Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Pope’s Lenten message
(CNS PHOTO BY LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER, BAYOU CATHOLIC)
A teenager receives the cross of ashes at St. Joseph CoCathedral in Thibodaux, La., last year. Ash Wednesday, Feb. 9 this year, marks the start of the penitential season of Lent in the Latin-rite church. The season calls Christians to prayer, fasting, repentance and charity.
The following is Pope John Paul II’s Lenten message. Dear brothers and sisters! 1. Each year, the Lenten season is set before us as a good opportunity for the intensification of prayer and penance, opening hearts to the docile welcoming of the divine will. During Lent, a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. This is done primarily by listening to the word of God more devoutly and by practicing mortification more generously, thanks to which it is possible to render greater assistance to those in need. This year, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to bring to your attention a theme which is rather current, well illustrated by the following verse from Deuteronomy: “Loving the Lord ... means life to you, and length of days ...” (30:20). These are the words that Moses directs to the people, inviting them to embrace the covenant with Yahweh in the country of Moab, “that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord, your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him” (Dt 30:19-20). The fidelity to this divine covenant is for Israel a guarantee of the future: “that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to
your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give to them” (Dt 30:20). According to the biblical understanding, reaching old age is a sign of the Most High’s gracious benevolence. Longevity appears, therefore, as a special divine gift. It is upon this theme that I would like to ask you to reflect during this Lent, in order to deepen the awareness of the role that the elderly are called to play in society and in the church, and thus to prepare your hearts for the loving welcome that should always be reserved for them. Thanks to the contribution of science and medicine, one sees in society today a lengthening of the human life span and a subsequent increase in the number of elderly. This demands a more specific attention to the world of so-called “old” age, in order to help its members to live their full potential by placing them at the service of the entire community. The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful, especially in the ecclesial communities of Western societies, where the problem is particularly present. 2. Human life is a precious gift to be LENTEN MESSAGE, page 6
Iraqi church officials laud country’s free election By Carol Glatz ROME (CNS) — Every Iraqi who cast a vote on Jan. 30 amid continued chaos and violence showed that democracy will win over terrorism, said a top Iraqi church official. “This is a big lesson to terrorism, a great message that says we are not afraid” of terrorists and “we will rebuild our country,” said Father Philip Najim, the Rome-based representative of the Chaldean-rite Baghdad Patriarchate. The greater-than-expected voter turnout is “a positive sign” as it marks a turning point in Iraq’s future, he said. “It shows the whole world how educated the Iraqi people are and that we are capable
of reaching freedom and democracy,” the Iraqi-born priest told Catholic News Service Jan. 31. Even if polling in some places proved less than perfect, “the most important thing is that the people went; they went despite the violence, the fear and terrorism,” he said. Millions of Iraqis cast their votes Jan. 30 in the country’s first democratic election in decades. They voted for a 275-member transitional National Assembly that will eventually choose a new government that will, in turn, elect the country’s president and prime minister. But despite clamped-down security and a daylong ban on most traffic, some 44 people were killed Jan. 30 after insurgents carried
out a string of attacks and suicide bombings. Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad condemned those who used violence to express their opposition to the vote. Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad told Vatican Radio Jan. 31 he was partially satisfied with the election process. “On the one hand I am certainly satisfied because it means we are going forward with democracy and freedom; but on the other hand, I am not satisfied because not everyone participated,” he said. Early exit polls suggested that in some parts of Iraq a substantial percentage of Sunni Muslims did not vote. More than 62
percent of Iraq’s population is Shiite Muslim, while 34 percent is Sunni Muslim, a different branch of Islam. Under Saddam Hussein, power was generally in the hands of the Sunni minority. If too many Sunnis opted out of elections, “we will have some difficulties” in forging a united country, said Bishop Warduni. But most Catholic leaders said they were optimistic a fully democratic process would benefit the whole country no matter what group obtains a majority in the transitional assembly. Chaldean Archbishop Djibrail Kassab of Basra told Asianews that “Christians, like all Iraqis, just want a government, a constitution and a democracy.”
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Society of Helpers. . . . . . . . . 3 Evangelization concert . . . . . 5 Family of CYO refs. . . . . . . . 9 Editorial and letters . . . . . . 12 ‘Agents of salt and light’ . . . 14
News-in-brief
Tsunami aid effort
Asian and Pacific Catholics
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February 4, 2005
SIXTY CENTS
Culture & Society . . . . . . . 15
www.catholic-sf.org
‘Weeping Camel’ review. . . 17
VOLUME 7
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No. 4