Holy See – Page 11

Daniel M. Buechlein, Archbishop of Indianapolis, retires

The Most Reverend Daniel Mark Buechlein, 73, has had his request for an early retirement from the Office of Archbishop of Indianapolis accepted by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI due increasing concerns of health. In recent months has been dealing with the effects of a mild stroke complicated by other issues like cancer.

The Archbishop has served the Archdiocese of of Indianapolis as the 5th Diocesan Ordinary since 1992. In 2003, the Pope appointed the Archbishop a consultor to the Congregation of Clergy.

Archbishop Daniel will return to the Archabbey of St. Meinrad, the Benedictine abbey of his profession of vows and the place where he served prior to becoming Bishop of Memphis in 1987.

Saint Benedict and Saint Maurus, pray for Archbishop Daniel, and for us.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien to lead the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

It sounds like this appointment of Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, 72, to head the 1000 year old lay group Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The video of the press conference where Archbishop Edwin O’Brien announces he’s going to head the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Up to now he’s been the 15th Diocesan Ordinary of Baltimore; in 2007 Benedict appointed O’Brien to succeed Cardinal William Henry Keeler.

Several articles from Baltimore’s Catholic Review shed some light on Archbishop O’Brien: here, here and his own remarks.

As the Archbishop promised when he took over the Baltimore Archdiocese nearly four years ago, “Whatever I am and all that I have, I give to you” will be the same pledge to the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre.

Here’s a piece on the playful side of Edwin F. O’Brien.

Ján Chryszostom Cardinal Korec, SJ

An interesting and unique anniversary is being observed by a member of the College of Cardainls: Ján Chryzostom Korec, SJ, the emeritus bishop of Nitra (Slovak Republic), 87, Bishop Pavel Hnilica ordained the cardinal secretly in a hospital room.

The cardinal is an exceedingly interesting man. When I met him in 1997 when he was making a US tour of Slovak communities, his interaction among his hosts was wonderful. He received an honorary Doctorate from Sacred Heart University on that visit to Connecticut.

Cardinal Korec’s statistics are fascinating: nearly 61 years a priest, 60 years a bishop and 20 years a cardinal.

Here’s the Pope’s congratulatory message:

Venerabili Fratri Nostro
IOANNI CHRYSOSTOMO S.R.E. Card. KOREC, S.I.
Episcopo emerito Nitriensi

Laeti laetum nuntium accepimus quod tu, Venerabilis Frater Noster, sexagesimam propediem anniversariam celebrabis memoriam illius diei semper tibi recolendi, quo Episcopus consecratus es et inter Apostolorum Successores relatus, huius nominationis occulte nactus honorem.

Quemadmodum tam felicis nec non praeclari eventus ratio poscit, Nos, commemorantes ministerium sacrum quod diligentissime tot annos peregisti, te actuosum, fidelem ac prudentem Pastorem enixe laudamus praesentiamque spiritualem Nostram hac in festivitate tibi pollicemur.

Dum ergo flagrantia vota, quaecumque sunt salutaria, optabilia, fausta adprecantia, imo e pectore promimus, a sanctissimo ac sempiterno Deo tibi supernorum munerum copiam imploramus, quorum auspicium simul atque propensae voluntatis Nostrae pignus esto Apostolica Benedictio, quam tibi amantissime impertimus.

Ex Arce Gandulfi, die XV mensis Augusti, in Sollemnitate Assumptionis Beatae Mariae Virginis, Anno MMXI, Pontificatus Nostri septimo.

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

Prayers for Bishop David M. O’Connell, CM

Prayers are requested for the Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, CM, Bishop of Trenton, 56, who is suffering the effects of an blood infection and clot in his foot made more complex due to diabetes.

The Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, the religious family to whom Bishop O’Connell belongs, sent a request for prayers the other day. We happily oblige.

Pietro Sambi, 73, Pope’s ambassador to the USA, RIP

His Excellency, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, 73, died tonight complications following a delicate lung surgery.

His family was called to his bedside last week.

The Archbishop’s work in the USA was to be the Pope’s ambassador to government and to be the Pope’s voice to the Church here. He’s been in the USA since 2006.

In ministry, Sambi has been a priest for 47 years and a bishop for 25.

The Church has lost a wonderful brother, priest and witness to Jesus Christ.

May the Good Shepherd guide Archbishop Sambi to full communion with Him.

Bishop Robert Lynch remembers the Nuncio on his blog.

May Pietro Sambi’s memory be eternal.

Vatican Nuncio to Ireland recalled

In an extraordinary act, the Holy See has recalled the papal nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, 68, to Rome to understand the implications of the July 13, 2011 Cloyne Report (421 pages worth) that indicated yet more of the clerical sex abuse.

This is a most dramatic and essential step in getting to the bottom of the problem of abuse and the response of the Church. The recall, initiated by the Holy See, is being interpreted by the same as the degree of seriousness it wants for an effective response to the failure to protect children and for greater collaboration with the Irish government. This recall is not a permanent close to diplomatic relations between the Irish Republic and the Holy See; it is a measure for greater clarity on how to respond to the crisis.

Hopefully Archbishop Leanza has the grace and competency to be effective in Ireland. His own experience hints that he can be helpful. He is the former papal nunico to Haiti, Malawi, Zambia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bulgaria before going to Ireland in 2008.

The Cloyne Report July 13, 2011.pdf

Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid of Ireland, pray for us.

Virgilio Cardinal Noè, RIP, former Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica

One the well-known faces in the Vatican curia died earlier today. Virgilio Cardinal Noè, 89, died in Rome.

Noè has been a cardinal since 1991. He was the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City State, the President of the Fabric of St Peter’s Basilica and the Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Noè’s face was recognizable due to his work as the pontifical Master of Ceremonies, a ministry he held since Pope Paul and one that he had under the Pope John Paul II until 1982.

Cadinal Noè is remembered for his faithful service as a priest and adherence to the Gospel.

Charles Joseph Chaput 9th Archbishop of Philadelphia, Pope nominates

It is expected that Pope Benedict XVI will nominate Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput, OFM Cap., 66, of Denver, a Native American Indian (Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe), as the 13th Bishop and 9th Archbishop of Philadelphia. He replaces His Eminence, Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali, 76, who has served the Archdiocese since 2003. The Cardinal has been a priest for 50 years, a bishop for 26 years and a cardinal for nearly 8 years.

Charles Joseph Chaput was born in Concordia, Kansas. He entered
the Saint Augustine Province of the Capuchin Franciscans in 1965, professing vows at 21 in 1967.

Chaput earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Saint Fidelis College Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania, in 1967, and completed Studies in Psychology at Catholic University in Washington DC, in 1969. A year later he earned a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Capuchin College in Washington DC and was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1970. By 1971, Father Charles Chaput earned a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of San Francisco.

For several years Father Chaput served the Capuchin mission as a teacher, spiritual director, pastor, and in the administration of his Capuchin province. In 1988, Pope John Paul II nominated Father Charles Chaput as the Bishop of Rapid City, SD. The same Pope appointed him Archbishop of Denver on February 18, 1997.

The new Philadelphia archbishop has been a priest for 41 years and a bishop for 23 years. Archbishop Chaput is one of two Capuchin archbishops and he’ll be the second American Capuchin, on the east coast, –the other being Boston’s Archbishop, Seán Patrick Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap.– and the first Native American to be a cardinal; Philadelphia is not expected to forego its cardinalatial status as St Louis and Detroit have done. It is unlikely, however, that Chaput would be given the cardinal’s title for 4 years.

According to the 2010 stats, there are 1.46 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

According to the 2006 stats, there are 400 thousand Catholics in the Archdiocese of Denver.

Get to know Archbishop Chaput’s thinking by reading his addresses found here.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis and Saint Clare, Saint John Neumann, pray for Archbishop Chaput and the faithful of Philadelphia.

L’Osservatore Romano lauded by Pope for 150 years of service

The Pope met with “The Most Distinguished Prof. Giovanni Maria Vian, Editor-in-Chief of L’Osservatore Romano” today observing the paper’s 150th anniversary to what is called “A service to truth and to justice.” Hearty congrats to Prof. Vian and to his staff for the insight, planning, and good journalism for the world-wide Catholic communion. The paper is often said the “pope’s newspaper” and that it’s the official newspaper of the pope. In reality L’Osservatore Romano is not that controlled by neither the Pope nor the Secretary of State, though the latter is the supervisor of the paper. Recall that the LOR was not founded by a pope or a member of the Roman Curia; it was a personal initative of the laity with support of the papal government of 1870. As Benedict recalls for us in his address to Vian and staff, the principle of justice based on Christ’s promise that evil would not triumph is what oriented the work of LOR. The only official part of the paper is the list of papal appointments. It would be simple to dismiss the paper or to look at LOR as mere parrotting of papal ideology. On the contrary, LOR does excellent work with matters to faith, reason, culture, and politics and related interests Prof. Vian has taken the LOR to a new level. LOR is “a paper of ideas, an organ of formation, not only of information.”

The papal address is posted here and the concluding paragraphs are noted below.

“In our day — frequently marked by the lack of reference points and the removal of God from the horizon of many societies, even of those with an ancient Christian tradition — the Holy See’s daily stands as a “paper of ideas”, an organ of formation and not only of information. It must therefore be able to stick faithfully to the task it has carried out in this past century and a half, paying attention in addition to the Christian East, to the irreversible ecumenical commitment of the different Churches and Ecclesial Communities, to the constant quest for friendship and collaboration with Judaism and with the other religions, to discussion and to cultural exchanges, to the voice of women and to bioethical topics that give rise to questions crucial to us all.

By pursuing its open policy towards new signatures, and an increasing number of contributors — and highlighting the internet dimension and breadth of readership, present since the daily newspaper’s very beginning, after 150 years of a history of which it may well be proud, L’Osservatore Romano knows how to express the Holy See’s cordial friendship for the humanity of our time, in defence of the human person created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Christ.

For all these reasons I wish to address my grateful thoughts to all those have worked on the newspaper of the Holy See from 1861 to this day: to the Director, to the editorial staff and all the personnel. To you, the Editor-in-Chief, and to all who cooperate today in this exciting, demanding and praiseworthy service to truth and justice, as well as to the benefactors and supporters, I assure my constant spiritual closeness and warmly impart a special Apostolic Blessing.

Angelo Scola: how do we face the post-modern world as a Church? In happiness and freedom as announced by Christ!

Gerry O’Connell speaks to the Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola – son of a socialist truck driver and a profoundly Catholic mother. He is also a leading intellectual in the Italian Bishops’ Conference and one of the more creative and original thinkers in the College of Cardinals.

Q. What do you see as the main challenges facing the Catholic Church today?

A. I think the principal challenge, which the Church shares with every other social subject in the field, is the interpretation of the post-modern. The question is; have we, or have we not entered the post-modern world? Certainly the collapse of the Berlin Wall has marked a rather radical mutation that can be seen in certain macroscopic phenomena.

Indeed, what is happening in the Middle East is like a second phase of what happened in 1989. There is obviously a strong desire for freedom on the part of peoples on the world stage, and that comes with an urgent demand for real participation.

This has complicated even more that which I call the process of the mixing of civilizations and cultures; that is, a process of movement and displacement of peoples which will become even more radical in the coming decades. All this has made it made more urgent for us in Europe to gain a deeper knowledge of Islam.

Then there is the question of the progress of techno-sciences, especially in bio-engineering, cloning, bio-convergence, informatics, biology, molecular physics, neuroscience and so on. All these phenomena are producing a different kind of man and so the challenge for the Church is the same as for all humanity: What kind of man does the man of the third millennium wish to be?

Continue reading Angelo Scola: how do we face the post-modern world as a Church? In happiness and freedom as announced by Christ!