FEBRUARY 13, 2011, vol 61 no 03

www.catholicnews.sg SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2011

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‘Keep faithful to Church teaching on human dignity’ Archbishop issues message to Catholic schools on sexuality education programmes Archbishop Nicholas Chia has issued a message to Catholic schools, clarifying the Church’s stand on pre-marital sex and contraception, topics dealt with in sexuality education programmes here.

In his message, signed on Jan 10 and issued to school supervisors and heads of Catholic schools a few days later, Archbishop Chia reiterated Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks in his World Day of Peace message regarding religious freedom. “The right to religious freedom is rooted in the very dignity of the human person, whose transcendent nature must not be ignored or overlooked.

God created man and woman in his own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:27). For this reason, each person is endowed with the sacred right to a full life, also from a spiritual standpoint,�

Archbishop Chia quoted the pope. “As we begin a new school year I pray that all our Catholic schools remember that we have a duty and a right to nurture our &DWKROLF LGHQWLW\ IRU WKH EHQHÂżW of all our students,â€? Archbishop Chia wrote.

Noting that many Catholics have requested that Church WHDFKLQJV EH FODULÂżHG LQ WKH area of pre-marital sex and contraception in school sexuality programmes, he said: “Firstly, we acknowledge that we live in a secular society ZKHUH QR VSHFLÂżF UHOLJLRXV group has the right to impose its beliefs on others. Within the context of our Catholic VFKRROV KRZHYHU , ZRXOG ÂżQG it unacceptable if students were given a compromised message on pre-marital sex. This applies to all students in the school.

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‘Within the context of our Catholic VFKRROV , ZRXOG ÂżQG LW XQDFFHSWDEOH if students were given a compromised message on pre-marital sex.’ – Archbishop Nicholas Chia

“Secondly, we are very concerned with the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections among students caused by young people indulging in sexual activity with multiple partners. We would like to collaborate with the Health Promotion Board to do whatever is best for our young people in this regard.�

He went on to say, “We are convinced that the solution to our problems is not to compromise but to remain faithful to what KDV EHHQ SURYHQ EHQHÂżFLDO WR WKH human person and supports the

dignity and sacredness of human love and life.�

The message explains the &KXUFKÂśV RIÂżFLDO WHDFKLQJ RQ sexual intercourse, the marital act. “The Church... teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human lifeâ€? and “every action which... proposes whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil,â€? Archbishop Chia wrote, quoting Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae.

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INSIDE HOME World Youth Day 2011 Catholic youths prepare to attend event in Madrid „ Page 2

Archbishop Chia also stressed that Church teaching against condom use refers to marital acts, “since marital acts are the only ethical sexual acts in the eyes of the Churchâ€?. “If we present to our young people how to use the condom outside marriage, just in case you need it, it would be as though the Church is teaching us how to sin less grievously which makes QR VHQVH 7KXV ZH GR QRW ÂżQG RIÂżFLDO WHDFKLQJV RI WKH &KXUFK on the uses of contraceptives in extramarital or homosexual sex,â€?

Archbishop Chia wrote.

He, however, acknowledged that a question remains on whether it would be better to use contraceptives in cases of unethical sexual intercourse for the sake of preventing disease. Âł7KHUH LV QR RIÂżFLDO WHDFKLQJ of the Church on this point and we are left to the discussion of theologians and other authoritiesâ€? on the matter, he said. “Let us have the courage of our convictions and bring true education and values into sexuality and all other subjects and aspects of school life,â€?

Archbishop Chia said in the conclusion to his message.

According to the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS), representatives from the Catholic Church in Singapore have met with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to discuss the matter.

The MOE has agreed to revisit the school sexuality education programme, Breaking Down Barriers. MOE will contact the schools in due course, says ACCS. „ Archbishop Chia’s full message can be accessed at http://www.accs.sg/ Abmsgsexuality.html

HOME Doing more for Christian unity Faithful’s responsibility to preserve unity „ Page 5

WORLD Protection for Christians European Parliament comes up with resolution „ Page 8

OPINION Beyond just theological talk A permanent deacon gives his views on ecumenism „ Page 13

FAITH ALIVE! How to avoid becoming too busy Scheduling regular timeouts important „ Page 16

LETTERS Mass dress code debate More readers give their views „ Page 17

2 HOME ARCHBISHOP’S DIARY Feb 01 8.00pm Church of St Mary of the Angels: Mass – Consecrated Life Feb 12 6.00pm Church of St Ignatius: Mass – Golden Jubilee Feb 13 10.00am Church of Our Lady of Lourdes: Mass – Feastday and Dedication of the Altar

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

WYD preparations gather momentum

By Darren Boon Preparations for World Youth Day 2011 (WYD’11) are now in full swing, with young Singaporean Catholics taking part in fellowship sessions, and receiving spiritual input and direction.

Various Church groups are now holding regular activities for pilgrims to help them prepare spiritually for the international youth event to be held in Madrid, Spain, from Aug 16-21.

Over at the Church of St Francis of Assisi, participants have started meeting once or twice a month since January.

They are scheduled to attend sessions with speakers, participate in Holy Hour, Eucharistic adoration, and have one-on-one spiritual direction under Daughter of St Paul Sr Jocelyn, the group’s spiritual director.

A day of recollection will be held before the trip to energise the pilgrims, said parish youth coordinator Joachim Liu. Eighteen pilgrims are expected for the trip.

A group of young adults from the Church of Christ the King began their preparations last September.

Logo of the 2011 World Youth Day, which will be held in Madrid

Calling themselves W4 Pilgrims (Word, Worship, Works of Mercy and WYD’11), the young adults aged between 21 and 30 years have been meeting once a month for sessions and fellowship which include prayer and spiritual inputs.

The meetings will soon increase to twice a month.

Miss Genevieve Lee, who LV ORRNLQJ IRUZDUG WR KHU ¿UVW SLOJULPDJH VD\V VKH ¿QGV WKH UHÀHFWLRQV LQ WKH VHVVLRQV XVHIXO in preparing her for WYD’11, especially as she does not quite

know what to expect for the international Church event.

Personal sharings also help her get to know the other pilgrims better, she added.

While the group has about 40 members, only 18 will be heading to WYD’11.

W4 is not just about World Youth Day, says Mr Edward Gunalan, a W4 core member.

The community will continue to meet even after the event is over to further chart its direction with spiritual director Fr Kenny Tan, while keeping focused on the 3Ws – Word, Worship and Works of Mercy, he says.

The Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre is also organising a group that will depart on Aug 9. The trip includes a pilgrimage in Rome before heading towards WYD’11.

Their preparation starts on April 2 with a pilgrims’ gathering. Pre-departure events include Eucharistic adoration, spiritual preparation and a retreat.

Registration closes on Jan 31.

A total of two million participants worldwide are expected to attend WYD’11 which is held every two to three years. „ darrenboon@catholic.org.sg

Canossian school holds 1st Mass at temporary site

By Paula Png Students and staff of St Anthony’s Canossian Primary 6FKRRO FHOHEUDWHG WKHLU ¿UVW Mass at the school’s holding site at Bedok North Road, having moved from Bedok North Avenue 4 late last year.

The temporary move was part of the Education Ministry’s plans to improve and upgrade the facilities of the old building.

The Jan 10 Mass, celebrated

by Father Johnson Fernandez, marked the beginning of the new school year as well as a new chapter in the school’s history.

Joining the school community in prayer were the Canossian sisters and principal Ms Grace Tan. The celebration concluded with a teachers’ dedication prayer and a students’ commitment prayer, in which both educators and pupils asked for God’s blessings and strength to stay committed to their endeavours through the new academic year. “As I looked around the hall at the eager faces of the little girls, I wondered what is going on in their minds and hearts at

Canossian Sr Enrica giving Holy Communion to a pupil during the Jan 10 Mass.

such school Masses,â€? commented Sr Cecily Pavri, supervisor of the Canossian schools. “Some appear to be mildly SUHVHQW RWKHUV ÂżGJHW UHVWOHVVO\ but at those moments in the liturgy when they were invited to be still and pray, it amazed me at how angelically deep into prayer they were.â€?

6KH DGGHG Âł, ÂżUPO\ EHOLHYH

that a Catholic school is privileged to structure such strong moments of connecting with the divine into the school programme.

It is imperative that we nurture the inner anchors of our children so that all other curricula can rest strong on this God foundation.�

The school community expects to return to its refurbished building in 2013. „

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Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Commissioning ceremony inspires principals

By Don Gurugay The annual commissioning ceremony for new principals of Catholic schools is a great encouragement, say educators who attended a recent ceremony. “It shows that the Catholic Church and especially the supervisors are behind us and they support us,� said Mrs Judina Cheong, Hai Sing Catholic School principal. “The commissioning is very meaningful as it reminds us of what we have been chosen and called to do, just as the apostles were called,� said Ms Genevieve Chye, principal of Montfort Junior School.

Mrs Cheong and Ms Chye were among some 80 educators who attended the commissioning ceremony of eight new Catholic school principals on Jan 22. The event, held at the Church of St Teresa, also included a service of commitment for other principals and vice principals.

During the Mass, Archbishop Nicholas Chia assured the Catholic educators that he, together with all members of the Church, support them in their work.

If you believe that God is at the centre of the meaning of existence itself and that our Catholic schools have a singular purpose to enhance human dignity DQG OLIH \RX ZLOO ÂżQG WKDW \RX FDQ steer a steady path towards the light, said Archbishop Chia.

Principals of Catholic Schools have been commissioned annually since 2005. “It’s a great event for all principals as it’s a good occasion to unite all Catholic principals

Archbishop Nicholas Chia gives a lighted candle to Ms Mabel Lim from St Joseph’s Church Childcare Centre during the Jan 22 commissioning ceremony for new principals of Catholic schools.

‘The commissioning is very meaningful as it reminds us of what we have been chosen and called to do, just as the apostles were called.’ – Ms Genevieve Chye, principal of Montfort Junior School

and educators,� said Ms Mabel Lim from St Joseph’s Church Childcare Centre, who was commissioned that day.

Since last year all pre-school principals have been invited to join in the commissioning ceremony as a sign that the Church acknowledges the importance of such education.

According to the organiser, Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools (ACCS), being commissioned as a school principal means that one’s mission of being a close collaborator with Christ in VKDULQJ WKH *RRG 1HZV LV DI¿UPHG There are presently 17 kindergartens, three childcare centres, 19 primary schools, 15 secondary schools, one junior college, one international school and one special needs school run by the Catholic Church in Singapore.

Apart from the recent ceremony, other ACCS events for 2011 include workshops on Integral Pedagogy and Catholic Ethos by Jesuit Fr Nobert Menezes, a religious education training programme for pre-school teachers and principals, and an introduction to meditation for teachers. „

Activities for Serangoon district’s altar servers prove to be a hit “When is the next one?� asked an altar server who attended the recent Serangoon District Altar Servers Recollection.

Aaron Gabriel, from St Anne’s Church, was one of 149 altar servers from the district who attended the event held at the Church of St Vincent de Paul.

Judging from his enthusiasm, the young boys are eager for more such activities.

The Jan 16 recollection was a follow up of last August’s Mass for the district’s altar servers. It was held at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who celebrated the Mass, had said he would like vocation awareness to be instilled at an early age.

Frs Michael Sitaram and Paul Yeo provided spiritual input during the recent recollection while Archbishop Chia celebrated Mass at the end. A quiz was also held.

Parents, too, felt the event

Altar servers taking part in The Expert Altar Boy Quiz during their Jan 16 recollection.

was a spiritually inspiring one for their sons. Mr Christopher Wong said his two boys were happy to UHFHLYH D FHUWLÂżFDWH RI PHULW IURP the archbishop.

It was a challenge “getting the ER\V WRJHWKHU IURP ÂżYH SDULVKHV

and it is good to have more of such events,� commented Mr Andrew Lee, an adult coordinator from Nativity Church.

The other parishes represented at the event were St Francis Xavier and Immaculate Heart of Mary. „

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Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews

Parish holds special prayer service for Christian unity

By Mary Lee It was an Anglican pastor who started what is now known as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, parishioners of the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea learnt recently.

Rev Paul Wattson started the Church Unity Octave in 1908 in New York state, with the support of Anglican and Catholic bishops, Fr John Joseph Fenelon told parishioners on Jan 18, the start of the Christian unity week.

The Anglican pastor later became Catholic and was ordained to the priesthood in 1910.

Fr Fenelon was speaking at a special service to pray for the unity of all Christian Churches.

It included the exhortations of Jesus and St Paul on unity within the Church, readings from Vatican II documents on ecumenism, a Gospel reading and songs.

“With non-Catholic Christians,” said Fr Fenelon, reading from a Vatican II document, Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism), “Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth, a dialogue which is not only an exchange of ideas, but also of gifts, in order that the fullness of the means of

Additional Mass at St Mary’s The Church of St Mary of the Angels will begin a new 7.15 pm Sunday Mass starting from Feb 13.

The parish says the new Mass time offers Catholics working shifts or who are busy earlier in the day on Sundays a chance to attend Mass.

The parish says it hopes the additional Mass will ease overcrowding at the Sunday 5.30 pm Mass and allow for a more conducive environment for worship and prayer.

All other Mass times at the church remain unchanged.

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‘Catholics must enter into a respectful dialogue of charity and truth.’

– Fr John Joseph Fenelon, quoting from a Vatican II document

salvation can be offered to one’s partners in dialogue.”

Parishioners also prayed “that more and more Catholics will be able to explain the Catholic faith more profoundly and precisely, in ways and terms that” other Christians can understand and appreciate.

Priest transfers FILE PHOTO

As Fr William Lim, parish priest of Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary, is presently unwell, Fr Stephen Yim (above), currently assistant priest at Church of Christ the King, has been appointed acting parish priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary as of Feb 8.

Archbishop Nicholas Chia, who made the announcement recently, said Fr Emmanuel, a Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP) priest, will be posted to Christ the King on Feb 15.

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Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews

‘Do more for Christian unity’ Christians challenged to work harder for ecumenism during Unity Week event

By Darren Boon While being reminded of their common roots in Christ, Christians were challenged to do more for Christian unity at a programme to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Christ’s presence in Holy Communion changes people, Rev Dr Lorna Khoo from Aldersgate Methodist Church told the 400 people at the Church of Divine Mercy on Jan 24. She urged them to see Holy Communion as a meal of the presence of Christ.

“Because He is here, something can happen ...

He invites … all can come”, although sometimes the decrees and disciplines of the Church act as gatekeepers, deciding on who can come, she said.

She shared an experience in 1993 when she felt led to attend daily Mass to be in solidarity with Catholics at a World Council of Churches meeting in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

She said that respecting Catholic Church rules that only Catholics can receive Communion

Christian leaders give a blessing to participants at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service on Jan 24.

required her to die to her pride and not insist on receiving the host. A bishop who headed the Catholic delegation later embraced her during the Sign of Peace with emotion in his voice, as he understood her pain of not being able to join in the meal.

Rev Khoo encouraged Christians to obey Christ when “He asks us to do something for the broken body of His” and to leave the results to Him, to die to denominational pride for Christ’s

broken body to come together by respecting and honouring the other.

Also, there is a need for “focused commitment to love a Church outside your own”, Rev Khoo said, and one way is to “study their documents … appreciate their tradition”.

Dr Roy Joseph, Vice Chairman of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, said the challenge of Christians today in Singapore “is to achieve greater visible

unity in ways that embrace our differences and traditions” so that it is obvious to non-Christians that it is the same God Christians worship.

He suggested Church leaders come together to organise a transdenominational programme that extends beyond a week into a “continuous common study of the Word of God”.

Rev Dr Edward Keith Pousson of Victory Family Centre said there is only one

Church and all are family. Unity is given, but it is the Christians’ responsibility to preserve this. It is through Jesus that the walls of division break down, he added.

Rev Joseph Goh from the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd said that prayer is “not a weak, passive, detached activity, but an active participation and contribution to the mission of Christ”.

Although individuals pray for their own needs, these prayers can go beyond immediate concerns when informed by the apostles’ teaching of the PDJQL¿FHQW SODQV DQG SURPLVHV of God, “strengthened in the solidarity of fellowship … nourished by breaking of bread”.

Rev Susheel C Cheriyan, Vicar of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, which hosted an ecumenical prayer service on Jan 19, said the sharing offered “new thoughts … new ideas” and said that such a forum is a good start to promote Christian hospitality. darrenboon@catholic.org.sg

6 HOME

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Caring environment boosts Holy Innocents’ O level scores More than 70 percent eligible for admission to junior collges and polytechnics

By Darren Boon Holy Innocents’ High School (HIHS) students have done well in the 2010 GCE O Level Exams.

Top student Lin Yifeng scored eight A1s, while another student, Audrey Sum, scored eight distinctions. Seven other students scored seven distinctions.

Furthermore, 70.5 percent and 97.4 percent of the cohort are eligible for admission to junior college and polytechnic UHVSHFWLYHO\ WKH KLJKHVW LQ ÂżYH years.

While character development is emphasised by all schools, principal Soh Lai Leng said that in mission schools, students “grow up and learn in an environment that is Godcentred and love-centred� with the staff giving “their whole heart� in nurturing the students holistically.

Ms Soh attributed the school’s good results to a few factors – caring, committed teachers who give their best to the students; the 2009 HIHS graduates who did well and set the benchmark for the 2010 batch to perform well; and self-disciplined and motivated students.

Students attest to the dedication of the teachers.

Benjamin Cher said that

Principal Soh Lai Leng attributes the school’s good results to committed teachers, past graduates who set the standard, and self-disciplined and motivated students.

Students who did well in the GCE O Levels: (from left) Luke Yong, Jonathan Liem and Benjamin Cher.

students were given extra lessons and classes on weekdays and Saturdays in preparation for the O Levels. ³,W ZDV TXLWH EHQH¿FLDO ´ &KHU said. The teachers are passionate about their jobs and are genuinely concerned about their students, he added.

Luke Yong said his form teacher even booked an airconditioned room for the students to use during their study breaks.

Ms Soh said HIHS offers enrichment programmes such as reading and debating workshops for students to boost their English skills. The school also collaborates with Nanyang Polytechnic and National Technological University in research projects and also sends students for mathematics and chemistry olympiads.

The school also holds an intensive week-long programme

before the June Mother Tongue examinations.

The principal also stressed that the school admits students with diverse academic abilities – from those with a PSLE score of 188 to those in the 240-point range for the express stream.

Apart from HIHS, several other Catholic schools also fared well in the 2010 O Levels.

CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School produced the top O Level student

three years in a row. This year, student Chia Pei Yun scored 10 A1s. The school also saw two other students scoring nine A1s.

Catholic High School saw one student scoring nine A1s and one A2 and four other students scoring nine A1s.

CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh), Maris Stella High School and St Joseph’s Institution had students who scored nine A1s. Other Catholic schools with at least one student scoring seven A1s or more include CHIJ Katong Convent, CHIJ St Joseph’s Convent, Hai Sing Catholic School, Montfort Secondary School, St Patrick’s School and St Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School. „ darrenboon@catholic.org.sg

‘Friends helped me come out of my shell’

‘School boosted my leadership skills’

‘Grateful for extra classes’

Although Luke Yong suffers from dyslexia, he said his teachers have always treated him like any other student, something he is grateful for.

However, he did get extra one-to-one help in English and Mathematics when he approached the teachers.

He scored an L1R4 of 12 and an L1R5 of 15 in the GCE O Levels which he said was “better than expected�. The school also helped him to appeal to the Ministry of Education for extra time to complete his exams.

Yong told CatholicNews that since he would often miss out a few letters while writing, the extra minutes gave him a chance to check his work. )RU WKH ÂżUVW WZR \HDUV RI his secondary school life, Yong said he was quiet and kept to himself as he felt “scared and embarrassedâ€? by his condition.

But his classmates did not see him differently, and were

Holy Innocents’ High School helped me develop leadership skills, said Benjamin Cher, who attained seven distinctions in the GCE O Levels.

Cher who was in the Students Council said that being in the organisation helped him develop his leadership potential and taught him to be more articulate.

He was involved in the planning committee for the Secondary One and Two school camps.

Cher also participated in the Young Christians Students Movement (YCS).

He was its vice-chairman in Secondary Two and its chairman in Secondary Three and Four.

He also held the position of vice-secretary and led the training WHDP LQ WKH QDWLRQDO RIÂżFH YCS gave me the opportunities to show my leadership qualities through assigned tasks at the national level, he said.

Jonathan Liem, who scored seven distinctions, said he is grateful to his teachers who conducted additional classes on Saturdays.

He had initially thought of the classes as a “waste of time�, but later found them helpful in clearing up misconceptions in his studies.

He said he is also thankful for the Masses and once-a-year penitential service held for the students.

Preparing for the examinations is more than memory work, he said. Doing well in studies means understanding the concepts and applying them during the examinations.

It is also important to consult with friends and teachers to check that one has understood the subjects and concepts correctly, he added.

Liem said he is grateful for a Catholic schoolmate’s encouragement during the O Levels when he felt stressed. „

friendly and reached out to him.

This helped him come out of his shell, and open up to others, he said.

Looking back, he said he really enjoyed the friendships made during his school days.

Two of his Christian friends also inspired him to become a better Catholic, Yong added.

Being involved with the scouts also helped him to become less introverted and taught him that “tough times don’t last, only tough men do�. These words helped him during his preparation for his O Levels.

Yong nearly did not manage to make it into HIHS. His PSLE score of 209 was lower than the FXW RII SRLQW IRU QRQ DIÂżOLDWHG students. However, then principal Pauline Wong allowed him to join the school.

Yong said he is also grateful to his choir friends at St Anne’s Church for their prayers and encouragement. „

He added that this cocurricular activity has helped him to collect his thoughts through WKH ZHHNO\ UHĂ€HFWLRQV The parishioner of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary said he feels at home in the school as “people and staff were all very warmâ€?.

He admitted that he was surprised at his results because KH ZDV ³QRW VLJQL¿FDQWO\ WRS´ LQ his level.

During the examination period, he said he put the Litany of the Saints on repeat mode on his iPod which helped him to relax.

He also said that he lifted everything up to God, and prayed for strength and wisdom so that he would be able to concentrate and maintain a clear mind during the examinations.

Cher is involved with the Mandarin ministry of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. „

ASIA 7

Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews

Philippine leader rules out return of death penalty MANILA – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has ruled out reintroducing the death penalty despite calls to do so by various groups following a series of recent killings.

“I used to support the death penalty. But I’ve seen for myself that the implementation of justice is not perfect, so I have changed my position,” he said.

Mr Aquino said capital punishment can only be applied LI D MXGLFLDO V\VWHP LV ÀDZOHVV Capital punishment was abolished in the country in 2006.

Bishop Deogracias Iniguez Jr of Kalookan also spoke out against its reintroduction.

Authorities should focus on effective law enforcement to address rising crime instead of considering the re-imposition of capital punishment, he said.

“Death is not the answer,” emphasised the bishop who heads the public affairs department of the Catholic bishops’ conference.

Calls for the return of the death penalty have increased following the recent murders of two car dealers.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines is strongly opposed to the death penalty.

“The penal system should

President Benigno Aquino III.

aim not just to punish but to correct. The guilty should have the chance to reform and repent.

Executing them won’t give them that chance,” Bishop Iniguez said.

The bishops’ Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, meanwhile, said “only poor people would be penalised” by death if the country’s present justice system stays as it is.

“It’s time authorities look at the problem of enforcing the law instead of looking at the death penalty … Those pushing for WKLV ZDQW D TXLFN ¿[ VROXWLRQ >WR the problem],” said Mr Rodolfo Diamante, executive director of the commission. UCANEWS.COM

Sri Lankan Catholics call for dress code COLOMBO – The Catholic

National Association of Laity (CNAL) in Sri Lanka is urging Catholics to dress modestly during Church celebrations.

CNAL says it is worried about the wearing of increasingly revealing clothing during church feasts, weddings and Sunday Masses.

In an appeal to worshippers, CNAL secretary Victor Silva noted “with great sadness and dismay the unfortunate trend among some Catholic lay faithful to be dressed in an immodest and most disrespectful manner when participating in liturgical services, with scant

attention to the sense of the sacred”.

Many Catholics have complained that churchgoers in Colombo turn up for services in short skirts, halter tops, low cut blouses and shorts.

The CNAL call comes amid moves by the government to ensure dress modesty in public places. The government has set up a panel of different faiths to prepare a dress code.

Sri Lankan authorities have already ordered the pulling down of advertising billboards featuring women showing too much cleavage or exposing thighs. UCANEWS.COM

8 WORLD

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Vatican didn’t tell bishops to cover up abuse: spokesman VATICAN CITY – A Vatican

RIÂżFLDO GRZQSOD\HG D Vatican letter to Irish bishops about handling cases of clerical sex abuse, saying the letter did not tell bishops to keep the cases secret from the police.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi said the letter aimed at ensuring the bishops fully followed Church law for dealing with accusations in order to avoid a situation in which an abusive priest could return to ministry on the technicality of his bishop mishandling the process.

The letter, brought to public DWWHQWLRQ RQ -DQ E\ ,UHODQGÂśV RTE television and published by Associated Press, was written

by Archbishop Luciano Storero, then-nuncio to Ireland. The letter summarised the concerns of the Congregation for Clergy regarding proposed Irish norms for dealing with the sex abuse crisis.

Archbishop Storero said that according to the congregation, “the situation of ‘mandatory

reporting’ gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and a canonical nature�.

Fr Lombardi said, “One must note that the letter in no way says that the country’s laws must not be followed.�

He told Catholic News Service on Jan 19 that the Vatican “does not KDYH D XQLYHUVDO VSHFLÂżF SRVLWLRQ on mandatory reporting because the laws and situations are so different from country to countryâ€?.

However, he said, the Vatican has made it clear to bishops that in their policies for dealing with abuse accusations and in concrete situations “they must respect the laws of their country�.

Some news reports and some groups of sex abuse victims have SRLQWHG WR WKH OHWWHU DV evidence that the Vatican directly orchestrated the response of bishops’ conferences to the sex abuse crisis and that even in the late 1990s, not everyone at the Vatican was convinced that abusers should be turned over to the police. „ CNS

European Parliament wants protection for Christians

$ &RSWLF 2UWKRGR[ ZRPDQ LQ 5RPH KROGV D FUXFL¿[ GXULQJ D -DQ GHPRQVWUDWLRQ WR FRQGHPQ WKH &KULVWPDV DWWDFN RQ D FKXUFK LQ $OH[DQGULD (J\SW CNS photo STRASBOURG, FRANCE – The

European Parliament has urged governments to do more to protect Christians from persecution. “In some cases, the situation facing Christian communities is such as to endanger their future existence – if they were to disappear, this would entail the ORVV RI D VLJQLÂżFDQW SDUW RI WKH religious heritage of the countries concerned,â€? the European Parliament said in a Jan 20 resolution addressed to European Union institutions. “We call on the [European] Council, the Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy ... to pay increased attention to the subject of freedom of religion or belief and to the situation of religious minorities, including Christians, in agreements and cooperation with third countries as well as in human rights reports.â€?

The document said the Dec 31 explosion at an Orthodox

‘In some cases, the situation facing Christian communities is such as to endanger their future existence.’ – European Parliament resolution

church in Alexandria, Egypt, was only one of numerous attacks against Christians in 2010. It cited incidents in Nigeria, Iraq, Philippines, Vietnam and Cyprus.

It added that the EU had stressed the duty of governments to guarantee freedom of thought, conscience and belief and was committed to promoting democracy and respect for human rights and civil liberties as a fundamental aim.

It called on the EU’s foreign PLQLVWHUV WR ¿QG ³LQVWUXPHQWV WR

provide security and protection for Christian communities under threat� when they discuss persecution at their Jan 31 meeting.

Ms Catherine Ashton, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told the European Parliament on Jan 19 that any “discrimination or violence� because of religious beliefs violates EU values and should be “taken seriously and condemned with the same force�.

She added that the EU would not “turn a blind eye� to the plight of “long-established Christian communities in the Middle East� and was “ready to enhance cooperation with governments to combat intolerance and protect human rights�. “These attacks are unacceptable, perpetrated by extremists with an agenda of intolerance that must be condemned and resisted,� she said. „ CNS

Muslim scholars in Egypt boycott dialogue VATICAN CITY – Top Muslim

academics in Egypt have announced they are suspending all dialogue with the Vatican to protest Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks about anti-Christian violence in Egypt.

The decision of Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, president of al-Azhar University in Cairo, and members of the Islamic Research Academy was reported on Jan 20 by Ahram Online, a site devoted to covering news of interest to Muslims in the Middle East.

Shortly after the news was reported, Jesuit Father Federico

Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, WROG UHSRUWHUV WKH 3RQWLÂżFDO Council for Interreligious Dialogue “is collecting the information needed to adequately understand the situationâ€?. “In any case,â€? he said, “the line of openness and the desire for dialogue on the part of WKH SRQWLÂżFDO FRXQFLO UHPDLQ unchanged.â€?

The news of the dialogue boycott came about a month before the scheduled annual meeting of the Joint Committee IRU 'LDORJXH RI WKH 3RQWLÂżFDO Council for Interreligious Dialogue

and the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions. The committee, established in 1998, meets in late February each year.

Ahram Online said the decision to suspend dialogue was made unanimously in response to the pope’s reference on Jan 1 “to the discrimination endured by Coptic Christians in Egypt� after a bombing at a Coptic Orthodox church left 23 people dead.

Sheik el-Tayeb already had criticised the pope’s remarks as “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs�. „ CNS

WORLD 9

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Pope urges Neocatechumenal Way to ‘seek communion’

The pope greets Neocatechumenal Way’s co-founder, Mr Kiko Arguello, at the Vatican on Jan 17. CNS photo VATICAN CITY – The pope has asked the Neocatechumenal Way to “seek profound communionâ€? with Church leaders and members. “Fraternal communion between the disciples of Jesus is, in fact, WKH ÂżUVW DQG JUHDWHVW ZLWQHVV WR the name of Jesus Christ,â€? he said.

Speaking to thousands of members of the movement during a special audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall on Jan 17, he said, “The Church has recognised in the Neocatechumenal Way a particular gift created by the Holy Spirit. As such it naturally tends to insert itself into the harmony of the ecclesial body. “In this light I exhort you always to seek profound communion with pastors, and with all members of the particular Churches, and of the very different ecclesial contexts in which you are called to work.�

The papal audience was an annual event in which the pope blesses families who, responding to the request of a local bishop, agree to go off as missionaries to assist with evangelisation efforts.

Pope Benedict noted the progress that was made in recent years starting with the 9DWLFDQÂśV ÂżQDO DSSURYDO LQ

June 2008 of a set of statutes for the Neocatechumenal Way. 7KHVH FRQ¿UPHG WKH movement’s unique approach to adult evangelisation, while also insisting on close ties with local bishops and parishes and asking for changes in the way the group celebrates the liturgy.

The pope also noted “another important step� was made just a few days ago when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith gave its approval of the Way’s catechetical material.

According to a Jan 17 press release by the movement, the material has a new name – the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way – and has been amended by the doctrinal congregation to include footnotes that make clear the text’s references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In his speech, the pope said that with these “seals of ecclesial DSSURYDO WKH /RUG WRGD\ FRQÂżUPV this precious tool which is the Way and again entrusts it to you so WKDW LQ ÂżOLDO REHGLHQFH WR WKH +RO\ See and the pastors of the Church, you may contribute with renewed energy and ardourâ€? to the cause of the new evangelisation. „ VIS, CNS

Drive carefully, pontiff tells young people VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict

XVI has asked young people not to hide their energy and enthusiasm, but to be realistic about the risks they take and, especially, to be extra careful when driving.

Speaking in Italian at the end of his weekly general audience on Jan 19, Pope Benedict addressed young people after offering special greetings and prayers to about 100 members of Children in Heaven, an Italian association of parents whose children have died.

The pope told the parents he

knew it took strength not to be crushed by “the often tragic death of your children� and he urged them to look to Mary as a sign that parents are right to hope in the eternal life of their children who die before them.

But he also said he wanted to address young people: “In the exuberance of your youth, don’t forget to calculate risks and act at every moment with prudence and a sense of responsibility, especially when you are driving an automobile and have your life and that of others in your hands.� „ CNS

10 WORLD

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster stands with the three former Anglican bishops ordained Catholic priests in London on Jan 15. They are (from left) Fathers John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton.

Former Anglican ordained Catholic LONDON – Almost immediately after he was ordained a Catholic priest along with two other former Anglican bishops, Father Keith Newton was named head of the ZRUOGœV ¿UVW SHUVRQDO RUGLQDULDWH (similar to a diocese) for former Anglicans in England and Wales.

Father Newton, who is a 58-year-old married man and former Anglican bishop of Richborough, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on Jan 15 by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster.

Also ordained Catholic priests during the Mass in Westminster Cathedral in London were former Anglican Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham and former Anglican Bishop $QGUHZ %XUQKDP RI (EEVĂ€HHW A capacity congregation of DERXW ZRUVKLSSHUV ÂżOOHG WKH cathedral for the historic event.

The Mass began with the reading of a message from US Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who described the priestly ordinations as an “occasion of great joy�. He said the establishment of the ordinariate marked a “unique and historic moment in the life of the Catholic community� of England and Wales.

Fr Newton issued a statement saying he was “humbledâ€? to be DSSRLQWHG DV WKH ÂżUVW KHDG RI WKH ordinariate in England and Wales. “This is not an honour I have sought or expected, but I pray that

God will give me the wisdom and grace to live up to the trust the Holy Father has placed in me,� he said. “My wife and family have been a great support to me throughout my ministry and I know they will continue to do so.�

In his homily, Archbishop Nichols said, “Many ordinations have taken place in this cathedral during the 100 years of its history.

But none quite like this.�

He thanked the Anglican Church of England for recognising the sincerity of the three new Catholic priests and thanked Anglican leader Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury for his “generosity of heart and spirit.�

He also thanked Pope Benedict

for “the courageous leadership KH JLYHV LQ HVWDEOLVKLQJ WKH ÂżUVW personal ordinariateâ€?.

Pope Benedict’s intentions, he said, are to “contribute to the wider goal of visible unity between our two Churches by helping us to know in practice how our patrimonies of faith and living can strengthen each other in our mission today�.

The Vatican announced that day that the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation had established the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham “for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Churchâ€?. ,W LV WKH ZRUOGÂśV ÂżUVW SHUVRQDO

The three former Anglican bishops being ordained at Westminster Cathedral.

o M i A M d R a C

d h w a o g f C o

WORLD 11

Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews CNS photos

Father Keith Newton, former Anglican bishop of Richborough, now heads the ¿UVW SHUVRQDO RUGLQDULDWH IRU IRUPHU $QJOLFDQV LQ (QJODQG DQG :DOHV

bishops ic priests

w

ordinariate for former Anglicans.

Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, is venerated by both Catholics and Anglicans in England. This medieval Marine shrine in East Anglia was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation, but restored a century ago by Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

The ordinariate is a structure designed “to balance, on the one hand, the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be fully integrated into the Catholic Church,” said a Vatican statement on Jan 15.

The statement noted that while

‘This is not an honour I have sought or expected, but I pray that God will give me the wisdom and grace to live up to the trust the Holy Father has placed in me.’

– Father Keith Newton, head of the new ordinariate for former Anglicans

under certain conditions married men may be ordained priests in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, married men may not be ordained bishops. However, the head of the ordinariate does not necessarily have to be a bishop, although some of his authority is similar to a bishop’s.

The Vatican said Frs Newton, Broadhurst and Burnham “will oversee the catechetical preparation RI WKH ¿UVW JURXSV RI $QJOLFDQV LQ England and Wales who will be received into the Catholic Church together with their pastors at Easter” and will “accompany the clergy preparing for ordination to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost”.

Church leaders in England have said they expect about 50 former Anglican clergy and hundreds of laypeople to enter the Catholic Church in the spring.

The three former Anglican bishops who led the way had resigned their Anglican ministries on Dec 31. They were received into the Catholic Church on Jan 1 and ordained to the transitional diaconate on Jan 13.

Pope Benedict XVI announced in November 2009 his decision to create personal ordinariates for former Anglicans who wanted to enter into full communion with Rome while preserving liturgical and other elements of their Anglican heritage, including a certain amount of governing by consensus. CNS

12 LETTERS/OPINION

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Fortnightly newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore

2 Highland Road, #01-03 Singapore 549102.

Telephone: 6858 3055. Fax: 6858 2055. Website: www.catholicnews.sg MANAGING EDITOR: Father Johnson Fernandez: johfern@catholic.org.sg ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christopher Khoo: chriskhoo@catholic.org.sg STAFF CORRESPONDENT: Darren Boon: darrenboon@catholic.org.sg DESIGN / LAYOUT: Christopher Wong: design@catholic.org.sg Elaine Ong: elong@catholic.org.sg

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

IN MEMORIAM: Susan Lim: memoriam@catholic.org.sg SUBSCRIPTIONS: Richard Paul: subscriptions@catholic.org.sg ADVERTISEMENTS: Elaine Ong: advertisements@catholic.org.sg WEBMASTER: Medona Walter: medona@catholic.org.sg

We need a new church in Punggol The population in Punggol estate has been growing drastically over the past few years.

Many Catholic schools are also located in the area.

I am a resident of Punggol and have been living here for almost eight years.

I fully support a CN letter writer’s view (New Church Needed, CN Aug 1, 2010) that we should consider a church building in this area. The population in Punggol estate has been growing drastically over the past few years.

I believe our Catholic population has also increased as newly married couples come to reside in this estate.

Due to the many Catholic schools located in the precinct such as Holy Innocents’ Primary and High schools, Monfort Junior and Secondary schools and CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity, many Catholics have been living in the

north-east in recent years.

We need visible signs of God’s presence among us – and that is a church. In years to come, this estate will have a high concentration of younger people.

A Catholic church must be built to meet the future needs of our Catholic community. Not only do we need a church but we also need a home for our children and teenagers to grow in their faith.

I am also concerned about the need for priests to attend to the old and sick in this area. :H GHÂżQLWHO\ QHHG D FKXUFK if not now, at least in the next couple of years. We need to have good foresight.

Churches built 20, 30 years ago did not have full house

initially. Look at them now, they DUH DOO RYHUĂ€RZLQJ Many years back, the Church of Holy Family was initially given an extension. However, years after the extension, the church was pulled down as it needed to be rebuilt in order to meet the growing population in the east.

Recently, I came across the future plans for Punggol Central.

I noticed a plot of land is reserved for the building of a Christian church near Punggol MRT station.

I hope our Catholic community will not miss the opportunity for this plot of land as it is a once-in-alifetime chance for us to bid for it.

Ng Puay Ying

Singapore 821642

Thanks for the Kids’ Page in CN I picked up the latest copy of CN and was pleasantly surprised WR ¿QG WKDW WKHUH LV QRZ D SDJH dedicated to children again!

Thank you for taking on the suggestion I made in November 2010. I know that many mums like myself are grateful for the effort and we look forward to spending fruitful time with our children bonding over the activities

and topics for discussion.

For parents of young children who do not know where to begin in imparting our faith, the activities and stories here are a good start.

What the CN team may like to consider next is to allocate a section within the page where parents can share their favourite Catholic family websites or activities they do with their

children, so other parents can tap on these as well.

Let us learn from one another and in doing so, nurture our young ones as well as grow in our own faith.

Cheryl Clair Teo

Singapore 760850

‡ 0RUH OHWWHUV RQ SDJH

The asceticism of pressure and duty THE past several weeks have been some of the most pressured weeks in my life. I have been trying to balance the pressures of teaching a three-hour-a-day Intercession course, my duties as an administrator, a series of emergencies to do with the deaths of a couple of close friends, along with trying to sustain some kind of prayer life, all the time nursing a nasty viral cold.

It’s been a pressured time.

We’ve all had similar seasons in our lives, sometimes lasting for years, not just for a couple of weeks.

Sometimes the pressures of life simply put us on a treadmill from which, for a while at least, there is no stepping off. What happens at those times is that we tend to beat ourselves up for getting caught in that situation.

Frequently, too, friends and spiritual directors join in, berating us for not taking better care of ourselves, for not saying no to more things, and for not having the discipline to schedule regular prayer, exercise, and leisure into our lives.

Their challenge is not without value. We do need to take care of ourselves and it is not always a virtue to respond to every need that presents itself. But, that being said, it also needs to be said that sometimes, perhaps most of the time, the pressures of life, those duties and demands that rob us of leisure and rest and time for formal prayer, are not necessarily a bad thing. There is a fasting and prayer too, by conscription.

Jesus, the Gospels tell us, once went into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, taking no food and no nourishment. He fasted. In essence, what this says is that He deprived himself of the normal comforts and supports of ordinary human life. He voluntarily submitted to an asceticism designed to help move Him to a deeper level of understanding, love, and maturity (the purpose of all voluntary asceticism).

He actively sought out the desert.

6RPHWLPHV KRZHYHU WKH GHVHUW ÂżQGV XV :KHQHYHU D VHDVRQ RI our life is so full of pressure so as to deny us the normal comforts and supports of ordinary life, then we too are in the desert and afforded the opportunity to use that deprivation as an asceticism that can help move us to a deeper level of understanding, love, and maturity; except in our case the asceticism is conscriptive rather than freely chosen.

Former spiritualities tried to teach this through a concept they FDOOHG OLYLQJ RXW RXU GXWLHV RI VWDWH ,Q DQ RYHUVLPSOLÂżFDWLRQ WKH LGHD was this: God puts us on this earth not just for leisure and enjoyment, EXW DOVR WR VHUYH RWKHUV DQG WR JLYH RXU OLYHV RYHU LQ XQVHOÂżVK GXW\ Our private happiness, and indeed our private sanctity, is not our highest goal.

Once we accept this and begin to give our lives over in service, the duties innate within marriage, family, vocation, church, society, and the needy will, at times, consume us in ways that can for long periods of time take away our freedom, our leisure, our rest, and even our time to pray as we ideally should.

But that response to duty is also a healthy asceticism, albeit a conscriptive one, which can do for us the very things that private prayer and voluntary fasting can do, namely, push us beyond a selfcentred life.

Biblically, this is captured in Jesus’ remark to Peter at the end RI -RKQœV *RVSHO $IWHU 3HWHU KDG WKUHH WLPHV DI¿UPHG KLV ORYH DQG commitment, Jesus turned to him and said: Up to now, you have girded your belt and walked wherever you wanted to go, but now, after this commitment, others will put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go.

What Jesus is telling Peter is that the duties that will now follow upon his commitment of faith and love will rob him not just of his leisure and his own plans for his life, but ultimately too they will rob him of his freedom and his very life. Duty can do that, and often does.

I know a woman, whose children are now grown, who once confessed to me that, while her children were toddlers, she sometimes went through long periods when she could not even carve out VXIÂżFLHQW WLPH IRU KHUVHOI WR JR WR WKH EDWKURRP ÂżQG WLPH IRU OHLVXUH or time to pray or sit in solitude.

7RGD\ VKH LV RQH RI WKH PRVW XQVHOÂżVK DQG SUD\HUIXO SHUVRQV , know. Obviously her time in the desert of her own home, her feet held WR WKH ÂżUH E\ GXW\ IDVWLQJ E\ QHFHVVLW\ IURP RUGLQDU\ OHLVXUH GLG IRU her what the desert did for Jesus and what the conscriptive rope did for Peter.

Unwelcome pressure, tiredness that we haven’t the luxury to address, and duties that take us beyond our own agendas, if accepted without resentment, can function as God’s conscriptive, ascetical hook, taking us, as if against our own will, to deeper and more mature places. „

OPINION 13

Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews

Taking ecumenism beyond just theological talk

By Deacon Sherman Kuek THE Church celebrated the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from Jan 18 to 25.

The Decree on Ecumenism of the Vatican Council II encourages all Catholics to participate in this special week and to strive to remove the blocks of division.

The key to realising this is through a dialogue of life, of work, of studies and of prayer.

Working towards Christian unity is nothing new for the Catholic Church. We have been speaking of Christian unity for decades. Now the Evangelicals and Pentecostals have been gradually included in ecumenical activities. They are now convinced of the need for unity.

The problem, however, is that “unity” and “ecumenism” are interpreted rather differently in different Christian traditions. Some leaders of Evangelical communities seem to be saying that Christian unity has already been achieved and it does not need to involve a visible oneness of the Church.

The Catholic Church, however, GRHV QRW GH¿QH XQLW\ WKLV ZD\ 2QH important discussion that is needed is what unity actually constitutes for the various Christian traditions.

2QH REVHUYDWLRQ , KDYH LV WKDW although we come from different Christian traditions, there is a consensus that we live in a shared socio-political reality. We share the same social challenges whether we are Catholics, 2UWKRGR[ RU 3URWHVWDQWV E\ YLUWXH of our living in the same nation.

For this reason, a dialogue of action is necessary beyond just theological talk. We need to act together for the goodness of the VRFLHWLHV LQ ZKLFK ZH H[LVW Very often, this conviction is also followed by an acknowledgement that we even need to work together with friends from other religions for this purpose – to make our inhabited world a EHWWHU SODFH , ¿QG WKLV DWWLWXGH WR be very uplifting and healthy.

However, one concern I have is that even if several individuals representing certain Christian groups are convinced of the need for dialogue, this conviction of theirs does not represent the populace of their respective tradition. In a sense, at ecumenical gatherings, we are “preaching to the choir”.

Hence, for these few individual leaders who see dialogue as very crucial but whose other members of their tradition have no developed understanding of dialogue, the challenge

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury walking with Pope Benedict XVI in London last year. Unity based on a whitewashing of differences, according to the pope, only stalls fruitful dialogue.

remains for them to impart this awareness to their people.

The perspective of the Catholic Church, as has always been, is that the fullness of the Christian faith, the faith of the Apostles, is to be found in the Catholic Church.

But recognising the historical reality of various schisms (i.e. splits) in the history of Christianity, the Catholic Church today embarks on the mandate of Blessed Pope John XXIII to issue a “gentle invitation” [to those separated from WKH 6HH RI 5RPH@ WR VHHN DQG ¿QG that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed so ardently to his heavenly Father (Ad Petri Cathedram, 1959).

Dialogue can be fruitful only when it is at the service of truth – not opinions or personal GLVSRVLWLRQV RQ VSHFL¿F issues – but truth.

This mandate was issued on the eve of Vatican II, and was probably very much on the mind of the Holy Father as he convened that Council in 1962.

Having said that, it is necessary to recognise that dialogue can be fruitful only when it is at the service of truth – not opinions or personal dispositions RQ VSHFL¿F LVVXHV ± EXW WUXWK Unity is indeed important to the Catholic Church, and it remains her priority. However, it is a unity in the service of truth that she seeks, not unity for the sake of itself. For this reason, the Catholic Church does not – she cannot – VDFUL¿FH WUXWK DW WKH DOWDU RI XQLW\

In the understanding of the Catholic Church, when an authentic unity has been reached, it is a unity of truth.

This does not mean that the &KXUFK ZRXOG H[FOXGH DQ\ RWKHU groups of Christians who have different ideas of truth. The position of the Catholic Church is always inclusive, but being inclusive does not mean being pluralistic.

The principle of inclusion enables the Church to make space for others and to recognise the good in others without having to compromise our selfunderstanding. It also respects the self-understanding of others, keeping in mind that respect does not mean consent or agreement.

Unity based on a whitewashing of differences, according to Pope Benedict, is a facade and only stalls fruitful dialogue.

In line with this understanding, the Catholic Church does not see that the endeavour towards ecumenism necessitates putting aside all our theological differences.

Pretending that there are no differences and relating to one another as a “fully united body” by resting on the lowest common denominator of the faith is to pander to false and promiscuous union.

True ecumenism, by the standards of the Catholic Church, is to be measured in terms of consistency with our Creed (the faith and moral claims of the Church), Code (the discipline of the Church) and Cult (the liturgical worship of the Church.

UCANEWS.COM Sherman Kuek, a Malaysian permanent deacon, is director of the Pastoral Institute of Melaka-Johor diocese

14

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

15

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

CHILDREN’S STORY:

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16 FAITH ALIVE!

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Too busy even for rest?

By David Gibson

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OU’VE heard it before: You’re very busy, you have too much to do, but you still ought to schedule a regular timeout into your day because you need and deserve a respite – an almost daily opportunity to rest, to be restored and to regain a sense of yourself as someone who matters.

And you probably have tried that many times: You’ve made the decision to take a 25-minute walk outdoors (your chance to exercise, think DQG FKDQJH SDFH RQO\ WR ¿QG after less than a week that the time available for your walk has disappeared from view.

Or you have decided to rise

30 minutes earlier each morning to read and pray alone, only to ¿QG WKDW DIWHU WKH ¿UVW ZHHN \RX are more fatigued than ever, or that one of your household’s younger members has found you out and now is rising early too.

The truth may be that you really are a busy person. Maybe you have a job and a family and a household to run, which means you always have others to think about and care for, essential shopping to do and, unfortunately, a kitchen that always seems to need cleaning up.

Perhaps you quite accurately can say that you have little or no time on your hands. You’re not wrong about that. But there is a risk in all of this: It is the risk that life appears to be all about work.

This is a risk the JudaeoChristian tradition has endeavoured to counteract over the centuries with the notion of “Sabbath time�, presented as one of life’s essentials. Sabbath time is all about taking a timeout from work in order to honour God and life’s deepest meaning, in order to become rested and restored as human beings in God’s sight.

After all, we are not created only to work. Without diminishing the value of work in the least, we need to be able to view ourselves as more than workers. Sabbath time serves that goal.

Family life, however, can easily present itself as nothing but work. I know exactly what it feels like for a parent to think, at 10 pm, that the household’s work is HQGOHVV DQG QHYHU ZLOO JHW ¿QLVKHG

Fatigue is one of the hazards of family and parental life. And what can happen is that as fatigue grows, so do impatience, a reduced ability to make good decisions and even anger. What also can happen is that stress dominates the household.

A

ND this is where the notion of sabbath time – what I might term a frequent “sabbath timeout� (and not only on Sunday or the weekend) – comes into play.

This timeout may be uniquely important for parents, but as a goal it also is uniquely challenging.

Would we do well if we think of ourselves as gift givers, to consider sharing our gifts of time and energy with each other in ways that allow for rest and personal refreshment? For example, could

a husband and wife make plans to take over for each other for brief periods at home to allow each other some timeout?

Or, might couples who are close friends or relatives give each other an evening out or a night away from home by taking care of each other’s children from time to time?

To reduce stress levels at home, it may sometimes be necessary to say no to requests arriving from outside the household for our time and energy. And it may be essential at times to readjust our expectations of each other and of ourselves.

After all, we cannot do everything, and we must be kind to ourselves.

Exercise is known to reduce stress. And lowering the noise volume in a home can itself prove refreshing.

But having good friends to share our experiences with and to consult also reduces stress and often serves to bolster hope.

Praying clearly serves to restore the sense that life matters.

Carving out a restful, refreshing and somewhat regular WLPHRXW GH¿QLWHO\ LV QRW HDV\ My experience tells me, though, that it helps to make some form of timeout a true priority and not to give up easily on the decision to insert reasonable, if brief, periods of refreshment into our lives, no matter how busy we actually are. „ CNS Gibson served on Catholic News Service’s editorial staff for 37 years

Learning to pray all ways

By Mary Eileen Andreasen

Offer until stocks last.

Many people lead such frantic lives that the only time they think about praying is before they GULIW RII WR VOHHS ,WœV KDUG WR ¿QG a peaceful 30 minutes to pray, and it’s practically impossible to retreat to a distant mountaintop monastery for a few days.

How can we make a commitment to prayer when our days are so full?

Health professionals tell us that it’s easier to stick to an exercise plan when we slowly add more exercise to our day instead of waiting to visit the gym for an hour after work.

In the same way, we can incorporate prayer into our daily lives by changing how we look at prayer. Why separate prayer from our lives? Instead, we should gradually blend it in.

We can pray during our morning drive to work and as we watch the sunrise. We can notice other wonders of the day and offer up a quick prayer of gratitude.

Jesuit Fr James Martin says, “Noticing [the wonders of each day] helps you realise that your life is already suffused with the presence of God.�

Offering God our daily

We can incorporate prayer into our daily lives by changing how we look at prayer.

thoughts and prayers is perfectly appropriate and doesn’t need to take an inordinate amount of time. There is no need to separate our busyness from God or put our relationship with God “on holdâ€? for later. A simple “help me, Lord, as I deal with my childrenâ€? or “God, guide me in WKLV SURMHFW DW ZRUN´ ZLOO VXIÂżFH Sometimes we can pray by VLPSO\ WDNLQJ ÂżYH PLQXWHV WR acknowledge the presence of God. Prayer can be listening, not MXVW WDONLQJ St Irenaeus said: “The glory

of God is man fully alive.� This being so, then what we do and experience every day is holy.

Family time should be marked by formal prayers at meals and bedtime and by quiet personal prayers. When children are taught the traditional prayers of the Church and how to speak to God from their own experience, they will know how to pray throughout their lives.

There are many ways to increase our prayer. We can keep D SUD\HU ERRN RI GDLO\ UHĂ€HFWLRQV in the car, have little religious reminders around the house or bookmark religious websites.

We can join spiritual pages on Facebook, download podcasts of sermons or religious discussions, or listen to Christian music stations.

Pushing a cart in the grocery store or doing dishes can be quiet moments of prayer.

God walks with us in daily life and loves us as we are, with our distinctive gifts and shortcomings.

Since it is practically impossible to begin praying when the busy days are done, it behoves us to increase our prayer time throughout the day. Then at night when we are about to sleep, we can HQG RXU GD\ ZLWK D ¿QDO SUD\HU RI WKDQNV DQG D VROHPQ $PHQ „ CNS The writer has worked in a variety of ministry settings for 20 years.

LETTERS 17

Sunday February 13, 2011 „ CatholicNews

Readers weigh in on Mass dress code issue A priest can most certainly impose a dress code , DP ZULWLQJ UHJDUGLQJ WKH OHWWHU &RUUHFW 7R ,PSRVH 'UHVV &RGH" &1 -DQ

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20

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Sunday February 13, 2011 CatholicNews

PUBLISHED BY ARCHBISHOP NICHOLAS CHIA, 2 HIGHLAND ROAD #01-03, SINGAPORE 549102. PRINTED BY TIMESPRINTERS, 16 TUAS AVE 5, SINGAPORE 639340.