Church and World
United States: Parishioners Appeal to Vatican
The parishioners of eight American dioceses have united to ask the Vatican to intervene against the closure of their parishes. Peter Borre, the co-president of the American Council of Parishes in Boston–an organization founded in 2004 to oppose the closure of parishes–has presented Rome with an 18-page document which has been sent to several Vatican offices. Besides the archdiocese of Boston, the threatened parishes are located in the archdioceses of New York and New Orleans, and in the dioceses of Allentown, Buffalo, Cleveland, Scranton, and Springfield.
The parishioners are asking Rome to mediate to oblige the bishops to negotiate with the faithful of the parish before taking a final decision. They emphasize that the decision to close hundreds of parishes across the country will cause permanent damage to the American Church and lead to an “irreversible decline.” The Council of Parishes estimates the number of churches which have been closed these past years, or which will be closed shortly, at more than a thousand. This is the latest attempt by the organization to halt these decisions to close churches, which are due to financial problems, the lack of diocesan priests, and the decline in the numbers of faithful assisting at Mass.
(DICI, 6/6/2009)
Quebec: Carmel Closes due to Lack of Vocations
The Carmel of Belle-Croix in Danville, south-east of Quebec, will close before the end of the year because of the dwindling number of Carmelites and their old age. The Carmel was opened when Carmelites from Vietnam arrived in Canada. Fleeing before the Communists of North Vietnam, they came to Montreal in 1954. At the time, there were 20 Sisters: 14 Vietnamese and 6 Canadian. The Archbishop of Sherbrooke, Georges Cabana, received them in Danville in 1957. Today, only 2 of the 14 Vietnamese are left, and only 1 of the 6 Canadians is still alive. Other Sisters belonging to other monasteries are also present in Danville, but this is not sufficient to ensure the survival of the Carmel. A letter of support to the Sisters is presently circulating in the area—“an affective support,” observed the parish priest of St. Ann, Fr. Leo Durocher. “It is a pity. It gives you a shock, but we must resign ourselves to the situation,” he said.
(DICI, 4/7/2009)
Germany: Priestly Ordinations in Significant Decline
For the first time since 1962, the number of ordinations to the priesthood in Germany fell below 100 in 2008. Peter Birkhofer, the director of the Center for Vocations Pastoral speaks of a “massive decline.” In 2008, the 27 dioceses of Germany registered 93 ordinations to the priesthood, compared with 110 in the previous year. Over a 20-year period, the decline is even more patent. In 1989, Germany numbered 297 new priests–that is, 204 priests more than in 2008! A reversal of the trend, so much hoped for after the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005 and the initiatives taken in the dioceses to bring about a change for the better, did not happen, said Peter Birkhofer. However, current surveys show that the priestly vocation is highly regarded in society. “But this has had no effect in terms of positive decisions for entry into the seminary,” lamented the director of the Center for Pastoral Vocations. The number of ordinations is also in decline in male religious communities: in 2008, 19 Brothers became priests compared with 39 in 2007.
(DICI, 6/6/2009)
Germany: Fr. Schmidberger Responds to Attacks from German Bishops
Fr. Franz Schmidberger, District Superior in Germany of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, denounced the negative attitude of certain German bishops. The lifting of the excommunications must not have as consequence “to stifle the daily life of the Society,” he stated in a declaration made a few days after the bishop of Regensburg, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, had called “a provocation” the ordinations of deacons and priests announced for June 27 at Zaitzkofen, in his diocese, in a declaration made on the airwaves of Radio Vatican on June 1. “The withdrawal of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X on January 21 of this year did not solve all the difficulties, yet it is a significant measure for the restoration of confidence. On the way toward a complete normalization, there never was any intention on the part of the Holy See to stifle the daily life of the Society, as some German bishops patently desire,” affirmed the former Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X.
Bishop Müller had judged that new ordinations should no longer take place until the canonical situation of the Society had been clarified. On this past March 28, ordinations to the subdiaconate should have taken place in Zaitzkofen. But as a token of good will, the present Superior General of the Society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, decided to transfer the ordination to Ecône in Valais. On this occasion, he said that “he was particularly disgusted with the attitude of the German bishops who never cease to show toward us a hostility devoid of charity and continually incriminate our intentions.” On Sunday, June 7, a new chapel of the Society of St. Pius X was blessed in Fulda. The local bishop, Heinz Josef Algermissen, opposed the celebration, judging this blessing “provoking” and calling it “an act jeopardizing the unity of the Church” because of the feast of St. Boniface taking place on the same day in Fulda. He recalled that the building of a chapel must be submitted to the local bishop for authorization, and that the latter was responsible for his consecration. Now, according to him, the Society of St. Pius X never addressed itself to him concerning this chapel.
Fr. Franz Schmidberger gave a public answer broadcasted on June 5. The Society had tried “unfortunately in vain” to enter into a dialogue with the bishop to find a solution satisfactory to both parties. Concerning the coincidence of the date of the blessing of the chapel and of the feast of St. Boniface, it was “completely fortuitous,” he assured. We cannot speak of provocation. The Society of St. Pius X had until June 10 to vacate the building which had been used as a chapel till then. This is why the blessing of the new chapel was scheduled on the preceding Sunday.
(DICI, 6/20/2009)
Germany: Jewish Distinction Awarded to Hans Küng
On June 18, in Berlin, the Swiss anti-establishment theologian Hans Küng, age 81, received the Abraham-Geiger Award for all of his work. According to the press release from the Abraham-Geiger College, Hans Küng, in his book Judaism, proposed one of the most convincing monographs on Judaism as a universal religion. As chairman of the Foundation Weltethos (World Ethics), the progressivist theologian was a symbol of the way in which “life in common must be successful beyond every religious barrier.” On this occasion, the Vice-President of the Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, judged Hans Küng to be “genuine, credible, and convincing.”
(DICI, 4/7/2009)
Poland: Vocations Keep Dropping
On April 28, the Polish Council for Vocations published their report on vocations for 2008. The Catholic Church in Poland, which for many years witnessed a rising curve in priestly vocations, has recorded another fall in the number of new seminarians in 2008: to the preceding decline of about 25% observed in 2007 can be added a further drop of 10% for 2008. For the academic year 2008-2009, diocesan seminaries received 695 new candidates, compared with 786 in the previous year (2007-2008). The total number of seminarians has thus dropped in one year from 4,257 to 4,029. The number of new candidates for the monastic life is also in decline, 653 compared with 708 a year ago for men, and 362 compared with 424 for women. Bishop Wojciech Polak, the auxiliary bishop of Gniezno and president of the Council for Vocations in Poland, attributes this decline to four principal factors: a dip in the demographic curve, the emigration of many Poles in search of work abroad, the negative image of the Church given by the media, as well as an “anti-vocations culture” which is predominant among young people and prevents them from making restrictive lifelong commitments. Today this is manifested by a crisis of confidence in the Church. This decline in vocations is a challenge for the Church, the bishop said. He drew attention to the necessity of attending to the quality of the pastoral care of the young, but also to the quality of the parish and the family. In Poland, a country of 38 million inhabitants, more than 90% of the population claim to be Catholic.
(DICI, 6/6/2009)
Poland: No Concert for Madonna in Warsaw on August 15
Polish Catholics do not want the American singer Madonna to give a concert on the day on which the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption. Consequently, they set up a protest committee to have the concert cancelled. “To make money by organizing, on that precise day, a concert by a singer wearing such a name is morally questionable,” declared Fr. Grzegor Kalwarczyk, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Warsaw. Even if the concert will probably take place, it is not surprising that people voice their discontent and that they protest.” Krysztof Zagozada, a Catholic layman and spokesman for the Catholic Polish Association Unum Principium, warned the authorities, pointing out that the protest committee would do everything it can to prevent the concert. Aged 50, Madonna sought to give scandal on several occasions. In 2006, the Vatican protested when she appeared crucified on a gigantic cross in the Olympic stadium in Rome, close to St. Peter’s Square. Last April, the director of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Mikhaïl Piotrovsky, asked the singer to “promise that there would be no blasphemy” during the show on the Palace Square scheduled for August.
(DICI, 4/7/2009)
Ivory Coast: Archbishop Condemns Liturgical Abuses
This pastoral letter, entitled De la divine liturgie, is to serve as a “guide” for a liturgy “more Catholic and more holy.” Pointing out “several liturgical deviations which need to be corrected,” the archbishop listed his concerns: “all sorts of songs are performed”; the faithful no longer make the “distinction” between rousing hymns, the songs of other religious denominations, and liturgical chant. During the meditation, the psalm recommended is “spurned” in favor of any old song. At the Offertory, “the Offertory procession looks more like recreation time, during which dance demonstrations and comic acts are performed.” In view of these practices which “lead away from the Sacred Liturgy,” Archbishop Kutwa has ordered that there be no more performance of songs “of other religious denominations or lively songs” during the Eucharistic Celebration, because it must be understood that “liturgical chant alone is allowed.” So the psalm must never be replaced and should be executed according to “the psalmodic mode.” During the Offertory procession there “must no longer be bare-chested girls or transparent clothes”; the men “will no longer wear just their underwear,” and no disguise will be worn or anything else which might cause amusement. The archbishop concluded by drawing attention to the multiple signs of the cross which the faithful make during the Mass, outside of the liturgy.
(DICI, 6/20/2009)
India: Dramatic Plight of Catholics in the State of Orissa
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of the Catholic diocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in India granted an interview to Church in Asia on the occasion of his visit to Paris in March. The archbishop had been invited by Aid to the Church in Need to the “Night of Witnesses” held on March 24 in the Church of St. Sulpice in homage to the Catholic missionaries murdered in 2008. In the district of Kandhamal (State of Orissa), the center of anti-Christian violence since August 2008, the situation is calm again today. But these are deceptive appearances, warned Archbishop Cheenath: “Christians fear to go back home because they do not want to be subject to blackmail by the Hindus, who promise to give them back their properties if they convert to Hinduism.” In the camps for displaced people set up by the government, the Christians do not feel any more secure. The authorities wish to close the camps and bring strong pressure to bear upon the refugees so that they agree to go back home. On the other hand, no culprit having been brought before the tribunals, Christians are afraid to live next door again to their former persecutors. If some Hindu extremists had been arrested, they were quickly set at liberty, the archbishop stated.
“Today, Christians in Kandhamal have nothing more to expect from a material point of view. Some have lost dear ones. They have seen their houses set on fire, their belongings plundered, destroyed, or stolen, and their lands are henceforth taken away by others,” said Archbishop Cheenath, who sees in this, ironically enough, a refutation of the theses of the Hindu religion. “These Christians have lost everything, and if they agree to ‘convert’ to Hinduism, Hindus promise that they will recover their goods, their lands, and that they will no longer be harassed. Now, Christians refuse such a bargain, they remain true to their Christian Faith. This is proof enough that they did not become Christians for the sake of improving their material conditions,” the archbishop went on, and he added that he was sure that 99% of the Christians who agreed to “be reconverted” to Hinduism will return to the Christian Faith as soon as the pressures brought to bear upon them cease. Asked about the conditions which would make a return to a normal situation in Kandhamal possible, the archbishop said: “When governments are weak, prospects are gloomy.” The persecutions against religious minorities in India respond to the mottoes and political program of the Sangh Parivar, the organization at the heart of Hindu circles. As soon as the federal government in Delhi and the local government of a State show themselves weak, Hindus take action,” he added.
...The murder of Prabhat Panigrahi, on this past March 19, fueled anti-Christian hostility again. Archbishop Cheenath affirmed that “the unstated program of the members of the BJP (Party of the Indian People) is to drive Christians out of Kandhamal, which is the district of Orissa in which most of them live…. This is what they clearly attempted to do before the elections, and if they win again, there is no doubt that they will continue in the same direction.”
...On Saturday, May 16, a few hours after the results had been announced, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)...declared itself “satisfied” with “the good choice” of Indian electors, who gave a quasi majority to the United Progressive Alliance, the formation led by the Congress Party. The bishops announced that they trusted the new government to keep the promise made during the electoral campaign of preserving the country from any sectarian deviation and to bring back serenity within the population, and most particularly among religious minorities....
In the morning of May 29, Benedict XVI granted private audience to several ambassadors near the Holy See who had come to present their accreditation letters. In a message handed to Chitra Narayanan, the diplomat representing India, the Holy Father had written: “I express my deep anxiety for the Christians who have suffered during the outbursts of violence in some areas within your frontiers,” and he “appealed to all to show proof of respect toward human dignity by rejecting hatred and renouncing violence under any form.” Benedict XVI mentioned the recent legislative elections, expressing the wish that the newly elected MPs...“be ready to overcome particular interests, taking the wider viewpoint of the common good which is an essential and indispensable objective of political authority.”
(DICI, 6/20/2009)
El Salvador: Church supports constitutional ban of homosexual marriage
The Catholic Church in El Salvador has backed the constitutional ban on homosexual marriage. It delivered to the government of the small Central American country a petition signed by more than 200,000 people opposing the legalization of homosexual unions, in advance of the Salvadoran parliament giving its decision on this amendment to the Constitution at the end of April. The proposal was to be ratified before May 1.
“With this collection of signatures, we hope to protect the institution of marriage and the family,” said Msgr. José Luis Escobar Alas, archbishop of San Salvador and president of the Salvadoran Bishops’ Conference. For months, in the country’s places of worship petitions have been made available for the faithful to sign. “A union between persons of the same sex cannot be a marriage. If in fact it exists, it is something else; we cannot prevent it and people may be united de facto, but these unions cannot be called marriages,” said the archbishop of the capital. It is not a matter of opinion or strategy or ideology, nor is it a question of partisan bias, but rather “it is a question of the common good.” The Church thus asked parliament to ratify a constitutional bill forbidding legal union between two persons of the same sex. The Salvadoran Constitution up to the present time guarantees the protection of marriage between a man and a woman. This amendment would simply permit the ban on homosexual marriage. This project was launched three years ago by the Christian Democrats. Archbishop José Luis Escobar had asked the faithful to pray that the legislative assembly would ratify the constitutional reform. “Our concern is of an ethical nature. This is not a denominational question, but concerns the very nature of the human person; this is why it must affect everyone, whatever his creed. The defense of the institution of marriage as a union between a man and a woman born as such is a defense of the family, which is the basic unit of society,” he declared. On May 3, Archbishop Escobar Alas gave thanks to God for the government’s decision to commit themselves to the ratification of the amendment banning homosexual marriage and especially thanked members of all parties for having approved this bill.
(DICI, 4/7/2009)
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