MSFS: chart new road map for innovation at all levels

Published Date: February 20, 2013

Chapter gives new thrust on Good Governance.

The 19th General Chapter of the Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (MSFS) came to its close on 15th Feb 2013. With the clarion call of the Founder, the servant of God, Fr. Peter Mary Mermier, “I want missions”, the Capitulants prayerfully engaged themselves in the unfolding of the theme of the General Chapter: “ MSFS- Mystics of God’s love for prophetic ministries today”.

 Thirty eight Capitulants, hailing from South America, North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia participated in the two-week long Chapter, which has gifted to the Congregation not only a new team of general administration but also certain orientations, directives and an action plan for carrying out the mission of Christ with innovation and fresh enthusiasm.

The General Chapter of Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales elected Very Rev. Fr. Abraham Vettuvelil MSFS as Superior General for the first term of six years. It acknowledged the unique contribution of Very Rev. Fr. Agnelo Fernandes MSFS, the former Superior General to the entire Congregation through his dynamic spiritual leadership for the last twelve years.

The Chapter also elected the following confreres to assist the Superior General in the governance of the Congregation: Very Rev. Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy (Assistant Superior General), Very Rev. Fr. Noel Rebello (General Secretary for Formation), Very Rev. Fr. George Parampukattil (General Secretary for Education), Very Rev. Fr. Jose Kumblolickal (General Secretary for Social apostolates and Innovative Ministries), Very Rev. Fr. Jayaseelan(the General Secretary for Mission), and Very Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangat ( General Bursar).

The Chapter has given a new thrust on Good Governance at all levels and has adopted plans for its implementation. While inviting the members to a joyful fidelity to living the basics of religious life, the Chapter has also placed a new emphasis on networking and collaboration, sharing of personnel, and pooling of material resources for the promotion of a better visibility to the charismatic expressions of the foundational apostolates: Renewal of Christian life, Pioneering evangelization and Formation of the young.

With the openness to the Spirit of God, the Capitulants disposed themselves to taking bold steps for guiding the members of the Congregation “to think Congregationally”; and respond generously and joyfully to the needs of people and communities. Thus the Chapter has given a new road map for bringing innovation in spiritual leadership, mission, life style, community living, and in carrying out the various apostolates.

The Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales was founded at Annecy in France by the Servant of God Fr. Peter Mary Mermier. Today the Congregation is spread out to 26 countries of the world. The six Provinces in India with over 850 priests and 250 professed members in various stages of formation form the youthful part of the Congregation. This year, the MSFS Congregation is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its foundation.

Source: Fr. Francis Thadathil MSFS
 

A statue of the Virgin Mary is all what is left of the 80 houses burned by Sandy in Queens,

There is an image of Mother Mary under the advocation of "miraculous Mary"
 

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: A Virgin Mary is all that remains from a home which was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in Breezy Point, Queens on October 30, 2012 in New York, United States. Over 50 homes wer destroyed in a late night and fast moving fire. At least 15 people were reported killed in the United States by Sandy as millions of people in the eastern United States have awoken to widespread power outages, flooded homes and downed trees. New York City was hit especially hard with wide spread power outages and significant flooding in parts of the city. (Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Matt Long poked around the sooty ground in front of the charred remains of his home of 15 years.
Nothing inside survived the post-Hurricane Sandy fire that ravaged the beachfront hamlet of Breezy Point, New York. Long and his wife, Mary, were trying to salvage the only keepsakes they could: octagonal stones, each six inches across. One bore the handprint of 10-year-old Grace, the other was made by 8- year-old Emily.
The house on Gotham Walk and 110 others were destroyed by fire on that stretch of peninsula on the southwestern tip of New York City’s Queens borough, about 10 miles by air from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“It’s awful,” said Long, 46, a former firefighter who was nearly killed when a bus making an illegal turn slammed into his bicycle in 2005. “There’s a lot of history in this place, and now it’s all gone.”
Mary, 38, stood on what used to be the family’s front stoop and wiped away tears. The neighborhood nicknamed the “Irish Riviera” was unrecognizable. In addition to the structures claimed by fire, many more of Breezy Point’s 2,834 houses were waterlogged, missing walls or listing on sunken foundations.
John Whelan, 49, stood at the edge of what had been a densely-built block of homes. A few brick chimneys survived and at least three statuettes of the Virgin Mary.
“These things made it,” Whelan said, pointing to one of the religious statues. “This is a very Catholic community.”

It reminds the case of last September 5, 2012 in Braithwaite, Louisiana when a  statue of the Virgin Mary stands in flood waters in Plaquemines Parish. Louisiana officials estimate that at least 13,000 homes were damaged by Hurricane Isaac

In the tsunami in Asia (Dec 2004) there also was many miraculous images and christians saved . Or you can see: The priests who survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945
 

THE UNBORN CHILD - Italy’s conscientious doctors

Up to 85 percent of gynecologists in some regions refuse to perform abortions.

Jesi is a lovely Italian hill town not far from Ancona on the Adriatic coast in the center-north of the country. A few weeks ago the local hospital let it be known that they faced a doctor shortage of sorts. It seems that all of the town’s 10 gynecologists refuse to perform abortions. They are all conscientious objectors. The local office of the communist labor union spread the news because they claimed women’s rights were being denied, although Italy’s abortion legislation (Law 194/78) explicitly provides a right for doctors and other medical personnel to refuse to participate in the procedure.

Jesi’s top medical bureaucrats began a search for doctors elsewhere in the Marche region where the town is located. A doctor from nearby Fabriano, 40 kilometers away, agreed to be on call in case of need and to go to Jesi if an abortion seeker would not go to Fabriano. However, his services may or may not be much in demand.

While abortion doctors in the entire Marche region seem to be rare, abortions are not that many to begin with. Italian Ministry of Health data on abortions indicate that women from the Marche region had 2,458 abortions in 2009, but that nearly one-fourth had their procedure done outside their resident province and 10% outside the region.

Further north, in the town of Treviglio, near Bergamo in Lombardy, a similar problem has arisen: 24 out of 25 anesthesiologists in the four hospitals serving a population of around 350,000 refuse to be involved in abortions, and 24 out of 28 gynecologists-obstetricians are also conscientious objectors. Other medical facilities in the Bergamo province also report a high number of objectors but the supply is not as tight as in Treviglio. Nonetheless, press reports indicate that in the entire province of Bergamo, five percent of the 1,867 abortions performed in 2010 were on women from outside the area. It seems that there may be even more conscientious objectors elsewhere in Lombardy, Italy’s most prosperous region.

If such refusals are helping the downward trend of abortions in Italy, there are also incentives for women to keep their babies. The regional government of Lombardy has put in place a program to assist resident women who wanted an abortion for economic reasons but changed their minds. Progetto Nasko – or Project I am Born – grants a mother keeping her child 250 euros per month for 18 months after she obtains medical confirmation of her pregnancy and demonstrates evidence of economic hardship. The expectant mother receives a prepaid rechargeable card which is managed by one of several Centers for Aid to Life (Centri di aiuto alla vita).

The examples above are part of Italy’s experience since abortion was legalized in 1978. Not all countries compile data on abortions as detailed as that of Italy’s Ministry of Health, but the results coming out of Italy, as discussed in a previous MercatorNet article by this author, indicate that in 2010, the total number of abortions in Italy declined 2.7 percent to 115,372 and were 51 percent below the 1982 peak. At the same time, the number and share of conscientious objectors in the medical profession have steadily increased.

Evidently moral and ethical factors do play a role in people’s professional lives. Respect for life and human dignity should be a consideration falling under medical doctors’ oath to “first do no harm.” Ethical considerations are not always in harmony with economic perceptions, but every child brought to light in Italy helps advance the precariously low fertility rate, which has been inching up in recent years and reached 1.42 in 2011, up from 1.35 in 2006 and 1.25 ten years earlier.

The latest data (2007-2009) also show that the overwhelming majority of Italy’s gynecologists are conscientious objectors when it comes to abortion. A regional breakdown shows a range from a low of 52 percent in Emilia-Romagna (part of Italy’s so-called “red belt”, in political terms) to a high of 85 percent in Basilicata in the south. Indeed, objectors account for over three-quarters of their profession in 10 out of the 21 Italian regions. The national average has been as high as 71 percent. Jesi and Treviglio are just two local examples of good news on the life front coming out of Italy.

Vincenzina Santoro is an international economist. She represents the American Family Association of New York at the United Nations.
 

Pope opens Synod: The Church exists to evangelize
 2012-10-07 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) – A host of cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people drawn from throughout the Universal Church gathered around Pope Benedict XVI Sunday morning as he declared the Thirteenth Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation, officially open. Emer McCarthy reports :
Green was the liturgical colour and the concelebrating Synod fathers took their places at the foot of the altar before the façade of St Peter’s Basilica, as Pope Benedict XVI outlined his vision and hopes for the important task ahead of them in the next three weeks: helping people to rediscover faith in Jesus Christ.
In his homily, he said “in every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation”.
This call, he continued, should take into account “those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church”. Then – reflecting on the Sunday Gospel, Mark Chapter 10 - Pope Benedict singled out one area for particular attention: Marriage.
Looking out at the tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square he said that marriage “is a Gospel in itself” and “Good News” for today’s dechristianized world. “The union of a man and a woman, their becoming “one flesh” in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis”.
Benedict XVI pointed to a link between the current crisis of faith and this crisis in marriage, because marriage is based on the grace of God that man of today no longer recognizes. To overcome this crisis, any crisis, we need to be newly reconciled with God.

Above the altar from the central balcony of St Peter’s basilica hung two giant tapestries depicting St John of Avila and St Hildegard of Bingen. Reciting the solemn formula in Latin Pope Benedict XVI declared them both Doctors of the Universal Church. He then reminded the men and women gathered to the Vatican for the Synod that “the saints are the true actors and pioneers in evangelization” and invoking their intercession, Pope Benedict concluded by entrusting the Synod’s work to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization.
Below the full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily, Sunday October 7th, 2012:

With this solemn concelebration we open the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. This theme reflects a programmatic direction for the life of the Church, its members, families, its communities and institutions. And this outline is reinforced by the fact that it coincides with the beginning of the Year of Faith, starting on 11 October, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. I give a cordial and grateful welcome to you who have come to be part of the Synodal Assembly, in particular to the Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, and to his colleagues. I salute the fraternal delegates of the other churches and ecclesial communities as well as all present, inviting them to accompany in daily prayer the deliberations which will take place over the next three weeks. The readings for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word propose to us two principal points of reflection: the first on matrimony, which I will touch shortly; and the second on Jesus Christ, which I will discuss now. We do not have time to comment upon the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews but, at the beginning of this Synodal Assembly, we ought to welcome the invitation to fix our gaze upon the Lord Jesus, “crowned with glory and honour, because of the suffering of death (2:9). The word of God places us before the glorious One who was crucified, so that our whole lives, and in particular the commitment of this Synodal session, will take place in the sight of him and in the light of his mystery. In every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation. My dear Brother Bishops, starting with ourselves, let us fix our gaze upon him and let us be purified by his grace.

I would now like briefly to examine the new evangelization, and its relation to ordinary evangelization and the mission ad Gentes. The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere. With time, these became well-organized churches with many faithful. At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in Church’s evangelizing activity. We need only think of the evangelization of the Anglo-Saxon peoples or the Slavs, or the transmission of the faith on the continent of America, or the missionary undertakings among the peoples of Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is against this dynamic background that I like to look at the two radiant figures that I have just proclaimed Doctors of the Church, Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Even in our own times, the Holy Spirit has nurtured in the Church a new effort to announce the Good News, a pastoral and spiritual dynamism which found a more universal expression and its most authoritative impulse in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Such renewed evangelical dynamism produces a beneficent influence on the two specific “branches” developed by it, that is, on the one hand the Missio ad Gentes or announcement of the Gospel to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and on the other the New Evangelization, directed principally at those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life. The Synodal Assembly which opens today is dedicated to this new evangelization, to help these people encounter the Lord, who alone who fills existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favour the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life. Obviously, such a special focus must not diminish either missionary efforts in the strict sense or the ordinary activity of evangelization in our Christian communities, as these are three aspects of the one reality of evangelization which complement and enrich each other. The theme of marriage, found in the Gospel and the first reading, deserves special attention. The message of the word of God may be summed up in the expression found in the Book of Genesis and taken up by Jesus himself: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24; Mk 10:7-8). What does this word say to us today? It seems to me that it invites us to be more aware of a reality, already well known but not fully appreciated: that matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming “one flesh” in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis. And it is not by chance. Marriage is linked to faith, but not in a general way. Marriage, as a union of faithful and indissoluble love, is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God, who in Christ loved us with a faithful love, even to the Cross. Today we ought to grasp the full truth of this statement, in contrast to the painful reality of many marriages which, unhappily, end badly. There is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage. And, as the Church has said and witnessed for a long time now, marriage is called to be not only an object but a subject of the new evangelization. This is already being seen in the many experiences of communities and movements, but its realization is also growing in dioceses and parishes, as shown in the recent World Meeting of Families.

One of the important ideas of the renewed impulse that the Second Vatican Council gave to evangelization is that of the universal call to holiness, which in itself concerns all Christians (cf. Lumen Gentium, 39-42). The saints are the true actors in evangelization in all its expressions. In a special way they are even pioneers and bringers of the new evangelization: with their intercession and the example of lives attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they show the beauty of the Gospel to those who are indifferent or even hostile, and they invite, as it were tepid believers, to live with the joy of faith, hope and charity, to rediscover the taste for the word of God and for the sacraments, especially for the bread of life, the Eucharist. Holy men and women bloom among the generous missionaries who announce the Good News to non-Christians, in the past in mission countries and now in any place where there are non-Christians. Holiness is not confined by cultural, social, political or religious barriers. Its language, that of love and truth, is understandable to all people of good will and it draws them to Jesus Christ, the inexhaustible source of new life. At this point, let us pause for a moment to appreciate the two saints who today have been added to the elect number of Doctors of the Church. Saint John of Avila lived in the sixteenth century. A profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an important female figure of the twelfth century, offered her precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority. The Lord granted her a prophetic spirit and fervent capacity to discern the signs of the times. Hildegard nurtured an evident love of creation, and was learned in medicine, poetry and music. Above all, she maintained a great and faithful love for Christ and the Church.This summary of the ideal in Christian life, expressed in the call to holiness, draws us to look with humility at the fragility, even sin, of many Christians, as individuals and communities, which is a great obstacle to evangelization and to recognizing the force of God that, in faith, meets human weakness. Thus, we cannot speak about the new evangelization without a sincere desire for conversion. The best path to the new evangelization is to let ourselves be reconciled with God and with each other (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). Solemnly purified, Christians can regain a legitimate pride in their dignity as children of God, created in his image and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and they can experience his joy in order to share it with everyone, both near and far.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust the work of the Synod meeting to God, sustained by the communion of saints, invoking in particular the intercession of great evangelizers, among whom, with much affection, we ought to number Blessed John Paul II, whose long pontificate was an example of the new evangelization. Let us place ourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization. With her let us invoke a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that from on high he may illumine the Synodal assembly and make it fruitful for the Church’s way ahead.

Africa: Christians outnumber Muslims

At a conference in Morocco, Italian sociologist, Massimo Introvigne, revealed that African practicing Catholics outnumber their European counterparts
A. TOR Vatican City

The latest figures reveal that Christianity has become the African continent’s number one religion, clearly surpassing Islam. This is according to the findings of a study presented today during the course of a conference organised by CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions) at El Jadida University in Morocco. The figures revealed at the conference which was attended by seventy speakers from 18 countries, today, Christians account for 46, 53% of the African population compared to the 40, 46 % represented by Muslims and the 11, 8% represented by traditional African religions.

The study states that among African countries, 31 have Christian majorities, 21 have Muslim majorities and 6 have populations which adhere mostly to traditional African religions. In 1900 Christians in Africa totalled ten million; in 2012 this number reached five hundred million. In 1900 only 2% of Christians in the world were African; today, this figure has risen to 20%. In ten years time they will be the largest continental bloc within Christianity, outdoing Europe and the Americas. “This data is still not widely known - stated sociologist Massimo Introvigne, CESNUR’s founder – but they have a profound historical, cultural and political significance. There are now more practicing Christians in Africa than in Europe. In the long run, this will not only change Africa but Christianity as well as John Paul II had intuited. His attention to Africa was continued by Benedict XVI who has already visited the continent twice.”

“Of course, not everyone is happy about this development,” Introvigne added. The sociologist claims that this growth in the number of Christians across the African continent could be one of the causes of certain attacks. “Some Islamic ultra-fundamentalists consider it scandalous that there are more Christians than Muslims in Africa and proceed to persecute and kill Christians in countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Somalia and Kenya. The way the ultra-fundamentalists see it, today, the battle which will determine whether the world will be Muslim or Christian is being fought in Africa. And that Islam is losing. This is why they are responding with bombs.”

Speaking at the Rimini Meeting last August, Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Jos, in Nigeria, had said: “Most Muslims and Christians in Northern Nigeria would like to live in peace and be good neighbours, despite all the tensions that exist. Mixed Muslim and Christian families can be found in both Southern and Northern Nigeria. But it is no secret that some Muslim leaders would like to “immerse the Loran in the Atlantic sea”: they believe Islam should be the country’s dominant religion, as was demonstrated with the introduction of Sharia law in some parts of the North. Nothing can be said against what can be defined as a legitimate aspiration: every religion would like to expand and boost the number of its followers. But this must be done in a peaceful and civil manner, through testimony.”
 

Christians should leave their beliefs at home, say lawyers

The European Court of Human Rights is hearing a test-case appeal from Christians who want the right to wear a cross at work.
Posted on September 5, 2012, 3:49 PM•

Christians should leave their religious beliefs at home or accept that a personal expression of faith at work, such as wearing a cross, means they might have to resign and get another job, government lawyers have said.

Landmark cases, brought by four British Christians, including two workers forced out of their jobs after visibly wearing crosses, have been heard today at the European Court of Human Rights

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has previously pledged to change the law to protect religious expression at work but official legal submissions on Tuesday to Strasbourg human rights judges made a clear “difference between the professional and private sphere”.

James Eadie QC, acting for the government, told the European court that the refusal to allow an NHS nurse and a British Airways worker to visibly wear a crucifix at work “did not prevent either of them practicing religion in private”, which would be protected by human rights law.

He argued that that a Christian, or any other religious believer, “under difficulty” is not discriminated against if the choice of “resigning and moving to a different job” is not blocked.

“The option remains open to them,” he said.

Government lawyers also told the Strasbourg court that wearing a cross is not a “generally recognised” act of Christian worship and is not required by scripture.

Nadia Eweida, a BA worker, from Twickenham, south-west London, made the headlines when she was sent home in 2006 after refusing to remove a necklace with a cross or hide it from view.

An employment tribunal ruled Ms Eweida, a Coptic Christian originally from Egypt, had not suffered religious discrimination, but the airline changed its uniform policy after the case to allow all religious symbols, including crosses.

Nurse Shirley Chaplin, from Exeter, was moved to a paperwork role by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust in Devon after refusing to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix.

Ms Chaplin told The Daily Telegraph that she felt “insulted” by the argument that Christians who are told by their employer that they cannot wear a cross at work can always find another job.

“My Christian faith isn’t something that you put on and then take off to go to work. It is with you 27/7. It is my identity, it is who I am, I cannot chop and change it,” she said.
 

Vatican Radio compares Europe to Tower of Babel

The Church and Europe
2012-09-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) – In the first in a series of Vatican Radio editorials focusing on the Church and Europe, Director of Programming, Fr. Andrej Koprowski S.J., explores the causes of the current economic crisis gripping the old continent and how Christianity can help Europe rediscover its dynamism:

The Bible describes how the Tower of Babel was built. While they were at work on it, the builders realised they were actually working against one another. The more they tried to be like God, the more they risked not being authentically human. They had lost a basic characteristic of their humanity: the ability to agree with one another, to understand one another, to work together.
Europe is in the grips of an economic crisis. The causes are not exclusively European or even exclusively economic. Its origins can be found in various spheres: from the financial crisis in the United States, to the rapid economic development of Asia; from growing unemployment with its inevitable effects on the future of the younger generation, to the lack of vision in educating people with respect for cultural and social needs; from the difficulty of formulating policies that support the family, to the demographic crisis and the surge of immigration towards Europe, with all its social and cultural consequences; from the long-term effects of ideologies and lobbies that fail to consider the community or the future of civil society, to exaggerated forms of individualism and false freedoms.
The development of the crisis is equally complex. There are multiple protagonists and causes for both the lack and the excess of development. Blame and merit can be equally divided. Ideologies tend to simplify reality and make it artificial, whereas problems need to be faced in terms of their human dimension. Social issues have become anthropological questions: artificial procreation, embryo research, human cloning – technological absolutes present a disturbing scenario for the future of humanity, often relying on instruments that the “culture of death” has placed at their disposal.
Culturally and demographically weakened, yet enriched by millions of new citizens coming from various continents, cultures and religions, Europe is in the throes of creating its future. In 1997, after a meeting in Gniezno, Poland, between John Paul II and presidents of seven European nations, German President, Roman Herzog, said: “Changes are happening very quickly today. In 25 years from now, if Europe is still an independent continent, or if it is just an appendage of American media or of Asian industry, it will be because Europe rediscovered its own dynamism at the right time – a dynamism it inherited from Christianity over the centuries”.
Benedict XVI adds: “In the multicultural situation in which we find ourselves, we are seeing a rationalistic European culture without a transcendent religious dimension, that is incapable of entering into dialogue with the great cultures of humanity, which all possess this transcendent religious quality, which is the human dimension… I believe that the purpose and mission of Europe is to discover this dialogue, to integrate modern faith and reason into a single anthropological vision that completes the human person and is capable of communicating human cultures”. (In-flight press conference during trip to Portugal, May 11th 2010)

Plans for Gulf’s biggest Catholic church stir backlash in troubled Bahrain

By Associated Press, Published: September 3AP
 

MANAMA, Bahrain — The building of the largest Roman Catholic church in the Gulf was supposed to be a chance for the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain to showcase its traditions of religious tolerance in a conservative Muslim region where churches largely operate under heavy limitations.

Instead, the planned church — intended to be the main center for Catholics in the region — has turned into another point of tension in a country already being pulled apart by sectarian battles between its Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities.

Hardline Sunni clerics have strongly opposed the construction of the church complex, in a rare open challenge of the country’s Sunni king. More than 70 clerics signed a petition last week saying it was forbidden to build churches in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

One prominent cleric, Sheik Adel Hassan al-Hamad, proclaimed in a sermon during Friday prayers last month, that there was no justification for building further churches in Bahrain, adding, “anyone who believes that a church is a true place of worship is someone who has broken in their faith in God.”

In response, the government ordered him transferred out of his mosque, located in the elite district of Riffa, where many members of the royal family live and the king has several palaces. But the transfer order touched off a wave of protests by the cleric’s supporters on social media sites and by Sunni-led political blocs. Finally, the government was forced last week to cancel the order.

The uproar reflects the widening influence and confidence of hardline Sunni groups, who have been a key support for the monarchy as it faces a wave of protests led by Shiites demanding greater political rights. Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population of just over half a million people, but claim they face widespread discrimination and lack opportunities granted to the Sunni minority. The monarchy has also has relied heavily on help from ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, which last year sent troops to help crush protests.

More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds detained in nearly 19 months of unrest in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Bahrain’s rulers have promised some reforms and urged dialogue to ease the crisis.

Instead, positions on all sides have hardened.

Many among the majority Shiites claim the Sunni monarchy is not interested in reforms that would weaken its near monopoly on power. Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim, has actively opposed the church plans, questioning why the government should donate land for a Christian site when Shiite mosques have been destroyed as part of the crackdowns.

A Bahrain-based political analyst, Ali Fakhro, questioned the timing of the church project at a time when the nation is still locked in its own upheavals.

“What Bahrain needs is to solve it is own internal issues rather than adding more new things that could be the source of troubles,” he said. “The plate is already full.”
So far the outcry has brought no change in plans to build the church complex, which has been backed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s monarchy. The complex will be the size of a large shopping center — about 9,000 square meters (97,000 square foot) — in Awali, an area near Riffa, south of the capital, Manama. It is to be a base for the Vatican to the small Catholic communities in the northern Gulf, as well as a spiritual center for other Christian denominations.

Work on the compound is still in its preliminary stages and no firm date has been given for its completion, leaving open the possibility of more complaints in the coming months.

The church project is part of last year’s change by the Vatican to carve out a new apostolic district covering Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The administrative headquarters are expected to shift from Kuwait to Bahrain.

There are believed to be several million Christians in the overwhelmingly Muslim Gulf region, the vast majority of them expatriate workers who largely come from East and South Asia. Throughout the Gulf states, non-Muslim places of worship must work discreetly and cannot actively reach out for converts. In Saudi Arabia, churches are banned completely and any overt wearing of non-Muslim religious symbols is banned.

But Bahrain has a multi-religious tradition — and tolerance — that is unique in Gulf. The island nation has several Christian extended families which originally immigrated from Iraq, Iran or elsewhere in the early 20th Century and gained citizenship when Bahrain gained independence. Similarly, it has native Jewish and Hindu communities. The first Roman Catholic church in the Gulf was built in 1939 on land donated by Bahrain’s emir.

The building of the church complex “is a sign of openness, important for Bahrain, and I hope it will serve as a model for other countries, too,” the region’s bishop, the Rev. Camillo Ballin, said in a statement.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, issues over Christian churches have flared in the past year.

In Kuwait, Islamist lawmakers have proposed bans on further construction of churches. Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, Abdel Aziz Al Sheik, reportedly urged for the destruction of all Christian churches on the Arabian peninsula, but it was quickly dismissed by nearly all Islamic leaders in the region.

“Bahrain is a country of tolerance among all religions, sects and races. This is well known about Bahrain’s history,” said the Rev. Hani Aziz of Bahrain’s National Evangelical Church, who was among 19 non-Catholic Christian leaders who also met with Bahrain’s king over the project. “The construction of a church falls in line with this image.”

Palestinians seek support to end suffering

They say a a renewed Palestinian-Indian friendship would help find a just solution to their problems.

Posted on July 20, 2012, 4:53 PM

By Philip Mathew and Ritu Sharma
 New Delhi:

A two-member delegation from Palestine met with various groups in India to seek solidarity to end their people’s suffering under Israeli occupation.

“We want India to renew its friendship with Palestinians that seems to drift toward Israel,” said Fr. Jamal Khader, a professor at Bethlehem University.

Accompanied by Amjad Alqasis, an international human rights law expert, the Catholic priest has met with civil society, Churches and government to explain the Palestinian issue.

They addressed a July 17-18 consultation in New Delhi organized by the Indian Ecumenical Solidarity Network for Palestine (ISEN), a network of ecumenical organizations in India concerned about and involved in working for a just peace.

Last week, they attended a three-day consultation of Christian theologians at Chennai, that asked people visiting the Holy Land to include in their itinerary a meeting with Palestinian Christians to witness their plight.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi Wednesday, Fr. Khader said a renewed Palestinian-Indian friendship would help find a just solution to their problems.

Fr. Khader said this against the backdrop of India’s increasing relations with Israel.

“I have learned that Israel is a supplier of arms to India,” the priest said, adding that the money earned by selling arms would be used to support Israeli military industry which in turn would increase their occupation of Palestinians.

The delegates also noted that the occupation of Palestine by the Israelis was accompanied by brutal measures designed to humiliate and oppress the former.

Expressing concern over the situation of the Palestinians, the ISEN members said that India’s support to the Israeli regime is “unethical and must end immediately.”

They planned a nation-wide campaign for boycott-disvestments-sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

BDS is a campaign started on July 9, 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause for boycott, divestment and international sanctions against Israel.

In addition to the campaign, the ISEN will also engage in building public awareness about the Palestinians’ cause through meetings, seminars, media and youth initiatives.

Father Khader said two percent of the five million Palestinians are Christians.

He said that they have till now visited Europe, United States, South Africa, the Arab countries and Hong Kong to mobilize public support for the cause.
 

Two British women fired for not removing cross in the workplace

Britain experiences umpteenth attack on religious freedom as two women are fired for refusing to remove their necklaces in the workplace. The two are now taking their case to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

Michelangelo Nasca
Rome

The case involving the two young British women - Nadia Eweida, an air hostess at Heathrow airport and Shirley Chaplin, a nurse – who were fired for refusing to remove their crosses from around their necks during working hours, may seem absurd but it is true.
The two women - who claim they are victims of discrimination -  are asking the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg to recognise their right to the freedom of faith. Meanwhile, London legislators have prepared an ad hoc draft law allowing employers to fire staff who refuse to conceal symbols of their Christian faith.

The decision of the Court in Strasbourg will be valid for all countries that are members of the Council of Europe, including Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus and Moldavia. So Russian Orthodox Christians also see this decision as a threat to their own faith.
In a statement to The Voice of Russia radio station, Filipp Riabykh, Moscow Patriarchate representative to the Council of Europe said: “In our Church’s tradition, it is obligatory for us to wear a cross. If the Court in Strasbourg allows English employers to win the case, this could have negative consequences for orthodox Christians in other European countries. We see this as completely unacceptable because faithful are required to bear the symbols of Christianity in all circumstances.”

The Christian cross - an innocuous depiction of a man condemned to death - sparks more protests than any other religious symbol.

It appears, however, that the crucifix represents a real threat to modern man, one which many non-believers call the “superstition of the converted individual”. Indeed, according to ancient Christian tradition, the individual could receive God’s grace and change life at any moment.

If the cross were just a simple little sacred symbol of Christianity, the whole affair would have been forgotten about. Francesco d’Assisi and his friends would have continued to play around with life and perhaps in time would have become a fabric merchant and even richer than his father; Mother Theresa of Calcutta would have contented herself with teaching in a girl’s school in Calcutta instead of dedicating every single moment of her existence to loving the poorest of the poor. Obviously before such a romantic and incongruent ideology of faith, no one could ever have dreamed that the crucifix would be banned from public areas.

But as the Patriarchate of Moscow awaits a verdict from Strasbourg, it has prepared, with the help of some scholars, a document which proves the right of Christians to wear the cross and profess their religion. The document has been sent to Strasbourg and will be included in the documents of the case opened against Britain by Nadia Eweida and Shirley Chaplin.

Russia and Poland, Orthodox and Catholics. The Breakthrough Message

It has been signed in Warsaw by the patriarch of Moscow and the president of the Polish bishops. To begin a common journey after centuries of hostilities. Here is the complete text. With the comment of Pope Benedict XVI

by Sandro Magister

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, right, and Metropolitan Sawa of the Polish Orthodox Church greet a Catholic clergyman at St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Cathedral in Warsaw Aug. 16.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church made a historic visit to Poland with a message of reconciliation. (CNS photo/Kacper Pempel, Reuters

ROME, August 22, 2012 – The reports from Russia since the middle of August have been dominated by the trial of three members of the band Pussy Riot, the young women charged with insulting President Putin and singing slogans against God and the Church in the cathedral of Moscow.

During those same days, however, there took place in Eastern Europe "an important event that raises hope for the future".

This is how Benedict XVI defined, at the Angelus last Sunday, the joint declaration signed on Friday, August 17 in the castle of Warsaw by the patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus', Kirill, and by the president of the Polish episcopal conference, Archbishop Józef Michalik.

Pope Joseph Ratzinger did not define this event as "historic," but he came close. It is enough to consider that the visit of Patriarch Kirill was the first ever of a head of the Russian Orthodox Church to Poland. And that, on the contrary, John Paul II was never able to go to Moscow precisely because of the immovable burden of the age-old hostilities between Russia and the nation of his birth, Poland.

In 1965, another document of reconciliation, this time between the Catholic Churches of Poland and Germany, was signed jointly by the leaders of the two Churches. And that document is rightly recalled as an historic breakthrough.

But that of today is certainly of greater importance.

The political and religious conflicts that are meant to be healed are not limited to the last few decades, but span entire centuries: from the fighting between Polish-Lithuanian forces and those of the tsar in the seventeenth centuries to the massacre of Katyn in 1943, when the Soviet secret police massacred 22,000 Polish prisoners of war.

Moreover, those who signed this document with a fraternal spirit are the representatives of two Churches separated by a millennial schism: Catholic and Orthodox.

In addition, this is a message projected into the future. Which marks out a common path for the two Churches and the two peoples, both on the terrain of evangelization and on that of resistance to the challenges of secular culture, especially on abortion, euthanasia, the family. In these passages, the document specifically cites the magisterium of Benedict XVI: yet another sign of how much improvement there has been, with the current pontiff, in relations between the Churches of Rome and Moscow.

Below, the document –  not easy to find in the Western languages – is reproduced in its entirety.

While these are the links to the original text, in Russian:

> Sovmestnoe Posdanie Narodam Rossii i Polaši

And in Polish:

> Wspólne Przeslanie do Narodów Polski i Rosji

__________

JOINT MESSAGE TO THE NATIONS OF POLAND AND RUSSIA

of the Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of Poland, Archbishop Józef Michalik, Metropolitan of Przemysl,

and the Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Cyril
 

"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Cor 5: 19).

In the spirit of responsibility for the present and the future of our Churches and peoples, urged by pastoral concern, on behalf of the Catholic Church in Poland and of the Russian Orthodox Church we address this message of reconciliation to the faithful of our Churches, to our nations and all people of good will.

Proclaiming the truth that Jesus Christ is our peace and reconciliation (cf. Eph 2: 14; Rom 5: 11), aware of the call entrusted to us in the spirit of Christ’s Gospel, we wish to make our contribution to the work of rapprochement between our Churches and reconciliation between our nations.

1. Dialogue and reconciliation

Our brotherly nations have been tied not only by long centuries of neighbourhood, but also by the extensive Christian legacy of East and West. Aware of this long and shared history and the tradition, which takes its roots in the Gospel of Christ and has exerted a decisive impact on the identity, spirituality and culture of our peoples and of the entire Europe, we enter a path of honest dialogue in the hope that it will heal the wounds of the past, facilitate our overcoming mutual prejudice and misunderstanding and strengthen us in our pursuit of reconciliation.

Sin, which is the principal source of all divisions, human frailty, individual and collective egoism as well as political pressure led to mutual alienation, overt hostility and even struggle between our nations. Similar circumstances had earlier led to the dissolution of the original Christian unity. Division and schism, alien to Christ’s will, were a major scandal; therefore we redouble efforts to bring our Churches and nations closer to each other and to become more credible witnesses to the Gospel in the contemporary world. After the Second World War and the painful experience of atheism, which was imposed on our nations, today we enter a path of spiritual and material renewal. If this renewal is to be longstanding, a renewal of the human being must take place first, and through the human being the renewal of the relations between our Churches and nations.

Fraternal dialogue is the way towards such renewal. It is to facilitate a better understanding of each other and a reconstruction of mutual trust, and thus lead to reconciliation. Reconciliation, in turn, presupposes a readiness to forgive the wrongs and injustices of the past. We are obliged to do this by the prayer: "Our Father... forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those, who trespass against us." We call on our faithful to ask for the forgiveness of the wrongs, injustice and all evil we have inflicted on each other. We are confident that this is the first and foremost step to rebuild mutual trust, a precondition for a sustainable human community and complete reconciliation.

Naturally, to forgive does not mean to forget; memory is a significant part of our identity. We owe this memory also to the victims of the past, those tortured to death who laid down their lives for the faith to God and their homeland on this earth. To forgive, however, means to forgo revenge and hatred and to participate in the construction of concord and brotherhood between people, our nations and countries, which is the foundation of a peaceful future.

2. The past in the perspective of the future

The tragic events of the 20th century were experienced to a greater or lesser degree by all the countries and nations of Europe. Our countries, nations and Churches were painfully afflicted. The Polish and Russian people share the experience of the Second World War and the period of repressions imposed by the totalitarian regimes. These regimes, with their atheist ideology, fought against all forms of religious life and waged an especially atrocious war on Christianity and our Churches. Millions of innocent people fell victim to this war, of which we are reminded by numerous places of murder and graves on Polish and Russian soil. Sometimes the events of our often difficult and tragic shared past give rise to mutual resentments and accusations, which prevent the healing of old wounds.

An objective recognition of facts and an account of the magnitude of the tragedies and dramas of the past is an urgent task for historians and specialists. We appreciate the action taken by competent commissions and teams of experts in our respective countries. We express a conviction that their efforts will allow us to learn unadulterated historical truth, help account for doubts and effectively overcome negative stereotypes. We express a conviction that sustainable reconciliation as the foundation of a peaceful future may take place exclusively on the basis of a complete truth about our shared past. We call upon all those who pursue good, sustainable peace and happy future: politicians, social activists, people of science, culture and the arts, those who believe in God and those who do not, representatives of the Churches: do not falter in your efforts to foster dialogue, support all that facilitates the reconstruction of mutual trust and brings people closer to one another and all that allows us to build a peaceful future of our countries and nations, a future free from violence and wars.

3. Together in the face of new challenges

As a result of political and social transformations, at the close of the 20th century our Churches were finally able to fulfil their mission of evangelisation, and therefore to help our societies develop on the basis of traditional Christian values. Throughout history, Christianity contributed immensely to the formation of the spirituality and culture of our nations. Today, in an era of religious indifference and widespread secularisation, we take every effort so that the social life and culture of our nations should not be stripped of principal moral values, the cornerstone of a viable peaceful future.

The essential task of the Church until the end of time is the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. All Christians, not only the clergy, but also the lay faithful are called to preach the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Good News with their words and through the witness of their lives, in an individual, familial and social context. We recognise the autonomy of secular and ecclesiastical authority, but at the same time call for cooperation with respect to care for the family, education, social order and other questions which are vital for the good of the general public. We want to uphold tolerance and first and foremost defend fundamental freedoms, primarily religious freedom, as well as to guard the right of the presence of religion in public life.

Today our nations are faced with yet new challenges. Fundamental moral principles based on the Ten Commandments are questioned under the pretence of retaining the principle of secularism or the protection of freedom. We are faced with the promotion of abortion, euthanasia and same-sex relations, persistently shown as a form of marriage; a consumerist lifestyle is endorsed, traditional values rejected, while religious symbols are removed from public space. Quite often we encounter sings of hostility towards Christ, His Gospel and Cross; attempts are made to exclude the Church from public life. A misinterpreted secularism assumes a form of fundamentalism and in reality is a form of atheism.

We call on everyone to respect the inalienable dignity of each human being, created in God’s image and likeness (Gn 1: 27). In the name of the future of our nations we call for the respect and protection of the life of each and every human being from the moment of conception until natural death. We believe not only terrorism and armed conflict, but also abortion and euthanasia to be grave sins against life and a disgrace to contemporary civilisation. The family, a permanent relation between man and woman, is a sound foundation of all societies. As an institution founded by God (cf. Gn 1: 28; 2:23-24), the family warrants respect and protection as it is the cradle of life, a wholesome place of development, a guarantee of social stability, and a sign of hope for society. The family is a place conducive for the development of the human being who is responsible for himself, other people and the society he is part of.

We look with sincere concern, hope and love to young people, whom we wish to protect from demoralisation and to educate in the spirit of the Gospel. We want to teach young people how to love God, their fellow human beings and the earthly homeland as well as to foster in them a spirit of Christian culture, which will bear fruit with respect, tolerance and justice. We are certain that the Risen Christ offers hope not only for our Churches and nations, but also for Europe and the entire world. May He grant His grace so that each Pole can see each Russian and each Russian can see each Pole as their friend and brother.

Both Poles and Russians have profound respect for the Holy Virgin Mary. Having trust in the intercession of the Mother of God, we entrust to Her care the great work of the reconciliation and rapprochement between our Churches and nations. Recalling the words of Paul the Apostle: Christ’s peace must reign in your hearts (Col 3:15), we confer on all our blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

+ Józef Michalik, Archbishop Metropolitan of Przemysl

+ Cyril Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

Warsaw, August 17, 2012

(Translation from Radio Vaticana)

__________
 

The complete text of the words with which Benedict XVI, after the Angelus on Sunday, August 19, hailed the publication of the joint message:

"In these days the patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus', Kirill I, is a guest of the Orthodox Church in Poland. I cordially greet His Holiness, as well as all of the Orthodox faithful. The program of this visit also included encounters with the Catholic bishops and the common declaration of the desire to increase the fraternal union of collaboration in spreading the values of the Gospel in the contemporary world, in the spirit of the same faith in Christ Jesus. This is an important event that raises hope for the future. I entrust its fruits to the benevolence of Mary, imploring the blessing of God."

__________
 

ACN News, Monday, 25th June 2012 – INDIA

Miracles happen?
By John Newton

REPEATED incidents of supernatural healings are a primary cause of the massive growth of the Church in a remote corner of India – according to the region’s bishop.
 Bishop John Kattrukudiyil of Itangar, Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India, highlighted the phenomena of reported healings in explaining the growth of the Church in his diocese from virtually no faithful to about 40 percent of the population within 35 years.

During a visit to the headquarters of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need(ACN)in Germany, the bishop described the situation in his diocese saying: “Time and time again they tell me story after story of healings that have happened in various places. “What they tell me fills me with amazement.”

The bishop, whose region of India neighbours China, Bhutan and Burma, added: “I have a lot of theological background in my studies and it’s easy to become sceptical about all these kind of things, but the people are absolutely convinced that they have received healing.”
He told of one healing incident involving a man who renounced a past spent persecuting the Church and converted to marry a Catholic girl.
 Bishop Kattrukudiyil said: “After becoming a Catholic the man was asked to go and pray over a paralysed man. He was unwilling but he still went and prayed and the next day that man rose up and walked to the church.
“He was so shocked at this miraculous experience he began to go to church and now today he is a very active member of the parish.”
However, the bishop admitted that, while he had heard many first-hand accounts of this kind, they were often treated with scepticism when he related them to others.

(Bishop John Thomas Kattrukudiyil of Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh in north east India)

He said: “When I recount these stories to people in Europe and elsewhere they say ‘O bishop, you are telling us stories’.”
But he went on to describe how these experiences were deepening people’s spiritual lives.
 The bishop added: “There are so many [healing] stories coming to me which we cannot ignore.
“This is the experience of a very young Church, experiencing the same grace as that of the Church of Apostolic times.”
Bishop Kattrukudiyil said: “The fact that many people experienced healing by praying to Jesus attracted many people to the Church in its early days – that and a kind of spiritual peace that they got by belonging to the Church.”
He added: “From their experience, they found that when they came together and went to the house of someone who was sick and prayed over him the individual experienced healing.
 “People who had had been suffering from various sicknesses for a long time were healed – it’s really an experience of the early Church that these people had.”

According to the bishop, Christians have mushroomed in Arunachal Pradesh over the last 35 years – from virtually no faithful to an expected 40 percent of the total population when the 2010 census results are finally released.

The country was closed to Christian missionaries because of strict entry permit laws – which were only revoked in the 1990s – but the situation changed when young people in Arunachal Pradesh sought education in Catholic schools in neighbouring Assam.
Some students at the Catholic schools asked for baptism and, with their parents’ permission, received the sacrament before returning to their villages, where the faith spread.
Some of these students were subsequently elected to government posts and helped to change the situation.
While in many places new Catholics faced beatings, house burnings, the slaughter of domestic animals and expulsion from of jobs or schools, gradually things improved, and no incidents of persecution or harassment have been recorded in the past twenty years.
Bishop Kattrukudiyil said: “Today the church is not tolerated but looked up to for her developmental works in education and health care.
“The politicians use every occasion to praise the Church for her philanthropic activities.”

Bishop Kattrukudiyil thanked Aid to the Church in Need for its help in supporting the growth of the Church through projects to build a minor seminary, convents and chapels as well as through training for catechists and teachers.
He said: “ACN helps especially on catechesis, training, building chapels – these are the most important areas of our activities
“We always feel that ACN is there behind us willing to help us wherever we are in need.”

On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org

Where the Church's Growth Is Fastest
Bishop From Northeast India Speaks on Christ's Appeal

ROME, FEB. 3, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The northeast corner of India is the place where the Catholic Church has grown most over the past 30 years, with an average of about 10,000 adult baptisms every year -- and this despite the fact that for many generations missionaries were banned.

Mark Riedemann for Where God Weeps in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need spoke with a bishop from the region, John Thomas Kattrukudiyil of Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh.

Q: Since the 1970s the Catholic Church has exploded in this northeastern corner of India growing today to a number a little under 200,000. To what can we attribute this explosive growth of the Catholic faith?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: This is a phenomenon that surprised everybody. The Church, the government, everyone was surprised. The immediate reason I can give was the desire of the young people of Arunachal Pradesh to profit from the charitable activities of the Christian missionaries. They saw the good activities done by the missionaries and since the missionaries were not allowed in Arunachal Pradesh they thought: "well let us go out and invite them." One thing led to another; they received baptism and they became Christians, Catholics. Another factor is that the young were not at all happy with their traditional religious practices. For example, they used to have to offer many sacrifices when someone was sick. This is very expensive and as the traditional religion imposed more and more such expenses they then turned to the new religion, Christianity, that asked them only to pray to Jesus. They then found that when they prayed to Jesus they were getting healed, they were getting graces. So that helped a lot to bring about change.

Q: Can one say that traditional religions are based on fear?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: It is basically based on fear. They believe in many evil spirits and these spirits control their lives and they always have to placate these evil spirits. And how do you placate them, for example, in an area where there is no medical help available? By offering more and more animal sacrifices. When someone is sick, the village traditional religion leader tells them that this is because of an evil spirit so you have to offer 10 mithun -- the Indian bison -- for sacrifice, or five pigs or 10 cows. For a village this involves hundreds or thousands of animals and that is a big burden on them. As soon as they saw an alternative, they jumped on it.

Q: And the missionaries could come and say: "Have no fear, there is one spirit, the Holy Spirit, and it's a good spirit."

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Yes and especially in presenting him as our loving Father in contrast to these spirits who are only there to threaten us and to persecute us. I think that made a big difference.

Q: And this extraordinary growth in the face of the fact that in Arunachal Pradesh, and the other sister states of northeastern India, there is an anti-conversion law. What is the anti-conversion law and how did this come about?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: This anti-conversion law exists not only in the northeast like Arunachal Pradesh but in other states like Orissa, and Pradesh. How did this come about? This law came out of fear among a section of Hindus that Christianity might spread all over India. It is an unfounded fear though it may be that it is being used as a political tool in order to win political power. Some Hindu's whip up the emotions of the Hindu majority by saying that Hindus are in danger and thus the need to bring all the polarized Hindus under one political apparatus and then turn that group into a political power. This could be the political angle to the whole story; otherwise it is unbelievable that Christians who number no more than 2% of the population could pose a threat to a big country like India.

Q: As a consequence of not having any priests, it was the laity who started the evangelization in Arunachal Pradesh?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Yes, especially the women. A priest established a mission at the gates of Arunachal Pradesh close to the market place. He met some of the Arunachal women and invited them to the mission. These people were more than happy to have someone to talk to. While they were doing their business in the market and through talking to them, he learned a few words of their language. They trusted him. He then mentioned his faith to them. They accepted and many of them were baptized. They went back to their village. He mentioned too that their children were welcome to study. So they brought their children to the mission. He put these children in the schools. In the end this mission station became the center for baptisms. Many people would say: "Let me go to Harmuti to get baptized" and they would come, stay there a day or two, get baptized and go back to their village.

Q: And as we know, today, there are hundreds…

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: At least about 180,000 Catholics must be there.

Q: … And 10,000 adult baptisms every year?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Close to that number takes place every year.

Q: What would be the most important tool in terms of the presence of the Catholic Church in Arunachal Pradesh?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: The government and the tribal population accept us because of our contribution in the field of education. Everybody knows that the whole northeast owes a great deal to the missionaries because a large percentage of the populations who are educated have gone through our schools.

Q: In fact, many generations coming now into leadership have passed through these Catholic schools?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Many of those who initiated this anti-conversion law have their children and grandchildren in Catholic schools. They say: "Yes, yes it is good that the missionaries have schools for us, but not for the poor because they may get converted." They want the poor to remain ignorant. They just want to use the Church facilities for themselves.

Q: … Only for their own purposes?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Yes and in fact, this tendency is seen also among a certain sections of the elite in Arunachal Pradesh who ask me: "Bishop, why are you wasting your time opening schools in the remote villages? You have a very nice school in Itanagar. Put all your resources there; charge a very high fee and we will send our children there." I say: "No, that is not the purpose for which I am here. I would open a school in the most remote village sooner than here in the city."

Q: And the purpose is to reach out to the poorest of the poor?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: Yes. Accepting Christianity is a byproduct but we would like to give these people who have been denied the basic right to education the possibility of good education.

Q: Would you say that the primary phase of evangelization has passed or are we still in the primary phase?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: The expansion of the Church at a rapid phase has slowed down. Somehow with the passage of time, the coming of missionaries, institutionalization of the Church this rapid phase has slowed down but the appreciation for the Church has remained and the people still keep coming. The focus now is on consolidation like giving catechesis, and this has its own difficulties: difficult terrain to reach the villages and the question of language, all these dialects, every priest is not able to learn all these dialects so we need translators and then lay catechists.

Q: The first evangelization came from the Baptists and they did a fantastic job. You have good relations with the Baptists. Now there are new churches coming in. How is the relationship with all these groups and how is this inter-Christian dialogue managed?

Bishop Kattrukudiyil: The first Christians in Arunachal Pradesh were the Baptists, however, today in terms of influence and visibility, the Catholic Church is by far the most visible in Arunachal Pradesh. When the government wants to deal with the Christian groups they approach the bishop of the Catholic Church to find out what the Christians will say. I have over time found that all the Christian groups generally and very subtly accepted the leadership of the bishop and accepted the bishop as a representative of the Christian groups. In fact, when they need to do something they approach me and they follow the Catholic line in terms of all socio-political realities despite the fact that they are keen to keep their individuality.

* * *

This interview was conducted by Mark Riedemann for "Where God Weeps," a weekly television and radio show produced by Catholic Radio and Television Network in conjunction with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
 

A Muslim Finds the Catholic Faith…Through Geography and Theology

British soccer team owner and prominent philanthropist Ilyas Khan reflects on his conversion.
Daily News by EDWARD PENTIN 04/10/2012

Ilyas Khan

Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar was instrumental in helping Ilyas Khan, a British philanthropist and former Muslim, to become Catholic. But so too were many other distinctly Catholic influences, all amounting to a “pull” towards the faith rather than a “push” away from Islam.
Khan, a merchant banker by training and the owner of the Accrington Stanley soccer team, is also chairman of the prominent British charity Leonard Cheshire Disability — the largest organization in the world helping people with disabilities. In a revealing interview with Register Rome correspondent Edward Pentin, Khan explains in more detail what drew him to the Catholic Church in 2009.

What brought you to the faith? Was there anything in Islam, perhaps Muslims’ devotion to Our Lady, which helped you to convert?
Yes and no. Devotion to Our Lady on a personal basis is a big part of my faith, but at the same time, I know it wasn’t anything to do with my upbringing as a Muslim. My first tentative steps towards Catholicism were taken in my very early infancy. My mother was very ill at that time, and I was raised till about the age of 3 or 4 by a grandmother who was determinedly Catholic and Irish. I went to a Church school, and I think that when I started classes I didn’t think of myself as anything other than being Christian.
I also benefited from being brought up in Lancashire, up on the Pennines and close to the Ribble Valley. If there was ever a Catholic heartland in England, that was it — the great stronghold that never really acknowledged the Reformation.
Later on, when I was entering university, divine Providence intervened for a second time, and I stayed at Netherhall House, which is an Opus Dei student hall of residence in London. But, in between, say from the ages of about 4 to 17, I had been raised as a Muslim in a Muslim household. I had gone to mosque, learned the Quran. So, yes, I was raised a Muslim, but I don’t think there was any aspect of Islam that might have nudged me towards becoming a Catholic.

Was that time in Netherhall very influential, in terms of bringing you into the faith?
Very much so, yes. However, at that point in time, I don’t think I had the guts to convert or be received into the Church, or even take formal instruction. Apostasy is something Islam takes very seriously. In the eyes of a great many, Muslims’ apostasy is actually (as opposed to merely theoretically) punishable by death. So Netherhall was absolutely instrumental. I remember very clearly my devotion to prayer was really formed there, surrounded as I was by living examples of a wonderfully spiritual faith.

Would you say you came to the faith almost subconsciously?
Not really. I think I came to my faith wholly consciously. By the age of 18 and 19, I was a reasoning and questioning young adult. And by then I had discovered there was a brilliant person called Hans Urs von Balthasar. There was a library in Netherhall where I started reading theology. That’s where I came across Origen, and, to a very large extent, that’s also where I was able to study and appreciate the work of St. Augustine. So I was very conscious but somewhat apprehensive. Both my parents were still alive at the time, and part of my reticence was my unwillingness to cause them hurt. I don’t know quite how I would have described myself by the time I graduated from university, but probably “a closet Catholic” comes close.

What gave you the courage in the end?
Apart from the Holy Spirit? A culmination of two things: a greater degree of certainty in my own moral compass; and if there was a push away from Islam or a pull, it was much more the pull of Christ. It wasn’t ever in my mind a negative thing [to convert]. The other important factor was my very regular attendance, over a decade prior to my formally being received, at a church — St. Joseph’s in Hong Kong. I went to live in Asia and Hong Kong in my mid-20s, and that’s where I discovered my affinity for traditional Catholicism. The simple acts of faith — ritual, the liturgy and congregational prayer — were the stepping stones.

Did you have a sense, in those years leading up to being received, of a growing sense that the Catholic faith is the truth?
Yes, though that’s perhaps slightly melodramatic. At this stage of my life, when my religion is at the core of what I do, it’s very difficult to differentiate between any actions that might or might not be motivated by faith. I would hope that everything I do in my life is motivated and guided by faith. To answer your question in a slightly different way: I never doubted, from about my mid-20s onwards, that I was a Christian, and my path towards Catholicism, as opposed to Christianity per se, was really quite a quick one. In retrospect, the heart of that journey actually took four or five years and was more academically or intellectually based. I have to say it was Von Balthasar who guided me.

Were Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI also influential? Both have been described as so-called Balthasarians.
That’s a really good question. I’ve never been asked that question before. Yes, well, Cardinal Ratzinger, the current Pope, definitely qualifies as being “Balthasarian,” and Blessed John Paul II raised Balthasar to becoming a cardinal. Obviously, John Paul II was an influence beyond his regard for Von Balthasar — how could one not be influenced by such a great man? Like a great many people, Balthasar himself was not just a gigantic intellect, but also articulated how the mystery of faith is central to our lives as Christians. And, in that regard, the single most moving moment for me happened when I was in my mid-30s. I was walking past the Pieta in St. Peter’s, and I remember being literally arrested in my tracks by a combination of four or five things all at once. You asked me about my relationship with the Blessed Mother of God — well, that moment in time was really important. That can be described as being the turning point.

Was it the beauty of the Pietà that struck you?
Yes — and the context. This is God, I thought. This really is God. You must remember that one of the big things when we look at traditional Islam is the heresy — in their opinion — of equating the mortal Jesus with God. And if there is ever an obstacle that a Muslim convert has to contend with, intellectually and emotionally, more than anything else, that is it. At that moment, in front of the Pietà, I realized, through sheer emotion, that the truth of our religion is so simple and so direct.

You mean the fact that Jesus is not just a prophet, but God Himself?
Yes, absolutely, and I think at that moment — I remember it distinctly; it still moves me to tears — there was no doubt in my mind. It was so clear. I’m afraid it would be impossible for me to articulate that feeling in mere words. If there was a “before” and an “after,” then that was my point of arrival, so to speak.

In terms of being concerned about the “apostasy” charge from Muslims — is it something that keeps you up at night?
No, not at all. It doesn’t keep me up at night. However, I can tell you where it becomes relevant: In various different forums — in articles, magazines and on radio and once or twice on TV — I have tended to get a fair degree of coverage in Britain, where I’m also well known as the owner of one of our best-known football teams. I get described with a standard tagline saying something like: “The most prominent recent Catholic convert.” Whilst there have been many times when I have been on the receiving end of threats from individual Muslims or Islamic organizations who might read and react to these articles and interviews, I have to say that those occasions have absolutely never kept me up at night. I have received my fair share of hate mail and threats of violence, but I conduct myself with what I hope is a simple dignity and refuse to be drawn into a life governed by fear or undue caution.
Conversely, what I am interested in is where Islam and Catholicism meet; here, there is a degree of commonality. And my attitude is to exhibit for those who are not Catholics the beauty, purity, wonder and the privilege of being a Catholic. I’m just very straightforward and calm about this issue, and that’s a reflection of my faith.

Some prominent converts from Islam can be very negative towards their former religion, but you don’t seem to have that view.
My views have the benefit of being blessedly simple. I don’t think there’s any complexity in my faith, and, as I said earlier, I was pulled towards my Christian faith, not pushed away from Islam.
However, I must admit that I do have a great deal of sadness in my heart when I contemplate people who use Islam to justify their actions. These actions aren’t just un-Islamic — they are inhuman and have nothing to do with my view of Islam as a religion. Sadly, there appear to be a very large number of Muslims for whom anger and violence seem intuitive first responses to anything they don’t agree with. Beyond that, I feel that the two religions, Islam and Christianity, might be described as “distant cousins.” Remember, I was raised a Muslim, and I have been to Medina and Mecca, and I can see some of the inherent qualities. But we must also admit that the point of departure, the difference between the two religions, is vast. So while there are similarities, and I can see them, they don’t count really for very much. … I celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ is love. It’s a simple statement. It is the defining difference.

And it is very simple in its totality.
Yes, it is; but then the thing we call “love,” that we as Christians concern ourselves (with) at the heart of our faith, is a living, real and tangible quality. Jesus is actually with us; we don’t need metaphors or vague conceptual examples of what love “might” be in order to inspire or inform us. We are blessed by the Holy Sacrament and nourished by the direct intercession of Our Lord through his sacrifice. In that regard, Von Balthasar has helped to change the basis of conversation about the relationship between the Church, Christ and the Holy Spirit. He created a new understanding around the semantics of “love” in a religious context. I, therefore, can’t really say much about the contrasts between Catholicism and other religions, be they Islam or Hinduism, for example, but simply affirm the unerring simplicity of my own faith.

Edward Pentin writes from Rome
 

Pope says personal conversion is first step of New Evangelization

By David Ker
Pope Benedict XVI. Credit: Mazur.

Vatican City, May 24, 2012 / 03:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI told the bishops of Italy today that personal holiness is an indispensable first step to reconverting their country and the Western world to Christianity. 
"The fundamental condition in order to be able to speak about God is to speak with God, increasingly to become men of God, nourished by an intense life of prayer and molded by his grace,” the Pope said on May 24.
He encouraged his fellow bishops to allow themselves “to be found and seized by God so as to help the people we meet be touched by the Truth.”
Pope Benedict made his remarks to the participants of the 64th General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference, which is being held May 21--25.
The Italian bishops gathered in the Vatican’s Synod Hall, where they heard the Pope lament how for many people in the West, God has “become the great Unknown and Jesus is simply an important figure of the past.”
The Pope said that this is resulting in people no longer understanding the “profound value “ of the “spiritual and moral patrimony” that the West’s roots are in and that “is its lifeblood.” What was once “fertile land,” he said, is now at risk of “becoming a barren desert and the good seed (is in danger) of being suffocated, trampled on and lost.
Even many baptized people in the West “have lost their identity” and “do not know the essential contents of the faith, or they believe they can cultivate faith without ecclesial mediation,” he warned the bishops.

The practical impact of this, Pope Benedict said, is that while many baptized “look doubtfully at Church teaching,” others have reduced “the Kingdom of God to certain broad values, which are certainly related to the Gospel but which do not touch the central nucleus of Christian faith.”
But the Pope did not finish his remarks without offering a solution to the Italian bishops.
He pointed them to the New Evangelization, which has its roots in the prophetic words of Pope John XXIII. At the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962, John XXIII said that the council would help “transmit pure and integral doctrine, without any attenuation or misrepresentation” but in a new way “according to what is required by our times.”
This, explained Pope Benedict, is the key or “hermeneutic” of “continuity and reform” required to properly understand the council today.
He repeated, though, that any new evangelization will not be achieved simply by “new methods of announcing the Gospel” or by “pastoral activity” but only through personal conversion.
“We must begin again from God, celebrated, professed and witnessed,” said the Pope. “Our primary task, our true and only task, remains that of dedicating our lives to the one thing that is truly dependable, necessary and ultimate.”
Before concluding with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, Pope Benedict assured the bishops that the Catholic faith preached by word and example still has the power to draw all people to Christ.
“Where space is given to the Gospel, and therefore to friendship with Christ, man realizes he is the object of a love which purifies, warms, renews, and makes us capable of serving mankind with divine love,” he said.
 

At last! A judge who fights for marriage: Senior family court judge campaigns to break Britain's 'divorce addiction'

• •Sir Paul Coleridge said family breakdown is 'destructive' to society
• Tomorrow the judge will launch a campaign to promote marriage
• He voiced concern over the 'Hello! magazine, Hollywood image' of marriage

PUBLISHED: 21:30 GMT, 29 April 2012 | UPDATED: 22:37 GMT, 30 April 2012

High Court judge Sir Paul Coleridge, who was assigned to the Family Division, said family breakdown is 'destructive'.
Britons have an addiction to divorce fuelled by a 'Hello! magazine' attitude to marriage, a top judge has warned.
 

Sir Paul Coleridge said family breakdown was 'one of the most destructive scourges of our time'.
Citing growing evidence of harm to a generation of children, he said youngsters whose parents separated saw their educational achievements and job prospects damaged.
In a highly unusual move for a serving judge, Sir Paul will tomorrow launch a campaign – backed by senior legal figures and Church leaders – to promote marriage.
There was 'incontrovertible' proof that married couples were more likely to stay together, he said.

Sir Paul, one of the most senior family court judges, voiced particular concern over what he called the 'Hello! magazine, Hollywood image' of marriage, saying: 'The more we have spent on weddings, the greater the rate of family breakdown.'
And he also warned that a trend for older couples to split once children leave home was having an 'extremely emotionally disturbing' impact on families.
Sir Paul's campaign is expected to be supported by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu and the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, while patrons of the campaign include former chief family law judge Baroness Butler-Sloss, family lawyer and academic Baroness Deech and Baroness Shackleton, the divorce lawyer who acted for Prince Charles and Sir Paul McCartney.

The judge warned that courts had 'streamlined' family cases to contend with the growing numbers, making it too easy for couples to split – suggesting they should be required to go through counselling and mediation.
'We don't traditionally comment on matters of policy, but there are very few people who have had as much experience of what is going on as the family judiciary,' he told the Daily Mail.
'We have watched it get worse and worse and worse. The time for sucking our teeth is over. Waiting for government or others to take action is merely an excuse for moaning and inactivity.'
According to official figures, there were 400,000 cases heard in the family courts in 2010 and 120,000 divorces, up 5 per cent on the previous year.

A report will say there is now overwhelming evidence that married relationships are more stable and the children of such relationships fare better.
There were 241,000 marriages in 2010, a near 100-year low. Some 22 per cent of marriages in 1970 had ended in divorce by the 15th wedding anniversary, whereas 33 per cent of marriages now end in the same period.
Cohabitation, meanwhile, rose from a million couples in 2001 to 2.9million in 2010 – and it is projected to rise to 3.7million by 2031.
'Marriage is not something that falls out of the sky ready-made on to beautiful people in white linen suits, it involves endless hard work and love'
- Lord Justice Coleridge

Referring to the 'Hello! magazine' attitude, he said: 'Marriage is not something that falls out of the sky ready-made on to beautiful people in white linen suits.
'It involves endless hard work, compromises, forgiveness and love. However right the person is, they might not be right two years later. It doesn't matter how wonderful you appear to be to your partner at the beginning, you will begin to display faults that we all have.
'In order for a relationship to last, you have to hang in there and adjust and change and alter and understand. Long, stable marriages are carved out of the rock of human stubbornness and selfishness and difficulties.'

Sir Paul, 62, who has been married for nearly 40 years and has three children and three grandchildren, also warned of the rise in so-called 'silver splitters' – couples who separate late in life, often when their children leave home. In the past decade divorce among the over-50s has risen by 10 per cent.
'It is very sad that we now see such a huge number of people in their 50s, 60s and 70s getting divorced and carving up their estates and their lives,' he said.

 'There has been a dramatic increase. The truth is that people think it's fine to do that once children are grown up. It probably isn't as destructive as when as child is 12, but if you speak to those in their 20s or 30s who experience their parents breaking up long after they have left home, they will tell you almost always that it's an extremely emotionally disturbing thing for them, and indeed for any grandchildren. It creates huge sensitivities. The tectonic plates of a family shift.'
Sir Paul said he backed proposals to make it compulsory for anyone wishing to apply to the courts over an acrimonious separation to attend mediation or counselling.
Tory ministers have suggested that separating couples should be made to understand the impact of conflict on children.
But the judge suggested a wider shake up of the law, which he said dated back to the 1950s.

'The law and the courts have undoubtedly played a part, because in order to manage the enormous flood of cases we have had to streamline the law and the process. There is no such thing as a defended divorce any longer. We see that the fight is no longer over the divorce itself, but over money and children,' he said.
Sir Paul said he was not interested in 'preaching' or pronouncing moral judgments. And he defended the right of judges to speak out on issues of concern in which they had expertise.
It was the same, he said, as doctors alerting the public to an epidemic they had detected. 'It would be irresponsible to remain quiet. This is an exceptional situation,' he said.
The Marriage Foundation, the new campaign group he will lead, will accept divorce is sometimes unavoidable and will not argue that those who make a sustained commitment to one another outside marriage are in some way inferior.

 'This is not going to be a cosy club for the smug and self-satisfied of middle England but, we hope, the start of a national movement with the aim of changing attitudes across the board from the very top to the bottom of society, and thus improve the lives of us all, especially children,' the judge said.
Instead, the campaign will seek to promote marriage as the 'gold standard' for relationships that benefit couples, children and wider society.
A report to be published by the foundation will say there is now overwhelming evidence that married relationships are more stable and the children of such relationships fare better.
A baby born to cohabiting parents is more than ten times more likely to see its parents separate than one born to married parents.

Among natural parents, almost 90 per cent of married couples were still together when their children were seven compared with just 69 per cent of couples who were cohabiting. Almost one in four children living with cohabiting parents as a baby, meanwhile, was in lone-mother families by the age of seven compared with only one in ten living with married parents.
The costs and consequences for society, the foundation will say, are unsustainable.
Half a million children and adults are drawn into the family law and justice system every year, with 3.8million children currently caught up in the family justice system.
The financial cost to society of broken relationships is estimated to be £44billion a year. Research by the Youth Justice Board suggests 70 per cent of young offenders are from broken families.
The positive benefits of marriage include higher incomes and greater accumulation of wealth, avoiding the loss of income that tends to follow a breakdown.
Marriage also improves health, with one study suggesting the health gain may be as large as the benefit from giving up smoking.

The five champions of marriage
The five key members of the Marriage Foundation have notched up some 204 years of married life between them.

Lord Justice Coleridge, 62
Has been married to Judith for 39 years. They have two sons and one daughter.
Sir Paul Coleridge was privately educated at Cranleigh School, Surrey, and called to the bar in 1970.
He married his wife, a boatbuilder's daughter, in a simple ceremony – with a reception in a boatyard – in 1973. He has speculated that expensive weddings create a greater risk of family breakdown.
He has previously said that 'splitting families is like splitting the atom. You get enormous quantities of pent-up emotional energies that spill out and are completely unpredictable, plus all sorts of collateral damage that nobody expected'.

Baroness Deech, 69
Has been married to Dr John Stewart for 45 years. They have one daughter.
Ruth Deech was ennobled as Baroness Deech of Cumnor in Oxfordshire in 2005.
Her father was a historian and journalist who fled the Nazis in Vienna and her family arrived in Britain on September 3, 1939, the day war was declared on Germany.
Lady Deech believes the number of weddings has fallen to its lowest level since 1895 because 'religion is a waning force, women have financial independence, there is state support for lone parents, children are no longer classified as illegitimate, divorce is easy and there is no recrimination over sex and birth out of wedlock'.

Lord Justice Toulson, 65
Has been married to Elizabeth for 39 years. They have two sons and two daughters.
Sir Roger Toulson was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in January 2007 after a distinguished 38-year career in the law.
He is patron of several charities, including Time for Families, a Christian charity that supports families, and Keep Out, a scheme aimed at rehabilitating young offenders.
In a case in which a morbidly obese man argued that his local health authority should fund his fat-reducing surgery, he said: 'Human rights law is sometimes in danger of becoming over-complicated.'

Baroness Shackleton, 55
Has been married to Ian Ridgeway Shackleton for 27 years. They have two daughters.
Fiona Shackleton is the personal solicitor to Princes William and Harry. She has been nicknamed 'the Steel Magnolia' for her toughness and has handled high-profile divorces, including those of the Prince of Wales and Diana, the Duke and Duchess of York and Sir Paul and Lady McCartney.
She has been quoted as saying: 'I like sticking up for people, making sure they are not taken advantage of. Even if they are incredibly rich.'

Baroness Butler-Sloss, 78
Has been married to Joseph Butler-Sloss for 54 years. They have two sons and one daughter.
Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was the most senior woman judge in Britain until her retirement.
She made many controversial decisions, including blocking a man's legal battle to see his test-tube baby daughter, conceived after he broke up with her mother.
When criticised by Fathers 4 Justice, she said: 'I cannot meet [them] because they are not being sensible, and as long as they throw condoms with purple powder and send a double-decker bus with a loudspeaker outside my private house in the West Country there is no point.'
 

South Korea, the Asian Tiger of the Church

The number of Catholics there is growing at a staggering pace. With many thousands of new baptized adults every year. The report of a great missionary

by Sandro Magister

ROME, April 18, 2012 – The seven years of pontificate that Benedict XVI will mark tomorrow are associated, in common opinion, with the general decline of the Church.

But this opinion is nurtured by a view restricted to the Christianity of the Old Continent: to a Europe that in effect has suffered the blows of a growing secularization.
If one simply widens the perspective, in fact, the reality appears different. In the past century the Catholic Church has experienced the most extraordinary phase of missionary expansion in its history.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, in sub-Saharan Africa there were fewer than 2 million Catholics. A hundred years later, there were 130 million.
And also on a worldwide scale, the twentieth century was for the Church a century of numeric explosion. From 266 million at the beginning of the 1900’s, Catholics reached 1.1 billion a hundred years later. An increase of  a factor of four, more than the parallel increase of the planet's population.
It is an expansion that shows no sign of stopping, and began in the 1800’s, precisely when the Catholic Church in Europe was undergoing the attacks of a culture and of powers strongly hostile to Christianity.
Today the context is analogous. For the Catholic Church in Europe, these are lean years. But in other regions of the world it is the opposite.
South Korea, for example, is a country in which Catholicism is growing at a dizzying pace. And precisely among the most active and "modern" strata of the population.
The report that follows – published on Easter by the newspaper of the Italian Episcopal conference, "Avvenire" – was written by one of the leading experts on Catholic missions in the world. A missionary himself, Fr. Piero Gheddo is today the director, in Rome, of the historical office of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.
He is the author of numerous volumes and collaborated in the drafting of the 1990 encyclical “"Redemptoris Missio” of by John Paul II.
__________

SEOUL, AN EASTER FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
by Piero Gheddo

There may be no other country in the world that over the past half century has seen growth as sustained as that of South Korea, including conversions to Christ.

From 1960 to 2010, the number of inhabitants went from 23 to 48 million; per capita income from 1,300 to 19,500 dollars; Christians from 2 to 30 percent, of which about 10-11 percent, 5.5 million, are Catholic; there were 250 Korean priests, today there are 5,000.

I first went to South Korea in 1986 with Fr. Pino Cazzaniga, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Japan, who speaks Korean.

Even back then it was a Church with many conversions, and it is still so today. Every parish has from 200 to 400 baptisms of converts from Buddhism each year. Most of the converts are city dwellers. Each year there are 130-150 new priests, one for every 1,110 baptized. In 2008, the proportion of Catholics exceeded 10 percent of South Koreans, and grows by about 3 percent each year. In 2009, the number of baptized reached 157,000, and 149 priests were ordained, 21 more than in 2008. More than two thirds of the priests are under the age of 40. "Over the past ten years, the Catholic Church in Korea has gone from three to five million faithful; in Seoul we are 14 percent," Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, archbishop of Seoul, has said in an interview.

The Catholic Church in South Korea is the one that is growing most vigorously in Asia. There is full religious freedom in South Korea, and the secretary of the Korean episcopal conference, Bishop Simon E. Chen, told me that Koreans demonstrate a strong propensity for Christianity, because it introduces the idea of the equality of all human beings created by the one God. Moreover, both Catholics and Protestants participated in the popular movement against the military dictatorship, between 1961 and 1987, while Confucianism and Buddhism promote obedience to the established authority. Also, Christianity is the religion of a personal God made man to save us, while shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are not even religions, but systems of human wisdom and of life. Finally, after the war between North and South Korea (1950 to 1953), South Korea, thanks to American aid, saw extremely rapid economic, social, and civil development, becoming in every way an advanced and even rich country, in which the ancient religions do not provide answers to the problems of modern life.

One characteristic of the Korean Church is the excellent collaboration of the laity in evangelization. The Church was born in Korea from a few Korean philosophers and diplomats who emigrated, converted to Christianity in Beijing, and then, after returning home, propagated the faith and baptized. From 1779 to 1836, when the first French missionaries arrived, Christians spread and then the persecutions came, but the habit of collaborating with the Church has remained. Today in Korea, someone who converts knows that he must join one of the groups, associations, or movements of the parish. The "passive" Catholic is not recognized. In Seoul, where there are more than 200 parishes, I was in the parish of the Salesians of Kuro 3-Dong, in a working class area on the outskirts of the city. The Catholics, already in 1986, were 9,537 out of about 150,000 inhabitants, and there were almost 600 baptisms of adult converts each year.

The pastor, Fr. Paul Kim Bo Rok, told me: "In the parish we are two priests and four sisters, but the real work of mission and religious instruction is done by the laity, both in the eight courses of catechesis, taught at different times and by different people, and in the very active ecclesial movements, especially the Legion of Mary. Each year, we celebrate two or three rites of collective baptism of adults: each time the baptized are 200, 300, or even more, after about a year of catechumenate: that's not much, but we can't allow any more time because of the many requests for religious instruction. Deeper formation in the faith is given after Baptism, and is the task of the ecclesial movements. Becoming Christian means entering into a group that draws you in deeply, gives you norms of behavior and effort, gives you prayers to say every day. When one enters the Church one accepts everything. This is the Korean spirit: either you accept and commit yourself, or you don't accept and go away."

Fr. Paul continues: "In Korea, religion is something serious and demanding. It is true that there is the danger of formalism, but it is the entire culture of the people that is set up this way. Moreover, Christianity is the primary force that emphasizes the personal conscience and the freedom of the person. What are coming, instead, are threats opposite to formalism: secularism and practical materialism, which draw people away from the religious spirit. South Korea is seeing prodigious economic development, the poverty of thirty years ago has disappeared: today for us there is the passage to abundance and even to wealth. We must react with a deeper and more personal Christian formation. We are overwhelmed by the wave of conversions, and we are asking the Christian world at least for the aid of prayer."

Baptisms are generally administered at Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. In the parish of Bang Rim Dong in Kwangiù, on Easter of 1986 I participated in the Mass and in the Baptism of 114 adults with their children. A celebration of the people, with a long procession of men and women, boys and girls, dressed in white to receive Baptism. Songs, music, so much joy. In the Korean Catholic Church, the program "Evangelization Twenty Twenty," the effort to convert 20 percent of South Koreans by 2020, is in full swing. They might not make it there, but the launch of this program in 2008 demonstrates of itself the enthusiastic faith of the baptized laity, because they are the driving force, and everyone knows it.

At Easter of this year, on Sunday, April 8, in Korea and in the world of the missions, tens of thousands of catechumens again entered the Church. Never be pessimistic about the future of Christianity and of the Catholic Church. We of the Old Continent are going through a crisis in our faith, but in the young Churches the action of the Holy Spirit is giving us an injection of hope and of Paschal joy.
 

Cardinal urges Catholics to wear a cross with pride

Christian workers in England have been disciplined for wearing crosses, but Cardinal O'Brien is determined that things will be different in Scotland.

United Kingdom:
Christians should wear a cross on their clothes every day as “a symbol of their beliefs”, according to the head of the Catholic church in Scotland. In his Easter Sunday homily, Cardinal Keith O’Brien called on Christians to make the cross “more prominent in their lives”.

Speaking at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Cathedral , he told them to “wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ on their garments each and every day of their lives”.

“I know that many of you do wear such a cross of Christ, not in any ostentatious way, not in a way that might harm you at your work or recreation, but a simple indication that you value the role of Jesus Christ in the history of the world, that you are trying to live by Christ’s standards in your own daily life.”

Two women who say they were discriminated against when their employers barred them from wearing the symbol are fighting to get their cases heard at the European Court of Human Rights.

Nadia Eweida, 59, of Twickenham, south west London, was suspended by British Airways for breaching its uniform code in 2006.

Shirley Chaplin, 56, from Exeter, was barred from working on wards by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust after refusing to hide the cross she wore on a necklace chain.

Cardinal O’Brien quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who said Christians “need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles.
 

Jewish Shroud Expert Teaches at Pontifical University

Photographer From '78 Scientific Examination Speaks of Proofs of Authenticity

By Andrew Dalton, LC

ROME, MARCH 22, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Barrie Schwortz was the Official Documenting Photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the team that conducted the first in-depth scientific examination of the Shroud in 1978.

In this interview, Schwortz tells ZENIT how Shroud science has influenced his own faith.

ZENIT:  You just finished teaching a week-long course as part of the Diploma in Shroud Studies from the Science and Faith Institute of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, in collaboration with Othonia and the International Center of Sindonology in Turin.  What has that experience meant for you?

Schwortz:  Probably the best part of the experience is the warm reception that I’m given by the faculty and students. That makes me feel that being here is very worthwhile.  The response from the students is always so positive.

Of course, being Jewish, it’s sort of ironic. The first time they asked me [to teach], I said, “So, how often do you bring Jews to teach future priests about the Shroud?” We all laughed about that.

It really is a great honor. For me, it makes the work that I’ve done with the Shroud over all these years really meaningful and not just for myself but obviously for the students. And when you are doing something that is of value to other people, that’s a great blessing in its own right.

ZENIT: How long did it take for you come accept the Shroud of Turin as the authentic one belonging to Jesus in the 1stcentury?

Schwortz: At the very beginning of my involvement with the Shroud, I was very skeptical about its authenticity. I had no emotional attachment to Jesus and the subject matter because I was raised as an Orthodox Jew.  The main thing I knew about Jesus in those days was that he also was Jewish, and that was about it.

Examining the Shroud, I knew quickly that it wasn’t a painting because when you are up close and you see it, you can tell it’s not a painting.  But as far as its authenticity, it took another 18 years after we finished our examination and all the papers were published.

I still wasn’t completely convinced until one of our fellow team members, Allen Adler, another Jewish man who was a blood chemist, explained to me why the blood remained red on the Shroud.  I felt that old blood was supposed to be black or brown. The blood on the Shroud is a red-crimson color. So that was a deal breaker for me for a long time. But ultimately, when that was explained to me and especially from my friend Al Adler, may he rest in peace, who also was involved in this not so much from a religious point of view as from a purely scientific point of view, he was the one who put the last piece of the puzzle in for me. It was a shock to me when I came to the conclusion after almost 20 years that this piece of cloth was authentic. And I got there based solely on the science.

ZENIT:  Regarding the argument for authenticity, do the results from the 1988 radiocarbon dating remain a thorn in the Shroud’s side?

Schwortz: It is the primary piece of evidence that points in the opposite direction, but of course I had the benefit by 1988 of having more than 10 years of study, and I knew about historical objects like the Hungarian Pray Codex that indicate this cloth was around much earlier than the earliest dates given by the carbon dating.

Now I’m not a physicist, so I didn’t necessarily understand why the radiocarbon dating was so skewed. It bothered me, and of course it was a huge setback because for the 10 years after we examined the cloth, the consensus publicly was, “This thing is probably real.” And then the carbon dating came out and it knocked it down. And from that point forward the world began to believe that it couldn’t be authentic.

This was frustrating for me because the evidence is so powerful in my mind that this has to be the real thing.  As Sherlock Holmes said, “eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

ZENIT:  What would you say is the message or meaning of the Shroud?

Schwortz: I always say, the Shroud did not come with a book of instructions, and consequently, the meaning isn’t on the cloth but in the eye and in the heart of the beholder. Each person has to regard it, study it or not, and make up his own mind.  It’s not the kind of thing that forces itself upon you, and I think that’s as it should be.  It will not push to open your heart.  You have to open your heart to it.

For me, once I came to the conclusion from the science that it was authentic, I came to understand how meaningful it is. This is like a forensic document of the Passion, and for Christians around the world this has got to be the most significant relic because it accurately documents everything that is told in the Gospels of what was done to Jesus.

I think that there’s plenty of evidence there to support the belief that this cloth wrapped the body of the historic Jesus.  It doesn’t speak to whether or not he was the Messiah. Again, that’s a test not so much for science but for faith.

ZENIT:  Was your progressive discovery of Shroud data accompanied by a journey of faith?

Schwortz: When I first got involved, I was ... well, I don’t have a label for it. I knew about God, but I didn’t really think about God.  I hadn’t thought about God since I was 13 and had my bar mitzvah, and there was really no real religious foundation for that. It was almost an obligation to my family.  It was very important to them, but for me it didn’t have much significance. I walked away from faith and religion and God, and I really didn’t look back until I was almost 50 years old.

Once I came to the conclusion that the Shroud was authentic, which was in 1995, I built shroud.com.  And in working with that and collecting this material and making it available to the public, I began to speak publically about the Shroud around 1996.  And as soon as I stood up and said, “I believe this is authentic,” the questions changed, and everyone asked me, “Well, what do you believe?” And they weren’t talking about the Shroud.  They were talking about faith in God.

For me this has always been about the truth and about being honest with people and making it available even if it doesn’t represent my personal beliefs. I think all Christians have the right to know that the evidence does point to its authenticity.

So when people started asking me what I believe, I didn’t have an answer. I was clueless to what I believed. I had not really regarded it in my life as an adult. It forced me to confront my beliefs for the first time.

And it didn’t take very long because I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home where God was part of everything every day, like Fiddler on the Roof.  So I came to the conclusion when I looked: God was there just patiently waiting for me to acknowledge him.  When I looked in my heart, he was there.  It was a shock.  I was really surprised to see that deep down inside I had this faith in a higher power, in God, all along.  It’s just that I had virtually ignored it through the first part of my adult life, and there at age 50, I suddenly came face to face with God in my own heart.

And so the Shroud, in essence, was the catalyst for that.  How many Jews can say the Shroud of Turin brought them back to their faith in God?  It’s had great significance in my own life not just from the obvious intellectual point of view but also from a spiritual point of view, in that it reconnected me with something that’s very important to me, and that’s my own faith in God.

ZENIT:  What future goals do you have for shroud.com?

Schwortz: About three years ago, back in 2009, I formed a non-profit organization.  I was concerned that, should something happen to me, the ownership of these materials would come into question.

I didn’t want to burden my son with trying to figure out what should be done with it, so I formed STERA, Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association. The primary function of STERA is to educate people through shroud.com, which just hit its 16th anniversary this year.

Some of the other STURP team members who have passed away have left to me their collections, so our biggest upcoming project is to raise the funds to digitally archive all their materials, and ultimately make those available through shroud.com.  Once archived and in one place, future researchers can have access to this material at no cost.

I think that the future of STERA is to continue that work even when I am gone.  I have a great board of directors, with many well-known Shroud scholars.  Hopefully this will make it very clear after I’m gone that the ownership is not in question.  It belongs to STERA:  the Web site, all of my photographs.  All of that has been legally transferred to STERA so that, if something happens to me, the people are in place who can carry the work forward.
 

Ash Wednesday not just for Catholics anymore

BY DAVID OLSON The Press Enterprise
Published: 21 February 2012 10:17 PM

Don’t assume every ash-marked forehead you see today belongs to a Catholic.
Ash Wednesday, long associated with Catholicism, is increasingly observed in Protestant churches.
The Rev. Joe DeRoulhac became senior minister of Redlands’ First Baptist Church in 1989 but didn’t preside over Ash Wednesday services there until 2003. The idea came from an interfaith Ash Wednesday event he participated in a year or two before.
DeRoulhac said there’s an increasing desire among Protestants to look anew at ancient Christian practices that previously were identified with Catholics.
“Part of this is retrieving from the past rituals that might help us today to fully experience the significance of our faith,” he said. “It’s our common heritage.”
As in the Roman Catholic Church, ashes are typically seen as signs of repentance and mortality, and Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days — except Sundays — leading up to Easter.
Even a small number of evangelical churches have begun holding Ash Wednesday services, said the Rev. Kurt Fredrickson, an associate dean at Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical institution in Pasadena.
Evangelicals historically have avoided practices viewed as Catholic, he said. Today, there’s general acceptance among evangelicals that Catholics are fellow Christians and they see less of a need to distance themselves from Catholics, he said.
Changes in the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s helped reduce the sense of difference Protestants felt toward Catholics, said the Rev. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, a professor at Claremont School of Theology and an expert on Christian history. In addition, prejudice against Catholics has waned and interfaith dialogue has increased, she said.
Kujawa-Holbrook said the placement of ashes was rare through the five centuries after the Protestant Reformation until the past few decades, except among Anglicans, many of whom do not consider themselves Protestant.
The Anglican Communion, called the Episcopal Church in the United States, has similar rituals as the Roman Catholic Church and has observed Ash Wednesday since its 16{+t}{+h} Century beginnings.
The Rev. Bill Dunn said that when he presides over Ash Wednesday services at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Beaumont, he thinks of how his forebears did so throughout the centuries — and how similar rituals in other denominations illustrate how much Christians of different faith traditions have in common.
Ash Wednesday attendance at St. Stephen’s approaches that of Sunday worship, Dunn said. Many Catholic churches are jammed on Ash Wednesday, with special services and Masses scheduled throughout the day.
Yet in many Protestant congregations, the observance takes getting used to.
First Christian Church of Riverside, a Disciples of Christ congregation, has tried Ash Wednesday services a few times in the nearly three decades the Rev. Chris Nettles has been there but hasn’t had one in several years.
“Nobody comes out,” Nettles said. “You get 10, 15 people.”
Even at some Inland congregations that have held Ash Wednesday services continuously for years, the pews are usually only half or a quarter full, clergy say.
“This is something new and different for many people in our congregation,” said First Baptist’s DeRoulhac.
First Baptist member Wendy Peske, 33, didn’t grow up observing Ash Wednesday but she has made a point of attending the service with her husband and their now-3-year-old daughter.
“When we leave the service, our daughter is asking us, ‘What’s that on your head? What does that mean?’” Peske said. “It’s a good way of talking to her about Jesus and what he did for us.”
The Rev. Sharon Graff, pastor of Redlands United Church of Christ, said rituals draw congregants into a lesson in a way that words from the pulpit sometimes cannot. She sees the ashes as symbolic of the eternal soul as well as repentance.
“We ponder how it is that we are made of dirt, how it is we are made of the dust of the ground, but also infused with the spirit of God,” Graff said. “Yes, our bodies will decay, but we don’t decay.

India: Catholics Seen As Threat, Says Cardinal Alencherry

Written by: UCAN
 February 20, 2012
By Alessandro Speciale

Extremist groups in India see the growth of the Catholic Church as a “threat” and have successfully lobbied the government against Christians’ rights, the newly elevated Cardinal of the Syro-Malabar Church George Alencherry warned in an interview with ucanews.com in Rome.
Alencherry was among the 22 new cardinals created yesterday by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Basilica. Most of the new princes of the Church come from the Curia and from Europe. Only two – Alencherry and the bishop of Hong Kong, John Tong Hon – come from Asia.
In his homily, the pope warned the new cardinals that their duty is “serving God and others” and urged them to be “self-giving”, rejecting the “power and glory which belongs to this world.”
After weeks of document leaks inside the Vatican and rumors of power struggles, plots and even a possible resignation by the pontiff, Pope Benedict also asked cardinals to pray for him, that he “may continually offer to the people of God the witness of sound doctrine and to guide holy Church with a firm and humble hand.”
Speaking ahead of yesterday’s ceremony, Archbishop Alencherry said he looked at his entrance into the College of Cardinals – who will eventually be called to elect Pope Benedict’s successor – with a spirit of service.
“I am really searching what I can do for the Church, especially at the universal level.”
He said that though Christians in India are a small minority – Catholics account for only 1.9 percent of the population – their strong faith and their communion can send a strong message to the whole Church.
“The tradition is strong, the faithful are ready to pay any price for their being Catholic,” he said.
Archbishop Alencherry stressed that religious extremists are a small minority of India’s Hindus and Muslims, but they have been responsible for “atrocious attacks.” He also cautioned that political parties often pander to them in an effort to attract votes.
“You cannot say that Hinduism is intolerant. The vast majority of Hindus live with us in harmony and peace, and they even welcome Christianity in India.”
While India’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, sometimes the state protects extremists as “certain political parties” try to “exploit” religious tensions “to gain more votes” by giving “patronage to these groups”.
The new cardinal also called on the government to reverse its policy that denies preferential status to people from lower castes that convert to Christianity. According to Alencherry, the official reason for this is that “there is no caste difference in Christianity.”
But while it is true that “there is no inequality in the Christian community,” the archbishop noted that “economic inequality subsists.”
“My reading is that they are afraid that if people who embrace the Catholic faith and are from the so-called lower caste are given equal rights, there may be a flow of people into Christianity, and that would be a challenge for the majority community.”
Even if no one says it explicitly, Alencherry suggested that “behind the scenes” many see Christianity “as a threat to the majority religion, Hinduism.”

Half world’s 2.3 billion Christians are Catholic: New survey
 

World's Christian population, from the respected Pew Forum

The world’s largest Christian population is in the United States. One-third of the world’s Christians live in the Americas, North and South. The Middle East, home of Christianity, is now only four-per-cent Christian. Half the world’s Christians are Roman Catholics.
Those are some of the findings of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, arguably the world’s best religion pollster. It came out today, just before Christmas, with the most extensive data ever on the world’s Christian population. I will follow up on it later, but in the meantime here are key findings.

 
 

Highlights:
- There are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages in more than 200 countries around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 6.9 billion 2010 global population.
- In 1910, two-thirds of the world’s Christians lived in Europe. Today, only about a quarter of all Christians  live in Europe (26%).
- In the last 100 years, the number of Christians around the world has more than tripled from historical estimates of approximately 600 million in 1910 to more than two billion today… Still, because of rising world populations, Christians make up about the same portion of the world’s population in 2010 (32%) as they did a century ago (35%).
- Christians are diverse theologically as well as geographically. About half are Catholic. Protestants, broadly defined, make up 37%. Orthodox Christians comprise 12% of Christians worldwide.
- Taken as a whole Christians are by far the world’s largest religious group. Muslims, the second-largest group, make up a little less than a quarter of the world’s population.
- Almost half (48%) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Three of the top 10 are in the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Mexico). Two are in Europe (Russia and Germany); two are in the Asia-Pacific region (the Philippines and China); and three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity’s global reach.
- Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation.

The full report, which includes a companion quiz, interactive maps and sortable data tables, is available on the Pew Forum’s website.

The happiness of believing

Europeans who belong to a religion report higher levels of happiness than those who do not.

Do religious belief and practice affect the happiness of Europeans? In the first part of this two-part article, to answer our question we focused on the European Values Study. In this second part we deal with results from the European Social Survey.

For an empirical analysis of the effect of religion on happiness, we use data from three waves (2002/2003, 2004 and 2006) of the European Social Survey (ESS) covering 114,019 individuals in 24 different countries. These provide information on personal characteristics such as gender, age, income, subjective general health, marital status, main activity, number of children and the educational level of each individual, among other things.
As indicators of religion, we have two groups of variables. A first group, about “religious belief”, considers questions such as: “Do you belong to a particular religion?” (yes or no), “What religion or denomination do you belong to?” (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Other Christian denomination, Jewish, Islam, Eastern religions, Other non-Christian religions), and “How religious are you?” (on a scale from 0, “not at all religious” to 9, “very religious”).
The second group proxies for “religious practice” and consists of the queries: “How often do you attend religious services, apart from special occasions?” and “How often do you pray, apart from religious services?”, with responses ranging from “every day”, “more than once a week”, “once a week”, “at least once a month”, “only on special holy days”, “less often”, to “never”. As with most studies on economics and happiness, we make use of the question, “How happy are you?”, to which the respondent answers on a scale from 1, which stands for “not happy at all”, to 10, which stands for “completely happy”.
On average, happiness among the 24 European countries is 7.26, but with great differences ranging from 5.54 for Ukraine to 8.32 for Denmark. We also find significant differences in the religion variables. The countries with the lowest proportion of individuals belonging to a particular religion are Estonia and the Czech Republic, while those with the highest proportion are Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ireland. Similarly, there is evidence of differences between “religious belief” and “religious practice” variables. For example, the proportion of people belonging to a religion in Spain is 74 per cent (12 points above the mean average), although individuals attending services and praying report a mean lower than the European average.

Religion and happiness are correlated

When we ran statistical tests looking for correlations between happiness and religion variables, the main results were as follows:
1. There is a significant effect of belonging to a religion on happiness. Those who belong to a religion report higher levels of happiness than those who do not.
2. The religion or denomination has a significant effect on happiness. Protestants, other Christian religions and Roman Catholics report higher happiness levels whereas Orthodox and Eastern religions report the lowest.
3. There seems to be a positive relationship between how religious a person is and happiness: the more religious, the happier. However, those who consider themselves “not at all religious” (0) have comparable levels of happiness to those who give themselves a 5 in the scale of religiosity.
4. Frequency of attendance at services is likewise positively correlated with happiness: those who attend religious services every day say they are happier than those who never attend.
5. Frequency of prayer is positively correlated with happiness, with those who pray every day reporting higher levels of happiness than those who never pray.
6. Frequency of attendance in services is a more relevant variable than frequency of prayer in the self-reported happiness levels.

Explaining the religion-happiness link

From the perspective of the psychology of religion, Nielsen (1998) provides three possible explanations for the positive link between religion and happiness.

The first refers to the social support. People are happier when they find themselves in a supportive environment and religion offers this. That could explain why the beneficial influence of religion on happiness is strongest among people who need support the most, such as the elderly, the sick and those who are single. Moreover, religion allows people to feel themselves closer to God, also viewed as a source of support. Economics literature expresses this same idea, inasmuch as religion could serve as insurance during negative shocks (Chen 2003) and a source of both direct (education) and indirect social benefits (health, work) (Glaeser et al. 2000, Finke and Stark 1998).

Secondly, people with firm beliefs, those who have a sense of what is important and an orientation in life, tend to be happier (Ellison 1991). Religion supplies people with such beliefs. This aspect of religion may have to do with the greater membership success of conservative churches (Kelley 1972). Although stricter and more demanding in morals and practice, they offer greater certitude in beliefs.

Thirdly, religion itself may contribute to happiness by triggering positive experiences, such as a feeling of being in contact with God (transcendence) or with others (Pollner 1989).

How do these explanations from the psychology of religion test with the statistical findings set out above? They undoubtedly support (1) “Those who belong to a religion report higher levels of happiness than those who do not”, (3) “The more religious a person, the happier”, (4) “The frequency of attendance at services is positively correlated with happiness” and (5) “The frequency of prayer is positively correlated with happiness”. But we do not find them helpful in explaining (2) “The religion or denomination to which the individual belongs has a significant effect on happiness” and (6) “Frequency of attendance in services is a more relevant variable than frequency of prayer in the self-reported happiness levels”.

Regarding (2), which refers to the varying correlations between particular religions or denominations and self-reported happiness, the psychology of religion seems to imply that Protestant religions provide greater social support, firmer beliefs and more positive religious experiences –or any combination of the three— than Eastern Orthodox religions, for example. However, we do not have evidence for this. The lumping together of various Protestant religions, other Christian religions and Eastern Orthodox churches does not allow us to calibrate the social support, firm beliefs and religious experiences associated with each.

Neither do we have a straightforward explanation for (6), which suggests that frequency of attendance at services is more significant than frequency of prayer for happiness. Certainly, attendance at services could provide more social support than prayer, which could be done individually. But attendance at religious services does not necessarily imply firmer beliefs nor more positive religious experiences. (Some religions may just emphasize private prayer more than community worship.) We do not know, nor can we tell with the available data. We would have to tease out the individual effects of social support, firm beliefs and religious experience from their cumulative effect on happiness, for attendance at services and for prayer. But again that is not possible with the available information.

Insights from the sociology of religion

Furthermore, there are other dimensions to both religious belief and practice than those considered by the ESS. Here is where inputs from the sociology of religion come in handy. The sociology of religion offers insights to better understand the underlying notions of religious belief and practice and the tensions between them. It also sheds light on the relationship between the individual and the group through mediating institutions such as the Church, the State and the market.

What could be meant by “religious belief” in this context? Starting out with the British experience (Davie 1994), and later on extending it to the rest of Europe and America (Berger et al. 2008), Davie suggests that “religious belief” mainly refers to feelings, experiences and the numinous, as could be associated with the New Age movement, for example. It does not refer to creedal statements with precise and specific contents. It is a profession in an “ordinary God” (Abercrombie et al. 1970), not a God “who can change the course of heaven and earth” (Davie 1994: 1). Philosophically, this corresponds to the God of deism: one who, after creation, soon left human beings to their own devices. Although nominally Christian, belief here represents a non-institutional religiosity; it is belief that has been privatized, becoming invisible and implicit. It also goes under the names of “popular”, “common”, “customary”, “folk”, “civic” or “civil religion”. Rather than the absence of belief, it is an individually customized patchwork of beliefs. Therefore, apart from the categories of belief and unbelief, the degrees of religiosity and institutional religions, it would be interesting to look into the range of non-institutional religiosity and test it against happiness.

And how are we to understand “religious practice”? Again, for Davie (1994) and colleagues (Berger et al. 2008), this “belonging” covers a wide range of behaviors, from religious orthodoxy to ritual participation and an instrumental attachment to religion. They fall under what she calls “vicarious religion”, meaning that although an individual does not want to be personally involved with a church, he nonetheless wants the church to be there for other people or society as a whole (Berger et al. 2008: 15) as seen, for instance, in the role of churches in expressing national grief or mourning. Therefore, besides data for frequency of attendance at services and prayer, there are other forms of religious practice such as “vicarious religion” that can be analyzed in relation to happiness.

Lastly, there are two basic models that relate the individual to the group in the religious sphere: the traditional, historic or established church and the church as a voluntary association in the faith market (Berger et al. 2008: 16-7). The first is dominant in Europe, whereas the second exists mainly in the United States. The traditional church, much like the State, exercises a monopoly over the faithful who do not belong to it by choice, but by default or obligation. In many countries, this is the “national church” understood as a ministry of the State. The church which arises through voluntary adherence, on the other hand, follows the market model. In lieu of an established church is a market where various churches compete. In some cases, however, the same faith group may adopt the traditional mode in one place and the voluntary mode in another, as with the Catholic Church in Europe and in the US, for instance. In general, the decline in religious belief and practice or “secularization” has affected traditional churches more than churches of voluntary adherence.

We think that the status of religion –whether traditional or voluntary— affects not only the levels of belief and practice, but also the level of happiness. Countries with the traditional model of religion will have lower levels of religious belief and practice than those with the voluntary model due to the latter’s internal “locus of control”. It is also probable that followers of voluntary religion will report higher levels of happiness than those of traditional religion. But again, unfortunately, this cannot be confirmed with the available data.

As a final remark, despite positive correlations obtained between religious belief and practice, on the one hand, and happiness, on the other, results would have to be nuanced by a better understanding of both religious belief and practice. For some religions, belief cannot be separated that easily from belonging or practice and vice-versa. It could also very well be the case that religion is more than just a means for achieving happiness through the satisfaction of psychological needs.

Alejo José G. Sison and Juncal Cuñado teach at the University of Navarra, in Pamplona, Spain.

References
Abercrombie, N, Baker, J., Brett, S. and Foster, J. (1970): “Superstition and religion: the God of the gaps”. In D. Martin and M. Hill (eds.), A Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain, 3, London: SCM, 91-129.
Berger, P., Davie, G. and Fokas, E. (2008): Religious America, Secular Europe?: A Theme and Variations, Aldershot & Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Chen, C.W.S., Chiang, T.C. and So, M.K.P. (2003), “Asymmetrical reaction to US stock-return news: evidence from major stock markets based on a double-threshold model”, Journal of Economics and Business, 55, 5-6, 487-502.
Davie, G. (1994): Religion in Britain since 1945. Believing without Belonging. Oxford, U.K & Cambridge, U.S.A.: Blackwell.
Ellison, C.G. (1991): “Religious involvement and subjective well-being”, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 80-99.
European Values Study (2005): http://www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/evs/research/themes/religion/ (accessed 20 November 2010).
Finke, R. and Stark, R. (1998): “Religious Choice and Competition”, American Sociological Review, 63 (5), 761-766.
Glaeser, E., Laibson, D., Scheinkman, J. and Soutter, C. (2000): “Measuring trust’”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 65 (3), 811–46.
Kelley, M.W. (1972): Why Conservative Churches are Growing. New York: Harper & Row.
Nielsen, M.E. (1998): “An assessment of religious conflicts and their resolutions”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 181-190.
Pollner, M. (1989): “Divine relations, social relations, and well-being”, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 92-104.

Explorers Say They've Found Pieces of Noah's Ark

video here http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/December/Explorers-Say-Theyve-Found-Pieces-of-Noahs-Ark/

It's perhaps one of the most told stories in the Bible
Cartoon sketches of Noah's ark fill children's books, and Hollywood even produced a modern-day adaptation in "Evan Almighty."
Now, a group of scientists say they've found parts of the biblical ark.
Daniel McGivern and his team claimed to have discovered two large sections of Noah's ark resting just below surface atop Mount Ararat in Turkey -- where the Bible says the ark came to rest.
"The mountain is treeless. The mountain is volcanic with gases. There is no conceivable way that you could have an object that big on a mountain," McGivern said.
The team used military satellite imagery and ground penetrating radar technology to locate the ruins. They believe the large object is wooden.
"The evidence is overwhelming," McGivern added. "This is the large piece from Noah's ark."
His evidence is based solely on imaging technology.
The large piece of wood will likely remain buried under ice.
"There's a huge problem with getting down to it, because of the fact that you can't melt the ice," McGivern explained. "You are up there at 16,600 feet. How are you going to get down to it?"
For centuries, explores have searched Mount Ararat for the ark.
Just last year, a Chinese team claimed to have found the historical boat -- releasing a video showing men inside what appeared to be ancient wooden structures.
The video and find was widely believed to be a hoax.
McGivern's claim may never have the hard evidence to back it up, but the discovery could provide a great opportunity to share the gospel.

UK is a Christian nation, Cameron emphasizes

December 20, 2011
In a speech commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Prime Minister David Cameron emphasized that the United Kingdom is a Christian nation.
“We are a Christian country,” he said. “And we should not be afraid to say so … what I am saying is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today. Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend. The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing. Because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”

 “Those who oppose this usually make the case for secular neutrality,” he added. “They argue that by saying we are a Christian country and standing up for Christian values we are somehow doing down other faiths. And that the only way not to offend people is not to pass judgment on their behavior. I think these arguments are profoundly wrong. And being clear on this is absolutely fundamental to who we are as a people, what we stand for, and the kind of society we want to build.”

 In an apparent swipe at Catholic teaching on women’s ordination, Cameron, an Anglican, said that the Bible has been “at the forefront of the emergence of democracy, the abolition of slavery, and the emancipation of women--even if not every church has always got the point.”
 

Family values remain strong in a changing world

Values remain strong in a changing world

Gobal data shows majority support for the traditional family, despite some erosion.

In the last section of the Sustainable Demographic Development report Laurie deRose surveys global statistical evidence on international family strcuture, children’s trends, family culture, and family economic wellbeing. Here MercatorNet reproduces his findings on family culture, which are generally positive. The third and last in this series.

KEY FINDINGS: Throughout the world, support for the institution of the family is strong. In every country examined except Sweden, men and women agree that a child needs a mother and father to grow up happily. In all 29 countries, a majority of adults believes marriage is still relevant and that an additional emphasis on family life would be a good thing. Nevertheless, support for marital permanence is weaker, with adults in many countries taking a relatively permissive stance toward divorce.

Marriage is a near-universal institution around the globe. The meaning of marriage, however, varies from country to country and has changed across time. In many places around the world, marriage has become about love and companionship—a stark contrast to pre-Industrial Revolution marriages that were to a large degree about economic survival. Still, marriage continues to be viewed by many as the “gold standard” in relationships, as the optimal arrangement for childrearing, and as a relationship that should not easily be terminated. Precisely how many hold these views around the world is not clear.

To shed light on adults’ attitudes toward marriage and family life around the world, we present data from the World Values Survey, collected between 1999 and 2007, on four cultural indicators in 29 countries: (1) agreement that a child needs a home with a mother and father to grow up happily, (2) disagreement that marriage is an outdated institution, (3) agreement that more societal emphasis on family life would be a good thing, and (4) opinions about how justified divorce is. Because the World Values Survey has been collected since the early 1980s in many of the 29 countries of interest, we are also able to paint a portrait of changes in family culture over the last 25 years or so.

Do children need a mother and a father?

The vast majority of adults around the world believe a child needs to be raised in a home with both a mother and a father in order to grow up happily (see Table 3 and Figure 4). This sentiment is strong in South America; more than 75 percent of adults in Argentina (88 percent), Chile (76 percent), Colombia (86 percent), and Peru (93 percent) believe a two-parent home is necessary for a happy childhood. North Americans are less likely to agree to this idea, but still 63 percent of U.S. adults and 65 percent of Canadians affirm the mother-father household as optimal for raising happy children.

Agreement with the mother-father family ideal is even stronger in Europe than in the Americas, with the sole exception of Sweden. There, only 47 percent of adults agree that a child needs to be raised by a mother and father to be happy. Notably, Sweden is the only country in the world where a minority agrees with this sentiment. Agreement with a mother-father ideal exceeds 90 percent in Italy (93 percent) and Poland (95 percent) and 80 percent in France (86 percent) and Germany (88 percent). More than three-quarters (78 percent) of Spaniards view this family arrangement as best for children, as do two-thirds (67 percent) of British adults.

Support for the mother-father family type is nearly unanimous in the Middle Eastern and African countries: Egypt (99 percent), Saudi Arabia (95 percent), Nigeria (97 percent), and South Africa (91 percent). Asian support for children being raised by a mother and father is also strong. Most of the Asian countries profiled exceed 90 percent agreement: China (97 percent), India (90 percent), Malaysia (92 percent), Philippines (97 percent), and South Korea (92 percent); and the remainder exceed 80 percent: Indonesia (81 percent), Japan (89 percent), and Taiwan (87 percent). Australians (70 percent) and New Zealanders (68 percent) express less agreement, resembling Americans, Canadians, and British attitudes on this issue.

There is not clear evidence that this attitude is changing drastically over time in one particular direction.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.sustaindemographicdividend.org/e-ppendix.

In most cases, support for a mother-father family type has remained relatively stable, or has fluctuated in a nonlinear fashion. Two notable exceptions to this are Chile, which saw agreement with this statement drop from 93 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2006; and Sweden, which fell from 71 percent agreement in 1982 to 47 percent in 2006. South African support for the mother- father family ideal may have even grown from 83 percent in 1982 to 91 percent in 2006.

Marriage an outdated institution?

Like agreement that children need a mother and father to be happy, the overwhelming majority of adults around the world disagree that marriage is outdated (see Table 3). In none of the 29 countries did fewer than 64 percent of adults (France) feel this way. Between 70 and 80 percent of adults in most American countries disagree marriage is outdated: Argentina (70 percent), Canada (78 percent), Chile (72 percent), Colombia (75 percent), Mexico (71 percent), and Peru (80 percent). The United States stands out a bit from its neighbors, with 87 percent disagreeing marriage is outdated.

European support for marriage as a relevant institution is similarly strong in most countries. French (64 percent) and Spanish (67 percent) adults are the least likely to disagree marriage is outdated, but support for marriage as an institution exceeds 70 percent in Germany (78 percent), Sweden (78 percent), and the United Kingdom (74 percent). More than 80 percent believe marriage remains relevant in Italy (81 percent), and support for marriage surpasses 90 percent in Poland (91 percent).

Belief in marriage’s relevance is even stronger—these data suggest—in most other parts of the world. The two Middle Eastern countries examined here exhibit strong support for the institution of marriage: Egypt (96 percent) and Saudi Arabia (83 percent). In Africa, 85 percent of Nigerians believe marriage is not outdated; a relatively low (but still high in absolute terms) percentage of South Africans (77 percent) feel the same way. Marriage receives high levels of support throughout Asia and Oceania as well: China (88 percent), India (80 percent), Indonesia (96 percent), Japan (94 percent), Malaysia (86 percent), Philippines (83 percent), South Korea (87 percent), Taiwan (89 percent), Australia (82 percent), and New Zealand (85 percent).

There is some evidence of a decline in this attitude around the world, though it is clearly not universal and not precipitous. Double-digit declines in support for marriage occurred in Chile from 1990 to 2006 (85 percent to 72 percent), in Mexico from 1981 to 2005 (81 percent to 71 percent), in Great Britain from 1981 to 1999 (86 percent to 74 percent), and in India from 1990 to 2006 (95 percent to 80 percent).

For more information visit sustaineddemographicdividend.org/e-ppendix

Double-digit increases, however, took place in Japan (76 percent to 94 percent). Still, decline in support for marriage seems to be the more common trend, as modest declines in support for the institution can be seen in many of the other countries examined here.

More emphasis on Family Life a Good Thing?

Around the world, adults overwhelmingly believe that family life deserves more emphasis (Table 3). When asked whether more emphasis on family life would be a good thing, a bad thing, or something they wouldn’t mind, vast majorities report that this would be a good thing. In most countries in the Americas, 90 percent or more believe additional emphasis on family life would be a good thing: Argentina (94 percent), Canada (95 percent), Chile (90 percent), Colombia (99 percent), Mexico (97 percent), and Peru (96 percent). Desire for more emphasis on family is 88 percent in the United States.

European desire for a greater focus on family life is also strong. Swedes are the least likely Europeans to report such a development would be a good thing, but even 81 percent of Swedish adults believe it would be good. Additional family emphasis would clearly be welcomed by most in France (93 percent), Germany (87 percent), Great Britain (93 percent), Italy (93 percent), Poland (94 percent), and Spain (92 percent).

Throughout the Middle East [Egypt (96 percent) and Saudi Arabia (90 percent)] and Africa [Nigeria (94 percent) and South Africa (86 percent)], adults view positively an added emphasis on family life. Asians would also welcome this added focus, although India (75 percent) and Malaysia (78 percent) less so than other countries [China (92 percent), Indonesia (87 percent), Japan (87 percent), Philippines (92 percent), South Korea (89 percent), and Taiwan (97 percent)]. In Oceania, too, a heightened focus on family life would be embraced by most [Australia (90 percent) and New Zealand (92 percent)].

If anything, the desire for added emphasis on family life appears to be growing around the world. Relatively large increases in this attitude can be seen in Mexico (9 percentage points from 1981 to 2005), Great Britain (9 percentage points from 1981 to 2006), Spain (8 percentage points from 1981 to 2007), China (18 percentage points from 1990 to 2007), and Japan (7 percentage points from 1981 to 2005).

For more information visit sustaineddemographicdividend.org/e-ppendix

Some countries have witnessed declines in this sentiment, however, including Chile (7 percentage points from 1990 to 2006) and the United States (7 percentage points from 1982 to 2006).

Divorce attitudes

While support for mother-father families, marriage, and family life in general is strong around the world, attitudes toward divorce vary widely by region (see Table 3). On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being permissive and 10 being restrictive, countries range from the very permissive (Sweden, 2.6) to the very restrictive (Nigeria, 8.5). In the Americas, the countries with the most conservative attitudes about divorce are Peru (7.2) and Colombia (6.3). All other American countries fall below the scale midpoint of 5.5: Argentina (4.5), Canada (5.1), Chile (5.0), Mexico (5.7), and the United States (5.2).

The European countries range from moderate to permissive in their divorce attitudes, with Poland (6.3) and Italy (6.0) being the most restrictive. Swedish adults (2.6) believe divorce is almost always justifiable. Spain (3.9), France (4.1), Germany (4.3), and Great Britain (4.6) are also quite permissive.

The Middle East, Africa, and Asia have the most conservative attitudes toward divorce, though even here the numbers are not always extreme. Egypt (6.0) and Saudi Arabia (6.4) are fairly moderate in their stance on divorce. Nigeria (8.5) is the most conservative nation on this attitude, and South Africa (7.1) is also relatively restrictive. Asian countries vary somewhat widely in their attitudes, ranging from Japan at 4.6 to China at 8.3. In between these extremes are moderate countries like South Korea (6.4) and Taiwan (6.3), and somewhat more conservative countries like India (7.1), Indonesia (8.0), Malaysia (7.4), and the Philippines (7.8).

Oceania, like Europe, is fairly permissive when it comes to divorce. Both Australia and New Zealand have average scores of 4.3, indicating divorce is justifiable more often than not.

There is a clear pattern of liberalization of divorce attitudes in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. With the exceptions of Colombia, Peru, and Italy, countries in these regions have become more permissive in their divorce attitudes.

For more information visit sustaineddemographicdividend.org/e-ppendix

We do not have longitudinal data for the Middle East, but in Nigeria divorce attitudes appear to have become more conservative, and attitudes have been generally consistent across time in South Africa. China has seen attitudes become more restrictive—especially since 1995—but other Asian countries, specifically India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, have become more permissive in their attitudes about divorce. So too have Australia and New Zealand.

Conclusions

Taken together, these findings suggest that in most countries around the world, adults have relatively traditional family attitudes. They believe children need to be raised by a mother and father to grow up happily. They endorse marriage as an institution, and they wish that there were more emphasis placed on family life. Nevertheless, they hold relatively permissive attitudes toward divorce. This suggests that in many places around the world, adults are wrestling with the meaning of marriage and what an ideal family should look like. On the one hand, they value the institution and its childrearing benefits; on the other hand, they are more open to an individualistic understanding of marriage that allows for the termination of the relationship under many circumstances.

While these are the dominant patterns, there are clearly variations in family culture around the world. North America, Oceania, and Scandinavia generally take a more laissez-faire view of family matters, whereas Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America embrace a more familistic view of things. These differences can be attributed to variations in religiosity, economic development, political culture, and the relative importance of community vis-à-vis the individual in these different regions of the world.
 

Motherhood at a Price
IVF Is Proving Perilous

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, OCT. 28, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Even as in vitro fertilization treatments are being sought by growing numbers of women, more and more evidence is surfacing to confirm the downsides of its use.
Canadian doctor John Barrett described what he termed an "epidemic of multiple births, largely as a result of IVF," the National Post newspaper reported Sept. 22.

"What the IVF industry is doing is creating a population of sick babies ... that is impacting all society," he said. The number of multiple births in Canada increased by 45% to almost 12,000 a year in the period 1991 to 2008, according to the article, citing data from Statistics Canada.In a further article on IVF on Sept. 26 the National Post reported that it is linked to rare genetic disorders. Addressing a conference on fertility Dr. Rosanna Weksberg said that babies born as a result of IVF are up to 10 times more likely to have genetic problems. While she affirmed her support for the use of IVF, Weskberg also said she is seeing many IVF children with rare disorders. She added there is evidence that IVF babies are more likely to be born at a low weight.The cause of this increased risk of genetic problems is unknown, but according to Weksberg it could well be a combination of the infertility problems of the parents, together with the fertility treatments themselves. In cases where outside donors are involved, other problems for IVF children can come about due to their lack of knowledge of any medical issues of their biological parent.

Sickness

In Australia a television station recently ran a story about a woman conceived using donor sperm, who now has inheritable bowel cancer, which was not from her mother.
According to a report published Sept.5 by the British BioNews service, the woman cannot obtain any information about her father, nor can she contact the other eight half-siblings, due to the fact that at the time of their conception the identity of donors was kept secret.
A number of Australian states have now changed the law to require donors to consent to the release of their information, but the change is not retrospective.
A similar problem was reported by American ABC News on July 21. Rebecca Blackwell and her 15-year-old son Tyler were trying to track down his sperm donor father and while he did not respond to their requests for information his sister did tell them that her brother had an inheritable aortic heart defect. They also found out that Tyler had inherited this condition, which could kill him without warning. He later had an operation, but faces the need for continual monitoring for the rest of his life.

Tyler's father donated sperm at three clinics, fathering at least 24 children. He did not tell any of them about his health problems, which also include Marfan's syndrome, a tissue disorder.
Other negative consequences come about when a donor's sperm has been used very frequently. The concern is that some of the children, ignorant of who their father is, could enter into an incestuous relationship. One British sperm donor has fathered children in 17 families, the Sunday Times reported, Sept. 18. Official guidelines put a limit at 10, but the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has admitted there have been other breaches as well. Moreover, they also don't know how many times the rules have been broken. "There is a real danger in a small country like the UK for donor-conceived children to meet up unknowingly with half-siblings," said Josephine Quintavalle, of the Comment on Reproductive Ethics.  While the United States is a lot bigger than England the problem of multiple IVF offspring from the same donor is significant.
One notable case highlighted in a report published Sept. 5 by the New York Times told of a man who has up to now fathered 150 children. While this is an extreme example the article said that there are many other cases of donors fathering 50 or more children.
"We have more rules that go into place when you buy a used car than when you buy sperm," said Debora L. Spar, author of "The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception."
According to the New York Times there is no certain data on how many children are born involving the use of sperm donors. There are various estimates, however, ranging from 30,000 to 60,000.

Complications

It's not just the babies who are at risk. An analysis of existing studies found that women who undergo IVF have a higher risk, as much as 40% in some cases, of a serious complication during pregnancy, London's Telegraph newspaper reported Oct. 20.
It is thought that the process involving the initial development of the embryo outside the mother's body leads to a poor development of the placenta later on. Another cause is that the women tend to be older and to have health problems.
Some IVF treatments involve the donation of ova from another woman. Concern was recently expressed that the large number of ova being taken from some donors puts them at risk, the Sunday Times reported Oct. 23.
In addition to problems such as mood swings, headaches and tiredness, the hormones injected into donors can lead to a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, causing blood clots and kidney damage and even death in some cases.
Data from the HFEA show that in one case as many as 85 ova were taken from one donor. Others had large numbers removed, from 50 up to 70. These worries come at a time when fertility authority has increased -- from £250 to £750 ($400 to $1,200) -- the amount an ova donor can be paid, the Independent newspaper reported, Oct. 20. The move came as clinics suffer from a shortage of donors. In part this came about due to donor anonymity being removed in 2005.  "This is a disgraceful decision that puts young women's health at risk," declared David King, director of Human Genetics Alert. A £750 payment is a strong incentive to university students who are struggling to pay their fees, he said.  Apart from health risks the clinics sometimes make mistakes, which are on the rise in Britain, according to an Aug. 13 article published by the Daily Mail.

Figures from the HFEA reveal that 564 serious errors or near misses occurred at clinics in Britain in 2010. This is three times the 2007 number. The mistakes include injecting the wrong sperm into an ova, embryos accidentally being destroyed, and the wrong embryos being implanted into women. There has only been a slight increase in the number of IVF treatments in recent years, so the sharp increase in mistakes is not due to higher numbers of cases. Earlier, in a July 22 article, the Daily Mail reported that hundreds of thousands of embryos are thrown away by clinics. More than 30 human embryos are created for every successful birth by IVF, according to figures published by the Department of Health. The information revealed that since 1991 more than 3 million embryos have been created by IVF, with fewer than 100,000 births resulting. According to the Daily Mail around 1.5 million were discarded in the course of treatment and more than 100,000 were given for research in destructive experiments. The opposition of the Catholic Church to the use of IVF is well known, but you don't have to be a Catholic to be very concerned over the immense human cost involved in these procedures.
 

Italian Priest Shot Dead in Southern Philippines
An Italian Catholic priest who was about to travel to a clergy meeting was shot dead Monday in his remote southern Philippine parish, police said.

The Rev. Fausto Tentorio was approaching his car when a gunman shot him several times within the church compound in North Cotabato province's mountainous Arakan township, said Chief Inspector Benjamin Rioflorido. Tentorio, a native of Santa Maria Hoe town in Italy's Lecco province, was dead on arrival at hospital. He was 59. Rioflorido said that according to a witness, the gunman ran from the scene after the shooting and fled toward an adjacent town on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

Investigators have not yet identified suspects or possible motives, Rioflorido said in a telephone interview. He said Tentorio had been a longtime parish priest in Arakan, spoke the dialect fluently and had good ties with the people there.
The priest had been about to travel to the provincial capital, Kidapawan city, to attend a clergy meeting of his diocese. Kidapawan Bishop Romulo dela Cruz strongly denounced the killing and called on the police and military to solve the killing quickly.

Tentorio belonged to the Rome-based Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions. PIME said he had worked with indigenous people in the south for more than 30 years and was the third PIME missionary to be killed on southern Mindanao Island, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. The resource-rich but impoverished region has seen Muslim rebellions for decades. "We are very sad because we lost already two other priests here in Mindanao," Rev. Julio Mariani, director of PIME's Euntes Mission Center in Zamboanga City, told The Associated Press.
Mariani said Tentorio received unspecified death threats around seven years ago, but had not mentioned new threats when they last met in July. He said Tentorio's killing could have been related to his work defending the rights of indigenous people and helping them hold on to their ancestral land.

"It was a delicate mission because when you deal with the marginalized and the poor, you are bound to step on the toes of some people and this could have been the source of the problem of why he was killed," Mariani added-
Rioflorido said they did not know of any death threats received by Tentorio. He said police would interview Tentorio's colleagues and other possible witnesses including teachers at a preschool within the church compound who were attending a flag-raising ceremony when the attack took place. Italian Ambassador Luca Fornari condemned the killing and expressed shock, sadness and dismay. "Killing someone who is doing good things is something that we cannot understand," he added.

He said the embassy has asked police to increase security for missionaries. Italy has warned its nationals, including priests, not to go to Mindanao, but missionaries have disregarded the advisory in order to help people, Fornari said. Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario called on police "to immediately bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice" and offered condolences to Tentorio's family and congregation.
 

The Aramaic language is being resurrected in Israel
Two television channels have been involved in initiatives to bring to life, once again, the language that Jesus and his contemporaries spoke. Today, it is spoken by 400 thousand people throughout the world
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KeTwo Israeli television channels are trying to see to it that Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus and his contemporaries in that region of the Roman Empire, will once again become a living language and not just be an almost extinct curiosity for scholars of Semitic languages to study. “Suroyo TV” and “Suryoyo TV” offer an endless supply of material for online discussion by fans so they can decide which is best. Among nouns that have the same meaning, there are variations of the term “Syriac” in Aramaic. The aficionados live in the Haifa zone, in Upper Galilee. There are probably others, but living in Syria, in the mountains south of Damascus, and in the small city of Maalula. It seems, however, that it is quite difficult for the latter to connect to the two Israeli channels.

These two channels are nevertheless still valuable: they prove that Aramaic is still living and breathing as a language, according to the inhabitants of Jish, one of the villages in the area. Aramaic is a Semitic language that is very close to Hebrew, and was once spread over the Fertile Crescent, the wide strip of Middle Eastern land that had its center between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but whose cultural and linguistic borders stretch all the way to the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, the use of Aramaic gradually dried up and was replaced by the Arab language of conquerors who came up from the south; and today it is the language of choice for Christians in the Middle East, particularly when in terms of liturgical use. It is even studied by experts on the Talmud.
 

Aramaic was actually—and a bit hastily—given up for dead until scholars became aware that a number of Aramaic dialects were spoken by communities in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. And those are not the only examples; to a lesser extent, they are also spoken in Lebanon, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Israel. In the western world, the Aramaic diaspora is very much alive and evident in the United States and Sweden; and as often occurs, these “exiles” actually seem more active and interested in revitalizing the language. It is believed that close to 400 thousand people throughout the world understand and speak different nuances of the Aramaic language.

 In Israel, the battle to turn Aramaic back into a living language has been carried forward by two brothers, Amir and Shady Khallul. They use Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of modern Hebrew, as their model. If Jewish people are in a position to revive Hebrew and turn it into a modern language, why shouldn’t we do the same thing with Aramaic? The question has been asked, and an affirmative answer has been given. Last year, the Israeli Education Minister gave Jish permission to teach Aramaic in the first two years of elementary school; it was necessary to build a program from the ground up. Dictionaries of the language were discovered in France, and a lot of educational materials, in Sweden. Most of the books have been printed in Lebanon. Modern Aramaic is written using an old alphabet (Biblical script uses Hebraic letters), which is something like a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic; it has 22 characters and is written right to left. There are two main dialects, an eastern and a western one (as is the case with Armenian), and a single written model, “Estrangela,” which is used in prayers and religious texts.

 Israeli speakers of Aramaic who use the western dialect have an additional challenge. They have to teach their children how to speak the language and then encourage them to use it in everyday life with friends, family, and at school; they also have to teach them how to write using both the western and Estrangela alphabets. Jish was once the site of Gush Halav, a village from the time of Jerusalem’s Second Temple; it was noted for the fertility of its soil and the high quality of its olives. More than half of its current 3,000 inhabitants are Maronite Christians, whom Israeli soldiers displaced from neighboring Bir’am in 1948; they were not allowed to return to their village of origin, which became the Bar’am Kibbutz. 35 percent are Muslims, while10 percent are Greek Orthodox christians. It is these Maronites who are trying to keep the culture, language, and historical legacy alive.

 Jish has a very lively community life and contacts with other Maronites who live in Israel, Nazareth, Acri, and Haifa. Among these, are almost 2,000 soldiers from the former Southern Lebanese army who found refuge in Israel after the Israeli army withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. At the time, the initiative to teach Aramaic was enthusiastically welcomed; classes for both children and adults were launched. Even the school’s headmaster, a Muslim, actively and staunchly supports the project, so much so that his son is even enrolled in one of the courses, in order to establish solidarity with neighboring regions. Maronites in Jish are a different kettle of fish, however: for them, Aramaic is essential to their existence as a people, in the same way that the Hebrew and Arab languages are for those groups. “We don’t identify ourselves as Aramaic, unlike some other nationalities,” Khallul declared. “For us, the State of Israel is very precious. I am very proud of the military service I carried out as Captain of the paratrooper brigade, and it’s not just a few Aramaics who enlist in the Israeli army. We feel a deep sense of belonging in this place and all of the traditions it has welcomed.” And, in effect, the contact between Maronites goes back a long time. Various Maronite currents were reported at the end of the 1930’s with the advent of the Zionist movement. During the 1939 Arab revolt, the Maronites supplied Jews who had been laid siege to in Safed, food off the back of donkey; they also helped some Holocuast survivors secretly enter Bir’am through the border, when the English closed off Palestine. David Ben Gurion, also worked to create a Maronite Christian state in southern Lebanon, which was financed by his Jewish agency.

Smoke and mirrors
Why do governments want us to believe that smoking cannot be safe but promiscuous sex can?

Earlier this year the Australian federal government unveiled draft legislation to introduce plain packaging laws for cigarettes. Health minister Nicola Roxon was unequivocal in her determination to put the final nail in the coffin of the tobacco industry. 
Showing off the new compulsory olive green packaging with vivid images of clogged arteries, cancerous gums and gangrene-infected feet, the minister declared: “We are going to ensure that in Australia there are no remaining avenues for tobacco companies to market and promote their products, particularly to young people. Gone are the days when people can pretend that cigarettes are glamorous.”
I have never smoked, have never had any desire to smoke and nothing frustrates me more than walking down the street and breathing in the secondhand smoke of the person puffing away in front of me, but this latest legislative push does cause me to wonder about the haphazard approach that federal policy takes to the health of its citizens.
It’s more than haphazard, actually; it’s hypocritical. Witness the deceptive and fallacious “safe sex” campaign that is sold to young people via various well designed and sexy governmental websites and videos. The current, official, safe sex website tagline is, “STIs are spreading fast, always use a condom”. This is accompanied by an attractive, naked young couple embracing.
The message is all about condoms stopping everything from HIV to chlamydia to gonorrhoea. The site contains interactive games and activities to get across the condom message. It even ran a national competition to design a “condom tin” to make carrying condoms “as normal as carrying your mobile phone”. The problem is that the condom is not dealing with the issue, it is just skirting around it. And the issue, which no government in the 21st century would be game enough to speak about, is sexual promiscuity.
In 2005 the government banned terms such as “light”, “mild” and “extra mild” on tobacco packaging as it gave the false impression that some cigarettes were less harmful than others.
Yet here we are, in 2011, still telling young people that it is fine to toy with diseases such a HIV and Syphilis so long as they use a thin rubber sheath. There was a major TV ad campaign run last year in which the entertaining and simplistic message was, “Anyone can get herpes” (anyone who is having promiscuous sex, that is). Before that there was the highly visible campaign promoting the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil which was given out free by the Australian Government to any females aged 12 to 26
The aspect that was not highly discussed in the popular media was that cervical cancer comes about as a result of the human papillomavirus which is a sexually transmitted disease. So, instead of speaking to 12-year-olds about the value of who they are and what sex is, we inject them with a vaccine.
In these campaigns, we see something very different to what goes on in the war against tobacco.

The government is closing down all avenues left for the promotion and sale of tobacco products, yet in the “fight” against deadly sexually transmitted infections the best they can say is, wear a condom and get an injection. What they are not saying is that a sexually promiscuous lifestyle is fraught with the risk of disease and heartache.
What is needed in the campaign is an injection of truth. The safe sex message is supposed to be all about information. Okay, how about this information: women who use the pill for four years or longer prior to their first full term pregnancy have a 52 per cent higher risk of cancer than those not on the pill. That sort of risk is seemingly acceptable, yet last year Toyota recalled 26,000 cars because 0.3 per cent of them experienced a slow brake fluid leak.
What about the fact that girls who are sexually active are more than three times likely to be depressed as girls who are abstinent prior to marriage? Shouldn’t we make it clear that teenage boys who are sexually active are more than twice as likely to struggle with depression and are more than eight times likely to attempt suicide?
Haven’t young people the right to know that those who are sexually active prior to marriage have a significantly increased risk of divorce? For a man who marries as a virgin, his chance of divorce is 63 per cent lower than that of a non-virgin. For girls, it is 76 per cent lower when they marry as virgins.
What young person informed of all these risks would not think twice before experimenting with sex? What responsible authority would not want to persuade adolescents, with the same fervour as they are putting into anti-smoking campaigns, not to start along that path?
Sadly, general Western society has fallen into the pit of relativism so we are impotent to stand up and actually say that promiscuous sex is not glamorous, that it is better to wait until marriage to be sexually active because there is a far higher chance of happiness on every level and a genuinely decreased risk of a diseased body and diseased emotions. After all, there is no condom for the heart.

Bernard Toutounji is an Australian writer and speaker with a background in theology. He writes a regular column called Foolish Wisdom (www.foolishwisdom.com) which focuses on issues of anthropology, morality and truth.

Change happens: new evidence on sexual orientation
Groundbreaking research published this week shows successful change in religiously motivated men and women.

A chorus of voices in the professional world today proclaims that it is impossible to change sexual orientation, particularly homosexual orientation, and that the attempt to change sexual orientation is commonly and inherently harmful. For example, for many years the Public Affairs website of the American Psychological Association stated: “Can therapy change sexual orientation? No. . . . [H]omosexuality . . . does not require treatment and is not changeable.”[1]
Regarding harm, the American Psychiatric Association’s statement that the “potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior”[2] is often cited.
In tension with this supposed professional consensus are the final results of a longitudinal study we have conducted over a period of seven years, now published in The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, a respected, peer-reviewed scientific journal. This study involved a sample of men and women seeking religiously-mediated sexual orientation change through involvement in a variety of Christian ministries affiliated with Exodus International.

A scientifically rigorous study
This study meets high standards of empirical rigor. In other studies, in the words of the American Psychological Association, “treatment outcome is not followed and reported over time as would be the standard to test the validity of any mental health intervention.”[3] Prior research has been appropriately criticized for

• Failing to follow subjects over time (i.e., not longitudinal)
• Relying on memory rather than following change as it occurs (i.e., not prospective)
• Relying on therapist ratings rather than hearing directly from those seeking change
• Using idiosyncratic and unvalidated measures of sexual orientation

The findings in brief
Of the original 98 subjects (72 men, 26 women), 61 subjects completed the key measures of sexual orientation and psychological distress at the conclusion of the study, and were successfully categorized for general outcome. Of these 61 subjects, 53 per cent were categorized as successful outcomes by the standards of Exodus Ministries.
Specifically, 23 per cent of the subjects reported success in the form of successful “conversion” to heterosexual orientation and functioning, while an additional 30 per cent reported stable behavioral chastity with substantive dis-identification with homosexual orientation. On the other hand, 20 per cent of the subjects reported giving up on the change process and fully embracing gay identity.
On the measures of sexual orientation, statistically significant changes on average were reported across the entire sample for decreases in homosexual orientation; some statistically significant change, but of smaller magnitude, was reported in increase of heterosexual attraction. These changes were less substantial and generally statistically non-significant for the average changes of those subjects assessed earliest in the change process, though some of these subjects still figured as “Success: Conversion” cases.
The measure of psychological distress did not, on average, reflect increases in psychological distress associated with the attempt to change orientation; indeed, several small significant improvements in reported average psychological distress were associated with the interventions.
In short, the results do not prove that categorical change in sexual orientation is possible for everyone or anyone, but rather that meaningful shifts along a continuum that constitute real changes appear possible for some. The results do not prove that no one is harmed by the attempt to change, but rather that the attempt to change does not appear to be harmful on average or inherently harmful.

Caution advised
The authors urge caution in projecting success rates from these findings; the figures of 23 per cent successful conversion to heterosexual orientation and 30 per cent to successful chastity are likely overly optimistic projections of anticipated success for persons newly entering Exodus-related groups seeking change.
Further, it was clear that “conversion” to heterosexual adaptation was a complex phenomenon; the authors explore a variety of possible explanations of the findings including religious healing and sexual identity change. Nevertheless, these findings challenge the commonly expressed views of the mental health establishment that change of sexual orientation is impossible or very uncommon, and that the attempt to change is highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an effort.
In our 2007 book, Ex-Gays? (IVP), we discussed the implications of the findings of this study, and those implications are still worthy of consideration. Most importantly, the study suggests that since change seems possible for some, then all should respect the integrity and autonomy of persons seeking to change their sexual orientation for moral, religious, or other reasons, just as we respect those who for similar reasons desire to affirm and embrace their sexual orientation.
This requires that space be created in religious and professional circles for individuals to seek sexual orientation change or sexual identity change with full information offered about the options and their potential risks. We would do well to put as much information as possible in the hands of consumers so that they are able to make informed decisions and wise choices among treatment options.
The results also suggest that it would be premature for professional mental health organizations to invalidate efforts to change sexual orientation and unwanted same-sex erotic attractions.

Stanton L. Jones is Provost (Chief Academic Officer) of Wheaton College (IL) and has served a three-year term on the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association. Mark A. Yarhouse is the Rosemarie Scotti Hughes Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Regent University.
Article citation: Stanton L. Jones & Mark A. Yarhouse. (2011). “A longitudinal study of attempted religiously-mediated sexual orientation change.” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, Volume 37, pages 404-427.
The above article is a slightly edited press release. More information can be found at www.exgaystudy.org See, in particular Responses to criticism (including video).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]American Psychological Association (2005). “Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality.” Retrieved April 4, 2005, from www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html.  This statement was removed some time after 2007.
[2] American Psychiatric Association (1998). “Psychiatric treatment and sexual orientation position statement.” Retrieved from http://www.psych.org/Departments/EDU/Library/APAOfficialDocumentsandRelated/PositionStatements/200001.aspx
[3] American Psychological Association (2005); ibid.
[4] Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse (2007). Ex-gays?  A longitudinal study of religiously-mediated change in sexual orientation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
 

BXVI: The unsung heroes of the Indian Church

Men and women religious are the ‘unsung heroes’ of the Church in India, who ‘inspire others to respond with trust, humility and joy to the invitation of the Lord to follow him’, said Pope Benedict XVI Thursday as he met with the IV and last group of Indian Bishops on their year long Ad limina pilgrimage to Rome.

In an address which we publish in full below, the Pope focused in particular on the Indian Churches’ contribution to society at large, their the various educational and social institutions open to all, and the “efforts made by the whole Christian community to prepare the young citizens of your noble country to build a more just and prosperous society”:

Dear Brother Bishops,
I offer you a warm fraternal welcome on the occasion of your visit ad Limina Apostolorum, a further occasion to deepen the communion that exists between the Church in India and the See of Peter, and an opportunity to rejoice in the universality of the Church. I wish to thank Cardinal Oswald Gracias for his kind words offered on your behalf and in the name of those entrusted to your pastoral care. My cordial greetings also go to the priests, the men and women Religious, and laity whom you shepherd. Please assure them of my prayers and solicitude.

The Church in India is blessed with a multitude of institutions which are intended to be expressions of the love of God for humanity through the charity and example of the clergy, religious and lay faithful who staff them. By means of her parishes, schools and orphanages, as well as her hospitals, clinics and dispensaries, the Church makes an invaluable contribution to the well-being not only of Catholics, but of society at large. Among these institutions in your region, a special place is held by the schools which are an outstanding witness to your commitment to the education and formation of our dear young people. The efforts made by the whole Christian community to prepare the young citizens of your noble country to build a more just and prosperous society have long been a hallmark of the Church in your Dioceses and throughout India. In helping the spiritual, intellectual and moral faculties of their students to mature, Catholic schools should continue to develop a capacity for sound judgment and introduce them to the heritage bequeathed to them by former generations, thus fostering a sense of values and preparing their pupils for a happy and productive life (cf. Gravissimum Educationis, 5). I encourage you to continue to pay close attention to the quality of instruction in the schools present in your Dioceses, to ensure that they be genuinely Catholic and therefore capable of passing on those truths and values necessary for the salvation of souls and the up-building of society.

Of course, Catholic schools are not the only means by which the Church seeks to instruct and to edify her people in intellectual and moral truth. As you know, all of the Church’s activities are meant to glorify God and fill his people with the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32). This saving truth, at the heart of the deposit of faith, must remain the foundation of all the Church’s endeavours, proposed to others always with respect but also without compromise. The capacity to present the truth gently but firmly is a gift to be nurtured especially among those who teach in Catholic institutes of higher education and those who are charged with the ecclesial task of educating seminarians, religious or the lay faithful, whether in theology, catechetical studies or Christian spirituality. Those who teach in the name of the Church have a particular obligation faithfully to hand on the riches of the tradition, in accordance with the Magisterium and in a way that responds to the needs of today, while students have the right to receive the fullness of the intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Church. Having received the benefits of a sound formation and dedicated to charity in truth, the clergy, religious and lay leaders of the Christian community will be better able to contribute to the growth of the Church and the advancement of Indian society. The various members of the Church will then bear witness to the love of God for all humanity as they enter into contact with the world, providing a solid Christian testimony in friendship, respect and love, and striving not to condemn the world but to offer it the gift of salvation (cf. Jn 3:17). Encourage those involved in education, whether priests, religious or laity, to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. Enable them to reach out to their neighbours that, by their word and example, they may more effectively proclaim Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6).

A significant role of witness to Jesus Christ is carried out in your country by men and women religious, who are the often unsung heroes of the Church’s vitality locally. Above and beyond their apostolic labours, however, religious and the lives they lead are a source of spiritual fruitfulness for the entire Christian community. As they open themselves to the grace of God, religious men and women inspire others to respond with trust, humility and joy to the invitation of the Lord to follow him.
In this regard, my Brother Bishops, I know that you are aware of the many factors which inhibit spiritual and vocational growth, particularly among young people. Yet we know that it is Jesus Christ alone who responds to our deepest longings, and who gives true meaning to our lives. Only in him can our hearts truly find rest. Continue, therefore, to speak to young people and to encourage them to consider seriously the consecrated or priestly life; speak with parents about their indispensible role in encouraging and supporting such vocations; and lead your people in prayer to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send many more labourers into this harvest (cf. Mt 9:38).

With these thoughts, dear Brother Bishops, I renew to you my sentiments of affection and esteem. I commend all of you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. Assuring you of my prayers for you and for those entrusted to your pastoral care, I am pleased to impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in the Lord.
 

Eritrea: 3,000 Christians jailed and abused; Myriad violations include forced renunciations

NGOs call for robust UN action in face of Eritrea’s human rights violations  20/09/2011

Human Rights Concern Eritrea (HRCE), Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) today called upon the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the wide-ranging human rights violations committed in Eritrea.

The call was issued during a side-meeting at the HRC’s 18th Session, where HRCE, CSW and EHAHRDP were joined by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in condemning the severe human rights crisis currently underway in Eritrea.  The NGOs urged diplomats and the wider HRC to take robust action in response to the findings of any investigation into the flagrant abuses committed by the Eritrean regime against its own people, including the appointment of a Special Rapporteur to address the situation if necessary.

In their contributions, the panelists covered a variety of grave issues, including the detention of the “G-11”, a group of Eritrean officials including Parliamentarians, government ministers and ambassadors who were arbitrarily arrested ten years ago on 18 September 2001 for advocating for domestic reform and the implementation of the ratified Constitution. Six of the original 11 officials have subsequently died in detention as a result of torture and deliberate privations.

In addition, private media was shut down on 18 September 2001, and at least ten journalists were detained.  Most are still incarcerated; however, it is believed that at least four of the journalists may have died in detention. Since that time, tens of thousands of Eritreans have been arrested, including around 3,000 Christians, most of whom remain confined in the country’s myriad detention facilities, where they face mistreatment and deprivation of food and medical treatment, pending renunciation of their faith.

Panellist Elsa Chyrum, Director for HRCE and Focal Person for Eritrea at the EHAHRDP said, “Eritrea’s government has been conducting its domestic policy through nothing else but terror... In light of all the evidence presented here, we urge the HRC and Member States of the United Nations to consider a full investigation into this state of affairs, to arrange a fact-finding mission to Eritrea and to act upon its findings.”

Hassan Shire, Executive Director of EHAHRDP, said, “Eritrea’s human rights record can only be compared to the North Korean situation, and I appeal to HRC to appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate.”

CSW’s Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston said, “We continue to be deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Eritrea. The numerous shocking stories that we have received from Eritreans over many years testify to the cruelty of a regime that has received only limited attention from the international community for its domestic human rights violations. This appalling abuse of its own citizens must be brought to an end, and we call on the HRC to take steps to bring this about as a matter of urgency. "
 

Now we have proof that abolishing parental rights and encouraging single-parent families was disastrous: the disaster has happened

What was done by design can be undone the same way. But will there be enough political determination to do it?
By William Oddie on Monday, 15 August 2011. CatholicHerald.co.uk

Photo: A 12-year-old boy leaves Manchester magistrates court last week (PA wire)

Last Thursday, in an article snappily entitled “Why didn’t the looters’ parents know where they were? Why didn’t they teach them about right and wrong? Answer: society has undermined the family”, I quoted Fr Finigan saying that “For several decades our country has undermined marriage, the family, and the rights of parents… Now all of a sudden, we want parents to step in and tell their teenage children how to behave”, and Melanie Phillips pointing to “family breakdown and mass fatherlessness” as one of the principal underlying causes of the riots and looting of last week. I concluded (and I don’t apologise for returning to this theme now: a lot more needs to be said about it, and now is the time to say it) that of all the things the government now needs to do, “it’s the married family which is the institution that needs rebuilding most urgently”.

I am as certain of that as anything I have ever written, and I’ve been saying it for over 20 years: I was saying it, for instance, when I was attacking (in the Mail and also the Telegraph) as it went through the Commons the parliamentary bill which became that disastrous piece of (Tory) legislation called the Children Act 1989, which abolished parental rights (substituting for them the much weaker “parental responsibility”), which encouraged parents not to spend too much time with their children, which even preposterously gave children the right to take legal action against their parents for attempting to discipline them, which made it “unlawful for a parent or carer to smack their child, except where this amounts to ‘reasonable punishment’;” and which specified that “Whether a ‘smack’ amounts to reasonable punishment will depend on the circumstances of each case taking into consideration factors like the age of the child and the nature of the smack.” If the child didn’t think it “reasonable” he could go to the police. It was an Act which, in short, deliberately weakened the authority of parents over their children and made the state a kind of co-parent.

There are, of course, many other causes for the undermining of the married family (which David Cameron says he now wants to rebuild). Divorce, from the 1960s on, became progressively easier and easier to obtain. Another cause has been the insidious notion (greatly encouraged by successive governments but particularly under New Labour – Old Labour tended to be much more traditional in its views on the family) that the family has many forms, that marriage is just one option, and that lone parenting is just as “valid” (dread word) a form as any other. If you thought that voluntary lone parenting should be discouraged, rather than (as it was) positively encouraged by the taxation and benefits system, you were practically written off as a fascist.

Well, all this relativist rubbish has now been comprehensively shown by its consequences to have been dangerous drivel all along; and I am discovering that to be able to say “I told you so” is under the circumstances not at all as enjoyable as I had thought it might be: any satisfaction is of a very grim kind.
But it is now beyond any doubt, and we need to say so now, to nail the lies that have been spouted for the last 40 years once and for all. The conclusive proof of the existence and the effects of the widespread breakdown of parental responsibility (even where there are two parents) and also of the catastrophic consequences of the encouragement of lone parenting was to be found on the front page of the Times on Saturday, in an article to which I can’t give a link since you can’t get it online. I will have to summarise and quote extensively.

The headline was “Judge asks: where are the parents of rioters?” and it opens as follows:

Parents who refuse to take responsibility for children accused of criminal offences were condemned by a judge yesterday who demanded to know why the mother of a 14-year-old girl in the dock over the looting of three shops was not in court.
District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe was incredulous when told that the girl’s parents were too busy to see their daughter appear before City of Westminster magistrates after she was accused of offences during the violent disorder in London this week. She said that many parents “don’t seem to care” that their children were in court facing potentially lengthy custodial sentences.
Her comments echoed those a day earlier by District Judge Jonathan Feinstein when he highlighted the absence of parents at hearings in Manchester. “The parents have to take responsiblity for this child – apart from one case I have not seen any father or mother in court,” he said.

An analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that, among other factors linking the 18 areas worst hit by public disorder, is a high rate of single-parent families and broken homes.
And in an interview with the Times today, Shaun Bailey, a youth worker recently appointed as the Government’s “Big Society” czar, argues that childraising has been “nationalised”.
Of the defendants who appeared before magistrates in Westminster yesterday accused of riot crimes across London, half were aged under 18, but few parents attended the hearings, even though their children had been in police custody for up to two days.
One member of the court’s staff said: “I can’t recall seeing any of the parents down here”… A boy of 15 was accused of looting a JD Sports shop in Barking, East London. A 17-year-old student from East London was also accused of receiving £10,000 of mobile phones, cigarettes and clothing looted from Tesco. The items and small quantity of cannabis were discovered in his bedroom at the family home… community workers admitted that broken families often led to children taking to crime.
One youth worker, who has helped children in Lambeth, south London, for 20 years, told the Times that single mothers were often scared of their sons. “They would not challenge them if they came home with stolen goods,” the worker, who did not wish to be named, said.
“In some cases these young men steal more than their mother earns or gets in benefit. They become the father figure, the main earner.” Young men echo the lack of authority. “My mum can’t tell me what to do,” said Lee, 18, from Copley Court, an estate in West Ealing. “It’s the same with young kids. Most of their dads left early on and they don’t listen to anyone.”

105,000 Christians martyred yearly, says European official
Catholic Culture 7 June 2011

Every year 105,000 Christians are killed because of their faith.
This shocking figure was disclosed by Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, representative of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, at the "International Conference on Inter-religious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims,” sponsored the Hungarian presidency of the European Union (EU) in Gödöllo, near Budapest.
"Every five minutes”, Introvigne said in his speech, "a Christian is killed for his faith." The figure does not include the victims of civil wars, or wars between nations, but only the people put to death because they are Christians.
"If these figures are not cried out to the world, if this massacre is not stopped," Introvigne continued; "if it is not recognized that the persecution against Christians is the first worldwide emergency with regard to religious discrimination and violence, dialogue between religions will only produce wonderful symposia but no concrete results."
The conference on peaceful coexistence between religions was hosted by the Hungarian government as a highlight of its EU presidency of the European Union and saw among its participants Cardinal Péter Erdo of Budapest; the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa; Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants; Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Paul Matar; Metropolitan Hilarion, "foreign minister” of the Russian Orthodox Church; the representative of the European Jewish Congress Gusztáv Zoltai, that of the Organization of Islamic Conference Ömür Orhun; and the general secretary of the Committee for Islamic-Christian dialogue in Lebanon, Chakib Hares Chehab.
The Egyptian diplomat Mahmoud Aly assured participants that his country is about to pass laws that will protect Christian minorities, by prosecuting crimes as hate speech and banning hostile gatherings of outside churches.
"But the danger is for many Christian communities in the Middle East to die out for emigration,” Cardinal Erdo said. "For all Christians will escape feeling threatened. And Europe should be preparing for a new wave of emigration, this time of Christians fleeing persecution." Metropolitan Hilarion, for his part, recalled that "at least one million” of the Christians enduring persecution in the world are children.
 

Breivik's ideology is not based on Christian values

Silence in Norway - Concern arises for the growth of xenophobic and violent extreme right-wing political parties. The floor to the experts.

 Alessandro Speciale - Roma
Christian, but at the same time, Masonic. Inspired by a profound hatred against Islam, yet an admirer of Al Qaeda. So much that he wrote, «if the prophet Mohammed were still alive, Osama bin Laden would be his number two».
The ideology that emerges from the huge and delirious "manifesto" - "2083 - A European Declaration of Independence" - that the Norwegian police have attributed to the 32-year-old perpetrator of the Oslo massacre, Behring Anders Breivik, is certainly contradictory and coarse.
His gesture, however, puts a question on whether, just like in the United States, a violent right-wing movement with strong religious connotations is currently being borne, following the steps which led Timothy McVeight in 1995 to organize the Oklahoma City terrorist attack.
On his Facebook page, the bomber of Oslo, indeed, had defined himself as a "Christian" and a "conservative".
In addition, the movement that "Andrew Berwick" - Breivik himself used this name, anglicizing his real one - said to have founded in London in 2002, is called the "Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici” (Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon). His clique played the role of the «plum tree of Europe and Christianity,» just like the «jihadist fighters define themselves».
However, according to some experts consulted by Vatican Insider, there are no symptoms of the emergence of a distinctly right-wing violence with religious connotations, even if the invitation is not to underestimate the consequences of the violent tone that debates on Islam and immigration sometimes take.
According to Vebjørn Horsfjord, former Secretary General of the European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace (an international organization based in Oslo which promotes peace and human dignity through the power of faith), even if Breivik defines himself as a Christian, «his ideology does not seem to be nourished with Christian concepts.» Rather, he explained, he belongs «to a wave of strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigration ideology, whose supporters dwell among both the conservative and the secular Christians.» 
Horsfjord, who now teaches inter-religious studies at the Faculty of Theology in Oslo, nonetheless prefers not to connect the bomber too directly with the great development of extreme-right movements across the Old Continent - where their success has led them in some cases, like in Hungary, Holland and Denmark, to actively participate in the governments.
However, he adds, it's time to "reflect" if the "harsh tone" of the debates on interfaith relations, immigration and multiculturalism have inspired «dangerous ideas in some sick minds».
And if it is true that Breivik regarded himself as a Christian, «there is no evidence that it belonged to a Christian group or a Church,» says Brent Nelsen, professor of political sciences at the US Furnam University.
Nelsen in an expert of the relations between religion and politics in Europe and knows Norway very well, having published two books about it. According to him, unlike the United States, European right-wing extremists «say they are linked to Christianity, but do not prove to be very religious».Their motivations, in short, are more political than religious and one should think twice before classifying the attacks in Oslo as "Christian terrorism".
The very success of the extreme right in Europe, with the consequent approach to power and the "mainstream" politics, may have helped to radicalize people like Breivik: «The Progress Party which he belonged to - Nelsen explains - has recently become much more moderate... Breivik used to be part of it but seems to have lost confidence in it, as it drifted to a more central position in the Parliament».
Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the OSCE representative on Combating Racism and discrimination against Christians, says that Breivik embodied the Norwegian blogger Fjordman's ideology, the latter being regarded as the terrorist's «true spiritual father». According to him, «after the Middle Ages, Christianity - whose only positive aspects had pagan origins - has become a worst threat for Europe than Marxism».
The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon is a movement open to «Christians, Christian agnostics, Christian atheists», that is, to all those who recognize the importance of Christian cultural roots, «but also of the Jewish tradition and the Enlightenment» and «the Nordic and pagan traditions», in order to oppose the real enemies: Islam and immigration
«Far from being a fundamentalist Christian - according to Introvigne - Breivik, who was baptized in the Norwegian Lutheran Church, regards himself as a cultural Christian, whose appeal to the Christian heritage has in fact anti-Islamic function».
The Churches, according to him, are not willing to fight Islam: therefore he proposes a great European Christian Congress which could give birth to a new anti-Islamic Church based on the European identity. It directly threatens the Pope Benedict XVI when he writes: «He has abandoned Christianity and European Christians and he must be considered a coward, incompetent, corrupt and illegitimate Pope.»
Indeed, according to Introvigne, the threats against Italy and the Pope should be taken seriously into consideration, if «Breivik 's neo-Templar Order should be proved not to be limited to a single man, but in fact, to include other people - which, according to the text, have been trained in Africa and elsewhere by Serbian war criminals, whom the terrorist regards as heroes».
But if, on one hand, the religious connotation is instrumental and vague, on the other hand, such assumption should not let us underestimate the dangers of extreme-right movements. According to Nelsen, both those with an authoritarian character and those with an anarchic one may indeed be favoured by the «weakening of religious communities that contributes to the overall sense of isolation» within society.
The scenario «reminds of the Twenties,» when «democracy seemed incapable of solving the problems,» and people looked for alternatives in violent movements. «The extreme right could become as violent as the radical Left during the Seventies and the Eighties». But «Europe - he adds – has survived those events and will be able to outlive also these deadly attacks».
 

Pope had Opposed Harry Potter Novels as Cardinal

In March 2003, a month after the English press throughout the world falsely proclaimed that Pope John Paul II approved of Harry Potter, the man who was to become his successor sent a letter to a Gabriele Kuby outlining his agreement with her opposition to J.K. Rowling’s offerings. (See below for links to scanned copies of the letters signed by Cardinal Ratzinger.)
As the sixth issue of Rowling’s Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - is about to be released, the news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed serious reservations about the novels is now finally being revealed to the English-speaking world still under the impression the Vatican approves the Potter novels.
In a letter dated March 7, 2003 Cardinal Ratzinger thanked Kuby for her “instructive” book
Harry Potter - gut oder böse (
Harry Potter- good or evil?), in which Kuby says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.

“It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly,” wrote Cardinal Ratzinger.

The letter also encouraged Kuby to send her book on Potter to the Vatican prelate who quipped about Potter during a press briefing which led to the false press about the Vatican support of Potter. At a Vatican press conference to present a study document on the New Age in April 2003, one of the presenters - Rev. Peter Fleetwood - made a positive comment on the Harry Potter books in response to a question from a reporter.
Headlines such as “Pope Approves Potter” (Toronto Star), “Pope Sticks Up for Potter Books” (BBC), “Harry Potter Is Ok With The Pontiff” (Chicago Sun Times) and “Vatican: Harry Potter’s OK with us” (CNN Asia) littered the mainstream media.

In a second letter sent to Kuby on May 27, 2003, Cardinal Ratzinger “gladly” gave his permission to Kuby to make public “my judgement about Harry Potter.”
The most prominent Potter critic in North America, Catholic novelist and painter Michael O’Brien commented on the “judgement” of now-Pope Benedict saying, “This discernment on the part of Benedict XVI reveals the Holy Father’s depth and wide ranging gifts of spiritual discernment.” O’Brien, author of a book dealing with fantasy literature for children added, “it is consistent with many of the statements he’s been making since his election to the Chair of Peter, indeed for the past 20 years - a probing accurate read of the massing spiritual warfare that is moving to a new level of struggle in western civilization. He is a man in whom a prodigious intellect is integrated with great spiritual gifts. He is the father of the universal church and we would do well to listen to him.
 

Proven that the apostle St. James is buried in Compostela

Findings of a professor from Navarre University. An investigator deciphers the Hebraic name “Jacob” in the sepulcher of Santiago de Compostela
The finding reinforces the tradition that the remains of the apostle brought from Jerusalem are found in the sepulcher of Compostela.
Europa Press Agency.  06-24-2011

Photo: Inscription used by prof. Alarcon for the deciphering.

Enrique Alarcon, professor of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Navarre,  has deciphered the word ‘Jacob’- the equivalent of James – written in Hebrew characters of the 1st C. in an inscription found in the Compostelan sepulcher. According to the expert’s exposition during the closing of the Catedra Camino de Santiago de la Universidad de Navarra, the name ‘Jacob’ is found interlaced with the Greek word ‘martyr’ (which translated literally means ‘witness’)

The object of this new study was discovered in 1988 in the tomb of Athanasius, adjacent to the tomb of James, by Prof. Isidore Millan. “Its symbolism is very rich and corresponds to the burial inscriptions of the primitive Judaeo-Christian cemetery of Jerusalem. I have found that it alludes to the Jewish feast of Shav’ot (Pentecost), when the apostles preached for the first time to all the nations, as narrated in the New Testament. Christ had charged them that only then could they leave Jerusalem and be his witnesses ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Finis Terre)” explains Enrique Alarcon.
In this line he determines that “the inscription refers to James as one who completes this commission: witness of Christ in Finisterre, the Roman name for the Galician coast, and is almost contemporary, since the Hebrew characters are prior to the year 70”. To which he added the following: “This dating is confirmed because they appear represented in the inscriptions of the ritual breads of Shavu’ot, which ceased to be made precisely the year after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans.” It was the Hebrew University which enabled Prof Alarcon to understand the significance and dating of the inscriptions that were found.

Revealing Data
As put forth by the University of Navarre, the finding reinforces the tradition that in the sepulcher of Compostela are found the remains of the Apostle St. James, brought from Jerusalem, as well as his preaching in Finisterre some years before. “The representation of what appears to be a tongue of fire also coincides with the Pentecost narrative in the New Testament, and ratifies its historicity. Due to its importance, the inscription of Santiago ought to be placed among the principal ones of Christian archeology” explains the investigator.

The complete text of the investigation is published in a volume of studies about the Road of James coordinated by Prof. Piotr Roszak, of the University of Torun in Poland

A little of History
According to ancient local tradition, on 2 January of the year AD 40, the Virgin Mary appeared to James on the bank of the Ebro River at Caesaraugusta, while he was preaching the Gospel in Iberia. She appeared upon a pillar, Nuestra Señora del Pilar, and that pillar is conserved and venerated within the present Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, in Zaragoza, Spain. Following that apparition, St James returned to Judea, where he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in the year 44.

The 12th-century Historia Compostellana commissioned by bishop Diego Gelmírez provides a summary of the legend of St James as it was believed at Compostela. Two propositions are central to it: first, that St James preached the gospel in Iberia as well as in the Holy Land; second, that after his martyrdom at the hands of Herod Agrippa I his disciples Atanasio and Teodoro carried his body by sea to Iberia, where they landed at Padrón on the coast of Galicia, and took it inland for burial at Santiago de Compostela.

An even later tradition states that he miraculously appeared to fight for the Christian army during the battle of Clavijo, and was henceforth called Matamoros (Moor-slayer). Santiago y cierra España ("St James and strike for Spain") has been the traditional battle cry of Spanish armies.

At some time in the first half of the ninth century an ancient mausoleum was discovered in a field in the isolated northern Spanish Christian Galicia..

The discovery of the grave went hand in hand with the miraculous, the story providing the key ingredient to its illustrious name. Compostela (or campus stellae), is so named because the light of the stars over a field guided to an eremite called Pelayo to the ancient burial site. A large number of stone tombs were found aligned in an east west position. The mausoleum was divided in two and the western end appeared to be designed as an atrium or entrance hall to the more substantial eastern half. This latter was decorated with mosaic tiles and marble and contained an impressive sarcophagus. Here was the burial place and shrine of a Christian holy man whose disciples were also buried alongside.

Theodemir, the local bishop was called to investigate the new discovery and very quickly pronounced it to be the tomb and the relics of the Apostle Saint James. The king of Asturias and Galicia, Alfonso II, had a small church built over the site and on his death in 842, Theodemir was buried there.

The site was called Compostela, and very quickly a cult of veneration was established there which was soon known beyond the Pyrenees. In 865 when the monk Usuard of Saint-Germain-des-Près composed his Martyrology, listing the lives of the martyrs he was already aware of the cult at Compostela. Of Saint James he wrote: “his most holy remains were translated from Jerusalem to Spain and deposited in its uttermost region, they are revered with the most devout veneration by the people of those parts”.
 

Rome exhibit displays shirt worn by John Paul II on day he was shot

2011-07-08  - Video

July 8, 2011. (Romereports.com) In this church of Rome's Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul a special new relic is on display. It's the shirt that John Paul II wore the day he was shot in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981.

Sister Beatrice Priori
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
“This shirt is important both for what we can see with our eyes and that which isn't visible. It speaks of the great suffering of the pope, what he suffered during the attack but also the suffering that followed him the rest of his life.”

The day of the attack, doctors cut off the shirt to perform emergency surgery and left it in a corner of the operating room. The head nurse of the Policlinico Gemelli, Anna Stanghellini, recovered the shirt, keeping it a secret for years.
After retiring, she moved into the house of the Sisters of Charity. In March of 2000 she confessed her secret to Sister Beatrice Priori who couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Sister Beatrice Priori
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
“I was perplexed, thoughtful, and quite frankly I didn't know what to do. Thinking and rethinking, I realized that this was something important and should be preserved from being damaged or ruined. Along with another sister, we decided to preserve it as it is now.”
After the death of John Paul II, the sister decided to take the shirt to the Vatican for verification. Along with it, she brought a letter from the nurse explaining what happened as well as an older letter she had written when she first discovered the shirt. A month later, after being verified, it was back in the hands of the Sisters of Charity.

Sister Beatrice Priori
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
“This shirt speaks of John Paul II's ability to forgive, his ability to love others. He forgave the man that tried to kill him, giving him his hand. Behind this shirt is a powerful hand that deflected the bullet. Doctors say if it had entered two millimeters to the left or two to the right, he never would have made it to the Gemelli Hospital. The hand behind this was the Virgin Mary's.”

The religious community has guarded the shirt in a room with other objects of symbolic value. Now, after the beatification of John Paul II, it's on display in their church for everyone to see.
 

India’s Health Minister Calls Homosexuality ‘Unnatural’
By HEATHER TIMMONS and NIKHILA GILL - New York Times
Published: July 5, 2011

NEW DELHI — Sex between two men is “completely unnatural,” India’s health minister told rural leaders during a conference this week about H.I.V. and AIDS, drawing outrage from gay rights activists and health care professionals.
Manish Swarup/Associated Press.

“Unfortunately, there is this disease in the world and in this country where men are having sex with other men, which is completely unnatural and shouldn’t happen, but it does,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, the minister for health and family welfare said on late Monday in Delhi.
He spoke at a two-day meeting between leaders from rural communities and groups fighting AIDS. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress Party president, Sonia Gandhi, also spoke. About 2.5 million people in India are infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The disease is predominantly spread here by unprotected heterosexual sex, according to international health groups.
“In our country the numbers of men having sex with men are substantial, but it is very difficult to find them,” Mr. Azad said. His remarks, part of a speech made in a mixture of Hindi and English, were videotaped and widely distributed by Indian and international media on Tuesday, sparking an outpouring of criticism.
“Not only did he make an uninformed comment, he also did it at an inappropriate time and place,” said Anjali Gopalan, the founder and executive director of the Naz Foundation, a nonprofit group in India that fights the spread of H.I.V.
Mr. Azad “let a golden opportunity pass, for narrow sectarian gains, when he should have used the platform to address the concerns of the country as a whole,” Ms. Gopalan said.
“There is no place for stigma and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” said Michel Sidibé, the executive director of Unaids, in a statement Tuesday released in response to Mr. Azad’s remarks.
The minister’s remarks come as homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance in some parts of India. In July 2009, New Delhi’s High Court decriminalized homosexuality in a landmark ruling that declared a British-era ban a violation of other parts of India’s Constitution. “Consensual sex amongst adults is legal, which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes,” the ruling said.
The second anniversary of the ruling was celebrated last Saturday in New Delhi and other urban areas with parades and parties, though many parade wearers wore masks to conceal their identity.
A spokeswoman for the minister said he would release a statement Tuesday afternoon responding to criticism.
Prime Minister Singh’s remarks at the same conference seemed designed to send the opposite message. “We have to ensure that there is no stigma and discrimination towards H.I.V.-infected and affected persons,” he said, which includes making sure that people get and keep jobs. “You, as the elected leaders, have a major role to play in building up a healthy community response,” he said.
Unprotected sex between heterosexuals is responsible for 87 percent of all new cases transmitted, according to India’s National AIDS Control Program. More than 2.5 million people in India were living with H.I.V. , the virus that causes AIDS, in 2006, according to Unaids, a United Nations-led global group formed to combat the disease.
Programs to fight AIDS and H.I.V. in India are often concentrated on preventing transmission between female prostitutes, their customers and the general population. Theater groups and commercials focus on truck drivers, touting the benefits of using condoms.
 

Hungary sponsors bold pro-life campaign with EU money - Eurocrats enraged

June 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The government of Hungary has enraged the largely pro-abortion establishment in the European Union by sponsoring a nationwide pro-life campaign using funds received from the EU itself.

The campaign consists of posters depicting an unborn child begging for its life. The posters have been placed in subway stations, bus stops, and other public places,
“I understand well that you aren’t ready for me yet, but think twice and give me to the adoption service. LET ME LIVE!” the text says beneath the image of the unborn child.
The posters go on to note that thousands of Hungarian children are killed by abortion each year, while many couples in Hungary are seeking to adopt children.
The campaign has been paid for in part with funds received from the European Union program known as “Progress,” which was created to promote employment and “solidarity” in Europe; the posters bear the program’s logo. However, EU officials have made it clear that the “solidarity” envisioned by the program does not include unborn children, and have ordered Hungarian officials to shut the program down.
According to European Commissioner of Justice, Viviane Reding, the campaign “does not conform to the project submitted by the Hungarian authorities and the [European] Commission is therefore asking the Hungarian authorities to put an end to that part of the campaign and to withdraw the rest of the posters without delay.”
Reding claims that the campaign “goes against European values” and is warning that if Hungary does not do as it is ordered, “we will begin procedures to put an end to the agreement and make the appropriate decisions, including financial ones.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has responded by saying that the project his country submitted to the European Commission aims at promoting “balanced” families. But he added that if the European Commission doesn’t accept his reasoning, he is prepared to take “appropriate measures,” the French Press Agency reported.
According to Hungary’s minister for families and youth, Miklos Soltesz, the government is seeking to raise consciousness about the value of human life, despite the ongoing legality of abortion in the country.  He denies that the campaign is a first step towards the prohibition of abortion.
“Hungarian society isn’t ready for the prohibition of abortion, like Poland for example,” he told the French news agency Hu LaLa. “That isn’t what we are seeking. We want to insist on the importance of life.”
The Hungarian government has expressed its strong pro-life perspective in the creation of a new constitution, which protects the right to life from the moment of conception.  However, officials have also made it clear that they do not believe that they are yet able to enforce the new provisions through legislation prohibiting abortion.
 
 

54 Anglican Clergy to Defect to Catholic Church in Pentecost Ordinations
By Daniel Blake | Christian Post Contributor

The first of a series of ordinations are set to take place, which will see former Anglican clergy defect from the Church of England and become Roman Catholic priests, on Saturday.

(Photo: Reuters/Andrew Winning)
Former Anglican bishops John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton stand during their ordination as Catholic priests at Westminster Cathedral in central London.
The first of these will see seven former Church of England clergy be ordained in London by the Most Rev. Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark. The event will further establish the new Ordinariate formed by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglicans that wished to defect from the Anglican Church of England in protest against its moves to accept women bishops.
In excess of 900 laity have already moved to the Catholic Church and have been waiting for their clergy to complete training for Catholic priesthood at a seminary in West London.
As the former Anglican clergy become ordained as Catholic priests, they will lead groups of former Anglican laity to branch off from the core Catholic congregations to worship as a separate Ordinariate group. The Vatican will soon publish a separate liturgy for these Ordinariate groups to follow.
According to The Times in London, Keith Newton, who heads up the Ordinariate, has explained that dozens more Church of England clergy are currently also considering their positions within the Anglican Church.
Newton told The Times, “Every week somebody writes or e-mails asking how they can join the Ordinariate. They are often people I have never heard of before.”
Explaining the risk facing those defecting to the Catholic Church, Newton commented: “For clergy it is a practical risk, meaning they abandon tied housing and a guaranteed stipend for a smaller income and uncertainty.”
Newton, himself defected and became a Roman Catholic priest in January this year. He and Andrew Burnham and John Broadhurst – all former Anglican bishops – were welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church during a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in London.
The three made the move because they were "distressed" by the developments in the global Anglican Communion which they found to be "incompatible" with Christian tradition.
The Vatican announced in 2009 that it would introduce a new church structure that would allow former Anglicans to enter into "full communion" with the Catholic Church while preserving their Anglican traditions.
Pope Benedict XVI made the provision in response to the numerous requests he received from Anglicans who were unhappy with the ordination of women and noncelibate gay bishops.
 

Bishops in Britain call on Catholics to abstain year-round, not only during Lent
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
Vatican City

Every year during the 40 days of Lent, millions of Catholics honor Jesus's crucifixion by foregoing meat in their Friday meals. But starting this September, if the bishops of England and Wales have their way, Catholics there will abstain from meat every Friday, year-round. This change marks the revival of a practice that the church abandoned a half-century ago—and it's the latest of several in recent years.
Catholic tradition calls for acts of penance every Friday, the day of Jesus's death, but observance of that tradition has changed dramatically since the modernizing reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Bishops in most countries eliminated abstinence from meat or limited it to Lent alone, and each Catholic became free to choose his own form of Friday penance: skipping television, perhaps, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. This effectively meant the disappearance of Friday penance altogether. In my 11 years of Catholic schooling, I don't recall hearing it mentioned once.
That's why the announcement by the bishops of England and Wales is so significant. To anyone with a taste for sushi or smoked salmon, missing hamburger once a week might present little inconvenience. But then, lightly beating one's breast, as Catholics do in one version of the Penitential rite during Mass, isn't a serious form of corporal mortification either. Catholicism is a fundamentally symbolic religion whose teachings are typically embodied in conventional signs and gestures. 
The English and Welsh bishops specified that they were instructing their flocks to resume Friday abstinence "as a clear and a distinctive mark of their own Catholic identity," adding that the "best habits are those which are acquired as part of a common resolve and common witness."
One of the most obvious functions of religious dietary restrictions is to mark off the boundaries of a religious group. In this respect, too, the effects of meatless Fridays are mild, since there can be hardly any restaurant or cafeteria that doesn't offer some alternative to meat. Unlike Orthodox Jews, for instance, English and Welsh Catholics will have little difficulty dining alongside those of other faiths.
Nevertheless, opting for fish and chips instead of beef stew at Friday lunch will be a signal of religious allegiance. Such a statement is one that many in Britain—long a Protestant society and now one of Europe's most secular—are bound to find unsettling.
Sociologists such as Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, who study the behavior of "religious economies," have observed that churches tend to lose vigor when they relax demands on adherents, especially those tenets and practices that cut against the grain of wider society. In economic terms, lowering the "costs" of membership in this way ends up diminishing its benefits, among other ways by loosening the bonds of community.
In the half century since Vatican II, the Catholic Church has de-emphasized many of the traditional outward signs of its distinctive character, a process that has coincided with a decline in such expressions of commitment as Mass attendance and vocations to the priesthood and religious orders. The growing emphasis on Catholic identity today represents an effort to counteract both trends.
It was a highly suggestive coincidence that the English and Welsh bishops' announcement about Friday penance came the same day as a Vatican document designed to expand access to the Tridentine Mass in Latin, another distinctive practice that fell out of use in the wake of Vatican II. Pope Benedict XVI lifted restrictions on the old Latin Mass in 2007, and though only a small fraction of the world's Catholics attend it today, it has excited disproportionate interest among the young, suggesting that it is a tradition with a future.
So, too, with Eucharistic adoration, or prayer before an exposed Communion host, which Catholics believe to be the body of Christ. A Catholic group in the U.S. recently launched a multimedia campaign to encourage adoration among college students. This form of devotion is also common in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, one of the church's most dynamic and fast-growing movements, especially in the developing world.
Even the veneration of relics, mocked by the Protestant reformers and long downplayed by Catholic leaders, is becoming more popular—to the point that a Vatican theologian last year saw the need to warn against the "risk of crossing the boundary from popular devotion to superstition" and "substituting miracle-performing sensationalism for authentic faith."
Many Catholics, especially among the educated in wealthy countries, regard such practices as embarrassing vestiges of medieval piety, distractions from a more sophisticated spirituality. Yet a scene this month in St. Peter's Square, broadcast on television around the world, sent another message. The sight of a nun displaying a silver reliquary with the blood of the newly beatified Pope John Paul II, to applause from a crowd of 1.5 million devotees, suggests that demand remains strong for a brand of faith that celebrates its difference.

Mr. Rocca is the Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service

Bishop Alencherry is new Syro-Malabar Church head

May 26, 2011

The Syro-Malabar Church has for the first time elected a new head.

The Kerala-based Oriental Catholic rite, which claims its origin to St. Thomas the Apostle, elected Bishop George Alencherry of Thuckalay as its Major Archbishop May 26.
The newly appointed bishop said his services will be for all people of India. He stressed inter-rite relations, inter-faith harmony and ecumenism. The Syro-Malabar Church along with the other Oriental rite Syro-Malankara Church and the Latin rite make up the Catholic Church in India.
Bishop Alencherry, 66, succeeds Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, who headed the Church. The 84-year-old cardinal died April 1 after a prolonged heart ailment.
Pope John Paul II had appointed Cardinal Vithayathil its Major Archbishop in 1999.
Bishop Alencherry, however, is the first head to be elected by the Oriental Church’s synod. The election is part of the new administrative system put in place within the Syro-Malabar Church after Pope John Paul II made it a Major Archiepiscopal Church in 1992.
With that elevation the pope appointed Cardinal Antony Padiyara as its first Major Archbishop. However, the pope reserved the powers to appoint the major archbishop and bishops.
The Vatican in 2004 granted full administrative powers to the Church, including the power to elect bishops.
The synod, following Syro-Malabar Church rules, met at its headquarters in Kochi to elect a new leader. The synod will conclude on May 29.
Bishop Alencherry, born in 1945 in Kerala’s Kottayam district, was ordained a priest in 1972. He became bishop of Thuckalay in 1997. He is currently the secretary of the Syro-Malabar Synod and also the chairman of the Synodal Commission for Catechesis

Algerian Police Orders Closure of All Churches
May 27, 2011

Algerian Christians have appealed for urgent prayer after the police ordered the closure of churches across the country “once and for all”.
The head of the Algerian Protestant Church Association (EPA) – to which the majority of Algerian churches belong – received a notice, dated 22 May, from a High Police Commissioner informing him that a decision had been made to close down all Christian places of worship throughout the country that are not designated for religious purposes.
Most church buildings have not been officially designated because it has proved impossible for them to obtain registration from the authorities following stringent regulations introduced in 2006, which were designed to restrict the religious activity of non-Muslims.
The closure order applies to existing church buildings and those under construction. The High Commissioner threatened “severe consequences and punishments” for violation of the order.

Church clampdown
Algeria is overwhelmingly Muslim; there are around 60,000 Christians in the country, almost all of them converts from Islam. Christians enjoyed six years of relative religious freedom following the end of the civil war in 2000, but the authorities have been clamping down on their activities since the new regulations were introduced.
These required churches to register with a National Commission set up specifically for this purpose, but numerous applications have been met with no response. Churches have been subjected to sporadic closures and police clampdowns on their unregistered activities.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said:
This closure order is the latest and most worrying development in what appears to be a systematic campaign by the authorities to eradicate Christianity in Algeria. Many churches will be driven underground with believers denied the right to practise their faith freely. But praise God that, despite the authorities’ best efforts, the Church in Algeria is growing.
Barnabas Fund supports a number of projects in Algeria including pastors’ training and support, a church-based nursery for Christian children and a theological institute. We have also supported a leadership and discipleship training school and small business initiatives for Christians.

Algerian Christians have made the following prayer requests:

• “May the Lord give wisdom to the church leaders how to deal with this new wave of persecution. The vast majority of the churches are affected by this order.
• For the Lord to take away the spirit of fear and give His Spirit of power, love and self control, to stand firm against the threats of the authorities. (2 Timothy 1:7)
• For the abolition of the March 2006 ordinances.
• That the Church will be allowed to meet and worship in full freedom.
• May our Lord Jesus manifest powerfully His salvation and glorious victory against the evil one in this situation. Amen!”

Pope Recommends Spiritual Direction to Everyone
Says It Is a Way to Live Baptism Responsibly

VATICAN CITY, MAY 19, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Anyone who wants to live their baptism responsibly should have a spiritual director, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this today when he addressed members of the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum. The faculty was founded in 1935; the audience with the Holy Father was part of the institute's celebrations of its 75th anniversary.
Benedict XVI reflected on the Carmelite institute's emphasis on spiritual theology in the framework of anthropology. He said that in today's context, studying Christian spirituality from its anthropological foundations "is of great importance."
The Pontiff recognized that an education at the Teresianum not only prepares students to teach this discipline, but has an "even greater grace" in that it gears students to "the delicate task of spiritual direction."
"As she has never failed to do, again today the Church continues to recommend the practice of spiritual direction, not only to all those who wish to follow the Lord up close, but to every Christian who wishes to live responsibly his baptism, that is, the new life in Christ," the Pope stated. "Everyone, in fact, and in a particular way all those who have received the divine call to a closer following, needs to be supported personally by a sure guide in doctrine and expert in the things of God."
The Holy Father noted how a spiritual guide helps ward off subjectivist interpretations as well as providing the counseled with the guide's "own supply of knowledge and experiences in following Jesus."
He likened spiritual direction to the "personal relationship that the Lord had with his disciples, that special bond with which he led them, following him, to embrace the will of the Father (cf. Luke 22:42), that is, to embrace the cross."
The Bishop of Rome urged the Teresianum students to "make a treasure of all that you will have learned in these years of study, to support all those whom Divine Providence will entrust to you, helping them in the discernment of spirits and in the capacity to second the motions of the Holy Spirit, with the objective of leading them to the fullness of grace, 'until we all attain,' as St. Paul says, 'to the measure of the fullness of Christ.'"
 

INDIA-The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, in Orissa: " Persecution exists, but the faith of Christians is growing"

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - " Persecution on Christians in Orissa exists, but faith grows and strengthens, and even the number of the faithful is increasing. We are not afraid: we will always be ready to tell the truth, to defend the person`s dignity and freedom of religion. Although today in Orissa, as Christians, we feel abandoned by the institutions ": is what Archbishop John Barwa, Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, the leading diocese of the state of Orissa (India north-east), with over 62mila Catholics said in an interview with Fides. The archdiocese includes the district of Kandhamal, the scene in 2008 of anti-Christian massacres that claimed more than 100 deaths and 56 thousand IDPs. The Archbishop, at the Vatican for the ad Limina Apostolorum visit, explains to Fides the reasons and roots of anti-Christian violence.

Excellency, what is the situation of Christians in Orissa today?
Persecution exists, we face many challenges, not without concerns. But we believe that persecution is part of our Christian vocation and Christian life. We are not afraid, but we live it as a blessing from God. We know that where there is persecution, faith is strengthened, and today I am proud to say that faith in my people is strengthening. The blood shed for the faith in Christ is always the seed for new Christians: in Orissa the number of Christians is increasing.

Can you describe the episodes of violence that happen today?
It must be said that massacres like those of 2008 do not occur today. But Christians are terrified and cannot return to their homes. There is a subtle form of oppression and intimidation carried out quite openly by the Hindu extremist groups. It often happens in rural villages, where continuing threats and violence that are often released by the national news as the case of the Christian girl raped and murdered (see Fides 16/5/2011). At the base there is hatred and hostility against Christians that result in discrimination on behalf of some sectors of society and also by the institutions.

Do you have confidence in justice, police and civil authorities?
Orissa is a test for the respect and administration of justice in India. We can see painful examples in which Christians are treated as second class citizens and struggle to get justice. For example, the case of Sister Meena Barwa, the Catholic religious raped in 2008, the responsible were released on bail. The reaction and the results of ongoing trials, after the massacres of 2008, will be strong evidence in the nation to see if people can really have faith in justice and if everyone is equal before the law. And how can one trust the police, who witnessed the rape of sister Meena and other massacres without stopping the attackers? The police did and do not protect us. As Christians, at the moment, we feel are abandoned by the institutions.

This is very serious in democracy ...
It is, but these are the facts. Today we do not feel sufficiently secure and protected. Furthermore, at least so far, we have not received justice for the violence suffered.

How many Hindu extremist groups are there and why are they so strong in Orissa?
I am unable to give figures, but the Hindu radical movements in the area are well known, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and others, blinded by fundamentalism. There are few compared to the majority of Hindus who are peaceful and moderate. But those few continue to incite violence and hatred against Christians and manipulate people.

Why are Christians the favorite target?
For a variety of social, political and religious reasons. The Christian community in Orissa is largely composed of tribal and Dalits. For the evangelization of the tribes there are no problems. The Dalits, however, are considered part of the Hindu society: they are the lower castes who are to serve the higher ones. Christians work to promote human, economic and social development of Dalits, they defend the dignity and they often ask to embrace the Christian faith. This triggers the reaction of the radical Hindus. Sometimes Dalits, freed from the yoke of caste and ideology, set up economic and commercial activities, and this creates competition in economy: another reason for dissatisfaction. This is the land on which extremism and violence flourishes. There are, then, political reasons: Christians do not support the Hindu nationalist parties in power (such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP), and therefore political leaders do not want the community to expand or to be more.

What is your pastoral approach, in such a difficult context?
It is to weave relations of dialogue at all levels: with the common people, with other Christian communities, with the Hindu religious leaders, with civil authorities, with police chiefs, to unite all people of good will. The motto I have chosen for the episcopal ministry is "Thy kingdom come" I believe that this pastoral style may serve to build God's Kingdom in this part of India.

What did the meeting with the Pope mean for you?
The Pope encouraged us Bishops and thanked us for the support we give to our people. He reminded us of our responsibility as Pastors, inviting us to strengthen the faith and defend the dignity of every person. After this meeting, my heart is full with gratitude for God. It was a blessing to come here in the Vatican to meet the Holy Father, to receive words of encouragement and consolation and a blessing from Him.

The Pope underlined the freedom of religion and protection of human rights ...
I felt that passage of the Pope's speech was addressed directly to me and to the situation we live in Orissa. I feel called to proclaim, without fear, the truth about human dignity, freedom of faith, respect for human rights which are often violated in Orissa. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 19/05/2011)
 

Benedict XVI Warns of an Emptied Christianity
Says Emmaus Discouragement Is Present Also Today

VENICE, Italy, MAY 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is bringing a message of the new evangelization to northeastern Italy, urging the region to remember that the faith is more than a cultural and social tradition.
The Pope visited Venice and Aquilea Saturday and today, giving four addresses and a homily in just a few hours.
This afternoon, some 300,000 people attended the Mass he celebrated, coming not only from dioceses of the region, but also from Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany.
"You live in a context in which Christianity shows itself as the faith that has accompanied the path of so many peoples for centuries, even through persecutions and the most difficult trials," the Holy Father said in his homily. "Nevertheless, today this belonging to Christ runs the risk of being emptied of its truth and its deepest elements: It runs the risk of becoming a perspective that only touches life superficially, in the aspects that are just social and cultural."
He warned of being content with a Christianity "in which the experience of faith in Jesus, crucified and risen, does not enlighten the path of existence."
The Bishop of Rome proposed that the situation of the peoples of the region is similar to that of the disciples on the way to Emmaus.
The depression and discouragement of those two disciples is seen "when the disciples of today distance themselves from the Jerusalem of the Crucified and Risen One, when they cease to believe in the power and the living presence of the Lord," he proposed. "The problem of evil, of pain and suffering, the problem of injustice and abuse, of fear of others, of outsiders, and those who arrive to our lands from far away and seem to threaten who we are, [this] brings Christians of today to say with sadness: 'We had hoped that the Lord would free us from evil, from pain, from suffering, from fear, from injustice."
The Pope invited these Christians to rediscover Christ, through the Word of God, and the sacrament of his Body and Blood, which "restores to us the eyes of faith, so as to see everything and everyone with the eyes of God and the light of his love."
"Be holy!" the Pontiff urged them. "Put Christ at the center of your lives. Build the edifice of your existence upon him.
"In Jesus you will find the strength to open yourselves to others and to make of yourselves, with his example, a gift for all of humanity."
 

Pope Benedict at Last Supper Mass: Satan has been permitted to sift the disciples before the whole world
Pope Benedict Presides at the Mass of the Lord's Supper (Basilica of St. John Lateran)

Vatican City, Apr 21, 2011 / 06:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During the celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Pope Benedict reminded that Jesus chose to limit himself to the Catholic Church and his ministers, by warning that "all of us, need to learn again to accept God and Jesus Christ as he is, and not the way we want him to be." "We too find it hard to accept that he bound himself to the limitations of his Church and her ministers."

Pope Benedict's full homily follows.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15). With these words Jesus began the celebration of his final meal and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus approached that hour with eager desire. In his heart he awaited the moment when he would give himself to his own under the appearance of bread and wine. He awaited that moment which would in some sense be the true messianic wedding feast: when he would transform the gifts of this world and become one with his own, so as to transform them and thus inaugurate the transformation of the world. In this eager desire of Jesus we can recognize the desire of God himself – his expectant love for mankind, for his creation. A love which awaits the moment of union, a love which wants to draw mankind to itself and thereby fulfil the desire of all creation, for creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:19). Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist? Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things? From Jesus’ banquet parables we realize that he knows all about empty places at table, invitations refused, lack of interest in him and his closeness. For us, the empty places at the table of the Lord’s wedding feast, whether excusable or not, are no longer a parable but a reality, in those very countries to which he had revealed his closeness in a special way. Jesus also knew about guests who come to the banquet without being robed in the wedding garment – they come not to rejoice in his presence but merely out of habit, since their hearts are elsewhere. In one of his homilies Saint Gregory the Great asks: Who are these people who enter without the wedding garment? What is this garment and how does one acquire it? He replies that those who are invited and enter do in some way have faith. It is faith which opens the door to them. But they lack the wedding garment of love. Those who do not live their faith as love are not ready for the banquet and are cast out. Eucharistic communion requires faith, but faith requires love; otherwise, even as faith, it is dead.

From all four Gospels we know that Jesus’ final meal before his passion was also a teaching moment. Once again, Jesus urgently set forth the heart of his message. Word and sacrament, message and gift are inseparably linked. Yet at his final meal, more than anything else, Jesus prayed. Matthew, Mark and Luke use two words in describing Jesus’ prayer at the culmination of the meal: “eucharístesas” and “eulógesas” – the verbs “to give thanks” and “to bless”. The upward movement of thanking and the downward movement of blessing go together. The words of transubstantiation are part of this prayer of Jesus. They are themselves words of prayer. Jesus turns his suffering into prayer, into an offering to the Father for the sake of mankind. This transformation of his suffering into love has the power to transform the gifts in which he now gives himself. He gives those gifts to us, so that we, and our world, may be transformed. The ultimate purpose of Eucharistic transformation is our own transformation in communion with Christ. The Eucharist is directed to the new man, the new world, which can only come about from God, through the ministry of God’s Servant.

From Luke, and especially from John, we know that Jesus, during the Last Supper, also prayed to the Father – prayers which also contain a plea to his disciples of that time and of all times. Here I would simply like to take one of these which, as John tells us, Jesus repeated four times in his Priestly Prayer. How deeply it must have concerned him! It remains his constant prayer to the Father on our behalf: the prayer for unity. Jesus explicitly states that this prayer is not meant simply for the disciples then present, but for all who would believe in him (cf. Jn 17:20). He prays that all may be one “as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). Christian unity can exist only if Christians are deeply united to him, to Jesus. Faith and love for Jesus, faith in his being one with the Father and openness to becoming one with him, are essential. This unity, then, is not something purely interior or mystical. It must become visible, so visible as to prove before the world that Jesus was sent by the Father. Consequently, Jesus’ prayer has an underlying Eucharistic meaning which Paul clearly brings out in the First Letter to the Corinthians: “The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16ff.). With the Eucharist, the Church is born. All of us eat the one bread and receive the one body of the Lord; this means that he opens each of us up to something above and beyond us. He makes all of us one. The Eucharist is the mystery of the profound closeness and communion of each individual with the Lord and, at the same time, of visible union between all. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It reaches the very mystery of the Trinity and thus creates visible unity. Let me say it again: it is an extremely personal encounter with the Lord and yet never simply an act of individual piety. Of necessity, we celebrate it together. In each community the Lord is totally present. Yet in all the communities he is but one. Hence the words “una cum Papa nostro et cum episcopo nostro” are a requisite part of the Church’s Eucharistic Prayer. These words are not an addendum of sorts, but a necessary expression of what the Eucharist really is. Furthermore, we mention the Pope and the Bishop by name: unity is something utterly concrete, it has names. In this way unity becomes visible; it becomes a sign for the world and a concrete criterion for ourselves.

Saint Luke has preserved for us one concrete element of Jesus’ prayer for unity: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22:31). Today we are once more painfully aware that Satan has been permitted to sift the disciples before the whole world. And we know that Jesus prays for the faith of Peter and his successors. We know that Peter, who walks towards the Lord upon the stormy waters of history and is in danger of sinking, is sustained ever anew by the Lord’s hand and guided over the waves. But Jesus continues with a prediction and a mandate. “When you have turned again…”. Every human being, save Mary, has constant need of conversion. Jesus tells Peter beforehand of his coming betrayal and conversion. But what did Peter need to be converted from? When first called, terrified by the Lord’s divine power and his own weakness, Peter had said: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8). In the light of the Lord, he recognizes his own inadequacy. Precisely in this way, in the humility of one who knows that he is a sinner, is he called. He must discover this humility ever anew. At Caesarea Philippi Peter could not accept that Jesus would have to suffer and be crucified: it did not fit his image of God and the Messiah. In the Upper Room he did not want Jesus to wash his feet: it did not fit his image of the dignity of the Master. In the Garden of Olives he wielded his sword. He wanted to show his courage. Yet before the servant girl he declared that he did not know Jesus. At the time he considered it a little lie which would let him stay close to Jesus. All his heroism collapsed in a shabby bid to be at the centre of things. We too, all of us, need to learn again to accept God and Jesus Christ as he is, and not the way we want him to be. We too find it hard to accept that he bound himself to the limitations of his Church and her ministers. We too do not want to accept that he is powerless in this world. We too find excuses when being his disciples starts becoming too costly, too dangerous. All of us need the conversion which enables us to accept Jesus in his reality as God and man. We need the humility of the disciple who follows the will of his Master. Tonight we want to ask Jesus to look to us, as with kindly eyes he looked to Peter when the time was right, and to convert us.
After Peter was converted, he was called to strengthen his brethren. It is not irrelevant that this task was entrusted to him in the Upper Room. The ministry of unity has its visible place in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Dear friends, it is a great consolation for the Pope to know that at each Eucharistic celebration everyone prays for him, and that our prayer is joined to the Lord’s prayer for Peter. Only by the prayer of the Lord and of the Church can the Pope fulfil his task of strengthening his brethren – of feeding the flock of Christ and of becoming the guarantor of that unity which becomes a visible witness to the mission which Jesus received from the Father.

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you”. Lord, you desire us, you desire me. You eagerly desire to share yourself with us in the Holy Eucharist, to be one with us. Lord, awaken in us the desire for you. Strengthen us in unity with you and with one another. Grant unity to your Church, so that the world may believe. Amen.

John Paul II a radiant examples of faith, Pope says
During the celebration of the Chrism Mass at the Vatican this morning, Pope Benedict said that despite the scandals in the Church, there are still "radiant examples of faith" such as John Paul II, who will be beatified on May 1.

Pope Benedict's full homily follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the heart of this morning’s liturgy is the blessing of the holy oils – the oil for anointing catechumens, the oil for anointing the sick, and the chrism for the great sacraments that confer the Holy Spirit: confirmation, priestly ordination, episcopal ordination. In the sacraments the Lord touches us through the elements of creation. The unity between creation and redemption is made visible. The sacraments are an expression of the physicality of our faith, which embraces the whole person, body and soul. Bread and wine are fruits of the earth and work of human hands. The Lord chose them to be bearers of his presence. Oil is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and at the same time it points us towards Christ: the word "Christ" (Messiah) means "the anointed one". The humanity of Jesus, by virtue of the Son’s union with the Father, is brought into communion with the Holy Spirit and is thus "anointed" in a unique way, penetrated by the Holy Spirit. What happened symbolically to the kings and priests of the Old Testament when they were instituted into their ministry by the anointing with oil, takes place in Jesus in all its reality: his humanity is penetrated by the power of the Holy Spirit. He opens our humanity for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The more we are united to Christ, the more we are filled with his Spirit, with the Holy Spirit. We are called "Christians": "anointed ones" – people who belong to Christ and hence have a share in his anointing, being touched by his Spirit. I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian, said Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Let us allow these holy oils, which are consecrated at this time, to remind us of the task that is implicit in the word "Christian", let us pray that, increasingly, we may not only be called Christian but may actually be such.

In today’s liturgy, three oils are blessed, as I mentioned earlier. They express three essential dimensions of the Christian life on which we may now reflect. First, there is the oil of catechumens. This oil indicates a first way of being touched by Christ and by his Spirit – an inner touch, by which the Lord draws people close to himself. Through this first anointing, which takes place even prior to baptism, our gaze is turned towards people who are journeying towards Christ – people who are searching for faith, searching for God. The oil of catechumens tells us that it is not only we who seek God: God himself is searching for us. The fact that he himself was made man and came down into the depths of human existence, even into the darkness of death, shows us how much God loves his creature, man. Driven by love, God has set out towards us. "Seeking me, you sat down weary ... let such labour not be in vain!", we pray in the Dies Irae. God is searching for me. Do I want to recognize him? Do I want to be known by him, found by him? God loves us. He comes to meet the unrest of our hearts, the unrest of our questioning and seeking, with the unrest of his own heart, which leads him to accomplish the ultimate for us. That restlessness for God, that journeying towards him, so as to know and love him better, must not be extinguished in us. In this sense we should always remain catechumens. "Constantly seek his face", says one of the Psalms (105:4). Saint Augustine comments as follows: God is so great as to surpass infinitely all our knowing and all our being. Knowledge of God is never exhausted. For all eternity, with ever increasing joy, we can always continue to seek him, so as to know him and love him more and more. "Our heart is restless until it rests in you", said Saint Augustine at the beginning of his Confessions. Yes, man is restless, because whatever is finite is too little. But are we truly restless for him? Have we perhaps become resigned to his absence, do we not seek to be self-sufficient? Let us not allow our humanity to be diminished in this way! Let us remain constantly on a journey towards him, longing for him, always open to receive new knowledge and love!

Then there is the oil for anointing the sick. Arrayed before us is a host of suffering people: those who hunger and thirst, victims of violence in every continent, the sick with all their sufferings, their hopes and their moments without hope, the persecuted, the downtrodden, the broken-hearted. Regarding the first mission on which Jesus sent the disciples, Saint Luke tells us: "he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal" (9:2). Healing is one of the fundamental tasks entrusted by Jesus to the Church, following the example that he gave as he travelled throughout the land healing the sick. To be sure, the Church’s principal task is to proclaim the Kingdom of God. But this very proclamation must be a process of healing: "bind up the broken-hearted", we heard in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah (61:1). The proclamation of God’s Kingdom, of God’s unlimited goodness, must first of all bring healing to broken hearts. By nature, man is a being in relation. But if the fundamental relationship, the relationship with God, is disturbed, then all the rest is disturbed as well. If our relationship with God is disturbed, if the fundamental orientation of our being is awry, we cannot truly be healed in body and soul. For this reason, the first and fundamental healing takes place in our encounter with Christ who reconciles us to God and mends our broken hearts. But over and above this central task, the Church’s essential mission also includes the specific healing of sickness and suffering. The oil for anointing the sick is the visible sacramental expression of this mission. Since apostolic times, the healing vocation has matured in the Church, and so too has loving solicitude for those who are distressed in body and soul. This is also the occasion to say thank you to those sisters and brothers throughout the world who bring healing and love to the sick, irrespective of their status or religious affiliation. From Elizabeth of Hungary, Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, Camillus of Lellis to Mother Teresa – to recall but a few names – we see, lighting up the world, a radiant procession of helpers streaming forth from God’s love for the suffering and the sick. For this we thank the Lord at this moment. For this we thank all those who, by virtue of their faith and love, place themselves alongside the suffering, thereby bearing definitive witness to the goodness of God himself. The oil for anointing the sick is a sign of this oil of the goodness of heart that these people bring – together with their professional competence – to the suffering. Even without speaking of Christ, they make him manifest.

In third place, finally, is the most noble of the ecclesial oils, the chrism, a mixture of olive oil and aromatic vegetable oils. It is the oil used for anointing priests and kings, in continuity with the great Old Testament traditions of anointing. In the Church this oil serves chiefly for the anointing of confirmation and ordination. Today’s liturgy links this oil with the promise of the prophet Isaiah: "You shall be called the priests of the Lord, men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God" (61:6). The prophet makes reference here to the momentous words of commission and promise that God had addressed to Israel on Sinai: "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:6). In and for the vast world, which was largely ignorant of God, Israel had to be as it were a shrine of God for all peoples, exercising a priestly function vis-à-vis the world. It had to bring the world to God, to open it up to him. In his great baptismal catechesis, Saint Peter applied this privilege and this commission of Israel to the entire community of the baptized, proclaiming: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people" (1 Pet 2:9f.) Baptism and confirmation are an initiation into this people of God that spans the world; the anointing that takes place in baptism and confirmation is an anointing that confers this priestly ministry towards mankind. Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him. When we speak of this task in which we share by virtue of our baptism, it is no reason to boast. It poses a question to us that makes us both joyful and anxious: are we truly God’s shrine in and for the world? Do we open up the pathway to God for others or do we rather conceal it? Have not we – the people of God – become to a large extent a people of unbelief and distance from God? Is it perhaps the case that the West, the heartlands of Christianity, are tired of their faith, bored by their history and culture, and no longer wish to know faith in Jesus Christ? We have reason to cry out at this time to God: "Do not allow us to become a ‘non-people’! Make us recognize you again! Truly, you have anointed us with your love, you have poured out your Holy Spirit upon us. Grant that the power of your Spirit may become newly effective in us, so that we may bear joyful witness to your message!

For all the shame we feel over our failings, we must not forget that today too there are radiant examples of faith, people who give hope to the world through their faith and love. When Pope John Paul II is beatified on 1 May, we shall think of him, with hearts full of thankfulness, as a great witness to God and to Jesus Christ in our day, as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Alongside him, we think of the many people he beatified and canonized, who give us the certainty that even today God’s promise and commission do not fall on deaf ears.

I turn finally to you, dear brothers in the priestly ministry. Holy Thursday is in a special way our day. At the hour of the last Supper, the Lord instituted the new Testament priesthood. "Sanctify them in the truth" (Jn 17:17), he prayed to the Father, for the Apostles and for priests of all times. With great gratitude for the vocation and with humility for all our shortcomings, we renew at this hour our "yes" to the Lord’s call: yes, I want to be intimately united to the Lord Jesus, in self-denial, driven on by the love of Christ. Amen.
 

Report finds few allegations of sex abuse by Catholic clergy in 2010
By Kevin J. Jones

Washington D.C., Apr 11, 2011 / 07:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Only seven credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors in 2010 were made against Catholic priests in the U.S., a new report says. The seven accused priests make up a very small percentage of the 38,000 diocesan and religious clergy in the reporting dioceses and eparchies.
Meanwhile, over 5.1 million children and two million adults have undergone child protection training. Nearly 1.7 million church volunteers, 239,000 employees, 162,000 educators, 6,000 candidates for ordination and 14,800 deacons have been trained.
“We will continue to work to our utmost for the protection of children and youth,” Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York reaffirmed in the report’s preface. “We are committed to ensuring that those who are ordained to the priesthood and put into positions of trust will share this commitment to protecting children and youth as part of their love and commitment to Jesus Christ and his Church.”
The report on the implementation of the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was authored by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for the National Review Board and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It concerned abuse allegations and child protection policy compliance in almost all Catholic dioceses and Eastern Catholic eparchies of the United States.
The report included a survey by the Georgetown University-Based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).
CARA found that hundreds of accounts of sexual abuse from decades ago were reported to dioceses only last year. The number of alleged offenders increased from 286 alleged offenders reported in 2009 to 345 alleged offenders reported in 2010.
Almost 60 percent of these offenders had been identified in earlier allegations. Three quarters of them are dead or laicized.
Two third of the allegations occurred or began between 1960 and 1984, with the most common time period of alleged abuse occurring from 1970 to 1974.
In 2010, 683 abuse victims came forward to report abuse, with 653 of these abuse allegations regarding decades-old incidents.
“The Church can never forget the harm done to victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse,” the report said. “Healing those wounds must remain a top priority for all the Church. Our work is finished only when all victims are comforted and healed.”
Dioceses reported providing outreach to 478 victims in 2010 while another 1,868 who previously reported abuse are still receiving support.
The financial costs of sexual abuse are still considerable. Settlements paid out by diocese and eparchies in 2010 were $70.4 million, an increase of 28 percent over the previous year’s payments. At least $21 million was spent for child protection efforts including safe environment coordinators, training programs and background checks.
Over 98 percent of clergy, church employees and volunteers have had safe environment training. Background checks have been conducted for over 99 percent of clergy, 99.8 percent of educators, 98.5 percent of church employees and 99.2 percent of volunteers.
The audit “shows the Church’s noteworthy job in keeping its promise to protect and pledge to heal,” said Teresa M. Kettelkamp, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection, in an introductory letter for the report.
Two Roman Catholic dioceses and five Eastern Catholic eparchies have declined to participate in the audits
 

A Lesson of Holiness from Remote Pakistan

The martyrdom of Shahbaz Bhatti, minister of religious minorities. "Until the last breath, I will continue to serve Jesus and this poor, suffering humanity." His spiritual testament published by "La Civiltà Cattolica"

by Sandro Magister

ROME, April 14, 2011 – For the Catholics of Pakistan, he is "the martyr." His name is Shahbaz Bhatti. He was killed last March 2 by Islamic terrorists because he was "Christian, an infidel and a blasphemer." He was the minister for religious minorities.
One month later, at the end of the general audience on Wednesday, April 6, Benedict XVI received his brother, Paul Bhatti, a doctor who lived in Italy for many years but returned to his country precisely in order to continue his brother's mission, and has been appointed a special adviser on religious minorities to the prime minister of Pakistan.
With Paul, the pope also met the grand imam of Lahore, Khabior Azad, a personal friend of Shahbaz.
The Bible that Shahbaz always had with him is now in Rome in the memorial for the martyrs of the past century, in the basilica of Saint Bartholomew on the Isola Tiberina.
One of the most informative and concerned articles on what his murder has meant in Pakistan and in the whole world is without a doubt the one published in "La Civiltà Cattolica" dated April 2, 2011.
An article that is all the more significant given that this magazine of the Rome Jesuits is printed after inspection and authorization by the Vatican secretariat of state. So it reflects the thinking of the Holy See in this regard.
In Pakistan, out of a population of 185 million inhabitants, Christians are 2 percent, one million of them Catholic. But among the Muslims as well there are minorities in danger: Shiites, Sufis, Ismaili, Ahmadis.
The law against blasphemy is a weapon used against the minorities. It was introduced by the English in 1927, and kept in effect in 1947, after Pakistan's independence and separation from India. But beginning in 1977, after the military coup by Zia-ul-Haq, Islamization has been increasing and the law against blasphemy – brought back into vogue with a vengeance – has been joined by other norms based on sharia. For example, four witnesses are required to prove a charge of rape on a woman, who is otherwise considered an adulterer. Or, another example, a Muslim who rapes a Christian, if he forces her to marry him and convert to Islam, can no longer be prosecuted for rape.
For blaspheming Mohammed, the death penalty has been introduced, and for profanation of the Qur'an, a life sentence. The Justice and Peace commission of the Catholic bishops of Pakistan has estimated that from 1987 to 2009, 1,032 persons have been unjustly punished using the law against blasphemy.
One of these is Asia Bibi a 45-year-old mother of five, sentenced to hanging in November of 2010 and currently awaiting an appeal ruling. She was accused by other women of her village who were working with her in the fields when a quarrel broke out over the use of water. Even if she is exonerated or pardoned, Asia will not feel safe, because various Muslim figures have made death threats against her.
A new case defined by the Pakistani bishops as "abuse of the law against blasphemy for personal revenge" has in recent days hit another Christian, Arif Masih, in the village Chak Jhumra.
A day of prayer for Asia Bibi, Arif Masih and all the other persons arrested for the same accusation will be celebrated on April 20, Wednesday of Holy Week, in Pakistan and other countries. In Rome, in the chapel of the Italian parliament, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran will celebrate a Mass that will also be in memory of Shahbaz Bhatti.
Charges of blasphemy are based on the word of the accuser, who, however, must not report the precise content of the offense in order to avoid being charged with the same crime. The judges, in turn, are afraid of being killed, as has happened on occasion, if they exonerate a defendant. So they often tend to delay the verdict, but without granting bail. Moreover, as a general rule, a non-Muslim in court must have a Muslim attorney and judge.
This and other information is reported in the notes to the article from "La Civiltà Cattolica."
Here it is almost in its entirety, by gracious permission of the magazine.
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THE ASSASSINATION OF SHAHBAZ BHATTI
by Luciano Larivera, S.J.

[...] There is a state, Pakistan, whose nuclear arsenal continues to grow. But whose  political stability is threatened every day, and in a systematic way, by ethnic and religious violence and hatred. Its tragic example is the warning, for other Islamic countries, of how the virus of religious intolerance can get out of control and gradually lead a democracy to collapse. [...] This is why we cannot forget a heroic and generous Pakistani politician, Shahbaz Bhatti. A humble and serious Christian.
*
"My name is Shahbaz Bhatti. I was born into a Catholic family. My father, a retired teacher, and my mother, a housewife, raised me according to Christian values and the teachings of the Bible, which influenced my childhood. Since I was a child, I was accustomed to going to church and finding profound inspiration in the teachings, the sacrifice, and the crucifixion of Jesus. It was his love that led me to offer my service to the Church. The frightening conditions into which the Christians of Pakistan had fallen disturbed me. I remember one Good Friday when I was just thirteen years old: I heard a homily on the sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption and for the salvation of the world. And I thought of responding to his love by giving love to my brothers and sisters, placing myself at the service of Christians, especially of the poor, the needy, and the persecuted who live in this Islamic country.
"I have been asked to put an end to my battle, but I have always refused, even at the risk of my own life. My response has always been the same. I do not want popularity, I do not want positions of power. I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character, my actions to speak of me and say that I am following Jesus Christ. This desire is so strong in me that I consider myself privileged whenever – in my combative effort to help the needy, the poor, the persecuted Christians of Pakistan – Jesus should wish to accept the sacrifice of my life. I want to live for Christ and it is for Him that I want to die. I do not feel any fear in this country. Many times the extremists have wanted to kill me, imprison me; they have threatened me, persecuted me, and terrorized my family.
"I say that, as long as I am alive, until the last breath, I will continue to serve Jesus and this poor, suffering humanity, the Christians, the needy, the poor. I believe that the Christians of the world who have reached out to the Muslims hit by the tragedy of the earthquake of 2005 have built bridges of solidarity, of love, of comprehension, and of tolerance between the two religions. If these efforts continue, I am convinced that we will succeed in winning the hearts and minds of the extremists. This will produce a change for the better: the people will not hate, will not kill in the name of religion, but will love each other, will bring harmony, will cultivate peace and comprehension in this region.
"I believe that the needy, the poor, the orphans, whatever their religion, must be considered above all as human beings. I think that these persons are part of my body in Christ, that they are the persecuted and needy part of the body of Christ. If we bring this mission to its conclusion, then we will have won a place at the feet of Jesus, and I will be able to look at him without feeling shame."
This is the spiritual testament of Shahbaz Bhatti, federal minister of religious minorities in Pakistan, born on September 9, 1968 and assassinated last March 2 by an extremist brigade in the capital of Islamabad. He was a member of the main governing party, the PPP, the Pakistan Peoples Party. A few weeks earlier, he had asked: "Pray for me. I am a man who has burned his ships behind him: I cannot and I do not want to turn back in this effort. I will combat extremism and I will fight in defense of the Christians to the death." Bhatti lived with his mother and other relatives. He had decided not to get married in order to consecrate himself to his mission. He did not choose the priesthood "because he wanted to be among the people, in direct contact with persons and their difficulties, something that priests are often unable to do in his country."
On March 2, the minister was with his driver and a nephew in an official vehicle, which had not been armored in spite of requests. The terrorist brigade dragged Bhatti out of the car and massacred him with 30 gunshots. The assassination is to be attributed to the Pakistani Taliban of Punjab. They worked without interference, and left at the scene of the crime some fliers signed Tehrik-e-Taliban-Punjab. The minister had not wanted an escort, mindful that his friend and fellow party member Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab and a Muslim, had been killed precisely by a member of his escort, without his other bodyguards intervening. This had taken place two months earlier, on January 4. And his assassin has been turned into a hero, with lawyers competing to defend him free of charge.
*
Taseer and Bhatti were pursuing the ideal of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, of a country where, with respect to the Sunni Muslims, the religious minorities (Shiites, Sufi Muslims, Isma'ili, Ahmadis, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Baha'i . . .) enjoy equal rights. Both have been "punished" for having fought for the abolition or at least the reform of the law on blasphemy, the root of the problem for Pakistani Christians. Extremist voices are asking that any request to modify the "black law" be considered blasphemy. Such a law seems untouchable. And it is exploited, especially in the more populous Punjab, to settle personal disputes even among Muslims. There is impunity for those who have it applied in an extrajudicial form. But as observed recently by the director of the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, this law "in itself is truly blasphemous, because in the name of God it is a cause of injustice and death." [...] Bhatti wanted to keep alive the commission for the revision of the law on blasphemy, backed by President Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower, and present in its electoral platform for the vote on November 6, 2008.
A further fault of the Muslim governor and of the Catholic minister was that of having called for the liberation of Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother of five, sentenced to death by hanging in November of 2010 for having offended the Prophet Mohammed, but awaiting an appeal ruling. Bhatti did not feed the media fire over the Asia Bibi case, to avoid reigniting the fundamentalist reaction. And, in general, Catholics distance themselves from initiatives that tend to create conflict with Pakistani institutions. In spite of this, on the occasion of March 8, International Women's Day, the Pakistani Catholic Church and Indian Christians launched the latest in a series of appeals for the liberation of Asia Bibi, who is in danger of being killed in prison. Moreover, they affirmed that this woman symbolizes all the others who are behind bars or in apparent freedom, oppressed by disparity, intolerance and violence because of their sex or the faith they profess.
After the state funeral in the capital, the "martyr" Bhatti was buried, in the presence of 10,000 people of every creed, in Khushpur near Faisalabad, in Punjab. The minister spent his childhood in this Catholic village founded by the Dominicans. With the latest reshuffling of the government, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of the PPP had confirmed Bhatti's position, in part because of insistence from the West, in spite of the slashing of ministers from 60 to 22 to contain public spending and pressure from Islamic coalition parties to eliminate that agency. Bhatti was, moreover, the only non-Muslim in the federal government of Pakistan.
*
Benedict XVI, last September, had met him in his capacity as minister; and, in his speech to the diplomatic corps on January 10, the pontiff had mentioned the law against blasphemy in Pakistan, encouraging "once more the leaders of that country to take the necessary steps to abrogate the law." He had also paid homage to the courageous sacrifice of Governor Taseer. But some Pakistanis do not intend to listen to the pope's words. Religious parties in particular consider the statements of Benedict XVI a form of interference in domestic politics. The fundamentalists control the minds of their followers, fomenting hatred and violence. And yet Christians have good relationships with the majority of Muslims. After the Angelus last March 6, the pope issued this appeal and further gestures to comfort the Pakistani Catholics traumatized by the murder: "I ask the Lord Jesus that the touching sacrifice of Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti's life may awaken in consciences the courage and commitment to protect the religious freedom of all men and, in this way, to promote their equal dignity."
A huge banner with Bhatti's image and name has been hanging outside of the Italian foreign ministry since March 5, to commemorate the man and affirm the commitment of Italian diplomacy in defense of religious freedom in the world. Foreign minister Franco Frattini, interviewed by "Avvenire" on March 3, referred to a confidential conversation with Bhatti in his modest office in Islamabad last November: "He told me that his adversaries were trying to take funding away from the ministry for religious minorities, a way to reduce it to insignificance and, then, to closure. And he asked me to help him make his work known in the international community, because only in this way could he save his ministry." Frattini then added: "Now the cowards of that Europe which flees from the condemnation of religious fundamentalism will shed their crocodile tears, allies of those cowards in Pakistan who know only the blood of attacks [...] I am thinking of those in Europe who are very attentive to the 'politically correct', to the point of never using, in official documents, the words 'persecuted Christians'. I see this as o form of political cowardice which today, in the face of a new martyr, is even more scandalous." [...]
*
Confronted with this terrorist crime, the Pakistani bishops immediately declared and confirmed that "this is a perfectly tragic example of the unsustainable climate of intolerance in which we live in Pakistan. We call on the government, the institutions, the whole country to recognise and take decisions about these issues, because there must be an end to this situation, where violence prevails." They also sent a request to the Holy See that Bhatti be proclaimed a martyr, killed "in odium fidei." The imam of the Badshahi mosque in Lahore himself, Khabior Mohammad Azad, shaken by the death of his "good friend" Bhatti, charged that "the people no longer have the right to express their opinions" and that "those who have claimed responsibility for the assassination are not Muslims, nor human beings," because "Islam is a religion of peace, which teaches respect for minorities."
Unfortunately, murders motivated by religion are advocated publicly by Islamic extremists as acts that are pleasing to God and guarantee immediate salvation. But the Pakistani state is not able to prevent and punish violence against the minorities. On the contrary, religious hatred is even fostered in Pakistan's public schools. The official tests exclude references to the religious minorities, not considered part of the nation. In addition to distorted teaching, there are preachers in the mosques, on television and on the internet who proclaim the list of enemies to be struck down, and so feed the "culture" of religious intolerance. On the roster now is member of parliament Sherry Rehman, who in 2010 had proposed a modification of the law on blasphemy, without receiving the support of her party, the PPP, which forced her to withdraw the initiative. She lives in semi-seclusion and receives constant death threats. For others, the only alternative is to seek asylum abroad.
In addition to the Christians, in Pakistan, discrimination against the Ahmadis is legal because they are considered heretical non-Muslims, and for this reason they boycott the elections. There are tensions between the two Sunni schools of the Deobandi and the Barelvi. And the religious violence is systematic, and can hit anyone. So, for example, on March 4 ten Sufi Muslims, considered heretics by other Muslims, were killed in the area of one of their sacred places near Peshawar. But the street demonstrations of the minorities or of moderate Muslims don't scare anyone, and their voices are lost, while they are also exposed to suicide attacks. On March 5 a Muslim, Mohammad Imran, was murdered in a village near Rawalpindi. He had been released from prison because of lack of proof that he had offended Mohammed. On March 15 Qamar David, a Christian unjustly given a life sentence for blasphemy, was killed in prison. He had been beaten and mistreated by the prison guards. And his death, from cardiac arrest, raises many doubts among the Christians. Human rights activists also fall victim to the extremists, like Naeem Sabir, killed in the province of Balochistan last March 1.
*
Pakistan suffers from countless ethnic and political divisions. The climate of intolerance is fed by the murderous extremists and by radical religious leaders, but also by lawyers, journalists, politicians, for their hegemonic ends. Separatist movements are still active in Balochistan, in part because the distribution of wealth is very unequal in the territory of Pakistan. The Pashtun ethnic group, while it does not seek secession and annexation with a part of Afghan territory, is increasingly dominated by fundamentalist and anti-government ideology. Then there are the tensions with India over Kashmir. There is also irritation toward the pro-Indian government of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. With Beijing, Islamabad's closest ally in the anti-India sense, cooperation has been reinforced with the building of nuclear power plants. Pakistan's relationship with the United States, however, is increasingly difficult. And anti-American sentiment is widespread in part because, in Pakistani territory, the activity of the CIA is partially independent from the national authorities, and attacks continue by American drones against Afghan Taliban and members of al-Qaeda in western Pakistan.
Moreover, the religious extremists have infiltrated the armed forces and the secret service, which support the Afghan Taliban but are in conflict with part of the Pakistani Taliban, coordinated in turn with the jihadists who are fighting for the annexation of Indian Kashmir into Pakistan. The constellation of extremist groups is broad and nebulous. Behind the screen of educational and charitable activities, their recruitment is reinforced in the madrassas, the Qur'anic schools, and in the camps for Afghan refugees or for those who were displaced after the flooding of last summer. Moreover, the armed forces have a strong veto power over the government; but they do not seem disposed to a state coup, perhaps of Islamist inspiration, because the solution of the country's social and economic problems is out of their reach, and the commanders don't want to risk unpopularity. Unfortunately, the government and the judiciary often seem to have capitulated in the face of interference by the extremists and by the Pakistani secret service. The anti-blasphemy law, in its various applications, justifies political terror and discourages the Pakistani liberals. The moderate Muslims are crushed by the authority of the armed forces, by religious fanaticism, and by the interference of foreign countries when they favor corruption, abuse of power, and crimes against human rights, like torture. So social claims are becoming the prerogative of the fundamentalists, but they do not have the cultural, technological, and bureaucratic tools to resolve the country's problems of chronic economic underdevelopment.
Intimidation and the impunity of extremist violence and of military retaliation are the hinges upon which Pakistan's chaos hangs. The fragile national identity itself would be in danger of evaporating if these two practices were to guide the material constitution of the country. Moreover, although this is unlikely, one cannot rule out that the growing anarchy in Pakistan might permit jihadist groups to acquire nuclear material and weapons, not all of which seems to be accounted for by the United States. Pakistan is the most appetizing morsel for al-Qaeda, which is ideologically fostering domestic extremism, stating that the civil government of Islamabad is illegitimate because it is irreligious, and should be destroyed. Thus, unfortunately, the executive and the PPP seem to be hostages of the fundamentalist parties and the extremists.
*
Nonetheless Paul Bhatti, the murdered man's brother, has been appointed the prime minister's special advisor for religious minorities. If in the "Land of the pure" is to arrive what remains of the Arab "democratic spring," the new Pakistani social pact, to block the spiral of self-destruction, requires the rapid reestablishment of a functioning criminal judicial system. This necessarily includes the radical reform of the anti-blasphemy law, which justifies the extrajudicial use of violence, including against those who convert from Islam. In the medium to long term, it is indispensable to have a public educational system that is universal and open to a more modern education, partly to build valid occupational skills. New ideas of justice and accurate reconstructions of the country's history can capitalize on the richness of the multiform Pakistani people. This requires that public spending not be drained in a disproportional way by military spending, and that peace with India and in Afghanistan be seen as necessary for the sustainable development of Pakistan. What is underway in the country is not a religious but a political conflict, with the risk of civil war. And interreligious dialogue is impotent when one religion is used as an instrument of power, of oppression, and of underdevelopment.

Living in Secret in Saudi Arabia

Interview With Scholar on Churches in the Middle East

Photo Source: CancerShrine Blog
ROME, APRIL 4, 2011 (EWTN / Zenit.org).- Saudi Arabia is considered holy ground by the Muslim majority who live there. Hence, Christians and even Muslims of other sects, face severe restrictions.

Christians make up only about 3% of the population, but they have no churches and never display their faith in public.

Professor Camille Eid, a journalist, author, professor at the University of Milan and expert on the Churches of the Middle East, spoke about the Saudi Arabia situation with the television program "Where God Weeps" of the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need.

Q: Saudi Arabia is a hereditary monarchy based on the foundation of Wahhabi Islam. What is this branch of Islam?
Eid: Wahhabism is a new doctrine of Islam. Its founder is Abd-al Wahhab, who was a religious scholar of Hanafi Islam, which is the strictest doctrine of Islam. He decided that all innovations -- "Bida" is the term in Arabic -- in Islam should be eliminated. A visit to a cemetery for instance is considered a bida-innovation and is prohibited. You cannot do anything that the Prophet Mohammed and his companions did not do. So the alliance between the followers of Wahhabi and the prince of Najd in central Arabia created the birth of this Saudi Arabian kingdom. Saudi Arabia takes its name from the Saud family. This house of Saud alliance with the Wahhabi sect is still true today and the successors of the kingdom follow this strict instruction and doctrine of Wahhabism; the laws of the kingdom follow the strict guidelines of Wahhabism.

Q: What about the Shia?
Eid: The Shia make up almost 10% of the population and they face much discrimination. They are concentrated mainly in the eastern part of the kingdom. There is another sect of the Shia, the Ismaili, and they are very near the Yemeni border. The kingdom and its leadership subscribe to Wahhabism.

Q: The Quran is Saudi Arabia’s constitution. What position does the Quran or this constitution take toward non-Muslims?
Eid: The Quran distinguishes between Christians and Jews, and other unbelievers. Christians and Jews are called the “People of the Book,” or the books if you want -- the Gospel and the Torah. Sometimes in the Quran, Christians are described in a very positive way. The Christian monarch and priests pray. But, during the second period in the Prophet’s revelation, Christians are described as unbelievers and [it's said they] should pay the "Jizya," the tax necessary to be protected in an Islamic society. There seems to be a contradiction in the book itself. That is why we have a liberal and a violent Islam. The violent Islam is a result of the second revelation that occurred during the last reign of Mohammed and as a result the current Islamic societies state that the events of the second revelation should be followed and not the previous revelations, which are more tolerant.

Q: The government is built on the principles of Sharia. What is Sharia?
Eid: Sharia is the summa of the Quran, the Hadith, which are the statements of Mohammed, and other sources such as the Ishma, which is the consensus of all Islamic scholars (Ulema). Sharia Law is taken from all these.

Q: All residents who live in Saudi Arabia are subjected to the law of Sharia?
Eid: All residents are subjected to this law and you cannot object because it is tantamount to objecting to Islam. Upon arrival at the airport you are informed immediately that you are to abide by the strict Islamic laws. I as a Christian, for instance, had a Pepsi in my hand during Ramadan. I noticed that everybody was looking at me in a certain way and they could have beaten me. You cannot eat outside or in public during the fast. You can only eat in secret. So you have to observe the fast even if you are not Muslim because that is the law.

Q: Christians constitute the biggest non-Muslim group in Saudi Arabia. How do Christians live their faith in Saudi Arabia?
Eid: In secret. It is forbidden to have Bibles, religious images and rosaries; if they are detected at the airport they are immediately confiscated. There was an instance when I was at the Jeddah Airport with a videocassette and they asked to view this cassette. The video was about Spartacus. I was suddenly fearful that they would see the image of the crucifixion. The guard eventually allowed it because it was a soldier being crucified and not Jesus Christ. ... It is hard. They say that Christians can pray privately but what does private mean? Does it mean alone or with your family? When more than two, or a group of families, are praying together in the privacy of their home the religious police can come in and intervene and arrest them.

Q: What happens to the Christian that is caught with a rosary in their pocket or wearing a cross?
Eid: If it is in a pocket nobody can see it. If, however you are seen wearing a cross, any Muslim -- and not just the police -- can take it away. You will be arrested and risk expulsion from the kingdom. They will haul you to prison and after a few days you will be issued an exit visa. It will be over for you.

Q: What other kind of Christian activities are punishable by law?
Eid: All public manifestation of any faith other than Islam is punishable. They do know that the Americans, French and Italians celebrate the Mass for Christmas and Easter inside the embassies but because the embassy is extra-territorial, the law does not apply. The police, however, are around to monitor. There are no churches, synagogues or temples in the kingdom. All manifestations of other faiths are prohibited.

Q: Who enforces the law?
Eid: You have 5,000 religious police divided among 100 districts, but any Muslim can enforce the law by denouncing the individual. I spent two and half years in Jeddah; I was afraid to extend the Easter and Christmas greetings even via phone because I was afraid that someone might be listening. The religious police control everything including the bookshops because it is prohibited to sell any card with non-Muslim themes. Some years ago in the American school, a Santa Claus was almost arrested but he managed to escape through a window. It is prohibited.

Q: Are Christians a particular target of persecution or discrimination?
Eid: Not just Christians but the non-Wahhabi versions of Islam such as the Shia or Ismaili. Not all Christian communities suffer equally. American, Italian, French and British -- in fact most Europeans and other First World countries -- suffer less because they know that these countries are powerful and will intervene immediately to protect their citizens. So they target the Christians of the Third World like Eritrea, India and the Philippines. These countries fear the loss of revenue from their citizens living in the kingdom. So they target the Christians of these weaker Third World countries.

Q: It has been said that Filipino maids have been accused of communicating the faith to the children of the wealthy Saudis that employ them. Do you know anything about this?
Eid: The Islamic catechism talks about the risk of communicating faith. The Saudi version states: “When you go abroad you should not develop a relationship or friendship with your professors because you should remember that they are infidels." This criterion also applies to the Filipino women in Saudi Arabia. Any communication can only occur by testimony not by words.

Q: Only through witness?
Eid: Only through witness and that is why they have suggested substituting Filipinos, or Christian women in general, with Egyptian, Moroccan or Algerian women so that they cannot communicate the faith to the children.

Q: We have talked about discrimination. We have talked about persecution. How far can this persecution go?
Eid: To death. We have a case of the martyrdom of a Saudi girl who converted to Christianity. Her brother discovered her. She wrote a poem to Christ and she had her tongue cut, she disappeared and was later found dead. Her name was Fatima Al-Mutairi and this happened in August of 2008. In 2008 two cases of raids by the religious police saw men, women and children less than 3 years old arrested. We have many reports of torture; before they are deported to their country these Filipinos, Indians and Eritreans are tortured by the police in the prisons.

Q: You mentioned the case of Fatima who converted to Christianity. What is the number of Muslims converting? Do you have any information or is it impossible to know?
Eid: It is not possible. Saudi society is difficult to penetrate because the regime monitors every activity. Sometimes you notice this from the women’s perspective. When these Saudi women go abroad, even upon entry in the airplane, they remove the hijab. In Lebanon and other countries they drink alcohol. When they return to their country they know that that have to abide by the laws.

Q: … and converts?
Eid: Christian converts do exist. I follow the Arabic media channels, which broadcast to Saudi Arabia and the whole Arab world, and during the transmission many calls originate from Saudi Arabia. Those converts who travel to Morocco and Egypt talk about their experience but do not mention their names and request only that the Christian community pray for them because they desire to see the day when they will be allowed to go to a church, to be able to have access to the Gospels and to be able to share their new faith with their own family. If a convert informs his/her brother or father of his/her new faith, he or she faces the danger of being charged with treason by the family; a treason not only of one’s family but also to the nation and society in general. Apostasy is a question of honor and as such it is considered treason.

Q: Professor Samir Khalil Samir, an Egyptian Quran scholar, stated that within the Quran, there is no obligation to kill an apostate. Where does this expression of violence come from?
Eid: Exactly. In the 14th [book] of the Quran there is talk about apostasy but there is no talk of a penalty in this life but rather in the second life. This change comes from the Hadith of Mohammed in which he said that whomever changes religion should be killed. But a problem again arises from this, because with the thousands of Hadith, there is no proof that Mohammed actually said this. Many Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan under the Taliban, Iran and Yemen, and so on, apply the death penalty based on a Hadith that can't be a hundred percent proven that it is from Mohammed.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the lay Catholics living in Saudi Arabia?
Eid: It is hard to be a lay Catholic in Saudi Arabia because you have to have a very deep background in your faith. You cannot have copies of the Gospel in your home. You cannot have a rosary. You cannot have contact with your Christian friends as a community; you can have Christian friends, you can frequent the foreign communities but you are prohibited from talking about your faith. So the only possibility is to have a strong awareness and knowledge of your faith that you can bank on in this environment. In other Islamic countries Friday is a holiday so Mass as a community [is allowed], but not on Sunday because Sunday is considered a working day; but even this is not the case in Saudi Arabia. So you are a community by yourself. Usually you do not even have your own family because Saudi Arabia has restrictions on family reunification. If you have a daughter who is more than 18 years of age, she cannot stay in Saudi Arabia if she is not married. So most have their families somewhere else. So you are alone and with no contact to other Catholics, which is very hard, and so you have to have the strength of faith in your heart; to be able to pray with out the prayer books, to just know and pray the prayers you have learned by heart from your childhood.

* * *

This interview was conducted by Mark Riedemann for "Where God Weeps," a weekly TV; radio show produced by Catholic Radio & Television Network in conjunction with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.
 

Brother of assassinated Pakistani minister asks for pope's help in Pakistan

2011-04-10 07:00:00 - Video

April 10, 2011. (Romereports.com) Paul Bhatti is the brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, who was the first Christian to serve as a minister for the government of Pakistan. Shahbaz was gunned down by Islamic extremists on March 2 for his stance against the country's blasphemy law and his support of Asia Bibi, the woman who has been sentenced to death for violating this law.

Paul says that his family has forgiven his brother's killers because forgiveness is what the Christian faith teaches. And he hopes that the life of Shahbaz will be remembered for his work in promoting peace.

Paul Bhatti
Chairman of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance
“He is not only martyred for Christianity, he is martyred for the humanity because he was fighting for the basic human rights. And he had been helping many non-Christian people also when they were under difficulty. So his message of his efforts was that for the persons who need peace.”

Paul Bhatti recently traveled to Rome to meet with different religious leaders and to remember the death of his brother.

They discussed the best way to arrive at a peaceful solution over the blasphemy law and the best way to move forward in a country where tension over religion has often resulted in violence in the past.

Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad
Grand Imam Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (Pakistan)
“Yes I do admit that unfortunately there are some people who are not Muslim, they do not represent Islam, and they are creating problems for the people and citizens of Pakistan and distorting the image of Pakistan in the world.”

Msgr. Joseph Coutts
Bishop of Faisalabad (Pakistan)
“I mean changes don´t come suddenly. An event like this does influence the course of events and such a tragic incident that struck the whole country. We've got to build on that, we've got to take it forward really, I don´t see the change coming by itself and I don´t see it coming so soon.”

Paul Bhatti and the Grand Imam from Lahore, Pakistan met with Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Bhatti asked the pope to continue supporting the Christians of Pakistan, saying that the biggest problem they face is a lack of religious freedom due to the blasphemy law.

Bhatti was recently named as the chairman to Pakistan's All Minority Alliance and hopes to carry on his brother's work of fighting for the freedom of religion.

Paul Bhatti
Chairman of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance
“The message of his efforts was that for the persons who need peace, who need their own rights, who need their freedom, who need freedom of expression in society. So as the Christian community was more victimized by that, he worked more for that reason.”

The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti has left a tragic mark on the people of Pakistan. It's a mark that the Bhatti family hopes will remind others of the message of peace between all people that to which Shahbaz committed his life.

AE; EP/CTV; -HC; -BN
 

Thousands of Christians Displaced in Ethiopia After Muslim Extremists Torch Churches, Homes
By Diane Macedo

Published March 24, 2011  FoxNews.com

International Christian Concern
Remains of burned down Kale Hiwot church in Asendabo, Ethiopia.

Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee their homes in Western Ethiopia after Muslim extremists set fire to roughly 50 churches and dozens of Christian homes.
At least one Christian has been killed, many more have been injured and anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 have been displaced in the attacks that began March 2 after a Christian in the community of Asendabo was accused of desecrating the Koran.
The violence escalated to the point that federal police forces sent to the area two weeks ago were initially overwhelmed by the mobs. Government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told Voice of America police reinforcements had since restored order and 130 suspects had been arrested and charged with instigating religious hatred and violence.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Islamist group Kawarja is believed to have incited the violence.
"We believe there are elements of the Kawarja sect and other extremists who have been preaching religious intolerance in the area,” he said at a Saturday press conference. “In previous times, we have cracked down on Kawarja because they were involved in violence. Since then they have changed their tactics and they have been able to camouflage their activities through legal channels."
The string of attacks comes on the heels of several reports of growing anti-Christian tension and violence around the country where Muslims make up roughly one-third of the total population but more than 90 percent of the population in certain areas, 2007 Census data shows.
One of those areas is Besheno where, on November 9, all the Christians in the city woke up to find notes on their doors warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death, a Christian from Besheno told FoxNews.com on condition of anonymity.
“Under the Ethiopian constitution we are supposed to have freedom of religion, but Muslim leaders in our town don’t allow us that right,” the source said.
Later that month three Christians in Besheno were assaulted in religiously-motivated attacks and three others were forced to flee the city after being told that Muslim leaders had commissioned hit men to kill them, one of the exiled Christians told FoxNews.com.
“We were told by some Muslims that live in the city that there was already a plan to kill us and that the people who were assigned to kill us had already come from another city to do it.”
A witness to the three attacks was then assaulted in January after testifying about them in court, International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization that aims to fight Christian persecution, reported.
In the southern town of Moyale, a Christian was sentenced to three years in prison in November for allegedly writing "Jesus is the Lord" in a copy of the Koran, Compass Direct News reported. Christians from the area told the website he had actually written the phrase on a piece of cloth.
Sources also told Compass authorities had offered to release the man, Tamirat Woldegorgis, if he would convert to Islam, but he refused.
Additionally, two of his friends were fined for visiting him in prison and taking him food, Compass Direct reported.
And in Oma Village on February 26 a Muslim mob with rocks and rods assaulted and wounded 17 Christian college students who were distributing Bibles during a mission trip, ICC reported.
The mob overwhelmed government security forces that attempted to protect the students, but the students eventually fled, the ICC website said.
"The violence against Christians in Ethiopia is alarming because Ethiopian Muslims and Christians used to live together peacefully. Besides, it’s extremely disconcerting that in Ethiopia, where Christians are the majority, they are also the victims of persecution," Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager of Africa and South Asia, told FoxNews.com.
Meles said that the government is doing everything it can to stop religious violence.
"We knew that they were peddling this ideology of intolerance, but it was not possible for us to stop them administratively because they are within their rights," he said. "If we can find some association between what they are doing by way of preaching and what happened by way of violence, then of course we can take them to court."
Racho, originally from Ethiopia, said the fact that the government waited a full week before sending troops to Asendabo shows that it’s not doing enough. Going forward, he said he hopes the government "will take measures to ensure that such attacks will not happen in the future," including bringing all responsible parties to justice to show this will not be tolerated.
"The Ethiopian government has arrested around 130 of the perpetrators, and we hope they will be prosecuted according to the law."
 

Pope launches urgent appeal for an end to use of weapons in Libya

From Radiovaticana - Audiences & Angelus >  27/03/2011

Following the midday Angelus prayer this Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI launched the following urgent appeal:
"Faced with the increasingly dramatic reports from Libya, my trepidation for the safety and security of civilians and my concern for the unfolding situation, currently signed by the use of arms, is growing. In times of greatest tension, the need to put to use all means available to diplomacy becomes increasingly urgent and to support even the weakest signs of openness and willingness on both sides involved, for reconciliation in search of peaceful and lasting solutions. In view of this, as I lift my prayer to the Lord for a return to harmony in Libya and the entire North African region, I also appeal to the international bodies and all those in positions of military and political responsibility, for the immediate start of dialogue and the suspension of the use of weapons”.
"Finally, my thoughts turn to the authorities and citizens of the Middle East, where in recent days there have been several incidents of violence, so that the path of dialogue and reconciliation be privileged in the search for a just and brotherly coexistence".
 
 

Muslims Attack Christian in Egypt, Cut Off His Ear
Posted GMT 3-26-2011 3:38:45
2011, Assyrian International News Agency. By Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) -- A group of Muslims attacked Ayman Anwar Mitri, a 45 year old Christian Coptic man in the Upper Egyptian town of Qena, cutting off his ear. The Muslims claimed they were applying Sharia law because Mr. Mitri allegedly had an illicit affair with a Muslim woman. The Muslims called the police and told them "We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your law," according to Mr. Mitri in an interview for the Egyptian Human Rights Organization.
Mr. Mitri, a low grade administrator at a secondary school, from elHasweya, in Qena, 492 KM from Cairo, had rented his flat to two Muslim sisters, Abeer and Sabrin Saif Al-Nasr, through an agent. After nine months he learned the sisters had been indicted for prostitution, so he asked them to leave and they did.
On Sunday, March 20 Mr. Mitri was informed by a friend via a phone call at 4 AM that the flat where the Muslim sisters lived was on fire; he went to the flat. While waiting in the torched flat a Muslim named Alaa el Sunni came and berated him for renting his flat to prostitutes. "I tried to calm him down," said Mr. Mitri, "and told him I knew nothing about the two women since they came through an agent." Alaa suggested they would go somewhere quiet to clear the misunderstanding. They went to the flat of Mr. Mitri's friend Khaled, a policeman, where 12 Muslims were waiting for him. They started beating him and saying "We will teach you a lesson, Christian" and "This serves your right for renting your property to prostitutes."
Believing this was the end of the episode, they asked him to call the Muslim woman, so that they would send her to her father. When the woman refused to come, they asked a female Muslim neighbor to call her, saying that her belongings are with her. The woman, Sabrin, came and was told to say that she had a relationship with Mr. Mitri. "At first the woman refused, but after being beaten, she agreed," said Mr. Mitri.
Remembering his ordeal, he said that they sat him on a chair and a Muslim named elHusseiny cut his right ear off. "I felt so shocked that I do not even know what tool he used." They also made a a 10cm cut at the back of his neck, cut his other ear, his face and his arm (video showing wounds). Mr. Mitri said they wanted to throw him off the fifth floor but Khaled objected, saying he would get into trouble for just being there, since he is a policeman.
Mr. Mitri said that the Muslims tried to convert him to Islam, but he refused. The Muslims then called the police and told them to come and get the Copt saying "We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your civil law."
The police came and rescued Mitri and Sabrin, who told the police the Muslims forced her to lie about the illicit relationship between her and Mitri. A police report was issued, but no arrests were made.
"I feel humiliated and broken," said Mr. Mitri. "I have lost the income from the torched flat, my car, and have become disfigured. Who is going to restore my honor?"
His wife said in an interview that she is ashamed to go to work and feels very unsafe. She is afraid to let the children go to school and is hoping to leave the area.
At first Mr. Mitri said he wanted full compensation for his losses and even wanted revenge by cutting off the ear of the Muslim who cut his ear off. However, it was reported that a "reconciliation" meeting was made in the presence of Colonel Ahmed Masood, Vice military ruler of Qena, whereby Ayman Mitri and the Muslims came to an "agreement." Mr. Mitri had to withdraw the police report he filed against the Muslims.
Mr. Mitri appeared on the Coptic TV channel CTV, where he was asked about the reason he agreed to reconcile and forfeit his rights. Mitri said while sobbing "I was threatened, they threatened to kidnap the female children in our family."
Anba Kirollos, Bishop of Nag Hammadi, called on the armed forces to intervene and put an end to this "thuggery in the name of religion" so that this "infection" does not spread to other areas. He said if thuggery is put above the law the dignity and prestige of the State would be lost.
 

03/23/2011 08:45
PAKISTAN
Two Christians gunned down by armed Muslims outside Church in Pakistan

The attack took place in Hyderabad. Two others were seriously injured. A group of Muslims were bothering women as they entered the Church resulting in an argument, during which the attackers opened fire on the Christians. Police have not arrested any of the attackers who still roam free.
Karachi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Two Christians were gunned down and two others are in serious condition after young Muslims attacked them outside a church in Hyderabad on the evening of March 21. Christians living in Camp Hurr, in Hyderabad, in Sindh, were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of their church and the Salvation Army when a group of young Muslims gathered outside the church, playing loud music and annoying the Christian women who entered the church.
Younis Masih, 47, Siddique Masih, 45, Jameel Masih, 22, and a youth named Waseem came out of a church to ask the Muslims to respect the people and place. An argument ensued.  Shortly afterwards the Muslims returned armed with guns. Witnesses say that Muslims opened fire immediately, killing him instantly Younis Masih and Jameel Masih, and seriously injuring the other two Christians, who were transported to hospital in Karachi. Younis Masih leaves a wife and four children; Jameel only married a month ago.
The attitude of the authorities has exacerbated the Christians. Jameel's mother, Surraya Bibi, says: "The police acted as if it was not important. They didn’t file the report until late at night when we blocked the main road of Hyderabad, with the two dead bodies for several hours". So far police have not arrested any of the accused, who are still at large. They instead arrested some teenagers who are not involved in the crime.
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Anglican conversion to Catholic Church swells
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
By Speroforum

About 900 members of the Church of England have taken the first step toward becoming Catholics, the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales declared in a March 15 statement. The former Anglicans participated in a Rite of Election, the first step toward confirmation, over the March 12-13 weekend, the church said. Those embracing the Catholic Church will be joining the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, established by Pope Benedict XVI to receive Anglicans who have felt isolated since the Church of England decided in 1992 to ordain women to the priesthood.
Tensions have grown as the governing General Synod of the Anglican Church moves to allow women to become bishops while denying any specific protection for traditionalists. Converts joining the ordinariate will be allowed to keep some Anglican liturgy and traditions. The largest number, some 240, were reported in the Diocese of Brentwood east of London, followed by 167 in the south London diocese of Southwark and 100 in the central city of Birmingham. Converts included 61 former Church of England priests. "I am greatly encouraged that these people will be received into the Catholic Church at Easter as members of the Ordinariate," said Rev. Keith Newton, the priest in charge of the new group.
Each year those preparing to join the Catholic Church are invited to attend the Rite of Election. It is usually presided over by the Bishop and inaugurates the final period of preparation before being received into the Church near the end of Lent. The Rite of Election is an important part of a process called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) which is designed to support adults attracted by Christ and his teaching. In the months leading up to the Rite of Election it is usual for small groups to meet weekly to pray together and to find out more about the Catholic Faith.
The Church of England has 22,000 clergy and claims 1.7 million active members in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales, there are 25 million nominal Anglicans whereas there are reportedly 4.2 million Catholics. Catholic parishes are growing, having had their congregations swell with arrival of Continental immigrants and British converts.
Pope Benedict XVI caused a shock wave among Catholics and Anglicans when in October 2009 he gave them very late notice of his announcement that he was creating the ordinariate. The ordinariate takes its name from an 11th-century vision by a woman in Walsingham in eastern England, who was led by the Virgin Mary in spirit to Nazareth to see the place where the New Testament says an angel told Mary she would bear a son.
Bishop John Broadhurst, the shepherd of the Anglican Diocese of Fulham Diocese, and leader of the traditionalist group Forward in Faith, as well as a small St. Peter’s Anglican parish in Folkestone have decided to convert because they object to moves in the Church of England to allow women bishops. Bishop Broadhurst accused the Church of England’s governing body, the General Synod, of acting in a ‘fascist way” by “marginalizing those who have been opposed to women’s ordination.” He plans to resign by the end of 2001, adding “I am not retiring, I am resigning,” he added. “I expect that I will enter the ordinariate when it is established.”

Following a public meeting in January 2011, many in the congregation of St. James the Great, in Albert Hill, Darlington, decided to join the Ordinariate. Father Ian Grieves, priest at St. James, who had already declared his plans to leave the Anglo-Catholic church, said it justified his decision. Father Keith Newton, a former Anglican bishop who was ordained as a Catholic priest to head the Ordinariate, addressed the congregation afterwards.
Fr. Grieves said that in the month since, dozens of people had decided to take up the offer to join the worldwide Catholic Church. They are expected to be among the second wave of Anglicans across the United Kingdom to leave the church on Ash Wednesday next year. They will spend Lent preparing to convert before joining the Ordinariate in Holy Week. St. James the Great has been an Anglo-Catholic church for more than 100 years. Fr. Grieves has been at the church for 22 years, increasing the number of followers from only 18, and helping to fund hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of improvements to the church. However, the future of the church building and members of the congregation who do not defect remain unclear. The congregation may need a new church and Fr. Grieves a new home.
Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the exodus in both Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells as worshippers opted instead to celebrate their first mass at Catholic churches.
In Tunbridge Wells, Father Ed Tomlinson led 70 worshipers to join St. Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church in Pembury leaving a congregation of just 15 at his former church St. Barnabas. Father Tomlinson said "The big day for us was Sunday when we said goodbye. Wednesday was the beginning of Lent and we are joining with the Catholic Church to celebrate that." He described this week as a "very quiet, tentative first-step" towards preparing to convert to the Ordinariate during the upcoming Holy Week.
"It makes its viability very difficult," Father Tomlinson said. "One of the really sad things is that I proposed to the Church of England we might share the building and work together, but the Church of England has been a bit sore about that so we’re leaving with nothing.” He added, "It is a beautiful building. We’ve not changed what we teach, what has changed is the wider Church of England, who want to worship in a new and different way, which is why in the end it was an easy decision for us because it was a matter of integrity and standing up for what we believe in."
In an 2010 interview, Father Tomlinson said: "Certainly it is fair to say that it would be very difficult for anyone with genuine Catholic convictions to stay, although some may try and do that for the time being. Catholicism in the Church of England is dead beyond a generation. People could stay and enjoy the last few years or could make a radical decision in the short term that would guarantee a better future."
More than 4,700 people of various faiths and Christian faith communities gathered in cathedrals across England and Wales this past weekend as part of their preparation to be received into the Catholic Church.

Pope calls on leaders to protect, allow aid for civilians in Libya
(CNS/Paul Haring)

By Carol Glatz - Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI made an urgent appeal to political and military leaders to protect the safety and security of civilians and guarantee the free flow of humanitarian aid inside Libya.

He said the "worrying news from Libya" in the past few days caused him "deep trepidation and fear," and he kept the North African country's people in his prayers during his Lenten retreat March 13-19.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square March 20 for the recitation of the Angelus, the pope said, "I address a pressing appeal to those who have political and military responsibilities" to ensure the safety and security of defenseless citizens as well as guarantee those offering emergency assistance have access to those in need.
As U.S., British and French military began a series of strikes against Libya's air defenses March 19 as part of a U.N.-approved effort to protect pro-democracy protesters from retaliation by Col. Moammar Gadhafi, the pope said he was following the events with great concern and praying for those involved in "the dramatic situation."
He prayed that "peace and concord would soon reign over Libya and the entire North African region."
Meanwhile, Bishop Giovanni Martinelli of Tripoli, Libya, criticized the rash and hasty decision to use military action against Gadhafi rather than pursue a negotiated solution.
"I hope for (Gadhafi's) surrender, but I think that Gadhafi will not give in," he told the Italian news agency, ANSA, March 20.
The bishop said he is familiar with the Libyan leader's personality and past behavior and believes the use of military force against him will only intensify the severity of Gadhafi's reaction.
He said allowing foreign troops to launch a military offensive against Gadhafi "has given the go-ahead to the wrong strategy;" he said more could have been done in seeking a diplomatic or negotiated solution to the crisis.
"Violence only brings violence," he said.
The Italian bishop said he had been working to mediate the crisis through a Libyan-funded interreligious organization called the World Islamic Call Society, but that the launch of military strikes cut short his attempts.
"The military action was too hasty, too sudden," he said.
ishop Martinelli told Fides, news agency of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, March 21, "War does not solve anything."
"We need to cease shooting immediately and begin mediation straight away to resolve the crisis peacefully. Why have diplomatic means not been considered?" he said.
He told both ANSA and Fides that he had been hearing explosions and that people were fleeing the capital, but he said he was not leaving Tripoli.
"This is my home," he told ANSA, and the church is an important point of reference for the Christians in Libya, many of whom are refugees from Eritrea or workers from the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa.
He told Fides that he was working to help Eritrean refugees trapped in Libya get to the border of Tunisia.
He said he "spoke with the bishop of Tunis to see if they can accept them, given that on their side of the border there are international humanitarian aid organizations."
 

Pakistani Christians convert to Islam because of threats and intimidations
PAKISTAN
by Aoun Sahi*

This is the rate is 60 per month. In one madrassa in Lahore alone, 678 Christians embraced Islam in 2009. Last year they were almost 700. These are “dangerous days” minorities, activists say as the blasphemy law is used to force them to change religion.

Lahore (AsiaNews/TNS) – On a sunny afternoon in the second week of February 2011, 45-year-old Azra Bibi, clad in black shawl, entered the reception of Jamia Naeemia with her ten year old son, a leading Sunni-Barelvi madrassa situated in a congested area of Lahore. Accompanied by a 45-year-old Muslim witness Chaudhry Muhammad Islam, Azra a recent convert to Islam along with her six children asked for the imam of the Jamia. She has come here to get proper documents to prove in the court that she was no longer a Christian.
The young receptionist at Jamia Naeemia talks to the principal on telephone opens the side drawer of his dented metal table and pulls out a two-inch-thick book wrapped in a blue cover. He finds a blank page and starts writing her details.
The book is a registry used to keep record of religious conversions to Islam. One book is enough to record 100 cases of conversions. A newly built wooden cabinet brimming with many such books is used to store the record. Officials at the Madrassa say the number of people converting from other religions, especially Christianity, to Islam is on the rise here. At least 50 to 60 Christians embrace Islam each month by signing a white and green paper on the book declaring that they accept Islam without any greed or pressure and promise to ‘remain in the religion of Islam for the rest of the life’, and will try to spend life according to the principles of Islam.
Raghib Naeemi, Principal Jamia Naeemia, says that his institute has no department for preaching. “All those who convert to Islam come to Jamia on their own, accompanied by some Muslims of their locality as witnesses. We have made it a prerequisite for the aspirant converts to submit an affidavit declaring that they are embracing Islam without greed or force.” He says that all Christians who convert to Islam do not do so because they like this religion. “Some of them convert to Islam because they want to end their marriage which is not easy in Christianity, or they want to marry a cousin or a Muslim girl or boy. Over 90 per cent of the converts are illiterate.”
The record at Jamia Naeemia reveals that 678 Christians converted to Islam in 2009, the number reached 693 in 2010 while 95 Christians have so far embraced Islam this year.
Badshahi Mosque is another institution that issues certificate to those who convert to Islam. Muhammad Yousuf, assistant protocol officer at the mosque, says rarely a day goes without some cases of conversion. “Sometimes dozens of people convert to Islam during a day. Overwhelming, majority of them come from Christian minority,” he tells TNS.
Peter Jacob, Executive Director of National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), an advocacy organisation funded by the Catholic Church, says it is no surprise some of Pakistan’s three millions Christians are adopting Islam nowadays. “These are troublesome and dangerous days for the country’s religious minorities. People have no faith in the police or the justice system and the kind of fear that exists now was never there before,” he says.
Legally, there is no bar on religious conversion. “But in Pakistan only one-way conversion to Islam is allowed that can be very fatal to religious diversity in the country. It is not only Christians in Pakistan who are scared. All minorities are under pressure.”
Jacob thinks that security has become a major reason for marginalised and discriminated Christian community to convert to Islam. “Blasphemy laws are also being misused to pressurise Christians to convert to Islam.”
Last month Shahbaz Bhatti, the only minister in federal cabinet belonging to a minority religion, was assassinated in Islamabad. Taliban reportedly claimed responsibility for the killing, saying the minister had been “punished” for being a blasphemer.
Azra Bibi—whose husband remains Christian and lives separately from his wife and children—says that she has converted to Islam only because she feels it is the most beautiful religion. “Now, it feels great and I have moved to a Muslim neighbourhood. I feel safer.” A woman from the neighbourhood comes to them daily after dinner to teach her and her children Islam and its practices.
That day at the Madrassa, as Azra Bibi collected her certificate declaring her a Muslim and prepared to leave, a young couple entered the reception. Parvaiz Masih, a 23-year-old auto rickshaw driver and his 22-year-old cousin Nasreen seemed in a hurry to convert to Islam. But the officials at Jamia were hesitant, as they did not have two Muslim witnesses accompanying them. “I like Islam and want to embrace it. I want to be known as Muhammad Parvaiz. I will be secure now and will take decisions of my choice after converting to Islam”.
Masih’s reference was her marriage to his cousin, Nasreen—who had slipped away from her home to come to Jamia with him. She was hesitant to elaborate why she wanted to convert to Islam. “I like Islam,” was all she said.
Joseph Francis, National Director, Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), believes that all these conversions are forced. “Jamia Naeemia or Badshahi Mosque officials do not look into the reasons why people have been converting to Islam. We have also found that in many cases young Christian girls are abducted and married off to Muslim men. They are also forced to change their religion and there is no process available to get them released as once they are declared Muslims, they cannot come back to Christianity.” He says his organisation had received seven such cases in 2008, four in 2009 and six in 2010.
The preamble to the constitution of Pakistan guarantees that adequate provision shall be made for minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their culture. The Enforcement of Shariah Act 1991 was promulgated on June 18, 1991 whereby the Islamic Shariah was enforced as the supreme law of the land. But under clause 4 of Section 1, it was provided that “Nothing contained in this Act shall affect the personal laws, religious freedom, traditions, customs and way of life of the non-Muslims.”
But the situation on ground is altogether different. For instance, Tahir Iqbal, a Muslim who converted to Christianity was accused of committing blasphemy in 1990 in Lahore. Then additional session judge of Lahore dismissed his bail application on July 7, 1991, and passed the following order:
“Learned counsel for the petitioner has conceded before me that the petitioner has converted to Christianity. With this admission on the part of the petitioner’s counsel there is no need to probe further into allegations. Since conversion is in itself a cognizable offence involving serious implications, I do not consider the petitioner is entitled to bail at this stage”. Interestingly, there is no law in Pakistan that makes conversion from Islam to any other religion an offence.
Human Right activists say there is no mechanism to gauge whether the Christians converting to Islam have been doing it under their own free will or duress. “We receive many cases every year in which Christian girls are abducted and forced to marry Muslim men,” I.A. Rehman, Director Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, tells TNS. “Security is a major reason these days for minorities to convert to Islam. We have registered cases in which people are deprived of their jobs on the basis of their faith, admissions to colleges and schools are denied and then there are social taboos that result in discrimination. All these factors can lead to religious conversion.”

The Catholic Church agency, Aid to the Church in Need, estimates that 75% of all religious persecution around the world is directed against Christians. That equates to around 100,000 people facing persecution. The hard-hitting report will be launched in Scotland at St Rollox Church of Scotland by Cardinal Keith O’Brien and Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil in Iraq.

Speaking ahead of the launch yesterday Nather Eisa told how he was forced to flee to Scotland from Iraq with his family.
If I was rich and a Christian, they would come to my house during the night and steal everything
Mr Eisa, 46, a trained teacher, told how he was called a “little Christian rag” and received a death threat. His life was spared when his brother agreed to pay a bribe.
For the father-of-two it was one of many abuses that persuaded him to flee to London in 2002. Shortly afterwards he and his family were moved to Sighthill in Glasgow.
He believes he escaped the worst persecution in Iraq that followed the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, and has caused thousands more Christians to flee.
The last Iraqi census in 1987 showed the Christian population at 1.4 million. The Church in Iraq estimates that figure is now as low as 150,000.
“The problem started for Christian people in 1991 when sanctions were imposed by the United Nations,” said Mr Eisa. “Muslim people hated Christian people because America and Britain are Christian. They say to us Christians that we make the problems for them, but we say we are the same as them, we suffer the same.”
 While the family was still able to attend church at that time, security was heavy with up to 30 armed guards surrounding the church during worship. As people began to suffer financially in the early 1990s, Christians began their exodus from the larger cities.
Mr Eisa’s wife Aseel explained: “If I was rich and a Christian, they would come to my house during the night and steal everything. If you say anything you get killed. That’s happened for a few families.
“Now they kill people simply because they are Christian, they say it to your face.”
She said today Christians are too afraid to go into the city of Mosul. Her sister who is a student there has to wear a headscarf to appear Muslim. In the past she said she was shot at when she entered the college with a party of Christian students.
In 2004, another sister was forced from her home in Baghdad. “They took the house from her putting her and her family out – she had to stay with other family members for five years,” said Mrs Eisa.
But while the Eisa family is relieved to have escaped with their lives, they have found themselves at the receiving end of prejudice in this country.
“People here look at us and presume that we are Muslim. Even when we say that we are Christian, they think it is some obscure strand of Christianity,” Mrs Eisa said.
Daughter Lisa, 18, has settled into life here and is studying medicine at a Scottish university. She has little memory of Iraq, and was sheltered from much of the persecution by her parents.
In Glasgow, she attended a Catholic primary school and was struck by the tolerance shown to other religions.
She said: “Coming here, the way they treat people from other religions just makes me feel so proud to be Christian. I feel like that is what my religion teaches me; to love people who are different. That’s why I feel so attached to here, like I belong here.”
“I think people here should be aware that there are Christians in the world that fight to keep their religion – it would make them value their religion more.”
 

Egypt's military begins rebuilding burned Coptic church
From Reza Sayah, CNN Correspondent
March 13, 2011 -- Updated 1315 GMT (2115 HKT)

Thousands of Coptic Christians have protested outside the Egyptian state broadcast office for nine consecutive days.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egypt's military has started rebuilding a church burned down in an outbreak of unrest between Christian Copts and Muslims, a military official told CNN on Sunday.
The Shahedin Church in Helwan province south of Cairo, the capital, was burned earlier this month in what was believed to be a feud between a Muslim and Coptic family. Further clashes last Tuesday killed 13 Copts.
"The engineering department of the Egyptian Armed Forces has started to rebuild the church in Atfeeh today at the same exact location," Army spokesman Maj. Mohamed Askar said. "The Armed Forces will bear all expenses."
Meanwhile, thousands of Christians in Cairo have protested outside the offices of the Egyptian state broadcaster for nine consecutive days, demanding the rebuilding of the church and an end to what they call government persecution and discrimination.
The Egyptian military previously announced an investigation into the church burning and ensuing violence.
Tensions have increased this year between Egypt's Muslim majority and its Coptic minority.
A Coptic church in the town of Alexandria was bombed on New Year's Day, killing 23 people. The Palestinian Islamic Army, which has links to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for what was the deadliest attack on Christians in Egypt in recent times.
Ten days later, a gunman killed a Christian man and wounded five other Christians on a train in Egypt.
Also in January, a man was sentenced for his part in an attack on another Coptic church a year ago, Egypt's state-run Al Ahram newspaper reported.
About 9% of Egypt's 80 million residents are Coptic Christians. They base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity. The religion split with other Christians in the fifth century over the definition of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
 

Pope urges priests to preach on uncomfortable topics
By Alan Holdren

Rome, Italy, Mar 11, 2011 / 04:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Priests must not preach “Christianity 'a la carte'” and should be willing to approach even uncomfortable aspects of the Gospel, Pope Benedict said in a meeting with priests this week.
In a meeting with priests and religious from the Diocese of Rome on March 10, the Pope led a Scripture meditation as the “pastor of the pastors.”
He based the meditation - called a “lectio divina” (sacred reading) - on a chapter from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Paul leaves the faithful in Ephesus with instructions on how to continue preaching the Gospel after his departure.
Paul's advice to be humble and vigilant in preaching the faith, to make themselves completely available in service to Christ and the Church, and prayerful as they protect their “flocks” are all relevant characteristics of priests nearly 2,000 years later, said the Pope.
He implored priests to show “full-time” fidelity to their vocation as priests, “being with Christ and being ambassadors of Christ.”
The Pope also called on priests today not to shrink from proclaiming “the entire plan of God.”
“This is important,” said the Pope. “The Apostle does not preach Christianity 'a la carte,' according to his own tastes, he does not preach a Gospel according to his own preferred theological ideas; he does not take away from the commitment to announce the entire will of God, even when uncomfortable, nor the themes he may least like personally.
“It is our mission to announce all the will of God, in its totality and ultimate simplicity. But the fact that we must instruct and preach is important - as St. Paul says - and really proposes the entire will of God.”
In a world where people are curious to know everything, “so much more should we be curious to know the will of God,” said Pope Benedict.
“What thing could be more interesting, more important, more essential for us than to know what God wants, to know the will of God, the face of God?”
He called on priests and religious to respond to this curiosity and awaken it in others, assisting them in “knowing truly all the will of God and knowing then how we can and must live, which is the path of our lives.”

Vatican condemns murder of Pakistani minister for minorities

Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic and Pakistan's minorities minister, poses in front of a mural at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington during a visit in 2009. He was murdered in Islamabad March 2. (CNS/Bob Roller))

By Sara Angle
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) --The Vatican condemned the killing of a Catholic government minister in Pakistan who had spoken out against anti-blasphemy laws.

"The assassination of the Pakistani minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, is a new and terribly serious act of violence. It demonstrates that the pope is correct in insisting on the issue of violence against Christians and against religious freedom in general," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said March 2.
Bhatti, the first Catholic to serve in that position, received several threats against his life after criticizing the country's anti-blasphemy laws, which have been used to persecute Christians and other religious minorities.
Bhatti was received by Pope Benedict XVI last September and spoke about his commitment to promoting peaceful coexistence between the religious communities of his country.

"Along with prayers for the victim, with the condemnation of the unspeakable act of violence and with assurances of closeness to Pakistani Christians who are suffering from hatred, we urge that everyone will now realize the dramatic urgency of the need to defend religious freedom and Christians targeted by violence and persecution," Father Lombardi said.
Bhatti was attacked in his car in Islamabad March 2, when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle and proceeded to drag him out, according to press reports. Bhatti was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors were unable to save him from massive gunshot wounds.

Reports said there may have been a young relative in the car with him, and there were conflicting reports on whether a bodyguard or government security officer was also present.
Bhatti usually traveled with security, but news reports said he may have requested to be unaccompanied March 2.
A note found at the crime scene led authorities to believe Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a radical Muslim group, was responsible for the murder, the Catholic agency AsiaNews reported.
After an emergency meeting led by Lahore Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha, president of the Pakistani Catholic bishops' conference, the country's Christian leaders urged the government to "go beyond the rhetoric of 'minorities enjoying all the rights in the country' and take practical steps to curb extremism in Pakistan."

"If the country becomes a killing field of the democrat and liberal individuals who exercise their freedom of conscience and expression, it would embolden the criminals trying to take charge of the country," the church leaders cautioned.
Beginning March 3, Christian churches across the country were to close for three days to honor Bhatti.
Since the Jan. 4 assassination of the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, who defended a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, Bhatti had been one of the only public figures to speak out against the laws.
Despite threats, Bhatti continued promoting religious and social harmony.
Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad-Rawalpindi told AsiaNews, "The minister lived under constant threat, and the government did not know how to adequately guarantee his safety."
Bishop Anthony knew Bhatti's daily routine, saying, "He would go to see his mother, he would pray with her, then he would call me and ask me every morning to pray for him."
The bishop was particularly affected by the murder because he knew Bhatti as a child and said he had been a devout Catholic from a very young age.
The bishop described him as "a courageous, fearless man who had taken a very strong position in support of minorities." The bishop believed that because Bhatti was so outspoken about minority rights "the minister paid the price with his blood."

Bhatti spoke at an event in Ottawa, Ontario, Feb. 7 and said, "I follow the principles of my conscience, and I am ready to die and sacrifice my life for the principles I believe."
 

Pope: Jews not to blame for death of Christ
The Pope has exonerated the Jewish people for the death of Christ, insisting that they must not be collectively blamed for his death

Since being elected pontiff in 2005, the German-born Benedict, who was forced to serve in the Hitler Youth during the war, has had a strained relationship with Jews Photo: AFP/GETTY
By Nick Squires, Rome 6:04PM GMT 02 Mar 2011

In a new study that he has written of Christ's life, "Jesus of Nazareth", Benedict XVI said those at fault were the small number of Jewish priests and leaders who called for Christ's crucifixion
The Roman Catholic Church has maintained for decades that Jews were not responsible for Christ's execution, most notably in 1965 with a document entitled "Nostra Aetate," but Benedict's book further underlines the Vatican's teaching.
While some of the Gospels refer to all Jewish people calling for Christ's crucifixion, it was in fact the "temple aristocracy," who demanded his crucifixion after his trial by Pontius Pilate, the Pope wrote.
In doing so he challenged interpretations of the Bible which have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews.
"St Matthew attributes the request for the crucifixion of Jesus to 'all the people'. But he cannot be stating a historical fact: how could the entire Jewish people have been present at this moment to call for the death of Jesus?" Benedict wrote.

"The historical reality appears in St John and St Mark. The true accusers were those circulating in the temple at the time (the priestly hierarchy)." The Vatican released extracts of the book, which will be published next week (March 10) in English and six other languages.
Since being elected pontiff in 2005, the German-born Benedict, who was forced to serve in the Hitler Youth during the war, has had a strained relationship with Jews.
In 2007, he dismayed Jewish groups by relaxing restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine rite, restoring to prominence a prayer for the conversion of Jews that is recited during Good Friday services of Easter Week.
Relations deteriorated further in January 2009 when Benedict lifted an ultra-traditionalist British bishop, who caused outrage by questioning the extent of the Holocaust, claiming that the Nazis killed at most 300,000 Jews.
 

Italy arrests Moroccans for inciting hatred of Pope
25 February 2011 Last updated at 11:04 GMT

Magdi Allam (left) was baptised in 2008

Six Moroccan men have been arrested in northern Italy on suspicion of seeking to incite hatred of Pope Benedict among Muslims.
Police in the city of Brescia said the suspects had allegedly banded together to stir up religious hatred.

A note was found calling for the Pope to be punished for converting a Muslim journalist to Roman Catholicism.
According to another source, the suspects are not suspected of planning attacks.
Five of the men, who are all Brescia residents, were placed under house arrest while the sixth was taken into custody.
The note found by police urges Muslim immigrants not to integrate into Italian society, Italian media report.

Police said the six were accused of "setting up a group that aimed to incite discrimination, racial and religious hatred, violence and jihad against Christians and Jews".
The Pope was condemned for converting Egyptian-born Magdi Allam, a former columnist for Italian daily Corriere della Sera. Mr Allam, an outspoken critic of Muslim militancy and strong supporter of Israel, was baptised by the Pope in March 2008.
 

 Europe’s stuttering timidity in denouncing the persecution of Christians
by Bernardo Cervellera

After nearly three weeks, finally a European text condemns the violations of religious freedom of Christians. The statement suffers from "excessive" balance and distance. The EU's inability to understand what is happening in North Africa and the Middle East is a result of its ignoring its Christian roots. Without a sense of identity the ability to read the situation or offer a way forward. The teaching of Benedict XVI.

Rome (AsiaNews) - After more than three weeks of debate, the EU has managed to produce a text that explicitly mentions Christians as victims of persecution and the object of violent attacks. An earlier text had been prepared in January, after the terrorist attack on the Church in Baghdad and the massacre at the Church in Alexandria, but was it rejected because of the lack of references to Christians, since the EU preferred to use generic term "religious minorities".

The new text approved yesterday explicitly mentions "Christians and their places of worship" victims of "acts of religious intolerance and discrimination," but now hastens to include among the victims of such acts "Muslim pilgrims and other religious communities" as well .

The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, one of the promoters of the text, had condemned the draft as a sign of 'excessive secularism "present in the EU, but expressed satisfaction with the text adopted yesterday. Moreover, recalling that the European Constitution does not mention the Christian roots among the historic foundations of Europe, yesterday’s statement really is a gigantic departure.

Yet even this text does not satisfy in full. It seeks to balance the anti-Christian violence with those against other religious communities, in an "excess" of balance and equidistance, not taking into account that at least 70% of persecution in today’s world is carried out against Christians. Yet these impressive figures are the result of statistics (from the World Christian Encyclopedia to the Pew Research Centre) and not partisan reports, so much so that Pope Benedict XVI used the word "Christianophobia" for the first time in a papal speech  (see the speech Roman Curia on 20 December 2010. See: 12/20/2010 Pope: Future of the World Depends upon Rediscovery "of Truth and Goodness" and 22/12/2010 Benedict XVI and the Synod: dialogue and forgiveness in the face of violence).

Above all, the text approved by the EU does not go beyond some general exhortation on the defense of religious freedom as a universal human right that must be defended everywhere and for all. "

In stark contrast to the EU’s timid text, Benedict XVI's solid address to the diplomatic corps (10/01/2011 Pope: Religious freedom attacked by terrorism and marginalisation). Defending religious freedom for all religious traditions, the Pope addressed the governments demanding security and the repeal of unjust laws (such as the blasphemy law); room for free education; guarantees that the contribution of religious communities to society will be welcomed etc. ...

Europe’s stuttering timidity on religious freedom is underscored by the continents approximation and inanity faced with the riots taking place in North Africa and the Middle East. As an epochal change unfolds before our very eyes - with non-violent demands for justice, equality and democracy - the EU is ineptly concealing its remorse, calling for a "transition" while it secretly sheds tears over all the fabulous economic contracts drawn up with fallen dictators, null and void or hanging in the balance.

It is said that the world and Europe have been taken by surprise by the riots in Tunisia, Egypt, etc. .. We think that this blindness is due to the fact that in all these years, the sole motivation for our Europe’s relationship with these countries was its own its narrow economic interests and thus "stability", not a shared communication of values, attentiveness to social questions, dialogue between cultures and religions. In practice, Europe’s identity was its wallet: and little more.

Benedict XVI’s appeal during his papal journeys to France, the Czech Republic, Malta, the United Kingdom now echoes urgently in our ears: if Europe does not rediscover its Christian roots, it will remain silent in the concert of nations, incapable of identity and true friendships with the rest of the world.
 

The age of ageing
The proportion and sheer numbers of the elderly are unprecedented in the history of humanity.

Sunday, 27 February 2011

This strong statement comes from the Population Division of the United Nations, the global authority on population data and policies. In a little-noted document entitled World Population Ageing 2009 the report also stressed that population ageing is “pervasive, profound and enduring.” All countries are experiencing the same phenomenon. The economic and social consequences are extensive and the process will continue to unfold rapidly, especially in the more advanced countries. In 2009 according to UN data, 22 percent of the population in developed countries was aged 60 or over. That share is expected to rise to 33 percent in 2050. The elderly cohort now outnumbers children under 15 and by 2050 there are likely to be two over 60s for every child.

According to the UN, the number of older persons tripled in the past 60 years and will triple again by 2050. The “oldest old” -- aged 80 and over -- now account for four percent of global population. They are the most rapidly growing age group, with women surviving in greater numbers than men. An interesting anecdote: the American greeting card company Hallmark reported selling 85,000 birthday cards for centenarians in 2007.
Another recent UN publication dealing with population policies queried governments as to their primary population concerns. In response, 79 percent of governments in developed countries considered ageing “a major concern” followed by HIV/AIDS, low fertility, and “a small or declining number of persons of working age.” Data by continental area show an enormous contrast regarding the significance of population ageing, as indicated below:

It is stunning that all of North America is worried about population ageing as is most of Europe and Latin America. Africa, which only has 15 percent of global population, also has more countries with a high fertility rate and a low level of life expectancy. Oceania is sparsely populated.
According to UN data, there were 29 countries or territories that had 20 percent or more of their population aged 60 or over in 2009. Japan headed the list followed by European countries, although the US Virgin Islands were also in the group – which could be due to outsiders who chose to retire there. The top five besides Japan (29.7%) were Italy (26.4%), Germany (25.7%), Sweden (24.7%), and Bulgaria (24.2%). In 30th place came Canada (19.5%) while the United States (17.9%) ranked in 42nd place.

Among the 196 countries covered, there was a stark contrast between the countries above and those that had the lowest share of over 60s in their populations: Qatar (1.9%), United Arab Emirates (1.9%), Burkina Faso (3.3%), Sierra Leone (3.5%), and Niger (3.5%). The median age of countries also showed an extreme variance: Japan’s median age was 44.4 years, almost triple that of Niger at the bottom of the list with a mere 15 years.
Japan is the undisputed leader in ageing. At 82.3, Japan has the longest life expectancy – a tribute to good health, hygiene and local cuisine. With a shrinking population and hyper-ageing, the Japanese delegate at the 2011UN Commission for Social Development session mentioned in his statement that: “Japan has recently become a true ‘society of the aged.’ The proportion of the Japanese population aged 65 and over now exceeds 23 percent.”

The rapidly ageing Japanese population underlies a weak economic performance over the past two decades. The economy, which for many years seemed to have done everything right and was the envy of other nations, began to stall in the 1990s. This was due not only to a questionable combination of economic and financial policies but also due to a rapidly ageing population, a low birth rate and a reluctance to admit migrants from other countries to enhance the domestic labor force. The resulting economic stagnation, which led to “the lost decade,” as it has come to be called, seems to have extended well into the new millennium.
The top three ageing countries – Japan, Italy and Germany – among others have enacted or promoted measures to deal with the issue. Efforts have focused on removing incentives to early retirement, allowing older persons to work longer, increasing the statutory retirement age for both men and women, encouraging more women to enter the labor force, and efforts to strengthen pension systems.

Pension obligations are becoming more burdensome as the members of the baby boom generation reach retirement age. According to the OECD, pensioners in developed countries can expect to live 20.4 years in retirement. Japan’s public pension fund, the largest in the world with assets around $1.5 trillion is scrambling in search of higher returns to prepare for higher outlays – not unlike private pension funds. Meanwhile a shrinking number of workers face higher taxes to support public pension schemes.
For Japan, heightened government spending both in response to a long period of economic weakness and to meet growing pension obligations have resulted in an expansion of government debt that, in relation to GDP, is currently nearly twice that of Greece. The key mitigating element is that Japanese people have one of the highest savings rates in the world and much of those savings are placed in government securities. Unlike Greece, the vast majority of Japanese government debt is held domestically, including by the older population who undoubtedly have started drawing down these savings to maintain well being. Outliving one’s savings remains a risk everywhere.

On a social level, the elderly in developed countries are already beginning to experience the same fate as that of unwanted unborn children. Euthanasia is the elder equivalent of abortion. Both processes terminate life. One is a victim who never lived to be born and the other an individual who lived too long.
Even in Catholic Italy there is interest in legalized euthanasia (it has the second highest proportion of persons over 60 in the world). In 2006, a famous oncologist, Umberto Veronesi, wrote a short book that became a best-seller entitled Il Diritto di Morire (“The Right to Die”). (It has not been translated into English.) In it he argued that a patient who is seriously ill and on the verge of death forms a strong bond with his or her doctor that the latter can perceive the will of the patient, including the futility of advanced therapies and the desire to die with dignity.

Unfortunately for the eminent doctor, the “desire to die with dignity” does not mean waiting for God to call the patient to Himself. Dr. Veronesi is a non-believer who praises Belgium and the Netherlands, two of the European countries that have openly permitted euthanasia. In Italy, he may be highly regarded as a cancer specialist, but the deliberate taking of life is a bit much for most Italians, imbued with a sense of respect for the elderly and love for life itself. Germany and Japan, mindful of their role in World War II, are also unlikely to embrace the euthanasia lobby.
On a more positive note, the United Nations several years ago designated October 1 as the “International Day of Older Persons” and the European Union is promoting 2012 as the “European Year of Active Ageing.” However, in September each year Japan celebrates “Respect for the Aged Day.” The commemoration is a sign of esteem for and deference to elders and it so happens that Japan is destined to have many more seniors to be feted well out into the future.

Vincenzina Santoro is an international economist. She represents the American Family Association of New York at the United Nations
 

Amid violent protests, Catholic missionaries continue their work in Libya
By Alan Holdren

Libya
Tripoli, Libya, Feb 24, 2011 / 02:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As a swell of protestors and pro-government troops battle to establish control of Libyan cities, Catholic missionaries continue to carry out their work.

The nation's leader, Moammar Ghadafi, has come down hard on protesters who took to the streets in an appeal for greater liberty. Benghazi and other cities in the eastern half of the nation are reportedly now controlled by protesters with military backing.
Tripoli remains a hotspot for the conflict and international news agencies are reporting bombings and rampant killing. Confirmations of the true status of cities are scarce, as are open lines of communication.
Estimates of the dead vary from 1,000 to tens of thousands and there is talk that the clashes could escalate into civil war. Thousands of people, especially foreign nationals residing in Libya, are evacuating en masse. Some illegal African immigrants in Libyan jails are being forced by the pro-government troops to choose between becoming mercenaries or being killed, Father Mussie Zerai of the Italian Habeshia agency told MISNA news.
There are also reports that male immigrants are being abducted from their homes for possible mercenary service. Their possible role in mercenary service has made all immigrants targets for Ghadafi opponents.
The Italian bishops' SIR news reported that the Catholic Church is organizing for the evacuation of 500 illegal emigrants, largely Eritreans.
Catholic priests and religious are weathering the storm. Many religious sisters work in hospitals and are working overtime with casualties from the conflicts.
“We are well and are continuing our work, despite the situation being unclear and not knowing who actually controls the city,” Sr. Elisabeth of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception told MISNA from Benghazi.
“The police and army have disappeared, everyone is thinking of their own safety, guarding their homes, businesses and neighborhoods.”
Sr. Elisabeth said she was unsure of how many people have been injured or killed. “But we know there are many,” she said.
She added that the Libyan people are “weary.”
In a brief telephone conversation with CNA on Feb. 24, Bishop Sylvester Magro, Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi, said that the principal concern of the Catholic Church “is to be close to the sick and suffering, so our contribution to the events is invaluable because of our closeness to the people.”
He said that the Catholic population shares the fate of “everybody else,” at this point.
Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, told Fides on Feb. 23 that the Catholic community in Libya is made up entirely of “foreigners.”
While the Europeans have been mostly evacuated, the Filipinos - who have a particular presence as hospital nurses - have remained, but the African immigrants “are the ones who need the most assistance.”
Bishop Martinelli is “convinced that there are many people who want peace above all.”
Of the Church in Tripoli, he said they have not had any trouble. “We even had some signs of solidarity on the part of the Libyans, in the form of assistance to both the sisters and to Christians, such as the Filipino nurses who are serving at local hospitals.”
He is closely monitoring the situation of religious communities, he said. For those working around the clock to treat victims, they have instructions that they may leave the country for a period of rest if they feel mentally and physically infirm.
Bishop Martinelli also said that one group of religious sisters who work with immigrants in Tripoli may soon be leaving the city anyway because “in this situation it is precarious to work.”
Bishops Martinelli and Magro oversee the two apostolic vicariates that coordinate Church activities from the western capital of Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
To serve the large and varied immigrant communities, Masses are held at least once a week for at least 10 different groups divided up by nationality or language.
Masses for Koreans, Indians, Eritreans and Filipinos are interspersed among those given in English, Italian, French, Polish and Arabic.
Parish activities are still largely overseen by Franciscan priests. In a number of cities and towns, but in particular in Tripoli and Benghazi, religious communities are also present.
For now, the conflict continues and projections for casualties look grim.
The vice president of the European Parliament, Gianni Pitella, told Vatican Radio that they have received confirmation of around 10,000 dead. He warned that the figure would be increasing by the hour.
He said that “the brutal madness of the regime puts almost any means, even the most atrocious, into play ... to stop the citizens that are in the squares, in the streets and are seeing their dream of freedom being realized.”

A miraculous escape for the little girl the Pope blessed
Saffron Howden. February 18, 2011

Power of prayer ... Peter and Sue Hill with their daughter Claire. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

PETER HILL'S life has been peppered with signs. Years ago, all four tyres blew out one after the other when he suggested to his future wife in the car that God created all things and therefore must be responsible for evil. More recently, Pope Benedict XVI kissed his baby daughter, Claire, at Randwick in Sydney while in the midst of a throng of devotees.
And then, on Tuesday afternoon, he rolled his 22-seater bus on top of her in a queue for petrol on the South Coast.
When he saw the three-year-old lodged under the dual rear wheels of the four-tonne vehicle, Mr Hill was certain that Claire was dead.
But this morning she is likely to be sent home from hospital with little more than grazes and minor bruising.
The tyre marks were yesterday visible on her tiny abdomen, but she astounded her parents and medical specialists by surviving the ordeal without internal injuries, broken bones or lasting physical damage of any kind.
As Claire lay in bed at Sydney Children's Hospital with a Catholic prayer book, red-eyed but smiling and talkative, she said it was her dad and God that saved her.

YOUCAT: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church Released with Forward by the Pope

Catholic Church is moving ahead be it Iphone apps to assist in preparation for confession or customized version of CCC for youth called YOUCAT to understand the Church and grow in it. People say that CCC and study of Church is tough to understand and so & so forth ....let's see what our dear Pope wants to say about it to all of us....

Dear Friends, Young People!
Today I counsel you to read an extraordinary book.
It is extraordinary because of its content but also because of its format, which I wish to explain to you briefly, so that you will understand its particularity. Youcat drew its origin, so to speak, from another work that came out in the 80s. It was a difficult period for the Church as well as for worldwide society, during which the need was perceived of new guidelines to find a way towards the future. After the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and in the changing cultural environment, many people no longer knew correctly what Christians should actually believe, what the Church taught, if it could, no more and no less, teach, and how all this could be adapted to the new cultural climate.
Is not Christianity, as such, obsolete? Can one still today be reasonably a believer? These are the questions that still today many Christian ask themselves. Pope John Paul II then made an audacious decision: he decided that the bishops worldwide should write a book to answer these questions.
He entrusted to me the task of coordinating and overseeing the work of the bishops so that a book would be born from the contributions of the bishops, a real book and not a simple juxtaposition of a multiplicity of texts. This book was to bear the traditional title of Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and yet be something altogether stimulating and new; it was to show what the Catholic Church believes today and how one can believe in a reasonable way. I was frightened by this task, and I must confess that I doubted that such a thing could succeed. How could it be that authors who are spread around the whole world could produce a legible book? How could men who live in different continents, and not only from the geographical but also from the intellectual and cultural point of view, produce a text with an internal and comprehensible unity in all the continents?
To this was added the fact that the bishops had to write not simply as individual authors but in representation of their confreres and their local Churches.
I must confess that still today the fact seems a miracle to me that this project in the end succeeded. We met three or four times a year for a week and discussed passionately on the individual portions of the text that had been developed in the meantime.
The first thing to be defined was the structure of the book: it had to be simple, so that the individual groups of authors could receive a clear task and not force their affirmations into a complicated system. It is the very structure of this book, it is taken simply from a centuries-long catechetical experience: what do we believe/ in what way do we celebrate the Christian mysteries / in what way do we have life in Christ / in what way should we pray. I do not wish to explain now how we engaged in the great quantity of questions, until a real book resulted. In a book of this nature there are many debatable points: all that men do is insufficient and can be improved and, this notwithstanding, it is a great book, a sign of unity in diversity. From many voices it was possible to form a choir because they had the common score of the faith, which the Church has transmitted to us from the Apostles through the centuries until today.
Why all this?
Already then, at the time of the drafting of the CCC, we realized not only that the continents and the cultures of their people are different, but that also within the individual societies different "continents" exist: A worker has a different mentality from a peasant's, and a physicist from a philologist's; an entrepreneur from a journalist's, a youth from an elderly person's. For this reason, in language and in thought we had to place ourselves above all these differences and so to speak seek a common area among the different universal mentalities; with this we became ever more aware of how the text required "translations" into the different worlds, to be able to reach the people with their different mentalities and different problems. Since then, in the World Youth Days (Rome, Toronto, Cologne, Sydney) young people from all over the world have met who want to believe, who are searching for God, who love Christ and desire common paths. In this context we asked ourselves if we should not seek to translate the Catechism of the Catholic Church into the language of young people and make its words penetrate their world. Of course also among the young people of today there are many differences; thus, under the tested guidance of the archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schoenborn, a Youcat was formatted for young people. I hope that many young people will let themselves be fascinated by this book.
Some persons tell me that the catechism does not interest today's youth, but I do not believe this affirmation and I am sure I am right. Youth is not as superficial as it is accused of being; young people want to know what life truly consists of. A crime novel is fascinating because it involves us in the fate of other persons, but which could also be our own; this book is fascinating because it speaks to us of our very destiny and that is why it concerns each one of us very closely.
Because of this I invite you: Study the catechism! This is my heartfelt wish.
This supplement to the catechism does not flatter you; it does not offer easy solutions; it calls for a new life on your part; it presents to you the message of the Gospel as the "precious pearl" (Matthew 13:45) for which there is need to give everything, Because of this I ask you: study the catechism with passion and perseverance! Sacrifice your time for it! Study it in the silence of your room, read it together, if you are friends, form groups and study networks, exchange ideas on the Internet. In any case remain in dialogue on your faith!
You must know what you believe; you must know your faith with the same precision with which a specialist in information technology knows the working system of a computer; you must know it as a musician knows his piece; yes, you must be much more profoundly rooted in the faith of the generation of your parents, to be able to resist forcefully and with determination the challenges and temptations of this time. You have need of divine help, if you do not want your faith to dry up as a dewdrop in the sun, if you do not want to succumb to the temptations of consumerism, if you do not want your love to be drowned in pornography, if you do not want to betray the weak and the victims of abuse and violence.
If you dedicate yourselves with passion to the study of the catechism, I would like to give you yet a last counsel: You all know in what way the community of believers has been wounded in recent times by the attacks of evil, by the penetration of sin in the interior, in fact in the heart of the Church. Do not take this as a pretext to flee from God's presence; you yourselves are the Body of Christ, the Church! Carry intact the fire of your love in this Church every time that men have obscured her face. "Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord" (Romans 12:11).
When Israel was in the darkest point of its history, God called to the rescue no great and esteemed persons, but a youth called Jeremiah; Jeremiah felt invested with too great a mission: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth!" (Jeremiah 1:6). But God did not let himself be misled: "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak" (Jeremiah 1:7).
I bless you and pray every day for all of you.

Benedict PP. XVI

Protest to demand CBI probe in anti-Christian attacks
Published Date: February 17, 2011

Bishops of various denominations will hold a demonstration in Bangalore today, demanding a CBI enquiry into the 2008 anti-Christian attacks in Karnataka.
“The community has rejected the findings of the Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission that probed attacks on churches in parts of Karnataka in 2008,” said Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore.
He said that the Christian community wants the government to reject the “one-sided, totally unjust and biased report.”
The prelate said that they will submit a memorandum to Governor H R Bhardwaj enlisting their demands after the demonstration.
Meanwhile, Christians from various denominations along with other organizations will take out a silent protest march in Mangalore on Feb. 20 against the report.
The march is mainly organized to “oppose and outrightly reject the report of Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission,” Father Denis Prabhu, vicar general of Mangalore diocese, told a press conference on Feb. 17.
He said the report has silenced the witnesses and records submitted before the court by more than 1000 Christians and secular petitioners about the anti-Christian attacks.
According to Father Prabhu, Christian from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts would take part in the protest.
 

Priest electrocuted while trying to save a woman
Published Date: February 18, 2011

A 72-year-old Catholic priest was electrocuted while trying to save a woman in Kerala.
Father Mathew Thondamkuzhy, parish priest of St. George Church Lalam in Palai diocese died on Feb. 17 while trying to save his domestic help, vicar general Father George Choorakkat told ucanews.com.
The 63-year-old woman, Achamma George, came in contact with a high-powered transmission line while working in the church campus.
Father Thondamkuzhy rushed to save the woman hearing her plea for help. “He used a plastic rod to save her, but he was also electrocuted,” Father Choorakkat added.
The Electricity Board officials found the two bodies in the church premises when they went to switch off a transformer for maintenance. “We found the bodies in partially charred state,” said Uthup Varghese, an engineer with the board.
Father Thondamkuzhy had earlier served as an assistant vice postulator for the cause Saint Alphonsa, India’s first woman saint.
 

Bishops protest over report ‘whitewash’
Probe into anti-Christian violence nothing more than politically motivated propaganda, critics say
Philip Mathew, Bangalore - India
February 18, 2011

Catholic and protestant Bishops at a sit-in in Bangalore

Eighteen Catholic and Protestant bishops in the southern Indian state of Karnataka today staged a sit-in to protest about an enquiry commission report on church attacks.
They criticized Justice B. K. Somashekhara Commission for not identifying people who attacked the churches in 2008.
The demonstration was organized in Bangalore, the state capital, by the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights and the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Council.
The commission had presented its final report on January 28, after nearly three years of investigation, to the state government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, India people’s party).
The report is not judicial findings but politically motivated statements, alleged Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore, who heads the Catholic Church in the state.
The report is “completely one-sided, biased, propagandist and even communal,” he said, adding that it has been “totally unfair to all Christians.”
“The Christians who were the target of attacks and the victims of the organized mayhem and vandalism have been converted into the perpetrators, while the real attackers and all forces and elements that had directly or indirectly supported have been given a clean chit,” Archbishop Morass bemoaned.
The commission investigated 57 cases of church attacks in 2008, soon after the BJP government came to power in the state.
The bishops have demanded that the government should hand over the cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the top probe agency in the country.
They also demanded withdrawal of over 150 cases lodged against Christians who were hurt and disturbed by the church attacks.
Meanwhile, the Global Council of Indian Christians organized a similar protest in another part of the city which some 3,000 Christians of all denominations attended.
 

Number of priests growing worldwide, Vatican reports
By Alan Holdren

Vatican City, Feb 11, 2011 / 05:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- There are more than 5,000 more Catholic priests globally in 2009 than there were in 1999, according to official Church statistics.
The Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper anticipated the news from the soon-to-be released 2009 almanac prepared by the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics.
The statistics reveal that there were 410,593 priests in the world in 2009 compared to 405,009 in 1999. The number of diocesan priests among these increased by over 10,000 while the number of those belonging to religious orders fell by nearly 5,000.
In North America, as well as Europe and Oceania, the numbers decreased for both diocesan and religious priests. Africa and Asia, however, brought up the overall figures with a more than 30 percent increase on both continents.
Europe still has nearly half of the world’s priests, but the “old continent” is gradually losing weight on the world stage.
More seminarians are studying for the priesthood from Africa and Asia and fewer from Europe. But, there is also the issue of the number of deaths of priests in the different areas.
In Europe, the average age of priests is higher than in Africa and Asia. The number of European priests is falling as new ordinations do not surpass the numbers of those who die. But in Asia and Africa the number of deaths was only one-third of the total new ordinations. North and South America’s numbers combined show a positive trend over the decade since 1999, according to L’Osservatore Romano. In Oceania, the death-to-ordination ratio was equal.
The Vatican’s publishing house prints the volume of Church statistics annually. It includes names and biographies of major Catholic figures and offers a variety statistics on all those who work in apostolates and evangelization efforts the world over.
It also offer shorter term statistics. They report, for example, that between 2008 and 2009 the number of priests in the world increased by 809. According the Vatican newspaper, this is the highest jump since 1999 and a reason “to look to the future with renewed hope.”

Muslims rally against Christian attacks
Mangalore protesters say report into Karnataka violence unjust
Francis Rodrigues, Mangalore
February 14, 2011

Muslims organized a rally in Mangalore to protest increasing attacks on Christians
Muslims in Karnataka, southern India have staged a rally in Mangalore to protest against attacks on Christians by Hindu radical groups.
“Christians educate children and provide medical care for elders,” said Ali Hassan, convener of the Muslim Central Committee of Mangalore that organized the protest on Feb. 11.
“But they are rewarded with continuous attacks on their churches by Hindu extremists. This can never be Hinduism or patriotism,” Hassan asserted.
The Muslim leader said they organized the rally to protest a government commission repo that exonerated Hindu extremists from attacks on churches in the state in 2008.
The commission headed by B. K. Somashekhara, a retired judge, submitted its report on January. 28.
Mohammad Kunni, a Muslim youth leader, lamented attempts by Hindu extremists to brand Muslims as terrorists and Christians as conversion agents.
He noted that Christians, Hindus and Muslims live together in Indian villages sharing joys and sorrows and transcending social and religious barriers.
K. L. Ashok, a Hindu and secretary of the forum for communal harmony, told the protesters to reject the commission’s report as it has not done justice to Christians even after a two-year investigation.
Philomena Peres, a Catholic and former state Women’s Commission president, said the government “wasted” 190 million rupees (US$4.2 million) in producing a “biased and unjust report” on anti-Christian violence.
Some 2,000 people joined the rally which started at a local mosque an ended at the district commissioner’s office.
The Muslim leaders later presented a letter to the commissioner demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the church attacks.
They also demanded the release of Muslim youths arrested for alleged terrorist attacks in various parts of India.

Byzantine church mosaic discovered near Jerusalem
Israeli archeologists suggest site is also burial place of Prophet Zecharia
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 February 2011 19.11 GMT

Matti Friedman
Associated Press. Friday, February 04, 2011
Detail of the newly uncovered Byzantine mosaics outside Jerusalem. Photograph: David Silverman/Getty Images

HIRBET MADRAS, Israel: Archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes and peacocks.
The Byzantine church located southwest of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.
The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries, said the dig’s leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He said the floor was “one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years.”
“It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation,” he said.
Archaeologists began digging at the site, known as Hirbet Madras, in December. The Antiquities Authority discovered several months earlier that antiquities thieves had begun plundering the ruins.
Though an initial survey suggested the building was a synagogue, the excavation revealed stones carved with crosses, identifying it as a church. The building had been built atop another structure around 500 years older, dating to Roman times, when scholars believe the settlement was inhabited by Jews.
Hewn into the rock underneath that structure is a network of tunnels that archaeologists believe were used by Jewish rebels fighting Roman armies in the second century.
Stone steps lead down from the floor of church to a small burial cave, which scholars suggest might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zecharia, known from the eponymous book in the Bible, written around 520 B.C.
The claim, which various experts have based on Christian sources and an ancient diagram known as the Madaba Map, has not been proved and is still being studied, Israeli authorities said.
Ganor said the church would remain covered until funding was obtained to open it as a tourist site.
Israel boasts an exceptionally high concentration of archaeological sites, including Crusader, Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, ancient Jewish and prehistoric ruins. – With Reuters

Matti Friedman
Associated Press. Friday, February 04, 2011

Israel — Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Wednesday the remnants of a newly discovered Byzantine-era church they suspect is concealing the tomb of the biblical prophet Zechariah.
The church, with intricate and well-preserved mosaic floors, was discovered on the slopes of the Judaean hills at Horbat Midras, the site of a Jewish community in Roman times, southwest of Jerusalem.
Underneath is a second layer of mosaics dating from the Roman period, with a cave complex still further below which archaeologists think could be Zechariah's tomb.
"Researchers believe that in light of an analysis of the Christian sources ... the church at Horbet Madras is a memorial church designed to mark the tomb of the prophet Zechariah," the Israel Antiquities Authority said.
A statement noted, however, that more work is needed to confirm the hypothesis.
A Jewish prophet of the late sixth century before Christ, Zechariah is associated with the book of the Old Testament that refers to four horsemen and other visions prefiguring the coming of God in judgement.
The church at Horbat Midras was discovered after a gang of tomb raiders was found to be in possession of the church lintel -- part of the door structure -- which they said came from an underground location.
"Following the discovery, an excavation was carried out with the aim of revealing the secrets of the monumental building which the lintel belonged to," added the statement
"There is no doubt the discovery is extraordinary and of great importance in terms of research, religion and tourism," it said.
 
 

USA - Vandals deface church statues

By Doug Page | Monday, February 7, 2011, 04:15 PM
Dayton, OH

Police are still looking for the those responsible for defacing the limestone statues of saints at Immaculate Conception Church.
Police were called to the church Jan. 31 and found someone had spray-painted eight of the statues. In each case, the saints’ faces were spray-painted red. In the courtyard where the statues stand, a brick wall had “666” painted in black. The other side of the wall had a red pentagram.
The doors on two nearby garages owned by the church were defaced in a similar manner. One had “fallen angels” with “666” under it in black. The other had red pentagrams surrounded by “666.”

The statues are all over 50 years old and porous to the point that the spray painted had seeped into the stone, according to the police report.
 
 

Central Java: Thousands of Muslims attack three churches, an orphanage and a Christian centre

02/08/2011 10:03
INDONESIA
by Mathias Hariyadi
Parish priest of Catholic Church badly beaten. A police vehicle torched and the court Temanggung destroyed. The wrath of the crowd unleashed over a blasphemy sentence deemed to lenient (5 years in prison instead of death penalty).
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Thousands of angry Muslims attacked three churches, a Christian orphanage and a health centre that is also a Christian. The violence took place this morning at 10 am (local time) and only ended with the intervention of police in riot gear and police vans. One of the vans was set on fire by the crowd.
he revolt took place in Temanggung regency (Central Java), and started right in front of the town hall: first the crowd attacked the court where a trial against Richmond Bawengan Antonius, a Christian born in Manado (North Sulawesi) , accused of proselytizing and blasphemy was being held.
Bawengan was arrested in October 2010 because during a visit to Temanggung he had distributed printed missionary material, which, among other things, poked fun at some Islamic symbols. The profanity has cost him five years in prison, but the crowd were demanding the death sentence. The violence was sparked by their dissatisfaction with the verdict.
Instead of leaving the court, the crowd started pushing, shouting provocative slogans and then destroyed the building. Hundreds of police rushed in to intervene but failed to appease the thousands of Muslims who began to march en masse to "target Christians" on the main street of the city.
The Catholic Church of St Peter and Paul on Sudirman Boulevard was the first to be attacked, according to AsiaNews sources, the parish priest, Fr Saldhana, a missionary of the Holy Family, was violently beaten as he tried to protect the tabernacle and the Eucharist against the mob.
The crowd then attacked a Pentecostal church. According to the pastor Darmanto - another Christian leader of Temanggung - the main goal was the Pentecostal church, which was then burned. The mob, however, still not appeased went on to destroy in a Catholic orphanage and a health centre of the Sisters of Providence.
Another Protestant church in Shekinah was burnt down.
 

"Democratic" Egypt Sends Apostates to Their Death

The Egyptians in revolt are asking for more freedom, but they also want the death penalty for those who convert from Islam to another religion. A major survey on the most populous Muslim country of northern Africa and the Middle East
by Sandro Magister

ROME, February 3, 2011 – Much of the Egyptian population that in recent days has rebelled against the thirty-year regime of Hosni Mubarak says that it prefers democracy to any other form of government.
At the same time, however, and in an overwhelming majority, they want those who commit adultery to be stoned, thieves to have their hands cut off, and those who abandon the Muslim religion to be put to death.
This is the result of a survey conducted in Egypt and in six other majority Muslim countries by the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the world leader for research in this field:

The other six countries surveyed are Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
The case of Egypt is getting special attention these days. But comparisons with the other countries are also of great interest.
For example, democracy is held to be the best form of government by 59 percent of Egyptians, while in Turkey and Lebanon it gets even more support, 76 and 81 percent respectively.
In Egypt, however, 22 percent of the population maintains that in some circumstances a nondemocratic government is preferable.
On the relationship between politics and religion, almost half of Egyptians think that Islam already has a strong influence on politics. And among those who think this way, 95 percent believe it is a good thing.
In general, 85 out of 100 Egyptians believe that Islam has a positive influence on politics, against only 2 percent who see it as a negative. But in Lebanon and Turkey, the unfavorable views exceed 30 percent.
In a runoff between modernizers and fundamentalists, 59 percent of Egyptians say that they side with the fundamentalists, against 27 percent who root for the former. In Lebanon and Turkey, the sides are flipped: 84 and 74 percent respectively are with the modernizers, while 15 and 11 percent align themselves with the fundamentalists.
More than half of the Egyptians, 54 percent to be exact, among both men and women, are in favor of the separation of the sexes in the workplace. While in Lebanon and Turkey, those against it are between 80 and 90 percent.
When asked to give their views on Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, in Egypt 49 percent say they are in favor of Hamas, 30 percent of Hezbollah, and 20 percent of al-Qaeda.
These views are partly influenced by whether one is Sunni or Shiite. The Egyptians are Sunni, as is Hamas, while Hezbollah is Shiite.
In any case, support for Hezbollah in Egypt has been falling for several years. It stood at 56 percent in 2007, 54 percent in 2008, 43 percent in 2009, and 30 percent in 2010.
And although it is in the minority, support for suicide terrorists is growing. In Egypt, 20 percent justify this, while in 2009 15 percent did.
Returning to the death penalty for those who abandon Islam, called for by 84 percent of Egyptians, it must be pointed out that those who want it are men and women, old and young, educated and uneducated, without distinction.
In Jordan, the level of support for sentencing apostates to death rises all the way to 86 percent. It is only in Lebanon and Turkey that support is low, at 6 and 5 percent respectively.
_____________
The complete text, released on December 2, 2010, of the survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:
According to another, more recent survey by the Pew Forum on the growing number of Muslims in the world, Egypt, which had 53 million inhabitants in 1990 and has 80 million today, could exceed 105 million by 2030, remaining the most populous Muslim country of northern Africa and the Middle East
 

Egypt Unrest Brings Christians Hope, Fear
Posted by George Baghdadi

Egyptian Coptic Orthodox members perform prayers at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, , Jan. 7, 2010.
(Credit: AP )
The images of violent protests across Egypt are undoubtedly worrying to all, but concerns over the chaos are felt more acutely by Egypt's minority Orthodox Christians, who have complained for years that the current government does too little to protect them.

The New Year began in Egypt with an explosion of long-simmering sectarian tensions. Thirty minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, during a New Year's Eve mass, a bomb exploded in front of Saints Church in the northern port city of Alexandria, killing 21 worshipers and injuring about 100 others in the deadliest attack on Coptic Christians in more than a decade.
A few days later, a 71-year-old Christian was killed and five others wounded in a shooting aboard a train, prompting three days of riots by the disaffected minority which makes up 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million.
Now, as mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 30 years of harsh rule appear to be gaining steam, Egypt's Coptics have every reason to fear the possible outcome of a change at the top.
The Christian population is often made the scapegoat for Egypt's ills. When swine flu hit the nation, one Coptic Egyptian told CBS News sarcastically that they blamed Copts.
The continuing protests and violence have aroused fears among most Christians that if the president steps down, a far more radical authority -- possibly far less amicable to the Coptic population -- may take over.
Coptic Pope Shenouda III appeared on Egyptian state television on Sunday and in unusually blunt terms urged all Egyptians to, "safeguard the security and stability of the country."
Live Blog: Egypt in Crisis, Day 7
Many suspect the continuing unrest could go further to boost the aims of the Muslim Brotherhood -- the largest and best organized opposition group in Egypt, and one which seeks to turn the country into a non-secular, Islamic state -- than to help the majority of Egyptian citizens who are tired of their government.
Most analysts say that if free and fair elections were to be held, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood would win, easily.
Officially illegal but largely tolerated by the Mubarak government, the Brotherhood boasts thousands of grassroots members. It won one-fifth of the seats in parliamentary elections in 2005 - half of those it contested -- with its members running as independents.
"The Islamists have not shown their real face yet. They are still playing a low profile. They want the liberals to damage the regime, and then they will come to light for real business," one analyst told CBS News on condition of anonymity.
There are some Christians, however, who are less concerned, essentially telling CBS the Mubarak government was doing them no favors and things could improve.
Omar Al-Sharif, Egypt's most famous actor, who starred in Hollywood films, was clear.
"I give my full backing to the people. The President has to resign. He has been a president for 30 years. This is enough," says the actor, now 78.
Some insist that the crowds in the streets represent a cross-section of Egyptian society: men and women, rich and poor, young and old, Christian and Muslim -- and there is some truth to that assessment.
"Christian or Muslim, it's not important, similar poverty similar concerns! Hosni Mubarak, the plane is waiting. Saudi Arabia is not far," sang people in Shubra, a working-class district in the center of Cairo known as a stronghold of the Coptic community. They singers were marching to Tahrir Square, to join thousands of others calling for Mubarak's ouster.
 

Pakistan: Islamic militants beat Pope’s effigy

The radical Islamic groups of the Tehrik Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Risalat network (TTNR -Alliance to defend the honor of the Prophet) burned effigies of Pope Benedict XVI and the Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, as well as the Christian symbol of the Cross. Bhatti is a Christian and has openly demanded an end to Islamic blasphemy laws and condemned the persecution of minorities such as Christians, Hindus, and Muslim dissidents.
According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance  (APMA), a human rights advocacy organization, this happened on January 30 during the protest in Lahore by more than 40,000 Islamic militants. The Islamists condemned any amendment to the blasphemy law, and fiercely opposed the liberation of Asia Bibi - a Christian woman sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy. The protesters also condemned the Pope and the United States.
Archbishop Lawrence Saldhana of Lahore and President of the conference of Catholic bishops of Pakistan, commented "The Islamic radicals have attacked the Pope, accusing him of interfering in the life of the Country. They burned his effigy and the Cross. For that we are very sorry. As faithful Christians this wounds us. We dissociate ourselves from every act of violence and we demand respect for all sacred symbols, whatever their religion."
Local sources note that the same Islamic radicals who defend the name and the honor of the Mohammed  against every person or act considered "blasphemous" did not hesitate to insult and give offence to the symbols of the Christian religion, such as the cross of Jesus Christ and the Pope.
Further, the demonstration in Lahore confirmed the hatred towards the Minister for Minorities, Catholic, Shahbaz Bhatti. According to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, this is the latest open threat against Minister Bhatti, whose life is in serious danger, and who has been left completely on his own at the political level. Bhatti has remained unmoved but has called for prayers to stem the violent threats against his life. APMA stressed that security measures put in place to defend him are completely inadequate. The advocacy group also stressed the urgency with which protection should be afforded to the government official.
Archbishop Saldanha was quoted as saying, "Minister Bhatti is experiencing a very difficult time, targeted by extremists. On behalf of all Christians in Pakistan, we wish to express to the Minister our complete solidarity and gratitude for his social and political commitment to defending religious minorities." The Archbishop, recalling the Day of Prayer and fasting for peace, observed by Christians on January 30 said "The prayer, fasting, sharing and words of peace we exchanged on Sunday give us hope and strength, even if we are a small community which experiences suffering and difficulties."
Source: FIDES
 

A Glimmer of Light in an Egypt in Revolt

It is an appeal issued by 23 Muslim figures, for an Islam that is more authentic and respectful of the rights of all. On the path of the illuminist revolution proposed by Benedict XVI. The analysis of the Egyptian Jesuit Samir

by Sandro Magister

ROME, January 31, 2011 – Mubarak's Egypt was a mainstay of Western politics in the Middle East. It was also a mainstay for the dialogue between the Church of Rome and Shiite Islam, with its epicenter the mosque and university of al-Azhar. Egypt was considered a bulwark against radical Islam and protection for local Christians, although at the price of their oppressive subjection, under a regime of perpetual "dhimmitude."
Today, all this risks being overturned by an upheaval whose beneficiaries will inevitably be the Muslim Brotherhood and the radical Islamic currents. The New Year's Eve massacre at the Coptic church in Alexandria is the tragic corollary of a "fitna," of a fracture inside the Muslim world in Egypt and in other countries, against regimes and leaders held to be apostates, against a Christian presence held to be polluting, to be swept away.

Even the accusations of "interference" unexpectedly hurled against Benedict XVI at the beginning of this year by the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, and his subsequent abandonment of dialogue with the Church of Rome are part of this fracture, which has exploded in the revolts of recent days. The imam of al-Azhar is tied with a double thread to Mubarak's illiberal regime, with which he shares the same description of "moderate" against the background of international equilibrium. To keep the brakes on mass Muslim revolts, both of the Egyptian authorities – political and religious – have always repressed on the one hand the freedom of the Coptic Christians, and on the other, the range of activity of the radical Islamic currents.

Most recently, the increased fear of a collapse of the regime has induced both Mubarak and al-Azhar to crack down even harder. In fact, even before the massacre in Alexandria, Imam al-Tayyeb – who is also one of the signers of the famous "letter of the 138 Muslim scholars" to the pope – had opened the hostilities against the Church of Rome. He had demanded and obtained the retraction of one of the Vatican's key delegates – Fr. Khaled Akasheh, Jordanian, an expert on Islam and member of the pontifical council for interreligious dialogue – from talks previously scheduled in Cairo but now definitively canceled.

Until recently, moreover, both Mubarak and al-Azhar had also systematically reduced to silence all of the pro-reform voices in the Muslim camp that have distanced themselves from the traditionalist currents. The list of "heretics" who have been killed, wounded, put on trial, imprisoned, silenced, exiled, is startling. It includes a Nobel laureate in literature, the great Naguib Mahfuz.
It is no surprise, therefore, that in these days of general revolt, some of these reformist voices have come out into the open.
Among the other collective actors present in Egypt, the Copts have held back from taking to the streets (a protest march broke out among them only after the massacre in Alexandria). They are afraid that the collapse of the Mubarak regime would make their lives even more difficult than they already are.
The Muslim Brotherhood has also stayed on the sidelines, but for different reasons. They are calculating that either way, the collapse of the regime would be to their advantage.
For the reformist Muslims, however, an opening has been made. And they have made their voices heard.
*
On January 24, on the website of the Egyptian magazine "Yawm al-Sâbi" (The Seventh Day), a text appeared entitled "Document for the renewal of religious discourse." By that night, the text had already been posted on more than 12,000 other Arab websites.
Its importance was pointed out beyond the Arab world by a Jesuit and Islamologist, Samir Khalil Samir, Egyptian by birth, greatly respected by Benedict XVI. He has translated and commented on the essential parts of the document in two articles published by the online agency "Asia News" of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.
The original text of the document, in Arabic, is on this web page of "Yawm al-Sâbi":

> "Document for the renewal of religious discourse"

It is explained there that the document was written following the guidelines of 23 Egyptian Muslim thinkers, indicated name by name.
For Fr. Samir, they are all renowned scholars and believers. They include Nasr Farid Wasel, former grand mufti of Egypt; Gamal al-Banna, brother of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood; the imam Safwat Hegazi; professors Malakah Zirâr and Âminah Noseir; the famous Islamist writer Fahmi Huweidi; the preachers of Islamic missions Khalid al-Gindi, Muhammad Hedâyah, and Mustafa Husni. Three of these are shown at the top of the document, in the photo reproduced on this page.
The document is in 22 bullet points delineating a plan of reform for Islam: from a superficial and external practice of it to a more authentic and essential one.

Here it is, on the basis of a translation from Arabic made "on the fly" by Fr. Samir:
*
DOCUMENT FOR THE RENEWAL OF RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE

Cairo, January 24, 2011
1. Reexamine the collections of the Hadith [the sayings traditionally attributed to Muhammad] and the commentaries of the Qur'an, to purify them.
2. Subject to analysis the political-religious vocabulary of Islam, for example the gizah [the special tax required from the dhimmi, the non-Muslim minorities subjected to limitations].
3. Find a new practice of the concept of interaction between the sexes.
4. Clarify the Islamic view on women and find convenient forms for marriage rights.
5. Islam is a religion of creativity.
6. Explain the Islamic concept of jihâd [inner and outer holy war], and specify norms and obligations that regulate it.
7. Stop the invasion of external religiosity and the extraneous practices that come to us from nearby countries.
8. Separate religion from the state.
9. Purify the heritage of the first centuries of Islam (Salafism), eliminating the myths and aggressions against religion.
10. Give adequate preparation to the missionary preachers, and in this field, open the doors to those who have not studied at the university of Al Azhar, according to very clear criteria.
11. Formulate the virtues common to the three revealed religions.
12. Give guidelines on Western customs, and eliminate incorrect behaviors.
13. Clarify the relationship that must exist among members of the different religions through schools, mosques, and churches.
14. Modify the presentation of the biography of the Prophet in a way adapted for the West.
15. Not keep people away from economic systems with the interdiction of dealing with banks.
16. Recognize the right of women to become president of the republic.
17. Combat sectarian claims, [emphasizing] that the flag of Islam [must be] one.
18. Invite the people to go to God through gratitude and wisdom, and not with threats.
19. Make the teaching of al-Azhar evolve.
20. Recognize the right of Christians to occupy important positions [including] the presidency of the republic.
21. Separate religious discourse from power, and reestablish its connection with the needs of society.
22. Improve the connection between the da'wah [the call to conversion to Islam] and modern technology, the satellite channels and the market for Islamic recordings.
*
These 22 points are followed by an equal number of paragraphs of commentary. Which, in Fr. Samir's judgment, give a glimpse of a real and proper revolution with respect to the traditionalist and puritanical ways of living Islam recently introduced into Egypt, above all by Saudi Arabia.
In his analysis for "Asia News," Fr. Samir sees importance in point 8, with the proposal to separate religion from politics. In the attached commentary – he points out – the word "almaniyyah," secularism, appears. A word that in Arab countries is usually understood as atheism, and therefore automatically condemned. So much so that at the synod on the Middle East held in Rome last October, the bishops avoided using it.
Here, however, the authors of the document write that secularism must not be considered an enemy of religion, but rather as a safeguard against the political or commercial use of religion. "In this context," they write, "secularism is in harmony with Islam, and therefore is juridically acceptable." But not if it is turned into a control of Islamic activities on the part of the state.

Fr. Samir comments:
"This point, although it is greatly debated, demonstrates the fact that in Egypt the concept of civil society is emerging, not immediately in agreement with the Islamic community."
Also noteworthy is point 6 on the holy war. The authors of the document admit it only if it is defensive, and only in Muslim territory. Never with the killing of unarmed persons, women, the elderly, children, priests, monks. Never with attacks on places of prayer. They emphasize that this has been the teaching of Islam for 1400 years, and that those who violate it seriously betray it.
*
The signal given by this document is a small one. But it must not be overlooked. When these issues were discussed previously- as has been done a number of times – in talks between representatives of the Catholic Church and of Islam, they were never picked up and spread in Muslim public opinion.
The "letter of the 138" itself is still unknown to most of the Muslims in the world.
This document from Cairo, on the other hand, was born in the Muslim camp and has immediately spread to a wider circuit of opinion. It is getting a lot of comments on the various websites, most of them in disagreement and hostile, but still proof of interest in discussing the issue.
If one looks at what Benedict XVI has said – in the same year as the lecture in Regensburg and the voyage to Turkey – about the future of Islam, this document from Cairo marks a small step in the very direction hoped for by the pope.

Benedict XVI said to the Roman curia on December 22, 2006:
"The Muslim world today finds itself facing an extremely urgent task that is very similar to the one that was imposed upon Christians beginning in the age of the Enlightenment, and that Vatican Council II, through long and painstaking effort, resolved concretely for the Catholic Church. [...]
On the one hand, we must oppose a dictatorship of positivist reasoning that excludes God from the life of the community and from the public order, thus depriving man of his specific criteria of judgment.
On the other hand, it is necessary to welcome the real achievements of Enlightenment thinking – human rights, and especially the freedom of faith and its exercise, recognizing these as elements that are also essential for the authenticity of religion. Just as in the Christian community there has been lengthy inquiry into the right attitude of faith toward these convictions – an inquiry that certainly will never be concluded definitively – so also the Islamic world, with its own tradition, stands before the great task of finding the appropriate solutions in this regard."
 

Some Christians in Pakistan convert fear into safety
Published On Thu Jan 20 2011 - The Star

Azra Mustafa, a 45-year-old housekeeper in Lahore, Pakistan, recently converted to Islam from Christianity, partly out of fear for her family's safety. She and her children, above, receive lessons at home on Arabic and the Qur’an from a teacher.

Irfan Chaudhary/For the Toronto Star

By Rick Westhead South Asia Bureau
LAHORE, PAKISTAN—Dog-eared and tattered, the blue book is an inch thick and sits on a dented metal table in the corner office of Jamia Naeemia, an Islamic school tucked in a scattering of cement-walled homes and roadside shops.
Many believe the book offers the promise of safety and perhaps even a better chance at prosperity.
The book is a registry used to document religious converts to Islam and officials at Jamia Naeemia say business is brisk nowadays.
At least 20 to 25 former Christians adopt Islam each week by pledging an oath and signing a green and white document in which they accept Islam as “the most beautiful religion” and promise to “remain in the religion of Islam for the rest of my life, acknowledging that blessings are only from God.”
Human rights advocates say it’s no surprise some of Pakistan’s 3 million Christians are adopting Islam. These are vexing and dangerous days for the country’s religious minorities.
Last autumn, politician Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, Pakistan’s most prosperous province, began to campaign on behalf of a Christian woman named Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. On Jan. 4, with debate over the future of Pakistan’s blasphemy law at a fever pitch, Taseer was gunned down by one of his personal security guards.
Public reaction to Taseer’s assassination was stunning.

Pakistan’s lawyers, praised just three years ago for saving this country’s independent judiciary, showered Taseer’s assassin with rose petals on his way into court. A rally to celebrate his death attracted 40,000 in Karachi and thousands more posted tributes to the killer on their Facebook accounts.
“To be honest, I felt good when I heard he was dead; we got rid of him,” said Raghib Naeemia, an iman at Jamia Naeemia. “It’s very clear in the Holy Qur’an that if you say something nasty and harsh about the Holy Prophet, then you become a maloun (cursed) person. And we are supposed to round up those people and kill them very harshly.”
While Taseer was among several high-profile politicians who have argued the blasphemy law should be amended, human rights workers say the real issue is how often the law is misused.
An allegation of blasphemy shouted in the streets can, in an instant, whip a crowd into a frenzy and lead to assaults and dubious arrests.
In one recent example, a Shiite Muslim doctor last month was confronted in his Hyderabad office by a pharmaceutical salesman. After telling the supplier he wasn’t interested in buying anything, the salesman persisted, according to local news reports. The doctor tossed the salesman’s business card in a trash bin.
But because the salesman’s name was Muhammad — the same as the Muslim prophet — he complained to religious leaders that tossing his card the garbage was blasphemy.
The doctor was dragged out of his office and beaten by a mob. Then he was arrested by police and charged with blasphemy.
“No one feels safe right now,” said Nadeem Anthony, a Christian and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. “People are scared.
If you want something from your neighbour or you are angry at him, you say blasphemy and that’s it.”
In the most famous case, the one that has transfixed the nation and led to Taseer’s killing, centres on Bibi, a resident of the Punjabi village of Ittanwali, west of Lahore.
While working in the fields last June, she was sent to fetch water. When some of the other woman refused to drink it because it had been carried by a Christian, a spat ensued about the merits of both religions. The other women later went to a cleric and complained that Bibi has blasphemed the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
A complaint was filed and Bibi was charged, convicted, and given a death sentence.

The spirit of McCarthyism hangs in the air like the clouds of dust that swirl though this historic city’s poor neighbourhoods.
In Lahore last week, a Christian woman got into a heated argument with her sister-in-law, a Muslim. The Muslim woman went outside their home and cried out that her relative had blasphemed against Islam. A group of protesters stormed into the home and beat the woman. One of the ringleaders later bragged that his own wife had hit the woman the hardest.
“Her hand is so swollen that she hasn’t been able to make rotis,” he told the Express Tribune newspaper.
The Christian woman and her husband are now in hiding, the paper reported.
One of the results of this wave of anti-Christian activity unfolded on a sunny afternoon this week. Azra Mustafa, a 45-year-old housemaid, shuffled into the Jamia Naeemia and asked to speak to an imam. A recent convert to Islam, the housemaid and mother of six needed to get the proper documents to prove to her neighbours that she was no longer a Christian.
“It feels great,” she said. “I moved to a Muslim neighbourhood and now I feel like we are one family.”
Each day, Mustafa, whose husband remains Christian and now lives separately from his wife and children, wakes up to attend 5 a.m. prayers before she leaves for work four hours later. By the time she returns home at 7 p.m. from a job that pays her 2,500 rupees ($28) a month, darkness has fallen over her one-room home. After dinner, a teacher comes to her home to give Mustafa and her children 90-minute lessons on Arabic and the Qur’an.

Asked if she felt safer in the wake of her conversion, Mustafa replied, “of course.”
Mustafa sat patiently as the seminary’s staff and students hustled about, preparing to attend a rally scheduled for later that afternoon — a protest that featured at least 3,000 people who at one point chanted “death to Christians and the friends of Christians” as they marched through the heart of Lahore.
As Mustafa gathered her papers together and prepared to leave, Parvaiz Masih, a 23-year-old auto rickshaw diver, walked into the office. He hoped to convert that afternoon, and had already told friends he would now be known as Muhammad Parvaiz.
“I’ve been thinking about it for two or three years,” he said, wrapped in a heavy blue shawl. “About four days ago, I decided to do it.”
A group of a dozen young men studied Parvaiz and a visitor asked if Taseer’s murder and other publicized clashes involving Christians had played a role in his decision. Parvaiz shrugged meekly and wouldn’t answer.
It wasn’t long before another Christian, 26-year-old Naseer, entered Jamia Naeemia. With a crowd of men looking on, she, too, was hesitant to elaborate on why she wanted to follow Islam, but nodded when she was asked whether she believed she would be safer as a Muslim.

Adjusting a pin on the saffron-coloured dupatta that covered her face, Naseer said she had slipped away from her parents’ home earlier in the day to make her way to the seminary. When another visitor asked again whether her personal safety played a role in her decision, Nasreen flashed a look of anger and snapped, “there’s no question.”
It was clear why Naseer and others were hesitant to speak more freely about their concerns over safety. An iman for the madrassa said he would not proceed if someone gave safety as a reason for their conversion.
Peter Jacob, executive director of an advocacy organization funded by the Catholic Church, said an average of 400 Christians annually converted to Islam between 2005 and 2010. In 2011, he expects that number to swell. “It’s going to be very different in these hostile conditions,” Jacob said. “People have no faith in the police or justice system and the kind of fear that exists now was never there before.”
It isn’t only Christians in Pakistan who are feeling uncertain nowadays.
The blasphemy law is playing a role even in battles between Muslims, who make up about 97 per cent of Pakistan’s 180 million people.
Zafar Hilali, a former Pakistani ambassador and foreign secretary, insists the venom over blasphemy has more to do with Pakistan’s class divide than religion.
“The poor are becoming increasingly desperate and don’t know what to do; some religious leaders that are using that,” Hilali said, adding that the instability adds to their influence and political sway.
 

More Anglican priests to join Catholic Church
Three former Anglican bishops were ordained as Catholic priests on 15 January

BBC - 23 January 2011
Three former Anglican bishops were ordained as Catholic priests on 15 January

Seven Anglican priests and 300 members of six congregations are to join a new section of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Diocese of Brentwood says.
The move involves three parishes in Essex, and three in east London.
It is the largest known influx to date into the Ordinariate, which Pope Benedict established for Church of England members unhappy over issues such as the ordination of women.
Three former Anglican bishops have been appointed to lead the Ordinariate.
Ordinariates allow Anglicans opposed to developments including women bishops, gay clergy and same-sex blessings to convert to Rome while maintaining some of their traditions.

The Bishop of Brentwood, the Right Reverend Thomas McMahon, told BBC Essex the Anglicans were unhappy about the church's general move away from the traditions it once shared with Catholics, but described the decision as "a very big move".
"They relinquish their present post, a very big thing, leaving some of their people which brings heartache, into a fairly unknown future, as this ordinariate has only just been brought up.
"It calls for huge faith and huge trust because the future isn't that certain," he said.
Three vicars in Chelmsford, Hockley and Benfleet are among those men being trained to become Catholic deacons. A seventh retired Anglican vicar is also converting.

The Vatican will allow them to maintain a distinct religious identity and spiritual heritage within the Ordinariate.
The Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, said he was disappointed that 300 members in Essex were converting to Catholicism.
"Although I'm sorry these people are going, I do respect their decision," he told BBC Essex.
"But it is a small group of people. The Church of England remains the church for everyone."
According to a timetable set by the Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales, former Anglican clergy and groups of worshippers wishing to enter the Ordinariate will be enrolled as candidates at the beginning of Lent in early March.
They will subsequently be received into the Roman Catholic Church and confirmed. This is likely to take place during Holy Week (17-23 April).

Where the new congregations will worship has yet to be decided.
"It will be on a case-by-case basis," said Father Keith Newton, the former Anglican bishop who now heads the Ordinariate.
"I hope in some cases the Church of England will be generous and there will be some sharing of Anglican premises. But I think normally our groups will be worshipping in Catholic churches," he added.
However, that does not mean that worshippers of the Ordinariate will be "mingled in" with Catholic congregations.

Funded by donations
"They will have a special service in their own right," said Bishop McMahon.
The Ordinariate will be funded initially by donations but its priests will not receive a salary, as they did in the Anglican church.
"We are hoping they will find some part-time work as chaplains in schools and hospitals," said Bishop McMahon. "We have already had some offers from charities."
Former Anglican bishops Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton and John Broadhurst were ordained into the group at Westminster Cathedral on 15 January.
At the time Father Newton estimated that about 50 Anglican clergy might join the Roman Catholic church - along with some members of their congregations.
 

In Baghdad, an Encore of "Murder in the Cathedral"
The truth about the massacre in the Syriac Catholic church. Elimination of Christians as the prime objective of Islamist ideology. The pope meets with the survivors. And issues an appeal to the world

by Sandro Magister

ROME, December 7, 2010 – In the photo above, Benedict XVI is greeting and comforting Iraqi Christians - seven men, sixteen women, and three children - who survived the massacre last October 31 in the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, and were taken to Rome to be treated for their injuries.

It was Wednesday, December 1, at the end of the general audience. Four days later, at the Angelus on Sunday the 7th, pope Joseph Ratzinger again prayed for the victims of the "continual attacks that are taking place in Iraq against Christians and Muslims."
During those same days, the pope cited other "situations of violence, of intolerance, of suffering that there are in the world." But the insistent reference to Iraq seemed to express unusual concern.
In effect, the attacks on Christians in the country of the Tigris and Euphrates denote a hatred that is ever more distinctly religious, Islamist.
The October 31 attack on the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, with 58 dead and many dozens wounded, attacked while they were celebrating the Mass, has been seen in the Vatican as a revealing event.
The dynamics of the massacre leave no doubt. The attackers were wearing explosive belts. They opened fire and threw grenades shouting, "You will all go to hell, but we to paradise. Allah is most great."
During the five hour attack, the terrorists prayed twice and recited the Qur'an as in a mosque.
They devastated the altar, used the crucifix for target practice, and terrorized the children simply because they were "infidels."
What happened over those five terrible hours became known days later, little by little, thanks to the testimonies of the many wounded who were taken for treatment to Rome and other European cities.
Another concern of the pope and of other churchmen concerns the scarce interest that Western governments and public opinion are showing toward these anti-Christian attacks.
If one then looks within the Muslim world, the indifference with which such acts are allowed free rein appears even greater. Voices of condemnation are raised rarely, and feebly. Islamist terrorism seems to be – in common opinion – a simple excess instead of an unacceptable crime.
What seems to find further confirmation here is the idea according to which violence against the infidel is something intrinsic to Islam in general, and not a distortion of it: an idea that was at the center of the lecture in Regensburg, and that pope Ratzinger maintains can be reversed only with an "Enlightenment revolution" on the part of Islam itself.
But to return to the attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, the following is a reconstruction published one month later, on November 30, in the Italian newspaper "Il Foglio."
Another dramatic account, gathered by the survivors, was released the same day on "Asia News," the online agency directed by Fr. Bernardo Cervellera of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions:
> "I try to forget, but I will always see the blood stained church of Baghdad"
Meanwhile, in Baghdad and in other places in Iraq the killing of Christians as such continues: the last two, a married couple attacked in their home on the night of Sunday, December 5.
Members of an Al-Qaeda cell held responsible for the attack in the cathedral have been arrested. The Iraqi authorities have promised special protection measures. But the exodus of Christians from Baghdad and Mosul to the safer Kurdistan, in the extreme north of the country, continues.
_________________

OUR LADY OF THE MASSACRE
by Marco Pedersini

Raghada al-Wafi walks quickly through the streets of the Karrada neighborhood, on the shore of the Tigris that overlooks the armored heart of Baghdad, the Green Zone. Her husband is with her, she is content, and smiles. It is Sunday, October 31, and they have good news to share with Fr. Thair Abdallah, the young priest who united them in matrimony: Raghada is expecting a child. They are going to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the big Syriac Catholic church in the neighborhood, its entrance topped by a big cross.
There are two hundred faithful at the Sunday afternoon Mass, including one Chaldean and one Orthodox family. Fr. Wasim is hearing confessions near the entrance, in the shadow of the massive wooden doors. His associate, the elderly Fr. Rafael Qusaimi, is giving the choir its last instructions before the celebration. The singing begins, and Fr. Thair appears to the right of the apse, walking quickly toward the altar. In the Syrian Catholic liturgical year, it is the Sunday of the dedication. A voice echoes with the readings. The letter to the Hebrews 8:1-12, which cites the prophet Jeremiah: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people." The Gospel of Matthew 16: 13-20: "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God'. Jesus said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it'."

It is 5:15, and Fr. Thair is about to finish the homily, when outside of the church a burst of automatic weapon fire breaks the silence. The priest tries to calm the faithful, the shots have to be aimed somewhere else, he says, there is nothing to be afraid of, it is normal in a country that for years has had ears for nothing but the noises of the war. But the shooting continues, and then comes a loud explosion, near the church door. The faithful are terrorized, they want to escape but there's nowhere to run. "Let's get up, let's pray together," Fr. Thair insists. He has no way of knowing it, but a few steps from the church an armed brigade is attacking the headquarters of the stock exchange. A hand grenade has killed two of the guards watching the building. The other guards have fired back, wounding one of the attackers, who is dragged away by his companions across the square outside of the church. The terrorists retreat with rifles leveled, backs facing the facade, and one of them sets off the explosives that they have loaded into the black Jeep Cherokee parked in front of the church. The Jeep erupts into a cloud of dust, and the security guards are disoriented. They believe that they have just fought off an attack on the stock exchange, and instead this was only a diversion, for an attack on a much larger scale.
Fr. Wasim tries to hold the church's wooden door closed, but it is thrown backward by the brigade of armed men, who burst in with faces uncovered, wearing the uniform of the Iraqi army: a classic trick in the jihadist repertoire. At the back of the church, behind the altar, the other two priests are pushing as many of the faithful as possible toward the sacristy, to shield them from the attack. "Leave them alone, take me!" shouts Fr. Wasim, and is immediately hit with a bullet square in the chest. The one who hits him doesn't even know who it is he is shooting. The priest clasps his hands to his chest, and the man turns to the companion beside him: "Who is this?" "He is a priest," the other replies, and unleashes a burst of gunfire on the dying Fr. Wasim.

"Leave them alone, take me!" Fr. Thair also shouts from the altar. He too is dispatched in an instant, and dies in the arms of his dumbfounded mother.
Fr. Rafael succeeds in pushing about seventy of the faithful into the sacristy, to the right of the altar, before the terrorists throw themselves against the door. It holds, but the attackers find an alternative: the room has a little window at the top without any windowpanes, and tossing a few hand grenades inside is a game for the young butchers. The shrapnel from one of the grenades hits Fr. Rafael, wounding him seriously in the abdomen. Others are hit by the bullets that come through the door. A woman shuts her five-month-old son in a drawer, saving him from the attack.
Fr. Thair's mother cannot know this, but she is about to lose her other son, who had gone with her to Mass. The terrorists make everyone lie down on the floor, except for the young men. These must remain standing. One by one, they shoot them down.
*
If it weren't for its sandy color, the graceful architecture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help would seem like an alien installation compared to the monotonous buildings around it. The imposing cross above the facade stands out among the low houses, a reminder of a time when Baghdad was a multicultural city that welcomed people from all over Iraq. The Tigris surrounds the Karrada neighborhood on three sides, making it a Shiite Muslim peninsula with a strong Christian presence, in the heart of the city. Getting here from the Green Zone is as simple as crossing the river, but the Iraqi special forces don't get to the church until six in the evening, forty-five minutes after the attack.
In the meantime, inside, the armed brigade is holding the survivors hostage, and imposing silence by firing at the first sign of movement. At least three of the jihadists are kids, between fourteen and fifteen years old. Each of them wears an explosive belt – with metal ball bearings to increase the killing power – and has an automatic weapon and hand grenades. The government will say afterward that there were five of them, not from Iraq, and that they died during the attack. The overwhelming proof of their foreign origin is held to be the five passports (three Yemeni and two Egyptian) found in the rubble, which was cleaned up hastily the next day while the army blocked the entrance to the church so that no one could see the devastation. The witnesses confirm that the attackers did not speak Iraqi dialects, but the classical Arabic that is used among Arabs of different nationalities. Going by their accents, there were definitely Egyptians, and also a Syrian. This is a relevant detail, seeing that the strategy of Al-Qaeda in Iraq is controlled from areas on the Syrian border, where terrorist leaders operate, like Abu Khalaf, the military commander who was killed recently, and their great ideologue, the seventy-year-old "sheik" Issa al Masri. Issa, which means "Jesus" in Arabic.

The witness accounts, however, tell of eight persons and at least one other who commanded the operations from the terrace around the roof of the church. There may have been even more, to judge by the operation in which almost one month later, on Saturday, November 27, the Iraqi security forces arrested members of an Al-Qaeda cell in the al Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad: twelve men, with toxic material and six tons of explosives, who confessed to taking part in the attack on the church. The initial plan must have been different: bursting in, the jihadist brigade had with it four cases of explosives, which were supposed to explode around the perimeter of the church, collapsing it and killing all of the two hundred faithful present at the Sunday Mass. Why this did not happen is a secret that the five terrorists have taken with them to the grave, or perhaps it is buried in the mind of the unidentified person in civilian clothes whom a guard swears he saw leaving the school next to the church. The survivors recount that about halfway through the attack, one of the terrorists called someone outside with a walkie-talkie. "We're out of bullets, what should we do?" A quick order, with a sinister result: "Okay, now we'll start using the bombs."
Inside the church, while they are keeping the faithful hostage, the terrorists seem strangely relaxed, in spite of the siege by the Iraqi army and the muffled droning of the American helicopters watching the situation from the air. They are so comfortable that they first permit themselves the maghrib, the afternoon prayer, and then the ishà, the evening prayer, among the corpses of their victims.
Outside, the armed forces are waiting for who knows what, because it is clear to everyone that there will be no offer of mediation, from either side. A lay employee of the Baghdad curia who has rushed to the site of the siege tries to make himself useful. He is determined, he wants to make use of his detailed knowledge of the building layout to unblock the situation. But as soon as he tries to offer his help to the soldiers, he is told bluntly "this is our business, get out of here." The soldiers also brusquely push away a man who is begging them to do something to save his wife and two children, a boy and a girl, held hostage in the church. The standoff lasts almost three hours.
*
Night falls. The walls of Our Lady of Perpetual Help turn red, then fade to black. The siege is suspended in an unreal sunset, muddied by the mist, for the entire time from the arrival of the Iraqi army to the final blitz to try to free the hostages. Intermittent gunfire breaks the silence, marking the rhythm of the confrontation into the distance. Neither side studies the other: the wait is on to enact an ending already written.
The terrorists shoot anyone who pulls out a cell phone, as demonstrated by the wounds of two girls hit in the hand and arm when their phones started to ring. They shoot at the first suspicious sound, and the children who cry are killed instantly. Among the splayed bodies, the dead and living are piled up together. One girl recounts: "A chandelier had fallen on me, pinning me down by my side. I had shards of glass stuck in my skin, a man's foot on my head and a girl's body pushing down on my chest, covering me with the blood that was pouring from her wounds." As she heard the bullets whizzing past her, she was able to call her family waiting for her at home: "I was sure that I was going to die, and I wanted to say goodbye to them for the last time: I love you." A member of the brigade shoots the furnace, so the gas will asphyxiate anyone nearby.
The crucifix becomes a shooting target. The terrorists riddle it with gunfire – the survivors recount – shouting mockingly: "Come on, tell him to save you!" And again: "You are infidels. We are here to avenge the burning of the Qur'an and the Muslim women imprisoned in Egypt." They are alluding to the false news, denied even by the Muslim Brotherhood but used as a pretext by Al-Qaeda in the offensive against the Christians, according to which the Egyptian Coptic Church locked up in a convent Camilia Chehata and Wafa Constantine, the wives of two Coptic priests, as punishment for their conversion to Islam.

When the bullets stop flying, the grenade thrown by a terrorist also ends the life of Raghada and of the child she is carrying in her womb. According to some witnesses, the woman met her death while being clutched by one of the terrorists, who had grabbed her and then blown himself up. Nor would her husband be alive to see the raid by the Iraqi army, which starts piling in through the main entrance of the church in a single clump, the umpteenth proof of the stupidity of unprepared and poorly led soldiers. "The Marines are more intelligent," notes Fr. Giorgio Jahola, a priest from Mosul who has come to Rome to have his injuries tended to at the Policlinico Gemelli. "The whole perimeter of the church is surrounded by windows, which can easily be reached from the terrace. The side entrances were usually blocked by cement barriers, but the authorities had had them removed during the two days before the attack. So other passageways were available."
The terrorists were ready: they had already recited the prayer of martyrdom: "Allah is most great, Allah is most great, there is no God but Allah." And they were determined to blow themselves up. Two of them succeeded, a third was stopped by the Iraqi soldiers when, at 9:05, they disconnected the electricity and a voice shouted: "We are the Iraqi forces, get up and be calm: we will save you."
The blitz will not be remembered among the most dazzling in history: the exchange of gunfire lasted for twenty minutes, until 9:25, when the nave and sacristy of the church were liberated. The entrance to the church was then unblocked, and, amid the disorder of the emergency workers, relatives started to run frantically from one hospital to another, in the hope of finding their loved ones still alive somewhere. Inside and around the church, 58 dead were counted, not including the attackers.
Three days later, on Tuesday, women dressed in black accompany seven coffins wrapped in the Iraqi flag. The human rights minister, Wijdan Mikheil, is at the ceremony together with the Shiite political leader Ammar al Hakimm, whose face is streaming with tears. The smoke of the incense fills the air, while more than seven hundred people greet the caskets covered with flowers that advance slowly toward the altar. Two of them hold the bodies of Fr. Thair Fr. Wasim. One moment more and they will be buried together in the cemetery under their church, poor and ravaged.
 

Report finds rising discrimination against Christians in Europe
By Alan Holdren, Rome Correspondent

Rome, Italy, Dec 13, 2010 / 03:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In February, patients in the surgery unit of a public hospital in Bad Soden, Germany, watched as hospital workers moved methodically through the unit taking down 12 crucifixes that hung on the walls of the Protestant-run institution. The workers then threw the crosses into trash bags.
Why were the crosses removed? Because a Muslim patient had complained and the hospital had reason to think it might be sued if the crosses were kept hanging.
In November 2008, a veteran family law judge in Murcia, Spain was fired, fined the equivalent of nearly $25,000, and barred from practicing law for 18 years.
His crime? He delayed the adoption of a little girl by the lesbian partner of the girl’s mother.
Judge Fernando Ferrín Calamita, 51, a practicing Catholic and father of seven, made a legal argument that he was acting in the child’s best interest and in conscientious objection to Spain’s adoption laws.
These were among dozens of examples of religious intolerance against Catholics and other Christians documented in a new report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe.
The 40-page study was released at the observatory’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Dec. 10. The report comes just days after the conclusion of a summit of European leaders in which a top Vatican official urged leaders to pay more attention to discrimination against Rome, Italy, Dec 13, 2010 / 03:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In February, patients in the surgery unit of a public hospital in Bad Soden, Germany, watched as hospital workers moved methodically through the unit taking down 12 crucifixes that hung on the walls of the Protestant-run institution. The workers then threw the crosses into trash bags.
Why were the crosses removed? Because a Muslim patient had complained and the hospital had reason to think it might be sued if the crosses were kept hanging.
In November 2008, a veteran family law judge in Murcia, Spain was fired, fined the equivalent of nearly $25,000, and barred from practicing law for 18 years.
His crime? He delayed the adoption of a little girl by the lesbian partner of the girl’s mother.
Judge Fernando Ferrín Calamita, 51, a practicing Catholic and father of seven, made a legal argument that he was acting in the child’s best interest and in conscientious objection to Spain’s adoption laws.
These were among dozens of examples of religious intolerance against Catholics and other Christians documented in a new report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe.
The 40-page study was released at the observatory’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Dec. 10. The report comes just days after the conclusion of a summit of European leaders in which a top Vatican official urged leaders to pay more attention to discrimination against  Christians.
While religious persecution and intolerance are usually associated with dictatorships or regimes run by religious extremists, the report details the rise of a secularist attitude in European societies that increasingly leads to intolerance against Christian beliefs.
The Observatory’s director, Dr. Gudrun Kugler, said the abuses included the denial of Christians’ rights to free speech and freedom of conscience.
“Religious freedom is endangered especially with regard to its public and its institutional dimension,” she said. “We also receive many reports on the removal of Christian symbols, misrepresentation and negative stereotyping of Christians in the media, and social disadvantages for Christians, such as being ridiculed or overlooked for promotion in the work place.“
Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi said the new report “deserves attention.”
"It is a base on which to judge the dimensions and the nature of the phenomenon” of intolerance and discrimination” he said in an editorial aired on Vatican television.
A great many of the cases the Observatory cite involve Christians being punished for expressing their beliefs about homosexuality and defending their beliefs in traditional marriage.
Often, the report said, anti-discrimination laws are applied in such a way that “causes indirect side-effect discrimination of Christians.” In addition, the report said, “Hate speech legislation has a tendency to indirectly discriminate against Christians, criminalizing core elements of Christian teaching.”
For instance, in July, Spain’s socialist government, which backs gay “marriage,” fined a Christian  television network 100,000 euros for running a series of advertisements in favor of the family and opposing the homosexual lifestyle.
Also in recent years, the commission reported, bishops in Belgium and Scotland faced threats of prosecution from members of Parliament for defending the Church’s teaching on marriage.
The report also raises questions about the neutrality of the European Court of Human Rights, which has gained increasing authority with the push for European unification. The court, for instance, has ruled that crucifixes displayed in Italian schoolrooms violates students’ religious freedom.
The report also cited a 2009 case in which the Catholic University of Milan decided not to renew the contract of a professor who declared in class that Christianity promoted “unmerciful dogmas” and declared original sin to be a “fiction.” The professor also said that “Jesus was through and through a bad human being” and that the Gospel was the “most frightening message ever made known to mankind.”
Later in 2009, the human rights court said Italy had violated the professor’s right to freely express his opinion — effectively placing the professor’s rights to speech above a Christian institution’s rights to preserve and promote its identity through its hiring practices.
The report also details a rising number of what it calls “hate crimes” directed at Christians and Christian symbols, including arson and vandalism of churches across Europe.
At the recently concluded meeting of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, echoed many of the themes raised in this new report.
“It is well documented that Christians are the most discriminated and persecuted religious group,” he said in an address to delegates.
“The international community must combat intolerance and discrimination against Christians with the same determination with which the it fights against hate with respect to other religious communities," he added.
In his comments on the new report, Fr. Lombardi reminded listeners that while Pope Benedict was in England this past September, he also expressed his "concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity ... even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance."
The new report, he said, is an opportunity for reflection and commitment, "not only from those who work for the defense of Christianity and its values, but also of all honest people truly desirous of protecting the values of tolerance and freedom of expression and religion."
 

Former New Age Instructor & Hollywood Actress. New Age Deception, Sharon Lee Giganti's Conversion Story
June 28, 2010

by: Lori Miller
McKinney, TX (MetroCatholic)

It is a real treat to listen to a talented speaker, and even more fantastic when that person speaks about her passion.  But, when that passion is all wrapped up in love for Christ, the experience becomes an exceptional event.  I was treated to this special blessing at the recent GRN(Guadalupe Radio Network) Speaker Series event.  Former Hollywood actress and New Age instructor,  Sharon Lee Giganti presented “The New age Deception”, where she spoke of the dangers of the New Age movement  while artfully interweaving  her own testimony to deliver a powerful message about the all-consuming power and love of the one true God.  Giganti’s story is a wonderful testament to how God can make “beauty rise from ashes.”
Giganti was baptized a Catholic and received Catholic education until the 8th grade.  During the remainder of her teen years, she fell away from the Catholic faith.  As she looks back on this experience, she realized that the Catholic education she received was watered down and did not give her a foundation.  She did not know the truths of the faith as she entered adulthood.  At the height of her acting career, she began looking for something more to life.  She asked a “spiritual friend” how to come to know God and grow spiritually.  That person recommended a book entitled A Science of Mind.  She devoured it and another book called New Design for Living.  In these books, she learned about New Age theology and philosophy, which began her path to believing that it was the key to happiness.  Soon after, she was a follower of the spirit guide who called himself Abraham.  This spirit was channeled through a woman named Ester Hicks.  Since her reconversion to the Catholic faith, Giganti has concluded that this spirit is a demon rather than the self-portrayed loving spirit who offered help and wisdom from the non-physical world.  (Giganti shared that at one point, the spirit Abraham said he was “legion” which is the same name the demons used when Jesus casted them out of a man in Luke 8:26-39.)  While following the teachings of the spirit Abraham, Giganti learned how to live a life worthy of a New Age believer:  a life that would ultimately lead to tragic events and circumstances.

Many of the New Age philosophies are counter-Christian and much of it is borrowed from other world religions (Sufism, Hindu, Zen, and Buddhism).   The spirit Abraham taught about the “Law of Attraction”, which states that one creates one’s own reality with one’s thoughts.  Simply put, if you think about good things, then you will attract good things; if you are happy, then you will attract things that make you happy.  This teaching was further popularized with the book The Secret, which has achieved nationwide popularity thanks to Oprah Winfrey. Additionally, the book A Course in Miracles, has become a popular instruction manual for the New Age movement, along with writings by Marianne Williamson and Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth) and other self proclaimed new age experts.  In all of these New Age teachings, counter-Christian philosophy abounds, such as:

There is no sin; no right nor wrong; no good nor bad
God is everyone and everything.  The human soul is God.
You have many lifetimes to live, so if life isn’t going well, then you will have another chance to get it right
You are a super being and create your own reality with your thoughts.  You are free to do anything you want because you are the only thing real in your reality.  Everything else is an illusion or a “psychic nightmare”
There is no death.  One “reemerges” back into God.
Your feelings and desires are your wisest guidance system. No desire is unacceptable and no place is off-limits.
The devil and hell do not exist (the spirit Abraham said that “the Devil is a whole bunch of hoopla about a whole bunch of nothing.”)
You attract good things by thinking about good things.  You must accept that there are bad things in the world for other people to attract.  When you are feeling joy, bliss, or ecstasy, you are connected to your God-force.  When you are feeling sadness or despair, then you are cutting yourself off from your God-force.
With these teachings, Giganti found that, instead of growing more loving, she grew more callous.  She shunned those who were suffering because she did not want think about suffering and thus loose her God connection.  She realized that she became more animal-like than human.  Using these teachings, she counseled others, which sometimes led them to engage in destructive behaviors such as abortions, adultery, and divorce.  After three horrific tragedies in her life, she came to realize that the teachings in the Bible are truth and that Christ is the Word Incarnate.
The first tragedy involved a young girl who was seeking council on end-of-life issues, particularly suicide.  She wanted to know if suicide was acceptable, and if her family would be devastated by her self-inflicted death.  Giganti counseled her using the teachings of the spirit Abraham.  She told her that every death was a suicide, since we decide when we re-emerge into the non-physical dimension.  Since there is neither good nor bad, suicide was wrong only if she thought it was wrong.  She further explained that her family would not be devastated if she could imagine that they wouldn’t.  This young girl took her own life the next day.  This event was tragic, but it did not pull Giganti away from the new age way of life.  It did not occur to her to ask the girl why she wanted to end her life, because the conversation would engage Giganti in the girl’s suffering and pull her away from her good thoughts and God force.  She wasn’t saddened by the girl’s death because she didn’t really die; according to the spirit Abraham’s teachings, she just reemerged into the non-physical world.
The second tragedy involved another young girl who was a student in The Course in Miracles.  She used New Age thought to rationalize her erratic and destructive behavior.  She would frequently leave her young kids alone to go out and party.  As long as she thought her kids were fine, then that is the reality she created for herself.  She continued to spiral down this destructive path and disappear on binges for days at a time.  She finally decided to wake up from her “psychic nightmare” by putting her kids in the car and driving into a brick wall.  Thankfully, she did not have the opportunity to act on this decision because her kids were taken away from her by CPS, and she was committed to a psychiatric hospital.
The final tragedy hit closest to home.  Her brother battled his own demons through addiction.  As his addictions took hold of him, his behavior became more destructive.  She chose not to reach out to him.  Instead, she decided the best way to deal with his situation was to visualize a better life for him.  She counseled her family to do the same.  They did not intervene or offer the help he needed to turn his life around.  His behavior worsened and tragedy struck when he decided to take the life of his four-month-old son.  He rationalized that he was doing the baby a favor by not having to live in this world.  Her brother is now serving a life sentence for murder without the possibility of parole.
The tragic events that lead to the death of her nephew at the hands of her brother shook her to the core.  She began to question the New Age teachings because they had failed to save her nephew and brother.  She reached out to some new age friends who were reading the Bible, and she decided to check it out.  After reading the Bible, she became convinced that the teachings it contained were the Truth.  This began her walk back to the Catholic faith.  Eventually, she returned home and gave Jesus the ashes of her life destroyed in the fire of the New Age movement.
Giganti has a new mission in life: she seeks “to help others learn the dangers of New Age thinking” and to show them how “Jesus Christ leads to life, and any other way leads to destruction.”  She says that people are attracted to New Age thinking because it lets them feel in control of their own lives.  It relieves guilt and suffering, giving people a false freedom because it teaches that the only real being in one’s reality is one’s self.  These teachings are attractive but they are false.  Giganti knows first-hand how this path leads one only to sadness and tragedy.  The New Age movement teaches one to live a self-centered lifestyle with little regard to the consequences of morally wrong choices.  Once these choices are made, the consequences are real and the life of the new age follower and those around her suffers or is destroyed.  Following the teachings of Christ is what leads the Children of God to life, truth, love and joy.
Giganti urges us to know the truths of our faith.  We should be lifelong learners in the faith and pass that knowledge and passion on to our children.  If we know and follow the teachings of Christ, then we will be able to discern what philosophies and activities are counter-Christian and fall under the new age movement.  She warns that the diabolical tools used by mediums such as tarot cards, rune stones, and Ouija boards are very real. In the world of Harry Potter, Twilight and The Wizards of Waverly Place, our children need to know the dangers of such activities.  We must instill in them the desire to live in the light of God and not be attracted to the darkness of the world.  She also reminds us that the supernatural power of God cannot be harnessed by man.  Any energy called upon to heal body, mind, and soul is not from God.  God is the great healer whom we should call upon in our hour of need.  Exposing ourselves to such practices puts our lives and souls in close proximity to diabolical forces.
Giganti’s courage not only to walk away from the New Age movement, but to speak out against it is truly inspiring.  As a former New Age instructor, her public denouncing of New Age thought and reasoning takes an incredible amount of courage and faith.  And she does this out of love for her brothers and sisters in Christ.  Just as Christ doesn’t want to lose even one sheep from his flock, Giganti doesn’t want to lose anymore brothers and sisters to this destructive movement.  Her heart is beating with great love for our Lord and his flock.  Let us all pray for the success of the mission Christ has called her to live.
 

Vatican: Pope Compares Fundamentalism With Secularism
By GAIA PIANIGIANI
Published: December 17, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI compared religious fundamentalism to secularism on Thursday, decrying violent attacks on Christians in the Middle East and more subtle hostility from Western institutions. “It should be clear that religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that both represent extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity,” he said. He also decried “hostility and prejudice” against Christians in Asia, Africa and in the Middle East, citing the October attack on a Syrian Catholic church in Baghdad in which 58 people died. “Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith,” he said.

Calling on Europe to be “reconciled with its own Christian roots,” the pope offered harsh, if oblique, criticism of recent decisions in European courts allowing the removal of crucifixes from public buildings and the legalization of gay marriage.

“Whenever the legal system at any level, national or international, allows or tolerates religious or antireligious fanaticism, it fails in its mission, which is to protect and promote justice and the rights of all,” he said
 
 

Thousands of Germans quit Catholic Church

Thousands of Germans have quit the Catholic Church in the wake of a series of sex and corruption scandals that have left the institution reeling.

The Bishop of Osnabruck Franz-Josef Bode falls to the floor at the Dome of Osnabrueck. Bode is the first German Bishop to apologize for the sexual abuse scandals Photo: EPA

By Matthew Day, Warsaw 4:29PM GMT 20 Dec 2010 The Thelegraph

In one diocese alone, Rottenburg-Stuttgart, by mid December 17,659 had turned their back on the Church, compared to 4,563 for the whole of 2009, according to new research by the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper and the DPA press agency.
Augsberg, reflecting a downward trend experienced by most dioceses, saw its flock decline as 11,351 left the Church in comparison to the 6,953 the year, while in Trier 7,029 people quit, a 2,500 increase on the previous year.
"I have never experienced anything like this since my ordination in 1969," said Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann of Wurzburg, adding that "every single departure is one too many".
The bishop suggested that the exodus was linked to the sex and corruption scandals that have blighted the Catholic Church this year both in Germany and abroad.

The desertation poses potential financial problems for the Church – under German law a recognised member of a church can donate some of their taxes to the institution, so if people renounce their membership the flow of money diminishes.
 

Pope says ordaining women is not the church's choice to make

By Rita Fitch
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his latest book, Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed that the church has "no authority" to ordain women as priests and rejected the idea that the rule was formed only because the church originated in a patriarchal society.
The pope said that man did not produce the form of the church, and does not have the power to change it. Christ gave the form of the priesthood when he chose his male Apostles, he said in the book-interview, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times."
"The church has 'no authority' to ordain women. The point is not that we are saying we don't want to, but that we can't," he said. This requires obedience by Catholics today, he added.
"This obedience may be arduous in today's situation, but it is important precisely for the church to show that we are not a regime based on arbitrary rule. We cannot do what we want," the pope said.
In the book, the pope responded to the argument that ordination was restricted to men only because priestesses would have been unthinkable 2,000 years ago.
"That is nonsense, since the world was full of priestesses at the time," the pope answered. "All religions had their priestesses, and the astonishing thing was actually that they were absent from the community of Jesus Christ."
The pope said there can be no question of discrimination in the church because women perform so many meaningful functions.
"Women have so eminent a significance that in many respects they shape the image of the church more than men do," he said, noting famous religious figures such as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Pope urges respect for embryos

By NICOLE WINFIELD
The Associated Press

Saturday, November 27, 2010; 3:16 PM 
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI called Saturday for politicians, the media and world leaders to show more respect for human life at its earliest stages, saying embryos aren't just biological material but dynamic, autonomous individuals.
Benedict made the comments during a vespers service to mark the beginning of Advent, the period leading up to Christmas when the faithful mark the birth of Christ. This year, the Vatican urged bishops around the world to make the service a vigil for "nascent human life."
The service came amid continued fallout from the pope's remarks about condoms and HIV contained in a book-length interview published this week.
While stressing that condoms aren't a real or moral solution to fighting HIV, Benedict said people who use them are edging toward a greater morality because they're aiming to protect their partners from HIV - even when a pregnancy is possible.
His comments set off intense debate among theologians and lay Catholics alike amid confusion about what he meant and whether he was changing church teaching about artificial contraception. He was not, but the confusion nevertheless required not one but two papally approved clarifications from the Vatican spokesman.
As if to reaffirm church teaching on the sacredness of human life, Benedict stressed the need to protect human life from the moment of conception in his homily Saturday.
Science itself has shown how autonomous the embryo is, how it interacts with the mother and develops in a coordinated and complex way, Benedict said.
"It's not an accumulation of biological material, but a new living being, dynamic and marvelously ordered, a new individual of the human species," Benedict said.
He urged politicians, economic leaders and the media to promote a culture that respected life, decrying the "cultural tendencies" that seek to undermine it.
"Unfortunately, even after birth the life of children continue to be exposed to abandonment, hunger, misery, sickness, abuse, violence and exploitation," Benedict said.
 

Wednesday, 24 November 2010
mercatornet.com
Reorienting sexuality

The idea that sexual orientation is fixed is based on an impoverished view of the human person, says a former lesbian.

If you have undergone modern sexual education, followed the gay-marriage debates on television, or simply unconsciously imbibed the sexual ethos of this culture, you are probably familiar with the idea of sexual orientation. This is the theory that every human being has an innate, fixed set of sexual attractions either for the opposite sex, for their own sex, or for both.
This is the Western understanding of homosexuality that has developed over the course of the past couple of hundred years. It was first formulated around the time of the French Revolution, and gained currency with the rise of the psychological sciences during the twentieth century. For about a hundred years now the fundamental point of disagreement has centered around the question of whether same-sex attraction is a biological trait, or a psychological disorder. At the moment, most gay-rights rhetoric assumes the former (though this is by no means universally believed within the gay community) while most conservative organizations assume the latter.

What remains unexamined is the assumption that this is an accurate way of envisioning human sexuality in the first place. There has been some work by feminist and lesbian scholars suggesting that female sexuality, at least, is more fluid than “biology” suggests. The terms “LUG” (Lesbian Until Graduation) and “hasbian” both bear tribute to the fact that some women experience same-sex attractions at a particular point in their lives, and then transition into a heterosexual identity without suffering any psychological upheaval. Other women may comfortably embrace a heterosexual identity and lifestyle for years, only to have same-sex attractions arise late in life.

"I was certain that I was a lesbian"

I fell into the former category: earlier in my life, I was certain that I was a lesbian. I was secretly involved in a lesbian relationship for years, and my attempts to date boys on the side ranged from dismal to disastrous. I found physical intimacy with men uncomfortable at best. When I became a Catholic, I still believed that homosexuality was immutable, and I did not believe in “praying away the gay”. It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when I found myself falling in love, and being physically attracted towards a man. 

Bisexuality would not seem to account for the change. I have not experienced on-going, relatively equal attraction for both sexes. There has been a substantial, noticeable, and decisive swing in the attractions themselves. I would now find the prospect of sexual involvement with a woman just as uncomfortable and sexually unappealing as I once found the idea of intimacy with men.

There is some acknowledgment of this sort of thing in the scientific literature, but almost never discussed in the public forum. The dogmatic assertion that if you are gay once, you will always be gay, overshadows the real experience of women who have undergone a change in their sexual attractions.

Although this experience is more common among women, there is evidence that some men have similar experiences. David Morrison, in Beyond Gay, describes a change in his attractions following a religious conversion. Other writers, usually evangelical Christians, have reported a similar experience. On the other side of the fence there are men like Jack Malebranche, whose book Androphilia describes his homosexuality in terms of preference and choice. It was something that he tried because he was “a kid who wanted to try everything that everyone else was afraid of”, and found that he liked it.

The grace of God and electroshock therapy

The primary problem with the idea of innate gayness is that it undermines the integration of sexuality into a complete human identity. Those who place homosexuality at the center of their identity do so by choice, not by necessity: they choose to prioritize sexuality above other aspects of the self, and to build up an identity from that foundation. Other people may place different concerns – ideology, religion, culture, family – on a more important footing.

Unfortunately, the current models of homosexuality deny the legitimacy of such choices. Literature on the subject routinely claims that if someone experiences homosexual desire, it is deeply injurious not to pursue that desire. Other considerations are to be modified or cast aside in order to develop a gay or lesbian identity.

Most of the literature that takes this line justifies it by pointing to “cures” that have proved ineffective and damaging. The twentieth century produced some truly macabre methods to change same-sex attraction: testicular transplants, electroshock therapies, Clockwork Orange style brainwashing experiments, and various forms of psychosocial humiliation have all been tried, with predictably bad results.

From this arises the assumption that anyone who changes their sexuality must be doing something equally self-deforming and bizarre. I was put into this pigeonhole once when I was portrayed in a made-for-TV movie; the character loosely based on myself had suffered electroshock therapy and was married to a man who looked more like a woman than she did. In reality, I’ve had no contact with shrinks, or with ex-gay self-help groups, or with straight-boot-camp, and I’m married to a man who resembles a Byzantine icon of an Old Testament patriarch.

For me, as for others, it was a matter of other things being more important than sexuality. My ideological and philosophical identity was always the most fundamental aspect of my self; when my ideology shifted, my sexuality followed it quite naturally, without any need for bizarre or damaging outside interventions.

Obviously this is not the case for everyone, but it is common enough to seriously undermine the idea of a fixed sexual orientation.

Shifting attractions

Sexual orientation cannot be reduced either to biology or to psychology, because sexual attraction cannot be so reduced. Attraction is a complicated matter. People are attracted to others who share a similar sense of aesthetics, to people with similar ideological convictions, to those who resemble characters from movies or books that are personally appealing, to those with whom they have close emotional relationships, and so forth. We are not like animals whose attractions are based solely on the length of the dominant male’s eye-stalks, or the color of his plumage.

Everyone has had the experience of being sexually attracted to someone, and then having the fires doused upon learning that the object of their affections has odious habits or holds an offensive set of beliefs. Most people have also had the experience of finding someone physically unappealing at first, and of coming to feel differently as an emotional relationship develops.

To a certain degree this is the result of natural change, but it is also influenced by one’s choices. Emotional relationships develop because of the choice to spend time with another. Ideological positions are a collaboration between the intellect and the will. Aesthetics can change as a result of deliberately seeking or eschewing certain types of beauty. Human personality is not fixed; it is malleable. It may not be possible to make radical changes all at once, but the will is much more powerful than the rhetoric of biological determinism gives it credit for.

This is just as true on the level of classes of people as it is on the level of individuals. A man who is originally repulsed by people of different races can teach himself to see the beauty in those who do not resemble him. A woman who finds men frightening or off-putting can develop an increased understanding of, and respect for masculinity. These changes are not only possible, they happen all the time – and they can happen to people who think that they are incapable of having a sexual relationship either with women or with men.

Which is why I do not believe in sexual orientation as a fixed variable in human personality. Human identity is too rich, too multifaceted, too unpredictable and varied for such a simplistic notion to encompass or explain it.

Melinda Selmys is the author of Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism (Our Sunday Visitor, 2009). She is a regular columnist with the National Catholic Register, and the fiction editor for www.vulgatamagazine.org
 

Pakistani Christian Accused of Blasphemy Set Free

Benedict XVI Had Appealed for Her Freedom

WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).- A Pakistani woman sentenced to death for allegedly blaspheming Mohammed has been released from prison following an international outcry that included a specific plea on her behalf from the Pope.

Asia Bibi was pardoned by the president of Pakistan, the group International Christian Concern reported today.

Bibi, 45, was charged a year ago for blaspheming Mohammed in a conflict with fellow farm workers. She was sentenced to death earlier this month.

At the conclusion of last Wednesday's general audience, Benedict XVI appealed for her freedom.

He mentioned the plight of Pakistani Christians in general, who along with Hindus make up only a 5% minority in the Muslim country.  "In these days, the international community is following with great concern the difficult situation of Christians in Pakistan, who are often victims of violence and discrimination," the Holy Father said.   Then he mentioned Bibi specifically: "Today I particularly express my spiritual closeness to Mrs. Asia Bibi and her family, asking that she be given full liberty as soon as possible. As well, I pray for those who find themselves in similar situations, so that their human dignity and fundamental rights be fully respected."

Human rights groups have long decried Pakistan's blasphemy laws as a means by which people take advantage of religious minorities.

It is reported that Bibi is now in hiding out of fear for her safety. There are precedents of those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan being killed by vigilantes.
 

November 13, 2010
Afghan convert to Christianity is charged with crimes punishable by death
Mindy Belz (Associated Press)

For more than a decade, the second Sunday in November has been commemorated in churches worldwide as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This year it is also the day that Sayed Mossa, an Afghan convert from Islam to Christianity, has been scheduled to stand trial.

Afghan government officials announced earlier this week that they have scheduled that court date for Mossa’s case—which WORLD has been covering (see “Fugitives,” Aug. 28, 2010, and “Deeds done in darkness,” Nov. 20, 2010, which includes a letter written by Mossa pleading for help)—even though the charges and his legal representation remain in doubt.

According to Westerners closely following his case in Kabul, Mossa is likely to be charged with espionage and with conversion to Christianity, or apostasy—crimes that may be punishable by death under Islamic law. The court session may be televised, officials have said, and it is likely that Mossa will be asked to renounce his faith.

Mossa was arrested in late May as part of a crackdown against Afghan converts to Christianity that followed a television broadcast of several baptisms. He has been held in a prison in Kabul under worsening conditions and has been subjected to daily beatings, torture, and sexual abuse. Court-appointed legal counsel, all Muslims, have refused to take his case because he is considered an apostate. Officials from the International Committee on the Red Cross, where Mossa worked for 15 years, visited him twice, and he has received other Western visitors, including representatives from the U.S. embassy. They confirmed that Mossa had been tortured and successfully pressured the Afghan government to move him to another prison, away from other prisoners. That took place Oct. 29.

But diplomatic pressure has so far failed to secure Mossa’s release or the dropping of charges—despite Afghanistan’s avowed interest in being a legitimate member of the international community. The Karzai government is a signatory of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which calls for freedom of religion and equal access to “a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.” It also states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Afghanistan’s constitution, enacted with U.S. assistance in 2003, also states in Article 2: “Followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.”

Mossa, 45, is married and the father of six children. His oldest child is 8 years old and one is disabled. Mossa himself is an amputee. His case comes to trial as radical Muslims with ties to al-Qaeda announced earlier this week that Christians in the Middle East are “legitimate targets,” and follows the bombings and hostage-takings that have targeted churches and Christian homes, killing over 60 in Baghdad.

As one Westerner working in Kabul stated to U.S. officials regarding the case, “The U.S. government has been actively engaged in Afghanistan since 2001, spending billions of dollars, exerting millions of hours of manpower, and losing precious American lives in order to ensure that the Afghan people enjoy these basic human rights. If one cannot enjoy these rights, none can enjoy them.”

UPDATE (Nov. 15, 2010): Court officers on Sunday postponed the trial of Afghan convert Sayed Mossa due to the Muslim holiday of Eid. They say trial will be held next Sunday, Nov. 21. Meanwhile, according to Westerners close to the case, Afghan officials have not formally stated the charges against Mossa (though they are likely to be conversion from Islam and espionage), they have not allowed him legal representation, and they have refused requests from family members to see his court file.
 

Over 100 Catholic clergy attend exorcism training in Baltimore
By Marianne Medlin, Staff Writer

         Bishop Thomas Paprocki

Baltimore, Md., Nov 17, 2010 / 05:58 am (CNA).- Despite the intrigue and attention given to the topic of exorcism, the primary work of the Devil lies in daily “temptation,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki said, following a successful exorcism training weekend hosted by the U.S. bishops in Baltimore.
The Conference on the Liturgical and Pastoral Practice of Exorcism took place Nov. 12-13, just before the bishops' annual fall assembly. According to Bishop Paprocki, who chairs the Bishop's Committee on Canonical Affairs, the program came about after an increasing number of inquiries from priests in the U.S.
Because only a “small number” of priests have undergone exorcism training, the conference was held “really to provide some guidance for bishops,” he said.
He explained that exorcism training falls under the jurisdiction of the canonical affairs committee because of the requirement in canon law that says a priest needs permission from his bishop to perform an exorcism.
Over 100 bishops and priests attend the two day conference, which Bishop Paprocki said they described as “very helpful.”
In an interview with CNA, he said that “the reality is that an exorcism is really rare. It's really something rather extraordinary because possession – a person being possessed by a devil or demon – is also very rare.”
“Given the fact that possession and exorcisms are rare, people tend to think that that's the only activity of the Devil,” and they mistakenly think that “if I'm not possessed, I don't need to worry about the Devil,” he said.
However, it's “quite the opposite,” he explained. “The ordinary work of the Devil is temptation and everybody has to face that everyday.”
“The ordinary response to dealing with temptation” can be found in “the ordinary means of spiritual life that the church offers: the Sacraments, going to Confession, receiving Holy Communion, saying prayers and devotions, the Rosary, blessings, Holy Water, things like that,” he said.
“And in fact, I would go so far as to say that the Sacrament of Penance is more powerful than an exorcism.
“An exorcism is a type of blessing in effect – it's a sacramental – whereas the Sacrament of Penance is actually a sacrament,” the bishop explained.
“So if we live a good life, a good spiritual life that's sound, we don't need to worry about that.”
Bishop Paprocki smiled as he clarified that exorcism is ”sensationalized in the movies,” and that demonic possession “is not contagious.”
Usually it's needed “because people have willingly and freely opened the door to the Devil, looking for that kind of involvement and enjoying the pleasures that the Devil has to offer,” he said.
“It's a relationship – a relationship between a human person and a fallen angel – a devil.”
“Exorcism,” he explained, “is breaking that relationship,” and it “starts with the person renouncing Satan.”
Primarily, it “involves getting a person to renounce that relationship,” and “secondly, for a priest to intervene and invoke the power of Christ to break that relationship.”
Speaking on what determines the need for an exorcism, Bishop Paprocki said that “we use the principle that you have to exclude all the natural explanations before you resort to the supernatural.”
“That means getting a medical exam” and a “psychiatric assessment” first, he clarified. If a person is mentally unwell, bringing up the suggestion that he or she is possessed would undoubtedly make the situation worse.
“That's why a careful screening and permission from the bishop is needed,” he explained
 

17 November 2010
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11777482
Pope pleads for life of condemned Pakistani woman

 Asia Bibi, seen here in an undated family photo
 

The Pope has called for the release of a Pakistani Christian woman facing the death sentence on charges of blasphemy.

Pope Benedict XVI told his weekly public audience that Christians in Pakistan "are often victims of violence and discrimination".
"I feel close to Asia Bibi and her family and I ask that she be released as soon as possible," he said.
Ms Bibi is believed to be the first woman sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy law.
The 45-year-old mother was sentenced to death on Friday by a court in the town of Nankana, about 75km (45 miles) from the city of Lahore in Punjab province.
She allegedly committed blasphemy after getting into an argument last year with a group of women in her village.
No-one has ever been executed under Pakistan's blasphemy law, but about 10 accused have been murdered before the completion of their trials, correspondents say.
 

11/09/2010 13:06
PAKISTAN
Punjab: Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Punjab:-Christian-woman-sentenced-to-death-for-blasphemy-19940.html

For the first time, a woman is sentenced to death in Pakistan for this kind of “offence”. The blasphemy law was introduced in 1986 by then Pakistani dictator Zia-ul Haq and since then it has become a tool for discrimination and violence. Part of the Pakistan Penal Code, the law imposes life in prison for defiling the Qur’an and death for insulting Muhammad.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Pakistan has “crossed a line” in sentencing a Christian woman to death for blasphemy. Asia Bibi, a 37-year-old farm worker mother of two, was convicted of committing blasphemy before her fellow workers during a heated discussion about religion in the village of Ittanwali in June last year.
Some of the women workers had reportedly been pressuring Bibi to renounce her Christian faith and accept Islam. During one discussion, Bibi responded by speaking of how Jesus had died on the cross for the sins of humanity and asking the Muslim women what Muhammad had done for them.
The Muslim women took offence and began beating Bibi. Afterwards she was locked in a room. According to Release International, a mob reportedly formed and “violently abused” her and her children.
The charity, which supports persecuted Christians, said that blasphemy charges were brought against Bibi because of pressure from local Muslim leaders.
Release International’s chief executive, Andy Dipper, expressed his shock at Sunday’s ruling. “Pakistan has crossed a line in passing the death sentence on a woman for blasphemy,” he said.
In addition to the death sentence, Bibi was also fined the equivalent for an unskilled worker of two and a half years’ wages.
Another Christian woman, Martha Bibi (no relation to Asia), is also on trial in Lahore for blasphemy.
According to the National Commission on Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church, between 1986 and August 2009, at least 974 people have been charged for defiling the Qur’an or insulting the Prophet Muhammad. They include 479 Muslims, 340 Ahmadis, 119 Christians, 14 Hindus and 10 from other religions.
The blasphemy law has often been used as a pretext for personal attacks or vendettas as well as extra-judicial murders. Overall, 33 people have died this way at the hands of individuals or crazed mobs.
 

Polish town, Swiebodzin, erects world's largest Jesus Christ statue--bigger than Rio de Janeiro's

BY Aliyah Shahid

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, November 6th 2010, 4:11 PM

SKARZYNSKI/Getty
A crane lifts the head on the world's largest statue of Jesus Christ in Swiebodzin, western Poland, on Saturday That is one giant Jesus.
Workers in a small town in Poland have completed what they say is the world's biggest statue of Jesus Christ.
At 167 feet tall, the one in Swiebodzin soars even higher than the famed Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janeiro, which is 125 feet tall. The statue is similar to the one in Brazil, depicting Jesus
standing tall with his arms outstretched.
The Polish one, however, has a large golden crown and sits on a mound.

After the construction was delayed by strong winds, a crane lifted the shoulders, arms and head onto the statue on Saturday. The arms and shoulders weigh 30 tons alone.
The idea came from retired local priest, Rev. Sylwester Zawadzki. Residents and nearby business owners said they hope it will make their 22,000-person town a landmark and bring in money to their
community.

"I'm thrilled,' Emily Zoladz, 58, told The Associated Press as she watched the statue being constructed. "The statue will make Swiebodzin famous all over Poland."
The project has divided Poles has divided the deeply Catholic population and secular society, with several calling the project tacky.
But many, including 60-year-old Danuta Gordzelewska, who gathered to watch the final construction, were thrilled with the project.
"I am extremely proud," she said as the statue's head was lowered into its final place.
 
 

Papal trip to Spain. Benedict XVI urges Western countries to be open to God

November 6, 2010. (ONLY VIDEO NEWS) Pope Benedict launched a called Europe to "meet God without fear". "One cannot worship God without taking care of his sons and daughters; and man cannot be served without asking who his Father is and answering the question about him. The Europe of science and technology, the Europe of civilization and culture, must be at the same time a Europe open to transcendence and fraternity with other continents".FULL SPEECH:

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
I give thanks to God for the gift of being here in this splendid square filled with artistic, cultural and spiritual significance. During this Holy Year, I come among you as a pilgrim among pilgrims, in the company of all those who come here thirsting for faith in the Risen Christ, a faith proclaimed and transmitted with fidelity by the apostles, among whom was James the Great, who has been venerated at Compostela from time immemorial.
I extend my gratitude to the Most Reverend Julián Barrio Barrio, Archbishop of this local church, for his words of welcome, to their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias for the kind presence, and likewise to the Cardinals and to my many Brother Bishops and priests here today. My greeting also goes to members of the Camino de Santiago group of the European Parliament, as well as to the national, regional and local authorities who are attending this celebration. This is eloquent of respect for the Successor of Peter and also of the profound emotion that Saint James of Compostela awakens in Galicia and in the other peoples of Spain, which recognizes the Apostle as its patron and protector. I also extend warm greetings to the consecrated persons, seminarians and lay faithful who take part in this Eucharistic celebration, and in a very special way I greet the pilgrims who carry on the genuine spirit of Saint James, without which little or nothing can be understood of what takes place here.
With admirable simplicity, the first reading states: "The apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord with great power" (Acts 4:33). Indeed, at the beginning of all that Christianity has been and still is, we are confronted not with a human deed or project, but with God, who declares Jesus to be just and holy in the face of the sentence of a human tribunal that condemned him as a blasphemer and a subversive; God who rescued Jesus from death; God who will do justice to all who have been unjustly treated in history.
The apostles proclaim: "We are witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God gives to those who are obedient to him" (Acts 5:32). Thus they gave witness to the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, whom they knew as he preached and worked miracles. Brothers and sisters, today we are called to follow the example of the apostles, coming to know the Lord better day by day and bearing clear and valiant witness to his Gospel. We have no greater treasure to offer to our contemporaries. In this way, we will imitate Saint Paul who, in the midst of so many tribulations, setbacks and solitude, joyfully exclaimed: "We have this treasure in earthenware vessels, to show that such transcendent power does not come from us" (2 Cor 4:7).
Beside these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles stand those of the Gospel that we have just heard; they invite us to draw life from the humility of Christ who, following in every way the will of his Father, came to serve, "to give his life in ransom for many" (Mt 20:28). For those disciples who seek to follow and imitate Christ, service of neighbour is no mere option but an essential part of their being. It is a service that is not measured by worldly standards of what is immediate, material or apparent, but one that makes present the love of God to all in every way and bears witness to him even in the simplest of actions. Proposing this new way of dealing with one another within the community, based on the logic of love and service, Jesus also addresses "the rulers of the nations" since, where self-giving to others is lacking, there arise forms of arrogance and exploitation that leave no room for an authentic integral human promotion. I would like this message to reach all young people: this core content of the Gospel shows you in particular the path by which, in renouncing a selfish and short-sighted way of thinking so common today, and taking on instead Jesus’ own way of thinking, you may attain fulfilment and become a seed of hope.
The celebration of this Holy Year of Compostela also brings this to mind. This is what, in the secret of their heart, knowing it explicitly or sensing it without being able to express it, so many pilgrims experience as they walk the way to Santiago de Compostela to embrace the Apostle. The fatigue of the journey, the variety of landscapes, their encounter with peoples of other nationalities - all of this opens their heart to what is the deepest and most common bond that unites us as human beings: we are in quest, we need truth and beauty, we need an experience of grace, charity, peace, forgiveness and redemption. And in the depth of each of us there resounds the presence of God and the working of the Holy Spirit. Yes, to everyone who seeks inner silence, who keeps passions, desires and immediate occupations at a distance, to the one who prays, God grants the light to find him and to acknowledge Christ. Deep down, all those who come on pilgrimage to Santiago do so in order to encounter God who, reflected in the majesty of Christ, welcomes and blesses them as they reach the Pórtico de la Gloria.
From this place, as a messenger of the Gospel sealed by the blood of Peter and James, I raise my eyes to the Europe that came in pilgrimage to Compostela. What are its great needs, fears and hopes? What is the specific and fundamental contribution of the Church to that Europe which for half a century has been moving towards new forms and projects? Her contribution is centred on a simple and decisive reality: God exists and he has given us life. He alone is absolute, faithful and unfailing love, that infinite goal that is glimpsed behind the good, the true and the beautiful things of this world, admirable indeed, but insufficient for the human heart. Saint Teresa of Jesus understood this when she wrote: "God alone suffices".
Tragically, above all in nineteenth century Europe, the conviction grew that God is somehow man’s antagonist and an enemy of his freedom. As a result, there was an attempt to obscure the true biblical faith in the God who sent into the world his Son Jesus Christ, so that no one should perish but that all might have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:16).
The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly: how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.
Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear, and work with his grace for that human dignity which was discerned by her best traditions: not only the biblical, at the basis of this order, but also the classical, the medieval and the modern, the matrix from which the great philosophical, literary, cultural and social masterpieces of Europe were born.
This God and this man were concretely and historically manifested in Christ. It is this Christ whom we can find all along the way to Compostela for, at every juncture, there is a cross which welcomes and points the way. The cross, which is the supreme sign of love brought to its extreme and hence both gift and pardon, must be our guiding star in the night of time. The cross and love, the cross and light have been synonymous in our history because Christ allowed himself to hang there in order to give us the supreme witness of his love, to invite us to forgiveness and reconciliation, to teach us how to overcome evil with good. So do not fail to learn the lessons of that Christ whom we encounter at the crossroads of our journey and our whole life, in whom God comes forth to meet us as our friend, father and guide. Blessed Cross, shine always upon the lands of Europe!
Allow me here to point out the glory of man, and to indicate the threats to his dignity resulting from the privation of his essential values and richness, and the marginalization and death visited upon the weakest and the poorest. One cannot worship God without taking care of his sons and daughters; and man cannot be served without asking who his Father is and answering the question about him. The Europe of science and technology, the Europe of civilization and culture, must be at the same time a Europe open to transcendence and fraternity with other continents, and open to the living and true God, starting with the living and true man. This is what the Church wishes to contribute to Europe: to be watchful for God and for man, based on the understanding of both which is offered to us in Jesus Christ.
Dear friends, let us raise our eyes in hope to all that God has promised and offers us. May he give us his strength; may he reinvigorate the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela; may he renew the faith of his sons and daughters and assist them in fidelity to their vocation to sow and strengthen the Gospel, at home and abroad.
May Saint James, the companion of the Lord, obtain abundant blessings for Galicia and the other peoples of Spain, elsewhere in Europe and overseas, wherever the Apostle is a sign of Christian identity and a promoter of the proclamation of Christ.

"Europe, Be Not Afraid!"
From Santiago de Compostela and from Barcelona, Benedict XVI's appeal that the continent open itself to God and return to pronouncing his name not in vain, but in joy and holiness. With the cross as the "pole star"
by Sandro Magister

ROME, November 8, 2010 – As he almost always does after one of his voyages, at the general audience next Wednesday Benedict XVI will comment on the visit he made on Saturday and Sunday to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona.
But one thing became clear right from the start of the trip. The pope's gaze did not remain confined to the two cities, and not even to Spain, but embraced Europe and humanity as a whole.

In Barcelona, consecrating the basilica of the Sagrada Família – a masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí, but also a joint project underway for more than a century, like one of the ancient cathedrals – pope Joseph Ratzinger presented it as a universal example of Christian art that is not closed in on itself, but intends to set before all men "the mystery revealed in the birth, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ."
This, in fact, is what he said in one of the key passages of the homily at the Mass of dedication for the church, on Sunday, November 7:
"In this place, Gaudí desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
"In this way, he brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by Christ.In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness."
*
Another key moment of the voyage was the homily at the Mass on Saturday, November 6, in the square of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
In it, Benedict XVI clearly summarized his overall vision of the mission assigned to the Church in Europe and the world today.
Leading men to open themselves to God – and not to "any sort of god," or worse, to an "enemy" one like that of the ancient and modern forms of paganism, but to that God who loves "to the extreme" as revealed by the cross of Jesus – appeared once again as the key to understanding this pontificate.
In fact, after saying that the journey of so many pilgrims on foot to Santiago de Compostela expresses a search "for truth and beauty, for an experience of grace, of charity and peace, of forgiveness and redemption," and that "in the deepest part of all these men resounds the presence of God and the action of the Holy Spirit," the pope continued as in the following passage:

FROM BENEDICT XVI'S HOMILY IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
... Deep down, all those who come on pilgrimage to Santiago do so in order to encounter God who, reflected in the majesty of Christ, welcomes and blesses them as they reach the Pórtico de la Gloria.
From this place, as a messenger of the Gospel sealed by the blood of Peter and James, I raise my eyes to the Europe that came in pilgrimage to Compostela. What are its great needs, fears and hopes? What is the specific and fundamental contribution of the Church to that Europe which for half a century has been moving towards new forms and projects?
Her contribution is centred on a simple and decisive reality: God exists and he has given us life. He alone is absolute, faithful and unfailing love, that infinite goal that is glimpsed behind the good, the true and the beautiful things of this world, admirable indeed, but insufficient for the human heart. Saint Teresa of Jesus understood this when she wrote: "God alone suffices".
Tragically, above all in nineteenth century Europe, the conviction grew that God is somehow man’s antagonist and an enemy of his freedom. As a result, there was an attempt to obscure the true biblical faith in the God who sent into the world his Son Jesus Christ, so that no one should perish but that all might have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:16).
The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly: how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them?
God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows?
We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness?
This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.
Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear, and work with his grace for that human dignity which was discerned by her best traditions: not only the biblical, at the basis of this order, but also the classical, the medieval and the modern, the matrix from which the great philosophical, literary, cultural and social masterpieces of Europe were born.
This God and this man were concretely and historically manifested in Christ. It is this Christ whom we can find all along the way to Compostela for, at every juncture, there is a cross which welcomes and points the way.

The cross, which is the supreme sign of love brought to its extreme and hence both gift and pardon, must be our guiding star in the night of time.
The cross and love, the cross and light have been synonymous in our history because Christ allowed himself to hang there in order to give us the supreme witness of his love, to invite us to forgiveness and reconciliation, to teach us how to overcome evil with good. So do not fail to learn the lessons of that Christ whom we encounter at the crossroads of our journey and our whole life, in whom God comes forth to meet us as our friend, father and guide. Blessed Cross, shine always upon the lands of Europe!
Allow me here to point out the glory of man, and to indicate the threats to his dignity resulting from the privation of his essential values and richness, and the marginalization and death visited upon the weakest and the poorest. One cannot worship God without taking care of his sons and daughters; and man cannot be served without asking who his Father is and answering the question about him.
The Europe of science and technology, the Europe of civilization and culture, must be at the same time a Europe open to transcendence and fraternity with other continents, and open to the living and true God, starting with the living and true man. This is what the Church wishes to contribute to Europe: to be watchful for God and for man, based on the understanding of both which is offered to us in Jesus Christ.
 
 

Five Anglican bishops plan to join Catholic Church

Rome, Italy, Nov 8, 2010 / 01:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Five Anglican bishops announced their resignations from the Church of England today so that they can enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
The decision to resign made by Bishops Andrew Burnham, Keith Newton, John Broadhurst, Edwin Barnes and David Silk was welcomed by Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Alan Hopes of Westminster in a message on Nov. 8.
Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams said that he accepted the resignations of Bishops Burnham and Newton with regret. Bishop Broadhurst had been serving as the head of Forward in Faith, a traditional coalition of Anglicans, while Bishops Barnes and Silk are retired bishops.
Bishop Hopes, the point man for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales on forming an Anglican jurisdiction, said that under the guidelines set forth by the Pope in "Anglicanorum Coetibus," the Church will establish an "Ordinariate for England and Wales" for those wishing to enter the Catholic Church.
Benedict XVI released the guidelines for the creation of ordinariates in Nov. 2009, after receiving inquiries from groups of Anglicans who were dismayed at the ordination of women and practicing homosexuals as bishops.

Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said on Nov. 8, 2010 that the Vatican "can confirm that the constitution of a first Ordinariate is under study, according to the norms established by the Apostolic Constitution ‘Anglicanorum coetibus,’ and that any further decisions regarding this will be communicated at the proper moment.”
He explained that because of their desire to become part of the Catholic Church, the bishops were "obliged by conscience" to step down from their posts within the Church of England.
The bishops themselves released a joint communique noting their discontent at a growing divide between Catholics and Anglicans and their distress at developments in the Anglican Church, which they find "incompatible" with its historic vocation and tradition.
The issue pushing the bishops to make the decision to "cross over" to Rome was the result of a vote during the Anglican General Synod last July. The majority of bishops voted to pass legislation allowing for the ordination of women. This was the breaking point for some of those who held closer to a traditional form of Anglicanism.
The five bishops, who are to step down entirely from their pastoral responsibilities on Dec. 31, 2010, called the Pope's ordinariate measure "both a generous response to various approaches to the Holy See for help and a bold, new ecumenical instrument in the search for the unity of Christians, the unity for which Christ himself prayed before his Passion and Death."
"It is a unity, we believe, which is possible only in Eucharistic communion with the successor of St Peter."
The five prelates invited those who share their perspective to follow them.
Bishop Hopes said the Catholic bishops of England and Wales will be exploring the creation of the first ordinariate during their plenary meetings next week. More information will follow their discussions, he said
 

Baghdad church attack: the day after
Survivor: 'They brought us the real Halloween'

November 1, 2010; Posted: 1655 GMT

Mourners outside the Sayidat al-Nejat Church in Baghdad.(Mohammed Tawfeeq/CNN).
As the sun set over Baghdad, shocked onlookers stood by, watching a truck laden with debris drive away from the Our Lady of Salvation Catholic church.
Silvana Maro stood outside her home near the church, eyes filled with tears, in such shock she could hardly speak. She was a survivor, now plagued by the vivid memory of what she had lived through.
Mass was in process when the attackers stormed in.
“There was gunfire, grenades.  Shrapnel was flying from all sides.  We scattered and threw ourselves to the ground, we didn’t know what would happen to us” She whispered softly, choking on her words.
“They said if anyone lifts their head we will shoot.  My cousin moved slightly.  They shot him, his brains exploded all over”.
Anna Hannow held her aunt’s bloodied purse, the stench of death still fresh.  Her aunt was eighty years old.
“They shot her in the face, there was nothing left of her face” She told us.
As the sun set a coffin was carried in.  A woman sobbed, comforted in vain by another onlooker. Iraqi forces kept the media and bystanders away.
There was a time when Christianity and Islam co-existed peacefully in Iraq, but the Christian community here has not been spared the ravages of the country's sectarian warfare.  Over the years their numbers have dwindled with more choosing to leave every week.
For some staying is the only option.  Others choose to do so out of conviction, refusing to allow violence and threats to drive them from the country they call home.
The attack on Sunday was the first of its kind.  According to the a senior official with the Ministry of Interior, the insurgents first targeted the Baghdad Stock Exchange and blew up two car bombs as a diversion, to draw in the Iraqi unit manning the checkpoints close to the church.
As mass was in full progress – with some 120 worshippers – the attackers, some wearing suicide vests, stormed the building and wreaked carnage. Dozens were killed.
The Islamic state of Iraq, an umbrella organization that includes al Qaeda claimed responsibility. Their demand was the release of prisoners in Iraq and Egypt.  Their statement said the hostage taking was a direct warning to the Egyptian Coptic Church, a response to the case of two Egyptian women allegedly abducted by the Coptic Church after they converted to Islam.
A young man who survived said “They brought us the real Halloween”.
The faces of those we met reflected the extent of the horror their words could not express
Pope Benedict condemned an attack in which 52 people were killed in a Catholic church in Baghdad, saying the violence was all the more ferocious because innocent people were killed in a house of God.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered to hear his prayer in St Peter's Square for the Catholic All Saints' Day holiday, the pope also made a heartfelt appeal for peace in the Middle East.
"I pray for the victims of this senseless violence, made even more ferocious because it struck defenseless people who were gathered in the house of God, which is a house of love and reconciliation," he said.
Fifty-two hostages and police officers were killed when security forces raided a Baghdad church to free more than 100 Iraqi Catholics captured by al Qaeda-linked gunmen.
The gunmen took hostages gathered for Sunday mass at the Our Lady of Salvation Church, one of Baghdad's largest, and demanded the release of al Qaeda prisoners in Iraq and Egypt.
The pope urged the international community to work for comprehensive peace in the Middle East. "May everyone join forces to put an end to violence," he said from his window overlooking the square. Iraq's Christian minority has frequently been targeted by militants, with churches bombed and priests assassinated.
 

Pope, in Letter, Takes On Celibacy Debate
By STACY MEICHTRY

ROME—Pope Benedict XVI said on Monday that the Vatican's recent sexual-abuse crisis might prompt aspiring priests to question the Catholic Church's requirement that clergy be celibate, as he publicly waded for the first time into a debate over whether priestly celibacy is partly to blame for the abuse.
In a letter to seminarians world-wide, the pontiff defended the church's celibacy prerequisite as a way for priests to attain "an authentic, pure and mature humanity."

Eric Vandeville/Abacausa.com

Yet as he addressed the sexual-abuse scandal that has shaken the church over the past year, the pontiff said abusive priests had "disfigured their ministry by sexually abusing children."
"As a result of all this," he continued, "many people, perhaps even some of you, might ask whether it is good to become a priest—whether the choice of celibacy makes any sense as a truly human way of life."
The comments marked the first time Pope Benedict has directly spoken about the church's celibacy policy in the context of the sexual-abuse scandals. As thousands of allegations of children sexually abused by priests have been documented in Ireland over the past year—and other cases reported in Belgium and Germany—Catholic officials in Europe have questioned whether priestly celibacy is partly to blame for the abuse. Some say the two are linked because the celibacy requirement limits the pool of candidates for the priesthood by excluding married men.
Sandro Magister, a longtime Vatican watcher who writes for Italy's L'Espresso magazine, said he couldn't remember Pope Benedict ever mentioning sexual abuse and celibacy in the same breath. With the move, the pope appeared willing to engage in a discussion that previous popes have considered off-limits, he said.
"It's the first time I've seen [the issues] placed together" by the pope, Mr. Magister said, adding that he believes Pope Benedict ultimately aims to "reinforce" the church's celibacy rule by engaging in debate, not to question it.
Since the sexual-abuse crisis exploded in the U.S. a decade ago and resurfaced in Europe this year, the pope has toughened Vatican rules on disciplining abusive priests, met with victims, and accepted the resignation of bishops who covered up abuse. The Vatican, however, has steered clear of any suggestion that the celibacy rule was up for discussion, treating abuse as a separate issue.
In March, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna called on the church to seriously examine potential causes of sexual abuse, including how the church trains new priests. "That includes the issue of celibacy," he wrote in a newsletter. Cardinal Schönborn, a former student of the pope, later clarified that he wasn't placing a question mark over the celibacy requirement.
The debate was rekindled in September when two bishops in Belgium, which has recently been rocked by hundreds of allegations of clerical sexual abuse, questioned whether married men should be excluded from the priesthood.
Pope Benedict has repeatedly described the celibacy requirement as a "gift" from God.
Write to Stacy Meichtry at stacy.meichtry@wsj.com
 

Papal Primacy. Russia Heads the Resistance Against Rome

The patriarchate of Moscow is a great admirer of the current pontiff. But it is also the most hesitant to recognize his authority over the Orthodox Churches of the East. The results of the talks in Vienna
by Sandro Magister

ROME, October 6, 2010 – While the Eastern Churches are slowly approaching the convocation of the pan-Orthodox "Great and Holy Council" that should finally unite them in a single assembly after centuries of incomplete "synodality," the other journey of reconciliation, which sees the East in dialogue with the Church of Rome, is also taking small steps forward.
The object of this dialogue concerns the only real sticking point dividing Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the primacy of the pope.
The latest evidence came a few days ago, in Vienna, where from September 20 to 27 the joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church met as a whole, precisely on the universal role of the bishop of Rome during the first millennium of Christian history.
At the head of the Catholic delegation was the new president of the pontifical council for Christian unity, Swiss archbishop Kurt Koch. While for the Eastern Churches, there was the metropolitan of Pergamon Joannis Zizioulas, a great ecumenist and trusted theologian of the patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, as well as an old friend of Joseph Ratzinger as theologian and pope (see photo Rupprecht/Kathbild).
The Orthodox were fully represented, with the sole exception of the patriarch of Bulgaria. There was the metropolitan archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, another champion of ecumenism, whom Benedict XVI met this year during his trip to the island. The patriarch of Moscow had sent to Vienna his most prominent associate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, also fresh from a meeting with the pope, with whom he has a relationship of great respect.
The presence of the patriarchate of Moscow in Vienna was all the more important because in Ravenna, in 2007, when agreement was reached on the document to serve as the basis for discussion on the universal role of the bishop of Rome, the Russian Church was not there, because of a disagreement with the patriarchate of Constantinople.
The disagreement was smoothed over, and the Ravenna document was also approved by the patriarchate of Moscow, which had helped to prepare it.
The document affirms that "primacy and conciliarity are mutually interdependent." And in paragraph 41, it highlights the points of agreement and disagreement:
"Both sides agree that... that Rome, as the Church that 'presides in love' according to the phrase of St Ignatius of Antioch, occupied the first place in the taxis, and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos among the patriarchs. They disagree, however, on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium."
"Protos" is the Greek word that means "first." And "taxis" is the structure of the universal Church.
Since then, the discussion on controversial points has advanced at an accelerated pace. And it has started to examine, above all, how the Churches of East and West interpreted the role of the bishop of Rome during the first millennium, when they were still united.
The outline of the discussion was, until this point, a working document drafted by a joint sub-commission at the beginning of autumn 2008, at a meeting in Crete.
In October of 2009, in Cyprus, the joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, with the Russians present, examined and discussed the first part of this outline, on some historical cases of the universal exercise of the "primacy" of the bishop of Rome, in the first centuries of the Christian era.
The discussion was supposed to continue in Vienna. But there were surprises right from the beginning. The Russian delegation raised objections against the working text provided in Crete, and ultimately succeeded in having it rewritten.
The main objection of the Russian Church is the one summarized by Metropolitan Hilarion shortly after the meeting, in a note published on the website of the patriarchate of Moscow:
"The 'Crete Document' is purely historical and, speaking of the role of the bishop of Rome, it makes almost no mention of bishops of other Local Churches in the first millennium, thus creating a wrong impression of how powers were distributed in the Early Church. Besides, the document is lacking any clear statement that the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome did not extend to the East in the first millennium. It is hoped that these gaps and omissions will be made up in revising the text."
As a result, the Russian delegation asked and obtained that the text from Crete not be included among the official documents of the commission, not bear the signature of any of its members, and be used simply as working material for a new rewriting of the working outline. A rewriting more attentive to the theological dimensions of the question.
In effect, at the end of the talks in Vienna, the participants agreed to set up "a sub-commission to begin consideration of the theological and ecclesiological aspects of primacy in its relation to synodality."
Next year the sub-commission will present the new text to the coordinating committee of the commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. So that the following year, 2012, the commission will be able to revisit and continue – on the basis of the new outline – the discussion begun in Cyprus and Vienna.
The two co-presidents of the commission, Archbishop Koch for the Catholic side and Metropolitan Joannis for the Orthodox, at a press conference on September 24, gave a positive assessment of the talks underway.
Koch recognized the differences between the Catholic and Orthodox visions: while the Catholic Church has strong primacy and weak synodality, for the Orthodox Churches it is the other way around. So it is necessary "that we exchange our respective gifts, as done, for example, by Benedict XVI when he welcomes the Anglicans into the Church with all of their traditions and liturgies."
Joannis said that he agreed: the Orthodox must clarify their conception of primacy, just as the Catholics must strengthen synodality. He observed that the history of the first millennium shows that the Church of Rome was universally recognized as having a special role, but the pope exercised it by consulting with the other bishops.
As for the continuation of the talks, the metropolitan of Pergamon said that a move will be made to "a slight change of our subject, namely to make the historical material focus on theological questions more."
In reality, the journey will not be easy, if one looks at the extremely restrictive views that the patriarchate of Moscow, through the pen of Metropolitan Hilarion, expresses of the pope's role in the first millennium:
"For the Orthodox participants, it is clear that in the first millennium the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome was exercised only in the West, while in the East, the territories were divided between four patriarchs – those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. The bishop of Rome did not exercise any direct jurisdiction in the East in spite of the fact that in some cases Eastern hierarchs appealed to him as arbiter in theological disputes. These appeals were not systematic and can in no way be interpreted in the sense that the bishop of Rome was seen in the East as the supreme authority in the whole universal Church. It is hoped that at the next meetings of the commission, the Catholic side will agree with this position which is confirmed by numerous historical evidence."
In this regard, neither the patriarchate of Moscow nor the Orthodox Church as a whole is forgetting that Benedict XVI, in one of the first actions of his pontificate, removed from the attributes of the pope listed in the Annuario Pontificio the designation "patriarch of the West."
When it became known, this decision prompted protests from many representatives of Eastern Churches. Some saw it as "proof of the claims by the bishop of Rome to universal primacy."
On March 22, 2006, the pontifical council for Christian unity published a statement justifying the change.
On June 8 of that same year, a note from the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople stated that, if anything, the pope would have done better to have stopped calling himself "supreme pontiff of the universal Church," because "the Orthodox have never accepted his jurisdiction over the whole Church."
After that the disputes died down and the two sides began that direct examination of the question which, begun in Ravenna and continued in Cyprus and Vienna, promises further steps forward.
But as can be seen, the question is certainly a thorny one, with no solution in sight.

Pope denounces the 'evil' of the Sicilian mafia
The pope has appealed to young people in Sicily not to be lured by the temptation of the Mafia during a rare visit to the troubled island today.
Published: 6:10PM BST 03 Oct 2010

Pope Benedict XVI denounced the "evil" of Italy's organised crime as he celebrated an open-air mass before tens of thousands of pilgrims in the heartland of the Sicily's Mafia.
Benedict's first visit to the island since becoming pope in 2005 raised hopes among campaigners that he will help their struggle against the ever-pervasive Cosa Nostra.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Holy mass at Foro Italico in Palermo Photo: AFP/GETTY

The pope said faith made humanity possible, even when the people of Palermo and across Sicily faced "a shortage of jobs, uncertainty about the future, moral and physical suffering, and organised crime."
"I am here to give you a strong incentive to not be afraid to testify clearly to human and Christian values, so deeply rooted in faith and in the history of this land and its people," he said.
He called on Sicilians, dogged by Mafia extortion and intimidation, to be "ashamed of evil, which offends God and man" and for the effects of organised crime which "injures the civil and religious community" to be brought into the open.
He paid tribute to a priest slain by the Mafia. Rev. Pino Puglisi stirred consciences with his anti-Mafia preaching in one of Palermo's poorest and most heavily mobster-infested neighbourhoods. Since Rev. Puglisi was gunned down by the Mafia in 1993, his supporters have been clamouring for the Vatican to officially proclaim him a martyr, paving the way toward sainthood.
Organisers said around 250,000 people attended the mass in bright sunshine in Palermo's giant Foro Italico square, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Police had earlier said 30,000 had crammed into the square.
The pope arrived at Palermo's Falcone Borsellino airport, named after two judges killed by the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, in 1992, before travelling through the city in his popemobile.

In Israel, Jewish Christians Are Sprouting
They have been baptized into the Catholic Church, but speak and live like the Jews. They resemble the primitive community of Jerusalem. They are on the rise, but feel overlooked, as in a ghetto
by Sandro Magister

ROME, October 8, 2010 – On the eve of the synod on "The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness," which will be held at the Vatican from October 10-24, it is the very presence of Catholics in those lands that poses problems.
Many of the members of indigenous communities, heirs of the ancient forms of Christianity that flourished there before the arrival of Islam, are fleeing. The ones who remain live here and there in terror, for example in northern Iraq, in Mosul and the surrounding area, where in order to defend themselves they tend to make ghettos in the plain of Nineveh. But elsewhere, many other Catholics come for employment, in great numbers. Especially from Asia and above all to the countries of the Gulf.
For example, in Kuwait alone there are two million immigrant workers, twice the number of Kuwaiti citizens. There are 350,000 Catholics, most of them from the Philippines and India. The flow of these immigrants is so massive, in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, that in Rome they are studying how to redraw the boundaries of the vicariates in that area, dividing into several parts the immense vicariate of Arabia that today combines Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Finally there is the special case of the Catholics in Israel, another situation in complete flux.
First of all, the number of Christians within the borders of Israel has not been falling, but in absolute terms it has risen year after year: from 34,000 in 1949 to 150,000 in 2008, the last official figure.
One can speak only of a slight reduction in percentage terms – from 3 to 2 percent – because in the same span of time the number of Jewish citizens has grown from one million to 5.5 million, thanks to immigration from abroad, and the number of Muslims from 111,000 to 1.2 million. Most of the Christians in Israel live in Galilee, while there are 15,000 of them in Jerusalem.
The exodus of Christians that has set off alarms therefore does not regard Israel, but rather the Holy Land, a geographically flexible term that extends to the Palestinian Territories and parts of the neighboring Arab countries, all the way to Turkey and Cyprus.
The news of greatest interest, within the borders of Israel, concerns the Hebrew-speaking Catholics.
The Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem has a specific vicariate dedicated to them, and entrusted today to Jesuit Fr. David Neuhaus, an Israeli Jew who converted to Christianity.
Until a few years ago, there were just a few hundred Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel. But they are growing steadily, and today number at least seven communities: in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Be'er Sheva, Haifa, Tiberias, Latrun, and Nazareth.
In an interview with the Italian magazine "Il Regno," Fr. Neuhaus explained that these communities have been formed by four contributions.
The first contribution came from the Jews who came to Israel in a series of migratory waves, among whom were Catholics, by birth or by conversion, who became an integral part of Hebrew-speaking Israeli society. The last great migratory wave, after 1990, came from the collapse of the Soviet empire.
The second contribution comes from the arrival of foreign workers in Israel. Today there are about 200,000 of them. They come from Africa, from Latin America, from Eastern Europe, and most of all from Asia. 40,000 have come from the Philippines, most of them Catholic women. Their children, born and baptized in Israel, go to school, learn Hebrew, and assimilate into Israeli society.
The third contribution comes from the 2-3 thousand Lebanese Maronites who moved to Israel after the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and from the African refugees coming above all from southern Sudan, where there are many Catholics. Their children also grow up speaking Hebrew.
Finally, there are the Palestinian Catholics who have been in Israel since its foundation, with the status of citizenship but in socially disadvantaged conditions. They speak Arabic, and they are based mainly in the villages of Galilee, but they tend to move to the most economically attractive areas. Fr. Neuhaus gives the example of Be'er Sheva, "where hundreds of Arab families have immigrated to work in the businesses around the Bedouin villages, but do not live with the Bedouins because they are of a socially and economically lower class. They send their children to Hebrew-language schools, and so we have a new generation of Palestinian Arabs who speak Arabic only at home, and can no longer read or write it."
All of these – now several thousand and of the most diverse origins – are the Hebrew-speaking Catholics for whom the vicariate is responsible. Its efforts are especially directed toward the children, with the first catechisms ever published in the language of Israel.
Fr. Neuhaus comments: "We work with limited means. In the patriarchate, the Palestinian Christian majority gets more attention, so the Hebrew-speaking Christians are in a certain sense forgotten. But we are also poor in terms of the persons available to help them: we are an extremely small group with too much to do."
In 2003, the Holy See appointed as head of the vicariate of Jerusalem for Hebrew-speaking Catholics a bishop and Benedictine monk of great ability, Jean Baptiste Gourion, Algerian by birth and himself a convert from Judaism.
The appointment was bitterly criticized by the pro-Palestinian circles of the Catholic Church. In the magazine of the New York Jesuits, "America," Fr. Drew Christiansen, the current editor, called it "a campaign to divide the church in the Holy Land."
Unfortunately, Bishop Gurion died shortly afterward, prematurely. And his successors were not made bishops.
Fr. Neuhaus says: "As Hebrew-speaking Catholics, we are a minority twice over, both in the state of Israel and in the Church. Sometimes we have the impression of living in a tiny ghetto."
One glimmer of hope comes from the base text of the synod on the Middle East that is about to begin at the Vatican, where it says that the existence of the vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics is "a great help" in the dialogue with Judaism.
 

 SAUDI ARABIA: Filipinos charged with 'proselytizing' after religious police raid Catholic Mass
Thirteen Filipinos have been charged with proselytising in Saudi Arabia after being arrested during a private Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in a Riyadh hotel last week, a Saudi newspaper said on Wednesday. Wed Oct 6, 2010 10:56pm IST -RIYADH (Reuters)

The Filipinos, one of whom is a Catholic priest, were briefly detained for organising the service raided by the Muslim kingdom's ultra-conservative religious police, Arab News said.
About 150 expatriates attended it, the newspaper said.
"They (the 13) were charged with proselytising," the daily quoted the Philippine Embassy's charge d'affaires in Riyadh as saying. They were later released on bail, the paper added.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, applies an austere form of Sunni Islam that confines any form of non-Muslim worship to the privacy of non-Muslim homes. Christians often hold services in hotel conference rooms.
Ibrahim al-Mugaiteb, head of the independent Saudi Human Rights First Society, said the overall situation for Christians had improved since King Abdullah took office in 2005.
"The fact that they were only briefly detained shows a change," he said. Neither Saudi officials nor the embassy were immediately available for comment.
Converting Muslims is a crime in Saudi Arabia punishable by death penalty, although such verdicts have rarely been handed out by Saudi courts, which are controlled by Muslim clerics.
The world's top oil exporter is home to several million expatriates, many of them non-Muslims.
The Catholic Church has urged Riyadh to lift the strict limitations on Christian worship there and allow construction of churches in return for the rights Muslims have in Western countries to build mosques.
Catholic bishops from across the Middle East will hold a two-week synod at the Vatican starting on Sunday to discuss how to help Christian minorities in the majority-Muslim region.

Pope's personal secretary describes the surprises of first five years
Rome, Italy, Sep 27, 2010 / 04:53 am (EWTN News/CNA)

Pope Benedict XVI has "surprised all of us" in the first five years of his pontificate, according to his personal secretary. The Holy Father, he said, is full of the same "vitality" of his John Paul II as he fulfills his "sacred duty" of laying down "tracks" throughout the world that lead to faith.
Personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, received a Capri San Michele Award over the weekend for a book he released earlier this year that illustrates the travels of the Pope in his first five years.

L'Osservatore Romano printed his words under the title "The Pope of surprises." Msgr. Gänswein first highlighted the beauty of unity in diversity of the different Popes, that "each responds with his own personality and with his own unrepeatable sensitivity" to the call to the See of Peter. Calling the phenomenon "a miracle of newness in continuity," he listed the names of several Popes from the last century, saying that none has been the same as another, yet "all have loved Christ passionately and faithfully served their Church."
But, the Pope's secretary continued, the "truly singular and edifying fact" of this pontificate is that Pope Benedict XVI is the "first devotee" to his predecessor, John Paul II. This, he said, "is an act of great humility, that astonishes and provokes moved admiration."
That the Holy Father reveres Venerable John Paul II in such a way is a "stupendous lesson in pastoral style," said the monsignor, that "whoever begins an ecclesial service ... must not erase the tracks of he who worked previously, but must put his own feet humbly in (his predecessor's) footsteps ..."
If this were always the case, he observed, much Christian heritage that is otherwise destroyed would be saved.
Taking stock, then, of the first five years of the Benedict XVI's pontificate, Msgr. Gänswein said that the Holy Father "has surprised all of us." As a man who "speaks of God," rather than a Pope of "grand images," he said, the Holy Father assumed the role of his predecessor with ease, interpreting it "in a new way and still equally full of vitality."
He has surprised also with his warmth and spontaneous and true simplicity, his courage in not being afraid to engage the difficult themes of today or enter debates, Msgr. Gänswein recalled. "He calls the insufficiencies and errors of the West by name, criticizes that violence that attempts to find a religious justification," while also combating relativism and hedonism and promoting the relationship of faith and reason and between religion and the renouncement of violence," said the monsignor.
Noting the Pope's goal of the "reevangelization" of Europe, he explained that at the base of the Holy Father's words is always the message that God loves man, proved in Jesus' death and resurrection.
All told, commented the monsignor, as the Pope walks the streets of the world and proclaiming God made flesh, he "does not put himself at the center, he doesn't announce himself but Jesus Christ, the only redeemer of the world."
His message is that "(w)hoever lives in peace with God, whoever lets himself be reconciled with Him, finds also peace with himself, with his neighbor and the creation that surrounds him. Faith helps (a person) to live, faith gives joy, faith is a great gift: this is the deepest conviction of Pope Benedict," concluded Msgr. Gänswein.
"For him," he said, "it is a sacred duty to leave tracks that lead to this gift."

Son of Hamas
Autobiography of a Palestinian who discovered that 'love your enemies' is the only way to peace in the Middle East.
Francis Phillips -Thursday, 16 September 2010

By any standards, this is an extraordinary story. Mosab Hassan Yousef is the oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the founders of Hamas; as such, he comes from “one of the most religious Islamic families in the Middle East”, with a high public profile. The autobiography relates how this young Palestinian from such a prominent political background came to work for the Israeli security forces, Shin Bet, and how he finally turned his back on both Islam and politics to become a Christian.

There are some who, on reading this synopsis, will assume that Yousef became a traitor to his own people for money (the Israelis paid him well for the information he gave them); others might think that becoming a Christian was a strategy to escape from an intensely dangerous lifestyle (the author now lives in the US). The answer is both simpler and stranger than this: Yousef, still in his early 30s, manages to retain his love for his fellow Palestinians throughout, though he has completely rejected their terror tactics; he also learnt to respect the Israeli position and the security forces he worked with. What motivated him to work for Shin Bet was a wish to help save lives that might potentially be blown apart (literally; the suicide bombers of Hamas ensured that their deadly baggage would main or kill as many innocent people as possible.)

Yousef dedicates his book “to my beloved father and my wounded family”, at the same time admitting that “I made choices that have made me a traitor in the eyes of the people I love.” He grew up in the West Bank, learning from his father, who was the most important influence in his life, a love of Islam and the Koran and the devout practices associated with his faith. At the same time he witnessed the poverty and rootless lives of the Palestinians, the casual violence and obsessive hatred of Israel. The Palestinians were “not terrorists by nature. They were just people who had run out of hope and options.”

Hamas, in which his father played a central though equivocal role, was born in 1986, out of frustration at the continuing Israeli occupation of what the Palestinians believed were their own legitimate territories. As a young boy, Yousef witnessed his father’s arrest and imprisonment by the Israeli defence forces, which left his mother to struggle on her own with a large young family. In 1996, aged 18, and having already engaged with friends in some low-key rebellious tactics of his own, such as throwing rocks and stones at Israeli soldiers, he was captured by the Israelis, severely beaten up and thrown into prison.

Here the first most significant intervention in his life occurred: he was interrogated by Shin Bet which proposed, given his unrivalled access to the heart of Hamas, that he work for them as a spy. The first official suicide bombing of Israeli citizens had already begun, on April 13, 1994, and Yousef was both mature enough and idealistic enough to want to help halt the escalating death toll. He was also aware that the Palestinian resistance organisations treated each other with the same violence and contempt with which they treated the Israelis; everyone was driven by individual agendas and vendettas; “chaos reigned.”

In contrast Shin Bet, and in particular his link with them, a captain called Loai, struck him as moderate, reasonable and with a valid case of their own: Loai told him during their long conversations that “Israel is a small country and we have to protect ourselves.” In addition, Yousef came to see the fatal divisions among the Palestinians; the religious fervour and theology of jihad of Hamas in conflict with the nationalism, irreligion and cynical power-mongering of the PLO. He has harsh words for Yasser Arafat, dismissing him as corrupt, self-serving and greedy. “Arafat had grown rich “as the international symbol of victimhood. He wasn’t about to surrender that status and take on the responsibility of actually building a functioning society”. Indeed, the author sees him as “an historic catastrophe for his people”.

A deeper element of this book, deeper than the author’s despair at the in-fighting among his own people and his painful realisation that if all the Jewish settlers left the country, the Palestinians would still carry on fighting each other, is his love for his father, a devout Muslim, and his further realisation that Islam itself was fatally flawed. Depicting Islam as a ladder, Yousef analyses it thus: at the bottom are largely secular Muslims who pay lip-service to their faith; halfway up are the ‘moderates’, sincere believers like his father, who deplored violence and wanted to lead peaceable lives; finally, “the highest rung is jihad” – towards which moderates were inexorably pulled.

It put his father in the schizophrenic position of refusing to participate in violence that at the same time he was not willing to condemn. “What he could not justify as right for himself he rationalised as right for others.” Yousef grieves that the “beautiful side of Islam” cannot overcome the “cruel side that required its followers to conquer and enslave the earth.”

A chance encounter with evangelical Christians is the second most significant intervention in his life. The author was encouraged by them to read the Gospels. Although for a long time unable to accept that Jesus is God, Yousef was overwhelmed by what he read: “What a difference between Jesus and Allah! Islam’s god was very judgemental...” The more he read and studied the Bible in his Christian study group, the more the young Palestinian and “son of Hamas” acknowledged “this single truth: loving and forgiving one’s enemies is the only real way to stop the bloodshed.” By 2005, his father had also come to see that Israel was “an immutable reality” and had begun to consider the possibility of a 2-state solution.

Yousef himself recognises that over time he had become addicted to the work he was doing for Shin Bet. However valuable it had been in saving lives from the threat of suicide bombers, it has kept him constantly in danger for his life and the lives of his family members. When he told Loai he was quitting, security staff attempted to dissuade him; then realising his determination they reluctantly let him go. Now in the US, jobless, separated from his family and his people and a practising Christian, he believes his decision was worth it. Though written with the editorial aid of someone called Ron Brackin, this testimony has the ring of truth about it. For its author it has been a harsh but valuable journey.

Francis Phillips writes from Buckinghamshire in the UK. Published in Mercatornet
 

Call to ban homeopath remedies on NHS
Helen Puttick

30 Jun 2010

Homeopathic remedies should be banned on the NHS and taken off pharmacy shelves where they are sold as medicines, doctors said yesterday.
Medics at the British ­Medical Association (BMA) conference voted three to one in favour of axing NHS funding for homeopathic remedies and removing support for the UK’s four homeopathic hospitals – one of which is in Glasgow. They said NHS doctors should not be trained in ­homeopathy and remedies should be taken off shelves labelled medicines and put on shelves “labelled placebos”
.
The Scottish council of the BMA was among those to call for funding to be cut. However, former chairman of BMA Scotland, Dr John Garner, spoke out against this move, saying it would prevent patients who benefited from the practice receiving treatments.

Garner said: “There’s a big push that we practise evidence-based medicine. ­However, patients don’t always have evidence-based symptomology.”
Proposing the motion, Dr Mary McCarthy, a GP from Shropshire, said homeopathy could harm patients by ­diverting them from ­conventional medicine. She countered arguments that it made some people feel better, saying: “Lots of things make you feel better – a sunny day, the smell of the sea, a hug, retail therapy.”
Homeopathy has been ­funded on the NHS since its inception in 1948. It is based on the principle that a ­substance taken in small amounts will cure the same symptoms it causes if it is taken in large amounts.
 

Pakistani Christian Beaten for Refusing to Convert to Islam

 Brothers converted by Muslim cleric who raised them leave him for dead.

Riaz Masih, covering his face for security reasons, says his brothers seek to kill him.

KALLUR KOT, Pakistan, February 22 (CDN) — The four older Muslim brothers of a 26-year-old Christian beat him unconscious here earlier this month because he refused their enticements to convert to Islam, the victim told Compass.
Riaz Masih, whose Christian parents died when he was a boy, said his continual refusal to convert infuriated his siblings and the Muslim cleric who raised them, Moulvi Peer Akram-Ullah. On Feb. 8, he said, his brothers ransacked his house in this Punjab Province town 233 kilometers (145 miles) southwest of Islamabad.
“They threatened that it was the breaking point now, and that I must convert right now or face death,” Masih said. “They said killing an infidel is not a sin, instead it’s righteousness in the sight of Allah almighty.”
Masih begged them to give him a few minutes to consider converting and then tried to escape, but they grabbed him and beat him with bamboo clubs, leaving him for dead, he said.
“They vented their fury and left me, thinking that I was dead, but God Almighty resuscitated me to impart His good news of life,” he said.
Masih told Compass that his brothers and Akram-Ullah have been trying to coerce him to convert to Islam since his brothers converted.
“They had been coercing me to embrace Islam since the time of their recantation of Christianity,” Masih said, “but for the last one month they began to escalate immense pressure on me to convert.”
He grew up with no chance to attend church services because of his siblings’ conversion to Islam, he said, adding that in any event there was no church where he grew up. He knew two Christian families, however, and he said his love for the Christian faith in which he was originally raised grew as he persistently refused to convert to Islam.
He said Akram-Ullah and his brothers offered him 1 million rupees (US$11,790), a spacious residence and a woman of his choice to marry in order to lure him to Islam, but he declined.
The Muslim cleric had converted Masih’s brothers and sisters in like manner, according to human rights organization Rays of Development (ROD), which has provided financial, medical and moral support to Masih. ROD began assisting Masih after a chapter of the Christian Welfare Organization (CWO) brought the injured Christian to ROD.
A spokesman for CWO who requested anonymity told Compass that Akram-Ullah had offered Masih’s brothers and sister a large plot of residential land, as well as 500,000 rupees (US$5,895) each, if they would recite the kalimah, the profession of faith for converting to Islam.
“He never accepted the Islamic cleric’s invitation to Islam, although his newly converted Muslim sister and four elder brothers escalated pressure on him to convert, as well, and live with them as a joint family,” the CWO spokesman said.
Adnan Saeed, an executive member of ROD, told Compass that when Masih’s parents, carpenter George Albert and his wife Stella Albert, passed away, Masih and his siblings were tenants of Akram-Ullah, who cared for them and inculcated them with Islamic ideology.
Saeed said that when they converted, Masih’s now 37-year-old sister, Kathryn Albert, adopted the Islamic name of Aysha Bibi; Masih’s brothers – Alliyas Masih, 35, Yaqoub Masih, 33, Nasir Masih, 31, and Gullfam Masih, 28 – adopted their new Islamic names of Muhammad Alliyas, Abdullah, Nasir Saeed and Gullfam Hassan respectively.
Masih’s family attempted to kill him, Saeed said. A ROD team visited Masih at an undisclosed location and, besides the support they have given him, they are searching for a way to provide him legal assistance as well, Saeed said.
Masih said that because of Islamist hostilities, it would be unsafe for him to go to a police station or even a hospital for treatment. A well-to-do Christian has given shelter to him at an undisclosed location.
In hiding, Masih said that his brothers and Akram-Ullah are still hunting for him.
“Since they have discovered that I was alive and hiding somewhere, they are on the hunt for me,” he said. “And if they found me, they would surely kill me.”
 

Archaeologist sees proof for Bible in ancient wall

by MATTI FRIEDMAN
The Associated Press
Monday, February 22, 2010; 8:07 PM

JERUSALEM -- An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era. 
If the age of the wall is correct, the finding would be an indication that Jerusalem was home to a strong central government that had the resources and manpower needed to build massive fortifications in the 10th century B.C.
That's a key point of dispute among scholars, because it would match the Bible's account that the Hebrew kings David and Solomon ruled from Jerusalem around that time.
While some Holy Land archaeologists support that version of history - including the archaeologist behind the dig, Eilat Mazar - others posit that David's monarchy was largely mythical and that there was no strong government to speak of in that era.
Speaking to reporters at the site Monday, Mazar, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, called her find "the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel."
"It means that at that time, the 10th century, in Jerusalem there was a regime capable of carrying out such construction," she said.
Based on what she believes to be the age of the fortifications and their location, she suggested it was built by Solomon, David's son, and mentioned in the Book of Kings. 
The fortifications, including a monumental gatehouse and a 77-yard (70-meter) long section of an ancient wall, are located just outside the present-day walls of Jerusalem's Old City, next to the holy compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. According to the Old Testament, it was Solomon who built the first Jewish Temple on the site.
That temple was destroyed by Babylonians, rebuilt, renovated by King Herod 2,000 years ago and then destroyed again by Roman legions in 70 A.D. The compound now houses two important Islamic buildings, the golden-capped Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Archaeologists have excavated the fortifications in the past, first in the 1860s and most recently in the 1980s. But Mazar claimed her dig was the first complete excavation and the first to turn up strong evidence for the wall's age: a large number of pottery shards, which archaeologists often use to figure out the age of findings.
Aren Maeir, an archaeology professor at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said he has yet to see evidence that the fortifications are as old as Mazar claims. There are remains from the 10th century in Jerusalem, he said, but proof of a strong, centralized kingdom at that time remains "tenuous."
While some see the biblical account of the kingdom of David and Solomon as accurate and others reject it entirely, Maeir said the truth was likely somewhere in the middle.
"There's a kernel of historicity in the story of the kingdom of David," he said.
 

Movie Review - Lourdes
http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/movies/17lourdes.html?ref=global-home

Palisades Tartan - Sylvie Testud plays a young woman with multiple sclerosis who goes on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

February 17, 2010
Mysteries and Hopes Converge on a Shrine
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: February 17, 2010

Moving between heaven and hell, or perhaps just sky and earth, the pilgrims who walk and tremble and are sometimes pushed through “Lourdes” in wheelchairs are usually seen at a remove. One exception is Christine, a young woman with multiple sclerosis who is played by the French actress Sylvie Testud. Tucked into a wheelchair, her limbs immobile and hands tightly curled, Christine looks around her — at the other visitors, the helpful aides, the strange locale — with a gaze that seems at once incurious and beatific.
Situated in southwest France north of the Pyrenees, Lourdes is thought by Roman Catholics to have been where the impoverished 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous saw the Virgin Mary in 1858. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1933 and by Hollywood a decade later when her story was turned into the 1943 kitsch classic “The Song of Bernadette,” with Jennifer Jones. Millions now visit Lourdes annually to attend services and drink from and bathe in the grotto waters, thought to have healing powers. It’s been claimed that the water can cure, though, as the Lourdes Web site, lourdes-france.org, puts it: “For a modern mentality, it is difficult to say that something is ‘inexplicable.’ They can only say that it is ‘unexplained.’ ”
One of the pleasures of this intelligent, rigorously thoughtful, somewhat sly film is that it takes place in the space between the inexplicable (no explanation is possible) and the unexplained (enlightenment might be around the corner). Its director, Jessica Hausner, an Austrian working here in French, wants to explore the mysteries of life, not its certainties. One great mystery, of course, is faith itself, how people come to believe what they do and how those beliefs affect not just their thinking and feelings but also their bodies. For Christine, who speaks most profoundly through the eerie quiet of her nearly inert form — and then later through a possibly miraculous physical transformation — belief is inscribed on the body itself.
The film, which was shot on location in Lourdes — one scene features Cardinal Roger Mahony, the archbishop of Los Angeles, leading a prayer service — is largely organized around the rituals of pilgrimage. Christine, who’s closely assisted by a young woman (Léa Seydoux) who feeds and helps dress her, is pushed here and there. In one scene Christine visits the grotto, her attendant lifting her curled hand to the stone wall. Another time she visits the baths, where grotto water is poured on her head. In between, she eats and sleeps and has encounters with others (including Bruno Todeschini and a very good Elina Löwensohn). Wherever she goes, a shop selling religious souvenirs can usually be seen in the background.
Contrary to expectation, these repeated images of the souvenir shops don’t function as overt critiques, and there’s nothing in the film as crude as an indictment of the commodification of faith. Ms. Hausner, whose earlier titles include “Lovely Rita,” is more interested in the forms that faith takes, in its individual and collective ebbing and flowing. The mesmerizing opening image — a steadily framed and angled overhead shot of a cafeteria — immediately sets her parameters. As the camera holds on the image, men and women, some in wheelchairs, begin to stream in, as if carried along by some unseen force. They’re merely being seated for a meal, but the elevated angle of the shot and the way everyone drifts in together, as if each were part of a single organism, creates a sense of a collective purpose, a unified calling.
The few religious conversations in the film mostly take place at the edges of the story, among the other pilgrims, including a few women who serve as something of a humble Greek chorus. Together they help make up a convincing world inhabited by believers and skeptics whose ideas are largely voiced in asides and through their actions. In a wonderfully choreographed bit, a member of the Order of Malta, a religious group, tells a joke in which the Virgin Mary is the (mild) punch line. Meanwhile, in the background, Christine is secretly wheeled out the door by her roommate, an older woman with a lopsided mouth, Mme. Hartl (Gilette Barbier), who seems to think that her own fate is tied to the handicapped woman.
What happens to Christine is mystifying, simultaneously (as they say at Lourdes) inexplicable and unexplained. Ms. Testud, a tiny actress with an often oversize and ferocious screen presence, delivers a minutely detailed performance that telegraphs a world with a thrust of her chin, a widening of her eyes. Save for the last astonishing shot of Christine’s face — now a whirlwind of expressive feeling — Ms. Testud keeps her performance generally muted, perhaps to help safeguard Ms. Hausner’s secrets. There is, after all, so much that we can’t and don’t know. As one woman says at the end of the film, during a short discussion of God, we do not know who’s in charge. And then this same woman asks a question that puts her spiritual question into comic relief: what, she wonders, is for dessert? Mysteries, as Ms. Hausner attests, abound.

LOURDES
Opens on Wednesday in Manhattan.
Written and directed by Jessica Hausner; director of photography, Martin Gschlacht; edited by Karina Ressler; production designer, Katharina Wöppermann; produced by Mr. Gschlacht, Philippe Bober and Susanne Marian; released by Palisades Tartan. At Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, west of Avenue of the Americas, South Village. In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes.
WITH: Sylvie Testud (Christine), Bruno Todeschini (Kuno), Elina Löwensohn (Cécile), Gerhard Liebmann (Pater Nigl), Gilette Barbier (Mme. Hartl), Hubsi Kramer (Herr Olivetti) and Léa Seydoux (Maria).
 

Australia's traditional Anglicans vote to convert to Catholicism
Traditionalist Anglicans in Australia have become the first to vote in favour of leaving their national church and converting to Roman Catholicism.

By Bonnie Malkin, in Sydney and Martin Beckford
Published: 10:00PM GMT 16 Feb 2010

Crossing over to Rome under the new scheme would give the group the chance to retain their Anglican culture without sacrificing their beliefs Photo: REUTERS 

Forward in Faith Australia, part of the Anglo-Catholic group that also has members in Britain and America, is setting up a working party guided by a Catholic bishop to work out how its followers can cross over to Rome.
It is believed to be the first group within the Anglican church to accept Pope Benedict XVI’s unprecedented offer for disaffected members of the Communion to convert en masse while retaining parts of their spiritual heritage.

So far only the Traditional Anglican Communion, which has already broken away from the 70 million-strong Anglican Communion, has declared that its members will become Catholics under the Apostolic Constitution.
The Rt Rev David Robarts OAM, chairman of FIF Australia, said members of the association felt excluded by the Anglican Church in Australia, which had not provided them with a bishop to champion their conservative views on homosexuality and women bishops.
"In Australia we have tried for a quarter of a decade to get some form of episcopal oversight but we have failed," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"We're not really wanted any more, our conscience is not being respected."
Bishop Robarts, 77, said it had become clear that Anglicans who did not believe in same-sex partnerships or allowing women to be ordained as bishops had no place in the "broader Anglican spectrum".
"We're not shifting the furniture, we're simply saying that we have been faithful Anglicans upholding what Anglicans have always believed and we're not wanting to change anything, but we have been marginalised by people who want to introduce innovations.
"We need to have bishops that believe what we believe."
Crossing over to Rome under the new scheme would give the group the chance to retain their Anglican culture without sacrificing their beliefs, he said.
On Feb 13th the group unanimously voted to investigate setting up an Ordinariate - an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church - in Australia.
It has formed a working group with a Catholic bishop, Bishop Peter Elliott, along with the breakaway TAC and the national church, ACA, to “set in train the processes necessary for establishing an Australian Ordinariate”.
Under the terms of the Vatican’s offer made last October, Anglicans who are disillusioned with the church’s liberal direction will be allowed to enter into full communion with the Holy See. But they may be able to continue using their old prayer books and church services, and will come under the pastoral care of a new bishop called an Ordinary.
Forward in Faith Australia, which is based in Melbourne, has up to 200 members, but not all are expected to convert. The group said it was committed to providing “care and support” for anyone who felt unable to be received into the Ordinariate.
Bishop Robarts said his group was the first FiF branch to "embrace" the Pope's offer so strongly. Anglo-Catholics in the Church of England have welcomed the opportunity but are waiting to see whether they will be given significant concessions on the introduction of women bishops – such as a “men-only” diocese – before deciding whether to cross the Tiber.
The Anglican Church of Australia ordained its first women priests in 1992 but so far its governing body, the General Synod, has failed to approve legislation needed to introduce women bishops.
"It's the first step on the road, saying thank you, we are going to go along this particular track because the door has been closed to us by the Anglican Church of Australia over a long period of time,” said the bishop.
"I love my Anglican heritage, but I'm not going to lose it by taking this step."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7249374/Australias-traditional-Anglicans-vote-to-convert-to-Catholicism.html
TelegraphNews
 

Why British children are sad
And why 'happiness classes' in schools won't help them cheer up.
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/why_british_children_are_sad/

Children in England are feeling increasingly miserable, according to a recent survey. A third of young people said they were not happy with life, and one in 20 pupils at secondary schools admitted to having been drunk “two or three times” in the past month.
Should this surprise us? Not really. An increasing number of young people have to endure the misery of parental divorce, or the break-up of unmarried relationship. Many have to cope with the complications of what is coyly called a “merged family” with step-brothers and step-sisters in what may turn out to be yet another temporary arrangement. They are expected to manage the relationships involved in having step-grandparents and an assortment of step-uncles and aunts, some of whom may also be in various sorts of relationships with partners.
Since school discipline is acknowledged to be a problem – evident in a rising number of incidents of attacks on teachers, routine necessary searches for knives, a massive problem of swearing and rowdiness in classrooms – it is scarcely surprising that for many children an ordinary school day presents much that will induce fear and unhappiness. The consumer-culture also produces an array of nasty habits: envy, greed, the nonsense of the “must-have” jeans or trainers, the sneering or bullying involved when a child is deemed to be dressed unfashionably. Obesity presents a further problem: children who instead of family meals are presented with endless opportunities to grab snacks and given money for fast-food to be eaten on the way home from school, and/or in front of the TV at home.

A new book also notes that lack of structure and discipline in children’s lives induces misery. The Spoilt Generation: why restoring authority will make our children and society happier by Aric Sigman points out that children desperately need authority figures, boundaries and discipline and order, parents who are in control. It is cruel to deny children these things, which are essential to mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
If one single cause of misery could be brought out as heading a list, it would be the denial of a child’s right to a father. Cruel policies in divorce courts block fathers from seeing their children: a mother is deemed to have the right to force her children to live with her and her new boyfriend while a father becomes a marginal figure whose visits can be blocked or made extremely difficult by moving to a distant place.

Divorce can also bring other effects: conscious that their children are likely to be unhappy when a home breaks up, parents tend to try to compensate by soft-pedalling on discipline, allowing bad behaviour which really requires correction.
There are other ways of inducing heartache in children, too: over-indulgence and giving them a sense of entitlement to instant gratification makes them angry with themselves and with others, discontented, unable to manage small everyday challenges. Failure to punish bad behaviour means that they are confused and life seems to lack structure and purpose.
And the fashionable emphasis on “genderless parenting” mean that a simple truth has been ignored: children need both mothers and fathers, who relate to them in different ways. A family should not have to be politically-correct, and nor should its means of communication or discipline have to follow fashion. Families need to have a confidence in being what they are, and parents should be allowed and encouraged to make use of their best instincts and their common sense.
None of this seems to have reached Ggovernment circles of thought. Do politicians and bureaucrats live on a different planet from the rest of us? Britain’s “Children’s Minister” announced, in response to the recent survey, that the new system of “happiness” classes at school and compulsory “personal, social, health and economic education” would resolve the problems, along with promotion of healthy eating habits.
It makes one despair. A child needs a secure home, and the knowledge that there is a moral code and a meaning to life. You cannot teach “happiness” in a classroom, and it is bizarre that a government is attempting to do so. Structure and discipline should form a framework in which a child can flourish, a sort of secure flower-pot in which the young plant thrives before it is put out into the larger flower-bed to bloom in the garden.
The angry, frightening young men and women who shriek and vomit and lurch about drunkenly in the streets of Britain’s towns and suburbs on summer nights are evidence that we are getting something terribly wrong. It is very weird when a nation is afraid of its own young.
It is possible to change, and to start making the right decisions and restoring wisdom and truth to the task of child-rearing. If we don’t, the future looks bleak.
Joanna Bogle writes from London.
 

Polish priests are having a devil of a time as demand for exorcists rises
Date: 13 February 2010
By Matthew Day in Warsaw
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Polish-priests-are-having-a.6069658.jp

THE number of priests in Poland willing to do battle with Satan and rid people of evil spirits has soared as a result of growing public demand for exorcisms, say Catholic Church figures.
As Polish exorcists gathered yesterday for their annual conference, few failed to notice the swollen ranks of clergy.

In the early 1990s, there were just three exorcists for the whole country. Now there are more than 100, and each year the number
gets higher. In Europe, Poland now trails only Italy in the number of its registered exorcists.

"There are so many of us because the problem (of possession] is growing," Father Andrzej Grefkowicz told a press conference that shed a rare light on a practice which remains a mystery to many.
"This isn't funny," he added. "Anybody who has come into contact with somebody who is possessed, or enslaved, knows that this is not a joke."
Despite the spread of secular thought in Poland, according to the Polish Catholic Church, each year the number of people in "torment or enslaved by an evil spirit" increases.
"In Poland, there is a growing human awareness that different types of depression and anxiety can have a spiritual cause. There wouldn't be so many of us, if this wasn't the case," said Fr Grefkowicz by way of explanation.
Another reason cited by priests for the rise in exorcists is increasing public awareness of their role, and more people looking for explanations and cures to behaviour that conventional science struggles to deliver. But despite the age-old struggle between faith and science, trained exorcists refer people to psychologists if they feel the person suffers from a clinical, rather than spiritual problem.
"So how do we recognise if someone is possessed?" said Fr Grefkowicz. "A person may hear voices, and it may be a medical problem, but experience allows us to conclude it is a possession. Exorcists are looking for reasons."
Other ways of discovering if somebody has an evil spirit in them appear more direct.
"In Italy, there is a good way," said Fr Antony Zielinski. "You have three white envelopes, two of which contain cards, while the third has a holy image. A person possessed will behave abnormally in contact with the envelope holding the holy picture."
Aware that talk of cards and evil spirits may invoke a negative reaction from the cynical, and that many people's knowledge of exorcism is based on Hollywood horror films, Poland's exorcists are cautiously trying to demystify their work.
"We really need to shed light on the whole subject," said Dr Alexander Posacki, a Jesuit theologian and exorcism expert.
"There are a lot of unnecessary myths surrounding it, but exorcism is based on the cast-iron rules of the Church," he added. "Everything is consistent with its tradition and its teachings."
In an effort to undermine the dramatic movie image of priests locked in tumultuous battles with evil spirits, Fr Grefkowicz said most exorcisms are more sedate affairs, rather than dramatic scenarios.
"Our work is based mainly on prayers and psalms, and that is how I cast out an evil spirit," he said
 

Why Pope John Paul II Whipped Himself
New book reopens questions on self-denial and "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions."
Collin Hansen | posted 2/08/2010 09:11AM

Pope John Paul II projected a warm, grandfatherly image to the adoring public who flocked en masse to hear his homilies or watched on TV from home as he traversed the globe. So there was no small shock when a recent book revealed that the pope, who died in 2005, whipped himself with a belt and sometimes lay prostrate all night on the floor.

The pope apparently did not want aides to investigate his sleeping habits, going so far as to make his bed appear used by tossing around the sheets. Yet Monsignor Slawomir Oder, who is presenting John Paul II's case for canonization, detailed the behavior in an Italian-language book, Why He's a Saint: The Real John Paul II According to the Postulator of His Beatification Cause. Oder explains that the pope believed these acts of penance would affirm God's primacy and help him seek perfection. While self-inflicted physical suffering is unusual among Catholics, other notables have pursued holiness in this manner. Mother Teresa wore a cilice, a strap secured around the thigh that inflicts pain with inward-pointing spikes. Catholics are quick to point out, however, that these practices bear little resemblance to the bloody, masochistic flogging so graphically portrayed in the movie based on Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.

So how do Catholics explain self-flagellation, a practice so foreign to Protestants, let alone non-Christians? Several writers have defended the late pope. Writing for the National Catholic Register, Jimmy Akin faults a "pleasure-obsessed culture" for portraying the pope's behavior as repulsive.

"Self-mortification teaches humility by making us recognize that there are things more important than our own pleasure," Akin writes. "It teaches compassion by giving us a window into the sufferings of others—who don't have a choice in whether they're suffering. And it strengthens self-control. As well as (here's the big one I've saved for last) encouraging us to follow the example of Our Lord, who made the central act of the Christian religion one of self-denial and (in his case) literal mortification to bring salvation to all mankind."

Indeed, the pope believed suffering brought him closer to Christ, according to Oder. For precedent, the pope appealed to Colossians 1:24, where the apostle Paul writes, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." With no parallel in the New Testament, this verse has vexed biblical commentators for centuries. Surveying the Old Testament apocalyptic literature, Peter O'Brien understands "what is lacking" to mean that God has appointed a measure of suffering before the end comes. Paul's suffering on behalf of the Colossians, whom he never even met, helped to fill that gap. The suffering he endured for the sake of the gospel in his apostolic ministry united him with other Christians and even Christ himself, who suffered untold anguish on the Cross.

Yet for all the hardship he bore (2 Cor. 11:16-32), Paul did not harm himself in pursuit of this union. Suffering found him, and he even pleaded unsuccessfully with God to relent (2 Cor. 12:7-10). God allowed this suffering in order that he might demonstrate his power in Paul's weakness. Whether we seek suffering or not, aging does the same by inflicting hardship on nearly all of us. Does our theology prepare us to endure? As John Paul II aged, Parkinson's disease visibly ravaged his once-vigorous body. He even considered resigning, something no modern pope has done, even though Catholic bishops usually retire at age 75. Politics Daily columnist David Gibson points out that the agonizing end to John Paul II's life deserves more attention than his private suffering.

"In the end, all of the revelations about flagellation and such may be more of an unfortunate distraction from the testimony of the pope's final years, when he struggled against a growing paralysis but continued to write and travel and appear in public and show the zest for life he always had—a kind of self-mortification that was also a powerful public witness for those who were similarly aged or infirm."

Still, we should understand the late pontiff's self-flagellation as part of a more comprehensive Catholic theology. According to Chris Castaldo, author of Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic, John Paul II's views can be found in a 2002 homily he preached about St. Pio of Pietrelcina, a Capuchin priest famous for his self-flagellation. Today you can still visit Pietrelcina and see gory traces of his self-affliction. Honoring this saint, John Paul II quoted Galatians 6:14: "But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ." According to the pope, Pio showed the redemption of Christ by conforming to the Cross.

"Is it not, precisely, the 'glory of the Cross' that shines above all in Padre Pio?" Pope John Paul II asked. "How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope. Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross."

Protestants recoil at mention of collaborating in the work of redemption, because believers have been sanctified by the once-for-all offering of Jesus Christ on the Cross (Heb. 10:10). But perhaps we may still resonate with the spiritual benefits of self-denial. Though we reject self-flagellation as a misguided effort to relate to Christ, we may pursue other disciplines prescribed by Scripture to express our need for God. Maybe the best example is fasting, a common Old Testament practice assumed by Jesus as a means of connecting with God (Matt. 6:16-18). But just as our age scoffs at self-flagellation, so also many skeptics consign fasting to the over-zealous.

"Christians in a gluttonous, denial-less, self-indulgent society may struggle to accept and to begin the practice of fasting," Don Whitney writes in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. "Few disciplines go so radically against the flesh and the mainstream culture as this one. But we cannot overlook its biblical significance. Of course, some people, for medical reasons, cannot fast. But most of us dare not overlook fasting's benefits in the disciplined pursuit of a Christlike life."

Do you want to strengthen your prayer life? Discern God's leading? Find an outlet to express your grief to God? Confess your utter dependence on God? Whipping is not necessary, but self-denial is a vital means of Christian growth. As Jesus prepared for his earthly ministry, he fasted. His example compels us to do the same.

Collin Hansen is a CT editor at large and co-author of the forthcoming book, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Zondervan).
 

Haiti: The Untold Story

"There shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places: Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows." (Matthew 24: 7,8)

Haiti, formerly known as the Pearl of the Antilles, was once a prosperous French colony where the Catholic Faith predominated. But in August, 1791, Haiti was dedicated to the devil by island rebels and has since been plagued with hurricanes, floods, and civil unrest, with Haiti today being the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
This sharply contrasts its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, which has kept the Faith and has enjoyed an abundance of peace and prosperity over the years.
It is a well documented and historical fact that a group of Voodoo priests (houngans) led by a priestess named Dutty Boukman made a pact with the Devil in Haiti on August 14, 1791. The place was Bois Caiman. All present vowed to exterminate all the white Frenchmen on the island. They offered a black pig in sacrifice in which hundreds of slaves drank the pig blood. In this ritual, Boukman implored the devil to get the French occupation out of Haiti, and in exchange they offered their country to Satan with a vow to serve him.

The event at Bois Caiman marked the beginning of the Haitian revolution which culminated on January 1, 1804, when the nation of Haiti was born and a new demonic tyranny began.
Today over three quarters of Haiti's population practices Voodoo, a curse that was greatly augmented when President Jean-Bertrand Aristide officially sanctioned Voodoo as a national religion on April 8, 2003. Voodoo priests are now permitted to perform marriages and other ceremonies previously reserved only for Christian religions. "An ancestral religion, Voodoo is an essential part of national identity," Aristide said in his decree recognizing Voodoo.
What is worse is the way that Aristide went out of his way to promote the practice of Voodoo in his country. On the day the government recognized the cult, he paid all the radio stations in Haiti to play nothing but Voodoo music all day long. He even flew in 400 Voodoo priests from West Africa to help spur the event on.
According to Reverend Doug Anderson who served as a missionary in Haiti until 1990, "Haiti is the only country in the entire world that has dedicated its government to Satan. Demonic spirits have been consulted for political decisions, and have shaped the country's history." Haitian leaders make no attempt to hide their allegiance to Satan. According to media commentator Tom Barrett, "Haiti's government is a government of the devil, by the devil, and for the devil."
Is it any wonder that Haiti was struck by a killer earthquake on January 12th? Have we forgotten how often the Israelites in the Bible were punished and delivered into slavery when they would depart from the God of their fathers and sacrifice in their groves?
Two hundred years ago the houngans in Haiti called upon the god of Voodoo to direct their country and for the past two hundred years the devil has been driving a whip to their back and holding them in chains of envy. The vulture spirituality produced by the cult was clearly evidenced by the hoards of people looting in the streets while the earth was yet shaking on January 12.
The earthquake in Haiti is a wake-up call for the people to return to their knees and honor the God of Columbus who first brought the Christian Faith to that country. But it is also a lesson as to what will happen anywhere on earth where decadence and degeneracy become a way of life. We saw it in Southeast Asia (tsunami disaster) where children were being forced into the sex industry against their will. We saw it in New Orleans (Katrina) where 135,000 gays and lesbians were scheduled to parade in the streets just two days before the killer hurricane hit.
Shall we play the ostrich and pretend that the killer quake in Haiti was just an accident?
This was a clear and direct message from God to the people of Haiti and the world. The Republic of Haiti was punished for adopting satanic cruelty (Voodoo) as a way of life for its people. But the mercy of God was also extended in taking many of these innocent souls before the devil might have a chance to claim them for himself.
But this mercy too is for the survivors of the quake. God broke Haiti's legs as it were, but in the same move he broke the shackles of sin that they may come out of bondage and walk at liberty as Christians as they were called to do in the beginning. We might see the Haitian quake as a potential exodus from 200 + years of satanic oppression.
Let us pray that Haiti will heed this sign from on high to put away its witchcraft and embrace more fully the laws of God that they may be the peaceful and prosperous nation  they were called to be in the beginning.
David Martin jmj4today@att.net

Reference: St. Petersburg Times, Media Research, Wikipedia, Conservative Truth, Pat Robertson
 

As killers hunted her, Rwandan woman hid in cramped bathroom with Rosary for 91 days

It was beyond a horror movie. It is in the realm of martyrdom. It was during one of history's most brutal genocides.
For 91 harrowing days in 1994, a twenty-two-year-old Catholic student named Immaculée Ilibagiza of the Tutsi people in Rwanda, Africa, hid in the bathroom of a minister's house with seven other adults to escape all but certain death. Hutus were in the midst of a reign of terror that, before it was over, depending on the estimate, would record 800,000 to a million Tutsis -- Immaculée's people -- murdered (in one to three months).
It was a secret bathroom that even some of the minister's family didn't know about: three by four feet and so small that Immaculée and the others -- for those three months -- had to take turns standing.
The alternative was death by machete.
Indeed, Immaculée lost her parents, two brothers, her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, friends, and classmates in the "war."
For endless, nail-biting days, she and the others listened in stark terror as killers searched her village for remaining Tutsis and even entered the house in which they were hiding, missing them by God's grace.
Day in and day out, light or dark, just outside the window -- at times, just feet beyond the thin walls that shielded them -- were the sounds of murder.
And every day -- perhaps every hour -- the women wondered how they would meet their end; one of them begged the minister, who was a Hutu, but had hidden them out of Christian kindness, to throw dirt on her corpse if they were next so the dogs -- which were consuming the strewn corpses -- would not tear into hers.
It was so terrifying that often while the women hid their mouths dried and there was no saliva to swallow -- terrifying but for prayer: Immaculée recited 27 rosaries and forty Divine-Mercy chaplets a day -- praying every waking moment.
It was how she survived. It was how they all survived -- physically and emotionally.
"I felt like my head was laying on the lap of the Blessed Mother all day," she recounted to us recently.
"There was no eating. I prayed from the morning until eleven at night.
"Every day, every second, I had to think of the Blessed Mother. And at night, I would dream of Jesus. Although all day I was praying to Mary, at night I always dreamt of Jesus, and He told me, 'Don't fear again.'"
Adds her blog:
"Immaculée credits her salvage mostly to prayer and to a set of rosary beads given to her by her devout Catholic father prior to going into hiding. Anger and resentment about her situation were literally eating her alive and destroying her faith, but rather than succumbing to the rage that she felt, Immaculée instead turned to prayer. She began to pray the Rosary as a way of drowning out the negativity that was building up inside her. Immaculée found solace and peace in prayer and began to pray from the time she opened her eyes in the morning to the time she closed her eyes at night. Through prayer, she eventually found it possible, and in fact imperative, to forgive her tormentors and her family's murderers."
At one point, said Immaculée, a Hutu killer put his hand on the bathroom door but, miraculously, didn't open it.
Afterward, a cabinet was placed in front to obscure the door as Immaculée maintained her incredible ordeal, eating beans with insects in them. The young Rwandan woman dwindled from a healthy 115 pounds to a skeleton of 65 pounds, nourished mainly by that rosary her father, a convert to Catholicism, had given her.
By the end of this modern holocaust -- which largely took place outside world view -- three-quarters of Tutsis would be killed, including nine hundred of 2,500 fellow students. So numerous were the corpses that, as was the case with her father's body, they were stacked by Hutu warriors for roadblocks -- or simply heaved into the Kagera River, where they all but clogged this waterway that empties into Lake Victoria.
The New York Times headline was "Blood in the River" while Time's cover story quoted a missionary as saying, "There are no devils left in hell. They are all in Rwanda."
And indeed that was exactly what Immaculée and the others heard, the sounds of evil as neighbor killed neighbor, the Hutus hunting down every Tutsi they could find -- at one point calling out Immaculée's name as they searched the house!
The Hutus never found the women -- who with the help of the minister eventually escaped to a refugee camp (established by the French Foreign Legion).
Her story is now famous. She has met world leaders like President George Bush (who read her book and sent her a personal letter). She has been honored with an award given legendary people like Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, and has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Saint John's University. She wrote a bestselling book called Left To Tell. President Barack Obama was photographed holding the book. Her account has been told on 60 Minutes.
The story is remarkable enough right there, but then, more remarkably, is the mystical aspect.
For the genocide had been prophesied years before by the same Blessed Mother when she appeared in Rwanda during apparitions that began at Kibeho in 1981 and have been fully approved by the Roman Catholic Church -- apparitions that Immaculée now dedicates herself to publicizing.
It was during those apparitions, as we have previously reported, that Mary warned about materialism, irreverence, and sexual immorality that would bring desolation (soon to be realized as AIDS swept this region).
There were initially twelve visionaries, then nine studied by the Church, three officially approved in 2001, when a declaration was issued in Rome. During an apparition preceding the holocaust, one of the seers saw what was later described as "a river of blood, people who were killing each other, abandoned corpses with no one to bury them" -- precisely what soon transpired and was noted in the headline.
Those revelations are what Immaculée now chronicles, at speaking engagements and in another bestseller called Our Lady of Kibeho. Her main message: Christian forgiveness (after the ordeal, she even kissed one of the killers who murdered two members of her family).
During the holocaust, two of the seers died. A third later succumbed to illness. Only three are officially recognized -- but achieved that status in a pastoral letter issued by the local bishop during a visit to the Vatican in June of 2001.
Ironically, says Immaculée, the bishop said he was most impressed with a pagan boy named Emmanuel Segatashya who was not one of the approved seers but had converted so deeply that he spoke with the wisdom of one who had spent decades immersed in Catholic teaching. "I spoke with the bishop, and he said they will be going back to all the visionaries, but anyone who had an apparition of Jesus, they did not want for now to go there," explains Immaculée. "They approved of Mary but not Jesus."
Perhaps it was also because Segatashya, in addition to claiming an encounter with Jesus, spoke of the "end" of the world.
"I never conceived the world could end until I saw the genocide," reflects Immaculée. "To have seen a million die in three months, to see people leaving, with nothing from their pasts, was incredible."
The warning of Kibeho, she feels, is for the whole world, and also has been transmitted from sites like Medjugorje, which  Immaculée has visited and firmly supports. "I think it is the Lord going to the ends of the world," says the African woman, who now lives in New York and has worked at the United Nations. "So many souls are searching for God. We will see chastisements. We will have trouble because of our sins."
But like her we have the Rosary.
Like her, we have the Divine Mercy chaplet.
And with prayer we too can escape the cramped quarters of hiding no matter what storm or holocaust or genocide (or quaking of the ground) rises around us.
 

Lawsuit calls yoga chain a cult

By Kyra Phillips and David Fitzpatrick, CNN
January 7, 2010 -- Updated 2320 GMT (0720 HKT)

A full investigation into the allegations against the Dahn Yoga centers on tonight's Campbell Brown, 8 ET on CNN.

Cottonwood, Arizona (CNN) -- The cheering was raucous and the applause thunderous for a man who makes few public appearances.
As he made his way gingerly across a gravel park, where he had just dedicated a nearly 40-foot statue representing the "Soul of the Earth," a voice shouted out: "I love you, Ilchi Lee."
Lee, a South Korean businessman, is the founder of a national chain of yoga and wellness centers called Dahn Yoga. The company teaches that its physical exercises "can restore the vibrations of the body and brain to their original, healthy frequencies," according to a video introduction on its Web site.
But Dahn Yoga is now defending itself from allegations by former employees that it is "a totalistic, high-demand cult group" that demands large sums of money from its followers and enshrines Lee as an "absolute spiritual and temporal leader."
A lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Arizona, says that recruits "are unknowingly subjected to an intensive program of psychological manipulation, indoctrination and various techniques of coercive thought reform designed to induce them to become Ilchi Lee's disciples and devote themselves to serving him and his 'vision.' "

Jade Harrelson, one of more than two dozen plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Dahn leaders "prey upon people like me who are ignorant about the way money works."
The company denies the allegations and calls the plaintiffs "disgruntled former employees."
"In our 30-year history, we have helped millions of people lead healthier and happier lives," corporate spokesman Joseph Alexander told CNN.
Dahn Yoga set up its first shop in the United States in 1991, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It now has 127 storefront centers in the United States, more than 1,000 worldwide, and Forbes magazine estimates the company's 2009 profits at $34 million.
Dahn Yoga teaches that what it calls brain wave vibration can ease some of the debilitating symptoms of illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis. Its publicity materials feature praise for Lee from a variety of sources, including Oscar Arias, Costa Rica's president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner; and Broadway producer/choreographer Tommy Tune. In addition, Elkhonon Goldberg, a clinical professor of neurology at New York University's medical school, praises the work of the International Brain Education Association, a group Lee founded.
"IBREA is in a unique position to disseminate knowledge and to serve as a very effective platform for numerous worthwhile projects," Goldberg is quoted on the Dahn Web site as saying. "Ilchi Lee should be applauded for his pioneering creative vision in conceiving and launching this innovative organization with a truly international outreach."
Goldberg did not respond to requests for comment from CNN.
Harrelson and other former employees say Dahn Yoga instructors coerced them into taking out student loans, then transferring the funds to the company. Payments began in small amounts, she said, then progressively increased as fees for training and courses became more expensive. Harrelson said she eventually paid about $40,000 to Dahn.
Alexander said no one was ever coerced into giving money to Dahn Yoga. The former employees "have misinterpreted natural business cycles, natural business goals, as some type of undue pressure," he said.
 "We make no excuses and no apology for the fact that we are a business," Alexander said. The plaintiffs, he said, "are after one thing -- they are after money."
And Dahn Yoga attorney Alan Kaplan added, "Let's make it clear. My client, Mr. Lee, is not a cult leader. Dahn Yoga is not a cult."
But Ryan Kent, the lawyer who filed suit on behalf of Harrelson and 26 other former employees in May, said Dahn Yoga leaders indoctrinate followers, then "take advantage of you and take all your money."
Harrelson also said Lee singled her out for special attention and eventually sexually assaulted her while she was living and working in Seoul, South Korea.
She said she trusted Lee and saw him as a father figure, eventually following him to Seoul -- where, she says, he assaulted her one night in 2007 at his apartment.
"In my mind, there was no possible way I could have physically or verbally resisted him," Harrelson told CNN. "To say no to him was to say no to his soul. I became numb, and so what happened, happened not at my consent."
Harrelson said she never filed a police report. The first time she publicly made the allegation was when she and other former employees filed suit in early 2009.
Dahn Yoga's U.S. operations are now based near Sedona, Arizona, about 20 miles from Cottonwood -- where Lee appeared in December to dedicate the 39-foot statue of "Mago." The name is Korean for "Soul of the Earth," the mother figure in a seventh-century creation legend Lee cites as his inspiration.
It was a rare appearance for Lee, who is seldom seen in public and routinely travels with a retinue of bodyguards.
CNN requested an on-camera interview with Lee through his representatives, but was turned down. When approached at a dedication ceremony in this small Arizona town, he was surrounded by bodyguards, one of whom said the Dahn Yoga founder needed a translator to understand the questions.
When a CNN photographer who speaks Korean translated, Lee said it was the first time he had heard of the sex assault allegation. Then his bodyguards forced the camera lens to point toward the ground, and Lee continued to the ribbon-cutting.
Later, his attorney said any claims of sexual assault were not true, and "We are confident we will get those claims dismissed in court."
Harrelson, who goes by "Jade," and college friend Liza Miller also say they were strongly urged to undergo extreme physical training at Dahn Yoga's retreat center in Sedona -- training they say left both women at the brink of exhaustion.
One of the exercises, known as "bow training," involved deep knee bends to the floor to a prone position and back up again, with hands raised high over their heads. Miller, who has joined the lawsuit, says once she had to do 3,000 of the exercises -- "Which took about 10 hours, and we didn't eat or drink during that time."
"People were screaming, people were throwing up, people were running away," Miller said. "People were rolling around, moaning, crying, wailing -- there was a lot of emotional distress. We were taught that because of this bow training, we were cleaning what was blocking us, to connect to our soul."
Dahn Yoga calls Miller's description of the exercise inaccurate.
"These are meditation practices," Alexander said. "They are common throughout Asia, especially in Korea. Generally, people do a smaller number of bows, and they build up to more. I know of no one who does 3,000 bows on a regular basis."
And Dahn Yoga instructor Genia Sullivan told CNN, "The practices that we practice are very helpful."
"They empower people to really use everything they have to become the best person they can be, and I've benefited greatly from it," Sullivan said.
Other Dahn employees sent CNN e-mails supportive of the organization and its leader while this report was being prepared. All praised Lee, with one woman saying she had given her life to him and to the organization. The writers all condemned their former colleagues who have gone to court, and they deny the company is a cult.
By all accounts, Dahn Yoga is a booming business. Lee is revered by most of its adherents. But some former employees who say they once loved the organization are now saying far different things.
"The problem was way at the top, at the very, very top, things are completely dishonest," Miller said. "And that information trickled down so that everyone is believing one thing, which is a total lie."
 

Anti-Christian attacks in Iraq part of brutal strategy, says archbishop

Rome, Italy, Nov 30, 2009 / 03:52 am (CNA).- Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul said last week that last Thursdya’s anti-Christian attacks in Iraq which destroyed a church and damaged a convent “show that there is a strategy to erase our cultural heritage and more than 2000 years of history” on the part of Muslim extremists.
In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the archbishop said these Islamic groups “want to destabilize the atmosphere of trust in our country. We must oppose this atmosphere of hatred with strength and with prayer,” he added.
The strategy of these groups “is clear,” the archbishop continued.  “As soon as the situation becomes calm and it appears there is a chance Christians can return to their homes in their cities, the terror and violence reappear with greater threats.”
“This is the not the first time extremist groups lashed out at the symbols of the Christian community in Iraq. And it is not the first time that priests and religious have paid with their blood,” he explained.
After recalling the March 2008 assassination of his predecessor Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, Archbishop Casmoussa said, “It seems like nobody is able to guarantee the safety of Iraqi Christians.”
“The only path to take to placate violence is dialogue,” the archbishop continued.  “Only then will we be able to isolate these extremist groups and become a tolerant country.  Now we must seek to be close to our small community and give ourselves strength and encouragement.”
 

Mosul: Christian buildings attacked, Church of Saint Ephrem levelled
11/26/2009 14:15
IRAQ - AsiaNews Agency

At present, there is no information about casualties. Attackers carried out their action in broad daylight without any opposition. The methods used are like those used in the attack against the Bishop’s Palace in 2004. Christian sources say the “attack was like a Mafia warning”, a message to Christians “to leave the city.” The faithful are left with anger, disappointment and fear.
 Mosul (AsiaNews) – Explosive devices were detonated this morning at two Christian sites in Mosul, the Church of Saint Ephrem and the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine. At present, there are no reports about casualties but the church was entirely destroyed. The convent also suffered damages but it is not known how much. Christian sources in Mosul told AsiaNews that the “attack was like a Mafia warning”, a message to Christians “to get out of the city.” 
At around 10 am, a commando of about ten gunmen stormed the Church of Saint Ephrem in the al-Jadida neighbourhood, in a new section of the city. Attackers told everyone inside to leave and then calmly proceeded to place explosives around the building. When they were set off the whole structure was levelled. The same thing happened to the Bishop’s Palace in December 2004.
According to early reports, no one among the faithful was hurt in the blast.
After the first operation, the attackers moved to the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine, where a second explosion was heard around 10.30 am. For the moment, there are no details about the damages inflicted on the building or any casualties among the nuns.
Sources in Mosul told AsiaNews that the attacks were the work “of a group of about ten people who acted calmly.”
The area is under the control of Sunni Arabs and had not seen any major act of violence until now.
“We received threats and episodes of intimidation but nothing major,” a Christian source said.
This morning’s attacks resemble “the series of attacks that hit Mosul’s Christian community in the past.”
Local sources suggest that Kurds might be involved in the action in order to get Christians out of the area and into the “Nineveh Plain.”
“There is a lot of fear among the people because those who carried out the attack acted unimpeded and without opposition,” the anonymous source said.
In fact, it is more than just fear. A sense of “anger and disillusionment against the local and national governments is growing. It is the latest attack and latest disillusionment for Christians who feel abandoned.”  (DS)

Masked Gunman Kills Russian Priest At Moscow Church

By REUTERS
Published: November 20, 2009

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A masked gunman entered a church and murdered a Russian Orthodox priest who had received death threats for converting Muslims to Christianity and criticizing Islam, prosecutors and church officials said Friday.
The killing could threaten delicate relations between the powerful majority Russian Orthodox Church, which has close ties to the Kremlin, and the country's growing Muslim minority of about 20 million.
The gunman approached priest Daniil Sysoyev, 34, in St Thomas Church in southern Moscow Thursday night, checked his name and then opened fire with a pistol, a spokesman for the investigating committee of the Prosecutor-General's office said.
"The main theory is that religious motives are behind the crime," spokesman Anatoly Bagmet said.
Sysoyev died on the way to hospital. His choirmaster was injured in the attack, Bagmet said, and is in hospital under armed guard.
Sysoyev was from Tatarstan, a predominantly Muslim region of Russia on the Volga river. He was threatened after preaching to Muslims and Christians from other denominations.
"I have received 10 threats via e-mail that I shall have my head cut off (if I do not stop preaching to Muslims)," Sysoyev stated on a television program in February 2008, according to Interfax. "As I see it, it is a sin not to preach to Muslims."

Russia is home to Europe's largest Muslim community and Islam is the country's second-biggest faith, something which Sysoyev criticized.
"Islam is far from being a religion in the way we understand it," he said in one of his video lectures posted on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJNPSyh4zFk&feature=related).
"Islam can be rather compared with projects like National Socialism or the Communist party seeking to create God's kingdom on Earth using humanly instruments," he added.
He also wrote books including "An Orthodox Response to Islam" and "Marrying a Muslim," in which he advised Russian women against taking a Muslim partner.
Russia has seen a religious revival after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dominant Orthodox Church has become an important political force. Its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is frequently seen in public with Russian and foreign leaders.
But Orthodox bishops have complained that rival Christian denominations are seeking to make converts on its territory and Islam is spreading fast among a sprawling community of migrants from predominantly Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union.
The Russian Patriarch's press service refused to comment on the murder but some of Sysoyev's Orthodox colleagues referred to Muslim attacks on him prior to the killing.
"Father Daniil ... has been periodically receiving e-mails which said he will be treated as 'infidel' if he did not stop polemics with Muslims," Kiril Frolov, the head of the Orthodox Experts Association, told Interfax news agency.
Russia's Chief Mufti Ravil Gainuddin expressed his condolences to the Orthodox Church and to Sysoyev's family. He cautioned against assigning blame prematurely or speculating about the motives for the killing.
"We want to say that we oppose any expressions of terrorism and extremism," he told reporters. "Islam denounces terror and the murder of an imam, an orthodox priest, is an awful sin..."
Sysoyev also preached against small religious groupings such as Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, viewed as "totalitarian sects" by the Orthodox Church.
(Additional reporting by Aydar Buribayev; editing by Michael Stott and Janet Lawrence)

Vatican Researcher Finds Writings On The Shroud of Turin

November 21st, 2009 - 7:13 pm ICT by GD -
By Ranjan Bhaduri,
Nov. 21, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Vatican scholar, Barbara Frale, has come up with the information that the ‘Shroud of Turin‘, debated as the burial cloth of Jesus, has several writings on it that could prove its viability. According to Frale, the text includes the words “(J)esu(s) Nazarene” which translates into Greek as Jesus of Nazareth. The claim has been made in her book, La Sindone di Gesu nazareno or ‘The Shroud of Jesus of Nazareth’.
The discovery was made by Frale with the help of the computer analysis of the shroud’s photos which are not accessible very frequently. Frale further believes that the words were written on a document so as to identify the body (Jesus’s), but the ink seeped into the shroud.
The piece of cloth bears the images of a man who has been crucified, and its validity as the cloth used to cover Jesus during his burial, has been debated for ages. The experts dismiss Frale’s claims saying that the shroud has been concluded to be a medieval forgery established through carbon-dating. To this, Frale said, that during the medieval times, no one except a heretic could have omitted to use these particular words of divinity, and even a forger “would have had all the reasons to put up the words on the object”. She also says that the shroud could have been seen as a hoax if the words ‘Christ’ or ‘Son of God’, were found instead of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. Gian Marco Rinaldi, an expert on the matter, said that the signs are brought out by computer enhancements and that the letters are a figment of imagination.
 
 

Death certificate is imprinted on the Shroud of Turin, says Vatican scholar

Wednesday, 25 Nov 2009
A Vatican scholar claims to have deciphered the "death certificate" imprinted on the Shroud of Turin, or Holy Shroud, a linen cloth revered by Christians and held by many to bear the image of the crucified Jesus.
By Richard Owen

Dr Barbara Frale, a researcher in the Vatican secret archives, said "I think I have managed to read the burial certificate of Jesus the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth." She said that she had reconstructed it from fragments of Greek, Hebrew and Latin writing imprinted on the cloth together with the image of the crucified man.
The shroud, which is kept in the royal chapel of Turin Cathedral and is to be put in display next spring, is regarded by many scholars as a medieval forgery. A 1988 carbon dating of a fragment of the cloth dated it to the Middle Ages.

However Dr Frale, who is to publish her findings in a new book, La Sindone di Gesu Nazareno (The Shroud of Jesus of Nazareth) said that the inscription provided "historical date consistent with the Gospels account". The letters, barely visible to the naked eye, were first spotted during an examination of the shroud in 1978, and others have since come to light.
Some scholars have suggested that the writing is from a reliquary attached to the cloth in medieval times. But Dr Frale said that the text could not have been written by a medieval Christian because it did not refer to Jesus as Christ but as "the Nazarene". This would have been "heretical" in the Middle Ages since it defined Jesus as "only a man" rather than the Son of God.
Like the image of the man himself the letters are in reverse and only make sense in negative photographs. Dr Frale told La Repubblica that under Jewish burial practices current at the time of Christ in a Roman colony such as Palestine, a body buried after a death sentence could only be returned to the family after a year in a common grave.
A death certificate was therefore glued to the burial shroud to identify it for later retrieval, and was usually stuck to the cloth around the face. This had apparently been done in the case of Jesus even though he was buried not in a common grave but in the tomb offered by Joseph of Arimathea.
Dr Frale said that many of the letters were missing, with Jesus for example referred to as "(I)esou(s) Nnazarennos" and only the "iber" of "Tiberiou" surviving. Her reconstruction, however, suggested that the certificate read: "In the year 16 of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Jesus the Nazarene, taken down in the early evening after having been condemned to death by a Roman judge because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority, is hereby sent for burial with the obligation of being consigned to his family only after one full year". It ends "signed by" but the signature has not survived.
Dr Frale said that the use of three languages was consistent with the polyglot nature of a community of Greek-speaking Jews in a Roman colony. Best known for her studies of the Knights Templar, who she claims at one stage preserved the shroud, she said what she had deciphered was "the death sentence on a man called Jesus the Nazarene. If that man was also Christ the Son of God it is beyond my job to establish. I did not set out to demonstrate the truth of faith. I am a Catholic, but all my teachers have been atheists or agnostics, and the only believer among them was a Jew. I forced myself to work on this as I would have done on any other archaeological find."
The Catholic Church has never either endorsed the Turin Shroud or rejected it as inauthentic. Pope John Paul II arranged for public showings in 1998 and 2000, saying: "The Shroud is an image of God's love as well as of human sin. The imprint left by the tortured body of the Crucified One, which attests to the tremendous human capacity for causing pain and death to one's fellow man, stands as an icon of the suffering of the innocent in every age." Pope Benedict XVI is to pray before the Shroud when it is put on show again next Spring in Turin.

Big anti-abortion rally in Spain

Pro-life protesters turned out in numbers

More than a million people are said to have taken part in a march in Madrid to oppose government plans to liberalise Spain's abortion law.

Several dozen centre-right opposition party joined the demonstration, which was backed by Roman Catholic bishops. Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wants to introduce abortion on demand. At present, a pregnancy can only be terminated in mainly Catholic Spain under specific circumstances. The government wants the procedure to be available to all women up until the 14th week of pregnancy.
Most controversially, the draft law currently before parliament would also permit girls aged 16 and 17 to have an abortion without their parents' knowledge. It is the latest in a series of ethical issues which have pitted the Catholic right against the government, which has legalised gay marriage and made divorce easier.

Police estimates put the crowd at 250,000, but the regional government said that over a million had turned out, with the organisers claiming a turnout of two million. 'Every life matters'
The march brought together more than 40 religious and civil society groups calling for the government to withdraw the draft bill.
The march drew together more than 40 religious and other groups

"This new law is a barbarity," said one protester, Jose Carlos Felicidad, from the southern town of Algeciras.
"In this country, they protect animals more than human beings," he told AFP news agency.
A broad cross-section of Spanish society were represented, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Madrid - old and young, parents with babies, priests, nuns, immigrant families and organised groups coached in from all over the country.
They gathered in the heart of Madrid under an enormous blue banner the height of a two-storey building emblazoned with the simple message: "Every life matters."
The crowd stretched all the way up the city's main avenue in what our correspondent says was a show of strength by Spain's traditional Catholic right.
The demonstrators would have been hoping that lawmakers at the parliament nearby were listening, our correspondent adds, because it is they who in due course will vote on this controversial legislation.

Respect and rights?
Spain's existing law, dating from 1985, allows abortion in cases of rape and when there are signs of foetal abnormality.
Spanish women can also end a pregnancy if their physical or psychological health is at risk. In practice, the last category has been used to justify the vast majority of abortions - of which there were 112,000 in 2007.
The government says the new law is about respect and rights for women, and that anyone wanting to terminate a pregnancy will first be explained the alternatives - including state help for young mothers.
It also claims its proposal will make abortion safer - by ensuring the procedure does not happen beyond 22 weeks of a pregnancy.
In recent years shocking cases have emerged in which doctors performed abortions on women eight months pregnant, with the justification that their mental health was under threat.

Charismatics for generations

There is a little known story about Fr. Angelo Roncalli (future Pope John XXIII) in Patti Gallagher’s book “As by a New Pentecost”:

While he was still Bishop Angelo Roncalli, Pope John XXIII used to visit a tiny Czechoslovakian village of approximately three hundred people where a dear friend of mine, Mrs. AnnaMariea Schmidt, was living. For many centuries all the Catholics in this village had experienced the full spectrum of charismatic gifts as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12-14. It was part of normal Christian life for them . . . Pentecost was a daily reality.

AnnaMariea related to me the circumstances surrounding the first manifestation of charismatic gifts in the eleventh century. When the villagers were in danger of starvation due to the severe cold which ruined their crops, they prayed for God’s help. A beautiful lady, who did not identify herself, appeared on the mountain and taught them how to implore the Holy Spirit. As they followed her instructions, they were all filled with the Spirit and received charismatic gifts, such as discernment of spirits, prophecy and the gift of tongues. They also experienced a growth in the sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially love. The bread which they baked that winter was blessed, and their supply lasted miraculously until the next harvest.

Each successive generation of villagers manifested the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They did not realize that their charismatic experience was unique, since their village was fairly isolated. AnnaMariea describes how the power of prayer and the presence of God’s love were so strong that they needed no jails or hospitals. When someone was sick, the entire village united in prayer, expecting God’s healing. Children were welcomed into families; there was no divorce. Peace and love reigned. Sunday Mass was a glorious celebration of Jesus in their midst and was followed by a sharing of food and fellowship. Scripture was read in the homes and children were instructed to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It was into this charismatic environment that Bishop Roncalli came for visits in the 1930s. He was joyfully received as a spiritual father. AnnaMariea, who was a child at the time, remembers him as a priest imbued with God’s love. She delighted to sit at his feet and listen to him speak about Jesus. He seemed perfectly at home amidst the manifestations of the charismatic gifts as he prayed with her family and the other villagers.

When I asked AnnaMariea if she thought that Pope John XXIII’s prayer for a new Pentecost was inspired by his visits to her village, she said that she thought it would be presumptuous to draw such a conclusion. AnnaMariea believes that this desire for a new Pentecost was born in his heart long before he visited them. It seemed to her as though he knew full well what was possible when people turned to God with repentant, humble hearts and implored the Holy Spirit to act in their midst.

AnnaMariea’s description of Bishop Angelo Roncalli is confirmed by many other people. Certainly, Pope John XXIII is widely regarded as one of the most charismatic figures of the twentieth century. He has been called by Cardinal Suenens, “a man completely docile to the Holy Spirit, a man who, completely free from himself, followed the path of the Holy Spirit.”

It was prophesied in the 1930s that a severe testing would come upon AnnaMariea’s village to empty it, but that there would be joy as the villagers stood firm through the trial. This prophecy was fulfilled when Nazi troops came in 1938 and killed almost every villager. The power of the Holy Spirit sustained them, and not one person renounced his faith. I am grateful to God for sparing the life of Mrs. AnnaMariea Schmidt, who survived both Nazi and Russian concentration camps, and who has allowed me to share this portion of her amazing testimony.

Webmaster's note: After some queries I find out the name of this village; Ležáky. This village was entirely destroyed after the war, and the name was removed from all maps, as the Communists wanted to take away even the memory of this God-filled place. It was near another village where the population was also massacred, Lidice; but the people there were all communists, and this village has now become a place preserved in their memory. Click here to know more.  VideoMapPhotos
 

Abortion Clinic Director Converts During "40 Days"

National Campaign Claims 542 Lives Saved

Abby Johnson, left, the former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas
(Bluefish Photography/Coalition for Life)

By Genevieve Pollock

BRYAN, Texas, NOV. 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Abby Johnson, former director of a Planned Parenthood center, left the organization after watching a baby being aborted, and is now working with those who prayed for her conversion.

Johnson, 29, worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years until she watched, by an ultrasound transmission, a fetus "crumple" as it was vacuumed from its mother last September.
On Oct. 6, she quit her job as the Bryan center director. She walked across the street to the Coalition for Life, a pro-life group that was at that time joined with cities across the nation in a 40 Days for Life campaign.
David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, told ZENIT that in the latest campaign, which ended Sunday, seven other abortion workers quit their jobs, and 542 lives were saved.
And "these are just the ones we know of," he added, summing up the immediate results from the campaign that united 212 cities across 45 states, five Canadian provinces and Denmark.
The 40 Days program actually began at the Bryan clinic in 2004, as a grass-roots prayer and fasting initiative. Pro-life workers have gathered in front of this Planned Parenthood center for six campaigns to date, keeping a prayer vigil around the clock for those considering and advocating abortions.
Bereit stated: "From that first campaign in 2004, we've prayed for Abby -- and for all abortion workers -- that they would come to see what abortion really is, and that they would leave the deadly business.
"In this case, those prayers have been answered. We are so proud of Abby's courage to leave the abortion industry and publicly announce her reasons for leaving."
He noted that this conversion story "demonstrates the importance of a constant, peaceful prayer presence in front of abortion facilities."

Breaking point

Johnson, who is now appearing on radio and television shows around the country, explained that she had a "change of heart on this issue," 40 Days for Life reported.
She stated, "Over the past few months I had seen a change in motivation regarding the financial impact of abortions and really reached my breaking point after witnessing a particular kind of abortion on an ultrasound."
"I just thought, I can't do this anymore; and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that's it," she told KBTX.com.
Johnson, an Episcopalian, described this moment as a "definite conversion" of heart, a "spiritual conversion." Johnson also reported that although she originally got involved with Planned Parenthood because she wanted to help women, she had been having second thoughts because the center was changing its business model. "The money wasn't in prevention," she said, "the money was in abortion."
Johnson told FoxNews.com that she was actually instructed by her regional managers to increase the number of abortions performed to drive up profits. "Every meeting that we had was, 'We don't have enough money, we don't have enough money -- we've got to keep these abortions coming,'" She said. "It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers."
Although Johnson's former place of employment only performed abortions on two days each month, every day the doctor was in, he could do up to 40 of these.
Now Johnson is helping women, but from the other side of the street. She began praying with volunteers outside Planned Parenthood, for those who were once her coworkers.

Power of prayer

Coalition for Life's director, Shawn Carney, affirmed: "It's truly been a testament to the power of prayer and the courage of Abby to leave a job she felt she could no longer do in good conscience.
"It has been a joy for all of our volunteers who have prayed outside of the clinic for the conversion of the clinic workers to witness that conversion actually happen."
Though Johnson has not yet found another job, she has been working closely with Carney and other members at the coalition.
Bereit explained to ZENIT, "Pro-life people are welcoming these former abortion workers with love and open arms."
He pointed to his organization's Web site, which has posted on its blog hundreds of notes from people worldwide who are expressing support for Abby.
Bereit stated that even one conversion will have far-reaching results. This will "certainly encourage other cities to conduct multiple 40 Days for Life campaigns, as well as to develop a regular prayer presence" even while the program is not going on, he said.
Bereit continued, "We are committed to press on until that day when no more women cry and no more children die."
He told ZENIT that two more campaigns are being planned for 2010, one during Lent, beginning Feb. 17, and another in the fall, Sept. 22-Oct. 31.
"In addition," Bereit said, "40 Days for Life is actively developing tools, training, and resources to educate, equip, and empower local pro-lifers to grow and expand the impact of their efforts."

To read more;
Hundreds of babies saved from abortion in recent pro-life campaign
Planned Parenthood's abortion quotas exposed

Bangalore: Miscreants Vandalise Catholic Church - Mob Protests
by Amarnath Dinesh Roy - Bangalore

Bangalore, Sep 10: Over 10 window glasses and two statues were destroyed at St. francis de Sales church in Hebbagudi on Hosur road, about 20 kms from Bangalore, on the night of september 09th.  In incident came to light when Fr. Selvaraj, the assistant parish priest of the  church woke up on 10th morning to turn off the compound lights.

He said "The vandals broke and toppled down the statues of John the disciple and another image of Mary" These statues were part of the Calvary scene.  Youth at the venue who were found shouting slogans against the government and against the police pointed to a site where there were ahses. "The misreants must have attempted to set fire to portions of the church" they said.

Speaking to SAR NEWS Fr Selvaraj Assistant Parish Priest said” we did not have a watchman but a boy was staying in the watchman quarters. They had locked the room of that boy and had indulged in this vandalism. Though the church has a burglar siren, it functions only when the doors are broken and entered-in. They had only broken the window panes but had not entered inside the church”.
Fr.Selvaraj further added that “Since we have mass in the evening today, it was only when we came for a visit in the morning at about six we realized the damage.

Father Aloysius Parish Priest of St.Francis de sales church estimated the loss over two lakhs.
The Francis de sales Church belongs to Members of the Society of Francis de Sales (MSFS). The campus comprises a hospital, formation house, PUC and Degree colleges, besides the church. The School and college were closed. The students and parishioners  from neighbouring parishes blocked the Hosur Highway and staged a protest demanding justice and a probe. Police assured them of immediate action and protection.

Father Francis C, Finance officer of the archdiocese and Father Adolf Washington, Public Relations Officer of the Archdiocese visited the spot to take stock of the damage and loss. They interacted with the Police officials and Local BJP MLA Narayanswamy.  It may be recalled that this attack comes exactly after a year from the churches in Bangalore and Mangalore were attacked.  Fr. Francis while pacifying the agitated crowds told  media persons "We do not want to comment without knowing the fact of the matter.  We will definitely want an inquiry into the reason behind this attack.  None of us want any disruption of peace, be it the hindu, muslim or christian community"

The Archbishop who was away for the Karnataka Bishops Council Meeting was unable for comment. Answering queries from media persons, Fr. Adolf Washington, PRO of the archdiocese said "This is not a time to speculate and make blatant accusations against anybody.  We have an incident of vandalism at hand and none of us are in the know of who could behind this.  We can hardly suspect anyone given the fact that this church has always enjoyed a peaceful fellowship. We must allow the law to take its course.  We have asked the police to register a case of vandalism and a case of disruption of communal harmony." It is our hope that the Government and the police machinery will take congnisance of this incident and bring the culprits to book."     When asked if he saw any internal problem in the Church that sparked off this act of vandalism, he said "if this was an internal church conflict, no christian in his right senses would destroy a sacred image or cause physical destrution to the church".  "There has to be an outside hand" he said.

Superintendent of Police Dr. Mahesh,  Police Officer Shankarappa from Anekal Police Limits, area BJP MLA Narayanswamy and panchayat officials visited the spot to pacify the agitated crowd.
 

Fr Pat Collins CM summarizes the conclusions of a recent report on Reiki brought out by the American bishops

Over the years a number of people have asked me what I think about Reiki. To tell the truth, more often than not, I have had to admit that I do not know much about the subject, but that it sounds a bit like a New Age form of healing to me. Recently, I was delighted to find that, in March 2009, the doctrinal committee of the American hierarchy, consisting of eight archbishops and bishops, had published a lucid and helpful document entitled Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy.

It begins by echoing the teaching of Sirach 38:1-15, when it says there are two kinds of healing, natural and divine. On the one hand, we can be healed by human means such as surgery, psychotherapy and medicine, while on the other hand God can heal us by means of such things as the anointing of the sick and the charism of healing. In this connection the bishops refer to the Instruction on Prayers for Healing which was published by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000, and to par. 1508 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The bishops point out that charity demands that we should not neglect natural means of healing people because even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses.

The Origins of Reiki

A Zen Buddhist monk, Mikao Usui, discovered Reiki in the mid nineteenth century in Japan. At the end of a 21-day meditation on Mount Kurama he achieved a spiritual awakening and received the knowledge of Reiki, i.e., how to attune to the universal lifeforce or energy. According to Reiki, sickness is ultimately due to an imbalance of the universal life force in the human body. So a Reiki practitioner brings about healing by placing his or her hands in certain key positions on the patient’s body in order to facilitate the flow of Reiki or universal energy. Rather than being the ultimate source of this healing energy, the healer is merely a channel for something that exists everywhere and in everything, including the healer. To become a practitioner of Reiki healing a person must receive an “initiation,” or “attunement” from a Reiki master, i.e. someone who has reached a high level of attunement as a result of completing an advanced stage of training.

Is Reiki a Natural Means of Healing? When one reads books and articles on Reiki it becomes clear that its beliefs are mainly expressed in spiritual and religious terms of a pantheistic kind. Such literature is filled with references to God, the Goddess, the “divine healing power,” and the “divine mind.” The life force is described as being directed by the “Higher intelligence,” or the “divine consciousness.” Furthermore Reiki healers make use of Japanese sacred symbols and engage in religious type ceremonies. Reiki is often referred to as a way of living governed by five ethical precepts. As the bishops point out, in some respects Reiki is similar to a religion.

That said, many practitioners such as nurses, use Reiki as a purely natural form of healing. However, there is no empirical evidence to show that this form of alternative medicine has any good effects. In fact it lacks credibility in so far as the universal life energy that Reiki talks about is unknown to modern science. As the bishops observe, the justification for this form of therapy must necessarily come from something other than science.

Reiki and the Healing Power of Christ

As I know from personal experience, some modern day Christians such as priests, nuns and charismatics, try to harmonise Reiki with Christian healing. To do so they have to accept, at least in an implicit way, the central tenets of the worldview that underpins Reiki healing. Many of these tenets are incompatible with Christian thinking. This is so, for instance, because Christians see divine healing as a free gift of God’s grace, which is not within human control, whereas Reiki practitioners believe, in a Pelagian way, that healing can be reliably experienced as a result of human insight and effort. The American document points out, “the fact remains that for Christians access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Saviour, while the essence of Reiki is not prayer but a technique that is passed down from the ‘Reiki Master’ to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated results.” Apparently, some practitioners of Reiki, who are influenced by New Age thinking, consult with angelic beingsIt e r c e and spirit guides when they are ministering healing to others. The American bishops point out that this practice can open a channel to sinister demonic influences. They observe, “This introduces the further danger of exposure to malevolent forces or powers.” This point may explain why I have heard quite a number of people say that, having received Reiki healing, they developed all kinds of problems ranging from depression to headaches and physical ailments. Indeed, a man who had been a Reiki master rang me up one day to say that he had heard me warning about the dangers of this form of therapy in one of my recorded talks. He told me that he had come to see the truth of my words from his own personal experience and that of his clients. I was pleasantly surprised when he revealed that he was giving up Reiki because he had discovered that it sometimes had a very dark side.

While some practitioners attempt to Christianise Reiki, in a syncretistic way, by adding a prayer to Christ and using Christian symbols, the American bishops point out that these cosmetic changes do not alter the essentially pagan nature of this form of therapy. For these reasons, Reiki cannot be identified with what Christians call healing by divine grace.

“Reiki is operating in the realm of superstition, the no man’s land that is neither faith nor science”

The bishops conclude by observing that “for a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems.” They say that a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki ends up “operating in the realm of superstition, the noman’s land that is neither faith nor science.” The bishops warn that superstition corrupts the person’s worship of God by turning religious feeling and practice in a false direction. They explain that while “sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church, to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible.” That was the main reason why I wrote this short article.

The document ends with these salutary words, “Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health facilities and retreat centres, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or provide support for Reiki therapy.”

Fr Pat Collins CM is a prolific writer and a respected retreat leader. He is based in Dublin, Ireland.

US Bishops Declare Reiki Therapy Unchristian
Denounce Its Use in Catholic Institutions

WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Reiki, a Japanese alternative medicine, lacks scientific credibility and is outside Christian faith, making it unacceptable for Catholic health care institutions, the U.S. bishops' conference stated.

On Saturday, the conference issued the "Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy," developed by their committee on doctrine, headed by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and approved by the administrative committee Friday.
The document notes that "the Church recognizes two kinds of healing: healing by divine grace and healing that utilizes the powers of nature," which "are not mutually exclusive."
Reiki, however, "finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief," it explained.
The guidelines note that this technique of healing "was invented in Japan in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, who was studying Buddhist texts."
The report continues: "According to Reiki teaching, illness is caused by some kind of disruption or imbalance in one's 'life energy.' A Reiki practitioner effects healing by placing his or her hands in certain positions on the patient's body in order to facilitate the flow of Reiki, the 'universal life energy,' from the Reiki practitioner to the patient."

Spiritual healing
It further explains that the therapy has several aspects of a religion, being "described as a 'spiritual' kind of healing," with its own ethical precepts or "way of life."
Reiki "has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy," noted the guidelines. "Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious."
Nor can faith be the basis of this therapy, the bishops affirmed, as Reiki is different than the "divine healing known by Christians."
They explained, "The radical difference can be immediately seen in the fact that for the Reiki practitioner the healing power is at human disposal." For Christians, they said, "access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior," while Reiki is a technique passed from "master" to pupil, a method that will "reliably produce the anticipated results."

Insoluble problems
The guidelines state: "For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems. In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support -- or even plausibility -- is generally not prudent."
On a spiritual level, the document states, "there are important dangers." It explains: "To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that undergirds Reiki theory, elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science.
"Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science.
"Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction. While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible."

The document concludes, "Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy."

Messenger of Saint Anthony
Interview - God & I: John Pridmore

He was a serious East End 'face' who carried a machete and tear gas in his exquisitely tailored jackets until, after almost killing a man, something extraordinary happened...
Mario Conte, OFM Conv.

IN YOUR BOOK, From Gangland to Promised Land, you mentioned that you had a very happy childhood. How then did your fall into crime begin?
The big change came when I was 10. I came home one night and my parents told me that I had to choose who I wanted to live with because they were getting divorced. My parents were the two people I loved most in the world, and I just couldn't choose. So I think I made an unconscious decision that I wouldn't love anyone anymore because if I didn't love I wouldn't be hurt. My mom ended up having nervous breakdowns and then going to mental hospitals, whereas my dad remarried.
My step-mom felt that one of the ways to bring up a child was with a lot of violence; she was very strict. So it was all very hard for me. My father was a policeman, and one of the ways I began to see policemen was as vengeful people, against whom it was right to commit petty crimes. I wanted attention and tried to capture it in all the wrong ways - by being bad. At 13 I was caught by the police, and charged with a few different offences, and at 15 I was in detention.
My only qualification was stealing, and because I didn't love anyone, and because I certainly wouldn't let anyone love me, I began taking pain-killers, drugs, anything to take away the pain of not having God in your life. At 19 I was in prison again, and then there was a net change in me. I began to lash out in anger, so I was put into 23 hours of solitary confinement. That was really tough for me because I began to turn that anger against myself, but God must have been there even though I didn't know it because I didn't kill myself. However, when I came out, I was as angry and bitter as ever. I said to myself, When you're out, you have to take, because no one gives you anything in this world. So I became a bouncer round the clubs of the West and East Ends of London. I there met people who seemed to have everything: money, power, the best girls, drugs. Every time I walked into the place everyone knew who I was and had respect for me, and I thought that this respect would fill the emptiness in my heart. However, before long I was no longer working for these people, but with them. These people were running most of the organised crime in London, so to my shame I became involved in the major drug deals and protection rackets. I got to the point that I was carrying a machete in one pocket of my jacket and knuckle-dusters and CS spray in the other. There is no glory in being paid to hurt people, I'm saying this only to glorify what God can do in someone's life.
With that lifestyle, I slowly obtained everything, showy cars, money, women, etc., but inside I was still empty, and to kill my conscience which was telling me that this was wrong, I was on crack-cocaine, dope and heavy drinks, anything to blot out that inner voice.

Your life is extraordinary in the sense that you are a former drug-pusher and gangster turned Christian. Can you describe in greater detail the events that led to your conversion?
I was working in a club in the West End, and I ended up punching a man with my knuckle-dusters. I thought I had killed him. The only reason I hit him was because there was one of the underworlds bosses at the club that particular night, and I wanted to show this boss how good I was at my job. What scared me most was that I seriously didn't care whether the man would die.
When I came home that night I said to myself, What have I become? To kill someone and not to care? Because I used to care; when I was a child I wanted to be a good person, but now all I was doing was hurt everyone around me; also I had everything, but inside I was empty and miserable. I was very promiscuous and using a lot of women. It was just an awful way of living.
One night I became aware of a voice speaking to my heart, a voice we all know, the God within us. I thought God was a nice little story made up to keep us from being bad, but here I was faced by the fact that God was real. All this scared me; I was very frightened, and it wasn't a nice conversion. People say that separation from God is hell, if that is true then I experienced it. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I cried out for another chance, not because I was sorry, but because I didn't want to stay in this desolation, and I walked out of that flat, and I said the first prayer I ever said in my life. I said, Up to now all I've done is take from you, God. Now I want to give. As I said that prayer that emptiness which had always filled my heart was finally filled with the love of God, and in that moment I knew God could love someone like me. Up to that moment I always thought I was useless, and that it didn't matter whether I lived or died. But that moment it did matter because God loved me.

When you became Christian, why did you turn to Roman Catholicism?
The only person I knew who had faith was my mom. She had had a conversion, so I went to her and told her my story. She replied that she had prayed for me every single day of my life, and that just two 2 weeks earlier she had prayed to Jesus to take me rather than seeing me hurt other people or myself. I know how much she must have loved me to pray that prayer; it must have broken her heart, but she was seeing the monster I was becoming. She suggested that I see the local priest, so I went to see him, and he told me that I had had a genuine conversion, and he suggested that I go on a retreat. I didn't have a clue what a retreat was. I though it was lying on the beach, bacardy drinks, and so on. It was on this retreat that I met about 250 young people. They enjoyed a freedom I had never seen before. I wanted this freedom, but I didn't know how to get it. I went to a talk by Fr. Zlatko Sudac from Medjugorje, called Give Me Your Wounded Heart. While he was giving this talk I was looking at the crucifix, and for the first time in my life I realised why Jesus had died on that Cross - for the darkest, most terrible sins I had ever committed. I was filled with real sorrow for my sins, but greater than this sorrow was this incredible joy in my heart. It was like Jesus saying to me, John, I love you so much, I'd go through all this again just for you. That time I cried for the first time since I was 10, because that love which I had wanted so much since my parents divorced was given back to me, and I was crying like a baby. I came out of that talk and said a prayer to Our Lady: What is it your son wants me to do? I had found a deep sense of the Virgin Mary in that talk, and I heard her whisper to my heart, Go to confession. Now I'd never been to confession before, and I was 27 years old. I had broken practically every commandment, but somehow Mary gave me the courage to go even though I was terrified. I was there for over an hour, and I was totally honest, I left nothing out. At the end of it the priest put his hand on my head, and I knew it was Jesus' hand and that He had truly forgiven me. Jesus' heart is like a window, on one side is his love pouring down every minute of every day, but on the other side are the stains of our sins, and I couldn't see how much I was loved, I could only see all the sins I had ever committed. The thing that touched me the most was that the priest himself was crying, because he knew I had met the mercy of Jesus. Then there was a Mass, and I had never been to any Mass before, so I couldn't understand all that talk about the host being the body of Jesus and so on. So I said a simple prayer, If this is true to You, Jesus, them show me because I don't understand. I received Jesus on that day, and the only way I can describe it  is that every good feeling I ever felt in my life was magnified a million times, and I knew two things. One, that Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity, was present in that sacrament, and the other that I would be a Catholic to the day that I died, for I had no doubt about any of the teachings of the Church. It was like an infusion of knowledge, that the Truth was in the Catholic Church.

Which character in the New Testament do you feel the greatest sympathy with?
There are two. The first is Saint Peter, because, like me, he was always putting his foot in it. He said things he shouldn't have said, and did things he shouldn't have done. He just reminds me so much of the mistakes I make, but he also had incredible courage which, through God's grace, I have as well. He didn't care what people thought, he just wanted to love Jesus. The other character is obviously Saint Paul. He had such an incredible grace of truth. He didn't care if they wanted to kill him. He just wanted to preach the truth of Christ, and that is what I want more than anything else in the world.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor said that the future for Christianity could lie in new movements, like Youth 2000, which you are personally involved in, and New Faith, and in the building of small Bible study and prayer groups. Do you agree?
Absolutely. I know and love the Cardinal very much. He is a man of vision who sees that these new movements, through the Holy Spirit, are helping the Church to grow and develop. Youth 2000 is very simple; it's really the sacraments, Our Lady, and the teachings of the Church. The reason why it works and brings young people to Christ is simply because we give them the sacraments. Many people think that we have to reinvent Christ's Will, but to me that Will is already here, and it is called the Catholic Church, which is called upon to promote the culture of life, and these new movements are part of the culture of life.

What spiritual projects do you have for the future?
In Ireland we've just set up a community which is in its third year now. There are six of us in this community. We live off God's providence; we don't earn any money. The retreats we organise are donation funded only, we would never allow a young person to not experience Christ for lack of money. We feel sure that if God wouldn't support us financially then it would mean that we are not doing things as He wants. We organise one day school retreats in Ireland where we get the young to experience the wonder of God's mercy, and to know his true presence in adoration.
We are also involved with parish missions. We give talks over the weekends in the parishes, and we enliven the sacraments on these occasions. We organise Eucharistic healing services where people touch the Blessed Sacrament and receive healing. We've had wonderful experiences in this connection, with many people telling us that they had met Jesus for the first time in their lives. We've also received incredible encouragement from parents, for example. One mother told me that her daughter, who had tried to commit suicide, was able to overcome her depression, and now prays the rosary and goes to Mass regularly.

Do you have a girlfriend? Is marriage in sight for you?
I was engaged to a girl once, but I didn't get married because I felt that I couldn't be married and do what I do. Even though I loved her I didn't love her enough to give up my greater love, which is evangelisation. In the community we take a year's commitment to poverty and chastity, so the girls have no boyfriends and the boys no girlfriends.
So marriage is not an option for me at the moment. I feel called to be a single lay-person; consecrated to God, but not a priest.

What image and experience do you have of God?
My image of God is of a Father. Everything I want to serve, and everything I want to be is God. The image is that of me as a little child in front of the throne of God, and God picking me up in his arms and holding me. Then God starts crying, and I ask Him why He's crying, and He replies that it's because He had never wanted me to suffer so much in my life. He is the Alpha and the Omega; He is beyond words and expressions. He is love, but the word love is so abused in our society.  Jesus is forever patient with me, forever encouraging me, forever bringing me closer to Him despite my unfaithfulness.

Some say the Church is cold and uncaring, and lacks a feeling of cohesiveness and family, so they lose interest in attending. What is your impression?
The Church is Christ, who is everything, so our inner emptiness can only be filled by the Church. We should look at the Church not so much in terms of the people it contains, but as the sacraments. If we bear in mind that Christ gives everything of himself, body, soul, blood and divinity, to us through the Church, and that He can't give us anything more, we will find it incomprehensible that some people should say that Mass is boring. When Cardinal Newman left the Anglican Church he lost his reputation and livelihood as a consequence, but he said, What is all that compared to receiving Jesus just once, in his body, blood, soul and divinity?
If we only understood the mystery and the wonder of what we are receiving, then Mass would never be boring. If I'm watching a film on TV, but I'm looking out of the window and paying no attention, I won't get anything out of it. The Church is no different. If we really put the effort in, put the prayer in, if we give of ourselves to reach out and help others in the Church and through the Church, then we will receive very many blessings, but if we think that the Church has to fulfil us while we remain passive, then we've got the wrong idea, because the Church can give only if she receives. Some members of the Church might be cold, but there are also many who aren't. We shouldn't look at the Church in human terms, but in divine terms.

Your life journey has brought you into contact with all sorts of people: from hardened criminals to very holy people like Mother Teresa. Could you describe someone who impressed you deeply?
One person was an old lady. She was housebound and had leukaemia. She was a Quaker, and loved God with all her heart. We used to pray together, and after that there would be a moment of silence, of waiting for something. Once she said a prayer that I will never forget because it was just like as if Jesus had been in her place. Two days before she died I went to the hospital and gave her a rosary. She said, I know what this is, this is Our Lady's hand, and she is talking to me about her son, Jesus.
The other person was a friend of mine who died at 38. He was baptised on his death bed. He was a man of great love and tenderness; he was the closest thing to Christ I ever came in contact with. He never judged anyone, all he did was love people. He had had a horrendous childhood yet, unlike me, he turned to love, care and understanding. I have two very good friends in heaven.

Has Saint Anthony ever played a role in your life?
Saint Anthony has played many roles in my life. In the image of him holding the Baby Jesus I can see the love that he has for the Baby Jesus. That's why the Baby Jesus appeared to him. I pray for his intercession to receive that same tenderness and gentleness which he has, especially before preaching I ask Saint Anthony to speak through me and pray through me, because he has the great gift of speaking with the love of Christ.
Finally, when I lose something I seek out his help. Once I actually 'bribed' him. I told him that I would given money to the poor if he helped me find a lost object, and it worked, I found it immediately!

BIOGRAPHY:
The son of a policeman, John was born in east London. Although baptised a Catholic, he had no Christian upbringing. After his parents divorced, he got involved in petty crime. At the age of 17 he was sent to a youth prison. After his release, he did security work at pop concerts for artists such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Queen, and then moved on to night clubs and bars in and around the capital.
He eventually drifted into the London underworld, and soon became a drug dealer and hard man, involved with notorious criminals for whom stabbings and shootings were common. He was heavily involved in organised crime, and was descending into a spiral of violence. One night at a busy bar in central London, he almost killed a man.
A few nights later he experienced a powerful conversion.
He soon became involved in Youth 2000, an international spiritual initiative for young people which is particularly active in the Catholic Church. He now lives in a Christian lay community just outside Dublin.
 
 

Agca says he is now a Catholic - April 30, 2009

In a letter written from a Turkish prison, Mehmet Ali Agca, author of the failed attempt against Pope John Paul II in 1981, claims to have renounced Islam and embraced the Catholic faith.
Italian weekly Diva e people donna published the letter, French journal 7s7 reports.
"I am looking for an Italian woman, who wants to correspond with me. Obviously (I hope) she is Catholic because from May 13 2007, I decided to renounce the Muslim faith and becoming a member of the Roman Catholic Church," Agca writes.
"I have decided to return peacefully to the (St Peter's) square and to testify to the world of my conversion to Catholicism," he says in the letter written in Italian.
"Just for a day, I would wish to return to Rome to pray at the tomb of John Paul II to express my filial appreciation for his forgiveness," he adds.
Questioned by AFP in Turkey, his former lawyer Mustafa Demirbag, said he was "very skeptical" about the conversion, given the steps required to receive baptism.
Ali Agca also claimed to have expressed his desire to visit St Peter's Square to Pope Benedict XVI, without having received "no response to date". He also claimed to have informed the Vatican of his conversion.
"For the Vatican, I may still be the man who tried to assassinate the Polish Pope, but now I have changed, I am a different man," he says.

Is there a natural right to same-sex marriage?
Juan R. Vélez | Friday, 12 December 2008

No -- but sometimes the most obvious truths are the hardest to explain.

The people of California, Arizona and Florida recently voted to amend their state constitutions to defend the age-old truth that marriage is the life-long union of a man and a woman with the object of mutual love and the raising of a family. Ever since, those in favor of recognition of same-sex marriage have complained that they have been deprived of their civil rights and denied equality. The recognition of same-sex partnerships with legal and financial benefits akin to marriage is not enough for them. They repeatedly lament the supposed loss of their civil rights and compare themselves to oppressed slaves.
 

None. In fact proponents of same-sex marriage are usurping the natural and civil right to marriage between a man and a woman. Unfortunately defenders of traditional marriage often have trouble defending the obvious precisely because it is self-evident and defies sound bites. Here I’d like to present a few simple reasons why defending the uniqueness and dignity of traditional marriage is not discriminatory and unfair.

Biblical revelation about God’s creation of man and woman and his plan for marriage is abundant, but arguments for traditional marriage and against same-sex marriage are not exclusively religious. Far from it. The most convincing ones are based on universally recognised natural rights which exist prior to the state and are not created by government fiat or popular consent. Civil rights are the legal recognition of rights which derive from natural rights.

All one needs to do is reflect upon the human experience. It is easy to grasp that each human faculty, including the generative faculty, has its proper functions and ends. We can also discern basic human goods that are necessary for existence and social life, such as procreation, health, safety, freedom, friendship and religion.

Throughout the centuries people have come to recognize different rights -- such as the right to just trials, the right to practice a religion, and the right of universal suffrage. Civil rights are important mainly because they safeguard these basic human rights. Governments protect natural rights, but they do not create them.

Marriage is one of these basic human rights, one which is based on complementary sexual differences between men and women and the good of procreation. Marriage joins a male and a female in a way the involves the total person: soul, body and affections. Usually this union brings forth offspring and the children are raised in a stable environment where the children learn about manhood and womanhood. Children need both a father and a mother because each parent is different and as male and female provide for different needs.

For example, boys need a father to teach them how to respect women, to develop masculine traits and to learn discipline. A Nobel Prize laureate in economics, George Akerlof, has shown how the breakdown of marriage (1)  and the absence of a father in the family or some good father figure is related to the sharp rise of delinquency in the US. This alone is nearly conclusive evidence that there is no natural right to same-sex marriage.

What about the mutual affection of homosexuals? Isn’t that enough for marriage?

Not really. Homosexual persons can be united by an emotional union, but never by a biological union. Their sexual activity does not lead to procreation. Heterosexual marriage, on the other hand, involves more than this. “The same sexual act that unites the spouses is also the act that creates new life.”(2)  Heterosexual marriage provides offspring for society and a home where children are raised with the love of a father and a mother and the corresponding masculine and feminine role models.

Homosexual sex is essentially different from heterosexual sex within marriage. The conjugal act has an inherent language of self-giving expressed by the man’s giving of his progenitor cells to his wife. Their love is always linked to procreation even though procreation does not always follow the conjugal act. Widespread contraception and co-habitation have separated procreation from sexuality in such a way so that sexual acts between two persons of the same sex are now considered normal by many. But the sexual union of a man and a woman is objectively different.

Are we just quibbling about words here? Partnerships are more or less like marriage, people often argue. Why be so defensive about a few syllables?

But this approach is completely unrealistic. Marriage is more than a word. Words are subject to development, but they mean something. Words are conventional, but they represent fixed realities. No change in language or law can alter reality. Sodomy by any other name is still sodomy. Sexual intercourse between persons of the same-sex is not procreative. A meal is not a snack; work is not play; adultery mere consented sexual behavior among adults. Language both describes reality and defines moral standards. By changing accepted language about marriage, new moral standards regarding marriage and procreation gradually emerge.

If traditional marriage is natural, why does it need to be fenced around with laws? Can’t it fend for itself?

Yes and no. Traditional marriage will survive, but it needs the support and protection of society to flourish. Laws not only recognize existing natural rights; they create and solidify social habits and standards. A bad law creates social standards that others gradually come to accept as good and true. Abortion is an instructive example. What began as a rare concession has become a "right" to take the life of an innocent human being.

So the consequences of legal recognition of same-sex marriage are serious. The first will be moral damage to our understanding of human beings and marriage. By elevating human choices to the status of human rights, governments undermine the very idea of natural rights, which is the recognition of what corresponds to our human make-up and the basic goods necessary to flourish as human beings.

Legal recognition of same-sex marriage also threatens freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Those who disagree with same-sex unions, including educators, doctors and adoption agencies, are already being treated with contempt and intolerance by proponents of same-sex marriage. The next target is surely the tax-exempt status which churches enjoy because of their important service to society.

Furthermore, although proponents of same-sex marriage contend that they only want equality of rights for their own personal choices, they also want equality of esteem. The normality of same-sex marriage will be taught to school children, beginning with those in public schools and eventually reaching schools with religious affiliations.

Already in Massachusetts an adverse judicial ruling was passed against a parent who did not wish his children attending public school to be taught that two fathers can constitute a family. In San Francisco, young children have been obliged to witness a same-sex "marriage" ceremony. Forcing children to accept same-sex marriage as normal constitutes a grave abuse to children and their parents.

To be sure, every person deserves equal respect before the law; but equality is not sameness, and there can be no true respect for human rights apart from a clear understanding of human nature with the sexual and psychological differences between male and female, and the needs that children have for a father and a mother.

Juan R. Vélez is a Los Angeles Catholic priest. Before becoming a priest, he worked as a physician.

Notes
(1) Akerlof, GA, et al. "An Analysis of out-of-wedlock childbearing in the United States". Q J Econ. 1996 May; 111(2): 277-317.
(2) Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles, The Witherspoon Institute, Princeton, June 2006, p. 47.
 

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December 13, 2008
Vatican Issues Instruction on Bioethics
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

The Vatican issued its most authoritative and sweeping document on bioethical issues in more than 20 years on Friday, taking into account recent developments in biomedical technology and reinforcing the church’s opposition to in vitro fertilization, human cloning, genetic testing on embryos before implantation and embryonic stem cell research.
The Vatican says these techniques violate the principles that every human life — even an embryo — is sacred, and that babies should be conceived only through intercourse by a married couple.
The 32-page instruction, titled “Dignitas Personae,” or “The Dignity of the Person,” was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, and carries the approval and the authority of Pope Benedict XVI.
Under discussion for six years, it is a moral response to bioethical questions raised in the 21 years since the congregation last issued instructions.
It bans the morning-after pill, the intrauterine device and the pill RU-486, saying these can result in what amount to abortions.
The Vatican document reiterates that the church is opposed to research on stem cells derived from embryos. But it does not oppose research on stem cells derived from adults; blood from umbilical cords; or fetuses “who have died of natural causes.”
The document does not prohibit the use of vaccines developed using “cell lines of illicit origin” if children’s health is at stake. But it says that “everyone has the duty” to inform health care providers of personal objections to such vaccines.
The church also objects to freezing embryos, arguing that doing so exposes them to potential damage and manipulation, and that it raises the problem of what to do with frozen embryos that are not implanted. There are at least 400,000 of these in the United States alone.
“Our advice is that freezing should not take place,” said Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life. “Because once it is done, you’re in a situation where to correct the error implies a further offense. Once you have them, what do you do with them?”
The Vatican’s intended audience is not only individual Roman Catholics, but also non-Catholic doctors, scientists, medical researchers and legislators who might consider regulating stem cell research and other recent developments in biomedical technology.
In the United States, President-elect Barack Obama has said he will end the restrictions on federal financing of embryonic stem cell research that were instituted by President Bush.
Among the new developments discussed in the document are the attempts by scientists to find alternative techniques of producing embryonic-like stem cells that could ultimately be used in medical treatments, without involving human embryos, said the Rev. Thomas Berg, executive director of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person, a Catholic ethics institute in New York. He said such techniques could “allow us to get past this cultural divide on stem cell research.”
Father Berg said he was pleased to see that the Vatican document did not prohibit such techniques, although it cautioned that there must be absolute assurance that human embryos were not destroyed in the process.
The document does little to clarify the Vatican’s position on whether couples can “adopt” surplus embryos that have been frozen and abandoned. Such “prenatal adoption,” although rare, has been promoted by some Catholics and evangelical Christians. The document says that while “prenatal adoption” is “praiseworthy,” it presents ethical problems similar to certain types of in vitro fertilization — in particular, surrogate motherhood, which the church prohibits.
Experts said that there was little new in this document, but that it might still come as a surprise to many Catholics who were unaware of the church’s ban on in vitro fertilization.
Kathleen M. Raviele, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Georgia who is president of the Catholic Medical Association, said she tells her patients: “God creates through an act of love, and that’s not what’s happening in the laboratory. It’s the technician who’s creating. What in vitro does, is it separates the creation of a child from the marital act.”
But the Vatican’s opposition to in vitro fertilization seemed neither moral nor intuitive to Josephine Johnston, a research scholar at the Hastings Center, an independent bioethics research institute in Garrison, N.Y.
“For a married couple who go to get in vitro fertilization, the Vatican’s idea that it’s not done with a serious amount of love and commitment is very bizarre to me, because it’s such a deliberate act, done in the cold light of day, with enormous amounts of thought and intention attached to it,” she said. “The idea that it’s not done within the spirit of marital love, I find very strange.”
Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a Jesuit who is secretary of the doctrinal office, said at a news conference in Rome that the document would probably “be accused of containing too many bans.” Nonetheless, he said that the church felt a duty “to give voice to those who have no voice.”
Laurie Goodstein reported from New York, and Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome.

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US Bishops Welcome "Dignitas Personae"
Cardinal: Instruction Gives Guidance in Heavily Scientific Age

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The president of the U.S. episcopal conference welcomed the statement released today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, saying it gives guidance in a heavily scientific age.

Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, said in a statement today that the document on ethical issues arising from biomedical research again defends the life of unborn human beings.

"We welcome the instruction as theologians, medical personnel, researchers and married couples consider new scientific and medical procedures that have profound ethical implications bearing upon the procreation of children and the integrity of marriage," he said.

"We applaud developments which advance medical progress with respect for the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception," the cardinal added. "We oppose discarding or manipulating innocent lives to benefit future generations, or promoting the creation of new human life in depersonalized ways that substitute for the loving union between a husband and wife."

Cardinal George noted that the document approves fertility treatments that "succeed in re-establishing the normal function of human procreation" as well as "stem cell research and therapies that respect the inherent dignity of the human person."

He also pointed out the instruction's encouragement of research into infertility and adoption, as assistance for infertile couples.

"Dignitas Persone" notes that "behind every 'no' in the difficult task of discerning between good and evil, there shines a great 'yes' to the recognition of the dignity and inalienable value of every single and unique human being called into existence."

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Synthesis of Instruction "Dignitas Personae"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the synthesis of the instruction "Dignitas Personae" that was released today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on certain bioethical questions. It was published in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish.

* * *

Aim
In recent years, biomedical research has made great strides, opening new possibilities for the treatment of disease, but also giving rise to serious questions which had not been directly treated in the Instruction Donum vitae (22 February 1987). A new Instruction, which is dated 8 September 2008, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeks to provide some responses to these new bioethical questions, as these have been the focus of expectations and concerns in large sectors of society. In this way, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeks both to contribute "to the formation of conscience" (n. 10) and to encourage biomedical research respectful of the dignity of every human being and of procreation.

Title

The Instruction opens with the words Dignitas personae - the dignity of a person, which must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses "a great ‘yes' to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research" (n. 1).

Value

The document is an Instruction of a doctrinal nature, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and expressly approved by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. The Instruction therefore falls within the category of documents that "participate in the ordinary Magisterium of the successor of Peter" (Instruction Donum veritatis, n.18), and is to be received by Catholics "with the religious assent of their spirit" (Dignitas personae, n. 37).

Preparation

For several years, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been studying new biomedical questions with a view to updating the Instruction Donum vitae. In undertaking the examination of such new questions, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "has benefited from the analysis of the Pontifical Academy for Life and has consulted numerous experts with regard to the scientific aspects of these questions, in order to address them with the principles of Christian anthropology. The Encyclicals Veritatis splendorandEvangelium vitae of John Paul II, as well as other interventions of the Magisterium, offer clear indications with regard to both the method and the content of the examination of the problems under consideration" (n. 2).

Intended recipients of the document

The Instruction is meant for "all who seek the truth" (n. 3). Indeed, in presenting principles and moral evaluations regarding biomedical research on human life, the Catholic Church "draws upon the light both of reason and of faith and seeks to set forth an integral vision of man and his vocation, capable of incorporating everything that is good in human activity, as well as in various cultural and religious traditions which not infrequently demonstrate a great reverence for life" (n. 3).

Structure

The Instruction has three parts: "the first recalls some anthropological, theological and ethical elements of fundamental importance; the second addresses new problems regarding procreation; the third examines new procedures involving the manipulation of embryos and the human genetic patrimony" (n. 3).
 
 

The two fundamental principles

"The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life" (n. 4). "The origin of human life has its authentic context in marriage and in the family, where it is generated through an act which expresses the reciprocal love between a man and a woman. Procreation which is truly responsible vis-à-vis the child to be born must be the fruit of marriage" (n. 6).

Faith and human dignity

"It is the Church's conviction that what is human is not only received and respected by faith, but is also purified, elevated and perfected" (n. 7). God has created every human being in his own image, and his Son has made it possible for us to become children of God. "By taking the interrelationship of these two dimensions, the human and the divine, as the starting point, one understands better why it is that man has unassailable value: he possesses an eternal vocation and is called to share in the trinitarian love of the living God" (n. 8.).

Faith and married life

"These two dimensions of life, the natural and the supernatural, allow us to understand better the sense in which the acts that permit a new human being to come into existence, in which a man and a woman give themselves to each other, are a reflection of trinitarian love. God, who is love and life, has inscribed in man and woman the vocation to share in a special way in his mystery of personal communion and in his work as Creator and Father... The Holy Spirit who is poured out in the sacramental celebration offers Christian couples the gift of a new communion of love that is the living and real image of that unique unity which makes of the Church the indivisible Mystical Body of the Lord Jesus" (n. 9).

The Church's Magisterium and the legitimate autonomy of science

"The Church, by expressing an ethical judgment on some developments of recent medical research concerning man and his beginnings, does not intervene in the area proper to medical science itself, but rather calls everyone to ethical and social responsibility for their actions. She reminds them that the ethical value of biomedical science is gauged in reference to both the unconditional respect owed to every human being at every moment of his or her existence, and the defense of the specific character of the personal act which transmits life" (n. 10).

Techniques for assisting fertility

Among the procedures which respond to problems of fertility are the following:
"techniques of heterologous artificial fertilization" (n. 12): that is, "techniques used to obtain a human conception artificially by the use of gametes coming from at least one donor other than the spouses who are joined in marriage" (footnote 22). "techniques of homologous artificial fertilization" (n. 12): that is, "the technique used to obtain a human conception using the gametes of the two spouses joined in marriage" (footnote 23). "techniques which act as an aid to the conjugal act and its fertility" (n. 12). "techniques aimed at removing obstacles to natural fertilization" (n. 13). "adoption" (n. 13).

Techniques are morally permissible if they respect: "the right to life and to physical integrity of every human being", "the unity of marriage, which means reciprocal respect for the right within marriage to become a father or mother only together with the other spouse" and "the specifically human values of sexuality" (n. 12), which require that the procreation of a new human person come about as a result of the conjugal act specific to the love between a husband and wife.
Therefore, "techniques which act as an aid to the conjugal act and its fertility are permitted" (n. 12). In such procedures, the "medical intervention respects the dignity of persons when it seeks to assist the conjugal act either in order to facilitate its performance or in order to enable it to achieve its objective once it has been normally performed" (n. 12). "Certainly, techniques aimed at removing obstacles to natural fertilization... are licit" (n. 13). "Adoption should be encouraged, promoted and facilitated so that the many children who lack parents may receive a home... In addition, research and investment directed at the prevention of sterility deserve encouragement (n. 13).

Invitro fertilization and the deliberate destruction of embryos

The experience of recent years has shown that in all techniques of in vitro fertilization "the number of embryos sacrificed is extremely high" (n. 14). Even in the most technically advanced centers of artificial fertilization, the number is above 80% (cf. footnote 27). "Embryos produced in vitro which have defects are directly discarded"; a increasing number of couples "are using artificial means of procreation in order to engage in genetic selection of their offspring"; of the embryos which are produced in vitro "some are transferred into the woman's uterus, while the others are frozen"; the technique of multiple transfer in which "the number of embryos transferred is greater than the single child desired, in the expectation that some embryos will be lost... implies a purely utilitarian treatment of embryos" (n. 15).

"The blithe acceptance of the enormous number of abortions involved in the process of in vitro fertilization vividly illustrates how the replacement of the conjugal act by a technical procedure...leads to a weakening of the respect owed to every human being. Recognition of such respect is, on the other hand, promoted by the intimacy of husband and wife nourished by married love... In the face of this manipulation of the human being in his or her embryonic state, it needs to be repeated that God's love does not differentiate between the newly conceived infant still in his or her mother's womb and the child or young person, or the adult and the elderly person. God does not distinguish between them because he sees an impression of his own image and likeness.. Therefore, the Magisterium of the Church has constantly proclaimed the sacred and inviolable character of every human life from its conception until its natural end" (n. 16).

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a variety of in vitro procreation in which fertilization in the test tube does not simply "take place on its own, but rather by means of the injection into the oocyte of a single sperm, selected earlier, or by the injection of immature germ cells taken from the man" (footnote 32).
This technique, which is morally illicit, causes a complete separation between procreation and the conjugal act" (n. 17). It takes place "outside the bodies of the couple through actions of third parties whose competence and technical activity determine the success of the procedure. Such fertilization entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person" (n. 17).

Freezing embryos

"In order to avoid repeatedly taking oocytes from the woman's body, the process involves a single intervention in which multiple oocytes are taken, followed by cryopreservation of a considerable number of the embryos conceived in vitro. In this way, should the initial attempt at achieving pregnancy not succeed, the procedure can be repeated or additional pregnancies attempted at a later date" (n. 18). The freezing or cryopreservation of embryos "refers to freezing them at extremely low temperatures, allowing long term storage" (cf. footnote 35).

"Cryopreservation is incompatible with the respect owed to human embryos; it presupposes their production in vitro; it exposes them to the serious risk of death or physical harm, since a high percentage does not survive the process of freezing and thawing; it deprives them at least temporarily of maternal reception and gestation; it places them in a situation in which they are susceptible to further offense and manipulation" (n. 18).

With regard to the large number of frozen embryos already in existence the question becomes: what to do with them? All the answers that have been proposed (use the embryos for research or for the treatment of disease; thaw them without reactivating them and use them for research, as if they were normal cadavers; put them at the disposal of infertile couples as a "treatment for infertility"; allow a form of "prenatal adoption") present real problems of various kinds. It needs to be recognized "that the thousands of abandoned embryos represent a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved. Therefore, John Paul II made an "appeal to the conscience of the world's scientific authorities and in particular to doctors, that the production of human embryos be halted, taking into account that there seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of ‘frozen' embryos which are and remain the subjects of essential rights and should therefore be protected by law as human persons" (n. 19).

The freezing of oocytes

"In order avoid the serious ethical problems posed by the freezing of embryos, the freezing of oocytes has also been advanced in the area of techniques of in vitro fertilization" (n. 20).

In this regard it needs to be stated that while the cryopreservation of oocytes is not in itself immoral, and is employed in other medical contexts which are not the subject of this document, when it takes place "for the purpose of being used in artificial procreation" it is "to be considered morally unacceptable" (n. 20).

The reduction of embryos

"Some techniques used in artificial procreation, above all the transfer of multiple embryos into the mother's womb, have caused a significant increase in the frequency of multiple pregnancy. This situation gives rise in turn to the practice of so-called embryo reduction, a procedure in which embryos or fetuses in the womb are directly exterminated" (n. 21).

"From the ethical point of view, embryo reduction is an intentional selective abortion. It is in fact the deliberate and direct elimination of one or more innocent human beings in the initial phase of their existence and as such it always constitutes a grave moral disorder" (n. 21).

Preimplantation diagnosis

"Preimplantation diagnosis is a form of prenatal diagnosis connected with techniques of artificial fertilization in which embryos formed in vitro undergo genetic diagnosis before being transferred into a woman's womb. Such diagnosis is done in order to ensure that only embryos free from defects or having the desired sex or other particular qualities are transferred" (n. 22).

"Unlike other forms of prenatal diagnosis..., diagnosis before implantation is immediately followed by the elimination of an embryo suspected of having genetic or chromosomal defects, or not having the sex desired, or having other qualities that are not wanted. Preimplantation diagnosis...is directed toward the qualitative selection and consequent destruction of embryos, which constitutes an act of abortion... By treating the human embryo as mere ‘laboratory material', the concept itself of human dignity is also subjected to alteration and discrimination...Such discrimination is immoral and must therefore be considered legally unacceptable..." (n. 22).

New forms of interception and contragestation

There are methods of preventing pregnancy which act after fertilization, when the embryo is already constituted.
"Such methods are interceptive if they interfere with the embryo before implantation" (n. 23); for example, the IUD (intrauterine device) and the so-called ‘morning-after pills' (footnote 42). They are "contragestative if they cause the elimination of the embryo once implanted" (n. 23); for example, the pharmaceutical known commercially as RU-486 (footnote 43).
Even if such interceptives may not cause an abortion every time they are used, also because conception does not occur after every act of sexual intercourse, it must be noted, however, that "anyone who seeks to prevent the implantation of an embryo which may possibly have been conceived and who therefore either requests or prescribes such a pharmaceutical, generally intends abortion". In the case of contragestatives "what takes place in reality is the abortion of an embryo which has just implanted... the use of means of interception and contragestation fall within the sin of abortion and are gravely immoral" (n. 23).

Gene therapy

Gene therapy commonly refers to "techniques of genetic engineering applied to human beings for therapeutic purposes, that is to say, with the aim of curing genetically based diseases" (n. 25).
Somatic cell gene therapy "seeks to eliminate or reduce genetic defects on the level of somatic cells" (n. 25). Germ line cell therapy aims "at correcting genetic defects present in germ line cells with the purpose of transmitting the therapeutic effects to the offspring of the individual" (n. 25).

From the ethical point of view:
Procedures used on somatic cells for strictly therapeutic purposes "are in principle morally licit...Given that gene therapy can involve significant risks for the patient, the ethical principle must be observed according to which, in order to proceed to a therapeutic intervention, it is necessary to establish beforehand that the person being treated will not be exposed to risks to his health or physical integrity which are excessive or disproportionate to the gravity of the pathology for which a cure is sought. The informed consent of the patient or his legitimate representative is also required" (n. 26). With regard to germ line cell therapy, "the risks connected to any genetic manipulation are considerable and as yet not fully controllable" and therefore "in the present state of research, it is not morally permissible to act in a way that may cause possible harm to the resulting progeny" (n. 26). ith regard to the possibility of using techniques of genetic engineering to introduce alterations with the presumed aim of improving and strengthening the gene pool, it must be observed that such interventions would promote a "eugenic mentality" and would introduce an "indirect social stigma with regard to people who lack certain qualities, while privileging qualities that happen to be appreciated by a certain culture or society; such qualities do not constitute what is specifically human. This would be in contrast with the fundamental truth of the equality of all human beings which is expressed in the principle of justice, the violation of which, in the long run, would harm peaceful coexistence among individuals... Finally it must also be noted that in the attempt to create a new type of human being one can recognize an ideological element in which man tries to take the place of his Creator" (n. 27).

Human cloning

Human cloning refers to "the asexual or agametic reproduction of the entire human organism in order to produce one or more ‘copies' which, from a genetic perspective, are substantially identical to the single original" (n. 28). The techniques which have been proposed for accomplishing human cloning are artificial embryo twinning, which "consists in the artificial separation of individual cells or groups of cells from the embryo in the earliest stage of development... which are then transferred into the uterus in order to obtain identical embryos in an artificial manner" (footnote 47) and cell nuclear transfer, which "consists in introducing a nucleus taken from an embryonic or somatic cell into an denucleated oocyte. This is followed by stimulation of the oocyte so that it begins to develop as an embryo" (footnote 47). Cloning is proposed for two basic purposes: reproduction, that is, in order to obtain the birth of a baby, and medical therapy or research.

Human cloning is "intrinsically illicit in that...it seeks to give rise to a new human being without a connection to the act of reciprocal self-giving between the spouses and, more radically, without any link to sexuality. This leads to manipulation and abuses gravely injurious to human dignity" (n. 28).
With regard to reproductive cloning, "this would impose on the resulting individual a predetermined genetic identity, subjecting him - as has been stated - to a form of biological slavery, from which it would be difficult to free himself. The fact that someone would arrogate to himself the right to determine arbitrarily the genetic characteristics of another person represents a grave offence to the dignity of that person as well as to the fundamental equality of all people... In the encounter with another person, we meet a human being who owes his existence and his proper characteristics to the love of God, and only the love of husband and wife constitutes a mediation of that love in conformity with the plan of the Creator and heavenly Father" (n. 29). With regard to cloning for medical therapy or research, it must be said that to "create embryos with the intention of destroying them, even with the intention of helping the sick, is completely incompatible with human dignity, because it makes the existence of a human being at the embryonic stage nothing more than a means to be used and destroyed. It is gravely immoral to sacrifice a human life for therapeutic ends" (n. 30). As an alternative to therapeutic cloning some researchers have proposed new techniques which are presented as capable of producing stem cells of an embryonic type without implying the destruction of true human embryos, for example, by altered nuclear transfer (ANT) or oocyte assisted reprogramming (OAR). Doubts still remain, however, "regarding the ontological status of the ‘product' obtained in this way" (n. 30).

The therapeutic use of stem cells

"Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with two basic characteristics: a) the prolonged capability of multiplying themselves while maintaining the undifferentiated state; b) the capability of producing transitory progenitor cells from which fully differentiated cells descend, for example, nerve cells, muscle cells and blood cells. Once it was experimentally verified that when stem cells are transplanted into damaged tissue they tend to promote cell growth and the regeneration of the tissue, new prospects opened for regenerative medicine, which have been the subject of great interest among researchers throughout the world" (n. 31).

For the ethical evaluation, it is necessary above all to consider the methods of obtaining stem cells.
"Methods which do not cause serious harm to the subject from whom the stem cells are taken are to be considered licit. This is generally the case when tissues are taken from: a) an adult organism; b) the blood of the umbilical cord at the time of birth; c) fetuses who have died of natural causes" (n. 32). "The obtaining of stem cells from a living human embryo...invariably causes the death of the embryo and is consequently gravely illicit... In this case, research...is not truly at the service of humanity. In fact, this research advances through the suppression of human lives that are equal in dignity to the lives of other human individuals and to the lives of the researchers themselves" (n. 32). "The use of embryonic stem cells or differentiated cells derived from them - even when these are provided by other researchers through the destruction of embryos or when such cells are commercially available - presents serious problems from the standpoint of cooperation in evil and scandal" (n. 32).

Numerous studies, however, have shown that adult stem cells give more positive results than embryonic stem cells.

Attempts at hybridization

"Recently animal oocytes have been used for reprogramming the nuclei of human somatic cells... in order to extract embryonic stem cells from the resulting embryos without having to use human oocytes" (n. 33).

"From the ethical standpoint, such procedures represent an offense against the dignity of human beings on account of the admixture of human and animal genetic elements capable of disrupting the specific identity of man" (n. 33).

The use of human "biological material" of illicit origin

For scientific research and for the production of vaccines or other products, cell lines are at times used which are the result of an illicit intervention against the life or physical integrity of a human being.
Experimentation on human embryos "constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person. These forms of experimentation always constitute a grave moral disorder" (n. 34). With regard to the use of "biological material" of illicit origin by researchers, which has been produced apart from their research center or which has been obtained commercially, the moral requirement "must be safeguarded that there be no complicity in deliberate abortion and that the risk of scandal be avoided. In this regard, the criterion of independence as it has been formulated by some ethics committees is not sufficient. According to this criterion, the use of ‘biological material' of illicit origin would be ethically permissible provided there is a clear separation between those who, on the one hand, produce, freeze and cause the death of embryos and, on the other, the researchers involved in scientific experimentation". It needs to be remembered that the "duty to refuse to use such ‘biological material' springs from the necessity to remove oneself, within the area of one's own research, from a gravely unjust legal situation and to affirm with clarity the value of human life. Therefore, the above-mentioned criterion of independence is necessary, but may be ethically insufficient" (n. 35). "Of course, within this general picture there exist differing degrees of responsibility. Grave reasons may be morally proportionate to justify the use of such ‘biological material'. Thus, for example, danger to the health of children could permit parents to use a vaccine which was developed using cell lines of illicit origin, while keeping in mind that everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available. Moreover, in organizations where cell lines of illicit origin are being utilized, the responsibility of those who make the decision to use them is not the same as that of those who have no voice in such a decision" (n. 35).
 

Abortionist Turned Pro-Life Apostle
 

Stojan Adasevic will never forget the day he was organizing the filing cabinet in the doctors’ room. He was a medical student at the time. A number of gynecologists entered the room. Paying no attention to the student crouched over a pile of papers in the corner, they began swapping stories about their medical practice.

Dr. Rado Ignatovic recalled a patient who had come to him for an abortion. The procedure failed because the doctor had been unable to align the cervix. As the gynecologists went on discussing the woman’s history, Stojan, who had been listening in, suddenly stiffened. He realized that the woman under discussion — a former dentist at the nearby clinic — was his mother.

“She’s dead now” — observed one of the doctors — but I wonder what happened to the unwanted child?”

Stojan couldn’t resist. “I’m the child!” he said, getting up. Silence fell over the room. Seconds later the doctors were walking out.

Over the years Dr. Adasevic would have cause to recall that event many times. It was perfectly clear to him: he owed his life to the fact of a failed abortion. He would never make such a blunder himself. Many women were referred to him because of difficulty in aligning the cervix. This was never a problem for Stojan. He became the best abortionist in Belgrade. Before long he had surpassed his master in the profession — Dr. Ignatovic, to whose incompetence he owed his life.

“The secret lies in training the hand through frequent procedures” he would say, citing the German proverb: Übung macht Meister (practice makes perfect). Faithful to this maxim, he would perform from twenty to thirty abortions a day. His record was thirty-five abortions in one day. Today he has difficulty reckoning up the abortions he performed in his twenty-six years of practice. He estimates anywhere between 48,000 and 62,000.

For years he remained convinced that abortion, as taught in the medical faculties and textbooks, was a surgical procedure not unlike that of removing an appendix. The only difference was in the organ removed: a piece of intestine in the one case, and embryonic tissue in the other. Doubts began to arise during the 1980s when ultrasound technology came to Yugoslavian hospitals. It was then that Adasevic first saw on the USG monitor what had until then been invisible to him — the inside of a woman’s womb, a live child, sucking its thumb, moving its arms and legs. As often as not, fragments of that child would soon be lying on the table beside him.

“I saw without seeing — he recalls today. — Everything changed after I started having the dreams”.

Dr. Adasevic’s dreams

Actually, it was the same recurring dream. It haunted him every night, day after day, week after week, month after month. He dreamed he was walking in a sunlit meadow. Beautiful flowers grew all around. The air was thick with colored butterflies. It was warm and pleasant, yet, despite this, some anxious feeling oppressed him. Suddenly the meadow was filled with laughing and running children. They were playing ball. In age, they ranged from three or four to about twenty years. All were strikingly beautiful. One boy in particular, and two of the girls, seemed strangely familiar, but he could not recall where he had seen them. When he tried to speak to them, they ran off in terror, screaming. The entire scene was presided over by a man in a black habit who watched intently in silence.

Every night Adasevic would wake in terror and stay awake till morning. Herbal remedies and pills were useless. One night, he became distraught in his dream and began chasing the fleeing children. He caught one of them, but the child cried out in terror: “Help! Murderer! Save me from the murderer!” At that moment the man dressed in black, turned into an eagle, swept down, and pulled the child away. The doctor woke up, his heart thumping like a hammer in his ribs. The room was cold, yet he was hot, drenched in sweat. In the morning he decided to see a psychiatrist. Since there were no immediate openings, he booked an appointment. That night he decided he would ask the man in his dreams to identify himself. This he did. The stranger said: “Even if I told you, my name would mean nothing to you”. When the doctor persisted, the man finally replied: “I am called Thomas Aquinas”. Indeed, the name meant nothing to Adasevic. It was the first time he had heard it. The man in black continued: “Why don’t you ask who the children are. Don’t you recognize them?” When the doctor said he didn’t, he replied: “Not true. You know them very well. These are the children you killed while performing abortions”. “How is that possible?” countered Adasevic. “These are grown children. I have never killed born children”. Thomas replied: “Do you not know that here, on this side of the eschaton, children continue to grow?” The Doctor refused to yield: “But I have never killed a twenty-year-old boy”. “You killed him twenty years ago” replied the monk, “when he was three months old”.

It was then that Adasevic recognized the faces of the twenty-year-old boy and the two girls. They resembled people he knew well, for whom he had performed abortions over the years. The boy looked like a close friend of Adasevic’s. Stojan had performed the abortion on his wife twenty years ago. In the two girls the doctor recognized their mothers, one of whom happened to be Stojan’s cousin. Upon awaking, he decided he would never perform another abortion in his life.

I held a beating heart in my hand

Waiting for him upon his arrival at the hospital that morning was a cousin along with his girlfriend. They had booked an abortion with him. Four months pregnant, the woman was about to do away with her ninth consecutive child. Adasevic refused, but his cousin was so importunate that he gave in: OK, but this was the very last time.

On the USG monitor he clearly saw the child with its thumb in its mouth. Stretching the uterus, he inserted the forceps, took hold of something, and pulled. In the jaws of the forceps was a little arm. He placed it on the table, but in such a way that one of the limbs’ nerve endings touched a drop of spilled iodine. Suddenly, the arm began to twitch. The nurse standing beside him almost screamed out. Just like frogs’ legs in a physiology lab!

Adasevic shuddered, but went on with the abortion. Again he inserted the forceps, gripped, and pulled. This time it was a leg. Just as he was thinking: “Better not let it touch that drop of alcohol”, a nurse standing behind him dropped a tray of surgical instruments. Startled by the crash, the doctor released the forceps, and the leg landed right beside the arm. It too began to move.

The staff had never seen anything like it: human limbs twitching on the table. Adasevic decided to mash up what was left in the womb, and pull it out in a formless mass. He began mashing, squashing, crushing. Upon withdrawing the forceps, now certain that he had reduced everything to a pulp, he produced a human heart! The organ was still beating. Weaker and weaker it beat, until it stopped altogether. It was then that he realized he had killed a human being.

The world turned dark around him. He cannot recall how long this lasted. Suddenly he felt a tug on his arm. A nurse’s terrified voice called out: Doctor Adasevic! Doctor Adasevic! The patient was bleeding. For the first time in years, the doctor began praying earnestly: “Lord! Save not me, but this woman”.

Normally it could take up to ten minutes to clean the womb of all remaining embryonic matter. This time two insertions of the instrument through the vagina were enough to complete the task. When Adasevic removed his gloves, he knew this was the last abortion he would ever perform.

The pail: instrument of abortion

When Stojan informed the head of the hospital of his decision, there was a considerable stir. Never before in a Belgrade hospital had a gynecologist refused to perform abortions. Pressure was brought to bear on him. They cut his salary in half. His daughter was fired from her job. His son “failed” his university entrance examinations. He was attacked in the press and on television. The Socialist State — they said — had provided him with an education so that he could perform abortions, and now he was carrying out sabotage against the State.

Two years of persecution brought him to the brink of nervous exhaustion. He was on the point of asking the hospital administrator to reassign him to abortion duty, when Thomas Aquinas appeared to him in a dream. Patting him on his shoulder, Thomas said: “You are my good friend. Continue your struggle”. Adasevic did not go to the administrator. He decided to fight on.

He got involved in the pro-life movement. He traveled throughout Serbia, lecturing and giving talks on abortion. Twice he succeeded in airing on Yugoslav state television Bernard Nathanson’s The Silent Scream, a USG recording of an actual abortion. In the early 1990s, thanks largely to Adasevic’s activism, the Yugoslav parliament passed a decree protecting the rights of the unborn. The decree went to President Slobodan Milosevic, who refused to sign it. Then the war broke out, and the decree fell into abeyance.

As for the war, Adasevic wonders: “To what else can we attribute the slaughter that took place here in the Balkans if not our alienation from God and lack of respect for human life”.

And to make his point he describes what is common practice in Serbia: “Since our laws protect the life of the child only from the moment of its first breath, that is, from the instant it utters its first cry, abortions are legal in the seventh, eighth, and even ninth month of pregnancy. Actually the word “abortion” has no place here, since it applies more to miscarriages. Beside the birthing seat stands a bucket of water. Before the child has a chance to utter a cry, you stop up its mouth and plunge it under water. Officially this is an abortion, and it is all perfectly legal, since the child never draws a breath”.

Here Adasevic likes to cite Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “if a mother can kill her own child, what is there to prevent you and me from killing one another?”

Today, most abortions are performed in private clinics, which do not release figures on aborted pregnancies. Adasevic estimates that for every twenty-five children conceived barely one live birth results. Twenty-four beings are destroyed.

“What further complicates statistical analysis in this area — he observes — is the use of abortifacients such as the IUD  and the RU-486 pill, which are officially classified as contraceptives. The IUD is an abortifacient; for the coil acts as a sword, which severs the tiny human being from its source of food in the womb. It is a terrible death. A human being dies of starvation in a place that is filled with nourishment.

“This is a real war, waged by the born upon the unborn — he adds. — In this war I have crossed the front several times: first as an unborn child condemned to die, then as an abortionist myself, and now as a pro-life apostle.

“I have also become interested in the life of Thomas Aquinas, about whom I knew nothing before. I have often wondered why he appeared in my dream, and not other saints, especially since he is a Catholic saint, and I am Orthodox. To explain this, I started studying Thomas’ writings.  Guess what I found? According to Aquinas, human life begins 40 days after fertilization in the case of men, and 80 days in the case of women. So what is a child in those preceding days? Nothing? I think what Thomas said gives him no peace in the eschaton. Mind you, it should be stated that Thomas accepted this view from Aristotle. Aristotle was the great authority then. Thomas allowed himself to be influenced by his view, and committed an error.

“It was a long time before I grasped the fact that a child in the mother’s womb is a living person, that it is a living person not from the time it draws its first breath, as the communist professors taught us, but from the instant the human embryo is formed, that is, from the moment the spermatozoon joins with the egg cell”.

Grzegorz Gorny

Originally published in Love One Another Catholic Magazine, No. 1/2004 dedicated to the New Evangelization.  An abbreviated form of this article appeared in the Polish secular daily Rzeczpospolita (1 December 2003).  Used with Permission.

INDIA
Catholic priest killed in Meerut diocese (Agra)
by Nirmala Carvalho  - Sep 22, 2008
The clergyman lived like an Indian ascetic in an ashram, preaching peace and promoting inter-faith dialogue. Nothing is known of the motive behind the deed; police will not exclude a botched robbery attempt as the possible cause. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Another Catholic priest has been murdered in India. Fr Samuel Francis (in photo), better known as Swami Astheya (he who is without greed), was found dead this morning in the chapel of his ashram in the village of Chota Rampur. His hands were tied behind his back, his mouth gagged (with cloth) and injuries on his forehead. The 50-ear-old clergyman dressed like an Indian Sanyasin (Hindu monks who lead an ascetic life) and lived in an ashram (monastery) where he taught yoga and meditation.
Chota Rampur, the village where the catholic priest found a refuge, is located 27 kilometres from Dehradun, in the Suffragan diocese of Agra archdiocese, or some 400 kilometres from New Delhi.
How and why he was murdered is not yet clear, but police will not exclude the possibility that it might have been a robbery gone badly wrong. The ashram was in fact ransacked and a woman suffering from psychological problems was also found dead in the ashram’s warehouse.
Fr Davis Varayilan, professor at Samanvayan Theological College, said he knew the slain priest and had nothing but words of praise for his generosity, good heart and intelligence.
“This is a great tragedy for the Church in India,” he said. “We used to send our seminarians for an experience to his Ashram, and in the early 1980s he was in charge of the youth in Meerut Diocese.”
His ashram had become a beacon for inter-faith dialogue and harmony among people.
“He was much loved and respected by all: Hindus, inter-faith harmony and unity, He was a holy person and his spirituality was well respected by all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, the poor and the marginalised.”
Fr Francis embodied the India’s spirit, best exemplified by the Sanyasi lifestyle which calls for no meat and a rigid vegetarian diet.
“Killing so brutally such a man who worked for the betterment of society is a crime against humanity,” said Father Davis.
Swami Astheya’s funeral will be held tomorrow morning at 11 am local time in Chota Rampur village.

From left to right: Varya Kurmina, Olga Pukhova, Andrei Sorokin and Anya Gorokhova

The four teenagers slain in Russia by Satanist Cannibals. From left to right: Varya Kurmina, Olga Pukhova, Andrei Sorokin and Anya Gorokhova Tony Halpin in Moscow
A gang of alleged Satanist cannibals has been accused of dismembering and eating four Russian teenagers in a series of gruesome cult killings.
The remains of a 16-year-old boy and three girls aged 16 and 17 were discovered in a pit near the home of the alleged ringleader in the Yaroslavl region. The remains of a rat tied to an upturned cross marked the spot where they had been executed.
The eight suspected killers told police that they had stabbed their victims 666 times, in line with Satanic ritual, before cooking parts of their flesh over a bonfire to eat. Investigators found tufts of hair from the teenagers, in the ashes of the fire.
The victims, Varya Kuzmina, Anya Gorokhova, Olga Pukhova and Andrei Sorokin, were lured to their deaths in the woods after being plied with alcohol in a cemetery close to the home of the alleged gang leader Nikolai Ogolobyak. They had apparently been singled out by the Satanists because they were fans of "Goth" music and fashion. One of the girls was said to have had a document titled "101 rules of Satanism" among her belongings.
The gang told police that their newest member, a 19-year-old university student, was coated in the blood of their victims as an initiation ceremony. The group then lit a fire and ate body parts before burying the dismembered remains.
The victims all went missing in June but police in Yaroslavl did not discover their remains until last month. They initially arrested four men and a woman, who led them to three others, including a man who had checked himself into a local psychiatric hospital.
The man, Anton Makovkin, allegedly claimed that Satan would help him to escape responsibility because he had made "many sacrifices to him". Another gang member, Alexander Voronov, told police in a statement that they had visited a cemetery in 2006 and dug up a fresh grave to eat the heart of a girl buried there.
The same group had also crucified a cat and attacked graves and crosses in the cemetery earlier this year before killing the teenagers. Police discovered the remains after learning that the victims had all made telephone calls to Mr Ogolobyak, a former church choirboy who called himself The Count.
Russia has a history of gruesome killings. The so-called "chessboard killer" Alexander Pichushkin was convicted of 48 murders and three attempted murders last October after he told a court that he had wanted to kill enough people to fill all 64 squares on a chessboard.
He claimed to have murdered 63 people in a bid to overtake the country's worst serial killer, the notorious "Rostov ripper" Andrei Chikatilo, who was executed by firing squad in 1994 for the deaths of 52 women and children.

Karnataka CM orders probe into attack on churches
Abhirr VP & Deepa Balakrishnan
CNN-IBN Mon, Sep 15, 2008

Bangalore: Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has ordered an enquiry into Sunday's attacks on seven churches. The Karnataka CM is scheduled to visit Mangalore and Udupi, where churches were vandalised. This is the third Sunday in a row when the Christian community has been targeted in the BJP ruled state. Attacks on churches continue in three communally sensitive districts by suspected Bajrang Dal activists.The state has a BJP led government ruling the assembly and chief minister Yeddyurappa does not wish to send out a panic amongst the minorities.
Sculptures and prayer halls in churches were vandalised. Terror struck the Chrisitian communities of Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmangalur in the state shortly before morning mass on Sunday.
"We had just cleaned up the place and started out when some people came and attacked the church," said Paul, a church employee."There were about 15 to 20 people on bikes and they left soon after," he added. The attacks led to a bandh in Mangalore which has a sizable Christian population. Most shopkeepers and private bus operators in Mangalore stopped work. The state police are worried about the recurring pattern of attacks on churches allegedly by saffron groups.
Police have also surrounded the Cordel church in Mangalore asking protesters to surrender presently a bandh called by the Christian community is on at Mangalore and Udupi.
Some highways including the Mangalore - Mumbai National Highway have been blocked. Police have already clamped prohibitory orders in these areas.
The Hindutva groups say these churches indulge in forced conversions. The Christian groups are quick to point out that the attacks started after the BJP came to power three months back.
"We're not people who indulge in violence. We came to pray and we are peace loving people. The community will hold a meeting to see how to counter this," said father Willliam, the spokesperson at the Bishop's office.
The Karnataka home minister Dr V S Acharya however gives a clean chit to the Bajrang Dal.
"We condemn these attacks and we'll take action against the culprits. But Bajrang Dal has no role in this. At the same time, in the name of conversions, some people are offering incentives to helpless people and converting them," said Acharya.
Immediately after the attacks, prohibitory orders were clamped in Mangalore. Christian groups demonstrated demanding that the accused be brought to book.

(With inputs from Abbas Kinya)

Behind the anti-Christian violence in India
By Vijay Simha, Tehelka Magazine

New Dehli, Sep 17, 2008 / 09:30 am (CNA).- When they came for Narmada Digal, she wasn’t there. She had fled, five children and mother-in-law in tow, to the safety of the jungles. So, they set about what she left behind. A framed picture of Jesus, a Bible in Oriya, utensils in the kitchen and some clothes. By the time Narmada tiptoed back, her home was gone. What was left was still hot from the ashes, and smoking. Narmada took a good look, stood erect, and pulled her sari over her head. She began to pray.

“Lord, forgive us our sins. Save us from our misfortune. Free us, Lord.” She is weeping as she pleads for deliverance. So is everybody else. “I will die. But I won’t stop being a Christian,” Narmada says.

This is in the heart of Kandhamal, a district at the geographical center of Orissa, ravaged by probably the worst fighting in India between Hindus and Christians. The rise in the number of Christians in Kandhamal is offering radical Hindu outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) the perfect alibi to launch an aggressive anti- Christian movement. The movement has two aims: to reconvert Christians to Hinduism, and to stop the alleged slaughter of cows.

The death of Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati
An 81-year-old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist, Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, was heading the VHP movement in Kandhamal.  On August 23, Saraswati was gunned down while celebrating Janmashtami. It was the tenth attempt at killing Saraswati, a figure disliked by the Christians, but revered by a band of fanatic Hindu male followers.

RSS is an 83-year-old socio-political organization, which is the fountainhead of many Hindu outfits in India.
Few know who killed Saraswati. But, there are some theories. The Orissa Government says the Maoists killed him. A second theory is coming from the VHP. After Saraswati’s murder, VHP International President Ashok Singhal issued a statement saying, “Once again the cruel face of the Christian missionaries has been exposed. Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati was working for 45 years among the tribals by building hospitals, schools and hostels . . . Because of his work, the tribals were awakened to our culture and religion, which was an obstacle only for the Christian missionaries.”

Christian bodies, on the other hand, have a third view. They say they have nothing to do with Saraswati’s murder and have sought an inquiry by the Central Government.
Whatever the truth, the murder inflamed passions. By August 25, hordes of Hindu militants were attacking Christian homes and places of worship in Kandhamal. On September 1, the Orissa Government told the story in figures: 16 persons killed, 35 injured, 185 arrested; 558 houses and 17 places of worship burnt; 12,539 fed in 10 relief camps; 12 companies of paramilitary forces, 24 platoons of the Orissa State Armed Police, two sections of the Armed Police Reserve Force, and two teams of the Special Operation Group deployed.
The human story is worse. VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia said a Christian sect had killed Saraswati. It was enough to trigger murderous assaults on Christians in Kandhamal and elsewhere in Orissa. Hundreds of Christian homes were set ablaze, a few pastors were slain, and warnings were issued asking them to return home as Hindus, or never.

Christianity in Kandhamal
Today, there are around 1,500 churches and congregations in the 2,515 villages of Kandhamal. The Catholic Church has a big presence. And among the Protestants, the most active denominations are the Baptists, the Pentecostals, the Church of North India, and the Church of South India.
To a man like Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, the rise of the Church would’ve been an insult. Sometime in the 1960s, the RSS leadership summoned Saraswati. The RSS had begun to implement its plan of working in the most backward areas of India, unlike the Marxists who had begun to work in the industrial townships. The then RSS Orissa head Bhupendra Kumar Basu chose Kandhamal for Saraswati.
In December 2007, major clashes erupted between Hindus and the Christians when Saraswati ordered his followers to demolish an arch that the Christians had erected on government land in front of a church. The Christians said it was for Christmas and they would take the arch down in a day or two. Saraswati didn’t wait. After his men pulled the arch down, Saraswati drove down to see it.
Some Christians in the village stopped Saraswati’s car and pulled him out. Stones were also pelted at him. One of Saraswati’s assistants called friends in the VHP and told them “Babaji ko maar diya (they’ve got Babaji).” Saraswati’s men set upon the Christians on a scale similar to that of the current attacks.
After the December riots, Saraswati gave an interview, probably his last, to the RSS publication Organiser. He said, “With their numbers increasing, Christians forcefully took away Hindu girls and forced the neo-converts to eat beef.” He called for a constitutional ban on conversion of Hindus to “Abrahamic faiths” and warned that “Christians in India must understand fast that they cannot be protected by the US State Department writing its annual vituperative anti- Hindu reports on religious freedom and human rights.” He added: “Christians can be protected only by the goodwill of the majority Hindus in whose midst they have to live.” These thoughts Saraswati drilled into the Kandha tribals.

RSS war council
The tribals of Orissa are a tough people. They gave Ashoka the Great the fight of his life. Ashoka invaded Kalinga in 261BC. There was no king to oppose him, but the tribals fought against him. Ashoka won the Kalinga War, but 110,000 people died in battle. Ashoka never fought again and took to Buddhism.
It is this lineage that Rupesh Kanhar, 19, comes from. Rupesh and his friends are part of an RSS war council meeting on August 28 in the jungles near Gopingiya village. There are 15 people in the meeting who are working out plans to attack Christians. The meeting concludes that they will not kill Christians, but scare them into leaving Kandhamal.
Rupesh recites the RSS prayer fluently. He hasn’t killed a Christian, but he has burned some houses down. In a few hours, Rupesh and his friends will prepare to attack. Some of them would have downed plenty of liquor by then. The group will assemble at 9 pm, about 200 of them. They will have axes, swords and machetes and torches. They will tie red threads around their wrists, so tight in some cases that they leave red marks on the skin, and they will anoint each other’s foreheads with vermillion.
Rupesh and his group will march until past midnight, scaring Christians and sending them rushing into the jungles at night. It’s a daily routine in Kandhamal, the Hindu militants shouting slogans and conducting torchlight marches.

A conversion to Christ
But introspection respects no ideology. Even the best efforts of the RSS and the VHP can’t stop a change of heart. Vijay Pradhan, 35, is hiding in Raikia. For eight years, Vijay Pradhan says, he was an active RSS worker. He worked with Saraswati and conducted several reconversions. “I taught people what I was taught. That I must serve the country by fighting the Muslim and Christian religions, which are foreign to us. Our culture had to be saved. Then, one day a young pastor told me about Jesus. I was surprised at his courage in accosting me, but I was curious. This man told me that I could have eternal life with Jesus,” says Pradhan.
The one-time RSS worker says he was confused after this encounter. “I began searching for Jesus because I was intrigued by what I was told about him. On January 26, 1994, I challenged the creator. I said whoever you are, I need to know you by name. I threatened that I would turn atheist if the Creator didn’t show himself. I couldn’t sleep at night. At 4.30 am, as I was getting ready for yoga, I saw a human-like figure. There was plenty of light. A voice said, ‘I am the one you are looking for,’” says Pradhan.
He says his thought process changed after this. He began spreading the gospel and going to church. “The RSS workers came to me and asked me why I had converted. They asked me how much money I was given. I used to ask people the same things. But I wasn’t paid. The RSS searched for me. I had to hide in the jungles. As long as there is trouble, I will hide,” he says.
Pradhan says only those who are called by Jesus are the true converts. “Only the attraction of God can make them that. Hindus become Christians, they are never made into Christians. The reconversions by the VHP and the RSS are false. They are conducting a political war in the name of God.”

Christian defense
On the night of September 1, there were two meetings in the Raikia relief camp. The Inspector General of Police chaired a peace meeting with 21 officials and several Christian seniors. Then, a group of young Christian men met separately. They declared pride in two villages of Raikia: Gundhani and Gamandi. Christians mainly populate these villages. Yet, they have been untouched so far. Apparently, because the Christians there have put together a few home made bombs and repulsed at least one attack by Hindu militants.

The young men said these villages were the pride of Christians and that they had shown the way. They said they needed to arm themselves so that they could fight the Hindu militants. Some pastors objected. They said Christianity doesn’t teach violence. They are not sure if they were heard.

Printed with permission from Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 36, Dated Sept 13, 2008

India’s national shame
Anjalee Lewis | Wednesday, 10 September 2008

Attacks on impoverished Christians in the northeastern state of Orissa have shocked the nation.

China and India may be keeping the world economy ticking over with their phenomenal growth rates, but their human rights records lag far behind. China’s treatment of Tibet, its cruel one-child policy and itspersecution of independent religious groups is well-known. But India has its own problems with human rights and savage religious persecution which are being ignored by the world media. In the latest eruption of religious violence in the poor northeastern state of Orissa, impoverished Christians have been the target of horrific violence.
The respected newspaper The Times of India says that "many believe Orissa has brought religious hatred in India to a new low". It quotes Asit Mohanty, of the Global Council of Indian Christians, who describes recent incidents as "the worst-ever attack on the Christian community in the history of independent India." They have been described as a "national shame" by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The violence began on August 23. Eighty-five-year-old Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers were gunned down at a school in the Kandhamal district of Orissa. Guruji, as he was known, was a fanatical Hindu nationalist. One of his objectives was to wipe out Christians and Christianity from Kandhamal and its environs, because their numbers had increased over the past 30 years. He attributed this to force and fraud by Christian missionaries. "The sooner Christians return to the Hindu fold the better it would be for the country," was his feeling.

A local TV channel reported that the murderers had left a note declaring that this was a revenge killing for attacks on Christians last Christmas. Who really killed him? Guruji had many enemies. The most likely suspects, say local police, are the Maoist guerillas who still infest the jungles of Orissa. But it was Christians who were blamed by local Hindus.

On the following day, a meeting of leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Orissa, the Hindu nationalist party, Rastriya Swayam Sevak (RSS), a Hindu militant organisation, and other groups, decided on immediate retaliation.

In the violent aftermath at least 25 people have died and about 50 churches and 4,000 Christian houses have been destroyed. The violence is spreading to the nearby states of Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

On August 25, FatherThomas Chellan was dragged out of a house in Kandhmal where he and a nun had taken shelter. A mob of about 50 men armed with clubs, axes, spades, crowbars, iron roads, sickles mercilessly thrashed him and kerosene was poured over him to burn him. They were paraded half-naked for half a kilometer.

Another priest, Father Edward Sequera, who was running an orphanage in Kandhamal was beaten with spades, sickles and iron bars for more than an hour. After that his room was set on fire. Fortunately he escaped death by locking himself into the bathroom. But his attackers scaled the roof of the orphanage where Rajani Majhi, the 19-year-old caretaker, had locked herself in along with the 20 children. They entered the room, dragged her outside, tied her hands together and burnt her alive. Rajani was a Hindu.

More than 400 churches, 500 houses and many Christian institutions have been gutted. Many Christians have fled to the jungle for safety. Similar incidents have happened throughout Orissa. Even in its capital Bhuvaneswar, Christian schools have been ransacked. Raphael Cheenath, the Catholic archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, says that it is clear that "the fanatical forces of Hindutva want to eliminate Christians from Orissa".

Hindu fanatics are even invading the camps set up for the 50,000 Christians in relief camps in Kandhamal. There are credible reports of groups going to the relief camp and threatening people to reconvert to Hinduism. In one relief camp, two extremists were caught by a security guard trying to poison the drinking water.

Sadly, none of this comes as a surprise. On Christmas Eve 2007, more than 40 churches, convents and 700 Christian houses were burnt down. Christian villagers hid in the jungles for weeks. In 1999, an Australian evangelical missionary and his two sons were burnt to death by a mob.

What is the truth of Hindu accusations of forced conversions to Christianity? Nearly all of them are absurd. An anti-conversion law recently came into force in the state of Gujarat, on the western coast of the sub-continent. Missionaries convicted of "forcibly converting" someone could face up to three years in prison. However, there have been only three complaints of "forcible" conversions in Gujarat in the last 10 years, and only two of those concerned Christians.

In fact, the Christian population of India appears to be declining slightly. From 2.61 percent of the population in 1981, it fell to 2.53 percent and 2.3 percent in the census for 1991 and 2001. According to the latest census, conducted in 2001, 80.5 percent of India's inhabitants are Hindu, while 13.4 percent are Muslim.

The fundamental rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are enshrined in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. Officially, India is secular. However, outside of the capital, New Delhi, the state ideology of secularism quickly runs out of steam. In fact, the BJP has managed to pass anti-conversions laws in five of India’s 28 states. In 1967 Orissa became the first state to legislate against religious conversion -- with an act bizarrely named the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act.

The upshot of this is that in some of the BJP-ruled states, this fundamental right to practice and propagate one’s religion now almost ceases to exist -- especially among the poor dalits, or untouchables, and aboriginal tribal peoples.

The violence against the Christians in Kandhamal is linked to the empowerment of the dalits and tribals. Through education dalits and tribals have been achieving dignity freedom from oppressive traditions of caste-based discrimination and slavery. This has sometimes been violently opposed by dominant castes, who could no longer rely upon them for cheap farm labour or bonded labour. 

As Telesphore Toppo, the Cardinal of Ranchi -- India’s first tribal cardinal – has said, "Suppressing and restricting the freedom of religion and conscience is the worst kind of slavery. The dalits and the tribals have suffered as they are deprived of freedom by opportunists who are raising the issue of conversion for their own political mileage".

The Guruji’s followers remain adamant, claiming they will "do everything possible to protect the Hindu faith in Orissa." Kabi Chandra Nath, his successor, says ominously, "We are not converting anyone. We are simply bringing misguided followers back to the fold."

Catholic authorities have asked the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the violence against Christians in Orissa. But it is unrealistic to expect much support. After the December riots, government compensation for damage to Christian property was meagre. "This paltry amount given by way of compensation is also the reflective of the will to secure justice for the Christians, more seriously", said Archbishop Cheenath. "No serious action was taken against the perpetrators of the December violence and the culprits are emboldened by their freedom."

Like China, the Indian government will not accept any interference in its internal affairs. But without pressure from overseas, it is unrealistic to expect the central government to take firm steps to quench the violence. There is not much sign of that at the moment. A spokesman for the British High Commission in Delhi, almost yawned. ‘‘India is viewed as a diverse place and the country has made a success of diversity,’’ he said. "A few incidents cannot mar the image of the country." What is needed is a world action, like the "Free Tibet" campaign which has galvanised people around the world. Otherwise, it is absolutely certain that more impoverished Christians will die for their faith.

Anjalee Lewis is a freelance journalist writing from Mumbai.

Carmelite Priest Slain in India
En Route to Celebrate Sunday Mass
http://www.zenit.org/article-23400?l=english

HYDERABAD, India, AUG. 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A 37-year-old Carmelite priest was tortured and killed on Saturday night as he traveled to the site where he was to celebrate Sunday Mass.

The body of Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Father Thomas Pandippallyil was found by religious sisters headed to the Mass he was to celebrate at the center in Yellareddy, where he was director.

The Carmelite had joined the Chanda mission of his order in 1987. He was ordained a priest in 2002.

He was last seen alive by those same nuns who offered him dinner Saturday after he had celebrated Mass for them.

"Father Thomas is a martyr: He sacrificed his life for the poor and marginalized," said Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad. "But he did not die in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh -- the southeastern state where he died."

"The Church in India is shocked and deeply saddened by this barbarous killing, the result of a growing climate of intolerance and violence against Christians in this country," the 65-year-old archbishop added.

Archbishop Joji contended that the crime is the result of "jealousy of the Catholic Church."

"Priests and nuns," he said, "have for decades been at the service of the least fortunate in India, and this makes them targets of forces of evil who do not want the marginalized and impoverished to become empowered."

By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Mon, Aug. 04 2008 05:11 PM EDT
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080804/top-hamas-leader-s-son-converts-to-christianity.htm
 

Masab Yousef, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, revealed for the first time in an exclusive interview with Haaretz newspaper that he has left Islam and is now a Christian. Prior to the interview’s publication last Thursday, Yousef’s family did not know of his faith conversion even though he is in regular contact with them.

“[T]his interview will open many people's eyes, it will shake Islam from the roots, and I'm not exaggerating,” Yousef, who now resides in the United States, said. “What other case do you know where a son of a Hamas leader, who was raised on the tenets of extremist Islam, comes out against it?”

Yousef, who is now 30-years-old, was first exposed to Christianity eight years ago while in Jerusalem where out of curiosity he accepted an invitation to hear about Christianity. Afterwards, he became “enthusiastic” about what he heard and would secretly read the Bible every day.

“A verse like ‘Love thine enemy’ had a great influence on me,” Yousef recalled. “At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves ‘great believers.’

“I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I re-examined the Koran and the principals of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading.”

But with Christianity, Yousef said he could understand God as revealed through Jesus Christ. He said he could talk about God and Jesus for days, but Muslims are not able to say anything about God.

“I consider Islam a big lie,” said the son of one of Hamas’ founders. “The people who supposedly represent the religion admired Mohammed more than God, killed innocent people in the name of Islam, beat their wives and don’t have any idea what God is.

“I have no doubt that they’ll go to hell. I have a message for them: There is only one way to Paradise – the way of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for all of us.”

Four years ago, Yousef decided to convert to Christianity but did not let his family know. He still helped his father with his political activities, and his father only knew his son had Christian friends.

“I felt responsible. It was better for me to be there rather than a gang of fools who would poison his mind,” Yousef explained. “I tried to understand those people, their thoughts, in order to change them from inside by means of a strong person like my father, who admitted to me in the past that he does not support suicide attacks.”

Yousef described his father as a moderate Hamas leader.

But even before his encounter with Christianity, Yousef had already become disenchanted with Hamas and Islam while being imprisoned at the age of 18 years old for heading a youth Islamic movement at his high school.

He described the Hamas leaders he met in prison as people with “no morals” and “no integrity,” although they hide their corruption better than Fatah party members.

“Nobody knows them and how they operate as well as I do,” Yousef said, recalling how the family of Hamas members killed by Israel were forced to beg for financial assistance while the leadership “abandoned” them and “wasted” tens of thousands of dollars a month only on security for themselves.
 
 

Then (in prison) I understood that not everyone in Hamas is like my father. He's a nice, friendly man. But I discovered how evil his colleagues are,” Yousef said. “After my release I lost the faith I had in those who ostensibly represented Islam."

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Israel, and many Western countries. The group has publicly vowed to destroy Israel.

Now Yousef, the eldest son of Sheikh Yousef, says he “admires” Israel.

"You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas,” Yousef stated. “Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death."

He denounced the “entire” Palestinian society as one that “sanctifies death and the suicide terrorist.”

“In Palestinian culture a suicide terrorist becomes a hero, a martyr. Sheiks tell their students about the ‘heroism of the shaheeds (martyr).’”

Yousef highlighted that Hamas was the first to use suicide bombers as weapons against civilians.

"They (Hamas) are blind and ignorant. It's true, there are good and bad people everywhere, but Hamas supporters don't understand that they are led by a wicked and cruel group that brainwashes the children and gets them to believe that if they carry out a suicide attack they'll get to Paradise,” he said.

The Muslim-turned-Christian says he does not think Islam will survive for more than 25 years because the truth about Islam will be exposed given the mass communication available in the modern age.

For his part, Yousef says he hopes to “open the eyes” of Muslims and “reveal the truth” to them about Islam and Christianity with the goal to “take them out of the darkness and the prison of Islam.”

“In that way they'll have an opportunity to correct their mistakes, to become better people and to bring a chance for peace in the Middle East,” he said.

Yousef, who has taken the biblical name of Joseph, said he dreams of one day becoming a writer to tell his personal story and about the Middle East conflicts.

“But at the moment, at least, my ambitions are only to find work, a place to live,” Yousef admits. “I have no money, I have no apartment,” said the son of the Hamas leader who left behind properties in Ramallah to find true freedom.

“I was about to become one of those homeless people [in the United States],” he confessed, “but people from the church are helping me. I'm dependent on them."

He also dreams that someday he can return to his homeland and his family will accept Jesus Christ.

"I know that I'm endangering my life and am even liable to lose my father, but I hope that he'll understand this and that God will give him and my family patience and willingness to open their eyes to Jesus and to Christianity,” Yousef said. “Maybe one day I'll be able to return to Palestine and to Ramallah with Jesus, in the Kingdom of God.”

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Hamas convert warns Israel they cna never be at peace with rebel group
Thursday, 14th August 2008. 6:45am

By: Roberto Sanchez Guevara.

The son of top Hamas leader has affirmed his faith in Jesus Christ and warned that Israel can never be at peace with the "wicked and cruel" men who lead Hamas.

"At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves 'great believers,’" Yousef told the Haaretz news organization.

"I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I re-examined the Koran and the principles of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading. The Muslims borrowed rituals and traditions from all the surrounding religions."

Masab Yousef, who now prefers to be known as "Joseph," is the oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a political leader of the Hamas organization in the West Bank and one of the movement's most popular public figures.

Four years ago, Yousef decided to convert to Christianity but did not let his family know. "When I was with my father, I in effect pushed a moderate Hamas leader into making logical decisions, such as stopping the attacks and establishing two states alongside one another," Yousef said.

"I felt responsible. It was better for me to be there rather than a gang of fools who would poison his mind.”

Talking about Islam he said “it is a culture sanctifies death and the suicide terrorists” Hamas extremists "are blind and ignorant. It's true, there are good and bad people everywhere, but Hamas supporters don't understand that they are led by a wicked and cruel group that brainwashes the children and gets them to believe that if they carry out a suicide attack they'll get to Paradise."

"I tried to understand those people, their thoughts, in order to change them from inside by means of a strong person like my father, who admitted to me in the past that he does not support suicide attacks," he said.

"He thinks that harming innocent people gives the organization a bad name. The sheikh once said to me that when he sees an insect outside the house he is careful not to harm it, 'so what can I say about harming civilians?'"

“Joseph” concludes: “Many people will hate me for this interview, but I'm telling them that I love all of them, even those who hate me. I invite all the people, including the terrorists among them, to open their hearts and believe," he added.

"Now I'm trying to establish an international organization for young people that will teach about Christianity, love and peace in the territories, too. I would like to teach the young people how to love and forgive, because that's the only way the two nations can overcome the mistakes of the past and live in peace."

Click here to read the complete interview