Marriage and Religious Freedom

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Deacon Bob

A letter was published today, signed by religious leaders of many faiths, addressing the fundamental nature of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Co-signers of this letter include four Catholic bishops. I include the text here for your review. Read it, and do what you can to protect marriage!

MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together

An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans

Released January 12, 2012

Dear Friends:

The promotion and protection of marriage—the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife—is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people. The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community. It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies. It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female, and with the essential task of bearing and nurturing children.

As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities, we join together to affirm that marriage in its true definition must be protected for its own sake and for the good of society. We also recognize the grave consequences of altering this definition. One of these consequences—the interference with the religious freedom of those who continue to affirm the true definition of “marriage”—warrants special attention within our faith communities and throughout society as a whole. For this reason, we come together with one voice in this letter.

Some posit that the principal threat to religious freedom posed by same-sex “marriage” is the possibility of government’s forcing religious ministers to preside over such “weddings,” on pain of civil or criminal liability. While we cannot rule out this possibility entirely, we believe that the First Amendment creates a very high bar to such attempts.

Instead, we believe the most urgent peril is this: forcing or pressuring both individuals and religious organizations—throughout their operations, well beyond religious ceremonies—to treat same-sex sexual conduct as the moral equivalent of marital sexual conduct. There is no doubt that the many people and groups whose moral and religious convictions forbid same-sex sexual conduct will resist the compulsion of the law, and church-state conflicts will result.

These conflicts bear serious consequences. They will arise in a broad range of legal contexts, because altering the civil definition of “marriage” does not change one law, but hundreds, even thousands, at once. By a single stroke, every law where rights depend on marital status—such as employment discrimination, employment benefits, adoption, education, healthcare, elder care, housing, property, and taxation—will change so that same-sex sexual relationships must be treated as if they were marriage. That requirement, in turn, will apply to religious people and groups in the ordinary course of their many private or public occupations and ministries—including running schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other housing facilities, providing adoption and counseling services, and many others.

So, for example, religious adoption services that place children exclusively with married couples would be required by law to place children with persons of the same sex who are civilly “married.” Religious marriage counselors would be denied their professional accreditation for refusing to provide counseling in support of same-sex “married” relationships. Religious employers who provide special health benefits to married employees would be required by law to extend those benefits to same-sex “spouses.” Religious employers would also face lawsuits for taking any adverse employment action—no matter how modest—against an employee for the public act of obtaining a civil “marriage” with a member of the same sex. This is not idle speculation, as these sorts of situations have already come to pass.

Even where religious people and groups succeed in avoiding civil liability in cases like these, they would face other government sanctions—the targeted withdrawal of government co-operation, grants, or other benefits.

For example, in New Jersey, the state cancelled the tax-exempt status of a Methodist-run boardwalk pavilion used for religious services because the religious organization would not host a same-sex “wedding” there. San Francisco dropped its $3.5 million in social service contracts with the Salvation Army because it refused to recognize same-sex “domestic partnerships” in its employee benefits policies. Similarly, Portland, Maine, required Catholic Charities to extend spousal employee benefits to same-sex “domestic partners” as a condition of receiving city housing and community development funds.

In short, the refusal of these religious organizations to treat a same-sex sexual relationship as if it were a marriage marked them and their members as bigots, subjecting them to the full arsenal of government punishments and pressures reserved for racists. These punishments will only grow more frequent and more severe if civil “marriage” is redefined in additional jurisdictions. For then, government will compel special recognition of relationships that we the undersigned religious leaders and the communities of faith that we represent cannot, in conscience, affirm. Because law and government not only coerce and incentivize but also teach, these sanctions would lend greater moral legitimacy to private efforts to punish those who defend marriage.

Therefore, we encourage all people of good will to protect marriage as the union between one man and one woman, and to consider carefully the far-reaching consequences for the religious freedom of all Americans if marriage is redefined. We especially urge those entrusted with the public good to support laws that uphold the time-honored definition of marriage, and so avoid threatening the religious freedom of countless institutions and citizens in this country. Marriage and religious freedom are both deeply woven into the fabric of this nation.

May we all work together to strengthen and preserve the unique meaning of marriage and the precious gift of religious freedom.

Sincerely Yours:

Rev. Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals

Johann Christoph Arnold
Senior Pastor
Bruderhof Communities

Randall A. Bach
President
Open Bible Churches

Dr. Gary M. Benedict
President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance

The Rev. John F. Bradosky
Bishop
North American Lutheran Church

Glenn Burris, Jr.
President
The Foursquare Church

Bishop H. David Burton
Presiding Bishop
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints

Dr. Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr.
Presiding Bishop
International Pentecostal Holiness Church

Rabbi Abba Cohen
Vice President for Federal Affairs
Washington Director
Agudath Israel of America

Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone
Bishop of Oakland
Chairman
USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion
and Defense of Marriage

Nathan J. Diament
Executive Director for Public Policy
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
of America

Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Dr. Barrett Duke
Vice President for Public Policy and Research
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission

The Most Rev. Robert Duncan
Archbishop, Anglican Church in North
America
Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh

Rev. Jim Eschenbrenner
Executive Pastor
General Council of Christian Union
Churches

Dr. William J. Hamel
President
Evangelical Free Church of America

Rev. Dr. Ron Hamilton
Conference Minister
Conservative Congregational Christian
Conference

Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison
President
Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

John Hopler
Director
Great Commission Churches

Dr. Bill Hossler
President
Missionary Church, Inc.

Clyde M. Hughes
General Overseer
International Pentecostal Church of Christ

Rev. Kenneth D. Hunn
Executive Director
The Brethren Church

David W. Kendall
Bishop
Free Methodist Church USA

Dr. Richard Land
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission

Most Rev. William E. Lori
Bishop of Bridgeport
Chairman
USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for
Religious Liberty
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon
Chair Board of General Superintendents
The Wesleyan Church

James W. Murray
Executive Director
General Association of General Baptists

Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Ft. Wayne – South Bend
Chairman
USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage,
Family Life and Youth

Commissioner William A. Roberts
National Commander
The Salvation Army

Rocky Rocholl
President
Fellowship of Evangelical Churches

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
President
National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference

David T. Roller
Bishop
Free Methodist Church USA

Matthew A. Thomas
Bishop
Free Methodist Church USA

Dr. Joseph Tkach
President & Pastor General
Grace Communion International

Berten A. Waggoner
National Director
Vineyard USA

W. Phillip Whipple
Bishop
United Brethren in Christ Church, USA

Dr. John P. Williams, Jr.
Regional Director
Evangelical Friends Church, North America

David P. Wilson
General Secretary
Church of the Nazarene

Dr. George O. Wood
General Superintendent
Assemblies of God

Posted in Marriage and Family | Leave a comment

Catholic Social Doctrine: The Laity’s Mission of Service to the Human Person and Culture

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Deacon Bob

The social mission of the laity has as a priority service to the human person., i.e., to the value and dignity of every person. It is the essential, central and unifying task of all the Church’s service. It is a service to the human family. This requires a inner renewal and commitment of every Christian.  This renewal precedes, in a sense, institutional renewal, for it is from a conversion of heart that concern for others flows.

Promoting human dignity demands affirmation of the right t0 life, from conception to natural death. It requires that the religious dimension of the human person be recognized and protected, including the right to freedom of conscience and religious freedom. There is an urgent need to defend marriage and family.

Fostering a social and political culture inspired by the Gospel is of particular importance to the laity. The essential ends of culture are the perfection of the person and the common good. Thus, an ethical dimension to culture is a significant priority in social action efforts.

Each human person has a right to a human and civil culture. Each person has the right to the truth. These rights must influence how media is utilized in society, and prevent media from becoming only an accumulation of facts when its proper and fruitful use is the development of solidarity among all peoples through the distribution of truth and mutual respect among individuals and social groups. Serving the human person through building up a society based on solidarity, justice, love and the truth of human life is at the heart of ethics in media.

For a more detailed discussion of this topic, refer to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, nos. 552-562.

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Church of the Week

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Deacon Bob

St. Joachim Chapel

 St. Joachim Chapel

Lockeford, California

Posted in Churches of the United States | Leave a comment

The Catholic Faithful: What About Obedience?

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Deacon Bob

I read with interest the remarks made by Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 28, 2011 during the ad limina visit of a number of American bishops to the Holy Father. In part, he said:

The Church’s mission is threatened internally by divisions which paralyze her ability to act forcefully and decisively.

On the left, the Church’s teachings on sexual morality and the nature of the ordained priesthood and that the Church herself are publicly opposed, as are the bishops who preach and defend these teachings.

On the right, the Church’s teachings might be accepted. But the bishops who do not govern exactly and to the last detail in the way expected, are publicly opposed.

The Church is thus an arena of ideological warfare, rather than a way of discipleship, shepherded by bishops. And so, the Church’s ability to evangelize is diminished. Cardinal Francis George, May 28 2011 Ad Limina Visit.

This is an interesting and apt description of what is occuring in some of our parishes and dioceses today. There are some, wrapping themselves around the mantle of “conservatism” or “liberalism”, think they understand better than the bishops or the pope how to shepherd the church in matters such as liturgical practice, sexual morality, and the rights of the poor and the immigrant.

Where is our obedience? Where is our humility?

Obedience and humility do not require suspension of reason. Obedience and humility are not foolish or blind. They do not require that we suspend our natural human rights or our contributions to the common good of our parishes and dioceses.

They do require an acknowledgement that God is God and he is at work in those whom he anoints with the responsibility of the episcopacy.

Let us put ourselves aside and faithfully serve the Lord and his people.

Read Cardinal George’s complete address at: www.archchicago.org/cardinal/statement/stat_04/remarks_052804.shtm

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Quote of the Day

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Deacon Bob

I want to thank Elizabeth Scalia over at The Anchoress (www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress) for this wonderful quote from Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI:

Faith is not the resignation of reason in view of the limits of our knowledge; it is not a retreat into the irrational in view of the dangers of a merely instrumental reason. Faith is not the expression of weariness and flight but is courage to exist and an awakening to the greatness and breadth of what is real.

Faith is an act of affirmation; it is based on the power of a new Yes, which becomes possible for man when he is touched by God. It seems to me important, precisely amid the rising resentment against technical rationality, to emphasize clearly the essential reasonableness of faith. In a criticism of the modern period, which has long been going on, one must not reproach its confidence in reason as such, but only the narrowing of the concept of reason, which has opened the door to irrational ideologies. The mysterium, as faith sees it, is not the irrational but rather the uttermost depths of the divine reason, which our weak eyes are no longer able to penetrate. It is the creative reason, the power of the divine knowledge that imparts meaning. It is only from this beginning that one can correctly understand the mystery of Christ, in which reason can then be seen to be the same as love.

The first word of faith, therefore, tells us: everything that exists is thought that has poured forth. The Creator Spirit is the origin and the supporting foundation of all things. Everything that is, is reasonable in terms of its origin, for it comes from creative reason. . . The mysterium is not opposed to reason but saves and defends the reasonableness of existence and of man.
– Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), A Turning Point for Europe

Everything that exists is thought poured forth…..

Wow! Of course, this goes straight to the heart of the mystery of the Trinity, and Jesus being the Word made flesh, sent forth from the Father, and through whom all is created.

Again, in a very elegant manner, the Holy Father describes fundamentals of our faith and its reasonability.

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Minnesota Marriage Minute

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Here is the second of a series of videos produced by Minnesota For Marriage regarding the upcoming Minnesota Constitutional Admendment protecting marriage in this state as the union of one man with one woman.

Please view it. Then vote this fall for the amendment. Our bishops are strongly supporting it, as need we all.

Thank you!

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Benedict XVI on Religious Freedom

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father today spoke to the Diplomatic Corps to the Vatican. This is an annual event to all diplomats accredited to the Holy See. In his address, among other things, he addressed religious freedom. Here is an excerpt:

In this perspective, it is clear that an effective educational programme also calls for respect for religious freedom. This freedom has individual, collective and institutional dimensions. We are speaking of the first of human rights, for it expresses the most fundamental reality of the person. All too often, for various reasons, this right remains limited or is flouted. I cannot raise this subject without first paying tribute to the memory of the Pakistani Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, whose untiring battle for the rights of minorities ended in his tragic death. Sadly, we are not speaking of an isolated case. In many countries Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life; in other countries they endure violent attacks against their churches and their homes. At times they are forced to leave the countries they have helped to build because of persistent tensions and policies which frequently relegate them to being second-class spectators of national life. In other parts of the world, we see policies aimed at marginalizing the role of religion in the life of society, as if it were a cause of intolerance rather than a valued contribution to education in respect for human dignity, justice and peace. In the past year religiously motivated terrorism has also reaped numerous victims, especially in Asia and in Africa; for this reason, as I stated in Assisi, religious leaders need to repeat firmly and forcefully that “this is not the true nature of religion. It is the antithesis of religion and contributes to its destruction”.4 Religion cannot be employed as a pretext for setting aside the rules of justice and of law for the sake of the intended “good”. In this context I am proud to recall, as I did in my native country, that the Christian vision of man was the true inspiration for the framers of Germany’s Basic Law, as indeed it was for the founders of a united Europe. I would also like to bring up several encouraging signs in the area of religious freedom. I am referring to the legislative amendment whereby the public juridical personality of religious minorities was recognized in Georgia; I think too of the sentence of the European Court of Human Rights upholding the presence of the crucifix in Italian schoolrooms. It is also appropriate for me to make particular mention of Italy at the conclusion of the 150th anniversary of her political unification. Relations between the Holy See and Italy experienced moments of difficulty following the unification. In the course of time, however, concord and the mutual desire for cooperation, each within its proper domain, prevailed for the promotion of the common good. I hope that Italy will continue to foster a stable relationship between Church and State, and thus serve as an example to which other nations can look with respect and interest.

I found his statements,“… the first of human rights, for it expresses the most fundamental reality of the person” (referring to religious freedom) and “Religion cannot be employed as a pretext for setting aside the rules of justice and law for the sake of the intended “good”,  to be worth our consideration.

He goes on to describe the injustices that Christians are facing in many parts of the world, and the marginalization of the role of religion in the life of society, and the misattribution of intolerance to religion in contemporary social life.

Read it all at: http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/28642.php?index=28642&lang=en

Your reactions and thoughts?

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The Mystery of “Ordinary Time”

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Well, I have just finished Christmas having assisted at 6:30am Mass this morning. This being the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the festivities of the Nativity and the beginning of “Ordinary Time” (which is actually not all that ordinary as we typically use that word), because in a sense, Ordinary Time is the time of the public ministry of Jesus — certainly an extra-ordinary time any way you cut it.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos  and kairos. Time as we typically experience it is chronos or chronological time, i.e., one hour after the other, in a linear fashion. Kairos, in contrast, is the sudden breaking into our awareness of the eternal yet present… almost a suspension in time, although not really. Sort of a sense of illumination and awe. You know the saying getting lost in time, lost in thought…. sort of like that but more.

Remember Jesus as a divine person was always in kairos time even as he lived chronos time his human and divine natures. Jesus was always in communion with the Father, even in the most mundane of events of his life.

What a wonderful mystery of our faith!

Ordinary time is a time for us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Jesus’ daily life, his public ministry, his sharing in our experience of human life even as he constantly beheld his Father’s face in union with his Father and the Spirit.

 Blessings on all of you!

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Deacon Bob

“Let your thinking be simple and lowly; always without wearying, focuse your attention on what is above you, and let the love of God be like oil poured over everything.” — St. Paschal Baylon, OFM

Posted in Saints and Prophets, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Deacon Bob’s Homily for Epiphany 2012

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for this weekend.

Audio: Epiphany Homily 2012

Text:

Today, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, the revelation to the world by the coming of the Magi to worship the Christ child that God is the God of all the nations. The Epiphany is a revelation to the Gentiles – to the foreigners of that time and ours – that God is God to every nation under the heavens, from the sunrise to the sunset, indeed the God of the entire universe. As St. Paul said in our second reading, the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jewish people of all God’s promises.

The God who first revealed himself to the Israelites now reveals himself to everyone. The Epiphany of the Lord is not just a personal revelation of God to each of us individually, but it is a public epiphany to the entire world, to all lands, cultures and peoples. It is like a sudden burst of light that illuminates and stuns us all; it is a bursting forth of God’s plan for the whole world. As the prophet Isaiah said, “The Gentiles who lived in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who lived in a land of gloom, a light has shown.” (Isaiah (9: 1)

The Jews, generation after generation after generation, had been taught to avoid foreigners, to remain separated from them and pure. They had all sorts of rules they had to follow in order to not become contaminated by them and their ways.

So, you can imagine how Joseph and Mary must have smiled at Christmas to see the shepherds come to welcome the newborn King. The shepherds were like them. They were poor like Joseph and Mary. They were Jews like Joseph and Mary. They spoke the same language. They had the same culture. They followed the same laws. They ate the same foods. They acted and thought like them.

Now, turn the page. A few days later, three foreigners show up. We call them the Magi or the Wise Men. You can imagine how uncomfortable Joseph and Mary must have felt, perhaps even reluctant to see them. The Magi looked different than Mary and Joseph. They spoke a different language. They ate different foods. They worshipped differently. They had a different religion. They thought differently. They dressed differently. They were from a different culture and land.

Surely, Joseph and Mary must have faced a dilemma: Should they welcome these strangers into their midst? Should they accept the gifts they had to offer? Should they exclude them and send them away?

As many of you know, I studied in Rome in the late 1970s. My time there taught me many things. I saw and studied with people from all over the world. They talked different from me. They ate differently than me. They acted differently than me. They prayed differently than me. They thought differently than me. Yet, one thing for sure was impressed upon me, i.e., we were all members of the Catholic Church. None of us were better than the other. I learned that we as a Church would be so much poorer if we did not accept men and women from all cultures, languages, races. I realized how rich of a Church we were, for we all brought gifts to be given to Christ and the Church.

You know, the first real controversy in the Church had to do with this very thing. The Church had to deal with a big question: Should all converts to Christianity be required to follow the Mosaic Law, accept the Jewish culture, and speak the Hebrew language, before they could be called Christians?

Many in the Church at that time argued that the Gentiles had to become Jewish, like them, before they could become Christians. They said the men would have to be circumcised, that all would have to follow the Jewish diet and follow the Jewish laws if they were to be accepted into the Church.

On the other side, St. Paul and others argued that the Church could directly accept strangers into their midst, foreigners who did not adhere to the Jewish culture or practices. So there was a big division within the Church and the First Ecumenical Council in Jerusalem was convened by St. Peter. It was decided that the Church would accept foreigners and they didn’t have to look and act Jewish, that all Christians didn’t have to be the same.

My friends, we are facing the same question today in the Church. Will we accept those from other cultures, languages, customs and countries into our parish and diocese, or are we going to demand that they look and speak and act and think like us before we accept them? Will we accept the many gifts they bear to be given to us, or will we say “no” to them and their gifts? Will we come together as one Church or remain separate?

This is a very concrete question in many of the parishes in this diocese. More and more we will face it.

Minnesota is the home to the nation’s largest Hmong population. Minnesota has the nation’s second largest population of Tibetans. Minnesota’s families speak over 103 languages and dialects. In 2008, sixteen thousand people came to Minnesota as immigrants for the same reasons our ancestors came: jobs, land, equality, family reunification. In any given year, 25-50% of Minnesota’s immigrants are refugees from persecution.

The Epiphany of the Lord is a public revelation to the entire world that God is God for all men and women, not just those who are like us. St. Paul has said that in the Church all are one.

The Magi, the Wise Men, who come to do homage to the Christ child bore gifts. They persevered in their quest, their journey. They were travellers, migrants really. They came to give, not take. They came to worship, not contaminate.

My friends, the same can be said of most of the immigrants in our midst today. Let us not refuse them, or their gifts.

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Breaking News: Two New American Cardinals Named

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Cardinal-designate O'Brien

The Holy Father, just minutes ago, announced that two prelates from the United States, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, formerly of Baltimore and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York will be given the red hat during the upcoming February 18th consistory.

Cardinal-designate Dolan

The appointments of O’Brien and Dolan were expected in many ways, but remain good news for all of us in the United States.

Congratulations, Cardinal-designates O’Brien and Dolan.

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The Year of Faith (1967) in the Words of Papa Luciani

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Many of us do not realize that Pope Paul VI also called the Church to a “Year of Faith” in 1967 to mark the 1900 year anniversary of the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. Just as our particular dioceses will be developing plans for implementing the upcoming Year of Faith, so too did Albino Luciani later Pope John Paul I, then bishop of Vittorio Veneto. Here is an English translation of his suggested program to his priests back then. As is so typical for Luciani, his words 45 years ago ring true to us today:

. . . Try to have your faithful live the “Year of Faith” by speaking to them with enthusiasm about the Word of God, Jesus, and the Church more than about errors. And don’t be satisfied when your listeners are convinced: once they are convinced, they must act, they must act! Like Paul, strive so that “the word of God may make progress and be hailed by many others” (2 Thes. 3:1). Show by ardent words and actions, with a pure and charitable life, that you are “racing to grasp [Christ] since you have been grasped by Him” (cf. Phil. 3;12). When you talk about the Church, say that Christ loved her and “handed himself over for her. . . to sanctify her. . . in order to present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle. . . that she might be holy and without blemish” (cf. Eph. 5:25 27).
The Year of Faith also means shedding light on the faith. Now, faith is saying “yes” to God, clinging to Him with our whole spiritual being and making our own the truths which He has revealed to us and set before us by means of the Magisterium of the Church. Explain it to the faithful: this “yes” is an act of loving trust in God and at the same time an acceptance of His truths. We do not believe because we like these truths or because they are convenient to us, or because they are in agreement with scientific data or the fashion of the day, but because they have been revealed by Him who loves us and neither can nor will deceive us. If it were not for Him, we would not believe.
The Apostles and their successors, Pope and bishops, willed by Christ as official teachers of the Faith, are not in that position as masters, but simply as servants of the Word of God; they safeguard it and explain it without adding or taking away anything from it. Accepting and venerating their teaching is the means ordinarily necessary to arrive at the true Faith and the best way to be members of the Church. 

Posted in Papa Luciani (Pope John Paul I) | 1 Comment

The Year of Faith

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Deacon Bob

There will be a “Year of Faith” celebrated throughout the world, starting on October 11, 2012 and ending on November 24, 2013. The starting date coincides with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and, I believe, the 30th anniversary of the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

A document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith outlining this year with suggestions on universal,  episcopal conference, diocesan and parish levels will be released in two days.

The Holy Father issued his Apostolic Letter Porta fidei last October announcing the coming of this year dedicated to catechesis and a renewed understanding of Vatican II. The Holy Father wants to clarify that Vatican II was not about “discontinuity and rupture” with Tradition, but rather of “reform” and “renewal in continuity.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is be a focal point in the new evangelization.

Stay tuned for more forthcoming information.

Posted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, Church News, Evangelization | Leave a comment

Safeguard Your Vocation

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Deacon Bob

One of the realities of Christian life is that each and every human being has a divine vocation to which he or she is called by God. Yes, each of us.

Unfortunately and for various reasons, many people do not discern or respond to that call and, I believe, then find themselves wondering why they are never really happy in life. The world with all its distractions and demands often make it seemingly impossible for many to come to know themselves as God knows them and loves them. This is a great source of distress in the world and in our Church.

Others, though, indeed do discern accurately their vocation in life and respond to it. Many in the married state have done so. Bishops, priests and deacons do so. So to single people and those called to the religious life. They spend years making that discernment and then committing their lives to the vocation for which God has made them. For those so gifted, great caution is needed in living out their vocations.

Safeguard your calling, brothers and sisters! There is a lot out there in the world that will distract and erode the commitment you have made to God’s call. The vocation you have is worth more than all the wealth of the world. Be on guard! Protect what has been given you, and never take it for granted.

In the light of many reports now-a-days of men and women crashing and burning in their vocations, (see for example of yet another report today in the news of a cleric of high rank resigning because of improper relationships given his state in life), we all must safeguard what is so precious to us and to the Church.

Don’t forget the basics. Pray. Keep your attention to your obligations to your promises, vows and state in life. Rest. Keep yourself accountable to others who are trustworthy, and turn a deaf ear to the incredible number of sources of doubt, deception and allurement in our contemporary world.

And never forget we all are imperfect, needing the support of others. Don’t isolate yourself. Avoid self-medicating in whatever form.

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Congratulations, Diocese of San Diego!

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father earlier today nominated Bishop Cirilo Flores coadjutor bishop of San Diego, which means he will immediately become bishop of that diocese upon the death or retirement of its current bishop, Robert H. Brom.

Bishop Flores was born in Corona, California and studied at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and Stanford University in Palo Alto. He then practiced law for 10 years before entering seminary at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Orange in California, then was named auxiliary bishop of Orange in January, 2009.

Bishop Robert Brom is well known to me. He was the rector of the college seminary I attended from 1973-77 in Winona, Minnesota. The reasons for which he probably requested a coadjutor are unknown to me, but I suspect he is approaching the age of mandatory retirement. I wish him well in the years ahead.

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We Are Off and Running… Or Are We?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Deacon Bob

In a few minutes, the citizens of Iowa will be gathering for their caucuses in which they will be selecting a candidate from their respective parties for president as well as building planks for their parties platforms this coming fall. I am not an Iowan, but a Minnesotan. We too caucus and do the same, only a few weeks later. I used to be a fervent caucus-goer, even being a precinct chairman one year, and going to the county convention a number of years.

But I am sorry to say I gave that up many election cycles ago. Not that it wasn’t interesting or even fun (it is one of the few ways in which real democracy is still at work in our country) but because once things got beyond the county conventions, it seemed the big wigs took over and my lonely voice was dissipated in rapid fashion. Also, there is no viable political party that espouses enough of our Catholic values and social doctrine for me to say I am Republican or Democrat or whatever.

Having said all that, I have never missed an opportunity to vote, whether in local, county, state or national elections since 1973, except for the one time I was overseas and unable to vote absentee. I weigh carefully the candidates and try to sort through the moral, civil and political issues before casting my vote. It is both a moral obligation and a privilege to do so.

Yes, we have an obligation to participate in the political processes of our country to the extent we can honestly do so. We are stewards of the common good, and must safeguard it through using the ballot.

With the Iowa caucuses soon to be begin, we are off and running….. or are we?

Get involved and be active citizens, informed and motivated protecting life,  marriage and family, the poor, ending the death penalty, and fostering the common good. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops put out a document entitled  Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship to help us understand the moral and life issues before us, and assists us to wade through the issues in an intelligent and prudent manner. Read it. You can access it by logging on to: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/upload/Forming-Consciences-for-Faithful-Citizenship-2011.pdf

God bless you!

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Tired of Celebrating Yet?

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Deacon Bob

This coming weekend is the Epiphany of the Lord. It marks three weekends in a row during which we have had major celebrations of our faith: Christmas, Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, and Epiphany. Three weeks of celebrations. Three weeks of gatherings with family and friends to rejoice in the goodness of God’s love and grace.

Are you tired of celebrating yet?

Someone asked me that this past week. He was referring, I think, the the weariness that can come from having so many gatherings, both in the parish and in the home… the large crowds of people in our homes, in our shopping centers, in our church buildings.

Weariness even in the midst of joy. Only we humans can claim to know what that is like, right?

Well, if you are tired of celebrating, take heart. Lent is only a few short weeks away.

Plenty of time for fasting and penance then. Six weeks of it, actually.

Personally, I kind of like celebrating.

O, the joy!  :)

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Church of the Week

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Deacon Bob

St. Patrick Catholic Church

Jackson, California

 

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Martyrs of the Church During 2011

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies, released its 2011 report listing the names of pastoral workers, bishops, priests, men and women religious and lay Catholics killed during 2011.

During 2011, 26 pastoral care workers, 18 priests, 4 religious sisters, and 4 lay people were killed . South America was the place most affected with 15 deaths, followed by Africa with 8 deaths, Asia with 4 deaths, and Europe with one.

Eternal rest unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them!

Read all their names and more at: www.fides.org/aree/news/newdet.php?idnews=30676&lan=eng

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Holy Father Establishes the Personal Ordinariate of The Chair of St. Peter

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Deacon Bob

Today, the Holy Father formally established the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Let me try to explain.

For quite sometime, some of the Anglican Church here in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, have wanted to come into full communion with the Catholic Church but retain their liturgical heritage and Anglican patrimony. They were seeking ways of maintaining their Anglican culture, in a sense, yet become reunited with the Roman Catholic Church to whom they were more and more drifting due to relatively recent decisions within the Anglican communion that have divided it.

Not too long ago, Pope Benedict XVI issued the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus which allows those Anglicans who desired reunion with the Catholic Church to do so and retain much of their Anglican patrimony, including liturgical practices and married clergy (deacons and priests, not bishops). After the Holy Father made this decision, there has been a great deal of interest and planning.

In 2008, three Anglican bishops were ordained Catholic deacons. A year later, they were ordained Catholic priests. All are married. One of them was former Bishop John Lipscomb who is now a priest of the diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida, and another was Fr. Jeffrey Neil Steenson, D. Phil., who was named today as the Ordinary of the new Ordinariate of The Chair of St. Peter, which will encompass all of the United States. Fr. Steenson had been the Anglican bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Rio Grande, Albuquerque from 2004-2007.

Many are seeing this new Ordinariate as a sign of things to come in the continual efforts toward reunion of the Anglican fold into the Catholic Church from whom she split during the reign of Henry VIII.

Some are reporting, I suspect accurately, that any former Anglican bishop ordained to the Catholic priesthood may use “the insignia of the episcopal office” after seeking Rome’s permission and are entitled to sit in the episcopal conference with the status of a retired prelate.

These are interesting developments and we all pray a sign that the Holy Spirit will continue to draw into unity the dispersion of Christians throughout the world.

Blessings on the new ordinariate.

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