MAY 12, 2002, vol 52, no 11 by CatholicNews

6 Go out into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation ✓

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WORLD COMMUNICATION

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T h e C h u rc h a n d th e ii n te r n e t

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A New Gospel Forum interest it makes possible an initial encounter with the Christian message, especially am ong the

Sunday May 12 is the 36th World Communications Day, and on this occasion, as has been the tradition, The Holy Father issues an address to the whole Church.

young who increasingly turn to the world of cy b ersp ace a s a window on th e world. It is im portant, th e re fo r e , th a t th e C h ristia n community think of very practical w ays of helping th o se who first m ake contact through the Internet

For this year he has chosen the theme: “Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel” .

to move from the virtual world of cyberspace to the real world of Christian community.

The Holy Father’s message is a very profound analysis of the Internet in relation to human formation and development and especially in relation to the Mission that Christ has entrusted to his Church. The subheadings and highlighting of the text are our own, as aids to an easier reading and under standing of the document. Editor

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Pentecost continued 1. T h e C hurch in ev e ry a g e continues the work begun on the d a y of P e n te c o s t, w h en th e A postles, in the pow er of the Holy Spirit, w ent forth into the streets of Jerusalem to preach the G ospel of J e s u s Christ in m any tongues (cf. Acts 2 :5 -1 1 ). T h ro u g h th e s u c c e e d in g c e n tu r ie s , th is evangelizing mission spread to the far corners of the earth, a s

Christianity took root in m any p laces and learned to sp eak the diverse languages of the world, always in obedience to Christ’s com m and to preach the G ospel to every nation (cf. Mt 28:19-20). New thresholds to be crossed

But the history of evangelization is not just a m atter of geographic expansion, for the Church has also had to cross m any cultural thresholds, each of which called

for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming th e one G ospel of Je s u s Christ. The ag e of the great

Ongoing Catechesis

P roclaim the G o o d N e w s to all crcation. discoveries, the R en aissan ce and th e invention of printing, th e Industrial Revolution and the birth of the modern world: th e se too w ere threshold m om ents which dem anded n ew fo rm s of ev a n g elizatio n . Now, with the communications and information revolution in full swing, the Church stands unmistakably at another decisive gateway. It is fitting

true of cyberspace, which is as it were a new frontier opening up at th e b e g in n in g of th is n ew millennium. Like the new frontiers of other tim es, this on e too is full of the interplay of danger and promise, and not without the sense of adventure which marked other

g reat periods of change. For the C h u rc h , th e n ew w orld of cybersp ace is a summons to the

th e re fo re th a t on th is W orld C om m unications Day 2002 we should reflect on th e subject:

great adventure of using its potential to proclaim the Gospel message. This challenge is at the

“Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel”.

heart of w hat it m ean s at the beginning of the millennium to follow the Lord’s com m and to “put out into the deep’: (Lk 5:4).

Cyberspace - a new “forum" 2. The Internet is certainly a new “forum” understood in the ancient Roman sense of that public space

w here politics and bu sin ess w ere transacted, w here religious d u tie s ' w ere fulfilled, w here much of the social life of the city took place, and w here the best and the worst of hum an nature w as on display. It w as a crow ded and bustling urban sp ace, which both reflected the surrounding culture and created a culture of its own. This is no less

Virtual world to real world

At a su b seq u en t stage, the Internet can also provide the kind of followup which evangelization requires. E specially in an u n su p p o rtiv e culture, Christian living calls for continuing instruction and catechesis, and this is perhaps the area in which the Internet can provide excellent help. T h ere

already exist on the Net countless s o u r c e s of in fo rm atio n , d o c um entation and education about th e C h u rch , h e r h isto ry an d tradition, her doctrine an d her en g ag em en t in every field in all parts of the world. It is clear, then, that while the Internet can never replace that profound experience of God which only th e living,

liturgical and sacram ental life of th e C hurch c a n offer, it can certain ly provide a unique supplement and support in both preparing for the encounter with Christ in community, and sustaining the new believer in the journey of faith which then begins.

3. The Church ap p ro ach es this

new m edium with realism and c o n f id e n c e . Like o th e r com m unications m edia, it is a m eans, not an end in itself. The

IN H ER ENT DANGERS

Internet can offer magnificent opportunities for evangelization if used with competence and a clear awareness of its strengths and w e a k n e s s e s . A b o v e all, by

4. T here are n evertheless certain

providing information and stirring

A rc h d io c e s e o f S in g a p o re h om e p ag e , V e rita s : h ttp ://w w w .c a th o lic .o rg .s g .

- facts rather than values

n e c e ssa ry , even o b v io u s, questions which arise in using the In te r n e t in th e cause of evangelization. The e s s e n c e of the Internet in fact is that it provides an

a lm o s t

unending flood of information, much of which p a s se s

in a moment. In a culture which feed s on the ephem eral there can easily be a risk of believing that it is facts that matter, rather than valu es. T h e I n te rn e t o ffe rs

extensive knowledge, but it d o es not teach values; and when values are disregarded, our very humanity is demeaned and man easily loses sight of his transcendent dignity.

D espite its enorm ous potential for good, so m e of the degrading and d am ag in g w ay s in w hich th e Internet can be u sed are already obvious to all, and public authorities surely have a responsibility to g u a ra n te e th at this m arvellous instrum ent se rv e s th e com mon good and d o es not becom e a source of harm. - stimulus for thought lacking

Furtherm ore, the Internet radically redefines a person's psychological relationship to time and space. Attention is rivetted on w hat is tangible, useful, instantly available; the stimulus for deeper thought and reflection may be lacking. Yet hum an beings have a vital need for time and inner quiet to ponder and exam ine life and its m ysteries, and to grow gradually into a mature dominion of them selves and of the world around them. Understanding and wisdom are the fruit of a contemplative eye upon the world, and do not come from a mere accumulation of facts, no m atter

how interesting. They are the result of an insight which pen etrates the d eep er meaning of things in relation to on e another and to the whole of reality. Moreover, a s a forum in which practically everything is acceptable and alm ost nothing is lasting, th e Internet favours a relativistic way of thinking and sometimes feeds the flight from personal responsibility and commitment. • Continued on Back Page

In te rn e t e d itio n of T h e C a th o lic N ew s: h ttp ://w w w .c a th o lic .o rg .s g /C N .

MAY 12-M A Y 19, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL

Communication - through young eyes If I sign up for Singtel’s “POD” plan I can m e ssag e my friends via “Short M essage Sytem ” till I ca n ’t feel my fingertips. Or other plans that give so m any privileges for m e to com m unicate through w hatever advanced gadgets you can have in a handphone. And there’s always the Internet. Or the radio w here you can dedicate songs and m essages. And there’s one more way that is free, that’s right, no charge. And you can do it anywhere, any time and no one will even know what you’re saying except one. You can jazz up this com m unication a s fanciful a s you wish with your own imagination. And the one you want to convey th e se m e ssag e s to, can a c tu a lly feel you a n d totally understand w hatever you are trying to say, even though you ca n ’t really exp ress it yourself. But shocking and sad to say, such a good form of communication and yet probably only two people out of ten actually m ake full u se of it. And that is talking with God through your heart. I don’t rem em ber God asking me for ten cents for every three minutes I talk to him. In our world today, everything is m ore a d v a n c e d an d easily accessible. I hardly surf the net. And when I do, I am shocked at how much I can get in a split second with just a finger. And that w as in only one w ebsite. I w as researching for som e p apers and tried getting information on the internet. T hat w as w hen I realised how e a s ily k n o w le d g e a n d information can be within reach.

The faceless tools of communication

And em barressing to say, I did not discover when the internet w as actually born, and only just found out about it. My sister is a whizz when it com es to dealing with the internet and the world wide web com m unication. Through her, I fo u n d th e d a n g e r s a n d d is advan tag es of this web. Everything is in the internet. It takes only a few minutes to search for and find w hat you need. And that includes pornography and

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and d ecid es to experim ent with w hat he learns on th e net. O ther people may be curious. M agazines an d ta p e s are cheaply available. A lot of ex p o su re co m es from m usic and television sh o w s that air sa tan ism and bad m orals. T ee n s tote up a bomb on their h an d p h o n es. The ‘Short M essag e S ystem ' h as also b eco m e very convenient and popular. And all this com munication is su p p o sed to help us. People even m isuse the chatroom s on line and m eet up with strangers. Young girls get blackmailed, raped and boys sexually ab u sed . T here are e v e n c h a tlin e s th ro u g h h a n d ph o n es now too. My m other and I have spoken of our com munications in today’s fast lane. Somehow, I am thankful for som e things that are newly c r e a te d for o u r n e e d s , b ut devestated at others. In fact, my m other encourages the best form. S he ask s m e every night:” Did you talk to God today? And rem em ber to talk to him tonight.” Talking to God may not be easy b ecau se we ca n ’t lift all our problems up to him. W e will still tend to worry. But I think c o m m u n ic a tin g with G od is important. Ju st like it is to contact som eone dear and talk, even if it is about the w eather. I love meeting friends I have not seen for a while and talk over a good dinner about recent happenings. Som ehow it m akes me feel good. We still talk over the phone if w e’re too busy. But it never b eats the pleasure of face to face laughter and smiles. Com m unication is important. That is when we build relationships and develop trust, ca re and love. It fo sters cooperation and forms friendships an d un d erstan d in g . L ack of it c a u s e s m is u n d e r s ta n d in g s a n d lo s s of c lo sen e ss. W e b eco m e distant. It w orks ju st the sa m e w ay betw een God and us. So reg a rd le ss of the g o o d an d b ad of new in te r com m unication links, w e ju st have to rem em ber to u se them th e right way, and to talk to the person who let us c re ate it. Without our Lord, w e w o u ld n e v e r h a v e a c com plished w hat we have to enjoy today. So take time off this w eek, call up an old friend or so m eo n e dear you have not se e n in a while. Have a good talk over coffee. Then tell God just how your day went. And who know s? He may just tell you how his day w as too. Felicia Neo, Guest Writer

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S atan ism . I w as rese ac h in g a genetic disorder with links to the W erewolf legends, and actually stumbled upon a page promoting Satanism . That p ag e actually had chants and prayers explaining the process of a man turning wolf and the powers it brought. Those prayers spoke of and praised the devil. The chants asked the devil to bestow power upon the being. There w as even a calendar on which dates w ere auspicious to perform this ceremony. There w as also a list of in g re d ie n ts n e e d e d for th e procedure and full instructions were actually published there on the page. Now I don’t think that is knowledge anymore. And this, I am sure, is not the only p ag e available on the net. There are many more. I feel technology is moving too fast. It is good in certain w ays as it d o es m ake work better. But not everyone is ready for th e se fast ch an g es. They may u se it in a harmful way. Like young kids who are left alone on their own at home. They surf the net and stum ble upon pornography sites. This will ruin their mindset and ca u se mental disruptions. T h ese sites are known to b re a k up fa m ilie s a n d rela tio n sh ip s a s well. All this advanced c o m m u n ic a tio n technology h as taken aw ay m ost of th e joy you h av e in truly communicating with one another. T hat is probably why God

d o e s n ’t have a handphone. It has turned our commnication cold and com puterized. Likewise, once, my mother complained that a colleague sitting ju st a few d esk s aw ay had to e-mail her out for lunch. My m other felt that her colleague could have just walked over to ask. Why the e-mail? I may be different from o th e rs , I m ay n o t b e really enthusiastic about all th e se new toys that have m ore power over th e u se rs th em selv es. But my friends love the new g ad g ets in all th e h a n d p h o n e s an d la p to p s. Everyone can afford more than one telephone, radio, com puter and television set. But there are a few who ag ree with m e that som e new im p ro v e m e n ts a r e ju s t to o com plicated to work with. God m ade us complicated, but he m ade us with purity and simplicity. I think simplicity is beautiful. By creating all th is n ew a n d u n n a tu ra l technology, like cloning, it just goes to indicate that men are trying to play God. E v en on th e ra d io a n d television, w e do not get the right m essag es. There is hardly a decent movie in the theatres. T here are more horror show s than familyorientated ones. T here are rock groups singing of drugs, suicide, sex and satanism . T here w as an article in the new sp ap er about the lead singer in a rock band called ‘Alice In C hains’, who is su sp ected to have died of a drug overdose. He used to pen a lot of his lyrics about drugs and the feelings they gave him. The b an d ’s nam e 'Alice In C h ain s’ already so u n d s like torture. And there is another rock group called ‘KISS’. And that stands for ‘Knights In S a ta n ’s S ervice’. Their music album s are actually sold in stores, and te e n s lap them up. Their so n g s are played on radio and their music videos and concerts are aired on television. There are even w ebsites on them and their quotes on life with Satan. They have painted faces and long m angy hair. They even have their own auto-biographies. P o rn o g rap h y is also easily a c c e s s ib le in books and m agazines, a s well a s in pirated an d illegal visual com pact discs that show blue films. Everyone can buy them , including young children and te e n a g e rs. All the youngsters now adays are exposed to m ore d an g e rs of going astray. Nearly everyone can afford the internet. M isuse of it is highly probable w hen o n e g ets bored

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MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

______________ VATICAN

The World of the Sea

The Feast of Work In a general audience held in St Peter’s Square on the Feast of St Joseph the Worker, May 1st, Pope John Paul II spoke of Work as well as the Month of May. Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father spoke of the first of May a s a celebration of work. We Christians, h e said, dedicate work to the protection of St Joseph the Worker. T oday's celebration underlines the im portance and value of work through which, man transform s creation and adap ts it to his needs, thereby achieving a realization of himself a s man. R e fe rrin g to th e C re a tio n narrative in G enesis (Gen 2:28), he said that the invitation to dom inate the earth, placed a s it is, at the beginning of the story of salvation, draw s attention to a very interesting point. Creation is a gift of God entrusted to the human creature, so that by cultivating and guarding it with care he can provide for his own necessities. From work c o m es th e "daily bread" which we pray for in the "Our Father". O ne can say, in a certain se n se , that "through work man becomes more man."

H ence it is, the Pontiff said, that dedication in work is a virtue. But b ec au se dedicated hard work effectively permits man to becom e more man, it m ust always be se en in relation to the social order of

work. Only in this context can the inalienable dignity of the person and the hum an and social value of work be safeguarded. The Pope said: "We entrust to the protection of St. Jo sep h , the Worker, every one in the world who forms part of the great family of work." Noting also that the first of May marked the beginning of a month dedicated to Mary our Mother a s “Marian Month”, the Holy Father, w hose devotion to Mary h as been his hallmark, ex p ressed the hope that this month would be a month of intense prayer with Mary. “It is a w ish”, the Holy Father said, “which I ad d re ss to each and every one of you, my brothers and sisters, from the depths of my heart, to recom m end, yet once more, the daily recitation of the holy rosary. It is a simple, apparently repetitive p ra y e r, b u t s o e ffe c tiv e in penetrating the m ysteries of Christ and that of his and our Mother." It is particularly a time when the Church m ust turn even more to Mary, during th e se very difficult m om ents of our pilgrimage on this earth, the Pope said. Concluding his ad d ress, the Pope invited everyone to join him in praying for all workers, especially th o se who find th e m se lv e s in difficulties in even finding work. He also called for an intensification of prayer for p ea ce in the Holy Land so th a t th e Israeli and P alestenian peoples could live in p ea ce and security. Editor - Vatican Press Reports

Pope John Paul II received the participants of the 15th Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican on 29 May 2002.

Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father w elcom ed them to the Vatican for th eir A ssem b ly , w h o se them e is “The World o f the Sea”and thanked them for the zeal and solicitude for th o se who are involved in th is co m p lex w orld of hum an mobility. Q u o tin g th e w o rd s of S t Augustine in his Homily on Psalm 42: “I contemplate the grandeur of

the sea that surrounds me - I am amazed, I stand in awe ... I need not search for the creator". T h ese words, com m ented the Holy Father sy n th e siz e th e attitu d e of th e C hristian w hen h e e n c o u n te rs creation, the g reat gift of God to humanity. And this especially so, in the face of the m ajesty and beauty of the se a. "I am sure", the Pope continued, "that th e se sam e sentim ents fill the mind of all in the course of their apostolate when they consider the v ast world of em igration and tourism that is a s s o c ia te d w ith th e sea. Undoubtedly this is a very diverse social milieu with trem endous potential for evangelization". The P ope noted the negative a sp ec ts of the life and work of

those who sp en t long periods of time at s e a - the painful separation from family and loved o nes, the m onotonous rythm of hard work, interrupted only by brief sto p s at ports of call. He sypathized also with th e m any m ig ra n ts who traversed the s e a s and o c e a n s in search of better living conditions only to discover the bitter reality, so different from that painted by the media. Touching briefly on tourism in connection with the se a , the Pope lam ented the “artifical p arad ises” which w ere merely com mercial in sc o p e and im posed on the local population and culture without, in certain c a se s, even respecting the m ost fundam ental hum an rights of the people in th o se localities. It w as important, the Holy Father s tr e s s e d , n ot to n e g le c t th e provision of spiritual support for this great family of the sea.

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F or to u r is ts , it is n e c e s s a r y to p ro v id e spiritual support so that th e y w o u ld h a v e th e opportunity to enco u n ter God and discover in him, the true m eaning of life. Thus they would not only enjoy their vacations but would benefit at the sam e time from their dialogue with the p ersons and the cultures they com e into contact with. As for migrants, it w as n e c e s s a r y , th e P o p e pointed out, that conditions of life and work should respect their cultural identity, and en su re that their need s, a s individuals and familes, are adequately met w h ile a ls o p ro v id in g th e opportunities for the cultivation of their faith and religious practices. F in ally , th e Holy F a th e r rem inded the participants to take a global view in a d d re ssin g th e com plex p asto ra l p ro b lem s of human mobility which is a growing phenom enon in the world of today and which constitutes a challenge vis-a-vis the C hurch’s mission. T h e P o p e c o n c lu d e d by reminding the paritcipants of the norms that have been provided in the Apostolic Letter ‘‘Star of the S e a ”, th e Instruction on the Pastoral Care of Migrants, of which, a new edition is in preparation, as well the Guidelines for a Pastoral

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The Catholic Newspaper Newspapers are certainly one of the Media of Communication, and the Church which sees the media as tools of Evangelization, does not overlook "newspapers” as a very important tool for achieving its mission. The Catholic News founded in 1935, and its Mandarin counterpart, Hai Sing Pao, founded in 1955 are the two official Catho lic newspapers in Singapore. Objectives

Vatican II and the post-Conciliar docum ents have outlined the ob jectives of the Catholic P re ss and th e se objectives can be succinctly described a s follows: "To inform

and to form through information." The purpose of the Catholic P re ss is thus, not merely to provide infor mation or facts, but to provide, above all, analysis and com m en tary on the facts and thus contribute to the continuing formation in faith of the Church's m em bers. Mission Statement

C a th o lic N ew s, our local Archdiocesan new spaper, reflects this general objective of the Church in its Mission/Vission Statem ent in the Official Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese: "The Catholic News, as the official newspaper of the

Roman Catholic Arch diocese o f Singapore, shares in the mission o f proclaim ing the Good News of Jesus Christ and His Gospel values by providing jr t formation, education and a forum for discus sion. The Catholic News provides objec tive an d accurate current inform ation about the Church, both worldwide and local, re ceived through wire services, news maga zines and local reports. ’

fering, therefore, a more su stain e d ch an n el of continuing formation. In addition, of course, the new sp ap er d o es not in cur th e high co st of books, which is the c a se p a rtic u la rly of o u r Catholic books b ecau se of their restricted circu lation.

Singapore. Even the Internet ca n not com pete with live broadcasting a s it tak es time to com pose the new s and get it onto a w ebsite. Incidentally, the Catholic Church d o es run such a service through its own "Radio Vatican". If w e b ear in mind the objectives of the Church in its involvement with the media, w hat is very important is "forma tion through information", then it will be appreciated that com m en taries and analysis of new s and facts are w hat are m ost important to the Church's mission of forming a Christian conscience and Chris tian values.

Our own Catholic News

Advantages of a news paper

The new sp ap ap er a s an organ of printed m e d ia e n jo y s an advantage over other m edia in that it com m a n d s a g r e a te r d e g r e e of "p e rm a nanence" and affords time for reflection, unlike the non printed m edia, which although more attractive, perhaps, h as the disadvantge, a s pointed out in the recent docum enets of the Pontifi cal C ouncil for S o cia l C o m munication, of being so fleeting

and affording little time for d ee p er thought and reflection. In addition, unlike books and other such printed matter, the n ew spaper reach es the m a sse s in g reater num bers and with g reater regularity since it is published at specific intervals, of

Our own local n ew sp a per, the Cathoic News is issued fornightly and th a t obviously dimin ishes its potential a s an e ffc tiv e c h a n n e l of new s, for th e simple reaso n that new s will no more be news, if it is only reported every two w eeks. However, from our personal point of view this is not a seri o u s setback, b ecau se in today's world of com munication, one cannot fully achieve "news actuality" un le s s o n e ru n s a 2 4 -h o u r broadcasting facility with a whole army of new correspondents all over the world, like the various new s services that w e have a c c e s s to, on Radio and TV, in

Achieving the objectives

The Catholic News en d eav o u rs to live up to its mission statm ent of providing information, education and a forum for discussion, but like every endeavour, there is always room for iimprovement. Much of w hat it can achieve, d ep en d s also on its readership. T here is obvi ously an inter-relationship between the two. The better the Catholic News in terms of its stated objec tives, the larger the readership it can attract. Yet, its improvement depends also on an interested and an interactive readership - and a growing one at that.

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 1 2 -M A Y 19, 2002

WORLD

The M ercy of God This is title given to a new docu ment released on 2nd May 2002.

The type of docum ent is known a s a “Motu Proprio" - literally “On his own”- a classification which refers to a docum ent that em an a tes from the P ope a s S uprem e Pontiff, in which he s e ts forth a teaching on a certain subject. The teaching h as the authority of th e suprem e teaching office of the H ead of the Church and requires the accept an c e and obedience of the whole Church. The docum ent deals with cer tain a sp e c ts of the celebration of the S acram ent of P en an ce or Con fession, and w as presented at the P re ss C onference at the Vatican by Cardinal Ratzinger, Cardinal Medina E stevez, and Archbishop Herranz. Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, traced the main ele

m ents in the developm ent of the C hurch’s doctrine in the S acra m ent of Reconciliation. The docu m ent em phasizes, above all, the personal asp ec t of the sacram ent of Reconciliation. While w e form part of a community, it is the individual, who, by his own deci sion and choice, ruptures the rela tionship that exists betw een him self and God and withdraws him self from the community. R econ ciliation, therefore, n ee d s to be personal. This p ersonal dim ension is s e e n in all the S acram ents of the Church. In each and every one of them , it is the individual who is the recipient of the Sacram ent, and it is to the individual that the S acra m ent is adm inistered. The S acra m ent of Reconciliation is no ex ception. It is the individual who h a s sinned, and it is this individual who h a s to confess and receive pardon. Collective absolution is an ex traordinary form which can be used only in specifically determ ined c a s e s of necessity which, in the nature of sacram ent, m ust presup p o se the provision for personal confession of sins. This funda m ental personal characteristic of

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confession has in the last ten years been som ew hat obscured a s a result of m ore frequent recourse to collective absolution which begins to be considered a normal form of the sacram ent of p en an ce - an abuse, which h a s contributed to the progressive d isap p earan ce of this sacram ent in som e parts of the Church. While the S acram en t of P en ance h as undergone several trans formations in the co u rse of its history, it m ust be noted that the personalistic com ponent h as al w ays rem ained of the e s s e n c e of the sacram ent. The doctrine of the Council of Trent, which defined the sa c ra ment, indicated the Biblical basis of the sacram ent. Apart from the sacram ental asp ec t of the sa c ra ment, there is also the juridical whose asp ec t of the sacram ent:

sins you pardon shall be pardoned, whose sins you retain shall be retained."T here are two important implications: firstly, there is a s p e cific sacram en t that is distinct from the S acram ent of Baptism, and secondly, this sacram en t includes a juridical aspect, which n ec essi ta te s personal confession and the judgem ent of the confessor.. The Council of Trent determ ined that th e se elem ents are instituted by Christ himself and consequently they are not left to the dispositions of the Church. This is specifically referred to by the P ope in his ‘‘Motu Proprio”. Cardinal Medina E stevez, Pre fect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline o f the Sacraments, in his introduction

noted that the new “Motu Proprio" of the Pope which w as issued, under em bargo till 2 May 2002, w as in fact issued by him on the 7 April, the S econd S unday of Easter, which b ears the d esig n a tion “Divine Mercy Sunday". The docum ent is not to be se e n a s an isolated act of the Holy Father, but is inserted in a series of provisions of a canonical nature for the uni versal Church, expressions of the pastoral responsibility of the su c ce sso r of St. Peter. He then re called som e of the m ilestones of the pontificate of P ope John Paul II : the revision of C anon Law for the Latin Church and the C ode of

can o n s for the Oriental C hurches, the Post-Synodal exhortation “Rec onciliation and Penance" and the C atechesim of the Catholic church, and still more recently, the Letter to the Priests of the World on the occasion of Holy Thursday, which specifically ad d re ssed the impor tan ce of Confession and the way it should be adm inistered by con fessors. C a rd in a l M e d in a E s te v e z stres sed that the S acram en t of P en an ce or Reconciliation is en trusted to the Church and in a particular way to the Bishops a s custodians of Ecclesial com m un ion, and to the priests who are their collaborators. The ministry, he said, w as not a privilege or an exercise of power, but the ex p res sion of pastoral responsibility which every Bishop and priest h as a s sum ed before God on the day of their ordination. It is therefore a strict service that they ow e to the brothers and sisters in the Church. The sacram ental ministry of Con fession is not e a sy and the Holy Father h as em phasized the char acteristics that should be found in confessors in his recent letter to all priests on Holy Thursday, in which he underlined the fact that the faithful have the right to find in their priests, m inisters who are at their disposal for the hearing of confessions. T he Cardinal re-em phasized that collective or general absolu tion m ust be considered “extraor dinary and exceptional, which can be resorted to only and exclusively in c a s e s of d an g er of death or when it is physically or morally im possible to adm inister the s a c ram ent in its ordinary individual and personal form. To eq u ate collective or general absolution with the ordinary form of the celeb ra tion of the S acram ent of P en an ce is “a doctrinal error, a disciplinary abuse and a pastoral injury”, he declared. In his presentation, Archbishop Herrank in his capacity a s Presi dent of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, pointed out that

the Motu Proprio “the Mercy of God” concerning the correct cel ebration of a sacram en t consti tu tes an act of ecclesiastical gov ern m en t not only prudent and

necessity of personal and integral confession and not a simple g e

neric adm ission of sin, the per sonal dispositions of the penitent and the appropriate place for con fessions, including the provision of a fixed screen which is to be avail able should the penitent or the priest desire it. The second a re a concerns the extraordinary way to administer the sacrament, known a s collec

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tive or general absolution without prior individual confession of sins. T here are, he pointed out only two c a s e s in which this is allowed”, imminent d an g er of d eath and grave necessity .” G rave n e c e s sity” exists ONLY when there is a g reat num ber of penitents and a scarcity of confessors such that the faithful would have to remain for a long time deprived of sa c ra m ental g race or of Holy Com m un ion. The texts also provide further detailed precisions to prevent er roneous interpretations or a b u ses, which, unfortunately, have not been lacking in som e places. The normative prescriptions re fer to the meaning of the two re quired conditions, namely impossi bility of hearing confessions within a reasonable time, together with having to remain for a long time without sacram ental grace. He stressed that the judgement of these conditions is not left to the discretion of the confessor but to the Bishop of the diocese, who is expected to act within the guidelines of the Bishops’ Conference, which are to be estab lished a s soon a s possible. The P resident of the Pontifical Council for Legislative texts con cluded his presentation by noting that the dispositions of the legisla tor se t out in the Motu Proprio are valid, by their very nature, also for the Catholic Oriental churches in conformity with the respective ca n ons in their own Code, the provi sions of which are very similar to th o se in the Latin Code except that there will not be a question of Episcopal C onferences since there is no provision for th e se in the Oriental Code. □ ■ Editor

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opportune but also fully consonant with the teaching office of Pope John Paul II, concerning the virtue of justice , se e n above all a s an exigency of charity and at the sam e time inseparable from the mercy in th e juridical orientation of the Church. All canonical norms, in deed, relate to the realization of the merciful divine plan of salv a tion. H ence the focus in the Motu Proprio on the fundam ental right of the faithful to receive from the S acred m inisters the sacram en ts and in this c a s e the S acram en t of P en an ce, and on the other hand a corresponding obligation of the P asto rs to apply with diligence the canonical and liturgical laws which e n su re the valid and licit celebra tion of the sacram ents. H ence it is that the Rom an Pontiff d eclares in his letter that he is having recourse to “his brother bishops and through them, to all priests” to renew with solicitude the S acram en t of Reconciliation a s an exigency of real charity and real pastoral justice that every m em ber of the faithful h as the right to receive, in a personal way, the sacram ental gift. The Cardinal highlighted the two main a re a s that the docum ent ad d re sses. The first a re a d eals with the

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

EDUCATION

Children and the Media In a recent document entitled "The Church and the Internet" the Pontifical Council for Social Com m unication which issued the document had this advice to Parents in respect of the use of the Internet on the part of their children.

with their peers and with nature itself."

This last se n ten c e which we have highlighted is the crux of the w h o le is s u e of p a r e n ta l supervision. While the Council for Social Communication d o es indeed recom m end the u se of filtering technology, one n ee d s to b ear in m ind th e lim itatio n s of su c h te c h n o lo g y . F o r a n y s u c h technology, there will, sooner or later, be a way of getting around it - and have no illusions about this, children today are much more know ledgeable ab o u t com puters than the a v e rag e p aren ts, u n less the p aren ts th em selv es happen to be ex perts in th at area. P a r e n ts a ls o need to rem em ber that whilst they may install such technology in their hom e com puters, this d o e s not m ean that everyone else will do th e sa m e. Children have a c c e s s to com puters outside their h om es a s well, and they certainly do have friends. H ence, the final se n ten c e in the advice given - "the fundamental

"For th e sa k e of their children, a s well a s for their own sa k es, p aren ts m ust “learn and practice the skills of discerning view ers an d listeners and read ers, acting a s m odels of prudent u se of m edia in the hom e”. As far a s the Internet is co n cerned, children and young people often a re m ore familiar with it than their p are n ts are, but p aren ts still a re seriously obliged to g u id e a n d su p e rv is e th eir children in its use. If this m ean s learning m ore about th e Internet than they have up to now, that will be all to good. Parental supervision

P aren tal supervision should include making su re that filtering technology is u se d in com puters available to children w hen th at is financially and technically feasible, in order to protect them a s much a s p ossible from pornography, s e x u a l p r e d a to r s , a n d o th e r th reats. U nsupervised exposure to th e Internet should not be allow ed. P a re n ts and children should dialogue to g eth er about w hat is se e n and experienced in cy b ersp ace; sharing with other families who have the sa m e values and con cern s will also be helpful.

parental duty here is to help children become discriminating, responsible Internet users.." It is

a question of teaching children to be discerning, discriminating and responsible. T here is no way that parents will be able to insulate their children from everything undersirable that the Internet can offer. For that matter, the sa m e is true not only of this latest form of the media, but has alw ays been applicable to every sort of media available today, including the m ore "traditional" forms. It is not just the Internet which is the "demon" - books, m agazines, films and even pop

The fundamental parental duty h ere is to help children become d iscrim inatin g , resp o nsib le Internet users and not addicts of the Internet, neglecting contact

so n g s an d cu ltu re c a n h av e dam aging influences on the child a s well, n ot to m en tio n th e influence of friends. In the ultimate analysis, w hat it boils down to is w hether parents concern them selves with helping their children acquire a strong se n se of values. It d o es not require special expertise to do this, though it would certainly help if this w ere present. A s e n s e of values is som ething that all parents are in a position to transmit to their children, provided they them selves p o sse s th e se values in the first place and are conscious of the need to take ad v an tag e of daily life situations and circum stances to educate their children. P aren ts today are und erstan d ab ly c o n c ern ed w ith th e intellectual developm ent of their children, but w e all need to remind o u r s e lv e s th a t s c h o la s t ic achievem ent is not the only thing th at m atters in life. As Christian parents, surely th ere m ust be a real co n c ern for th e spiritual developm ent of children. And by "spiritual" w e are not referring restrictively to "religious"! W hen one s e e s how a whole lot of parents go to g reat extents a s well a s ex p e n se to provide a s many opportunities a s possible, for their children to excel at school, on e can only hope that the other equally, if not m ore important as p ec ts of their total developm ent a s p ersons are receiving the sam e sort of attention a s their intellectual developm ent. Certainly, it would seem that bringing up children in the world of rapidly developing technology is no e a sy task! Editor

From the Pews

MEDIA EDUCATION

I am sa d to note that M asses are seldom being celeb rated in Catholic schools now adays. In fact, som etim es M ass is not conducted even on major fea st d ay s and days of obligation in the school w here my son hails from. How d o e s one inculcate in th e m inds of the young the significance of and love for the sa cram e n t of the Holy Eucharist if the celebration of M asses are taken lightly in Catholic schools? P erh ap s you can throw so m e light in this m atter. Thank you for your time and God bless.

The Pontifical Council in its document on the Church and th e In te rn e t has a re c o m m endation for institutes of e d u c a tio n . E v e ry o n e sees the need for training people in the use of the modern technol ogy available today, but the Council feels the need to draw attention to the need for educa tion in Christian principles in the use of such technology. It had this to say:

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Catholic universities, colleges, schools, and educational program s at all levels should provide co u rse s for various groups - sem inarians, p rie sts, religious b ro th e rs an d sisters, an d lay le ad ers...teach ers, parents, and stu d en ts - a s well a s m o re a d v a n c e d tra in in g in c o m m u n ic a tio n s te c h n o lo g y , m anagem ent, ethics, and policy issu e s for individuals preparing for p r o f e s s io n a l m e d ia w o rk or decision-m aking roles, including th o s e w h o w o rk in s o c ia l com m unications for the Church. Furtherm ore, w e com m end th e issu e s and qu estio n s m entioned above to th e attention of scholars a n d r e s e a r c h e r s in r e le v a n t disciplines in Catholic institutions of higher learning.” One cannot help but wonder whether education in this area confines itself merely to the use of this technology.

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Thanks for bringing up the is sue. Ideally, it would be very helpful for faith formation to have Masses in Catholic schools.. The onus would be on the school authorities to try to get a priest to celebrate Mass. However, this might be less feasible on days of obligation as there might have to be additional Masses in parishes which would require the services of the priests. It might also be more desirable that the whole family participate at Mass in their respective parish churches. Religious orders and congregations where there are several priests who might be concelebrating Mass, might be willing to help out in schools. The celebration of Mass for students in school is always a great opportunity to celebrate a "special" children's Mass which can be more suited to the young and be an occasion to instruct them on the meaning and importance of the Eucharistic sacrifice. One idea that could be considered is the appointm ent of chaplains for Catholic schools. Perhaps the Catholic Schools' Council could be persuaded to look into this with the proper authorities.

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LOCAL

PRINT v. THE REST O ne tends to think of com m u nication, especiaiy today in term s of the Internet and its associated applications. The traditional m e dia of communication, have, a s a c o n s e q u e n c e , b e e n so m ew h at neglected and suffered a decline in attractiveness. However, the traditional print media have a certain edge over the electronic variety in that they can influence more deeply the recipi ents. The electronic variety have a tendency to be very transient. They ap p ear at the click of a button and d issapear with even greater speed, invariably leaving little or no impact on the recipient. The whole proc e s s of scrolling through texts on a screen is not exactly conducive to studied reflection. Print m edia, on the other hand is there to be read, pondered, returned to again and again at will, at any time and any place without recipients having to remain staring at a screen. The Church h as always con s id e r e d th e m eans of com munication very essential and even indispensible tools in the fulfilment of its mission to announce the Good News to all creation. Indeed it has kept itself very much in the forefront in its u se of the media. Whilst it keeps up with the very latest, it still how ever main tains the im portance of the more tradional m edia expecially print m edia in the form of books. As we celebrate World Com munication Day we would like to draw attention not only to the very modern tools that are available today, but also to the more tradi tional printed world of books a s a very important, dare we say indis p e n sa b le , tool to d e e p e n our knowledge of our faith and be able to bear more effective testimony through our lives to the Good News of Salvation. T he M agisterium (teach in g authority) of the Church points unequivocally to the im portance of a d ee p understanding of our own faith if we are to maximize our effectiveness in the u se of other m edia to proclaim the G ospel of Christ. That deep understanding, however, can be very effectively

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achieved through books on the various asp ec ts of our faith. There is no sho rtag e of good books available, though it m ust be adm itted there is p erh ap s a variety of factors which can contribute to hesitancy in the utilization of such resources. In our local context, there are no less than four book sh o p s run by the Church (there w ere five until recently, before one w as forced to close due to lack of business). None of them, however, reports phenom enal s a le s of Religious books. O ne factor m ust certainly be the much touted "No time, lah!" Solid reading admittedly requires time, a sc arce commodity in the f re n e tic life -sty le of m o st S in g ap o rea n s. A nother factor would certainly be the cost of re ligious books. While the relative cost of books versus religious ar ticles is much lower the balance se e m s to tip in favour of religious articles which one buys once for all, so to speak, when one n eed s or d esires such a piece. Yet, th e fact rem ain s, th at knowledge of our faith, while cer tainly not everything, d o es indeed p o sse ss the potential of d e e p e n ing our faith and enabling us to w itness more clearly and effec tively though our lives and our work.

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Monday, 2 7 M ay 2002 15:15 firs Cfiurcfi o f tfie Immacufate Heart of M ary For enquiries, f (ease contact Paufine at 96615137

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MEDIA APOSTOLATE This y ear the Holy Father in his m e s s a g e fo r W orld C om munication S unday is stressing the im portance of using the Internet for the sp read of the G ospel and for th e building up of G o d ’s Kingdom on earth. O ur Founder, F ather Ja m e s A lb e rio n e , in h is v isio n of h arnessing the forces of the m edia for the Kingdom, started m odestly with the print m edia but in his mind and heart he had all the possible future inventions in mind. If he w ere alive today he would rejoice to know th at the Internet could shrink the world into a small cyber village w here everyone from every corner of th e planet can com m unicate with o ne another, in a m an n er unim aginable back in 1914 w hen he started th e Pauline congreg atio n s of THE SOCIETY OF ST PAUL (for priests and Brothers) and THE DAUGHTERS OF S T PAUL (fo r w o m e n religious). Although th e various form s of m edia have raced and outraced ea ch other, the print m edia, which is like a firstborn, retains all the

and m ove our h e a r ts trem endously, yet in th e silence and privacy of our own room, the printed word can work on our im a g in a tio n and p ro d u ce u n im a g in a b le im a g e s and im pressions in our mind which plumb th e d ep th s of our hearts an d open them to the Spirit. In S ingapore we w itness the changing sc e n e from a literary society to an electronic society in which m ost children and adults are com puter literate and imm erse their lives in all the electronic m edia of the Internet, the film, the television, the radio and all other forms of media. No one can e s c a p e the influence of th e se powerful and insidious m edia which can either build you up or throw you down. Here we need to stop and learn how to u se th e se m edia for our ow n b e n e fit a n d n o t to b e m anipulated by th o se ru th less m edia producers w hose only aim is to rule our minds and hearts so th at they can en slav e us and becom e our m asters,m orally and financially. Our Holy Father h as always

ANYONE? For m ore information of the vocation and m ission of the DAUGHTERS OF ST PAUL

- or our m ale counterparts The Society of St Paul

(for Priests and Brothers) p le a se call or visit us at this a d d ress: 47 JURONG WEST, STREET 42, SINGAPORE 649368 Tel: 65608003 Fax 65625857 email:

Pauline. fsp(a)D acific. net, so For a c c e s s to our publications and m edia productions, p lease visit us at our Convent in Jurong W est or in the Book C entre in St J o s e p h ’s C hurch, U pper B ukit T im a h R o a d . T el: 68921639.

Display of books and media in a parish

en d u ra n ce and the primacy of the m e an s of com m unication. W hen F ath er A lberione rea lise d th at people w ere not going to Church to listen to the Word of God, he felt com pelled to se arch for other w ays to draw people to listen to God. He himself ex p erien ced the effects of the printed word and u n d e rs ta n d in g its p o w er, h e la u n ch e d into th e m inistry of p reaching through th e printing m ach in es which he looked upon a s pulpits. He saw people reading all kinds of books, good and bad. And he knew that h ere he had a wonderful tool to convey the Word of God with g reat clarity, with abiding p re se n c e and with that availability which other m edia lack. J u s t think of a book w aiting patiently to be read by us. W hen w e n eed m ore depth an d g reater contem plation, w e can reach into the p a g e s and find again w hatever nourishm ent or inspiration that is available there. It is a m odern phenom enon th at books are m ade into films and into TV serials. W hen people w atch th e s e stories, they feel the n eed to return to the so u rces, the original story in the book, and th ere to link the two m edia for a g rea ter enjoym ent an d g rea ter in te n s ity of le a rn in g or entertainment. No doubt the sound and image of the screen can excite

encouraged th o se who work in the m edia to give SPACE to Je s u s who alone can direct and guide us to the life which w e have been created to live, a s children of God building up his kingdom here on earth and later inheriting his eternal joy a s promised. Our Founder early on in th e h isto ry of o u r congregation, taught us to look at everything especially in the media with the ey e s of faith and with Christ’s own mind and attitude. F or th is r e a s o n o u r Italian m a g a z in e c a lle d FAMIGLIA CRISTIANA h as a circulation of over a million each month b ec au se it sp e ak s of contem porary events from the viewpoint of Christian living and thinking. Our community in Singapore w as founded only eight years ago. Our num ber is very small, five S ingaporeans, on e Italian and one C hinese but our mission is vast a n d o u r d e s ir e for g o o d is im m ense, but w e are like a drop of w ater in a huge ocean. At the m om ent our work is distributing all th e b o o k s a n d AV m a te ria l published by our Sisters and priests in A m erica, P h ilp p in es, India, Australia and UK. We also have m ade our small efforts to write and publish books locally. • Continued on Back page

MAY 1 2 -M A Y 19, 2002

7 EASTER May 12

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FAITH IN LIFE

PENTECOST May 19

GLORIFICATION The Texts:

1 Rd: Acts 1:12-14 2 Rd: 1 Pet 4:13-16

FILLED W IT H TH E S P IR IT

Resp: Ps 26 G ospel: Jn 17:1-11

The Texts:

The First Reading is se t in time, after the A scension of Christ. O ne can alm ost detect a certain sa d n e s s in the A postles a s they m ake their way back to the "upper room". It w asn't quite the sa m e a s w hen they w ent there after the crucifixion with the doors bolted, all huddled there for fear of the Jew s. This time it w as for real. Christ had left them to return to his Father. Yet there m ust have been hope. They had experienced the assu ra n c e of the Resurrection. Christ had now prom ised that he would always be with them . He would return to the Father but sen d the Spirit on them.

1 Rd: Acts 2:1-11 2 Rd: 1Cor 12:3-7,12-13

Resp: Ps 103 G ospel: Jn 20:19-23

The First Reading brings us back into the "Upper Room" once again. The ap o stles w ere g athered there and the Holy Spirit cam e upon them in a spectacular way, with equally spectacular results. "Surely," they

said, "all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in their own native language?" The explanation of w hat is narrated would be pure speculation - did the A postles speak in different languages, or did their audience hear their own languages! The incident is considered the undoing of Babel in the Old T estm ent when the w orkers who w ere building the tow er w ere unable to under stand each other. Here, the Spirit gives understanding of the apostolic m essag e.

This hope and expectation is reflected in the Responsorial Psalm: "I

am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living."

The Responsorial Psalm p raises the g rea tn ess and m arvels of God and the renewal of creation which His Spirit brings.

St. Paul in the Second Reading reaffirms this hope: ".. be glad, you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed." This is certainly an a ssu ra n ce which m akes se n s e of Christian living. If there w ere no sure hope of eternal living, then the whole effort of Christian living would be quite pointless.

St Paul in the Second Reading u d ersco res the action of the Holy Spirit in faith. "No one can say "Jesus is Lord" unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit." And he g o es on to sp eak of the variety of gifts of the Spirit given to each one for specific purposes.

In the Alleluia Verse, Christ's w ords ring with prom ise of joy. "I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord: I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy." Yet again, this further assu ra n c e of Christ's

The Sequence is a special hymn which is appen d ed to special feasts like the one we are celebrating today, and is in praise of the particular focus of the celebration, in this case, the role of the Holy Spirit.

p rese n ce with us in the p resent life. The Gospel is a flash-back to the D iscourse at the Last S up p er and can be taken to refer to the glory of the Resurrection a s well a s to the final glorification of the A scension when Christ "returns" to his eternal reward for having fulfilled his Father’s will to be incarnated and to die for the salvation of the world. He then prays for his disciples and all of us.

The Gospel of St John narrates a sending of the Holy Spirit on the A postles with a reference to the power of forgiving sins. This is at one of the ap p e aran c es of Je s u s to his A postles after his resurrection and is asso ciated with the mission that he gives them: "As the Father sent

Application in life

W e can all certainly asso cia te with that tinge of sa d n e ss of the A postles after the A scension w hen Christ se em ed to have finally left them for good, a s it were. After the crucifixion and death of Christ, they could still hope that he would be back in their midst. And indeed he did com e back into their midst. But now they realized that he would no longer be with them a s he had been before his death, nor even in that different way after his resurrection.

We celebrate today the F east of P entecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. The feast is som etim es referred to a s the Birthday of the Church, from the reference in the Preface. "Today we celebrate the great beginning of your Church ..." The continuing p rese n ce of God am ong us is not ju st som e vague, indeterm inate presen ce. It is a very “personal” p resence.

me, so am I sending you." After saying this he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit..."

In the Gospel today, J e s u s ap p e ars to his disciples and say s to them:

W e sometimes also feel that we are 'abandoned' by Christ. T here are

“Receive the Holy Spirit..."

tim es w hen we feel that he isn't close to us, a s it were. O ne is reminded of that fam ous verse about the two se ts of footprints in the sand. ...and then there w as only one set... Of course, w e often don't realize that there is only one se t b ec au se Christ is carrying us!

In the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, It w as a coming of the Spirit that transform ed the ap o stles and disciples. What happened in the early Church is repeated for each of us. We too have received the Holy Spirit, and in a very special personal way to ea ch of us. The priest who baptized us and the Bishop who confirmed us, said to us:

The ascension of Christ signalled the “reward” for his fidelity to his Father’s will. He had com e into the world in accordance with his F ather’s will. Christ had declared this during his ministry: "I come to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent m e.” H ence the significance of the opening w ords of today’s Gospel: “Father the hour has now come: glorify

“Receive the Holy Spirit". At the first P en teco st the ap o stles w ere "filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech". It transform ed them from timid fearful followers of J e s u s into

your Son ...”

fearless w itnesses. In the Gospel, when J e s u s gives the Spirit to his apostles, he gives them special powers. Being filled with the Spirit is a p resen ce of power, a p resen ce of gifts of the Spirit to transform us.

Christ is the guarantee of what we can expect and hope for. His

A scension is the pledge and prom ise of our own glorification. Christ say s clearly in the Gospel today: “F ather.... glorify your Son ... and, through

the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him." Christ was glorified because

O ur celebration of P en teco st, like all our liturgical celebrations, is not just so m e sort of celebration of the anniversary of an event , a s w e do for so m any oth er ev en ts th at w e celeb rate in our lives or in history, like birthdays or National Day celebrations. Liturgical celebra tions must be celebrations of ongoing spiritual realities. P en te co st is not ju st the celebration of that ev en t that is described in Scripture. It m ust b e the celebration of th e sending of God’s Spirit to US. It h as to be the celebration of a presence in power of the Spirit within us and

he died to conquer sin and death in accordance with G od’s plan of salvation. This is an important point to note. T here is no glorification without the crucifixion and death. Christ sa y s in the Gospel. "I have

glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me... " J e s u s could lay claim to reward and glory b ec au se he had faithfully fulfilled his Father's will and com pleted the mission that his Father sen t him to do. We would not be able to lay claim to an eternal reward, if w e w ere not faithful to the F ather's will in our lives.

transforming us.

W hat the baptizing priest and the confirming Bishop said to us w as "Receive the Holy Spirit'. “Receiving” implies a positive choice on our part. We must choose to receive the Holy Spirit, and w e need to be disposed to receive him, w e need to w elcom e his p resen ce in us. The Spirit can com e, but if we ch o o se NOT to receive the Spirit, w e will not be filled with his p resen ce and we will not be transform ed by him. It is a choice that we are faced with and have to m ake today, on this F east of P entecost. Having m ade the choice, however, we need to recognize his presence in us, we need to recognize his gifts to us and w hat they are for. As St. Paul reminds us in the Second Reading: " There is a

W e can enjoy the fulfilment of Christ’s prom ise if we can m ake the sa m e claim a s Christ. W e too must finish the work that Christ gave us to do. “Go therefore, make disciples of all nations.." That is the mission that Christ has given to us. Only when we have completed that mission with fidelity, can we say: “Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me."

Are we aw are of our responsibilities of continuing Christ’s work of making G od’s love known? If we cannot make the claim that we have completed the work, we will not be able to lay claim to the reward that awaits us and which has been promised to us by Christ.

variety of gifts ... there are all sorts of service to e done ... working in all sorts of ways in different people ...". W e need to make full use of those gifts for the good of God's community. Graphics: Copyright. The Order o f St. Benedict Texts: Copyright 2002. D r (Rev) R. Balhetchet

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

FEATURE

The Church and the Internet On 22 February 2002, the Pontifi cal C ouncil for S o cia l C o m munications launched two impor tant docum ents, "The Church and the In te rn e t " a n d "Ethics in internet." Catholic News at that

time reported the presentations made together with a few salient points from each of the two docu ments. On the occasion of World Com unications Day, May 12, we take the opportunity to present some important aspects from the first of the two documents, con

cerning the Internet itself and how the Church views it in relation to its own divine mission. We can e a s ily tend to consider the Internet as ju s t a n o th e r te c h n o lo g ic a l innnovation, but a s Christians we n eed to view everything in the light of our spiritual destiny and also in the light of our sharing in the mission that Christ has entrusted to his Church and to all of us a s his m em bers.

INTRODUCTION

The Church’s interest in the Internet is a particular expression of her longstanding interest in the m edia of social communication. The Church h as taken a funda mentally positive approach to the m edia. “The Church s e e s th e se m e dia a s ‘gifts of God' which, in accordance with his providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with his plan for their salvation”. This is the view we take of the Internet. Considering the m edia of so cial com munication in this light, we s e e that they “contribute greatly to the enlargem ent and enrichm ent of m en’s minds and to the propa gation and consolidation of the kingdom of G od”. Today this applies in a special way to the Internet, which is help ing to bring about revolutionary ch a n g es in com m erce, education, politics, journalism, the relation ship of nation to nation and culture to culture - ch a n g es not just in how people com m unicate but in how they understand their lives. Here we consider the Internet’s implications for religion and e s p e cially for the Catholic Church. Church's two-fold interest

The Church has a two-fold aim in regard to the media. O ne asp ec t is to encourage their right devel opment and right use for the sake of human development, justice, and peace - for the upbuilding of so

ciety at the local, national, and community levels in the light of the com mon good and in a spirit of solidarity. But the Church’s concern also relates to communication in and by the Church herself. Such com

munication is more than just an exercise in technique, for it “finds its starting point in the communion o f love among the divine Persons and their communication with us” and in the realization that Trinitarian communication “reaches out to hu mankind: The Son is the Word, eternally 'spoken' by the Father and in and through Jesus Christ, Son and Word made flesh, God communicates himself and his

salvation to women and men”.

God continues to com muni cate with humanity through the Church, the bearer and custodian of his revelation, to w hose living teaching office alone he h as en trusted the task of authentically interpreting his word. Moreover, the Church herself Is a communio, a com munion of p erso n s and eucharistic com munities arising from and mirroring the communion of the Trinity; communication there fore is of the essence of the Church. This, more than any other reason, is why “the Church’s prac tice of communication should be exemplary, reflecting the highest standards of truthfulness, account ability, sensitivity to human rights, and other relevant principles and norms”. Mission and the Media

Three d ec ad e s ago Communio et Progressio pointed out that “modern media offer new ways of confronting people with the m e ssa g e of the G ospel”. Pope Paul VI said the Church “would feel guilty before the Lord” if it failed to u se the m edia for evangelization. P o p e Jo h n Paul II has called the media “the first A reopagus of the modern ag e”, and declared that “it is not enough to use the

am ong peoples, nations, and cul tu res”. Since announcing the Good News to people formed by a media culture requires taking carefully into

a p o lo g e tic s , g o v e r n a n c e an d adm inistration, and so m e form s of pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. Although the virtual reality of

right of dialogue and information within the Church". The Internet

account the special characteristics of the media themselves, the Church now needs to understand the Internet. This is n ecessary in

cyberspace cannot substitute for real interpersonal community, the

A need for education

in c a r n a tio n a l re a lity of th e sa cram e n ts an d th e liturgy, or the im m ediate and direct proclam ation of the gospel, it can complement them, attract people to a fuller experien ce of th e life of faith, and enrich the religious lives of u sers.

Education and training are an o th er a r e a of opportunity an d n eed . “Today everybody n e e d s so m e form of continuing m edia education, w hether by personal s tu d y o r p a r tic ip a tio n in an organized program or both. More th a n ju s t te a c h in g about techniques, media education helps

order to com m unicate effectively with people - especially young people - who are steep ed in the experience of this new technology, and also in order to u se it well. The media offer important ben efits and advantages from a religious perspective: “They carry

new s and information about reli g io u s e v e n ts , id e a s , and personalities; they serve as vehi cles for eva n g e liza tio n and catechesis. Day in and day out, they provide inspiration, encour agement, and opportunities for worship to persons confined to their homes or to institutions”.

not the one-way, top-down communication of the past. As more and more people become familiar with this characteristic of the Internet in other areas of their lives, they can be expected also to look for it in regard to religion and the Church.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES “Communication in and by the Church is essentially communica tion of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is the proclamation of the

G ospel a s a prophetic, liberating word to the men and w omen of our times; it is testimony, in the face of radical secularization, to divine truth and to the tran scen d en t d e s tiny of the hum an person; it is w itness given in solidarity with all believers against conflict and divi sion, to justice and communion

people form standards of good taste and truthful moral judgment, an aspect of conscience formation. Through her schools and formation

p ro g ra m s th e C h u rch sh o u ld provide m edia education of this kind”. E d u c a tio n and tra in in g regarding the Internet ought to be part of com prehensive program s of m edia education available to m em b ers of the Church. As much a s possible, pastoral planning for so c ial co m m u n ic a tio n s sh o u ld m ake provision for this training in th e fo rm atio n of se m in a ria n s , priests, religious, and lay pastoral p erso n n el a s well a s te a c h e rs, paren ts, and students. Problems for the Church

- relativity T h e In tern et a lso p r e s e n ts some special problems for the Church, over and ab o v e th o se of a

g eneral nature d iscu ssed in Ethics in Internet, th e d o c u m e n t ac co m p an y in g this o n e. W hile em phasizing w hat is positive about the Internet, it is important to be clear ab o u t w hat is not. At a very d ee p level, “the world of the m edia can som etim es seem The technology is new, but indifferent an d ev en hostile to the idea is not. Vatican Council II said members of the Church Christian faith and morality. This is

Opening new frontiers

to throw open the doors of social com m unications to Christ, so that his Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world”.

T h e C h u rch a ls o n e e d s to understand and u se the Internet a s a tool of in tern al c o m m u n ic a tio n s. T his requires

blurring th e old d istin ctio n b e tw e e n th o s e w ho com m unicate and th o se who receive w hat is com m unicated, an d c re atin g a situ atio n in w hich, p o ten tially a t le a s t, everyone can do both. This is

is all the more important to day, since not only do the m edia now strongly influence what people think about life but also to a great extent “hu man experience itself is an experience of m edia”.

would have been beyond the wild est imaginings of those who preached the Gospel before us...Catholics should not be afraid

Tool o f internal communication

keeping clearly in view its special character as a direct, immediate, interactive, and participatory medium. A lre a d y , th e tw o -w ay interactivity of the Internet is

media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church’s authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into the ‘new culture’ created by modern communications”. Doing that

All this applies to the Internet. And even though the world of social com m unications “may at tim es seem at odds with the Christian m e ssag e , it also offers unique opportunities for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ to the whole hum an family. C onsider...the posi tive capacities of the Internet to carry religious information and teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. Such a wide audience

It also provides the Church with a means for communicating with particular groups - young people and young adults, the elderly and home-bound, persons living in remote areas, the members of other religious bodies - who otherwise may be difficult to reach.

provides an effective technological m ean s of realizing this vision.

Benefits o f the Internet But over and above these, there also are benefits more or less peculiar to the Internet. It offers people direct and immediate ac cess to important religious and spiritual resources - great libraries

should disclose to their pastors “their needs and desires with that liberty and confidence which befits children of God and brothers of Christ”; in fact, according to

k n o w le d g e , c o m p e te n c e , or position, the faithful are not only able but sometimes obliged “to manifest their opinion on those things which pertain to the good of th e C h u rch ”. "Communio et

Progressio" rem arked that a s a “living body” the Church “needs

and m useum s and p laces of wor ship, the teaching docum ents of the Magisterium, the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and the religious wisdom of the ag es. It h as a remarkable

public opinion in order to sustain a giving and taking among her members”. Although truths of faith “do not leave room for arbitrary

capacity to overcome distance and isolation, bringing people into con

in te r p r e ta t io n s ”, th e p a s to ra l instruction noted “an enormous

tact with like-minded p erso n s of good will who join in virtual com munities of faith to enco u rag e and support on e another. The Church can perform an important service to C atholics and non-Catholics alike by the selection and tran s m ission of useful d ata in this medium.

area where members of the Church can express their views”.

Relevance to the Church

The Internet is relevant to many activities and programs of the Church— evangelization, including

both re-evangelization an d new evangelization and the traditional m is s io n a r y w o rk a d g en tes, c a te c h e s is an d o th e r kinds of education, new s and information,

Similar id eas are e x p re ssed in the C ode of C anon Law a s well a s in m ore recent docum ents of the P o n tific a l C o u n c il fo r S o c ia l C om m unications. Aetatis Novae calls two-way communication and public opinion “one of the ways of realizing in a concrete manner the Church’s character as communio''. Ethics in Communications say s: “A two-way flow of information and views between pastors and faithful, freedom of expression sensitive to the well being of the community and to the role of the Magisterium in fostering it, and responsible public opinion all are important expressions of ‘the fundamental

partly because media culture is so deeply imbued with a typically postmodern sense that the only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths or that, if there were, they would be inaccessible to human reason and therefore irrelevant”.

- virtual reality Similarly, a s noted above, the virtual reality of cy b ersp ace h as so m e w orrisom e implications for religion a s well a s for oth er a re a s of life. Virtual reality is no substitute for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sacramental reality of the other sacraments, and shared worship in a flesh-andblood human community. T here

are no sa cram e n ts on th e Internet; and even the religious ex p erien ces possible there by the g race of God a re insufficient ap art from realworld interaction with other persons of faith. H ere is an o th er a s p e c t of the Internet that calls for study and reflec tio n . At th e s a m e tim e, pastoral planning should consider how to lead people from cyberspace to true community and

how , th ro u g h te a c h in g a n d c a te c h e s is , th e In tern et might su b seq u en tly be u sed to sustain an d enrich them in their Christian com mitm ent. suggestions in other sections

MAY 12-M A Y 19, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL The month of May has long been dedicated to Mary and it seems to us significant that Mother’s Day is also celebrated during this month that is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of the Church and mother of us all.

My Mother and I

Mothers are VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE. They are the very personifi

cation of love at its highest level and degree. It is quite significant that the Bible has God describing his love for man in th e se term s: “Even if a mother should abandon her child, I will never abandon you. 'T h is em phasizes, a s it w ere, the impossible ... that a m other should ever abandon her child! The celebration of Mother’s Day is a good reminder of what we owe to our mothers. It is good for us to show our special appreciation to m others for all they have done and sacrificed and suffered for us. While it should not be the only occasion in the year when this is done, it is good, all the sam e, to have a special occasion to really celebrate m other’s love. The celebration of Mother's Day fo cuses attention on M others and their role in the family and celebrates them. Hopefully it will b e a reminder to all families to celebrate and appreciate mother’s love in the family not just by the selection of a gift and a family m eal, but rather by

hAiL

•

to you mothec o f the chupch

y P .ssf,

MMMMiiluiUiliiMl

more permanent and meaningful expressions of love. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL! Graphic: Copyright. The Order o f St. Benedict

From a mother to her own mother.

From a daughter to her mother.

It requires so m e soul-search ing to recall and put in writing your love which I have taken for granted the full 50 y ears of my existence in this world. Our love for ea ch other is nei ther vocal nor are there the physical expressions of hugs and kisses. It is a m aternal bond of love. A love of understanding, respect, concern, com passion and admiration. You g a v e birth to us and brought us up in a time of great poverty and I experienced your cou rage for survival - clothing, feeding and educating us, your children, a g a in st overw helm ing odds. The extrem e hardship and suffering w e w ent through taught m e to love and appreciate you differently. Your constant love and care for ea ch of us and for your grandchilren still a m az es me. God has blessed you with good health and happiness and that is w hat m atters m ost to m e and it is my prayerful wish with love for you on this your special day.

I am sev en teen years old. I can take care of myself, at least that’s w hat I think. And yet, for that matter, my Mom still m akes my breakfast. W e are never too old to go running to our m others w henever w e a r e dow n. I m ay b e a t ‘loggerheads’ with my m other half my life, but s h e ’s still the person I share my excitment with. Like when I got my first article published. S he w as the first and only person I woke up at ten p ast midnight to shriek my excitm ent to her. Being a m other is probably the toughest job in the world. Honestly, I am not the world's m ost perfect teenager. I have had my sh a re of wild nights. I have given you more than enough worries to en ter in the

R.Y.

From a husband to the mother of their children.

This beautiful day each year h a s never failed to m ake m e pon der how b lessed I am with another year of love and blissful happiness in our family: thanks to your, my dearest! Everytim e I look at our lovely children, I am filled with love and gratitude for their wonderful m other without whom there would be no home, no family and no loving wife for m e. Happy Mother's Day! T.T. A reflection

‘Guiness Book of World Records’.

I have disappointed you more times than I can ever rem em ber. I have given my mouthful of lies and em pty prom ises. And you have never given up on me. Although I’ve probably m ade you cry enough to h ate me, you still call m e everyday to ask how my day w ent. You still su p p o rt m e in e v e ry th in g I d o , e v e n if my s u g g e s tio n s a r e th e m o st outrag eo u s things. I will be a m other som eday. But I don’t know if I could ever be like you. You give m e in s u rm o u n ta b le s tr e n g th , encouragem ent, care, support and love. Like the time, when I got cheated out of $275 by a good friend of three years. I w as about ready to explode at everyone. You talked to m e and did not laugh at my foolishness. You did not say:”l told you so ” but sa t and heard me blow my top, and then you prayed with me. T here w ere at least a hundred of all th e se things you have done for me. I never had the ch ance to really show you how much I appreciate all you've done and how much I really think of you and love you. I’ll still m ake m istakes, I’ll still yell at you w hen I get angry. You w ere my mother, you still are my m other and you will forever be my mother. I w an t to s a y th a n k you for everything. And I love you, Mum!

S om e m others might be wrong, but who bore all the pain and suffered th e m ost? Who w as the o n e who brought us into this world? Not the father, but the mother. S he suffered and bore all the pain while expecting us, sh e w as the one who brought us into this world. T hat is why w e should learn to love and trea su re our m others and our other loved o n e s a s well, now, or th ere might not be a another ch an ce the next time. It could be too late, and w e would end up with regret for the rest of our lives.

‘M other’ ca m e from an Old English word 'm odor' which m ean s 'a fem ale parent' or 'looking after som eo n e in a motherly way'. To me, it m ean s a g reat te a c h e r who te a c h e s us the good values and le sso n s in life, so m eo n e who is there to guide and be th ere for us.

AN.

A.N.

F.N

The Lord upholds the rights of a mother over her sons. .. he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune. ..he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord. He serves his parents as he does his Lord. ... a mother held in dishonour is a reproach to her children ... whoever angers his mother is accursed of the Lord. Ecclesiasticus 3: 2-18

Reflecting on my relationship with my m other, so m e o n e who w as alw ays th ere for me, alw ays a part of m e ... so m eo n e I probably take for granted m ost of the tim e... w as som ething I never seriously did until now. My m other and I are two very different people. W e d o n ’t even look rem otely related ex cep t for our g en d e r and blood type. My m other is a fair-skinned, petite C h in ese lady while I am more Indian looking; tall and broad fram ed like my father. People used to m istake h er for my ‘a m a h ’ w hen I w as little and w hen I grew older; I w as often m istaken a s her ‘m aid’. Like, m ost m other - d au g h ter relationships, w e had our ups and dow ns. Growing up, I rem em ber thinking of my m other a s a very strict, no n o n se n se person. S he alw ays said th at sh e knew m e so well th a t ev en before I could c o n c e p tu a liz e an y thing in my head , sh e would know w hat I w as up to. T hat is pretty scary when you’re a kid and you think your m other can read your mind. Of course, my m other h as her fun and protective sid e s too. S he alw ays had my in terests at heart, occasionally rescuing m e from my fath er’s wrath w hen I w as naughty and spoiling m e with special treats and outings. I u sed to ask my m other w hat kind of p resen t would s h e like an d s h e would say, "Nothing. J u st do well in your stu d ies and life”. W e u se d to d isag ree a lot. My m other sa y s I am a very stubborn child and I thought sh e w as plain old fashion. S h e n ever allowed m e to do th e things my brothers and friends w ere allowed to do. S h e had h er id eas ab o u t w hat a good girl did and did not do. And it did not help that sh e had the su p p o rt of my very traditional grandm other and extended family too. I could not u n d erstan d her point of view m ost of th e time and a s a result I alw ays felt restricted. So you can imagine my excitem ent w hen I w as given the opportunity to study abroad. F reedom w as at hand. But strangely enough, it w as this ex p erien ce that really brought out my m other’s le sso n s

in me. Being alone in a foreign land, I rediscovered her le sso n s to b e b r a v e , r e s p o n s ib le , d is c ip lin e , p e r s is te n t, f o c u s , patient an d the value of th e family. W here once, I only saw the world through my ey es, I now also saw through hers. I b eg an to un d erstan d her reasoning, even if I did not alw ays a g re e with all of th e m . I w a s b e g in n in g to und erstan d my m other. I w as also growing up mentally. My m other w as an d still is a very strong, cap ab le w om an. I know I n ev er told h er this before but I asp ire to be like her. I w ant to be a s capable, grounded and b a la n c e d a s s h e is. S h e courageously left her hom e and family in M alaysia to se e k a better life in S ingapore in her tw enties. S h e su c ce ssfu lly m a n a g e d to se cu re herself a job and even found time to fall in love, marry an d start a family. S h e worked hard, alongside with my father, for the luxuries I am accu sto m ed to now. I know sh e faced a lot of o b stacles and difficulties in her p ersonal life’s journey but her spirited nature h a s helped her get through it all. S h e h a s b ee n working dedicatedly with the sa m e com pany for the last 30 y ea rs and been m arried to my father for 25 years. S h e is definitely a good role model. Now th at I am an adult and h av e started working myself, my relationship with my m other is much better. The p ed estal I have had h er on my w hole life d o es not seem so u n a p p r o a c h a b le anym ore. W e can talk and sh a re our thoughts and feelings m ore o p e n ly now . W e a r e e v e n beginning to have similarities in our characteristics. I d o n ’t s e e her opinions a s oppositions a s much now but rather advise and concern a s it w as alw ays m ean t to be. I know th at sh e re sp e c ts that I am now an adult and am cap ab le of making my own decisions. This M other’s Day, my wish for my m other is for her to retire so th at sh e can take the time to do the oth er things s h e likes. T hat and of course, good health, p ea ce of mind and long life. I still have a lot to learn from her. □ G. S.

From a daughter to her mother now passed on

I d e d ic a te th is p o e m to all m o th e r s in S in g a p o r e a n d throughout the world! I once had a m other too, m any y ears ago. S h e died w hen I w as only 19 y ears old, a crucial time in my life when I still very much needed my m other and even more crucial for my younger sisters who had been only 15 an d 7 y ea rs old then. Overnight I had to grow up to be both m o th er an d big sis te r to them , esp ecially my y o u n g est s is te r. E v e n th o u g h I am n o t married and have no children of my own, yet I know w hat m others go through, for I had to be on e of my sisters, and later on, help in the caring of their children. I did not always appreciate my mother while sh e w as alive, ‘till it w as too late. Now I constantly rem em ber the precious and happy m oments we had shared together and to this day, 19 years later since her death, I still m iss her very much, so h ere’s to all m other who truly d eserv e all th e g o o d n e ss from their children!

“A m other is a blessing” Mothers are G od’s gift to mankind, Creating her at the beginning of time; Granting us this privilege, To be guided by her hand; To be given intelligent and virtuous tutelage, And to turn to her w henever w e need a friend; In tim es of unrest; s h e ’s always there, Comforting us with her m aternal care; S h e ’s kind and loving, Always generously giving; W hen w e are wayward or gone astray, With ten d er concern, to God sh e turns; On her knees, hands together in supplication to pray, She is protective and warm, Even when things go wrong; Helping us to w eather the storm, Keeping us afloat, helping us with quiet solace, S h e is truly G od’s sw eet am azing grace; M others are tim eless, And oh, so very priceless; We need to appreciate her more, R esp ect and honour her right to the core; Never stop loving her, For on e day sh e may not be here; We m ust not take G od’s precious gift (that’s a mother) for granted, For w hen it’s least expected; W e may find that s h e ’s not there, for us to care! G.H.

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

VIEWPOINT

CATHOLIC NEWS

G etting C onnected

EDITOR D r (R e v ) R o b e rt P. B a lh e tc h e t

MANAGER R e v F r Joh n so n F e rn a n d e z

STAFF CORRESPO NDENTS R e v F r R ic h a rd s A m b ro s e C h ris to p h e r K hoo M e l D ia m s e -L e e 2 HIGHLAND RD #01-03, SIN G A PO R E 549102 TEL: 858-3055, FAX NO. 858-2055

e-mail: cathnews@catholic.org .sg. To send letters, articles and for editorial enquiries e-mail: steeple@singnet.com.sg

From the Pews : If yo u w is h to w rite to us, please include your full name, address and contact number. e -m a il a d d re s s:

steeple@singnet. com. sg It g o e s e x c lu s iv e ly to th e Editor. C o n fid e n tia lity a s s u re d !

A P O L O G Y We apologise profoundly for the problems in the distribution of the last issue which necessitated a supplement.

T im e w as w hen com m unication, for the com m on man, simply m eant speaking face to face or writing to another in a letter or a postcard. This w as not exactly millenia ago! W e ourselves w ere in that situation during childhood and adolescence (w e are not millenia old, either!). O f course, w e did not resort to carrier pigeons, because radio com munication and telephones existed, but these w ere not for the com m on m an. W e grew up at a tim e w hen telephones w ere practically restricted to offices and institutions. Few hom es had their own telephones. T V did not exist in S ingapore and radio w as certainly not 24 hours! BY DR (REV) ROBERT P. BALHETCHET

Those o f our generation have had the good fortune of living through the rapid developm ent of social com m unication. W e say "good fortune" because w e can truly appreciate the trem endous ad vance and the rapidity with which the transformation has taken place. In our child hood, com m unicating with relatives, friends and school m ates w ere face-to -face encounters or writing postcards and letters. Talking to relatives m eant fam ily visits which inevitably included a m eal and tim e for us kids to play with each other while the adults indulged in their own gossip.

Now that is all changed and people are w earing out their finger-tips punching ridiculously tiny keys to com m u nicate, instead of using their mouths and getting squint-eyed (no w onder that spectacle lenses are now reduced in size to match!) from staring at bright oblong screens that flicker

Steps have been taken to ensure that this does not happen again.

Single adults

I am from the C hinese speaking group. I am pleased to s e e so many good changes in CNrecently. I se e that there are more and more non-married lay people in Singapore and of course in our church. I think there is a new pastoral requirement for this special group of people. I wonder if the CN could publish som e articles and guidance for this group of people. I se e that being a single is also another way of “Vocation” and they can serve the Lord and contribute to the church in a special way. Your com m ents please. Patrick

Thank you for drawing attention to this group, which is probably is significantly large, judging from reports that appear from time to time in the media. A good sugges tion which we will certainly bear in mind. □ >

Ecumenical Outreach

In light of all the restructuring and reform taking place in the a r c h d io c e s e , th e e c u m e n ic a l outreach to our Protestant brethren and the inter-faith p ea ce efforts, one can but w onder if anything is being done to heal the w ounds within the Church a s well. By this, I refer primarily to the p rese n ce of schism atic groups in Singapore, such a s the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). P erhaps it is time for the local C h u rch to se rio u s ly c o n s id e r making u se of His Holiness Pope John Paul M’s 1988 papal indult Ecclesia Dei adflicta, in which he sta te s “resp ect m ust everyw here

unnoticeably and keep changing at a giddy pace as view ers m anipulate a device that, strangely enough, bears the nam e of a rodent which would, before its m etam orphosis to a tabletop device, com pletely petrify the m em bers of the fairer gender. All this is w h at is now catchily term ed "getting connected"! N ow adays, w e h ear com plaints ab ou t people today being so unsociable, not greeting each other and g enerally s e e m ing to be all w rapp ed up in th em selves so that they pass neighbours without so m uch as a nod (don't speak of a sm ile!), and en ter a lift in their own block without a word of greeting (don't exp ect a "thank you” for holding the lift door open for th em !). Sm all w onder! T h e art of speaking has given w ay to the art of finger-tapping and as for listening it's difficult to hear, let alone listen, with plugs stuffed into one's ears! T a ke heart, though, w e are all getting connected with wires, invisible w aves and infra-red beam s! Enter Blue Tooth! T h e im pact of all this has not by-passed the Church, though. W e too, now need program m es to "build community", w e too need to bring people closer together. W e too, need to find new w ays to com m unicate with the new generation, w e too have no choice but to enter this new w ay of getting connected. A wicked thought just crossed our mind! W e might need a set of those ridiculously small keys in the pulpit to get the m essage across! □

FROM THE PEWS be show n for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition”. After all, w e have Youth M asses for the young and the young at heart, and w e have Charism atic services for tho se who find value in that. Why not restore the Tridentine M ass, even if in only one parish (or at the cathedral, perhaps), for th o se who find them selves attached to it, for tho se who adh ere to the SSPX schism , and for th o se like myself - faithful Catholics born after the second Vatican Council who desire the ch ance to w itness a little of the Church’s historical liturgy? I acknowledge that the issue with the SSPX is far more than sim ply th e ce le b ra tio n of th e T ridentine M ass - th a t S SP X adherents believe that Pope John Paul II is invalidly elected, that Vatican II is an invalid council and that the N ovus Ordo M ass is blasphem y - but the restoration of th e indult T rid e n tin e M a ss (something only available in the Phillipines in this region) could well be an act of “good faith”, that the orthodox Catholic Church is still willing to reach out to its seperated brethren from within its ranks. Aaron

My apologies, Aaron. We did get your original letter. Sometimes it may happen that one or another gets overlooked. You are right that we do receive a good number of letters, and as we have pointed out once, we cannot promise to publish eveything, nor not always in full, due to space constraints and other considerations, but in the process of putting something aside for the next issue it can get overlooked. Yes, indeed, ecumenism does include everyone. You do how

ever, rightly point to some very fundamental issues when one is talking of the group you refer to, and indeed, not so long ago there was a such a group in Latin America whcih was reconciled with the Catholic Church. This was, incidentally, reported in the Catho lic News. One must also make a distinc tion between the Mass in Latin and the Tridentine Mass. It is certianly NOT forbidden to have the Mass in Latin, though one would need to explore the pastoral needs for this. The Tridentine Mass is another matter. The latest Third Typical Edition of the Missal recently pub lished does not make provision for the Tridentine Mass. Just a last remark. It’s better not to refer to the "orthodox Catho lic Church" . The "Orthodox Catholic Church" is different! TO THE PEWS We truly appreciate the views expressed from the pews. We were wondering, how ever, if we could have views, comments and questions about the themes of the focus that we provide for each issue. For example, Vocations, Work, Communications Media. It would be even better if we could have views from the pews ahead of time, so that they can be in sync (to use current jar gon) with the focus of the CN issue itself. The focus that is coming up in the next issue: EUCHARIST AND THE MASS in connection with the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Holy W eek in pictures

I p u rch ased th e Catholic News th is m orning a fte r M a ss an d looked forward to reading it, w hen I have so m e time. As I o p en ed it ab o u t an hour later, my first im pression w as that I had taken an old copy! I checked and rech eck ed th e d ates. No, the d a te s are fine. It is a new copy. Why the Holy W eek in pictures again? I am disappointed. I am not su re w hat it m e an s and w hat is happening to the Catholic News. I u n d erstan d th at pictures can be very powerful in telling a story. Som etim es it is better than a thou san d words. T here se e m s to b e an inordi n ate num ber of pictures of our new A rchbishop Nicholas Chia, u n le ss th ere is so m e fear that not all C atholics in S ingapore know w hat their lead er looks like. Maria

Thank you for your comments. No, it has nothing to do with a 'publicity stunt' to get the new Archbishop to be better known by all the faithful! We should have had an Introduction of sorts to explain what that feature was about and explain its purpose. The first time that Holy Week was featured in pictures was just one picture of each of the cer emonies of Holy Week. The second feature covered only Palm Sunday and the Chrism Mass, which only took place in the Cathedral. The reason for these features is to offer a visual sequence of the Holy Week cer

emonies with explanations to help people understand what takes place, in the form of a catechesis. Not everyone can participate at all the ceremonies, and even when they do, they can hardly see all the significant rites that take place since these are per formed in the sanctuary and are very often blocked from the view of the cogregation. The signifi cant elements, very often also, take a very brief moment and if one fails to catch them, one might not even know what was done. Unlike the Mass, which hap pens every day and which the faithful can easily get familiar with, the Holy Week ceremonies take place only once a year, and yet they are the most poignant lirturgical rites, apart, of course, from the celebration of the Sac raments. Indeed, they contribute to a better appreciation of the Liturgical celebration of the Mass itself, which embodies, as it were, the events that are commemo ra te d in the Holy Week ceremonies. I hope this explains why there was that feature, and why there will be explanations and pictures of the remaining ceremonies to complete the series.

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MAY 1 2 -M A Y 19, 2002

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FROM THE PEWS

R o le o f th e la ity I have been active in the various activities of my parish for m ore than 12 y ears and I continue to participate today. I w as involved in th e Ministry to th e D ead a s a funeral minister. As a lay person, I experien ce a s e n s e of fulfilment to be of service to my parish community. Until recently, th e p ro ce ss in the funeral ministering [when any parishioner p a s s e s away] w as a s follows • on the day of the funeral m ass, th e priest would go to th e hom e of th e d e c e a se d an d facilitate the prayer service with th e ‘b lessin g ’ of the body before th e coffin is closed. • th e body is then brought to the Church for the funeral m ass. The funeral m inister a s s is ts in th e Eucharistic Celebration. • a f te r m a s s th e b o d y is transferred to the Crem atorium , w h e r e th e f u n e r a l m in is te r facilitates in th e prayer service before the crem ation. H o w ev er, with th e r e c e n t c h a n g e of parish p riests, this p ro c e ss h a s ch a n g ed . Instead of th e priest going to th e hom e of th e d e c e a s e d on th e day of th e m a ss, th e fu n eral m in ister is a sk e d to facilitate in th e p rayer service before the body is brought to Church for th e m a ss. I believe it would b e m ore ap p ro p riate for th e priest to facilitate in this prayer s e r v ic e , w h ich in c lu d e s th e b lessin g of th e body, before the coffin is clo sed . Also now, after th e funeral m a ss, th e p riest also g o e s to th e C rem ato riu m to f a c ilita te th e p r a y e r s e rv ic e to g e th e r with th e funeral m inister b e c a u s e family m em b ers w ant it. I believe this is good an d within th e family’s rights to m ake this req u est. If p ossible, th e priest should acco m p an y th e d e c e a s e d to th e Crem atorium an d provide m oral su p p o rt by participating in th e p ray er service. I feel th at p riests should not ta k e over the facilitation of th e p rayer service, which is ‘sh o rt & sim p le’ a s this can be easily m a n ag e d by th e funeral m inister. In fact this w as th e p ractice of th e previous p arish p riest w ho a c c e d e d to re q u e sts from family m em b ers of th e d e c e a s e d fo r him to a c c o m p a n y th e b o d y to th e C rem atorium . He also ad vised th e family m em b ers th at he would participate in th e p ray er service and th a t th e [lay person] funeral m in iste r w ould fa c ilita te th e serv ice. I believed h e took the opportunity to ‘e d u c a te ’ an d ‘form ’ th e peo p le on th e role of th e laity. T hrough his action, th e priest em p o w ered an d en ab led th e laity of th e latter’s rightful role in th e life of th e C hurch. I w a s g re a tly e n c o u r a g e d an d m otivated th at th e priest in this in stan ce ab id ed with th e spirit of V atican II. I raised this m atter at our P arish P astoral Council meeting an d w as told that this decision regarding p riests going to the Crem atorium w as the ‘collective a g re e m e n t’ of 15 p riests in the District; and that all p arishes within this District follow that ‘ruling’. However, I told them that I had spoken to one of the parish priests who informed m e that in his parish, o n ly th e f u n e r a l m in is te r

ac co m p an ie s th e body to the Crem atorium an d facilitate the prayer service. At this sta g e I w as confused an d disturbed and I w as tem pted to a sk th e s e q u estio n s • Is the Church [or District] m ade up of only th e 15 p riests? • Who is the ‘Church or District’? • Should not this su b ject be d isc u sse d at th e Parish P astoral Council [assum ing that all the m em bers are properly trained and formed on their role a s m em bers of PPC] of the respective parishes of the District or at the District P astoral Council? Here is another incident, which prom pted m e to write to you. T here w as a funeral m a ss a tten d ed by a large crowd of p e o p le w ho w ere m o stly C ath o lics. U n d ersta n d ab ly , at Holy Com munion, m ost m em bers of th e congregation cam e forward to receive the Eucharist. S eeing a long qu eu e, o n e of th e choir m e m b e r s a s k e d th e fu n e ra l m inister [who is also a Eucharistic minister] to a s s is t the priest in distributing th e Eucharist. In good faith, the funeral m inister w ent up to th e priest but th e latter refused to allow him to a s s ist in giving out th e Holy Com munion. Obviously, th e funeral m inister returned to h is seat w ith g re a t em b arrassm en t. W hat w as the rationale for the priest to refuse th e h e lp of th e E u c h a ris tic m inister? I could not com prehend this an d I em pathized with the E ucharistic minister. I will not be surprised to s e e le ss of him in the participation of the various parish a c tiv itie s . I n s te a d of b e in g em pow ered by th e clergy, the role of the lay person in Church w as b e in g c u r ta ile d and minimized. I could sh a re a few m ore incidents that illustrate the attitude of so m e clergy in curtailing the role of th e laity and reducing the im portance of lay participation in th e life of the Church. However, in writing this letter citing the e x a m p le s a b o v e , I am v ery co n cern ed with the situation of our local Church. W hat is her attitude tow ards th e laity? In line with the spirit of Vatican II, the local Church n e e d s to en co u rag e, motivate, em pow er and enable the laity to live their lives m ore fully through g rea ter participation in th e life of th e Church. This should b e done by encouraging and em pow ering th e laity to b e of g rea ter service to the community. T h ro u g h th is le tte r, a s a m em ber of the laity, I would like to ask our A rchdiocese for the a s s u r a n c e th a t w e, th e local Church of S ingapore is following and being faithful to the spirit of V atican II. I trust your resp o n se will give m e the confidence that our A rchdiocese is abiding with the advice and guidelines of the V atican II d ocum ent on the Laity.

• There is, however, a very im p o rtan t point th at n ee d s clarification. Vatican II has quite clearly spelled out the role of the Laity in the Church. Their role is very specifically to be found in their secular life and activity in the world where they and they alone are intimately involved, and where they find their proper role. Theirs is a role that cannot be fulfilled by the hierarchy and the ministerial priesthood. It is there, in the midst of their secular life and work that they must bear witness and testimony to the faith that they profess. As members of families living in the world they must influ ence marriage and family life and values. A s persons who exercise secular professions and work in various jobs they must bring to bear the values and principles that Christ came to infuse in the world. This role can never be fulfilled by the priests and ordained min isters. In their role in the secular world, the laity have a right to be nourished with the Sacraments and the Word of Life. In the exer cise of their secular role they also have a right to be offered guid ance from their ordained ministers, on how they can fulfil their proper role. Catering to the spiritual needs of the laity is the duty and obliga tion of the ministerial priesthood. This is their proper role. Besides their specific role, the laity may also participate in other roles especially where they can contribute their own expertise to the common good of the whole Christian Community. We must be quite clear, too, on the role of the ministerial priest. He is ordained to the sacred min istry. Each Order has its specific delineation. As for the Eucharist, we must be quite clear that the Deacon upwards is specifically ordained to handle the Sacred Species and to formally preach the Word of God. The administra tion of the other Sacraments is also specifically assigned to vari ous orders. The same goes for Blessings and other liturgical cel ebrations. That the laity MAY be a s signed certain functions (which are very clearly and strictly speci fied) is a concession because of the shortage of priests in some regions, particularly in mission countries. The sam e applies to married deacons who by the way, are sacramentally ordained for the specific ministries. We do not have such ordained Deacons in Singa pore. It is hoped that these brief explanations will help. It does appear, however, that there is a need to study the various prac tices in vogue and provide some clear guidelines and policies.

Vincent

The arrangements you are refer ring to seem quite complicated and they are certainly best re solved at the level of your parish. I am sure that the Archdio cese of Singapore abides by the advice and guidelines of the Sec ond Vatican Council and all other teachings and pronouncements of the Magisterium of the Church.

From the P ew s: If you w is h to w rite to us, please include your full name, address and contact number.

e -m a il a d d re s s :

steeple@singnet. com.sg It g o e s e x c lu s iv e ly to th e Editor. S

C o n fid e n tia lity a s s u re d !

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL

Happenings at the CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

C A T H O L IC SERVICES D I R E C T O R Y C atholic N ew s Book & M edia, 6 8 5 8 -3 0 6 6 Fax: 6 8 5 8 -2 0 5 5 V illa Francis H om e for the A ged, 6 2 6 9 -2 8 7 7 Fax: 6 3 6 8 -4 5 0 5 S t T h eresa's H om e For T h e Aged, 6 2 5 6 -2 5 3 2 Fax: 6 2 5 6 -5 6 1 0 S t Joseph’s H om e, Sr M aria Sim 6 2 6 8 -0 4 8 2 Fax: 6 2 6 8 -4 7 8 7 nc00 7 1 b @ c y b e rw a y .c x 3 m .s g

By Mel Diamse-Lee

MIGRANT COMMUNITY Filipino Catholic Com m unity of Singa pore, Nelly Fam inialagao 9 8 3 1 -8 0 4 4 /6 8 9 3 -7 6 0 9 Francophone Catholic Community of Singapore (French-speaking Catholics), S abin e et A ntoine H uet Tel/Fax: 6 4 7 2 -5 8 4 0

The newly rebuilt Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Higland Road, under its Parish Priest Rev Fr James Yeo, was officially blessed and opened by His Grace the Archbishop of Singapore,

Christian Fam ily and Social M ovem ent, Francis T a m el M a n e 9 5 8 6 -9 9 3 8 , 6 79 2 -6 70 1

G erm an -sp eaking Catholics, 6 4 6 8 -1 5 3 4 Fax: 6 4 6 8 -2 4 0 2

the Most Reverend Nicholas Chia, on Wednesday 1 May 2002.

Fam ily Life Society 6 4 8 8 -0 2 7 8 w e b s ite : w w w . fa m ily life .o rg .s g

Hong Kong Catholics, 6 7 3 7 -9 2 8 5 Fax: 6 7 3 7 -8 5 0 2

Hours before it w as blessed, leaders and representatives of churches, tem ples, m osques and civic com munities in the Hougang a re a toured the church and its facilities. The church h as a seating capacity of 1,400 and its ancillary facilities include a Parish Centre which can cater to som e 700 catechism students, the presbytery (or p riests’ house and offices) and a columbarium with 5,700 niches. Fr Ja m e s Yeo, parishoner Cynthia Lee and Mr Michael Thio, Chair m an of the Parish Council, m ooted the idea of the visit to facilitate dialogue which, hopefully, would give rise to working together on com mon concerns, said Fr Yeo. P resen t at the visit w as Mrs Lee, M ember of Parliam ent for Paya Lebar Division. In her opening a d d re ss sh e noted that there are two m osques, four tem ples and five Christian churches in the area. S he also noted that many religious groups have provided community services to the residents, such a s student care centres, hom es for the ag ed and financial assistan ce. Since m any of their services are similar, they could synergise som e of their endeavours, sh e told CN. Mr Rhazaly Noentil, chairm an of the En N aeem M osque at the corner of Tam pines Road and H ougang A venue said: “It is good to facilitate understanding betw een the various faith groups. W e m ust carry on learning especially about religions, b ec au se the b est values com e from religions. He told the representatives that he p a s se d the church several times, wondering when he could “step into the place so I can know how they run it”.

YOUTH S e e p a g e 15

CHILDREN Morning S tar Fam ily C are Centre, 6 2 8 5 -1 3 7 7 Fax: 6 2 8 5 -2 7 1 5 G alilee C entre, 6 4 5 4 -0 5 2 8 Fax: 6 4 5 4 -3 1 6 7 Clem enti Children's C en tre, M s M aria S w e e 6 7 7 7 -3 8 9 3 ijh c c @ s in g n e t.c o m .s g Canossaville Children's Home, Sr Rose Low/Ms Anne Siew 6 74 8 -5 77 7 canossa@ pacific. net.sg M arian C en tre (before and after school care), 6 2 5 0 -0 8 7 7 M arym ount Boarding, 6 3 5 4 -2 2 4 5 / 6 2 5 3 -6 8 1 6 Fax: 6 3 5 3 -4 8 0 9 N azareth Special Learning C entre, S r A nne M ay C hua, F M M 6 2 7 6 -3 2 0 0 Good Shepherd Child C are C en tre, Ms H elen Ta n 6 2 4 2 -5 6 9 5 Fax: 6 4 4 8 -3 4 5 4

HANDICAPPED

Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore the Most Rev Dr Gregory Yong will be giving a series of 8 talks to introduce the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) The talks will be conducted on Fridays beginning 17 M ay 2002 preceded by Praise & Worship at 7:30pm and Mass at 8:00pm at the SFX Retreat Centre where His Grace is presently residing.

M aris Stella, Sr M arjorie Alm odiel, FM M 6 4 7 4 -3 5 9 0 Marymount Kindergarten, Petrina Siow 6 2 5 1 -5 04 9 Fax: 6 2 5 2 -6 79 0 4 S t Francis X a v ie r P lay C entre, M rs Em ily Goh Tel: 6 2 8 0 -8 9 2 9

His Grace the Archbishop of Singapore the Most Rev Nicholas Chia will be opening the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at the SFX Retreat Centre For further information on the above contact Tel.: 6288-7901.

ERRATUM In last issue’s article “Catholic Medical guild celebrates 50 years (CN, April 28-May 5 issue), we wrote that Redemptorist Father Edmund Dunn will deliver the lecture on Bioethics. This is wrong. Archbishop Nicholas Chia will deliver the lecture in honour of Fr Dunn. We are sorry for the error.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE Second A n n iv e rsary

F o u rth A n n iv e rsary

In loving memory of

In ever loving memory of

SOCIAL SERVICE

SPIRITU ALITY C en ac le, 6 5 6 5 -2 8 9 5 Fax: 6 5 6 5 -3 8 7 5 c e n a c le @ m b o x 4 . s in g n e t. co m . s g C en tre For Ignatian Spirituality and Counselling, Br G erard Choo, SJ 6 4 6 7 -6 0 7 2

Life Direction T e a m , S r Th ere s a Koh, FM M 6 4 7 4 -2 4 2 2 Fax: 6 4 7 2 -5 8 9 5 Sr Florence W o ng, F M D M 6 7 5 3 -9 6 0 2 / 9 2 6 4 -6 7 3 3

ARTHUR A D A LPH U S FE R N A N D E Z

Departed: May 15, 2000 We cannot forget you Our loved one so dear; Your memory grows Sweeter year after year. Fondly remembered by wife Luthgarth, sisters, brother and all loved ones. E leventh A n n iv e rsary

In loving memory of our beloved

T h e S ojourners’ Com panions, 9 2 6 8 -6 7 2 3 s o jo u m e rs _ c o m p a n io n s @ y a h o o . c o m

PROFESSIONAL Catholic N urses Guild o f Singapore, Miss Jan et C han Poh Goon 6 4 4 2 -8 5 4 6 Catholic Teachers' M ovem ent, M rs Gail Siow (R ) 6 4 5 4 -4 0 9 4 T h e Catholic M edical Guild o f Singapore, Dr John Hui Keem Peng jo h n h u i@ c y b e rw a y . c o m .s g

Catholic Audio-Visual C entre, 6 8 5 8 -3 0 7 7 Fax: 6 8 5 8 -2 0 7 7

C arlo C atholic Society, 6 3 3 7 -7 4 8 9 Fax: 6 3 3 4 -4 3 7 0 c a rlo @ c a m s .o rg .s g W e b s ite : h ttp ://w w w .c a m s .o rg .s g T h e C atholic N ew s, 6 8 5 8 -3 0 5 5 Fax: 6 8 5 8 -2 0 5 5 c a th n e w s @ v e rita s .o rg .s g C entral C om m odity Services ( R e ) Ltd, 6 3 3 7 -4 2 3 8 Fax: 6 3 3 9 -2 5 8 3 c c s 5 5 @ s in g n e t. c o m .s g H ai Sing Pao, M s C atherine Chia 6 3 3 7 -2 4 6 5 c a rio @ c a m s .o rg .s g W e b site: h ttp ://w w w .c a m s .o rg .s g Katong Catholic Book Centre Pte Ltd, 6 3 4 5 -1 4 1 3 Fax: 6 4 4 0 -0 2 7 2

A postolate of the M edia, 6 8 9 2 -1 6 3 9 Fax: 6 5 6 2 -5 8 5 7

SPECIAL SERVICES

JA N E T L IM B O O LA T

Departed: May 16,1991 In our home she is fondly remembered, Sweet memories cling to her name; Those who loved her in life sincerely, Still love her in death just the same. Always remembered by children, grand children, relatives and friends. In loving memory of

Catholic A ID S R esponse Effort (C A R E ), P e ter Lau 6 3 5 3 -4 9 7 6 , 9 7 4 5 -8 9 9 1

O Holy St Jude, apostle

R. C. Prison Ministry, Sr G erard F ernandez, R G S 6 2 5 0 -9 1 5 1 Fax: 6 2 5 0 -1 8 0 4

Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association Catholic Aftercare (Counselling) Service Com m ittee S A N A Co-ordinator: Tan Lee Hoon 6 7 3 2 -1 1 2 2 F a x :6 7 3 2 -4 5 6 4 A postleship o f the S e a (Catholic S e a m e n 's Mission), Fr R om eo Yu C hang, C IC M 6 2 7 1 -8 4 6 4 /9 7 8 3 -5 1 9 1 Fax: 6 2 7 1 -1 1 7 5 p o rtc h a p @ s in g n e t.c o m .s g W e b s ite : w w w .s te lla m a ris .n e t Gift o f Love H om e, Sr M A ndrianne, M C 6 2 5 1 -6 0 0 4 ‘R ose V illa’, 6 2 5 3 -6 5 5 6

S T E P H E N YAP C H O O HUAT

Departed: May 21,1986 Missed is the touch of your friendly hand, Gone is your kindness beyond recall; Gone to a world where peace and love Are given and gained by all. Always remembered by wife Elizabeth, daughters Judith and Joanna.

THANKSGIVING

Good S hepherd C entre, 6 7 5 5 -6 4 9 6 Fax: 6 7 5 2 -0 6 7 0

H eartville, Susan W illiam 6 5 4 2 -6 5 5 9 Fax: 6 5 4 2 -9 4 8 6

May 25,1918 to May 17,1998 In our hearts your memory lingers, Sweetly tender, fond and true, There is not a day, our dearest one, That we do not think of you. Dearly missed and forever cherished by wife Patricia, children, children-in-law, grand children and loved

In everloving memory of

LifeSprings C anossian Spirituality C entre, Sr Lily Ta n 6 4 6 6 -2 1 7 8 Fax: 6 4 6 6 -1 3 0 7 lifs p m g @ s in g n e t.c o m .s g S t Francis X av ie r M inor S em inary (S F X R etreat C entre), 6 2 8 8 -7 9 0 1 Fax: 6 8 5 8 2 7 1 6 s fx rc @ s in g n e t.c o m .s g W e b s ite : h ttp //w w w . c a th o lic , o rg. s g /S F X

PA U L M A R T IN

Sixteenth A n n iv e rsary

F irst A n n iv e rsary Bible C orrespondence C ourse in C hinese, Fr John Baptist Tou 6 3 3 7 -2 4 6 5

C hina Catholic Communication (Zhonglian C entre), Patrick Lee Kim H w e e 9 0 6 0 -5 0 8 0 /6 2 8 6 -1 8 2 6 m a il@ z l.p e r.s g w e b : w w w .z l.p e r.s g

* Saturday 1 June 2002

16-35 are welcomed. Enquiries email ypm singapore@ yahoo.com or call Melissa 9733-9976 / Thomas 96939199. Organised by the Youth Praise Ministry.

C atholic W e lfa re S ervices, M ichael C hua 6 3 3 7 -6 1 6 5 / 6 3 3 7 -7 9 5 4 Fax: 6 3 3 6 -1 5 1 3

Infant Jesus R etreat and Youth C entre, Sr G erard Lee 6 7 6 0 -2 4 6 1 Fax: 6 7 6 9 -9 3 6 9

M a g d a le n e ’s K indergarten, M ary Goh Boon H ow 6 7 4 7 -6 5 5 4

13TH YOUTH IN THE S PIR IT SEMINAR Theme: You are Mine. Date: 1 3 - 1 6 June. Venue: S FX Retreat Centre. Aged

China Catholic Communication, Patrick Lee Kim H w ee 9 0 6 0 -5 0 8 0 m a il@ zl.p er.sg

Ang M o Kio H om e, Sr Jo T h am 6 4 5 9 -4 8 0 1

C anossian C onvent K indergarten, Sr Jan e C hong 6 4 6 9 -2 2 0 1 Fax: 6 4 6 6 -1 3 0 7 c a n k d g @ s in g n e t. c o m . s g

* beginning Friday 17 M ay 2002

Jesuit R efu g e e Service, jrs@ je sre fsg .o rg Fr Colin Tan S.J. 6 46 3-6022 octsj@ singnet.com .sg

FM M H ouse of P rayer and Form ation, S r M ary C hua 6 4 7 4 -2 5 2 6

Nativity Church C en tre, 6 2 8 5 -6 1 9 8 , Fax: 6 2 8 5 -9 5 5 6 n a tiv ity @ p a c ific . net. s g

(near to Nativity Church )

T h e Commission for Migrants & Itinerant People 6 2 8 0 -5 4 2 4 or m ig ra n ts @ s in g n e t. co m . s g

C anossian School For T h e H earingIm paired, 6 7 4 9 -8 9 7 1 Fax: 6 7 4 9 -8 9 7 6

Good S hepherd K indergarten, Evelyn O ng 6 2 4 1 -1 8 0 2 Fax: 6 4 4 5 -3 6 9 2

religious and laity) Tuesday 14 May (9 am - 11.30 am ). “BETHSAIDA” Tuesday 14 May (7.30 pm - 10 pm). Venue: Novena Church, 300Thomson Road.

Korean Catholics, Esther You 6 2 4 2 -5 6 0 7

Franciscan R etreat C entre, 6 5 6 7 -9 77 1 Fax: 6 5 6 7 -9 7 8 6

Catholic K indergarten, M s Edna Ng Poh Tiang 6 2 8 3 -3 8 2 1 Fax: 6 2 8 4 -7 7 8 3 c a th k g @ s in g n e t. com . s g

- at SFX RETREAT CENTRE,

J ap a n e se C atholics, Kiyoko Jarnes 6 5 5 2 -4 0 6 0 ja m e s @ p a c ific .n e t.s g

Catholic Office for the H earing Im paired. Friar Rowland Y eo, O F M ro w la n d y e o @ h o tm a il. c o m

KINDERGARTEN

Members of the En Naeem mosque and other civic and religious leaders touring the newly completed Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

Indonesian-speaking Catholics, Josephine Handojo 6 2 3 5 -2 8 2 0

COMING UP

THE SEARCH FOR THE HISTORICAL JESUS Date: Monday 13 May (7.30pm - 1 0pm) The First Century of Christianity In Jerusalem (for priests, seminarians,

C A T H E R IN E ESB R A N

Departed:May 20, 2001 Through those long years of illness, suffering and pain Yet you never uttered a word of complaint All your suffering and pain you quietly bore Till God took you home to suffer no more. On earth, mummy, you gave us your best Grant her now Lord eternal rest. Always missed and remembered by all loved ones.

and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in times of need. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance. Help me in my present urgent petition. In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. St Jude pray for me and all who invoke your aid. Humbly in need of your intercession. Amen. Thank you for answering my prayers.

MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

IN MEMORIAM I I

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I In loving memory of

In loving memory of our parents

F o u rth A nn iv ersary

Second A n n iv e rsary

T h ird A nn iv ersary

In loving memory of

In loving memory of our beloved mother

In loving memory of

For:

T w enty-fifth A nn iv ersary

In loving memory of

• C o m p le te & d ig n ifie d fu n e ra l a rra n g e m e n ts by p ro fessional a n d c a rin g staff. • C a th o lic m a le & fe m a le s p e cia list e m b a lm e rs . Note: Female embalmer will attend to all female deceased.

• A ffo rd a b le a ir-c o n d itio n e d m e m o ria l c h a p e ls w ith m ic ro p h o n e , e le c tro n ic organ & a p p ro p ria te fu rn is h in g & lig h tin g . • A ll o th e r fu n e ra l-re la te d services in c lu d in g im p o rt & re p a tria tio n o f h u m a n rem ains. • N o o v e rtim e charges. • S pecial d is c o u n t fo r C a th o lics. • C a th o lic g u id a n c e c o u n s e llo r M s O liv ia Stravens Pg: 9 5 2 4 -9 9 4 0

Open 24 Hours

JO SEPH NATHAN

JO SEPH A. M ONTEIRO

C O LLETTE

Departed: May 21,2000 Departed: Sept 19,1993

D earest m um and dad, W hen som eon e you lov e b eco m es a m em ory, the m em ory b ecom es a treasure. W e m iss you very much. A lw a y s lov ed and rem em bered by children, and loved ones.

Departed: May 8, 1988 In our hearts your memory lingers, Sweetly tender, fond and true, There is not a day, dear father, That we do not think of you. Fondly remembered by wife Lilian, sons and loved ones.

NEO CH EN G GUM

Departed: May 22, 1998 The years may wipe out many things. But this they’ll wipe out never, The memory of those happy days Which we had spent together. Fondly remembered by family members.

G R A C E JO S E PH

Bom: 1914 Departed: May 20, 2000 Always remembered by all your loved ones. F o u rtee n th A nniv ersary

In loving memory of our beloved

T ER ESIN A M A R IE LA ZA RO O nee DIAS

Called home on May 14, 1999 Always remembered by sons. Jerry and Jeffrey and all loved ones. tn loving memory of

A L O Y SIU S E. FERN A N D EZ

Departed: May 20, 1977 Sadly missed but always remembered by Edna and loved ones. In loving memory of

In loving memory of

Blk 38, #01-527/531, Sin Ming Drive, Singapore 575712

Tel:

6451-4496

CASKETFAIRPRICE Tel: 6455-9909 Complete one-stop funeral arrangements Affordable air-con funeral parlours with facilities All funeral-related services including columbarium works, exhumation, import & export of human remains etc Embalming by qualified lady embalmer available

A U G U STU S LAURENCE P E R E IR A

RAPHAEL TAYE

JO H N BAPTIST FRANCIS WONG

AGNES LEE GUEK NGIN

IRENE ESTELLE WONG

Departed: May 19, 1996 Departed: May 24, 1981

Departed: July 11,1969 Departed: May 13, 2001

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.” A lw ays loved and missed by your children, daughters-in-law, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Time may heal the broken heart, Time may make the wound less sore But time can never stop the longing For the loved ones gone before.

Sixth Anniversary

A lw ays remembered by your sons, daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, relatives and friends.

R IT A W O N G W A I YU

Departed: May 22, 1996 Peacefully sleeping, Bom: Aug 9, 1952 resting at last, Departed: May 19, 1988 The world’s weary Jesus said “I am the troubles and trials are resurrection, and the past. life; he that believes In silence she suffered, in me though he were in patience she bore, dead, yet shall he live.” Till God called her Always remembered home to sufferno more. by Pat, family and Remembered loved ones. lovingly and prayerfully Mass will be held by husband, children at Church of the Holy grandchildren and Trinity, Singapore on relatives. May 19,2002 at 11 pm. In everlasting memory of

THERESA CHEONG N Y U K SIM

Departed: May 22,1991 God knows how much we miss her, Never shall her memory fade; Our loving thoughts ever wander, To the spot where she is laid. Always remembered by parents, husband, son, sisters and loved ones. Second A n n iv e rsary

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JOSEPHINE CHONG Departed: May 21, 1992 Dearest Mother from a distant land To be our Mum was the Almighty’s plan Tirelessly she laboured so we could have Not only the basic but also the best In sickness and pain she struggles still Her children in mind, payments and bills A Rosary each day she seldom missed For safety and guidance, mercy and peace Her prayer life was like a beacon light For us to emulate, to cherish and abide Ten years have come and swiftly gone Yet in our hearts she lingers on Eternal Rest Grant her, O Lord, Your mercy and love for her we sought. Fondly remembered by children, husband and loved ones.

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(beloved spouse of M rG.D.S’ Raman) Bom: Oct 7, 1928 Attained Glory: May 23, 2000 In our hearts your memory lingers, Sweetly tender, fond and true, There is not a day, dear mother, That we do not think of you. Deeply missed and cherished by Jennifer, Jacqueline, Jessica, John, Richard, Jerome, Justina and Nicole. Mass will be offered at Church of the Holy Family on May 23 at 6.15 pm.

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Departed: May 16,2000 A golden heart stopped beating Hard-working hands put to rest God broke our hearts to prove He only takes the best. We love you and miss you. Happy Mother’s Day. Your Children F irst A n n iv e rsary

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Departed: May 10, 1993 His smiling way and pleasant face Are a pleasure to recall; He had a kind word for each And died beloved by all. Some day we hope to meet him, Some day, we know not when, To clasp his hand in the better land, Never to part again. Dearly and deeply missed by wife Marie, children and grand children.

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Departed: May 12,1998 His helping hand was always first To render any aid he could; His voice was always raised in praise, His words were wise and good. Dear Father, since you went away, The ones you loved so true, Try hard to carry on the way We know you’d want us to. Fondly remembered by wife, children and grandchildren.

Departed: May 22,2001 “Our hearts are sore, As time goes by, we will miss you more, Your loving smile, your gentle face, No one can fill your vacant place.” A requiem Mass will be sung at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Highland Road, on Saturday May 25,2002, at 6.15 pm and thence to dinner at the Church canteen. Please treat this as a personal invitation. Please turn to page 13 for m ore “In M em oriam ” announcem ents and classified advertisem ents.

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 12 -M A Y 19, 2002

YOUNG CATHOLICS

The choice of the 12th apostle Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus knew he would become. Matthias was famous for promoting the necessity of the mortification of the flesh.

IF I w ere to ask how much you knew of the apostle Matthias, I would not be surprised to learn that many youths, and adults as well, would find that their minds draw a blank - apart from the fact that he w as a replacem ent for the apostle Judas Iscariot. I have always admired the apos tles, the chosen 12 who traveled St John the with Je su s during His life on earth. Baptist baptising Isn’t it amazing that God entrusted Jesus... this mission of building His Church St Matthias, along to a group of 12 simple m en? Yet with the apostles, se e how it has grown! That's the witnessed the power of God shining out in the way baptism, death He m akes His choice. and resurrection The Bible tells us that Jesu s of Jesus. chose 12 apostles: Peter, Andrew, He was a faithful Jam es, John, Philip, Bartholomew follower of Jesus (called Nathaniel in John’s Gospel), from the start. Matthew (Levi), Thomas, Jam es, Jude, Simon and Jud as Iscariot. after which Peter suggested the ing the 12th apostle. The number 12 w as significant. It way the choice w as to be m ade. He They had to find a way to know m eant com pleteness to the writers felt it w as important that the new who would be Je s u s ’ choice of the of the Scriptures as the 12 tribes of 12th apostle and they did it in the apostle w as som eone who had been Israel represented the whole of the a disciple of Je su s from the very way that Je su s had taught them Chosen People. beginning, from Jesu s' baptism by when they had to make important Luke tells us in the first chapter John until the Ascension. He could decisions - through prayer. of the Acts of the Apostles that after I hope that you, my friends, can then witness to Je su s' resurrection. Je su s ascended, the first important He m ust have followed Je su s, learn from this example of the apos task of the 11 apostles w as to find stayed with Him when He made tles. Just a s they prayed when they a replacem ent for Ju d a s.12 w as a enem ies, and believed in Him when were faced with an important deci significant number to the Israelites He spoke of the cross and of eating sion, learn to pray and ask God for and if the new Israel w as to come His body - teachings that m ade guidance w henever you have an from the disciples of Jesus, a 12th others stagger in their faith. important or difficult decision to apostle w as needed. As we know, two men seem ed So even while facing all kinds make. to fit this description - Matthias and One hundred and twenty people of worries, doubt, and danger, they Joseph called Barsabbas. The aposgathered to pray in the Upper Room, decided to se t their minds on find

Youth and the Internet The Internet has become so much a part of everyone's world but especially so, the world of youths today.

Unfortunately, whilst everyone tries to be technologically savy with co m p u ters and all that they can offer, and in particular that fascinating world of c y b e rsp ac e, w hat s e e m s to very lacking is an ed u cation to k eep p a c e with the technological ad v a n ce m e n t. E s sentially w hat is called for is m edia education in term s of how to develop a s e n s e of v alues which can govern this plethora of inform ation which th e Internet offers. This, essentially, is w hat the Pontifical Council for Social Com munication is urging in its recent docum ent on the "Church and the Internet", relevant extracts of which w e quote below. Hopefully the docum ent will not remain just a docum ent but will se t in motion, positive ste p s to achieving w hat is being recom m ended "Need for media education Young people in particular need to be taught “not only to be good

Christians when they are recipients but also to be active in using all the aids to com m unication that lie w ithin th e m e d ia ...S o , young people will be true citizens of that a g e of social com m unications

which h as already b egun” - an a g e in which m edia are se e n to be “part of a still unfolding culture w hose full implications are a s yet imperfectly understood”. Teaching about the Internet and the new technology thus involves m u ch m o re th a n te a c h in g techniques; young people need to learn how to function well in the world of cyb ersp ace, m ake discerning judgments according to sound moral criteria about what they find there, and use the new technology for their integral development and the benefit of others. Resisting peer pressure

The Internet is a door opening on a glam orous and exciting world with a powerful formative influence; but not everything on the other sid e of th e door is sa fe and w holesom e and true. “Children and young people should be open to form ation regarding m edia, resisting the easy path of uncritical passivity, peer pressure, and commercial exploitation”.

The young owe it to them selves - and to their parents and families and friends, their p asto rs and teachers, and ultimately to God to u se the Internet well.

Doing good or doing harm

The Internet places in the grasp of young people at an unusually early ag e an im m ense capacity for doing g o o d a n d d o in g h a rm , to th e m se lv es and oth ers. It can enrich th e ir lives b ey o n d th e d ream s of earlier g enerations and em pow er them to enrich o th ers’ lives in turn. It also can plunge th e m into c o n s u m e r is m , pornographic and violent fantasy, and pathological isolation. Young people, a s h as often been said, are th e future of society an d th e Church. Good u se of the Internet can help p rep are them for their responsibilities in both. B ut th is will n o t h a p p e n automatically. A tool for useful work

T he In tern et is not m erely a m edium of e n te rta in m e n t and consum er gratification. It is a tool for accomplishing useful work, and the young must leam to see it and use it as such. In cyberspace, at

least a s much a s anyw here else, they may be called on to go against th e tid e , p r a c tic e c o u n te r culturalism, even suffer persecution for the sa k e of w hat is true and good. □

ties knew that both th ese men had been with them and with Je su s through His whole ministry. The apostles knew that only Je su s could tell what w as in the heart of each of them. So after prayer they cast lots to discover God’s will and Matthias w as cho sen. He w as the 12th apostle and the group w as considered complete again a s they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately that’s the first and last time we hear of Matthias in the Bible. But let me share bits of infor mation about this apostle from other sources. According to the Bible Encyclo paedia, “Matthias” m eans “gift of God”. Rem em ber that you too, yes each one of you, is a “gift of God” to the people around you, the youths you m eet every day, your family and your neighbours. So learn to share the gift of God’s love by sharing your time, energy, love and concern for others. St Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other ap o s tles, w as not chosen by Je su s for what he already was, but for what

Je su s knew he would become. St C le m e n t’s r e c o rd s sh o w th a t Matthias w as famous for promoting the necessity of the mortification of the flesh with regard to all its sen sual and irregular d esire s, an important lesson he had received from Christ, and which he himself practised. Je su s too has chosen each one of you to becom e His follower and He has a special mission for you too. It does not m ean that just because you are young, you are not important in building the kingdom of God on earth. You too can witness to others, your friends at school and your neighbours, by the way you live your Christian values. In fact, I know of youths who have become Christians becau se they admired the good values and lifestyle of their Christian friends at school. The tradition of the G reeks tells us that St Matthias brought the faith to Cappadocia and the coasts of the Caspian se a and lived mainly near the port Issus. The sam e au thors add that he w as martyred in Colchis, which they call Ethiopia. The Latin Americas keep his festi val on the 24th of February. Let us rem em ber that Matthias w as elected not becau se of his worthiness but because he would one day becom e worthy. Je su s chooses all of us in the sam e way. What does Je su s want you to becom e? Have you ever disliked som eone new in your group? Try to se e your youth group as “incom p le te ” w ithout th a t new com er. Welcome any newcomer into your youth group this week a s som eone chosen by God. □ Fr Michael Sitaram is youth chaplain o f the Singapore Archdiocese. To con tact him, email: cathyctr@pacific. net.sg.

DIRECTORY FOR YOUTHS/YOUNG ADULTS Bakhita Search-lnn, Christina/Sr Veronica (6 3 6 7 -6 2 6 4 /6 4 6 7 -4 2 9 0 ) yscchris@ ya h oo .co m / canosis@ pacific.net.sg Boys' Town Fraternity, gaudette@ boystow n.org.sg Br Dominic Kiong 6769-1618 Fax: 6762-7846 Catholic Students’ Society University of Singapore, Mr Irving Teo 6296-0897 irvingteo@ catholic.org Nanyang Technological University Catholic Students’ Apostolate, NTU Branch: Mr Budi Susanto 9478-7827. National Institute of Education Catholic Students’ Aposolate (NIECSA), NIE Branch: Ang Mei Ling 96663234

Catholic Overseas Students Down U nder Adrian (9 83 6 5217) or Dennis (6274-2979) o r cosdu@ yahoo.com .au

Poverello Teen Centre, Sr Maria Sylvia Ng, FMM Tel/Fax: 6544-2603 jub2000@ singnet. com .sg

Choice, 9307-7752/96710767 choice@ cheerful.com

St Patrick House, (Boarding) Br Collin Wee, FSC 63455929 Fax: 6345-4635

Harvesters (6481-5912) www.harvesterscommunity.org info@harvesterscommunity. org Hosanna! Music Ministry www.hmmonline.org < http://www.hmmonline.org> contact Tammy 9747-8570. Infant Jesus Retreat and Youth Centre, Sr Gerard Lee 6760-2461/92947521 Fax: 7699369 srtlee@ yahoo.com Praise@Work Juliana 9 799-9184 or email w elcom e@ praiseatw ork. org

Youth Life-Line, 6252-6300 Fax: 6285-5311 Youth Praise Ministry Helen Lee (9029-0118) email ypmsingapore@yahoo.com. Young Christian Students’ Movement (Mandarin speaking), Mr Stephen Chia 6286-4166 95024549 Young Christian Workers (Mandarin-speaking), Maria Ng Kim Luang 6763-0137

I f an y o n e is thirsty, let h im co m e to m e an d drink. W h o e v er b eliev es in m e, stream s o f liv in g w ate r w ill flow fro m w ith in him . -J o h n 737-38 T h e w ater overflow s th ro u g h all the d w e llin g p la ce s an d fac u ltie s until reaching the body, it begins in G od and ends in ourselves. - St Teresa o f Avila Is G od calling you to a life o f prayer? Write: The Carmelite Friars (Singapore) Vocation Director Church of Sts Peter and Paul 225A Queen Street Singapore 188551

MAY 12-M A Y 19, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

Apostolate of the Media • continued from page 7

Venerable Father James Alberione, founder of the Daughters of St. Paul and aggregated institutes of the Pauline Family. Bom: 4 April, 1884 Died: 26 November, 1971

To d ate we have published GIVE HAPPINESS A CHANCE, a gift book raising people’s m orale and inspiring them to a happy life without all the s tre s s and the deadly d ise a se s of consum erism , g r e e d , s e lf - c e n tr e d n e s a n d individualism. Our second book w as MINI PRAYERBOOK, which contains the basics of prayer and of Christian living. Our third book w as HOLY LAUGHTER, which really delighted many people who have been asking for more of the sam e. We are about to publish the sequel to this laughing book which will be entitled INSPIRATION AND LAUGHTER. In the field of AV, w e have duplicated CDs from our Sisters in America. So far we have produced HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD, A LITTLE LOVE. MILLENNIUM. Then w e have em barked on the video ministry. O ur first video MARY OF NAZARETH w as a huge

su c c e s s in collaboration with the A rchdiocesn Audio Visual Centre. W e duplicated two videos of Saints For Kids. After this time, the video w en t into decline an d so w e changed to VCD. O ur V CD s a re m ostly for children b ec au se we saw the need for good and w holesom e material that parents can use for the spiritual formation of their young o nes. We produced three discs - volum es one, two and three of SAINTS FOR KIDS. Following this w e had two discs called PARABLES FOR KIDS, VOL I AND VOL 2. In the sa m e series we also produced ST FRANCIS AND HIS FRIENDS. Very soon we shall release our new VCD for children THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, a 72-minute film illu s tra tin g all th e te n c o m m a n d m e n ts in b e a u tifu l colours, modern dialogues in a

la n g u ag e th a t y o u n g ste rs can identify with. In this VCD there is em phasis on the harmony of races, so the ch aracters in the story are from the main races of the world. For this year there are other titles of b o o k s in th e p ip elin e for publication and w e hope and pray th a t o u r p u b lic a tio n s a n d productions can convey to our people here the Word of God d resse d in contem porary clothes and custom s, to impact their lives and lead them to the joy and p ea ce of Christ who h as com e on earth to give us Life and Life to the full. We are thankful for all the support and affection of many people here which have helped us on the way. And w e still need their en couragem ent and their support in our ministry and in our outreach to all th o se who long for the Lord.

Almost every w eekend we betake ourselves to a parish bringing the p a r is h io n e r s all th e sp iritu a l nourishm ent that is enclosed in the books and AV which we display for them in front of the church. Our A rchbishop Emeritus, th e Most Rev. Gregory Yong, understanding our apostolate and its benefit, often told us to persevere in this visitation of the parishes with our material b ecau se, at least, w e give people a ch an ce to encounter the Word of God. W e shall indeed strive to carry out this noble task so that more and more people can com e to know God, experience his love and mercy and lead lives to the full, the kind of life given by the R esurrected Christ, which alone can satisfy our yearning heart and fill it to the brim. Daughters of St. Paul

A new Gospel Forum • continued from front page In such a context, how are w e to cultivate that wisdom which com es not just from information but from in sig h t, th e w isd o m w hich u n d e r s ta n d s th e d iffe re n c e betw een right and wrong, and su stains the scale of values which flows from that difference? QUESTIONS FOR MISSION - personal contact

5. The fact that through the Internet people multiply their contacts in w ays hitherto unthinkable opens up w onderful p o ssib ilities for spreading the G ospel. But it is also true that electronically mediated relationships can never take the place of the direct human contact required for genuine evangelization. For evangelization always depends upon the personal w itness of the one sent to evangelize (cf. Rom 10:14-15).

How d oes the Church lead from the kind of contact m ade possible by th e Internet to the d e e p e r co m m u n ic atio n d e m a n d e d by Christian proclam ation? How do w e build upon the first contact and ex ch ange of information which the Internet m akes possible? - the great "divide"

There is no doubt that the electronic revolution holds out the prom ise of g reat positive breakthroughs for the developing world; but there is also the possibility that it will in fact aggravate existing inequalities as th e inform ation and com munications gap widens.

- the cause o f peace

Finally, in th e se troubled times, let m e ask: how can w e en su re that this w o n drous in stru m en t first conceived in the context of military o p erations can now se rv e the c a u se of p e a c e ? Can it favour that culture of dialogue, participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace cannot flourish? The

Church believes it can; and to en su re that this is w hat will happen sh e is determ ined to en ter this new forum, arm ed with the G ospel of Christ, the Prince of P eace. The face and voice o f Christ

The Internet c a u se s billions of im ages to ap p e ar on millions of com puter m onitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ em erge and the voice of Christ be h eard? For it is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the

purpose of evangelization. And this is w hat will m ake the Internet a genuinely hum an sp ace, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man.

SACCRE

The Holy Father's challenge

Therefore, on this World Com munications Day, I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross

with

this new threshold, to put out into the deep of the Net, so that now

Date Time Venue Theme

a s in th e p a s t th e g r e a t en gagem ent of the G ospel and culture may show to the world “the glory of God on the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). May the Lord bless all tho se who work for this aim. Sr. Briege M cken na

How can w e en su re that the information and com m unications revolution which h as the Internet a s its prime engine will work in favour of the globalization of human d e v e lo p m e n t a n d so lid a rity , objectives closely linked to the C hurch’s evangelizing m ission?

F ro m th e V a tic a n , 2 4 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 2 , th e F e a s t o f S a in t F r a n c is d e S a le s

Author of “Miracles Do

Happen0

JOHN PAUL II Note:

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