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In a way, it’s nice to be able to look back on a normal month. No papal resignation, no sede vacante, no conclave, no new Pope (well, the latter is not entirely true…). A fairly average number of 8,378 views in April reflects this. Not to say there weren’t any events and posts that did not draw attention…
1: Countdown to papal Twitter launch: 843
2: Léonard’s example in the face of insanity: 290
3: What to learn from the attack on Abp. Léonard: 181
4: A Catholic queen for the Netherlands? & Before Sacra Liturgia, Bishop Rey explains why liturgy matters: 93
5: Six years ago today: 75
6: Papal prayers for a new King: 66
7: Sacra Liturgia 2013 – why liturgy matters: 65
8: Pope Francis and “God spray”: 64
9: The fall of Cardinal Piacenza: 50
10: Synod of Bishops – day nine: 48
And, as ever, the tin cup still rattles, time still equals money and the Pope is, indeed, still Catholic. Don’t forget to support this blog with asmall donation of whichever size you prefer:
Dutch blogger and author Anton de Wit picks out the single most poignant moment during last night’s shameful attack on Archbishop Léonard. Not the half-naked women, not the slogans, not the rage, not even the silence and prayer.
“The water is healing and holy water. Like all Our Lord’s mercy, it springs in plenty from rich and patient sources. The good and wise Msgr. Léonard was not attacked, but blessed, and he generously thanks the Lady who is to be thanked for that, with a kiss. The small-minded protest loses effect. Mary, example of true femininity, is victorious over a group of angry feminists…”
De Wit concludes his article by thanking the archbishop for his ”good and playful example”. And he is right. What we should take away from this ugly episode is not the rage, not the bitterness, not even the concern for the wellbeing of an elderly archbishop. No, it is the example of love and gratefulness that is so central to our faith.
“Hail Mary, full of grace…”
I have written a short note thanking the archbishop for his example. You too may want to send your words of inspiration and gratefulness to the office of Archbishop Léonard: Secretariaat van de aartsbisschop, Wollemarkt 15, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium.
Photo credit: BELGA
It’s been a while since this blog featured some words by the great archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, André-Joseph Léonard. Below is my translation of his homily on the occasion of Pope Francis’ installation, yesterday.
The cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, where the Mass was held, could not house all the faithful who had come. Among them was Queen Fabiola. Archbishop Léonard concelebrated with the other Belgian bishops – except for Ghent’s Bishop Van Looy, who was in Rome – Archbishop Giacinto Berloco, the Nuncio to Belgium and Luxembourg, and Archbishop Alain Lebeaupin, Nuncio to the European Union.
The archbishop speaks about the unreserved faith of St. Joseph, and also paints a picture of Pope Francis which shows him as a continuation of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in his modesty and humility.
“Providence decided that the inthronisation of Pope Francis would take place on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary, but also patron saint of Belgium. Allow me to consider that a small wink in our direction…
This morning the bishop of Ghent, Monsignor Luc Van Looy, represented the bishops of Belgium at the installation in Rome. I am grateful to him for that, as well as to our voting cardinal, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who stayed in Rome for the occasion. In the spirit of simplicity that already characterises our new Holy Father, and since the Belgian representation in Rome was already assured, I thought it better to stay in Belgium to thank God with you all and with my fellow bishops for the gift of Pope Francis.
Saint Joseph played a major part in our salvation history. Eve though he is only the foster father, not the biological father of Jesus, it is yet he who, within the framework of Jewish law, assures that Jesus – the Messiah (in Hebrew) or the Christ (in Greek) – descends from David, of whom we heard in the first reading of this liturgy.
The second reading was chosen to illustrate the faith of Saint Joseph, which may be compared to that of Abraham. For Abraham had faith without reservations in the word of God, which proclaimed that he, despite his and his wife’s advanced age, would be the father of many peoples. And he kept believing in that, even if the apparent death of Isaac, his only son, seemed to rob him of any hope of offspring. Abraham had faith in God, without any reservations. And because of that God recognised him as righteous.
But Joseph as well, he too, had to believe – almost blindly, in a complete surrender – that what had happened with his wife Mary came from God and not from man. He had to efface himself in a radical faith, for an act of God which transcends any understanding; an act which makes us say in the Apostle’s Creed: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.”
And the Gospel of today shows us what it cost Joseph, but Mary as well, to make themselves so very small for that mysterious work in Jesus. “Son,” Mary says to Jesus, ”why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And then that shocking answer of Jesus! The answer of a child who is only twelve years old, but who already knows that he came from God, who knows, deep inside, what we express in the Nicean Creed, that He is “God from God, light from light, true God from true God.” Hence His confusing answer: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary had spoken about “Your father and I”, but Jesus quietly corrects His mother’s words: He speaks of “My Father” when He refers to the God of Israel, who resides in the temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus has stayed behind in Jerusalem, that is not the flight of a teenager, but because He – in the innocence of twelve-year-old child - wanted to stay in the House of Him who is His true Father: “In my Father’s house is where I had to be”. And Luke acutely says about Joseph and Mary, “they did not understand what he said to them”. But they will understand later. After they had kept the events in their hearts and considered them for a long time.
Saint Joseph, then, played a major role in the life of the Church. Through him, because of his role as foster father, Jesus discovered in His human conscience the father figure of God, His sole and unique Father.
Our previous Pope, Benedict XVI, whose baptismal name is Joseph, was also characterised by humility and a great modesty. We don’t know a lot yet about his successor, the Bishop of Rome, Francis. But the first signs which he has given in only a few days clearly indicate that the patronage of Saint Francis of Assisi is not just empty words for him. He will be humble, like Benedict XVI, not just in his personality, but also in the outward signs of his mission as successor of Peter. Like Saint Joseph he will consider himself merely a foster father – if I may say it like that – knowing that we are all children of the one true Father, our heavenly Father, and that the Church, the Bride of Christ, is not here just for herself, but only to lead to truth, goodness and the beauty of her only love: the Christ, her bridegroom.
Of course, there were some in the media – which have the valuable task to inform us – who immediately tried to paint our new shepherd in a negative light. But just as fast there were voices, normally not too inclined to speak positively about the Vatican, which, supported by documents, pointed out the baselessness of these accusations. Let us, for our part, thank God for the gift He gives us: not just a new Pope, but also a shepherd with a totally new style. And let us – like he asked us so touchingly on the night of his election – pray intensely for him, for the universal Church for which he has responsibility, and for this world of which he is the foremost spiritual and moral guide. Amen.”
Photo credit: Phk/Kerknet
Marking the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI, which becomes effective in the evening of 28 February, all Dutch and Flemish dioceses will be offering a thanksgiving Mass for his pontificate. With the exception of Haarlem-Amsterdam and Antwerp, all will do so on the day of abdication itself.
The two metropolitan archdioceses, Utrecht and Mechelen-Brussels, will feature the most extensive celebrations. In Utrecht, a Mass will be offered at 12:30 at St. Catherine’s cathedral, which will be followed by Holy Hour, a sung Rosary, Vespers and Benediction at 6. Whether Cardinal Eijk will attend this day is unclear. Mechelen-Brussels will offer no less than three Masses, all at 8pm: In Brussels by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard and auxiliary Bishop Jean Kockerols, in Louvain (St. Peter’s) by auxiliary Bishop Leon Lemmens, and in Waver (St. John the Baptist) by auxiliary Bishop Jean-Luc Hudsyn.
The other thanksgiving Masses will take place at 6pm in Bruges (by Bishop Jozef De Kesel), at 7pm in Groningen (Bishop Gerard de Korte), Breda (Bishop Jan Liesen) and Roermond (Bishop Frans Wiertz), and at 8pm in Ghent (Bishop Luc Van Looy) and Hasselt (Bishop Patrick Hoogmartens). All Masses will be at the respective cathedrals of the dioceses, except in Breda, where the Mass will be offered at the chapel of the Bovendonk seminary in Hoeven, and Hasselt, where the Basilica of Our Lady will host the Mass
The next day, 1 March, auxiliary Bishop Jan Hendriks will offer a Mass at 7:30pm, and on 3 March, Antwerp’s Bishop Johan Bonny will offer one at 5pm.
In addition to these Masses, parishes, communities and other societies may of course also mark the abdication with Masses or prayer services.
The consistory that Pope Benedict XVI announced at today’s general audience, and set for the 24th of November, has all the appearances of an in-between consistory. With only six cardinals to be created it is quite small, and it is as non-European as the previous consistory was European.
It’ll be Benedict’s fifth consistory, and by far his smallest. In fact, it will be the smallest consistory since Pope Paul VI elevated 4 cardinals in 1977. It will also be the first time since 1929 that there have been 2 consistories in one calendar year.
The six prelates to be elevated are:
Archbishop James Michael Harvey (63), the Prefect of the Papal Household, who will be appointed as archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls..
Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï (72), Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronite Church.
Archbishop Baselios Cleemis (Isaac) Thottunkal (53), Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankarese Church. Pictured at right.
Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan (68), Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria.
Archbishop Jesús Rubén Salazar Gómez (70), Archbishop of Bogotá, Colombia.
Archbishop Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle (55), Archbishop Of Manila, Philippines.
Archbishop Tagle and Patriarch Raï were among the expected choices for the red hat at a future consistory, but the others were not. Only Archbishop Thottunkal is from a see which until now was not traditionally associated wih the title of a cardinal.
Archbishops Thottunkal and Tagle will be the youngest members of the College.
Another indicator that this is something of an in-between consistory, intended to keep the number of electors at or near 120, is that there are metropolitan archbishops of traditionally cardinalatial sees – such as Léonard of Brussels, Nichols of Westminster, Chaput of Philadelphia and Gómez of Los Angeles – still awaiting the red hat. At least some of them will be made cardinals in the future, but, apparently, now is not yet the time.
Barring any deaths, next month’s conclave will bring to size of the College of Cardinals to 211, with a round 120 of them being electors (Cardinals Arinze and Martino will turn 80 beforehand), including all six new ones.
The Friday sessions, presided over by Cardinal Robles Ortega, of the Synod started normal enough, with a series of interventions by 23 Synod fathers.
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, suggested that the effectiveness of homilies be made a topic for a future assembly of the Synod. Before him, Bishop Javier Echeverría Rodríguez of Opus Dei had also mentioned the need for this, and suggested that could be achieved by the homilist directing is word also to himself, to lead by example, so to speak.
Cardinal Ravasi spoke, among others, about the tensions between science and faith:
“The incompatibility between science and faith and the prevarications of one against the other and vice versa, as has occurred in the past and continues to occur, should be replaced by mutual recognition of the dignity of their respective epistemological statuses: science is dedicated to the “scene”, that is the phenomenon, while theology and philosophy look to the “foundation”. A distinction, but not of separateness to the point of reciprocal exclusion, since they have a single common object, that is, being and existence. It is therefore comprehensible that overlaps and tensions occur, especially in the field of bioethics.
Dialogue is therefore indispensable, without arrogance and without confusion linked to specific levels and approaches. As John Paul II indicated in 1988, “it is absolutely important that each discipline continues to enrich, nurture and provoke the other to be more fully what it should be and to contribute to our vision of what we are and where we are going”. The great scientist Max Planck, father of quantum theory, also confirmed this: “Every serious and reflective person realizes… there can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other”.
Archbishop Józef Michalik, of Przemysl, Poland, reminded the Synod that we can’t lay the blame for the current crisis of faith merely with others:
“If the faith of today becomes ever weaker, we must not only blame others, but rather ourselves. If the message of faith is not interesting or attractive – this is perhaps the case because that same message is no longer interesting or attractive to us, because it does not excite us, because we do not preach Christ to our families or on the streets of our cities.”
In the afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI hosted the Synod fathers, together with Patriarch Bartholomaois I of Constantinople and Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, for a lunch in the Paul VI Hall. He followed the “lovely tradition initiated by Pope John Paul II to crown the Synod with a shared meal.” He likened the Synod experience to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus “lit up their hearts and illuminated their minds” allowing them to recognise Him at supper.
“Thus in the Synod we are walking together with our contemporaries. We pray to the Lord that He may illuminate us, that He may light up our hearts so they may become prophetic, that He may illuminate our minds; and we pray that at supper, in the Eucharistic communion, we can really be open, see Him and thus also light up the world and give His light to this world of ours.”
The evening session, the Eighth General Congregation began later, as the Holy Father had already suggested during the lunch. First up was an intervention by Professor Werner Arber, professor of microbiology and President of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences. He gave a “Reflection on the relations between the sciences and religious faith”.
Following this, the members of the Commission for the Message were announced. Four of these, including the president, Cardinal Betori, and the Vice President, Archbishop Tagle, were appointed by the pope, while the remaining eight were elected by the Synod fathers. The members, tasked with composing the pastorl message related to the topic of the Synod, are:
Giuseppe Cardinal Betori, Archbishop of Florence, Italy
Archbishop Luis Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, Philippines
Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, Archbishop of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria
Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
George Cardinal Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India
Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, United States
Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium
Archbishop John Atcherley Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand
Archbishop Sérgio Da Rocha, Archbishop of Brasilia, Brazil
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
Father Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, Superior General of the Society of Jesus
Photo credit: [2] Bishop Gerald Kicanas
A fairly unseen person, Belgian prelate Frans Daneels (no relation to the similarly named Cardinal Godfried Danneels) has been noticed in Rome nonetheless. The secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Curial body overseeing the administration of justice in the Church, has been a bishop since his appointment in 2008. Today, he was elevated to the dignity of archbishop. This makes him one of Belgium’s two active archbishops, the other of course being Archbishop Léonard.
71-year-old Archbishop Daneels belongs to the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, better know as the Premonstratensians, where he made his profession at Averbode Abbey in 1961. He has been a priest since 1966. From 1971 to 1982 he was active in several parishes in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. In 1982 he returned to Rome for his order. He has been active in the Apostolic Signatura since 1987.
Archbishop Daneels retains his titular see, being now the titular Archbishop of Bita in Algeria.
Photo credit: An Daneels/KerkNet
Yesterday saw the third and fourth general congregation of the Synod, presided over by Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega. The morning session was devoted to interventions from the Synod fathers, and 25 prelates made use of the option to make a five-minute presentation on some point the wanted to highlight. And that time limit is rather strict, as Bishop Kicanas points out: “[I]t must be five minutes, since one’s mic is turned off exactly when five minutes have passed. Those getting close to being turned off rush to get in as much of their text as possible.”
There were several general trends in the interventions: penance, education and a focus on the personal relation with Jesus Christ. As Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López, appointed to Monterrey in Mexico one week ago, pointed out: ”We cannot evangelise properly if we do not educate properly. And we do not educate properly if we do not evangelise.” Several prelates emphasised the need for humility, most notably the Philippine Archbishops Luis Tagle of Manila and Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan. The latter said:
“The new evangelization calls for new humility. The Gospel cannot thrive in pride. When pride seeps into the heart of the Church, the Gospel proclamation is harmed [...] The hierarchy must shun arrogance, hypocrisy and bigotry. We must punish the errant among us instead of covering up our own mistakes. We are humans among our human flock. All our beauty and holiness we owe to God. This humility will make us more credible new evangelizers. Our mission is to propose humbly not to impose proudly.”
There were also an intervention from one of the fraternal delegates, non-Catholics invited to attend and share their thoughts and experience. The Lutheran Bishop of Lapua in Finland, Simo Peura (pictured), summarised some of the points in the Instrumentum laboris and wished to all attendants and the “Synod of Bishops the Blessing of the Triune God.”
Special guest Dr. Lamar Vest of the American Bible Society, in the morning’s final intervention, emphasised the role of the Bible and harkened back to the previous Synod of Bishops, which was devoted to the Bible.
The fourth general congregation began in the late afternoon with prayer, followed by voting for the members of the Commission for the Message. This commission will compose a nuntius or pastoral Message to the People of God, especially those involved with the Synod. The message will be presented at the end of the Synod. Cardinal Giuseppe Betori and Archbishop Luis Tagle presided over the election, which will select eight members in addition to the aforementioned clerics and two members appointed directly by the pope.
After this election, the interventions continued. Nine Synod fathers intervened, among them Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, who spoke first about the reality of evil and then about the important role of women in the Church. He said:
“It is time to clarify that, if the Church does not ordain female priests, this is not because they are less capable or less worthy! On the contrary! It is solely because the priest is not only a “minister of the rite”, but a representative of Christ the Groom Who came to wed humanity. Let us give thanks for the quality and the specificity of the massive contribution of women to evangelization. Some strong gestures should underline this clearly. Without joyous women, recognized in their own being and proud of belonging to the Church, there would be no new evangelization.”
Especially some of the South-American Synod fathers, but also Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris, emphasised the importance of countering secularism in the parishes and society.
Following the interventions, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, presented a report on the implementation of the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, published after the previous Synod of Bishop which, as mentioned before, was devoted to the Word of God.
The second full day of the Synod was closed with a viewing of an edited version of a documentary produced by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications on the Second Vatican Council.
Summaries of the interventions and Cardinal Ouellet’s report may be found in the two bulletins devoted to yesterday’s proceedings.
Photo credit: [1] Pope Benedict XVI speaking with Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, CNS Photot/Paul Haring, [2] KT/Markku Pihlaja
With the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod Bishops opening on Sunday, it is about time that the final details were released. And so they were today. The Holy See press office presents them on a dedicate page. Here, the Synodus Episcoporum Bulletin is perhaps the most interesting, as it will cover the daily progress of the Synod. The full list of participants, from the Holy Father down to the special guests, is also available.
From the Dutch bishops’ conference, Bishop Everard de Jong (left) is sent to participate. He is of course the auxiliary bishop of Roermond and with few responsibilities within the conference, he may the designated international representative of our Church province. Other participants from our corner of Europe are Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg im Breisgau, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-Van Elst of Limburg, Germany all, and Bishop Berislav Grgic of Tromsø, representing all of Scandinavia.
Most bishops’ conferences send one delegate, but there are a few which send more. These are Brazil (4), Canada (4), Mexico (4), the United States (4), India (4), France (4), Italy (4), Poland (4), Nigeria (3), Argentina (3), Colombia (3), Philippines (3), Germany (3), Spain (3), Southern Africa (2), Cameroon (2), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2), Kenya (2), Tanzania (2), Uganda (2), Bolivia (2), Chile (2), Ecuador (2), Peru (2), Venezuela (2), Indonesia (2), Vietnam (2), England & Wales (2), Ireland (2), Portugal (2) and Australia (2). A snapshot of the Catholic world powers, perhaps.
At the same time, the Apostolic Penitentiary released a decree granting a plenary indulgence for the Year of Faith. It outlines four ways in which such an indulgence can be obtained. These root the experience of the Year of faith in prayer, pilgrimage, confession of faith and unity with the local ordinary and the Holy Father.
Several participants in the Synod may be followed via social media. Examples are Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and Relator of the Synod, Wilfrid Cardinal Napier, who leads the southern African delegation, Odilo Cardinal Scherer, who does the same for the Brazilians, Archbishop Gérald Lacroix, leader of the Canadian group, and Timothy Cardinal Dolan, heading the American delegation.
As always, August is slow month when it comes to blogging, which was compounded this year by some personal circumstances which prevented me from blogging more. The total number of visit remained stuck at 5,508, the lowest number since last December. Still, there have been a few posts of interest, as the top 10 shows.
1: The Michelle Martin case – Christian charity? 81
2: Het probleem Medjugorje 79
3: “It was not I who gave you the breath of life” – death merchants at the door 73
4: Adoro te devote, two versions and a translation 69
5: The male side of ‘being Church’ 65
6: Pussy Riot: free speech or scandal? 64
7: In the face of anger, Abp. Léonard about the PoorClares of Malonne 52
8: Cardinal watch: Cardinal Shan Kuo-Hsi passes away 50
9: ‘Catholic’ education – dropping the C 42
10: On the edge of Europe, welcome home 41
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Thank you, and here’s to much interesting posting in September!
