Zimbabwean church leaders: Opposition voters targeted for torture

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Zimbabwe’s Christian leaders have called for international intervention in the country’s crisis, saying that those accused of voting for the opposition in March 29 elections are being tortured, abducted and murdered.

“We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere,” said the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe in an April 22 statement from the capital, Harare.

Noting that they recently “issued statements commending Zimbabweans for the generally peaceful and politically mature manner in which they conducted themselves before, during and soon after the elections,” the leaders said recent reports from their churches throughout the country gave cause for alarm.

“Organized violence perpetrated against individuals, families and communities who are accused of campaigning or voting for the ‘wrong’ political party … has been unleashed throughout the country, particularly in the countryside and in some high- density urban areas,” they said.

“People are being abducted, tortured, humiliated by being asked to repeat slogans of the political party they are alleged not to support, ordered to attend mass meetings where they are told they voted for the ‘wrong’ candidate and should never repeat it in the runoff election for president, and, in some cases, people are murdered,” they said.

The church leaders urged the people of Zimbabwe “to refuse to be used for a political party or other people’s selfish end, especially where it concerns violence against other people, including those who hold different views from your own.”

Commending Zimbabweans for turning out to vote and “for exercising your democratic right peacefully,” the church leaders urged their members “to maintain and protect your dignity and your vote.”

The church leaders expressed their “deep concern over the deteriorating political, security, economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe,” where official results of the presidential and parliamentary elections have yet to be released.

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won the presidential election and that his party took a majority of parliamentary seats.

President Robert Mugabe, 84, and his supporters are preparing for a runoff as well as challenging some of the parliamentary results.

The church leaders urged Zimbabwe’s electoral commission “to release the true results” of the elections, noting that “the unprecedented delay in the publication of these results has caused anxiety, frustration, depression, suspicion and in some cases illness among the people of Zimbabwe” at home and abroad.

“A pall of despondency hangs over the nation, which finds itself in a crisis of expectations and governance. The nation is in a crisis, in limbo, and no real business is taking place anywhere as the nation waits,” they said.

The church leaders appealed to the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the United Nations “to work toward arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe.”

The church leaders said that, “as the shepherds of the people,” they were appealing for an “immediate end to political intimidation and retribution arising from how people are perceived to have voted.”

Youth militia and military base camps “that have been set up in different parts of the country should be closed,” they said.

“The deterioration in the humanitarian situation is plummeting at a frightful pace,” the church leaders said, noting that the cost of living “has gone beyond the reach of the majority of our people.”

Zimbabwe has the world’s highest inflation rate – more than 100,000 percent – an unemployment rate of more than 80 percent and severe shortages of basic foods and fuel.

“There is widespread famine in most parts of the countryside on account of poor harvests and delays in the process of importing maize from neighboring countries. The shops are empty and basic foodstuffs are unavailable,” said the leaders.

“Victims of organized torture who are ferried to (the) hospital find little solace as the hospitals have no drugs or medicines to treat them,” they said.

Zimbabwe’s Jesuits said that if the concepts of national sovereignty and noninterference “prevent the people of Africa from coming to the aid of their oppressed, abused, starved brothers and sisters, then we must question the value of such concepts, inherited from 19th-century colonial powers, and redefine them according to our” present needs.

“The real people of Africa, men, women and children, their welfare, health, education, work and shelter must be the center and focus of all political endeavors and (hold) the attention of statesmen,” they said in their April 17 newsletter.

Monks search for new ways to support Mepkin Abbey

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – The Trappist monks at Our Lady of Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner are looking at a variety of new ways to support themselves as they phase out their popular egg production business. A 10-member advisory panel made up of Charleston-area business and banking executives, an organic farmer and two representatives of the Catholic community recently held an all-day brainstorming session on how the monks could continue to make a living.

Suggestions range from growing agricultural products as diverse as bamboo, mushrooms, heirloom corn and wheat, organic vegetables, and beets to be used as an organic road de-icer to pursuing such nonagricultural ideas as licensing beer; book scanning, the process of converting physical books into electronic books; and establishing a public cemetery on the Mepkin property.

The abbey announced in December that it would begin phasing out its 56-year-old egg business, citing pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals over the treatment of chickens as one of the reasons. Public protests and a threatened boycott by PETA that started in the summer of 2007 put unwanted pressure on the Trappist monks and interfered with their quiet life of prayer and work.

The end of the egg business meant the abbey had to find a new way to support itself. Sales averaging 9 million eggs a year have generated around $140,000, which is about 60 percent of the abbey’s annual income, according to Abbot Stan Gumula.

In a statement, Abbot Gumula said he was impressed with suggestions the panel generated.

“We hope to find a business that will respect the monastic tradition of working on the land and caring for the environment, and the advisory panel’s ideas certainly meet these criteria,” he said. “Our land is a wonderful resource, and … the panel has come up with great ways for us to use it creatively and wisely.”

Members of the panel agreed there should be an effort to find new products that can be sold locally so the monastery can maintain its strong connection with neighbors.

Mepkin’s eggs have been available in Piggly Wiggly grocery stores for years. Since the abbey’s establishment in 1949, the monks also have sold bread, flowers, timber, milk and beef cattle to support their way of life.

“There’s a lot of work and planning that needs to be done,” said panel member Dennis Atwood, retired chief financial officer for the Diocese of Charleston. “The abbey has a lot of challenges, including an aging workforce and not a lot of working capital to fund a new operation. The abbey is a wonderful resource and it’s a shame they’re having to face this.”

Atwood said he thought the public cemetery idea was a good one.

“There’s obviously got to be a future demand for that kind of service and a lot of people are going to want traditional burials,” he said.

Monsignor James A. Carter, pastor of Christ Our King Church in Mount Pleasant, said any agricultural venture would need to take into account Mepkin’s aging monks and existing resources. He said the monks will probably have to consider both long- range projects and a number of smaller projects that will help sustain the monastery in the interim.

“I suggested bamboo, especially because they have the property to plant bamboo and it doesn’t require a lot of care,” Monsignor Carter said. “The wood is becoming extremely popular for use in paneling and flooring, and in China they’ve even started using it for fabric. Some people say its softness is similar to cashmere.”

Monsignor Carter also suggested raising mushrooms or beets. In recent years, some communities in the northern United States have started using road de-icers derived from desugared beets.

“This beet substance is environmentally friendly and doesn’t corrode like salt,” he said.

The abbey also needs to consider how to maximize revenue that can be drawn from existing assets, according to Robert Macdonald, a retired museum director from New York who has been a close friend and consultant for the abbey for many years.

Macdonald said the panel suggested the abbey increase the use of its conference center by businesses and other groups and look into increasing its retreat program. Other suggestions included expanding the sale of existing abbey products such as fruitcakes and Drizzle, a syrup that can be used over desserts, meats and other dishes. “The reality is that the abbey will probably be unable to make up the shortfall from the loss of the egg business solely through labor-intensive agricultural ventures,” he said.

“The solutions to this situation will be varied. It’s going to be a combination of saving money, finding new sources of revenue and increasing the income stream from current resources the abbey already has,” he said.

Cardinal Keeler, bishops inspired by papal visit

Cardinal William H. Keeler and Baltimore’s active and retired auxiliary bishops, said they were deeply moved by Pope Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States – especially by the warm way the Holy Father was received.

Cardinal Keeler attended events in Washington, D.C., and New York, as did Bishop Denis J. Madden, urban vicar.

Cardinal Keeler, who participated in almost all of the papal events of the visit, said one of the “big highlights” was the way young people responded to Pope Benedict during an April 19 youth event at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. The boisterous crowd interrupted the pope numerous times with applause and chants, he said.

“It’s obvious that the young people really love the Holy Father,” said Cardinal Keeler. “Some of the magic associated with Pope John Paul II is possessed now by Pope Benedict XVI.”

Cardinal Keeler said he was pleased that the pope acknowledged the 200th anniversary of the raising of the Baltimore diocese to archdiocesan status. The cardinal greeted the pope personally and thanked him for coming to the United States, he said.

Cardinal Keeler said the pope was “very warmly” received at ecumenical and interfaith events in Washington and New York. At the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, the pope greeted Jewish, Muslim and other faith leaders before praying in the chapel. He later gave a special message to the Jewish people for Passover, Cardinal Keeler said.

“There was a great outpouring of affection for him from Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other leaders,” said Cardinal Keeler.

During the departure ceremony at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Cardinal Keeler joined other U.S. cardinals in cheering as the plane lifted off for Rome, said Cardinal Keeler. The cardinal also chatted with Vice President Richard Cheney and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

For Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar, it was the first time he has seen the pope in person since the pope was elected three years ago. Like Cardinal Keeler, the bishop said he was struck by the way the people expressed their love for the pope.

“He seemed very happy and there was a lot of applause for him,” said Bishop Malooly. “He has a wonderful presence.”

There were several times when people sang “Happy Birthday” to the pope on his 81st birthday, and Bishop Malooly was among those joining in the chorus.

“He smiled, and you could tell he was grateful,” said Bishop Malooly.

Bishop Malooly said the pope delivered an affirming message and reminded Catholics of the need for evangelization.

“He’s so thoughtful and expresses himself so well,” said Bishop Malooly, noting that the pope left rosaries and holy cards for each of the American bishops. “It will be important for all Catholics to read all his presentations.”

Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, eastern vicar, said he particularly enjoyed the Mass at Nationals Park. “The liturgy was so beautifully planned and brought together so many elements that are special to Catholicism within the United States,” he said.

Bishop Rozanski said he was seated on the left side of the altar and had a very good view of the pope at his chair.

“I felt a true sense of pride in my faith and my Catholicism, and a strong sense of unity,” he said.

Asked what was most special about the Mass, Bishop Rozanski recalled how the pope stopped to bless a soldier dressed in his fatigues and sitting in a wheelchair.

“It was a beautiful, yet simple gesture and really captures who Pope Benedict is,” he said.

New York City normally buzzes with skyscraper-tall energy, but add the presence of a pope, and there was “a great deal of excitement … you could feel the presence of the Holy Father,” said Bishop Denis J. Madden, urban vicar.

“Everyone was very, very friendly … asking about the Holy Father’s visit,” he said.

Often he and Archbishop O’Brien were stopped by people asking for a blessing, or who wanted to chat about an issue they were facing, especially at the youth rally, he said, where 25,000 seminarians and young people had been expected yet the final headcount climbed to more than 34,000.

Since fewer bishops attended the Yankee Stadium Mass than in D.C., the bishop was closer to the core, this time able to go onto the platform.

Bishop William C. Newman, retired eastern vicar, concelebrated Mass with Pope Benedict XVI April 17 at Nationals Park.

“It was exciting to be with the Holy Father and the church of America in miniature,” said Bishop Newman.

Bishop Newman met the pontiff when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

“I think he’s starting to come through as he really is,” said Bishop Newman. He said he finds the pope to be very “open,” and a good successor to Pope John Paul II.

“What he says, he faces reality, he is encouraging and challenging, and he really does give hope,” Bishop Newman said. “It makes you recognize you’re one with him during the ministry of the Lord.”

“It was exciting to be there with the music and his homily, and the liturgy itself I thought was just inspiring,” Bishop Newman said.

George P. Matysek Jr., Suzanne Molino Singleton, Sue Thompson and Jennifer Williams contributed to this article.

Local Catholic educators learn from pope

Catholic educators working in the Archdiocese of Baltimore had high praise for Pope Benedict XVI following a papal address on Catholic education April 17 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ronald J. Valenti, archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic schools; Dr. Thomas Powell, president of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg; Dr. Mary Pat Seurkamp, president of College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore; and Father Brian Linnane, S.J., president of Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, all participated in the meeting.

In his address, the pope urged educators to bring students into a deeper understanding of faith. He also reaffirmed the “great value” of academic freedom while noting that any appeals to academic freedom “to justify positions that contradict the faith and teaching of the church would obstruct or even betray the university’s identity and mission.” Dr. Valenti said the papal address, delivered in a “humble” and “affirming” way, contrasted sharply with the chastising once predicted by some in the media.

“He was very optimistic and thankful for the gift that Catholic schools are to our nation,” said Dr. Valenti. “He asked us to be authentically Catholic.”

Declaring himself “spellbound” by the intellectual heft and pastoral sensitivity of the pope’s address, Dr. Valenti said it reminded educators that faith is the “very core and substance of what we are and what the magisterium calls us to be.”

Father Linnane said the pope’s address “challenged us to think about the nature of our work and what makes us Catholic.”

He was pleased Pope Benedict highlighted the importance of the connection between faith and reason.

“It’s an openness to ask questions that lead us into the realm of mystery,” said Father Linnane. Deeper questions about faith and meaning should not just come in theology and philosophy classes; they should flow naturally across disciplines, Father Linnane said.

The Jesuit priest said he is considering giving copies of the pope’s address to new members of the faculty each year.

Dr. Seurkamp said the pope reminded college presidents that “it’s important to make sure students have opportunities to pursue knowledge vigorously but to understand that we have a responsibility to educate the whole person.”

“He urged that we not move away from our commitment to serving the poor, and I think that applies to our institutions of higher learning,” said Dr. Seurkamp. “We need to think about what role we can play helping elementary and secondary education to make sure a strong education is available.”

With Mount St. Mary’s celebrating its bicentennial, Dr. Powell was invited to greet the pope personally. Dr. Powell could not be reached for comment by The Catholic Review. New models of pastoral leadership required for a changing U.S. church

ORLANDO, Fla. – New models of pastoral leadership will be required for a U.S. church that has changed significantly from a generation ago and will continue to change.

The changes include an increase in the number of Catholics, a more-educated laity, a decrease in the number of priests and vowed religious, an increase in permanent deacons and professional lay ecclesial ministers, and growing cultural diversity in the church.

Those changes were identified in a four-year study conducted in response to ongoing shifts in the Catholic Church. The study, commissioned in 2002 by a coalition of six Catholic national organizations, received a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to conduct the study and to assess its findings.

Marti R. Jewell, project director of the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project, addressed the major findings of the study April 21, the first full day of a national summit in Orlando to review and build upon the findings. An attentive audience of nearly 1,200 participants representing all six groups listened, eager to hear the results.

“For those of you who like to flip to the last page of a book, and read the end of a story right away, I’ll tell you what the research concluded,” Ms. Jewell began. “Parish life as we have known it has changed.”

With about 28,000 diocesan priests, 70 percent of whom are older than 55, the United States is moving toward clusters of parishes under the care of a single pastor, she said. Indeed, nearly half of all U.S. parishes already share their pastor with another parish or mission. Alan Whitson, a deacon in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, was surprised to learn how many pastors are assigned to dual parishes. “The realization that nationally we’re losing priests underscores the need for the laity to step up and live the baptismal call to discipleship,” he said. “It is a challenge to all the baptized.”

Collaboration was a key element of the findings. Clergy and laity need to work together, but this also creates human resource issues, the study said. It showed that laity in leadership roles needed education regarding the legal and civil implications of the church being an employer. It also showed that fewer than 40 percent of U.S. parishes provide continuing education, retirement plans or other benefits to its employees.

Multicultural diversity is also shaping the church’s future. “It’s more than just speaking another language,” said Ms. Jewell, who said many parishes include people from Hispanic, Asian and African backgrounds. “We need to be learning from one another, and receiving rich gifts from one another.”

Maggie McCarty, president of Education for Parish Service, a lay education program in Washington, wasn’t surprised by the study’s conclusion that parishes need to be made more welcoming, and not just with greeters and handshakes.

She said a mega-Christian church moved next door to her parish, drawing some members of her congregation.

“Some of our parishioners have gone over and remarked on the sense of welcome they feel as they walk in the door” of the mega-church, said Ms. McCarty. “They long to feel the same as they walk into our church.”

At the summit, action groups were to address each of the study findings’ six categories, with participants developing recommendations.

Ms. Jewell encouraged the summit participants to talk to each other. “The answer is in the minds and hearts of those around you,” she said.

The participating groups were the National Association for Lay Ministry, the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development, the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators, the National Association of Diaconate Directors, the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association and the National Federation of Priests’ Councils.

Paraguayans elect retired Bishop Lugo as president

ASUNCION, Paraguay – Retired Bishop Fernando Lugo was elected president of Paraguay April 20, ending the six-decade rule of the Colorado Party.

Bishop Lugo took an early lead in the pre-election polls, despite official disapproval from the Vatican and, initially, from the Paraguayan bishops’ conference. As support for Bishop Lugo remained strong in the largely Catholic country, the conference refrained from further comment.

Bishop Lugo, 58, retired from the Diocese of San Pedro in 2005. The Vatican suspended him from exercising his priestly ministry when he decided to run for president, but rejected his request for laicization after more than 30 years as a bishop and priest.

The Paraguayan bishops’ conference made no official statement after the elections, but the Paraguayan newspaper ABC quoted Bishop Adalberto Martinez Flores of San Pedro, secretary of the Paraguayan bishops’ conference, as saying that the conference “accepts and acknowledges the victory of (Bishop) Lugo as president- elect of Paraguay.”

Although several media outlets reported that the Vatican could be considering a dispensation for Bishop Lugo, the apostolic nunciature in Paraguay said there had been no change in the retired bishop’s status.

A brief message dated April 14 and posted on the Web site of the bishops’ conference said that “the practice of the Holy See is to respond to events when they occur,” and that the church’s position “on the canonical situation and political- partisan activity of Bishop Fernando Lugo has not changed.”

However, the Italian news agency ANSA reported April 22 that Bishop Martinez said the bishops’ conference was willing to collaborate on a solution to the canonical problem.

Bishop Martinez said the bishops will work with Archbishop Orlando Antonini, papal nuncio to Paraguay, in a “process of reflection” that must take a verdict to Pope Benedict XVI before Aug. 15, when Bishop Lugo takes office for a five-year term, reported ANSA.

Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican’s press office, said April 21 and 22 that the Vatican will not be making any statements regarding Bishop Lugo.

Bishop Lugo won slightly more than 40 percent of the vote, edging out Colorado Party candidate Blanca Ovelar, who was jockeying to become the country’s first female president, and retired Gen. Lino Oviedo, former head of the armed forces, who was convicted, then acquitted of a 1996 coup attempt.

In Paraguay, unlike other Latin American countries, there is only one round of balloting, and the candidate with the simple majority is the winner.

At an outdoor celebration attended by thousands in Asuncion, Bishop Lugo told the crowd, “Democracy is something we do together”; he also said he hoped from now on Paraguay would be known “for honesty, not for corruption.”

Bishop Lugo, who campaigned on a platform of equality for Paraguay’s poor farmers and indigenous people, will take over a country slightly larger than Nebraska and South Dakota, with a population of about 6 million.

With a per capita income of about $1,400, landlocked Paraguay is also one of South America’s poorest nations. The service sector and agriculture are the largest employers, and more than 1 million people are estimated to have left the country in search of employment. Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, has a reputation as a haven for contraband smugglers and drug runners, and the country has been beset by corruption scandals. In 2001, it was revealed that then-President Luis Gonzalez Macchi’s presidential limousine was a car that had been stolen in Brazil and smuggled into Paraguay illegally.

Wedged between Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay shares river borders and hydroelectric dams with both. During the campaign, Bishop Lugo pledged to renegotiate Paraguay’s contract with Brazil for the Itaipu dam.

Under the current contract, which was negotiated when both countries were under military rule, Paraguay sells its excess electricity to Brazil at cost. Bishop Lugo has proposed increasing Paraguay’s share of the revenues by raising the price to market rates.

The campaign became more heated in recent weeks. Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte verbally attacked Bishop Lugo, whose campaign he claimed was financed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, while media predicted the bishop’s victory.

Bishop Lugo has expressed sympathy with the wave of left-leaning leaders who have taken office in Latin America in recent years, while keeping his distance from Mr. Chavez.

Group tries to stop flow of Christian emigration from Holy Land

JERUSALEM – Butros Abu Shanab said he may be like the tragic literary hero Don Quixote as he tries to stop the continuing tide of Christian emigration.

Mr. Abu Shanab, a 54-year-old architect who quit his job to spearhead the nonprofit Holylanders Association for the Preservation of Christian Heritage, let out a wry laugh: Though he is intent on stopping the younger generation of Christians from emigrating, three of his own four children live abroad.

“I have one daughter studying in Berlin, a son studying in Australia, a married daughter and two grandchildren living in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and only one daughter is still living with us,” said Mr. Abu Shanab, a Greek Orthodox. “This is very typical of Palestinian Christian families.”

Two years ago Mr. Abu Shanab left his job and began rallying all his energies and a large part of his finances into an ecumenical effort to curb Christian emigration and strengthen the community’s identity and traditions regardless of denomination. His association just recently started its work.

“We have to find a place where Christians can be gathered,” he said, noting the precarious position Christians have in Jerusalem because of the high cost of living in the city.

“It is very difficult for Jerusalem Christians to continue their existence,” he said. “We hope to develop a bigger umbrella organization where we can overlook theological differences and look at the common thread.”

The Holylanders, a group of about 20 people, have chosen Taybeh, West Bank, as the place for the Christians’ last stand. Located between Jerusalem and Ramallah, West Bank, it is the only all-Christian village in the Palestinian territories. The residents of Taybeh have kept their lands in Christian hands by never selling to people from outside the village.

Taybeh is also Ephraim, the biblical city of refuge where Jesus fled before coming to Jerusalem and where he was captured by the Romans.

Mr. Abu Shanab said he was disappointed in Christian church leaders, whom he said issue statements and talk but in the end do very little in terms of real action.

Robert Handal, 53, who works with Mr. Abu Shanab, said many of the local churches are often so busy keeping an eye out for their own interests and are so busy with their own internal issues that they forget about the Christian community. The Catholic Church is doing better than other churches in helping the Christian community, Mr. Handal said.

“I am Catholic but I don’t want to say I am only Catholic. We are all Christian and we have to help each other. We are fighting for our existence here,” he said.

For now all three of his children have remained in the Holy Land, he noted, adding that they also yearn for a greater ecumenical spirit among the Christian denominations.

One of the Holylanders’ first projects has been to purchase a plot of land for an ecumenical Christian cemetery near Bethlehem. Now the group awaits permits to allow them to use the land.

Although every denomination has its own cemetery, many of the plots have been bought up by non-Palestinian Christians, said Mr. Abu Shanab.

The Holylanders also want to begin an ecumenical theology seminary where laypeople can study religion and religious tour guiding. The association also hopes to establish a Christian radio station and already has a transmitting permit. So far it has been able to rent a plot of land several miles from the center of Taybeh, but has yet to find funding for the infrastructure and building. It also envisions building an ornamental peace altar in a central location in the village.

While the plans are grand, the reality is harsh.

“This is a very ambitious plan but not realistic. We already have Bethlehem University with all the strength of the Catholic Church and they are facing deficits,” said Father Raed Abusahlia of Holy Redeemer Parish in Taybeh. “Who will be the students? Who will pay the running costs? What about the infrastructure?”

Father Abusahlia said he and Mr. Abu Shanab “share some ideas practically speaking, but I will not accept any kind of partnership. He is a dreamer and I am pragmatic and there is a difference in views. “Butros Shanab is a good guy and I wish them well, but I will not be involved in any of his projects. We support him but know he will fail,” he said. Mr. accepted the label of dreamer.

“We are dreamers, but it is nice to be a dreamer. Father Raed is working hard to get money from the Vatican and European community for his many projects, but that does not mean that in the beginning he was not also a dreamer,” he said.

“I believe in miracles,” he said. “Some group had to deal with this issue. Call it a mission with which we have been entrusted.”

Celebrating Mass with the pope

This column is the first in a three-part series by Father Lawrence.

To concelebrate Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at Nationals Park last week, I had to get out of bed by 4 a.m., a task I do not undertake lightly. But I was sure it was going to be worth it, and it was. When you celebrate the Eucharist with the pope, you know – not in your head, nor even in your gut, but deep down in your bones – that you are a part of something that is 25,000 miles around and 2,000 years deep.

The pope, more than anything else, is the sacrament of the unity of the church across time and space, and nowhere is this more able to be experienced than at the Eucharist. When Vatican II said that the church primarily is the church when it comes together for Eucharist, the bishops were only echoing the Scripture and the constant teaching of the fathers: The church makes the Eucharist, and the Eucharist makes the church. This happens for us every Sunday in our parishes. But when one of our bishops comes and presides, it’s different; we can feel that we are a part of the church of Baltimore. And when the pope sits at the head of the eucharistic table, we can feel the whole world church present with us.

For a long time, the church was deprived of this experience. Not only did the slow speed of transportation make international papal trips infeasible, the ‘recent unpleasantness’ between the Vatican and Italy in the 1870s left the pope the ‘prisoner of the Vatican.’ Recent popes broke this open a little – who can ever forget Paul VI at the U.N. crying out “Guerre, jamais, jamais plus!” – but it was Pope John Paul II, with his theatrical background and his rock star personality, who really restored this ancient theology of the pope as sacrament of the unity of the church to its rightful place in Catholic life.

Not only was he good at it, he loved it. When the kids cried “John Paul II, we love you,” he would spontaneously shout back, “John Paul II, he loves you.” It was just who he was. Pope Benedict is a very different personality. He is a much more quiet, reserved and private person. It is said that his idea of a fun evening is getting to sit alone at the piano and play a Mozart sonata.

So I was afraid that he would let this whole renascent theology die just because it did not suit who he was as a person. If he had not done international trips the way John Paul did, they could have become just an idiosyncrasy of his predecessor and definitely optional for his successors.

But he didn’t let it die. Despite his age and his private personality, Benedict XVI recognized that his predecessor had rediscovered something very important about the papacy, and he seems determined to institutionalize that rediscovery. From now on, regardless of who is pope, these international trips will be an expected part of what it means to be pope. A major part of the job of the pope is now to go around the world, preaching the Gospel and presiding at the Eucharist, so that people all over the world can have the profound sacramental experience of being a part of the worldwide church.

Of course, being a part of the world church has consequences. We get to influence the church in the rest of the world (the topic of Part II), and we have to be open to the influence of the church in the rest of the world, especially when the pope carefully calls it to our attention (the topic of Part III).

But for now, let me say simply: Thank God for Pope Benedict’s decision to let me experience in my bones once more what it means to be a part of something that is 25,000 miles around and 2,000 years deep. Thank you, Holy Father.

Father Lawrence is pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Baltimore. Archbishop O’Brien sees papal visit as impetus for renewal

Calling Pope Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States a moment of “renewal” for the Catholic Church in this country, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien said the pope has given Americans much to ponder and pray on in the coming weeks and months.

The visit was a special honor for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, he said, with the pope highlighting the archdiocese’s historic importance as the first diocese and archdiocese in the United States.

At the beginning of his April 17 homily at the Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., the pope acknowledged the 200th anniversary of the raising of the Baltimore diocese to archdiocesan status. He more formally celebrated the anniversary at the April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York, along with the bicentennial of the establishment of the New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky., dioceses.

Special banners covering the scoreboard in New York honored the celebrating dioceses. New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan also made reference to each in welcoming remarks.

“There was a great sense of pride and gratitude and appreciation the pope would celebrate with us,” said Archbishop O’Brien, who was seated just 15 feet from the Holy Father during the New York stadium Mass. “He reminded us that we have a great history and a great foundation.”

The archbishop said he was inspired by the pope’s encouragement of Americans to build on what they have already achieved in spreading the Gospel and reaching out to the poor and vulnerable.

“We still have people in our own society who are hurting,” he said. “There’s more to be done.”

In addition to attending the two stadium Masses in Washington and New York, Archbishop O’Brien was present for an April 16 White House welcome of the pope and a papal meeting the U.S. bishops in Washington that same day. On April 19, he attended Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and a youth event at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y..

The pope showed strong leadership in meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse and in directly confronting the abuse issue several times during his visit, Archbishop O’Brien said.

“His willingness to address the sexual scandals was good and necessary and I would hope that that does not distract us from all the other good things he’s done as well,” Archbishop O’Brien said.

The pope’s emphasis on treating people with dignity and his discourse on freedom are other critical areas for discussion, the archbishop said.

“He helped us see that freedom is something we exercise not for our benefit,” said Archbishop O’Brien, lauding the pope for helping Catholics remember they “have a responsibility to sacrifice themselves for others.”

Having a chance to observe the solemn and prayerful way the pope celebrated the liturgy, Archbishop O’Brien called Pope Benedict “deeply involved in the mystery when he prays.”

“He’s a deeply prayerful individual and his life is fostered and led in prayer,” the archbishop said.

Archbishop O’Brien said the pope connected with people in a personal way. That was especially evident at the youth event at St. Joseph when the pope talked about his own teen years when he was forced to enroll in Hitler Youth but soon stopped going to meetings. The pope called Nazism a “sinister regime” that “banished God,” becoming “impervious to anything good and true.”

“I think he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to show what can happen when faith and individual responsibility are neglected,” said Archbishop O’Brien.

The pope is challenging young people to stand up to the evils that exist in the world today, the archbishop said.

“He’s talking about relativism and the immediate gratification so many people are looking for,” said Archbishop O’Brien. “He wanted to let them know he’s aware of that and encourage them to stay on track.”

Archbishop O’Brien said it was a joy to see so many people from the Baltimore archdiocese at the various papal events. There was a palpable sense of excitement throughout the week, he said.

Archbishop O’Brien was particularly touched at the Mass at Yankee Stadium when the crowd interrupted the pope’s homily twice – once when he spoke on the need for religious vocations and again when he spoke up for the sanctity of life.

“I think those are the two areas where they wanted to be encouraged,” said Archbishop O’Brien.

The archbishop said the pope leaves America with a rich body of ideas to study.

“It’s very important that we as Catholics really ponder and study his words,” he said. “He said so much.”

Roadside bomb kills Sri Lankan priest known as human rights activist

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A Jaffna diocesan priest active in promoting human rights was killed April 20 by a roadside bomb on the way back to his church after celebrating Mass in a parish substation.

Father Mariampillai Xavier Karunaratnam was driving the car and reportedly died instantly of head wounds in the explosion on a road about 50 miles south of Jaffna, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. The jungle area, known as the Vanni, is under the control of the rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

An unnamed layperson traveling with Father Karunaratnam was critically injured and was taken to a hospital.

A church official at the bishop’s house in Jaffna said the Tamil priest was killed while returning for lunch at Our Lady of Good Health Parish in Vavunikulam, a farming village. He had celebrated Mass at the church in Mankulam, about 7 miles away.

The priest’s body was taken to nearby St. Theresa’s Church in Kilinochchi; thousands flocked to pay their respects. His funeral and burial in Vavunikulam were to be April 22.

Both government forces and the Tamil rebels have denied responsibility for the priest’s death. According to a state report, the Tamil rebels should be held responsible for the killing because it happened in their area of control. The Tamil rebels claim government forces are at fault.

Father Karunaratnam was founder and chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights and offered trauma counseling to war victims and those who suffered after the 2004 tsunami. He looked after cases of displaced people in the Kilinochchi area.

The human rights group handles human rights violations against ethnic Tamils in the north and east, where the ethnic minority community is concentrated.

Born April 12, 1951, in Jaffna, Father Karunaratnam was ordained a priest in 1989. In addition to his work with the human rights group, he chaired an umbrella group for nongovernmental organizations in Jaffna and filed stories for the church-run Radio Veritas.

Speaking from Jaffna by telephone, Father Justin Gnanapragasam, diocesan vicar general, told UCA News the priest’s death is “a great loss to all people and the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.” Father Gnanapragasam spoke on behalf of Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna, who was in Canada on an official visit.

Father Gnanapragasam said the late priest “raised his voice every time there was any (human rights) violation.”

James Singarayar, 67, a retired Catholic teacher, told UCA News Father Karunaratnam was “a guardian and a strength for the victimized.”

A representative of the local Caritas, the Catholic Church’s social services agency, told UCA News by telephone that “people are shocked and are mourning silently.”

However, it is unlikely that priests or religious will be able to attend the funeral, as the only transport route from Jaffna to Kilinochchi is closed, said Father Ainsley Roshan, secretary to the bishop of Jaffna. The route between Kilinochchi and Jaffna has been closed since 2006.

The Tamil rebels launched their struggle for a separate Tamil state against the Sinhalese-led government in 1983. The violence has greatly affected the Jaffna Diocese.

Another diocesan priest, Father Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown, 34, disappeared in 2006. The layman who accompanied him, Wenceslaus Vinces Vimalathas, a father of five, also remains missing.

In the neighboring Diocese of Mannar, Father Nicholapillai Packiaranjith and his driver were killed last year when a land mine exploded next to their car while they were transporting relief supplies. President Bush summit seeks help for inner-city Catholic schools

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush said his concern about the growing loss of urban Catholic schools was a prime reason he was convening a summit on inner- city and faith-based schools the week of April 21.

Speaking to the fifth annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast April 18, President Bush said the summit would highlight the lack of educational options low-income urban students are facing.

“I am concerned about the loss of a major national asset, and that is the decline of Catholic schools, particularly in inner-city America,” he told an enthusiastic crowd of 2,000 gathered at the Washington Hilton hotel.

The summit is expected to draw educators, clergy, funders and business leaders to begin discussing options for public, private and parochial urban schools. President Bush said the goal was to urge Congress to develop “reasonable legislation” and practical solutions to “save these schools and, more importantly, to save the children.”

Citing the long history of Catholic education in the U.S., President Bush commended those in the audience who are working to preserve Catholic education. “I can’t thank you enough for your efforts,” he said as the gathering erupted in applause.

During his 17-minute speech President Bush also took time to reflect on his April 16 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the White House. He called the pontiff a humble servant of God, a brilliant professor and a warm and generous soul.

“He is courageous in the defense of fundamental truths,” the president said. “His Holiness believes that freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every man, woman and child on earth. He understands that every person has value, or to use his words, ‘Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.’“

President Bush praised the pope for his support of religious freedom around the world in the face of oppression and violence. “Throughout his time as Holy Father, the pope has worked to foster interreligious dialogue and to heal the wounds of religious conflict,” he said.

“I join him in praying for a world at peace, where Christians, Muslims and Jews, believers and nonbelievers, can live side by side,” the president added.

President Bush touted several efforts throughout his seven-year presidency to uphold human dignity, from ending the use of U.S. funds by organizations around the world that perform or promote abortion, to protecting unborn victims of violence and ending “the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion.” He also expressed satisfaction in breakthroughs in stem-cell research that finds skin cells being reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells.

The breakfast also featured a keynote address by Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo.

Others in attendance included Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio; Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton, N.J.; Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Va.; Bishop- designate James D. Conley, recently named an auxiliary bishop for Denver; retired Archbishop Joseph H. Ganda of Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone; and retired Bishop Raymond J. Boland of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

As President Bush was speaking, about 40 members of Catholics United quietly stood outside the Hilton holding two banners that echoed Pope Benedict’s Palm Sunday call for an end to the violence in Iraq. A spokesman said the group had gathered to question what they considered to be the partisan nature of the breakfast.

“This event was put together by an organization whose board of directors consists almost entirely of Republican operatives,” said James Salt of Catholics United, a nationwide online community working for justice and the common good. “As long as this event is being organized by an explicitly partisan board of directors, it lends an air of suspicion to everything that they do.”

The group spent about an hour outside the hotel before disbanding. Austin Ruse, vice president of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and the master of ceremonies for the event, brushed aside claims of partisanship, saying Democrats and Republicans alike were in attendance and involved in planning the event.

“We know that there are a lot of Republicans here, but we are actively reaching out to Democrats and faithful Catholics on the political left, and we’re going to continue,” Mr. Ruse said. “We’re going to get them here. It takes time and dialogue and we’ve got it going.”

Acknowledging that the divide between what he called social justice Catholics and pro-life Catholics is wide, Ruse said the breakfast committee is committed to reaching out to broader communities in the church.

“It’s not going to be easy because there’s a lot of suspicion that this is a Republican event,” he said. “There’s a lot of Republicans here, but doggone it, we’re going to get Democrats here too.”

Colombian Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, Vatican family expert, dies at 72

ROME – Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, died April 19 at Rome’s Pius XI clinic, where he had been hospitalized since early April with a respiratory infection. He was 72.

Pope Benedict XVI called the cardinal a “tireless pastor” who generously served the church and “the Gospel of life.”

The pope, who was in the United States at the time of the cardinal’s death, expressed his condolences in a telegram addressed to the cardinal’s brother, Anibal Lopez Trujillo. The Vatican released a copy of the telegram April 21. The pope said the cardinal gave “clear testimony of his deep love for the church and his dedication to the noble cause of the promotion of marriage and the Christian family.”

A funeral Mass was to be held at the Vatican April 23 with the pope presiding.

The Colombian-born cardinal, who served as archbishop of Medellin from 1979 to 1991, had been president of the family council at the Vatican for nearly 18 years.

But even before taking up the Vatican post, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo’s influence was felt throughout Latin America and beyond because of his work as general secretary and later president of the Latin American bishops’ council, known as CELAM.

His death leaves the College of Cardinals with 195 members, 118 of whom are under the age of 80 and, therefore, eligible to vote in a conclave.

As president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo denounced proposals in several countries that would authorize same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

He helped local churches oppose legislation to legalize abortion or make it easier to obtain and called promotion of contraceptives a form of “biological colonialism” by drug companies and wealthy nations.

He described drug addiction as a modern “form of slavery that oppresses the whole world.”

In 2004, he went on British television to warn that condoms were not an effective barrier against the AIDS virus and suggested condom packets should carry a warning to that effect.

Cardinal Lopez Trujillo was convinced that the family risks destruction and that the church must lead an “evangelical struggle” to defend it.

“People don’t realize the human tragedy they are preparing,” Cardinal Lopez Trujillo said in a 2006 interview with Catholic News Service.

“If you look at Europe or the Americas, there’s not a parliament where these issues are not being debated. I think it’s providential to have a pope who speaks with courage and clarity – and to have a curial agency to lend help when needed,” he said.

At the Synod of Bishops in October 2005, he urged a firmer line on the issue of Communion, politics and abortion. In his view, he said, politicians who promote unjust legislation must “remedy the evil committed” before they receive Communion.

When Spain approved gay marriage in 2005, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo said Catholic civil officials should conscientiously object to taking part in such ceremonies, even if they lose their jobs as a result.

On several occasions, he praised the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush for its opposition to abortion and its positions on a range of pro-life and family issues.

In the CNS interview, the cardinal freely acknowledged that his council engages in political questions. But he said that while Pope Benedict has cautioned church leaders against involvement in partisan politics, the council is simply “enlightening politicians and saying what the values are … as a service to society.”

“It’s a different kind of politics,” he said. “Those who are afraid of this are mistaken.”

Born Nov. 8, 1935, in Villahermosa, Colombia, he moved with his family to Bogota as a young boy.

After studies at the local archdiocesan major seminary, he went to Rome for studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, where he earned his doctorate in philosophy. He also took courses in theology, sociology and Marxism.

Ordained a priest Nov. 13, 1960, then-Father Lopez Trujillo continued his studies in Rome for two more years before returning to Bogota.

He taught philosophy for four years at the local major seminary and developed a course – taught throughout Colombia – on Pope Paul VI’s 1967 encyclical, “Populorum Progressio” (“The Progress of Peoples”). He participated as an expert in the second general conference of Latin American bishops, held in Medellin in 1968.

On Feb. 25, 1971, Pope Paul named him an auxiliary bishop of Bogota, and he was ordained a bishop March 25, 1971. The next year he was elected CELAM general secretary, continuing to serve in that post through his May 22, 1978, appointment as coadjutor archbishop of Medellin, his June 2, 1979, succession as archbishop and the 1979 third general conference of CELAM, held in Puebla, Mexico, with the participation of Pope John Paul II.

Then-Archbishop Lopez Trujillo was elected president of CELAM at the Puebla meeting, serving until 1983, when he was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul. He was president of the Colombian bishops’ conference, 1987-1990.

Pope John Paul named Cardinal Lopez Trujillo president of the Pontifical Council for the Family Nov. 8, 1990. The Colombian prelate formally resigned as Medellin archbishop Jan. 9, 1991.