Vatican City may be the smallest sovereign nation in the world but sometimes it seems like its residents couldn't be further apart from each other. From John Allen:

Despite widespread suggestions in the press, and even last April from a Vatican cardinal, that Rome might be on the brink of allowing married couples to use condoms to block HIV/AIDS, a forthcoming document on bioethics from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will not treat this question, that office's number two official has revealed.

The congregation is also working on a project on the subject of natural law, said Archbishop Angelo Amato, the congregation’s secretary.

Amato said that any reconsideration on condoms would have to come from the doctrinal office, and therefore, “Opinions on these issues coming from other institutions or ecclesiastical personalities, however respectable, cannot have the authority that sometimes the mass media seems to want to suggest.”

In part, that appeared to be an indirect reference to comments from April 2006 by Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for Health, who told reporters that his office had been asked by Pope Benedict XVI to study the use of condoms by a married couple when one spouse is HIV-positive and the other is not. Barragan made clear that he would be favorable to allowing condoms in that context, though he stressed that a final decision is up to the pope.

While church teaching bans artificial contraception, some bishops and theologians have argued that in the situation described above, the intent of condom use is not to block pregnancy but to block disease, and therefore condoms should be acceptable. The Vatican has never ruled on that question, and Amato’s comments indicate that it will not do so in the forthcoming document.

Several other cardinals, including Jean-Marie Lustiger, the former archbishop of Paris; Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the former archbishop of Milan; Swiss Cardinal George Cottier, theologian of the Papal Household under John Paul II; Cardinal Godfriend Danneels of Belgium; and Cardinal Cormac Muphy-O’Connor of Westminster, England, have all supported condoms in the context of AIDS in one fashion or another.

Amato described the document currently under preparation as a way to address new bioethical dilemmas, not to revisit the morality of birth control.

Labels: bioethics, moral issues, Vatican

I was hoping I'd find this... via Amy: the homily preached by Fr. Bill Byrne at the Youth Mass in Washington last week before the March for Life. If you were there, you probably liked it and would want to hang onto it just in case you need it someday; for those who missed it, check it out.

(Amy also has links to the other Washington homilies by the eminences)

Labels: homilies, life issues

Well all of my outside work is finished and I'm preparing for my trip to the March for Life in Washington. I have a function to attend with some students at a Dominican Convent this afternoon then we're off. Here's my basic itinerary:

Meet at 8 tonight to get the students all squared away, before a Mass at 9 before we leave. We'll be taking off around 10 and driving all night. We're due to arrive in Washington around 7 tomorrow morning where we'll go right in to the MCI Center to get a good seat for the Mass. After Mass, we'll grab some lunch and then we'll go to the March. We plan to leave Washington at about 5pm and arrive back in Massachusetts by 12:30-1am.

A quick trip to say the least! I don't think I'll be blogging again until Wednesday since I have to teach on Tuesday and there's a hockey game at night. I will need to rest and sleep sometime!

Please pray that my students remain open to whatever reason it is that God has made this trip happen for them. And remember me too... it's only 14 students, but still! If you're going to be there and want to meet up, call me after the Mass and perhaps you can find us where we're eating. If not, we can hopefully catch up at the March itself.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Labels: personal, school

A beautiful tradition... bumped up a day early since it falls tomorrow which is a Sunday. Rocco, as usual, gives a fine summary:

Every 21 January, the Popes have long marked the feast of St Agnes by blessing two lambs. This morning, moved up a day as the liturgical memorial falls on a Sunday, Benedict XVI continued the practice, blessing the lambs in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.

The rite has a dual significance -- a lamb is the traditional symbol of the day's patron, whose name is the feminine form of "Agnus," and it's from the shorn wool of the blessed sheep that the Benedictine Sisters of S. Cecilia in Trastevere weave the year's crop of pallia, the ancient insignia proper to metropolitan archbishops which, for the last two decades, has been conferred on recent appointees to the world's residential archdioceses every 29 June, the solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul, at a papal liturgy. (John Paul II is shown above performing the blessing in 2004 at the close of the Wednesday audience. Before 1984, when Wojtyla instituted the "Pallium Mass," a new metropolitan received his pallium in his cathedral from the hands of a specially-appointed papal legate.)

Once the pallia are made, the lambs-wool bands return to the Vatican, where they're blessed by the Pope after spending the night before their conferral in a gold coffin directly over the tomb of St Peter.

Labels: Catholic culture, Pope Benedict, Vatican

So why do people criticize the Church for being too political? Well, perhaps it's because her main representatives can't shut up! First, full disclosure: everytime I see the name Fr. Frank Pavone, I cringe. Not because I'm not unequivocally pro-life, but because I think he's a little off. I think he's a media hound and that in the grand scheme of things, he's done very little for the movement.

Thanks to Amy, here's his next gaffe:

In a letter to his own supporters, Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said he intends to serve on the Advisory Committee of Brownback’s potential campaign for president.

Senator Brownback has not officially announced his candidacy, but has formed an exploratory committee.

The priest said he is making this endorsement in his personal capacity, and not in the name of any of the organizations he leads.

He said Brownback has his “unequivocal support.” He described the senator as “a hero for the unborn and one of the strongest and most consistent supporters of pro-life policies” since Brownback was elected to Congress in 1994.

Now, how can a priest ever say, "well, I'm not representing the Church"? Isn't that a contradiction? Isn't that a denial of his spousal relationship to his Bride? If it were the other way around... let's say a priest supports Hillary Clinton but only as an individual and not as a representative of the Church. Who would be the first to have his name in the paper with a quote that condemns his brother?

We have to stand firm in our faith, but how does endorsing a political candidate in 2007 America further our mission? To me, it detracts from it and here's another reason I don't like the guy.

Am I wrong?? Could I be the only one who feels like this is a bad idea?

Labels: life issues, politics, priesthood, U.S. Church

This is certainly the story of the day: (h/t to AmP)

A Catholic bishop in Nigeria has instructed parishioners to show they have registered to vote in elections this April or be banned from communion, a newspaper This Day reported on Tuesday.

...

"Whoever has not collected the voter's card after February 7 has automatically alienated himself or herself from the community, the Church, the nation and will not be allowed to receive the holy communion," the bulletin said according to This Day.

Nigerians are due to elect their president, state governors and lawmakers in polls that should mark the first handover from one democratic government to another in Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil producer.

Ed Peters says this and I think he's right to keep a level head about it because, quite frankly, the whole thing sounds bloated at best and a total misrepresentation at worst:

(1) Don't assume the reports are accurate; this information was doubtless subject to many permutations before reaching the West. (2) I would need considerable convincing that specific political activities are ever "a sacred duty", let alone ones whose neglect renders one liable to denial of the Eucharist under 1983 CIC 915. And (3), withholding the Eucharist is not (repeat, NOT) the same thing as excommunication (1983 CIC 1331); and note, I have not seen the bishop claim that it is.

Labels: international

... but we're always so far ahead of the curve!

Not sure if everyone caught this in the New Bedford Standard-Times on Sunday:

The Diocese of Fall River may have been a decade ahead of most of the nation in dealing with sexual abuse by priests, but it lags well behind many others nationally — and all of the others statewide — in making its financial statements accessible to parishioners and the public.

The Archdiocese of Boston, under Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, former bishop of Fall River, as well as the dioceses of Springfield and Worcester, post their annual audit reports on their Web sites in the spirit of full disclosure.

But the Diocese of Fall River, led by Bishop George Coleman, does not. Asked to provide a copy of its audit report, the diocese refused.

The issue of financial accountability dovetails with the massive legal settlements many dioceses, including Fall River, have made with the victims of sexual abuse by priests. (As of 2004, the Diocese of Fall River reported it had paid $16 million to settle 216 claims, mostly to victims of the late former priest James Porter.)

Transparency about where the money comes from and goes is one of the main objectives of Voice of the Faithful, a controversial lay group organized in the wake of the scandals."The Archdiocese of Boston has been the example for everybody to follow," said George Perkins, Ph.D., of Yarmouth, a retired banker, economist and Voice of the Faithful member.

Yet rather than make public its annual audits, the Diocese of Fall River instead publishes an annual report on the contributions and spending in the Catholic Charities Appeal.

"It's not an audited statement. It's an income statement. It's not a balance sheet. And I don't know who produces it," Dr. Perkins said.

John Kearns, the spokesman for the Diocese of Fall River, refused a Standard-Times request for the annual audit. And he said that while the bishop is "looking at" the idea of making it public, the diocese has never done so.

There's more, so don't miss the rest of this is interesting to you.

Labels: local

I meant to post this earlier, then I forgot or didn't have time or whatever.

The Boston Globe on Sunday had three stories regarding relics in the Archdiocese of Boston. They were very interesting and informative. They mention the declining interest many Catholics have in relics, which I think is too bad, yet symptomatic of the fact that most Catholics tend to ignore the history of our tradition and the wonderful saints who have lived heroic lives.

Saints Alive

Church Closings and Relics

Psychology of Relics

Labels: devotions, saints, U.S. Church

Fall River has lost another good one. I suppose we were blessed to have him as long as we did since his health has been so poor for the last few years. He was a man who could joke about all of his myriad heart attacks and then get to the altar and celebrate Mass like he was really doing something supernatural. Let's all be sure to pray for the repose his soul.

Rev. Ralph D. Tetrault, 68, of Fall River died Saturday January 13, 2007 at Catholic Memorial Home.

Born in New Bedford on October 16, 1938, he was the son of the late Norman G. and Mary Jesse (Langford) Tetrault. He was a graduate of Holy Name School in New Bedford and Fairhaven High School, Class of 1956. He began his studied for the Priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, Conn., receiving an Associates Degree in 1959 and a Bachelors Degree in 1961 from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore.

Father Tetrault was ordained a priest on May 1, 1965 in St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River, by the Most Reverend James J. Gerrard, Auxiliary Bishop of the Fall River Diocese. His assignments as a Parochial Vicar included Immaculate Conception Parish, Fall River (1965-1969), St. Patrick's Parish, Wareham (1969-1974, Sacred Heart Parish, Fall River, (1974-1977), and St. Thomas More Parish, Somerset (1977-1981).

He served as Pastor of St. Mary's Parish, North Attleboro from 1981-1994. He was the Pastor of St. Patrick's Parish, Wareham from 1994 until his retirement from active ministry in January 1998 due to failing health. In retirement he resided in Fall River at the Cardinal Medeiros Residence for Retired Priests, while celebrating Mass at the former Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Swansea, St. Dominic's Parish, Swansea, and St. Thomas More, Parish, Somerset.

Survivors include four brothers, Norman of Margate, FL, Wayne and Paul, both of New Bedford, and Gregory of Westport; four sisters, Susan Bryan-Royster of Gloucester; Nancy Rochon of Cumberland, RI, Pamela Silva of Dartmouth; and Valerie Fogarty of Worcester; and many nieces and nephews.

He was the brother of the late Maryann J. DeMelo.

Father Tetrault will be transferred to Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 121 Mount Pleasant St., New Bedford on Tuesday at 2 PM, where he will lie in state until a Wake Service at 7 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday at 11 AM, with Bishop George Coleman as principal celebrant. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Please do not send flowers. Remembrances may be made to the Cardinal Medeiros Residence, 375 Elsbree St., Fall River, MA 02720. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Labels: priesthood

Although the celebration of the Lord's Day is but 28 minutes or so away on the East coast, with the paucity of liturgical memorials this week, I thought it would be nice to point out this wonderful post from Mike Aquilina on Saint Hilary of Poitiers.

Labels: saints

Read this in the Globe this morning made me nervous about the March!

"It looks like we're going to have one more mild spurt this weekend, but by early next week, it should be dramatically cold, and that will likely last through a good chunk of February," said Carl Erickson, a meteorologist for AccuWeather, a national weather forecasting service.

I checked Weather.com since the March is now 10 days away and in range for its 10 day forecast: they're predicting partly cloudy skies with a high of 43 and a 10% chance of precipitation. We'll see how much this changes over the course of next week, but I wouldn't mind if it didn't!

Labels: life issues, random

Dear Sean,

I have noticed that many people refer to you as “Your Eminence.”

I trust and hope that you are urging people to stop addressing you in this manner.

Meaningful Catholics think it’s ridiculous. After all you are but a servant leader, not a king in a castle.

Sincerely,

Paul Kendriick

OK, I'm not sure where to start on this absolutely absurd and unthinkably disrespectful letter. It is amazing to me how people have lost all sense of decorum. I am so disgusted by this man's attitude, that I will say but one thing: I am a thoughtful, meaning, intelligent Catholic. Many of you who read my blog have known the cardinal personally, as have I. He has been in my car! I was even privileged to accompany him as his Master of Ceremonies to Martha's Vineyard a few years ago for a Confirmation. (The rickety little plane ride we took over there is quite the story, but I'll save it for now. ) He is a man who has accomplished so much and tries each day to lead a largely ungrateful flock with integrity.

From now and until the day I die, I will call him "Your Eminence" unless, of course, it would be more proper to call him by the title "Your Holiness" some day. As far as I'm concerned, he's earned every last bit of that title and is yet still a servant. For this doofus to think that he speaks for "meaningful Catholics" shows a tremendous lack of activity in the frontal lobe not to mention a total disregard for the millions of our brothers and sisters who have, through trial and persecution, preserved our great faith.

His comment is posted on the December 29th entry on Cardinal Sean's blog if you feel the need to register your disgust.

Labels: random, U.S. Bishops

Need I say it's been crazy since the end of vacation. Friday is the last day of the second term and next week is mid-terms. My office, my classroom, and my life in general is not pretty.

Add to this a new and interesting development. My school has a respect life club that sends some of its members to the March for Life in DC. I thought it would be nice to open that up to the whole school since I know what a great experience it is for high school students. Well, big mouth made a lot of waves and probably a few enemies along the way because the administration went with my idea.

In many ways I feel quite awful since I think the advisors to the club are unhappy with me about it. Since students are actually going (only two or so had planned on going originally), I have to go now with the students who have signed up this week (about 17 so far). I'm glad I'm going; but the other teachers aren't (I don't think) so I feel terrible. What a mess!

To those of my friends who read this... we'll be at everything including the MCI Center Mass. We should plan to meet up, but you'll have to come to me since I'll have the cherubs. Be sure to call me and I'll try to call you.

Labels: personal, school

Interesting way to do business:

With the approval of the Vatican, organizers of the 2008 World Youth Day events in Australia will charge registration fees based on the wealth of each pilgrim's home country.

"The pricing structure ensures that pilgrims from more affluent nations, including Australian pilgrims, share in a reasonable part of the costs of WYD08 and support pilgrims from less-affluent nations," said an announcement on the event's official Web site.

Organizers said the four-tiered registration fee system was based on national income classifications developed by the World Bank.

Pilgrims from Australia, the United States, Canada and Western Europe, but also Poland, Mexico and several Caribbean countries will be asked to pay higher registration fees than pilgrims coming from middle- and low-income countries.

Pilgrims from countries in the South Pacific that have been classified either as "lower middle" or "low income" -- such as Fiji, East Timor and Papua New Guinea -- will be offered the steepest discount.

The most comprehensive package includes accommodation in a church facility or private home July 14-20, most meals during the period and local transportation. Pilgrims from the wealthiest nations wanting the full package will be asked to pay $395 Australian (US$308).

Registration just for the weekend of July 19-20, including three meals and transportation, will cost $175 Australian (US$136).

The price list is published on the World Youth Day Web site, www.wyd2008.org.

Organizers said registration for groups would open by late March while individual enrollments would be accepted starting in the middle of the year.

Labels: evangelization, international, youth

McBrien's recent column:

Inflation is an economic term that refers to a situation in which the value of money decreases while the price of consumer goods remains the same or increases. The dictionary defines the verb "to inflate" as "to fill something with air or gas so as to make it swell; to enlarge or amplify unduly or improperly."

Inflation not only occurs in the economic order; it can also occur in the Church. When claims for religious truth are "enlarged or amplified unduly or improperly," the actual truth loses some of its credibility. The extreme consequence of such inflation is that all religious truths lose their value.

These considerations came to mind when the bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, published in his diocesan newspaper portions of a letter sent to him in late November by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. Cardinal Re has upheld the bishop's decision rendered more than ten years ago to excommunicate members of his diocese who belonged to the national lay organization Call to Action and 11 other groups.

The bishop had claimed that membership in such organizations is "always perilous to the Catholic faith and most often is totally incompatible with the Catholic faith."

...

These claims beg the question: What constitutes "the Catholic faith"?

Is every official teaching of the Catholic Church, at whatever level, and every disciplinary decree of a Roman congregation a matter of "Catholic faith," or what the traditional Latin manuals of theology called "de fide"?

Is there no doctrinal difference, for example, between the Church's current discipline of obligatory celibacy for priests of the Latin rite and the teachings of the ecumenical councils on the divinity of Jesus Christ? Is the belief in angels on the same doctrinal level as belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist?

Are the matters of faith contained in the Creed that is recited at Mass on Sundays and great feasts of no greater doctrinal authority than the Church's current teaching on the ordination of women or the current practice in the Roman Catholic Church regarding the selection of bishops.

Labels: doctrine, U.S. Church

Two random stories from CNA:

EWTN will be host to some pro-life programming this month.

A new daily Catholic paper out in California:

The digital newspaper has articulated as its mission “to speak out against the false gods and idols of the day – materialism, hedonism, consumerism, narrow nationalism... holding up for all to see a body of moral truth based on human dignity and rights... and unconditional respect for all human life from conception to natural death.”

Labels: life issues, media, random

Dare to hope this will make a difference:

Scientists reported Sunday they had found a plentiful source of stem cells in the fluid that cushions babies in the womb and produced a variety of tissue types from these cells -- sidestepping the controversy over destroying embryos for research.

Researchers at Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported the stem cells they drew from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells. They reported they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone.

"Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs as well," said Dr. Anthony Atala, head of Wake Forest's regenerative medicine institute and senior researcher on the project.

It took Atala's team some seven years of research to determine the cells they found were truly stem cells that "can be used to produce a broad range of cells that may be valuable for therapy."

However, the scientists noted they still don't know exactly how many different cell types can be made from the stem cells found in amniotic fluid. They also said that even preliminary tests in patients are years away.

Labels: bioethics

Sorry for the absence today. School was very nice and I'm glad to be back.

The 100th edition of the Catholic Carnival is up. Visit it here. I actually submitted a post this time (the summary of the hierarchy in 2007). So for those visiting The Keys Are Mightier for the first time, welcome. Be sure to visit and bookmark my home page. Feedback is most welcome at thekeysaremightier at gmail.com.

Thanks everyone!

Labels: site news

Happy New Year!

But, more importantly, we remember today the Theotokos: Mary, the Mother of God.

Paul VI had this to say in Marialis Cultus (#5):

In the revised ordering of the Christmas period it seems to us that the attention of all should be directed towards the restored Solemnity of Mary the holy Mother of God. This celebration, placed on January 1 in conformity with the ancient indication of the liturgy of the City of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the "holy Mother...through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life."[17] It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace. It is for this reason that, in the happy concurrence of the Octave of Christmas and the first day of the year, we have instituted the World Day of Peace, an occasion that is gaining increasing support and already bringing forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many.

David sent me his homily today and he ends with this very telling thought:

We do not honor Mary for her own sake, but because she is constantly pointing us to her son. In our dealings with the world and with each other, we need to lead others to Christ. God’s love needs to so fill us that in all that we say and do we point to Christ, and do so with an open and generous heart. This is the way to sanctity, the way to happiness, the way to love, the way to the new and eternal Jerusalem.

Read his whole homily here.

For the theologians out there, you can read about Mary's divine maternity at the University of Dayton's website.

Lastly, today is also the World Day of Prayer for Peace. The theme chosen by our Holy Father this year is "The Human Person, the Face of Peace." You can read his beautiful message here.

I have to meet students at the soup kitchen today. It's a wonderful way to begin the new year. I'm not sure when I'll be back to post. However, I wish you all a very blessed new year and I thank you quite sincerely for your loyal visiting in 2006.

Labels: Virgin Mary

The Code of Canon Law requires that all diocesan bishops submit a letter of resignation to the Holy See on their 75th birthday. After due consideration of various circumstances, the Holy See decides when to accept the resignation and appoint a successor (Canon 401, § 1). Likewise, in the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici Gregis of Pope John Paul II (February 22, 1996), a document which governs the papal interregnum and the conclave that elects a new Roman Pontiff, the prescript laid down by Paul VI that cardinals who have reached the age of 80 can no longer vote in the next papal conclave was confirmed. Thus, this becomes a significant milestone in the life of a prince of the Church.

During the year, eight cardinals will turn 80 years old. Some of these eight held or currently hold important positions in the Church. First among them is Cardinal Sodano, who just relinquished his role as the second-in-command at the Vatican as the Secretary of State in September. The Chamberlain, Cardinal Somalo, who plays a key role in a papal interregnum will turn 80 in March. Cardinal Martini, S.J., often mentioned as a possible candidate for the papacy in the last conclave, will celebrate his birthday in March. Finally, Cardinal Szoka, an American who until this past September was the head of Vatican City-State, will turn 80 in September. Rounding out the list are Cardinals Rivera of Mexico City, Paskai of Budapest, Macharski of Krakow, and Vithayathil of the Syro-Malabar Rite in India.

Going into the new year, there are fifteen Ordinaries in the United States who are already past the normal retirement age, including two cardinals (Maida of Detroit and Keeler of Baltimore) and two archbishops (Kelly of Louisville and Lipscomb of Mobile).

In 2007, one cardinal, Edward Egan of New York, will turn 75 (April 2) along with Cardinal Stafford, an American native, who is currently the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary in Rome (July 26). Two archbishops, Eldin Curtiss of Omaha (June 16) and Alfred Hughes of New Orleans (December 2) will reach this milestone.

Four ordinaries will turn 75 this year. They are Bishops Nevins of Venice (January 19), Murray of Kalamazoo (July 5), Moynihan of Syracuse (July 16), and D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend (August 18). The list also includes three auxiliaries: Bishops Quinn of Cleveland (April 8), Dougherty of Scranton (April 29), and Chavez of San Diego (May 9).

Original location

Labels: U.S. Bishops, Vatican

This year as I wish you all a Happy New Year, please remember that our faith comes at a price. Last year's list via Spero News (h/t Amy):

The Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of People and the FIDES news service published on December 30 its roster of missionaries who died violently while spreading the Gospel in 2006. According to the Congregation, 24 priests, professed religious, and lay people were murdered in various parts of the world. The document does “not intentionally use the word ‘martyrs’” so as not to anticipate in any way the judgement of the Vatican as to their eventual beatification or canonization as saints.

See the whole list.

Labels: evangelization, international