Pope Francis preaches during a penance service at St. Peter’s Basilica, March 28, 2014. / Lauren Cater/CNA.
Zamboanga City, Philippines, Aug 26, 2021 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
A Philippines bishop has announced 40 days of fasting and penitence as a way to share in the sufferings of others and heal from the spiritual damage of the coronavirus pandemic. Such penitence and self-reflection, he said, will help the faithful “encounter Christ in the fullness of his generosity and love especially amidst this ongoing pandemic crisis.”
“The pandemic has revealed that we are not only vulnerable to this biological threat of COVID-19, but also to the contagion of hopelessness, depression, selfishness, the abuse of power, the lack of transparency and accountability, and the preoccupation to personal privileges to the detriment of those who continuously suffer,” Auxiliary Bishop Moises M. Cuevas of Zamboanga said in an Aug. 24 pastoral letter “Not by Bread Alone.”
Cuevas is serving as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga, on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, while the sitting archbishop Romulo de la Cruz recovers from a stroke.
He has declared Forty Days of Fasting and Penitence, to begin Oct. 13 and to end on Nov. 21, Christ the King Sunday. Observing these days would be actions “in solidarity with those who suffer readily the effects of the pandemic,” he said. Such a practice aims “to evoke the fasting and time of preparation of Christ in the wilderness.”
To help prepare the Catholic faithful in the months before these forty days, parishes should hold a catechesis in the months before, he said.
“Parishes shall readily make available the Sacrament of Reconciliation for those who wish to engage in a spiritual and moral renewal in this period,” said the bishop.
“I make an appeal to each of you to receive upon your hearts Christ as the word of life, provider and shepherd of us all,” he said. “It is Christ who remains faithful to us in his truth, compassion, and wisdom amidst this ongoing pandemic crisis in the city and elsewhere.”
Cuevas’ pastoral letter reflected on the coronavirus epidemic in light of Christ’s temptation in the desert, where the devil asked him to turn stones into bread.
“The desert experience has subjected Jesus to an extreme examination of his identity, reducing the trappings of his divinity and exaltedness,” said the bishop. “The pandemic crisis has also subjected us to an examination of the threshold of our charity, whether it would remain consistent or altogether fall apart. Jesus refused to change the stones into bread in the desert, even when tempted to do so, telling the tempter that man cannot indeed live on mere bread alone even amidst one’s desolation.”
“Through this crisis, Jesus shares with us what it means to be hungry, isolated, vulnerable,” the bishop said. “As in Christ’s temptation, the devil too presents attractive alternatives to our Christian mission and purpose: the lure of power, invulnerability, and influence to easily bring our notions of God’s Kingdom upon this mortal world – to save humanity from its self-destructive tendencies by choosing the most convenient and gainful promise of domination over a great many.”
The threat of the COVID-19 epidemic continues to “derail” the normalcy of daily life and puts at risk the most vulnerable, said the bishop.
“As a community we are still traversing on the verge of the unknown and most uncertain, while we precariously hold on to our emotional stability and the assurance that we are not left helpless in these present circumstances,” he said.
Close to 1 million people live in Zamboanga City.
The Philippines has had about 1.9 million reported cases and 32,700 deaths, according to Reuters. New infections reported average about 15,000 per day, and less than 15% of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated.
According to Cuevas, Zamboanga City is “greatly blessed” to have people who live “not by bread alone” but seek “the ‘eternal food’ of selfless service and witnessing to the call of communion and solidarity with those who can be left behind and struggle most amidst this crisis.” He specifically mentioned doctors, nurses, essential workers, volunteers, clergy and men and women religious, as well as parents, elders and family members who seek to stabilize their communities and their households.
“They understood that no one is saved alone,” said the bishop, citing Pope Francis’ December 2020 apostolic letter on St. Joseph, Patris Corde.
He stressed the need for true charity, not a false charity that is “manipulated as an affection or sentiment,” or is not “an authentic encounter or engagement with the other.” This is the kind of false charity that attempts to “live on bread alone.”
“As a Church, we encounter Christ as the life-giving word from the Eternal Father and the Bread that gives life in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist,” said the bishop. “But the encounter must begin with our personal journey in confronting ourselves to what makes us cling to our raw instincts for personal survival and selfish gain.”
“Whenever we refuse to come out of ourselves, comfortable in the cocoons of our own satisfaction and privilege, Christ cannot come to us—and we cannot come to one another,” he added. “Our vicious obsession for self-preservation gives us this illusion of contentment and achievement that effectively cuts us off from the rest of struggling, barely-surviving humanity. Only in our willful and sustained encounter with Jesus can we realize what it means to share our lives and give the best of ourselves for others in a similar manner to His willful self-giving for humankind.”
He called anyone who had sinned against charity and justice to repent and make reparation:
“to those who have obsessively consumed and hoarded bread for themselves, those who have taken more than what they can collect, I say to them: return that which is stolen, remit that which needs accounting, in the name of charity and justice.”
He also sought the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Pillar, saying her first encounter with God’s word “led her to wholeheartedly embrace her vocation as the Mother of the Redeemer and of the redeemed as well.”
“In our personal encounter with Christ in his word, who also shepherds and provides for us during this pandemic, we imitate and honor Mary’s humility and openness to charity and service for others,” he said. He cited Mary’s words from the Gospel of Luke: “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
[…]
Would that it were so.
He deserves canceling like few ever have.
On so many grounds:
Moral. Artistic. Religious.
Even digestive — since every reference to him is utterly revolting.
Digesting “digestive” at breakfast. 🤮 There can be no doubt that Rupnik’s abuse “art” is revolting. It is wicked to put money and art before victims. Justice is inadmissible in Rome.
By defending Rupnik’s vile oeuvre, Ruffini and the rest of the Dark Vaticanners are showing what they really are. And which spirit they serve.
The whole affair makes me want to Rupnik.
Except that “Rupnick’s art” is no art at all.
The choice being offered by the woman running Centro Aletti is the same choice offered by the Pontiff Francis: “You can choose us, or choose Jesus.”
Sharp insight, in tbe sense of “cutting”.
I hoped that there would be news about the nine-month investigation of Marko Rupnik by the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith but there is none. (Guess everyone did.). However, Maria Campatelli’s letter to Centro Aletti patrons and donors reminds us of the enablers who have helped Rupnik elude charges of abuse for years and years. There always are enablers and the small group of women, like Campatelli, who followed Rupnik from the Loyala Center over thirty years ago are among his most reliable supporters. So much for believing that women always help other women who have been abused.
Rupnik himself is the subject of serious scrutiny. If his product is being subjected to “cancel culture” it should be primarily because of its derivative, unimaginative, vacuous character. That it was produced by a con artist and a serial rapist does not contribute any redeeming value to it aesthetically or financially.
Let it be gone.
So, they rehashed an old story verbatim, but tack on a PR release from Rupnik studio at head, giving it air time when many readers never get past first paragraph or two…the Rupnik studio thanks the author for this “news”…and for me a wasted click…all that was missing was a string of tweet quotes expressing “disappointment” at the Rupnik studio PR release.
I have a problem with the discussion of the quality of art. What changed in this art from before and after. The artwork is the same – I happen to not enjoy his art and never have enjoyed it. The point, for me, is that it is clearly obvious that a great number of individuals found the quality of this artwork worthy of being placed on a great number of sacred structures. Who is evaluating the artwork and who is approving its placement. How and why did this style gain such precedence when there was a host of other sources for artwork I would deem worthy of being on sacred structures.
Nothing changed, in the sense that there were also plenty of people who thought the mosaics, or at least Rupnik’s contribution to them (the illustrations) were overrated and mediocre. Those people just never got a vote or a voice. Artwork for churches is rarely chosen by laypeople or parishioners. A small group of people usually select the art, including architects,donors, pastors and priests. Anyone else gets shut out, so you’d never know that anyone disliked it. One of the ways in which Rupnik’s reputation as an artist was propped up and inflated. (I also suspect that Rupnik has been handing out sweetheart deals to prominant prelates with influence but can’t prove that.)
Rupnick’s work has been chosen not because of his expertise as an artist, but because he was a Jesuit priest. While he regretfully remains in active ministry he continues to be nothing more than a privledged amateur artistically. Those absent training in the visual/fine arts are easily impressed by anyone who can produce an image of any sort, particularly if its big. The like big. We also have the critical circumstance that his financial impact upon his clients was regarded an “inhouse” expense. If you want to get a “picture” of what can be accomplished in contemporary ecclesiastical mosaic do an image search for “mosaic of our Lady of Knock.” The work is within the interior of the Basilica at Knock. You’ll immediately recognize the deficiency of Rupnik’s confections and those of his studio across the range of craft, aesthetics, and devotion.
There is nothing there, there in Rupnik’s work. It nothing more than filler — bastardized formula confections gleaned from Byzantine masterpieces. Sherwin-Williams flat latex white would substitute in more appropriately suit any “worship-space.”
I was going to tell you how Rupnik began his career but I have done it several times here already so here is the link to an article about it in Italian, you can use Google translate option.
https://amargipress.com/2023/11/
Two images above: on the left is ‘Christ Pantocrator’ by the Russian Orthodox mosaic artist Alexander Kornoukhov in the Vatican Capella ‘Redemptories Mater’. It was destroyed, together with the whole ceiling and parts of the wall, by Rupnik who then put there his own work like the image on the right, his own rendition of ‘Christ Pantocrator’.
I think the wok of two artists speaks volumes.
Hence, if you want to see the work of Kornoukhov here is a printed book with photos of his (mostly) destroyed art
https://www.kornoukhov.com/_files/ugd/2181c1_2c93aa63b56640c68ae385544491d6e6.pdf
I think the story of lies and deception will answer your question, of why Rupnik’s art is everywhere.
Anna, I have been meaning to thank you for bringing up the distressing story of the “Heavenly Jerusalem” mosaics by Alexander Kornoukhov at the Redemptoris Mater chapel several months ago. After that, I did more investigating but I did not find the book with complete images of his work that was subsequently removed and replaced by Marko Rupnik and Centro Aletti staff. Thank you so much for sharing it. (I am being deliberately calm as I write this because I might get taken over by rage otherwise.). The replacement mosaics reportedly put Rupnik on the map and led to Centro Aletti’s first series of major commissions.
If anyone wants to see the current state of the walls, there is a virtual 365 degree display but anyone looking at it may want to pray beforehand, in case you respond like I did, It is to weep: https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/vatican/virtualtour/redemptorismater/index.html
I do not know who was responsible for the narrative on this page but it is substantially at odds with some of what I read when I first started looking for information about the creation of the mosaics. I do not have any English-language sources to share but used the Google translation feature that Anna mentioned.
Maybe a skilled, diligent journalist will some day be able to put the entire story together.
Psychopaths and narcissists can get pretty good at flatly denying reality. Sane people do not listen to them.
I get that there are problems with “believe all women” when it’s a case of he said, she said. But when it’s he said, she said, and she said, and she said, and she said, and she said, and she said, and she said, and she said, and she said…. with no political reason for a takedown…
Casting Rupnik as a ‘victim’ – I must admit that I didn’t see that one coming.
Nice touch.
Anna you have provided the most illuminating evidence for not only the character of Rupnik, but the contrast between his inadequacy and the warmth and artistry of Alexander Kornoukhov. Many thanks. It seems to me the case is now closed. God reward you.