HeadlineBistro

Worship at the heart of civilization?

Even non-history buffs can appreciate this fascinating article in Newsweek on an archeological dig in Turkey that is causing anthropologists to reconsider modern theories on mankind’s ancient history.

For 15 years, Klaus Schmidt, a German archeologist – and a Catholic – has been devoted to the Göbekli Tepe ruins near Sanliurfa, Turkey. Sprawled atop a hill (Göbekli means “potbelly”) are the remains of a massively large and astoundingly ancient temple complex. If its dating is correct, it is the oldest discovered temple in the world, the first known holy site of prehistoric civilization: Schmidt believes the ruins are 7,000 years older than Egypt’s Great Pyramid, 6,000 years older than Stonehenge and more than a millennium older than the walls of Jericho – what were previously thought to be the oldest monumental construction by man. 

Even more than their sheer antiquity, though, what is perhaps most significant is the fact that this structure seems to have been solely devoted to the purpose of prehistoric worship. Schmidt’s team has found no evidence of fire pits, trash heaps, pottery or other signs of a civilization carrying out the routine tasks of daily life on the hilltop. There’s not even a source of water.

“Since the temples predate any known settlement anywhere, Schmidt concludes that man’s first house was a house of worship,” the Newsweek article says. “‘First the temple, then the city,’ he insists.”

Here’s more from the article:

Schmidt’s thesis is simple and bold: it was the urge to worship that brought mankind together in the very first urban conglomerations. The need to build and maintain this temple, he says, drove the builders to seek stable food sources, like grains and animals that could be domesticated, and then to settle down to guard their new way of life. The temple begat the city.

This theory reverses a standard chronology of human origins, in which primitive man went through a “Neolithic revolution” 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. In the old model, shepherds and farmers appeared first, and then created pottery, villages, cities, specialized labor, kings, writing, art, and—somewhere on the way to the airplane—organized religion. As far back as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, thinkers have argued that the social compact of cities came first, and only then the “high” religions with their great temples, a paradigm still taught in American high schools.

Religion now appears so early in civilized life—earlier than civilized life, if Schmidt is correct—that some think it may be less a product of culture than a cause of it, less a revelation than a genetic inheritance. The archeologist Jacques Cauvin once posited that “the beginning of the gods was the beginning of agriculture,” and Göbekli may prove his case.

If you’re hooked yet, then the entire piece is a must read. An article from Smithsonian Magazine last year also features photos of the still-standing stone pillars scattered about the hill, covered with intricate carvings of foxes, scorpions, vultures and human-shaped figures that appear to be deities.

Twenty miles from the Syrian border and five hours west of Iraq – where some believe the Garden of Eden was located – this hilly region of southeastern Turkey offers a sweeping view of the Fertile Crescent: how awe-inspiring that a temple would be at the heart of it!

I’m reminded of St. Paul’s words to the Athenians in the 17th chapter of Acts:
 
From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:26-28).

Man is a religious being, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: Intrinsic to his very nature is the need to worship, the urge to reach out beyond himself to God. We may never know the details of this ancient people’s religion (the Göbekli Tepe ruins were built millennia before the emergence of writing), but their instinct to erect such a monumental sacred structure – a hilltop sanctuary from which their entire culture would radiate – should resonate with us all.

The full light of Truth, coming in the form of a baby in a manger, was 11,500 years away for this prehistoric people. But the remnants of their civilization offer an image of man searching and groping in the shadows for even the slightest glimpses of it – for the unknown God who “is not far from each one of us.”

-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor

(I couldn't resist throwing in two more links in this news wrap: 1), an article on an excavation in Jerusalem that -- surprise! -- seems to confirm the veracity of the Old Testament's account of the reigns of King David and King Solomon; and 2), a compelling column on why "Even Atheists Should Read the Bible." Enjoy!)

Sports, glory and the drama of faith

The final few days of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are now upon us. For the past two weeks we have been treated to thrilling victories, agonizing defeats and an endless parade of human interest stories profiling the world’s greatest athletes. Like it or not, these superstars enjoy a privileged status in our culture. Soon after leaving Vancouver many of them will trade in their Olympic gold medals for corporate sponsorships, see their faces plastered on everything from cereal boxes to supermarket tabloids, and command huge paydays for public appearances.

It’s beneficial, then, to highlight the stories of Olympic stars who give praise to God for their achievements and whose inspiring exploits reflect their core beliefs. After all, in the words of Knute Rockne, “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than fifty preaching it.”

When Pope Benedict XVI sent greetings to Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver in the lead up to the Olympic Games, he recognized the power of sports to transcend divisions and to celebrate the human spirit. The pope cited the Olympic Games as an important contribution to “establishing the new civilization of love.”

Indeed, many athletes have sought to use their newfound pedestals for more than self promotion. The Christian Science Monitor published an interesting exploration of the resurgence of evangelistic fervor among many medal contenders in Vancouver. The article concluded that: “…in America, where religion is increasingly embraced in the public sphere, more than a few Christian athletes are crediting God on their blogs and posting Bible verses on their websites. For them, sport is a demanding but exhilarating proving ground for practicing what they preach.”

Among the current and former Olympians profiled in the piece is Dave Johnson, the American decathlete who won the bronze medal in the pole vault at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Johnson competed with a broken bone in his foot.  “I honestly believed that it was my calling to allow Christ to be seen through my performance,” Johnson claimed, and “it was my daily calling to bear the cross for him so that he could be seen through me.”

Tim Ellsworth of the Baptist Press has written an intriguing profile of American bobsledders Erin Pac and Elana Meyers. Both women are committed Christians and friends who have overcome numerous challenges, including a personal falling out, to ride together in Vancouver. Meyers shared how her Christian faith helps keep ambitions as an Olympian in check.

“My relationship with Christ really allows me to keep bobsledding in its perspective,” she said. “At the end of the day, God loves me whether I win a gold medal or whether I finish dead last.”

Pac and Meyers shocked many on Wednesday by winning the bronze medal in the ladies’ two-man bobsled competition.

Sometimes Olympic athletes can preach to us without even intending to. That is clearly seen in Daniel Parick Sheehan’s touching story of 2-year-old Finn Ostrowski, “The Flying Pierogi” written for the daily newspaper of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Born in 2007, Finn was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare and deadly congenital heart defect. Finn’s mother, Tara Connolly – who also happens to be a Catholic journalist – looked for other cases of individuals who overcame this rare disease. To her great surprise, she discovered that the gold medal winning snowboarder Shaun White was also born with the same heart defect as her son. Known as the “Flying Tomato” because of his flaming red hair and spectacular exploits in the air, White has inspired a new nickname for young Finn. His family has started calling him “The Flying Pierogi” in recognition of his Polish heritage. Sheehan captured the reaction of Finn’s mother to White’s gold medal winning performance:

Connolly marked down the date of White's Vancouver performance and sat up to watch it while everyone else slept. She marveled as he swooped up and down the halfpipe, hurtling high above it, contorting himself, landing flawlessly each time, capturing gold. She wept, because she realized in her own heart that Finn could lead just this sort of life.

Finally, Catholic News Service has a fascinating story of an Olympian who traded in her skates for a habit. Kristen Holum was just 17-years-old in 1998 when she competed as a speedskater in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. She was viewed as a future medal contender, but Holum chose to forego a bright Olympic career for a higher calling. She joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, an order founded in New York in 1988. In the CNS profile Holum describes how her past accomplishments serve as an aid in evangelization.

“Usually you get a shocked look,” she said. “It is hard for children sometimes to picture you as anything else than a nun. It is definitely a starting point for evangelization, for bringing them closer to Christ, because they can see there is a real person standing in front of them and not just a nun.”

The Olympics represent one of the grandest platforms in human history. Before an international audience of hundreds of millions – if not billions – individuals compete for personal glory and national honor. But, if one digs deeper there emerges a testimony of faith that never lies far from any human drama. 

-- David Naglieri

New health bill, new abortion obstacles

Tomorrow’s the big day in Washington – the White House health care summit with Democrat and Republican congressional leaders, at which President Obama will push his own, 11-page proposal for health care reform released earlier this week.

Obama has laid the groundwork for an aggressive procedural maneuver known as reconciliation to pass the legislation using only Democratic votes and avoiding the 60-vote supermajority needed to avert a Republican filibuster – if this week brings no progress toward a bipartisan solution. Indeed, many Republicans are already viewing the summit as a “charade” intended to force them to boycott, leaving Democrats “no choice but to plow ahead with their health care takeover.” Read more reactions here.

A general overview of the president’s proposal, which largely mirrors the bill passed by the Senate in December, is outlined in a recent New York Times overview. The plan:

• Will cost an estimated $950 billion over the next ten years
• Projects extending coverage to 31 million people currently uninsured 
• Proposes measures for taking control of soaring health care costs
• Eliminates the criticized deal to help Nebraska pay for a Medicaid expansion
• Delays enactment of a tax on high-cost employer-sponsored insurance plans
• Eliminates the coverage gap or “doughnut hole” in the Medicare prescription drug program 
• Excludes the public option
• Retains the Senate’s less-restrictive language on abortion, excluding the House’s Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which would bar insurers from offering abortion coverage to anyone buying a policy with a federal subsidy

Zooming in on the latter point, Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan – who drafted language in the House version of the health reform bill barring government coverage of abortions – called Obama’s proposal “unacceptable” and “a significant departure from current law.” He added, “While the President has laid out a health care proposal that brings us closer to resolving our differences, there is still work to be done before Congress can pass comprehensive health care reform.”

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that House leaders believe there is a good chance that Stupak will vote against the final bill and that Democrats estimate that roughly 10 other lawmakers could follow his lead – perhaps more. To make up for any lost votes, Democrats would need to pick up support from Democrats who voted against the original House measure for reasons unrelated to abortion.

Interestingly, the article also outlined the possibility that Stupak could be brought on board if congressional leaders promise to impose new abortion restrictions on the use of federal subsidies through one of the annual spending bills. The article concluded saying that Stupak hadn’t ruled out a solution along those lines.

Douglas Johnson, the legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, wrote a statement on Feb. 23 breaking down the major differences between the House and Senate versions with regards to abortion coverage. He said:

“None of President Obama's proposed changes diminish any of the sweeping pro-abortion problems in the Senate bill, and he actually proposes to increase the funds that would be available to directly subsidize abortion procedures (through Community Health Centers) and to subsidize private health insurance that covers abortion (through the premium-subsidy tax credits program).

Elaborating on one of the major problems with the Senate bill, Johnson writes that the Senate provides $7 billion for the nation's 1,250 Community Health Centers, without any restriction on the use of these federal funds to directly pay for abortion on demand. He explains that Obama’s proposal increases that figure to $11 billion, without adding a prohibition on the use of the funds for abortion.  (The House-passed bill would provide $12 billion, but there the funds would be covered by the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.) He concluded saying that the only thing that would fix the Senate bill on abortion is “permanent, bill-wide language that is functionally identical to the Stupak-Pitts Amendment adopted in the House on November 7, 2009.”

Catholic News Service pointed out that Obama’s list of proposals makes no mention of health care for immigrants, which alongside the abortion issue was one of the highest priorities mentioned repeatedly by leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in messages to Congress.

The same article summarized the results of a poll released Feb. 23 by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Asked what they think Congress should do now about health reform, 32 percent said lawmakers should “move soon to pass the comprehensive legislation” already passed by the House and Senate; 22 percent said they should stop working on it now and take it up later this year; 20 percent said they should “pass a few provisions where there is broad agreement” and 19 percent said they should stop working on health care reform this year.

In other words, 61% want far less than is being pushed by Congressional leadership and the president. And less than a third of the American people are currently pleased with the push to pass health care legislation now.

With little reason to believe that Democrats will consent to starting from scratch, the hope for this week’s summit is now on true bipartisan consensus and collaboration. In the words of Sister Marjorie Keenan, CEO of the Catholic Health Association: “Our prayers are with the summit participants…we hope and expect that those in attendance, as well as other lawmakers and administration officials, will rise above partisan politics and fulfill their responsibility to give Americans the leadership and change they are demanding” –namely, policies that seek to improve quality of life, control costs and protect human life.

Stay tuned…

Michèle Nuzzo-Naglieri

Rising from the ruins of Haiti

The nation’s attention seemed momentarily lifted north to Canada in recent days, but the aftermath of Haiti seems to constantly remind us that the suffering there will last for years. The Knights of Columbus latest charitable effort was a $ 150,000 donation towards a specific medical device: wheelchairs. Their donation would be enough for the purchase of 1,000 wheelchairs for the victims in Haiti who lost limbs or mobility.

In retrospect, as the dust has now settled, the donation ably anticipated the need to address one of the worst and most permanent legacies of the Haiti earthquake.

The New York Times refocused attention on the problem of amputees with a depressing feature Monday on a few young women who lost limbs. The piece spared no time getting to the gruesome reality. It began with an aspiring dancer screaming “Don’t cut off my leg!” and went from there.

The article noted that “The Haitian government believes that 6,000 to 8,000 people have lost limbs or digits. Handicap International estimates that 2,000 to 4,000 Haitians underwent amputations.” Both disturbing estimates, but not nearly as bad as early estimates.

Back in late January, shortly after the quake hit, media reports were grim. The UK Guardian ran stories from surgeons in the medical camps who were reporting the highest amputee rate since the Crimean War, and estimated that the toll could be as many as 200,000 Haitians missing at least one limb. The poor medical care and the unavailability of treatment in the immediate aftermath contributed the high rate of infections that necessitated so many of the drastic amputations.

Though one can only assume, hopefully, that the latest figures reported by the Time are correct, it is a large discrepancy nonetheless. It is a sad fact that in such an underdeveloped nation, many of the tregedies with go unreported. 

There are some unlikely sources of inspiration rising from the ruins. Zenit is reporting on the prospect of one of the victims of the Haitian quake, Zilda Arns, being put on the path to sainthood for her work with children in her home country of Brazil.  

Her sibling, Sister Mary Helen Arns told Zenit about the scope of Zilda's work in Brazil :

Pastoral da Criança is already active in 272 diocese of Brazil, in 7,000 parishes, 42,000 communities, with an "army" of 260,000 volunteers, 92% of whom are women, who support 1,985,347 poor children, 108,342 pregnant women, of 1,553,717 families. In the beginning more than 50% of children in Brazil suffered malnutrition; now it is 3.1%. In 1983 infant mortality was 82.2 out of every 1,000 children born alive. Today it is 13 out of 1,000 in the poor communities supported by Pastoral da Criança.

Sister Helen noted that Brazilian Bishops have mentioned the possiblity of opening the cause of beatification. Additionally, the president of Brazil was supportive of her being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize, based upon her remarkable record of service to the children she devoted her life to.

Paul Ciarcia

Weekend wrap

Over the weekend ...

• The Vatican released its annual “Annuario Pontificio,” or Pontifical Yearbook. Continuing a pattern of growth, the number of Catholics has increased by 1.7 percent worldwide, from about 1.147 billion adherents in 2007 to 1.166 billion in 2008. In addition, Catholics as a percentage of the global population grew from 17.33 percent to 17.4 percent. Of note: The number of both priests and seminarians is also increasing worldwide, especially in Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Indeed, the yearbook’s statistics offer an unsurprising picture of what the Church will look like in coming years. While Europe still has the most clergy members and religious by continent, it is also seeing the most drastic plunge in numbers among those groups. From 2000 to 2008, Europe’s distribution of noticeably declined from 51.5 percent to 47.1 percent. And while Europe is home to over 40 percent of the Church’s women religious, it beat out the other continents in terms of their decline – a 17.6 percent decrease in numbers from 2000 to 2008. Finally, Europe was the only region to see a drop in the number of candidates for the priesthood over the past year.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised a completed health care bill in 60 days, saying Democrats would use a procedural tactic to bypass Republicans’ filibuster and get the bill to the House with only 50 Senate votes. This announcement, of course, comes just before the White House’s health care summit with members of the GOP – a move critics say only has the façade of bipartisanship. As the administration’s own Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius said last week, “There will be one proposal. It is the president’s.”

In terms of abortion, the New York Times reported today that Obama’s version of the bill – presented this morning to the media – follows the Senate bill’s lead on abortion restrictions and does not offer the strict language of the House’s Stupak Amendment, which bars federal funding from any providers offering abortion coverage.

“The absence of the Stupak provision ... could complicate matters for Mr. Obama in the House, where conservatives, led by Mr. Stupak, are adamant that the provision be included,” the NY Times reports.

• Finally, as the Catholic blogosphere heats up over the issue of Church teaching and torture (Mark Shea’s blog has been just one hot spot of the debate; The American Catholic rounds up several links of interest), Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that the U.S. doesn’t need to resort to harsh interrogation techniques on captured Taliban fighters.

From the Wall Street Journal:

There is the "concept of living our values," said Gen. Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, which includes Afghanistan and Iraq. "Whenever we have taken expedient measures, they have turned around and bitten us in the backside."

Gen. Petraeus, appearing on NBC News's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, said the impact from the photos of U.S. agents torturing suspects at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were "non-biodegradable." U.S. enemies "continue to beat you with them like a stick."

In a related story, the Los Angeles Times published an article Friday on the difficult balance U.S. Marines are currently trying to maintain in Afghanistan when taking detainees. Wary of the impression of mistreating detainees, as well as the need to win the trust of local civilians, the troops have been instructed to go to great lengths to avoid any rough handling – even asking suspects to voluntarily go with them. (Most do, the article reports).

“The only way we’d rough them up is if they come at us,” said one corporal. “Otherwise, we want to make sure they leave in the same shape they arrived.”

Another soldier quoted in the LA Times admitted it was tough order to follow.

“It’s hard to put our feelings aside when these guys were shooting at Marines,” the staff sergeant said. “But we do it; that’s what makes us better than them.”

All in all, it’s a revealing look at the difficult task that lies ahead for our troops.

-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor

The Church around the world

It’s official: This October, Blessed Mary MacKillop and Blessed Andre Bessette will be canonized saints at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

The announcement of Australia’s “rebel nun” and Montreal’s beloved son – the founder of the renowned St. Joseph’s Oratory – came today during a formal ceremony in Latin presided over by Pope Benedict and attended by cardinals present in Rome.

Catholic News Service has brief biographies of the two saints-to-be, as well as the other four persons to be canonized the same day.

In Australia, sisters of the order founded by Blessed Mary MacKillop rejoiced at the news – and have begun planning their Rome pilgrimage in the fall.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, archbishop of Montreal, declared at St. Joseph’s Oratory, “The announcement of the canonization of Brother Andre is the best thing that could have happened this year for the Church of Montreal.”

“I have always been impressed by this man, both a humble man and a visionary,” the cardinal continued, “a man of deep faith. An example of determination, still relevant today in 2010.” 

There’s nothing quite like a saint’s canonization that reminds us of the universal nature of the Church – and that, from East to West, its members are called to holiness. (Remember the images of Hawaiians in traditional dress celebrating in Rome the canonization of Belgian-born Father Damien de Veuster? Now there was an example of a Church that knows no bounds!)

On the blog Intentional Disciples, Sherry Wendell brings to life more stories of the Church around the world, from the 100-year-old Catholic community among the Garo tribal people of India and Bangladesh, to the thriving Catholic Church in Korea founded by lay converts in the 18th century.

Wendell suggests that such stories are modern retellings of the gospels’ Nativity story:

How different would our conversations be, how much closer to the truth of the matter, how much more joy we would bring to the heart of Christ – if every time we met or heard of a spiritual seeker or convert, we thought:

MAGI! Wise men and women coming from a far country, searching for God.

On a related note, Carolyn Moynihan of MercatorNet addresses the issue of religious persecution around the globe. The majority of the world’s population lives under high restrictions on religion, she notes – and yet, “faith can still find ways to act.”

Earlier this year, for example, Chinese state media released the rather surprising report of a 71-year-old farmer being named one of China’s “Top 10 People of 2009.” The farmer – who’s spent over two decades caring for the elderly, sick, abandoned and handicapped – is Catholic. Considering China’s tenuous relationship with the Vatican, the honoring is noteworthy.

Moynihan writes:

Do ... persecuted minorities have to simply wait for a better regime to come along, or is there something they can do to make that day come sooner?

Farmer Wang Ping An (Ping An means “peace”) may provide a clue. Twenty-three years ago he started taking elderly people, abandoned children, sick, lonely and disabled people into his home and looking after them. “He accompanied 63 elderly people in the final stretch of their earthly life, taking care of everything, even their funeral. In 2000 he built a house with 50 simple rooms, taking out a loan, to give a home to all those who do not have one,” says Fides. By his own account he was simply living his faith: “Jesus taught us: ‘Whenever you did this to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’”

A government that persecuted people like that would probably have popular riots on its hands. Officials who did not recognise “the great moral height” of a young man like the [Catholic] student John Huang Chuan Ding who gave his life to save a child would arouse suspicion and resentment. Authorities who really couldn’t see, in such examples, that a particular faith is compatible with patriotism, would soon be rare.

Whether it’s a courageous nun starting schools for children in the rugged Australian bush or an humble Chinese farmer giving the dying a chance to spend their last days in dignity, these men and women are heroes, impelled by love and bearing marvelous witness to the One who lives in them. We’re all called to be saints no matter what our vocation, as Pope John Paul II was fond of reminding the Church – these examples show us how.

-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor

The Lenten season has arrived

The Lenten season has arrived. For the next 40 days, Christians around the world will focus their energies on penance, self-sacrifice and spiritual growth. Preparing for Easter Sunday can take on many different forms. However, ultimately it is a time of conversion. In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI called on Christians to strip themselves of sin and superficiality and to turn their lives fully over to Jesus Christ.

On Ash Wednesday the Holy Father made his weekly appearance for the General Audience. Speaking to a crowd of 6,500 in the Paul VI auditorium, the pope encouraged Catholics to observe the season of Lent with a renewed desire to “go against the current.” He pointed out that conversion should represent not just an interior change of heart, but also a transformation in our relationship with the outside world.

 According to Pope Benedict XVI, “Conversion is to go against the current where the current is a lifestyle that is superficial, inconsistent, disillusioned, and which often tramples us, reigns over us and makes us slaves to evil or, in any case, prisoners of mediocre morals.” At the conclusion of the audience the Pope made a special appeal to young people, urging them to “live Lent with a genuine penitential spirit, as a return to the Father, who awaits all with open arms.”

Wednesday evening, the pope led the traditional Ash Wednesday procession to the Church of Santa Sabina, where he celebrated Mass and received ashes. In his homily the pope reflected on the penitential aspect of Lent.

“The first act of justice is to recognize our own wickedness, acknowledge that it is rooted in our heart, in the centre of the human person,” he said. “Fasting, wailing, lamentations and every penitential expression have value in the eyes of God only if they represent hearts that have sincerely repented.”

The pope’s comments about justice resonate with his annual “Message for Lent,” released by the Vatican earlier this month. In that message he rejected the secularization of the concept of justice and urged Christians to view the quest for social justice through the lens of individual spiritual renewal and salvation through Jesus Christ.

The need for a return to confession during the Lenten season was echoed by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. In a post on his Facebook page, Dolan reflected on a retreat he recently attended in the village of Ars, France. The village was home to St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, who converted the town and drew tens of thousands of pilgrims to Ars by simply hearing confessions. Dolan, who participated in the retreat with 35 priests from the Archdiocese of New York, wrote: “We priests knelt before that simple wooden confessional a lot last week, preparing for our own confession on retreat, and praying, at my request, for a renewal of the sacrament of penance in our own parishes and archdiocese.”

It seems one initiative is already being launched to further the practice of confession in the Archdiocese of New York. The Cathedral of Saint Patrick Young Adults (CSPYA) group is hosting 24 hours of available confessions – an event which will involve 51 parishes in the greater New York area.

Catholic News Service has an intriguing piece on a communal act of penance that dates back centuries. Seminarians studying at the North American Seminary in Rome are embarking on a daily Lenten pilgrimage to ancient churches of Rome. Fr. James R. DeViese, who helped organize the pilgrimage, told CNS, “It puts us in touch with our own Catholic roots. It’s a communal act of penance and prayer, a way for us to join together as Christians to prepare our souls for the sacred Triduum.”

Lent also enjoys a close association with the right to life movement. On Ash Wednesday 40 Days for Life kicked off in 167 cities around the world. This initiative involves communal prayer, vigil, and fasting to bring an end to abortion. Pedro Guevara-Mann of Salt and Light TV offers an excellent summary of the 40 Days for Life launch in Toronto.

The quest for spiritual growth during the Lenten season should involve confession, Stations of the Cross and Mass. But Catholics can also look for spiritual nourishment online. Father James Farfaglia, a blogging priest from Corpus Christi, Texas, has posted an insightful blog on the significance of Lent. For those seeking video content to buttress their devotional life this season Fr. Thomas Rosica of Salt +Light TV has a series of Lenten reflections that can be viewed online.

The great mystic Thomas a Kempis once wrote, “Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God’s sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God.” An encouraging thought for your 40 days of Lenten observance.

-- David Naglieri

Beyond the fight to win

The magic of these 21st Winter Olympic Games began at the opening ceremonies, and I say ‘magic’ because that’s exactly what artistic director David Atkin delivered in the most spellbinding displays of “Canadianism.”

But what pulled the audience member in was something that went far beyond the mesmerizing wonders of technology. It was the intimacy of it all. On a physical level, every one of the 60,000 spectators in BC Place Stadium were part of the show, flashing lights on cue and wearing colored tunics according to their seat, making them a part of the greater “canvas.” 

Emotionally, the whole world was experiencing the juxtaposition of joy and pain in light of the tragedy that had occurred earlier in the day with the shocking death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritshvili. No sooner were the Olympic and Canadian flags raised that they were lowered to half mast. It became apparent throughout the ceremony, that it wasn’t only Georgia that lost Nodar, the whole world was mourning. As John Furlong, VANOC's CEO, put it: Tonight we are, as we have been, One Team. Une Equipe.

This same spirit of unity and intimacy has continued to mark every event since the lighting of the torch. With athletes opening their hearts to the world, I find myself rooting for competitors of other nations (when Canada is no longer a contender of course), feeling connected to their personal story of struggle, of hope, of faith, of inspiration.

The one story that stood out, capturing the world’s heart, is one that coincided with the end of Canada’s “gold drought.” On Sunday, Alexandre Bilodeau of Quebec won gold in the men’s freestyle moguls competition, the country’s first winter gold on home soil. While Canada was well rehearsed for her moment of glory, in no way was she prepared for the emotions that incurred upon seeing Alexandre rush to embrace his handicapped brother Frederick at the end of his race.

Sheryl Ubelacker of the Canadian press said it best: Alexandre Bilodeau's Olympic gold medal will forever be enshrined as Canada's first on home turf. But…it is the freestyle skier's tender - and very public esteem for his brother Frederick that will long glitter in memory. For Bilodeau, the cerebral palsy that has affected his older sibling's speech and muscle control is just one aspect of the man he unabashedly calls his hero and daily inspiration.

CTV put together a beautiful short which allowed the world an intimate glimpse into the hearts behind the medal. Narrator Rick Hansen (the paraolympian athlete who took part in the torch relay at the opening ceremonies) begins by explaining how a very young Alex fell in love with hockey, but because big brother Frederick had cerebral palsy and couldn’t skate, “Alex gave up the game he loved for the brother he loved more.” Skiing became the more accessible sport of choice for the family and Alex learned to love it. 

The two brothers were inseparable and as Alex began to enter ski competitions, big brother Frederick was always waiting for him at the bottom of the hill celebrating his every move. Alex explains how his inspiration came from watching Frederick struggle to do what he took for granted. Doctors said Frederick wouldn’t walk past the age of ten.

Alex: “He’s 28 and he still walks, so where’s the limit for each of us? If his limit was at 10 and he’s 28 and he’s still walking, nobody’s going to tell me what my limit is.”

Alex then explains how the qualities Frederick relies on to get through life are the same ones he relies on to get to the podium: “[Frederick’s] got a wicked determination. It’s impressive to grow up with someone like that. I’ve learnt a lot from it and I will continue to learn a lot from it.”

If Alex ever got the urge to slack off, his big brother’s determination was what kept him on track.

Alex: “He’s such an inspiration. When I complain and think ‘it’s raining outside, I don’t want to go train,’ I’m just like, what if I didn’t have the chance to go train today? I do have that chance, and I will go.”

Fueled by Frederick’s support, Alex’s dream was realized when he found himself competing in Torino in 2006. He did well but was disappointed in himself for missing a critical landing. He explains: “I was crying, trying to rip the hair off my head and Frederick found me and said “I just want to tell you I’m so happy and so proud of you!” I said to him: Don’t you see what I’ve just done in front of millions of people?!?!” And he said to me: “Alex, you were at the Olympics! You achieved your goal! At the beginning of the year, you didn’t even think you could go to the Olympics and here you are!”

On Sunday, shortly after Alex won gold, he told reporters that it was all for Frederick and the cameras raced to catch the two brothers embracing and sharing a moment that has been enshrined as the epitome of these Winter Games. For people suffering with CP, this moment represented so much more.

Joanne Hutchinson, a volunteer for the Halifax Regional Cerebral Palsy Association who was born with the condition, says that seeing the images of the brothers was like magic. In an article by the Canadian press, she pointed out that many people with CP avoid going out in public, especially if they have a noticeable disability or uncontrolled muscle movements or spasms. She explained that there's a lot of public misconceptions about the disorder and hopes that the focus on Frederick Bilodeau's “no-holds-barred support of his brother and his place of honor at the front of the spectators gallery will help raise awareness of the condition they share.”

Craig Langston, president of the Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia who also has CP, said the Quebec brothers' story "speaks of inclusion."

"Part of our mission statement is to raise awareness, to reach our potential and to realize ourselves as equals in society. I think Alex and Frederick live that.” She adds: "When you saw that embrace at the end, it was just two brothers sharing that moment. And you didn't see the disability."

As we continue to celebrate the achievement of attaining new heights, new strengths and new speeds, the real hope is that we continue to uphold the values that Alexandre and Frederick embody so well, the same ones that make up the very spirit of the Olympic Games: that we are all created equal, that we are united in our humanity and that without love, we attain nothing. 

Michèle Nuzzo-Naglieri

The pope's visit to the UK this year will come at a pivotal moment

Imagine, for a second, that the United States disallowed people of Jewish ancestry or religion from assuming the ambassadorship to Israel. Or assume that people of African descent were de facto excluded from being ambassadors to countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

This sort of bizarre mistrust and bigotry was the standard operating procedure in the United Kingdom for nearly 90 years. The BBC notes that in 1917 the British Foreign Office declared that the person occupying the post of ambassador to the Vatican “should not be filled with unreasoning awe of the Pope.” 

It wasn’t until Prime Minister Tony Blair finally ended the practice in 2005 that a Catholic from Northern Ireland, Francis Campbell assumed the post. According to the BBC, Campbell -- Blair's former private secretary -- was the first Catholic ambassador from the UK to the Vatican since the Reformation.

Mr. Blair's struggle to overturn the practice will be recounted in an upcoming BBC documentary:

 "I said 'Francis would be a great person to do that' and they said 'Well you know this, prime minister, but actually we don't really have this open to Catholics' and I honestly thought I misunderstood what they were saying.

"I said 'How do you mean? We're talking about that Embassy, the Vatican one'. They said 'Yes, I know, but not a Catholic there.'

"I said 'It's the Vatican, the Pope, he's a Catholic. You mean we actually as a matter of policy... say you can't have a Catholic?' I said 'What is this? It's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard'."

Mr Blair added: "Can you imagine we say for years and years and years the one category of person we shouldn't have as ambassador to the Holy See is someone who shares their faith?

"I don't think that is very sensible - not in this day.

"Quite apart from being discriminatory, how stupid is it? So Francis was the first."

Blair’s struggles to end the anti-Catholic bias occurred before his official conversion to Catholicism in 2007. At the time, it was reported that “he had avoided talking about his religious views while in office for about 10 years for fear of being labeled ‘a nutter.’”

He would later explain, with less apprehension, to the Rimini Meeting in Italy that "ever since I began preparations to become a Catholic I felt I was coming home and this is now where my heart is, where I know I belong."

Blair’s experience is just one example of anti-Catholicism in the UK. A more recent dust up has been the so-called Equality Bill, a piece of British Labour party legislation that could have subjected Churches to prosecution for failing to employ homosexuals or allowing female priests. Pope Benedict forcefully condemned the legislation as violating natural law and religious freedom.

In a Feb. 1 address to the bishops of England and Wales making their “ad limina” visit to the Vatican, Pope Benedict exhorted them to “continue to insist upon your right to participate in national debate through respectful dialogue with other elements in society.”

He continued:

“In doing so, you are not only maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them: when so many of the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel’s right to be heard?”

The government has since backed down on the most contentious clause within the bill  but not before critics harshly accused Benedict of meddling in British politics.

That such a stigma is still attached to Catholicism in the United Kingdom lends even more meaning to the pope’s state visit later this year, which will be made in the middle of a maelstrom of activity. the aftereffects of the apostolic constitution to welcome Anglicans into communion with the Catholic Church (to which some leaders in the Church of England are expected to respond on February 22nd, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter), as well as the clergy sex abuse scandals in Ireland. 

Growing secularism, long engrained anti-Catholicism and superstition, and the delicate issue of welcoming members of the Anglican Church seeking communion with Rome will no doubt define much of the discussion surrounding the pope’s visit and his actions. This could make Benedict’s visit to the UK one of the most challenging and significant of his reign, yet also one of the most badly needed. 

Paul Ciarcia

Photos courtesy CNS

The Dominican sisters on Oprah

Did you catch the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist on Oprah this week? The segment can be found on YouTube in four parts; the blog Aggie Catholics compiles them here.

First off, the sisters handled themselves beautifully, joy beaming off their faces as they shared their stories and answered Oprah’s questions with a wide smile and clear tone of seasoned evangelists. (Personally, my favorite exchange was one sister’s use of a chocolate analogy to explain why chastity doesn’t mean a life of sexual repression).

The sisters’ welcoming of Lisa Ling, the correspondent who spent the night at their Michigan convent, made an obvious good impression on the reporter, who was apparently turned away by every other religious community the show sought to interview.

“They were some of the kindest people I’ve ever encountered,” Ling commented.

In one shot at the convent, Ling discussed the sisters’ lack of personal possessions with one member of the community. “I imagine it’s very freeing,” she mused to one member of the community, to which the sister agreed, saying, “We really don’t need much.”

Later Ling described to Oprah the sense of liberation she felt was enjoyed by the women at the convent – they had finally found what they were seeking.

Perhaps predictably, one emphatic theme of questioning from both Oprah and Ling was how the sisters could give up the allures of the world: namely sex, followed closely by shopping.

“What happens when you break a vow?” Oprah asked two sisters. “Like if you go to Target and buy something.”

And more than once, the sisters were pounded with questions about their vow of chastity: How could they give up boyfriends? How could they give up sex?

On the other hand, I was disappointed at the lack of attention given to the sisters’ apostolates – namely education and catechesis in schools, parishes, retreats and even TV.

Before the segment aired, Catholic blogger Elizabeth Scalia lamented the secular media’s inability overall to grasp the real story and motivation behind people like the Dominican sisters.

“The interviewers are so hung up on sex, and so lacking in imagination or depth of thought, that it is the first thing they talk about, and an issue they cannot seem to get past,” Scalia wrote.  “Their curiosity extends only far enough to get a few pictures and soundbites (and a ‘gotcha’ if you can manage it), because in their conflicted worldview, religion is both too boring and too provocative for their viewing audience to endure.”

Today at The Catholic Thing, Joan Frawley Desmond suggested that Oprah’s line of questioning is reflective of the show’s audience:

But the specter of sexual repression and its distorting effects on the human psyche clearly haunted Oprah, prompting her to raise the matter repeatedly with her polite and gentle visitors. She didn’t seem daunted by a life without marriage and children—at least she didn’t raise the issues during her studio interviews. The absence of sex and boyfriends, though, truly worried her: How did the sisters maintain their emotional and mental stability while living celibate lives?

... Yet her practiced interrogation, though clearly well-intentioned, revealed only the remotest understanding of traditional religious life. The persistent questions about sex began to appear crass and myopic. Were they prompted by her own skepticism, or merely designed to mirror the audience’s eye-rolling reaction?

Scalia, on the other hand, gave a more positive review in the end, noting that “Winfrey teased but was never disrespectful, and the whole discussion – from leaving parents, to giving up what is thought of as ‘normal,’ was a healthy back-and-forth.”

Whatever your take on Oprah’s style of questioning and whether she was genuinely captivated by her guests’ bold and joyful witness, I think we can agree that the Dominican sisters did accomplish something by agreeing to be on the show.

In an e-mail update before the segment’s airing, the sisters said, “We accepted this invitation as an opportunity to share our life, and by extension, the Gospel, with an audience that we might not ever reach otherwise.”

They added their prayers that the Lord would use the show “to touch the hearts of many, so that they may come to know Him and His boundless love and mercy.”

Part of the Dominican sisters’ charism is to live out the New Evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II and now his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.

“Deeply attuned to the needs of the church today, our community is familiar with many rooftops from which to proclaim the Gospel,” the sisters state on their website. “It is only through our strong contemplative life that we have the strength to go out to all the world, quite literally, well aware of the admonition of Saint Dominic that grain is meant to be scattered.”

Whether teaching kindergartners or housewives, these women are sharing the love of God in a way that’s joyful, infectious and compelling. Kudos to them for casting into the deep and proclaiming the Gospel to a whole new audience.

-- Elizabeth Hansen, Headline Bistro editor