... and then the fallout

This morning, the Pope's letter to brother bishops was published in Rome, and while the Press Conference was going on in the Aula Paolo VI, the Holy Father himself was meeting with representatives from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. In his address to the gathered leaders, he expressed his joy at the prospect of visiting the Holy Land. Plans for this voyage were announced just a few days ago.

Was it by coincidence that this meeting happened on the same day as the Holy Father's letter to bishops was being published? The letter and its contents are being read and digested by many and the fallout from the Holy Father's words are already resounding, either in whispered corners or through resounding hallways.

Evidence the Tablet's coverage:

• Church in the World: Pope's letter defends overtures toward SSPX
• Full-bodied row in Bordeaux (October 28, 2006)
• Already inside the tent: Benedict and the Lefebvrists (February 14, 2009)
• Now it's up to them (February 14, 2009)

Not to be overlooked in the debate over the lifting of the excommunications, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna. Along with other German-speaking Cardinals, Schönborn has been noted to remark: "A mistake has obviously occurred here. Someone who denies the Holocaust cannot be rehabilitated to an ecclesial office. One cannot but voice a certain criticism of the Vatican for not looking into the matter more closely."

Poor Holy Father. Even as the plans for his upcoming visit to the Holy Land are being completed, there is already concern being voiced over his decision not to enter Israel's main holocaust museum during the trip which he will undertake in early May. Don't worry, concerns such as these are a normal part of the posturing that takes place in the run-up to any papal voyage. The truth of the matter, at least on this score, will only be known in the coming weeks.

A storm a'brewing

On January 24, 2009, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Holy Father declared that the Lefebvrists - the four bishops who had been excommunicated in 1988 latae sententiae.

Since that time, Rome and many other parts of the ecclesial world have been all a-twitter (please excuse the pun) about this decision which although meant with all good intentions, has left many questions unanswered.

In the January 31, 2009 issue of The Tablet, Robert Mickens published a very good exposé on the matter in his article entitled Benedict's high risk strategy. The Holy Father's intentions were and are good. 'According to the Vatican statement issued last Saturday,' (January 24, 2009), ' the Pope hopes that full communion would be reached as soon as possible, but the decree has raised many questions about the relationship between the Society of Saint Pius X (otherwise known as the Lefebvrists) and the Vatican, concerns among the faithful about the impact on the Church and shock at the apparent welcome of one of the bishops, Robert Williamson, who has made outrageous anti-Semitic statements (which Vatican officials have roundly condemned).'

This morning, the Vatican Press Office issued a special statement of clarification which His Holiness has addressed to the bishops of the world. In his letter to his brothers in the episcopal ministry, His Holiness acknowledged that the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Lefebvre without a mandate of the Holy See has for many reasons caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time. What was intended as a gesture of reconciliation, ended up causing controversy because the Williamson case came as an unforseen mishap.

A gesture of reconciliation with an ecclesial group engaged in a process of separation thus turned into its very antithesis: an apparent step backwards with regard to all the steps of reconciliation between Christians and Jews taken since the Council.

His Holiness then goes on to explain that the remission of the excommunication (a disciplinary measure employed only in cases of extreme necessity) must be understood as different from the doctrinal realities which still need to be healed in the case of the Lefebvrists. The lifting of disciplinary measures could take effect because the four men in question had agreed in principle to recognize the primacy of the Roman Pontiff, althogh they still have some difficulty with acknowledging the validity of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

This process has evidently caused a great deal of pain and confusion for many. The act of reversing the excommunication is meant as a signal that reconciliation is en route, but in this case is not a sign that the work is complete.

Effective today, the Holy Father has joined the Vatican offices of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which was created in 1988 as a means of opening a door to the possibility of reconciliation between the Church and the Society of Saint Pius X as well as other similar groups throughout the world, with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this way, he hopes to signal the fact that the discrepancies still to be addressed are doctrinal in nature and not disciplinary, at least insofar as they pertain to the members of the Society of Saint Pius X.

Reconciliation is always tricky business, and measures advanced are often misunderstood, but the Holy Father reminds us that the call for reconciliation first echoed in the time of the apostles and invoked on the day of his pontifical innauguration, still remains at the heart of his ministry as Supreme Pontiff. These are certainly very painful times for Benedict to live. There have been both boquets and brick bats hurled at him over these past few weeks, and it will be some time yet before all the smoke clears over this most controversial matter.

Human nature has not changed much since the time when Paul first wrote to the Galatians: "Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another." (Gal 5:13-15)

At the conclusion of his letter, the Holy Father encourages his brothers, and all Catholics to pray for peace and to see the season of Lent as a liturgical season particularly suited to interior purification, inviting all of us to look with renewed hope to the light which awaits us at Easter.

The travelling pilgrim

Next week, he's off to Camaroon and Angola, and just this morning, the Vatican Press Office announced that he's planning another trip - this time to the Holy Land - after Easter.

Accepting the invitation of the king of Jordan, the President of Israel, the President of the Palestinian National Authority and of the Catholic Bishop's Assembly, His Holiness Benedict XVI will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from April 8 to 15, 2009, stopping at Aman, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth.

That's the end of the official communication posted today, but in the coming days, the negotiations will continue. Plans will include who he will visit, for how long, where they will meet, and even what he will say ... all very sensitively crafted but no doubt with his own mixture of pastoral sensitivity and characteristic forthrightedness.

Considering the significance of these lands to the historical happenings that are so central to the Church, and the unrest that has characterized the Holy Land for so long, this journey will be one of personal pilgrimage as well as international political positioning.

Making waves

The proverbial 'they' always say that still waters run deep ... and what happens in the depths of some ponds can have catastrophic ramifications for those who find themselves in the midst of the tidal waves that result.

Evidence our neighbours to the south who have been revelling in the new-ness of a President who is revolutionizing almost all parts of the Office that are within his control. This is nothing new, but the effects of these changes are causing at least a little bit of consternation.

The on-line version of the National Catholic Register published an article this week about Mr. Obama's recently-announced choice for the position of Secretary for Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas. According to the NCR, Ms. Sebelius (who we are not sure is related to the music composer of the same name) has had a track record which favors pro-choice issues, and this appointment, if confirmed, will give her a great amount of influence when it comes to policies and procedures on the national front.

From a viewpoint a bit removed, all we can do perhaps is watch ... or can we do something else to influence the choice?

At work in the vineyard

Sorry, it's been a few days since I was able to check in. Lent seems to have just bolted out of the starting blocks.

The past days have been filled to capacity and beyond ... all in the name of doing good (I hope). There are moments of grace all round though. One of the things I have agreed to do is accompany students who are fulfilling requirements for the D.Min. offered at Saint Francis Xavier University as they make their way through the requirements of this distance education program. That means that from time to time, I meet with one or more of the 'students' to help them reflect about their work, and come to conclusions about the next steps that need to be taken. It's pretty rewarding work when we begin to see understanding dawn and the pieces fall into place. Some of the greatest learnings happen not while actually reading the material, but when struggling to understand it, digest it and put it into practice.

It's exciting to see that the students who are preparing for Confirmation have already begun to wade through the first chapter of the required reading and to at least explore the information that is provided on-line as part of their preparation for this Sacrament. In the coming days, the traffic in on our website will increase (I'm sure) now that the Science Fair requirements that most students have been completing are coming to an end, and the first deadlines for the Confirmation prep program are drawing near. Of course, since I'm overseeing this program too, that means that I get to check in on them from time to time - lots of fun and really rewarding for me too.

Combine all this with welcoming the newcomers to our prayer spaces and bidding adieu to those who are now with the Father in our eternal homeland, and it makes for a life that has little time to get dull, but lots of variation and many opportunities to marvel at the goodness, generosity and love of our God.

They're off

What a day! It all began in the pre-dawn hours as I rolled out of bed. Bleary eyed, I grabbed for my breviary and had a chat with God. The psalms rolled off my tongue (or through my mind, as I didn't want to wake anyone else in the house), and the readings for the day included a meditation taken from a letter to the Corinthians (yep, the same ones Paul wrote to) written by Saint Clement, the fourth Pope. I always love the Office of Readings. It helps me to keep in touch with the saints who have gone before us, and to remember the great treasure that our faith is.

The sun was just rising when I made my way down the stairs and prepared for the first of two Masses that were celebrated today. There's something about this day that makes people come out in droves. The tracing with ashes on the foreheads of the faithful is still a very powerful symbol, and people thirst for meaningful symbols in today's world.

The first Mass began at 8:00 am and there were about 70 people present. The rythm of the liturgy continued, it's solemnity speaking majestically against the relative quiet of the early morning hours. Thirty minutes later, sinners who had come to this font of grace were back on their way out into the world, having met the Lord, having received the bread of eternal life, and having been refuelled for the journey - oh and yes with the dust of last year's palms traced on their foreheads.

The noon Mass is always more popular in a downtown parish, and this was no exception. I don't think there was an empty seat in the house, but scattered amidst the adults, I also noticed all 120 students from the nearby elementary school. This is their annual pilgrimage to the church - all of them, and it adds a certain something to see them too approach as we place ashes on their heads. After this second tide of humanity had also been fed, it was on to the next invitation to grace, which came in the form of preparing for the evening meeting.

Thanks to ingeneous planning, the evening of Ash Wednesday was spent with candidates who are preparing for Confirmation. They and their families came for this first meeting which was held at the beginning of Lent, and therefore reminiscent of the adults who for centuries have spent this holy season preparing for baptism or to be reconciled with themselves and with God. This brief gathering, which lasted about an hour or so gave me an opportunity to meet the candidates, and to explain a bit about the preparation program for Confirmation. In this parish, the program includes an on-line portion, which is very appealing to parents and candidates alike.

Having outlined the process, and walked through all the requirements, we sent them on their way ... I couldn't help thinking that we are all like these young people. We come to the Lord, recognizing our weaknesses, we ask for forgiveness, we listen to His instruction, we receive his gift of divine food and then we go on our way. Along the way, each of us shares with friends, acquaintances and strangers, the joys and struggles of deepening our faith.

What will Lent bring? How will we react to God's offer of divine gifts during this time of grace?

Happy Lent!

Still alive

For the past number of months, following the annual Autumn gathering of the NFPC in Victoria, I've been MIA from these pages. Some may think that I've been sleeping, but the truth is anything but.

There's lots that I could write about, but let's start with today - or yesterday as it turns out. The Holy Father received one of my good friends in audience yesterday, and I'm glad to see this. Some may know that I first met Andrés Carrascosa while living in Ottawa. We became good friends while I was there, and have managed to keep in touch - albeit somewhat sporatically - over the past number of years.

I had already completed my stint in Ottawa when I received the joyful news that my friend had been appointed Titular Archbishop of Elo and Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Congo and to Gabon. In fact, I had the great privilege of attending his Episcopal Ordination which took place in Rome on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary 2004.

• Cardinal Sodano's homily was preached in French and in Spanish

Since that time, he has been hard at work. With his infectious joy for life and his customary love for God's people, he has managed to do much good in those two African nations, but life has not always been easy there either. There has been civil war brewing just across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and no doubt he's been part of that drama too.

In mid-January of this year, the Holy Father appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Panama. This means that for the past six weeks or so, he's been hard at work tying up loose ends, and packing his belongings. By now, they are probably well on their way and he is passing through Rome on his way to Central America. By custom, a newly-appointed Nuncio has three months from the date of his appointment to arrive in the place where he has been asked to serve, so I would expect that he will be in Panama sometime around Easter.