JULY 28, 2013, Vol 63, No 15

Page 1

www.catholicnews.sg SUNDAY JULY 28, 2013

SINGAPORE 50 CENTS / WEST MALAYSIA RM$1.20

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PPS 201/04/2013 (022940)

VOL 63

NO. 15

INSIDE HOME Sharing campus ministry experiences Commissioning service held for some 70 young Catholics attending the July 23-28 celebration

US group speaks with S’pore counterparts „ Page 6

ASIA Malaysia's nuncio meets region’s bishops Finds the Church here ‘vibrant’ „ Page 8

WORLD World Youth Day indulgences Available for those attending liturgies, prayer services „ Page 9 World Youth Day participants pose for a photo with Archbishop Chia and youth chaplains Frs Brian D’Souza and James Tan.

You are the ‘ future of the Church,

By Benedict Tang and Darren Boon Come back and do something more for the youth in Singapore, Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia urged some 70 young Catholics preparing to attend the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. “You are the future of the Church, live and share your faith!â€? he said at the World Youth Day (WYD) 2013 commissioning service on July 6. “To be Catholic is to live in the full sense of Christ‌ so go out to the whole world to proclaim God to all nations!â€? Young people from St Ignatius parish, who are also participating in a special pre-WYD programme called MAGIS, together with the

local WYD volunteers and individual pilgrims, gathered at the

live and share your faith!’

– Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia to young Catholics

Mr Gregory Ho, a World Youth Day volunteer.

chapel of the Church of the Holy Spirit for the special service. Archbishop Chia expressed happiness that the young people decided to take time to attend the WYD celebration in Brazil held from July 23-28. “God is never outdone in generosity,� he said.

“What you give generously, you self but for others also.� WYD is a special international Church celebration for young people held every few years in a different city. The event aims to deepen their faith. During the July 6 service, which was also attended by archdiocesan youth chaplain Fr Brian D’Souza and Jesuit youth chaplain Fr James Tan, Archbishop Chia stressed the importance of

prayer, faith, love and service. Come into contact with God “through personal prayer and as a community�, he said and encouraged the young people to read the Bible, Vatican II documents and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. After experiencing God’s love, they should then follow up with service. “Because of your presence to each other, you make God present to each other,� he said. Some of the participants, including local volunteers who will be helping out at WYD, said they are looking forward to the experience despite reports of unrest and demonstrations in Brazil. Mr Darrell Ezekiel Foo, 23, says he believes “God has a plan for everything and I trust that He will take care of us�. „ Continued on Page 3

Church leaders urge democracy in Egypt Christians, Muslims ‘united’ in demanding freedom „ Page 10

FAITH ALIVE! Singles in Church How can the community improve outreach to them? „ Pages 16-17

PILGRIMAGES AND TOURS A special CatholicNews supplement „ Page i-vi

2 HOME

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Regarding allegations of sexual abuse Singapore archdiocese releases statement On Saturday 6th July 2013, The New Paper published an article about a recent autobiography by an ex-Singaporean, alleging sexual abuse committed in her past by some of our clerics. The Church is deeply concerned with any report of alleged sexual misconduct by its clerics, staff and those who volunteer their services in the Church. Any injustice done to its members (and this includes both alleged victims and perpetrators) hurts the entire Body of Christ, the Church. Hence, the Church will do all within its power to see that justice is served, not only by means of the laws of the land but as well as the laws of the Church. In so doing, the Church will remain steadfast in addressing any proven injustices committed, and take any corrective and preventive

The July 6 article in The New Paper.

actions as necessary. In the same vein, the Church will not hesitate to take all measures to protect the integrity of the institution against those who seek to discredit the Church and its family. This will be done

through processes it already has in place. Towards this end, the Archdiocese of Singapore has in recent years established a Profes

look into all complaints of sexual abuse against children and young

persons, which we define as: a. Those persons under the age of 18; or b. A person who is over the age of 18 but habitually lacks the use of reason. Such allegations may be against priests, Religious, employees or volunteers in the Archdiocese. There are a few general considerations that will guide the work of the PSO. These considerations, among others, include that we be prepared to listen to the alleged victims and their families, and be committed to their spiritual and psychological assistance. To ensure impartiality in this process to all parties involved, the PSO a. Encourages victims to make a police report where the complaints are deemed serious; b. Involves the laity in its in-

The Archdiocese of Singapore has in recent years established a Professional Standards

vestigations and assessment. The Church strongly prefers that complaints regarding offences which are criminal in nature be referred to the police so that the case can be dealt with appropriately through the justice system. Given the sensitive nature of the work, the PSO will keep all its " tial. This is critical as it needs to create an environment that is conducive for the aggrieved parties to come forward to seek redress, knowing that their privacy will be protected. The PSO also has a preventive role, which is to raise awareness of the professional standards of behaviour expected of all those who offer their services to the Church, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. It has developed internal guidelines that set the principles and behavioural standards of conduct for Catholic clergy and Religious, as well as employees and volunteers of the Catholic Church in Singapore. „ Issued by: Archdiocesan 8 July, 2013

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Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Pilgrims look forward to seeing pope, pre-WYD sessions „ From Page 1

He said the reason he is attending the celebration, held halfway around the world, is because “a lot of my friends who went for the previous WYD in Madrid had such deep experiences of the Lord and I also want to deepen my faith and encounter Him in this eventâ€?. Ms Eunice Ong, 25, says one of her reasons is to see the new pope. “The election of Pope Francis and his super humble ways ‌ caught all our attention,â€? said the research analyst, who attended her # $%&& ' * " + rience then. “It was inspiring to see so many youths from around the world and to also show the world our faith.â€? ' " // 4" -

tius parishioner, says he is looking forward to the Magis programme which provides “a very crucial opportunity for spiritual depth and personal contemplation... just before the joyous explosion of youthful energy and community at WYD events�. Regarding the protests, he says, “I’ll pray lots, think smart and hopefully stay safe too�. Aside from pilgrims heading # 9 &<

also be serving as volunteers. = > "

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World Youth Day participants at the commissioning service at the Church of the Holy Spirit.

here, and were scheduled to arrive in Rio de Janeiro a week earlier for training. According to the World Youth Day website, the training will cover “spiritual, cultural, technical > " Q

the volunteers for the event. Volunteers may be deployed at airports, roads, information points, cultural events, and in liturgy and catechesis, as well as help prepare the pilgrim packs. The volunteers told Catholic-

News they are eager to serve. “I always wanted to do something like this...like volunteering on an international level,� said Mr Gregory Ho. He added that he is looking forward to working with volunteers from different cultures who share the same faith. He also hopes this experience would prove valuable for future overseas volunteering trips. Mr Christian Chong, who is volunteering at an international

> 9 lieves that he “will be enriched� by the experience. Commenting on the demonstrations in the country, Ms Melis "

reasons behind the protests and learnt that “only a minority, who are extremists, [are] taking advantage of the situation�.„ "#$ % &''%%% "#$ ' darren.boon@catholic.org.sg

4 HOME

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

The altar servers’ team from Holy Spirit Church scoring against Divine Mercy Church in the under-11 category.

Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia giving away prizes to players after the games, held at SAFRA Tampines.

Soccer games held as haze lifts The choking haze in Singapore almost forced the cancellation of the annual Archbishop’s Cup. X @ @ ment went ahead as planned as the haze lifted, and 35 altar servers’ teams from 15 parishes descended on SAFRA Tampines on June 29. The event, organised by the Altar Servers’ Ministry from the Church of the Holy Spirit this year, comprised four categories – the under 11s, under 13s, under 15s and under 19s. Members of various parishes also came in droves to support their teams, especially Divine Mercy parish.

For the under-11 category, the competition was played by a league system. Topping the table and emerging as champions was Church of the Risen Christ. In second place was Holy Spirit Church while Divine Mercy Church came in third. For the under-13 category, the competition was also played by a league system. Topping the table and emerging as champions was Church of St Francis Xavier. In second place was Church of the Holy Spirit while Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church came in third. The competition in the under-15 category was intense. The team from Queen

of Peace Church was crowned champions, beating the team from Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The team from St Anne’s came in third. =

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the teams from Holy Family Church competing with Queen of Peace Church. After a hard fought battle, the Holy Family team emerged champions once again. Said team captain Santa Maria Ryan John, “As a team, we feel great as it is the second Archbishop’s Cup that we have won in a row despite having trained for only two months prior to the tournament.� The team also won the Fair Play award

for their category and Ryan John bagged the Top Scorer Award. Fair Play awards were also given to Church of the Holy Cross (under 15s), St Francis Xavier (under 13s) and St Anne (under 11s). In addition, top scorer awards for the various categories were given to Sean Kevin Dias (under 11s), Ralph Nerva (under 13s) and Justinian Macpherson (under 15s). In his closing address, Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia said he was pleased to see the altar servers and their supporters gathered for the event. He also congratulated the organisers for their time and effort in putting together the tournament. „

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Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Caring for the carers Important to meet needs of those in ministry, says Archbishop Goh By Darren Boon Care for your staff, helpers and volunteers as if they are your own family members, Archbishop William Goh told representatives of " q $/ * If their welfare is not attended to, they may burn out and become resentful, he advised the more than 40 board members and executive directors gathered at the Church of St Ignatius’ Sacred Heart Hall on July 13. Caritas Singapore holds such networking meetings for its af > * = cent gathering was the second for 2013. In his address to the group, Archbishop Goh highlighted two mistakes he feels the Church makes at times – being kind, loving and courteous to everyone “except people who are helping us�, and neglecting their welfare. “Charity begins at home,� he said, stressing that if this does not happen, “there can be no charity outside�.

‘Charity begins at home.’

– Archbishop William Goh

! " # $

He noted that while people in social service organisations help to “heal� others, they too need healing at some stage in their lives. Calling them “wounded healers�, he said they can minister to others because of their own experience, provided their own wounds

| Q *

Archbishop Goh challenged those present to know their staff and volunteers well, and to pay special attention to their moral and spiritual formation apart from skills training. He also highlighted the impor-

Singapore Church groups reach out to Indonesian orphans

Indonesian orphans (left) perform with members of the Faith Music Centre (right).

A Catholic music centre in Singapore recently joined an orphanage in Jakarta in performing a repertoire of songs using western and traditional instruments. The event saw Faith Music Centre members and orphans from Panti Asuhan St Vincentius Puteri playing Church, pop and folk songs in English, Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin. The one-and-a-half-hour concert on June 8, held at the Churchrun orphanage which houses 197 girls, also included singing and dancing. It was attended by about 300 people, including the orphans and orphanage staff. The Indonesians played on the kolintang, a xylo-

phone-like instrument, while the Singaporeans used drums, guitars and keyboards. Blessed Sacrament Church’s Father Damien Society also sponsored food for the occasion. According to Faith Music Centre, the event was an outreach project by Father Damien Society. The music centre supports the project and uses music as a means of relationship building and engagement. This was the centre’s third vis " * =

were in June and December last year. „ For more information on Faith Music Centre, visit www.faithmusic.com.sg

tance of joy and unity in service while cautioning against ambition. He said it is through joy that church organisations can attract people to serve in ministries. =

representatives presenting a short report on their organisation. Archbishop Goh said he was | Q | > Q 9

work of the organisations in mak-

ing the “love of God� present. He also stressed the importance of compassion in ministry without which such service would be reduced to “functionalism�, “ambition� or mere “humanitarian� work. Christian social work must be founded on “the love of God� *

Archbishop Goh also said he would make time to meet with each organisation. Mr Mark Goh, chairman for the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ACMI), said he felt Archbishop Goh’s stress on staff welfare was “very relevant�. „ darren.boon@catholic.org.sg

6 HOME

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Catholic Junior College installs new student leaders By Barry Chia Servant leaders “do not seek to stand out and be in the limelight� but “help their teams to grow, oftentimes in an unseen way�. Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia gave these words of advice to 121 Catholic Junior College student leaders on July 12. Speaking at the installation ceremony of the 39th Student Council and Student Leaders, he noted that “the true essence� of a leader is the person’s service to others. He also highlighted the example of King Solomon who asked for wisdom to make the right choices for his people. Referring to Jesus exhorting His followers to be the light of the world and salt of the earth, Student leaders pose for a photo with Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Chia after the July 12 ceremony. Archbishop Chia said that just as salt, which enhances the taste of the food but is not seen, servant leaders “do not seek to stand out� but help others to grow, often “in an unseen way�. The ceremony was "

was the last time Archbishop Chia was presiding over the annual event. representatives from the various By Darren Boon During the ceremony, the tertiary campus ministries on July elected Student Councillors, A United States Catholic campus 13 at the Catholic Archdiocesan JC1 House Captains, Home ministry shared with Singapore Youth Centre. Tutorial Councillors, and the campus ministries that developing The event was organised by heads of all the co-curricular one-on-one personal relationships Living Stones Campus Outreach.

is key to ministry growth. Several other members from FOcommissioned to take up their Mr Robert Froeschl from the CUS were also present. The group > Fellowship of Catholic University is visiting Singapore and Malay2013/14. „ Students (FOCUS) spoke to 20 sia this year as part of its yearly mission trips to share their ministry experience. According to the group’s website, FOCUS is a national outreach “that meets college students where they are and invites them into a FOCUS members speaking (above) and praying with representatives of growing relationship with Jesus Singapore campus ministries. Christ and the Catholic faith�. Mr Froeschl noted that evan" "

between strangers. For a start, he "" " >> ests so as to build a relationship with the other party. Once trust is built, it would be easier to share more deeply, he said. FOCUS helps its members to develop one-on-one relationships with two other new members. These two new persons would later do the same to two other new members. This helps in membership growth and allows each member are contrary to the Catholic faith, members. They added that they to develop the core values of com- he said. struggle with maintaining a truly The Singapore campus min- “Catholic identity� on campus. munity and accountability, Mr istries from the universities and Froeschl said. They also said they would like There are about 350 FOCUS polytechnics also shared their some assistance in faith formation. missionaries serving 83 campuses challenges and needs. Ms Lilynne Seah, a representaThe polytechnic campus min- tive from the newly formed Singain 34 states across the US, he said. Mr Froeschl also shared the istries said they are concerned pore Institute of Management Cathchallenges his ministry faces. about declining membership as olic Society, told CatholicNews, These include members fearing students do not see the importance “It was a humbling and enriching to step out of their comfort zones of joining the ministries. experience to learn from such an They hope that parishes and experienced group of campus misand socialising only with members they feel comfortable with, priests would give publicity for sionaries especially for a new uniand members losing focus of their their events and activities, they said. versity group like ours.� „ Information The university campus min- provided by LIVING STONES CAMPUS OUTREACH mission after a while. This is further aggravated by istries said the priority given to the media and lifestyle trends that studies is an obstacle to recruiting darren.boon@catholic.org.sg

US ministry shares experience with Singapore campus groups

ASIA 7

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Supporters send cyber greetings to bishop who quit patriotic association SHANGHAI – Auxiliary Bishop

Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai received cyber greetings from his K € Â

controversial episcopal ordination. Bishop Ma’s movements have been restricted since he announced that he was quitting his post in the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association during his episcopal ordination last year. €  > 9 ""

greetings to him, and expressed their solidarity with the 46-yearold prelate. The choir of St Peter’s Church " ‚ |€ Â

was the prelude of the Chinese people’s war of resistance again € „ &_/ †

turning point in our nationhood’s * ‡ q € Â

also an everlasting commemoration day of our Church.� A Fr Andrew of Shanghai ‚ |€  ˆ ' q

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Archbishop Ma, meanwhile, offered prayers for two Chinese students who died in the San Francisco plane crash through his account on microblogging site Weibo, which has 23,000 followers. Shanghai Catholics have missed their young bishop, especially since his predecessor Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, from

A well-wisher kisses the ring of Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin following his episcopal ordination in Shanghai last year. ()*

the government-approved Church community, died in late April. Bishop Ma was not allowed to attend the funeral and was removed from the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai, where he was being detained, to avoid attracting too many pilgrims to a nearby famous Marian shrine in May. Since then, he has not returned to the seminary. Church sources told ucanews. com that his two-month study session at the Shanghai Institute of

Socialism has probably ended. Bishop Ma visits his elder sister’s house on weekends and is consulting doctors, they said. “He does not sleep well at night due to neurasthenia,� a source told ucanews.com. However, he continues to of Š

and on the Year of Faith through Weibo. He also occasionally remarks on social issues and responds to questions from laypeople. „ UCANEWS.COM

Speaking out against ‘hate material’ in textbooks KARACHI, PAKISTAN – An arch-

bishop has urged Church members to highlight biases and hate material found in Pakistan’s educational literature. Addressing a conference in Karachi on July 10, entitled Education for Peace, Archbishop Joseph Coutts said, “I invite all people from our multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural society to take initiatives to reach out to people and spread the word about fanaticism in literature.� Recent research by the conference organiser, the National Commission of Justice and Peace (NCJP), cites numerous instances of textbooks with material that could incite secular mistrust and hatred in the Muslim-majority country. 4 > "

in such references. In textbooks issued by the education authority in Punjab province, the researchers found 45 instances in 2009, increasing to 122 in 2012. In Sindh province, the number of hate references was found to have dou-

bled in a similar period. Mr Peter Jacob, NCJP executive director, said: “We have noticed three books that were free of hate material in 2009 had chapters with hate material added in 2012.� The researchers also contend that syllabus textbooks offer a very one-sided view of world events, dwelling only on wars, killings, discrimination and conspiracies against Muslims. Sev-

eral nations are described as “enemies of Islam�. Mr Taj Haider, secretary general of People’s Party Pakistan in Sindh province, has endorsed the views of Archbishop Coutts and the NCJP. |4 q K

but we assure all our support to the NCJP to remove hate material from textbooks,� he said. „ UCANEWS.COM

Philippine bishops ‘aren’t social troublemakers’ MANILA – The Catholic Bishops’

Conference of the Philippines will vigorously maintain its stand on important social issues, including its opposition to a controversial law introduced in 2012 that allows birth control, the group’s new president said. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, 52, stressed on July 9, however, that the bishops are not “social troublemakers, rally organisers or a lobby group� but are “conscience troublemakers� and “Christ’s followers�. Meeting in Manila during their annual plenary assembly, the bishops elected Archbishop Villegas to head the conference, reported ucanews.com, the Asian Catholic news agency. The bishops celebrated a Mass on July 9 in support of opponents of the Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Act of 2012 who have challenged the law in court. The law’s opponents planned

Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

to argue their case before the country’s Supreme Court later in the day. Archbishop Villegas said his election was “unexpected�. “We in the Church, when we are given a position, it does not make us taller. It just gives us longer hands so we could embrace more people,� the archbishop said in an interview. „ CNS

8 ASIA

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Vietnam tries to block cardinal’s sainthood cause HANOI – Vietnamese authorities • " >

have prevented a literary critic the cardinal and decided to convert from participating in the closing to Christianity after the encounter. ceremony of a Rome diocesan 4 ' – >

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process of Cardinal Francois € "

Xavier Nguyen Van the delegation’s plans Thuan, was prefor a visit to the comvented from getting munist country. on a plane bound for The group had ” > € $ planned to hear the ported Church news testimonies of peoagency AsiaNews. K

= > cardinal, who died in

Rome in 2002 at the Religious Affairs and age of 74. Public Safety was Vietnam’s com + € <

munist regime jailed in the Vatican for the Cardinal Francois Xa- Cardinal Thuan in ceremony pertain- vier Nguyen Van Thuan &_Â <

ing to the sainthood the newly named cocause. The cause was launched by adjutor bishop of Saigon, later re ” > $%&%* > X ' * X

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nist government’s “disagreement� Catholic who was assassinated in over the cardinal’s sainthood cause. 1963. „ ASIANEWS, CNS

Vaccinating N Korean kids SEOUL – Caritas Germany hopes to immunise 3.2 million North Œ " €

encephalitis by the end of 2013. According to Church news agency, AsiaNews, volunteers of the Catholic social service organisation have already immunised > ‘/% %%% €

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This group lives in South X "

border that divides the peninsula. Funding for the project came from private individuals in Germany and South Korea. 4 tions, Caritas has also put in place an anti-tuberculosis programme for North Koreans. „ ASIANEWS

New M’sian nuncio meets bishops from the region

Archbishop Joseph Marino (front row, centre) poses for a photo with archbishops and bishops from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Photo: FRANCIS GOPAL

By Vincent D’Silva PLENTONG, JOHOR – 4

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resident Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia says he has discovered a Church that is vibrant, possesses a deep missionary spirit and in solidarity with poorer Churches around the world. • 9 € '

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nation to which he is assigned,�

he said in his maiden address to the bishops’ conference, adding K toral care and spiritual growth of Catholics. 4 > • 9 op Marino said, the nuncio must intervene directly with governments in order to protect the rights of people when they are ignored or violated. “The nuncio promotes good relations with the state and the Church so that the people of God may worship, gather in prayer, educate their children, perform K

destiny without hindrance or opposition,� he said. Archbishop Marino also addressed the Conference of Religious Major Superiors (CRMS) who were holding their

meeting at the same time. X >

learn about the state of Religious life in the region. X lies on the many charisms that the Religious congregations possess in the spread of the Gospel. Archbishop Marino assumed his post as Vatican representative ' ˆ € &˜* The bishop’s conference also held a meeting with the CRMS. K "

CRMS president Redemptorist Fr K ' " > "

was very fruitful. “We realised the need for greater collaboration in the area " > K " Q

he said. = 4 >

also discussed at the meeting. „

Lower electricity rate for Church venues BEIJING – While the price of basic

commodities seems to rise relentlessly all over the world, China’s Catholics have received welcome news. Under a new electricity price scheme, religious venues have 9

units instead of their former clas " > > *

The change should result in their bills being cut by as much as two-thirds, reported Asian Church news agency ucanews.com. The exemption was secured by " 9 "

two not recognised by the Vatican. They requested it at a plenary meeting of the Chinese People’s

Political Consultative Conference, of which they are members, in March. ˆ € ˆ X >

ucanews.com: “The Church is not @> K " " 9

the home of clergy and nuns. So it should be counted as residential.� =

May and about 13,900 registered " > @ recognised faith communities ‹ ˆ > = > 4 > tholicism and Protestantism – will 9 > *

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the lower tariff, because they are K " 9 "

of historical interest or have been legally registered through the help of the government-approved Catholic community. While the change has been generally welcomed by parish priests, one priest from the government-approved community in = |4 >

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government,� he said. „ CNS

WORLD 9

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

World Youth Day indulgences Can be received by those who attend event’s liliturgies, prayer services VATICAN CITY – To help encour-

age prayers for a spiritually fruitful World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, the Vatican announced July 9 that Pope Francis authorized a special indulgence for those who attend the event’s liturgies and prayer services or follow along online in the proper spirit of prayer and contrition. Pope Francis decreed that World Youth Day participants can receive one plenary, or full, indulgence a day if they meet the usual conditions. World Youth Day runs from July 23-28; the pope arrives on July 22. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for sins that have been forgiven. The conditions necessary for receiving a plenary indulgence include having recently gone to confession, receiving the Eucharist and offering prayers for the intentions of the pope. The faithful must also carry the proper spirit of being “truly repentant and contrite� and participate in the gathering’s sacred events and “pious exercises� with prayerful devotion. Those who are “legitimately prevented� from being physically present in Rio may also obtain the indulgence as long as they meet the same prayerful and “spiritual and sacramental conditions� as well as participate “in spirit� in the sacred liturgies and prayer services via television, radio or “new means of social com-

WYD FACTS „ Expected turnout: 2.5 million, of which 60 percent are aged 19-34.

„ Countries with greatest pilgrim numbers: Brazil, Argentina, United States.

„ Over 8,400 priests, 4 million hosts for consecration, and 100 confessionals for pilgrims.

„ More than 270 locations for catechetical sessions.

„ In 26 languages, including Polish, Latvian, Mandarin and Flemish.

„ 60,000: Total number of volunteers, of whom 7,000 are foreigners. „ The vigil’s location, dubbed Campus Fidei (Latin for Field of Faith), is about the size of 150 % . & % ' * " + " %

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Catholics gear up for the international event with Pope Francis. CNS photo

tions. munication�, the decree said. The decree, signed by Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, –

deals with indulgences, said a partial indulgence is also available to all Catholics who, no matter where they are, offer prayers with the pope for young Catholics. “With a contrite spirit, they

will elevate fervent prayers to Š " cial World Youth Day prayer� as well as prayers to the patroness of Brazil, Our Lady of Aparecida, and other saints, asking that they intercede on behalf of all young people to be “strengthened in the faith and live a holy life�, it said.

Vatican bank accounts of arrested monsignor frozen VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s

criminal court has frozen the Vatican bank accounts of a monsignor arrested in Italy and has opened its own criminal investigation into how he used the accounts. Msgr Nunzio Scarano was an –

overseeing property and investments. The Vatican suspended him in May when he was under criminal investigation in Italy. The monsignor has been in a Rome jail since his arrest on June 28; he has been charged with fraud, corruption and slander in a case involving an alleged plot to bring 20 million euros (S$33 million) in cash from Switzerland to Italy. He has also been named in a separate investigation in southern Italy on suspicion of money laundering after several claims that he gave people cash in exchange for checks marked as donations. Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the Vatican court order on July 9 to freeze Msgr Scarano’s accounts was part of a separate Vatican investigation “triggered by several suspicious

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transactions reports� that the Vati 9 K – q

Financial Intelligence Authority. The investigation, he said, “could be extended to additional individuals.� When Msgr Scarano was arrested, the Vatican expressed its willingness to cooperate with Italian authorities in their investigation. Fr Lombardi told reporters on July 12 that is still the case and that the information might go both directions now that the Vatican

has its own investigation going. The Vatican bank has commissioned the Promontory Financial Group to review “the accounts in question,� Fr Lombardi said. Promontory is a private interna " K > agement and regulatory compli " >* Promontory will begin a full review of “all client relationships and the anti-money laundering procedures it has in place�, Fr Lombardi said. In addition, when the Vatican bank’s director and deputy director resigned July 1 after Msgr Scarano’s arrest, Ernst von Freyberg, president of the Vatican bank, created the position of chief K +

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the role. Fr Lombardi said that under Von Freyberg, who was appointed in February, the bank is “systematically identifying and will have zero tolerance for any activity – whether conducted by laity or clergy – that is illegal or outside the statutes of the institute�. „ CNS

The cardinal also asked priests around the world to be available to hear the confessions of those who want the indulgence and to encourage public prayers for the success of World Youth Day. The pope is set to hear the confessions of some of the young pilgrims in Rio’s Quinta da Boa Vista Park on July 26. „ CNS

„ For the entire event, security for pilgrims will count on more than 10,200 military units.

„ Pope Francis will be guarded by a total of 680 people, consisting of military personnel, Brazillian federal police and Vatican police.

Gutsy priests needed BASILAN – The Catholic bishop of Basilan in the southern Philippines is calling for gutsy priests to work in the island province which has been torn by violence for years. Only 16 priests serve in its 10 parishes, according to Bishop Martin Jumoad. “They’re not enough, especially because of the challenges and threats to the lives of the clergy,� he said. Basilan is a rugged, jungleclad island and a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group that has been blamed for terror attacks and kidnapping foreign nationals. All priests in the province have to be escorted by soldiers to avoid abductions and assassinations. Several members of the clergy have been kidnapped and even killed in the past. The prelate admitted the situation is “not stable�, despite the recent peace deal signed by the government and rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). But still, Bishop Jumoad is against having bodyguards. “If the ordinary people have no security in terms of armed security men, it is not good for priests and bishops to have armed men around them.�

The Filipino government has been pressured to end the violence in Mindanao, where an insurgency has continued over decades. A recent wealth-sharing deal between the government and the MILF is a major step along the path to peace. „ UCANEWS.COM

10 WORLD

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Egypt’s Church leaders hail Morsi’s ouster, urge democracy Christians, Muslims united in demanding freedom, says Church spokesman OXFORD, ENGLAND – Egypt’s

Catholic leaders welcomed the military overthrow of the country’s Islamist president and

and Muslims can work together to build a “real democracy�. “What has happened is absolutely not a military coup – our armed forces have responded to the desire of the people,� said Fr Hani Bakhoum Kiroulos, spokesman for the Coptic Catholic Church. “Millions of people took to the streets because they were unable to live under such a regime. They expressed their views and demanded freedom, and the military took action accordingly,� he told Catholic News Service on July 5. Fr Kiroulos said the preceding four days of protests, in which the military deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, had united Christians and Muslims. “The Church isn’t just a collection of buildings, but a mass of people – and we are part of the Egyptian people and with the majority who’ve expressed their will,� Fr Kiroulos said. “If the Egyptian people suffer, we will suffer too. But we hope [they] can now all join together, Christians and Muslims, in creating a new country and a better future,� he said. The head of Egypt’s armed forces, General Abdel Fattah alSisi, announced the takeover on

July 3 after giving Mr Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to overcome a nationwide paralysis, worsened by mass protests in Cairo, Alexandria and other towns. The move was welcomed as a | " > > q

history� by Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, who appeared beside the general during his televised address, along with the country’s grand imam, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb. In a brief address, the Orthodox leader said he backed the “map for the future� drawn up by the new Supreme Council, add " >

“the values of the people� and would be “honest advocates of the national interest�. Fr Kiroulos said the presence of religious leaders alongside General al-Sisi had been a “very important sign of Egyptian unity�. “Our own Catholic Church "

relations with the army,� said the priest, who is secretary to Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak. “By contrast, we received no help or support from President Morsi, only smiles. Although our relations started well, and he showed some concern for Christians, this never went beyond an *Q In a July 4 interview with Fides, the news agency of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Patriarch

An Egyptian protester holds up a copy of the Qur’an and a cross during a rally at Cairo’s Tahrir Square. CNS photo

Sedrak said Catholics had been celebrating that “the people of Egypt have peacefully regained their country�, adding that he

not “repeat the mistakes made in the past� and would move toward “full restoration of democratic order�. X >

Egyptians would go on supporting the “radical beliefs� of Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, adding that he also feared “feelings of revenge�. “We must convince them there is a place for them in the country and no one rejects them – but they should behave as Egyptians, as

has happened is absolutely ‘What not a military coup – our armed forces have responded to the desire of the people.

’

– Fr Hani Bakhoum Kiroulos, spokesman for the Coptic Catholic Church

fellow citizens with other Egyptians, and not aim at establishing a religious despotism,� the patriarch said. “They should not be excluded from the political scene. But they must behave like a political party and not as a means of imposing

a religious hegemony,� he added. The 200,000-member Coptic Catholic Church has 14 dioceses in Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church makes up at least a tenth of Egypt’s population of 81 million. „ CNS

WORLD 11

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

US Catholics urged to ‘stand up’ for religious liberty

Pope visits Italian island, urges repentance over treatment of migrants VATICAN CITY – Before saying a

9 › >

the sign of the cross and tossed a ' terranean Sea in memory of the estimated 20,000 African immigrants who have died in the past 25 years trying to reach a new life in Europe. In his homily at an outdoor Mass in Lampedusa on July 8, Pope Francis said he decided to visit the small island with a population of 6,000 and which is near Tunisia, after seeing newspaper € 9 "

drowning of immigrants at sea. |= 9 9 "

a means of hope, were a means of Q * Using the prayers from the Mass for the Forgiveness of Sins, Pope Francis said the deaths | K Q

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of the world’s economy in many | " 9

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they can to help the migrants who reach their shores. Earlier, after getting off the 9 9 " > land, Pope Francis personally greeted more than 50 immigrants. > K " • 9

said he and his fellow travellers K

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for whom the poverty of others is > Q* „ CNS CNS photo

Women play tambourines outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington during the Fortnight for Freedom campaign. CNS photo WASHINGTON – As people of faith

and as Americans, the nation’s Catholics should kneel in prayer and also stand in defence of religious freedom, Washington Cardinal Donald W Wuerl said on July 4 during the closing Mass for the Fortnight for Freedom at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. |= > 9 q

knees. There is also a time to stand up. ... Today, there are things that should mean enough to all of us, " " 9

we simply need to stand – to stand up for what is right, to stand up for what is ours, to stand up for free > " Q * The Mass marked the close of the second annual Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period in q 9

on Catholics across the country to pray and act in defence of religious freedom. Dioceses across the US cel-

9 ' vices and organised marches and other events to mark the close " 9 "

June 21, the vigil of the feast of Sts Thomas More and John Fisher, who were martyred for their faith. In Washington, the liturgy drew a crowd of 5,500 and was 9 9 9

72 priests. ˆ > • 9 # >

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for the July 4 Mass in Washington. X >

Court’s recent decisions on samesex marriage and the ongoing controversy over the federal contraceptive mandate demonstrate @ " 9 * “We defend marriage and de " 9

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Church, for the good of our fellow man, and for the good of the Unit •> Q * X >

Court’s decision on the Defense of Marriage Act “effectively paves the way for more lawsuits to rede > " sons of the same sex, and in do " " 9

stakes for the men and women of conscience and the religious institutions that continue to teach the 9 > " Q* K " 9

mandate that would force Catholic institutions like schools, hospitals and social service agencies " 9 viding employee health insurance " 9 "

drugs, contraception and steri • 9 ‡

“Sometimes issues like a govern> > > 9 *

But they affect real people and > *Q „ CNS

Protecting religious expression in military WASHINGTON – • 9 = > -

thy M Broglio of the US Archdiocese for the Military Services has praised the efforts of a new coalition > " "

see as growing hostility towards ser > >9 q " + * “The archdiocese looks forward to working closely as an ally as all seek to ensure the continued protection of the First Amendment rights of free speech and the free exercise of religion of the men and women of the United States > Q 9 *

“No one who raises a right hand to defend the Constitution should > Q • 9 ˆ " * X > > sponse to a July 9 news confer X 9

Family Research Council, other organisations and activists, and > >9 "

the formation of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition. The Family Research Council also released a report titled A Clear and Present Danger, listing 40 sep-

arate incidents that have occurred over the past several years that taken together, the council said, illustrate a growing hostility towards + " 9

9 > >9 š > * Incidents catalogued in A Clear and Present Danger cover a nine-year period. 9 ently took place in May this year, • ›

> ˆ 9 > K 9 cause it might appear he was con " | " Q* „ CNS

Pope Francis greets immigrants as he arrives at the port in Lampedusa.

Pope consecrates Vatican City to St Joseph and St Michael VATICAN CITY – With retired Pope

Benedict XVI sitting next to him, Pope Francis formally recited separate prayers to consecrate Vatican City to St Joseph and to St Michael the Archangel. The early morning ceremony in the Vatican Gardens on July 5 featured the unveiling of a new statue of St Michael. The project, along with a fountain dedicated to St Joseph, was initiated under Pope Benedict. Pope Francis said the statue of St Michael with his sword piercing the devil is “an invitation to Q* |' " @ 9

Q * |X fends the people of God from their

enemies, especially the enemy par + *Q The statue is a reminder that evil never wins, the pope said. The q | 9

salvation was accomplished once 9 Q* “In consecrating Vatican City to St Michael the Archangel, we ask him to defend us from the evil > Q

said. “We also consecrate Vatican City to St Joseph, the guardian of € " X

Family. May his presence make us even stronger and more courageous in giving space to God in our lives in order to always over > " *Q „ CNS

12 POPE FRANCIS

Sainthood process for John Paul II, John XXIII to proceed

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Pope’s 1st encyclical focuses on faith as light of human life Pope Francis worked on the draft written by his Pope Benedict XVI By Francis X Rocca VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’

Blessed John Paul II (left), and Blessed John XXIII (who convoked the Second Vatican Council). VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has signed a decree clearing the way for the canonisation of Blessed John Paul II. He has also decided to ask the world’s cardinals to vote on the canonisation of Blessed John XXIII, who convoked the Second Vatican Council, even in the absence of a miracle. After Pope Francis met on July 5 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the Vatican published a list of decrees the pope approved related to Blessed John Paul’s canonisation and 11 other sainthood causes. Normally, after a pope signs a decree recognising the miracle needed for a canonisation, the pope consults with cardinals around the world and calls a consistory – a gathering attended by any cardinal who wants and is able to attend – where those present voice their support for the pope’s decision to proclaim a new saint. A date for a canonisation ceremony is announced formally only during or immediately after the consistory. The cardinals and archbishops who are members of the saints’ congregation met at the Vatican on July 2 and voted in favour of the pope recognising as a miracle the healing of Ms Floribeth Mora Diaz, a Costa Rican who was suffering from a brain an-

eurysm, which involves a blood vessel disorder, and who recovered after prayers to Blessed John Paul. The congregation members, according to news reports, also looked at the cause of Blessed John XXIII and voted to ask Pope Francis to canonise him without requiring a miracle. According to Church rules – established by the pope and subject to changes by him – a miracle, usually a physical healing, is 9 > K

a candidate eligible for canonisation. Jesuit Fr Paolo Molinari, the longtime head of the College of Postulators – or promoters of sainthood causes – has said that for decades theologians have explored the possibility that such > > 9

means other than a physical healing. For instance, Blessed John 9 – ” manarivo in Madagascar in 1989 after accepting as a miracle the @ 9

stopping at the edge of a village whose inhabitants invoked her intercession. According to Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, no date for a canonisation ceremony has been set, but it is likely that the two popes will be canonised together, possibly “by the end of the year�. „ CNS

‡ > › =

Light of Faith), released on July 5, is a celebration of Christian faith as the guiding light of a “successful and fruitful life�, inspiring social action as well as devotion to God. The document completes a papal trilogy on the three “theological virtues�, following Pope Benedict XVI’s encycli � $%%<

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hope. Publication of the latest encyclical, considered the most authoritative form of papal writing, was one of the most awaited events of the Year of Faith. Pope Benedict “had almost > cyclical on faith� before his retirement in February, Pope Francis writes, adding that “I K K

added a few contributions of my own�. Commentators will likely 9 " sages, but the document clearly recalls the writings of Pope Benedict in its extensive treatment of the dialogue between faith and reason and its many citations of St Augustine, not to mention references to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. On other hand, warnings of the dangers of idolatry, Gnosticism and Pharisaism, a closing prayer to Mary as the “perfect icon of faith�, and an entire section on the relevance of faith to earthly justice and peace echo themes that Pope Francis has already made signatures of his young * Here at a glance are the encyclical’s main points: „ Christian faith is the guiding light of a “successful and fruitful life�, illuminating “every aspect of human existence�. „ The opposite of faith is idolatry, according to which man worships the “multiplicity of his desires�. „ Salvation is impossible through our own good works but requires faith, as acknowledgement of the “primacy of God’s gift�. „ By virtue of His humanity, Jesus Christ is not only the object of faith but the ultimate model and mediator for all believers, and faith is a “participation in [Jesus’] way of seeing�.

Cover of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ publication of Pope Fran

" $ CNS photo

The document completes a papal trilogy on the three ‘theological virtues’ of faith, hope and charity. „ Faith is not individualistic but by its very nature takes place within the communion of the Church. „ The unity and continuity of the faith are ensured by the apostolic succession, hence the pope and the bishops in communion with him stand as its authoritative teachers. „ The fullness of faith is transmitted above all through the sacraments, which “communicate an incarnate memory, linked to the times and places of our lives, linked to all our senses; in them the whole person is engaged as a member of a living subject and part of a network of communitarian relationships�. „ Faith offers access to truth through love, since love is a

“form of shared knowledge, vision through the eyes of another and a shared vision of all that exists�. „ Faith dispels philosophical relativism and encourages scien 9 > " | herent order� and harmony of the material world, and “stimulating wonder before the profound mystery of creation�. „ Faith is essential to the promotion of “justice, law and peace� because it reveals the true basis of men’s brotherhood as children of God. „ The full encyclical is at http://www. vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/ encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen +

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

I

II

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

The power of the pilgrimage By Marcellino D’Ambrosio

S

ALVATION history is the story of a journey. Abram goes from civilisation to the desert, Moses from Pharaoh’s palace to a mountaintop. The people of Israel repeat Moses’ journey and then are led through the desert to the Promised Land. All these journeys have a few things in common. God inspired each of them and accompanied the travellers on their way. Through the journey, He changed them. At the destination, He blessed them. # 4

the land, God wanted to constantly remind them that they are perpetual pilgrims in this world and that He, not the land, is their true inheritance. So the Lord made Jerusalem the seat of His special presence on earth and commanded them to journey there three times a year to worship Him with feasts of thanksgiving, such as the Passover. The public ministry of Jesus takes place against the background of these constant pilgrimages. The already holy city became even ho 9 q

blood. # 9 >

” > > ity was to decree religious freedom. But the next priority was to send his mother on pilgrimage to the Holy Land where she had churches built that are still visited by pilgrims today. Next, he built churches in Rome over the tombs of Sts Peter and Paul to welcome the pilgrims from all over the empire who would come to honour these two apostles. �

9

road hazards to visit Jerusalem, Rome and the sites of Marian apparitions. They have come not as tourists but as pilgrims. There is a difference. Of course, a pilgrimage usu-

Christian pilgrims carry palm branches during the traditional Palm Sunday procession on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. CNS photo. Artwork with Midst by D’AMBROSIO

ally includes fun, shopping and good food. But it is not primarily a vacation. The ultimate goal is not recreation, but re-creation. It is a journey of devotion, undertaken by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. What is the purpose of a pilgrimage? It is to worship God, do penance and be transformed. A pilgrimage to a holy place is so spiritually powerful that under the >> *

Though not commanded today, it is so highly recommended that gence to all those who answer the call. I was a college student when 4 > K grimage to Rome. Initially, I brushed off the suggestion as ridiculous. I was broke, like most college students. Besides, the pil" > " K "

exams, but I felt an inner tug that

I thought just might be the Holy Spirit. I had been struggling with a holier-than-thou attitude that I could not overcome. I had been pleading with God to help me. Maybe, I thought, this pilgrimage is His answer to my prayer. So I spoke to my professors. They gladly rescheduled my exams. I began cobbling money together. Soon there was enough. I decided to go and make the trip a penitential pilgrimage, seeking the grace to change. It was an amazing adventure. The experience of Rome bonded >

heritage and its rich tradition in a very profound way. It whetted my appetite for learning. Some friendships were deepened, new friends were made. But the most important thing was a gift of special grace I received when I least expected it. One morning, before St Pe-

q ˆ ists, I spent some quiet moments roaming through the crypt. I felt moved to kneel and pray at one of the tombs, receiving a touch of God that I will never forget. The tomb was that of Blessed John XXIII, who had a remarkable gift of humility and a unique ability to make people feel loved, > * =

gifts were exactly what I had lacked and had been praying for. Some measure of this spirit was shared with me that day, and I was changed. The following year was among the happiest of my life. I’ve since led nearly 800 people on pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. I’ve seen countless miracles, even physical healing. As pilgrimage leader, I am responsible for numerous practical details. As you can imagine, this is quite a distraction. Nevertheless, there is always a special moment

Christians have braved all sorts road hazards to 4 5 7 8 sites of Marian apparitions. 4

; < % = 7 when God touches me in a very deep and new way, and I go from pilgrimage director to pilgrim. The Holy Land brings Scripture alive. After going, you never read the Bible the same way again. Rome knits you to the uni "

the saints in a way that’s hard to describe. The medieval charm of Assisi, the beauty of Lourdes at the foot of the Pyrenees – these special places impart an atmosphere of serenity and draw one to prayer. But pilgrimage is about more than the place. It is about grace, a special grace, custom-designed for each pilgrim by the Holy Spirit, imparted in God’s perfect time. This is the greatest reason to listen for and respond to God’s call. „ >? %

8 Holy Land.

III

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

A pilgrimage to remember By Fr David K. O’Rourke, OP

I

N THE summer of 1956, I was staying in a Basque village in the French Pyrenees, a few miles inland from the beaches at Biarritz. There were about 40 of us, students from > *

studying, but it was summer, we were young, on our own and there was so much to do, so many places to go. The road through town, small but well-travelled, led to St-JeanPied-de-Port or St John at the Foot of the Pass, a nearby village of timbered houses and ancient inns. For over a thousand years pilgrims have been making their way through it from all corners of the world, for this village marks the start of the long climb over the Pyrenees, and the beginning of the historic Way of St James, the pilgrim’s road to Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims walk the whole

way, pilgrim staff in hand. Up over the mountains, through wind and rain, week after week, just to visit the shrine where the body of St James the Apostle is believed to rest. Before the summer was over, my friends and I had followed the pilgrims into Spain, visiting some of the more historic sites on the pilgrim road. At that time, I did not have anything close to a sense of purpose. For me there was no difference between a pilgrim and a wanderer. Still, the image of those solitary walkers – staff in hand, heavy backpacks, covers against the frequent rains, marching always onward – stayed with me. In the Middle Ages, many people throughout Europe left behind the customs and rules that governed daily life, and set out on the road to Santiago. They moved to a world of ever-new vistas and constant change. And yet all through their

months of trekking, they knew that they were going somewhere. They were not wanderers. They may be walking with wanderers, but they were learning what it meant to be pilgrims, to be going somewhere. I saw them grasping the pilgrim’s great insight: that life is lived on the road. Months later in 1957, when I was a student back in Paris, I decided to make the annual student pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres. We marched, 6,000 of us, in wild weather, for several days through

of that great cathedral. By then, I, too, was looking for a goal, something I could move towards.

And yet all through their months of trekking, they knew that they were going somewhere. They were not wanderers.

Pilgrims walk the Way of St James in Villafranca Montes de Oca, near the town of Burgos, Spain. CNS photo. Artwork with Midst by O’Rourke

In the intervening years my writing has taken me to a few places in Spain along the pilgrim road to Compostela. Recently, I decided that it was time to go to > * 4 >

with so many miles behind me, I walked across the cobbles to the shrine. Instead of the pilgrim’s staff, I leaned on an old man’s cane. I have come to see my life as a pilgrimage, a life lived peacefully on the road. Out on the plaza I watched pilgrims drifting in through the

narrow streets. Inside the great church under the altar, is the ancient silver casket that tradition says contains the remains of the apostle. The pilgrims kneel before it and, in their own quiet moment, reach out toward it. It is a rare gift to have something you want to reach toward, something that is worth the journey. „ Dominican Father O’Rourke is a senior fellow at Santa Fe Institute in Berkeley, Calif.

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Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Does the Bible speak of pilgrimages? By Fr Lawrence E. Mick

C

HRISTIANS today go on pilgrimages to many different places around the world, from Marian shrines in Mexico and Portugal to churches in Rome and Assisi to various biblical sites in the Holy Land. A prime destination, of course, is Jerusalem, where Jesus was cruci 9 > * Yet Jerusalem was a place of pilgrimage long before the Christian era. Psalm 122, for example, begins: “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jeru-

salem. Jerusalem, built as a city, walled round about. There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.� Even earlier, the Israelites were commanded to make pilgrimages three times a year in connections with agricultural feasts. At each of these times all the men were commanded to present themselves before the Lord, but this was done at local sanctuaries like Bethel and Shiloh. Later, when the worship of God was centralised in Jerusalem, pilgrimages to that great city for the three major feasts of Passover, Weeks and Booths became

common. So we read about the Holy Family in Luke 2:41-42, for example, “Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was 12 years old, they went up according to festival custom.� There is also a broader sense

of pilgrimage in Scripture, howev * = ˆ 9

on journeys. God called Abraham to leave his homeland to go to the land that God would show him. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert and, after 40 years of wandering, they entered the Promised Land. Elijah walked 40 days and nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. Amos was sent by God to the sanctuary at Bethel to preach God’s word to the king.

God’s people were a people on the move, called forward by God towards the vision that God set before them. Though the Israelites eventually settled down as an agricultural society rather than a nomadic one, the pilgrimage tradition kept a sense of Exodus and the need to respond to God’s call. For Christians, too, this sense of being constantly on pilgrimage endures. Jesus insisted that that “the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head� (Mt 8:20); in His ministry, he was constantly on the move. The Second Vatican Council called the Church itself a pilgrim Church, “on pilgrimage toward the heavenly city�. Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Rich in Mercy that those who truly know the God of mercy live in a state of conversion and “it is this state of conversion that marks out the most profound element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth�. The physical pilgrimage becomes the symbol of the internal, spiritual pilgrimage of conversion – which is the real goal of any true pilgrimage. „ Father Mick is a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and a freelance writer.

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Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Our Lady of Torreciudad By Robert Y. Tuason ON MAY 16 last year, after a long twoweek business trip to Germany, my wife Gina and daughter Erika joined me to visit Spain. We headed off to Madrid and after several days rode the AVE train to Barcelona, where we had arranged to make a pilgrimage to Lourdes and in addition, to visit another shrine of Our Lady of Torreciudad in the province of Huesca, Aragon region situated at the foothills of the beautiful Pyrenees. Devotion to the Virgin of Torreciudad is said to date back to the eleventh century. The founder of Opus Dei, St Josemaria Escriva built this beautiful shrine way up in the Aragon hills and was inaugurated on July 7, 1975. Situated north of the town of Barbastro, in the Somontano region (Latin for “beneath the mountain�), by the banks of the El Grado reservoir. It is also said that St Josemaria had hope that the shrine were “spiritual fruits: graces that the Lord will wish to grant to all who come to honour His Blessed Mother at her shrine. These are the miracles I desire: conversions and peace for many souls�. With this in mind, he asked for confessional chapels to be built and for everything be done to enable people to pray at the Shrine in peace. Fr Javier de Mora-Figueroa who is the current rector of the Shrine gave us a very warm welcome despite his busy schedule and spent time to give us a tour of the shrine. In the great altarpiece, set in a niche above the choir stalls, is the original Romanesque carved statue of Our Lady of Torreciudad, Queen of the Angels. Around the statue there are eight sculptured groups representing some of the main events in Our Lady’s life: her Betrothal to St Joseph, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the

Gina and Fr Javier de Mora-Figueroa, current rector of the shrine.

Adoration of the Shepherds, the Flight into Egypt, the Workshop at Nazareth, the Cru + ‡

Our Lady in Heaven. This altarpiece is the work of the sculptor Juan MaynĂŠ, carved in alabaster in JosĂŠ Miret´s workshop. I was surprised to learn that Torreciudad is one of the most visited places in the Aragon. Thousands of people from all over the the world come each year to this pilgrimage centre, where peace and silence are found in a setting of great natural beauty. = + > • "

region make it easy for travel agencies, parishes and educational organisations to include it in the itineraries of their pilgrimages and other tours. Anyone visiting this region to do a pil-

Entrance to the shrine of Our Lady of Torreciudad.

grimage can consider the Marian route covering three important Marian sites on both sides of the French-Spanish frontier: Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragosa (Aragon), Our Lady of Torreciudad and Our Lady of Lourdes. The distance between Zaragosa and Torreciudad is around 150 km (about two hours by bus). And between Torreciudad and Lourdes, the distance is around 200 km (some four hours by bus passing through the Pyrenees). The Marian route offers a rich environment of prayerful journey, combining artistic works and breathtaking scenery. Truly something worth doing at least once in a lifetime! „ Robert Y. Tuason, a member of the Opus Dei, is working in Singapore.

An altarpiece inside the shrine, with the original statue of Our Lady surrounded by eight sculptural groups representing the main events of her life.

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Sunday July 28, 2013 CatholicNews

POPE FRANCIS 13

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Vatican updates laws, pope expands Vatican court’s jurisdiction

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/ $ & [ / " % % Z % % Z % " [ > $ ()* VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis

has approved a major update of the criminal laws of Vatican City State, including in areas dealing with child abuse and terrorism "

Vatican employee can be tried by the Vatican court for violating those laws. The laws were adopted by the >> – can City State and were made applicable to all Vatican employees around the world – for example, Vatican ambassadors serving abroad – in a document signed by Pope Francis on July 11. The amendments to the Vatican’s criminal code and code for criminal procedures go into effect on Sept 1 and bring Vatican law into detailed compliance with several international treaties the Vatican has signed over the past 30 years as well as with developments in international law. The changes include the abolition of life imprisonment. The maximum penalty under the new Vatican code is 35 years. Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre, the presiding judge of the Vatican "

a growing consensus among criminologists that life imprisonment is an “inhumane and useless� punishment, as well as the Vatican’s view that prison sentences must be motivated by a desire to rehabilitate, rather than simply punish a criminal. Judge Dalla Torre told reporters that the new laws, in compliance with the Vatican’s signing and ratifying the 1989 Convention ” "

crimes against minors, including the sale of children, child prostitution, the military recruitment of children, sexual violence against children and producing or possessing child pornography. Previously, he said, those > 9

dealt with under more generic laws against the mistreatment of minors. The bulk of the Vatican’s criminal code is based on an 1889 version of Italy’s criminal code and did not, for example, cover

Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre

the crime of child pornography, Judge Dalla Torre said. The changes to Vatican City civil law are separate from the universally applicable canon law, norms and sanctions, which require bishops around the world to turn over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cases of priests accused of child sexual abuse or possession of child pornography. The canonical penalties include the possibility of the priest being expelled from the priesthood.

Those accused also face criminal prosecution in the country where the abuse occurred. Meanwhile, a United Nations’ committee concerned with children’s rights is requesting that the Vatican provide complete details about every accusation it has ever received of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, published on July 1 “a list of issues� it found lacking in the Vatican’s latest report on its compliance with the international obligations it accepted when it rati * It includes “detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, Brothers and nuns�; how it has responded to victims and perpetrators of abuse; and whether it ever investigated “complaints of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment� of girls in the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. The committee is also requesting information on what the Vatican has done to address discrimination between boys and girls in Catholic schools, including removing sexual stereotypes in school textbooks; whether it has “clearly condemned� corporal punishment of children; if it still labels children born out of wedlock as “illegitimate�; and how it is working to prevent child abandonment and trace infants’ identities when Church-run facilities receive unwanted children, including through so-called “baby boxes�. „ CNS

Pontiff to set up ‘study group’ to look into Vatican audits VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will form a new committee to " " cerns expressed in an external audit of the internal budgets of – * The pope told the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See that he was thinking of forming “a study group� that would look at issues such as transparency and accountability, South African Cardinal Wilfred F Napier of Durban told Catholic News Service. Basically, the group would look into how the Vatican could better manage “what, why and how� monetary resources are being used by the different Vatican “

on July 4. The cardinal is part of the 15-member council that meets twice a year to review budget 9 "

for the preceding year. At the end of their July 2-3 meeting, they met with Pope Francis who told them “that certain things needed to be put right�, Cardinal Napier said. An external group of “highlevel, international auditors� are called in from time to time, he said, to take an independent look at the Vatican’s budgets. “The report this time said quite a few things need attention,� the cardinal said. “It’s quite clear Pope Francis

was listening very carefully� during the pre-conclave meetings in March during which the world’s cardinals made strong recommendations for greater reforms. The pope “is going to make sure that something will happen�, the cardinal said. The recent arrest by Italian authorities of a former Vatican employee on charges of fraud and corruption, he said, just “adds grist to the mill� that should > – | K

digging� to root out and prevent > * “The main problem we’re facing is credibility� and all it takes is “one bad apple in the basket� to make the whole organisation look suspect, he said. Because the cardinals’ council won’t meet again for another six months, Cardinal Napier said it’s possible the pope will cobble together a kind of “interim group� to get started so that in January when the council meets again, “there would be a clearer picture� about the make-up and mandate of a more permanent group. Cardinal Napier said the biggest problem is the lack of a “uni Q – * >

work together and some are independent when it comes to budgeting and oversight. The patchwork approach, he said, means “no one knows what’s going on� in the big picture. „ CNS

‘Uncatechised’ Catholics can join ordinariates for ex-Anglicans VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis

has given the personal ordinariates for former Anglicans a wider opportunity for evangelising by allowing “uncatechised�, yet baptised, Catholics to join their communities. While lifelong Catholics were always welcome to attend its Masses, the ordinariate was established in 2009 for communities of former Anglicans who joined the Catholic Church. It was not open to people who were baptised Catholics, unless they were close family members of former Anglicans who became Catholic. However, Pope Francis ap " >

to that rule with an amendment to the norms of Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus. This constitution established the ordinariates – similar to dioceses – so that former Anglicans could become Catholic while retaining some aspects of their Anglican heritage and traditions. The amendment was approved by Pope Francis on May

31 but the announcement wasn’t made until early July by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for England and Wales, and the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter for the United States and Canada. The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent the > cation. The new amendment is now part of the constitution’s “complementary norms� outlining who is eligible for membership. While the community remains largely for faithful coming from the Anglican tradition, the modi ‚ |•

been baptised in the Catholic Church but who has not completed the sacraments of initiation, and subsequently returns to the faith and practice of the Church as a result of the evangelising mission of the ordinariate, may be admitted to membership in the ordinariate and receive the sacra> > rament of the Eucharist or both.� „ CNS

14 OPINION

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

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Pope gives future priests, nuns tips on happy vocations CNS photo

VATICAN CITY – ˆ -

thentic and loving while resisting catty gossip and sleek cars, Pope › ˆ ers and nuns. – q > >

catchy campaigns or pursuing " Â

life is the result of prayer and answering an “unsettling� yet loving invitation from God, he told some 6,000 seminarians and men and women who were considering Religious life. Men and women from 66 nations came to Rome on a four-day pilgrimage as part of the Year of Faith celebrations, which included an informal audience with Pope Francis on July 6 and a papal Mass on July 7. The pope spent more than 45 minutes speaking off-the-cuff to a packed audience hall, giving young and old a thorough how-to guide on the secrets of a successful vocation. Some of the greatest dangers standing in the way of a happy Religious life are materialism and a culture that believes nothing is forever, he said. Even Religious men and women have to avoid the temptation of thinking “the latest smartphone, the fastest moped and a car that turns heads� will make them happy, he said. He said it pains him when he sees a nun or priest driving an expensive car, and he praised the beauty of the bicycle, noting his 54-year-old personal secretary, Msgr Alfred Xuereb, gets around on a bike.

Novices look on as Pope Francis speaks to some 6,000 people discerning vocations and those on the path to becoming members of Religious orders.

However, with all the work to be done and distances to be covered, cars are a necessity, he said. Just “get a humbler one�, and if the > K > "

“think about how many children are dying of hunger�, he said. = q > >

things or “living on the edge�, " " +

he said. “It springs from an encounter, a relation with others, it comes from feeling accepted, understood and loved, and from accepting, understanding and loving� others, he said. Jesus is telling people: “You are > > 4

4q>

counting on you,� the pope said. Opening up to this love and di-

vine call is “the secret of our joy�, * | q 9 ing the joy of having answered ‡ q Q |

giving witness to His Gospel in service to the Church.â€? Joy is contagious, he said, and attracts people to learn more about the source of that happiness. “Please, no nuns or priests with the face of a pickled pepper,â€? he insisted. “There is no holiness in sadness.â€? The source of that dissatisfaction and sadness is not celibacy, the  q "

life that is sterile and lifeless. Nuns and priests are called to be spiritual and pastoral mothers and fathers, bringing life, healing and love to all they meet, he said. „ CNS

POPE’S POINTERS

Avoid thinking that the latest smartphone, the fastest moped and a car that turns heads can bring happiness.

True joy comes from feeling accepted, understood and loved, and from accepting, understanding and loving others.

An addiction to comfort FIFTY years ago, England-born Irish writer Kay Cronin wrote a book entitled Cross in the Wilderness, chronicling how, in 1847, a small band of Oblate missionaries travelled from France to the American Pacific Northwest and, after some bitter setbacks in Washington and Oregon, moved up the coast into Canada and helped found the Roman Catholic Church in Van " ˆ >9 q

mainland. She describes these men, no doubt with some over-idealisation and hagiography, to be tough, totally dedicated, and completely without concern for their own comfort and health. They left their beloved France while still young, knew they probably would never see their loved ones again, and accepted to live lives that were constantly in danger – both from the harsh elements of their frontier environment, and from the threat of death from various Native tribes, government forces and mercenary soldiers who distrusted them, for opposite reasons. They were threatened many times, chased out of various missions, some were kidnapped for periods of time and a number of their houses and missions were burnt down too. They lived perennially on the edge of danger, never secure, never free from threat. Moreover, they had next to nothing in terms of creature comforts. They lived in log and mud hovels, ate bad food and sometimes had no food. They had virtually no access to doctors, little access to what might make for good hygiene, and often, while travelling, had to sleep outside without proper shelter from the rain and cold, causing many of them to develop rheumatism and other such illnesses at an early age. They were never able to get comfortable at any place or make friends with people that could be comfort and support for them. They had faith, God, one another, and little else. ˆ 9 K @ pity or complaint. They wrote very positive and idealistic letters to their motherhouse in France and to their families, and kept journals within which they expressed mostly joy about their modest successes in the ministry. As an Oblate missionary myself, I read all of this, of course, with pride. I am proud of what these men did, and rightly so. They were * ˆ 9 " " >9 "*

‡ K " > > >

I peer into with considerable trepidation and shame. I look at my own life and see a huge addiction to comfort and safety. 4 q  4

hygiene, regular rest, access to good doctors, access to news, to information, access to travel, regular contact with family and friends, opportunities for retreats and vacations, access to ongoing education, and, not least, I want safety. I want to be a good missionary, but I want to be comfortable and safe. I take some consolation in the fact that times today are much differ > › > “ *

4 q K 4 "

proper housing, proper food, proper hygiene, access to education and information, regular rest, and healthy recreational outlets. My life and my ministry are a marathon, not a sprint, and proper self-care is a virtue not a vice. q 9 > >

* "

>

he was comfortable with whatever was dealt to him – no matter how much or how little. I like to believe that too for my own life, but, and this is true for most of us, the more we live with much, the more we tend to protect ourselves inside that plenty. Trappist monk Thomas Merton once said that what he feared in his own life was not so much a massive betrayal of his vocation but a se |> @ Q K * • q

the peril that I fear too, for myself and for our culture. As children of our culture, I believe we become addicted to comfort and safety easily. Once we have grown used to safety, good food, clean water, proper hygiene, access to good doctors and proper medicine, access to constant entertainment, access to instant information, regular connection with our loved ones, boundless educational and recreational opportunities, the danger looms large that we will not be able to let go of any of these. Consequently we will end up as good persons, no big betrayals, but 9 " @ Â

9 "

friends but unable to give up even our comfort. „

FOCUS 15

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

What should we do about our trash problem? Caring about trash is about being faithful, says Tom Sheridan At the risk of sounding like Oscar, the Sesame Street puppet who lived in a garbage can, I love trash. That statement demands full disclosure: My senior softball team has been sponsored for several years by the owner of a local > K " 9 "

trash hauler). But caring about trash is something bigger than softball. Caring about trash is about being faithful. Because if we cared about trash, perhaps we wouldn’t create so much of it. Several miles from where I live, there is a mountain. Here in Florida, USA, it’s easily the tallest piece of landscape around. It’s called, colloquially, Mount Trashmore. Mount Trashmores dot the terrain just about everywhere. These towering hills " "

of the things they no longer want or need. And 21st-century America, the paragon of a consumerist society, generates a lot of trash. Jesus never spoke about trash. Neither did the early Church Fathers. But the Church has long understood both the environmental and human problems of trash. It is more a symptom of a larger problem: the lack of respect and care we exhibit for one another. ‡ K ' = >

" 9 "

that creates unsafe and quickly obsolescent consumer products, and because packaging materials ripped from the environment unnecessarily consume billions of pounds of trees, oils for plastics, water and more. And because of wasted food products that could, if properly husbanded, blunt the starvation that globally takes the lives of millions of children and their parents yearly. That’s why Pope Francis always seems to connect his concerns about the environment to the broader concern for how we

Z

4 [ % because of greed quickly obsolescent items, and because of wasted food products that could potentially feed millions of people yearly.

Children play near trash under a bridge in Manila, Philippines.

“Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food. ... We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry!� Ever hear of “trash the dress�? That’s another particularly egregious example of how our attitudes towards waste and trash *

It’s a post-wedding subculture in which beautiful and expensive wedding gowns are destroyed by their owners in often-spectacular displays of waste. They might be sul > "

in a tug of war. The pope also said that in this “culture of waste ... human life ... is no longer perceived as a primary value to be respected and protected�. Yes, I love trash. Not because I am proud of my role in creating so much of it. But because it reminds me of the God of creation and the responsibility I share to help manage it and the human interactions it supports. Pope Francis put it better than I can: “Human ecology and environmental ecology walk together.� „ CNS

treat one another. “This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world, un-

The writer is former editor of the Catholic New World, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and a deacon ordained for the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, USA.

fortunately, many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition,� the pope told an audience in early June.

Pope urges experiencing Christ through people’s woundedness VATICAN CITY –

Artwork depicting St Thomas touching the wounds of Christ.

The only way to truly touch the living Christ is through the tender care of His wounds in the poor, sick and outcasts of today, Pope Francis said. Just as St Thomas’ life changed when he touched Jesus’ wounds, people who lovingly care for the body and soul of those in need will see their lives transformed, too, the pope said on July 3 during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. In his homily on the feast of St Thomas, the pope said people have tried many ways to experience the living Christ and none is as effective and direct as encountering Him through “His wounds. There’s no other way�. “A refresher course� is useless for learning how to encounter the living God; all it takes is “getting out onto the street�, the pope said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. “In the history of the Church, there have

been some mistakes made on the path towards God,� Pope Francis said. Some have believed God could be found through meditation alone or by trying to “reach higher through meditation�. Perhaps they acquire greater knowledge or understanding of God, he said, “but not of Jesus Christ, the Son of God�. X > "

> |

penitence, just penitence and fasting�, believing they could get to God merely through their own efforts, he said. Through Thomas, the pope said, Jesus tells people He can be found through His wounds. |=

€ q 9 rying out works of mercy, giving the body – and the soul, too – but the body, I emphasise, of your wounded brother or sister�

because their bodies are hurting. Those who are hungry, thirsty, without clothes, humiliated, enslaved, imprisoned or hospitalised are all examples of “the wounds of Jesus today�, Pope Francis said. Some may say, “Oh, great! Let’s set up a foundation to help all of them and let’s do lots of nice things to help them,� he said. While that kind of help is important, that approach alone reduces people to being “just philanthropists�. As Christians, “we have to touch Jesus’ wounds, we have to caress them, heal them with tenderness, we have to kiss Jesus’ wounds, literally�, the pope said. The pope asked that people pray to St Thomas for the grace and courage to “enter into the wounds of Jesus with our tenderness, and surely we will have the grace to worship the living God�. „ CNS

16 FAITH ALIVE!

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Single and a How can the Church more warmly welcome singles? By David Gibson

I

T IS said that many adults who are single wonder whether there is a place for them in Catholic life. Some single Catholics doubt that parishes, heavily focused on marriage and family life, can connect with them. Still, many single adults discover a place in the Church. Some serve as lectors at Sunday Mass or on parish councils. Some are catechists, youth ministers or Communion distributors. Many help in church soup kitchens or befriend the poor in other ways. A place of welcome is discovered by many in the young-adult groups that frequently are part of parish life. These groups typically include people 18 to 39 years old, some of whom may be married. Not uncommonly, a large majority of the members are single. Initially, people have “social reasons� for coming to his parish’s young-adult group, said Dominican Fr Xavier Lavagetto, pastor of St Dominic’s Church in San Francisco, a parish with a rather strong group. They later engage in a whole range of other pursuits, he said. They serve people in need and explore the meaning of faith for their lives. They spend time with others who share their faith. Perhaps they participate in retreats with many other members. An “incredible spiritual hunger is really there� in these young people, Fr Lavagetto stressed. Alongside that, he witnesses a real desire among singles to connect with other people. But to communicate about faith with young adults, a new language of faith is necessary, Fr Lavagetto suggested. He warned against burying “what we want to say under jargon�. It is essential to listen to these young and often single adults, he

indicated. Some, he said, “are trying to reconnect� and “don’t want to be put under a magnifying glass�. He hopes that by beginning to explore faith, wrestle with it and try to put it into action, it will become vital in their lives. The St Dominic’s young-adult group is diverse. There are doctors and cab drivers, working professionals, construction employees and sometimes police. The group is an example of the diversity found among such groups in the Church. Among the Church’s single Catholics, many are students in their late 20s or older. Along with many peers, they only recently have decided what direction to take in life. Many other single Catholics are advancing along career paths as educators, skilled workers, health care professionals or IT wizards by age 30. Naturally, not all single adult Catholics are young. They are middle-aged, or seniors, or older – like everyone else. Some single Catholics enjoy time with vibrant groups of friends and relatives. Some single Catholics are lonely. Some single mothers are widowed or divorced, some never married. Though some certainly

" portionately their reality. Some single Catholics tell researchers they never found the

Catholic singles chat during a conference in a New York hotel. The Church-run event provides Catholic young adults and singles with opportunities to grow spiritually, socially and in service to others. CNS photo

right person to marry. For others, single life is a choice, a vocation. Whatever the case, single adult 9

they are not: not married. They are baptised, vitally needed members of Christ’s body. St Paul, writing on the unity among the diverse members of Christ’s body, explained it this way: “There are many parts, yet

\ (

of a parish’s caring ministries. But there are other single Catholics whose experience may well be needed in such ministries.

one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you’� (1 Cor 12:20-21). Many single Catholics today 9 q ing ministries. But there are other single Catholics whose experience and insights may well be needed in such ministries. Unfortunately, many single Catholics are absent from the Church. The US Catholic bishops’ evangelisation committee mentioned them in a 2012 document on the new evangelisation. “The reasons that Catholics cite for missing Mass can be met and overcome by parishes that foster a welcoming environment for

adolescents, young adults, singles, married couples� and others, said the committee. “The new evangelisation,� it continued, “places a special emphasis on welcoming back to the Lord’s table all those who are absent, because they are greatly missed and needed to build up the body of Christ.� Fr Lavagetto says there is a continued need to welcome youngadult, single Catholics. One way to come across as “not welcoming�, he said, is by “not reaching out and seeing who is new�. “Welcome,� the priest said, “is something you have to work on.� „ CNS Gibson served on Catholic News Service’s editorial staff for 37 years.

By Daniel S Mulhall FROM the earliest days of Christianity, the Catholic Church has honoured those who have chosen to live the single vocation. By the third century, Christian hermits, ascetics and consecrated virgins were common throughout the Church. Some were known as the desert fathers and mothers and they are frequently credited with laying the foundation upon which Christian monasticism is built. While the Church has recognised the importance of the single vocation from the beginning, there are few references to being single in Bible.

The Old Testament says little about the single life, however. This should not be surprising "

the Book of Genesis God orders humanity to “be fertile and mul  9 Q

(Gn 1:28). But the Bible does recognise that some people chose to live the vocation of the single life, though it is not always explicit about who is single or married. For example, while there is a tradition that the prophetess Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, was single, the Bible never states that. Some men and women who took the Nazirite vow (Numbers

6) chose to live a life dedicated to God for a period of time. Some examples are Samson and John the Baptist, who likely were single. The clearest statement in the Old Testament about choosing to remain single is found in the Book of Jeremiah 16:1-3 when the prophet Jeremiah is told by God not to marry as a sign to the X 9

St Paul advises people to live the way that allows them to follow the Gospel most fully.

will experience in exile. Examples of people choosing the single life are more abundant in the New Testament, with Jesus being the primary example. While Jesus says nothing about the single life, He established it as a vocation by never marrying. St Paul also chose to remain single, as he says proudly in 1 Corinthians 7:7-8. This passage also sets in motion the emphasis on remaining single that developed in the early Church. Paul tells the Corinthians, “I wish everyone to be as I am, but each has a particular gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. Now to the unmarried and to

widows, I say: It is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I do.� There are other passages in Paul’s letters where he cautions against marriage, but Scripture scholars generally believe that in these passages he is challenging Christians to prepare for the second coming of Jesus. It doesn’t mean that he is advocating for a way of life. But in 1 Corinthians 7, Paul advises people to live the way that allows them to follow the Gospel most fully, which is the purpose of a vocation. „ CNS Mulhall is a writer and catechist in the US.

A

FAITH ALIVE! 17

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Catholic A look at various aspects of the issue.

‘Are you going to be a nun?’ By Iliana Maldonado

S

OME think it’s strange for me to say this, but I’ve never dreamed of getting married. I’ve never dreamed of having children. At age 20, I have a lot of friends. Some of them want or have boyfriends, many boyfriends. They want to be loved for their physical beauty. They want the world to look at them. Me? I just want to be loved by God. I don’t know why or when it happened. I just know that ever since I was a girl, I’ve always wanted to be part of the Church and being single as an adult doesn’t exclude me from participating. Sometimes I ask God to give me an answer to the question many have asked before me: God, what do you want me to do with my life? While I haven’t always known the exact answer, I don’t think marriage is the answer for me. All I know is that being single and being part of the Church helps me to live the Gospel. 4 > tifying with the Galilean women who followed Jesus in Luke Chapter 8, or with the passage from 1 Corinthians 7:34: “An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord.� Maybe some of this has to do with being sick when I was a little girl. I had a recurring form of > " > "

to 12. It involved a lot of suffering through treatments. The upside was that I had time to read. I read about the lives of the saints and I prayed, and always I felt the Lord was close to me. # > >

came to an end, I felt a great void. > 9

with the words I hear in the Gospel and by taking part in activities at my parish in Virginia, USA. I’ve always been active in church, even in my native Mex-

ico. Though most people in my parish are married, I’ve always participated and I’ve given and heard testimony from other single parishioners like me about the wonderful things the Lord has given to me and my family. What I seek, and maybe what others seek in marriage, is love. > " |

Q

lives. Some of them talk about loneliness. And I have felt some of that loneliness. But I feel that I am looking for something or some-

a nun?� All I know is that some of the things of the world don’t > > q

with who I am. Many friends and acquaintances, even those from Religious circles, have, in the moment of becoming adults, rejected the Lord and chosen a different path. But following the Lord is not necessarily about consecrating a life, nor is it about your marital status. If you’re married, if you’re single, if you choose to live the life of a Religious man or wom-

A single woman gets acquainted with a fellow participant at a singles conference. Whether married, single or a Religious, all are asked to follow the Gospel.

While I haven’t always known the exact answer, I don’t think marriage is the answer for me. > * I’ve never had a boyfriend, nor have I wanted one. I know it sounds incredible that at my age I haven’t gone through that “normal� part of being an adolescent, but I know it’s not me. That’s just the way I am and it is not my priority. Some people look at me and ask, “Are you going to be

an, we are all asked to follow the Gospel. We all approach different moments of discernment and perhaps I am in mine. Is this something that could change? I don’t know if this is something that will pass. No one says it’s easy, simple or automatic. But we are all on a path towards God that only requires that we open our hearts. ' ing what society asks of me but " Š K > *

„ CNS Maldonado is a parishioner at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Falls Church, Virginia.

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT THOUGH marriage is a topic largely discussed in various texts of the Catholic Church, including the catechism, not much is said about those members of the Church who are not married and have not chosen a life as priest or Religious. What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in No. 2392, however, is that “love is the fundamental and innate voca-

tion of every human being�. In 2005, the Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, USA, published a document called, What Is My Vocation? It says, “A vocation is something that you choose because you have found your greatest joy living in that certain way.� While the single life could be a stage until God calls you to another vocation, “some people choose to remain single be-

cause of the desire to serve others in the world�, the document says. Unlike those who have parishioners or families to take care of, single Christians have a unique opportunity, the document says. “Single men and women live out their vocations in the world and have a unique opportunity to serve the Lord anytime, anywhere and with their whole hearts.� „ CNS

18

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

Peter Chrysologus (380-450) was raised in the Italian city of Imola. He studied the sacred sciences and was eventually ordained as a deacon by Bishop Cornelius. When Archbishop John of Ravenna died, Peter was appointed to take his place. Peter was well-liked, and he earned the respect of both Emperor Valentinian III and Pope Leo the Great. Peter built a baptistery, which is a structure that houses a baptismal font, as well as a church dedicated to St Andrew. Copies of many of the texts of his sermons still remain, most of which are very short, because Peter did not want to bore or tire his listeners with long speeches. He often preached with enthusiasm and excitement, sometimes even to the point of running out of breath. The name Chrysologus means “golden-worded�, a name given to him because his sermons were so well-written and spoken. His sermons were responsible for him being named a doctor of the Church. We honour him July 30. „

PUZZLE: Write an “O� next to the names from the list below that are from the Old Testament, and write an “N� next to those that are from the New Testament. 1. Joel

____

5. Malachi

2. Peter

____

6. Matthew ____

3. James

____

7. Ruth

____

4. Isaiah

____

8. John

____

____

Read more about it: Genesis 18 and 19

Q&A 1. What did the Lord want to know about Sodom and Gomorrah? 2. What happened to Lot’s wife?

WORDSEARCH: „ REFRAIN „ WICKED „ PREPARING „ ACTIONS „ ABRAHAM „ DISOBEYED „ DISTANCE „ DESTROY

BIBLE TRIVIA: What do we call the

Old Testament?

________________________________

Bible Accent: Although biblical scholars and archaeologists have not been able to agree on the exact location of the city of Sodom, most believe it was probably somewhere near the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. What is more important is that the city is used in the Bible as a symbol of wickedness and disobedience to God’s laws. Several verses in the New Testament refer to Sodom as a symbol of God’s judgment. Another lesson that can be found in the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is that God listens to the prayers and petitions of His people, in this case Abraham, and He watches out for them, even when they are in dangerous places, which we can see from how Lot was saved from the destruction of the cities. „

Answer to Wordsearch

St Peter Chrysologus

nephew of Abraham, and his family to escape. Because Lot’s wife disobeyed the Lord and looked back at the city, she was turned into a pile of salt. „

3. N, 6. N,

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS:

“What if only 40 are found there?� “I will refrain from doing it for the sake of the 40.� “What if only 30 are found there?� “I will refrain from doing it if I can /% *Q And Abraham asked about 20 and then 10. “For the sake of the 10,� the Lord said, “I will not destroy it.� ˆ ‡

10 righteous people in the city, and He destroyed it. He allowed Lot, the

Answers to Puzzle: 1. O, 2. N, 4. O, 5. O, 7. O, 8. N

On a very hot day, as he was standing in the entrance of his tent, Abraham looked out and saw three men standing with the Lord by an oak tree. Abraham immediately went out to meet them. “Sir,� he said, “if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.� The men answered, “Very well, do as you have said.� After the men had something to eat and were preparing to leave, Abraham walked with them for a short distance. The Lord had planned to bless Abraham, so he gave him a warning about two nearby cities. “The outcry against

Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down to see whether or not their actions are as bad as the cry against them that > > * 4 > *Q The three men who were with the Lord walked ahead, but the Lord remained behind with Abraham. Abraham asked the Lord, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were 50 righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people within it?� = ‡ |4 4 <%

righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.� Again Abraham asked, “What if <% "

people?� “I will not destroy it,� the Lord answered.

Answers to Bible Trivia: The Pentateuch

By Joe Sarnicola

WHAT’S ON 19

Sunday July 28, 2013 „ CatholicNews

EVENT SUBMISSIONS We welcome information of events happening in our local Church. Please send your submission at least one month before the event. Online submissions can be made at www. catholic.sg/webevent_form.php

THURSDAY AUGUST 8 TO SATURDAY AUGUST 10 PROCLAIM! YOUTH CONFERENCE Thu (8am)-Sat (10pm): For young people 17 to 25 years old. Evangelisation 9

(CYO). Speakers include Archbishop William Goh, Fr Erbin Fernandez and Fr Gino Henriques. For further information T: 6285 2571; E: events@cayconline.org; Register W: www.cayconline.org

JULY 25 RELAXING WITH ART FOR ADULTS 3-5pm: Enjoy a healthy time and space for your creative enjoyment and expression through art-making activities so as to feel relaxed and refreshed. No prior art experience is necessary Conducted by art therapist Alvin George Khoo. Cost: $10. By Clarity Singapore. At Block 854 #01-3511, Yishun Ring Road. Register: 67577 990, 9710 3733; E: registration@clarity-singapore.org

THURSDAY AUGUST 8 TO SUNDAY AUGUST 11 OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: FROM FEAR TO CREATIVITY, DARKNESS TO LIGHT 9.30am-5pm (daily): A non-stay-in workshop with Fr Monty Williams, SJ. Our life is a journey of becoming increasingly aware of how God is always present in our lives and what we can commit to do to make this relationship more real. This involves discernment, putting the context of decision-making in terms of our relationship with God.By Kingsmead CISC. Cost: $400 (Free gift $% @ " * • —

Victoria Park Rd. Register T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com

JULY 26 CHILDREN’S EUCHARISTIC ADORATION 7.45-9pm: Adore Jesus as one family. An intimate time of prayer with our Lord. At Church of the Holy Spirit (main church). E: Children.eucharisticadora@gmail.com FRIDAY JULY 26 TO SUNDAY JULY 28 CHOICE WEEKEND Fri (6.45pm)-Sun (6pm) For single young adults 18-35 years old. By Choice. At 47 Jurong West Street 42. Register: T: 9880 3093 (Dawn), 9046 2297 (Albert); W: www.choice.org.sg/registration.htm JULY 27 CELEBRATING INNER FREEDOM 9am-4pm: Learn how to explore, identify, "

in order to journey towards celebrating inner freedom. By LifeSprings Spirituality Centre. At 100 Jalan Merbok. Register T: 64662178 (Brenda); E.lifesprings@singnet.com.sg FRIDAY AUGUST 2 TO SUNDAY AUGUST 4 MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND Fri (8pm)-Sun (6pm): A live-in marriage enrichment programme for happily married couples. Equip yourselves on this journey of love. By ME Singapore. At 201-B Punggol 17th Avenue. Register: T: 9670 5390; E: register@marriage-encounter-sg.org

AUGUST 9 CANTONESE RETREAT 9am-6pm: Topic: Is your faith built on the rock? Speakers: Frs Stephen Yim and Philip Lai. At Catholic Spirituality Centre (1261 Upper Serangoon Rd). Cost: Free (with light lunch and refreshment provided). Register T: 9476 3277 (Michael); E: mikecheuk22@gmail.com, patckng@yahoo.com.sg SUNDAY AUGUST 11 TO THURSDAY AUGUST 15 CHURCH OF OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE FEAST DAY CELEBRATION Aug 11 (7pm) Rosary followed by Mass (in Mandarin). Aug 12-14 (7pm) Rosary, praise and worship followed by Mass at 8pm (English). Aug 15 (7pm) Bilingual Mass followed by rosary procession. At 4 Sandy Lane. TUESDAYS AUGUST 13 THE BIBLE TIMELINE: THE STORY OF SALVATION BY JEFF CAVINS 9-11.45am or 7.15-9.45pm: Read 14 narrative books of the Bible and discover the amazing story woven throughout scripture over 24 weeks. See how the events = >

New Testament. Gain a greater appreciation for the scripture readings during Mass. Cost: $58. At Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace (4 Sandy Lane). Register T: 6744 2879; E: admin@queenofpeace.sg

AUGUST 3 FINDING GOD IN CREATION 2-6pm: An afternoon of prayer and * € +

God’s gift of creation. Facilitated by Sr Molly Lim, FMM. By Kingsmead CISC. Cost: $20. At 8 Victoria Park Rd. Register by July 22. T: 6467 6072; E: cisc2664@gmail.com

Crossword Puzzle 1089 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

17

18

20

21

10

27

28

13

33

34

35

50

51

52

22 24

25

30

31

32 37

36

38 41

40 42 45

12

19

29

39

11

16

23

44

9

15

14

26

8

43 47

46

48

49

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62 www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

ACROSS 1 “_____ us this day our daily bread‌â€? 5 Entreaties 10 Gear teeth 14 Sashes 15 Fuselage fastener 16 “Well, thanks _____!â€? 17 Book containing the readings used at Mass 19 Ordinary _____ 20 511, to Cato

21 Twirled 22 Number of biblical sorrows of Mary 23 French “these� 24 Food purveyors 26 “____ My God to Thee� 30 A ___ with the law 31 Borders 32 Auxiliary bishop with right to succession 36 Ripens 37 Rhone tributary

38 Business note /_ > 41 Large jib for yachts 42 One of the sons of Simon of Cyrene (Mk 15:21) 43 Church song leader 44 Learned literary men of the New Testament 47 OT historical book 48 Vestige 49 False god of the Old Testament

50 Dallas sch. 53 The Wise Men came from here 54 Catholic author of “The Father Brown Mysteriesâ€? 57 Poker stake 58 Fruit box 59 “We ____ to say, Our Father‌â€? 60 â€œâ€Śand ___ us not into temptation‌â€? 61 Yielded 62 God of war

FRIDAY AUGUST 16 TO SUNDAY AUGUST 18 SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CATHOLIC SOCIETY SUMMER CAMP Fri (10am)-Sun (1pm): Inviting all new and existing Singapore Institute of Management students to sign up for the upcoming summer camp to practise tertiary discipleship as well as to make more friends from UOL, UB, RMIT. Register: T: 9060 1217 (Lilynne); E: simcs_exco@gmail.com AUGUST 17 THEOLOGY OF THE BODY CONFERENCE 9am-9pm: A one day Theology of the Body recollection, with topics ranging from its philosophical foundation to its application to contemporary issues. Event concludes with Mass. By Apostolate for Catholic Truth. At International Plaza, 29-03 Training Centre (10 Anson Rd above Tanjong Pagar MRT). T: 9649 3893 (Andrew). Register E: andrewkong@me.com AUGUST 18 CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BVM 7-9pm: Candlelight procession with rosary and benediction in Tamil. By St Joseph Tamil Bible Prayer Group. At Blessed Sacrament Church. T: 6474 5249/9678 3855 (Margaret) AUGUST 18 TO OCTOBER 6 COUPLE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME Learn the latest life skills and apply them to build a more emotionally intelligent marriage. Ideal for young married couples and helpful for all couples who are open to re-discovering one another. Childminding services available. At Church of St Mary of the Angels (5 Bt Batok East Ave 2). T: 9105 9921 (Victor), 9674 4711 (Jason); E: goto_cep@hotmail.com THURSDAYS AUGUST 22 TO NOVEMBER 14 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST LUKE 8-9.30pm: Build your faith and understanding of Luke’s Gospel, with Fr Eugene Vaz. Cost: $20. At Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. Register E: maurice3428@gmail.com THURSDAY AUGUST 22 TO SUNDAY AUGUST 25 CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN’S PARISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL Aug 22-23 (7.30pm): Rosary followed by Mass. Aug 24 (2-5pm) Parish recollection; 5.30pm Rosary followed by Mass. Speaker: Fr Miguel Garaizabal, SJ, from Chiangmai

DOWN 1 A gift from the folks in 53A 2 Mountain goat 3 Veni, vidi, ____ 4 The best ending 5 Part of the Mass

feast day 6 Second pope 7 Designer Piccone 8 Air (comb.) 9 Pen 10 One studying to become Catholic 11 Biblical food 12 Wife of the prophet Hosea 13 British guns 18 Small islands 22 Josephite letters 24 “____ us peaceâ€? 25 Hardly genteel 26 ____ occasion of sin 27 Verge 28 â€œâ€Śfrom now on will all ____ call me blessed.â€? 29 Limited

30 Blessings 32 Third century pope 33 Housing for a patriarch 34 Melville work 35 Laugh loudly / 40 Hick 41 Catholic actor of “Gone with the Wind� fame 43 Covered with paint 44 To do this is forbidden by the seventh commandment 45 Large wading bird 46 Many a reggae singer 47 Fondness 49 Prayer counter 50 ____ of David 51 St. Thomas’ surname 52 Ones, to Pierre 54 CL + CL 55 Med. Christian empire 56 Dietary data

Solution to Crossword Puzzle No. 1088 R A B B I

O C E A N

M E A N S

C H E Z

B E D E

C R I B

S E G A

H A R M

A G U A

E V O I B L S E U D A I D E C T S C O T A R A S L B E T U L U N M I R T B B Y L E R A E L H S S

T I P S Y B E N H O U S E

E S T

N I C A E O U N D R E I A O U M B S T A S N R I E I N E A L I

A R R O G A N T R E N D E R

B A A L

A T T U

L E E S

M E E K

E R N E

D I N G

E T U D E

R A N G E

S L E E K

www.wordgamesforcatholics.com

SATURDAY AUGUST 24 TO SUNDAY AUGUST 25 CAMP FIDELIS Sat (9.30am)-Sun (12.30pm): For students who will be (or already are) studying in the UK or Ireland (including exchange students!), though students studying in other countries are welcome to join. The camp hopes to provide an opportunity for overseas Catholic students to meet, with a focus on how to keep our faith while dealing with the demands university life brings. By Catholic Students’ Overseas Community. At FMM House (49 Holland Rd). Register E: csocsingapore@gmail.com; W: http:// " * * >£ > @ £

SATURDAY AUGUST 24 TO SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 HEARTSPACE EXHIBITION: BE STILL AND KNOW – PRAYING WITH ART 9am-8.30pm (Sat-Sun); 6-9pm (MonFri): Opening reception at 3pm on Aug 24. The visual journeys of more than 40 participants will be exhibited with the majority of artworks going on sale. Proceeds will be donated to the church maintenance fund and the Open Studio. At Church of St Mary of the Angels. Register E: heartspace.stmary@gmail.com AUGUST 24 OVERCOMING DEPRESSION 12.30-2pm: The talk focuses on the symptoms and causes of depression while also discussing current treatment options that are available to overcome depression. Cost: $20. By Clarity Singapore. At Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Auditorium, Tower B Learning Centre, Ground Floor (90 Yishun Central). Register: 67577 990, 9710 3733; E: registration@clarity-singapore.org AUGUST 26 CHRISTIAN UNITY EVENING OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP 8-10pm: A follow up of the Annual Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. With praise and worship, homily and healing session. At Aldersgate Methodist Church (98 Dover Rd – within compound of › ' > *

AUGUST 30 EUCHARISTIC ADORATION FOR YOUNG ADULTS —@_*/% >‚ #

adoration and benediction. By Generation CHRIST! Ministry. At St Francis Xavier Chapel Kingsmead Hall (Church of St Ignatius). E: gen.christ.ministry@gmail.com

AUGUST 31 HEARTBEATS FOR LIFE 9am-6pm: Explore what Catholics have to do with life and love issues like 9

pornography, euthanasia, homosexuality and many others. By Apostolate for Catholic Truth. At Church of Sts Peter and Paul. T: 9380 1581 (Andy); E: enquiries@prolife.caritashost.sg; Register W: http://prolife.caritashost.sg/ site/ FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6 TO SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8 MONSIEUR VINCENT THE MUSICAL 8pm (daily) with extra show on Sep 7 at 2pm: The Church of St Vincent de Paul is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a musical performance depicting the life of St Vincent, how his spirit of humility and patience leads him to overcome his challenges to become the symbol of love and strength for the poor all over the world, and an example for all Christians to follow. At Republic Polytechnic Cultural Centre. Cost of tickets: $20, $30, $50 (all 8pm shows); $15, $25, $40 (2pm show). Tickets purchase: T: 9687 1942 (Anne-Marie Lai); E: svdpmusical2013@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 7, SEPTEMBER 10 TO 11, SEPTEMBER 12 TO 13 PAINTING MY WAY TO GOD 8-10pm (Sept 7) Talk; 10am-5pm (Sept 10-11/Sept 12-13) workshops. The creative process puts us into direct connection with the energies of God. Fr John Quigley, OFM, will speak from a Franciscan theology about the invitation that we have from God to co-operate in the process of creation, self expression and discovery. Cost: $20 (talk), $250 (2-day workshop inclusive of talk, basic art materials & lunch). At Church of St Mary of the Angels. Register E: heartspace.stmary@gmail.com NOVEMBER 28 TO DECEMER 7 OR DECEMBER 1 TO DECEMBER 7 QUIETING THE SOUL RETREAT IN CHIANGMAI Choice of 5 days (Dec 1 to Dec 7) or 8 days retreat (Nov 28 to Dec 7). A silent retreat at Seven Fountains Chiangmai, Thailand. Dates inclusive of travel time. By Cenacle Sisters. Register by Sept 30. T: 6565 2895/9722 3148; E: cenaclesing@gmail.com; W: http://www.catholic.org.sg/cenacle

S E 2 9 L

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Sunday July 28, 2013 CatholicNews

PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC NEWS, 2 HIGHLAND ROAD #01-03, SINGAPORE 549102. PRINTED BY TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED, 16 TUAS AVENUE 5, SINGAPORE 639340.

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