JUNE 20, 2004, vol 54, no 13 by CatholicNews

Eucharistic Congress

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SUNDAYS JUNE 20 AND JUNE 27, 2004

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SINGAPORE 50 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM 1.20

M.I.T.A.(P) No.130/01/2004 PPS 201/4/2005

s Vol 54 No. 13

PAGE WM Eucharist, 10 Jrj Light and Life of the JSsa New Millennium

DO YOU RECOGNISE THEM?

S I N G A P O R E - More than 90% o f the priests of the Archdiocese o f Singapore, Archbishop Nicholas Chia and five bishops and archbishops from Malaysia attended a four-day workshop on canon law. The May 25-28 full-day sessions were

conducted by two Australian canon lawyers, Rev Peter Slack, Chancellor o f the diocese o f Lismore and Rev Robert McGukin from the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The workshop covered the general laws found in canon law, with special emphasis on laws regarding the

administration of church goods; role and functions o f parish finance councils; marriage dissolution and nullity; obligations and the rights of individuals and parish priests; and the keeping of church records and employment o f staff. Several questions and clarifications

For these and more, we thank the Lord

were raised by priest participants for whom the entire week was deemed fruitful. The follow-up to this seminar would be the updating o f the current Priests Directory for Singapore by local Canon lawyers, Mgr Francis Lau, Fr Terence Pereira and Fr John Paul Tan. â&#x2013;Ą

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A t the Eucharistic C ongress, Archbishop N ich olas Chia asked for prayers for A rchbishop Emeritus w ho is seriously ill in hospital.

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Singaporean ordained in U.S. NEWARK, U.S A. - About 50 family members and friends of Basil Lek flew from Singapore to Newark for his priestly ordination. Basil Lek, a Singaporean, studied for the priesthood in the Neo-catechumenal Seminary of Redemptoris Mater in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. He was among 14 deacons ordained to the priesthood Saturday May 29 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, by Archbishop John Myers. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is about to anoint you,” Archbishop Myers told the 14 new priests during the ceremony. Fr Lek, 42, is the youngest of five siblings. His parents, Leonard and Mary, are parishioners of Church of St Francis of Assisi in Singapore. He is also the nephew of Fr. Paul Tay, parish priest of Sacred Heart Church. Fr Lek studied Business Administration at the University of South Australia.

F u n a t C anossa C o n v e n t’s open house

NEWLY ordained priest, Fr Basil Lek with his parents and immediate family members.

About 20 years ago, young Basil joined the Neo-catechumenal community of the parish of St. Francis of Assisi. He was also in the music ministry of the Charismatic group of the parish of Holy Cross. It was during his journey in the Neo-catechumenal Way that he discovered his vocation to the priesthood. After his studies to the

priesthood, Fr Lek served as a Deacon at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish in Garfield. Now as a priest he will continue to serve in the same parish. Says Fr Lek, “My hope is to be an instrument of the new evangelisation according to the will of God.” □

education and salary-wise they will be on par with currently practicing teachers. The distance education programme is offered initially to overseas Filipino workers in Singapore and Hong Kong. One Filipina here who’s excited with the news is Ms Fely Molos, a domestic worker and volunteer at Madonna Skills Centre, a programme of the Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People. “I’ve been wanting to pursue my masters degree. If this course puts us on the same level as teachers with masteral degrees in the Philippines when we return home, that would be very good!” For more information email Pastor Alex Saclayan at alexsaclayan@hotmaiI.com □

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Girls from CCPS and sister kindergarten, M agdalene’s Kindergarten, sold cookies and popcorn to visitors.

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who have completed their Bachelors Degree in Education in the Philippines now have a chance to pursue their masteral studies by distance education. The United Methodist ChurchPhilippines makes this possible through their linkage with the University of the Philippines, Los Banos-Open University. Pastor Alex Saclayan, in charge of the ministry to overseas Filipino workers, said Filipino domestic workers who can avail themselves of this opportunity need not fear returning home because

SINGAPORE - Wonderful weather,

excited children, proud parents... these were noticeable at Canossa Convent Primary (CCPS) on the night of May 28, the school’s traditional Open House. This was when children ‘sho wed-off ’ to parents what they had done in the first semester. Parents strolled into the classrooms to view their children’s projects or sat on canvas sheets under the stars to watch the school’s dancers perform their Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) winning items on the open-air stage. The concert band and the choir (also SYF award winners) played and sang. Foods from chicken wings to candy floss were sold at the stalls and by itinerant hawkers. Pairs of girls from CCPS and sister kindergarten, Magdalene’s Kindergarten, persuaded visitors to buy cookies and popcorn. All funds raised went to the two school’s financial assistance I schemes. □

PARENTS and children compete with each other to fish prizes from this dry well on M ay 29 at St Gabriel P rim ary’s fund-raising carnival. I:

school off Upper Serangoon Road, where St Gabriel’s Primary is temporarily located. There were also inter-family soccer and badminton games. The school’s uprading is expected to be completed end of 2005. On top of the normal classrooms and labs in the Lorong By Mel Diamse-Lee Chuan premises, there will be a | chapel and fully equipped SINGAPORE - Hundreds of recreation rooms. The $700,000 students, parents and former being raised by the school will go alumni sweated it out May 29 to towards funding these facilities. bring out the festive atmosphere The idea, according to principal in St Gabriel Primary School’s Anne Seow, is to get the students, fund-raising carnival. their families as well as the Old Photography with a yellow Boys to come back to their alma snake, dry-well fishing, and a mini-golf course were just a few of mater and bond “as a family”. Some $60,000 was raised the attractions for the thousands during the carnival. □ who turned up at the holding

C a rn iv a l to fu n d sc h o o l u p g ra d in g

N e w s

APPOINTMENTS OF PRIESTS Fr Patrick Goh, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Singapore announces the following changes on behalf of Archbishop Nicholas Chia: ■ Fr William Lim - Spiritual Director for the Divine Mercy National Team with immediate effect. ■ Fr Kenson Koh - Chairman of the Commission for Missionary Activity effective Oct 1. ■ Fr Henry Siew - Director of the Carlo Catholic Society with immediate effect. ■ Fr Frederick Quek - Chaplain of the National University of

Singapore (Students) effective July 1.

SINGAPORE - “Build Our Dreams”

■ Fr Angel Luciano, CICM -

was the theme of CHD Our Lady of the Nativity’s official opening of its new school campus on May 28. The occasion provided an opportunity for the students to display their varied creative talents to the delight of guests. “Our Heritage” featuring the history of the school with also launched by Sister Maria Lau, Provincial of IJ Sisters. The school has always emphasised character formation and prepares the students to be responsible citizens, trustworthy colleagues, good daughters, wives and mothers and encourages them to help those who are less fortunate. It tries to tailor its teaching programmes to the different needs and abilities of its students. □

Spiritual Director of the Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People with immediate effect. ■ Fr Francis Lee - Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary Singapore Senatus effective July 1.

■ Fr Richards Ambrose M ember of the College of Consultors with immediate effect. ■ Fr John Bosco - Assistant Parish Priest of the Church of the Nativity of the BVM effective July 1. □

Spirit-filled day SINGAPORE - Church of the

Holy Spirit celebrated its 40th anniversary foundation May 30 with a Mass by Archbishop Nicholas Chia and a musical, “We Are A Light”, presented by the RCIA ministry of the parish. Catholic charismatics were later challenged by Mr Charles Whitehead during a Pentecost

Rally to translate with vision and action the will of the Lord for the church in the third millennium. Following Mr W hitehead’s talk, Archbishop Chia led a concelebrated Mass with Bishop Antony Selvanayagam of Penang and five other priests. Parishioners from all over Singapore packed the church. □

A R C H B IS H O P ’S O FF IC IA L D IA R Y 6.00 pm 12.15 pm 6.00 pm 3.00 pm 5.30 pm June 27 10.30 am July 3 9.30 am

June 20 June 23 June 24 June 26

New school campus officially opens

Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea - Mass: Confirmation Victoria Memorial Hall: Mass Assisi Home & Hospice: Mass - Order of Malta (Knights) Church of the Holy Cross: Mass - Opus Dei - Founder’s Day Church of Saints Peter & Paul: Mass - Feastday Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace: Mass - Confirmation Cathedral of the Good Shepherd: Mass - CHU 150h Anniversary

Guest-of-Honour BG George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry, accompanied by Fr Augustine Tay and school officials, chats with students. He thanked the IJ Board o f M anagement, the Principal, teachers and benefactors of the school for providing a better learning environment for their students.

The Christ in of the Eucharist 1. Why is the Eucharist not only a meal but also a sacrifice? 2. Are the consecrated bread and wine “merely symbols”? 3. If a believer who is conscious of having committed a mortal sin eats and drinks the consecrated bread and wine, does he or she still receive the Body and Blood of C h rist? these and many more questions on the Eucharist are answered in this 24 page booklet produced by the Committee on Doctrine, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, USA. Reprinted with copyrights by Catholic News. Original price: US$2.50.

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Available at: Catholic Book & Media Centre (Tel: 68583066) 2 Highland Road, #01-02. Singapore 549102. Email: cnbook@catholic.org.sg And at the following bookshops and parishes: Carlo Catholic Society Bookshop, Church of Christ the King, Katong Catholic Book Centre. Novena Church and Church of St. Ignatius. For bulk orders of 30 and above, please call Don at 68583066 or email aibook@catholic.org.sg

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News What’s life like as a refugee or an internally displaced person?

To g e t a f e e l o f w h at it's

like, Conny Fernandez, a volu n teer J R S writer, spoke with Sin gaporean s D oris K h o o a n d G ail N g a b o u t th eir experien ces at the K aren a n d K aren n i refugee cam ps a t the ThaiM ya n m a r border. This is th eir story a n d the story o f the refu gees they visited.

Refugees on the move THERE are now many empty bamboo huts in Mae Khong Kha, once a camp for 17,000 Karen refugees in Thailand. Over seven weeks beginning January 15, 2004, and unnoticed by the world, 10,000 refugees were trucked to Mae Hla Oo, a new camp site right beside the ThaiMyanmar border. JRS Singapore had been providing financial support to the Karen Catholic Chaplaincy at Mae Khong Kha for the past three years. The Chaplaincy ran an orphanage for boys and girls, a school for higher education and provided pastoral care for a 1,170-strong Catholic population in the camp. Former English language teacher, Doris Khoo, travelled seven and a half hours on dirt

T H E new refugee cam p in M ae H la Oo is pitched on m ountainous slopes.

L iving p •ecariousl roads from Mae Sot to the new refugee camp last March to witness how the refugees were coping and was astounded at what she saw. “It was a long, arduous journey,” she described. During the monsoon season, the last 3.5 km-road to the camp would only be accessible by boat. “The camp is situated right at the edge of the river which separates Thailand from M yanmar” she recalled, “and thus exposed the refugees to the danger of incursions by Myanmar government troops.”

The geography of the site was also a cause for worry. The gradient of the ground on which the houses were built was about 60 degrees and stripped of vegetation. "During the monsoon season, it will turn muddy. The river will rise and overflow into the surrounding area. How will they cope?” asked Doris with a worried look. Doris thought the contrast between the picturesque landscape with a view of the mountains of Mynamar in the foreground - “it looked like a perfect spot for eco-

tourism” - and the human suffering there ironic. The refugees had been given bamboo poles, bamboo mats (for walls) and big leaves (for the roof) to build their huts but they were inadequate for the harsh weather conditions - temperatures can drop to below 10°C at night. Toilets were holes in the ground. As the camp was perched on mountainous slopes, going anywhere was a steep climb. They could not grow their own food and had to rely on rations from the Burmese Border Consortium, a

Rejected by the world, the refugees’ deepest wish is to be loved and accepted.

G A IL Ng conducting a class at th e cam p for K arenni girl.

Crying for love IT BEGAN with an innocent question: “Where are your parents?” But the response Gail Ng received from Paw Lay Baw, a 14-year old Karenni girl, broke her heart. The young girl recalled how her parents had died in Myanmar, how she had

to battle fear and loss, how she walked from her village in Myanmar to the refugee camp which she now called home. “Tears of grief poured down her face to the point that she could not answer any more of my questions,” remembered Gail, a

geography teacher from the Catholic Junior College. Gail had joined JRS Singapore for a week-long trip last November to the Karenni Refugee Camp at Mae Hong San and the Karen camp at Mae Kong Kha with the intention of bringing joy to others, but felt humbled instead in the face of the children’s suffering. “There was a lot of crying on this trip,” she said . Poverty and suffering was evident everywhere in the camp but Gail discovered that there was a greater need than material basics.

Need for love and acceptance W hat the refugees wanted above everything else was to be loved, accepted and wanted. “Adults and children alike came up to us stretching out their hands, waiting patiently for us to take their hands in ours,” Gail recalled. “I felt a little apprehensive at the beginning,

but somehow God must have given me the courage to do so.” Despite the difficult situation, the refugees continued to hope and trust in God.This reinforced G ail’s belief that with God present in our lives, we need very little of anything else. “However dire the situation may be, we can pull through with him.” The incredible warmth of the people, the sight of children dressed in threadbare clothes happily and hungrily gobbling down the chocolate wafers given to them were some of the many memories which Gail would always treasure. Will she go back? Most certainly. “I truly believe that each of us can do our part for these people and others in similar situations around the world. We need to search deep within our hearts to find that personal response, whatever it is. And after that, just trust that God will see us through.” For Gail, the journey has just begun, as a new volunteer with JRS Singapore. □

group of humanitarian organizations in which JRS is a member. The Karen refugees have no legal protection and have few basic human rights. At the camps, Doris vacillated between hope and depression. In the midst of poverty and despair, she saw hope in the orphanage where helpless orphans were cared for and in the school however basic and inadequate which provided a glimpse of the future for the Karen youths. “All of the children are so hungry for learning,” Doris noticed. “All the youths I spoke to, without exception, had one purpose - to do well not to secure a brighter future for themselves only, but through education they hope to help build their shattered community.” “The situation is grim,” said Doris but she refused to despair.'Tf I do, then I will not be able to help.” She was resolved to go back to the camps to help. D oris’ background in education is an advantage as “education is such a big issue at every refugee camp”. She joined JRS Singapore as a volunteer and developed a training programme for tutors for JRS Sri Lanka. She was looking to see what needed to be done in Thailand. “There is a lot of misery, but I am enriched immeasurably. How? By the knowledge that I can help in a situation of need and that God is using m e”. Doris sees the hand of God in the projects. She recalled with a laugh how money required to buy PCs for the refugee school came through a chance meeting at the Church of St Ignatius. “I had gone for the Easter Triduum talk though I had initially not planned to go. I met an old friend and I was recounting the trip and mentioned the refugees’ need for PCs. To my amazement, she (the friend) immediately gave me the entire sum required for PCs. God orchestrated the meeting to provide for the mission - all I had to do was be obedient and turn up in church!” □

For more information, call 6463-6022 or email: jrs@jesrefsg.org. If you wish to support JRS work with the refugees, send cheque donations to “SJ Kingsmead Hall" (write at the back of cheque, either for JRS work in general or specify refugee group you wish to support). Mail to The Country Director, Jesuit Refugee Service Singapore, 8 Victoria Park Road, Singapore 266492.

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East Coast Park walk funds migrant welfare projects By Mel Diamse-Lee SINGAPORE - Rachel (not her real name) is in Singapore to work as a restaurant staff. She left her dear ones in the Philippines to help make their lives better. But the restaurant job she was prom ised turned out to be bogus. She was instead brought to a pub to work as a GRO (guest relations officer). Rachel is one of the many victims of human traffickers bringing sex workers into Singapore. She is now housed in a shelter for women migrant workers in crisis. It is for these women - as well as the men in another shelter - that Footprints

M att 5:6

A CMI friend leads the walk dressed as a clown on M ay 30.

2004, a walk at East Coast Park was organised by the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CMI) on May 30. Some 60 people turned out for the walk. These included residents of the shelters, CMI volunteers, members of the public and other migrant workers who came to cheer up the shelter residents. The walk was the last project of Mrs Bridget Lew, who served as CMI chairman for the past six years. She stepped down from the

”

commission on June 1 and currently serves as a volunteer. (Two issues from now, an interview with Mrs Lew will appear in this paper.) Weeks before the walk, envelopes were distributed to help fund the two shelters and other welfare projects of CMI, according to Mrs Lew. She expects some S$50,000 to be raised from the walk. Returns from the envelopes have not crossed S$ 10,000 as of press time. □

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Vatican updates guidelines on care of migrants By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY - The vast scale

and changing face of today’s people on the move prompted the Vatican to update its guidelines on the pastoral care of migrants. The Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers released the document, “Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi” (“The Love of Christ Toward M igrants”), May 14. The 80-page instruction comes 35 years after Pope Paul V i’s “Pastoralis M igratorum Cura” put forth the church’s basic guidelines concerning the care of immigrants, refugees and people on the move. “The instruction aims to be an ecclesial response to the new pastoral needs of migrants, to lead us to turn migration into an occasion for dialogue and mission, in a sign of the new evangelization,” said Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, the council’s secretary. At a Vatican press conference May 14, Archbishop Marchetto said migrants today number more than 200 million people, representing “the largest movement of peoples of all times.” The vast number and the diverse religious traditions of today’s migrants prompted the council to revise some of its responses and reaffirm its principles concerning how the church should address the needs of today’s newcomers. The document makes specific mention of how the church can work with Eastemand Latin-rite immigrants as

well as Muslims. “The uprooting that moving abroad inevitably involves (from country of origin, family, language, etc.) should not be made worse by uprooting the migrant from his religious (tradition) or identity, too,” the document said. “Where there are faithful of a different rite, the diocesan bishop should provide for their spiritual needs either through priests or parishes of that rite or through an episcopal vicar endowed with the necessary faculties,” it said, citing a decree of the Second Vatican Council. In regard to the growing numbers of Muslim immigrants to predominantly Christian nations, the document reiterated Vatican IPs call “for a purification of memory regarding past misunderstandings, to cultivate common values and to clarify and respect diversity, but without renouncing Christian principles.” But it also gave a clear warning against mixed marriages and against making churches or chapels available as places of worship to other faiths. “To avoid misunderstandings and confusion, and considering the religious diversity that we mutually recognize, and out of respect for sacred places and the religion of the other, too, we do not consider it opportune for Christian churches, chapels or places of worship ... to be made available for members of nonChristian religions,” the document said. “With regard to marriage between Catholics and non-

Christian migrants, this should be discouraged,” it said. But the document pays particular attention to marriage between a Catholic woman and a Muslim man. “Bitter experience teaches us that a particularly careful and indepth preparation is called for,” it said. The importance of dialogue, however, was a common thread running throughout the new text. Migration “helps people get to know one another and provides opportunity for dialogue and communion or indeed integration at various levels,” it said. Father Michael Blume, the council’s undersecretary, said that “dialogue and evangelization are not opposites.” Past pastoral experience has taught the church “that when migrants feel understood and at ease, they become part of the community more easily and they enrich it,” he said. The instruction urged proper formation in the lay faithful to understand their own faith’s teachings as well as those of other religions. It advocated the creation of a culture of “welcome and solidarity” that overcomes fears and erases prejudices that keep people from seeing the face of Christ in “the stranger.” “The church, sacrament of unity, overcomes ideological or racial barriers and divisions and proclaims to all people and all cultures the need to strive for the truth in the perspective of correctly facing differences by dialogue and mutual acceptance,” it said. □ c n s

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News What’s life like as a refugee or an internally displaced person?

To g e t a f e e l o f w h at it’s like, Conny Fernandez, a volu n teer J R S writer, spoke with S in gaporean s D o ris K h o o a n d G a il N g a b o u t th e ir experien ces a t the K aren a n d K a ren n i refu gee cam ps a t the ThaiM y a n m a r border. This is th e ir story a n d the story o f the refu gees they visited.

T H E new refugee cam p in M ae H la Oo is pitched on m o u n tain o u s slopes.

Living precariously roads from Mae Sot to the new refugee camp last March to witness how the refugees were coping and was astounded at what she saw. “It was a long, arduous journey,” she described. During the monsoon season, the last 3.5 km-road to the camp would only be accessible by boat. “The camp is situated right at the edge of the river which separates Thailand from M yanmar” she recalled, “and thus exposed the refugees to the danger of incursions by Myanmar government troops.”

The geography of the site was also a cause for worry. The gradient of the ground on which the houses were built was about 60 degrees and stripped of vegetation. “During the monsoon season, it will turn muddy. The river will rise and overflow into the surrounding area. How will they cope?” asked Doris with a worried look. Doris thought the contrast between the picturesque landscape with a view of the mountains of Mynamar in the foreground - “it looked like a perfect spot for eco-

Rejected by the world, the refugees’ deepest wish is to be loved and accepted.

G A IL Ng co n ducting a class a t th e cam p fo r K a ren n i girl.

but somehow God must have given me the courage to do so.” Despite the difficult situation, the refugees continued to hope and trust in God.This reinforced G ail’s belief that with God present in our lives, we need very little of anything else. “However dire the situation may be, we can pull through with him .” The incredible warmth of the people, the sight of children dressed in threadbare clothes happily and hungrily gobbling down the chocolate wafers given to them were some of the many memories which Gail would always treasure. Will she go back? Most certainly. “I truly believe that each of us can do our part for these people and others in similar situations around the world. We need to search deep within our hearts to find that personal response, whatever it is. And after that, just trust that God will see us through.” For Gail, the journey has just begun, as a new volunteer with JRS Singapore. □

group of humanitarian organizations in which JRS is a member. The Karen refugees have no legal protection and have few basic human rights. At the camps, Doris vacillated between hope and depression. In the midst of poverty and despair, she saw hope in the orphanage where helpless orphans were cared for and in the school however basic and inadequate which provided a glimpse of the future for the Karen youths. “All of the children are so hungry for learning,” Doris noticed. “All the youths I spoke to, without exception, had one purpose - to do well not to secure a brighter future for themselves only, but through education they hope to help build their shattered community.” “The situation is grim,” said Doris but she refused to despair.”If I do, then I will not be able to help.” She was resolved to go back to the camps to help. Doris’ background in education is an advantage as “education is such a big issue at every refugee camp”. She joined JRS Singapore as a volunteer and developed a training programme for tutors for JRS Sri Lanka. She was looking to see what needed to be done in Thailand. “There is a lot of misery, but I am enriched immeasurably. How? By the knowledge that I can help in a situation of need and that God is using m e”. Doris sees the hand of God in the projects. She recalled with a laugh how money required to buy PCs for the refugee school came through a chance meeting at the Church of St Ignatius. “I had gone for the Easter Triduum talk though I had initially not planned to go. I met an old friend and I was recounting the trip and mentioned the refugees’ need for PCs. To my amazement, she (the friend) immediately gave me the entire sum required for PCs. God orchestrated the meeting to provide for the mission - all I had to do was be obedient and turn up in church!” □

For more information, call 6463-6022 or email: jrs@jesrefsg.org. If you wish to support JRS work with the refugees, send cheque donations to “SJ Kingsmead Hall” (write at the back of cheque, either for JRS work in general or specify refugee group you wish to support). Mail to The Country Director, Jesuit Refugee Service Singapore, 8 Victoria Park Road, Singapore 266492.

B le s s e d a r e th o s e w h o h u n g e r a n d th ir s t fo r rig h te o u s n e s s , f o r th e y w ill b e tille d .

East Coast Park walk funds migrant welfare projects By M el Diamse-Lee SINGAPORE - Rachel (not her real name) is in Singapore to work as a restaurant staff. She left her dear ones in the Philippines to help make their lives better. But the restaurant job she was promised turned out to be bogus. She was instead brought to a pub to work as a GRO (guest relations officer). Rachel is one of the many victims of human traffickers bringing sex workers into Singapore. She is now housed in a shelter for women migrant workers in crisis. It is for these women - as well as the men in another shelter - that Footprints

M a tt 5 :6

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The more you honour me, the more I will bless you.

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Vatican updates guidelines on care of migrants By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY - The vast scale

and changing face of today’s people on the move prompted the Vatican to update its guidelines on the pastoral care of migrants. The Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers released the document, “Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi” (“The Love of Christ Toward M igrants”), May 14. The 80-page instruction comes 35 years after Pope Paul V i’s “Pastoralis Migratorum Cura” put forth the church’s basic guidelines concerning the care of immigrants, refugees and people on the move. “The instruction aims to be an ecclesial response to the new pastoral needs of migrants, to lead us to turn migration into an occasion for dialogue and mission, in a sign of the new evangelization,” said Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, the council’s secretary. At a Vatican press conference May 14, Archbishop Marchetto said migrants today number more than 200 million people, representing “the largest movement of peoples of all times.” The vast number and the diverse religious traditions of today’s migrants prompted the council to revise some of its responses and reaffirm its principles concerning how the church should address the needs of today’s newcomers. The document makes specific mention of how the church can work with Eastemand Latin-rite immigrants as

well as Muslims. “The uprooting that moving abroad inevitably involves (from country of origin, family, language, etc.) should not be made worse by uprooting the migrant from his religious (tradition) or identity, too,” the document said. “Where there are faithful of a different rite, the diocesan bishop should provide for their spiritual needs either through priests or parishes of that rite or through an episcopal vicar endowed with the necessary faculties,” it said, citing a decree of the Second Vatican Council. In regard to the growing numbers of Muslim immigrants to predominantly Christian nations, the document reiterated Vatican Il’s call “for a purification of memory regarding past misunderstandings, to cultivate common values and to clarify and respect diversity, but without renouncing Christian principles.” But it also gave a clear warning against mixed marriages and against making churches or chapels available as places of worship to other faiths. “To avoid misunderstandings and confusion, and considering the religious diversity that we mutually recognize, and out of respect for sacred places and the religion of the other, too, we do not consider it opportune for Christian churches, chapels or places of worship ... to be made available for members of nonChristian religions,” the document said. “With regard to marriage between Catholics and non-

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Christians discuss ecumenism

Canon law and the Catholic lawyer

! CANOSSIAN Sister Theresa Seow of Singapore (extreme right) was a Catholic representative to the dialogue. ROME - “The future of ecumenism demands a return to the spiritual roots of the movement,” stated the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) at its meeting in the Orthodox Academy of Crete, Kolympari, Greece, May 6-13. Formed in 1965 following the Second Vatican Council, the JWG initiates, evaluates and sustains the many forms of collaboration between the two parent bodies. Its members are appointed by the World Council and the Holy See following each Assembly of the WCC. Representatives of each parent body shared news of significant developments in

C larification: SPI would like to clarify that the talks by Fr Zhang at Holy Trinity Church on July 8 and 9 will be conducted in Mandarin. We apologise for any confusion that may have arisen.

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ecumenical relations. These included preparations for forthcoming meetings of the World Council’s Faith and Order Commission (2004), Conference on Mission and Evangelism (2005) and Ninth Assembly (2006) as well as bilateral relationships between the Roman Catholic Church and other churches. The meeting adopted three studies developed by JW G sub committees, dealing with The Ecclesiological and Ecumenical Implications of a Common Baptism, The Nature and Purpose of Ecumenical Dialogue, and Roman Catholic Participation in National and Regional Councils of Churches. Describing the JW G ’s work as “first and foremost a journey of

■ FAMILY CONTENTMENT In a survey looking at personal satisfaction, American adults gave family the highest positive ranking, while money was the lowestrated item. CNS graphic; Source-Gallup

faith,” members assessed past achievements and shared their hopes for the movement’s future. The report will be submitted to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Assembly of the World Council of Churches. Until the appointment of new members following the next WCC Assembly, the JWG Executive Committee will carry forward the work and maintain the relationship. Bishop Brian Farrell, I secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, led the group in a fresh examination of the Vatican II document on ecumenism, “Unitatis Redintegratio”, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its publication. □

FAMILY CONTENTM ENT When asked how content they were w ith aspects of life, Americans chose fa m ily first Percent of those who said they were "highly satisfied" with, family

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26 money

From telephone interviews with 1,011 adults nationwide conducted Dec. 1 1 - 1 4 ,2 0 0 3 .

R E D E M P T O R IS T F a th e r Paul P an g (F irst row , fifth fro m left) w as am ong th o se w ho tu rn ed up fo r th e class re u n io n o f o f St Jo sep h In stitu tio n ’s class o f 1954 o n Ju n e 4 at the S JI grounds. B ro th er V incent Im ar C orkery and B ro th er A lbinus O 'Flaherty (S eco n d ro w first and third from left), teachers o f the class flew in from M alaysia to jo in the O ld Boys. In th e fo re g ro u n d is M r P atrick M o w e, o n e o f the o rg an isers o f the reu n io n , an d the e x -stu d e n ts’ fo rm e r h e a d prefect. T h e class p ro d u c ed several p ro m in e n t citizens, according to M r M ow e. □

SINGAPORE -A b o u t 40 Catholic lawyers attended a talk May 26 on the development of canon law and its relation to civil law by Rev Robert McGuckin, President of the Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Rev Peter Slack. The talk held at Singapore Academy of Law restaurant was hosted by the Catholic Lawyers Guild (CLG) and arranged by CLG ’s spiritual director, Fr John-Paul Tan OFM. Fr McGuckin was in Singapore to conduct a seminar to the clergy on canon law. Among the lawyers who attended were 28 CLG members. This is the gist of the talk.

History and purpose of canon law Prior to the first Code of Canon Law in 1917 and the current 1983 Code, canon law developed through the various circumstances encountered by the church. For example, the decision by the Jerusalem assembly on the admittance of Gentiles. The Code is to be read in the context of the conciliar ecclesiological teaching of the church. The necessity for canon law stemmed from the church being a society of the people of God in the world. It is not the aim of canon law to restrict freedom but to protect it so that people of God can fulfil the mission entrusted to them in baptism.

originated from the Romans, and the church drew on the concept of “juridical person” in Roman law. Dioceses, parishes and religious institutes are public juridic persons in canon law. Each juridic person has a canonical administrator. During the Reformation, there was a separation between the civil authorities and Roman Catholic Church. Fr Peter drew an analogy between Greek theatre and how civil law views the church. Like Greek actors who put on masks before the audience sees them, the church must have a legal entity under civil law before it can be recognised by civil law. Through Concordats between the Holy See and i some countries such as Latvia, juridical persons in the church are recognised by the civil authorities. In other countries, the church is represented in civil law through trusts, associations or corporations. | In Singapore, the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore and his successors in office are incorporated under the Roman Catholic Archbishop Act. Apart from the civil law structures, the relationships within the church remain governed by canon law.

Canonisation of civil law and employment matters

Some areas in canon law make reference to civil law. In general for employment issues, Juridic persons and their recognition under civil law canon law requires due regard to civil law in the contracts and remuneration for church At the time of Roman Emperor j workers. Exceptions to this Constantine, civil recognition canonisation of civil law was given to the church and its include matters contrary to property. Terms such as divine law or to canon law. □ “diocese” and “vicar”

US debate over giving Communion to dissenting politicians reverberates at Vatican

No ea v answers By John Thavis VATICAN CITY - The debate in the

■ Protesters clash with police

CNSPHOTO

ECUADORAN students and Indian groups clash with riot police as they protest outside the hotel where the Organization of American States was holding its general assembly in Quito, Ecuador, June 7. The Vatican released a message to the assembly’s president and the ministers of 34 American nations declaring that a dignified standard of living for all people would do more than the latest weaponry in guaranteeing greater stability and peace in the world. □ CNS

■ Thousands gather for Tiananmen Square anniversary THOUSANDS gather in Hong K ong’s Victoria Park June 4 for a candlelight vigil to mark the 15th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown. Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen Zekiun, addressing a prayer service prior to the annual vigil, urged Catholics to fight against those who breached the “one country, two systems” principle and threatened freedom of speech. “The authoritarians massacred our patriotic youngsters,” Bishop Zen said. “How can we not fight for their vindication? Some people have breached the one-country, two-systems principle one-sidedly by interpreting the Basic Law. How can we not stand up and say no?” The prelate said it had become increasingly obvious that democracy and freedom in Hong Kong were not to be taken for granted. □ UCAN, CNS

■ Natural family planning growing in popularity CENTACRE Adelaide’s Natural Fertility Services has reported a dramatic increase in the number of engaged couples seeking natural family planning education. The Southern Cross reports the service saw a 60% jum p from 2001 to 2002 and a further 180% increase from 2002 to 2003. “The most striking aspect of the increase is in the motivation they arrive with,” senior educator Denise McGinn said. “Few are arriving with an

United States over Communion and Catholic politicians is echoing loud and clear in the Vatican this summer, raising concerns about episcopal unity. But despite the divergent policies adopted by several US bishops, the Vatican has been slow to intervene, and it may choose not to do so publicly. One reason is that the Vatican does not want to be seen as telling the US bishops what to do. Another is that Vatican officials do not have easy answers to the questions raised by the debate. Many at the Vatican would agree that a Catholic politician who supports legal abortion could be denied Communion under church law. But on the question of whether this should be done, Vatican opinion is far from uniform. And while some say the more aggressive stand by some bishops is a necessary tactic, others draw a different lesson. “Some of the people at the highest levels (of the Vatican) are quick to point out that this points to the failure on the part of the church to convince people of the truth. Some of them see it almost as an embarrassment that you need to do this,” said one Vatican official. As groups of US bishops have come to Rome on their “ad limina” visits this spring, they have briefed Vatican officials on the Communion issue. Sources said that during his visit in late May Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago offered an incisive analysis that highlighted some of the complexities involved. A week later, meeting with a separate group of US bishops (“ad limina” visits are required of all heads of dioceses every five years), Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was asked to provide some guidance or clarification. He gave a nuanced response that came down on the side of caution, according to sources, and then suggested that his doctrinal congregation meet with members o f a US bishops’ task force studying these questions. As of June 10, however, no such meeting had been set up, and sources in Rome said not everyone was convinced such an encounter would be useful. The main reason is that, while the

understanding that this is the family planning method approved by the church. They have made their decision based on their values of respect for their bodies and respect for each other.” Mrs McGinn said while the increase was consistent with a surprisingly high representation of young people at last y ear’s Humanae Vitae seminar series conducted by the archdiocese, she believed many of the young couples seeking advice on natural family planning were too young to rem em ber Pope Paul

Vatican could spell out the principles involved in the Communion issue, in the end it’s up to the bishop to weigh the circumstances and make the judgment. The problem is not the rules, but their application. That involves theological, pastoral and canonical elements, and no Vatican office has sat down and put together a playbook that covers all that. What the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation did do, in late 2002, was issue a “doctrinal note” that, among other things, emphasized the moral duty of Catholic politicians to oppose legislation that allows legal abortion and euthanasia.

In recent years, in fact, the Vatican has sometimes reminded bishops that their duty to speak out boldly and “prophetically” should not be curbed by the consensus-building efforts of bishops’ conferences and other assemblies. Some bishops have felt emboldened by that. Now that a few have spoken out — courageously or incautiously, depending on one’s point of view — the Vatican is reluctant to stifle them. “There’s probably some hesitancy (at the Vatican) to undercut somebody who may be taking a prophetic stance, even if it’s a little bit imperfect or not terribly nuanced,” said one Vatican official. Media coverage of the bishop’s pronouncements has added a wild card element to the issue. These days, a bishop’s pronouncement reaches far beyond the borders of his diocese; within minutes, it may show up on the TV headline crawl. And if two bishops take different approaches, it’s quickly portrayed as a division among church leaders. Media tend to focus on the harshest statements, too. That may help explain why, although only a handful of US bishops have said Catholic politicians in C N S PH O TO disagreement on abortion cannot But the document didn’t speak of receive Communion, they have received sanctions like denying Communion. It a lot of attention. didn’t speak of sanctions at all — and Speaking privately, Vatican officials that’s a point Vatican officials have often draw a lot of distinctions in this recently been emphasizing to visiting discussion. They note that there’s a US bishops. difference between denying A main argument of the Vatican’s Communion and asking people to “doctrinal note” was that the church has refrain from the sacrament; between a right to be heard in the public forum threatening excommunication and on these important moral issues, and quietly urging individuals to examine that this should not be considered an their conscience; or between rejecting intrusion by religion. the pro-abortion agenda and realizing But some believe the recent focus that a politician’s position may not be on denial of Communion undoes that easily discerned in a single vote. argument: It seems to suggest that They are also aware that the church issues like abortion are, in fact, may not gain politically from this primarily religious or internal church debate. According to one recent poll, 71 matters — sacramental rather than percent of US voters said the bishops moral questions. That point has been should not pressure Catholic lawmakers raised by at least one bishop in Vatican on abortion. meetings. “I don’t think this is changing the It’s a given that the Vatican favors minds of politicians, and I don’t know church unity, and prefers that bishops that it’s going to sway voters, either. speak with a harmonious voice on But in terms of prompting Catholics to public matters as grave as these. But the think about these things, I think it’s current debate has also raised the probably been helpful,” said one church question: W hat price unity? official in Rome. □ CNS

V i’s 1968 encyclical. “There does seem to be a resurgence of people’s interest in natural alternatives and options, so (it’s hard to determine) whether they are coming from that perspective, or whether they are interested in what the church teaching is on natural family planning.” Note: Natural Fam ily Planning Education is offered in Singapore in several parishes and coordinated by Family Life Society. For more information call 6488-0278. □

■ Pakistani Christian dies after prison beating FOR the second time in a month, a young Christian in Pakistan has died of injuries after being beaten by fundamentalist Muslims. Samuel Masih died after spending several months in a coma after he was savagely beaten by a Muslim jail warden. Masih was serving a prison term after his August 2003 conviction under the terms of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law. □

News

Inactive Catholics Special effort needed to reach them, says Vatican WASHINGTON - The time has come for the

US Catholic Church “to launch a special effort of evangelization through media, including and perhaps especially through Internet,” the top Vatican communications official said during a visit to Washington. US Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said the moment was signaled by the end of two years of “virtual siege conditions” because of the clergy sex abuse scandal and the “tremendous response” to Mel G ibson’s film, “The Passion of the Christ.” In a May 26 talk to members of the US bishops’ communications committee meeting in Washington, he suggested the US church “reach out to inactive Catholics, especially those who might have used recent scandals as a type of justification for their own inactivity or alienation.” With approximately 20 million inactive Catholics in the United States, they are the nation’s second largest “religious group” after the 65 million active Catholics, he said. Holy Family Sunday, the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s, might

CICADAS

■ Retired chemistry professor to examine weeping statues BRISBANE - A retired chemistry professor has been recruited by the church to determine whether religious objects in a small Brisbane church are actually bleeding and weeping. The Courier Mail reports that judicial vicar and investigator Dr Adrian Farrelly said the professor may be able to provide a scientific explanation for the phenomenon which many have hailed as a miracle. “W e’ve got a retired professor of chemistry,” Dr Farrelly said. “He wants to remain private, given the sensitivities of the matter. H e’s not Catholic, he’s agnostic, but h e’s got the required skills I need.” Thousands of people, from as far away as Melbourne and New Zealand, have flocked to the Vietnamese Community Church in the south-western Brisbane suburb of Inala to view religious objects, including crucifixes and a statue of the Virgin Mary, which have either bled or leaked rose oil over the past three weeks. Dr Farrelly, an expert in church law who also ministers in the inner north Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, said he had not investigated weeping statues before. He had no idea when the investigation might be finished or when he could hand his report to Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby. The abnormalities began when rose oil started flowing from the eyes, nose, forehead and fingers of a statue of the Virgin Mary. A small cross on the altar has also bled, as have religious figurines. Archbishop Bathersby has said a similar inquiry in Western Australia last year had taken two months but it found the phenomena did not meet the criteria of a miracle. □ c n s

27 memorial Mass for some three dozen people associated with the Catholic Press Association who had died in the past year and addressed the Catholic News Service breakfast at the CPA convention. “The Christian life - and perhaps especially a Christian life spent in the Catholic press - requires much sacrifice,” he said at the Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. “First, there is the financial sacrifice. Often we have to do much more for much less,” he said. “But then we think of the good we can do - bringing truth and spiritual nourishment to many who would otherwise have only limited information and little insight into the religious and spiritual significance of what is happening in the world; helping to create a sense of Catholic com m unity;... basically reminding people of the true purpose in life, of what is truly significant.” The archbishop said work in the Catholic press also involves “professional sacrifice,” with Catholic journalists “sometimes treated like the ‘Rodney Dangerfields’ of communications - we get no respect.” □ c n s

be an appropriate time to provide “an especially welcoming atmosphere in which those who would be visiting their families from work or from study would mingle with those making an effort to return to the church,” Archbishop Foley said. “In that way, the inactive Catholics would not be ‘branded’ as inactive merely as those who had not been seen recently, just like other Catholics who had been away from home or from the local community for other reasons,” he added. The archbishop also suggested that the growth of Catholic radio would provide an opportunity for a “radio retreat for Catholics - and for anyone who wants to listen - during Lent.” “If a single, powerful film could have done so much to prompt more confessions and greater participation in Lenten devotions and indeed at Mass during this past Lent, could we not seek to rekindle this fervor next Lent with a radio retreat which could also be made available on audiocassettes and CDs for listening at home or in the car?” he asked. During his Washington trip, Archbishop Foley also celebrated a May

cover a statue of Mary in the yard of a home in Silver Spring, Md. Throughout the eastern United States there are billions of Brood X cicadas - the black red-eyed bugs that appear every 17 years to eat, procreate and shed their skin. The males make a constant buzz with their loud mating calls for at least five weeks. Most church people have tried to take a light-hearted approach to the situation. A Washington church had a sign in front that on one side said: “Genesis 1:24 - Let the Earth bring forth creeping things,” while the other side read, “God created cicadas to make us wonder why.” Others took a practical approach to the bugs along with a possible spiritual lesson about getting along with God's creations or being flexible in all situations.

■ 800,000 attend papal envoy’s Mass in Uganda KAMPALA, Uganda - At least 800,000 Ugandans attended a Mass celebrated in Namugongo by Cardinal Renato Martino, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The Mass was celebrated in memory of St. Charles Lwanga and his companion martyrs at their shrine on the outskirts of Kampala where they were slain in 1885 and 1886. Cardinal Martino, who had been meeting with victims of the war in northern Uganda, highlighted the importance of martyrdom as an expression of holiness. Holiness is not something extraordinary, but belongs to everyday reality in the faith, the cardinal said. Cardinal Martino said the solution to Uganda’s problems should begin with the commitment of Ugandans to be the protagonists of solidarity and mission. □

■ Saudi police torture Indian Catholic for his faith VATICAN CITY - A Catholic Indian citizen

was arrested and tortured in Saudi Arabia because of his faith, according to L’Osservatore Romano. The semiofficial Vatican newspaper, quoting sources of the Fides missionary agency and the Indian bishops’ conference, said that Brian Savio O ’Connor was imprisoned about six months ago by the Mutawa, the Saudi religious police. Taken to the Ali Hira prison in Riyadh, the accused was threatened with death if he did not convert to Islam, his brothers, Raymond and James, said. The O ’Connor brothers confirmed that Brian “has been incarcerated for six months and tortured with the intention of obliging him to abjure his faith.” Sources said the accused is now in the Olaya prison. “Officially the M utawa has accused O ’Connor of using drugs and praying to Jesus Christ, accusations which imply he runs the risk of being punished with the death penalty,” the Vatican newspaper stated. “The family says that the proofs of his use of drugs have been fabricated by the police, while it does not deny that Brian is a good Christian,” the newspaper added. □

ZENIT

Gospel of Mark (Chinese edition) in comic book HONG KONG - The Gospel of Mark in

Chinese has been published in comic book format. The publishers claim that the 400page hardcover book is the first comic book version of a Gospel in Chinese. The comic book illustrates the Gospel as well as add explanations in separate panels using a priest character. Pauline Shum Sui-ping, executive editor of Vox Arnica Press in Hong Kong, told UCA News the Chinese comic adaptation with theological reflections is the first of its kind in the world. The 400-page hardcover book has been on sale in parishes and church-run schools and bookstores since early April. It is priced at HK$300 (S$67), but the Salesianrun press is offering students and parishioners a special price of HK$180. The initial print run was about 50,000.

Shum explained that the press chose Saint M ark’s Gospel for the pioneering adaptation because it is the shortest Gospel. Shum hopes that the book will help non-Christians find it easier to understand Jesus’ teachings. Father Paul Leung Kon-chiu, director of Vox Arnica Press, said the comic book was published to help young people understand the theological meaning of what is done and said in the Gospel. He noted that comics are popular among local children and teenagers. The Salesian priest said some parts or some stories of the Bible had been adapted as comics elsewhere, but he knew of no complete adaptation of a whole Gospel. Shum said finding the right person to draw the Gospel illustrations took up much time. “We tried several comic artists, but their output was not satisfactory.

Actually, it took only about two years to finish the drawing after we found the right candidate,” she said. Input from Salesian Fathers Lanfranco Fedrigotti and Savio Hon Tai-fai, head of the Salesian’s China Province that includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, helped to make the illustrations more authentic. “For example,” Shum said, “the priests told us what the dishes and the cups should look like at the time of Jesus’ Last Supper with reference to the culture, which had been wrongly represented in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous classical painting.” Shum observed that the launch of the comic book in early April coincided with the local release of the film “The Passion of the Christ,” prompting commercial bookstores to display the comic prominently. □ u c a n

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“NOTHING can be more useful to a man most of us, the urge to consume is not so than a determination not to be hurried.” Henry m uch a b o u t fo o d or d rin k , but about David Thoreau wrote that and it’s not meant experience. O ur propensity to over eat as something trivial. We hurry too much, pure (particularly, in an age that is so sensitive to and simple. As Henri Nouwen describes it: health and fashion) generally has little to do “One of the most obvious characteristics of with food and infinitely more to do with our daily lives is that we are busy. We other kinds of consumption. We are always experience our days as filled with things to in a hurry because we are forever restless to By Fr Ronald do, people to meet, projects to finish, letters taste more of life. It’s this kind of hurry, Rolheiser to write, calls to make, and appointments to subtly driven by greed and gluttony, that can keep. Our lives often seem like suitcases be a form of violence exercised upon time bursting at the seams. It fact, we are almost always and can constitute an obstacle to holiness. aware of being behind schedule. There is a nagging But there are other kinds of hurry that come from sense that there are unfinished tasks, unfulfilled simple circumstance and duty. Almost everyone of us, prom ises, unrealised proposals. There is always at least during our working years, have too many things something else that we should have remembered, done, to do: we struggle daily to juggle the demands of or said. There are always people we did not speak to, relationships, family, works, school, church, child-care, write to, or visit. Thus, although we are very busy, we shopping, attention to health, concern for appearance, also have a lingering feeling of never really fulfilling housework, preparing meals, paying rent and mortgage our obligation.” We are always hurrying. payments, car payments, commuting to W hat’s wrong with hurrying? Any and from work, bus-schedules, unwanted doctor, police officer, spiritual director, accidents, unforeseen interruptions, or over worked mother, can answer that: illnesses, and countless other things that H u rry in g cau ses te n sio n , high eat up more time than is seemingly bloodpressure, accidents, and robs us of available. the simple capacity to be in the moment. The gospels tell us that even Jesus But spiritual writers take this further. was so busy at times, that he didn’t They see hurry as an obstacle to spiritual have time to eat. T hat’s not surprising. growth. Donald Nicholl, for example, Robert Moore once said that the mark says “hurry is a form o f violence of a true adult is that “he or she does exercised upon time”, an attempt, as it what it takes”. Sometimes that means were, to make time God’s time our own, our private being stretched to the limit, being overextended, property. What he and others suggest is that, in hurrying, having to juggle too many things all at once, driving we exercise a form of greed and gluttony. How so? faster than w e ’d like, w orking to the point of Too often we have a rather simplistic notion of exhaustion, even as there is still more that we should greed and gluttony. We imagine greed, for example, ideally be doing. as hoarding money and possessions, as being selfish, There’s a hurriedness that doesn’t come from greed hard-hearted, like Scrooge in Dickens’s Christmas or gluttony and that can’t be dismissed with the tale. Indeed, that kind of greed exists, though it’s simplistic judgement: “That’s what she gets for trying not the prerogative of many. For most of us, greed it all!” Sometimes we have to hurry just to make do, takes a different, m ore subtle form. M ore than and simple circum stance and duty eat up every money, we hoard experience. We, try to drink in the available minute of our time. That’s not necessarily world, all of it. We would like to travel to every an obstacle to holiness, but can be one of its paths. place, see everything, feel every sensation, not miss Still, we have to be careful not to rationalise. God out on anything. We constantly hurry what w e’re didn’t make a mistake in creating time. God made doing so as to be available to do something else. We enough of it, and when we can’t find enough time and, try to juggle too m any things at the same time as the Psalmist says, find ourselves getting up ever precisely because we want too many things. The earlier and going to bed ever later because we have too p o sse s s io n s w e re a lly w ant are e x p e rie n c e , much to do, we need to see this as a sign that sooner or knowledge, sensation, achievement, status. We’re later we had better make some changes. When we huny greedy in a way Scrooge never was. too much and for too long we end up doing violence to Gluttony works in essentially the same way. For time, to ourselves, and to our blood pressure. □

The gluttony of busy people

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REPORT BY M EL-DIAM SE LEE. PHOTOS BY RAYMOND TAN & ANTHONY CHAN

SINGAPORE EUCHARISTIC

CATHOLICS filled the Singapore Indoor Stadium June 13, feast of Corpus Christi, for the Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress. Priests, religious brothers and sisters, youth, families, elderly in wheelchairs, the hearing-impaired were among 10,000 “who wanted to be in solidarity” with Catholics celebrating the Eucharist all over the world. Allotted seats were filled up and the congregation overflowed into the section behind the altar which is normallly left vacant.

The last Eucharistic Congress held in Singapore was in 1981 at Toa Payoh Stadium and attended by 20,000 Catholics. The 48th International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Mexico in October. By holding the archdiocesan congress, it is hoped that Catholics here will enter into the spirit of the great event in solidarity with the universal church, Archbishop Nicholas Chia said. He hoped the congress and the preparations leading to it will help deepen Catholics’ love for the Eucharist.

Sundays June 20 and June 27, 2004 if ®

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A special segment for youth saw two young people sharing about their love for the Body and Blood of Christ and how through the Eucharist they are able to become better people for others. Following the youth segment and Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was brought around the stadium by Fr. Richards Ambrose for veneration. Students from Catholic schools and migrant groups from parishes lent their voices to a combined choir that sang at the congress.

CELEBRATING CORPUS CHRISTI ELSEWHERE

The Eucharistic Congress committee chose to help the people of Liberia by raising funds for the refugees and internally displaced among them. During the homily, Blessed Sacrament Father Erasto Fernandez, a theologian from India who has been helping Catholics here prepare for the congress through a series of talks, challenged the congregation to be “bread for others”.

CONGRESS 2004 E u c h a ris t, L ight a n d N e w

Life o f t h e

M i l l e n n i u m

Preparations for the Eucharistic Congress began last November with Singapore Pastoral Institute (SPI) calling for consultation and feedback from all organisations, Religious congregations and parishes about what they would like to see in a Eucharistic Congress. SPI then consolidated ideas and set up a committee to plan for the congress, said Ms Wendy Louis, SPI assistant director and chairperson of the committee. A few people experienced in planning and organising events were invited to sit in the committee. On April 18 this year, Archbishop Nicholas Chia issued a pastoral letter unveiling the plans and activities leading to the congress. Among activities announced were prayer and reflection sessions by neighbourhood groups or small Christian communities, a Pentecost Rally, a youth walk and several public talks by Fr Erasto Fernandez.

By John Thavis

ROME — Pope John Paul II announced a special year dedicated to the Eucharist, saying the church needs to highlight its importance for spiritual life and missionary tasks of the 21st century. The eucharistic year will begin with the International Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, this Oct. 10-17 and will end with the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in Rome Oct. 2-29, 2005, the pope said. The pope made the announcement June 10, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, during a Mass at the Rome Basilica of St. John Lateran. Afterward he led a traditional eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome, while seated in the back of a modified flatbed truck. The pope last year wrote an encyclical on the Eucharist, emphasizing its centrality for every aspect of church life. Speaking at the Rome Mass, he said there was a close connection between the Eucharist and announcing Christ. To enter into communion with Christ in the Eucharist means becoming missionaries of the message of his sacrifice, he said. “All those who come worthily for nourishment at his table become living instruments of his presence of love, mercy and peace,” he said. The pope read the entire text of his sermon during the 90minute liturgy, which was celebrated by Cardinal Camillo

POPE John Paul II, seated behind a m onstrance containing the Eucharist, celebrates the feast o f the Body and Blood of Christ at the Rome Basilica of St. John Lateran June 10. CNS photo

Ruini, papal vicar of Rome. Organizers of the eucharistic congress in Mexico have invited the pope to come for the event, but the Vatican has given no response. The Corpus Christi procession stopped traffic during the Rome rush hour, with thousands of the faithful, bishops and cardinals walking alongside the papal vehicle from the Lateran basilica to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, nearly a mile away. □ CNS

■ First Eucharistic procession in Amsterdam since 1578 AMSTERDAM, Netherlands For the first time since 1578, a procession of the Blessed Sacrament took place on the streets of Amsterdam June 13, the feast of Corpus Christi. “Since 1578, the year in which Dutch political leaders joined the Reformation cause, the procession was prohibited. “However, following changes in legislation in 1989, religious manifestations in public are permitted. The procession is neither a “provocation,” nor a “sign of triumphalism,” but “a continuation of Amsterdam’s Eucharistic tradition,” a priest explained. □ ZENIT

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Vatican ensures Bush’s meeting with pope in no way a campaign stop US PRESIDENT Bush and Pope John Paul II grasp hands during their meeting at the Vatican June 4. The fact that this was an election-year visit may explain why the Vatican ensured that this encounter in no way resembled a campaign stop. The pope m anaged a smile or two, and the president seem ed genuinely pleased to be in the presence o f a man he described as a “hero o f our tim e.” c n s photo

By John Thavis VATICAN CITY - In their first meeting

since the Iraq war, Pope John Paul II told US President George W. Bush he was deeply concerned about the “grave unrest” in Iraq and called for a speedy restoration of the country’s sovereignty. During a 50-minute encounter June 4, the pope firmly reminded the president of the Vatican’s opposition to the invasion of Iraq last year. What Iraq needs today, he said, is for the situation to be normalized as quickly as possible, under a framework of greater international cooperation. “The recent appointment of a head of state in Iraq and the formation of an interim Iraqi government are an encouraging step toward the attainment of this goal,” the pope said, in a speech delivered in a strained and halting voice. The pope described international terrorism as a “source of constant concern.” But in an apparent reference to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers, he said recent “deplorable events” have undermined the values that are essential to defeating terrorism. In a brief talk to the pope, Bush presented the pontiff with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and called him a “hero of our tim e” for his defense of human freedom and dignity. It was the third meeting between the two leaders, and it coincided with celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Europe during World War II. In Rome, people turned out to commemorate the liberation of Rome on June 4,1944, while in many parts of the city anti-Bush demonstrators also gathered to protest. After 15 minutes of one-on-one talks in the papal library, Bush and the pope moved to the ornate Clementine Hall, where they delivered talks and exchanged gifts. Seated next to the president, the 84year-old pope struggled through his twopage text, pronouncing a word or two at a time. After thanking Bush for the visit and expressing his “warm welcome,” the pope quickly turned to the international scene. “It is the evident desire of everyone that

Bush visits pope Bush gets scolding on Iraq, praise on respect for life; gives Medal of Freedom this situation (Iraq) now be normalized as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organization, in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq’s sovereignty, in conditions of security for all its people,” he said. He said he hoped a similar process would take hold in the Holy Land, where he said fresh negotiations are needed between Israel and the Palestinians. Addressing terrorism, the pope recalled that he had called Sept. 11, 2001, a “dark day in the history of humanity.” “In the past few weeks other deplorable events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious conscience of all, and made more difficult a serene and resolute commitment to shared human

VATICAN CITY - John Paul II returned to Rome

elated by his meeting with young people in Bern and pleased with his third trip to Switzerland, said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Vails. The positive atmosphere of the apostolic pilgrimage was evident in the change of tone in the Swiss press during and after the trip. On Saturday, the day of the pope’s arrival, the headline of Le Temps lead article was “John Paul II in Switzerland, an Air of Indifference.” Two days later, the same newspaper began its lead article with the headline: “Magic Has Worked Once Again. Between the Pope and Young People There Is a Lasting Love, Undoubtedly Encouraged by the Elixir of Faith.” The Swiss press also gave ample coverage to the conclusions drawn from this event by Marc Aellen, spokesman of the country’s Catholic episcopal conference, who described it as an “enormous success.” “At the beginning, for the meeting in the

values; in the absence of such a commitment neither war nor terrorism will ever be overcome,” the pope said. He invoked G od’s blessing on all those who work for understanding between peoples, “in respect for the security and rights of all nations and of every man and woman.” The pope praised Bush for his commitment to promoting moral values in American society, particularly when it comes to respect for life and the family. He also thanked the United States and its humanitarian agencies, particularly Catholic agencies, for their work in African countries that face “fratricidal conflicts, pandemic illnesses and a degrading poverty.” The pope recalled the Allied liberation of Rome and noted that many American

Bern Arena, we did not expect more than 3,000 to 4,000 young people; there were 14,000,” Aellen said. “On Sunday, we didn’t dare to hope for the figure of 40,000 - and 70,000 people attended the M ass.” Similarly, Le Temps asked today: “Did this visit reconcile Swiss Catholics, often distrustful and reticent in the face of Roman centralism, with their pope?” “Seeing the warm atmosphere, full of emotion, that reigned in the Allmend field, one might think so,” the newspaper said. “The attendance was exceptional.” The pope’s address to the youths was full of slogans in which he marked the future of the church in the country. One of these phrases could summarize his message for the future of Swiss Catholics: “D on’t be content to discuss; don’t wait for occasions to do good that perhaps will never come. The hour of action has arrived!” □ z e n i t

soldiers gave their lives for their country and for the freedom of the peoples of Europe. He prayed that the mistakes of the past that led to the tragedy of war would not be repeated again, and he said US -European cooperation was sorely needed today. At the end of his talk, the pope assured the president of his prayers and invoked upon him “G od’s blessings of wisdom, strength and peace.” “May God bestow peace and freedom upon all mankind,” he said. In presenting the Medal of Freedom to the pope, Bush told the pope he was respected, admired and greatly loved by Americans. Like the pope, Bush said, “we recognize the power of freedom to change societies and to change the world.” He described the pope as a champion of the poor and outcast, a defender of “the dignity of every life” and a spiritual leader who helped topple communism. Bush later told reporters his meeting with the pope had been “very constructive and positive.” “It was an honor to be in the presence once again of this strong and godly man,” Bush said at a Rome press conference June 5. “He and I share the same concern about treating people with dignity. Like His Holiness, I was repulsed by the pictures I saw of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by some of our troops,” Bush said. Those troops do not reflect the United States and its values, he added. After the papal audience, Bush met for about 45 minutes with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, and other leading Vatican foreign affairs experts. □ c n s

SW ISS youths cheer Pope John Paul II during a youth rally in Bern, Switzerland, June 5. Enthusiastic crowds cheered him when his speech faltered, and he completed remarks in which he called on young people to listen to the “voice of the Lord” calling them to higher values, c n s photo

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N e w s

Vatican to publish World War II documents By John Thavis

' _

saviour of Rome Veteran Vatican journalist says Pope Pius XII saved Rome and Jews

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is preparing

to publish a two-volume book and eight DVDs that document the Holy See’s quiet efforts to help prisoners of war during World War II. The material from the Vatican Secret Archives, including information on some 3 million people, illustrates the “gigantic” project undertaken by the Vatican to help the prisoners and relatives seeking news about their fate, a Vatican statement said June 8. The publications also testify to the “abundant charity and social work, inspired by the principles of universality and impartiality, which was carried out under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII,” the Vatican said. The material is expected to go on sale at the end of June, and will be available to the general public as well as historians. Pope John Paul II decided in 2002 to release some wartime material from the Vatican archives ahead of the normal publication schedule, following requests by Jewish groups and historians. Vatican archives of an entire pontificate are normally opened at the same time; in 2005 the entire material from the papacy of Pope Pius XI (1922-39) will be made available. The early publication of the World War II information shows Pope John Paul’s desire to “render a service to historical truth without clamor, fear or delay,” the Vatican said. The books and DVDs document the work of the Vatican Information Office for Prisoners of War, which operated in connection with the Vatican Secretariat of State in 1939-47. The printed volumes include commentary from current Vatican officials, a sampling of the approximately 10 million letters handled by the Vatican office, and a 21-chapter review of the office’s activities. The eight-set DVD, sold separately, includes images of the files of more than 2 million prisoners of war about whom the Vatican was asked to help provide information. □ cm Editor’s note: Requests fo r the volumes and DVDs may be made to the Vatican Secret Archives, Vatican City, 00120 (e-mail: asv@asv.va,fax: 06-6988-5574.) The price o f the two-volume set is 75 euros; the DVD set costs 400 euros.

PIUS XII stands with Irish and Catholic officials in front o f an Irish food donation at the Vatican around the time of W orld War II. The Vatican with the help o f Catholic War R elief Services distributed the canned meat to needy fam ilies in Italy. Vatican journalist Arcangelo Paglialunga (left) was an eyewitness to the event 60 years ago. He is pictured in June 2004 in St. P eter’s Square, c n s p h o t o s By Carol Glatz ROME - W hile the US 5th Army led by Gen. Mark Clark is remembered for being the first Allied troops to march into a Rome free from Nazi occupation, Pope Pius XII is recalled by many Romans as the man who spared the Eternal City from wartime destruction. When Clark and his troops trundled through Rome on June 5, 1944, the streets were choked with residents cheering and celebrating the end of nine months of a city under siege. But more than 100,000 people later that same day thronged St. P eter’s Square, calling for the pope to come to his window and receive their accolades; Pope Pius XII, they said, was the miraculous savior of Rome. “Pope Pius XII had done so much. Just think, the last Germans left Rome the evening of June 4th right at the same time the first Americans were coming in. It

seemed like a miracle that not a shot had been fired. Nobody died. This was the miracle of Rome,” said Arcangelo Paglialunga, eyewitness to Rom e’s liberation 60 years ago and a Vatican journalist for the past half century. Pope Pius had done two things, said Paglialunga: He worked tirelessly convincing Allied leaders to spare Rome from its bombing campaigns, and he called on both the Americans and the Germans to not turn Rome into a killing field by keeping ground combat out of the city. Paglialunga said the pope was key in the aftermath of the occupation since there was no authority who could deal with the return of Romans who had fled the city. He said the Vatican organized “by papal order a caravan of trucks that brought people back to their homes.” The Vatican also “loaded the trucks with grain and foodstuffs from the countryside to alleviate the hunger” that

still racked the city, he said. Paglialunga grew up a few blocks away from the Vatican. His closeness to the church and local religious helped give him an insider’s view into how the Holy See helped Rome during those long months of occupation. “During the Nazi occupation, the pope had asked Christians to help protect the Jews. I knew the priest at a church nearby who had helped get an older Jewish family hidden in the home of a parishioner. On the morning of the 5th, the priest told me to go to the house and tell the family that the Americans had come - that they were free,” he said. The young Paglialunga was at first met with incredulity when he brought the family the good news. “They didn’t believe me. I told them it was true that the Americans were right outside and if they still didn’t believe me I ’d go out and bring one back to show them,” he said. At that point, he said the older Jewish man, his wife and her sister all burst into tears of joy and relief. Paglialunga, 18 years old at the time, remembers that on June 5 at 4:30 a.m. “a massive line of tanks came rumbling up the Via della Conciliazione headed toward St. P eter’s.” Residents, used to long, citywide curfews, spilled into the streets. “From the tanks, the American soldiers tossed us packs of Chesterfields cigarettes. And then they threw down cans of meat wieners. It was incredible. After so much hunger you have no idea what it was like to suddenly eat meat from those cans,” he said. But one of the tanks took a pit stop and parked right in St. Peter’s Square. “The drivers were obviously Catholic. Instead of following the others up the road north, they came to the square with the tank. They had gone to the basilica to see the church and pray,” Paglialunga said. The pope, however, did not approve of an armored tank flanking the square and wrote a letter to the American command asking them to move the tank. After months of intense fighting and many grueling battles to reach Rome, surely there were many soldiers wanting to give a prayer of thanks. Hundreds later turned out for Mass on the first Sunday after the liberation. □ c n s

Don’t be fooled by their designer duds. They have been keeping the peace and protecting the pope for 500 years

Swiss Guard VATICAN CITY - Under those bright, baggy

bloomers and a tilted beret stands a lean, mean fighting machine as well as a courteous helper of lost or curious tourists. He is a Swiss Guard. He stands at least 5 feet 8 inches tall, is an ironclad Catholic of “irreproachable” character, young and single, has clocked in at least 19 birthdays and usually no more than 30, and he is Swiss. He also has completed rigorous entrance requirements and Swiss army

training, making him a member of an elite guard who is ready at any moment to sacrifice his life for the pope. The papal Swiss Guard tradition has been marching on for nearly 500 years making it the oldest, continually active military corps in history. Many people, however, do not see that side of the guards as they stand duty at one of the Vatican’s entrances. Most tourists see them as the perfect setup for a souvenir snapshot. “They’re not just buttoned up, ready for show; they’re very highly trained for

any emergency,” said Msgr. Charles Bums, a church historian. It was an undercover Swiss Guard who helped shield Pope John Paul II during the assassination attempt. Pope John Paul paid tribute to that centuries-old commitment in a May 6 address to 33 new recruits. “Thank you for your service to the successor of Peter and his collaborators here in the Vatican. It is a demanding commitment and perhaps sometimes tiresome, but God will reward you,” he said. □ c n s

^ S th e th o n ^

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THE PRESIDENT

R e a g a n a n d J o h n P a u l I I s h a r e d s o m e c o m m o n g o a ls , b u t d iffe re d e ls e w h e re not always good.” Just as the pope in early June took issue with President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq, he reminded Reagan and presidents in between him and the current president that American culture and values are not necessarily always the best thing for other nations. “The Holy Father has proven him self to be a shrewd and adept international statesman,” said Father Avella. “He would not and will not allow him self to be co opted by politicians.” Father Schenk said the basic difference between Reagan’s image of remade communist states and the pope’s was that the president emphasized subsidiarity, in the form of trickle-down economics, as the ideal, while Pope John Paul envisioned subsidiarity tempered with solidarity with the poor.D CNS

By Patricia Zapor

WASHINGTON— As two of the most prominent leaders involved in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Pope John Paul II and President Reagan shared common goals for the world but diverged sharply when it came to the question of what to do with post-communist societies. With Reagan’s death June 5 at the age of 93, much of the discussion of his presidency focused on his role in bringing about the end of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Reagan was inaugurated in January 1981. Pope John Paul had headed the Catholic Church for just over two years at that point. Both men came into office at a time when cracks were appearing in the Iron Curtain, and the two became key players in widening the cracks and eventually ending the era of communism in Eastern Europe. Reagan and the pope differed greatly on what should happen in former Soviet countries after communist rule ended, as well as over issues including economic policy and weapons proliferation. But both men were astute in working together toward the goal of defeating communism, said Marquette University history professor Father Steven Avella. Father Avella and Dominican Father Richard Schenk, director of the Intercultural Forum for Studies in Faith and Culture at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, both pointed to the shared experience of being the target of assassination attempts as another point over which the two men bonded. The two communicated several times about the aftereffects of the assassination attempts, Father Schenk said. In 1984 Reagan appointed the first U.S. ambassador to the Holy See in 117 years, after getting Congress to repeal an 1867 law barring any funding for a U.S. embassy to what were then the Papal States. Reagan, who had met with Pope Paul VI in 1972 while in Europe as a representative of President Nixon, met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1982 and again in 1987. They also met in Alaska in 1984, when Reagan was on his way home from China and the pope on his way to South Korea, and in Miami when the pope visited the United States in 1987. The two exchanged letters or spoke by phone on a number of other occasions. Perhaps in part because of their common background in acting — the pope in theater, Reagan in movies — and their skill as communicators, the pair proved to be a formidable force. “Both were invested in and both were instrumental in overcoming the Soviet U nion’s hegemonic rule of Eastern Europe,” said Father Schenk. Though the handwriting spelling out the end of com munism’s era may have been on the wall, Reagan and the pope were important figures in “pushing it to an end sooner than it would have happened,” Father Schenk said.

CNS file photo PRESIDENT Ronald Reagan meets with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican June 6, 1987.

Reagan, who was president from 1981 to 1989, died June 5 at the age of 93 at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles after struggling with Alzheim er’s disease for a decade. John Paul II sent Secretary of Vatican State Cardinal Angelo as his special envoy to Reagan’s June 11 funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal church. Reagan’s father was a Catholic, but he was raised in his m other’s denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples o f Christ). Before his divorce from his first wife, Jane Wyman, he attended Hollywood-Beverly Christian Church. He and his second wife, Nancy, attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. Although he did not attend church frequently, he said he prayed often. Jesus “has been a part o f my life. I can’t conceive o f a day in which I don’t find myself communicating with him,” he said. The pope was saddened at Reagan’s

Both were firmly convinced that Soviet-style communism was bad for the world, he explained. The pope’s interest was rooted in the belief that communism infringed too much on basic human rights o f individuals, while Reagan’s had more to do with an interest in opening up Eastern Europe to free market forces, Father Schenk said. Pope John Paul’s role was to “take the people of Eastern Europe seriously and give them a voice when they needed one,” he said. As a native of Poland, the pope’s experience with life under communism, and his personal connections to the people in the labor union Solidarity meant his efforts were rooted in pastoral care for people, said Father Schenk. Reagan brought to his office a powerful ability to persuade the world, using public perception as a force for change, said

death. “The pope recalled the contributions of Reagan to the historical events that changed the lives o f millions o f people, especially in Europe,” said Joaquin Navarro-Vails, the Vatican spokesman. The pope also noted Reagan’s contributions to US society. The pope sent a telegram to Reagan’s wife, Nancy, to express his sadness. “I recall with deep gratitude the late president’s unwavering commitment to the service o f the nation and to the cause of freedom as well as his abiding faith in the human and spiritual values which ensure a future of solidarity, justice and peace in our world,” the pope wrote. The president and the pope, along with former Soviet leader M ikhail Gorbachev, are considered by many to have been the main protagonists in the disbanding o f the Soviet empire and the fall of communist governments throughout Eastern Europe. W hile Reagan oversaw an arms buildup in the United States and Western Europe aimed at pressuring the Soviets, the pope pressed for respect for human rights throughout Soviet-bloc nations.

□ CNS, ZENIT

Father Avella. Reagan and the pope had a divergence of opinion about what to do after communist-influenced governments toppled in Eastern Europe and in Latin America. “I don’t think, for all Ronald Reagan’s attributes, he gave much credit to the idea of non-American-style globalization,” Father Schenk said. The pope, on the other hand, has encouraged the retention of local cultures and ways of life rather than the “Americanization” of the world. The key principle for the pope in both Eastern Europe and Latin America — as well as in today’s emerging democracies — is the fundamental option for the poor, he said. Father Avella said the pope continues to remind American leaders that “what the United States spreads through the world is

Reagan won some, lost some with US bishops By Jerry Filteau

WASHINGTON — In eight years in the W hite House, President Ronald Wilson Reagan drew Catholic support with his stands on abortion but was often at loggerheads with the Catholic bishops on issues ranging from nuclear defense and welfare reform to US policy in Central America. Reagan’s nuclear saber-rattling in his 1980 presidential campaign prompted the November 1980 initiative by the US bishops that led to their landmark 1983 pastoral letter on the morality of nuclear warfare and nuclear deterrence. His espousal of free market economics and opposition to government regulation often led US bishops to oppose Reagan administration policies they saw as harming the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society. One example was in housing for the poor. Between 1979 and 1987, federal funding for such housing was cut by 75 percent while the number of homeless in America rose from 200,000 to 2 million. At the same time, his firm opposition to government funding for abortion brought frequent praise from Catholic officials. The bishops criticized the administration’s military aid to the rightwing government in El Salvador and Guatemala and the right-wing Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua amid ongoing reports of massive human rights violations. The one issue on which Reagan and the bishops were most deeply and publicly divided was US nuclear policy. The bishops opposed Reagan proposals to build neutron warheads, plans for deploying MX missiles and funding for his massive Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly dubbed “Star Wars.” The bishops supported Reagan’s 1987 agreement with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on a historic treaty to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear forces in Europe. □ CNS

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Zechariah 12:10-11,13:1; Psalm 63:2-6,8-9; Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24 THEN Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20) At certain ages, it is not uncommon for human beings to take stock of their lives and assess what they are really all about. For many of my friends, it is the “women in their 50s” syndrome: Children are grown (or at least less dependent), parents often have passed away and long-cherished or habitual roles are shifting. Most of the time a wisdom bom of surviving life’s challenges enables one to assess what is most important and what is peripheral in the larger scheme of things. When all the roles, accomplishments and possessions are stripped away, one naturally asks, “Who am I really?” Jesus’ disciples are called upon in today’s Gospel to answ er this question, not about themselves but about their friend and teacher. W hen Peter finally gets it right, Jesus warns him to remain silent, explaining that much suffering and rejection must occur before his messiahship can be affirmed. M ost o f the persons I know w ho are “finding themselves,” in the truest sense, are those who have suffered loss, rejection and heartache. An older gentlem an in an adult confirmation class describes the awakening that came with his widower status; an aunt whose children are grown goes back to school to acquire a degree that no one thought was practical or possible. Even among the young, the crucibles of lack or tragedy, like the refiner’s fire, often create a clearer self-identity and a stronger sense o f direction. W hile none o f us are messiahs in the way that Jesus is, we are in fact “anointed” (the meaning of the word “Messiah”) in baptism and confirmation to recognize and fulfill our God-given purposes. Emptied of our false selves through trial and trouble, losing our lives for Christ’s sake, we find our best - and blessed - selves. □

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LEAVING was harder than I ’d ever imagined. We had moved to Italy for graduate school, and my yearning for the closeness and connection w e’d left behind was acute. Home was all I thought about. All my feelings were tinged with longing. When, finally, friends came for a visit, the long bus ride from the airport was a barrage of questions and comments about people and happenings back home. After an hour or so, crossing a bridge, one of them interrupted me. “Is this the Tiber? THE Tiber?” I nodded impatiently, eager to get back to the news. “Have you started taking it all for granted yet?” he asked, staring at the river. “It’s all pretty amazing to me.” Irritated, I followed his gaze to the ruins of a Roman bridge from around the time of Christ. Suddenly it daw ned on m e th a t I ’d been missing the richness of one of the m ost b eau tifu l and h isto ric a lly significant cities in the world. Every block held another treasure of antiquity, another masterpiece of art. From that day on I began to think less about what I’d left behind and to an tic ip a te m ore eag erly the marvels surrounding me. W hen Jesus invites people to follow him in S u n d ay ’s G ospel story, one would-be disciple wants to accept the invitation, but only after tying up loose ends at home. When Jesus replies that “no one who ... looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God,” he is denying neither the importance of family nor the pull of history. He instead is warning us that until we can let go of what was for the sake of what can be, we risk losing both the excitement of a new present and the greater promise of the future which discipleship offers. □

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CARE founded by Jackie Webb 1 WAS an early member of CARE (Catholic Aids Response Effort), the support group for people with AIDS, which was founded by Jackie Webb - not by Molly Wijeyasingha as stated in your recent article. CARE still continues to flourish. I was inspired, all those years ago, by the way that Jackie Webb made the first outreach to people with AIDS - at a time when there was much more fear, ostracism and prejudice against them as compared with the present situation. I hope you may be able to do an article on the early history of CARE! Stella Kon Singapore

On Communion Ministers I W OULD like to know whether all our Communion Ministers are adequately trained. Recently, a non-Catholic friend was offered the host although she had crossed her hands, placing the palms on the shoulders to show that she only wanted to be blessed. □ Bernandette Wong Spore 440074

VERBATIM ■ The religious significance of your refrigerator:

6 6It is a strange object of worship. People who have long since given up genuflecting in church, either because their knees are a bit tired and cranky or because they always run into friends before they reach their usual seat, still manage to kneel before the fridge.9 9 - Michael McGirr, Online Catholics

L IS T E D H O U S IN G A G E N C Y

Does “Redemptionis Sacramentum” apply to Singapore now? I HAD the the joy of downloading from the Vatican website the Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum” and reading it. I was absolutely thrilled when Catholic News ran a good few pages highlighting the document. I sincerely believe this Instruction is long overdue. I had the occasion (I don’t usually) to attend a lunch time Mass iast week and I was quite taken aback to see that some of the abuses which the Instruction spoke of were still being perpetuated, in particular the following two: [94.] It is not licit for the faithful “to take by themselves and, still less, to hand from one to another” the sacred host or the sacred chalice... [104.] The communicant must not be permitted to intinct the host him self in the chalice, nor to receive the intincted host in the hand. In good faith, I approached one of the organisers after Mass and asked if she was aware of ‘Redemptionis Sacramentum’. She replied no and when I explained she asked me to speak to the priest-celebrant. I did and was very surprised with what the priest said. The discussion was short (maybe 10 minutes) and was done very cordially. I was given the impression that: (1) The Instruction does not apply as the archbishop has yet to ratify it. (2) The Instruction itself conflicts with Canon Law (I didn’t ask for the details from the priest and trusted he knew what he was talking about). 3) Catholic News has jum ped the gun by publishing that article a few issues back. (4) He didn’t want to change the current practice since it’s become custom and the archbishop has not officially ratified the new Instructions. This is not a complaint of any sort against the priest-celebrant or the organisers for the lunchtime Mass. I write this note

in good faith and in the hope of seeing Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament accorded the love and reverence that is rightly his. Will you be able to clarify the points raised, in particular the point about the archbishop having to ratify the Instructions (and if so, will he do so). Henry Loo Singapore Editor’s note: M ost of the guidelines in the recent publication of Redemptionis Sacramentum can be found in the General Instructions on the Roman Missal (GIRM) which accompanied the new rites of Mass when it was first introduced more than 30 years ago. In that time unusual practices, a lack of accountability over matters of worship and 'Father knows best attitude’ have grown up. The recent document does remind us that they are aberrations. Archbishop Nicholas Chia has asked the Liturgical Commission to study the document. As to the the question of “ratification” of the document, Francis Cardinal Arinze, in no uncertain terms, in the concluding paragraph of the document, wrote: “This Instruction, prepared by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline o f the Sacraments by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II in collaboration with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was approved by the same Pontiff on the Solemnity of St Joseph, March 19, 2004, and he ordered it to be published and to be observed immediately by all concerned.” This document appeared on the Vatican web site on the date of publication: March 25, 2004. All major catholic newspapers around the world ran the story as a news report. We did not jump the gun! The above document has recently been printed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei. □

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A nun atjourney's end “The f in a l ta sk o f life is to live in such a way that, when we die, ou r death s, like ou r lives, sw eeten ra th er than e m b itter the a ir...” 4 4 HOW can I make my death a gift for others? By the way I live. If I live in bitterness and non forgiveness, always full of accusation, then my death will pour those things out among my family and loved ones. T hat’s what people will feel at my funeral because that’s the air and colour that emanate from my soul, now made transparent. Conversely, if I live in graciousness, in admiration, in forgiveness, and am willing when it’s time to decrease so that others can increase, then what will be poured out at my death is blessing. My death will mean new freedom and courage for

those who know me. They will be able to go on with their lives with less fear, less guilt, knowing that it is best for them that I go away and that, like Jesus, I am helping to prepare a place for them. But this isn’t automatic, nor easy. It’s something we have to ‘w ork’ at, painfully, every day of our lives. And what do we have to work at? At blessing others, especially the young, at admiring their energy, beauty, and achievement without envy, bitterness, or cynicism. This involves, especially as we grow older, saying what John the Baptist said when Jesus appeared: “He must increase and I must

In loving m em ory o f

decrease!” As we age, the real task of life and love is to continually hand over, without bitterness, regret or envy, all the things that were once so much our own (power, attention, popularity, usefulness, turf of every sort). Part of this, the hardest part of all, is forgiveness. To exit gracefully, we have to first forgive others, God, and ourselves, for the fact that our lives didn’t turn out the way they might have. That’s easier said than done. Our deaths, like our lives, are either a source of blessing or frustration to those around us. Ultimately the choice is ours. The final task of life is to live in such a way that, when we die, our deaths, like our lives, sweeten rather than embitter the air... 9 9 (D a te d E a ster, 2 0 0 4 )

KEN N Y J OLIVEIRO Departed Ju n e 20, 1998

Sr. Veritas (C arlita) G rau, fsp, aged 64, died on Pentecost Sunday, May 30, 2004 in the Philippines. She has been described as a mystic and even saint by some of her colleagues. Sr Veritas succumbed to multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow which she had been battling for three and a half years. Her reflection and desire to leave her death as a gift aptly sums up her life which continues to be a blessing for all she has touched. □

D-Day remembered ¥

A 2-YEAR FORMATION PROGRAMME FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS (Sept 2004-Sept 2006) Extended closing date: June 25,2004 Conducted by the Life Direction Team to provide skills and on-going Supervision for Spiritual Direction. To develop a frameworkfor understanding andfostering spiritual growth in others and to foster integration of content and participant’s lived experiences. For information: Sr F rancisca Tan (6565-2895 email: firantan01@yahoo.com) or Sr Elizabeth Lim (9541-6166 email: lizabeth_lim@yahoo.com) INDONESIAN SUNDAY MASS: Sunday, July 4, 3.30 pm. Venue: Chapel, Church of the Holy Spirit, 248 Upper Thomson Rd.

Q uickly and quietly cam e the call, Your sudden departure shocked us all We who have lost can tell, the loss o f our loved ones W ith a farewell, but still do we grieve, though days Have gone by, that you parted from us w ithout a goodbye. Lovingly rem em bered by sisters, brother, nephew s, nieces and all loved ones. Sixth Anniversary In everlasting m em ory of

In loving memory of

■ H

INDONESIAN CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUPS (KKIHS): 1. Every Thursday, 2.30 pm. 2. Every last Friday of the month, 7:30 pm. Venue: Rm 0302, 3rd Fir, Church of the Holy Spirit, 248 Upper Thomson Rd.

THANKSGIVING MASS IN HONOUR OF ST. JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA, FOUNDER OF OPUS DEI Date: Saturday June 26, 3 pm. Venue: Church of the Holy Cross. Main Celebrant: Archbishop Nicholas Chia.

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR Living Stones Campus Outreach, invite you to come and experience more of what God has in store for us in the Life In the Spirit Seminar, with the following details: Welcome Session: June 23 at St Bernadette’s Church; First session: June 26 at St Bernadette’s Church. Weekend Retreat: July 2-4 at IHM Retreat Centre Final Sessions: July 10-17 at St Bernadette’s Church. Cost: $35 (students) $40 (working adults). Details & Registration @ www.livingstonesonline.org/liss04.php. Contact Gerald (9435-6909), Kris (9147-6450) or email us at LSCO-LISS@yahoogroups.com.

NEW CATECHISM FOR ADULTS Commencing June 30 (every Wed.), 7.45 pm-10 pm. Venue: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Registration forms are obtainable in the Parish Office. Website: http:// www.veritas.org.sg/IHM/

PARENTING WORKSHOP: Couple Power Workshop: A sixsession workshop that equips couples with practical skills to connect with their spouses empathetically. Dates: (Sat.) June 26, July 3 & 10, 2pm-6pm. Place: Morning Star Community Services, 4 Lor Low Koon Fee: $150 per couple. Registration: Peter, Christian or Juliana (6285-1377) email: mstar@momingstar.org.sg

First Anniversary In loving m em ory o f

Sadly m issed and cherished by wife M ary, children Raym ond, Caroline, Bernadette, in-laws, grand children and all loved ones.

NOEL AR TH UR PEREIRA Departed: June 29,1995 H is life was earnest, his actions kind, A generous hand and an active mind, Anxious to please, loath to offend, A loving husband, father and faithful friend.

W hat’s O MONTFORT JUNIOR SCHOOL 2ND MINI OPEN HOUSE Date: Saturday, July 3 from 8.30 am to 1 pm. Talk by the principal: 9 am to 1 pm. School Tour: Every group of 6 or more adults. Hands-on-activities: Art, Sports, Music, Maths and Science. Address: 52 Hougang Ave 8. Enquiries: Mdm Sharon Lim / Mdm Tan Lee Kiau (6510-1588)

Alw ays remembered by wife, children, grandchildren and loved ones.

LEO NA R D BER N A R D E D W AR D S Called home to be with the Lord on June 27,2001

PETER SOH CHIN SENG Departed: June 23,2003 G one from our lives O ne so dear But in our hearts Forever near.

WORLD War II veteran Irvin Holtan of El Paso, Texas, shows his daughter, Mildred Pritchett, the grave of a friend at the American Cemetery in Colleville, France. Veterans and heads of state and government were in France June 6 for ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy to free Europe from Nazism. Pope John Paul II hailed the “great merits” of those who fought for freedom 60 years ago in the invasion of Normandy and stressed the need to learn from history. In a letter addressed to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who attended the commemoration with heads of state, he mentioned the merits of those “who battled for the freedom of nations.” The memory of “so many victims” and so much “suffering” caused by “the tragic world conflict,” must lead men of good will to journey on “paths of peace,” he said. To achieve this, he said, it is necessary to foster in hearts “sentiments of forgiveness, fraternity and solidarity” in order to construct a social life based “on moral and spiritual values.” □ c n s , z e n i t c n s p h o t o

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR Dates: June 28 - Sept 6. Venue: Upper Room, Church of St Franis Xavier Enquiries: Joseph Toh 9068-1195 or Francis Chan 9487-8087.

Time takes aw ay the edge o f grief But m em ory turns back every leaf G one from our lives one so dear But in our hearts forever near.

Third Anniversary In loving m em ory o f

MIGRANTS New school term for skills training. Venue: Madonna Skills Centre, 11 Hillside Drive (Former SJC School). Courses: Basic Computer, Dressmaking, Tailoring, Nursing Aide, Caregiving, Curtain & cushion sewing, Hairstyling, Business Counselling, Bookeeping, Facial/Beauty Care, English, Baking, Cooking. Registration: June 20,27 / July 4,11 from 10 am-3 pm. Requirements for registration: Photocopy of Passport and Work Permit, 2 2x2 picture, full payment of course fee, an upfront payment for the headset (for hairstyling students only!). Wanted: Facial Care Teacher Enquiries: Marivic Flandez (96686830) / mavicflandez@hotmail.com or CMI (6280-5424) or visit www.migrants.com.sg

Sadly m issed and COMMON SENSE PARENTING: fondly rem em bered by Developed by Boystown, USA; this fam ily and friends. workshop empowers parents to prevent and correct problem behaviour, teach their Ninth Anniversary children proper behaviour, self-control In loving m em ory of and help parents themselves to stay calm in upsetting situations. Date: (Wed.) July 14,21,28, Aug 4,11 & 18,8 pm -10 pm. Place: Morning Star Community Services, 4 Lor. Low Koon Fee: $150 per person. Registration: Kelvyanne (6285-1377) or email mstar@momingstar.org.sg

TH AN K SG IVIN G H eavenly M other and St A nthony, before your very eyes, I feel so unw orthy, w ho am I that my prayer will be answ ered? O h m ost gracious m other and St A nthony, my m ost sincere and grateful thanks to you for your m ercy and intercession for my illness, if not for which there w ould never be a recovery. The pow er o f sincere consistent prayer and the rosary is trem endous, and to place com plete trust in G od, know ing in him all things are possible! Your humble servants C&A

Dear Saint Jude, thank you so m uch for answering my petitions. I am really grateful to you for all your intercessions. Your Grateful Catholic Son Dear St Jude, Although I have asked for your assistance on several occasions and always failed to thank you afterw ards, you still answ ered my last petition. I thank you dear St Jude and please continue to guide and pray for me. Brian Grateful mighty St Jude helps let known truth loved one was gone. Sy, a non-Catholic

ANNA ANG G E O K BEE Departed: June 23,1995 Upright and just in all her ways, Loyal and true through all her days, Silently suffered, patiently bore, G od took her home to suffer no more. Sadly m issed and fondly remembered by children, grand-children, great-grand-children and all loved ones.

MARGARET TEOH PITT YOON Departed: June 26,1998 R em em bering you is easy We do it every day M issing you is the hardest part A s it never goes away To hear your voice. To see your smile To sit with you and talk awhile W ould be our greatest wish today Today, tomorrow, our whole life through We shall alw ays love and rem em ber you. Loving and missing you always. Husband, children and grandchildren. [U

Third | Anniversary o f Eternal Life

JO SE PH LEE Called home on June 21, 2001 Rem em bering you is easy We do it every day M issing you is the hardest part As it never goes away To hear your voice. To see your smile To sit with you and talk awhile W ould be our greatest wish today Today, tomorrow, our whole life through We shall always love and rem em ber you. Fondly remembered and forever cherished by daughter, grandson, relatives and friends. M emorial M ass on M onday, June 21, at 6.15 pm at the C hurch o f the g a Holy Family, gjg

IN M EM ORIAM M inim um $60 fo r an insertion not exceeding a ten-centim etre column. A dditional space: $6.50 p e r one-centimetre column.

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First Anniversary

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AUGUSTINE NG HONG KHIM MARY LIM SUAN NEO nee MRS DAVID TAY HOON LIM D ep arted : Ju ly 2, 2003 D e a r M u m m y / G ra n d m a T oday re c alls sad m em o ries, o f a D e a r M o th e r g o n e to rest, and the on es w ho th in k o f h e r to day a re th e o nes w h o lo v e h e r best. M asse s w ill b e celeb rate d on Fri 2/7:12.15pm N ovena Church 2/7:6.15pm C hurch o f C hrist T h e K ing Sat 3/7:5.30pm C hurch o f C hrist T h e K ing L o v in g ly re m e m b e re d b y ch ild ren , g ra n d c h ild re n and a ll lo v e d ones.

Was called to his reward on June 22, 1977 H is sm iling way and pleasant fa c e Are a pleasure to recall; H e had a kind w ord fo r each A nd died beloved by all. Some day we hope to m eet him, Some day, we know not when, To clasp his hand in the better land, N ever to pa rt again. Fondly remembered by family and friends. In everloving memory of our beloved Grandmother Father

Tenth A nniversary

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' SA V IR N A T H A N DASS Departed: Jun 27,1994

Sixth Anniversary

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You had a heart o f gold One of the best to behold You w ere generous, loving and kind These are the memories you left behind. Dearest Pa and Mum Although many years have passed In our hearts you will always live. Always love by your children Arika Dass Dass Roseline Martin Dass Dass Josephine Joseph Dass Dass Elizabeth Bandick Dass Sunny Dass Mass will be celebrated at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on June 27 at 10am. In loving m em ory o f

CISSIE G W E N D O LIN E ISAAC 26 .9.1 9 0 8 -2 8 .6 .1 9 9 7 G one from our lives One so dear But in our hearts Forever near. Sadly m issed by Evelyn, Brian, Ivor and loved ones. In loving m em ory o f

Dearly remembered by family and loved ones.

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M A R IA M A L FRANCIS R O ZA M A L T H A R M A R A JO O DepartedJune 28,1989 Departed:June 23, 1989

The years may wipe out many things But this they’ll wipe out never; The memory of those happy days Which we have spent together. Dearly missed by sons, daughters loving wife daughters-in-law, children and sons-in-law grandchildren grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family of the late

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Third Anniversary In loving m em ory of

LEONG YIJET LENG VALERIE Departed: Jun 26, 2001 The angels came to take you hom e And you left us all alone We know you keep watching us from above As we still pray for the one w e love.

Tel: 6 -5 5 5 -1 1 1 -5 24 HOURS

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M RS S. DASS Departed: Oct 21,1998

DIRECT SINGAPORE FUNERAL SERVICES 127 Lavender St Singapore 338735 (next to Singapore Casket).

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DENNIS OLIVER ROCH Departed: May 9, 2004 wishes to express their heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to all our family members, relatives, friends, colleagues, Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea’s priests and prayer groups for their kind assistance, attendance, prayers, condolences, wreathes and donation during their recent bereavement. Special thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff of TTSH, Brother Michael Broughton and classmates of SJI, Frs Augustine Joseph and Michael Sitaram for their prayers and participation.

Funeral Guidance please contact Raymond Roy Gabriel

H p: 9764 5105 O ff: 6458 2462

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In y o u r m o m en ts o f n e e d

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Sixth Anniversary O ur dearest M om / grandm other

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W ILH E L M IN A ZU ZA R TE Departed: June 29,1982 Take her in Thy arms, dear Lord, And ever let her be A m essenger o f love B etween our hearts and Thee. Always remembered by family and loved ones. Please turn to page 18 tor more "In Memoriam" announcements and classified advertisements.

• • • • • • •

PETER JOSEPH GOMEZ Bom: 16-11-1916 Departed: 27-05-2004 M D M LU CY TEO SOO N KIM Departed: June 23,1998 Time changes many things but not the Memory this day brings Till now you are still in our minds and hearts. Sadly m issed and cherished by all loved ones.

Wishes to thank all relatives, and friends for their presence, kind w ords of consolation, well-wishes and attendance during their recent bereavement. Memorial Services will be held at: • Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Singapore on June 26,2004 at 6pm. • Church of the Assumption, Petaling Jaya on July 3, 2004 at 6.30pm. Please treat this as a personal invitation.

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