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Vatican City, Jul 11, 2017 / 06:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” – in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor.

Though similar to martyrdom, this definition fits those Servants of God who have in some way given up their life prematurely for charity, though the circumstances may fall outside the strict definition of martyrdom, which requires the presence of a persecutor.

The changes were issued in a Motu proprio July 11, which formally added the particular case to the paths by which a person under investigation for beatification may be discerned to be worthy, in addition to the traditional three paths: martyrdom, a life of heroic virtue and the very rare “exceptional cases.”

The change in norms was made with the support of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which studied the matter during a plenary session Sept. 27, 2016.

In the apostolic letter, Pope Francis wrote that “They are worthy of special consideration and honor, those Christians who, following in the footsteps and teachings of the Lord Jesus, have voluntarily and freely offered their lives for others and have persevered until death in this regard.”

“It is certain that the heroic offering of life, suggested and supported by charity, expresses a true, full and exemplary imitation of Christ, and therefore deserves the admiration that the community of the faithful usually reserves to those who have voluntarily accepted the martyrdom of blood or have exercised in a heroic degree the Christian virtues,” the Pope continued.

The document is titled “maiorem hac dilectionem,” or “greater love than this,” after the verse from the Gospel of John which says: “No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”

There are six new articles, including the first making “the offering of life” a new particular case in the beatification and canonization process, as distinguished from the particular cases of martyrdom and heroic virtue.

There are four criteria this case must meet in order to be “valid and efficacious” for the beatification of a Servant of God.

The first, that it is a “free and voluntary offer of life and heroic acceptance” – for the sake of charity – of a certain and non-lengthy death, showing “a connection between the offering of life and premature death.”

There also must have been the exercise, at least of an ordinary level, of the Christian virtues before the offering of life and up until the moment of death, as well as the existence of signs of and a reputation of holiness, at least after death.

And finally, the usual requirement of a confirmed miracle springing from the intercession of the Servant of God for beatification, after his or her death, must be in place.

The burden of responsibility for showing that an offering of life took place is on the diocese or eparchy submitting the positio – the collection of documents which give the evidence supporting the cause for sainthood – to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The remaining changes are largely an amendment of the pertinent norms from the 1983 documents "Divinus perfectionis Magister," Official Acts of the Holy See Vol. LXXV, and “New Laws for Causes of Saints,” to include the term “offering of life” alongside that of “martyrdom” and “virtues.”

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By Carolyn Mackenzie

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Political polarization in America has recently peaked, according to surveys conducted by Pew Research Center and Gallup, among others.

In a time where such polarization threatens civility in public discourse, Catholic leaders in interviews with Catholic News Service called for respect and trust in dialogue and awareness of the opinions of those with whom one disagrees.

"There's been a coarsening of the culture," Gerard Powers, director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, told CNS in a phone interview. "Civility requires a commitment to common social mores and social norms that undergird the culture. It's not something you can legislate."

Powers, who also is coordinator of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network based at the university, explained the importance of listening to opinions that may contradict one's own.

"In most cases, violent conflicts end through negotiation and dialogue," Powers told CNS. "That's why the Catholic Church has always placed such a high premium on faith and dialogue."

Sister Patricia Chappell, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, who is executive director of Pax Christi USA, agreed that civility has declined in society today.

"I think that the media also plays into it," said Sister Patricia. "But there's a sense that we're no longer responsible for each other as being our sisters' and brothers' keepers. There's a sense that it's OK to abuse, injure, destroy, damage other people."

Pax Christi USA, Sister Patricia said, consistently facilitates dialogues between people who differ in their views.

"What we try to do is to actually try to really listen and hear what the individual is saying, and to do that in a way, in a manner that's also with integrity and with respect," Sister Patricia said.

John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, also argued that civility is about respect, adding that one must respect both differing viewpoints and the motives behind them.

"I think civility is about respect," Carr said. "It's about giving people the benefit of the doubt. It's about not challenging people's motives. It's about trying to understand what people are saying before you go after them, and that should be the basics, but unfortunately we've lost that. We've certainly lost that in political debates of this country, and frankly some of that polarization in the country is spilling over into the community of faith, and that's bad for all of us."

Raised in a bipartisan household with a Republican mother and a Democratic father, Carr explained that through this upbringing he learned that those with differing political ideologies can find a great deal of common ground.

"I learned at an early age that we can express our convictions and act on our faith in different ways and different parties, and I guess I learned from there that no one side, no one party, no one perspective, is always right, and a little humility plus a little conviction, and we'd all be better off," Carr said.

At times, however, it is more difficult to find common ground. If people are at odds, Sister Patricia explained, it is possible for them to disagree in a civil manner without moving toward personal attacks.

"I think there is such a thing as civil dialogue," Sister Patricia said. "I believe in mediation, I believe in the ability we have to agree to disagree, but never should we denigrate or dehumanize another individual or a community or a nation of people."

This tendency to dehumanize the other is not lost on Jesuit Father Michael Sheeran, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. Though disagreement may be inevitable, he explained, one can disagree without belittling the other. To facilitate this civil disagreement, Father Sheeran explained the importance of viewing an opposing party as another human.

"Sometimes the dialogue needs to be even on a confidential level so that you can come to believe the other party is not made up of ogres," Father Sheeran told CNS in a phone interview.

For civil dialogue to be successful, Sister Patricia advocates for active listening informed by respect and integrity and being free of "fear of the other," such as other races or religious beliefs.

This fear, Powers argues, often becomes exacerbated in times of national crises.

"Now when there are national security threats, it's mostly a cause not for people to rally around the flag, but it's an opportunity for polarization," Powers said.

Though the nation is polarized, Sister Patricia retains hope for a future of civil discourse grounded upon the premise that more unites us as humans than divides us.

"I honestly believe that as human beings, we have more in common than we do differences," Sister Patricia said.

The Catholic Church itself, Carr said, has unique assets to bring to the realm of civil public discourse, political or otherwise.

"First of all, we have a set of ideas," Carr said. "We've been thinking about human life and dignity, about solidarity, about care for the poor, care for creation since Genesis."

"We also have a lot of experience," Carr said. "Think about it. Who feeds the hungry? Who shelters the homeless? Who educates young people? Who cares for the sick? We do.

"So we ought to bring our experience and our ideas in the public debate," he continued, "and I think in an open forum we have a great chance to prevail because of who we are, because of what we believe, because we're credible and consistent. And so we ought to welcome an open discussion. We ought to be against shutting down speech. We ought to be for a civil, principled, pluralistic discussion of who we are and what we believe, because we have a lot to bring to that discussion."

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By Jean Gonzalez

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- United by the words of the prophet of social justice, Catholic Church leaders urged black Catholics to become active, just disciples of Christ.

More than 2,000 converged on Orlando July 6-9 for the 12th National Black Catholic Congress where speakers -- clergy, lay and religious -- addressed a variety of topics and concerns facing black communities and families, while urging those present to take an active, enthusiastic role in living out the Gospel as just disciples of Christ.

During his homily at the opening Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, Father Patrick Smith, pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Washington, spoke about the "ridiculous power of the Christ on the cross" and how our own suffering can be offered up to God as a source of healing for others.

It is important the community does talk about its struggles, the priest said, but it also must talk about the redemptive power of God on the cross. He added while "racism ultimately leads to death ... a spiritual suicide in our souls," the truths of the Gospel sets lives free.

"That is our anger, but also our source of hope," he said. "You and I cannot appreciate the good news unless we first face and acknowledge the bad news."

The roots of the Black Catholic Congress stem from 1889 with layman and journalist Daniel Rudd, who brought together 100 black Catholic men to exchange and discuss questions affecting their race for not just Catholic blacks, but blacks across the country, and unite for a course of action while standing behind the Catholic Church and its values.

The group met with President Grover Cleveland during its first congress. In meeting and uniting, Father Smith said the Catholic Church demonstrated and voiced how "black Catholic lives mattered," just as other groups have done as they convened when a group has suffered, such as with the pro-life groups who proclaim unborn lives matter.

"Black Catholics are born from the same womb of the baptismal font," Father Smith said, adding that those gathered for the congress did not convene to achieve higher status, but rather to insist on "inclusion" because black Catholics are equal members of the body of Christ.

"And also, more importantly, (we gather) to extort and challenge ourselves to do our part and accept the responsibility in our role in the Church that God has given us. ... We gather to see how to effectively evangelize because eternal life is way too important."

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, offered the opening keynote address that focused directly on the theme of the congress taken from the prophet Micah -- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me: Act justly, love goodness and walk humbly with your God."

His first point reaffirmed the united community of disciples of Christ and the need of inclusion of all "children of God."

"When Pope Francis speaks, he doesn't speak to nations, races and tribes; he speaks to humanity invited to be disciples of Jesus. And we respond first and foremost to this," Cardinal Turkson said. "For there is no Gospel for Africans. There is no Gospel for Americans. There is no Gospel for Italians or Europeans. There is one Gospel for all of us created in the image and likeness of God we seek to respond to. ... God's children all belong together. None are set aside, none should live on the periphery and none are excluded."

To demonstrate the power of being a disciple of Christ, Cardinal Turkson spoke about the story from Exodus of the Israelites following Moses in the desert. He asked those gathered to envision facing the Red Sea with the waters of parted and a path sandwiched between two walls of water.

The cardinal joked "water is never concrete" and some might have questioned what would happen if there was a really big wind. But the example of the Israelites who choose to follow Moses and trust God to hold up the walls of water demonstrates the courage and attitude that modern-day Christians must hold to be baptized in Christ and become just disciples of Christ.

"That is what baptism is. It is not a nominal celebration. It is a decision to live dependent on making Jesus your everything," Cardinal Turkson said, borrowing the words of St. Paul who said after his conversion, "The life I live now is no longer mine." "Anyone baptized lives that life. ... It is not until you surrender your life to Jesus that you will live as a just disciple of Christ."

Justice, reconciliation and peace are tantamount to unite the church family of God. While Cardinal Turkson said challenges such as tribalism in Africa and racism and discrimination in America present struggles, the Catholic Church family is invited to live beyond divisions and live in communion as children of God.

"In this family of God we need to live justly," he said. "When we respect the demands of our relationships, we are just."

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Gonzalez is on the staff of the Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Miami and the dioceses of Orlando, Palm Beach and Venice.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has approved a fourth pathway to possible sainthood -- giving one's life in a heroic act of loving service to others.

In a new apostolic letter, the pope approved new norms allowing for candidates to be considered for sainthood because of the heroic way they freely risked their lives and died prematurely because of "an extreme act of charity."

The document, given "motu proprio" (on his own initiative) went into effect the same day of its publication July 11, with the title "Maiorem hac dilectionem," which comes from the Gospel according to St. John (15:13): "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes, said the addition is meant "to promote heroic Christian testimony, (that has been) up to now without a specific process, precisely because it did not completely fit within the case of martyrdom or heroic virtues."

For centuries, consideration for the sainthood process required that a Servant of God heroically lived a life of Christian virtues or had been martyred for the faith. The third, less common way, is called an equivalent or equipollent canonization: when there is evidence of strong devotion among the faithful to a holy man or woman, the pope can waive a lengthy formal canonical investigation and can authorize their veneration as saints.

While these three roads to sainthood remain unchanged, they were not adequate "for interpreting all possible cases" of holiness, the archbishop wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, July 11.

According to the apostolic letter, any causes for beatification according to the new pathway of "offering of life" would have to meet the following criteria:

-- Free and willing offer of one's life and a heroic acceptance, out of love, of a certain and early death; the heroic act of charity and the premature death are connected.

-- Evidence of having lived out the Christian virtues -- at least in an ordinary, and not necessarily heroic, way -- before having offered one's life to others and until one's death.

-- Evidence of a reputation for holiness, at least after death.

-- A miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession is needed for beatification.

Archbishop Bartolucci wrote that the new norms arise from the sainthood congregation wanting to look into the question of whether men and women who, "inspired by Christ's example, freely and willingly offered and sacrificed their life" for others "in a supreme act of charity, which was the direct cause of death," were worthy of beatification. For example, throughout history there have been Christians who willingly put themselves at risk and died of infection or disease because of aiding and serving others, he wrote.

Pope Francis approved the congregation carrying out an in-depth study of the new proposal in early 2014, the archbishop wrote. After extensive input, discussion and the work of experts, the cardinal and bishop members of the Congregation for Saints' Causes approved in 2016 "a new pathway for beatification of those who offered their lives with explicit and recognized Christian" reasons.

Archbishop Bartolucci wrote that the new provisions do nothing to alter church doctrine concerning Christian holiness leading to sainthood and the traditional procedure for beatification.

Rather, the addition offers an enrichment, he wrote, with "new horizons and opportunities for the edification of the people of God, who, in their saints, see the face of Christ, the presence of God in history and the exemplary implementation of the Gospel."

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Follow Glatz on Twitter: @CarolGlatz.

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