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January 2012

January 20

Gathering offers opportunity to reset First Nations relations

January 20, 2012

OTTAWA - Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber believes that “rebalancing the relationship” between First Nations peoples and the government may be the most important issue in Canada today. To that end, he hopes the Jan. 24 summit in Ottawa between First Nations leaders and the federal government will finally address what he calls the “tremendous inequalities and great suffering” of Canada’s aboriginal peoples. “The federal government has a lead role,” Weisgerber said. “We arrived (and) we made treaties that are supposed to be the basis on which we share coming together.”

Indian church leaders critical after Islamic court expels Christians

January 20, 2012

BANGALORE, India - Church leaders criticized an Islamic court's decision to expel five Christians, including a Catholic priest. A Shariah court in Jammu and Kashmir state ordered the expulsion of Mill Hill Father Jim Borst, who has worked in the region since 1963, after accusing him of "spreading communal disaffection." Shariah courts have no legal standing in India.

Sudanese churches commit to helping youths from war-torn Jonglei state

January 20, 2012

JUBA, South Sudan - The Sudan Council of Churches has committed to involving young people from war-torn Jonglei state in a grass-roots peace process. The council said the state's young people have no political leadership. A series of retaliatory attacks between ethnic groups in Jonglei has displaced tens of thousands of people since late December.

U.S. delays, but does not change, rule on contraceptive coverage

January 20, 2012

WASHINGTON - Although Catholic leaders vowed to fight on, the Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge. Instead, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced Jan. 20 that nonprofit groups that do not provide contraceptive coverage because of their religious beliefs will get an additional year "to adapt to this new rule."

Cutting-edge science: the church and the study of human anatomy

January 20, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Many readers of the Vatican's official newspaper might have been taken by surprise in mid-January by an article effusively praising a well-known exhibition of "plastinated" human bodies, which was making an extended stop in Rome. "Body Worlds," which L'Osservatore Romano called a "wonderful ode to respect for the body," is an exhibition of preserved human corpses, displayed in often sporty stances.

January 22

Tying together the history of relic worship

January 22, 2012

Charles Freeman offers a history of medieval relic worship that is both intriguing and engaging — but not, in the end, sympathetic to its subject. Freeman ambitiously tackles the long Middle Ages — from the start of relic worship among early Christians to the Renaissance and Reformation, when the cult of saints and the reality of miracles began to be questioned. There are many relics in Holy Bones, Holy Dust, but Freeman finds few saints as he generally disparages the Medieval men and women who wrote about, built around and venerated relics. The author deserves praise for trying to bring together into one story, spanning more than 1,500 years, the complex facets of relic worship from across Europe. Scholars specializing in medieval religion tend, instead, to focus on one area, period or cult.

January 23

'Let it begin with me': Juarez parishioners work to change image

January 23, 2012

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - In a city that has become synonymous with violence and despair during a four-year drug war that has claimed more than 12,000 residents, parishioners at a small church are trying to change the image of Ciudad Juarez - one person at a time. Reflecting on the hymn lyrics, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me," Father Roberto Luna, pastor of Corpus Christi Church, urges the estimated 500 active parishioners in this impoverished and besieged neighborhood to live the life of Christ to the best of their abilities. He knows how daunting this task can be. The neighborhood Corpus Christi is in is adjacent to the Juarez Valley, where a war is being waged between the Sinaloa and Juarez drug cartels, and the war greatly affects the youth in the parish. Over the past year, Father Luna estimates that as many as 50 young people between the ages of 17 and 23 have been murdered, leaving survivors with a sense of anger, frustration and vengeance.

Letter calls on Catholic GOP candidates to stop racial stereotypes

January 23, 2012

WASHINGTON - A group of Catholic theologians and leaders of Catholic organizations called on Republican presidential candidates to "stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail." The organization Faith in Public Life circulated the letter challenging fellow Catholics former Rep. Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum, both Republicans, to dial back from how they refer to the nation's first African-American president "with a title that evokes the past myth of 'welfare queens' and inflaming other racist caricatures." The group called the tactic "irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders."

Nigerian bishops deplore fatal attacks in North by Islamic group

January 23, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Two Nigerian bishops deplored bloody attacks in a northern city by a radical Islamist group, warning of deep social divisions and displaced populations, the Vatican missionary news agency Fides reported. "They are destroying the hope of a united Nigeria," said Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos, referring to simultaneous attacks on government buildings by the extremist sect known as Boko Haram, Jan. 20 in the city of Kano, according to Fides. News reports said that more than 150 people, most of them Muslims, are believed dead following the attacks, the latest in a series by the radical organization, which seeks to impose Islamic law in the country's Muslim-majority North.

U.S. Cardinal links religious liberty fight with abortion struggle

January 23, 2012

WASHINGTON - Participants at the annual March for Life were urged in advance of the march not to let themselves be compromised in their beliefs as the federal government pursues regulations that Catholic leaders say constitute an attack on conscience and religious liberty. "I beg and pray for the young people present and all youth and young adults not to be compromised in your dedication to the protection of life of each human person, born and unborn," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. "Keep it before your eyes and in your hearts immediately. Threats against life and against the consciences of those who say 'yes' to life must be met with timely and unwavering action, in our families and institutions, and yes, in the public square."

Dominicans set bar high on human rights

January 23, 2012

Dominicans have a long history of being rather dissatisfied with this world. But they have never merely complained. Canadian Dominican Father Philippe LeBlanc has complained, but never aimlessly. He pioneered a Dominican presence at the United Nations in Geneva. Beginning in 1996, in partnership with Franciscans International, LeBlanc and a band of Dominicans have been standing up at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to point out where the world has failed, where power and blind arrogance has injured the poor, where dignity has been forgotten.

Christian unity will take change

January 23, 2012

TORONTO - The ecumenical movement knows precisely what it wants and has wanted since the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began in 1908 — full, visible unity of the body of Christ. At this year's Toronto Week of Prayer ecumenical service, Rev. Ammonius Guirguis of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church told about 700 in St. Michael's Cathedral exactly what they would have to do to get the unity they want. They would have to change. "There will be a change, but it has to be preceded by changes in our behaviour," Guirguis declared.

2012 Friar’s Essay Contest

January 23, 2012

The 2012 Friar’s Essay Contest winners have been announced. The annual contest is sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. You can read about the three lucky winners here: "Friar’s Essay winners announced, students take home an iPad2 and Kindle Fire". We will be publishing the winning entries in the coming weeks in the newspaper and here at CatholicRegister.org.

January 24

Life, liberty at 'core of our national character,' Boehner tells U.S. rally

January 24, 2012

WASHINGTON - Americans "as a people are pro-life" because life and liberty "are intertwined and form the core of our national character," House Speaker John Boehner told the crowd gathered on the National Mall Jan. 23 for the 39th annual March for Life. "God who gave us life gave us liberty," said the Ohio Republican, who is a Catholic. He added that his pro-life stand isn't political, "it's just who I am." He and the other members of Congress who spoke at the rally said they were proud they had passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and the Protect Life Act and voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood.

Silence is key ingredient to meaningful communication, pope says

January 24, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Amid the deluge of information and nonstop chatter in today's media, the church needs to help people find safe havens of silence, Pope Benedict XVI said. Far from being the enemy of calm and quiet, social media and the Internet can lead people to virtual sanctuaries that offer silent reflection, thoughtful dialogue and true meaning in life, he said. "Attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks which can help people today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning, as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God," he said in his message for the 2012 celebration of World Communications Day.

Feticide shows need to reopen abortion debate

January 24, 2012

OTTAWA - An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal warning of a distortion of the male/female balance due to sex-selection abortion in some ethnic communities shows the need to reopen the abortion debate in Canada, say pro-life groups. In the editorial, Journal interim editor-in-chief Dr. Rajendra Kale urged the sex of a fetus be kept from pregnant women until 30 weeks gestation, when it is unlikely an abortion will be performed except for exceptional medical reasons. “Female feticide happens in India and China by the millions, but it also happens in North America in numbers large enough to distort the male-to-female ratio in some ethnic groups,” said Kale.

Bishop eulogizes a faithful Catholic in Joe Paterno

January 24, 2012

ALTOONA, Pa. - Although Joe Paterno will be remembered as "a legend throughout our region and throughout our country," Bishop Mark Bartchak said the iconic football coach will be best remembered in the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown as "a good Catholic, a family man and a friend to many." Bartchak made his comments Jan. 22 at a news conference at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona, prior to a prayer service celebrating Respect for Life.

Cancer claims life of Jesuit Father Bill Addley

January 24, 2012

TORONTO - The parish of Our Lady of Lourdes faced the harshest command its faith can impose at the recent Sunday morning Masses. The Catholics of this diverse, downtown parish obeyed the biblical injunction to celebrate — all the while knowing that their leader, friend and pastor had died. Jesuit Father Bill Addley died at St. Michael's Hospital just before 2 a.m. Jan. 21, surrounded by friends. The pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes for almost 13 years, a former provincial superior of the Jesuits in English Canada and one of the first Canadian Church leaders to face the sexual abuse scandal head-on, Fr. Addley died of complications from colon cancer within two weeks of being diagnosed. He went through an operation to resection his colon Jan. 13 and for a time seemed likely to recover. But the cancer had spread and he couldn't regain his energy.

Chastity as purity of heart and intention

January 24, 2012

To live a chaste life is not easy, not just for celibates, but for everyone. Even when our actions are all in line, it is still hard to live with a chaste heart, a chaste attitude and chaste fantasies. Purity of heart and intention is very difficult. Why? Chastity is difficult because we are so incurably sexual in every pore of our being. And that is not a bad thing. It’s God’s gift. Far from being something dirty and antithetical to our spiritual lives, sexuality is God’s great gift, God’s holy fire, inside us. And so the longing for consummation is a conscious or inchoate colouring underlying most every action in our lives. And so it is hard to pray for chastity because to pray for it, seemingly, is to pray that sexual yearning and sexual energy should lessen within us or disappear altogether. And who wants to live an asexual and neutered life? No healthy person wants this. Thus, if you are healthy, it is hard to put your heart into praying for chastity because, deep down, nobody wants to be asexual.

Face adversity with courage, humility, grace

January 24, 2012

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Feb. 5 (Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39) Most people have shared Job’s feelings and thoughts at least once in their lives. There are times when life seems futile, burdensome and joyless. And as we grow older the years seem to fly by with ever-growing speed. Often things do not turn out as we had hoped or planned. Dreams fade, relationships sour and fail and there are many heartbreaks and disappointments along the way.