Catholic News 2

 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.
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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
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(Vatican Radio)  Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, celebrated a Mass on Tuesday to mark the close of the Year of Consecrated Life at the Cathedral of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

In his homily for the World Day of Consecrated Life, Cardinal Parolin called the religious men and women of the Slovenian Church to present themselves to the Lord.

“It is this gesture, interior and exterior, which characterizes the today’s celebration: present oneself and to be presented. This was Mary and Joseph’s gesture which, as we heard in the Gospel, ‘When the days were completed for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord.’ This is the gesture which each one of us, especially consecrated men and women, is called to renew, with pure and sincere hearts and with all our dedication.”

Cardinal Parolin went on to remember the long history of the Slovenian Church.  “You can present to the Lord a glorious history, ‘to be remembered and told’. The consecrated life did not take long to appear within your Church, for already St. Jerome wrote to the virgins of Aemona (modern Ljubljana) and to a Aemonese monk named Anthony about his experience of the monastic life in the Syrian desert. He encouraged them to nourish their interpersonal relations in profound and holy communion.”

He concluded his homily by reminding those present to always leave space for the Lord in their consecrated life.

“It’s important, especially today, to not overlook the essentials, overcoming the risk of leaving aside the important for the urgent, the essential for the contingent. Between the thousands of preoccupations and many interests, the things to do and to follow, may we always leave space necessary to daily nourish our personal relationship with the Lord. Let us never forget to leave space for Jesus, so that he may fill it with his blessing and give us every other thing, even wisdom and the creativity necessary to carry out our duties with patience and efficacy.”

Earlier in the day Cardinal Parolin met with Slovenian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, with the two calling for a “humane and solidarity-based” resolution to the refugee crisis.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday met with members of the Pontifical Foundation ‘Scholas Occurrentes’ – an international project based in Argentina that brings together schools and educational networks from different cultures and religious backgrounds.

Following an opening greeting from the Pope, participants presented the work of three projects, linking young people around the world through art, through sports and through a citizenship initiative. Among those taking part in the meeting were a number of well-known sports personalities, including the top Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho.

While he was still Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio himself played a key role in the founding of the Scholas Occurentes’, with the goal of improving education, while empowering and integrating different communities, especially those on the margins of society. The organisation today counts over 400.000 members spread across five continents, yet linked though a shared passion for sports, science, technology and art.

During the encounter, at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican gardens, the organisers announced they would be sponsoring another edition of the “Match for Peace” a celebrity football match to be played at Rome’s Olympic Stadium

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(Vatican Radio) If you are a pilgrim in Rome this week during this Year of Mercy, chances are you will have planned to go through the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica, or if you have really done your research you will be making your way to see the relics of St Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio and St Leopold Mandic who have both been brought to the Eternal City as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

This all sounds a wonderful way to mark this extraordinary year. But, it’s not always possible to make a journey such as this, which is why Pope Francis has insisted on the Year of Mercy being celebrated by the local Church.

Listen to Lydia O'Kane's interview with the Bishop of Middlesbrough, Terence Drainey

Local Church

The Bishop of Middlesbrough in the UK, Terence Drainey was delighted with this idea and told Vatican Radio this emphasis on the “local Church” is so important.

“The diocese that I’m in is a far flung diocese for a starter and on top of that it’s not what you might call an affluent diocese, we have some of the poorest areas in the country, the city of Hull and Middlesbrough itself find themselves in difficulty and the people are not affluent and rich, so the idea of have pilgrimages to Rome and places like that is a good idea but I suspect that the vast majority of people couldn’t even contemplate that.”

Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy

For the Bishop this Jubilee year is significant in ways not least for the Pope ‘s emphasis on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. “The emphasis he’s putting on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy I think are really really apt for us to take hold of and to run with. From a personal point of view we have a lot of prisons within the diocese and we made sure that all the prison chaplains are part of our distribution list of whatever is going on in the diocese and I intend to make sure that I have visited all the prisons during the course of the Year of Mercy…”

Why is mercy so important?

So why is mercy so important in the age in which we live? It’s a question Lydia O’Kane put to Bishop Drainey. Well, we live in a world, I’m afraid that finds mercy quite difficult to handle; mercy is seen as a weakness… Jesus tells us that we have to learn to be merciful as the Father is merciful, which you know is the watchword of the Holy Year…”

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Catholics in Philippines are being urged to support a Church-based feeding program for  the country’s malnourished children. The “Fast2Feed” asks people to fast and donate the money that would otherwise be spent for food to Hapag-Asa program of Pondo ng Pinoy (Funds for Filipinos) of the Archdiocese of Manila and its suffragan dioceses.

In a pastoral letter for Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle asks the faithful to feed hungry children as their concrete act of charity in this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

“It only takes Php 1,200 or ten pesos a day to bring back a hungry and malnourished child to a healthy state in six months,” noted the prelate.

“Let us make a difference in their lives by fasting and donating whatever we save to Hapag-Asa. Let us Fast2Feed,” he said. The program provides not only supplemental feeding but also early childhood education and livelihood and skills training for parents.

Last year, donations  provided more than 21,000  malnourished and undernourished children in the Pondo ng Pinoy member dioceses with warm and nutritious meals every day for six months. The Cardinal said the program’s goal for this year is to feed 25,000 children.

Donations can be made through Fast2Feed envelopes distributed in various parishes and they may be offered during the Mass, or be turned over to the parish office.

Ash Wednesday signals the start of Lent, the season for Catholics especially to do good works, fast and pray. And with the Year of Mercy being observed by the Church, the cardinal said Lent should be a particular occasion to “heed Pope Francis’ call to practice mercy through concrete acts of charity.” 

(CBCP News)

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(Vatican Radio) The most beautiful inheritance we can leave to others is the Faith: that was Pope Francis’ message during Holy Mass on Thursday morning at the Casa Santa Marta. In his homily, he invited us to not fear death, because the course of life continues.

Listen to Christopher Wells' report: 

Thinking about death illuminates life

The day’s first reading tells the story of the death of King David. “In every life there is an ending,” the Pope said. This is a thought “that is not pleasing to us,” that we always pass over, but “it is an everyday reality.” Thinking about death is “a light that illuminates life” and “a reality that we should always have before us”:

“In one of the Wednesday audiences there was among those who were sick a very old sister, but with face of peace, a luminous countenance: ‘But how old are you, sister?’ With a smile she said, ‘Eighty-three, but I am finishing my course in this life, to begin another with the Lord, because I have pancreatic cancer.’ And so, in peace, that woman had lived her consecrated life with great intensity. She did not fear death: ‘I am finishing my course of life, to begin another.’ It is a passage. These things do us good.”

Faith, the most beautiful inheritance

David ruled over Israel for 40 years, the Pope noted. Before dying, David exhorted his son Solomon to observe the Law of the Lord. David had sinned often in life, but had learned to ask for forgiveness – and the Church calls him holy, “a sinner, but a Saint!” Now, at the point of death, David left to his son “the most beautiful and greatest inheritance a man or a woman can leave to their children: He left them the faith”:

“When a will is made, people say, ‘I leave this to one person, this to another, to another person I leave this.’ Yes, that’s fine, but the most beautiful inheritance, the greatest inheritance a man, a woman, can leave to their children is the faith. And David remembered the promises of God, he remembers his own faith in them, and he reminds his son of them, leaving the faith as an inheritance. When in the ceremony of Baptism we give the parents the lighted candle, the light of the faith, we are saying to them, ‘Preserve it, make it grow in your son and in your daughter, and leave it to them as an inheritance.’ Leaving the faith as an inheritance – this is what David teaches us. And he died, simply, like any man. But he knew well what to leave to his son, and what was the best inheritance he could leave: not the kingdom, but the faith!”

God is faithful; He is a Father who never disappoints

We would do well to ask ourselves a question, the Pope concluded: “What is the inheritance I will leave with my life?”

“Will I leave the inheritance of a man, a woman of faith? Will I leave this inheritance to my children? Let us ask two things of the Lord: to not be afraid of this final step, like the sister at the Wednesday audience (‘I am ending my course, but beginning another”), not being afraid. And the second thing, that with our life, we might all be able to leave, as the better inheritance, the faith, faith in this faithful God, this God who is always close to us, this God who is a Father, and who never disappoints.”

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(Vatican Radio) World leaders from 70 countries have been meeting in London Thursday to pledge billions to help Syrians displaced by war. The one-day meeting, is aimed at gathering donations and agreeing on plans for economic and educational projects to help the 4.6 million Syrians who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The meeting opened hours after the latest U.N.-led bid to start peace talks in Geneva was suspended for three weeks.

The U.N. and regional countries say they need $9 billion in assistance for 2016 alone, as the situation in the region deteriorates.

Britain and Norway pledged on Thursday to spend an additional $2.9 billion in aid for Syrians by 2020.

This year's organizers, which include Britain, Germany and the U.N. are also hoping and try to slow the exodus of refugees to Europe.

Frances Guy is head of Christian Aid’s Middle East region and the UK’s former Ambassador to Lebanon.

On Wednesday  she attended the Civil Society Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region, ahead of Thursday’s meeting. The civil society conference was aimed at raising awareness of the situation in Syria, with an emphasis on making the voices of Syrians heard and putting a spotlight on the experiences of Syrian people affected by the conflict.

Speaking to Lydia O’Kane she said, “it was very moving yesterday and I believe they are probably speaking in front of the main plenary (Thursday’s donor conference) but the Syrian NGO’s who came and spoke… they have come from Aleppo and they passionately and very clearly said, …stop the bombs, give us a little bit of aid to help reconstruct and we will all be going home tomorrow. That’s what they need, they need an end to the conflict, obviously, but even a temporary halt to the bombing would help enormously.

Listen: 

Stressing that the London donor meeting should not be a “wasted opportunity”, she commented that “Syrians taking refuge in neighbouring countries need the assurance that funding can bring, but they also need to see host governments change policy so that Syrian children can access education, so that Syrians can work and contribute to their host countries, and so that Syrians can be protected from those who seek to abuse them.”

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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, has appealed for increased funding to support refugees from the Syrian crisis, saying the Holy See will “continue its humanitarian assistance” to the region over the coming year.

The Vatican ‘foreign minister’ was speaking at a conference in London on Thursday entitled ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’. The one day meeting, organised by the British government in partnership with Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations, focused not only on the emergency humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees but also on providing longer term support through jobs, education and economic development of host countries in the region.

In his statement Archbishop Gallagher highlighted the deaths and “ever-increasing human suffering” in Syria as the conflict enters its sixth year. In particular he mentioned the malnourishment of children and other civilians trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.

Holy See responded to Syria crisis from start of conflict 

The Holy See, he said, through the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, and the Catholic Church, through its network of charitable agencies, have been responding to the humanitarian crisis in the region from the start of the conflict. Given the overwhelming humanitarian needs, he said the Holy See “joins its voice to the appeals for increased funding to help refugees and impacted host communities” such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.

Existence of Christians in Middle East "gravely threatened"

In distributing aid, the Vatican diplomat noted, Catholic agencies make no distinction regarding the religious or ethnic identity of those in need and seek always to give priority to the most vulnerable victims. He said that Christians and other religious minorities suffer disproportionately the effects of war and social upheaval in the region, stressing that their very existence in the Middle East remains “gravely threatened”.

Here is the full statement by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States

The Holy See is pleased to participate in the “Supporting Syria and the Region” Conference aimed at responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria that is now, regrettably and painfully, entering into its sixth year. A crisis that is characterised by ever-increasing human suffering, including extreme cases of malnourishment of innocent children and other civilians, especially among the high number of people who are trapped in hard-to-reach and besieged areas and are deprived of essential humanitarian aid. Notwithstanding renewed hopes for the political resolution of the crisis, our humanitarian efforts are increasingly focused on not only emergency aid but also the medium and long-term needs of refugees and host countries. Therefore, the Holy See warmly welcomes the emphasis on providing education, jobs and economic development at this pledging conference.

As we address the humanitarian needs of this crisis, it behoves us to remember that the real cost of this humanitarian crisis is measured by the deaths and suffering of millions of our fellow human beings. In his recent address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, on 11 January last, His Holiness Pope Francis recalled “the plea of thousands of people who weep as they flee horrific wars, persecutions and human rights violations, or political or social instability…forced to flee in order to escape unspeakable acts of cruelty towards vulnerable persons, such as children and the disabled, or martyrdom solely on account of their religion.”  In looking ahead to the First World Humanitarian Summit, which will take place next May, His Holiness expressed his desire that this Summit “will succeed in its goal of placing the person and human dignity at the heart of every humanitarian response”.

The Holy See, through the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, and the Catholic Church, through its network of charitable agencies, have been responding to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region from the very beginning. The funding needs of many Catholic agencies and NGOs are already included in the United Nations Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan [3RP] 2016-2017 in response to the Syria Crisis. The 3RP funding requirement for 2016 alone is significantly greater than the amount appealed for in 2015, which regrettably was only 50% funded. Given such overwhelming humanitarian needs, the Holy See joins its voice to the appeals for increased funding to help refugees and impacted host communities in the 3RP countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt.

In 2015, entities of the Catholic Church (dioceses, Catholic Church aid agencies and Catholic NGOs) with funds received from appeals promoted by national episcopal conferences, private donations of Catholic faithful throughout the world, and in partnership with Governments and International organisations, contributed to providing USD 150 million of humanitarian assistance of direct benefit to more than 4 million people. The following were the principal areas of priority for Catholic agencies in 2015:

Education: USD 37 million for education programmes in Lebanon and Jordan, for both refugees and impacted host communities; Food aid: USD 30 million, of which USD 25 million was distributed in Syria; Non-Food aid: approximately US 30 million in Syria and Iraq; Health: approximately US 16 million was provided to the health sector, particularly in Syria, Jordan and Iraq; and finally, accommodation: US 10 million for accommodation and lodging for refugees and IDPs. A further US 12 million of funds were used in the provision of direct cash assistance, water and sanitation, livelihood and socio-psychological assistance.

On this occasion, I wish to give assurances of the commitment of the Catholic Church to continue its humanitarian assistance in the coming year.

In distributing aid, Catholic agencies and entities make no distinction regarding the religious or ethnic identity of those requiring assistance, and seek always to give priority to the most vulnerable and to those most in need. Particularly vulnerable are religious minorities, including Christians, who suffer disproportionately the effects of war and social upheaval in the region. In fact, their very presence and existence are gravely threatened. For this reason, His Holiness Pope Francis has repeatedly called attention to the particular needs of Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East.

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Chicago, Ill., Feb 4, 2016 / 03:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Chicago area didn’t get the piles of snow that much of the rest of the country did this week, to the disappointment of students and staff at Holy Family Academy.

“We’ve carved out a little cross-country trail for when we get snow, so the kids from first grade on up go cross-country skiing for gym,” Deb Atkins, director of school development, told CNA.

“So, we were cheering for snow, but it’s not happening,” she said. Just rain and cold temperatures.

Normally, the students at Holy Family Academy spend a lot of time outside. Located just outside of Chicago in Iverness, Ill., the school is situated on 20 acres of land that has recently been converted into an “outdoor classroom.”

With the help of the Lincoln, Neb.-based “Nature Explore”, a collaboration of the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, Holy Family Academy became the first school in the Chicago area to have a certified outdoor classroom, which is incorporated into the daily life and learning of the students.

A retention area that used to flood all the time has been allowed to grow wild and return to its native prairie state. There’s a playground, athletic fields, a hill with a rope attached for climbing and rappelling, and a supply of sleds for snowy days.

Almost every class incorporates the outdoor space in some way, Atkins said.

“It really is hard to say where the outdoor classroom stops and the other learning starts,” she said.

Right now, some students are designing a squirrel-proof bird feeder, after the squirrels outsmarted what was a supposedly squirrel-proof bird feeder from the store.

There are several different types of gardens, including a rain garden – designed by third graders – with specifically selected native plants that filter out some of the pollutants that can seep into groundwater.

Atkins said she’s noticed how much more comfortable the students are out in nature since they’ve been using the outdoor classroom.

“It is getting back to nature, appreciating nature,” she said.

“When we first started, we had the little girlies who, if they saw a spider they would scream. Now they come up to me with a grasshopper in hand and say ‘Look what we found!’”

The care and appreciation the kids are learning for creation carries over into everything they do, Atkins said. For example, every year the students participate in a “Know Hunger” campaign, where they research hunger in their area and try to come up with some practical solutions.

The students were especially appalled by the amount of food waste in fields, grocery stores, and even at home, Atkins said, so the school decided to donate extra lunch food to a nearby shelter for elderly people.

“We’re caring for God’s creation, but we’re caring for each other at the same time,” Atkins said.

This upcoming Lent, the students are also going to be participating in “Waste-free Wednesdays,” during which they will learn more about recycling and alternatives to wasting food.

“It’s one of those things where if you start them early, it really becomes a habit,” Atkins said.

The outdoor space has also been a great way thing for students physically – it promotes exercise and even better attention spans in the classroom, Atkins said.

“I have a son who has ADHD, and the worst thing to happen to that guy is that he had to stay in for recess, because he could control himself better if he had physical activity,” she said. “So we don’t have that kind of consequence, that you need to stay in from recess, because it wasn’t working.”

“It really promotes independence and exploring, and physical activity,” she said. “These kids are lifting logs and poles, running around, and we have a hill with a rope attached … it really does get the kids moving.”

Much of the materials for the outdoor space have been made possible through donations, either monetary or plant-like in nature, Atkins said. Three alums of the K-8 school even came back to donate their Eagle Scout projects as part of the outdoor space.

Even before the established outdoor classroom, Holy Family Academy would send its middle school students on overnight outdoor education trips, Atkins said, so the idea of outdoor education and care for creation has always been important to them.

They were even more thrilled when they found out Pope Francis was on board, with the publication of his environmental encyclical, Laudato si'.

“We’ve had an emphasis on this for a while,” Atkins said, “and we just love that the Pope is promoting it, because that’s what we want to do.”

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