Catholic News 2

Prince Robert-Joseph Soji Olagunju, of Nigeria, has announced Tuesday the launch of a Catholic television station, ‘Lumen Christi TV,’ on Africa’s DStv platform. 

In a statement made available to Vatican Radio, Olagunju, the founder and Chairperson of Lumen Christi TV said the televisions station first started its broadcasts to a Nigerian audience in 2014. This week, Lumen Christi TV was allocated channel 350 on the DStv platform. 

DStv (Digital Satellite Television) is owned by the South African company, MultiChoice. Among other media interests, MultiChoice provides a relatively modern and popular digital Satellite TV service in Africa. It has various television bouquets available to customers. DStv is said to have 8 million subscribers in Africa.

The Lagos-based Lumen Christi TV was officially launched in 2014 by the Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Martins in the presence of other Bishops and the Catholic faithful.

In his statement this week, Olagunju said, “Lumen Christi TV was established by an African for African Catholics, broadcasting the practice of Catholicism by Africans from the perspectives of their age-long, rich socio-cultural heritage.” He added, “We started in Lekki, Lagos on 13 May 2014. We broadcast pure Catholic content 24 hours daily.” 

Catholic viewers in Africa can expect the Daily Mass, Angelus, Holy Rosary recitation, homilies, reflections and Catholic teachings meant to deepen the knowledge of the Catholic faithful. Other programmes will be on the Catechism of the Church, documentaries and the coverage of major Church events.
Presenting Lumen Christi TV to the Bishops of Nigeria in 2014, Olagunju told Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, that he felt inspired to present to the Catholic Church of Africa, a channel that would compliment the work of the Church. He also said he wanted to give hope to those who had lost their Catholic faith.

“Lumen Christi (TV) is a Satellite television station I conceived as a direct answer to that soul inspiring Catholic hymn that says – ‘How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?’... I am humbled beyond doubt, that one cannot really repay God in totality for his numerous blessings over the years, simply because these blessings and favours are immeasurable and of course unquantifiable,” Olagunju said.

Olagunju said he was concerned that the Church in Africa, with millions of the lay faithful across the continent, did not have direct means, such as a television station, for her work of evangelization.

Nigerian media this week quoted the Managing Director of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe saying that the introduction of Lumen Christi TV on the DStv platform was in line with the company’s strategy to provide a diversified range of content that would appeal to its different subscribers.

“We are making great content more accessible with the launch of Lumen Christi, and we believe it will enrich the lives of our subscribers especially those of the Catholic faith,” he said.    

(Fr. Paul Samasumo, Vatican Radio)

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Wednesday participated in a discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Holy See’s chief diplomat said Pope Francis has given three goals for Vatican diplomacy: To fight poverty, to build bridges, and to achieve peace in concrete situations.

“Take into account that the diplomacy of the Holy See is not so huge in resources, in personnel… we are very limited in a certain sense,” – Cardinal Parolin said – “It is impossible to do everything, but we would like to help.”

The Cardinal said the role of the Holy See is not only to proclaim principles, but to concretely help people in difficult situations. He said the presence of the Catholic Church in most countries around the world is a great benefit for his work.

“We have people on the ground – on the spot – we have missionaries, we have sisters, we have lay people,” Cardinal Parolin said, adding they not only give information to the Holy See, but also offer suggestions on how to resolve “difficult situations.”

He said the Vatican seeks “to protect, to defend, to promote religious freedom,” calling it “the first human right.”

“The centrality of the person is transcendence, and the fact that the person is called to be the brother of other human beings, this idea of fraternity,” – Cardinal Parolin explained – “If we don’t have it clear that we are brothers and sisters, and that we are responsible for others, I think that … other objectives will prevail, and will in the end damage and destroy the person and the community.”

Cardinal Parolin also addressed the current “period of crisis” in Europe.

“European unity has brought great benefit to the European continent, we should not forget that,” – he said – “And maybe one of our problems of today, is that the young generation does not recognize this benefit.”

First among these is the 60 years of peace after the devastation of the First and Second World Wars, and the benefits stemming from the free circulation of people and ideas throughout the continent.

The Cardinal said what was needed was to give once again “a soul to Europe.”

“I would like also to stress the importance of the religions,” Cardinal Parolin said.

“Religions cannot be left only on the private ground; it is not only the expression of the personal feelings of the person, but religions have something to say also in a public arena,” – the Cardinal continued – “Of course in dialogue with all the faiths, we are not asking nor requesting any privilege for the Catholic Church…we know that now we live in a pluralistic society where there are so many expressions of religious belief and religious faith; but I think that it is important that the authorities…recognize the public role that religions could give to the public life.”

Cardinal Parolin used this discussion to say a word about religiously inspired terrorism.

“We think that this is a clear manipulation of religion, because as the Holy Father said many times, the faith in God cannot be conducive to such horrible acts against humanity,” he said.

Addressing the refugee situation, the Cardinal said there is “a conflict” among different European countries.

“For instance, the fact that some countries are just closing their door, because they are claiming their specific identity, and they are afraid that this identity will be lost because of the coming of other people from other cultures and other religions,” – Cardinal Parolin said – “But I think that two things can be said: First of all, this is not a new phenomenon. I think the history of humanity is the history of encounter between cultures, between religions, between different way of living and thinking. Maybe what is new is the proportion of this phenomenon especially for Europe...  We are living with fear and a sense of malaise with this experience. It is nothing new. We have to learn the lesson of history.”

He said the second challenge  is “how to make differences not a cause of conflicts, and clashes, and division, but a source of mutual enrichment.”

“I think it is important to work together,” – the Cardinal said – “We have seen also on the question of migrants, Europe was not able to elaborate a common policy. A great deal of problems are linked to that: A given country was left alone to face this problem.”

At the end of the half-hour conversation in Switzerland, Cardinal Parolin was asked about nuclear deterrence.

He said the Holy See was discussing “the morality of nuclear weapons” with like-minded members of the international community, and seeking to see “if it is possible to accept this concept of nuclear deterrence,” adding “a peace built on fear is not a peace.”

Cardinal Parolin said there are other means to achieve this goal, including “to build confidence measures; to build mechanisms of dialogue and security, which can assure the peace better than nuclear deterrence.”

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Phoenix, Ariz., Jan 19, 2017 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- You've probably heard of Bruce Jenner.

Now referred to as Caitlyn Jenner, the high-profile Olympic athlete with a famously dramatic family had a very high-profile surgical sex transition from male to female – including a cover on Vanity Fair magazine and the now-canceled docu-series “I am Cait.”

You probably haven't heard of Bruce Reimer.

Bruce and his twin brother Brian were born in Canada in the 1960s. At the age of seven months, the otherwise healthy boys were circumcised. But the doctors used a new method of circumcision, involving an electric cauterizing needle, on Bruce. An accident occurred, completely burning off the little boy's penis.

Brian's operation was canceled, but his parents were devastated.

The Reimers decided to take Bruce to Dr. John Money, a psychologist and sexologist at Johns Hopkins they had seen on T.V.

Dr. Money had a theory that aside from reproductive and urinary functions, gender was a social construct. Until the Reimer twins, he had largely worked with intersex cases – children born with ambiguous genitalia or abnormal sex chromosomes.

But the Reimer twins – otherwise healthy and biologically normative – were the perfect experiment on which to test his theory of gender fluidity. Brian would be raised as a boy, and Bruce would from now on be called Brenda, and raised as a girl.

The Reimers agreed, and insisted on girl's clothes and socialization for Brenda throughout childhood. They never told the twins about the accident, or about Brenda's biological sex.

The twins were brought in for a yearly observation with Dr. Money, who dubbed the case a wild success by the time the twins were nine years old.

“No-one else knows that she is the child whose case they read of in the news media at the time of the accident,” he wrote.

“Her behavior is so normally that of an active little girl, and so clearly different by contrast from the boyish ways of her twin brother, that it offers nothing to stimulate one's conjectures.”

What the Doctor didn't tell

Deacon Dr. Patrick Lappert is two things you wouldn't necessarily expect to occur in tandem – a plastic surgeon, and a deacon for the Roman Catholic Church.

These two roles give him a unique understanding of the human person, both physically and metaphysically. They've also given him a unique perspective on transgendered persons, and the current cultural movement to support surgical sex changes.

Dr. Lappert was asked to speak at the recent Truth and Love conference for Courage in Phoenix. He included the case of the Reimer twins during his talk, “Transgender Surgery and Christian Anthropology.”

The on-paper success of Brenda Reimer as a lovely and well-adjusted little girl did not match the lived reality of the child, Dr. Lappert said. Brenda Reimer was a rambunctious tomboy – shunned by the boys for wearing dresses, and by the girls for being too wild.

“She was very rebellious. She was very masculine, and I could not persuade her to do anything feminine. Brenda had almost no friends growing up. Everybody ridiculed her, called her cavewoman,” Brenda's mother, Janet, recalled in an interview with BBC News.

“She was a very lonely, lonely girl.”

During the twins' yearly checkup and observation, Dr. Money would force the twins to strip naked and engage in sexual play, posing in positions that affirmed their respective genders. On at least one occasion, this sex play was photographed.

By their teenage years, the twins were strongly opposed to going to their checkups with Dr. Money.

By age 13, Brenda was suicidal.

By 15, the Reimer's stopped taking the twins to Dr. Money and revealed the truth to Brenda – he was biologically male. He fully embraced his male identity, chose the name David, and began hormone therapy and a surgical genital reconstruction. He dated and married a woman, whose children he adopted.

But the wounds of his traumatic childhood were deep for both David and his brother. Both suffered from depression. After 14 years, David's wife divorced him. Then Brian died from a drug overdose. Not long after, in May 2004, David committed suicide. He was 38 years old.

Despite everything, Dr. Money never printed any retractions of his studies, or added any corrections.

“He never said a word, never took any of it back,” Dr. Lappert said.

Which is hugely problematic, because this study is still frequently cited as a successful gender transition by the medical community at large, including the society of plastic surgeons to which Dr. Lappert belongs, he said.

“I put this case out there as an example, to show you the foundation – the sand upon which this whole thing is built,” Dr. Lappert said.

“We have to understand this as we’re talking about the human person as a unity of spirit and form, that there is an integrity to the maleness and femaleness with which we are made.”

One of the biggest problems with transgender sex change surgeries is that they are permanent and irreversible in any meaningful way, Dr. Lappert said.

“There’s nothing reversible about genital surgery – it's a permanent, irreversible mutilation of the human person. And there’s no other word for it,” he said.  

“It results in permanent sterility. It’s a permanent dissolution of the unitive and the procreative functions. And even the unitive aspect of the sexual embrace is radically hindered if not utterly destroyed,” he said, because of the inevitable nerve damage that occurs during the surgery, and because the brain will always register the genital nerves as coming from their organ of origin.

In other words, nerves connected to a vagina will always register with the brain as a vagina, even if they are now part of a surgically constructed penis, and vice versa.

Another major issue is that sex change surgeries seek to solve an interior dysfunction with an external solution.

“Underneath it all, you're trying to heal an interior wound with exterior surgery,” Dr. Lapper said. 

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Vatican City, Jan 19, 2017 / 03:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For Pope Francis, personal conversion is pretty much the key to the Church’s success in all of her activities, from Church governance to pastoral work, from Curial reform to evangelization and dialogue.

He reiterated this point in a Jan. 19 speech to an ecumenical delegation from Finland, telling them that “true ecumenism is based on a shared conversion to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Redeemer.”

“If we draw close to him, we draw close also to one another,” he said, and pointed to his trip to Sweden last fall for a joint-commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Francis noted that at one of the ecumenical events held during his visit both Catholics and Lutherans recognized that Martin Luther’s original intention “was to renew the Church, not divide her.”

“The gathering there gave us the courage and strength, in our Lord Jesus Christ, to look ahead to the ecumenical journey that we are called to walk together,” he said, and urged members of the delegation to pray fervently “so that we may experience this conversion which makes reconciliation possible.”

Pope Francis spoke to members of the Ecumenical Delegation of the Lutheran Church of Finland who traveled to Rome for their annual pilgrimage marking the feast of St. Henrik, the country’s patron.

The delegation traditionally makes the pilgrimage during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which this year runs Jan. 18-25 and holds the theme “Love of Christ pushes us toward reconciliation.”

In his speech, Francis said the joint-commemoration of the Reformation in Sweden was important “on both the human and theological-spiritual levels.”

After 50 years of official ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, “we have succeeded in clearly articulating points of view which today we agree on,” he said, and voiced his gratitude. However, at the same time “we keep alive in our hearts sincere contrition for our faults,” he said, pointing to the current divisions among Christians.

Francis also said, as illustrated during his trip to Sweden, “theological dialogue remains essential for reconciliation” among Christians, Catholics and Lutherans in particular, but noted that this dialogue has already “advanced through steadfast commitment.”

“Thus, in that communion of harmony which permits the Holy Spirit to act, we will be able to find further convergence on points of doctrine and the moral teaching of the Church, and will be able to draw ever closer to full and visible unity,” he said.

He prayed particularly for the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue Commission in Finland, which is currently “working diligently” to find “a common sacramental understanding” of the Church, the Eucharist and ecclesial ministry.

Given the steps that have already been taken and those that are being made now, the Pope said the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 offers Catholics and Lutherans an opportunity to focus on the Gospel and to seek Christ together “with renewed vigor.”

He encouraged the delegation to make a similar commitment to the one made between the Catholic and Lutheran delegations in Sweden, promising to work together to serve the poor, needy and those who suffer persecution and violence.

By doing this, “as Christians we are no longer divided, but rather united on the journey toward full communion,” Pope Francis said.

He noted how 2017 also marks Finland’s 100th anniversary as an independent State, and prayed that the milestone would “encourage all the Christians of your country to profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – as did Saint Henrik so zealously.”

Francis closed his address praying that the delegation’s pilgrimage would “contribute to further strengthening the good cooperation between Orthodox, Lutherans and Catholics in Finland and in the world.”

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Denver, Colo., Jan 19, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Colorado chapter of a national pro-life collegiate group is suing Colorado State University, after the school denied the organization funding for a campus event.

Last September, the CSU chapter of Students for Life applied to the university for a “Diversity Grant” to host a speaker from the Equal Rights Institute on the topic of abortion and bodily rights.

The grant is funded by student activity fees, which are mandatory for all enrolled students.

According to the CSU website, the purpose of the Diversity Grant is to “enhance the educational and cultural aspects of the university community and raise the awareness of differing perspectives.”

The grant was denied to the pro-life group because the proposed speaker did not appear “entirely unbiased as it addresses the topic of abortion,” and therefore the diversity grant committee worried “that folks from varying sides of the issue won’t necessarily feel affirmed in attending the event,” the national branch of Students for Life reported on their website.

“That was the wrong answer,” the group said.

The university is being accused of denying free speech, and a lawsuit was filed Jan. 17 on behalf of CSU Students for Life by lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

Emily Faulkner, 21, has been president of CSU Students for Life for more than a year and is named as plaintiff in the suit.

Faulkner told a local news station that the lawsuit “is about free speech.”

She also said that the university routinely funds events for other groups without making the same requirements that are being imposed upon CSU Students for Life.

CSU Students for Life hosted the event on campus anyway, with funds raised by the organization rather than by the Diversity Grant.

“Universities should encourage all students to participate in the free exchange of ideas, not play favorites with some while shutting out others,” ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said in a statement.

“Colorado State University funded the advocacy of its preferred student organizations but has excluded Students for Life from consideration based purely upon the viewpoint expressed in its funding request to bring a speaker to campus. Because of the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, courts have repeatedly rejected this discriminatory treatment as unconstitutional.”

CSU spokesperson Mike Hooker told CBS Denver that they were not aware of the lawsuit until this week and that they are reviewing claims and issues raised, and will respond accordingly. Hooker says the university does not typically comment on pending litigation.

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(Vatican Radio) The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

The parties were continuing negotiations on Article 10 Paragraph 2 of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel of 1993.

After their meeting, the Commission issued a statement declaring the “delegations discussed matters of common interest and explored new opportunities for cooperation.”

Article 10 of the Fundamental Agreement states: § 1. The Holy See and the State of Israel jointly reaffirm the right of the Catholic Church to property.

§ 2. Without prejudice to rights relied upon by the Parties: a) The Holy See and the State of Israel will negotiate in good faith a comprehensive agreement, containing solutions acceptable to both Parties, on unclear, unsettled and disputed issues, concerning property, economic and fiscal matters relating to the Catholic Church generally, or to specific Catholic Communities or institutions.

b) For the purpose of the said negotiations, the Permanent Bilateral Working Commission will appoint one or more bilateral subcommissions of experts to study the issues and make proposals.

c) The Parties intend to commence the aforementioned negotiations within three months of entry into force of the present Agreement, and aim to reach agreement within two years from the beginning of the negotiations.

d) During the period of these negotiations, actions incompatible with these commitments shall be avoided.

The full statement issued by the Bilateral Commission is below:

The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met today, 18th January 2017, in Jerusalem, at the Plenary level, to continue negotiations pursuant to the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel of 1993, Art. 10 paragraph 2.

The meeting was headed by Mr. Tzachi HANEGBI, Minister for Regional Cooperation of the State of Israel, and by Mgr. Antoine CAMILLERI, Undersecretary for the Holy See's Relations with States. The Plenary welcomed the progress accomplished at the working level regarding the negotiations pursuant to Art. 10 paragraph 2, and is pleased that they continue in a thoughtful and constructive atmosphere. The Plenary further acknowledges the work of the Ministry of Justice regarding the implementation of the 1997 Bilateral Legal Personality Agreement. The Parties have agreed on future steps, in view of the next Plenary meeting scheduled for March 2017, in Vatican City. Following the BPWC meeting, the Holy See and the State of Israel held a bilateral dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegations discussed matters of common interest and explored new opportunities for cooperation.

Delegation of the Holy See:

Mgr. Antoine CAMILLERI, Undersecretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, Head of

Delegation;

H.E. Arch. Giuseppe LAZZAROTTO, Apostolic Nuncio in Israel;

H.E. Arch. Antonio FRANCO, Apostolic Nuncio;

H.E. Bishop Giacinto-Boulos MARCUZZO, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Israel;

Fr. Lorenzo LORUSSO, Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches of the Holy

See;

Mgr. Ionut Paul STREJAC, Desk officer, Secretary of State of the Holy See;

Mgr. Marco FORMICA, Deputy Head of Mission, Apostolic Nunciature in Israel;

Mr. Henry AMOROSO, Principal Legal Adviser;

Fr. Jacek JASZTAL O.F.M., Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land;

Fr. Ibrahim FALTAS O.F.M., Custody of the Holy Land;

Sr. Kathy ZIMMERMANN F.S.E., Secretary of the Delegation.

Delegation of the State of Israel:

Mr. Tzachi HANEGBI, Minister for Regional Cooperation;

Mrs. Emi PALMOR, Director General, Ministry of Justice;

Mr. Ehud KEINAN, External Advisor & Head of Israeli working level team;

Mr. Akiva TOR, Head of World Jewish and World Religions Affairs Bureau (MFA);

Dr. Joseph DRAZNIN, Advisor for the Minister for Regional Cooperation;

Mrs. Sharon REGEV, Director of the World Religions Affairs Department (MFA);

Mrs. Tamar KAPLAN, Principal Deputy Legal Advisor and Director of the Diplomatic and Civil

Law Department (MFA);

Mrs. Karin DOSORETZ, Diplomatic and Civil Law Department (MFA);

Mr. Itai APTER, Office of the Deputy Attorney General (International Law) (MOJ);

Mr. Moshe GOLAN, External Advisor;

Mrs. Anat EILON GANOR, Senior Advisor to the Chief Economist (MOF);

Mr. Amir HARAN, Senior Advisor to the Director General (MOJ);

Mr. Gilad ATLACEVITZ, World Religions Affairs Department (MFA).

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Shendam, Nigeria, Jan 19, 2017 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A prominent Nigerian archbishop last week advised his fellow clergy against a sense of complacency and security which ends up damaging the Church.

“I have observed among us priests and religious is a lack of proper sense of mission, a lack of serious missionary commitment and a lack of missionary creativity,” Archbishop Mathew Man’Oso Ndagoso of Kaduna said in his Jan. 11 homily for the episcopal consecration of Philip Davou Dung as Bishop of Shendam.

Archbishop Ndagoso said he has seen a lack of pastoral planning and implementation, which proceeds from a nonchalant and lethargic attitude, calling it “the deadly virus of complacency”.

He lamented a pastoral mindset which relies on pews being filled because of an established Catholic identity.

“We like to bask in the euphoria of our being the first and well established Roman Catholic Church founded on Peter the Rock with no sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel,” said Archbishop Ndagoso, adding that parishioners are being devoured by wolves “without any serious concern except that of assuring and reassuring ourselves that when some leave, others will come in on their own”

Archbishop Ndagoso emphasized that the time for waiting on people to fill the pews is an outdated practice, and now is the time in which the gospel must be lived outwardly: “Ours is the era of the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep and going out in search of the lost one.”

“We must therefore avoid the temptation of feeling secure in our well established church and rest content with our huge attendance at Masses.”

Finally, Archbishop Ndagoso said we should be wary of false security and of and men masquerading as  persons of God.

The living out the gospel needs to be a watchfulness and an extension into society, and cannot be lived out complacently, he reflected.

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