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Grave doubts resolved

21 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's reading from the Letter to the Romans speaks of the revelation of a mystery kept secret for long ages. After DNA testing resolved the 400-year mystery surrounding the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish bishop who organized the successful search for the remains suggested that the discovery could help resolve tensions between science and religion. "During [Copernicus'] own lifetime, there were Catholics and Protestants who sympathized with him, but also those from both churches who rejected his vision of the world," said Rev. Jacek Jezierski, an auxiliary bishop in Poland's Warmia archdiocese. "The conflict between interpretations of Holy Scripture and empirical observation resulted from a great misunderstanding, which we've gradually moved away from." The breakthrough came after the discovery of two hairs in a book with notes made by Copernicus, the father of modern astronomy. DNA from the hair matched that of a skeleton in an unmarked grave found four years ago in the chancel of Frombork Cathedral in northern Poland, where Copernicus had served as a priest. Source: Articles by Kate Connolly for Guardian.co.uk and by Ecumenical News International

dna nicolaus copernicus science and religion jacek jezierski astronomy frombork cathedral

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Quite a following

29 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of service to his mission when he says, “Whoever serves me must follow me . . . .” There is growing interest in “following Jesus” by way of Catholic religious life, according to results from the most recent survey conducted by VocationMatch.com, the leading online religious vocation discernment website. Sixty-nine percent of the communities responding to the website’s annual “Survey on Trends in Religious Vocations” reported increased inquiries into religious life. Discerners—those interested in religious life—are primarily under 40 years old and say they are looking at religious life because of a desire for deeper spirituality. Most are quite serious about exploring religious life, and nearly 20 percent plan to enter religious formation in the next 12 months. In addition to their desire for a deeper spirituality and a life of faithfulness to the church, discerners say they are most drawn to a particular religious community by its prayer life and community living. A significant 35 percent ranked justice and peace outreach as essential. Celibacy, a life of service, and living simply are all perceived as more challenging to this year’s crop of discerners than last year’s. Prayer and spiritual direction continue to rank as the most essential element in making a decision about religious life, and the discipline of prayer remains the greatest perceived challenge in living as a religious priest, sister, or brother. “This information is vital to the life of the Catholic Church and the future of religious life,” commented Holy Cross Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., executive director the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) in Chicago. The NRVC and its publishing partner TrueQuest Communications annually survey discerners who have completed profiles on VocationMatch.com. Ninety percent of discerners say their inquiries into religious life are made easier because of access to information about religious life on the Internet. “With the dawn of instant and anonymous information-gathering via the Internet, we’ve begun to see a steady increase in inquiries about religious life, which we expect will translate into more vocations over the next decade,” said Patrice Tuohy, executive editor of VISION Vocation Guide and VocationMatch.com. Not surprisingly, those discerning a call to religious life still consider personal contact with someone in religious life as the most essential resource for gathering information about vocations (53 percent). However, “Come and See” weekends ranked high on every age group’s list (42 percent) as did working with a counselor or spiritual director (38 percent). A religious community’s website ranked next, above vocation directors, parish priests, parents, and friends, and 58 percent rated vocation-related websites as either very important or essential to their information-gathering. Source: TrueQuest Communications and VocationMatch.com. The full results of the survey are available online.

vocations vocationmatchcom survey on trends in religious vocations religious life discerners paul bednarczyk truequest communications patrice tuohy

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High time high crimes were punished

12 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Easter reading from 1 Corinthians encourages us to celebrate the paschal feast "not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." At the end of a trial in Peru designed to uncover the truth about atrocities committed by a secret police unit during the 1990s, former President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty Tuesday of mass murder and kidnapping, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty of human rights abuses in his own country. The 70-year-old former agronomy professor, who during a decade in office brought Peru back from the brink of political and economic collapse, was found guilty of ordering massacres in the Barrios Altos area of Lima in 1991 and at La Cantuta University in 1992 that left 25 dead. He was also convicted in the 1992 abductions of a journalist and businessman. Fujimori emerged from political obscurity in 1990 to win the presidency amid national crisis, prevailing against entrenched politicians and novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, only to flee the country in 2000 as a corruption scandal unfolded. The massacres were carried out by the so-called Colina group, a secret police unit that acted as a death squad. Fujimori maintained in emotional testimony last week that he was unaware of the group's activities and that it was under the command of disgraced former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos. But the court found that there was "no doubt" Fujimori authorized the creation of the unit. The kidnapping charges involved the 1992 abductions of businessman Samuel Dyer and journalist Gustavo Gorriti, a vocal critic of Fujimori's decision to shut down the Peruvian Congress and courts during a state of emergency. "This court declares that all four charges have been proved beyond all reasonable doubt," presiding Judge Cesar San Martin told a hushed courtroom. The guilty verdicts were hailed by victims' families and human rights activists in Peru and abroad. Francisco Soberon, leader of the Aprodeh human rights group in Lima, which led the legal campaign to bring Fujimori to trial, said, "They couldn't shut us up. . . . Our objective is to achieve full justice, remembrance, and reparations." Source: Articles by Adriana Leon and Chris Kraul for the Los Angeles Times

peru francisco soberon cesar san martin gustavo gorriti samuel dyer vladimiro montesinos death squads colina group kidnapping murder alberto fujimori aprodeh

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Vocation study reveals changing face and habits of new entrants

16 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's psalm seems ready-made for those who in recent years have chosen to "taste and see" for themselves what Catholic religious life is like. In keeping with the psalmist's desire to bless and praise the Lord at all times, a landmark vocations study reveals that newer recruits place a high priority on shared prayer and worship, communal living, and Catholic identity. The newest generation of religious priests, brothers, sisters, and nuns are more ethnically diverse than their predecessors and also drawn to more traditional expressions of piety, according to the "Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life" conducted by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) for the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC). "We've heard anecdotally that the youngest people coming to religious life are distinctive, and they really are," said Sister Mary Bendyna, executive director of CARA. "They're more attracted to a traditional style of religious life, where there is community living, common prayer, having Mass together, praying the Liturgy of the Hours together. They are much more likely to say fidelity to the church is important to them. And they really are looking for communities where members wear habits," said Bendyna. "This younger generation is seeking an identity, a religious identity as well as a Catholic identity," said Brother Paul Bednarczyk, executive director of the Chicago-based NRVC, a professional organization of Catholic religious vocation directors. "Symbolism, images, and ritual are all very important to this generation, and they want to give witness to their faith." The study also found that non-Hispanic whites account for 94 percent of current nuns and priests but only 58 percent of those in the process of joining orders, including 21 percent who are Hispanic, 14 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, and 6 percent African or African American. In addition, the study revealed that the graying of American religious is more pronounced than many Catholics might have realized. Ninety-one percent of nuns and 75 percent of priests are 60 or older, and most of the rest are at least 50. And finding new members remains a struggle for many orders. Thirty-four percent of women's orders and 22 percent of men's orders surveyed had no candidates. Almost half the orders that do have someone on the early path toward his or her vows have no more than one or two in the pipeline. Bednarczyk drew reason to hope from the fact that 43 percent of those in the early stages of joining an order are under 30. "Younger people are re-looking at religious life as a viable life option," he said. "It does speak of a future." A full summary and review of study results, as well as a list of best practices that foster vocations, can be found at the NRVC's website, www.nrvc.net. Source: Articles by Eric Gorksi for the Associated Press and Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times

vocations cara studies national religious vocation conference nrvc mary bendyna religious orders study of recent vocations to religious life paul bednarczyk religious life center for applied research in the apostolate

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The truth has set him free--after 30 years in prison

09 Jan 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The servant of the Lord brings justice and freedom to prisoners, the first reading informs us this Sunday. A 30-year-old DNA sample finally brought exoneration and a measure of justice to a Texas man wrongfully convicted of kidnapping, rape, and robbery charges in a 1979 crime. After having served more than 30 years in jail, Cornelius Dupree was cleared of the crime Tuesday. State District Judge Don Adams declared Dupree "free to go," to the cheers of supporters who included others who had had their convictions overturned in Texas and a former cellmate who attended the hearing. Dupree, 51, had been out on parole since July, but was determined to clear his name after years of proclaiming he was not guilty. The DNA test results proving his innocence came out two weeks after he was paroled. Dupree could have been released earlier if he had admitted guilt. But like many of those who have been absolved from a crime, he refused to do so. "Words really won't make up for what I have lost," Dupree said at a press conference following the hearing. "I lost both of my parents. I just feel that the system needs to be fixed." Perhaps seeking some of the peace with which the Lord blesses the people, according to the psalmist this Sunday, Dupree says it is necessary for him to forgive those who wrongly convicted him. “It’s in the past and in order for me to get my life together I have to forgive,” he said. The exonerations are the first in Dallas to use DNA preserved as far back as the 1970s. Until recently authorities thought that evidence had only been retained by the county’s crime lab since 1981, said Nina Morrison of The Innocence Project, which represented Dupree. "It may provide grounds to go back and look at other evidence from older cases where we thought there was nothing to test. It's really a miracle it was saved." Source: Articles by Jennifer Emily for the Dallas Morning News, CBS News, and Agence France Presse

dna texas cornelius dupre the innocence project nina morrison

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Educated, skilled women choose religious life despite parents’ objections

13 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age,” Saint Paul writes in this week’s reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. While contemporary trends have led to a decline in the numbers of professed members of religious communities, a new survey suggests that women entering religious life today are quite mature--highly educated and experienced in numerous church activities. The Profession Class of 2010: Survey of Women Religious Professing Perpetual Vows was released by the U.S. bishops on February 2, the World Day for Consecrated Life. It was conducted by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and commissioned by the bishops’ Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations. One of the more disconcerting findings is that parents are often the most discouraging voices when their daughters consider becoming a nun or sister. Sometimes parents object because they want grandchildren or fear losing a daughter. Other times they fret over their child's loss of freedom and independence--an understandable but mistaken worry, according to many sisters. More than half of the women who professed final vows to join a religious order in 2010 said a parent or family member had discouraged their religious calling, the study said. Only 26 percent of the surveyed sisters said their mother encouraged them to consider religious life, and only 16 percent said their fathers supported their choice. A more extensive survey conducted by the Chicago-based National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) in 2009 produced similar results. In a presentation to the U.S. bishops in 2009, Holy Cross Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., executive director of the NRVC, flagged the discouragement from family and friends as a troublesome trend for the church. "Although people want a full-time pastor in their parish or religious sister teaching their children in the Catholic school, ironically, they are reluctant to have their own son or daughter choose that vocation," Bednarczyk said. Nevertheless, religious life continues to attract highly educated and skilled candidates. Of those surveyed, six in ten entered their religious community with at least a bachelor’s degree and a quarter already possessed a graduate degree. Eighty-five percent had ministry experience before entering, most commonly in liturgical ministry, faith formation, or social service ministry. Source: Articles by Daniel Burke for Religion News Service, Cathy Lynn Grossman for USA TODAY, and the USCCB Office of Media Relations, and NRVC.net

Consecrated life sisters women religious nuns center for applied research in the apostolate cara nrvc paul bednarczyk parents profession class of 2010

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Consider the noble bonobo

17 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Though we are much more than our mortal bodies, we will be held accountable for the good and the evil we do while we inhabit them, Saint Paul reminds us in this Sunday’s reading from 2 Corinthians. Scientists working with the genetic code of one of humanity's closest evolutionary cousins, the bonobo ape, may be able to shed some light on the mystery of why humans have the capacity to use those bodies in peaceful ways as well as very violent ones.Scientists have mapped the primate’s DNA, and some researchers say that it may eventually reveal secrets about how the darker side of our nature evolved. They have found that we are as close genetically to the peace-loving but little-known bonobo as we are to the more violent and better understood chimpanzee, sharing some traits only with bonobos and other characteristics only with chimps.Bonobos and humans share 98.7 percent of the same genetic blueprint, the identical percentage shared with chimps, according to a study released Wednesday by the journal Nature. “Humans are a little like a mosaic of bonobo and chimpanzee genomes,” said the study’s lead author, Kay Prufer, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.Bonobos and chimps have distinctly different behaviors that can both be seen in humans, with bonobos displaying what might be thought of as our better angels, said Duke University researcher Brian Hare. Chimps have been documented to kill and make war. Bonobos prefer cuddling to killing and share food with total strangers, which chimps do not.“Is the bonobo genome the secret to the biology of peace?” asked Hare, who was not involved in the new research. “They have done something in their evolution that even humans can’t do. They don’t have the dark side we do. If we only studied chimps, we’d get a skewed view of human evolution,” he said. Source: An article by Seth Borenstein for the Associated Press

Violence chimpanzees human beings kay prufer max planck institute genomes brian hare killing genetics dna war Peace bonobo apes

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Clinton makes historic visit to long-suffering Laos

15 Jul 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist promises this Sunday that the time will come when “justice and peace shall kiss.” The people of Laos, a nation that suffered greatly when caught in the superpower crossfire of the Vietnam War, hope that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit this week—the first by a top U.S. official since 1955—signals a new era of peaceful cooperation.The U.S., looking for closer ties with Laos, may need to ask for some “forgiveness of transgressions,” in the words of the second reading. The U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on this tiny and impoverished country between 1964 and 1973—about a ton of explosives for each Laotian man, woman, and child, and more bombs per capita than any population in history has had to endure.Four decades later American weapons are still claiming lives. More than 20,000 people have been killed by unexploded ordnance in post-war Laos, according to its government, with many thousands more maimed, and contamination throughout the country is a major barrier to agricultural development. Sources: Articles by USA TODAY and the Associated Press

vietnam war bombing hillary rodham clinton laos ordnance

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Will court let the gene out of the bottle?

21 Apr 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday attests to a truth at the center of the Judeo-Christian tradition: God “made us, his we are.” The U.S. Supreme Court this week grappled with the question of whether something as intrinsic to nature as a human gene be patented. Justices seemed skeptical but also worried about what a decision to bar such patents might mean for private scientific inquiry and research.The court is considering a challenge to a decision to award a patent to Myriad Genetics for isolating human genes that indicate a hereditary disposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Doctors and patients must use the diagnostic test that Myriad has developed and others are restricted from research in that area.The patents are being challenged by organizations of physicians and researchers, geneticists, patients, and others who say that the snippets of DNA are “products of nature” and may not be patented, even though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued such patents for decades.The justices’ concern is warranted, court observers say. Their decision could shape the future of medical and genetic research and have profound effects on pharmaceuticals and genetically modified crops.Homily hint: As science blurs the boundaries between natural creations and laboratory creations, many ethical questions are raised. Though some would like to turn back the clock or stop the experimentation, history suggests that will not happen. The question is whether or not we will experiment with fully informed ethical consciences or not. Source: Robert Barnes for the Washington Post

dna us supreme court genetics patents genes myriad genetics genetic research

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Proposed testing of three genetic parents raises alarm

02 Mar 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Can a mother forget her infant, or be without tenderness for the child in her womb?” the selection from the Book of Isaiah asks this Sunday. Even should it happen, responds the Lord, “I will never forget you.” It may be difficult to distinguish the biological mother of a child if the FDA approves an experimental fertilization technique that would create babies from the DNA of two women and a man with the aim of preventing children from inheriting some debilitating diseases. Two days of meetings on the question sparked heated debate this week.The agency is considering whether to green-light testing in women who have defective genes linked to blindness, organ failure, and many other inheritable diseases. Preliminary testing in animals suggests that combining the DNA of two parents with that of a third female donor could allow prospective mothers to give birth to healthy children.But experts in the field warned that researchers would have to follow the offspring for many years to see if they are truly healthy. "The end of the experiment will come decades later," said Michigan State University's Keith Latham in a presentation before the FDA and its advisory panel. "It's going to take us that long to figure out the health of the progeny produced from these procedures."The FDA explicitly framed its public meeting as a "technical" discussion on the feasibility of safely testing the artificial fertilization technique in humans. In a statement read at the outset, FDA staffers acknowledged the "ethical and social policy issues related to genetic modification of eggs and embryos" but said such issues were "outside the scope of this meeting."Despite such disclaimers, more than a half-dozen public speakers urged the FDA to block any human testing of the DNA-swapping technique due to unknown medical, ethical, and societal impacts. Several argued that it could be a slippery slope toward "designer babies"—allowing parents to customize traits like eye color, height, and intelligence.Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society said that FDA-sanctioned testing would cross a "bright policy line" into altering genes that will be passed down to future generations. "It could well be the first time any jurisdiction in the world had authorized intentional genetic modification of children and their descendants. And it would be making this decision with little or no input from the public or elected officials," said Darnovsky.Her group points out that 40 countries, including Germany and France, have laws banning human genetic changes that are passed on to future offspring.Homily hint: Catholic Church teaching is not opposed to genetic engineering in all cases; a distinction is made between gene therapy for a curative purpose and genetic enhancement seeking a trait considered more desirable. The church is clear that gene therapy can be a good, while genetic enhancement for cosmetic or other non-curative purposes is morally wrong. Helpful background information can be found in this article. Sources: Articles by Matthew Perrone for the Associated Press and Rebecca Taylor for the National Catholic Register

dna marcy darnovsky food and drug adminstration fda genetic testing keith latham gene therapy

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