Irish bishops finding their voice again, in defence of life

The Visitation, El Greco, painted 1610-13

The bishops of Ireland have found their voice again, in defence of the life of the unborn child. The scandals of the abuse of children by priests and religious and the way bishops and superiors are perceived to have dealt with the situation, had all but crippled the ability of the Church in Ireland to proclaim the Gospel.

The above video carries an interview on national radio with Bishop Leo O'Reilly of Kilmore. The night before some bishops had taken part in a peaceful pro-life rally outside Leinster House, Dublin, where the Dáil and Seanad (parliament and senate) meet.

Yesterday the bishops, who have been holding their winter meeting this week, issued a statement yesterday: 

Initial response by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference to the Report of the Expert Group on the Judgement in A,B and C v Ireland. [The Report is here.]

A society that believes the right to life is the most fundamental of all rights cannot ignore the fact that abortion is first and foremost a moral issue.

As a society we have a particular responsibility to ensure this right is upheld on behalf of those who are defenceless, voiceless or vulnerable.  This includes our duty as a society to defend and promote the equal right to life of a pregnant mother and the innocent and defenceless child in her womb when the life of either of these persons is at risk.

By virtue of their common humanity the life of a mother and her unborn baby are both sacred.  They have an equal right to life.  The Catholic Church has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother.  Where a seriously ill pregnant woman needs medical treatment which may put the life of her baby at risk, such treatments are morally permissible provided every effort has been made to save the life of both the mother and her baby.

Abortion, understood as the direct and intentional destruction of an unborn baby, is gravely immoral in all circumstances.  This is different from medical treatments which do not directly and intentionally seek to end the life of the unborn baby.

Current law and medical guidelines in Ireland allow nurses and doctors in Irish hospitals to apply this vital distinction in practice. This has been an important factor in ensuring that Irish hospitals are among the safest and best in the world in terms of medical care for both a mother and her unborn baby during pregnancy.  As a country this is something we should cherish, promote and protect.

The Report of the Expert Group on the Judgement in A, B and C v Ireland has put forward options that could end the practice of making this vital ethical distinction in Irish hospitals. Of the four options presented by the Report, three involve abortion – the direct and intentional killing of an unborn child.  This can never be morally justified.  The judgement of the European Court of Human Rights does not oblige the Irish Government to legislate for abortion.

Other aspects of the Report also give rise to concerns.  These include, but are not limited to the fact that:

• The judgement of the European Court of Human Rights permits options on this matter of fundamental moral, social and constitutional importance that are not offered by this Report.  This includes the option of introducing a constitutional prohibition on abortion or another form of constitutional amendment to reverse the ‘X-case’ judgement.
• The Report provides no ethical analysis of the options available, even though this is first and foremost a moral issue and consideration of the ethical dimension was included in the Terms of Reference.
• The Report takes no account of the risks involved in trying to legislate for so-called ‘limited abortion’ within the context of the ‘X-case’ judgement.  The ‘X-case’ judgement includes the threat of suicide as grounds for an abortion.  International experience shows that allowing abortion on the grounds of mental health effectively opens the floodgates for abortion.

The Report also identifies Guidelines as an option.  It notes that Guidelines can help to ensure consistency in the delivery of medical treatment.  If Guidelines can provide greater clarity as to when life-saving treatment may be provided to a pregnant mother or her unborn child within the existing legislative framework, and where the direct and intentional killing of either person continues to be excluded, then such ethically sound Guidelines may offer a way forward.

A matter of this importance deserves sufficient time for a calm, rational and informed debate to take place before any decision about the options offered by the Expert Group Report are taken.  All involved, especially public representatives, must consider the profound moral questions that arise in responding to this Report. Abortion is gravely immoral in all circumstances, no matter how ‘limited’ access to abortion may be.

The bishops also announced that they had set up a new website, CHOOSE LIFE 2012. The site has links to Facebook and Twitter (I haven't tried the latter yet). This video is from the website, as is the prayer below.

Meanwhile, yesterday The Daily Telegraph (London) carried an article by Cristina Odone that highlights how the tragic deaths of a young Indian woman and her unborn child in a hospital in Galway have been exploited by pro-abortion advocates: Doubts over Savita's tragic death: she may not have been denied an abortion. The article has a link to an interview on Irish radio with Kitty Holland who broke this story. The interview is on the video below.

Choose Life: Prayer for the Child in the Womb

Lord Jesus, you are the source and lover of life.
Reawaken in us respect for every human life.

Help us to see in each child the marvellous
work of our Creator.

Open our hearts to welcome every child as a
unique and wonderful gift.

Guide the work of doctors, nurses and
midwives.

May the life of a mother and her baby in the
womb be equally cherished and respected.

Help those who make our laws to uphold the
uniqueness and sacredness of every human life,
from the first moment of conception to natural
death.

Give us wisdom and generosity to build a
society that cares for all.

Together with Mary, your Mother,
in whose womb you took on our human
nature,

Help us to choose life in every decision we
take.

We ask this in the joyful hope of eternal life
with you, and in the communion of the
Blessed Trinity.

Amen.

Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.

All the Saints of Ireland, pray for us.

'At once they left their nets and followed him', Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Calling of Peter and Andrew, Duccio di Buoninsegna, painted 1308-11

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Mark 1:14-20 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)


After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’

As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.


Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.


An Soiscéal Marcas 1:14-20 (Gaeilge, Irish)


Tar éis Eoin a bheith tugtha ar láimh, tháinig Íosa go dtí an Ghailíl ag fógairt soiscéal Dé agus ag rá: “Tá an tréimhse caite agus tá ríocht Dé in achmaireacht. Déanaigí aithrí agus creidigí sa soiscéal.”


Bhí sé ag imeacht leis cois farraige na Gailíle nuair a chonaic sé Síomón agus Aindrias deartháir Shíomóin agus iad ag caitheamh eangaí san fharraige, mar iascairí a bhí iontu. Dúirt Íosa leo: “Tagaigí i mo dhiaidh, agus déanfaidh mé díbh iascairí ar dhaoine.” D’fhág aid na líonta láithreach agus lean aid é. Bhuail sé ar aghaidh beagán eile agus chonaic sé Séamas mac Zeibidé agus Eoin a dheartháir, iad ina mbád féin ag ceartú na líonta, agus ghlaoigh sé iad láithreach. D’fhág aid a n-athair Zeibidé sa bhád, é féin agus an lucht pá, agus ghabh aid leis.

The young Fr Edward Galvin in China

One hundred years ago a 29-year-old Irishman who had been working in Brooklyn, New York City, wrote a letter to his mother in his native County Cork. Nothing unusual in that. There were countless young Irishmen and women in the USA who had gone there because there was no work for them at home. That was the case with this young man. He had been ordained in 1909 for his own Diocese of Cork but his bishop had so many priests that he loaned the young man, Fr Edward Galvin, to the Diocese of Brooklyn.

While there he felt a desire to be a missionary. This led him to head off to China in February 1912 from Toronto, Canada, with a Canadian priest, Fr John Fraser, instead of going home to Ireland.

Here is his letter, written in Toronto:

Photocopy of letter (Thanks, Father Rex)

Dear Mother,

I am sorry, dear Mother, to have to write this letter, but God’s will be done. Everything is in His hands. Mother, don’t grieve, don’t cry. It is God’s will. God has called and I had to obey.

I am not going back to Ireland. I am going as a missionary to China. May God’s will be done. God knows my heart is broken, not for myself but for you whom I love above all the world.

Mother, you know how this has always been on my mind. But I thought it was a foolish thought – a boyish thought; that it would pass away as I grew older. But it never passed, never, never, never.

Why should God ask me to do this thing that is breaking my heart to do? I don’t know. God knows best. May His will be done. “If any man will come after me let him take up his cross and follow me.” Oh yes, but oh my God I never thought that it was so hard to follow. I have tried to follow when you called. I ask you in return to console my poor mother, to comfort her, to help her to make the Sacrifice I am making and spare her until we meet again.’

 

Frs Edward Galvin, John Blowick (seated) and Owen McPolin shortly after the arrival of the first group of Columbans in China. They left Ireland in 1920. Fr Blowick, the first Superior General, returned to Ireland to direct the Society and to teach in the Columban seminary.

Fr Fraser was to found the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, with its headquarters in Scarborough, Ontario, now part of Metro Toronto, and the young Fr Galvin was to co-found with Fr John Blowick, another Irish diocesan priest and more than five years younger, what was first known as the Maynooth Mission to China in 1916 and formally became the Society of St Columban in 1918. Both societies had China as their original mission and both are societies of secular priests, not religious.

Father Galvin thought his idea of becoming a missionary was ‘a foolish thought – a boyish thought’. The actual moment when God called him as starkly as Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John, in today’s gospel happened on his weekly day off when he had planned to go to the office of the Propagation of the Faith in New York City to explore the idea of becoming a missionary. Two unexpected sick calls came that morning, which he responded to, leaving it too late for him to do what he had planned. Then Fr John Fraser arrived unannounced at the rectory and it was this meeting the led Edward Galvin to China shortly afterwards.

The cover of The Far East, the Columban magazine in Ireland, was the same for many years and the Chinese junk symbolised the Columbans for the Irish people and touched the imagination of many a future Columban missionary, including my own while I was still in kindergarten.

I don’t know what went on in the hearts of Peter and Andrew when, as St Mark tells us, ‘at once they left their nets and followed’ Jesus, or in the hearts of James and John who 'leaving their father Zebedee . . . went after him’. That decision was to lead ultimately to the martyrdom of three of them and to John standing at the Cross of Jesus and taking on the care of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Father Galvin recalled years later what it had cost him to set off for China, starting from New York City: ‘I still remember the pain of parting on that grey, dreary morning. When the train got underway for Toronto, I crumpled up in the coach and cried as if my heart would break.’

He was to become Bishop of Hanyang in China where he was to experience natural calamiteis such as great floods, the Sino-Japanese War, World War II and the Communist takeover, leading his expulsion in 1952. Born on the feast of St Columban, 23 November 1882, he died on 23 February 1956, the feast of the great martyr-bishop St Polycarp of Smyrna who knew St John the Evangelist who, with his brother James, had left his father to follow Jesus.

The cover on The Far East after the death of Bishop Galvin.

You can read more in an article by English Columban Fr Pat Sayles, Edward J. Galvin: a Trailblazer for God. 

Preaching Hope from Prison: François-Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán

François-Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán

Tomorrow is the feast of St John Mary Vianney, patron of priests. More than ever today we need holy priests. We priests need your prayers. One of the great priests of our time was François-Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán (1928-2002).

Fr Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly

I am conscious of the Church in Vietnam in a personal way because I am giving a weekly class to the eleven aspirants of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of the Holy Family here in Bacolod City. The group includes six young women from Vietnam, the first to enter the congregation. The Church in Vietnam has suffered greatly in modern times and harrassment is not yet absent, as the story of Fr Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, 64, shows.

The Martyrs of Vietnam, celebrated by the Church on 24 November.

In the May-June 2006 issue of Misyon, which I edit on behalf of the Columbans in the Philippines, I published an article by the Cardinal. Misyon was then a printed magazine. We are gradually putting all issues from the first in 1988 online but this particular article isn't yet there. Below is the text, with an introduction.

PREACHING HOPE FROM PRISON

By François-Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán

The extraordinary story, in his own words, of Vietnamese Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuan, Coadjutor Archbishop of Thành-Phô Hô Chí Minh (formerly Saigon) from 1975 till 1994. Just three months after his appointment he was imprisoned by the communist government. He spent thirteen years in jail, nine of them in solitary confinement. In 1998 he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in the Vatican. He gave the Lenten retreat to Pope John Paul and his staff in 1999 and died in Rome on 16 September 2002. Here are some edited extracts from the cardinal’s story.
 

Saved by prayer

In my initial period in prison I spent many months in an extremely narrow space without windows, half suffocated by the heat and humidity. Often I had great difficulty in breathing. They tortured me by leaving me under lights day and night for ten days and then depriving me of all light for long periods. One day in the darkness I noticed a tiny hole through which the light shone. From then on I used to put my nostrils there to breathe more easily.

Whenever there were floods snakes used to invade my cell and sometimes climbed my legs to avoid the water. They used to stay with me until the floods passed. I had no toilet but since I received hardly any food I had little need of one. My daily rations consisted of some rice and vegetables cooked with salt. From five in the morning until 11:30 at night there was a constant din of voices over loudspeakers. To distract myself I did exercises, jumped, danced, sang and prayed. Prayer saved my life. In moments of great suffering, sometimes when I wanted to pray I couldn’t. I was desperately tired, sick and hungry . . . often I was tempted to despair and rebellion. But the Lord always helped me.



Learning again how to pray

In my later years in prison five policemen guarded me. Some even studied Latin to censor any documents or telegrams sent to the bishops from Rome. One day a policeman asked me: ‘Can you teach me some song in Latin?’ I replied, ‘I’ll sing some and you can choose.’ He chose the Veni Creator (Come Holy Spirit) and asked me to write out the words. I did so not really expecting that he would learn them. But in a few days he had learned them really well and sang them every morning while he was on guard. I thought to myself: ‘When an archbishop cannot pray, the Lord sends him a policeman to sing the Veni Creator and help him to pray!’

On another occasion a farmer came to the prison and asked permission to visit me. The police permitted it and he spent a few minutes with me. When he was leaving he asked: ‘Please, pray for me,’ and he added: ‘Father, one prayer from you in prison is worth a hundred offered in freedom.’ That day the Holy Spirit sent a farmer to teach me the value of prayer in prison.



Writing about hope

While in prison I wrote several books. All our religious literature had been burned and permission to publish new ones refused. I wondered how, as a pastor, I could encourage the faithful. At that time I was in a closely guarded cell but children were allowed to visit me. One day I said to one of them: ‘Ask your mother to buy me a calendar-block.’ When I received it I wrote my thoughts on the back of a sheet each night and in this way I produced my first book, Pilgrims on the Road of Hope. I wrote the second, The Way of Hope in the Light of the Word of God in the Council in my years in exile, 1,700 kilometers from my diocese. At another time when I was feeling very low and had no desire to write I received a request from the Holy Father asking me to write some spiritual exercises. These later became the work Witnesses to Hope.

I have personally experienced the sorrow of a pastor forbidden to care for his people and forced to abandon his diocese. It caused me great torment to be in prison while the people were abandoned. But I discovered that it had all been God’s work. One night I sensed a voice in my heart saying: ‘François, God holds you in his hands. Always seek his will. God knows what he is doing. He will seek other collaborators who work better than you. Be at peace.’ That night I experienced a deep peace in my heart and I decided to seek God’s will every minute of my life.

Under house arrest,

Befriended by jailers

At one stage while in prison five young jailers, university students, guarded me. One reason that I survived was because of their friendship.

Those in charge had forbidden them to speak to me. Initially my guards were changed every fifteen days. Prison authorities believed the guards risked being contaminated if left with me for any length of time. Eventually they stopped changing them because apparently they were afraid I would contaminate the whole force. And so the young students became my friends. The love of Christ has great power to change people.

I would chat with them through the door about my life, the various countries I had visited, my family, my childhood and so on. I taught them English, French, and even a little Russian. One day I asked one of them to bring something to trim a piece of wood. He did and I was able to make a cross. Even though all religious symbols were prohibited, I now had a cross in my quarters. I hid it in a bar of soap. Another time I asked for a piece of wire and a pair of pliers. My friendly policeman said, ‘I will bring them but you have to finish in four hours’ – the length of his particular shift. In four hours I had fashioned a chain for my cross. The cross was later enclosed in silver and it is the cross and chain I still wear.



Saying Mass in prison

The day I was arrested I had to leave everything behind me. The following day I was allowed to write and ask my friends to bring my clothes, toothpaste and other personal needs. I also asked them to include some wine ‘as medicine.’ My friends understood. They sent me a little bottle of Mass-wine labeled ‘Medicine for Stomach Aches’ and also some hosts hidden in a little burner used to keep the humidity at bay.

Every night I kept a tiny piece of bread for the following day’s Eucharist. And so every day for many years I had the joy of celebrating Mass with three drops of wine and one of water in my palm. This was my altar, my cathedral. For me it was the true medicine of body and soul something to stave off death in order to live for ever in Christ.

Photos in body of article from the Facebook account in honour of the Cardinal.

Prayer for the Beatification of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

O mighty and eternal God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
I offer thanks for giving to the Church
the heroic testimony of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân.

The suffering he experienced in prison,
which he united with the crucified Christ
and commended to the maternal protection of Mary,
is for the Church and the world a shining witness of unity and forgiveness,
and of justice and peace.

His loving person and his Episcopal ministry radiate the light of faith,
the enthusiasm of hope and the warmth of love.

Now, my Lord, through his intercession and according to your will,
grant me the grace I am imploring in the hope that
he will soon be elevated to the honour of sainthood.

Imprimatur
Roma 16.9.2007
+ Giampaolo Crepaldi
Secretary
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

'Feed my sheep' fine - but 'feed my cat'?

Tigresa and Whitey, two of my three cats

As a priest who loves cats I couldn't resist this story from the blog of Bishop-elect Thomas Dowd, soon to be auxiliary bishop of Montreal. I'm simply and shamelessly copying and pasting from his blog, Waiting in Joyful Hope. I don't know if he's distantly related to me. My maternal grandmother was Annie Dowd from County Meath, the 'Royal County'.

Post for July 25, 2011

Christopher Curtis, in his recent article on me in the Montreal Gazette, includes this quote: “The job can be a lot of things. When I worked for a hospital, I was on call and you would get everything from a multiple victim car accident to a guy who is sick and needs you to feed his cat.”

In case you were wondering about the reference to a cat, it is from an incident that took place on March 7, 2006. My older posts are still in archives for the moment, but I thought I’d fish this one out and repost it (with just a bit of editing to help it make sense). Enjoy!

I was sick, and you visited me fed my cat

Today I got a call on my pager, 15 minutes before I was going to leave the hospital to teach downtown. Calling the ward desk, I was told that a patient wanted to see me. Could it wait till tomorrow, I inquired? No, it was urgent, was the response. OK, then, I headed downstairs right away.

The nurse let me to the patient’s room. He was quite upset to be stuck in the hospital. I asked him what he wanted to talk about, and it turned out he didn’t want to talk about anything. He wanted me to feed his cat.

Excuse me?

It turns out that this unfortunate gentleman really has nobody here in the city to help him, and by now his cat was 4 or 5 days without food. He did not remember the number of the superintendent of his building, either, so he had nobody to call. Could I head over to his apartment and explain things to the super, and maybe be let in to feed that cat?

Well, this sure wasn’t part of the job description. Running through my head were the words of advice I had received time and time again: “Don’t try and rescue everybody out there! You have to distinguish between what is essential, and what is merely important! There is only one Saviour, and you are not him!”

But on the other hand, this situation involved a starving cat. And I’m a cat person, so I felt for the poor thing. So I said ok, with a rolling of my eyes towards the Lord, who by now (I am sure) was having another one of his divine belly laughs.

Things, it turned out, were not as simple as all that. The super is new there, just recently moved to Canada from Romania, and he could not find the proper key. So it was back to the hospital to get the key (and permission to use it, witnessed by a staff member), until I finally managed to get in the door and feed the poor cat. Boy, was he happy to see me!

It turns out that there is actually a deeper lesson in all of this. At one point, as I was heading back to the hospital, I asked the Lord what the point of all this was. And the Lord answered, in one of those moments of clarity that you just know is a divine response. “Tom,” He said, “if I had asked you to do something extravagently important for this man, something heroic, you would have done it without question. Yet now, when I ask you to merely show him a very simple kindness, you are full of doubts and questions and annoyance. Does that make sense?”

“He who is faithful in small things shows himself worthy to be trusted with greater things. It’s not the big things that count, but the little things, done with great love.”

So I fed his pet, and even pet it for awhile. I also took care of a couple of other things for the man (returned some rented DVDs, etc.) Tomorrow I will see him again, and I’ll talk with the doctor/social worker/whoever about the need to help him put some structure in his life. I know I can’t take all this on as some sort of long-term responsibility — but in the meantime, I can at least feed the cat.

Bishop-elect Thomas Dowd of Montreal, soon to be the youngest bishop in Canada and the second youngest in the world. The article in the Montreal Gazette referred to above, Montreal Blogfather Thomas Dowd ready to be bishop, shows clearly how a bishop or priest can use the internet in the service of the Gospel. It seems that Father Dowd was the first Canadian priest to blog.


Lifesite news sees hope in three recent episcopal appointments in Quebec.

Please pray for Bishop-elect Dowd and for a renewal of the faith in Quebec.

Archbishop of Dublin on Cloyne Report

Here are the homily notes of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin (above), posted on the website of the Archdiocese of Dublin. I have highlighted some parts of the text and added [comments].

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY 2011


Homily Notes of
Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland

Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, 17th July 2011

Only a few months ago, here in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, we celebrated a liturgy of lament and repentance reflecting on the shattering facts regarding the wide-ranging abuse of children by priests and religious in this diocese and about the manner in which the Church in this diocese responded to that abuse. [This liturgy wasn't a Mass].

It was for me a moment of hope. The liturgy had been prepared by survivors of abuse and survivors took part in the carrying out of the liturgy. Courageously, men and women who had been abused spoke out about their hurt and their hopes. It was a moment which I know brought healing to many and gave them renewed strength in themselves and some sense of renewed hope in the Church which had not believed them or had even betrayed them. At that liturgy I saw many faces that I knew in tears; I watched others whose names I will never know sit alone in silence and sadness.

My first thoughts on reading the Cloyne report went back to that liturgy and to those who organized it and took part in it. I asked myself: what are they thinking today? Are they asking themselves if that entire liturgy was just an empty show? Were they being used just to boost the image of the Church? Were their renewed hopes just another illusion about a Church which seems unable to reform itself? Was their hurt just being further compounded?

As I reflected, the first emotion that came to me was one of anger:

anger at what had happened in the diocese of Cloyne and at response – or non-response - that was made to children whose lives had been ruptured by abuse;

anger at the fact that children had been put at risk well after agreed guidelines were in place which were approved by all the Irish bishops;

anger at how thousands of men and women in this diocese of Dublin must feel, who have invested time and training to ensure that the Church they love and hope can be different would truly be a safe place for children;

anger at the fact that there were in Cloyne - and perhaps elsewhere - individuals who placed their own views above the safeguarding of children, and seemingly without any second thought placed themselves outside and above the regime of safeguarding to which their diocese and the Irish bishops had committed themselves.

Paradoxically, appealing somehow to their own interpretation of Canon Law they had put themselves even above and beyond the norms which the current Pope himself has promulgated for the entire Church.

Some years ago I was criticized in some Church circles for speaking of strong forces still present in the Church which “would prefer that the truth did not emerge”. “There are signs”, I said, “of subconscious denial on the part of many about the extent of the abuse which occurred within the Church of Jesus Christ in Ireland and how it was covered up. There are other signs of rejection of a sense of responsibility for what had happened. There are worrying signs that despite solid regulations and norms these are not being followed with the rigour required”.

Much has, thank God, been undertaken within the Catholic Church to address the facts of the past and to improve safeguarding procedures. The Catholic Church in Ireland is a much safer place today than it was even in the recent past. [Until I began to read in the 1980s about abuse by priests I had always presumed that the Church, especially in its bishops, priests and religious, was a safe place].

Much is being said, on the other hand, that despite words the Church has not learned the lessons. Both statements are true. At our liturgy of lament and reconciliation I stressed that that event was only a first step. “It would be easy for all of us”, I said, ”to go away this afternoon somehow feeling good but feeling also ‘that is that now’, ‘it’s over’, ‘now we can get back to normal’”. I repeat once again what I said on that occasion “The Church can never rest until the day in which the last victim has found his or her peace and he or she can rejoice in being fully the person that God in his plan wants them to be”.

That is a challenge not just for bishops and Church leaders. It is a challenge for all. Obviously in this diocese it is a challenge to me personally. I know my own inadequacies and I do not wish to present myself as being better or more expert than anyone else. Like all of us, I need to have the courage to address my responsibilities with the utmost honesty day by day.

All of us need to have in place systems of verification and review which help us to identify mistakes made or areas where more can be done or things can be done better. We need to continue to build a cooperative climate where all the institutions of the Church work in a constructive way together and with the institutions of the State, which bears the primary responsibility for child safeguarding in the country.

I thank the priests and lay persons in this diocese who have committed themselves to implementing our child safeguarding policies and I appeal to them not to be become frustrated or indifferent. The Church needs you. The children who frequent our Churches need you. Parents need to be reassured by your presence. Public recognition is due to the mobilisation within the Church of so many volunteers who are in the front line in our parishes and organizations in child safeguarding.

Those priests who have ministered untarnished and generously over years – indeed for an entire lifetime - should not be made scapegoats and objects of hate. Priests deserve recognition for the good they do and they need the support of their people. I appeal to those priests who have become demoralised and half-hearted not to give in to cynicism but to heed the Lord’s call to renewal and conversion.

However, those in Church and State who have acted wrongly or inadequately should assume accountability.

What is at stake here is not just the past, but the future of our children and our young people and the need to foster a healthy environment across the board in which our upcoming generations are cherished and can grow to maturity. This is a huge challenge and cannot be addressed in a patchwork manner. The early results of the most recent census indicate that there will be a significant growth in the numbers and the proportion of children and young people in our population in the coming years. This will inevitably require significant investment.

While recognising the challenges of our current economic crisis, our long-term economic planning cannot overlook the need to provide not just protection but also vision, hope and opportunity for this future generation. The Proclamation of 1916 contained a vision of solidarity and inclusivity which dreamt not just of the freedom for Ireland’s people, but also of their welfare; it hoped for “equal rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens”; it dreamt of a society “where all the children of the nation would be cherished”. These are perennial goals for our nation which must at all times be a clear focal point for future economic and social planning.

The same proclamation and vision of those who founded our republic recognised that religious and civil liberty of all was to be fostered. A republic is not indifferent to the faith of its citizens. A republic respects the specific rights of believers. It recognises the role of believers in contributing to the common good as they journey with others in search of that hope to which we are all called as human beings and believers.

Great damage has been done to the credibility of the Church in Ireland. Credibility will only be regained by the Church being more truly what the Church is. Renewal will not be the work of sleek public relations moves. Irish religious culture has radically changed and has changed irreversibly. There will be no true renewal in the Church until that fact is recognised.

The Church cannot continue to be present in society as it was in the past. That is not to say that the Church will be renewed by that changed culture or should simply adapt itself to the vision of that new culture. The Gospel reading reminds us that the Church lives its life in the midst of different cultures and indeed with the presence of sin in its own midst.

As believers we know that in the long-term Christ who sows the good seed in our midst will work tirelessly to see that those forces “that provoke offence and who do evil” will not prevail but will face judgement on their lives. It would however be false to interpret the Gospel reading as if we should simply sit back and allow good and evil to grow together in the hope that in the end the good will win out. It is reminding us that fidelity to the message of Jesus is the way in which we will ensure the victory of the good.

The Gospel reading cries out: “Listen”, anyone who has ears”. Rarely more often than in our day are we as believers called to listen, to take note, to be alert and on our guard, so that the virtuous life will shine through us in our world. To do that we must renew ourselves and, as the second reading reminds us, allow the spirit of God to put into our lives a goodness and a love that cannot be summed up in our words. It is only then if we love good that we will drive evil away from us. ENDS.

The Cloyne Report: another moment of shame for the Catholic Church in Ireland

Interior of St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, County Cork, Diocese of Cloyne

The main story in the Irish media today is the publication yesterday by the Irish Government on the Cloyne Report. The Commission that carried out the Dublin Report published in November 2009 was asked by the government to make a similar report on 'all complaints, allegations, concerns and suspicions of child sexual abuse made to the diocesan and other Catholic Church authorities and public and State authorities in the period 1 January 1996 - 1 February 2009'.

The homepage of the website of the Diocese of Cloyne carries links to the full text of the Report and has statements by the former bishop, Bishop John Magee, the Apostolic Administrator, Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and other diocesan officials.

I haven't read the Report yet but the newspapers report that it is scathing about Bishop Magee and also highly critical of the Vatican. The Irish Times says Papal nuncio 'distressed' by report. The Nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, met Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore at the latter's request today.

The Irish Times also reports on the reaction of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny: The Vatican’s approach to clerical abuse inquiries in Ireland has been branded a disgrace by the Taoiseach today.

In the wake of the report into the Catholic Church’s response to allegations of abuse in the diocese of Cloyne, Enda Kenny warned new laws would not be stopped by canon rules.
The Taoiseach said the Government’s concerns must now be dealt with. “I think this is absolutely disgraceful that the Vatican took the view that it did in respect of something that’s as sensitive and as personal with such long-lasting difficulties for persons involved,” he said.

"The law of the land should not be stopped by a collar or a crozier," Mr Kenny said. Full report here.

I would say that by this stage apologies from Church leaders ring hollow with many people, including myself, even if they are sincere. Enormous damage has been done to the many individuals abused. Enormous damage has been done to the Church's ability to preach the Gospel. One of the most striking things in the Gospels is the people's response to Jesus: 'Here is a man who speaks with authority'. He had no position of authority. The people were comparing the inner authority that Jesus had to the lack of it that the 'authorities' had. For many Irish people, including those who have remained faithful, the bishops no longer have any authority.

Maybe part of the way forward is for all of the bishops to offer their resignations. The Church in Ireland needs radical surgery. Those who have been abused need our prayers.

If we take seriously that the priest by virtue of his ordination is an alter Christus, 'another Christ', the implication of that is victims can see themselves as having been abused by Christ himself.

Filipino bishop for diocese in Papua New Guinea

Bishop-elect Rolando Santos CM

VATICAN CITY, 6 APR 2011 ( VIS ) - The Holy Father:

Appointed Fr. Rolando Santos, C.M. provincial superior of the Lazarist Fathers, Philippines , as Bishop of Alotau-Sideia (area 20,000 [square kilometres], population 245,000, Catholics 41,137, priests 23, religious 43), Papua New Guinea . The bishop-elect was born in Rizal, Philippines, in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1974.

The priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Mission, to which Bishop-elect Santos belongs, are known in the English-speaking world as the Vincentians, after their founder, St Vincent de Paul. They are widely known elsewhere as the Lazarists, from the priory of St Lazarus in Paris, which they were given shortly after their foundation.

Before he was appointed Provincial in the Philippines Bishop-elect Santos had been working in Papua New Guinea.

As far as I know, Bishop-elect Santos will be the second Filipino bishop to be ordinary, ie, the person in charge, usually a bishop, of a jurisdiction in the church. The other is Bishop Wenceslao S. Padilla CICM of the Prefecture Apostolic of Ulaanbaatar, which covers the vast country of Mongolia (1,566,500 square kilometres, compared to the 300,000 of the Philippines) with a Catholic population in 2004 of 168 out of 2,400,000 people. Bishop Padilla is the first bishop ever in Mongolia and the first Filipino to be appointed bishop of a jurisdiction outside of the Philippines.

Fr Ronald Magbanua CICM, ordained in his native Silay City, Negros Occidental, with some of his CICM confreres from the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Mongolia.

Father Raymundo Sabio MSC, who grew up in Negros Occidental, has been the ordinary of the Prefecture Apostolic of the Marshall Islands since December 2007. He had been in Korea for many years. The prefecture, in contrast to that of Ulaanbaatar, has a land area of only 161 square kilometres, made up of small islands spread over a wide area of the Pacific. Catholics number around 4,600 out of a population of about 51,000.

Fr Raymundo Sabio MSC (center) at his installation as Prefect Apostolic of the Marshall Islands.





A saint from Carcar, Cebu?

Archbishop Teofilo Bastida Camomot (3 March 1914 - 27 September 1988)

On 27 September 1988 I had lunch at San Carlos Major Seminary, Cebu City. It was the feast of St Vincent de Paul, founder of the Vincentians.The Vincentians had been running the seminary for a long time and some were still on the staff, though the diocesan clergy were gradually replacing them. One of the guests was Archbishop Teofilo B. Camomot from Carcar, a town, now a city, a little over an hour's drive south of Cebu City. The Archbishop was from the town and had been auxiliary bishop of Jaro for some years before being appointed coadjutor Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro in northern Mindanao. He resigned from that position after twelve years and returned to Carcar where he lived for 18 years until his death in a car crash as he returned home after the lunch in the seminary.

Cardinal Vidal of Cebu had tried to persuade Archbishop Camomot to take a siesta but the latter insisted on going home, since he had a driver.

I'm almost sure I exchanged greetings with Monsignor Camomot before lunch that day, as I had done once or twice at previous gatherings. I didn't know him in a personal way but after his death I heard many stories that revealed a man who was like St Francis in his simplicity and in his love for the poor. One bishop told he me had heard stories of bi-location, as has happened in the lives of some saints, being seen in two different places at the same time while on errands of mercy.

Cardinal Vidal, who will be replaced as Archbishop of Cebu in a few days by Archbishop Jose S. Palma, told me of how on one occasion he noticed that Archbishop Camomot wasn't wearing his pectoral cross. Curious, he asked him about it. Monsignor Camomot made some non-commital reply. But later a priest told the Cardinal that the Archbishop had pawned his cross in order to help some poor people. Some time after that Cardinal Vidal gave the Archbishop another pectoral cross. With a broad smile, the Cardinal told me that he forbade Archbishop Camomot from pawning it.

After he resigned as coadjutor Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, Monsignor Camomot worked, as far as I recall, as parish priest of his native town, which became a city a few years ago. He was also, in effect, again as I recall, an auxiliary bishop of Cebu, though I don't think he had an official appointment as such.

This saintly archbishop's funeral was one of the biggest I have ever attended.

Funeral of Archbishop Camomot



CathNews Philippines carries this report today:

Cebuanos push for Camomot’s beatification

Published Date: January 5, 2011

THE Cebu archdiocese has formed a panel to push for the beatification of Monsignor Teofilo Camomot, a native of Carcar town who was known for his service and generosity to the poor.

Claims of miracles attributed to Monsignor Camomot circulated after he was reportedly seen in two different places while he was still serving the clergy of Cebu.

Monsignor Camomot, 74, died in a road accident on Sept. 27, 1988, on his way home to Carcar.

Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal formed the commission to look into the possibility of beatification last Dec. 27. Members of the commission are retired Bishop Antonio Ranola, Monsignor Dennis Villarojo, Monsignor Raul Go, Rev. Jasper John Petralba, and Trinidad Calleno.

Report from Inquirer.Net

Funeral of Archbishop Camomot

50th birthday of a 'St John Vianney' bishop

St John Baptist Mary Vianney, 1786-1859

Congratulations to Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Jaro, Philippines, who turns 50 today and who also celebrates the first anniversary of his consecration as a bishop in Bacolod Cathedral. Bishop Gerry, as he is known to his many friends, feels especially graced by God in that he was born on the 100th anniversary of the death of St John Baptist Mary Vianney, the patron saint of priests in whose honour Pope Benedict has declared a Year of Priests.

The bishop grew up in a Columban parish in Negros Occidental and has always been a great friend of the Columbans.

We featured Bishop Alminaza in the November-December 2008 issue of Misyon.

Ad multos annos, may you have many more years, Bishop Gerry!

Cathedral of San Sebastian, Bacolod City, Philippines

Philippine Bishops' Statement and Letter on Magna Carta for Women

THE DIGNITY OF WOMEN IS DIVINELY ORDAINED
Statement on the proposed Magna Carta of Women by the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life and the Office on Women of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. (January 25, 2009)

Most Rev. Angel N. Lagdameo, Archbishop of Jaro, President of CBCP

MAN and woman share fulness of equality in dignity and rights, which should permeate all forms of human activity in all aspects of social life. Both are created in the likeness of God: “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). That one is male and the other female does not put the one in conflict with the other; it simply underscores their mutual need and capacity to complement each other.

In the greatest divine enterprise after the creation, however, God asked a young woman rather than a man to be His distinct collaborator. He asked the young Virgin Mary, of her own free will, to become the Mother of His only begotten Son. It was upon the Virgin’s Fiat that the Word became flesh, and the Redemption of sinful man began. There is no greater proof than this of how high the woman stands in the eyes of the Most High.

For this reason, we welcome the present efforts of members of the two Houses of Congress to enact An Act Providing for a Magna Carta of Women. We pray that they succeed in enacting a good law that would not only eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and reaffirm their fundamental equality with men but above all enhance their ability to contribute to the highest common good, according to the light of the Gospel.

However, certain ideas and innovations in language threaten to put the common good at risk, despite the many unquestionably good things in the present Bill. One such word is “gender”, or “gender development.”

From the dawn of time, a person’s sex has always been determined by nature. And a person is either male or female, according to that nature; nobody is neuter. The new concept of gender, however, argues that a person’s sexual identity is not limited to male or female, but may be expanded by personal choice and social construction. Thus, one could be either a male or a female heterosexual, a homosexual, a lesbian, a bisexual, or a transgendered individual, depending on one’s sexual preference or orientation.

This is an avoidable disorder which needlessly distorts a divinely instituted truth about man. We need to pray and work individually and together so that everyone may realize their full potential as men and women, regardless of any psychological and other differences which culture may induce or bring about. But while Christian charity encourages us to be understanding and compassionate to those whose physiologico-social qualities may not be the same as everyone else’s, we have to take exception to a Bill which, despite its obvious merits, seeks to replace a person’s divinely ordained sexual identity with a self-constructed gender arising from one’s sexual preference or orientation.

We humbly propose that in opening unlimited opportunities for the development of a woman’s personality and profession, a Magna Carta of Women, to be worth its name, must first of all protect and uphold her natural calling to marriage, family life and motherhood.

The law would be a sham if one of its purposes is to discredit the work of women in the home, as if the time spent in bringing up children and attending to the family’s basic human needs were time unjustly taken away from the work women should be doing in some office, some factories or elsewhere.

A Magna Carta of Women should, in our view, recognize household work as professional work and should encourage its further professionalization, while promoting various other professional skills for women.

Our legislators seek to anchor their proposed Magna Carta of Women on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. This, we believe, must be approached with an abundance of caution.

In principle, our government is bound to implement all international documents adopted by the UN, which are not in conflict with our Constitution. But not every provision of CEDAW is in accord with our Constitution. The Holy See itself has expressed certain reservations about certain provisions of CEDAW.

While our Constitution is unabashedly pro-life and pro-family, CEDAW tends towards the opposite direction. In fact, the CEDAW Committee has tried to pressure our government to modify its laws on reproductive health. It has – in many cases successfully --- pressured various other governments to abolish “Mother Day” celebrations, decriminalize prostitution, legalize abortion where it remains illegal, and improve access to abortion where it has been legalized.
It would seem to us not right or prudent to let in all of CEDAW’s initiatives through the front door or even the back door. The most prudent course for our legislators, it seems to us, would be to safely anchor their Magna Carta of Women on the letter and spirit of our Constitution, and refer to CEDAW only when necessary, to the extent that it is in full accord with the Constitution. This would serve to assure our people that our legislators are legislating for Filipinos rather than for an external audience.

One last-minute amendment to the Senate version of the bill reads: “No one shall invoke religious beliefs or customary norms as a means of evading compliance with this Act or preventing another person from exercising her rights.”

This is an unnecessary and regrettable assault on religious freedom. Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution provides: “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
Under that Senate provision, religious belief and practice will now have to bend to the Magna Carta; the State will now decide what religious beliefs the people can practice, which are not in conflict with this proposed Act. This is unconstitutional and unnecessarily diminishes the merit of the Bill.
We humbly submit that women’s dignity and equality with men cannot and must not be procured at the expense of God, or anybody’s right and duty to worship God. We therefore call on the members of Congress to enact a law that recognizes first and foremost the Divine mystery as the first and ultimate source of the true dignity of every man and woman.
May Holy Mary, our hope, seat of wisdom, guide our legislators in their deliberations.

- E N D -
EPISCOPAL COMMISSION ON FAMILY AND LIFE
CBCP OFFICE ON WOMEN

26 January 2009

Honorable Juan Ponce Enrile
Senate President
The Philippine Senate Pasay City
Dear Mr. President:

We have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy of our Statement on the proposed Magna Carta of Women, issued by the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life jointly with the Office on Women of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Like all statements of this nature, this will be disseminated for the information and guidance of the Catholic faithful. We trust that you and your distinguished colleagues will find it both constructive and helpful in your effort to come up with a genuinely good legislation for women.

With renewed assurances of our highest esteem, we remain


Sincerely yours in Christ,




+ MOST REV. PACIANO B. ANICETO, D.D.
Archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga
Chairman, Episcopal Commission on
Family and Life


+ MOST REV. EMILIO Z. MARQUEZ, D.D.
Bishop of Lucena
Chairman, CBCP Office on Women

NOTED:

+MOST REV. ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

Pro-life Days of Prayer, Australia, USA

On 26 September I posted the text of the pastoral letter of Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne to the Catholics of Victoria. He has called a Day of Intercession throughout the Archdiocese tomorrow, 5 October, dedicated to the defeat of the Abortion Law Reform Bill. He has invited all people of good will to join with him in an hour of prayer at St Patrick's Cathedral at 12.15pm on that day.

The Archdiocese of Sydney, New South Wales, is also observing tomorrow as a day of prayer for the same reason. The message of Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous of Sydney refers to Adelaide, but I can’t find anything on the website of that Archdiocese. Bishop Porteous is described, for some strange reason, as ‘Apostolic Administrator’, in the media release. But Cardinal George Pell, while out of the country at the moment, as far as I know, is still very much the Archbishop of Sydney.

+++

Meanwhile, Bishop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has issued a very clear and forthright pastoral letter for Respect Life Weekend being observed today and tomorrow in the USA. (I’m not sure about other countries). Bishop Martino’s letter is written in the context of the elections in the USA in November when a new president and vice-president will be elected, along with the full House of Representatives, and part of the Senate. One of the reasons that abortion is such a major issue, apart from morality and justice, though related to those, is that the next president may well have to appoint new justices to the Supreme Court. They could help overturn Roe-v Wade, the decision of the Supreme Court in 1973 that struck down the laws of all 50 states that in any way restricted abortions. Many see the decision of the Supreme Court to have been arbitrary and unfaithful to the US Constitution.

Here is the full text, with introduction, of Bishop Martino’s letter. My highlights and (comments).

At the direction of the Most Reverend Bishop, this letter is to be read by the celebrant at all Masses of Obligation on Respect Life Weekend, Saturday, October 4, and Sunday, October 5, at the time of and instead of the homily.

Moreover, a copy of the letter should be circulated with all parish bulletins on this same weekend.

A PASTORAL LETTER FROM BISHOP MARTINO

Respect Life Sunday

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

The American Catholic bishops initiated Respect Life Sunday in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States. Since that time, Catholics across the country observe the month of October with devotions and pro-life activities in order to advance the culture of life. This October, our efforts have more significance than ever. Never have we seen such abusive criticism directed toward those who believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.

As Catholics, we should not be surprised by these developments. Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI predicted that widespread use of artificial contraceptives would lead to increased marital infidelity, lessened regard for women, and a general lowering of moral standards especially among the young. Forty years later, social scientists, not necessarily Catholics, attest to the accuracy of his predictions. As if following some bizarre script, the sexual revolution has produced widespread marital breakdown, weakened family ties, legalized abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, same-sex unions, euthanasia, destruction of human embryos for research purposes and a host of other ills.

It is impossible for me to answer all of the objections to the Church’s teaching on life that we hear every day in the media. Nevertheless, let me address a few. To begin, laws that protect abortion constitute injustice of the worst kind. They rest on several false claims including that there is no certainty regarding when life begins, that there is no certainty about when a fetus becomes a person, and that some human beings may be killed to advance the interests or convenience of others. With regard to the first, reason and science have answered the question. The life of a human being begins at conception. The Church has long taught this simple truth, and science confirms it. Biologists can now show you the delicate and beautiful development of the human embryo in its first days of existence. This is simply a fact that reasonable people accept.

Regarding the second, the embryo and the fetus have the potential to do all that an adult person does.

Finally, the claim that the human fetus may be sacrificed to the interests or convenience of his mother or someone else is grievously wrong. All three claims have the same result: the weakest and most vulnerable are denied, because of their age, the most basic protection that we demand for ourselves. This is discrimination at its worst, and no person of conscience should support it.

Another argument goes like this: “As wrong as abortion is, I don't think it is the only relevant ‘life’ issue that should be considered when deciding for whom to vote.” This reasoning is sound only if other issues carry the same moral weight as abortion does, such as in the case of euthanasia and destruction of embryos for research purposes. Health care, education, economic security, immigration, and taxes are very important concerns. Neglect of any one of them has dire consequences as the recent financial crisis demonstrates. However, the solutions to problems in these areas do not usually involve a rejection of the sanctity of human life in the way that abortion does. Being “right” on taxes, education, health care, immigration, and the economy fails to make up for the error of disregarding the value of a human life. Consider this: the finest health and education systems, the fairest immigration laws, and the soundest economy do nothing for the child who never sees the light of day. It is a tragic irony that “pro-choice” candidates have come to support homicide – the gravest injustice a society can tolerate – in the name of “social justice.”

Even the Church’s just war theory has moral force because it is grounded in the principle that innocent human life must be protected and defended. Now, a person may, in good faith, misapply just war criteria leading him to mistakenly believe that an unjust war is just, but he or she still knows that innocent human life may not be harmed on purpose. A person who supports permissive abortion laws, however, rejects the truth that innocent human life may never be destroyed. This profound moral failure runs deeper and is more corrupting of the individual, and of the society, than any error in applying just war criteria to particular cases. (Bishop Martino highlights the corruption caused by the acceptance of abortion as if it didn’t really matter.)

Furthermore, National Right to Life reports that 48.5 million abortions have been performed since 1973. (In the USA). One would be too many. No war, no natural disaster, no illness or disability has claimed so great a price.

In saying these things in an election year, I am in very good company. My predecessor, Bishop Timlin, writing his pastoral letter on Respect Life Sunday 2000, stated the case eloquently:
Abortion is the issue this year and every year in every campaign. Catholics may not turn away from the moral challenge that abortion poses for those who seek to obey God’s commands. They are wrong when they assert that abortion does not concern them, or that it is only one of a multitude of issues of equal importance. No, the taking of innocent human life is so heinous, so horribly evil, and so absolutely opposite to the law of Almighty God that abortion must take precedence over every other issue. I repeat. It is the single most important issue confronting not only Catholics, but the entire electorate.

My fellow bishops, writing ten years ago, explained why some evils – abortion and euthanasia in particular – take precedence over other forms of violence and abuse.

The failure to protect life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ – the living house of God – then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house’s foundation [emphasis in the original]. These directly and immediately violate the human person’s most fundamental right – the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand. Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics, 23.

While the Church assists the State in the promotion of a just society, its primary concern is to assist men and women in achieving salvation. For this reason, it is incumbent upon bishops to correct Catholics who are in error regarding these matters. Furthermore, public officials who are Catholic and who persist in public support for abortion and other intrinsic evils should not partake in or be admitted to the sacrament of Holy Communion. As I have said before, I will be vigilant on this subject. (No pussy-footing here.)

It is the Church’s role now to be a prophet in our own country, reminding all citizens of what our founders meant when they said that “. . . all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Church’s teaching that all life from conception to natural death should be protected by law is founded on religious belief to be sure, but it is also a profoundly American principle founded on reason. Whenever a society asks its citizens to violate its own foundational principles – as well as their moral consciences – citizens have a right, indeed an obligation, to refuse.

In 1941, Bishop Gustave von Galen gave a homily condemning Nazi officials for murdering mentally ill people in his diocese of Muenster, Germany. (This is a reference to Blessed Clemens August Cardinal Graf von Galen of Münster, Germany, in Hitler’s time. ‘Gustave’ is a mistake.He was known as ‘The Lion of Münster.)

The bishop said:

“Thou shalt not kill!” God wrote this commandment in the conscience of man long before any penal code laid down the penalty for murder, long before there was any prosecutor or any court to investigate and avenge a murder. Cain, who killed his brother Abel, was a murderer long before there were any states or any courts or law. And he confessed his deed, driven by his accusing conscience: “My punishment is greater than I can bear. . . and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me the murderer shall slay me” (Genesis 4:13-14)”

Should he have opposed the war and remained silent about the murder of the mentally ill? No person of conscience can fail to understand why Bishop von Galen spoke as he did.

My dear friends, I beg you not to be misled by confusion and lies. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, does not ask us to follow him to Calvary only for us to be afraid of contradicting a few bystanders along the way. He does not ask us to take up his Cross only to have us leave it at the voting booth door. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI said that “God is so humble that he uses us to spread his Word.” The gospel of life, which we have the privilege of proclaiming, resonates in the heart of every person – believer and non-believer – because it fulfills the heart’s most profound desire. Let us with one voice continue to speak the language of love and affirm the right of every human being to have the value of his or her life, from conception to natural death, respected to the highest degree.

October is traditionally the month of the Rosary. Let us pray the Rosary for the strength and fortitude to uphold the truths of our faith and the requirements of our law to all who deny them. And, let us ask Our Lady to bless our nation and the weakest among us.

May Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Lord of Life, pray for us.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.Bishop of Scranton

The online version ends with a link to Humanae Vitae, the encyclical written by Pope paul VI 40 years ago.