CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: THURS. JAN. 27, 2011: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: WORLD DAY OF SICK FEB. 11-
ASIA: THAILAND: INTER-DENOMINATIONAL LEADERS CALL FOR CODE OF COMMON GOOD-
AUSTRALIA: 7 YEAR OLD SAVES MOTHER BY PHONING EMERGENCY-
AMERICA: USA: BISHOPS SUPPORT PRO-LIFE BILLS TO GOVERNMENT
AFRICA: SOUTH AFRICA: BISHOPS CALL FOR CHURCH'S VOICE TO BE HEARD-
EUROPE: ENGLAND: ARCHBISHOP HAS CONFIRMATION BEFORE COMMUNION-
TODAY'S GOSPEL: JAN. 27: MARK 4: 21- 25-
EUROPE: ENGLAND: ARCHBISHOP HAS CONFIRMATION BEFORE COMMUNION-
TODAY'S SAINT: JAN. 27: ST. ANGELA MERICI-
VATICAN CITY, 27 JAN 2011 (VIS REPORTS) - On 24 and 25 March, the Pontifical Council for Culture, the president of which is Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, will launch a new permanent Vatican structure to be known as the "Courtyard of the Gentiles", the aim of which is to promote dialogue and encounter between believers and non-believers.
IMAGE SOURCE RADIO VATICANA
According to a communique released by the council, the launch will involve three colloquia on the themes of "religion, enlightenment and common reason". They will be held on 24 March at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, on the morning of 25 March at the Sorbonne University and on the afternoon of the same day at the "Institut de France". The colloquia will be followed by a round table discussion at the "College des Bernardins".
On the evening of 25 March a celebration will be organised on the forecourt of the cathedral of Notre Dame with the theme: "Into the Courtyard of the Unknown". The event is open to everyone. especially young people, and will involve artistic creations, music, drama, lights, meeting and reflection. Exceptionally, the cathedral will remain open for those who wish to participate in a prayer vigil and shared meditation.
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WORLD DAY OF SICK MESSAGE TO BE PRESENTED ON 3 FEBRUARY
VATICAN CITY, 27 JAN 2011 (VIS) - At 11.30 a.m. on Thursday 3 February, the presentation will take place of Benedict XVI's Message for the nineteenth World Day of the Sick. The Day itself falls on 11 February.
The press conference will also be used to present a seminar on the theme "Catholic healthcare associations and the culture of life", due to be held on 5 February at Rome's St. Pius X Auditorium to mark the end of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care.
The press conference will be presented by Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, Bishop Jose Luis Redrado Marchite O.H. and Msgr. Jean-Marie Mpendawatu Mate Musivi, respectively president, secretary and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, and by Rosa Merola, consultor of the pontifical council and psychologist at Rome's Rebibbia prison.
ASIA: THAILAND: INTER-DENOMINATIONAL LEADERS CALL FOR CODE OF COMMON GOOD
UCAN REPORT: The main aim of an inter-denominational meeting between Christian leaders in Bangkok is to lay down a joint code of conduct regarding how Christianity can live side by side with other religions, a senior Church official said today.
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| Church officials and guests during the opening ceremony of the meeting |
“To understand ourselves as Christians we should know what and how we should witness to our brothers and sisters of different religions while respecting their beliefs,” said Monsignor Andrew Vissanu Thanya-anan, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue’s Buddhism desk.
Monsignor Thanya-anan was speaking to ucanews.com during the third consultation for a project on Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World, Recommendations for a Code of Conduct, being held Jan. 25-28.
The meeting brought together 45 prominent religious leaders representing the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance and the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
“In the past, Christians from other denominations rarely had the chance to communicate with each other. Each has their own way of evangelization, and many times some methods angered other religions,” he said.
“Worse still, those unaware of other denominations in Christianity simply associate all Christianity with Catholicism and complain about the Pope. This has from time to time created conflict among Christian denominations,” Monsignor Thanya-anan added.
“In this meeting, we are discussing and creating mutual understanding, so we can adopt methods of evangelization that will not offend those of other beliefs,” he said.
“For example, here in Thailand, Christians should not tell people from other religions that if they don’t believe in ‘our God’ they will go to hell. This is disrespectful of others beliefs — which we should not do. Evangelization should not be by force. It needs to respect others,” said Monsignor Thanya-anan.
The meeting is the third phase of a project that started in Italy in 2006, with the second phase being held in France in 2007. There were four joint meetings in the last two years in Geneva and Rome between the committees of the Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance to prepare the draft of the project’s document.
The outcome of this meeting will be the Bangkok Declaration (code of conduct) that will be officially released worldwide soon.
The meeting aims to make an important contribution to the promotion of mutual respect and understanding among members of different religious or among adherents of different beliefs so that they may live and work together peacefully for the common good.
http://www.ucanews.com/2011/01/27/christian-leaders-discuss-code-for-common-good/
AUSTRALIA: 7 YEAR OLD SAVES MOTHER BY PHONING EMERGENCY
The Catholic Weekly report photo of 7-year-old Jordan Tate with his mother and family members
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A seven-year-old Catholic student from the western suburbs of Sydney has won a Community Hero of the Year award for saving his mother's life by calling triple-0, reports the Catholic Weekly.
Jordan's award - from Family Capers, a family-centred, online portal - was bestowed in recognition of his efforts which helped save his mother from a burst appendix. After voting among Family Capers' members ceased for October, Jordan had gained 100 per cent of votes.Late last year, and following his being crowned October's 'Family Hero', Jordan Tate was honoured at a special school assembly at Sacred Heart Primary in Villawood after proving the merits of teaching young children how to dial triple-0 in an emergency.
Jordan was then up against 11 other very worthy "heroes", one from each month. When voting ended on December 30, Jordan had romped home with almost 80 per cent of the vote.
The Family Capers managing director, Linda Enever, will travel from Queensland to present the schoolboy with a trophy in recognition of his actions.
At the end of Term 3 last year, Jordan, then 6, was playing on the computer with his sister Mia, then 4, when his mother, Jessica, called out to him. She had not felt well at all that day but, being a busy young mother, had no option but to keep going. She had just put her one-year-old daughter, Chloe, to bed for her nap.
When Jordan found his mother in the kitchen, she had collapsed and was shaking on the floor. He asked her if he should call someone and - thinking she would be OK - Jessica said "no". When she slipped into unconsciousness, Jordan found her mobile and dialled triple-0.
Jordan called triple-0 and told the operator "my mum is sick" and his little sisters were "being brave".
"I'm very proud of him," Ms Tate said. "He really did save my life."
AMERICA: USA: BISHOPS SUPPORT PRO-LIFE BILLS TO GOVERNMENT
WASHINGTON (January 24, 2011)—Three bills currently in the U.S. House of Representatives would help ensure that adequate protections are in place for the consciences of taxpayers and health care providers and against federal funding of abortion. In three letters, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged House members to support the bills.
The Protect Life Act, H.R. 358, Cardinal DiNardo wrote in a January 20 letter, would address flaws in the new health care reform law and bring it “into line with policies on abortion and conscience rights that have long prevailed in other federal health programs.” It would do so by preventing funds under the new law from subsidizing abortion or health care plans that cover abortion, protecting the consciences of health care providers who decline to participate in an abortion, and ensuring that the law doesn’t override state laws on abortion and conscience.
The full text of Cardinal DiNardo’s letter on the Protect Life Act is at:www.usccb.org/healthcare/DiNardo-HR358-ltr.pdf
In a second letter January 20, Cardinal DiNardo urged support for the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), H.R. 361, which will codify into law the longstanding policy of the Hyde/Weldon amendment and give health care entities that do not provide abortions legal recourse when faced with government-sponsored discrimination. The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services would be designated to investigate complaints.
“Passage of ANDA is urgently needed to protect the civil rights of health professionals and other health care entities,” the cardinal wrote. “This bill reaffirms a basic principle: No health care entity should be forced by government to perform or participate in abortions.”
Full text of the ANDA letter is at: www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection/cardinal-dinardo-HR361-ltr.pdf
In a January 21 letter, Cardinal DiNardo also voiced his support for the bipartisan No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, H.R. 3, which would “write into permanent law a policy on which there has been strong popular and congressional agreement for over 35 years: The federal government should not use taxpayers’ money to support and promote elective abortion.” The cardinal wrote, “Even public officials who take a ‘pro-choice’ stand on abortion, and courts that have insisted on the validity of a constitutional ‘right’ to abortion, have agreed that the government can validly use its funding power to encourage childbirth over abortion.”
Cardinal DiNardo noted that this agreement is so longstanding that, during the recent health care debate, many assumed it was already in place at all levels of the federal government, when in fact the Hyde amendment is only a rider to the annual Labor/HHS appropriations bill and only governs funds under that act.
The cardinal noted, “The benefit of H.R. 3 is that it would prevent problems and confusions on abortion funding in future legislation. Federal health bills could be debated in terms of their ability to promote the goal of universal health care, instead of being mired in debates about one lethal procedure that most Americans know is not truly ‘health care’ at all.”
The letter on H.R. 3 is available online at: www.usccb.org/prolife/DiNardo-HR3.pdf
AFRICA: SOUTH AFRICA: BISHOPS CALL FOR CHURCH'S VOICE TO BE HEARD
Archbishop Tlhagale notes further: “Our three nations are developing democracies. They are politically stable, but fragile. To varying degrees, they are characterised by graft, violent crimes, corruption, the serious lack of service delivery and self enrichment by those in positions of responsibility. The South African jails are overflowing with prisoners. To the majority of the ordinary citizens, the promises of democracy and rule of law are not only dreams that have failed but in many a reminder of the painful experiences of the past.”
The President of the SACBC also denounces the “materialistic society” which “protects and promotes the rights of individuals to accumulate wealth.” Consequently, the “Christian principles of fairness, equality and justice have fallen by the wayside. Our societies have lost a basic tenet of morality: the upliftment of those who have a greater need. The rich flaunt their wealth. They have become incapable of postponing their own personal interests in favour of the upliftment of poor communities.”
“All this begs the question. What is the role and possibly the influence of Christian morality on our societies and nations? Is the church capable of persuading individuals to move away from a rights-based morality – 'It is my right to accumulate wealth.'? Is the Church able to persuade our fellow citizens that to be truly moral person it is equally important not to harm others and to avoid greed?” Archbishop Tlhagale asks in conclusion.
EUROPE: ENGLAND: ARCHBISHOP HAS CONFIRMATION BEFORE COMMUNION
CATH. HERALD REPORT:
Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral (Mazur/CCN)
From next year children in the Archdiocese of Liverpool will be confirmed before receiving their First Communion, reversing the usual order of sacraments in the Catholic Church.
A leaflet being sent to all parishes in the archdiocese next week explains the changes. It says: “These three sacraments make up the process of belonging to the Church (called Christian Initiation). The sacraments weren’t always in that order, and adults preparing for initiation have always received them in the original order: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (Communion).”
From September 2012 children in the archdiocese who have been baptised will follow this order.
“Those aged eight by September 1 2012 will be invited to receive Confirmation and First Communion in the days between Ascension Sunday and the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) in 2013, and the same pattern will be followed each year after that,” the leaflet said.
The details are also on both the archdiocesan and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral websites. The decision to restore the order of the sacraments of initiation and to introduce a family catechesis approach, supported by parishes and schools, was made by Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, with the encouragement of the Council of Priests, at the end of 2008.
The new procedure will involve families far more in the way children are prepared for the sacraments.
“Instead of teachers, catechists and priests teaching children and parents about the sacraments, they will help the parents to hand on their own faith to their children, fulfilling the privileges and responsibilities expressed in the Rite of Baptism. New resources will help parents to prepare their own children for these sacraments with the support of the local church community,” the leaflet says.
“These changes are meant to help us understand that sacraments are gifts of God’s grace, that parents are the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith, and that we are all called to get to know Jesus better throughout our life’s journey.”
The families of these children will be invited to explore and celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with them during Advent each year, while teenagers and their families will be invited to explore and celebrate Reconciliation during Lent each year.
The next two years will be a transition period from the old process to the new. In 2011 there will be no First Communions in most parishes. Children in Year 6 (aged 10-11) should be confirmed; in 2012 this will be children aged 8 to 11. From 2013 onwards the norm will be that children aged eight will receive Confirmation and Holy Communion during the same celebration.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/01/26/archbishop-puts-confirmation-before-communion/
TODAY'S GOSPEL: JAN. 27: MARK 4: 21- 25
21And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand?22For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.23If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."24And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.25For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
TODAY'S SAINT: JAN. 27: ST. ANGELA MERICI
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FOUNDRESS OF THE URSULINES AND MYSTIC | |||||||||||||||
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