Hushing up the cardinals – proof of the big bad Vatican?

Much talk yesterday about the heavy-handed Vatican forbidding the American cardinals from holding daily press briefings to inform people of what goes on at the General Congregations. But, as always, is there any basis about such a reading of the events?

As Fr. James Bradley rightly points out, the highest authority in the Vatican at the moment is the College of Cardinals. No one can bar them from doing anything, apart from standing orders from the former Pope, or themselves. Certainly, within the College there may have been some pressure upon the Americans to stop the briefings, but there is no reason to assume that anyone forced anyone else. In fact, given the situation in which information was apparently leaked to the media, a fairy strict communications shutdown is understandable. Of course, the daily briefings by Fr. Lombardi will continue, but the cardinals will devote themselves to the internal forum, which is of course the most important these days.

We should ask ourselves if we have any real need to know the details of the daily proceedings. Of course it’s interesting, but I don’t think that such a process of electing a new Pope should be sidetracked by too much focus on external communication and media briefings. The outcome is important, and those 115 cardinals (expected to be finally complete today) need our support in prayer and thought, not our need for answers and our thoughts about what they should do and who they should vote for. Leave that to the Holy Spirit.

In these events, the general congregations and the conclave, we must not forget the element of faith. Faith in the Holy Spirit, that He will guide His Church and grant her the shepherd she deserves and needs, and faith in the cardinal electors, that they will decide and vote according to their conscience and open to the whisperings of the Lord.

Photo credit: Cardinals O’Malley, DiNardo and George, Gregorio Borgia/AP

At Rolduc, seminarians encounter the new evangelisation

Gathered at Roermond’s Rolduc seminary for a two-day symposium on the new evangelisation, the seminarians of the Netherlands today heard lectures from Bishops Frans Wiertz and Everard de Jong, ordinary and auxiliary of the Diocese of Roermond respectively, and Professor Karl Wallner, rector of Austria’s Heiligenkreuz monastery.

Although the full texts are (not yet) available online, the live report supplied via Twitter by two seminarians offered a good general idea of what was said. Bishop de Jong, the day’s final speaker, offered a summary of his experiences at the Synod of Bishops, including his own intervention, in which he emphasised the importance of prayer to the Holy Spirit and the angels.

Bishop Wiertz, the first speaker (pictured), suggested we may find a road map for the new evangelisation in the Acts of the Apostles. He emphasised the important role of the laity; they should be given the chance to develop initiatives, without the immediate involvement of the clergy. What we see today, he said, is that when a priest becomes indisposed or unavailable, the initiative also dies. The bishop also advocated trust in the Holy Spirit: if an initiative does not come from the Spirit, it will vanish regardless. An example of a strong lay movement in the Church is Korea, Bishop Wiertz said. Without priests and bishops, for centuries the lay faithful kept the faith alive.There must be a new balance between the people’s Church and the new initiatives.

Professor Wallner, speaking in between both bishops, said that we should not focus on the problems of the faith. The experience of faith is what matters: quantity will come from quality. And prayer must have a prime place in this. We must share what we receive, Professor Wallner said. Faith is mission, and this is contained in the final words of the Mass: ite missa est. The priest, too, is mission personified, so his duty is not his private concern. Like Bishop Wiertz, Professor Wallner also linked the new evangelisation to the Acts of the Apostles. We need places where we can experience the Holy Spirit like the Apostles did at the first Pentecost. Other points touched upon where the fact that we need a holy audacity as there is no place for false modesty in Christian life; the lack of emphasis on the most powerful sacrament of Confession; the new media which need to be used much more (it is a disgrace that there are still dioceses without a website!) and in an honest and true manner - show the world who you are. Regarding the role of the laity, Professor Wallner also reminded his audience that there should not be any form of competition between the laity and the priest. Both have their tasks, after all.

A good start for the symposium’s first day, it would seem. The new evangelisation is introduced as an important topic for the future priests in our country. I hope to be able to present a translation of at least Bishop Wiertz’s words soon, because the topic deserves a broader audience.

Concerning that, it is a shame that such events are not more widely covered by Catholic media or better present by the Church province or other organisers. Considering, for example, that the autumn assembly of the American bishops, taking place now, is streamed live, there is certainly much progress to be made. In that light, the live Twitter coverage by Jan-Jaap van Peperstraten and Henk van Hamersveld was all the more welcome.

Cardinal watch: Cardinal Stafford turns 80

Hello, 120! For the first time since the last consistory, the number of cardinal electors is back at the maximum allowed number of 120, as American-born Cardinal James Stafford celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Born in the cradle of the Catholic Church in America, Baltimore, James Francis Stafford was the only child of a furniture store owner of Irish descent. After his high school days he intended to study medicine at the Jesuit Loyola College in Baltimore, but a close friend’s death in a car crash caused him to enter St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

After two years of study, the archbishop of Baltimore, Msgr. Francis Keough, sent him to Rome’s Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1958, James Stafford earned his Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the later institution.

The rector of the North American College, Bishop  Martin O’Connor, ordained James Stafford to the priesthood in 1957, alongside one Edward Egan who would later become a fellow cardinal. Upon his return to the US, Father Stafford became an assistant priest in his native Baltimore until 1962. He then went to study at the Catholic University of America, earning a Master of Social Work in 1964. For the next two years, Fr. Stafford served as assistant director of the archdiocesan Catholic Charities and as an assistant priest, once again in Baltimore. Cardinal Lawrence Shehan appointed him as director of Catholic Charities in 1966, a position Fr. Stafford would hold until 1976. He earned he title of Monsignor in 1970 when Pope Paul VI made him a Chaplain of His Holiness. As president of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Presbyteral Senate since 1971, he helped reorganise the central services of the archdiocese.

In 1976, Msgr. Stafford was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Baltimore. He was granted the titular diocese of Respecta, which today belongs to Dutch-born Bishop John Oudeman, auxiliary of Brisbane, Australia. Archbishop William Borders consecrated Bishop Stafford on 29 February. Upon his appointed, he became the vicar general of Baltimore. From 1978 to 1984, he led the commission on  Marriage and Family Life of the American bishops’ conference, and in 1980 he attended the Fifth Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on the Christian Family, in Rome.

In 1982, Blessed Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Stafford as Bishop of Memphis, Tennessee, where he was installed the following January. There, he focussed on restructuring, improving and evangelisation, especially among African Americans. During his time in Memphis, Bishop Stafford also chaired the Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB from 1984 to 1991.

Bishop Stafford moved even further west in 1986, as he was appointed archbishop of Denver. High point of his time in that see was the 1993 World Youth Day. which saw half a million young Catholics gather in the Archdiocese of Denver.

In 1996, Archbishop Stafford was called to Rome, to lead the Pontifical Council for the Laity. In this role, he was responsible for the organisation of the 1997 World Youth Day in Paris, the 2000 WYD in Rome and the 2002 WYD in Toronto. In the consistory of 1998 he was created a cardinal and became the cardinal-dean of Gesù Buon Pastore alla Montagnola. In 2003, Cardinal Stafford became the Major Penitentiary, one of the highest positions in the Curia.

In 2007, Cardinal Stafford turned 75 and submitted his resignation , which Pope Benedict XVI accepted in 2009. On 1 March 2008, Cardinal Stafford made use of the option to be promoted to cardinal-priest, and was granted the titular church of San Pietro in Montorio.

In 2008, Cardinal Stafford spoke prophetic words as he compared the election of President Barack Obama to the Agony in the Garden. The president’s consistent steps to curtail religious liberty and freedom of conscience seem to prove the cardinal’s opinion.

Cardinal Stafford was a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and the Special Council for Oceania of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

10 rules for social media evangelisation

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB for short, presents 10 rules for social media evangelisation:

1. Translate church teaching.
2. Avoid Church speak.
3. Use images, as Jesus did.
4. Understand that social media is social
5. Social media sometimes calls for a suit of armor.
6. Use the delete button if comments cross the line of decency, but, hopefully, not often.
7. Spread Catholicism’s fun parts.
8. Remember rules are changing.
9. Remember web messages live forever.
10. Keep it short.

Good advice, including some, like numbers 1, 2 and especially 7, that are too often overlooked (not least by yours truly). Visit the USCCB blog for more about the ten rules.

When in Rome… Ad limina as a bishop sees it

In two videos, Bishop Christopher Coyne talks about his look at the ad limina visit to Rome that he is taking part in. As part of Region VII of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Coyne, together with the other bishops of that Region, is in a snow-ridden Rome to meet with Holy See officials and the Holy Father to discuss the goings-on in their dioceses.

Bishop Coyne is no stranger to social media, and this his first attempt at podcasting. His two videos offer an interesting look at the regular ad limina visits that every Catholic bishop makes.

Bishop Coyne is auxiliary bishop and administrator of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He runs the blog Let Us Walk Together: Thoughts of a Catholic Bishop and is also active on Twitter and Facebook.

A new online face for the Church

The Dutch Church province, that is.

It’s already been up for  well over a week now, but a new website has been established as the ‘official site of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands’, as the subtitle reads. In part a portal for official publications from the bishops’ conference, and in part a hub for other Catholic websites (the youth portal, the Catholic broadcaster RKK and the sexual abuse aid agency, to name but three), the new website has been split of from the older collective website of conference and broadcaster.

In essence, these two websites now offer a clear distinction between what RKK has to offer on television, radio and Internet. and what the bishops’ conference has to say about current affairs. I would also love to see a development along the lines of what the USCCB does with media, albeit, of course, on a smaller scale. We’re still waiting for our first blogging bishop, after all.

A new shepherd for Haiti

On the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated much of Haiti, especially the capital Port-au-Prince, the Catholic Church makes an effort to continue to assist the hundreds of thousands victims. Robert Cardinal Sarah of “Cor Unum” is in the country to coordinate continued practical aid, and today Pope Benedict XVI gives the people of Port-au-Prince a new spiritual shepherd.

The previous archbishop of the city, Msgr. Joseph Miot, died in the earthquake, but now his successor has been named. It is Msgr. Guire Poulard, until today the bishop of Les Cayes, also in Haiti. A year-long vacancy of a see is not out of the ordinary, although it’s not the rule either, but this appointment is undoubtedly timed to coincide with the anniversary of the earthquake and the death of Archbishop Miot. In the overwhelmingly Catholic country, it will boost morale for many, and hopefully Archbishop Poulard, cooperating with the Catholic charities, and the American bishops coordinating those, can give a renewed sense of purpose to the people and the aid they still barely receive.

The archbishop-elect is the tenth bishop of Port-au-Prince. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 1972. In 1988 he was appointed as bishop of Jacmel and in 2009 of Les Cayes.

At the same time as Msgr. Poulard’s appointment, the administrator of the remains of the cathedral, Msgr. Glandas Toussaint, was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Port-au-Prince. His titular see will be Senez, a former diocese in France that dates back to the fifth century.

How bishops can use social media

The American bishops have collectively given a prime example of how prelates can use social media  such as Twitter to inform and involve their audience and flock (which is not always the same thing). They have been meeting to elect, among others, a new chairman to succeed Francis Cardinal George, and as the voting progressed, the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has been using its Twitter account to immediately share the results. It brings the goings-on to live in a way that very few Church organs have managed to do. Blogging priests and bishops (few as they are) do it, but the impulse of an official organisation active in social media is not to be dismissed out of hand.

The Church in the United States is important in that it has a relatively strong media presence, both on the Internet and outside it. In the west especially, its bishops will be the standard bearers of a Church and a faith that continues to be marginalised, by the actions of others or itself. Who gets to lead this flock of prelates is therefore fairly influential, and it is good to see that popular, sensible and orthodox Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York won the vote for president. His election is radical in that the vote usually goes to the sitting vice-president. That would have been, in this case, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, who has been criticised in orthodox blogs for both his perceived liberal thoughts and his handling of the case of a priest who ended up abusing a number of boys.

USCCB offers worship aids for upcoming life vigil

A link to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ page about the upcoming Vigil for All Nascent Human Life that Pope Benedict XVI has urged all diocesan bishops in the world to organise and preside over on 27 November. The USCCB offers some helpful worship aids for parishes to organise said vigil. The vigil coincides with the first Vespers of Advent, and so is firmly part of the lead-up to the new Church year. Perhaps it can be the start of renewed focus on the defense of all human life, from conception to natural death, especially in those countries and areas where that has been lacking. I hope that bishops, priests and laity take the invitation of the pope seriously and will unite in prayer with their brothers and sisters all over the world at the start of Advent.

Credo in unum De-e-eum…

It’s Sunday, the Lord’s day, so why not take a look at the Creed, or Credo as it is ‘officially’ called in Latin, which we sing in every Sunday Mass. It may be skipped on weekday Masses, but I always enjoy singing it whenever I can. In my parish, we sometimes say or sing it in Dutch, but this Latin version is my favourite to sing.

The English translation of the Mass has recently undergone an overhaul. The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a handy comparison of the old and new translations of all parts of the Mass. Scroll down a bit for the Credo (labeled ‘Nicene Creed’ here).

Comparing the Latin and English texts reveals the enormous wealth of what is being said in the Credo. It is a fairly succinct but complete summary of the faith. What defines the Catholic faith? The answer may be found in the lines of the Credo:

- Faith in one God
- God is the almighty father (which implies the sort of relationship He wishes with us)
- He has made heaven and earth, defined as everything that is visible and invisible
- Faith also in one lord, Jesus Christ
- He is the only son of God
- He was born of the father before time began, true God from true God, and light from light
- He was born, not created like we were, and is consubstantial with the father
- Everything was created through Him (Christ is the word of God)
- He came down from heaven for us and our for salvation
- Through the Holy Spirit He was born from the Virgin Mary, and became fully human
- For us He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He died and was buried
- On the third day he rose, in accordance with the Scriptures (the prophets of the Old Testament as well as Jesus’ own words in the Gospels)
- He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the father
- He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will never end
- Faith in the Holy Spirit, who is also lord and the giver of life
- He proceeds equally from the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified with them, and has spoken through the prophets
- Faith in one holy, universal and apostolic church
- Confession of a single baptism for the forgiveness of sins
- and the expectation of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting

And each of these lines is a portal to a wellspring of study and experience.