Today in Church History
1801 Pope Pius VII and 1st consul Napoleon sign concordThe Indian Church “sceptical” of the birth register
New Delhi,India,July.16,2007(CINS/AsiaNews) – “I fear this may be an indirect way to control the population of the country and also give the government the necessary community and religious-based statistics of the birth –rate of the different communities in India”. Msgr. Bernard Moras, Chairman of the CBCI Health Care Commission, Archbishop Bernard Moras, was rather sceptical with regards to the proposal of Women and Child Welfare Minister Renuka Chowdhury, according to which pregnant women will register with the Government and will be required to ask its permission to carry out an abortion. The minister maintains that the law will help put an end to the continuous increase in female foeticide and abortions and underlines that it will only be applied in “specific circumstances”, even though it remains unclear what those circumstances are. In India selective abortion has been prohibited by law since 1994: despite this the last national census shows India has only 927 females for every 1,000 males and that the number of males is growing. The Indian Catholic Church fears this may be yet another attempt to impose “birth control”, moreover by legalizing abortion, a practice which is deemed “immoral” and “against life”. Msgr. Moras further underlines that in cases of ‘illegal’ or illegitimate’ pregnancies, do you think that these women will come forward to register their pregnancies. These women who have illegal pregnancies are who are already in distress- will be forced to seek medical assistance from ‘quacks’, thus gravely endangering their lives. The Catholic Church has community centres in the most remote and rural areas and our Religious Sisters, who are trained paramedics, follow up the pregnancy and the live birth ratio in these arrears is very high. Importantly, these community centres are health centres, where the poor of every caste and creed are treated with dignity and absolutely so distinction is made on bases of faith and community. Michelle Fonseca, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, at Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Muncipal General Hospital (LTMG Hospital) widely known as Sion Hospital, instead welcomed this proposal of the Health Ministry: Speaking to AsiaNews Dr. Fonseca noted that “mandating registration of pregnancies will be practical and rational approach to various problems related to pregnancy and delivery”. “In Sion Hospital, every day we have nearly 40 Deliveries (if not more) and many women admitted are ‘in the last stages of pregnancy where the life of both mother and child is in a precarious stage. Daily we see, many high-risk pregnancy’s with serious complications like ruptured uterus, bleeding etc…..so from my point of view. Registration will ensure the basics supplements of iron, calcium, haematinics and primary heath care so vital for the pregnant woman. Importantly, given the practise of female foeticide in the county, with the preference for the male child, the registration we hope should curtail this social evil” A study last year by the British medical journal The Lancet said that India may have lost 10 million unborn girls in the past 20 years, but Indian experts have challenged the number, saying that it is likely closer to 5 million .Today in Church History
1958 Pope Pius XII publishes his 39th and last encyclical Meminisse juvat
1961 Pope John XXIII publishes encyclical Mater et magistrate
Catholic Church alone is one, true church, says Vatican congregation
Vatican City, Jul.14, 2007 (CINS /CatholicOnline) – The Catholic Church is the one, holy, apostolic church of Christ, while other Christian Orthodox and Protestant denominations that “suffer from defects” share elements of “sanctification and of truth,” said the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation.
Released July 10 under the title "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church," the 1,200-word document was signed by U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and congregation secretary Archbishop Angelo Amato, and approved by Pope Benedict XVI before publication.
In the document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on the intent of ecumenical efforts undertaken after the Second Vatican Council more than 40 years ago, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been “erroneous … which in turn give rise to confusion and doubt.”
The document, published in Latin, English, French, Italian German, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish, was issued three days after the papal release of a document that revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by relaxing restrictions on the celebration of the Latin-language Tridentine Mass.
Noting that churches and ecclesial communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church “suffer from defects,” the doctrinal congregation acknowledged that “elements of sanctification and truth” may be present in them.
“It follows that these separated churches and communities … are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation,” the congregation said. “In fact, the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church.”
The doctrinal congregation made clear that Vatican II did not modify but rather clarified and made explicit what may have been uncertain or unclear in the field of ecumenical relations. “The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change” Catholic doctrine on the church, it said, “rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it.”
It said that the Second Vatican Council was clear in stating that Christ’s church “subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him.”
That phrase affirms that the “historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ” are only present in the Catholic Church, the congregation said.
It noted that the Orthodox faith communities are called “churches,” though separate from the Catholic Church, as they have retained apostolic succession, the ordained priesthood and the Eucharist. Because of those close bonds, the congregation said, they merit the title of churches and are seen as “sister churches” of specific Catholic churches.
Yet, Christian communities “born out of the Reformation” do not share that union as they “do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of orders,” the Vatican congregation said.
“These ecclesial communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called churches in the proper sense,” it said.
In a “commentary” issued with the document, the congregation said that “ecumenical dialogue remains one of the priorities of the Catholic Church.”
Yet, it stressed that such dialogue must be founded on “not just mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith.”
The congregation noted that, while "Catholic ecumenism might seem, at first sight, somewhat paradoxical,” the Second Vatican Council has sought to “try to harmonize two doctrinal affirmations” that, despite existent Christian divisions, “the church of Christ continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church” and that “elements of sanctification and truth do exist … in ecclesial communities that are not fully in communion with the Catholic Church."
“The fullness of the Catholic Church, therefore, already exists, but still has to grow in the brethren who are not yet in full communion with it and also in its own members who are sinners.”
New Vatican document affirms centrality of Catholic Church
Vatican City, Jul. 13, 2007 (CINS /CWN) - The Vatican has issued a new doctrinal statement confirming the essential role of the Catholic Church in God's plan for salvation.
The short document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), presented in question-and-answer format, addresses questions about the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that the Church founded by Jesus Christ "subsists" in the Catholic Church.
The CDF affirms that while other Christian bodies can play a role in bringing people to salvation, it is in the Catholic Church that "the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth." The Vatican document makes a further distinction between Orthodox churches that have preserved valid sacraments, and should be recognized as "sister churches," and Protestant groups that have not preserved the Eucharistic presence.
The document, entitled "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church," is approved by Pope Benedict XVI and signed by Cardinal William Levada and Archbishop Angelo Amato, the prefect and secretary, respectively, of the CDF.
The full text of the document is available on the Vatican web site. (Scroll down for the English-language version.)
The document opens with the observation that the teachings of Vatican II "contributed in a decisive way to the renewal of Catholic ecclesiology." The teachings of the Council encouraged still further reflection on the nature of the Church, the CDF notes. However, in some cases these reflections have been marred by "erroneous interpretation which in turn give rise to confusion and doubt" about the Church's teaching.
In the first of 5 questions posed and answered, the CDF document asks, "Did the Second Vatican Council change the Catholic doctrine on the Church?" The answer begins with a straightforward statement: "The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it."
Questions #2 and #3 address the teaching of the conciliar document Lumen Gentium (doc) (#8) that the Church of Christ "subsists" in the Catholic Church. The CDF document explains: "It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them." Nevertheless, only the Catholic Church is characterized by identifying marks of Christ's Church: being one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
The Christian communities separated from the Catholic Church, the CDF continues, "though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation." These communities can act as instruments of salvation, because of their partial participation in "that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church."
In the 4th and 5th questions that complete the document, the CDF draws a clear distinction between the Orthodox and Protestant denominations. The Eastern churches, the document notes, "have true sacraments and above all – because of the apostolic succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist." They are therefore sister churches, even if they fall short of universality because of their separation from the Holy See.
The Protestant communities, on the other hand, "do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders." Because these communities "have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery," the CDF writes, they "cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called "churches" in the proper sense.