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August 2012

August 18

Nun says Syrian insurrection results are worse than Assad's regime

August 18, 2012

DUBLIN - A Carmelite nun said the armed insurrection in Syria is "producing a totalitarianism that is worse" than that of Bashar Assad's regime. Mother Agnes Mariam of the Cross, superior of the community at the monastery of St. James the Mutilated in Qara, Syria, also appealed to the international community to stop supporting violent militias linked to al-Qaida and other extremist groups guilty of atrocities against innocent Syrian civilians. "We know now that those people are not fighting for freedom, they are fighting for their values, and those values are not even those of moderate Islam, they are fundamentalist," the Lebanese-born nun said. "What has really scandalized us and leaves us in distress is that the Western world seems to be encouraging this rise of sectarian violence just to topple the (Assad) regime." Mother Agnes Mariam, spokeswoman for the Catholic Media Centre of the Melkite Catholic archdiocese of Homs, said the insurgents were targeting religious minorities and executing moderate Sunnis such as journalists, researchers, doctors and engineers to pressure their families and communities into supporting an Islamist state. She claimed they were "destroying the delicate religious and ethnic balance" in Syria. "You don't know when it will be your turn to be considered a collaborator," she explained of the arbitrary abductions, beheadings and killings being carried out as part of a campaign of terror by the insurgents against those they claim are working for the Assad regime. "It is a life of fear and insecurity." She described the international community's public utterances in support of peace as "paradoxical" in view of the financial support recently pledged by Britain and the United States to the insurgents, whom she warned are "paralysing civilian life." The Sunni Muslim rebels are also backed by Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. "This money will be used for weapons which will increase the violence," Mother Agnes Mariam told Catholic News Service in Dublin in mid-August after a meeting with the papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, and with representatives of the Irish bishops' justice and peace council. On Aug. 15, a panel of UN experts based in Geneva concluded that government forces and pro-government militias as well as armed insurgents had committed war crimes in the Syrian conflict between Feb. 15 and July 20. However, only the panel's chairman was allowed to enter Syria to conduct interviews; other panelists were denied access. In late July, the UN said an estimated 2.5 million Syrians have been injured, displaced or face problems securing food or basic necessities since the uprising — now deemed a civil war by the Red Cross — began in March 2011. Activists estimate 20,000-28,000 people have died in the conflict. Mother Agnes Mariam said a prelate in Aleppo told her that although the city "did not really enter in the revolution demonstrations, as the majority of the city's population wanted to stay neutral," the city had been "invaded by thousands of rebels, most of whom are not Syrian," and that they were "forcing people to either collaborate with them or killing them." "My appeal is for the civilian population," Mother Agnes Mariam said. "This is not the way to bring freedom or democracy to a country which has been under a yoke of totalitarianism for 50 years." She said that, in Homs, she had witnessed "terrible things." "I have seen hundreds of corpses of civilians who were shot, cut in pieces — just because they were civilians going to their work," she said. Likening Homs to Stalingrad, Russia, or Dresden, Germany, after the Second World War, she said ancient Catholic, Orthodox and Presbyterian churches had been desecrated and the conflict had caused 130,000 Christians to flee the area. "The only solution is for a complete ceasefire and dialogue from within Syria and for all factions to enter into a movement of reconciliation and of dialogue," she suggested. "We want first of all to stop violence." She also urged support for an alternative solution to the violence. "Mussalaha, which in Arabic means reconciliation, is a community-based non-violent initiative which has emerged from within civil society. Religious, family and ethnic leaders have been meeting to promote peace and reconciliation within Syrian society. It is an alternative to the violence of the insurrection or international military intervention," she said. The Church-backed initiative emerged in June in Homs following the attendance of representatives of various religions at a meeting that resulted in a number of joint declarations on building peace and mutual respect in Syria. Born in Lebanon of a Lebanese mother and a Palestinian father, Mother Agnes Mariam lived through the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990. She joined the Carmelites in 1971, and in 1994 she established a new monastic foundation in the sixth-century monastery of St. James the Mutilated in Qara.

August 19

Chimney swifts a 'beautiful aspect' of King's University campus

August 19, 2012

King’s University College in London, Ont., has made a conscious effort to go green — and even the birds have noticed. The Catholic college has incorporated the environment into its mandate and implemented many green initiatives, which range from solar panels to a volunteer “Green team” that organizes campus cleanups and tree planting. But being a bird sanctuary? That wasn’t planned. The large chimney attached to the Wemple Building at King’s is home to some 300 swifts every August and September, said King’s principal David Sylvester. Far from being a nuisance, Sylvester said the small, robin-sized birds have become a “beautiful aspect of the King’s campus.” “On any given night in the summer here you can see the swifts returning to the chimney,” Sylvester said. “It’s like smoke coming in and out.” That number has now grown. Three at-risk chimney swift birds, who have been in constant care since mid-July, were released into the wild at King’s Aug. 15. The birds were roosting in a chimney in a home in Aylmer, Ont., when their home fell into a furnace pipe. Swift Care Ontario, a London-based, newly certified wildlife rehabilitation charity, nursed them back to health by providing hourly feedings, vitamin and mineral supplements and housing in an artificial chimney. By Aug. 15, they were ready to go. Debbie Lefebre, co-founder of Swift Care Ontario, said while there’s bound to be population loss with the release of swifts, many do survive — and each life matters. “If we can save even one or two of them, put back into the wild population, that’s a bonus,” Lefebre said. “Every creature deserves to have its place in the web (of life).” The number of swifts that flock to King’s each summer may be increasing, but the overall population of these birds has decreased by more than 95 per cent in the last 40 years. Luckily, there are not three more swifts being added to that statistic. Sylvester said King’s being a home for so many swifts — and the location of the release of these now-healthy ones — suits King’s mission. “It fits perfectly within our whole stewardship of the environment and our call as a Catholic college, (our) relationship to creation and the environment,” he said. “It’s not like we made a conscious decision (to house them). They chose us. I would say we're lucky that the swifts chose us and we’ve just kept up our part of the bargain.”

August 20

South African bishops call for inquiry into mine violence

August 20, 2012

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - South Africa's bishops condemned the killings at a platinum mine in Marikana and called for a judicial inquiry into the circumstances that led to the violence. Thirty-four people died and 78 were injured Aug. 16 when police opened fire on striking miners who, armed with machetes and homemade spears, were gathered on a rocky outcrop at the mine, 100 km northwest of Johannesburg. Another 10 people, including two policemen, had already been killed in violence at the mine since the start of an illegal strike Aug. 10. "The senseless loss of life, especially through wanton violence, is always a tragedy and needs to be condemned in the strongest terms," the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a statement. "There are a lot of questions and not many answers," Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg said in a telephone interview. The mine is located in his diocese. He and other Church leaders were aware of the standoff between two trade unions over recognition agreements at the mine and "hoped that it would be resolved in the negotiations during the week," Dowling said. The miners were also demanding higher wages. The actions of the trade unions, the London-based Lonmin mining company and the police "need to be investigated" by an inquiry that also looks at "the living and working conditions at this mining operation," the bishops said. "We offer to assist in the trauma counselling and community healing that will be necessary for this community and the broader South African community," the bishops said. "We cannot allow this violence to escalate and become a normal part of our society. "There are effective mechanisms available for facilitating and brokering amicable settlements to disputes of whatever nature, and we encourage all the parties concerned in this tragic situation to commit to acquiring these skills to ensure that similar unfortunate incidences do not occur again," they said. Dowling said that often South Africa's industrial disputes turn violent, which "indicates deep frustration and anger." "Terrible poverty and high levels of unemployment" in his diocese "are the cause of much tension," he said. The secretary-general of the South African Council of Churches, the Rev. Mautji Pataki, said that he and the organization's president, Anglican Bishop Johannes Seoka of Pretoria, found workers and management at the mine "willing to engage one another, provided the level of hostility is reduced to allow peaceful interaction and resolution." A delegation from the council, of which the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference is a member, visited the mine Aug. 17 and said in a statement afterward that the council would "seek to help to create an atmosphere conducive to negotiation." The council called on the police "to exercise restraint in the use of force as they seek to maintain law and order." It said it is "only through meaningful and peaceful dialogue that all parties affected by this conflict can find a solution." South African President Jacob Zuma cut short a visit to a regional summit in neighbouring Mozambique to visit the mine. In a front-page editorial Aug. 17, the Sowetan newspaper said that in South Africa, 18 years after the end of apartheid, "the value of human life, especially that of the African, continues to be meaningless." Africans "are pitted against each other over who is the rightful representative of workers. They are also fighting for a bigger slice of the mineral wealth of their own country. In the end the war claims the very poor African — again," the newspaper said. South Africa is home to 80 per cent of the world's known reserves of platinum. Rising power and labour costs and a steep decline this year in platinum prices have left many mines struggling to stay afloat, according to Reuters, the British news agency.

Family Research Council shooter charged with assault, intent to kill

August 20, 2012

WASHINGTON - The shooter brought 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches and a 9mm pistol with him to the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington Aug. 15. According to an affidavit released by the FBI the next day, the gunman said, "I don't like your politics," just before he opened fire. After a non-fatal shooting of one guard, the gunman, later identified as Floyd Lee Corkins, was subdued. Corkins, 28, was charged Aug. 16 with assault with intent to kill while armed. He also is charged with the federal offense of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition. Corkins is from Herndon, Va., a Washington suburb. If found guilty on those charges, he could face a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment. He is being held in jail without bond. Tony Perkins, CEO of the Family Research Council, said in a statement that "reckless language" created an atmosphere of violence. He referred to the Southern Poverty Law Centre's labelling of his organization as a hate group because of its opposition to same-sex marriage. Founded in 1983, the Family Research Council advocates for public policy "that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family." Its motto is "Advancing Faith, Family and Freedom." Perkins also shared his gratitude for 25 gay rights groups who had released a statement through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The GLAAD statement said, "Regardless of what emerges as the reason for this shooting, we utterly reject and condemn such violence." Chick-fil-A has recently gone from being an innocuous sandwich shop to a political lightning rod after its chief operating officer, Dan Cathy, talked about his opposition to same-sex marriage. Chick-fil-A is a donor to the Family Research Council. The Southern fast-food chain has just one location in Washington, in The Catholic University of America's student union. It has been closed for the summer and will reopen Aug. 27 when the new school year begins. A spokesman for the university, Victor Nakas, told Catholic News Service that the school would increase security measures. "We have professional staff available 24/7. We'll be giving our food court more visibility," said Nakas. He noted the school does not expect any incidents but would increase patrols to their student center regardless.

Quebec's Charter of Secularism would push religious believers out of public square

August 20, 2012

OTTAWA - A religious freedom expert warns the Parti Quebecois leader's proposed Charter of Secularism should the PQ win Quebec's provincial election Sept. 4 would violate the Charter and push many religious believers out of public service. "Religions in Quebec have rights and one of these rights is not to be forced out of the public sphere by the beliefs of atheism and agnosticism dominating the public," said Iain Benson, a constitutional lawyer and international religious freedom expert. Benson said he was "startled" by PQ Leader Pauline Marois' proposed Charter of Secularism that would prohibit government employees from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs, kirpans (ceremonial daggers required by baptized Sikhs), turbans and kippahs (or yarmulke, the skullcap worn by Jewish men). It would allow the wearing of an unobtrusive crucifix. Marois' Charter later clarified the crucifix in the National Assembly could also remain because it is part of Quebec's heritage, explaining moves towards ensuring state neutrality do not mean Quebeckers have to deny who they are. "It would mean that only those who do not have an orthodox traditional view of their religious tradition could work in a public sphere setting while maintaining their beliefs about religious garb and that doesn't seem fair," Benson said. "We just need to get over the secularist prejudice that only religious people believe things. Everyone is a believer and not wearing religious symbols is an indication what one does not believe as much as wearing them indicates what one does." Marois is not alone in her support for the crucifix or other Christian symbols as a nod to Quebec's past. Other leaders also chimed in to support it, including Liberal Leader and Premier Jean Charest. Previously the Quebec National Assembly voted unanimously to keep the crucifix over the Speaker's chair despite recommendations it be removed by the Bouchard-Taylor Commission that investigated religious accommodation in the province. Quebec's Catholic bishops will not be weighing in on the election, if at all, until later in September. The Quebec bishops have the matter on the agenda for their upcoming meeting, said a spokesman for the Assembly of Catholic Bishop of Quebec and no statement will be coming out before then. Assembly president Archbishop Paul-Andre Fournier has issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics to exercise their right to vote and to reflect seriously on the issues in light of Gospel values. "The Catholic bishops have a difficult time in Quebec owing to historical over-reach by certain Catholics in the past when the Church was so dominant," said Benson. "This has left a very deep and lingering resentment in that province." Benson urged religious leaders of all faiths, however, to be more vocal in defense of religious freedom and critical of secularism as "an anti-religious ideology." "Quebec seems confused about the fact that the better understanding of 'secular' or 'public' is that it is or ought to be inclusive of all citizens, religious or non-religious," he said. Benson said this confusion over definitions means that the anti-religious secularism comes up in the middle of the confusion and takes over. History has shown iconoclasts have always tried to tear down the religious relics of previous eras, and the importance to cultures of various symbols will come and go, he said. "The attempt by contemporary secularists in Quebec to keep religious icons emptied of their significance may be seen for what it is — a vain attempt to believe the crucifix empty of its deeper meanings just because they themselves don't believe them," he said. Benson, who divides his time between France and Canada, notes Quebec seems to be following the policy of laicism in France where religious symbols are banned from the public service. He does support bans on partial or full face-coverings for those dealing with the public or receiving public services. "Where we are involved in working in the public sphere I believe all citizens have a right to see the face of other citizens," he said. "They don't have the right to demand that a person remove a turban or headscarf or yarmulke or cross but they can demand that they can see who they are dealing with."

August 21

ShareLife campaign comes in just shy of $15 million

August 21, 2012

TORONTO - The 2012 ShareLife campaign is over the top. The annual campaign by the archdiocese of Toronto's fundraising arm surpassed its goal of $14.3 million by more than $600,000 this year. And for the first time since 1999, the campaign exceeded its parish goal, coming in at more than $37,000 over the $12.3 million goal. Arthur Peters, ShareLife's executive director, said much thanks for pushing the campaign over the top must go to a matching gift donor, who wishes to remain anonymous. The donor matched new gifts as well as increased contributions from returning donors. All told, he gave $650,000 in matching funds. "This year our parishioners were challenged by a generous donor to increase their gifts or to make new gifts to support the work of our agencies and they've responded very generously," said Peters. Peters said the matching gift motivated parishioners to donate to the parish campaign, but did not directly contribute to the $12,337,548 raised — a seven-per-cent increase over last year. The $650,000 is reflected in a miscellaneous fund. An additional $1.37 million came in from the corporate and school employee's campaigns pushing the collective total to $14,934,666. "We're very grateful to the parishioners of the archdiocese of Toronto who in a difficult economy have responded generously to the needs of ShareLife's agencies and contributed a record amount to help those who are served by our agencies," said Peters. Despite the present economic hardships, 157 parishes, about 70 per cent of those in the archdiocese of Toronto, increased donations from 2011. This marks the largest number of parishes to increase their gifts from the previous year seen by Peters since joining ShareLife eight years ago. "At the end of the day our parishioners have always demonstrated a commitment to helping the marginalized in our society and around the world," he said. "These funds will be used to help the people who need our help the most." Over the next few months ShareLife's allocation community and advisory board will determine the 2013 allocations, distributing this year's donations to more than 30 social service support agencies. "The fact that we've raised a significant amount of money more in this years campaign means we'll be able to help our agencies in a greater way."

Archbishop asks international help to stop terrorism in Nigeria

August 21, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The president of the Nigerian bishops' conference called for the international community to help his country improve its security operations to stop the "fundamentalist, fanatic" Boko Haram terrorist group. The day after a Catholic church, an elementary school and a police station in Damagun were attacked, presumably by Boko Haram members, Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos told Vatican Radio: "There is high religious tension in Nigeria, but we are not at war between Christians and Muslims. The Boko Haram is at war with Christians, because they have vowed they will kill Christians because they are 'infidels.' This is a fact, but it is not the whole Islamic community." In its two-year campaign to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law on the entire country, Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths of Christians, Muslims and police officers. Kaigama, who was interviewed Aug. 20 in Rimini, Italy, where he addressed a meeting of the Communion and Liberation lay movement, told Vatican Radio that in his country, where the population is about half Muslim and half Christian, "there is no neat division between political problems and religious problems. They are intertwined." "It is erroneous to always reduce every crisis in Nigeria to religion. Religion does a lot of good; we shouldn't see it as always generating crisis," the archbishop said. In addition, he said, people must look for the root causes of tensions in Nigeria, including the economic, political and social issues that "trigger these crises, but somehow eventually they always become Christian-Muslim crises." The vast majority of Nigerians — Christians and Muslims — want to live in peace and are frightened by the actions and agenda of Boko Haram, he said, "but somehow the violence continues to grow." "The government seems helpless. The security agents, even though they are all over the place, don't seem to provide the security that would allow people to go about their normal business peacefully," Kaigama said. "People are afraid that if this conflict situation continues, the consequences will be disastrous: There will be either an open, very terrible religious conflict or even a civil war that will pit the North against the South," he said. The majority of people in the North are Muslim, while the majority of people in the South are Christian. If there is war in Nigeria, he said, it will affect other West African nations and, perhaps, the whole continent. "We don't want a war in Africa, that is why we are asking the international community to assist in a way that we can resolve the problems of security so that we can live happily in peace," the archbishop said.

August 22

CWL, Sisters of Service start foundation for women’s leadership

August 22, 2012

EDMONTON - The Catholic Women’s League of Canada, in partnership with the Sisters of Service of Toronto, is setting up a $1-million private charitable foundation to train women in leadership in the Church and in society. As part of their legacy, the Sisters of Service are giving $500,000 to begin the foundation which will train about 24 women a year. The CWL has vowed to match the Sisters’ donation. At its 92nd annual national convention in Edmonton, the CWL voted to take $100,000 from its treasury to get the foundation rolling and to raise the remaining $400,000 from donations across Canada. Outgoing national president Velma Harasen made the announcement at a news conference Aug. 15, just hours before she completed her two-year term. “We feel there is a real need to speak up for our Christian values and therefore be out there in the community, on school boards, on hospital boards, on parish councils and in society at large,” she said. “This will hopefully help our women be a little more empowered to speak up and feel a bit more confident to do that. So with the blessing of the convention, we will proceed with this charitable foundation.” The CWL has worked in partnership with the Sisters of Service since the 1920s. Today, only 20 Sisters of Service remain in Canada and the youngest is 78. The congregation was established to help meet the spiritual and social needs of immigrants settling in rural areas of the Canadian Prairies. “So they are planning for their future when they are no longer with us,” said Harasen. A board of directors will run the foundation, which will be incorporated and therefore able to ask for donations and issue tax receipts, noted president Betty Anne Brown Davidson of Wellington, Ont., who took over the reins of the CWL following the news conference. “The foundation will be separate from the league and will have a totally separate board,” she said. It should be up and running in about a year. At the convention, delegates also approved a resolution urging the federal government “to strongly enforce the criminalization of the purchase of sexual services.” Also approved was a resolution urging the government to provide for an extra 15 weeks of Employment Insurance benefits for adoptive mothers. The convention also approved two motions to send letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition parties on social justice issues. One letter opposes the federal government’s funding cuts to faith-based development agencies; the other expresses concern about poor living conditions on First Nations reserves. The Aug. 15 closing Mass at St. Joseph’s Basilica was offered for the repose of the soul of Fr. Joseph Christenson, spiritual advisor for the CWL in Halifax-Yarmouth. Christenson died suddenly while attending the convention. (Western Catholic Reporter)

August 23

York Catholic board signs austerity deal with province

August 23, 2012

AURORA, ONT. - Trustees from the York Catholic District School Board agreed on Aug. 21 to accept the province's Memorandum of Understanding as a framework for local collective bargaining with their teachers' union. The York board joins the Toronto Catholic board as the only ones to date to sign on to the province's plan to freeze teacher wages for two years, alter sick leave benefits and cut sick days, all part of the government's austerity measures to deal with a $15-billion budget deficit. In July, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association was the first of the education stakeholders to sign on to the deal. "Adoption of the MOU will help provide labour stability and peace of mind," said board chair Elizabeth Crowe. "We have always worked in a spirit of collaboration with all our employee groups and we greatly value those relationships." By approving the MOU it ensures there will be no labour disruption this year in York Catholic schools. That looks like it may not be the case across the province. No other union has accepted the provincial deal and other school boards have voiced their concerns about collective bargaining being taken away from them. Premier Dalton McGuinty, however, has vowed to bring in legislation to prevent a labour disruption and has recalled MPPs from their summer break for a session beginning Aug. 27 to deal with the issue. The York board, with 55,000 students and 103 schools, now has until Dec. 31 to sign contracts under the agreed upon guidelines.

Ottawa Catholic board fined for explosion that killed student

August 23, 2012

OTTAWA - The Ottawa Catholic District School Board has been fined $275,000 for its role in a 2011 classroom explosion that killed student Eric Leighton. “As a school board ultimately we’re responsible for what happens in the schools,” said Julian Hanlon, director of education. “We’ve accepted that responsibility all along and this process will hopefully help bring some closure to the case, in particular for the Leighton family themselves.” When Leighton tried cutting a 55-gallon drum in half with an angle grinder during his morning shop-class on May 26, 2011, the steel barrel exploded. The blast sent five students and A teacher to hospital, all of whom left with minor injuries except for Leighton. The Grade 12 student later passed away. He was 18. Charged in January under the Occupational Health and Safety Act with failing to provide instruction or supervision, failing to take every reasonable precaution to protect the workplace and failing to properly acquaint a supervisor with the handling of equipment, the board faced up to $500,000 in fines. A media release from the Ministry of Labour stated that “the barrel the student was using had been washed out with flammable cleaner ... the barrel had been stored with its caps closed prior to the class project, allowing flammable cleaning vapour to accumulate.” The family has called for a coroner’s inquest which is still being considered according to Dr. Roger Skinner, regional supervising coroner for Ontario east.

August 24

We are rewarded when our hearts are one with God

August 24, 2012

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Sept. 2 (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15; James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23) When asking the reason for a particular rule or policy, people seldom take well to the answer, “Because I say so, that’s why!” The irritation is understandable, for this is nothing more than authoritarianism — the bane of families, societies, religions and nations. In the covenant theology of Deuteronomy divine command is certainly evident, but with a huge difference. First of all, the author celebrates the fact that the statutes, laws and ordinances are just and meaningful — so much so, in fact, that it elicits wonder and admiration from the surrounding nations. There is a reason for the laws: they establish and maintain humane and just societies where human beings can flourish and be happy. The Israelites were also free to reject the laws laid down by God. Force was not involved, but the laws were an essential expression of the covenant. The people were warned not to tinker with the commandments by adding or subtracting from its provisions. The first tendency burdens people unnecessarily and claims divine sanction for what is merely human, while the second strives to create a smooth and easy highway for human desires. Needless to say, human religious traditions — all of them — have been guilty of both tendencies. How are we to understand law and covenant today? Both the prophets and the New Testament insist that all of the laws and statutes are concrete expressions of the love commandment. These expressions evolve and change according to time, place and culture but the prime commandment, to love God with all our heart, mind and soul and our neighbour as ourselves is always applicable and can never be set aside. When this divine command is violated or ignored, we suffer the consequences. The most important aspect of the covenant, however, is the relationship that is established between God and human beings. As a sign of loyalty and love, Israel vowed to obey the divine commandments. This same faithful love was expressed by God in the commitment to always be there for Israel in powerful and extraordinary ways. God always kept God’s part of the covenant, while Israel was often unfaithful. We have not done appreciably better — if we had, the world in which we live would be a much nicer place. A rich and rewarding relationship is only possible when our hearts are one with God. The author of James energetically agrees. Talk is cheap; real love is always manifested in deeds. The word of God — the divine teaching — is not a creed to memorize but principles to be planted deep in our hearts and souls. True and pure religion is putting the divine teachings into practice, and this consists of caring for the poor, weak and suffering, as well as keeping oneself free of the negative aspects of human culture. There is abundant evidence of evil, ungodliness and impurity in our world. We are all painfully aware of it and we constantly ask questions about causes, responsibilities and possible courses of action. Moralists, reformers, religious zealots and curmudgeons are quick with the answers but often lacking in compassion, reflection and insight. Stressing control and conformity in behaviour often neglects inner transformation. Just as the kingdom of God is within us, so is the realm of darkness. Jesus zeroed in on the human heart as the source of all of the world’s negativity. Understood biblically, the heart is the deepest centre of the understanding self — a blend of intellect, feeling and spirit. Just, loving and kind behaviour is a reflection of a pure and loving heart. But when the heart is not right with God, it becomes the place where human fears, desires, hatred and lust for power dwell. Affecting a squeaky-clean moral exterior is useless in this latter case — the negativity will spill out in countless ways. If we want a pure and peaceful world then transformation must begin here. The source of the word hypocrite used in this passage was the elaborate masks used in the Greek theatre. A hypocrite is one who wears a mask, deceiving self and others. Hypocrisy is living in a world of illusion and projecting one’s darkness on others. The solution is self-knowledge and transformation, which begins with humble reception of God’s word into the heart.

Trashy lit has made its way to the front of the bookstore

August 24, 2012

There is a pornographic book that is flying off the bookshelves in Edinburgh and, I imagine, every other city in the English-speaking world. It is called Fifty Shades of Grey, and I will not read it. I will not read it both because it is a sin to read pornographic novels and because I do not wish to encourage the proliferation of pornographic novels by indulging in them myself. Not only do these novels create troubling images in the mind that are difficult to erase, they perpetuate lies about men, women and sexuality. Fifty Shades of Grey, I am informed by book reviews, is about a college-educated virgin who becomes the sex-slave of an attractive, fabulously wealthy man in his late 20s who gives her lavish presents in exchange for their sado-masochistic relationship. She later abandons their deal, head high and conscience clear. There are two sequels; together they have sold more than 40 million copies. Although I have not read these books, I can see the impact they have had on daily life. First, my local supermarket has filled its sales bin, right beside the checkout line and at the height of children’s eyes, with them. Second, my formerly favourite bookshop has compiled a table piled high with “women’s erotica” in plain view of the front door. Third, I have received an e-mail from a male stranger claiming that it is easier to seduce women by being cruel to us than being nice and that the proof lies both in his own experience and “the book women are so hot and bothered about these days.” What we read and buy has an impact on society. I am sorry to use the word “impact,” but I think it fittingly conveys the sense of a metorite smacking into the Earth, altering a landscape forever. Every woman who bought Fifty Shades of Grey contributed to its being made available to curious children in my grocery store. She contributed to an interest in booksellers for pornography over other kinds of writing. She contributed to my unpleasant correspondent’s idea that women enjoy being treated badly by men. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, and I acknowledge that men may have bought some of the 40 million copies, but women too have to take responsibility for the blasted, overly sexualized landscape we have created for our children to play in. And it is no use protesting “It’s just a book” because Sex & the City was just a television show, and its opening premise, that “women should have sex just like (promiscuous) men,” has been parroted everywhere. Its own lies have been absorbed by a trusting generation. This is not to say that any reference to sexual themes should be expunged from novels, even novels by Catholics. One of my Seraphic Singles readers wrote to me of an editor at a Catholic publishing house who had complained to her that she could not find the “Graham Greenes” and “Evelyn Waughs” of our generation. Having written a novel very much in tribute to Graham Greene, I sent it to this editor in hopeful expectation. My Greene-ish work was rejected on the grounds that the heroine is morally ambiguous and living with her boyfriend. At the time I raged, but my manuscript has since been accepted by Ignatius Press, so now I chortle. Anyone who has seriously read the work of Waugh and Greene knows that they wrote often about morally ambiguous protagonists, some of whom lived with their girlfriends. Moral ambiguity, no less than sexual sin, is a pressing problem of life, and serious, thoughtful novellists have light to shed on both. Waugh and Greene, of course, were of a different era, and their writing was governed not only by their Catholic consciences, but by more modest community standards and the Obscene Publications Act. The very fact that there is legislation about what sexually themed work can be published points to the understanding that certain works of the imagination, even ones without illustrations or photographs, are not in the public interest. Once it meant that writers who wanted to write about the sexual side of human life had to do so with modesty and sensitivity. But times, community standards and interpretations of such laws have changed. Although no one is forcing us to read or watch pornographic material, it has moved from the back of the bookshop to the front. I find this very demoralizing, speaking as a Catholic who both reads fiction and writes it. Not only are women’s imaginations being debauched, millions are being spent on trash instead of on literature, including literature written by ever more marginalized Catholics. Women, literature and Catholic writers will be the poorer for it.

What would you do with 30 minutes to live?

August 24, 2012

Preparing to land recently at Yellowknife airport in a five-seat jet, I suddenly heard the pilot in front of me utter a four-letter word that begins with the letter “S.” One of the three wheels on the aircraft refused to lock into position for landing. On the cockpit’s digital control panel we could all see two green dots for the good wheels and a black-and-yellow square for the bad one. The pilot, talking to air traffic control, flew down to within 150 feet of the ground so emergency workers with binoculars could assess the problem. Over the radio, we heard confirmation the wheel was not down. The pilot took the aircraft up a couple thousand feet and rocked it around trying to get the wheel to drop. When that failed, he returned to his checklist. All the while, I could hear air traffic control over the radio assembling more and more emergency workers, ordering them into position along the runway. The magnitude of the situation really sunk in when air traffic control asked if there were any dangerous goods on board. It didn’t take a genius to know that emergency workers were thinking about possible explosions beyond the fuel in the wings if we landed on two wheels and careened down the runway out of control. “Negative, four passengers on board and no dangerous goods,” replied the pilot. (He was calm on the outside but later admitted to being “highly stressed.”) Regardless, the airport general manager ordered all emergency workers back 100 metres from the runway, just in case. Simply by writing this, I have taken the drama out of the ending. We survived. After 30 minutes, the last emergency measure worked: the pilot manually pulled a lever that locked the wheel in place. (It was truly the last resort, I was told later.) It was an eerie feeling listening to the radio chatter, seeing the flashing lights on the ground and watching the pilot feverishly work. I thought about many things over those 30 minutes. My first thought was to keep quiet so as not to distract the pilot. If he needed something from me, he would ask and I would do what I could. I did not experience the proverbial “life flashing before my eyes.” But I did get a brief sensation of being at my own funeral and seeing my wife and two children sitting there. But I snapped out of that and said to myself: “Jesus, it doesn’t feel like this is the time for me to meet you. But if it is, so be it.” (Maybe I was being presumptuous about me meeting Him. I hope not.) Then I prayed and said many Hail Marys and Our Fathers in my head. I actually imagined Robert Redford saying Hail Marys in the classic World War II movie A Bridge Too Far as he paddled across a river against a hail of bullets. It sounds silly, but it helped. Then, I focused on my wife and two children and whether I would see them again. I remembered my mother’s early death to cancer and how she missed my wedding and ever knowing my children. For several minutes, all I could think about was what I was about to miss. Hugs. Graduations. First jobs. Weddings. Growing old with my wife. Grandchildren. But then I stopped thinking about what I would miss and focused only on how I was going to live, regardless if that wheel came down or not. I started mapping out how I was going to brace myself at impact and get the emergency door open. Luckily, shortly after this, the wheel did come down and we landed safely. Over the ensuing hours, safely in bed, I thought more about the things I didn’t think about during those 30 minutes. I didn’t think about work. I didn’t think about money or possessions. I didn’t think about my mistakes in life. I didn’t even think about golf or hockey, what I have always thought of as passions in my life. But I did think about my wife and children. And I thought about the time I’ve wasted with things that do not matter when it comes to people who do matter. I also had an odd thought: I’m glad it happened. Easy to say that now, after things worked out, you say. And you’re probably right. But it was an incredibly exhilarating life experience that taught me a lesson about what really matters.

Russia’s real top story — and it's not Pussy Riot

August 24, 2012

The Pussy Riot trial was the second most important story regarding the Russian Orthodox Church last week. Understandably, it got top billing. A punk band invoked the Mother of God in Moscow’s cathedral to protect Russia from its new czar, Vladimir Putin, and to inveigh against the support given to the regime by the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate. Politics, protest, church, state, freedom and censorship — it had it all, and so dominated the global news. The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church — Kirill — was likely happy to be away from Moscow for the sentencing of the protesters for “hooliganism.” He was in Poland for a historic meeting, one that might hold great promise for the future of 21st-century Christian unity. That was the most important story last week. The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is the single most important figure for Christian unity. The Roman Catholic Church has been ready for closer, even full, unity with the Orthodox Church for more than a generation. And that is the only prospect for Christian unity. Unity with the Anglican Communion is no longer an option; the next archbishop of Canterbury’s principal task will be to preside over the peaceful dissolution of that Christian communion, not to deepen stronger ties with Catholics or Orthodox Christians. Kirill is not the head of Orthodoxy. That office belongs to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople (Istanbul), but he has been reduced to a largely ceremonial role. His flock is only a few thousand souls, and the Turkish government has so strangled his religious liberty that he can barely function as bishop of his own city, let alone the global head of Orthodoxy. That leaves the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia as the leader of the majority of Orthodox Christians in the world. The Pussy Riot story was about how Kirill is managing the patriarchate’s relationship with the Kremlin. His explicit support of Putin makes many wary, worried that Kirill intends to make the Orthodox Church the long arm of the Kremlin in exchange for privileges from the state. Relations between the Orthodox Church and the czar, then with the communist state, have a long and tortured history. The question facing Kirill is whether the Orthodox Church will defend liberty, including religious liberty, or prefer to reconstruct an altar-and-throne arrangement with Putin as Russia’s de facto king. The visit to Poland was about how Kirill will position the Orthodox in relation to the Catholic world, and whether he will resist or support Putin’s attempts to recreate the old Soviet empire by establishing a Russian sphere of influence that will include Ukraine certainly, and perhaps aspires to move westward toward Poland. The signs from this visit were promising. It was the first visit of the patriarch of Moscow to Poland, which alone made it an historic moment. He came at the invitation of the local Orthodox Church in Warsaw, but in visiting the largest Slavic Catholic nation, the critical meetings were with the leadership of the Catholic Church. The highlight of the visit was the joint signing of an appeal for reconciliation between Russians and Poles, who throughout history have had hostile relations. Russia’s role in the dismemberment of Poland in 1795, and again in 1939 in complicity with the Nazis, is not forgotten by Poles, the majority of whom regard Russians with suspicion. “We appeal to our followers and ask them to pray in order to be forgiven for their wrongdoings, injustice and all the ill deeds they inflicted upon one another over the centuries,” states the joint appeal, entrusting to the Mother of God this work of mercy. Kirill and the head of the Polish bishops’ conference exchanged icons of the Blessed Mother as a sign of Christian charity and common Slavic spirituality. The meeting of fellow Slavic Christians ought not to be so unusual, but it is. The hope is that Kirill’s visit to the Catholics of Poland signals a willingness for a more fraternal relationship with Catholics, both in Russia and abroad. Blessed John Paul II repeatedly desired to meet the patriarch and to visit Russia, but Kirill’s predecessors refused permission. A meeting of the Pope and Patriarch remains unlikely today, but might be arranged before long. The Polish visit may bear other fruit. The centuries-long model in Russia has been for the Church to seek amenable arrangements with the state. The Polish Church learned, under more than 150 years of brutal foreign occupation and persecution, to align itself not with the state, but with the historic liberties of the people. Those who desire a more humane and free Russia, religious or not, hope that Kirill’s visit to Poland might prompt the Orthodox in Russia to move in that direction too.

No media glory to God at the London games

August 24, 2012

We hear far too much about celebrities who describe themselves as Catholic, but then when we undo the wrapper we find a very soft centre indeed. They attend “progressive” or “inclusive” churches, which is a euphemism for non-Catholic, ultra-liberal and obsessed with the gay issue, being, of course, obsessed from a pro-homosexual standpoint. Internationally as well as in Canada, “sort of” Catholics, plastic Catholics, cafeteria Catholics who have any sort of public attention are held up as examples, which is so very sad. Then comes the real thing, but they don’t receive the same attention. Take the great, the truly great, Manny Pacquiao, arguably the finest pound-for-pound boxer in history. He is a modest, humble, compassionate and highly intelligent man who is now an elected politician in the Philippines. He is also a steadfast Roman Catholic. He supports the Catholic bishops against the reproductive health bill that would push funded contraception on a people who deserve much better. Most Filipinos oppose the bill and support Pacquiao, but President Benigno Aquino enjoys great and well-financed backing, naturally, from opinion-shapers in the United States, Britain and Canada. What the chattering classes in New York, London and Toronto believe to be correct is suddenly not mere opinion but established truth. And anyway, as one Ottawa journalist told me, “what do I care about what some boxer thinks about anything?” Quite so. Ah, if only the whole thing could be sorted out in a ring. Or, perhaps, around the track. Continuing the sports and religion line, commentators were extraordinarily quiet in mentioning the Christian faith of so many medal winners at the London Olympics. The couple of women competing in hijabs were lauded as pioneers of religious liberty, but Usain Bolt’s tweet that everything was due to God and the frequent prayers of thanks after victory from myriad athletes went generally ignored. Which brings us to Meseret Defar. This remarkable Ethiopian woman won the gruelling 5,000 metres race, has won previous gold medals and set several world records. She’s an athlete of almost unparalleled accomplishment, and ran this race, and has run others, carrying a cloth icon of Our Lady and the baby Jesus — she is a devout member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. After she crossed the finish line, she took out the icon, kissed it repeatedly, knelt on the ground and kissed it again, and then held it up to the camera several times in obvious praise and gratitude. The commentary was hilarious. First commentator: “Look, aaah!” The “aaah” spoken as if she had just blown a kiss to the crowd or hugged a tiny doll. Second commentator: “There’s obviously a message in there somewhere isn’t there?” First commentator: “Well there’s a strong Christian community in Ethiopia.” Second commentator: “Yes, yes, and I think that was the ... err ... what we saw there.” Yes, I think it might just have been. A lot of this is simply ignorance and shock of course, in that sports commentators are probably confused by genuine Christian witness. But what was noticed by them was that at so many of the medal ceremonies a young lady in a purple hijab was present, even though Muslims represent less than five per cent of the British population. An accident or coincidence? Oh please. Muslims do dominate, however, the number of countries who refuse to participate in the Olympic spirit and will not compete with Israel, or refuse to allow women to compete, either completely or in any meaningful sense. A terrified Saudi girl, who had been in judo for less than two years, was a meagre blue belt and was brought in at the last moment as a token to satisfy the Olympic committee, was an utter disgrace. So, media and officialdom is biased, and in the case of Manny Pacquiao, totally subjective. No surprise there. We’d do well to remember the Christian heroes from the Olympic Games, and sports in general, and the line from the Christian sprinter Eric Liddle in Chariots of Fire. “When I run,” he said, “I feel God’s pleasure.” We praise Him in so many ways.

Protect all rights

August 24, 2012

Quebec society has been chipping away at its religious foundation for years so it should be no surprise that the party poised to form the province’s next government is championing a full-blown Charter of Secularism. Still, this is a sad testament on the state of spiritual life in what was once Canada’s most faith-filled province. Although there has been some opposition to the proposal, Quebecers have not risen up en masse to denounce the notion of a secular charter or to criticize its authors, the Parti Quebecois, which proposed this unfortunate piece of legislation. PQ leader Pauline Marois intends to make her secularist charter a priority should her party form the government after Quebecers go to the polls Sept. 4. The gist of the policy is to prohibit public-sector employees from wearing “conspicuous religious signs.” The PQ has not released details, but the legislation is expected to target such religious items as the Jewish yarmulke, Muslim hijab and Sikh kirpan. Such legislation would be a clear contravention of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects religious expression. But Marois said she’ll override the Charter by invoking the notwithstanding clause because, she said, “we insist on conserving our identity, our language, our institutions and our values.” Catholic expressions of faith, however, are to be mostly exempt. Civil servants, for instance, will be permitted to wear a chain with a crucifix if it is “discreet,” and a large crucifix that hangs in the National Assembly will remain because, said Marois, it is a part of Quebec history and “we don’t have to renounce our history.” Catholics should find little consolation in these concessions. All of society has a stake when any government disrespects fundamental rights. And all people of faith should be particularly alarmed when any group’s religious freedom is threatened. Religious freedom is an inalienable right that is essential to the dignity of all people and, as such, it must be protected by civil authority, according to the catechism. Pope John Paul II said all social and cultural discrimination, including religious discrimination, must be “eradicated as incompatible with God’s design.” Pope Benedict once called it “inconceivable” that people should be forced to suppress their faith or “denied the right to act in accordance with their religious convictions.” Pope Benedict’s comments were in response to violent persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa. What the PQ proposes is tame by comparison. But it is discrimination nonetheless and should be denounced; freedom of religious expression is an inalienable right of all people. Christian nations can hardly demand foreign governments respect the rights of religious minorities if Christians are unwilling to defend full expression of those fundamental freedoms at home.

Work under way to free Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy

August 24, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pakistani institutions and religious leaders are working together for the release of a Christian girl accused of blasphemy and to reduce the risk of Muslim-Christian violence over the incident, said the Pakistani prime minister's special advisor on minorities. Paul Bhatti, the Catholic advisor, told the Vatican's Fides news agency Aug. 23 that those working to secure the girl's release included Muslim leaders. Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, has reported that the girl, Rimsha Masih, is an 11-year-old with Down syndrome. She was taken into custody Aug. 18 after allegedly being found with burned pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book. When the police took her away, hundreds of angry Muslims were reportedly gathering in the mainly poor Christian neighbourhood of Islamabad where she lived. Hundreds of families have fled the neighbourhood, and the police presence has increased. "The situation is under control," Bhatti told Fides. Catholic leaders in Pakistan and human rights activists have said the country's anti-blasphemy law, which includes offenses against the Quran, has been misused to persecute Christians and other minorities in the country. Daughter of St. Paul Sister Daniela Baronchelli, who works in Pakistan, told Vatican Radio Aug. 20: "We have been told that the girl cannot respond to the interrogation. They found her with a bag that had parts of a burned Quran inside. They don't know, however, who gave it to her or where she got it; they don't know anything." Sr. Daniela said the angry crowd "wanted to burn her alive because they say it was a great offense against the Quran." The unjust use of the anti-blasphemy law "unfortunately is becoming all too common. The fact is that the extremists don't want the Christians here any more, so any little thing — true or not — is enough to incite a revolt," she said.

Archdiocese of Toronto raising funds for Africa, Philippines

August 24, 2012

TORONTO - Toronto parishes are being encouraged to reach out to Africa and the Philippines. The archdiocese of Toronto is channeling parish collections to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace to help people suffering food shortages in the Sahel region of northwest Africa and flood victims in the Philippines. In the case of the Sahel drought, which threatens the lives of 18.7 million people, collections sent in before Sept. 30 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Canadian government. Funds contributed to Development and Peace for the Philippine floods are immediately available to Caritas NASSA — the main Catholic relief agency in the Philippines. Parishes can make cheques payable to "Parish Name - Sahel Crisis Relief" or "Parish Name - Philippine Flood Relief." Cheques should be mailed to the Development Office, Catholic Pastoral Centre, 1155 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont., M4T 1W2. Individuals can also contribute through the archdiocese, either by calling the Development Office at 1-800-263-2595 or (416) 934-3411 or online at www.archtoronto.org/humanitarian.

Fabbro to open London's Walk for Jesus despite controversy surrounding organizer

August 24, 2012

The London diocese will be participating in Saturday's Walk for Jesus despite recent media reports claiming the walk's co-organizer is anti-Muslim. At 9 a.m. Bishop Ronald Fabbro will give the opening blessing and prayer to an expected 5,000 people before the 1.7-km journey across Dundas Street to Victoria Park where Prayer Fest — a mixture of guest speakers, live music and symbolic ceremonies — will be held. But the diocese first reconsidered its participation after the media storm in the southwestern Ontario city caused some headaches for the diocese. Media reports framed G.J. Rancourt, who is co-organizing the Walk for Jesus and is director of Prayer Fest, as anti-Muslim for comments he made in 2010 when he was a candidate for the Christian Heritage Party. Rancourt said the quotes that caused the controversy were strategically selected to "sell papers" and characterized him unjustly. He said he spoke out against sharia law, and not Muslims. "We were seeking to get some clarification on what our involvement was ... and whether or not it would be something that the bishop would continue to do," said Mark Adkinson, spokesperson for the London diocese. "The bishop is just doing the opening prayer at the Walk for Jesus. That's basically the extent of the bishop's involvement and the diocese's involvement." The diocese became involved with this year's walk after a parishioner, who helped organize the event last year, mentioned his role to his priest. Word then travelled up through the ranks eventually catching Fabbro's interest. The bishop agreed to open the Walk for Jesus but didn't commit to Prayer Fest because it had no Catholic-specific link. Although separate events, the similarities between them, primarily the theme of unifying Christian faiths by praising Jesus, and their close proximity helped develop the perception that the two were one and the same. "At that point there wasn't a clear distinction between the two events," said Adkinson, explaining why the diocese originally reconsidered its participation. Concerns arose early in the week when a local paper published old quotes from Rancourt. Rancourt said people may be confused over his comments because he didn't draw the distinction between Islam and sharia clearly. "I'm not beating up on Muslims because to beat up on Muslims wouldn't be fair," said Rancourt. It is sharia law that he thinks shouldn't be allowed in Canada, not Muslims. "Let's not confuse Muslims with sharia because there are Muslims that don't practise sharia." Rancourt says the practise of sharia law — a moral code and religious law of Islam — is a massive human rights violation, contradictory to Canada's Christian principle-based laws and a lifestyle unwelcome in this nation. He said 170 million people, mostly Hindus and Christians, have been killed around the world because of sharia law. But at the end of the day Rancourt said his 2010 comments should have nothing to do with Prayer Fest or the Walk for Jesus. Call it what you want, a misunderstanding, misrepresentation or innocent ignorance, London's bishop didn't want the Church to suffer a black eye, Adkinson said. "The bishop was taking the reports quite seriously and felt that he had to come out and clarify what his involvement was and also put out a public statement just to be clear on what he was going to be and what he was going to emphasizing this weekend," said Adkinson.

August 25

Syrian women, children caught in a situation they never imagined

August 25, 2012

WASHINGTON - While media images of the Syrian civil war are mainly those of men with guns, workers from Catholic Relief Services have seen "predominantly women and children, fleeing," said a communications officer who recently returned from the Middle East. Syrian women, hailing from a society that gives them little chance to make their voices heard, were "tugging on my sleeve, begging me to tell their stories" in the United States, said the manager, Caroline Brennan, who visited with the refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. The 250,000 Syrian refugees, part of a larger group of 1.5 million Syrians displaced from their homes due to the fierce fighting enveloping their country, have been "blindsided by what is happening to them," she said. These Syrians were "viewing (the war) from a distance, never thinking this would affect their lives," Brennan said. "Many of these people, literally fleeing for their lives, are middle class. They have nice homes. The country has no debt. They never expected to see this happening." Brennan told of a pregnant Syrian refugee who got a job as a maid in exchange for shelter for her and her sons. She worked until she gave birth and went back to work again shortly thereafter. "She had no way to see a doctor or pediatrician" until CRS stepped in," she said. "Many of these women have bullet wounds. Their children need care. "One woman I met in Jordan ... she was with her mother and they heard gunshots and they scurried around a corner. And the woman saw her mother, lying next to her, on the ground," felled by a bullet. "Families are trying desperately to stay together," but not always succeeding, Brennan added. Sometimes, men "stay home trying to protect their land, or they're fighting — or worse, they've been kidnapped. The women are left to lead the family. They think: What is happening to the people they love in this world?" But she also told of a Syrian husband and father named Faizad. "He came across the border, but his wife and (most of their) children weren't allowed to make it. But then he has a son he has to care for. He (the son) cries at night, he misses his mom," Brennan said. Workers can tell from the boy's drawings that he has seen "people with guns killing innocent people," she added. "This is a humanitarian crisis at its heart," she said. There are "huge social needs of the people, especially children and mothers," said Vivian Manneh, a 20-year CRS veteran currently serving as a regional program manager for the Middle East. "Kids are starting to think, 'What is going to happen to us? Where are we going to be?' There are lots of psychosocial needs, lots of basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter." Manneh said she sees people "who are in need of food, who are praying and lacking lots of the basics. They are leaving their homes with nothing. Their children are out of school. They have no clothing. They are using fruit trees to chop as cooking gas. Their situation is dire. The humanitarian crisis is increasing a lot." She added, "If you see people coming out with babies, they have nothing to cross (the border) with, no sustenance — they had to flee quickly." The shelter issue is complicated. Because of the Syrian refugees' impressions of Palestinian refugee camps, they resist as long as possible going to the camps set up for them. "There are not a lot of places to go to. The rents are increasing," Manneh said. Because of the prior long-term stability of their country, few Syrians have relatives in other countries who can take them in. "They will come back (to Syria) as long as they feel safe. They will go back even if they know their home is laying right on the ground and they know they don't have a place," Manneh said. Brennan concurred. She said refugees have told her, "I'd rather sleep on the dirt of my home" as long as there was peace. "They don't see themselves as long-term refugees," she said. "They want to go home." Seeing the "sad sequence of deaths and injuries, including among civilians, and a huge number of people internally displaced or seeking refuge in neighbouring countries," Pope Benedict XVI appealed July 29 for an end to "all violence and bloodshed" in Syria, which has seen thousands of civilian deaths since protests against the Bashar Assad regime started in March 2011. One irony in the situation is that an estimated one million Iraqi refugees currently live in Syria. Now, some Syrians are fleeting to Iraq. "They (Iraqis) are very hospitable, opening their doors," Manneh said, but "we don't know how many (refugees) they are going to take."