Clerical Whispers

Sacred secrets - Catholic priests, State clash over reporting of 'confessed' crimes

2009-11-23T00:19:00.000Z

The Roman Catholic Church and the State could be on a collision course over the laws regarding reporting suspected incidents of child abuse.

Under the law, everyone is mandated to report cases of child abuse, even if the information is delivered in a confessional booth.

But the rules of the Roman Catholic Church say that is a no-no.

Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor Kenneth Richards, told The Sunday Gleaner that the seal of confession supersedes the law.

He said under this seal, priests are bound to keep information they receive during a confession private, even under threat of their own death or that of others.

Roman Catholic canon considers the sacramental seal unbreakable, making it forbidden for a person who hears confessions - given in words or other means - to betray in any way a penitent. This is so even if the confessor admits to committing criminal acts involving a child or any other person.

Canon 983.1 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catechism states, "It is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason."

A priest, therefore, cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his good name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice (like reporting a crime), or to avert a public calamity.

He cannot be compelled by law to disclose a person's confession or be bound by any oath he takes, for example, as a witness in a court trial.

A priest faces excommunication if he, breaks this seal.

Monsignor Richards, therefore, admitted that if the information is revealed to him during confession, there is nothing he can do.

He, however, said he could deny the individual absolution and ask him or her to see him in another context, such as counselling. In that situation, the seal of confession no longer binds him.

"And it is then I can act," he said.

But the law is not dictated to by the Church.

Pastors, doctors, lawyers, teachers and even neighbours could go to prison or face hefty fines if they fail to report incidents of child abuse to the relevant authorities.

pastors obligated

Children's registrar, Carla Francis-Edie, reiterated that though persons associated with some professions, including pastors and doctors, are compelled to keep certain information private, they are still obligated by law to pass on information that might endanger the life or well-being of a minor.

According to Francis-Edie, the law supersedes the confidentiality agreements under which doctors and religious leaders operate.

She said under Section 16 (1) of the Child Care and Protection Act they could be imprisoned for six months, or face a fine of up to $500,000 if they fail to come forward with this information.

This appears to be less of a problem for other Christian denominations.

General Secretary for the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC), Gary Harriott, said more churches are becoming aware of what is required under the law in terms of information received during counselling sessions.

He said although the JCC does not have a policy, which speaks directly to the matter, he is aware that pastors, as well as church members and staff, are being sensitised to what the law requires and are being encouraged to follow the law.

"I know that there are situations where when that comes to the attention of clergy, the necessary action is taken in terms of reporting the matter to the authorities."

He said in certain counselling settings, a client would be informed that it is a relationship of confidentiality, but there are certain situations in which confidentiality will not be guaranteed, and child abuse is one such case.

Harriott said the Church has also tried to relay this message to members of the congregation.

"So whether you're a pastor, Sunday school teacher, whomever, even if you just suspect that the child is being abused, you have an obligation to report it," he said.

Over the years, the policies governing some professions have also been amended to make provisions for the disclosure of information of a criminal nature that may be confessed in a confidential setting.

Dr Wendel Abel, head of psychiatry at the University of the West Indies, Mona, said everything that is said to a therapist during a counselling session must be kept confidential, except if the person expresses an intent to kill someone.

He said under the Tarasoff Rule, the counsellor has a duty to report this information to the authorities.

Dr Abel said in relation to child abuse cases, the law has also been amended to give the therapist permission to disclose this information.
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SIC: JGN

U.S. bishops assert their authority

2009-11-23T00:18:00.000Z

At a time of fractious debate within the Catholic Church in the United States, the head of the national bishops group said this week that Catholic universities, media outlets and other affiliated organizations that insist on independence from the church hierarchy are "less than fully Catholic."

In an address that opened the semiannual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, implored 300 fellow bishops to "look for ways to strengthen church unity."

"Since everything and everyone in Catholic communion is truly interrelated," George said, ". . . an insistence on complete independence from the bishop renders a person or institution sectarian, less than fully Catholic."

In particular, church leaders have begun discussing ways to "strengthen our relationships" with Catholic universities, media groups that claim "the right to be a voice in the church," and other organizations that work under Catholic auspices, George said.

"The faithful need the bishops in order to be Catholic, and the bishops need the faithful in order to be Catholic pastors," said George, president of the bishops conference.

The nation's 67 million Catholics are sharply divided on a number of religious and political issues, including same-sex marriage, health care and abortion, and the church has come under criticism -- sometimes from its members -- for its uncompromising stances on those issues.

This month, a scion of a prominent Catholic family, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), has been engaged in a war of words with his bishop, Thomas Tobin of Providence, over abortion and health care. Kennedy's support of abortion rights "is unacceptable to the church and . . . absolutely diminishes your communion with the church," Tobin wrote in a public letter to Kennedy.

Kennedy has said that "the fact that I disagree with the hierarchy of the church on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic." Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Washington has threatened to cancel its multimillion-dollar social service contracts with the District if the city legalizes same-sex marriage. Some members of Congress, including Catholics, have questioned the bishops' influential role in the health-care reform legislation on the Hill.

Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said in a statement that "conservatives, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have been presenting their own views as an accurate representation of all U.S. Catholics." But surveys show a significant gap between the abortion views of bishops and a majority of lay Catholics, O'Brien said.

George defended the bishops' political involvement, which includes a successful push for an antiabortion amendment in the health-care reform bill the House passed Nov. 7.

"It is not for us, as bishops, to speak to a particular means of delivering health care," George said Monday. "It is our responsibility, however, to insist, as a moral voice concerned with human solidarity, that everyone should be cared for, and that no one should be deliberately killed."

The bishops have shown no signs of withdrawing from debate on controversial public issues. At their meeting in Baltimore this week, bishops approved a statement that strongly condemns efforts to legalize same-sex unions, reinforces the church's ban on many forms of contraception and insists that health-care workers are obligated to provide most severely brain-damaged patients with food and water.

"To limit our teaching or governing to what the state is not interested in would be to betray both the Constitution of our country and, much more importantly, the Lord himself," George said. George acknowledged that the Catholic hierarchy's moral authority has been tarnished by the clergy sex abuse scandal that has cost the church more than $2.6 billion since 1950. But, he said, "the sinfulness of churchmen cannot be allowed to discredit the truth of Catholic teaching or to destroy the relationships that create ecclesial communion."

"The proper response to a crisis of governance," George said, "is not no governance but effective governance."

Peter Isely of Milwaukee, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), accused the bishops of focusing on politics while largely ignoring lingering problems from the abuse scandal.

"The problem isn't 'no governance,' it's the same governance," Isely said in a statement. "The same secretive, rigid, all-male monarchy that caused the crisis and causes the continued coverup is still in place. Many of the same men who hid predators and evidence and crimes are still bishops today."
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SIC: TWP

Patrick Kennedy banned from Holy Communion

2009-11-23T00:17:00.000Z

A Roman Catholic bishop has banned Representative Patrick Kennedy, a scion of the Kennedy dynasty, from receiving Communion because of his support for abortion rights.

The move escalates the battle between the Catholic Church and one of the most prominent Catholic families in the United States.

Mr Kennedy, a son of the late Senator Edward Kennedy and nephew of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, revealed 2007 decision of Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island in an interview.

"The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion," he told The Providence Journal.

Church law permits Bishop Tobin to ban Mr Kennedy from receiving Communion within the Diocese of Providence but he cannot prevent him from receiving Communion elsewhere.

Mr Kennedy said the bishop had explained his decision by telling him "that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I've taken as a public official", especially on abortion.

Bishop Tobin said in a statement that he had confidentially asked Mr Kennedy in 2007 not to take Communion but had "never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese".

The bishop and the Rhode Island congressman have been engaged in dispute recently after Mr Kennedy criticised Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose a huge expansion of the American health care system unless it included tighter restrictions on publicly funded abortion.

Mr Kennedy voted against an amendment to a Democratic health care plan sought by the bishops, though he later voted for a health care plan that included that amendment.

Bishop Tobin, the spiritual leader of the most heavily Catholic state in America, demanded an apology from Mr Kennedy for his remarks.

"While I greatly respect the Catholic Church and its leaders, like many Rhode Islanders, the fact that I disagree with the hierarchy of the church on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic," Mr Kennedy told Bishop Tobin in a letter. "I embrace my faith which acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity."
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SIC: TCUK

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 book worth re-reading (Contribution)

2009-11-23T00:16:00.000Z

There is something warm and wonderful about reading a book again and again; finding new insights, remembering the wisdom of the first reading, and being touched again by the words that dwelt in your heart the first time around.

Such a book is “Pope Benedict XVI: In My Own Words,” a book that introduces readers to the theological and spiritual thought of Pope Benedict, first a theologian.

Pope Benedict describes his emerging papacy as “the third phase of my life, a portal into the pontificate,” and further, “a friendship with Christ.”

“In My Own Words” originally was compiled by Daniel T. Michaels, PhD, when Pope Benedict was elected in 2005. The book is a compilation of the pope’s teachings, writings, letters, and homilies.

It also includes pieces from his general audiences, and he quotes generously from his immediate predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

The book has words for today and every day. Particularly touching are Pope Benedict’s words to children in his World Youth Day message: “He takes nothing away and gives you everything. Where we give ourselves to Him we receive a hundredfold in return.” In an address to the ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Benedict draws directly from a Vatican II document, “Dignitatis Humanae.”

Later in the book he writes of finding the face of God. He also writes of the Western world, weary of its own culture “… when there is no longer any evidence of the need for God… It therefore naturally becomes difficult to believe, and if it is difficult to believe, it is even more difficult to offer one’s life to the Lord, to be his servant.”

When he writes of war, he writes of the torn country of his youth. He also writes of culture and the church in dialogue with the world, leaving no doubt that there is a place for the Church and her teachings in the modern world.

This would be a good year to read this book, for Pope Benedict includes a number of writings on priests and the vocation of priesthood, and this is The Year of the Priest. He also writes of seeking peace and brotherhood and promoting dialogue between cultures: “Peter’s current successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers.”

In a chapter on the Eucharist, Pope Benedict refers to the sacrament as the source of the Church’s mission; “The Eucharist makes constantly present the Risen Christ who continuous to give himself to us calling us to participate in the banquet of his Body and Blood.”

From his first message of April 20, 2005 (the Year of the Eucharist), the day after his election, and on, he admonishes us to “take better and better care of the quality of the Eucharistic celebrations.”

I am particularly fond of the last chapter, written in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He encourages all to say a resounding “Yes,” as Mary did, “welcoming Jesus and bringing him to others is the true joy of Christians.”

The book’s chapters are introduced by photographs of Pope Benedict, which are, for the most part, disappointing in their quality. Often they are dark and details are difficult to see.

But photos aside, this is a good book to read and re-read and return to as doubts assail us.

“Pope Benedict XVI: In My Own Words,” compiled and edited by Daniel T. Michaels, PhD, Ligouri Press, Ligouri, Missouri, 108 pages, hard cover, $14.95.
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SIC: IMC

Palestinian nun takes step toward sainthood

2009-11-23T00:15:00.000Z

A Palestinian nun who co-founded a charity dedicated to educating Arab girls on Sunday took an important step toward sainthood.

Thousands of worshippers gathered in the biblical town of Nazareth to attend the beatification of the late Sister Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas.

Ghattas helped found the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s.

The order, highly regarded in Palestinian communities, continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Ghattas died in Jerusalem in 1927 at the age of 83.

During Sunday's ceremony, the church unveiled a portrait of Ghattas.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the beatification in July — the final step before sainthood.

On Sunday. the pope praised Ghattas for her work helping girls overcome illiteracy.

"The beatification of such an important figure of a woman is a particular comfort for the Catholic community in the Holy Land," Benedict said during his traditional Sunday noon blessing in St. Peter's Square.
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SIC: AP

My lover is not pregnant, says priest

2009-11-23T00:14:00.000Z

The priest who quit his parish after falling in love has slammed rumours that his new partner is pregnant.

Fr Sean McKenna (51) has dismissed claims that separated mother-of-two Elaine Curran (37) is expecting his child.

Fr McKenna, who announced to his parishioners last weekend that he was leaving the priesthood because he was in a relationship, asked to be "allowed live in privacy and peace".

The couple began a relationship a year after health care centre nurse Elaine separated from her husband -- Cash 'n' Carry worker Liam.

Elaine and Liam have two children, aged 13 and seven.

Responding to the rumours, Fr McKenna said some of the coverage of his decision to step down from the Holy Family parish in Ballymagroarty in Derry had caused him and his partner great distress.

"It is for that reason that I now find it a painful necessity to state the following points regarding that relationship.

Friends

"She and I have been friends for many years. However, our relationship began a long time after the break-up of her marriage. At no time did I counsel her. She is not pregnant."

The priest insisted "it was never my intention to comment on such private, personal matters. When I announced my decision, I did so because I wanted to honestly inform the people and in fulfilment of my responsibility as a priest in a very wonderful parish."

Fr McKenna refused to comment on claims he is planning to wed Elaine after she is divorced.
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SIC: EH

Experts doubt U.N. Population Fund’s claim that population control will help fight climate change

2009-11-23T00:13:00.000Z

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) claims that climate change could become “much more extreme and conceivably catastrophic” as population growth “outpaces the Earth’s capacity to adjust.”

However, several experts say the claim is alarmist and lacks clear proof.

“We have now reached a point where humanity is approaching the brink of disaster,” UNFPA executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid told a Wednesday news conference.

The UNFPA said it had no proof of the effect that population has on climate change, explaining that the connections are “in most cases complex and indirect.”

Saying there is no doubt that people cause “climate change,” it also added that the developing world is responsible for a smaller share of global greenhouse gas emissions than industrialized nations, the Associated Press reports.

According to the AP, policy analyst Caroline Boin of the London-based International Policy Network, said the UNFPA comments were alarmist and unhelpful.

“It requires a major leap of imagination to believe that free condoms will cool down the climate,” she commented.

Two experts in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Bulletin” also have criticized linking fertility to climate change.

"Using the need to reduce climate change as a justification for curbing the fertility of individual women at best provokes controversy and at worst provides a mandate to suppress individual freedoms," wrote WHO's Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum and Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan.

In a Friday e-mail to CNA, Colin Mason, Director of Media Production for the Population Research Institute (PRI), said the claims about population growth affecting the climate were “completely unfounded.”

“I find it ironic that, on the one hand, the UNFPA admits that it has no proof of the effect that population control would have on climate change but yet it still has no doubt that ‘people cause climate change.’ Which is it? Is this science, or baseless conjecture? The evidence points toward the latter.”

According to Mason, in 1987 the UNFPA had predicted disaster if the global population reached five billion, but the population is now approaching seven billion.

“Why are we being asked to support something that even they cannot prove?” Mason said. “We believe that it is nothing more than an attempt to attach the obsolete idea of overpopulation to the currently trendy issue of climate change, which is currently the focus of international obsession.”

He said that human ingenuity and attention to justice, not “a forceful lowering of fertility,” would address humanity’s ills. He said his PRI colleague Steven Mosher has said poverty, rather than people, is the environment’s primary enemy.

“Poverty forces people to degrade their surroundings just to survive. Wealth, on the other hand, brings with it the resources to clean up and protect the environment,” Mason argued.

“Economic and population growth is not destroying the Earth, it is making it possible to restore much of it to its pristine state.”
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SIC: CNA

Antrim village regains custody of Saint’s relic

2009-11-23T00:12:00.000Z

A connection between a priceless relic of St Patrick and a parish in Northern Ireland has been restored two hundred years after the link was broken.

The artefact, reputed to be a jawbone of the saint which was brought hundreds of years ago to the village of Derriaghy in Co. Antrim from Downpatrick where tradition holds that the saint is buried, is held on display at down County Museum.

It had once belonged to a Derriaghy family, having been passed on by relatives in County Down who had given shelter to monks from Downpatrick during the Reformation.

The Cullen family was led to believe that it was a jawbone of the saint and at the time, five teeth were attached to it.

It came to be venerated locally as a cure for epilepsy and water in which the relic was soaked was given to epileptics to drink.

Three of the teeth were given for good luck to members of the Cullen family who emigrated to the United States and a fourth was deposited under the altar of St. Patrick’s Church in Derriaghy when it was erected in 1791.

However, the Cullens eventually sold the relic, which is contained in a silver vessel, to the bishop of Down and Connor, whereupon it moved from the area for safety to St Malachy’s College in Belfast and its provenance was largely forgotten.

Some years later the relic was passed to St Patrick’s parish in Belfast and last year, it was given on temporary loan to Down County Museum.

The museum has placed it on display among the museum’s exhibits about the saint in Downpatrick.

Fr Feargal McGrady of Derriaghy said he had been “looking for a sign” whether to go ahead with the renovation of St Patrick’s Church in Derriaghy when he discovered the connection the famous relic has with the village and the church. “Within days I came across the fact that this relic had survived,” he remarked.

The renovations of the church went ahead and are scheduled to be completed by early next month. Meanwhile, the stewardship of the relic has transferred back but it will remain on display in Downpatrick.

The diocese said that Down County Museum was aware of the transfer of stewardship and was “delighted that the parish priest of Derriaghy was willing to continue the arrangement.”
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SIC: CIN

Book on Mullingar Cathedral history due out next month

2009-11-23T00:11:00.000Z

A new book that documents the history of Mullingar Cathedral is due out for release next month.

The book, entitled “Beneath Cathedral Towers," tells the 70-year story of the history of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar since 1936, whose twin towers are one of the town’s major landmarks.

The book, which has gone to press in recent days, has been produced to mark the seventieth anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral.

This history, which features a number of articles and a series of photos from twentieth century Mullingar, is a collaborative effort, steered by a Mullingar parish committee including Fr. Michael Kilmartin (CC, Mullingar), Fr. Paul Connell (St. Finian's College, Mullingar), historian Ruth Illingworth, and local man Danny Dunne.

The project has also been assisted by Most Rev. Dr. Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, as well as past and present priests in Mullingar.

Speaking to this week’s Westmeath Examiner, local historian Danny Dunne said, "It's a parish initiative, and it will look at the history of the Cathedral since 1900, when Bishop Gaffney published a pastoral letter stating the need for a cathedral in Mullingar"

Then Bishop of Meath Matthew Gaffney, who was re-interred on the Cathedral grounds recently, was the initial driving force behind plans to build the Diocese's main house of worship in Mullingar.

Fundraising began almost immediately after his pastoral letter was published, and planning began in 1920.

But it was only when Bishop Thomas Mulvany was appointed to the Episcopal See in 1929, that plans were fast-tracked.

The foundation stone was laid in 1933, after a row of houses facing Mary Street, and the original Church of the Immaculate Conception (built in 1836) were demolished.

Designed by William Byrne and Sons architects, Dublin, to be basilican in form and renaissance in style, the Cathedral features trademark twin towers, and a seating capacity of 5,000.

The entire building project cost approximately £275,000. It was dedicated on September 3, 1936, and consecrated on 3 September 1939 - the same day as the outbreak of war in Europe.
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SIC: CIN

EU seeks to end discrimination exemptions for UK’s religious employers

2009-11-23T00:10:00.000Z

The European Commission has called on the UK to end exemptions to equality laws that allow religious employers to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The European Commission sent a “reasoned opinion” to the UK on Friday for “incorrectly implementing” EU rules prohibiting discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment or occupation.

The reasoned opinion states that the Government’s “exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than that permitted by the directive”.

The UK Government permits exemptions for employers who could not conscionably employ homosexuals because of their religious convictions.

The intervention means that anti-discrimination will have to be redrafted to ensure that churches and other religious bodies fall in line with all aspects of equality laws.

"Tackling all forms of discrimination – especially at work – has been a priority for this Commission and for me personally. Our legal action has led to better protection against discrimination in workplaces across the EU," said Equal Opportunities Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.

"We call on the UK Government to make the necessary changes to its anti-discrimination legislation as soon as possible so as to fully comply with the EU rules. In this context, we welcome the proposed Equality Bill and hope that it will come into force quickly.”

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the ruling was a “significant victory” for gay equality and a “serious setback” for religious employers, according to the Guardian.

Christian charity Care voiced concern over the intervention: “If evangelical churches cannot be sure that they can employ practising evangelicals with respect to sexual ethics, how will they be able to continue?”
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SIC: CT

Austrian bishops are against same-sex partnerships

2009-11-23T00:09:00.000Z

The Austrian Bishops' Conference responded to new legislation which provides for the country's recognition of same-sex partnerships, saying that the law was “neither appropriate nor necessary, because the existing provisions for civil rights already grant appropriate protections.”

According to the AFP, the new Austrian law, which will take effect January 1, 2010, provides recognition of same-sex unions in the official register, though the unions cannot have a ceremony in the registry office.

Partners are allowed to take each others names, but the couples will still be denied access to artificial insemination and adoption rights.

The new law provides rights regarding tax, inheritance, pension and alimony to the same-sex partnerships, though there are 37 other rights which are only afforded to married couples.

Chairman of the Austrian Bishop's Conference, Vienna Archbishop Christoph Schoenborn, noted in a press release that the positive aspect of the law is that it does not create parity between these “registered partnerships” and true marriages. However, he added that this new law has “unforeseeable consequences for all of society.”

Though the law is extremely limited in comparison to similar ones in other European countries, the Austrian bishops expressed concern that “the present draft provides the basis for a development that will ultimately lead to the complete equality of 'registered partnerships' with traditional marriages.”
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SIC: CN

Priest to quit over abuse claims

2009-11-23T00:08:00.000Z

A Roman Catholic priest in Northern Ireland has been asked to leave his post over child abuse claims dating back to the mid-1970's.

Police launched an investigation into the conduct of Fr Paul Symonds when he was working in England, the church authorities said.

Church authorities have refused to reveal where he was working in England.

Biography of Fr Paul SYMNODS

Fr Paul Symonds was born in England. He was ordained priest in 1976.

From 1979 to 1989 he ministered in Belgium, Holland, France and Rome. He went to the Diocese of Down and Connor in October 1989.

He was a member of the Columbanus Community of Reconciliation in Belfast from 1989 to 1992, serving during that time in the parishes of Whitehouse and Holy Family, as well as in the Maze Prison.

From 1992 to 1998 he ministered in the Parish of Drumbo in South Belfast, before being appointed spiritual director in St Malachy’s college.

He was appointed to the parish of Glenavy and Killead in August 2002 and then to the parish of Kirkinriola (Ballymena) in August 2003.

He is especially committed to reconciliation and the unity of Christians. He has enjoyed close links with the Benedictine monks of Holy Cross Monastery, Rostrevor, Co Down.
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SIC: PA

Pope John Paul 'would whip himself before he ordained priests'

2009-11-23T00:07:00.000Z

Pope John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of 'remorse for his sins,' a nun has sensationally revealed.

Pope John Paul, who died in 2005, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church - the ultimate accolade and a tribute to his holiness.

As part of the Vatican's investigation thousands of documents have been collected and examined by officials from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Among them is the testimony of Polish nun Tobiana Sobodka, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order, who worked for Pope John Paul in his private Vatican apartments and at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.

Sister Sobodka said: 'Several times he (Pope John Paul) would put himself through bodily penance.

'We would hear it - we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellated himself. He did it when he was still capable of moving on his own.'

The flagellation is also confirmed by another bishop who has given testimony Emery Kabongo, who for several years was a secretary for Pope John Paul.

He said: 'He would punish himself and in particular just before he ordained bishops and priests. Before passing on the sacraments he wanted to prepare himself.

'I never actually saw it myself but several people told me about it.'

Sister Sobodka's leaked statements were published in Italian newspaper La Stampa and are part of new book on Pope John Paul II by it's Vatican correspondent.

Self flagellation is sometimes used by devoted Catholics as it reminds them of the whipping endured by Christ at the hands of the Romans before he was crucified.

It is still common in the Philippines and Latin America, some members of strict monastic orders and some members of the lay organization Opus Dei - who feature in the Dan Brown blockbuster The Da Vinci Code.

In the film - which was condemned by the Vatican - murderous Albino monk Silas, who is a member of Opus Dei is seen in a brutal scene whipping his back and drawing blood as he prays on his knees.

Today a Vatican spokesman said: 'The investigation and documentation is still secret and as such we can make no comment on it until the final report is published.

'I know that the nun in question has returned to Poland and she would have spoken with the Congregation as she was with an order that worked in the apartments of Pope John Paul.'

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has been investigating the case for Pope John Paul since he died and has approved the late pope's 'heroic virtues' and the paperwork has been sent to his German successor.

The late Polish pope's beatification is expected to take place sometime next year, perhaps in April, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of his death or in October to coincide with his election in 1978.

Beatification is the first step in becoming a saint and in order to be granted evidence of a miracle performed by praying to the candidate in question has to be proved and verified by the Vatican.

In the case of Popes the procedure is usually much longer because the Vatican must examine much more material given the mass of responsibility and decisions taken by them as leaders of the Catholic Church.

However, Pope Benedict XVI has put John Paul II's beatification cause on a fast track, waiving a rule requiring a five-year wait before the start of the process.

Following his death in 2005 the vast crowd that gathered in St Peter's Square carried banners bearing the slogan 'Santo Subito' (Saint Immediately).

New reports of miracles attributed to John Paul II's heavenly intervention are said to arrive in Rome every week.

The key one being examined at the moment is the case of French nun Sister Marie-Simon Pierre, 47, said to have been cured from Parkinson's Disease - the same illness suffered by Pope John Paul II - after praying to him.
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SIC: DMUK

Pope: choosing Christ the King does not guarantee success, but peace and joy to martyrdom

2009-11-23T00:06:00.000Z

"Choosing Christ does not guarantee success according to the criteria of today’s world, but ensures that peace and joy that only He can give. This is shown, in every age, by the experience of many men and women who, in Christ's name, in the name of truth and justice, have been able to resist the lure of earthly powers, with their different forms, until their fidelity was sealed with martyrdom”.

This was Benedict XVI's message today on the feast of Christ the King to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered on St Peter's Square.

Introducing his reflections before the Angelus, the pope said that this is "a celebration of relatively recent introduction, but it has deep biblical and theological roots," "it begins with the expression ‘King of the Jews' arriving then to that of ‘universal King’, Lord of the cosmos and of history, so far beyond the expectation of the same Jewish people".

"But what really - explained the pope - is the regal 'power' of Jesus? It is not that of the kings and great of this world, it is the divine power to give eternal life to free us from evil, to defeat the dominion of death. It is the power of love, which knows how to derive good from evil, soften a hardened heart, bring peace to the bitterest conflict, turn the thickest darkness into hope. This kingdom of grace can not impose anything, and always respects our freedom. Christ came to 'bear witness to the truth' (Jn 18:37) - as stated before Pilate -: Whoever receives his testimony, comes under his ‘banner’, according to an image that was dear to St. Ignatius of Loyola.

"For every conscience, the Pope concluded, requires a choice: who will I follow? God or the devil? Truth or lies? Choosing Christ does not guarantee success according to the criteria of this world, but ensures that peace and joy that only He can give".

After the Marian prayer. Benedict XVI announced that the beatification of Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas was held in Nazareth today, in the presence of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Fouad Twal and Msgr. Angelo Amato, prefect for the Congregation of Saints.

Sr. Marie-Alphonsine, says the Pope, was "born in Jerusalem in 1843 into a Christian family, which included nineteen children. She discovered her vocation to religious life early on, and passionately pursued it despite initial difficulties raised by her family. To her goes the credit of founding a congregation formed only of local women, with the aim of religious education, to overcome illiteracy and raise the conditions of women of that time in the land where Jesus exalts his dignity. Central point of this new spirituality and intense devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the beacon of life wholly consecrated to God, the Holy Rosary was his constant prayer, his lifeline, his source of grace. The beatification of this most significant figure of woman is of particular comfort to the Catholic community in the Holy Land and is an invitation to trust always, with firm hope, to Divine Providence and the maternal protection of Mary. "

Before concluding with greetings in different languages, Benedict XVI recalled the pro Orantibus Day, dedicated to cloistered religious communities, celebrated yesterday, the day of memory of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple.

"I welcome the chance - added the pontiff – to extend my cordial greetings to them and renew my invitation to all to support them in their needs. I am also glad, on this occasion to publicly thank the nuns who have in turn occupied the small monastery here in the Vatican: the Poor Clares, Carmelites, Benedictines and, recently, the Visitation sisters. Your prayer, dear sisters, is most valuable to my ministry."
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SIC: AN

Archbishops’ cover-up of child sex abuse revealed

2009-11-23T00:05:00.000Z

THE four Catholic archbishops of Dublin who preceded Dr Diarmuid Martin, were aware of complaints against priests for sexually abusing children — a practice that went on for over 35 years.

But the most senior figures in the Irish hierarchy did not report these crimes to the gardai because of an obsessive culture of secrecy and a desire to preserve the power and aura of the Church and to avoid giving scandal to their congregations.

The report of the Commission set up to investigate how the Dublin Archdiocese dealt with sex abuse scandals from 1975 to 2004 will find that there was little or no concern for the welfare of the abused children or other children who might come into contact with deviant and even paedophile priests.

While the Commission will find that there was no evidence of a paedophile ring operating among priests in the Dublin Archdiocese, there were distressing connections between more than 40 priests serving in parishes and religious orders in the diocese.

Some boys who were abused by one priest were later passed on to their friends and abused again. In another case, the notorious sex abuser Fr Sean Fortune, who committed suicide, gave the key of a holiday cottage to another priest who abused a girl there.

The Commission, which has trawled through thousands of files over more than nine years, will find that the powerful bishops of Dublin were more concerned with the power and pomp of their Church than they were with the children in their care.

Some of those who complained were met with denial, arrogance and even cover-up, the shocking report will reveal. The report will say that not one of the four archbishops who presided over the Dublin diocese from the 1960s revealed their knowledge of widespread sexual abuse by the clergy to the gardai until late 1995.

The Commission will find that while Cardinal Desmond Connell was shocked at the extent of child sexual abuse among the Dublin diocesan clergy and religious orders, he was slow to recognise the seriousness of the situation, took bad counsel from legal and medical advisers and failed to realise that clerical sex abusers could not be dealt with in secret.

It also says that while he was kind and sympathetic to some of those who complained to him, he appeared not to comprehend the suffering of victims. The Commission will also report that Archbishop Connell's strategies, while legally acceptable, added to the trauma and grief of abused children.

The Commission is expected to be scathing in its criticism of the bishops, who, it says, were all highly educated men who should have known that criminal acts should have been reported to the gardai as a matter of course.

In one of its most damning findings, the Commission will say that the Archdiocese of Dublin was aware from 1987 of the seriousness of allegations against its priests and that it took out specific insurance against sexual misconduct by the clergy.

The Commission is also expected to express its deep concern that in some cases professionals, such as psychiatrists and counsellors, who were asked to deal with clerical sex abusers, were not given the full facts of the priest's history of abuse. As a result, priests were sometimes allowed back into parishes unsupervised.

Despite the trenchant criticism of the Catholic Church in Dublin since the era of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, the Commission, which was headed by High Court judge Yvonne Murphy, will thank the current Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, and his legal team, who gave unrestricted access to its files.

The report is also expected to be critical of the State and some gardai for not intervening much earlier to challenge the authority and power of the Church.

It will say that while some members of the force investigated sex-abusing clergy, others in the Garda Siochana seem to have regarded the clergy as being above the law.

The report was presented to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern but has since been modified because a number of those named in the original document are still facing prosecution.

It is believed that a copy of the report, which has since been edited for legal reasons, will be presented to the Cabinet on Tuesday and is expected to be published in full later in the week.
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Flooding in Ireland - Prayer

2009-11-23T00:04:00.000Z

"God, we ask you to protect the residents of Ireland against these floods. You're lord of the sky, and you have power and authority to direct the weather. We ask you to ease the rains, and calm the rising water. Jesus, you once stood against a raging storm and said, "Peace, be still!"

"We borrow your words and say the same. Protect the people impacted there. Give them calm judgment and wisdom to make decisions for themselves and their families. For those who've already suffered loss, we pray for peace, comfort, and courage. We pray this believing in both your power and your goodness, in Jesus name."

Prayers For The Deceased

2009-11-23T00:03:00.000Z

Our Father….

Hail Mary….

Glory Be….

Eternal light shine upon them, and may their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us (x3)

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us (x3)

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -by the Divine Power of God -cast into Hell, Satan and all the Evil Spirits,who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen

Prayer for the Increase of Priestly and Religious Vocations

2009-11-23T00:02:00.000Z

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father,

Son of the Virgin Mary,
we thank you for offering your life in sacrifice on
the Cross, and for renewing this sacrifice
in every Mass celebrated throughout the world.

In the Power of the Holy Spirit
we adore you and proclaim
your living presence in the Eucharist.

We desire to imitate the love you show us
in your death and resurrection,
by loving and serving one another.

We ask you to call many young people to religious
life, and to provide the holy and generous priests
that are so needed in you Church today.

Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.

Amen.

Prayer For Priests

2009-11-23T00:01:00.000Z

O Jesus, our great High Priest,

Hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priest, Father [N].

Give him a deep faith a bright and firm hope
and a burning love
which will ever increase
in the course of his priestly life.

In his loneliness, comfort him

In his sorrows, strengthen him

In his frustrations,

point out to him that it is through suffering
that the soul is purified,

and show him that he is needed by the Church,

he is needed by souls,

he is needed for the work of redemption.

O loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests,
take to your heart your son who is close to you

because of his priestly ordination,

and because of the power

which he has received

to carry on the work of Christ
in a world which needs him so much.

Be his comfort,
be his joy,
be his strength,

and especially help him

to live and to defend
the ideals of consecrated celibacy.

Amen.

Prayer To St Mark The Evangelist

2009-11-23T00:00:00.000Z

PRAYER
(traditional language)

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist hast given to thy Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God:
We thank thee for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

PRAYER
(contemporary language)

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God:
We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Benedict XVI meets with president of Suriname

2009-11-22T00:27:00.002Z

The Holy Father met with Dr. Ronald Venetiaan, president of Suriname.

The two heads of state discussed issues of concern in the South American country, with particular focus on the government's social policies.

According to the Vatican press office, the meeting also focused on “the defense of the environment and on fields of collaboration between Church and State."

President Venetiaan then met with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone as well as Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
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SIC: CNA

U.S. bishops gather at national shrine in Washington for jubilee Mass

2009-11-22T00:26:00.002Z

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception -- the largest Catholic church in the United States and one of the largest Catholic churches in the world -- is celebrating its 50th anniversary but it is still a work in progress, as are the people who worship there, said a West Virginia bishop who was once the shrine's rector.

"Even as it still looks to the construction of this major dome over us this evening and countless other physical projects to make this an ever more beautiful building, these stones would speak about how this church and every church in Christendom is a 'work in progress,'" said Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va.

"As faithful as we try to be and are, we are not perfect," he added, which is "why we come to this building to worship" and to be inspired by the Gospel.

Bishop Bransfield, who was the shrine's rector for 18 years, was the homilist for an anniversary Mass Nov. 19 for the U.S. bishops, who concluded their annual four-day fall general meeting in Baltimore earlier that day.

"We need to hear and ponder the age-old stories of call and response in the Bible, from Abraham and Sarah through Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna and all the rest," Bishop Bransfield said.

"We know well that we are imperfect and that Gospels like these (the Annunciation story proclaimed at the Mass) and the mysteries we celebrate are not optional extras, rather they are our life blood and life support as we seek to be converted more and more fully to the Lord that we worship and whose Gospel we hear through Scripture stories such as these because these stories are announcements to us of what really matters in life.

"If we were perfect," he added, "we would not need the Gospel, this Eucharist or this building."

Bishop Bransfield used the rhetorical device "if these stones could speak" to highlight many episodes in the shrine's history since construction of its upper church was completed in 1959.

"For some this basilica was a place of inspiration and support as they sorted out our new ways to live their Catholic faith" in the years following the Second Vatican Council, he said.

"If these stones could speak they would speak of a house of hope amidst riots in D.C. that occurred in the late 1960s because of racial prejudice and protests against the Vietnam War," Bishop Bransfield added.

"If these stones could speak they would speak of a house of welcome and of refuge since the early 1970s when Catholics and others have gathered here for the Right to Life Mass on Jan. 21, the feast of St. Agnes," he said.

"That Mass houses literally thousands here and downstairs for the Mass to strengthen them for the march the next day as an important witness for the right of life."

Bishop Bransfield added, "They would (also) speak of a house of charity and service to the poor to this day on Christmas Day when so many other D.C. agencies are closed but the doors of this basilica are wide open to welcome and feed the poor."

As a priest Bishop Bransfield began serving at the shrine in 1980 as assistant director and master of ceremonies. From 1982 to 1986 he was director of finance there. Then-Msgr. Bransfield was rector of the shrine from 1986 until he was named a bishop in December 2004.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican nuncio to the United States, read an English translation of Blessed John XXIII's message on the occasion of the shrine's dedication in 1959, noting that the shrine had been completed "after so many vicissitudes."

The idea of a shrine was first publicized in 1846, and not given new life until 1910.

It was not until 1920 that the foundation stone was laid.

Work was interrupted due to the Great Depression and World War II.

The Mass, with Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington as the principal celebrant, featured more than 50 bishop concelebrants, including Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, who was at the 1959 dedication and was the first chaplain of the Knights of Columbus council based at the shrine.

The Knights have had a long-standing relationship with the shrine.

Their contributions include a $1 million donation in 1959 for construction of the shrine's bell tower and a $1 million gift for the creation and installation of the Incarnation Dome above the south nave of the shrine's upper church completed in 2008.
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SIC: CNS

Church to hold last service on Christmas Day

2009-11-22T00:25:00.002Z

A LACK of priests will force a village church to close after more than half a century.

The Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Forest will hold its final mass on Christmas day.

The Forest Row church has relied on the help of retired priests, some of whom are in their 80s, following a shortage in recent years.

Father Steven Purnell said: "We don't have enough priests for the amount of buildings we have."

Mr Purnell has been at the church, in Hartfield Road, for around eight years, but also conducts services at the Church of Our Lady and St Peter in East Grinstead and the Church of St Bernard in Lingfield.

"I think it's sad that the community will be broken up," he added. "In a perfect world it wouldn't close, because it's a nice little community. But the reality is, I can't rely on the elderly priests to continue and I can't be in two places at once."

The church was built in the 1950s as a daughter church of East Grinstead following a rise in vocations after the second world war.

In recent years, it has had a consistent number of worshippers, with between 40 and 90 attending the weekly services.

Its most notable visitor was John F. Kennedy, who attended mass in 1963 while he stayed at Birch Grove, in Chelwood Gate, with the then Prime Minister Harold McMillan.

Following the president's death later that year, a memorial plaque was placed in the church and a mass is held in his memory each year on June 30.

The future of the church building has not yet been decided.
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SIC: TIEGCOUK

The challenges facing the Church in Malta (Contribution)

2009-11-22T00:24:00.002Z

The Catholic Church this weekend celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King.

Considering that, as has already been commented from these columns, we are living in a culture where traditional values can no longer be taken for granted, such a celebration offers the Church in Malta another opportunity to reflect deeper on the challenges facing her.

One issue that would appear to crop up is whether we are witnessing some kind of quiet "attrition" by which Catholics may be abandoning the practice of the faith by distancing themselves quietly and gradually from attendance at Mass and identification with the Church.

In other words, people falling by the wayside without consciously rejecting their faith in Christ but, for whatever reason, not drawing life from the liturgy, the sacraments and preaching.

Addressing the bishops of the United States last year, Pope Benedict XVI made, among other things, a very inspiring and challenging observation on the problem of "attrition".

"It is becoming more and more difficult, in our Western societies," said the Holy Father, "to speak in a meaningful way of 'salvation'. Yet, salvation - deliverance from the reality of evil, and the gift of new life and freedom in Christ - is at the heart of the Gospel.

"We need to discover new and engaging ways of proclaiming this message and awakening a thirst for the fulfilment which only Christ can bring. It is in the Church's liturgy, and, above all, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, that these realities are most powerfully expressed and lived in the life of believers; perhaps we still have much to do in realising the Council's vision of the liturgy as the exercise of the common priesthood and the impetus for a fruitful apostolate in the world."

Another problem in today's world is the eclipse of the sense of God that inevitably leads to a practical materialism, which breeds individualism, utilitarianism and hedonism. In fact, in modern society, the so-called "quality of life" is often interpreted primarily, if not exclusively, as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism, physical beauty and pleasure, to the neglect of the more profound dimensions - interpersonal, spiritual and religious - of existence. Indeed, the neverending quest for a better "quality of life" has become the root of all evil in humankind.

The Archdiocese's DISCERN Institute seems to have hit the nail on the head when, some years ago, it said that a "Here and Now" criterion was emerging as a process that was so diffuse in the culture that it could be considered as a sign of the times of the turn of the century in Malta.

This criterion, derived from the Western culture, continues to make its way into our culture through the globalisation process.

The "Here" represented the individualisation pull in our culture, making sense for the individual to pull things his/her way. The "Now" reflected the other experiential pull that invited people to concentrate on the present moment.

Maybe one of the great challenges facing the Church in this country is that of re-evangelising the culture through cultivating a Christian identity that is based not so much on externals as on a way of thinking and acting, grounded in the Gospel and enriched by the Church's living tradition.

This calls for new ways of thinking and acting based, first and foremost, on a well-studied and sound diagnosis of today's challenges accompanied by a unified commitment in the service of the Church's mission to the present generations, especially the young.
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SIC: TOM

Archbishop calls for overturning territory’s recognition of same-sex unions

2009-11-22T00:23:00.000Z

Calling on Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd to overturn the Australian Capital Territory Government’s new laws recognizing same-sex civil unions, Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Mark Coleridge has charged that the unions “mimic” marriage and will undermine its importance.

The ACT’s Legislative Assembly has passed laws for legally binding civil union ceremonies between same-sex couples. It is the third attempt to recognize the ceremonies, with the assembly’s previous legislation having been rejected by both the Rudd government and the Howard government, the Australian Associated Press reports.

Responding to the legislation, Archbishop Coleridge said in a Monday statement “It is vital for the life of the nation that marriage be supported and promoted in every way possible at a time when it is under severe pressure.”

He argued that civil unions would reduce marriage between a man and a woman to being merely one of a number of options. He explained that marriage is a recognition that the relationship between a man and a woman is “uniquely important” to society, in large part because it can beget children.

Saying it is wrong to deny justice to homosexuals, he added that justice concerns rights and duties.

“In this case we are not talking of the right of some to which there corresponds a duty for all. We are talking of a desire – something which some may want but to which they are not necessarily entitled.

“In this case, the kind of civil union desired by some undermines the common good, which is served only where marriage between a man and woman is identified and supported as unique and uniquely important for society.”

Archbishop Coleridge said that confusing desires and rights is bound to lead to bad law, as is the case when a government “focuses upon the individual at the expense of the community as a whole.”

The archbishop noted that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had made a “clear commitment” to prevent marriage from “being undermined in this way.”

“Until now he has shown admirable resolve in holding to that commitment,” the prelate’s letter concluded, calling for the Prime Minister and the government to act in the interests of the Australian community by overturning the ACT legislation.
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