2015-06-17T09:04:00+00:00

St. Louis, Mo., Jun 17, 2015 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In their spring general assembly held last week, just four months before the Synod on the Family in Rome, top U.S. bishops took a united stand in support of marriage and family life as the Church has always understood it. “We need to be more effective in our communication of the meaning of marriage as one man and one woman, on married couples’ call to be open to life, and on the dignity and responsibility of the vocation of marriage,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S. bishop’s conference, told the assembly June 11. An incorrectly translated relatio document, as well as skewed media coverage and news of the “Kasper proposal” during last year’s Extraordinary Synod led to confusion among some Catholics about the purpose and practical effects of the Synod on the Family. This year, speculation and anticipation about the outcome of the synod has been rampant, causing Pope Francis himself to call for more prayer and less “gossip” about the upcoming meeting. In an interview with CNA, Archbishop Kurtz said that while he is glad that there is so much excitement leading up to the synod, he would ask Catholics to become students of the process of the synod in order to best understand what is happening.   “I tell anyone who asks: please read the materials, because the work of the synod will be based on how we ended the last synod,” he said. “If someone really wants to follow the process, they really need to become students of that.” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told EWTN News Nightly he sees many reasons to hope that the upcoming synod will be just what the Church needs in terms of better serving married couples and families. “The good news is the Holy Father has emphasized the importance of marriage and family as an extraordinarily high priority as a pastor for him and for the Church,” he said. Those who are expecting the synod to bring about radical changes in Church teaching and practice will be disappointed, Cardinal Dolan added. “(The bishops) are a little afraid that sometimes this is coming across as some type of … committee meeting to think about a change in the biblical understanding of marriage, which is impossible, and which is anything but the Holy Father’s intent,” he said. “And so it’ll be fine, it always is. Pope Francis is inspiring us and reminding us that the Holy Spirit is in charge,” he explained. “The Holy Spirit can work through confusion, discussion, even arguments, even sometimes misunderstandings, he can bring focus and clarity out, and that’s what the bishops expect from the synod. When asked what he thought the biggest threat to marriage and the family is in the Church today, Cardinal Dolan told CNA that he believes it is sin.   “Sin is our desire to redefine marriage to how we’d like it to be instead of redefining ourselves to be in consonant with God’s will,” he said. “So the threat is to prefer our way to God’s way, but God is the creator. God has given us marriage, it’s one of the first things he gave us in the Garden of Eden. So he’s told us what marriage is about, he’s told us it’s forever, it’s life-giving, it’s loving, it’s faithful, and if we attempt to chip away at that, and to change those divinely given qualities, we’re in big trouble.” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee for the promotion of marriage, knows first-hand how difficult it can be to stand in support of traditional marriage in today’s culture. Recently in his own diocese, Archbishop Cordileone’s attempts to clarify Church teaching on marriage and family in diocesan school handbooks caused vehement uproars among school staff, students and many lay faithful, some of whom even petitioned the Pope for the archbishop’s removal. Despite the emphatic opposition from many in his own diocese, Archbishop Cordileone has been unwavering in his support of Catholic teaching regarding marriage and family. “We support marriage because of the great good marriage does in bringing men and women together, two halves of humanity coming together to procreate and raise the next generation of children,” he told EWTN News Nightly.   “So the basic question is, does society need an institution that connects children to the men and the women that bring them into the world, or not? Is that a good thing for children or not? If it is a good thing, then we have to support marriage as it’s always been understood … because it’s the only institution that does that.” Archbishop Cordileone said in his address to the bishops that he saw the events leading up to the synod – such as the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the definition of marriage, the World Meeting of Families, and the Fortnight for Freedom – as teaching moments of which the Church should take advantage. “We must publicize and demonstrate the beauty of marriage and family life, support those families who are struggling, and uphold strong families as examples.” Strengthening the vocation of marriage as the source of the family must be a priority for Catholic clergy leading up to the synod, Cardinal Dolan said. “That’s what God intends, and that’s what we should be working for; not wasting our time trying to redefine it.” The upcoming Ordinary Synod on the Family is set to take place Oct. 4-25, with the theme “Jesus Christ reveals the mystery and vocation of the family.” The conclusions of the gathering will be used by Pope Francis to draft his post-synodal apostolic exhortation, which can be expected in 2016. Read more

2015-06-17T06:03:00+00:00

Beirut, Lebanon, Jun 17, 2015 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The leaders of four branches of Islam in Lebanon gathered earlier this month to issue a joint statement in the face of sectarianism and the rise of the Islamic State, denouncing attacks against Christians in the region. “In the name of religious, humanitarian and national principles, the summit condemns religiously motivated attacks against Eastern Christians, including attacks against their homes, villages, property and places of worship, when in fact the Prophet had recommended that they be respected, protected and defended,” the participants said in a June 2 statement. Such attacks, “like those suffered by other Muslims and non-Muslims belonging to other faiths and cultures, like the Yazidis, are tantamount to aggression against Islam itself,” they added, according to abouna.org, a site edited by Fr. Rif'at Bader, a priest of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The June summit included representatives of the Sunni, Shia, Druze, and Alawite communities. The event's coordinator, Mohammad Sammak, is co-chair of Lebanon's National Committee for Islamic-Christian dialogue, and the Muslim leaders recommended that “the right way for intra-Muslim and Islamic-Christian relations involves justice, moderation, respect for diversity and differences among men.” The gathering also “reiterated its faith in respect for human dignity, private and public freedoms, especially religious freedom, and its rejection of any coercion in religion or in the name of religion.” The Muslim leaders are concerned by rising sectarianism and violence in their country, which has experienced pressure from the more than four-year civil war in its neighbor Syria:  Hezbollah, a Shia militant group in Lebanon, has joined the fighting there; and more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees have flooded into Lebanon. The Islamic State, which has established a Sunni caliphate across portions of Syria and Iraq, has persecuted all non-Sunnis – including Shia Muslims – and several of the Lebanese summit's recommendations regard practices it has adopted. The Muslims leaders urged their followers “to see no differences among themselves. This does not mean the absence of disagreements, but it does mean the acceptance of differences and respect for others, based on the rule of faith according to which 'believers are brothers'. The variety of schools and interpretations does not abolish nor weaken this sense of brotherhood.” They also noted that the Quran banns the killing of one Muslim by another and condemned “all forms of extremism and judgments of apostasy (takfir) pronounced against other believers in a God, a practice that is also a deviation from the tolerance that characterises Islam [. . .] and twists or distorts its image.” The group also denounced terroristic behavior, and invited “Muslims from all schools in Lebanon and the Arab and Islamic world to focus on the fundamentals of faith of the Muslim doctrine and avoid misinterpretations that make Islam say what it does not say.” Read more

2015-06-17T01:24:00+00:00

Washington D.C., Jun 16, 2015 / 07:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to deliver a ruling that could lead to sweeping changes in the definition of marriage nationwide, two states have enacted new legal protections for those with... Read more

2015-06-16T21:43:00+00:00

St. Louis, Mo., Jun 16, 2015 / 03:43 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the U.S. bishops’ conference pledged support for reconciliation and healing efforts in areas around the country that have been the site of racial tension and violent clashes be... Read more

2015-06-16T17:07:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 16, 2015 / 11:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Benedict XVI’s summer is set to be the most active since he stepped down from the pontificate in 2013, with plans for participation in at least two public events and a two-week stay at the p... Read more

2015-06-16T09:09:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 16, 2015 / 03:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Can a country with deep Christian roots like Mexico find itself at the mercy of demons? Some in the Church fear so. And as a result, they called for a nation-wide exorcism of Mexico, carried ou... Read more

2015-06-16T06:02:00+00:00

Los Angeles, Calif., Jun 16, 2015 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- People suffering from terminal illness deserve true compassion and care – not violence, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said as the California legislature’s assisted sui... Read more

2015-06-15T21:07:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 15, 2015 / 03:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Former papal nuncio Josef Wesolowski will be tried by the Vatican’s criminal court for sexual abuse of minors and for possession of child pornography. The Vatican has said that Pope Franc... Read more

2015-06-15T14:43:00+00:00

St. Paul, Minn., Jun 15, 2015 / 08:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the archbishop and an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, less than two weeks after the archdiocese was charged with mishandling sexual ... Read more

2015-06-15T07:05:00+00:00

Vatican City, Jun 15, 2015 / 01:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- One of the most challenging scientific questions Pope Francis faces in his new encyclical on creation is that of climate change, which a source close to the document says the Pope addresses in a balanced perspective without taking sides. “The great novelty which emerges from the encyclical is that it comes from a shepherd who’s thinking of all those who are his,” a source familiar the encyclical has said. "(It) has a big overview, the capacity of helping us walk towards a more integral ecology that is all inclusive and comprehensive.” No one ought to feel “left out” in the encyclical, he said, “No one should be able to say 'oh, the pope talked to this side or that side' and say 'I have a clean conscious because it’s not addressed to me.” The encyclical will be published June 18. Its title, “Laudato Si,” means “Praised be You.” It is taken from St. Francis of Assisi’s medieval Italian prayer “Canticle of the Sun,” which praises God through elements of creation like Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and “our sister Mother Earth.” One of the challenges Francis has faced with the encyclical is appreciating the scientific consensus on topics such as climate change. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the encyclical itself acknowledges that “the scientific community is giving clear, consensual but complex answers” on climate change, and that “the causes are several.” While these causes can be put in both ‘natural’ and ‘human’ categories, they mainly fall within the “human” sphere, he noted. “Great natural forces are not under our control; human causes are. There is strong scientific evidence that the human factors are already having much impact and causing great damage not only to nature itself but also to the lives of people across the globe, especially the poor,” the source observed. Because of this “it is morally imperative that we human beings take responsibility for what we are doing” and work to stop damaging trends while finding new ways to produce, distribute and consume products. However for this to happen, there must be a change of heart so that humanity is more open developing these new trends, which aim to better care for our common home and those who live in it. With this perspective, the source said, everyone will feel more impelled to act, whether they are passionate about saving trees or having drinkable water, or whether they are everyday people living in ordinary neighborhoods, someone who works on ecology policies in New York. The source said that if the encyclical could be summed up in a tweet, it would be “Gated communities are over,” not because someone has pushed the gate down, but because “people are saying we cannot go on living like this.” In his Sunday Angelus address Pope Francis himself spoke about the document, saying that “this encyclical is addressed to all.” He invited the world to participate in its June 18 publication “with a renewed attention to environmental degradation, but also to recovery” of one's own territory. He prayed that everyone “may receive its message and grow in responsibility toward the common home God has entrusted to us.” In a recent editorial, the Rome-based, Jesuit-published magazine La Civilta Cattolica reflected on the encyclical’s importance and on the challenges facing the Pope in the area of scientific consensus, including climate change. Debates about environmental responsibilities have consequences for the well-being of humanity, La Civilta Cattolica said. They are not simply campaigns to save a rare animal or plant, though these can be important. Rather, the debate is about how to ensure that “hundreds of millions of people have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe.” “This is a serious moral responsibility which we can no longer remove ourselves from. Failure to respond would be a sin of omission,” the editorial said. On the topic of climate change, La Civilta Cattolica said it is “not contested” that the planet is warming. It cited the “very stark” November 2014 Synthesis Report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “Just like most of us, Pope Francis faces the challenge, in preparing his encyclical, of properly appreciating the scientific consensus about climate change, its causes and consequences, and the needed remedies,” the magazine continued. At the same time, it said that even when those in environmental debates do not agree on some research findings, there are problems that are “obvious and need the attention of the faithful.” These include water pollution, “monocultures” that harm the ground and people’s livelihoods, and the extinction of plant and animal species. The editorial countered the vision of “a moment of doom” in which human greed, stupidity, carelessness and pride have caused irreversible damage leading to self-destruction. Rather, it suggested that this moment is an opportunity. “For the first time, in a mature way, we have to exercise a common responsibility for the earth, our common home,” La Civilta Cattolica said. With all global eyes turned toward Francis to set a moral tone on the topic of the environment, “the world’s leading religious leader will draw upon his faith, upon the teaching of the Church, and upon the best information and advice available, demonstrating how each of us can manage, gather and sift the information, to judge, to decide and, finally, to act,” the editorial said. “His goal is not to speculate nor to support this or that theory, but to invite people of goodwill to consider thoroughly their responsibility for future generations, and to act accordingly.” Read more




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