ZENIT, Daily dispatch
The World Seen From Rome
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VATICAN DOSSIER
* World Day for Media to Focus on Truth
WORLD FEATURES
* Nature Has Alliance With Man, Says Holy See
* Catholic Relief Services Hoping for More Aid
NEWS BRIEFS
* U.K. Kids Breaking From Studies, Helping the Church
* Auxiliary Bishop Named for Milwaukee
INTERVIEW
* How Dare We Believe?: Interview With Biographer of Cardinal Cottier
FORUM
* Cardinal Pell on Peace and War
LITURGY
* Invoking Old Testament Figures
DOCUMENTS
* Holy See Statement on Sustainable Development
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VATICAN DOSSIER
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World Day for Media to Focus on Truth
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The theme Benedict XVI chose for the 2008 World Communications Day focuses on the media at the service of truth.
The Pope chose "The Media: At the Crossroads Between Activism and Service. Seeking the Truth in Order to Share It With Others" as the theme for the 42nd world day, to be celebrated in most countries on the Sunday before Pentecost, this year, May 4.
Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said: "The theme chosen by the Holy Father for World Communications Day calls on us to reflect on the role played by the media and especially the increasing risk of their becoming self-absorbed and no longer tools at the service of truth -- something that is meant to be sought and shared."
World Communications Day is the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council, in its decree "Inter Mirifica."
The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers, Jan. 24.
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WORLD FEATURES
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Nature Has Alliance With Man, Says Holy See
Contends That "Environmental Crisis" Is a Moral Challenge
NEW YORK, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Protecting the environment implies an alliance with man, meaning that the latter should not be automatically considered a threat to the former, says the Holy See.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, affirmed this during an address delivered Monday to the 62nd U.N. General Assembly, on the topic of sustainable development.
He said: "Protecting the environment implies a more positive vision of the human being, in the sense that the person is not considered a nuisance or a threat to the environment, but one who holds oneself responsible for the care and management of the environment.
"In this sense, not only is there no opposition between the human being and the environment, there is established an inseparable alliance, in which the environment essentially conditions man's life and development, while the human being perfects and ennobles the environment by his or her creative activity."
Archbishop Migliore affirmed that all people share responsibility for the protection of the environment, and "while the duty to protect the environment should not be considered in opposition to development, it must not be sacrificed on the altar of economic development."
Morality
The archbishop affirmed, in fact, that the "environmental crisis" is, at its core, a "moral challenge."
"It calls us to examine how we use and share the goods of the earth and what we pass on to future generations. It exhorts us to live in harmony with our environment. Thus the ever-expanding powers of the human being over nature must be accompanied by an equally expanding responsibility toward the environment," he said.
Archbishop Migliore drew attention to the role of extreme poverty in the environmental question.
"We must consider how in most countries today, it is the poor and the powerless who most directly bear the brunt of environmental degradation," he stated. "Unable to do otherwise, they live in polluted lands, near toxic waste dumps, or squat in public lands and other people's properties without any access to basic services. Subsistence farmers clear woodlands and forests in order to survive.
"Their efforts to eke out a bare existence perpetuate a vicious circle of poverty and environmental degradation. Indeed, extreme want is not only the worst of all pollutions; it is also a great polluter."
However, the prelate contended, "all is not gloom."
He explained: "Encouraging signs of greater public awareness of the interrelatedness of the challenges we face have been emerging.
"A more caring attitude toward nature can be attained and maintained with education and a persevering awareness campaign. The more people know about the various aspects of the environmental challenges they face, the better they can respond."
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Catholic Relief Services Hoping for More Aid
Group Says It Needs More U.S. Funding to Get Food to Starving
BALTIMORE, Maryland, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Noting Benedict XVI's affirmation that "food is a universal right" for all people, Catholic Relief Services says it needs more support from Congress to reach its goals.
Less than two weeks after World Food Day, when the Pope echoed the U.N. affirmation that food is a right, the U.S.-based charity organization is not sure it can keep its aid programs above water.A sharp rise in the prices of commodities such as wheat, corn and soybean oil -- in addition to the rising costs for shipping and freight -- has forced the international development agency to press for increased funding from Congress.
Without additional funding, the organization said it might face a massive shortfall in its budget for the 2008 fiscal year, which could force it to abandon more than 800,000 impoverished people who are dependent on its food aid programs.
Spokesperson John Rivera says the situation is very serious, because once funding is delayed and a program is stopped, it becomes difficult to start up again.
Contingency plans
U.S. law stipulates that 75% of food aid resources should go to programs that relieve chronic hunger, however only 25% has been delivered in recent years, with most of it having been used for emergencies.
Catholic Relief Services argues that while it is obviously necessary to respond to emergencies, the efforts should not undermine long-term programs that help millions of people feed themselves and their families.
"Basically we're doing a lot of lobbying on Congress; the big audience we need are congressional representatives," Rivera explained. "We have staff on the hill that are constantly communicating with the staffs of key Congress people and members of the Senate, and it's a matter of getting them to increase funding for the food aid in a particular program called Food For Peace."
The Catholic organization anticipates it will require several hundred million dollars in order to maintain its programs at the same level it provided in the 2006 fiscal year.
Regarding the Food For Peace program, Rivera says "the U.S. government funds to the tune of about $1.2 billion per year and we're thinking they're going to have to increase that by between $100-300 million, which is a drop in the bucket in terms of the U.S. budget, but it is still a lot of money."
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NEWS BRIEFS
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U.K. Kids Breaking From Studies, Helping the Church
Faith-Based Groups Publish Service Opportunities on Web
LONDON, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- United Kingdom students looking for a year of break from their studies can now find just the spot -- and grow in their faith while they're at it.
This week, a Web site was launched to encourage young Catholics to consider spending their gap-year -- the year of break before or during university studies, or before beginning to work -- in a Church-run project.
It is the first time that U.K. faith-based organizations have collected and published gap-year opportunities on a single umbrella site.
The www.catholicgapyear.com site, a joint initiative between the Church's National Office for Vocation and Catholic Youth Services, aims to provide young Catholics with information about how and where they can spend a gap-year in a faith environment.
Father Paul Embery, of the Church's National Office for Vocation, said, "We have recognized that many of those who volunteer to work in faith-based environments have their faith nourished while they are there and also go on to serve the Church and wider community later in life in many different ways -- sometimes even in the priesthood or religious life."
Projects that young Catholics can apply to join include residential youth work, sharing a home with physically disabled people, and even projects abroad in less-developed parts of the world.
"We are not saying that young Catholics should only spend their gap-year with the organizations listed on our site; rather we are simply drawing their attention to the opportunities that the Church offers," said Father Embery. "However, we do encourage young adults to think what they can put into society, not just what they can get out of it. All of the projects we list will be challenging and character-building."
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Auxiliary Bishop Named for Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Conventual Franciscan Father William Callahan, a spiritual director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
The appointment of the 57-year-old priest was announced today by the Vatican press office.
William Callahan was born in 1950 in Chicago, and ordained a priest in 1977. He will be ordained a bishop by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee on Dec. 21.
Of Milwaukee's population of 2.2 million, some 707,000 are Catholic. The archdiocese is served by 703 priests, 167 permanent deacons and 2,856 religious.
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INTERVIEW
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How Dare We Believe?: Interview With Biographer of Cardinal Cottier
CAROUGE, Switzerland, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- If the young Georges Cottier was in contact with great thinkers of the 20th century, why did he end up becoming the theologian of the pontifical household, instead of a Marxist or a follower of Sartre or Nietzsche?
How can the Church continue to claim in the 20th century that God exists? And that Christianity is the path to happiness?
These are the questions that Patrice Favre found answered when he decided to write a book-interview with the man Pope John Paul II named theologian of the pontifical household.
In writing "Georges Cottier. Itinéraire d'un Croyant" (Georges Cottier. The Itinerary of a Believer), Favre says he got a look at the great questions of the 20th century, through the eyes of a Christian.
After presenting his book this month at the Cottier family's parish in Carouge, Switzerland, the author spoke to ZENIT about his work.
Q: What was the origin of this book on Cardinal Georges-Marie Cottier, a Dominican, and theologian of the pontifical household from the days of John Paul II until last year?
Favre: This book arose from the momentum and the emotion that followed the death of John Paul II, this monumental Pope who left us a stirring testimony in his illness and death. Upon my return from Rome, a friend of mine, who had encouraged me to write my previous book on the monasteries of the Swisse Romande, said to me: "You must write a book on John Paul II!"
I pointed out that thousands of pages had already been written about John Paul II and that I failed to see what original contribution I could make. A few months later, after I don't know what course of events contrived by Providence, he told me, "You must write a book about Cardinal Cottier!" and I accepted the proposal.
Q: Did you already know Cardinal Cottier, your compatriot, before thinking about the book?
Favre: Indeed, I accepted because I had known Father Cottier for more than 20 years; I had dealt with him in my work as a journalist, and I had always appreciated the clarity of his judgment. He is a man who goes to the essential, he is original -- as he mentions in the book "I do not go with the times and I hope never to do so!" He attributes his rejection of theological or media fashions to his Genevan childhood: Being a minority Catholic in what, at the time, was a strongly Protestant canton forges the character. The other reason that led me to try [to write the book] was that Father Cottier had always been welcoming to me as a journalist, and there was already a friendship between us.
Q: You started off with the idea of a book about John Paul II, but the biography of Cardinal Cottier led you beyond, into the great challenges of the 20th century.
Favre: Indeed, I had no idea, at the time, that this book would range far beyond the "John Paul II Years." When Father Cottier was summoned to Rome in 1989, he was 67 years old. The age for retirement. And these 67 years had proven unimaginably fruitful. Imagine that in 1943, he was already voicing his opinion publicly, in a crowded lecture hall of the University of Geneva, against Nazi Germany. Later, he became the friend and theological support of Father Jacques Loew, the first worker-priest in France, on the docks of Marseille. A whole chapter of the pre-conciliar history was opening before me, a glorious chapter -- as in the famous novel by Gilbert Cesbron, "Les Saints Vont en Enfer" (Saints Go To Hell) -- but also a painful one, since worker-priests were banned by Rome.
Then I discovered that Father Cottier had taken part in the Second Vatican Council as an expert with a great French bishop, Monsignor de Provenchères, and later, as an expert with Cardinal Journet. He thus experienced, from the front rank, that major event in the life of the Church in the 20th century, which made his judgment on the great crisis that followed the Council yet more interesting.
Q: If I may say so, your book is a bit of a theological "police novel," considering Cardinal Cottier's commitment to liberty beyond the Iron Curtain, always within a dialogue with those who do not share the Christian faith. How could you summarize this itinerary from Resistance -- "Sous les Géraniums" [Under the Geraniums], in chapter 4 -- to "Frigo Vide à Moscou" [Empty Fridge in Moscow], in chapter 7?
Favre: "L'athéisme du Jeune Marx" [The Atheism of Young Marx], was already the title of Father Cottier's thesis on Karl Marx in 1959. Now, the arm wrestling between Christianity and Marxism is one of the major axes of the last century, and Father Cottier was very often in the first ranks of this arduous struggle.
There was a temptation toward Marxism within Catholicism and, particularly, in the intellectual sphere. As Father Cottier was one of the best prepared, he played a significant role in Catholic resistance, as you will see in the book. During the '80s and '90s, we find Father Cottier in a castle in Ljubljana, in a hotel riddled with bugs in Budapest, in the Stalin buildings in Moscow. He was involved in very high-level conversations in which Vatican delegates and Soviet Communist representatives tried to set up a dialogue, under the eye of the KGB. Also, on various occasions, he was in Latin America, taking part in the discussions stemming from Liberation Theology. There are also books and dozens of articles published in "Nova et Vetera," the magazine Father Cottier directed after the death of Cardinal Journet in 1975.
Q: You highlight another aspect of "dialogue" in Cardinal Cottier's life: the encounter with Judaism --"L'ami des Juifs" [The Friend of the Jews], in chapter 10 -- and the struggle against anti-Semitism.
Favre: Yes, one could also mention his Jewish friendships and his fight against anti-Semitism, but also May '68, which he lived through as a professor and which brought him to issue what I consider enlightening reflections; However, I don't want to tell you the whole book. What is interesting is that this biography of Cardinal Cottier enables us to go over decisive events of the past century, under the light, the judgment, of a Christian. This is a book which "refreshed my memory" and which, as I see it, allows us a better understanding of our time.
Q: You end the book on the subject of friendship. What place does friendship occupy in Cardinal Cottier's itinerary?
Favre: In the course of this work, I was able to discover his friends, particularly those he calls his "elders." Father Cottier would not be what he is now if he had not met and followed people who played a decisive role in his life. First of all, Abbot Journet, another Genevan whose role has not been duly reckoned in the Swisse Romande; Jacques Maritain, Father de Menasce, the aforementioned Jacques Loew, cardinals such as Lustiger, Etchegaray, Ratzinger, and, of course, John Paul II, who is discussed a lot in this book. As counterpoints to these great figures, in this book you will find the masters of modern culture, such as Rousseau, Marx, Sartre, Nietzsche, and yet others, who Father Cottier frequented a lot -- at least intellectually -- who made things difficult for the Church and for Christian faith.
Q: You deny having written a "history book," and in fact, the book has a lot of philosophical reflections. What fundamental goal did you set yourself?
Favre: This book talks about history but it is not a history book, because it invariably returns to a current issue: How can one believe in this day and age? How can one be reasonably Catholic in the 21st century? The interviews you will find in the book, the discussions on happiness, sexuality, ecology, suffering, and even the devil -- because he says one should talk about him more -- are based on an essential question: How can the Church, that of John Paul II, of Benedict XVI, and of Cardinal Cottier, claim, in this day and age, that God exists, and that the Christian faith constitutes the happiness of humankind? Why did Father Cottier, who ever since his youth has been in close contact with the great thinkers of modernity, never become a Marxist, a follower of Sartre, Nietzsche, or merely indifferent, like so many people?
However, not being a philosopher, I did not write a philosophical treatise, of which I would be utterly incapable. In my own words, as a journalist, I transcribed Father Cottier's answers. Fortunately, he accepted to go over our conversations and correct them. As, for 15 years, he had corrected the writings of John Paul II, I could not hope to find a better proofreader! These exchanges taught me a lot and, in a way, they also helped me to think and to live. There is a beauty in faith, a beauty in the Church, a beauty in Christ. I perceived this on more than one occasion in my contact with Father Cottier over the two years in which we worked together. It was a joy for me, which I hope not to have betrayed too much in trying to share it in these pages.
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FORUM
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Cardinal Pell on Peace and War
"The Battle for Public Opinion"
SYDNEY, Australia, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is an excerpt from the address delivered Monday by Cardinal George Pell before the Sydney Institute, a nonprofit current-affairs forum. The cardinal, who is the archbishop of Sydney, spoke on "Prospects for Peace and Rumors of War: Religion and Democracy in the Years Ahead." The event marked the launch of Cardinal Pell's book "God and Caesar: Selected Essays on Religion, Politics and Society," published by Connor Court and Catholic University of America Press.
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A large battle is likely to open up over human rights and anti-discrimination legislation. Last week English papers carried reports that a couple with an unblemished record as foster parents to 28 vulnerable children have been forced to give up this work. As committed nonconformist Christians they were unable to teach the children they are fostering that homosexual relationships are just as acceptable as heterosexual marriages.
This requirement was imposed under the Sexual Orientation Regulations, the same laws which forced Catholic agencies out of adoption services earlier this year. The British government refused to grant church agencies an exemption from the laws, even though it meant that the country would lose one of its most successful adoption services.
In Australia, the concept of exemptions to anti-discrimination laws to allow church agencies to go about their work in a manner consistent with their beliefs continues to survive. But it was subject to sustained attack during the debate in the United Kingdom over the Sexual Orientation Regulations. These laws prohibit any discrimination against homosexuals by anyone providing "goods, facilities and services". This makes them practically all-encompassing, with exceptions only for a small number of narrowly defined religious activities, primarily services held in churches. Church adoption services were therefore confronted with the prospect of being forced to place children with homosexual couples, contrary to their beliefs.
When the Catholic bishops petitioned the government for an exemption for church agencies a member of the Scottish parliament said it would make "a mockery" of society's decision "to end discrimination" if exemptions were granted "to those groups most likely to discriminate". The English philosopher AC Grayling said the Catholic bishops' request posed "the threat of a possible return to the dark ages. We are trying to keep a pluralistic society, and elements in the Christian church and other religions are trying to destroy it".
The American academic lawyer Ronald Dworkin said the laws were "necessary to prevent injustice", and argued that respect for religious freedom does not mean accommodating any "preference" designated as religious. Even though supportive of an exemption for church agencies on adoptions, Dworkin claimed that, as a matter of general principle, allowances should be made only for the "central convictions" of religious believers, and must not extend to the state allegedly taking the side of religion on questions such as abortion or same-sex marriage, by restricting or prohibiting them.
At the heart of this attack on the concept of exemptions for faith-based agencies lies a false analogy drawn between alleged discrimination against homosexuals and racial discrimination, and this is already beginning to appear in Australia.
This analogy allows opponents of exemptions to dismiss the objection that the law makes exceptions all the time - for example, for halal abattoirs, or for Sikhs to wear turbans, or for pacifists to avoid military service - by pointing to the legitimate absence of exceptions in laws against racial discrimination. Opposition to same-sex marriage is therefore likened to support for laws against inter-racial marriage (which continued in some US states until the 1960s), and opposition to homosexual adoptions is likened to refusing to adopt children to black parents.
The analogy is false because allowing blacks and whites to marry did not require changing the whole concept of marriage; and allowing black parents to adopt white children, or vice versa, did not require changing the whole concept of family, or for that matter, the whole concept of childhood. Same-sex marriage and adoption changes the meaning of marriage, family, parenting and childhood for everyone, not just for homosexual couples. And whatever issues of basic justice remain to be addressed, I am not sure that it is at all true to say that homosexuals today suffer the same sort of legal and civil disadvantages which blacks in the United States and elsewhere suffered forty years ago, and to some extent still suffer.
All the same, the race analogy has been very effective in casting the churches as persecutors. So, in the United Kingdom, and also in Massachusetts where a similar issue arose in 2006, warnings that the Catholic Church would be forced to close its adoption services if exemptions were not granted were described as blackmail.
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English precedents remain powerful in a cultural and legal sense, especially throughout the Anglophone world, but the religious situation in Australia is somewhat closer to that of the United States rather than post-Christian Britain. Both our Prime Minister and his challenger are serious Christians. Neither the British Prime Minister nor his alternative are in this mould, and the Catholic community here is larger and with a much longer and stronger tradition of contributions to public political life than in Britain, whose history and traditions are still residually anti-Catholic.
All the same, this case shows what can happen when bills of rights are interpreted from the premises of a minority secularist mindset, especially when it is sharpened, as in Europe, by fear of home-grown Islam. Reading freedom of religion as a limited right to be offensive to which only a limited toleration is extended is not acceptable in a democracy where many more than a majority belong to the great religious traditions - even more so when it is claimed that this is "necessary for democracy". Democracy does not need to be secular. The secularist reading of religious freedom places Christians (at least) in the position of a barely tolerated minority (even when they are the majority) whose rights must always yield to the secular agenda, although I don't think other religious minorities will be treated the same way.
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LITURGY
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Invoking Old Testament Figures
And More on Orthodox Joining the Catholic Church
ROME, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: Why is it that we never invoke or ask intercession of any of the "holy ones" from the Old Testament in the prayers of the Mass, nor do we have feast days to honor them? I am thinking of those such as Elijah, Hannah, Samuel, Ruth, King David, or Isaiah, to name a few. Though we may refer to them, no feast day appears on the Roman calendar, nor any mention when praying in the Eucharistic prayers to be united with the saints in heaven. -- J.K., Portland, Oregon
A: The reason that there are no feast days to Old Testament saints in the Church's universal calendar is probably due to the historical process in which the calendar was formed. At first, only martyrs for Christ were remembered on their anniversaries, and shortly afterward the Blessed Virgin was also honored with feast days.
St. Martin of Tours (died 397) was probably the first non-martyr remembered with a feast. But the tradition has generally been that the saints in the calendar have been heroic examples of the life in Christ.
This does not mean that Old Testament saints were not recognized or that their intercession could not be sought.
The Roman Martyrology, a liturgical book first published in the 1600, collects all of the saints and blessed officially recognized by the Church and organized according to their feast day. Those classified as saints in this book may be celebrated on their feast days, provided that the day is free of any other obligatory celebration.
Most of these saints, who far outnumber those of the general calendar, have no specific Mass formulas. Whenever they are celebrated, the most appropriate formulas are chosen from the common of saints.
Among the great saints of the Old Testament traditionally remembered in the Martyrology are the Prophet Habakkuk, celebrated on Jan. 15; Isaiah, July 6; Daniel and Elias, July 20 and 21; the Seven Maccabees and their mother, Aug. 17; Abraham, Oct. 9; and King David, Dec. 29.
There are also other occasions when the intercession of Old Testament saints is invoked in some way or another, for example:
-- Every time the litanies of the saints are prayed they are invoked in generic terms: "All holy Patriarchs and Prophets, pray for us."
-- Abel, Abraham and Melchizedek are referred to in the Roman Canon as examples of true devotion to God.
-- Abel and Abraham used also to be specifically invoked in the brief litany in the rite recommending a departing soul, but this has now been replaced with a generic form.
-- In the Libera (Deliver, etc.), which follows shortly after, many Old Testament names still appear, for example: "Free your servant, Lord, as you freed Daniel from the den of the lions."
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Follow-up: When an Orthodox Joins the Catholic Church
Two readers, both expert canonists, sent in some clarifications that expand on my earlier answer (Oct. 16) regarding how an Orthodox Christian may enter the Catholic Church. I am very grateful and happily share their wisdom with our readers.
I had suggested that the Orthodox Christian seek out the nearest Eastern eparchy in order to make the profession of faith. A canonist informed me that when this is not feasible, "The simplest thing to do, in the likelihood that the proper Eastern Catholic Church 'sui iuris' is not readily accessible, is for an Eastern Christian to make a profession of faith before the local (usually Latin) Catholic pastor.
"The Eastern Christian recites the Nicene Creed and adds: 'I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God' (RCIA, Appendix, 2, 15; USA, 474, 491).
"Ascription to the proper ritual Church 'sui iuris' is automatic but needs to be recorded. Mentioning this in your column will be helpful in reminding Latin priests (and priests of other Churches 'sui iuris') to note it properly in the remarks of the baptismal registry (which usually serves as the 'special book' referred to in RCIA, Appendix, 13; USA, 486)."
Regarding my statement that an Orthodox would need a dispensation in order to enter into marriage, another reader clarified the terminology and the ensuing legal consequences.
She wrote: "Please permit me to point out that it is incorrect to state that an Orthodox requires a dispensation in order to marry in the Catholic Church. Canon 1124 notes that marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic is 'prohibited' ('prohibitum est') without 'permission' ('licentia') of competent authority. Absent such permission, the marriage is held to be illicit, rather than invalid. This required permission is different from a dispensation, as a dispensation is required to overcome an impediment which would affect validity.
"The above pertains to all non-Catholic Christians, but current marriage law is especially lenient, if you will, toward intermarriage with Orthodox, with regard to canonical form. Ordinarily, all marriages are required to follow the form delineated in Canon 1108.1, and a dispensation is thus required if the couple wish to marry in the church of the non-Catholic. Without this dispensation, the marriage would be invalid due to lack of form. But the particular case of an Orthodox Christian marrying a Catholic is specifically addressed further in Canon 1127.1: If the two were to marry in an Orthodox wedding ceremony, i.e., without following canonical form, the Church regards the marriage as valid, although illicit."
Once more I express my gratitude for these observations which I am sure will be as helpful to our readers as they have been to me.
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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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DOCUMENTS
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Holy See Statement on Sustainable Development
"Protecting the Environment Means More Than Defending It"
NEW YORK, OCT. 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a statement by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered Monday to the 62nd U.N. General Assembly, on the topic of sustainable development.
* * * Madam Chairperson,
The Plan of Implementation adopted at the conclusion of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg reaffirms that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development. It repeatedly reasserts that the three components of sustainable development -- economic development, social development and environmental protection -- are interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars.
My delegation believes that protecting the environment means more than defending it. Protecting the environment implies a more positive vision of the human being, in the sense that the person is not considered a nuisance or a threat to the environment, but one who holds oneself responsible for the care and management of the environment. In this sense, not only is there no opposition between the human being and the environment, there is established an inseparable alliance, in which the environment essentially conditions man's life and development, while the human being perfects and ennobles the environment by his or her creative activity.
Beyond all the studies on environment and development, the primary concern of my delegation is the importance of grasping the underlying moral imperative that all, without exception, have a grave responsibility to protect the environment. While the duty to protect the environment should not be considered in opposition to development, it must not be sacrificed on the altar of economic development. My delegation believes that, at its core, the environmental crisis is a moral challenge. It calls us to examine how we use and share the goods of the earth and what we pass on to future generations. It exhorts us to live in harmony with our environment. Thus the ever-expanding powers of the human being over nature must be accompanied by an equally expanding responsibility toward the environment.
The issue of the environment is directly related to other basic questions, making holistic solutions ever harder to find. Environment is inseparable from questions such as energy and economics, peace and justice, national interests and international solidarity. It is not hard to see how issues of environmental protection, models of development, social equity and each one's share of the responsibility to care for the environment are inextricably intertwined.
For instance, while we seek to find the best way to protect the environment and attain sustainable development, we must also work for justice within societies and among nations. We must consider how in most countries today, it is the poor and the powerless who most directly bear the brunt of environmental degradation. Unable to do otherwise, they live in polluted lands, near toxic waste dumps, or squat in public lands and other people's properties without any access to basic services. Subsistence farmers clear woodlands and forests in order to survive. Their efforts to eke out a bare existence perpetuate a vicious circle of poverty and environmental degradation. Indeed, extreme want is not only the worst of all pollutions; it is also a great polluter.
However, all is not gloom. Encouraging signs of greater public awareness of the interrelatedness of the challenges we face have been emerging. The unease created by predictions of disastrous consequences of climate change has awakened individuals and countries to the urgency of caring for the environment. Environmental degradation caused by certain models of economic development makes many realize that development is not achieved through a mere quantitative increase of production, but through a balanced approach to production, respect for the rights and dignity of workers, and environmental protection.
My delegation earnestly hopes that these positive signs can lead to the consolidation of a vision of human progress that is consistent with respect for nature, and to a greater international solidarity in which the responsibility for environmental care is equitably and proportionally shared between the developed and the developing countries, between the rich and the poor. It is incumbent upon authorities to ensure that these promising signs translate into public policies capable of arresting, reversing and preventing environmental decay, while pursuing the goal of sustainable development for all.
Laws are not enough to alter behavior. Behavioral change requires personal commitment and the ethical conviction of the value of solidarity. It demands a more equitable relationship between rich and poor countries, placing special obligations on large-scale industrial structures, both in developed and developing nations, to seriously take measures for environmental protection. A more caring attitude toward nature can be attained and maintained with education and a persevering awareness campaign. The more people know about the various aspects of the environmental challenges they face, the better they can respond.
Thank you, Madam Chairperson.
[Text adapted]
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