The Vatican - Articles - Zimbio

Catholic self-identity…necessary reemergence in our global society!

Sun, 8 Oct 2007 15:45:00 GMT

posted by hjmn4566

In a recent interview, Cardinal Avery Dulles alluded to what he considered the greatest difficulty the Catholic Church will face in the 21^st century…that is the growing trend towards the lack of Catholic identity within our own Catholic Church. Perhaps the reason for this malaise is the fact that over the past four decades Catholic popular trends moved towards making all of our external signs and symbols…quite frankly generically Catholic neutral. What I mean by this is that in the 1960's and the 1970's there was a large movement to replace traditional Catholic modes of worship and celebration with somewhat "ecumenical" expressions of universal faith and global brotherhood, as opposed to Catholic Sacraments of richly imbued moments of theological signs and symbols of the Catholic Church's anciently rooted ceremonies. It seemed that no matter where one went to Mass, there was an attempt to subtly "neutralize" Catholic ritual and traditions in not only the Sacraments, but also in Catholic art and architecture as well. The result was often a bland cornucopia of ritual symbolism that often one had a hard time comprehending the sacredness of the actions, let alone the Catholicity of the celebration. Perhaps, the worst fear of the Catholic Church had been realized, even after great strides to avoid it…Modernism in its most revolutionary sense invaded and permeated our Catholic Sacraments and Liturgies. The modernization of the Roman Church as foreseen by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council was compromised with institutional and sacramental barbarism that equaled the "sacking" of Rome centuries before. Catholic institutional strength and universal conformity since the Council of Trent was compromised and all of the forces of the liberal left took equal opportunities to dismantle the visible manifestations of Catholic traditional signs and symbols, actions and responses that made our faith uniquely independent from the generic celebrations of other faiths and denominations.

The fascination with liturgical space and its "renewal" according to the norms of the Second Vatican Council was instant…within a few years after the Council; parishes replaced their Altars, removed their Communion rails, silenced great organs and replaced them with strumming guitars and tambourines. Gregorian chant was replaced with refrains from Peter, Paul and Mary's latest hits, the priest celebrant became the "presider," and the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass became commonly referred to as a "communal meal!" No wonder the threat of loosing our Catholic identity is so large a problem in the 21^st century, we spent over 40 years dismantling our historically rooted notion of Church, only to replace it with Modernist examples of generic art and architecture that reflected the generic chaos of the contempory period and neglected to appreciate the transcendent nature of all of our Catholic signs and symbols.

The growing awakening and awareness of our Catholic history and ritual traditions is in this authors mind a great rebirth of the Catholic Church's awareness of it's need to uniquely herald the Gospel message through our sacred and transcendent signs and symbols, our eschatological mission to sanctify a temporal world that deeply needs and desires the inclusion of sacred rituals into global daily life. The modern Catholic in my estimation needs to boldly proclaim in sacramental words and ritual actions the presence of Jesus Christ in the world…and be visibly identified through our visibly Catholic sacraments and actions. One of the greatest dilemmas for the modern world is the conflict that is rising between Catholics and Moslems. This conflict is nothing new, but rather the resurgence of Islamic desire for theological dominance in the Western world. The Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from 711-1492, the rise of the Spanish Inquisition and the spread of European colonialism all stem from the perpetual struggle that exists between the theological nuances of East versus West. Islamic radicalism that threatens to engulf Europe, the Middle East and even the Western hemisphere now more than ever requires a strong Catholic restoration of it's sacramental identity and social purposes. Our Catholic Church is awakening from a slumber imposed by Modernism in the 20^th century, and the need for Catholic resurgence of identity is perhaps the best cure for our global Catholic Church in the 21^st century. The need to restore Catholic identity goes far beyond just the institutional signs and symbols of our ancient faith, there is a need for a rekindling of internal evangelization within Catholicism that hopefully will result in not only a global reevangelization of the non-Catholic world, but will provide an apologetical platform from which Catholic sacramental, social and ethical moral teachings will prevail in an increasing world of secularism and cultural homogeneity. Benedict XVI it seems understands the need for internal evangelization within the Catholic Church. His outreaching messages to youth in the Church make it plainly clear that the future of theological conversion within Catholicism is rooted deeply in a historically rooted appreciation of the radical call that the Gospel message and Catholic sacraments signify for the global development of the Western world.

I agree whole heartedly with the diagnosis that the constant thread of loosing our Catholic identity is perhaps the greatest difficulty that the Church of the 21^st century will encounter. Thankfully, the direction we are taking as an institution now permits Catholics worldwide to experience Catholicism for not only it's historically significant contributions to the life and education of the world in the past, but the continuing contemporary message of Catholic moral, social and ethical teachings that will guide an ever needing society towards strong Catholic principles of moral certitude in a world that increasingly needs a strong Catholic expression of identity in an increasingly nihilistic world and society.

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Vatican Not Ruling Out Aliens

Tue, 14 May 2008 18:55:50 GMT

posted by John

It was only a matter of time before Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, was asked the pressing question about alien life form and, if one “believes,” does that make them a sinner.

As it turns out the answer is yes and no, respectively.

In his article, awesomely titled, “Aliens Are My Brother,” published in the official Vatican newspaper, Father Funes says that beings created by God could exist in outer space and that the search for extraterrestrial life does not contradict belief in God. He even speculates that these aliens could be free from original sin and I speculate an alien races living in some kickass Garden of Eden – IN SPACE!

This sort of goes against the Church’s open condemnation of telescope inventor Galileo, but Father Funes says that mistakes were made and it’s time to move on.

Cementing its scientific record, the Vatican will organize a conference next year marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, author of the Origin of Species. Weird.

The Vatican Must show good will toward Muslims

Mon, 25 Mar 2008 13:16:00 GMT

posted by propal

Hope for the world….

Sun, 7 Jan 2008 16:00:00 GMT

posted by hjmn4566

In 2008 Catholics worldwide will continue to feel the effects of the globalization of the world economy. The trend seems that the far-East and other Asian rim nations are economically beginning to thrive after years of political repression and social stagnation. How does this emergence of the former "Third World" then affect Catholics in the United States and Western Europe? Quite frankly…the development of a far-Eastern global market as the producer and utilizer of global resources makes the world all that much smaller when it comes to issues like human rights, environmental conservation and religious expression. While certain economies are experiencing a boom of activities and there is a marked increase in the quality of life in developing countries, we still as Catholics are presented with moral dilemmas and issues that focus on dealing with the intrinsic dignity of the human person, through all stages of human life. It is often noted that the late John-Paul the Great was an exceptional example for Catholics and indeed all peoples of how faithful Catholics should prepare for their inevitable deaths, however most importantly John Paul was a source of inspiration to all peoples that are mired in the modern consumerism and the effective marginalization that results from loosing the sacred sense of human life and responsibility through love and social actions.

Benedict XVI in Spes Salvi, offers to the modern Church insights of the dangers in store for mankind as a result of globalization, and the diminishing appreciation that is accorded to the essential dignity of the human person. For the most part, expanding consumerism permits things rather than individuals the opportunity to focus as a center point for human activity and aspirations. The real danger in this atmosphere of materialism and consumerism is really the fact that the importance of human "sacredness" is often times overlooked for the pursuit of accomplishments or the disproportionate rise of wealthier individuals at the expense of the common man. Perhaps as Catholics we need to focus most clearly on the message that God calls all mankind to the pursuit of holistic excellence and not just limited peoples and special cultures.

With the advent of emerging technologies and modern communications, actions that used to take days, are now accomplished in minutes, what used to take minutes now happens in seconds and so on. At the heart of this results orientated and accumulation centered society Catholics need to take time and space in their hearts and their lives to cultivate an appreciation of mankind's theological unity as well as mankind's universal call to pursue peace and global harmony. It seems with the disparate balance of the world's natural resources as the center of society's struggle, the gap between those who have and those who have not are increasingly going to widen. Strategic resources such as oil, water and grain are increasingly the manipulative pawns that dictate global preeminence and the situation seems only destined to get worse. How should Catholics view this global epidemic of shrinking resources? In effect, the Church is clearly showing through its global ministry and it's teachings that collectively, Catholics and all religions need to cooperate and participate in a cognitive campaign of conservation and redistribution of precious global resources that are incumbent for the future of the life and existence of all of God's people. This means, greater respect for the global environment, closer cooperation and harmonious relationships between religions and a universal appeal to mankind's common brotherhood and sisterhood with the highest dignity of human life as the supreme focus and goal.

We are after all a Church of "spes", of hope…of future anticipation of the development of the eschatological Kingdom of God. We hope everyday as faithful Catholics…we specifically proclaim in our creed our expectations of the life of the world to come! However, as concerned and global Catholics we need to realize that we are indeed living in a period of time in which God's salvation history…the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is already continuing to transform the world as we live our lives. Perhaps the most important thing for the Catholic of the 21^st century is to not only the expectation of future glory, but know and realize that we are indeed living within sacred times…that require our daily prayers, inspirations and social actions to unfold the new Kingdom of God….

Perhaps the globalization movement will encourage the understanding of the world's religions, that we share not only a common humanity, but also a common sense of expectation and anticipation in the hopes and desires for a better human existence. The more I think about the matter, it becomes increasingly clear to me that global terrorism, global disharmony, human suffering and the increase of social and economic poverty are indications that as faithful Catholics we need to work harder, pray more keenly and put our faith into action more effectively if we are to work towards a society of religious, ethnic and political harmony.

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At every moment…

Tue, 9 Jan 2008 16:34:00 GMT

posted by hjmn4566

I have always loved the prayer at the end of the Divine Praises that superlatively invokes global adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

…May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even until the end of time…Amen!

Perhaps it is time as a global indication of the Catholic Church's commitment to peace and harmony; we should organize a universal period of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, in all of the churches of the world…and designate the idea as a day of prayer and reparation. On this particular day, or series of days Catholics the world over would celebrate, worship and pray before the Blessed Sacrament , together in all of our Churches, at the same time, fulfilling the mandate of Jesus to "Pray always!"

One of the things that are greatly needed in the world is the opportunity to pause, contemplate and pray for the well being of all humanity. Such a global exposition of Eucharistic devotion would permit believers the chance to unite with all of our brothers and sisters worldwide in prayer in front of the Eucharistic Lord with the goal of achieving global peace and harmony.

While as Catholics we frequently celebrate the Eucharist in all of our Churches, rarely if ever is there a universal opportunity for Eucharistic adoration, at every moment in all the tabernacles of the world. Modern technologies have made it possible to communicate the Gospel message to all of the corners of the globe…with some prayerful consideration…I think it would be possible to organize and implement a global Eucharistic adoration to give our Catholic community of faith an opportunity to pause and worship Jesus Christ.

There would also be a great opportunity here as well to ask all members of various bodies of faith to set apart this particular time to pray for global peace and world harmony. Imagine the political, social and theological implications if Christians, Moslems, Jews, and all other denominations would set apart time to collectively pray together for universal peace and harmony. As we continue on the path of an ever unfolding salvation history as a result of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ , His life, death and resurrection such an event of unity and prayer would signal a new age of cooperation and harmony.

It seems to me that it is time for all of the sectarian differences that are waged in countless battles, wars and skirmishes throughout the world on a daily basis, could be lessened or even eliminated if we took the time just too simply pray together. As Catholics, our Eucharistic sacrifice is the central focus of our sacramental life and ritual activities. A specific period of time devoted to an acknowledgement of the sacredness of the Eucharistic species globally would do a lot to proclaim Catholic commitment to modern unity of all peoples, and the need for reconciliation among ourselves and the rest of the world.

This period of prayer would also be a great moment to proclaim not only the Paschal Mystery to all of the world, but it would also be an opportune moment for Catholics to offer healing prayers for past wounds inflicted by the Church and it's members throughout our history.

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