Galileo Still Sends Church Spinning
As Statue at the Vatican Is Considered

Project Is Under Way to Honor Astronomer
Nearly 400 Years After Inquisition Trial

By GABRIEL KAHN and ANDREW HIGGINS
Wall Street Journal
August 28, 2008; Page A1

VATICAN CITY -- The Roman Catholic Church has for centuries commissioned statues of saints and other pious heroes. It's now wrestling with a more sensitive tribute -- a monument to a man who may be its most illustrious heretic.

Nearly 400 years after the Roman Inquisition condemned Galileo Galilei for insisting the Earth revolves around the sun, an anonymous donor to the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences has offered to foot the bill for a statue of the Italian astronomer.

But nothing that revolves around Galileo is ever simple. He has been making waves since the early 17th century.

Galileo is "like a Mexican soap opera; it never ends," says Monsignor Melchor Sánchez de Toca, of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture.

Vatican officials had hoped to keep the statue project quiet, at least until it got beyond the planning stage. They feared its mystery benefactor -- a private company -- might get skittish. But word of the bequest leaked to the Italian press.

"I'm worried that we'll scare off the donor," says Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the chancellor of the academy of sciences. He won't comment on the identity or the motives of the donor.

For the devout, Galileo has always been a sensitive subject. His 1633 trial and conviction by a church tribunal may be the Vatican's biggest public-relations debacle: It cast the scientist as a martyr to truth, the church as the enemy of reason.

Monsignor Sánchez, who wrote a book about Galileo and the Vatican, thinks a statue would be a "beautiful gesture" and show that faith and science are branches of the same tree.

But he worries it could stir yet another round of finger-pointing. "Everyone will chime in, saying, 'Ah, now the church is saying it's sorry, 400 years too late.'"

Over the centuries, the Vatican has tried, often grudgingly and always in vain, to correct its Galileo gaffe. It began to allow some of his works to be published in 1718. It abandoned the last vestiges of its opposition to the idea that the Earth revolves around the sun in 1835, when it removed all works advocating heliocentrism from its index of banned books. Pope John Paul II in 1992 expressed regret over what he called a "tragic mutual incomprehension."

Today, the church insists it has no problem at all with modern science, and even science fiction. In May, for example, the Vatican's chief astronomer declared that Christian theology can accommodate the possible existence of extraterrestrials. The Bible, he said, "is not a science book."

Arguments about Galileo, however, rage on. In January, students and faculty at Rome's La Sapienza University torpedoed a planned visit to their campus by Pope Benedict XVI. Their gripe: In 1990, the current pope, who was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at that time, delivered a lecture at La Sapienza that some critics interpreted as a defense of the church's conviction of Galileo. Catholics in Iceland, meanwhile, threatened to boycott a local mobile-phone company earlier this year for creating an ad that pokes fun at the church over Galileo's heresy case.

Friends in the Church

Galileo and the church initially got on well. Celebrated across Europe for his scientific writings, his development of an early telescope and other achievements, Galileo had many friends in the church, which, when not pursuing heretics, played a big role in nurturing intellectual talent.

Even Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who would later, as Pope Urban VIII, condemn him, once dedicated a poem to Galileo.

The Inquisition, a network of ecclesiastical tribunals charged with enforcing doctrinal orthodoxy, took issue with some of Galileo's early writings but let him off with a slap on the wrist. But things got more serious following his publication in 1632 of "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems."

The text defended the then novel notion of a sun-centered universe -- known as heliocentrism -- that had been developed by Poland's Nicolaus Copernicus. This view, according to Vatican doctrine at the time, was "false and altogether contrary to scripture." Galileo's book presented what he considered incontrovertible proof that Copernicus, not the church, was correct.

Galileo had many admirers but also lots of enemies. A difficult character, he savaged his critics in print and managed to alienate even his defenders. His personal life also raised eyebrows. He fathered three children out of wedlock.

Summoned to Rome to explain his heliocentric heresy, he eventually agreed to plead guilty to "suspicion of heresy" in exchange for a lighter punishment. Pope Urban VIII, whom he once considered a friend, denounced his "very false and very erroneous" ideas.

He sentenced Galileo to prison for an indefinite period, and his works were placed on the Index of Forbidden Books.

Still, Galileo got off easy compared with many others convicted of defying dogma. He was spared the Inquisition's more grisly punishments -- burning and beheading.

In fact, he served out most of his sentence at the villas of Tuscan noblemen. Toward the end of his life, he was allowed to attend Mass again -- on condition that he not mingle with other congregants. Some church historians say Galileo's actions should be classified as heterodoxy, which is less severe than heresy.

For the Vatican, though, the affair went from bad to worse. Denouncing a man Albert Einstein would later describe as the father of modern science put the church on the wrong side of history. And when the Enlightenment dawned in the 18th century, the church found itself branded a backward institution bent on stalling progress.

Galileo became a global icon, the Che Guevara of secular science. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration named a spacecraft after him. Europe did the same with a huge satellite-navigation project. Guatemala named a university in his honor. The moons of Jupiter bear his name, too.

"More than Darwin or any other figure, he represents the idea that there is a conflict between science and the church," says Monsignor Sánchez.

'Secret Vatican Archives'

Shortly after he became pope in 1978, John Paul II decided to try to correct things once and for all. He lamented that Galileo "had much to suffer...at the hands of individuals and institutions within the church" and later convened a pontifical commission to re-examine Galileo's whole trial.

"We opened the secret Vatican archives and tried to understand everything we could about Galileo's position," recalls Cardinal Paul Poupard, who headed one of the commission's study groups. But after 12 years of intense study, the commission issued a wishy-washy report that blamed "certain persons" for hounding Galileo and steered clear of a full mea culpa.

The Vatican is even struggling with finding a suitable spot to put the statue. "That's kind of tough in the Vatican," says Nicola Cabibbo, a physics professor and the president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. "You've got a lot of art inside there already. Some of it from great masters. So where do you put a statue of Galileo?"

A Vatican-sanctioned statue, says Paolo Galluzzi, the head of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, is just an attempt to hoodwink people into believing that the church has long since made its peace with the scientist.

"It's an effort to make him a symbol, an attempt to make Galileo one of the emblems of the church," says Mr. Galluzzi, whose museum houses two of Galileo's telescopes. "It's the church which needs rehabilitation on this case, not Galileo. He was right."

On the other side of the barricades, meanwhile, some Roman Catholics think the church has already done more than enough to make up with Galileo.

Atila Sinke Guimarães, a conservative Catholic writer, dismisses the church's mistreatment of Galileo as a "black legend."

The scientist, he says, got what he deserved. "The Inquisition was very moderate with him. He wasn't tortured."


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8/31/08
Belated P.S. from TERESA:

It took me some time to get around to looking it up, but I was sure when I saw the above item that I had posted something about it months ago, not long after the controversy at la Sapienza University.

freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=354544&p=58
Post # 12,187 on 3/4/2008.

For convenience, let me re-post it here, since it has useful information not included in the WSJ report.



Galileo statue to be erected
inside the Vatican
by Richard Owen in Rome and
Sarah Delaney in Florence
The Times of London, 3/4/08


Four hundred years after it put Galileo on trial for heresy the Vatican is to complete its rehabilitation of the great scientist by erecting a statue of him inside the Vatican walls.

The planned statue is to stand in the Vatican gardens near the apartment in which Galileo was incarcerated while awaiting trial in 1633 for advocating heliocentrism, the Copernican doctrine that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

Nicola Cabibbo, head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and a nuclear physicist, said: “The Church wants to close the Galileo affair and reach a definitive understanding not only of his great legacy but also of the relationship between science and faith.”

Professor Cabibbo said that the statue - paid for by private donations - was appropriate because Galileo had been one of the founders of the Lincei Academy, a forerunner of the papal body, in 1603. He had not been tortured or burned at the stake, as many believed, though he was forced to recant by the Inquisition.

The move coincides with a series of celebrations in Rome, Pisa, Florence and Padua in the run-up to next year's 400th anniversary of Galileo's development of the telescope.

Events include a Vatican conference on Galileo to be attended by 40 international scientists and a re-examination of his trial at an institute in Florence run by the Jesuits, who were among Galileo's fiercest opponents in the Inquisition.

The celebrations begin today with the opening of an exhibition on Galileo's telescope entitled “The Instrument Which Changed the World” at the Museum of the History of Science in Florence. The museum, which is undergoing an 8 million (£6 million) renovation, contains many of Galileo's own scientific instruments.

Paolo Galluzzi, head of the Florence museum, said that “even if Galileo had been wrong, you cannot judge scientific errors in an ecclesisatical court”.

Giorgio Ierano, a cultural historian, said: “The wrong done to Galileo is being put right on the territory of his historic enemies. Wherever Galileo is in the afterlife, he must be enjoying this moment.”

In January Pope Benedict XVI called off a visit to Sapienza University, Rome, after staff and students accused him of defending the Inquisition's condemnation of Galileo. They cited a speech he made at La Sapienza in 1990, while still a cardinal, in which he quoted a description of the trial of Galileo as fair. The Vatican said that the Pope had been misquoted.

The Vatican's repentance over its treatment of Galileo began in 1979, when John Paul II invited the Church to rethink the trial of Galileo.

Historical footnotes

— Born in Pisa in 1564, Galileo Galilei built his first telescope in 1609 after a Dutch optician invented a device that made distant objects seem near at hand (at first called the spyglass)

— Galileo used his telescopes to observe the Moon, which he found to be “uneven, rough, full of cavities and prominences”, and then in 1610 Jupiter and its satellites

— His subsequent Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in which he asserted categorically that the Earth revolved round the Sun, was held to be offensive to Pope Urban VIII and he was ordered to stand trial for heresy in 1633

— His views were found to be “absurd, philosophically false, and formally heretical because expressly contrary to Holy Scriptures”

— He recanted to save his life, and lived under house arrest until his death in 1642

Galileo's abjuration

---

Wishing to remove from the minds of your Eminences and all faithful Christians this vehement suspicion reasonably conceived against me, I abjure with sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies, and generally all and every error and sect contrary to the Holy Catholic Church.

And I swear that for the future I will neither say nor assert in speaking or writing such things as may bring upon me similar suspicion; and if I know any heretic, or one suspected of heresy, I will denounce him to this Holy Office, or to the Inquisitor and Ordinary of the place in which I may be.

— Source: Solange Strong Hertz: Beyond Politics: A Meta-Political View of History.

---

For a more rounded perspective, see also a mini-roundup of informative articles about Galileo and the Church, GETTING GALILEO STRAIGHT, posted 1/19/2008 in the NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT thread -
freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=354494&p=157

In India, the Christian 'offense'
is fighting against the caste system

Christians preach and practice equal dignity for all.
An expert explains the reasons for the growing Hindu violence
and warns about its international repercussions.






ROME, August 29, 2008 – This morning, the 25,000 Catholic schools in India closed their doors for the entire day. The Indian Catholic Church has called for a day of prayer and fasting for the first Sunday in September, with peaceful processions all over the country.

The reason is the new wave of violence that has struck the Christians in the state of Orissa. Every day, there is news of killing, wounding, rape, assaults against churches, convents, schools, orphanages, villages, carried out by Hindu fanatics. Hundreds of people have had to abandon their homes and flee to the forests.

The spark for the latest explosion of violence was struck with the killing, on August 23, of the Hindu religious leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and five of his followers. The killing was carried out by armed Maoist groups, but the Hindus used it as a pretext for blaming the Christians and taking revenge on them.

The epicenter of the latest violence is the district of Kandhamal, in the state of Orissa. For several months, this has been the bloodiest state in the country. There are few Catholics there, less than 1 percent. There are also few conversions, but these are taken as another pretext for retaliation.

What is unleashing the violence – according to Raphael Cheenath, the archbishop of Chuttack-Bhubaneswar, whose territory includes the district of Kandhamal – is the work that Christians in Orissa are carrying out on behalf of the tribals and the Dalits, at the very bottom of the caste system:

"Before, they were like slaves. Now, some of them study in our schools, start businesses in the villages, demand their rights. And those who – even in the India of the economic boom – want to keep intact the old division into castes are afraid that they will gain too much power. Orissa today is a laboratory. What is at stake is the future of millions of Dalits and tribals living all over the country."

According to the latest census, conducted in 2001, 80.5 percent of India's inhabitants are Hindu, while 13.4 percent are Muslim. Christians only make up 2.3 percent. And they are even less numerous in Orissa and in the other states in the central and northern part of the country, the most densely populated areas.

The highest percentages of Christians are in the easternmost part of the country, reaching 90 percent in Nagaland and Mizoram, 70 percent in Meghalaya, and 34 percent in Manipur. But these areas are thinly populated and very backward economically.

In absolute numbers, Christians are most heavily represented in the southern part of the country, in Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. In Kerala, Christians are 19 percent of the population, and most of them are Catholic. The state boasts the highest level of education, including female education, in all of India.

The events of recent days confirm that coexistence between Christians and Hindus in India is no longer as peaceful and harmonious as the tradition – and myth – of this country would have one believe.

Hindu intolerance and fanaticism are growing, and acts of violence against Christians are on the rise. To the silence and disinterest of the world.

The reasons for this development, and the dangers of ignoring it, are incisively analyzed by Vittorio E. Parsi, professor of international politics at the Catholic University of Milan, in this editorial published on August 27 in Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference:


Contradictions and fanaticism
are undoing Gandhi's legacy
by Vittorio E. Parsi


India is usually called the largest democracy in the world, It would be ungenerous and mistaken to forget this now, or to question it at its core. But it does seem necessary to question the quality of this democracy, and the direction that it is taking.

The Indian Union has separation of powers, an independent judiciary, a genuine multiparty system, and a free press. But at the same time, widespread corruption and the crony-client political system in the individual states, together with the substantial impunity granted to the violent actions of extremist groups, risk emptying of meaning the concrete significance of India's democracy.

The alarm is being raised in a particular way by the growth of sectarian violence, which is especially targeting the Christians – responsible for helping the Dalits, the outcasts, the slave foundation of the pyramidal system according to which Hindu society was traditionally organized – but also Muslims and Buddhists in India.

What is happening in India with worrying frequency and intensity shows the dark side of the independence achieved under the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent action.

The story of his life itself, with its tragic conclusion, contains in symbolic form all of the contradictions of this extraordinary country: from the rediscovery of traditional culture and the village economy, to the decision to live as the least of the least, to the attempt to preserve the unity and religious pluralism of the old British Raj, to his violent death at the hand of a Hindu extremist.

More than 60 years after the country's independence, it is precisely the position that India should be solely and exclusively Hindu that is continually making new proselytes.

Movements like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are the expression of a Nazi-like culture, which preaches through violence the false idea that being Indian means being Hindu, in spite of the fact that, in absolute numbers, there are more Muslims living in India than in many Muslim countries.

Of course, there has always been Hindu hegemony in the political system, but it was mitigated to a certain extent by the fact that the early leaders of the republic, from Nehru to Indira Gandhi, all members of the Congress Party, acted on the basis of an essentially secular view of politics, blocking the most devastating consequences of such a contradiction.

It is likely that the sneering modern "spirit of the times" in which fundamentalism and the political abuse of religion seem to be re-emerging, on top of the radical tendencies of neighboring Pakistan, have contributed to the success of movements like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and of the Bharatiya Janata party.

But – as Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran has correctly observed – in Hinduism as well, there is a growing push toward intolerance and fanaticism, which is all the more serious in that it is understood too little, and too often denied.

Besides the political contradiction is the economic contradiction. India is the "office" of the world, at least to the same extent that China is its "factory." It is a society that produces tens of thousands of English-speaking engineers each year, but still lives in the Gandhian myth of the village economy, that ossified structure which deprives the "least" of any hope, for this and any other life, and fosters the caste system with its aftermath of commonplace violence.

It is the Christians who are held responsible for offering hope to the "least," for this and any other life. And they have accepted the burden of this responsibility, to the point of martyrdom, as has taken place in Orissa.

One last point of reflection. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are considered, together with South Africa, the leading countries that should balance the excessive power of the West and make the governing of the world more multilateral.

One must begin to reflect on the fact that, with the exception of Brazil, none of these countries seems to have begun to reduce its heavy deficit of internal democracy, and on the consequences that this implies for international "governance."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At the end of the general audience on Wednesday, August 27, Benedict XVI spoke about the events in India:

---

I have learned with deep sadness the news about the violence against the Christian communities in the Indian State of Orissa, which erupted following the deplorable murder of the Hindu leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati. Some persons have been killed and others injured. Worship centers, church property and private houses have also been destroyed.

While I firmly condemn all attacks against human life, the sacredness of which demands the respect of all, I express my spiritual closeness and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in the faith so hardly tried. I implore the Lord to accompany and support them in this time of suffering and give them the strength to continue in the service of love in favour of all.

I ask the religious leaders and civil authorities to work together to restore among the members of the various communities the peaceful coexistence and harmony which have always been the distinguishing mark of the Indian society.

---

Yesterday, AsiaNews had this most informative overview from an Indian priest-sociologist. The background:

The view from an Indian sociologist

MUMBAI, August 28 (AsiaNews) – Fr. Augustine Kanjamala, a Verbite clergyman who teaches at the University of Mumbai, appeals to the Churches of the world to “express their protest to the government of India” which has remained “inactive” with regards to anti-Christian violence.

He openly accuses the Orissa state government for its increasingly explicit collusion with the pogrom currently underway against the community of faithful.

According to Father Kanjamala a plan to cleanse Orissa of its Christian population has been in the making for years, especially in the district of Kandhamal (where most of the atrocities have taken place) where Christians now constitute around 5 per cent of the population. Conversions by, development for and emancipation of Tribals and Dalits are confronted by Hindutva conservatism.

Fr. Kanjamala holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion. He was the Director of the Ishvani Kendra (Missiological Institute), in Pune and secretary of the Commission for Evangelisation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. He is currently director of the Institute of Indian Culture, which is associated with the University of Mumbai.


Christians are being killed in an attempt
to stop their activities in behalf of
outcasts and tribal people
by Augustine Kanjamala, SVD




On 24 December 2007, while the Christians were getting ready to celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a member of a Hindu fundamentalist organization (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and his supporters attacked and destroyed many churches and prayer centres. A large number of Christians were injured and made homeless in the communally sensitive district of Kandhmal, in Orissa state, eastern India.

Exactly eight months later, on 23 August 2008 when the same seer and the Hindu community were preparing to celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna (Janmashtami) in Jalespata ashram (monastery), he and four of his disciples were gunned down by tribal revolutionary Maoists.

That it was a premeditated attack is evident from the fact that he was warned in advance and that government authorities were aware of it. A local TV Channel reported that the murderers left a note on the spot of the murder that this was a revenge killing for the last December attack on the Christians.

Hindus were quick to accuse the Church of masterminding the murder of their revered religious leader, who was in his 80s, rather than accept the government’s view that the attack had a Maoist colour.

A meeting of Hindu leaders took place on the following day in Rourkela, also known as Steel City, where a decision for an immediate and violent retaliation was taken. The total success of the dawn to dusk strike in Orissa on 25 August is clear evidence of the shocking reaction.

The simultaneous unleashing of violent attacks on 35 Christian centres in Orissa on the evening of 25 August further confirms that the plan was organized.

All bomb attacks were directed at Christians and their institutions. The rampaging mob, seeking revenge for the Guru’s murder, destroyed the pastoral centre of the archdiocese of Bhuvaneshwar with a bomb. A priest and a nun working there were beaten up, stripped and paraded naked in order to humiliate them. Four other priests were severely beaten — one suffered severe burns and is now in critical conditions in Burla Medical College, in the district of Sambalpur.

The mob also ransacked a church-run orphanage near Burgarh, and the caretaker, Ms Rajni Maji, was set ablaze and burned to death.

A large number of churches, prayer centres, convents, hospitals, dispensaries and vehicles were attacked and torched. Some nuns received warned by mobile phone and either ran into the jungle or escaped by jeep to the neighbouring state of Chattisgarh.

A few lay people lost their lives while thousands ran for theirs into the forests; more than 200 houses were set on fire.

The radical Hindu mobs defied the curfew and forced everyone and everything to shut down, bringing life to a standstill and the state virtually to its knees. The official death toll of 20 reported by the controlled media is totally false.

With 40 per cent of the population made up of Tribals and Dalits (outcasts) Orissa is one of the most underdeveloped states in the country.

The Kandhamal district, which has seen high levels of anti-Christian violence in the last decade, is also where a significant number of Christian conversions have taken place in the same period. As Dalits who embrace Christianity achieve socio-economic progress, many Tribals have followed them in that path in recent times.

Thus while Orissa's Christian population is less than 2 per cent, the Christian population in the district doubled in the last decade to reach the 5 per cent mark.

In January 1999, the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burned to death by a mob led by one Dara Singh (convicted in 2003).

Objecting to missionary activities, the murdered Hindu sage recently said: “The sooner Christians return to the Hindu fold, the better it would be for the country.”

Orissa was the first state in the country that passed legislation against religious conversion in 1967, followed later by other states.

While Christian missionaries firmly assert that serving the poor and the marginalized is their missionary vocation, the anti-conversion law is based on the view that these services are inducements and fraudulent means to abet conversions.

Another factor also generates opposition to Christians. It is becoming increasingly clear that where Christian missionaries operate, important social changes take place. People develop, acting and living with greater dignity.

Thus, as a result of education, even basic education, Tribals and Dalits are no longer willing to be used as cheap labour in farming. Their sense of dignity and their education have given them the courage to protest against their exploitation and oppression.

In addition to such changes over the past two generations, Tribals are now moving in great numbers to the big cities. In Mumbai alone there are some 100,000 young Tribals or Adivasi from Orissa, all working in domestic service or small industrial plants. It is obvious that these changes are transforming Orissa’s socio-economic structure.

The total breakdown of law and order in the state has created the impression that state authorities are conniving with Hindu fundamentalists under political compulsion.

The state of Orissa is ruled by a coalition government, supported by the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janatha Party. There are fears that Orissa might go the way of Gujarat and turn into a Hindu laboratory and a land of massacres.

On behalf of Christians, particularly Catholics, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Bhuvaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, strongly condemned the dastardly acts and violent killings, including that of Swami Laxmanananda, and has appealed to everyone for peace and harmony.

A Christian delegation led by Archbishop Vincent Concessao met the Home minister in New Delhi, giving him a memorandum.

The court cases against the culprits of last December attacks, including police officials and state ministers who failed to act, are presently underway. This partly explains the coolness of the state’s governmental machinery to the current events.

In order to protest and express solidarity with the suffering Christians of Orissa all Catholic schools in the country will remain closed on Friday, 29 August. But we shall not forget to show our appreciation for the police officials who acted promptly to help missionaries and some church institutions. Likewise many Hindus and other people of good will expressed their sympathy and support.

We urge Christians around the world to protest to the government of India. We believe that India will be eager to protect its image as a secular and democratic nation in the international community of nations by promptly taking those steps that promote religious freedom and harmony.

At the time of writing this article (28 August) the situation remains highly volatile so much so the government extended the curfew to nine towns. Security forces are also expected to arrive in the area from the Union capital.”

John Allen offers his take on the India situation in his weekly column:


Violence against Orissa Christians
is a wake-up call
All Things Catholic

August 29, 2008



Islamic radicalism is causing great consternation these days, and rightly so. Christopher Hitchens has said it represents "an intricate cultural and political challenge that will absorb all of our energies for the rest of our lives," and while other assertions from Hitchens may be open to debate, it's tough to take issue here.

One risk, however, is that the scramble to do something about Islam may obscure other important inter-religious challenges. Dramatic events in India this week illustrate just such a conundrum, one that deserves more attention than it seems to be getting: The worrying rise of Hindu extremism.

Last Saturday, a Hindu nationalist leader named Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was killed in Orissa, a state on India's east coast that has witnessed several bouts of Hindu-Christian conflict in recent years. (Christians represent roughly two percent of the state's population of 37 million.)

Responsibility for the attack, which left five people dead, was claimed by Maoist guerillas, but Saraswati's followers put the blame on Christians. That reaction may have been inevitable, given his history; Saraswati was known for conducting mass "reconversion" ceremonies to bring Christian members of rural tribes back into the Hindu fold.

Last December, Saraswati told reporters that irate Christians had attacked him at least seven times over the years in response to his proselytism-in-reverse.

What erupted in Orissa in the days since Saraswati's murder has been characterized by Asia News, a Catholic news agency associated with the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions, as an anti-Christian "pogrom."

As of this writing, the unofficial death toll stands at 14, including a 21-year-old lay Catholic missionary burnt alive as she tried to rescue children from a church-run orphanage that had been torched. A priest who worked at the orphanage was also gravely injured. In another incident, a Catholic layman was killed and hacked to pieces. A young nun and social worker was raped, and the building where she worked burned to the ground.

Parishes, convents, hospitals and schools have been attacked, along with facilities of other Christian denominations, and families have been forced to take refuge in nearby forests. At least twice, nuns were forced to abandon their vehicles and flee for their lives ahead of angry mobs; one instance involved Mother Teresa's Daughters of Charity, the other the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

According to press accounts, rioters have moved through the area chanting, "Kill Christians and destroy their institutions!" (One presumes it's a bit catchier in Oriya, the local tongue.) Some Christians have pushed back; in one village, according to a report in the national daily The Hindu, Christian and Hindu mobs confronted each another with bombs and firearms.

Reports suggest that supplies of food and water are running low. A curfew has been imposed, and on Wednesday authorities issued shoot-on-sight orders for violators in eight Orissa towns.

Today, Aug. 29, the bishops of India have asked Catholic schools to close across the country "as a protest against the atrocities on the Christian community and other innocent people." They have also designated Sunday, Sept. 7, as a day of prayer and fasting "for the promotion of communal harmony and peace in India."

Naturally, accounts of how to assign blame vary wildly. Hindu nationalists claim that foreign Christian missionaries are seducing members of indigenous tribes under the guise of social work, with the connivance of Indian politicians who want their votes.

Christian leaders assert that Hindu groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, or "National Volunteer Corps"), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, or "World Hindu Council") and the Bajrang Dal (the youth wing of the VHP) are quasi-fascist movements bent on preserving caste privilege and destroying the country's religious minorities.

It's not my intent to sift these claims and counter-claims. Instead, I want to make a simple point: What's happening in Orissa this week ought to be a wake-up call, because the fate of India will be critically important to the 21st century.

This is so for at least three reasons:

First, India is a rising global power. As of 2007, India was experiencing a nine percent annual rate of economic growth, creating a vast new middle class. It's the Microsoft of outsourcing, controlling 85 percent of market share in an industry growing 40 percent every year.

India has become self-sufficient in food, a remarkable accomplishment for a country with the world's larges, American mothers told their children to finish their vegetables because there were starving kids in India. Today they're more likely to tell their kids to finish their homework, because otherwise smart kids in India will take their spots in college.

All this is giving India new economic and political muscle, and in tandem with a population well in excess of a billion, it's inevitable that India will be one of the three or four most important poles in a new multi-polar world.

Second, India is a great Catholic success story. Catholicism in the 20th century exploded from less than two million faithful to 18 million, ahead of overall population growth, and by 2050 there could be almost 30 million Indian Catholics - more Catholics, to provide a frame of reference, than England, Australia, Ireland, and Canada combined.

It's an inspiring social as well as a spiritual triumph; some 60 to 75 percent of Indian Catholics are either from rural tribes or they're Dalits, meaning the "untouchable" caste, and both groups typically experience the faith as a liberating force from oppression and exclusion.

Under the leadership of articulate figures such as Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, the Indian Catholic church could be an important interlocutor as India becomes an increasingly influential international player.

India is also a leader in the so-called "reverse mission," offering priests to serve in other parts of the world. Since English is the language of the professional class, those priests are especially likely to end up in the United States.

Third, if things break the wrong way, the Indian subcontinent could become the new Middle East -- a perpetually destabilized region whose animosities seed conflict around the world, radicalizing an increasingly large and wealthy global Hindu diaspora.

India and Pakistan both now have nuclear weapons, and a long history of mutual suspicion. At the moment, the future direction of Pakistan looks up for grabs. Bangladesh rejected Islam as the basis of the state when the country was created in 1971, but in 1988 the constitution was modified to make Islam the official religion, and radical groups are reportedly on the uptick. Sri Lanka is still wracked by a long-running civil war. The spread of militant Hinduism in this already volatile mix is thus obviously alarming.

What would a compelling Catholic response look like?

To begin with, it's important that relations with Hinduism engage the Catholic mainstream, not just the avant-garde. At least at the level of stereotypes, Hindu-Catholic dialogue has long been dominated on the Catholic side by theologically adventurous souls -- seekers interested in blending Eastern religious practices with Catholic devotions, or exploring parallels between Krishna and Christ.

Some watchdogs of Catholic orthodoxy have fingered Indian theologians (especially, fairly or unfairly, Indian Jesuits) as among the most dangerous thinkers in the church these days for their ideas on religious pluralism and the salvific role of non-Christian religions.

Without entering into those debates, the reality is that Hindu-Catholic dialogue, if it is to move history, cannot simply mean Catholic progressives and Hindu progressives complimenting one another on their enlightenment.

Catholics who stand at the ecclesiastical center, especially at the leadership levels, must reach out to their opposite numbers in the Hindu world -- those who may have influence over Hindus tempted by the rhetoric of the extremists. One model could be the Oasis project of Cardinal Angelo Scola in Venice, and its efforts to engage "popular" Islam.

Post 9-11 and post-Regensburg, there's been significant growth in Catholic/Muslim dialogues, programs in Islamic studies at Catholic universities, and popular Catholic writing on Islam. Before long, a new generation of Catholic scholars, journalists and activists may emerge - one better versed in Islamic theology and history, with at least a working knowledge of Arabic, and thus positioned to engage Islam at a deeper level. A similar level of energy and commitment ought to be directed toward Hinduism.

It's also important that Catholic leaders avoid adding fuel to the fire, however inadvertently. When Pope John Paul II visited India in November 1999, the headline was his call for a "great harvest of faith" in Asia in the third millennium.

While Catholicism obviously cannot renounce its missionary dimension, there's probably no place on earth where a respectful witness to Christ is more easily confused with aggressive proselytism. Bold references to evangelization, especially from a foreign leader, can come across as fighting words.

After John Paul's statement, the World Hindu Council called upon Hindus to "unite to face the assault," and the Pope's words are still cited as a pretext for anti-Christian activity. This doesn't mean Catholicism in India should "go soft" on the commandment to make disciples of all the nations - recent growth of the church suggests it clearly hasn't - but local realities imply discretion about how that commandment is articulated in public, especially by outsiders.

At the grassroots, Catholics around the world can express solidarity - and not just the spiritual sort - with the Indian Catholic community. When the violence eventually ebbs in Orissa, the local church will need material help to rebuild, and one prays it will be forthcoming.

Catholics can also influence their governments to insist that India protect religious minorities. (Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bubaneshwar claims that police and military forces in Orissa have been slow to intervene for political motives; the state is governed by the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.)

American Catholics may be well positioned to make such an appeal, because India has been a rare foreign policy success for the Bush administration. The White House sees India as a partner in the war on terror and has countenanced India's entry into the nuclear club.

This would be a good time for the American government to cash in some of its political capital to insist that religious minorities receive the protection promised by the Indian constitution.

As the old maxim goes, success is a matter both of doing things right and of finding the right things to do. In the 21st century, taking India and Hinduism seriously is certainly a right thing to do; the challenge, for Catholics as for everybody else, is to do it right.

* * *

On Tuesday, the Vatican Press Office released the following statement about the events in India:

"In reference to the tragic news coming from India concerning violence against the faithful and the institutions of the Catholic church, the Holy See, while expressing solidarity with the local churches and religious congregations involved, condemns these acts that injure the dignity and liberty of persons and compromise peaceful civil co-existence. At the same time, it appeals to all parties so that, with a sense of responsibility, all oppression may be ended and a climate of dialogue and mutual respect may be restored."



POST-SCRIPT ON GEORGIA

Here's a brief update on last week's column, which floated the idea of Orthodoxy playing a peace-making role in the conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. This week Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and the other breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia, a move criticized by the United States and other nations.

Notably, the Russian Orthodox Church did not immediately assert ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the two provinces. A spokesperson for Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow said the status of the territories "must be determined in the canonical field during the course of dialogue between two churches," meaning the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox.

He also noted that Alexy had sent a congratulatory note to Georgian Patriarch Ilia II on the 45th anniversary of his elevation to the hierarchy, which was August 25.

Archbishop Feofan, the Russian Orthodox leader in North Ossetia, echoed the restrained tone.

"The actions of the churches must be a bridge for preserving the historic tradition of good relations between the peoples of Russia and Georgia," he told a Russian news agency. "The church by its nature is called to a peacemaking mission."

Though it's early in the game, these gestures suggest a desire on the part of the Russian Orthodox not to exploit the present conflict and to keep lines of communication with Georgia open. One prays it continues.

An earlier report along the same line was posted in NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT this morning (Friday).



Indian officials say
Hindu-Christian clashes
under control
by Pratap Mohanty




BHUBANESWAR, India, August 29 (AFP) - Indian authorities insisted Friday they had halted deadly clashes between Hindus and Christians in the east of the country that have exposed it to stinging criticism.

At least 10 people have died and thousands have fled their homes as a result of the violence in the coastal state of Orissa, with the Catholic church accusing police of failing to protect defenceless priests and nuns.

The Vatican and the Italian government have voiced serious concern over the violence, and on Friday Catholic schools across India shut in protest against the clashes that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh branded "a national shame."

But Orissa state's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, said the situation in Kandhamal, the district at the epicentre of the violence, was "fast returning to normal."

"Riots in the other districts have been completely controlled," he said in Bhubaneswar, capital of the state where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burnt alive in 1999 -- a crime for which a Hindu extremist was convicted.

However, Roman Catholic officials said nuns and priests still feared for their lives in Orissa.

"Priests and nuns are hiding out in the jungles because they've no protection from police," said Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesman for the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese.

Thousands of Catholic schools across the country, along with schools belonging to other Christian denominations, closed to protest against the Hindu-Christian violence that he told AFP was "the worst in years."

"As a mark of solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters, all Catholic educational institutions in the region are closed," Loniak Marbaniang, a church elder said in India's mainly Christian northeast.

Christians staged protest rallies in various parts of India. "Answer why Christians are being persecuted in Orissa?" read placards waved by demonstrators in the eastern city of Kolkata.

Hundreds of houses have been burnt to the ground and police were ordered to shoot rioters on sight after the violence erupted following the killing of a popular Hindu holy leader last weekend.

Singh late Thursday asked the Orissa chief minister "to take immediate steps to stop the violence."

The Italian government has said it will summon India's ambassador to stress the need for "decisive preventative and repressive action" to crack down on what it called "unacceptable" religious violence.

The Indian ambassador would be called into the foreign ministry in Rome on Monday, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The decision to summon the envoy came after Pope Benedict XVI "firmly condemned" the violence.


Lunchtime at one of the refugee camps.

In Orissa, a government administrator Suresh Mohapatra said the state had opened seven relief camps sheltering nearly 5,000 people.

"People are still coming to camps," he said, but added he expected the flow to end soon as "the riots have stopped."

Victims in relief camps told harrowing tales.

"The rioters destroyed my house. All of our family fled trying to save our lives. I've got a 13-year-old son and a husband who aren't here in the camp and I'm worried about their fates," said Sunama Pradhan.

Others expressed relief at escaping with their lives.

"My house was burnt, I've lost everything, I was lucky to escape unhurt," said Bulgen Degaul, 55.

Authorities say 10 people have died, but government officials speaking on condition of anonymity say the toll is at least 16.

Officials said at least 167 people had been arrested after rioters torched nearly 500 houses as well as Christian prayer halls and vehicles.

Hindu-Christian clashes erupt periodically in India where 2.3 percent of the more than 1.1 billion population are Christians.

Hardline Hindus accuse missionaries of "bribing" poor tribals and low-caste Hindus, who often face strong discrimination, to convert by offering education and health care.

A TEACHING MOMENT FOR
THE CHURCH IN AMERICA


Thanks to

By Father John Zuhsldorf
o{]:¬)
who has posted the full text of a letter sent by Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, to his parish priests, stating clearly the teaching of the Church on abortion and the sanctity of life, in specific reply to the recent misleading statements made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This is the sort of pro-active initiative that American bishops have not shown in recent years and that they should do more of. We should all be grateful to Archbishop Wuerl for seizing the 'teaching moment'. May other US bishops follow his example.

I have to reproduce the letter as images of the actual letetr because that is how Fr. Z received it, and I cannot find the letter online as yet.

This was the earlier statement released as Archbishop Wuerls' initial reaction to Pelosi's remarks about abortion:

---

On Meet the Press this past Sunday, August 24, 2008, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made statements regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church, human life and abortion that were incorrect.

Speaker Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic. She went on to say, “And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the Church have not been able to make that definition...” After Mr. Tom Brokaw, the interviewer, pointed out that the Catholic Church feels strongly that life begins at conception, she replied, “I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy.”

We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to the Catholic bishops. Given this responsibility to teach, it is important to make this correction for the record.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear: the current teaching of the Catholic Church on human life and abortion is the same teaching as it was 2,000 years ago. The Catechism reads:

“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.” (Catechism, 2270-2271)

The Catechism goes on to quote the Didache, a treatise that dates to the first century: “’You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.’”

From the beginning, the Catholic Church has respected the dignity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death.

---

In Orissa, thousands of refugees
and new victims reported
by Nirmala Carvalho



Bhubaneswar, August 30 (AsiaNews) - One week after the beginning of the violence in Orissa, thousands of people, most of them Christian, are still hiding in the forests or have found refuge in the shelter camps set up by the government.

According to the latest figures, there are at least 6,000 people in the refugee camps, and 5,000 hiding in the forests around Kandhamal, but the number of refugees could soon reach 10,000.

Today, in Bhubaneswar, a protest demonstration is planned in front of the state government headquarters in Orissa, organized by the activists of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), following the closing of Catholic schools yesterday all over India.

About 25,000 institutes closed their doors, while the students and teachers marched peacefully through the streets of the country calling for an end to the violence against Christians.

Meanwhile, the number of reported victims of the violence continues to increase: "We have received authentic information that the death toll is 100", says Dr Sajan George, national president of the GCIC, "and more butchered bodies and burnt corpes are being found".

The Christian activist is also calling for the resignation of the entire government of Orissa, which is incapable of stopping the massacres against the Christian community.

He provides an example: "In Bakingia, two families of seven Christians - Daniel Naik and Michael Naik and their families - were tortured and killed, their bodies were found with their heads pulped and smashed, they were recognised by their clothes. Bakingia is about 8 kilometers from Raikia police station".

The decision to close all of the Catholic schools yesterday and call for demonstrations - although peaceful - has raised attention, with serious new accusations being issued by the Hindu side.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the leading opposition party in India, heavily influenced by the fundamentalists, has condemned yesterday's school strike and accused the Catholics of "forcing non-Christian students to participate in the protest marches". Some institutes used "coercive means" - according to the BJP - against the "non-Christians, who were obliged to march with their classmates".

Meanwhile, raids continue outside of Orissa as well. Yesterday, in Madhya Pradesh, fanatics attacked five schools and a church, in retaliation against the closing of the buildings. The attacks took place in the districts of Gwaliar (three schools and a church) and Barwani (two schools), and only the swift intervention of the police was able to prevent serious damage to the buildings, or new victims.

Security forces have, on the other hand, blocked a peaceful demonstration of the students from the school of St. Francis, for unspecified reasons of "public safety", although they were informed about the demonstration beforehand.

The Indian bishop of Vasai, Thomas Dabre, a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, confirms instead the "total paralysis" in the activity of the schools of his diocese.

"Thousands of young people", the prelate emphasizes, "ended their march in front of the buildings of the bishop's residence. I told them to promote interreligious dialogue, and to and trust themselves completely to the protection of the Virgin Mary".

As mentioned earlier today (Sunday, 8/31) in NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT:
With the new wave of anti-Christian violence in India apparently under control in the past several days,
the Holy Father made no mention of the situation today.

However, continuing concern at the Vatican is evident in the front-page editorial in L'Osservatore Romano
today commenting on Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco's strong statements earlier in the week about the persecution
of Christians, and the publication of his full text.




Cardinal Bagnasco on the international situation:
'Between the ghosts of the past
and new persecutions'
by Marco Bellizi
Translated from
the 8/31/08 issue of



The ghosts of a past that is still too near, that of the Cold War, and the indifference of a Western world that cannot bring itself to indignation over those who are persecuted and killed in lands where religious freedom is constantly threatened; a Christianophobia that is ever more evident but ignored.

The events reported in the news these days show the contradictions of a West in the grip, on the one hand, of the reformulation of the concepts of secularity or tolerance, and which, on the other hand, is incapable of defending the same concepts beyond its own geographic confines.

The interventions that have been made in the past few days from very authoritative voices photograph this reality with clarity.

After the address of the Secretary for Relationships with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, on the perils of Christianophobia, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian bishops conference, spoke yesterday, in connection with the crisis in the Caucasus which has placed relations between East and West in serious difficulties, of "ghosts which we had hoped had been buried for ever".

The cardinal, in his homily on the feast of the Madonna of della Guardia (Genoa's patron saint), also recalled other situations - forgotten but not resolved - of local wars, conflicts and injustice present in so many parts of the world.

The media, said the cardinal, generally does not report on these events, but "the missionaries in those places live them every day, alongside the affected peoples, and with the poor who are always most exposed, who suffer and die."

Speaking about India, of "the bloody persecutions against Christians in the world", Cardinal Bagnasco observed that the world has not heard "any particular reactions of sincere denunciation, condemnation and complaint."

It is as if, he said, the West, which has been so quick on other occasions to mobilize public opinion, has a certain reticence in defending those who bring to the world the ideas of charity and brotherhood and the values promoted and nourished by both Christian faith as well as Christian culture."

The Church, Cardinal Bagnasco stressed, "has always announced that we are all equal and brothers" and 'intervenes wherever there is a need for human and social promotion"; it is "open to all and does not discriminate on any basis, much less on that of faith", while ti holds that "adherence to the Christian faith is a free act by anyone."

"For our many brothers who live in the brutality of wars ...(we must) offer both our sacrifices as well as giving up small comforts," he urged. "Let us hope that public opinion, which has always been quick to be visible and to make itself heard in similar occasions, may show itself equally and effectively this time."

In the face of accusations of proselytism against the Church, Cardinal Bagnasco noted that Christians can certainly not be called on to deny human assistance where it is needed simply to avoid inspiring sympathy and closeness among non-Christians.

Citing Tertullian who said that the blood of martyrs was the seed for other Christians, the cardinal underscored that "the Church does not fear persecution, in whatever way it is presented."

"As men of the Church," he explained, "we cannot fail to raise our voices, as the Holy Father Benedict XVI has done, to point out what is unjust, and that freedom of religion and of worship is a right for all men even in the context of social coexistence."

Religious freedom, which is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "should be part of human consciousness," the Cardinal said, "But that is not the way it is, and not all that is written on that Declaration is written in the hearts and minds of men."


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In fact, we Christians have every right to be outraged at the general indifference of the Western media and so-called opinion-makers, certainly, but even worse, of Western leaders, to killings and persecutions of Christians, when they all go into a frenzy of high-minded denunciations when the victims are Tibetan monks and Burmese Buddhists.

The Pope and the Church do not discriminate in denouncing injustice where it is committed, whoever the victims are - with the Pope usually leading the way. But no one else except Christians stands up for Christians who are persecuted. Not in Iraq, not in Iran and other Muslim countries, not in Turkey, and certainly not in India - to name the places where terrible killings have taken place in the past two years alone.

Lella on her blog pointed out one very disturbing thing. Why has, for instance, the Dalai Lama - worlwide icon of peace and goodwill and brotherly love - never said a word so far about the killing of Christians in India? (Or about other Christian killings in the past, to my knowledge!)

Sure, he is a guest in that country, which hosts him and his government in exile in Dharamsala, but that should not stop him from expressing a general condemnation of the terrible evil it is when a society allows religious extremists to persecute people of other religions!

And what do all the bleeding-heart signers and breast-thumping religious leaders who so ostentatiously expressed themselves for weeks on end about A COMMON WORD have to say about incidents like those in India?

Is it not obvious that the Western world is oh-so-prompt to give support - vocal and written, at least - to oppressed Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, but for some reason, does not seem to care a whit if the victims are Christians (fellow Christians, even!)????? Not even a token protest?????

This is the context of Mons. Mamberti's speech on Chistianophobia and Cardinal Bagnasco's homily yesterday.

Vatican to publish
document on poverty




DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania, SEPT. 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace announced the forthcoming publication by the Holy See of a document analyzing poverty in the context of globalization.

Cardinal Renato Martino revealed news of the publication during a 4-day congress on evangelization last week in Dar-Es-Salaam organized by the dicastery.

The theme of the conference was "Toward a New Evangelization of African Society in Accordance with the Social Doctrine of the Church."

During the conference Cardinal Martino officially presented the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, which was published in October 2004, to the Church in Africa.

The cardinal stated that "since the Second Vatican Council, the preferential option for the poor is one of the points that most characterizes the social doctrine of the Church," reported Vatican Radio.

"Poverty and, above all, the growing inequality between areas, continents and countries, including within the latter, constitutes the most dramatic problem facing the world today," he added.

The cardinal explained that the new document of the dicastery will attempt to offer concrete answers to the problem of poverty in keeping with the Church's social doctrine.

"The intention is to point out an evangelical approach to combat poverty, to identify - both at the national and the international level - those responsible for combating poverty, to sensitize the Church to greater and more articulated attention to and awareness of the problems of poverty and of the poor of the world," he said.

"It must not be forgotten that today extreme poverty has, above all, the face of women and children, especially in Africa," the cardinal added.

Cardinal Martino said that the dynamism of evangelization "must drive the Church to privilege the poor, to direct our strength to the poor, to consider the renewal of society from the needs of the poor."

In regard to globalization, the cardinal pointed out that "an indispensable act of charity" is the "determination that has as its end the organization and structure of society so that a neighbor does not have to live in misery."

He said this determination must be all the greater if one takes into account that poverty "is a situation facing a great number of people, including whole populations, a situation that today has acquired the proportions of a real worldwide social issue."

Leading Medjugorje priest
falls under interdict:
The canonical status of
Rev. Father Tomislav Vlašić, OFM

Carlos Antonio Palad at

shares this interesting news via documentation from the site of the diocese to which Medjugorje belongs:

---

The Bishop, 2008-08-31


The CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH with its letter prot. 144/1985-27164 of 30 May 2008, has authorized me as the local Bishop of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno to inform the diocesan community of the canonical status of Fr. Tomislav Vlašić, the founder of the association “Kraljice mira potpuno Tvoji – po Mariji k Isusu” – (Queen of Peace, Totally Yours – Through Mary to Jesus).

The letter signed by the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Angelo Amato, states the following:

---

“Within the context of the phenomenon Medjugorje, this Dicastery is studying the case of Father Tomislav VLASIC OFM, originally from that region and the founder of the association ‘Kraljice mira potpuno Tvoji – po Mariji k Isusu’.

On 25 January 2008, through a properly issued Decree, this Dicastery imposed severe cautionary and disciplinary measures on Fr. Vlasic.

The non-groundless news that reached this Congregation reveals that the religious priest in question did not respond, even partially, to the demands of ecclesiastical obedience required by the very delicate situation he finds himself in, justifying himself by citing his zealous activity in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno and surrounding territories, in initiating religious activities, buildings, etc.

Since Fr. Vlasic has fallen into a censure of interdict latae sententiae reserved to this Dicastery, I kindly ask Your Excellency, for the good of the faithful, to inform the community of the canonical status of Fr. Vlasic and at the same time to report on the situation in question…”.

---

This regards the fact that the same Congregation of the Holy See applied ecclesiastical sanctions against Rev. Father Tomislav Vlašić, through a Decree of the Congregation (prot. 144/1985) of 25 January 2008, signed by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect, and by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Secretary of the Congregation along with the “Concordat cum originali” of 30 January 2008, verified by Msgr. John Kennedy, Official of the Congregation.

The Decree was handed over to Rev. Fr. Tomislav Vlašić in the General Curia of the OFM in Rome on 16 February 2008 and the notification was co-signed by the Minister General of the Franciscan Minor Order, Father José R. Carballo, the Ordinary of Fr. Vlašić.

The Decree of the Congregation mentions that Rev. Fr. Tomislav Vlašić, a cleric of the Franciscan Minor Order – the founder of the association ‘Kraljice mira potpuno Tvoji – po Mariji k Isusu’ and who is involved in the “phenomenon Medjugorje” – has been reported to the Congregation “for the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspected mysticism, disobedience towards legitimately issued orders and charges contra sextum.”

Having studied the case, the Congregation during its special Congress decreed the following sanctions against Rev. Fr. Tomislav Vlasic:

---

“1. Mandatory residence in one of the houses of the Order in the region of Lombardy (Italy) to be determined by the Minister General of the Order and to be realized within thirty days from the time of the legitimate notification of this decree;

2. All contacts with the “Kraljice Mira…” community and with its members are prohibited;

3. Any actions involving juridical contracts and administrative organizations, whether canonical or civil, effected without the written permission ad actum of the Minister General of the Order and under his responsibility are prohibited;

4. A mandatory course of theological-spiritual formation, with a final evaluation along with a prior recognitio of this Congregation, and a solemn professio fidei;

5. The following are also prohibited: activities involving the ‘care of souls’, preaching, public appearances, while the faculty to hear confessions is also revoked up until the conclusion of the terms described in the previous number, barring an evaluation of the case.

---

An additional sanction of a latae sententiae interdict (can. 1332) reserved to the Apostolic See is adjoined in the case of the violation of the mandatory residence (n. 1) and the other prohibited acts mentioned in n. 3 and n. 5.

Fr. Vlasic is forewarned that in the case of stubbornness a juridical penal process will begin with the aim of still harsher sanctions, not excluding dismissal, having in mind the suspicion of heresy and schism, as well as scandalous acts contra sextum, aggravated by mystical motivations.

Fr. Vlasic remains under the direct jurisdiction of the Minister General of the Order of Minor Franciscans, who shall see to his vigilance through the local Superior or another Delegate.”

*****

All the priests, religious and faithful in the Dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebnje-Mrkan, as well as all those concerned “in the pertinent territories”, are hereby informed on the current canonical status of Rev. Father Tomislav Vlašić.


With the sentiments of my highest consideration,

+ Ratko Perić, Bishop
Fr. Ante Luburić, Chancellor

---

An English newspaper puts the whole story in context, although 'Pope launches crackdown' is usual headline-speak which is usually overblown.


Pope finally launches crackdown
on world's largest illicit Catholic shrine
and suspends 'dubious' priest
By Simon Caldwell

03 September 2008



The Pope has begun a crackdown on the world’s largest illicit Catholic shrine – by suspending the priest at the centre of claims that the Virgin Mary has appeared more than 40,000 times.

Benedict XVI has authorised ‘severe cautionary and disciplinary measures’ against Father Tomislav Vlasic, the former ‘spiritual director’ to six children who said Our Lady was appearing to them at Medjugorje in Bosnia.

The Franciscan priest has been suspended after he refused to cooperate into claims of scandalous sexual immorality ‘aggravated by mystical motivations’.

He has also been accused of ‘the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspected mysticism and disobedience towards legitimately issued orders’, and is suspected of heresy and schism.

Father Vlasic was a central figure in promoting the apparitions that allegedly began in 1981 and continue to this day.

In 1984 he boasted to Pope John Paul II that he was the one ‘who through divine providence guides the seers of Medjugorje’ and the visionaries even said that the Virgin had told them he was a living saint.

But the Bosnian cleric later took a back seat when it emerged that he had fathered a child with a nun called Sister Rufina, and that he refused to leave his order to marry her but instead begged her not to expose him.

Father Vlasic then moved to Parma, Italy, where he set up a mixed male and female religious community, called Queen of Peace, which was dedicated to the Medjugorje apparitions.

Medjugorje has grown to become the most visited unauthorised Catholic shrine in the world, attracting hundreds of thousands of pilgrims a year, including many from the UK and Ireland.

But the local bishops are convinced the claims are bogus and in 2006 complained directly to Pope Benedict.

This led to a Vatican investigation which turned the spotlight on the role of Father Vlasic.

The priest has now been suspended by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith after he refused to cooperate with the inquiry into his conduct, instead ‘justifying himself by citing his zealous activity’ in initiating religious communities and building churches the Medjugorje area.

The decree confirming his suspension was signed with the Pope’s approval by Cardinal William Levada, head of CDF, and Father Jose Carballo, the Minister General of the Franciscan Minor Order.

It confines Father Vlasic to a Francisan monastery in Italy and bans him from contact with the Queen of Peace community, or with his lawyers without permission from his superior.

He is banned from making public appearances, preaching and hearing confessions and he will be required to make a solemn profession of the Catholic faith.

The Vatican has warned Father Vlasic that he will be excommunicated if he violates any of the prohibitions.

The action was taken earlier this year but was made public this week by the Bishop of Mostar, Ratko Peric, at the request of the Vatican, to make local people to be aware of the priest’s status.

Father Vlasic is the second spiritual adviser to the seers to be suspended from his ministry. The other, Father Jozo Zovko, was suspended by Bishop Peric in 2004.


Strong belief: About 20,000 pilgrims at Medjugorje in 2001 celebrating the twentieth anniversary of when six children said they had seen the virgin there

It represents a massive blow to millions of Medjugorje followers worldwide who were hoping that the Vatican investigation would legitimise the shrine.

Earlier this year, Italian Bishop Andrea Gemma denounced the Medjugorje claims as the ‘work of the Demon’ and predicted that ‘soon the Vatican will intervene with something explosive to unmask once and for all who is behind this deceit’.

The phenomenon began on 25 June 1981 when six children – Mirjana Dragićević, Marija Pavlović, Vicka Ivanković, Ivan Dragićević, Ivanka Ivanković and Jakov Colo – told a priest they had seen the Virgin on a hillside near their town.

Three Church commissions failed to find evidence to support their claims and the bishops of the former Yugoslavia finally declared that ‘it cannot be affirmed that these matters concern supernatural apparitions or revelations’.

In 1985 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – now Pope Benedict – banned pilgrimages to the site, but this has been widely ignored. [NB: The ban was on Catholic priests leading pilgrimages to the site, not on pilgrimages to the site.]

Instead the seers have grown wealthy as a result of their claims – and so has their town, which has boomed as a result of the ‘Madonna gold rush’.

Some today own smart executive houses with immaculate gardens, double garages and security gates, and one has a tennis court.

They also own expensive cars and have married – one of them, Ivan Dragicevic, to an American former beauty queen.

After 100 years, two new churches
in China give hope to Catholics




Rome, Sep 4, 2008 (CNA).- After 100 years without a new church, the Catholic Community of Lu Dong in the Diocese of Tong Zhou in China celebrated the consecration of two new churches where the faithful can now attend Mass and pray daily.

According to the Fides news agency, on August 4 and 5 Bishop Jose Tong Chang Ping, together with forty priests, presided at the consecrations of the two new churches, one for each of the two towns that comprise the 3,000 strong local Catholic community.

“The celebrations included a large Eucharistic Procession, festivities and fireworks in honor of the Immaculate Conception, to whom the second church was dedicated,” Fides reported.

Since 1995, thanks to the efforts of priests and faithful and with the help of Catholics from other communities, prayer groups, formation centers, a small shrine and a home for the elderly have all been established.

The Diocese of Tong Zhou, a Italian Franciscan mission, currently has 12,000 Catholics, 26 priests, 40 religious and 3 seminarians. Another 20 seminarians are studying and serving in other communities or dioceses. The Diocese administers five clinics and two shelters.


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Here is yet another of those 'small' signs that everything is not always black or white in China for the Church; and that government dealings with the Church very much depends on local authorities. Fides is the news agency of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, and its occasional positive reports contrasts with the generally bleak reporting by AsiaNews, which the news agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missionaries. Both parent organisms are involved in missionary actitivies of the Church .

Vatican hits back at claims
Cardinal Newman
was a closet homosexual
By Simon Caldwell

Sept. 4, 2008


Well, one OR story I meant to translate (from the 9/2/08 issue) is taken care of.


The Vatican has tried to put an end to claims that the man likely to become Britain's next saint was a closet homosexual.

It recruited theologian Dr Ian Ker of Oxford University to insist there was no evidence that Cardinal John Henry Newman, who died in 1890, was gay.

Dr Ker denied claims that because the cardinal was buried with Father Ambrose St John at Rednal, Worcestershire, they had 'sexual feelings' for each another.



The Venerable Newman in his study chapel
at the Birmingham Oratory in 1889.

The Holy See is furious at the allegations made by gay activists in the UK that Cardinal Newman was a celibate gay man.

The claims were made after the Government granted a licence for him to be exhumed.

Pope Benedict XVI is said to be preparing to declare Newman ‘blessed’ – one step away from sainthood – in December and wants his remains transferred to a marble sarcophagus in the Birmingham Oratory Church where they can be better venerated by pilgrims.

But gay rights activists, led by Peter Tatchell of Outrage, say the exhumation was a sign of Catholic ‘homophobia’ and would be an ‘act of grave-robbing, sacrilege and desecration’.

He said the exhumation was ‘contrary to Newman's own repeatedly expressed wishes to remain buried in the same grave as the man he loved’.

As rumours of Newman’s alleged sexual orientation swept the world, Archbishop Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood, asked an expert on Newman’s life to respond.

He personally commissioned Dr Ker, a theologian at Oxford University and the world’s leading Newman scholar, to refute the allegations in an article for the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

Father Ker, the author of the definitive biography of Newman, said there was no evidence to suggest that the cardinal was gay other than the deep grief at the death of his closest friend and the request to be buried in the same grave as him.

‘If wanting to be buried in the same grave as someone else indicates some kind of sexual feelings for the other person, then C. S. Lewis’s brother Warnie, who is buried in the same grave in accordance with both brothers’ wishes, must have had incestuous feelings for his brother which were mutual,’ wrote Father Ker.

‘Or again, G. K. Chesterton’s devoted secretary, Dorothy Collins, whom he and his wife regarded as a daughter, while thinking it presumptuous to ask to be buried in the same grave as the Chestertons, nevertheless directed that she be cremated and that her ashes should be buried in the same grave.

‘Does this mean that she had more than filial feelings for one or both of her employers?’

He said that Newman, in his writings, said that he felt called to virginity and celibacy at an early age.

But the cardinal also said he admitted sometimes missing the emotional intimacy of marriage.

‘Needless to say, there were no “civil partnerships” between men then in what was still a Christian country where homosexual activity was punishable by imprisonment and was universally regarded as immoral,” wrote Father Ker.

‘Newman, of course, is talking about marriage with a woman and the sacrifice that celibacy involved.

‘The only reason it could have been a sacrifice was because like any normal man Newman wished to get married.

‘But, although not belonging to a church where celibacy was the rule or even the ideal, Newman, steeped in Scripture as he was, knew the words of our Lord: “There are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven”.’

Father Ker added: ‘Finally, what should be said to those who think Newman’s wishes should be honoured and that Ambrose St. John’s remains should be removed with his?

‘Throughout his life as Catholic, Newman always insisted that whatever he wrote he wrote under the correction of Holy Mother Church. That was his constant refrain.

‘If the Church decrees that he should be beatified and his remains removed to a place of veneration and pilgrimage, then Newman’s undoubted response would be that his last testament, like everything else he wrote, he wrote under correction of higher authority.

‘And if that higher authority decrees that his body be removed and that of his friend left, then Newman would say without hesitation, “so be it”.’

Cardinal Newman’s cause took a step forward in April when Vatican medical consultants ruled that an inexplicable healing in August 2001 of a man with a crippling spinal condition was a result of his intercession.

The cause is now being studied by a committee of theological consultors. If they decide that the healing was a miracle it will mean that Cardinal Newman can be beatified and declared 'blessed'.

A second miracle is needed for his cause to progress to canonisation.

DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING
FOR CHRISTIANS IN INDIA



VATICAN CITY, 5 SEP 2008 (VIS) - The presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), taking up the appeal launched by Benedict XVI, has today (the liturgical memory of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) called all Italian dioceses to observe a day of prayer and fasting for Christians in India.

This initiative, which may also be celebrated on a different day established by the diocesan bishop, is "a sign of spiritual closeness and solidarity with our brothers and sisters of India, so sorely tried in the faith", says a CEI communique.

On 27 August, the Pope called for an immediate end to acts of violence against Christian communities in the Indian state of Orissa, which began following the murder of the Hindu leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati.

Benedict XVI invited "religious leaders and civil authorities to work together to restore among the members of the various communities the peaceful coexistence and harmony which have always been the distinguishing mark of Indian society".

For his part, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil C.SS.R., major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, called all the dioceses of his country to observe a day of prayer and fasting on Sunday 7 September, so as to express "solidarity with all the victims and prayer for all our missionaries in India, who are facing most trying and difficult times for the sake of the Gospel".


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Shame on the world
for Christianophobia
By Bernardo Cervellera, Editor

September 04, 2008


Mahatma Gandhi’s India, a land of tolerance and democracy, has been shamed. “It is a disgrace for our country,” said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a view seconded by Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai. Both agree that what is happening to Christians in the state of Orissa since 23 August is a pogrom.

The toll so far is a heavy one and bound to rise.

Tens of people have died (some estimates put the number at around 100). At least 52 churches (both Catholic and Protestant) have been destroyed. Hundreds of homes have been damaged. Four convents and five hostels and youth residences have fared no better. Six Catholic volunteer and social institutes have been devastated. Last but not least hundreds of cars have been set on fire and countless personal belongings have been lost.

Even now thousands of Christians are still in flight, running from slaughter, living in forests, terrorised, without food or clothing.

Orissa, a state located in north-eastern India, has seen such waves of persecution before. Last December on Christmas Eve, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu fundamentalist organisation, attacked and destroyed 13 churches and chapels, killed three people and wounded scores of Christians in Kadhamal district, leaving many people homeless.

One of those who drove Hindu mobs against Christians was Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a VHP leader.

The latest wave of persecution came right after the Swami met his maker at the hands of a Maoist terrorist group on the evening of 23 August.

India's government refused to allow the new leader of the nationalist party to conduct a "yatra" or pilgrimage bearing the ashes of fallen leader Swami Lakshmanananda. Court was asked to investigate persecution of Christians.

Christians already subjected to persecution and torture at the hands of Hindu nationalists are now being forced to convert and then attack their own churches.

Even though law enforcement authorities were quite clear about who was behind the Swami’s assassination, some VHP leaders immediately blamed Christians for his death.

During the guru’s funeral thousands of radical Hindus began the pogrom shouting “Kill Christians! Destroy their institutions!” Ultimately, by relentlessly attacking Christians and their institutions they can wipe out their mission.

For Tribals, who are often worked like slaves in farming, and Dalits or untouchables, Christianity is way out of their situation; a way to have their rights protected; a way to finally have some dignity as human beings. To some extent the degree of persecution is a measure of the Christian mission’s success.

But in being anti-Christian, Hindu fundamentalists are going against the Hinduism preached by the Mahatma Gandhi who wanted a secular India, open to all religions, without castes; a country that would give Dalits, or Harijian (children of God) as he called them, their dignity.

In its exclusivist nationalism the VHP is closer to Nazism for it aims at turning India into a country without Christians, Muslims, Parsees, etc, destroying India’s history, turning its back on the country where cultures and religions met and mixed.

But what is happening is not only India’s shame. It is also that of Europe and the world. Except for a few voices like that of Italian Foreign Minister Frattini, no government has dared to say anything about the massacres in Orissa, let alone calling for them to stop.

Many pacifists and associations quick to defend other groups, minorities, endangered species, have chosen silence; perhaps they might even suspect that behind the charges of proselytism levelled by Hindu radicals there might be some truth.

As some Vatican leaders pointed out, in Europe and around the world there is a kind of Cristianophobia that seeks to rid itself of its Christian heritage, perhaps even through lies.

For this reason, the news about anti-Christian persecution in Orissa, in China or the Middle East are of little interest; indeed, they might even be justified.

This makes our news service, prayers and witness all the more important, in India and in Europe.

The call by Italian bishops to a day of prayer and fasting tomorrow, 5 September, on behalf of India’s Christians and in remembrance of the Blessed Teresa of Kolkata is part of this commitment to truth and love.


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MOTHER TERESA'S FEASTDAY
MARKED IN CALCUTTA




Sister Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor as Superior of the Missionaries of Charity (right in left photo above), leads the commemoration at Mother Teresa's tomb in Calcutta.

Pope names more women than ever to Synod of Bishops on Bible

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
September 8, 2008

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Choosing men and women from every part of the world and from a wide variety of professional spheres, Pope Benedict XVI nominated 32 voting members, 41 experts and 37 observers for the upcoming world Synod of Bishops.

The nomination of six female scholars as experts and of 19 women as observers will give the Oct. 5-26 Synod of Bishops on the Bible the largest bloc of women ever participating in a Catholic synod.

The list of papal appointments to the synod was published Sept. 6 by the Vatican.

The 32 clerics Pope Benedict named as full members of the synod will join about 180 bishops who were elected by their national bishops' conferences, 10 priests elected by the Union of Superiors General and about two dozen cardinals and archbishops, heads of Vatican congregations and councils, who automatically are members of the synod.

The papal nominees include 18 cardinals, 12 of whom head dioceses. Among them are Cardinals Marc Ouellet of Quebec, George Pell of Sydney, Australia, and Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong.

The bishops the pope nominated come from Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. They include Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau.

Pope Benedict also named as full synod members: Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez, head of the personal prelature of Opus Dei; Father Adolfo Nicolas, superior general of the Jesuits; and Father Julian Carron, president of the Communion and Liberation movement.

The voting members of the synod can address the entire gathering, and they determine the propositions to be presented to the pope at the end of the gathering.

The 41 experts will serve as resource people for the synod members as they discuss the importance of the Scriptures in the life of the church, look at the Bible's role in Catholic prayer and liturgy, evaluate its role in ecumenical and interreligious relations, and discuss ways to improve biblical literacy at every level of the church.

The six women named experts are:

-- Sister Sara Butler, a professor of dogmatic theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. A member of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, Sister Butler was one of two women Pope John Paul II named to the International Theological Commission in 2004.

-- Spanish Sister Nuria Calduch-Benages, a professor of the biblical theology of the Old Testament at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

-- Bruna Costacurta, an Italian professor of Old Testament theology at the Gregorian.

-- Marguerite Lena, a professor of philosophy in Paris and director of theological formation for young adults at Paris' St. Francis Xavier Community.

-- Sister Mary Jerome Obiorah, a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and professor of sacred Scripture at the University of Nigeria and at the major seminary of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria.

-- Trappist Sister Germana Strola, a member of the monastery at Vitorchiano, Italy.

Pope Benedict also named 19 women to be among the 37 synod observers; the observers attend all synod sessions, participate in the synod working groups and are given an opportunity to address the entire synod assembly.

Like their male counterparts, most of the women observers are professors or leaders of religious orders, Bible-based Catholic lay movements or large Catholic organizations.

As of Sept. 8 the Vatican had not published the names of the "fraternal delegates," the representatives of other Christian churches and communities who attend the synods and are given an opportunity to address the assembly.

A Vatican official said about 15 fraternal delegates would attend; in addition, he said, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, Israel, would be a special guest and lead a discussion for synod members on the Jewish interpretation of the Scriptures.

Lithuania's "miracle" town: where religion meets national idenity

September 14, 2008

SILUVA, Lithuania (AFP) — Tens of thousands of pilgrims from Lithuania and beyond have descended on this tiny town to celebrate the "apparition" of the Virgin Mary 400 years ago, predating even the better-known miracles at Lourdes and Fatima.

Historically, Siluva in central Lithuania has been a focal point not only for Roman Catholics but also for Lithuanian national and cultural identity during decades of brutal Russian and Soviet domination.

The church maintains that in 1608 the Virgin Mary, holding an infant Christ, appeared above a rock to shepherds in a field near the town.

"There was a time when my beloved Son was adored by my people, but today people plow and sow," church teaching says Mary told the shepherds.

Many Lithuanian pilgrims pay homage by coming on foot. Locals say pilgrims have also traveled from neighbouring Poland and as far as the United States for the week-long celebration.

"We see traffic jams on our street, but they are full of people on foot not in cars!" local priest Father Erastas Murauskas told AFP. He expects the largest wave of faithful on Sunday for the anniversary's main ceremonies.

The Virgin's legendary apparition predates others revered in Catholicism, notably to a peasant girl in the French town of Lourdes in 1858 -- where Pope Benedict XVI will visit Sunday -- and to three shepherd children at Fatima, in Portugal, in 1917. The Church holds the Virgin also appeared at Banneux, Belgium in 1933 and in Medugorje, Croatia in 1981.

Deeply devoted to Mary, the late Polish-born pontiff John Paul II visited Siluva 15 years ago on September 7, 1993.

Christianity first came to Lithuania in 1386 when the marriage of Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas and Queen of Poland Jadwiga forged an alliance between the two countries. It was the last European country to adopt the Christian faith, nearly four centuries after its neighbours.

Previously, the Teutonic knights, a German Roman Catholic order, had tried but failed to convert Lithuanians by force.

Catholicism became an integral element in the construction of the Lithuanian state and in shaping national identity.

"The defence of faith was regarded as integral to defending Lithuanian identity, culture and and the nation," said Luidas Jovaisa, a Lithuanian academic specialising in the history of religion.

As a province of Tsarist Russia during the 19th century, Lithuania faced a policy of Russification. The Latin alphabet was banned and Roman Catholic churches were either closed or turned into Russian Orthodox churches.

"At this time, the bishop of Samogitia, Monsignor Valancius, was the first to organise the distribution of clandestine periodicals in Lithuanian, printed in the Latin alphabet in neighbouring Germany," said Jovaisa.

"Later the nationalists used the network to distribute the first Lithuanian newspapers," he said.

It was the same scenario after Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 until it regained independence in 1990-91.

Under the Soviets, churches were transformed into warehouses or museums of atheism while practising Catholics had to hide their faith.

"On the first anniversary of my husband's death, I wanted to put candles on his grave and the cemetery director took me for questioning," said Veronika, one of the first pilgrims to visit Siluva.

"When I found myself in a place where no one knew me, I went to confession in the Church, but I always dressed myself in a way so that I would never be recognized."

"During Soviet times, the Church was the only institution that was officially recognised by the Soviets and not controlled by them," Jovaisa said. "It's only logical that it became a centre of resistance."

Lithuanians have not forgotten their struggles for freedom. Some pilgrims here carry Belarus flags to show their support for the opposition in Belarus, disputing the rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Others carry banners with messages of support for Georgia.

"We supported the Georgians in their fight for liberty because we took the same road to freedom. For us, religion was a way to feel free," said another pilgrim Robertas, who declined to give his last name.

Vatican official says
Catholic families lead by example
By Cindy Wooden



VATICAN CITY, Sept. 18 (CNS) -- Italian Cardinal Ennio Antonelli said his first priority as president of the Pontifical Council for the Family is to help faithful Catholic couples and their children proclaim by their example the church's teaching on marriage and family life.

"The first priority is to build up Christian families," said the cardinal, who was named president of the council in June.

Cardinal Antonelli said he does not think the church and its leaders speak only about problems and attacks on the family, but the media seems to pay attention only when the church expresses its concerns.

"We must care for normal families first so that they become a sign for others," he said. "Without examples, how can we persuade others?"



The cardinal met Sept. 18 with reporters, partly to introduce himself as the new council president and partly to present plans for the Jan. 14-18 theological and pastoral congress on family life and the World Meeting of Families in Mexico City.

While the council expects about 15,000 people from all over the world to participate in the Jan. 14-16 congress and anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million to join in the Jan. 17-18 celebration and Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Cardinal Antonelli said Pope Benedict XVI would not travel to Mexico City for the event.

"The pope is healthy," he said, "but he is not a young man and he was advised by his physicians not to travel to Mexico City because of the altitude," which is about 7,470 feet above sea level.


Cardinal Antonelli said he hoped to increase the council's contacts with bishops' conferences around the world, with families, experts and Catholic associations, but giving priority "to ordinary parish pastoral outreach to families."

While strengthening programs for all families, the church wants people who have remarried civilly without an annulment to know that it "welcomes them in every way possible and is close to them, supporting them in their difficulties," the cardinal said.

But the church also must recognize that the situation in which they are living "is not in full harmony" with Jesus' own teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, which is why they cannot receive Communion, he said.

"Objectively, this is the situation: Divorced and remarried people are not in harmony with the teaching of the Gospel; they are not in full communion with the church. Even if the people involved are good people, it is important not to falsify the significance of the Eucharist," he said.

"The church must be open," Cardinal Antonelli said. "Jesus went out to all," but the church also must make clear "the difference between marriage and other forms of cohabitation."

The cardinal said that in church teaching, preaching and public statements about family life, "the accent must be on the beauty of the Gospel lived in the family. That is clear. Beauty persuades by itself. But that can happen only when there are strong families."

The Pope finally gets the message: it’s good to talk

The Times Online
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
September 19, 2008

The Vatican, often somewhat aloof in the face of questions from journalists, has realised the value of communication and is now holding seminars

In more than 21 years working as a reporter for The Times, with nearly all of that time spent writing on religion, I have just once managed to get through to the Vatican press office by telephone. On that occasion, about ten years ago, I was asked to “hold” and then cut off after waiting for half an hour.

So when the opportunity came to attend a seminar in Rome titled “The Church Up Close: Covering Catholicism in the Age of Benedict XVI”, I uttered a quick Ave and leapt on a plane to Rome.

Like the monarchy in Britain, the Roman Catholic Church is a body that almost transcends the need to practise the black art of PR. Rather like Christ’s own famous seven “I ams” in the Gospels, Her Majesty and His Holiness need do little more than utter the words “I am who I am”, and the world kneels to pay its respects. Or, at least, that is how it has been for centuries. But with increasing globalisation combined with the terrifying immediacy of the written word, both institutions have had to rethink.

“We were pretty bad at communications, we were forced to learn and now we are giving courses on it,” said Jack Valero, of Opus Dei, the organisation that ran the seminar at its Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

A few years ago, before the Da Vinci Code phenomenon, a flyer about a seminar for journalists organised by Opus Dei would have been greeted with howls of derision and binned. One of the many ironies of the post-Dan Brown Catholic Church is that Opus Dei has moved into the mainstream, perhaps because the novel was too far-fetched even for the most credulous of anti-Catholic conspiracy theorists. And at least the organisation is trying to help.

Valero said: “The seminar was held for the first time two years ago at the request of some foreign correspondents in Rome who were being asked to report on the Vatican and the Catholic Church and who felt they needed more background in order to report it accurately. They felt they were missing the appropriate reference points to make sense of the news items or controversies.”

It was first held as a series of evening events over two months and repeated again the following year. The sessions were in Italian. This year, for the first time, the sessions were put together into a single week so that journalists from different countries could attend, and it was held in English. The idea now is to hold it every two years.

“The main purpose is to provide accurate background to journalists who need to report on the Catholic Church or the Pope and who are not Catholic or even perhaps religious. The University of the Holy Cross faculty of communications was set up ten years ago precisely to study corporate communications in and about the Church and its institutions. When preparing the seminar, the faculty tried to enlist the help of professors and others with different perspectives so that all the different sensibilities existing within the Catholic Church would be represented,” Valero said.

“Opus Dei is about sanctifying one’s work. If that work is in communication, then it’s important that it should be done well, truthfully, with the proper background and information. This seminar should help with this.”

There were about 40 of us from all over the world. Journalists were mainly from the Church press, but mainstream newspapers included The Guardian and The New York Times. Journalists fresh from covering the troubles in Kenya and Orissa in India were also there.

Specialists from almost every department of the Church, from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith down, attempted to give us in the space of an hour or two lectures that compressed 90 hours’ worth of the kind of knowledge imparted to seminarians at the English College. Among the best were England’s own Professor Brian Ferme, a former Oxford don who now lectures in canon law at the St Pius X Institute in Venice, Professor Elizabeth Lev, an art historian at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Francis Campbell, British Ambassador to the Holy See. Monsignor Christopher Nalty from the Congregation for the Clergy favoured us with a tour of the scavi, the Roman necropolis beneath St Peter’s. Professor Marta Bertolaso summarised the Church’s teaching on bioethics, and Father Cassian Folsom, Prior of the Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia, Perugia, went through the detail on the recent Motu Proprio and the Old Mass. That was one of the most moving of all, being addressed with such care by a monk in traditional habit in the ultra-modern setting of the Opus Dei university.

While listening and taking notes, I had at the same time to answer queries on my BlackBerry from the newsdesk in London about creationism and prepare a comment piece for the next day’s newspaper in the light of the controversial Royal Society speech by Professor Michael Reiss. Managing to please both masters, secular and the divine, without appearing rude or distracted is one of the great challenges confronting religion journalists in the modern era.

Covering the Catholic Church has been another increasingly daunting challenge. Articles in The Times now have a global audience because they appear online. Ignorance of how things are done in Rome or the US is no excuse any more. Just as the Church needs for its own sake to respond to our needs, so we have to act on the imperative to understand its needs and the culture in which it operates.

Even in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where doctrinal cases of 30 years ago and more still languish in piles of papers on desks in hidden offices, things are changing.

Just to test out the new era, I called the Vatican press office on my return to check on the growing speculation about the Pope’s forthcoming encyclical. The phone was answered immediately, and I was put straight through to a member of staff at Vatican Radio. He knew nothing about the encyclical, or if he did he wasn’t telling, but at least he was there and willing to pick up the phone.


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One can only welcome the initiative taken by the Vatican to assist journalists in reporting on the Church. I do have a few comments o make - as usual, I am irrepressible when it comes to media matters.

First, the Times headline - misleading as usual, and wrong: The Pope finally gets the message: it’s good to talk???? The Times is saying that to Benedict XVI???? The Pope of dialog, par excellence????

If the headline writer had used "Vatican' instead of 'Pope', then the headline might have been in consonance with what the news item really is about.

My second comment is: As useful as these backgrounders may be for a journalist covering the Vatican, any conscientious journalist - especially those who can't afford to travel to Rome, or do not have the opportunity to do so - can and should easily research what he writes on by himself/herself. In the age of the Internet, there is no excuse for not doing some basic - and advanced - Googling as necessary.

Failure to be able to call the Vatican and get some responsible person on the phone to answer one's questions is not the only way to get answers - unless one is hoping for a 'scoop', which is given to only a few Vatican reporters who have been there for decades and know the ropes.

For starters, how about asking the local diocese or parish if the matter regards certain things hat are known to be disseminated to the universla Church? Or tapping any of the countless religion and Catholic sourcing services online?

How to discern what it is true or false in what one finds on the Internet? Simple. Trust primary sources first - the web sites of the Vatican offices concerned. Failing that, look at the news reports about the particular topic in question, of which there is bound to be a plethora - but whatever the source, unless it is a fact of general universal knowledge, credit it so people can check it up if they care to.

And of course, Ms. Gledhill, who has a far from sterling record for accuracy - indeed, is notorious for some far-out allegations - cannot resist a jab like this:

---

Even in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where doctrinal cases of 30 years ago and more still languish in piles of papers on desks in hidden offices, things are changing.

---

How does she know this? But it's typical of her smug superciliousness that she cavalierly tosses off an allegation like that!


TERESA

The Two Sides of Pacelli:
Courageous as Pope,
too cautious as Secretary of State

Benedict XVI praises Pius XII for helping the Jews during the war.
But 'La Civiltà Cattolica' criticizes his actions as cardinal, when he reacted feebly to the racial laws.
The journal is published with the imprimatur of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

ROMA, September 23, 2008 – Receiving the representatives of the Jewish foundation Pave the Way – in Rome for a symposium on Pius XII – last Thursday, Benedict XVI expressed a very positive view of the person and work of Pope Eugenio Pacelli, and especially about what he did "to save the Jews persecuted by the Nazi and Fascist regimes."

This is the first time that Joseph Ratzinger, as Pope, has spoken out so directly about his great and controversial predecessor. He will speak about him again next October 9, at the Mass that will be celebrated on the 50th anniversary of his death.

The address by Benedict XVI made an even greater impact, in that his judgment of the actions of Pius XII coincides with the relatively positive views expressed by the Jews of the Pave the Way Foundation.

Also during these same days, a book has been released in Italy by Andrea Riccardi, a professor of Church history and the founder of the Community of St. Egidio. His book is also very positive, and documents the actions of Pope Pacelli to help the persecuted Jews. The 424-page volume, published by Laterza, is entitled L'inverno più lungo. 1943-44: Pio XII, gli ebrei e i nazisti a Roma [The longest winter. 1943-44: Pius XII, the Jews, and the Nazis in Rome].

But on the same Thursday, September 18, on which Benedict XVI expressed himself in such favorable terms about Pius XII, an article was published in the Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica that portrays Pacelli – in his role as Secretary of State under Pope Pius XI – in a less positive light.

La Civiltà Cattolica isn't just any journal. By statute, all of its articles are reviewed line by line by the Vatican Secretariat of State before they are printed. And this supervision has been even more stringent since Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone became Secretary of State.

It was therefore somewhat startling that the author of the article, the Jesuit historian Giovanni Sale, attributed to Pacelli in 1938 – the year of the promulgation of the anti-Jewish racial laws in Italy – a diplomatic prudence that is "embarrassing to defend" today.

More precisely, this is what Sale says in one passage of his reconstruction:

"It now seems embarrassing for the Catholic historian, especially after the openness of Vatican Council II in this matter, to defend this kind of viewpoint and manner of proceeding in moral or religious categories."

The article in La Civiltà Cattolica does not directly criticize secretary of state Pacelli. But it demonstrates how the caution of Vatican diplomats at the time, in reacting to the racial laws, not only exposed the Vatican to legitimate criticisms, but didn't even produce the results hoped for.

The article highlights Pius XI's desire to defend the Jews more energetically and condemn the racial laws more drastically. Pius XI, nonetheless, found himself muzzled twice over.

His most incisive words and writings never saw the light of day, both because of the censorship of the Fascist regime, which banned the Italian Catholic press from publishing the Pope's speeches against racism, and because of the caution of the Secretariat of State, which prevented L'Osservatore Romano itself – the newspaper of the Holy See – from printing any papal texts that were believed to be too imprudent.

As proof of this, Sale has gathered numerous documents from the Vatican archives and from those of La Civiltà Cattolica. For example, from an unpublished memoir by Monsignor Domenico Tardini, at the time a close collaborator of Secretary of State Pacelli, it emerges that Pius XI was extremely irritated over the fact that L'Osservatore Romano did not publish, on November 15, 1938, a strongly worded protest that he had written against the racial laws, addressed to the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, together with the reply from the king.

Instead of these two documents, there was only a listless article that said little or nothing. A few days later, the Pope also failed to have published in Osservatore a text that he had dictated seeking to revive the essence of his protest. In both cases, it was Pacelli who blocked the printing of the papal tetxs in the newspaper of the Holy See.

Sale will recount these and other actions on the part of Vatican authorities at the time in other articles scheduled for publication in La Civiltà Cattolica, for the 70th anniversary of the anti-Jewish laws of 1938.

But here are the principal passages of the article published in the latest issue of the authoritative journal, dated September 20, 2008:


The first anti-Jewish measures
and the Declaration of the Fascist Grand Council
by Giovanni Sale S.I.
Chiesa translation from




[...] It is sometimes said that the anti-Jewish legislation adopted in Italy beginning in September of 1938 was, in comparison with that in force in other totalitarian countries, more mild and perhaps more humane. This is a myth that must be debunked.

On the contrary, some of the measures enacted by the Fascist government were even more severe and persecutory than the ones in effect in Nazi Germany: for example, Germany did not have a law on the generalized expulsion of Jewish foreigners; moreover, the wholesale expulsion of Jewish students from the public schools was enacted by the government in Berlin two months after it came into effect in Italy, and it was put into effect gradually. [...]

The anti-Semitic legislation, especially regarding schools, was received by the majority of Italians, especially by the Catholics, with great regret and sometimes with anger; many letters were sent to the Vatican by private individuals or by groups and associations (including non-Jewish associations), calling upon Church authorities, and upon the pope in particular, to intervene with the Duce in defense of the "beleaguered Jews." [...]

The day after the adoption of the decree-law on the schools, September 6, 1938, Pius XI delivered a memorable address against racism and anti-Semitism: it was the first time that this had been done in such an explicit and direct manner.

Unfortunately, it was not released in Italy – in fact, on August 5, Minister Alfieri had instructed the prefects to prevent the Pope's statements against racism from being published in Catholic journals and newspapers – and this tremendously favored the racist cause and gave the impression that the Pope, for political reasons, was not taking a position on such a grave matter. Many Catholic intellectuals, including Dossetti, learned about this by reading Catholic journals from outside of Italy.

The famous address was delivered in Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope had been staying for some time, before a group of Belgian pilgrims, many of whom worked in the media. The complete text, published by "Documentation Catholique," was transcribed by a member of the group while the Pope was speaking.

The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published the text but removed the part concerning the Jews, while the "current events" section of La Civiltà Cattolica didn't even mention it.

The Pope's words are reported by the Belgian Catholic journal in a rather lively manner: "At this point, the Pope was unable to contain his emotion . . . and, weeping, he cited the passages from Paul that demonstrate our spiritual descent from Abraham [...] Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the sublime thought and the reality evoked in this text. Anti-Semitism is a hateful movement, with which we Christians should have nothing at all to do [...] It is not permissible for Christians to participate in anti-Semitism. We recognize that everyone has the right to self-defense, and can take the necessary action to safeguard his legitimate interests. But anti-Semitism is inadmissible. Spiritually, we are all Semites."

The Pope's words condemning anti-Semitism, spoken in an emotional voice, were strong and clear.

The Secretariat of State took a rather prudent approach to this matter, thinking that in this way it could obtain some sort of concrete benefit for the Jews, especially for the ones who had converted to Catholicism.

Fr. Pietro Tacchi Venturi, the Pope's emissary to Mussolini, was charged with handling the delicate matter of the Jews with the governing authorities.

A note from the Secretariat of State dated September 8, 1938, suggested that the Jesuit draw the attention of the authorities to the Jews who had converted to Catholicism and had been baptized.

"Would it not be fair," asked the writer, "that, independently of their origin, Jewish converts who have entered mixed marriages in keeping with canon law [...] should be considered Catholics, and not Jews always and no matter what, simply because their parents were Jewish?"

In other words, they were asking the Fascist government to make its criterion of discrimination not biological-racial, but religious, meaning membership in a particular religious faith, in this case Judaism.

It now appears embarrassing for the Catholic historian, especially after the openness of Vatican Council II in this matter, to defend this kind of viewpoint and manner of proceeding in moral or religious categories.

But the task of the historian is to reconstruct, as much as objectively possible, the historical narrative, seeking to understand the mentality and culture of the subject in question, without ideological bias.

According to the Catholic culture of the time, although not everyone agreed with this principle, it seemed that the Church's duty was to protect its own faithful first of all, but without neglecting the sense of justice and charity due to all human beings.

In the light of this principle, one can better understand the later interventions by Church authorities in this matter. Fr. Tacchi Venturi's efforts on behalf of the Jews did not achieve much success, in part because Mussolini was strongly determined to carry forward his racial policy, and he did not want to be second to his German ally in this.

In an audience on September 9, before the first anti-Jewish decree-laws, the Pope explicitly told the Jesuit to send Mussolini the following message: "As an Italian, the Pope is truly saddened to see an entire history of Italian good sense forgotten, in order to open the door or the window to a wave of German anti-Semitism."

Two days before this, on September 7, Fr. Tacchi Venturi had told the Duce that "because of news and information that, unfortunately, is reliable, the Holy Father is very concerned that this aspect or appearance of anti-Semitism attributed to the measures taken in Italy against the Jews could provoke the Jews and the entire world to retaliations that may not be insignificant to Italy." [...]

The fact remains that, beginning with the publication of the "Race manifesto," relations between the Italian government and the Holy See – or better, between Mussolini and Pius XI – gradually deteriorated, so much so that the Duce said in private that the Pope was a disaster for Italy and for the Church.

For its part, the international press made an exaggerated caricature out of this antagonism, to the point of speculating that the Pope might leave the Eternal City and Italy.

"Following the recent conflict of ideas," the Nuncio to Paris, V. Valeri, wrote to the Secretariat of State, "that has manifested itself between the authorities of the Italian Fascist regime and the Holy See concerning racism, certain French press outlets, which have followed the episode widely and up close, have gone to the point of forecasting nothing less than the future possibility of an exile of the papacy from Rome, and, even more frequently, the election of a non-Italian Pope."

This fact, which was also reported by the Parisian Catholic newspaper La Croix, demonstrates the seriousness of the conflict between the Fascist government and the Holy See because of the racial question and the anti-Jewish legislation universally condemned by Catholics.

But for reasons of prudence, the Holy See organized its attack against the new discriminatory legislation not by making reference to motivations of a rational character, founded on natural law – like, for example, the right of all men not to be discriminated against for reasons of race or religion, in the same way in which Pius XI had done on various occasions – but by resorting to its own legal firepower, in particular canon law and the Concordat of 1929, in order to defend first of all the rights of Jewish Catholics, without pre-judging those of the others. What was gained by following this approach?

Very little, although the Holy See hoped to obtain much more. Through the work of Fr. Tacchi Venturi, with the circular issued by the national education ministry dated October 23, 1938, baptized children of the Jewish race were permitted to attend private Catholic schools, even state-certified ones.

"As far as unbaptized Jews are concerned," a Vatican note says, "the Rev. Fr. Tacchi Venturi has revealed that, as far as he remembers, in the past Catholic schools usually did not admit Jewish or unbaptized students, for obvious religious and moral reasons. This norm seems all the more compelling now that acting differently could seem like opposition to government policy."

The Jesuit's mediation was also able to bring a few baptized Jewish teachers to teach in state-certified Catholic schools, prompting a sharp warning from the authorities. This provision had previously been granted by Minister Bottai for religious sisters of Jewish origin. The Fascist government already considered this a very special concession, in that it impinged upon the biological principle underlying the legislation.

More conflict between the Fascist government and the Holy See was created by certain statements made by R. Farinacci while he was in Nuremberg on the occasion of the national Nazi congress.

In remarks published on May 15 in the newspaper of the SS, "Das Schwarze Korps," Farinacci criticized Pius XI's frequent speeches on racism. [...] The interview was received with great displeasure at the Vatican; Pius XI was personally offended by it [...]

On September 21, 1938, the cardinal Secretary of State sent to the Italian ambassador to the Holy See a note of protest over Farinacci's disrespectful and offensive comments toward "the august person of the Holy Father."

Meanwhile, the Vatican was receiving dozens of requests from Jews affected by the government regulations, asking the Pope to do something for them. The Vatican documentation now made available shows that the Holy See did what was possible, frequently intervening through its own intermediary with the governmental authorities to meet the needs of the Jews, especially those who had been baptized.

It should be remembered, in fact, that from the humanitarian point of view, baptized Jews were in dire need of papal support, because they no longer benefited from the protection of their community of membership, which had rejected them, nor from the support given by international Jewish communities.

The soul of this action on behalf of the Jews, now facing social discrimination, was Fr. Tacchi Venturi, who in spite of his limitations – above all his propensity to understand and often accept the "reasons" of the regime – exerted himself with great generosity for this cause.

After the government measures of September 5 and 7, the second step in the journey toward the introduction in Italy of legislation apparently discriminatory toward Jewish citizens was constituted by the deliberations adopted by the Fascist Grand Council of October 6-8, 1938, destined to establish the fundamental pillars of later anti-Jewish legislation. [...]

For the moment, the Holy See decided not to intervene directly: it is known, in fact, that any public intervention, in addition to exasperating Mussolini, who was now completely unsympathetic toward the elderly Pope, would certainly have harmed the cause of the Jews, and not only those who had been baptized.

So the decision was made to wait for the legislative measures that would follow the declarations of the Grand Council, in such a way as to be able to intervene practically with the government authorities for the mitigation of the anti-Jewish legislation, which was already promising to be harsh and oppressive.

We are convinced that at that moment, an intervention by the Holy See and by the Pope against the declarations of the supreme body of Fascism would have unleashed an open conflict between the regime and the Vatican, thereby playing the game of those who, like Farinacci, may have wanted a sort of reckoning between the two institutions, to show the world "who's really the boss in Italy."

We also know that at that time, Mussolini was determined to block any maneuver by the Vatican on behalf of the Jews, and to oppose the Pope's appeals forcefully: the problem of race, or better of the Jews, had to be resolved with determination, as his Nazi colleague had done in Germany, without caring about the opposition of the Christian confessions, and in particular of the Catholic Church.

For this reason, the prudence that the Holy See demonstrated at that moment was determined by the desire to save what could be saved, and in any case, not to make the anti-Jewish legislation even more strict while it was still being finalized.

It must be added to this that the dominant mentality regarding the Jewish problem in part of the Italian Catholic world at that time was marked by a certain anti-Judaism rooted in past and even recent religious and political-cultural differences: we recall that for many, it was not easy to shed this mindset and pass directly to the other side, seeing the Jew as an "elder brother" to be loved and, especially at that delicate moment, to be helped.

So the only question that was presented to the authorities at the time was that of "mixed marriages" [between Catholics and Jews], because this matter directly concerned the rights of the Church and the Concordat: in this matter, in fact, the Holy See could intervene without the fear of provoking a backlash from the public authorities.

It was noted that the disposition of the Grand Council concerning this matter introduced into the Italian legal system a new and absolute impediment to the celebration of marriage, harming one of the rights of the Church, in particular that of granting dispensations for disparity of worship, considered absolutely necessary for the salvation of souls.

So the legislators were asked not to establish an absolute and general ban on the celebration of mixed marriages, but if anything to work with Church authorities on how to keep these under control, through a special joint permit from the government and the Holy See.

In any case, it is not true, as is sometimes repeated, that the Holy See responded passively to the anti-Jewish legislation, or that it intervened only, as in the matter of mixed marriages, to protect specifically Catholic and confessional interests: instead, albeit with discretion, it sought to prepare hearts for the future battle against the new regulations issued by the regime.

A Vatican document drafted immediately after the statements from the Grand Council informs us in this regard about the "secret" directives from the Secretariat of State.

The action of the Holy See, the document says, should follow two directions: "Persuasive action toward the government. By means of suitable persons equipped with the right qualities, it would be good to try to sway influential persons in the regime – and not only the head of the government – to make them understand the sad consequences of an exaggerated racial policy that does not limit itself to measures intended to fortify the populace, but goes to the excess of racism with provisions that harm justice and the Church's rights. [...] It should also be explained that in the case of discord with the Holy See, fascism would be at the greater disadvantage."

The other direction concerns action toward the clergy. First of all, it was asked that all metropolitan archbishops should be sent special private instructions, to be communicated to the other bishops, "to see that the clergy not show any support for the magazine La Difesa della Razza [The Defense of the Race]," considered harmful and not in keeping with the Church's teaching on this matter.

In particular, all of the Italian clergy were urged "not to pass up any opportunity to emphasize, with the appropriate prudence of course, the harm and the consequences of extreme nationalism and racism. This could be done with special meetings of the clergy, without giving the impression that any action against the government is intended. [...] This seems necessary above all at the present moment, when there is no freedom of the press, and often even the few and feeble Catholic newspapers are obliged to publish certain foolish things about racism."

It was also asked that the same action be carried out in the major seminaries, being attentive however not to violate the letter of the agreement signed on August 16 by the Holy See and the Fascist government.

As has already been said, the Holy See, at that time, chose to act against the new anti-Jewish regulations by discreet means, and relying on the effectiveness of its "domestic diplomacy," a choice not shared by many, but one that in the near term seemed the only one possible, and even the most effective.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I don't know if the full article carries more examples of Cardinal Pacelli's 'lack of courage' as Secretary of State. But the only example cited was 'censoring' Pius XI's statements on anti-Semitism from L'Osservatore Romano. And apparently, Sale will have other articles citing other examples.

There's a fine line between prudence and lack of courage, and sometimes the decisive factor is judgment. So maybe, Eugenio Pacelli as Secretary of State could be faulted for both wrong judgment and lack of courage, the latter resulting from the first.

But like any human being, and like most saints, even, Eugenio Pacelli had his share of faults and made mistakes - and all of that will definitely be brought out by devil's advocates and genuine opponents during any beatification/canonization processes that may be held about him.

However, Magister's direct juxtaposition of Benedict XVI's praise of Pius XII's wartime actions in behalf of the Jews, and the appearance of the Sale article in La Civilta Cattolica, appears to imply a 'split' in the Vatican between what Benedict XVI thinks and what the Secretariat of State thinks about Pius XII.

But that implication is misleading and falsely alarmist. Obviously, it is not for Benedict XVI to make any criticism of his predecessors - it just isn't done! And the Secretariat of State's imprimatur on the Sale article does not mean it is contradicting the Pope, but simply authorizing a report on historical fact that is bound to come out in any case, whether there is a beatification process or not, and more imperatively so, if there is one.

At the same time, the subhead that says Pacelli 'reacted feebly to the racial laws' is belied by the accounts of Sale about the apparently sustained activities carried out by Pacelli's liaison man with the Fascist government!

I am only too sorry I do not have the time to translate the texts of Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco's opening speeches at the periodic Permanent Council meetings of the Italian bishops conference.

His speeches have been as memorable and substantial as those of his predecessor, Cardinal Ruini, with the same unflinching look at current social issues that concern the Church in Italy as well as round the world, and the same direct language in describing what he sees. [The Ruini-Bagnasco succession at CEI is my second favorite example, after John Paul II-Benedict XVI, that it is possible to have two great persons in a row filling an important role.]


Meanwhile, let me translate Sandro Magister's blog entry about Bagnasco's address yesterday, which got wide play in the Italian media, except that Magister picks out a part that the Italian media were not much interested in.


Bagnasco looks at India
and cites De Tocqueville
Translated from



In the 'prolusione' [opening speech] to the autumn session of the Permanent Council of the Italian bishops' conference on Monday, Sept. 22, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco dedicated a long passage to the implacable 'religious cleansing' of which Christians are victims in India today.

He followed that with describing the 'Calvary' of Christians in Iraq.

His very attention to these facts is in itself going counter-current, since they have been mostly ignored in the public discourse.

But equally interesting is how Bagnasco links these facts to the issue of religious freedom itself - not as an added value, an optional one, to a democratic state, but as the founding element of all other freedoms and 'the ultimate criterion to safeguard these freedoms".

The CEI president cited Alexis de Tocqueville, according to whom "despotism has no need for religion, but freedom and democracy do". He denounced the 'Christianophobia' which is poisoning the European countries. And he concluded by citing from Benedict XVI's address at the Elysee Palace in Paris recently.

Here is the key passage from Cardinal Bagnasco's address yesterday:

---

Every Catholic knows he belongs not only to a local Church but also to the universal Church, in the comforting truth that "in the Church, no one is a stranger" (Gal 3,28).

A peak moment, although painful, of this communitarian experience is what we have seen in connection with the wave of persecutions inflicted on India, especially to our brothers in the district of Kandhamal, in the state of Orissa, and subsequently repeated in four other Indian states.

In fact, "if one member suffers, all members suffer with him" (1 Cor 12,26). It is known that the spark that touched off the last explosion of violence in Orissa on August 23 was the pretext of blaming the Christians in the area for certain execrable bloody incidents that remain murky. This motivated starting a bloody campaign of intimidation which provoked dozens of dead victims, not to mention all the injured and the rapes that took place, of attacks against churches (including the cathedral of Jabalpur), convents, orphanages and schools, leading to tens of thousands fleeing their homes to seek refuge in the forest or in available refugee centers.

But everything, in fact, was set off - it is now clear - by the work that Christians have been doing in that region in favor of the least favored in Indian society [the caste of pariahs, or outcasts], an initiative that the powers-that-be and the upper castes consider destabilizing.

It's a scenario, one would have to say, out of the remote past, surfacing in a country that is ruled by a parliamentary democracy and which has great ambitions on the international chessboard.

We must ask how anyone could prevent their own countrymen from being aided in their indigence simply out of fear that the recipients of the assistance might develop a sympathy for their benefactors, in a relationship that is then considered to be proselytism by those who are providing the assistance.

For weeks, the acts of violence followed upon each other in defiance of existing laws, with impunity for its perpetrators, with disinformation in the national media, to the embarrassment of local politicians, and the virtual silence of the international community.

Something is apparently starting to move, but with evident disproportion compared to the gravity of the facts.

Only the voice of the Pope, first raised on Wednesday, August 27, re-echoed promptly and clearly, and for which reason the Italian bishops conference decided to declare Sept. 5, the liturgical feast of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, as a day of prayer and penitence, in solidarity with a similar initiative taken by the bishops of India.

During the same days as the violence in India, and while intolerance and marginalization of Christians were being denounced by the bishops of Pakistan, the 'Calvary' that Christianity has for some time suffered in Iraq took front stage once again when two Chaldean priests were assassinated - the latest links in a bloody chain of events during the past four years which saw the killing of the Archbishop of Mosul last March, in the context of a true and proper 'religious cleansing' which is decimating a community which counted one million faithful five years ago, now reduced to half by Christians forced to flee to other countries.

This is why we would welcome it if the political class, as well as the intellectuals and public opinion, would pay new and vigorous attention to the issue of religious freedom as the cornerstone of a civilization of human rights and as a guarantee of authentic pluralism and true democracy.

Perhaps, in the light of recent events, Alexis de Tocqueville was right in saying that "despotism has no need for religion, but freedom and democracy do" (Democracy in America, I, 9).

Freedom of religion is, in fact, not an option of kindness that states concede to their more insistent citizens, nor is it a concession which can be reduced paternalistically to the principle of tolerance.

Rather, it is the cornerstone of all freedoms and the ultimate criterion to safeguard these freedoms, in that it is written in the transcendent law of humanity and that it is indispensable in any regime or under any doctrine.

And so, we wish to join the appeal recently made by Archbishop Mamberti [Vatican 'foreign minister'] who, in pointing to the phenomenon of 'so-called Christianophobia', he raised the question, in 'a constructive spirit', of the risk that it will take hold in our own Europe, citing "the detachment of religion from reason, which relegates the first exclusively to the realm of sentiments, and the separation of religion from public life" (”Protection and the right of religious freedom", address at the Meeting of Rimini, August 29, 2008).

There is, in fact, a conceptual derivation among the practical disinterestedness of relativism, anti-religious and anti-Christian excesses, and the ethics of society. One cannot see, from this viewpoint, who would be interested in concealing such a nexus: Certainly not those who, abandoning presumptuousness and arrogance, wish to overcome the developmental stalemate in which Europe finds itself, and who intend to set down the roots of Europe in the conscience of its peoples, so that, in flowering, they may give moral legitimacy to new maps and treaties, and obtain a horizon of sense to communitarian legislation that does not artificially oppose the cultures and traditions of nations, but relate to each other in intelligent complementarity.

In his recent trip to France, Benedict XVI said: "When Europeans see and experience personally that the inalienable rights of the human person from conception to natural death – rights to free education, to family life, to work, and naturally those concerned with religion – when Europeans see that these rights, which form an inseparable unity, are promoted and respected, then they will understand fully the greatness of the enterprise that is the European Union, and will become active artisans of the same". [Address at the Elysee Palace, Paris, Sept. 12, 2008).

---

Two Christians killed in Orissa;
churches destroyed in Madya Pradesh, Kerala;
missionaries targeted
by Nirmala Carvalho



Mumbai, Sept. 22 (AsiaNews) - No end to the attacks and violence against Christians. In Orissa, where for more than three weeks a pogrom against Catholics and Protestants has been underway, two more killings have been recorded.

Iswar Digal and Purinder Pradhan were murdered and cut to pieces. Iswar Digal, was from the the village of Gatringia in the district of Kandhamal; he was stopped on September 20 by a group of Hindu extremists while he and his wife were trying to escape to a refugee camp. Their home was burned. The other victim was from Nilungia. His body was cut to pieces, put into a jute sack, and thrown into a pond.

The new wave of violence began last August 23, in the district of Kandhamal, after the killing of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, a radical Hindu leader. Hindu fundamentalist organizations accuse the Christians of killing him, although the police of Orissa suspect that the authors of the assassination were Maoist militants.

The pogrom to "kill all Christians and destroy their institutions" is motivated in part by the accusations according to which Christians are coercing tribals and Dalits to convert through force or bribery.

According to estimates from the All India Christian Council, 37 Christians have been killed in the state of Orissa alone, including 2 Protestant pastors; more than 4,000 homes belonging to Christians have been burned; and more than 50,000 faithful have been forced to flee. Of these, only 14,000 are believed to be in refugee camps provided by the government. Tens of thousands are hiding in the forest.

The primary targets of the Hindu radicals are the priests, the sisters, and their families. They are attacked, and often forced to convert to Hinduism. Even in the camps, the persecution is strong, and the police check to make sure "that there are no conversions". Priests and sisters present in the camp must conceal their identity.

A sister at the camp in Raikia (district of Kandhamal) tells AsiaNews:

"I am here as part of the medical team; if the authorities find out we are nuns, we will be sent away. I am here dressed in ethnic clothes, wearing bangles, earrings and even the ‘tikka’, in this way we are disguised. The women are in severe trauma, unfortunately, we can only talk to them about their medical problems, we cannot even counsel them, we are continuously being watched, but there is such despair and fear among the women, they have lost every material possession and sadly even hope is lost".

"This is my tenth day at the camp and even now, I cannot hold back my tears. I have never seen a sight like this before in my life. Yes, I have seen natural calamities like tsunamis, earthquakes and cyclones, but nothing as horrifying as this. The intent of the radicals to destroy humanity is so intense - brutality has no limit, the torture and devastation has stooped to levels beyond imagination".

From Orissa, the pogrom has spread to other states: Chhattisghar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala. [Numbers 5, 14, 12, and 13, on the map below, left; Orissa is #20].



Yesterday, the church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Bangalore was attack by vandals. Rocks were hurled at a statue of the Virgin Mary. The day before, on September 20, also in Bangalore, the church of St. James was ransacked. The vandals desecrated the Eucharistic species and destroyed the furniture and pews. The windows were damaged at a church in Siddapura (district of Kodagu).

In Kerala, two of the oldest churches in India were vandalized. Yesterday, a statue of Christ in the church of Protasius and Gervasius (17th century) was broken and thrown down from its pedestal. The church belongs to the faithful of the Syro-Malabar rite.

The nearby cathedral of the Jacobites, the Mar Sabore Afroth Church, was damaged: its windows were broken, and some relics of St. Paulos Mar Athanasius were destroyed. The church of the Jacobites was built in 825.

On September 20 in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), the All India Christian Council (AICC) held a meeting to condemn the violence against Christians. It was attended by more than 15,000 people from various faiths: Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, and even moderate Hindus.

Sam Paul of the AICC criticized the central government for its inability to stop the attacks, and called for a ban against all Hindu radical organizations, like Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal, and Sangh Parivar.

All of these extremist organizations take their political guidance from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some experts note that the new wave of violence began after the national meeting of the BJP in Bangalore, which was intended to design the strategy for the upcoming national elections, which will be held next March.



Another Catholic priest killed,
this time in Agra
by Nirmala Carvalho



Mumbai, Sept. 22 (AsiaNews) – Another Catholic priest has been murdered in India.

Fr Samuel Francis, better known as Swami Astheya (he who is without greed), was found dead this morning in the chapel of his ashram in the village of Chota Rampur. His hands were tied behind his back, his mouth gagged (with cloth) and injuries on his forehead.

The 50-ear-old clergyman dressed like an Indian Sanyasin (Hindu monks who lead an ascetic life) and lived in an ashram (monastery) where he taught yoga and meditation.

Chota Rampur, the village where the catholic priest found a refuge, is located 27 kilometres from Dehradun, in the Suffragan diocese of Agra archdiocese, or some 400 kilometres from New Delhi.

How and why he was murdered is not yet clear, but police will not exclude the possibility that it might have been a robbery gone badly wrong. The ashram was in fact ransacked and a woman suffering from psychological problems was also found dead in the ashram’s warehouse.

Fr Davis Varayilan, professor at Samanvayan Theological College, said he knew the slain priest and had nothing but words of praise for his generosity, good heart and intelligence.

“This is a great tragedy for the Church in India,” he said. “We used to send our seminarians for an experience to his Ashram, and in the early 1980s he was in charge of the youth in Meerut Diocese.”

His ashram had become a beacon for inter-faith dialogue and harmony among people.

“He was much loved and respected by all: Hindus, inter-faith harmony and unity, He was a holy person and his spirituality was well respected by all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, the poor and the marginalised.”

Fr Francis embodied the India’s spirit, best exemplified by the Sanyasi lifestyle which calls for no meat and a rigid vegetarian diet.

“Killing so brutally such a man who worked for the betterment of society is a crime against humanity,” said Father Davis.

Swami Astheya’s funeral will be held tomorrow morning at 11 am local time in Chota Rampur village.

Found this on The American Papist. A couple of things to note: this was at an 'international Mass' celebrated by Cardinal Walter Kasper in which Dr. Williams gave the homily. Aren't Anglican orders invalid?



By Simon Caldwell
UK MAIL ONLINE

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was today branded a ‘papal puppet’ after he became the first leader of the Church of England to accept visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes as historical fact.

He asserted that 18 visions of Our Lady allegedly experienced by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 were true.

His words shocked millions of Protestants worldwide because they not only signified a break with Protestant teaching on the Virgin Mary but also Dr. Williams’s personal acceptance of the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is explicitly linked to the apparitions.

The archbishop made his remarks during a three-day visit to the shrine in the French Pyrenees - the first ever by a leader of the Church of England.

In a homily he preached at an international Mass there, Dr Williams spoke about the apparitions without any qualifications.

‘When Mary came to Bernadette, she came at first as an anonymous figure, a beautiful lady, a mysterious “thing”, not yet identified as the Lord’s spotless mother,” Dr Williams said.

‘And Bernadette – uneducated, uninstructed in doctrine – leapt with joy, recognising that here was life, here was healing,’ he said.

‘Only bit by bit does Bernadette find the words to let the world know; only bit by bit, we might say, does she discover how to listen to the Lady and echo what she has to tell us.’

He also praised the lives of the saints, another devotion seen as distinctively Roman Catholic.

‘It may be when we encounter a person in whom we sense that the words we rather half-heartedly use about God are a living and actual reality,’ he said.

‘That’s why the lives of the saints, ancient and modern, matter so much.’

Afterwards he was severely criticised by the Protestant Truth Society, a group of Anglicans and nonconformists committed to upholding the ideals of the Protestant Reformation.

Rev. Jeremy Brooks, director of ministry for the group, said: 'All true Protestants will be appalled that the Archbishop of Canterbury has visited Lourdes, and preached there.

‘Lourdes represents everything about Roman Catholicism that the Protestant Reformation ejected, including apparitions, mariolatry and the veneration of saints.


Lourdes is a magnet for Roman Catholics who make the pilgrimage to the site from all over Europe.

‘The archbishop's simple presence there is a wholesale compromise, and his sermon which included a reference to Mary as “the Mother of God” is a complete denial of Protestant orthodoxy.’

He added: ‘At a time when our country is crying out for clear Biblical leadership, it is nothing short of tragic that our supposedly Protestant archbishop is behaving as little more than a papal puppet.’

The archbishop’s pilgrimage comes just a week after Pope Benedict XVI made his own pilgrimage to the shrine.

He was invited to the shrine by Jacques Perrier, the Catholic Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes.

Dr Williams was joined there by the German Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, who celebrated the international Mass.

He was also joined by an unprecedented pilgrimage of 10 Church of England bishops, some 60 Anglican priests and about 400 Anglican lay worshippers, a number of whom are considering becoming Catholics in protest at the decision of the General Synod in July to pave the way for the creation of women bishops.

The presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury indicates that mainstream Anglican and Catholic leaders remain committed to closer relations in spite of differences over the ordination of women and sexually-active gay men as priests and bishops.

Lourdes became the most popular shrine in Europe after Bernadette, who was later canonised, said she had seen a vision of a beautiful woman who described herself as the Immaculate Conception.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, formalised by the Catholic Church in the 19th century, holds that the Virgin Mary was conceived in a state of grace which kept her unstained from sin.

The apparition told Bernadette to dig for a spring to which many people would come for healing.

Six million pilgrims, many of them ill, disabled and dying, make pilgrimages to Lourdes each year. Eight million visitors are expected this year.