News Briefs

Parishioners Vote to Remove Church's Communion Rail

Gentilly, Minn. (RNS)—The controversial communion rail in St. Peter's Catholic Church here will be removed and St. Peter's will remain an active parish.

Parishioners made the decision in a referendum conducted by Bishop Victor Balke of the Crookston Diocese after a controversy which followed the parish council's decision to remove the rail.

Opponents of the decision forced the resignation of the pastor, who supported the removal, and then reinstated the rail.

Bishop Balke gave the parishioners two options: abide by the parish council's decision to remove the communion rail and stay a parish, or keep the rail and let the church become a museum without Masses.

Ninety parishioners voted for the first option and fifty, for the second.

Priests' Convention Urges Ordination of Married Men

Portland, Oregon (RNS)—Ordination of married men and broader use of laymen in administration of sacraments were urged by priests of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, which covers western Oregon.

The priests, holding their yearly convention at the University of Portland, suggested unanimously that laymen be allowed to baptize, lead funeral services, direct Liturgies of the Word and Holy Communion, preach, and have pastoral care of parishes and witness marriage. They also recommended that laymen who work for the Church be represented on the Archdiocesan Committee for Pastoral Planning.

Catholic leaders pointed out that increased use of lay people has been one way the Church has dealt with the continuing decline in the number of priests.

Vatican Criticizes Office-holding Nicaraguan Priests

Vatican City (RNS)—The Vatican has sharply criticized three Catholic priests for retaining their posts in the Nicaraguan government in violation of canon law.

The Vatican Press Office quoted the Rev. Fernando Cardenal as saying he accepted an appointment as education minister "without formal opposition on the part of the Holy See, the Nicaraguan episcopate and his religious superiors."

"Such a pronouncement appears surprising and almost incredible," the Vatican statement said. "Father Cardenal and the other Nicaraguan ecclesiastics in government posts know perfectly well that the ecclesiastic authorities have insisted, since 1979, that they leave appointments which are incompatible with their priestly mission."

The statement referred to two other Catholic priests currently holding office in Nicaragua. They are Foreign Minister Miguel D'Escoto, a Maryknoll priest who has been asked by Church authorities to resign, and the brother of the new education minister, the Rev. Ernesto Cardenal, a Trappist monk who is Nicaragua's Minister of Culture.

When Pope John Paul II visited Nicaragua on March 4, 1983, Father Ernesto Cardenal knelt before him at the official reception and tried to kiss the Pontiff's ring. John Paul removed his hand brusquely and reportedly said, "You must resolve your problems with the ecclesiastic authorities."

The Vatican communique cited a provision of the new Code of Canon Law which states, "It is forbidden to clerics to assume public offices which involve participation in the exercise of civil power."

The Vatican crackdown on priests serving in the Nicaraguan government has intensified following Nicaragua's expulsion of ten foreign priests on July 9, for joining a protest march against the detention of clergy priests accused of having links with anti-government guerrillas.

Lefebvre's Successor says Peace with Rome is Near

Sydney, Australia (RNS)—The Rev. Franz Schmidberger, who has succeeded Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre as Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, is an unlikely man to wear the mantle of a conservative ecclesiastical rebel.

He is a young (37), trim German from a village near Lake Constance. He was only 15 when the Second Vatican Council, whose deliberations sparked the present dissent, got underway.

Father Schmidberger is here to visit scattered traditional Catholic parishes throughout Australia.

He originally studied to be a mathematician. At the university, he met other young people "concerned about tradition and dignity of the Catholic Faith," and found himself agreeing with their position.

In 1972, when there were just fifty fellow students he joined Archbishop Lefebvre's traditional seminary at Econe, Switzerland. Now he runs the same seminary, and others in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Zaitzkofen in West Germany, and La Reja near Buenos Aires, Argentina, which have a combined annual intake of several hundred. The Society also has several schools, including one in Sydney, a university and other tertiary institutes.

In February, Father Schmidberger visited Rome to confer with Cardinal Silvio Oddi, head of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, and Cardinal Palazzi.

They talked about "our problem." Father Schmidberger corrects himself: "It's not really our problem, it is the problem of the whole situation of the Church." Father Schmidberger believes that the Vatican will shortly announce an important concession, permitting the old Tridentine Mass as an alternative to the new. This would be followed by recognition of the Society of St. Pius X, withdrawn in 1975, and removal of the suspension of Archbishop Lefebvre. The two moves would allow the main body of traditionalists to bury the hatchet with Rome.

There have been rumors of peace moves before. This time, Father Schmidberger says, the actual decree has been drawn up. Unfortunately for the traditionalists, a problem has arisen.

The main signatory, Cardinal Casoria, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, retired in April, which caused some to contest its validity. To become law the decree must be countersigned by the Congregation's secretary, Msgr. Virgilio Noe, who has so far refused on the grounds of conscience.

Father Schmidberger is adamant that the counter-reformation is not a haven for geriatric nostalgia seekers, too selfish to accept change. Six thousand children and teenagers recently participated in a walk from Paris to Chartres, organized by French Traditionalists.

Canadian Catholics and Protestants Seek Papal Approval

During his upcoming trip to Canada, Pope John Paul will encounter an unusual joint appeal by Protestant and Catholic leaders for his public support of a strong program of Christian unity already underway in the country. The appeal is in the form of a pastoral letter, dated September 1, by the Canadian Council of Churches and Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Pope will also face women eucharistic ministers (banned during his visit to the U. S.) and he will make a conciliatory gesture toward native Indians by signing a "peace" treaty that apologizes for excessive fervor by missionaries in the past.

At Ft. Simpson, in the Northwest Territories, leaders of various Indian nations who have been fighting to regain their culture and political autonomy are widely expected to ask John Paul to put his signature on a treaty.

"The Pope will sign it," said Bonnie Breener, a spokesperson for the Canadian bishops' conference and coordinator of the visit. The Pope will meet twice with Indian leaders. The signature would "formally acknowledge past mistakes" by the Catholic Church in its aggressive missionizing of native people, and pledge the Church's support for their "cultural rights," she said.

In a similar spirit of reconciliation and unity, the Pope will join with Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist leaders at an ecumenical service in St. Paul's Anglican Church in Toronto. After the service, the seventeen Protestant representatives of the Canadian Council of Churches are to host a meeting with John Paul to discuss the joint pastoral letter entitled, "Pilgrimage Together."

Edythe Shore, a spokesperson for the Protestant Council, said church leaders have relayed their hopes to the Vatican that the Pope will publicly encourage membership of the Canadian bishops' conference in the Protestant-constituted Council of Churches.

Agreement in principle was reached recently on Catholic membership in the Council—whose counterparts in most other countries, including the U. S., do not include the Catholic Church.

During his visit, John Paul is also likely to encounter demands for more rights from Catholic women who, in a rare event, will serve as eucharistic ministers at papal Masses. Although the Vatican banned lay Eucharistic ministers, men and women, from distributing Communion during the Pope's 1979 U.S. visit, Canadian Church officials say women will perform in this role during this papal visit. Distribution of the host by women has become a fairly widespread practice in Canada.

Liberation Theologian to be Interrogated by Vatican Holy Office

Vatican City (RNS)—A Brazilian priest whose work on liberation theology has caused controversy among Latin American prelates, will be interrogated September 7, by the Vatican Holy Office, now called the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Rev. Leonardo Boff, a Franciscan brother and theologian, first came under scrutiny by authorities in Rome when his book, Church, Charisma and Power was published in 1981. The work, to the consternation of some of the Latin American hierarchy, became a guidebook for the liberation movement.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Sacred Congregation, gave an unprecedented press conference on April 13, to discuss the issue of liberation theology. "The theology of liberation contains several legitimate, even necessary, expressions, and others that are criticizable, and still others that are unacceptable," the cardinal said. "The unacceptable expressions are those which reduce faith to a secondary commitment and use Marxism to interpret the Bible and the Christian message."

Father Boff, 46, teaches theology at the Catholic University in Petropolis, near Sao Paulo. He will be accompanied to the hearing by Cardinal Aluision Lorscheider, the Archbishop of Fortaleza. Although the cardinal may be present throughout the proceedings, he is not allowed to speak.

Karl Marx plays an important role in liberation theology according to the Brazilian. "Marx attempted to demonstrate the mechanisms that produce exploitation and poverty. As theologians, we should not only be concerned with poverty as a fact of life, but we should also understand its causes," Father Boff said.

The Franciscan had harsh words for one of his biggest critics, Cardinal Ratzinger, who heads the Congregation which will decide his fate. "A condemnation from the Holy Office, a criticism too radical and ungenerous such as the one made by Cardinal Ratzinger, obtains a political effect because it supports the dominating social forces against the poor, against a Church open to social justice and against every kind of social change."

As early as 1979, Leonard Boff encountered difficulties from the Catholic hierarchy. Cardinal Lorscheider proposed him as a candidate to attend the Episcopal Conference at Puebla in Mexico, which condemned liberation theology. His appearance was blocked by Colombia's Archbishop Trujillo who is now a cardinal.

The September "trial" is the long-awaited final judgment of the growing movement, observers say. Cardinal Angelo Rossi, a Brazilian in the Roman Curia, declared recently that "in September, a document will appear regarding liberation theology which will put things in their place."