+ Catholic News Update Asia VOL: IX - ISSUE: 199 – JUNE 7Th, 2016 (Estd

+ Catholic News Update Asia VOL: IX - ISSUE: 199 – JUNE 7th, 2016 (Estd. July 3rd 2007) Daily Dispatch of Catholic Information by e mail - Supreme Loyalty to the Magisterium Presenting Different Voices & Different Continents - A Non Profit Media Venture FREE SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST TO : [email protected] TO UNSUBSCRIBE : [email protected] POSTAL ADDRESS : Catholic News Update Asia, 191, Valluvar Nagar, Indunagar, Ootacamund - 643005, Tamilnadu, INDIA

ECCL. ADVISER : + A. Amalraj, Bishop of Ootacamund THE EDITORIAL TEAM - Dr.Ambrose Pinto SJ, Dr.Anandam Lourdu, Fr.Cedric Prakash SJ, Fr.Charles Irudayam, Sr.Inigo Joachim SSA, Dr.John Felix Raj SJ, Dr.Joe Mannath SDB, Fr.Joe Mattam SJ, Dr.Sr.Mudita Menona Sodder RSCJ, Fr.Nithya Sagayam OFM Cap., Dr.Sr.Pauline Chakkalakal DSP, Fr.Peter J. Henriot SJ, Mr.Samson Asservatham, Dr.Sr.Shalini Mulackal, Fr.Shay Cullan, Fr.Sunny Jacob SJ, Bro.Varghese Theckanath SG, Fr.Vimal Tirimanna CSsR K. M. Selvaraj, Founder Editor

CONTENTS

When the faithful prays for priests, what should we be praying for? What are the biggest challenges they are facing, especially today? I would say pray for our spiritual integrity. That priests remain grounded in Christ, grounded in the sacraments, especially in the sacrament of reconciliation and the Eucharist, that we retain the spiritual center. I would pray – because the priesthood, as you know, is under attack in many ways in our culture, in our society – that priests remain grounded in Christ, they know who they are. I’d also pray for their protection... Ask the Blessed Mother to protect priests. And, I would also say, pray for vocations. One thing I found very edifying when I was rector of Mundelein seminary (was that) the vocations kept coming, even though a lot of us felt, oh gosh, with the scandals the numbers would go down. They really didn’t. Vocations kept coming. So, pray for that, that the numbers continue to grow. - Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word On Fire Catholic ministries and auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, was invited to give a catechesis to the English-language participants during the June 1-3 Jubilee of Priests –

COLUMN : Sensitivity and Suffering By Ron Rolheiser OMI COMMENTARY : The sacking of bishops who fail to deal properly with abuse is long overdue – Catholic Herald COMMENTARY : Pope's move to oust bishops negligent on sexual abuse gets mixed reviews - NCR Online FORUM : The Holy Imperfect Woman By Amy Atkinson GLOBAL ; The Web We Weave By The Editors America ROME : Francis is reforming Roman Curia by circumvention By Robert Mickens ROME : What's the priesthood for? Bishop Barron SPIRITUAL : No matter how big your problem, you can find comfort in the Sacred Heart … by Mary O'Regan U. S. : New U.S. Nuncio Calls for Church To Embrace ‘Discipleship of Christ’ By Kevin Clarke VATICAN : Pope Francis puts Guam archbishop accused of sex abuse on leave By Rosie Scammell YOUTH : “Mercy at the heart of WYD in Krakow” Card. Dziwisz YOUTH : How You Can Be Like The Apostles By Bp. Michael Pfeifer YOUTH : My First World Youth Day By Bp. Nelson J. Perez

COLUMN : Sensitivity and Suffering By Ron Rolheiser OMI (CNUA) Daniel Berrigan, in one of his famous quips, once wrote: Before you get serious about Jesus, first consider carefully how good you are going to look on wood! In saying this, he was trying to highlight something that’s often radically misunderstood from almost every side, namely, how and why authentic religion brings suffering into our lives. On the one hand, all too common is the idea that if you welcome God into your life you will have an easier walk through life; God will spare you from many of the illnesses and sufferings that afflict others. Conversely, many others nurse the feeling, if not explicit belief, that God means for us to suffer, that there’s an intrinsic connection between suffering and depth, and that the more painful something is the better it is for you spiritually. There is, of course, some deep truth in this, spiritual depth is inextricably connected to suffering, as the Cross of Jesus reveals; and scripture does say that God chastises those who draw close to Him. But there are countless ways to misunderstand this. Jesus did say that we must take up our cross daily and follow him and that following him means precisely accepting a special suffering. But we might ask: Why? Why should suffering enter into our lives more deeply because we take Jesus seriously? Shouldn’t the opposite be true? Does true religion somehow stand against our natural exuberance? Is suffering deep and joy superficial? And, what does this say about God? Is God masochistic? Does God want and demand our suffering? Why is a certain inflow of pain necessarily concomitant with taking God seriously? Pain will flow into us more deeply when we take God seriously not because God wants it or because pain is somehow more blessed than joy. None of these. Suffering and pain are not what God wants; they’re negatives, to be eliminated in heaven. But, to the extent that we take God seriously, they will flow more deeply into our lives because in a deeper opening to God we will stop falsely protecting ourselves against pain and become much more sensitive so that life can flow more freely and more deeply into us. In that sensitivity, we will stop unconsciously manipulating everything so as to keep ourselves secure and pain-free. Simply put, we will experience deeper pain in our lives because, being more sensitive, we will be experiencing everything more deeply. The opposite is also true. If someone, as a crass expression might put it, is so insensitive so as to be thick as plank, his own insensitivity will surely immunize him against many sufferings and the pain of others will rarely disturb his peace of mind. Of course, he won’t experience meaning and joy very deeply either, that’s the price tag for insensitivity. A number of years ago, Michael Buckley, the California Jesuit, preached at the first mass of a newly ordained priest. In his homily, he didn’t ask the newly ordained man if he was strong enough to be a priest, but rather if he was weak enough to be a priest. In teasing out what’s contained in that paradox, Buckley helps answer the question of why drawing nearer to God also means drawing nearer to suffering: “Is this man deficient enough so that he cannot ward off significant suffering from his life, so that he lives with a certain amount of failure, so that he feels what it is to be an average man? Is there any history of confusion, of self-doubt, of interior anguish? Has he had to deal with fear, come to terms with frustrations, or accepted deflated expectations?” Buckley then goes on to make a comparison between Socrates and Jesus, as a study in human excellence, and highlights how Socrates appears, in many ways, to be the stronger person. Like Jesus, he too was unjustly condemned to death, but, unlike Jesus, he never went into fear and trembling or “sweated blood” over his impending death. He had drank the poison with calm and died. Jesus, as we know, didn’t undergo his death with nearly the same calm. The superficial judgment, Buckley suggests, is to see their different reactions to death in the light of their different deaths, crucifixion so much more horrible than drinking poison. But that, Buckley submits, while containing some truth, is secondary, not the real reason. Why did Jesus struggle more deeply with his death than Socrates did with his? Because of his extraordinary sensitivity. Jesus simply was less able to protect himself against pain. He felt things more deeply and consequently was more liable to physical pain and weariness, more sensitive to human rejection and contempt, more affected by love and hate. Socrates was a great, heroic man, no doubt; but, unlike Jesus who wept over Jerusalem, he never wept over Athens, never expressed sorrow and pain over the betrayal of friends. He was strong, possessed, calm, never overwhelmed. Jesus, for his part, was less able to protect himself against pain and betrayal and, consequently, was sometimes overwhelmed. > > > http://ronrolheiser.com/en/#.V1Zxa9cva4c

COMMENTARY : The sacking of bishops who fail to deal properly with abuse is long overdue by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith (Catholic Herald via CNUA) The Pope's new set of canons are significant because they locate the epicenter of the abuse crisis in the episcopacy The Pope has approved a new set of canons that will facilitate the swift removal of bishops who fail to deal with child abuse in their dioceses, this magazine reports. The learned Dr Ed Condon has some commentary on this website, that can be read here. He makes the very interesting point that this latest legislation is a sign of centralisation in the Church, and thus runs counter to the perceived decentralising tendencies of the current papacy. Moreover, both the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian have reported on the same story. Their reports make instructive reading about the way the world sees the Church’s handling of the abuse crisis. I am not a canon lawyer (some readers may wish to stop reading at this point) but the new canons strike me as highly significant, and at the same time perhaps not making much difference. Let me explain. This move is significant because it locates the epicenter of the abuse crisis in the episcopacy. This is where the heart of the problem lies. It is not in abusive priests and laity per se, but rather in the way abusive priests and laity can get away with their crimes thanks to the failure of bishops to oversee their dioceses properly. Sadly, there will always be abusive priests and laity, as there will always be abusive human beings. It is the job of bishops to keep these people with criminal tendencies away from children and other vulnerable people, which of course includes removing abusive priests from the clerical state. The word bishop, episcopos, means ‘overseer’ originally, and the clue to the role of the bishop is to be found in the name. The abuse crisis was caused by abusers in the first place, but the crisis became a catastrophe because many bishops were not properly capable of oversight, and lacked the necessary leadership skills. They could follow, but they could not lead. The abuse crisis revealed not just a crisis in the priesthood, but one in the episcopacy. So, it is quite right that this new legislation should be focused on the episcopacy. At the same time this new legislation is not particularly significant, because in truth the Papacy has always had the power to sack bishops who were not doing their jobs properly. If one looks back over the last few decades, though, one notices that his has been done very sparingly. One or two bishops have been sacked for financial incompetence. Two that I can think of have been removed for doctrinal reasons. A few have been kicked upstairs having failed to hold their flocks together. The late Archbishop of Cardiff, John Aloysius Ward, was sacked by St John Paul II for his failure to deal with abusive priests. So, it can be done. What is needed is the will to do it. It is at this point that the case of Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno in Chile, which the Guardian report mentions, becomes significant. It is incredible that Bishop Barros is still a bishop, given the controversy that surrounds him (though he denies any wrongdoing). The inescapable conclusion is that Bishop Barros has friends in high places. Will the new canons make any difference in Osorno? I doubt it. A law is only good as the people who enforce it. Alexander Lucie-Smith is a Catholic priest, doctor of moral theology and consulting editor of The Catholic Herald. On Twitter he is @ALucieSmith http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/06/06/the-power-to-sack- abusive-priests-has-always-existed-the-time-to-utilise-it-properly-is-long-overdue/

COMMENTARY : Pope's move to oust bishops negligent on sexual abuse gets mixed reviews By Joshua J. McElwee, Rome (NCr Online via CNUA) Pope Francis' move to grant several Vatican offices authority to initiate removal of Catholic bishops negligent in their response to clergy sexual abuse has drawn mixed reviews from canon lawyers and survivors' advocates, who say the pontiff's action may not go far enough in stemming the abuse crisis. The experts are expressing confusion over why the pontiff chose not to go forward with a proposal from his Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors for a new tribunal tasked specifically with judging bishops in their handling of sexual abuse and instead directed four existing Vatican congregations to take on the work. In one example, a canon lawyer at the Catholic University of America tweeted that the pope had promised the creation of that new tribunal more than a year ago. With Saturday's publication of the motu proprio Come una madre amorevole ("Like a loving mother"), that tribunal "seems to get [a] first class funeral," Kurt Martens continued. "Everyone seems to be excited about the new [motu proprio], but there is really no change," he said in a later conversation with NCR. "That which was already done is now put in a text format." Francis' new law, announced Saturday but taking effect Sept. 5, specifies that a bishop's negligence in response to clergy sexual abuse constitutes a "grave cause" under the Code of Canon Law and can lead to his removal from office. The law also empowers the four Vatican dicasteries to investigate bishops who fail in protecting children and to initiate processes for their removal, pending final papal approval. Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the head of the pontifical commission, told NCR in an emailed statement Sunday that the new law communicates "a sense of urgency and clarity that was not there before." "If the dicasteries were hesitant or confused about their role, they no longer have that excuse," said O'Malley. "And because it has to do with accountability all the eyes of the world will be upon them." "I am sure that we will be making recommendations for greater procedural clarity but the Holy Father's intent could not be any more clear," said the cardinal. "Bishops must be held responsible for their actions or inaction." Yet, Martens and other canon lawyers say that canon law already had provisions allowing the pope to remove bishops and that the new law is a relatively small measure that merely specifies what was happening in the past. The section in the current Code on removal from ecclesiastical office, for example, states that a bishop or other church leader can be removed from office "by a decree issued legitimately by competent authority" for "grave causes." As Dominican Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, who studies canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and serves on the board of the U.S. government's non-profit Legal Services Corporation, tweeted: "The option was always there in the law, this [motu proprio] just makes it clearer." The proposal for a new tribunal to judge bishops on their handling of sexual abuse was first announced by O'Malley's pontifical commission in June 2015. The original idea had been to create a new section within the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith specifically charged with judging prelates. The idea had however languished in the meantime, with one report from March indicating that the congregation had at that time not even been consulted or informed about the proposal. According to a statement Saturday from chief Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, Francis' new law effectively cuts the doctrinal congregation out of the conversation about bishops' negligence in sexual abuse matters. The doctrinal congregation will not be involved with the new law "because it is not a matter of crimes of abuse but of negligence of office," the spokesman said. The new measure, comprised of five short articles, allows "the competent congregation of the Roman Curia" to begin investigations of local bishops, eparchs, or heads of religious communities when the congregation suspects a leader's negligence has caused "physical, moral, spiritual or patrimonial" harm. Lombardi said that four Vatican congregations would be given the investigatory power: for Bishops, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for the Oriental Churches, and for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. "The diocesan bishop or the eparch or whoever has the responsibility for a particular church, even if temporarily ... can be legitimately removed from his position if he has by negligence, placed or omitted acts caused serious harm to others, whether their physical persons or the community as a whole," the new law states. "The diocesan bishop or eparch can be removed only if he has objectively been lacking in a very grave manner the diligence that is required of his pastoral office," it continues, specifying: "In the case of abuse against minors or vulnerable adults it is sufficient that the lacking of diligence be grave." The law states that "if it becomes necessary to remove the bishop" the congregation involved in the matter can either proceed "to give, in the shortest time possible, the decree or removal" or "to exhort the bishop fraternally to present his resignation within 15 days." "If the bishop does give his response in that time, the congregation can release the decree of removal," it states. All decisions by Vatican congregations, the law states, "must be subjected to the specific approval of the Roman Pontiff." The pope, it continues, will be assisted in making his decision "by a special association of legal experts of the designated need." The U.S. based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has issued two separate statements saying they are "highly skeptical" of the new measure. In a statement Sunday they said that while the original plan was to have one specific agency handle bishops who are negligent in sexual abuse matters, "now, instead, it’s supposedly going to be existing agencies ... none of which has ever taken real action, or even showed interest in complicit bishops." "It’s just like the U.S. bishops’ 'Dallas Charter,'" said the group, referring to the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" that the U.S. bishops signed in 2002 following intense reporting on the sexual abuse crisis in the Boston archdiocese. "When bishops talked about it, they used clear and tough language," said SNAP. "But when they wrote it, they got all legalistic and watered it down considerably." "Similarly, when Francis talked about holding complicit bishops responsible, he used clear and tough language," they continued. "But when he finally wrote something, he backed off his own strong words considerably." Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer in Boston who has been representing clergy sexual abuse victims for decades and was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the recent film Spotlight, was likewise skeptical. The new law, he said, "is fundamentally flawed because the Catholic Church will once again be investigating itself with regard to clergy sexual abuse." "History has shown us that the Catholic Church is incapable of objectively investigating itself in clergy sexual abuse cases," said Garabedian. "The fox is once again guarding the hen house and children are at risk." One canon lawyer, however, said that new law is of "huge significance." "Traditionally, the bishop in his diocese has been, almost literally, a law unto himself," said Ed Condon, a freelance canon lawyer writing in a column Saturday for the UK's Catholic Herald. "Recovering the dignity and authority of that office from encroaching centralization towards Rome was a key theme of the reforms of Vatican Council II," said Condon. "While the reasons he has done so are obvious and compelling, Pope Francis, for all his emphasis on synodality, has, for good or for ill, just dealt a major blow to the independence of the average diocesan bishop." Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac. > > > http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/popes-move-ouster-bishops-negligent- sexual-abuse-gets-mixed-reviews

FORUM : The Holy Imperfect Woman By Amy Atkinson (Ignitum Today via CNUA) If you’re a woman, I’m willing to bet that you have struggled with trying to be some definition of “perfect” at one point or another. In secular society, it’s easy to see how rampant female perfectionism is. So many of us strive to attain the perfect body, find the perfect job, or be the perfect wife/mother/sister/friend. This thinking can also exist within the Church. As Christian women, there are sometimes subtle expectations placed on us. There is quiet pressure to be perky and helpful at every moment, to never disagree or rock the boat, and to have a burning love for Jane Austen (I’m kidding on that last one…kind of). Maybe not every lady in the pew feels this way, though. I could very well be seeing this through the lens of my own scarred experience. All I know is that for many years, I felt a bit out of place in the “Catholic Woman Crowd” because of my gregarious personality, offbeat sense of humor, and proclivity to smoke an occasional cigarette. But I’m slowly learning that there is no “one-size-fits-all” image of Christian femininity. And we will all constantly struggle with sin, faults, and the feeling of never being perfect. In all actuality, it’s one of the most beautiful things about being a Christian. We are not reliant on our own actions to grow us in virtue. Sure, we have to put in the effort. We must take practical steps every day to eradicate our sin and vice. But in the end, we are free of the immense, unshoulderable burden of trying to save ourselves. The Catechism offers us this reminder: “All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time. Hence the Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ’s salvation but still on the way to holiness.” – CCC 827 We see here that Christ has already won the battle of salvation. We just need to keep running to Him again and again when we inevitably succumb to our weaknesses. We can trust that the Farmer knows what He’s doing when He prunes and tills our hearts. We can also look to the Blessed Virgin, the most beautiful example of pure, holy womanhood in all of history. Mary exuded the most authentic femininity that we as women should try to emulate. Of course, to the perfectionist, Mary might be intimidating. I had a bitter relationship with her for most of my life because I knew I could never be as holy or pure as she was. But over time, I learned to see her as my Mother in heaven who loved me very much and wanted me to attain holiness even more than I did. In our pursuit of holiness as Catholic women, let’s stop trying to be perfect. Let’s stop trying to fit ourselves into stereotypical molds of what we think Christian womanhood is, because really, they don’t exist. What has been more beneficial to me in my personal and spiritual growth has been to ask myself the question, “Who is the woman that God made me to be?” Most of the time, the answer is not some cookie-cutter trophy woman I wish I was. It’s following the “greatest path of love”, as Bishop Robert Barron coined, using the traits, quirks, strengths, and imperfections that God gave to me to do so. That’s all He asks of us, really. And that’s good enough. Amy Atkinson is a lifelong member of the Diocese of Arlington located in Northern Virginia. She is active in several of the diocese's young adult programs and has worked with many Catholic organizations throughout the DC/Metro area including Endow and Birthright, focusing primarily on ministry for young women. > > http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2016/06/06/holy-imperfect-woman/

GLOBAL ; The Web We Weave By The Editors (America via CNUA) In recent years some Catholic watchdog groups have led campaigns against church institutions and individuals who work within them that have had the effect of ruining careers, disrupting lives and generating unjustified tension within the Catholic community. Catholic service entities have been the frequent but not the only targets of these critics. These efforts have been typified by extreme rhetoric and relentless bullying on social media—ignoring beams, compulsively seeking splinters—and church bureaucracies have in some cases acceded to their pressure tactics. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., founding chief executive officer of Canada’s Salt and Light Media Foundation, delivered the keynote address during the Brooklyn Diocese’s observance of World Communications Day on May 11. He pulled no punches in condemning this unfortunate phenomenon and the broader problem of a Catholic web of anger and accusation. “The character assassination on the Internet by those claiming to be Catholic and Christian has turned it into a graveyard of corpses strewn all around,” he said. Father Rosica deplored “the obsessed, scrupulous, self-appointed, nostalgia-hankering virtual guardians of faith” who “resort to the Internet and become trolling pontiffs and holy executioners.” His words will no doubt only provoke those he is criticizing. He should not have to stand alone in doing so. In this Year of Mercy, Catholic communicators have a special responsibility to model the merciful relationships they seek to encourage in others. Debate, even fierce debate, in the church should not be unwelcome; but charity and esteem for the person—not rhetorical stratagems bent on personal destruction—should typify our dialogue. > > > http://americamagazine.org/issue/web-we-weave

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ROME : Francis is reforming Roman Curia by circumvention By Robert Mickens, A Roman Observer (NCR Online via CNUA) Pope Francis has begun another round of meetings with his Council of Cardinals (C9), a special advisory group he formed just a month after becoming Bishop of Rome to assist him in governing the universal church and reforming the Roman Curia. The three-day gathering, which got underway today at the pope's Santa Marta Residence, is the 15th time Francis has convened the C9 for discussions and consultations. During their last sessions in April, the cardinal-advisors continued to review the work and mission of various Curia offices. They also discussed "criteria" for selecting new bishops and the role of apostolic nuncios. "On the final day the council worked to gather, order and integrate the various contributions that have emerged from the meetings so far, so as to begin to structure an overall proposal to offer to the pope from the council in view of the new constitution [of the Roman Curia]," the Holy See Press Office said in a statement. The operative -- and to many, discouraging -- word in that press release is "begin." After three years and fourteen meetings, the C9 only now has begun to put together "an overall proposal" for reforming the Curia. Lots of people are wondering why it is taking so long. In my last column I noted that "many reform-minded Catholics have again become quite worried about the future direction of their church" because of the slow pace of reform. And that's quite understandable. Because -- as I pointed out -- "despite being able to effect a seismic change in attitude and ethos throughout the worldwide Catholic family, Francis has done nothing to ensure that this will not all be tossed aside" by a future pope. I've argued on various occasions that one way he could lay an unshakeable foundation for reform, which would be fully within the church's tradition, is by bolstering the role of the Synod of Bishops. "Making the Synod a constitutive part of the Bishop of Rome's ministry will also lead to a new and reduced role for the Roman Curia, which would be subjugated to the pope's Synod. Indeed this may be the only way that Francis can bring about a real reform of the Curia, which has eluded every one of his predecessors since this bureaucracy's genesis somewhere around the 15th century." In this way, he would bring about a reform of the Curia simply by circumventing and neutralizing it. In fact, he has already done much of that over the past three years. Under previous popes, especially John Paul II, the 20-some Roman congregations and pontifical councils churn out a steady flow of documents. The universal church was swimming in a deluge of Vatican guidelines, directives, decrees, notifications, declarations and so forth. But not so under Pope Francis. The torrent of texts has been reduced to a mere trickle. And nowhere has that been more noticeable and more significant than at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the office that Benedict XVI restored -- over and above the Secretariat of State -- as the most important in the Vatican. Think about this: In the three years that Francis has been Bishop of Rome, the doctrinal congregation has not issued a single document to the global church. Before he arrived it would routinely publish two to four every year, sometimes even more. The last one came in April 2012. It was the Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Others that year included a "notification" against the writings of American theologian, Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley, and a decree establishing the U.S. ordinariate for Episcopalian communities joining the Roman church. Significantly, Francis brought the so-called "investigation" of the LCWR to a quiet and peaceful end in the second year of his pontificate, effectively halting the doctrinal department's last major undertaking. The CDF -- like every department in the Roman Curia -- has no power of its own except that which the Roman Pontiff grants it. These offices are not, in a strict sense, a manifestation of episcopal collegialty. They are at the service of the pope. Paul VI introduced a collegial element to their work by mandating that each office would include a certain number of bishops from around the world who would serve as "members" and, thus, have a voice in the office's deliberations. But, de facto, the prefect (or president) and his staff in Rome are the ones who run the show. This was true under John Paul II who entrusted his CDF prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, with authority to write and issue scores of documents, as well as vet every major text issued by any other Vatican department. Over nearly three decades the Polish pope and Bavarian prefect worked in tandem to shape and regulate the church's life throughout the world. After Cardinal Ratzinger became Benedict XVI he continued to direct the CDF's work through surrogates -- Cardinal William Levada and now-Cardinal Gerhard Müller. He appointed the latter to the office in the summer of 2012. And there are strong indications that he did so after having already decided that he would soon resign the papacy. Francis, most likely out of respect for his theologian predecessor, not only kept Müller in his post (he had only been there nine months at the papal transition) but also gave him the red hat. But the Argentine pope has not utilized the CDF prefect or his department in the manner of John Paul or Benedict. On the contrary. Francis has circumvented him and has virtually emptied the doctrinal office of any real power, authority or utility in his pontificate. Cardinal Müller has not been called upon to officially present any of the current pope's writings or initiatives, expect for "his" encyclical, Lumen Fidei, in July 2013, which was actually not really his. It was the final work of Benedict XVI. Instead, Francis has called on other prelates and theologians -- such as Christoph Schönborn, Peter Turkson, Lorenzo Baldisseri and Rino Fisichella -- to explain his most important texts, such as Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si' and Amoris Laetitia. And in a stark break from Vatican custom, he gave the CDF no major role in the elaboration of any these key documents. Rather, the pope has relied heavily on theological help from "the ends of the earth," as he would put it. It is pretty well established that his primary ghostwriter is Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Catholic University of Argentina in Buenos Aires. And he has shown his high regard for and reliance on the thinking of Cardinal Walter Kasper since the first days of his pontificate. Francis also consults regularly with some of his Jesuit confreres on the other side of the Tiber -- such as Fr Antonio Spadaro, editor of Civiltà Cattolica, and certain professors at the Gregorian University -- to help in his discernment. He has basically marginalized the Roman Curia, while allowing it to continue to provide certain "essential" services. For example, there's a congregation that continues to crank out saints and another that selects candidates to become bishops. But Francis has not hesitated to sidestep their recommendations and "declare" his own saints (e.g. the Jesuits' co-founder, Peter Faber) and appoint his own bishops (the list here continues to grow). He has also neutralized the Congregation for Divine Worship, though the traditionalist prefect, Cardinal Robert Sarah, has been waging a sort of international media campaign in an attempt to influence the universal church. Francis certainly has not given him enough to do in Rome. So we come to back to the original concern. Is the pope making any moves to ensure that he will leave a legacy that cannot be undone when he is gone? Which means he has to make some structural or organizational changes. He has maintained from the start that, before any of that can happen, the first reform must be the reform of attitude and mentality. There must be a conversion, if you will. Over the past three years, that conversion has been slow in coming, but there are new signs everyday that it is taking root. This is already preparing (or softening up) the entire church, even some of the most reluctant and resistant bureaucrats in the curia, for the eventual concrete changes that will surely come. As Pope Francis likes to remind us, time is greater than space. And while he uses his time to circumvent the Roman Curia and map out the reform, he is proving to be quite effective in changing the face of the universal church. Robert Mickens is editor-in-chief of Global Pulse. Since 1986, he has lived in Rome, where he studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University before working 11 years at Vatican Radio and then another decade as correspondent for The Tablet of London. > > > http://ncronline.org/blogs/roman-observer/francis-reforming-roman-curia- circumvention

ROME : What's the priesthood for? Bishop Barron By Ann Schneible Rome, Italy, Jun 7, 2016 (CNA/EWTN News via CNUA) During last week's Jubilee for Priests in Rome, Bishop Robert Barron sat down for an interview with CNA where he discussed Pope Francis' view on the meaning of the priesthood. “In the vision of Pope Francis, (priests) are the key players in communicating the Divine Mercy to the world. He sees that as our primary mission,” Bishop Barron said June 3. “I think (the Pope) sees the mercy emphasis as the best way to renew the priesthood for our time.” Bishop Barron, founder of Word On Fire Catholic ministries and auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, was invited to give a catechesis to the English-language participants during the June 1-3 Jubilee of Priests. The three day event is the latest initiative in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which began last December and will continue until November. Before being appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in July of last year, Bishop Barron served as the rector of Mundelein seminary, starting 2012. A couple years earlier, the Chicago native launched the Word On Fire online ministries in 2000. See the rest of CNA's interview with Bishop Robert Barron below: You gave a catechesis to the English-speaking priests taking part in the Jubilee, with some 800 priests gathered at the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. What were some of the main points you discussed? I talked about the woman at the well, which is a favorite of Pope Francis. I drew four points from it about God’s mercy. (First), that God’s mercy is relentless, crossing boundaries and borders as Jesus does, reaching out to this triple outsider. Secondly, the Divine mercy is divinizing. It’s not just padding us on the head and healing our wounds; it lifts us up to share in the very divine life. He wants to give the woman at the well water bubbling up to eternal life. And then thirdly, I talked about Divine mercy as challenging. I’m against the view that the more you say ‘mercy,’ the less you say ‘moral challenge.’ No: it’s both/and. It’s mercy all the way, and that implies transformation – metanoia. Finally, mercy sends us on mission. There have been numerous Jubilees during this Holy Year of Mercy. What makes the Jubilee for Priests so special? I think priests, in the vision of Pope Francis, are the key players in communicating the Divine Mercy to the world. He sees that as our primary mission. So, we’re other Christs. What was Christ doing, but bearing the Father’s mercy to the world? That’s our job, as other Christs. I think he sees the mercy emphasis as the best way to renew the priesthood for our time. As I listen to him talking to priests, I hear that over and over again. Pope Francis is the spiritual father of all priests in the Church, and during this Jubilee, he led a spiritual retreat specifically for priests. From your perspective, having been charged with the formation of priests at Mundelein seminary, what does it mean for the Pope himself to take charge of a retreat for these priests? It’s super important. You say it just right, that he’s the spiritual father. The Pope is more than the leader. He’s more than a guy with smart ideas. He’s the father. He’s the father of the whole Catholic Church, but in a very particular way of priests. I found when I was seminary rector, that was my primary role: to be the spiritual father of that community. That’s how the Church is structured. Without spiritual fatherhood, we drift. And so priests, looking to him, hearing him, but – more importantly – watching him in action, learn what they’re supposed to be, the same way a child learns from his father. I think it’s super important that he personally is here to shepherd us and to father us. When the faithful prays for priests, what should we be praying for? What are the biggest challenges they are facing, especially today? I would say pray for our spiritual integrity. That priests remain grounded in Christ, grounded in the sacraments, especially in the sacrament of reconciliation and the Eucharist, that we retain the spiritual center. I would pray – because the priesthood, as you know, is under attack in many ways in our culture, in our society – that priests remain grounded in Christ, they know who they are. I’d also pray for their protection... Ask the Blessed Mother to protect priests. And, I would also say, pray for vocations. One thing I found very edifying when I was rector of Mundelein seminary (was that) the vocations kept coming, even though a lot of us felt, oh gosh, with the scandals the numbers would go down. They really didn’t. Vocations kept coming. So, pray for that, that the numbers continue to grow. Do have any other impressions of the different events in which you’ve taken part over the course of the Jubilee for Priests? The night I gave a talk at Andrea delle Valle, it was at the end of Mass – I celebrated Mass after the talk – and, seeing this army of white robed priests coming forward to receive the Eucharist. So, the Eucharist was on the altar, and the priests were coming forward to receive it. I just thought of the book of Revelation, and the white-robed members of the Church. It just moved me very deeply. And then afterward, talking to so many priests – (from) Canada, America, Great Britain, Ireland, Ghana, the Cameroons, different parts of eastern Europe, all over the world – That image has stayed with me very powerfully. > > http://www.thebostonpilot.com/articleprint.asp?id=176655

SPIRITUAL : No matter how big your problem, you can find comfort in the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Mary O'Regan (Catholic Herald via CNUA) Never underestimate the power of prayer that appeals directly to the Sacred Heart I’m one of those Catholics that sola scriptura Christians complain about: I developed my devotion to the Sacred Heart not from reading the Bible, but from meditating on the lives of the saints. I was at first confounded to learn that Padre Pio said the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus every day for all his spiritual children and for everyone who asked for his prayers. It would have been a very long list of people to commend to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord – and praying one novena for the many intentions of so many seemed to me to be spreading the grace thin. But then I was immature in my trust in Our Lord and underestimating the magnificent power of prayer that appeals directly to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, full of love for us. Following Padre Pio’s example, I decided to come before Our Lord’s heart with large intentions and Our Lord has not been found lacking in generosity. One favour that I believe was granted by the Sacred Heart stands out in my mind. I was on my way to a prayer vigil outside an abortion clinic. It was only going to be me and another lady. I knew from experience that normally about a dozen pregnant women would go in for an abortion during a two-hour span. I prayed to the Sacred Heart for the intention that not one girl would go in for an abortion during the two-hour vigil. Standing outside the clinic for those two hours that day, not one girl went through the clinic doors for an abortion. I believe that the Sacred Heart (with Padre Pio on the case, too) took the mothers and babies into His heart and protected them. Now I readily appreciate that the month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, it being the Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost. We are having a spell of bone-chilling weather here in England, so it does not feel like June, but nevertheless I recommend to everyone to to offer the novena to the Sacred Heart for every kind of pressing intention, no matter how big the problem is, and experience Our Lord’s immeasurable kindness. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/06/03/no-matter-how-big-your- problem-you-can-find-comfort-in-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus/

U. S. : New U.S. Nuncio Calls for Church To Embrace ‘Discipleship of Christ’ By Kevin Clarke (America via CNUA) Letting actions speak for words and ultimately for truth seems to be the intention of the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, as he begins his latest North American appointment. In an exclusive interview with America conducted in Mexico City on May 31, Archbishop Pierre suggests he is not interested in engaging in a cultural battle when he begins his new assignment in the United States. “Should we fight our truths against other truths?” he asks. “No. I don’t think so. I think what we have [to do] is to let Christ transform us, tell us what is the way of the truth.” Pope Francis, he adds, is helping us discover “that the way to know the truth is also love, charity, the kind of deep tolerance that is not relativism. It’s something different.” In a rapidly secularizing society, he believes that evangelization through Christian witness should be a primary obligation of the church. He warns against the temptation “to close ourselves in ideology” and urges a church that encourages all its members to serve as exemplars in society, as “disciples of Jesus.” “Our faith is the encounter with a person,” Jesus Christ, “who changes our life and opens a new perspective in our life,” Archbishop Pierre told America’s editor in chief, Matt Malone, S.J. “Otherwise, we will reduce our faith to an ideology. Ideology will die, but the person of Christ will never die. “I think the pope is asking us to become Catholics in all senses of the word,” Archbishop Pierre said. “The Catholic is not the person who just defends a position and ideology, a moral. The Catholic is a disciple of Christ. This quality of discipleship of Christ will change the life of the person, make this person a missionary and organize his life, I would say, according to his faith.” To serve as effective evangelizers, the impact of Christ on our lives should be obvious to all. “People will say, ‘This man, this woman, this child, is a believer. You see it through his behavior.’ The pope impresses the people precisely because they say, ‘This is a man of God.’” Archbishop Pierre added: “I think a priest should be a man of God. Not just a bureaucrat.” The archbishop said he kept a keen eye on Pope Francis during the pope’s visit to Mexico last February. The pope has always been careful, according to Archbishop Pierre, to pay special attention to people who suffer. “This is a priority in the church,” he said. The societies he has lived in as a church diplomat, primarily in Africa, “produce many people who suffer.” “There are many injustices, many poor, many people who are unjustly treated. The church should be there. The church should be near to the poor. This is where Christ wants us to be. “If we do [that], we shall serve the society,” Archbishop Pierre said. “When we speak about the social doctrine of the church, we always say the church is about the centrality of the human person. It’s about solidarity, it’s about humanity, about justice. These are not ideas; these should be behaviors. The church should practice social justice” in all senses of the phrase. “Respect life from the beginning to the end,” he said, “but respect also work for justice, work against inequalities. All these things.” As for his new appointment, Archbishop Pierre told Father Malone that he looks forward to learning about the United States “from the inside,” after years of watching it from societies tremendously influenced by policies and events in the United States. He added, “I’m a bit afraid because I know that I have to discover a lot.” Why he was selected for this pivotal position for the global church, Archbishop Pierre could not say. But he was certain that evangelization has become a primary concern of the pope, an evangelization driven by closeness, by being with people rather than over them. “I’ve seen a pope who is very concerned about getting near to the people.” He added, “This is very coherent with his main documents, particularly, ‘Evangelii Gaudium.’” What Pope Francis wants, he said, is a church “open to the people in order to announce the Gospel.” Archbishop Pierre has for the last nine years served as papal nuncio to Mexico. He comes to Washington as an experienced diplomat, with first-hand knowledge of the dramatic plight of migrants from Central America and Mexico to the United States, and will be able to give voice to Pope Francis’ concern for them. A native of France, he was ordained in 1970 and first joined the church’s diplomatic service in 1977. He has served in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Brazil and at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva. In July 1995 St. John Paul II named him an archbishop and appointed him as apostolic nuncio to Haiti. He served there until 1999 and then was named nuncio to Uganda. He remained in Africa until 2007, when he was appointed to Mexico. The Vatican announced his new appointment to the United States in April. He will succeed Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó, who has been the U.S. nuncio since 2011. Archbishop Pierre believes evangelization through encounter will characterize his mission in the United States, something he believes Pope Francis is modeling for all members of the church. “You have to be with the people, to know them, to be close to them,” he said. Very often, he said, “we fall into the temptation to put our ideas first, to adjust the Gospel to our ideas.” But it is the contrary that should be true. “Christ is not an idea. Christ is a person who came and offers us the Gospel. We have to listen to his word. We have to be transformed by the Gospel. Many of us basically, we forget about…the Scripture. We forget about listening to Christ. We have to be told, not by ideology, but by the Word of God.” Gospel values, he adds, “are not ideas,” but “behaviors.” There is a method to understanding the Word of God, the archbishop said: listening to it in prayer. “It is letting ourselves be converted. Only people who have been converted by the word of God will be able to offer to the world what God, through Christ, wants us to be.” That, he believes, is to serve as “witnesses.” “We are the presence of Christ in the daily life, in this society. We are being sent to be the witnesses of his presence, of his love, of his values, the values of the Gospel,” he said. And when “you listen to the Gospel, when you follow Christ, Christ is asking you to be very radical,” he said. “Christ is asking us to be close to the people, to be close to the poor. To leave everything. To have God at the center of our life,” the archbishop said. “These things are not very easy…. I think the Gospel is challenging everybody.” > >http://americamagazine.org/issue/new-us-nuncio-calls-church-embrace-discipleship-christ

VATICAN : Pope Francis puts Guam archbishop accused of sex abuse on leave By Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service (NCR Online via CNUA) Mounting accusations of sexual abuse against the archbishop of Guam have prompted Pope Francis to name a Vatican official to oversee the Catholic Church on the Pacific island territory while the charges are investigated. The decision announced Monday, June 6, to force Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, who has led the Agana archdiocese for 30 years, to yield his authority, at least temporarily, is the latest sign that Francis is taking tougher steps to tackle the sexual abuse crisis. Over the weekend, the Vatican announced that the pope had signed off on new measures to remove bishops who fail to respond to abuse allegations. In the case of Guam's archbishop, however, the accusations are that Apuron himself abused boys during the 1970s. The charges emerged last month when 52-year-old Roy Taitague Quintanilla claimed while he was an altar boy Apuron molested him. "I cried then, and I've never stopped crying," Quintanilla was quoted as saying by Pacific Daily News. His statement prompted a similar allegation by Doris Concepcion, who said her son was abused by Apuron as an altar boy in the 1970s. The alleged victim, Joseph Quinata, told his mother what had happened before he died 11 years ago, local media reported. Deacon Steve Martinez, the archdiocese's former sexual abuse response coordinator, said there were indications there could be more victims who have not yet come forward. Martinez has accused Apuron of promoting weak policies to tackle abuse, in a bid to prevent thorough investigations. "His effort of self-preservation has blinded his command to protect. … I'm sad to say that today, my worst dreams have come true," Martinez said on June 1, according to The Guam Daily Post. The Agana archdiocese issued a scathing rebuke of Martinez, accusing him of "malicious and intentionally false claims" as part of a "relentless" smear campaign against the archbishop. Apuron has denied the allegations and the archdiocese hired a U.S. law firm to help defend him; Guam is a U.S. territory. "(Martinez's claim) is a calumny of such magnitude that the only avenue, which we are following, is recourse to the civil and canonical legal processes to address these intentional lies," the archdiocese said in a sharply-worded response on June 3. The announcement that Hong Kong-born Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, currently second-in- command of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, would step in as apostolic administrator of Agana was the latest indication that Francis wants the church to take tougher action against the hierarchy. Under the new decree published Saturday, the Vatican can investigate a bishop found guilty of serious negligence in tackling "acts that caused serious harm to others." The pope specified that such negligence includes failing to oust a suspected abuser; that has not been the case in the past, and that oversight has been one of the most contentious aspects of the church's response to the crisis. In such circumstances a bishop would still have the right to respond and the Vatican could subsequently remove him or ask him to resign. In May, Francis said there should be a zero tolerance approach to pedophilia and asserted there was no statute of limitations in canon law when it came to tackling sexual abuse. "As a result of these abuses, a priest, whose vocation is to lead a child to God, destroys him. He disseminates evil, resentment, distress," the pope told the Catholic newspaper La Croix. > > > http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/pope-francis-puts-guam-archbishop- accused-sex-abuse-leave

YOUTH : “Mercy at the heart of WYD in Krakow” Card. Dziwisz By Lydia O’Kane (Vatican Radio via CNUA) The co ...