FEBRUARY 02, 2003, vol 53, no 3

St> The L o r d

M.I.T.A. (P) No. 105/01/2003 PPS 201/4/2003

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Pope John Paul II - ADDREESS TO THE VATICAN DIPLMATIC CORPS

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INSIDE R e g io n a l NEW S

Faith in Life ........ page 8 FORMATION Bible

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Children’s Corner — — page 10 The F am ily — page 14-15 Young C ath o lics — page 14-15 U n ity Them es — page 15

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At 11.00 am on January 13 in the Royal Halall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father John Paul II received in audience the Members of the Dipiplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, for the traditional presentation of greetings for the New Year. r. The address was delivered by His Exc. Prof. Giovanni Gaiassi, Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino o to the Holy See, after which, the Pope delivered his discourse.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

THE COURAGE TO SAY “NO''

1. This meeting at the beginning of the New Year is a happy tradition which affords me the joy of welcoming you and in some way of embracing all the peoples whom you represent!

For it is through you and thanks to you that I come to know their hopes and aspirations, their successes and their setbacks. Today I wish to offer your countries my fervent good wishes of happiness, peace and prosperity.

At the threshold of the New Year, I am also pleased to offer all of you my best wishes, as I invoke upon you, your families and your fellow citizens an abundance of divine blessings.

Before sharing with you some reflections inspired by the present situation in the world and in the Church, I must thank your Dean, Ambassador Giovanni Gaiassi, for his kind words and for the good wishes which he has thoughtfully expressed, in the name of all present, for my person and for my ministry.

Please accept my deep gratitude!

Mr Ambassador, you have also pointed to the legitimate expectations of modern men and women, all too often frustrated by political crises, by armed violence, by social conflicts, by poverty or by natural catastrophes. Never as at the beginning of this millennium has humanity felt how precarious is the world which it has shaped.

4. This is why choices need to be made so that humanity can still have a future. Therefore, the peoples of the earth and their leaders must sometimes have the courage to say “No”.

2. I have been personally struck by the feeling of fear (a reference to the assasination attempt on his own life ?) which often dwells in the hearts of our contemporaries. An insidious terrorism capable of striking at any time and anywhere; the unresolved problem of the Middle East, with the Holy Land and Iraq; the turmoil disrupting South America, particularly Argentina, Colombia and Venzuela; the conflicts preventing numerous African countries from focusing on their development; the diseases spreading contagion and death; the grave problem of famine, especially in Africa; the irresponsible behaviour contributing to the depletion of the planet’s resources: all these are so many plagues threatening the suvival of humanity, the peace of individuals and the security of socie­ ties.

3. Yet everything can change. It depends on each of us. Everyone can develop within himself his potential for faith, for honesty, for respect of others and for commitment to the service of others.

It also depends, quite obviously, on political leaders, who are called to serve the common good. You will not be surprised if before an assembly of diplomats I state in this regard certain requirements which I believe must be met if entire peoples, perhaps even humanity itself, are not to sink into the abyss.

“NO TO DEATH"!

That is to say, no to all that attacks the incom­ parable dignity of every human being, beginning with that of unborn children. If life is truly a treasure, we need to be able to preserve it and to make it bear fruit without distorting it. “No” to all that weakens the family, the basic cell of society. “No” to all that destroys in children the sense of striving, their respect for themselves and others, the sense of service.

First, a “YES TO LIFE”!

Respect life itself and indivicHdual lives: everything starts here, for the most funmdamental of human rights is certainly the right toto life. Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, t for example, risk reducing the human person & to a mere object: life and death to order, as it it were! When all moral criteria are removed, s scientific research involving the sources of life b becomes a denial of the being and the dignity of tf the person. War itself is an attack on human n life since it brings in its wake suffering and deseath. The battle for peace is always a battle fo rjr life!

Next. RESPECT FOR LAAW. Life within society - p a rtic u la rly international life - presupposes common andid inviolable principles whose goal is to guarantee ts the security and the freedom of individual citizensns and of nations.

These rules of conduct are 6 the foundation of national and international ststability. Today political leaders have at hanand highly relevant texts and institutions. It is erenough simply to put them into practice. The worlorld would be totally different if people began to a apply in a straight­ forward manner the agreemenents already signed!

Finally, the DUTY OF SOOLIDARITY. In a world with a superabundance of informa­ tion, but which paradoxicallylly finds it so difficult to communicate and where Is living conditions are scandalously unequal, it is in important to spare no effort to ensure that everyorone feels responsible for the growth and happinessss of all. Our future is at stake. An unemployed g) young person, a handicapped person who is s marginalized, elderly people who are uneared for, :>r, countries which are captives of hunger and poveiverty: these situations all too often make people de despair and fall prey to the temptation either of cltclosing in on them­ selves or of resorting to violeolence.

“NO TO SELFISHNESS”!

In other words, to all that impels man to protect himself inside the cocoon of a privileged social class or a cultural comfort which excludes others. The life-style of the prosperous, their patterns of consumption, must be reviewed in the light of their repercussions on other coun­ tries. Let us mention for example the problem of water resources, which the United Nations Organization has asked us all to consider during this year 2003. Selfishness is also the indiffer­ ence of prosperous nations towards nations left out in the cold. All peoples are entitled to receive a fair share of the goods of this world and of the know-how of the more advanced countries. How can we fail to think here, for example, of the access of everyone to generic medicines, needed to continue the fight against current pandemics, an access — alas — often thwarted by short-term economic considerations?

“NO TO WAR”!

War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between States, the noble exercise of diplomacy: these are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences. I say this as I think of those who still place their trust in nuclear weapons and of the all-too-numerous conflicts which continue to hold hostage our brothers and sisters in humanity. At Christmas, Bethlehem reminded us of the unresolved crisis in the Middle East, where two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, are called to live side-by-side, equally free and sovereign, in mutual respect. Without needing to repeat what I said to you last year on this occasion, I will simply add today, faced with the constant degeneration of the crisis in the Middle East, that the solution will never be imposed by recourse to terrorism or armed conflict, as if military victories could be the solution.

Change is p o s s ib le

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VATICAN

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4th International Congress of the Family

On the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, our Holy Father administered the Sacrament of Baptism to 22 babies during Mass in the Sistine Chapei of the Vatican. The distinctly privileged babies were from Italy, Poland and Lebanon.

The Holy Father delivered the Homily at the Mass, using as his text the quotation from Isaiah,

On the 24 August last year, the Holy Father John Paul II named His Eminence Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Legate for the celebration of the 4th International Congress of the Family, which will take place in Manila, Philippines from 23 to 26 January 2003.

55:6 "Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to Him while he is still near." These words from the second part of the Book of Isaiah resound today, as we conclude the liturgical time of Christmas. They constitute an invitation to deepen that meaning of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord which we celebrate today.

Let us go to the banks of the river Jordan, where John the Baptist is administering the baptism of penance, and exhorting the people to conversion. Then, Jesus comes in front of his Precursor, and by his very presence transforms this gesture of penance into a solemn manifestation of his divinity. Suddenly a voice resounds from heaven" At the invitation of the "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Me 1:11), and Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove.

Msgr. Pham Minh Man, the In this extraordinary event, John sees the realization of everything President of the Pontifical that has been said about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, and Council "Cor Unum", Msgr. Paul worshipped by the shepherds and the Magi. He it is, who has been Joseph Cordes was in Vitenam announced by the Prophets, the beloved Son of the Father, whom we from 13-20 January to meet local have to seek while he is still to be found and to call on while he is near.

Church leaders and to offer help In Baptism every Christian encounters Jesus: every Christian is to the local diocesan social and inserted into the mystery of his death and resurrection, and receives charitable work. new life, which is the very life of God. What a stupendous gift and what a great responsibility. The liturgy of today exhorts us to "draw" with joy Since 1970, "Cor Unum" , from the springs of salvation." It exhorts us to relive our Baptism, giving which can be termed "the Ministry thanks for the wonderful gifts that we have received. of Charity of the Holy Father", has It is with these sentiments that I am about to administer the many several contacts with the Sacrament of Baptism to these newborn babies in the magnificent Church in Vietnam, offering Sistine Chapel, where the brush of the great masters have painted the concrete help to the communities poignant moments of our faith. There are twenty-two babies mostly which have endured periods of from Italy but also from Poland and Lebanon.

I greet all of you, dearest Brothers and Sisters, for taking part in this great suffering.

The two main objectives of very significant celebration. I greet with particular affection, you, the this visit where to alleviate dear parents, and godparents, called to be for these little ones, the first poverty and overcome isolation. witnesses of the fundamental gift of faith. The Lord assist you, to fulfil Msgr. Cordes visited dioceses in this great responsibility for their lives which are so precious in his eyes. the South of the coutnry to assess Fulfil your responsibilities with love so that they may grow "in wisdom, at close hand the situation of age and grace", helping them to be faithful to their vocation. poverty which has been In a little while, in their name, you will renew the promise to combat aggravated by frequent floods. He evil and adhere fully to Christ. May your very existence be always be would be then in a position to marked by this generous undertaking! better co-ordinate the work of Be conscious, always, that the Lord asks of you a new and International Agencies in offering profound collaboration: he trusts that you will walk with them daily on urgent assistance to the people in the path to sanctity. Strive to be holy yourselves to guide your children areas that have suffered more towards the great goal of the Christian life. Never forget that to be holy from natural disasters. requires a Christian faith that is distinguished above all, by the art of Msgr. Cordes also went to the prayer. north, to the capital Ha Noi, May Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, who abandoned herself where he met with Cardinal Pham fully to the plan of God, sustain you and nourish your hope and your Dinh Tung, who for many years desire to faithfully serve Christ and his Church. May the Madonna help was, himself, an active member of especially these little ones to fulfil totally the plan that God has for each "Cor Unum". of them. May she assist Christian families the world over to be The visit of Msgr. Cordes also authentic "schools of prayer", in which prayer is the heart and the font offered an important opportunity of every activity. □ [original text: Italian] to demonstrate the affection of the Holy Father John Paul II to the people of Vietnam, to grow in mutual understanding and to reflect together with the local Our Holy Church on the forms of F a th e r assistance that needed more urgent activation to meet the smites material and spiritual needs of at those who live in a disadvantaged the p a re n ts situation. □

Vietnam Visit

holding th e ir set o f trip le ts .

c o n fid e th e m m

Rev. Fr. Claude Barreteau, MEP Rev. Fr. Felix Brygier, MEP Rev. Fr. Balthazar Chang, CICM Rev. Fr. Francois Dufay, MEP Rev. Fr. Edmund Dunne, CSsR Rev. Fr. Janies Wallace, CSsR Rev. Bro. Casimir, CSsR Rev. Fr. Gerard Keane, SJ Rev. Fr. Alfred Cl Rev. Fr. Frank Dep

. . on current international issues.

[original text: Italian]

Catholics in Politics The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having received the opinion of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, has decided that it would be appropriate to publish a

Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation o f Catholics in political life. This Note is directed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church and, in a particular way, to Catholic politicians and all lay members of the faithful called to participate in the political life of democratic societies. □

- See next issue for full report

Cardinal Trujillo will be accompanied by the Rev. Msgr.

Hernando M Coronel, Secretary-General of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines and Rev. Fr. Gregory Ramon D. Gaston, of the Archdiocese of Manila. [original text: Italian] The Letter of the Holy Father.

To Our Venerable Brother Alfonso, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, LOPEZ TRUJILLO, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family Everyone knows that the Family has been and always is our greatest concern thoughout our Pontificate. We have often defended the Family in our discourses and documents and promoted it by our advice and admonitions.

We, therefore, cannot but greatly rejoice at the forthcoming International Congress of the Family which will be held in Manila from the 22nd to the 26th of January with the theme: "The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millenium". It is only from a healthy and solid status of the human family that we can hope for and expect that people of the whole world can live in peace and prosperity. We already think of the beauty of this Congress and the fruitful effects of its successful completion.

We will be there in spirit throughout the Congress and will be following with great interest all the deliberations, and God willing, we will be able to address all the participants of the Congress from a distance as it were, because there will be someone there who will be our faithful collaborator bearing as it were our person and speaking with our voice.

We can find no one more suitable than yourself, our Venerable Brother, to praiseworthily fulfil that task since you have, for more than twelve years , at our behest, presided over the Pontifical Council for the Family, and in that position, by your work, the Church has brought such benefits to the families. Therefore, by these Our Letters, we trustingly nominate you our Extraordinary Legate to the 4th International Congress of the Families due to take place in Manila in the coming month of January.

You will address the participants with our words and greet them from our own heart and grant our Apostolic Blessing so that the spiritual outcome of the congress will redound to the confirmation and continual flourishing of the Family of man.

Meanwhile, Venerable Brother of Ours, may our prayers and all good wishes accompany you during the fulfilment of this very important function of yours which you so willingly undertake on our behalf for the good of all families and the Universal Church.

From the Vatican, the 27th day o f the month o f December, in the year 2002, the 25th o f Our Pontificate.

JOHN PAUL II [original language: Latin]

The Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See (Vatican) In relation to our headline report, it might be of interest to see how wide is the representation of countries and world bodies to the Vatican City State and thus to the Pope and the Church. The Holy See does not take the initiative in seeking Diplomatic Representation in a country. Countries have to take the initiative to ask for Diplomatic representation. The Vatican is among the countries, if not the country, with the largest number of diplomatic ties. It has the equivalent of a ministry of "Foreign Affairs", Relations with States,, which handles matters with the various countries.

Relations with States.

The Holy See has full Diplomatic Relations with 173 States: ( Singapore is one o f them ) Moreover, the Holy See has Diplomatic Relations also with: the European Union the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Finaly, the Holy See has Relations of a special nature with: Russian Federation , Mission with an Ambassador Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO ), Office with a Director The Holy See participates also in a multitude of various International Intergovernmental Organizations and Bodies: like the United Nations and its affiliated Agencies and Regional Intergovernmental Organizations and Bodies.

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VIETNAM, Ho Chi Minh City (UCAN) — The newly ordained bishop of Hai Phong says training laity as Church workers is his top priority as shepherd.

Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hai Phong, Vietnam’s youngest bishop, says the “urgent need in the immediate future” is to have more trained catechists and lay Church workers help priests carry out diocesan work.

The reason for such laity training, the newly installed bishop said, is that there are only 30 priests in his diocese to serve 120,000 Catholics in 62 parishes. There are also many pastoral difficulties, such as the lack of trained catechists to teach religion, and to address this urgent need the diocese will run courses.

Bishop Thien also appealed to Religious congregations from other dioceses to send members to work in his diocese since there are only two women’s Religious institutes in Hai Phong diocese. The two institutes, “Emmanuel” and “Feminine Auxiliaries,” have altogether 56 members.

Diocesan records show that when Vietnam was divided into the North and South in 1954, some 60,000 Catholics from Hai Phong diocese fled to the south. They included the bishop, 70 priests, most seminarians, lay catechists and nuns. Only 11 elderly priests, six lay catechists, six nuns and about 45,000 lay Catholics stayed behind.

Today, Bishop Thien said, two-thirds of his 30 priests are “young,” having been ordained since 1988. “My mission is to link with the past and prepare for the future, and I would like to be a friend with everybody,” he said.

Noting that the Church in northern Vietnam is

still “closed upon itself,” he emphasized, “We should not live apart from the community in which h we serve. We should not live as aliens among ourur compatriots in a country faced with poverty and other difficulties.”

“We should serve people through concrete and d practical actions,” he also said, especially since 95 5 percent of Catholics in his diocese are poor rice farmers. He pledged to continue the pastoral plan n of the late Bishop Joseph Nguyen Tung Cuong, his predecessor, to build unity among the faithful.

Bishop Thien entered Ha Noi Major Seminary in 1982 and was ordained a priest in 1988. After that, he served as secretary at the Hai Phong bishop’s office and then as pastor in two parishes s in his native Hai Duong province. He has been teaching theology at Ha Noi Major Seminary since e returning in 2000 from studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris.

Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung of Ha Noi ordained him bishop on Jan. 2 in Hai Phong.

The event drew some 18,000 Catholics, including 220 priests and 15 bishops, and representatives of of the local government and other religions.

Hai Phong is Vietnam’s third largest city. The diocese covers the seaport of Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh provinces, and part of Hung Yen province, areas where evangelization was pioneered mostly by Spanish Dominican missioners. The diocese has had no bishop ordinary since 1999.

Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Thien ordinary last Nov. 26. That same day, the pope named Father Stephanus Tri Buu Thien, 53, coadjutor bishop of Can Tho diocese. The latter’s s episcopal ordination is set for Feb. 18. n

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Kindergarten for Poor

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CHINA, Hong Kong (UCAN) — The presence of a Catholic-run kindergarten in an upcountry town in MONGOLIA has helped local people become aware of the Catholic Church and its mission to serve the poor.

Father Patrick Masschelein, provincial superior of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) congregation that runs the kindergarten, told UCA News Jan. 13 that local people, including the kindergarten teachers, had no previous knowledge about the Catholic Church.

The Hong Kong-based priest said the opening of the kindergarten in Erdenet, some 400 kilometres northwest of Ulaanbaatar, marks a new phase for the Catholic Church in Mongolia as it expands outside Ulaanbaatar, the capital.

Father Masschelein was in Erdenet for the Dec. 27 opening ceremony, which included a Mass celebrated by Seoul-based Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini, apostolic nuncio to Mongolia. CICM Monsignor Wenceslao Padilla, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, and two other priests concelebrated.

The mayor of Erdenet, a local education official al and a social welfare officer also attended the opening.

Father Masschelein said the kindergarten began n operations in early December and now has about 25 children who otherwise could not afford schooling. Erdenet, Mongolia’s third largest town, is is a copper and molybdenum mining centre with someie 74,000 residents. About one-third of them live in “ger” (felt tents) or wooden cabins in western Erdenet. Most people are poor and jobless.

Local TV reporters covered the opening. “They y asked why we always work for the poor and kept >t asking why we do not work for richer people,” saidiid Father Masschelein. He just told them the kindergarten was for the poor.

Father Tshimanga, a Congolese, was ordained d a priest Dec. 25 in Ulaanbaatar. CICM Brother Serge-Patrick Mondomobe, from Cameroon in west central Africa, was ordained a deacon that same day. Some 500 people, including the country’s 100 or so Catholics, attended the ordinations in a hotel. □

Belief in God can unite PAKISTAN, Kasur, (UCAN) — A common belief in the one, merciful and loving God can unite Christians and Muslims in Pakistan, says a Muslim politician.

Sardar Hassan Akhtar Mokal, a member of the Punjab provincial assembly, emphasized the point while visiting a Catholic parish in Kasur. He said that Christians and Muslims believe in one God, and also value peace and respect for human beings.

Christians and Muslims that voted for Mokal in the October general elections were among some 380 people who came for free medical check-ups and medicine at the parish on Jan. 8. The parish development council organized the one-day free clinic with the local government, and invited Mokal as a guest speaker.

The event gave Mokal an opportunity to thank Christians who voted for him under the joint electorate system. “This is the first time after winning the election that the Christian community invited me to attend one of their events,” he said.

He acclaimed the restoration of the electoral system, which allows religious minorities to vote forfor a Muslim or any other candidate.

Chaudhry Aas Muhammad, president of the Kasur Bar Association, likewise urged people attending the free clinic to draw on their belief in the one God in an effort to foster peace and unity ty among Christians and Muslims.

Referring to last year’s terrorist attacks on the ie Christian community, he asserted that such acts are carried out by people with no faith or religion, n, and said the belief of Muslims and Christians in the one God should prevent them from attacking worship places.

Mian Khaliq Sana Karimi, vice mayor of Kasur^ir, also told the gathering that attacks on worship places, schools and hospitals only “widen the gulf ilf between the two religions.”

He said the free clinic was a good moment foror Christians and Muslims to join together to discuss s the development and the welfare of people, n

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In our part of the world, we have a double New Year, the Solar and the Lunar! Beautifully, as it were, inbetween the both, Our Holy Father gave what has been termed his annual "State of the World Address" to the world through the Diplomatic Corps at the Vatican, numbering 175 Ambassadors from as many independent countries of the world, including our own Singapore.

He painted a dismal picture by any standards, but at the same time it was a message of hope: "It is possible to change the course of events, once good will, trust in others, fidelity to commitments and cooperation between responsible partners are allowed to prevail.''

For editorial matters Lest, however, we think that his message is relevant and The E ditor applicable only to his audience of world diplomats representing their Dr (Rev) Robert P. Balhetchet governments who can bring about the change he is talking about, and that we as ordinary minions can do nothing, we must pause and think.

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THE PEWS Responses are from the Editor.

We are people, the citizens of the world, and each of us has a part to play. For us in the Church, we are also Christians with the mission of bringing to realization, the message of Christmas - " ... peace on earth to men of goodwill".

We are, or at least, must be, in the words of our Holy Father, "People of the Beatitudes". Each of us must be a hargbinger of peace. Each of us can and must bring about a climate of peace, a mentality of peace, a reality of peace, in our own circumstances, in our own milieu.

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We have to be "peacemakers" in our families, in our neighbourhoods, in our Christian communities, in our workplaces. If only each of us could do his or her own little bit to bring about peace, peace would "happen".

It is so appropriate that at this time too, that the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity has urged us to reach out to other Christian Churches in a dialogue of common action and witness to the world on issues that affect all peoples, especially the disadvantaged and disenfranchised.

Appropriate too, is the recently concluded 4th International Congress on the Family, under the direction of the Pontifical Council for the Family. The family has always been referred to as the building block of society.

It is the cradle of education for the future generations of our countries and the world of the future. It cannot, however, fulfil the role it has, unless the family becomes a radiant symbol of unity and love. Countries cannot be expected to be united in love and concern for each other and their peoples unless individual families are real cradles of that love and concern.

As we look forward to the months that lie ahead of us, be it in the light of the sun or the moon, let us all endeavour to bring about that peace which the world cannot give, but which Jesus alone can bring about through a change of heart in the depths of every man.

Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His and our Blessed Mother, in this Year of the Rosary, may a new era of peace be brought to birth for the benefit of the humanity that Jesus came to redeem.

Media Education in Seminaries

13 January 2003 The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei agree with the Holy See and Bishops from the U.S.A. and Middle East that resorting to war against Iraq under current circumstances would not meet the strict conditions in Catholic teaching for over-riding the presumptions against the use of military force.

We also join others in urging Iraq to comply fully with the latest United Nations Security Council resolutions.

We urge other Bishops’ Conferences all over the world to join their voices in solidarity to call upon all involved to abide by the principles of international law.

We join and urge people of all faiths and goodwill to pray fervently that all involved will act to ensure this action of the United Nations will not simply be a prelude to war but a way to peace and justice.

Archbishop Anthony Soter Fernandez, D.D. President Catholic Bishops’ Conference Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei

INDIA, Ujjain, (UCAN) — The bishops’ commission for communications has set up a committee to promote media education in seminaries and other formation centers, reflecting the Church’s new positive attitude toward communications.

The seven-member committee was formed at a national conference on “Theology and Social Communication” in Ujjain, 775 kilometers south of New Delhi.

Twenty-eight theologians, mostly theologate deans, and seven communications experts attended the Jan. 1-5 meeting, organized by the Commission for Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

The committee will also ask seminarians their expectations of media courses and encourage them to undertake research on communications theology. It will also try to ascertain communications priorities of priests ordained in the past five years.

Moreover, it plans to launch an electronic mail newsletter or an Internet-based discussion group for seminarians and communicators.

The meeting participants called for development of a basic communications book for formation purposes. They said they were happy over the “thinning” of “clouds of negativism and indifference” in the Church in India toward social communications, since it has begun to accept communications as a way of life.

understanding” of the communications ministry.

Jesuit Father Michael Amaladoss, presenting a paper on “Theology’s response to the challenges o f communications, ” said that communications becomes “a theological category” when it is allied to revelation, mission and communion. The theologian said he has seen “growing acceptance” among theologians that “language is not the only medium of theological or any serious expression,” but symbols, poetry, painting and music are also “authentic expressions.”

He said he wants multimedia to be at the service of theological expression.

The committee

Communications Tehology Father Henry D'Souza, the commission secretary, noted that many bishops now realize that ignoring communications harms the community and alienates people from the Church and “even God himself.” The meeting highlighted the need for a communications theology for the Indian Church, especially for seminarians.

The new committee will try to inculcate among seminary professors the new attitude, culture and language of media and communications. Participants at the recent meeting said that such a goal is more important than adding a few courses in communications to the seminary curriculum.

The influence of media Also observed at the meeting was a growing awareness among pastors of “the

tremendous influence of media on people."

The meeting called for viewing communications as “an integral part’ o f the

Church's mission, instead o f treating it as just “a matter of mastering media skills or techniques. ’ Social communications, the participants agreed, has become in the new media age a “necessity for all sections of the Church

at all levels," and not “just an option for the chosen few." They also stressed “an urgent need” in India’s Church for “a more holistic

The convener of the new committee is Missionaries of St. Thomas Father Jose Palakeel, dean of Ruhalaya theologate in Ujjain, the meeting venue.

Besides Father D’Souza, communications experts on the committee are Salesian Father George Plathottam, president of the Indian Catholic Press Association, and Jesuit Father Jacob Srampickal and Father Victor Sunderaj, both with the bishops' National Institute for Social Communication, Research and Training.

Other seminary deans on the committee are Father Jacob Parappally of Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth in Pune, and Father Sebastian Periannan of St. Peter's Institute in Bangalore, n

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Pakistani Year of Peace PAKISTAN, Lahore (UCAN) — The Catholic bishops’ Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism has launched 2003 as the Year of Peace in Pakistan with programs aiming to educate Pakistanis on the need for peace.

Capuchin Father Francis Nadeem, Secretary of the Commission said, “We hope all true patriotic citizens of this country will join this awareness campaign and come closer together to work for the development, salvation and unity of the country.”

Among the programs planned all over Pakistan this year are peace rallies, sports events, “mela” (religious fairs), poetry and book writing competitions, broadcast programs, and interfaith prayer services in churches and mosques.

The Church commission plans to work with TV and radio artists to produce dramas, songs and quiz programs to promote peace. It has also targeted specific groups with for essay writing and painting competitions for children, seminars for women and interfaith rallies for university students.

Also planned is modification of school textbooks, with sections on social harmony and solidarity, to give a better understanding of

different religions. .

Representatives of the Bahai, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities lauded the commission’s initiative. Riaz Shaid, a Bahai, described the episcopal commission’s peace awareness campaign as “timely.”

Mahonar Chand, a Hindu, said that though he was “impressed” by the launching of the Year of Peace, he is still concerned about some Muslim clerics who always instigate people to wage a holy war against people of other faiths.

Chand also cited the need to educate people about Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which he said some Muslims “take advantage o f to settle personal scores. The blasphemy laws carry a mandatory death sentence for blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and life imprisonment for blasphemy against the Qur’an.

Sadia Khalid, a Muslim lawyer, admitted that religious minorities have been maltreated in Pakistan due to “the lack of knowledge and education.” Mian Jamil Akhtar, another Muslim lawyer, exhorted Pakistanis who are not Muslims to join the mainstream and not view themselves as a “minority.” n

Indonesian "Year of Peace" INDONESIA Jakarta (UCAN) — Religious leaders in Indonesia say they support President Megawati Soekarnoputri’s call to make 2003 the Year of Peace for the nation.

Some 200 Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Hindu and Muslim leaders expressed support for the government's peace efforts Jan. 8 during a meeting in Jakarta. Megawati declared “Year 2003, The Year of Peace and Non-Violence” on Jan. 1 in Bali, where bomb blasts killed at least 180 people in October.

Din Samsuddin, chairman of the Indonesian Committee on Religion and Peace (ICRP), said the ICRP convened the meeting to make sure that all religions are for peace.

Samsuddin, co-chairman of Asian Conference on Religious and Peace, asserted that turnout at the meeting indicates that “all religions support peace, and deny terrorism and anarchism.”

“Anarchism and terrorism have no root in any religion in the world,” said Samsuddin, who is also secretary general of the Indonesian Islamic Ulemas Council and deputy of Muhammadiyah, the country’s second largest Muslim organization, with 20 million followers. He urged the religious leaders to collaborate to promote peace, and reject terrorism and violence.

Reverend Bonar Simangungsong, a Protestant pastor, said he agrees that all religious leaders should cooperate with each other to promote peace. “Let us accept our differences and join hands in promoting a harmonious, peaceful life,” he said. He added that peace would prevail only when people put their respective faiths into practice.

Venerable Bante Alam, a Buddhist monk, emphasized that the religious leaders “should set a good example in building good relations and cooperation for the common good. Instead of pursuing one’s own interest, seeking one’s own benefit, let us all cooperate with sincere hearts.’’

Thomas Bambang, a Catholic layman representing Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta, said peace should be cultivated not only in formal peace forums, but in the streets, worship places, market and work places, and homes. He also conveyed the cardinal’s greetings to all the religious leaders.

Budi S. Tanuwibowo, a Confucian, called for recognition of the uniqueness of people and religions.

I Nyoman Widi, a Hindu, said it is not enough for one to say he or she has a religion. “The faith i must be put into practice."

Theopilus Bela, a Catholic and IRCP secretary / general, said the ICRP is organizing a youth camp in late January to promote peace and camaraderie among people of various religions.

At another meeting on Jan. 9 in Jakarta, this time with visiting British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, the religious leaders expressed their opposition to any attack on Iraq by the United States, Britain and their allies.

Cardinal Darmaatmadja, who was able to attend the Jan. 9 meeting, was reported by the Protestant-run “Suara Pembaruan” (voice of renewal) in Jakarta as stressing that peace cannot result from war and violence, n

Peace Structures SRI LANKA. Colombo (UCAN) — Amid ongoing peace talks between the government and a militant separatist movement, the Catholic bishop of Badulla has warned that political and juridical structures alone cannot bring peace to Sri Lanka.

Bishop Winston Fernando of Badulla made the comment during a Mass Jan. 5 for the success of the peace talks. He said the negotiators should draw from the “core religious values of love, peace, justice, brotherhood and sincerity.”

“Jesus Christ himself not only preached but also lived a life of peace,” the bishop pointed out. “(Christ) has given us his own peace ... At the table of the Eucharist, we must open our wounded and broken hearts.”

He also advised, “We cannot leave peace for the politicians to decide. We need to continue our peace efforts, not only through prayer but also through self sacrifices in our homes and communities.” The prelate encouraged those attending the Mass to put their “trust in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.”

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c a i n e s In February 2002, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Velupillai Prabakharan, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which since led to a cessation of hostilities.

During the Mass, however, Bishop Fernando expressed reservations about the possibility of sustaining peace in a country that has witnessed almost 20 years of war between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils. He asked, “Is this peace sustainable given the sinful and judgmental I nature of man, and the long history of distrust, deprivation and loss of life on both sides?”

“There should be a culture of peace which transcends all cultures,” Bishop Fernando asserted in his homily. “No culture can survive through violence. There should be peace and human dignity.” He then cited Pope John XXIII’s encyclical “Pacem in Terris” (Peace on Earth) and emphasized that truth, justice, love and freedom are “spiritual pillars on which peace can i be built.”

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Time Wheel ritual INDIA, Bodh Gaya, (UCAN) - At the start of a nine-day Buddhist ritual being carried out in eastern India to pray for world peace, the Dalai Lama has urged people to renounce materialism and to turn to spirituality.

He offered his counsel to some 150,000 people who came from around the world for the opening of “kalchakra puja” (time wheel ritual). It took place Jan. 12 in Bihar state’s Bodh Gaya, some 1,015 kilometres east of New Delhi.

The Dalai Lama, 67-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, explained that the nine-day ceremony aims to bring the spirit of non-violence and peace to a world facing the “dangers of a nuclear holocaust."

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner remarked that half the human race could be wiped out with “a gentle push on the nuclear button.” To resolve the crises confronting the modern world, the Dalai Lama urged people to end materialism’s grip over life and to seek “spirituality, contentment and love for humanity.”

He asserted that money and luxury cannot solve modern problems. Materialism, he explained, has adversely affected families since even children now exhibit violent behaviour. “Money breeds greed, jealousy and other social vices. It can never bring joy,” he said.

The Buddhist leader spoke in Tibetan but was simultaneously translated into English, Hindi and other languages. The ritual took place some 400 meters from Bodh Gaya’s main Buddhist shrine, marking the spot where Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment about 2,500 years ago.

Three days earlier, the Dalai Lama blessed and appointed 13,000 Tibetan monks and nuns, as well as 2,100 Buddhist lay people, to conduct various rites during the ritual. Before the blessing, they were given a three-hour briefing on the intricacies of the ritual, which is scheduled to end on Jan. 20.

The ritual comprises 37 special exercises based on Buddhist scriptures. The 15,100 people chosen to conduct some of the rites must undergo “a lot of physical and spiritual penance and rigours” during the “very difficult” worship, he said.

According to Dagpo, senior lamas (priests) were careful when selecting the monks, nun and lay people, some from abroad. Besides the 150,000 Buddhists already attending the mega ritual, he said many more are expected.

King Dong, a lay Buddhist from South Korea, told UCA News he came to Bodh Gaya to pray for peace and wisdom in the world. The kalchakra puja, he said, would help convert evil people and contain violence in the world. He stressed the ritual’s importance in light of the revival of North Korea’s nuclear program and the impending U.S.-lraq war.

Prafulla Chandra Roy, a 75-year-old Buddhist history scholar, said the ritual is based on ancient Mahayana Buddhist texts that explain how to revive the participants’ inherent powers and gain wisdom to attain enlightenment.

Roy told UCA News the ritual is now performed only

by Tibetan Buddhists, but the “towering personality of the Dalai Lama” has made the ritual a global event that attracts even non-Tibetan Buddhists.

In all, about 250,000 people are expected to flock to Bodh Gaya, which comes under Gaya district, for this year’s kalchakra puja. Local officials have stepped up security and prepared living arrangements for the visitors to the town, which normally has fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. Gaya District Magistrate Brajesh Mehrotra told UCA News his administration has taken “all possible security measures” to ensure the ritual’s success.

In a pre-dawn raid Jan. 12, police rounded up 12 Indians on a six-day “fast unto death” demanding the ending of the ritual and the ouster of the Dalai Lama and his successor, the Karmapa Lama. They accused the Tibetan spiritual leaders of abusing India’s hospitality. According to Mehrotra, the 12 were taken into police custody to prevent “lunatic acts” from disturbing the event.

Last year’s ritual had to be abruptly cancelled when the Dalai Lama fell ill. Venerable Lama Tring, an 81-yearold monk, explained that only Dalai Lama is empowered to perform the kalchakra puja, “a special tantric ritual, full of mystical insights, mysteries and miracles.”

Venerable Tring, now living in a camp for Tibetans in southern India's Karnataka state, was with the Dalai Lama when they fled to India in 1959. He told UCA News that the programme comprises a series of rituals to bring “perfection of wisdom and tame the wheel of time, to stop the process of ageing and decay.”

Venerable Tring also pointed out that the programme empowers its performers and participants to become “touchstones” of peace and wisdom, n

In the service of all INDONESIA, Pontianak, (UCAN) — A Catholic bishop in West Kalimantan, an area known for ethnic strife, has urged the incoming governor and his deputy to serve all people in the province regardless of ethnic or religious background.

Archbishop Hieronymus Bumbun of Pontianak conveyed the expectations of the local Church to the leaders before they began their 2003-2008 term.

Usman Ja'far, an ethnic Malay Muslim, and Laurentius Herman Kadir, a Dayak Catholic, were elected governor and deputy governor respectively of West Kalimantan province Dec. 12 at the provincial legislative assembly.

Archbishop Bumbun told the new leaders when they visited him at St. Joseph Cathedral in Pontianak that the Catholic Church is not so concerned about who leads the province but rather how well the leaders serve the people.

The archbishop said that people need leaders “who have conscience, side with the truth” and implement development programmes that promote harmony. Local people were disheartened by several past government programmes, including the resettling of migrants from other islands, especially Java and Madura, to areas that local people say are their ancestral lands. In another programme, plantations were opened on those lands.

The archbishop also said that past central government allocations for schools and religious organizations resulted in Muslim-run schools and worship places getting far more funding than those of other religions, even if Muslims are a minority in the province.

The same was so when proportionally more Islamic teachers were appointed as religion teachers in public schools, even with very few Muslim students.

In reply, Ja’far explained that the courtesy call was meant to convey his incoming administration's strong commitment to serve all the people. He also told the archbishop he hopes that ethnic conflicts will not recur in the province, which borders Malaysia, and that it will become a centre of economic development for all of Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo Island.

The newly elected governor pointed out that West Kalimantan has seen ethnic conflicts between indigenous

Dayaks and Madura migrants for three decades, and these have impeded investment in the province. In 1999, for instance, conflict between Dayaks and Madurese claimed hundreds of lives and caused widespread damage to property. There has also been conflict between the Madurese and ethnic Malays. Ja’far asked the archbishop to help people understand that security is a common responsibility.

Of the province's 3.7 million people, 42.5% are Dayaks, who are often identified as Christians, 37.5% are ethnic Malays, often identified as Muslims, and 15% are ethnic Chinese. The rest originate from Madura, Java, northern Sumatra, Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara. According to Pontianak archdiocesan statistics, 60% of Dayaks are Catholics, 35% Protestants, and the rest, followers of local mysticism.

Dayaks and Catholics in West Kalimantan have welcomed the election of Kadir, a Dayak Catholic, as deputy governor. The province has had no Dayak government leader for 36 years. Johanes Cyprianus Oevang Oeray, a Dayak native and former seminarian, was elected in 1955 as its first Catholic governor. He held office until 1966, after which there has not been another Catholic governor.

Stephanus Djuweng, a senior researcher at the Institute of Dayakology, said that Dayaks were not in government for so long because former president Soeharto “marginalized Dayaks in all fields” for 32 years.

But he added that having a Catholic leader does not necessarily guarantee people’s lives will improve, especially if the leader abuses his position for personal or group gain.

Prof. Cypryanus Thambun Anyang, a Dayak Catholic, said he hopes the incoming leaders will treat all religious followers fairly.

Bishop Agustinus Agus of Sintang said that Kadir's election will have a positive impact on Church growth, only if “he brings the light of Scriptures to his leadership.” The Dayak bishop has asked people “to make the best” of the election by joining the province’s development programmes for its people, n

Borobudur Protest INDONESIA .Magelang, (UCAN) — A Catholic priest has joined a protest against a government plan to build a commercial mall near Borobudur, the renowned ninthcentury Buddhist temple in central Java, Indonesia.

Father Vincentius Kirjito was part of a demonstration Jan. 7 in the temple area. He joined hundreds of local people who carried posters and a miniature representation of the mall to protest the project. Father Kirjito is parish priest of St. Mary of Lourdes Church of Sumber, Muntilan, near Borobudur.

Borobudur, known as the world's largest Buddhist temple and a Wonder of the World, is about 400 kilometres east of Jakarta. It comprises eight step-like stone terraces and contains 2,672 reliefs. A stupa 15 meters in diameter sits atop the structure.

Several hundred meters west of the temple is where the local government plans to build a three-story mall, Pasar Seni Jagad Jawa (arts centre of the Javanese world). It will have 1,500 kiosks selling souvenirs, art works and snacks in time for Borobudur International Festival in July. Construction was to start in October but postponed due to protests from local people.

At the demonstration, Father Kirjito said the 48billion-rupiah (US$5.4 million) project “will harm the spiritual atmosphere and charisma of the Buddhist temple, which is appreciated by people of all religions and attracts local and foreign tourists.”

From an economic perspective, he argued, local people will gain nothing from the project. Instead, those who will benefit are the government and outsiders who have enough money to operate the kiosks inside the mall.

The priest says the building plan indicates visitors will be directed to the temple through the mall and its kiosks. That shift likely will wipe out the trade of established local vendors, who have relied for years on tourists.

The government plan includes relocating the local vendors to the mall. The government also says part of the income that it will earn from the mall through taxes and service fees will help maintain the Borobudur structure. However, many vendors oppose the plan because they believe it will be too costly for them to operate a kiosk inside the mall.

Father Kirjito agrees that vendors around the temple should be reorganized, much as local artists, Buddhists and culture experts have told them to revamp themselves so that the area can revive its religious atmosphere and look more attractive. For the moment, however, he wants the government to listen to the people, postpone the project and dialogue with the local people.

Later, Father Kirjito told UCA News that he joined the protest to express his own option for weak people.

He also pointed out that Borobudur had been built for religious purposes and not for tourism. Quoting Buddhist writer Aris Wiro Sutomo, the priest said that in the Buddhist spiritual tradition, a person who wants to gain spiritual power and positive values from meditation should do so facing west. Accordingly, the planned mall on Borobudur’s western side would block the view of the many Buddhists who meditate at the temple.

Protesters at the Jan. 7 demonstration included Suprapto Suryodarmo, a Buddhist artist. Muslims also joined in, including Gus Yusuf, head of Tegalrejo Pesantren (Islamic boarding school), Arisworo Sutomo, a culture expert, and Sutanto Mendut, a local artist.

Father Kirjito said that he and those four people have been working together for the interest of local people during the past five years. “We just empower them, but we do not provide them with a political defence,” he pointed out.

He brought along to the demonstration 20 traditional dancers, most of them Catholics from Sumber village.

The village is on the western slope of Mount Merapi, a volcano 20 kilometres northeast of Borobudur.

A union called “Solidarity to Save Borobudur'’ has been founded by NGOs nationwide to oppose the project.

Nonetheless, some people support the project. A cultural performance was staged by about 50 people in Kujoh field, where the mall is to be built. One performer, Agus Suyanto, claims to have support from 21 villages around the temple. He told UCA News the mall will increase local people’s welfare because it will hire them and the government will provide kiosks for them.

Borobudur was built between the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth centuries, during the rule of the Cailendra Dynasty. A century after it was built, the temple was abandoned. An eruption of Mount Merapi then buried it.

In 1815, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then governor of Java, excavated Borobudur and it was looted in subsequent years. Restoration work with help from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) began in 1975. Borobudur was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1991. □

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International Congress of Familiees Editor's note: We apologize for having to go to press one week earlier than usual because of distribution restrictions for the Lunar New Year. As the Catholic News is a fortnightly, this will result in this issue coming after the Congress is over, but without the possibility of up-to-date reports.

PHILIPPINES, Manila (UCAN) —

THE PROGRAMME The five-day event on the theme “The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium” includes a 3-day International Theological Pastoral Congress, a Sons’ and Daughters’ Congress and other festivities.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and two from Cambcmbodia. Jesuit Father James Reuter, who heads the media dia committee, said that no delegates from Myanmar could v/d obtain travel documents for the meeting.

TERRORIST WARNING De Villa spoke with UCA News Jan. 15, five five days after the U.S. Department of State re-issued its Ncs November 2002 travel warning of a “high” level of “terroerrorist threat” for Americans in the Philippines.

Henrietta de Villa, executive secretary of ( of the central committee for the Jan. 22-26 meeting, to\d IW UCA News.

“I am satisfied with the numbers, and I am gi grateful no one has informed us they are backing out. ” aV”

PAPAL EXTRORDINARY LEGATE PARTICIPATION An organizer of the Fourth World Meeting of Families says she is satisfied with the number of people expected to attend the Manila gathering, despite the pope’s absence and a recent U.S. travel warning. By 15 Jan., 4,700 Philippine and foreign Church officials, and lay and religious workers had pre-registered by post or e-mail. Some had arrived by then in Manila.

Among the pre-registered were 380 of 454 foreign people who had expressed interest in coming for the meeting. The 38 delegates each from the United States and Italy are the largest registered groups from a single country.

The registration committee also expects 34 participants from Vietnam, comprising the largest group of foreign participants from one Asian country. The only Asian delegation larger than Vietnam's has 37 religious and lay participants listed, but De Villa explained that those people belong to the one episcopal conference that covers Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

Thirty-six participants from Australia and 22 from Poland were the other large groups on the list of expected participants. Thirteen are expected from Taiwan, nine from Japan, eight each from Korea and Thailand, five from India, four each from Indonesia,

De Villa earlier told UCA News her group exp expected the number of delegates to drop after the Vaticatf/can announced in August that Pope John Pau\ W/ II could not attend the meeting. The pope appointed Calardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontmtiftcal Council for the Family, to represent him at the meetneting and to preside at the meeting’s closing Mass. De Vi Villa said that before it was announced the pope could not not. come, she had expected some 10,000 participants to atb attend the meeting.

COUPLES FOR CHIRST On Jan. 7, de Villa thanked Philippine Couplouples for Christ leaders at a central committee meeting at tht the residence of Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila for helping tg to generate interest from their renewal movement's memembers in Vietnam.

Dominador Gregorio Jr. of Couples for Cl- Christ told UCA News that the movement was expectinrting Archbishop Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man ai of Ho Chi Minh City as well as Bishop Pau\ Nguyen V Van Hoa of Nha Trang, president of the Bishops’ Confererence of Vietnam, to lead a Vietnam delegation.

Gregorio started the Couples for Christ if in Vietnam when he worked at a bank there in 1993. H-(e said that

Family-based Religious Educatioon KOREA, Seoul (UCAN) — A family sharing-based religious education programme that Catholic nuns introduced to South Korea has received positive responses from many parishes since the method was launched a decade ago.

Charity Sister Catherine Lee Duck-ja, director of Institute of Catechism for Family, told UCA News Jan. 15 she believes the family-based programme for first communicants is “an effective method for the sanctification of the family.”

The Family Catechism for First Communion programme began in 1992 with only four parishes, but by 2002 more than 100 parishes had joined. The institute, run by Charity Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, conducted training for teachers of the religious education programme, Jan. 13-14, in Seoul.

Sister Lee said, “During the past 10 years, many parents who joined our programme have given us positive responses. Based on solid relationships among family members, it also promotes active participation in Church activities as well as in society in general.”

The nun differentiated the programme's methodology from others, such as that of Sunday schools, which, she said, have no connection with concrete family life and only try to “deliver” messages to children in a one-way process.

The recent two-day training at a pastoral centre in Seoul targeted those who had already completed the “basic” course, she said. They will become teachers of parents preparing their children for First Communion.

Among all the 171 participants, only three were men.

Each participant was asked to decide whether she or he would be a teacher for parents or children, As facilitators, they will help the parents and children to prepare for First Communion, she explained.

In the family-based programme, the teacher guides parents and children in the one-year process, and even presides over a weekly family meeting. The two-day “basic" training programme teaches teachers how to teach as well as dialogue and play with children according to the institute's textbook. The “advanced” training focuses on Theology, Christology, Sacraments and family, to give teachers a solid understanding of God and the Church.

The family-based method was introducedced to the Korean Church by Korean Charity Sisters ofe of the Blessed Sacrament who returned home frorrtrom Chile in 1991. Five years later, the nuns reduced the the original two-year course to just one year due to peopeople’s rapid pace of life in South Korea.

Catherine Kim Sung-heui, 46, of Tokok-dk-dong Church of Seoul archdiocese, said that what made te her “remain a catechist for seven years was the feeling ng of \oy and fruitfulness” whenever she sees changes in s in a parent’s view of God, education and family relations.ons.

Kim, who attended the “advanced” courssurse, added that though parents initially found the one-ye-year program tedious, they actively joined the program aftt after realizing that the new method helps unite the family.>ily.

Veronica Back Tae-sook, another particifticipant from Suyu-dong Church of Seoul archdiocese, me mentioned that the textbook for children is “quite effectfective” in focusing on various activities to be done witl with the parents at home.

The 44-year-old teacher emphasized that that the familybased religious education method is “necessary for modem people in general, il, and parents and children in particular' because they now rarely talk with one another.

Benedict Park Young-dai, a Woori Theology Institute researcher and teacher er for the parents, pointed out that advocates tes of the family-based method should find ways to relate it to the Small Community <y Movement and the Sunday schools in the he local community. Park also told the seminar that programme initiators should d work with dioceses and Religious congregations for a wider impact.

Sister Lee said the programme’s future Jre is bright, but it needs support from outside. “We are unsure what dioceses and Religious superiors think of it,” she said. She added that two-day meetings for for teachers are to be held in Taegu and Kwangju archdioceses, and Chonju, Pusan san and Masan dioceses, n

more than 2,500 Vietnamese in six provinces and cities are now members of the Catholic movement, which has apostolates for spouses, youth and single family members. Couples for Christ helped inform prospective participant families, Gregorio said, but the invitation and selection of participants were done through the episcopal conference.

At the meeting in Cardinal Sin’s home, Philippine police officers presented maps of traffic flow, parking areas, patrols of officers and bomb-sniffing dogs, and positions of Special Weapons Action Teams in case of emergency.

VENUES Besides the conferences at the Philippine INternational Convention Centre in downtown Manila, participants will attend Mass in parishes on the 4th day of the meeting.

They will gather later that evening at Luneta Park near the Convention Centre for a "festive meeting" of families and a prayer vigil to prepare for the Jan. 26 closing Mass. □

The Singapore Delegation Submitted by Family Life Society Singaporeans will be among hundreds of delegates from all over the world converging in Manila from Jan 21-26 for the World Meeting of Families (WMF).

The delegates will be led by Singapore Archbishop Nicholas Chia, Family Life Society (FLS) executive director James Wong, ME coordinators Desmond and Jenny Lee, and Couples For Christ coordinators Malcolm and Linda Goh. Mr Wong will be delivering a talk entitled “Crisis Pregnancy Service - From Brokenness to Self-Reliance”, sharing the FLS experience on the 25-year old hotline for teenagers in crisis pregnancies, n

Integration urged CHINA, Macau (UCAN) — The bishop of Macau , who is to receive a government award, says integrating his Church with its mainland counterpart is an essential need.

Bishop Domingos Lam Ka-tseung of Macau, 74, said that the local Church in Macau must have a broad vision. “Due to political reasons in the past, the Church in Macau and mainland China were separated,” he admitted, but thanks to more communication and co­ operation with the Church in China, “the situation now is different and we must integrate.”

Bishop Lam was talking some weeks after it was announced he would receive the Golden Lotus Medal in late January. It is the second highest decoration con­ ferred by the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) government.

Macau reverted from Portuguese rule to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999. The SAR government presents the medal each year to citizens who have made distinctive personal achievements or otherwise helped society.

Bishop Lam, due to present his resignation as required by canon law when he reaches 75 years of age on April 9, was named in 1988 as the first Chinese bishop of the centuries-old diocese. All his predecessors were Portu­ guese. Since then, Bishop Lam has not only led the diocese but also played a key role in society, especially with regard to Macau’s education and social services. □

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8 - T H E C A T H O L IC N E W S

F o r tn ig h t ly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3

FA ITH IN LIFE

Light of the Nations SUNDAY 2 F E B R U A R Y 2003 TEXTS FIRST READING Mai. 3: 1-4 RESPONSORIAL Ps. 23 SECOND READING Heb 2:14-18 GOSPEL Luke 22:22-40

CELEBRATIONS OF THE WEEK Mon 3: St. Ansgar, Bishop St. Blaise, Bishop, Martyr Tues 4: Ordinary Week 4 Wed 5: St. Agatha, Virgin Martyr Thur 6: St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs Fri 7: Ordinary Week 4 Sat 8: St. Jerome Emilian, priest

PRESENTATION of the Lord

A pplication in Life

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord marks the official celebration of the Christmas festival, which is a celebration of light. The Blessing of Candles and the Procession before the Mass, which is provided for in the Liturgy, symbolizes Christ the Light of the world, which we have to bear and be, to enlighten the people of the world, whom Jesus came to reconcile to his Father.

First Reading: The passage from the Prophet Malachi reads very much like a reference to John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus: "Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before m e."

Responsorial: The Psalm sings of the coming of the King of glory, the coming of the Messiah. Unfortunately, the Messiah who was expected was seen as a temporal king who would be the deliverer of Israel, and make it the greatest nation. Admittedly, the words of the First Reading and the Psalm, certainly do sound like that.

Second Reading: The author of the Letter to the Hebrews gives the reason for the Incarnation of Jesus - so that he could become a true High Priest to atone for the sins of humanity.

Alleluia: praises Christ the light of the World Gospel, narrates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple as was the custom of the Jews. We have there, the Canticle of Simeon: Now you can let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation ...THE LIGHT TO ENLIGHTEN ...”

LIGHT OF THE NATIONS - is one of the many titles by which Jesus is referred to. Indeed there are many such titles, all of which are, of course, very appropriate to be ascribed to Jesus, as they are from the Scriptures.

The point is that they are not just meant to be titles for the sake of variation. They are taken from the Word of God and desribe various attributes and functions of Christ.

In his canticle, upon seeing Jesus brought into the Temple, Simeon proclaimed: ' ..my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to englighten the nations ... And indeed, that is how Jesus described himself: "I am the Light o f the World".

Jesus, however, "recruited" us to go out and be, on his behalf, "lights of salvation to the nations." "Let your light shine before men, so that seeing your good works they may give glory to the Father in heaven."

It is the aspect of mission that we tend to overlook. We tend to view our whole adhesion to Christ in terms of personal salvation.

We need to believe in Christ. We need to be faithful to him. We need to obey his commandments... all so that "we may one day come to share in his Kingdom." There is an unmistakable tinge of selfishness and self-centered ness in this whole mentality. Christ certainly did not endorse such a thinking. He said: "GO OUT to the WHOLE WORLD and proclaim the Good News of salvation."

Nothing inward looking about that command!

Perhaps we are not conscious enough of our role as Christians.

Perhaps, we have not allowed the light of Christ to fully enlighten every part of our lives. Perhaps we are still living in the shadows of sin and darkness, not allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire us to change our lives more fully.

If we are going to be faithful to Christ's command we have to be able to ascribe today's title of Jesus to ourselves. We have to be "lights in the world - to the nations o f the world."

OUR HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY

General; Bread and Water for all the world.

That all Christians, sensitive to the distressing condition of the peoples who are still suffering from hunger and thirst, may be moved to greater solidarity towards their brothers and sisters.

Mission . The Church in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. That the Church in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, while remaining open to dialogue with the followers of the other religions, may remain faithful to its own exacting evangelizing mission.

GRAPHICS: COPYRIGHT - THE ORDER OF ST BENEDICT

TEXTS: COPYRIGHT - DR. (REV) ROBERT P. BALHETCHET

Suffering SUNDAY 9 February 2003

5 ORDINARY A pplication in Life

TEXTS FIRST READING Job 7:1-4. 6-7 RESPONSORIAL Ps. 146 SECOND READING 1 Cor. 9:16-19. 22-23 GOSPEL Mark 1:29-39

CELEBRATIONS OF THE WEEK Mon 10: St. Scholastica,Virgin Tues 11: Our Lady of Lourdes Wed 12: Ordinary week 5 Thur 13: Ordinary week 5 Fri 14: St. Cyril, monk St. Methodius, Bishop Sat 15: Ordinary week 5

GREEN Green is the liturgical colour used for the "Ordinary Time" of the year which has 33 Sundays, covering most of the year. However, a number of Sundays are big feasts or Solemnities and the colour for them would be Gold.

Green is the colour for "Hope” the hope of eternal life.

Sunday Cycle 2-B W eekday Cycle: 1

The Gospel of today focuses on "healing", and very appropriately, Tuesday 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, is "World Day o f Prayer for

the Sick".

First Reading: The Story of Job is well known to all of us. This man who was so patient in suffering. The words of Job are very familiar to anyone who has borne suffering, not just physical illness but tribulations of any kind, for any length of time. It is a cry of resignation.

Responsorial: The Psalmist hints at divine retribution even in this world - a belief which was strongly held in the old days "The Lord raises the lowly; he humbles the wicked to the dust."

Second Reading: Suffering and tribulations are given a new dimension by St. Paul, in this passage. He willingly suffers for the sake of Christ: "..for the sake o f the Gospel, to have a share in its blessings."

Acclamation: It is divine reward in heaven which is promised. "... anyone who follows me will have the light o f life.”

Gospel: This is a passage very much to do with healing of various kinds. There is the physical - the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. But then there is spiritual healing as well. "That evening, after sunset, they brought to Him all who were weak and those who were possessed by the devils. ...h e cured many who were suffering from diseases o f one kind or another; he also cast out many devils."

But that was not the primary objective of his mission from the Father. When things got a bit too hectic, he decided to leave for other parts of the country. "... so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came."

THE ISSUE of good and evil in the world is not going to be solved. In the Old Testament it was the firm belief that good is rewarded and evil punished in the world. But experience tells us that is not often the case, and it would appear that the contrary is true. The reward that is promised by Christ is certainly one in terms of divine reward in everlasting life.

Despite the many miracles that are narrated in the Gospels, Christ makes it very clear in today's Gospel that his mission is not to heal diseases of one kind or another - even though he did that.

Neither is it even the spiritual healings in casting out the devil from the possessed.

His mission is clearly to announce the Good News of salvation. "... so that I can preach there too, for that is why I came". The miracles were only to confirm his divinity and the teaching that he gave.

Be that as it may, it does not explain suffering in this life. We have no choice but to accept suffering as part of our lives here on earth. Blaming Adam and Eve and original sin is not going to help very much. Neither will diagnosing evil as 'the result of the insensi­ tivity and selfishness of man' help, because, for one thing, it does nothing to answer the question of why God permits suffering in the first place. All this, apart from the fact that a whole lot of suffering comes from natural disasters!

We will never really find the solution and the answers to the problem of good and evil in the world.

All we can do, is to try our best not to be the cause of pain and suffering to others. If everyone were to do that, there would certainly be less of it around. And, if we were more sensitive to the needs and sufferings of others, that would certainly add to the lessening of suffering in this world.

If we are the sufferers, perhaps we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus too suffered, much more than we do. His reaction in prayer to the Father: "Not my will, but yours be done."

TH E C A TH O LIC NEW S - 9

F o r tn ig h tly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3

FORMATION TEACHES

GENES3IS

- The Story of CREATION

Gen 2 :2:4b - 3:26 : The ‘J’ (Yahwist) Creation Account

W

T H E OLD TESTAM ENT

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BIBLICAL PRIMEVAL HISTORY , Gen 1 -1 1 recounts events that ranged from creationio around 1850 BC. • • •

Not a detailed history.

Not a history of mankind.

Primary objective - theological The Story of CREATION - covered ip past segments:f f f f f

“The first day" “The Second d4y“ "The third day* “The fourth day" “The fifth dayT h e sixth day ’ The seventh d a /

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*-

By Rev. Ambrose Vaz, SSL Professor of Sacred Scripture St Francis Xavier’s Major Seminary

We have seen how Gen 1:1 - 2 - 2 : 3 (attributed to the “P ” [Priestly] source) dealtea/s with the creation of the human race as os only one of the works of creation.

Now we com§. to another acaccount of creation, which even though is as placed in the Bible as later (Gen 2-3) is regaigarded virtually . unanimously by scholars as Ihene work o f an earlier scholar and theologian, most likely the Yahwist i “d”). Thus, this seconnd creation story is often described as the Yahwwistic creation story. This second chapter deaia\s aimost exclusively with the human ractce as God’s creation, showing that human!cmind is made up of males and females.

We know that the notion of of creation found in Gen 2-3 is earlier than that to found in the “P” creation account of Gen 1 I because it reflects the thinking found p rim a larity Vn primitive cultures, namely, that a t the world can be understood only from the pe perspective of humanity, the awareness anA 4 experience o f humankind as made up of mahles and females!

It required a long period of o f development for humanity to understand the te world as an autonomous organic unity, indef.dependent of the human race, such as we encouiounter in Gen 1.

However, th e Priestly writer P"), as the final editor or redactor, in the contexevX of his theological outlook, considered tA VnVs. \a\ev understanding as preliminary an? and'so places it in chapter 1, while the earlier uer understanding (the “J” account) is placed in Ch Chapters 2-3. * Just as Gen 1 grows out of tt of the

recognition of the intimate connection between “heaven and earth” and their entire host of created beings, so Gen 2 and 3 grow out of the recognition of the intimate connection between the human race as God’s creation and the human race with its limitations of sin and death. The narrative reflects a sense of the enigma o f human existence, which can be* comprehended only in Its polarities of birth and death, joy and pain.

Thus, the narrator is not trying to detail what happened in the past, when God created the human race. He cannot do that; there is no witness to those events. Rather, he wishes to tell people of his time and future generations what it means to them that God created them, for they are God’s * creation. * .

-v * .

In dealing with this long narrative, it is important to remember that a narrative can be understood only as a totality and from the perspective of the whole.

When we read through the two chapters, the first thing we notice is that the story of how God created the human race ends with Gen 2:24, but then moves on very smoothly to the story involving the serpent, Gqd, the man, and the woman, which ends with the expulsion from God’s garden. The second story is linked yet more closely to the first by the fact that it is already alluded to within the first narrative, in 2:9 - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and 2:1fe-17 the prohibition, not to eat.of that tree.

-I "I

| J I ST* I * I E ftf

TEXTS: Copyright - Rev. Ambrose Vaz and Dr. (Rev.) Robert P Balhetchet

TEACHES

Chapter 1 - Theie Mystery of the Church Article 8 - The An Analogy of the Mystery of the Incarnate Word

The Documents of Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" - Light o f the Nations

Link with what has been covered We are discussing the various images of the Church.

We come now to consider the last "image" which Vatican II in the Dogmatic Constitution: "Light o f the Nations" (Lumen Gentium) refers to as "no mediocre analogy o f the m ystery o f the Incarnate Word".

By Dr. (Rev) Robert P Balhetchet, Ph.D. (Theol.)

Art. 8 : " ..the society structured i d with hierarchical organs and the MysVsticat Body o f Christ, are not to be considered d as two realities, nor are the visible assembly anad the spiritual community, nor the earthly Chumxch and the Church enriched with heavenly tt.y things; rather they form one complex reality wh/ which coalesces from a divine and a human elemtement. For this reason, by no mediocre analogy, gy, it is compared to the mystery o f the incarnate V? Word. A s the assumed nature inseparably unitnited to Him, serves the divine Word as a //waiving organ of salvation, so, in a similar way, do/, does the visible social structure of the Church ser serve the Spirit o f Christ, who vivifies it, in the builvi/ding up o f the body. " The "Mystery o f the incamate\a\& Word" \s what we would simply refer to as the nhe mystery of the Incarnation - the event that we ere celebrated at Christmas, the proper liturgical nai name for which, is precisely "The Incarnation of oof our Lord". The mystery being referred to is the tne fact that God the Second Person of the blessessed Trinity, assumed human nature and becaecame Man, being born of the Virgin Mary in a stabstable at Bethlehem.

The "mystery" consists \n thBthe fact that God became man with the full reality \ty of human nature. He did not abandon his his divinity, but assumed human nature so that iiat in Jesus, both the divine nature of God and the the human nature of man co-existed in all their fullnfullness. The Second Person of the Trinity rerr remained fully God while being at the same time 1uWfully Man in Jesus Christ - a duality of nature, exisfcting in the one person, the God-Man Jesus.

The analogy that Vatican II it refers to is that "inter-connectedness" (if one maiay coin a word)

between the divine element in the Church (Jesus Christ himself) and the human element in the Church (the Hierarchy and the Laity - the People o f God - and the hierarchical structure and organization o f the Church). It is not a question of two separate elements but an intimate unity of two elements constituting one reality - that other analogy, the Mystical Body of Christ. If you like, the analogy ( understood as REALITY) of the Incarnation is the core of the Mystical Body of Christ.

We can understand if this could cause some "intellectual indigestion”. It requires some time and prayerful contemplation, in a spirit of humility and awe before the Divine Mystery of God - as does all Theology!

The Council then goes on to draw the parallels that must follow, in this stupendous analogy.

But we will keep these for our next segment, because of the "heaviness" of this particular piece.

The analogy of the Incarnate Word which is propounded in this article 8 is certainly a very profound consideration of the Church. It is certainly not easy to appreciate, let alone comprehend.

It is necessary to go over it again and again and to slowly try to fathom its full significance.

We can only emphasize that when one manages, with divine grace, to begin to appreciate what the Council is teaching us, one will begin to see the Church in a very different light and fully realize what we are called to be in the Church and in the world. When we do realize this, we will begin to be, what Christ wants us to be, "Lights o f the Nations" - our nation!

1 2 - T H E C A T H O L IC NEW S

F o r tn ig h t ly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3

REGIONAL

C A TH O LIC SER VIC E D IR EC TO R Y M E D IA

Families host participants PHILIPPINES, Manila (UCAN) — The committee in charge of hosting families, said that 751 participants coming from Philippine provinces are to live with volunteer host families. Most foreign delegates are assigned to stay in schools and hotels, but others have arranged directly with Manila parishes to live with families.

Pia Mungcal is prepared to give up her own bed when guests come to Manila for the upcoming Fourth World Meeting of Families.

Instead of intruding, she says the delegates staying in her home during the Jan. 22-26 meeting would be like a friend or cousin coming for a sleepover.

Pia’s father Winston is a former parish council president at Santuario de San Pedro Bautista. His wife Precy chairs the parish coordinating council. The spouses are also members of the Couples for Christ renewal movement, and their twin children, Pia and P.J., belong to the community’s youth group.

Participants will attend the International Theological Pastoral Congress, or the Sons’ and Daughters’ Congress. Their theme is “The

Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium.” Both congresses are to convene Jan. 22-24, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. The last day of the congresses includes activities scheduled until 7:45 p.m. . In Plain View, Mandaluyong City, just south of Quezon City, cousins Elsie Corpus and Maricor Sari, both single and in their 40s, will welcome two Polish priests and four Filipinos — a couple and two single women — who are coming to Manila for the meeting. Sari said that when they heard an appeal for host families at a parish Mass, they offered board and lodging in their 11-bedroom home that once housed people who were working in their small garment factory.

Sari and Corpus are members of Pusong Carmelo (Heart of Carmel) Community, a religious contemplative community.

In 1983, they served in a poor parish in Bukidnon, southern Philippines, with Jesuit Volunteers Philippines. On returning to Manila, they formed Bakas (imprint) Community in their home compound and engaged their factory workers to teach catechism in their area. □

Villa Francis Home for the Aged, 6269-2877 Fax: 6368-4505

Bible Correspondence (Chinese) Fr John Baptist Tou 6337-2465

St Theresa’s Home For The Aged, 6256-2532 Fax: 6256-5610

Catholic Audio-Visual Centre, 6858-3077 Fax: 6858-2077

St Joseph's Home, Sr Maria Sim 6268-0482 Fax: 6268-4787 nc0071b@cyberway. com.sg

China Catholic Communication (Zhonglian Centre), Patrick Lee Kim Hwee 9060-5080/6286-1826 mait@zt.per.sg web: www.zl.per.sg

F A M IL Y Christian Family and Social Movement, Francis Tamel Mane 9586-9938, 6792-6701

Carlo Catholic Society, 6337-7489 Fax: 6334-4370 carlo@cams.org.sg Web: http://www.cams. org. sg

Family Life Society 6488-0278 web: www.familylife.org.sg

The Catholic News, 6858-3055 Fax: 6858-2055 cathnews@veritas.org.sg

Morning Star Family Care Centre, 6285-1377 Fax: 6285-2715

CHILDREN Galilee Centre, 6454-0528 Fax: 6454-3167 Clementi Children’s Centre, Ms Maria Swee 6777-3893 ijhcc@singnet.com.sg Canossaville Children’s Home, Sr Rose Low/Ms Anne Siew 6748-5777 canossa@paciric.net.sg Marian Centre (before and after school care), 6250-0877 Marymount Boarding, 6354-2245/ 6253-6816 Fax: 6353-4809 Nazareth Learning Centre, Sr Anne May Chua, FMM 6276-3200

Keluarga Katolik Indonesia di Singapura (KKIS) Mass in Bahasa Indonesia is celebrated every 2nd & 4th Sunday of the month Time & venue: 3.30 pm, at St Bernadette Church, 12 Zion Rd, Singapore.

For mass enquiry and intention, call Ibu Agnes Surya, ph: 6552-2049.

Other activities: Legion o f Mary. Praise & worship by PD Galilea & PD Efata. M udika with its activities ranging from choirs, retreats, and sports (contact Hermawan, ph: 9361-8969) web pages: www.geocities.com/mudikakkis

W e ’re going to celebrate anniversary/ultah KKIS on 9 Feb. Starting with mass at 3.30 pm, there will be performances by the units under KKIS & dinner.

P

R

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- Finding God in all things

by Sr Florence Wong FMDM

BASICCOURSEFORCATECHISTSMODULE2:

THE CREED with Sr. Genevieve Ng, MSS

Starting February 21, 2003, 4 sessions, 9.30 am to 11.30 am Dates : Feb 21, 28, Mar 7,14 Venue : Church of the Risen Christ Toa Payoh Central, Singapore Contribution: $20

Date : Tuesdays, 7.45pm to 9.45pm, March 11,18, 25, and April 1 Venue: Singapore Pastoral Institute Course contribution: $30

Sr Florence Wong, a religious sister o f the Franciscan Missionaries o f the Divine Motherhood (F.M.D.M) is a member of the Life Direction Team. Sister has vast experience in conducting retreats and spiritual counselling.

This course is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is open to all catechists in the Basic Course, parents, and to anyone else involved in the ministry of childrens’ catechesis.

This course begins and ends with the belief that God lives within the human heart and that the main purpose of life is to live in his p re s e n c e and experience him in daily life.

Enquire and register early with: Singapore Pastoral Institute 2 Highland Road #02-02, Singapore 549102

Tel: 6858-3011 Fax:6858-2011 e-mail: spi@catholic.org.sg

39<h BSC CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL 2002 D on atio n D raw R e su lts held on S u nd a y D ec 15,2002, at the C hu rch o f the B le ssed S a cram en t, 1, C o m m o n w e a lth D rive, S in g a p o re 149603.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th

Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize Prize

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,000 Cash V o u ch e r 700 Cash V o u ch e r 500 C ash V o u ch e r 200 C ash V o u ch e r 100 C ash V o u ch e r 50 C ash V o u ch e r 50 C ash V o u ch e r 50 C ash V o u ch e r 50 C ash V o u ch e r 50 C ash V o u ch e r B asic S ailing C ourse C o ffe e M aker W a te r Filter T o ile trie s S et

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Please collect your prize from Marcus Cho Tel: 9624-5168

B an

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COM ING UP CONSECRATION TO GOD THE FATHER - THE FATHER OF ALL MANKIND You are welcome to join in the monthly devotion on 7th of every month at 7.30 pm at the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Rm 3.3 House of David.

'INNER HEALING’ RETREAT (IN MALAYALAM)

By Nirmala Retreat Center (NRC) Kulathuvayal Team from India. Date: Chinese New Year holiday Feb 1, 2 & 3 (Sat, Sun & Mon) 9 am to 6 pm. Team: Fr Abraham Kadiakuzhy, Br George Gloria, Sr Jose Mary, Sr Tessin Andrews from NRC, Kulathuvayal Team, Kozhikodu, Kerala, India. Venue: I.J. Sisters (CHIJ, Bukit Timah), (St Joseph’s Church Bus Stop) 4A, Chestnut Drive, Singapore 679330. Enquiries: Sajan 9852-0430 or Rita Thomas 6258-9844. All are welcome.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE CAMP A training camp on faith fundamentals, Christian morality and human sexuality.

Highly recommended for catechists, edu cators, social workers, counselors, and all who would like to deepen their general knowledge. Date: Feb 21, 22 & 23 FriSun. Tentative venue: Changi Confer ence Centre (Salvation Army). Organised by the Family Life Society. To register or enquiries visit www.prolife.org.sg or Andrew (6488-0287).

Come visit us at Wellsprings Catholic Books 201 Goldhill Centre, Thomson Road, Singapore 307637.

Tel: 6252-3390 email: wellsp@singnet.com.sg web: www.wellsprings.com.sg Books, CDs, C andles, In c e n s e , S ta tu e s ...

CHOOSE

A U S TR A LIA I NEW ZEALAND S p e c ia l P R s c h e m e s fo r s k ille d p e rsons, in v e s to rs a n d e n tre p re n e u rs

Good Shepherd Child Care Centre, | Ms Helen Tan 6242-5695 Fax:6448-3454 H A N D IC A P P E D Friar Rowland Yeo, OFM rowlandyeo@hotmail. com Canossian School For The HearingImpaired, 6749-8971 Fax: 6749-8976 Ang Mo Kio Home, Sr Jo 6459-4801 K IN D E R G A R TE N Catholic Kindergarten, Ms Edna Ng Poh Tiang 6283-3821 Fax: 6284-7783 cathkg@singnet. com.sg Nativity Church Centre, 6285-6198, Fax: 6285-9556 nativity@pacific.net.sg Magdalene's Kindergarten, Mary Goh Boon How 6747-6554 Canossian Convent Kindergarten, Sr Jane Chong 6469-2201 Fax: 64661307 cankdg@singnet.com.sg Holy Family Kindergarten, Mrs Agnes Lee 6440-4344 Fax: 6478-0402

Hai Sing Pao, Ms Catherine Chia 6337-2465 carlo@cams.org.sg Web: http://www.cams.org.sg Katong Catholic Book Centre Pte Ltd, 6345-1413 Fax: 6440-0272 Apostolate of the Media, 6892-1639 Fax: 6562-5857 Catholic News Book & Media, 6858-3066 Fax: 6858-2055 M IGRANT C O M M U N ITY Filipino Catholic Community Nelly Faminialagao 9831-8044 / 6893-7609 French-speaking Catholics, Sabine et Jean-Baptiste Juery 68870564 jbsabine@singnet.com.sg German-speaking Catholics, 6468-1534 Fax: 6468-2402 Hong Kong Catholics, 6737-9285 Fax: 6737-8502 Indonesian-speaking Catholics, Josephine Handojo 6235-2820 Japanese Catholics, Kiyoko James 62548710 james@pacirtc.net.sg Korean Catholics, Esther You 6242-5607 Comm, for Migrants & Itinerant People 6280-5424 migrants@singnet.com.sg Jesuit Refugee Service, jrs@jesrefsg.org Fr Colin Tan 6463-6022 cxtsj@singnet.com.sg China Catholic Communication, Patrick Lee Kim Hwee 9060-5080 S P IR IT U A L IT Y

Maris Stella, Sr Marjorie Almodiel,-FMM 6474-3590

Cenacle, 6565-2895 Fax: 6565-3875 cenacle@mbox4.singnet.com.sg

Marymount Kindergarten, Petrina Siow 6251-5049 Fax: 6252-67904

Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling Br Gerard Choo, SJ 6467-6072

St Francis Xavier Play Centre, Mrs Emily Goh Tel: 6280-8929

Franciscan Retreat Centre, 6567-9771 Fax: 6567-9786

YOUTH Bakhita Search-lnn, Christina/Sr Veronica (6367-6264 / 6467-4290) yscchris@yahoo.com/canosis@pacific.net.sg Boys’ Town Fraternity, gaudette@boystown.org.sg Br Dominic Kiong 6769-1618 Fax: 6762-7846 Catholic Overseas Students Down Under Adrian (9836-5217) or Dennis (6274-2979) or cosdu@yahoo.com.au Choice, 9307-7752/9671-0767 choice@cheerful.com Harvesters Ann 6481-5912 Web: www.harvesterscommunity.org Hosanna! Music Ministry www.hmmonline.org Tammy 9747-8570.

Catholic Students’ Society - NUS Mr Irving Teo 6296-0897 irvingteo@catholic. org N T U Catholic Students’ Apostolate, Mr Budi Susanto 9478-7827.

N I E Catholic Students' Apostolate (NIECSA), Ang Mei Ling 96663234 Infant Jesus Retreat and Youth Centre, Sr Gerard Lee 6760-2461/92947521 Fax: 7699369 srttee@yahoo.com Poverello Teen Centre, Sr Maria Sylvia Ng, FMM 6544-2603 jub2000@singnet.com.sg Praise@Work Juliana 9799-9184 email: welcome@praiseatwork.org St Patrick House, (Boarding) Br Collin Wee 6345-5929 Fax: 6345-4635

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TEH Y IP WONG & TAN

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Young Christian Students' Movement (Mandarin-speaking), Mr Stephen Chia

FMM House of Prayer and Formation, Sr Mary Chua 6474-2526 Infant Jesus Retreat &Youth Centre, Sr Gerard Lee 6760-2461 Fax: 6769-9369 Life Direction Team, Sr Theresa Koh, FMM 6474-2422 Fax: 6472-5895 Sr Florence Wong, FMDM 6753-9602/9264-6733 LifeSprings Canossian Spirituality Centre, Sr Lily Tan 6466-2178 Fax: 6466-1307 lifspmg@singnet.com.sg SFX Retreat Centre, 6288-7901 Tel/Fax: 62740251 verbumdei@paciric.net.sg Web: www. civo. com/verbumdeisingapore Verbum Dei Missionaries Fax: 6858-2716 sfxrc@singnet.com.sg Web: http//www.catholic.org.sg/SFX The Sojourners’ Companions, 9268-6723 sojoumers_companions@yahoo. com P R O F E S S IO N A L Catholic Nurses Guild of Singapore, Miss Janet Chan Poh Goon 6442-8546 Catholic Teachers' Movement, Mrs Gail Siow (R) 6454^(094 Catholic Medical Guild Dr John Hui Keem Peng johnhui@cyberway. com. sg S P E C IA L S E R V IC E S Catholic AIDS Response Effort (CARE), Peter Lau 6353-4976, 9745-8991 Good Shepherd Centre, 6755-6496 Fax: 6752-0670 R. C. Prison Ministry, Sr Gerard Fernandez, RGS 6250-9151 Fax: 6250-1804

T H E C A T H O L IC NEW S - 1 3

F o r tn ig h t ly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3 "I am the resurrection and the life H e who believes in me shall never die."

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Departed: Feb 7, 1980

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ, M other Mary and St Jude Thaddeus for answ ering our prayers. W e are indeed grateful for your wonderful blessings.

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Prayer to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit; you who make me see everything and show me the w ay to reach my ideal. You who give m e the divine gift to forgive and forget the w rong that is done to me and who are in all instances o f my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank you for everything and confirm once more that I never w ant to be separated from you no m atter how great the material desires may be. I want to be w ith you and my loved ones in your perpetual glory. Amen For prayer and favours answered. Jasm in

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Opening hymn.

Recitation o f the Our Father

«And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel o f the Lord appeared to them, and the glory o f the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news o f a great jo y which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city o f David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. ” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude o f the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"» (Lk, 2:6-14).

its own way, in the saving mission proper to the Church: the Christian family welcomes and announces the Word o f God: it thus becomes more and more each day a believing and evangelizing community.

Christian spouses and parents are required to offer the obedience of faith (cf. Rom 16:26). They are called upon to welcome the word of the Lord which reveals to them the marvelous news—the Good News—of their conjugal and family life sanctified and made a source of sanctity by Christ Himself. Only in faith can they discover and admire with joyful gratitude the dignity to which God has deigned to raise marriage and the family, making them a sign and meeting place of the loving covenant between God and man, between Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church.

The very preparation for Christian marriage is itself a journey of faith. It is a special opportunity for the engaged to rediscover and deepen the faith received in Baptism and nourished by their Christian upbringing. In this way they come to recognize and freely accept their vocation to follow Christ and to serve the Kingdom of God in the married state.

Reflection

In Everyday Life

The Church as Mother gives birth to, educates and builds up the Christian family. By proclaiming the Word of God, the Church reveals to the Christian family its true identity, what it is and should be according to the Lord’s plan; by celebrating the sacraments, the Church enriches and strengthens the Christian family with the grace of Christ; by the continuous proclamation of the new commandment of love, the Church encourages and guides the Christian family to the service of love, so that it may imitate and relive the same self-giving and sacrificial love that the Lord Jesus has for the entire human race.

The celebration of the sacrament of marriage is the basic moment of the faith of the couple. This sacrament, in essence, is the proclamation in the Church of the Good News concerning married love. It is the Word of God that «reveals» and «fulfils» the wise and loving plan of God for the married couple, giving them a mysterious and real share in the very love with which God Himself loves humanity. The sacramental celebration of marriage is a proclamation of the Word of God, which is made within and with the Church, as a community of believers. This also requires that it be prolonged in the life of the married couple and of the family. God, who called the couple «to» marriage, continues to call them «in» marriage. In and through the events, problems, difficulties and circumstances of everyday life, God comes to them, revealing and presenting the concrete «demands» of their

Biblical reading

The Family Welcomes and Announces the Word J n turn, the Christian family is grafted into the mystery of the Church to such a degree as to become a sharer, in

sharing in the love of Christ for His Church in the particular family, social and ecclesial situation in which they find themselves.

To the extent in which the Christian family accepts the Gospel and matures in faith, it becomes an evangelizing community. The family, like the Church, ought to be a place where the Gospel is transmitted and from which the Gospel radiates. In a family which is conscious of this mission, all the members evangelize and are evangelized. The parents not only communicate the Gospel to their children, but from their children they can themselves receive the same Gospel as deeply lived by them. And such a family becomes the evangelizer of many other families, and of the neighborhood of which it forms part.

One cannot fail to stress the evangelizing action of the family in the evangelizing apostolate of the laity. In fact, the future of evangelization depends in great part on the Church of the home. This apostolic mission of the family is rooted in Baptism and receives from the grace of the sacrament of marriage new strength to transmit the faith, to sanctify and transform our present society according to God’s plan. The future of humanity lies in the hands of the families that are strong enough to provide coming generations with reasons for living and hoping.

Reflections of the priest or leader Dialogue 1 Why do we say that the family welcomes the Word of God? 2 How do we listen to the Word of God, welcome it, live it and proclaim it to the world through our words and life witness?

Commitments Hail Mary ( could also be a decade! ) Queen o f the Family: pray for us

Prayer for the Family Final Hymn

U n ity W eek - B ible T h em es for re fle c tio n .

DAY 1 We have this treasure in clay jars (2 Cor 4:7) HOPE Gen 15:1-7 Ps 16:2 Heb 9:8-12

Lk 24:13-35

Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.

My Lord, you are my fortune, nothing else but you.

Jesus Christ, high priest o f good things to come.

- Christ has come as the High Priest of the New and definitive Covenant.

We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel - We live in the hope of the Resurrection.

Commentary Abraham puts his trust in God’s pledge. He leaves a comfortable existence to travel to the promised land.

With his family he becomes a foreigner, an immigrant called to make a painful but certainly fruitful and ' liberating change in the land of Canaan.

The pilgrims of Emmaus are forced to return to their old dwelling place in order to find again that initial impulse which had led them to follow Jesus, even to the foot of the cross. As they hear again from Jesus the stories of «Moses and all the prophets», the confidence and love which is the sign of the divine treasure within them - the foundation of their hope - is restored in their anxious hearts. Every Christian shares this hope: it does not protect them from the struggles of life but empowers their lives with a serene and confident force.

To leave one’s homeland, to reach out towards the other, towards the stranger, can lead to reaching out and growing together with the other so that one offers to God a «big heart» capable of holding the treasure which God wishes to place in each and every one of us. This big heart is the clay jar of our humanity which itself remains of dust. It seems weak and pathetic in the presence of that treasure which on the contrary, grows

ever larger within it.

Christians must make known together this treasure shining in glory on the face of the resurrected one. They demonstrate their common heritage when they show themselves to be a reconciled community.

Prayer Our Father, Despite our weakness, you have made us witnesses to hope, faithful disciples of your Son, who desires to show evidence of his victory in a sceptical and troubled world. We carry this treasure in clay jars and we fear that we shall bend in the face of suffering and evil. Sometimes we even doubt the power of Jesus’ word when he says «that all may be one». Restore in us the knowledge of that glory which shines on the face of Christ so that by our actions, our commitment and our whole lives we proclaim to the world that he is alive and that he is working among us. Amen.

DAY 2 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed . (2 Cor 4:8) FAITH Ex 5: 6-17Let heavier work be laid upon them Ps 128 You shall eat the fruit o f the labour o f your hands Heb 11:13-27 They desire a better country Mt 2: 14-15 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night and went to Egypt Commentary The century which has just come to an end was marked by many different forms of political, social, cultural and economic oppression. In some ways migration is still affected by certain of these ongoing realities. Emigrants

quit their homelands in search of a better life, far from persecutions and famines. They seek opportunities which are refused them in their own situation or seek refuge from political or economic systems which chase them from their homes. When they arrive they very often suffer exploitation similar to that suffered by the Jews in Egypt.

The immigrant is a person in distress. That person has had to abandon his home and his relations to confront life in different cultural and social conditions, with all the problems that involves. The immigrant meets uncaring people and cruel situations in which can be seen the distinguishing marks of sin and thus the principal causes of emigration.

Emigration can also be experienced as an act of faith, as Abraham left the home of his ancestors for the promised land, or Moses led his people away from slavery. In the same way Jesus, Mary and Joseph escape from Egypt to save their lives in danger from powerful Herod. Today, as yesterday, in the midst of all dangers, God shows us the way leading to life.

Persecuted but not discouraged, millions of people draw from their faith in God the strength to stand firm in the face of discrimination on the grounds of race, skin colour, gender, culture, language or purchasing power.

Migration often has consequences for ecumenical life. It brings members of different churches together and leads them to make a fresh start in the search for unity. We are all, in one way or another, migrants upon this earth. We are all pilgrims on the way towards the house of the Father. The churches, too, are invited to advance together along the path towards unity, that path which our Lord has opened up for us.

Prayer God our Father, whose Son knew exile in Egypt. We ask you to accompany the migrants of our times. May the Holy Spirit touch each human heart; May the barriers that separate us fall, suspicion founder, hatred cease. May your Spirit breathe new life into your churches in their pilgrimage towards unity and help them to overcome their divisions and go forward in justice and in peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

F o r tn ig h tly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3

Manila

TH E C A TH O LIC NEW S - 1 5

4th WORLD M EETING of the* FAM ILIES

25-26 Jan. 2003

The Christian Family - Good News for thee Third Millenium PONTIFICAL COUNCILIL FOR THE FAMILY

2 2 -2 6 J a n u a ry In P h ilip p in e s , M a n ila 4 th In te r n a tio n a l C o n g re s s o f th e

Family

We will feature the various themes in coming issues

This issue goes to print a week earlier than normally - on Monday 20 January - because the delivery people for the paper close their operations a whole week before the start of the Lunar New Year. We will therefore only be able to report on the outcome of the Congress in the next issue.

However, it appears that things are going well with some 4,700 Philippine and foreign pre-registered, despite a warning from the US of a high-level threat for Americans in the Philippines.

Anyway, as mentioned already in the last issue, the Pontifical Council for the Family, in the Vatican, has issued preparatory material for the Congress, which we shall carry in up-coming issues, starting with this issue.

The Council recommends that the material could be used within individual families or in groups of families. That is, we feel, a very good point, because we seem to always wait for the "official" Church, the Diocese or the Parish to do anything. There is absolutely no reason why individual families can't take the initiative to sit together and discuss and reflect and pray along the lines suggested in the Preparatory Materials. You might also want to get together with some of your friends or neighbours.

Incidentally, the themes are "timeless" - not just relevant to the Congress, and can well be used and reflected upon at any time.

Might we also suggest a sort of combination of the two parallel "areas of concern" that we are featuring, as they are "happening" together. We refer, of course, to the other set of materials from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The Council for Unity proposes action on the part of individuals and groups to involve, in action, on a personal level, people of other faiths. While the specific theme is focused on "migrants” which is becoming or has already

t ii f; c n it

become a world issue, there is no reason why the "Family" cannot be integrated with this theme. In our Singapore context, many, if not all, families are in contact with "migrants" - in terms of domestic help, colleagues at the work place and neighbours. "Family" itself is necessarily a very relevant topic for the migrants themselves, because it often involves uprooting or possibly, separation.

Getting together to talk about and pray about things would be a g great way to promote Christian Unity, if other Christians are involved.

Ir Incidentally, we might also draw attention to the concern expressed by tl the Asian Bishops' Conference about the rising number of "mixed" n marriages - in the broader sense of culture and religion. In our Asian c context this rising number is almost to be expected. Looking at the r matter from a positive point of view, It could be a call to mission on ti terms of "announcing the Good News"'.

It would also be a great way to identify with the challenges of n migration, even temporary migration, and a great way to reflect on the r meaning of family. Combine all this with a decade of the Rosary, this t being the Year of the Rosary, and praying for Peace in the world and it it could become a very, very fruitful gathering.

Please don't leave out the children - even if they are very young.

A As the First Theme points out: "The parents not only communicate the C Gospel to their children, but from their children they can themselves r receive the same Gospel as deeply lived by them." One might well be s surprised at the wisdom that comes from the "mouths o f babes"!

Ir Incidentally, they have no hang-ups about colour or creed, residents or n migrants!

If approached in this practical manner, Christian Families would a already be putting into action this first theme: "The Family welcomes

s and announces the Good News".

B. van Renesse

YOUNG CATHOLHCS ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH CHAPLAINCY

Archbishop Nicholas Chia Archdiocesan Youth Co-ordinator Rev Frederick Quek City District: Rev Albert Ng Rev Cary Chan North District: Rev Adrian Yeo & Rev Andrew Wong Serangoon District: Rev Brian DiSouza, Rev Frederick Quek Rev Luke Fong West District: Rev Colin Tan, Rev Ignatius Yeo, Rev John-Paul Tan East District: Rev Alex Chua Rev Erbin Fernandez Vine & Branches: Bro Celestine Toh

Reflecting on Faith and Life We have had occasion to point out that the term "Youth", or for that matter "Young Catholics", the title that has been used for this section, is a somewhat ambiguous term, for the simple reason that the group is not well defined by age.

Be that as it may, and by whatever age group any individual would like to define it, "Youth" or "Young Catholics” are always members of families, and, depending on what cut off one uses for the label "young Catholics" or "Youth", you might well be newly weds or even young families.

Taken in this sense, reflection on the themes, whether for Families or for Unity Week, which we are carrying in this and subsequent issues can be very usefully reflected upon.

If you are newly weds or young families, preparing for marriage, or just contemplating marriage at some future time, certainly, the themes for families would be very relevant.

We would also particularly recommend the themes for "Unity Week" as it would help young people, and not just young people, but anyone, for that matter, to reflect on their Mission in the world, not only in terms of unity among fellow Christians, but also in terms of evangelization and the witness of our faith in the circumstances of our lives.

While the whole thrust of this year's Prayer for Unity among Christians has a definite slant towards "migrants", it will be seen from the elaboration of the various themes of the days, that there is a broader relevance as well, to working life in general, the uncertainties of the future and the general "Ups and Downs" of adult life.

Christian life is not just being "faithful" to the "practices" of our religion. It must essentially be a deepening of faith in our daily living, and that means that our Faith has to influence and permeate our whole beings, and influence our very thinking, our attitudes, our actions.

This can only be realized in life and action if we reflect on what our faith must mean to us, and the reflection guides that are being proposed both for the "Week o f Unity" and the "International Congress o f the Family" can serve this purpose very well, because they are very thought out and very "down to earth".

Incidentally, one is encouraged to see these themes not merely in the context of the particular events which occasioned them, namely the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” and the Congress, both of which will have already taken place by the time this issue is being read, but in the context of continuing growth in faith which must always be on-going.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E F A M IL Y ( for the World Congress )

L Lord God, from you every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.

F Father, you are Love and Life.

T Through your Son, Jesus Christ, born of woman, and through the Holy Spirit, fountain of divine charity, grant that every family on earth may become for each successive generation a true shrine of life and love.

C; Grant that your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world.

G Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love.

G Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, may prove mightier than all the weakness and trials through which our families sometimes pass.

T Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that the Church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family.

T Through Christ our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life for ever and ever. Amen.

- John Paul II

1 6 - T H E C A T H O L IC NEW S

F o r tn ig h t ly : S u n . F E B . 2 a n d S u n . F e b . 9 , 2 0 0 3

STATE OF TH E WORLD

Change is possible THE THREAT OF WAR And what are we to say of the threat of a war which could strike the people of Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already sorely tried by more than twelve years of embargo? War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations. As the Charter of the United Nations Organization and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations.

WAR IS NOT INEVITABLE 5. It is therefore possible to change the course of events, once good will, trust in others, fidelity to commitments and cooperation between responsible partners are allowed to prevail. I shall give two examples.

Today's Europe, which is at once united and enlarged. Europe has succeeded in tearing down the walls which disfigured her. She has committed herself to planning and creating a new reality capable of combining unity and diversity, national sovereignty and joint activity, economic progress and social justice. This new Europe is the bearer of the values which have borne fruit for two thousand years in an “art” of thinking and living from which the whole world has benefitted. Among these values Christianity holds a privileged position, inasmuch as it gave birth to a humanism which has permeated Europe's history and institutions. In recalling this patrimony, the Holy See and all the Christian Churches have urged those drawing up the future Constitutional Treaty of the European Union to include a reference to Churches and religious institutions. We believe it desirable that, in full respect of the secular state, three complementary elements should be recognized: religious freedom not only in its individual and ritual aspects, but also in its social and corporative dimensions; the appropriateness of structures for dialogue and consultation between the Governing Bodies and communities of believers; respect for the juridical status already enjoyed by Churches and religious institutions in the Member States of the Union. A Europe which disavowed its past, which denied the fact of religion, and which had no spiritual dimension would be extremely impoverished in the face of the ambitious project which calls upon all its energies: constructing a Europe for aH! Africa too gives us today an occasion to rejoice: Angola has begun its rebuilding; Burundi has taken the path which could lead to peace and expects from the international community understanding and financial aid;

the Democratic Republic of Congo is seriously engaged in a national dialogue which should lead to democracy. The Sudan has likewise shown good will, even if the path to peace remains long and arduous. We should of course be grateful for these signs of progress and we should encourage political leaders to spare no effort in ensuring that, little by little, the peoples of Africa experience the beginnings of pacification and thus of prosperity, safe from ethnic struggles, caprice and corruption. For this reason we can only deplore the grave incidents which have rocked Cote-d’lvoire and the Central African Republic, while inviting the people of those countries to lay down their arms, to respect their respective constitutions and to lay the foundations for national dialogue. It will then be easy to involve all the elements of the national community in planning a society in which everyone finds a place. Furthermore, we do well to note that Africans are increasingly trying to find the solutions best suited to their problems, thanks to the activity of the African Union and effective forms of regional mediation.

INDEPENDENCE AND INTERDEPENDENCE 6. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is vital to note that the independence of States can no longer be understood apart from the concept of interdependence. All States are interconnected both for better and for worse.

For this reason, and rightly so, we must be able to distinguish good from evil and call them by their proper names. As history has taught us time and time again, it is when doubt or confusion about what is right and wrong prevails that the greatest evils are to be feared.

If we are to avoid descending into chaos, it seems to me that two conditions must be met. First, we must rediscover within States and between States the paramount value of the natural law, which was the source of inspiration for the rights of nations and for the first formulations of international law. Even if today some people question its validity, I am convinced that its general and universal principles can still help us to understand more clearly the unity of the human race and to foster the development of the consciences both of those who govern and of those who are governed.

Second, we need the persevering work of Statesmen who are honest and selfless. In effect, the indispensable professional competence of political leaders can find no legitimation unless it is connected to strong moral convictions. How can one claim to deal with world affairs without reference to this set of principles which is the basis of the “universal common good’ spoken of so eloquently by Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris? It will always be possible for a leader who acts in accordance with his convictions to reject situations of injustice or of institutional corruption, or to put an end to them. It is precisely in this, I believe, that

we rediscover what is today commonly called “good governance". The material and spiritual well-being of humanity, the protection of the freedom and rights of the human person, selfless public service, closeness to concrete conditions: all of these take precedence over every political project and constitute a moral necessity which in itself is the best guarantee of peace within nations and peace between States.

FAITH IN GOD 7. It is clear that, for a believer, these motivations are enriched by faith in a God who is the Creator and Father of all, who has entrusted man with stewardship of the earth and with the duty of brotherly love. This shows how it is in a State’s own interest to ensure that religious freedom — which is a natural right, that is, at one and the same time both an individual and social right — is effectively guaranteed for all. As I have had occasion to remark in the past, believers who feel that their faith is respected and whose communities enjoy juridical recognition will work with ever greater conviction in the common project of building up the civil society to which they belong. You will understand then why I speak out on behalf of all Christians who, from Asia to Europe, continue to be victims of violence and intolerance, such as happened recently during the celebration of Christmas. Ecumenical dialogue between Christians and respectful contact with other religions, in particular with Islam, are the best remedy for sectarian rifts, fanaticism or religious terrorism. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, I will mention but one situation which is a cause of great suffering for me: the plight of Catholic communities in the Russian Federation, which for months now have seen some of their Pastors prevented from returning to them for administrative reasons. The Holy See expects from the Government authorities concrete decisions which will put an end to this crisis, and which are in keeping with the international agreements subscribed to by the modern and democratic Russia. Russian Catholics wish to live as their brethren do in the rest of the world, enjoying the same freedom and the same dignity.

8. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, may all of us who have gathered in this place, which is a symbol of spirituality, dialogue and peace, contribute by our daily actions to the advancement of all the peoples of the earth, in justice and harmony, to their progress towards conditions of greater happiness and greater justice, far from poverty, violence and threats of war! May God pour out his abundant blessings upon you and all those whom you represent. A Happy New Year to everyone!

[Original text: French r'- 's

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