International News

News from outside of Canada.

British conference looks at relation between power, abuse in Church

September 6, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The "most tragic wound" of clerical sexual abuse will not heal without a response from the entire Catholic Church — hierarchy and laity together — said the chief Vatican investigator of abuse cases. "I think that slowly, slowly, slowly we are getting toward a response that is truly ecclesial — it's not hierarchical, it's the Church. We are in this together, in suffering (from) the wound and trying to respond to it," Msgr. Charles Scicluna told Vatican Radio. The monsignor, whose formal title is promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke to Vatican Radio during a Sept. 4-5 conference in England titled "Redeeming Power: Overcoming Abuse in Church and Society." The European Society of Catholic Theology sponsored the conference at St. Mary's University College in Twickenham as part of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology's three-year research project on "the power of theology to overcome power abuse in Church and society." Scicluna told Vatican Radio the conference was an important part of the ongoing conversation about how to empower all members of the Church to prevent abuse and promote accountability. "We are accountable not only to God, but to each other and to our peers in how we respond to difficult questions, including sin and crime," he said. The monsignor said Pope Benedict XVI is setting an example for the whole Church when he discusses the abuse crisis, repentance and reform of Church norms with bishops, priests and laity. Marie Keenan, a social worker and psychotherapist who has worked with perpetrators and survivors of clerical sexual abuse, told Vatican Radio that the Church has been slow in responding to the abuse crisis, "but I think that we're moving in the right direction and I think this conference is part of that." Keenan, who lectures at University College Dublin, said she is concerned that clerical sexual abuse is sometimes seen as "a problem of individuals, either individual perpetrators who were devious and managed to get through the doors" of the seminary undetected, "or bad or erring bishops who didn't have the right heart or spirit or intellect or knowledge or something." The conference is part of an effort to look at relationships and structures of power within the Church and determine how they may have contributed to the crisis. Keenan said that without addressing those broader issues, the Church risks placing too much trust in the important psychological tests designed to "screen out deviants." Relying exclusively on the tests is dangerous, she said, because "some of these men chose an abusive road not because they were deviants to begin with, but because something happened to them in the course of their life, either in formation or priesthood or living their life that wasn't picked up on and with which they weren't helped adequately." At the same time, she said, "even with the same formation and the same lifestyle, many, many men don't turn to abuse," so there must be a recognition that Church culture hasn't caused everyone "to use their power position in an abusive way." In addition, Keenan said that in her research "I found no evidence that celibacy is a cause of sexual abuse." While "there may be good reasons for the Church to rethink the celibacy issue, it's not because of the child sexual abuse issue," she said. Sister of Charity Nuala Patricia Kenny, a pediatrician and retired professor of bioethics in Canada, said recent cases of abuse and sexual scandal convinced her that "we had not finished the job" of addressing clerical sexual abuse. "The Church, in the area of policies and protocols, surely now has become a world leader," she said. But as she told the conference, "we have been a slow learner on this one." Catholics, she said, need to reflect on the question: "How does power and our sense of Church, how has the inactivity of the laity, our inability to have good, positive, loving experiences between priest and people in our Church that would make us a healthy Church — how has all of that made us continue to deny, to fail to accept the difficult challenges" posed by the abuse crisis? Kenny, who has been a religious for 50 years, said there were days "when I had to kneel, kneel, kneel at my desk and literally hold on to the New Testament because I've been so overwhelmed by how much harm has been done, not just to the individual victims, but to the whole body of Christ." "I'm not a woman who breaks down easily and cries, but I have wept about this issue," she said. "On the other hand, I can tell you that I know in my heart that the Holy Spirit is leading us somewhere graced and I am perfectly prepared to do whatever I can with the grace and energy the Lord gives me to contribute to that. "Walking away is not an option because it belongs to my baptismal commitment," Kenny said. "This is my Church."

Muslim cleric arrested in Pakistani girl's blasphemy case

September 5, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The case against a Pakistani Christian girl accused of blasphemy seemed to take a turn in her favour after a Muslim cleric was arrested on suspicion of fabricating evidence against her. Khalid Jadoon Chishti, the imam or prayer leader who has accused Rimsha Masih of burning pages of the Muslim holy book, was taken into police custody Sept. 2. According to a police official quoted by the Associated Press, witnesses claim the imam tore pages from a Quran and planted them along with burned pieces of paper in the girl's bag. Rimsha has been in police custody since Aug. 18. Her parents said she is 11 years old and has Down syndrome; a court appointed physician found that she was about 14 and is developmentally delayed. A Pakistan court delayed her bail hearing until Sept. 1, but postponed it again until Sept. 7 after the judge in the case changed. The girl's lawyer, Tahir Naveed, told Vatican Radio Sept. 3 that with the arrest of the Muslim cleric, "it is no secret that Rimsha is innocent. This shows that there was a conspiracy." Naveed said Rimsha's case is just the latest instance of someone misusing Pakistan's strict anti-blasphemy laws to intimidate or persecute others. "After the arrest of Imam Jadoon, everyone is talking and reflecting on the fact that this law can be used improperly and even abused," Naveed said. Capuchin Father Francis Nadeem, co-ordinator of the National Council for Interreligious Dialogue in Lahore, said the charges against the girl appeared to be part of a plot by a local "land mafia." "Unscrupulous criminals intend to wrest land from Christians and drive them out from Mehrabadi, a suburb of Islamabad where Rimsha's family lives," Nadeem told the Vatican's missionary news agency Fides. "This is why they made up the case, blaming an innocent child." Accusations that a Christian had burned the Quran drew an angry crowd, prompting hundreds of Christian families to flee the neighbourhood.

Cardinal Carlo Martini, former archbishop of Milan, dies at age 85

September 4, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a renowned biblical scholar and former archbishop of Milan, died Aug. 31 at the age of 85 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. In a telegram to Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Pope Benedict praised Cardinal Martini's generous service to the Gospel and the Church and his "intense apostolic work" as a Jesuit, a professor and "authoritative biblicist." As archbishop of Milan, the Pope said, Cardinal Martini helped open for the Church community "the treasures of the sacred Scriptures." The Pope prayed that God would welcome the cardinal into "the heavenly Jerusalem." The cardinal was a prolific author whose books were best-sellers in Italy and included everything from scholarly biblical exegesis to poetry and prayer guides. He retired as archbishop of Milan in 2002, where he was known as a strong pastor and administrator, and as a very careful, thoughtful advocate of wider discussion and dialogue on some delicate and controversial Church positions. At various times, he expressed openness to the possibility of allowing married Latin-rite priests under certain circumstances, ordaining women as deacons and allowing Communion for some divorced Catholics in subsequent marriages not approved by the Church. During a special Synod of Bishops for Europe in 1999, he made waves when he proposed a new Church-wide council or assembly to unravel "doctrinal and disciplinary knots" such as the shortage of priests, the role of women, the role of laity and the discipline of marriage. His carefully worded remarks reflected his belief that the Church would benefit from a wider exercise of collegiality, or the shared responsibility of bishops for the governance of the Church. The idea of a new council was not taken up formally by the synod. Following his retirement, his interests focused on biblical studies, Catholic-Jewish dialogue and praying for peace in the Middle East. Even in retirement, the cardinal kept up with issues of importance in the life of the Church. He was sought after for interviews and frequently published opinion pieces in Italian newspapers. After Pope Benedict eased restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgy in 2007, Cardinal Martini wrote a newspaper column explaining why, even though he loved the Latin language and could even preach in Latin, he would not celebrate the old Mass. He said he admired Pope Benedict "benevolence" in allowing Catholics "to praise God with ancient and new forms" by permitting wider use of the 1962 form of the Mass, but his experience as a bishop had convinced him of the importance of a common liturgical prayer to express Catholics' unity of belief. The cardinal also said the reformed liturgy that came out of the Second Vatican Council marked "a real step forward" in nourishing Catholics "with the word of God, offered in a much more abundant way than before," with a much larger selection of Scripture readings. In a 2008 book-length interview titled Nighttime Conversations in Jerusalem, Cardinal Martini said Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), which taught that artificial birth control was morally wrong, led many Catholics to distance themselves from the Church and from listening to and being challenged by the Catholic vision of human sexuality. While not specifically addressing the morality of contraception, the cardinal said the Church needed to take a more pastoral approach to questions of sexuality. "The Church should always treat questions of sexuality and the family in such a way that a leading and decisive role is up to the responsibility of the person who loves," he said. Born in Orbassano, near Turin, Italy, Feb. 15, 1927, Carlo Maria Martini entered the Society of Jesus in 1944, was ordained a priest July 13, 1952, and took his final vows as a Jesuit in 1962. The cardinal, a biblical scholar, never held a parish post. With doctorates in theology and biblical studies, he was a seminary professor in Chieri, Italy, 1958-1961; professor and later rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, 1969-1978; and rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University from July 1978 until his December 1979 appointment to Milan. After his retirement in 2002, he moved to Jerusalem and purchased a burial plot there but returned to Milan after his health worsened in 2008. He died in a Jesuit retirement home near Milan, surrounded by his Jesuit confreres and members of his family. When he was named archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Martini was the first Jesuit in 35 years to head an Italian archdiocese. Pope John Paul II ordained him an archbishop Jan. 6, 1980, in St. Peter's Basilica and named him a cardinal in 1983. Cardinal Martini's death leaves the College of Cardinals with 206 members, 118 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

American Catholics filling stands for Notre Dame-Navy game in Dublin

August 31, 2012

BALTIMORE - Jim Bolduc has two favourite pieces of college football memorabilia — a Fighting Irish photo montage of its famed 1988 win over the University of Miami, and a football autographed by Navy quarterback and 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach. As a 1990 University of Notre Dame graduate and a U.S. Naval Academy football season ticket holder, Bolduc, a parishioner of St. Mary in Annapolis, planned to root for both teams as he watched them play in Ireland Sept. 1 for the Emerald Isle Classic. About 35,000 Americans were expected to be in the stands of Dublin's sold-out Aviva Stadium — the largest ever influx of Americans to Ireland for a single event, according to reports. Among them will be Catholics who have deep allegiances to Notre Dame or Navy — or, like Bolduc, both. Taking sides in the Notre Dame-Navy rivalry feels practically patriotic for some, and perhaps for good reason. The matchup is the longest continuous nonconference series in college football, with an annual game every year since 1927, including a previous Dublin-hosted game in 1996. The schools' history has engendered a robustly sportsmanlike atmosphere at their games, even during Notre Dame's 43-year winning streak, according to Jim Coolahan, a 1971 Notre Dame graduate and parishioner of Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City. Navy broke the streak in 2007 and won again in 2009 and 2010. Ken Goldman, who earned a master's degree in business administration at Notre Dame in 1976 and tries to attend a few games each year, said the atmosphere of the games is so collegial that "it's almost like playing football within your family in the backyard on a holiday," but it's "still a step above all the other rivalries that Notre Dame experiences." Both active members of the Notre Dame Club of Maryland, Goldman and Coolahan are travelling to Ireland for the game together, with their wives. Having the game in Ireland will "allow ND fans to more closely identify with the Irish roots or traditions of the school," Goldman said. "Many would say the Notre Dame fans are looking forward to the Guinness beer," he added with a laugh. Coolahan expects the game's atmosphere to be "electric," he said. As for Navy fans, there is no team they would rather beat than Notre Dame, besides beating Army, which is a given, said Mike Morrell, business manager at St. Mary in Hagerstown and 1971 Naval Academy graduate who plans to attend the game with his son Brett. The teams' mutual esteem is evident in the design of the game trophy, which was recently commissioned by the Notre Dame Club of Maryland while Notre Dame was still on its winning streak. Instead of a single trophy inscribed with the game score, the trophy has two halves, which are reunited during games and inscribed with each year's team captains instead of the score. A former president of the local Notre Dame club and a regional alumni representative, Coolahan was instrumental in the trophy's commission. Some Catholics have chosen to frame their trip to the Dublin game with a pilgrimage led by three archdiocesan priests. Fr. Michael DeAscanis, archdiocesan vocations director and former pastor of St. Agnes in Catonsville and St. William of York in Ten Hills, emphasized the prayerful nature of the Ireland pilgrimage, but said that the Catholic faith includes celebration, as well.

Judge delays bail for Pakistani Christian girl accused of blasphemy

August 31, 2012

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Pakistani court considering the case of a Christian girl allegedly found with burned pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, adjourned Aug. 30 without granting bail. The girl, Rimsha Masih, 11, who has Down syndrome, was charged under the country's strict blasphemy law and has been held since Aug. 18. Chances for her release received a boost Aug. 29 when district court Judge Jawad Hasan confirmed she was a minor suffering from a mental disability, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Medical tests had determined Rimsha was about 14 years old. Under Pakistani law, children under 15 must be tried in a juvenile court, while those under 12 are deemed to be incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions and cannot be found guilty. Although medical examinations presented to the court countered claims by the girl's parents that she is only 11, her lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said he was confident the court would release her during the Aug. 30 hearing. "The proof of her illiteracy, being underage and mental illness increase the prospects for her freedom," he said. "All facts and figures support her." However, the court did not grant bail and continued the hearing until Sept. 1 to get further clarification of the medical tests, the Associated Press reported. After the adjournment human rights activists renewed calls for the girl's release and repeated their criticisms of the anti-blasphemy laws. The case has sparked international condemnation of a country whose anti-blasphemy laws remain among the strictest in the world. Those found guilty can be sentenced to death. Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Catholic Church's National Commission for Justice and Peace, said cases such as Rimsha's were rarely clear-cut, and authorities often were afraid to take a stand. Last year, two officials were killed for expressing opposition to Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws. "A change in the blasphemy laws is only possible with pressure from the international community," Jacob said.

Pope Benedict the first to sign up for WYD Rio 2013

August 30, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Germans are known for being punctual, so perhaps it should be no surprise that Pope Benedict XVI was the first person signed up for World Youth Day 2013. Registration officially opened Aug. 28, and, according to organizers, the Pope was the first pilgrim to be registered for the event, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro July 23-28. Organizers said that more than 220 groups of young people from five continents signed up in the first 24 hours after registration opened. Pilgrims from Canada, the United States, Australia, China, Aruba and the United Arab Emirates were among the first of the early registrants. Groups of up to 50 people are encouraged to book early, organizers said. Registration should be done online on the official WYD Rio 2013 web site, www.rio2013.com. The missionary outreach of young people is set to be a key focus of next year's gathering, as the theme is from the Gospel of St. Matthew, "Go and make disciples of all nations!" The opening Mass, the papal welcoming ceremony and the Way of the Cross celebration will be held at Copacabana Beach, according to organizers. The youth vigil and closing Mass will be held at the city's Santa Cruz military air base. The last World Youth Day was held in Madrid in 2011 and was attended by more than 1.5 million people.

Courts urged not to dismiss U.S. Catholic lawsuits against HHS mandate

August 30, 2012

WASHINGTON - In a dozen courts around the United States, attorneys representing more than 40 Catholic dioceses or institutions have filed briefs arguing against the federal government's call to dismiss lawsuits against its contraceptive mandate. The Catholic entities are seeking to overturn a requirement that most religious employers provide contraceptives and sterilization to their employees. The simultaneous filings Aug. 27 were in response to an Aug. 6 brief in which the Obama administration asked the courts to summarily dismiss the suits, saying they were premature and that the plaintiffs had no standing to challenge the Department of Health and Human Services' mandate. "This case is about important rights to religious freedom protected by our founders under the First Amendment, assured by Congress under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but trampled by Defendants under haphazard rulemaking," says the 36-page brief filed on behalf of the University of Notre Dame. Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions initially filed suit in federal court May 21 to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans. The diocese of Peoria, Ill., and Catholic Charities of Chicago have since joined the lawsuits. Catholic organizations have objected to the contraceptive mandate since it was announced Aug. 1, 2011, by Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary. Unless they are subject to a narrow religious exemption or have a grandfathered health plan, employers will be required to pay for sterilizations and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, as part of their health coverage. In the briefs, filed by Jones Day, an international law firm with more than 2,400 attorneys on five continents, the dioceses and Catholic institutions rebut arguments that the courts should not hear the cases because a "temporary enforcement safe harbour" protects them from immediate government action against them if they fail to comply with the mandate. In addition, the government argues that the final rule on the mandate will likely be amended before it takes effect in August 2013. The University of Notre Dame argues in its brief that the federal government's "plans to make some as-yet-undefined amendment to the U.S. government mandate does not deprive Notre Dame of its ability to challenge the law as it exists now, particularly where, as here, it is imposing both imminent and current harms." Included with the Notre Dame brief was a sworn deposition by John Affleck-Graves, executive vice president of the university, who said the school's budget for fiscal year 2013 had to be finalized by October 2012. "Before its next budget is finalized in the coming months, Notre Dame will have to make difficult decisions about whether to budget for the potential of significant fines if it cannot, for any number of reasons, comply with the mandate's requirement that it provide the objectionable services in the next plan years," the deposition said. With about 4,500 full-time employees, the university could face approximately $9 million in fines annually, Affleck-Graves said. The school has already placed $1 million in reserve to pay costs and fines associated with the mandate, he said. Notre Dame also estimates that it will spend up to $50,000 in the next two months alone for actuarial services to determine the impact of the contraceptive mandate. In a similar brief, the archdiocese of Washington said it could incur penalties of nearly $145 million a year, "simply for practising our faith," or could be forced to cancel health insurance benefits for its 4,000 archdiocesan employees and their dependents. "Either scenario is unthinkable, and planning for such action is itself a grave burden, but in either case the mandate's impact would be so severe that the archdiocese must begin to prepare now," the archdiocese said in a news release. "More important than the mandate's financial burden, though, is the blow it strikes to the fundamental issue of religious freedom. The Constitution allows for the full exercise of faith in the public square by ministries that translate belief into action, serving millions of people every day."

U.S. presidential candidates asked to sign civility petition by cardinal

August 29, 2012

NEW YORK - Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York invited the Republican and Democratic candidates for president and vice president to sign a petition seeking civil dialogue and to refrain from personal attacks during the two months remaining in the campaign leading up to the November election. The “Civility in America” petition developed by the Knights of Columbus calls on candidates, commentators and media representatives to focus on the important issues facing the country rather than on individual personalities. “I am writing to you and to the other candidates for president and vice president of this great nation to ask for your support of this effort, so that the upcoming campaign will remain focused on the critical issues facing our nation and not on personal attacks,” Dolan said in letters to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic ticket, and Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, the presumptive Republican nominees for president and vice president, respectively. The petition on the Knights of Columbus web site had gained more than 20,000 signatures through Aug. 27. Dolan’s letter said that if the candidates signed the petition he would “be most happy to convey” to Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and to the 1.8 million members of the organization “that you have chosen to support this valuable effort.” The cardinal cited the results of a Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll conducted July 9-11 that found 78 per cent of Americans are “frustrated with the tone in politics today.” The poll also found that two-thirds of people said candidates spend more time attacking their opponents than addressing key issues and that 64 per cent of people believe negative campaigning harms the political process a great deal or a significant amount. “That this perception exists cannot be healthy for our country or our democratic political process,” Dolan’s letter said. “‘Civility in America’ is giving voice to the desire of Americans of all backgrounds and political parties for more civil discourse during this election season.” The cardinal, who is also president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was to deliver the closing prayer at both the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Clergy from several denominations are scheduled to pray at the opening and closing of each day’s sessions of the party conventions. The tradition of such prayers goes back more than 100 years. It is unusual for the same person to pray at both conventions in the same year, but it’s not without precedent. For example, in 1948, Philadelphia Cardinal Dennis J. Dougherty prayed with both parties when the nominating conventions met in Philadelphia.

Archbishop apologizes after drunken driving arrest

August 29, 2012

OAKLAND, Calif. - Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, to be installed in October as archbishop of San Francisco, was arrested in San Diego early Aug. 26 for driving under the influence. The archbishop, a San Diego native, had his mother in the car. In an Aug. 27 statement issued from the diocese of Oakland, which Cordileone has led for the past three years, the prelate apologized “for my error in judgment” and said he felt “shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself.” “I will repay my debt to society and I ask forgiveness from my family and my friends and co-workers at the diocese of Oakland and the archdiocese of San Francisco,” he added. “I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this.” According to the archbishop’s statement, he was driving his mother to her home after dinner at the home of some friends, “along with a priest friend visiting from outside the country.” Cordileone’s mother lives near the campus of San Diego State University, where police had set up a DUI checkpoint. He admitted in his statement that he was found to be over California’s legal blood alcohol level, which is 0.08 per cent. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Cordileone spent the night in jail, and was released shortly before noon once he posted a $2,500 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charge Oct. 9 — five days after his scheduled installation as San Francisco’s archbishop. If convicted, Cordileone faces penalties of up to three years of probation, two days in jail and an $1,800 fine. Mark McCullough, the police officer making the arrest, told the Chronicle that Cordileone appeared intoxicated but was amiable. “He was very calm, somewhat apologetic at the time,” McCullough said. “He said he’d been drinking. But he wasn’t a stumbling, falling-down drunk.”

Residences of Melkite, Maronite archbishops in Aleppo ransacked

August 27, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Fighting in Aleppo, Syria, has not spared the residences of the local Melkite and Maronite Catholic archbishops, according to the Vatican's Fides news agency. The residence of Melkite Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart was ransacked during clashes Aug. 23. The archbishop and several priests who live in the building had fled a few hours earlier to a Franciscan residence in a safer neighbourhood, Fides reported Aug. 27. Franciscan Father George Abu Khazen, who cares for the city's Latin-rite Catholics and offered shelter to the Melkites, told Fides that Jeanbart was very worried and shaken. "He kept repeating one word: 'Why?' ” The archbishop has gone to Lebanon, but one of his assistants was able to return to the house once the Syrian military regained control of the area. He said the house had been broken into and a variety of objects, including computers and a projector, were missing, Khazen said. The Maronite archbishop's residence and a museum of Byzantine Christian art in the same neighbourhood were both ransacked as well, Fides said. Khazen said it still seems like there is no solution to the Syrian conflict in sight because no one, nationally or internationally, seems able to pressure either side into beginning a real dialogue. The tensions began in March 2011 as part of the pro-democracy Arab Spring movement that swept across North Africa and the Middle East. Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said it spoke to another member of "the local hierarchy, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons." He told Fides that "groups of jihadists" — militant Islamic fighters — from Chechnya, Pakistan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Libya have joined the fighting in an attempt to increase "hatred and sectarian conflict." The groups, he said, "have the sole aim of bringing chaos, destruction, atrocities and paralysing social life. The Syrian civilian population is the victim, but they won't fall for this trap."