Marquette, Mich., Jul 5, 2019 / 04:34 pm (CNA).- Irving “Francis” Houle was a Michigan father of five known for his holy life. He appeared to bear the stigmata, a physical manifestation of the wounds of Jesus Christ, and said he experienced… […]
Émile Faguet, the French author and literary critic of the second half of the 19th century, described Joseph de Maistre as “a fierce absolutist, a furious theocrat, and intransigent legitimist, apostle of a monstrous trinity […]
Vatican City, Jul 5, 2019 / 08:00 am (CNA).- This week, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, issued a document defending the sacramental seal, as civil governments in California, Australia, and other places attempt to pass laws that would force priests to reveal what they hear in the confessional.
Piacenza also defended professional confidentiality, including the pontifical secret, and appeared to take aim at the use of leaked Vatican information in the media – suggesting leaks from the Vatican are detrimental to the public good.
“In a time of mass communication, in which all information is ‘burned’ [leaked] and with it often unfortunately also part of people’s lives, it is necessary to re-learn the strength of word, its constructive power, but also its destructive potential,” the cardinal warned.
Following a year in which scandals of episcopal misconduct and accountability have combined to create a crisis of confidence in Church leadership in some places, reaction to the application and violation of confidentiality in the Church illustrates the emerging fault lines in a debate between parts of the hierarchy and faithful, in which both sides accept the need for transparency, though often with very different understandings of the word.
In his defense of the need to respect administrative (rather than sacramental) secrecy, Piacenza cited the Catechism, which teaches that “the right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional.”
It is easy to think of ecclesial examples in which confidentiality, even secrecy, are for the good of souls, as Piacenza argued. For example, discretion about the Vatican’s support for evangelization efforts in persecuted areas, most notably in China and the Arabian Peninsula, is manifestly in the interest of the good of souls.
But consensus breaks down quickly when discussions about confidentiality turn to how much the faithful will be told about misconduct in the Church.
Bishops in Rome and the U.S. concede that the faithful have a right to know that a scandalous situation is being handled. But, as the ongoing fallout from the disgrace of Theodore McCarrick shows, many Catholics have lost trust that the root causes of sexual scandal are addressed with, the laicization of a cardinal notwithstanding.
The faithful in the United States are still waiting for the results of a promised Vatican investigation into McCarrick’s rise to prominence despite decades of allegations. Following the dramatic statements of Archbishop Vigano, many remain concerned that whatever public report is released will be sanitized and omit reference to those ignored allegations or benefited from McCarrick’s patronage over the years.
Those concerns have been amplified by the case of former Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Michael Bransfield, who has been the subject of scandal and investigation since his resignation last year.
When the Vatican-appointed investigator Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore submitted his report on accusations of sexual and financial misconduct by Bransfield, it emerged that he omitted the names of other bishops and cardinals who had received large gifts of money from him over the years. Despite the possibility that these gifts might have played a part in Bransfield’s ability to act with impunity for so long, they were deemed a “distraction” by Lori.
This information only came to light when an unredacted version of the investigation’s findings was leaked to the Washington Post, and its publication led to an apology from Lori and a series of bishops returning the gifts to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
But examples like these notwithstanding, many would concede Piacenza’s point about the legitimate goods served by some measure of secrecy. Confidentiality is an essential part of any credible investigative process. Similarly, many would accept Piacenza’s point about the potentially permanent damage to a person’s reputation that can be done by circulating unproven allegations. Victims, too, have a clear right to confidentiality and protection from the public gaze while they seek justice.
But demands for greater transparency by the Church rarely focus on the details of individual acts of wrongdoing; more often they pertain to wider patterns of abuse of privilege and office, typified by McCarrick and Bransfield. Many Catholics are not, and will not be satisfied by knowing that the individual at the center of the scandal has been removed – they want to see proof that enablers and protectors have been dealt with.
Piacenza proposes that tensions between those seeking answers and those guarding information should be calmed and steered by the “Golden Rule” and a spirit of “fraternal charity.” The cardinal, like many in the hierarchy, is asking the faithful to trust. Following a dramatic loss of episcopal credibility in the face of scandal, most Catholics now want to verify.
While Piacenza’s call for prudence and respect for confidentiality is not without merit, in the current climate many of the faithful will continue to insist that the salvation of souls demands a far greater “need to know” than perhaps he and the hierarchy in Rome are willing to concede.
Vatican City, Jul 4, 2019 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Three months from now, the bishops of the Amazonian region will meet for a regional synod that has already garnered international attention. The synod has become […]
Baltimore, Md., Jul 4, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- A string of high-profile migrant deaths in the last week should draw our attention to the thousands more that go unreported, and encourage us to welcome migrants, while also working to address the challeng… […]
Vatican City, Jul 4, 2019 / 08:30 am (CNA).- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Pope Francis at the Vatican July 4 for a 55-minute private discussion.
“Thank you for the time you have devoted to me,” Putin said after his audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
It was Putin’s third meeting with Pope Francis and fifth visit to the Vatican. The Russian leader arrived nearly an hour late for his meeting with the pope, as he did for both of his prior meetings with Francis.
The day before Putin’s visit Pope Francis expressed his condolences and closeness to the families of the 14 Russian sailors who died when a deep-sea submarine caught fire in an Artic port July 2. Russian officials confirmed that the top-secret submarine was nuclear-powered less than one hour before the papal audience was scheduled.
“The Holy Father was informed of the Russian submarine tragedy. It expresses its condolences and its closeness to the victims’ families and those affected by this disaster,” Holy See press office interim director Alessandro Gisotti said July 3.
The Russian Ambassador to the Holy See Aleksandr Avdeev said ahead of the meeting that he expected Putin and the Roman pontiff to discuss “the instability of international relations, the crisis in the Middle East, the fate of Syria, the problem of nuclear disarmament, the situation in Iran.”
“The time has come when Catholics can no longer solve many problems and open challenges, without taking into account the political logic of Russia and the experience of our Orthodoxy,” Avdeev said in an interview with Ogonek, a Russian magazine.
Putin was also expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine after the Ukrainian Orhtodox Church split with the Russian Orthodox Church last year. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople formally recognized the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January.
Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev, along with other leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, are expected to meet with Pope Francis and Vatican officials later this week.
At Putin and Pope Francis’ previous meeting in June 2015, Pope Francis asked Putin for “sincere and comprehensive effort to achieve peace” in Ukraine after Russia annexed Crimea one year prior. Their first meeting in November 2013 focused on the Syrian civil war.
After his visit to the Vatican, Putin will meet the Italian president and prime minister during his one-day trip to Rome.
Putin met with Pope John Paul II in 2000 and 2003 and had an audience with Pope Benedict in 2007. The Holy See and the Russian Federation re-established full diplomatic relations in 2009.
El Paso, Texas, Jul 4, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- A Catholic aid agency in El Paso, Texas, has closed a temporary shelter for migrants and asylum seekers released from federal custody, as more asylum seekers are required to wait in Mexico for court dates, and after concerns have been raised about the detention condtions of would-be migrants in government custody.
Fernando Ceniceros, communications specialist for the Diocese of El Paso, told CNA that changes in border patrol policy have likely led to the decrease in migrants entering the United States at El Paso, but the humanitarian crisis is no less severe— the difference is that many would-be migrants in need of aid are required to remain in Mexico, rather than crossing the border.
“They’re not letting them cross over anymore,” Ceniceros said. “We think that the decline was the reason we had to shut down [the shelter].”
The Department of Homeland Security announced new Migrant Protection Protocols in January, providing that migrants arriving illegally or without proper documentation “may be returned to Mexico and wait outside of the U.S. for the duration of their immigration proceedings, where Mexico will provide them with all appropriate humanitarian protections for the duration of their stay.”
The Diocese of El Paso’s shelter, which Bishop Mark Seitz opened in October 2018, was part of a larger consortium of aid agencies, Ceniceros said, led by Reuben Garcia at the Annunciation House, a shelter for migrants that has been operating in El Paso for over 40 years.
“We were receiving anything between 40-80 migrants a day,” Ceniceros said.
“They were coming into the shelter, we were helping them clothe them, give them a warm shower, give them something to eat. And they were in and out of our shelter within 28-48 hours…we helped them connect with their families here in the United States.”
The migrants that the Diocese of El Paso was assisting had already been cleared by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and had been dropped off in the city, in need of basic necessities. A recent government report indicates that in some regions, migrants in federal custody have endured prolonged detention in overcrowded conditions and awaited processing and release for periods of longer than one month.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, apprehensions of “unaccompanied alien children” has risen by nearly 75% from May 2018 to May 2019. The rise in apprehensions is led by El Paso, which has seen a 323% rise in that period period.
The rise in apprehensions of families is higher— 463% across the board. El Paso’s rate of apprehension of families rose 2,100%.
“We’ve never seen the kind of influx of migrants that we have in the last year and a half,” Ceniceros commented.
“And just as a point of reference, we were just receiving single men usually. They were just looking for work, they were coming from Mexico. Mostly now, you’re looking at families from Central America. Really very [few] Mexican nationals are coming [now]. But we were seeing even migrants from as far as Africa come through here and seek asylum.”
He said the Diocese of El Paso continues to provide legal services for migrants and asylum seekers.
The federal Office of the Inspector General reported this week overcrowded, squalid conditions at some migrant detention facilities along the US/Mexico border, including standing-room-only cells, children going without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release.
“What you’re seeing on television as far as conditions are concerned is that’s what we’ve heard…really terrible conditions. And we’re asking for prayers that we’re able to step in and help these people,” Ceniceros said.
“We are in contract with the Diocese of Juarez [Mexico] and their migrant shelter there. And we’re working to set up a plan to send over supplies, find a way to send over supplies to them. Because they’re inundated [with migrants].”
“This ‘remain in Mexico’ protocol protection is really very alarming to us and it really will create a humanitarian crisis. And I think that’s really what we want to bring attention to, is the humanitarian crisis on the other side of the border…We’re called to serve here in the Church, and serve the poorest of the poor. And that’s really what our message is.”
The bishops on either side of the Rio Grande, where several migrants recently died, expressed last week their sorrow over the deaths.
Bishops Daniel Flores of Brownsville and Eugenio Andres Lira Rugarcia of Matamoros wrote June 28 to “express with much pain the sorrow of the whole community upon hearing of the parents and children that have recently lost their lives upon crossing the Río Grande River, seeking a better life.”
The six Catholic bishops of Washington state issued a joint statement June 28 calling for immigration reform that “honors the dignity of those seeking a better life in the United States, while also addressing the legitimate need for safe and secure borders.”
“Worsening conditions that fuel the Latin American refugee crisis, combined with domestic policies that disrespect the dignity of human beings, risk causing even greater suffering for those fleeing peril and threaten the domestic tranquility promised to Americans,” the bishops said.
Norfolk, Virginia, Jul 4, 2019 / 03:41 am (CNA).- An immigrant parish, burnt down, with only the crucifix remaining. A parish rebuilt, transformed and a key part in giving back to the community. In a sense, one parish’s story of struggle, pressure and rebirth is metaphor for the American Catholic experience.
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia, is the only black Catholic church in the United States that is also a basilica. Its dramatic history captures both the broader American Catholic history of persecution, growth and acceptance, but also a witness to the unique challenges faced by black Catholics over the centuries.
Founded originally as St. Patrick’s Parish in 1791, it is the oldest Catholic parish in the Diocese of Richmond, predating the foundation of the diocese by nearly 30 years.
“Catholicism was not legal to practice” in Virginia when the colony was founded, said Fr. Jim Curran, rector of the basilica. In much of Colonial America, before the Revolution and the signing of the Bill of Rights, churches that were not approved by the government were prohibited from operating, he told CNA.
The land originally bought in 1794 for the parish is the same ground on which the basilica today stands. From the beginning, according to the parish’s history, Catholics from all backgrounds worshiped together: Irish and German immigrants, free black persons and slaves.
However, by the 1850s, the parish’s immigrant background and mixed-race parish drew the ire of a prominent anti-Catholic movement: the Know-Nothings.
Largely concentrated in northeastern states where the immigrant influx was greatest, the movement rose and fell quickly. Concerned with maintaining the Protestant “purity of the nation,” it worked to prevent immigrants – many of whom were Catholic – from gaining the right to vote, becoming citizens, or taking elected office.
“I consider the Know-Nothings to be a sort of gatekeeper organization, by which I mean that they were both anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic at the same time,” said Fr. David Endres, an assistant professor of Church History and Historical Theology at the Athenaeum of Ohio.
He told CNA that the Know-Nothing Party was able to bring together both pro- and anti-slavery voters in the mid-1800s, united in the common “dislike of foreign-born and Catholics.”
While most anti-Catholic activities took the form of defamatory speeches and public discrimination, the prejudice sometimes turned to violence and mob action, Fr. Endres explained.
The anti-Catholic discrimination and threats found their way to St. Patrick’s doorstep, where the Know-Nothings were unhappy that the pastor was allowing racially integrated Masses, said Fr. Curran.
The pastor at that time, Fr. Matthew O’Keefe, received so many threats directed against the church and himself that police protection was required to stop the intimidation of the Catholics worshiping at the church, according to the locals.
Despite the threats, however, Fr. O’Keefe did not segregate the Masses. In 1856, the original church building burned down, leaving only three walls standing. Only a wooden crucifix was left unscathed.
More than 150 years later, it is still unclear exactly who or what caused the fire, but since the days following the blaze, parishioners have had their suspicions.
“We don’t know for sure if they were the ones who burned it, but it’s widely believed, it’s a commonly held notion that it’s the Know-Nothings who burnt the Church,” Fr. Curran said.
Fr. O’Keefe and the parishioners worked hard to rebuild the church, seeking donations from Catholics along the East Coast. A new church building was constructed less than three years after the fire and is still standing today.
After the church was rebuilt, the parish renamed itself in 1858 in honor of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. It claims to be the first church in the world named for Mary of the Immaculate Conception following the declaration.
In 1889, the Josephites built Saint Joseph’s Black Catholic parish to serve the needs of the black Catholic community, and the two parishes operated separately within several blocks of one another. However, in 1961, St. Joseph’s was demolished to make way for new construction, and the two parishes were joined, reintegrating – at least in theory – St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
But the merger was not popular with many of the white parishioners and conflicted with the segregation policies of local government institutions and public life, Fr. Curran said. “St Mary’s became a de facto black parish.”
During this demographic shift, many parishioners of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception had to draw deeply upon their faith. Black Catholics had to be stalwart, facing prejudice from both some white parishioners, who did not view them as fully Catholic, and some black Protestants, who did not support their religious beliefs.
“They were devoted, and still are,” the rector said. “You have to be very devoted to be a Black Catholic.”
This devotion and witness of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception was formally celebrated when, in 1991, Saint Pope John Paul II elevated the 200-year-old church to a minor basilica.
“Your black cultural heritage enriches the Church and makes her witness of universality more complete. In a real way the Church needs you, just as you need the Church, for you are a part of the Church and the Church is part of you,” Pope Saint John Paul II proclaimed at the elevation.
Today, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception plays a vital role not only as the only Catholic basilica in Virginia, but also as an important anchor of the neighborhood. The basilica operates a “robust” set of outreach ministries to local families, including rent assistance and food aid, serving thousands of people.
“The Church standing proudly and beautiful in the midst of the poor is where we need to be,” Fr. Curran said.
This article was originally published on CNA July 4, 2015.
Beijing, China, Jul 3, 2019 / 06:09 pm (CNA).- As the Communist Party of China continues to tighten its grip on the regulation of religion and religious activity, a human rights group is reporting that officials are disrupting religious rites and cerem… […]
New York City, N.Y., Jul 3, 2019 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- After a New York law temporarily allowed alleged victims of past sexual abuse to file lawsuits that had been barred by legal time limits, the New York archdiocese has filed a lawsuit against 31 insura… […]
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