.

“The Administration should work tirelessly with other governments to obtain a ceasefire, initiate serious negotiations, provide impartial humanitarian assistance, and encourage efforts to build an inclusive society in Syria, including Christians and other minorities,” he said.

Similarly, the U.S. could work with the United Nations to create greater access to humanitarian support in Syria by calling for adherence to U.N. Security Council resolutions 2139 and 2165, which allow for “rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and authorizes U.N. humanitarian agencies to provide border-crossing assistance with the notification, rather than the consent of, the Syrian government.”

“Unless the United States and other actors reinforce these resolutions, both these lives and the future of international humanitarian law are at great risk,” Callahan stressed.

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U.S. NEWS

U.S. House votes to defund Planned Parenthood, but not without controversy

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • October 23, 2015

Participants in the student-organized Women Betrayed rally against Planned Parenthood at the U.S. Capitol, July 28, 2015. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington, D.C. — Amid continuing controversy over fetal tissue harvesting at abortion clinics, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to defund Planned Parenthood and to reroute funding to community health centers.

“Women have the most to gain from congressional action to reroute these tax dollars to community and rural health centers, which provide comprehensive health care services to women, but do not abort the lives of unborn children and harvest their body parts,” the pro-life political action committee the Susan B. Anthony List said Oct. 23.

The bill also guts key parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, including the repeal of the law’s individual health insurance mandate and the employer health insurance mandate. This ultimately drew the opposition of Democratic pro-lifers.

“We fully support reallocating Planned Parenthood’s Title X funding to the 13,000 community health centers and rural health care clinics,” said Kristen Day, president of Democrats for Life of America.

However, she objected that linking the defunding of Planned Parenthood to gutting the health care law “will cost votes and defeat the bipartisan effort to prevent federal funds from going to the largest abortion provider in the nation.”

The Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 passed the House Friday on a party line vote, 240-189. Only one Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, voted for it.

The act is a budget reconciliation bill that temporarily blocks any mandatory funding of abortion providers while the House continues to investigate Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. The bill would also block any Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood affiliates.

Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million in public funds per year. Most of this funding comes through Medicaid payments and funds from Title X, a federal health program for low-income Americans.

The House bill also invests $235 million into community health centers, touted by pro-life advocates as a women’s health care alternative to Planned Parenthood. For example, many federally qualified health centers offer mammograms that Planned Parenthood clinics do not.

These health centers do not perfrom abortions.

There are around 9,000 federally qualified health centers in the U.S. that serve almost 23 million patients yearly, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List. There are also 4,000 rural health centers across the country.

Planned Parenthood has become embroiled in controversy after the release of a series of undercover investigative video reports by the citizen journalist group Center for Medical Progress. They showed Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the offering of fetal body parts of aborted babies to harvesters for compensation.

The series of videos showed Planned Parenthood doctors in California, Colorado, and Texas discussing how clinics partnered with different tissue harvesters.

Those producing the videos claimed the transactions were illegal under laws that allow only a “reasonable” compensation to cover operational expenses incurred in fetal tissue harvesting.

Planned Parenthood has denied that it broke any laws and accepted illegal compensation. The organization has announced that it would no longer accept any compensation for fetal tissue from harvesters.

Kristen Day said that support for Planned Parenthood funding declines “once people know the truth, that Planned Parenthood will continue to harvest body parts from aborted babies.”

In a Reuters poll released in August, support for federal funding of Planned Parenthood fell 20 percentage points after poll respondents heard a description of the videos.

About 54 percent of respondents initially supported federal funding of Planned Parenthood. According to the Reuters poll, after respondents heard about the videos only 34 percent said federal funding should continue. Another 39 percent backed an end to government funding.

Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, argued that even if Planned Parenthood clinics close because of lack of funding, the federal health centers will easily handle an influx of their clients.

At present, federally qualified health centers serve almost 23 million people per year, while Planned Parenthood serves under three million, Donovan said. If the organization lost its federal money and a proportional number of clinics had to close, the federal health centers could still easily handle the influx of women patients, he continued.

Also on Friday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced the members of a special panel to investigate Planned Parenthood. Two House committees have already launched separate investigations into the organization but have not concluded that it took part in illegal activity.

The Select Investigative Panel includes Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Vicki Hartzler (R-Mo.), and Mia Love (R-Utah).

Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser praised the panel, saying it includes “all-star” pro-life members.

“This select panel is an encouraging restart to an investigative process that is long overdue,” she said. “We are encouraged to see such passionate and articulate pro-life women and men – including doctors and a nurse – lead the charge to expose the abortion industry’s exploitative practices.”

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U.S. NEWS

Why one Catholic entrepreneur is starting a ‘food revolution’ for the sick

by Maggie Maslak (CNA/EWTN News) • October 23, 2015

Chris Faddis of Bene Plates. (Chris Faddis)

Phoenix, AZ — When his wife Angela died of colon cancer in 2012, Chris Faddis knew he had to commemorate her life with something big – not because she had died from cancer, but because he had witnessed the shocking reality of malnutrition in his own wife and in other chronically ill patients.

“With Angela’s cancer, we knew it was terminal and there wasn’t that much that could be done - except keep her alive as long as possible. And nutrition was a very important part of that,” Faddis told CNA.

“When we left the hospital to go to hospice, I noticed a woman walking out of the dining room with a bag of food … there was a whole slew of patients who couldn’t cook for themselves, so when they came in for treatment, they would take food with them and freeze it until they came back again,” he said.

That is when Faddis decided to found Bene Plates, an organization that provides nutrient-rich meals to chronically ill patients across the country, delivering the prepared food right to their front doors.

During the several years of research that followed, Faddis found that a whopping 85 percent of cancer patients suffer from malnutrition, and 40 percent end up dying from malnutrition rather than from the disease itself.

“We needed to do something - we needed to provide food for these people,” Faddis decided, encouraged by his dying wife and a good friend, who was also a nutritionist.

A nationally known Catholic speaker, entrepreneur and author, Faddis took on the challenge of providing nutrition for the sick in 2012. It’s been three years in the making, but in November, his team will officially launch the Bene Plates meal delivery program nationwide.

“It’s been a long process of research - our nutrition guide that we have developed for our company is 130-pages long,” Faddis noted, saying that years of delving into scientific evidence and nutrition have helped in perfecting the vision behind Bene Plates.

In addition to Faddis, the Bene Plates team includes Dr. John Oertle, who is the director of nutrition, and Fr. Leo Patalinghug, who serves as menu advisor and chef. Fr. Leo is best known for hosting the television show, Savoring our Faith, which airs on EWTN.

Bene Plates focuses its menu on clean, toxin-free foods with a micro-nutrient dense foundation and no processed ingredients. Its meals also include a variety of spices and fresh herbs, which not only add flavor, but also have significant health benefits.

“Truly, God gave us everything that we need. Spices and herbs are anti-inflammatory, so they are going to help reduce inflammation in patients,” Faddis said.

Even though Bene Plates has designed a general menu of nutrient-rich, healthy foods, the company also wants to cater the meal plan to every individual’s specific needs, providing gluten-free and vegetarian options as well.

“Every patient is different,” Faddis noted, saying they are trying to ensure “that the patient is able to eat the food, that it tastes good for them, and that we are giving them what they need at that time in their disease.”

“The way it would work is that the patient would see a nutritionist – we have a credentialed nutritionist on our team – and have a full evaluation of everything, looking at their diagnosis and disease stage,” he explained.

From there, blood tests would be taken to gauge the patient’s nutrient and antioxidant levels - giving the nutritionist and chef the information necessary to plan the patient’s diet, according to their own individual nutritional requirements.

After that, the food is prepared, packaged, and shipped out – delivering anywhere between 7-21 meals per week, depending on each patient’s specifications. Because Bene Plates is FDA-certified, it is able to ship to any home in the United States.

Bene Plates has already launched its nutrition program and will officially begin delivering meals to the patients who have subscribed next month. The company has also started a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds and awareness leading up to the launch, offering special deals and rewards for supporters.

Moving forward, Faddis has big plans for the growth of his food revolution. The first phase is focused on home delivery.

“The goal, our initial goal, is to be serving about 1,000 patients every month. From there, we will see where we grow – we might have to open another kitchen,” he said.

In the future, Faddis wants to move Bene Plates into specific facilities, such as nursing homes, where they could minister to the elderly or to patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s. In addition, a cold-pressed juice menu and even a food truck are on the back-burner for Bene Plates.

Faddis would also like to provide nutritious meals for the patients who can’t afford them.

“We are going to begin the Angela Faddis Foundation, so anyone who needs this food but cannot afford it would be able to apply for a grant,” he explained.

Additionally, Faddis is working with Fr. Leo Patalinghug to provide meals for hospice patients who are facing the end of the lives.

“We might have patients who are at the end of their life,” Faddis reflected, “and all they are getting out of food is comfort and just some sense of dignity or possibly enjoyment.”

More information about Bene Plates and its ‘food revolution’ can be found on its KickStarter page.

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FEATURES

Some scary movies worth seeing this weekend

by Carl Kozlowski • October 16, 2015

Everyone loves getting a little scared during Halloween season, and this weekend offers two distinctly different kinds of frights for distinctly different audiences – yet both are highly recommended as being among the best films of the year so far.

“Goosebumps” offers Jack Black at his best in a “Ghostbusters”-quality romp that is the most entertaining family movie of the year (though any age will absolutely love it on their own, regardless of family), while the powerful indie drama “Room” offers a unique kind y of fright that’s strictly for adults before transforming into an incredibly uplifting and one-of-a-kind experience.

We’ll start with “Goosebumps,” since I can’t recommend it highly enough for any viewer of any age. Based on a series of children’s novels that were half-humorous, half-horror stories involving monsters on rampages and kids who always saved the day, “Goosebumps” has long confounded Hollywood producers eager to build a successful film on top of the books, which have sold 400 million copies worldwide. There were just too many wild adventures to choose from.

But Sony Pictures has succeeded, big time, by casting Black as the actual, real-life author of the “Goosebumps” books: R.L. Stine. In the movie, he plays the dad of a mysterious and witty teen girl named Hannah (Odeya Rush), who loves surprising and joking with her new next-door neighbor and fellow teen, Zach (Dylan Minnette) – who has just moved to Hannah’s small Delaware town from New York City with his mom after the death of his father.

At first, Zach is content to just blend into his new town, but when R.L. keeps warning Zach to stay away from Hannah before Zach sees him yelling at her, he’s afraid she’s being abused and enlists his odd and geeky new friend Champ (Ryan Lee, who steals the show) to go save her. But it turns out that what’s really happening is much stranger, as the two would-be heroes sneak into his house and discover who R.L. is and that his handwritten collection of first edition books have a surprising secret: when they are opened, the creatures in each story actually spring to life and enter the real world.

And so it is that an epic and hilarious series of misadventures ensues over the course of that long night, with the teen trio and Stine himself racing across their town to catch up with everything from an abominable snowman and a werewolf to a giant praying mantis. The only person who can stop the creatures is Stine, first by luring the creatures back into the books they sprang out of, and then by writing an entirely new novel that imagines the capture of every creature they’ve unleashed.

“Goosebumps” has a perfectly pitched tone, balancing laughs and thrills in equal measure thanks to a terrific script by Darren Lemke and expert direction by Rob Letterman. Black is the only possible choice for the role of Stine, since he plays perfectly into his unique screen persona with just the right amount of mischievous energy to be appealing to both kids and adults.

The trio of teen actors is perfectly cast as well, mixing comedy, a bit of sadness and a whole lot of action into performances that bodes well for long careers, and especially further monster-mashup adventures. Tie all this together with great monster effects, and you’ve got a real winner anytime of year, but especially perfect for the Halloween season. This PG-rated film is OK for all ages, but while it’s likely even more fun in 3D, it’s perfectly entertaining in the normal 2D format I saw it in.

Meanwhile, “Room” – which opens this weekend in New York and LA before expanding nationwide on Oct. 30 – offers an entirely different kind of chills in its first hour or so. It tells the emotionally wrenching but ultimately highly uplifting story of a five-year-old boy who has spent his entire life trapped in a storage shed room with his mother, who was forced to conceive him when she was raped by a man who kidnapped her as a teenager.

While this might sound like an unbelievably bleak and hopeless idea for a movie, the fact that it’s presented through the eyes of young Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his innocent view of the world around him mitigates matters considerably. We see and hear his thoughts, which are fantastical views of the limited world around him – falsely positive and imaginative views taught to him by his Ma (Brie Larson, in a performance that merits a surefire Oscar nomination) in order to distract him from their horrific circumstances.

Those circumstances include still being under the control of Ma’s kidnapper, Old Nick, who brings them barely edible food for survival but subjects her to forced sex on a regular basis outside the view of both Jack and the audience. After Nick attempts to choke her one night in a fit of anger, Ma decides it’s time to give Jack a crash course in the real world and teach him how to carry out a daring escape plan that’s their only hope for survival in the real world.

That plan is so daring and nervewracking in its execution that the audience I saw it with all hunched forward on the edge of their seats in slack-jawed suspense. I do have to give away that it succeeds in the most unlikely of ways, because the mother and son’s newfound freedom opens up an entirely new story of opportunity as well as difficulties adjusting to the outside world.

It’s exceedingly rare to find a movie like “Room,” which has such a unique plot (by Emma Donohue, based on her own novel of the same name) that it offers up three movies in one: a claustrophobic drama of tragedy, terror and selfless motherly devotion, a nervewracking thriller and an uplifting tale of wonder, all in the space of two hours. This is absolutely a movie for adults, but it does handle its most disturbing aspects offscreen and with great restraint, and aside from its initially harrowing subject matter, its R rating only comes from about ten F words and a few uses of God’s name in vain, rather than a fusillade of profanity.

As its characters manage to find hope even from the bleakest of circumstances, “Room” also manages to make viewers appreciate every little positive aspect of their own lives. This is meaningful art of the highest order, and a thorough recommendation for viewers who can handle its emotional rollercoaster.

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.com 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 re-launching it in January 2014 after a five-month sabbatical. He lives in Los Angeles.

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FEATURES

Prosperity Gospel is a travesty of the Good News of Christ

by Msgr. M. Francis Mannion • October 19, 2015

Perhaps the most appalling aspect of televangelism is what is called “the prosperity gospel,” that is the conviction that God rewards faithful Christians with money and a prosperous mode of life when they support a ministry financially.

Sums of money that often stretch the finances of the faithful to breaking point are implicitly encouraged by television pastors. By donating “seed” money to the ministry, the congregant is promised a bountiful harvest.

This kind of preaching and fundraising is associated with television evangelists like Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Bishop Eddie Long, and Creflo Dollar (that’s his real name!). One or other of the many “prosperity” televangelists may be seen on television virtually every night.

The underlying theology of prosperity preaching is based on passages like Deuteronomy 18:8, which states: “Remember, then, it is the Lord, your God, who gives you the power to acquire wealth.” (Taken out of the context of the whole Bible, this quotation seems to legitimize the televangelist message.)

The fact that prosperity does not materialize for many givers does not seem to trouble them. On the other hand, whatever small financial good appears in their lives is interpreted as God’s gift.

The most scandalous aspect of this mode of evangelism is that the preachers themselves are the recipients of large amounts of money, principally through enormous salaries.

Many commentators complain about the lavish lifestyles of preachers that are funded by “seed” money given by the less prosperous. Creflo Dollar recently purchased a $64 million private jet — and his congregation approved of the move as an indication that Dollar was being blessed by God.

The principle of divine blessing is used to justify the multi-million dollar salaries and benefits (including luxurious homes, lavish vacation properties, and private jets.) But they are beyond criticism by adherents, because to criticize them is to questions God’s manifold blessings.

There is also the notion, derived from the Swiss reformer John Calvin (and assumed generally into Protestantism), that material and financial prosperity is a sign of God’s blessing of the righteous. By the same logic, those who are poor and struggle with poverty must be sinners and lack God’s blessing.

I am fairly certain that today there is no incidence of Catholic clergy or organizations directly preaching the prosperity gospel. But a practice not dissimilar to this was present in the scandal that led in part to the Protestant Reformation. Catholic preachers of that era did not promise financial prosperity (or live lavish lifestyles), but they did declare that souls could be delivered from purgatory through financial contributions to the Church.

While the sale of indulgences to support Roman expenditures was expunged from Catholicism after the Council of Trent, there is a danger that parish and diocesan stewardship programs can be tainted with the prosperity gospel and its theology. I myself have heard people give testimony at Mass intimating that their stewardship contributions have brought a substantial improvement in their personal finances.

Collections at Mass and fundraising programs in parishes and dioceses need to avoid assuming the elements of the prosperity gospel. The notion that God gives back financial or material gain in response to donations made to the Church is a travesty of the Gospel of Christ, who was himself poor, and lived frugally on what was offered to him.

There is a warning in all this for clergy, who are tempted to acquire homes, cars, and styles of life that go against the virtue of poverty incumbent on all Christians.

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 Society’s journal, Antiphon. At the invitation of Cardinal Francis George of Chicago he founded the Mundelein Liturgical Institute in 2000.

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‘The Martian’ and why each life matters

by Bishop Robert Barron • October 20, 2015

Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers!

Ridley Scott’s The Martian is a splendidly told tale of survival and pluck, reminiscent of the novel Robinson Crusoe and the films Life of Pi and Castaway. In this case, the hero is Mark Watney, an astronaut on a mission to Mars who is left behind by his crewmates when he is presumed dead after being lost during a devastating storm. Through sheer determination and an extraordinary application of his scientific know-how, Watney manages to survive. For example, realizing that his food supplies would run out long before a rescue mission could ever reach him, he endeavors to produce water and, through some creative fertilizing, grow an impressive crop of potatoes. At another critical juncture in the narrative, as his life hangs in the balance, Watney says, “I’ll just have to science the s*** out of this!”

In time, NASA officials, through a careful observation of surveillance photos, realize that Watney is still alive and they attempt to contact him. Some of the most thrilling and emotionally moving scenes in the film have to do with these initial communications across tens of millions of miles. Eventually, the crew who left him behind discover that he is alive and they contrive, with all of their strength and intelligence, to get him back. The film ends (spoiler alert!), with the now somewhat grizzled Watney back on earth, lecturing a class of prospective astronauts on the indispensability of practical scientific intelligence: “You solve one problem and then another and then another; and if you solve enough of them, you get to come home.” This summary speech communicates what appears to be the central theme of the movie: the beauty and power of the technical knowledge the sciences provide.

But I would like to explore another theme that is implicit throughout the film, namely, the inviolable dignity of the individual human being. The circumstances are certainly unique and Watney himself is undoubtedly an impressive person, but it remains nevertheless strange that people would move heaven and earth, spend millions of dollars, and in the case of the original crew, risk their lives in order to rescue this one man. If a clever, friendly, and exquisitely trained dog had been left behind on Mars, everyone would have felt bad, but no one, I think it’s fair to say, would have endeavored to go back for it. Now why is this the case? Much hinges upon how one answers that question.

The classical Christian tradition, with its roots in the Bible, would argue that there is a qualitative and not merely quantitative difference between human beings and other animals, that a human being is decidedly not simply an extremely clever ape. Unlike anything else in the material creation, we have been made, the Scriptures hold, according to God’s image and likeness, and this imaging has been construed by most of the masters of the theological tradition as a function of our properly spiritual capacities of mind and will.

With The Martian in mind, let me focus on the first of these. Like other animals, humans can take in the material world through sense experience, and they can hold those images in memory. But unlike any other animal, even the most intelligent, humans can engage in properly abstract thinking. In other words, they can think, not only about this or that particular state of affairs, but about fundamental patterns — what the medieval called “forms”— that make things what they are. The sciences — both theoretical and practical — depend upon and flow from precisely this kind of cogitation. But truly abstract thinking, which goes beyond any particularity grounded in matter, demonstrates that the principle of such reflection is not reducible to matter, that it has an immaterial or spiritual quality. And this implies that the mind or the soul survives the dissolution of the body, that it links us to the dimension of God. Plato showed this in a simple but compelling manner. When the mind entertains an abstract truth, say that 2 + 3 = 5, it has in a very real way left behind the world of shifting impressions and evanescent memories; it has, to use his still haunting metaphor, slipped free of the cave and entered a realm of light. And this explains why the very science so celebrated by The Martian is also the solution to the moral puzzle at the heart of the film. We will go to the ends of the universe to save an endangered person, precisely because we realize, inchoately or otherwise, that there is something uniquely precious about him or her. We know in our bones that in regard to a human being something eternal is at stake.

In the context of what Pope Francis has called our “throwaway culture,” where the individual human being is often treated as a means to an end, or worse, as an embarrassment or an annoyance to be disposed of, this is a lesson worth relearning.

Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries (wordonfire.org). He is the creator of two award-winning documentary series, Catholicism and Catholicism: The New Evangelization.

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Celebrating All Hallows’ Eve: Part II

by Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. • October 21, 2015

Editor’s note: Part one of this series can be read here.

Next to Christmas, Halloween is the most commercial and the most anticipated festivity of the year. Like Christmas, Halloween captures the American mindset long before the actual date. Whether or not the commercial world wants to admit it, Christmas is primarily a Christian religious feast celebrating the Nativity of the Lord’s birth. The commercial world probably has little awareness of the religious history of Halloween.

Like most cultures, the Judeo-Christian tradition is guided by cycles of time. Though distinct from civil time, sacred time is not separated from it but gives it meaning and makes it sacred. God is present and at work in history, and it is through the two concentric circles of civil and sacred time, that we live and work out our salvation. The Jewish liturgical year is highlighted by the holydays of Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah; the Muslim, by Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

Overview for All Hallows’ Eve

Catholic education is committed to have its students live the liturgical year as an integral part of their schooling. Celebrating All Hallows’ Eve is a splendid way for doing so. Diocesan committees on liturgy should join with school principals, teachers, and student leaders to plan well ahead of time for its students to celebrate the vigil of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, respectively.

Today, our youth look up to super-stars as role models. Some are worthy of admiration. The Church can boast of its own success stories of men and women who are worthy not only of admiration but also of imitation. Parents, teachers, and catechists can find countless success stories within the Judeo-Christian heritage. Donning period costumes of times when saints lived makes learning about one’s faith an enjoyable experience. It’s fun to dress like kings, queens, biblical heroes, Native American saints and saints who immigrated to this country. It’s fun to dress like those who befriended and worked among Native Americans, African Americans, and immigrants, teen-age saints, and founders of religious orders.

Modern-day martyrs have suffered and died for their faith in lands all over the world. There are martyrs such as the four Maryknoll women missionaries and the Jesuits slain in El Salvador, Asian martyrs, and those who continue to be martyred for their faith in Syria and other Mideast countries.

The Canonization of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Parents

Youngsters may choose to dress up like their own mothers and fathers, their grandparents or other revered relatives.

We should note that this past Sunday and during the ongoing Synod on the family, Pope Francis canonized Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. They are the first-ever married couple with children to be canonized in the same ceremony. Let us anticipate that more married couples will soon be canonized for their fidelity to such a difficult vocation, especially today with the sacredness of marriage under attack. Their example and recognition are much needed in today’s Church.

All five of their daughters entered religious life. In March of this year, the Pope recognized a miracle attributed to the French couple. They have been described as “an extraordinary witness of conjugal and family spirituality.” They lived a fervent Christianity, attending daily Mass, practicing asceticism, and visiting the elderly and the sick, even welcoming the poor into their home.

Planning Group Activities

A group’s creativity will vary as the members consider what activities will be chosen for All Hallows’ Eve. Children love to compose haiku, limericks, and poems. They may choose to write short paragraphs about their choices. Skits may be presented. Some children may want to dress up dolls in costumes, keep them, donate or sell them at a benefit for children in need. For the more ambitious, a marionette skit may be possible drawing together a number of saints in lively repartee.

Some families may want to host a party on All Hallows’ Eve featuring foods that include pumpkin in recipes — cupcakes, pie, bread, or fritters; doughnuts; apples and other fruits for dunking. With adult chaperones, children may process around their neighborhood in their saints’ costumes. These are only a few ideas that will perhaps spark others.

If children see educators earnestly planning for All Hallows’ Eve, they will gladly receive the Church’s celebration as an integral part of their Catholic education. Children instinctively recognize what is good, wholesome, and beautiful in contrast to what is sleazy and dangerous.

A Word of Caution

Despite the positive tone of this essay, some readers may feel that my suggestions have little chance against the ghoulish display of Halloween parades. They will still lock their doors each year and pray that it all quickly disappears, that they all retire to their homes without incident. My response: Above all, we continue to educate our readers and hope for changes in attitudes and activity.

The Church’s Year of Grace

It is the mind of the Church that through the course of “the Church’s year of grace,” all of us celebrate not only the mysteries of Jesus and the Mother of God but also the feasts of the saints in heaven. In his 1947 encyclical, Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII wrote: “Through the course of the liturgical year, … the Church is always striving to set forth examples of holiness for the faithful, that they, being moved by these examples, may adorn themselves with the virtues of the Redeemer Himself.”

Proud to Be Part of the Religious Minority

If devout Jews and Muslims proudly and publicly observe their liturgical holydays during the year, are they not prompting us Catholics to proclaim our faith as well? We are missionaries of a beautiful faith. As “the Church’s year of grace” is repeated one cycle after the other, it becomes the primary way in which Catholics can sacralize the year, the week, and the day — and All Hallows’ Eve.

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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Discrimination on trial

by Alice von Hildebrand • October 22, 2015

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil

Who put darkness for light

And light for darkness …” Isaiah 5:20

These words of the greatest prophet of the Old Testament should be the object of our daily meditation: Not only are they deadly serious, for the word “woe” is a very grave warning, but they are daily needed. Am I wrong in saying that living, as we do, in a world of lies, we are constantly tempted to follow the “crowd” for whom the word “truth”’ is anathema?

One of the very valuable messages of Kierkegaard is that we should read the greatest of all books, namely the Bible, on our knees, otherwise the danger is great that we shall interpret it wearing the distorted glasses of pride and arrogance. That there are so many “sects” all claiming to be Christian, is a serious warning: which one is fully faithful to Christ’s message? Moreover, in our society, the word truth is very un-popular, viewed as being by its very essence “narrow-minded”, and “un-democratic”. This was well expressed by one of my colleagues at Hunter: when I suggested that a key topic in teaching introduction to philosophy should be “what is truth”, he immediately interrupted me with the words: “Whose truth are you referring to?” One of the dogmas in academia is that, apart from mathematics and empirical sciences, everything else is up for grabs. In any “advanced” society each one is free to choose what is best adapted to his individual taste and lifestyle. Who is to tell me how I should live?

We should also keep in mind that, admirable as the human vocabulary is, it is rich in potential equivocations. Let us take the word “good”. Aristotle, whom St. Thomas calls “The Philosopher”, tells us that it is “what all men desire”. This sounds reasonable enough, but the difficulty is to determine whether what they desire is by that very fact, essentially good. Whatever pleases us is called good, but does the fact that something satisfies us is necessarily beneficial to the one desiring it? Is the possession of gold truly “good” for the avaricious person? Or is hard liquor good for the alcoholic? Or success good for the proud man? In other words, is good a “univocal” term? In his Ethics, Dietrich von Hildebrand has shed light on this crucial question. He tells us that by “good”, we can mean whatever gives us subjective satisfaction: we desire it for this very reason, but elementary wisdom teaches us that the fulfillment of such desires can be man’s downfall. Plato has seen this when he calls man his own worst enemy.

We can also call good what truly benefits us: either materially or physically or intellectually, or spiritually. There is clearly a hierarchy among “beneficial” goods for the person, and the wise man is the one who is aware of this hierarchy and respects it. Moreover a huge field opens up for what is “beneficial” for one person which might be harmful for another. Each single individual should develop his own talents and these talents differ from person to person; one medicine can be good for one patient, and deadly for another.

There is, however, one domain where “good” is desirable for all persons , that which is good by its very essence, and for this reason it is necessarily good for all men. In Christian terms, it is to achieve union with God. This makes no sense whatsoever for atheists: what they would call “good” is to have their name remembered in history, or that they have achieved “self fulfillment” – whatever that means. How many of us truly grasp what it means to be a “human person” – for alas, in their view man is just a more developed animal. Let me repeat: it is only for those who are ardent lovers of truth (as Socrates said; I want nothing but the truth) and those read the Bible on their knees that a new, magnificent horizon opens up.

When Isaiah refers to “Truth” and “Goodness”, he clearly has in mind an objective reality, independent of the human mind, which calls for reverent endorsement. Truth should be loved; goodness should be pursued. Such goods are good not because they benefit us but they benefit us because of their very goodness.

Woe indeed to those who purposely call truth error and error truth and woe to the person who refuse to “discriminate” between them. Failure to do so is not only intellectually stupid, but morally wrong. This is what Isaiah is telling us, and we should listen to his message.

However, there are many domains where to make distinction is inevitable: between intelligent and stupid, between good looking and … not so good looking, between tall and short, between fat and thin, between black and white, between oriental and occidental, between graceful and clumsy. I limit myself to a few, but their name is “legion”. Obviously it is “better” to be intelligent rather than stupid, more desirable to be good looking that ugly, graceful than clumsy, etc. We inevitably “discriminate” but this does not allow us to pass any moral judgment on this basis. To be accepted as a ballet dancer one must be thin; if a person is overweight, it is ridiculous to apply for the job. But thin people should not be called “good” and fat people “wicked”. Our “talent” for making confusion is to use a word that usually implies a moral or intellectual judgment to differences which have no bearing whatever in these spheres. This is the cause of many prejudices and to pre-judge is a sign of stupidity. To turn down someone highly qualified for a job because of his race or the color of his skin, is not only stupid, but also immoral. That unjust discriminations have taken place in our society – and I fear, will always take place under subtle forms (because they are now laws prohibiting them), is a sad fact and it is sheer wishful thinking to assume that by multiplying laws we can, in the long run, create a perfect society.

There are cases which are more subtle: let us take the case of music. That there is a huge scale of perfection in the most sublime of all arts, cannot be challenged. When we think of the masterpieces of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven to mention some of the most prominent, should we throw out of court those which do not achieve such a degree of perfection? The answer is definitely NO. Not every writer can claim to be a Shakespeare or a Dante, but there are very many, very talented writers who deserve our praise. Strauss’s Rosenkavalier, does not have the sublimity of Beethoven’s Fidelio, but nevertheless deserves the success that it has enjoyed since it was produced.

But here we face a crucial question: should any “sound” produced by instruments or by the human voice be qualified as “music”? Should we not pay attention to Plato’s warning in Book IV of The Republic that moral decadence begins with music? Can we call “poetry” any written word? Socrates – the wisest man of Greece that Plato calls “the best man he ever met” – warns us (Phaedrus) that there is a monster sleeping in us, and that there are sounds and rhythms, which definitely wake it up which once awakened are difficult to tame. Am I wrong in claiming that any youth whose soul has been fed on Rock and Roll will inevitably be unprotected from certain moral temptations? Blessed are those who drink Gregorian chant or Mozart’s sublime music with their mother’s milk!

The answer to the question just raised is definitely NO. There is a type of “music” (should it be called music?) and a so-called literature which is nothing but “filth”. That such perverse productions should be prohibited, or at least, called by their right name, is the strict obligation of any person in a position of authority, just as one prohibits poison, or puts a label of skull and bones on certain products, one should prohibit whatever will inevitably bring a society to utter moral decay. This is the noble and incredibly difficult mission of educators: evil must be opposed but should be opposed wisely – and this is not an easy task. Historians will tell us that the tragic decadence of powerful states, i.e.(those that have become very rich) is usually triggered by moral decay. Let us never forget that “the enemy is within”. The great educator is the one who, with God’s grace, has educated himself.

Why does someone value Rock and Roll more than Mozart? Some psychologists will tell you that it is precisely because this vulgarity and coarseness echo their own inner life. “Tell me what you love; I will tell you who you are” are deeply meaningful words. We are here not dealing with a “lack of artistic taste and sensitivity” but, alas, an affinity with this world which appeals to what is in all of us, namely original sin, and can only be defeated by grace. One of the great dangers today is to forget it has marked all of us except the Holy Virgin, and that – to quote St. Francis of Sales – pride dies fifteen minutes after our demise.

Up to recent times, the word “discriminate” was mostly used as a compliment: to call a person “discriminating” was meant as a praise, to someone who made “intelligent distinctions” as opposed to the flat-footed person who puts everything on the same level, and claims that it is “un-democratic” to assume that there is such a thing as a hierarchy of values and disvalues. Who is to tell?

It must be said, however, that human beings being inclined as they are to error and confusion, now often use discrimination in a totally unwarranted and illegitimate way and this is the clear expression of a mind that has derailed. A couple of examples should make this clear: the distinction between black and white people. Obviously when a person comes into the room, we shall immediately notice the color of his skin. It is easy to tell whether a person comes from a Nordic country, or whether he is a southerner, or whether he is European or Chinese. The differences between races is obvious, but to make prejudicial judgments on this basis is plainly stupid – the word is not too strong. This is the very nature of anti-Semitism to Hitler: to be Jewish meant to “be evil, a deadly enemy of the great German state. Down with the Jews”; “once this vermin is eliminated, the earth will breathe fresh air”. The idiocy of such a position does not even deserve a refutation; there is no race on earth deprived of good and bad qualities. Mediocrity is a universal sickness and alas, it is contagious. In other words, this type of discrimination should be opposed with every possible means, even though having lived long, I became convinced – to quote Schilller – that it is hopeless battle for “ Against stupidity, even the gods contend in vain”.

What we have said so far might be summarized as follows. There are clearly cases in which to discriminate is a strict moral obligation between truth and error, between morally good and morally evil; there are cases in which to discriminate is desirable; between beauty, mediocrity, ugliness, grace, coarseness, etc. but we are not thereby entitled to condemn those who lack these talents, or these sensitivities if they have no responsibility for these “blind spots”. There are cases when to “discriminate” is inevitable: black or white, tall or short heavy or slender: for it is immediately perceptible, but it would be nonsensical to pass judgment on people on this basis: “I refuse to rent an apartment to fat people’” or to Irish people, or to black people. Would it not be wiser in such cases, to avoid confusion, to use the word differentiate or distinguish instead?

But our concern in this article to is draw attention to a phenomenon which has developed in the course of the last fifty years which should be a source of great concern to all of us because in a very subtle way, the word is now used to condemn as “evil discriminations”, lifestyle and behaviors, which by their very essence, call for rejection and condemnation. Let me repeat emphatically: we should make a distinction between moral and immoral, between true and false, between just and unjust between pure and impure. Let us add: we should make a distinction between “natural” and “unnatural”. This used to be taken for granted, but we are living in a world where moral decadence is no longer viewed as a grave going “morally downhill”, but rather as a “liberation” from old taboos and old fashioned ideas which are not compatible with our “brave new world”.

The question is: what do we mean by nature? Answering this question is of crucial importance in a society which willfully confuses these two radically different concepts. When we refer to nature, we clearly mean things as they were “meant to be” – an “incarnation” of their “real” being.

It is natural for human beings to walk on two legs. Even though they could possibly manage to walk on all fours, if badly disabled, it would be unnatural. It is natural for human beings to speak, that is, to form articulated sounds that have meaning. Men can imitate the barking of dogs but to do so is against their nature. It is natural for human beings to bring food to their mouth, as opposed to dogs and cats that bend down to gulp down their food. It is natural for men and women when embracing each other to be face to face, eye to eye. It is worth noting that liars and guilty people carefully avoid a face to face confrontation with their accuser. When Adam and Eve sinned they hid themselves (Genesis 3:8). They dreaded a confrontation with God. This “eye to eye”, “face to face” is of crucial importance as expression of the dignity of persons. Any other posture sins against this dignity. “Noblesse oblige”. In other words, it is crucial to keep in mind that even though human beings are the only persons that have a body, it is precisely their human mission to “elevate” this body so that it becomes an adequate physical expression of his nobility as person. Their body language reveals the abyss that separates them from animals.

What is crucial in our context is reproduction which in academia is a proof of the identical nature of man and mammal. I recall that years ago, after a talk that I gave in Oregon, I was interviewed on television. The anchor who was present at my talk challenged me for having said that there was a radical difference between man and animals. His question to me was “Could you name one essential difference between them?” With French speed, I answered: “yes, the sexual sphere”. The anchor was speechless. Clearly, he has never heard anything like that. I had the feeling that he was challenging my sanity.

But soon after their creation Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful and “reproduce” themselves. Animals were not given this order, but following the laws of their nature, they instinctively did so. Why is man “told” to have a progeny? Because it is precisely a domain in which man’s dignity as a person expresses itself. Hints might suffice to make my point: animals are driven by an instinct that is so powerful that they do not hesitate to risk their lives in the process. They are slaves of their biological nature. Human beings being persons are commanded to reproduce themselves because as persons they are invited by the Creator Himself to increase the number of the human race. But two crucial things must be mentioned: in human persons, reproduction, as meant by God, cannot be separated from the divine action – a close collaboration between God and man for He alone can create the soul. Moreover, according to the divine intention, the frontal embrace between human persons should be an expression of their intentio unionis, for love desires union and is by its very nature fruitful. Hence the face to face encounter of two persons embracing the beloved, gratefully conscious that a new human person might be the fruit of this union. To put it plainly, the powerful sexual instinct must be baptized and therefore worthy of persons. Moreover whereas both animals and human being must eat, drink and have a minimum of sleep in order to survive (with the very rare exceptions of some mystics) reproduction is in no way necessary for survival. Let us imagine how ludicrous it would be if an apparently very healthy man, would suddenly drop dead. According to law, an autopsy is required. How ridiculous if would be if the doctor came out of his office declaring “virginity” to be the case of his demise. A high percentage of human beings do not have a “sex life”: widows, widowers, badly disabled people, very many sick people, those that are paralyzed, those who while wishing to get married never found someone willing to marry them, such people – and their name is legion – can lead a beautiful and holy life. I am sure that millions and millions of people are in this category. Alas, we live in a society in which “sex” and self-fulfillment are identified. Let us think of the millions of people who devote themselves to others, do an enormous amount of good for humanity and are unmarried or have chosen a consecrated life. Only morally decadent societies view “having sex”’ as a necessity. Am I wrong in claiming that this Weltanschauung makes it impossible for such a society to have the proper understanding of the beautiful words of God “be fruitful and multiply”.

This leads me back to the meaning of “nature”. Plato whom the Fathers of the Church, called “a preparer of Christianity”, was much concerned with ethical questions. In his last work, Laws – often shockingly overlooked in text books, he refers to homosexuality in Books I, III and VIII. He tells us that it is triggered by “unbridled lust”, (Laws 636) that it is a threat to the welfare of any nation, that it should be opposed in every possible way for it is “against nature” (ibid), i.e. as things are “meant” to be. But Plato is conscious that a total uprooting of this vice is not possible, but urges the state to strongly recommend that it should be kept secret. He lived in the 4th and 5th century before Christ, but obedient to the natural moral law, he perceived the perversion which is linked to this unfortunate tendency. In other words, contra naturam means what is clearly against the very dignity of human persons. No details are necessary but one thing is luminous: it is not as “things were meant to be”, and not only because of its inevitable sterility but by its very structure. The last I heard from a medical doctor – a friend of mine is that thanks to scientists, now working on this “noble” project sooner or later, homosexuals will be able to reproduce themselves. The glorious future of humanity is that one day, sexual fulfillment should be radically severed from procreation: this domain being confided to scientific progress.

It is a very grave moral question that should concern all educators and moralists. Detestable as homosexual acts are, we should, following St. Augustine, love the erring person while detesting the error – its own worst enemy. This is a noble task and as always, desperately needs God’s grace and assistance. Granted that practicing homosexuals have often not been given the love owed to all human beings, that they have been rejected, while not offered the help to which they were entitled. This is a most regrettable error that is now being corrected by the admirable organization started by Father Harvey called Courage. This noble apostolate is now being taken over by his successor Father Paul Check. Saints alone, because they are “transformed in Christ” are true lovers of the sinners, but this severe lack in many of us does not justify the new grave error which is gaining currency in our society: namely to justify the practice of homosexuality, as being now recognized to be “perfectly normal” – being another legitimate lifestyle, and deserving the same recognition as what up to now was limited to heterosexuality. “It was high time to see what in fact an obvious truth, obscured until now by mediaeval taboos. Thank to “advanced social sciences”, we know now that it is just as acceptable as the traditional way. Clearly, only a developed society like ours perceives this truth, up to now veiled by “old taboos and prejudice”.

This “conviction” explains why gay people now proudly advertise their lifestyle. They publicize it as Father Charamsa did recently; one should “proudly” endorse this tendency that God himself has placed in some people’s nature. Last but not least, the Catholic Church should publicly apologize for the suffering that she has, over the ages, inflicted upon people whose way to God was homosexuality.

This is probably the greatest moral revolution that has ever taken place in human society and in the Catholic church: the canonization of a perversion.

This is the world in which we now live. The Church has always been attacked. She has always had sinners in her bosom, but it is probably true that never has the situation been so threatening: we have entered apocalyptic time: as announced by St. Matthew (ch. 24) and also St Luke (ch. 20).

Never before is it more urgent to recall the blessed words of Christ: “the gates of hell shall not prevail” and take refuge in the blessed magisterium of the Church. Let us close our ears to the eloquence of false prophets, and as St. Paul recommends in his Epistle to the Thessalonians, “pray without ceasing”. Let us pray the rosary and turn to our Mother – the blessed one so hated by Satan because she gave life to the one who proclaims to be LIFE itself.

Alice von Hildebrand is a lecturer and an author whose works include The Privilege of Being a Woman (2002) and The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand (2000), a biography of her late husband. She was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory by Pope Francis in 2013.

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FEATURES

‘Steve Jobs’ an emotional portrait of a complex man

by Carl Kozlowski • October 23, 2015

The TV ads for the new movie “Steve Jobs,” about the legendary business mogul who founded Apple and gave the world the Macintosh and iMac computers in addition to iPods, iPads and smartphones, ask an intriguing question: “Can a great man also be a good man?” It’s the kind of question Jesus asked frequently in offering His listeners parables such as the one about the Pharisee and the publican, and it’s truly a question for each of us to ask ourselves.

Written by Aaron Sorkin, who won an Oscar for “The Social Network” screenplay, and directed by Danny Boyle, who scored a Best Director and Best Picture Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Steve Jobs” takes a unique stylistic approach with its portrait of a man who was beloved by millions worldwide, yet couldn’t be a loving father to his first daughter for most of her childhood.

Rather than following him in a straight narrative line from his childhood to his death, it follows Jobs and how he handled the pressure on the three biggest days of his career: the launches of the Macintosh and iMac, and the unveiling of his newer company, Next, which he founded after being chased out of Apple. In each segment, he is dealing with backstage drama on two levels: corporate intrigues in which products are at risk of failure and business partners argue with him over receiving fair credit for their efforts, and personal intrigues involving his ex-girlfriend Chrisanne Brennan and their daughter, Lisa.

The corporate intrigues center on moments such as Jobs’ insistence that the Macintosh computer be able to say “Hi” to a huge live audience of shareholders, even as the technology is failing him right up until the last minutes before its unveiling. There are also battles over whether his newer company, Next, will fail because he was more concerned with creating a perfectly measured cube casing for a computer that doesn’t work properly, and whether he can make a comeback with his seemingly last-gasp launch of the IMac personal computer.

Boyle and Sorkin wring maximum suspense and drama out of these moments, aided greatly by the winning efforts of an ace cast including Michael Fassbender as Jobs, Kate Winslet as his top lieutnenant Joanna and especially Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder who spends years in frustration just trying to get Jobs to offer public thanks for the team that launched the company’s first (and, for a long time, only) successful product, the Apple II computer.

Yet it’s the personal side of the story that’s even better, and which makes “Steve Jobs” a potential classic. For here we see Jobs as a fascinatingly flawed man, one who could inspire thousands of workers and hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide into embracing his visionary ideas, but who still often couldn’t be a decent partner to the mother of his child or a father to that girl.

In fact, the movie makes much drama out of the fact that Jobs told Time magazine that Lisa wasn’t his child, and even told the magazine that, based on his blood type alone, over 28 percent of American men could have been the father. Yet it’s here, in showing a coldblooded and ruthless man start to melt over the years into having genuine affection for his child, that “Steve Jobs” becomes both magical and memorable.

There are quite a few of Jobs’ former colleagues and family members who feel that the movie offers an unfair portrait of the man, and his wife (whom he married years after Lisa was born, and with whom he had three other children who seem to regard him as a good father) even actively interfered in the movie’s casting by begging Christian Bale not to play the role of Jobs. His life is far too complex to analyze in-depth, but it’s hard to believe any audience member won’t be so entertained by this expertly made movie to really care.

“Steve Jobs” is rated R for its foul language, and there certainly about 50 F words, and at least 20 uses of God’s name in vain including uses of “GD” scattered throughout the movie. Yet it doesn’t feel exploitative in the context of its emotionally charged scenes, and certainly shouldn’t pose a problem for most adult viewers.

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.com 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 re-launching it in January 2014 after a five-month sabbatical. He lives in Los Angeles.

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SUNDAY • OCTOBER 25, 2015

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Jer 31:7-9; NRSVCE)

For thus says the Lord:

Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

“Save, O Lord, your people,

the remnant of Israel.”

See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,

and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

those with child and those in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

With weeping they shall come,

and with consolations I will lead them back,

I will let them walk by brooks of water,

in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

for I have become a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Second Reading (Heb 5:1-6; NRSVCE)

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,

“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

as he says also in another place,

“You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Gospel Reading (Mk 10:46-52; NRSVCE)

As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

MONDAY • OCTOBER 26, 2015

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rom 8:12-17; NRSVCE)

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel Reading (Lk 13:10-17; NRSVCE)

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

TUESDAY • OCTOBER 27, 2015

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rom 8:18-25; NRSVCE)

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Gospel Reading (Lk 13:18-21; NRSVCE)

Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 28, 2015

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

First Reading (Eph 2:19-22; NRSVCE)

You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Gospel Reading (Lk 6:12-16; NRSVCE)

Now during those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

THURSDAY • OCTOBER 29, 2015

Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rom 8:31b-39; NRSVCE)

If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;

we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Reading (Lk 13:31-35; NRSVCE)

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

FRIDAY • OCTOBER 30, 2015

Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rom 9:1-5; NRSVCE)

I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Gospel Reading (Lk 14:1-6; NRSVCE)

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?” But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?” And they could not reply to this.

SATURDAY • OCTOBER 31, 2015

Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29; NRSVCE)

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their stumbling means riches for the world, and if their defeat means riches for Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written,

“Out of Zion will come the Deliverer;

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”

“And this is my covenant with them,

when I take away their sins.”

As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Gospel Reading (Lk 14:1, 7-11; NRSVCE)

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”