ASIA NEWS REPORT:
Celebrating Corpus Domini, Benedict XVI emphasizes two
aspects, that are connected, of the mystery of the Eucharist: the worship of the
Eucharist and its sacredness. A "unilateral interpretation" of Vatican II
"penalized" Eucharistic adoration, "pratically reducing the Eucharist to the
moment of its celebration." It is "wrong to oppose the celebration and
adoration." (IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)
Parents who "in the name of a desacralized faith, would deprive their children of all religious rituals: in fact they would end up leaving the field open to many surrogates in the consumer society, with other rites and other signs, which more easily could become idols." It is the "educational" role of the sacred, of which Benedict XVI spoke today, celebrating, in front of the basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, the Corpus Domini. Following the liturgy, the Pope led the solemn procession to the basilica of Saint Mary Major.
The Pope addressed the theme of the sacred by examining "two aspects, that are connected, of the mystery of the Eucharist: the worship of the Eucharist and its sacredness". A "unilateral interpretation" of Vatican II, Benedict XVI noted, has "penalized" Eucharistic adoration, "practically reducing the Eucharist to the moment of its celebration. In fact, it has been very important to recognize the centrality of the celebration, in which the Lord calls his people, he gathers it around the twofold table of the Word and the Bread of life, nourishes it and unites it to Himself in the offering of the Sacrifice. This enhancement of the liturgical assembly, in which the Lord works and realizes the mystery of communion, of course, remains valid, but it must be placed in proper balance. In fact - as often happens - to highlight one aspect, you end up sacrificing another. In this case, the emphasis placed on the celebration of the Eucharist has been to the detriment of worship, as an act of faith and prayer to the Lord Jesus, truly present in the sacrament of the altar. This imbalance has also had an impact on the spiritual life of the faithful. In fact, focusing the whole relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist only during Holy Mass, we risk emptying of his presence the rest of the time and space of existence. And so you feel less a sense of the constant presence of Jesus among us and with us, a concrete presence, nearby, including our homes, as a "beating heart" of the city, the country, the territory with its various expressions and activities. The Sacrament of the Charity of Christ must permeate all of daily life."
"In reality, it is wrong to oppose the celebration and adoration, as if they were in competition with each other. It's just the opposite: the cult of the Blessed Sacrament is constituted as the spiritual 'environment' within which the community can celebrate the Eucharist well and in truth. Only if it is preceded, accompanied and followed by this inner attitude of faith and worship, can the liturgical action express its full meaning and value. The encounter with Jesus in the Holy Mass is accomplished truly and fully when the community is able to recognize that he, in the Sacrament, inhabits his house, waiting for us, he invites us to his table, and then, after the assembly is dissolved, remains with us, with his discreet and silent presence, and accompanies us with his intercession, continuing to gather our spiritual sacrifices and offer them to the Father."
"Now let me turn briefly to the second aspect: the sacredness of the Eucharist. Here again we have suffered in the recent past a certain misunderstanding of the authentic message of Sacred Scripture. The Christian novelty with respect to worship has been influenced by a certain secularist mentality of the sixties and seventies of last century. It is true, and it remains valid, that the center of worship now is no longer in the rites and the ancient sacrifices, but in Christ himself, in his person, his life, in his paschal mystery. And yet from this fundamental innovation one should not conclude that the sacred no longer exists, but rather that it has found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, Divine Love Incarnate."
Jesus, "high priest of good things to come ","did not abolish the sacred, but he has brought it to fulfillment, inaugurating a new cult, which is so fully spiritual, but which, as long as we journey through time, still makes use of signs and rites, which will cease only at the end, in the heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be no temple. Because of Christ, the sacredness is more real, more intense, and, as with the commandments, even more demanding! Mere ritual observance is not enough; it requires the purification of the heart and the involvement of life."
"I also like to emphasize that the sacred has an educational function, and its disappearance inevitably impoverishes culture, in particular the formation of new generations. If, for example, in the name of a secular faith that no longer needs sacred signs, this Corpus Domini procession throug the city was abolished, the spiritual profile of Rome would be "flattened", and our personal and communitarian consciousness would be weakened. Or, we may think of a mother and father who, in the name of a desacralized faith, would deprive their children of all religious rituals: in fact they would end up leaving the field open to many surrogates in the consumer society, with other rites and other signs, which more easily could become idols. God our Father, has not done so with humanity: he sent his Son into the world not to abolish, but to bring to completion even the sacred. At the height of this mission, in the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood, the memorial of his paschal sacrifice. In so doing he put himself in the place of the ancient sacrifices, but he did it within a ritual, which he commanded the apostles to perpetuate, as the supreme sign of the true Sacredness, which is He himself. With this faith, dear brothers and sisters, today and every day we celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist and worship him as the center of our lives and the heart of the world."
Parents who "in the name of a desacralized faith, would deprive their children of all religious rituals: in fact they would end up leaving the field open to many surrogates in the consumer society, with other rites and other signs, which more easily could become idols." It is the "educational" role of the sacred, of which Benedict XVI spoke today, celebrating, in front of the basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, the Corpus Domini. Following the liturgy, the Pope led the solemn procession to the basilica of Saint Mary Major.
The Pope addressed the theme of the sacred by examining "two aspects, that are connected, of the mystery of the Eucharist: the worship of the Eucharist and its sacredness". A "unilateral interpretation" of Vatican II, Benedict XVI noted, has "penalized" Eucharistic adoration, "practically reducing the Eucharist to the moment of its celebration. In fact, it has been very important to recognize the centrality of the celebration, in which the Lord calls his people, he gathers it around the twofold table of the Word and the Bread of life, nourishes it and unites it to Himself in the offering of the Sacrifice. This enhancement of the liturgical assembly, in which the Lord works and realizes the mystery of communion, of course, remains valid, but it must be placed in proper balance. In fact - as often happens - to highlight one aspect, you end up sacrificing another. In this case, the emphasis placed on the celebration of the Eucharist has been to the detriment of worship, as an act of faith and prayer to the Lord Jesus, truly present in the sacrament of the altar. This imbalance has also had an impact on the spiritual life of the faithful. In fact, focusing the whole relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist only during Holy Mass, we risk emptying of his presence the rest of the time and space of existence. And so you feel less a sense of the constant presence of Jesus among us and with us, a concrete presence, nearby, including our homes, as a "beating heart" of the city, the country, the territory with its various expressions and activities. The Sacrament of the Charity of Christ must permeate all of daily life."
"In reality, it is wrong to oppose the celebration and adoration, as if they were in competition with each other. It's just the opposite: the cult of the Blessed Sacrament is constituted as the spiritual 'environment' within which the community can celebrate the Eucharist well and in truth. Only if it is preceded, accompanied and followed by this inner attitude of faith and worship, can the liturgical action express its full meaning and value. The encounter with Jesus in the Holy Mass is accomplished truly and fully when the community is able to recognize that he, in the Sacrament, inhabits his house, waiting for us, he invites us to his table, and then, after the assembly is dissolved, remains with us, with his discreet and silent presence, and accompanies us with his intercession, continuing to gather our spiritual sacrifices and offer them to the Father."
"Now let me turn briefly to the second aspect: the sacredness of the Eucharist. Here again we have suffered in the recent past a certain misunderstanding of the authentic message of Sacred Scripture. The Christian novelty with respect to worship has been influenced by a certain secularist mentality of the sixties and seventies of last century. It is true, and it remains valid, that the center of worship now is no longer in the rites and the ancient sacrifices, but in Christ himself, in his person, his life, in his paschal mystery. And yet from this fundamental innovation one should not conclude that the sacred no longer exists, but rather that it has found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, Divine Love Incarnate."
Jesus, "high priest of good things to come ","did not abolish the sacred, but he has brought it to fulfillment, inaugurating a new cult, which is so fully spiritual, but which, as long as we journey through time, still makes use of signs and rites, which will cease only at the end, in the heavenly Jerusalem, where there will be no temple. Because of Christ, the sacredness is more real, more intense, and, as with the commandments, even more demanding! Mere ritual observance is not enough; it requires the purification of the heart and the involvement of life."
"I also like to emphasize that the sacred has an educational function, and its disappearance inevitably impoverishes culture, in particular the formation of new generations. If, for example, in the name of a secular faith that no longer needs sacred signs, this Corpus Domini procession throug the city was abolished, the spiritual profile of Rome would be "flattened", and our personal and communitarian consciousness would be weakened. Or, we may think of a mother and father who, in the name of a desacralized faith, would deprive their children of all religious rituals: in fact they would end up leaving the field open to many surrogates in the consumer society, with other rites and other signs, which more easily could become idols. God our Father, has not done so with humanity: he sent his Son into the world not to abolish, but to bring to completion even the sacred. At the height of this mission, in the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood, the memorial of his paschal sacrifice. In so doing he put himself in the place of the ancient sacrifices, but he did it within a ritual, which he commanded the apostles to perpetuate, as the supreme sign of the true Sacredness, which is He himself. With this faith, dear brothers and sisters, today and every day we celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist and worship him as the center of our lives and the heart of the world."
AMERICA : CANDA : NEW COMMUNITY OF WOMEN : QUEENSHIP OF MARY
The Archdiocese of Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada has a new community of women religious. This order is called the
QUEENSHIP OF MARY. There were established on March 25, 2012 in the Cathedral of
Notre Dame, Ottawa with Archbishop Terry Pendergrast presiding. Five women
became members and made vows for a period of one year.Address: QUEENSHIP OF MARY COMMUNITY
PO BOX 23080, Ottawa, ONT, K2A4E2
thequeenshipofmary@gmail.com
PHONE: 613-601-5278
ASIA : NEW FILM ON JESUIT MISSIONARY BISHOP ALBERTUS OF INDONESIA
ASIA NEWS REPORT: by Mathias
Hariyadi
The film focuses on the life and mission of Mgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, first indigenous and native bishop celebrated in the struggle for independence. Three years of study, two months of writing and filming, which involved 2,700 actors and actresses. Polemics of the Islamists: it's an excuse to spread Christianity in a Muslim country.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The Indonesian Catholics can now watch the premiere of the documentary film "Soegija", centered on the life of the deceased "national hero" Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, the first indigenous native to hold the office of bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang. The film is produced by SAV Puskat Yogyakarta, an audio-visual company set up by the Jesuits, and is shot almost entirely in central Java (click here to see the trailer of the film
Two months of preparations needed to shoot the scenes, while the camera work lasted about a month and involved 2,700 actors and actresses, foreigners and Indonesians. However, the film has sparked a "dispute" with the Islamic fundamentalist wing, which speaks of a "gimmick" of the Catholic Church - the film - to spread Christianity in a country with overwhelming Muslim majority.
Bishop Albertus is known and revered among the faithful under the motto "100% Catholic, 100% Indonesian." The making of the documentary took three years of study and research, undertaken first by Jesuit priest Fr. Gregorius Subanar SJ who received his doctorate at the Gregorian University. And now, to the delight of the local Catholic community, the premiere is taking place in theaters and cinemas.
Bishop Albertus Soegijapranata SJ was born November 25, 1896 in Surakarta, in Central Java. he was an early student of the Dutch Jesuit missionary Fr. van Lith SJ, who has sown the seeds of Christianity in the province in the early '900. Ordained a bishop in 1940, he is considered a national hero and proclaimed that Sukarno, first president of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia in the aftermath of achieving independence. The prelate received the honorary title just three days before his death, which occurred in Holland in 1963, in a moment of brief vacation from the work of Vatican II.
The first native indigenous bishop he defended the invasion of the local Church against Japanese troops during the conflict, in the years 1942 to 1945. He openly defied the soldiers, urging them to cut off his head rather than give in order to leave the cathedral of Semarang. Achieved independence from Tokyo August 17, 1945, Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ immediately requested the recognition of the country at the Vatican, his effort was rewarded by Pope Pius XII and the Holy See, among the first foreign nations to recognize the independence of Indonesia in the international scene.
And it is thanks to him that two important centers for the study of Christian faith and the preparation of future priests have arisen in central Java: the minor seminary of St. Peter Canisius in Mertoyudan (see AsiaNews 04/06/12 Indonesian Catholics celebrate the centennial of first minor seminary) and the major seminary of St. Paul in Yogyakarta.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
The film focuses on the life and mission of Mgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, first indigenous and native bishop celebrated in the struggle for independence. Three years of study, two months of writing and filming, which involved 2,700 actors and actresses. Polemics of the Islamists: it's an excuse to spread Christianity in a Muslim country.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The Indonesian Catholics can now watch the premiere of the documentary film "Soegija", centered on the life of the deceased "national hero" Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, the first indigenous native to hold the office of bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang. The film is produced by SAV Puskat Yogyakarta, an audio-visual company set up by the Jesuits, and is shot almost entirely in central Java (click here to see the trailer of the film
Two months of preparations needed to shoot the scenes, while the camera work lasted about a month and involved 2,700 actors and actresses, foreigners and Indonesians. However, the film has sparked a "dispute" with the Islamic fundamentalist wing, which speaks of a "gimmick" of the Catholic Church - the film - to spread Christianity in a country with overwhelming Muslim majority.
Bishop Albertus is known and revered among the faithful under the motto "100% Catholic, 100% Indonesian." The making of the documentary took three years of study and research, undertaken first by Jesuit priest Fr. Gregorius Subanar SJ who received his doctorate at the Gregorian University. And now, to the delight of the local Catholic community, the premiere is taking place in theaters and cinemas.
Bishop Albertus Soegijapranata SJ was born November 25, 1896 in Surakarta, in Central Java. he was an early student of the Dutch Jesuit missionary Fr. van Lith SJ, who has sown the seeds of Christianity in the province in the early '900. Ordained a bishop in 1940, he is considered a national hero and proclaimed that Sukarno, first president of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia in the aftermath of achieving independence. The prelate received the honorary title just three days before his death, which occurred in Holland in 1963, in a moment of brief vacation from the work of Vatican II.
The first native indigenous bishop he defended the invasion of the local Church against Japanese troops during the conflict, in the years 1942 to 1945. He openly defied the soldiers, urging them to cut off his head rather than give in order to leave the cathedral of Semarang. Achieved independence from Tokyo August 17, 1945, Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ immediately requested the recognition of the country at the Vatican, his effort was rewarded by Pope Pius XII and the Holy See, among the first foreign nations to recognize the independence of Indonesia in the international scene.
And it is thanks to him that two important centers for the study of Christian faith and the preparation of future priests have arisen in central Java: the minor seminary of St. Peter Canisius in Mertoyudan (see AsiaNews 04/06/12 Indonesian Catholics celebrate the centennial of first minor seminary) and the major seminary of St. Paul in Yogyakarta.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
AUSTRALIA : ORDINARIATE ON 15 JUNE UNDER ST. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY
ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
RELEASE:
The Personal Ordinariate:
an historic moment
POPE Benedict XVI will
officially name Australia’s Personal Ordinariate Our Lady of the Southern Cross,
under the patronage of St Augustine of Canterbury, on 15 June.
Bishop Peter Elliott, project delegate for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the name of the Ordinary, the person who will lead the Ordinariate, would also be announced that day.
“The Ordinariate is a national diocese for former Anglicans who will enter full communion with the Catholic Church and yet retain their own heritage and traditions,” Bishop Elliott said.
“Many requests had come from groups to Rome in recent years, that is from Anglicans in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, who were deeply distressed at the ordination of women as priests and bishops and also most unhappy about other liberalising trends in the Anglican Communion.
“They requested that rather than being reconciled to the Church individually they might come to some corporate style of arrangement.
“I would encourage all the Catholics in Melbourne to take an interest in this new venture. It is an historical moment, of course it is small but from small things bigthings grow and I think this will have a remarkable future.”
Two main sources will make up the Ordinariate in Australia: members of the Anglican Church in Australia, the official Anglican denomination; and members of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, which is part of the breakaway Traditional Anglican Communion—people who left mainstream Anglicanism for the same reasons that they are now seeking ull communion with the Church.
“In Melbourne the Ordinariate community is drawn from several mainstream parishes and also from a small community of the Traditional Anglican Communion,” BishopElliott said.
“To these two main groups we can add their immediate relatives who may already be Catholic and there is a provision also for any Catholic who once was an Anglican, which is an interesting feature.”
He said they were not sure of the precise number of people likely to enter the Ordinariate at this stage.
“There are groups in every state who have been preparing for reconciliation; that is, taking special courses in the catechism of
the Catholic Church. The numbers are not clear at this stage, in the next week they will be clarified as admission forms circulate.
“Anglicans will have a choice. They can either come in and be official members of the Ordinariate. Or they can become Catholics and associate with the Ordinariate. Or they are free not to have anything to do with he Ordinariate, it’s their choice.”
All Catholics will be able to attend Mass and receive the sacraments celebrated within an Ordinariate parish.
Bishop Elliott said that the challenges that faced the Ordinariate at present were finance and property.
“In some places a church is already available for the Ordinariate but in most Catholic dioceses a church will have to be shared,” he said.
“In Melbourne it will be the Church of the Holy Cross in South Caulfield.
“The Ordinariate is part of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church; it’s not a distinct rite. It will have the privilege of a liturgy of its own.
“I am a member of the international commission preparing that liturgy. We are preparing a liturgy which draws upon the Roman Rite, the new rite and the old, plus various books of Common Prayer. This liturgy won’t be obligatory but it will be an option.”
Bishop Elliott has been following the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Britain closely.
“I am friends with the Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, and I was present at the first birthday celebrations at St James Spanish Place in January,” he said.
“It was a magnificent occasion, with a lot of optimism and hope. They have problems with sharing property with existing Catholic parishes but they are working these things through and generally they have had a very warm welcoming from the bishops and the lay faithful. I think it’s heading for about 100 clergy. It’s growing steadily in the UK.”
Bishop Elliott, who himself converted from the Anglican Church to Catholicism, said, “It’s very strange the providence of God in my
own life here, in a way that deeply moves me.
“There have been negative critics who have said ‘pigs will fly’; well at the Melbourne Ordinariate group meeting [recently], I was solemnly presented with a cast-iron pig with wings and we all cheered.
“It will not do harm to ecumenism because if these people are not happy where they are and seek full communion, let them have it. I think that is the attitude of the official Anglican authorities with whom we have spoken.”
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
Bishop Peter Elliott, project delegate for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the name of the Ordinary, the person who will lead the Ordinariate, would also be announced that day.
“The Ordinariate is a national diocese for former Anglicans who will enter full communion with the Catholic Church and yet retain their own heritage and traditions,” Bishop Elliott said.
“Many requests had come from groups to Rome in recent years, that is from Anglicans in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, who were deeply distressed at the ordination of women as priests and bishops and also most unhappy about other liberalising trends in the Anglican Communion.
“They requested that rather than being reconciled to the Church individually they might come to some corporate style of arrangement.
“I would encourage all the Catholics in Melbourne to take an interest in this new venture. It is an historical moment, of course it is small but from small things bigthings grow and I think this will have a remarkable future.”
Two main sources will make up the Ordinariate in Australia: members of the Anglican Church in Australia, the official Anglican denomination; and members of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, which is part of the breakaway Traditional Anglican Communion—people who left mainstream Anglicanism for the same reasons that they are now seeking ull communion with the Church.
“In Melbourne the Ordinariate community is drawn from several mainstream parishes and also from a small community of the Traditional Anglican Communion,” BishopElliott said.
“To these two main groups we can add their immediate relatives who may already be Catholic and there is a provision also for any Catholic who once was an Anglican, which is an interesting feature.”
He said they were not sure of the precise number of people likely to enter the Ordinariate at this stage.
“There are groups in every state who have been preparing for reconciliation; that is, taking special courses in the catechism of
the Catholic Church. The numbers are not clear at this stage, in the next week they will be clarified as admission forms circulate.
“Anglicans will have a choice. They can either come in and be official members of the Ordinariate. Or they can become Catholics and associate with the Ordinariate. Or they are free not to have anything to do with he Ordinariate, it’s their choice.”
All Catholics will be able to attend Mass and receive the sacraments celebrated within an Ordinariate parish.
Bishop Elliott said that the challenges that faced the Ordinariate at present were finance and property.
“In some places a church is already available for the Ordinariate but in most Catholic dioceses a church will have to be shared,” he said.
“In Melbourne it will be the Church of the Holy Cross in South Caulfield.
“The Ordinariate is part of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church; it’s not a distinct rite. It will have the privilege of a liturgy of its own.
“I am a member of the international commission preparing that liturgy. We are preparing a liturgy which draws upon the Roman Rite, the new rite and the old, plus various books of Common Prayer. This liturgy won’t be obligatory but it will be an option.”
Bishop Elliott has been following the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Britain closely.
“I am friends with the Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, and I was present at the first birthday celebrations at St James Spanish Place in January,” he said.
“It was a magnificent occasion, with a lot of optimism and hope. They have problems with sharing property with existing Catholic parishes but they are working these things through and generally they have had a very warm welcoming from the bishops and the lay faithful. I think it’s heading for about 100 clergy. It’s growing steadily in the UK.”
Bishop Elliott, who himself converted from the Anglican Church to Catholicism, said, “It’s very strange the providence of God in my
own life here, in a way that deeply moves me.
“There have been negative critics who have said ‘pigs will fly’; well at the Melbourne Ordinariate group meeting [recently], I was solemnly presented with a cast-iron pig with wings and we all cheered.
“It will not do harm to ecumenism because if these people are not happy where they are and seek full communion, let them have it. I think that is the attitude of the official Anglican authorities with whom we have spoken.”
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
AFRICA : KONY CHILD SOLDIERS ESCAPE AND WELCOMED BY DIOCESE
CISA REPORT:
BANGASSOU, June 5, 2012 (CISA) -For about 5 years, Rt
Rev Juan José Aguirre, the Bishop of Bangassou, has welcomed to his diocese
children who have succeeded in escaping from Joseph Kony, “the tyrant of child
soldiers”.
Kony has kidnapped 300 children so far in the Central African forest and together with his guerillas kill, assault, rape and torture people. Young girls are brutalized and raped for years by the group.
“When they manage to escape they are traumatized, terrified and with no self-esteem. Many are also pregnant,” said the Bishop.
Bishop Aguirre pointed out that everyone expects Kony to be arrested along with his soldiers. The Bishop, together with priests and religious women who work in the diocese, continue to risk their lives without any form of protection, even after reporting to have witnessed scenes of violence perpetrated by the rebels against innocent children.
And in support to the diocese, the Fundación Bangassou was established in Cordoba (Spain) with the help of Bishop Aguirre and has helped in funding 25 major projects, including the distribution of powdered milk intended for children who cannot be breastfed by their mothers because they have died or have AIDS.
According to Fides, Other projects include the “Good Samaritan”, a home for the terminally ill with AIDS, a leper colony, a children’s ward and a center for malnourished children. With regard to schooling, the Foundation has provided a school run by the pupils’ parents for each mission. There are already about eight thousand children who are attending school in the diocese. The “Orphans” project cares for 1,100 children, who are affected due to AIDS
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS AFRICA
Kony has kidnapped 300 children so far in the Central African forest and together with his guerillas kill, assault, rape and torture people. Young girls are brutalized and raped for years by the group.
“When they manage to escape they are traumatized, terrified and with no self-esteem. Many are also pregnant,” said the Bishop.
Bishop Aguirre pointed out that everyone expects Kony to be arrested along with his soldiers. The Bishop, together with priests and religious women who work in the diocese, continue to risk their lives without any form of protection, even after reporting to have witnessed scenes of violence perpetrated by the rebels against innocent children.
And in support to the diocese, the Fundación Bangassou was established in Cordoba (Spain) with the help of Bishop Aguirre and has helped in funding 25 major projects, including the distribution of powdered milk intended for children who cannot be breastfed by their mothers because they have died or have AIDS.
According to Fides, Other projects include the “Good Samaritan”, a home for the terminally ill with AIDS, a leper colony, a children’s ward and a center for malnourished children. With regard to schooling, the Foundation has provided a school run by the pupils’ parents for each mission. There are already about eight thousand children who are attending school in the diocese. The “Orphans” project cares for 1,100 children, who are affected due to AIDS
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS AFRICA
EUROPE : SSPX LEADER - NOT IN AGREEMENT DOCTRINALLY
CATHOLIC HEARALD REPORT:
By Cindy
Wooden on Thursday, 7 June 2012
Bishop Fellay (CNS
photo)
The leader of the traditionalist Society of St Pius X
has said talks with the Vatican demonstrate that “Rome no longer makes total
acceptance” of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council a condition for his
group’s full reconciliation with the Church.
Accepting the Council’s teaching is no longer “a prerequisite for the canonical solution” of the status of the society, according to Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the SSPX.
In an interview published today on the society’s news site, www.dici.org, Bishop Fellay said it was the Vatican that approached the society, and not the society that went to the Vatican, asking to begin the talks.
“So the attitude of the official Church is what changed; we did not,” he said. “We were not the ones who asked for an agreement; the Pope is the one who wants to recognise us.”
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications that had been incurred by Bishop Fellay and other SSPX bishops when they were ordained without papal permission 11 years earlier. Also in 2009, the Pope established a Vatican committee to hold doctrinal talks with society representatives.
In September 2011, the Vatican gave Bishop Fellay a “doctrinal preamble” outlining “some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity” to the formal teaching of the Church. Neither the Vatican nor the SSPX has made the text public, but the Vatican said it leaves room for “legitimate discussion” about “individual expressions or formulations present in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the successive magisterium” of the Church.
Bishop Fellay submitted his first response to the document in March, but the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval of Pope Benedict, defined it as “insufficient”. The bishop gave the Vatican his second response in April and, as of June 7, it was still under study at the Vatican.
In the interview on the SSPX website, Bishop Fellay said: “We are still not in agreement doctrinally, and yet the Pope wants to recognise us. Why? The answer is right in front of us: there are terribly important problems in the Church today.”
The reconciliation talks, he said, are a sign that the Catholic Church has begun to recognise it needs to recover traditions and traditional teaching eclipsed by the Second Vatican Council. If the SSPX were to reconcile fully with the Church, Bishop Fellay said, its members would continue to denounce “doctrinal difficulties” in the Church, but would do so while also providing “tangible signs of the vitality of tradition” in its growing membership and vocation rate.
Speaking to members of the SSPX who are wary of reconciliation, Bishop Fellay said “one of the great dangers is to end up inventing an idea of the Church that appears ideal, but is in fact not found in the real history of the Church”.
“Some claim that in order to work ‘safely’ in the Church, she must first be cleansed of all error. This is what they say when they declare that Rome must convert before any agreement, or that its errors must first be suppressed so that we can work,” he said.
But the reality of the Church’s history shows that “often, and almost always, we see that there are widespread errors” and that God calls holy men and women to work within the Church to correct the errors, Bishop Fellay said.
“We are being asked to come and work just as all the reforming saints of all times did,” he said.
Bishop Fellay said he did not have a timetable for the conclusion of the talks. “There are even some who say that the Pope will deal with this matter at [the papal summer villa in] Castel Gandolfo in July.”
SHARED FROM CATHOLIC HERALD
Accepting the Council’s teaching is no longer “a prerequisite for the canonical solution” of the status of the society, according to Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the SSPX.
In an interview published today on the society’s news site, www.dici.org, Bishop Fellay said it was the Vatican that approached the society, and not the society that went to the Vatican, asking to begin the talks.
“So the attitude of the official Church is what changed; we did not,” he said. “We were not the ones who asked for an agreement; the Pope is the one who wants to recognise us.”
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications that had been incurred by Bishop Fellay and other SSPX bishops when they were ordained without papal permission 11 years earlier. Also in 2009, the Pope established a Vatican committee to hold doctrinal talks with society representatives.
In September 2011, the Vatican gave Bishop Fellay a “doctrinal preamble” outlining “some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity” to the formal teaching of the Church. Neither the Vatican nor the SSPX has made the text public, but the Vatican said it leaves room for “legitimate discussion” about “individual expressions or formulations present in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the successive magisterium” of the Church.
Bishop Fellay submitted his first response to the document in March, but the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval of Pope Benedict, defined it as “insufficient”. The bishop gave the Vatican his second response in April and, as of June 7, it was still under study at the Vatican.
In the interview on the SSPX website, Bishop Fellay said: “We are still not in agreement doctrinally, and yet the Pope wants to recognise us. Why? The answer is right in front of us: there are terribly important problems in the Church today.”
The reconciliation talks, he said, are a sign that the Catholic Church has begun to recognise it needs to recover traditions and traditional teaching eclipsed by the Second Vatican Council. If the SSPX were to reconcile fully with the Church, Bishop Fellay said, its members would continue to denounce “doctrinal difficulties” in the Church, but would do so while also providing “tangible signs of the vitality of tradition” in its growing membership and vocation rate.
Speaking to members of the SSPX who are wary of reconciliation, Bishop Fellay said “one of the great dangers is to end up inventing an idea of the Church that appears ideal, but is in fact not found in the real history of the Church”.
“Some claim that in order to work ‘safely’ in the Church, she must first be cleansed of all error. This is what they say when they declare that Rome must convert before any agreement, or that its errors must first be suppressed so that we can work,” he said.
But the reality of the Church’s history shows that “often, and almost always, we see that there are widespread errors” and that God calls holy men and women to work within the Church to correct the errors, Bishop Fellay said.
“We are being asked to come and work just as all the reforming saints of all times did,” he said.
Bishop Fellay said he did not have a timetable for the conclusion of the talks. “There are even some who say that the Pope will deal with this matter at [the papal summer villa in] Castel Gandolfo in July.”
SHARED FROM CATHOLIC HERALD
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : THURSDAY JUNE 7, 2012
| Mark
12: 28 - 34
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| 28 | And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" |
| 29 | Jesus answered, "The first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; |
| 30 | and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' |
| 31 | The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." |
| 32 | And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; |
| 33 | and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." |
| 34 | And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any question. |
TODAY'S SAINT : JUNE 7 : ST. ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER
St. Robert of Newminster
CISTERCIAN ABBOT
Feast: June 7
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Information:
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He was a native of
Yorkshire, and even in his childhood an enemy to the usual amusements of that
age, loving only prayer, serious reading, and useful and pious employments.
Having finished his studies, he was ordained priest, and instituted to a
rectorship of a parish in the diocese of York; but after discharging that office
some time with great assiduity and zeal, he resigned that living, and took the
religious habit in the Benedictine monastery of our Lady in York. Richard, the
prior of this house, and twelve others, desiring to serve God according to the
primitive institute of the Benedictine Order, left the monastery, with leave of
the abbot, and endeavoring to execute their project, struggled with incredible
hardships; till Thurstan, the pious archbishop of York, gave them a desert
valley, called Scheldale, with the town of Sutton, where, in the midst of
winter, and in extreme poverty they founded the celebrated abbey which, from
certain springs, was called Fountains, in 1132. The Cistercian Order, which had
been lately introduced into England, and settled at Rievalle, was perfectly
agreeable to the fervent dispositions of this holy colony; and at their request
the monastery of Fountains was received into it by St. Bernard, who in his
letters extols the perfection and sanctity of this new nursery of saints, which,
from the beginning, was a model to the whole order for devotion, austerity in
fasts, labor, by which all the monks procured their subsistence, fervor in all
religious exercises, and cheerfulness in singing assiduously the divine praises.
No murmur or sadness was known among them; nor any strife or contention ever
heard of, unless of charity or humility: they never yielded to rest, till
fatigued with labor; and always came hungry from their slender table, which was
chiefly furnished with pulse and roots from their garden. St. Robert seemed so
far to eclipse the rest of this holy company by the lustre of his piety, that
they all had their eyes on him in their religions duties, and studied to
transcribe his fervor in their actions. Ranulph of Merley, baron of Morpeth,
paying a visit to the monastery of Fountains five years after its foundation,
was so struck with the edifying deportment of the terrestrial angels who
inhabited it, that he obtained of the abbot Richard a certain number of those
monks, and built for them a monastery called Newminster, near Morpeth, in
Northumberland, in 1137, of which St. Robert was appointed abbot. The saint in his new dignity thought it his duty not only to walk before his brethren, but to go beyond them all in every religious observance; and all his virtues seemed to receive new vigor, and a new degree of perfection in this eminent station. His affection to holy prayer is not to be expressed. He recommended to God continually those committed to his care, and with many tears poured forth his soul for them night and day. He was favored with the gift of prophecy and miracles. He founded another monastery a Pipinelle, or Rivebelle, in Northamptonshire, and lived in the strictest union of holy friendship with St. Bernard; also with St. Godric, a holy hermit in those parts, illiterate as to secular learning, but a most spiritual man. St. Robert finished his course by a happy death on the 7th of June, 1159. Miracles attested his sanctity to the world. He is named in the Roman Martyrology. |
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/R/strobertofnewminster.asp#ixzz1x6nU0Gif
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