Fr. Bob's Corner

The American Postal Service announced a series of stamps for 2010. Amid some consternation on the part of atheists etc., one of the stamps will honor a catholic nun, Mother Teresa: “With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service recognizes Mother Teresa, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years. Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations.” To Read the full text go to Postal Service.

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Just Google Sister Louise Akers and see the uproar. Sister is a believer in women’s ordination in the Catholic Church, as many men and women are in this time of complex, ongoing, fast paced change. I guess there is one way of dealing with these confusing and difficult times, and that is forbidding and punishing people who disagree with you. It doesn’t usually seem the responsible and compassionate way, and it is likely to result in backlash and demoralization. There are no easy answers when one is in leadership, but when one is confronted with one of the key issues in our modern church, it would appear that this method should only be used as a last resort for very serious situations. I really don’t think this situation qualifies, and if it does, I think millions of Catholics at nearly every level of leadership in the Church would need to be banned, removed, silenced. Here are the headlines in Lebanon Ohio’s  Western Star:

How do you reward a Catholic sister for nearly 40 years of service to the cause of peace and justice?

If you’re the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, you tell her to shut up.

This is what the Archbishop actually said:

“It is a bishop’s responsibility to provide authentic and orthodox Catholic teaching in his diocese. Persons who are not in accord with the teaching of the church should not expect to be allowed to teach catechetical leaders or others in the name of the church.”

“We don’t hire people to teach only infallible doctrine; we hire people to teach what’s in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” he explained. “As a result, Sister Louise may not teach in the name of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati or at any venue for which the archdiocese is responsible.” (Catholic Telegraph)

I’m glad I’m not a bishop, it is challenging enough being a parish priest in this day and age when so many issues are being debated – and opinions abound. But, I wonder at the action of Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk who barred Sister Akers from teaching catechetical leaders and others in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Maybe, this is the way he felt in conscience he had to deal with it, but I am left wondering and thinking in my own conscience that there has to be a better way. In the long run I believe an action like this does far more harm than it does good. People learn to fear and whisper when this type of reprimand take place – nothing really gets resolved, feelings get hurt, people of faith become scandalized, some shut-up, others get louder, the debate continues, etc…! And, let us remember, this is not an infallible doctrine of the church, as the archbishop has pointed out in his above comment.

Sometimes when I surf the various Catholic blogging sites, I am dismayed (even saddened) by the harsh critical words that Catholics use on one another. Living in a pluralistic society requires vigilance, if one hopes to remain true to one’s faith. But it seems that the pressure is just too much for some, and they turn to name calling, insults, and all types of derogation, as they strive for faithfulness. If we can’t be respectful of one another, what chance have we of witnessing to the world the Love of Christ? The planet we live on is very small, and the challenge we all face today is living together in love, forgiveness, and respect. This month America Magazine tackles this very issue. Although the article is written for and about the American Church, it still has relevancy in our Canadian context. The concluding paragraph is particularly relevant: 

In his book Models of the Church, the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., highlighted the image of the church as a “community of disciples.” This image from the early church (Acts 6:1-2) sees every Christian united in learning from and following Christ. Here the church is always a learning church led by the Spirit, not yet in full possession of the truth. A disciple is by definition one who has not yet arrived, but is on the way to full conversion. This more humble view of a pilgrim church always in need of purification and improvement may help to tone down the rhetoric and encourage Catholics to work together in addressing the great issues of our day, especially those involving the culture of life. True dialogue, as Cardinal Dulles noted, enables the church “to understand its teaching better, to present it more persuasively and to implement it in a pastoral way.” America Magazine Article: Community of Disciples

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Few priests and many parishes are making Catholics pretty scared. Where is it all heading? Will my parish survive, and if it does, what will it be like?

The other day a parishioner said to me: “I thought the Eucharist was the source and summit of the faith, why does the church seem so unalarmed by the shortage of priests. Aren’t these desperate times deserving of some kind of emergency brainstorming and strategy?” I pointed out that many of us are concerned, very concerned, but there just didn’t seem to be any solution on the horizon. The response to this statement was one of charitable chastisement. “If Rome really cared they’d be doing something about it – they just want the status quo in terms of ordained clergy. Emergency meetings should be taking place all across the country to deal with this situation on a temporary and long term basis. Sitting around hoping and praying that things are going to get better is equivalent to hiding one’s head in the sand as our parishes slowly melt away and our clergy age and die. I’m scandalized!!!! As far as I am concerned there are things that could be done, but Rome isn’t interested in any change.”

At this point in the conversation I thought it would be best to have a few moments of quiet silence – then we changed the subject.

It is so easy to get into the blaming game and I always try to avoid it, as it is very seldom productive. I must admit, however, that most church attending Catholics are very very concerned, but they just don’t know what to do. Maybe it is time for some serious emergency meetings. Desperate times are usually a sign that it is time for desperate measures and strategies. The problem is will anyone call the meetings – and who should call them?

As I was discussing this issue with another person, I was referred to this article in the Australian Paper Catholica: A Plaintiff Cry From the Emptying Pews It definitely describes the concern, but to my mind does not really deal with the priest shortage and the eventual unavailability of Eucharist and the other sacraments, and the closing of parishes. It is more about the people of God taking their rightful place in the Christian community. If any one has other ideas etc. please post in the comments. I would definitely be interested, as would many others.

“If we are to live out the search for real hope in pluralistic, democratic societies, we need to recognise that not all people share our views or even our deepest convictions. Some people could be tempted to describe this as relativism but that would not be correct. We can recognise people’s differences without saying that our differences are unimportant. This is precisely why we need to have space in our societies for proper dialogue where nobody is prevented from expressing his or her convictions simply to conform to somebody’s idea of political correctness. True dialogue respects everybody’s integrity. Genuinely strong people have no fear of other people’s views, so they feel able to allow people of radically different convictions to speak freely. They are happy to hear what others have to say.” Read the full text

Here is a fantastic list of the public speeches and homilies that Pope Benedict gave on his 6 day visit to the United States.

• 
• On the plane: I Go to the United States with Joy
• To President Bush: Faith Sheds New Light on All Things
• To the Bishops: The People of This Country Are Known for Their Great Vitality and Creativity
• Homily at National’s Stadium: Americans Have Always Been a People of Hope
• To Catholic Educators: Freedom Is Not an Opting Out, it Is an Opting In
• To Religious Leaders: A United Society Can Indeed Arise From a Plurality of Peoples
• To Members of the Jewish Community: On the Feast of Pesah
• To Other Religious Communities: Address at the Ecumenical Prayer Service
• To UN Staff: Meeting with Staff of the United Nations
• To the UN General Assembly: Human Rights Must Be Respected as an Expression of Justice
• To the Disabled: Meeting with Young People Having Disabilities
• To Young People and Seminarians: Meeting with Young People and Seminarians
• Homily at St. Patrick’s Cathedral: Votive Mass for the Universal Church
• At Ground Zero: God of Peace, Bring Your Peace to Our Violent World
• Homily at Yankee Stadium: Look to the Future with Hope
• Farewell Address: Promote Peaceful Co-Existence among Nations

The List was put together by www.catholicculture.org.

The National Catholic Register did a story on video as a means of evangelization:

“The latest innovation on the Internet is the rise of Catholic video podcasts, otherwise known as vodcasts. Through YouTube and other media, Catholics have been able to spread the faith, provide historical footage and draw attention to liturgical abuses.”

Here is an example on ‘You Tube’ of a video on why we sit, stand, and kneel at Mass. Do you know why? If you don’t, this little video will solve the problem.[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/8NFuu6W392k" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Catholic Broadcaster, Fr. Dave a Paulist priest on Sirius Radio, interviewed the Award-winning journalist and Chief Vatican Analyst for both CNN and NPR, John L. Allen, Jr. on July 18, 2007. Father Dave focuses on John Allen’s new book about the mega-trends that are shaping the global Catholic church. First however he asks John Allen about his thoughts on the recent 660 million dollar financial settlement by the Arch-Diocese of Los Angeles headed by Cardinal Mahoney, and related issues. To hear, click: LISTEN

You might also be interested in reviewing John Allen’s article: REVIEW

Fr. Andrew Greely the novelist-sociologist reflects on Christmas and ‘North American Secularism’. He has more hope and optimism than many! Below is a link to full article, and a short excerpt.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Andrew Greeley :: God shows up where we least expect: “All of this is an effort to challenge the notion that America is so secularized that religion has no effect on culture. It is also aimed at the related notion — heard often from TV babblers — that Christmas has become so ‘commercial’ that it is no longer religious. The truth is that any really good story about God simply cannot be corrupted no matter how much controversy and paganism may surround it. Most of us know that at Christmastime we are celebrating God’s passionate love for us as it is reflected in our love for one another. We wish only that during the rush of the holidays we had more time to ponder this great surprise and live it.”

TIME.com: TIME Magazine — October 23, 2006 Vol. 168 No. 17

Some of you might be interested in reading about this new and potential rising star in American Politics that some think will be President one day in the near future. The book excerpt from his recent book entitled, ‘My Spiritual Journey’, is good food for thought for those of you still meditating on the Silent Prayer by Pope Benedict in the Blue Mosque. For me his words are a signal of hope in a world that seems so lost and confused. Here is a small sample from the excerpt:

“There are a whole lot of religious people in America, including the majority of Democrats. When we abandon the field of religious discourse–when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations toward one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome–others will fill the vacuum. And those who do are likely to be those with the most insular views of faith, or who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.”Go to the above link for more….