Chinese Christian Discusses Police Repression, 1-child policy

From Catholic World News

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bob Fu, a student leader at Tiananmen Square who subsequently became a Protestant pastor and fled China, discusses the realities of police repression and forced abortion in the People’s Republic of China. Fu is the founder and president of the China Aid Association. 

“When you want to have your first child after marriage,” he recalls, “you are required to get a pregnancy permission card-- a yellow card before your wife can legally get pregnant-- otherwise you are arrested and are forced to have an abortion.” 

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Persecution of Christians in China Today - An interview with Mr. Bob Fu, Director, China Aid (Aid to the Church in Need)
• China Aid Association

Freedom in Decline Worldwide: Freedom House Report

Global freedom suffered its fifth consecutive year of decline in 2010, according to Freedom in the World 2011, Freedom House’s annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties around the world. This represents the longest continuous period of decline in the nearly 40-year history of the survey. The year featured drops in the number of Free countries and the number of electoral democracies, as well as an overall deterioration for freedom in the Middle East and North Africa region.

A total of 25 countries showed significant declines in 2010, more than double the 11 countries exhibiting noteworthy gains. The number of countries designated as Free fell from 89 to 87, and the number of electoral democracies dropped to 115, far below the 2005 figure of 123. In addition, authoritarian regimes like those in China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela continued to step up repressive measures with little significant resistance from the democratic world.

Sister Briege McKenna on the Power of Sacraments

Sister Briege McKenna, OSC

"By their fruits you shall know them," our blessed Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount; and by that measure Sister Briege McKenna is one of the world's truly holy souls, with a powerful gift of healing.

I had the privilege of talking with her once, and she prayed for a close friend and with my father shortly before their deaths.  She would be the first to explain that she is not the one who heals, but rather Jesus.  Nevertheless, through her worldwide mission to priests, parish missions, books, audio tapes, and healing ministry,  Sister Briege has been a tireless and powerful instrument through which God has worked extraordinary miracles.

Our Sunday Visitor recently interviewed her on the power of the Sacraments and the priesthood.

From Our Sunday Visitor

By Emily Stimpson

As a young woman, Sister of St. Clare Briege McKenna was miraculously healed of rheumatoid arthritis. Not long after, she received the gift of healing, and began a ministry to Catholic clergy and laity that has spanned four decades and five continents. But Sister Briege learned long ago that the deepest healing is that which can’t be seen by the naked eye. 

That is the healing of the soul, and it comes to us first and foremost through the sacraments. In her newest book, “The Power of the Sacraments” (Servant, $9.99), Sister Briege calls Catholics to rediscover the sacraments and encounter their healing power. Recently, Our Sunday Visitor spoke with Sister Briege about her new book and the need for healing in the Church today. 

Our Sunday Visitor: Why do you think Catholics sometimes tend to take the sacraments for granted? 

Sister Briege McKenna: I think that’s because many don’t really understand the power of the sacraments. The greatest need in our present day is for people to be instructed in the faith and to be taught what the sacraments really are. Catholics need to be evangelized about their own faith and beliefs. 

OSV: And where does that evangelization begin? 

Sister Briege: It begins by showing people how the deepest needs they have are fulfilled by the sacraments. 

Take, for example, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In today’s world people feel a need to unburden themselves, to confess. But they’re going to all the wrong people to do that: hairdressers, psychiatrists, strangers on the Internet. I can’t tell you how often people tell their sins to me on airplanes.

But I can’t absolve anyone of their sins. Nor can a hairdresser. They’re confessing, but they’re not going to the right place. They’re not going where they can find real freedom. The same is true for the Eucharist and the anointing of the sick. 

From the Pastor - 'Silencing Truth'

A Weekly Column by Father George Rutler

In the 1940's, totalitarian regimes tried to silence the Church. Entire sections were reserved for priests in Dachau and Auschwitz, where St. Maximilian Kolbe was injected with carbolic acid.  In Yugoslavia, Bishop Mišic of Mostar was threatened for decrying the massacre of women and children. The Greek Archbishop of Athens risked his life when he solemnly cursed the German plenipotentiary. The newspapers mocked Cardinal van Roey, Primate of Belgium, for repudiating Nazi eugenics. When Cardinal Hinsley of Westminster spoke out after 120 Salesian priests were slaughtered in Poland, European journalists accused him of "bad faith." A Fascist propagandist, Robert Farinacci, tried to block the Vatican Radio, and in response the Holy See increased its medium-wave broadcasts "so that the Holy Father's voice can be heard in all parts of the globe."

As the nation anticipates the annual March for Life on January 24, we may expect the customary denials by much of the media establishment. Eugenics today is on a wider scale than in the dark war years,  and when Church leaders speak out they are told, as in the 1940's, that they should be silent. The Planned Parenthood organization has unsuccessfully tried to stop publication of a new book, Unplanned, exposing its inner workings. On January 6, our archbishop lamented the fact that 41% of all unborn infants in New York City are aborted. In 2009, 87,273 infants were destroyed in our city. Now marriage itself is under assault, and the U.S. State Department tried to eliminate the terms "mother" and "father" on passport applications, as if they were nothing more than legal constructs. A British couple has been congratulated in the press for aborting their twin boys, because they wanted a girl. Our archdiocese hopes to reform this with the help of the Sisters of Life, the World Youth Alliance, Expectant Mother Care, and instruction on chastity, in the hope that we may yet be saved from becoming a demographic wasteland like much of Europe. 

Elizabeth Anscombe

It was a pleasant surprise to read a tribute to Elizabeth Anscombe in the New York Times on January 8, marking the tenth anniversary of the death of one of the greatest modern philosophers. She was a generous mentor when I was a graduate student. There is a revival of interest in her in many universities around the world. She was ridiculed for celebrating with champagne the prophetic encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae. She also was arrested for protesting outside an abortion "clinic." For those who broadcast the truth, champagne and censure go together. Anscombe wrote:

"Those who try to make room for sex as mere casual enjoyment pay the penalty: they become shallow. At any rate the talk that reflects and commends this attitude is always shallow. They dishonour their own bodies; holding cheap what is naturally connected with the origination of human life."

Fr. George W. Rutler is the pastor of the Church of our Saviour in New York City. His latest book, Coincidentally: Unserious Reflections on Trivial Connections, is available from Crossroads Publishing.

Libera - 'When a Knight Won His Spurs'

When a knight won his spurs, in the stories of old,
He was gentle and brave, he was gallant and bold;
With a shield on his arm and a lance in his hand,
For God and for valour he rode through the land.

No charger have I, and no sword by my side,
Yet still to adventure and battle I ride,
Though back into storyland giants have fled,
And the knights are no more and the dragons are dead.

Let faith be my shield and let joy be my steed
'Gainst the dragons of anger, the ogres of greed;
And let me set free with the sword of my youth,
From the castle of darkness, the power of the truth.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols' Homily for the Ordination of Three Former Anglican Bishops

Ordination to the Priesthood of Reverend John Broadhurst, Reverend Andrew Burnham, Reverend Keith Newton 

Westminster Cathedral, Saturday, January 15, 2011

Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Many ordinations have taken place in this Cathedral during the 100 years of its history. But none quite like this. Today is a unique occasion marking a new step in the life and history of the Catholic Church. This morning the establishment of the first Personal Ordinariate under the provision of the Apostolic Constitution ‘Anglicanorum Coetibus’ has been announced in our hearing. So I too salute John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton who are to be the first priests of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. In particular I offer my prayers and best wishes to Keith, chosen by the Holy Father to be its first Ordinary. 

This is indeed an historic moment. In these opening words I welcome you warmly, Keith, Andrew and John. You have distinguished pasts, full of real achievements. Now, ahead of you, you have an important and demanding future! In welcoming you I recognise fully the demands of the journey you have made together with your families, with its many years of thought and prayer, painful misunderstandings, conflict and uncertainty. I want, in particular, to recognise your dedication as priests and bishops of the Church of England and affirm the fruitfulness of your ministry.

I thank so many in the Church of England who have recognised your sincerity and integrity in making this journey and who have assured you of their prayers and good wishes. First among these is Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury, with his characteristic insight, and generosity of heart and spirit.

First Anglican Ordinariate Established in Britain

From Catholic World News

Former Anglican bishops (L-R) John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton stand during their ordination as Roman Catholic priests at Westminster Cathedral in central London, January 15, 2011. Three former Anglican bishops were ordained as Catholic priests on Saturday, to become the first priests of the Ordinariate of former Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, local media reported.  REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION)

The Vatican has established the first personal ordinariate for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church. 

On January 15, as 3 former Anglican bishops were ordained to the Catholic priesthood, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a statement establishing an ordinariate for England and Wales. 

Rev. Keith Newton, one of the three former Anglican bishops, was named by Pope Benedict XVI as the first ordinary. The Vatican statement said that he, along with the other former Anglican bishops, “will oversee the catechetical preparation of the first groups of Anglicans in England and Wales who will be received into the Catholic Church together with their pastors at Easter, and will accompany the clergy preparing for ordination to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost.” 

Rev. Newton said that the appointment was “not an honor that I have sought or expected but I pray that God will give me the wisdom and grace to live up to the trust the Holy Father has placed in me.” 

The personal ordinariate is a new ecclesiastical structure, established by Pope Benedict with his apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus as a means of welcoming those Anglicans who wish to enter the Catholic Church. The ordinariate will allow Anglican communities to maintain their distinct liturgical and pastoral traditions, while being fully in communion with the Holy See.The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explained:

A Personal Ordinariate is a canonical structure that provides for corporate reunion in such a way that allows former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their distinctive Anglican patrimony. With this structure, the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be fully integrated into the Catholic Church.

The ordinariate will provide pastoral care for former Anglicans entering the Catholic Church in England and Wales, stretching across the lines of existing dioceses. The new structure will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman. 

The ordinary exercises many of the administrative powers of a bishop. However Rev. Newton, who is married, will not be consecrated as a bishop. The Vatican statement pointed out that while married men can sometimes be ordained to the Catholic priesthood, and the ordinariate allows for married priests, the Catholic Church never consecrates married men to episcopal office. All three of the former Anglican bishops who were ordained as Catholic priests on January 15 are married. 

During the ordination, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, who presided at the ceremony, said: “We offer a warm welcome to these three former bishops of the Church of England. We welcome those who wish to join them in full communion with the Pope in the visible unity of the Catholic Church.” 

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Erection of a Personal Ordinariate for England and Wales (VIS)
• Pope Benedict establishes world’s first ordinariate (Catholic Herald)
• Press Statement from Keith Newton - First Ordinary (Total Catholic)