Catholic News 2

Orange County, Calif., Feb 29, 2016 / 06:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Obtaining U.S. citizenship could be life-changing for legal residents in Southern California, and Catholics want to help.

“If we work this year to encourage naturalization and citizenship, this will make a real difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles said Feb. 27.  

“We have to keep concentrating on the 'human face' of immigration reform: the names, the stories, the families. Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. We need to show that these faces today are no different from the generations of immigrants that came before.”

The archbishop spoke at the second Immigration Summit at the Diocese of Orange's Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. The annual event focuses on Catholic efforts to help immigrants and is organized by the Catholic bishops of Southern California.

At this year's summit the bishops launched a parish initiative to help thousands of U.S. permanent residents become citizens. The effort will draw on the combined resources of local parishes, Catholic charities, California diocesan administrators and the California Catholic Conference of Bishops.

There are about 2.4 million legal permanent residents in California who are eligible to become naturalized citizens, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security.

Archbishop Gomez acknowledged the political controversy over immigration in the U.S. He encouraged continued work “to show our neighbors who do not understand the immigration crisis what this broken immigration system is doing to people.”

“Our neighbors are good people. They love this country and they want to do good, they want to do the right thing. But they are confused and frightened,” he continued. “We can help them to understand. We can soften their hearts and change their minds. I know we can.”

Over 400 area leaders attended the summit, and came from over 40 parishes in the Fresno, San Jose and Monterey dioceses.

At the end of the summit, the Catholic bishops and clergy led a procession through the Migrant Stations of the Cross. The special display on the cathedral campus was created with the personal belongings of immigrants. The procession used a special cross that Pope Francis had blessed during his visit to Philadelphia called the Cross of the Encuentros.

Archbishop Gomez asked the gathered leaders to “rededicate ourselves to our people – to their names, their stories, their families.”

He cited Pope Francis’ Feb. 17 homily in Juarez. The Pope had said migrants’ journey is “laden with grave injustices” including enslavement, imprisonment and extortion. The pontiff also denounced human trafficking.

“We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis,” Pope Francis said. He emphasized that the crisis should be measured by the names and stories of those involved, not by statistics.

Archbishop Gomez had a similar focus. “Our struggle has never been about politics. It’s always been about people. People who are hurting and exploited, people who are dying,” he said.

The archbishop lamented the two million deportations in the last eight years. He said the vast majority of these people have been ordinary mothers and fathers and in some cases children.

“We need to be honest with ourselves. Politicians in both parties have let us down and ignored our people’s suffering for their own agendas. This is a moral failure and a human tragedy.”

Archbishop Gomez also spoke about how to respond to those without legal resident status.

“We need to keep calling our neighbors to conversion and mercy,” he continued. “We need to help them see that we are all God’s children and that people don’t lose their humanity when they have an irregular immigration status.”

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

Full Article

 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."

"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.

"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU

He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.

The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
---
Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT
Don Clemmer
O: 202-541-3206

Full Article

Full Article

Rome, Italy, Feb 29, 2016 / 11:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Pontifical North American College (NAC) on Sunday officially installed its new rector, Fr. Peter Harman.

The Illinois native was formally installed as the 23rd rector of the Rome-based American seminary at Mass, during which he made his Oath of Fidelity and Profession of Faith.    

“It is with real humility that I stand here today,” the new rector said, during a banquet following the Mass.    

“Although I never imagined becoming Rector, I know accepting this role is how God can use my service for His good.”

Archbishop Newark and College Board of Governors Chairman, Archbishop John Myers, served as the principal celebrant at the Feb. 28 Mass.

“We are grateful to Fr. Peter Harman and the other formators and faculty of the Pontifical North American College for having assumed the responsibility of leading this great community,” Archbishop Myers said in his homily.    

Other notable guests at Sunday's event included Archbishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong, Secretary for Seminaries at the Congregation for Clergy, and Ken Hackett, the US Ambassador to the Holy See.

Fr. Harman replaces Msgr. James Checchio, who recently stepped down after serving as NAC rector for 10 years.

“To have a priest of Father Harman’s caliber with his pastoral and educational background will be a blessing for the seminarians and priests entrusted to his care,” Msgr. Checchio said at the time the new appointment was made.

An alumnus of the NAC, Fr. Harman began his studies at the seminary in 1995, and was ordained in 1999.     

After a stint in Springfield, Illinois, he returned to the Pontifical North American College, where he most recently served as director of pastoral formation, and adjunct instructor in theology at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University.

More than 5,000 priests have been formed at the NAC since its establishment in 1859 by Blessed Pius IX. Currently, more than 250 men are receiving formation at the seminary.

 

Full Article

Vatican City, Feb 29, 2016 / 01:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Today's martyrs have become “the seed of Christian unity,” Pope Francis said Monday during an audience with the leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and his delegation.

“The ecumenism of the martyrs is a summons to us, here and now, to advance on the path to ever greater unity,” the Pope said at the Feb. 29 meeting at the Vatican with Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox.

“Just as in the early Church the shedding of the blood of martyrs became the seed of new Christians, so today the blood of the many martyrs of all the Churches has become the seed of Christian unity.”

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These Churches reject the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were historically considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.

This meeting was the first between Pope Francis and Abune Mathias. Mathias' predecessor, Abune Paulos, however, had met with both St. John Paul II in 1993, and Benedict XVI in 2009.

Pope Francis acknowledged the long history of martyrdom within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which today is seeing a “devastating outbreak of violence” against Christians and minorities in the Middle East and parts of Africa. In April 2015, he had sent his condolences to Abune Mathias when the Islamic State released a video showing a mass execution of Ethiopian Christians by its militants in Libya.

“We cannot fail, yet again, to implore those who govern the world’s political and economic life to promote a peaceful coexistence based on reciprocal respect and reconciliation, mutual forgiveness and solidarity,” he said during the meeting.

Quoting St. Paul's words to the Corinthians that “If one member suffers, all suffer together,” the Roman Pontiff noted that “Shared sufferings have enabled Christians, otherwise divided in so many ways, to grow closer to one another.”

“The martyrs and saints of all the ecclesial traditions are already one in Christ. Their names are inscribed in the one martyrologium of the Church of God.”

Pope Francis said the visit to Rome by Abune Mathias “strengthens the fraternal bonds already uniting our Churches.”

“In the early Church, it was common practice that one Church would send representatives to the synods of other Churches,” he said, adding that a Holy See delegation was present at the 2012 funeral of Abune Paulos.

The Roman Pontiff lauded the advance in“theological dialogue spearheaded by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.

“We are happy to note the increasing participation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church in this dialogue,” he said.

Through the commission, “we have come to see that we have almost everything in common: one
faith, one Baptism, one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,” he continued.

“We are united by virtue of our Baptism, which has made us members of the one Body of Christ. We are also united by the various common elements of our rich monastic traditions and liturgical practices. We are brothers and sisters in Christ.”

“As has often been observed, what unites us is greater than what divides us.”

Pope Francis praised Ethiopia's advancements in improving “the living conditions of its people” and building “an ever more just society, based on the rule of law and respect for the role of women.”

He also spoke of cooperation between the Churches in serving the common good and protecting the environment.

“I am certain of the readiness of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia to work together with the Orthodox Tewahedo Church over which Your Holiness presides.”

The Pope concluded his address by expressing his “fervent hope that this meeting will mark a new chapter of fraternal friendship between our Churches.”

“We are conscious that history has left us with a burden of painful misunderstandings and mistrust, and for this we seek God’s pardon and healing,” he said.

“Let us pray for one another, invoking the protection of the martyrs and saints upon all the faithful entrusted to our pastoral care.”

“May the Holy Spirit continue to enlighten us and guide our steps towards harmony and peace. May he nourish in us the hope that one day, with God’s help, we will be united around the altar of Christ’s sacrifice in the fullness of Eucharistic communion.”

Full Article

Vatican City, Feb 29, 2016 / 01:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The film Spotlight, which won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, is a courageous movie that is not anti-Catholic, the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano said in two articles dedicated to comment on the Oscars.

Historian and journalist Lucetta Scaraffia, in an op-ed titled “It is not an anti-Catholic film,” writes that Spotlight “is not anti-Catholic, as has been written, because it manages to voice the shock and profound pain of the faithful confronting the discovery of these horrendous realities.”

The movie “does not delve into the long and tenacious battle that Joseph Ratzinger, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and as Pope, undertook against pedophilia in the Church,” says Scaraffia, but “one film cannot tell all, and the difficulties that Ratzinger met with do not but confirm the film’s theme, which is that too often ecclesiastical institutions have not known how to react with the necessary determination in the face of these crimes.”

“Not all monsters wear cassocks. Pedophilia does not necessarily arise from the vow of chastity. However, it has become clear that in the Church some are more preoccupied with the image of the institution than of the seriousness of the act,” the op-ed says.

According to Scaraffia, “the fact that a call arose from the Oscar ceremony – that Pope Francis fight this scourge – should be seen as a positive sign: there is still trust in the institution, there is trust in a Pope who is continuing the cleaning begun by his predecessor, then still a cardinal. There is still trust in a faith that has at its heart the defense of victims, the protection of the innocent.”

In another article published in the same edition, L'Osservatore Romano's movie reviewer Emilio Ranzato writes that Spotlight “is not an anti-Catholic film because Catholicism in itself is not even mentioned.”

“It runs the risk of being against the Church because it tends to generalize; but generalizations are inevitable when stories have to be told in just two hours,” he adds.

Spotlight, Ranzato writes, “is without doubt a film with the courage of denouncing cases that need to be condemned without hesitation. And it does it in a detailed manner, grounded in an investigation that is both serious and credible.”

“A film like ‘All the President's men’ remains distant, but McCarthy's instead is a good work, done in a very non Hollywood-style,” he concludes.

Several leading U.S. bishops have also commented on the movie Spotlight. Last November, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops discussed the role of the media in promoting accountability.

“The media was one of the major forces pushing the Church to respond in a way that it had failed to do up to that point, and we are better for it,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville said in a blog post at the time.

He noted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that was adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002. The charter directs efforts to create a safe environment, report suspected abuse and cooperate with civil authorities, discipline offenders and work toward healing and reconciliation for victims.

Stressing the need for continued transparency and vigilance, Archbishop Kurtz reiterated his sorrow for all those who have been victims of abuse.

“We can only be healthy as a Church and as a society if we honestly confront the sexual abuse of children and rebuild relationships one at a time,” he said. “I have been inspired by those victims I have met, and I encourage all victims of sexual abuse and all those who know of any abuse to seek help and to contact law enforcement. I know our pastors, counselors, and all in pastoral ministry stand ready to reach out and support you.”

“Please join me in seeking forgiveness for the sins of members who have hurt children and work with me in efforts to protect our children and youth. May God’s grace guide us.”

 

Full Article