Today's Messages (off)
| Unanswered Messages (on)
| Forum: Liturgical Renewal and the Reforms of Vatican II |
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| Topic: World AIDS Day, December 1 |
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| World AIDS Day, December 1 |
Mon, 30 November 2009 13:33 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Dear God,
We ask you to walk with us in our HIV and AIDS filled world.
We pray expecting your presence among us!
Be with all who live with the effects of this disease.
Be with those who wait to die because they have no access to medication.
Be with children who received HIV as a legacy from their parents.
Be with orphans and families who have lost loved ones.
Be with countries who have millions of citizens with HIV/AIDS.
Be with all who are stigmatised and ignored
because they have HIV or AIDS.
Be with politicians and corporate executives
who control access to affordable medications.
Be with researchers and scientists who work to find a cure.
Be with health care workers and caregivers who comfort and encourage.
Be with all who have lost hope because of HIV and AIDS.
Lord, we hear the angel's song of peace!
Fill the hearts of people around the world with good will
so that together we can work for justice and healing
for all who suffer from HIV and AIDS.
Amen.
(from the Diocese of Oxford, UK)
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| | Topic: The Voice of the Faithful is the hope of the church |
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| The Voice of the Faithful is the hope of the church |
Mon, 30 November 2009 06:07 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Acceptance Speech: Reverend Donald Cozzens
Voice of the Faithful
Priest of Integrity Award
Long Island, New York
October 31, 2009
http://votf-li.org/cozaccept.pdf
"Your voice, the voice of the faithful laity, has spoken with urgency and strength and clarity to church leaders and to the church as a whole at a time when the voice of priests and bishops is hardly heard at all—except to minimize, contextualize, and rationalize the abuse scandals and their cover-up that have led to the worst crisis ever faced by the U.S. Catholic Church....
...You can’t give up because the church, in spite of deafness in many quarters, needs your voice, your commitment, and your witness.
You can’t give up because the women of the church and the world need you to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We need women leaders in our chanceries and Catholic Centers. We need to hear the gospel preached in the voice of women as well as men.
You can’t give up because the men in holy orders are growing old and tired. The lifting of mandatory celibacy is the key to a healthy, revitalized priesthood and church.
You can’t give up because the world’s economic order is twisted and unjust and you are positioned to forge a more just and humane order.
You can’t give up because the church has barely set out on its grudging journey down the road of accountability and transparency.
You can’t give up because there remain victims of clergy abuse who need your support and compassion.
You can’t give up because children continue to be abused not only in rectories and schools, but also in their homes and neighborhoods.
Don’t give up. We priests, whether we realize it or not, need your witness of adult maturity and courage and integrity. You are the voice of hope to countless priests you may never hear from."
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| | Topic: Can Catholics find common ground? |
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| Can Catholics find common ground? |
Sun, 29 November 2009 07:42 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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November 21, 2009
Chicago Tribune
Manya Brachear, The Seeker
Are American Catholics facing irreconcilable differences? The late Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin didn’t believe that. Shortly before his death in 1996 he founded the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, a forum for the faithful to confront their polarities and celebrate their unity. That forum moved to Chicago last week and made a new home at Catholic Theological Union. Could it be here just in time to resolve the latest clash among conservatives, liberals and all those in between?
Though Catholics have long lived with differences beneath the surface, some of those disparate views will emerge this weekend when parishes pass the annual collection plate for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Instead of contributing money, conservative critics are urging parishioners to drop a coupon in the basket, calling on CCHD to provide proof that the groups funded by the agency in no way oppose church teachings.
The boycott stems from criticism that the national campaign has financed anti-poverty organizations that violate teachings on issues such as abortion rights, birth control and gay marriage.
But the conflict also reflects philosophical differences about Catholic social teaching. Mary Anne Hackett, president of Catholic Citizens of Illinois, said the church shouldn’t be working with government to change policies. It should be feeding, clothing and serving the poor more directly. Moreover, the agencies it funds should follow Catholic teachings to the letter, she said.
The Rev. Donald Senior, president of Catholic Theological Union, said the rift might be one for the initiative to tackle.
Participants would need to ask: “What is the proper Catholic social response? Should it only be working with corporal works of mercy? What is the legitimacy of trying to come to bear on the structures of society that trap people in poverty?”
Participants also would need to be willing “to hear both sides of that,” he said. “There would have to be an assumption of good will to get together.”
1. Recognize that no one person or group owns the truth. Solutions to problems are likely to come from a variety of sources.
2. Do not envision yourself or any group as the saving remnant. Do not participate in the bashing of any group.
3. Presume good faith on the part of those with whom you differ. Exercise charity; do not substitute labels for complicated realities.
4. Test all proposals for their pastoral impact as well as their theological truth. Pastoral effectiveness if a responsibility of leadership.
5. Do not ascribe motives to others.
6. Critique and evaluate cultural influences and values. Recognize achievements and real dangers.
7. Listen more, consult more, and explain more. Put the best construction on differing positions. Seize on valid insights before questionable arguments.
8. Practice hospitality and humility.
9. Trust in the process.
Senior clarified that the Common Ground Initiative isn’t intended as an instrument to hammer out a compromise. It’s an instrument for “mutually respectful dialogue in a context of faith and prayer so the church doesn’t become a series of warring parties over issues,” Senior said.
“There may still be differences, but we can be together in faith,” he added.
What do you think? Has the church already become a series of warring parties? Can the conflict over the Catholic Campaign for Human Development be resolved?
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| | Topic: Live Feed if you are interested |
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| | Topic: Father Greeley's health update |
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| Father Greeley's health update |
Sat, 14 November 2009 10:31 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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from his blog:
On November 7, the anniversary of Fr. Andrew Greeley’s tragic accident, his sister Mary Jule Durkin, and family wish to express their profound gratitude to all who have kept him in their prayers. On his behalf, we ask for your continued prayers for him and for all victims of traumatic brain injury and their families. We express our thanks to the skilled medical personnel, caregivers, and rehabilitation therapists who have cared for and encouraged him during this difficult time. We will continue to work so that, in spite of his injury, he can enjoy a quality of life in keeping with his imagination, intelligence, and service to his Church and community. Through the years, we have observed first hand his deep commitment to his friends, academic colleagues, readers, fellow priests, and parishioners. We know that Fr. Greeley blesses you for your concern.
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| | Topic: From One Liturgical Year to the Next |
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| From One Liturgical Year to the Next |
Fri, 13 November 2009 07:21 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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from Ministry Resource Update
November 2009
To conclude our liturgical year, we proclaim our belief in Jesus as we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King. One other idea in addition to the official blessing of the Advent wreath from the Book of Blessings is to use the following invocations when we light our Advent Wreath. These words echo our faith in Christ the King and come from the solemn words of blessing for the paschal candle on Holy Saturday Night:
You are the Christ, the same yesterday and today!
You are the Christ, the beginning and the end!
You are the Christ, the Alpha and Omega!
You are the Christ, forever and for always!
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.
This links the preparation for the celebration of the incarnation with the resurrection.
Another idea for the Advent season is to use the "Canticle of Zachary," perhaps as the dismissal hymn. The words to this song come directly from Scripture. It is a translation of the words that Zachary sang as recorded by the gospel of Luke. Once Zachary's mouth was opened after the birth of John the Baptist, Zachary was filled with the Holy Spirit and he praised God in song. This canticle, or song, is used each morning in the prayer of the Church. It speaks of God's promise and God's plan to save us through the coming of a Savior. It is wonderful statement of Advent faith! The church uses this song every morning as part of Morning Prayer.
If you bring the Advent wreath candles up in procession at the beginning of Mass, consider using, "Christ, Be Our Light" to accompany the procession. If you have placed the Advent wreath candles in the four corners of the building as was suggested in the November 2006 Ministry Resource Update, the procession with candles can come up the middle aisle and then circle around to the various locations of the candle stands. Using "Christ, Circle 'Round Us" highlights the fact that the community is, in fact, encircled by the Advent wreath. For me, personally, "O Come, O Come, Emmanual" really makes it feel like Advent. For one thing, the people know it and will sing. I would suggest using the song each week, but after the first verse, use a different verse or verses each week, so that the community can pray the "O" antiphons during the course of the season.
It is good to use many of the same songs at each liturgy during Advent, especially the gathering and dismissal songs. Since these are frequently seasonal songs, they should be repeated so that the community can become familiar with them and can participate fully. The song that seems to make the most sense to change is the song at the presentation of the gifts, since that would be the ideal song to echo the focus of the gospel and homily. Using the same setting for the Mass parts throughout Advent and then also for Christmas will emphasize the unity of the two seasons.
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| | Topic: Last-ditch effort to dump Mass translations |
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| Last-ditch effort to dump Mass translations |
Sat, 07 November 2009 05:23 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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“If the Roman Missal does not speak to our culture, the church in the United States will suffer,”
http://ncronline.org/news/last-ditch-effort-dump-mass-transl ations
Thanks Bishop Trautman but I think it's inevitable. Will this be a time of confusion or enrichment for the church? I don't hear any any excitement on the local level, just a sense of concern and dread. I feel their concern but do my best to assure others, but that's me trying to be positive.
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| | Topic: All Souls Day |
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| All Souls Day |
Mon, 02 November 2009 05:32 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
For your faithful, Lord, life is changed, not ended!
Lord Our God, the death of our loved ones recalls our human condition and the brevity of our lives on earth. But for those who believe in your love, death is not the end, nor does it destroy the bonds that you forge in our lives. We share the faith of your Son’s disciples and the hope of the children of God. Bring the light of Christ’s resurrection to times of testing and pain as we pray for those who have died and for those who mourn.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
-Prayer from the Order of Christian Funerals
Who are you remembering, especially on this day and missing?
...for me it would be my mother and a close friend who passed away at much too young an age.
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| | Topic: Story About Jesus |
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| Story About Jesus |
Mon, 19 October 2009 07:54 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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IDEAS IN PASSING
Joan Chittester
THE STORY CHARMS ME. The person who sent it to me swears it’s true, of course. But it really doesn’t make much difference to me if it actually happened or is delightfully apocryphal. It’s hard to forget, because its real truth has something very important to say about the core, the essence, of liturgical spirituality.
It was a normal rush-hour day in a New York City airport. Commuters raced down concourses to make quick connections between major incoming flights and local helicopters or business jets that would take them from one small airport to another in time for supper. Men in heavy coats swinging heavy briefcases, and women in high heels loaded down with cumbersome shoulder bags skidded around vendors and carts, corners and counters in a mad rush to reach gates where the doors were already closing. There wouldn’t be another flight for at least an hour. They pushed and jostled, bumped and pounded their way through a jumble of people dashing down the same corridor but in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, everyone heard the crash. The fruit stand teetered for a moment and then tilted the fruit baskets off the countertop to the floor. Apples and oranges rolled helter-skelter up and down the concourse. Then the girl behind the counter burst into tears, fell to her knees, and began to sweep her hands across the floor, searching for the fruit. “What am I going to do?” she cried. “It’s all ruined. It’s all bruised. I can’t sell this!” One man, seeing her distress as he ran by, stopped and came back. “Go on,” he called to the others still running ahead of him down the corridor. “I’ll catch you later.”
Seeing how frantic she was, he got down on the floor with the girl and began putting apples and oranges back into baskets. And it was then, as he watched her sweep the space with her hands, randomly, frantically, that he realized that she was blind. “They’re all ruined,” she kept saying.
The man took forty dollars out of his wallet, pressed it into her hand. “Here,” he said as he prepared to go, “here is forty dollars to pay for the damage we’ve done.” The girl straightened up. She began to grope the air, looking for him now. “Mister,” the bewildered blind girl called out to him, “Mister, wait . . .” He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. “Mister,” she said, “are you Jesus?”
For those of us who live in the rhythm of the liturgy week upon week all our lives, the question must be, so what? What has happened to us as a result? Who have we become? Who are we on all the rest of the weekdays of our lives?
Indeed there is in this story of a blind fruit seller the echo of a Gospel story about a blind beggar. Those who have been immersed in the liturgical year all their lives would well be the kind of people who would stop to help pick up apples and oranges in the midst of an agenda that could seem so much bigger than those things at any given moment. “Jesus, Son of David,” the blind Bartimaeus cried out as Jesus came down the dusty road, “have mercy on me.” (Mark 10:47)
The liturgical year sets out to form us in the spirit of the One who stopped and listened and gave new sight to the beggar’s eyes just as the salesman in the story gave insight as well as money to the blind fruit seller. Are you Jesus? people ask us silently every day. And the answer liturgical spirituality forms in us if we live it with constancy, with regularity, with fidelity, is surely, yes.
–from The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister (Thomas Nelson)
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| | Topic: SisterTheresa Kane criticizes church hierarchy |
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| SisterTheresa Kane criticizes church hierarchy |
Wed, 30 September 2009 13:25 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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http://ncronline.org/news/mercy-sister-theresa-kane-criticiz es-church-hierarchy
“Regarding the present interrogation, I think the male hierarchy is truly impotent, incapable of equality, co-responsibility in adult behavior,” she said, not mincing any words. “In the church today, we are experiencing a dictatorial mindset and spiritual violence.”
But she described herself as a hopeful person. “Why do we hope and why do we endure?” she asked. “I have one chance, one life, and therefore I have a responsibility to criticize. Our hope comes from solidarity between women religious and laywomen.”
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| | Topic: Those Vatican II priests |
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| Those Vatican II priests |
Sat, 19 September 2009 15:32 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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* They were loyal to the church and obedient to their bishops, even under duress, but not blindly or without protest when they felt the pastoral good of the church was at stake.
* They were good pastors, good listeners, down-to-earth preachers who didn’t need to have all the answers and were eloquent by example if not always in words. They had a sense of humor.
* They put people first, love before legalism, especially for anyone who was hurting or being treated unfairly. They respected and had collaborative relationships (and real friendships) with women.
* They held liturgy and ministry, worship and life, the altar and the streets as inseparable, where the Incarnation is made visible and everything is sacramental.
* They were imperfect human beings, and both their strengths and weaknesses defined the priesthood and the paschal mystery they served.
http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/those-vatican-ii-prie sts
It's a shame that these good priests, who worked so hard to promote reform and the teachings of the Council, presently see a Church going backwards in time. How sad for them and the whole church.
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| | Topic: More to the story |
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| More to the story |
Sat, 19 September 2009 14:08 |
 M Anon
Messages: 1251
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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I wonder if these stats are valid.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16934
The “Catholics Come Home” ads first ran in the Diocese of Phoenix in 2008. During the campaign an estimated 90,000 Catholics returned to churchgoing. Ryan Hanning of the Diocese of Phoenix told the Sacramento Bee the diocese witnessed a 12 percent increase, the largest single year increase in the diocese’s history.
Hanning said that surveys of returning Catholics showed that most had left the Church because they had gotten too busy with daily life. A much smaller percentage cited church teachings on marriage and homosexuality as reasons for their absence.
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| | Topic: Father Michael J. Gillgannon |
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| | Topic: Father Paul Mast |
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| | Topic: Louise Akers: Silenced or louder than ever? |
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| Louise Akers: Silenced or louder than ever? |
Thu, 10 September 2009 14:16 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/louise-akers-silenc ed-or-louder-ever
"Voices like this, voices that cry for justice, voices that point out the lacunae in the thinking of the theological community and are punished for their continuing pursuit of truth are not "lost." On the contrary. Those voices ring loud and clear around the globe for all the world to hear. One after another after another. And little by little, one silenced voice recruits ten, a hundred, a thousand, a society worth of others. All of them talking. All of them refusing to be silent."
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| | Topic: Cardinal Sean's blog |
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| | Topic: US Bishops health care reform |
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| | Topic: NJ Bishops' message on marriage |
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| NJ Bishops' message on marriage |
Fri, 28 August 2009 20:34 |
japhy
Messages: 480
Registered: October 2008
Location: Princeton, NJ |
Senior Member |
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The Call to Marriage is Woven Deeply into the Human Spirit
God who created man and woman out of love also calls him to love - the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1604]
A recent study issued by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University identifies a broad cultural shift away from religion and social traditionalism and toward a belief in personal independence and tolerance for diverse life styles - otherwise known as "secular individualism."
The same report also indicates that "more children each year are not living in families that include their married, biological parents, which by all available empirical evidence is the gold standard for insuring optimal outcomes in a child's development."
One expression of this cultural shift toward "secular individualism" is the recent authorization of "marriage" between individuals of the same sex in a few states and the call for passage of a same sex "marriage" law in New Jersey.
As Catholics, we must not stand by in silence in the face of the many challenges that threaten marriage and, in turn, children and the public good. We must not shirk from our responsibility.
We must protect and promote marriage. We must not abandon the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage and the complementarity of the sexes - a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by the major cultures of the world.
We must pledge our support to all family members, including those who choose to remain single. We must help those entering marriage to prepare for the challenges, sacrifices and joys to come. We must reach out with the special compassion of Christ to those married couples and families experiencing difficulties, anxiety, and illness.
In these troubled times, we, the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey, offer here some basic truths to assist people in understanding Catholic teaching about marriage and to enable them to promote and support marriage and families.
What is the Catholic Church's Teaching on Marriage?
The Catholic Church teaches today and has always and everywhere taught for 2000 years that marriage is the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife.
"Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives." [Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, June 3, 2003]
This great truth about marriage is not some obscure doctrinal fine point but a fact of human nature, recognized from time immemorial by people of virtually every faith and culture. God made us male and female; only men and women cooperating in marital love together can truly become one flesh, and only marital unions further God's purpose of creating new life that is welcomed, loved, nurtured and educated by their mother and father.
The Church teaches that man and woman are equal. However, man and woman are different from each other but created for each other. This complementarity, including sexual difference, draws them together in a mutually loving union that always should be open to the procreation of children (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1602-1605).
These truths about marriage are present in the order of nature and can be perceived by the light of human reason and have been confirmed by divine Revelation in Sacred Scripture.
Why should the Church care about the state's definition of marriage?
God Himself is the author of marriage. Marriage as a union of man and woman existed long before any nation, religion, or law was established. The marital union is the human and social institution upon which civilization has always been structured. It is a gift that our Creator bestowed on all of humanity through the first man and the first woman.
Governments, therefore, have a duty to reinforce and protect this permanent institution and to pass it on to future generations, rather than attempt to redefine it arbitrarily for transitory political or social reasons.
The Church asks Catholics to care about the government's treatment of marriage because civil authorities are charged with protecting children and the common good, and marriage is indispensable to both purposes. As citizens, Catholics have the right and the responsibility to hold civil authorities accountable for their stewardship of the institution of marriage.
Catholics also have the right and responsibility to oppose laws and policies that unjustly target people as bigots or that subject them to charges of unlawful discrimination simply because they believe and teach that marriage is the union of man and a woman.
Why must marriages be treated differently than other voluntary relationships?
The marital union between a man and a woman is the foundation of the family and the family is the foundation of society. Marriage is singular in its importance as a public institution. No other voluntary relationship can be regarded as the equivalent of marriage, which is unique in its stability, the environment it provides for the development of families, and the protection it accords spouses and children. Marriage is not merely an article of the Catholic faith, but a foundational element of the common good.
Why should two individuals of the same sex be treated any differently than married couples who cannot conceive children?
Marriage benefits society by bringing men and women - the two complementary "halves" of the human race - together. Regardless of whether they can conceive children, a man and a woman united in marriage reinforce the importance of this ideal. By contrast, if the government insists that same-sex unions are "equal" to unions of husband and wife, the government will be teaching not only that mothers and fathers are no longer necessary for children, but also that uniting the sexes is no longer an important ideal.
Persons of same-sex orientation have the right to live as they choose but they do not have the right to redefine marriage for everyone by altering the civil law.
Don't single parents make a valuable contribution to family life? If so, why should samesex partners not be viewed the same way?
All children are gifts from God and deserve our care and protection. The stable, life long loving relationship of a mother and father, found only in marriage, provides the ideal conditions for raising and socializing children. Marriage represents the way we teach and reinforce this ideal.
Of course, some children are raised in situations other than the traditional two-parent family, and responsible loving single parents, and other family members make important and valuable contributions to the welfare of these children. But supporting single-parent families, as a just and compassionate society must do, is far different than deliberately creating motherless and fatherless families and holding them out to be the same as marriages.
But isn't prohibiting same-sex "marriage" unjust discrimination?
No. We must always remember that every person has an inherent dignity because he or she is created in the image and likeness of God, and that God loves every person as a unique individual. Like all other human beings, our homosexual brothers and sisters are beloved children of God. As a result, the Catholic Church affirms that they "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in this regard should be avoided" [Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2358].
Thus the teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended, and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against homosexual persons.
But it is not "unjust discrimination" to treat different things differently. Same-sex unions are not, in fact, the same thing as the union of one man and one woman in marriage. One type of union may ever generate children, the other may never; one type of union respects and expresses the inherent complementarity of man and woman; the other does not.
Therefore, treating one type of union as "marriage," and the other not, is not only permitted, but required. Indeed, it is treating this differentiation as bigotry that constitutes an injustice.
Is same sex "marriage" a civil right?
In the Church's view same-sex "marriage" is not a civil right. A strong desire does not make a civil right. Every man and every woman has a right to enter into marriage, but marriage as an institution can only be between a man and a woman. Governments do not have the power to define marriage otherwise, because it is a permanent human institution that does not owe its existence to governments. Same-sex "marriage" is not a civil right because same-sex couples cannot fulfill the core public purpose of marriage: protecting children by bringing men and women into the only kind of union that can make new life and give children mothers and fathers.
This is not only the Church's view. Throughout all of human history marriage has been held to be a union of man and woman. Marriage has its roots in natural law, which transcends all manmade law. Marriage as a union of a man and a woman is a natural, universal human institution that unites mothers and fathers in the work of childrearing and family life. Same sex unions may represent a new and a different type of institution - but it is not marriage and should not be treated as marriage.
Would maintaining the definition of marriage as a union solely of one man and one woman deny hospital visitation privileges to civil union partners? Would defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman take away any benefits currently provided to civil union partners by employers?
No. In New Jersey, the Civil Union Act already provides practical rights, benefits, and protections for persons who choose to establish non-marital unions. As clearly stated in the Act:
Civil union couples shall have all of the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under law, whether they derive from statute, administrative or court rule, public policy, common law or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage. [N.J. Statutes 37:1-31(a)]
The Act also provides that civil union couples are entitled to the benefits and protections of "laws relating to insurance, health and pension benefits." [N.J. Statutes 37:1-32(e)] In addition, the Act prohibits an array of unlawful employment practices by employers who do not fully implement the Act.
Civil Law, Church Law and Marriage
In their 2003 statement Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers about Marriage and Same-Sex Union", the Catholic Bishops of the United States addressed civil law, church law and marriage as follows:
Marriage is a basic human and social institution. Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, it did not originate from either the church or state, but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage.
Marriage, whose nature and purposes are established by God, can only be the union of a man and a woman and must remain such in law. In a manner unlike any other relationship, marriage makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society, especially through the procreation and education of children.
The union of husband and wife becomes, over a lifetime, a great good for themselves, their family, communities, and society. Marriage is a gift to be cherished and protected.
What Does All of This Mean?
In New Jersey, the debate about same sex marriage is not about benefits and rights. The Civil Union Act [N.J. Statutes 37:1-31(a)] settled that issue once and for all. In New Jersey, same sex couples have every benefit and right without exception that the State of New Jersey grants to heterosexual married couples. The same sex "marriage" initiative is an attempt to change the historic structure of marriage as a union only of a man and a woman. This initiative ignores human nature because throughout all of human history marriage has required the complementarity of man and woman.
Same sex civil unions may represent a new and a different type of institution, one in which government grants to same sex couples benefits and protections, but same sex unions are not marriage. Saint Paul in his letter to the Hebrews told us, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching." In this time of strange teaching and conflict over the meaning of marriage, let us prayerfully reflect on the words of Jesus:
Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. [Matthew 19:5]
Most Reverend John J. Myers
Archbishop, Archdiocese of Newark
Most Reverend Paul G. Bootkoski
Bishop, Diocese of Metuchen
Most Reverend John M. Smith
Bishop, Diocese of Trenton
Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante
Bishop, Diocese of Camden
Most Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli
Bishop, Diocese of Paterson
Most Reverend William Skurla
Bishop, Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic
[Updated on: Fri, 28 August 2009 20:42]
My Blogs: Praying The Mass and The Cross Reference
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| | Topic: TLM...interest is not widespread |
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| | Topic: Assumption of Mary August 15 |
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| Assumption of Mary August 15 |
Sat, 15 August 2009 07:04 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” The pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of bishops, theologians and laity. There were few dissenting voices. What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.
We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century. In following centuries the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some authors in the West were hesitant. However, by the thirteenth century there was universal agreement. The feast was celebrated under various names (Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or sixth century.
Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.
Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to belief in Mary’s share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven.
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| | Topic: update Father Roy Bourgeois |
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| update Father Roy Bourgeois |
Tue, 11 August 2009 16:52 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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http://lohud.com/article/2009908080342
"The exclusion of women is a grave injustice and a sin," the 70-year-old priest told me. "This is a movement whose time has come. It's not going away."
A sin. Strong words from a guy walking an ecclesiastical plank.
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| | Topic: A nun could get whiplash these days |
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| | Topic: ninth US ambassador to the Vatican |
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| ninth US ambassador to the Vatican |
Wed, 05 August 2009 11:09 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Cuban-American confirmed as ninth US ambassador to the Vatican
By Catholic News Service
"I am honored to be given the responsibility of representing the people of the United States to the Holy See," he said in the statement posted on the Web site of St. John's University. "I very much appreciate the support of all those who have reached out to me and to my family with their prayers and best wishes during this process."
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0903529.htm
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| | Topic: Teaching the 'golden thread' of Gospel nonviolence |
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| | Topic: the Vatican only seems to hear male voices |
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| the Vatican only seems to hear male voices |
Tue, 14 July 2009 07:30 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Here is a comment that crossed my mind as well:
While, as a Catholic, I'm obliged to respect the 'office' of the bishop, it is becoming increasingly difficult over the past decade to respect some of the men who hold the office, and who simultaneously seem to have a strangle-hold on their own group of bishops and the USCCB voice. It's a good thing this isn't fifteenth century France; these strong 'upstart women' might also meet the fate of St. Joan of Arc. As I recall, there was also a discussion of suitable clothing during that "investigation".
Women religious leadership conference has been faithful to its mission
http://ncronline.org/blogs/essays-theology/women-religious-l eadership-conference-has-been-faithful-its-mission
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| | Topic: Do you believe in miracles? |
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| | Topic: A voice of reason in a maelstrom of condemnations |
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| A voice of reason in a maelstrom of condemnations |
Fri, 03 July 2009 12:31 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Jul. 02, 2009
By Joan Chittister
* Politics
Commentary
http://ncronline.org/news/politics/voice-reason-maelstrom-co ndemnations
We are, after all, the church of the Medicis and the Borgias, the Papal States and the Avignon Papacy, the Documents of Discovery and anti-Modernism, the condemnation of "mixed" marriages and the rejection of the U.S. policy of separation of church and state. It may behoove us to be a bit more compassionate in our condemnations and a bit more humble in our attempts at political dialogue.
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| | Topic: tone down the rhetoric and stop the demonizing |
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| tone down the rhetoric and stop the demonizing |
Tue, 16 June 2009 11:58 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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an editorial from America Magazine
St. Ignatius Loyola suggests that in any exchange, “it is necessary to suppose that every good Christian is more ready to put a good interpretation on another’s statement than to condemn it as false.” To this call for charity, St. Ignatius added that if correction is necessary, it ought to be delivered with respect and kindness. Those qualities of respect and kindness have at times been hard to find in many of the heated arguments in which American Catholics have found themselves embroiled over the past 12 tumultuous months.
Can a Catholic in good conscience vote for Barack Obama? For John McCain? May pro-choice politicians be given Communion? Should the legal fight to overturn Roe v. Wade bear the full weight of Catholic political energy; or are there other, more effective strategies for combating the culture of death? Should the University of Notre Dame award an honorary degree to President Obama, or even invite him at all? Should there be more frequent celebrations of the liturgy in Latin; and if so, what version of the Mass texts should be used? Issues like these have always sparked much discussion in the Catholic community, but they are now often dominated by a tone that is decidedly dangerous—harsh and often lacking in respect or courtesy.
This rhetoric has threatened the credibility of the church, as the Catholic tradition of trust and toleration has been de-emphasized. Even a few bishops have made statements like “We are at war” and “Tolerance is not a Christian virtue,” suggesting that any notion of the common good has given way to a sharply defined “us versus them” mentality. Such rhetoric also subtly undermines the Catholic principle of subsidiarity first put forth by Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno, according to which a pluralistic social structure allows and encourages constructive input from a variety of groups on the grass-roots level.
This polarization must stop; otherwise our identity as a faith community will be torn asunder and Catholicism will cease to be an elevating force for change. How can we decrease the polarization? A vital first step is to seek out our common ground in the major civic areas where almost all Catholics agree: religious liberty; the sacredness of all human life; the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating abortion; support for social programs that provide a safety net for the poor; the elimination of segregation, racism and discrimination; and respect for differing religious and social traditions and diverse cultures. Few are the Catholics who do not share these principles, which provide a ready-made common ground.
We also need to find a way to foster civil debate and dialogue on how to incorporate and share our values in a pluralistic society. Recognizing the distinction between moral principles and their application, we can disagree in good conscience on the way such principles are prudentially applied in the public sphere. Even when disagreeing over the concrete applications of moral principles, we also must respect the good will of those with whom we disagree. Tolerance, charity and respect are not “weasel words,” nor are they excuses to paper over legitimate differences among Catholics. Rather, they are essential elements for a church in which members work together toward common goals, by supposing, as St. Ignatius wrote, that everyone is striving to act for the greater good.
Our bishops must take the lead in this conversation in the Catholic community. As the Second Vatican Council noted: “Bishops should make it their special care to approach men and initiate and promote dialogue with them. These discussions on religious matters should be marked by charity of expression as well as by humility and courtesy, so that truth may be combined with charity, and understanding with love.” As many have noted, our bishops also need to be careful that they do not overstep their bounds when they prescribe specific policy recommendations, lest they sacrifice their spiritual authority by appearing to be partisan political figures.
In his book Models of the Church, the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., highlighted the image of the church as a “community of disciples.” This image from the early church (Acts 6:1-2) sees every Christian united in learning from and following Christ. Here the church is always a learning church led by the Spirit, not yet in full possession of the truth. A disciple is by definition one who has not yet arrived, but is on the way to full conversion. This more humble view of a pilgrim church always in need of purification and improvement may help to tone down the rhetoric and encourage Catholics to work together in addressing the great issues of our day, especially those involving the culture of life. True dialogue, as Cardinal Dulles noted, enables the church “to understand its teaching better, to present it more persuasively and to implement it in a pastoral way.”
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| | Topic: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ |
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| The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ |
Thu, 11 June 2009 07:25 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
A reflection by Tom Shanahan, S.J.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally called the feast of Corpus Christi. In so celebrating, we acknowledge the wonderful gift of Holy Communion and its implication for our daily nourishment by God’s love in giving his Son, Jesus Christ, to and for us. This feast underscores the grand desire on the part of Jesus to remain with us even after his death to be the life-giving presence that we count on.
The very last words of St. Matthew’s gospel are Jesus’ compelling words, “I am with you always to the very end of the age (NIV, Mt. 28: 20).” And these words hearken back to the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel, “and they will call him Immanuel – which means, ‘God is with us’ (NIV Mt. 1: 23).” The implication is that God desires to be present to us permanently in the person of Jesus our redeemer. The words imply that the life-giving presence of Jesus is the very heart of Matthew’s gospel.
We experience that presence each day as we share in Holy Communion, the unique sacramental presence of Christ received as nourishment in the form of bread and wine, our spiritual food. That presence is enhanced in the daily lives of those whose baptism (and communion-nourishment) impels them to live the Christ-life within them by going out in service to the needs of others, especially the poor. Thus Christ continues to live vibrantly in the Risen Body (us), His People present and active in our world.
The past three Sundays have had us contemplating the presence of the Holy Spirit in the feast of Pentecost, reflecting on the reality of the Trinity and its role in our Christian lives, and now the Body of Christ as the sign of the Covenant (a new covenant) in the blood of Jesus shed for us.
These are profound mysteries that express fundamental realities about how God relates to us. God cares for us, God loves us, God forgives us, God invites us into life, and God invites us to make a difference in our world (just some of the many ways of expressing it!) Today we are invited to see our lives modeled on Jesus’ giving over of his body and blood FOR US.
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| | Topic: Pope 'visibly upset' at horror uncovered by Ryan inquiry |
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| Pope 'visibly upset' at horror uncovered by Ryan inquiry |
Tue, 09 June 2009 14:45 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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I'm hoping he was upset because he knew about it and never said anything. There were documents in the Ryan Report that came directly from the Vatican. He dealt with sex abuse cases while in the CDF. He must have come across this stuff. He knew the abusers stayed in ministry.
By ED CARTY and JOHN COONEY
Tuesday June 09 2009
POPE Benedict was "visibly upset" by horrific revelations of sexual, physical and emotional torture of children uncovered by the Ryan inquiry, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin revealed yesterday.
The Pontiff also told Ireland's two most senior Catholic clerics that the victims of abuse must get justice.
In a Vatican meeting with Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin last Friday, Pope Benedict reiterated his call for the Church hierarchy to make amends to the thousands of children who suffered at the hands of abusive priests, brothers and nuns.
"He (the Pope) was very visibly upset to hear of some of the things told in the Ryan report and how the children had suffered from the very opposite of the expression of a love of God," the Archbishop said.
Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin briefed the country's bishops in Maynooth on the 45-minute meeting with the Pontiff and on separate talks with seven cardinals in the Holy See last week.
The two archbishops outlined to the Catholic leaders the devastating findings of the report along with the subsequent fallout and criticisms of 18 religious orders.
Cardinal Brady said: "He (the Pope) listened very attentively, very sympathetically to what we had to say and he said in reply that this was a time for deep examination of life here in Ireland and the Church."
The Cardinal, Primate of All-Ireland, said the Pope also discussed the steps needed to respond to the harrowing catalogue of abuse.
"Establish what is the truth of what happened -- and the Ryan report is an important part of that -- to ensure that justice is done for all; and put in place the measures that will prevent these events ever happening again with a view to healing -- healing the hurt suffered by survivors," the cardinal said yesterday.
"He (Pope Benedict) listened very attentively to everything we had to say."
The Conference of Religious in Ireland was briefed on the Vatican meetings last night.
"The message again we bring back with us, we have to listen to the victims, we have to listen to the survivors. They are the ones who have gone through this," Archbishop Martin said.
"It is to listen and learn from what's in the report and do a little bit of deep soul searching of what way the Church will look in Ireland in the years to come."
The Archbishop also signalled talks with senior Vatican officials on the damning Ryan inquiry will continue.
Tomorrow survivors of abusive Church-run institutions will march in silence on Leinster House where representatives of 18 disgraced religious orders named in the Ryan inquiry have been invited to accept a petition ahead of a wreath-laying ceremony.
The demonstration is being organised by Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland, Christine Buckley of Aislinn, Survivors of Child Abuse in Ireland, Right of Place and Michael O'Brien, former Clonmel mayor.
A Dail debate on the Ryan report is expected on Thursday.
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| | Topic: Bill Extending Time to File Child-Abuse Suits |
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| | Topic: Pupils Abused For Decades in Irish Schools |
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| Pupils Abused For Decades in Irish Schools |
Sun, 24 May 2009 07:40 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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The commission said documents found at the Vatican showed that religious orders knew of numerous abuse complaints but covered them up, worried more about scandal than about protecting children.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05 /20/AR2009052003809.html
The closest the United States has come to a similar accounting was a 2004 report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It found that 5,000 priests -- more than 4 percent of all those who had served in the United States since 1950 -- had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. More than 12,000 Americans have reported being abused by priests, and a deluge of lawsuits has cost the church more than $1 billion, bankrupting several U.S. dioceses.
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| | Topic: Memorial Day |
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| Memorial Day |
Sat, 23 May 2009 07:09 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Wishing everyone an enjoyable relaxing weekend.
Memorial Day will include a parade for us. My Dad,a Pearl Harbor survivor, is the parade's Chief Marshall in my home city.
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| | Topic: The church will submerge before any emergence |
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| The church will submerge before any emergence |
Tue, 19 May 2009 13:36 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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http://ncronline.org/news/church-will-submerge-any-emergence
"Let me say that before I see the church emerging into new forms, it actually is going to do some submerging," he said. "A good percentage of the church is grieving right now. We're closing parishes. We're consolidating parishes. Fewer people are going to Mass on Sunday," he said, also mentioning the declining number of priests and nuns.
...Father Donald Cozzens
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| | Topic: Grim News/Pew Forum |
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| Grim News/Pew Forum |
Sat, 02 May 2009 08:50 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Have you read this?
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=411
While the ranks of the unaffiliated have grown the most due to changes in religious affiliation, the Catholic Church has lost the most members in the same process; this is the case even though Catholicism's retention rate of childhood members (68%) is far greater than the retention rate of the unaffiliated and is comparable with or better than the retention rates of other religious groups. Those who have left Catholicism outnumber those who have joined the Catholic Church by nearly a four-to-one margin. Overall, one-in-ten American adults (10.1%) have left the Catholic Church after having been raised Catholic, while only 2.6% of adults have become Catholic after having been raised something other than Catholic.
One in ten American adults are former Catholics. Not good news for the Church. Who can be blamed if not the leaders of the church in America trying to force Catholics to the right? Also,a leadership (or lack of) in Rome who seem to have a dismantling of Vatican II as the agenda.
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| | Topic: Obama and Sermon on the Mount |
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| | Topic: Young Voices- Healing the Wounds |
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| | Topic: Protection for Haitians |
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| Protection for Haitians |
Wed, 15 April 2009 13:36 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Editorial from recent America
Thirty thousand Haitians in Florida face deportation back to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The United States should grant them temporary protected status—which allows people from a designated nation to reside here legally and qualify for work authorization—until the country recovers from four back-to-back hurricanes and tropical storms that ravaged it last summer. These killed 800 people and left nearly one million homeless, with crops wiped out and an estimated $1 billion in damages. Increased costs for food and fuel led to riots a year ago. For children, the consequences have been especially dire. Many eat so-called mud cookies, made from dirt, salt and vegetable shortening. According to Unicef, Haiti has the highest rates in the Western Hemisphere of mortality of infants, children under 5 and mothers. Suspending the deportations, moreover, would allow remittances to continue to flow from Haitians in the United States. Remittances account for approximately a quarter of Haiti’s gross domestic product.
After the storms, Haitian president René Préval asked President George W. Bush to grant temporary protected status. Congress approved this in 1990 for foreign nationals fleeing in the wake of civil war and natural disasters like Hurricane Mitch in 2004. Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador have all received regular 18-month increments of this status, and now Haiti should receive it too. Writing on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George said in a letter to President Bush dated Oct. 8, 2008, that “Haiti meets the standards of T.P.S. because it had experienced political turmoil, four natural disasters and severe food shortages in the previous eight months alone.” The letter also pointed out that conditions there were comparable to or worse than those in countries that received the designation. In mid-March the cardinal wrote again, calling temporary protected status “a mantle of protection...the United States can make toward alleviating the suffering of the Haitian people.”
Fears that granting T.P.S. would bring a large exodus from Haiti to U.S. shores are groundless. It would be available only to people who are already here. Nevertheless, the former Homeland Security Department secretary, Michael Chertoff, denied Mr. Préval’s request, and the new secretary, Janet Napolitano, has not addressed the Haitian deportation issue apart from a Feb. 25 letter from the department’s director of policy, Susan Cullen, stating that the department planned “to continue to coordinate the removal of Haitian nationals to Haiti.”
Deportations also lead to the breakup of families. One recent example concerns a 35-year-old undocumented Haitian mother, Vialine Jean Paul. She married a U.S. citizen in the United States and had a child who, being born here, is also a U.S. citizen. The case is on appeal. Family breakup has long been a major concern of the U.S.C.C.B. and is a major motivation for immigrant advocates’ efforts toward comprehensive immigration reform.
Over the past decades, people on Haiti’s neighbor island, Cuba, received far more generous treatment from the United States. Through a lottery program, 20,000 Cubans receive visas annually to emigrate here through the Special Cuban Migration Program of 1994. Other Cubans who manage to reach U.S. shores by sea can remain if they touch land—the so-called wet foot, dry foot policy. Once on U.S. soil, Cubans are automatically eligible for asylum.
By contrast, the policy toward Haiti has been harsh, marked by mandatory detention and lack of access to counsel. There is a double standard, with Haitians treated as economic migrants and generally deported back home in a blatantly exclusionary manner. Cheryl Little, an attorney who is executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, told America that the inequity “represents the two extremes of our immigration policy.” She added, “I don’t know of any other group that has been singled out for discriminatory treatment decade after decade.” To its credit, Canada has imposed a moratorium on the deportation of Haitians.
So far, Haiti’s plight has not appeared on Mr. Obama’s radar screen. Until it does, members of families like Ms. Jean Paul’s will continue to face separation. Temporary protected status is the humane way to prevent deportations that would not only unravel family bonds but would also create an influx of Haitians back into a desperately poor country that even before the four disastrous storms of last year was unable to provide basic food and shelter for its people. The new administration ought to show its humanitarian side by granting Haiti temporary protected status, sparing Haitians in the United States from deportation back to a country ill-prepared to receive them.
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| | Topic: To our Jewish brothers and sisters |
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| To our Jewish brothers and sisters |
Wed, 08 April 2009 13:49 |
Anne
Messages: 3816
Registered: April 2004 |
Senior Member |
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Happy Passover!
And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the L-RD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17
Passover begins tonight at sundown and ends April 16.
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| | Topic: Scripture for Triduum and Easter Sunday |
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