After fulfilling the role of Editor of ‘Upon This Rock’ ever since Bishop Caruana first asked him to have a ‘Diocesan Newsletter’ produced in 1999, 21 years later Fr. Stuart Chipolina has regretfully relinquished that role. All the team at Upon This Rock will be sad to see him go and thank him for his excellent leadership of this project while we wish him every blessing as he continues his ministry in Cadiz. While Fr. Michael gallantly stood in for the interim, during Fr. Stuart’s extended leave over the summer, we are very happy to introduce a newcomer to the Diocese, Fr. Augustine Conner CFR who is our December issue Guest Editor.
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Guest Editor
FR. AUGUSTINE a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal
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any people in the Diocese are already familiar with Fr. Augustine’s regular talks both at Mass and live via his page on Facebook “madeforlove. change.the.world” which bears the icon of the Sacred heart of Jesus.
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Upon This Rock magazine caught up with Fr. Augustine at the Cathedral and the following questions and answers were put to him on behalf of our readers.
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Fr. Augustine could you please tell the readers, when and how you were first called to the Franciscan order? At the age of 20, I had a very powerful encounter with the love of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and from that moment I began a process of discernment that led me to join the Community of the Franciscans of the Renewal, in the South Bronx in New York. I knew nothing of St.
Nicaragua’s location in Central America
THE FRIARS STRIVE DAILY…
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Francis and knew nothing of the Franciscan Order but what attracted me to the Friars was their joy and their public witness to Jesus, their prayer life and community spirit, their service to the poor and their desire to share the Gospel. I understand you have spent time in Nicaragua. What one thing most surprised you when you went there? I left Nicaragua in March after being a missionary there for almost 8 years. My time in Nicaragua was an incredible blessed and fruitful experience. What I loved most was to live in a culture where God is recognized as part of the fabric of life and where the Catholic faith is lived with joy and enthusiasm. How do you come to be in Gibraltar? After my mission in Nicaragua, I was seeking a new mission where I could make use of all that I learned in Nicaragua and, through various circumstances, it was suggested by my Religious Superiors, that I come to Gibraltar, for at least a year, to serve and support the Diocese especially in the area of evangelisation. What do you see as the role of the Church in our current situation? The mission of every Christian and the mission of the Church in every moment, regardless of the circumstances, is to be Light and Salt for the world. In these difficult times, the mission of the Church must continue and we must find ways of continuing
to spread the message of God’s love and mercy to a confused and broken world. How can we best reflect the Christian message, and take it to those who long to hear the good news when the elderly are obliged to self isolate, and the rest of us to avoid going out, or to be masked in many areas and avoid embracing one another in public? Jesus tells us to be “cunning as serpents and gentle as doves”. What this means is that we need to pray for the gift of Wisdom and the gift of Courage so that we can “translate” the gospel to meet these uncertain times. The internet is a useful tool for reaching those who need comfort. However, the need for human communication and contact cannot be undervalued. Our concern for precaution can not displace the deepest need of the heart for closeness and love. We need to be creative and accept a certain risk at times with the understanding, as one retired Chief Justice said, that “there is more to life than the avoidance of death”. In what way can we turn the situation, where we spend more time at home possibly alone and, less time in offices and other places of work, to the advantage of our families and the community as a whole? God can bring good out of everything. Through this Covid situation perhaps we are beginning to see what is most essential in our lives. I believe that we have two options in any
crisis. Either, one can turn in on oneself and “wither” or one can accept the “pruning” that we are all experiencing and creatively move forward with confidence that God is still God and that with Jesus there is always a way forward. In your talks you have preached hope, why do you see a bright future ahead for us, when so many are only filled with doom and gloom? In the Book of Revelation Jesus says: “Behold, I am making all things new!” Our Christian faith is based on the concrete Hope of the Resurrection of Jesus which
constantly directs us to the truth that sorrow and death does not have the last word. Jesus is the Lord of all human history and we know, by faith, that the power of the Resurrection is an irresistible force that constantly renews and transforms that which seems lifeless and without hope.
I believe in Our Risen Lord and I believe in his victory which he won on the Cross and so I believe that in this Covid situation and in all that may happen in the future “All will be well” as Julian of Norwich famously wrote.
Wedding Anniversary
Celebrations
It’s that time of the year again when those couples who have or will celebrate their 25th, 40th, 50th or 60+ wedding anniversaries between the 1st January and 31st December 2020 would be invited to take part in a ceremony at the Cathedral early next year. Due to Covid-19 it is difficult to plan ahead, so we are asking those who are eligible to show their interest by filling in the form available at the Cathedral Bookshop. The Catholic Family Movement will contact you at a later date with more information.
Editor: Fr. S. Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.gi. Interim Editor Fr. Michael Bonifacio. Production Editor: A. Sargent: angela@europeaxess.com. Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd., as a not-for-profit project. For Advertisers: This magazine is handdelivered to homes, many businesses around Gibraltar every month Covid-19 guidelines permitting. To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: +350 200 79335 email: angela@europeaxess.com. Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine. EuropeAxess Media Ltd. reserves the right to refuse space to any submissions or advertisements. Efforts have been made to establish copyright owners of images, but if we have used your material, and have not credited you, please contact us to discuss restoration. Cover: The Mystical Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, National Gallery London. Wikimedia Commons
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Anne Mesilio writes
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t is Winter. I remember most perhaps, the tangy frosty air lent itself to a clarity we lack today.
The Postman was so important in rural communities he gained a cult status with ‘Postman Pat’ being a long running children’s TV show by Woodland Animations
may well have So last century... Sean y man heard the Hurdy Gurd the who played music in 74 19 til un s Boston Street m co te. na Image cour tesy brewmi
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Letters from Malta
Living in the country our post was delivered by a bicycle riding post man, in all weathers. He rang his bell as he approached and its clinking jingle had us running to the gate to meet him high with anticipation and excitement. There may not have been post for us that day but he stopped anyway to ask my mother if she wanted any messages carried to neighbours who lived along his route and would return the favour on his way back. This form of communication worked well in a time without telephones when mechanised transport was scarce, it kept a life line open and news, of births or deaths for example, was often spread this way. I remember once when he produced a letter from his bag for Mrs Carroll who lived miles away from us. “Would you look at that now, a letter for herself all the way from Boston, in the good old US of A”, he added with a knowing smile. “Sure that will be from Sean with all the news, so it will, won’t herself be delighted”, he put it back in his bag with a proud flourish as if he alone was responsible for this missive. Now you can imagine that half the countryside would know Mrs Carroll had a letter from Sean in Boston long before it got delivered into her hands, and all rejoiced with her. In these modern times of emails, texts, and all forms of instant communication literally at our fingertips,
perhaps that heart melting moment of receiving a letter or card in the post and the lift to the senses it creates cannot be replicated. Take Sean in Boston, his mother relied on his written word to help her visualise his life far from home and bring succour to her pain of missing him. These letters were treasured, invoking as they did the sender, sitting pen in hand, a concentrated frown on the forehead as he sought the words to soothe his mothers anxieties on his behalf. She would feel the crackle of the paper between her fingers, maybe get a whiff of the ink used, parts smudged as he toiled to find the right word, or maybe a few words scratched out in the same pursuit, she could tell so much just by his writing, a hasty scrawl, or carefully crafted and she would smile, imagining him as a lad in school poring over his homework. Ancient historians tell us of the first recorded hand written letter was by Queen Atossa of Persia around 550BC, most probably written on the bark of trees or perhaps the leaves, research has failed to reveal what instrument she supposedly wrote with or indeed what ink if used, it could have been engraved of course, history often lends itself to speculation. We have relied on the written word to keep us informed of the
history of the ages, we write our own history every day in this fast paced world of ours. What would the Bible be without the Letters from St. Paul? If you feel the need to trace ancestors it is through written records, our births, marriages, deaths are all written records. Letters were, and I would like to think, still are a means of communication and a way to store information. The season of Christmas is upon us once again and whilst the way we celebrate this year may be different due to constraints to rein in the rampant spread of Covid-19, celebrate we must. John 3:1617 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. It is a time of remembrance too as every Christmas brings the sorrow of a lost loved one. This year I remember fondly Mgr. Coronatus Grima who died at the Gozo General Hospital on July 22. After a lifetime in Gibraltar, Mgr. Grima went back to Gozo in 2010. However, he did not fully enjoy his retirement due to his failing health which did not prevent him from keeping in touch. His letters were always a joy to receive, ending with the exhortation “we pray for each other”. Fr. Coronatus Grima was born in Victoria on 18 August 1949, one of a large family. One of his brothers also became a priest, Mgr. George Grima, whose memory lives on. Fr. Coronatus was ordained to the priesthood by the late St. Pope Paul VI in St. Peter’s Square on the 29th of June 1975.
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Three months after his ordination, he was sent to Gibraltar to help the clergy there, for what was believed at the time would be a period of one year; he stayed there for the greatest part of his life. He worked in various parishes, mainly St. Joseph’s where he served as parish priest. He was eventually appointed chancellor of the diocese. Hundreds of people remember him as a passionate priest always ready to address the needs of his parishioners and full of love and dedication. My fond memory of him revolves around the time my mother died and I was heart broken, lost and lonely. He took me under his wing for a while and his gentleness helped me carry on. His devotion to the Blessed Virgin was whole and worthy of emulation. Bishop Carmel Zammit, Bishop of Gibraltar and fellow countryman had
only words of praise for him. He spoke of his tireless devotion to his priestly duty despite his illness and with sadness remarked how an era had come to an end “no more letters from Malta”. Christmas cards have been sent for hundreds of years, the first recorded one sent in 1534. There will be one greatly missed this year as letters from Malta have ceased. His card was one filled with blessings and I can do no less than to share part of last years with you; “May hope of heart and peace of mind beside you ever stay, and that’s the golden wish I have for you this Christmas Day”. May your Christmas be blessed with joy and peace. Images. Mgr. Grima: Michelle Hook-Knights Letter: 1897 From Lce Cpl Kenyon from “Royal Naval Hospital Malta”
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Rev. Dr. Bernard Farrell-Roberts MA STL PhD Deacon
Can we accept a vaccine AT ANY COST?
Where vaccines have been developed using DELIBERATELY aborted foetal tissue – CAN WE USE THEM? As can happen in these complicated areas of medical ethics and morality, the guidance produced for the public is often itself confusing, so what are the issues here, and what should or shouldn’t we do if we wish to do follow the moral teaching of the Church?
If we look back at the 1987 Instruction by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Donum Vitae,” we find the
core principle that we must observe in this case. It says that: “The corpses of human embryos and foetuses, whether they have been deliberately aborted or not, must be respected just as the remains of other human beings.”1 It goes on to say that there must be no complicity in any deliberate abortion, and that the risk of scandal must be avoided. How do we know what it means to be “complicit” when deciding whether or not we can use a vaccine produced from tissue taken from a deliberately aborted foetus? The “scale” that is used to establish different levels of complicity in an act was established by St. Alphonsus Liguori in his 1748 text “Theologia moralis”.2 If we take his scale and apply it to a deliberately provoked abortion, we get the following: 1 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Donum Vitae” 1.4, Vatican City, 22nd February 1987 2 St. Alphonsus Liguori, Theologia moralis, I, II, tract. III, cap. 2, dub. V, art. III, n. 63.
1. A mother who elects to deliberately terminate her pregnancy is a “Principal agent” 2. An abortionist who agrees with the actions of the mother and supports her by performing the abortion is a “Formal co-operator” 3. A nurse who does not necessarily agree with the actions of the mother but supports the abortionist in the performance of the abortion is an “Immediate material co-operator” 4. A nurse who does not agree with the actions of the mother but prepares her for the abortion and monitors her recovery post-abortion is a “Mediate material co-operator” 5. The technicians at the abortion clinic who process and package foetal tissue for future use in scientific research, and the scientists who arrange to use deliberately aborted foetal tissue for their research are “Remote mediate material co-operators”. 6. Individuals who then use a product, for example a vaccine, that was generated using deliberately aborted foetal tissue are “Very remote mediate material co-operators”. 3 3 McKenna KC. Use of Aborted Fetal Tissue in Vaccines and Medical Research Obscures the Value of All Human Life. Linacre Q. 2018;85(1):1317. doi:10.1177/0024363918761715
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It is clear then that using a vaccine produced using the cells of a deliberately aborted foetus places an individual in category six. Although this is the least complicit of the six categories, this still signifies the existence of a certain level of cooperation in the original abortion. Does this then mean that we cannot use such a vaccine? Well, not necessarily so, as the Church teaches that other factors too have to be taken into account. “Dignitas Personae,” a document published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2008, explains that if other “grave reasons” apply, these may make it acceptable to use such a vaccine, despite the level of complicity.4 For example, if not having the vaccine is considered to represent a significant danger to the health of children, the vulnerable, pregnant women, or society in general, this fact would be considered a “grave reason.” However, such grave reasons can only apply if there are no alternative vaccines available that do not come from deliberately aborted foetuses. It is important then for us to examine what vaccines for Covid-19 are currently under development at the moment, and what the ethical status of each is. We know that many of the vaccines currently being developed are based upon one of two cell lines, HEK293, which comes from a female foetus deliberately aborted in 1973, and PER.C6, developed using retinal cells from an 18-week-old foetus deliberately aborted in 1985. HEK-293 is being used by the following research laboratories: Moderna; Oxford University 4 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Dignitas Personae” n 34-35. Vatican City, 8th September 2008
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and AstraZeneca; CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology; and Inovio Pharmaceuticals. The other cell line, PER.C6, is being used by Janssen.5 Both the above cell lines bring with them serious moral issues, so is it really necessary to use them? The simple answer is “No”, as some of the world’s major producers of vaccines are following completely ethical routes in the development of their Covid-19 vaccines, and there are at least 17 such vaccines in various stages of development. These companies include such well-known names as Novavax, Sanofi Pasteur, United Kingdom based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Sinovac. The last two in this list are the world’s largest and third largest producers of vaccines, so ethically acceptable vaccines will exist, and be readily available.6 In fact, we have to ask why the non-ethically produced vaccines are being produced at all. If we look at already existing vaccines for other illnesses, there has been a noticeable trend for years now away from the use of cells from deliberately aborted foetuses. So why do some companies still insist on using 5 tinyurl.com/UTR-vaccine Accessed 01.10.2020. 6 tinyurl.com/UTR-vaccine1 Accessed 01.10.2020.
them? Another question that needs to be answered is why vaccines are not being developed using cells from spontaneous abortions (miscarriages), as there are no moral issues associated with these cells as long as parental permission is given for their use.
Ethical vaccines are being developed. Returning to the question of what we should do if we are offered an unethically produced vaccine for Covid-19, let us take a look at the Church’s teaching on this:
• In 2005 the Pontifical Academy for Life explained that we all have a duty to request and use those vaccines which are produced in a morally acceptable way.7 • They said that we should all oppose by all means (in writing, through the various associations, mass media, etc.) the vaccines which are not morally acceptable, creating pressure so that alternative vaccines are developed that are not connected with the deliberate abortion of a human foetus. • As discussed above, “Dignitas Personae” in 2008 stated that we can use an unethically produced vaccine if there are “grave reasons” to do so. • The Academy for Life in 2017 declared in “Clarifications on the medical and scientific nature of vaccination” that “While emphasising the commitment to ensuring that every vaccine has no connection in its preparation to any material originating from a (deliberate) abortion, the moral responsibility to vaccinate is reiterated in order to avoid serious health risks for children and the general population.”8 7 Pontifical Academy for Life, “Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared from Cells Derived from Aborted Human Foetuses.” Vatican City, 9th June 2005 8 Pontifical Academy for Life, “Clarifications on the medical and scientific nature of Vaccination”. Vatican City 31st July 2017.
So, bearing in mind all the above, what should we do?
1. There is a very clear and serious obligation on us all to oppose the use of cells that have been taken from deliberately aborted foetuses by every means at our disposal. 2. We should do everything possible to obtain the use of an ethically produced vaccine and use the same. 3. Governments and health providers do not need to purchase unethically produced vaccines, so we must point this out to them, and bring pressure on them to provide us with ethically produced ones. 4. If we believe that it is not possible to procure the use of an ethically produced vaccine, and that in the interests of the health of others, especially the vulnerable, our responsibility is to be vaccinated, then can we resort to the use of an unethically produced vaccine. 5. Having said that, if we use such a vaccine, we do become “very remote mediate material co-operators” in an abortion, so we are obliged to have exhausted all other possibilities first, and to treat this occasion as a one off. This is also the case with all other vaccines and medication too – we need to examine them individually in a similar exhaustive manner. 6. Finally, as Gibraltar intends to use the Oxford vaccine, and this is an unethically produced one, we must do everything in our power to change the Government’s mind so that they provide one that is ethically produced. Images: Coronavirus opposite page Wikimedia Commons flickr.com/photos/ niaid/49534865371/
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Rev. Dr. Bernard Farrell-Roberts MA STL PhD Deacon explains the feast we celebrate on the 8th December
What does... does...
QUE SOY ERA IMMACULADA CONCEPCIU mean? S
ome people mistakenly think that “The Immaculate Conception” refers to the conception of Christ in Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, that is not the case! On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the
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dogma of the Immaculate Conception in his bull “Ineffabilis Deus”. He declared that “the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Christ Jesus
the Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin…” It is true then that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Sadly though, the Immaculate Conception of Mary continues to be contested by various Christian denominations. They
insist that the Immaculate Conception somehow takes away from Christ’s message and glory. Others say that this belief about Mary is not to be found in the Bible. However, they are missing the point. It is important for Catholics to understand why the Catholic Church teaches what it does, so that we in turn can inform others, and defend our beliefs. When I say “miss the point”, I do so as it is important to consider not only what evidence lies behind this belief, but also what properties a human body should have if it is to be a fit place for an incarnate God to be conceived in, and live in? And it is no less than an angel that gives us our first clue! St. Luke’s Gospel tells us: “the angel came to her, and said, hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou
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among women.” - Luke 1:28 “Full of grace”. It is the term “full of grace” that is our clue. “Full” here comes from the Greek word which describes a “perfection”. In other words, Mary was proclaimed by the angel to be a perfection of grace. So, ask yourselves, is it possible for her be completely and perfectly full of God’s grace, yet still have original sin in her? It is possible for Mary to be without sin, filled with God’s grace, but only if she did not have any original sin, and Mary is unique in this – she is the only person in the Bible who is given the title “full of grace”. Returning to Luke, the angel continues “the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: he that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.” Luke emphasises that Mary must be pure, holy, spotless, if she was to be the Ark of the New Covenant, the home of God himself. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the pure and holy vessel in which was housed the Holy of Holies, a vessel so
holy that it could not be touched by human hands. Mary, the New Ark, was to hold the New Covenant, Christ himself, in her womb. For Mary to hold God in her womb, she too would have to be completely pure, completely without sin, a perfection of holiness and grace. How the Virgin Mary’s infancy and early life help preserve her holiness in preparation for the conception of the Christ Child? These details are not recorded in the books of the Bible itself, but other documents exist that, although not recognised as inspired by the Holy Spirit, are able to provide historical information that correctly reflect the traditions and teaching of the Church. One such document, the Protoevangelium of James, completed some 50 years after Mary’s earthly life ended, describes for us details of Mary’s birth and early years. This tells us that Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, were deeply distressed by their childlessness, so they devoted themselves to prayer and fasting. They promised God that if he gave them a child, that this
child would be dedicated to his service. An angel then appeared to Anne saying: “The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.” After Mary’s birth we are told that Anne “made a sanctuary” in the infant girl’s room, allowing “nothing common or unclean” near her on account of her special holiness. The protoevangelium goes on to describe how Mary’s parents, along with the temple priests, decided that she would be offered to God as a consecrated Virgin for the rest of her life. At the age of three she went to live in the Jerusalem temple where she stayed until around the age of 12 or so. When she left the temple Joseph, a widower with several children, was made the Guardian of her virginity, as was the custom for consecrated virgins living outside the temple. Joseph and Mary were both later taken to task by the Temple authorities when she became pregnant, as they felt he had failed in his duty to protect her virginity, and
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she had broken her vow, which of course was not true of either of them. This protoevangelium account supports our understanding of Mary’s purity, holiness, and dedicated service to God as a perpetual virgin before the Temple, in the Temple, and after the temple, until Christ’s conception. If that isn’t enough, Mary herself attested to her Immaculate Conception during several of her apparitions: In Guadalupe, Mary said “I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, through whom everything lives…,” indicating a freedom from all sin, and her life as a virgin. She told St. Catherine to have the Miraculous Medal struck with the inscription, “Mary, conceived free from sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” and in Lourdes she told St. Bernadette “I am the Immaculate Conception.” How can anyone then not believe the words of our Mother Mary herself!
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Fionn Shiner writes about an original interview by Maria Lozano
BEIRUT: where the words...
“REBUILD MY CHURCH” take on a stark reality O
ne hundred days after the explosion in Beirut on 4th August, a leading Catholic charity has revealed details of its aid programme which will enable church bells to ring again across the Lebanese capital. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) announced that its £4.53M aid package will be spent mainly on reconstruction, with churches, a cathedral and a convent among the buildings being repaired. The explosion was triggered
Image: reconstruction of a church in Beirut ©Aid to the Church in Need
by 750 tons of ammonium nitrate, creating one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, causing more than 200 deaths, 6,500 injuries and leaving 300,000 people homeless. Among the seven projects confirmed by ACN – with a further 19 being considered – is St. Saviour’s Melkite Greek Catholic church which lost its roof in the explosion. Parish priest Fr. Nicolas Riachy told ACN: “We want to give hope for those who
still want to remain here. Our mission is to bring light into the darkness through which we are living. There is no Christianity without the Cross. Christ is our example. “It is not easy to be Christians, but many of our people are still very much aware that this land is Holy Land and we cannot abandon it.” Fr. Riachy stressed that the roof repairs were vital before the harsh winter months. He said: “If the first of the winter rains arrive, they will spoil
The world is largely silent in the face of Christian persecution. The scale of the problem is so great, silence is no longer acceptable. Persecuted Christians need YOU - and all of us! Together our prayers and actions can make a difference. You can PLEDGE YOUR SOLIDARITY by: • Praying ACN’s Prayer found in leaflets in your local Church, or your own prayers for Persecuted Christians in danger. • Sharing this article and Christian Persecution facts with others so that all understand the need.
Following the Beirut explosion, ACN provided emergency aid, including a £226,000 food package targeted at poor families, please help us to help them! 10
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Bishop Carmel Zammit Lenten Appeal for‘Aid to the Church in Need’, Gibraltar International Bank, Account Name: ‘Trustees RCC/CAN’ Account Number: 00812022, Sort Code: 60-83-14.
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everything. And there is also a crack in the building which needs to be fixed, or else everything else will come down. “All the houses of our faithful have had their windows smashed and doors blown in. And on top of this we have the economic crisis. The banks have frozen people’s assets, so now they have nothing. How are they going to help me rebuild this church? “Pope Francis has told us that a Middle East without Christians is unthinkable. If Christians are to remain in this country, we need each and every one of you. Let’s hope that this church can continue to be a beautiful testimony to the word of the Lord.” He added: “Around 10 percent of the population of this particular suburb have left, because they can no longer live in their homes. “I can’t do anything to stop them because I can’t offer them the security, which is what they are seeking.” ACN also approved aid within days of the blast, providing emergency support for 5,880 homeless families.
“The Coronavirus has destroyed our life.” T
he coronavirus pandemic has left Bethlehem’s tourismreliant economy in tatters, according to a shop owner, who has appealed to pilgrims, saying he longs for the day when they can safely return. Rony Tabash, owner of the Nativity Store in Bethlehem, told Catholic charity Aid to the
Church in Need (ACN) that COVID-19 is the biggest crisis he has faced in his life. He said: “My grandfather opened a store near the Nativity Church in 1927. My father took over in 1955 and I came in 2003. I am the third generation. During all this time, we had many difficulties with our store, particularly political problems. “We always said ‘we have to continue, we have to keep smiling’. We always hoped for tourists. Yet, when the coronavirus came, we lost all hope. Coronavirus has destroyed our life.” Describing how the number of foreign visitors to Bethlehem – normally at two million a year – have collapsed, he said: “We are almost finished. Nine months without work – 80 percent of Bethlehem depends on tourism. “We need pilgrims and tourists because we don’t have anything else.”
He added: “We have almost 100 cases of coronavirus every day in our tiny city. You don’t see anyone entering the Nativity Church. Usually, you would get a minimum of 6,000 people a day and a maximum of 12,000 people. “In the hotels, the highest point will see 7,700 guests staying throughout the city, the lowest would still see 3,500 people. Everyone here is dependent on tourists.” According to Bethlehem mayor Vera Baboun, in 1950 the population of Bethlehem and the surrounding villages was 86 percent Christian but by 2016 it was just 12 percent. Reports say up to 90 percent of workers in Bethlehem’s tourism industry are Christian. Mr Tabash said: “This problem is affecting all the population in Bethlehem and the Holy Land. Christians are the minority and you can see the strain on them clearly… “We’ve had many political problems but we say we never give up hope…” He added: “Tell the pilgrims, we are waiting for you to come back again. The Church is all of us. We are united. The spirit of the pilgrims is the Church. Without the pilgrims, something is missing in the Holy Land.”
Buy Bethlehem Stars from the ACN website to help Holy Land olive wood workers
ACN is helping the olive wood workers in Bethlehem by retailing their hand-carved Bethlehem Stars with Mother of Pearl. Price: £4 each plus p&p: acnuk.org/products/ bethlehem-star-with-mother-of-pearl/
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Towards Christian Unity: A Moment of Peace held in the Church of Saint Maria in Aracoeli in October
INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF PRAYER FOR PEACE:
Christian Unity Event:
Homily of the Holy Father
I
t is a gift to pray together. I greet all of you cordially and with gratitude, especially my brother, His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
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and dear Bishop Heinrich, President of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany. Sadly, Justin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was unable to be here because of the pandemic. The passage from the account of the Lord’s Passion that we have just heard comes shortly before Jesus’ death. It speaks of the temptation he experienced amid the agony of the cross. At the supreme moment of his sufferings and love, many of
those present cruelly taunted him with the words: “Save yourself!” (Mk. 15:30). This is a great temptation. It spares no one, including us Christians. The temptation to think only of saving ourselves and our own circle. To focus only on our own problems and interests, as if nothing else mattered. It is a very human instinct, but wrong. It was the final temptation of the crucified God. Save yourself. These words were spoken first “by those who passed by” (v. 29). They were ordinary people, those who had heard Jesus teach and who witnessed his miracles. Now they are telling him, “Save yourself, come down from the cross”. They had no pity, they only wanted
miracles; they wanted to see Jesus descend from the cross. Sometimes we too prefer a wonder-working god to one who is compassionate, a god powerful in the eyes of the world, who shows his might and scatters those who wish us ill. But this is not God, but our own creation. How often do we want a god in our own image, rather than to become conformed to his own image. We want a god like ourselves, rather than becoming ourselves like God. In this way, we prefer the worship of ourselves to the worship of God. Such worship is nurtured and grows through indifference toward others. Those passers-by were only interested in Jesus for the satisfaction of their own desires. Jesus, reduced to an outcast hanging on the cross, was no longer of interest to them. He was before their eyes, yet far from their hearts. Indifference kept them far from the true face of God. Save yourself. The next
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“NO ONE IS SAVED ALONE. PEACE AND FRATERNITY” people to speak those words were the chief priests and the scribes. They were the ones who had condemned Jesus, for they considered him dangerous. All of us, though, are specialists in crucifying others to save ourselves. Yet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified, in order to teach us not to shift evil to others. The chief priests accused him precisely because of what he had done for others: “He saved others and cannot save himself!”(v. 31). They knew Jesus; they remembered the healings and liberating miracles he performed, but they drew a malicious conclusion. For them, saving others, coming to their aid, is useless; Jesus, who gave himself unreservedly for others was himself lost! The mocking tone of the accusation is garbed in religious language, twice using the verb to save. But the “gospel” of save yourself is not the Gospel of salvation. It is the falsest of the apocryphal gospels, making others carry the cross. Whereas the true Gospel bids us take up the cross of others. Save yourself. Finally, those who were crucified alongside Jesus also joined in taunting him. How easy it is to criticize, to speak against others, to point to the evil in others but not in ourselves, even to blaming the weak and the outcast! But why were they upset with Jesus? Because he did not take them down from the cross they said to him: “Save yourself and us!” (Lk. 23:39). They looked to Jesus only to resolve their
problems. Yet God does not come only to free us from our ever-present daily problems, but rather to liberate us from the real problem, which is the lack of love. This is the primary cause of our personal, social, international and environmental ills. Thinking only of ourselves: this is the father of all evils. Yet one of the thieves then looks at Jesus and sees in him a humble love. He entered heaven by doing one thing alone: turning his concern from himself to Jesus, from himself to the person next to him (cf. v. 42). Dear brothers and sisters, Calvary was the site of a great “duel” between God, who came to save us, and man, who wants to save only himself; between faith in God and worship of self; between man who accuses and God who excuses. In the end, God’s victory was revealed; his mercy came down upon the earth. From the cross forgiveness poured forth and fraternal love was reborn: “the Cross makes us brothers and sisters” (BENEDICT XVI, Address at the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, 21 March 2008). Jesus’ arms, outstretched on the cross, mark the turning point, for God points a finger at no one, but instead embraces all. For love alone extinguishes hatred, love alone can ultimately triumph over injustice. Love alone makes room for others. Love alone is the path towards full communion among us. Let us look upon the crucified God and ask him to grant us the grace to be more
united and more fraternal. When we are tempted to follow the way of this world, may we be reminded of Jesus’ words: “Whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it” (Mk. 8:35). What is counted loss in the eyes of the world is, for us, salvation. May we learn from the Lord, who saved us by emptying himself (cf. Pp. 2:7) and becoming other: from being God, he became man; from spirit, he became flesh; from a king, he became a slave. He asks us to do the same, to humble ourselves, to “become other” in order to reach out to others. The closer we become to the Lord Jesus, the more we will be open and
“universal”, since we will feel responsible for others. And others will become the means of our own salvation: all others, every human person, whatever his or her history and beliefs. Beginning with the poor, who are those most like Christ. The great Archbishop of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom, once wrote: “If there were no poor, the greater part of our salvation would be overthrown” (On the Second Letter to the Corinthians, XVII, 2).
May the Lord help us to journey together on the path of fraternity, and thus to become credible witnesses of the living God.
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Nuestra Señora de Europa
The hermitage of
Manolo Galliano’s popular serialisation of the History of the Churches of Gibraltar - Month 5
Part two
Continuing a series of articles especially edited for Upon This Rock readers, dedicated to the history of Gibraltar’s many churches and chapels – not only those which are in existence in the present day, but also the very many religious establishments which were the centre of daily life on the Rock since the early 14th century.
T
he local historian, Alonso Hernández del Portillo, writing in the 1620s, described the hermitage as follows: ‘…the very ancient and devout house of Our Lady of Europe, which is situated in this spot, at the very end of Europe, in which the Lord, through the intercession of His Holy Mother, has done so many miracles, some of which I have witnessed. Both the image and the hermitage are held in great veneration in this City, and its inhabitants of all classes, have regaled it with many offerings. The Knights General of the
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Galleys have given silver lamps with a supply of oil in order for these to be perpetually lit in front of the holy image, one of these lamps was given by Prince Giovanni Andrea Doria in 1568, after having captured five Turkish galleys; another one was given as a pious donation by an aunt of Fabricio Colonna, General of the Galleys of Sicily, who died in the City in 1580; Don Martín de Padilla, Count of Santa Gadea, Principal Adelantado of Castile and General of the Galleys of Spain, gave another lamp; Don Pedro de Toledo, Duke of Fernandina and Marquis of Villafranca, gave another one. It would not be proper to leave out of this list of nobles, an inhabitant of this City called Francisco de Molina, who donated another silver lamp, for it is essential that the names and acts of the good and devout of the Virgin, live forever in the memory of men. Other Knights of the City gave other handsome silver lamps: one was Baltasar Benítez Rendón and the other Fernando Viedma (de Biedma), the latter having gone to the Indies and made a great fortune with which he returned
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to Gibraltar, where he died, always a great devotee of the holy image. Pedro Machado, an inhabitant of Gibraltar, gave another silver lamp in 1625, after his return from the Indies, and Don Luis (Bravo) made a gift of the sceptre and Miguel Bravo gave a splendid cloak.’ Joan de Ledesma, writing in 1633, also mentioned other precious items which were in the hermitage, including a silver crown, adorned with a diadem of stars, donated by Captain Francisco de Molina and another silver crown, brought over from Brazil by Captain Juan Calvo. De Ledesma described the image of Our Lady of Europe, as follows: ‘The sacred image is in three-dimensional relief, with a beautiful face and having carved vestments, without the requirement for external coverings…seated on a chair or throne…the body and seat appearing to be all of one piece. One of Her clad feet is just visible, so that we may admire Her beauty from head to toe. The Child Jesus, Blessed Fruit of Her Womb, is held by Her left hand; Her right hand is open and held out as far as it
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is possible to hold the royal sceptre…The type of wood used is unknown, and is quite sound, which being so ancient has not rotten, neither is there any sign of such decay, at least from the waist upwards.’ ‘The statue is exactly one rod high (three feet), which is the height of the chair; on the back of which is painted, from top to bottom, a picture in oils of the attack of the Turks in Gibraltar in 1540. It pictorially shows the contempt of these barbarian infidels who placed their sacrilegious hands on the sacred image, stabbing Her and cutting off one of Her hands and Her Head. Beneath the feet of the sacred image, on its very plinth where it is placed, there are inscribed in gold lettering, the following words: ‘¡Gloriosa Domina!’. The present polychromed seated image of the Virgin and Child has clear sculptural similarities with other notable statues of that particular period, especially that of La Virgen de la Victoria [Our Lady of Victory], presented to the City of Málaga in the late 15th century by the Catholic Sovereigns, Isabella and
Fernando. That statue, in the Hispano-Flemish style, sometimes attributed to Jorge Fernández Alemán, is of a relatively similar size and concept to that of Our Lady of Europe. It has the same serene realistic expression in the Virgin’s oval face, the hair falls in individual tresses and the robes are carved forming angled pleats, with the cloak falling vertically, exactly as in the statue in Gibraltar. This history of Gibraltar’s churches is comprised of extracts from the following series of books, written by the author of these articles and published by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust - ‘Under the Shadow of the Crescent and the Cross’, ‘The Franciscan Monastery of Gibraltar’, ‘Of Monks and Nuns’ and ‘Mirrors of Sanctity’. The photographs and illustrations in these articles are by Victor M. Hermida L.R.P.S. These books are available at the Gibraltar Heritage Trust Shop.
Above: A painting featuring the statue of Our Lady of Europe by local artist the late Leni Mifsud dated 30 May 1943 in Funchal Madeira which was reproduced as a black and white postcard. Photo: Victor M. Hermida L.R.P.S Right: The current iteration of the Statue. Photo: Manolo Galliano
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