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22 Mar 2015 - Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

In Saint Pope John Paul II’s final years, his dramatic physical decline and the ever more visible and enfeebling effects of Parkinson’s disease led some to call for him to step down and let a younger, more vigorous man lead the worldwide church. They claimed he was no longer up to the demands of the job. But they missed the central grace of John Paul II’s last years—his visible, embodied witness to the suffering of all humanity. Like a living crucifix JPII—as he was affectionately known—walked through his final years, head bowed by weakness but also bowed in constant prayer for all humanity as he carried the pain of many on his hunched shoulders. How well we could relate to him, his suffering body reflecting the suffering in each of our bodies—if not at this moment or in times past, then surely at some moment in our future. What finer witness could there be, what fuller realization of the Body of Christ?

Authors Daniel Grippo

Pope John Paul II

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Controversial statements and reinstatements

01 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"World Day for Consecrated Life" celebrated this year on the 8th is intended "to help the entire church to esteem ever more greatly" those in religious life, Pope John Paul II said at its inception in 1997. This week, however, controversy surrounding the reinstatement of an excommunicated religious leader may overshadow the celebration. Jewish groups from around the world and Catholics from a number of quarters said they were shocked by Pope Benedict XVI's decision to overturn the excommunication of British-born Richard Williamson, one of four traditionalist Catholic bishops whose excommunications were lifted last Saturday. Williamson has made statements denying the full extent of the Holocaust of European Jews. The move is a "serious blow for Jewish-Vatican relations and a slap in the face of the late Pope John Paul II who made such remarkable efforts to eradicate and combat anti-Semitism," said Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for the New York-based American Jewish Committee. Williamson told Swedish television in an interview broadcast a week ago: "I believe there were no gas chambers" and that no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, rather than 6 million. In attempting to heal the rift, Benedict expressed his "full and unquestionable solidarity" with Jews during his weekly audience on Wednesday. The German-born pope said the attempt to exterminate Jews in the Holocaust should remain a warning to all humanity. Recalling his visit to the Auschwitz death camp in 2006, Benedict condemned the "pitiless killing of millions of Jews, innocent victims of blind racial and religious hatred." Elan Steinberg, vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants, said: "Clearly the damage remains. As welcome as the pope's remarks are they contain a glaring omission, the demand by the Vatican that Williamson renounce his heinous views." Elie Wiesel, the death camp survivor, author, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Benedict had given credence to "the most vulgar aspect of anti-Semitism" by rehabilitating Williamson. On Wednesday Israel's chief rabbinate severed ties with the Vatican in protest of the pope's reinstatement of Williamson. The Jewish state's highest religious authority sent a letter to the Holy See expressing "sorrow and pain" at the papal decision. "It will be very difficult for the chief rabbinate of Israel to continue its dialogue with the Vatican as before," the letter said. Chief rabbis of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews were parties to the letter. Source: Articles by Philip Pullella for Reuters, Ian Deitch for the Associated Press, and Ecumenical News International

society of pope pius x john paul ii benedict xvi richard williamson david rosen american jewish committee holocaust elan steinberg elie wiesel chief rabbinate world day for consecrated life
Catholics can indulge once again

15 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In Moses' time, we learn in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Leviticus, lepers were instructed to cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" Catholics who may feel "unclean of spirit" are being offered a different option these days: plenary indulgences, which are reportedly making a comeback in an increasing number of dioceses worldwide after having fallen out of favor decades ago. Like the Latin Mass and meatless Fridays, the indulgence was one of the traditions that faded from mainstream Catholic practice in the 1960s and 1970s in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Its revival is seen in some quarters as part of a conservative resurgence that has brought some quiet changes and some highly controversial ones, such as Pope Benedict XVI's recent decision to lift the excommunications of four schismatic bishops who challenged the council's reforms. The return of indulgences began with Pope John Paul II, who authorized bishops to offer them in 2000 as part of the celebration of the church's third millennium. But the offers have increased markedly under his successor Benedict XVI, who has made plenary indulgences part of church celebrations nine times in the past three years. According to the websites of a number of U.S. dioceses, Catholics can receive an indulgence by fulfilling the basic requirements of going to confession, receiving Holy Communion, saying a prayer for the pope, and achieving "complete detachment from any inclination to sin." Praying for others and performing acts of charity are also part of gaining an indulgence. But the return of this practice has raised questions, especially for Lutherans, whose churches were born in part from controversy over indulgences. "It has been something of a mystery to us as to why now," said Reverend Michael Root, dean of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. The renewal of indulgences, he said, has "not advanced" the dialogue. "Our main problem has always been the question of quantifying God's blessing," Root said. "Confessions have been down for years and the church is very worried about it," said Father Tom Reese, S.J., former editor of the Jesuit weekly America. In a secularized culture of pop psychology and self-help, Reese said, "the church wants the idea of 'personal sin' back in the equation. Indulgences are a way of reminding people of the importance of penance. "The good news is we're not selling them anymore," he added. Source: An article by Paul Vitello for the New York Times

Penance confession benedict xvi john paul ii plenary indulgences indulgences second vatican council michael root thomas reese
Bishops promote reconciliation between U.S. and Cuba

23 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the shorter version of Sunday's second reading we are counseled to "live in love, as Christ loved us." Just in time for hurricane season, a delegation of U.S. Roman Catholic bishops with charitable giving on its agenda is visiting Cuba this week. The bishops were following up on hurricane recovery projects funded by the church last year, and they also called for Cuba and the U.S. to improve ties. Relations between the Cold War foes have thawed in recent months, with Cubans residing in the U.S. now more easily traveling and sending money to Cuba. However there are no signs yet that the U.S. trade embargo on the island in place since 1962 will be lifted. "There's about 50 years of lack of confidence on both sides. That's a lot of history to overcome, but for the good of people who are separated, and suffering because of that separation, we would hope that both sides listen to their better angels," said Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida at a press conference in Havana on Tuesday. "The important thing is not to lose the opportunity of increased closeness and understanding between our two governments. I believe that the church, here and there, should advocate for this," Wenski said in Spanish at the press conference. Wenski is part of the delegation of bishops that includes Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Oscar Cantu, auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, Texas. O'Malley, who said he had visited Cuba several times over the past 20 years, pointed out there has been a "notable improvement" of ties between Havana and the church since Pope John Paul II's visit in January 1998. "Now we see that the church has more space. We would like for it to widen more," he said. In April President Obama acknowledged that Washington's policies toward Cuba, including a decades-old embargo, had failed, but said that issues such as political prisoners, freedom of speech, and democracy in Cuba could not be brushed aside in any new approach toward the country. Source: Articles by Jeff Franks for Reuters and Agence France Presse

Pope John Paul II bishops barack obama cuba us bishops thomas wenski sean omalley oscar cantu
Man who tried to kill pope in 1981 set free

24 Jan 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus came to “proclaim liberty to captives,” we hear in this Sunday’s gospel. The man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981 has been released from prison in Turkey. Mehmet Ali Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison for shooting John Paul and another 10 years in Turkey for the earlier murder of a newspaper editor. Agca’s motives for attempting to kill the pope remain a mystery, although when he was arrested he said he was acting alone. Over the years he changed his story a number of times and gave often contradictory statements. There have been long-standing questions about Agca’s mental health, based on his frequent outbursts and statements that he was a new messiah. He offered to sell his story to the media when he was released from prison yesterday. But hopes that he could be relied on to reveal details of an alleged Soviet-era plot behind the St. Peter’s Square assassination attempt receded after he issued a statement calling himself the “Christ eternal.” In 1983 John Paul announced he had forgiven Agca after visiting him in jail. He was pardoned at the pope’s request in June 2000 and extradited to Turkey. Source: An article by BBC News and The Times Online (UK)

john paul ii mehmet ali agca assassination
Milwaukee archbishop urges respect for union rights

27 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Sunday reading from the Book of Isaiah relates how a troubled Zion believed the Lord had forgotten and forsaken the people. The archbishop of Milwaukee is urging supporters of legislation to limit or eliminate collective bargaining and other union rights not to forget history or forsake union workers at a time of financial crisis. Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki issued a statement expressing concern about such legislation over the weekend. Quoting Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II, Listecki came down squarely in favor of workers' rights. "Hard times do not nullify the moral obligation each of us has to respect the legitimate rights of workers," Listecki said. Listecki noted that in his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI said, "The repeated calls issued within the church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past." The archbishop also took note of what Pope John Paul II said in his 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens, that a union "remains a constructive factor of social order and solidarity, and it is impossible to ignore it." "It is especially in times of crisis that new forms of cooperation and open communication become essential," Listecki said. "We request that lawmakers carefully consider the implications of this proposal and evaluate it in terms of its impact on the common good. We also appeal to everyone--lawmakers, citizens, workers, and labor unions--to move beyond divisive words and actions and work together, so that Wisconsin can recover in a humane way from the current fiscal crisis." Source: An article by Catholic News Service

recession benedict xvi john paul ii caritas in veritate unions laborem exercens workers rights jerome listecki
Liberation theology finds some liberation?

22 Sep 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading this Sunday makes clear that the God of Israel cares about the fate of those who are poor. Echoing that concern, Pope Francis has called on the Catholic Church to be “a poor church for the poor.” A progressive theological current that emphasizes the church’s closeness to the poor and the marginalized but was subject to decades of hostility and censure is now finding increasing favor in the Vatican under Francis, who has made plans to meet with Peruvian theologian and Dominican friar Gustavo Gutierrez, considered the founder of liberation theology.The announcement for the meeting came on Sept. 8 from Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, during the launch of the Italian edition of a book he had originally coauthored with Gutierrez in 2004.It’s a remarkable turnaround for a movement that swelled in popularity but was later suppressed during the pontificates of John Paul II and his longtime doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI.Liberation theology arose as a Catholic response to the Marxist movements that fought Latin America’s military dictatorships in the 1960s and ’70s. It criticized the church’s close relations, including often overt support, with the regimes. In his highly influential 1971 book A Theology of Liberation, Gutierrez argued that the church should have a “preferential option for the poor,” following the example of Jesus.In the 1980s the Vatican’s doctrinal office, headed by Ratzinger, condemned liberation theology for its “serious ideological deviations.” Yet it was Benedict himself who appointed Mueller as his successor at the CDF, despite the fact that the latter was a well-known Gutierrez admirer.Though never an overt supporter of liberation theology, Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has ushered in a new era in which liberation theology can no longer “remain in the shadows to which it has been relegated for some years, at least in Europe,” said the Vatican’s semiofficial newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.In his book written with Gutierrez, Mueller describes liberation theology as one of the “most significant currents of Catholic theology of the 20th century” which helped the church bridge the divide between “earthly happiness and ultra-earthly salvation.”During the book launch in the northern Italian city of Mantua, Mueller also announced that the Vatican doctrinal office has given the green light to proceed with the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 for his opposition to the military dictatorship in El Salvador.Homily hint: However it is expressed, the call to live in solidarity with those who are poor as well as to work to ease the burdens of poverty go out to every Christian. How can all of us imitate God’s special consideration for the poor? Source: An article by Alessandro Speciale for Religion News Service

Pope Francis benedict xvi john paul ii gustavo gutierrez gerhard ludwig mueller liberation theology
Homily stories

11 Dec 2011 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

As a young man, the late Pope John Paul II studied acting at Krakow's Jagiellonian University, and later as a seminarian he was a member of the underground Rhapsodic theater company. As pope, in his "Letter to Artists," he called on artists to create "epiphanies of beauty." The Holy Wood Acting Studio in California has responded to the pope's words. Their mission, they say, "is to prepare our actors to take a leading role in guiding . . . media to that moral center that, in the past, proved that fictional drama can be honest, entertaining, popular, important, and influential." The scripture readings for this weekend speak of joy, renewal, and transformation. The school's courses have these qualities in mind through their emphasis on "personal and professional growth and development, not limiting such growth to acting potential but also transforming the trainees into leaders in their family lives and community as well." By helping actors-in-training to develop their spiritual as well as artistic and spiritual gifts, the Holy Wood school heeds John Paul II's challenge to "remember that you, artists, are the custodians of beauty in the world."

Authors Joel Schorn

Pope John Paul II creativity

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Homily stories

20 Mar 2011 - Second Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Most people can pinpoint the moment when the attraction they felt for someone turned to love. It usually has to do with seeing the person in a new light. As one man described it, "One night I watched as a woman who had been my good friend for many years gently stroked her dying mother's forehead. I was struck by the sheer tenderness and beauty of the act. I knew then that my feelings for this woman were forever changed." Whether it is a simple act of kindness or a bold or courageous gesture, something happens that brings the person's true character into relief, and the enlightenment leads to love. Jesus' Transfiguration is one of those moments of light--a luminous mystery--as Pope John Paul II termed it, in which Jesus is glorified--transfigured--before the eyes of his chosen disciples. They see with utter clarity who Jesus truly is: The son of the living God, and they are filled with awe and a new level of love. Their lives are changed forever. We cannot command enlightenment any more than we can force ourselves to fall in love. But we can be attentive as we walk with others. The more we notice the small details about our neighbors and God, the more likely we'll be awake when the big reveal takes place and we can see these people for who they truly are: Beings worthy of our unconditional love.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

Transfiguration Pope John Paul II fall in love

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Quotes

31 Dec 2017 - Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Cycle B

It is necessary to go back to seeing the family as the sanctuary of life. The family is indeed sacred: It is the place in which life—the gift of God—can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth. —Pope John Paul II in Centesimus Annus, 1991 Jesus is the only person in recorded history whose parents thought he was a child of God rather than their own creative project and possession. —Polly Berrien Berends in Gently Lead

family polly berrien berends Pope John Paul II

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