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September 2012

September 12

Vatican laments U.S. deaths in Libya, disrespect against religions

September 12, 2012

VATICAN CITY - In the wake of the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three staff members in Libya and the unrest triggered by a U.S.-made amateur film hostile to Islam, the Vatican decried disrespect toward all religions and deplored all violence as unacceptable. "Profound respect for the beliefs, texts, outstanding figures and symbols of the various religions are an essential precondition for the peaceful co-existence of peoples," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. "The serious consequences of unjustified offense and provocations against the sensibilities of Muslim believers are once again evident in these days, as we see the reactions they arouse, sometimes with tragic results, which in turn nourish tension and hatred, unleashing unacceptable violence," he said Sept. 12 in a written statement that was also translated into Arabic. He told journalists that Pope Benedict XVI's Sept 14-16 trip to Lebanon would continue despite the fresh wave of unrest in the region because the Pope's journey is a testament of "peace, understanding and dialogue that's completely opposed to this kind of tension that has been and is being created," he told reporters. "The message of dialogue and respect for all believers of different religions, which the Holy Father is preparing to carry with him on his forthcoming trip to Lebanon, indicates the path that everyone should follow in order to construct shared and peaceful co-existence of religions and peoples," the spokesman wrote. The Vatican statement comes after the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three staff members were killed during a mob attack against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi Sept. 11. The violence was triggered by angry reaction to the trailer of a film mocking the prophet Mohammed. Though the trailer was released online in July, it was recently dubbed into Arabic and grabbed Arab media attention. Tensions spread the same day as thousands of unarmed demonstrators gathered outside the United States Embassy in Cairo and some later breached the compound's walls and destroyed a flag found inside. Libya's interim president, Mohammed Magarief, offered his condolences and apologized for the attack, describing it as "cowardly," according to the Associated Press. U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the killings and praised Stevens' selfless service to the United States and the Libyan people. "While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants," Obama said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Vatican's representative in Libya lamented the violence while pleading for greater respect for religious beliefs. Referring to the officials' deaths, Italian Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, told the Vatican's missionary news agency Fides, "What has happened is terrible, but we need to avoid offending the people's religious sensibility." "One has to respect the sensitivity of the Muslim population. The Arab countries are already in the throes of momentous upheaval; pouring gasoline on religious outrage is really dangerous," he said in a Sept. 12 interview.

Religion’s role in Arab Spring is promoting dignity, official says

September 12, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Religious communities can assist the North African and Middle Eastern pro-democracy movements by upholding human dignity and not trying to claim power for one religion or one movement within a religion, a senior Vatican official said. Comboni Father Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, represented the Vatican at a conference in Istanbul Sept. 7-8 on “The Arab Awakening and Peace in the New Middle East: Muslim and Christian Perspectives.” He told participants at the conference that democracy presumes respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of religion and worship. “In the growing efforts to enable democracy to take hold in the fabric of society in the Arab world, the hope is that it will lead to greater consideration of these basic rights,” Ayuso said. A hopeful sign, he said, was the publication in January of a “bill of rights of basic liberties” by Muslim scholars at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The document encouraged recognition of the freedoms of worship, opinion, scientific research and art and creative expression in new constitutions throughout the Arab world. The 2011 Arab Spring movements led to democratic elections in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt where Islam-inspired political parties won the most votes. The risk with democracy, Ayuso said, is that it “potentially could be used to legitimate extremist and fundamentalist ideologies,” which would make life difficult not only for the Christian minorities, but also for moderate Muslims. The role of religion, he said, is to nourish an atmosphere of respect for all men and women created by God and endowed with equal dignity, rights and responsibilities. Ayuso also spoke about the ongoing violence in Syria in his interview with Vatican Radio and at the conference. The Vatican’s diplomatic efforts in that case are focused on achieving a ceasefire, promoting a negotiated settlement, preserving Syria’s multiethnic and multireligious character and getting the Syrian government to recognize the international community’s legitimate interest in the conflict as a potential source of instability to the entire region, he told Vatican Radio. He told the conference that Syrian Christians want to live in peace and harmony with their fellow citizens, but they are “naturally fearful that the growing violence, destruction and displacement, the continuing loss of life, endangers not just Christians, but all Syrians, regardless of their ethnicity or religion.” “The specter of what happened to Christians in Iraq” once Saddam Hussein’s regime fell increases Syrian Christians’ fears, he said.

September 13

Deacons have been a part of the Church since earliest days

September 13, 2012

Early Scripture makes reference to a form of the diaconate This month marks the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the diaconate in English Canada. But the history of the diaconate actually dates back to the earliest days of the Church. The first mention of the diaconate comes right out of Scripture, said Deacon Peter Lovrick, director of the formation program for the diaconate at Toronto's St. Augustine's Seminary, who pointed to references from St. Paul in Romans, Corinthians and Timothy in the New Testament. But the most substantive reference to the diaconate is Acts 6:2-7, which directly refers to St. Stephen as the first deacon: "And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, 'It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.' "What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. "They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them." The closing session of the Council of Trent is depicted in an illustration from the 17th century. [images/stories/canada/deacons/trentsmall.jpg] The closing session of the Council of Trent is depicted in an illustration from the 17th century. - CNS photo/courtesy of Art Resource Lovrick said some scholars dispute whether these words are specifically pointing towards a diaconate, though Stephen went on to become the first martyr of Christianity, and his name lives on as the patron saint of deacons. "Many of the early fathers of the Church wrote about deacons," Lovrick said. "Deacons in the early Church had a pretty prominent role, eventually taking upon administrative and juridical positions in the Church. "They were very closely connected to the bishops… but they were a distinct group. They were not priests." After several centuries of deacons working closely with bishops, things started to change, said Lovrick. "They brought in the various orders," he said. "It began to look that the deacon was a step to be a priest, and it became that way." Today, there is a transitional diaconate, the step immediately before one becomes a priest, and the permanent diaconate, for those who do not go on to the priesthood. But before these were established as distinct ideas, the permanent diaconate began to wane by 1000, and soon disappeared in the western Church. The Council of Trent, a council of ecclesiastical and theological experts who met in Trent to discuss important matters in the Catholic Church, was the first occasion after the original decline of the diaconate that the idea of a renewal was brought up. In 1563, during the council's 23rd session, came the call for a restoration of the diaconate, a movement that was stirred in the Eastern Catholic Churches, where the permanent diaconate had not been quite as weakened. "The original proposal that went into the council was very ambitious and spoke a great deal about the separate order," Lovrick said. "But there were other things going on in Europe. Nothing really happened until the 20th century. "For 500 years, (the restoration) was on hold." Of all places for the diaconate to begin its revival, it was the Nazi concentration camp Dachau during the Second World War. A small number of Catholic priests were detained there, in a cellblock called the "priest block." And it was there the rumblings of a new diaconate were formulated. Frs. Otto Pies and Wilhelm Schamoni spearheaded the movement. "They saw Europe crumbling around them," Lovrick said. "They saw the ravages of war, they saw the attack on the Church. "They had faith that we were going to get through this, but when we got through this, we would be in the ruins and things would need to be rebuilt." These priests began to write about bringing back the diaconate envisioned at Trent, about how deacons could help the priesthood restore faith after the war. These thoughts were published, and another mind began to write about similar ideas — Fr. Karl Rahner, the great theologian. "Rahner talked about how there were lots of people in the world doing diaconal things, but they weren't given the sacramental grace of ordination to do it," Lovrick said. "It only made sense to empower people to do what you were asking them to do. That was his basic argument." The Dachau concentration camp was the unlikely place where talk about the revival of the permanent diaconate evolved. [images/stories/canada/deacons/auschsmall.jpg] The Dachau concentration camp was the unlikely place where talk about the revival of the permanent diaconate evolved. - CNS photo/Reuters Meanwhile, a charitable movement in Germany called Caritas was getting very involved with restoring the diaconate by publishing articles and hosting open forums for discussion. By 1962, efforts by several groups and individuals came together with a petition for Pope John XXIII, which made its claim: "Well-known theologians have studied the matter from the historical, theological and practical points of view, and have arrived at the consensus that the proposed restoration (1) is possible, (2) would bear great fruit in the interior life of the Church, and (3) would do much to foster the cause of unity among Christians which Christ so dearly desires." What followed were seven questions and potential issues of reinstating deacons, and reasons and answers behind all of them; this petition set into motion the events of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II, much like the Council of Trent, discussed the Church and its place in the modern world. It ran from 1962 to 1965, and the restoration of the diaconate was a solid fixture of discussion. But the council did something that Trent didn't — it followed through on the diaconate discussion. Fr. Karl Rahner [images/stories/canada/deacons/rahnersmall.jpg] "In the (Second) Vatican (Council), 101 propositions were specifically on the diaconate," Lovrick said. "There was a lot of back and forth, some cardinals in support… others against it. But by 1964, the dogmatic document of the Church, Lumen Gentium, (had a) very clear section on the deacons calling for the restoration on the diaconate." Four years later, in 1968, came the first ordination ceremonies of deacons since the Reformation — fittingly, in Germany. Several other countries, including Colombia, followed suit, so that by 1970 there were almost 100 permanent deacons around the world. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Winnipeg in 1968 and voted overwhelmingly to ask Rome for permission to restore the diaconate in Canada. By 1969 it was granted. Toronto came aboard in 1972, thus forming the first class of permanent deacons in the archdiocese of Toronto, who were ordained two years later. To date, 272 men have been ordained deacons in Toronto. [issuu width=600 height=360 backgroundColor=%23222222 documentId=120910160538-19846c86f786424e98153821bd480e84 name=diaconate username=catholicregister tag=anniversary unit=px v=2]

Music ministry perfect fit for folk hobbyist

September 13, 2012

Women at Carmelina Home find joy in the experience Every Wednesday night, Deacon Philip Allard drives through rush-hour traffic across Toronto to Carmelina Home, a long-term care residential program run by the Passionist Sisters for women recovering from addiction, substance abuse and emotional issues. Allard takes with him his guitar. A social worker by trade and a folk musician by hobby, Allard joined the diaconate 12 years ago and has held a ministry position at Carmelina Home for seven years, playing his guitar and leading a sing-song with the women who live there. Before that, he dabbled in ministry work at a hospital and at Providence Centre, but found those placements to be too similar to his profession. “I was looking for a unique and different experience,” Allard said. Allard admits he didn’t know what a deacon was before he looked into becoming one himself. He did, however, feel compelled to do more. And his ministry at Carmelina Home has turned out to be the perfect fit for Allard, who on top of playing the guitar has performed in community theatre, even playing lead roles in several Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. “I didn’t go there with any specific agenda,” Allard said of how his ministry at Carmelina Home came to be one of music. “I thought music would be nice, (and) they really took to (it). I’m building my repertoire and having a lot of fun.” Carmelina Home boasts a strict and intensive two-year program, so Allard tries to keep Wednesday evenings light and enjoyable. The songs are not strictly religious, though Allard said he tries to pick ones with uplifting and positive spiritual messages. One crowd favourite is “Lean on Me.” “It’s not a religious song, but it’s very inspiring and encouraging.” But he said the most encouraging songs of all are ones that involve everyone. “Musically, it’s always nice when you’re including other people,” Allard said. “Some of the women really like to sing so it gives me an opportunity to throw in a couple harmonies.” For Allard, one of his best experiences at Carmelina Home is singing with the women for their annual gala several years ago. “All the women there really wanted an opportunity to sing, with me leading the song,” Allard said. “Just the excitement in the home the weeks leading up to that, that’s probably the most memorable. “It seemed to be a very happy time for the women, to share joy in that experience.” [issuu width=600 height=360 backgroundColor=%23222222 documentId=120910160538-19846c86f786424e98153821bd480e84 name=diaconate username=catholicregister tag=anniversary unit=px v=2]

Salvadoran tied to Jesuit slayings pleads guilty to U.S. immigration charges

September 13, 2012

SAN SAVADOR - News that a former Salvadoran army official accused in the 1989 slayings of six Jesuits priests pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to U.S. immigration officials and now faces deportation to Spain to face prosecution in the deaths was welcomed by the former rector of the university where the clergymen taught. Inocente Orlando Montano, a retired army colonel who has lived near Boston since 2001, pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury under a deal with federal prosecutors Sept. 11. Montano was among 20 Salvadorans indicted in Spain in 2011 in connection with the killings of the priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. He has denied any involvement in the deaths. Fr. Jose Maria Tojeira, former rector at the University of Central America in San Salvador, where the priests taught and lived, said the news of the possible deportation and likely prosecution was long overdue. "Everything that promotes justice is good. However, our maximum interest is to promote justice in El Salvador, so that the country cannot be seen as a place where impunity prevails," Tojeira told Catholic News Service. "We will continue to seek justice here." The murders took place in a small compound on the university's campus during one of the fiercest military offensives in the country's 12-year civil war, which ended in 1992. The retired colonel admitted lying to U.S. officials by saying he was never part of the Salvadoran army and that he never used weapons against other people so that he could be granted temporary protection status. Under such status, Montano could have eventually returned safely to El Salvador. But records showed that Montano was vice minister of defense for public security at the time of the murders and belonged to a group of military officers known as La Tandona, who controlled the army during the civil war that left an estimated 70,000 dead. The war ended with the Peace Accords in 1992. That group of officers has been linked to serious war crimes committed during the conflict, according to several reports, including findings by the United Nations Truth Commission in 1993. By pleading guilty to the U.S. charges, Montano, 70, faces a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. A sentencing hearing was set for Dec. 18. But the retired officer can be deported to Spain, because he is one of 20 Salvadoran officers accused in 2011 by a Spanish court of participating in the murders. A Spanish judge sent a request to the U.S. government for Montano to be extradited to Spain. A U.S. response is pending.

Who will take care of the bully?

September 13, 2012

As children get back into school-day routines this fall, they’ll have the support of a new framework to deal with bullies and bullying. That’s a very good thing. In Catholic schools, the anti-bullying initiative is called Respecting Difference. Its aim is to create learning environments, consistent with Catholic teaching, in which every student can feel safe and be treated with respect and dignity. This new focus on bullying puts to the test all our earnest talk about the critical alliance of home, school and parish in caring for children. If we’re going to have an effective Catholic strategy for dealing with bullying, we need to bring the resources of all three to bear. I’m not talking about a naive appeal to some ideal world of perfect families, wise pastors and dedicated teachers, but a sophisticated approach that uses the expertise of trained professionals to deal with imperfect families and stressed systems. It is admirable that society finally recognizes bullying as a major concern. Now all schools in Ontario must have plans to eradicate it. The one regret I have is that new strategies do not pay enough attention to the bully in cases of serious and chronic bullying. After 38 years in social work, I have developed a firm belief that bullies are created. They’re not born. Admittedly, some children are born to be more aggressive than others. But bullying and aggressiveness are not identical. Racism, ethnic discrimination, handicaps, personality, physical size, poverty and other variables children are born with or born into play major roles in bullying and victimization. But these conditions do not tell the entire story. Children who are bullies and even children who are victims of school bullying are often survivors of child abuse, child neglect or are witnessing domestic violence in their homes. I do not mean that every single victim of school bullying is experiencing maltreatment at home or witnessing domestic violence. I do not even mean that all bullies are bullied or are witnessing bullying at home. I am saying that it happens more often than most people believe. Bullying should be a red flag for all of us. It should point the way to further investigation. There’s science to back this up. In a cohort study of 2,232 children, Bowes et al (2009) found children exposed to domestic violence were more likely to be bullies or bully victims (both bully and victim) than those children not exposed to domestic violence. Shields and Cicchetti (2001) concluded that maltreated children were more likely to be bullies and were more likely to be victims of bullying. I estimate that more than 85 per cent of men attending groups for men who have physically harmed their wife or common–law partner watched their mothers being assaulted by their fathers when they were children. The lesson is clear. Children repeat what they see and what they live with in their homes. When teachers see bullying they should not leap to the conclusion domestic violence or child abuse is going on in the home of either the victim or the abuser, but it should be a red flag. The teacher may need to ask for the help of a school social worker and if they discover that child maltreatment is going on they will need to get clinical help for the victim and for the bully. Fortunately, most communities have a family services agency and these organizations are skilled in dealing with trauma. Family service agencies can assist the perpetrator, the survivor and the children witnessing domestic violence. In a Catholic environment, we have a special imperative that should guide our actions. We need to hate the sin of violence but love the sinner. Bullying can not be condoned but the bully and the victim both need help. What does this mean in practical terms? It means that schools need to have a good anti-bullying policy and they must follow it. It is important to separate minor bullying from serious bullying. In the case of serious or chronic bullying, the school social worker or some other professional should be consulted. This is also an opportunity for the parish, the Catholic school and the Catholic family services agency to work together to end the violence and to begin the healing.

Prisoners' Wives looks to spark conversation on prison families

September 13, 2012

It may be the world of make believe, but the British drama series Prisoners’ Wives is all about a harsh, complex reality. The producers of the BBC show and people who work with prisoners and their families hope the series sparks a conversation about the social cost of incarceration. “When a man or a woman goes to jail the whole family does the time. It changes everything in the family dynamic,” Deacon Mike Walsh of the Friends of Dismas told The Catholic Register. The Friends of Dismas, an ecumenical ministry for ex-prisoners in Toronto, is launching a new support team dedicated to working with families of those on the inside. That makes Prisoners’ Wives “very timely,” Walsh said. Prisoners’ Wives has been picked up in Canada by Vision TV and airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. It tackles the stories of four women with loved ones who are imprisoned — Lou, who has tried to escape poverty by selling drugs; Francesca, who has risen to fabulous wealth on the criminal entrepreneurship of her husband and now loses it all; middle-class, middle-aged Harriet, who finds herself bewildered and isolated when her son goes to jail; and pregnant Gemma, who gradually learns her husband is not who she thought he was. The women find themselves on a journey of discovery about themselves and their relationships while the men inside struggle to keep up. Both the prisoners and their wives have to answer basic questions. The family dynamic of prison life hasn’t often made it to either the big or the little screen. While there are plenty of cop shows and prison dramas about the lives of criminals and workings of the criminal justice system, there are no great films about wives, children and parents left behind. “In popular entertainment, TV drama, have people thought about the plight of prisoners’ wives before? No. Uh-uh,” said executive producer Rebecca de Souza. “It’s delightful, because we could be the first one’s to do it. “There are a lot of spiritual journeys prisoners have to go through. (Harriet’s son) Gavin goes on a pretty misguided spiritual journey. He thinks it’s a spiritual journey but it really isn’t.” But the writers, directors and actors had no easy, well established film clichés to fall back on. Instead they had to do hundreds of hours of research talking to prison families, chaplains, guards, social workers and prisoners. “It was a fantastic opportunity for POPS (the British charity Partners of Prisoners) and other organizations to engage with and influence the public dialogue as well as making the public aware of the support services we offer,” said POPS policy and research officer Rebecca Cheung. “(The show) raised a number of key issues such as the bullying of children of prisoners and the diversity of individuals affected by imprisonment.” The show has been successful enough in the UK to be picked up for a second season and POPS has noticed much more conversation in British media and on social media about prison issues from the point of view of families. “Families of prisoners are generally speaking invisible,” said Cheung. “Prison life in the UK conversely receives quite a lot of attention.” Public dialogue is obsessed with punishment but ignores social costs, said de Souza. “Is he being punished enough? Is he being rehabilitated enough? Should they be allowed televisions in their cells? We’re all very interested in those subjects,” she said. “What people don’t talk about is the massive community around him that is equally affected.” Walsh for one hopes the drama might prick up a few ears to the real spiritual needs of real prison families. “(Imprisonment) has a ripple effect we often never think about, and it is a time when the parish community needs to come together in support,” Walsh said.

French board numbers on the rise

September 13, 2012

While many of their Anglophone counterparts struggle with declining enrollment, the French Catholic District School Board of south-central Ontario opened three new schools this year to accommodate an increasing student population. “The school board has an increase of students every single year and this year is not different,” said Réjean Sirois, director of education for the French Catholic school board which services south-central Ontario. “We’ll be over 14,500 students this year. It is an increase of four per cent.” Since 2006 the student population has increased by about 2,500, placing a heightened demand on the board’s infrastructure. On Sept. 4 the doors opened to the French board’s new elementary schools, École du Sacré-Coeur in Toronto and École Eléméntaire Catholique Notre-Dame-de-la-Huronie in Collingwood, Ont. Meanwhile in downtown Toronto students of École Secondaire Catholique Saint-Frère-André, who were formerly educated at West Toronto Collegiate Institute, explored their new home-away-from-home. Formed in 1998 the board is responsible for a geographic area stretching from the Niagara Peninsula to Georgian Bay. Currently the board, one of eight French first-language Catholic boards in the province, operates 51 schools across the more than 40,000 square kilometres it services. “There is a demand for a French first-language Catholic education and it has been like that for the past eight or nine years,” said Sirois. “There are several factors for the increase in our student population but mainly (it’s because) we’re putting schools where we didn’t have schools before. In certain regions where we didn’t have schools we’re now offering the service.” This year’s additions do not represent the end of expansion for the board either. There are three more facilities in the works. “As we speak we are building two new schools and pretty soon we’ll start building another school for Oakville,” said Sirois. While Sirois admits there are several factors which have led to this continuous growth, there is one component which stands out — parental awareness. “People are more aware now that there is a French Catholic school board where the instruction is done in a French first language,” he said. “With all the publicity and the effort from our communication department we have been able to reach more parents.” Although the curriculum follows the same provincial standards as the English boards, all of the material, social interaction and extra-curricular activities are French-spoken only, said Sirois, detailing the difference between his board and the public system’s French immersion programs. “We recognize the excellent work of our parents who support their children in French education,” said Sirois. “We’re lucky to have devoted staff dedicated to the difference of French Catholic education and it’s a good place to be, let me tell you, it’s a good place to be right now.”

Ontario Catholic trustees not giving up on regaining management rights

September 13, 2012

TORONTO - Not willing to admit defeat just yet, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) will continue to push for changes to the Putting Students First Act. "It is our intention to put forward some ideas and possibly have some input," said OCSTA president Marino Gazzola. Under the legislation passed Sept. 11, Ontario's Catholic school boards are bound by the agreement the province reached with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) on July 4. That deal means a more restrictive set of rules in hiring rights and management oversight of diagnostic testing, which public boards don't face due to a deal Dalton McGuinty's Liberals had to strike with the Conservatives in order for the legislation to pass. According to the Ministry of Education, Ontario boards will soon have more information regarding the Policy/Program Memorandum development process and further information about the hiring practice regulation. "The ministry will begin the consultation process soon for the development of a Policy/Program Memorandum on effective use of diagnostic assessments," said Gary Wheeler, a ministry spokesperson. "In the coming days, the ministry will provide additional information to school boards on the fair and transparent hiring regulation announced in August. "The regulation is based on the memorandum of understanding signed with OECTA (Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association)." "We'll have to see what those specifically say before we can say where we are going with this," said Gazzola. OCSTA is still very concerned about the two provisions within that deal that will reallocate managerial rights. The association will "put forward some amendments that we had that would help protect the voice of parents and the quality of education in Ontario," said Gazzola. "We thought it would be very important to the legislation (but) obviously those amendments didn't pass so we're very disappointed." While OCSTA knows what it wants, how it plans to achieve it is still undetermined. "Right now we are almost in a holding pattern," said Gazzola. "We'll have to sit down and then see what our next steps are going to be." What does have to be taken care of is the local collective bargaining process for each board, at least what is left of it. "We remain opposed to the legislation, a legislation that puts Catholic and public boards on inequitable footings and weakens the collective bargaining process for all employees," said Mario Pascucci, chair of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. "We will, however, abide by the law and will move forward, seeking to bargain on the remaining local issues." Although Gazzola encourages the conversation continue between trustees and teachers, he did caution against moving too swiftly. "Boards are going to have to sit down and look at what they can still work with and talk about," said Gazzola. "I don't think anyone should take any rash actions or quick decisions. They're going to have to sit down and analyse everything and see where they have to go."

Sr. Mary Rose McGeady led Covenant House out of its darkest days

September 13, 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. - Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, who took over Covenant House for homeless youth after its founder was accused of financial and sexual improprieties, died of respiratory failure in Albany Sept. 13. She was 84. Arrangements for her funeral Mass in Albany and a memorial service in New York City were incomplete. A member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Sr. McGeady served as president of Covenant House from 1990 until her retirement in 2003, doubling the number of homeless young people served by the international network annually. Covenant House was at its lowest point when she took over because of accusations against its founder, Franciscan Father Bruce Ritter, who later left the Franciscan order and died in 1999. "Fr. Ritter had done a wonderful job of creating Covenant House, and then he was disgraced," she said in a 2004 interview with The Evangelist, Albany diocesan newspaper. "But the place was still there. (The work) he had started still needed to be done. I looked upon myself as a healer. I said, 'God, if you want this place to go on, you do it.' ” Then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said when she was appointed, "We confidently predict that not many years from now, we will all look back at the moment of Covenant House's greatest pain and see that it was also a moment of birth of a new, stronger, even more effective instrument of goodness. I believe this will happen because of their superb new leader, Sr. Mary Rose McGeady." Kevin Ryan, the current head of Covenant House, who was among those present at her bedside when she died, called Sr. McGeady "the Mother Teresa of street children" and "a holy tornado of determination and compassion." "She had a huge soft spot for kids, but she was no one's fool," Ryan said. "Come hell or high water, she was determined to clean up Covenant House. From ashes, really, she pulled Covenant House forward and saved hundreds of thousands of kids." During her tenure, Covenant House expanded its reach dramatically, with new crisis shelters, street outreach and long-term residential programs for homeless youth in Canada — it operates in Toronto and Vancouver — the United States and Nicaragua. Covenant House now reaches more than 57,000 children and youth in six countries each year. Born June 28, 1928, in Hazelton, Pa., Sr. McGeady worked with children for more than 40 years before joining Covenant House. Among the posts she held were executive director of the Nazareth Child Care Centre for Homeless Children in Boston, executive director of the Astor Home for Children in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and associate director of Catholic Charities for the diocese of Brooklyn. She said in the 2004 interview that transitions were never easy for her. "I would get word that I was transferred, and I cried my eyes out," she said. "I thought this was terrible. And yet, every time I was transferred, I would move into a new position where I learned more about what I was supposed to do and be." Sr. McGeady said one of the "great blessings God has given me on this Earth" was watching children "survive, prosper and grow." "There is no greater joy than to see a kid come in homeless, cold, hungry, dirty and then that same kid a few weeks later — cleaned up, smiling and hopeful," she said. "I believe that is what Covenant House is all about ... one child and one miracle at a time." Ryan said Sr. McGeady "lived and died every day with the successes and failures of our kids ... and she saw God in the tired faces of the kids who walked through the open doors of Covenant House." She is survived by her sister Catherine Pendleton and eight nephews.

September 14

Union support of political causes is under the gun

September 14, 2012

The days may be numbered for union support of contentious political causes, something the Catholic Civil Rights League has been working towards for years. While the league has been concerned about union support for same-sex marriage and other issues in opposition to Catholic teaching, the tipping point for political change may be the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (PSAC) recent support for separatist candidates in the Sept. 4 Quebec election. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, parliamentary secretary to the transport minister, promised to urge his cabinet colleagues bring in legislation that would allow employees to opt out of paying union dues. “I cannot imagine how it could possibly be in the interests of a Canadian public servant for the union to back a separatist party,” Poilievre told the Globe and Mail. “And yet that is precisely what PSAC has done.” The rights league became involved in the union dues issue back in 2004 when it fought for the rights of Catholic PSAC member Susan Comstock to have part of her $800 yearly mandatory dues diverted to charity because the union campaigned for same-sex marriage, contrary to her religious beliefs. “We’ve always thought that, with good reason, union members should be able to put their request in writing so a portion of mandatory dues could be diverted to charity,” said league executive director Joanne McGarry. “The ability to opt out of the union is another possibility.” At issue is “the ability of union members to have a say in how their money is spent so they don’t have to fund something they find morally repugnant,” she said. Industry Canada employee Dave MacDonald, a former PSAC local president who represented Comstock in her grievance process, said the changes Poilievre proposes are “important because the PSAC, among others, have ceased to be an organization focused on improving workers’ rights and become a political organization.” “As a Catholic, I am offended that my union dues are used to fund court challenges on abortion and same-sex marriage, gay pride parades and similar causes which have no correlation to the workplace,” he said. “Moreover, the Comstock case showed the extent to which the leadership in the PSAC was hostile to their own members who did not endorse their extreme political agenda.” The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) built a war chest for Premier Dalton McGuinty, despite religious freedom concerns raised by the Ontario bishops and Catholic school trustees about the Ontario government’s policies that would impose Gay-Straight Alliances on Catholic schools. McGarry said she encountered Catholic teachers who insisted OECTA did not represent their point of view. “I’m sorry, but they do,” she said. “That’s your money; they do represent you.” Legislation is not the only way to make change, she said. She urged union members to become involved in the running of their unions so they have a say on policies. But McGarry stressed the importance of religious freedom and conscientious objection. “If someone’s in a position where union membership is a condition of employment, they should be able, for serious reasons, to divert their dues.” MacDonald, who has a private immigration law practice outside his work for government, is concerned Poilievre’s proposals might end unions if everyone is able to opt out of paying dues altogether. “I believe a good compromise, and one that I believe the Church agrees with, is to keep unions in line with the rights of charities (including churches) regarding political activities,” he said. “That is, they should be able to do some political activities providing they are related to the stated objectives of a labour union.” Lobbying government on job security, wages, health and safety would be okay, as would communicating messages on these issues to members, he said. MacDonald said reform would be welcomed by the vast majority of members because it would make “a union that was interested in protecting worker’s rights rather than espousing political viewpoints that are not shared by the majority of its members.” Union leaders have reacted angrily against Poilievre’s proposal, with Canadian Labour Congress Leader Ken Georgetti accusing the Conservative government of trying to silence its critics. Meanwhile, Conservative MP Russ Hiebert’s private member’s bill C-377 that would bring more accountability to how union dues are spent passed second reading last March and is now before the House of Commons finance committee.

Pope Benedict arrives in Lebanon as 'pilgrim of peace'

September 14, 2012

BEIRUT - Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Lebanon Sept. 14, saying that he came "as a pilgrim of peace, as a friend of God and as a friend of men." In his remarks at a welcoming ceremony at Beirut's airport, Pope Benedict praised Lebanon, with a mixed population of Christians and Muslims, for its distinctive record of "co-existence and respectful dialogue." But speaking in a country that was devastated by a civil war from 1975 to 1990, the Pope acknowledged that Lebanese society's "equilibrium, which is presented everywhere as an example, is extremely delicate." "Sometimes it seems about to snap like a bow which is overstretched or submitted to pressures," he said. The Pope urged Lebanese to do everything possible to maintain this social equilibrium, which he said "should be sought with insistence, preserved at all costs and consolidated with determination." Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters on the plane from Rome, Pope Benedict addressed some of the turbulence currently afflicting the rest of the Middle East. He praised the so-called Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave that started in December 2010, leading to the fall of dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and currently threatening the government of Syria, just across the border from Lebanon. The Pope said the movement represented positive aspirations for democracy and liberty and hence a "renewed Arab identity." But he warned against the danger of forgetting that "human liberty is always a shared reality," and consequently failing to protect the rights of Christian minorities in Muslim countries. Many Middle Eastern Christians fear that revolution has empowered Islamist extremism in the region, increasing the danger of attacks and persecution of the sort that Iraq's Christians have suffered since the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Asked about the current exodus of Christians from civil-war-torn Syria, the Pope noted that Muslims, too, have been fleeing the violence there. He went on to say that the best way to preserve the Christian presence in Syria was to promote peace, among other ways by restricting sales of military arms. Speaking only three days after the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three of his staff members, the Pope told reporters that he had never considered cancelling his visit to Lebanon out of security concerns, and that no one had advised him to do so.

Bringing safety to troubled marriages

September 14, 2012

BRAMPTON, ONT. - Catholic social workers in Brampton and Mississauga have found a new way to stand up for marriage by standing with as many allies as they can find. Catholic Family Services Peel-Dufferin, a Catholic social work agency at the service of all families in the suburbs west of Toronto, is the lead agency for the Safe Centre of Peel, a family justice centre in the William G. Davis Centre for Families in Brampton. “As Catholics, we can’t be afraid to lead,” said Mark Creedon, executive director of Peel-Dufferin Catholic Family Services. Creedon has pulled together eight critical agencies that serve women and families faced with violence. Rather than being referred from one location to another to obtain housing, counselling, legal aid, medical advice, child care and more, at the Safe Centre it all happens in the same place. The idea is to deliver more effective and timely help and prevent women from giving up hope and returning to life with their abuser. “Our purpose (at Catholic Family Services) is to preserve true marriages,” said Creedon. “If somebody goes into a marriage thinking his wife is his punching bag, well that’s not really a marriage.” The Brampton Safe Centre isn’t the first Canadian family justice centre led by a Catholic agency. The former Catholic family services agency in Kitchener-Waterloo, now known as Mosaic, took the lead in establishing the Family Violence Project of Waterloo Region in 2006. The idea of pooling and co-ordinating services to battered women in a single location started in San Diego, Calif., in 2002. Former City Attorney Casey Gwinn brought together police and social work agencies to form a united child abuse and domestic violence unit. To date, Gwinn’s National Family Justice Alliance has fostered and encouraged 80 family justice centres in the United States and 30 internationally from Amman, Jordan, to Sonora, Mexico. “The fundamental issues are the same whether you’re in Canada, Mexico, Europe or anywhere else in the world,” Gwinn told The Catholic Register. In the case of Canadian centres, having religious agencies lead the conglomerate of services is an advantage, he said. “That spiritual care piece does make the Canadian model more vibrant. We struggle in the United States to get the spiritual care piece addressed in family justice centres,” he said. Though it’s a Catholic agency that acts as landlord and instigator at the Safe Centre of Peel, the centre is able to connect clients with spiritual care for people of all faiths. The other agencies may not be Catholic, but they share values and a common purpose with Catholic Family Services, said Creedon. “We’re dealing with excellent partner agencies that have great values which we share,” he said. While Creedon has been able to get most of the critical services to buy in, he has struggled to get Peel Regional Police onside. The police are part of the Safe Centre’s steering committee and have worked out a protocol for getting victims from the Safe Centre to the police station. But they refuse to station officers already dedicated to domestic violence cases at the centre. Peel Police claim their “best practice business model” involves working with the Safe Centre of Peel, but “does not involve the permanent stationing of officers within the facility,” Staff Sergeant Rob Higgs told The Catholic Register in an e-mail. “It’s very shortsighted for law enforcement to say, ‘Oh, this isn’t really our thing,’ ” said Gwinn. “Law enforcement officers around the world are realizing they can’t do the job alone. They’re never going to arrest their way out of the problem.” Peel Police responded to 2,042 criminal intimate relationship incidents in 2011 and another 6,554 verbal domestic occurrences. Overall, domestic calls in Peel have increased 13.99 per cent between 2008 and 2011, according to Higgs. The more police come to the house and do no more than record the incident or negotiate temporary quiet, the more abusive men feel the law won’t touch them, said Gwinn. “Empowered batterers are more likely to fight with police officers. Empowered batterers are more likely to kill police officers,” said Gwinn. The repeat visits also cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in police resources that don’t produce convictions, said Gwinn. Creedon would like to persuade police to station officers at the Safe Centre, but for now hopes working effectively with police will convince the next chief to assign officers to the centre. Getting this right is about much more than saving the police budget or getting more convictions. For Creedon, it’s about changing the direction for the next generation. “One of the things we know about domestic violence is how much it is a generational thing,” he said. “So if you grow up in a family where your mother is getting abused — or it could be the father, but somebody is getting abused in that family — you are three times more likely to grow up to be an abuser or to be abused.” Nationally the scale of the problem is immense. In 2007 there were more than 40,000 incidents of spousal violence reported to police, about 12 per cent of all police-reported violent crime in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. Women were the victims 83 per cent of the time. “I totally believe there is something about being a Catholic family service agency that following the Catholic social justice values forces us to not walk away when we see tremendous injustice,” said Creedon.

The ‘art’ of Catholic faith

September 14, 2012

My younger brother isn’t what I would call “cultured.” An 18-year-old on a boat cruise around Europe has priorities other than discovering the famous basilicas or the incredible detail in their paintings and sculptures. Before our trip last month, my mom and I talked a lot about whether or not Aidan would care to see — much less appreciate — all of the sights. How much groaning could we put up with while we bounced between pieces of history in these old Europeans cities? A fair bit, it turns out. But something changed when we visited the Vatican. The complaining gave way to a flurry of questions our tour guide tried to answer before my brother interrupted with another question. He forgot how tired and hungry he was, how much his feet hurt or how comfy his bed was back on the cruise ship. He was totally immersed in the magnificence of the city. It seemed obvious to him that St. Peter’s Basilica wasn’t just another old church. But that’s exactly what it is: an old church. St. Peter’s just happens to be a very important old church. After all, the entire state of the Vatican was built around it. The Vatican’s importance as the epicentre of our Catholic faith is lost on most 18-year-olds. They may know some details, but it’s much tougher to grasp the weight they carry. I thought the Vatican was just another old church too. When I looked at pictures of St. Peter’s Basilica, I could see it was big, but I couldn’t see it was magnificent until I was standing in it. Similarly, a Google image search of the Sistine Chapel won’t make you feel the way you do when you’re looking with your neck craned back at the scenes painted on the ceiling. You don’t see the care, detail or incredible talent it took to create it. You don’t feel the intangible, indescribable something that makes the Vatican more than a big church until you walk through its museums and feel it for yourself. It’s the art that creates this wonder. “It makes you think about human potential,” our tour guide mused while looking at the detail along every foot of the ceiling in St. Peter’s. People — young people in particular — are drawn in by it. Amidst all the facts about the scaffolds they used or Michelangelo’s age when he carved the Pieta, there is a narrative. The art tells the story of our faith, capturing its divine messages and old parables. The art creates the questions which lead to discussion. Questions like why was the man who pierced the side of Christ canonized? From there, the messages of our faith spread between curious onlookers, even after they leave the city. The difference between the art of the Vatican and many other efforts to spread the same messages is one of esthetics. The art gives onlookers only two options: stand in silent admiration or ask questions about it. But the answer is just a bonus. Spiritual enrichment comes from all the people there who are doing the same thing. There is a sense of solidarity that transcends age, race, sex and even religion. Anyone can appreciate the art, regardless of whether they subscribe to the beliefs embedded in its narrative. That is what makes the city holy. That’s why St. Peter’s is more than just another old church.

YTV star to sing at St. Vincent de Paul

September 14, 2012

TV star Nathan McLeod is taking his talents from the small screen to the church. McLeod will lead the band Look Out Below at the Oratory Youth Concert Sept. 21 at Toronto’s St. Vincent de Paul parish. Known for his role as Gabe, the hot older brother who loves dishing out girl advice to his younger brothers on YTV’s Life with Boys, McLeod’s abilities go beyond acting. Performing in musical theatre since he was nine, the 18-year-old plays the guitar and piano, but thinks of himself as a singer first when it comes to his musical skills. These skills will be on full display when McLeod headlines the Oratory Youth Concert. McLeod is a Catholic and said he was attracted to St. Vincent de Paul’s Latin Mass and has been commuting to Toronto from Oakville to attend the service since last summer. McLeod has performed in other churches before, but this is his first time doing so at St. Vincent de Paul. He plans on performing Christian rock, praise and worship and original songs. “Every song that I write has a story behind it and God’s always been a really big part of my life,” said McLeod, “so His influence completely affects what I write about, even in my secular music.” One of the original songs he plans on performing at the youth concert, “Stand Tall,” is about God helping him through being bullied in elementary school. McLeod will also perform “Unborn Baby,” a song he wrote for his older brother Nicholas. The elder McLeod is active in the pro-life community and is currently studying in seminary with plans to join the priesthood, says his younger brother. McLeod first turned to songwriting at age 12 when his grandmother Rose Sliger died of a severe form of Parkinson’s Disease. McLeod recalls Sliger as “the luckiest woman in the world” who would always beat him at board games and who taught him about patience. “Till her dying day she was the toughest woman I knew. She was for sure a great example for my life,” he said. “Growing up in music theatre, music was always a big part of my life that when something tragic and something that affected me so much as my grandmother dying, it really encouraged me to want to write her a song, which was the reason I learned the guitar.” With guitar in hand, McLeod will be playing with Look Out Below, a group of five friends from the Etobicoke School of the Arts. “We respect Nathan as a singer,” said band leader Sanjay Parker, who classifies his band’s sound as funk dance music. Parker says they can’t guarantee they all will play together in the future, “so we want to play as much as we can now.” The concert, organized by St. Philip Youth, will have young acts performing for their peers. “I believe God is sending me on this journey of music to be in a position of power so that I can be a good role model and bring about change,” McLeod said.

Youth Speak News Team 2012-2013

September 14, 2012

The Catholic Register is pleased to introduce our new Youth Speak News team. These 14 young people were selected from a record number of applicants to The Register's successful YSN program. Lianne Milan Bernardo [images/stories/ysn/team12/Bernardo.jpg] Lianne Milan Bernardo Age: 25 Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Master's degree in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies from Carleton University. Marie Boston [images/stories/ysn/team12/Boston.jpg] Marie Boston Age: 24 Hometown: Calgary, Alta. Education: Third-year fine arts and drama student at the University of Calgary. Tristan Bronca [images/stories/ysn/team12/Bronca.jpg] Tristan Bronca Age: 20 Hometown: King City, Ont. Education: Fouth-year journalism student with a history minor at Carleton University. Emma Brown [images/stories/ysn/team12/Brown.jpg] Emma Brown Age: 19 Hometown: Orillia, Ont. Education: Second-year journalism student at Carleton University. Zack Candy [images/stories/ysn/team12/Candy.jpg] Zack Candy Age: 21 Hometown: Lanark, Ont. Education: Third-year English student at the University of Ottawa. Caroline D'Souza [images/stories/ysn/team12/DSouza.jpg] Caroline D'Souza Age: 15 Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Grade 11 International Baccalaureate student at Blessed Pope John Paul II. Camilo Guzman [images/stories/ysn/team12/Guzman.jpg] Camilo Guzman Age: 20 Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Former religious studies student at I.V.E Seminary. blankImage [images/stories/ysn/team12/blankImage.png] Beatriz Jereza Education: Second-year journalism student at Ryerson University. Suzanne Joanes [images/stories/ysn/team12/Joanes.jpg] Suzanne Joanes Age: 17 Hometown: Brampton, Ont. Education: First-year Concurrent Education student at Queens Uni- versity. Jean Ko Din [images/stories/ysn/team12/KoDin.jpg] Jean Ko Din Age: 21 Hometown: Thornhill, Ont. Education: Third-year journalism student at Ryerson University. Francis Olaer [images/stories/ysn/team12/Olaer.jpg] Francis Olaer Age: 18 Hometown: Guelph, Ont. Education: Grade 12 student at St. James Catholic High School. Darren Pereira [images/stories/ysn/team12/Pereira.jpg] Darren Pereira Age: 17 Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Grade 12 student at Brebeuf College School. Reagan Reese Seidler [images/stories/ysn/team12/Seidler.jpg] Reagan Reese Seidler Age: 21 Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask. Education: Political Science graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan. Terence Wong [images/stories/ysn/team12/Wong.jpg] Terence Wong Age: 20 Hometown: Richmond Hill, Ont. Education: Fouth-year history and political studies student at Queens University.

September 15

Forgiveness can change the world as we know it

September 15, 2012

TORONTO - Nobody disputes that forgiveness is the right thing to do, or that it might sometimes be difficult. Immaculée Ilibagiza has much more than that to say about forgiveness. The Rwandan genocide survivor and best-selling author believes forgiveness can be the basis of our society — the foundation for a different kind of politics, a better sort of media, a more purposeful economy, higher ideals in education, stronger families and a new world order. “It’s about understanding that forgiveness is peace. Peace starts in the heart. It starts in the family. It comes to the country,” Ilibagiza told The Catholic Register. Ilibagiza will be at the Marylake Our Lady of Grace Shrine in King City, Ont., Sept. 28-29 to tell her story and nudge the audience into a deeper understanding of forgiveness. Ilibagiza’s story of survival in the midst of the 1994 Rwandan genocide is as raw and inspiring as any. She and seven other women spent 91 days in silence hiding in a bathroom at the church rectory. She began those 91 days as a 52-kliogram (115-pound) 24-year-old surrounded by family everywhere she went. She emerged just 30 kilograms (65 pounds) as one of the last surviving Ilibagizas. Only one brother, who happened to be abroad during the orchestrated massacre of 900,000 Rwandan Tutsi and Hutus judged too friendly with Tutsi, survived. In the cramped bathroom, Ilibagiza had a Bible, a dictionary and a rosary her father had given her. With the Bible and the dictionary she learned English. With the rosary she deepened her relationship with Mary. Outside the church yard she confronted a man armed with a machete — the same man who killed her mother and a brother. She said to him, “I forgive you.” In the aftermath of the genocide, Ilibagiza worked for the United Nations and eventually moved to New York to work at United Nations headquarters. She would quietly tell her story to co-workers and friends, but it wasn’t the sort of story that could stay quiet. Eventually she wrote Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. No ordinary venture into religious publishing, Left To Tell became a New York Times best seller, has been translated into 15 languages and has been added to the curriculum for thousands of high school and university students around the globe. By now, Ilibagiza has told her story hundreds of times. DVDs of her retreat talks sell online and she’s signed a contract with MPower Pictures to transform her story into a feature film. But the 42-year-old mother of two continues to be surprised by the effect her story has on audiences. “I’m really more amazed by what people take from my story,” she said. “What people take is that forgiveness, in such a magnificent way, is in their hearts.” Ilibagiza has been confronted with many audience members who, either at the end of her talk or weeks later, discover a capacity to forgive husbands, wives, parents, children, brothers and sisters. But Ilibagiza also emphasizes how personal and intimate acts of forgiveness within families and among friends can begin a process that reaches beyond that immediate circle. The touchstone of Ilibagiza’s talks is the spirituality of the rosary. She has written a book about the apparition of Our Lady of Kibeho, a recognized Marian apparition from the early 1980s in a small town in Rwanda. The apparition included a vision of men with machetes and a warning about the dire consequences of turning away from God. The economic and social implications of reconciliation and forgiveness are on display to the world in Rwanda today, Ilibagiza said. The number of universities and university enrollment have skyrocketed since the genocide. The economy is growing at eight per cent yearly and Africa’s most densely populated and deeply divided nation is discovering a new sense of citizenship that transcends ethnic identity, she said. “People are building now more than ever, because they learned a lesson,” said Ilibagiza. “My reason to forgive is that I finally came to understand that people can change, people can learn, people are smart.” Ilibagiza has taken her gospel of forgiveness to the Vatican and an audience with Pope Benectict XVI. She met with the Pope at the end of his Angelus address Sept. 4. She found the experience overwhelming. Tickets to Ilibagiza’s talk at Marylake are $50 for general admission or $100 for reserved seating, a reception with her and a signed copy of Left To Tell. Call (905) 833-5368 or visit www.luvn4gve.ca.

Pope Benedict XVI urges interfaith dialogue in Middle East

September 15, 2012

BEIRUT (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI signed a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to engage in dialogue with Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim neighbors, but also to affirm and defend their right to live freely in the region where Christianity was born. In a ceremony at the Melkite Catholic Basilica of St. Paul in Harissa Sept. 14, Pope Benedict signed the 90-page document of his reflections on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops, which was dedicated to Christians in the Middle East. He was to formally present the document Sept. 16 at an outdoor Mass in Beirut. A section dedicated to interreligious dialogue encouraged Christians to "esteem" the region's dominant religion, Islam, lamenting that "both sides have used doctrinal differences as a pretext for justifying, in the name of religion, acts of intolerance, discrimination, marginalization and even of persecution." Yet in a reflection of the precarious position of Christians in most of the region today, where they frequently experience negative legal and social discrimination, the pope called for Arab societies to "move beyond tolerance to religious freedom." The "pinnacle of all other freedoms," religious freedom is a "sacred and inalienable right," which includes the "freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one's beliefs in public," the pope wrote. It is a civil crime in some Muslim countries for Muslims to convert to another faith and, in Saudi Arabia, Catholic priests have been arrested for celebrating Mass, even in private. The papal document, called an apostolic exhortation, denounced "religious fundamentalism" as the opposite extreme of the secularization that Pope Benedict has often criticized in the context of contemporary Western society. Fundamentalism, which "afflicts all religious communities," thrives on "economic and political instability, a readiness on the part of some to manipulate others, and a defective understanding of religion," the pope wrote. "It wants to gain power, at times violently, over individual consciences, and over religion itself, for political reasons." Many Christians in the Middle East have expressed growing alarm at the rise of Islamist extremism, especially since the so-called Arab Spring democracy movement has toppled or threatened secular regimes that guaranteed religious minorities the freedom to practice their faith. Earlier in the day, the pope told reporters accompanying him on the plane from Rome that the Arab Spring represented positive aspirations for democracy and liberty and hence a "renewed Arab identity." But he warned against the danger of forgetting that "human liberty is always a shared reality," and consequently failing to protect the rights of Christian minorities in Muslim countries. The apostolic exhortation criticized another aspect of social reality in the Middle East by denouncing the "wide variety of forms of discrimination" against women in the region. "In recognition of their innate inclination to love and protect human life, and paying tribute to their specific contribution to education, health care, humanitarian work and the apostolic life," Pope Benedict wrote, "I believe that women should play, and be allowed to play, a greater part in public and ecclesial life." In his speech at the document's signing, Pope Benedict observed that Sept. 14 was the feast of the Exaltation of Holy Cross, a celebration associated with the Emperor Constantine the Great, who in the year 313 granted religious freedom in the Roman Empire and was later baptized. The pope urged Christians in the Middle East to "act concretely ... in a way like that of the Emperor Constantine, who could bear witness and bring Christians forth from discrimination to enable them openly and freely to live their faith in Christ crucified, dead and risen for the salvation of all." While the pope signed the document in an atmosphere of interreligious harmony, with Orthodox, Muslim and Druze leaders in the attendance at the basilica, the same day brought an outburst of religiously inspired violence to Lebanon. During a protest against the American-made anti-Muslim film that prompted demonstrations in Libya, Egypt and Yemen earlier in the week, a group attempted to storm a Lebanese government building in the northern city of Tripoli. The resulting clashes left one person dead and 25 wounded, local media reported. According to Voice of Lebanon radio, Lebanese army troops were deployed to Tripoli to prevent further violence. Mohammad Samak, the Muslim secretary-general of Lebanon's Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue, told Catholic News Service that the violence had nothing to do with the pope's visit. "All Muslim leaders and Muslim organizations -- political and religious -- they are all welcoming the Holy Father and welcoming his visit," Samak said. "I hope his visit will give more credibility to what we have affirmed as the message of Lebanon -- a country of conviviality between Christians and Muslims who are living peacefully and in harmony together for hundreds of years now." Bishop Joseph Mouawad, vicar of Lebanon's Maronite Patriarchate, told CNS that the apostolic exhortation represents "a roadmap for Christians of the Middle East to live their renewal at all levels, especially at the level of communion." The exhortation will also be a call to dialogue, he said, especially between Christians and Muslims. Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, said now church leaders in each Mideast country must "work on how to translate the exhortation into real life in our communities and also in our Muslim and Christian relationships." - - - Contributing to this story was Doreen Abi Raad.

N.Y. Giants coach says 'faith-filled' nuns gave him solid Catholic formation

September 15, 2012

BOSTON - Growing up, the toughest person in Tom Coughlin's life was not the local playground bully, the wise guy at the school bus stop, or any one of his rough and tumble friends. No way. Not even close. The person most respected and most feared was a St. Joseph nun. Her name was Sr. Rose Alice. "She was tougher, faster, she could hit harder and she could out-talk anyone," said Coughlin, the head coach of the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. As an elementary school student at St. Mary's School in Waterloo, N.Y., and an altar boy at St. Mary's Church, Coughlin received a solid Catholic formation. "The Sisters of St. Joseph were great," remarked Coughlin, who led the Giants to victories in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI. "They were totally dedicated to Jesus Christ, the Catholic faith and to the welfare of each and every one of their students. Who I am today can be traced to the values I learned from the faith-filled Sisters of St. Joseph." Coughlin, 66, grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. He is the oldest of seven children. His father, Lou, worked for an Army supply depot. His mother, Betty, was a non-Catholic who went out of her way to make sure her children fulfilled their Catholic obligations. "My mother was really more Catholic than anyone," said Coughlin in a telephone interview from New Jersey. "Every Sunday she made sure we were dressed and ready for Mass." Beginning with his baptism, Coughlin looks to the tenets of the Catholic faith as the roots of his formation and development. "The importance of conscience was pounded into you by the priests and nuns," he said. "We learned that there are consequences for our actions. Ultimately, there is a greater court, judge and jury. I am far from perfect so it has always been vital for me to know that you can't be a phony. There is no hiding from God." In high school, where he first excelled in football, Tom set the school's single-season record for touchdowns with 19. That record still stands. He went on to Syracuse University where he played in a dream backfield with two of the Orangemen's all-time greats, Larry Csonka and Floyd Little. A wing back, Coughlin set the school's single season receiving record in 1967. At Syracuse, Coughlin played for legend and College Hall of Fame coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who as a collegian was a scrappy 146-pound centre and wrestler for the University of West Virginia Mountaineers. Much of Swartzwalder's character and toughness rubbed off on the future Giants coach. "I have great respect for him," said Coughlin. "At age 32, during World War II, he was one of the oldest soldiers to parachute behind enemy lines on D-Day. Because of his age, his airborne unit nicknamed him 'Gramps.' ” Coughlin's life attests to the fact that faith without works is an empty proposition. Before becoming the first head coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, he was the head coach at Boston College from 1991 to 1993, where he posted a 21-13-1 record, including a dramatic last-second victory over top-ranked Notre Dame. One of his players was Jay McGillis, who developed leukemia while on the team and died from the disease. In his memory, Coughlin launched the Jay Fund Foundation, which has raised more than $2 million to assist families of cancer patients. As a coach, Coughlin is known for his intensity, sometimes called competitive fire. Giants President John Mara, following a huge victory over the Jets that fueled the Giants' late-season march to Super Bowl XLVI, said about Coughlin: "He is never going to give up. He seems to be at his best when his back is against the wall." Giants Chairman Steve Tisch added: "Look inside the locker room. He (Coughlin) has inspired every single player to play for each other and not just for themselves." A disciplinarian and a detail-oriented taskmaster, cut from the same cloth as the great Vince Lombardi, Coughlin was asked how he would like to be remembered. He paused, then answered: "Fair, firm, honest and demanding." Coughlin and his wife Judy, who were classmates in high school, have been married 45 years. The couple has four children and 11 grandchildren. He also coaches his son-in-law, Giants guard Chris Snee, who is married to Coughlin's daughter Katie. Coughlin is no lace-curtain Irishman. Sometimes his rough, tough, no-nonsense exterior masks how much he cares. He is particularly gratified when former players return to see him. "They thank me for helping them become the best that can be, on and off the field," said Coughlin. "Those moments are special. Man to man. You can't top that."

Pope says religious freedom is necessary for Middle East peace

September 15, 2012

BEIRUT - Peace will not come to the Middle East until its nations enjoy religious freedom, since only the free practice of faith can inspire the region's diverse peoples to unite around basic human values, Pope Benedict XVI said Sept. 15. The pope addressed a multifaith gathering of Lebanon's political, religious and cultural leaders at the presidential palace in Baabda on the second day of a three-day visit to the country. Pope Benedict's travels coincided with a wave of often-violent protests -- prompted by an American-made film denigrating Islam -- in at least a dozen Muslim countries. On Sept. 14, protesters denounced the papal visit during a demonstration in the Lebanese city of Tripoli; one person died and 25 were wounded in a clash that followed. In his speech to the nation's leaders, the pope did not refer specifically to any of the region's many past or present conflicts, including the current civil war in neighboring Syria, but noted that the "centuries-old mix" of cultures and religions in the Middle East has not always been peaceful. Peace requires a pluralistic society based on "mutual respect, a desire to know the other, and continuous dialogue," the pope said, and such dialogue in turn depends on consciousness of sharing fundamental human values, cherished and sustained in common by different religions. Thus, he argued, "religious freedom is the basic right on which many rights depend." The pope spoke after meeting privately with Lebanon's president and prime minister, the president of parliament, and leaders of the country's four major Muslim communities: Sunni, Shiite, Druze and Alawite. Lebanon's population is estimated to be about 60 percent Muslim and almost 40 percent Christian, with both groups divided into many smaller communities. In an apparent reference to the many Middle Eastern countries that restrict the practice or expression of religions other than Islam, the pope said that freedom must go beyond "what nowadays passes for tolerance," which he said "does not eliminate cases of discrimination" but sometimes "even reinforces them." "The freedom to profess and practice one's religion without danger to life and liberty must be possible to everyone," he said. Those remarks echoed portions of a document that Pope Benedict signed the previous night in Harissa and was to present formally Sept. 16 at an outdoor Mass in Beirut. The document is a collection of his reflections on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops dedicated to Christians in the Middle East. In his talk in Baabda, the pope did not explicitly address the topic of religiously inspired violence, but included a single reference to terrorism and the assertion that "authentic faith does not lead to death." He also said that peace requires a shared respect for human life and dignity. Those values are undermined not only by war, he said, but by a range of social ills, including unemployment, corruption, "different forms of trafficking," and an "economic and financial mindset which would subordinate 'being' to 'having.'" The pope also warned against ideologies that he said "undermine the foundations of our society" by "questioning, directly or indirectly, or even before the law, the inalienable value of each person and the natural foundation of the family" -- an apparent reference to abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. In response to such threats, Pope Benedict said, political and religious leaders should promote a "culture of peace" through education, which he said would encourage a "conversion of heart" characterized above all by a willingness to forgive. "Only forgiveness, given and received," the pope said, "can lay lasting foundations for reconciliation and universal peace."