Pope Snubs Condi?

The American Papist points to this AFP report:

Pope Benedict XVI refused to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in August, saying he was on holiday, an Italian newspaper reported Wednesday.
Rice "made it known to the Vatican that she absolutely had to meet the pope" to boost her diplomatic "credit" ahead of a trip to the Middle East, the Corriere della Sera daily reported without citing its sources.
She was hoping to meet the pontiff at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo at the beginning of August, it said.
"'The pope is on holiday' was the official response," the paper said.
It said the reply "illustrated the divergence of view" between the Vatican and the White House about the "initiatives of the Bush administration in the Middle East."
The newspaper said the pope had rejected all meetings with political representatives during August.
The Vatican press office refused to confirm the report.

There's a certain amount of 'spin' in the AFP report, and it might be worthwhile recalling this story I blogged last year:

The Vatican has sharply cut back the number of political audiences to prevent the Pope being exploited by visiting politicians looking for headlines.
From now on, only heads of government and heads of state will be granted an audience with the pontiff.
A set of tough new rules has been drafted to protect 79-year-old Pope Benedict XVI from the flood of requests that arrive daily.

Venetian Pigeon Story

In the Times:

Throwing rice at newlyweds and feeding the pigeons of St Mark’s Square with bird seed will become illegal under new laws designed to rid Venice of its “unbearable” flocks.
Massimo Cacciari, the mayor, said that while throwing rice at weddings was a longstanding Italian tradition to wish newly married couples fertility and happiness, it also had the unfortunate side-effect of feeding pigeons. These pests were a threat to human health and were destroying the city’s Renaissance and Baroque architecture, he said.
The mayor was supported by Marco Agostini, the chief of police, who said: “Throwing rice at the bride and groom brings hordes of pigeons who then wait around until the next ceremony. The situation has become unbearable.”
An estimated 120,000 pigeons nest in colonies in Venice’s palazzos and churches, twice the resident human population. Feeding pigeons on St Mark’s Square has long been a tourist attraction. However, Venice officials say that the pigeons are damaging buildings with their corrosive droppings and are attacking the marble and stucco façades with their beaks, including the ornate St Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace.
(snip)
A recent city council report said pigeons were attacking the façades “like kamikaze pilots” in scenes resembling Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film The Birds.

I'm sure it made some Italian bureaucrat's day to come up with the kamikaze line.

Pasta strike...

A sign of the forthcoming eschaton, no doubt...

On the 13 September, there will be no spaghetti, fettucine, farfalle or rigatoni in Italy, as the country goes on its first-ever pasta strike.
Angry Italians are downing their forks in response to a 30 per cent price rise in the nation's favourite food, along with steep rises in the price of coffee, mozzarella, bread, biscuits and schoolbooks.
A second strike over the increase in the price of a cup of coffee in a cafe, from 70 euro cents (50p) to one euro, has also been threatened.
According to Italy's four largest consumer groups, the average household in the Bel Paese will be stung for an extra £700 this year on their shopping.
"Giving up pasta for the day will be a symbolic gesture," said a spokesman for the consumer groups. "Italians should not buy any pasta that day, and try their best not to eat it at home."
Most Italians eat pasta at least once a day, and consume around 54 kilograms over the course of the year.
According to a recent study, many of them prefer pasta to all other pleasures. A survey by SWG, a polling company, found that nearly half of all Italian men and women would never give it up and would rather have a plate of spaghetti than sex.
Consequently, the strike-organisers are prepared for serious withdrawal symptoms. Emergency stands offering free bread and milk will be set up in all major Italian cities for those in need of carbohydrates.

Squishy...

Over at What Does the Prayer Really Say, Fr Z has received one of the most squishy comments I've ever read:

Dear John
I happened on your web-site and blog and I had to quickly move elsewhere as I found myself entering a prison! You yourself put it so beautifully and powerfully well “Slavishly accurate Liturgical Translations”! What a pity it is to be a prisoner of accuracy and prisoner of the letter when we are called to be not “slavishly” but “LAVISHLY” and creatively free, open and awake enough to listen to the ever fresh daily rhythms of the Spirit who is beyond all boundaries and who as you know breathes where She wills! Be blessed John and may you know true freedom in the one who came to set us ALL free.
Philip sj

I don't want to read too much into such a short comment, but it seems to me that Fr Philip fundamentally misunderstands the nature of Christian freedom. Veritas liberabit! The truth will set you free. Fr Zuhlsdorf does us a great service in unlocking the riches of the Roman liturgy, whilst talk of the ever fresh daily rhythms of the Spirit who is beyond all boundaries puts me on my guard... There are far too many squishy spiritualities that in their vagueness and solopism actually cushion us from the transforming power of the Word that cuts more finely than a double-edged sword.

Lunacy in the UK

From the Telegraph:

A Christian student society is going to the High Court to overturn a ruling requiring it to admit non-Christians.
The Christian Union at Exeter said the ruling by an independent adjudicator would mean Muslims or atheists could become its leaders.
Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, is backing the organisation.
His successor, Dr Rowan Williams, has criticised the "suppression" of Christian groups on campuses.
The 350-strong Union was told by the Students' Guild, which regulates student bodies, last year that it may lose its status unless it drops its requirement for members to declare their faith in Jesus because it meant the society was closed to many students.
The University appointed Mark Shaw QC to produce an independent adjudication.
In his ruling earlier this month, he criticised the union for restricting its membership to Christians, even though its meetings are open to all.
Lord Carey said: "This ruling opens the way for a Muslim to head up an Anglican Society or a member of the BNP to chair the Labour club.
(snip)
The National Union of Students said: "Students' unions have a duty to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all communities.
"As a result, they continually take steps to ensure that their own equal opportunities policies are adhered to."

But what will his e-mail address look like?

From the Telegraph:

In China, where almost 90 per cent of the population has one of just 129 surnames, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd.
However, if one couple have their way, their child will be able consider itself a true individual by having "@", the symbol used in email addresses, as its given name.
The name application was cited by a government official as one of many off-beat requests as parents attempted to counter the traditional naming methods that have led to such conformity.
Li Yuming, of the state language commission, said the couple argued that "the whole world uses '@' to write emails" and that translated it sounded like "love him" in Mandarin.
Mr Li did not say whether the police, who were the arbiters of names because they issued identity cards, rejected baby "@" and others, but last year there were 60 million people who had "unfamiliar characters" in their names.

Cannibal Tribe Apologises...

From the Telegraph:

A tribe in Papua New Guinea has apologised for killing and eating four 19th century missionaries under the command of a doughty British clergyman.
The four Fijian missionaries were on a proselytising mission on the island of New Britain when they were massacred by Tolai tribesmen in 1878.
They were murdered on the orders of a local warrior chief, Taleli, and were then cooked and eaten.
The Fijians - a minister and three teachers - were under the leadership of the Reverend George Brown, an adventurous Wesleyan missionary who was born in Durham but spent most of his life spreading the word of God in the South Seas.
Thousands of villagers attended a reconciliation ceremony near Rabaul, the capital of East New Britain province, once notorious for the ferocity of its cannibals.
Their leaders apologised for their forefather's taste for human flesh to Fiji's high commissioner to Papua New Guinea.
"We at this juncture are deeply touched and wish you the greatest joy of forgiveness as we finally end this record disagreement," said Ratu Isoa Tikoca, the high commissioner.
Cannibalism was common in many parts of the South Pacific - Fiji was formerly known as the Cannibal Isles - and dozens of missionaries were killed by hostile islanders.
Born at Barnard Castle, Durham, Rev Brown emigrated to New Zealand as a young man and served as a missionary in Samoa before moving with his wife and children to New Guinea.
He was familiar with the cannibalistic traditions of the region and once described a visit to a village in which he counted 35 smoke-blackened human jaw bones dangling from the rafters of a hut.
"A human hand, smoke-dried, was hanging in the same house. And outside I counted 76 notches in a coconut tree, each notch of which, the natives told us, represented a human body which had been cooked and eaten there," he told the Royal Geographical Society.
Even so, he was shocked when told that four of his staff had been cannibalised.

How embarassing...

Lucy, over at City of Steeples, links to an unfortunate flier for a 'Lakefront Procession'. The hapless organisers have decided to advertise the presence of a Prince of the Church by referring to him as 'Possible successor to Pope Benedict XVI'. Needless to say, I doubt that either of the participating prelates would have given the okay to such a description.

~ Zadok the Roman
Possible Successor to St Augustine

(Who should I bribe to be made titular Bishop of Hippo?)

Disturbing story from the UK

From the Telegraph:

Lawyers have told the Roman Catholic Church that it cannot sack a Catholic headmaster who has entered a civil partnership with a male teacher.
The Archdiocese of Liverpool has been unable to take action against Charles Coyne, the head of St Cecilia's primary school, who has registered a partnership with Richard Jones, who is believed to work at a nearby school.
Pope Benedict XVI has called civil partnerships "anarchic" and a danger to the family.
The couple, who live together, had a reception in a parish centre.
Local Catholics and family campaigners have urged the authorities to take action over the "scandal".
One churchgoer said: "Senior officials are aware of this yet they have done nothing. It's unacceptable."
Norman Wells, the director of the Family Education Trust, said: "It is not unreasonable for parents sending their children to a faith school to expect the headteacher to be living according to that faith."
The archdiocese - which is headed by Archbishop Patrick Kelly, the second most senior cleric in England and Wales - said it was powerless.
It said in a statement that Mr Coyne had run St Cecilia's for many years and "matters relating to his personal life have in no way interfered with his management of the school".
A spokesman for the archdiocese said senior officials, including Fr Michael O'Dowd, the episcopal vicar for schools and colleges, had discussed the case as issues of employment law were involved.
"Legal advice was sought," the spokesman said. "The Church was advised that in this case nothing could be done, despite the fact that the head was acting contrary to Church teaching."
One bishop, the Rt Rev John Jukes, said school governors should ask a head teacher to step down if he or she openly flouted the Church's moral code.
"I would ask heads to think about the example they are setting to their pupils and the local community," said Bishop Jukes, an auxiliary bishop emeritus in Southwark.
(snip)
The Rev Richard Kirker, the general secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, predicted that Mr Coyne's "courageous" step would be followed by others in senior posts.
"This will be very helpful to everybody who expects the Catholic Church to be open and honest," he said.

Would it not be more 'open and honest' for Mr Coyne to do the honourable thing and resign his post?

CoE - Women Clergy to be in the Majority?

From the Telegraph:

According to a report due for release this autumn, there will be as many female priests as male by 2025. The study, entitled Religious Trends, concludes that without the rapid growth in the number of women being ordained - as many women will be becoming priests as men by the end of the decade - some parishes would be forced to close.
(snip)
Some dioceses, many of them in rural locations, already report a higher number of women being ordained than men.
The report estimates that by 2016 one in every three priests will be a woman. This year, 47 per cent of new priests have been female. In the Bath and Wells diocese, 13 out of the 16 priests ordained have been women. In Wakefield, it is 10 out of 14.
The Rev Charlie Allen, 27, a vicar in the village of Portchester, Hampshire, said that her decision to be ordained had been met with some surprise, but that being a woman priest had become much easier.
"It is not the obvious job that parents expect their daughters to do," she said.
"The traditional stereotype of the middle-aged male priest is part of the Church's historical legacy, so when I started five years ago people would be surprised to see a young female priest. That is no longer the case. It has ceased to be a great unknown or something for people to fear or be worried about."
Miss Allen, the parish's first female incumbent, said some people still saw women priests as "slightly unusual", but predicted that in 10 years sex would no longer be an issue.
According to the study by Christian Research, an independent organisation that analyses Church statistics, between 1990 and 2015 the number of women priests will have doubled to 2,200 while the number of male clergy will have almost halved to just over 4,500.
The Ven Chris Lowson, director of ministry for the Archbishops' Council, the Church's executive body, said: "For the Church to be healthy and reflect its congregations it needs to be balanced. For most of its history it has been an inhospitable place for women's ministry so it has taken a while for the role models to have an impact. They are now catching up and are taking their place. If the Church hadn't ordained women we'd be in substantial difficulty now."
Despite the rapid growth in the number of women clergy, concerns that females are failing to make the higher echelons of the Church remain.
Since women were allowed to become priests in 1992, just two of the Church's 43 cathedrals have appointed a female dean. The Church is also struggling to find a way of permitting women to become bishops without antagonising traditionalists and evangelicals. Around 400 clergy left the Church of England after the decision to allow the ordination of women, with many converting to Catholicism.

Holy Oil?

From the Telegraph:

A patch of oil that vaguely resembles the face of Jesus Christ has fetched more than $1,500 in an online auction.
An American family that found the image on its garage floor sold it on eBay for $1,525.69 (£755) earlier this week.
Deb Serio, a high school teacher, said she was surprised anyone wanted to buy the oily slab of concrete.
"I really never thought I'd get any [money], to be honest," she said.
Ms Serio received hundreds of messages from around the world from people interested in the "smudge of Christ".
The family has now hired a contractor to remove the section of concrete.
The slab will then be delivered to the winner of the online auction, who is identified only as "islandoffthecoast."
An active Lutheran, Ms Serio considers the smudge a slightly odd occurrence, rather than a divine sign or miracle.
"There are some people who need this kind of thing to sort of start them on their faith journey. I don't," she said.
"That's why I don't mind parting with it."

Pretty cool Youtube Clip - The Virtual Barbershop

Play this whilst wearing headphones. Very impressive!

Priest shortage - what solution?

Fr Philip Powell OP posts an interesting piece about the possible effects of appointing 'parish life co-ordinators' en lieu of resident pastors in parishes:

I'm not one to be shy about noting that the Church has had mistakes in her long, long history. These mistakes seemed to multiple after Vatican Two when the spirit of invention and make-believe possessed some in the leadership to hold and teach that the intent of the Council Fathers was inadequately expressed in the actual texts of the Council. Mistake after mistake followed. And they still follow. Here's a sure-fire way to ensure that your parish will almost never again have a resident pastor: the Parish Life Coordinator (PLC).
From Pittsburgh we read: "In what the bishop who appointed her called 'a historic moment,' Sister Dorothy Pawlus, a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth, was commissioned July 15 as the first parish life collaborator in the Diocese of Pittsburgh."
(snip)

So, what's the problem?

1) Without a priest in charge of the parish, young men won't have a model of priesthood to aspire to; no fault accrues to Sister for this, of course, but we know young men need male leadership in order to be properly challenged to sacrifice secular enticements. Sister's appointment is one more example of the feminization of the Church and another nail in the coffin of priestly vocations.

2) Once Sister and other PLC's (no doubt there will be huge pressure to appoint women in most of these positions) are appointed, it will take an Act of God to move them out when priests become available. Make no mistake: the PLC is not a temporary canonical solution to a temporary vocational problem. This is a move (sideways and under the guise of an "emergent crisis") to undermine presbyteral authority in the parish by emptying the role of pastor of its orders. IOW, this is a move to make it possible to be appointed Pastor (even if not in name) w/o being an ordained priest. Priests will simply become traveling Sacrament Machines. The office of Priest Director will fade as demand for priests grows. Interesting side note: priests now are starting to look a whole like bishops in the Patristic period!

3). This is the first step in a long series of steps leading us to the "inevitability" of women being ordained priests. Think: altar girls and the arguments used post facto to defend against attempts to suppress the practice: "But we've been using altar girls for years!" Some predictions:

a). even with the availability of newly ordained priests, PLC's will continue to "pastor" their parishes with Fr. Newbie hanging around for "mentoring." He will be graduated to a staff position and made a "member of the team."

b). Within five years (but before the Fr. Newbies arrive) PLC's will demand the right to preach at Mass since Fr. Sacramental Minister isn't in residence and doesn't know the parish. How can he possibly preach to us when he doesn't know us?

c). Look for a new book of ceremonies to appear from The Liturgical Press, Liturgies for Pastoral Life Coordinators quite soon. It will be argued that since PLC's play a special role in the life of the parish, the church needs liturgies designed to celebrate their unique ministry. Translation: we need liturgical validation for the invention of the PLC so that the concept of the PLC is more easily tolerated over time. Liturgies bestow legitimacy and normalize innovation.

d). Parishes administered by female PLC's will produce far fewer priestly vocations than parishes run by priest-pastors. This NOT b/c women intentionally deter vocations or somehow jinx boys into believing that the priesthood is bad--how many priests today trace their vocations back to a religious sister? My point is that w/o active, visible, and regular priestly leadership in a parish, a boy or young man cannot "see" the priesthood in action.

The entirety of his post deserves reading and corresponds in its broad outline with some of my concerns about how the priest-shortage in the Western world is being dealt with.
Now, I think that we should be careful about assuming that all moves towards appointing lay-staff to perform functions that priests previously did are ideologically motivated. However, it would be naive not to admit that there is a significant push in some quarters to see the priest-shortage as being an act of the Holy Spirit to make space for greater lay/female participation in the Church. This opinion must be firmly resisted. A proper understanding of the relationship between the Priesthood of the Baptized and the Ministerial Priesthood will lead to the conclusion that as the laity become more actively and enthusiastically involved in the Church's work, there will be an even greater need for holy and energetic pastors to guide and serve them. Additionally, a true renewal of religious spirit amongst the laity should lead to more and more young people hearing the call to priestly and religious life. One of the signs of a flourishing and wholesome lay movement within the Church is a flowering of religious and priestly vocations in its ranks.
So, what's the solution?
This is the tricky part. What is to be done in a diocese when there are insufficient clergy to staff the parishes? It would seem imprudent to totally eschew lay staffing of parishes. After all, if a layperson can fulfil some of a pastor's administrative functions, then it would seem irresponsible to leave a parish to simply feel the pain rather than make some kind of accommodation to get the work done.
However, Fr Philip's post does make clear that any such lay position should not be that of a 'priest substitute' and I quite agree with him that the use of communion services as a 'Mass substitute' is, in general, a very bad idea. (Ironically, this detachment of the reception of the Eucharist and the celebration of Mass is something that the Second Vatican Council set itself against.)
One possible way of mitigating the damage done by the replacement of a full-time Pastor by a PLC would be to make such an appointment temporary. In other words, make it a 3 or a 4 year appointment, with the PLC being appointed to another parish at that time, and a priest brought in to be pastor. In this way, if there are going to be PLCs, then at least no parish is going to be permanently deprived of a priest.

I think that Fr Philip's post also points to a certain need to appreciate the theology of the priest's relationship with his parish. A pastor, surely, is supposed to be a spiritual father and shepherd to his flock. Priests and people alike need to take that seriously. Pastors need to minister with that in mind, and the parish needs to realise just how much its integrity as a flock and a family depends on the unifying and guiding figure of the pastor.

Phoney Priest

From the Telegraph:

Police are searching for a phoney priest who conducted funeral services before making off from each with hundreds of euros left by mourners in the collection plate.
Father Marco, as he called himself, told genuine priests at a series of cemetery chapels in Sicily that he had been asked by the families of the deceased to carry out the service.
Dressed in a dog collar and full Catholic robes, the "priest" conducted the funerals helped by two "altar servers" who were his accomplices in the scam.
At the end of each ceremony the "servers" passed among the congregation with a collection plate, before making off with the cash.
The deception was uncovered after the real priest at the Rotoli cemetery, near Palermo, Father Giuseppe Calafiore, was asked by mourners why he had not taken the service himself.
The police said the trio had carried out the swindle at several cemeteries across Sicily, picking out their victims by carefully scanning newspaper death notices.

Austen in the News

From the Times:

Mr Lassman, 43, had spent months trying without success to find a publisher for his own novel Freedom’s Temple. Out of frustration – and to test whether today’s publishers could spot great literature – he retyped the opening chapters of three Austen classics: Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
He changed only the titles, the names of the characters and his own name – calling himself Alison Laydee, after Austen’s early pseudonym “A Lady” – then waited for the offers to roll in.
Instead he received yet another sheaf of rejection letters, including one from Penguin, which republished Pride and Prejudice last year, describing his plagarised chapters as “a really original and interesting read” but not right for Penguin.
(snip)
Mr Lassman concocted his plan after returning from the Greek island where he had been writing his own novel and found himself facing a brick wall. “I was having a hard time getting it published and I was chatting to friends about it, saying I wondered how Jane would have fared today.
“Getting a novel accepted is very difficult unless you have an agent first, but I had no idea at the scale of rejection poor old Jane suffered.”
The literary agency Christopher Little, which represents J.K. Rowling, regretted that it was “not confident of placing this material with a publisher”. Jennifer Vale of Bloomsbury publishers turned down Northanger Abbey,renamed Susan, saying “I didn’t feel the book was suited to our list.”
The one publisher to recognise the deception was Alex Bowler, assistant editor at Jonathan Cape. His reply read: “Thank you for sending us the first two chapters of First Impressions; my first impression on reading these were ones of disbelief and mild annoyance, along with a moment’s laughter.
“I suggest you reach for your copy of Pride and Prejudice, which I’d guess lives in close proximity to your typewriter and make sure that your opening pages don’t too closely mimic the book’s opening. After all, there is such a thing as plagiarism and I’d hate for you to get in any kind of trouble with Jane Austen’s estate.”
Last night a spokeswoman for Penguin admitted that Mr Lassman’s submission may not actually have been read. She said: “We don’t take anything that is not agency-led, so I doubt the person would even have read it. I can’t comment on this individual case but I don’t think we have done anything bad.”

The Italian Necktie - Under threat?

From the Telegraph:

With temperatures soaring, and air conditioners running at full blast, Italians have been ordered by the government to shed their ties in order to cool down.
Livia Turco, the health minister, has sent a memo to "all government employees and private Italians" which states that the "small gesture" can lead to "an immediate fall in body temperature of between two and three degrees".
She said that if ties were taken off, there would be "health benefits, and consequently there would be less need to use artificial air conditioning".
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, the environment minister, said he had already told his department to doff their ties. He even claimed that ties made their wearers hotter than jackets.
A tie-less culture has been quickly embraced by many Italians, including Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, and Riccardo Illy, the coffee baron and regional governor of Friuli.
However, some Italians said it was a sartorial disgrace. Alain Elkann, a writer and the husband of Margherita Agnelli, the Fiat heiress, said it was impolite.
"I have never failed to wear a tie in public in 40 years," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. At most, he would remove his jacket.

Personally, I'm on the side of the tie-wearers.

Motu Priprio: Summorum Pontificum

Fr Z has much more informed commentary than I can offer.

Letter of Pope to Chinese Catholics

It's up! (Along with a note of explanation.)
Some extracts I found interesting:
Benedict on the relationship between Church and State (In China and elsewhere)

As far as relations between the political community and the Church in China are concerned, it is worth calling to mind the enlightening teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which states: ‘‘The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor is she tied to any political system. She is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person''. And the Council continues: ‘‘The political community and the Church are autonomous and independent of each other in their own fields. They are both at the service of the personal and social vocation of the same individuals, though under different titles. Their service will be more efficient and beneficial to all if both institutions develop better cooperation according to the circumstances of place and time''.13
Likewise, therefore, the Catholic Church which is in China does not have a mission to change the structure or administration of the State; rather, her mission is to proclaim Christ to men and women, as the Saviour of the world, basing herself – in carrying out her proper apostolate – on the power of God. As I recalled in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, ‘‘The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply''.
In the light of these unrenounceable principles, the solution to existing problems cannot be pursued via an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities; at the same time, though, compliance with those authorities is not acceptable when they interfere unduly in matters regarding the faith and discipline of the Church. The civil authorities are well aware that the Church in her teaching invites the faithful to be good citizens, respectful and active contributors to the common good in their country, but it is likewise clear that she asks the State to guarantee to those same Catholic citizens the full exercise of their faith, with respect for authentic religious freedom.

A lesson from the history of the early Church

In this regard, last year, while speaking of the nascent Church, I had occasion to recall that ‘‘from the start the community of the disciples has known not only the joy of the Holy Spirit, the grace of truth and love, but also trials that are constituted above all by disagreements about the truths of faith, with the consequent wounds to communion. Just as the fellowship of love has existed since the outset and will continue to the end (cf. 1 Jn 1:1ff.), so also, from the start, division unfortunately arose. We should not be surprised that it still exists today ... Thus, in the events of the world but also in the weaknesses of the Church, there is always a risk of losing faith, hence, also love and brotherhood. Consequently it is a specific duty of those who believe in the Church of love and want to live in her to recognize this danger too''.
The history of the Church teaches us, then, that authentic communion is not expressed without arduous efforts at reconciliation. Indeed, the purification of memory, the pardoning of wrong-doers, the forgetting of injustices suffered and the loving restoration to serenity of troubled hearts, all to be accomplished in the name of Jesus crucified and risen, can require moving beyond personal positions or viewpoints, born of painful or difficult experiences. These are urgent steps that must be taken if the bonds of communion between the faithful and the Pastors of the Church in China are to grow and be made visible.

Church and State

Regarding the delicate issue of the relations to be maintained with the agencies of the State, particular enlightenment can be found in the invitation of the Second Vatican Council to follow the words and modus operandi of Jesus Christ. He, indeed, ‘‘did not wish to be a political Messiah who would dominate by force but preferred to call himself the Son of Man who came to serve, and ‘to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mk 10:45). He showed himself as the perfect Servant of God who ‘will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick' (Mt 12:20). He recognized civil authority and its rights when he ordered tribute to be paid to Caesar, but he gave clear warning that the greater rights of God must be respected: ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God, the things that are God's' (Mt 22:21). Finally, he brought his revelation to perfection when he accomplished on the Cross the work of redemption by which he achieved salvation and true freedom for the human race. For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke out against it. His Kingdom does not establish its claims by force,28 but is established by bearing witness to and listening to the truth and it grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the Cross, draws people to himself (cf. Jn 12:32)''.
Truth and charity are the two supporting pillars of the life of the Christian community. For this reason, I have observed that ‘‘the Church of love is also the Church of truth, understood primarily as fidelity to the Gospel entrusted by the Lord Jesus to his followers ... However, if the family of God's children is to live in unity and peace, it needs someone to keep it in the truth and guide it with wise and authoritative discernment: this is what the ministry of the Apostles is required to do. And here we come to an important point. The Church is wholly of the Spirit but has a structure, the apostolic succession, which is responsible for guaranteeing that the Church endures in the truth given by Christ, from whom the capacity to love also comes ... The Apostles and their successors are therefore the custodians and authoritative witnesses of the deposit of truth consigned to the Church, and are likewise the ministers of charity. These are two aspects that go together ... Truth and love are the two faces of the same gift that comes from God and, thanks to the apostolic ministry, is safeguarded in the Church and handed down to us, to our present time!''.

A decision for Chinese Bishops?

Given this difficult situation, not a few members of the Catholic community are asking whether recognition from the civil authorities – necessary in order to function publicly – somehow compromises communion with the universal Church. I am fully aware that this problem causes painful disquiet in the hearts of Pastors and faithful. In this regard I maintain, in the first place, that the requisite and courageous safeguarding of the deposit of faith and of sacramental and hierarchical communion is not of itself opposed to dialogue with the authorities concerning those aspects of the life of the ecclesial community that fall within the civil sphere. There would not be any particular difficulties with acceptance of the recognition granted by civil authorities on condition that this does not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of faith and of ecclesiastical communion. In not a few particular instances, however, indeed almost always, in the process of recognition the intervention of certain bodies obliges the people involved to adopt attitudes, make gestures and undertake commitments that are contrary to the dictates of their conscience as Catholics. I understand, therefore, how in such varied conditions and circumstances it is difficult to determine the correct choice to be made. For this reason the Holy See, after restating the principles, leaves the decision to the individual Bishop who, having consulted his presbyterate, is better able to know the local situation, to weigh the concrete possibilities of choice and to evaluate the possible consequences within the diocesan community. It could be that the final decision does not obtain the consensus of all the priests and faithful. I express the hope, however, that it will be accepted, albeit with suffering, and that the unity of the diocesan community with its own Pastor will be maintained.

The Three Types of Chinese Bishop and their Canonical Status

Currently, all the Bishops of the Catholic Church in China are sons of the Chinese People. Notwithstanding many grave difficulties, the Catholic Church in China, by a particular grace of the Holy Spirit, has never been deprived of the ministry of legitimate Pastors who have preserved the apostolic succession intact. We must thank the Lord for this constant presence, not without suffering, of Bishops who have received episcopal ordination in conformity with Catholic tradition, that is to say, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and at the hands of validly and legitimately ordained Bishops in observance of the rite of the Catholic Church.
Some of them, not wishing to be subjected to undue control exercised over the life of the Church, and eager to maintain total fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to Catholic doctrine, have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration. The clandestine condition is not a normal feature of the Church's life, and history shows that Pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith and to resist interference from State agencies in matters pertaining intimately to the Church's life. For this reason the Holy See hopes that these legitimate Pastors may be recognized as such by governmental authorities for civil effects too – insofar as these are necessary – and that all the faithful may be able to express their faith freely in the social context in which they live.
Other Pastors, however, under the pressure of particular circumstances, have consented to receive episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate, but have subsequently asked to be received into communion with the Successor of Peter and with their other brothers in the episcopate. The Pope, considering the sincerity of their sentiments and the complexity of the situation, and taking into account the opinion of neighbouring Bishops, by virtue of his proper responsibility as universal Pastor of the Church, has granted them the full and legitimate exercise of episcopal jurisdiction. This initiative of the Pope resulted from knowledge of the particular circumstances of their ordination and from his profound pastoral concern to favour the reestablishment of full communion. Unfortunately, in most cases, priests and the faithful have not been adequately informed that their Bishop has been legitimized, and this has given rise to a number of grave problems of conscience. What is more, some legitimized Bishops have failed to provide any clear signs to prove that they have been legitimized. For this reason it is indispensable, for the spiritual good of the diocesan communities concerned, that legitimation, once it has occurred, is brought into the public domain at the earliest opportunity, and that the legitimized Bishops provide unequivocal and increasing signs of full communion with the Successor of Peter.
Finally, there are certain Bishops – a very small number of them – who have been ordained without the Pontifical mandate and who have not asked for or have not yet obtained, the necessary legitimation. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, they are to be considered illegitimate, but validly ordained, as long as it is certain that they have received ordination from validly ordained Bishops and that the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination has been respected. Therefore, although not in communion with the Pope, they exercise their ministry validly in the administration of the sacraments, even if they do so illegitimately. What great spiritual enrichment would ensue for the Church in China if, the necessary conditions having been established, these Pastors too were to enter into communion with the Successor of Peter and with the entire Catholic episcopate! Not only would their episcopal ministry be legitimized, there would also be an enrichment of their communion with the priests and the faithful who consider the Church in China part of the Catholic Church, united with the Bishop of Rome and with all the other particular Churches spread throughout the world.
In individual nations, all the legitimate Bishops constitute an Episcopal Conference, governed according to its own statutes, which by the norms of canon law must be approved by the Apostolic See. Such an Episcopal Conference expresses the fraternal communion of all the Bishops of a nation and treats the doctrinal and pastoral questions that are significant for the entire Catholic community of the country without, however, interfering in the exercise of the ordinary and immediate power of each Bishop in his own diocese. Moreover, every Episcopal Conference maintains opportune and useful contacts with the civil authorities of the place, partly in order to favour cooperation between the Church and the State, but it is obvious that an Episcopal Conference cannot be subjected to any civil authority in questions of faith and of living according to the faith (fides et mores, sacramental life), which are exclusively the competence of the Church.
In the light of the principles expounded above, the present College of Catholic Bishops of China cannot be recognized as an Episcopal Conference by the Apostolic See: the "clandestine'' Bishops, those not recognized by the Government but in communion with the Pope, are not part of it; it includes Bishops who are still illegitimate, and it is governed by statutes that contain elements incompatible with Catholic doctrine.

The Appointment of Bishops

As all of you know, one of the most delicate problems in relations between the Holy See and the authorities of your country is the question of episcopal appointments. On the one hand, it is understandable that governmental authorities are attentive to the choice of those who will carry out the important role of leading and shepherding the local Catholic communities, given the social implications which – in China as in the rest of the world – this function has in the civil sphere as well as the spiritual. On the other hand, the Holy See follows the appointment of Bishops with special care since this touches the very heart of the life of the Church, inasmuch as the appointment of Bishops by the Pope is the guarantee of the unity of the Church and of hierarchical communion. For this reason the Code of Canon Law (cf. c. 1382) lays down grave sanctions both for the Bishop who freely confers episcopal ordination without an apostolic mandate and for the one who receives it: such an ordination in fact inflicts a painful wound upon ecclesial communion and constitutes a grave violation of canonical discipline.
The Pope, when he issues the apostolic mandate for the ordination of a Bishop, exercises his supreme spiritual authority: this authority and this intervention remain within the strictly religious sphere. It is not, therefore, a question of a political authority, unduly asserting itself in the internal affairs of a State and offending against its sovereignty.
The appointment of Bishops for a particular religious community is understood, also in international documents, as a constitutive element of the full exercise of the right to religious freedom. The Holy See would desire to be completely free to appoint Bishops; therefore, considering the recent particular developments of the Church in China, I trust that an accord can be reached with the Government so as to resolve certain questions regarding the choice of candidates for the episcopate, the publication of the appointment of Bishops, and the recognition – concerning civil effects where necessary – of the new Bishops on the part of the civil authorities.
Finally, as to the choice of candidates for the episcopate, while knowing your difficulties in this regard, I would like to remind you that they should be worthy priests, respected and loved by the faithful, models of life in the faith, and that they should possess a certain experience in the pastoral ministry, so that they are equipped to address the burdensome responsibility of a Pastor of the Church.45 Whenever it proves impossible within a diocese to find suitable candidates to occupy the episcopal see, the cooperation of Bishops in neighbouring dioceses can help to identify suitable candidates.

Practicalities

In not a few situations, then, you have faced the problem of concelebration of the Eucharist. In this regard, I remind you that this presupposes, as conditions, profession of the same faith and hierarchical communion with the Pope and with the universal Church. Therefore it is licit to concelebrate with Bishops and with priests who are in communion with the Pope, even if they are recognized by the civil authorities and maintain a relationship with entities desired by the State and extraneous to the structure of the Church, provided – as was said earlier (cf. section 7 above, paragraph 8) – that this recognition and this relationship do not entail the denial of unrenounceable principles of the faith and of ecclesiastical communion.
The lay faithful too, who are animated by a sincere love for Christ and for the Church, must not hesitate to participate in the Eucharist celebrated by Bishops and by priests who are in full communion with the Successor of Peter and are recognized by the civil authorities. The same applies for all the other sacraments.
Concerning Bishops whose consecrations took place without the pontifical mandate yet respecting the Catholic rite of episcopal ordination, the resulting problems must always be resolved in the light of the principles of Catholic doctrine. Their ordination – as I have already said (cf. section 8 above, paragraph 12) – is illegitimate but valid, just as priestly ordinations conferred by them are valid, and sacraments administered by such Bishops and priests are likewise valid. Therefore the faithful, taking this into account, where the eucharistic celebration and the other sacraments are concerned, must, within the limits of the possible, seek Bishops and priests who are in communion with the Pope: nevertheless, where this cannot be achieved without grave inconvenience, they may, for the sake of their spiritual good, turn also to those who are not in communion with the Pope.

Future Moves

Numerous administrative changes have taken place in the civil sphere during the last fifty years. This has also involved various ecclesiastical circumscriptions, which have been eliminated or regrouped or have been modified in their territorial configuration on the basis of the civil administrative circumscriptions. In this regard, I wish to confirm that the Holy See is prepared to address the entire question of the circumscriptions and ecclesiastical provinces in an open and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Episcopate and – where opportune and helpful – with governmental authorities.

Message to Priests

I would now like to address a special reflection and an invitation to priests – especially those ordained in recent years – who have undertaken the path of the pastoral ministry with such generosity. It seems to me that the current ecclesial and socio-political situation renders ever more urgent the need to draw light and strength from the well-springs of priestly spirituality, which are God's love, the unconditional following of Christ, passion for proclamation of the Gospel, faithfulness to the Church and generous service of neighbour. How can I fail to recall, in this regard, as an encouragement for all, the shining examples of Bishops and priests who, in the difficult years of the recent past, have testified to an unfailing love for the Church, even by the gift of their own lives for her and for Christ?
My dear priests! You who bear "the burden of the day and the scorching heat'' (Mt 20:12), who have put your hand to the plough and do not look back (cf. Lk 9:62): think of those places where the faithful are waiting anxiously for a priest and where for many years, feeling the lack of a priest, they have not ceased to pray for one to arrive. I know that among you there are confrères who have had to deal with difficult times and situations, adopting positions that cannot always be condoned from an ecclesial point of view and who, despite everything, want to return to full communion with the Church. In the spirit of that profound reconciliation to which my venerable predecessor repeatedly invited the Church in China,49 I turn now to the Bishops who are in communion with the Successor of Peter, so that with a paternal spirit they may evaluate these questions case by case and give a just response to that desire, having recourse – if necessary – to the Apostolic See. And, as a sign of this desired reconciliation, I think that there is no gesture more significant than that of renewing as a community – on the occasion of the priestly day of Holy Thursday, as happens in the universal Church, or on another occasion that might be considered more opportune – the profession of faith, as a witness to the full communion attained, for the edification of the Holy People of God entrusted to your pastoral care, and to the praise of the Most Holy Trinity.
Furthermore, I realize that in China too, as in the rest of the Church, the need for an adequate ongoing formation of the clergy is emerging. Hence the invitation, addressed to you Bishops as leaders of ecclesial communities, to think especially of the young clergy who are increasingly subject to new pastoral challenges, linked to the demands of the task of evangelizing a society as complex as present-day Chinese society. Pope John Paul II reminded us of this: ongoing formation of priests "is an intrinsic requirement of the gift and sacramental ministry received; and it proves necessary in every age. It is particularly urgent today, not only because of rapid changes in the social and cultural conditions of individ- uals and peoples among whom priestly ministry is exercised, but also because of that ‘new evangelization' which constitutes the essential and pressing task of the Church at the end of the second millennium''.

The Family

Since the future of humanity passes by way of the family, I consider it indispensable and urgent that lay people should promote family values and safeguard the needs of the family. Lay people, whose faith enables them to know God's marvellous design for the family, have an added reason to assume this concrete and demanding task: the family in fact "is the normal place where the young grow to personal and social maturity. It is also the bearer of the heritage of humanity itself, because through the family, life is passed on from generation to generation. The family occupies a very important place in Asian cultures; and, as the Synod Fathers noted, family values like filial respect, love and care for the aged and the sick, love of children and harmony are held in high esteem in all Asian cultures and religious traditions''.
The above-mentioned values form part of the relevant Chinese cultural context, but also in your land there is no lack of forces that influence the family negatively in various ways. Therefore the Church which is in China, aware that the good of society and her own good are profoundly linked to the good of the family, must have a keener and more urgent sense of her mission to proclaim to all people God's plan for marriage and the family, ensuring the full vitality of each.

Canonical Normalisation?

Considering in the first place some positive developments of the situation of the Church in China, and in the second place the increased opportunities and greater ease in communication, and finally the requests sent to Rome by various Bishops and priests, I hereby revoke all the faculties previously granted in order to address particular pastoral necessities that emerged in truly difficult times.
Let the same be applied to all directives of a pastoral nature, past and recent. The doctrinal principles that inspired them now find a new application in the directives contained herein.

Day of Prayer

Dear Pastors and all the faithful, the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China. This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: ‘‘First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth'' (1 Tim 2:1-4).
On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world – in particular those who are of Chinese origin – will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure.

I'm sure that Fr Z will be analysing this letter, given his interest in the situation of the Chinese Church.

Morally Licit Use of Prophylactics

It's probably childish of me to post this from the Telegraph:

India is struggling to prevent millions of condoms from being made into toys or sold as balloons.
The contraceptives were distributed free to control the country's population and restrict the Aids virus.
However, they are being used instead to strengthen roads, provide extra waterproofing for houses and to carry water.
Health activists said millions of condoms were melted down for their latex and made into toys. Others were dyed and sold as balloons.
In rural areas, villagers used them as water containers. India's soldiers covered their gun barrels with condoms as protection against dust.
Only a quarter of about 1.5 billion condoms made each year were "properly utilised", the activists said.
Health planners are trying to control India's population of more than 1.2 billion. In 2005 the HIV epidemic afflicted more than 5.7 million people. Of the 891 million condoms meant to be handed out free, most were used by road contractors, who mixed them with concrete and tar to create a smooth surface.

I wonder if seeing these immoral plans frustrated makes a little schadenfreude licit?

Letter to Chinese Catholics

Out Saturday:

Si informano i giornalisti accreditati che domani, sabato 30 giugno 2007, sarà a disposizione, a partire dalle ore 9 con embargo fino alle ore 12, la Lettera del Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ai Vescovi, ai presbiteri, alle persone consacrate e ai fedeli laici della Chiesa cattolica nella Repubblica Popolare Cinese.

Accredited journalists are advised that tomorrow (under embargo from 9am to 12 noon) there will be made available the letter of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and the lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China.