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| Castrillón: is the lifting of the excommunications near? Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:30 am (GMT -5) Castrillón: is the lifting of the excommunications near? Rorate Caeli New Catholic November 30, 2007 Link to original Article by the Swiss religious news agency Apic (published in the website of Swiss Protestant monthly Bonne Nouvelle): Rome: is the lifting of the Lefebvrist excommunications near? Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" in charge of traditionalists has declared that the lifting of the excommunication weighing on the bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of St. X since 1988 "can happen" but that it definitely "depends on them." Thus he implicitly recognized that this gesture from Rome would come after a formal acceptance of the consequences of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) by the Lefebvrists. As for the celebration of a Mass by the pope according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite (Tridentine Mass), it was felt that this would certainly take place but that "the time was not ripe." For his part, the Colombian cardinal presided - for the first time in Rome since the publication last July of the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum – at a Mass in the pre-concilliar rite on the evening of November 22. The Mass which opened a festival of Baroque music was celebrated in a church in the center of Rome. (Translation by Mornac) posted by New Catholic at 9:58 AM _________________ O Crux, Ave, Spes Unica! |
| Man Charged w/ Murder for Slipping RU486 to Girlfriend Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:22 pm (GMT -5) Man Charged With Murder for Slipping Abortion Drug to Girlfriend to Cause Miscarriages Thursday , November 29, 2007 AP Link to original APPLETON, Wis. — A married man has been charged with murder for slipping his girlfriend a drug that authorities say caused her to miscarry twice. Manishkumar M. Patel, 34, of Appleton, was charged Thursday afternoon with first-degree murder of an unborn child, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, placing foreign objects in edibles, possession with intent to deliver prescriptions, stalking, burglary, possession of burglary tools, and two counts of violating a restraining order. The woman already had a 3-year-old child with Patel, who was married to someone else, Outagamie County sheriff's Capt. Michael Jobe said at a news conference. She became pregnant two more times, but miscarried in December and September, he said. Apparently suspecting she had been slipped mifespristone, the abortion pill also known as RU-486, the woman had a blood sample sent to a California lab for analysis, Jobe said. When it tested positive for the drug, she approached the sheriff's department Nov. 1. Patel was arrested Wednesday. He had been living in a house owned by the woman, Jobe said. It wasn't clear where his wife was. Sheriff's investigators said Patel admitted putting the drug in something the woman consumed without her knowledge. Jobe didn't say how she ingested the drug. Wisconsin is one of 36 states with a "fetal homicide" law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Under the 1998 law, anyone who attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her fetus could face life in prison. The law was passed after Tracy Scheide of Milwaukee accused her husband, Glenndale Black, of beating her in 1992 when she was nine months pregnant. Her baby was stillborn. A jury convicted Black of reckless injury and false imprisonment but acquitted him of violating an old anti-abortion law against causing the death of a fetus. Black was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Scheide divorced him and lobbied to get the bill passed. _________________ TRADIDI QUOD ET ACCEPI |
| Polish Bishops Praise Government for Refusal to Ratify Pro-H Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:57 pm (GMT -5) Polish Bishops Praise Government for Refusal to Ratify Pro-Homosexual European Human Rights Charter By Hilary White LifeSitenews November29, 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112910.html WARSAW, November 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reports that the government will opt out of the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights, a move that has been welcomed by Poland's bishops. Donald Tusk, who became Prime Minister on November 9 and took office on November 16, said he will honour the commitment of the previous government and join the UK as the only nations to opt out of the Charter. Tusk had indicated in a campaign speech that his government would ratify the Charter. "I will respect the results of the negotiations by my predecessors," Tusk told Parliament. Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, a retired auxiliary of the Sosnowiec diocese, said, "Tusk made a very wise decision given the concerns of the previous government and of the Church." The Charter of Fundamental Rights has been used as a major political lever to support the "homosexual rights" political agenda in Europe and the European Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights has urged the Polish government to have the country become a full party to it. Its provisions have allowed homosexual pressure groups to gain ground in attempts to force countries to adopt "gay marriage" and civil unions, as well as the right to adopt children. Many in the European Parliament had waited for the new Polish government to signal its willingness to "return" to solidarity with the European movement by ratifying the Charter. Before the last election, President Lech Kaczynski, and twin brother of outgoing Prime Minister Jaroslaw, said that Poland would only ratify the EU's Reform Treaty if the country would be allowed to join Britain in a protocol limiting the application of the Rights Charter. Tusk's party, the Civic Platform (PO) had vowed to overturn that decision, with party leader Tusk arguing that such an opt-out would weaken, rather than strengthen, human rights. President Kaczynski replied that he would veto the ratification if PO were to strike down the protocol. Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski of the PO told journalists that the government is taking that threat seriously. "If we are faced with a choice between ratifying the treaty with the charter and the British protocol, and not having anything at all, we'll choose the first option." Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: Text of European Parliament Resolution Condemning "Homophobia" http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/apr/070428a.html European Parliament Accuses Croatia of Homophobia in Schools http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07050801.html |
| Archbishop Under Fire for Church Teaching on Homosexuality S Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:55 pm (GMT -5) Archbishop Under Fire for Church Teaching on Homosexuality Supported by Catholic Parents By John Connolly LifeSiteNews November29, 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112904.html MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, November 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Minnesota Majority, a non-partisan issue advocacy group seeking to restore traditional values to Minnesota's public policy, has provided the populace a method of aiding Archbishop John C. Nienstedt in the fight to affirm the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. Archbishop Nienstedt came under heavy criticism last week for writing an article defending his decision to bar advocates of the homosexual lifestyle from speaking at Catholic institutions. His article explained the Church's teaching regarding both a homosexual's obligation to chastity and the Church's obligation to support and encourage such a chaste lifestyle. The Archbishop is enduring a strong backlash from the media in the notoriously liberal archdiocese. He has been labeled a peddler of "spiritual violence" and a persecutor of the homosexual community. The hostile articles ignored Archbishop Nienstedt's citations of recent documents promulgated by the USCCB concerning homosexuality. Minnesota Majority, in conjunction with Catholic Parents Online, has provided two online resources to take action in support of Archbishop Nienstedt. Supporters are first encouraged to send a letter or e-mail of thanks and support to Archbishop Nienstedt: http://capwiz.com/mnmajority/issues/alert/?alertid=10565776&... They are being encouraged to next send a letter to the editor of the Star Tribune defending the Archbishop's right to shepherd his flock: http://capwiz.com/mnmajority/issues/alert/?alertid=10591786&... See previous LifeSiteNews coverage: Minneapolis Archbishop Condemned for Giving Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07111905.html Proposed US Bishops Document on Homosexuality Encourages Love the Sinner but Hate the Sin http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/oct/06101907.html New Catholic Bishop Expected to Bring Orthodoxy and Opposition to Homosexual Agenda to Minneapolis http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jun/07060507.html |
| British Clergy Say Blair Must Renounce Anti-Life, Anti-Famil Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:54 pm (GMT -5) British Clergy Say Blair Must Renounce Anti-Life, Anti-Family Views Before Becoming Catholic Former PM reveals he was afraid of being seen as "nutter" for stating religious aspirations By Hilary White LifeSiteNews November 29, 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112907.html LONDON, November 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a recent interview, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed that the reason he was reticent about making public his religious aspirations was his fear that politicians with overt religious beliefs are seen as "nutters" in Britain. It is Britain's pervading secularist mentality, not any official disapproval of Catholicism in this officially Protestant country that held him back he said. In contrast to the US, he said, "You talk about it in our system and frankly, people do think you're a nutter." But Rumours that Blair, nominally an adherent of "high church" Anglicanism, will be received shortly into the Catholic Church during a private ceremony at the residence of the Archbishop of Westminster, has elicited strong concerns from some British Catholic priests. Throughout his premiership, which began with a landslide Labour victory in 1997, Blair was rumoured to attend Catholic Masses with his wife, Cherie Blair, a strongly pro-abortion Catholic and reputed follower of New Age ideas. Fr. Timothy Finigan, a London Catholic priest and founder of the Association of Priests for the Gospel of Life, wrote that Blair would need to publicly repudiate his public position on issues like abortion, embryo experimentation and homosexual civil unions. Fr. Finigan said, "Conversion to the Catholic faith would imply that he now accepts Catholic teaching and is willing to witness publicly to it." In 2004, after Blair was reprimanded by Basil Cardinal Hume, then Archbishop of Westminster, for receiving Holy Communion despite not being a Roman Catholic, it was widely reported that Blair had defied this and had been receiving Communion in a Catholic church he attended with his family. Shortly before he stepped down as Prime Minister, he informed Pope Benedict XVI that he wanted to become a Catholic. But Blair's actual religious beliefs appear to be far from solidly founded in Catholic teaching and belief. Some Catholic priests outside the high-level episcopal and political circles cite Blair's key political participation in the "collapse of morals" in Britain as reason to question his interest in Catholicism. Fr. John Boyle, a priest and canon lawyer in South Ashford in Kent, told LifeSiteNews.com that before being received, Blair would need to publicly repudiate many of his positions to "avoid giving scandal and confusing the faithful". Fr. Boyle specified Blair's vehement support for the homosexual political cause, his "vocal promotion of embryo research and human cloning, his public criticism of the Church's teaching concerning condoms...his promotion of increased contraceptive services to children and of the abortifacient morning-after pill to women and girls of whatever age, his advocacy of homosexual rights." In January this year, Fr. Boyle contacted Cormac Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, who as Archbishop of Westminster would be responsible for Blair's instruction, on Blair's reportedly imminent reception into the Church. Fr. Boyle revealed that the Cardinal responded that he had not "had a conversation" with the then-Prime Minister on any of these issues. The Cardinal wrote, "If or when he may decide to become a Catholic, naturally some of his seeming views on matters of Church doctrine would have to be discussed with him." At the time of writing, the Cardinal had "no indication from (Mr Blair) of his wish to become a Catholic." Fr. Finigan wrote, "I pray for Mr Blair's conversion to the Catholic faith. It would be wonderful if he were to be a public supporter of the pro-life cause in reparation for the damage done to human life under his government." He added, "But simply going through a ceremony will be of little value if he remains committed to the anti-life legislation that he and his government supported." In 2006, British Catholic writer Joanna Bogle blasted Blair, who left office in June this year, saying, "Blair has played a major political role in ensuring the collapse of morals in our country." Fr. Ray Blake, a blogging priest at Brighton's St. Mary Magdalene parish, wrote in agreement. Citing particularly the Blair couple's New Age predilections, Fr. Blake wrote, "If only one of our Bishop's was as outspoken in their condemnation of this couple who in their public lives contradict so much that the Catholic Church teaches and demands from its members." Fr. Boyle told LifeSiteNews.com, "It could be a scandal because of his known views which are anti-life and there should be some assurance that he's changed his views and repented." Nevertheless, Fr. Boyle said he would not be "at all surprised" if the rumoured reception by the Cardinal went forward. Fr. Boyle said that in the Church in Britain, "there is a problem" with high-level Churchmen "trying to have a cosy relationship with people in power. I think the Church has been too cosy with Tony Blair." He added, "If Blair happened to be on holiday here and attended Mass, I'd find it very awkward to give him Holy Communion." Read LifeSiteNews.com's editorial: Before Tony Blair Becomes Catholic He Must Renounce Anti-Life and Anti-Family Stands http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112603.html ; Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage: Britain Dragging Other Countries into Ethical and Moral Abyss ~ SPUC Director http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07022207.html Read related coverage in the Spectator: Will Blair become a true Catholic? Blair may be about to convert, but will that make him a Catholic? http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/376896/blai... |
| Gay Pride Clubs Erupt in Catholic Schools in Board Embroiled Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:51 pm (GMT -5) Gay Pride Clubs Erupt in Catholic Schools in Board Embroiled in Homosexuality Controversy By John-Henry Westen LifeSiteNews November 29, 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112909.html WATERLOO, November 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Ontario Catholic school board approached by a family issues group concerned about pro-homosexual materials in school libraries, is now facing the opening of homosexual student clubs in its high schools. The Waterloo Catholic District School Board was approached early this year by the group Defend Traditional Marriage and Family concerned about a teacher resource book promoting homosexuality as well as some thirty similarly objectionable books, videos and pamphlets available to Catholic students in school libraries and guidance offices. The board took half a year to address the issue and would only address the teacher resource book, refusing to address the other pro-gay materials at the same meeting. The Family Life Committee of the Catholic school board voted 11-5 to retain the book, but the director of Education for the board made a compromise decision. Roger Lawler decided this week to remove the teacher resource book from individual schools but retain it at a central teacher resource center. Just prior to that decision being announced, the local paper, The Record, reported on the existence of a gay and lesbian group at one of the board's schools - Resurrection Catholic Secondary in Kitchener. The paper reports that according to its founder, the "Rez PRIDE" group has the support of the school guidance counselor and chaplain, but school officials would not discuss the matter. 14-year old Resurrection student Jessica Coughlin began the group and is described by the paper as an "out lesbian". Although local Bishops Anthony Tonnos and Gerard Bergie were unavailable for comment, LifeSiteNews.com spoke with the bishop's representative on the school board Family Life Advisory Committee, Teresa Hartnett. Hartnett told LifeSiteNews.com that she did not know much about the groups, but did note that there were at least "a couple of (gay) clubs running," at Catholic schools. Hartnett stressed that "pastoral care of students with same sex orientation is not against our teachings as long as we follow the teachings of the Catholic Church." She said she would likely follow up on the matter now. Asked if she was aware of such clubs prior to the newspaper report, Hartnett replied that she was, "aware that there were some students interested in that." She added again, "Pastorally there's nothing wrong with a group that will support students." However, identification with a gay and lesbian club can be a negative way to go, according to Courage, a Roman Catholic group which is dedicated to those who struggle with same-sex attraction. Courage has been endorsed by the Pontifical Council for the Family and is approved by the Vatican. "Having young people who are struggling with gender issues join a "gay-lesbianbisexual- transgender" group will only encourage a false and limiting type of selflabeling," said Courage in a communication to Defend Traditional Marriage and Family (DTMF). "We believe it is most important to encourage young persons to primarily identify themselves as men and women made in the image of God. Even while acknowledging that their struggles with homosexual feelings or their experiences of gender confusion are real, they should not be encouraged to base their core identity on these difficulties," added Courage. "Christian anthropology teaches that we are created male and female - it does not teach that we are created gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. Subjective feelings, thoughts and struggles, while real, do not translate into "identity". Also, these particular labels are often associated with political causes which are incompatible with Catholic moral teaching." The principal of Resurrection high school refused comment directing LifeSiteNews.com to the Superintendant for the board. However, Catholic School Board officials did not return calls for comment from LifeSiteNews.com. The Record reports that the 14-year old student who started the gay pride club was inspired to do so by reading the pro-homosexuality teen novel Rainbow Boys. Notably, Rainbow Boys was one of the books DTMF had warned was inappropriate in the Catholic school libraries. That warning has thus far gone unheeded. In fact, a spokesman for the board called DTMF "an extremist hate group" after it made known its concerns. To see DTMF's presentation to the board on the teacher resource book: http://www.defendmarriagekw.org/FamilyLifePresentation.html To respectfully voice opinions: Resurrection Catholic Secondary Principal: Dan Witt 455 University Avenue West, Kitchener, Ontario, N2N 3B9 Phone: 519-741-1990, Fax: 519-741-5096 email: dan.witt@wcdsb.ca Roger Lawler Director of Education for the Catholic school board Tel: 519-578-3660 Email: Roger.Lawler@wcdsb.ca His Excellence Bishop Anthony Tonnos 700 King St. W. Hamilton, ON L8P 1C7 Phone: (905) 528-7988 Fax: (905) 528-1088 Email: mglover@hamiltondiocese.com Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Bergie Phone: (905) 528-7988 Fax: (905) 528-1088 Email: gbergie@hamiltondiocese.com |
| DANGER! California Public School agenda--will spread... Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:06 pm (GMT -5) http://www.savecalifornia.com/getactive/protectyourkids110907.php CCF is urging parents to protect their kids by permanently removing them from public schools Why and how to switch to private or homeschooling On January 2, 2008, new laws will require all public school instruction and activities to positively portray transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality to children as young as kindergarten. These terrible California laws are at the top of a long list of reasons why parents need to remove their children from government-controlled schools. Scroll down for the facts + more reasons to exit public schools. MUST-SEE VIDEO: Actual school sexual indoctrination in Massachusetts + New York Understand the new California laws Summary of sexual indoctrination bills How SB 777 does its damage What SB 777 could look like in schools How AB 394 does its damage [CCF letter] News: Public schools no longer safe How to exit your public school Yes you can! How to do homeschooling or private schooling plus more reasons to leave your public school How to legally homeschool in California 'Good schools' not so good Study debunks "good schools" myth 12% of high schools "dropout factories" Public schools cause "dumb-ification" Govt. schools increasingly anti-parent Can SB 777 be stopped? CCF addresses your top questions: Why a ballot referendum won't last, but a constitutional amendment will. What about a recall or lawsuit? Can parents opt out? What's the immediate solution? SUMMARY: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law two bills requiring all public school instruction and activities to positively portray transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality to children as young as kindergarten. Those bills are: SB 777 -- transsexual, bisexual, homosexual indoctrination of schoolchildren by requiring changes to all instruction and activities AB 394 -- transsexual, bisexual, homosexual indoctrination of students, parents, and teachers via "anti-harassment" training. The eventual effect of SB 777 will be that homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality cannot be excluded, and therefore must be included, in all instruction and every school activity. Because, for all practical purposes, under SB 777, exclusion of these alternative sexual lifestyles will be deemed "discriminatory bias." This new sexual indoctrination comes on the heels of other government school problems: Openly homosexual and transsexual teachers for children as young as kindergarten Pro-homosexuality "days of silence" and "diversity days" Pro-homosexuality-bisexual-transsexual "Gay-Straight Alliance" (GSA) clubs that are already in 1 out of 3 public high schools in California And then there are all the other disturbing practices affecting children in government-controlled schools: Evolution training promoting unbelief in God Distribution of condoms and birth control pills without parental consent "Confidential" abortion referrals and outside counseling without parental consent Widespread rejection of religious values No effective discipline Negative peer pressure Less safety and less academic success, on average, than private or home schools These "public school values," in addition to the new school sexual indoctrination laws, should be more than enough reason to jump into action and exit the public school system for the love of God and family. When you add SB 777 to this already-bad mix, you quickly realize that the laws governing public schools these days have turned public schools against parents and against the sexual innocence of children. Your local school is NOT the same school it was 20 or 30 years ago! In addition, a federal ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which applies to parents in California and other western states, basically says that when your children step on to public school property, you lose your rights to decide what they're "taught." Learn more about this and how to leave your public school by clicking the link below. CALL TO ACTION HOW TO SWITCH TO PRIVATE OR HOMESCHOOLING |
| Counter-Protest at St Paul Cathedral this Sunday 2pm Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:24 pm (GMT -5) Bring Signs and Rosaries please. _________________ nemo se tradere tenetur |
| Parish set to "Bless the Relationship of Same-Sex Coupl Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:37 am (GMT -5) US Catholic Parish set to "Publicly Bless the Relationship of Same-Sex Couples" Openly challenges Church moral teachings By Hilary White LifeSiteNews November 28, 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/nov/07112807.html ST. PAUL - MINNEAPOLIS, November 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - St. Francis Cabrini church, of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese, has announced on their website that they are ready to "bless" homosexual partners. The parish has published a "Statement of Reconciliation" repudiating the Church for its teaching on sexual purity and married chastity and misrepresenting these teachings as a form of "oppression." The statement said the parish will "Publicly bless the relationships of a same sex couple after the couple completes a process of discernment similar to that completed by heterosexual couples before marriage." The parish statement goes on to pledge that it will publish in the homosexual press their commitment to the homosexual activist agenda and to including "a gay/lesbian perspective in catechesis at all levels, including elementary school age." The parish currently runs catechesis programmes for children from ages three and up. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the pastor of the parish is Fr. Leo Tibesar who is a national leader in the anti-Catholic homosexual lobbying organisation, Dignity. Fr. Tibesar was recorded this week preaching a homily refuting Catholic teaching on sexuality and accusing those who uphold it, including bishops, Cardinals and "Evangelicals", of hypocrisy. In May 2006, when LifeSiteNews.com revealed Fr. Tibesar's leadership role in the homosexual political movement within the Church, he was not the pastor of any parish. It was since the revelations of his involvement in the anti-Catholic campaign group that he was assigned to St. Francis Cabrini. He is also a longstanding figure in Archbishop Flynn's archdiocesan programmes preparing couples for marriage. The parish says it "stands willing" to accept "openly gay or lesbian priests or lay ministers" despite the widely available statistics showing the high prevalence of homosexual clergy perpetrators in the Church's ongoing sexual abuse crisis. Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, head of Human Life International, told LifeSiteNews.com that the parish's statement was "totally contrary to the Catholic faith". "I can only say what the scriptures say, this is an abomination. The blessing of homosexual partners is an abomination and the corruption of children is a scandal," he said. "The fact that they are placing themselves in opposition to the bishops, that they specifically cite the bishops in opposition to them, means they have placed themselves outside the communion of the Catholic Church and apostolic tradition of the Church. In fact in opposition to it." Fr. Euteneuer explained that Catholic teaching was not a matter of arbitrary or politically motivated decisions but a "clear understanding of human sexuality passed down to us through the centuries and faithfully passed on by the Church." He added that those actively living a homosexual lifestyle separate themselves "not just from the Church but from God". The leader of the international Catholic pro-life organization stated, "We're not talking about disordered persons but disordered desires and actions. The bishops have been very clear, and the papal teachings go back forever on this issue. I think what it comes down to is that these people worship a different god than we worship." In his 2003 book, "Anti-Catholicism in America The Last Acceptable Prejudice", US Episcopal author and historian Philip Jenkins identified these themes as the guiding conventions of the latest wave of anti-Catholic bigotry, fuelled by the sexual and "gender identity" politics common to the American left since the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Euteneuer said, "I agree with Jenkins and I think the other side of the coin is that we have people within our own ranks, wolves in sheep's clothing, who are not only not authentic Catholics but are working on an anti-Catholic agenda from within the Church." |
| "L'Osservatore Romano" Has Been Remodeled Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:26 am (GMT -5) "L'Osservatore Romano" Has Been Remodeled. Here Are All of the Changes More interviews. More space given to women. Non-Catholic contributors. International news, and about the Churches and the religions. Major cultural topics. To prompt thought and discussion even outside of Catholic boundaries by Sandro Magister www.chiesa November 29, 2007 http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/179221?eng=y ROMA, November 29, 2007 – To the cardinals gathered behind closed doors for their consistory with the pope, on Friday, November 23, Vatican secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone recommended one thing above all: that they read "L'Osservatore Romano." And he did the same thing with his fellow diners at a celebratory dinner for one of the new cardinals, the evening of Sunday, November 25. For one month, "L'Osservatore Romano" has had a new director, professor Giovanni Maria Vian, 55, a specialist in ancient Christian literature and in Church history. And for one month, the publisher of this same newspaper has shown a keen interest in its recovery. The main publisher is the pope. On Thursday, November 8, in a rare gesture for him, Benedict XVI invited to lunch Vian and his vice-director Carlo Di Cicco, also freshly appointed, sharing a drop of port with them at dessert, another sign of trust. But after the main stakeholder, the pope, there is his delegated administrator, Bertone. The task that the secretary of state assigned to Vian and Di Cicco last winter, when they had already been selected for their posts, was to imprint upon "L'Osservatore Romano" a clear change of direction, as soon as they were put in command. Sure enough. On Sunday, October 28, "L'Osservatore Romano" got a sudden facelift. Fewer pages, and more text. The number of pages fell to 8, from their former 12 or 16, while the text increased by 10 percent. The page design is sober and elegant, and will be even more so with a graphic redesign that is in development. Gone are the enormous headlines and the full-page photos of recent years. The layout is better organized: on the first and last pages are the words of the pope and the major Vatican events, with a brief commentary and the official statements. The second and third pages present international politics, Italy included. Culture is on the fourth and fifth pages. On the sixth and seventh is news about the Catholic Church around the world, about the other Christian confessions, and about the other religions. The previous regular contributions and features have been eliminated, and the outside commentators have changed. Not all of them are Catholic. Anna Foa, for example, who is Jewish and a history teacher at Rome's "La Sapienza" university, wrote on a burning issue, the reason why hundreds of thousands of Arabs abandoned the land occupied by Israel in the first war of 1948. Another new development is that women are writing front page commentaries: the jurist Patrizia Clementi, the non-Catholic feminist Eugenia Roccella, the historian Lucetta Scaraffia. In a lucky stroke of foresight, Scaraffia wrote an article highlighting the ideas of a teacher of international law at Harvard, Mary Ann Glendon, who was designated a few days later as the new United States ambassador to the Holy See. The stated goal of the new director Vian is to bring to the pages of "L'Osservatore Romano" intellectuals of the highest caliber, "who know how to prompt thought and discussion even beyond the perimeter of the Church." The biblicist Gianfranco Ravasi, the new president of the pontifical council for culture, is one of these. Then there is the great specialist in ancient Christian literature Manlio Simonetti, a worldwide authority on questions like the relationship between the canonical Gospels and the apocryphal and Gnostic writings, which today have returned dangerously into fashion. Then there is Inos Biffi, an unparalleled expert in medieval theology. Then there are the rising stars of the pro-Ratzinger curia: Nicola Bux and the Anglo-German Uwe Michael Lang. Then there is Valentino Miserarchs Grau, head of the pontifical institute of sacred music, one of whose indictments against modern musical disasters and in defense of Gregosian chant occupied an entire page of "L'Osservatore." The frequent use of interviews is another novelty introduced by Vian. One that made an impact was the interview with Metropolitan Cyril, the second in command of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was unusually gracious toward the Church of Rome. Also surprising was the first page commentary entrusted to the French Protestant Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Conference of European Churches, on the eve of the consistory of cardinals on the very topic of ecumenism. Other articles have been written by representatives of the Orthodox Churches. And the honor of the front page has gone even to one ecumenical personality: Brother Alois Loser, prior of the community of Taizé. The secretariat of state provides "L'Osservatore" with the official statements and the pope's texts. In this, the journal has authority: an appointment, for example, becomes official when it is printed. But otherwise "L'Osservatore" lives autonomously. The person responsible for the articles is the director, who is not at all required to have them inspected before they are printed. But the established practice is that the secretariat of state has a say in the articles that deal with sensitive topics: the Middle East, nuclear weapons, China, Islam. It can happen that texts are blocked or rewritten. One result of this collective effort has been, for example, the way in which "L'Osservatore" covered the visit of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to the Vatican. Next to the photo of the king with the pope, beneath the title "Under the banner of dialogue and collaboration," the dominant article on the front page dealt with the request of the Vatican's representative at the UN for "a new resolution on religious freedom," with a title stretching across four columns: "The credibility of the United Nations depends on tangible respect for human rights." He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The person at the secretariat of state who oversees "L'Osservatore Romano" is Mgr. Carlo Maria Polvani. The diplomat who handles the Middle East is Franco Coppola. For Italy, there is Antonio Guido Filipazzi. But questions of great interest also receive attention from higher level officials, the assessor for general affairs Gabriele Caccia, and the undersecretary for relations with states, Pietro Parolin. "L'Osservatore" comes off the presses every afternoon, except on Sundays and feast days, bearing the date of the following day. It goes on sale after 5 pm at the newsstand behind the right-hand colonnade of Saint Peter's Square, near the Bronze Door. At all the other newsstands, it is sold the following morning. Being a newspaper printed in the afternoon, work at the editorial offices begins at dawn. The first meeting with the director is at 8:15. The offices and printing facilities are in the "industrial zone" of Vatican City, not far from St. Anne's Gate. The idea of waiting until the evening to finalize the paper, as is done for almost all the newspapers, has been examined. But it clashes with the fact that the main activities of the pope take place in the morning, which makes publication in the afternoon the quickest way to release these events. But the new course at "L'Ossevatore" is only at its beginning. It is already obligatory reading for understanding the pontificate of Benedict XVI. Meanwhile, however, it continues to sell too few copies: a few hundred at the newsstands, and a few thousand by subscription. The numbers are a bit better for the weekly editions in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and the monthly edition in Polish, with a selection of articles. A campaign to expand its readership is planned. But the true turning point will come with the internet, from which "L'Osservatore Romano" is practically absent today. When, in a few months, everything will be available immediately online, in multiple languages, this very special newspaper will make the leap of its life, from Rome to the world. __________ Addio, Italian pages Over one month, Italy has won front page coverage only once, in the new "L'Osservatore Romano" directed by Giovanni Maria Vian. But it hasn't been very prominent on the inside pages, either, in the section dedicated to international news: around twenty articles in all, and much skimpier than the ones on Burma, Iran, or Somalia. Until one month ago, with the previous director, Mario Agnes, it was entirely different. Both Italy and Rome had an entire page dedicated to them. The articles went to print without the Vatican secretariat of state seeing them ahead of time. And there was the predictable uproar when the major newspapers reprinted portions of these as if they exemplified the thought of the Holy See, and not the personal ideas of the paper's fiery director. Of the twenty articles about Italy published by "L'Osservatore" over the past month, most have dealt with immigration, volunteer organizations, the schools, the family, abortion, children: all questions concerning society as a whole. Politics in the strict sense has been touched upon only in passing: a brief note from a news agency on the approval of financial legislation in the Italian senate, and an article on the makeup of the country's new democratic party. Not even a line on the announcement of the major new center-right party created by Silvio Berlusconi. Very little space for Italian politics, and even less for the politicians. When two of these, Francesco Rutelli and Pierferdinando Casini, eagerly presented a book by bishop Rino Fisichella, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, "L'Osservatore" succeeded in filling a column and a half on the event without mentioning the name of either man. The only exception to this general reservation has been a front page editorial, on November 11, entitled: "On the presumed privileges of the Catholic Church in Italy." Both the Italian bishops' conference (CEI) and the Vatican have decided not to remain silent about the request for clarification addressed to Italy by the European Commission, on the tax exemptions given to much of the property owned by the Church. And they entrusted the reply, in "L'Osservatore Romano," to a highly persuasive writer and jurist, Patrizia Clementi, who demolished the accusations point by point. Just one combative article on Italy in a month may not seem like much. But it has made its mark. Thanks to the new "L'Osservatore Romano," it is clear that, on this point, the Vatican and the CEI will not give way by an inch. |
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