Catecchetical Sunday 2013 invites Catholics to "open the door of faith"
Monday, May 20, 2013
8:58 AM
Washington, D.C. - Catholics will be called to reflect on how they can spread the Gospel as they honor those who teach the Catholic faith in parishes, schools and homes. Catechetical Sunday 2013 is the weekend of Sunday, September 15, and will focus on the theme, “Open the Door of Faith.”
“The Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has prepared a variety of materials to assist catechists and Catholic school teachers to better understand and enter into the Year of Faith, including a revisit of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council,” said Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, chairman of the committee. “The resources will assist parishes in celebrating Catechetical Sunday not only in September, but also throughout the 2013-2014 year.”
The theme “Open the Door of Faith” is taken from the Vatican’s guiding document on the Year of Faith, “Porta Fidei.” This year’s materials, available in English and Spanish, are directed to all Catholics to help them reach out and evangelize others. They include resources for clergy, family resources, prayer cards, posters and teaching aids. Teaching aids include “The Catechism: A Symphony of Faith” by Petroc Willey and “Reexamining the Word of the Second Vatican Council (Hermeneutics of Reform)” by Alan Schreck. Resources available for free download are available at: www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/year-of-faith/index.cfm
Catechetical Sunday, which is observed on the third Sunday in September, is a celebration of catechists and all teachers of the Catholic faith. Many parishes commission those who serve in catechetical ministry on Catechetical Sunday. The U.S. bishops have provided resources for Catechetical Sunday since 1971. More information is available at: www.usccb.org/catecheticalsunday.
The Year of Faith runs from October 11, 2012, to November 24. More information is available online: www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/
Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston: Gosnell convictions draw attention to tragedy of abortion
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
4:34 PM
Washington, D.C. - The chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for reflection, greater respect for human life and healing in the wake of the May 13 convictions of Dr. Kermit Gosnell of Philadelphia.
“Dr. Gosnell’s trial brought much-needed attention to the tragedy of abortion,” said Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap., of Boston. “His murder convictions of newly delivered infants have caused many people to reexamine their positions on abortion.”
Among Gosnell’s 237 convictions were three counts of first-degree murder of infants born alive during attempted late-term abortions, one count of infanticide, and the involuntary manslaughter of a patient who died from complications of anesthesia administered by an unlicensed nurse at his abortion clinic. He was also found guilty of conspiracy, performing abortions beyond the legal limit in Pennsylvania, and 208 violations of the state’s informed consent law. On May 14, Gosnell was sentenced to life in prison.
“In addition to the violence against defenseless unborn and newborn children, women’s lives were endangered by his unethical practices. I hope and pray that Dr. Gosnell will come to regret and repent for his many crimes,” Cardinal O’Malley said. “Our nation needs great healing from the culture of death, of which this sad story is only one example. Let us pray for the children who have been lost and the many mothers and families who silently grieve their loss. Our Lord longs to heal every person affected by the tragedy of abortion and other violence.”
More information on the Catholic Church’s pastoral response to those who have been involved in abortion is available at HopeAfterAbortion.com. More information on nationwide efforts of prayer and fasting are available at www.usccb.org/fast.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston: Human cloning inconsistent with human dignity, treats people as products
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
4:31 PM
USCCB Pro-Life Chair Responds to Cloning Breakthrough in Oregon
Says Creating Embryos To Destroy Them Objectionable to Non-Catholics Too
Notes That Morally Acceptable Scientific Advances Already Addressing Same Goals
Washington, D.C. - Human cloning for any purpose is inconsistent with the moral responsibility to “treat each member of the human family as a unique gift of God, as a person with his or her own inherent dignity,” said the chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
“Creating new human lives in the laboratory solely to destroy them is an abuse denounced even by many who do not share the Catholic Church’s convictions on human life,” said Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap., of Boston. He said this way of making embryos will also be taken up by people who want to produce cloned children as “copies” of other people. “Whether used for one purpose or the other, human cloning treats human beings as products, manufactured to order to suit other people’s wishes.” He added, “A technical advance in human cloning is not progress for humanity but its opposite.”
Cardinal O’Malley’s statement responded to the news May 15 that researchers in Oregon have succeeded in producing cloned human embryos and obtained their embryonic stem cells. He added that the researcher’s goal of producing genetically matched stem cells for research and possible therapies is already being addressed by scientific advances that do not pose the same more problems.
More information on USCCB’s position on human cloning is available online: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/cloning/
The full text of Cardinal O’Malley’s statement follows:
The news that researchers have developed a technique for human cloning is deeply troubling on many levels. Over 120 human embryos were created and destroyed, to produce six embryonic stem cell lines. Creating the embryos involved subjecting healthy women to procedures that put their health and fertility at risk. And the researchers’ alleged goal, producing genetically matched stem cells for research and possible therapies, is already being addressed by scientific advances that do not pose these grave moral wrongs.
Creating new human lives in the laboratory solely to destroy them is an abuse denounced even by many who do not share the Catholic Church’s convictions on human life. Also, this means of making embryos for research will be taken up by those who want to produce cloned children as “copies” of other people. Whether used for one purpose or the other, human cloning treats human beings as products, manufactured to order to suit other people’s wishes. It is inconsistent with our moral responsibility to treat each member of the human family as a unique gift of God, as a person with his or her own inherent dignity. A technical advance in human cloning is not progress for humanity but its opposite.
USCCB subcommittee chair calls Minnesota lawmakers' post-Mother's Day marriage redfinition "height of Irony"
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
3:21 PM
Men and women bring different gifts to parenting
Redefining marriage in law serves no one’s good
Truth of marriage not going away
Washington, D.C. - “It is the height of irony that the Minnesota legislature decided, and the governor signed into law, the redefinition of marriage just after we celebrated the unique gifts of mothers and women on Mother’s Day,” said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.
Archbishop Cordileone chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. He said further, “It is all the more so given the fact that in the last election Minnesotans were led to believe that there was no need to define marriage in the constitution, that nothing would change if the marriage amendment didn’t pass.”
“It also renders senseless the very idea of President Obama’s National Fatherhood Initiative, in that a bill now becomes law in Minnesota that effectively claims that a mother and a father together are superfluous and can be replaced by two men or two women,” he added.
Archbishop Cordileone noted that Minnesota is the third state in just over a week to redefine marriage in the law.
“There are many of us Americans, including many Minnesotans, who stand for the natural and true meaning of marriage. They know that men and women are important; their complementary difference matters, their union matters, and it matters to kids. Mothers and fathers are simply irreplaceable,” he said. “Instead of strengthening, the Minnesota legislature’s decision to redefine marriage weakens motherhood and fatherhood, and so strikes a blow to all children who deserve both a mother and father.”
“Some wish to believe that sexual relationships outside of the marital context of husband and wife are innocuous, choosing to ignore the fact that they are actually harmful to individuals and to society as a whole,” he added.
“We know that now is the time to redouble our prayers, efforts and witness. The truth of marriage is not going away,” Archbishop Cordileone said. “We know what it takes to work toward a culture of life even in the midst of laws that work against us. The same is true for rebuilding a culture of marriage. No matter what the horizon may bring, we will continue in charity and truth to stand for justice and for the most vulnerable among us.”
The Minnesota law highlights further implications of marriage redefinition in the law. For example, the law states that terms such as “husband,” “wife,” “mother,” and “father” that denote spousal and familial relationships in Minnesota law are to apply equally to persons in an opposite-sex or same-sex relationship. The law also states that “parentage presumptions based on civil marriage” will also apply, thus allowing for children to have two mothers or two fathers.
Fortnight for Freedom planned for June 21 to July 4
Monday, May 13, 2013
4:14 PM
Baltimore and Washington Masses planned to open and close 2013 Fortnight
Threats to religious liberty at home and abroad remain
Resources available at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org
Washington, D.C. - The second annual Fortnight for Freedom will take place from June 21 to July 4, and will consist of national and local efforts to educate Americans on challenges to religious liberty both at home and abroad. As with last year’s Fortnight, the event will begin and end with a special Mass.
Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, will open the 2013 Fortnight for Freedom by celebrating Mass at Baltimore’s historic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, scheduled for June 21 at 7 p.m. EDT. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington will celebrate the closing Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on July 4 at 12 p.m. EDT.
“The need for prayer, education, and action in defense of religious liberty has never been greater,” explained Archbishop Lori. “The Fortnight for Freedom exists to meet that need. This year’s Fortnight occurs just weeks before August 1, when the administration’s mandate coercing us to violate our deeply-held beliefs will be enforced against most religious non-profits. During the Fortnight the Supreme Court’s decisions on the definition of marriage will likely be handed down as well. Those decisions could have a profound impact on religious freedom for generations to come.”
Further details about the Fortnight can be found at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org. The site hosts resources such as one-page fact sheets outlining current threats to religious freedom both in the United States and abroad; frequently asked questions about religious liberty, including quotes from the Founding Fathers, the Second Vatican Council and Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI; and a study guide on Dignitatis Humanae, Vatican II’s document on religious liberty. The website also lists sample activities already planned in several dioceses, an image gallery of photos from last year’s Fortnight celebrations, as well as resources and recommendations for other local efforts, such as prayers for use in special liturgies.
Farm Bill should assist hungry at home and abroad, help struggling farmers, promote stewardship, say Catholic leaders in letter
Thursday, May 09, 2013
3:51 PM
Washington, D.C. - The 2013 Farm Bill is an opportunity to address outdated agriculture policies and help hungry people at home and abroad, said leaders of four Catholic organizations in May 9 letters. The letters went to leadership of the Agriculture committees of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
“This is a crucial time to build a more just framework that puts poor and hungry people first, serves small and moderate-sized family farms, promotes sustainable stewardship of the land and helps vulnerable farmers and rural communities both at home and in developing countries,” wrote Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, Carolyn Woo, Ph.D., president of Catholic Relief Services, and James Ennis, executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.
Bishop Blaire and Bishop Pates chair the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development and International Justice and Peace, respectively.
The letters outlined five priorities for the Farm Bill:
- Support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, and other programs that help hungry people.
- Protection of funding for international emergency assistance and food security development projects.
- Subsidies for farmers who truly need assistance and who comply with environmentally sound and sustainable farming practices.
- Promotion of programs for farmers to help conserve water, energy, soil and wildlife habitats.
- Support for programs that help the development of urban communities.
The full text of the Senate letter is available online: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/agriculture-nutrition-rural-issues/upload/Joint-Senate-Farm-Bill-Principles-and-Priorties-Ltr-2013-05-09.pdf.
USCCB and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference also signed onto a May 6 letter, urging Congress to resist proposals that would weaken the SNAP program: http://frac.org/pdf/national_org_snap_support_letter.pdf
Annual compliance audit shows decline in abuse allegations, victims, offenders
Thursday, May 09, 2013
12:54 PM
Safe environment programs reach 99 percent of targeted audience
Diocese of Lincoln, five Eastern Rite eparchies still non-compliant
Auditors recommend expansion of audits into parishes
Washington, D.C. - The annual audit of diocesan compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People found a drop in the number of allegations, number of victims and number of offenders reported in 2012.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which gathered data for the report, found “the fewest allegations and victims reported since the data collection for the annual reports began in 2004.”
Most allegations reported last year were from the seventies and eighties with many of the alleged offenders already deceased or removed from ministry in the priesthood.
StoneBridge Business Partners, which conducts the audits, said law enforcement found six credible cases among 34 allegations of abuse of minors in 2012 itself. Credibility of 15 of the allegations was still under investigation. Law enforcement found 12 allegations to be unfounded or unable to be proven, and one a boundary violation.
Almost all dioceses were found compliant with the audit. Three were found non-compliant with one article of the Charter. The Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana, was faulted because its review board had not met in several years. (The diocese had no allegations during that time). The Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was faulted because auditors could not determine if parishes provided safe environment training to religious education students and volunteer teachers. The Diocese of Baker, Oregon, was faulted because students did not receive safe environment training while a new program was being developed. The diocese has since begun training.
The report can be found at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/annual-report-on-the-implementation-of-the-charter-for-the-protection-of-children-and-young-people-2012.pdf.
The annual report has two parts. The first is the compliance report of StoneBridge, which conducted on-site audits of 71 dioceses and eparchies and reviewed documentation submitted by 118 others. The Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, and five Eastern rite dioceses, known as eparchies, refused to be audited.
The second part is the “2012 Survey of Allegations and Costs,” conducted by CARA. The Lincoln Diocese refused to cooperate with the survey, and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles did not respond by the cut-off date.
The StoneBridge audit, in addition to finding most dioceses Charter compliant, reported that “over 99 percent of clerics and over 96 percent of employees and volunteers were trained” in safe environment programs. “In addition, over 4.6 million children received safe environment training. Background evaluations were conducted on over 99 percent of clerics; 98 percent of educators; 96 percent of employees; and 96 percent of volunteers.”
StoneBridge cited limitations, including “the unwillingness of most dioceses and eparchies to allow us to conduct parish audits during their on-site audits.” It said that “the auditors must rely solely on the information provided by the diocese or eparchy, instead of observing the program firsthand.”
Another limitation is staff turnover in diocesan child abuse prevention programs. As a result, “records are often lost, and successors to the position are often placed in key roles without formal orientation,” StoneBridge reported.
Al J. Notzon, III, chairman of the National Review Board (NRB), which oversees the audits, echoed StoneBridge concerns in a letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Notzon highlighted the importance of good record-keeping “and the great significance of involving parishes in the audit process.”
“Abuse happened in the parishes where our children learn and live their young, growing faith,” Notzon said. “From the NRB’s perspective, parish participation in the audit process is an essential next step in what ‘makes the Charter real’ for laity in those parishes. What we have come to see is that protecting children from sexual abuse is a race without a finish and more rather than less effort is necessary to keep this sacred responsibility front and center.”
Cardinal Dolan in a preface to the report commended clergy, employees and volunteers trained in safe environment.
“At the same time we also renew our steadfast resolution never to lessen our common commitment to protect children and young people entrusted to our pastoral care,” he said. “We seek with equal determination to promote healing and reconciliation for those harmed in the past, and to assure that our audits continue to be credible and maintain accountability in our shared promise to protect and our pledge to heal.”
In data gathering from dioceses, CARA noted there were 397 allegations, most of them from decades past, against 313 priests or deacons, by 390 individuals. About 84 percent of the victims were male. Half were between 10 and 14 when the abuse began. An estimated 17 percent were between 15 and17, and 19 percent were under age 10.
Dioceses and eparchies that responded to the survey reported costs related to allegations at $112,966,427 in 2012. Expenses covered settlements, attorney fees, therapy for victims and support for offenders. The total amount expended for dioceses, eparchies and religious orders was $148,338,437. Dioceses and religious orders also spent $26,583,087 for child protection programs.
National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea is set for May 22
Thursday, May 09, 2013
12:51 PM
Washington, D.C. - The National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea will be celebrated May 22. The day is observed in conjunction with National Maritime Day in the United States, which has been celebrated since 1933 to recognize merchant mariners and others in the maritime industry.
Bishop J. Kevin Boland, retired bishop of Savannah, Georgia and Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) promoter, encourages dioceses to mark the national day by remembering the men and women of the sea in homilies and by including special petitions during Mass. For Masses celebrated on May 22, the text for the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, is encouraged.
“Mariners serve the needs of human kind in quiet and unobtrusive ways. These hardworking men and women contribute to global economic vitality. The nature of the industry requires their absence from home and family for many months without a break. Their labor and sacrifice make possible our access to the goods of the world,” Bishop Boland said.
Bishop Boland will celebrate a Mass in observance of Maritime Day on Saturday, May 18, at 12:10 p.m., in the Crypt Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The Mass is sponsored by the AOS national office and the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Ninety percent of the world’s goods are transported by sea and the waterways. There are approximately 1.2 million seafarers worldwide in 10,000 commercial ships and maritime vessels.
AOS is a worldwide Catholic maritime ministry that offers spiritual and practical assistance to seafarers, fishermen, their families and all those who work and travel by sea and the waterways. In the United States, AOS chaplains, associates and volunteers carry on this ministry in maritime ports in 50 dioceses.
The USCCB established the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea in 2005 to encourage Catholics to support and pray for merchant mariners, seafarers, fishermen, port personnel and others in the maritime industry.
USCCB subcommittee chairman decries serious injustice in Delaware
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
2:41 PM
Redefining marriage in law a serious injustice
Children have right to be raised by mother and father
Changes meaning of terms regarding marriage, affects birth certificates
Washington, D.C - “The Delaware Senate passed an unjust bill that attempts to redefine marriage,” said Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.
“The claim of this bill to redefine marriage is in vain; marriage cannot be redefined, because its unique meaning lies in our very nature. It is also a serious injustice to the most vulnerable among us: children,” said Archbishop Cordileone.
Archbishop Cordileone went on to emphasize the importance of marriage for children. “Marriage is the only institution that unites a man and a woman to each other and to any child conceived of their union,” he said. “Our society either preserves laws that respect the fundamental right of children to be raised by their moms and dads together in marriage, or it does not.”
The Delaware bill also includes further implications of marriage redefinition in the law. For example, the bill states that terms such as “husband” and “wife” denoting a spousal relationship in Delaware law are to apply equally to persons in an opposite-sex or same-sex relationship. The bill also allows two “parents” of the same sex to be entered on the original birth certificate, thus allowing for two mothers or two fathers to be on the certificate.
The Governor of Delaware signed it into law.
Immaculate Conception Parish, Watertown, basking in the glow of special production
Monday, May 06, 2013
4:40 PM
Immaculate Conception Parish, Watertown, is still feeling good about the production of the Living Stations that their young people performed duirng Lent.
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