Power of media must be harnessed for good of humanity, says Pope, not self-serving profit
Vatican City, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) -
In an address to Catholic thinkers entrenched in the
world of social communications, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the need to
harness the power of media for the good of society, urging them to
denounce that which is morally destructive and merely profit-driven.
The
address was part of a meeting today in the Vatican with participants in
the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications.
The president of that Council is Archbishop John P. Foley.
The
Holy Father began his address by praising assembly members for their
commitment "to the important apostolate of social communications, both
as a direct form of evangelization and as a contribution to the
promotion of all that is good and true for every human society."
He
referred back to his first Message for World Communications
Day--released in January--in which, he discussed "the media as a
network which facilitates communication, communion and cooperation."
That
message,the Pontiff said, recalled how "the Vatican Council II decree
'Inter Mirifica,' had already recognized the enormous power of the
media to inform the minds of individuals and to shape their thinking.”
“Forty
years later”, he said, “we realize, more than ever, the pressing need
to harness that power for the benefit of all humanity."
Quoting
St .Paul, Benedict said that "we are no longer strangers and aliens but
citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." He added
that "This sublime portrayal of a life of communion engages all aspects
of our lives as Christians and for you, in a particular way, points to
the challenge to encourage the social communications and entertainment
industries to be protagonists of truth and promoters of peace."
"Such
acommitment”, he told the group, “demands principled courage and
resolve, on the part of those who own and work within the hugely
influential media industry, to ensure that promotion of the common good
is never sacrificed to a self-serving quest for profit or an
ideological agenda with little public accountability."
Promote what is good, denounce what is false
Pope
Benedictalso referred to another theme of his message, which he said,
was "the urgent need to uphold and support marriage and family life,
the foundation of every culture and society."
In
this light he urged assembly members to recognize the importance of
presenting children with "edifying models of human life and love," that
do not" ridicule the God-given dignity of the human person and
undermine family interests."
As
he concluded his address, Benedict calling on media leaders "to promote
what is good and true, especially in regard to the meaning of human and
social existence, and to denounce what is false, especially pernicious
trends which erode the fabric of a civil society."
New monthly will provide ongoing information about beatification of John Paul II
Rome, Italy, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - The
Vicariate of Rome has announced that they will launch a new monthly
magazine that will provide ongoing information about the process for
the beatification and canonization of Pope John Paul II.
The publication,
which will be called “Totus Tuus” in honor of Karol Wojtyla’s papal
motto, aims “to become a valid instrument of unity between all those
who await the conclusion of the process and support spiritually and
materially.”
Some 25,000
requests have already been received for the first edition, which will
be distributed free of charge. Requests can be made through the
Vicariate’s website www.vicariatusurbis.org/beatificazione.
The magazine
will initially be published in Italian, Spanish, English and Polish,
and later in French, Russian and Chinese.
One of the major
features which the Vicarate of Rome announced is the inclusion of
outstanding testimonials about the holiness of life of John Paul II
within the magazine.
Mutual messages between Pope and Russian Patriarch stress reconciliation, becoming signs of peace, respect to the world
Vatican City, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - Pope
Benedict XVI has told His Holiness Alexis II, patriarch of Moscow and
all Russia, that the world today needs to hear voices indicating the
way of peace, condemning violence and upholding the dignity of
individuals and their human rights.
The Vatican
released today the text of a message sent by the Pope to the Russian
patriarch, and in turn, one from Alexis II back to the Holy Father.
They were exchanged in February.
On February
20th, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the Holy See’s vice dean of the
College of Cardinals, was in Moscow to present the Russian patriarch
with the Pope's Message along with a gold medal commemorating the
current pontificate.
In exchange,
after presiding at a solemn liturgy celebrated on February 24th in
Moscow’s Cathedral of the Holy Savior, Alexis II presented his own
message for the Pope along with a pectoral cross as a sign of his
gratitude and respect for the Holy Father.
The Liturgy was held in honor of the patriarch’s birthday and name day.
In his Message,
Pope Benedict said that he "spiritually associates" himself with the
patriarch's double celebration, and invokes "abundant blessings from
the Lord upon your person and your ministry, so generously dedicated to
the great cause of the Gospel.”
He went on to
write that "The gestures and words of renewed fraternity between
pastors of the Lord's flock show how ever more intense collaboration in
truth and charity contribute to increasing the spirit of communion,
which must guide the steps of all the baptized."
The Holy Father
stressed that the modern world "needs to hear voices indicating the way
of peace, of respect for everyone, of condemnation for all forms of
violence, of the higher dignity of all individuals and of their
intrinsic rights."
In his Message,
Partiarch Alexis II thanked Benedict for his greetings and wrote that
"In our own times, with the rapid growth of secularism, Christianity
finds itself facing important challenges that require a shared
testimony.”
"I am
convinced," he continued, "that one of today's priorities for our
Churches, which have a shared vision of the many problems currently
facing the modern world, must be the defense and affirmation in society
of the Christian values by which humanity has lived for more than a
millennium.”
“I hope”, he
wrote, “that the rapid resolution of outstanding problems between our
two Churches will also contribute to this end."
The Russian
patriarch concluded his message extending his "best wishes for good
health" to the Pope and invoked God’s assistance "in carrying out the
exalted office of primate of the Roman Catholic Church."
Analyst says Catholic democrats ‘can’t have it both ways’
Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - In
light of the recently released, and much debated “Statement of
Principles”, signed by a number of U.S. Catholic democratic party
leaders, Catholic analyst and papal biographer George Weigel is
charging that although many of the politician’s words oppose abortion,
their actions don‘t back it up.
In his most
recent column, Weigel opines that many of the Catholic democrats who
signed the February 28th statement resemble a group of politicians who,
in 1964 voiced their agreement with Catholic bishops concerning civil
rights, but then turned around and voted against the Civil Rights Act,
as soon as it reached the floor of the House of Representatives.
Some 80% of
Catholics who signed that statement supporting the position of the U.S.
Bishops--who were for the 1964 Act--then voted it down and supported
segregation.
Weigel said that
“these were politicians trying to have it both ways,” and that, they
“took neither the teaching of the Church nor the logic of justice
seriously.”
“I think”, he
then went on to say, “that's what ought to be said about the latest
attempt to finesse the abortion issue, which came in the form of a
statement signed by 55 House Democrats,” all of whom, were Catholics.
He cited the
February statement, sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), in which
signatories pledge to "promoting alternatives to abortion, such as
adoption, and improving access to children's health care and child
care, as well as policies that encourage paternal and maternal
responsibility."
The rub, he
quickly pointed out, is that thirty-three of statement’s 55, including
Rep. DeLauro, “voted to support the legality of partial-birth abortion.
Forty-one of the signatories (again including Rep. DeLauro) voted to
make abortion legal in Defense Department clinics and hospitals abroad.
Thirty-seven of the signatories (including --- you guessed it --- Rep.
DeLauro) voted against efforts to constrain the courts from compelling
hospitals and doctors to perform abortions.”
Weigel asked:
“How do any of these votes square with the signatories' statement that
they ‘agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life and
the undesirability of abortion --- we do not celebrate its practice‘?”
“This”, he chided, “is the same old same old --- ‘I'm personally opposed, but…’ --- tarted up in new vesture.”
“One cannot
speak credibly about the ‘undesirability of abortion’”, he further
pointed out, “and then vote to protect and expand the abortion license.
One cannot credibly claim to believe what the Catholic Church believes
‘about the value of human life’ and then ignore the central question
posed by Roe v. Wade: is the willful taking of innocent human life
compatible with a free and virtuous society?”
He said that
“One cannot appeal to the ‘primacy of conscience’ to defend the
unconscionable --- any more than one could make that appeal in denying
full legal and political rights to Americans of African descent.”
Addressing one
of the most volatile questions in the U.S. Church today, he said that
“It's the bishops' prerogative responsibility to decide what is to be
done, within the Church's discipline, about Catholic legislators whose
votes support the willful taking of innocent human lives.”
“That's a matter internal to the Church's life,” he wrote, “to be addressed by the Church's pastoral authorities.”
Catholics can have their corned beef and eat it too; many bishops allow meat on St. Patrick's Day
Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - While
the Catholic Church prohibits eating meat on Fridays during Lent,
bishops in about one-third of the U.S.'s 197 dioceses have issued a
one-day waiver of the rule for St. Patrick’s Day, citing the tradition
of having meals of corned beef and cabbage, reported the Washington
Post.
Among the
bishops granting the dispensation are those in Washington, Baltimore,
Arlington and Richmond. They said Catholics eating meat this St.
Patrick’s Day should offset their action by making another sacrifice
tomorrow or on another day during Lent.
Some local Catholics told the Post they still plan to avoid meat today, despite their bishop's permission to indulge.
In dioceses
where bishops did not opt for the waiver, such as in Columbus, Ohio,
Sioux City and Iowa, the Irish festivities there seemed to talk more of
fish and chips—a Lenten staple for American Catholics.
Church stands firm in opposition to immigration reform bill
El Paso, Texas, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - Catholics,
both episcopal leaders and laypeople, continue to voice their
opposition to a pending U.S. immigration reform bill, H.R. 4437, which
they view as unfair and which could penalize churches for helping
undocumented immigrants.
Earlier this
month, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles called on church leaders
and members to defy the bill if it becomes law. Catholics have also
participated in marches in several U.S. cities, demonstrating against
the bill, reported the El Paso Times.
Likewise, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has expressed its own opposition to the bill.
St. Pius X
Catholic Community in El Paso decided to voice their opposition by
hanging two large banners from the copper dome of their church. The
signs, which were put up Saturday, say: "Immigrants Welcome -- Oppose
H.R. 4437."
The bill, which
was passed by the House in December and must be still approved by the
Senate, would make it a crime to help undocumented immigrants stay in
the U.S. It would require churches and other social organizations to
ask immigrants for legal documentation before providing assistance.
Msgr. Arturo
Bañuelas, the pastor at St. Pius X, told the El Paso Times that the
bill could send him and other church workers to prison for taking
groceries to the elderly, driving people to doctor appointments,
teaching English classes and other activities the church undertakes
without questioning people on their immigration status.
Bishop Armando Ochoa is expected to hold a press conference on the proposed immigration bill March 25.
US bishops affirm support for marriage amendment
Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - The
Alliance for Marriage is bolstered by the U.S. bishops’ strong
endorsement of the group’s Marriage Protection Amendment, said the
group in a press release yesterday.
The Alliance for
Marriage introduced their marriage amendment with bi-partisan
sponsorship in two successive sessions of Congress. The Senate vote on
the amendment is pending in June.
"Most Americans
believe that gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose. But
they don't believe they have a right to redefine marriage for our
entire society," said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for
Marriage.
"AFM drafted the
Marriage Protection Amendment because Americans want our laws to send a
positive message to children about marriage, family and their future,"
he explained in a press release.
"The
constitutional problem created by almost a decade of activist lawsuits
to destroy our marriage laws demands a constitutional fix," he
continued.
The Alliance for
Marriage is a wide-reaching multicultural coalition. Its Board of
Advisors includes civil rights and religious leaders, and national
legal experts.
Issue of gay adoptions not as divisive as gay marriage
Chicago, Ill., Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - The
Vatican’s recent reiteration of its position against Catholic
organizations facilitating gay adoptions has raised more debate on the
issue in the United States. But many observers say this debate will
prove much less divisive than gay marriage, reported The Christian
Science Monitor.
Recently, the
bishops in Massachusetts announced that Catholic Charities of Boston
would stop placing children with same-sex couples. Catholic Charities
in San Francisco is currently under similar pressure.
Timothy Muldoon,
director of the nonpartisan ‘Church in the 21st Century Center’ at
Boston College, explained the Vatican position. He told The Christian
Science Monitor that the bishops and the Vatican "are concerned with
human rights, but they're also fundamentally concerned with
particularly creating a culture that supports the family.”
Currently,
Florida, Mississippi, and Utah have laws that ban gay adoption.
Nebraska, Arkansas, and Missouri have de facto policies or laws
restricting gays from adopting or becoming foster parents. Georgia,
Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee, among others, have indicated a
willingness to introduce constitutional amendments. And Arizona is
considering a bill that would force the state to give priority to
married couples, reported the Christian Science Monitor.
Child-welfare advocates, however, say these laws keep children desperately in need of stability from getting any family at all.
"While it's
still a divisive issue, it's not nearly as inflammatory as gay
marriage," Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the
People and the Press, told the Christian Science Monitor.
"With gay
marriage there's the whole question of what marriage represents, in
what's a religious ceremony for many people,” he was quoted as saying.
“With adoption we have the issue of children who are uncared for being
taken care of. There are all kinds of crosscurrents that will be there
that aren't there for gay marriage."
The Evan B.
Donaldson Adoption Institute is expected to release its research on gay
adoptive parents this month. Previous research demonstrates there are
no substantive reasons not to place children with same-sex couples, the
organization says.
Pope to hold meeting with Roman Curia to discuss reforms and SSPX schism
Vatican City, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - According
to Vatican sources, Pope Benedict XVI has scheduled an unplanned
meeting with the presidents of the different Vatican dicasteries, at
which he will discuss reforms of the Curia and relations with the Saint
Pius X, Lefebvrist schism.
The
extraordinary April 7th meeting announcement comes after an ordinary
meeting which took place last month, at which the Holy Father asked the
dicastery heads about universal approval of the Missal of St. Pius V,
the rite which was in force prior to Vatican II.
During this
unusual second meeting, the Pontiff is expected to solicit opinions
about what to do with the Missal of St. Pius V and about a possible
canonical formula for re-incorporating the followers of the schismatic
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre into the Church.
The
reorganization of the Roman Curia, which has already begun with the
folding of four dicasteries into two, announced last weekend, is also
expected to be discussed.
According to
Vatican sources, the issue of reorganization of the Curia might also be
discussed during the consistory that Pope has convened for March 23 and
24.
Argentine bishops say memory of dictatorship necessary to build a better democracy
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - The
executive committee of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina issued a
document this week entitled, “Remembering the past in order to wisely
build the present,” which points out that for the good of democracy,
the Argentine dictatorship which began on March 24, 1976, should not be
forgotten.
“The memory of a
people,” the statement says, “is nourished by innumerable events that
mark its history. Some should be celebrated, such as fruitful
events that strengthen society. Others, although they cause pain
and sadness, should not be silenced.”
“We Argentineans
look back and recall the break with our democratic system of March 24,
1976,” the message continues. “This event, which took place in
the context of great institutional fragility and was consented to by
the leadership of that time, had grave consequences which left a
negative mark on the daily life of our nation.”
The bishops ask:
“What sense does it make to remember such a painful anniversary? With
what kind of a spirit shall we recall it?”
“These events of
the past,” they note, “which speak to us of enormous attacks against
life and human dignity, and of the scorn for law and for institutions,
are an appropriate occasion for Argentineans to repent yet again of our
errors and learn from the past as we move forward in the present.”
“As Christians,
when we enter into to our past, we do so to purify it and to turn it
into a source of wisdom, reconciliation and hope,” the bishops added.
“It should be
this spirit of reconciliation that animates us in the present, leading
us away from both impunity, which weakens the value of justice, and
anger and resentment, which can divide us and lead to confrontation.”
“A fruitful look
at the past,” the statement notes, “should help us all to grow in our
dignity as children of God and to responsibly commit ourselves to the
building up of our country as brothers and sisters.”
“May our faith
in God, who is Father of all, strengthen and enlighten us on this path
that we are called to take together,” the statement concludes.
Paris Mass for life remembers Christian scientist, Jerome Lejeune.
Paris, France, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - Catholic
Officials have announced that a Mass for life will to be celebrated in
Paris next month in honor of renown Christian scientist and professor,
Jerome Lejeune.
Bishop Jean
Laffitte, who is vice-president of the Pontifical Academy for Life will
preside at the annual liturgy, held each year on the anniversary of his
April 3rd death. It is being organized by the Jerome-Lejeune
Foundation.
Professor
Lejeune has been hailed as the father of modern genetics and, according
to Jean-Marie Le Méné, Président of the Lejeune Fondation, is known as
a world-renown scientific who profoundly shaped humanity by his
personal engagement at the service of mankind.
Since his death
in 1994, he has inspired many vocations of Christian doctors and
scientific researchers. Pope John Paul II spoke of the “truly
shining testimony of his life as a man and as a Christian.”
“His example”, added Le Mene, “should still be compelling and in his following, many young people join him as servants of Life.”
In the same year
as his death, LeJeune was appointed head of the Pontifical Science
Academy, of which he had been a member since 1974.
Since 1994, the Jerome LeJeune Foundation has been dedicated to perpetuating his work in all its dimensions.
Its three main
aspects are research, healing and the defense of human life. “Trying to
heal without defending life and without research would be betraying;
researching without defending and healing would be failing,” stressed
Le Mene.
The Foundation
is a primary source of funds in the research of Downs Syndrome and
currently funds more than 100 programs on genetic diseases throughout
the world.
Cuban diocese honors Father Varela
Havana, Cuba, Mar 17, 2006 (CNA) - Earlier
this month, Bishop Jose Manuel Perez of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, unveiled a
new statute in honor of the Father Felix Varela, one of Cuba’s most
important historical figures, at the diocesan cathedral.
The statue of
the Cuban priest, which was fashioned by Manuel Perez Velez, shows a
smiling Father Varela, “with the hope of someone who trusts in God and
in the virtues of the men and women of his nation.” The star on
the shield “expresses Varela’s thinking about independence and freedom
for Cuba.”
At the foot of
the statue is the phrase, “Seek the glory of God in everything,
sanctifying all of our actions, disposed towards love of neighbor.”
The statue was unveiled on March 12th.
New book released
Vitral
Publications has also released a new philosophical work by Father
Varela, which was first published in 1812 in Latin but was later
lost. It was recently found by Dr. Amaury B. Carbon Sierra, a
professor at the University of Havana.
The book is part
of a three-volume collection, the first two of which were written in
Latin, as was the custom of the time. The third was written in Spanish.
