Church (ecclesiology) – Page 8

Cardinal John P. Foley retires to the USA due to illness

John Patrick Cardinal Foley, 75, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem retired from his work in Rome due to the illnesses of luekemia and anemia. He returned to his native Philadephia. His return to the USA was swift after submitting a letter of resignation to the Cardinal Secretary of State on February 8 and meeting with His Holiness, Pope Benedict on February 10; he was home on the 12th.

Foley is the former editor of the Phildelphia Catholic newspaper The Catholic Standard & Times and the former President of the Pontifical Council of Social Communications. The Cardinal held his position at the Holy See for 23 years.

His Eminence freely admits his physical diminishment but is facing his illness with courage and with Christ at the center. His diagnosis was received in September 2009.

Read the CNS story here.

By the numebrs: Catholic grow and diminishment around the world

On February 19th,
the Cardinal Secretary of State, His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone SDB
and Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the assistant for General Affairs, presented
the Holy Father the 2011 Annuario Pontificio. The Annuario is the pontifical
yearbook with everything you want to know and more. Highlights in this edition:

In 2010, the
Pope erected 10 new episcopal sees, 1 apostolic exarchate and 1 apostolic
vicariate. One diocese was elevated to the rank of metropolitan see, two
prelatures to the rank of diocese, and two apostolic prefectures and one
apostolic administration to the rank of apostolic vicariates.

The world’s Catholics
increased from nearly 1,166 million in 2008 to 1,181 million in 2009, an
increase of fifteen million faithful which corresponds to a growth of 1.3%.

The distribution
of Catholics among the continents. Between 2008 and 2009:

Continue reading By the numebrs: Catholic grow and diminishment around the world

SSPX detente?

The religion editor for Reuters published an article “Catholic splinter group sees no Vatican accord” on the eve of Vatican-Society of St Pius X talks ending but with no resolution. Why this group of priests persists in living outside the Catholic Church and under the unity of Pope Benedict is beyond me. Hubris is a good word but the issues are complex. Certainly there are some legitimate doctrinal issues that have surfaced following the Second Vatican Council on which the SSPX adherents are correct in objecting to. But their manifest schism from the Church of Rome is not the way to renew doctrine and to have care for the salvation of souls. I think Bishop Bernard Fellay is too obstinate to accept any offer of Divine Grace from the Trinity.

Change in the College of Cardinals

With the Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, 84, who requested to be made a cardinal-priest and because of his age, the College of Cardinals gets a new proto-deacon (that is, the first among the deacons of the College).

Jean-Louis Pierre

Cardinal Tauran, 67, from France, is currently the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. His central duty as the proto deacon is to announce to the world that a new pope has been elected at a conclave. He will say:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum N. (first name) Sanctaee Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem N. (the surname) qui sis nomen imposuit N. (the papal name).

The French born proto deacon was ordained a priest of Bordeaux in 1969 and was ordained a bishop in 1991. He has served as Secretary for Relations with States in the Secretariat of State till 2003 when he was created a cardinal and appointed the Church’s archivist and librarian. In 2007, Pope Benedict named Tauran the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.

Transitioning from Husar to new era in the Ukrainian Church …?

In the past weeks we’ve seen the Pontiff accepting the resignation of His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, 78, as the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Bishop Ihor Voznyak is the temporary administrator of the Church until a new leader is elected.

The Ukrainian Church is the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches with its own tradition, law, discipline, and customs; in Church law we’d call the Ukrainian Church an Ecclesia sui juris. As a note, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is alternately called the Union Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite or the Kyivan Catholic Church. Empress Maria Theresa introduced the designation of Greek-Catholic in the title of the Church in 1774. In 1999, the Synod of Bishops introduced the name “Kyivan Catholic Church.”

Continue reading Transitioning from Husar to new era in the Ukrainian Church …?

Severed from dependence & completion in God we forget about our eternal destiny in communion with God, Pope reminds Filipino bishops

The Philippines is the most populous Catholic nation in Asia. We ought to be aware that the Catholic faith has been in the Philippines for 5 centuries now!!!!

These days, among the many things Benedict XVI is doing, he’s meeting with the Filipino bishops who are praying at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, all in an effort to strengthen the bond of unity between the universal Church and the Church in the Philippines. This is the second group of bishops from the Philippines led by Archbishop Palma of Cebu, is in Rome for the ad Limina. A third group will begin their visit on the 21st. Benedict addresses the body the bishops and also meets individually with each bishop. Every 5 years a bishop who heads a diocese is to make a pilgrimage to Rome to pray, to visit with the pope to report on the state of evangelization of the local church and to visit with the various departments at the Holy See. A quinquennial report is sent ahead of a bishop’s visit to the Eternal City so that the pope can study the good and areas of need of a particular diocese. It is the expectation that the ad Limina Apostolorum, to the threshold of the Apostles, helps in the transparency in bishop’s concern for the salvation of souls. What Benedict told the Filipino bishops today is appropriate for us here in the USA. A portion of the text is given below with my notations for emphasis.

Filipino culture is also confronted with the more
subtle questions inherent to the secularism, materialism, and consumerism of
our times. When self-sufficiency and freedom are severed from their dependence
upon and completion in God, the human person creates for himself a false
destiny and loses sight of the eternal joy for which he has been made. The path
to rediscovering humanity’s true destiny can only be found in the
re-establishment of the priority of God in the heart and mind of every person.

Continue reading Severed from dependence & completion in God we forget about our eternal destiny in communion with God, Pope reminds Filipino bishops

Still at the beginning of a papacy

In some comments made of a book on the papacy of Benedict XVI, Archbishop Rino Fisichella said that at the beginning of every pontificate the new pope and the Church face certain challenges that are normal. As Fisichella, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization reminded his audience, we’re only 6 years into Benedict’s ministry as the head of the Catholic Church. None of the things that blotted the pope’s copybook (that is, have caused the Pope to expend political capitol) are new and that extraordinary; change is always needed in the Church moving to a new administration. All of the recent popes have had to deal the growing pains of transitioning from pontificate to another. In Fisichella’s interpretation, and I concur, the central issue of Benedict’s work is one of formation, a new education in the faith of all the faithful, including the higher and lower clergy. However, I do think that some of the people that work directly or indirectly at the Holy See have not been as helpful as they possibly could be so as not to have Benedict kicked by the secular media at every “major” event.

Read John Thavis’s CNS blog post.

Legion of Christ forms commission on Maciel, expands Council

The ongoing reforms for the Legion of Christ to make it more user- friendly continue to be rolled out. The efforts of the Legion’s leadership which is overseen and directed by the papal delegate Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, CS, established a more transparent set of procedures by forming a commission to give objective results on legitimate concerns (see this link for detailed contact info) in dealing with Marciel Maciel’s sordid past in a honest and charitable manner. The Cardinal also expanded the superior general’s council (a set of advisors) from 4 to 6.

Dolan writes to Members of the 112th Congress

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan’s letter to Members of the 112th Congress speaks for itself. As he notes, US Catholics are the largest religious body in the USA. 68 million, 22% of the US population. There are 195 archdioceses and dioceses with one apostolic exarchate. Other interesting statistics can be found here.

Dear Member of
Congress,

As a new Congress begins, I write to congratulate you and to outline
principles and priorities that guide the public policy efforts of the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As President of the Bishops’
Conference, I assure you of our prayers and hopes that this newly elected
Congress will advance the common good and defend the life and dignity of all,
especially vulnerable and poor persons whose needs are critical in this time of
difficult economic and policy choices. We continue to seek ways to work
constructively with the Administration and the new Congress and others of good
will to pursue policies which respect the dignity of all human life and bring
greater justice to our nation and peace to our world.

As bishops, of course we
approach public policy not as politicians but as pastors and teachers. Our
moral principles have always guided our everyday experience in caring for the
hungry and homeless, offering health care and housing, educating children and
reaching out to those in need. We lead the largest community of faith in the
United States, one that serves every part of our nation and is present in
almost every place on earth. From our experience and our tradition, we offer a
distinctive, constructive and principled contribution to the national dialogue
on how to defend human life and dignity, promote and protect marriage and
family life, lift up those who experience economic turmoil and suffering, and
promote peace in a world troubled by war and violence.

Continue reading Dolan writes to Members of the 112th Congress

Problems with the NeoCats? Are changes in the Neocatechumenal Way coming, too???

Problems with the Neocatechumenal Way? There seems to be problems with the NeoCats with some of the bishops in Japan to the point that mediator is being appointed. You will recall that the Holy See asked the NeoCats to conform their liturgical ceremonies –Mass included– to what the Church teaches and expects. They did an odd ceremonial for Mass and claimed some sort of historical precedence. In a church with 2000 years of history, there’s precedent for everything. Plus, they’ve been accused of setting parallel church structures in the parishes where they have a following. I have to say, I think the Church ought to listen to the Japanese bishops. Some of the problems with the NeoCats sound similar to those with the Regnum Christi when talk like “cult like” sensibilities. Also, with lots in the high placed churchmen supporting the work and life of the NeoCats it will difficult to unravel some facts from fiction. This was also true of the Legionaries of Christ.

The story…