Katolsk

Hvordan motta konvertitter?

Katolsk, Økumenikk /

Jeg leste i dag tidlig et innlegg på en presteblog jeg ikke tidligere har besøkt. Denne katolske presten sier at det er fint at Kirken nå i litt større grad enn tidligere setter pris på den kristne tradisjon og det kristne liv konvertittene har levd før de blir opptatt i Den katolske Kirkes fulle fellesskap. Jeg kan skrive under på at det er positivt – eller rettere sagt hadde vært positivt, for i mitt tilfelle var en slik positiv vurdering av min egen kristne tradisjon, og mitt liv som kristen i 39 år, og 8 år som luthersk prest, nesten helt fraværende. Nokså trist, egentlig, men det er vel katolikkenes egen uvitenhet eller kanskje også usikkerhet i møte med norsk kultur og religiøse tradisjon, som gjør at det ofte har blitt slik. Men nå har pave Benedikt vist oss at mange ting i protestantiske kristnes liv og tradisjon er verdifulle – og kanskje andre katolikker kan lære av ham.

I am glad we can get rid of the old approach of reception of converts to the Church which said that they must leave behind everything of their previous Christian tradition as if it had no value. Do we really want to discard their wonderful liturgy, psalmody, theological insights, insights of pastoral practice, their familiarity with the scriptures, their deep sense of the way in which Christinity can be incarnated in a local area or culture? No, it all has value. It will benefit the whole Catholic Church. Christ has been at work there. And this, in a very subtle way, is exactly what Pope Benedict has recognised and enacted with this marvellous intitiative.

Les hele stykket her.

Pave Benedikt nevnte rettferdiggjørelseserklæringen under søndagens Angelus

Katolsk /

Her er en oversettelse av siste del av pave Benedikts angelusbudskap sødag 1. november:
Exactly ten years have passed since leading representatives of the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, in Augsburg, on Oct. 31, 1999. Subsequently, in 2006, the World Methodist Council also adhered to it. This document certified a consensus between Lutherans and Catholics on fundamental truths of the doctrine of justification, truths that take us to the very heart of the Gospel and to essential questions of our life.

We are received and redeemed by God; our existence is inscribed on the horizon of grace, it is guided by a merciful God, who forgives our sin and calls us to a new life following his Son; we live from the grace of God and we are called to respond to his gift; all this liberates us from fear and infuses hope and courage in us in a world full of uncertainty, anxiety and suffering.

The Servant of God John Paul II described the day of the signing of the Joint Declaration as «a milestone in the difficult path to reconstitute full unity among Christians» (Angelus, October 31, 1999). This anniversary, therefore, is an occasion to recall the truth about man’s justification, testified together, to come together in ecumenical celebrations and to reflect further on this and other topics that are the object of the ecumenical dialogue.

It is my heartfelt hope that this important anniversary will contribute to make us progress on the path toward the full and visible unity of all the disciples of Christ.

Interessant foredrag om Fr Adrian Fortescue (1874-1923)

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Fr Timothy Finigan (som skriver bloggen The Hermeneutic of Continuity) har nylig vært i Estland og der bl.a. holdt et interessant foredrag om Fr Adrian Fortescue (1874-1923), som er mest kjent for sin bok om liturgien, “The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite described”. Jeg har selv kjøpt denne boka, men må innrømme at jeg ikke har studert den så veldig grundig ennå. Hele foredrages kan lastes ned her (pdf), og Fr Finigan skriver bl.a.:

… Fr Fortescue … was a man of great erudition who held doctorates in a variety of subjects, was able to lecture in eleven languages, and was an acknowledged authority on liturgy, history and art. Much of his life was devoted to pastoral ministry in the parish of St Hugh of Lincoln in Letchworth where he built a Church, partly funded by the sales of his book “The Ceremonies” … …

Fr Fortescue skriver selv morsomt om arbeidet med denne boka:
“Try to imagine for one solid year of my life… I spent all day comparing Merati & Martinucci & Le Vavasseur, to find out where the thurifer ought to stand before the Magnificat, who takes off the bishop’s left glove, what sort of bow you should make at the Asperges. … Conceive a man, said to be made in the image of God, spending his time over that kind of thing. Even now that the burden is over it fills me with rage to think of those days. I could have learned a new language easily in the time. I could have gone every day to the cinema. I could have read the complete works of Maria Corelli. … … »

The “Ceremonies” book shows an intimate acquaintance with the rubrics of the Roman Rite, but also a proper appreciation of the spirit of them. Fortescue was not a rubrical pedant and took a practical approach to the ceremonies. It is harder for Western Catholics to understand this in our own times when there is, in many places, an attitude to Liturgy in which each
ceremony is more or less invented since there are few rules for guidance, and the attitude persists that whatever rules are used, they must not be the traditional ones. Pope Benedict is, of course, labouring to overcome this attitude of regarding the post-Vatican II reforms as a radical break with the past. …

In his parish, Fortescue insisted on the worthy celebration of the Liturgy and spent a great deal of time training his servers for the various ceremonies during the year. As an accomplished musician himself, Fortescue had a warm relationship with his organist and choirmaster, Thomas Wilfred Willson. In accordance with the aspirations of the Liturgical Movement, given authority by Pope Pius X, Fortescue ensured that his congregation were, (as Vatican II was to insist many years later): “able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.” …

Fr Adrian Fortescue could well be described as a man of Christian culture. He was fortunate to live at a time when a classical education gave the basis and groundwork necessary for such a momentous contribution to the life of the Church. … He teaches us what it is to be a cultured man. This is not simply a matter of education and certainly not reducible to “knowledge” but involves the ability to take a wider view than is possible for one who is too much immersed in the demands of professionalism or of over-specialism in the academic life. Fortescue was able to take that wider view over a whole range of subjects. Today, we look with hope to the hermeneutic of continuity by which Pope Benedict seeks to restore our links with our own tradition, to the ressourcement by which Catholic scholars endeavour to reconnect with our own roots, and to the revival of faith in many places devastated either by years of communist rule or by the more insidious
encroachments of an aggressive secularism. A man such as Fortescue teaches us the value of Christian culture in many fields. May his spirit live on in the lives of young Catholic scholars today!

Morgenbladet har tydeligvis lest min blog

Data/blogg, Katolsk /

I et innlegg som handler om noe helt annet (det er ofte slik) ble det nevnt at kommentarene til et innlegg på denne bloggen fra oktober 2008 ble nevnt i Morgenbladet: «Det raste for et år siden en debatt på en liten katolsk blogg om en del av disse nyomvendte «kjetterne» tilknyttet Dominikus-klosteret på Majorstuen i Oslo. «T» skriver: «Disse folkene har stått offentlig frem med sitt frivillige kjetteri. I normale tider og under normale forhold ville de ha blitt avkrevd en offentlig bekjennelse ….» «O» svarer: «Vi katolikker må si ifra at vi ikke finner oss i dissenterkatolikkenes utlegninger … …» Og «A» konkluderer med å beklage «resultatet av flere års raddiseri …». Så altså: står du som katolikk fritt til å mene hva du vil om de ovennevnte spørsmålene?»

Forøvrig er dette et ganske interessant intervju med Hans Fredrik Dahl i forb. med hans 70-årsdag. Bl.a. står det følgende om hans kontakt med sin bror, dom Filip, og om hans konversjon for tre år siden:
«Jeg besøkte min bror første gang han kunne motta familien. Jeg var atten år og hadde nettopp tatt artium. Han var toogtyve. Denne sommeren viste han meg sitt den gang helt nye liv, alle de ting han måtte lære, fra de vanskelige gregorianske noter til hvordan man skulle spise som munk. Og hvordan man skal utholde ensomheten. Hvordan innretter du din celle for at den skal være levelig som ditt hjem alene for resten av livet? Det er jo litt av en oppgave for en toogtyveåring. Han viste alt dette til sin attenårige bror. Og senere har jeg jo vært der, hvert år i femti år, og etter hvert tatt del i hans erobring av den religiøse institusjonens verden. … …

– Er det noe med nettopp denne lange historien bakover som er blitt viktig for deg når du nå har søkt til kirken?

Ja. Nå etter hvert ser jeg at det har vært en lang vandring mot dette. Ikke som jeg før trodde et brudd av eksistensielle grunner, siden jeg ble alvorlig syk for tre år siden og fikk mange ting snudd opp ned. Men forut for dette hadde jeg arbeidet med en bok om broren min, gjenlest gammel korrespondanse og gjennomlevd hele min historie som bror av Dom Filip Dahl. Det har vært en lang vei. Jeg trodde, hver gang jeg besøkte ham, at dette bare var et besøk. To dager, tre dager. Og så skulle jeg tilbake til min verden. I virkeligheten har nok hans verden påvirket meg over tid mye mer enn jeg trodde. Da også min kone konverterte… – ja, det var i det hele tatt mange ting de siste årene.

– Og så ble du syk. Det ble tilkalt en prest på sykehuset. Vil du fortelle om denne hendelsen, slik du husker den i dag?

Det er for så vidt enkelt. Jeg fikk slag. Våknet opp på hospital, og forsto at jeg var alvorlig syk. Og at det ikke var sikkert at jeg ville overleve. Det er rystende, selvfølgelig. Blant de ting jeg da tenkte på, som plutselig sto klart for meg, var at jeg måtte be om den siste olje. For hvis jeg dør uten å ha fått det sakramentet, tenkte jeg, vil de to katolikkene som står meg så nær, min kone og min bror, de vil kanskje bli lei seg, kanskje jeg av hensyn til dem … – og ja, det er vel ikke noe galt for meg heller. Tenkte jeg. Så ble pater Haram tilkalt, og ga meg denne sykesalvingen, som det nå heter, litt penere … 24 eller 48 timer etter dette var det at jeg tenkte: Hvorfor ikke nå gå over? Hvorfor holde igjen? Skal du ikke ta følgene av at du kjenner at dette var riktig? Det var så å si bare å vippe over og ta det siste skrittet. Velge det som var valgt for meg, langt tilbake.

– Var det også en takknemlighet til Gud over at du fortsatt levde?

En slik takknemlighet følte jeg i høy grad. Men den kom senere, da jeg forsto at jeg sannsynligvis ville bli frisk. Det var etter at jeg hadde konvertert. Da strømmet takknemligheten gjennom kroppen. Men jeg tror det er riktig å si at selve ønsket om å konvertere, var et ønske om å gjøre ferdig en prosess som var i gang. Ta det siste skrittet. … …

Samtalene med SSPX er i gang i Roma

Katolsk, Teologi /

Katolsk.no melder at «De første doktrinære samtalene mellom representanter fra Vatikanet og SSPX (Prestebroderskapet Pius X), ble mandag 26. oktober avholdt i Roma.

Vatikanet publiserte i den anledning en kort pressemelding, hvor det blir bekreftet at samtalene nå har startet, og at de ble avholdt i «en hjertelig, respektfull og konstruktiv atmosfære».

I følge pressemeldingen ventes samtalene å finne sted (annen hver måned, og det er ikke bestemt hvor lenge samtalene skal vare).

Hovedspørsmålene som i følge Vatikanet ble tatt opp, er «spørsmålet om tradisjon, Missale Romanum, tolkningen av Det annet Vatikankonsil i kontinuitet med den katolske doktrinære tradisjon, ekumenismen og forholdet til andre ikke-kristne religioner og trosfrihet».»

Katolsk.no har også en samleside med nyheter om Vatikanet og SSPX.

En katolske prest som vet hva han snakker om uttaler seg om pavens initiativ overfor anglikanerne

Katolsk /

Father Dwight Longenecker er katolsk prest i USA, gift med flere barn, og tidligere var han ti år anglikanske prest i England, og også lekmann i ti år, da han i stor grad arbeidet med å hjelpe anglikanske prester som ønsket å konvertere. Han vet altså hva han snakker om når ser på hvordan slike konvertitter i parksis har blitt mottatt, og hva som nå kan skje med pave Benedikts nye initiativ. Først skriver han:
For ten years I was an Anglican priest, and for ten years I was a Catholic layman in England. I worked for the St Barnabas Society–a charity that quietly assists convert clergy as they convert to the Catholic Church. At the same time I was on a long road to ordination myself. I therefore got to meet and discuss issues with the major players, and I can confirm virtually everything Damien asserts about the background politics in the case.

Although the Archbishop of Canterbury is dismayed that the Personal Ordinariate project was popped on him as a surprise move at a ‘very late stage’ it can’t have come as much of a surprise. This thing has been cooking for years. We can trace the development of it back to the early 90’s when the Church of England was debating the ordination of women. When the Church of England’s General Synod voted to ordain women in 1992 high level Anglicans were already in discussions with Rome. The retired Bishop of London–Graham Leonard was not only in talks with Cardinal Basil Hume, but also with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the CDF. I believe Ratzinger was sympathetic to the Anglo Catholics even then, and I know that a personal friendship developed between Cardinal Ratzinger and (now) Mgr. Leonard.

At the same time the Catholic convert journalist William Oddie wrote a book called The Roman Option in which he argued for an Anglo Catholic ‘church’ in communion with Rome which looks very like what we now have as the Personal Ordinariate. Oddie also criticized the Catholic bishops in England for inhibiting such an option because it was ‘unworkable’ and ‘damaging to ecumenical relations with the Anglicans’. Oddie was subsequently marginalized and treated as a pariah by the English Catholic establishment. …

Han skriver et annet sted også hva pavens dokument vil kunne innebære:
1. The Personal Ordinariate cuts across the powers of liberal, ignorant and unimaginative bishops. Those of us who work with convert clergy can tell horror story after horror story of how they are ignored, sidelined and dismissed by Catholic bishops who either do not understand, do not want ‘dangerous conservatives’ or simply cannot figure out what to do with convert clergy.

2. The PO establishes a new precedent in Church governance. This could mean that the church is freeing herself from strictly geographical boundaries of governance. With the Eastern Rite Churches and military and religious orders this has already been the case, … …

3. If the PO establishes this precedent for Anglicans why could it not also work for high church Lutherans? Could it work for High Church Methodists? …

For det tredje skriver han om de mulighetene denne åpningen for anglikanere har for å lykkes, eller ikke lykkes – først og fremst ser det ut til å avhenge av de katolske biskopenes respons:
Option No. 1 The Catholic bishops are enthusiastic about this creative new possibility for their dioceses. Experiencing a shortage of good priests they see that the Anglicans are well educated, mature men with long pastoral experience and solid liturgical sense. They immediately appoint a personal ordinary for them and encourage as many as possible to enter into full communion. They don’t have a problem with married men being ordained, and realize it could bring variety, strength and new blood into the presbyterate. …

Option No. 2 The liberal Catholic bishops are horrified at the idea of an influx of conservative ‘misogynistic homophobic’ former Anglicans. They quietly put the project of a ‘personal ordinariate’ on the back burner. Another category, and probably the largest, are the Catholic bishops who simply do not have the competence, imagination or courage to do anything at all with such a radical idea. They don’t understand Protestants. …

Trykk gjerne på de tre lenkene over, og lese hele dokumentene.

Gratulerer biskop Bernt Eidsvig!

Katolsk /

I dag er årsdag for bispevielsen i Oslo katolske bispedømme, og i alle bispedømmets kirker takker vi for biskop Bernts tjeneste og ber spesielt for ham – slik også i messen jeg nettopp feiret i St Hallvard kirke. (Bildet over er tatt mens prosesjonen kommer ut av Trefoldighetskirken i Oslo etter messen.)

Les mer om biskopen HER og om bispevielsen 22. oktober 2005 HER.

Katolsk.no skriver om pave Benedikts nye økumeniske initiativ

Katolsk, Økumenikk /

Katolsk.no skriver grundig og innsiktsfullt om gårsdagens nyhet (se nedenfor), men jeg er ikke enig i at det er så veldig overraskende. Man har ventet spent de siste månedene på svaret til TAC, på et spørsmål de kom med for to år siden, så at det kom et svar var ventet og svært etterlenget. Men det er vel korrekt at man ikke hadde regna med at paven skulle utvide muligheten til å beholde enkelte anglikanske tradisjoner – som TAC hadde bedt om for seg selv, og som allerede eksisterer i noen «anglican use» menigheten i USA.

Gårsdagens nyhet om at Vatikanet godkjenner en ny apostolisk konstitusjon, som åpner for de tradisjonelle anglikaneres ‘hjemkomst’ til Roma, kom som et sjokk på mange. Aktiviteten på blogger og nyhetssider, både på katolsk og anglikansk side, har vært kokende. Hva er så de praktiske konsekvensene?

Den nye apostoliske konstitusjon kommer i følge kilder som et svar på en to år gammel forespørsel fra TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion), som brøt med Den anglikanske kirke i 1991 grunnet striden rundt ordinasjon av kvinnelige prester.

Konstitusjonen åpner for at anglikanske biskoper, prester og legfolk kan oppnå full kommunion med Den katolske kirke, og samtidig får beholde særskilte anglikanske skikker og liturgi som er i samsvar med katolsk tradisjon.

Mens man tidligere måtte sørge for individuelle ordninger ved konvertering, åpnes det nå altså for kollektive ordninger, det vil si at hele menigheter og bispedømmer i fellesskap kan konvertere til Den katolske tro. …

Tusenvis av anglikanere vil nå bli katolikker

Katolsk, Økumenikk /

Jeg leste i dag tidlig (bl.a. her) om en pressekonferanse som skulle holdes kl 11 i Vatikanet i dag, ang. anglikanerne. Man regnet med at nyheten ville være at TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion) ville få svar på sin forespørsel om å bli opptatt i sin katolske kirke – og til en viss grad få beholde sine tradisjoner og deler av liturgien, og sine gifte prester.

Man gjettet riktig, for så langt vet vi følgende: The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict is setting up special provision for Anglicans, including married clergy, who want to convert to Rome together, preserving aspects of Anglican liturgy. They will be given their own pastoral supervision, according to this press release from the Vatican:

“In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.”

More on this very important story later. But this is clearly a historic gesture by Pope Benedict which will encourage thousands of disaffected Anglicans to become Roman Catholics.

Mer informasjon på italiensk her.

OPPDATERING kl 1315:
Notatet fra Troskongregasjonen på engelsk.

Handler samtalene mellom Vatikanet og SSPX egentlig om forståelsen av Vatikankonsilet?

Katolsk /

Det påstår Robert Moynihani Inside the Vatican, og han formulerer seg slik (fra NLM-bloggen):

Pope Benedict XVI has just made a dramatic choice, one which will certainly be numbered among the major decisions of his pontificate. He has decided, in effect, to reopen formal debate on the Second Vatican Council and its teaching.

The new dialogue, which will take place in Rome between the leaders of the Fraternity of St. Pius X (the followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre) and Vatican experts will take place on October 26 at the Vatican, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said today. …

For the Pope’s critics, the decision is unwise, as it seems likely to open a large can of worms. These critics have argued that the lid on this can should be kept tightly closed. In essence, they have advised the Pope not to «dignify» the Society’s objections to certain conciliar teachings — or to the interpretations of those teachings — by granting such a formal dialogue.

But Benedict has decided to let the dialogue begin.

For the Pope’s supporters, the decision is an occasion for praise. Why? Because the Pope, almost five years into his pontificate, has finally decided to face head on and «bring into the open» the doctrinal problems «smoldering» (to cite his own words of 45 years ago) just beneath the surface of Church life throughout the entire post-conciliar period (1965 to the present, or 44 years).

So, with this decision to engage in a dialogue about the Council, a very significant phase of Benedict’s pontificate begins.

Samtalene med SSPX starter i Roma 26. oktober

Katolsk /

Flere kilder melder at samtalene mellom SSPX og Kongregasjonen for Troslæren starter mandag 26. oktober, i Vatikanet. Katolsk.no skriver om dette, og skriver: «Innholdet i samtalene vedrørende de åpne doktrinære spørsmål vil holdes strengt konfidensielt», sa p. Lombardi en pressemelding torsdag.

I et nylig intervju med et sørafrikansk SSPX-magasin, … svarte generalsuperior i SSPX, biskop Bernard Fellay følgende på spørsmål om samtalenes lengde og innhold: «Jeg har ingen anelse om hvor lenge de vil vare. Dette kommer an på forventningene i Roma. Det kan nok ta lang tid. Dette fordi temaene er mange og brede. Våre hovedinnvendinger mot konsilet, som for eksempel trosfrihet, økumenikk og kollegialitet er velkjente. Andre innvendinger kan allikevel bli tatt opp, slik som den moderne filosofis innflytelse, liturgiske nyvinninger, verdslighet og dets påvirkning på den moderne tanke som har spredt seg som en farsott i Kirken».

Vårt Land skriver også om dette, og forteller bl.a.: En rekke personer vil være til stede under møtet. Deriblant erkebiskop Guido Pozzo, sekretær for Ecclesia Dei; erkebiskop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, sekretær for Kongregasjonen for Troslæren(KT); p. Charles Morerod OP, sekretær for den internasjonale teologiske kommisjon og rådgiver for KT; erkebiskop Fernando Ocariz, generalvikar for Opus Dei og rådgiver for KT; samt Jesuitpater Karl Josef Becker, også fra KT.

Slik omvendte Newman seg

Katolsk /

John Henry Newman hadde høsten 1845 forstått at han måtte bli opptatt i Den katolske Kirke, og han inviterte en god og from katolsk prest til å komme hjem til seg. Da presten kom inn døra, knelte Newman foran ham, og ba med en gang om å bli tatt opp i Kirken. Han bekjente sine synder (det tok flere timer) og ble opptatt i Kirken ved kondisjonal dåp. Det var alvor over ting den gang – men jeg er glad for at kondisjonal dåp ikke lenger regnes som nødvendig. Her er dette fortalt litt mer utførlig:

When Newman had made up his mind to be received into the Church in October 1845 he heard that Blessed Dominic would be travelling through Oxford. Via their mutual friend John Dobrée Dalgairns Newman asked the Passionist priest to call in at Littlemore. When Dominic Barberi arrived late in the evening of 8th October, soaking wet from his journey, Newman did not hesitate one moment, knelt down in front of him, and asked him for reception into the Church. He then began his general confession which he had prepared in the previous days and which lasted for several hours. The rite of reception, including conditional baptism, took place in the chapel next to Newman’s private room on the evening of 9th October. Two of his friends, Richard Stanton and E. S. Bowles, were received at the same time. Newman never regretted his decision. Not only in the Apologia, but also in many letters, he witnesses to the interior peace that always accompanied him as a Catholic, despite the well known fact that he was not spared difficulties not only from outside the Church but also within it.

Dagen for John Henry Newmans omvendelse – 9. oktober 1845

Katolsk /

På denne dagen i 1845 angret John Henry Newman på sin villfarelse, bekjente den katolske tro og ble opptatt i Den katolske Kirke. Og ved hundreårsjubileet for denne hendelsen skrev pave Pius XII følgende:

A century has now all but run its course since John Henry Newman, the pride of Britain and of the universal Church, came to harbour after his long voyage in search of Catholic truth. With anxious and loving care he had sought it; with ready assent he acknowledged at last the warning accents of the Divine Voice. … …

One quality especially seems to Us to call for close attention and study in the career of the great man… He ‘gave up his whole life to the truth’ (Juvenal. Sat. iv. 91); all his efforts, all his untiring labours, were dedicated to that end. A time came when the beauty of Catholic teaching revealed itself clearly to his longing eyes; with that, no obstacle of any kind – his old prejudices, loss of prospects, the protests of his friends – could hold him back; nothing must stand between him and full adherence to the truth he had now mastered. He held to it ever afterwards with unshaken consistency, made it the guiding principle of his whole life, found in it, as in nothing else, full contentment of mind.

Beyond question… among the many important gifts which will make a later posterity honour the greatness of John Henry Newman, this is his chief title to fame.

Les hele brevet her.

Nyheter om Janne Haaland Matlary – på engelsk

Katolsk /

Katolsk.no melder også kort at Janne Haaland Matlary 1. september ble utnevnt til medlem av Det pavelige akademi for sosialvitenskapene. Men på et engelsk nettsted (dvs. britisk i dette tilfellet) leser vi mye grundigere om henne:


Janne Haaland Matlary, professor of international politics at the department of political sciences of the University of Oslo, Norway has been made a member of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences

Dr Matlary was the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs for Norway and a member of the Christian Democrat Party between 1997 and 2000. She is a convert to Catholicism and already serves on the Pontical Council for Justice and Peace and is a consultor on the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Readers will remember the fuss, last year, over Cherie Blair giving a talk at the Angelicum in December. The event was a conference on Women and Human Rights, in honour of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Mrs Blair’s high profile and controversial talk, garnered all the media/blogging attention. Dr Matlary’s talk was very good but went largely unnoticed.

She sets the fundaments for her debate, by arguing that human rights are absolute and unchanging, not to be changed by political will. “They are inborn, pre-political and apolitical, not given by politicians, not to be taken away or changed by politicians.”

Later she speaks about abortion, in the context of women’s rights–in the context of equal rights.

She said: “In the case of the abortion debate, the fierce struggle which continues and which will continue is about the terms of the debate: if the question is “under which conditions can human life be taken?” one has to consider the constitutional norms of right to life and the international instruments of human rights that state this as the highest norm. If the debate is cast in pragmatic terms, e.g. as a women’s issue, this is not necessary.

160 millioner katolikker i Afrika

Katolsk /

I går starta en synode om Afrika i Vatikanet, og bildet viser alle biskopene som deltok i messen i Peterskirken søndag morgen. Synoden skal vare fram til 25. oktober, og John Allen skriver slik om gårsdagen:

Pope Benedict XVI led this morning’s liturgy, joined by almost 240 bishops, most of them Africans taking part in the synod. Concelebrating the Mass were the three co-presidents of the synod, Cardinals Francis Arinze of Nigeria, Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa, and Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Senegal, along with Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the “relator,” or general secretary, of the synod.

If the musical tone was upbeat, Pope Benedict struck a more sober note in his homily this morning. The pope praised the dynamism of the faith in Africa, where the Catholic population grew during the second half of the twentieth century by some 7,000 percent, soaring from 1.9 million Catholics to an estimated 160 million today.

The pope called Africa “an immense spiritual ‘lung,’ for a humanity that appears to be in a crisis of faith and hope.” Later, during his midday Angelus address, Benedict praised the «extraordinary human wealth» of Africa.

Nonetheless, in his homily Benedict warned that Africa faces two serious threats, suggesting that the synod should carefully ponder responses to both.

The first threat, Benedict said, is a “practical materialism, combined with relativistic and nihilistic thought.” Those philosophical currents, he suggested, are reaching Africa from the West.

“The so-called ‘first world’ has exported and is still exporting its toxic spiritual refuse,” the pope said, “which infect the populations of other continents, especially in Africa.”

“Colonialism is finished in a political sense,” the pope said, “but it’s not completely gone away.”

The second threat Benedict identified is “religious fundamentalism, mixed with political and economic interests.”

“Groups with diverse religious affiliations are spreading themselves throughout the African continent,” the pope said. “They do so in the name of God, but according to a logic opposed to that which is divine. They’re not teaching and practicing love and respect for liberty, but intolerance and violence.”

The pope also made clear reference to the social ills that continue to scar Africa, citing “exploitation, conflicts and corruption,” as well as “poverty, injustices, violence and wars.” He called upon the church in Africa to be a source of “prophecy and ferment of reconciliation among the various ethnic, linguistic and religious groups, within individual nations and across the entire continent.”

In his Angelus remarks, Benedict likewise noted that life in Africa is marred by «so much poverty, and still suffers under heavy injustices.» … …

Det er tydeligvis to måter å leve ordenslivet på i Den katolske Kirke (i USA)

Katolsk /

I USA har antaller nonner/søstre gått ned fra 180 000 i 1965 til 59 000 i 2009 – og gjennomsnittsalderen deres er 75 år! I USA er de også organisert i to store grupper, de mer tradisjonelle (the Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious) og de mer moderne (the Leadership Conference of Women Religious ) – det er disse siste som mister flest medlemmer. En av de «moderne» skriver her om sin forståelse av situasjonen – nokså sjokkerende må jeg si; det virker som om de som har valgt et liv innviet til Herren, likevel ikke skal leve slik:

«… the Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious was formed with membership based on wearing the habit, communal prayer, eucharistic adoration and fidelity to the church. Meanwhile, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious continued in the spirit of Vatican II to be open to the world, exploring avenues of liberation theology, feminist theology and the plight of the poor, among others.

Members of the Leadership Conference embrace modernity and the work of the council as the Holy Spirit breathing new life in the church. They fall under what Father Radcliffe identifies as the Concilium group, who focus on the Incarnation as the central point of renewal. Members of the Conference of Major Superiors, by contrast, are Communio Catholics, who emphasize communion through proclamation of the faith, a clear Catholic identity and the centrality of the cross. (Concilium and Communio are the names of two periodicals founded in the postconciliar era. The first stressed conciliar reforms; the second stressed the continuity of the council documents with the community of the faithful through past centuries.) Thus, one group focuses on doxology and adoration (Communio), the other on practice and experience (Concilium). One sees Christ as gathering people into community (Communio); the other sees Christ as traversing boundaries (Concilium). The C.M.S.W.R. recently held its eucharistic congress under the title “Sacrifice of Enduring Love,” while the L.C.W.R. continues to work on systemic change. The former sees religious life as divine espousal with Christ; the latter sees Christ in solidarity with the poor and justice for the oppressed. … »

Les hele artikkelen hos Father Z her.

Pave Benedikt oppfordrer prester til å bruke digitale medier

Data/blogg, Katolsk /

Jeg leste denne interessante (for oss bloggere bl.a.) nyheten på Zenit.org for et par dager siden, men somlet litt med å få lagt den ut:

A communiqué from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications announced the theme today, feast of the archangels.

The Holy Father urges priests to «consider the new media as a powerful resource for their ministry in the service of the Word and wishes to express a word of encouragement in order to address the challenges stemming from the new digital culture,» the communiqué explained. «If the new media is adequately known and appreciated, it can offer priests and all pastoral agents a wealth of data and content that previously was difficult to access, and it facilitates ways of collaboration and growth of communion that were unthinkable in the past.»

OPPDATERING:
Father Tim Finigan Har selv overatt hele denne meldinga til engelsk – og skriver også mer om den på sin blog. Her begynner teksten:
The principal task of the priest is to announce the Word of God made flesh, man, history, becoming in this way a sign of that communion which God effects with man. The efficacy of this ministry requires therefore that the priest should live an intimate relationship with God, rooted in a profound love and in a living awareness of the Sacred Scriptures, «witness» in written form of the divine Word.

The message for the 44th World Day of Social Communications seeks to invite priests in a particular way, during this Year of the Priest, and after the celebration of the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to consider the new media as possibly a major resource for their ministry at the service of the Word and seeks to offer a word of encouragement so that they might confront the challenges which arise from the new digital culture. … …

Den hellige Teresa av Lisieux – hennes relikvier reiser verden rundt

Katolsk /

Bloggen upsidedown skriver om at relikviene av Therese av Lisieux i disse dager er i England, og at de vekker stor interesse.

Han skriver: What are we to make of the extraordinary influence of the relics of this young girl? First, it is interesting how much she foresaw. She predicted that her body would not be corrupt so that her relics might be venerated. Nevertheless, when her coffin was opened the crowds reported supernatural fragrance of roses. When I lived in England I met a woman who’s mother was present at the exhumation and who testified to this phenomenon.

There is more to it however. Therese also said on her deathbed that she believed God had granted all her desires. Well, one of her most fervent desires was to be a missionary. She longed to travel to every country of the earth singing the praises of God and proclaiming his mercy to the nations. In God’s strange providence we see this desire coming true through the regular pilgrimages of her relics around the world. They say ‘if stones could speak’. They might as well say, ‘if bones could speak’ for in this young girl they do.

There is more to it however. Mother Teresa took her name in religion from Therese–not from Teresa of Avila. Therefore, the missionary desire of Therese was brought to fulfillment in the little nun from Albania and her order: Missionaries of Charity. Not only does the title of this famous order refer to ‘charity’ as ‘charitable work’ but it also refers to the greater theological virtue of charity, and this too references back to Therese.

Les mer om Therese (på norsk) her.

Pave Benedikts forfriskende og ortodokse forkynnelse

Katolsk /

John Allens har skrevet følgende om pave Benedikts forfriskende og klare forkynnele under besøket i Tsjekkia:
No compromise on essential points of doctrine and discipline, but the most positive, upbeat presentation possible. Christianity is framed not as a dry book of rules, but as the answer to, as Benedict put it Monday morning, “the profound thirst for meaning and happiness in the heart of every person.” …

The pope’s commitment to affirmative orthodoxy over these three days seemed to embody a deliberate effort to get back “on message.”

In many ways, Benedict’s surprisingly positive tone was the early storyline of his papacy. It seemed to go into eclipse in early ’09, however, with a furor over lifting the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops, including one who’s a Holocaust denier, and controversial comments on AIDS and condoms during a trip to Africa. Pundits hinted that the “real Ratzinger,” the hard-line figure familiar from his years as the Vatican’s top doctrinal enforcer, was finally coming to the fore. …

For secular society, Benedict’s aim is to present Christianity as the best guarantee of the values which even the most ardently secular agnostic also prizes: peace, tolerance, dialogue, and freedom. To make that case, the pope seems to believe he can’t start the conversation with flash-points of controversy, but rather with a positive vision of what Christianity has to offer.

Det blir antydet at paven tidligere i vinter ikke hadde det samme positive fokuset, under problemene rundt SSPX og under besøket i USA, da det hele ble mer problemorientert. Father Z skriver om det:
I resonate with his suggestion that Pope Benedict could be trying to get back on message. But in doing so, I am also thinking that if he has not entirely been on message lately, then His Holiness must deal with the possibility that he is not being well-staffed by some of those around him.

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