News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 21 November.
LISTEN NOW (12:20 mins)
• Vatican hosts landmark interfaith colloquium on the complementarity of man and woman
• An attack on worshippers in Holy Land sparks renewed cries for peace
• Married men may now be ordained priests for Eastern churches in Western countries
• Controversial ‘Zoe’s Law’ Bill lapses without a vote
• Polish Catholic is honoured in Canberra for his bravery during the Holocaust
• Bishop Peter Comensoli appointed to Broken Bay
TRANSCRIPT
BOBBIE: A landmark international colloquium has wrapped up this week in Rome, bringing together representatives from 14 religious traditions and 23 countries to discuss the theme ‘the complimentarity of man and woman’.
The Humanum Colloquium was hosted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican from 17-19 November. It featured presentations and witness testimonies from religious leaders and scholars, as well as a series of short films prepared on the topic.
Pope Francis gave the Colloquium’s opening address, emphasising the vital role of family in building healthy societies.
“Children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity,” Pope Francis said.
“That is why I stressed in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that the contribution of marriage to society is “indispensable”; that it “transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple.” (n. 66) And that is why I am grateful to you for your Colloquium’s emphasis on the benefits that marriage can provide to children, the spouses themselves, and to society,” he said.
Former Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth Jonathan Sachs also addressed the conference, reflecting on the situation in Britain where soon more than 50% of children will be born outside of marriage.
RABBI SACHS: The result of this has been a measurable rise among young people in eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, suicide attempts and other stress-related symptoms. Three million children are living in Britain, in an affluent society, in this new form of poverty of single parent families, and it’s women who are bearing the burden because they are the heads of 92% of those families. In Britain today, one million children will grow up never knowing or meeting their father…
BOBBIE: Pope Francis also used the opportunity to confirm he will attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia next year.
More on that story via Catholic Vote, news.va, and the Humanum website.
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At least four people were killed and six others wounded in an attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem Tuesday morning. Vatican Radio has that report.
VATICAN RADIO: Police say the suspects in the attack were a pair of Palestinians wielding knives and axes, and that they shot and killed the suspected assailants inside the synagogue.
The city of Jerusalem has seen months of tension in the wake of a dispute over access to holy sites – tension that has flared into violence on more than one occasion, including kidnappings and the stabbing of a Jerusalem man this weekend.
Speaking on Monday at the United Nations, UN Assistant Secretary General Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen decried the upsurge in violence.
TOYBERG-FRANDZEN: Of particular concern are attacks against religious sites, also giving how such violence can resonate regionally and beyond.
VATICAN RADIO: The Assistant Secretary General also renewed his calls for a fair and genuine peace agreement as the only way to build just and lasting tranquility and stability in the region.
TOYBERG-FRANDZEN: Returning to negotiations has never been more important. Without a genuine commitment from the parties and an overall improvement in the lives of Palestians, we should anticipate further deterioration of the security situation, and expansion of the current violence.
VATICAN RADIO: Pope Francis has also called repeatedly for all parties to reject the path of violence and to work together to address outstanding issues in mutual respect for people’s legitimate rights and aspirations.
Source: news.va
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BOBBIE: Married men of the Eastern Catholic churches in the US, Canada and Australia can now be ordained to the Catholic priesthood.
In a decree approved and signed by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, the Vatican has lifted an 84-year ban on married men being ordained to the priesthood in traditionally western countries. Eastern married candidates can now be ordained in their dioceses and exercise pastoral service, though they must first inform their local Latin-rite bishop in writing.
Married men in the Eastern churches traditionally could always be ordained to the priesthood, though once a man is ordained he is not allowed to marry, except in extraordinary circumstances.
The ban in Western countries can be traced back to 1890, when married Ruthenian priests were prohibited from living in the US. To prevent scandal, the Vatican eventually ruled that the Eastern churches could not ordain married men in the countries where their communities form a minority of the Catholic population. In 1930, this was extended to all Eastern-rite priests in the US and Australia. As a result, an estimated 200,000 Ruthenian Catholics became Orthodox.
Fr. Brian Daley, Jesuit and member of the North American Catholic-Orthodox Theological Consultation, said he expects the new development will have a positive impact on ecumenical relations, particularly for Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
More info at Patheos
You can find Church teaching on priestly celibacy in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1579 and 1580.
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Music Credit: Waking Up by Dexter Britain.
