CATHOLIC BISHOPS VOTE TO "REMAIN OPEN" TO ORDINATION OF WOMEN (excerpt)

MONTREAL (RNS) — In an extraordinary series of resolutions, the overwhelming majority of Quebec's Roman Catholic bishops have agreed to "remain open" to the question of ordination of women and have called for an unconditional welcome by the church for remarried divorcees, unmarried couples, single-parent families and others from unconventional family situations. The bishops also endorsed wider powers for women within the church, apart from ordination, as well as recognition of homosexuals. Twenty-nine of the province's 35 bishops voted for the resolutions and were joined by 86 laywomen and 13 laymen who also represented the majority of lay people attending.

Bishop Adolphe Prouix of the Gatineau-Hull Diocese in southeastern Quebec said the call for open door policies for those who do not fit the traditional family concept—including recognition of homosexuals—represented no departure from Church teaching. But the bishops' stand clearly upset some parish priests. One priest, who asked not to be identified since his bishop was one of those attending the session, said, "We have to answer to those parishioners who don't feel comfortable with homosexuals or those living common-law."

Bishop Prouix said that while some members of non-traditional families may be officially excluded by some church laws, there are so many exceptions to the laws that "there is really nothing to prevent anyone of good faith from receiving the sacraments, including communion." He said the resolution may help make it clearer to parish priests that they should be comprehensive about allowing members of all sorts of families access to the sacraments. One resolution, for example, said baptised Christians in various family situations should not only be welcomed, but possibly be given high-profile responsibilities commensurate with their own personal development, talents and Christian witness.

With respect to women's roles in the church, the following resolutions were adopted by large majorities:

Bishop Prouix said the proposals were an "attempt to make women full partners at all possible levels, given all the constraints this institution imposes on us," particularly in barring the ordination of women. He noted that the resolutions do not carry the power of canon law but are merely recommendations, "albeit recommendations for the world to see."

Cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon, archbishop of Quebec City, said, "My heart is profoundly comforted by the proposals."

HAIL MARY DEFENDED BY BRAZILIAN BISHOP

NEW YORK (RNS) — The modern depiction of the Virgin Mary in the film Hail Mary has been denounced from Rome to Argentina, but in Brazil, where it was censored by the government, it has received a ringing endorsement from Bishop Dom Mauro Morelli of Rio de Janiero. In defending the film, the prelate departed from the position of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference, which concluded it would be better if it were not shown.

In his endorsement of Hail Mary, according to reports in Latinamerica Press, Bishop Morelli observed that by choosing a gas station attendant and a cab driver to portray Mary and Joseph, the film-maker "was faithful to God's historic preference for the small and the simple." He suggested that in Brazil, Mary's honor and legacy are more deeply insulted by the political, economic and social structures of the state. The bishop also took the occasion to criticize some Catholics for their reactions to the film, which he said lacked substance, restraint and emotional balance. He pointed out that pastoral declarations deserve respect but do not call for unconditional adherence. "A diversity of opinions on open-ended questions is an aspect of the pluralism demanded in Gospel-inspired dialogue," he said.

EVANGELICALS TO SEEK COMMON POSITION ON CATHOLIC RELATIONS (excerpt)

NEW YORK (RNS) — The Eighth General Assembly of the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) will attempt to reach a common position on relations with Roman Catholics when it meets in Singapore June 22-27. Paul Schrotenboer, general secretary of the Reformed Ecumenical Synod in Grand Rapids, Mich., coordinated the task force that prepared a draft statement to be discussed. He said the "situations reported by members from Southern Europe and Latin America nudged the document toward a somewhat more rigorous stance than that taken by others involved in dialogue with representatives of the Vatican."

Using official Vatican documents and papal pronouncements, this draft contrasts Roman Catholic and evangelical positions on such matters as religious liberty, relations to other churches, Mariology, the papacy and infallibility, authority in the church, modernism/theological liberalism, justification by faith, sacramentalism and the Eucharist, and the mission of the church. In some cases, the draft document admits evangelical shortcomings that have led to problems in relations with Catholics. In the section on authority: "We must acknowledge that often we have set our evangelical traditions above Scripture." In other places it is sharply critical of Catholic teachings and practices. In the section on Mariology: "the many syncretistic practices associated with Mary in different parts of the world, particularly in countries of Latin Europe, Latin America and the Philippines, are abominations to an evangelical conscience. We as evangelical Christians are deeply offended by Rome's Marian dogmas because they cast a shadow upon the sufficiency of the intercession of Jesus Christ, lack all support from Scripture and detract from the worship which Christ alone deserves."

It was stressed that the draft document "is not an attempt to dialogue with members of the Roman Catholic Church," but represents "evangelicals coming up with their own position."

MAHONEY UPSET BY CATHOLIC WOMEN'S "LITURGY OF LIBERATION"

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Archbishop Roger Mahony said he was "saddened" and "deeply troubled" by an unsanctioned "liturgy of liberation from patriarchal hierarchy" held in St. Vibiana Cathedral here May 17 by 22 nuns and lay women.

The 15-minute service, which was held between regularly scheduled masses, was organized by a group of feminists affiliated with the National Association of Religious Women. It was adapted from a liturgy written by the Rev. Carter Heyward, one of the first women Episcopal priests, and was a protest against what it described as "condescending and hostile" attitude toward women by the church's hierarchy.

The women served each other bread and wine, but did not identify the elements as the body and blood of Christ, thus distinguishing the service from a Mass. The service ended with a candlelight procession down the main aisle. Four nuns in secular clothes took part in the service, including Sister Judy Vaughn, who recently resolved a dispute with the Vatican over her part in signing a controversial New York Times ad that called for dialogue in the church on abortion.

In a statement, Archbishop Mahony noted that he has announced plans to form an advisory council of sisters and to appoint a woman vicar for nuns. He said he will shortly appoint a woman to serve in the newly created position of archdiocesan personnel director.

DEATH OF PAUL VI HALTED ANGLICAN-CATHOLIC UNITY, PRIEST SAYS

HARTFORD, Conn. (RNS) — An opportunity for reconciliation between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church was lost with the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978, the Rev. J.M.R. Tillard, a prominent Catholic ecumenist and professor of systematic theology at the University of Ottawa said here. According to Father Tillard, Paul VI was on the verge of signing a major document that would have helped end the centuries-old split between Anglicans and Catholics when he died. He said he learned about this document through conversations with the late Cardinal Giovanni Benelli, former Vatican secretary of state and said further that the document would have dealt with Catholic recognition of Anglican ordinations, which Pope Leo XIII declared invalid in 1896.

Although the Vatican has recently indicated that it might be willing to reopen the question, Father Tillard said he does not think the chances for Anglican-Catholic unity are as bright today as they might have been eight years ago. "I no longer believe it will happen in our lifetime," he said, adding that the question has become more complicated because an increasing number of Anglican churches have begun to ordain women to the priesthood. He also cited what he described as a growing resistance to church union in some Vatican quarters, especially in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

"I think Pope John Paul wants unity," the priest said. "I think Cardinal Johannes Willebrands (head of the Secretariat for Christian Unity) wants unity. But I'm not sure they can get it. I don't think the Holy Office (Cardinal Ratzinger's office) really wants unity, at least not now."

Besides his work with Anglicans, Father Tillard has been involved in bilateral dialogues with Orthodox Christians and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

CATHOLIC BISHOP: CONVERTS REMAIN FAITHFUL DESPITE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

KALAMASSERY, India (RNS) — A Roman Catholic bishop, Gratian Mundadan, says he does not anticipate many Hindu converts to Christianity returning to their original faith as a result of a court judgment that ruled them ineligible for special government relief assistance. Last fall, India's Supreme Court ruled that members of "scheduled castes" also known as untouchables, lose their claim to special government aid when converting to Christianity from the Hindu and Sikh religions and recover the eligibility when reverting to Hinduism.

Bishop Mundadan is vice-chairman of a newly formed Catholic bishops' commission on such converts. He said the establishment of such a body showed the "urgency and serious need" of dealing with the issue, previously handled at lower levels of the church. He said data will be collected on the economic condition of converts and that economic criteria should be the basis for government relief measures since untouchability is legally not recognized in Indian law enacted since 1950.

ARCHBISHOP ROACH: CATHOLIC DISUNITY "TEARING APART" THE CHURCH (excerpt)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (RNS) — Archbishop John R. Roach of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, writing in the Catholic Bulletin, archdiocesan newspaper, said that disunity in the Roman Catholic Church is "a scandal that is tearing apart the Body of Christ" and cited the abortion issue as a classic case in point. "I have no tolerance for the Catholic who is soft on abortion," he wrote. "The signers of the New York Times ad advocating freedom of choice were not only wrong, they were beyond the pale of consistent Church teaching on abortion. Having said that, though, it seems important to note that living in a pluralistic society as we do, and in a society in which law protects freedom of choice, our common enterprise ought to be to change the law."

Archbishop Roach, past president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), recalled that he and the late Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York had testified on behalf of the NCCB for what was then known as the Hatch Amendment, which he said "was not the perfect solution to the abortion question, but…a vast improvement over existing law." The archbishop said, "I can tolerate a fair amount of abuse from people who disagree with my right to be an advocate for the unborn. I have difficulty tolerating even greater abuse from those who presumably are united with me in faith in preserving the sacredness of life."

He said, "I have a similar concern about those who are cavalier about allegiance to the teaching of the Church on a whole series of issues, treating the teaching of the Holy Father as if he were just one more theological voice. These are just a few examples of the kind of things which we allow to divide us and which, I repeat, are really a scandal. Unity in heart and in spirit for His followers was not a pious hope of Jesus. It was a mandate."

BRITISH CATHOLICS SAY CHURCH MORE EXCITING TODAY

LONDON (RNS) — British Catholics say they find their church membership more challenging and exciting now than in the past. The finding emerged from a survey of some 70,000 active lay Catholics in preparation for the 1987 Synod of the Laity. The most frequently mentioned worries were unemployment, violence in the streets and on TV, unequal distribution of the world's resources, racism, materialism, drugs and nuclear holocaust. The most frequently mentioned joy and hope in the church was ecumenism. While a small minority disagreed, British Catholics overwhelmingly welcome the changes that have followed Vatican II. The most frequently mentioned expectation was that there would be one Christian church by 2000 A.D.

Perceived failure within the church caused concern to many. Some deplored the pain caused by the church's teaching on contraception and wanted it changed. Others strongly disagreed with pronouncements on sexuality, divorce and the procedure for granting annulments. Concern was registered about conflicting opinions on moral issues. And about how the Curia operates, particularly in financial matters.

Being a Catholic today is seen to be challenging. It is no longer simply a matter of keeping the rules but of using initiative and following conscience. And while priests and parishes were seen to be more open and caring, many felt there is still a long way to go.

Responses to questions about women indicate that they are not perceived as being treated equally in the church. The introduction of girls as altar servers, more opportunities for women in theological studies, liturgical participation and higher levels of decision making were suggested. It was often pointed out that women do most of the work in the parish but are seldom given leadership roles.

When invited to choose between words describing the role of the priest, sometimes contradictory expectations were expressed. While his "essentially spiritual role" was paramount, he was also expected to be leader, talent spotter and human relations expert. He should work with people to make decisions but not be a dictator. He should visit them in their homes and, as one group said, "be a true friend."

Many felt that there would be a great shortage of priests by the turn of the century. This would increase opportunities for lay leadership, but it would also sharpen the call for married and women priests, neither of which would be unwelcome to the majority.

NEW ENCYCLICAL ON HOLY SPIRIT CONTAINS STRONG ATTACK ON MARXISM

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope John Paul II has launched a strong new attack on Marxism from the pages of a document about the Holy Spirit in which he warns Catholics that they must reject Marx's "anti-religious materialism." In his new Dominium et Vivificantem encyclical letter, the pope denounces "spiritual decadence" as the key problem of the 20th century church and calls for a return to prayer. He blames the decadence largely on Marxist materialism. "Those who wish to live by the Spirit, accepting and corresponding to his salvific activity, cannot but reject the internal and external tendencies and claims of the 'flesh' also in its ideological and historical expression as anti-religious materialism," the pope writes in the 140 page letter.

John Paul describes Marxist materialism as the "clearest expression" in the modern era of rebellion against the Holy Spirit. "The system which has developed most and carried to its extreme practical consequences this form of thought, ideology and praxis is dialectical and historical materialism, which is still recognized as the essential core of Marxism," he says.

The pope defines atheistic ideologies as "an absurdity" and links them to death, to sins of the flesh and to Satan. Quoting his predecessor Pope Pius XII, he declares the declining sense of sin as "the sin of the century." John Paul says, "The ideology of the 'death of God' easily demonstrates in its effects that on the 'theoretical and practical' levels it is the ideology of the 'death of man'."

Elsewhere in the encyclical he says that "materialism, as a system of thought, in all its forms, means the acceptance of death as the definitive end of human existence. Everything that is material is corruptible and therefore the human body (insofar as it is 'animal') is mortal. If a man in his essence is only 'flesh' death remains for him an impassable frontier and limit."

John Paul looks ahead with concern to the year 2000, when the Roman Catholic Church will celebrate as its next jubilee and mark the 2,000 anniversary of Jesus Christ's birth. "The great jubilee to be celebrated at the end of this millennium and at the beginning of the next ought to constitute a powerful call to all those who 'worship God in Spirit and truth.' On the horizon of our era there are gathering ever darker 'signs of death'," the pope says.

He voices grave concern about abortion, euthanasia, terrorism, the arms race with its "inherent danger of nuclear self-destruction" and about death-dealing poverty and famine.

Quoting from the pastoral constitution of the Second Vatican Council, he also condemns "infamies" such as "disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere tools for profit."

But to no question except the central one of the Holy Spirit does he devote as much space in the encyclical as he does to atheist Marxist materialism. The pope dedicates more than four pages to materialism but less than half a page to religious persecution and less than a full sentence to labor injustice. He has written four other encyclicals since becoming pontiff eight years ago, including one about labor and the right of workers. The new encyclical, which Vatican officials said he wrote in his native Polish, is the third and last in a series he has prepared about the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Although Vivificantem was made public May 30, it is dated May 18 or Pentecost, the day marked by many Christians as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the establishment of the church. May 18 is also the pope's birthday.

Encyclical letters are documents addressed by the pope to the Catholic Church as a whole; they treat matters of doctrine, morals or discipline. The four encyclicals that preceded Vivificantem are Redemptor Hominis (On Redemption and the Dignity of the Human Race), published March 4, 1979; Dives in Misericordia (On the Mercy of God), November 30, 1980; Laborem Excercens (On Human Work), September 14, 1981; and Slavorum Apostoli (commemorating Saints Cyril and Methodius), June 2,1985.

In the new encyclical, the pope does not mention by name any of the movements, such as charismatic renewal, that place great emphasis on the Holy Spirit, but he does encourage in general those groups that "are giving first place to prayer and seeking in prayer a renewal of their spiritual life."

"Our difficult age has special need of prayer," the pope says. "In many individuals and many communities there is a growing awareness that, even with all the rapid progress of technological and scientific civilization, and despite the real conquests and goals attained, man is threatened, humanity is threatened. In the face of this danger, and indeed already experiencing the frightful reality of man's spiritual decadence, individuals and whole communities, guided as it were by an inner sense of faith, are seeking the strength to raise man up again, to save him from himself, from his own errors and mistakes that often make harmful his very conquests."