Cardinal Kasper says Mueller’s manifesto spreads ‘confusion and division’

Munich, Germany, May 15, 2019 / 02:15 pm (CNA).- At least one bishop has offered his support for a week-long “Church strike” organized by German Catholic women, during which participants organize their own prayer services rather than attending Mass.

Calling itself “Mary 2.0” the initiative issued an open letter to Pope Francis, which called for the ordination of women, and claimed “men of the Church only tolerate one woman in their midst: Mary.”

“We want to take Mary off her pedestal and into our midst, as a sister facing our direction,” the letter said.

The website features paintings of Mary and other women with their mouths taped over.

The campaign has met with considerable criticism from German Catholics, some of when even launched of a “Maria 1.0” website, which says that the Mother of God “does not require any updates and should not be instrumentalized.”

But several Church representatives have gone public in support of “Mary 2.0.”

The official news portal of the Catholic Church in Germany provided broad coverage of the call for a strike, taking place May 11-18. It also reported that Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück supports the campaign.

Bode, who leads the Commission on Women in the German bishops’ conference, told press agency EPD that while he regrets the strikes will not attend Mass, he believes it important to acknowledge the impatience of “many women in the Catholic Church” and their feelings of “deep hurt” for not being adequately appreciated for their contribution.

Bode said that while he does not believe women will be ordained priests in the near future, the Church could soon ordain them as deacons.

Participants in the “Church strike” are refusing to step into a church from the week of May 11 to 18 and will not attend Mass. Instead, services such as a “Liturgy of the Word” are held throughout the week. According to the campaign’s Facebook page, these services have garnered between 18 and 155 registered attendees.

Referencing the abuse crisis as a reason for the urgent need for change, the group’s letter to Pope Francis makes a range of demands, from the abolition of “mandatory celibacy” to an “updating” of the Church’s teaching on sexual morality and the ordination of women to “all ministries” – including the orders of deacon, priest and bishop.

In an interview published on the official website of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, vicar general Fr. Alfons Hardt praised the organizers of the campaign as women who are “concerned about the sustainability of their church.”

Hardt said “this is a motivation that I value highly,” even though the campaign might also create division.

Whether women can be ordained to the priesthood is an open question, Hardt asserted, saying, “on the one hand we have a definitive decision by Pope John Paul II on the question of the ordination of women and on the other hand we still do not have a final answer. At least in Germany this question is discussed very openly, especially among theologians. It is clear that there is a need for a global ecclesial consensus for this which currently is not the case.”

Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have all taught that the sacrament of ordination is reserved to men by divine institution, and that, while the role of female “deacons” in the early Church can be studied, such study does not imply that women can be ordained sacramentally.

Despite its demands and – initially – very small numbers, “Mary 2.0” has not only received support from several German prelates but also sustained coverage in Germany, where many Catholics are turning their back on a church in crisis in the wake of the abuse scandals and other controversies, with a recent prognosis predicting the number of Catholics in the country will halve by 2060, and Church attendance in constant decline, hovering at the 10 percent mark on average according to most recent official figure.

In March, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising announced that the church in Germany would embark on a “binding synodal process” to tackle what he described as the three key issues arising from the clerical abuse crisis: priestly celibacy, the Church’s teaching on sexual morality, and a reduction of clerical power.

More recently, another German bishop, Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, voiced similar expectations for the “Pan-Amazonian Synod” in October.

Overbeck, who also leads the influential Catholic Latin America relief organization Adveniat, predicted that “nothing will be as it was before” after that synod.

Speaking to journalists on May 2, he said that the role of women in the Church would be reconsidered at the meeting, and so would sexual morality, the role of the priesthood and the overall hierarchical structure of the Church. The synod will take place from October 6 to 27.
 

This story was originally published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

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Bologna, Italy, Oct 1, 2017 / 12:50 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday, Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to the cities of Cesena and Bologna, meeting with people from every area of society and encouraging them to give witness to the Gospel in word and deed and sustained by prayer.

“Jesus’ sores remain visible in so many men and women living on the margins of society – even children, marked by suffering, discomfort, abandonment, and poverty,” the Pope said Oct. 1.

“People wounded by the harsh trials of life, who are humiliated, who are in prison or the hospital. By joining together and treating these wounds with tenderness, often not only corporal but also spiritual, we are purified and transformed by the mercy of God.”

But to fulfill this mission, we must reserve adequate time and space for prayer and meditation on the Word of God, he said. As seen in the example of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “prayer is the strength of our mission,” he said.

“The constant encounter with the Lord in prayer becomes indispensable both for priests and for consecrated persons, and for pastoral workers, called to leave their ‘little vegetable garden’ and go to the existential peripheries.”

In his day-long visit to the two cities, Francis met with people from all walks of life, including migrants and refugees, workers and the unemployed, priests and religious, and laity.

He also met with those involved in academia in Bologna, both students and teachers.

Migrants

After meeting with citizens and priests and religious of Cesena in the morning, the Pope’s first stop in Bologna was to the city’s regional hub for welcoming migrants.

There Francis spent around one hour greeting around 1,000 migrants, each one individually. In solidarity, he also wore on his wrist the same yellow identification bracelet worn by migrants at the center.

In the encounter, Francis spoke about the fear many people have toward the stranger. “Many do not know you and are afraid. This makes them feel right to judge and to be able to do it with hardness and coldness,” he explained.

These people believe they see well, but “it is not so,” he continued. You can see well when you look with the gaze of mercy. “Without this, the other is a stranger, even an enemy, and cannot be my neighbor.”

From afar we can say and think anything, he stated, something we can do easily when writing on the internet. But if we look upon our neighbor without mercy, not realizing his suffering, his problems, we run the risk that “God also looks at us without mercy.”

“I am in the midst of you because I want to carry your eyes in mine…in my heart, your heart,” he said.

“I want to bring with me your faces that ask to be remembered, to be helped, I would say ‘adopted,’ because in the end you search for someone who will wager on you, who will give you confidence, who will help you to find that future whose hope has made you come here.”

You are the “fighters of hope!” Francis encouraged, saying that he wants to carry their fears, difficulties and uncertainties in his heart.

During the encounter, Francis also asked for a moment of silence to pray for all those who have not survived the journey to a new land: “Men do not remember them, but God knows their names and welcomes them to himself,” he said.

Workers

Francis then met with workers, the unemployed and union representatives. “Seeking a more just society is not a dream of the past but a commitment, a job that everyone needs today,” he said.

We cannot get used to the numbers of unemployed in our communities as if they are just a number or a statistic, he said, but must help the poor and struggling around us to find work, thus restoring their dignity.

We must dethrone profit, instead placing the human being and the common good at the center, as it should be. But to put this into action, “it is necessary to increase the opportunities for decent work,” he said.

“This is a task that belongs to the whole society,” he said. “At this stage in particular, the whole social body, in its various components, is called upon to make every effort, because work, which is the primary factor of dignity, is a central concern.”

The Poor, Imprisoned and Refugees

For lunch, Pope Francis dined with the poor, imprisoned and refugees in a “Lunch of Solidarity” held at the Basilica di San Petronio, reminding those present that the Church is for everyone, but especially the poor, and that we are all only invited because of grace, a mystery of God’s love for us.

“We are all travelers, beggars of love and hope, and we need this God who comes near and reveals himself in the breaking of bread,” he said. And this “bread of love” that we share today we can also bring to others in need of sympathy and friendship.

“It’s the commitment we can all have,” he explained, pointing out that “our life is always precious and we all have something to give to others.”

At the end of this meal you will be given the most precious food, however, the Pope said: “the Gospel, the Word of that God we all carry in our hearts.”

“It is for you! It is just for those who need it! Take it all and bring it as a sign, a personal seal of God’s friendship.”

Today, just as the “Our Father” says, “we can share our daily bread,” he concluded.

Priests and religious

Pope Francis met with priests, consecrated men and women, and laity involved in the Church in both Cesena and Bologna Sunday.

To priests he stressed the importance of meeting daily with Christ and of having joy in their ministry. “So many times people find sad priests,” he said. Sometimes I want to ask priests what they had for breakfast, he joked: a cup of coffee or vinegar?

“Do not lose joy. The joy of being priests, of being called upon by the Lord to follow him to bring his word, his forgiveness, his love, his grace.”

Youth and Families

The family, Francis said, is facing a difficult time, both as an institution – the most basic building-block of society – and within particular families.

Because of this, we are called in a particular way at this moment to teach the world to love, he said. And among those who most need to experience the love of Jesus are young people.

“Thanks to God, young people are a living part of the Church – the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops involves them directly – and they can communicate to their peers their testimony,” he said.

He pointed out that the Church has a lot of young people, a valuable source of gifts for the Church for “their attitude towards the good, towards the beautiful, towards authentic freedom, and towards justice.”

They need to be helped to discover the gifts God has given them though, he said, and “encouraged not to fear the great challenges of the present moment.”

Meet with them, listen to them, encourage them, the Pope urged. Help them to meet Christ and his love.

Students and academics

Later in the day, Pope Francis met with students and academics from the University of Bologna, telling them that the key to success in studies is “the search for good.”

“Love is the ingredient that gives flavor to the treasures of knowledge and, in particular, to the rights of man and people,” he said, listing three rights he considers relevant to the student today: the right to culture, the right to hope, and the right to peace.

“In front of so much lament and clamor that surrounds us, today we do not need someone who is screaming, but who promotes good culture,” he stressed. “We need words that reach minds and put hearts in order, not scream straight to the stomach.”

We should not be content, he continued, to follow “the theatricals of indignation” which are often hiding large egos and self-centeredness, but should devote ourselves to “with passion to education, that is, to ‘draw out’ the best of each person for the good of all.”

In the midst of a culture that “reduces man to waste, research to interest and science to technique,” we should assert a “culture of humanity,” he said, and a research “that recognizes merits and rewards sacrifices.”

About university classrooms, the Pope said it would be nice if they could be havens of hope, places where people work for a better future and learn to be responsible for themselves and for the world.

“Sometimes fear prevails. But today we are experiencing a crisis which is also a great opportunity, a challenge to the intelligence and freedom of each, a challenge to be embraced, to be artisans of hope,” he said.

The right to peace, Francis explained is also “a right and a duty, inscribed on the heart of humanity. Because ‘unity prevails over conflict’ (Evangelii gaudium, 226).”

“Do not believe who tells you that fighting for this is useless and that nothing will change! Do not settle for small dreams, but dream big,” he urged.

 

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Lourdes, France, May 16, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Over 12,000 soldiers from over 40 countries are set to arrive in Lourdes, France on Friday as part of the 61st Annual International Military Pilgrimage. The pilgrimage goes throughout the weekend before concluding on Sunday.

The International Military Pilgrimage, known as the PMI [Pèlerinage Militaire International] first began in 1958, the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparition at Lourdes. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is Cherche la Paix et poursuis-la, “seek peace and pursue it.”

The pilgrimage programme includes Masses in a variety of languages, sporting programs for military members, and a candlelit Marian procession. Pilgrims will also visit the baths near the Lourdes Grotto.

Throughout the weekend, military bands parade through the streets of Lourdes, and the soldiers from different nations are encouraged to interact and get to know one another.

A total of 220 pilgrims, including 51 battle-wounded soldiers and veterans, and 72 “warrior pilgrims,” are part of the U.S. delegation, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for the Military Services. This is the sixth year the Knights of Columbus has conducted the “Warriors to Lourdes” program.

Fr. Jeff Laible, a chaplain of the U.S. Air Force, has joined the Knights of Columbus pilgrimage for five of those years. This year, he is serving as the group’s spiritual director.

“The pilgrimage really is an opportunity for our wounded warriors to receive healing, and healing really comes in a lot of ways,” Laible said.

The chaplain said the pilgrimage gives him the chance to share in the “experience the peace and the grace of healing that comes here at Lourdes” alongside the servicemen and women.

“It’s a special place for me. Like the warriors who come here, I myself have served on deployment. So I’ve experienced the grace and peace of healing–not only myself personally, but working with our wounded warriors over the course of the past four years, and certainly this year as well.”

Bishop Joseph L. Coffey, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, is also part of this year’s Warriors to Lourdes pilgrimage.

Coffey told CNA that while has been to Lourdes twice before, they were quick trips and not an extended pilgrimage. He said he is looking forward to “really, truly living the pilgrim experience here.”

Part of the pilgrim experience includes healing in different ways.

While Lourdes is famous for its numerous miraculous physical cures, Coffey explained to CNA that even more important is the spiritual health of the pilgrims, especially military pilgrims, many of whom have experienced mental or moral wounds during their time in service.

“Of course, some of [the pilgrims] have been injured, wounded, and this is a great place to seek healing–not only physical healing, which is what always people probably think of first, but what’s so much more important is the spiritual healing,” said Coffey.

“Because we all get old and sick and die some day, whereas our souls will live forever. So we want to be making sure that we have any good spiritual healing that we might need.”

The still newly-consecrated Coffey – he was made a bishop in March –  describes himself as a “baby bishop.” Shortly after Coffey’s appointment was announced, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese of the Military Services, asked him to go to Lourdes in his place. Coffey said he was overjoyed to start his episcopal ministry with such a trip.

“I was absolutely thrilled and honored that he would ask me to do that.”

As a Navy chaplain on active duty for the past 18 and a half years, Coffey told CNA that he had hoped to attend this pilgrimage in past years, but had been unable to do so as he had been stationed overseas. He thinks that the PMI is an opportunity to seek the graces necessary to serve the military flock.

“This is really a wonderful way for me to begin this new period of my life, this new way of serving the Lord as a bishop,” sadi Coffey. “I couldn’t ask for better timing, to be able to come here just as I’m getting started as a bishop, to give me strength and courage to be a good bishop.”

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