Police raid on Belgian archdiocese ruled illegal by appeals court
August 19, 2010
Brussels, Belgium, (CNA/EWTN News).- In the absence of an official statement from Belgium’s judiciary, the lawyer for the Archdiocese of Brussels-Mechelen announced the court’s decision that the police raids of the archbishop’s offices and Cardinal Danneel’s residence in June were unlawful.
The surprise search of the archdiocesan headquarters and other Church properties, called “Operation Chalice” by local authorities, took place on June 24. Police evidently sought to uncover evidence that the Church had willingly hidden information about clerical sex abuse cases.
In an Aug. 13 press conference, noting silence from the appeals court concerning its decision, the Belgian Bishops Conference announced the court’s ruling that the search was illegal.
A statement from the archdiocese said that Fernand Keuleneer, the attorney for the archdiocese, was surprised by the prosecution’s silence on the decision, especially after the press was, as he put it, so “welcome” during and following the search. The lawyer did, however, concede that the court had no legal obligation to disclose its decision.
As a result of the court’s ruling, the items seized, which consist mostly of boxes of files from the now-defunct Interdiocesan Commission on Sexual Abuse and their computers, must be returned and the dossiers from the local judicial investigation must be destroyed.
The bishops expressed their hope that confidence would be restored following this ruling. The new Belgian Bishop’s Conference spokesman Jürgen Mettepenningen also said that the bishops are exploring how to best help victims at this point.
As for the original scope of the search, Keuleneer told Vatican Radio this week that its “substance” is still rather unclear. The search was on such a large scale “that one asks himself if there were concrete, specific elements (to it), or if the scope wasn’t rather that of going in ‘blind’ hoping to find something … “
PFLI Condemns FDA Approval of Chemical Cousin of Abortion Pill Mifepristone (RU 486)
August 16, 2010
McKinney, TX (MetroCatholic) — Pharmacists For Life International releases the following statement:
In many places of employment a gigantic board is posted listing the shortages and outages of essential medications, such as antibiotics, pain relievers, anesthetics and drugs for sedation. This problem has been significant for years, and has worsened considerably in the last year, impeding pharmacists’ ability to provide vital care for our patients. The FDA has placed the approval of this “chemical cousin” analog of mifepristone (sometimes known by its antiquated experimental name, RU 486) ahead of the need to address this severe health care issue.
Our disgust for the deadly FDA action is profound and beyond the ability to verbalize. Ulipristal acetate, according to its own developers, can kill embryos and feti. It is marketed in Europe as EllaOne® . The low dose 30mg form of Ella®, has been prioritized for approval by the US FDA, which would have served the citizens of the US better by adequately addressing the current, rolling shortages of truly lifesaving and essential medications, rather than chemicals whose main intent is to snuff out a nascent life in the first few weeks of existence.
The embryocidal doses of ulipristal acetate may now be stockpiled and accumulated by prescribers or patients for “medical” chemical abortions at home, sidestepping the so-called regulation of mifepristone/misoprostil (the other abortion drug brought to the US in the 1990s by the Population Council and whose $4 million experimentation bill was entirely footed by mega-billionaire Warren Buffett). This will lead to additional life-endangering problems for the targeted adolescent girls and women, as well as giving continued cover for sexual predators of underage girls and incestuous abusive relationships.
The FDA is expected to continue in its long tradition of relegating females to lowest class health care status. PFLI rounded and vehemently denounces and condemns the FDA for this inappropriate use of its drug regulatory power to destroy life rather than approve and regulate medicines which actually are life-saving and preserve health.
Court rejection of DOMA ‘dangerous and disappointing,’ US bishops say
July 14, 2010
Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — After a federal judge in Massachusetts rejected a congressional act that recognized marriage as being between one man and one woman, the U.S. bishops’ chairman for the Defense of Marriage responded by emphasizing that the state does not have the authority to redefine the vital institution, since marriage existed before the state.
“On behalf of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz began, “I express grave concern over these dangerous and disappointing rulings which ignore even the most apparent purposes of marriage and thus offend true justice.”
The archbishop, who is chairman of the committee, responded on July 12 to two July 8 rulings which held that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. Section 3 states that for purposes of federal laws, regulations and rulings, “the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman.”
“Marriage – the union of one man and one woman – is a unique, irreplaceable institution. The very fabric of our society depends upon it,” said Archbishop Kurtz. “Nothing compares to the exclusive and permanent union of husband and wife. The state has a duty to employ the civil law to reinforce – and, indeed, to privilege uniquely – this vital institution of civil society.”
“The reasons to support marriage by law are countless, not least to protect the unique place of husbands and wives, the indispensable role of fathers and mothers, and the rights of children, who are often the most vulnerable among us,” the archbishop explained. “And yet, a judge has decided that a marriage-reinforcing law like DOMA fails to serve even a single, minimally rational government interest.”
The two court rulings were from separate lawsuits filed in Massachusetts. In Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the court ruled that section 3 of DOMA violates the principles of equal protection guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. In Commonwealth of Mass. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the court ruled that it violates the Tenth Amendment and Spending Clause.
As part of the Gill ruling, U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro stated that “as irrational prejudice plainly never constitutes a legitimate government interest,” section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.
But Archbishop Kurtz strongly disagreed, saying, “To claim that defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman is somehow irrational, prejudiced, or even bigoted, is a great disservice not only to truth but to the good of our nation.
“Marriage exists prior to the state and is not open to redefinition by the state. The role of the state, instead, is to respect and reinforce marriage,” he explained.
“Thursday’s decision, by contrast, uses the power of the state to attack the perennial definition of marriage, reducing it merely to the union of any two consenting adults,” the bishops’ marriage committee chairman said.
“But only a man and a woman are capable of entering into the unique, life-giving bond of marriage, with all of its specific responsibilities. Protecting marriage as only the union of one man and one woman is not merely a legitimate, but a vital government interest,” he insisted.
The USCCB Office of General Counsel commented that the court rulings erred on the meaning of marriage. The rulings were also mistaken, they said, because the Constitution does not prohibit Congress from acknowledging “marriage,” as the term is used in federal statutes, regulations and rulings, as being the union of one man and one woman.
Who Will Be Victorious?; Vicksburg Leadership Retreat
July 6, 2010
The men and boys of Kepha’s St. Peter chapter meets the enemy on the battlefield to conquer sin and death. Who will be victorious?
-by Andrew Smith
Vicksburg, MS (MetroCatholic) – At first we thought it was unusual that our end-of-year retreat at Vicksburg National Military Park for Kepha’s Leadership Retreat was accompanied by the hottest, most muggiest weather any of us Texans (some born and bred here) had ever experienced. One of our members called it “Africa-Hot.” But by the end of our weekend on the battlefield, exploring the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, having fun and experiencing dynamic orthodoxy and infectious joy, we realized that the heat of the sun was a symbol of the heat of hell that awaited us if we did not win the battle against sin. Such is the challenge put before all of us and one we enthusiastically take up in Kepha, the Brotherhood of the Iron Will.
Kepha rallies around 5 anchors: prayer, apologetics, brotherhood, mortification and charity via monthly retreats and shared daily prayers in an attempt to ascend “Towards the Top!” a phrase that one of our Big Three, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati used to encourage others to get to Heaven.
After a year of retreats in the Dallas-area, we head to Vicksburg, Mississippi to spend the weekend on the battlefield that commemorates the famous Civil War battle of 1863. The purpose of the retreat was simple: Apply strategies learned on the battlefield of war to the battlefield of the soul. We would study leadership and strive to imitate the examples of those who were victorious. Not always easy to do, because as we learned, sometimes sacrificing yourself completely was the only means to victory. It was the example of Christ himself, the original Man of an Iron Will.
We learned about General Grant and his risky strategy to take Vicksburg, the “Gibraltar of the South.” We saw that hesitation in the face of a deadly enemy who is relentlessly pursuing you can have fatal consequences. We learned about bloodshed and sacrifice. We looked in awe as we observed just how close the lines between the opposing armies were during the siege and asked how it was possible anyone came out alive at all?
We learned about Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman, CSA, the famous Confederate leader who sacrificed his own life so that his army could live to fight another day.
After lunch we played dodgeball , a sport that is not considered nice, but we do it anyways, because we know that boys must learn to get up after being hit. The boys of Kepha positively scream in angst if we don’t schedule enough dodge ball time on a retreat.
And since it would not be right to come to a Civil War battlefield and not engage in a little warfare ourselves, we fill some balloons with water and split up into teams. One team climbs a tall hill, plants a flag and dares the other team to take it. This is a challenge that is irresistible and the boys are innovative in developing a strategy to take it every time. By the time the third assault team sweeps up the hill, the defenders are taking cover in an abandoned motel and raining down water balloons like an artillery barrage at Gettysburg. Yet, they left a weak spot and to exploit it John Peter climbs onto the shoulders of Brandon to grab the flag from a second story anchor and the attackers take the flag for the third and final time. Brotherhood, again, wins the day.
We head to the cathedral-like structure that is the Illinois monument to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and in the midst of a crowd of tourists, we kneel to give thanks and remember the sacrifices of those who went before us. I was tempted to speak softly so as not to disturb the roaming tourists, but not 7 year old Joseph, who promptly kneels down and recites the prayers in his normal voice that penetrates the area. As I watched him pray, with eyes shut tight and head turned towards the heavens, I was reminded that I have so much to learn and that prayer is a God-given right and not something to be ashamed of.
We move on to the north-east end of the battlefield where “states-rights” Josh practices mortification by doing a battlefield report on someone he does not like, General Ulysses S. Grant. But he smiles and does it anyways.
Our act of charity for the retreat was to pick up any trash we saw on the battlefield, but by the end of the day, none of the boy’s bags were full as the battlefield is kept immaculate. Imagine if we too kept our souls so clean so that no one would have to come after us to pick up the mess?
We end the day climbing all over a might war-ship risen again, the USS Cairo. This deadly iron-clad man-of-war was mighty in its time but was sunk by a hastily-put together torpedo that probably should not have worked at all. As we look over the re-built wreckage, we realize that even the mightiest among us can fall, but that to get back up again is the true measure of our worth.
But the thing that really raises the lump in our throats is the crosswalk through the National Cemetery where 17,000 Union soldiers are buried, most of their names unknown except to God alone. As we march through the cemetery in silence holding our crosses, the voices of the soldiers cry out to us as if one. Their message is clear: Take up the mantle of freedom, pass it onto the next generation, raise up men to be strong in their Faith. On top of a graveyard hill in the cemetery, we realize that death is the price of victory. Death on a battlefield, death on a cross, death to ourselves and to our own wants. It has to be this way. The old has to make way for the new and men must, once again, take up the bitterness of the cross today so that future generations will be free.
Sunday morning we are given a lesson in brotherhood when 12 year old Austen is given the “spirit of brotherhood” award at the end of the retreat and when asked to give a speech, he breaks down and acknowledges that he has been disrespectful and does not deserve the award, a beautiful new leather-bound bible, which he promptly hands to another boy who he says deserves it more. We all pause because we don’t know what to say. Where else will a 12 year old learn about brotherhood in this way?
After working through discussions of whether or not the Civil War was fought over states-rights or slavery, we head to Mass where the readings were from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, exhorting them to “stand fast, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” We might still be fighting the Civil War here on earth but the Man upstairs clearly has it all figured out.
Kepha will start its 13th year in September 2010 and future retreat themes will cover Pope John Paul the Great’s landmark encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Pro-Life Apologetics, the Rosary, the Eucharist, the Fathers of the Church, a Chastity retreat and much more. If you are father with sons or no sons, or a single man, clergy or seminarian, then we invite you to attend one of our retreats and experience Dynamic Orthodoxy, Infectious Joy for yourself. And as Blessed Pier Giorgio, one of Kepha’s Big Three, used to say, “May God give you iron will, that does not bend and does not fail in his projects.”
Andrew Smith is a Regional Director for Kepha based in Texas. For more information visit www.kepharocks.org.
Bishops Urge Senate to Remove Abortion Amendment from Defense Bill
June 29, 2010
A Senate committee amendment that would authorize the performance of elective abortions at military hospitals in this country and around the world is “misguided” and should be removed from the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3454), said the Chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. In a June 29 letter, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston urged Senators to remove this amendment on the grounds that it breaks with longstanding federal and military policies on government promotion of abortion.
Cardinal DiNardo said it was disingenuous to suggest, as the amendment’s proponents have, that the amendment is “moderate” in requiring patients at military facilities to pay for their abortions. “Which is a more direct governmental involvement in abortion: That the government reimburses someone else for having done an abortion, or that the government performs the abortion itself and accepts payment for doing so?” the Cardinal wrote. He cited a 1989 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court saying that “the State need not commit any resources to facilitating abortions, even if it can turn a profit by doing so.”
Cardinal DiNardo also noted the longstanding nature of the current policy against providing abortions at military health facilities, which has been in place for 22 years with the exception of 1993-1995.
“During the brief period when these facilities were told to make abortions available, scarcely any military physician could be found in overseas facilities who was willing to perform abortions,” the Cardinal added.
Cardinal DiNardo also said that the current military policy is in keeping with federal policy in general, noting: “Other federal health facilities also may not be used for elective abortions, and many states have their own laws against use of public facilities for such abortions.”
Calling on the Senate not to approve the bill unless it maintains current law, as the bill approved by the House of Representatives already does, Cardinal DiNardo concluded that “this amendment presents Congress with the very straightforward question whether it is the task of our federal government to directly promote and facilitate elective abortions. During the recent health care reform debate, the President and congressional leadership assured us that they agree it is not.”
Archbishop Broglio of the Archdiocese of Military Services had written an earlier letter to the Senate against the proposed policy change. Cardinal DiNardo endorsed his letter as well, noting that it urges Congress “not to impose this tremendous burden on the consciences of Catholic and other health care personnel who joined our armed services to save and protect innocent life, not to destroy it.”
Full text of the letter can be found online at: www.usccb.org/prolife/DiNardo-Ltr-Military-Abortions-6-29-2010.pdf
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Word Becomes Flesh to 1,700 Teens at Franciscan Youth Conference
June 24, 2010
STEUBENVILLE, OH (MetroCatholic) – Father John Amsberry, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Portland, Oregon, paused halfway across the stage and looked out at the young audience.
“It’s 2:58 p.m. and…?”
“We are loved!” they yelled back.
Over 1,700 teens piled onto Franciscan University’s campus for the first High School Youth Conference in Steubenville, June 18-20, to hear the gospel, sing with Bob Rice and his band about God’s love, and encounter Christ in word and sacrament.
Indifferent, excited, nervous, curious, the teens came from 14 states, from as far away as Oregon and South Dakota, and as close as Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. They left profoundly changed. Among those transformed were the 20 teens who participated in the weeklong Leadership, Evangelization, And Discipleship (LEAD) retreat that preceded the weekend conference. Throughout the weekend they testified to their fellow teens about the power of confession and Eucharist, of finding God in the ancient rites and sacraments of the Church.
Margaret and Joanna spoke to the crowd about the power of Confession—of healing, of purification, of the past being washed away and experiencing a new beginning.
“I feel like I can start over, like nothing happened before. God is awesome, you guys!”
Topher talked about walking a rough road since his father left him when he was 5. But confession and eucharistic adoration in the course of his LEAD week allowed him to be touched by God. “If any of you are like me, I just challenge you to open your hearts,” he said. “Let the Lord in.”
Guided by this summer’s youth conference theme, “The Word Became Flesh,” host Jim Beckman and the team sought to help the teens, youth ministers, parents, chaperones, and priests do just that.
Deacon Ralph Poyo, introduced as “our own deacon hobbit who lives in the Shire near campus,” told the teens, “It is all about you and me receiving the blessing of the Father. How many of us are dying for a word of approval from our heavenly Father?”
He described getting married and learning to give himself to his wife, and then his daughters, totally, sacrificially, in order to help them to heaven.
“How awesome it is to share in life together! At some point, we have to realize we’re all about relationship. It’s what we’re designed for. It’s what we are made for.
“I’m here to tell you one very important thing. Jesus died for you. Jesus came for you. Jesus loves you. Why would he choose to become man? For you and for me,” said Deacon Poyo, founder of New Evangelization Ministries.
“He knows everything that we’ve done. He was there—he saw it. And you know what? He doesn’t leave you. He chose to die for you anyway. He loves you anyway.”
Speaker Tammy Evevard challenged the teens to discover the truth about themselves, to know who it is that God loves.
“You were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”
She went through some assumptions rampant in the broader culture. “There’s a continuous stream of people telling us over and over how the world is. They teach us to say, ‘What I see around me is normal. This is the best I’m going to get.’ It’s a lie.
“If we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we deserve better than the new normal. We can live in God’s freedom.”
Evevard emphasized that both men and women were created in the image and likeness of God, who described them as “very good.”
“Men and women are equal in dignity, and value, and purpose.”
The Saturday afternoon workshops covered practical ways of living the faith in the light of God’s love, teaching the teens about such things as “Genuine Prayer,” “Sharing Christ over Coffee,” and explaining “The Holiest Place on Earth: Praying the Mass.”
“The greatest thing in life,” said Father Amsberry at his workshop, “is our sacred friendship with Christ and sharing that relationship with others. We become a place where people encounter paradise in this world.
“We are the daughters and sons of God. The more we incarnate that, the more attractive we become.”
To live life as sons and daughters of God, said author and musician Chris Padgett, you have to know the God-bearer. “In order for you to be the saint you are called to be, you must be Marian.”
Padgett expanded on the long road to sanctity in his keynote talk, saying, “God calls us all, and he knows ahead of time that we are weak and broken.
“Our problem today is not that we don’t have enough information, or that we don’t want to say yes. The real question is, how can we be saints with all the crap in our life?”
The answer, Padgett said, is God’s mercy. “If we confess our sins, he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We know Jesus will take us and embrace us and strengthen us. It’s not information, but transformation we need.”
The Word became flesh again and again over the course of the conference—in the celebration of the Mass, through the sacrament of Reconciliation, in the planting of the seed of the Gospel in young hearts, and in the love of all the teens shown by the conference staff and the speakers.
Saturday night’s eucharistic praise and worship was the high point of the weekend. Later, Padgett said, “I think a lot of the team really felt like we were swimming in mud until last night. That was a great victory last night.” Teens prayed, wept, and worshiped Christ as Father Leo Patalinghug, martial arts master and director of Pastoral Field Education at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, brought Jesus in the monstrance to them in solemn procession.
Closing the conference, Jim Beckman encouraged the teens to commit to prayer and lived faith. “Otherwise, all you’ll have a few months from now is the memory of that awesome night of adoration and praise when you sang louder than the band.”
Mare Draper from Holy Family Parish in the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, came along as a chaperone for a group of 42 and said, “This is the first time where I’ve come to a retreat that truly is supportive of a chaperone and a youth minister as well as the kids and I have an opportunity to experience what the kids are experiencing. It just humbles me.
“Everyone’s so nice and chipper, everyone just wants to high five. It’s really an amazing experience and I just feel so relaxed. I’m never relaxed and I feel relaxed.”
Franciscan University summer youth conferences will take place in 14 locations across the U. S. and Canada this summer. Teams at each conference include nationally known speakers, priests and bishops, dedicated to sharing Jesus Christ with the youth of today. For more information, including a complete list of conferences for youth and youth ministers, free music, and video of past conferences, go to www.franciscanyouth.com.
TX Catholic Voice: Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Bishops on Immigration
May 23, 2010
Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Read this week’s Voice for information on Cinco de Mayo and on two recent statements by US Bishops on Immigration Reform. Also in this week’s Voice is information on Pope Benedict’s recent comments regarding nuclear war and marriage.
TX Catholic Voice: 82nd Legislative Agenda Available, Watch Dallas Episcopal Ordination Online
May 23, 2010
This week’s Voice gives you information on legislative agenda for the 82nd session, as well as information on how to watch this week’s Episcopal Ordination in Dallas online. Also, more helpful links for the USCCB regarding Vocations and Catholic Social teaching are included.
Charity in Truth Conference, Action Alert on Humanitarian Funding and START Treaty, TexasCatholicTV.com
May 23, 2010
This week’s Voice gives you information on the upcoming Charity in Truth Conference, hosted by the TCC Charity and Justice Department. It also includes an Action Alert on Humanitarian Funding and START Treat. Finally, there’s information on two great resources, TexasCatholicTV.com, a web site developed by the Diocese of Dallas’ newspaper, as well as information on the updated ForYourMarriage.org web site.
Texas Bishops Reiterate Support of USCCB in Opposing Senate Health Care Bill
May 23, 2010
We, the Catholic Bishops of Texas wish to reiterate our unified support of the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in opposing the current Senate Health Care Reform Bill. In light of this, we find the remarks of Bishop Emeritus John McCarthy on this topic to be disappointing. Others may have personal views that differ from our position, but they cannot speak for the Catholic Church in Texas.As a community of faith the Catholic Church supports true health care reform. True health care reform ensures that health care is accessible and affordable for all, while maintaining current federal law regarding abortion funding and conscience protection. Unfortunately, the Senate version before the House at this time would change current federal law and provide tax dollars for elective abortions. This is a drastic shift from current law, which under the Hyde Amendment, bars federal funding for abortions or plans that include abortion. In addition, the Senate version does not include a conscience protection for physicians and hospitals who are morally opposed to performing abortions. The Senate version would also prohibit those among us who are undocumented from purchasing health insurance with their own money.
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