Archive for April 2010
And with your spirit…
It’s official. After over nine years, the new English translation of the Roman Missal is finished. Over to Rocco Palmo for the hard facts.
Romero remembered: a new documentary
America Magazine blogs point out that there is a new documentary about Romero entitled “Monseñor: The Last Days of Oscar Romero.” which is due to come out. They’ve got a trailer for the film, here.
I tried to embedd it but really couldn’t work it out.
Meanwhile over at the New York Review of Books, Alma Guillermoprieto writes about the film. She also remembers Archbishop Oscar Romero’s murder and how it ruptured El Salvador. Guillermoprieto interviewed Archbishop Romero and spent time in the country after Romero’s death. Her account is compelling and beautifully written, though critical of the Church’s hierarchy.
Here is a portion of Guillermoprieto’s article in the NYRB but the whole piece is worth reading.
But for the Church rank-and-file Romero has become an extraordinarily meaningful figure, as a quick Internet search of his name can attest. We can find evidence of this in yet another work intended to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of his death: a documentary film, Monseñor: The Last Journey of Óscar Romero, directed by Ana Carrigan and Juliet Weber, and produced by the Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame, a Catholic university.
English bishops call for penance over abuse
The bishops of England and Wales have issued a statement, calling for Catholics to mark the four Fridays of May with penance and prayer for healing, forgiveness and a renewed dedication.
Statement by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales
Child abuse in the Catholic Church has been such a focus of public attention recently, that we, the Bishops of England and Wales, wish to address this issue directly and unambiguously.
Catholics are members of a single universal body. These terrible crimes, and the inadequate response by some church leaders, grieve us all.
People came “not for the singer, but for the song”
The Pope’s visit drew more people than anticipated, the bishops of Malta and Gozo said in a press conference reviewing the visit today.
Archbishop Paul Cremona OP of Malta said the main protagonists in the story of the Papal visit had been the Maltese people who had come out to greet him in such large numbers. He said the Pope’s visit was a call to the faithful to give witness to their faith and evangelise by incarnating what they believe in “then give it to society at large and that does not depend on the Church as an institution”.
He said: “The Church has to give guidance but it depends, and this is what the Pope said, on every person who accepts this as the Good News. We have to give it from person to person.”
Meanwhile the Bishop of Gozo Mario Grech said God had spoken on Sunday because of all the people who had come out to welcome the Pope. Bishop Grech was surprised by the size of the turnout, which he said showed that there was an inner call to each person. Read the rest of this entry »
Called to a vocation of love and service
At the Waterfront, in a ceremony that was similar to the boat-a-cade in Sydney for World Youth Day 2008, Pope Benedict was brought by boat through the harbour to meet the young people of Malta and Gozo. Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo spoke about the changing country, saying that Malta’s young people had questions to address to the Pope. Using the parable of the rich young man, Bishop Grech echoed his question “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Some of the young people he said needed more support and encouragement than others because:
like the rich young man of the Gospel, some may have built a false sense of security in their rigid observance of the law and ritual norms and refuse a loving commitment to God and neighbour, even at a high personal cost. In such cases there is the hazard that belief turns into an empty religiosity, a matter of culture and tradition rather than a choice of life;
like the rich young man of the Gospel, compelled by the materialistic culture and the pressures of our modern economic system, some are finding it taxing to make choices which would guarantee them a treasure in Heaven;
like the rich young man, since human nature is proud and nourishes illusions of self-sufficiency and autonomy, some do not easily understand that they should allow God to infuse their life with His love by surrendering themselves to Him in complete trust and like St. Paul declare that the love of God compels them on.
A group of young people then addressed their questions and concerns to the Pope. I am going to put up the first one because I think it is worth reading in full: Read the rest of this entry »
Waterfront
Pope Benedict is about to meet the young people.
Anna Arco's Diary 