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By Albany Tribune — (May 21, 2013)

There was a time when we needed a group called Catholic Whistleblowers, but this assembly is a little too late: they missed the boat by a half-century. The homosexual scandal began in the mid-1960s and ended 20 years later. Today, it hardly exists. In 2012, there were six credible allegations made against approximately 40,000 priests. To put it differently, if someone said in 1955 that we must do something about polio, just after the approval of the Salk vaccine, we’d think him nuts.

One might think that a group called Catholic Whistleblowers would blow the whistle on bishops who are shielding molesting priests. But they can’t even name one. The best they can do is mention the arrest of Father Michael Fugee in Newark for violating a judicial order. In the 12 years since his case was thrown out of court—for groping a teenager while wrestling in front of family members—there have been no complaints. No matter, this is all about getting Archbishop John Myers, not Fugee.

Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability is responsible for forming the new group. If she is in earnest, she can begin her whistleblowing exercises by finally naming the 55 predator priests that her entity says Cardinal Timothy Dolan is hiding. She knows the accusations are a lie.

Sr. Maureen Turlish is another member, and she is known for calling allegations made agains t priests in the Philadelphia grand juries as “facts,” even though more than 20 of them are patently untrue. Fr. James Connell, now a hero to victims’ groups, was himself charged with covering up for the worst molester in the history of the Catholic Church in America. Fr. Thomas Doyle believes that Jesus Christ did not found the Catholic Church, and that the Mass is composed of “magic words.” Robert Hoatson, a former priest, picketed the building where the Catholic League is housed wearing a sign, “Cath. Lg. Opposed to Jesus.”

What a motley crew. They are fighting a war that is long over. Though it is not easy to do, it is time they let go. Let the healing begin.

How so? It puts into perspective differences between Catholic and Jewish visions of hell, and the way our respective histories have shaped our contemporary circumstances.

The Jewish View of Hell

First, some background. In “Inferno,” Brown recounts the historical fact that Dante’s vision of Hell described in the “The Divine Comedy” shaped the way many people, including the artists and architects who built the beautiful Medieval and Renaissance churches, pictured hell. It’s not a positive story.

Does this critique present challenges to Judaism as well? Generally not, because Judaism does not have a strong belief in hell. The only descripton in the Old Testament of an afterlife is as a place called Sheol, where the souls of the dead reside. No notion of paradise or torture is found.

In some later Jewish literature we do find poetic descriptions of Hell. Yet, these serve primary to encourage moral behavior on earth, and do not reflect a strict theological approach to the afterlife. A beautiful example of this earthly focus of the Jewish approach to the afterlife is found in an 18th-century Hasidic story. It begins with a man asking God about heaven and hell.

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

“I will show you hell,” God said, and took the man into a room. A large banquet table in the center was filled with extraordinary foods. The sight and smell of the foods were intoxicating. Around the table sat miserable, famished and desperate people.

Each person held spoon with a long handle. But the spoons were strapped to their bodies in a way that made it impossible for them to both bend their elbows and bring the spoons to their mouths. As a result, they were starving.

“Now,” God said, “I will show you heaven.” The man found himself in an identical room with an identical banquet table laden with a magnificent array of foods. Around this table people also held long wooden spoons strapped to their bodies. Yet, they were happy, smiling and well-nourished.

“Same table, same food, same spoons. Why are things different here?” asked the man.

“There is one important difference,” God said in response. “Here, in heaven, the people feed one another.”

These visions of heaven and hell are not meant to be taken literally. They are meant to encourage us to give to and share with others on earth. This understanding of heaven and hell differ substantially from the one Brown portrays. They illustrate the Jewish emphasis on this-worldiness, as opposed to the afterlife.

Judaism Never Had An Empire

Much of the intrigue in Brown’s work comes from the history of the Catholic Church. This history has been shaped by the immense power the Church has had throughout its existence. Until the Industrial Revolution brought about large central governments, the Church was the sole superpower in the world.

Judaism, in contrast, never became the impetus or opportunitiy for building an empire. For most of our history, Jews lived dispersed around the world. It was only in 1948, after 2,000 years of exile, that a Jewish state and government came into existence. As a result, the traditional trappings of power never shaped Jewish history and tradition. And because until the 19th century conversion to Judaism could be punished by death in some countries, Jews did not grow into a large people. Its political power and influence was limited. The palaces and treasures that provide the context for Brown’s intriguing plots have never existed.

What Is Our Takeaway?

All this comparison and contrast can serve to remind us that Brown is writing a novel, not a historical or religious treatise. Each religion has a unique history and set of texts that shapes its beliefs and practices. If we want a good thriller novel, we can read Dan Brown. If we want to learn more about faith and history, we can visit the other side of the library.

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By Francis Ongkingco

There are games that can be played alone and there are much more games that are best played and enjoyed with others. I recall back in high school how, after our last afternoon class, we would congregate in one of the many cul-de-sacs.
No one was exempt from these ‘group games’ like tag, patintero, and tumbang-preso, etc. Even the younger children joined in as ‘extras’ or saling-pusa. They had very minor roles, but if they ever made a point, it counted just the same in the game.
When the weather was not so cooperative, smaller groups formed circles to play Monopoly, Scrabble, a card game or simply to tell stories. When the weather improved, someone would usually call out for a major group game and the street was immediately filled with excited bustling young boys, girls, toddlers and also their care-takers.
* * *
“Faith is a personal act – the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 166)”
God revealed that the gift of faith is meant to build the people He has congregated into His Church. And it is important to realize that it is not because of a collective faith that ‘builds’ the Church but the other way around. The Church is “the One who first believes, bears, nourishes and sustains my faith. (…) It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ by baptism. (Ibid., no. 168)”
Although salvation can only come from God, we have received the “life of faith through the Church, and we therefore profess that She is the Mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if She were the author of salvation. (ibid., no. 169)” Taking into account man’s social nature, God wants this supernatural gift to be properly nourished, strengthened and sustained within a community –the Catholic Church– which is both a human reality and also the Mystical Body of His Son, Jesus Christ.
The gift of faith, therefore, is something personal and at the same time ecclesial. It is sowed in each person’s heart when he or she personally responds with a yes to this invitation to an adventure of conversion, love and apostolic calling. A great deal of the life of faith depends principally on each one’s intimate and generous self-giving to God.
However, as long as pilgrim man journeys towards his Heavenly goal, he will not encounter any other place that can cradle, nourish and develop his faith efficiently. “It is in fact the Church that believes: and thus by the grace of the Holy Spirit precedes, engenders and nourishes the faith of each Christian. For this reason, the Church is Mother and Teacher. (Compendium of the Catholic Church, no. 30)”
Unfortunately, many faithful are unaware of this wonderful ecclesial feature of their faith. Many are satisfied with sentimentally feeling Church by belonging to a parish and some its pious committees or they only see Her serving as a mere institutional support group.
Every faithful is called to become Church. Each one must to feel a certain pride to belong to an institution that has mysteriously withstood the test of time, the countless persecutions of godless men and nations, and has shown Her growing splendor in the midst of worldly trends without becoming Herself worldly. She doesn’t only make us a part of Her, but each one is an essential and unique member building Her by striving for personal holiness in his or her own state in life.
And a member’s utmost joy and security are rooted in the Church’s principal marks: one – for having one Founder and therefore expressing Her unity; holy – because Christ, Her Founder is Holy, and the means She offers for the holiness are holy; apostolic – since She was founded upon the Apostles, from whom we inherit the same mission of being ‘sent’ to all nations; catholic – for Her universal reach, and that Her teachings are for all men of all times.
* * *
The F.U.N. (Faith Up Now) part of all this is to discover broader horizons where we can constantly grow in our being Church and daily offer something personal for the other members. Here are a few ideas:
• Praying our Baptism. Grab your baptismal certificate! Consider that date as a special one to pray about and thank God for. Pray for the priest who baptized you, your parents and god-parents.
• Touching our Head and Toes. Our personal concern and contribution to the Church must be a prayer that extends from the Pope down to the latest baptized Christian. We shouldn’t hesitate to adopt either a Bishop or Priest whom we could pray and offer specific sacrifices for daily.
• Learn your history. Every institution has a history. Get a good book on the history of the Catholic Church. The simple and sincere reading and study of Her life has converted many. Her history will also make us realize Her divine origins and mission.
• Tradition!  As part of knowing Her history, open your curiosity to the saints who have built and extended the Church throughout the world. (e.g. the works of the Fathers of the Church, the life of the early Christians, and the lives of the saints.)

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Published on May 16, 2013 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

By Peter Claver Oparah

When he entered the conclave, in the wake of the historical resignation of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, Pope Francis (then Cardinal Bergoglio), like the nearly 120 Cardinals that made up the conclave, went with his little briefcase containing essentials he may need for the period of time the conclave will last. This was televised live to the entire world. Since  he emerged, after two days, as Pope Francis, no one has known or seen him go back to his native Argentina, either to take his personal belongings or check on his father’s heirloom, lands and estates. Recall that Pope Emeritus Benedict had not visited his native Germany since he voluntarily abdicated the Papacy on February 28. He may not even visit Germany again in his life time as he lives in a sequestrated monastery at the Vatican. The late Pope John Paul II lost his last earthly close relative, his father, when he was barely eighteen. This was after the death of his brother Edward but he went on to become a priest and reached the very zenith of priesthood, which is the Papacy. At his death in 2005, he was known not to have left any earthly possession except his private mails, which he instructed his Secretary to burn at his death. He was not known to have gone to his native Poland to inspect or supervise his family estate, lands or businesses.

That is how it is for every Catholic priest. He is ordained for the Church and exists for the Church. By Church, I mean the Holy Catholic Church and not the church where he is born or is raised. By my understanding, a Catholic priest can be called upon to work anywhere his services are needed. He exists and lives his life at the behest of the Church, exercised through the delegated authority of the local ordinary, which is the Bishop of the Diocese where he works. A priest can work for a diocese other than the one he is born into. That becomes his diocese and if he dies, he is buried there. He may be required to work in a different diocese from the one he is born and where duty calls, he moves without question. He belongs to that diocese for life and when he dies, he will be buried in that diocese as his body may not even be laid in state in the diocese of his origin. A priest, on ordination, takes the vow of poverty, obedience and chastity. This forbids him from owning properties, estates, wives, children or heirlooms or to inherit his father’s estates or properties.   As it is with priests, so it is with bishops and even the Pope. While a priest, he is expected to live on the goodwill of the Church and the community of the faithful. That is the rule for Bishops and even the Pope.

This is why I find really disturbing the on-going slugfest over who should succeed the late Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe as the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara (Mbaise) Diocese. Since this battle was kicked off with the announcement of Msgr. Peter Ebele Okpalaeke as the second bishop of Ahiara, and the rejection by a section of the Catholic community in the diocese, I had maintained a studied silence over the issue. I had rather decided to study and perhaps learn more from that issue than interfere but above all, I prayed silently and wished that the combatants will do their best and let the wheel of progress roll on. Since the issue started, I had read extensively  the submissions of the section of Mbaise people that rejected the appointment of Okpalaeke and the often engaging, deep and incisive reactions from others, mainly Catholic priests, from outside the diocese. Curiously, as I read, I had not found any opinion or any voice outside Mbaise support the rejection of Okpalaeke.

In all I read, I had been nit picking to see where any egregious infraction that impedes the choice of Okpalaeke could be advertised. I had read deeper to see if there is any impediment that would prevent him from being a Catholic bishop to the faithful of Ahiara diocese. I had searched for any hefty indiscretion that endangers his capacity to be an effective bishop for the people of Ahiara diocese. I believe such indiscretion should be founded on very strong reasons to sustain any strong opposition against his candidacy for the Bishopric as being touted by a section of the Catholic community and the huge number of non Catholics that have tapped into this issue for reasons best known to them. Curiously, I have not seen any such malfeasance. I have not seen any scandal and I have not seen any dent in the tons of paid adverts, features and opinions sent forth by those who have sworn that Okpalaeke will not be Bishop of Ahiara. In fact, in its first noted public statement on the rejection, these combatants made up of some priests and lay faithful have said they were not opposing Msgr. Okpalaeke’s candidacy as an attack against him as they said they found nothing wrong about him as a person. So what is firing the unusual obduracy so far displayed by these people?

They said they will never accept Okpalaeke because he is not from Ahiara, that he is from Anambra and they have gone further to allege what they call a deliberate policy of forcing Anambra priests on many dioceses in and outside the East. They have gone further to say that Okpalaeke is not qualified to shepherd the teeming faithful in Ahiara because, as they put it, he doesn’t speak our language or understand our culture. In a nutshell, these form the corpus of their opposition. I have continued to search for more beefy reasons to tag along them and have found out that the many press statements and features they have brought out on this issue revolve around these issues. Strictly speaking, and in line with Catholic traditions, are these weighty enough to disallow Okpalaeke from being Bishop of Ahiara? I don’t think so. Given historical evidences and with our knowledge of the Catholic priesthood and the general history of the Catholic Church, are these sufficient reasons to withdraw the candidacy of Msgr. Okpalaeke? I don’t think so and I feel that those that are sworn to the opposition of Msgr. Okpalaeke’s candidacy should advance further reasons to ground their positions.

I am a Catholic from Ahiara diocese and I remain in full communion with the Catholic Church. To be fair to it, the Catholic Church has had least considerations for place of origin in deciding where its priests or bishops work. Why should it when it professes one Faith, one Baptism and one Father who is God? A priest once ordained becomes a member of the church. It does not assign roles to its priests on consideration of where one comes from. In other words, when ordained, a Catholic priest is primed to work in any part of the world. It may be true that most bishops particularly in the Eastern parts of the country are from Anambra, as insinuated by those that oppose Msgr. Okpalaeke. It may be true that Msgr. Okpalaeke was favoured over priests from Ahiara, in consideration for who succeeds Bishop Chikwe. It is true that Ahiara has one of the highest density of Catholic priests in Nigeria.

It is true that Ahiara has one of the highest density of Catholics in Nigeria. These facts have been well rehearsed by those that want someone from Ahiara as the next bishop of Ahiara. However, none of these facts dents the suitability of Okpalaeke for the Bishop of Ahiara. None is weighty enough to disqualify him for the position and those opposing him, especially the priests among them, know this fact. Okpalaeke is a priest of the Catholic Church and that qualifies him to be bishop of any diocese in the world. It is trite to insist that it must be ‘our son’ or nobody else as the provocateurs of the succession crisis in Ahiara are insisting. Their position finds no known anchor in the ordinances, practices and authorities of the Catholic Church. It is alien to the Church and that is why Ahiara priests work all over the globe.

Coming nearer home, it is an incontestable fact that more than sixty five per cent of Catholic bishops in Nigeria work in dioceses other their diocese of origin. It is an incontestable fact that more priests from Ahiara’s rich pool of priests work in several dioceses all over the world and in different religious congregations. If these were true, how can those opposed to Okpalaeke justify their position on the flimsy basis of ‘he is from Anambra’ or ‘he does not speak our language’ or ‘he does not understand our culture’? Okpalaeke, on my last check is Igbo, he speaks Igbo and is part of that culture, even when we insists that the Church is not a cultural platform. Igbo is a uniform people, with a single culture and language, albeit with slight dialectical variations so it is an abomination to hurl those charges on Igbo just because you want to strengthen a weak point. So if we must disallow Okpalaeke from Bishop of Ahiara on these flimsy grounds, what happens to the multitude of Ahiara born priests working in various parts of the world? Deport them to come and become parts of the okpulo inheritance syndrome that is firing the present tussle?

I know that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, as a group and individually, has worked round the clock to solve this issue. I know that respectable Priests and Bishops have made rounds to Mbaise to clear this mess. But after each intervention, all you get is one belly-churning publication or the other, alleging injustice and name calling. I have tried my utmost best to understand the grouse of these agitators beyond the flabby articulation put forth so far. It is just repetition of why it should be ‘one of us of no other person’ and when you press it further, everything is collapsed into the magic word, ‘injustice’ and you begin to wonder if the issue is really about injustice. If it is, why is it that more than 65 per cent of Catholic Bishops in Nigeria work in dioceses outside their diocese of origin? When had justice in the Catholic Church been watered down to restricting priests and bishops to their home dioceses?

As it is, by the appointment of Okpalaeke as Bishop of Ahiara, he automatically becomes a citizen of Ahiara. If and when he dies, he would be buried in Ahiara and this conforms to the practice of the Catholic Church so why are we breaking our heads over nothing? Why have we willingly allowed agent provocateurs, fifth columnists into our barn such that they make rounds vilifying the Catholic Church and treating its traditions and practices to trampling? I ask this because I found out that those who have been most fanatical in this warfare are non-Catholics, self confessed traditionalists, people of doubtful Catholicity and those who have publicly renounced their communion with the Catholic Church. They have been carrying on as if their lives rest on the appointment of an Mbaise man as Bishop of Ahiara and shockingly, they are in cahoots with a section of priests and lay Catholics.

I do not see the protest of a section of Ahiara priests and lay faithful to Okpalaeke’s emergence as out of place. It  is natural and should be limited to protests from which some useful lessons should be drawn. But then, they missed the opportunity to press the finest point in their position, which I believe, is asking why Mbaise priests cannot be Bishop of other dioceses. What prevents an Mbaise priest from being the Bishop of Awka or even the Archbishop of Onitsha when these positions become vacant? This was a beautiful ground the agitators for a native Bishop for Ahiara missed in the pent up obduracy to insist they must have their way.

I feel the church however takes note of this salient point and move on. Those who are agitating for a native bishop should rest their war machine and work for the progress of the church. All those who are engaged in this battle should call the truce and embrace peace so that we all will further the ends of development for the diocese and Mbaise land. Equally, those on the other side who are murmuring that ‘they rejected our son’ are misguided because they did not take into consideration the sentiments of a people just coming in contact with such succession reality.

We should put this squabble behind us because it is meaningless. Let us embrace Msgr. Okpalaeke as our brother and put forth our well known Mbaise warmth and conviviality to him. I know my people are capable of this and know when to end a battle. Let the new Bishop start his work, with an urgent mission to pursue reconciliation and peace among the fractious divisions that have developed amongst our people. Let all hands get on the deck and let everybody put the past behind to work for our people. Welcome, Msgr. Peter Ebele Okpalaeke to Ahiara Mbaise and long may your reign be!

•Oparah wrote from Lagos. •E-mail:peterclaver2000@yahoo.com

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In their ongoing effort to attack the Catholic Church, it seems not even something as uncontroversial and routine as the pope canonizing new saints can happen without the liberal media find some way to work in an attack. Witness Claudio Lavanga’s May 12 post at NBCNews.com headlined “A saint-making record is also a diplomatic headache for Pope Francis.” [h/t Creative Minority Report]

“Pope Francis canonized more than 800 Catholics in Saint Peter’s Square Sunday – the largest number to be elevated to sainthood at once in the history of the Catholic Church,” Lavanga noted. But alas, “The choice of some of the new saints was also striking, touching on the already-fragile relationship between Christianity and Islam” because the “new saints included hundreds of laymen from the southern Italian port town of Otranto who were slain in the 15th century by the invading Ottoman Turkish army after they refused to convert to Islam.” 

After giving readers a brief history lesson into the invasion in 1480, Lavanga groused that Pope Francis’s “choice to highlight their sacrifice may put a strain on the already fragile relationship between the Catholic Church and Islam.” So who did Lavanga cite to substantiate that claim? Well, no one, it turns out.

You’d think that Lavanga could have found at least one diplomat from a Muslim nation who found fault with the pick, but no. Lavanga had squat.

Well, that’s not true, exactly. What Lavanga did have was an attack on the pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, whom the media loved to attack as reactionary and as having an antipathy towards Muslims (emphasis mine):

[W]hy risk creating yet another inter-faith row with a celebration which some in the Muslim world may be seen as a provocation?

The answer is that it wasn’t Pope Francis’ choice in the first place. The decision to canonize the hundreds of Otranto martyrs was rubber-stamped by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on Feb. 11 – the same day he announced his resignation.

It was a departing act of a pontiff that had become concerned about the mounting discrimination suffered by Christian minorities living in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab spring.

Pope Francis shares his predecessor’s concern. “By venerating the martyrs of Otranto” he said at Sunday’s canonization mass, “We ask God to protect the many Christians who in these times, and in many parts of the world, are still victims of violence”.

The Vatican’s relationship with Islam took a nosedive in 2006 when Benedict – now the Pope Emeritus – enraged Muslims by quoting the 14th-century byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiogolos, who said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

It was an uncomfortable parting gift for his successor, who now faces an uphill struggle to rekindle ties with Islam.

Again, Lavanga had nothing to back up his claims, nothing to prove the narrative he wished to engrain into the reader’s imagination. Nor did Lavanga consider that the newly-canonized saints might be of great comfort to persecuted Catholics all throughout the world, regardless of whether they live in Muslim countries or not.

When Francis became pontiff, the liberal media saw glimmers of hope that he might be the liberal reformer they’d long hoped for. That appears to not be panning out, but the pontiff’s humility and kindness to the poor and marginalized in society has seemed to inoculate Francis from harsher criticism.

But as this piece shows, to the extent that Francis follows in Benedict’s footsteps, the liberal media will resurrect specious and unsubstantiated charges that conform to a left-wing narrative.

This is a syndicated post from CNA Daily News. [Read the original article...]

Denver, Colo., Apr 25, 2013 / 02:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Church leadership and outreach must be rooted in the pursuit of holiness and always attentive to the dignity of each human being, teaches Pope Francis in his newly translated book.

“It’s impossible to understand anything this Pope is doing without understanding personal conversion, and specifically in the very profound Jesuit tradition of the change of heart,” the book’s translator, Alejandro Bermudez, told CNA April 23.

“Only the changing of the heart will create a change in the Church, and a change in the Church is what will create a change in society and culture. For Pope Francis there is no way around that reality – that arises only from a converted heart.”

The new book, “On Heaven and Earth,” is a conversation between Pope Francis and Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and scholar from Buenos Aires. It was originally published in Spanish in 2010, when Francis was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Among the wide variety of topics covered in the book is the centrality of holiness to the Church’s mission to evangelize.

Pope Francis explained in “On Heaven and Earth” that holiness is essential to leadership in religious organizations, saying it is “a springboard to the transcendent.”

“With regards to religion, holiness is unavoidable for a leader,” he said.

Discussing various periods of difficulty and corruption in the Church’s history, the future Pontiff observed that “religion bounced back” when figures such as Mother Theresa of Calcutta appeared to “rejuvenate religious fervor.”

“In the history of the Catholic Church the true reformers are the saints,” he said.

Bermudez, who is also the executive director of Catholic News Agency, said that holiness will be “absolutely central” to Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman curia.

He also commented on the Roman Pontiff’s view that while women hold a key place in the Church, their role is complimentary but not identical to that of men.

“Pope Francis has constantly, in several documents and also in the book, explained the importance of the particular role that women have in society, in culture, and in the Church,” Bermudez said.

“He strongly believes that this crucial role has nothing to do with trying to accomplish what men are doing, or imitate what they are doing in the Church, because that will be defeating the key concept of women providing something that men cannot.”

In the book, Pope Francis explained that women have a special “function in Christianity, reflected in the figure of Mary … the woman has the gift of maternity, of tenderness; if all these riches are not integrated, a religious community not only transforms into a chauvinist society, but also into one that is austere, hard and hardly sacred.”

This recognition of each person as bearing dignity in God’s image is also important in engaging non-believers, Pope Francis said, explaining that his approach in dialogue with atheists is not primarily one of direct preaching, but rather one of love and respect.

The future Pontiff characterized his attitude toward such conversations by saying that “I do not approach the relationship in order to proselytize, or convert the atheist; I respect him and I show myself as I am.”

“On Heaven and Earth” is now available in English from Image Books, an imprint of Random House, in print, digital and audio formats.

Until recently, the works of Pope Francis have been available only in his native tongue. Two works on Jesuit spirituality, entitled “Humility, the road towards God” and “Corruption and sin,” are being published this month in Italian.

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Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he leaves at the end of the Holy Mass and Canonization Ceremony at St. Peter’s Square. Sunday.

ROME — Pope Francis canonized more than 800 Catholics in Saint Peter’s Square Sunday – the largest number to be elevated to sainthood at once in the history of the Catholic Church.

The choice of some of the new saints was also striking, touching on the already-fragile relationship between Christianity and Islam.

The new saints included hundreds of laymen from the southern Italian port town of Otranto who were slain in the 15th century by the invading Ottoman Turkish army after they refused to convert to Islam.

In 1480, after conquering Constantinople – modern day Istanbul – the Ottoman Sultan Mohammed II planned to invade Rome, and Otranto became his army’s port of entrance into Italy.

The local population fought back in a week-long siege, putting up a brave but hopeless resistance. When Ottoman soldiers finally overrun the town, they were ordered to kill every man over the age of 15 who refused to convert to Islam.

More than 800 resisted, locking themselves up into the town’s Cathedral. Their ringleader, local shoemaker Antonio Primaldo, was first to be beheaded. According  to local legend, his headless body remained standing until the last of his fellow townspeople was killed.

Since then, Primaldo and his townsfolk, who chose to die rather than betray their Catholic faith, have been hailed as martyrs. Their bones and skulls – proudly on display behind glass walls in the Cathedral of Otranto – are well-known Catholic relics and a popular pilgrimage destination.

But the choice to highlight their sacrifice may put a strain on the already fragile relationship between the Catholic Church and Islam.

Ever since his election, Pope Francis has called for greater dialogue between Christianity and other religions, in particular Islam. And so far, he has acted on that promise. He washed the feet of a young Muslim woman jailed in a juvenile prison on Ash Wednesday, and reached out to the many “Muslim brothers and sisters” during his first Good Friday procession.

So why risk creating yet another inter-faith row with a celebration which some in the Muslim world may be seen as a provocation?

The answer is that it wasn’t Pope Francis’ choice in the first place. The decision to canonize the hundreds of Otranto martyrs was rubber-stamped by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on Feb. 11 – the same day he announced his resignation.

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Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

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It was a departing act of a pontiff that had become concerned about the mounting discrimination suffered by Christian minorities living in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab spring.

Pope Francis shares his predecessor’s concern. “By venerating the martyrs of Otranto” he said at Sunday’s canonization mass, “We ask God to protect the many Christians who in these times, and in many parts of the world, are still victims of violence”.

The Vatican’s relationship with Islam took a nosedive in 2006 when Benedict – now the Pope Emeritus – enraged Muslims by quoting the 14^th-century byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiogolos, who said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

It was an uncomfortable parting gift for his successor, who now faces an uphill struggle to rekindle ties with Islam.

Related: Pope condemns ‘slave labor’ conditions in collapsed Bangladesh factory

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Category: Faith

Published on Saturday, 11 May 2013 18:08

Written by Corazon Damo-Santiago, PhD

Among the events which Catholics find to be most exhilarating is the departure of Jesus Christ to the Kingdom of God. Awe-inspiring as written, the Ascension brings one to a spiritual oblation repeatedly and uniquely inspirational.

“Then, He took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany and lifting His hands He blessed them, withdrew from them and carried up to heaven.” (Luke 24:50-51)

Man, then should rejoice because heaven is the eternal destiny Jesus wants to share with him. “In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come back, take you Myself so that where I am you also maybe.” (John 14:23)

The Catechism of the Church teaches that God made man to share His goodness and “share everlasting happiness in heaven.”

The history of the Catholic Church even cites that martyrs die willingly for heaven, saints and holy people aspire for it as a reward for God’s grace and goodness; the only place where man can be personally and consciously united with God who is Infinite Goodness, Truth and Beauty.

Saint Paul described heaven as a forever place of ravishing happiness: “Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

To the apostles, Jesus assigned the three-fold mission of His church: to teach, to sanctify and provide leadership for His kingdom. Thus, He reminded them: “I am sending down to you what the Father has promised.  Stay in the city until you are clothed with the power from on high.”  (Luke 24:49)

Ascensiontide is the time between Jesus’s ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised to send to His apostles. But God, a great deal, was more present.

“They worshipped Him, went back to Jerusalem full of joy and they were continually in the temple praising God.” (Luke 24:52-53)

The moment Jesus withdrew from them, they were aware He was going back to heaven. The moment Jesus vanished from their sight, they still felt His divine presence. The moment Jesus blessed them they knew they had to spread His teachings. They were not only filled with joy, but committed to be His disciples.  And they are tasked by the Master with a vision and a mission.

Living in discipleship

In baptism, one becomes a disciple of Christ. To be a disciple is to identify with Him and commit the self to the cause He preached—“love one another as I have loved you.” One lives the teachings of Christ so others may see in Him Christ’s goodness.

There was a sharing of possessions, a visible manifestation of unity and caring among the members of the first Christian communities. They remember Jesus’s words: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19), the mark of generosity etched in their hearts.  “There was no needy person among them.” (Deuteronomy 15:4). Even the Gentiles and the Jews contributed according to their means.

Each one prayed, listened to their elders to be living witness of God. Seemingly, everyone can do all things in God who inspired, blessed and strengthened the disciples. They reached out to bless and be a joy to others every day. “Indeed, God lives in them.” (1 John 4:16)

Through the ages, the saints and holy people walked in faith not by sight. Living simple lives to serve the poor in basic needs and the poor in spirit. They lived in simplicity and obedience.

It is said that God passionately and continuously pursues mankind as evidenced by apparitions of the Blessed Mother admonishing sinfulness and calling man to genuine discipleship.

Our challenge: Know and live the truth

Man is both body and spirit—a world of contradiction.

The body pines for pleasure and the spirit thirsts for an unexplainable joy and peace that only God can give.

The intellect seeks prestige, power, peso, positions and possessions, while the spirit in quietude wonders what is contentment and the purpose of life.

Man is continuously bombarded by sights, sounds and ideas of a secular world making his passions alert, alive and daring. That in his busyness, God is relegated at the periphery of life and sometimes forgotten.

Because God made man to “show forth His goodness” and to share with Him everlasting happiness in heaven, He has not left him to wallow in weaknesses. God implanted a very special kind of love called grace in man’s will so “knowledge and supernatural love for God will grow and bear fruit.” Jesus, the Son of God, exemplified discipleship: “I am in your midst as one who serves you.” (Luke 22:27)

Since the dawn of history, no one lived forever. The first “eschatological truth” is death.

“Men must die once and after death be judged.” (Hebrew 9:27)

In the Christian vision, only the body dies, the soul lives forever. So, the word forever is not true for temporal matters. It can only be true about hell, a place of eternal anguish or heaven, a place of eternal joy.

Hell or heaven is a vision man choose by living a life for self alone or as a disciple of Christ.

Jesus in a visible body returned on Ascension Thursday to heaven. But He left His mystical body—the Church. After the Pentecost, the apostles drew up the essential truths, called divine revelation, Christ entrusted to them to preach.

The truth from Adam until the coming of Christ is called “pre-Christian Revelation,” and the truths Jesus preached directly or through the apostles, “Christian Revelation.”

The Holy Bible, the Word of God, was written by people who were divinely inspired by God, but God Himself is the author.

Some of the teaching of the apostles were not written but was passed on through the years in the “living voice of Christ in His church.” Thus, the Bible and tradition contain the truths, the “completeness of divine revelation” every Christian must believe.

This divine power was cited by the Greeks who coined the word enthusiasm (en+theos), God within. It is a strong excitement of feeling, a passion, a regard or disregard for the God within and to do good or evil.

Awesome indeed is the nature of man who is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139: 14).

In Photo: Ascension of Christ, painted by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo between 1510 and 1520. Wikimedia Commons

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