(RADIO VATICANA IMAGE)
CHRIST’S DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father met with Orthodox Patriarchs, representatives of Protestant communities and Catholic Patriarchs of Lebanon. The encounter took place at the Syrian Catholic Patriarchate in Charfet, Beirut, famous for its library which contains more than 3,000 manuscripts in Syriac and Arabic.
Having listened to some welcome remarks addressed to him by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, the Holy Father expressed his thanks to those present who, he said, "represent the diversity of the Church in the East. ... My thoughts also go to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and to the Ethiopian Orthodox who have had the recent sadness of losing their respective Patriarchs. I wish to assure them of my fraternal closeness and of my prayers".
Benedict XVI continued: "Allow me to acknowledge here the testimony of faith shown by the Syrian Antiochene Church in the course of its glorious history, a testimony to an ardent love for Christ, which has caused it to write some heroic pages of this history, right up to the present, by remaining committed to the faith even to the point of martyrdom. I encourage this Church to be for the peoples of the region a sign of the peace that comes from God as well as a light that keeps their hope alive. I extend this encouragement to all the Churches and ecclesial communities present in the region".
"Our encounter this evening", he went on, "is an eloquent sign of our profound desire to respond to the call of Christ, 'that all may be one'. In these unstable times, so inclined to the violence which your region knows so well, it is even more necessary that Christ’s disciples give an authentic witness to their unity, so that the world may believe in their message of love, peace and reconciliation. This is a message that all Christians, and we in particular, have been commissioned to hand on to the world, a message of inestimable value in the present context of the Middle East.
"Let us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little by little into full communion with each other", the Pope added. "In this regard, by means of common prayer and mutual commitment, we must constantly return to our one Lord and Saviour. For, as I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente' which I have the pleasure of consigning to you, 'Jesus draws into unity those who believe in and love Him; He gives them the Spirit of His Father as well as Mary, His mother'".
The Holy Father concluded his remarks by entrusting the members of the various Churches and communities to the Blessed Virgin. "May she intercede with her Son for us, so that we may be delivered from every evil and from all forms of violence, and so that the Middle East may at last know a time of reconciliation and peace. May the words of Jesus that I have so often cited during this journey - My peace I give to you - be for all of us the common sign that we will give in the name of Christ to the peoples of this beloved region, which longs to see those words fulfilled!"
COURAGEOUSLY RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father's apostolic trip to Lebanon came to an end yesterday afternoon with the departure ceremony at the international airport of Beirut. Among those present to bid him farewell were Michel Sleiman, president of Lebanon, the country's four Catholic Patriarchs, various Lebanese bishops and representatives of the civil and religious authorities.
In his address, the Pope expressed his thanks "to the entire Lebanese people who form a beautiful and rich mosaic and who have shown the Successor of Peter their enthusiasm by the efforts, both general and specific, of each community. I cordially thank our venerable sister Churches and the Protestant communities. I thank in particular representatives of the Muslim communities. Through my stay here, I have noticed how much your presence has contributed to the success of my journey. In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in celebrating peace.
"It is a tradition in the Middle East to receive a guest with consideration and respect as you have done", he added. "I thank you all. But, to that consideration and respect, you added something else, which can be compared to one of those renowned oriental spices which enriches the taste of food: your warmth and your affection, which make me wish to return. I thank you for that especially".
"In his wisdom, Solomon asked Hiram of Tyre to build a house for the name of God, a sanctuary for all eternity. And Hiram ... sent wood taken from the cedars of Lebanon. ... Lebanon was present in the sanctuary of God. May the Lebanon of today, and her inhabitants, also dwell in the sanctuary of God! May Lebanon continue to be a place where men and women can live in harmony and peace with each other, in order to give the world not only a witness to the presence of God, ... but also a witness to the communion between people, ... whatever their political, social, or religious standpoint".
The Pope continued: "I pray to God for Lebanon, that she may live in peace and courageously resist all that could destroy or undermine that peace. I hope that Lebanon will continue to permit the plurality of religious traditions and not listen to the voices of those who wish to prevent it. I hope that Lebanon will fortify the communion among all her inhabitants, whatever their community or religion, that she will resolutely reject all that could lead to disunity, and with determination choose brotherhood".
"The Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood. Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25 March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!
"May God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese! May He never cease to draw them to Himself so as to offer them a share in His eternal life! May he fill them with His joy, His peace and His light! May God bless all the Middle East!"
Having completed his farewell address, the Pope boarded his flight for Rome, landing at 9.40 p.m. at Ciampino airport whence he travelled to the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.
FIRST HEARING OF THE ACCUSED IN THE "VATILEAKS" CASE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following communique.
"Giuseppe della Torre, president of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, today issued a decree ruling that the first hearing of the trial of Paolo Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti, will take place at 9.30 a.m. on 29 September. The two accused were sent for trial by the examining magistrate on 13 August. The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The parties concerned have been notified of the decree".
CHRIST’S DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father met with Orthodox Patriarchs, representatives of Protestant communities and Catholic Patriarchs of Lebanon. The encounter took place at the Syrian Catholic Patriarchate in Charfet, Beirut, famous for its library which contains more than 3,000 manuscripts in Syriac and Arabic.
Having listened to some welcome remarks addressed to him by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, the Holy Father expressed his thanks to those present who, he said, "represent the diversity of the Church in the East. ... My thoughts also go to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and to the Ethiopian Orthodox who have had the recent sadness of losing their respective Patriarchs. I wish to assure them of my fraternal closeness and of my prayers".
Benedict XVI continued: "Allow me to acknowledge here the testimony of faith shown by the Syrian Antiochene Church in the course of its glorious history, a testimony to an ardent love for Christ, which has caused it to write some heroic pages of this history, right up to the present, by remaining committed to the faith even to the point of martyrdom. I encourage this Church to be for the peoples of the region a sign of the peace that comes from God as well as a light that keeps their hope alive. I extend this encouragement to all the Churches and ecclesial communities present in the region".
"Our encounter this evening", he went on, "is an eloquent sign of our profound desire to respond to the call of Christ, 'that all may be one'. In these unstable times, so inclined to the violence which your region knows so well, it is even more necessary that Christ’s disciples give an authentic witness to their unity, so that the world may believe in their message of love, peace and reconciliation. This is a message that all Christians, and we in particular, have been commissioned to hand on to the world, a message of inestimable value in the present context of the Middle East.
"Let us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little by little into full communion with each other", the Pope added. "In this regard, by means of common prayer and mutual commitment, we must constantly return to our one Lord and Saviour. For, as I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente' which I have the pleasure of consigning to you, 'Jesus draws into unity those who believe in and love Him; He gives them the Spirit of His Father as well as Mary, His mother'".
The Holy Father concluded his remarks by entrusting the members of the various Churches and communities to the Blessed Virgin. "May she intercede with her Son for us, so that we may be delivered from every evil and from all forms of violence, and so that the Middle East may at last know a time of reconciliation and peace. May the words of Jesus that I have so often cited during this journey - My peace I give to you - be for all of us the common sign that we will give in the name of Christ to the peoples of this beloved region, which longs to see those words fulfilled!"
COURAGEOUSLY RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father's apostolic trip to Lebanon came to an end yesterday afternoon with the departure ceremony at the international airport of Beirut. Among those present to bid him farewell were Michel Sleiman, president of Lebanon, the country's four Catholic Patriarchs, various Lebanese bishops and representatives of the civil and religious authorities.
In his address, the Pope expressed his thanks "to the entire Lebanese people who form a beautiful and rich mosaic and who have shown the Successor of Peter their enthusiasm by the efforts, both general and specific, of each community. I cordially thank our venerable sister Churches and the Protestant communities. I thank in particular representatives of the Muslim communities. Through my stay here, I have noticed how much your presence has contributed to the success of my journey. In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in celebrating peace.
"It is a tradition in the Middle East to receive a guest with consideration and respect as you have done", he added. "I thank you all. But, to that consideration and respect, you added something else, which can be compared to one of those renowned oriental spices which enriches the taste of food: your warmth and your affection, which make me wish to return. I thank you for that especially".
"In his wisdom, Solomon asked Hiram of Tyre to build a house for the name of God, a sanctuary for all eternity. And Hiram ... sent wood taken from the cedars of Lebanon. ... Lebanon was present in the sanctuary of God. May the Lebanon of today, and her inhabitants, also dwell in the sanctuary of God! May Lebanon continue to be a place where men and women can live in harmony and peace with each other, in order to give the world not only a witness to the presence of God, ... but also a witness to the communion between people, ... whatever their political, social, or religious standpoint".
The Pope continued: "I pray to God for Lebanon, that she may live in peace and courageously resist all that could destroy or undermine that peace. I hope that Lebanon will continue to permit the plurality of religious traditions and not listen to the voices of those who wish to prevent it. I hope that Lebanon will fortify the communion among all her inhabitants, whatever their community or religion, that she will resolutely reject all that could lead to disunity, and with determination choose brotherhood".
"The Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood. Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25 March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!
"May God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese! May He never cease to draw them to Himself so as to offer them a share in His eternal life! May he fill them with His joy, His peace and His light! May God bless all the Middle East!"
Having completed his farewell address, the Pope boarded his flight for Rome, landing at 9.40 p.m. at Ciampino airport whence he travelled to the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.
FIRST HEARING OF THE ACCUSED IN THE "VATILEAKS" CASE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following communique.
"Giuseppe della Torre, president of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, today issued a decree ruling that the first hearing of the trial of Paolo Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti, will take place at 9.30 a.m. on 29 September. The two accused were sent for trial by the examining magistrate on 13 August. The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The parties concerned have been notified of the decree".
AUSTRALIA : OVER 1000 AT MEMORIAL MASS FOR UNBORN
Catholic Communications, Sydney
Archdiocese REPORT
17 Sep 2012
More than
1000 attended Australia's first-ever Solemn Memorial Mass for the Unborn at St
Mary's Cathedral on Friday, 14 September. The historic Mass celebrated by the
Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell not only marked the deaths of the
unborn but offered prayers, comfort, compassion and healing to all those hurt by
the tragedy of abortion.
Every day in NSW at least 82 unborn children lose their lives to abortion. However these unborn have never been commemorated with their own Mass of remembrance.
"The Mass was extremely moving especially when 82 candles were lit for the unborn which was followed by 82 seconds of silence," says Bernard Toutounji, Education Officer with the Archdiocese of Sydney's Life, Marriage and Family Centre who helped organise this very special and important memorial Mass.
"The silence during those 82 seconds was overwhelming
with everyone at the Mass spontaneously dropping to their knees in prayer
despite no one telling them to do this," he says.
Concelebrated by the Cathedral's priest-in-residence, Fr Dani Penollar together with Archdiocese priests, Fr Paul Rowse, Fr Peter Maher, Fr Lam Vu, Fr Greg Morgan, Fr Emmanuel Seo, Fr Epili Qimaqima, Fr Anthony Bernard, Fr Paul Marshall and Sydney Maronite priest, Fr Youhanna Azize, the Memorial Mass for the Unborn was an initiative of Cardinal Pell's and from now on will be an important part of the Cathedral calendar.
Inspired after being invited to concelebrate Los Angeles' annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn lost to abortion in January this year, Cardinal Pell recognised the need for a similar Mass to be held in Sydney.
Among the 1000-plus who attended the historic Mass last Friday
were staff and students from Catholic schools and universities, members of
parishes across the Archdiocese and representatives from Catholic agencies such
as CatholicCare, the Catholic Education Office, Pregnancy Help Australia, the
Catholic Women's League, the Maronite community, pro-life groups such as Family
Life International, Right to Life Australia and NSW Right to Life.
Parents, grandparents and siblings grieving and hurt by the tragedy of abortion were also there along with representatives from Rachel's Vineyard, a healing ministry of the Catholic Church for women who have suffered an abortion and are struggling with grief, guilt and ongoing pain.
While abortion can trigger long term
emotional distress among mothers, fathers also undergo a heavy emotional toll.
A recent Los Angeles Times survey of 3600 men found that 66% or two thirds reported feelings of guilt and anxiety after their involvement in an abortion. Research has also found that men can experience post-traumatic stress, depression, sexual dysfunction and anger as a result of losing their child to abortion. For many men, these feelings are brought to the surface after the birth of their first child and the deep joy they feel triggers grief for the child they never had a chance to hold or love.
Grandparents and siblings can experience similar distress at the loss of a child to an abortion.
For those hurt by abortion or needing pregnancy support and counselling, contact CatholicCare at 1800 063510. Support for pregnant women can also be found at Pregnancy Help Australia, 1300 792 798. For Post Abortion healing and help, Rachel's Vineyard is a Catholic healing ministry and can be contacted by phoning 1800 063 510.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
17 Sep 2012
Cardinal George Pell with concelebrating
Archdiocese priests at the Memorial Mass for the Unborn
Every day in NSW at least 82 unborn children lose their lives to abortion. However these unborn have never been commemorated with their own Mass of remembrance.
"The Mass was extremely moving especially when 82 candles were lit for the unborn which was followed by 82 seconds of silence," says Bernard Toutounji, Education Officer with the Archdiocese of Sydney's Life, Marriage and Family Centre who helped organise this very special and important memorial Mass.
A beautiful, solemn and consoling Memorial Mass
for the Unborn
Concelebrated by the Cathedral's priest-in-residence, Fr Dani Penollar together with Archdiocese priests, Fr Paul Rowse, Fr Peter Maher, Fr Lam Vu, Fr Greg Morgan, Fr Emmanuel Seo, Fr Epili Qimaqima, Fr Anthony Bernard, Fr Paul Marshall and Sydney Maronite priest, Fr Youhanna Azize, the Memorial Mass for the Unborn was an initiative of Cardinal Pell's and from now on will be an important part of the Cathedral calendar.
Inspired after being invited to concelebrate Los Angeles' annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn lost to abortion in January this year, Cardinal Pell recognised the need for a similar Mass to be held in Sydney.
Chris Meney, Director of the Archdiocese's
Life, Family & Marriage Centre welcomed more than 1000 to the Mass for the
Unborn
Parents, grandparents and siblings grieving and hurt by the tragedy of abortion were also there along with representatives from Rachel's Vineyard, a healing ministry of the Catholic Church for women who have suffered an abortion and are struggling with grief, guilt and ongoing pain.
Friday evening's historic Memorial Mass for the
Unborn at St Mary's Cathedral
A recent Los Angeles Times survey of 3600 men found that 66% or two thirds reported feelings of guilt and anxiety after their involvement in an abortion. Research has also found that men can experience post-traumatic stress, depression, sexual dysfunction and anger as a result of losing their child to abortion. For many men, these feelings are brought to the surface after the birth of their first child and the deep joy they feel triggers grief for the child they never had a chance to hold or love.
Grandparents and siblings can experience similar distress at the loss of a child to an abortion.
For those hurt by abortion or needing pregnancy support and counselling, contact CatholicCare at 1800 063510. Support for pregnant women can also be found at Pregnancy Help Australia, 1300 792 798. For Post Abortion healing and help, Rachel's Vineyard is a Catholic healing ministry and can be contacted by phoning 1800 063 510.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
AMERICA : USA : POPE NAMES BISHOP CONLEY - OF NEBRASKA
USCCB REPORT:
Pope Benedict XVI has named Auxiliary Bishop James Douglas Conley, 57, as bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska and accepted the resignation of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, 77, from the pastoral governance ofthe diocese.
The appointment and resignation were publicized in Washington, September 14, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
James Douglas Conley was born March 19, 1955, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was raised Presbyterian and converted to Catholicism during college at age 20. He pursued pre-theological studies at St. Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, Kentucky, and theological studies at Mt. St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Bishop Conley was ordained a priest in 1985 for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas and later earned a licentiate in moral theology and ethics at the Academia Alfonsiana, Rome. Assignments after ordination included work as an associate pastor and pastor, director of Wichita diocesan Respect Life activities and service at the Vatican Congregation for Bishops.
He was named a prelate of honor with the title monsignor in 1998 and ordained auxiliary bishop of Denver in 2008.
Bishop Bruskewitz was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1960 and has headed the Lincoln diocese since 1992.
The Lincoln diocese includes 588,641 persons, with 96,625, or 16 percent of them, Catholic.
SHARED FROM BISHOPS CONFERCE OF USA
AFRICA : CAMEROON : PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS SUCCESS
CISA NEWS REPORT:
YAOUNDE, September 14,
2012 (CISA) -A real and proper “epiphany of the Church in Africa,” is how
Cardinal Stanislaw Ryłko , president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity,
described the success of the Pan-African Congress of the Laity, held in Yaounde,
Cameroon.
“We discovered its numerous spiritual resources, its great religious and human vitality and the vigorous missionary dynamism of its laity,” said the cardinal in the closing address of the continental congress, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity which he heads.
Moreover, Cardinal Ryłko stressed the fact that the formation of mature laity is not a privilege but rather a right and a duty in the Church. The cardinal also stressed that it is a matter of extreme urgency, and that the Church in Africa can rely on its many charisms and gifts of the Holy Spirit to give hope to those in need. He said one example, in particular, are the ecclesial movements, which he described as a “source of great missionary dynamism, and to the parishes, real schools of Christian life.”
“Africa is in extreme need of this kind of laity. To be witnesses of Christ at the heart of the world is not an easy task, as much courage is required to go against the current, given the prevailing cultural tendencies and, if one is to be in consonance with the Lord’s example, as a sign of contradiction,” he added.
According to Zenit, the Polish prelate also exhorted the Catholic laity to defend the dignity of human life reminding that such inalienable rights cannot be changed by any individual, group, authority or State because it is a supreme right that comes from God.
Entrusted to the African Catholic laity, Cardinal Ryłko said, is the task to “build the Kingdom of God in the world in which it lives, that is, in the family, in work, in the economy, in public life, in politics and in culture.”
The risks, he continued, are represented particularly by the phenomenon of “depreciation of politics,” which the cardinal described as a consequence “of incompetence, arrogance and widespread corruption,” which make the political class lose its credibility.
“However, despite its limitations and weaknesses, politics continues to be an important component of civic life in the democratic system. Hence, criticism and denunciation of evils and abuses is not enough. Imposed on today’s laity is the urgent task to discover the right and duty of active and responsible participation,” Cardinal Ryłko said.
The cardinal concluded the Pan-African Congress with the following words: “To all those who suffer we wish to say: you are not alone and abandoned! Christ is with you! The Church is with you!”
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
“We discovered its numerous spiritual resources, its great religious and human vitality and the vigorous missionary dynamism of its laity,” said the cardinal in the closing address of the continental congress, organized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity which he heads.
Moreover, Cardinal Ryłko stressed the fact that the formation of mature laity is not a privilege but rather a right and a duty in the Church. The cardinal also stressed that it is a matter of extreme urgency, and that the Church in Africa can rely on its many charisms and gifts of the Holy Spirit to give hope to those in need. He said one example, in particular, are the ecclesial movements, which he described as a “source of great missionary dynamism, and to the parishes, real schools of Christian life.”
“Africa is in extreme need of this kind of laity. To be witnesses of Christ at the heart of the world is not an easy task, as much courage is required to go against the current, given the prevailing cultural tendencies and, if one is to be in consonance with the Lord’s example, as a sign of contradiction,” he added.
According to Zenit, the Polish prelate also exhorted the Catholic laity to defend the dignity of human life reminding that such inalienable rights cannot be changed by any individual, group, authority or State because it is a supreme right that comes from God.
Entrusted to the African Catholic laity, Cardinal Ryłko said, is the task to “build the Kingdom of God in the world in which it lives, that is, in the family, in work, in the economy, in public life, in politics and in culture.”
The risks, he continued, are represented particularly by the phenomenon of “depreciation of politics,” which the cardinal described as a consequence “of incompetence, arrogance and widespread corruption,” which make the political class lose its credibility.
“However, despite its limitations and weaknesses, politics continues to be an important component of civic life in the democratic system. Hence, criticism and denunciation of evils and abuses is not enough. Imposed on today’s laity is the urgent task to discover the right and duty of active and responsible participation,” Cardinal Ryłko said.
The cardinal concluded the Pan-African Congress with the following words: “To all those who suffer we wish to say: you are not alone and abandoned! Christ is with you! The Church is with you!”
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS
ASIA : CHINA : CHURCH DESTROYED BY FIRE - ARSON
UCAN REPORT:
Unscrupulous
developers are prime suspects
The church was the last building standing in Caibang
village
Members of the congregation in a small city in
central China say their church may have been deliberately burned down at the end
of last week.
The church had been the only building left in Caibang village near Xiantao City, Hubei province, after it held firm when developers paid off locals to move out last year to make way for new apartments.
A local Catholic layman who declined to be identified accused developers of burning down houses in the area when the inhabitants were out, forcing them to accept compensation so construction could go ahead.
“Nobody shows any concern about such an evil practice,” she said.
Father Zhang Wei, a young priest of Hanyang diocese, reported the fire in his blog. He claimed that the developer did not offer compensation to the Church as promised, which would have allowed it to move to another site.
The wooden altar was burned to the ground while the roof was gutted by fire.
“Unless flammable liquids were sprinkled in the church, it would not have ignited easily,” he said.
He added that worshippers were forced to abandon the Church after Easter celebrations this year, when authorities cut off water and electricity supplies to the house.
Fr. Zhang also claimed that the police have so far failed to seriously investigate the fire.
The church was rebuilt in 1993 after being dismantled in 1953 during the political upheavals which marked the start of Mao Zedong’s Communist rule.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
The church had been the only building left in Caibang village near Xiantao City, Hubei province, after it held firm when developers paid off locals to move out last year to make way for new apartments.
A local Catholic layman who declined to be identified accused developers of burning down houses in the area when the inhabitants were out, forcing them to accept compensation so construction could go ahead.
“Nobody shows any concern about such an evil practice,” she said.
Father Zhang Wei, a young priest of Hanyang diocese, reported the fire in his blog. He claimed that the developer did not offer compensation to the Church as promised, which would have allowed it to move to another site.
The wooden altar was burned to the ground while the roof was gutted by fire.
“Unless flammable liquids were sprinkled in the church, it would not have ignited easily,” he said.
He added that worshippers were forced to abandon the Church after Easter celebrations this year, when authorities cut off water and electricity supplies to the house.
Fr. Zhang also claimed that the police have so far failed to seriously investigate the fire.
The church was rebuilt in 1993 after being dismantled in 1953 during the political upheavals which marked the start of Mao Zedong’s Communist rule.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
EUROPE : CHRISTIAN GROUP FREE ALBUM - OOBERFUSE
IND. CATH. NEWS REPORT:
|
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2012
| Luke
9: 23 - 26
| |
| 23 | And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. |
| 24 | For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. |
| 25 | For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? |
| 26 | For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. |
TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 17: ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE
St. Robert Bellarmine
DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Feast: September 17
Information:
Feast Day:
September 17
Born:
October 4, 1542, Montepulciano, Italy
Died:
September 17, 1621, Rome, Italy
Canonized:
June 29, 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Major Shrine:
Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio, Rome, Italy
Patron of:
Preparatory; canonists; canon lawyers; catechists; catechumens
A distinguished Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal, born at Montepulciano, 4 October, 1542; died 17 September, 1621. His father was Vincenzo Bellarmino, his mother Cinthia Cervini, sister of Cardinal Marcello Cervini, afterwards Pope Marcellus II. He was brought up at the newly founded Jesuit college in his native town, and entered the Society of Jesus on 20 September, 1560, being admitted to his first vows on the following day. The next three years he spent in studying philosophy at the Roman College, after which he taught the humanities first at Florence, then at Mondovì. In 1567 he began his theology at Padua, but in 1569 was sent to finish it at Louvain, where he could obtain a fuller acquaintance with the prevailing heresies. Having been ordained there, he quickly obtained a reputation both as a professor and a preacher, in the latter capacity drawing to his pulpit both Catholics and Protestants, even from distant parts. In 1576 he was recalled to Italy, and entrusted with the chair of Controversies recently founded at the Roman College. He proved himself equal to the arduous task, and the lectures thus delivered grew into the work "De Controversiis" which, amidst so much else of excellence, forms the chief title to his greatness. This monumental work was the earliest attempt to systematize the various controversies of thetime, and made an immense impression throughout Europe, the blow it dealt to Protestantism being so acutely felt in Germany and England that special chairs were founded in order to provide replies to it. Nor has it even yet been superseded as the classical book on its subject-matter, though, as was to be expected, the progress ofcriticism has impaired the value of some of its historical arguments.
In 1588 Bellarmine was made Spiritual Father to the Roman College, but in 1590 he went with Cardinal Gaetano as theologian to the embassy Sixtus V was then sending into France to protect the interests of the Church amidst the troubles of the civil wars. Whilst he was there news reached him that Sixtus, who had warmly accepted the dedication of his "De Controversiis", was now proposing to put its first volume on the Index. This was because he had discovered that it assigned to the Holy See not a direct but only an indirect power over temporals. Bellarmine, whose loyalty to the Holy See was intense, took this greatly to heart; it was, however, averted by the death of Sixtus, and the new pope, Gregory XIV, even granted to Bellarmine's work the distinction of a special approbation. Gaetano's mission now terminating, Bellarmine resumed his work as Spiritual Father, and had the consolation of guiding the last years of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who died in the Roman College in 1591. Many years later he had the further consolation of successfully promoting the beatification of the saintly youth. Likewise at this time he sat on the final commission for the revision of the Vulgate text. This revision had been desired by the Council of Trent, and subsequent popes had laboured over the task and had almost brought it to completion. But Sixtus V, though unskilled in this branch of criticism, had introduced alterations of his own, all for the worse. He had even gone so far as to have an impression of this vitiated edition printed and partially distributed, together with the proposed Bull enforcing its use. He died, however, before the actual promulgation, and his immediate successors at once proceeded to remove the blunders and call in the defective impression. The difficulty was how to substitute a more correct edition without affixing a stigma to the name of Sixtus, and Bellarmine proposed that the new edition should continue in the name of Sixtus, with a prefatory explanation that, on account of aliqua vitia vel typographorum vel aliorum which had crept in, Sixtus had himself resolved that a new impression should be undertaken. The suggestion was accepted, and Bellarmine himself wrote the preface, still prefixed to the Clementine edition ever since in use. On the other hand, he has been accused of untruthfulness in stating that Sixtus had resolved on a new impression. But his testimony, as there is no evidence to the contrary, should be accepted as decisive, seeing howconscientious a man he was in the estimation of his contemporaries; and the more so since it cannot be impugned without casting a slur on thecharacter of his fellow-commissioners who accepted his suggestion, and of Clement VIII who with full knowledge of the facts gave his sanction to Bellarmine's preface being prefixed to the new edition. Besides, Angelo Rocca, the Secretary of the revisory commissions of Sixtus V and the succeeding pontiffs, himself wrote a draft preface for the new edition in which he makes the same statement: (Sixtus) "dum errores ex typographiâ ortos, et mutationes omnes, atque varias hominum opiniones recognoscere cœpit, ut postea de toto negotio deliberare atque Vulgatam editionem, prout debebat, publicare posset, morte præventus quod cœperat perficere non potuit". This draft preface, to which Bellarmine's was preferred, is still extant, attached to the copy of the Sixtine edition in which the Clementine corrections are marked, and may be seen in the Biblioteca Angelica at Rome.
In 1592 Bellarmine was made Rector of the Roman College, and in 1595 Provincial of Naples. In 1597 Clement VIII recalled him to Rome and made him his own theologian and likewise Examiner of Bishops and Consultor of the Holy Office. Further, in 1599 he made him Cardinal-Priest of the title of Santa Maria in viâ, alleging as his reason for this promotion that "the Church of God had not his equal in learning". He was now appointed, along with the Dominican Cardinal d'Ascoli, an assessor to Cardinal Madruzzi, the President of the Congregation de Auxiliis, which had been instituted shortly before to settle the controversy which had recently arisen between the Thomists and the Molinists concerning the nature of the concord between efficacious grace and human liberty. Bellarmine's advice was from the first that the doctrinal question should not be decided authoritatively, but left over for further discussion in the schools, the disputants on either side being strictly forbidden to indulge in censures or condemnations of their adversaries. Clement VIII at first inclined to this view, but afterwards changed completely and determined on a doctrinal definition. Bellarmine's presence then became embarrassing, and he appointed him to the Archbishopric of Capua just then vacant. This is sometimes spoken of as the cardinal's disgrace, but Clement consecrated him with his own hands--an honour which the popes usually accord as a mark of special regard. The new archbishop departed at once for his see, and during the next three years set a bright example of pastoral zeal in its administration.
In 1605 Clement VIII died, and was succeeded by Leo XI who reigned only twenty-six days, and then by Paul V. In both conclaves, especially that latter, the name of Bellarmine was much before the electors, greatly to his own distress, but his quality as a Jesuit stood against him in the judgment of many of the cardinals. The new pope insisted on keeping him at Rome, and the cardinal, obediently complying, demanded that at least he should be released from an episcopal charge the duties of which he could no longer fulfil. He was now made a member of the Holy Office and of other congregations, and thenceforth was the chief advisor of the Holy See in the theological department of its administration. Of the particular transactions with which his name is most generally associated the following were the most important: The inquiry de Auxiliis, which after all Clement had not seen his way to decide, was now terminated with a settlement on the lines of Bellarmine's original suggestion. 1606 marked the beginning of the quarrel between the Holy See and the Republic of Venice which, without even consulting the pope, had presumed to abrogate the law of clerical exemption from civil jurisdiction and to withdraw the Church's right to hold real property. The quarrel led to a war of pamphlets in which the part of the Republic was sustained by John Marsiglio and an apostate monk named Paolo Sarpi, and that of the Holy See by Bellarmine and Baronius. Contemporaneous with the Venetian episode was that of the English Oath of Alliance. In 1606, in addition to the grave disabilities which already weighed them down, the English Catholics were required under pain of prœmunire to take an oath of allegiance craftily worded in such wise that a Catholic in refusing to take it might appear to be disavowing an undoubted civl obligation, whilst if he should take it he would be not merely rejecting but even condemning as "impious and heretical" the doctrine of the deposing power, that is to say, of a power, which, whether rightly or wrongly, the Holy See had claimed and exercised for centuries with the full approval of Christendom, and which even in that age the mass of the theologians of Europe defended. The Holy See having forbidden Catholics to take this oath, King James himself came forward as its defender, in a book entitled "Tripoli nodo triplex cuneus", to which Bellarmine replied in his "Responsio Matthfi Torti". Other treatises followed on either side, and the result of one, written in denial of the deposing power by William Barclay, an English jurist resident in France, was that Bellarmine's reply to it was branded by the Regalist Parlement of Paris. Thus it came to pass that, for following the via media of the indirect power, he was condemned in 1590 as too much of a Regalist and in 1605 as too much of a Papalist.
Bellarmine did not live to deal with the later and more serious stage of the Galileo case, but in 1615 he took part in its earlier stage. He had always shown great interest in the discoveries of that investigator, and was on terms of friendly correspondence with him. He took up too--as is witnessed by his letter to Galileo's friend Foscarini--exactly the right attitude towards scientific theories in seeming contradiction with Scripture. If, as was undoubtedly the case then with Galileo's heliocentric theory, a scientific theory is insufficiently proved, it should be advanced only as an hypothesis; but if, as is the case with this theory now, it is solidly demonstrated, care must be taken to interpretScripture only in accordance with it. When the Holy Office condemned the heliocentric theory, by an excess in the opposite direction, it becameBellarmine's official duty to signify the condemnation to Galileo, and receive his submission. Bellarmine lived to see one more conclave, that which elected Gregory XV (February, 1621). His health was now failing, and in the summer of the same year he was permitted to retire to Sant' Andrea and prepare for the end. His death was most edifying and was a fitting termination to a life which had been no less remarkable for its virtues than for its achievements.
His spirit of prayer, his singular delicacy of conscience and freedom from sin, his spirit of humility and poverty, together with the disinterestedness which he displayed as much under the cardinal's robes as under the Jesuit's gown, his lavish charity to the poor, and his devotedness to work, had combined to impress those who knew him intimately with the feeling that he was of the number of the saints. Accordingly, when he died there was a general expectation that his cause would be promptly introduced. And so it was, under Urban VIII in 1627, when he became entitled to the appellation of Venerable. But a technical obstacle, arising out of Urban VIII's own general legislation in regard to beatifications, required its prorogation at that time. Though it was reintroduced on several occasions (1675, 1714, 1752, and 1832), and though on each occasion the great preponderance of votes was in favour of the beatification, a successful issue came only after many years. This was partly because of the influential character of some of those who recorded adverse votes, Barbarigo, Casante, and Azzolino in 1675, and Passionei in 1752, but still more for reasons of political expediency, Bellarmine's name being closely associated with a doctrine of papal authority most obnoxious to the Regalist politicians of the French Court. "We have said", wrote Benedict XIV to Cardinal de Tencin, "in confidence to the General of the Jesuits that the delay of the Cause has come not from the petty matters laid to his charge by Cardinal Passionei, but from the sad circumstances of the times" (Études Religieuses, 15 April, 1896).
[Note: St. Robert Bellarmine was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and declared a Doctor of the Universal Church in 1931. He is the patron saint of catechists.]
SOURCEDOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Feast: September 17
Information:
Feast Day:
September 17
Born:
October 4, 1542, Montepulciano, Italy
Died:
September 17, 1621, Rome, Italy
Canonized:
June 29, 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI
Major Shrine:
Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio, Rome, Italy
Patron of:
Preparatory; canonists; canon lawyers; catechists; catechumens
A distinguished Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal, born at Montepulciano, 4 October, 1542; died 17 September, 1621. His father was Vincenzo Bellarmino, his mother Cinthia Cervini, sister of Cardinal Marcello Cervini, afterwards Pope Marcellus II. He was brought up at the newly founded Jesuit college in his native town, and entered the Society of Jesus on 20 September, 1560, being admitted to his first vows on the following day. The next three years he spent in studying philosophy at the Roman College, after which he taught the humanities first at Florence, then at Mondovì. In 1567 he began his theology at Padua, but in 1569 was sent to finish it at Louvain, where he could obtain a fuller acquaintance with the prevailing heresies. Having been ordained there, he quickly obtained a reputation both as a professor and a preacher, in the latter capacity drawing to his pulpit both Catholics and Protestants, even from distant parts. In 1576 he was recalled to Italy, and entrusted with the chair of Controversies recently founded at the Roman College. He proved himself equal to the arduous task, and the lectures thus delivered grew into the work "De Controversiis" which, amidst so much else of excellence, forms the chief title to his greatness. This monumental work was the earliest attempt to systematize the various controversies of thetime, and made an immense impression throughout Europe, the blow it dealt to Protestantism being so acutely felt in Germany and England that special chairs were founded in order to provide replies to it. Nor has it even yet been superseded as the classical book on its subject-matter, though, as was to be expected, the progress ofcriticism has impaired the value of some of its historical arguments.
In 1588 Bellarmine was made Spiritual Father to the Roman College, but in 1590 he went with Cardinal Gaetano as theologian to the embassy Sixtus V was then sending into France to protect the interests of the Church amidst the troubles of the civil wars. Whilst he was there news reached him that Sixtus, who had warmly accepted the dedication of his "De Controversiis", was now proposing to put its first volume on the Index. This was because he had discovered that it assigned to the Holy See not a direct but only an indirect power over temporals. Bellarmine, whose loyalty to the Holy See was intense, took this greatly to heart; it was, however, averted by the death of Sixtus, and the new pope, Gregory XIV, even granted to Bellarmine's work the distinction of a special approbation. Gaetano's mission now terminating, Bellarmine resumed his work as Spiritual Father, and had the consolation of guiding the last years of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who died in the Roman College in 1591. Many years later he had the further consolation of successfully promoting the beatification of the saintly youth. Likewise at this time he sat on the final commission for the revision of the Vulgate text. This revision had been desired by the Council of Trent, and subsequent popes had laboured over the task and had almost brought it to completion. But Sixtus V, though unskilled in this branch of criticism, had introduced alterations of his own, all for the worse. He had even gone so far as to have an impression of this vitiated edition printed and partially distributed, together with the proposed Bull enforcing its use. He died, however, before the actual promulgation, and his immediate successors at once proceeded to remove the blunders and call in the defective impression. The difficulty was how to substitute a more correct edition without affixing a stigma to the name of Sixtus, and Bellarmine proposed that the new edition should continue in the name of Sixtus, with a prefatory explanation that, on account of aliqua vitia vel typographorum vel aliorum which had crept in, Sixtus had himself resolved that a new impression should be undertaken. The suggestion was accepted, and Bellarmine himself wrote the preface, still prefixed to the Clementine edition ever since in use. On the other hand, he has been accused of untruthfulness in stating that Sixtus had resolved on a new impression. But his testimony, as there is no evidence to the contrary, should be accepted as decisive, seeing howconscientious a man he was in the estimation of his contemporaries; and the more so since it cannot be impugned without casting a slur on thecharacter of his fellow-commissioners who accepted his suggestion, and of Clement VIII who with full knowledge of the facts gave his sanction to Bellarmine's preface being prefixed to the new edition. Besides, Angelo Rocca, the Secretary of the revisory commissions of Sixtus V and the succeeding pontiffs, himself wrote a draft preface for the new edition in which he makes the same statement: (Sixtus) "dum errores ex typographiâ ortos, et mutationes omnes, atque varias hominum opiniones recognoscere cœpit, ut postea de toto negotio deliberare atque Vulgatam editionem, prout debebat, publicare posset, morte præventus quod cœperat perficere non potuit". This draft preface, to which Bellarmine's was preferred, is still extant, attached to the copy of the Sixtine edition in which the Clementine corrections are marked, and may be seen in the Biblioteca Angelica at Rome.
In 1592 Bellarmine was made Rector of the Roman College, and in 1595 Provincial of Naples. In 1597 Clement VIII recalled him to Rome and made him his own theologian and likewise Examiner of Bishops and Consultor of the Holy Office. Further, in 1599 he made him Cardinal-Priest of the title of Santa Maria in viâ, alleging as his reason for this promotion that "the Church of God had not his equal in learning". He was now appointed, along with the Dominican Cardinal d'Ascoli, an assessor to Cardinal Madruzzi, the President of the Congregation de Auxiliis, which had been instituted shortly before to settle the controversy which had recently arisen between the Thomists and the Molinists concerning the nature of the concord between efficacious grace and human liberty. Bellarmine's advice was from the first that the doctrinal question should not be decided authoritatively, but left over for further discussion in the schools, the disputants on either side being strictly forbidden to indulge in censures or condemnations of their adversaries. Clement VIII at first inclined to this view, but afterwards changed completely and determined on a doctrinal definition. Bellarmine's presence then became embarrassing, and he appointed him to the Archbishopric of Capua just then vacant. This is sometimes spoken of as the cardinal's disgrace, but Clement consecrated him with his own hands--an honour which the popes usually accord as a mark of special regard. The new archbishop departed at once for his see, and during the next three years set a bright example of pastoral zeal in its administration.
In 1605 Clement VIII died, and was succeeded by Leo XI who reigned only twenty-six days, and then by Paul V. In both conclaves, especially that latter, the name of Bellarmine was much before the electors, greatly to his own distress, but his quality as a Jesuit stood against him in the judgment of many of the cardinals. The new pope insisted on keeping him at Rome, and the cardinal, obediently complying, demanded that at least he should be released from an episcopal charge the duties of which he could no longer fulfil. He was now made a member of the Holy Office and of other congregations, and thenceforth was the chief advisor of the Holy See in the theological department of its administration. Of the particular transactions with which his name is most generally associated the following were the most important: The inquiry de Auxiliis, which after all Clement had not seen his way to decide, was now terminated with a settlement on the lines of Bellarmine's original suggestion. 1606 marked the beginning of the quarrel between the Holy See and the Republic of Venice which, without even consulting the pope, had presumed to abrogate the law of clerical exemption from civil jurisdiction and to withdraw the Church's right to hold real property. The quarrel led to a war of pamphlets in which the part of the Republic was sustained by John Marsiglio and an apostate monk named Paolo Sarpi, and that of the Holy See by Bellarmine and Baronius. Contemporaneous with the Venetian episode was that of the English Oath of Alliance. In 1606, in addition to the grave disabilities which already weighed them down, the English Catholics were required under pain of prœmunire to take an oath of allegiance craftily worded in such wise that a Catholic in refusing to take it might appear to be disavowing an undoubted civl obligation, whilst if he should take it he would be not merely rejecting but even condemning as "impious and heretical" the doctrine of the deposing power, that is to say, of a power, which, whether rightly or wrongly, the Holy See had claimed and exercised for centuries with the full approval of Christendom, and which even in that age the mass of the theologians of Europe defended. The Holy See having forbidden Catholics to take this oath, King James himself came forward as its defender, in a book entitled "Tripoli nodo triplex cuneus", to which Bellarmine replied in his "Responsio Matthfi Torti". Other treatises followed on either side, and the result of one, written in denial of the deposing power by William Barclay, an English jurist resident in France, was that Bellarmine's reply to it was branded by the Regalist Parlement of Paris. Thus it came to pass that, for following the via media of the indirect power, he was condemned in 1590 as too much of a Regalist and in 1605 as too much of a Papalist.
Bellarmine did not live to deal with the later and more serious stage of the Galileo case, but in 1615 he took part in its earlier stage. He had always shown great interest in the discoveries of that investigator, and was on terms of friendly correspondence with him. He took up too--as is witnessed by his letter to Galileo's friend Foscarini--exactly the right attitude towards scientific theories in seeming contradiction with Scripture. If, as was undoubtedly the case then with Galileo's heliocentric theory, a scientific theory is insufficiently proved, it should be advanced only as an hypothesis; but if, as is the case with this theory now, it is solidly demonstrated, care must be taken to interpretScripture only in accordance with it. When the Holy Office condemned the heliocentric theory, by an excess in the opposite direction, it becameBellarmine's official duty to signify the condemnation to Galileo, and receive his submission. Bellarmine lived to see one more conclave, that which elected Gregory XV (February, 1621). His health was now failing, and in the summer of the same year he was permitted to retire to Sant' Andrea and prepare for the end. His death was most edifying and was a fitting termination to a life which had been no less remarkable for its virtues than for its achievements.
His spirit of prayer, his singular delicacy of conscience and freedom from sin, his spirit of humility and poverty, together with the disinterestedness which he displayed as much under the cardinal's robes as under the Jesuit's gown, his lavish charity to the poor, and his devotedness to work, had combined to impress those who knew him intimately with the feeling that he was of the number of the saints. Accordingly, when he died there was a general expectation that his cause would be promptly introduced. And so it was, under Urban VIII in 1627, when he became entitled to the appellation of Venerable. But a technical obstacle, arising out of Urban VIII's own general legislation in regard to beatifications, required its prorogation at that time. Though it was reintroduced on several occasions (1675, 1714, 1752, and 1832), and though on each occasion the great preponderance of votes was in favour of the beatification, a successful issue came only after many years. This was partly because of the influential character of some of those who recorded adverse votes, Barbarigo, Casante, and Azzolino in 1675, and Passionei in 1752, but still more for reasons of political expediency, Bellarmine's name being closely associated with a doctrine of papal authority most obnoxious to the Regalist politicians of the French Court. "We have said", wrote Benedict XIV to Cardinal de Tencin, "in confidence to the General of the Jesuits that the delay of the Cause has come not from the petty matters laid to his charge by Cardinal Passionei, but from the sad circumstances of the times" (Études Religieuses, 15 April, 1896).
[Note: St. Robert Bellarmine was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and declared a Doctor of the Universal Church in 1931. He is the patron saint of catechists.]
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