CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: FRI. NOV. 26, 2010

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: FRI. NOV. 26, 2010: HEADLINES-

AMERICA: USA: WORSHIP RESOURCES FOR PAPAL VIGIL FOR LIFE

EUROPE: ENGLAND: INTERFAITH WEEK BRINGS FAITHS TOGETHER

AFRICA: KENYA:DIOCESE ASKED TO SURRENDER LAND

ASIA: INDIA: PROTECTION FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS NEEDED

AUSTRALIA: GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT ETHICS CLASSES

TODAY'S SAINT: NOV. 26: ST. SIRICIUS

TODAY'S GOSPEL: NOV. 26: Luke 21: 29 - 33

VATICAN: POPE: ON CONSECRATED LIFE AND OTHER NEWS

DECIPHER REALITY FROM AN EVANGELICAL STANDPOINT VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS report) - The Holy Father today received three hundred representatives from the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies a body which, since 1966, has represented all diocesan and Catholic-inspired weekly publications in the country. In his address to them the Pope affirmed that creating channels of communication between the various organs of the local press "was a response to the need to promote collaboration ... so as to increase the efficiency and incisiveness of the announcement of the evangelical message. The specific function of Catholic-inspired newspapers", he said, "is to announce the Good News by recounting the concrete events that Christian communities experience in the real situations in which they live". "One of the most important cultural challenges in our own post-modern world involves the way we understand truth. The dominant culture, the culture propagated by the areopagus of the media, adopts a sceptical and relativist attitude towards truth, considering it as equivalent to mere opinion and, consequently, believing that many truths can legitimately coexist. But the desire that lies in the heart of man testifies to the impossibility of resting content with partial truths. ... The truth for which man thirsts is a person: the Lord Jesus. By encountering this Truth ... we find peace and true happiness. The Church's mission consists in creating the conditions that make this meeting between man and Christ possible. "Collaborating in this task", he added, "the communications media are called to serve the truth with courage so as to help public opinion contemplate and decipher reality from an evangelical standpoint. This means presenting the reasons for the faith which, as such, surpass any ideological vision and have the full right to exist in public debate. From here arises your constant commitment to give voice to a point of view that reflects Catholic thought in all ethical and social questions". "Continue to be newspapers of the people", Benedict XVI concluded. "Seek to favour true dialogue between the various elements of social life, be arenas for confrontation and debate between contrasting opinions. By doing this, the Catholic press, while undertaking the vital task of informing, will also play an indispensable formational role, promoting evangelical knowledge of complex reality, and educating critical minds and Christian consciences".AC/ VIS 20101126 (380)

CONSECRATED PEOPLE: GOSPEL, FRATERNITY, MISSION VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Pope today received participants in the general assembly of the Union of Superiors General (USG, for male religious) and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG, for female religious). "The profound renewal of consecrated life stems from the centrality of the Word of God and, in more concrete terms, from the Gospel the supreme rule for you all", the Holy Father told his audience. "The Gospel, put into practice every day, is the element that makes consecrated life intriguing and beautiful, presenting you before the world as a reliable alternative. This is what contemporary society needs, this is what the Church expects of you: to be a living Gospel". Referring then to "another fundamental aspect of consecrated life, that of fraternity", Benedict XVI highlighted how this "is one of the aspects that young people seek most when they feel attracted by your lifestyle. It is an important prophetic element you offer to a highly fragmented society". In this context he spoke of the need "for serious and constant discernment in order to listen to what the Spirit is telling the community, in order to recognise what comes from the Lord and what is contrary to Him. Without discernment, accompanied by prayer and reflection, consecrated life risks basing itself on the criteria of this world: individualism, consumerism, materialism; criteria that undermine fraternity and cause consecrated life to lose its allure". The Holy Father then turned to consider another theme: mission. "It is part of your identity", he said, "it encourages you to bring the Gospel to everyone, without borders. Mission, supported by a strong experience of God, solid formation and fraternal life in the community, is a key to understanding and revitalising consecrated life. ... Renew your presence in today's areopaghi, in order to announce the 'unknown' God, as St. Paul did in Athens". Speaking then of the decreasing numbers of consecrated people, especially in Europe, the Pope noted that "the difficulties must not make us forget that consecrated life has its origins in the Lord; chosen by Him for the edification and sanctity of His Church. Thus consecrated life "will never be lacking" in the Church. The Holy Father concluded by encouraging consecrated people "to progress in faith and hope", and called for "a renewed commitment in the pastoral care of vocations and in initial and permanent formation".AC/ VIS 20101126 (410)

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF COR UNUM IN JASNA GORA VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council Cor Unum, "the agency of the Holy See responsible for orienting and co-ordinating the organisations and charitable activities promoted by the Catholic Church", is organising spiritual exercises for the heads of diocesan Caritas and other ecclesial agencies in Europe. The exercises will take place at the Marian shrine of Jasna Gara at Czestochowa, Poland, from 29 November to 3 December. This is the third such gathering. In June 2008, 500 leaders of the Catholic Church's mission of charity from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean met in Guadalajara, Mexico. For Asia, the meeting took place in September 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan, and was attended by 450 participants.CON-CU/ VIS 20101126 (130)

VATICAN FOUNDATION: JOSEPH RATZINGER - BENEDICT XVI VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at midday today a press conference was held to present the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI". The conference was presented by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the foundation's academic committee; Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti, president of the foundation, and Fr. Stephan Otto Horn S.D.S, president of the "Ratzinger Schulerkreis" and of the "Joseph Ratzinger Papst Benedict XVI - Siftung". Msgr. Scotti explained how on 1 March this year the Holy Father had ordered the creation of a new foundation, with the name of "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI", in order "to respond to a desire expressed by many scholars over the course of the years". As regards the financing of the new body, he explained, "a first ample contribution will come from the Pontiff himself, who has chosen to devolve a large part of the proceeds from his author rights". For his part Cardinal Ruini explained how, apart from himself, the academic committee will be composed of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.; Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B. prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues O.P., secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The committee will have three tasks, he said, "firstly, drawing up criteria and objectives for the annual and long-term programme of the foundation's activities; secondly, establishing criteria of excellence for the creation and conferral of prizes to scholars who have distinguished themselves in academic publications and/or research; and finally, organising cultural and academic initiatives". "The theology of Joseph Ratzinger moves forward, looking to the present and the future on the basis of an extraordinary knowledge of the origins and history of the Christian faith. His capacity, what I would call his tastefulness, in keeping these two aspects united ... likens Joseph Ratzinger to great teachers of other periods of Christian history. It is no coincidence that the foundation which bears his name will focus particular attention, on the one hand on biblical and patristic studies, and on the other on fundamental theology. The aim is to bring out the truth, significance and beauty of Christianity in its relationship with contemporary culture and society". Fr. Horn then spoke to explain that, even before Cardinal Ratzinger's election to the papacy, his students had thought of creating a Joseph Ratzinger Foundation. "Not only did they feel profound gratitude towards their teacher", he said, "but they were also deeply convinced of the importance of his theology for the Church. ... In the meeting of the 'Schulerkreis' with the Holy Father at Castelgandolfo in 2007 we received his approval to create an autonomous foundation". This foundation, Fr. Horn went on, "has a clear direction and broad ranging projects. Its goal is to promote the study of Joseph Ratzinger's theology and spirituality, propagating his ideas in the Church and society, and ensuring they are absorbed. Thus will his memory be conserved for the future". One of the foundation's projects concerns the University of Regensburg "with the creation of chair for a visiting professor in the faculty of theology during the summer term". In September this year a "Benediktakdemie" (Benedict Academy) for young students was held at Salzburg in Austria, while in Rome (in collaboration with the "Casa Balthasar", an institution for discerning vocations in young Catholic men) there is a plan to crate a study centre for theology and spirituality. "And we have also", Fr. Horn concluded, "collected the recollections of more than forty of Joseph Ratzinger's former students in order to establish an archive".OP/ VIS 20101126 (620)

AUDIENCES VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences: - Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales, archbishop of Manila, Philippines, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Bernardino C. Cortez and Broderick S. Pabillo. - Anglican Bishop Geoffrey Rowell of Gibraltar in Europe. This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.AL:AP/ VIS 20101126 (70)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted: - The resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, presented by Bishop Gaspar Ladosci, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. - The resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ondo, Nigeria, presented by Bishop Francis Folorunsho Clement Alonge, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Jude Ayodeji Arogundade.

AMERICA: USA: WORSHIP RESOURCES FOR PAPAL VIGIL FOR LIFE

USCCB REPORT: On Saturday, November 27th at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate a “Vigil for All Nascent Human Life” coinciding with first vespers of the First Sunday of Advent. The Holy Father has also requested that “all Diocesan Bishops (and their equivalent) of every particular church preside in analogous celebrations involving the faithful in their respective parishes, religious communities, associations and movements.”An outline for the Vigil was provided from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Pontifical Council for the Family. Given the importance of the Holy Father’s request, the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship and the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities have collaborated in developing Vigil prayer aids for dioceses and parishes.Acknowledging that in the U.S. the Vigil falls on Thanksgiving weekend and that many parishes have complicated Mass schedules on Saturday evenings, four different options are provided:
Full Option One: Evening Prayer, Rosary and Benediction
Full Option Two: Marian Procession, Rosary, Evening Prayer and Benediction
Simplified Option One: Evening Prayer and Benediction (no Rosary)
Simplified Option Two: Marian Procession, Rosary and Benediction (no Evening Prayer).
All options for the Vigil include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, and each of the worship aids follows the directives given by the Vatican and approved by the USCCB. Many dioceses may have already made plans to celebrate this special Vigil in union with our Holy Father and the Church all around the world. For those still considering how their parishes and organizations might participate, these materials should be helpful.
Notes on Using Worship Aids
For each option a worship aid is offered in three formats:
Microsoft Word Formatted (formatted with images)
Microsoft Publisher (formatted with images and easily modified)
Microsoft Word Unformatted (unformatted text without images) A rubric is also provided for priests and liturgy directors. All documents can be printed out in both English and Spanish. These worship aids are easily customized for local use. Please modify as appropriate based on hymnal availability and local practices for Evening Prayer (such as assigning leaders and responders). The use of an appropriate Marian, Advent or Eucharistic hymn at the time indicated is up to your discretion. Supplications are expected to be forthcoming from the Holy See. They will be posted here as soon as the USCCB receives them. Should you need to print worship aids prior to their availability, the following Supplications are offered as a sample that you may use or adapt. The Microsoft Word “Formatted” files are laid out so as to be printed double-sided with landscape orientation. DO NOT change the formatting of these Microsoft Word “Formatted” files as this will move the text to different pages and make it unwieldy to print. But these files are laid out so you can simply insert the name and city of your parish on the front page and insert the appropriate reference in your song book (i.e., Comfort, Comfort, O My People – Worship #370). The Microsoft Publisher versions of the worship aids are much more adaptable to editing and the format should not be disrupted by your modifications.
Worship Aid Resources
All options for the Vigil include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, and each of the worship aids follows the directives given by the Vatican and approved by the USCCB.
Full Option 1: Evening Prayer & Rosary
1 Formatted English
1 Publisher English
1 Unformatted English
1 Rubric English
1 Formatted Spanish
1 Publisher Spanish
1 Unformatted Spanish
1 Rubric Spanish
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/papalvigil/index.shtml

EUROPE: ENGLAND: INTERFAITH WEEK BRINGS FAITHS TOGETHER

BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND: "Interfaith dialogue should be written into the DNA of Catholics” an enthusiastic interfaith worker told a gathering of Justice and Peace activists last Saturday in London. David Jackson, the Bradford-based Leeds Diocesan Interfaith Officer, said that "every baptised person has a role in dialogue". He showed images of various initiatives in Leeds Diocese which he called a "dialogue of action". There were shots of participants in a ‘Walk for Friendship’ in Keighley and a youth celebration involving young Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Christians. An interfaith prayer gathering and barbeque at Columba House in Bradford was particularly poignant since one of the Columban priests who hosted the gathering for five years and appeared in the photos – Fr Pat McCaffrey – died of a heart attack earlier this year in Pakistan. "People of other faiths are not from Mars," said David. "And even if they were, they’re part of God’s creation!"
David was speaking to around 40 representatives of dioceses, agencies and missionary societies at the quarterly meeting of National Justice and Peace Network, held at CAFOD headquarters. He recommended study of the new teaching document, ‘Meeting God in Friend and Stranger’. This major publication on interreligious relations was produced in May 2010 by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and he described it as "revolutionary". He recalled that when Pope Benedict spoke to members of different religions at Twickenham during his recent visit he referred to the document and said, "the effort to reach out in friendship to the followers of other religions is becoming a familiar part of the mission of the local Church and a characteristic of the religious landscape of this country".
The document was some ten years in the writing and was supported in those years by the Bishops' Committee for Other Religions of which David is a member. More than 7,000 copies have already been sold by the Catholic Truth Society so there is considerable interest in its recommendations. The Justice and Peace activists present were urged to collaborate with other faiths in their work for the common good and to note that every diocese has an inter-faith coordinator and every local authority an interfaith council.
Interfaith Week
21-27 November 2010
This week is Interfaith Week. Find out more here:interfaithweek.org
Download
Click to download Meeting God in Friend and Stranger http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/Catholic-Church/media_centre/press_releases/press_releases_2010/Interfaith-dialogue-should-be-written-into-DNA-of-Catholics

AFRICA: KENYA: DIOCESE ASKED TO SURRENDER LAND

ALL AFRICA REPORT: A title deed that the Catholic Church acquired 14 years ago in Nakuru County has landed it in trouble after it was ordered to surrender it.
The government wants the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru to surrender the document for the nine-acre land parcel on which Ngwataniro Secondary School in Njoro District stands to end a protracted row between the church and the local community.
The local community in Mutukanio Farm in Mau Narok Division owns the land and the school.
They had sought the government's help upon learning that they could not register the school they established in 1985. Because of this their children cannot sit national exams.
Without their knowledge
The land where the school stands is registered to the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru. According to the community, this was done without their knowledge and consent.
The Catholic Diocese has now been given 14 days to surrender Mau Narok/Siapei Block 3/509 title deed.
Last week, Nakuru District Land Registrar, Mr D.K. Nyantika, wrote to the dioceses informing it that there is an "erroneous omission in the title deed which needs to be corrected".

"It needs to be corrected immediately for the school to benefit from certain overheads," the letter dated November 17 says in part.
It continues to say that the school should be registered in the name of the permanent secretary to the Treasury. And this is what the Mutukanio community members did not know. Land set aside for any public utility in all areas owned by land buying companies must be registered under the Treasury PS.
"It is now my humble request that you surrender the suit title within the next 14 days from the date hereof for necessary action," Mr Nyantika wrote.
How the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru came to acquire the land can only be attributed to the locals' ignorance.
The community had set aside part of the land they bought from the defunct Ngwataniro-Mutukanio Land Buying Company to put up a primary school.
Later, a need arose to have a secondary school. So the landowners hived off nine acres from the land allocated to the primary school and started what they called Mau Hill Secondary School in 1985.
"But we came to realise that we needed a sponsor for the school. That's how we invited the Catholic Church. They then went ahead and acquired a title deed for the land without informing us," the chairman of the school, Mr Kamau Thuku, recounts.
Bishop Maurice Muhatia, who is in charge of the diocese, has declined to comment on the matter.
But records show that the church initially managed the school in the 1990s. Then, it was known as St Louis Secondary School. It acquired the title deed for the land on February 6, 1996.
However, the church later closed the school and handed it over to the community at the intervention of the Nakuru District Education Board.
"We decided to call it Ngwataniro. But when we went to register it, we were told we could not do so since it stands on land owned by the church," he adds.
Since 1996, students who study at the school either drop out or move to other schools to sit KCSE exams. This saga has exposed the massive corruption in land buying companies.
Last month, Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director PLO Lumumba promised to deal with complaints involving grabbing of land meant for public utilities in land buying companies.
Mr Lumumba was responding to a letter written to him by Futa Magendo Network -- a social watch -- which exposed the alleged grabbing of land belonging to Ngwataniro Secondary School.
Futa Magendo executive director James Mugo told the Nation that corruption in most land buying companies persists due to failure by the government to follow them up.
"After completing their work of buying land and subdividing it among the shareholders, a land buying company should wind up as it has no other business," Mr Mugo says, adding that this is not usually the case. http://allafrica.com/stories/201011260989.html

ASIA: INDIA: PROTECTION FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS NEEDED

UCAN REPORT: Church people in India have appealed to the federal government to include women domestic workers in a bill seeking protection against sexual harassment at workplace.
Archbishop Vincent M. Concessao yesterday questioned the government’s move to exclude the section from the final draft of the Sexual Harassment Bill.
Women domestic workers, the largest workforce in India, were included in the purview of the bill when it was prepared three years ago but were later withdrawn from the final draft.
The bill will become a law once it is passed by the members of parliament.
The bill envisages that every workplace, whether organized or not, should have a forum to take up complaints of sexual harassment.
Expressing concern over the gap in the bill, the archbishop demanded the government to redress “this discrimination before it becomes a law”.
“It is difficult to understand the logic of such insensitivity to the largest and most vulnerable sector of women workers, who hardly enjoy any legal protection,” the prelate said.
The archbishop also demanded that the government supports the adoption of conservation on “Decent Work for Domestic Workers” by the International Labour Organisation at an international conference in 2011.
Jesuit Father Xavier Jeyaraj, who has been working for the rights of domestic workers, wonders why the sector has been left out of the bill.
“This is the sector which faces harassment the most. Young and tribal girls often become the victims of molestation,” said the priest, who belongs to the Indian Social Institute.
The priest demanded a separate domestic workers act as “only then we will be able to fight for their rights.”
Ranjana Kumari, social activist working for the rights of women, lamented that there is no provision for these women to complain.
She welcomed the archbishop’s statement and demanded the government to develop a mechanism to include the sector under the ambit of the bill.
Jyotsana Chatterjee, who directs the Joint Women Program of the Protestant Church of North India, said inclusion of domestic workers in the bill will help them fight for their rights.http://www.ucanews.com/2010/11/26/domestic-workers-left-without-legal-protection/

AUSTRALIA: GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT ETHICS CLASSES

CATH NEWS REPORT: The NSW government will introduce an amendment to the Education Act today to enshrine the right of schools to offer ethics classes, to prevent the Coalition removing the classes if elected, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The amendment will be supported by the Greens in the Legislative Council, guaranteeing it will become law before Parliament rises at the end of next week and before the election in March.
''The message we have received loud and clear from parents is that they should have the right to choose what is best for their child," said Premier Kristina Keneally.
However, the opposition spokesman for education, Adrian Piccoli, attacked the decision, pointing out that the Board of Studies had to remove inappropriate draft course material before the trial of ethics classes earlier this year.
''If they want to legislate for a course, which has previously included subjects on terrorism and designer babies to be taught to 11-year-olds, then that's a decision for the Labor Party,'' he said.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Verity Firth said: ''First the Coalition failed to listen to parents and now they're trying to scare them. All course material will be vetted by the Board of Studies''.
IN OTHER EDUCATION NEWS, the Herald reports Ms Firth received advice from the NSW Board of Studies that more time was needed for consultation regarding adopting a national curriculum, and is preparing to reject the curriculum to be presented by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority at a December 8 meeting of education ministers.
The Herald understands the Board of Studies has responded to concerns about a lack of consultation by the authority and the overall curriculum structure, including the times allotted to teach each subject and the capacity to cater for all students.
The Board of Studies has consistently criticised drafts of the curriculum, saying it is inferior to the existing NSW curriculum.
A coalition of seven national principals' associations, representing public, independent and Catholic schools, issued a statement in support of a ''truly national Australian curriculum''.
The group, which includes the Australian Secondary Principals Association, is scheduled to meet with the curriculum authority in Sydney today to discuss the future of the proposal.http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24327

TODAY'S SAINT: NOV. 26: ST. SIRICIUS

St. Siricius
POPE
Feast: November 26
Information:
Feast Day:
November 26
Born:
334
Died:
26 November, 399

Born about 334; died 26 November, 399, Siricius was a native of Rome; his father's name was Tiburtius. Siricius entered the service of the Church at an early age and, according to the testimony of the inscription on his grave, was lector and then deacon of the Roman Church during the pontificate of Liberius (352-66). After the death of Damasus, Siricius was unanimously elected his successor (December, 384) and consecrated bishop probably on 17 December. Ursinus, who had been a rival to Damasus (366), was alive and still maintained his claims. However, the Emperor Valentinian III, in a letter to Pinian (23 Feb., 385), gave his consent to the election that had been held and praised the piety of the newly-elected bishop; consequently no difficulties arose. Immediately upon his elevation Siricius had occasion to assert his primacy over the universal Church. A letter, in which questions were asked on fifteen different points concerning baptism, penance, church discipline, and the celibacy of the clergy, came to Rome addressed to Pope Damasus by Bishop Himerius of Tarragona, Spain. Siricius answered this letter on 10 February, 385, and gave the decisions as to the matters in question, exercising with full consciousness his supreme power of authority in the Church (Coustant, "Epist. Rom. Pont.", 625 sq.). This letter of Siricius is of special importance because it is the oldest completely preserved papal decretal (edict for the authoritative decision of questions of discipline and canon law). It is, however, certain that before this earlier popes had also issued such decretals, for Siricius himself in his letter mentions "general decrees" of Liberius that the latter had sent to the provinces; but these earlier ones have not been preserved. At the same time the pope directed Himerius to make known his decrees to the neighbouring provinces, so that they should also be observed there. This pope had very much at heart the maintenance of Church discipline and the observance of canons by the clergy and laity. A Roman synod of 6 January, 386, at which eighty bishops were present, reaffirmed in nine canons the laws of the Church on various points of discipline (consecration of bishops, celibacy, etc.). The decisions of the council were communicated by the pope to the bishops of North Africa and probably in the same manner to others who had not attended the synod, with the command to act in accordance with them. Another letter which was sent to various churches dealt with the election of worthy bishops and priests. A synodal letter to the Gallican bishops, ascribed by Coustant and others to Siricius, is assigned to Pope Innocent I by other historians (P.L., XIII, 1179 sq.). In all his decrees the pope speaks with the consciousness of his supreme ecclesiastical authority and of his pastoral care over all the churches.
Siricius was also obliged to take a stand against heretical movements. A Roman monk Jovinian came forward as an opponent of fasts, good works, and the higher merit of celibate life. He found some adherents among the monks and nuns of Rome. About 390-392 the pope held a synod at Rome, at which Jovinian and eight of his followers were condemned and excluded from communion with the Church. The decision was sent to St. Ambrose, the great Bishop of Milan and a friend of Siricius. Ambrose now held a synod of the bishops of upper Italy which, as the letter says, in agreement with his decision also condemned the heretics. Other heretics including Bishop Bonosus of Sardica (390), who was also accused of errors in the dogma of the Trinity, maintained the false doctrine that Mary was not always a virgin. Siricius and Ambrose opposed Bonosus and his adherents and refuted their false views. The pope then left further proceedings against Bonosus to the Bishop of Thessalonica and the other Illyrian bishops. Like his predecessor Damasus, Siricius also took part in the Priscillian controversy; he sharply condemned the episcopal accusers of Priscillian, who had brought the matter before the secular court and had prevailed upon the usurper Maximus to condemn to death and execute Priscillian and some of his followers. Maximus sought to justify his action by sending to the pope the proceedings in the case. Siricius, however, excommunicated Bishop Felix of Trier who supported Ithacius, the accuser of Priscillian, and in whose city the execution had taken place. The pope addressed a letter to the Spanish bishops in which he stated the conditions under which the converted Priscillians were to be restored to communion with the Church.
According to the life in the "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 216), Siricius also took severe measures against the Manichæans at Rome. However, as Duchesne remarks (loc. cit., notes) it cannot be assumed from the writings of the converted Augustine, who was a Manichæan when he went to Rome (383), that Siricius took any particular steps against them, yet Augustine would certainly have commented on this if such had been the case. The mention in the "Liber Pontificalis" belongs properly to the life of Pope Leo I. Neither is it probable, as Langen thinks (Gesch. der röm. Kirche, I, 633), that Priscillians are to be understood by this mention of Manichæans, although probably Priscillians were at times called Manichæans in the writings of that age. The western emperors, including Honorius and Valentinian III, issued laws against the Manichæans, whom they declared to be political offenders, and took severe action against the members of this sect (Codex Theodosian, XVI, V, various laws). In the East Siricius interposed to settle the Meletian schism at Antioch; this schism had continued notwithstanding the death in 381 of Meletius at the Council of Constantinople. The followers of Meletius elected Flavian as his successor, while the adherents of Bishop Paulinus, after the death of this bishop (388), elected Evagrius. Evagrius died in 392 and through Flavian's management no successor was elected. By the mediation of St. John Chrysostom and Theophilus of Alexandria an embassy, led by Bishop Acacius of Beroea, was sent to Rome to persuade Siricius to recognize Flavian and to readmit him to communion with the Church.
At Rome the name of Siricius is particularly connected with the basilica over the grave of St. Paul on the Via Ostiensis which was rebuilt by the emperor as a basilica of five aisles during the pontificate of Siricius and was dedicated by the pope in 390. The name of Siricius is still to be found on one of the pillars that was not destroyed in the fire of 1823, and which now stands in the vestibule of the side entrance to the transept. Two of his contemporaries describe the character of Siricius disparagingly. Paulinus of Nola, who on his visit to Rome in 395 was treated in a guarded manner by the pope, speaks of the urbici papæ superba discretio, the haughty policy of the Roman bishop (Epist., V, 14). This action of the pope is, however, explained by the fact that there had been irregularities in the election and consecration of Paulinus (Buse, "Paulin von Nola", I, 193). Jerome, for his part, speaks of the "lack of judgment" of Siricius (Epist., cxxvii, 9) on account of the latter's treatment of Rufinus of Aquileia, to whom the pope had given a letter when Rufinus left Rome in 398, which showed that he was in communion with the Church. The reason, however, does not justify the judgment which Jerome expressed against the pope; moreover, Jerome in his polemical writings often exceeds the limits of propriety. All that is known of the labours of Siricius refutes the criticism of the caustic hermit of Bethlehem. The "Liber Pontificalis" gives an incorrect date for his death; he was buried in the cæmeterium of Priscilla on the Via Salaria. The text of the inscription on his grave is known (De Rossi, "Inscriptiones christ. urbis Romæ", II, 102, 138). His feast is celebrated on 26 November. His name was inserted in the Roman Martyrology by Benedict XIV.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/S/stsiricius.asp

TODAY'S GOSPEL: NOV. 26: Luke 21: 29 - 33

Luke 21: 29 - 33
29
And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees;
30
as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
31
So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.
33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.