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| Detroit's blogging bishop documents Roman pilgrimage |
| Rome, Italy, Feb 4, 2012 / 06:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Currently on an “ad limina” visit to the Vatican, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda is taking the Michigan faithful along with him by means of his blog. “My blog is for all of my people in the Archdiocese of Detroit who can actually follow every single movement that I do,” Bishop Arturo Cepeda told CNA Feb. 3. “I call it a ‘virtual pilgrimage.’” “So I’m blogging every single day, every meeting I go to. I take pictures and send them to my blog. I’m able to text and tell them what my feelings are and what’s going on.” Ordained in May 2011 as an auxiliary bishop for Detroit, 42-year-old Bishop Cepeda is making the pilgrimage required of all dioceses every five years to meet with the Pope. The current visit allows the bishops of Detroit and Cincinnati to update the Pope and the Vatican on the health of the Church in their regions of the U.S.For Bishop Cepeda, the “updating” goes two ways. “For example, when I go to meetings with the different Vatican congregations, I give those reading the blog some idea of the issues we’ve just discussed,” he explained. The auxiliary bishop's relative youth places him in a generation more at ease with the world of new media like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.“I’m a product of the 70s, and that was when that particular technological revolution began,” he said, “so I’ve always been on top of all the technological gadgets that are out there and I feel very comfortable with it all – and I believe that our future generations of Catholics feel very comfortable with it too.” As the Church approaches Pope Benedict XVI’s “Year of Faith” which begins in October 2012, Bishop Cepeda also believes that such technologies can aid in the “New Evangelization” of the traditionally Christian West. “I do believe in the new media and I do believe in communication. It’s a gift not only for society but it’s also a gift for our Church.”“We want to communicate our feelings, we want to communicate our thoughts. We want to communicate faith, and truth, and how the truth can change our culture.” Recent blog entries by the bishop have covered his Feb. 3 audience with Pope Benedict, as well as the unusually heavy snow covering Rome.“Let me tell you, I lived here in Rome for five years and never saw snow fall once. So this is the first time I’ve seen snow in my life here in Rome and it is coming down pretty heavy.” Detroit Catholics, of course, got an update about it athttp://aodonline.wordpress.com/. “I have already taken pictures and sent them to my blog,” Bishop Cepeda said, clutching his smartphone. “I told them: ‘Guess what! Right after our meeting with the Holy Father it began to snow – so it seems that Detroit is following me all the way to Rome!’” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:39:00 -0500) |
| Vatican astronomer says Big Bang theory in tune with creation history |
| Vatican City, Feb 4, 2012 / 06:09 pm (CNA).- The director of the Vatican Observatory said that the Church is open to the scientific theory that the world began from a cosmic explosion billions of years ago.“The Big Bang is not in contradiction with the faith, ” Father Jose Gabriel Funes said during a Feb. 2 announcement of a Vatican exhibit that will feature photos, research tools and minerals from the Moon and Mars.The exhibit titled “Stories from another world: The Universe within us and outside us,” will be on display March 10 - July 1 in Pisa, the birthplace of Galileo, the father of modern astronomy. Fr. Funes told CNA at the event that the Big Bang explanation “is the best theory we have right now about the creation of the universe.”The theory holds that creation began some 14 billion years ago with a colossal explosion in which space, time, energy and matter were created, and galaxies, stars and planets – which are in continual expansion – came to be.“We know that God is the creator,” he added, “that He is a good Father who has a providential plan for us, that we are his children, and that we everything we can learn by reason about the origin of the universe is not in contradiction with the religious message of the Bible.”Fr. Funes said that as an astronomer and a Catholic, he is open to this explanation of the creation of the universe, despite “some yet unanswered questions.”He noted, for example, that while there is no proof of other intelligent life in the universe, “we cannot rule it out,” since studies show that there are nearly 700 planets orbiting other stars.“If in the future it was established that life, and intelligent life, exists, which I think would be very difficult, I don’t think this contradicts the religious message of creation because they would also be creatures of God,” he said.Ultimately, Catholics “should see the cosmos as a gift of God” and should “admire the beauty that exists in the universe.”“This beauty we see in some way leads us to the beauty of the creator,” he said.“And also, because God has granted us intelligence and reason, we can find the logos, that rational explanation that exists in the universe that allows us to engage in science as well.”The Church’s official interest in astronomy dates back to the 16th century. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII decided to officially create the Vatican Observatory to show that the Church is not against scientific development, but rather promotes it.Since then, the Vatican Observatory has operated out of Castel Gandolfo and uses a telescope located in Tuscon, Arizona, for research. |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:09:00 -0500) |
| Chicago Catholic schools continue to grow |
| Chicago, Ill., Feb 4, 2012 / 01:05 pm (CNA).- Catholic schools in the city of Chicago are celebrating the news that for two years in a row, enrollment has gone up. That’s the first time that has happened since 1965. It might be too early to say Catholic schools have turned a corner, but Catholic schools superintendent Sister Mary Paul McCaughey of the Archdiocese of Chicago is optimistic that efforts to promote the schools while keeping them on a sound financial footing will pay off. “We think we can do it,” she said. “We think we can turn it around. It would be so much fun to see that across the system. Large Catholic school systems haven’t seen that since ’65. But we’re a good city to have this happen to.” The efforts to spread the good news about Catholic schools, combined with changing demographics in Chicago, are leading to full classrooms, she said. “We’re really growing in those places where young families are staying in the city, and they’ve grown to love it and they don’t want to leave,” Sister Paul said. “And with the focused scholarship efforts, we’re holding the line in the poorer areas.” Across the entire archdiocese of Chicago, enrollment is stabilizing, with a drop of less than 1 percent this year. But with 86,502 elementary school students this year, Catholic schools have fewer than half the students they did in 1979-80, when enrollment was 189,611. Reviewing themselves The Office for Catholic Schools of Chicago has asked each of its schools to review where they are in terms of maintaining academic excellence and Catholic identity, financial status and their efforts to attract and keep new students. Each school also will be asked to come up with a plan to move forward in the next year, although many are already doing quite well. “The schools that are doing it have a strong Catholic culture and excellent academics,” she said. “They are engaging parents and refocusing on getting the ‘good whispers’ out there.” One school that has seen such efforts pay off is St. Therese Chinese Catholic School in Chinatown, which principal Phyllis Cavallone-Jurek said was on the brink of closure when she came seven and a half years ago. Then, the school opened with 180 students. Now, with ongoing efforts to strengthen an already rigorous curriculum and work spreading the word about the school across the city, it has waiting lists at all the lower grades. There are 286 students, and Cavallone-Jurek has started to consider the possibility of adding space, although that would be difficult in its neighborhood. The school will likely become even more popular in the next couple of years, as it proudly flies its national Blue Ribbon Award flag for all to see. It’s the first Blue Ribbon in 20 years for a school supported by the Big Shoulders Fund — a local nonprofit that offers scholarships and other financial help to schools where a significant percentage of the students are low-income. At St. Therese, all students are expected to be two years ahead of grade level in math by the time they graduate, and all students study Mandarin Chinese and Spanish throughout elementary school. Because of the unique curriculum, Cavallone-Jurek said, she has to be careful when admitting transfer students to the upper grades. Getting the word out The school’s enrollment grew as Cavallone-Jurek worked with staff and parents to get the word out about the school’s strengths — its academics and its focus on Chinese culture. A student dance group performed whenever and wherever it could, including on morning TV news shows and at neighborhood festivals. “Schools have to look at what their strengths are,” she said. “What are the non-negotiables that make us really special and unique?” At St. Hyacinth School in Logan Square, enrollment jumped from 119 students last June to 187 students this year. Principal Annmarie Mahay said that what helped most in terms of marketing was really everything. “No one thing works,” she said. “Everything we did brought in a few more kids.” Perhaps the biggest single change the school made was opening a second preschool classroom, so that there are now 40 preschoolers instead of 25. Parents realize that full-day preschool costs less than daycare, and that their children get more out of it, Mahay said. That follows the pattern for the archdiocese, where preschool enrollment is up 15 percent. Families who have transferred older children into the school are generally coming from three area public schools, all of which are crowded, Mahay said, so they appreciate the small classes at St. Hyacinth. They also were able to get to know the school through a series of “family fun nights,” when they could mingle with existing St. Hyacinth families and teachers while doing activities in the school’s classrooms. “It gives them the opportunity to take a look at us,” Mahay said. The biggest obstacle to families choosing the school is nearly always the cost of Catholic education, Mahay said, although breaking it down into 10 monthly payments helps. Sister Paul said Catholics should continue to push for more public funding of Catholic schools, whether in the form of vouchers or tax credits, because that would make it easier for families to choose Catholic education, which would be good for the state as well, she said. “It saves the state money in the long run,” she said. “They just don’t see it.” Posted with permission from Catholic New World, newspaper for the Diocese of Chicago. |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:05:00 -0500) |
| US free speech faces Islamic blasphemy law pressure, analyst says |
| Washington D.C., Feb 4, 2012 / 07:05 am (CNA).- Paul Marshall, a religious liberty expert, says that attempts to “export” Islamic anti-blasphemy laws to the West could pose a threat to freedom of speech in the U.S.Marshall, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, said that many governments deliberately manipulate alleged instances of blasphemy by provoking popular outrage, enabling them to advance “particular policy goals.”Marshall made his remarks Feb. 3 at Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C.He argued that blasphemy codes in the Muslim world are used to stifle religious minorities, as well as Muslim reformers who support religious liberty, freedom of speech and democracy.In the U.S., Marshall observed, courts generally uphold the First Amendment’s free speech protections. But he said that America is still threatened by blasphemy laws, and cited efforts by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to promote international laws that ban insults to Islam, through the United Nations.Marshall also cautioned against a growing tendency towards “extra-legal intimidation,” which involves private individuals pre-emptively censoring themselves -- often under the guise of religious sensitivity -- because they realize that it is “too dangerous” to insult Islam. To illustrate the effectiveness of this intimidation, he gave multiple examples of books, newspapers and television shows that refused to publish content that could be deemed offensive to Islam, although they chose to carry similar material that mocked Christianity and other religions.He also recounted the 2010 story of Molly Norris, a Seattle cartoonist, who called for an “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” in response to such self-censorship. She received death threats for the suggestion and, under the advice of the FBI, changed her name and went into hiding. Marshall also warned of the potential for government policies that seek to restrict speech. He observed that the Obama administration has vocalized a commitment to fighting “negative stereotypes of Islam,” although it has not done the same for other religions. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he noted, invited the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to a meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss how the U.S. could carry out this commitment. According to Marshall, the December 2011 meeting featured presentations on how America should fix its treatment of Muslims. It was also suggested that the U.S. should learn from countries in the organization, which use the death penalty to fight blasphemy within their borders, he said. Although Clinton claimed to be simply pursuing tolerance, Marshall said it was concerning that she was partnering with an organization that has been aggressively lobbying to restrict free speech through legal controls. He urged the Obama administration to end this partnership and instead promote the idea that “in open, boisterous, free societies” all religions will likely be subject to criticism. The American founders considered freedom of speech to be critical, Marshall concluded, adding that “their example is always needed, but never more so than in a time such as this.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:05:00 -0500) |
| Being Catholic means 'paying a price,' says Detroit archbishop |
| Vatican City, Feb 3, 2012 / 08:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Being Catholic in 2012 involves “paying a price” for loving Jesus Christ and his Church, says Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit. “If we are not willing to pay a price for the grace of the revelation then it is a sign that we don’t really treasure it,” the archbishop told CNA Feb. 3.“And maybe that is what God is asking us to do – to re-appropriate our own conviction about how precious the knowledge of Jesus is to us.” Archbishop Vigneron is currently in Rome with 16 other bishops from the Provinces of Detroit and Cincinnati to update the Vatican and Pope Benedict on the health of their dioceses. As part of their “ad limina” visit, the group has also made pilgrimages to the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. “When I see those tombs,” said Archbishop Vigneron, “I immediately think of Our Lord’s big recruitment speech to the apostles when he said ‘I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves’ and I imagine them looking around at one another and saying ‘Is he talking to us?’”And yet, Christ's prediction that “if they rejected me they’ll reject you,” is present for Catholics “in every age” even if “it differs in how it takes its shape,” he said. He believes that one clear manifestation of this is the Obama administration’s decision to force all health insurance to cover sterilization and contraception services, including abortifacient drugs. The “price to be paid,” he said, could be in terms of religious freedom and also financially. “If I think about these fines that it seems the government will impose upon us, well that is money I could use in my Catholics schools, it’s money I could use for feeding the hungry, providing services to people with addiction. I expect we’ll have to pay a price like that.” The one price that Archbishop Vigneron said he will refuse to pay is any violation of Catholic moral teaching. As Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan of New York recently said, “they’ve given us a year to figure out how we can violate our principles – it’s not going to happen.” On Friday morning, Archbishop Vigneron led the bishops of the Detroit Province as they met with Pope Benedict XVI in a private audience. During the seminar-style discussion, the Pope was asked about how to authentically interpret the Church’s mind as regards the liturgy.“The Pope’s way of talking about it was to say that the liturgy is the experience of the Church and what should happen is that people experience at the Mass the existence of the Church as it is true through all time. I thought that was a very good way to talk about it,” said Archbishop VegneronHe added that he has “heard the Pope make this point before. The liturgy isn’t something we do. It’s something we inherit and enter into.” Archbishop Vigneron said the meeting with the Pope also “confirmed” the bishop’s own intuition “that we really have to focus ourselves on the new evangelization,” which involves giving “intentionally focused energy on bringing the Gospel to people who think they’ve already heard.” That doesn’t involve “some sort of miracle program,” he contended, but does involve “helping people who are strong in their faith to share their faith.” The archbishop said he took inspiration from the 19th century English cleric, Cardinal John Henry Newman, who saw faith as growing “from being passed from one heart to another heart.” In modern society, there is immense opportunity to evangelize those “parts of our culture that look upon the Gospel and Gospel way of life as a burden which they seem to think they are fortunate to have escaped,” he noted. “What we bring is not an onerous burden – we bring a liberation,” he said, “and people may not know they do want this good news from Jesus but it really is what they’re looking for.” Archbishop Vigneron and the other bishops conclude their “ad limina” visit on Monday Feb 6. He said they return home full of “new encouragement” after a week that has helped them to “take stock of our lives and to find some new breath to go back to reapply ourselves to our task.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:03:00 -0500) |
| Mexican artist thrilled to craft papal throne for Pope's trip |
| Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 3, 2012 / 06:03 pm (CNA).- AMexican artist designing the papal throne Pope Benedict will use during his visit to the Cathedral of Leon on March 25 said he was honored to be appointed to the task. “This is not a special job, it’s beyond special,” Jose Cruz Gonzalez Martinez told the Efe news agency. “The mere fact that it is for the Pope is amazing.” Gonzalez said for thirteen days he did not tell his family he had been given this assignment, until he could no longer contain his emotions. “The truth is I cried. I couldn’t hold it in,” he said, recalling the phone call he received from Father Jose Salome Lemus, the rector of the Cathedral of Leon, who asked him to design the papal throne. Thechairis being builtwithMexican mahogany and will be decorated with engravings. The arms of the throne will feature two lions, representing the city of Leon (“Lion” in Spanish), where the Pope willbe fromMarch 23-26. Seven carpenters involved in the project work 12 hours a day including the weekends, in order to have the throne ready by Feb. 20.After the papal visit, the throne will be sent to the Museum of Sacred Art located at the Cathedral of Leon. On March 25, the Pope will use the throne during vespers with the Bishops of Mexico and Latin America at the Cathedral. |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:03:00 -0500) |
| Komen reversal on Planned Parenthood funding fails to surprise some |
| Dallas, Texas, Feb 3, 2012 / 04:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced on the morning of Feb. 3 that it is amending its funding guidelines so that only those organizations under criminal investigation will be excluded, a move that could allow Planned Parenthood funding to be restored. “I am surprised that it happened so fast, but not that it happened,” nationally syndicated EWTN radio host Teresa Tomeo told CNA. Tomeo received much criticism for holding back her full support of the organization this week but said she is not surprised that breast cancer charity changed their initial decision. On Feb. 3, Founder and CEO of Komen for the Cure, Nancy Brinker, apologized to “the American public” for the original decision to pull funding from any organization undergoing investigation and said she did not want her charity “marred or affected by politics.” The new funding guidelines now specify that “disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political.” Brinker said that her organization was “distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.” The day before the organization decided to adjust its rules, 26 U.S. senators sent Brinker a letter urging her to reconsider her decision to cut funding to abortion provider Planned Parenthood. “We earnestly hope that you will put women's health before partisan politics,” the letter signed by 26 Senate Democrats said. For her part, Tomeo explained that her hesitation to lend full support came partially from Komen's long history with Planned Parenthood as well as the group not recognizing the link between abortion, oral contraception and breast cancer, a position that many medical professionals claim to be one of the most avoidable risks for breast cancer. Tomeo thinks organizations such as the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute and Abortion/Breast Cancer should have gotten support from those opposed to abortion, before Susan G. Komen. She was disappointed that so many anti-abortion advocates “drank the pink kool-aid” by lending their support to Komen so quickly. Americans United for Life founder and CEO Chamaine Yoest released a statement in support of Komen's original decision. She said the criticism they received was just a part of Planned Parenthood's “highly partisan” and “scorched-earth strategy” to force their “pro-abortion agenda.” Americans United for Life's report on Planned Parenthood employees involved in covering up prostitution and human trafficking helped spur the ongoing congressional investigation being led by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) into the nation’s largest abortion provider. |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:37:00 -0500) |
| No law allowing abortion can be moral, say Spanish experts |
| Cordoba, Spain, Feb 3, 2012 / 01:53 pm (CNA/Europa Press).- Catholic professors from the University of Cordoba in Spain have published a study on abortion in which they argue that no law allowing abortion can be considered moral.The study, which is included in a book published by the Diocese of Cordoba, was presented Feb. 1 by Professor Juan Luis Sevilla of the University of Cordoba and Miguel Castro, head of Campus Ministry for the diocese.Castro said copies of the book will be distributed free of charge throughout the Spanish region of Andalusia “to all those who want a clear understanding of the issue of abortion from a humanist and Christian perspective, but with an academic report.”Commenting on the Spanish government’s plan to reform the 2010 law on abortion rather than returning to the 1985 law, Castro said, “the Church does not support any law” that considers the unborn to receive less legal protection “than other persons.”In fact, he underscored, abortion can never be justified in any instance, not even in cases of rape or fetal deformation, as established by the 1985 law.The Church rejects the current law but also continues to be “in disagreement” with the 1985 one, “because the person in the womb deserves the same protection as the person outside it,” Castro said.Juan Luis Sevilla, the director of the study on abortion in Andalusia, said Spain’s current law is based on “gender ideology” and is a “legal aberration,” because it “establishes abortion as a right” and allows minors to obtain abortions without parental consent.For this reason, he said, the 1985 law “can never be good” as it “opened the door to death for innocent persons.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:53:00 -0500) |
| Romney pledges to eliminate HHS mandate on ‘day one’ of presidency |
| Washington D.C., Feb 3, 2012 / 01:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pledged to overturn the HHS contraception mandate that he says takes “particular aim” at Catholics. “I stand with the Catholic bishops and all religious organizations in their strenuous objection to this liberty- and conscience-stifling regulation,” Romney wrote in a Feb. 3 Washington Examiner column titled “President Obama vs. religious liberty” If elected president, the former Massachusetts governor said, he would eliminate the mandate “on day one.” “Such rules don’t belong in the America that I believe in.” The mandate, announced on Jan. 20, requires employers to provide insurance coverage for FDA-approved sterilization procedures and contraceptive drugs, including some abortifacient drugs. The Department of Health and Human Services classified the procedures and drugs as “preventive care.” The religious exemption for the mandate would not cover most Catholic hospitals, universities, and charitable organizations, despite Catholic teaching that the use of these procedures and drugs is sinful and objectively immoral. Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said that religious liberty is “facing the most serious assault in generations” from “liberalism itself.” He charged that the rule is “taking particular aim at Roman Catholics.” “The Obama administration is forcing religious institutions to choose between violating their conscienceor dropping health care coverage for their employees, effectively destroying their ability to carry on their work.” Romney incorporated his pledge against the mandate into his general position against the 2010 health care legislation, which opponents call “Obamacare.” He said he is committed to overturning it “root and branch” and will issue an executive order telling his Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a waiver from its requirements to all U.S. states. However, his column’s dominant focus remained religious liberty. Although liberals and conservatives have defended the rights of religious minorities in the past, Romney charged, that devotion to religious freedom “goes out the window” for “the agenda of the left-wing of the Democratic Party.” He linked the mandate to abortion on demand and opposition to abstinence education. “They would force Catholics and others who have beliefs rooted in their faith to sacrifice the teachings of their faith to the mandate of federal bureaucrats,” Romney said. He also criticized the Obama administration’s 12-month extension for religious groups to comply with the mandate, calling it “a clumsy attempt to push this matter past this year’s presidential election.” “The America I believe in is governed by the U.S. Constitution and I will not hesitate to use the powers of the presidency to protect religious liberty,” Romney stated. All four leading Republican presidential candidates have opposed the mandate. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a convert to Catholicism, charged that the mandate is part of a “war against Christianity.” During his campaign in Florida, ahead of the state primary, he pledged to overturn all “anti-religious” federal policies on his first day in office. At a Jan. 31 campaign stop in Colorado, Catholic and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum said the mandate makes people act against their faith. “Barack Obama and Kathleen Sebelius said ‘Too bad. If it goes against what you believe, then you believe the wrong things,’” Santorum said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can expect.” In an October statement on his website, Texas Congressman Ron Paul said the mandate “violates the conscience of millions of pro-life Americans.” He said he views the “regulatory overstep” as “payback to Planned Parenthood and big pharmaceutical companies for their support of Obamacare.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:48:00 -0500) |
| White House’s defense of mandate called inaccurate, misleading |
| Washington D.C., Feb 3, 2012 / 01:05 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- An expert in religious freedom says that the White House's defense of the contraception mandate contains inaccurate information and does not address the main complaints raised by its critics. Brian Walsh, executive director of the American Religious Freedom program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said that some of the the claims made by the White House are “not factually accurate” and a number of its points “aren’t even relevant.” “It’s certainly not a direct response” to the concerns of religious freedom that have been raised in recent days, but is simply restating the administration’s position on contraception,Walsh told CNA on Feb. 2. Walsh's remarks were aimed at a Feb. 1 blog post by Cecilia Muñoz, the Director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, who attempted to clarify “the facts” surrounding the controversial mandate. On Jan. 20, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that virtually all employers would be required to purchase health insurance plans that cover contraception – including drugs that cause abortion – and sterilization at no cost to employees. The very narrow religious exemption to the mandate includes only those organizations that exist for the purpose of inculcating religious values and that both primarily serve and employ members of their own faith. The administration refused to broaden the exemption, despite an outcry of protest from religious individuals and organizations who will be excluded from the exemption and believe that their religious freedom and rights of conscience are being violated. In her Feb. 1 blog post, Muñoz justified the administration’s decision by saying that although companies will be required to purchase contraceptive coverage, women will not be forced to use it, and doctors will not be forced to prescribe it. She also argued that multiple states already require contraceptive coverage in insurance plans. Muñoz asserted that contraception coverage actually “reduces costs” for employers because they will not have to pay costs associated with their employees’ unintended pregnancies. Walsh responded that the White House’s assertions “don’t address the core” of the religious freedom concerns that were raised by the mandate. He also found several statements on the blog post to be factually inaccurate. The claim that “churches are exempt from the new rules” is “not entirely correct,” he said. Walsh said that in some areas, new “church plants” are being built from scratch for the purpose of reaching out to those who have no faith or have left their faith. Because these churches do not restrict their services to primarily members of their own faith, they would not qualify for the mandate’s religious exemption. Walsh also said that the White House is playing “word games” in its claim that “drugs that cause abortion are not covered by this policy.” He noted that the drug Ella, which is covered by the mandate, prevents an already-fertilized embryo from attaching to the uterus, thereby causing an early abortion. He added that the blog’s statement that “no Federal tax dollars are used for elective abortions” is “inaccurate and misleading.” President Obama reversed the Mexico City Policy during his first week in office, he explained, and since that time, federal taxpayer money has gone “to fund abortion providers in foreign countries.” Walsh also tackled the White House’s claim that “contraception is used by most women,” including Catholics. He said that the Catholic Church is very clear in its opposition to birth control, and the fact that not all Church members follow that teaching is not a sufficient reason to “sweep away” religious liberty. Religious liberty is not “subject to majority vote,” he said. “That’s not truly religious freedom.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:05:00 -0500) |
| Archbishop Chaput says Obama administration sold out Catholic supporters |
| Philadelphia, Pa., Feb 3, 2012 / 06:08 am (CNA).- The Obama administration has betrayed Catholics by refusing to expand the religious exemption in Health and Human Services' contraception mandate, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput says. “The administration's only concession was to give our institutions a one-year delay to comply,” he said in a Feb. 2 letter. “This is not merely inadequate. It is dangerous. And it betrays the good faith of many Catholics who – until now – have supported the current administration with an honest will.” Archbishop Chaput is one of over 140 U.S. bishops who have spoke out against the Health and Human Services rules finalized Jan. 20, which require most new health plans to provide contraception and sterilization – including drugs that can cause an abortion – without a co-pay. Most religious institutions will not be able to opt out, though HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gave them an additional year to meet the requirements. In a letter distributed to parishes to be read at Feb. 5 Sunday Masses, Archbishop Chaput said Catholic institutions “cannot comply with this unjust law without compromising our convictions and undermining the Catholic identity of many of our service ministries.” “This is not just another important issue among the many we need to be concerned about,” he stated. “This ruling is different. This ruling interferes with the basic right of Catholic citizens to organize and work for the common good as Catholics in the public square.” On Feb. 1, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz issued a response to critics of the mandate. She stressed the existence of a religious exemption, cited Guttmacher Institute statistics about contraceptive use among Catholics, and said the mandate excluded abortion-causing drugs. The exemption, however, applies only to institutions that primarily employ and serve members of the same faith for the purpose of inculcating religious values. Meanwhile, the emergency contraceptive “Ella” – covered without a co-pay under the mandate – can prevent the survival of a living embryo, and thus qualifies as an abortifacient drug according to the U.S. bishops' Ethical and Religious directives. In his letter, Archbishop Chaput indicated that the issue at hand had nothing to do with any particular individual's decision to contracept, but was primarily a matter of institutions' right to act in accordance with religious convictions. But individuals and non-religious institutions, he noted, would also be subject to state coercion. “Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those 'services' in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.” He urged Catholics to educate themselves with the resources of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and said they should contact their congressional representatives in the House and Senate. “Your action on this issue matters – not just today but for many years to come; and in ways that will shape the ability of the Church to witness the Gospel publicly through her ministries well into the future.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:08:00 -0500) |
| English and Welsh Catholics encouraged to carry ‘faith cards’ |
| London, England, Feb 3, 2012 / 02:51 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic Church in England and Wales plans to distribute one million “faith cards” to every parish in the country in a bid to help all baptized Catholics to know, live and share their faith. “We all carry a variety of cards in our purses and wallets which reflect something of our identity and the things that are important to us,” explained Bishop Kieran Conry, Chairman of the Bishops’ Department for Evangelization and Catechesis. “The faith card for Catholics aims to offer a daily reminder of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We can’t summarize the whole of our faith in bullet points, but we hope that the card simply inspires people to do, read and learn more.” The new document is the size of a credit card. On one side it lists six things that a Catholic is called to do: “Share with others the joy of knowing Jesus Christ, Pray, Celebrate the sacraments regularly, Love my neighbor as myself, Use the gifts that I’ve been given wisely, and Forgive as I have been forgiven.” There is also a space for the owner to sign their name, with the additional request that “in the event of an emergency please contact a Catholic priest.” On the reverse side is a quote from the 19th-century English cleric Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, taken from his 1848 “Meditations on Christian Doctrine.” In it Cardinal Newman explains that “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.” Bishop Conry explained that the card is “also designed to give Catholics confidence to share their faith – often people need help knowing what to say. Faith is a not a private matter.” The Catholic Church in England and Wales hopes that the card will help prepare the way for the Pope Benedict’s Year of Faith, which begins in October 2012. The Pope hopes the year will spur a “new evangelization” of those traditionally Christian countries which are currently experiencing the rise of radical secularism. “Carrying a faith card takes courage, it signals to others, every time you use your wallet or purse, that you believe in God, that your life has a purpose, that you are trying to love and serve your neighbor,” explained Bishop Conry. “We hope that Catholics will use it to witness to their faith. If someone asks a question about Catholicism, a starting point could be to show the card and to take it from there.” The cards are free and will be distributed to 24 dioceses, including the Bishopric of the Forces and the new Anglican Ordinariate, during February and March. |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:51:00 -0500) |
| Obama, Metaxas call for authentic religion at prayer breakfast |
| Washington D.C., Feb 2, 2012 / 08:08 pm (CNA).- The need for a genuine faith that translates into action was the theme chosen by both President Obama and keynote speaker Eric Metaxas at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast in the nation’s capital. The breakfast, which was held in the district’s Hilton Hotel on Feb. 2, attracted more than 3,000 guests. “We can’t leave our values at the door,” President Obama said, highlighting the importance of having a faith that is lived out “not just with words, but with deeds.” The president stated that the values of his Christian faith motivate the decisions he makes in office. As a Christian, he said, his economic policies coincide with the biblical principle of “requiring much from those who have been given so much.” He also cast his efforts to “prevent atrocities” in other countries and “take on issues like human trafficking” as being “about the biblical call to care for the least of these.” President Obama added that his administration is “linking arms with faith-based groups,” such as Catholic Charities, to work towards “strengthening adoption” and serving those “who are struggling with poverty,” among other initiatives. At the same time, he said, “our personal religious beliefs alone can’t dictate our response to every challenge we face.” Absent from the president’s speech was any mention of a recent mandate issued by his administration which many religious organizations say violates their freedom of conscience. Keynote speaker Eric Metaxas asserted that it is not enough to simply pay lip-service to Christian ideas without actually living them out. Metaxas, the acclaimed author of two New York Times bestselling biographies, delivered a humorous speech that contrasted “phony religiosity” with “real faith in God.” He warned of those who use impressive language and quote Scripture to justify actions that violate the teachings of Jesus, saying that this is a sign of a “dead religion.” The claim to be Christian will “mean absolutely nothing” if it is not lived out, because real faith “must change your life and the lives of others,” he said. True faith is not “some moral code,” but rather, it is a relationship with God that leads to action. Metaxas recalled the heroic lives of William Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the subjects of his bestselling biographies. Motivated by a true faith, they fought to defend the slaves in America and Jews in Germany, respectively, during times when they were not considered human. “Who do we say is not fully human today?” Metaxas asked the audience, later adding that “those of us who know the unborn to be human beings are commanded by God to love those who do not yet see that.” The real difference between true faith and dead religiosity, he said, is the ability to love one’s enemies. Metaxas challenged his audience to allow their lives to be changed by embracing true faith and authentic prayer, which does not consist in empty words but comes “from the heart.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:08:00 -0500) |
| Pope reflects on Christ, the light of the world |
| Vatican City, Feb 2, 2012 / 07:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI marked the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord with vespers and explained that the presentation of Jesus in the temple reveals Christ as the light of the world.“In the encounter between the old man Simeon and Mary, a young mother, the Old and New Testaments come together in a wondrous way in giving thanks for the gift of the light that shone in the darkness and has prevented it from prevailing: Christ the Lord.” The Pope presided over solemn vespers at St Peter’s basilica for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Feb. 2. The feast recalls the occasion when Mary and Joseph, in observance of Jewish custom, presented their first born son to the priest in the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth. There they were met by the old priest Simeon who was promised that “he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” It is he who declared the infant to be “the light to enlighten the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” This “ritual act” of the parents of Jesus is in the “style of humble obscurity that characterizes the Incarnation of the Son of God,” said the Pope. He noted that the feast is “one of the cases in which the liturgical season reflects the historical because today is precisely 40 days from the feast of Christmas.”“The theme of Christ the Light, which has characterized the series of Christmas feasts and culminated in the Feast of the Epiphany, is taken up and extended to the celebration today.”Indeed, one of the traditional names given to today’s feast is “Candlemas” denoting the blessing of candles which often takes place and the candlelit procession that begins and concludes the liturgy of vespers. Pope Benedict also noted that today is the World Day for Consecrated Life. The term “consecrated” applies to those Christians who have taken public vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Many monks, nuns and others who live consecrated lives were present in St. Peter’s basilica for vespers.The Pope told them that the presentation of Jesus “is a significant icon” for those who serve both Church and world “through the evangelical counsels, the characteristic traits of Jesus, chaste, poor and obedient, the Anointed of the Father.” He recalled how the day had been instituted by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1987 to give “praise and thanks to the Lord for the gift of this state of life, which belongs to the Church’s holiness.” He also said that the day is an occasion for those who live the consecrated life to give “testimony” to the world and to “renew and revitalize” their own vocation.“This we do today, this is the commitment that you are called to carry out every day of your life,” he told them. He concluded by looking ahead to his Year of Faith which begins in October 2012. He told those living the consecrated life that the “most important and distinctive element” of their existence was their “deep closeness to the Lord” and that this would have a “positive influence” on everybody during the Year of Faith.His hope was that they will “engage enthusiastically in the new evangelization,” through “the contribution of your gifts, in fidelity to the Magisterium, in order to be witnesses of faith and of grace, credible witnesses for the Church and for the world today.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:16:00 -0500) |
| New Vatican exhibition reaches for the stars |
| Vatican City, Feb 2, 2012 / 06:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican’s Observatory is helping organize an exhibition that will delve into the history of the universe at both the human and celestial levels.“Stories from another world: The universe inside and outside us,” will run from March 10 to July 1 in the Italian city of Pisa.“This exhibition will tell the story of the universe outside us, the galaxies and stars, and the universe that is within us,” explained Jesuit Father José Gabriel Funes, Director of the Vatican Observatory, in remarks to CNA on Feb. 2. The exhibition was announced at the Vatican’s press office this morning. It is being organized in conjunction with the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Pisa University and the “Palazzo Blu” cultural foundation, which will host the event at their headquarters in Pisa. “The history of the universe could not be told without our ‘small’ human stories,” said Fr. Funes, a 49-year-old Argentinean priest and astronomer. He believes the city of Pisa has “a privileged place” in this story about the “intersection of cosmic history and human history.” Pisa is the birthplace of the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei, but it is also the hometown of Cardinal Pietro Maffi. He was both archbishop of the city and president of the Vatican Observatory in the early 20th century. “Cardinal Maffi lived a dual existence: the world of the Church and that of science,” said Fr. Funes, explaining how the cardinal always saw “an opportunity for cooperation and growth between these two aspects of human experience,” since they work in harmony “in the search for the deeper meaning of human existence.” Fr. Funes stressed that the complementarity of faith and science is a message Pope Benedict XVI is particularly keen to impart to young people. He recalled that in 2010 the Pope encouraged school children in the United Kingdom to remember that “every subject you study is part of a broader horizon.” With that perspective in mind, Fr. Funes said the exhibition will be aimed at young people. It will attempt to “make complex and difficult knowledge accessible, while at the same time avoiding the risk of superficiality.”Cosimo Bracci Torsi, the President of the “Palazzo Blu” Foundation, told journalists that the event “is the outcome of fruitful collaboration between lay scientists and religious scientists – all members of scientific institutions of great prestige but with very different origins.” And he promised that the exhibition will include “spectacular images, instruments and exhibits, such as Lunar and Martian minerals.” Torsi said visitors will embark “on a fascinating journey which begins in the solar system and our material nature, reaching the stars of this and other galaxies, up to the spatial and temporal confines of the universe and of our current knowledge.” Today’s announcement comes only two weeks after Pope Benedict established a new foundation aimed at building a “philosophical bridge” between science and theology. The Science and Faith Foundation will be headquartered within the Vatican, under the auspices of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture.“Catholics must see in the cosmos a gift from God,” explained Fr. Funes, adding that everybody, Catholic or otherwise, can clearly “admire the beauty in the universe, the cosmos, beauty that somehow leads us to the beauty of the creator.” “Also, because God has endowed us with intelligence and reason, we can find the logos, the rational explanation in the universe that allows us to do science ... and which also explains to us the creative plan of God.” |
| Read More...(Source: CNA Daily News - Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:12:00 -0500) |
| Poor Planned Parenthood: Media and Politicians Run to the Rescue |
| Is there any other organization in America that is more coddled, more sheltered, more pandered to than ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:08:39 PDT) |
| Panetta: 'Strong possibility' Israel will strike Iran's nuclear installations in spring |
| U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta fears that there is a "strong possibility" that Israel ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:43:16 PDT) |
| Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation Backs Down to Planned Parenthood Bullying |
| I have long contended there is a connection between abortion on demand and the increase of bullying. Planned ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:53 PDT) |
| World's largest restaurant chain faces lawsuit for 'kitchen nightmares' |
| Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant group in the world is facing a lawsuit that alleges the ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:10:15 PDT) |
| Pro-Life Victory: Susan B. Komen for the Cure Defunds Planned Parenthood |
| When Planned Parenthood receives a grant or a subsidy, it may argue that it uses that particular money for a ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:15:22 PDT) |
| Pope Sends Condolences on the Death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia |
| We ask our global readers to pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal Bevilaqua and the comfort of his family ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:35:38 PDT) |
| U.S. deficit falls slightly - but still far too high |
| Its slightly lower than last year - but still far too high. A new budget report this week predicts the ... |
| Read More...(Source: Catholic Online > U.S. News - Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:21:21 PDT) |
| SSME |
| FMC is hosting its second annual Summer School of Missionary Evangelism this June in the Philippines! From the 6th-30th, missionaries will live the mission of the Church, serving, loving, and growing as disciples of Jesus Christ! For info e-mail James at trips.fmcmissions@gmail.com, 337-893-6111, or check out our Short Term Missions for information and applications! [...] |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:33 +0000) |
| Mission Blogs |
| Keep up with whats going on with our missionaries! Stay informed about their work around the world by frequenting the missionary blogs. |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Wed, 12 May 2010 21:01:28 +0000) |
| SERVE 2010 |
| Serve Summer 2011 has been sent, reporting to you all the great things God is doing here at Family Missions Company! If you are interested in receiving SERVE contact the office (337-893-6111) to be added to our mailing list. SERVE reaches nearly 7,000 households in every State, and even across oceans! Along with being our [...] |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Wed, 12 May 2010 20:54:50 +0000) |
| Mission Formation |
| Mission Formation is still being held every Wednesday night, however has been moved to our new retreat and youth center, Our Lady of the Bayous, located at 1318 South Henry Street, Abbeville, LA. Feel free to call the office at 337.893.6111 with questions on when the evening will be beginning! Hope to see you there! |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:13:03 +0000) |
| JPII Mission of the Redeemer |
| Pope John Paul II writes in his encyclical Mission of the Redeemer, “God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense the moment has come to commit all the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and mission to the nations. No believer [...] |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Sun, 28 Mar 2010 05:11:35 +0000) |
| FMC |
| Family Missions Company is an apostolate of Catholic laity, called to foreign missionary evangelism. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we proclaim Jesus Christ and His Gospel to the poor. Today, the Lord is calling many Catholic laity to serve in foreign missions. The need is urgent; we must go into the mission field to sow the [...] |
| Read More...(Source: Family Missions Company - Sun, 28 Mar 2010 04:52:27 +0000) |
| EWTN: Today's Homily - Sunday - 1/29/2012 |
| Hosted by Fr Mark Mary MFVA: EWTN Mass Readings and Homily for Sunday January 29, 2012 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time |
| Read More...(Source: EWTN Audio Library - Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT) |
| EWTN: Today's Homily - Monday - 1/30/2012 |
| Hosted by Fr Joseph Mary MFVA: EWTN Mass Readings and Homily for Monday January 30, 2012 St. Hyacinth Marescotti, Virgin |
| Read More...(Source: EWTN Audio Library - Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT) |
| EWTN: Today's Homily - Tuesday - 1/31/2012 |
| Hosted by Fr Mitch Pacwa SJ: EWTN Mass Readings and Homily for Tuesday January 31, 2012 St John Bosco - Priest |
| Read More...(Source: EWTN Audio Library - Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT) |
| EWTN: Today's Homily - Wednesday - 2/1/2012 |
| Hosted by Fr Mark Mary MFVA: EWTN Mass Readings and Homily for Wednesday February 01, 2012 Weekday |
| Read More...(Source: EWTN Audio Library - Wed, 1 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT) |
| EWTN: Today's Homily - Thursday - 2/2/2012 |
| Hosted by Fr Mitch Pacwa SJ: EWTN Mass Readings and Homily for Thursday February 02, 2012 The Presentation of the Lord |
| Read More...(Source: EWTN Audio Library - Thu, 2 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT) |