In lieu of my own comments, which I've haven't had the opportunity to organize and publish yet, here are some thoughtful reflections by the bishop of my diocese in New Hampshire:
Statement from Bishop McCormack on President-elect Obama and the March for Life
During the past few weeks, a priest friend, Father John, and I have been talking about the coincidence of Barack Obama taking the oath of office as our first African-American president and two days later the 35th March for Life taking place on the Mall in Washington, DC.
Father John intended to share his thoughts with his parishioners. I would like to draw on his observations and add some thoughts of my own about these events and others that affect us as Catholics.
We agreed the impending change is momentous. President-elect Obama’s election reflects the encouraging fact that racism is diminishing in our country. Many Americans who supported Mr. Obama demonstrated a desire that the federal government be more responsive to the needs of working and middle class people. The beginning of a new administration also gives rise to an expectation among Americans that there be an end to the war in Iraq and, we pray, that our troops will soon be home and out of harm’s way. Whether we voted for President-elect Obama or not, he is to be the President of the United States, a president for all of us.
Our new president faces the dual dilemma of a severe economic challenge and the expansion of global terrorism. In light of the weighty responsibility they will bear, Mr. Obama and members of his administration deserve our prayers and respect. Saint Paul wrote to his colleague Timothy, the leader of a local faith community: “I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” (I Timothy 2:1-2). Given the fact that there remain pockets of racial hatred in our country and deep divisions around important issues, Saint Paul’s words apply to us as well. Our prayers and commitment to respectful discourse are more necessary than ever.
As we discussed the inauguration and the new president’s challenges, Father John and I noted the irony evoked by the practically simultaneous occurrence of the March for Life. The irony lies in the recognition that as the struggle to overcome racism moves forward toward victory, another struggle for the right to one’s life faces the threat of further political defeat. In light of this, people of every race, faith, and age will gather in prayer as well as in protest to lift up a cry for the right to life for all human life.
Knowing that the access to abortion was a decision of a handful of Supreme Court Justices 35 years ago, it is true that the division we experience around the abortion debate remains sharply drawn. As the inauguration symbolizes another step away from the reprehensible concept that one person can own another as a slave, we witness the tragedy and grave injustice that abortion implies that the child in the womb is the personal property of another human being. With such a mindset, a person can choose to extinguish this life for about any reason. The concept of personal autonomy has become so distorted that even though there are many women who rightly think such a choice is outrageous and the very denial of womanhood, there are other women who consider it a choice that defines their freedom and individuality. Some advocates are again pressing Congress to take away all protections for the unborn. Removing protection for the innocent is not progress.
Racism and abortion are grave moral evils. As progress is made on one front, we cannot stand idly by while protections for the unborn slip away. Catholics, along with all people of goodwill, need to remain steadfast in opposing abortion and in building respect for life. It is not a question of the church attempting to impose its will on others, as it is our determination to proclaim the value of innocent, human life. With God’s grace, our determination will enable others to see the fullness of life that exists at conception in the womb.
Regrettably, among political leaders, there are a precious few who speak up for life and against abortion. Change is truly needed in our politics, not in our morality. Change is wonderfully manifest in Barak Obama as the first African American president in our country. May change now come to our nation’s attitude toward human life so we all will increase the respect for all human life, from conception to natural death.
You may note that the above-mentioned events are sandwiched between two other events occurring in our local church here in New Hampshire. They emphasize the value we give to being supported in life through effective Catholic formation. During the weekend of January 17 and 18, we promote support for vocations to the priesthood. Our church needs priests who are ready to live as fully as possible the threefold office given to them by God at their ordination – namely – the teaching of the ‘good news’, the sanctification of the faithful and the servant form of pastoral leadership. The following weekend of January 24 and 25 is the start of Catholic Schools’ Week. Again, while parents are the first and best of all teachers of the faith, Catholic schools are the institutions that reinforce and integrate these teachings into the daily life of students. The future of our faith is dependent not only on priests, deacons and consecrated religious to teach and guide people in living the beauty of the Good News, but also on lay members of the church who are well formed in understanding the faith, and convinced of the value of their faith and in passing it on to their families and their neighbors. We want to move forward as confident people and as hope filled children of God. To do so, we will need to be encouraging and supportive of young men to enter the priesthood and of families to send their children to Catholic schools for in-depth Catholic education and formation, the foundation of a future full of hope!
ROME (Reuters) - Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli is offering his services to Pope Benedict as an image consultant, saying the German pontiff comes across as cold and needs to review his wardrobe.
Zeffirelli, acclaimed for movies such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "Jesus of Nazareth," said in an interview with la Stampa daily on Saturday the 80-year-old pope did not have "a happy image."
"Coming after a media-savvy pope like John Paul II is a difficult task ... Benedict XVI still communicates coldly, in a way that is not suited with what is happening around him," Zeffirelli said.
"It's an issue I have been discussing with people who have key roles in the Vatican," said Zeffirelli, who has directed some Vatican television events.
"The Pope does not smile much, but he is an intellectual. He has a very rigid Bavarian structure," he said.
Zeffirelli, 84, added that papal robes were "too sumptuous and flashy." "What is needed is the simplicity and sobriety seen in the other echelons of the Church," he said.
Zeffirelli said he was in regular contact with the Pope's closest aides and had also made proposals to "defend the image of faith in cinema, the image of the sacred."
"The Holy See intends to pay a lot more attention to this," he said.
He said today's religious films were "a horror that the Holy See does not know how to stop.
"I am a Christian down to the depths of my spirit. I can't stand by while this disaster unfolds. I am available to put myself at the service of the Church," he said.
"If they officially give me a supervisory role, I will do it full-time."
The Vatican was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Photo: Creative Commons
The Pope affirmed this in a message sent on his behalf by his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, president of the assembly of the patriarchs and Catholic bishops of Lebanon and patriarch of Antioch. The papal message was sent to offer condolences at the death of a 54-year-old Maronite general who was killed Wednesday in a car bomb explosion.
General François el-Hajj and his chauffer died when a vehicle loaded with bombs exploded in the path of the general's car. Hajj was set to succeed General Michel Sleiman, the leader of Lebanon's army, who is a candidate for the presidency. Lebanon has not had a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down on Nov. 23 and the country has not been able to agree on a successor.
In the message to Cardinal Sfeir, the Pope expressed his "deepest condolences and affectionate solicitude and his deep communion in the test which once more strikes Lebanon in these difficult and delicate times for the future of the country.The Holy Father entrusts the deceased to divine mercy and implores the Almighty to offer his consolation to their families, the wounded and everyone touched by this act of unjustified violence."
Likewise, the message added, the Pope"asks the Lord to give those responsible for public life and the Lebanese people the interior strength and courage to find, beyond particular interests, the path of unity and reconciliation so the country can progress in peace and stability and that it may be for everyone a 'message' fraternity and coexistence."
photo: creative commons
