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Vatican condemns anti-Semitic remarks

13 Jan 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the Psalm 29 option this Sunday we respond, “The Lord will bless his people with peace.” The Jewish people, to whom this promise was made so many centuries ago, under no circumstances can be labeled as “enemies” of the Catholic Church, the Vatican affirmed on Monday, repudiating comments by the head of the breakaway traditionalist group, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).The Vatican’s chief spokesperson, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., said that it was “meaningless” and “unacceptable” to label Jews as “enemies” of the Catholic Church. “Both Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II personally engaged in dialogue with Jews,” he said. As a sign of the commitment, Lombardi noted the two popes’ visits to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, Judaism’s most sacred site, and to synagogues in Rome and elsewhere.The Vatican reassurance came after Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the SSPX, said on Dec. 28 that “the enemies of the church: the Jews, the Masons, the modernists,” were opposing the group’s reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church. At Benedict XVI’s prompting, the Vatican in 2009 opened talks to repair the decades-long breach with the SSPX, focusing on the group’s rejection of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which among many changes revolutionized the church’s relations with Judaism.Anti-Semitic strains within the SSPX have been a major headache for the Vatican; shortly after Benedict lifted the 1988 excommunications of four SSPX bishops it emerged that one of them, Richard Williamson, was a vocal denier of the Holocaust.In a statement the American branch of the SSPX dismissed the “false accusations of anti-Semitism or hate speech” made against the group. It said the SSPX leader used the word “enemies” as a “religious concept,” referring to “any group or religious sect which opposes the mission of the Catholic Church and her efforts to fulfill it: the salvation of souls.”The Vatican is currently awaiting the SSPX’s response to a reconciliation offer submitted last June. Leaked SSPX documents slammed the proposal as “clearly unacceptable,” but the Vatican signaled in October that it is willing to give the traditionalists “additional time for reflection and study.”Homily hint: Anti-Semitism is like one of those virulent biological diseases that humanity must continue to fight in order to finally eradicate. We aren’t there yet, and there is no cure-all vaccine to inoculate the public. Alert your congregation to the ever-present risk of contagion. Sources: Articles by Alessandro Speciale for Religion News Service and Carol Glatz for Catholic News Service

benedict xvi society of st pius x jews federico lombardi anti-semitism sspx bernard fellay

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The mystery of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370

16 Mar 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, Peter, James, and John experienced the mystery of the Transfiguration of Jesus and heard a voice from the heavens that filled them with fear. As the mystery of the disappearance of an airliner over the weekend deepened this week, each passing day confirmed the worst fears of family members and friends that loved ones may be lost forever.As we go to press, the Chinese government said its satellites had spotted several large white objects floating in the ocean that could be parts of the aircraft. The objects are in a location consistent with the flight path of the airline.But caution is called for. Earlier false leads failed to find evidence of the jetliner, leaving experts to puzzle over how a Boeing 777 with 239 people aboard could have vanished without a trace.With so little concrete evidence to go on, aviation experts initially explored a number of plausible scenarios to explain the loss of the plane, and investigators said they could not yet conclusively rule out almost any potential cause, including terrorism, hijacking, crew malfeasance, pilot error, or mechanical failure.International police authorities did say on Tuesday, however, that two passengers known to have used stolen passports to board the disappeared jet on Saturday were unlikely to be linked to terrorist groups, echoing an assessment by the Malaysian police that one of them was a 19-year-old Iranian who wanted to migrate to Germany.The passenger, Pouria Nourmohammadi Mehrdad, who was using a passport that had been stolen from an Austrian man, was traveling to Germany, where he was to meet his mother, said Khalid Abu Bakar, the inspector general of the Malaysian police. “We are in contact with his mother,” Khalid said at a news conference.Homily hint: While the mystery of a missing airline certainly captures attention, an astonishing 2,300 adults and children are reported missing each day in the U.S. Runaways and those with psychiatric problems account for a large percentage of those people. If you want to help, a good place to start would be the website of The National Center of Missing & Exploited Children. Source: An article by Thomas Fuller, Jane Perlez, Alan Cowell, and Eric Schmitt for the New York Times

plane crash malaysia airlines disappearances

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Loved ones left adrift in Malaysian 370’s disappearance

20 Apr 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Losing confidence in false authorities is not a bad position from which to discover what the truth is,” PrepareTheWord scripture commentator Alice Camille says in encouraging us to seek the deep truth revealed by the empty tomb this Easter Sunday. As the search for Malaysian Airlines flight 370 moves deep underwater, the loved ones of those aboard the vanished airliner have lost confidence in Malaysian authorities in their search for the truth.Despite millions of dollars and more than a month of searching, the international effort into what happened to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has found few answers. Australian authorities Monday announced that the aerial search for debris would end and that an unmanned submersible, called the Bluefin 21, would begin slowly building high-resolution maps of the ocean floor, a process that could take months to complete.Most of the passengers on board the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing were Chinese. More than 200 relatives of those passengers continue to meet daily with Malaysian officials at the Lido hotel in the suburbs of Beijing. Steve Wang’s mother was on board. He said the experience has unified passengers’ relatives. “We are not only friends, we are family.”Australian authorities have cautioned that the investigation could take years and that the black box flight data recorders may never be found. Passengers’ loved ones say they will wait at the hotel until they have answers.“There are some obvious mistakes that were made from the beginning and they should find out who is responsible and who should be blamed for it,” said Wang.Homily hint: It is said that humans can bear any loss as long as they can make sense of it. The families and friends of those missing on Malaysian Airlines MH370 have not even received the consolation of knowing how and where—even perhaps if—their loved ones' lives have ended. Keep their pain in your prayers in a special way this Easter season. Source: An article by Shannon Von Sant for VOA News

malaysia airlines flight mh370

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For January 4: Mystery of missing plane causes continued pain

28 Dec 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Our gospel for this Sunday’s celebration of the Epiphany speaks of how the magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem in search of the newborn king in order to offer their gifts. King Herod also wanted the child found, though for different reasons. Despite the best search efforts of many nations these past nine months, the remains of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which mysteriously disappeared without a trace on March 8, have yet to be found. Many wonder if they ever will be found.It is said that the Beijing-bound plane went off the radar within a few minutes of its take-off from Kuala Lumpur airport. Soon after, troops were deployed as a part of multinational search mission. However, no traces or debris have been discovered.Despite being the largest and most expensive search in aviation history, there has been no confirmation of any flight debris, resulting in many unofficial theories about its disappearance. On March 24, the Malaysian government, noting that the final location determined by the satellite communication was far from any possible landing sites, concluded that "flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."At the time of its disappearance, and if the presumed loss of all lives aboard is confirmed, Flight MH370 was the deadliest aviation incident in the history of Malaysia Airlines and the deadliest involving a Boeing 777. While the disappearance continues to baffle researchers, a new report claims that Malaysian authorities neglected the information from British satellite company Inmarsat, which was received in the initial days of the plane's disappearance.Homily hint: In the aftermath of the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane, “experts” confidently assured the public the plane would be found in a matter of days or weeks. Nine months later, the tragedy serves as a humbling reminder that there are indeed limits to human knowledge and technological know-how. Only God sees and knows all. Source: Articles by International Business Times (Australia) and Wikipedia

Humility mystery malaysia airlines

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Searching for the truth

19 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus appears soon after the Resurrection in the midst of a gathering of the disciples. After a five-year investigation, the European Union issued a complaint against the kinds of results that appear in Google searches, charging the internet giant with skewing results so that its own shopping service appears ahead of those of competitors. The ruling could change the rules for business online. Homily hint: It’s a fact of life that businesses large and small try to influence and sway our behavior with their messages. Fair enough, as long as the playing field is level. But without good government oversight, the level of manipulation could get out of hand. Support responsible regulation of business in the interests of fair play and ethical business. For more on the EU suit against Google, see: EU accuses Google of hurting consumers, competitors in Web search case; What Is at the Heart of Complaint Against Google?; EU accuses Google of abusing Internet search dominance

business ethics government regulation fair play

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Soccer honchos clearly out of bounds

31 May 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

It is made clear in this Sunday’s first reading that when it comes to the law of the Lord, Moses expects us to “keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today.” Apparently officials of soccer’s world governing board FIFA never got the memo. Fourteen people, including high-ranking FIFA officials, were charged Wednesday in a more than $150-million racketeering and fraud scheme that prosecutors said had corrupted the world’s most popular sport while lining defendants’ pockets with millions of dollars. The charges, which coincided with raids in Zurich, Switzerland, and Miami, followed a three-year FBI investigation into alleged crimes that date back more than 20 years. Homily hint: Part of the appeal of sporting events is the notion of the level playing field, where everyone starts off with the same chance at doing well. When the deck is stacked and money corrupts a game, the sporting spirit is violated. Be a voice for honesty and integrity in sporting events grand and small. For more on the soccer scandal, see: 'FIFA is imploding': 14 charged in corruption probe; at least 8 arrested

cheating sports fair play

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FIFA fiefdom crumbles

07 Jun 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The readings for this Sunday’s Corpus Christi celebration are all about ritual. Last week, in an election many characterized as an elaborately staged ritual, a defiant FIFA chief Sepp Blatter was reelected to a fifth term despite the world soccer organization being the subject of worldwide corruption investigations. Tuesday, a chastened Blatter abruptly announced he will resign, as law enforcement officials in the United States and worldwide intensified their corruption investigations and confirmed Blatter is being investigated. Homily hint: Sports programs play a central dynamic of our children’s upbringing and socialization. Values such as teamwork, fair play, and hard work are transmitted through participation in such programs. When adults cheat, it has a corrosive effect on society. Support fair play and honesty in all endeavors, sporting and otherwise. For more on Blatter’s resignation and FIFA’s problems, see: Interpol issues alerts for six after blatter says he'll step down

Honesty integrity fair play

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The power of play

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

We learn it as children, but then we forgot: The power of play. The joy of taking on roles we can only imagine, of stepping outside ourselves. It is good, of course, that we grow into mature adults—that’s essential for us to become true disciples and not merely believers. But sometimes we “throw the baby out with the bathwater,” so to speak. We need to recover and hold onto that imagination. It is the sheer playfulness and delight of children that is close to God’s plan for us as creatures and which need not be lost to us as adults. It is really the whole point of God’s plan in some way, isn’t it: to restore the lost innocence of the true relationship between creature and Creator? It’s part of the Reign of God proclaimed by Jesus—the Kingdom that is both now (in the Resurrection of Jesus) and not yet (in the final coming of the new heavens and new earth preached by the prophets, by Jesus, by the epistles, and in the Book of Revelation). Only a vigorous religious imagination, inspired by the experience of God and springing from a living practice of faith, can point us to our truest selves. Maybe that’s why we don’t pray as we wish we did, or worship always with the heart we desire, or connect with others in the way that Jesus showed. Maybe we see it all as so much work that can be put off or avoided—thinking like the adults we are. What if instead we saw the life to which we are called as play and the Holy Spirit as our constant playmate? Let’s go out and play in the fields of the Lord! © 2010, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

playfulness

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Homily stories

20 Sep 2009 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

There are some who play because they have a sheer love of the game. But they are few and far between. And then there are those who play to win. And for too many, that means winning at all costs. Is there any wonder why we find ourselves in such a competitive world? At work, in the gym, with our neighbors and friends, sometimes the competition can overwhelm us. Who will get the new position at work? Why do I have to win the tennis game? Does my car have to be better than the one in the next driveway? Where does it all begin? Go to the park and watch children playing. It doesn’t matter the game—soccer, T-ball, football, whatever. Watch some of the coaches. Listen to some of the parents. It has become “win at all costs.” Is there any wonder that when these children grow up all they will know is competition? The irony is, when you leave children alone to play, they seldom put the pressure on themselves that adults do. They remain children. Having fun is more important than winning. Jesus holds up children as examples for us. The more we take unhealthy competition out of our lives, the more we will be able to enjoy what we are doing, grow from it, and, as Christians, help one another so we can all succeed.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

Children play competition

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Transform the world as adult disciples of Christ

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

WHAT IS “LAY MINISTRY”? Is it what the director of religious education or the youth minister does? No! Ministry means service, and service is something we all do. Yet when Catholics are surveyed about lay ministry, they tend to name what unordained professionals do in church or a church setting. Depending on how one counts, there may well be more than 60,000 of this kind of minister in the country. There are more than 60 million of the kind that the term lay minister really refers to—Catholics who are living their faith in the world. This is why official churchspeak calls paid professional ministers by that infelicitous term “LEM,” or lay ecclesial minister. The point about service, after all, is not so much what we do in church, but what we do outside of church. That’s how the world gets transformed. And that’s what lay ministers do: transform the world as adult disciples of Christ. Words and phrases are important, because they shape how we see the world. Perhaps the most noteworthy power God gave Adam in the creation story, after all, was the power to name. In our Catholic tradition, it is remarkable how important the right words can be. The particular words and phrases, shapes how we experience the world and empowers—or restricts—us as actors in the world. To what degree does imagining lay ministry as something that is only for those in church restrict us from truly acting on our faith as the world-transforming ministers we are called to be? Probably about as much as imagining that God only has a “vocation,” or special calling, for those who turn to priesthood or religious life. In the year 2003, about 645,426 people were confirmed as Catholics. If only about 544 go on to be ordained as priests, the number ordained in 2003, does that mean that almost 645,000 of these Catholics have no calling in life, no vocation? Perhaps it means that their vocation is to lay ministry as defined above. Words are powerful. If we don’t name a reality, we can’t make it happen. © 2005, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

lay ministry lay ministers Service

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