Snippets

A few articles and issues for your consideration.

 

One of the big Catholic stories over the last couple of weeks was the document coming from the German diocese of Freiburg in which the Archbishop seems to have decided to allow divorced and remarried Catholics receive the Eucharist.  This was coupled with the off the cuff comments of Pope Francis that the Church will have to look at this pastoral issue and his calling of a Synod for next year to discuss marriage and family issues.  Now it seems that document was not official, but leaked.  Marie Meaney in Crisis magazine has an interesting article on the issue.  She asks: is a formal schism with German Catholics coming? 

 

David Quinn also an interesting piece in this week's Irish Catholic. I think we all recognise that the Church will have to tread very carefully on this issue.  Church law is one thing, but the moral law another.  At the end of the day the Church and the Pope cannot change the moral law.  As Pope Benedict XVI once said: "I'm only the Pope, there are some things I cannot change".  I'm sure Francis is aware of that too, though many in the Church are not - they think the Pope has power to change the moral law at will.  While there is reference to the position of the Orthodox Church's practice, I think it is based on a particular reading of Matthew 19 and in essence the meaning of the word porneia in 19:9.  Much controversy surrounds the meaning of this word, so the theologians will be delving into that controversy over the coming months.  That said one has to wonder why Jesus would allow for an exception when the whole thrust of his teaching is to close off the exception Moses introduced.

 

Further to the controversy of the pro-abortion Fine Gael TD no longer permitted to act as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a letter to The Irish Catholic asks if politicians should be allowed serve in such roles at all - given their position as public members of a political party.  An interesting question worth discussing.

 

Another controversial issue was the funeral of the Nazi Erich Priebke.  The Diocese of Rome announced earlier this week that he was being refused a Catholic funeral.  As the week went on we discovered that he went to Confession and, we presume, he was reconciled with the Church before he died.  Interestingly the schismatic Society of St Pius X decided to give him a funeral, however protests prevented the body being brought to the church and so the funeral is on hold.   I offer for your consideration Fr Ray Blake's interesting blog post on the issue.  What Priebke did was horrendous, and the crimes of the Nazis deserve absolute condemnation, so I understand and accept that this man should not have a public funeral nor full public Catholic rites, though I note they have been given to mass murderers and terrorists before; such an action would be a public scandal (cf, Canon 1184).  It seems from later reports that the Diocese permitted a service in a private home, reiterating that prayers for dead can never be denied. 

 

And finally it seems the Church has successfully applied to gain control of the .catholic domain and she may well allow institutions and communities with canonical recognition to use it.  I wonder....??

Something For The Long Winter Nights

 

Well, the winter is coming, and with the prospect of dark evening we might be thinking of some books to read.  If there is one thing the Year of Faith teaches us it is the necessity of reading and learning about our faith.  I haven't written a post on good books to read in a while (if I have ever!), so I thought I might do so as a few new books have caught my attention and they may well be worth reading.

 

The first has to be John Allen's new book, The Global War On Christians.   Intrigued by a conversation with Cardinal Dolan in 2009, Allen went off to do some research on the present persecution of Christians.  He uncovered some startling facts.  It seems, for example, that in the first decade of the 21st century eleven Christians were being martyred every hour.   It seems to be a fact that Christianity is the world's most persecuted religion, some of it being carried out by Muslims and some by secularists in the West.  For more information on this book see CNA's interview with the author.   And here is an article by Allen on the subject of his book.

 

Another book which has caught my attention, and one I have ordered, is Ben Urwand's The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact with Hitler.  The Alive! newspaper here in Ireland did a review of the book (see page 10) and it was this review which caught my interest.  Hitler, the Nazis and the Second World War continue to fascinate, and every year new books are published about the various figures and examining various dimensions of that awful period.  According to the author Hollywood executives collaborated with the Nazi regime in the 1930s, shaping movies to meet Nazi propaganda roles.  It is well known that various figures in the US and elsewhere had deep admiration for Hitler and given that Hitler was, at the start, improving the plight of many Germans and rebuilding the country that admiration may be understandable in part.  Though Hitler's ideology was loathsome, some will put such things aside for pragmatic reasons - human beings have often endorsed dreadful things to achieve certain goals as we have seen all too clearly here in Ireland in recent times.

 

Apparently Urwand details how Hollywood executives persecuted Jewish employees in order to curry favour with the Nazis.  Now I have yet to read the book (it's on order), but we will have to see how that actually happened because many of those who ruled Hollywood were Jews themselves, many of them refugees from Eastern European pogroms.

 

Finally, a book series for you: C. J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series.  I have just finished reading the series so far and I can highly recommend them.  The books are historical detective fiction, the protagonist  being a Tudor lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, who finds himself in the middle of various murders, political intrigues and religious disputes.   Set during the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in England we see the effects of the English Reformation on the people of the time. 

 

Sansom is both a lawyer and a historian and he has done his research so as to present as accurate a picture as possible of the time.  He is not Catholic, nor does he completely accept some of the conclusions new Reformation historians like Eamon Duffy are coming to, so his narrative is not influenced by a "Catholic revisionism" and that is good because when he exposes the negative fallout of Henry VIII's break from Rome you see he does not have an axe to grind.  And what fallout!  As the monasteries are dissolved, the properties and possessions are usurped by the King and his cronies and the poor and sick, once cared for by the monks and nuns, are turfed out onto the streets of London and other cities and demonised as leeches.  These books can serve as an interesting introduction to Reformation history and I would recommend you dipping into Eamon Duffy and Jack Scarisbrick afterwards for further reading.

 

Quite apart from this insight into Reformation England, the books are a cracking good read.  The first is Dissolution and while a little like The Name of the Rose it lacks Eco's brilliance but also his ideological slant.   Dissolution is Sansom's first novel so we give him space, but to be honest not much is required because the characters and plot draw you in.  The second novel is Dark Fire and the third is Sovereign which is set against Henry VIII's northern progress in 1541 and the romantic intrigues beginning to surround his then wife, Queen Catherine Howard.  Revelation is the fourth and this one is addictive, you won't be able to put it down: it deals with a Tudor serial killer set against Henry's wooing of the just widowed Catherine Parr.  And the fifth is Heartstone which is set against the failed French invasion of England in 1545 and again it's addictive.  Sansom has indicated that more Shardlake novels will be forthcoming, but no word yet of the next instalment.  But if you are looking for some good crime fiction which will get the historical juices going, then curling up with a Shardlake novel on a cold winter night might just be the thing.  And lest you think I'm on commission I'm not.

 

Any books you would like to recommend?  If so, you are welcome to leave a review in the combox.

Saintly Master, Master of Saints

Oh to be in Turin today!   The festivities at the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians will, no doubt, be wonderful as the Salesians celebrate the feast of St John Bosco.  I remember with fondness the Fraternity pilgrimage to Turin for the Exposition of the Holy Shroud a few years ago when we also had the joy of visiting the Basilica and venerating the sacred remains of Don Bosco and of celebrating Holy Mass in the crypt - it was wonderful.  Anyone who has visited the Basilica can testify to its air of prayerfulness and beauty. 

Don Bosco was a most remarkable man as you all know.  He was a fervent apostolic figure, founding the Salesians, writing and serving the young, but he was also a mystic, experiencing various visions and dreams many of which proved to be prophetic and of great assistance to many, particularly today.   He must be one of the first saints to be photographed so much - we have lots of photos and these appear to reveal a hearty soul in love with life. 

There was something extraordinary about him and many who knew him acknowledged it.  But are we surprised?  He was surrounded by Saints and he helped produce Saints.  His mother is on the path to beatification, priest friends who formed him have already been canonised - St Joseph Cafasso being one.  His next door neighbour in Turin is a Saint - St Joseph Cottolengo.  Two of his students have been canonised: St Dominic Savio and St Luigi Orione.  His co-foundress is also canonised, St Mary Mazzarello, and some of his companions in the Society are on the way to canonisation, Blessed Michael Rua being one. So Don Bosco and sanctity seem to go hand in hand: he lived in a community of holiness - surely that is the best example for all of us since we are all called to live in a community of holiness where each is to be sanctified.

There is a wonderful story about Don Bosco and St Joseph Cottolengo which shows the holy trust in God of the latter and the holy resourcefulness of the former.  St Joseph founded the Little House of Divine Providence where he cared for the poor of Turin.  In his deep trust, he resolved to end the day penniless and allow divine providence provide for the next.  So each night before he went to bed he took what was left of the finances, put them in a bag and threw it out the window for some poor soul who might be passing.  Of course there was a poor soul passing, and he passed every evening at that particular time waiting for the bag of money to be tossed out - Don Bosco!   St Joseph's "excess" was put to good use for the boys, and each morning the Little House of Divine Providence found enough money to get it through the day with a little left over for its holy founder to toss out the window later that night.

At the moment relics of Don Bosco are circling the globe as part of the preparations for the bicentenary of his birth which will take place in 2015.  That will be some year as it is also the 500th anniversary of our foundress's birth.    The relics will visit our diocese in March, so we look forward to that.

In other news.  Mary O'Regan has an excellent article on the struggle for life here in Ireland: she reflects on Enda Kenny and the difficulties he is creating not only within Irish society, but also within his party.  Yet, he has done the pro-life movement a service in uniting them.  For years there were tensions between the groups which was sad because there are wonderful, committed and gifted people in each of the pro-life organisations.  Now they see we have a common enemy and they have decided to work together and, I hope, they are reconciled and their differences will be overcome.   The fruit of their reconciliation is the powerful campaign which is emerging from their working together. 

We have a long, hard struggle ahead of us so strong bonds must be formed between the various groups to create a powerful pro-life movement in Ireland, one which is so strong that it will be able to face any challenge that comes.  There is another important thing - they also need to listen to each other - they all have something to learn from each other.  Between them they have huge experience be it legal, social, medical, in terms of lobbying and indeed in terms of dealing with persecution as some pro-life people have been arrested.  Public order Acts have been used against pro-life protesters in the past and we can be sure they may well be used again - pro-abortion Taoiseachs, ministers, TDs and senators may well try to quash opposition as they attempt to impose an "Elizabethan settlement" following the passing of legislation. 

Here is a very good article on how the Archbishop of Trieste coped when he was confined to his house when it was surrounded by pro-gay marriage supporters - he took the opportunity to sit back, relax and read a good book!   There is a lesson for all of us there.  The protesters accused him of homophobia and racism because he upholds the universal truth that marriage is between a man and woman.  Now could someone please tell me where the racism comes in.  How is it racist?  I thought we defined maleness and femaleness in terms of gender/sex not race.  But it all just goes to show you that logic and common sense have been eradicated in these gender wars.  In related news, it seems as things get hotter in the US Bishops have said that they are prepared to go to prison rather than accept Obama's Mandate.   It's like the early days of the Church again as Christians are being persecuted by secular authorities because they will not violate their consciences. 

And finally, in these days Germany is reflecting on Hitler's rise to power which took place eighty years ago this year with his appointment as Chancellor in 1933.  The present Chancellor, Angela Merkel spoke of how the ordinary German people permitted this rise if not by actual support, certainly by their tolerance.  Of course not all remained silent: many voices rose in opposition to Hitler and a number of them were Catholic.  The great Lion of Munster, Blessed Clemens von Galen preached against the Nazis and suffered for it.  Many Catholic priests and religious were interned in concentration camps and murdered because they would not cooperate with the regime and defied it.  Simple actions like hanging a crucifix was enough to raise the wrath of the Nazis and bring a death sentence on your head as Blessed Restituta Kafka found out.  There are many lessons to be learned from this period of history and unfortunately we see history repeating itself now in our modern society and few take any notice.  I sometimes wonder if human beings are not just a little bit thick - it seems so difficult for us, and particularly those in power, to learn from the mistakes of the past.  I suppose we can put that down to Original Sin. 

Silence Is Not An Option

I received a wonderful gift when I returned from holiday, a most precious gift: a relic of the great cardinal, Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen, Adolf Hitler's courageous foe during the Nazi era in Germany.  The relic is a large portion of bone - a very generous portion in comparison with the normal ex ossibus relics usually given out by Postulators and Congregations.  It came at the right time for me as I am praying and trying to come to terms with recent developments in Ireland and the attacks on the Pope and the Vatican, and the lack of any decent response.  The relic will take its place beside my statue of St John Fisher on my desk and will probably get a kiss with John Fisher whenever I am tempted to complain about the inaction and failures of bishops. 

Blessed Clemens von Galen was the son of a noble German family, his aristocratic roots were marked on his personality and as a child and young man he was difficult to deal with because of a confidence which his teachers called "infallible".  This, confidence, once he had advanced in virtue, would be to his credit and was used in the service of the Church and the persecuted when dealing with Hitler and his cronies.  For all his "infallibility", he was known for his pure living and it was after meeting Pope Leo XIII that he decided to enter the service of the Church.  He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Munster in 1904.

He was appointed bishop of Munster in 1933, and though all not in the Church agreed with his appointment, events in Germany soon revealed that he was the right man for the job. From the start of his episcopate he preached against the doctrines of the Nazis.  He insisted that Catholic parents should keep their children as far as they could from the indoctrination the Nazis were bringing to the education system.  He also railed against their racist ideology.

Following the outbreak of war, when the Nazi euthanasia campaign become known, Blessed Clemens preached a series of sermons attacking the practice.  He condemned the Gestapo, and exposed what was happening in the concentration camps.  His sermons were secretly printed and distributed all over Germany and Europe.  He inspired Sophie Scholl and the other members of the White Rose resistance group in Munich - their first pamphlet was one of his sermons.  For his heroism he became known as the "Lion of Munster".

The bishop was at this stage one of the Hitler's greatest critics and a painful thorn in the Fuhrer's side.  The Nazis were determined to murder him, but instead they kept him under virtual house arrest - they did not manage to silence him: his words were setting Germany and Europe on fire, revealing the full extent of Nazism's crimes.   He survived the war, it seems almost miraculous that he did.  However he had suffered a great deal and the greatest pain was the realisation that many of his priests had suffered and had been killed by the Nazis in retaliation for his own heroic stance. 

His work was not yet done.  Blessed Clemens was fair minded and condemned wrongs regardless of who was committing them: following the Nazi downfall, he saw atrocities being committed by Germany's British and Russian occupiers and he was quick to speak.   Now it was the turn of the British to persecute him: for his words they took away his car and hampered his carrying out of his episcopal duties.  The press, however, listened to him and though the British tried to silence him, he was too well known and admired to be gagged.  He was determined to continue to defend his people from any oppressor.

In December 1945 Pope Pius XII announced that he was conferring the red hat on Bishop von Galen for his heroic defence of the Church and his people in the face of tyranny.  Deeply touched the bishop saw the honour as a sign of love for the innocent German people who had endured and who continued to endure great sufferings.  The British objected to the honour and when they could not stop Pius, they tried to prevent the bishop from getting to Rome for the consistory, but he got to the Eternal City all the same.  In an emotional ceremony on the 21st February 1946, the "Lion of Munster" was created cardinal in St Peter's Basilica.

He spent some time in Rome visiting friends, and returned to Germany on the 16th March.  Tens of thousands came out to see him and to hear him speak.  In his words to them the new cardinal insisted that as a bishop it was his duty to speak clearly and plainly about what was happening: in the face of oppression and when the Church is being attacked, silence for a bishop is not an option.

Few realised that the cardinal was gravely ill.  Three days later, on the 19th March, he was operated on, but to no avail.  He died suddenly on the 22nd March 1946 just a month after being created cardinal.  He was buried in the von Galen family crypt.   His Cause was opened in 1956 and he was beatified on 9th October 2005.  

At this present time we are the anvil, not the hammer! Remain steadfast and firm like the anvil receiving all the blows that rain down on us, in loyal service to our people and country, but also ready at any time to act, in the spirit of supreme sacrifice, in accordance with the precept: “Men must obey God more than men.”

Blessed Clemens von Galen, Sermon 20th July 1941