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Children on the Brink the warmth of a family of their own, they suffer many forms o f violence and arrogance from grown-ups”

T h e 27th S pecial Session of th e U nited N ations G e n e ra l A s s e m b ly w as r e c e n tly concluded 10 M ay, in N ew Y o rk . It w a s d e d ic a te d to Children and as w as befitting, a child, 1 3 -y e a r old Bolivian, G abriela A rrieta w as th e first s p e a k e r to a d d r e s s th e conference, (see photo).

(Letter to Children). T he P ope w arn s, h e co n tin u ed , th a t w e c a n n o t b e in d iffe re n t to th e suffering of so m any children. The Child's human dignity

S in g a p o re w a s r e p r e s e n te d b y Mr. C H A N S O O S E N , M inister of S ta te of C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t a n d S p o rts . H e sa id th a t S in g a p o re w a s a sm all u rb a n c ity -S ta te o f 4 million p e o p le - its survival lay in th e re s ilie n c e a n d ca p ab ility of its p e o p le . S in g a p o re w a s stro n g ly c o m m itte d to th e w ell-b ein g of 'ch ild re n , a s w itn e s s e d prim arily ,oy its a c c e s s i o n to t h e C o n v e n tio n o n th e R ig h ts of th e Child. M aking History

T h e S p e c ia l S e s s i o n fo r C hildren m a d e history, s a id Ms. C a r o l B e lla m y , S e c r e t a r y G e n e ra l of U N IC E F b e c a u s e ch ild ren w e r e n o t only s e e n but h e a rd . P rio r to th e s ta r t o f th e S p e c ia l s e s s io n a C h ild re n 's F o r u m w a s h e ld w ith t h e p articip a tio n o f 4 0 0 kids. At th e S p e c ia l S e s s i o n itse lf, 2 5 0 y o u th s w e re in c lu d ed in th e ir c o u n trie s ' official d e le g a tio n s . T he world te n d s to overlook the significance of children in the midst of other universal concerns, but if there is one concern that should be at the top of the list it is children b e c a u s e they are the future of th e world. Alarming issues

UN statistics put th e num ber of children in the world at around m ore than 2 billion. The statistics that follow are sa d and alarming. S om e 40% of children would not even have their births registered, 26% would not be imm unized

against d ise ase , 19% would not have a c c e s s to clean drinking water. 30% would suffer from malnutrition in the first five y ears of life, 17% will have no education at all, while, out of th o se who do begin education, only 25% will even reach the fifth grade. Apart from th e se very basic and tragic statistics which faced the Special S essio n 's deliberations another growing concern w as the significant n u m b e r of children involved in child labour, prostitution and even arm ed conflict a s child soldiers.

Christian concern

Participation of the Holy See.

The Letter to Children

T h e h e a d of th e Holy S e e 's delegation to the conference w as His Em inence Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, P resident of the Pontifical Council for the Family. A ddressing the A ssem bly at great length, he began by pointing out that children are a wonderful gift of God. "The Holy S e e w ishes to be ever faithful to the Lord's special predilection and te n d er love for children in the recognition and full resp e ct due to them."

Quoting from P ope John Paul M's Letter to Children during th e UN International y ear of the Family (1994), Cardinal Trujillo pointed out that the P o p e had denounced the suffering, d an g e rs and th reats of which children are victims: “They

Em phasizing the practical efforts of th e Church, he said: "Over the centuries, countless institutions and w orks in favour of children have g ro w n up in th e C h ris tia n c o m m u n itie s a n d re n d e re d a g e n e ro u s se rv ice in th e m ost d iv e r s e a r e a s : th e fam ily, ed u catio n , health, with special a tte n tio n to th e p o o r e s t an d neediest. T he fight against poverty, which strikes children so cruelly and sow s so many victims, is one fundam ental need."

are hungry and poor, they are dying from d is e a s e s an d malnutrition, they are the victims of war, they are abandoned by their parents and condemned to remain without a home, without

A rc h d io c e s e of S in g a p o re h o m e p a g e , V e rita s : h ttp ://w w w .c a th o lic .o r g .s g .

The Cardinal pointed out that full recognition of th e child’s hum an dignity an d of all children, a s im ages of God, from the m om ent of their conception, h a s been lost. This, he said, m ust be recovered. T he true m easu re of a society's g re a tn e ss is the extent to which the society recognizes and protects hum an dignity and hum an rights and e n su re s th e well-being of all its m em bers, especially children. A healthy society with a real human co u n ten an ce is in fact on e in which everyone recognizes the family a s the b asic cell of society and a s the m o st im p o rta n t p ro v id e r a n d edu cato r of children, a s proclaimed in th e Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The Best Interests of the Child

The UN sym posium of 2001 on "C h ild ren in A rm ed C onflict; E veryone's Responsibility spoke of "the B est Interests of the Child" a s a fu n d am e n tal criterion of ju d g e m e n t. C allin g it an en lightening criterion, C ardinal Trujillo, em phasized that "it should not b e suffocated or scoffed at by unjust laws." He pointed out that "it is a valuable criterion which h a s its roots in the child's personal dignity: th e child is an e n d , n o t an instrument, a m ean s or an object." T he child is the subject of rights, starting from the fundam ental right to life from conception. And this fact cannot be denied by anyone, a s stated in §9 of the P ream ble of th e UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

T h e p r o c e s s of h u m a n d evelopm ent in all its a s p e c ts p h y sic al, e m o tio n a l, sp iritu al,

intellectual and social - is the result of a synergy betw een the family and society. Only through their effective cooperation can children be protected from all harm, ab u se and oppression an d be equipped to sh a re and contribute to the c o m m o n g o o d of h u m a n ity . Achieving such developm ent is a great, on-going undertaking which m anifests the genuine spirit and the sta te of health of societies, and it offers appropriate rem edies for offences and need s. The need for family

T here se e m s to be a shift of thinking, at least in practice, from co n sid erin g th e family a s th e environm ent for th e well-being of the child. This is borne out by the increasin g n u m b er of divorces which n ec essita te the break-up of th is e n v iro n m e n t a n d m o re recently, the m ovem ent to sanction so -ca lle d "m arriag es" b etw e en m em bers of the sa m e sex, with so m e countries going so far a s to legalize adoption for such "couples" a s well a s for singles. I n this context the Vatican Chief of D elegation said: "The best interests of the child m akes it n e c e ssa ry for the child to have an a d e q u a te relationship with th e family, b ased on m arriage, the cradle and san ctu ary of life, the place for personal growth, affection, so lid arity , law a n d th e interg e n e r a tio n a l tr a n s m is s io n of culture. At the service of children, th e international community m ust be committed “to defending the value of the family and resp ect for hum an life from the m om ent of co n cep tio n . T h e s e a re v a lu e s w h ich b e lo n g to th e b a s ic ‘gram m ar’ of dialogue an d hum an c o e x is te n c e a m o n g p e o p l e s ” (Discourse o f John Paul II on the occasion of the Jubilee of Families,

O ctober 14, 2000). T h e r e f o r e , th e H oly S e e believes that th e rights of children # Continued on Back Page

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

MAY 2 6 -JU N E 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

Saga of Bethlehem 2002 In a terrible and painful tw ist of events, the scene of the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, became the scene of a new saga, this time, of conflict and siege that would last nearly 40 days. It ended on 9 May 2002, not without bloodshed. The scene - the Com pound of the Basilica of the Nativity which occupies the main section of the compound and which also houses, below ground level, the Grotto of the Nativity where there is a small altar at which priests can celebrate the Eucharist, if they are fortunate enough to get a booking. This Basilica of the Nativity is under the Orthodox Church. Adjoining the Basilica, is the Church of St. Catherine which is under the Catholic Church and looked after by the Franciscan Friars who also look after other Holy Sites. The Holy See played an active role in trying to get a settlem ent of the dangerous stalemate that dragged on for weeks, and the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II sent a special Legate in the person of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, to meet with the parties in the conflict. He returned to Rome without the siege ending. However, even after the siege has ended, the Holy See is still continuing its efforts to try to help bring about a lasting peace between the parties concerned.

Mr Simon Peres, (left) greeting his counterpart, Msgr Tauran. Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, is in the middle background On Friday morning, 10 May, Mr. Simon P eres, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs w as received at the Vatican by Vatican S ecretary of S tate, Cardinal Angelo S odano and met his Vatican counterpart, A rchbishop Jean-L ouis T auran, Vatican Minister of Foreign Affairs. While the meeting took place

the day after the sieg e of the Church of the Nativity ended, there a re still serious problem s which constitute obstacles to a true and lasting peace. T he m eeting took place in a cordial atm o sp h ere and provided an occasion for an ex ch an g e of ideas on the sa d sta te of affairs in

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The whole episode has given rise to renewed calls for international guarantees for respect for holy places of all religions and the patrim ony of humanity.

th e Holy Land and in particular the city of Bethlehem . T he role of the Holy F ather in bringing about an e n d to th e situ a tio n th ro u g h persevering dialogue betw een the p a r tie s with th e h elp of th e In te rn a tio n a l C o m m u n ity w a s noted. Also d iscu ssed w as the idea of an International P e a c e Conference which should result in very precise undertakings for an equitable and lasting peace.

A Franciscan Friar contemplates the damaged walls of the Basilica of the Nativity.

On S atu rd ay 11 M arch, His E m in e n c e C a rd in a l R oger Etchegaray. Special L egate of the Holy F ather returned to Jerusalem , after the end of th e siege. He presided the following day, S unday 12 May, in the ancient Church of St. C atherine at a solem n Eucharistic Celebration of praise, reparation for the violation of the holy places of worship and reconciliation and imparted to all th e Blessing of the Holy Father.

IC A

Greek, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church Dignitaries pray together in thanksgiving at the grotto of the Nativity after the lifting o f the siege.

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Cardinal Etchegaray giving Communion under two species by "intinction", by dipping the Body o f Christ into the Blood of Christ in the Chalice, during the Mass at the Church of St Catherine in Bethlehem.

On Sunday 12 May, following the usual tradition of the P o p es, the Holy F ather recited the "Regina Coeli" from the window of his office overlooking the g reat St. P eter's S q u are After th e recitation, he spoke briefly to the th o u san d s of pilgrims g ath ered below ex p re ssin g his g reat relief that the Basilica of the Nativity had been returned to God and the faithful. He th a n k e d all w h o h a d contributed their efforts to restore true religious identity to this holy place. "A special mention m ust be m ade," th e P o p e said, "of the Franciscan Community, the G reeks and the Armenian Orthodox monks,

w ho with g rea t sacrifice, have rem ained faithful custodians of the sanctuary." T he Holy F ather encouraged th e population of Bethlehem to pick up their lives again "with faith an d hope in God, who, in their land, had becom e so close to man." The Pope also referred to the presence of his Special Legate, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray who w as celebrating the Eucharist in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. T he Holy F ather concluded: "T h e u n iv e rs a l m e s s a g e of B ethlehem is this : love, justice, reconciliation and peace. On th e se b a s e s alone can resp ect for the rights of the p eoples of Israel and Palestine be built in reciprocal trust.

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL

NFP retraining MS MARIAN Corkill and Marie Marshell, teacher trainers from the World Organisation of the ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB) were in Singapore from May 6-9 to train teachers in the National Family Plan ning method. At the workshop held at a local hotel w ere 23 Singaporeans from the NFP service and 11 Malaysians led by Mr Chan Lek Lim, president of the NFP service of Malaysia. The Ausralians explained how to discern the fertile days from the infertile days of a woman in the daily charts of the cervical and vagi nal m ucus discharge in normal or long menstrual cycles, breastfeeding and pre-m enopausal cycles. They also dem onstrated the characteristics of charts of infertile women and that of women with cervical cancer and correlated these observations with the scientific work of Professor Erik Odeblad of Umea, Sw eden and Prof. Jam es Brown of Sydney, Australia. Ms Corkill has been an accred ited teacher of the BillingsOvulation Method (BOM) for 30 years and has trained teachers from many parts of the world. Ms Marshell has been an

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accredited trainer for 29 years and is currently the Coordinator of Training. Both have travelled to China on many occasions with Drs John and Evelyn Billings to train Chinese medical personnel all over China. In C hina, th e re a re so m e 200,000 couples using BOM and nearly 20,000 trained teachers. The Natural Family Planning Service has been teachingBOM in

the archdiocese since 1973. T each ers undergo specialised training and must p ass a test before being accredited. The service is introduced at marriage preparation courses and Engaged Encounter w eekends. For further information contact Family Life Society (6488- 0278; 62 8 5 53 1 1 , Em ail: fis@ veritas.org. sg or visit www. familylife.org.sg)

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Founder’s Day By Kwok Weng Yee

A R C H B ISH O P N ich o las C hia stressed the importance of focusing not only on the academ ic and sports achievem ents but also on the spir itual development of Montfort School students during his visit on April 27, the school’s 86th Founder’s Day celebration. Archbishop Chia, an Old Boy formerly known a s Holy Innocents 1 English School, said students need to learn to love and serve one another. He encouraged everyone at the event to rem em ber the words of the founder of the Gabrielite Brothers, St Louis Marie de Montfort: “Who will rem em ber me after death? What shall I leave behind that will last and inspire others?”

He shared his definition of lead ership with leaders of the school: “A leader knows the way, show s the way and goes the way.” After the parade inspection and march past, the archbishop joined se v eral p riests who w ere also Archbishop Chia ex-Montfortians, to view a multiblessed the mural media presenta inspired by tion of the life of Leonardo S t L ouis an d da Vinci’s noteworthy stu T he Last Supper’. dents from the p a s t an d th e present. The celebration concluded with the archbishop blessing the crucifix and a mural of the Last Supper at the school’s study area.

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MAY 2 6 -JU N E 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL

A Day of Rest (U C A N ) — S in g a p o r e a r c h d i o c e s e ’s com m ission for migrant w orkers h a s la u n c h e d a c a m p a ig n to en su re that all dom estic w orkers a re given a weekly day off. C a n o s s ia n S is te r T h e r e s a Seow , spiritual director of the Com mission for th e P astoral C are of Migrants and Itinerant People, said May 5, “In th e C hristian . tradition, the Bible tells the story of how God created the world and on th e seventh day he reste d .” T he day of rest is “for believers of any faith so that they can worship and offer thanksgiving to the source of life and giver of work,” the nun said at the launching of th e cam paign, “Let’s give our m aids a rest day.” S h e added, “R est is a time to rejuvenate.” More and m ore S ingaporeans now work beyond their normal working hours and expect their dom estic w orkers to do the sam e, s h e told th e meeting of 300 people who gathered for the post-Labor Day event. In her sp e ec h Bridget Lew, the com m ission’s chairm an, noted that m any d o m e stic w o rk e rs h av e w orked for “two to three years here without a rest day.” A rest day from work is n ec essary for the well-being of the body and the soul, sh e added. “Let S ingapore be a people w h o se hearts reach out to the millions who are forced by poverty to work o v e rse a s for a better life for their children and families. Let u s be mindful of their need for rest and w orship,” sh e said. Lorelei Baldeo, a d om estic worker, told UCA N ew s that all people “d e se rv e ” a rest day. S he said s h e s p e n d s her S un d ay s “sharing her talent in baking” with stu d en ts of the M adonna Skills C entre run by the com mission. O th e r d o m e s tic w o rk e rs

The Role of the Laity

S IN G A P O R E

Sr Theresa Seow expressed hope that the Rest Day campaign ‘augur well for employeremployee relationship’,

r e c h a r g e th e ir e n e r g ie s on S undays by meeting friends and relativ es, a tten d in g M ass an d participating in Bible study groups, sh e added. S ister S eow said th e p rese n ce of em b assy represen tativ es at the event indicates their country’s pride “b e c a u s e they have the capacity to offer invaluable serv ices by sending their people ab ro ad .” “It is important to rem em ber the dignity of p erso n s no m atter w hat job one is holding,” sh e said. G uest of honor Doctor Ong S eh Hong, a m em ber of parliament, a c k n o w le d g e d th a t th e contributions of foreign w orkers are “b o th s ig n ific a n t and invaluable.” “I read with pain and s a d n e s s ” the reported a b u s e s of dom estic helpers and a rem ittance scam th a t v ic tim iz e d C h in e s e construction w orkers, h e said, noting that authorities have com e down hard on perpetrators. He s tr e s s e d th a t e m p lo y e rs an d em ployees m ust cultivate trust and harm ony betw een them. He said it is important to be m indful th a t m an y difficulties e x p e rie n c e d a t w ork a r e th e

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product of poor hum an relations. “In th is r e s p e c t, I u rg e both em ployers and foreign w orkers to strive for mutual understanding,” he said. “G ood relatio n sh ip s do not com e by ch an ce but are the result of a conscious com mitm ent to ‘give and ta k e’ in daily living," he added. T he three-hour gathering w as o p e n e d w ith in v o c a tio n s by m em b ers of th e Inter-Religious Organization in Singapore. Various m igrant com m unities p rese n ted m odern and traditional song and d an c e num bers. Cyril D u m o n , a F re n c h em ployer of a dom estic helper, said th ere a re three compelling re a so n s dom estic w orkers m ust be given d ay s off. Firstly, they need it, he said. “D om estic w orkers need the rest to rech arg e their batteries for the w eek a h e a d .” S econdly, d o m estic h elp ers “need other m em bers of their own com m unities to sp en d quality time with,” to give and receive support from ea ch other and foster stronger relationships in the a b s e n c e of their own families, h e noted. Thirdly, giving the dom estic w orkers a day off benefits the em ployers, he said. “Having a maid fully recharged m akes her a better em ployee. S h e d o e s the job to the b est s h e ca n ,” he em phasized. R e p r e s e n ta ti v e s from th e e m b a s s ie s of India, Indonesia, M a la y sia , M y a n m a r, " th e Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand attended the event.

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Church of St Mary of the Angels

Priestly Ordination Deacon Ignatius Yeo, brother of Fr. Adrian Yeo will be ordained Priest at the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace on Monday 27 May 2002. The prayers of the Catholic Community are solicited for him as he takes this decisive step in the vocation to which God has called him.

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then I would notice w hat great value the priests had, ju st being th e re and leading the prayers. P e o p le n e e d G od a t th e s e m om ents (especially w hen it com es to the m om ent w hen their loved o n e s are lowered into th e soil or p u sh e d into th e furnace), and som ehow I felt that the priests w ere providing a tangible resp o n se to this need. I hold on to that experience even till now, an d therefore do not have any difficulty about going to the cem etery or crematorium . And I hope that our priests and lay w orkers in the p arish es will not deprive our people of this visible sign of God in their time of grief. I certainly hope and pray that other p arish es and districts a re not struggling with this matter, and th a t th ey a re not co n sid erin g preventing their priests from going to the crem atorium or cem etery, and more importantly, praying with our people there. The solution to this issu e is so simple and giving. Let us not lose sight of that!

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I refer to th e letter from the pew s with reg ard s to the “Role of the Laity” (dated May 12-19 2002). I concur with th e editor's resp o n se. Ministering to people is not a m atter of ‘who d o e s w hat’. It is more than just a role. It m ust not be forgotten that the funeral rite d o e s not end at the church, but at the crem atorium / cem etery. Therefore, I believe that the priest h as the rightful role to lead th e p ray e rs e v e n a t th e crematorium. This of course cannot be ad h ered to in situations w here th ere is a sh o rtag e of priests. In Singapore, I d o n ’t believe that we can claim that our priests a re too busy to be with their people at m om ents of grief. This brings m e to the point of fu n e ra ls an d m a rria g e s being o ccasio n s for evangelisation and r e - e v a n g e lis a tio n . A p r ie s t journeying with the grieving family is a far more important w itness value than a Well delivered serm on. Action sp e a k s louder than words. W hen I w as growing up in my hom e parish a s altar server, we u sed to follow the priests to the cem etery or the crematorium , who would lead the prayers there. Even

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

VATICAN

JENNIFER WEE “ ET jw e e @ c y b e rw a y .c o m .s g pg:97095056

Culture of Life Message to Buddhists

Feast of Vesakh 2002 D ear Buddhist Friends, 1. I am writing to you again this y ea r on th e occasion of the fe a s t of Vesakh to offer my hearty congratulations on behalf of the P o n tific a l C o u n c il fo r I n te r religious Dialogue. I pray that all our Buddhist friends throughout th e world m ay have a happy and joyful feast. 2. A ddressing this m e ssa g e of congratulations, I cannot but recall th e d r a m a tic e v e n t s of 11 S ep te m b er last year. Since then, people throughout the world have felt a new fear for the future. In th e midst of such fear, would it not b e our duty, as Christians and Buddhists, together with all people of good will, to encourage hope and to build a culture based on this hope in order to contribute to

a m ore peaceful world in the future? 3. W e a re living in an era m arked by g re a t technological pro g ress. This raises questions about the promotion of human values* and it is on this topic that

I w o uld like to s h a r e s o m e th o u ghts with you. One of the most important human values is doubtlessly the right to life, to be protected from the moment of conception up to the moment of natural death. However, it m ust

B U ILD IN G A N D T R A D IN G PTE LTD

be considered a serio u s paradox that this right to life is th rea ten e d p r e c is e ly by t o d a y 's h ig h ly a d v a n c e d tech n o lo g y . Such a

h u m an b e in g s a r e co n c rete ly realized. This would b e a w ay to c o u n te ra c t an d o v e rc o m e th e culture of d eath .

paradox has reached the extent of creating a culture of death, in which abortion, euthanasia, and genetic experiments on human life itself have already obtained or are on the way to obtaining legal recognition. How can w e not m ake

5. It is our common belief that respect for human life first inhabits people's hearts before it becomes a social reality. H ere I would like

to m ake special m ention of young people, w hose h earts are probably scan d alized by and suffer from th e tragic ev en ts they h av e s e e n a correlation betw een this culture with their own ey e s. An education of d e a th in w hich th e m o st particularly for the youth in resp e ct in n o c e n t, d e f e n c e l e s s , a n d for life should be o n e of our urgent critically ill h u m a n liv es a r e priorities. Through our respective t h r e a t e n e d w ith d e a th , a n d r e lig io u s c o m -m u n itie s a n d terrorist attacks, su ch a s th o se of institutions w e could d ev ise our 11 S eptem ber, in which th o u san d s own ap p ro ach to educating th e of in n o c e n t p e o p le w ere y o u th s o th a t s tro n g e th ic a l sla u g h te re d ? W e m ust sa y that convictions and a culture of life both of th e se are built on contem pt m ay prevail am ong them . Only to for hum an life. 4. The Buddhist teaching andth e d e g re e th at an eth ics and a culture of life will prevail in the tradition uphold respect for all w hole of society can w e h ope that sentient beings no matter how th e principle of resp e ct for life will insignificant they may appear. If b e en sh rin ed in so ciety 's attitudes e v e n a s e e m in g ly v a lu e le s s and laws. creatu re is trea ted with su ch care, 6 . D ear B uddhist friends, th e se how m uch m ore resp e ct is th ere a re th e th o u g h ts th at I wish to for th e hum an being, who, we sh a re with you this year. T o g eth er C hristians believe, is cre ate d in let u s look forward to th e future the im age and likeness of God with hope th at it will bring a m ore himself. T he dignity of th e hum an peaceful an d flourishing world for being and the rights th at flow from all. it have certainly b een a primary concern of C atholics in recen t tim es. It is precisely on this H appy feast! common respect for human beings that we Christians and Buddhists should build a culture of life, in

Cardinal Francis Arinze

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NO INVOLVEMENT On 15 May 2002, the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls issued a Press Statem ent to journalists accredited to the Holy See.

This followed reports th at have a p p e a r e d in th e In tern atio n al P re ss, in c lu d in g C a th o lic new spaper reports, concerning the involvem ent of th e V atican in financial s c a m s in th e United S ta te s. More than that, a num ber of law suits in the United S ta te s w here Martin Frankel, th e man found guilty of the scam , is serving tim e, have b een filed nam ing the V atican a s defendant, in attem pts to recover so m e of th e v ast su m s o f m o n e y th a t h a v e b e e n m isapproriated. The Declaration of Dr Navarro-Valls is as follows:

In re sp o n se to th e reports in som e n e w sp a p ers concerning th e in volvem ent of the Holy S e e in a financial scan d al in which Mr Mar tin Frankel is alleged to be a principal agent, I take this oppor tunity to dTarify w hat h a s already b een said on 01 July 1999.

le ss is the Foundation "St Francis of Assisi", w hose constitution and p u rpose are totally unknown to the Holy S ee. 2) At th e tim e of th e ev en ts, Msgr. Emilio Colagiovanni w as already a retired priest an d w as not holding any office in the Holy S e e . W hatever his involvement,, h e acted a s a private Italian citi zen. 3) T he Rev. P e te r Ja c o b s w as su sp e n d e d from sa c re d functions and dealt with by th e ec clesiasti cal authorities of th e A rchdiocese of W ashington sin ce 1983. 4) T he Holy S e e h a s neither recieved nor provided funds to th e aforem entioned F oundations, a s h a s b een sta te d by m e on 01 July 1999.

5) Having b een informed of w hat h a s taken place, th e Holy S e e categorically d e c la re s its to tal non-involvem ent with regard to 1) T he Foundation "Monitor th e se foundations, and h a s pro vided w hatever information it h as E c c le s ia s tic u s ” ("Ecclesiatical Monitor") of which Msgr. Emilio to th e P ro secu to r's Office of th e Colagiovanni w as th e P resident, S tate of Mississippi. w as estab lish ed in the Archdio c e s e of N aples in 1967, but is in Editor no w ay a V atican foundation; still - Vatican Press Reports

Talk of Resignation V oices a re beginning to be heard m ore loudly, talking of th e possibil ity of th e P o p e's resignation. The P o p e's deteriorating health h as prom pted such talk. The Holy Father is said to be suffering from Parkinson's D isease and acu te a r thritis. The voices now being heard, are th o se of Cardinals and Bish ops, and reports have a p p e a re d on News A gencies w eb sites and heard on international b roadcasts. In th e R evised C ode of C anon Law approved by P ope John Paul II himself in 1983, the P o p e is allowed to resign, but only of his own accord,"... freely made and

properly manifested, but it is not necessary that it be accepted by anyone, (c. 332, §2), which m eans that he cannot be d ep o sed nor p ressu red into doing so. T he last such c a se w as in 1294. T he Holy F ather himself h as not m ade any allusions to this possibility. On S unday 19 May, in his noon-day ad d re ss, h e thanked Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, D ean of th e College of C ardinals for his birthday w ishes (he turned 8 2 on May 18). Indeed, his program m e of visits to foreign countries still rem ains confirmed, as, for exam ple, his scheduled visit to Montreal, C an ad a, for World Youth Day. T he Vatican P re ss office re fused to com m ent, which only fuels even m ore speculation. Editor

Celebration of the Eucharist with preaching by Fr Joseph Gino Henriques, CSSR, at 6.00 pm in preparation for the Feast Day on the following dates: J u n e 6 , 2 0 0 2 (T h u rs d a y ) Ju n e 7 , 2 0 0 2 (F rid a y ) Ju n e 8 , 2 0 0 2 (S a tu rd a y )

*Public Transport Bus Services to C lem enceau Avenue (H aw P ar B uilding Stop) 64, 123, 139 & 143

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M AY 2 6 - J U N E 2, 2002

■ 1

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

CHILDREN'S CORNER

EDUCATION Wisdom of the Young

This quiz is open to children who are preparing to receive Holy Communion and are attending

classes at their Parishes.

2 It h a s to be the children s own effort and parents are ask ed to u se this a s an opportunity to teach the children the value of honesty.

In the light of the recently con cluded UN G eneral A ssem bly's Special S essio n on Children, it might be worthwhile to draw atten 3 Prizes will be aw arded to the first three correct entries to reach th e Editor AFTER Wednesday tion to this very important group of 29 May 2002, by e-mail to steeple(S)sinanet.com,sa. The first three correct entries will be based the world's inhabitants. P erh ap s it on the date and time as recorded in the "in box" . is an extension of the effect of the age-old a d a g e that children should 4 All that is n ee d ed to sen d the answ ers, is to u se the num bers of the clues a s indicated and sta te b e se e n an d not heard, that we the answ er for ea ch clue. find relatively sc an t attention being paid to children a s a group with very significant n eeds. 5 Children m ust give their full nam es, a d d re sse s, and the First Commuion C lass they are attending The very conduct of the G en at their P arishes. eral A ssem bly's Special S ession on Children w as an eye-opener. It 6 Do not forget to provide your OWN contact, otherw ise it will not be possible to advise you, if you m ade history that children them have won. All entries will be acknow ledged. selv es w ere not only observers, but w ere actually p articipants. 7 W inners, the first three correct entries, will be annou n ced in the following issue of the Catholic T here w as a p re-session for chil News, and. will be informed of how they can collect their prizes. dren an d youths w ere actually included in m any of the country delegations. The very first sp eak er at the sessio n w as a 13-year old Contest No. 1 (1st Comm.) girl. In any other circum stances, it Sacraments in Life would se e m absolutely imperative to include m em bers of various ■ groups in any dialogue or consul ■ CLUES tations during which decisions are to b e taken which concern any or ■ ■ Across: all of the parties. Yet w hen it com es to th e concerns of children, it a p p ea rs that this w as the first time 2. If you are not a boy, you will n ever be ■ ■ that children w ere actually involved able to g et it, ev en if you w anted to. and listened to. 5. You can receive this even a s a baby It w as interesting to h ear the strengthened 7■ W ith______you are ■ ■ ■ .. ___ feedback of the children partici to b ea r w itness to Je su s . ■ ■ ■ pants after the conclusion of the Down: sessio n . They rem arked with su r prise that while they w ere able to a g r e e am o n g th e m se lv e s an d 1. W h en you a r e n a u g h ty you n e e d com e to concrete proposals con 3. cerning the rights of children and You a re preparing for this. 4. how to a d d re ss m any of the impor Mummy and D addy received this. tan t issu e s that affect children W hen you a re seriously ill, you m ay ask around the world, yet th e adults for this sacram en t. w ere not able to a g re e am ong T h is c r o s s w o r d p u z z le w a s c r e a t e d b y C N e w s th em selv es nor com e to concrete w ith E c lio s e C r o s s w o r d . proposals, contenting them selv es ) C o p y r ig h t 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 2 b y G r e e n E c lip s e S o ftw a r e . with referring m atters till later, for decisions. W e would do very well to learn P rizes for C ontest 1 (1st Com m.) are very kindly spo n so red by th e Daughters of St Paul who operate so m e le sso n s from this recent UN G eneral A ssem bly's Special S e s the Apostolate of the Media (Media Shop) at St. Joseph's Church, Bukit Timah. sion. Children are a very important Tel: 65608003; e-mail: Pauline.fep@pac/ffc.net.sa "factor" to consider in any a re a of

the world's deliberations. It is the children of today who will inherit the world that is being sh a p ed by the adults of today. It is their future that w e are making or break ing with our decisions. It is particulalry in th e a re a of education, that the decisions we a s adults m ake are going to affect children the most. It is their ed u cation that w e are talking about. It is their formation that we are talk ing about. It is their future that is at stak e and which is going to be largely determ ined by how w e go about educating them . For that matter, everything w e a s adults decide upon will have a far g reater im pact on th e next generation rather than on our own imm ediate future. Yet, how much do w e involve them in the decision making proc e s s that is going to affect them , not us? Of course, w e a s su m e that we a s adults know better, since we have a longer ex p erien ce - of undoing w hat our forefathers have done, perhaps, and which we are now repeating for the future adults in the p erso n s of the children of today. ■ P erh ap s w e should seriously begin to take ste p s to s e t in place, various m echanism s though which w e can seriously listen to the ideas and aspirations an d ideals of the children of today. P erh ap s we .should se rio u sly give th e m a ch an ce to formulate practical plans to ad d re ss their own concerns. W e might be surprised that the children have rather different views from us adults about th e w ay they th em selv es feel they should be going. Of course, w e might have to u s e g ag re stra in ts for our m o u th s, to p re v e n t o u rs e lv e s interuupting them repeatedly and telling them how ridiculous and unworkable their id eas are, and how they lack the y ea rs of ex p e rience that w e have, and how wet behind the e a rs they are!

B van Renesse

FAMILY

Holidays are in! The m id-year school holiday h as com e around once again. It could be the b an e of so m e parents, who don't have the children "out of the way" and perhaps, "out of trou ble's w ay a s well" - it could also be a m onth's respite from dragging oneself out of bed at so m e un earthly hour for p are n ts who drive their children to school in the morning. Be that a s it may, it is hoped that for the whole family it will be a month w hen the family m em bers can have m ore time to interact a s a family. The way things a re so m e tim es, o n e w onders w hether so m e parents even rem em ber that they have children or the other way around, w hether so m e children rem em ber that they have parents! It's no fault of either, often enough, b e c a u se both p arents and children are so caught up with their work an d their respective sch ed u les are such that they may hardly get to s e e ea c h other. Family life might well have got to the point that all it m ean s is little m ore than th e title of a certain local sitcom!

W hatever the situation may be, the m id-year school vacation is a good time for families to take stock of th em selv es a s families and look into the possibilities that p re s e n t th e m se lv e s to co m e closer together. Effort will be required on the part of all, if anything is to be a c h ie v e d . T h e o p p o rtu n ity prese n ts itself, but the will to sacrifice o n e's desire to do o n e's own thing h a s to be m ade all round. Simple things like m eal tim es could be adjusted to en ab le the family to sit down together, if this h a s been next to im possible to achieve during school term. Family entertainm ent at hom e could provide ano th er opportu nity to be together. Vacation trips a s a family could b e yet another possibility. The constant com plaint about parent-child relationship, particu larly in fam ilies with te e n a g e children, is that they can't se em to understand ea ch other and find it difficult to relate. The

blam e is often put on th e so-called "generation gap". The fact of the m atter is that th ere h a s alw ays been and alw ays will b e a "generation gap" betw een p aren ts and children - of necessity! O ne certainly can't expect p aren ts and children to be of th e sa m e a g e and generation. The problem is not a question of ag e, but a question of effort to be m ad e to u n d erstan d w hat ea ch "party" is going through in life. U nderstanding betw een "parties" , however, can only be bridged by "dialogue". This is much touted now adays to bridge g a p s betw een various social groupings, be they on the b asis of nation, race, religion or any other such elem ent. T here is no reaso n to believe that such a m eeting of minds and und erstan d ing of concerns and issu es should not be striven after betw een m em b ers of families. At societal level, this dialogue is usually conceived of in term s of formal levels of contact, contrived and arranged. O ne wonders, though, w hether this is the b est approach. It a p p e a rs from experience that infor

mal mingling together, working to geth er on com m on projects and generally living side by side with ea ch oth er produces m ore effec tive and practical understanding betw een groups than the contrived and formal forms of "dialogue". The sa m e g o e s for family dia lo g u e . C o n triv e d a n d fo rm al attem p ts at dialogue might not prove effective in bringing about better understanding and inter-re lationship betw een th e various m em bers of a family. Rather, the effort of ea ch m em ber to sp en d time living daily life to g eth er is m ore likely to en g e n d er a s e n s e of clo se n e ss and understanding of o n e another. In our local context of S inga pore, life se e m s to have becom e very high-pressured an d hectic for all. P aren ts are under p ressu re at work and children of all a g e s are under p ressu re to achieve. If they a re still at so m e level of their formal education, studies and ex a m in a tio n s a r e th e ir g r e a te s t so u rce of pressure. If they have com pleted their education, then

getting a job and making good in it b eco m es an even g reater p res sure. In this sort of situation, even g reater effort will be required hopefully, this will not constitute a new so u rce of p ressu re - if the m em bers of families are to com e to a g rea ter d eg re e of family con s c io u s n e s s . P e r h a p s w e ca n su g g e st that if a b etter relationship could be achieved betw een m em b ers of families it will help all concerned to cope better with the p ressu res of life that all are ex p e riencing. It is not that better family relationship will eliminate the p res su re that the individual m em bers are under. W hat d o e s help on e to co p e is to be able to talk about o n e's p ressu res and concerns with others who are, at the very least, sym pathetic listeners. T h ere's nothing like coming hom e and being able to talk freely about o n e 's frustrations, failures an d achievem ents of the day to people who are sym pathetic. It d o esn 't provide solutions, but it d o e s get things off o n e's chest! □

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

REGIONAL

Vatican III ? By G erard O ’Connell, Special C orrespondent in Rom e V ATICAN C IT Y (UCAN) — A

J a p a n e s e a r c h b is h o p a t th e Vatican w as am ong more than 30 other bishops w ho signed a public petition calling on P ope John Paul II to convoke the “Third Vatican Council.” T he petitioners sa y such an ecum enical council would help the Catholic Church respond to “grave c h a lle n g e s fa c in g h u m a n ity ,” especially in situations of extrem e p o v e rty a n d “in a ra p id ly transforming and increasingly more interconnected world.” They su g g e st using modern m ean s of com m unication to start “a participative and conciliatory council process, beginning at the local and continental level” that would g en e rate “th e material for d e b a te a n d d e c is io n s by th e council.” A rchbishop S te p h e n Fum io Ham ao, president of th e Pontifical Council for the P astoral C are of Migrants and Itinerant People, told UCA News at the Vatican that he signed the petition b e c a u se “there a re so m any new realities since the S econd Vatican Council of 1962-65.” Archbishop H am ao, o n e of the few Asian officials at th e Vatican, s e e s a g reat need for th e council to a d d r e s s b io e th ic s, g e n e tic engineering, problem s of refugees, m igrants and the militarization of the world. “T here are m any challenges facing the Catholic C hurch,” he said, adding that the Church h as to decide on several important,

am ong them moral issu es. A rchbishop H am ao, form er bishop of Y okoham a who had served a s president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, w as a m o n g th e s ig n a to r ie s th a t included other bishops, mostly from Latin America. The Vatican official said synods of bishops are inadequate. Having participated in five sy n o d s since 1983, he noted for exam ple that participants “a re alw ays repeating the call for the recognition of the autonom y of th e local Church from the Holy S e e .” “They feel they should not be controlled from Rom e, b ec au se here they cannot understand the lo c al c u s to m s , la n g u a g e s , situations and so on,” h e said. T h e b is h o p s from lo cal C hurches w ant to b e able “to d e te r m in e th e tr a n s la tio n of liturgical te x ts into th eir own la n g u ag es,” he said, adding that this h as not happened. He recalled how it took the Vatican 18 y ea rs to approve the J a p a n e s e text of the M ass for children p resented by the b ishops’ conference, even though it w as a “very good te x t.” T he Vatican should recognize such an effort, he said. According to A rchbishop Ham ao, there is “excessiv e centralism ” in th e C hurch w h ere “everything should be controlled by the Holy S e e .” Working in the Vatican since 1998, he said he noticed the lifestyle th a t p rev ailed am o n g ministers and concluded that the Catholic Church should simplify th e lifestyle of the bishops and

cardinals, including the d re ss for religious cerem onies. “This is not the Church of th e poor,” h e said. F re n c h C a rd in a l R oger E tchegaray, former president of the Pontifical Council for Ju stice and P eac e, also called for a third V a tic a n c o u n c il d u rin g th e Consistory of Cardinals in February 2002, but said, “I feel very few w ant it.” At th e S e c o n d S y n o d of Europe, Italian Je s u it Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan m ade the sa m e call but said he “did not get much support.” “I think w e m ust have a Third Vatican Council to decide things, b e c a u se th e synods of bishops cannot d ecide anything, they can only m ake proposals,” he said. “T he synods are only consultative, and even the apostolic exhortation which the Holy F ather issu es after the synod is not binding.” A rchbishop H am ao ex p re ssed hope that many bishops worldwide will support th e call. W hen Pope Jo h n XXIII co n v o k e d V atican Council II, m o st p eo p le w ere ag a in st th e idea, he said, but though aging, the late pope had the “co u rag e” to go ah ead . At Vatican Council II, m ost b ishops rep resen tin g Asia and Africa w ere of E uropean origin, but this would not b e the c a s e if a council w ere held to d ay , th e archbishop said. “I think it’s n e c e ssa ry to have a new council,” he said, “b ec au s e w e need to have decisions m ade by th e authority of th e C hurch.” “W e need to decentralize and simplify. T hat is important,” he ad d ed . □

Children Blind to Hatred BY Binu Alex AHMEDABAD, India (UCAN) — H indu girls helping visu ally impaired Muslims to write exams shows that humanitarianism still survives in riot-torn Gujarat.

T h e y w ro te th e e x a m s ag a in st a backdrop of violence th at h a s officially claim ed about 1,000 lives in the w estern Indian sta te since early March. However, o ther so u rc e s sa y th e d ea th toll h a s rea ch ed m ore than 2 ,000 . D u rin g th e e x a m in a tio n , Trivedi and Talati read out the q u estio n s to Hamid and P athan an d w rote down the a n sw e rs the Muslim stu d e n ts dictated. T heir c o u n te rp a rts in dark g la s s e s said they w ere indebted to th e girls for their help. “I really d o n ’t know if they e v e r thought of an y com m unity anim osity while helping u s,” P athan said. “T h e c h ild r e n ’s g e s t u r e s show ed th e failure of right-wing Hindu groups to inject hatred in th e yo u n g ,” said R anchodbhai Soni, a Hindu te a c h e r in a school for the visually challenged. J a su b h a i Kavi, principal of the

se co n d a ry section of th e Blind P eo p le’s A ssociation, said Hindu stu d e n ts braving hostility to help Muslims show s th at their minds a re “still innocent and untouched by the poisons injected on a daily b asis ag a in st o n e com m unity.” In all, 20 visually challenged stu d e n ts a p p e a re d for th e ex am s that w ere postp o n ed twice and b o y c o tte d by m o s t M uslim stu d en ts, a s they w ere afraid to go to th e exam ination cen ters. T he Hindu h elp ers said they had to overcom e their p aren ts' a p p re h e n s io n s , a te n s e a t m o sp h ere and an o p p ressiv e 42d e g re e C elsius h e a t to go to the exam center. T h ey did n o t d is c u s s th e o n g o in g v io le n c e w ith th e ir Muslim friends, but sh a re d th e learning e x p e rie n c e s, said Talati, 14, w ho is to write th e sa m e exam next year. Talati told UCA N ew s th a t m any visually d isab led s tu d e n ts h av e b e c o m e h er friends. Kavi of th e Blind P e o p le 's A ssociation told UCA N ew s that even during normal time, writing ex a m s for so m e o n e e ls e “is a

tough job” a s the volunteer h a s to w ork h ard to p ut s o m e o n e ’s dictation on p ap er. For this, he a d d e d , th e writer n e e d s good handwriting, patience, sp e e d and ab o v e all concern for e a c h oth er a s hum an beings. A ccording to him, th e girls are m o re so c ia lly c o n s c io u s an d e n c o u r a g e th e ir f rie n d s a n d relatives to work a s volunteers. T he principal said th e visually im paired a re “u n ite d ” by their disability an d nev er differentiate b etw een com m unities or ca ste . “T h e h a n d i c a p p e d a r e v e ry sensitive and k eep th e m se lv es aw ay from anything th at disturbs their p sy c h e,” h e ad d ed . Hindu te a c h e r Soni said sh e b elieves th e writing e x a m s for the visually d isabled cultivates social in te g ra tio n a n d resp o n sib ility , b e sid e s teaching brotherhood and co ex isten ce. He blam ed the minds “infected” with s e c ta ria n p o iso n for th e continuing violence in th e native sta te of M ahatm a G andhi, India’s fath er of th e nation, revered th e world o ver a s an ap o stle of p eace.

Professional Training Needed HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam

(UCAN) — T h e h e a d of th e children's ministry of Ho Chi Minh City arch d io cese h as called for professional training for catechists to help Catholic children grow in their faith. In the past, p arishes w ere short of c a te c h ists so they paid no attention to screening them , said F ather Jo se p h Pham Due Tuan, adding that today, however, the situation is better “so we can screen and train” candidates. T he head of the Com m ittee for Children Ministry said catechists m ust not only have know ledge of catechism but also ex perience of living out their faith, a s well a s the ability and tech n iq u es to proclaim the word of God. “Teaching catechism to children is a vocation God grants to a number of people,” Father Tuan told UCA News, asserting that not all people are called to be catechists. F ather Tuan, also pastor of Thai Binh parish, noted that many catech ists are highly ed u cated but have difficulty talking and relating with children. “W e will try to find volunteers, and select and train them to be catech ists for children,” he said. T he main aim of ca te ch e sis is internalizing and living out the word of God, he explained, stressing that the arch d io cese m ust help catech ists achieve this. C atechists m ust also s e t a good exam ple to

their students, he added. T he priest stre s se d that the relationship betw een catechists and students should be that of the sa m e believers who sh are with each other their faith experience, and not that of th e teach er-stu d en t model a s in a classroom . P arents, on the other hand, m ust support the religious formation of their children, F ather Tuan said, noting that so m e parents force their children to concentrate only on their regular studies. H e a ls o n o te d th a t m an y parents think it is enough for their children to go for catechism c lasse s only for their first Communion and Confirmation, and so m e even think catechism is “u se le ss .” Among o th er problem s, the priest noted that so m e schools are s o a n ti-C h u rc h th a t C a th o lic stu d e n ts d ev elo p an inferiority complex. He also said that som e parishes lack classro o m s and other facilities to conduct catechism classe s. The arch d io cese is selecting catech ism handbooks, h e said, noting that th ere are now many handbooks which are not consistent with the arch d io cese’s orientations. According to the statistics of the Vietnam B ishops’ C onference, Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese has 508 priests, 3,867 Religious, 58 s e m in arian s, 2 5 3 sem inary candidates, 5,023 catechists and 558,577 Catholics.

At Mountain Kingdom K A T H M A N D U (U C A N ) — T h e A postolic N uncio to N epal h a s exhorted Catholics to p ersev ere in their faith during his seco n d visit to th e Hindu kingdom. Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri to ld 5 0 0 p e o p le g a t h e r e d a t K athm andu’s Assum ption Church May 12, “Today, th e fea st of the A s c e n s io n , is th e f e a s t of en co u rag em en t.” T h e n u n c io r e m in d e d th e parishioners of th e pioneering spirit of th e Capuchin fath ers who had com e to Nepal in th e 18th$±entury “to fulfil J e s u s ’ call to sp read the G ospel am idst g reat difficulties.” “You ex perience opposition and difficulties a s you go ab o u t your m inistries in N epal,” he said. “But, a s mentioned in Acts of the Apostles, if God is for u s who can b e ag ain st u s? I a s s u re you that the universal Church is with you in your struggle

to grow here. I bring you the affection and love of the Holy F ather.” Citing P ope John Paul M’s World Com munication Day m e ssag e , he em p h asized the need to “proclaim th e G o sp el by utilizing m odern instrum ents of com m unication like the Internet correctly.” Archbishop Baldisseri, who is a lso A postolic N uncio to India, e x p re ssed his regret at not being able to visit Nepal a s often a s he would like, m entioning “pastoral re a so n s of having to visit m any Indian d io c ese s” and “m any other re a s o n s” to explain why his time w as limited. T he nuncio, who is b ased in New Delhi, w as in Nepal to represent the Holy S e e at the 26th United N a tio n s F o o d a n d A g ricu ltu re O rganization’s Regional Asia and Pacific M eeting that started May 13.

N o rth K o re a n V is it PYONGYANG - NORTH KOREA

An official visit w a s m ad e to the D em o cratic R epublic of North K orea, by two V atican Officials o n 14 M ay, M sg r C e le s tin o Migliore, U nder S ecretary of S tate and M sg r L u is M a ria n o M ontem ayor, C o u n sello r ot th e N unciature of th e S e c re ta ria te of S ta te (at o n e tim e First S e c re ta ry to th e A p o s to lic N u n c io to S in g ap o re). This w as th e sixth such visit by a D elegation of th e Holy S e e to North K orea and underlines the solidarity that the Holy F ather feels with th e North K orean people.

T he visit se rv e s to give continuity to th e relations th at have been estab lish ed with th e governm ent a u t h o r i tie s of Pyongyang, particularly with th e Ministry of Foreign Affairs. W hilst in P y o n g y a n g , th e D elegation of th e Holy S e e held ta lk s w ith o ffic ia ls of th e "Association of C atholics of North Korea" an d celeb rated th e F east of th e A scension of th e Lord in th e Church of C han C hung with th e Catholic Com m unity there, to g e th e r with m em b ers of th e international community. - Vatican Press.

MAY 2 6 - JUNE 2, 2002

TRINITY

The Texts:

FAITH IN LIFE

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

■ body

and BLOOD of CHRIST

May 26

JUNE 02

T H E T R IN IT Y O F L O V E

T H E B R E A D O F L IF E

1 Rd: Ex. 34:4-6,8-9 2 Rd: 2 Cor 13:11-13

R esp: Dan 3:52-56 G ospel: Jn 3:16-18

The Texts: 1

Today, the Church ce leb rates the Feast of the most Holy Trinity of God - th e d e e p e s t m ystery of our faith, since it concerns the innerm ost nature of God himself - how God is one, yet, at the sa m e time, three divine

Rd: Deut 8:2-3. 14-16 2 Rd: 1 Cor 10:16-17

Resp: Ps 147 G ospel: Jn 6:51-58

First Reading: recalls the ev en t w hen God fed the people of Israel with m iraculous food. They would b e constantly reminded of fidelity to God

who had delivered and sav ed them . Do not forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. The connection with the E ucharist is obvious. W hen Christ instituted the Eucharist he precisely told his apostles: Do this in memory of me.

persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - each of them fully God and yet not three gods, but one God. T he texts of the R eadings in today's M ass

give us a good insight into the nature of God. First Reading : This d escrib es God in the w ords of M oses, a s "a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness". Israel certainly should have realized the g o o d n ess and

Responsorial: (Ps 147) in praise of God who established Israel a s his

own people.

W e are the New people of God.

forgiveness of God. God had done syuch g reat htings for them and yet they had often sinned again st Him. Ju st a s often a s they had sinned, however, they also repented and experienced th e forgiveness of this God whom they had offended.

Second Reading: refers to communion with the Body and Blood of Christ. S t Paul points out that since w e all sh a re in this sa m e

Responsoria:. ( Dan 3:52-56) This is taken the Song of the Three Young Men, and sings th e praises of God, the Lord of all creation. "To you glory and praise for evermore."

Sequence: O nce again w e have this special hymn for certain bigfeasts.

com munion, then, it m ean s that w e too are on e body, underscoring the unity that should exist betw een th e m em bers of the community.

It highlights the whole redem ptive action from the Sacrifice of Christ on th e C ross (Good Friday) to the R essurrection.(E aster)

Second Reading: This is from a letter to be read at the celebration of the E uchairst in one of P aul's com m unities. He exhorts them to imitate the Trinity they worship. To God the F ather is attributed love, to th e Son Je su s, is attributed the g race of salvation while to the Holy Spirit is attributed fellowship. It is this fellowship and love that is sym bolized in the "Kiss of P eace" in the Eucharist just before the Com munion, again th e expression and reality of our union in and with Christ.

Gospel: is closely linked with the significance of the First Reading. T here is how ever a g reat difference. The food given to Israel sav ed them from physical death, but th e food given to us in the New Testament in the Eucharist, gives us eternal life. As Christ put it, in reference to the m anna in the d esert of the Old T estam ent: This is the bread come down from

heaven: not like the bread our ancestors ate.

The Prayers: The full significance of the M ass, in sum m ary, and with their connection with the S acred Triduum of Holy W eek, is contained in th e th ree Prayers:

Alleluia verse: Our well known prayer: "Glory be to the Father, and

to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

- Opening:... "you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering

Gospel: J e s u s himself describ es God a s a God of love and mercy.

"God loved the world so much", he says, "that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life." "For God sent his Son into the world," he continues, "not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved."

and death". ..the reality: ..help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the Kigdom" (Good Friday)

It is again the love and mercy of God which are exemplified in the sacrifice of J e s u s his Son. □

- After C o m m u n io n : even now we share your life ...May we come to possess it completely in the Kingdom.." (Easter Vigil).

Application in life

W e will never comprehend the mystery of God. It h as been said that if

The trouble with us,w hen w e rep eat som ething very often, is that w e get used to it and begin to form subconscious habits which tend to lose their

- Over the Gifts: ..."the unity and peace they signify." (Holy Thursday)

man u n derstands God, then either God is no m ore God but Man or that Man is no m ore Man but God! W hatever is said of God will necessarily be anthropom orphic, describing him in term s that are purely hum an and corresponding to concepts that are ex p re ssed in hum an language. This is not to sa y that our concept of God h a s no real m eaning, or that we are totally bereft of any sort of "idea" of God. W e are his creation, and we surely reflect, albeit in a very feeble way, "something" of the nature of God. An artifact alw ays reflects som ething of its creato r even in hum an experience.

meaning and significance, and / or to take whatever it is for granted.

The sa m e can happen, unfortunately, to our participation at M ass. We are so frequently at M ass, so frequently receiving Holy Communion that there is a real d an g er that w e begin to form a "habit" which can becom e devoid of m eaning and significance, and w e can begin to take the M ass and the Eucharist for granted. T hat of co u rse would be a tragedy! Twice a year the Church fo cu ses our attention specifically on the Eucharist. On Holy Thursday, the Church celeb rates the institution of the E ucharist by J e s u s at the Last S up p er just before his Passion and death. And on today’s feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church invites us to give thanks for the wonderful gift of Christ of himself to us through the Eucharist.

The Biblical descriptions of God, the attributes are known to u s in hum an experience - indeed there a re tim es w hen even for u s hum ans th e se attributes can reach incredible hieghts in their exp ressio n s, (a s in

the recent case of living organ donation where a person puts his own life and health on the line for someone he loves). It is not therefore m eaningless to describe God in hum an term s - w e need, however, to imagine that th e se hum an attributes are to be found in God at a level, and to a d eg re e that is suprem e and unim aginable.

But it is the three main prayers of th e M ass that really highlight three important p erspectives of the Eucharist. The Opening Prayer a t the beginning of th e M ass rem inds us that th e E ucharist is the MEMORIAL of the Passion and Death of Christ, through which our salvation w as won

W e understand from Revelation that God is a God of LOVE, a God of MERCY, a God of FORGIVENESS. W hat is essential is that we make a response to God. W e have to love him with all our hearts, we have to turn to him in repentance when we offend him, and we have to thank him for the great gift of himself to us. Are we making such a response?

by Christ. But it is not a s if w e w ere simply com m em orating the event of our salvation. The prayer g o e s on to a sk that w e m ay experience the salvation won for us and the p e a c e that is prom ised us in union with God. T he Prayer over the Gifts, ju st after the Offertory sp e a k s of the UNITY AND PEACE signified in the com m on sharing of the Body and Blood of Christ. Again it is not just em pty symbolism, but w e pray that this peace and unity may be realized for and in the Church, between the immediate members of our society and our Christian community as well as the wider society of our country and world.

Are w e really loving God above all things? Do w e really ad o re and thank him for all that he h as done? The application of our celebration of the F east of the B lessed Trinity m ust not, however, stop at how w e relate to God. St John, in no uncertain term s, and without mincing his words, sa y s in on e of his Letters that if w e really love God, w e have to love one another, an d conversely, if w e sa y w e love God but do not love o n e another, then w e a re liars!

Finally, the Prayer after Communion a t the conclusion of M ass today will s e e the Eucharist a s the PLEDGE AND FORETASTE OF ETERNAL LIFE that w e are called to sh a re in with Christ forever. Here again, it is not som ething just for the future, but th ere is also the dim ension of the p resen t - “that even now we share your life”. That sharing in divine life is som ething that n ee d s to be actualized even now, through a life of grace.

This is where the "difficulty" lies. W e claim to sh a re in th e life of the Trinity. W e have been baptised and confirmed in that life and w e claim to respond to the Triune God who is essentially LOVE, MERCY and FORGIVENESS. Are th e se attributes of G od's life m anifested in our relationship with one anoth er? Or is our life in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, merely lip service, m ere w ords and pious exclam ations without any corresp o n d en ce and reality in OUR OWN lives an d relation ships with one another.

As far a s S t John is concerned, if that is the case, then W E WOULD BE LIVING A LIE !

The Eucharist then, is not just something that focu ses on the future, it is som ething very much related to the present. It is Christ's gift to us, his living p resen ce effecting our salvation now, bringing about unity and peace among us through the sharing of his Body and Blood and giving us already a sharing in the divine life of God here on earth. Let us then work on deepening our appreciation of this p resen ce of Je s u s in and am ong us and work for the effects of that real presence in our daily living.

(Prayer over the Gifts)

Feast of the

"May the Bread and Cup we offer bring the unity and peace they signify"

BODY and BLOOD of C H R IST

HOLY THURSDAY Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

T he F e a st of the Body and Blood of Christ celeb rates the mystery of the Eucharist. It is th e M a ss a s w e commonly refer to it, but specially fo cu ses on the great mystery which involves the Body and Blood of Christ un d er the a p p e a ra n c e s of bread and wine. Actually it is very much linked with the celebration of Holy Thurs day, Good Friday and the E aster Vigil of Holy S aturday (or the S a cred Triduum a s it is called) which w e had recently at the end of Lent. T hat celebration of Holy T hurs d ay (the o n e in th e evening,

b e c a u se the M ass of th e Chrism for the Blessing of th e Holy Oils w as held in the morning. T he evening M ass is known a s the Celebration of the Lord's S u p p er the event narrated in the G ospel during which Christ instituted the Priesthood and the Eucharist. It is this event which is celebrated in Holy w eek. The celebration itself is very much like any other M ass except for the special cerem ony of the "W ashing of th e feet" a s nar rated in the G ospels. Traditionally twelve men are cho sen for this cerem ony to represent the twelve apostles w hose feet J e su s w ashed at the last celebration of the Jewish P asso v er F east that he had with his apostles.

The Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass are intimately connected. The Eucharist is the Sacrament itself, while the Mass is the whole liturgical Rite of Sacrifice within which the Eucharist is effected. Communion is the reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. To fully understand the Mass it is necessary to link it with the events we recently celebrated at what is known as the Sacred Triduum. W e could say that the First Mass was celebrated by Jesus at the Last Supper. It was on that occasion that he instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders or the Priesthood.

This is my Body... ... This is my Blood Do this in memory of Me.

After the M ass the B lessed S acram en t is carried to th e Altar of R ep o se w here it rem ains throughout Good Friday and Holy S aturday during th e Lord's P assion, death and burial in the tomb.

(Opening Prayer)

"You gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death"

GOOD FRIDAY T he Celebrant, representing Christ, perform s the w ashing and kissing of the feet of the twelve men, after th e homily in th e M ass.

C om m em oration of the Lord’s Passion

The focus of the celebration of Good Friday is the com m em o ration of J e s u s ' Crucifixion and D eath on the C ross - his su prem e sacrifice of himself for our salvation. The cerem ony itself consists of the Reading of th e P assion narrative, the special prayers for the Intentions of th e Church and th e world, and then th e climax co m es with the V eneration of the Cross, the instrum ent of our salvation. T h ese whole event of Christ's su p rem e sacrifice is also the focus of our daily M ass.

T he C elebrant and other m insters and the whole congregation then ven erate the cro ss by kissing it. The C ross is held up for th e ven eration of all. this is done three tim es during the cerem ony

The B lessed S acram en t which w as co n secrated the previous day at the celebration of the Lord's S u p p er is now brought to the main altar for the Communion service which intimately unites us to Christ who suffered and died for us.

(Prayer after Communion)

"You give us your body and blood... as a sign that even now we share your life."

HOLY SATURDAY (Easter Vigil) Celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection.

T here are three parts. The Blessing of the fire and light ing of the Paschal Candle. The Readings from the scriptures

which takes us through from C rea tion, the establishm ent of the People of God and in the Old T estam ent and the New People of God who a re redeem ed by Christ through his passion and resurrection. The first Mass of Easter

The preliminary cerem o n ies con sist of the blessing of th e new fire from which th e P aschal C andle is lit before being brought in p ro ces sion to the Sancturay.

The P aschal or E aster C andle rep re se n ts the Risen Christ, Light of the World.

Holy W ater is also b lessed and in par ishes, Baptism of n eophytes also tak es place.

MAY 2 6 - JUNE 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

ife L in Bulletin of th e Fam ily Life S ociety, A rc h d io c ese of S in g a p o re

FAMILY LIFE SOCIETY T h e F a m ily L ife S o c ie ty is a n o n -p ro fit organisation registered un der th e Societies Act o f S in g a p o re in 1985. It w a s established under th e auspices o f th e C atholic A rc h b is h o p of S in g a p o re to m ake th e fa m ily apo s to late a prio rity o f th e local Church.

T h a n k s f o r T h e M e m o r ie s , F a m ily L if e

By Jam es Wong

W e a im to p ro m o te a d e eper u n d e r s ta n d in g a n d r e s p e c t f o r m a rria g e , f a m ily a n d h u m a n lif e and to m ake o u r services a v a ila b le to all.

PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES Family and Marital Therapy (Counselling Services) 6488 0278 A confidential service m anaged and provided by experienced fam ily and marital therapists for those with m arital, psychological and social problems.

Celebration of Life 6488 0287 A Pro-life program m e on human sexuality education for chastity and the prom otion of the sanctity of life message, thus promoting the culture of life in society. If you would like to book a session, please contact COL.

Pregnancy Crisis Service 6339 9770/ 6488 0281 A hotline service for teenagers facing unwanted pregnancies, and who are likely to turn to abortion as an easy w ay out.

Youth Life-Line 6252 6300 A youth crisis hot line offering help for youth in distress.

Joyful Parenting 6488 0286 A hotline service to support breastfeeding mothers and help parents cope w ith fam ily life.

Catholic Legal Aid Services 6488 0278 Provides legal advice on fam ily-related matters to m em bers of the general public.

AFFILIATE ORGANISATIONS Marriage Encounter 6281 6468 A weekend stay-in programme for married couples to look m ore deeply into their relationship with each other and with God.

Engaged Encounter 6782 3912 A m arriage preparation stay-in weekend program m e for engaged couples.

Choice 9307 7752 / 9671 0767

The “Down Memory Lane II" Charity DinnerConcert that the Family Life Society held on Sunday 5 May at Suntec City’s Ballrooms enchanted more than 1,400 people from the good old days, or baby-boomers, as some would call them. Parents, grandparents, and even those considered comparatively young but who nevertheless enjoy the nostalgia of yesterday’s music and songs from the 60s and 70s, danced all night to familiar tunes like the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night, One in a Million m ade famous by icons such as the Platters, All in the Game by Cliff Richard, Moon River by Andy Williams, to other hits by popular local artistes like the Thunderbirds, Tornados, ReQuests, Robert Fernando, Vernon Cornelius, Jo e Chandran, Ali Ahmad, Rahmon Rahmat & Day, the October Cherries and many more. Even Mrs Singapore International Brigitte Ow, and Miss Singapore Universe Eunice Olsen, recently selected to co host the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune", were there to sing and play the piano for a good cause. On hand to host the show for the evening were effervescent Brian Richmond, along with his long-time buddy, Larry Lai. Audience participation was not lacking either - Mr Tan Soo Khoon (MP for Parliament but attending in his personal capacity) joined in the fun by belting out several numbers and bringing the house down with his showmanship, while others preferred to sing along from where they were seated. The appreciative audience at several tables were overheard stating, “I haven’t

been able to eat much, I’ve been drumming my glass and plates to the beat of the music!” Audience participation was also ensured with a table draw, as well as a Raffle Draw where the first prize w as a ticket for two to the Gold Coast! Wine and beer flowed freely with the eight-course Chinese dinner and the dance floor w as packed to capacity with revelers who stayed right through to the very end. This w as all for a very good cause, to raise funds for Family Life Society's non-profit activities in providing personal family and marital counselling services, crisis-management hotline services for pregnant mothers facing the dilemma of abortion, as well as for teenagers experiencing relationship problems, saving the lives of unborn babies, plus a range of other family-oriented services, all with the mission of promoting a deep reverence and understanding of human life. Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who is also the Patron of the Society, in his m essage contained in the Souvenir Programme which w as given to all who attended, em phasized that “every effort should be made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family, which should be treated as a matter of priority, in the certainty that future evangelisation d epends largely on the dom estic church - that is, the family.” Jam es Wong, Executive Director of the Society, spoke of the challenges ahead for all families and the important role the Society has in helping to promote pro-life and pro-family values, both at the Archdiocese and at the parish level.

M o s t Rev. N ich o la s Chia, A rc h b is h o p o f S ingapore, a n d Rev. A m b ro s e Vaz, FLS P re sid e n t, share th e s p o tlig h t w ith e n te rta in e r A li A h m a d d u rin g th e d in n e r c o n c e r t s

Over $100,000 was raised from the sell-out audience occupying 140 tables, priced from $1,200, to $2,500 for the donation tables, and supporters from all walks of life, from individuals to established corporations, m ade sure the charity dinner-concert was sold out even days before the actual event. The party, which promised to be bigger and better than the first Down Memory Lane held two years ago at the Orchid Country Club which filled 80 tables, lived so much up to expectations that many in the crowd were asking, “When will Down Memory Lane 3 take place?” Encouraged by this nostalgic success, the Society will indeed consider a bigger blockbuster two years down this memory lane!

A weekend stay-in programme for singles between 18 and 32, with the aim of helping one know oneself and in relationships with family, friends and the larger community.

A s J u n e a p p r o a c h e s a n d m a n y fa m ilie s c e le b ra te

d e v e lo p th e right enviro n m e n t o r organised system s

Marriage Preparation Course 6288 3427 / 6241 7614

F a th e r's D ay , it is a p p ro p ria te to th in k a b o u t

w ith in his fa m ily fo r th e w e ll-b e in g o f his w ife a n d

reg ular activities o r situatio ns into routines o r habits

fa th e rh o o d . W h a t is th e fa th e r's role in th e fa m ily ?

his c h ild re n .

s o c h ild re n k n o w w h a t th e y a re to d o o r h o w th e y

A six-weekend program m e for engaged couples preparing for marriage.

w o rk o u ts id e th e h o m e . W ith his tra d itio n a l b r e a d

h a v e a s ta b le h o m e u s u a lly g ro w u p to b e c o m e

th e n n e e d e d to s u s tain th e s y s te m , th u s a llo w in g

w in n e r role n o w s h a re d w ith his w ife , d o e s h e ha v e

s ta b le p e o p le . A fa m ily th a t is s ta b le , o rd e rly a n d

pa ren ts to d ire c t th e ir tim e a nd e n e rg y a t n e w goals.

a ro le th a t is u n iq u e ly his?

full o f m utual lo ve a n d re s p e c t b e c o m e s an a n c h o r

H o w d o e s o n e s e t u p th e s y s te m a t h o m e ? H e re

fo r th e c h ild re n . S u c h a s ta te w ill n o t h a p p e n

a re s o m e id e a s th a t w o u ld g e n e ra lly a p p ly . • C la rify w ith y o u r s p o u s e th e re s p o n s ib ilitie s a n d

Retrouvaille 6346 1927 (Hotline)/ 6752 5057

By John

T H E F A T H E R O F T H E F A M IL Y

In m a n y fa m ilie s n o w a d a y s , b o th fa th e r a n d m o th e r

a re to b e h a v e . L e s s o f th e p a re n ts ' a tte n tio n is

For troubled m arriages (including separated or divorced couples) who want their marriage to work.

in y o u th h a v e e s ta b lis h e d fa th e rle s s n e s s a s a

a u to m a tic a lly , b u t m u s t b e w o rk e d at cons c io u sly .

Couples For Christ 6386 3836

c o m m o n fa c to r a n d m a jo r c a u s e . F a th e rle s s n e s s

T h e fo u n d a tio n is o f c o u rs e th e re la tio n s h ip

e x p e c ta tio n s o f e a c h fa m ily m e m b e r a n d o f h o w

A fam ily life renewal program m e for singles and m arried couples to look m ore deeply into their relationship with each other and with God.

m a y b e d e fin e d a s th e la c k o f a m o ra l p re s e n c e o f

b e tw e e n th e s p o u s e s - h u s b a n d a n d w ife m u s t

th e fa m ily s h o u ld fu n c tio n .

th e fa th e r in his fam ily. From th e s e studies, it s e e m s

s triv e n o t ju s t to s ta y in lo ve, b u t to g r o w in lo ve

c le a r th a t a m o th e r c a n n o t to ta lly r e p la c e h e r

w ith e a c h o th e r.

Natural Family Planning 6256 8123

h u s b a n d in th e ro le o f fa th e r o f th e fa m ily , th o u g h

Based on the knowledge of the fertility periods during a w om an's menstrual cycle, it is the only morally acceptable form of family planning allowed by the Church as it is in accordance with the moral natural law.

HOPE 6488 0278

Interestingly, a n u m b e r o f s tudies o f d e lin q u en cy

E v e ry fa m ily n e e d s stab ility, a n d c h ild ren w h o

O n e a p p ro a c h to a c h ie v e th is o rd e r is to tu rn

D o y o u fe e l th a t y o u r h o m e e n v iro n m e n t is

• C o m m u n ic a te to y o u r c h ild re n th e re le v a n t res p o n s ib ilitie s a n d e x p e c te d c o n trib u tio n s so th a t th e y u n d e rs ta n d w h a t is req uired fro m th e m .

in s o m e c a s e s (e.g. s e p a ra tio n ), s h e m a y h a v e to

c o n d u c iv e fo r m e e tin g th e p h y s ic a l, m e n ta l,

try h e r b e s t to m a k e u p fo r his a b s e n c e . A s o n e

s piritual, e m o tio n a l a n d social n e e d s o f y o u r fam ily

a re s p o n s ib ility o r p e rfo rm a ta s k , te a c h th e m

w rite r p u t s tark ly , it c a n b e b e tte r to h a v e a d e a d

m e m b e rs ? O r d o y ou fe e l th a t it is e x c e s s iv e ly

a n d initially g u id e th e m . F o s te r th e ir

fa th e r w h o is p o s itiv e ly a liv e in th e m e m o ry o f his

c h a o tic a n d th a t it s a p s u p y o u r e n e rg y in a lot o f

in d e p e n d e n c e . W h e re th e y c an d o it th e m se lve s ,

c h ild re n th a n to h a v e an a b s e n t fa th e r.

u n p ro d u c tiv e w a y s ? If th e latter, it is p e rh a p s tim e

d o n ’t a llo w o th ers (e.g. th e m aid o r g ra n d p are n ts )

N o s in g le b o o k o r a rtic le c a n d is c u s s all th e

to re v ie w th e s itu a tio n a n d th e w a y y o u r fa m ily

• If y o u r ch ild ren d o n 't k n o w h o w th e y sh o u ld fulfil

to d o it fo r th e m .

A peer support group for the divorced, separated and widow ed.

d iffe re n t fa c e ts o f fa th e rh o o d . In th e c o n te x t o f

fu n c tio n s . W ith o u t o rd e r, o r a s y s te m a tic or

• S e t o u t th e rules to b e fo llo w e d .

b u s y fa m ilie s w h e r e fa m ily life is o fte n a d v e rs e ly

o rg a n is e d w a y o f fu n c tio n in g , p a re n ts h a v e to

• M o n ito r p e rfo rm a n c e . D o e s y o u r fa m ily fu n ctio n

a ffe c te d b y th e m a n y c o m p e tin g d e m a n d s fo r tim e

a tte n d to e v e ry th in g th a t c ro p s u p , a kin to an

For m o re in fo rm a tio n , pis check

a n d e n e rg y , I w o u ld like to re fle c t on o n e k e y ta s k .

o rg a n is a tio n w h e r e th e re is c h a o tic fire -fig h tin g

T h is is th e e x e rc is e o f le a d e rs h ip in his fa m ily , to

e ach day.

ou r w e b s ite at h ttp ://w w w .fa m ily life .o rg .s g

e ’r e

o v in g

With effect from 3 June 2002, Pregnancy Crisis Service will be located at Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre 2 Highland Road, #LG-01, Singapore 549102 Tel: 6339 9770 Fax: 6285 5311 Email: roseboon@veritas.org.sg

a s y o u , th e spo u se s a n d parents, w o u ld like it to ? • P ro v id e fe e d b a c k to th e children on w h a t is being d o n e w e ll a n d o n w h a t n e e d s im p ro v e m e n t.

K a m i l y L ife S o c ie ty

P R & Training Executive Required \ / C a th o lic a n d p a s s io n a te a b o u t p ro -fa m ily , p r o -life a n d p r o - m a r r ia g e v a lu e s ✓ D e g r e e in M a s s C o m m u n ic a tio n s & I T lit e r a te R e l e v a n t w o r k in g e x p e r ie n c e

Please submit your application by post to Family Life Society Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre 2 Highland Road #LG-01 Singapore 549102

o r email jamesw@ veritas.org.sg

by 8 J u n e 2 0 0 2

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

CATHO LIC NEWS

A Question of Faith

EDITOR Dr (Rev) Robert P. Balhetchet MANAGER Rev Fr Johnson Fernandez STAFF CORRESPONDENTS Rev Fr Richards Ambrose Christopher Khoo Mel Diamse-Lee 2 HIGHLAND RD #01-03, SINGAPORE 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 P e w s :

If you wish to write to us, please include yourfull nam e, address and contact number. / \

./'x

e-mail address:

steeple@singnet.com.sg It goes exclusively to the Editor. Confidentiality assured!

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

VIEWPOINT

■T H E !

There are several dogmas or articles of faith that we as Catholics have to accept by virtue of the fact that they are defined by the infallible authority of the Church of which w e are mem bers. By definition, articles of faith are above reason. T hey are not against reason, but reason cannot explain the substance of w hat w e have to believe. The situation is som ewhat akin to what obtains when we use the expressions: "Oh! That's unbelievable!" or "Incredible". W hen w e say this about some situation or happening, what w e mean is that • it is seems to defy logic and understanding. Y et w e accept w hatever it is, though we can't seem to be able to explain how it cam e about. The reason why w e are prepared to accept BY DR (REV) and believe it, is simply because w e are confronted with facts which w e can't deny ROBERT P. BALHETCHET (though we can't provide an explanation!), or else w e have been told about the situation or happening by som eone whom w e have no reason to mistrust or disbelieve. In fact this is an oft occurring situation in life. There are many things that we have no evidence of, or else if w e have evidence, we can't find reasons or explanations. Y et w e believe and accept. T he domain of faith is no different. There are many things that w e can't explain, but w e accept on the evidence of som eone else, in the case of faith, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in whom he is revealed and who revealed himself to us. T he Church com es into the picture, to interpret that Revelation. One of the "deepest" mysteries of our faith must be that which w e will celebrate on 2nd June, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. W hat w e believe is unique to

Catholics and shared only by some other individual Christians. W e believe that what we see at the beginning of every celebration of the Eucharist (or M ass) is bread and wine, but what w e receive at Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ, despite the fact that the bread and wine retain all the qualities they possessed at the beginning of the Mass. W hat brought about that "incredible" and "unbelievable" change w ere two simple sentences pronounced by a m ere man like any other man, and yet not like any other man! T he Eucharist must be the "mystery" that puts the greatest "strain" on our belief. The existence of God and the Trinity are in a sense, not so much of a strain, because they do not confront us so dramatically and frequently, as it were. The Eucharist, on the other hand, confronts us at every Mass. Yet, because it confronts us so often, it can easily lose its "mystery" - not in the sense that w e will understand it better or find it easier to believe, but in the sense that the implications of the mystery will pass into oblivion. T he Eucharist would then becom e m erely a m ere symbol, sign or representation of the body and blood of Christ and the M ass m erely a memorial of the Last Supper, without any basis of a reality, much like some sort of play acting out of history. That would indeed be tragic. The only "thing" that can lessen, if not obviate the danger of this happening, is the careful and prayerful celebration of the Eucharist and all the surrounding and related ritual observances provided by the Liturgy of the Church. The senses and the emotions play a very important part in the lives of us humans, and more than merely enhance the mind, they actually feed the intellect. The great Philosopher said "Nil in inteiiectu, quin prius in sensibus." - "Nothing enters the intellect without first passing through the senses."

FROM THE PEWS The Difference Som etim e in April 2002, the Church celebrated Vocation Sunday. With /— x genuine lack in the num ber of • —, -riests, th e question w as posed to the congregation: W hat do you think, is the role of the Priest in the Church? T h e a n s w e r w o u ld s e e m obvious to m any and indeed, the general opinion is not wrong. But let m e rela te a p erso n a l and th o u g h t p ro v o k in g in c id e n t e n c o u n te r e d w h ile a tte n d in g C h ristm as Eve S erv ice a t an Anglican Church in Phnom Penh, Cam bodia. In D ecem ber 2001, my friends and I, (a Buddhist, an Anglican and me, a Catholic) m ade a trip to C am bodia and sp en t m ost of our time mingling with the locals and visiting the poor, the slum s, the s q u a t t e r s a n d th e v o lu n ta ry children's hospital in Siem R eap and Phnom Penh. Among us, we took 10 cartons of old clothes, toys and blankets for th e poor under the care of the voluntary children's hospital in Siem R eap. It w as a s though w e w ere on a self conducted mini-mission! It w a s p la n n e d su c h th a t C hristm as Eve would be sp en t in Phnom Penh, joining a voluntary organisation on their outreach and C h ristm as ce le b ra tio n for 100 children at the slum s. W e bought so m e 120 individual p re se n ts, w ra p p e d th e m in co lo u rfu l C h ris tm a ss y p a p e rs an d y e s,

add ed another carton to our hand c a r rie d “c a r g o ”. Jo in in g th e celebration at the slum s and given th e c h a n c e to d istrib u te o u r p rese n ts to the excited children w as a special joy. T hus the saying:

Blessed is he who gives, for more shall be given to him. T h a t s a m e e v e n in g , my A n g lic an frie n d h a d a lr e a d y arranged for us to attend Christm as Service at her friend’s Church; a P asto r who cam e to Cam bodia had se t up a quaint, little Church in the city of Phnom P enh. It w as a very sm all C hurch an d th e congregation for Christm as Service w as not m ore than 20 including the P asto r himself! Anyway, it w asn ’t the first time I attended an Anglican Service and actually, a large part of the Service Proper w as similar to the M ass Proper. However, a s it w as C hristm as, I m ade it a point to treat it a s though I w as attending M ass. I m ust sa y that I ob serv ed a difference attendin g a S erv ice conducted by a young Church. Before I go on, let m e first sta te that p erh ap s it w as just this Church and not representative of other C hurches in general. The P asto r's serm on w as a really long on e but it had little su b stan ce. Why do I say that? I do n ’t m ean to be rude but about 80% w as sp en t in a continuous and rep eated chant of praises and thanksgiving of G od’s love, G od's mercy, let us glorify Him! and so on. To m e that fell short of a Serm on. I m issed our

Priests' serm on that to u ch es on faith applied to modern day life. T h e n it c a m e to Holy Communion, I have never received Holy Com m union in P ro testan t C hurches before a s I w as ignorant before and w ondered w hat would h appen to m e if I took it. But this tim e, I felt th a t sin c e it w a s C hristm as, I should join them , in any ca se , I couldn’t b e receiving an y th in g m o re th a n th e Holy Eucharist offered at M ass, could I? T he P asto r pro ceed ed with the prayers before Holy Communion. H is w o rd s w e re s tro n g a n d insistent, that Holy Communion would be received by “intinction”that is, in 2 sp ecies, by dipping the w afer in the wine, a s a symbol of Christ. It didn't stop there, w hat followed w as a reiteration of the fa c t th a t it w a s n o th in g b ut symbolic. T here w as no special blessing of the Host, or p erhaps, I just couldn’t feel anything special about it! P erh ap s, it w as the w ay the P asto r insisted that it w as nothing special. Or p erhaps, I am already so u sed to the m om ent w hen our Priest, b eco m es an instrum ent for From the P ew s: If you wish to write to us, please include your full name, address and contact number. e-mail address:

steeple@singnet.com.sg It goes exclusively to the Editor. Confidentiality assured!

Christ to transubstantiate the Bread and W ine into his very own Body and Blood'. Or perhaps, I have h eard of too m any m iraculous E u c h a ris tic s to r ie s of th e transubstantiation, that I actually felt anguish rather than joy that m om ent before Holy Communion.

Herein, lies the difference. At that m om ent, I decided not to partake in the Holy Communion Service a s I felt it w as a humiliation. A humiliation to Christ, d isresp ect for the P asto r and his Church, in which I am an invited guest. Herein, lies the difference and herein, lies the fundam ental reason b eh in d th e n e e d for P rie s ts . P erh ap s, mine is not a com plete answ er, but to me, this is the root of w hatever an sw er on e may com e up with. J. T .

Thank you for the sharing which was very personal and very frank. God certainly works in mysterious ways. You started off by planning on doing something you shouldn't have done. Catholics are allowed to attend other Christian services for specific reasons, but they are NOT allowed to participate in the Communion Service if there is one, (not all Christian Churches would even have a sort of communion service) for the reason that you came to realize - it is not at all what we, as Catholics believe in. The sam e goes for Christians other than Catholics. They are most welcome to attend our Mass, but because they do not accept that

the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, they may NOT receive Holy Com munion in our Churches. However, it would seem that you came to a very clear realiza tion of what the Eucharist is supposed to mean to us Catho lics. The 'trouble' with us humans, is that whenever something be comes a 'habit' there is always a danger that the significance and meaning of whatever it is, can be lost. This happens not only in the area of religion, but in the whole gamut of human relationships and experiences. It is always useful to reflect on "commonplace" things!

TO THE PEWS W e tru ly a p p re c ia te th e views expressed from the pews. W e w e re w o n d e rin g , however, if we could have views, com m ents and ques tions about the them es of the focus that we provide for each issue. For exam p le , V o c a tio n s , W ork, Com m unications 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 jargon) with the fo cus of the CN issue itself. The focus that is coming up in the next issue: FATHER'S DAY / PARENTING

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

& < elU G r+ ? ? a r

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A u i& o ih g fK

RALLY IN HONOUR OF SACRED HEART : June 13 to June 15,2002 :7.30 pm : Church of Our Lady Star of the S ea Speakers: Rev Fr K. P. Joachim Rev (Dr) Fr Masilamani

Date Time Venue

THE HOLY SPIRIT RALLY : June16 to Ju n e1 7 ,2 0 0 2 : 7.30 pm Venue : Novena Church Speakers: Rev Fr K. P. Joachim Rev (Dr) Fr Masilamani Date Time

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FROM THE PEWS

Music to the Ears hom e, you’re stuck with yourself.” P le a s e allow m e to in tro d u c e lay in sto re for them w hen they left Now, having said all that, the myself. I am a practising Catholic high school. For them , an d m any follow ing q u e s tio n s b e g g e d to who loves th e Church an d I have other similarly underprivileged male asked: b een a g reat fan of all kinds of Am erican youth with dire ca reer 1. How did Ms. N eo rese arch m usic for all of my 33 y ears. I have p ro sp ects (including th e m em b ers for h er article, or did sh e really do a large record an d CD collection of Alice in Chains),, m usic se e m e d a n y th o r o u g h a n d v e rifia b le at last count: ab o u t a 100 vinyl to b e the only w ay out of their urban rese arch at all? Or did s h e merely records and a th o u san d odd CD s w asteland. As for their nam e, well, indulge in unreliable h e a rsay and and my m ost favourite kind of music th e y ju s t w a n te d a re a lly gu essw o rk ? is rock m usic. I h av e review ed m em orable, one-w ord n am e for 2. How ca n w e a c c e p t th e reco rd s an d CDs of all kinds o f th e m se lv es th at ev ery o n e would sw eeping, unfounded sta te m en ts m usic (including pop, punk, rock, a s s o c ia te with th em w h e n e v e r that s h e h as m ad e and regurgitated alternative, country, world music, an y o n e said “K iss”, and by golly, it ab o u t rock an d so m e of its artists reg g ae, etc.) an d h av e interviewed works! Kiss h as b eco m e su ch a now that it can be ascertain ed that s e v e r a l m u s ic ia n s a n d h a v e household n am e that ev en people s h e h a s h a rd ly a n y v ia b le published articles ab o u t who h av e obviously n ever heard know ledge on th e su b ject at all to them an d their m usic for th e p ast their music, h av e h eard of them! com m ent on it with credible and 14 y ea rs or so, mainly fo rth e local And no, th ey a re definitely not undisputed authority? monthly pop culture m agazine Big S ata n -w o rsh ip p e rs. All this talk 3. Finally, how could a wellO. Not to m ention th at my hom e ab o u t them dabbling in th e occult re s p e c te d , journal su c h a s th e library is w ell-stocked with m any w a s ju s t s o m e m a lic io u s o r Catholic News, that is widely read books on m usic an d th e lives of m ischievous rum our cre ate d by by m any discerning Catholics, allow m usicians, an d I am alw ays on the so m e ignorant and im m ature an d / su ch an e rro n eo u s and lookout for any well-written piece or en v io u s p eo p le with nothing unprofessionally fashioned article about any kind of music or m usician. better to do than to draw attention to b e published for all to read at the So, with all th at out of th e way, to th e m se lv e s with their b o g u s risk of misinforming m any of th o se I feel I am well-qualified (to sa y the “in sid ers’ know ledge” of th e band who know a s m uch or le ss ab o u t least) to rem ark that, although I and w hat they do. J u s t b e c a u s e th e su b ject of rock m usic an d ^ a d m ir e th e p a s s io n a n d th e so m e en tertain ers - in this c a se , artists a s Ms. N eo h as so glarin e a rn e s tn e s s th a t w as v e ry rock m usicians - paint their faces, show n to this writer, at least? ap p a ren t in th e a r tic le , this d o esn 't necessarily m ake them If the Catholic N ew s claim s to “Com m unication - Through Young S atan ists. For crying out loud, d o n ’t abide and o p era te by the highest Eyes" written by Ms. Felicia N eo in you know that Kiss is ju st making journalistic sta n d a rd s and eth ics of the May 12 issu e of th e Catholic u se of th e theatrical tradition of truthful, variable an d responsible News, with all du e resp ect, I m ust facep ain t a s an effective attentionreportage, then it would do well, in sa y th at certain p arts of this article drawing device th a t’s a s this ex p erien ced and responsible betray th e naivete of h er obviously old a s th e history of d ram a itself? writer’s opinion, to thoroughly and very young y ears and her very great H aven’t you heard of Kabuki or m e tic u lo u s ly d e te r m in e th e ignorance of th e art and artists of C a n to n e se O p era? Or how ab o u t a truthfulness of all claim s m ad e in rock, its history, its philosophy and m ore contem porary exam ple - the its contributor’s w orks before they its capacity for being a positive feline facepainted perform ers in the s e e print in its well read an d highly force of social justice. I can n am e highly su ccessfu l m usical, C a ts? reg ard ed p ag es. m any so n g s that relate to the last W ould you s a y th a t th e w hole point like “W alk O n”, th e so n g I.T. com pany behind C ats is S atan ic? d ed icated to Aung S an Suu Kyi by So w ere th e th o u sa n d s who paid Thanks for your views. It's good to U2 and “Give P e a c e a C h a n c e ” by good m oney to s e e cat-facepainted Jo h n Lennon, but th at would be see focus topics being read and an d costum ed d a n c e rs cavorting discussed. A few points need to be b esid e th e point I’m trying to m ake. on sta g e on Broadw ay an d the addressed. Specifically, th e parts of her W est End, poor s a p s who w ere The article you refer to is enti article that I tak e issu e with, are du ped by evil, insidious m oneytled "Communication - through n a m e ly h e r o b v io u s ly p o o rly grubbing fiends? re se a rc h e d sta te m e n ts ab o u t the 2. As for Alice in C hains, theyyoung eyes". That is what it is exactly, and whether it is thi rock b and Alice in C hains an d the form ed in 1987 and they w ere part oughly researched or not, is fiv. tragic d eath of its young, very gifted of th e so-called g runge rock s c e n e exactly the point in question. That lead sin g er - nam ely th e late Layne w h ich e m e r g e d in th e ra in is how one teenager sees it, and Staley (who w as not nam ed in Ms. d r e n c h e d city th a t g a v e u s N eo’s story), who w as found d ead quite probably, is not the only one S tarbucks, i.e. S eattle, in th e late in his h o m e in S e a ttle , u n d e r seeing it that way. Incidentally, the 1980s and early 90s. Layne Staley, c i r c u m s ta n c e s w h ich th e part referring to songs is only one th e late lead singer-songw iter of authorities of th at city have yet to paragraph among several which th e band cam e from a family w hose deal with various forms of commu determ ine - and th at sta le old hat, p aren ts divorced w hen he w as very nication. Incidentally, whether the rock-knocking ch estn u t ab o u t the young. T he sc a rs of his childhood nam e of th e band Kiss standing for view of the writer is correct or not, a re a probable factor in his turning “Knights in S a ta n 's S erv ice.” it precisely underscores the impact to th e false alleviation of misery Well, first of all, let m e ju st say o f the media on the receivers of that drugs offer. No doubt he may th at I am by no m e an s a fan of communication! And that is what hav e written so n g s ab o u t “drugs either Kiss or Alice in C hains. But is at issue! What impact does the an d th e feelings they g av e him,” media of communication have on I certainly know e n o u g h ab o u t but he w rote th e s e s o n g s from the e i th e r b a n d o r its in d iv id u al the users and receivers? What use viewpoint of a culpable sufferer, a s is made of the contents of the m e m b e rs a n d th e ir re sp e c tiv e his own w ay of ex o rcisin g his media? How are they used? sty les of m usic from w hat I’ve personal d em o n s and p erh a p s a s This whole issue of satanism a c tu a lly h e a rd of th e ir m u sic poetical w arnings to his p ee rs about and the occult is very real. The (“S trutter” is o n e of my favourite th e dan g ero u sly seductive nature existence of the devil and his influ K iss’ so n g s an d so is “W ould?” by of d ru g s . R e a d th e follow ing ence is specifically taught by the Alice in C hains from the soundtrack p a s s a g e ab o u t S taley a s found in a to th e movie S ingles) an d read Church. And if the practical expe report ab o u t rience of this Editor, as having ab o u t them from reliable, wellhis life and d eath a tth e BBC Online been officially appointed by eccle r e s p e c te d m a in s tr e a m m u sic w ebsite an d ju d g e for y ourselves if siastical authority (which is always journals like Rolling S tone and Spin he m ean t to “glorify” drug a b u s e m agazine, to b e ab le to sa y with necessary) to perform certain cases an d suicide in his songs: enough credibility that: He (i.e. Staley) once told Rolling 1. T he n am e “Kiss” d o e s not,S to n e m ag azin e th at lyrics ab o u t • Continued on page 13 an d n ever did stan d for “Knights in heroin u se ca m e from his own S a ta n 's S ervice” at all. T he band ex p erien ce. “They worked for m e From the P e w s : m e m b e rs n e v e r h ad an y su c h for y ears, an d now th ey ’re turning diabolical id eas a t all w hen they ag a in st m e - an d now I’m walking If you wish to write to us, please include yourfull name, address and c h o s e th at n am e for their band. through hell, an d this su c k s,” he contact humber/e-mail address. They w ere ju st a bunch of “n e ’ersaid in 1996. But he had m aintained do-well” kids from the tough working he would n ever think of committing e-mail address: cla ss boroughs of New York with su ic id e . “I’m s c a r e d of d e a th , steeple@singnet.com.sg d rea m s of making it big a s rock especially d ea th by my own h an d ,” stars, ju st so that they could e s c a p e he said. It goes exclusively to the Editor. the drudgery of a typical low-income “At th e en d of th e day or a t th e end Confidentiality assured! blue-collar future th at w as all that of th e party, w hen ev ery o n e g o e s

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

FROM THE PEWS

C A T H O L IC S E R V IC E S D IR E C T O R Y

...music to the ears •

From page 12

of exorcism, is anything to go by, believe me, the devil is very real! And by the way, his intelligence is far, far superior to that of us hu mans, not to mention his cunning in concealing his presence and influence. Of course, we don't want to keep seeing the devil in every thing! In respect o f the end impact of the media on the recipients, this is

exactly what concerns the Gov ernment Board of Censors on which this Editor also served for some time. It doesn't matter who says what about whom or what, the board is always concerned about the m essage and influence that is or can be carried across to the recipients. Obviously, too, not all recipients will be affected in the sam e way, but we have to assess the likely and probable message that is conveyed. As for the role o f the Editor, this needs clarification. For any publication, his responsibility is to ensure that public morality is not —offended (not just sexual moral l y ! ) , that race and religion are not exploited for sinister reasons and that the publication, in general, is not misused as a m ass medium. For an official Catholic publica tion, such as the Catholic News, the Editor must exercise additional vigilance in matters concerning faith and morals as taught by the Church, not to mention charity in

YOUTHS/YOUNG ADULTS

the way things are said and done. The Editor cannot be held re sponsible for investigating the amount of research done by writ ers, or which so u rc e s they researched, if at all. News and articles come from "wire services", and an Editor can not be respon sible for what is said in those pieces, nor can he be investigat ing their reliability and accuracy. For that matter, the Editor can not now be having to investigate the reliability and objectivity of the sources for this particular differ ence in view from the pews! The writers bear their own responsibil ity for the views they express, and they are quite free to express their personal opinions (barring the re strictions mentioned above). If there are factual errors, and these do appear from time to time in any publication, then the "ER RATUM" device is used. For matters of differing opinion there is always the avenue of "LETTERS" or as we call it in this publication ’From the Pews." Incidentally, on this point of differing views, what was taught to me by my old Professors (very wise sages they were, too!), was that what matters most, is N O T W HO says what, B U T W HAT is said!." A s I greyed, I appreciated

more and more what they had taught me, and I have always taught the same to my own stu dents. Finally, to quote the Apostle, "Above all, put on charity. "

T h e internet P o p e John Paul II h a s ch o sen a s th e th em e for this y ea r’s World C om m unications Day “Internet: A

New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel" and T he Catholic News quoted (p.9) the Pontifical Council a s saying that “The church takes a

' mdamentally positive view of the -. nedia”, which includes the Internet. However, I w as puzzled to find th a t th e C atholic N ew s' World Com m unications Day 2002 issue (May 12) provided little support for this position. I found th e re w as n o th in g to a d d r e s s th e P o p e 's m e s sa g e in S ingapore’s context an d to e n c o u ra g e S in g ap o rea n Catholics to evangelise with the pow er of the latest tools of m odern com m unication.

(references to various articles follow to illustrate the lack ofpositiveness, but omitted for lack of space) Every type of m edia h a s its stre n g th s and w e a k n e s s e s . W e should not pit o n e m edia form ag ain st an o th er b e c a u s e all m edia com plem ent ea c h other. It is true, of course, that the Internet is prone to m any d an g e rs such a s pornography, un-Christian viewpoints and sexual predators. On th e other hand, th e re w as no m e n tio n of how th e C a th o lic Church, and Singaporean Catholics in particular, a re using the Internet to sp rea d the G ood News, which is w hat th e P ope exhorts us to do. N e ith e r w as th e r e any recom m endation of useful Catholic w eb sites to visit (and th e re are h u n d reds out there, including the V atican’s official w ebsite), or even our m any local Catholic w ebsites. In recent tim es, p arishes have gone o n lin e a n d th e r e h a v e b e e n noteworthy efforts to even provide

MAY 2 6 -JU N E 2, 2002

spiritual formation (for exam ple, w w w .jesuit.org.sg). T here w ere no reports on any of th e se. G iven th a t th e C hurch h a s turned th e spotlight on th e Internet this year, I am disappointed that th e Catholic N ew s d o e s not se em to sh a re the P ope an d th e Holy S e e 's “fu n d a m e n ta lly p o sitiv e ” approach. With all d u e resp e ct to th o se in th e printed m edia, m any local C atholics voluntarily devote their tim e and efforts to build the Body of Christ through th e Internet a n d if th e re w a s e v e r tim e to recognise and en c o u rag e them , it is now. Anthony

I hope the following will assuage your confusion and disappointment - even if through the print media! 1 It was Social Communication Sunday, not Internet Sunday. Hence the treatment of all media, though the Internet was clearly given far greater prominence. 2 A very careful reading of both the Pope's m essage and that of the Pont. Council for Soc. Comm, (broken up into various sections under their relevant headings in the issue you refer to) will reveal the cautions of both these docu ments, and the dangers and very vital questions for mission posed by them which are indeed an swered by the other media, like print and also "live" communica tion and the Christian community. 3 Apart from space constraints, we cannot possibly publish lists of websites neither can we, in one issue, expect to cover all that you are expecting. 4 Just for clarification, writing IS the first-born artificial medium, af ter natural vocalized sound! □

Bakhita S earch-lnn, C hristina/S r Veronica (6 3 6 7 -6 2 6 4 / 6 4 6 7 -4 2 9 0 ) y s c c h ris @ y a h o o . c o m / c a n o s is @ p a c ific . net. s g B oys’ Tow n Fraternity, g a u d e tte @ b o y s to w n . o rg. s g Br Dom inic Kiong 6 7 6 9 -1 6 1 8 Fax: 6 7 6 2 -7 8 4 6 C atholic O v e rse a s Students Dow n U nder Adrian (9 8 3 6 -5 2 1 7 ) or D ennis (6 2 7 4 -2 9 7 9 ) o r c o s d u @ y a h o o .c o m .a u C hoice, 9 3 0 7 -7 7 5 2 /9 6 7 1 -0 7 6 7 c h o ic e @ c h e e rfu l. c o m H osanna! M usic Ministry w w w .hm m online.org < http://w w w .hm m online.org> contact T a m m y 9 7 4 7 -8 5 7 0 . C atholic Students' Society University o f Singapore, M r Irving T e o 6 2 9 6 -0 8 9 7 irv in g te o @ c a th o lic . o rg Nanyang Technological University Catholic Students’ Apostolate, N T U Branch: M rB u di Susanto 9 4 7 8 -7 8 2 7 . N ational Institute of Education C atholic Students' A posolate (N IE C S A ), N IE Branch: Ang M ei Ling 9 6 6 6 3 2 3 4 Infant Jesus R etreat and Youth C entre, Sr G erard Lee 6 7 6 0 -2 4 6 1 /9 2 9 4 7 5 2 1 Fax: 7 6 9 9 3 6 9 s rtle e @ y a h o o .c o m Poverello T e e n C entre, S r M aria Sylvia Ng, F M M T e l/F a x: 6 5 4 4 -2 6 0 3 ju b 2 0 0 0 @ s in g n e t.c o m .s g

MIGRANT COMMUNITY 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 ere s a ’s H om e For T h e A ged, 6 2 5 6 -2 5 3 2 Fax: 6 2 5 6 -5 6 1 0 S t J oseph’s H om e, S r M aria Sim 6 2 6 8 -0 4 8 2 Fax: 6 2 6 8 -4 7 8 7 n c 0 0 7 1 b @ c y b e rw a y .c o m .s g

FAMILY

Filipino C atholic C om m unity o f Singapore, 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 Te l/F a x: 6 4 7 2 -5 8 4 0 G erm an -sp eaking Catholics, 6 4 6 8 -1 5 3 4 Fax: 6 4 6 8 -2 4 0 2

Christian Fam ily and Social M ovem ent, Francis T a m e l M a n e 9 5 8 6 -9 9 3 8 , 6 7 9 2 -6 7 0 1

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

S e e p a g e 10

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

M orning S ta r Fam ily C are C entre, 6 2 8 5 -1 3 7 7 Fax: 6 2 8 5 -2 7 1 5 G alilee C en tre, 6 4 5 4 -0 5 2 8 Fax: 6 4 5 4 -3 1 6 7 C lem enti C hildren’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 c a n o s s a @ p a d fic .n e t.s g M arian C en tre (before and after school care), 6 2 5 0 -0 8 7 7 M arym oun t 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 S pecial Learning C entre, S r A nne M ay C hua, F M M 6 2 7 6 -3 2 0 0 G ood S heph erd Child C a re C en tre, M s H elen T a n 6 2 4 2 -5 6 9 5 Fax: 6 4 4 8 -3 4 5 4

HANDICAPPED

J a p a n e se Catholics, Kiyoko Jarnes 6 5 5 2 -4 0 6 0 ja m e s @ p a c ific .n e t.s g Korean Catholics, Esther You 6 2 4 2 -5 6 0 7 T h e Com m ission for Migrants & Itinerant People 6 2 8 0 -5 4 2 4 or m ig ra n ts @ s in g n e t. c o m . s g Jesuit R efu g e e Service, jrs @ je s re fs g .o rg Fr Colin Tan S.J. 6 46 3 -6 02 2 cxtsj@ sin g n et.co m .sg China Catholic Communication, Patrick Lee Kim H w ee 9 0 6 0 -5 0 8 0 m a il@ z l.p e r.s g

SOCIAL SERVICE C atholic W e lfa re Services, 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

SP IR ITU A LITY C e n 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. c o m .s g

C atholic Office for th e H earing Im paired, Friar R ow land Y e o , O F M ro w la n d y e o @ h o tm a il. c o m

C en tre Fo r Ignatian Spirituality and C ounselling, Br G erard C hoo, SJ 6 4 6 7 -6 0 7 2

P ra is e @ W o rk Juliana 9 7 9 9 -9 1 8 4 or em ail w e lc o m e @ p ra is e a tw o rk .o rg

C an ossian School Fo r T h e H earingIm paired, 6 7 4 9 -8 9 7 1 Fax: 6 7 4 9 -8 9 7 6

Franciscan R etre a t C en tre, 6 5 6 7 -9 7 7 1 Fax. 6 5 6 7 -9 7 8 6

S t Patrick House, (Boarding) Br Collin W e e , F S C 6 3 4 5 -5 9 2 9 Fax: 6 3 4 5 -4 6 3 5

A ng M o Kio H om e, S r Jo Tham 6 4 5 9 -4 8 0 1

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

Youth Life-Line, 6 2 5 2 -6 3 0 0 Fax: 6 2 8 5 -5 3 1 1

Catholic Kindergarten, M s Edn a 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.c o m .s g

Y ou th P raise Ministry H elen Lee (9 0 2 9 -0 1 1 8 ) em ail ypm sing a p o re @ y a h o o .c o m . Y ou ng C hristian S tud en ts’ M ovem ent (M andarin-speaking), M r S tephen C hia 6 2 8 6 -4 1 6 6 9 5 0 2 4 5 4 9 Y ou ng C hristian W orkers (M andarin-speaking), M aria Ng Kim Luang 6 7 6 3 -0 1 3 7

C O M IN G UP PRIESTLY ORDINATION Deacon Ignatius Yeo,

brother of Fr. Adrian Yeo will be ordained Priest a t th e Church of Our Lady Q ueen of P e a c e on M onday 27 May 2002. The prayers of the Catholic Community a re solicited for him a s he ta k es this decisive step in the vocation to which God h a s called him.

CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER RCIA class c o m m e n c in g o n A u g 6, e v e ry T u e s d a y a t 7 .4 5 pm fo r th o s e w h o w a n t to k n o w th e C a th o lic fa ith . C a th o lic s w h o w ish to d e e p e n th e ir fa ith o r to jo in a s s p o n s o rs a re w e lc o m e . Enquiries: M o n ic a K w o k (6 2 8 8 -9 7 1 2 ) / A m y N g (6 2 8 8 -0 6 8 8 ).

CHANG E O F MASSES SCHEDULE T im e s c h e d u le fo r M a s s e s in C h u rc h o f th e R is e n C h ris t h a s b e e n c h a n g e to: w e e k d a y m a s e s : 6 .3 0 a m a n d 6 pm , S a tu rd a y S u n s e t M a s s : 6 pm , S u n d a y M a s s e s : 7 a m , 8 .1 5 a m (M a n d a rin ), 9 .3 0 a m , 11 a m a n d 6 p m , T a m il M a s s : E v e ry 1st S u n d a y 7 .1 5 pm . T h e r e w ill b e a lu n c h -tim e m a s s a t 1 2 .4 5 pm on d a y s o f o b lig atio n w h e n it fa lls on w e e k -d a y )

G ood S heph erd Kindergarten, Evelyn O n g 6 2 4 1 -1 8 0 2 Fax: 6 4 4 5 -3 6 9 2 Nativity C hurch 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 .n e t.s g M a g d a le n e ’s Kindergarten, M ary Goh Boon H ow 6 7 4 7 -6 5 5 4 C an ossian 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. co m . s g M aris S tella, Sr M arjorie A lm odiel, F M M 6 4 7 4 -3 5 9 0 Marym ount Kindergarten, Petrina Siow 6 2 5 1 -5 0 4 9 Fax: 6 25 2 -6 7 9 0 4 S t Francis X a v ie r P lay C entre, M rs Em ily G oh Tel: 6 2 8 0 -8 9 2 9

Bible C orrespon dence C ourse in C hin ese, Fr John Baptist To u 6 3 3 7 -2 4 6 5 C atholic Audio-Visual C entre, 6 8 5 8 -3 0 7 7 Fax: 6 8 5 8 -2 0 7 7 C hina Catholic Com munication (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 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 en tral C om m odity S ervices ( 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 Catherine Chia 6 3 3 7 -2 4 6 5 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 Katong Catholic Book C entre Pte Ltd, 6 3 4 5 -1 4 1 3 Fax: 6 4 4 0 -0 2 7 2 ka to ngcatholic@ pacific.net.sg A postolate o f the M ed ia, 6 8 9 2 -1 6 3 9 Fax: 6 5 6 2 -5 8 5 7 Catholic N ew s Book & M ed ia, 6 8 5 8 -3 0 6 6 Fax: 6 8 5 8 -2 0 5 5

Infant Jesus R etre a t and Youth C en tre, Sr G erard Lee 6 7 6 0 -2 4 6 1 Fax: 6 7 6 9 -9 3 6 9 Life Direction T e a m , S r Th ere s a Koh, F M 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 LifeSprings C an ossian Spirituality C en tre, S r 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 a v ie r M inor S em inary (S F X R etre a t C en tre), 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 T h e S ojourners’ C om 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 C atholic N urses Guild of Singapore, M iss Jan e t C han Poh Goon 6 4 4 2 -8 5 4 6 C atholic T e a c h e rs ’ M ovem ent, M rs Gail S iow (R ) 6 4 5 4 -4 0 9 4 T h e Catholic M edical Guild o f Singapore, D r John Hui K eem Peng jo h n h u i@ c y b e rw a y . com . s g

SPECIAL SERVICES Catholic A ID S R espo nse 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 G ood S heph erd C entre, 6 7 5 5 -6 4 9 6 Fax: 6 7 5 2 -0 6 7 0 R . C . Prison Ministry, S r G erard F e rnandez, R G S 6 2 5 0 -9 1 5 1 Fax: 6 2 5 0 -1 8 0 4 Heartville, S usan W illiam 6 5 4 2 -6 5 5 9 Fax: 6 5 4 2 -9 4 8 6 Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association Catholic A ftercare (C ounselling) Service Com m ittee S A N A Co-ordinator: Ta n Lee Hoon 6 7 3 2 -1 1 2 2 Fax: 6 7 3 2 -4 5 6 4 A postleship o f th e S e a (C atholic S e a m e n ’s M ission), 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 F a x :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, S r M A ndrianne, M C 6 2 5 1 -6 0 0 4 'R o s e V illa', 6 2 5 3 -6 5 5 6

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

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Departed: June 5,1992 Rest in peace, dear loving father, Ten long years have passed away-; You’re gone, but are still living In the hearts of those who stay. Dearly missed by your loving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mass will be held on June 5 at Church of Queen of Peace at 6.30 pm.

Departed: June 1, 1993 Dearest mother, Nine years have passed by and we miss you so much. Memories of your love and care for us speak beautifully of you. Always remembered by your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mass will be celebrated at Church of St Teresa, Kampong Bahru on Saturday June 1 at 6.30 pm.

JO S E PH LO PEZ

Departed: May 28,1994 Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. Sadly missed and always remembered by wife, sons, daughter, daughters-in-law and loved ones.

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Always remembered and missed by Bonnie, Lolly, Stephen and Rose and family members.

Departed: June 3,1993 It’s been nine years since you left us, We shall fondly cherish the living memories of your love and caring ways. Dearly missed by mother, husband, sons, daughter, grandsons, god daughter, son-in-law, sister and brother.

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D eparted: M ay 19, 2001D eparted: June 5, 2001 T im e m ay heal the broken heart. T im e m ay m ake the Wound less sore, B ut tim e can never stop the longing F or the loved one gone before.

DOUGLAS C O U R T <5) L O P E Z

Departed:May 27,1987 We miss you dearest Mum Our thoughts and prayers are always with you, and may you rest in peace. Forever remembered and cherished by sons, daughter, daughters-inlaw, son-in-law, grand children, great-grand son and all loved ones.

Departed: May 30,1996 Time takes away the edge of grief But memory turns back every leaf Gone from our lives one so dear But in our hearts forever near. Deeply missed by loving wife, children and grandchildren.

JO Y C E JU L IA N A D ’R O Z A R IO

Departed: May 26,2001 The depths of sorrow we cannot tell, Of the loss of one we love so well, And while she sleeps a peaceful sleep, Her memory we shall always keep. Always remembered by husband, children, grandchildren, in-laws and all loved ones.

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Departed: May 23,1983 He suffered patiently and long, His hope was bright, his faith was strong, The peace of Jesus filled his breast, And in His arms he sank to rest. Very dearly missed by wife, children, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, in-laws and loved ones.

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Departed: May 22,1994 From: All her loved ones.

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Departed: May 31,1998 We see you happy and smiling ever so often in our dreams We feel the warmth of you, still in ourhearts We sense your presence among us always, in our home! Sadly missed and always remembered by your daughter, son-inlaw, gran d ch ild ren , great-g ran d ch ild ren and great-great-grand children.

T E R E S A TA N L E E SIAN

Departed: June 4, 1994 Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen Sadly missed and always remembered by loved ones. Mass will be celebrated at Church o f the Holy Cross, Singapore on June 4, 2002 at 6.30 pm.

Departed: May 30,1998 Dearest Mother, We miss you so much. The love you gave us spoke beautifully of you. There is not a day, dear mother That we do not think of you. Mother, you are always treasured in our hearts. Dearly missed and always remembered by loving children, grand children and loved ones. Mass will be celebrated at Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Singapore on Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 6.30 pm.

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Most holy apostle, dear St Jude. My heart is filled with gratitude. I came to you in deepest despair. You lifted me with powerful prayer. Most holy advisor, dear St Jude. My faith has grown in magnitude. Through Jesus, Mary, Joseph and you. I know God’s love is great and true. E .K . Grateful thanks to St Jude Thaddeus for favours received. Please continue to intercede and help us in whatever dificulties we m a^jf*^ face. B ria n a n d 1 C aro l

O H oly St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful rJ 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. Once again, thank you apostle Jude for prayers answered. Also, grateful thanks to our Lord, blessed Mother Mary, Infant Jesus, St Joseph, St Anne, St Gerard, St Anthony, St Theresa, Holy Spirit and guardian angels for their blessings, intercessions, protection and prayers answered. Please continue to guide and protect my family. S usan and fam ily

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

YOUNG CATHOLICS P

i e

VERY often our teenagers seem to look up to people from distant places as role models. (In fact, som e adults are guilty of this too.) We forget to look around us for such role models but there are definitely people close by who can serve as inspiration in leading good, Christian lives. During the first two weeks of May, what would you consider the hottest topic in Singapore? Well, many of my friends raved about our very own Singapore’s heart-rending love story! On Tuesday, May 7, the Straits Times reported that 27-year-old Andrea De Cruz, a Mediacorp ar tiste was seriously ill and needed a liver transplant urgently. She could die if she did not get a transplant within a few days, the re port said. Many of us held our breath, wondering if she would be able to get .—a transplant in such a short time. The next day, we heard of the good news that dying Andrea De Cruz had been given a new chance at life by her boyfriend - fellow artiste Pierre Png. He had stepped forward to do nate almost half his liver to save her in what w as Singapore’s first liver transplant from a living non-related donor. Png w as warned of the risks involved, which included serious in fection, such as a leaking bile that would necessitate another opera tion to clear. But he decided to go ahead when tests showed that his liver could save De Cruz. Although no non-related living donor had been accepted in Singa pore, an exception w as m ade in Png’s ca se on the basis of strong

l o

IN H 11 §I H I

. .

never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.'

Pierre Png was warned of the risks involved in donating his liver, which included serious infections, such as a leaking bile that would necessitate another operation to clear. But he decided to go ahead when tests showed that his liver could save A ndrea D e C ruz's life.

Pierre Png was one of the guest artistes during the Shine Jesus Shine Rally in 1998 held at the Kallang Theatre.

emotional ties. The papers also mentioned that while in Singapore no living donor has died, internationally there have been at least eight fatalities. This m ade Png’s gift to De Cruz a very special one. Some of you may say that he must be so deeply in love, but I say it must be true love because he was willing to sacrifice himself to save another person. And what did the hero have to say after the ordeal? In all humility he said, “No big deal”. Png participated in one of our Shine Jesus Shine rallies. I and those

who worked with him on the occasion remember him as a bubbly character who helped to liven things up. I am sure many of us are touched by the deep love this Catho lic couple share with each other. I wish to salute Png for providing a role model of what true love is. And my wish is that everything will turn out good for this couple, knowing that God will definitely pro vide them with strength to go through any difficult moments in their life as long a s they continue to include Him in their life together. I hope that you, my dear Youth

can learn something from this reallife episode that love, I m ean true love, does not m ean receiving all the time. In fact there is more joy in giving than in receiving. As Pierre Png’s mother, Lucy, w as quoted a s saying, “He has shown us what love is.” What did Je su s say about love? "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Je su s not only said it but he did it for all of us. I’d also like to recall the words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 on what love is: ‘Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is

It is a truly wonderful experience to m eet a person who is filled with the gift of love b ecause the love of God shines out through such peo ple. You too can ask our Heavenly Father for this gift of love so that you can share His love with those around you in a more fulfilling way. I am tempted to share the exam ple of another role model in Singapore whom I read about on May 14. Yes, I am talking about Christina Chan, now 23, who was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of six. As a result of Lupus, she was blinded in the left eye, has a withered hand and suffers from kidney failure. But through all the suffering she has gone through from such a young age, Christina says “life is very precious because it is a gift from G od...” T he m o st striking thing is Christina’s determination to help oth ers. In her own words sh e says: “W hatever happens, I want to make sure that I use my life to help others in any way I c a n ...” Well, my young friends, don’t just read and listen to such people sharing God’s love with others. Think of ways you too can do the sam e. May God bless you. Fr Michael Sitaram is youth chaplain o f the Singapore Archdiocese. To con tact him, email: cathyctr@paciHc. net.sg.

CHIJ produces CD for Founder’s Day SOME 15,000 students of the Infant Je su s schools will receive a CD of new songs a s their Founder’s Day gift on May 24. The CD, entitled “S hare The Love”, features 14 original songs in contemporary styles. They were written by Trevor Nerva and Julie Sim, and performed by various CHIJ choirs, soloists and alumnae. The lyrics speak of love and com passion, faithfulness and hope, service and care, peace and unity - universal values that are an inte gral part of the IJ spirit. Nerva, who produced the album and lent his voice to som e of the tracks, said: “We want to reach out to youth everywhere, not just in the IJ schools but beyond. We are hum bled by how much God h as guided us at every step of this project and we hope that people will be touched by the songs he has inspired us to write.” Ms Donne Marie Aeria, chair p e rs o n of th e IJ B oard of M anagement, said, “W e’ve always wanted to have a repertoire of songs that all the IJ schools could enjoy singing together at school functions and combined events. So when friend and former IJ classm ate, Julie, told me about the songs she and Trevor wrote and which they were

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St Nicholas G irls’ School students during their recording of the songs in the CD ‘Sharing the Love’.

willing to contribute towards such a purpose, we decided to produce our own IJ CD and make it a gift of love to each IJ girl.” As IJ schools in Singapore will be celebrating their 150th anniver sary in 2004, “the launch of the CD is a great way to start our prepara tion,” Ms Aeria said. The first Infant Jesus-run school in Singapore, known a s the Town

Convent’ w as set up in Victoria Street 1854. Now the Sisters, with the help of lay associates, m anage 11 schools, old folks and children's hom es and centers. □ submitted by the

This is a time when we can realise and experience the tangibility of our Saviour's embracing love. We invite you to come and meet a living God! So join us and thousands of others who have discovered a God who simply loves, cares and is surprisingly....very much alivel

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MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 2002

THE CATHOLIC NEWS

W O RLD

R e lig io u s L e a d e rs M e e t In the context of the same Special Session on Children of the UN General Assembly, a special gathering of religious leaders of the world took place as well. C a rd in a l A lfo n so L op ez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, in his capacity as Head of Delegation of the Holy See delivered to the religious leaders a very hard hitting and impassioned discourse on the way the UN Charter on Fundamental Human Rights is being ignored even by signatories to that Charter.

UN S ecretary-G eneral Kofi A nnan opening the G eneral A ssem bly Special S essio n on Children

From front page

and the rights of the family should be articulated together. As the fundam ental institution for the life of every society, the family based on m arriage m ust be understood a s the covenant w hereby a man an d a w om an establish betw een th em selves a partnership of their w hole life, ... which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of th e s p o u s e s a n d to th e pro creatio n an d upbringing of children”. Everything m ust be done so that children can be conceived, born, raised and edu cated in a family that is capable of offering p ro tection an d ex a m p le , in a positive and perm anent way, a s irreplaceable elem e n ts of their upbringing. The child m ust be considered a m em ber of the family so that parents, open to the gift of life with a well u n d ersto o d resp o n sib le parenthood, can carry out their u n ren o u n c eab le duties and be aided, not im peded, by society in their mission (cf. Charier of the Rights of the Family, art. 1 b, 3c). Only w hen th e family fails sh o u ld so c iety an d th e S ta te provide children with w hat they need, hopefully in a family-like e n v iro n m e n t th a t o ffe rs them hospitality, dedication, resp ect and te n d ern ess. “All children, w hether born in or out of wedlock, enjoy th e sa m e right to social protection, with a view to their integral personal d e v e lo p m e n t” ( Charter of the Rights of the Family, art. 4e). Protection from other Abuses

My D e le g a tio n b e lie v e s th a t legislation is n ee d ed to protect c h ild re n from all fo rm s of exploitation and ab u se, a s in the c a s e of incest and paedophilia, a s well a s through labour, slavery, th e a b o m in a b le c r im e s of p ro stitu tio n a n d p o rn o g ra p h y , kidnapping, their u se a s soldiers or guerrillas, or a s victims of arm ed conflicts or of international or unilateral sanctions im posed on so m e countries. All th e se scourges are an affront and a scandal to humanity. T h ese various form s of violence m ust not go unpunished. Adoption

Careful w atch should be kept so that adoptions — both national an d in te rn a tio n a l, w h en truly

advisable and in resp ect for the principle of the “b est interests of the child” - will be m ade by married couples who give real g u ara n tee s of stability, moral solidity, ability to a c c o m p a n y a n d g iv e g o o d exam ple. In this way children can be brought up properly without their developm ent being obstructed o r th e ir p e r s o n a litie s b e in g destroyed. For the integral and h a r m o n io u s d e v e lo p m e n t of children, a s scien ce itself te ac h es, it is in their b est interests to have both a father and a mother. Population Control

My Delegation w ishes to stress that the b est interests of children is not r e c o g n iz e d w hen, c o n d itio n e d by th e m yth of overpopulation - which the m ost re c e n t d a ta an d d e m o g ra p h ic tr e n d s h a v e s h o w n to b e unconvincing - , population policies a re im posed that go ag ain st the rights of the family and children. First of all, the fundam ental right to life m ust be recognized. T h e C a rd in a l c o n c lu d e d : Children are both a wealth and a hope for the hum an family. It is for this reason that the Delegation of the Holy S e e e x p re sse s its hope that this Special S essio n of the United N ations G eneral A ssem bly will have m any an d ab u n d an t fruits to en su re that the children of the whole world will b e the “springtim e of the family and of society”. Final Document

The special se ssio n on children c o n c lu d e d , th e UN G e n e ra l A ssem bly adopted, May 10, the final outcom e docum ent - “A World Fit for Children’ - which reaffirms the com m itm ent of governm ents to com plete the unfinished ag e n d a of the 1990 World Summit for Children. T he d o cu m en t, w hich w a s adopted without a vote, contains a Declaration and a Plan of Action, which tog eth er aim to chart a course for a global m ovem ent that w ould stre n g th e n international a c tio n s for th e p ro m o tio n of children’s rights in the twenty-first century and beyond. O n e c a n h o p e th a t th e C om m ittee on the Rights of the Child, which will hold its 13th S essio n in G eneva, 21 May - 7 June, will formulate concrete ste p s to a d d re ss the issu es. Editor -

Vatican and UN reports

T here a re certain universal tr u th s r e g a rd in g m ankind an d society th a t have been likewise recognized or e s ta b lis h e d as u n q u e s tio n a b le , w h ich are th e foundation of hum an rig h ts d e c la r a tio n s and international law and which h av e been e n s h r in e d in a d ocu m en t th at for this rea so n b ea rs th e title th e “U n iv e rs a l

including ap p ro p riate legal protection, before as well as after birth" (P ream ble) an d “... every child has the inherent right to life”, (A rticle 6 ). Y et, m a n y d e le g a tio n s an d g o v e rn m e n ts refuse to recognize th at fact; that right to life an d th e truth th at life d o e s indeed begin at th e m om ent of conception. D elegations and g o v ern m en ts refu se to affirm that every child h a s a right to protection an d special ca re by th e fact of the dignity with which he or sh e h as b ee n endow ed by God, an d that su ch protection is ow ed to the child before birth a s well a s after

Everyone has ti| right to access to education, yet w e se e

a c o n tin u e d g a p b e tw e e n rich a n d poor, an d b etw e en th e per- c e n ta g e s of boys an d girls who a re allowed to attend school, an d com plete a course of education.

Declaration o f Human R ig hts". W h a t is

striking is how in fact, th is u n iv e rsa lity is a f te r w a r d s not recognized. T hus in A rticle 3 of th e D e c la r a tio n , th e d efe n ce of the right to life is affirmed, but then in various w ays is rejected, especially regarding th e crim e of abortion. In th is d ia lo g u e in v o lv in g re lig io u s l e a d e r s , it s e e m s ap p ro p riate th en to a sk why th o se social truths, truths th at are c o n s id e re d a s real and co n crete a s any m athem atical proof or scientific fa c t, a p p e a r to b e s o o ften ig n o r e d , q u e s tio n e d or challenged, especially within th e work of the United N ations. For exam ple, th e Charter of the United Nations sta te s that, “W e the peoples of the United

Nations determined .. to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and w om en and of nations large an d sm all...’’. T he Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in its first Article, proclaims, “All human beings are bom free and equal in dignity and rig h ts ...". Y et to o m any

d eleg atio n s refuse to sp e a k of this hum an dignity with which w e have all b een endow ed and in which w e all sh a re . This truth, this f a c t is n o t o n ly th e v e ry co rn ersto n e of the hum an rights outlined by the United N ations, b u t th e v ery c o r n e r s to n e of humanity itself. It is the recognition of our hum an dignity th at helps bind us to g eth er an d calls u s to ca re an d concern for ea c h other. Why th en is it ignored? The Declaration on the Rights of the Child reco g n izes that,

the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care,

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provided for by loving an d caring p are n ts or g u ard ian s. E veryone u n d ersta n d s th e im portance of the family and the role that parents play in th e lives of children. At th e sa m e tim e th e re is a denial of parents’ rights, th e re is a denial of their religious or social b ac k g ro u n d a s well a s th e ir h eritage. And in th o se s a d tim es w hen th e structure of th e family an d th e role of p are n ts have broken down, th o se sa m e people w ho p ro fess th e b est in terests of th e child too often ab an d o n their responsibilities to provide a loving, se c u re an d nurturing environm ent for children and, a s a principle, th e se b est in terests of the child a r e n o t o b s e rv e d . A nother b asic truth is p u sh ed a sid e in the n am e of p rogressive thinking; tradition is b ro k e n d o w n a n d s o c ie ty b e g in s to crum ble.

Everyone has the right to the highest attainable standard of health. C an the world

th e child is born. It is bewildering to think that m any of th o se sa m e d eleg atio n s th a t r e fu s e to re c o g n iz e th e hum an dignity of th e unborn child claim to s p e a k for th e dignity of the o p p ressed , or th o se who suffer from d is c rim in a tio n . S u c h a selective, superficial or distorted recognition an d u nderstanding of hum an dignity is truly a denial of o n e of th o se social truths that should n ever b e q u estio n ed or challenged. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also declares that, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit o f society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." (Article

76,) T hat sa m e sen tim en t is found in the P ream ble to the Declaration on th e Rights of th e Child, and h a s b een re p e a te d again and again in various United N ations P lan s an d P rogram s of Action. Still, it s e e m s th at in alm ost every d e b a te in which the role of the family is d isc u sse d , this basic and r e c o g n iz e d tru th is c h a lle n g e d , a n d to o m a n y deleg atio n s attem pt to ch a n g e the understanding of the m ake-up and role of th e family in society an d in th e life of th e child. Children have th e right to live in a family, to be protected and

sa y th a t its people h a v e e n jo y e d th a t r ig h t? T o o m a n y people, far too many children die ea c h day b e c a u s e they do not h av e a c c e s s to the m o st b a s ic o f_ m edicines or hea' c a r e . T o o mar>, p e o p le s u f fe r b e c a u s e they do not h av e clean w ater to drink or b e c a u s e they live in en v iro n m en ts th a t a re unsafe. Everyone has the right to adequate shelter, yet too m any

children are h o m e less an d too m any people live in overcrow ded h o m es in overcrow ded cities. This hard-won right is an o th er th at is very often denied. T h e se a re not purely religious iss u e s but rath er social issu es. N ev erth eless, it is the obligation of religion, which deals with the spiritual relationship that we have with God and with one another, to point out when and where the political and the secular arenas have strayed from their true path.

The p u rp o se fo r th e e s ta b lis h m e n t of th e U nited N ations O rganization w as clearly defined in its C harter. O ver the co u rse of fifty-six years, the United Nations h as struggled with making th at sta te d p u rp o se a reality in th e world. The principles set forth in the charter were more than simply ideals. They continue to guide the concrete actions of the international community towards making the world a better place for the children of today and tomorrow. Editor -

Vatican reports

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