Vol. VI. No. 31
*****
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
*****
Colleagues List Blog:
http://colleagueslist.blogspot.com/
*****
In This Issue -
Special Item This Week
Book Notice:
"Why Catholics are Right"
by Michael Coren
___
Colleague Contributions:
Elfrieda Schroeder
Harry Winter
___
Net Notes:
... And Jesus Sang
The Flaw in Banning Books
Tomb of St. Francis Restored
Swiss Acquit Holy Book Burners
North Korea to Indict Christian
Martyr for Cause or Christian Martyr?
Vanishing of Religion is Exaggerated
Bourgeois Tells Order He Cannot Recant
Tony Blair Writes on Religion in China
Priest Calls for Secular Pakistan State
Lutheran/Anglican Leaders' Easter Greetings
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Ten ENI Geneva stories appear this week.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Jelaluddin Rumi
Dorothy Day
Danilo Dolci
César Chávez
Margaret Feinberg
___
On This Day:
April 13, 1970 - Crippled Apollo returns safely
April 14, 1865 - Lincoln killed by John W. Booth
April 15, 1912 - Titanic sinks in North Atlantic
___
Closing Thought - Hildegard of Bingen
(end)
************
Dear Friends:
We are heading into Holy Week, the high
holy days of the Christian year!
In this issue of Colleagues List, I offer
you a notice of a book by Micheal Coren,
a Toronto-media personality who specializes
in religious issues.
"Why Catholics are Right" - is his forthcoming
polemical volume, written to counter what he
views as anti-Catholic bias in the media.
I both appreciate and challenge his views.
___
Colleague Contributions:
Elfrieda Schroeder provides further comment
on attracting young people to the church
(after a CL article, two weeks ago)
It's good to hear from you again, Elfrieda!
---
Harry Winter responded to the piece last
week on the unwillingness of the Vatican to
engage in formal acts of prayer with persons
of other religious traditions at the
forthcoming interfaith gathering in Assisi.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Harry!
___
Net Notes:
"... And Jesus Sang" - a favourite author,
Barbara Brown Taylor - shares her thoughts
on the place of music in our Lord's life
(The Christian Century)
"The Flaw in Banning Books" - challenges
the decision of the American Catholic
bishops to ban a recent book by US nun
Elizabeth Johnson - her book is entitled:
"Quest for the Living God" (Sightings)
"Tomb of St. Francis Restored" - after
years of neglect, the tomb of a famous
Italian saint is refurbished (CBC News)
"Swiss Acquit Holy Book Burners" - the
Swiss courts have exonerated a man for
the public desecration of scriptures
(Swiss Info News)
"North Korea to Indict Christian" -
news appeared this week of the jailing
of a preacher for seeking converts
(Christian Science Monitor, Ucan News)
"Martyr to a Cause or Martyr to Christ?"
- delving deeper into the recent murder
of a Christian Pakistani official
(Christian Week)
"Vanishing Religion Greatly Exaggerated"
- commentary on a recent study predicting
an end to religion in several nations,
including Canada (America Magazine video)
"Bourgeois Tells Order He Cannot Recant"
- Maryknoll priest and advocate for the
ordination of women in the Catholic
Church takes his "Luther-like" stand
(National Catholic Reporter)
"Tony Blair Writes on Religion in China"
- the former British prime minister has
been developing a perspective on religion
in China and shares it (Washington Post)
"Priest Calls for Secular Pakistan State"
- in the wake of Christian persecution in
Pakistan, here is a call for the legal
provision of religious freedom (Ucan News)
"Lutheran/Anglican Leaders' Easter Greetings"
- again, for the special religious season,
the Lutheran and Anglican leaders in Canada
extend their festive greetings (ELCIC News)
___
Global Faith Potpourri:
Once more, courtesy of Ecumenical News
International. Geneva, we have ten global
news stories appearing this week.
___
Quotes of the Week:
Jelaluddin Rumi, Dorothy Day, Danilo Dolci,
César Chávez and Margaret Feinberg offer
their insights courtesy of Sojourners.online
___
On This Day:
Provided from the New York Times archives,
these stories were written as the following
significant news events were occurring:
Crippled Apollo 13 returns safely to earth (1970)
President Lincoln assassinated by J.W. Booth (1865)
"Unsinkable" Titanic dies in North Atlantic (1912)
___
Closing Thought - Hildegard of Bingen offers her
spiritual guidance from the pages of "Christian
Mystics" - introduced here last week.
___
Palm Sunday begins a week of spiritual sojourn
for faithful Christians.
Let us journey together!
Wayne
************************
SPECIAL ST. DAVID'S LINKS
Contact us at: asdm@sduc.ca (or)admin@sduc.ca
St. David's Web Address - http://sduc.ca/
Listen to audio recordings of Sunday services -
http://sduc.ca/services.htm
___
ST DAVID'S ACTS WEB PAGE
Created and maintained by Colleague
Jock McTavish
http://stdavidscalgary.net/
NOTE: This page is being reconstructed.
*****
REMINDER:
ST. DAVID'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
TOUR OF CELTIC LANDS - 2011
Airline tickets, a special travel booklet
with much good spiritual reflection material
and information about preparations to make
and places to be visited - have been provided
to all persons on the tour.
We are coming close to the departure date!
35 PEOPLE ARE BOOKED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS
JOURNEY TO CELTIC LANDS FROM APRIL 26th-May 10th.
We have started an interest list for other,
future tours!
Let me know if you are interested in learning
more about exciting, spiritual tourism! This
is a cutting edge ministry at St. David's.
We hope to do many more of these tours in future!
Take a look at the St. David's, Wales Sacred Site:
http://tinyurl.com/4gbg35t
*****
STUDY ARCHIVES
A collection of twenty-five+ studies conducted
since 2000 can quickly be found at:
http://bookstudies.stdavidscalgary.net/
This collection of study resources represents
a decade of Monday Night Studies at St. David's,
plus extra courses too!
You are welcome to use our course outlines,
class notes and resource pages in your personal
and group reflections.
******************************************
SPECIAL ITEM
WHY CATHOLICS ARE RIGHT
by Michael Coren
McClelland and Stewart: Toronto
228 pages. Date: Apr. 19th, 2011.
$28.99 CAD. ISBN #978-0-7710-2321.
Publisher's Promo:
Columnist, television host, author, and
practicing Catholic Michael Coren examines
four main aspects of Catholicism as they
are encountered, understood, and more
importantly, misunderstood, today. For
some Catholicism is the only permanent,
absolute body of truth, while for others
it is the last permanent, absolute body
that has to be opposed and stopped. Why
Catholics Are Right opens with a
discussion of the abuse scandal and
the reality of what happened. Coren then
traces Catholic history, with a discussion
of the Crusades, Inquisition, Holocaust,
and Galileo. He looks at Catholics and
theology, explaining what and why
Catholics believe what they do — Papal
infallibility, immaculate conception,
the Church rather than Bible alone.
Finally, Coren outlines the pro-life
position and why it is so important to
Catholicism. In this challenging,
provocative, and personal book, Michael
Coren draws on history, politics, and
theology to present the arguments for
the truth of Roman Catholicism.
---
Author's Words:
When I first told friends and colleagues
about this book, they were intrigued by
its proposed content but disturbed by
its title. "Sounds a little proud."
"Is that sufficiently conciliatory for
these progressive and pluralistic days?"
and "You ought to be careful because it
might offend people..."
... to claim that being an authentic
Roman Catholic necessitates believing
that Roman Catholicism is correct
positively terrifies many modern men
and women, as though a Catholic claiming
to be right was some terrible sin...
The title stands, and for a specific
reason: to oblige and demand a certain
clarity on the part of the book's readers.
I'm a Catholic and believe in Roman
Catholicism, and thus I believe that
people who disagree with my beliefs
are wrong. I do not dislike them or
wish to hurt them, but I do wish these
readers to consider what I have to say
and to not abuse my beliefs in a manner
and with a harshness that they would not
dream of using against almost any other
creed or religion...
I admit, there are some degrees of wrongness.
For example, serious evangelicals and Eastern
Orthodox believers are only slightly wrong.
Many of them could teach many Catholics a
good deal about love, charity and devotion
to God. Alleged Christians who want to edit
rather than follow Christ, professional
atheists and part-time Catholic bashers
are indeed wrong.
We have all heard comments about Catholics
that if applied to almost any other group
would simply not be tolerated.
I was not a Catholic, and came into the
Church only in my mid-twenties. I'd grown
up in a secular home in Britain with a
Jewish father... So I know what being
despised simply for being is all about...
Very few people dislike Catholicism because
of its theology, but many oppose it because
of the moral and ethical consequences of its
teachings.
This book is not supposed to be anything
like a definitive guide to Roman Catholicism.
It is a mere handbook dealing with some of
the most common but by no means all of the
attacks on the church. It should be useful
to Catholics who want to defend their beliefs
but need a little help. It should also be
of use to honestly curious non-Catholics who
have heard the usual accusations and rumours
and can't believe that this institution that
has done so much good and contains so many
good people can be so evil and wrong.
I hope this book leads some to read further
and deeper, to look at modern Catholic authors
and apologists as well as some of the greats
of the nineteenth century and even of the
medieval age.
This book is meant to be accessible, rather
than exhaustive. These days, tragically, the
Catholic clergy abuse scandal is thrown in
somewhere. It has to be discussed, but it
has to be discussed honestly and accurately.
Much of the criticism of Catholicism is
nonesense, and not based on reality. Still,
it is nonesense that is given a veneer of
credibility by thinking people who shape
opinion. In almost every area, we have
matured as a people and a culture. Not so
on the subject of Roman Catholicism.
- from the Introduction (edited)
---
My Thoughts:
When I was a young boy I recall visiting
my maternal grandfather. Even in my youthful
and rather naive mind, it did not take me
long to discover a defining characteristic
of this otherwise decent man.
My grandfather hated Catholics. He was of
Scots-Irish background and his ancestors had
lived for generations as Ulster-Presbyterians.
Need I say more?
I repeat this truth about my mother's father
for one important reason. I became intrigued
about the people he seemed to hate so much.
What my grandfather succeeded in doing for
me was to set me on a spiritual path that
included coming to know and understand
Catholics better. I simply could not accept
and mouth the vitriol that spewed from my
grandfather's mouth.
Today, when I relate to students and others
who exude some of that same vitriol (usually
around the subject of clergy sexual abuse)
I carefully try to field their comments and
to suggest positive - rather than negative -
approaches to the subject.
Frankly, I think that Michael Coren is
obsessed with the hatred expressed against
Catholics today. My approach - were I a
Catholic - would be to bite the bullet about
some of the criticisms levelled against my
church. It is of little use to try to defend
the evil sexual behaviour and the coverup.
The whole mess needs to be exposed.
Still, in some ways I wish that, as a
Protestant, I might be similarly victimized!
The truth is, people must take Catholicism
seriously - else they wouldn't get so
negatively engaged with it. I wish people
would take my mainline Protestantism even
half as seriously. Sadly, my faith does not
prompt much reaction - good or bad. People
seem to have more important things to get
worked up about!
I honour faithful Catholics - lay and clergy
alike - who take an honest look at the flaws -
even the profound evils - that exist in any
institution made up of humans, including
their own - but who continue to be critically
faithful. That is something I respect.
Perhaps it is because Coren is a convert
to Catholicism that he gets so upset by the
criticism. Converts are often more prickly
about a faith they have struggled to adopt
than those who have always held that faith.
Because of that, I think we need to cut
Coren a bit of slack.
---
But now, another thing that bothers me
about Coren. It is the title of the book
and the attitude he shows throughout it.
Michael Coren has a great need to be
right. He is very obsessed with right
belief. I can recall a time when such
things obsessed me too. They no longer
do. I continue to grow in my faith,
and hopefully, my understanding. But
I do not need to declare others wrong
and myself right. I am not convinced
that believing "the right things"
really count for much in my life.
Having said this, I would still recommend
that you read this book. I do so, for the
same reason that I have recommended some
books written by the new atheists like
Dawkins. While it is always nice to read
an author with whom I agree, I find that
I learn more from certain authors with
whom I seriously disagree.
When I come up against some of the arguments
Coren offers here in defense of Catholicism
I find I have to seriously reflect on my
own stance. In some instances, I would have
to agree with Catholic interpretations. In
other instances, I must simply disagree.
I can do this without wanting to create a
scenario of "winners" and "losers" and I
believe that I can be enriched as a result
of the intellectual/spiritual experiences
I have while working through his ideas.
Perhaps, I hope, some of you agree with me.
If so, secure this book and work with it.
Let it teach you - but not exactly in the
ways the author might have first intended.
---
Buy the Book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/4329cjy
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
ELFRIEDA SCHROEDER
Winnipeg, MB
March 29th, 2011
Hi Wayne,
Hardy and I enjoyed reading the article in
your blog about attracting young people to
the church. (April 2nd Colleagues List)
Here is another one, this time written by
a young person that might be of interest.
"Attracting Young People to the Church"
http://tinyurl.com/3kazzcy
Sincerely,
Elfrieda - schroedereh@gmail.com
_____
HARRY WINTER OMI
Minneapolis, MN.
April 11th, 2011
Re: The Catholic News Service story on
the Vatican's Refusal to join in reciting
the prayers of other faith traditions at
an Upcoming Assisi Inter-Faith Gathering -
Wayne:
Thanks for your weekly mailing. I was
surprised that all Cindy Wooden could find
was rather negative, that the participants
will not pray together at Assisi. When our
(former omi superior) Marcello Zago assisted
JP11 at the original meeting 25 years ago,
they did not pray together either. But Zago
helped the pope develop a very balanced
formula so that all participated in prayer,
without praying each other's faith.
---
The formula worked out for Assisi, 1986,
was that Christians would pray together,
and they did; then they would "participate"
in the prayer of other religions by being
there respectfully and attentively, but not
reciting or singing, etc. This to avoid the
charge of relativism, which Archbishop
Lefevre and his like are continually
leveling against projects like Assisi.
When Benedict visited the Blue Mosque in
Istanbul in 2006, the iman suddenly stopped
for prayer. It was an unscripted moment,
and the Vatican entourage was at first uneasy.
Then Benedict thanked the iman after Benedict
stood respectfully and silently with the iman
during the latter's prayers.
Hope this helps.
Harry - hewomi@aol.com
*****
NET NOTES
... AND JESUS SANG
(and after they had sung a hymn...)
The Christian Century
Barbara Brown Taylor
April 8th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/6fm62bk
*****
THE FLAW IN BANNING BOOKS
A Dated Practice in Modernity
Sightings,
April 14th. 2011
The US Catholic Bishops and
Sr. Elizabeth Johnson’s book
"Quest for the Living God"
http://tinyurl.com/3svemmq
******
TOMB OF ST. FRANCIS RESTORED
CBC News
April 9th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/63cjgce
*****
SWISS ACQUIT HOLY BOOK "BURNERS"
Decision Refines Condemned Action
Swiss Info Website
April 12th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3lwgwrf
*****
NORTH KOREA TO INDICT CHRISTIAN
Man Caught Proselytizing...
Christian Science Monitor
April 14th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3l88qwg
---
Detainee Tipped to be Pastor
Ucan News
April 15th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3c9gu66
*****
MARTYR FOR A CAUSE OR
MARTYR TO CHRIST?
Death of Pakistani Christian
Official is Assessed
Christianweek.org
(text and video)
April 8th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/44br8bh
*****
VANISHING RELIGION IS
GREATLY EXAGGERATED
America Magazine Video
April 12th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3ww6d9j
*****
BOURGEOIS TELLS ORDER
THAT HE CANNOT BACK DOWN
Likely Dismissal for Priest
National Catholic Reporter
April 11th, 2011
(Open this link using
Firefox search engine)
http://tinyurl.com/3kbkw5n
*****
TONY BLAIR WRITES
ON RELIGION IN CHINA
Washington Post
April 14th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3dxvymc
*****
PRIEST CALLS FOR
SECULAR STATE IN PAKISTAN
Ucan News
April 15th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3sxb6t5
*****
LUTHERAN/ANGLICAN LEADERS
SEND THEIR EASTER GREETINGS
ELCIC News Service
April 14th, 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3g4c59y
*****
GLOBAL FAITH POTPOURRI
12 April 2011
John Paul II's feast day will be
October 22, Vatican says
Rome (ENI news) - The late Pope John Paul
II's feast day, or day of commemoration,
will be October 22, the Vatican's
Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments announced in
what is the official Vatican newspaper,
L'Osservatore Romano. Generally, a feast day
is announced once a person is beatified --
given the title "Blessed" – which is the last
step before sainthood. John Paul will be
beatified in Rome on 1 May, however, the
Vatican did not give an explanation for
the early announcement.
_____
Filipino churches divided on a
hero's burial for Marcos
Manila, Philippines (ENI news) - Some
Filipino church leaders strongly reject
but a few favour a resurrected proposal
to give the late strongman Ferdinand
Marcos a hero's burial. "This is ironic
and this happens only in the Philippines.
The proponents of the proposal either
haveno sense of history or have misplaced
values on human rights," Bishop Felixberto
Calang of the Philippine Independent
Church told ENI news. Calang cited human
rights violations, which, he said, Marcos'
soldiers committed.
_____
Anglicans tighten rules
to prevent sham marriages
London (ENI news) - Couples suspected
of using their wedding vows as a ruse
to skirt immigration laws will be
required to meet strict identity checks
and face greater scrutiny under new
Church of England guidelines to stop
sham marriages.
The guidelines announced 12 April by the
church's House of Bishops target the
practice of some vicars conspiring in
fake weddings between British nationals
and illegal immigrants as a means toward
gaining legal residency, Religion News
Service reports.
*****
13 April 2011
After Japan disaster, faiths join
to prevent suicides
Tokyo (ENI news) -In the aftermath of the
11 March earthquake and tsunami, a Christian
network is joining with Buddhists to provide
bereavement services to prevent suicides,
according to a Japanese interdenominational
network. The Sendai Buddhist Federation
through the Miyagi Prefecture Liaison Council
of Religious Corporations has established a
counseling room at a funeral hall in Sendai,
said the Rev. Naoya Kawakami, who heads the
Sendai Christian Alliance Disaster Relief
Network. A joint memorial service also is
planned, he said. The goal is to offer grief
counseling and spiritual support, or
"condolence," to those whose loved ones were
killed or remain missing.
_____
At interfaith church, a rabbi
does the Easter sermon
Silver Spring, Maryland, 13 April (ENI news) -
On the second night of Passover, Rabbi Harold
White will lead a traditional seder dinner
with matzoh and bitter herbs and all the
trimmings. Five days later, he'll deliver
the sermon on Easter Sunday. That's what life
looks like inside the Interfaith Family Project
(IFFP) near Washington, D.C., where Jewish-
Christian couples have decided their kids
shouldn't have to choose one faith over the
other. Instead, they can do a little of both,
Religion News Service reports.
*****
14 April 2011
Ivory Coast churches prepare
to help victims of turmoil
Nairobi, Kenya (ENI news) - Church leaders
in Ivory Coast said they are preparing to
respond to urgent humanitarian needs as the
country adjusts to the deposition of former
dictator Laurent Gbagbo on 11 April and the
accession of democratically-elected president
Alassane Ouattara. "We are watching the
situation ... We fear there may be mass
movement of people into the neighbouring
countries," the Rev. Blaise Amia N'Guessan,
general secretary of the Conference
Episcopale Nationale de la Cote d'Ivoire
(Episcopal Conference of Ivory Coast) told
ENI news in a telephone interview from
Abidjan, the capital.
_____
Russian Jehovah's Witness Exonerated
of Extremism Charges
Moscow (ENI news) - A Jehovah's Witness on
trial in Siberia was found innocent on 14
April of charges of "inciting religious
hatred and enmity," in a case that was being
watched as a litmus test of religious freedom
in Russia. Aleksandr Kalistratovhad been
accused of distributing Jehovah's Witnesses
literature, which has been qualified as
extremist in Russia, according to a Russian
federal law that was touted as atool for
fighting hate crimes and Islamic extremism.
****
15 April 2011
In Israel, Ethiopian Jews learn
about the Passover Seder
Mevasseret Zion, Israel (ENI news) - When
Ethiopian immigrant Dabas Chekol, 31, sits
next to his father, Gretaet, at the Seder
table on the evening of 18 April, it will
be the first time father and son celebrate
the Jewish holiday of Passover together.
First, however, they had to learn about
the ritual foods and prayers of the Seder,
which retells the story of the ancient
Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt,
so they attended a "model Seder" on 14
April staged at a government-run
immigrant support center just outside
of Jerusalem.
_____
Aid group urges European governments
to help Libya refugees
Warsaw, Poland (ENI news) - An ecumenical
aid organisation has urged European
governments to do more to help refugees
from the war in Libya, and warned that
continued inaction could damage relations
with the Arab world. "The European Union
should be helping with resettlement
facilities - instead, all we're seeing is
the reinforcement of border controls to
prevent new arrivals," said Genevieve
Jacques, a staffer at La Cimade, an aid
group belonging to France's Protestant
Federation.
_____
New Anglican relief agency defines
focus areas at its first meeting
Nairobi, Kenya (ENI news) - The global
Anglican Communion's new relief and
development agency at its first meeting
adopted economic empowerment, peace and
reconciliation, and governance as its
key focus areas. "Through this week
people have seen the potential and what
being part of the alliance can bring.
I have been impressed by 'how much
expertise there is.' A lot is happening
already and we are talking about an
organization that has a lot of strengths
on the ground," said Sally Keeble,
director of the Anglican Alliance for
Development, Relief and Advocacy. She
spoke with ENI news on 15 April at the
end of the meeting in Nairobi.
*****
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Provided by Sojourners.online:
April 11th, 2011
"Lord, the air smells good today, straight
from the mysteries within the inner courts
of God. A grace like new clothes thrown across
the garden, free medicine for everybody.
The trees in their prayer, the birds in praise
the first blue violets kneeling. Whatever came
from Being is caught up in being, drunkenly
forgetting the way back."
- Jelaluddin Rumi,
"Lord, the Air Smells Good Today"
---
April 12th, 2011
“Whatever I had read as a child about the
saints had thrilled me. I could see the
nobility of giving one’s life for the sick,
the maimed, the leper. But there was another
question in my mind. Why was so much done in
remedying the evil instead of avoiding it in
the first place? Where were the saints to try
to change the social order, not just minister
to the slaves, but to do away with slavery?”
- Dorothy Day
---
April 13th, 2011
"Words don't move mountains. Work,
exacting work, moves mountains."
- Danilo Dolci, Sicilian poet and
social activist
---
April 14th, 2011
"Show me the suffering of the most miserable,
so I will know my people's plight. Free me to
pray for others, for you are present in every
person. Help me to take responsibility for my
own life, so that I can be free at last. Grant
me courage to serve others, for in service
there is true life."
- César Chávez, from
"Prayer for the Farm Workers' Struggle"
---
April 15th, 2011
"Prayer might not change things, but it
will change my perspective of things.
Prayer might not change the past, but
inevitably, it changes the present."
- Margaret Feinberg
*****
ON THIS DAY
Provided from the Archives
of the New York Times:
April 13, 1970 - Apollo 13, four-fifths of
the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank
containing liquid oxygen burst. The astronauts
managed to return safely.
http://tinyurl.com/5s9c2z8
_____
April 14, 1865 - President Lincoln was shot
and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while
attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at
Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the
next day.
http://tinyurl.com/3wa75fa
_____
April 15, 1912 - the British luxury liner Titanic
sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less
than three hours after striking an iceberg. About
1,500 people died.
http://tinyurl.com/4qr89m
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT
"God has gifted creation with everything necessary.
Nothing that is necessary for life is lacking."
- Hildegard of Bingen
(end)
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