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Posted on December 11, 2016 December 11, 2016

Catholic Online reports that new priests will be expected to be familiar with and promote efforts to reduce carbon emissions

Catholic Online reports that new priests will be expected to be familiar with and promote efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

New priests to learn about global warming as part of formation

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LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) — The Catholic Church is intimately concerned about climate change. The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences is the world’s oldest, longest running scientific mission. That body, which advises the pope on matters of science, has concluded that global climate change is real and is caused, at least in significant part, by human activity.

This is important to the Church because creation care is part of our mission. We are called to be stewards of creation. It’s also important because climate change can exacerbate the ills of poverty. Poor people in much of the world are the most vulnerable to changes.

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Unfortunately, the issue is politicized. In the late 1970s, when the issue threatened the financial interests of the fossil fuel industry, the political lobbies, chiefly in the United States, financed a massive political disinformation campaign to manufacture the illusion of dissent within the scientific community.

We know because this manipulation of public opinion has been caught and documented. The fossil fuel industry funds nearly all of the climate change skeptics, going so far as to commission questionable studies, to financing think tanks, and even paying individual bloggers. The deception continues today.

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But what does this have to do with the Church?

The Church has a responsibility to care for people, and the environment. And care for one is also care for the other.

Now updated guidelines for the formation of clergy says new priests should understand this as well:

“Protecting the environment and caring for our common home — the Earth, belong fully to the Christian outlook on man and reality. Priests should be “promoters of an appropriate care for everything connected to the protection of creation.”

The new guidelines suggest that in the future, priests will also have a good grasp of the global climate change problem and will share this with their congregation.

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From the Vatican website;

The Gift of the Priestly Vocation

… For some time now, experts and researchers, active in different fields of study, have turned their attention to the emerging planetary crisis, which is reflected strongly in the current Magisterium regarding the ‘ecological question’. Protecting the environment and caring for our common home – the Earth – belong fully to the Christian outlook on man and reality. They constitute in some way the basis for a sound ecology of human relations. Hence they demand, today above all, a “profound interior conversion. It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an ‘ecological conversion’, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evidence in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience. Therefore it will be necessary for future priests to be highly sensitive to this theme and, through the requisite Magisterial and theological guidance, helped to “acknowledge the appeal, immensity and urgency of the challenge we face”. This must then be applied to their future priestly ministry, making them promoters of an appropriate care for everything connected to the protection of creation. …

Source: https://www.clerus.va/content/dam/clerus/Ratio%20Fundamentalis/The%20Gift%20of%20the%20Priestly%20Vocation.pdf

Whats next? Excommunication of scientists whose theories aren’t approved by the Pope?

Posted on November 8, 2016 November 8, 2016

New Archbishop Named for Newark Archdiocese

November 7, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Newark NJ, The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, today announced to a gathering of local journalists and Archdiocesan employees and guests in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart that His Holiness, Pope Francis, has accepted his request for retirement under Canon 401 §1 of Canon law, and has named His Eminence, Cardinal-elect Joseph W. Tobin as the Sixth Archbishop of Newark.

Prior to this announcement, Cardinal-elect Tobin had been the Sixth Archbishop of Indianapolis. On October 9, The Holy Father named him to the College of Cardinals.

In making this announcement, Archbishop Myers stated: “Today it is my honor and pleasure to present to you His Eminence, Cardinal-elect Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.

“I am very happy to welcome him in the name of all of us in this great Archdiocese,” he continued. “I know that he will find that the 1.5 million Catholics within the four counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union are rich in faith, have a great love for the Church, and are committed to living and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Myers then stated that he has known and worked with the Cardinal-elect on a number of occasions over the years both within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and through the Congregation for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Rome, where His Eminence had served as Archbishop Secretary from 2010 until his appointment as Archbishop of Indianapolis in 2012.

Archbishop Myers also noted that both he and Cardinal-Elect Tobin share a regional kinship. “The Archdiocese of Indianapolis, from which he will join us, and the Diocese of Peoria, from which I originate, share a boundary – a friendly boundary, I might add. The Midwest experience might have some influences, as I am sure you soon will learn.”

Cardinal-elect Tobin addressed the gathering by stating: “Two weeks ago, I learned that Pope Francis was entrusting to me the pastoral care of this storied Archdiocese. Two week earlier, I discovered that the Holy Father had named me to the College of Cardinals. I am not sure my central nervous system can take much more news. You will forgive the occasional stutter or facial twitch.”

Reflecting on the change in assignment, he said, “I have understood that God has called me to live my baptism as a missionary disciple: one who is called by Jesus to be with Him and be sent forth to preach and to heal.”

Although he stated that he had no immediate vision for the future of the Archdiocese, Cardinal-elect Tobin shared that there were three principals that will guide his ministry as he discerns with the people of this local Church of Newark the way forward. “The criterion by which I can to be judged is whether, by word and actions, I led people to a deeper love for Jesus, who is the merciful face of God. My first conviction is that I am called to watch over the unity of this Archdiocese and to encourage in charity the journal of all toward an ever-greater knowledge, faith and love of Christ.

“My second conviction is that the love of Christ is made manifest through His Body, the Church. In describing the mission of the Church, the Holy Father outlined the tasks of the Archdiocese of Newark: to heal the wounded hearts, to open doors, to free people to say that God is good, God forgives all, that God is our Father, that God is tender, that God is always waiting for us.”

His Eminence then added that he believes “that the Church in every age is challenged to reproduce the double miracle that accompanied her birth.” Referencing the miracle of the day of Pentecost – that people form many lands heard the Good News proclaimed by the Apostles, each in his or her own language, as well as the subsequent miracle of the ability of the many different people who constitute the Church retain the richness of their cultures while discovering a principle of unity. “This principle,” he said, “is nothing less than the Holy Spirit.” He recalled that he “grew up in a multi-cultural neighborhood of Southwest Detroit. I was a little jealous of classmates that went home and spoke a different language, ate different food, thought differently. My service of the Church obliged me to live many years in cultures different from the Irish-American ambient of my family. So I am excited to lead an Archdiocese where the Eucharist is celebrated each Sunday in 20 languages. The Holy Spirit will help us prolong the double miracle of Pentecost.”

The Cardinal-elect then expressed his gratitude to “the power of the Gospel, which has brought about remarkable growth of Christ’s Church in this Archdiocese and enabled its generous contribution, past and present, to American society and to the world; to Pope Francis, for his leadership of the Church and the example of his life, which teaches me how to be a bishop; to Archbishop John Joseph Myers, for the 15 years he has spent laboring for the good of the Church, and; to my beloved Archdiocese of Indianapolis – her Clergy, Religious and Faithful – in thanksgiving for all we have been able to do together, for the love and respect we share, for the unit that we will continue to enjoy in the communion of saints and the Breaking of the Bread.”

He concluded his remarks with a reference to the American Catholic novelist, Walker Percy, who wrote: “Never has there been a more fertile harvest for the seed and the harvest the Lord spoke of. All that is needed is a bearer of the Good News who speaks of it with such authenticity that it can penetrate the most exhausted hearing, revise the most jaded language.

“I invite the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Religious and Faithful of the Archdiocese of Newark,” he said, “to pray for me, that in my service to you, I might speak of the Good news with such authenticity that you may recognize in my words the voice of the Good Shepherd.”

A Mass of Installation for the new Archbishop is expected to take place on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark.

Posted on October 13, 2016 October 12, 2016

WikiLeaks: Podesta and Left-Wing Activist Plot ‘Catholic Spring’

Longtime Clinton confidante discussed infiltrating the Catholic Church with progressive ideology to foment revolution

by Edmund Kozak | Updated 12 Oct 2016 at 2:03 PM

A newly leaked email shows Hillary Clinton’s current campaign chairman John Podesta and a Left-wing activist casually discussing fomenting “revolution” in the Catholic Church.

“There needs to be a Catholic Spring, in which Catholics themselves demand the end of a middle ages dictatorship and the beginning of a little democracy and respect for gender equality in the Catholic Church,” Sandy Newman, president and founder of the progressive nonprofit Voices for Progress, writes to Podesta in an email titled “opening for a Catholic Spring? just musing.”

The emails were leaked in the third round of releases of Podesta’s emails by WikiLeaks.

https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/wikileaks-podesta-left-wing-activist-plot-catholic-spring/

Posted on July 26, 2016 July 26, 2016

‘France is at war with ISIS’ after jihadists storm French church during Mass chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’

Islamist knifemen forced priest, 84, to kneel and filmed his death as they slit his throat: Hollande says ‘France is at war with ISIS’ after jihadists storm French church during Mass chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’

Priest had throat cut while another hostage is fighting for life after knifemen burst into Normandy church at 9am
Reports that one of the attackers shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they launched attack at Gambetta Church near Rouen
Vatican has condemned the ‘barbaric’ killing of the 84-year-old priest and an anti-terror investigation is underway
ISIS claim responsibility for the atrocity while Francois Hollande says France is ‘at war’ with the terror group
One of the attackers lived locally and had electronic tag having been jailed in France for trying to travel to Syria
French authorities revealed this afternoon that they have arrested a third man in connection with the attack

By PETER ALLEN IN FRANCE and JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 03:55 EST, 26 July 2016 | UPDATED: 10:31 EST, 26 July 2016

The ISIS barbarians who stormed into a church in Normandy filmed themselves butchering an elderly priest after forcing him to the ground at the altar, it has emerged.

The 84-year-old priest, named as Jacques Hamel, had his throat cut while a nun is critically injured in hospital following the raid which saw five people held hostage by ISIS assailants shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

The two killers were ‘neutralised’ by marksmen as they emerged from the building, which is now being searched for explosives. French president Francois Hollande said France is ‘at war’ with ISIS while the terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing.

One of the men who stormed into the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen during mass was a local man, who was being monitored by electronic tag after being jailed for trying to join fanatics in Syria.

This afternoon it emerged that the murdered clergyman was deputising while the parish priest was on holiday. French authorities say they have arrested a third man in connection with the attack.

It comes as it emerged that the building was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist ‘hit list’ found on a suspected ISIS extremist last April.

There are also reports that one of the attackers was a local resident who was under electronic tag surveillance having been jailed in France for trying to travel to Syria in 2015. His bail terms allowed him to be unsupervised between 8.30am and 12.30pm – the attack happened between 9am and 11am.

Posted on January 24, 2016 January 24, 2016

God and “Downton Abbey.”

January 24,2016

by Fr. James Martin, SJ

Like many other Jesuits I know (including many in my community), I’m a big fan of “Downton Abbey.” This is the case even though, as I wrote during its first season, I sometimes feel guilty about enjoying a show that is, in essence, all about England’s one percent enjoying their perks.

One of the charms of this wonderful show is its almost slavish insistence to authenticity. There was even a recent BBC special (which I watched, dutifully) about the man whose sole job it was to ensure the absolute authenticity of the show. The dress, the posture, the way that the family and the downstairs staff would eat, how the butler (not to mention the sub-butler) would behave in the presence of a lord or lady, and so on, are all the source of scrupulous attention. Nothing is left out, seemingly.

Which leads to one obvious question about recreating this period between the wars: “Where’s God?”

This was especially obvious at the long-awaited wedding, last night, of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes (now Mr. and Mrs. Carson). There they were, in a lovely stone chapel, with a vicar pronouncing a Trinitarian blessing over their rings, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”

It was striking. Because all three of them have been otherwise absent from the series, now in its final season.

If you’ve read any books written at that time, or written about that time, you’ll find an England steeped in, well, religion. This is not to say that everyone was religious, or that some of the gestures were not simply window dressing, but many books of the time talk about vicars and chapels and Christianity quite regularly.

To wit, I’m currently rereading some of P.J. Wodehouse’s “Jeeves and Wooster” stories, which are roughly contemporaneous, and there are more than a few vicars, vicar’s nieces, and vicarages peppered throughout. It was simply part of the atmosphere. It’s just as much an element of Bertie Wooster’s world as the Drones Club. (E.g., “‘There is the risk, of course that the vicar will recognize him….’ said Gussie broodingly.”) Or read “To Serve them All My Days,” by R.M. Delderfield, another novel, set in an English boarding school, which takes place during the same period. One of the main characters, Algy Herries, is an Anglican vicar.

So where is religion in “Downton Abbey”? Yes, I know we’re not at Brideshead (and yes, I know, not Anglican) but why do we never see Lord Grantham and his family saying grace before meals, even perfunctorily, as they surely would have? Why are they never at church on Sundays? After all, they have a chapel on the grounds of their estate, as far as I can tell. Why, in conversations about the right thing to do (which is about half the show) don’t they talk about, as they surely would have, the “Christian thing” to do?

In short, where, as this article wonders pointedly, is the vicar? https://the-toast.net/…/watching-downton-abbey-with-an-hist…/

Most likely, this is a case of the producers not wanting to offend the sensibilities of the English and American audiences. But it is interesting that authenticity only goes so far.

https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/posts/10153244286031496:0

Posted on October 19, 2014 October 14, 2014

Catholic bishops take first step toward acceptance of gays in church

Catholic bishops take first step toward acceptance of gays in church

OCTOBER 13, 2014, 12:57 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014, 9:59 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Reformers praised it as a monumental shift in Catholic Church thinking, while some conservatives labeled it heresy. But a deepening debate Monday over a Vatican report that could lead to greater acceptance of gay people in the church, among other major changes, might be greeted in North Jersey as a much-needed and long-overdue discussion.

“Most clergy would be relieved that they are discussing it,” predicted The Rev. Monsignor Raymond J. Kupke, who teaches church history at Seton Hall University’s seminary. “In the trenches, we are faced with how to include people in the life of the church.”

A committee of bishops at a Vatican synod, called by Pope Francis to examine family-related issues, presented a preliminary report Monday that included a declaration that gay people have gifts to offer the church and that their relationships, while morally problematic, have some merit. The report also discussed changing attitudes toward divorced people and unmarried couples who live together.

It seemed to go far beyond comments Pope Francis made about gay people last year, when he famously said “Who am I to judge?” Bishops said in the report, widely considered to reflect the Pope’s thinking, that gay relationships, while remaining in conflict with church doctrine, provide “a precious support in the life of the partners.”

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/catholic-bishops-take-first-step-toward-acceptance-of-gays-in-church-video-1.1108340#sthash.uwuzNVz8.dpuf

Posted on April 6, 2014 April 11, 2020

Catholic Church and faithful see confession in a new light

Catholic Church and faithful see confession in a new light

APRIL 6, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014, 12:26 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

One of loneliest places in church these days is the confession line. The act of confessing one’s sins, a requirement for Catholics, has sharply fallen over several decades with evolving views on sin, penance and the stature of the priesthood.

But now Pope Francis and church leaders, in a push to draw people back to confession, are highlighting what clergy say are the healing, uplifting aspects of the sacrament and focusing less on themes like punishment and condemnation..

The Paterson Diocese and Newark Archdiocese are using websites, newspaper ads and highway billboards to get the message out. Under diocesan guidance, local churches have also added one extra day a week to hear confession during Lent, the period before Easter when penance is considered a Catholic duty. And the pope, in an image seen and talked about around the world, confessed to a priest last week in public view.

But will these efforts change attitudes among Catholics, many of whom believe confession no longer is a necessary part of the faith?

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/catholic-church-and-faithful-see-confession-in-a-new-light-1.842468#sthash.mveCSOiq.dpuf

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