Today in Church History
676 Donus begins his reign as Catholic Pope replacing Pope Adeodatus II
Today in Church History
1885 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Immortale Dei
1914 Pope Benedict us Xv's encyclical Ad beatissimi, against integrity
1939 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Sertum laetitiae
1956 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Laetamur admodum
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil: Church exists only for evangelisation
Bangalore, India, Nov.01,2007 (CINS/SAR) --Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of the Syro-Malabar Church has called for the removal of barriers impeding the unity of the three Rites within the Catholic Church and the spread of Gospel in India.
“The Church exists only for the reason of evangelisation. There’s no other reason for its existence. I hope all the restrictions on pastoral care and evangelisation and the sharing of the great faith with our fellow countrymen will be removed,” the prelate said, presiding over the golden jubilee celebrations of Dharmaram College, a pontifical institute of theology, philosophy and Canon Law in Bangalore, October 28.
“If these restrictions are gone, all the three Rites can work in close harmony and communion with each other and with renewed energy,” he said hinting at certain curbs placed on the spread of the Syro-Malabar churches.
“Dharmaram has a marvelous growth; it is looking after seven parishes in the Archdiocese of Bangalore, but the restrictions imposed on proper territory in 1896 by the insistence of an apostolic delegate have impacted the growth of the Syro-Malabar Church,” the prelate said.
“If there were no restrictions, the Gospel would have been taken to every nook and corner of this country. There are only 1.8 per cent of Catholics in India. I hope such restrictions are removed and the sons and daughters of Dharmaram are able to spread and share the good news of Jesus Christ with the rest of the country.”
Felicitating the staff and the Dharamaram community, the Cardinal said, “Dharmaram itself was instituted as a garden of virtue, a garden of wisdom. Its main mission is to train priests and missionaries after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And it has been doing its work for fifty years now.
Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram was established at Dharmaram College, the central study house of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, and the first indigenous religious congregation of India. The study house, which was originally founded in 1918 at Chethipuzha, Kerala state, was moved to Bangalore in 1957. Dharmaram was affiliated to the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, December 8, 1965.
Dharmaram can claim its heritage to Thomas Palackal, Thomas Porookam and Blessed Cyriac Elias Chavara. All three had interest in the formation of priests. Dharmaram has been in the forefront of inter-religious dialogue and has produced many bishops who have been great missionaries. Dharmaram has also played an important role in inculturation. Its sister seminaries in Vardha in Maharashtra state and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh state have been in the forefront in the areas of contextualization of theology and inculturation in India.
The laying of the foundation stone for Dharmaram Research Centre marked the two-day jubilee celebrations.
Our Lady of the Rosary, the only Catholic church in Chang Su, becomes a festival of evangelisation
Su Zhou, China, Nov.01,2007 (CINS/Fides) - Thousands participated in the consecration of the renovated Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Yan Gang, Chang Shu city diocese of Su Zhou province of Jiang Su, presided by the Bishop on 13 October with dozens of priests from neighbouring dioceses. The only church in Chang Shu soon to mark its 150th anniversary has a new image, marked with missionary spirit. Today the parish has 15,000 faithful.
Our Lady of the Rosary parish dates to 1853 and was moved a few times until 1861 when it settled where it is now. Chang Shu is well known to Catholics. In 1664 there were 10,000 Catholics It is the birthplace of famous painter Wu Yu Shan born in 1632 and baptised Simon Xavier in 1676, he entered the Jesuit seminary in Macao in 1682. Ordained a priest by China's first Dominican Bishop Gregorio Luo Wen Zao, he evangelised fisherfolk and peasants. He died in 1718.
Jesuit Cardinal Ignatius Gong Pin Mei was the first Bishop of Su Zhou diocese in 1949. But the area was evangelised in the time of Jesuit missionary Fr Matteo Ricci, who visited the town in 1598. Today there are 60,000 Catholics, 17 priests, 12 parishes, 19 places of worship.
Church People in India see communist game in news about 'Criminal' Priests
Kerala, India, Nov.01,1007 (CINS/UCAN) -- Media in Kerala have published a list of 63 "criminal" Christian priests, something Church people see as political scheming by the state's communist government.
In mid-October, television channels and newspapers in the southern Indian state carried the news that 63 priests face criminal charges including murder, attempted murder and immoral trafficking. The accusations also include sexual harassment, fraud and financial mismanagement. The clerics belong to a wide range of Christian denominations, but 83 percent are Catholic.
The police released the list of cases registered across the state to journalist Anil Kumar. The TV journalist told UCA News he applied for the information "out of curiosity," and when the police released it he used it as a story. "It was very interesting," he remarked.
But the story is not that simple, says Charlie Paul, a High Court lawyer and former president of the Kerala unit of the Christian Life Community. He dubs it a media-sponsored campaign against the Church and its clergy.
"It's a planned attack against the Church through blackmailing," Paul told UCA News. The "vicious campaigns" will not impact the laity, much "as they can see through its motives," he added.
Christian groups and communist organizations have been at loggerheads in Kerala since a Marxist-led coalition government headed came to power in July 2006. Church people say the government's policies try to curtail minority rights and take over Christian institutions.
Paul points out the published list "shows a double standard" by mentioning only Christian priests. "What about Hindu priests and Muslim clerics?" he asked.
Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson for the Syro-Malabar Church observed the priests on the list have only been accused of wrongdoing, and their alleged crimes have not been proved in any court of law.
Kerala, a Christian stronghold in India, has more than 16,000 priests. "Only 63 cases are leveled against them," Father Thelakat pointed out, adding that "anybody can accuse a priest and file a case." He lamented that accusers misuse legal provisions to humiliate or blackmail priests.
Like Paul, Father Thelakat maintained that news reports on such matters do not threaten people's faith, because they recognize the "triviality" of the cases. His Church is one of the two Oriental Catholic Churches based in Kerala. They and the Latin-rite Church form the Indian Catholic Church.
Father Ronald M. Varghese of Punalur Latin diocese agreed, citing his own case. He said a group in his diocese filed a police complaint against him after he would not yield to pressure tactics.
"I could prove my innocence because the police investigation was fair, but on many occasions police victimize priests under political influence," he added.
Father Varghese termed it "very unfortunate" that people file complaints against priests "when their selfish interests are not served." In most cases, he noted, it is Christians who go to the police against priests.
Apostolic Carmel Sister Geralda finds such news items "disturbing" and painful. "I don't believe all the cases registered are real. Some may be politically motivated. But if one priest is involved in a crime, it bothers me," she told UCA News.
The local superior lives in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, 2,815 kilometers south of New Delhi.
Syed Ibrahim, a Muslim computer professional who studied in a Church-managed school, does not believe "all priests figured in the list are criminals" and finds it disturbing when media project Christian priests "in a poor light."
The recent focus on alleged priest criminals pained him "as I have high regard for priests and nuns -- they stand for selfless service to humanity." Such news items will destroy the "harmony and respect" people have for religious leaders, he warned.
"We are in the habit of destroying our rich traditions for our personal interests. I think the campaign is the latest in that series. We must give respect and take respect," Ibrahim said.
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