Daily Archives: May 4, 2012

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : FRI. MAY 4, 2012

Friday, May 4, 2012

ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE REPORT:

Sunday 29 April 2012
IntoAfricaKairos Catholic Journal, Volume 23, issue
7

Despite having made two previous
visits to Tanzania and Kenya, Terry O’Shannassy says his recent
immersion trip accompanying 10 young adults was the experience of a
lifetime.
Kairos Catholic Journal,

Volume 23, issue
7

FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Melbourne Christian Brothers
who went to Tanzania and Kenya in the late 1980s to contribute to the education
of impoverished local youth, our group of five young men and five young women
enthusiastically embraced the people of Nairobi and Arusha and their culture
during our four-week immersion in January this year.

IntoAfricaThis was not difficult, given the warmth of the welcome that we
received from the African Edmund Rice leaders, and the common spirit that we
share. The immense power of a shared spiritual reality was refreshing and in
total contrast to the seemingly nihilist approach to faith evident in much of
today’s media, and portrayed as typical of young people in the
West.

While our group seemed unremarkable and like any other group of
young people externally, what happened internally accounted for a remarkable
difference, and it will take a lot of reflection, unpacking and sharing before
any of us can articulate our individual story.

IntoAfricaHistorically, nothing of what we did was unusual. For two millennia,
women and men have been moved by the life of Jesus and the Gospel values he
articulated to journey great distances on pilgrimages. But our experience must
be viewed through the lens of the 2012 political and economic situation in Kenya
and Tanzania and the extreme poverty and deprivation in those places.

The
immersion was entitled Tutembee Pamoja, literally translated as ‘We Walk
Together’, and our group had spent many months of saving and preparation. A
heady mix of emotions—excitement for the young, apprehension for the elders, and
uncertainty for both—surrounded the departing travellers as we gathered at
Melbourne Airport on 2 January. Bystanders could be forgiven for puzzlement at
our choice of destination. The saying ‘for those who do have faith, no
explanation is necessary; for those who do not, no explanation is possible’,
probably encapsulated the general feeling. Why would 10 relatively privileged
young Australians choose to sacrifice their Christmas holidays and their savings
to immerse themselves in the poorest parts of troubled Africa?

IntoAfricaOur group comprised 13 in all, 10 participants from Melbourne and
Launceston, two young organisers and myself. A parallel group of 14 from Perth
met us in Africa.

One aim of the immersion was, as the title suggests, to
walk with and stand beside our Edmund Rice brothers and sisters in Nairobi and
Arusha and to try to see life through their eyes. This program was initiated by
young Edmund Rice leaders a few years ago to channel some of the hunger for
justice generated from camps for disadvantaged children and to provide a
spiritually nourishing personal cross-culture experience. It is certainly the
most cutting-edge ministry that the Christian Brothers are leading, and one that
has captured the support of Australian schools and old boys’
organisations.

We arrived in Nairobi on 3 January, still bubbling after
20 hours travel. The next morning we were welcomed by the local Edmund Rice
leaders in an energetic and memorable way. The shared spirit admitted to no
barriers and very quickly new bonds were struck. The locals had committed to act
as guides and mentors for the four weeks of our visit, and a detailed program
had been arranged. We began with a couple of visits to local ministries, before
the major immersion experience in the Kibera slum.

While the word Kibera
rolls off the tongue easily, the reality is very daunting. The area straddles a
grossly polluted river moving through a steep valley, and from the top all that
the eye can take in is a sea of rusty iron sheds crammed together, with narrow
walkways leading down. Australian farmers would be reluctant to house cattle in
the decrepit buildings, and the stench from the river is dreadful. Running water
is limited to a few taps to which children walk with plastic drums to be filled,
and there is no rubbish disposal system.

First impressions of our
surroundings were dismal, but fortunately they were only one part of the
picture. The hesitant smiles of the local children soon gave way to shrieking
and laughter as they swarmed over the visitors and all sorts of games were
hastily organised in the dusty primary school yards.

Some schools are
relatively small and have very limited space, apart from being of similar
construction to the shanties with dirt floors and no glass in the windows. But
for all the manifold disadvantages, the hunger for learning and respect for
knowledge was astounding. The leaders were invited into classrooms and given the
opportunity to work with the students, who were attentive and keen to answer
questions. Kibera was both a confronting and very satisfying
experience.

—

The missionary effort pioneered by the Melbourne
Christian Brothers and now shared by the wider Edmund Rice Network, enjoys the
wholehearted support of a wide coalition of groups and individuals. New
facilities are being built and a new generation of African brothers are being
trained. The Christian Brothers Foundation for Charitable Works forwarded $1.2
million in 2011, $180,000 of which was raised by the ‘500 Club’, an old
collegians group inspired by long-time supporter Noel O’Brien.

Individual
Edmund Rice schools make significant contributions from student fundraising
efforts. The Cotton On Foundation in Geelong has also been heavily involved in
supporting similar work in Africa, working through the Belmont parish. These
three organisations would all welcome your support and donations, and there are
other ways to assist.

A particular need exists within the Ruben Centre in
Nairobi for volunteer help in their medical clinic. On the edge of the Mukuru
slum, the free clinic sees 50,000 episodes a year, recently inoculating 12,000
babies and young children over four days.

An extraordinary range of
volunteers from all over the world spends time there, particularly providing
instruction to local workers in the use of modern medical technology. Medical
professionals from Australia are able to access a recently completed, secure
three-bedroom unit.

Further details: Terry O’Shannassy, Coordinator of
the Edmund Rice Network, 9287 5570. www.rubencentre.org

Photos
provided by Terry O’Shannassy

Link:

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : FRI. MAY 4, 2012

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Heart to Heart – May 04, 2012

Friday, May 4, 2012

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Heart to Heart – May 04, 2012

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Barcelona Catholic hospital officials offered me an abortion twice, says former patient

Friday, May 4, 2012

Asked if the Sant Pau hospital could perform the abortion, a doctor reportedly said “it could be here.”

BARCELONA, SPAIN, May 4, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Although the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, has long denied that abortions are taking place in the diocese’s Catholic hospitals, pro-life activists have never accepted his reassurances. Now, they have more reason than ever to doubt his word.

The Catholic news agency ACI Prensa is reporting that it interviewed a young woman, whose name has not been disclosed, who went recently to Barcelona’s Sant Pau hospital to receive a treatment involving an anti-inflammatory drug. Instead, she was repeatedly told that the medication was incompatible with a pregnancy and that she would have to have an abortion if she became pregnant.

After nursing staff made such statements to her twice, she says, she asked to consult a doctor. He told her that if she were to become pregnant, she would need an amniocentesis to check for birth defects, and then abort her child if the results were positive.

Asked if the Sant Pau hospital itself could do the abortion, the doctor reportedly replied “it would be necessary to look at it, but it could be here.”

The report appears to confirm what Barcelona priest and pro-life activist Fr. Custodio Ballester told LifeSiteNews.com in an exclusive interview last October: that a priest on the board of directors of the hospital, Fr. Josep Forcada, had confirmed to him that eugenic abortions had been done at the hospital for years, and the institution would continue perform abortions in cases of “danger to the health of the mother.”

The “mother’s health” criterion is used worldwide to justify abortions for virtually any reason, including “psychological health” or the presence of fetal deformities.

LifeSiteNews has also reported that the hospital’s chief gynecologist functions as an “expert” on a website run by pharmaceutical company Janssen-Cilag for the purpose of convincing women to use the abortifiacient contraceptives it manufactures.

The abortions and distribution of abortion-inducing drugs at the Sant Pau Hospital and other Barcelona-area Catholic hospitals came to light in 2010, when the Spanish newspaper ABC reported (www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-hospitals-in-spain-accused-of-providing-abortions) that such abortions had been recorded in official documents published by the government of Catalonia. The abortions were confirmed, according to ABC, in interviews with hospital officials.

Although Barcelona’s Cardinal Archbishop Lluis Martinez Sistach initially stonewalled and then denied such reports, archdiocesan sources eventually stated that the Sant Pau hospital had been ordered not to perform abortions.

Pro-life activists, however, have not accepted the claim, and have continued their protests at the Sant Pau hospital on the 25th of each month.

The Catholic Church condemns abortion as murder, as well as “formal cooperation” in the killing of the unborn.

Contact information:

Archdiocese of Barcelona
Sergi Gordo Rodríguez (General Secretary and Chancellor)
Calle del Obispo 5
Barcelona, Spain 08002
Tel: (34) 93.270.10.10
Fax: (34)93.270.13.03

Click here for email.
(Enter name in the first field, email address in the second, subject in the third, and text in the fourth. Click “Enviar” to send.)

Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Palazzo della Congregazioni,
00193 Roma,
Piazza Pio XII, 10
Phone: 06.69.88.42.17
Fax: 06.69.88.53.03

William Cardinal Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Piazza del S. Uffizio, 11, 00193 Roma, Italy
phone: 011.3906.69.88.33.57
phone: 011.3906.69.88.34.13
Fax: 06.69.88.34.09
E-mail: cdf@cfaith.va
(FAX and email are most effective)

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Barcelona Catholic hospital officials offered me an abortion twice, says former patient

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Boris wins. So, Ken Livingstone, how did that ‘wealthy Jews’ thing work out for you?

Friday, May 4, 2012

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Boris wins. So, Ken Livingstone, how did that ‘wealthy Jews’ thing work out for you?

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Ventilator case in the UK is not about euthanasia or assisted suicide. It is about the right to refuse treatment.

Friday, May 4, 2012


The case of XB in the UK, a case of a man with motor neuron disease who supposedly wants to have his respirator withdrawn, is not a “right to die” case, it does not extend the right to withdraw treatment and it does not lead to the acceptance of euthanasia or assisted suicide in the UK.

The question was whether or not the living will was valid. The UK law has acknowledges the right to refuse Life-Sustaining Treatment.

Justice Theis decided that a living will that the wife of a man known as XB supposedly agreed to, was a valid living will.

An article written by Steve Doughty and published in the Mail online stated:

The court heard that during 2010 and 2011 he discussed what life-sustaining treatment – artificial ventilation, or artificial nutrition, the provision of food and water by tube – he should receive in future.

He had, the court was told, indicated that he would wish the treatment to be withdrawn. In November last year the man’s wife downloaded a living will form from the internet. Her husband consented to the advance decision by blinking to his wife and the witnesses who included a doctor, a social worker and a carer.

Another carer, however, raised concerns over whether the father had really ‘communicated his agreement’. Under the Mental Capacity Act, living wills are supposed to be written. However, the documents are still recognised if the individual concerned indicates their decision in front of witnesses, and allows somebody to sign on their behalf in front of witnesses.

Mrs Justice Theis said it had been established that the carer who raised concerns in the XB case had not been present when his advance decision was agreed. However she said it was important that advance decisions were prepared with clarity and said health authorities should investigate concerns urgently.

Therefore the issue was not about whether XB had the right to have the ventilator withdrawn and the issue was not about whether or not XB has a “right to die” but the issue concerned the validity of the living will that the court admits was written by the wife of XB and approved by blinks.

We need to be careful not to compare issues of withdrawing life sustaining medical treatment with euthanasia, assisted suicide or a “right to die.”

The right to refuse medical treatment is not the same as giving a person a lethal dose to intentionally cause their death.

The question remains, did the decision by Justice Theis put XB, and other vulnerable people, into a position where they will be more easily abused by family members or friends. Living wills documents can result in the discrimination of people with disabilities or people with progressive chronic conditions by family members.

EPC is also concerned about how the decision by Justice Theis may lead to more people, who are not otherwise dying, being dehydrated to death based on a lower standard for approving living will documents make it appear that a person is requesting to die by dehydration.


Source: 

Ventilator case in the UK is not about euthanasia or assisted suicide. It is about the right to refuse treatment.

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Ventilator case in the UK is not about euthanasia, but the right to refuse treatment.

Friday, May 4, 2012


The case of XB in the UK, a case of a man with motor neuron disease who supposedly wants to have his respirator withdrawn, is not a “right to die” case, it does not extend the right to withdraw treatment and it does not lead to the acceptance of euthanasia or assisted suicide in the UK.

The question was whether or not the living will was valid. The UK law has acknowledges the right to refuse Life-Sustaining Treatment.

Justice Theis decided that a living will that the wife of a man known as XB supposedly agreed to, was a valid living will.

An article written by Steve Doughty and published in the Mail online stated:

The court heard that during 2010 and 2011 he discussed what life-sustaining treatment – artificial ventilation, or artificial nutrition, the provision of food and water by tube – he should receive in future.

He had, the court was told, indicated that he would wish the treatment to be withdrawn. In November last year the man’s wife downloaded a living will form from the internet. Her husband consented to the advance decision by blinking to his wife and the witnesses who included a doctor, a social worker and a carer.

Another carer, however, raised concerns over whether the father had really ‘communicated his agreement’. Under the Mental Capacity Act, living wills are supposed to be written. However, the documents are still recognised if the individual concerned indicates their decision in front of witnesses, and allows somebody to sign on their behalf in front of witnesses.

Mrs Justice Theis said it had been established that the carer who raised concerns in the XB case had not been present when his advance decision was agreed. However she said it was important that advance decisions were prepared with clarity and said health authorities should investigate concerns urgently.

Therefore the issue was not about whether XB had the right to have the ventilator withdrawn and the issue was not about whether or not XB has a “right to die” but the issue concerned the validity of the living will that the court admits was written by the wife of XB and approved by blinks.

We need to be careful not to compare issues of withdrawing life sustaining medical treatment with euthanasia, assisted suicide or a “right to die.”

The right to refuse medical treatment is not the same as giving a person a lethal dose to intentionally cause their death.

The question remains, did the decision by Justice Theis put XB, and other vulnerable people, into a position where they will be more easily abused by family members or friends. Living wills documents can result in the discrimination of people with disabilities or people with progressive chronic conditions by family members.

EPC is also concerned about how the decision by Justice Theis may lead to more people, who are not otherwise dying, being dehydrated to death based on a lower standard for approving living will documents make it appear that a person is requesting to die by dehydration.


Link:

Ventilator case in the UK is not about euthanasia, but the right to refuse treatment.

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Kansas passes robust conscience law; Ohio kills Personhood bill; Texas must fund Planned Parenthood

Friday, May 4, 2012

Iowa Democrats are also trying to restore state funding for abortion.

May 4, 2012, LifeSiteNews.com) – The pro-life movement continues to move forward in state legislatures across the country – with occasional set-backs from its friends, as well as its enemies.

Kansas
Kansas is one step closer to affording its pro-life physicians and pharmacists greater conscience rights. On Wednesday, the state senate passed a robust pro-life bill, which includes the right for pharmacists to refuse to distribute abortifacient drugs, by a 23-16 vote. The measure would make it easier to sue abortionists for malpractice, as well. The Huffington Post noted, “A wrongful death suit could be filed in the event of a woman’s death.”

The 69-page bill also eliminates tax breaks for abortionists, forbids people from taking a tax deducation for having an abortion, and bans sex-selective abortions.

Governor Sam Brownback is expected to sign the law. It will take effect on July 1. The state’s flurry of pro-life legislation has reduced the number of abortions performed in Kansas by one-third.

Ohio
Republican leaders in Ohio have shelved the Personhood bill. State Senate President Tom Niehaus said the bill may be unconstitutional. He accused the measure’s supporters of making “exaggerated and inflammatory statements” in their attempts to get their bill a hearing. “Their claim that we ‘lose more than a school bus full of children every day’ due to a lack of Senate action on the bill is simply false, and I will not continue to allow this organization to question the commitment of my colleagues to ending the scourge of abortion. Ohio Senate Republicans have done more in the past 16 months to advance the protection of unborn children than any previous General Assembly in state’s history,” Niehaus wrote.

The bill’s strongest state supporter, Faith2Action based in North Royalton, rejects the allegations. Its president, Janet Porter, responded, “Using a very conservative estimate, based on the annual number of Ohio abortions, the Heartbeat Bill would, indeed, save 26,000 babies each year—more than 70 each day—which is more than can fit into any school bus.”

“While it is true that the Senate has passed several regulatory bills, every Senator who ran on a pro-life platform promised to vote to end abortions, not merely regulate them,” she added.

Right to Life founder Dr. Jack Wilke has publicly supported the Personhood bill.

Texas
The state of Texas’ on-again/off-again funding of Planned Parenthood is on again, at least for now. On Friday, a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state must continue payments to the nation’s largest abortion provider until its case is settled. That overturns a decision made Tuesday by one of its own members, Judge Jerry Smith, that Texas could withhold taxpayer dollars during the trial. Judge Smith’s ruling, in turn, overturned a ruling from U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel forcing Texas to fund Planned Parenthood through its Women’s Health Program during litigation.

(Click “like” if you want to end abortion! )

Iowa

Senate Democrats are trying to restore state funding for Planned Parenthood and taxpayer-funded abortion in Iowa. The House passed a bill reducing revenues for Planned Parenthood and limiting Medicaid coverage of abortions to cases when the mother’s life is at risk. Currently, the state also pays for the procedure if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. Senate Democrats want to restore that money.

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Kansas passes robust conscience law; Ohio kills Personhood bill; Texas must fund Planned Parenthood

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In Philadelphia, Judgment Day… Part One

Friday, May 4, 2012

Fourteen months after the largest single removal of priests from ministry in the history of the American church brought Philadelphia Catholicism’s most seismic crisis in two centuries to a point of no return, resolutions to 27 cases of administrative leave finally began to emerge today as the city’s new archbishop restored three of the men to active service, while permanently removing five others.

The process was sparked by a February 2011 municipal grand jury, the second in five and a half years to probe the Philadelphia church’s handling of allegations. In its 126-page presentment — which indicted the archdiocese’s former chief of clergy personnel, Msgr William Lynn, with enabling a cover-up (making him the first US church official to be charged on his response to cases) — the panel went on to allege that “as many as 37″ priests remained in active ministry there despite reports of misconduct found by the two-year civil investigation.

Despite Cardinal Justin Rigali’s initial statement in the filing’s wake that no Philadelphia priest with full faculties had an “admitted or established” abuse claim against him, 21 clerics were placed on administrative leave less than a month later on a variety of allegations ranging from abuse to unspecified “boundary violations” that ran afoul of the archdiocese’s standards for ministerial conduct. As the men had previously been cleared of the claims, largely by means of administrative processes, an extensive “second review” was chartered by the Chancery, undertaken by an investigatory team led by a former sex-crimes prosecutor.

Six more priests who fell under the review’s scope were gradually removed at other points in the grand jury’s aftermath. Another three have been placed on leave since February, yet only one on a decades-old abuse allegation said to have taken place outside the country.

A final determination on eight of the cases was made by Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap., who met with the affected priests within the last 36 hours to inform them of their fates. According to a statement read at the start of an hour-long afternoon press conference announcing the moves, another six of the claims — all of which were referred to law enforcement following the priests’ placement on leave — remain with prosecutors, preventing the start of an ecclesiastical probe until civil clearance is granted. In the case of one of the clerics who died last summer, the church inquest’s finding was deemed inconclusive.

In the remaining cases, Chaput said that the internal investigations had been completed, but awaited either a judgment by the archdiocese’s review board or his final decision. Announcements on those are said to be soon in the offing. Due to the effects of the moves, the major yearly slate of clerical reassignments — traditionally announced toward the end of May — will reportedly be delayed two weeks.

Of the five men judged “unsuitable for ministry,” four of the allegations dealt with violations of ministerial standards, the remaining one on a substantiated abuse claim. Two of the three restored priests had been accused of abuse, the other on a boundary violation. Citing a concern for the victims, the archdiocese said that any disclosure of the specifics of the allegations would be left to the judgment of an accuser or the priest himself, adding that it “would support” any decision the individuals made.

While several of the accused priests are retired, those who led parishes have remained as the canonical pastors of their churches during their leaves, with administrators filling in pending the outcome of the investigations. Over the course of the process, it has been said in local circles that, given the linking of their names to the scandals, at least some of the men have wondered “whether it [would be] worth it” to return to ministry should they be exonerated.

In his statement at today’s presser, Chaput said that “Catholics have struggled with confusion and anger. When a child is harmed, the church has failed. When trust is lost, the church has failed. When the whole community suffers as a result, the church has failed.”

Asked afterward by a reporter why it took a second grand jury to arrive at the new conclusions, however, the new archbishop said he didn’t have the knowledge to address what took place in the archdiocese before his September arrival.

The initial 21 placed on leave on Mardi Gras 2011 — a day seen by no shortage of Philadelphia clerics as the darkest moment of their priesthoods — the tide of shock and anger birthed by the mass removal marked a historic breaking point in the once-vaunted local church, spurring a clerical revolt which led to the formation of an independent association of Philadelphia priests that quickly came to draw over 100 members.

Last July, Rigali’s retirement at age 76 was accepted by Pope Benedict as the pontiff named Chaput — a Kansas-born Capuchin who had never served in the Northeast — as his successor, with a mandate for a thoroughgoing renewal of a Philadelphia fold that new archbishop said had nurtured an attitude of “complacency and pride” in a December pastoral letter.

Today’s announcement of the first batch of decisions marks yet another resolution from among a pipeline of daunting processes set into motion over the year prior to Chaput’s appointment.

A January proposal by a year-long Blue Ribbon Commission to merge or close 49 Catholic schools was later slimmed to 34 — including the sparing of the four targeted high schools — following an appeal process devised by the new incumbent. Last month brought a first wave of parish mergers, consolidating 12 communities into five as part of a region-by-region realignment effort planned since 2010 and expected to continue over another three years. (While most of the buildings will remain open as worship sites of the new parishes, structural conditions have forced the outright closure of one very symbolic site — the massive Immaculate Conception church in the city’s Germantown section, which had been employed as Philadelphia’s last de facto pro-cathedral for several years during a 1950s renovation of the Cathedral-Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul.)

Back downtown, meanwhile, the landmark trial of Lynn and a suspended priest charged with abusing a boy in the late 1990s wrapped its sixth week of testimony yesterday, the prosecution continuing to argue its case. Further criminal proceedings wrought by the grand jury are slated to begin in September, following which over half a dozen civil lawsuits against the archdiocese will proceed to court. And most recently, extensive reviews of the 1.1 million-member church’s legal, financial and organizational operations have been undertaken by the new administration, the results likely to be revealed in the approach to the start of the next fiscal year on July 1st.

In a statement released over an hour before the press conference, the Survivors’ Network for those Abused by Priests called the announcement and the process that led to it “disingenuous,” adding its belief that “no institution can effectively investigate or police itself, certainly not an ancient, rigid, secretive, all-male one with a horrific track record on children’s safety.”

The lead victims’ group having held a candlelight vigil outside the recently-renamed Pastoral Center last night, today’s announcement coincided with the monthly demonstration at the Chancery led by local victims and their advocates. The latter protests have taken place each first Friday since the release of the second grand jury.

“We can’t change the past,” the archbishop said in his subsequent remarks. “But I pray — and I do believe — that the lessons of the last year have made our church humbler, wiser, and a more vigilant guardian of our people’s safety. That is our commitment today, tomorrow, and permanently.”

Full disclosure: in March, Chaput named this scribe as a member of a new Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, the first body of its kind to be established in Philadelphia. No staff or officials of the archdiocese were involved in the reporting of this post.

-30-

Excerpt from: 

In Philadelphia, Judgment Day… Part One

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Archbishop Sheehan of Santa Fe: recovering Catholic identity

Friday, May 4, 2012

2012-05-05 Vatican Radio

The US bishops of Region XIII are in Rome this week for their

ad limina

visits. Region XIII comprises areas in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe, New Mexico spoke with Vatican Radio about some of the issues of most concern to him, including the need to teach the moral precepts of the faith with clarity and charity. “Marriage and the family life are under attack in our secular socisty,” he said, adding that it is not only the high-profile controversy over preserving traditional marriage that is threatening this basic social institution. “For us in the United States,” he said, “I think that people simply living together without any commitment whatsoever,” is a serious threat. Archbishop Sheehan explained that he has recently addressed the issue in a pastoral letter. “As a result of my letter, hundreds of couples have approached their priest, in order to have their situation regularized.” Archbishop Sheehan went on to discuss in broad terms the need to reach out to those who have fallen away from the faith, or perhaps never learned it, saying that the message to them needs to be: “We love you, and we want you back.”

Listen to our extended interview with Archbishop Sheehan of Santa Fe

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Archbishop Sheehan of Santa Fe: recovering Catholic identity

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Pope to Ambassadors: Greatest poverty is lack of love

Friday, May 4, 2012

2012-05-05 Vatican Radio

“Allowing everyone the opportunity to know God, and in full freedom, means helping to forge a strong interior personality which enables people to witness to good and accomplish good even if it comes at a cost” said Pope Benedict Friday as he received a group of non-resident Ambassadors to the Holy See from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Malaysia, Ireland, the Republic of Fiji and Armenia. Emer McCarthy reports

Listen:

As has become tradition the Holy Father delivered one general address to the group which focused on how openness to God in society can help overcome the ‘spiritual and material’ poverty that the current economic crisis has produced.

The Pope began by noting how mass communications has made our planet “smaller” and people more aware of the great suffering caused by poverty which is “dramatically developing” and has taken on “new forms”.

Globalisation, Pope Benedict said, has led people to “believe in the possibility of unlimited enjoyment and consumption”, but now that the necessary means to satisfy these needs are lacking, “feelings of frustration have emerged”, resulting in “an increase in loneliness due to exclusion”, a widening gap between rich and poor and “a perception of unfairness” that can become a source of rebellion.

He called on States to ensure that the social laws do not increase inequalities, adding that in order to strengthen the human foundation of the socio-political reality, “we must be attentive to another kind of poverty: that of the loss reference to spiritual values, to God”.

This vacuum – he continued – makes discernment between good and evil more difficult and adherence to fashionable ideals easier. Subsequently, “many young people in search of an ideal, turn to artificial paradises which destroy them. Addiction, consumerism and materialism, do not fill the heart of man made for infinity. For the greatest poverty is the lack of love”.

Pope Benedict said: “In distress, compassion and selfless listening are a great comfort. Even without great material resources, it is possible to be happy. Living simply in harmony with what we believe, should remain a possibility”.

Finally he concluded, “religion permits us to recognize in the other a brother in humanity”.

Below a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s address, delivered in French:

“Ladies and Gentlemen Ambassadors,

It is with joy that I welcome you this morning for the presentation of your Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of your respective countries to the Holy See: the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Malaysia, Ireland, the Republic of Fiji and Armenia. You have come to express the cordial greetings of your Heads of State and I thank you. Would you please convey to them my greetings and my respectful wishes for them and the high office they perform in service to their country and their people. I also wish to greet through you, all the civil and religious authorities of your Nations and all of your compatriots. My thoughts also turn naturally to the Catholic communities in your countries, to assure them of my prayers”.

“The development of mass communications has made our planet, somehow, smaller. The ability to know almost immediately the events taking place worldwide, just as the needs of peoples and individuals, is an urgent call to be close to them in their joys and in their difficulties. The reality of the great suffering caused worldwide by poverty and misery, both material and spiritual, invites a new mobilization to respond, in justice and solidarity, to all that threatens human society and its environment”.

“Urban migration, armed conflict, famine and pandemics, which affect so many people, dramatically develop poverty which today has taken on new forms. The global economic crisis has brought more and more families to an increasingly precarious situation. While the creation and multiplication of needs led people to believe in the possibility of unlimited enjoyment and consumption, once the necessary means to satisfy these needs were lacking, feelings of frustration emerged. Loneliness due to exclusion increased. And when poverty coexists with the very rich, a perception of unfairness is born that can become a source of rebellion. It is therefore appropriate that States ensure that the social laws do not increase inequalities and enable people to live decently”.

“For this, consideration must be given to helping people overcome this shortfall, by rendering them actors in their society, enabling them to take charge of their own future, helping them to occupy a place within society according to their abilities. Because “man is more precious for what he is than for what he has” (CONC. VAT. II, Gaudium et spes, 35). Development for which every nation aspires each should concern the integral person, not economic growth alone. This belief must become an effective will for action. Experiments such as microcredit, and initiatives to create equitable partnerships, show that it is possible to harmonize economic goals with social needs, democratic governance and respect for nature. It is also good, for example […] to promote manual labour and to promote an agriculture that is first of all at the service of the inhabitants”. “The quality of human relationships and resource sharing are the foundation of society, allowing each to have his or her place and live with dignity in accordance with their aspirations”.

“For strengthening the human foundation of the socio-political reality, we must be attentive to another kind of poverty: that of the loss reference to spiritual values, to God. This vacuum makes discernment between good and evil as well as the overcoming of personal interests for the common good, more difficult. It makes it easier to adhere to ideals currently in fashion and avoid the necessary effort of reflection and criticism. And many young people in search of an ideal, turn to artificial paradises which destroy them. Addiction, consumerism and materialism, do not fill the heart of man made for infinity. For the greatest poverty is the lack of love. In distress, compassion and selfless listening are a great comfort. Even without great material resources, it is possible to be happy. Living simply in harmony with what we believe, should remain a possibility, and become ever more possible. I encourage all efforts undertaken, particularly in favour of families. Moreover, education must awaken to the spiritual dimension as “the human being develops when he grows in the spirit” (Caritas in veritate, 76). Such education helps build and strengthen more authentic bonds because it opens up to a more fraternal society which it helps to build”.

“States have the duty to promote their cultural and religious heritage which contributes to the development of a nation, and to facilitate access to all, for in familiarising oneself with history, each individual is brought to discover the roots of his or her own existence. Religion permits us to recognize in the other a brother in humanity. Allowing all the opportunity to know God, and in full freedom, means helping to forge a strong interior personality which enables him to witness to good and accomplish good even if it comes at a cost. “Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity” (Caritas in veritate, 78). In this way we can build a society where experiences of sobriety and fellowship will help reduce poverty, and take precedence over the indifference and selfishness of profit and waste, and above all over exclusion”.

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Pope to Ambassadors: Greatest poverty is lack of love

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Pope meets President of Albania

Friday, May 4, 2012

2012-05-05 Vatican Radio

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday morning met with the President of the Republic of Albania, Bamir Topi, who later met with the Cardinal Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and his Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, their conversation was cordial, and discussed the good relations between the Holy See and Albania. The two men discussed issues surrounding the relations between the ecclesial and civil communities, including inter-religious dialogue and the contributions by the Church in fields of education and social development. They also spoke about Albania’s plans for further integration into the European Union.

The Pope and President Topi also exchanged their views on the current international and regional situation, with particular attention to the global economic crisis.

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Pope meets President of Albania

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Pope: Catholic education part of New Evangelization

Friday, May 4, 2012

2012-05-05 Vatican Radio

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday spoke about the importance of Catholic education when addressing a group of United States bishops in Rome on their ad limina visit.

Calling Catholic schools “an essential resource for the new evangelization,” the Holy Father urged that a Catholic education be within the reach of all families, whatever their financial status.

Turning his attention to higher education, Pope Benedict said colleges and universities “need to reaffirm their distinctive identity in fidelity to their founding ideals and the Church’s mission in service of the Gospel.”

He said this includes the obligation for theological faculty to receive the mandate from the local bishop laid down in the Code of Canon Law.

“The question of Catholic identity, not least at the university level, entails much more than the teaching of religion or the mere presence of a chaplaincy on campus,” Pope Benedict told the bishops.

“All too often, it seems, Catholic schools and colleges have failed to challenge students to reappropriate their faith as part of the exciting intellectual discoveries which mark the experience of higher education,” he continued. “The fact that so many new students find themselves dissociated from the family, school and community support systems that previously facilitated the transmission of the faith should continually spur Catholic institutions of learning to create new and effective networks of support.”

The full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s discourse to Region XIII of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Dear Brother Bishops,
I greet all of you with affection in the Lord and I offer you my prayerful good wishes for a grace-filled pilgrimage ad limina Apostolorum. In the course of our meetings I have been reflecting with you and your Brother Bishops on the intellectual and cultural challenges of the new evangelization in the context of contemporary American society. In the present talk, I wish to address the question of religious education and the faith formation of the next generation of Catholics in your country.
Before all else, I would acknowledge the great progress that has been made in recent years in improving catechesis, reviewing texts and bringing them into conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Important efforts are also being made to preserve the great patrimony of America’s Catholic elementary and high schools, which have been deeply affected by changing demographics and increased costs, while at the same time ensuring that the education they provide remains within the reach of all families, whatever their financial status. As has often been mentioned in our meetings, these schools remain an essential resource for the new evangelization, and the significant contribution that they make to American society as a whole ought to be better appreciated and more generously supported.
On the level of higher education, many of you have pointed to a growing recognition on the part of Catholic colleges and universities of the need to reaffirm their distinctive identity in fidelity to their founding ideals and the Church’s mission in service of the Gospel. Yet much remains to be done, especially in such basic areas as compliance with the mandate laid down in Canon 812 for those who teach theological disciplines. The importance of this canonical norm as a tangible expression of ecclesial communion and solidarity in the Church’s educational apostolate becomes all the more evident when we consider the confusion created by instances of apparent dissidence between some representatives of Catholic institutions and the Church’s pastoral leadership: such discord harms the Church’s witness and, as experience has shown, can easily be exploited to compromise her authority and her freedom.
It is no exaggeration to say that providing young people with a sound education in the faith represents the most urgent internal challenge facing the Catholic community in your country. The deposit of faith is a priceless treasure which each generation must pass on to the next by winning hearts to Jesus Christ and shaping minds in the knowledge, understanding and love of his Church. It is gratifying to realize that, in our day too, the Christian vision, presented in its breadth and integrity, proves immensely appealing to the imagination, idealism and aspirations of the young, who have a right to encounter the faith in all its beauty, its intellectual richness and its radical demands.
Here I would simply propose several points which I trust will prove helpful for your discernment in meeting this challenge.
First, as we know, the essential task of authentic education at every level is not simply that of passing on knowledge, essential as this is, but also of shaping hearts. There is a constant need to balance intellectual rigor in communicating effectively, attractively and integrally, the richness of the Church’s faith with forming the young in the love of God, the praxis of the Christian moral and sacramental life and, not least, the cultivation of personal and liturgical prayer.
It follows that the question of Catholic identity, not least at the university level, entails much more than the teaching of religion or the mere presence of a chaplaincy on campus. All too often, it seems, Catholic schools and colleges have failed to challenge students to reappropriate their faith as part of the exciting intellectual discoveries which mark the experience of higher education. The fact that so many new students find themselves dissociated from the family, school and community support systems that previously facilitated the transmission of the faith should continually spur Catholic institutions of learning to create new and effective networks of support. In every aspect of their education, students need to be encouraged to articulate a vision of the harmony of faith and reason capable of guiding a life-long pursuit of knowledge and virtue. As ever, an essential role in this process is played by teachers who inspire others by their evident love of Christ, their witness of sound devotion and their commitment to that sapientia Christiana which integrates faith and life, intellectual passion and reverence for the splendor of truth both human and divine.
In effect, faith by its very nature demands a constant and all-embracing conversion to the fullness of truth revealed in Christ. He is the creative Logos, in whom all things were made and in whom all reality “holds together” (Col 1:17); he is the new Adam who reveals the ultimate truth about man and the world in which we live. In a period of great cultural change and societal displacement not unlike our own, Augustine pointed to this intrinsic connection between faith and the human intellectual enterprise by appealing to Plato, who held, he says, that “to love wisdom is to love God” (cf. De Civitate Dei, VIII, 8). The Christian commitment to learning, which gave birth to the medieval universities, was based upon this conviction that the one God, as the source of all truth and goodness, is likewise the source of the intellect’s passionate desire to know and the will’s yearning for fulfilment in love.
Only in this light can we appreciate the distinctive contribution of Catholic education, which engages in a “diakonia of truth” inspired by an intellectual charity which knows that leading others to the truth is ultimately an act of love (cf. Address to Catholic Educators, Washington, 17 April 2008). Faith’s recognition of the essential unity of all knowledge provides a bulwark against the alienation and fragmentation which occurs when the use of reason is detached from the pursuit of truth and virtue; in this sense, Catholic institutions have a specific role to play in helping to overcome the crisis of universities today. Firmly grounded in this vision of the intrinsic interplay of faith, reason and the pursuit of human excellence, every Christian intellectual and all the Church=s educational institutions must be convinced, and desirous of convincing others, that no aspect of reality remains alien to, or untouched by, the mystery of the redemption and the Risen Lord’s dominion over all creation.
During my Pastoral Visit to the United States, I spoke of the need for the Church in America to cultivate “a mindset, an intellectual culture which is genuinely Catholic” (cf. Homily at Nationals Stadium, Washington, 17 April 2008). Taking up this task certainly involves a renewal of apologetics and an emphasis on Catholic distinctiveness; ultimately however it must be aimed at proclaiming the liberating truth of Christ and stimulating greater dialogue and cooperation in building a society ever more solidly grounded in an authentic humanism inspired by the Gospel and faithful to the highest values of America=s civic and cultural heritage. At the present moment of your nation’s history, this is the challenge and opportunity awaiting the entire Catholic community, and it is one which the Church’s educational institutions should be the first to acknowledge and embrace.
In concluding these brief reflections, I wish to express once more my gratitude, and that of the whole Church, for the generous commitment, often accompanied by personal sacrifice, shown by so many teachers and administrators who work in the vast network of Catholic schools in your country. To you, dear Brothers, and to all the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, joy and peace in the Risen Lord.

From the Vatican, 5 May 2012

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Weekly editorial of Fr Lombardi, SJ: intelligence, faith and love

Friday, May 4, 2012

2012-05-05 Vatican Radio

Below, please find the full text in English of the weekly editorial of the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ.

Intelligence, Faith and Love

”Without love, science loses its nobility. Only love guarantees the humanity of scientific research.” In this way, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his speech Thursday morning at the Faculty of Medicine at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. It was a profound and poignant response to a widely felt need for solid and inspiring guidance.

”With a wealth of technical means at his disposal – and almost dazzled by their effectiveness – though rather wanting in real direction toward authentic goods, humanity today risks losing sight of the fundamental horizon of the question of meaning.” Once again, the Pope speaks of confidence in intelligence, of trust in reason; he speaks of Christianity as a “religion of the Logos,” which does not relegate faith to the realm of the irrational, but rather sees the origin and meaning of reality in the whole “creative reason”. The union of reason and faith is a guarantee of the fertility of each, while their separation leads to a “an impoverishment of ethics,” that makes it impossible to assess whether what is technically possible is morally good – whether it leads to the authentic human good.

The Pope said even more, however, for science and medical research are so directly related to the care of the human person, that in them it becomes particularly evident how truly necessary is the guidance of love, how truly essential is the link between commitment to the advancement of human knowledge and passionate dedication to the good of man – a creature who suffers and is confronted with the most radical questions about the meaning of life. “The dedication of the intelligence and of the heart,” therefore, “becomes a sign of God’s mercy and His victory over death.”

What stronger, more thrilling inspiration is there for every effort of the mind in favor of humanity? At the end of the day: toward what else ought human intelligence dedicate itself?

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Weekly editorial of Fr Lombardi, SJ: intelligence, faith and love

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5th Sunday of Easter, Simple English Propers

Friday, May 4, 2012

About the Chant Café

Catholic liturgical music is serious, solemn, transcendent, but Catholic musicians are never more fun and inspiring than when they are talking about what they love most. This is what happens at sacred music events around the world: the social and intellectual are critically important elements. The musicians (and music enthusiasts) at the Chant Café, a project of the

Church Music Association of America

, bring that sense of life and love to the digital world. As St. Augustine said, “Cantare amantis est.”

Among the contributors:

contact@chantcafe.com






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5th Sunday of Easter, Simple English Propers

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First Friday of May – Canadian Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis

Friday, May 4, 2012

Although we don’t hear much talk of making the nine First Fridays, there is no shortage of the need to remind ourselves of Christ’s love of all humanity as expressed in the vision of Margaret Mary Alacoque and promulgated by her spiritual director Claude de la Columbière.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart reminds of us of Christ’s great love for us, and his desire that this love burn in our hearts. Taking Christ as our namesake, since we call ourselves Christians, we are called to be like Christ and share that love where it is needed most.

Although we may be tempted to despair by the enormity world’s problems, we need to examine where in our lives we can be witnesses to the power of prayer and how that prayer can move us and others towards Christ’s Sacred Heart. Dedicating ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides us with a great means and encouragement to build up the Kingdom of that same loving Savior.

The work of promoting this devotion continues to this day under the auspices of the Apostleship of Prayer. You can learn about this important work at the following link:

http://www.apostleshipofprayer.org/

[Fr. Michael W. Maher, SJ, The Magis Institute (

http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/

].

* * * * * *

The Holy Father’s May 2012

Prayer Intentions


General Intention
The Family

:

that initiatives which defend and uphold the role of the family may be promoted within society.

Mission Intention


Mary, Guide of Missionaries

:

that Mary, Queen of the World and Star of Evangelization, may accompany all missionaries in proclaiming her Son Jesus.

* * * * * *

Blessed Marie-Leonie

Elodie Paradis was born in the village of L’Acadie in Quebec, Canada. It was May 12, 1840. Her parents were poor but devout Catholics. They loved their little girl. When Elodie was nine, her parents decided to send her to a boarding school. They wanted her to have an excellent education. The Sisters of Notre Dame warmly received the new student. But Elodie and her family missed each other very much.

Mr. Paradis worked hard running a mill. But times were bad, and the mill did not produce enough to support his wife and children. He heard wonderful reports of the gold rush in California. He was so desperate that he decided to go. In California, Mr. Paradis did not find the wealth he hoped for. When he returned to L’Acadie, he was shocked to find that his Elodie had joined the convent. She had entered the Holy Cross congregation on February 21, 1854.

Mr. Paradis went to the convent. He begged his daughter to return home, but she chose to remain. Finally, her father accepted it. She pronounced her vows in 1857. Blessed Marie-Leonie taught school in different cities. She prayed and lived her life joyfully. As time went on, Sister Marie-Leonie was led by Jesus to begin a new religious order in the Church. The Little Sisters of the Holy Family were begun in 1880. These loving sisters are devoted to the priesthood. They serve priests in the household care so important to their ministry. The Little Sisters of the Holy Family now have sixty-seven convents in Canada, the United States, Rome and Honduras.

Mother Marie Leonie worked for her sisters until the last few hours of her life. She was always frail and often ill. But she never stopped caring for God’s people. She put the last corrections on the pages of the book of rules she had written. She had it sent to the print shop. That book would give her sisters the guidance they would need for their life. It was Friday, May 3, 1912. Mother Marie-Leonie said she felt very tired. She went to rest and died a few hours later. She was seventy-one years old.


Reflection:

Sometimes we are afraid of our future. May the words of Jesus comfort and give us hope: “Do not be afraid, I am with you until the end of time.”

O God, who made Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis an example of devoted and humble service to your Church’s ministers, grant us, we pray, the grace to imitate her virtues, that, faithfully walking in our own vocation, we may reach the perfection you have set before us in your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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First Friday of May – Canadian Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis

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Canadian March for Life launches updated t-shirts: ‘I vote pro-life’

Friday, May 4, 2012

“This year we wanted to include the ‘I vote’ part because this is an important element of being pro-life,” said Alissa Golob of CLC Youth.

OTTAWA, May 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With the National March for Life in Ottawa less than a week away, the youth arm of Campaign Life Coalition, CLC Youth, is again offering their popular pro-life t-shirts, but with a new twist this year.

The front of the shirt typically states “I am/I love pro-life.” But this year, in order to give politicians a message that youth will no longer abide lukewarm or hostile sentiments towards life issues from their parliamentarians, “I vote pro-life” has been added to the other messages.

“This year we wanted to include the ‘I vote’ part because this is an important element of being pro-life,” Alissa Golob, coordinator for Campaign Life Coalition’s youth division, told LifeSiteNews. “CLC Youth really wanted to convey this message to young people who are just beginning to be able to take advantage of their civic duty.”

“CLC Youth thought of the design because we wanted to make statement shirts that people could wear to demonstrate their pro-life views,” Alissa explained, but added that, with the subject of abortion having been brought up in the House of Commons through MP Stephen Woodworth’s historic motion, the time is right to let youth express a political statement as well as show they are pro-life. Woodworth’s motion calls for Parliament to establish a special committee to consider when human life begins.

“At a time when the abortion debate is being brought up in the House of Commons, CLC Youth wanted to convey the message to all parliamentarians that there are tens of thousands of people who will stand up and only vote for pro-life politicians,” Alissa said.

The t-shirts are $20 each and will be sold on Parliament Hill before the March, and at the youth conference/youth banquet to be held at the Hampton Inn: but organizers urge participants to get them early as they sell out very quickly.

“The t-shirts sold out in a matter of hours last year, and I expect even greater success this year,” Alissa said.

The 2012 National March For Life will take place on Thursday, May 10 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. This year’s theme is “Abortion Hurts Everyone.”

For more information visit the National March for Life website.

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Blind lawyer unveils China’s abortion horrors

Friday, May 4, 2012

Chen Guangcheng fights for the rights of women in his homeland

U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, right, holds the hand of blind activist Chen Guangcheng as they talk in Beijing May 2. Chen has focused attention to the country’s forced abortion and sterilization practices, leading to a crackdown by the government on his movement and prohibitions on contact with foreigners and the media. CNS photo / US Embassy Beijing Press Office handout via Reuters.

The B.C. Catholic

has an article from

Catholic Register

reporter and

Catholic News Service

contributor Michael Swan about the diplomatic struggles of Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who has unveiled the forced abortion horrors in China caused by the country’s one child policy:



As Chinese and U.S. diplomats sought a resolution to the diplomatic crisis surrounding Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, many Chinese-Americans turned their attention to the nature of Chen’s dissent.

Without challenging any fundamental tenet of China’s constitution or its 1949 revolution, Chen has focused attention to the country’s forced abortion and sterilization practices, leading to a crackdown by the government on his movement and prohibitions on contact with foreigners and the media.

The prominence of the self-taught, blind lawyer rose when he escaped from house arrest in Shandong province April 22 and arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing several days later. As Chen went from the embassy to a hospital, the U.S. sought assurances that he would be released from house arrest and that he and his family would not be harmed. Chen told reporters police were in his home waving clubs in front of his wife.

Read the full story at

The B.C. Catholic

website.

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Blind lawyer unveils China’s abortion horrors

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The May Annunciator

Friday, May 4, 2012


Coat of Arms of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter






Source: 

The May Annunciator

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Dreams live on: A couple’s dreams for adoption carry on after husband’s death

Friday, May 4, 2012

When Derek died in a tragic car accident, he and his wife had 10 children: since then Renee has welcomed even more to their home.

May 4, 2012 (LiveActionNews.com) – Renee Loux is a dreamer. Since the age of 7, Renee has had a desire in her heart to care for orphans. She shared those desires with her husband, Derek Loux. Derek was a gifted musician whose passion for adoption began as a young boy. Together, the Louxs set out to make their dreams come true.

Renee’s parents brought her to the Marshall Islands when she was nine months old. A daughter of missionaries, she spent the first ten years of her life stationed there. In that environment, her young heart became burdened for children. Years later, while teaching in the U.S., she revisited the Marshall Islands for a short mission trip that changed her life forever. During the trip she met Derek for the first time. He fell head-over-heels for Renee and asked her to marry him after only 8 days together. In 1992 the couple wed, and their adventure began.

Renee gave birth to her first child two years later. Josiah was a beautiful boy born with a severe case of spina bifida. Renee and Derek had two and a half years with him before he passed away. Enduring the pain together, they found strength and comfort in God’s love. In 1997 they had a girl named Sophia, and three years later another daughter named Michaela.

For most Americans, two children make for the average size of a family. Yet the Louxs never wanted to be average. They longed to obey the biblical command found in the book of James (chapter 1, verse 27): “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Seeking to live out that verse, they adopted twin girls Teyolla and Keyolla from the Marshall Islands in 2002. Less than a year later they took in Telma, another girl from the Islands. Born with severe scoliosis, Telma was abandoned by her father and neglected by her mother. She ended up alone, fighting to survive on the streets. Renee promised to get her the help she needed. She kept that promise by welcoming Telma into the family.

In December of 2008, Derek and Renee traveled to the Ukraine to adopt three boys with special needs: Sasha, an energetic child with spina bifida, and Ethan and Silas, who both suffered from Down syndrome. The journey had its difficulties. Derek’s journal entry displays his precious humanity: “I was thinking, this is exhausting, expensive, uncomfortable and it doesn’t feel very rewarding right now.” What am I doing in some little Soviet car in the dark, in the middle of rural Ukraine in frozen December, as the driver dodges cats and potholes?

In that moment, Derek heard God speaking to his heart: “Derek, do you know how far I travelled to get you and bring you back? I had to be separated from my Son, in order to get you, just like you are separated from your children in order to get these boys. Do you know how expensive it was for Me to purchase you? It cost me everything. Do you know how broken, sick, damaged, twisted, dirty, smelly, and hopeless you were? And at the end of it all, you had nothing to give me or add to me. I did it for you. I emptied myself and became nothing so that you could have it all. This is redemption.

That experience marked his heart with a powerful revelation that adoption is a form of redemption. Derek believed that God was removing a selfish human love and replacing it with an “agape” love that cares for others even when love isn’t reciprocated. The Louxs wanted to make sacrifices for love. They successfully brought home the boys, who were sick and worn down from their stay in the orphanage. In a short time and with much medical care and attention, they were noticeably healthier and happy. The story of their adoption was later told in a beautiful children’s book called Redemption. In addition to their boys, the Rouxs continued on by adding two more girls, Leeann and Sana from the Marshall Islands.

Derek once said, “I wanted something to live and die for, to breathe and bleed for. I’m not interested in trying to figure out ways to make my life safe and preserve my comfort. That’s one of the reasons why we adopt in a radical way. On purpose, I set myself up to where I’ve got so much pressure I gotta run after Jesus…”

In the midst of their journey Derek, at 37, lost his life in a tragic car accident, just days before Christmas 2009. He was traveling back from a conference focused on rescuing girls from sex slavery. His death was a great loss to both those who knew him personally and those who connected with him through his beloved music and teachings. He left behind his beautiful wife and ten children. The family bravely forged ahead through deep pain and sorrow.

After Derek’s death, Renee courageously continued to bring home children. Though some would think it crazy to do so after such a loss, Renee knew that she was being led to continue adopting. She welcomed Judah, the family’s first boy from the Marshall Islands. She also began caring for Joanna, a girl from the Islands who is completely blind and non-verbal. Though Joanna came into their family as a 13-year-old, she had the body size of a 5-year-old. Renee received no financial aid for Joanna’s medical and dental needs, instead depending on the generosity of donors to cover the expenses. Joanna is continuing to grow and respond in new ways. She loves to joyfully sing her own little songs, and she is a delight to her family.

Derek’s and Renee’s life together has inspired many people to adopt and care for children. Renee is the founder of the Orphan Justice Center, an organization whose mission is to help rescue, adopt, and restore orphans across the globe. They do a number of things, from bringing resources to pre-adoptive, adoptive, and foster care families to working with children in their community who are recently adopted or are in foster care. Renee travels and shares hopeful truths about adoption. She is a strong voice for justice as well as a loving mother. She recently had the great pleasure of seeing her oldest adopted twins girls marry a set of twin boys. It was a proud moment for her, though she earnestly wished Derek could have been there to share it.

Though it’s difficult raising her children without a father, Renee carries on with grace and strength. As she remarked in her family’s blog, “I will never understand this side of heaven, why Derek had to die, but, I know my God is sovereign and I can trust him. Even without an answer to the ‘why’, I can see the fruit of his beautiful life. I see it in the eyes of our amazing children. I hear it in the voices of those who share with me how their own lives were impacted by Derek’s passion and vision for loving, caring for, and restoring orphans. I see it as I remember what was once just a dream in our hearts, taking root and becoming reality as we rescued 10 children, teaching them along with our biological children, to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus, which would help restore them all.”

This life will end for all of us. The dreams that we fight for now can impact generations to come. A life devoted to caring for weak, vulnerable, and voiceless children is a life well spent. May we all learn from Derek’s and Renee’s example and open our hearts to the children of the world.

Reprinted with permission from LiveActionNews.com

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