MARCH 14, 2004, vol 54, no 6

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SUNDAYS MARCH 14 AND MARCH 21, 2004 SINGAPORE 50 CENTS I WEST MALAYSIA RM 1.20 M .I.T .A .(P ) No.130/01/2004 P P S 201/4/2004 Vol 54 No. 6

The nun who loves going tOjail - Page 10

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Top: ACCOM PANIED by the catechumens, a representive from the Church o f S t F rancis o f A ssisi M andarin-speaking RCIA, holds the book o f the E lect while A rchbishop Nicholas Chia signs it.

Another milestone in faith journey By M el D iam se-L ee

THREE separate Rites of Election over two weekends saw 1,047 people expressing their desire to join the Catholic Church come Easter Vigil. The number - the highest in 14 years - exceeds even Jubilee Year figures when 989 people were accepted into the Church in 2000.(See chart) During Mass Feb 27 at the Church of St Mary of the Angels, 15 parishes of the City, North and West Districts presented 605 catechumens - now called Elect - to Archbishop Nicholas Chia. On Feb 28 at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, nine parishes of the East and Serangoon Districts presented

Left: THE parishes holding RCIA in M andarin process into the Church o f S t M ary o f the Angels March 7.

282 catechumens. A week later, on March 7, the M andarin-speaking RCIA presented 106 Catechumens to Archbishop Chia during Mass at St Mary of the Angels. As each parish was called, representatives would move towards the sanctuary carrying aloft the Book of the Elect, which contained all the names of the catechumans, to be presented to the archbishop for his signature. In the same celebrations, 58 candidates, or Christians baptised in other churches who wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, were acknowledged. The Elect and Candidates journeyed in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults conducted in

their parishes for 12 to 18 months.

Next, the Sacraments of Initiation The Rite of Election marks the beginning of intense preparations prior to the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil on April 10. Traditionally, it takes place on the first Sunday of Lent. From the third to the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Elect and Candidates go through the Rites of Scrutiny, where they are asked to reflect deeply on the Gospel Readings and pray for the desire to fully accept Jesus, the Living Water, and to see with eyes of faith. During the Easter Vigil, the Elect will receive the sacraments

of Baptism and the Eucharist, while the Candidates will receive the Sacrament of Eucharist. During the Feb 27 Mass, Archbishop Chia exhorted the Elect and Candidates to “pray faithfully that you will become faithful disciples of the Lord...” He asked them to “seriously ponder over what you have come to accept” and put into practice what the Church teaches: prayer, fasting and works o f charity.

Miss Shirley Ng, 34, an Elect from the Church of St Michael, said she found the journey in RCIA “wonderful.” She felt that the year-long journey made her realise that God was with her during her times of difficulties. Ms Jessie Lim, one of 182 who journeyed in the RCIA at the Novena Church, noted that her journey had been “interesting.” She said,“It helped me in coping with life’s problems. I’ve now learned that prayer helps. I’m enjoying the new experience and looking forward to my baptism.” Adult baptisms in the RCIA process are also held during the Christmas Eve Mass in some parishes, notably Church of St Anne in Sengkang and Church of St Anthony in Woodlands. PHOTOS: ANTHONY CHAN AND PETER HENG

M S JE S S IE L IM , one o f 182 w ho jo u rn ey ed in the R C IA at the N ovena C hurch, noted that h e r jo u rn ey had been “ interesting.” She said,“It helped m e in coping with life ’s problem s. I ’ve now learned that prayer helps. I ’m enjoying the new experience and looking forw ard to m y baptism .”


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Pope asks prieststostrengthen tiesto Christian families by offering theirfriendship By Carol G latz

F o r re a l e state s o lu tio n s , c a ll: 9 0 0 7 - 3 3 8 1

II urged priests to strengthen their ties to Christian families by offering their friendship along with pastoral support and instruction. The pope wrote in his annual Lenten message to priests that recognizing and “putting the family at the center ... of the life of the church and society is a task that cannot be renounced.” He told them not to be afraid of spending their time and energy and using their God-given spiritual gifts for families. “Beyond being a pastor and teacher, be a caring and trustworthy friend,” said the pope. He recognized that the clergy’s daily contact with “the difficulties and crises that many families go through can trigger even in us a temptation to lose confidence and become resigned.” But he said they could overcome this temptation with G od’s help. “The action of the Holy Spirit, a gift of Christ who has died and was resurrected, is no less strong today” than before, he said. “Accompany and sustain (families) in prayer, propose the

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“Our vocation, certainly, is not that of marriage, but of the priesthood and virginity for the kingdom of God,” the pope said. He said virginity practiced by priests “keeps alive in the church the awareness of the mystery of marriage and defends it against any reduction and impoverishment.” In order to fulfill their mission to help families, the pope said clergy can “obtain strong assistance from the experience they lived in their own families,” from their own parents and relatives. “We must consider our apostolate with families as a source of grace, a gift that the Lord has given us, before we see it as our precious pastoral duty,” he said. □

Gospel of marriage and the family to them with truth and love, without reservation or arbitrary interpretation,” he said. “Be close to them spiritually during life’s occasional trials, helping them understand that the church is always their mother as well as their teacher,” he added. The pope pointed out that in every man and woman God has inscribed “a vocation and, therefore, the capacity and the responsibility for love and communion.” He said this vocation can be carried out through marriage or virginity. The pope said priests have a special vocation.

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Garage sale funds migrants ministry - A recent garage sale will add $4,000 to the welfare fund of the Archdiocesan Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People (CMI). Some 500 bargain hunters flocked to the Holland Road home of CMI vice-chairman Sonia Kaba-Pardo on Feb 22 to rummage through piles of stillgood-looking second-hand clothes, shoes and bags, children’s toys, books and household items. There were also exercise and recreational equipment. To prepare for the garage sale, volunteers spent four days sorting donated items. CMI chairman, Mrs Bridget Lew expressed her gratitude to donors of the second-hand items and to individuals who contributed some $20,000 cash in response to an email appeal for funds to mn the CMI shelter and other services meant for migrant workers. S IN G A P O R E

The $158,000 Jubilee Fund received by CMI in 2000 is fast running out. This will adversely affect the running of two shelters housing 50 migrant workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China and India. Mrs Lew estimates that CMI needs $5,000

monthly to accommodate and feed the needy foreign workers at their shelters alone. Many of the residents have pending police and M OM cases, that is, that the police are investigating cases of abuses or cheating committed against them. Mrs Lew also noted the continued interest of Catholic parishioners to volunteer their time, effort and talents in response to a Lenten appeal that appeared in Catholic News recently. □

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“Seek and you shall find” To pray for Vocations and to teach you to pray. 10 Special Talks on Prayer. 18 Mar: Intercession / Thanksgiving / Petition / Adoration 15 Apr 20 May 17 June 15 July 19 Aug _16 Sept 21 Oct 18 Nov 16 Dec

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: Friendship with Christ : Praying the Scriptures : Centering Prayer V v e rv : Mary the Listening Woman 3 rd tV v u rs d a y : Training for Prayer 0fthemonth* : The Jesus Prayer : The Journey Inward : Prayer: A Faith Experience : Waiting for the Coming of the Saviour

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Another opportunity for retreat in daily life - Once again, A Retreat in Daily Life is being offered to all persons seeking meaning and direction in life. This time the journey is from Easter to Pentecost which is recognized as the birth of the church. This is an opportunity to experience more fully the companionship of the Holy Spirit at home, workplace or school The Advent session was well received and many participants wrote in to express their appreciation of the benefits and peace they experienced. The retreat will be from Sunday May 9-30 and is being organised by the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling and the Life Direction Team. For more information contact: Ms Sharon Ng Email: cisc6492@ singnet.com .sg Tel: 6467 6072. Q

Spiritual Talk on the Holy Eucharist By Rev. Fr. M ichael A rro 25 M a r c h '0 4 , T h u r s d a y 7 .3 0 p m - 9 .0 0 p m

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T a b le f o r tw o An enchanted evening for parishioners and catechumens of OLPS B y P hilip Lee

- An enchanted evening in a canteen transformed into a “five-star ballroom” by the enterprising parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour may well be the beginning of a new tradition at that parish. The Feb 14 Valentine’s Day function named “Table for Two” was organized by the RCIA OLPS core team to involve parishioners in the RCIA process. By participating in the occasion, they help make the catechumens feel welcome to the OLPS family. The immensely successful S IN G A P O R E

event was unique in many way s.Volunteers from the parish worked on the decor, provided the entertainment - even parish priest, Fr Gregoire Van Giang, and Fr. Luke Fong took to the mike to serenade the couples with love ballads - set the tables, and served the exquisite continental cuisine (the food was catered) and French wine. Candlelight, soft music, heartshaped decor and roses created a romantic - and Catholic - ambience and a very enjoyable evening. Even before the evening ended, there were already plans to hold such an event again. □

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DO NOT BE MISLEAD BY PEOPLE DISTRIBUTING HOLY PICTURES Members of the Society of St Pius X have been promoting their “religion” in Singapore recently by distributing pictures of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. This has confused people into thinking that the Society has the support of the Novena church. It does not. In fact, the Society is schismatic, broken-away from the Catholic Church. It rejects the authority of the pope and refuses to accept the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Below, Fr Henry Siew traces the history and errors of the Society.

Why the Society of St. Pius X is wrong and off- lim its to C atholics RETIRED Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was unhappy with the Church after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). In 1969, he founded the Society of Pius X to train candidates for the priesthood according to preVatican II customs which he erroneously perceived as unchangeable. On June 10, 1971, he announced his refusal to adopt the “Novus Ordo M issae” (the New Rite of the Mass which is now universally practised in the Catholic Church). Lefebvre and his followers ignored the Vatican’s call to accept the wisdom of the universal Church that is guided by the Holy Spirit, and he continued to speak against the revised liturgy and sacred practices mandated by Vatican n . For his disobedience and arrogance, he was suspended a divinis and deprived of the right to celebrate Mass and ordain priests by Pope Paul VI. The group rejected appeals to repent and be reconciled with the Vatican. On June 30,1988, Lefebvre ordained four bishops despite the expressed opposition of Pope John Paul II. The offence was so serious that the pope had to excommunicate him. Lefebvre died in April 1991 at the age of 85, but the Society continues to function under the leadership of a “superior general”.

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action contributed to some difficulties in the Church.

P riests o f S o ciety o f St P iu s X are illegal The Church forbids the priests of the Society of St Pius X from celebrating Mass and the sacraments because their ordination is illegal and done without proper association with a legal bishop. The Church wants to help them regularise their status and has set up a commission to collaborate with bishops and relevant Vatican departments to help priests, seminarians, or lay people linked to the Society. Members of the Society who wish to restore full ecclesial communion with the pope must accept the full authority of the pope and the Councils.

2 - The Society claims that the ecumenism practised by the Church today - dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation with other Christian groups while remaining true to Church Tradition - must be rejected, asserting that “correct” ecumenism must demand that non-Catholic Christians repent and convert to the Catholic faith. They err in expecting the - .Church to act as a big bully. The Church rejects this approach, preferring to forge bonds of love and co-operation among all groups for the goals of serving the poor, common witnessing of the divine to the materialistic world, and realizing G od’s kingdom of love and peace.

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E x co m m u n ic a tio n o f L efeb v re A failure to undestand the Church and her Tradition was the cause of Lefebvre and his follow ers’ refusal to accept Vatican II teaching and led to his disobeying the pope. They fail to understand the living and developmental characteristic of Church Tradition, which “comes from the apostles and progresses in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit.” This gives the pope together with the bishops the authority to teach the doctrines of the Church with renewed insights. It is contradictory for the St Pius X Society to claim fidelity to the Church but oppose the teaching authority of the pope and the College of Bishops (and so are unfaithful to the Tradition o f the Church). Pope John Paul II judged the ordaining of bishops according to Lefebvre’s personal will a grave error. A canonical warning was formally sent to Lefebvre and his “bishops” by the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops on June 17, 1988. But they rejected the warning and by this schismatic act they incurred excom munication. The decision against Lefebvre was formally conveyed in the Apostolic Letter entitled “Ecclesia D ei”.

C A R D IN A L J org e A rtu ro M ed in a E stevez, fo r m er prefect o f the C on greg ation for D iv in e W orship an d the S a cra m en ts, atten d s a T rid en tin e M a ss at the B a silica o f St. M ary M a jo r in R o m e M ay 24, 2 003 . T h e Vatican does n ot p roh ib it M a ss b ased on the T rid en tin e R ite or o n t h e N e w R i t e in L atin, css photo

The Church prohibits Catholics from joining the Society ofSt.Pius X because itiserroneous and schismatic, not because itcelebrates Mass according tothe Tridentine Rite.

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T h e erro rs o f th e S o ciety o f St. P iu s X 1 - Lefebvre blamed Vatican II and the New Rite of the Mass for fewer priestly and religious vocations and practising Catholics. He failed to appreciate the growth of faith and the uplifting of priestly and religious life due to the enhanced theology and the renewal of liturgy Hollowing Vatican II. He failed to see the maturing of the Church through lay participation and co-responsibility in her mission. He failed to see the complex causes for the decline of faith in some regions, prefering to blame the pope and bishops instead. He failed to see that his schismatic

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3 - The Society condemns the Vatican’s position that the main purpose in dialogue with other religions is so that all men and religions learn mutual respect for one another and become enriched by one another. The Society calls all other religions false, and it contradicts Vatican II teaching about God’s love and salvation to people outside the Church. It condemns Pope John Paul II for assembling leaders of other religions to pray for peace at Assisi. It fails to understand that the Church continues to spread the Good News and to invite nonCatholics to experience and accept Christ within the Catholic faith and that the Church’s mission is neither to condemn people of other faiths nor to impose itself on them, but to recognize G od’s saving grace working in them. 4 - The Society accepts the Mass only as a Sacred Sacrifice and rejects the Church’s many other theological understandings of the Mass - as Gathering of Believers, God’s Sacramental Presence, Thanksgiving, Memorial, Sacrifice, Liberation, Covenant, Communion and Mission. By insisting on such exclusive interpretation they undermine the richness the Mass, and deny the people of God the fullest of God’s grace and blessing. I The Society insists on celebrating the Mass according to the Tridentine Rite, understood as exclusively the Sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. Its liturgy excludes the participation of the congregation, and requires that priests join their thumb and forefinger after the Consecration,Communion be received only with the tongue, constant genuflections, and lay people not be allowed to distribute Communion. □ (S )

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NI p ' Thirty Singaporeans were among the 39,000 Catholics at one of the worlds’s most remarkable meets, the L.A. Religious Education Congress 2004. Report by Anne T. P. Lee who was there.

Balm for the world LOS ANGELES - They came in their hundreds from all over the world, some their fervour undiminished despite this being their thirtieth year of attendance at what must be one of the world’s most remarkable gatherings of Catholics. The theme of this y ear’s Religious Education Congress sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education, “Steeped in Mercy, Balm for the World” encompassed a longing, a need felt by many for renewed confidence and faith to tackle the pressing problems of a world marked by peril and pain.

The four days of the Congress, held February 19 -22, 2004 at the Anaheim Convention Centre, drew a record 39,000 Catholics. O f these, 14,500 attended the first day’s Youth Day programme which launched the Congress. 183 speakers, all highly experienced in their different areas of ministry presented more than 270 workshops. Four languages, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, African [Igbo] were used in the liturgical celebrations and workshops. Thirty Singaporeans, from different parishes, attended the Congress; for most it was a first-

L IT U R G IC A L dan cers c ele b r a te w ith other p a rticip an ts at the congress.

time experience. For all, the sessions including prayers and liturgical celebrations were an eye-opener and an inspiring experience of extraordinary Catholic solidarity. The sense of the blessings of love and forgiveness lavished on his people by a God of infinite mercy was a constantly reiterated theme.

K E V IN TA N , a Singaporean, writes about his experience at the L. A.Religious Education Congress

People experiences leave deep impressions ATTENDING the workshops in the congress has e n h a n c e d m y k n o w le d g e and w id e n e d my perspective on many catechetical issues and will contribute m uch to m y personal and spiritual growth. But what I appreciated most on the trip were the interactions with people, some of which have left deep impressions in me - dialogue with Sr. Helen Prejean (of “Dead Man Walking”), meeting a homeless war veteran at a soup kitchen and the young homeless teenager with full blown AIDS on the streets of San Francisco. There were interactions with many others, each of whom had a life and a story to share, a life of finding dignity and a story of struggle. I was blessed to be able to spend time with priests and lay ministers who showed me what it means to be “steeped in mercy” - in a shelter for people with AIDS, among the gay and lesbian communities, among the homeless and young drag addicts on the streets o f San Francisco. Such experiences gave me an insight into the lives and faith of these priests and lay ministers and led me to reflect on the role of individual Catholics and the Church as being healing balm for the world. As a result, it has become clearer to me that God is present in every one of us and I am now more challenged to help people from my position as a practising Catholic Social Worker. Two experiences-one, interacting with gays and

It was what many had gone to renew their faith in, and they felt it not only in the joyousness of the liturgical celebrations but the sheer magnitude of the numbers attending, the Congress’ enduring attraction for so many. It seemed to be, annually, the event to which Catholics, mostly American but more and more from other countries, looked to for a shot in the arm to strengthen their resolve about their ministry in a world dominated, as Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles described it, by the “three Rs: revenge, retribution

and retaliation.” We need, he added, in our own time, our own world, and our own church, a superabundance of the spirit of forgiveness and pardon. The call came through loud and clear. We are a forgiven people, in whom the love of God has created the capacity for loving beyond our own needs. It is this unselective, unstinting love that the world needs, to be healed, and its spirit replenished. The most remarkable achievement of the Congress was the way it imparted the urgency of personal responsibility for Christian discipleship, despite the event being so huge that one could so easily lose oneself in the anonymity of common belief. The people who shared their endeavours in their home parishes, the practical focus of the workshops and their passionate call for perseverance and patience in Christian service to others these spoke of the need for awareness of self within the larger community and its needs, and reliance on a God who is hope and sustenance in any circumstance. It was a great inspiration to see the hope the Catholic Church presented to the world as a force for good, yet also a humbling reminder that the Church is community, Christ’s Body, in which each human member is vulnerable yet has a vital role. At a time when the Church itself is in crisis, plagued with scandal and bad press, the question comes home to each Catholic with renewed urgency, as Congress closed on the brink of Lent: “To whom do I need to extend unconditional and full forgiveness as we begin the Lenten journey?” More information on the Los Angeles R.E Congress is available at www.RECongress.org □

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lesbians who were lining up to be married at the steps of City Hall in San Francisco, and two, seeing the extent of pornography and prostitution in our visit to Las Vegas - were particularly difficult to make spiritual sense of, but I am convinced that God is calling me, all of us, to love and to be healing balm for the world. As a catechist and social worker, this is the message I hope to share with today’s teenagers. □

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Cardinal Dulles calls fo r rebirth o f apologetics the defense o f Christian faith by reason B y Tracy E arly

of enthusiastic students.” A revival of apologetics is also occurring in the Catholic Church, though moving more slowly and led in many cases by converts from evangelical Protestantism, he said. “While I applaud the resurgence of apologetics that we have recently seen in this country, I suggest it could benefit from the kind of personalism that Pope John Paul II professes,” Cardinal Dulles said. He warned that proofs for the existence of God that depended on empirical science or purely conceptual logic “do not stand up under rigorous examination.” Similarly, he said, efforts to prove the miracles and other accounts of the Bible by historical science will not convince historians who hold nonreligious presuppositions. Cardinal Dulles said both philosophers and historians treat their data as “something impersonal,” and this “rarely if ever leads to conversion.” In contrast, he said, depending on the testimony of personal witness leads to a “free assent that involves personal respect and trust” and brings “a radically new outlook.” Apologetics is needed, however, to develop criteria for assessing the credibility of witnesses, the cardinal said. Suggesting some criteria pertinent to the New Testament witnesses, he said it was significant that they wrote from different perspectives but agreed on the main points. “All the accounts present Jesus as the Son who speaks and acts with sovereign majesty, who lays down his life for the redemption of the world and rises triumphant from the grave,” he said. □

NEW YORK - Cardinal Avery Dulles called March 2 for “a rebirth of apologetics,” the defense of Christian faith by reason, because “the time is ripe, the need is urgent.” But he called for an apologetics centered on “the living testimony of believers” rather than the traditional arguments from philosophy and historical science, one focused not on the traditional question of “how we get to God” but “how God comes to the Catholic Evidence Guild and us.” the Catholic Truth Society “The apologetics of personal suddenly vanished from the testimony is particularly suited to scene,” he said. the genius of Catholicism,” he Apologetics lost support, he said. “Such testimony invites us said, partly because it “tried to not only to individual conversion prove too much” and promised but to communion with the whole “more than it could deliver.” body of believers.” At other times, apologists Cardinal Dulles, delivering abandoned parts of the Christian the annual spring lecture of his faith in an attempt to “make it McGinley professorship at more acceptable to the secular Fordham University, said Pope mind,” he said. John Paul II had given “timely Cardinal Dulles said that leadership” in offering the although faith was “fully approach of personalism, basing consonant with reason,” it was for belief in the existence of God Christians “a gift of God, a grace.” not on the traditional arguments Since God “lies but on “the aspirations of the immeasurably beyond all that human heart for communion we can infer from the created with the divine.” order,” Christian apologists In a lecture last year, Cardinal “cannot and should not attempt Dulles said the pope’s emphasis to demonstrate the truth of the on the centrality of the human mysteries of faith,” he said. person put his thought “in tension with previous Catholic tradition” P ro testa n ts lead revival at several points. Regarding proofs for the Cardinal Dulles pointed to signs existence of God, the cardinal of a revival of apologetics in the said Pope John Paul did not United States, led particularly by reject them but was “curiously evangelical Protestants. silent about them.” “And their method In the apologetics lecture, succeeds,” he said. “The Cardinal Dulles said that in churches that combine a concern calling for a new evangelization for orthodoxy with vigorous the pope declared that “the world apologetics are growing. Their today looks not so much for seminaries attract large numbers arguments as for witnesses” who could inspire trust. “This emphasis on PROTESTANTS personal trust, I h a ve clearly believe, holds great passed promise for the Protestants have overtaken Catholics inweekly church C a th o lics in renewal of attendance forthe first time inGalluppolling history. w eek ly church apologetics,” the Percent who said they attended church in the last seven days a tten d a n ce for cardinal said. the first tim e in Tracing the history CATHOLIC the U .S. since of apologetics, G allu p has Cardinal Dulles said it been track in g had undergone various c h u rch g oers. In shifts through the centuries, depending the 2003 su rvey, 40 on who were percent o f considered the primary C ath olics opponents of the faith, resp on d ed that but that in the 20th th ey h ad gone century the entire to ch u rch in the enterprise suffered a last seven days. “sudden collapse.” C N S graphic “Thriving organizations such as

Apologetics

Church Attendance


GOOD BUSINESS Pope urges Christian business leaders to balance profits with good of workers By C indy W ooden

VATICAN CITY - Christian

business leaders must combine strategies for making a profit with strategies for promoting the good of their workers and eliminating “the scourge of poverty,” Pope John Paul II said. Christian corporate executives express their faith through “the promotion of creative economic initiatives with enormous potential to benefit others and to raise their material standard of living,” the pope said. Pope John Paul sent his message to more than 70 business executives from 27 nations who met March 5-6 at the Vatican to discuss social responsibility and business ethics. The executives’ companies included global giants like Merrill Lynch and Unilever as well as smaller companies from India, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. The meeting was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the International Christian Union of Business Executives. Pope John Paul told the leaders he was aware that the conference was taking place “at a time when the financial and commercial sector is becoming increasingly aware of the need for sound ethical practices, which ensure that business activity remains sensitive to its fundamentally human and social dimensions.” “Since the pursuit of profit is not the sole end of such activity,” the pope said, the Gospel challenges business leaders to respect “the dignity and creativity of their employees and customers and the demands of the common good.” Pope John Paul urged the leaders to pay particular attention to “the impact of global marketing and advertising on the cultures and values” of other peoples and to ensuring that global trade promotes development and cooperation, not just more profits for employees and shareholders at home. E x c h a n g e o f id eas Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the justice and peace office, told the leaders he knew they were aware of “the damage unethical practices and behavior can inflict upon your companies,” upon stockholders and upon the wider community. The cardinal said the Vatican wanted a chance to

hear from business executives about the ethical challenges facing them today and about creative responses their companies have come up with, in addition to giving the leaders input from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. Etienne Wibaux, president of the union of business executives, said scandals involving large companies such as the U.S.-based energy giant Enron or the Italy-based food company Parmalat have caused the general public to question “the honesty and integrity of entrepreneurs and the way our economy functions.” Robert J. McCann, a vice chairman at Merrill Lynch & Co., said reflecting on business ethics “is interesting and

Church of St. Teresa's Jubilee Celebrations With the first baptism on 6th April 1929, a n d the blessing of the Church with the celebration of the Eucharist on the 7th April 1929, the newly co m p leted building of St. Teresa b e c a m e a church, a community of faith a n d love. For the past 75 years, peo p le have assem bled to give thanks to the Lord, to celebrate the sacram ents a n d their brotherhood. 75 years of growth, of service, of forgiveness, of love - a n d so we rem em ber, we upgrade, we celebrate. The Parish hall a n d the Church, n e ed not only a facelift, but repairs a n d upgrading we have to look a t today a n d tomorrow in the light of our tradition. Different com m ittees are working already:

D A N IE L Steininger, ch a irm a n o f the C ath olic F u n d s Inc., sp ea k s at a recen t R e u te rs C orp orate R efo rm S u m m it in N ew York. C ath olic F u n d s is a fin an cial services group w ith fu n d s in vestin g in c om p an ies th at opera te co n sisten t w ith C a th olic values. O n e o f the issu es d iscussed at the su m m it w as executive p ay at U .S. c o m p a n ies. U .S. C E O s n ow are paid 44 tim es w h at the average m an u factu rin g w o r k e r earn s, com p ared w ith a b ou t 31 tim es m ore in

2000.

CNSphoto

• Som e will help us to a p p rec iate better the celebration of the sacram ents a n d the service offered by our community. This pastoral dimension of our jubilee will take p la c e betw een April a n d September. • A com m em orative m agazine is already underway. • A fun-fair a n d dinner, concerts, family picnic a n d other social events are being planned. ■ A renovation com m ittee has b e e n a t work for m any months dealing with technical issues, as well as keeping in view the requirements of the URA concerning National Monuments. Our Church is in the process of being gazetted. We pray to St. Teresa that everything will g o according to schedule. ■ Renovation work go es hand in hand with fund raising. Different ap p ro a ch e s have b ee n earm arked. We have already started with a seco n d collection every month. A walkathon, golf tournam ent a n d other activities will follow. • With a triduum from 17 to 19 March by Fr. Gino (8.00pm: Holy Eucharist; Healing prayer after Eucharist on 19 March), we start on the right footing: w e focus on Christ following the footstep of St. Teresa. A Novena will prepare us for the feast itself to b e celeb rated on 3rd October. In view of our Jubilee Celebrations, we a p p e a l to parishioners, former parishioners, friends a n d visitors of St. Teresa to:

important with all that is going on in the world, after Sept. 11 and with the corporate scandals.” “In our business,” he said, “all you have is the trust you build with your clients.” M cCann said people would be surprised to learn how much time his company spends discussing its ethics, reputation and standards as well as analyzing the practices of companies with which it works. In addition, he said, “the church is an important part of my life, and the opportunity to listen to and discuss these issues with church officials is important.” □

■ Loan us som e memorabilia, photographs, docum ents which c a n b e used for our com m em orative m agazine or a n exhibition. Anyone with photographs of peo p le baptised or married in the edriy years of the parish, please d o c o m e forward to share these with us. • Make donations to our church renovation fund. We h o p e to keep the renovation within a b u d g et of S$1 million (S$300,000 for the Social Centre a n d S$700,000 for the Church). We intend to use som e of our parish fund to offset the cost, but we still n e e d to raise S$300,000 to S$400,000. Please send your donations to "Church of St Teresa" with "Renovation Fund” written behind the ch eque. We know we c a n d e p e n d on your generosity. C ontact us a t 6271 1184 or 6271 1186.

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begins M arch 14 By K. R. Goh CATHOLIC Charities Week begins Sunday, March 14. Singapore Catholics know that some time during Lent (it is the third week), they will be asked to take the Catholic Charities Week envelope home, decide how much to contribute and bring back the envelope with a cheque the following week. The Lenten donation drive is the main source of funds for Catholic Welfare Services (CWS). In 2002,60 percent of CW S’ “income” was derived from Catholic Charities Week. CWS’ net collection in 2003 rose slightly to SS2.179 million from S$2.160 million the previous year. “We are very blessed to be able to continue the way we have,” said James Chew, CW S’ director. “Catholics are very generous and, to date, all we have had to do was put out the Charities Week appeal.” But with new projects in the pipeline and the need to upgrade some projects and services, “we will need to do more,” he said. CWS was formed in 1959 to provide food rations and relief to the poor. Today, it initiates, assists, co-ordinates and carries out social services to alleviate poverty and distress among needy Singaporeans regardless of race or creed. To ensure that funds raised are used almost in full for the needy, administrative costs are kept low. In 2003, the administrative cost of Catholic Charities Week was only 1.5 percent of the funds raised. CWS supports eight funded agencies and seven assisted agencies. In addition, it provides information and referral services

and financial assistance (monthly financial support, food rations, supermarket vouchers and reimbursement for medical expenses and study aid ) to low income families. CWS also assists the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to implement its project in Singapore. It is involved in the Food Relief Programme which provides rice

Mission To prom ote hum an dignity, to highlight the preciousness o f life, to encourage people to live life fully, and to help people integrate better into the society. _ _ — ..-------------CWS was officially registered as a society in 1961 and as a charity in 1985. It has been a member of the National Council of Social Service Central Fund since January 1997. CWS is an International Affiliate of Caritas Intemationalis, a confederation of Catholic relief, development and social service organisations working to build a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed, in over 200 countries and territories. More information on CWS and its agencies can be found at www.catholicwelfare.org.sg

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and cooking oil and other foods to those in need. People from more than 50 institutions including St Vincent de Paul Conferences, homes for the aged, children’s homes, crisis centres and societies benefit from this programme. Although its “income” has been enough to support CW S’ agencies, this happy situation may not continue. CW S’ funding needs are increasing. St Theresa’s Home was added to its list of funded agencies in July 2003 and its plans for this year are ambitious. The Villa Francis Home for the Aged will move from its Mandai Estate premises to new and bigger premises. CWS is also looking into starting a facility for homeless HIV patients and a halfway house for released prisoners. During Catholic Charities Week, Singapore Catholics are encouraged to donate as much as they can. CWS FUNDED AGENCIES St Joseph’s Home Villa Francis Home for the Aged St Theresa’s Home Good Life @ South East Good Shepherd Centre Marine Parade Family Service Centre Poverello Teen Centre Cybercounseiling for the Youth CWS ASSISTED AGENCIES Gift of Love Home Rose Villa Roman Catholic Prison Ministry St Vincent Home Young Christian Workers Movement Family Life Society Morning Star Community Services


How you can help V olunteers Although volunteers are welcome in all areas, the main need is for volunteers to

The Little Sisters of the Poor who built St Theresa’s Home have left, but their mission continues.

1. Help with feeding. About 30 residents have to be helped at meal times. Feeding is done on a one-to-one basis under the supervision of a state registered nurse. 2. Take residents for medical checkups.

By K. R. G oh

SET in serene surroundings near MacRitchie Reservoir, St Theresa’s Home is a lovely place to live in The home is located on a slope, away from the hustle and bustle of busy Upper Thomson Road. You can barely hear the traffic as you drive along the little side road through an arch to the main gate, and definitely not as you gaze upon the statue of St Theresa above the door of the chapel standing at the end of the driveway. The first St Theresa’s Home was established by the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order known for its care of the sick and dying, in 1935 at Derbyshire Road for 12 elderly persons. The present home was built in 1939. At its height, the home had over 300 residents. On July 1, 2003, Catholic Welfare Services took over the management of St Theresa’s Home but the new administration has been mindful of the hom e’s roots. “The Little Sisters started the home as a mission to the poor and the aged, and although we have taken over its management, we have remained true to its heritage,” said Mr William Teo, the hom e’s administrator. “St Theresa’s Home is still a mission to the sick,” he explained. Today, St Theresa’s Home is a voluntary welfare nursing home and although the Little Sisters are no longer in residence, the staff endeavour to emulate the Little Sisters as best they can in the care and support they give the residents. “Our aim is to provide holistic care to the elderly and sick through our comprehensive nursing care programme,” said M r Teo. The home, which can accommodate 200 residents, offers day care, short-term stays for people recovering from an illness or surgery, long-term stays and respite care to provide primary care­ givers a break from the full-time care they give their sick or elderly relative. According to M r Teo, private homes typically charge between $1,500 and $2,500 a month but at St Theresa’s, residents are asked to pay a sum they can afford. If they cannot afford to pay, the home looks for donations to pay for their care.

IGNATIUS Chan and Maria Leong are two of the 93 people who call St Theresa’s home. Mr Chan has lived at the home for about 15 years. At 87, he is still able to move around on his own although he is partially blind and uses a cane. “As you come through the gate, you walk straight up the path and when you see St Theresa ahead of you, you feel

3. Help in activities such as game sessions like bingo. Right: TERESA Yen, a volunteer, encou rages a resid en t to p articipate in the group th era p y session.

D o n a tio n s Donations can be in money or in kind. The home has a list of things it consumes on a weekly and monthly basis. Donors can choose to donate the amount they are comfortable with. Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can call the home at 62562532. □

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Left: M A R IA L eon g is on e o f 93 people w h o call St T h e r e s a ’s h om e.

very happy, very glad,” he said. “It’s a peaceful place. I ’m very lucky to be here,” said Mr Chan who was baptised some 10 years ago at the home. He was not a member of any religion when he first moved into St Theresa’s, but was inspired by the nuns to become Catholic. “You live here and see all these religious people so devoted to the Lord. I started thinking.... these people are so good, they have so much faith,” he said. Madam Leong, 87, came to the home a few years after her husband passed away. She had married late and has no children. A Catholic, she had been donating regularly to the home and knew the sisters whom she felt “worked for God”. In 1988, she finally agreed to the sisters’ suggestion that she move in rather than live alone with a maid. An enthusiatic walker until she fell last year, Madam Leong has no regrets about moving into the home. “Catholic people must go to church every Sunday. If we stay in another home, how to go to church?” she said. “I have visited everywhere, and in Singapore, this is the best home. We have a chapel, the service is good and we have a big compound.” □

R ight: D A N E T T E K oh (left) and E v ely n S n od gra ss, a v o lu n teer for nin e years, ta k in g a rest at St T eresa’s.

Volunteers are a welcome sight THE “Friends of St Theresa”, as volunteers at St Theresa’s Home are called, are a welcome sight to the residents and a great help to the staff. Although the home has about 80 registered volunteers, only half are regulars. These regulars come in once, twice or thrice weekly for an average of two to three hours each time. A few come five times a week. Teresa Yen has been a “Friend of St Theresa” for three years. One of the sisters had asked her if she would help and she now comes thrice a week, from Mass at 7.30 am to just after lunch at 12.30 pm.

Asked why she volunteers, she said, “It’s to cheer the old people up. Some of them are very lonely and they want the companionship. They want you to acknowledge them. What I get out of this is the smile on their faces.” Danette Koh was apprehensive in the beginning. She was not used to being with elderly people but “I tried it out and I like it.” She now volunteers at the home twice a week. “It gives me a lot of joy and I tell m yself that it’s so fortunate to have a family. After a while you get attached to them,” she said. □ |


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Catholic News takes a look at the Roman Catholic Prison Ministry in Singapore. Reports by Sr Wendy Ooi, fsp Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network provides services to help ex­ offenders reintegrate into society. The CARE Network brings together the major community and government organisations responsible for rehabilitation of reforming offenders, co-ordinates their activities and develops innovative rehabilitation initiatives for reforming offenders. But many of the former prisoners, especially the older ones, are illiterate and ignorant of many things.

“M y life and love!” THIS is how Sr. Gerard Fernandez, rgs, describes the Roman Catholic Prison Ministry (RCPM) which she initiated in 1977 with Redemptorist priests, Fr. O ’Neill and Fr. Brian Doro. Before the establishm ent of the RCPM, priests assigned in Our Lady of Perpetual Succour parish had been visiting prisoners twice a month since the early 1960s to celebrate M ass - one visit in the m aximum security prison and the other in m inimum security. Additional visits only took place upon the request of prisoners for confession or counsel, especially by those on death row. Around 1975, Fr. G. Arotcarena, mep, volunteered to be the prison chaplain and he ministered for about two years before returning to France. When the RCPM was formed, regular visits to the prisons became more common, providing weekly counseling and religious services. Today there are 64 counselors in the ministry, comprising eight priests, seminarians, religious sisters, and the laity who form the majority. With her pioneering partners having to return to Australia, Sr. Gerard currently steers the helm of the RCPM as its main coordinator and is so well known in this ministry that Archbishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur calls her the “prison sister.” Sr. Gerard believes her vocation to the Prison Ministry started as early as when she was six. She reminisces fondly about her childhood days in M alacca when she and her siblings were given speech training by their father while waiting for their breakfast at a long dining table. Each child had to declaim bits of poetry. Her brother and sister were given the following phrase to read: “A nd I commit you to Sing Sing Prison, there to be hanged, drawn and quartered.” She was appalled at the words. W hen it came to her turn, she recited the Hail Holy Queen prayer instead. Her father was suitably impressed. Today, after 27 years in the Prison Ministry, Sr. Gerard is able to say with conviction that all her strength comes from God, “No matter how tired I feel, there is joy in serving the prisoners. So I never feel tired when I am with them.” Her motto, “prayer and patience” is adhered to, especially when prisoners refuse to cooperate. “It is up to the prisoners to seek counseling,” she says. “Some may choose not to open up and some cases are difficult to counsel. Many come from dysfunctional families but I believe everyone can change. God doesn’t give up on us so we too don’t give up. We have to give until it hurts, even though they may let us down. But divine providence never lets us down. The majority of prisoners change for the better after counseling.” For those on death row, Sr. Gerard acknowledges that it is a privilege to walk with them as they near their end. “It’s an experience of the mercy of our compassionate God. They are able to let go, and go freely in peace, believing in a God who loves them .”

Su sa n b rin g s th em h o m e

S r. G e r a r d F e r n a n d e z

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‘P rison Sister’’

The nun who loves going to ja il The prison administration has been open and supportive of the different programmes of the RCPM. The m inistry’s team serves 12 of the 14 penal institutions and drug rehabilitation centres in Singapore. Besides weekday counseling sessions, Mass or the Liturgy of the Word with Communion service are celebrated on Sundays. At present RCIA sessions adapted to suit the inmates are also conducted in two institutions. Another programme, Creative Reflections discovering oneself through colour, which consisted of 15 sessions, was recently conducted in Changi W omen’s Prison. In the future, when the new Changi Prison Complex is completed, the RCPM plans to carry out programmes like Little Rock Bible Study, Cafe (Catholic Faith Experience), and Alpha, as well as other Human Enrichment programmes. Sr. Gerard is filled with hope and joy for the future and is grateful for the past years in the ministry which she calls “truly a lifetime experience.” However she and her team are still

hoping for more volunteers in the ministry, especially to serve those who are recently released from prison.

C ounselors help ex-prisoners get a second chance THE major difficulty facing the prison ministry is not so much with prisoners still serving their sentence but the problems encountered by those who are released from prison. Sr. Gerard explains, “W hen the ex­ prisoners come out, many face rejection. Their family doesn’t accept them. They have no money. They have no jobs. Where do they go?” Unfortunately those who face rejection, financial and family difficulties become repeat offenders. To stop this vicious cycle, the RCPM hopes that more volunteers will join the team to help these ex-prisoners get a second chance in life, and start their lives anew. The Community Action for the

SUSAN, a volunteer counselor, estimates that 60% of former prisoners do not take advantage of the services provided by CARE and the church has to look after these. Lay volunteers like Susan are now trying to build a network, working closely with St. Vincent de Paul Society, to take care of the immediate financial needs of former prisoners. Their service also includes introducing social workers to the newly released, as many do not know who to turn to for help. Susan is also involved in helping former prisoners return to their families. This involves family visits to bridge families and inmates. She says, “Seven out of 10 are able to have reconciliation with their families but for those who can’t S U S A N says that she reconcile, we finds fulfillm ent in the have to give m inistry despite the them rejection she encouragement som etim es faces. and help them to realize that life must go on.” Susan has been in the prison ministry since 1995 and is a popular counselor and confidante to many prisoners. She started out as a Tamil interpreter in the Margaret Drive prison. Her first case was a 23 year old man who was sentenced to death for murder. Word of mouth soon spread among the inmates to “speak to Susan” for their counseling needs. Susan reveals that she felt a strong call to serve in the prison ministry after her initial experience of interpreting for the Tamil speaking inmates. She shares that most of the prisoners need emotional counseling, “They are concerned and worried about how their family is surviving, with the payment of house bills, with their children going to school, and how the spouse is coping.” Susan says that she finds fulfillm ent in the ministry despite the rejection she and other volunteers sometimes face. “Serving in the ministry has helped to strengthen me in my own faith. I also discover m yself in their frustrations.” Patience and


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perseverance are for her the key words in the ministry. She is grateful for her family support especially in housing the abandoned children of prisoners or drug addicts. She explains, “The government homes take one to two weeks to find a place for them so we have to accommodate them in our own home first.” She has also experienced the joy of the “hundredfold” reward of serving the Lord in this ministry. She recounts the times when she would throw a party and many ex-prisoners and their families would provide abundant food. As she serves also non-Catholics in her ministry, her party guests include Muslims, Hindus and families from other creeds. The enthusiasm Susan places in her ministry is based on the abiding presence of God, “In all that we do, we are not alone. God is always with us. We do fumble but we always get up.”

L a rry b rin g s th em H o ly C o m m u n io n LARRY, a relatively new volunteer counselor, would agree wholeheartedly with Susan’s statement. He joined the prison ministry less than two years ago and is also a communion minister, conducting communion services when no priest is available for Sunday Mass. At present, he also instructs prisoners on “Catholic ■ Awareness,” an L A R R Y say s the adaptation of RCIA prison m in istry has modules. The been a great faithclasses are held lea rn in g experience. every Saturday in the prison, with two other lay volunteers. After his baptism in 1995, Larry had a strong desire to impart his faith and the richness of the word of God. This was met when he joined the prison ministry which for him has been a great learning experience, “There has been a growth in my faith as I share with others about God. And I feel the touch of God working through m e.” He remembers how at the start he felt so nervous in sharing about the Sunday gospel but after the first time, in which he received a standing ovation, he could only conclude that God was with him all the way. Like his fellow counselors, Larry is grateful for the training available to them. Through the support of generous sponsors, counselors in the prison ministry team are able to attend courses on Counseling Skills, Reality Therapy, workshops in Personal Growth and other training courses to equip themselves to serve in the ministry. All counselors meet every two months to share on their experiences and learn from one another other counseling techniques developed. □

Shepherd to prisoners

A R C H B IS H O P N ich o las C h ia b lesses an in m ate d u rin g a M ass at C h a n gi P rison last N ovem ber. A rch b ish o p C h ia is p resid en t o f the RCPM . T he inm ates look to him as their sh epherd. It c om forts them to k n ow th at they are not forgotten, that they are em b raced as P eop le o f G od on a jo u r n e y to healin g and reconciliation.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, PLEASE “Volunteering is an act o f service from the heart. It is about the giving o f oneself and making a difference in the lives o f others less fortunate than ourselves. Volunteers are indeed the very heart o f our rehabilitation efforts. As once mentioned by M other Teresa, “A t the heart o f silence is prayer, at the heart o f prayer is faith, at the heart o f faith is life, at the heart o f life is service.” - Mr Chua Chin Kiat, Director o f Prisons, at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon held on Dec 20, 2003.

THE Roman Catholic Prison Ministry has a team of 64 counselors, some of whom are new volunteers who responded to publicity on the RCPM in Catholic News. More volunteers are needed especially to serve the newly released prisoners. Sr. Gerard appeals, “We need committed people with a heart and with patience.” The RCPM is now looking for two locations for prisoners who are released and have no place to go, one for females and one for males. You can also be part of the Intercessory prayer group that prays for this Ministry to the Prisoners. Anyone who feels called to serve as a volunteer can call Sr. Gerard at 9109 8990 or email her at sgprim@pacific.net.sg □

Fruits of the prison ministry IN prisons the world over, religion has helped many inmates change their wayward ways, rediscover God in their lives and provide a new sense of direction and meaning to life. Counseling also plays an important role in the rehabilitation of prisoners as they discover their personal problems and seek ways toward wholeness of life. Two former inmates reveal their journey of renewal and how the RCPM has helped them towards rehabilitation behind bars and outside bars.

J o se p h in e is m ore fo rtu n a te th an m a n y o th ers JOSEPHINE, having served a 10-year sentence, was released from Changi W omen’s Prison in Jaunary 2004. She was 71 years old. Josephine shares her transformation over the years while she was in jail. “During my first years in prison, I was very ill tempered. I was sad, depressed, frustrated but the counselor helped me pass the day and I began to always look forward to the (counseling) sessions. At first I was angry with God. After counseling, I began to become closer to God.” She attributes the change in her behaviour to being with the Sisters and volunteers in the prison ministry, “When you meet nice people, you want to follow their ways but when you meet evil people you follow their ways. Today I feel inner peace and joy but I dare not meet my friends from the prison as they are drug addicts.” Josephine’s attitude towards life and people has also seen a transition from the negative to the positive, “It’s a different world 10 years ago - people are much nicer now.” Since her release, she has encountered kindness from all, starting from the prison officers who prepared her to leave the prison gates, “I was touched by the superintendent. She made clothes for me. I was also able to get free medication at a hospital through the help of a social worker.” At present Josephine is temporarily

.V,H S IS T E R G er a r d sp e n d s tim e w ith Jo se p h in e w h o did the artw ork (above right) d u rin g a p r o g r a m m e a d m in iste r ed by the p rison m inistry.

housed with the Missionaries of Charity, a stone’s throw away from the convent of the Good Shepherd Sisters where Sr. Gerard resides. Their close proximity enables Sr. Gerard to continue helping Josephine reintegrate into society. They are now trying to contact Josephine’s family members in Malaysia. Josephine is one o f the lucky ex-prisoners who have people caring for her. It could have been otherwise. RCPM counselors were late on the day of her release due to a change in release time. She had left by the time they arrived. They worried for her. Her first day out on the streets of Singapore after 10 years in jail! Where would she go? So they went to the Novena Church to ask Our Blessed Mother to take care of her. O f course she did. Josephine had taken a bus to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. There she found her way to the Archbishop’s House. “It was so peaceful.... and the doors were all open,” she said in amazement. She went in and knocked on the door of Archbishop’s open office. Archbishop Chia greeted her, listened to her story, gave her a packet of biscuits and $20 and told her to go to the Good Shepherd Sisters.

M ich a el is su cessfu lly reh ab ilitated MICHAEL (not his real name) was released from prison some years ago. He now has a full time job but still hopes that society can change its attitude towards ex-prisoners. He shares, “It was not easy to get a job.” His advice to newly released prisoners is to take the initiative and be responsible, “You must seek help. You must ask for help wherever you can. D on’t wait for others to help you.” Though now divorced from his wife, Michael has managed to hold onto his job and after five years of work, was able to purchase a flat where he lives with his daughter who was a top student in a convent school. While he was in prison, his daughter stayed with volunteer counselor, Susan for three years. M ichael’s successful rehabilitation can be attributed to the support from the prison ministry and to religion which he re­ discovered behind bars, “The counseling helped me to understand myself. And God became the most important thing for me in the prison. Sunday Mass was also more meaningful inside than I had ever experienced outside.” □


THE DAMNING REPORTS THE U.S. Catholic Church reached another key milestone in dealing with its clergy sexual abuse crisis with the release of two documents in Washington Feb. 27. The National Review Board report on the causes and context of the abuse and the John Jay study of the nature and scope of the abuse provide for the first time a full objective accounting of how bad the problem was and a thoughtful independent critique of what led to this sad chapter in church history.

The all-lay National Review Board was formed by the U.S. bishops in their 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” The John Jay study titled “The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 19502002.” - was conducted for the bishops by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, one of the nation’s top institutions in that field. □

John Jay Findings The study surveyed nearly every diocese and many religious orders about clergy sexual abuse of minors from 1950 to 2002 Decade of Incident

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“The actions of priests who sexually abused minors were grievously sinful. The inaction of those bishops who failed to protect their people from predators was also grievously sinful. Somehow the ‘smoke of Satan’ was allowed to enter | the church, and as a | result the church itself has been deeply wounded. Its ability to speak clearly and credibly on moral issues has been seriously impaired i National Review Board

KEY NUMBERS

Financial Costs Dioceses and religious orders report costs totaling more than $573 million dollars

H E R E at a glance are key figures from the Jo h n Jay C ollege o f C rim inal Justice study titled “T he N ature and S cope o f Sexual A buse o f M inors b y C atholic P riests and D eacons in the U n ited States 1950-2002.” T he study w as released in W ashington Feb. 27. —

4 ,3 9 2 p riests/d eaco n s w ere accused. O f th ese, 41 w ere p erm an e n t deacons.

A lleg atio n s w ere m ad e a g ain st 4 p ercen t o f th e 109,694 p riests serving d u rin g the perio d .

A lleg atio n s w ere lo d g ed on b e h a lf o f 10,667 p eople.

75 p e rc e n t o f the abu se in cidents occu rred d u rin g 1960-84.

T otal sex ab use relate d costs rep o rted d u rin g th e p erio d w ere U S $573 m illion w ith U S $219 m illio n co v ered by insu rance.

81 p e rc e n t o f the victim s w ere m ales, a n d 19 p e rc e n t w ere fem ales.

50.9 p e rc e n t o f the v ic tim s w ere 11-14 y ears old an d 27.3 p e rc en t w ere 15-17 y e a rs old.

56 p e rc e n t o f the accu sed h a d o n ly one v ic tim a n d 27 p erc e n t h ad tw o or three victims. □

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The National Review Board Report

Highlights WASHINGTON - The National Review Board monitoring the U.S. church response to clergy sexual abuse of minors released a 145-page report on the causes and context of that abuse over the past halfcentury. Here are highlights of some of the main findings of that report, which was made public in Washington Feb. 27. Issues related to priests who sexually abused children included: — Inadequate screening procedures to weed out unfit priesthood candidates. — Inadequate seminary formation regarding celibacy and sexuality. — Special issues that need study concerning sexual orientation of priests, since much of the abuse appeared to have a homosexual character. — Special issues to be studied concerning celibacy, since how celibacy was lived or not lived touched not only on the abuse of minors but also on other issues of a healthy priesthood. — Special issues of spiritual life for bishops and priests, since both the acts of abuse by priests and the failure of bishops to put an end to it were “grievously sinful.” The report said that in the case of too many bishops their responses to allegations of abuse “were characterized by moral laxity, excessive leniency, insensitivity, secrecy and neglect.” Among issues it cited regarding bishops were: — A failure to understand the nature and scope of the abuse and the harm it caused. — A failure to respond adequately to victims, pastorally or legally. — M aking unwarranted presumptions in favor of the priest when assessing allegations. — A culture of clericalism that sought to protect the accused priest. — Weaknesses in church law that made it difficult to inflict criminal penalties even when it was clear the priest violated church law. — A culture o f forgiveness that failed to recognize the horror of the abuse and the need to condemn it. — An emphasis on secrecy and avoiding scandal “at all costs.” — Failure to report actions that were crimes in civil law to civil authorities. — Over-reliance on the therapeutic model, depending on psychologists and psychiatrists to “cure” offenders and make them fit to return to ministry. — Over-reliance on attorneys, treating allegations as primarily a legal problem rather than one of pastoral and moral concern. □

Major milestone for church B y J erry F ilteau

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Catholic Church has reached another key milestone in dealing with its clergy sexual abuse crisis. The National Review Board report on the causes and context of the abuse and the John Jay study of the nature and scope of the abuse provide for the first time a full objective accounting of how bad the problem was and a thoughtful independent critique of what led to this sad chapter in church history. The John Jay study - conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, one of the nation’s top institutions in that field - said its survey found that at least 10,667 people had reported plausible claims of childhood sexual abuse by 4,392 priests or deacons between 1950 and 2002. This represents 4 percent of the approximately 110,000 diocesan and religious priests who served in the United States in those years. Are those numbers an underreport? Certainly. Diocesan records of some claims may have been destroyed years ago, church officials who were involved have long since died or forgotten about it, some claims may have never been put in the personnel files, some victims of abuse have died without ever bringing their claims to church or civil officials. In addition, the John Jay study by its nature had to establish an end-date for data collection. Because the survey was conducted in the middle months of 2003, the survey asked for reports received by the end of 2002. Still, the John Jay researchers got a 97 percent response from dioceses - an almost unheard of level of cooperation in a sociological study - and more than 60 percent response from religious orders, representing more than 80 percent of religious priests in the country. The religious orders’ response - voluntary because those orders were not mandated to participate by the bishops’ 2002 charter to protect children - was also unusually high for such a study. Certainly the data are flawed on many counts. But there is simply no evidence to warrant accusations that any bishop, or those they assigned to supply the data for the John Jay study, intentionally lied or covered up the extent of the problem in their diocese.

Pledge to Heal

“The terrible history recorded here today is history.... We are determined that this troubling past will give way to a healing and reconciling future...” - Bishop W ilton D. Gregory, president o f the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

F R O M the h e a r t-w re n c h in g stories o f d r u g an d alcoh ol ab u se, se x u a l and relation al p ro b lem s and a tte m p ted su icid e to ld by m a n y w h o have rep o rted the tr a u m a tic im p a ct o f their c h ild h o o d a b u se b y a p riest, i t ’s clear that at lea st so m e v ictim s from the ea rlier d e c a d e s co v er ed by the stu d y took th eir se c re t h o r r o r an d sh a m e to the g rave. H ere, B a r b a r a B la in e, p resid en t o f S u rv iv o rs N e tw o r k o f th o se A b u se d by P riests, listen s as the n a m e s o f su icide victim s are read d u rin g a ca n d lelig h t vigil held th e e v en in g o f the release o f tw o rep orts, c n s p h o t o s

Causes and context The National Review Board’s report on the causes and context of clergy sexual abuse of minors is revealing on many counts. The report relies on the findings of the John Jay study, the national study of first annual diocesan sexual abuse compliance audits completed last year and reported this January, and interviews with more than 80 victims, priests, bishops, lay leaders and experts in a variety of fields. The report will give little comfort to those U.S. bishops who have not moved aggressively in the last two or three years to halt sexual abuse of minors by priests and to remove abusers from ministry. Most of today’s bishops would not fit in those categories, however. Since the bishops adopted their 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,”

almost all - if not all - bishops have removed from public ministry all priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The borderline cases have involved disputes over what constitutes a “credible” accusation. At least 700 priests were removed from all ministry in 2002-03 as a result of the charter or in anticipation of it - about 1.6 percent of all priests then serving. The report highlights a closed seminary environment up to the 1960s and a tooopen reactive seminary environment in the 1970s as part of the institutional problem behind the crisis. In the former, future priests got little or no training to deal with questions of intimacy and sexuality, and some of those ordained were so psychosexually immature that they

identified with, and acted out with, children and teenagers. In the latter, seminary faculty unequipped to cope with the sexual revolution of the 1960s and ’70s offered too little guidance to students who were part of that culture. The review board said that whatever the ideological viewpoints of the witnesses it interviewed “all agreed that the rapidly changing (seminary) climate — from a strictly regimented atmosphere to an ‘anything goes’ atmosphere — contributed to the current crisis” by failing to form seminarians for a mature celibate commitment. Experts say the seminaries have made major strides in screening and formation in celibacy and sexuality in the past 15 years. To the extent that sexual attacks on children by adults are part of the sinful human condition, it is inevitable that some of those adults will be found among the nation’s 45,000 Catholic priests. To the extent that conditions in society or an institution enable or contribute to such conduct, the epidemic character of priestly abuse of minors appears to have been a phenomenon of the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s. Some of the report’s most scathing criticisms are directed at the bishops who failed to recognize the horror of sexual abuse of children, ignoring the human and pastoral needs of victims and mollycoddling abusive priests. The church has seen a sea change in that area over the past two years. While some bishops do a better job of it than others, most now meet personally with victims. Only a tiny minority still refuses to do so. There are still many steps to be taken on the demanding road of pastoral care, outreach, healing and reconciliation, but at least most bishops are on the path. As a whole, the bishops of the nation have taken the lead in confronting their past failures and have set an example that other institutions entrusted with the care of children would do well to follow. The John Jay study and the National Review Board report are significant signposts of that work. □

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Why cloning is wrong H U M A N C L O N IN G retu rn ed to the h ead lin es w ith the a n n o u n ce m en t by S ou th K orean scien tists that they h ad clo n ed h u m an em b ry o s. T heir g oa l w a s to e xtra ct em b ry o n ic stem cells to use in m ed ical research . T he e x p e rim en ts w ere ca rried ou t by a tea m led by Dr. W oo Su k H w an g and Dr. Sh in Yong M o o n o f Seoul N a tion a l U niversity. T he researchers obtained 242 eggs from 16 w om en . O f these, 176 w ere selected for the clon in g attem p ts. T h e clon in g process then yielded 30 blastocysts, from w h ich they w ere able to extract 20 inner cell m asses. O ne o f these then grew into a line o f stem cells.

B elow , w e p u b lish an ed ited v ersio n o f th e S in g a p o re C a th o lic M ed ica l G u ild ’s ex p la n a tio n on w h y h u m a n c lo n in g is w ro n g .

IN CLONING, the nucleus from a cell of an individual to be cloned is injected into a donor egg whose own nucleus has been removed. A “spark” is introduced to excite this new cell to divide, just like a

ADVOCATES of cloning defend their actions by defining it as “therapeutic” as opposed to reproductive. Critics, however, point out the fallacy of the claimed distinction. Interviewed by the Italian daily La Stampa, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, explained that in both cases an embryo is created and then killed, making the technique morally unacceptable. The moral transgression with therapeutic cloning is as serious as that done for reproductive purposes, he said. Moreover, the defense of human life should come first in medical research, he said, countering those who talk of embryonic clones as mere masses of cells. Dr. Leon Kass, head of the U.S. President’s Council on Bioethics, also criticized the experiments. In an interview published Feb. 14 in the Italian Catholic daily Avvenire, Kass warned that the current creation and early destruction of embryos opens the door to reproductive cloning in the near future. He called for a complete ban on human cloning. Kass termed “arbitrary” the decision by scientists who say human life does not exist during the early stages of the embryo’s development, thereby justifying the destruction of clones for their cells. Human life exists already at this first stage of the

fertilized egg would. At the blastocyst stage, that is, about the fourth day, the cloned embryo will be implanted in the surrogate mother in the case of “reproductive cloning” or the stem cells from this four day old embryo will be extracted for culture in the case of “cloning for research” and the embryo is destroyed in the process. Scientists who pursue cloning for research (also called “therapeutic cloning”, a misnomer as embryos are killed instead of being treated) hope to develop tissues that can be used to treat diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes. In Singapore, reproductive cloning is banned because the Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC) set up by the government in 2000 says it “goes against the moral idea that holds that a human being is not to be treated as a means to an end, but only as an end.” However, the BAC also says that cloning embryos for research could be permitted if there is “strong scientific merit in, and potential medical benefit from, such research, no acceptable alternative exists, and on a highly selective, case by case basis.” The main purpose is to obtain stem cells from the cloned embryos for research into possible treatment of diseases.

It is hard to see the logic of the BAC statements since cloning for research requires that the human being in his early embryonic stage be used (experimented on and killed) as a means to an end (scientific progess). C lo n in g d ra w b a ck s • Cancer is a common problem associated with stem cells derived from embryos. • The chromosomes in a clone are actually “old” chromosomes, not “young” as in a naturally fertilised egg. The clone is “older” than what it should be and this leads to early disease and premature death as shown in the case of Dolly the sheep. • There is a high wastage of embryos cloned. Only about 2% of cloned embryos make it to term. Many animal clones die during pregnancy and many show abnormalities such as enlarged heads, short limbs and enlarged torsos. T h e C h u rch on clo n in g The Church teaches that every human being has the right to come into existence through the loving and life-giving union between his father and mother in the conjugal act proper to marriage.Human

Scientific semantics Or how to fudge the cloning issue with clever words embryo’s existence and should not be sacrificed for scientific research, he argued. The World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations called for a total ban

L E O N K ass, a b io m ed ical ethicist from the U n iversity o f C h ica go, w ho h ea d s the U .S. P re sid e n t’s C ou n cil on B io eth ic s has called fo r a c o m p lete b a n on h u m an clon in g.

on the cloning of human embryos in a declaration dated Feb. 19. “It is immoral to continue to seek the support of public opinion for these projects, with the promise of imminent treatment of many chronic diseases, although there is no certainty of feasibility for many years to come, and although any preparatory investigation on animals has been deliberately skipped.” The federation also called attention to the lives lost in the process of cloning. “It is not acceptable to deliberately sacrifice the life of any human being, even if this is done in order to relieve the health problems of other human beings.” The group was also critical of attempts to gain support for cloning by promoting the benefits for sick people. “A kind of philanthropy which does not recognize the intrinsic value of human beings, although as small and powerless as embryos, is not humane,” noted its declaration. “We are convinced that, instead of being humanitarian, this attitude reflects utilitarian views, permitting the manipulation of public opinion, and providing support to areas of economic interest like research on embryonic stem cells,” the federation

cloning is a deviation from G od’s design for creating new life. The Pontifical Academy of Science, in its “Reflections on Cloning” released in 1998, explained why cloning of humans was morally wrong: • Women are radically exploited and reduced to a few of their purely biological functions (providing eggs and womb), and their bodies are regarded as mere research tools. • Cloning fosters the idea that some individuals can have total dominion over the existence of others, to the point of programming their biological identity selected according to arbitrary or purely utilitarian criteria. There will be a growing conviction that the value of man and woman does not depend on their personal identity but only on those biological qualities that can be appraised and therefore selected. • It degrades the dignity of the cloned person; he enters the world by being the “copy” of another person. The Church has always taught that all human life from conception must be respected and protected. If human embryos are killed to obtain a certain type of cell, such action is morally wrong no matter what good might be derived. “God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: No one can under any circumstance claim for him self the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” T h e altern a tiv e Adult stem cell research is viable and ethical since it does not involve the killing of any human being. Adult stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord, placenta, and even brain and skin cells can be used in research and treatment. They have been successfully used to treat some forms of heart disease, thalassemia and leukemia. □

observed. The declaration pointed out that research using adult human stem cells has already produced important results, but that this work is being surrounded in silence due to economic interests. John Paul II, in his Feb. 20 message marking the 10th anniversary of the Pontifical Academy for Life, explained that it “is necessary to increasingly sensitize researchers, especially those in the biomedical realm, on the beneficial enrichment that can arise from combining scientific rigor with the demands of anthropology and Christian ethics.” Indeed, an urgent task for stem cell researchers. □

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about the time he and his wife, Maggie, ran into their friend, Father William Treacy, at a coffee shop. “He said, ‘H ow ’s it feel to be the parents of Jesus?” ’ the senior Caviezel recalled. Pretty much anyone in America w ho’s been exposed to the media in recent weeks knows that their actor-son, Jim Caviezel Jr., portrays Jesus in his last 12 hours on earth in Mel G ibson’s heavily publicized and controversial film, “The Passion of the Christ,” which opened nationwide Feb. 25. “It’s just a perfect film to get us ready for our journey through Lent,” Jim Caviezel Sr. said. “I mean, if you’re not struck by a passion for the Lord (after seeing this), you never will be.” He and his wife saw their son in the biggest role of his life to date at a screening Feb. 23 at a Burlington theater that had been sold out by a local Protestant church. Invited to speak, the senior Caviezel told the audience beforehand that having a native son portraying Christ in such a major film was probably “the biggest thing to ever hit this area.” “And as a family, of course, we were quite honored that our boy was chosen (to play Jesus),” he said. “But you’ve got to think it was more of divine providence that it happened,” he said Feb. 24 in an interview with The Catholic Northwest Progress, Seattle archdiocesan newspaper. “Because how would a kid from Mount Vemon be plucked out of the whole nation to play the part of the Lord?”

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What father of “Jesus” says The “kid” is a member o f a strong Catholic family from Immaculate Conception Parish in Mount Vemon. Though all were talented athletes, Mass came before ball games on Sundays, said Jim Caviezel Sr., and secular endeavors were always secondary on the list of priorities. “We always stressed the importance of God, family, and then business or career or sports — it’s not the other way around,” he said. He and his wife are now members of St. Cecilia Parish in Stanwood, but he still attends Mass daily in Mount Vemon. The church is across the street from where he works as a chiropractor. Jim Caviezel Sr. said he cherishes the thought that when he and his wife are at Sunday Mass their five children are also at a Mass somewhere around the country. A 1987 graduate of Kennedy High School in Burien, the younger Caviezel has returned several times to visit with students and staff. On two of those occasions, he took the entire student body to a nearby theater for the screening of two of his movies, “The Count of Monte Cristo” and the still-to-be-released “Madison.” But it was not for the glory of having made it big in Hollywood that he visited his alma mater. Rather, it was an opportunity to talk to students about his Catholic faith.

He talked about “what it’s like to be an actor in Hollywood and all the (challenges) of trying to be a good Christian - a good Catholic, (and) how you have to stay focused on your faith,” said longtime Kennedy principal Jack Schuster. “Basically what he was saying is that when you get out after high school you have to keep that as part of your life. You have to keep your journey with God sound.”

o f th e

C h r is t”

“The Passion of the Christ” has been criticized for its graphic violence and some have charged that the film ’s portrayal of Jews could contribute to anti-Semitism or to blaming the Jews for the death of Christ. The violence in the film was indeed graphic, and hard to take, the senior Caviezel said. He said his wife especially related to the motherly suffering of Mary. In one scene, when Jesus falls to the ground with the cross, there’s a flashback to him taking a fall as a little boy. “That really kind of hits you as a mother,” he speculated, “because you run over and try to shield your kid.” But the film also invites “us to be a hero” as Jesus was, the actor’s father said. “I think every teenager ought to see this th in g .... It would wake up a lot of kids that are heading down the wrong road. This is the type of hero model they should have.” In a recent interview with Newsweek magazine, the actor disputed the notion that the film was anti-Semitic. “W e’re all culpable in the death of Christ,” Jim Caviezel Jr. told the magazine. “My sins put him up there. Yours did. T hat’s what this story is about.” Caviezel’s father said he felt the same after seeing the movie. “We find out that it isn’t just the Jews or the Romans that did it, but it’s all of us,” he said. Jesus “took all of the sins of the world. My wife said (the film) ‘is violent, it’s ugly - b u t so is sin.’” As for his son’s role in portraying the Savior, Jim Caviezel Sr. paid him the highest compliment: “I thought he did a great job of playing the part. I forget even that it was him playing it.” □

Pope John Paul reflects on the words “We want to see Jesus” from the Gospel of St. John in his message for the April 4 diocesan celebrations of World Youth Day.

Christians must demonstrate how God’s love transforms lives By C indy W ooden

VATICAN CITY - A Christian cannot just

talk about Jesus, Pope John Paul II said: Others must be able to see Jesus through the way Christians live and serve others. “The world urgently needs the great prophetic sign of fraternal charity,” the pope said in his message for the April 4 diocesan celebrations of World Youth Day. The papal message was released in Italian March 1 at the Vatican. Reflecting on the words from the Gospel of St. John, “We want to see Jesus,” Pope John Paul told young people the Greeks quoted in the Gospel were not looking for a casual introduction, but wanted to know if Jesus had answers for the deepest questions in their hearts. While “intellectual curiosity” about Jesus has some value, the pope said, seeking Jesus “is stimulated most of all by the intimate need to find answers to questions about the meaning of life.” “The desire to see God lives in the heart of every man and woman,” he said. “W hether we are aware of it or not, God created us because he loves us and so

that we would love him in return,” the pope said. God revealed his face to humanity in Jesus Christ, the pope said. “Do you, dear young people, want to contemplate the beauty of this face?” he asked. Pope John Paul urged young Catholics to take time before responding to the question and to find a quiet place to think and pray about it. “Let the burning desire to see God emerge from the depths of your hearts,” he said. Too often, the pope told the young people, what is really important in life gets “suffocated by the noise of the world and the seductions of pleasure.” But quiet reflection will help them see that “all the goods of the earth, every professional success and the human love you dream about can never fully satisfy your most intimate and deepest expectations,” the pope said. “Only an encounter with Jesus can give full meaning to your lives,” he said. Pope John Paul told the young people that they must help their peers see Jesus as well, and that will happen if others see

Christ in them. “If you learn to discover Christ in the Eucharist, you also will discover him in your brothers and sisters, especially the poorest of them,” he said. “Love is not just a feeling,” the pope said. “It is an act of will that consists in preferring the good of another to your own in a constant way.” Pope John Paul urged the young people to look at Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose love for Jesus was lived as a love for the poorest of the poor. Filled with love for God, he told them, go out into the world and care for those who are hurting. “It is not enough to talk about Jesus,” he said. “You must help him be seen through the eloquent witness o f your lives.” “Become fearless witnesses to a love that is stronger than death,” Pope John Paul said. “Be enthusiastic friends of Jesus who present the Lord to everyone who wants to see him, especially to those who are far from him.” □ c n s

Pope invites young people to prepare for WYD Cologne VATICAN CITY - John Paul II has again

invited young people worldwide to prepare for next year’s World Youth Day in Germany. The Aug. 16-21, 2005, event in Cologne is expected to gather more than 500,000 youths. In a message released today, the Pope sets his sights on Cologne. “I invite you to begin preparing now with responsible and effective enthusiasm,” he writes. The 2002 World Youth Day, in Toronto, drew close to 1 million people. Registration for Cologne’s World Youth Day will begin this summer in the official Web page, www.wyd2005.org. □ CNS

i-


iiOlriSGeiTHE LAST WORD

Compassion and the fulllness of truth BACK when I was still teaching full-time, I was, for a period, the acting dean at a theological college. In that role, I received one day a phone call from one of the local parish priests. The conversation went something like this: “Are you the dean of theology at the college?” “Well, I ’m filling in for the dean, w ho’s on sabbatical.” “God, your students are a pain in the ass! They take a couple of courses, come back, and terrorise the parish. Nothing’s ever right for them. They roll their eyes at everything: how we do liturgy; my preaching; the parish’s priorities; our ecclesiology in general. I don’t doubt they’re right m ost of the time, but that’s not the point. It’s their arrogance that’s destructive. D on’t you teach them any compassion?” T here’s a challenge: don’t you teach them any compassion? Truth must always be yoked to compassion. Growth in our lives (be it intellectual, spiritual, psychological, professional, or moral) should not lead to arrogrance, elitism, or the false judgement that we, now so free and enlightened, are stuck among the ignorant and unwashed. Rather, any genuine growth should lead to a concomitant growth in compassion, respect, gentleness, and the capacity to be more understanding of w hat’s in opposition to us. Jesus said as much when he instructed us to speak our truth in parables, lest our speaking it causes more harm than good. In essence, what Jesus tells us is that truth is not a sledgehammer, and simply having the truth is not enough. Our truth must be right, but so must our energy. For the truth to set us free, it must come with an equal dose of compassion, otherwise our being right will only lead to more divisiveness inside the Community and lots of personal bitterness. A n example might be helpful: imagine a marriage within which, at a point, one partner begins to grow in ways that the other partner cannot share. Often this leads to divorce or, more commonly, to a lot of resentment and bitterness in the partner who is trying to grow in a new way and now is left with the feeling: “I ’m stuck with someone who doesn’t understand or support what I ’m doing and is an obstacle to my growth and happiness.” W hat’s true inside a marriage is true inside all families, religious communities, parishes, and circles of friendship. A t a certain point, one m ember or the other begins to grow in a way that becomes a threat to the others. W hat’s to be done? Stop going down that path for the sake o f peace in the family? By Fr Ronald P lo u g h on a h e a d , re g a rd le ss o f the Rolheiser consequences? THERE is no fully happy solution here, but some of the tension can be undercut if there is an equal effort to grow in compassion. A little learning can be a dangerous thing. That’s true for all of us and sometimes (perhaps most times) our personal quest for achievement, enlightenment, holiness, justice, or straightening-out the Church, is fraught with more than a little illusion and grandiosity and we need precisely the type of grounding that a partner, a family, a parish, or a circle of friendship is so willing to provide. And, while that’s true, it’s not the whole story. Each of us hears deep personal calls which if not responded to will leave both ourselves and our Creator frustrated. We are being called always by God, personal charism , circum stance, injustice around us, and the demons inside us to grow in ways that will not alw ay s p le a se o u r p a rtn e rs, o u r fa m ilie s, o u r p a rish e s, our communities, and our friends. Not to respond is to incur the biblical wrath reserved for those who hide their talents; but, conversely, to respond badly, with less than proper compassion, is to make our truth a sledgehammer that drives the community apart. It’s a tough choice and we risk bitterness either way. A marriage partner, a family, a parish, a community, or, a circle of friends functions in a double way. On the one hand, it’s a floor, a certain safety net that keeps us from ever falling too low. It protects us so we can’t free fall into any kind of major degeneracy. In every family and community there’s a certain unconscious support that won’t let you fall too low. But, there’s also a certain ceiling, a roof, that defines how high you can grow. In all but the very best marriages, families, parishes, communities, and friendships, there’s an unwritten, unspoken, unalterable law: “You may grow this far, but no further!” And that’s not always bad. W hile it threatens us with being levelled to a common denominator, it also, as we saw, challenges us not to grow in ways that are one-sided, half-baked, and self-delusional. It’s not easy to grow and not cause tension. And so it’s important that any new growth in truth radiates an equally new growth in compassion. We must, as Jesus says, speak our truth in parables. □

The Word of God Sunday, March 14 □ Exodus 3:1-8,13-15; Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8,11; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9

unless you repent you will all perish...” NEWLYWEDS know what it’s like to have that first argument. Discord is never enjoyable, but when it’s with a new spouse, the knots in our stomachs can be twice as tight! And the longer we ignore these feelings, the more they lead to confusion and agitation. Eventually, we even forget what caused the discord in the first place and are left with a jumble of unsettling feelings. However, when we realize that we are missing out on a lot of love, the anger hardly seems worth it. This is one way to understand the Sacrament of Reconciliation. No one wants to miss out on a good thing, especially if that “good thing” is the love of God our Father. W hen we let the thought of missing G od’s love move us, we are almost naturally led to repentance, just so we can set things straight with God and get back to being close to him. And then, being brought back to God, we can go out into the world ready to start all over again with confidence. Try to comprehend what it means that our sin never outweighs G od’s love for us. Jesus’ words of warning in today’s gospel reading are not meant to scare us or give us a distorted picture of a vindictive God. Rather, they are meant to be sobering words spoken by a God who wants to purify us so that he can fill us with his presence. This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a precious gift. God knows that sin weakens the sinner, and that’s why he pours out so much grace through this sacrament to strengthen us. Through our open adm ission o f our sins, the p rie s t’s absolution, and the acts of penance, we can know G od’s healing. It can penetrate our hearts and permeate us with the joy of his mercy. May we all know such grace this Lent! □

When we let the thought of missing God’s love move us, we are almost naturally led to repentance.

“L o rd Je su s, through the S a c ra m en t o f Reconciliation, may I experience you wrapping your arms around me in mercy, love, and healing.”

Sunday, March 2 1 0 Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 34:2-7; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

The Prodigal Son “...this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

HOW many times have you heard the parable of the prodigal son and imagined yourself as the returning prodigal, a bit tattered, being embraced by his father? How many times have you imagined yourself as the indignant older son, refusing to welcome his long-lost brother? Today, let’s look at this parable from another angle. Rather than placing yourself in the prodigal’s shoes at the moment of his return, try to imagine yourself as the same young man once he has joined in the celebration. Think about the rich feast and the choice wine the father served. Picture the happiness of all those surrounding the lost boy who came hom e-their warm embraces, their words of welcome and gratitude for his safe return. Picture too the older son, moved by his father’s pleadings, entering the banquet hall, his heart melting when he sees so many people gathered together to celebrate. Now imagine this celebration happening in your church, every Sunday at M ass. A ren’t we all prodigal sons and daughters? H aven’t we all - at one time or another - given ourselves over to things that don’t satisfy, and then felt the void of being separated from God? H aven’t we all been welcomed back by the Father with open arms and clothed in his righteousness? At Mass this Sunday, take a look around and imagine yourself in a celebration hall. Picture those around you as close friends and family members. See the Father’s face beam ing with joy that his fam ily has com e together to celebrate. Imagine the angels rejoicing, even dancing and cheering. Join in the party today and pray that your joy will spill out to everyone else, until the church is filled with the sound of joy and laughter. □ “Father, thank you fo r welcoming us home. By your Spirit, empower us to invite more and more people into your house until the whole world joins in the celebration.”


vpom es CatholicNews Fortnightly newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

I H

H

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Singapore’s falling birth rate

Managing Editor

Fr Johnson Fernandez Staff correspondents

Ms. Mel Diamse-Lee Fr Frederick Quek Sr Wendy Ooi Ms. Elaine Ong

Layout:

Consultant:

As I See It By James Wong

Mr Francis Yeo

TO CONTACT US Editorial

Email: cnedit@catholic.org.sg Please include your full name, address and telephone number.

Babies: A re they ajburden j*or a joy?

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Jam es Wong is E xecutive D irector o f the F am ily Life Society

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The Catholic News Office 2 Highland Road, #01-02 Singapore 549102. T elep h o n e : 6 8 5 8 -3 0 5 5

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Good to wear our religious identity openly THE ban on the wearing of religious symbols like the tudung, Jewish skullcap,and big crucifix in public schools in France prompts me to look at the situation in Singapore. Here, it seems that only some faiths display their religious identity prominently - Buddhist monks and nuns in robes, Muslims with tudung. What about Catholics? I think the religious sisters wear their habits in public often, priests and religious brothers less so. I have read vocation stories of some of the older priests, and many mentioned that they were inspired by their priests or teachers in cassocks. I am wondering if that could also be the case today. I understand Singapore’s climate makes wearing the habit uncomfortable, but I feel priests and religious should try to wear it or at least the clerical collar as often as possible. I observe that Archbishop Nicholas Chia, Fr Terence Pereira and some priests wear the clerical collar when they are not in cassock. Priests in habit - Franciscans, Carmelites and others - will surely arouse the interest of people on the street and, who knows, might plant seeds of faith or vocation. Abel Goh Singapore

SIN G A PO RE’S birth rate plum meted to a historic low of 1.26 last year - only 36,000 babies were born. (The population replacem ent rate is 2 . 1 - the figure o f 2.1 is derived from 2 to replace the parents and 0.1 for infant m ortality - or 50,000 babies.) This is despite several financial perks the Government has introduced over the recent past, like the baby bonus scheme and paid maternity leave for the third child. Now the search is on to find out what exactly would persuade married couples, especially the younger ones, to have children (or more children). Included in the G overnm ent’s list of ideas are longer paid m aternity leave, extending financial support, expanding infant and childcare services, and promoting family-friendly

practices in the workplace. Will at least some of these work? From the initial public response, it appears that it will be an uphill battle, and a long one at that. It will, for sure, be very difficult if only fiscal incentives are used because this is a behavioral problem that has more to do with basic attitudes, life values and perceptions about the true meaning of family, marriage, and babies. Common reasons cited by married couples for not having more babies include career pursuits, lifestyles, lack of time and energy to spend with children, lack of childcare facilities, money (“It’s expensive to have a child” is a common complaint), the list goes o n... What do these reasons point to? For one, babies are considered a burden. W hat led to this perception, this national predicament, and what effectively can be done to

arrest this declining trend, which if unchecked will lead to serious shortfalls in manpower for work and defence? Recognizing that the fall down this slippery slope didn’t occur overnight will help in appreciating the current plight of our nation. An analysis of policies and practices introduced in society as well as in the workplace joined with the pace of industrial development in the past three decades will illustrate the slowly but steady erosion of traditional thoughts and values regarding the family.

The value of a child One problem that must be overcome is the mindset that children are a hindrance. W hen a married couple fully appreciates that children are a blessing from God, and that their parental responsibilities can be carried out cheerfully as a couple, in love, we will see a

change setting in. In other words, children should be seen as reward enough in themselves, the fruit of conjugal love, who build a family up. Married couples will have more children when they appreciate their role in developing the fundamental unit of society - the family - and that the origin of the family is in conjugal love, a love that is rooted in the belief that the marital act should always be unitive (bringing the spouses ever closer together) and open to procreation (being G od’s instrument in bringing new life to the world). Therefore, it follows that any barrier to these aspects - as with contraception - would reduce the sacredness and loving beauty of the conjugal act. God is “not invited” in conjugal love when contraceptives are used to block any possibility of giving “life” to each other, and to the possibility of conceiving a wonderful new life. Imagine how many more babies would be welcomed into the world with natural family planning or fertility awareness, measures which the Church advocates for married couples. Imagine if there were no abortions - there were about 13,000 abortions annually in the last few years; that alone would have made up almost all the shortfall of 14,000 babies a year! Society should provide help to persuade all mothers to carry their babies to full term, raise them or give them up for adoption by the many childless couples who would be pleased to adopt them. What do you think?

“Different” does not mean “apathetic” I REFER to “Death penalty: Think Centre does promote awareness” (CN, Feb 29 and Mar 7), from Mr. Irvin Lim Kim Leong. Two paragraphs caught my attention: “Unfortunately, such

activism has often not been taken too kindly by our authorities. Sadly, opportunities are lost in trying to educate Singaporeans on such human rights issues ...Life is about choices... many Singaporeans have chosen to

Place free books in churches WHEN I was a Buddhist, I used to travel to temples to pray. Most of the time, books of the faith will be on display and for free distribution. These are paid for by benefactors. This is indeed a good way of spreading the faith. Sadly, I do not see this in Catholic churches. It will be good to get some generous donors to buy in bulk little books on the Catholic faith and put them in churches so that

visitors can take them home, read them and pass them on to their friends. By doing this, I think, slowly but surely, little seeds of faith will be planted along the way. Perhaps parish priests and rectors might want to look into this? Abel Goh Singapore

walk the safer road and remain apathetic and silent on the death penalty.” First, my letter appeared below Mr. Irvin L im ’s letter in Viewpoints (CN, Feb 29 and Mar 7). My views were clear and there was nothing apathetic about them. Mr. Lim has made abundantly clear life is about choices and if one’s choice does not suit him this does not automatically make one apathetic, or uneducated, just because the view is opposite to his. Mr. Lim speaks of human rights but freedom of opinion and of choice are part of human rights; and it would be wrong to say a difference of opinion, producing a different choice, is apathy, even after allowing for those who remain silent because

of a fear of repercussions. Second, even among peers there is dissent. Our government was not wrong to take the path advocated by many early philosophers. It has never been claimed that the deterrent is absolute. It does not obliterate. In this context, reduction is within our means just as we are able to reduce ills, mitigate suffering, and contain diseases (Sars) but not within our power to remove in its entirety disease or crime which appeals to our baser instincts. The death penalty reduces the crime. It is a suppressive without which we would have major crime moving at geometric progression rates. Dudley Au 7 Singapore 248238.


T h e

C a th o lic N e w s

PLEASE WRITE CLEARLY He.HA.o j i a l S.u,bA.cnLfrtion. Starting DR. / MR. / MRS. / MS. ADDRESS:

E-MAIL:

TEL.

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G-L^t S je b A d iif i tio J i Starting . My name: ADDRESS:

wr.-aii/

ADDRESS:

Second A nniversary In loving m em ory o f

Fourth Anniversary In loving m em ory o f Dear Bob, Pa / Grandpa

KESSLER JAM ES SHANE D ep arted:M arch 26, 2002

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I f only you co uld see the tears In the w orld you left behind If only you could heal ou r hearts Just one m ore time.

la rs On LENTEN RETREAT

“I want your constant love.” Date: Mar 20-21 (Sat. 9 am to Sun. 6 pm Mass) Venue: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat Centre. Age 18 years and above. Organised by Verbum Dei Catholic Missionaries. Register by March 14. Registration fee: $25 (food and lodging). Enquiries: Tel/fax 6274-0251 or e-mail: verbumdei@pacific.net.sg Website: www.verbumdeisingapore.org

By Fr S. Arulananthu on Sunday, Mar 21, from 2 to 6.30 pm followed by Holy Mass at 7 pm. Venue: Blessed Sacrament Church, Damien Hall. All are welcome. LENTEN JOURNEY “NO GREATER LO VE”

By Sr Florence Wong, FMDM. All Catholic nurses, healthcare professionals and friends are invited. Venue: Assisi Home and Hospice Chapel at 820 Thomson Rd (Mount Alvemia Hospital grounds).Date: Mar 25-27 (Thur-Sat). Time: 7 pm - 9 pm. Organised by Catholic Nurses Guild.

In o ur hearts you w ill alw ays live Your love, y our voice and y our sm ile A re forever im printed in o u r m inds.

NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING TRAINING

The NFP service provides couples with information on how to achieve pregnancy as well as to space pregnancy naturally. No drugs, no devices, no artificial methods and no side effects. We have shared that gift with countless peoples. Now we want to train new teachers. Course will be held April 17, 18 and 24, 25. Saturdays: 2.30 - 5 pm. Sundays: 9 am - 5 pm. (Complete attendance of participants is required.) Venue: CAEC at Highland Rd. A briefing will be held on April 3 at 2.30 at Mt Alvenia Hospital. Contact Sybil Anthony (9106-1990) or email nfpsin@hotmail.com to register. CELEBRATION O F LIFE SEM INAR

Workshop & Seminar on Catholicism, Morality & Human Sexuality. A crash course for things Catholic, a must for catechists, group leaders and those in ministry, education & training. Date: Mar 19, 20 , 21 (Fri-Sun) at Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre, 2 Highland Rd (St John’s Rm) • Mar 19, 6.30-10.30pm: Faith Fundamentals • Mar 20, 9am-9pm: Theology of the Body • Mar 21,8.30 am-6 pm: Christian Morality & Celebrate Life! the Workshop. Cost: $30. Organised by the Family Life Society. To register: emailandrewk@cathohc.org.sg your contact and details. SVDP THRIFT SHOP SALE! Date: Sunday, Mar 21, 8.30am-2pm. Venue: Church Of St. Vincent de Paul,

301, Yio Chu Kang Rd. Many household items, books, clothes, shoes, bags, knickknacks @ ‘lelong’ price!

First Anniversary In loving m em ory of

Always remembered by wife, children, grand children and loved ones.

M ASS AT SCIENCE PARK Date: Every First Friday of the Month, 12.30pm. Venue: Reuters Building, Science Park I. Enquiries: EvelynLau (9839-0920).

THANKSGIVING

JAMES DAVID Departed:1953

PAUL MAURICE Departed: Jun 25,1995

ANTUAN EMILE MORRIS Departed: Dec 17,1989

*

N in th A n n iv ersa ry

r *

In precious m e m o ry o f

In loving m em ory of

O Holy St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsm an o f Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor o f all who invoke your special patronage in times of need. To you I have recourse from the depth o f m y heart and humbly beg you, to whom G od has given such great pow er, to com e to my assistance. H elp me in my present urgent petition. In return I prom ise to m ake your nam e know n and cause you to be invoked. St Jude pray for me and all who invoke your aid. Hum bly in need of your intercesson. Amen. Thank you for answ ering my prayers.”

SELLINGYOURHOM E? Y O U R P A R T N E R IN REAL. E S T A T E

FELIX MAURICE Departed: Mar 8,1993

Mass will be celebrated for all of the above on Saturday, March 20, 2004 at the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Yishun at 6 pm.

Dearly loved and m issed by Gregory, Christine, Celine, Karen, Brenan and Shaun.

For adviceonjuicing l'mjust aykm call amj...

F o n d ly re m e m b e re d b y w ife : L o u rd e s M a ry A n th o n y , c h ild re n , in -la w s , g ra n d -c h ild re n , g re a t g ra n d -c h ild re n , re la tiv e s a n d lo v e d o n es.

Always remembered by all loved ones.

and 1.15pm at the Medical Alumni Hall (Level 2). Enquiries: Susan (9487-2244) or Betty (9622-6424).

A programme that aims to give young adults (18-35 yrs) the confidence to build relationships and to believe in the power of communication, love and forgiveness. Date: Mar 26-28 / Apr 23-25. Venue: Choice Retreat House, 47 Jurong West St 42. Enquiries: Terence (9695-6599) Jen n ifer (9671-0767) V isit: w w w .cho ice.o rg .sg em ail: choicewk@singnet.com.sg

D a d , w ith th e lo v e y o u h a v e le ft u s h a s k e p t the fa m ily u n ite d to g eth e r. T h e re is n o t a d a y th a t w e d o n ’t th in k o f y o u. M iss in g y o u is the h a rd e s t p a rt o f o u r life. B u t in o u r h e a rts, w e b e lie v e “D a d ” , y o u a re lo o k in g a fte r us. D a d , th a n k y o u fo r all th e b le ssin g s. R e s t in G o d ’s k in g d o m to g e th e r w ith y o u r so n a n d n e p h e w s.

In ever loving memory of

DOMINIC MORRIS Departed: Feb 7,1980

ANTOINE JOSEPH TA M BOU Passed away peacefully on March 21, 2000 The angels cam e to take you home And you left us all alone We know you keep watching us from above As w e still pray for the one we love.

CHOICE W EEKEND

Fondly remembered by wife, children, grand­ children and loved ones.

BA SIL CLAR EN C E PAUL Bom: Jan 1,1970 Departed: Mar 24,1987 Mass at Church of O ur Lady o f Lourdes, Singapore at 6 pm on Saturday M ar 27, 2004. Rem em bered by all loved ones.

Fourth Anniversary In loving m em ory of

RO SA LIN D HO CHAI LING Departed: Mar 20,2003 G one from our lives One so dear but in our hearts Forever near. A nd as tim e will heal all pain W e know w e’ll one day m eet again.

M ASSES BY THE CATHOLIC PRAYER SOCIETY Date: Every Wednesday at 12.12pm

GEORGE D’ SOUZA Departed: Mar 18, 1999 But still the empty chair Reminds us o f the face, the smile, o f one w ho once sat there.

D early m issed, fondly rem em bered and forever loved by your loving w ife and daugther.

SACERDOTAL G OLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION

Rev Frs Paul Tong, Joseph Chao and Bonaventure Tung will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their priesthood on Apr 15 as follows: Eucharistic Celebration: Church of St Bernadette, Zion Rd, at 6pm. Dinner: Meritus Mandarin Hotel, Orchard Rd, at 7.30 pm. Those who wish to attend the dinner, please call or SMS Mrs Doris Ho 9661-3784. Cost: $50 per head.

JAMES PETER Departed: Mar 17,1994

Mass will be celebrated at the C hurch o f the N ativity on M arch 23, 2004 at 6.45 pm.

In the em ptiness and silence o f our m ou rnin g com es the com fort from on high W ith peace in our hearts and the jo y that you are alw ays nearby.

LENTEN HOLY HOUR

Jesus is going up to the mountain to pray. Voices for Christ, a missionary choir, has prepared a repertoire of tranquil English & Latin Hymns and we are going with Jesus. Come with us as we pray with Jesus. Date: Friday Mar 26 ,8pm. Venue: St Mary of the Angels, Church Hall. A collection will be made in aid for Beatitudes a sub-group of CARE that seeks to house homeless Aids patients.

Tenth Anniversary In loving m em ory of

W e’re assured o f y o u r love E v en though w e ’re apart ‘C ause so m uch w e ’ve shared Is w ritten in o u r hearts.

PEW S FOR DONATION

Any schools, convents, chapels who may need used church pews, please call Patrick Chin (9387-3264), Church Administrator of the Church Of St Ignatius.

LIONEL YONG Departed:Mar 23,2000

E ven w hen w e close o u r eyes T h e re ’s an im age o f yo ur face A nd once again w e com e to realize Y ou’re a loss w e c a n ’t replace.

LENTEN REFLECTON IN TAM IL

OTHERS

Deep in our hearts our m em ories o f you Bob, Pa, Grandpa are kept. To alw ays love you treasure you and never forget. Lovingly remembered and dearly missed by wife Teresa, Daughter Carol, son Andre, sonin-law Seng Chang and grandson Ke Bin.

Enquiries: Richard 6858-3055

Anniversary In loving m em ory of

JJT1

SUBSCRIPTION (1 YEAR) S ingapore S$29 M alaysia S$37 Brunei S$37 BY AIR M AIL Asia S$64 Japan, A u stra lia & NZ S$73 Europe & U SA S$90 BY SU R FA C E M AIL All C ountries S$50 - Cash, Bank D raft o r C heque in fa vo u r of: - The C atho lic News No 2 Highland R d # 0 1 -0 3 ,| Singapore 549102. |

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Fifth Anniversary In loving m em ory o f

iv j > \ y 'inm iE 'Y

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JU C Y TEO C H U A N NEO D eparted: M a r 14, 1995

TJIOE BOEN TJWIE (HENRY ED W AR D C HOW ) Departed: Mar 17, 1993 He had a smile, a pleasant way, A helping hand to all he knew, He was kind, generous and true, On earth he nobly did his best; G rant him, Jesus, heavenly rest. Lovingly remembered and sadly m issed by w ife M aysie, children, grand-children, great-grandchildren and all those dear to him.

In M emoriam Minimum $60 for an insertion not exceeding a ten-centimetre column. Additional space: $6.50 per one-centimetre column.

P e a c e fu l b e y o u r r e s t d e a r e s t J u c y I t is s w e e t to b r e a th e y o u r n a m e A s in l i f e w e lo v e d y o u d e a r ly S o in d e a th w e d o th e s a m e . Y o u le ft w ith p a in fu l th o u g h ts to b e a r W e m iss y o u r lo v e a n d te n d e r c a re W e still lo v e y o u a ll th e sa m e T h o u g h n o w o rd c a n d e s c rib e o u r p a in T h is is th e c ro s s w e h a v e to b e a r M a y y o u a lw a y s re m a in in o u r L o r d ’s a n d M a r y ’s lo v in g c are . D e a rly m is s e d , fo n d ly re m e m b e re d a n d fo re v e r lo v e d b y : lo v in g h u s b a n d , a n d so n s, d a u g h te rs, so n s a n d d a u g h te rs -in -la w , g ra n d c h ild re n a n d all lo v e d o n es.


III L u fin g M bin B ry Eighth Anniversary In loving m em ory of

M ICHAEL W ONG TENG KIAN Departed: Mar 15, 1996 I dream o f you, dear loved one, And see your sm iling face, And know that you are happy In your Father’s chosen place. Always rem em bered by loved ones. Eighth Anniversary In loving m em ory o f

Ninteenth Anniversary In everloving memory of

Departed: Mar 22,1985

Lovingly remembered by sister Valerie, brothers Patrick, Desmond, Barry and loved ones. Eleventh Anniversary In loving m em ory of

Dearest father/husband, You toiled all those years for us, You helped countless people. And then you had to go, To eternal peaceful rest, Promised to the just and honest.

W ith love and sweet remembrance by beloved wife Jenny, children (including GE O R G E N. RAMA Angeline), grand-children, CHA N D RA N Departed: Mar 23, 1995 relatives and friends.

His helping hand was alw ays first To render any aid he could; His voice was always raised in praise, His words were wise and good. D ear Father, since you w ent away, The ones you loved so true, Try hard to carry on the way W e know y o u’d want us to.

Twentieth Anniversary In everloving memory of

Alw ays remembered by wife, children and loved ones.

AR TH UR HOOI WEI LIN Departed: Mar 26, 1984

Fourth Anniversary In m emoriam

JAM ES H EA TH CLIFF ZEH NDER Called to be with the Lord on Mar 18, 1996 Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace, Amen.

Ninth Anniversary In loving memory of

4

Fifth Anniversary In loving memory o f

W h e n s o m e o n e y o u lo v e b e c o m e s a m e m o ry , th e m e m o ry b e c o m e s a tre a su re .

I dream o f you, dear loved one, and see your smiling face, and know that you are happy In your Father’s chosen place. A lways remembered by mum, dad, sister and all loved ones.

Fondly cherished by wife and loved ones.

In loving memory of our parents

We miss you in so m any ways We m iss the things you used to say And when old times we do recall It’s then we miss you most o f all.

■t— “"**

D e e p ly m is s e d b y P e rc iv a l, f a m ily a n d lo v e d o n e s.

In loving memory of

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JOHN TAN TEE KW ONG Departed: Mar 21, 1999

C A SK E T F A IR P R IC E FR E D D IE M O R A ES Departed: Mar 26,1986 G od looked around His garden A nd found an empty place He then looked down upon this Earth And saw your tired face. He put his arms around you And lifted you to rest G o d ’s garden m ust be beautiful He alw ays takes the best. Always remembered by loved ones, especially his grand-daughter.

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JOHN LUKE PER EIR A

M ARY MAGDALENE PER EIR A Departed: M ar 17, 1992 M ar 1 5 ,2000

G od took them hom e, it w as H is w ill, B ut in ou r hearts w e love th em still, T h eir m em o ry is as d ear today A s in the h o u r they passed aw ay. W e often sit and think o f them W hen w e are all alone, F o r m em ory is the only friend T h at g rief can call its ow n. A lw ays loved and rem em b ered by children and lo ved ones.

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M ass to be celebrated At St Ignatius Church On Sunday 28th March, 2004 at 6 pm.

JOSEPH LEONG SEO N G YIN Departed: Mar 19, 1993 Although eleven years have gone, Deep in our hearts the pain remains, But our love for you still lingers on until we m eet again.

SH E PH E R D SO N N O R B E R T F R A N C IS D e p a rte d : M a r 18, 1997

T welfth Anniversary Fourth Anniversary

1 Cor 13:8

Sadly m issed by Law Partner M rs A lice Tan o f A C Fergusson & Partners 20 H avelock Road #03-15 Central Square Singapore 059765 Tel: 6435 9181 Fax: 6435 9180.

DANIEL D H A N ESH A N A C H U TH A N Departed: Mar 20, 1995 The years m ay wipe out many things. But this they’ll w ipe out never, The m em ory o f those happy days W hich we had spent together.

In loving m em ory o f

Five years have passed away W e miss you in many ways. And w hen old times we do recall. It’s then we m iss you most o f all.

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In loving m em ory of

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L A U R A & E D D IE P H IL L IP S Departed: M ay 3 ,2 0 0 0 Departed: M ar 19,1999

Deeply missed and lovingly remembered by daughters: Gloria, Margaret and Elizabeth and their families.

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lia c k p ’ciye EUROPE’S CHRISTIAN ROOTS

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- After dozens of speeches and a couple of booklength documents on Europe’s Christian roots, Pope John Paul II is tailoring his message to fit a smaller medium: postage stamps. In mid-March, the Vatican is issuing a new series of stamps dedicated to the pope’s eight visits to Poland. Each block of stamps includes special seals with papal quotations designed to tweak consciences in Eastern and Western Europe. “Europe should seek unity for its future and for the good of the whole human family by returning to its own Christian roots,” reads one mini-message. Others strike similar themes: “To a Europe that is reuniting, Poland should offer its attachment to the faith and to Christian roots”; “Europe cannot stop looking for its foundational unity by turning to Christianity”; and “Europe, open the doors to Christ.” There are 16 little quotes in all, each bearing the pope’s signature. With verbal economy, they highlight a deep papal concern over the moral and spiritual direction of a unified Europe. For months the pope has been complaining loudly about a draft European constitution and its failure to even mention Christianity’s role in the formation of its culture. It’s not just a missing phrase in an official document that bothers the pope - it’s the trends that lie behind the omission. What the Vatican sometimes

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refers to as the “de-Christianization of Western Europe is reflected in the church’s own numbers. From 1978, when Pope John Paul was elected, to 2001, the latest year of official Vatican statistics, Catholics as a percentage of the

population in Western Europe declined from about 60 percent to about 54 percent. Over the same period, in the East European countries outside the former Soviet Union, Catholics as a percentage of the

population increased from 43 percent to 51 percent. In almost all West European countries, the ratio of priests to Catholics is falling; the opposite is true in almost every East European country, where vocation rates are almost twice as high as in the West. Those are all reasons the pope is counting on heavily Catholic countries of Eastern Europe, like Slovenia, Lithuania and his native Poland, to impact policies when they are admitted to the European Union May 1. The pope is not giving up on Western Europe, however. In recent talks to bishops from France and Belgium - two countries that have experienced a real drop in the practice of the faith - he sketched out some pastoral strategies. In a nutshell, the pope believes strongly that the church can reverse the trend if: — It strongly preaches moral truths, even unpopular ones. — Bishops and priests give clear witness to the Gospel in their lives. — The church reaches out to families in crisis with support and understanding. — Catholic laity are better instructed in church teachings and become more aware of their evangelizing role in society. — Pastors tap into the energy and generosity of young people and awaken in them a personal relationship with Jesus. The pope has not painted a completely dark picture in these countries. He and the bishops have noted that in many places there are signs of deeper interest in spiritual renewal, along with renewed interest in retreats, pilgrimages, lay movements and adult catechesis. One way the pope has tried to mobilize the troops is through his pastoral visits. Even while many of his aides would prefer that he hang up his traveling shoes, the frail pontiff is looking at three potential visits this year — all of

them in Europe. H e’s been invited to Austria in May, where he may beatify Emperor Charles I, the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who, in the Vatican’s words, was “inspired by the social teaching of the church.” In early June, the pope may travel to Beme, Switzerland, for a youth rally. His presence could boost attendance among young people, an audience the church desperately wants to reach. And in September, there’s a good chance the pope will go to Strasbourg, France, home of the European Parliament, to beatify Robert Schuman. A French government minister known as a founding father of the European Union, Schuman became the first president of the European parliament in 1958. Church leaders see Schuman as a man who saw no contradiction between his deep faith and his strong political convictions. That’s a combination the pope wants to promote any way he can — including speeches and saints, papal trips and postage stamps. □

No. 3 soon POPE John Paul II will be the third-longest pontificate in history soon. If pontificate length is counted in total number of years, months and days, he will surpass Pope Leo XIII on March 17, after reigning for 25 years, five months and two days. If calculated in total number of days served since election - taking into account the extra day in leap years Pope John Paul would move into third place on March 14. If computed from the date of ceremonial inauguration he will gain third place even earlier, on March 9. □

FAITH PILGRIMAGES We present our 2004 programmes with variations and specialisation to fulfill your every pilgrimage need. EUROPE PILGRIMAGES

MIDDLE-EASTERN PILGRIMAGES

10-day Rome / Medjugorje / Assisi

12 days “Walk in the Life of Christ” Holyland Pilgrimage

Departure : 06 D ec - 1 5 Dec

Departure : 31 M ay - 11 Jun with Spiritual Director

12 days Paris / Paray le Monial / Lourdes / Fatima Pilgrimage

15 days Holyland / Mt Sinai Pilgrimage Departure : 0 5 Jul - 1 9 Jul with Spiritual Director

D e p a rtu re : 2 8 A p r - 0 9 M a y with Spiritual Director

14 days France / Spain / Fatima Pilgrimage

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Departure : 2 7 M a y - 0 9 Jun with Spiritual Director

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13 days Sanctuaries of Italy Pilgrimage

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