Catholic News 2

London, England, Jan 17, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Ahead of the Church of England’s General Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury may be preparing a statement expected to call for repentance for the violence of the English Reformation.

“As the Church of England prepares to celebrate the Reformation, it should also repent of the violence and brutality it sometimes committed in God’s name,” commented Rev. Andrew Atherstone, a member of the Anglican synod.

Atherstone said that aspects of the Reformation are “deeply embedded in our national psyche,” and was the historical context for the attempted invasion of the Spanish Armada and the Gunpowder Plot, when Catholic would-be revolutionary Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament.

The U.K. newspaper the Daily Mail, citing unnamed sources, said the joint statement by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Anglican Archbishop of York John Sentamu is expected to recognize the “lasting damage” of the Reformation, while also welcoming improved relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

The statement will mark a week of prayer for Christian unity as the Church of England’s General Synod debates the anniversary.

“People often look to the past so they don’t make the same mistakes again and can move on,” a spokesperson for the Archbishop of Canterbury said.

The English Reformation, driven largely by King Henry VIII’s desire to divorce his wife so he could remarry and produce a male heir, resulted in a Church of England headed by the English monarch and a strengthened European Protestantism. The split in the early 1500s resulted in martyrdom and persecution of many Catholics who remained loyal to the Pope, with Sts. Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher being among the first to be executed.

The English Reformation resulted in the confiscation of many Catholic churches and monastic lands which provided a key support for the poor. Iconoclastic movements led to the destruction of historic Catholic art.

The rise of other radical Protestant movements and efforts to restore Catholic leadership resulted in civil war and other persecutions, with effects continuing centuries later. Catholics in England faced many legal disabilities up until the 19th century, and are still barred from marrying the monarch or inheriting the throne.

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New York City, N.Y., Jan 17, 2017 / 12:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Thousands gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Friday to commemorate and mourn the loss of Officer Steven McDonald, one of the city’s most influential police officers who died last week from a heart attack at the age of 59.

“Detective Steven McDonald was an icon of mercy and forgiveness, a prophet of the dignity of all human life, a radiant symbol of the best of what the New York Police Department represents, a loving husband and father, and a fervent and faithful Catholic,” stated Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, according to the New York Daily News.

Officer McDonald is a household name for some in the New York area, where over 30 years ago, he became known as a herald of peace and mercy in a city stricken by violence and drugs.

On July 12, 1986, Officer McDonald was a newly minted NYPD officer with a bright future, having served only two years on the force, when he was shot three times by a teenager in Central Park, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.

The incident turned Officer McDonald into a quadriplegic, and he would use a wheelchair and respirator tube for the rest of his life. At the time, his newly-wed wife Patti Ann was pregnant with their first child.

“Steven would never again walk or breathe on his own, would never again embrace his wife, or hold his soon-to-be-born child. It would have been enough to turn anyone bitter, resentful, angry at God and the world,” Cardinal Dolan noted.

However, Officer McDonald wrote a public note of forgiveness to Shavod Jones, the young man who shot him, saying that he hoped his attacker would “find peace and purpose in his life.” He even went as far as testifying in Jones’ favor at his parole hearing.

“We all know how amazing that statement was, how important it was for the streets of this city,” stated Msgr. Seamus O’Boyle, a family cousin, at Officer McDonald’s funeral, according to the New York Times.

In fact, the incident with Officer McDonald ushered in a new era that cleaned up the streets of New York. According to the New York Times, murder rates have drastically declined over the years, from 1,582 murders in 1986 to 335 in 2016.

Although Officer McDonald would never return to active service, he continued to serve publicly with the police department as a first-grade detective – proving even more valuable to the force because of his voice of mercy and forgiveness.

“He became a strong advocate for peace, and spoke movingly and often on the need to show mercy to others,” Cardinal Dolan said, noting that he had even made plans with Officer McDonald to lead a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

Officer McDonald’s legacy of mercy will live past his death, particularly through his own son, Conor, who is now a New York police sergeant. In fact, public service ran in the McDonald family a few generations, with Steven’s father and grandfather both serving on the police force.

“Steven – and now his son, Conor – represented the most noble aspects of what being a police officer is all about: a heart and soul, an agent of peace and reconciliation,” Cardinal Dolan said.

The funeral on Friday was a testament to McDonald’s life, with thousands of family, friends and fellow officers in blue filling the Cathedral to salute his legacy.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was also in attendance, recalling how McDonald always believed that “we could heal the wounds of the past,” and noting that “millions were moved by his example.”

“He was a living example of the things we aspire to be.”

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