Saint Lucia
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April 2004 |
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World and Caribbean Church ROME Where Talk of Rights Goes Wrong An international congress on "Woman and Human Rights" cautioned, among other things, of a mentality nowadays that equates the dignity of people with that of animals. The participants at the Congress, which was organised by the Institute of Higher Studies on Woman of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, proposed the recovery of the original view of human rights, based on the dignity of man and woman. Cristina Zucconi Galli Fonseca, president of the Institute, explained that there are "deceitful anthropological proposals that go so far as to equate the dignity of people with that of animals". "There is anew conception of human rights which tends to convert them into subjective claims," Zucconi said- "Attempts are being made to transform the existence and meaning of the family," she added. "In this way, the interests of some minorities, which do not reflect the real needs of the great majority of women in the world, are presented as the expression of an apparent feminine freedom." Instead, Zucconi pointed out, these conceptions of the rights of woman are the negation .of her specific identity, of her capacity to give and to take care of life. Maria Elosegui, professor of philosophy of law at Zaragoza University in Spain, explained how some of these currents have gained influence within meetings held at the United Nations. ."The new concept of family coined by the United Nations runs parallel with the creation of a new vocabulary, with its consequent interpretation, namely, the concept of reprouctlve rights,” she said. "The concept of reproductive rights is not neutral," Elosegui added. "Under this term, there is a desire to include 'new rights' that attack the declarations of the U.N. itself, so they claim the right to free abortion free of charge, the right to have a child through recourse to artificial reproductive technologies without any restrictions whatsoever, or the right to sterilization and to the choice of any contraceptive method." "In these discussions," she added, two things are confused which are simultaneously compatible, that is, that human rights are certainly universal but ownership of them is individual. " "From this affiimation one can defend the equality of woman and her individual rights as a person with her own dignity, without the need to adopt the model of radical feminism, and without abandoning the note of universality of human rights," Elosegui concluded. MADRID Don't Give in to Terrorists' Blackmail. Sav Spanish Bishops. A Spanish Bishops' Council urged the nation not to succumb to terrorists' blackmail or negotiate with them, "so that their criminal actions obtain for them social or political gains." The Episcopate's Executive Council in a note published on March 18th said terrorists: if they do not succeed in making us lose our spirit and generosity, they will be without weapons to subjugate us." The statement, which came in the wake of the March 11 terrorist bombings in Madrid, was addressed to Catholics and to Spaniards in general, urging them not to give way to 'uncontrolled fear or discouragement. , The bishops warn that "terrorism hopes to spread fear and hatred among all, to break wills and subject society and the state to their own ends. They will not succeed if we do not give in to their blackmail, remain serene in spirit, and even have the magnanimity to forgive." The episcopal statement also reminds the government, elected 3 days after the terrorist attack, that the priority must be the struggle against terrorism. "The legitimate authorities must count with the collaboration of all," it said. "We Catholics will give it without hesitation, and will contribute a strong spirit nourished by a hope that does not disappoint." MADRID Father of 9/11 Victim Writes to 3/11 Victims The father of Silvia de San Pio, a Spanish victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York, wrote a letter to the March 11 victims. The letter, written by Jose Luis de San Pio, was circulated on March 16th. by Caritas-Madrid, where he has been a volunteer . In his letter to the victims, San Pio said: "I want you to know that I am also with you. But I also want you to know that many of us have prayed for you and for each one of those affected, and we will continue to do so." "If, unfortunately, one of your dear ones died in the attacks and, if like me, you are a believer, remember that death does not have the last word," he wrote. "Our lives are changed by being victims of terrorism, but not necessarily for the worse. I found strength to rise from my anguish by deciding to work for a more solidaristic world in Caritas-Madrid", said San Pio, whose daughter was pregnant when she died together with her husband John in the 2001 attack. WASHINGTON Cardinal Urges Senate to Pass Unborn-Victims Act Cardinal William Keeler urged the U. S .Senate to pass a bill recognising unborn children as second victims when their mothers suffer federal crimes of violence. "When a pregnant woman is assaulted or killed, and her unborn child is harmed or killed as a result, the crime has two victims -the woman and her child," said Cardinal Keeler, who chairs the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities. "Without this new law, when a pregnant women is herself the victim of the federal crime, any resulting injury to her unborn child -harm to which the woman obviously has not consented -goes unpunished," the cardinal said. Most states recognise and redress prenatal injury or death resulting from violence inflicted upon a pregnant woman. The Senate bill explicitly excludes abortion. "It is disappointing that some insist the bill should be defeated to somehow preserve a 'right' to abortion," Cardinal Keeler noted. "This bill simply ensures that both mother and child are protected from violent assault and murder ." The House of Representatives passed the bill last month by a 254-163 vote. BOGOTA Colombial Episcopate Promotes Day of the Unborn The Colombian episcopate invited the country's Catholics to observe the Day of the Unborn on March 25th, feast of the Annunciation. "This event is an attempt to promote the annual observance of a day in defense of children who are conceived but not born. The central theme is the defense of human life that is gestating in the wombs of mothers who joyfully expect a child," explains an informative note by the Bishops' Department of Social Communication . "A new element that intervenes in the motivation for this Day is the need to give information on the meaning of paternity and maternity, especially to adolescents and youths," it adds. In this connection, the Episcopate's Family Section gave evangelization agents, especially those dedicated to marriage and family pastoral care, a book entitled "National Pro-Life Day:Love, the Cradle of Life." The volume also includes a document of Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, on "Family Values Against Safe Sex." MEXICO CITY Mexican Bishops Lament Corruption in Politics The president of the Mexican Bishops' Conference has warned about the risk of non-participation in this year's election because of widely publicized corruption scandals. Political leaders have been taped and shown on television receiving money from an Argentine businessman -Carlos Ahumada Kurtz, now a fugitive from justice –or planning deals with federal lands in the tourist region of Cancun. Bishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago, president of the episcopate, said: "We don't desire it, but we can fear that, in fact, in the face of all this spectacle of corruption there will be generalized non-participation which would be akin to disenchantment with democracy ." "It would be sad, because we should not go back on what we have already achieved in the realm of democracy, but must foster it and move toward even higher goals, the bishop said. The Party of Democratic Revolution, in particular, has defended itself against accusations of corruption, saying that it is a plot directed against it by the right, by the Mexican and U. S .leadership, and former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, among others. For his part, the Cardinal Archbishop of Mexico city appealed for an investigation of the problem of political corruption th(lt afflicts the country .and warned that new laws are useless to address this phenomenon, which has been undermining Mexico for years "Something more is needed than a change of laws, some thing more is needed than simply the force to change. Evil is very often within the heart, and it is from there that social evils spring," the Cardinal said.
BELIZE - BELMOPAN BELIZE BISHOP SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CONDOM ADS. Bishop Osmond P. Martin of the Diocese of Belize City- Belmopan has come out in strong condemnation of a recently launched campaign to promote the use of condoms in the fight HIV/AIDS in Belize. In his monthly column in the Christian Herald the bishop stated that the graphic images being used in the campaign television commercials are “advocating the use of condoms but they are also bringing vulgarity into our families and children”. He slammed the campaign saying that it “degrades the sacred and primary purpose of human sexuality which has a unitive and procreative objective “. While we are fully aware of the fact that the epidemic will never be contained by promoting promiscuity and immoral sexual activity. The spread of HIV/AIDS will only cease when promiscuous behavior ceases”, he said. The bishop asked that the campaign be ceased and the ads replaced with ones that promote sexual respect, abstinence, self-respect, mutual respect and self-control. HAITI - PORT AU PRINCE POPE: HAITI NEEDS INTERNATIONAL HELP. Pope John Paul 11 said he was worried about worsening civil strife in Haiti, and he urged Haitians and the international community to resolve the situation there peacefully. The Pope made these remarks February 29th shortly before Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left the country. Aristide, a former Catholic priest, was the first democratically elected president of Haiti but had come under increasing criticism for repression and corruption. The Pope, speaking at a noon blessing before several thousand pilgrims, said he was following the “worrisome and painful news” from Haiti. : In the face of this situation, I feel the duty to invite all Haitians to have the courage and humility to make the decisions necessary for the good of the country” he said. “While I encourage the diplomatic efforts of the international community and ask for a humanitarian organization I send a special blessing to the Haitian people”, he said. DOMINICA - ROSEAU SEMINARIANS GAIN PASTORAL EXPERIENCE IN DOMINICA. On January 29th six seminarians left the Regional Seminary of St. John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs for Dominica where they will spend three months as part of their spiritual year programme. The group includes William[Will]Howard of the Archdiocese of Castries, Everette Haven of the Archdiocese of Nassau, Anthony Abraham of the Diocese of St. Thomas, Nigel Karam pf the Diocese of Roseau, and Leslie Tang Kai and Raymond Francis of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain. Msgr. Michael deVerteuil, Seminary rector, accompanied the seminarians. The spiritual year programme which was initiated in 1995 is aimed at enhancing the spiritual formation of the seminarians and gaining pastoral experience in a parish is an integral component of the programme. This hands-on experience in the parish work takes place during the second semester and is preceded by classes in spirituality and prayer conducted during the first semester. Previous groups of seminarians gained their pastoral apprenticeship in the various parishes of Trinidad and Tobago. However, this year Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, himself a former director of the programme, invited the seminarians to Dominica to carry out the programme. The seminarians have been excited and enthusiastic about what they describe as “a ground-breaking experience” in Dominica. Msgr. deVerteuil made it clear that the seminarians are not a group of missionaries. They will be expected to work within the existing structures and ministries operating in the parish and gain skills while working in collaboration with parish leaders and coordinators. The group is expected to return to the Seminary on April 29th. GUYANA - GEORGETOWN “STRIVE TO SERVE RATHER THAN RULE”-ARCHBISHOP'S ADVICE TO NEW BISHOP. “The title of Bishop is not one of honour but of function, and therefore a bishop should strive to serve rather than rule”. This was part of the advice given to Bishop Francis Dean Alleyne OSB by Archbishop Edward Gilbert during the new bishop's ordination ceremony which took place on January 30th at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Georgetown, Guyana. Archbishop Gilbert, Metropolitan of Port-of-Spain of which Guyana is a Suffragan diocese, was the chief consecrator, assisted by Bishop Benedict Singh, retired bishop of Georgetown and Archbishop Lawrence Burke of Nassau, Bahamas. The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig read the Holy Father's greeting for the occasion in which the new bishop was urged to live by example. “You have admirable qualities and now you must make profession of the Catholic Faith. I urge the catholic community to accept you and pray that the Holy Spirit nourish and direct you. May the peace of Christ remain with you always”, the letter stated. Archbishop Gilbert also reminded the new bishop of a fundamental canonical teaching: “you are not ordained for yourself and you are not ordained just for the Diocese of Georgetown. A bishop has responsibilities with the Holy Father, The vicar of Christ for that church universal. You are the visible sign of communion between the Diocese of Georgetown and the church universal, between the Diocese of Georgetown and the Antilles Episcopal Conference, between the Diocese of Georgetown and the Province of Port-of-Spain. The bishops congratualate you on your appointment and the members of your family are proud of you. In this address to the congregation, the new bishop expressed his gratitude to all responsible for organizing the event, his brother monks and especially his family who he said were influential in his formation. Bishop Alleyne also paid tribute to his predecessor Bishop Benedict Singh who was the first Guyanese bishop to serve in Guyana. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - PORT-OF-SPAIN CCC REVIEWS ITS ROLE The Caribbean Conference of Churches intends to re-engineer itself to meet the needs of the Caribbean Church and the wider community, and CCC leaders hope to develop a comprehensive plan of action to this end. This was learnt as the CCC held a “strategic planning meeting” at Cascadia Hotel, St. Ann's, March 8-12th. “The purpose of the meeting “CCC general secretary Gerard Granado explained to Catholic News, “is essentially to bring together the heads of CCC member churches and National Council of Churches in order to advice the process of planning towards the next General Assembly of the CCC”. This assembly is scheduled for October in Panama. Ten heads of churches or their appointed representatives participated, while seven Christian Councils sent representatives to the meeting. Representing the Antilles Episcopal Conference of catholic bishops were Bishop's Donald Reece of the Diocese of St. John's-Basseterre and Vincent Darius of St. George's -in-Grenada. Among the objectives of the meeting were the re-examination of the stewardship of the CCC, and the examination of the current economic, ecclesial, political and social context of the region. Participants also examined the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Professor Neville Duncan, director of Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Research at the UWI Mona campus, delivered the feature address at the meeting entitled “the Contemporary Caribbean Context and it's challenges- A comparison with the founding era of the CCC”. ANR ROBINSON WEEPS ......OVER PASSION OF CHRIST BOOK. “It is a little masterpiece, It is one [book] which should be in every home, every library...at the end of the book I was in tears. So said the former distinguished president of Trinidad and Tobago ANR Robinson at the launch of Professor Courtenay Bartholomew's latest book, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST AND HIS MOTHER. The launching was held at the Belmont room of the Hilton Hotel in Trinidad on March 11th and was hosted by the Living Water Community, the book's distributors. Among the many distinguished persons present were the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paul Tscherrig. Minister of Health John Raphael and his wife Mona, Dr. Maria Bartholomew and his sons Brian and Brendon, and representatives of the Archdiocese's ecclesial communities. Rhonda Maingot, the evening's chairperson commenting on the book stated: “I couldn't put it down”, having read it through in one night. She assured the professor the book would be accessible to those who could not afford to purchase it. {It cost T&T$65 per copy.} Angican Bishop Clive Abdullah thanked the professor for introducing him to Anne Catherine Emmerich whose revelation also inspired Mel Gibson's film. “Both the film and the book have already began to shake the complacency of the modern world towards the Christian faith”, the bishop said. Professor Bartholomew in his vote of thanks said that after reading the revelations of Anne Catherine Emmerich and Maria Agreda of Spain his life was changed. He subsequently read a book, A Doctor of Calvary , by a French physician and this led him to doing his own research in the mortuary room. In 1984, the Guardian Newspaper published the professor's article on the medical aspects of the crucifixion. He was certainly not jumping on Mel Gibson's bandwagon, but the books publishers thought it appropriate to release the book on the same day as the film. Tenuous Waters in Dominica Wow! It's half way through Lent already! . . .and nearly midway through our ‘spiritual year visitation to the fair isle of Dominica, “How time flies when you're having fun.” Half way through the formation program at St. John Vianney & the Ugandan Martyrs Seminary, one is graced with a “Spiritual Year”—and ‘graced' is really the word to use here. This is a time of focused spiritual development and hands on ‘ministerial exercise'. Its design is to increase the ‘formaties' spiritual apatite, by augmenting one's academic digestion/indigestion with some good old practical grass-roots application. While the first semester is spent ‘in house' with informal classes on spirituality, the second semester has traditionally been spent ‘out in the field' –locally in the Archdiocese of Trinidad. ‘Out in the field' this year however has meant a trans-island move, a move brought about by the ever so gracious invitation of the newly installed bishop of Dominica: Bishop Gabriel Malzaire. And here I just want to take advantage of this opportunity, on behalf of all six of us, to express our great thanks and appreciation to bishop Malzaire and all who have made this experience possible. That's right: Everette Haven—Bahamas, Anthony Abraham—US Virgin Islands, Nigel Karam—Dominica, Will Howard—St. Lucia, Raymond Francis and Leslie Tang Kai—Trinidad. For the sake of our international readers, it can't be over emphasized the merit in such a trans-Caribbean experience. I know I speak for each of the guys when I say that the richness of the experience cannot be measured against the added efforts and expense of such a venture. I trust after this pilot visitation, bishops of the AEC will be lining up to put in their bid for the up-coming years. Yet, there perhaps isn't a better island to make this initial visitation than Dominica. Nearly twenty years ago I briefly visited the Island with a group of friends aboard the good boat “Mystic VII”—more a floating gypsies wagon than yacht. Though even then, having already experienced a number of the islands, Dominica stood out as special. Untainted by rampant tourism and the nasty down-side of development, there seemed to be a kind of pristine aura about the island, a grass-roots lifestyle rich in humanness, a kind of equanimity between mountain, sea and sky providing an abundance of the simple joys of Caribbean lifestyle. Returning as a seminarian (and a Catholic) I've easily discerned a more fundamental feature that has made this isle special: its Faith, This a people's faith that has maintained its health and integrity through the years, together with a relative longevity of social security and serenity. “Change”, has, and is threatening for the worst, yet on this little island, a culture, an environment –natural and otherwise—a people and their church, have been left so nearly intact. . . .yes, 'relatively' speaking anyway. Truly it's like stepping back twenty years and more. I haven't seen any razor wire yet, nor the customary high concrete walls menacingly topped with broken bottles. Remember what it was like to walk about carefree in the cool of the evening under the stars, perhaps even alone along a moonlit beach. There is a conspicuous absence of bars in the windows of most home in this ‘land crime seems to have forgot' And one even gets the feeling that people leave their houses unlocked. Now that's . . .real faith. Imagine a time when the prime coastal regions of our islands were not plugged with rich exclusive resorts pandering to the Euro/American dollar. Here in Dominca “Eco-tourism” has proved so very user friendly in so many ways. Again, imagine a time when surf and river ran clean and the poorest of shanties was surrounded with a wreath of shrubbery and floral array fit for royalty. This all bespeaks a kind of dignity natural to those who know little else than the finer things of life; those things that faith alone can bye. Yet, with all such dream-like scenarios, one can only wonder how long it will last. Yes all things must endure change—especially in this day and age. A few nights past Msgr. Bill Breezed in, “ . . .interested in a quick trip to Soufrie and a dip in the hot springs?” Parking in front of the church, we set off for the beach not fifty yards distance. In the star-spangled dark I dimly made out a low diked pond at the edge of the beach. A few moments later we were stretched out shoulder to shoulder on our stomachs, our feet stretched out to sea, paddling idly. While an effluence of boiling hot sulfur water streamed down into the pond from beyond the church, sending waves of utmost pleasure over the head and shoulders, the gentle swells brought a flood from the toes up of refreshment and moderation. The resulting sensation was little less than divine. This in turn brought about ‘more' ecstatic exclamations, for the sake of my host, in relation to the many hidden wonders of his fair island. Soon, however our conversation turned to the daunting prospect of development that would soon be looking to exploit such natural pleasures. Would this development remain ‘people oriented' for the sake of supporting the Island's good? Would the Church and Dominican society be able to remain strong in the face of pending secularization and pluralism? “Well Will, . . .that's what we're working on . . .noting the mistakes made by other Islands”. As yet the government remains strongly Christian –and Catholic-- and as such the voice of the people's faith remains vital and pertinent within the legislative sector. Yet, in an age when myopic big-buck mindedness seems the standard, and moral sell-out the norm, Dominica is no doubt feeling the pressure. How long will modernization and an emerging secularization be able to maintain any form of moral integrity before its close relative ‘modern secularism' moves in.? If the track record of the rest of the developing world is any indication . . . .well, it seems it all hangs by a prayer, virtually. Our ministry in the Island per se, by the rector's orders, is not so much about, evangelism and engaging parish programs. Rather, we are to take what we've experienced spiritually in the first part of the year . . . and observe . . .apply, and taking advantage of this time of relative idealism, see how parish life ‘matches up' to the call of the Gospel. In Dominica, I observe a people of faith at the point of transition. Home visitation, especially to the elderly and shut-ins, tells of those who were the pillars and towers of the community, in an age past. Such faith depicted a clear and fundamental sense of what was right and wrong for the island and its people, the moral good was well understood . . .belief in God unquestionable. Working among the youth at the schools, tell of another matter. Though there are many fine exceptions, here one finds general, ‘low investment to the Gospel way of life', verging on indifference and marked ignorance of any real faith life experience. substantial understanding with regards to the Faith. With great concern I realize that the youth of Dominica are all too typical of yourth throughout the ‘modern' world.. On the cutting edge of change and development—whether they like it or not—I don't find a generation that is ‘life-empowered' by a more liberally moralization, nor, more ‘aware' of ‘the good' by secular independence and religious freedom. Rather, like every generation, seemingly in every greater dissipation, faith is found wanting. These are an emerging generation that are ever more ‘secularized. Nominally churched, they are more preoccupied with a future fitted to consumerism and material securities. Unknown to themselves however, their ‘secularization' is nothing more than cannon fodder for strong-arm governments with lopsided agendas. In Gospel of Matthew we hear Jesus keen warning about a fundamental political concept: “ Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste”. (Matt. 5:25) Well, it would have to be admitted that “Satan's Kingdom” and the anti-faith agendas of the recent political world forum are anything but divided. In the name of development, plurality of Christian faith, and ‘healthy ‘secularization', are we as people of faith not the ones who are so often divided, easily dissipated in our cause and prone to indifference as change takes us unaware. As I lay there in my sulfuric sea-bath I reflected on the tepid waters that the Church finds itself in these days. Truly, it is such times, neither hot nor cold, that prove to be the greatest hazard for the Church. With a heritage of faith so rich in all its beauty and integrity, do we risk complacency in this modern age, lulled in the passing pleasures of this world? Are the soothing waters of secularization not simply indicative of an insecure age, which busies itself on every diversion and negation trusting its faith to others. Yet, we must not be fooled: ‘those who are not for Christ are against Him, those who do not gather scatter.' (v. 30) Against the star studded sky the silhouetted steeple of Church was seen reaching up with formable permanence. Yes Dominica is destined for eminent change for better or worse. I could only wonder whether its formable history rooted in the Gospel is enough to preserve it pristine into an uncertain future
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