Francis, The Papal Foundation and Cardinal Roger Mahony: Money Talks

By Marielena Montesino de Stuart

ESPRESSO with Marielena…

Recommended roast level: VERY DARK.

Cardinal Roger Mahony does not need an introduction – but what is The Papal Foundation all about, from Francis’ perspective?

The Papal Foundation is based in Pennsylvania. This is an excerpt of their mission statement, as printed on their website [bold added for emphasis]:

“The Papal Foundation began in 1988 as a response to the desire of Catholic clergy and laity in the U.S. for a unique, sustainable way to support the Holy Father and his witness in the world.

The vision was to establish an endowment that would

- Provide an additional source of income for the Holy See

- Strengthen the Holy Father’s ability to fulfill the mission of Saint Peter

- Set the standard for other nations and challenge them to establish similar foundation.

Income generated from the investment of capital creates a perpetual source of revenue. The portfolio does not invest in any companies that engage in activities inconsistent with our faith.”

Here is a PDF file of The Papal Foundation Board of Trustees website page, captured on May 1, 2013:

http://romancatholicworld.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/papal-foundation-board-of-trustees.pdf

which indicates that “a three-tiered Board of Trustees manages Papal Foundation funds. American Cardinals who reside in the United States serve as ex-officio members of the Board. Archbishops, Bishops and elected laity from across the country serve as Trustees.”

This year The Papal Foundation delivered $8.6 million to Francis, “to support his witness in the world.”

Now, take another sip of your espresso and remember, its called The Papal Foundation.

A private audience with Francis

According to the Catholic News Service (CNS is the official news service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) Francis met on April 11 during a private audience with “about 120 members of the [Papal] foundation and their families, including Cardinals Donald W. Wuerl of Washington; Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington; and Justin Rigali, retired archbishop of Philadelphia.” [Bold added for emphasis].

…about 120 members? How much money was spent on flights, food and accommodation for “about 120″ people, in order to conduct this private visit with Francis? Does The Papal Foundation need 120 people to deliver one check? As a fundraising institution… are they serious?

In light of Francis’ call for “decisive action” against sexual abuse by members of the clergy, let’s review a communiqué issued recently by the Vatican news service, and reflect on some of the records of the Cardinals mentioned in the CNS report:

April 5, 2013 Vatican communiqué :

EXCERPT: “The Holy Father today received in audience Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. During the audience, various subjects pertaining to the Dicastery were discussed, the Holy Father recommended in particular that the Congregation, continue the line desired by Benedict XVI of decisive action regarding cases of sexual abuse, primarily by promoting measures for child protection; help for the many who in the past have suffered such violence; due process against those who are guilty; the commitment of Bishops’ Conferences in the formulation and implementation of the necessary directives in this area which is of great importance to the witness of the Church and its credibility.” [Bold added for emphasis].

The witness of the Church and its credibility?

Hmmm…

Let’s find out if Francis is serious about getting rid of pederasts, cowards, liars and thieves

Francis met with THIS Donald W. Wuerl

Francis met with THIS Theodore E. McCarrick and THIS Theodore E. McCarrick

AND Yes… Francis met with THIS Theodore E. McCarrick.

Yes… Francis met with THIS Justin Rigali and THIS Justin Rigali Pages 30-119 Grand Jury report .

I wonder if Francis met with another intriguing member of the The Papal Foundation Board of Trustees, Cardinal Egan? Do you know?

Yes, I’m talking about THIS Edward Egan and THIS Edward Egan and THIS Edward Egan.

Good vs. Evil

Once you have read the above links you will see that Father James Haley’s testimony about Theodore E. McCarrick is confirmed through the testimonies provided by the former Father Robert M. Hoatson and by psychotherapist Richard Sipe. Hoatson’s testimony, as set forth in Hoatson vs. New York Archdiocese, is considered among the most important, regarding McCarrick, Egan and others. It is not surprising, however, that Father Hoatson could not prevail in Hoatson vs. New York Archdiocese. Remember, the Catholic Church has very deep pockets and it can afford to hire some of the most powerful defense lawyers and public relations firms in the world.

While Hoatson and Sipe are not conservatives, NEITHER ARE THESE CARDINALS AND BISHOPS! This is a clarification for those cynics out there who enjoy diverting attention from the perpetrator of the crime, or the cover-up artist.

Informed Catholics are very much aware that there is a lot of inconsistency and political correctness coming from many individuals who speak out against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, while embracing a liberal social agenda. (Read more about this in the Brief Archive section, at the end of this article). But there is a type of individual who is particularly repugnant: the closet socialist and shameless opportunist, who claims to be a “conservative” – but looks the other way when his or her favorite prelate is immersed in filth.

Indeed, there is much work to be done in this battle between good and evil. But if we were to dismiss testimonies and records of the sexual abuse of children based on the accuser being a conservative or a liberal, then victims would never see justice served; therefore, the focus must remain on the truth – which is that individuals who are homosexuals have entered the priesthood in violation of Church laws.

These individuals have either remained as priests – or have moved up in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and have assumed positions of power. As such, they parade around as compromised Bishops and Cardinals who have destroyed their own moral authority – and are nothing more than charlatans with access to a lot of money.

I call them impostors.

The current panorama

But you say, “… this is old news.”

Precisely!

For a very long time these impostors have benefited from the support of their fellow LAY travelers – and their devoted uninformed and bewildered fans, who pounce (almost always anonymously) on anyone who dares to expose the cover-ups and activities of these prelates. But sometimes the pouncing and destructive tactics are orchestrated by the prelates themselves – as clearly outlined by the former Governor of Oklahoma, the Honorable Frank Keating, in The Last Straw: Quitting the Bishops’ Review Board.

In spite of Grand Jury Reports and public records, some of these supporters appear to have moved forward with their own agendas – while claiming to stand by their beloved favorite prelate – who is either a homosexual, a cover-up artist, or both.

But you say, “… maybe these supporters are trying to protect the Catholic Church from external attacks.”

That’s pure hypocrisy! If Catholics really wanted to protect the Catholic Church, they would begin by demanding the expulsion of the enemies within.

Remembering Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua… the former Chairman of The Papal Foundation

Remember how invaluable Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua was? Well, Grand Jury Reports and legal records have exposed him as one of the most horrific cover-up artists of pederasts in the history of the Catholic Church. Read about the Bevilacqua nightmare and his record at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, through the link in this paragraph – and in the Brief Archive section at the end of this article.

Significant sidebar: pederasty and cover-ups are widespread in the Catholic Church

The following are also examples of cases involving pederasty and cover-ups (not related to The Papal Foundation) but significant because of the tragic consequences and their scope:

Let Him Prey… and For He Has Sinned are a couple of bone-chilling articles that need your attention, involving well known Jesuit priests (you may even know some of these priests). This is the record that emerged from a motion filed on March 28, 2011. It is described as a record that “analyzes and documents in shocking detail the Jesuits’ 50-year history of concealing and enabling sexual abuse.”

Another absolute nightmare is the scandal that affected the Legionaries of Christ and the movement, Regnum Christi. A communiqué from the Vatican best describes their former leader, Father Maciel (now deceased):

EXCERPT OF COMMUNIQUÉ: “The very grave and objectively immoral actions of Father Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible testimonies, in some cases constitute real crimes and manifest a life devoid of scruples and authentic religious meaning.” [Bold added for emphasis].

Details of Maciel’s life, his revolting crimes and the Vatican investigation, are copiously documented online by journalists and support groups.

What took you so long?

The grave situation of homosexuals and sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has been outlined in a RECENT article by Fr. Dariusz Oko, Ph.D., a priest of the Archdiocese of Krakow and Assistant Professor at the John Paul II Pontifical University in Krakow.

I appreciate Father Oko’s efforts – but frankly and with all due respect, Father Oko reminds me of Captain Louis Renault in the film Casablanca, when he says: “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”

Father Oko’s article is simply a synopsis – and a rather LATE reaffirmation by a member of the clergy, of Randy Engel’s The Rite of Sodomy – which is considered the magnus opus for those who conduct in-depth research around the world, about this dark and harrowing subject.

Welcome to reality, Father Oko. What took you so long?

Setting the record straight

It is important to remember that the overwhelming number of victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church are boys – and that their abuse has been committed by adult males. This should not be a surprise to anyone, given the presence and power of homosexuals in the Catholic Church, as described in the aforementioned research and records.

That being the case…

Cardinal Roger Mahony

The CNS report talks about Francis thanking The Papal Foundation for the money and the benefits drawn from it, but mentions nothing about the removal of Cardinal Roger Mahony from the Board of Trustees – another intriguing member of this powerful organization.

Yes… I’m talking about THIS Roger Mahony (Includes links to court documents released earlier this year. You’ll need several espressos after you read Mahony’s record of cover-ups).

A couple of questions come to mind:

Is Cardinal Mahony attracting donors to The Papal Foundation? Given Mahony’s record of despicable cover-ups of the sexual abuse of children – what kind of individuals could possibly provide their financial support, inspired by Mahony? This is a VERY DISTURBING scenario.

How many American Bishops and lay Catholics have said “no, thank you” to joining The Papal Foundation?

Records of letters that further expose Mahony’s modus operandi are now available as part of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke’s archives, at DePaul University in Chicago. Anne Burke was a Justice of the Illinois appellate court, at the time that she served as vice chairwoman of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, the church-appointed panel that sought to resolve the sexual abuse scandal involving priests and minors. Judge Burke later took over as interim chairwoman, when former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating resigned, having reached the end of his rope with Mahony and his cronies. Keating’s famous letter of resignation included the following statement:

”To resist grand jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church.” Former Gov. Frank Keating. – New York Times, June 17, 2003.

If Francis is not willing to demand the immediate removal of someone like Mahony from The Papal Foundation Board of Trustees (as part of the new “decisive action” program) – how can anyone expect Francis to take any action against other Bishops and Cardinals, who are mired in cover-ups and scandals involving homosexuality and pederasty?

Putting on an act

What we are witnessing is the on-going hypocritical and dysfunctional stage production of modernist Bishops and Cardinals – who put on an act about changing the world by helping the poor, while covering up homosexuality in their midst – and the sexual abuse of innocent children behind the scenes.

CASE IN POINT: Cardinal Roger Mahony has nearly become the “patron saint” of undocumented aliens. His public militancy in support of undocumented aliens knows no bounds – including posts on his Twitter account and on his blog. Yet, court documents released earlier this year show how Cardinal Roger Mahony covered up the sexual abuse of undocumented children in predominantly Spanish-speaking parishes, at the hands of a monster known as Monsignor Peter Garcia, who even used threats of deportation as a means to continue his sexual abuse of young boys.

How in the world is someone like Cardinal Roger Mahony going to “set the standard for other nations...” as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Papal Foundation? Was it not Mahony who nearly destroyed the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, by spending millions of dollars on legal fees, in order to maneuver his cover-ups of homosexual priests and pederasts?

Given this scenario of tolerance by Francis, we should also NOT expect that he will take any action against another member of The Papal Foundation Board of Trustees, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.

Yes… I’m talking about THIS Timothy M. Dolan.

I’m also talking about THE Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan who happily endorses Gay-friendly meetings and parish activities at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, in his Archdiocese of New York, in violation of the rules of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). But the CDF did not seem interested in enforcing the rules, either under the 24-year praefectura of Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) or the six-year praefectura of Cardinal William Levada.

Here are the rules set forth by the former Cardinal Ratzinger, regarding the use of Church buildings and Church property by homosexual groups – calling it “misleading and often scandalous:”

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON THE PASTORAL CARE OF HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS

“Special attention should be given to the practice of scheduling religious services and to the use of Church buildings by these groups, including the facilities of Catholic schools and colleges. To some, such permission to use Church property may seem only just and charitable; but in reality it is contradictory to the purpose for which these institutions were founded, it is misleading and often scandalous.” – Signed in Rome by Joseph Ratzinger, on October 1, 1986, when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The entire text can be read HERE.

The current Prefect of the CDF is Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller (appointed by Benedict XVI in July, 2012). Will Archbishop Müller enforce these rules under Francis’ watch? As you will see below… he hasn’t so far!

Screen captions of St. Xavier Parish’s website, in Cardinal Dolan’s Archdiocese of New York:

A crash course on raising more money for the poor by auctioning off undesirable Cardinals and Bishops

Remember, the Catholic News Service report says that this year The Papal Foundation delivered $8.6 million. I say, imagine how much more they could deliver if Francis demands that Mahony be removed from the Board of Trustees! If Francis is really serious about raising money for the poor, he needs to start by auctioning off the undesirable Cardinals and Bishops. Now, that would be a real fundraiser!

Start the bidding process at $30 million and work your way up!

But with Mahony you can start the bidding at $100 million. He’ll be gone fast!

Of course, the best gift that Francis could offer to the poor is to let Holy Mother Church guide them by presenting her beauty, greatness and traditions. But that is not part of Francis’ modernist vision, which is rooted in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. Indeed, Francis will end up with his “poor Church for the poor.”

What about Francis’ concern for “the Church and its credibility?” Isn’t it reasonable to expect that Francis would at least care to deal with the removal of an undesirable element like Mahony, from an organization using the term “Papal”?

Oh… but wait, we have a problem!

Francis does not like to be “papal” – since he does not like to call himself Pope.

But now that The Papal Foundation has already delivered the money, will Francis turn around and give it to someone else?

Maybe Francis’ close friend, the liberal Rabbi Abraham Skorka, will manage the money – in order “to improve the world through a special leadership” that supports Francis “and his witness in the world” – which is centered, as I have said, on militant interfaith dialogue and ecumenism.

Money talks

Francis is making statements about the Church acting “decisively” against sexual abuse – but his lack of “decisive” action concerning Mahony (and others) staying on the Board of Trustees of The Papal Foundation, speaks louder than words.

This confirms what I have thought from the beginning: Francis may take action against some protectors of pederasts and others mired in scandals, as long as it doesn’t affect the bottom line for “works of charity.” This would be an act of treachery which will never end the cycle of corruption. The poor deserve better.

Such a materialistic approach completely delegitimizes any “decisive” program of action to clean up the Church of pederasts, cowards, liars and thieves.

Come back for another Espresso with Marielena… where the roast is very dark, the coffee is very sweet – and the words flow with tenacity.

LINK TO IMPORTANT BRIEF ARCHIVE: http://romancatholicworld.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/brief-archive-related-to-article-titled-francis-the-papal-foundation-and-cardinal-roger-mahony/

© Marielena Montesino de Stuart

Sunday’s Divine Mercy event in Stockbridge expected to draw more thousands

Saturday April 6, 2013

STOCKBRIDGE — The recent installation of Pope Francis is expected to be an added blessing for this weekend’s annual Divine Mercy Sunday celebration at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy on Eden Hill.

Typically, the religious event draws between 15,000 and 20,000 pilgrims from all over the eastern United States and Canada, with an estimated 17,000 pilgrims the previous two Mercy Sundays, according to the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (MIC).

However, the local order of Marians expect an uptick in attendance this year, given last months’ election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

“Pope Francis has rejuvenated the Catholic faith and I expect more people than last year,” said the shrine’s rector, the Rev. Ken Dos Santos, MIC. “We still have people calling to register bus tours.”

As of Wednesday, organizers had to limit to 261 the number of buses that will be allowed Sunday on the shrine’s 350-acre campus. Additional off-site parking is available with shuttle-buses continually running to and from Eden Hill.

Divine Mercy Sunday is an international Catholic feast day promoting Jesus’ message that he’s merciful to everyone and that people should trust in his mercy and lead a compassionate life.

The Friday through Sunday celebration held the weekend after Easter Sunday culminates with the area’s largest outdoor Catholic Mass starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.

This year’s main celebrant is the Rev. Martin D. Holley, auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C. Holley is a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, serving on several subcommittees, including chairman of the panel on African-American Catholics.

Francis’ willingness to regularly mingle with the public outside the Vatican and be an advocate for the world’s poor has resonated with many Catholics here and abroad, according to the Rev. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, the Marians’ provincial superior.

“He has re-awakened the beautiful side of Catholicism,” Chwalek said.

In addition to a rejuvenated faith, shrine officials also expect the newly installed bronze statues depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross — Jesus’ path to crucifixion on Good Friday — could boost attendance on Eden Hill this weekend and year-round. Overall, more than 70,000 people visit the shrine each year.

“The mystery of Christ’s suffering and death manifest his mercy to the highest degree,” Chwalek noted. “God sacrificing his only son shows his love and mercy for humanity.”

One of five life-like stations in the United States, commissioned by an anonymous benefactor, are along a winding path on a grassy knoll across from the shrine’s chapel. The hollow, bronze figures were created by Canadian sculptor Tim Schmalz and installed last summer and fall.

In September, they were formally blessed by the Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell, bishop of he Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

To reach Dick Lindsay:
rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com,
or (413) 496-6233.

If you go …

What: Divine Mercy Sunday Weekend

When: Friday through Sunday, with celebration Mass at 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, Eden Hill, Stockbridge

Information: www.thedivinemercy.org

‘All Hands on Deck’ New Evangelization Focus of Meeting Between U.S. Bishops …

WASHINGTON — In an effort to make Catholic universities a fulcrum of the New Evangelization, the U.S. bishops’ Doctrine Committee will meet with theological societies in Washington, D.C., to address impediments to fruitful collaboration and clarify the need for effective catechesis.

On March 16, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, and Bishop John Barres of Allentown, Pa., will address members of U.S. theological societies at a closed-door meeting at The Catholic University of America.

“The goals of the meeting include developing relationships among the academic societies and with U.S. bishops and exploring current theological issues,” read a statement attributed to Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and released March 7 by the conference.

The one-day conference features three separate presentations by a member of the Doctrine Committee followed by responses from theologians. 

Archbishop Lori will address “the relationship between catechesis and theology in a university setting in light of the New Evangelization,” according to the USCCB press release. The respondent will be Aurelie Hangstrom of Providence College, representing the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Bishop John Barres will consider “the role of a Catholic university or college in the promotion of the New Evangelization.” The respondent will be Brian Benestad of University of Scranton, representing the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

Archbishop Vigneron will address “the intellectual, theological, and moral needs of contemporary undergraduates in the age of the New Evangelization,” and the respondents will be James Keating of Providence College, representing the Academy of Catholic Theology, and Sandra Yocum of the University of Dayton, representing the College Theology Society.

The meeting signals the U.S. bishops’ hope that Catholic theologians can help address the intellectual, moral and spiritual challenges to the faith that lead many Catholic college graduates to drift away from the Church, under the thrall of an aggressively secular culture.

Further, the discussion marks an ongoing dialogue between Church leaders and scholars regarding the proper role of Catholic theologians, some of whom routinely critique key elements of Church teaching in undergraduate classes.

 

Appropriate Time

“It is a really good time to be doing something like this, as Benedict will be known for his emphasis on the New Evangelization and his constant stress on the compatibility of faith and reason,” said John Garvey, the president of The Catholic University of America, who is leading a campus-wide effort to deepen the institution’s religious identity.

“There has been a tendency among some academics to make theology a professional discipline that doesn’t have much to do with people’s faith, and … has no bearing on the way we raise our families or our reception of the sacraments,” Garvey told the Register.

“In fact, the work of theologians is connected with evangelization, and it is is a good thing to have theologians and bishops come together because they are both doing the work of the Church.”

He stressed that the meeting did not reflect an effort “to rein in speculation and make departments more orthodox. Rather it is a way to help theologians engage in the practice of evangelization.”

The gathering will include members of The Catholic Theological Society of America, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Academy of Catholic Theology, College Theology Society, Black Catholic Theological Symposium, the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. and  the USCCB Doctrine Committee.

 

New Evangelization Partners

Auxiliary Bishop Arthur Kennedy of Boston, a theologian who presently serves as the archdiocese’s Vicar of the New Evangelization, welcomed an initiative that would bring together different theological societies and “schools” to address long-standing issues within their academic discipline.

“It’s the Church inviting theologians to be in dialogue with one another about how they understand their professional work in relationship to their own faith,” Bishop Kennedy said in a Register interview.

He suggested that the meeting was inspired, at least in part, by the 1990 Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

That instruction concluded with the CDF prefect, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, inviting bishops “to maintain and develop relations of trust with theologians in the fellowship of charity and in the realization that they share one spirit in their acceptance and service of the Word.”

Msgr. Stuart Swetland, who holds the Archbishop Harry Flynn Chair of Christian Ethics at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md.,  said it was urgent that Catholic theologians bring the New Evangelization into their classrooms.

“In their call for the New Evangelization, both Blessed John Paul II and Benedict reminded us that this is an ‘all hands on deck’ exercise: We need every part of the Church involved,” said Msgr. Swetland.

He noted that some theologians engaged in speculative work do not view catechesis as their primary mission, yet most undergraduates lack a basic education in the faith when they arrive on campus. 

“Everybody who teaches theology at the university level realizes that we are often dealing with remedial work,” he said.

 

A Theologian’s Task

The simmering debate over the proper role of theologians has fueled tensions between university scholars and church leaders. In 2011, the USCCB Doctrine Committee made headlines when it publicly criticized a book widely used in undergraduate theology classes, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, written by St. Joseph Sister Elizabeth Johnson.

Sister Johnson was the former president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society, and her many allies in the academy attacked the USCCB doctrine committee, in part, for allegedly acting on a mistaken view of a theologian’s professional obligations.

Subsequently, in an article in the Jesuit publication America, “Beyond Catechesis,” Todd Salzman and Michael Lawler of Creighton University argued that the USCCB committee articulated an overly “narrow” view of the task of the theologian, reducing the “theological task of the theologian to catechesis.”

“Beyond Catechesis” prompted a flurry of responses, including one from Cardinal Wuerl, who expressed the hope that “Catholic campuses all over the nation can be centers for the new evangelization providing, in communion with the local bishop, the reasoned exposition of the truth of the Church’s teaching.”

During a March 7 interview, Creighton’s Todd Salzman told the Register that he viewed the upcoming meeting as a “positive” step, but he expressed some caution regarding the USCCB committee’s overall goals.

“There is definitely a need for catechesis. No one would deny that. The question is who is primarily responsible for catechizing the faithful?” asked Salzman.

“Theology includes catechesis. You represent what the Church teaches fairly and accurately, and then engage in a process of critical reflection.

“That process can lead to a deeper appreciation and integration of what the Church teaches, but on other issues, like artificial contraception, it can lead to questioning the arguments used to justify that teaching.”

While Salzman suggested that the New Evangelization “is more in line with the goals and objectives of catechesis,” the March 16 meeting will examine the role of theologians in relation to New Evangelization by drawing from various theological schools and a range of viewpoints.

 

Listen and Learn

Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, a group that seeks to strengthen the religious identity and theological departments at Catholic universities, suggested that the USCCB meeting was designed to set aside doctrinal disputes and simply remind theologians that the Church needed their help.

“The agenda does not directly tackle points of common dissent among college theologians, so I wouldn’t expect much debate about doctrine,” said Reilly. 

“Instead, the topics seem intended to remind theologians about their proper and productive role in Catholic education.  This is greatly needed, and I pray that the theologians come prepared to listen.”

Joan Frawley Desmond is the Register’s senior editor.

US Bishops’ Doctrine Committee to Meet with US Theology Societies

The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine will meet with the nation’s theological societies, March 16, in Washington at The Catholic University of America.

The goals of the meeting includes developing relationships among the academic societies and with U.S. bishops and exploring current theological issues, said Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Societies to be represented at the meeting include the Catholic Theological Society of America, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Academy of Catholic Theology, College Theology Society, Black Catholic Theological Symposium, and the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S.

The day-long meeting will include three sessions. Each will start with short presentations by a member of the Doctrine Committee and a scholar from one of the societies. Their task will be to enumerate the principal matters at stake and identify topics for conversation to provide a starting point for the discussion. Scholars from the academic societies will facilitate the discussion following each session.

Bishop presenters will include Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, S.T.D., speaking on the relationship between catechesis and theology in a university setting in light of the New Evangelization. The respondent will be Aurelie Hangstrom, Ph.D., of Providence College, representing the Catholic Theological Society of America.

The second speaker is Bishop John O. Barres, Diocese of Allentown, S.T.D.,speaking on the role of a Catholic university or college in the promotion of the New Evangelization. Respondent will be Brian Benestad, Ph.D, University of Scranton, representing the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.

The third speaker is Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, Ph.D, S.T.L. of Detroit, speaking on the intellectual, theological, and moral needs of contemporary undergraduates in the age of the New Evangelization. Respondents will be James Keating, Ph.D., Providence College, representing the Academy of Catholic Theology, and Sandra Yocum, PhD, University of Dayton, representing the College Theology Society.

A report on the proceedings will be published after the meeting.

Catholic Education Daily is an online publication of The Cardinal Newman Society. Click here for email updates and free online membership with The Cardinal Newman Society.

The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls for creation care earns notice. Published …

The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls for creation care earns notice

By Dennis Sadowski

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Posted: 11/23/2012

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Care for creation has been a hallmark of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy.

From his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) to his leadership in guiding the Vatican to reduce its carbon footprint, Pope Benedict continues an 800-year Catholic tradition of holding up the environment as a gift from God that must be protected and sustained.

His writings on the environment are so extensive that some Catholics call him the “green” pope.

Taken collectively, Pope Benedict’s unwavering writings on the importance of protecting God’s creation and the need to address climate change offer a starting point for Catholics to respond to the ecological dangers facing the world.

In an effort to consider the fullness of those teachings, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and The Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies hosted a symposium Nov. 8-10 in Washington to examine the U.S. Catholic response to environmental concerns might entail.

Dan Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, told Catholic News Service that the time was right for Catholics to share the rich tradition of Catholic teaching on the environment in an effort to shape how the world addresses climate change and other environmental concerns.

“We do not have time,” he said. “We have to begin to do this.

“If we don’t do it right, if we’re not faithful to who we are as Catholics, then we cede the issue to the environmental groups. The solutions (they offer) won’t be as attentive to the needs of people, particularly poor people,” he said.

Overall, about 60 people attended the event to hear a dozen presenters on a wide range of topics: the influence of works by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II on Pope Benedict’s writings; biblical images of creation; the prayers and ritual in the celebration of Mass that call to mind God’s creation; the American lifestyle and the nature of sin; and everyday habits people can adopt in an effort to take better care of the environment.

Some speakers called for the pope’s teachings to be explored in Sunday homilies, school curricula and parish Bible study and discussion groups. The environment, they said, is far too important to be ignored by church institutions.

Underlying the symposium was a special focus on the impact of climate change on poor people around the world and Pope Benedict’s distinctive concern for them. Presenters noted it is poor people who suffer most because of climate change and benefit least from industrialization and economic globalization, major contributors to environmental degradation.

“The church can gain an understanding of what love for your neighbor means today, and love for your neighbor means caring for the environment that the global neighbor lives in,” said attendee Erin Lothes Biviano, assistant professor of theology at College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J.

“It means protecting people from hunger, drought, increases in tropical diseases, dislocation of climate refugees,” she said. “It is essential that the church’s powerful social justice tradition bring light to that.”

Christiana Z. Peppard, assistant professor of theology and science and ethics at Fordham University, raised ethical questions surrounding the evolution of water as a commodity to be bottled and sold as opposed to being a gift of the earth that is a necessity for life.

Citing a statement from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, she identified fresh water as a right-to-life issue. “This is powerful language in an American context,” she told the symposium.

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US bishops say homilies should invite Catholics to conversion

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

Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2012 / 06:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Sunday homilies should promote repentance, instill a sense of mission and lead Catholics to grow in understanding their faith, the U.S. bishops said in a new document on preaching.

“The ultimate goal of proclaiming the Gospel is to lead people into a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord, a relationship that forms the character of their persons and guides them in living out their faith,” the bishops emphasized.

In “Preaching the Mystery of Faith: the Sunday Homily,” the bishops offered a reflection on preaching for priests, deacons and those who are responsible for forming them.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to approve the document – which will also be translated into Spanish – on Nov. 13 at their fall general assembly in Baltimore. The vote tally was 227 in favor, 11 against and four abstaining.

The bishops noted that Catholics have asked for “more powerful and inspiring preaching” in surveys, and that the laity can become discouraged by a “steady diet of tepid or poorly prepared homilies.”

Homilists should respond to this desire by preaching with a “sense of urgency and freshness,” connecting Scripture, the Eucharist and the Creed, they advised.

As an “intrinsic part of the Sunday Eucharist,” the bishops said in the document, every homily must be centered on the person of Christ, whose death and resurrection are at the heart of our salvation.

“If a homilist conveys merely some example of proverbial wisdom or good manners, or only some insight gained from his personal experience, he may have spoken accurately and even helpfully, but he has not yet spoken the Gospel,” they stated.

And while “every effective homily is a summons to conversion,” the bishops also said this does not mean that a homilist should “simply berate the people for their failures.”

Instead, the clergy should emphasize the “offer of grace” and do so with “pastoral sensitivity.”

This invitation and “promise of grace” is an important context, particularly when addressing those who do not regularly attend Mass or discussing the moral challenges presented by Church teaching on delicate issues such as sexuality and marriage, they added.

The bishops also acknowledged that many Catholics seem to lack knowledge of Church teaching and be in need of stronger catechesis.

Since “the Sunday liturgy remains the basic setting in which most adult Catholics encounter Christ and their Catholic faith,” they counseled homilists to use the opportunity to present Church doctrine.

Over time, the homilist should cover the entire scope of the Church’s rich catechetical teaching, including its stance on critical issues such as the respect for human life, the importance of religious freedom and justice for the poor and migrants.

“Homilies are inspirational when they touch the deepest levels of the human heart and address the real questions of human experience,” the bishops said, noting the importance of incorporating both ordinary experiences and the deeper hopes and longings that give meaning to them.

“Our encounter with Jesus inevitably leads to mission,” they noted, adding that homilies are incomplete if they do not inspire a sense of mission that translates love of Christ into love for others.

Building on the New Evangelization, the Year of Faith and the call for a renewal of preaching by Pope Benedict XVI at the 2008 Synod on the Word, the bishops explained that preaching is a participation in the apostolic continuation of Jesus’ ministry.

They pointed to Mary as an example of hearing and proclaiming the Word of God without hesitation. 

In their personal lives, homilists should work towards ongoing spiritual renewal, seeking to lead lives of holiness with a deep love of Scripture and respect for Tradition, they said.

The effectiveness of preaching can also be improved through an understanding of contemporary culture, including the music, movies and websites that are a part of the people’s lives.

The bishops offered several factors to consider when preparing homilies, including the growing individualism in modern culture, the need to speak respectfully about other religious traditions and the cultural diversity of Church communities.

“Once he has come to know the customs, mores, practices, history, and religiosity of a people, a homilist can draw on that richness in order to make his presentation of the faith fresh and enlivening,” they said.

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The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls for creation care earns notice

The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls for creation care earns notice

By Dennis Sadowski

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Posted: 11/23/2012

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Care for creation has been a hallmark of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy.

From his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) to his leadership in guiding the Vatican to reduce its carbon footprint, Pope Benedict continues an 800-year Catholic tradition of holding up the environment as a gift from God that must be protected and sustained.

His writings on the environment are so extensive that some Catholics call him the “green” pope.

Taken collectively, Pope Benedict’s unwavering writings on the importance of protecting God’s creation and the need to address climate change offer a starting point for Catholics to respond to the ecological dangers facing the world.

In an effort to consider the fullness of those teachings, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and The Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies hosted a symposium Nov. 8-10 in Washington to examine the U.S. Catholic response to environmental concerns might entail.

Dan Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, told Catholic News Service that the time was right for Catholics to share the rich tradition of Catholic teaching on the environment in an effort to shape how the world addresses climate change and other environmental concerns.

“We do not have time,” he said. “We have to begin to do this.

“If we don’t do it right, if we’re not faithful to who we are as Catholics, then we cede the issue to the environmental groups. The solutions (they offer) won’t be as attentive to the needs of people, particularly poor people,” he said.

Overall, about 60 people attended the event to hear a dozen presenters on a wide range of topics: the influence of works by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II on Pope Benedict’s writings; biblical images of creation; the prayers and ritual in the celebration of Mass that call to mind God’s creation; the American lifestyle and the nature of sin; and everyday habits people can adopt in an effort to take better care of the environment.

Some speakers called for the pope’s teachings to be explored in Sunday homilies, school curricula and parish Bible study and discussion groups. The environment, they said, is far too important to be ignored by church institutions.

Underlying the symposium was a special focus on the impact of climate change on poor people around the world and Pope Benedict’s distinctive concern for them. Presenters noted it is poor people who suffer most because of climate change and benefit least from industrialization and economic globalization, major contributors to environmental degradation.

“The church can gain an understanding of what love for your neighbor means today, and love for your neighbor means caring for the environment that the global neighbor lives in,” said attendee Erin Lothes Biviano, assistant professor of theology at College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J.

“It means protecting people from hunger, drought, increases in tropical diseases, dislocation of climate refugees,” she said. “It is essential that the church’s powerful social justice tradition bring light to that.”

Christiana Z. Peppard, assistant professor of theology and science and ethics at Fordham University, raised ethical questions surrounding the evolution of water as a commodity to be bottled and sold as opposed to being a gift of the earth that is a necessity for life.

Citing a statement from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, she identified fresh water as a right-to-life issue. “This is powerful language in an American context,” she told the symposium.

Page 1 of 2

If you found this article interesting please consider helping us continue to spread the Good News.

The ‘green’ pope: Benedict’s calls for creation care earns notice

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WASHINGTON — Care for creation has been a hallmark of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy.

From his 2009 encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (“Charity in Truth”) to his leadership in guiding the Vatican to reduce its carbon footprint, Pope Benedict continues an 800-year Catholic tradition of holding up the environment as a gift from God that must be protected and sustained.

His writings on the environment are so extensive that some Catholics call him the “green” pope.

Taken collectively, Pope Benedict’s unwavering writings on the importance of protecting God’s creation and the need to address climate change offer a starting point for Catholics to respond to the ecological dangers facing the world.

In an effort to consider the fullness of those teachings, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and The Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies hosted a symposium Nov. 8-10 in Washington to examine the U.S. Catholic response to environmental concerns might entail.

Dan Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, told Catholic News Service that the time was right for Catholics to share the rich tradition of Catholic teaching on the environment in an effort to shape how the world addresses climate change and other environmental concerns.

“We do not have time,” he said. “We have to begin to do this.

“If we don’t do it right, if we’re not faithful to who we are as Catholics, then we cede the issue to the environmental groups. The solutions (they offer) won’t be as attentive to the needs of people, particularly poor people,” he said.

Overall, about 60 people attended the event to hear a dozen presenters on a wide range of topics: the influence of works by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II on Pope Benedict’s writings; biblical images of creation; the prayers and ritual in the celebration of Mass that call to mind God’s creation; the American lifestyle and the nature of sin; and everyday habits people can adopt in an effort to take better care of the environment.

Some speakers called for the pope’s teachings to be explored in Sunday homilies, school curricula and parish Bible study and discussion groups. The environment, they said, is far too important to be ignored by Church institutions.

Underlying the symposium was a special focus on the impact of climate change on poor people around the world and Pope Benedict’s distinctive concern for them. Presenters noted it is poor people who suffer most because of climate change and benefit least from industrialization and economic globalization, major contributors to environmental degradation.

“The Church can gain an understanding of what love for your neighbor means today, and love for your neighbor means caring for the environment that the global neighbor lives in,” said attendee Erin Lothes Biviano, assistant professor of theology at College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J.

“It means protecting people from hunger, drought, increases in tropical diseases, dislocation of climate refugees,” she said. “It is essential that the Church’s powerful social justice tradition bring light to that.”

Christiana Z. Peppard, assistant professor of theology and science and ethics at Fordham University, raised ethical questions surrounding the evolution of water as a commodity to be bottled and sold as opposed to being a gift of the earth that is a necessity for life.

Citing a statement from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, she identified fresh water as a right-to-life issue. “This is powerful language in an American context,” she told the symposium.

David Cloutier, associate professor of theology at Mount St. Mary’s University, on sabbatical as he writes a book on the morality of luxury, examined how Pope Benedict ties environmental concern to traditional Catholic moral values as expressed in the concern for hungry, poor and marginalized people.

“The bottom line is taking care for the environment is a serious commitment that is required of Catholics,” he told CNS.

The symposium also pointed to the long history of Church teaching on creation’s goodness. Scott Hefelfinger, doctoral candidate at the University of Notre Dame, called for Catholics to tap that history on behalf of the common good, as expressed in the Second Vatican Council document “Gaudium et Spes,” the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.

The celebration of the Eucharist at Mass can inspire Catholic values on creation as well when worshippers understand the meanings of prayers and see the gifts of bread and wine as gifts of the earth, explained Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin, professor of liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America.

“If liturgy is what we pray and what we believe, then it ought to impact on how we live,” he said “We use the things of this world to worship God and worship of God is about a common celebration. Therefore, how does that celebration help us revere and share with the world?”

In the end, the conference offered no definitive solutions, but held out a wide range of actions and reflections for Catholics to consider in raising their awareness of the Church’s respect for creation. Speaker Mary Ashley, doctoral student at the Graduate Theological Union in Oakland, Calif., said there are many ways for Catholics to “plunge in” on behalf of the environment.

“We image God when we love God’s creation,” she said.

Misleh said the symposium’s proceedings will be published some time in 2013, with the goal of making it available to parishes, schools and environmental groups interested in putting the pope’s teachings into action.

How Many More Women Like Savita Halappanavar Should We Tolerate?

This weekend, 10,000 people in Ireland marched to protest the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year old woman who died after a hospital decided not perform an abortion that would have saved her life. “Sad” does not begin to describe her husband’s account of the three frightening and agonizing days she suffered before dying of septicemia and E. Coli infection, while asking that doctors save her life. When I first learned of her death, I assumed that the hospital was Catholic, but I was wrong. It’s not. This is almost worse. Despite repeated requests for a medical termination, they were told, “This is a Catholic country.” She died of an infection resulting from religious misogyny — which is characterized by women’s “limited access to power and decision making” — and a government’s failure to protect her from it.

Ireland’s abortion ban is supposed to include exceptions for the life of the mother. But Ireland has no clear procedures for ensuring that this happens. And Irish Catholic Bishops lead the charge in the campaign to make sure that it these procedures are not put into law. International human rights law makes clear a woman’s right to access a safe and legal abortion in situations where her life is at risk. As Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, explains: “Where governments fail to clearly provide this access they are in violation of their international human rights obligations.”

And, in the U.S.? Three days ago, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explained that the U.S. Catholic Bishops would not bow to the Heath and Human Services requirements regarding women’s health care. Doesn’t this mean, in addition to the obvious birth control/insurance denial, that for at least the next eight months, religiously affiliated hospitals will continue to compromise doctors’ ability to do what they think is right, dangerously turn away pregnant women seeking emergency medical care or deny them life saving abortions if they are unable to be moved. He stressed during the press conference that “It’s still not doomsday yet,” unless, of course, you are not a Cardinal or a Bishop and instead a woman like Savita.

The question is: How many more women like Savita Halappanavar should we tolerate in our continued privileging of religion’s massively gender-informed obsession with sacrifice and innocence, sin and shame?

We don’t live in a “Catholic country,” but we do live in a country, one of six including Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Vatican City and the small island nations of Nauru, Palau, Tonga, that won’t ratify CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), where an entire political party wants to extend 14th amendment rights to fertilized eggs, and where U.S. Catholic Bishops are adamant in their refusal to comply with the law.

While freedom of religion is a vital right, it is no more so than freedom from religion. The Irish government failed to protect Savita Halappanavar from the religious beliefs of others — beliefs she did not share that cost her her life and resulted in her being treated as an incubator for her dying fetus. What Cardinal Dolan, longing to operate Catholic hospitals as sovereign states, expects is that women in those hospitals in the United States be prepared to do the same when faced with similar situations And we are supposed to agree and tolerate the occasional risk and maybe death as the price we pay for the social safety net that the Church has historically provided. This is not a good trade. It never has been for women.

When asked if he was prepared to pay fines, close hospitals or follow the law, Cardinal Dolan answered that the only thing “we are certain to do is not give in.” It is hard not to wonder, given the timing of Savita’s death and his announcement, if her end was “consonant with the high moral principles” that the Bishops are adhering to.

I’m not being flip and do not doubt in the least that Cardinal Dolan and the Bishops take their task with the utmost seriousness and compassion. But, ethics are informed by experience and, as such, their ethics will remain fatally flawed and their conclusions fatally unjust. His approach, he explained, would have an “enthusiastic unity among the bishops,” none of whom, please note, may have sex or can get pregnant, miscarry, give birth or die trying. This is important. The assessment of what constitutes “just” in this equation is ultimately made almost exclusively, if not exclusively, by men. Contrary to what the History Channel would have you believe this month, “Mankind” is NOT the “story of all of us.” Humans are made up of two sexes (not genders, not sexualities, etc.) who experience the world differently and are both fully human. Permitting, as most in this country do, the legitimacy of religious considerations, our experiences are meaningful and relevant to moral equations, everything from the Bishops’ thinking about the ethics of abortion to the evolution of Just War Theory. As long as these considerations are the result of men’s only clubs speaking for all of humanity, they are incomplete and insufficient. That’s why organizations with traditional, all-male power structures have zero business being making gender-unilateral decisions about women’s lives and health. EVER.

In addition, aside from corporate imbalances in thinking, individual women are not heartless killers or morally incompetent children perpetually in need of guidance. If Christian, including Catholic, not only can they follow the dictates of their consciences but they, morally, must.

While all-male organizations, like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, work with other practically all-male organizations, like our government, to negotiate “acceptable compromises,” women in need of timely, safe, sometimes life-saving medical treatment will continue to be at risk and will not get the treatment they have a right to. There is no shortage of examples, like the ones reported on here, The New Republic, Ms. Magazine. And, there is a reason that the National Advocates for Pregnant Women exists.

The Catholic Church has a major and growing presence in the U.S. health care market. Twelve point six percent (12.6 percent) of U.S. hospitals are Catholic and they account for 15.6 percent of hospital admissions. In addition, the Church’s penetration of the market is increasing, through mergers which often result in dangerous confusion. We don’t know the extent of the problems women and their doctors encounter because doctors and patients are going to dire lengths to work around other people’s religious beliefs and Catholic hospital prohibitions.

Catholic institutions are required to function according to the Catholic bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, often administered through ethics panels. Women cannot know that they will not face similar death in these circumstances and doctors are put in the position of putting themselves at risk and violating established either church protocols or someone’s religious conscience. There are 63 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. Given the risks of pregnancy and our country’s religiosity, no woman should think, “it will never happen to me.” There are 456 Bishops and a handful of Protestant patriarchs, regularly aided and abetted by ambitious politicians, deciding when it will happen next.

After Sister Margaret McBride a Catholic nun — was excommunicated in the Phoenix case above, for allowing an abortion that saved the life of a 27-year-old mother of four, NPR report quoted a Boston College Catholic theology professor who explained, “They (the hospital) were in quite a dilemma… The official Church position would mandate that the correct solution would be to let both the mother and the child die.”

First, the person with the “dilemma” is the dying woman. Not the hospital. Not the priests. Not the nuns. Not the panel deciding whether she should live or die because she has the misfortune of being in a Catholic hospital, pregnant and in medical distress.

Second, these situations aren’t the result of “God’s will” or some absolute moral law, but men’s choices regarding theological preferences. And that is exactly what they are: preferences. The Church’s current position on abortion (like opinions on birth control) isn’t static, despite its roots).

Third, there is so much misinformation regarding the real risks of pregnancy and childbirth. The idea that Savita’s situation is rare is a common, reality-defying myth. Somewhere in the world, every 90 seconds a woman dies from pregnancy related illness. An additional 10 million women each year are injured through pregnancy. Not to be left out, our country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world and is on the rise. This idea of rarity is often accompanied by another that is patently false: “women don’t need abortions to save their lives,” so expertly articulated by recently defeated Republican Joe Walsh. Women do need abortions to save their lives and they are denied emergency medical care in ways that increase risk and the likelihood of death in religiously affiliated facilities. Like Savita.

We haven’t had our “own” case in the U.S. because our maternal mortality reporting is shockingly unsystematic and murky. We don’t know how many women are experiencing traumatic eventsin these ways. We need to be better about investigating hospitals for violations of The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).

There are two key religious ideas that drive our ideas about abortion: innocence and sacrifice. The central act of Christianity is sacrifice (John 3:16), and a defining characteristic of humanity is loss of innocence, often portrayed as Eve’s fault. Catholicism is most obvious about these ideas. Priestly celibacy, the Catholic mass, motherhood — all are the practice of sacrifice and self-sacrifice. In addition, abortion would not be an issue if not for the “innocence” of fetal life. Fetal innocence trumps maternal life in this milieu. All of this, in turn, is complicated by the conflation of human “life” with moral “personhood.” In any case, a religiously informed recipe for tragedies like Savita’s.

As for the”war on religion” argument the real and practical applications of that idea in the provision of health care, and insurance for that matter, ends up in obvious absurdities. The Catholic Church will not comply with the law and provide insurance coverage for birth control. Do Jehovah Witnesses likewise not comply and refuse to pay for insurance coverage of blood transfusions?

Which is why it’s important to remember that health care is not a religion and should not be governed by any one or another. If Catholic bishops and Protestant evangelical leaders want to salve consciences and reduce abortions, then they should first focus on the morality of lying to children about sex, teaching them how to be homophobic, sexist bullies, and inculcating them with debilitating shame.

As far as the good work that Catholicism does and the millions of people it legitimately helps, the church should continue and do more. Just not in hospitals. Similar transitions have happened in the past. Cardinal Dolan and the bishops should devise a migration strategy to get out of the hospital business sooner rather than later and dedicate their substantial time, energy and money to charitable enterprises that do not allow living, breathing women to die in pain and suffering when they ask to live and can indeed be saved.

Bioethics are complex and rarely covered well in media. For example, issues such as philosophical debate over “life” and what constitutes “personhood” don’t often make it into mainstream press. But, this much is simple: the continued exclusion of women in moral and ethical decision making, particularly when it is focused on pregnancy, is unconscionable. Mainstream media fails there as well. If all-male rule churches and their passionate adherents are unable to adhere to policies requiring hospitals to treat women in ways that do not exacerbate harm and to save their lives when possible, then they should not be in the business of providing degraded and dangerous health care.

Until laws are enforced that make sure this happens, women like Savita Halappanavar will die in vain… whether the hospitals are Catholic or not.

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US bishops say homilies should invite Catholics to conversion

Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2012 / 06:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).-
Sunday homilies should promote repentance, instill a sense of mission and lead Catholics to grow in understanding their faith, the U.S. bishops said in a new document on preaching.

“The ultimate goal of proclaiming the Gospel is to lead people into a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord, a relationship that forms the character of their persons and guides them in living out their faith,” the bishops emphasized.

In “Preaching the Mystery of Faith: the Sunday Homily,” the bishops offered a reflection on preaching for priests, deacons and those who are responsible for forming them.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to approve the document – which will also be translated into Spanish – on Nov. 13 at their fall general assembly in Baltimore. The vote tally was 227 in favor, 11 against and four abstaining.

The bishops noted that Catholics have asked for “more powerful and inspiring preaching” in surveys, and that the laity can become discouraged by a “steady diet of tepid or poorly prepared homilies.”

Homilists should respond to this desire by preaching with a “sense of urgency and freshness,” connecting Scripture, the Eucharist and the Creed, they advised.

As an “intrinsic part of the Sunday Eucharist,” the bishops said in the document, every homily must be centered on the person of Christ, whose death and resurrection are at the heart of our salvation.

“If a homilist conveys merely some example of proverbial wisdom or good manners, or only some insight gained from his personal experience, he may have spoken accurately and even helpfully, but he has not yet spoken the Gospel,” they stated.

And while “every effective homily is a summons to conversion,” the bishops also said this does not mean that a homilist should “simply berate the people for their failures.”

Instead, the clergy should emphasize the “offer of grace” and do so with “pastoral sensitivity.”

This invitation and “promise of grace” is an important context, particularly when addressing those who do not regularly attend Mass or discussing the moral challenges presented by Church teaching on delicate issues such as sexuality and marriage, they added.

The bishops also acknowledged that many Catholics seem to lack knowledge of Church teaching and be in need of stronger catechesis.

Since “the Sunday liturgy remains the basic setting in which most adult Catholics encounter Christ and their Catholic faith,” they counseled homilists to use the opportunity to present Church doctrine.

Over time, the homilist should cover the entire scope of the Church’s rich catechetical teaching, including its stance on critical issues such as the respect for human life, the importance of religious freedom and justice for the poor and migrants.

“Homilies are inspirational when they touch the deepest levels of the human heart and address the real questions of human experience,” the bishops said, noting the importance of incorporating both ordinary experiences and the deeper hopes and longings that give meaning to them.

“Our encounter with Jesus inevitably leads to mission,” they noted, adding that homilies are incomplete if they do not inspire a sense of mission that translates love of Christ into love for others.

Building on the New Evangelization, the Year of Faith and the call for a renewal of preaching by Pope Benedict XVI at the 2008 Synod on the Word, the bishops explained that preaching is a participation in the apostolic continuation of Jesus’ ministry.

They pointed to Mary as an example of hearing and proclaiming the Word of God without hesitation. 

In their personal lives, homilists should work towards ongoing spiritual renewal, seeking to lead lives of holiness with a deep love of Scripture and respect for Tradition, they said.

The effectiveness of preaching can also be improved through an understanding of contemporary culture, including the music, movies and websites that are a part of the people’s lives.

The bishops offered several factors to consider when preparing homilies, including the growing individualism in modern culture, the need to speak respectfully about other religious traditions and the cultural diversity of Church communities.

“Once he has come to know the customs, mores, practices, history, and religiosity of a people, a homilist can draw on that richness in order to make his presentation of the faith fresh and enlivening,” they said.

Tags:
USCCB, Liturgy, Homilies