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(Vatican Radio) The bishops of Scotland are implementing measures in order to further improve the standards of safeguarding the welfare of people involved with the Church.

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has recently established an independent Review Group that will consider the Scottish Church’s existing safeguarding policies, with an aim of making any possible improvements.

This week, the appointment of the first chairperson of the Review Group was announced. Baroness Helen Liddell is a veteran member of the UK Labour Party and was a member of former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s cabinet. She will appoint the members of the group and oversee the Church’s efforts to take care of survivors of abuse.

The former Secretary of State for Scotland said the Review Group will include “safeguarding professionals, specialists in the evaluation of organisations, a representative of Police Scotland and a canon lawyer.” Speaking about the work of the group, she added: “Judge us by our actions.”

The announcement comes after members of the McLellan Commission suggested that recommendations from its 2015 report were not being implemented appropriately.

Vatican Radio’s Ryan Black spoke with the Assistant General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, Fr Thomas Boyle, about the announcement, and about the Church’s efforts to implement the recommendations of the McLellan Commission’s report.

Listen: 

Announcing the appointment, the president of the Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, explained that the bishops knew it was important to appoint a chairperson of “national stature and proven competence”, and that in Baroness Liddell “these qualities are perfectly met.”

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Paris, France, Dec 6, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA).- It happened in Britain. It happened in the U.S.

 

And now it’s happening in France.

 

A staunchly right-winged politician whose chances seemed slim when the primaries began is now in line to become the next President of France.

  François Fillon, former prime minister of France and a faithful Catholic, has pulled ahead in the Republican party, shocking pundits and political commentators throughout the country and beating out the moderate former Prime Minister Alain Juppé by a wide margin.  

  His Catholicism is such a strong part of his character that a headline in the newspaper Libération proclaimed: “Help, Jesus has returned!”

  With an active faith and conservative values, Fillon has promised to preserve traditional family values and to uphold France’s Catholic roots, and holds traditional views about marriage and abortion, though he has said he does not plan to overturn the 1975 law that legalized abortion.

  “I will put the family at the heart of all public politics,” Fillon promised in a recent rally.

  The family was “certainly not a place for dangerous social experimentation”, he said, referring to recently adapted adoption rights for same-sex couples.

  To understand his success in a country where numbers of churchgoers have plummeted, experts point to the cultural Catholics of France - geniously dubbed les zombies catholiques (the zombie Catholics) by sociologists Emmanuel Todd and Hervé Le Bras. In their book Le mystère français, Todd and Le Bras explain that “Catholicism seems to have attained a kind of life after death. But since it is a question of a this-worldly life, we will define it as ‘zombie Catholicism.’”

  Once one of the most Catholic countries in Europe, France has seen a steady decline in churchgoers over the years, with only 15 percent of the country’s 41.6 million Catholics who are considered regular or even occasional churchgoers today.

  But there are still pockets in France where the social values of Catholicism have remained strong despite waning church numbers - explaining, at least in part, the success of Fillon.

  “Zombie Catholics share certain symptoms: Not only do they hail from regions where resistance was greatest to the French Revolution, but they also have taken advantage of the benefits that flowed from that seismic event,” Zaretsky wrote.

  “Highly educated and meritocratic, they also privilege a traditional ordering of professional and domestic duties between husbands and wives; strong attachment to social, community, and family activities; and a general wariness over the role of the state in private and community affairs, including ‘free schools’ (Catholic private schools).”

  Fillon shares most of these characteristics, and was able to harness his appeal to the zombie Catholics for political gain.

  Robert Zaretsky writes in Foreign Policy Magazine that Fillon has “never made any secret of his beliefs.” He hails from a deeply Catholic part of France, and goes on retreat every year.

  Fillon recalls his Catholic upbringing fondly in his campaign book Faire (“To Make”), and explains how the Catholic worldview has shaped who he is as a person: “I was raised in this tradition, and I have kept this faith.”

  Voters in regions considered zombie Catholic strongholds, such as the western regions of  the Vendée and Brittany, turned out in strong numbers for Fillon. Areas considered more liberal - southern regions, Paris and other large cities - had lower turnout numbers overall in the primaries.

  Whether his popularity and appeal will hold long enough to win him the office remains to be seen. He will run against Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, and the Socialist nominee, which will be chosen in January. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party declined to run for another term.

  The first round of the 2017 French presidential election will be held on April 23, 2017. Should no candidate win an outright majority, a second vote between the top two candidates will be held on May 7.

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Is 35:1-6a, 10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11: 2-11

Myra had worked for many years in a large, business office. Many different things were said about Myra, but on one point all her colleagues agreed: Myra was a hateful person. She had a way of quickly turning off anyone who tried to befriend her. She was a loner, a disagreeable one at that. Consequently, whenever a new employee was hired, the warning went out, "Stay away from Myra." This situation lasted for years until a new employee, whom we shall call Margaret, arrived on the scene. Disregarding all the friendly warnings, Margaret made a special effort to let Myra know that now there was someone in that office who really cared about her. Amazingly, this initial expression of kindness eventually began to bear fruit. Myra was breaking out of her shell. She was communicating more easily. She even was developing a friendship or two. Then, early one morning, the entire office staff was shocked to learn that Margaret had died suddenly the night before. When Myra heard the news she cried and cried and said over and over again, "Margaret was the only Christ I ever knew, she was the only Christ I ever knew."

Introduction: The common theme running through today’s readings is one of joy and encouragement. The readings stress the need for patience in those awaiting the rebirth of Jesus in their hearts and lives.  They give us a messages of hope—for people almost three millennia ago, for people at the beginning of the first millennium and for people today.  Today is called Gaudete Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon: “Gaudete in Domino semper,” i.e., “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Today, to express our joy in the coming of Jesus as our Savior, we light the rose candle, and the priest may wear rose vestments. The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, encourages the exiled Jews in Babylon to believe that God is going to save them and transform their lives.  In the second reading, James the Apostle encourages the early Christians to be patient, “because the coming of the Lord is at hand.”  Finally, in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus encourages John the Baptist to cast away the popular political expectations about the Messiah and simply to accept his healing and preaching ministry as the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy of Isaiah. 

First reading: Is 35:1-6, 10: Isaiah tries to stir up in his exiled brothers and sisters the hope of their return to Israel by assuring them of the saving power of Yahweh in their lives.  He reminds them that it was through their disloyalty to God that they had lost their liberty, had been taken as slaves to Babylon and had lived there in servitude for sixty years (598-538 BC).  The Jews were finally set free by Cyrus (who had captured Babylon), and were allowed to return to their native land, rebuild the Temple and serve their God once more as His Chosen People.  The prophet assures them that God will lead them back to their land in this second exodus (6th century B.C.), as He led their ancestors from Egypt to the Promised Land in the first exodus (13th century BC).  He is going to do three things for them.  1) He will transform the wasteland lying between their land of exile and Israel into a new Garden of Eden to facilitate their journey.  2) The weak and the sick will be strengthened for the journey.  3) They will reach their destination singing and crowned with glory.  The assurance of this second exodus is chosen for Advent, because both Exodus events foreshadow the coming of the Messiah. 

Second reading: James 5:7-10: The expectation of Jesus' imminent return did not last very long in the early Church. Even within Saint Paul's lifetime, that expectation had waned.  The Apostles advised the Christians to bear witness to Christ through their heroic lives without waiting for the Parousia in their lifetime.  Hence, in the second reading, James encourages the fearful, frustrated and persecuted early Christians to be patient.  Like Isaiah, James tries to show his Christian community that what they have been hoping for was already happening.  Though he stresses patience and determination, James also reminds them that "the Judge stands at the gate."  Just as the prophets believed that what they were proclaiming was already happening, the Christians needed to behave as though the returned risen Jesus were already influencing their lives.  James uses the analogy of a farmer who must wait patiently for the ground to yield its fruit.  In the same way, we must trust that God is bringing abundance into our lives, although we cannot see it yet.  St. James' warning is clear:  If anyone among you has hitherto neglected his duties to God, let him listen now to that warning and put his conscience and his life right with God.

Exegesis: Context: Today's Gospel describes how Isaiah's vision of Israel's glorious future is fulfilled unexpectedly by the coming of the promised Messiah and by his healing and preaching mission. But the Jews in general expected a political Messiah who would reestablish the Davidic kingdom after overthrowing the Roman government. Hence, most of them were scandalized by Jesus’ peaceful preaching and shameful death. The disciples of John the Baptist continued to insist that John was indeed the Messiah, and they awaited his return, causing problems to early Christians. Hence, all four Evangelists highlighted John’s important role as the Messiah’s herald but emphasized that John’s was a secondary and subordinate role in salvation history. Matthew, in the second part of today’s Gospel, presents Jesus, the true Messiah, as paying the highest compliments to John the Baptist as his herald and the last of the prophets, and to the courage with which John proclaimed his prophetic convictions.  

John’s reasonable doubts. Scripture scholars over the centuries have wondered why John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the one who was to come. There are two possible explanations: 1) John knew that Jesus was the Christ and, as a prisoner, he wanted his disciples to follow Jesus as their new master. So he sent them to ask Jesus this question and presumed that, once they had met Jesus, they would see for themselves that he was the Messiah and so would become followers of Jesus. 2)  John began to doubt Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah. The silent healing, preaching, saving, and empowering ministry of Jesus was a surprise to John and to those who expected a fire-and-brimstone Messiah. Besides, Jesus had not yet fulfilled John's prediction that the One-to-come would baptize the repentant in the Holy Spirit. Nor did Jesus conform to popular Jewish beliefs about a warrior and a political Messiah who would bring political, social, and economic deliverance to Israel. Instead, Jesus pronounced blessings on the poor in spirit, the meek, and peacemakers (5:1-11).  He called his disciples to love their enemies (5:42-48).  He warned his disciples not to judge others (7:1-5). For John, these teachings might have seemed to weaken rather than to strengthen the Messiah’s cause. Furthermore, Jesus moved away from Jerusalem, the home of the Temple and the center of religious authority, and began his ministry in Galilee among the common people (4:12).  John proclaimed the power of the coming Messiah to bring in a new age, and instead found himself imprisoned in the dungeon of Herod’s prison-fortress at Machaerus, southeast of the Dead Sea. He may have been wondering why the expected Messiah was not setting him free as Isaiah (61:1) had predicted. John may have found sympathetic doubters among his own disciples who might have wondered how the Messiah could leave their own teacher in prison, and how He could usher in the kingdom without political or military might.  This may have been why John sent his disciples to dispel his doubt, asking: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 

Generosity to dispel doubts meets humility to accept correction: Instead of criticizing Jesus or breaking away from him, John approached Jesus through his disciples.   The disciples asked Jesus whether he was the one to come or if they should look for another. John may have had his doubts, but he was open to hearing Jesus say that he was, indeed, the one! John must have recognized the Scriptural allusions behind Jesus' answer.  Isaiah 29:18 speaks of the deaf hearing and the blind seeing.  Isaiah 35:6 speaks of the lame leaping like a deer.  Isaiah 26:19 speaks of the dead becoming alive.  Isaiah 61:1 speaks of good news for the oppressed, the brokenhearted, captives and prisoners.  These were signs of the Messiah's coming.  Jesus could have rebuked John for his doubts, but instead offered him a blessing.  Jesus had not lived up to John's expectations, but John did not allow that to be a stumbling block (skandalizomia).  Soon enough, Jesus would deal with the people of his hometown, who took offense at him (13:57).  Complimenting John, Jesus says that John is the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 ("See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me"), presenting the Baptist as the end-time messenger, the forerunner of the Messiah. 

Life messages: 1) We need to learn how to survive a Faith crisis: From a theological perspective, this entire episode helps us to understand how the experience of a faith crisis can play a role in our spiritual and emotional development. If John the Baptist, even after having had a direct encounter with Jesus the Messiah, could question, doubt and question his Faith, then so can we.  If disillusionment is a necessary precondition for a more resilient faith, then we, too, must be open to its possibilities.  In moments of doubt, despair and disillusionment, we are, indeed, in good company. Occasional doubts – even horrifying doubts – are one thing, but doubts that persist in the face of every Biblical remedy demand careful attention. Let us remember the truth that all our Christian dogmas are based on our trust and faith in the Divinity of Jesus Who taught them, and on His Divine authority by which He authorized the Church to teach what He taught. It is up to us to learn our Faith in depth, so that God will be able to dispel our doubts.

2) “Go and tell others what you hear and see.”  In medieval times, this day—the Third Sunday of Advent—was called Gaudete Sunday, as an equivalent to Laetare Sunday during Lent. As we pray today, we also rejoice that the Lord does not fail to show his power and might.   We rejoice at the thought that Jesus is going to be reborn in our lives, deepening in us His gifts of love, mercy, forgiveness and the spirit of humble and sacrificial service during this Christmas season. During this season, let us joyfully share God’s bountiful grace, forgiveness, and mercy with others.   What Jesus commanded John’s disciples, he commands us as well:  Go and tell others what you hear and see.  

3) We need to open our hearts and let God transform our lives: We, too, should be encouraged by today’s readings.  They remind us that our lives can also be transformed, if we are patient and place our trust in God. The message of Advent is that God is present among us, in our everyday lives.  We must prepare our hearts to recognize and welcome Him.  “If a man is the center of his [own] life, everyone around him becomes hell for him because everyone around him interferes with him and obstructs what he wants to do” (Jean Paul Sartre).  Let us believe in our hearts the Gospel message about Jesus given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Will we allow the Holy Spirit, through these Gospel reports, to create a metánoia (a change of thinking about God, ourselves, and the world) in us during Advent? 

The choir director of a Catholic Church had gone through a great deal of trouble preparing an excellent soprano for a solo for Sunday Mass. As the soloist’s beautiful voice soared through the church, she was suddenly joined by a bedraggled “street person” who had wandered in and taken a seat near the choir. The newcomer’s voice had seen better days, and it quavered along, slightly off-key, through the entire song. The choir members kept looking frantically at the director, who made no move to interrupt the intruder. Afterward, some of the members of the choir asked the director why he hadn’t stopped her. “Because,” he replied, “I wasn’t sure which song God would like better.” (Kate Kellogg, The Catholic Digest, September 1992, p. 65.)

Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil   

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Washington D.C., Dec 6, 2016 / 12:32 am (CNA).- More than 100 presidents of Catholic colleges and universities have reaffirmed their support for undocumented students in light of questions about the future of U.S. immigration policy.

“Many of us count among our students young men and women who are undocumented, their families having fled violence and instability,” said the statement released by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

“We are committed to educating these young people, brought to the United States by their parents, who come to our universities to build for themselves and us a brighter future.”

The statement’s dozens of signatories include the president of Catholic University of America, the only pontifical college in the United States; the presidents of University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University; and the president of the Chicago-based DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the U.S.

These schools’ undocumented students meet the qualifications of the Obama administration’s 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

The policy aimed to allow some children of undocumented immigrants – that is, children who were born in the U.S. and have met certain conditions – to stay for up to two years without deportation.

In June 2016, in a split 4-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a hold delaying the policy from taking effect. It is also in doubt whether this policy will continue under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The Catholic university presidents and other leaders voiced hope that the students qualified under the policy will be able to continue their studies uninterrupted and that many more students in such a situation will be “welcome to contribute their talents to our campuses.”

These students “seek to contribute to American society, to the life and mission of the Church, and to their own formation and growth,” they said.

“Undocumented students need assistance in confronting legal and financial uncertainty and in managing the accompanying anxieties,” said the Catholic higher education leaders.

“We pledge to support these students – through our campus counseling and ministry support, through legal resources from those campuses with law schools and legal clinics, and through whatever other services we may have at our disposal.”

Their statement cited Catholic higher education’s centuries-old presence in American life and its traditions of educating students from a diversity of backgrounds, including “those on society’s margins, especially immigrants and underprivileged populations.”

Pope Francis also made relevant comments at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall during his September 2015 visit to the U.S., the statement noted. Addressing Hispanics and representatives of immigrants in the audience, he said:

“Many of you have emigrated (I greet you warmly!) to this country at great personal cost, in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to this nation.”

 

 

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