Terry's Weekly Review

Terry’s Weekly Review Of the Catholic Herald, Catholic Times and Universe Newspapers 13th Sunday 2011 Battle begins over new Roman Missal The new English translation of the Mass has come under fierce attack just months before it is introduced in parishes in England and Wales. The Association of Catholic Priests, a body which represents more than 400 of Ireland’s 4,500 priests, urged the Irish bishops to postpone the publication of the translation for another five years. They criticised the new translation for being “archaic, elitist and obscure and not in keeping with the natural rhythm, cadence and syntax of the English language”. The group also criticised the new translation for “exclusivist, sexist language”. In America, a prominent liturgist, Fr. Anthony Ruff, a former chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy’s (ICEL) music committee, has withdrawn from speaking about the text after he said he could not “promote the new Missal translation with integrity”. Martin Foster, the acting secretary of the bishops’ liturgy committee, said he did not foresee similar resistance to the new translation in Britain. He said that all the dioceses had held training days for clergy. On Wednesday the bishops of Scotland issued a statement, saying the introduction of the Missal represented an opportunity for renewed devotion. They said: “We ask Scotland’s Catholics to welcome it as something good, a gift from the Church through which we will continue to worship God and celebrate in English the Holy Mysteries of our faith.” Prince visits Catholic Church in Belfast The Prince of Wales became the first member of the modern royal family to enter a Catholic church in Northern Ireland last Saturday. Prince Charles visited St. Malachy’s Church in Belfast as one of three engagements in the city, to see the results of a £3.5 million restoration project which has been completed. The church was destroyed by a Luftwaffe bomb in 1941 and then rebuilt. The Prince was welcomed by Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, Emeritus Bishop Patrick Walsh of Down and Connor, Rev Norman Hamilton, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church and Fr. Martin Graham, a priest of the parish. The Prince also met parishioners and representatives of parish groups Three quarters of Scottish bishops expected to retire soon Three quarters of Scotland’s Catholic bishops will leave their posts or apply for retirement within two years, it has been discovered, meaning that a new generation of bishops will soon lead the Church. Three of the country’s eight bishops have applied to retire on age and health grounds, with three more, including Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrew’s and Edinburgh, expected to have left by the end of 2013. Bishops must apply to retire once they reach 75, and Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen is expected to be the first to go, within a year, followed by Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow in 2013. Bishop Vincent Logan of Dunkeld, 69, has meanwhile asked to retire on health grounds, and Bishop John Cunningham of Galloway is likely to ask for retirement before he is officially required to in 2013. Candidates for the soon to be vacant posts include the Bishop of Paisley’s brother, Mgr. Gerard Tartaglia, Mgr. Peter Magee, Fr. Patrick Burke and Fr. John Keenan, the chaplain of Glasgow University. Mgr. Peter Smith, Fr. Paul Conroy and Fr. Gero McLoughlin are among the other candidates tipped to become possible bishops. The appointments will be made by the new papal nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, who will be advised by Mgr. Leo Cushley, head of the English Language Section in the Vatican and a former curate at Motherwell Cathedral. Turkish minister accuses EU of ‘dangerous’ Christian bias A senior Turkish official has accused the European Union of turning into a “Christian club” and failing to offer an “open door policy” to non-Christian countries such as his own. “We always thought of the EU as a great peace project – but the enlargement process is now blocked, purely and simply,” said Ali Babacan, a vice premier. “The open door policy is no longer there and one of the main reasons Turkey cannot become a member is because the EU is a Christian club. In our view, this is very, very dangerous”. Turkey has been negotiating accession to the EU since 2005, but has faced opposition to its membership bid from France and Germany because of its refusal to open ports to Cyprus and lack of internal reforms, as well as persistent complaints from ethnic and religious minorities about being denied equal rights and protections. In an interview last week with the Milliyet daily, President Abdullah Gul said his country’s treatment of Christians, in particular, was a “disgrace”, adding that all citizens should be accorded the same chances in jobs and professions. However, he added that he believed Turkey had other options to consider besides EU membership, as it became “clear that obstacles have been placed in front of us”. Meanwhile another vice-premier, Bulent Bulent Arinc, rejected Vatican requests in late January for legal status to be granted to the 32,000-member Catholic Church, which co-hosted a visit by the Pope in 2006 and is still recovering from the brutal murder in June of Bishop Luigi Padovese, the Italian born president of its bishops’ conference. However, the new head of Turkey’s official Presidency of Religious Affairs (DIB) , Mehmet Gormez, told the Zaman daily last week he favoured “freedom for all religious communities”, and considered it “intolerable” that some still faced “obstacles in confessing their faith”. Mob attacks Indonesian churches Thousands of Muslims in Indonesia have attacked three churches, a Christian orphanage and a Christian Health Centre. The violence took place on Tuesday and only ended with the intervention of police in riot gear. One of the police vans was set on fire by the crowd. The riot took place in Temanggung regency in Java and started when a mob attacked the court where a trial of Richmond Bawengan Antonius, a Christian accused of proselytising and blasphemy, is under way. The mob demanded the death penalty. The rioters then attacked the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul, violently beating the priest as he tried to protect the tabernacle. The crowd then burned a Pentecostal Church before the mob went on to destroy a Catholic orphanage and a health centre of the Sisters of Providence. Another Protestant Church in Shekinah was later burned down. Confession? There’s an app for that An American bishop has approved an iPhone application which helps the faithful prepare for Confession. Confession: A Roman Catholic App, already nicknamed “iConfess”, is designed to give people a step by step guide to how to make their Confession. It also generates a personalised guide for examining conscience which is based on age, sex and vocation. Bishop Kevin Rhodes of Fort Wayne-South Bend gave the app his imprimatur, making it one of the first smartphone gadgets to be given such official sanction. Patrick Leinen, the developer and co- founder of Little iApps, said: “Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology.” He said the app had already helped one man to receive the Eucharist for the first time in 20 years. There are many enjoyable and interesting articles, stories and comments in the Catholic Press that I cannot cover owing to limits on time and space. If I can help, please contact me on [email protected] .

Load more