The Good and the Bad of this Easter Season

Religious Fervor, and Persecution, Run High

ROME, APRIL 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The wide upsurge of interest in religion continued this Easter. The Holy Week and Easter ceremonies presided over by Benedict XVI were packed. Those papal events capped the German Pope's first year, a year that saw 4 million people attend his audiences, Masses and other celebrations, according to figures released by the Vatican on April 18. On the other side of the Atlantic, thousands formally entered the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil ceremony. A nationwide tally of converts was not available, but in Denver alone 700 adult baptisms were due to be held, the U.S. bishops' conference reported April 7. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, in Texas, reported that 1,090 were expected to be baptized. Early figures from the 2006 Official Catholic Directory indicate that 80,521 adults were baptized into the Catholic Church last year, and 73,296 came into full communion. In addition, there were 940,194 infant baptisms.

Numbers are up in Australia as well. A Sydney newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, reported on April 16 that attendance was higher for Easter services at the city's Anglican and Catholic cathedrals than in recent years. "It is very clear that there is a spiritual hunger in the community and people are seeking in it in traditional places," said Sydney's Anglican archbishop, Peter Jensen. Sydney's Catholic archbishop, Cardinal George Pell, commented in an article posted on the diocesan Web site that Mass attendance on Easter Sunday morning was the highest he's seen in the five years he has been in the city. He also noted that a steady stream of inquiries about the Catholic faith had arrived at the cathedral in the last year.

Walls block faithful But Easter also saw difficulties for Christians in a number of countries, starting with the Holy Land. On April 14 the Telegraph newspaper of Britain reported that a wall will soon block a two-mile route used by pilgrims from Bethany over the Mount of Olives and past the Garden of Gethsemane into the Old City. The route has been in use since around the fourth century by those who want to follow the path taken by Jesus to Jerusalem from where he raised Lazarus from the dead. The 30-foot-high concrete wall to be erected will be part of the security barrier being built by Israel along the edge of the West Bank. Then, on April 17, the London-based Times newspaper reported that Israeli authorities denied requests for security passes by many Palestinian Christians who wanted to attend the Easter ceremonies in Jerusalem. The problem, according to Latin Patriarchate officials, lay with military authorities who control passage into Jerusalem from West Bank towns. One of these, Bethlehem, the Palestinian city with the largest Christian population, is now sealed off from Israel by a wall completed just before Christmas. Father Human Khzouz, chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, said he had received only 3,000 of the 7,000 security passes he sought for Palm Sunday, and a small number of those he sought for Easter weekend services. Christians targeted

Meanwhile, in Egypt, believers at three Christian Copt churches were attacked while attending ceremonies. Police said one worshipper was killed and more than a dozen wounded in the simultaneous attacks in the northern city of Alexandria, the Associated Press reported April 14. At least 17 people were injured: 10 at the Saints Church in downtown Alexandria; three at the nearby Mar Girgis Church; and four at a church in Abu Qir, a few miles to the east. The attacks occurred during the celebration of Mass. Coptic Christians celebrated Good Friday a week later. The following day the BBC reported that hundreds of Coptic Christians protested in the city of Alexandria, demanding greater protection after the attacks. Christians make up 10% of the Egyptian population and have often complained of harassment and discrimination. Troubles continued in the following days, the BBC reported on April 16. Skirmishes between Muslims and Coptic Christians led to at least one additional death. One episode of violence broke out during the funeral of Nushi Atta Girgis, 78, who died in one of the April 14 attacks. His funeral, attended by around 3,000 people, turned into a protest. So far police have arrested one man, Mahmoud Salah-Eddin Abdel-Raziq, said to be deranged, in relation to the attacks. An analysis of the situation in Egypt, published by the Christian Science Monitor on April 19, noted that the violence raises fresh concerns that the social compact between the country's Muslim majority and Coptic Christian minority is unraveling. Recent decades have seen the rise of violent Islamist groups in Egypt. "Islamic fundamentalism is spreading," Coptic writer and intellectual Milad Hanna told the Monitor. "Many Muslims think that Islam should be the only religion in Egypt if possible." Copts also complain of discrimination. There are limits on building churches, and very few Copts occupy high positions in the government.

Problems in India Violence also marred Easter celebrations in India. The Compass Direct news service in an April 17 report told of an attack by Hindu extremists in the southern state of Karnataka. A group of 15 members reported to belong to the youth wing of the World Hindu Council attacked an Easter Sunday morning church service at the Believers' Church in Bantaguri. The pastor, V.P. Palouse, suffered a head injury and fractures in both hands in the attack. His wife also was severely beaten. Also on Easter a group of 25 to 30 people stormed a prayer hall in Mangalore district's Balmatta town, causing significant damage. The hall belonged to the Living Faith Ministry. On Good Friday, two Christian women in Jabalpur district were arrested for "promoting conversion." Mariamma Mathew and B. Godwil were distributing Christian pamphlets. According to the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act, anyone promoting religion or organizing religious functions must obtain permission from local officials. Police said the women did not have permission. Catholics also continue to face problems. The Executive Committee of the Catholic Council of India expressed concern over the difficult situations in which Christians live in Rajasthan, according to a report Tuesday by the Indian Catholic News Service. Members of the small Christian community in the state have suffered attacks and harassment by fanatic Hindu groups in the past year. And the government, instead of stopping the anti-Christian violence, passed a bill on April 7 aimed at checking activity by Christian missionaries in local villages.

Another recent problem took place in the state of Gujarat, when the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party government declined to renew a contract with the Catholic administrators of a leprosy hospital in Ahmedabad. According to an April 5 report by Compass Direct, authorities said the nuns were "preaching Christianity." The six women religious of the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate were asked to vacate their residential quarters in the Ave Maria Convent, located on the hospital grounds. "After a total of 57 years' service to these ostracized people," commented Sister Karuna, "we have been asked to leave." She denied patients were forced to accept Christianity. "There was a chapel and a prayer hall, but no patient was ever compelled to attend services," she said. As on the first Easter, the cross continues to be a sign of contradiction.

This is a very important article, because it reminds all of us that we are part of the pilgrim Church here on Earth, also known as the Church Militant. There are three states of the Church: The Church on earth, the Church in purgatory, and the Church in heaven. Each is united to the others by our Lord, the risen Christ. We must pray for all of those who are part of the pilgrim Church, no matter where they live. Although we may live in a country that holds to religious tolerance, so to speak, many of our other Catholic brothers and sisters do not have that luxury. They need our prayers!

Praise be to Jesus Christ!

Divine Mercy!

"An Integral Dimension of a Christian's Faith and Prayer"
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address today before praying the midday Regina Caeli with tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * * Dear Brothers and Sisters! This Sunday the Gospel of John recounts that the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples, gathered in the cenacle, on the evening of the "first day of the week" (John 20:19), and that he showed himself to them again in the same place "eight days later" (John 20:26). From the beginning, therefore, the Christian community began to live a weekly rhythm, highlighted by the encounter with the risen Lord. It is what is also emphasized by the Second Vatican Council's constitution on the sacred liturgy, which affirms: "The Church, by an apostolic tradition, which has its origin in the same day of the resurrection of Christ, celebrates the paschal mystery every eight days, on the day that is called with reason 'day of the Lord' or Sunday" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 106). The evangelist also recalls that in both apparitions the Lord Jesus showed the disciples the signs of the crucifixion, very visible and tangible also in his glorious body (cf. John 20:20,27). Those sacred wounds, in the hands, the feet and the side, are an inexhaustible source of faith, hope and love in which each one can drink, especially souls most thirsty of Divine Mercy. In consideration of this, the Servant of God John Paul II, valuing the spiritual experience of a humble religious, St. Faustina Kowalska, wanted the Sunday after Easter to be dedicated in a special way to divine mercy, and providence disposed that he should die precisely on the vigil of that day (in the hands of Divine Mercy). The mystery of the merciful love of God was at the center of the pontificate of my venerated predecessor. Let us recall, in particular, the encyclical "Dives in Misericordia" of 1980, and the dedication of the new shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow, in 2002. The words he pronounced on that last occasion were as a synthesis of his magisterium, evidencing that devotion to Divine Mercy is not a secondary, but an integral dimension of a Christian's faith and prayer. May Mary most holy, mother of the Church, whom we now address with the Regina Caeli, obtain for all Christians to live in fullness Sunday as the "week's Easter," relishing the beauty of the encounter with the risen Lord and drinking from the source of his merciful love, to be apostles of his peace.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

He is Risen!

"O happy fault, that merited such and so great a Redeemer!"

The Book to Get!

Catholics' hunger for the faith continues to grow. Pope Benedict XVI gives the Church the "food" that is seeks in the 598 questions and answers in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This 200-page volume offers a quick synopsis of the essential contents of the faith as promulgated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Like the 1992 Catechism, the Compendium has a four-part structure, and includes a section on common prayers and Catholic doctrinal formulas. Because of the question-and-answer format, catechetical leaders-parents, pastors, teachers, principals, and catechists-have a unique opportunity to dialogue with the faithful, and reinvigorate the Church's ongoing mission of evangelization and catechesis. Individuals can come "to know the unfathomable riches of the salvific mystery of Jesus Christ" by reading, using, and memorizing parts of the Compendium of the Catechism. An essential tool for youth and young adults, the Compendium is the perfect companion to a youth or young adult's Bible, spiritual reading, or textbook. Catechetical leaders in high schools, colleges, and parishes will appreciate its versatility-as a reference book, discussion starter, or core resource for RCIA programs.

Fourteen images taken from masterpieces of Christian art set a tone for each part or section. "The sacred images, with their beauty, are also a proclamation of the Gospel and express the splendor of the Catholic truth," explained Pope Benedict XVI.

The Compendium of the Catechism was prepared by a commission presided by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Following the request for greater appreciation of the Catechism, and in order to meet a widespread need that emerged during the 2002 International Catechetical Congress, in 2003 the Holy Father established a special commission, presided by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that he charged with preparing a Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, containing a more concise and dialogic version of the same contents of Catholic faith and morals.

This is a must have for all Catholics. It may be more useful in everyday life for teaching and explaining the faith than the standard Catechism of the Catholic Church. Make sure to pick up one today!

Have a blessed Easter!

Praise be to Jesus Christ!

Pope Benedict on Palm Sunday

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI opened a busy Holy Week on Sunday with a Palm Sunday Mass that was dedicated to young people.

Palm fronds and olive trees swayed in the springtime breeze in St. Peter's Square as Benedict blessed the branches carried by the faithful, as is tradition on Palm Sunday.
Wearing embroidered red vestments and a golden miter, or bishop's hat, Benedict carried a large curled palm frond, as did the dozens of cardinals and bishops who joined him at the altar on the sun-soaked steps of the basilica.

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church's Holy Week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

"With this liturgical assembly we enter into Holy Week, to live the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ," Benedict said in an opening prayer. He told the faithful that the olive branches were symbols of Christ's peace, the palms symbols of his martyrdom.
Pope John Paul II made a tradition of dedicating Palm Sunday to the world's young people, and in his first year as pope Benedict continued that legacy.

After the Mass, young people from Cologne, Germany, who hosted last year's World Youth Day formally handed over the large wooden cross used during the church's international celebrations to a group of youngsters from Sydney, Australia, who are hosting the next gathering in 2008.
Benedict told them that for many, the cross on which Christ was crucified signified only his death and sacrifice.

"But Palm Sunday tells us that ... it is the cross that is the true tree of life," he said, calling the cross a symbol of poverty, peace and the universality of the church.

"The new weapon that Jesus gives us from his hands is the cross -- sign of reconciliation, sign of the love that is stronger than death," he said.

Secularism is Greatest Challenge!

Secularism is greatest challenge, Pope tells youth

Vatican, Apr. 07 (CWNews.com) - During a question-and-answer session with young people from Rome on Thursday evening, Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) related that he had discerned his vocation to the priesthood in part as a response to the "inhuman" Nazi ideology then prevailing in his native Germany.

The Holy Father met in St. Peter's Square with tens of thousands of young participants in World Youth Day (WYD) observances on April 6. He chose to respond to their questions instead of delivering a prepared address.

The Cause for John Paul II's Beatification

Interview With Cardinal Saraiva Martins

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes says that he cannot tell when John Paul II might be beatified, since the process hasn't arrived at his dicastery.

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins talked about the cause with ZENIT.

Q: How is John Paul II's cause of beatification proceeding?

Cardinal Saraiva Martins: Benedict XVI has dispensed from the established waiting period following death to initiate the cause of beatification, but he has not dispensed from the process itself, from either of the two phases. And this is often confused. The Pope has dispensed from the five-year wait following death which canon law calls for. In the case of Mother Teresa of Calcutta [the previous Pope] granted a dispensation of two and a half years. In John Paul II's case, the Pope has dispensed from nearly the entire five years. Nevertheless, John Paul II's case is still in the diocesan phase, which is the first phase. Since he died in Rome, the case is handled in the Diocese of Rome. That is, the point of reference is the Vicariate of Rome. Therefore, it is the bishop-vicar of Rome who must direct the procedure, and at present he is proceeding with the research. All unpublished documents relative to John Paul II must be collected, for example, his writings, whether personal letters or diaries. Testimonies of the faithful must be gathered attesting to John Paul II's holiness. Those who are convinced he was truly a saint must go and are going to the Vicariate of Rome to give their testimony on John Paul II's holiness. They must complete questionnaires and sign to attest to what they say. These testimonies will be part of the "positio" [report] that will be examined by theologians, doctors, etc. Therefore, for reasons of seriousness, all that is said must be signed by the one who says it. The diocesan phase of John Paul II's beatification began in September, when this dicastery issued a decree. It is not possible to know when the work will end, or how long this phase will last. And it does not depend on this Vatican dicastery. No one may intervene in the diocesan work under way.

Q: When, therefore, do you think the work will end?

Cardinal Saraiva Martins: This depends on the vicariate. In addition to the research the Vicariate of Rome is carrying out, there is also a rogation in Krakow. Research also began there. The process will only reach the Congregation for Sainthood Causes when Rome's diocesan phase is finished; we cannot interfere given its seriousness. Once this phase is finished, the whole dossier, all the documents collected, will be sent to the Holy See, to this dicastery. Then the second phase will begin, the Vatican phase.

The Man, the Myth, The Legend!

Well, not so much a myth!

I was born in 1978, the year of John Paul the Great's election as Pope. For almost 27 years of my life, I knew only one Pope. Even in those days when I was far away from the Church, I always appreciated his holiness, humor, and humanity. On the day of his death, I wept as though I had lost my own father......and in many ways I had. But those days that followed his death were a wonderful opportunity to remember the man, but in addtion, they helped me to realize the greater influence he has now, so close to Our Lady and Our Lord. I know he is interceding for us now, and I look forward to the day, God willing, that I may be with him in heaven praising the Lord singing "Holy, Holy, Holy!"

Praise be to Jesus Christ!