Catholic News 4771
Subversive Catholicism is an eloquent work of reasonable traditionalism
Few Catholics today will deny that the literary output of contemporary Catholics, excellent as some of it is, does not (as a total body of work) approach the level of accomplishment achieved between the beginning and the middle of the last century. But I suspect only a few will readily notice the absence of one form of writing which reflected and contributed to that era’s elevated Catholic cultural life. It was a form of writing whose value was not so much to be found in its substantial content—largely solid yet largely unoriginal observations on religious, philosophical and political matters—but in the fact that it was composed by authors whose professional focus was largely artistic, a fact which allowed it to serve as a link between the milieu of such writers and that of theologians, philosophers and public intellectuals.
Today most of those faithful Catholics who compose works in artistic genres tend to use them as a forum for addressing religious, philosophical, moral and political topics, or else, in some cases, turn to them as an occasional sideline. Michael O’Brien’s literary corpus is perhaps the best contemporary representative of the former tendency while W. H. Crocker III’s excellent satirical novel The Old Limey places him firmly within the latter. Both tendencies are part of a venerable tradition that includes not just Hilaire Belloc and G. K. Chesterton (plus C. S. Lewis among Christians more broadly) but even saints Thomas More and John Henry Newman.
Neither, however, is in the tradition of such figures as as John Dryden, T. S. Eliot, Francois Mauriac, Evelyn Waugh and Georges Bernanos—whose major writings were predominantly art for the sake of art yet still commented on the religious, philosophical, moral and political issues of the day often enough to be prominent voices within Catholic (or, in Eliot’s case, Christian) circles. Even Piers Paul Read, devoted to the faith as he is, does not really stand in that tradition as he never joined the necessary degree of participation in Catholic intellectual life to his achievements in the mainstream literary world.
One notable exception today to this trend is the German novelist Martin Mosebach. Author of over a dozen volumes of fiction, a playwright, scriptwriter and poet, winner first of the Kleist Prize and then of the even more prestigious George Buchner Prize, Mosebach first caught then attention of Anglophone Catholics with his defense of the Tridentine Mass, titled The Heresy of Formlessness. Since then he has frequently contributed to Catholic periodicals and websites and published two more books on religious topics in the English language. One told the story of Coptic Christians suffering persecution from Muslims in the Middle East, drawing high praise not only from the mainstream press but even from elements within the Catholic Church generally hostile to champions of the ancient Latin liturgy. The other, and the most recently released, is a series of essays published under the title Subversive Catholicism: Papacy, Liturgy, Church.
Unlike Mosebach’s first two books dealing with religion, Subversive Catholicism is not so much a unified work centered on a particular theme but a compilation of essays on a variety of topics pertinent to the life of Catholics in the contemporary western world. There are pious reflections on Lourdes and on a large annual pilgrimage, of medieval origin, to France’s Chartres Cathedral. One essay looks at the limits of papal authority while another explains how loyalty to the primacy of the Church and of the papacy over the state undermines the “absolutist” ambitions which can exist in democracies as well as monarchies. Consideration of the way in which ecclesial patronage historically benefited the artistic world, not just financially but as an encouragement to aesthetic excellence, is to be found in the book’s pages.
Not surprisingly, Mosebach also returns, in some of the essays, to the Tridentine Mass, the liturgical reform of Pope Paul VI and the nature of prayer. Both in his positive liturgical vision and his critique of the reform, Mosebach’s positions have much in common with those of Benedict XVI. One of his more unusual contributions is to call attention to similarities between the Tridentine Mass and the worship of non-Catholics. Where most critics of the reform point to its removal of some texts incompatible with Protestant belief, Mosebach stresses its elimination of important features of the Tridentine Mass (such as the cycle of readings) which have always been preserved in the liturgies of some of the “higher” forms of Protestantism. Another point he emphasizes is the way in which not only that the general ethos of the acts of external reverence that pervade the Tridentine Mass are universal to human cultures but that the use of many similar and at times even identical gestures are widespread outside of the western and Christian worlds.
A similar, and similarly unusual, approach can be seen in Mosebach’s argument for legal restrictions on blasphemy in art—in which he points out that The Last Temptation of Christ was banned in England only because of widespread opposition to it among the country’s Muslims (who consider Christ a prophet). By no means does he overlook or, worse yet, deny, the serious problems inherent in Islam and in Islamic societies. But his willingness to look at what is positive as well as what is negative in the attitudes of Muslims, and at ways in which they are sometimes superior to those of secularists, demonstrates the type of objectivity needed when confronted, as western societies now are, with the rapid expansion of both belief systems.
As such examples indicate, Mosebach is not just a literary artist who has become a voice in Catholic intellectual life. He is also among the most articulate spokesman for a reasonable traditionalism, one that promotes legitimate “traditionalist” positions on prudential matters without the stridency and extremism found among some to whom that term is applied, one that lays considerable stress on matters on which all faithful Catholics can agree and share common concerns and one quick to find areas in which Catholics and those outside the Church can find common ground in opposition to the errors and evils of our age.
Subversive Catholicism: Papacy, Liturgy, Church
By Martin Mosebach
Angelico Press, 2019
Paperback, 164 pages
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Abundant harvest
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Matt 9:38).
Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13; Matt 9:32-38
Today’s readings are filled with images that capture the drama of Jesus’ ministry as he faced deep opposition from his critics. When performing exorcisms, he was accused of driving out demons by the prince of demons. His growing popularity was raising concerns for religious leaders that he was threatening the temple priesthood. Jesus’ mention of a great harvest had an apocalyptic ring to it, implying that history was approaching an important threshold of conversion and change.
This recalls the impact of the preaching of John the Baptist and, before that, prophets like Hosea, who confronted the leaders of Israel for sowing wind that would become a whirlwind. Jesus is announcing the reign of God by performing miracles of healing and liberation. Wherever he goes he is moved with pity for the crowds, restless and lost like sheep without a shepherd. He sees the overflowing fields and calls for laborers to help bring in the harvest.
These images can also stir a sense of urgency in us as we try to interpret our own world during a pandemic, deep political divisions and uncertainty about the stability of our economy and social bonds. A quick review of history will remind us that every generation has faced its own times of crisis caused by war and economic dislocation, social unrest and violence. What one generation sows, subsequent generations reap. Ambition and deceit sow division and distrust. Wisdom and courage bless the future for others. The commitment to reconciliation and justice creates harmony and opportunity for those to come.
The Gospel is first a revolution in the heart. Jesus described its effect not as sudden or dramatic but like the hidden processes of leaven, salt and light, like sowing seeds whose harvests we may not see. The prophets were rarely recognized in their own time, but their courage and fidelity built a future for later generations. Real change is the result of ordinary virtue over time, steady investments that produce returns nurtured with patience and discipline.
Sure signs that we are living in the Spirit of Jesus are that our words and actions bring healing and greater freedom to others. The seeds we sow multiply goodness, and when others sow generously, we are eager to help them harvest the results. Significant change is the work of communities, where egos disappear and the common good flourishes, where service is a sign of leadership. History will someday reveal what our time looks like to future generations, but if we are faithful now, they will honor us by imitating us.
Spokane bishop responds to Catholic Charities racism video
CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2020 / 04:58 pm (CNA).-
Both the Bishop of Spokane and the leader of a Washington state Catholic Charities organization have spoken out about a controversial video in which the charity leader said that he, his organization, and the Catholic Church are racist, and that the Catholic Church is premised on the idea that Jesus Christ was white.
“I am a racist. That’s the hard truth. I am a racist. How could I not be? As a white person living in America, where every institution is geared to advantage people who look like me, it’s seemingly impossible for me to be anything other than a racist,” Rob McCann, CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, said in a video posted to YouTube June 19.
“My Catholic Church, and my Catholic Charities organization, is racist. How could they not be? Our Catholic faith tradition is built on the premise that a baby, born in a manger, in the Middle East, was a white baby. So how can we be surprised to know that we must still fight against racism,” McCann added in the video.
Jesus Christ was a Jewish man, born to Jewish parents in the Middle East, centuries before contemporary categories of racial identification emerged amid European colonization in various parts of the world. The Catholic Church teaches that the Jewish and Israelite identity of Jesus are central aspects to his role in salvation.
McCann’s video also said that “the Catholic Church in America has its own long, terrible history of owning slaves, staying silent about others who did the same, and being part of the institutionalization of racism.”
The CEO said that Catholic Charities has been “unknowingly part of the institutionalization of racism,” because its board and staff is primarily composed of white people, while those it serves are “disproportionately people of color.”
The video garnered national attention after its release. McCann is also vice chair of Catholic Charities USA, the umbrella organization for Catholic Charities organizations in dioceses across the country.
On July 5, McCann posted a set of “clarifications” on the website of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington.
In his clarifications, McCann wrote that in his video, “instead of engaging in a discussion about race, I spoke in a way that some heard as a critical rant against the Church. For that, I am deeply and truly sorry.”
He noted that by identifying himself as a racist, he meant: “I realize that due to my upbringing and my membership in the majority race in this country, I certainly have areas of both known and unknown bias in my heart that I need to work on, and that in my lifetime I have struggled with those biases in ways that are so subtle I may not have fully realized them.”
“As an individual with white privilege, I certainly have had moments where I could and should have done more to be actively anti-racist. I am not saying that all white people are racists or that all Catholics are racist. I am acknowledging that I need to deeply evaluate my own sin in this area every single day and that I hope others will do the same.”
On his charge that the Catholic Church and Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington are racist organizations, “what I intended to convey is that my experience of my own flawed faith life and my experience inside human organizations, lead me to know that there are areas of both known and unknown bias, as well as areas of historical mis-steps that should be acknowledged in order to be a positive force for change.”
McCann’s clarifications also addressed his charge that Catholicism is premised on the notion that Jesus Christ was white.
“My description of our Catholic faith tradition being built on the premise that a baby born in a manger in the Middle East was a white baby has also caused pain, and here I must admit I misspoke and was wrong to say it that way,” McCann wrote.
McCann said that after the video’s released, his pastor had reminded him “that in other parts of the world, and in some places in the U.S., artistic and pictorial representations of Jesus are in the images and likenesses of the local culture. Jesus, and the entire Holy Family, are consistently, artistically, beautifully represented as members of every race and culture around the globe where there are Catholic churches,” he wrote.
The letter came after a meeting between McCann and Spokane’s Bishop Thomas Daly.
In a July 5 statement, Daly said of that meeting that “our conversation was candid and frank – and hopefully productive.”
In response to the controversy, in the Diocese of Spokane “the Annual Catholic Charities Christmas Collection will either be replaced by or taken in conjunction with the Black and Indian Missions Collection,” Daly said, adding that Catholic Charities will be asked “to sponsor a series of speakers, approved by me, to address the subject of Church and Race.”
The organization will also “address the issue of abortion and its detrimental effects on the Black community. In places such as New York City, more Black babies are aborted each day than are born. As Catholics, we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death,” the bishop added.
While McCann’s “letter answers some of my concerns, others remain. His support of the Black Lives Matter organization (BLM), albeit now modified, puzzles me. BLM is in conflict with Church teaching regarding marriage, family and the sanctity of life. Moreover, it is disturbing that BLM has not vocally condemned the recent violence that has torn apart so many cities. Its silence has not gone unheard. One need not stand with BLM to stand for Black lives. I will address this and other issues with Dr. McCann in future meetings,” Daly said.
The phrase “Black Lives Matter” has become the rallying cry for a broad social movement. But there are also specific organizations which take the slogan into their name, the largest and best-funded of which is the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation aims to “foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking,” the group’s website says.
Some Black Catholic Leaders in recent weeks have told CNA they support the Black Lives Matter social movement, even while they do not support the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation or other particular groups.
In his statement of clarification, McCann wrote that “Our support of the important non-violent racial justice advocacy elements of Black Lives Matter is specifically support for human dignity, which has a clear connection with Catholic Social Teaching. To be clear, we support the concept of Black Lives Matter, but that does not mean we support any elements of that movement that promote violence or violate Church teachings.”
“We affirm the life and dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. We stand firmly against abortion, poverty, violence, and the death penalty. Racial justice and equality are values inherent to life and dignity, and Catholic Charities is not only dedicated to upholding those values, we stand willing to work in strength and in peace to see those values realized in our world.”
McCann was appointed executive director of Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington in 2005, after serving as the organization’s associate director, and as an employee of Catholic Relief Services. He has a doctorate in the field of “leadership studies” from Gonzaga University.
In 2006, he told The Fig Tree newspaper that his understaning of the “the core values of the Catholic tradition, values shared by most other traditions—Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and other faiths, as well as other Christian,” namely “respect, compassion, collaboration and justice,” animate his approach to Catholic charity.
Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington is a distinct entity from the Diocese of Spokane. Bishop Daly sits on the board, but is not the chairperson. In 2018, the latest year for which date is available, the organization ran a budget deficit of $614,836.
Daly concluded his letter with prayer “that Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician, will heal any divisions that yet might persist among us.”
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COVID-19 financial strain shuts down Ivory Coast’s Radio Nationale Catholique
Agenzia Fides – Abidjan & Vatican Radio English Africa Service – Vatican City
Institutions of the Catholic Church everywhere are not immune to the economic consequences caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In Ivory Coast, Radio Nationale Catholique defined as the national “Voice of the Gospel” has been forced to suspend broadcasts.
A bitter option
“The financial situation of the Radio station requires decisions to be made about its future. Therefore, in compliance with state regulations, the Church is suspending broadcasts and all radio related activities. It is the bitter option that we have had to take,” said Fr Augustin Obrou, the National Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications. Fr. Obrou made the announcement to stunned members of staff at Radio Nationale Catholique, in Abidjan.
Church will not abandon staff
The Church says it will not abandon the thirty members of staff and has put in place a social plan to sustain the survival of staff members and their families. Part of the plan entails a fundraising campaign.
“The goal is to get the financial resources to be distributed equally to each employee,” added the National Executive Secretary. If the funds collected are sufficient to run the station, the Church hopes to reopen the radio station and resume broadcasts.
A tool of evangelisation silenced
Radio Nationale Catholique is a nationwide radio station of Ivory Coast’s Catholic Church. It broadcasts on FM in Abidjan, Gagnoa, Abengourou, Bondoukou and other in parts of the country. The radio was established on 2 February 2001 and was officially inaugurated by the Bishops’ Conference of Ivory Coast on 24 June 2006.
The radio station has been broadcasting 24 hours a day. It has been seen as the Church’s tool for evangelisation and the promotion of human development.
Catholic parish rallies for young girl hit by truck
Minneapolis, Minn., Jul 6, 2020 / 03:01 pm (CNA).- Last week, 8 year old Rosie Sajevic was riding her bike a couple blocks from her house in Hibbing, Minnesota, when a FedEx truck hit her, severely damaging her legs.
“I was riding my bike and I saw the FedEx truck and then it went black out, and then I woke up on the ground,” Rosie told CNA.
Rosie’s mom, Teresa Sajevic, heard sirens and wondered what they were responding to. She soon received a call from the police, dropped the laundry she had been folding, and ran to the scene of the accident.
“Her legs were totally mangled,” Teresa told CNA. “Her femurs were totally broken. I couldn’t see her moving and I was just really afraid that she was dead.”
But when she got closer to her daughter, she realized that the girl was praying the Hail Mary.
The Catholic faith is very important to the Sajevics, and homeschooling allows the faith to be built into Rosie’s curriculum. Teresa said that Rosie recently did a consecration to the Virgin Mary, and now thinks of Mary as her heavenly mother.
“She likes to read stories of the saints in comic book style, she is your average kid. But she knows that this world has more,” said Teresa.
Rosie credits Christ, her guardian angel, and the intercession of her five deceased siblings with her life.
“Mom, they must have all come around me like a bubble with my guardian angel,” Theresa recalled Rosie telling her after the accident. Rosie told her mom that her guardian angel must be “really tired.”
Christ “has been with me so much. He could have let me get run over but He didn’t, which is really helpful to me, and I’m so thankful,” Rosie told CNA.
The Catholic community of Hibbing and the neighboring town of Virginia, Minnesota, immediately reached out to the Sajevics with help and prayers.
When Father Brandon Moravitz, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Virginia, heard about Rosie’s accident, he quickly rallied his parishioners to offer aid.
“It took a couple days but I realized they were going to need some kind of ramp to get into their house,” said Moravitz. 24-hours later, it was built, in part due to the contributions of local Catholic-owned small businesses such as Pohaki Lumber.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Teresa. “We’re united in the Eucharist as brothers and sisters, but we’re not their parishioners. Just that they reached out like that, it’s so overwhelming.”
The ramp will allow Rosie, who just returned home from the hospital, to go outside during Minnesota’s summer months. The parish will also install a door that will allow her to go outside on her own.
“If we didn’t have that ramp, I don’t know how she would handle being home, you know, being locked up inside,” said Teresa. It was a financial burden that she and her husband would never have dreamed of making a reality.
Helping those in need is nothing new for Holy Spirit parish.
Last year, Holy Spirit rented and furnished an apartment for a single mother whose house burnt down. They also bought a car for a young woman with cancer.
“(The parishioners) are just big hearts and want to help people in need, and they really rise to the occasion every time that I tend to ask. And it has done some really life changing things for families in our area,” said Moravitz.
The Catholic small business owners in his parish have been especially generous.
“I think, like all economic situations in our country right now, people are struggling,” said Moravitz. “I think they witness Catholic small businesses in such a beautiful way. They’ve got a heart for the Lord, and they’re using their businesses to build up the kingdom of God.”
Moravitz said that although we often think that “we’re going to be the hands and feet of the Lord,” we rarely actually put our prayer into action.
“I hope this might be an example to other parishes, other priests, other lay people, not just to talk about doing it but actually stepping out and doing it. Because there are people in every community across this country that are in need of the light of Christ and the light of the faith and we can bring that to anybody through the gift of service,” said Moravitz.
Teresa is acutely aware of how much these parishioners sacrificed to build the ramp, in resources and time.
“They gave up a Saturday in Minnesota, and we don’t have a lot of nice summer (days). They could have been fishing, but they came together to work for my baby. And that means so much,” Teresa said.
Over the course of her accident and hospitalization, Rosie herself has thought of others first.
Teresa said that Rosie’s first concern was if the driver was okay.
“Mom, they have to feel so much worse than you did,” Teresa recalled Rosie saying after the incident. They have been keeping the driver in their prayers.
And although Rosie was excited to use the new ramp, her first thoughts were for her three brothers, who she said would have fun sledding and riding their bikes down the slope.
Rosie, who sometimes tells her mom to “trust more,” is confident in the future. She is excited to be able to walk on crutches in a few months, and is even more excited to meet her new baby brother or sister around Thanksgiving.
When asked what she would tell any kid who complains about his or her life, Rosie said, “I’d be like, you’re alive!”
Teresa also trusts that God has a plan for Rosie’s future. Rosie will turn 9 years old this month.
“Even though there are so many bad things that happened, and she has such a long road ahead, God is already there. He’s already in the future, he has already got it,” said Teresa.
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Coronavirus comes to a migrant tent city at US border
CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2020 / 02:07 pm (CNA).-
More than 1,500 people live in a tent city without running water or adequate sanitation at the border of Texas and Mexico, while they apply for asylum in the U.S. Coronavirus has arrived in the camp, a religious sister has said, which should call attention to the condition in which asylum seekers are living.
“These families are living in donated tents at the mercy of extreme weather. Here, the temperatures can rise above 100 degrees, and when it rains, the downpours knock down their only refuge and leave them in mud pits,”Sr. Norma Pimentel wrote in a July 5 op-ed for the Washington Post.
“Imagine living in such uncertainty, where even such basics as running water and a place to shower are nonexistent; where you have to depend on outside organizations for food, which you have to cook over a campfire. Like the prisons and nursing homes that have been breeding grounds for the virus in the United States, the camp is crowded with people who for now are not going anywhere.”
Pimentel, a sister of the Missionaries of Jesus, is director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, in Texas.
“Do not ignore the suffering occurring here,” she urged, explaining that the migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, has more than 1,500 men, women, and children, in a make-shift tent city, as they wait for their applications for admittance to the United States to be processed.
The camp has been in existence since last summer, after the federal government initiated the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which allow U.S. officials to return undocumented migrants to Mexico pending adjudication of their claims for asylum.
Addressing the situation is more, not less urgent because of the coronavirus pandemic, she said, noting that the camp recorded its first positive case last week.
That the camp has remained free of coronavirus for so long was, she said, was “remarkable” and a testament to the dedication of volunteers working to serve the people enduring emotional and practical hardship.
While the one patient in the camp, a woman from the interior of Mexico, was quickly isolated and removed to a nearby medical center run by Doctors Without Borders, Pimentel said that the conditions make the camp a potential outbreak waiting to happen, and that because of the pandemic, the camp has become less safe.
Because of the pandemic, volunteer activity in the camp is limited to a small number, who are able to provide assistance with nourishment and some health care needs, Pimentel wrote.
“All this makes it even harder to keep the camps safe from the cartels and gangsters who continue to prey on these largely defenseless asylum seekers.”
The camp’s existence, said Pimentel, was the unnecessary consequence of the government’s asylum protocols, which itself fail to “address people with dignity.”
“We should not have people forced to wait for asylum — trying to find safety for themselves and their families — while camped outside in the elements for months at a time. It is contrary to our laws and the dictates of humanity.”
Pimentel said that “the story of these asylum seekers has faded from the front pages of U.S. newspapers and from television screens but the cruel and unfair situation continues.”
“It is time that we put an end to it, and to end the MPP policy. Until that happens, we will continue to help those who are defenseless, whose only real ‘crime’ is trying to seek protection for themselves and their families.”
The Trump administration has made several changes to asylum and immigration policy over the past 18 months, all of which have come under sustained criticism from the bishops of the United States.
In September 2019, after the Trump administration announced a rule limiting asylum eligibility to those who had already applied and been rejected for asylum in those countries passed through on their way to the U.S, Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin, head of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, issued a strong critique of the change.
Vásquez said the rule “jeopardizes the safety of vulnerable individuals and families fleeing persecution and threatens family unity” and “undermines our nation’s tradition of being a global leader providing and being a catalyst for others to provide humanitarian protection to those in need.”
In November 2019, Auxiliary Bishop Mario Dorsonville of Washington, who serves as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, and Sean Callahan, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the bishops’ international relief agency signed a joint statement on the Trump administration’s changes to asylum policy.
Administration policy “undermines U.S. moral leadership in protecting vulnerable populations and risks further destabilizing the region,” they said.
“To preserve and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, we cannot turn our back on families and individuals in desperate need of help.”
“In light of the Gospel, let us always remember we are invited to embrace the foreigner and to take care of this human person.”
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Archbishop Naumann: Women are the second victims of abortion
By Vatican News
“We oppose abortion because we believe it takes the life of a child – every time,” says Archbishop Joseph Nauman, chairman of the Committee for Pro-Life Activities of the US Catholic Bishops’ Conference. “But we also believe that if we’re going to have abortion, we ought to at least protect the health of the mother.”
Archbishop Naumann spoke with Vatican News following last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down a Louisiana law requiring abortion doctors to have admission privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of where the abortion is performed.
“This was a very reasonable… statute,” said Archbishop Naumann, noting that it had been passed by bipartisan majority in the state legislature. “It was a reasonable requirement which the court failed to uphold, by a 5 to 4 margin, a very close margin.”
Putting profits ahead of women’s health
Archbishop Naumann lamented the fact that the court seemed to prioritize abortion industry profits over women’s health. “Unfortunately, there’s tremendous profits being made in the abortion industry,” he said. “We think this particular statute, the court actually took the side of the abortion clinics, their desire to make a profit, over and above the health of women in this case.”
He agreed that there is an ideological component in the abortion debate. “There’s become this ideology that treats abortion differently than almost anything else in our society or culture.” Archbishop Naumann argued that the “so-called ‘right to abortion’” has no basis in the American Constitution, nor is there any basis for the idea that “abortion rights” supersede any other concern, “including health services.”
A disappointing outcome
The result of the most recent case before the Supreme Court “was very disappointing,” said Archbishop Naumann. Pro-life activists had hoped that the Chief Justice, John Roberts, would provide the fifth, and deciding, vote in favour of the law, overturning an earlier decision by the Court.
Instead, Chief Justice Roberts voted with the majority, although he did not subscribe to their reasoning. Archbishop Naumann noted that Roberts felt bound by the precedent set by the Court in the previous ruling – a legal doctrine known as stare decisis (literally “let the decision stand”).
“I think this signals that the Chief Justice is not going to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the [Supreme Court] decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States, without at least another vote on the Court,” the Archbishop said. “He doesn’t want to reverse this precedent with a 5 to 4 majority.”
Elections make a difference
Archbishop Naumann emphasised the importance of elections. “We don’t elect Supreme Court justices. But we do elect Presidents who appoint them, and we do elect Senators who are the ones who have to confirm the appointments of the President,” he said.
With regard to the Supreme Court, he noted that there are four firm pro-life votes. “We think we are very close to having a majority” on the court, he continued. “And if we had another vote on the Supreme Court, I think that the chief justice would come along and be the sixth vote, but not the fifth vote.”
“So elections do make a difference,” he said.
Protecting the unborn with love, not law
Archbishop Naumann recognized the difficulties facing defenders of the unborn. “Right now, we’re in this climate where we don’t have… this protection of the unborn.”
But, he said, “what we can’t do with the law, we can do with love.”
He pointed to a nationwide initiative called “Walking with Moms in Need,” aimed at evaluating the services available to women facing difficult pregnancies, and determining how the Church can better support women in those situations. “Where are the gaps in these services?” he asked. “How can be communicate better, what services are available, and how can we accompany women better?”
Archbishop Naumann insisted, “We can save lives with love, that we can’t protect with law at this moment.”
Bad Traditionalism
I do not have a good conversion story. It happened like death in a Greek drama: offstage. I’d try to go to church and then I’d give up because it conflicted with my Sunday morning workouts, and I would light more candles, and I’d scroll through Twitter and go to more book parties and try to ignore the fact that there was a fissure in the pillars of the world, and that every day, every time I scrolled or swiped, I was taking a pick to it, and then one day I could not ignore that feeling, and then the next time I tried to go to church I kept going, and then there I was.
I would rather, I thought, be a Lady Marchmain—however poisonous—than accept the world as it was.
Around this time I started dating someone new. He was not Christian, but he’d been raised Evangelical—homeschool, no evolution, lots of Kipling—and he told me he was interested in converting back. He’d specified on OKCupid that he wanted a girl who believed in God. He came to church with me. We talked about the sermons. We talked about marriage, and he told me all about how love was an expansion of your sense of self, and about how marriage was joining your single narrative to a shared narrative with another person, and about how people these days were so obsessed with their own individuality and their own narrative and their own strength and their own independence that they couldn’t cope with actually, genuinely, in-the-flesh giving over your life and self to another human and forsaking all others and becoming one flesh—that maybe the most radical thing you could do in this dissipated modern world of ours, where we’re all on Tinder all the time and constantly weighing our options and maximizing our social capital, was just to say fuck it, yes and get engaged to someone you’ve known only a few weeks, and get married in an honest-to-God monogamous, death-do-us-part sacrament. We were going to have two or three children. We were going to be—socially, sacramentally, officially—a family.
If I’d been raised by conservatives, I might have bought a motorcycle instead.
The year that followed was, in retrospect, a farce. We performed, in public, hysterical heterosexual happiness. We posted a lot on Instagram.
We booked a wedding venue, and spoke to our priest, and did not tell him that, an hour before our meeting, we’d been shouting at each other because he did not think that a proper engaged or married woman should ever travel abroad with her female friends, something I often did, and longed to continue to do. A girls’ trip, he thought, would probably result in me cheating on him, that if he worked hard all day to be a provider and I went on vacation and cheated on him that would make him a sucker, and he didn’t want to be one of those.
Perhaps, I thought, he was right.
After all, I thought, in this liberal, modern age of ours, where we’re so obsessed with autonomy and individuality, perhaps there was something to be said for me learning to be less independent, less selfish, less insistent—so often my vice—on having my own story.
I cancelled a trip with my best friend.
I started wearing mostly skirts—it turned out that he liked women to dress classy and feminine and what he lovingly called trad; he did not, he told me, know what to wear himself when I was in one of my more androgynous jumpsuits. Better to complement each other, he said.
Bad Traditionalism
I do not have a good conversion story. It happened like death in a Greek drama: offstage. I’d try to go to church and then I’d give up because it conflicted with my Sunday morning workouts, and I would light more candles, and I’d scroll through Twitter and go to more book parties and try to ignore the fact that there was a fissure in the pillars of the world, and that every day, every time I scrolled or swiped, I was taking a pick to it, and then one day I could not ignore that feeling, and then the next time I tried to go to church I kept going, and then there I was.
I would rather, I thought, be a Lady Marchmain—however poisonous—than accept the world as it was.
Around this time I started dating someone new. He was not Christian, but he’d been raised Evangelical—homeschool, no evolution, lots of Kipling—and he told me he was interested in converting back. He’d specified on OKCupid that he wanted a girl who believed in God. He came to church with me. We talked about the sermons. We talked about marriage, and he told me all about how love was an expansion of your sense of self, and about how marriage was joining your single narrative to a shared narrative with another person, and about how people these days were so obsessed with their own individuality and their own narrative and their own strength and their own independence that they couldn’t cope with actually, genuinely, in-the-flesh giving over your life and self to another human and forsaking all others and becoming one flesh—that maybe the most radical thing you could do in this dissipated modern world of ours, where we’re all on Tinder all the time and constantly weighing our options and maximizing our social capital, was just to say fuck it, yes and get engaged to someone you’ve known only a few weeks, and get married in an honest-to-God monogamous, death-do-us-part sacrament. We were going to have two or three children. We were going to be—socially, sacramentally, officially—a family.
If I’d been raised by conservatives, I might have bought a motorcycle instead.
The year that followed was, in retrospect, a farce. We performed, in public, hysterical heterosexual happiness. We posted a lot on Instagram.
We booked a wedding venue, and spoke to our priest, and did not tell him that, an hour before our meeting, we’d been shouting at each other because he did not think that a proper engaged or married woman should ever travel abroad with her female friends, something I often did, and longed to continue to do. A girls’ trip, he thought, would probably result in me cheating on him, that if he worked hard all day to be a provider and I went on vacation and cheated on him that would make him a sucker, and he didn’t want to be one of those.
Perhaps, I thought, he was right.
After all, I thought, in this liberal, modern age of ours, where we’re so obsessed with autonomy and individuality, perhaps there was something to be said for me learning to be less independent, less selfish, less insistent—so often my vice—on having my own story.
I cancelled a trip with my best friend.
I started wearing mostly skirts—it turned out that he liked women to dress classy and feminine and what he lovingly called trad; he did not, he told me, know what to wear himself when I was in one of my more androgynous jumpsuits. Better to complement each other, he said.
Damascus priest: ‘Don’t forget the suffering population of Syria’
By Vatican News
The website of the Franciscan Convent in Damascus’ Bab Touma area features a desperate appeal for help for the people of the city struck by conflict and economic downturn.
The conflict in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions since it began in March 2011. The global coronavirus pandemic and its far-reaching effects are exacerbating their suffering.
“In these difficult times we have no other solution than to turn to your charity, your closeness,” says Fr. Bahjat Karakach, the Franciscan guardian of the convent which is attached to the Latin Catholic parish dedicated to the Conversion of St. Paul, in the old part of Damascus where many Christian Churches are to be found.
“As a Church,” he says, “we try to be close to the people, not to leave anyone without bread… but we cannot continue in our mission without your support, without your charity.”
Fr. Karakach explains that most Syrians live in misery due to 10 years of war and destruction and that the Covid-19 pandemic is further impacting the country’s serious economic crisis.
He explains that the currency, the Syrian lire, is plummeting and prices have more than tripled making it increasingly “difficult to buy food and essential goods, meaning that it is impossible for the population to live normally”.
“Today a family man would have to work a whole month to be able to buy a couple of kilos of meat,” he explains, and “he would have to work a whole year to be able to pay the school fees of a single child.”
The priests and religious continue to do their best to bring assistance and solace to the people, he says, “we enter the homes of Syrians and find people who have nothing to feed themselves with. Hence the invitation to solidarity to support families in difficulty.”
Primate of Poland: Church must rebuild trust amid abuse crisis
CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- The Catholic Church can only rebuild trust in its handling of clerical abuse by “taking responsibility for clarifying all crimes and omissions,” the Primate of Poland said Monday.
In a statement issued July 6, Archbishop Wojciech Polak noted the steps that the Polish bishops have taken in response to a burgeoning abuse crisis in the country.
“I am convinced that only by standing in truth and taking responsibility for clarifying all crimes and omissions, we will rebuild our credibility and trust in the Church in Poland,” he said.
Polak is the Polish bishops’ delegate for the protection of children and youth. As the metropolitan archbishop of Gniezno, the Polish primatial see, he is the Primate of Poland.
His comments came a week after more than 600 people took out a full-page advertisement in the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica urging the pope to intervene in the growing abuse crisis in the country.
A Vatican spokesman said that Pope Francis had been informed of the appeal and was praying for those who sent it.
The Church in Poland has faced intense scrutiny of its handling of abuse allegations in the wake of a documentary film, Tell No One, which has been viewed almost 24 million times on YouTube since its release last year.
In 2019, the Polish bishops’ conference issued a report which concluded that 382 clergy sexually abused a total of 624 victims between 1990 and 2018.
Polak recalled that the Polish bishops’ conference had appointed the Jesuit priest Fr. Adam Żak as its coordinator for the protection of children and youth in 2013.
Żak oversaw the establishment of a child protection center at the Ignatianum Academy in Kraków, which has trained 6,000 people, including priests and religious, in the past six years.
The Primate of Poland also highlighted the creation in 2019 by lay Catholics of a helpline, known as “Wounded in the Church,” to support the Church’s official abuse reporting system.
He said that the Polish bishops’ safeguarding guidelines complied with the norms of the Holy See and Polish law, and had earned praise from Archbishop Charles Scicluna, one of the leading figures in the battle against clerical abuse.
“He assessed the documents and guidelines of the Polish bishops’ conference as being very good; but what counts is their application that in some cases malfunctions,” Polak said in his statement, which was issued by the Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
The archbishop noted that he personally had reported a fellow bishop, Edward Janiak of Kalisz, to the Vatican under the law promulgated by the pope in June 2019 in the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi.
He said that he had taken the step after viewing the documentary film Hide and Seek, by brothers Marek and Tomasz Sekielski. In the follow-up to Tell No One, they alleged that Janiak had failed to take action against a priest accused of abuse. The bishop has denied the allegations.
“After watching the film, I could not remain silent or stay inactive in the face of the presented facts,” Polak said.
Last month Pope Francis appointed an apostolic administrator to take charge of Janiak’s diocese while an investigation into the bishop’s actions is carried out.
“Reporting does not resolve the guilt and gives Bishop Edward Janiak a real chance to present arguments in his defense in the context of a canonical process. Judging the case is the exclusive competence of the Holy See,” the Polish Primate explained.
Polak hailed the creation last year of the St. Joseph Foundation, which seeks to support abuse survivors and to safeguard minors within the Church in Poland.
“The establishment of the Foundation is an expression of solidarity of the Church in Poland with the victims,” he said.
The archbishop acknowledged that, despite progress in combating abuse, confidence in Church authorities had been shaken by the crisis. A survey in January, conducted by the research institute IBRiS, found that trust in the Church had fallen by 13 percentage points compared to 2017, down to 39.5%.
“We must honestly admit that despite the actions taken in Poland, we need to work constantly on changing our mentality. Still in this area there’s a lot to do,” he said.
“We must also honestly admit that the law in force in the Church is not respected everywhere, and not all victims receive the help they need. Ensuring the safety of children and young people in the Church is still a challenge for us.”
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Bishops call for an end to corporate abuse
By Vatican News
More than 110 Bishops from all over the world have signed a statement calling on states to put an end to corporate abuse by both local and transnational companies.
The statement published Monday on the website of International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE) points out that ongoing corporate abuse has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, especially in vulnerable communities which lack social protection.
“Corporate abuse at the detriment of the people is still widespread,” the statement notes. “But States all over the world have a unique opportunity to step up and stop this by introducing binding measures nationally, but especially at international and regional level where the major gaps lay.”
The Bishops’ appeal
In the statement, the Bishops highlight the need for “mandatory supply chain due diligence to stop corporate abuse and guarantee global solidarity.”
They point out that “the violations of workers’ rights and the damaging consequences on the environment of unprecedented levels of consumption and production” are under the spotlight and “governments are trying to counter-act these systemic violations.”
According to the Bishops, “our economies should follow values of dignity and justice, and be respectful of the rights of the people and the environment.”
Highlighting that women have “once again been disproportionately affected” by the Covid-19 crisis, they insist that the pandemic has “exposed our interdependency…exposing our dependence on vulnerable laborers doing essential work across the globe.”
Call for solidarity
Without adequate legislation – the Bishops say – it will not be possible to prevent transnational corporations from “carrying out tax evasion, abusing human rights, infringing labor laws, and the destroying of entire ecosystems.”
They argue that mandatory due diligence laws are the “only legislative option to protect communities and celebrate the interconnectedness of our human nature.”
European countries
According to the statement, a recent study published in February by the EU affirms that “voluntary measures and failing and there is urgent need for regulatory action at EU level.”
In this regard, the Bishops welcome the decision of EU Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynder, who announced in May that EU legislation on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence for corporations will be developed soon.
They call on State leaders to advance on binding legislation by participating in United Nations (UN) negotiations for a treaty on human rights and business activities. This, the Bishops hope, “will prevent any country or company to make use of exploitative models of production and accept the destruction of creation in order to improve their competitive position in the world market.”
Concluding the statement, the Bishops note that “the existing system hurts people and the planet and we are called to do better.” They invite everyone to take this crisis “as an opportunity to start a just transition to put in place a new economic system that serves people and the planet first.”
Covid-19: Indian Catholic hospital shut after 12 nuns are infected
By Robin Gomes
The superior of the St. Vincenza Gerosa (VG) hospital community in Dibrugarh, Assam state, developed mild symptoms of fever and a bad stomach on returning from a visit to Guwahati, Assam’s biggest city. After undergoing a test she was found positive with Covid-19 on July 3, said Fr. Felix Anthony of Miao Diocese in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.
Following this, the priest who is the public relations officer (PRO) of the North East Regional Bishops’ Council (NEIRBC), which comprises 15 dioceses in 7 states of the region, said that all the inmates of the community were tested. Twelve sisters and domestic support were found to be infected on 4 July, bringing the number to 13.
Consequently, the local administration of Dibrugarh district sealed VG Hospital, which is run by the Sisters of the Charity of Sts. Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa (SCCG), also known as the Sisters of Maria Bambina, or Charity Sisters.
Four of the nuns are senior citizens – Sisters Antonia Mampilly (85), Eileen Almeida (72), Michael Serrao (82) and Martha Kochuparambil (83).
Four others have tested negative and the entire hospital area is now declared a contaminated zone.
Samples of all other inmates, staff, primary contacts and regular visitors are being collected and sent for testing at the Regional Medical Research Centre, Dibrugarh.
Bishops urge prayers
Expressing shock, Bishop Joseph Aind of Dibrugarh Diocese said, “It is sad that the lifeline hospital of people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh has now been sealed.” “My heart goes out to all the sisters and the inmates of VG Hospital,” said the Salesian bishop, urging prayers for the quick recovery of the nuns and re-reopening of the hospital.
Assam is the worst affected north-eastern state. The state health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarm on Sunday confirmed 735 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the total number of infections in the state to 11,736, with 14 deaths. Of these new cases, 552 were from Guwahati alone.
Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao Diocese has also asked his faithful to pray for the Sisters of Maria Bambina and advised everyone to be extra careful and comply with the existing lockdown restrictions to contain the spread of the virus.
VG Hospital complex
VG Hospital is named after Sts. Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa, who founded the Sisters of Maria Bambina in Lovere, Italy in 1832.
Established in the year 1970 with the goal of rendering health services to the poor people of the locality and to help people get rid of alcohol and drug addiction, VG Hospital is now a 70-bedded general hospital with a full-fledged psychiatric unit.
Attached to the complex is a de-addiction centre called “Mercy Home” and a general nursing and midwifery unit. The Sisters of Maria Bambina are also engaged in prison ministry and pastoral work.
St. John Hospital in Guwahati is also run by the nuns.
Sisters of Maria Bambina in India
India was the entry point of the Sisters of Maria Bambina in Asia. A batch of four Sisters of Maria Bambina first touched Indian soil in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) on March 11, 1860. From there, they headed north some 100 kilometres for Krishnagar city, their final destination, on March 17. Six years later, the Diocese of Krishnagar was erected.
From Krishnagar, they expanded to other parts of India as well as to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Japan, Israel, Thailand and Nepal.
Today, the Sisters of Maria Bambina in India have 8 provinces, including North-East Province, with its provincial house in Guwahati.
Cardinal Ravasi recalls Ennio Morricone as a man of faith
By Vatican News
Sharing his memories of the late composer with Vatican News’ Giancarlo La Vella, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi recalled that Ennio Morricone was a man of faith.
The President of the Pontifical Council for Culture also said he would remember this great cinematic composer for a least two particular spiritual events.
The first, Cardinal Ravasi recalled, was in Poland when he was preparing an Oratory for Pope St John Paul II.
“The second event is the most recent meeting on 15 April 2019, when I presented him, in the name of Pope Francis, with the Pontifical Gold Medal for his musical work. These two moments testify to what he has always attested: his faith.”
Spiritual dimension
The Cardinal went on to say that there was always a religious and spiritual dimension to the composer’s music, whether he was scoring a film like “The Mission” or a western.
The Council President underlined that, with the music of Morricone, the score was the protagonist, along with the screen images.
Elaborating on this, Cardinal Ravasi recalled he had invited Morricone to speak during a plenary session on the theme of beauty, starting from his experience as a musician.
Musical commentary
“If we review the films of which Ennio Morricone composed the soundtrack”, said the Cardinal, “it is almost spontaneous to remember, not only the visual dimension, but also the sound dimension. There is a musical thread, which goes hand in hand with that of the image.”
In particular, Cardinal Ravasi mentioned the film “The Mission” in which, he said, the musical commentary is of a religious nature and illustrates the theme of the film.
“That is why I believe that we should all be grateful to Ennio Morricone, believers and non-believers alike, but above all the believers to whom he belonged, for having been able to express the ineffable and the invisible at the same time, which are the soul of religion.”
Pope Francis to celebrate Mass marking anniversary of Lampedusa visit
Vatican City, Jul 6, 2020 / 06:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis will celebrate Mass Wednesday marking the seventh anniversary of his visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The Mass will take place at 11 a.m. local time July 8 in the chapel of the pope’s residence, the Casa Santa Marta, and will be livestreamed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, attendance will be restricted to staff of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Department for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Pope Francis visited the Mediterranean island on July 8, 2013, shortly after his election. The trip, his first pastoral visit outside Rome, signaled that concern for migrants would be at the center of his pontificate.
Lampedusa, the southernmost part of Italy, is located approximately 70 miles away from Tunisia. It is a primary destination for migrants from Africa seeking entry to Europe.
Reports say that during the coronavirus outbreak migrant boats have continued to land on the island, which has received tens of thousands of migrants in recent years.
The pope chose to visit the island after reading harrowing reports of migrants dying while attempting the crossing from North Africa to Italy.
Upon arrival, he threw a wreath into the sea in memory of those who had drowned.
Celebrating Mass close to a “boat cemetery” containing the remains of shipwrecked migrant boats, he said: “When I first heard of this tragedy a few weeks ago, and realized that it happens all too frequently, it has constantly come back to me like a painful thorn in my heart.”
“So I felt that I had to come here today, to pray and to offer a sign of my closeness, but also to challenge our consciences lest this tragedy be repeated. Please, let it not be repeated!”
On October 3, 2013, more than 360 migrants died when the vessel carrying them from Libya sank off Lampedusa.
The pope marked the sixth anniversary of his visit last year with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. In his homily, he called for an end to rhetoric that dehumanized migrants.
“They are persons; these are not mere social or migrant issues!” he said. “‘This is not just about migrants,’ in the twofold sense that migrants are first of all human persons, and that they are the symbol of all those rejected by today’s globalized society.”
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Remembering Ennio Morricone and his sense of the Sacred
By Linda Bordoni
The glory of Ennio Morricone’s genius cannot but elevate the listener to the heavens in a score written for Pope Francis and the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Jesus.
It’s the Missa Papae Francisci, performed for the first time on 10 June 2015 at the Chiesa del Gesù in Rome, dedicated to Pope Francis and to the legendary composer’s wife, Maria, to whom, as he never ceased to say, he owed everything.
We are all familiar with the music of Morricone, the soul and poignant ’emotion-maker’ in films like “Once Upon a Time in the West“, “The Mission“, “The Legend of 1900“, and many, many more.
But not everyone knows that Morricone’s career began in 1950, when he arranged music for the Holy Year so successfully that he was then commissioned to arrange a long list of popular songs of devotion for radio broadcasting.
A love for Sacred Music
Although crowds flocked to listen to him conduct world-class orchestras perform his music for film, he never tired of expressing his love for sacred music and Gregorian chant.
Alongside his “Hollywood” career, Morricone composed religious music constantly – including a cantata with words by St. Pope John Paul II and the mystical Vuoto d’anima piena for the millennium of the Cathedral of Sarsina, in northern Italy.
A Jesuit friend, he revealed, asked him in 2012 to compose a Mass for the upcoming anniversary of the Jesuit Order. He said he dallied until the election of the new Pope, the first Jesuit Pope in history.
“The dedication to him was spontaneous. Then I was able to meet him in the Vatican and show him the score”, he said in an interview.
A score composed in the shape of a Cross
He also explained that he composed the written score of the Mass with the Trinity in mind and in the shape of a cross: “a musical cross that starts with two horns that follow two different long melodies, then the trumpet that makes a soft and light sound, and then comes the vertical dimension of the orchestra”.
Pope Francis Medal
In 2019 Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture presented Morricone with the Medal of Pope Francis’ Pontificate for his “extraordinary artistic work in the sphere of music, universal language of peace, solidarity, and spirituality”.
Meanwhile, if you listen carefully, you will notice that in the final section of the Mass, Morricone re-proposes Gabriel’s Oboe, the theme from the film “The Mission”, undeniably one of the most beautiful scores ever written for film, and a powerful evocation of the turmoil of Jesuit missionaries and their fight for the rights of indigenous peoples.
Australia to close border between New South Wales and Victoria
By Vatican News
The premiers of Australia’s two most-populous states have announced that the internal border between New South Wales and Victoria will be closed beginning on Wednesday, as a precautionary measure to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, announced the decision on Monday, saying, “It is the smart call, the right call at this time, given the significant challenges we face in containing the virus.”
Outbreak in Melbourne
The decision to close the border follows a new outbreak in Melbourne, Victoria’s capital city and the second-largest city in Australia. Victoria recorded the highest-ever daily increase in Covid-19 cases, with 127 new cases and two deaths confirmed. Officials expressed concern that many of the new cases in Melbourne are the result of community transmission. Previously, most cases were contracted overseas or from travelers returning from foreign countries.
Police have been enforcing strict social distancing orders in 30 suburbs around Melbourne, and nine public housing towers are in complete lockdown.
Agreement to close the border
Victoria’s border with the neighbouring state of South Australia has been closed since 22 March, but officials have been hesitant to close the border between Victoria and New South Wales, and the federal government has discouraged internal border closings. The decision to close the border was taken after consultation between the premiers of the two states and Australia’s prime minister.
The last time the border was closed was more than one hundred years ago, during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1919.
The closing is likely to affect Australia’s economy, which is entering a recession for the first time in almost thirty years. New South Wales premier Gladys Berijiklian says there is no timetable yet for re-opening the border.
Covid-19: Camillian priest appeals for better-equipped hospitals in Burkina Faso
By Vatican News
Many countries around the world are easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions and restarting their economies, which have been brought to a standstill in these past months. Some others, however, remain hesitant as they struggle to keep the Covid-19 infection rate under control.
As of Monday, Burkina Faso reportedly has 53 deaths out of 987 confirmed coronavirus cases in the crisis, which has affected over 400,000 people on the African continent.
Reacting to the situation, Father Modeste Ouedraogo of the Camillian order said that the country has “one of the highest mortality rates in West Africa.”
This “means that we are not sufficiently resourceful in the treatment of the most serious cases due to lack of resources and qualified personnel,” said Fr. Ouedraogo who serves as a doctor at Saint Camillus Hospital in Ouagadougou.
Inadequate resources
The major cause for concern for the Camillian priest “is the lack of means and resources.” He reports that in all of the country, “there are only seventeen respirators for 20 million people” and “only three hospitals equipped and dedicated to Covid-19 patients.”
He further adds that “there is a lack of masks and protective equipment for the population” and hospitals are poorly staffed.
At Saint Camillus Hospital where Father Ouedraogo works, he explained that there about 401 permanent employees and 100 external employees who care for about 900 patients daily. The government supports the hospital by paying the salaries of 50 employees.
Only one laboratory
Fr. Ouedraogo pointed out that the only laboratory in the region is located in Bobo-Dioulasso, a “five-hour drive from the capital.” This means that suspicious cases throughout the country must wait “at least twelve hours for their results.”
Concerned by this situation, Fr. Ouedrago explained that the hospital, in agreement with the government, made available its biomolecular research center to carry out diagnostic tests.
“So far, we have performed more than 1500 swabs,” the Camillian priest said adding that the hospital has also produced hydroalcoholic solution (hand sanitizers) for both its needs and that of the population.
Fr. Ouedraogo further notes that an isolation room has been set up in the hospital to receive suspicious cases pending diagnostic confirmation. However, “there are only six beds in the resuscitation ward,” he laments.
Covid-19 cases
Commenting on the Covid-19 crisis on the African continent, Fr. Ouedraogo said that the initial reaction of the Burkinabe population was of great fear which made them turn to God in prayer.
“Seeing the many deaths in Western countries, everyone wondered how Africa would react to such a catastrophe,” he said.
Turning his thoughts towards Burkina Faso, Fr. Ouedraogo said that the population was hard-hit by the restrictive measures imposed by the government. This is because “most people survive by selling something on the street, hoping to be able to put together a daily meal for the family.”
Pope to celebrate Mass for 7th anniversary of Lampedusa visit
By Devin Watkins
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, announced Monday that Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on 8 July to commemorate his pastoral visit to Lampedusa.
The Pope will preside at Mass at 11 AM Rome time in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, with only a handful of Vatican employees present.
“Given the health situation, only the staff of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Department for Promoting Integral Human Development will participate in the Mass,” Bruni said.
Historic visit
On 8 July 2013, Pope Francis made his first official visit outside Rome to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
At the time, the island off the coast of Sicily was seeing a vast influx of migrants making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from the African continent.
The so-called Arab Spring, which began in late 2010, had caused unrest in many North African countries, forcing many to flee.
Tens of thousands of migrants landed on Lampedusa’s shores, which lies 113km from the coast of Tunisia.
Solidarity with those who flee
During his historic visit, Pope Francis prayed for the numerous people who drowned seeking a better life in Europe.
He mourned the dead by throwing a wreath of flowers into the sea, and celebrated an open-air Mass.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the Director of the Holy See Press Office at the time, described the Pope’s visit in these words:
“The important thing is to understand the true significance of this day, which is – for the Pope – before all else a gesture of solidarity, a call to focus everyone’s attention on one of the grave problems of our time: that of forced migration caused by so many terrible motives, among which are the lack of liberty, hunger, many other problems that make migrants’ lives in their native lands extremely difficult and even impossible.”
US Bishop decries destruction of St. Junipero Serra statue
By Devin Watkins
A crowd in Sacramento, California’s state capital, destroyed a statue of St. Junipero Serra on the evening of 4 July.
One protester burnt the statue’s face, before the group toppled the statue and struck it with a sledgehammer. Local news outlets reported that the crowd chanted, “Rise up, my people, rise up” as they jumped and danced on the Saint’s image.
California Highway Police intervened to disperse the group, and has launched an investigation.
Dialogue over vandalism
Bishop Jamie Soto of Sacramento responded to the act of vandalism with a statement on Sunday.
“The group’s actions may have been meant to draw attention to the sorrowful, angry memories over California’s past, but this act of vandalism does little to build the future,” he said.
The Bishop added that the “strenuous labor of overcoming the plague of racism should not be toppled by nocturnal looting.”
“Dialogue,” he said, “should not abdicate to vandalism.”
Who was Fr. Serra?
St. Junipero Serra was a Catholic missionary priest from Spain (1713-1784) who belonged to the Franciscan Order.
He founded several Spanish missions in California, helping to convert thousands of Native Americans to Christianity and introducing new agricultural techniques.
Pope Francis canonized Fr. Serra on 25 September 2015 in Washington D.C., during his Apostolic Journey to the United States.
Some have criticized the Saint’s legacy and called him a symbol of European colonialists.
Denouncing evils of colonial period
Bishop Soto recognized the “heartbreaking legacy” of the colonial period.
“There is no question that California’s indigenous people endured great suffering during the colonial period and then later faced the horror of government-sanctioned genocide under the nascent State of California.”
At the same time, Bishop Soto said Fr. Serra worked under the colonial system but “denounced its evils and worked to protect the dignity of native peoples.”
“His holiness as a missionary should not be measured by his own failures to stop the exploitation or even his own personal faults,” he said.
Build community, not tearing it down
The Sacramento statue of St. Serra is the third to be torn down in California by demonstrators in recent weeks.
One was toppled in San Francisco and another in Los Angeles, both on 19 June.
“All monuments are imperfect as are our efforts to live up to America’s founding ideals,” concluded Bishop Soto. “The primary task is to build up our community, not tear it down.”
English Catholic bishop: parishes see ‘dramatic fall’ in income following lockdown
CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2020 / 04:30 am (CNA).- An English bishop has said that parishes have seen “dramatic fall” in income as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.
Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury urged the government to step in to help dioceses struggling financially as a result of the pandemic.
“The weeks of the national lockdown saw a dramatic fall of about a third in parish income. This is having a serious impact on the operation of parishes,” he told CNA.
Mike Kane, a local Member of Parliament, raised the financial plight of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, in western England, in the House of Commons last month.
He noted June 25 that the diocese’s income was down by a third since the government announced a nationwide lockdown March 23. He said that this loss of around $875,000 would have a long-term impact on the diocese’s ability to maintain its buildings.
Kane, the Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, urged the government to consider introducing an “enhanced gift aid scheme” to shore up diocesan finances.
In his comments to CNA, Davies said that he was grateful to Kane for raising the issue in Parliament.
He said: “We have been working to mitigate the impact at parish level and are grateful for parishioners who were able to continue giving support via online giving through the crisis otherwise the situation would be even more serious.”
“The Shrewsbury Diocese will be looking at what savings are possible by reducing costs or deferring expenditure. This sadly means that the largest outgoings in parishes on planned repairs and maintenance will be an area where savings will be sought.”
The bishop said he was also concerned that building works would be more expensive than they were before the coronavirus crisis because “contractors have to pass on costs to allow them to operate within the bounds of COVID security.”
He echoed Kane’s call for changes to the Gift Aid scheme, which increases the value of donations by 25% by permitting charities to reclaim the basic rate tax already paid by the donor.
Davies said: “In 2008 there was a transitional relief scheme for Gift Aid to support charities when the income tax rate reduced from 22% to 20%, worth an estimated £100 million to charities at that time. A similar kind of enhanced arrangement is now needed to support charities, including dioceses across the country.”
“As this has already been an operational scheme, the mechanism for the delivery following lockdown should be feasible and easy for the government to put in place quickly.”
The U.K., which has a population of almost 67 million, has recorded 44,305 deaths from the virus as of July 6, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center — the world’s third highest reported death toll after that of the United States and Brazil.
Catholic churches in England were permitted to reopen for individual, private prayer June 15. Public Masses resumed July 4, with stringent safety measures to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.
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Ennio Morricone, composer honored by Pope Francis, dies at 91
CNA Staff, Jul 6, 2020 / 03:15 am (CNA).- Ennio Morricone, an Oscar-winning Italian composer honored by Pope Francis, has died at the age of 91.
The Italian news agency Ansa reported July 6 that Morricone died in a Rome hospital Monday after he was admitted days earlier with a fractured femur. Morricone’s lawyer Giorgio Assumma said that the composer died at dawn “with the comfort of faith.”
A Rome native, he composed more than 100 classical works and 400 movie and television soundtracks.
He is perhaps best known in the Catholic world for creating the soundtrack to “The Mission,” the 1986 movie depicting Spanish Jesuits’ efforts to protect indigenous people from enslavement in 18th-century South America.
Morricone achieved international fame in the 1960s with his work on a trilogy of Westerns — “A Fistful of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More,” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” — directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood.
He won an honorary Academy Award in 2007, and an Oscar for Best Original Score for Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” in 2016.
Pope Francis awarded the composer the Gold Medal of the Pontificate last year, in honor of his “extraordinary artistic work in the sphere of music, universal language of peace, solidarity and spirituality.”
The award was presented April 15, 2019, by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in Rome’s Sant’Agnese in Agone church in Piazza Navona.
In an interview with the National Catholic Register in 2013, Morricone discussed the relationship between his faith and art.
He said: “I do not think about my faith when I write a piece of music. I think of the music that I have to write — music is an abstract art. But of course, when I have to write a religious piece, certainly my faith contributes to it.”
Morricone composed a Mass marking the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus in 2015, dedicating it to Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope.
The composer and his wife met Pope Francis before the premiere of the “Missa Papae Francisci.”
Recalling that he cried when he met Francis, Morricone said: “Don’t get the idea that I burst into tears at every opportunity; those were the only two times I have ever cried — when I first watched ‘The Mission’ and when I met the pope.”
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'Because it was a vocation': Celebrating Carmen Herrera's 105th birthday
“Estructura Roja,” by Carmen Herrera, 1966/2012, automobile paint on plywood (Courtesy of Carmen Herrera)
On May 30 this year (according to her Cuban passport) or May 31 (according to her American passport), the revered painter Carmen Herrera turned 105. To celebrate the birthday, El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, New York, organized a Zoom celebration May 27 that Herrera had hoped to join — but finally decided to watch at home.
El Museo was a perfect host, with curator Susanna Temkin leading the conversation among Carolina Ponce de León, who had curated a major exhibition of Herrera’s work at El Museo in 1998; Monica Espinel, who contributed the chronology to the catalogue of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s landmark survey of her work in 2016; and Tony Bechara, an artist who has been a friend of Herrera’s for decades.
Herrera was born in 1915 in Havana, the youngest of the seven children of Antonio and Carmela Herrera, who were both members of the city’s intellectual elite. Although she studied architecture at the University of Havana for only one academic year in 1938, she was deeply influenced by the experience. (“I wouldn’t paint the way I do if I hadn’t gone to architecture school,” she later said. “That’s where I learned to think abstractly and to draw like an architect.”)
But her previous study at the Lyceum, a cosmopolitan women’s club in Havana, where she became close to the intrepid painter Amelia Peláez (her senior by almost 20 years), drew her back to painting and sculpture. In 1937, through her brother Addison, she met an American tourist, Jesse Loewenthal, whom she married in 1939 and with whom she moved to New York that year.
Loewenthal was a remarkably gifted and cultured man and with him Herrera became friendly with a wide range of New Yorkers, including Barnett Newman and his wife Annalee. She frequented the Whitney (where only Stuart Davis and Georgia O’Keeffe really appealed to her) and took classes at the Art Students League.
But she felt culturally adrift and was only too glad to move with Jesse to Paris in 1948, where she quickly set up a studio in their apartment. Socializing with the likes of Jean Genet and delighting in a city filled in the postwar years with other American artists, she happened on the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, exhibited with it, and through it discovered the Bauhaus and Russian Suprematism. Thrilled, she began to move beyond experiments based on her academic training in Havana and New York and toward serious abstraction — at first organic or gestural but then increasingly geometric (a prominent example being “Black and White,” from 1952). Finding acrylic more manageable than oil, she used it from then on.
“Untitled,” by Carmen Herrera, 1952, acrylic on canvas (Courtesy of Carmen Herrera)
Returning to New York with Jesse in early 1954 for financial reasons, she continued the black and white paintings she had begun in 1952 — not so much a series as such but rather occasional step-backs from color to a purified simplicity she called “depuración” (purification). (“I had to forget about trimmings and go to the core of things,” she said.) In the important exhibition many years later in 1998 at El Museo del Barrio, “The Black and White Paintings: 1951-1989,” curator Carolina Ponce de León showed them in all their stunning originality. The earlier paintings were variations on a theme of primal tri-angular black forms emerging from (not in) a field of white that was inspired by the Neo-Plasticism of Piet Mondrian but risked unmooring his elegant harmonies with slashing diagonal lines. Later came formidable structures of black and white such as “Ávila” and “Escorial” (both 1974) inspired by the great Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán and the letters of Teresa of Ávila in the first case and by the architect of the Escorial, Juan de Herrera, in the second. (That show, she has said, was her favorite.)
In the 1950s in New York Herrera had her first solo exhibition but due to the political turmoil in Cuba she did not exhibit between 1958 and 1962. Always politically conscious (though keeping politics out of her painting), she and Jesse became seriously committed to the cause of refugees fleeing Cuba. Nevertheless, she produced major works such as “Green and Orange” (1958), a large, angular interlocking of the two colors that looks more and more like a masterpiece, and “Equation” (1958), two large white triangles crowding four slender black ones almost out of the frame — one of her own personal favorites. Perhaps most important was her first painting in 1959 in the “Blanco y Verde” series that would continue for 12 years and for all their apparent minimalism reveal the sculptural instinct of her work. (The New York Times art critic Hilton Kramer called one work in the series, “Blanco y Verde” from 1967, “the best picture she has yet exhibited.”)
Supported by a fellowship from the CINTAS Foundation in 1968, Herrera began her series of “Estructuras,” monumental structures — first made with fiberboard, Styrofoam and epoxy and later with wood — that included the biplanar, blue “Untitled” (1971) and the handsome, Chinese red “Estructura Roja” (1966/2012). (They were later shown in a solo exhibition in 1979.)
During the same period she continued to produce elegantly simple paintings such as “The Way” (1970), another masterwork of tensive, simplified precision in which two red-brown, thin angular forms attract and repel each other with seemingly boundless energy and balance. A final marvelous series on the days of the week — it would be the artist’s last full series–was completed between 1975 and 1978, each painting with a large, irregular black form encroached on by vibrant dark blue, golden yellow, green, pale yellow, salmon and red forms, respectively.
In 1984 Herrera had her first retrospective at the Alternative Museum in New York. She was one of the artists responding to the AIDS crisis and painted “La Hora” and “Yesterday” in 1987 in honor of two friends who died of the disease. (Each is a black painting with a white line electrically zig-zagging through it.)
In 1988 one critic described her work in a solo exhibition at the Rastovski Gallery in New York as “a particularly sexy sort of geometric symmetry.” (As with similar comments about her “Blanco y Verde” series, she was not impressed.) In the same year she was included in a survey exhibition on Latin American art, and a critic wrote in the journal “Contemporanea.”: “Nothing can prepare one for the power and authority of Carmen Herrera’s ‘Green and Orange (1958).’ …This spectacular work challenges one to imagine it in its proper context three decades ago.”
With the 1998 exhibition at El Museo, the artist’s slowly emerging reputation took a decided step forward. (“She occupies an honorable place in postwar geometric painting,” wrote Holland Cotter in The New York Times, “and this fine show should help to secure it.”)
In 2000, however, Jesse Loewenthal died at the age of 98, and Herrera was deeply stricken. Then in 2005 “Carmen Herrera: Five Decades of Painting” was held at LatinCollector in Tribeca and glowingly reviewed in the Times by Grace Glueck, whose appreciation for the architectural character of the work was, Herrera thought, the best she had read. She began to paint seriously again.
A video and a documentary had just been made about her, and her work began to enter the collections of major museums — the Tate in London, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. In 2015 Alison Klayman directed a short, widely seen documentary about her, “The 100 Years Show,” and in 2016 the Whitney presented the landmark “Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight.” Organized to explore the origins and development of her signature style of dichromatic, strictly geometric canvases between 1948 and 1978, it was brilliantly curated by Dana Miller, who also edited the handsome catalogue. (Included there is a fine chronology by Monica Espinel.) The exhibition placed Herrera, in Miller’s words, “firmly in the pantheon of great postwar abstract painters alongside the likes of Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt and Frank Stella.”
And now, at 105, she continues to draw each morning in the apartment on East 19th Street where she has lived since 1967, not far from her beloved Church of the Epiphany. In 2019 the Public Art Fund presented her “Estructuras Monumentales,” now rendered in aluminum, at City Hall Park in New York — outdoors and stunning. According to reporting by ARTnews, this year, working with the firm Publicolor, a not-for-profit that works with more disadvantaged public schools, she designed another outdoor artwork in East Harlem; more recently, again with Publicolor, she designed a 54-foot-wide mural entitled “Uno Dos Tres,” based on her 1987 painting “Diagonal.” As ARTnews reports, “The piece will go on view at Manhattan East School for Arts and Academics in New York, whose students helped complete the project.”
“Red on Red (Rojo sobre Rojo),” by Carmen Herrera, 1959, oil and acrylic on canvas (Courtesy of Carmen Herrera)
For years the story was told that Herrera did not sell her first painting until she was 89. (In her chronology for the Whitney Show, Monica Espinel tells us that she actually sold three paintings to American tourists in Cuba when she was 20.) But at Sotheby’s on March 1, 2019, her “Blanco y Verde” (1966-67) fetched $2.9 million.
Still, in her introduction to the catalogue for the Whitney show, Dana Miller quotes Herrera: “People keep saying, ‘How do you work all these years without any reward, no money, and few exhibitions?’ Because it was a vocation,” she said. “Why would anyone go to a hospital to take care of the lepers if they do not have the vocation of being nuns? It’s the same.”
“Herrera has said that she did not choose to become an artist,” Miller continued, “rather that she was chosen; she likened it to falling in love or being struck by lightning. And on more than one occasion she has even remarked, usually with a sly smile, that she herself should have been a nun.”
The artist was marvelously independent from the start. When her friend Tony Bechara asked her how she had lived to be 100 and yet keep working, as we heard at the El Museo celebration, she told him: “For 100 years, you drink scotch and eat red meat. Then when you hit 100, you become a vegetarian and you drink champagne.”
Felicidades, Sra. Herrera!
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Weigel's 'The Next Pope' has a crimped, Americanist vision of papacy
George Weigel speaks July 25, 2019, at the Napa Institute’s annual Summer Conference in California. (CNS/Courtesy of Napa Institute)
George Weigel’s latest book, The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission, is a thin one at only 141 pages. But it is thin, too, in the sense that what it communicates is either a repeat of Weigel’s earlier themes or a recantation of ideas — some of which are true but banal and others are misleading and given to caricature. The only real novelty is the degree to which he casts aspersions on the current pope with catty insinuations without sufficient courage to say plainly where he thinks Pope Francis has erred.
Does anyone argue against this claim of Weigel’s when he writes, early in the book: “Jesus Christ and his Gospel are the reason the Church is. And because of that, the proclamation of that Gospel and that Christ must be at the center of what the Catholic Church does.” Yes, of course this is true. Does anyone doubt it?
Weigel almost immediately descends into caricatures of the various approaches to evangelization. He writes, “At this moment in Catholic history, in which some deny that God’s revelation judges history and suggest that the flow of history and our present experience judge the truths of revelation, it is important to remember how robust the Second Vatican Council’s defense of the reality and the truth of divine revelation was.”
Who thinks history stands in judgment of revelation? To frame the contemporary debates within the church this way is not an instance of putting one’s finger on the scale, it is a misframing of the debates.
After a beautiful quote from Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, Weigel writes, “The next pope must understand this and teach it to the entire world Church.” Is there any chance he won’t?
To further illustrate his point, Weigel sets up a series of strawmen and then knocks them down. “Do the words of the Lord Jesus on the nature of marriage and its permanence remain true and binding for today?” he asks. “Or does our experience of the fragility of marriage in contemporary society empower us to adjust or even correct what Jesus taught?” If that is not a tendentious way of posing the issues faced by the Synods of Bishops on the family, I do not know what is.
He follows with a question, directed at the more recent synod on the Amazon, that is not only tendentious but offensive: “Does the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nation apply to indigenous peoples?” You turn the page expecting him to defend forced baptisms.
He finishes these mischaracterizations with a pronouncement that I can only label “American,” and not in a good sense: “The Catholic Church of the New Evangelization — which is the Catholic Church of the truth of revelation — lives. The Catholic Church of cultural accommodation — the Church uncertain about the truth of revelation and therefore incapable of proclaiming the Gospel fearlessly — is dying or dead.”
Success is not a name of God, and Weigel’s “Who is winning?” approach smacks of the kind of utilitarian, managerial attitudes he elsewhere, and rightly, criticizes.
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Indeed, it is noteworthy that as Weigel examines why the church in the West is, as he sees it, mostly moribund, he only mentions the word “materialism” once and that is in regard to Pope Benedict XVI’s condemnation of “positivistic materialism.” That is, materialism is only noteworthy as a philosophic category.
Forgive me for pointing out that you do not have to pay very much attention to the ambient culture to recognize that materialism, not as an idea but as a lived reality — Sunday brunch with unlimited mimosas, the endless marketing of stuff, the whole “the business of America is business” understanding of modern life — has succeeded in diminishing the significance of religion in our culture where Marxism failed. Such sociological facts, of course, are something Weigel is incapable of seeing.
If all this sounds familiar, it is because parts of this book read like they have been cut, copied and pasted from Weigel’s 2013 book, Evangelical Catholicism, which I reviewed here. That book, like this one, suffered from a hyper-individualistic understanding of faith as “friendship with Jesus.” That book also took potshots at what Weigel terms “Catholic Lite,” failing to recognize the ways he also neglects or diminishes parts of church teaching he finds uncomfortable.
Weigel can allege that these proponents of “Catholic Lite” fail to “teach the faith in full,” but he is the one who got out his red and gold pens to decide which parts of Benedict’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate were worthy of attention.
Just when you think you have read all this before, Weigel does introduce a new note: In the chapter on the fullness of the Catholic faith, he pens a series of assertions about what the new pope needs to do that are really passive-aggressive attacks on Francis.
“The next pope [should] welcome and respond to serious, respectful, questions and critique from those who share concern for and responsibility for the Church,” he writes, an obvious reference to the trick questions posing as dubia submitted to Francis by several conservative cardinals.
(Unsplash/Mateus Campos Felipe)
“The next pope must take care not to speak in such a way as to identify his personal opinions with the settled teaching of the Church,” Weigel frets. Yet, it was his hero Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” that represented personal opinions, and philosophical opinions at that, but that are treated as Holy Writ by many Catholic conservatives.
On one such suggestion, I am in complete agreement with Weigel. He writes, “Concurrently, the next pope must call wayward local Churches, whose concern for the unique situations they face has led them into de facto states of apostasy or schism, into a renewed and reformed relationship to the universal Church, its doctrine, and its pastoral practice.” He has the church in Germany in mind. I have the church in the U.S.
By the end of the chapter, Weigel’s condescending attitude is back on full display. He writes: “The Great Commission does not include instructions on dialogue and accompaniment…. Dialogue and accompaniment can help Christians to experience more fully the divine mercy. Dialogue and accompaniment are means only, however. They are not ends.”
True enough, but when you are dialoguing with and accompanying a human person, it is vital to see that person as an end, not as a mere means to making nasty arguments about “Catholic Lite” theology.
The chapter on Christian humanism has some unimpeachable observations. Weigel rightly criticizes the ecclesiology left over after Vatican I — “In some Catholic minds, local bishops were the branch managers of a vast global corporation whose primary function was to execute what the Chief Executive Officer in Rome decreed” — but he wrongly attributes it to “an accident of history.”
Yes, the council was abruptly ended due to the start of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, but the ultramontane ecclesiology then in vogue, and demanded by Pope Pius IX, likely would have won the ecclesiological fight if the council had continued.
Weigel’s blather about “the heroic priesthood” is part and parcel of the clerical culture that must be uprooted, not indulged.
The final chapters, on the laity, reform of the Curia, ecumenism and world affairs, are textbook articulations of neoconservative principles, overstating the degree to which Pope John Paul II was a neocon and filled with innuendos about the naiveté or parochialism of Francis.
In 2013, after Benedict’s surprise resignation, The Wall Street Journal invited several Catholics to answer the question: What should the cardinals seek in a new pope? Weigel’s new book adds little to the 300 or so words he wrote then: “The next pope should be, in short, a charismatic, missionary culture warrior, challenging the world’s democracies to rebuild their moral foundations and offering Catholic social doctrine as one tool for that urgent task.” A culture warrior, accommodating the parts of the culture Weigel likes and assailing those he does not.
We got a warrior alright, but one whose priorities are a tad different from Weigel’s.
Pope Francis eats lunch with the poor in the Paul VI hall as he marks World Day of the Poor at the Vatican Nov. 17, 2019. (CNS/Paul Haring)
I will not be writing a book about “the next pope” anytime soon. But I will note that I also answered The Wall Street Journal’s query back in 2013. I urged the cardinals to seek a new pope who would exercise his ministry among the poor, visiting soup kitchens, not only cathedrals, on his travels, consulting with the homeless as well as civic leaders, perhaps adopting a less lavish style of living and dress. I concluded:
Identifying with the poor would allow the new pope to give visible evidence of Catholicism’s deep-seated suspicions of modern consumer capitalism. Capitalism values thrift and aggressiveness, its heroes are the protean, self-made men of industry. It thrives on competition.
But Christians follow Jesus Christ, whose grace is gratuitous, not thrifty, whose life was characterized by contemplation, not aggression. Jesus was not a self-made man but radically dependent on his Father’s will.
Jesus, and the church that Catholics believe he founded, valued solidarity more than competition. He characterized his ministry as bringing good news to the poor. Benedict XVI was not shy about criticizing capitalism in his writings. We need a pope who will critique it by his actions.
Like Weigel, I do not feel much need to change my tune, except my tune was on the mark and his was — and is — off-key. The Catholic anthem of the 21st century is being sung in a different key from the crimped, neoconservative, Americanist vision that Weigel has put before us anew.
Francis has restored a thoroughly evangelical concern for the poor as a priority for the global church, and whether or not it “succeeds” in the eyes of the world, that restoration conforms to the mandate of the Gospel better than any of the programmatic suggestions found in The Next Pope.
[Michael Sean Winters covers the nexus of religion and politics for NCR.]Editor’s note: Don’t miss out on Michael Sean Winters’ latest. Sign up and we’ll let you know when he publishes new Distinctly Catholic columns.
