Monday, March 25, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Pope Francis calls for defence of the weakest in inaugural mass
From http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0319/377291-world-leaders-arrive-for-popes-inaugural-mass/
A huge crowd gathered on St Peter's Square in Rome this morning to see Pope Francis celebrate his inaugural mass.
The hallmark simplicity of Francis, the first Jesuit pope, has fuelled hopes for change and renewal in a Church beset by a deep global crisis.
The mass formally installed Pope Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
Pope Francis issued a strong appeal for the protection of the environment and the defence of the weakest members of society, urging the world to shun "the omens of destruction and death".
"It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.
"It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about," he said in the homily.
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins exchanged greetings with the new Pontiff following today's inaugural mass.
A spokesman said Mr Higgins spoke in Spanish, saying: "I want to wish you every success in your vision for the Church. My wish for you is the best of health in your mission on behalf of all humanity."
Mr Higgins also thanked Pope Francis for his St Patrick's Day message "so early in your Pontificate".
Pope Francis told President Higgins in English that: "I send my greetings to the people of Ireland, and I ask them for their prayers."
The President concluded the greeting in Irish wishing Francis success in the Pontificate "and its advocacy on behalf of the poor of our vulnerable planet".
Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, took his name in honour of St Francis of Assisi, a symbol of poverty, charity and love of nature.
Addressing an estimated 200,000 people and many foreign leaders gathered in St Peter's Square this morning, the Pope underlined his message that the Church's mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged. Six sovereigns,
US Vice President Joe Biden and other leaders as well as heads of many
other faiths, were among the 130 delegations on the steps of the famous
basilica.As well as President Higgins being in attendance, Minister for
Finance Michael Noonan represented the Government at the event.
As well as over 30 heads of Christian churches, there were 16 representatives of Jewish organisations at this morning's mass.
Numerous Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh leaders were also expected.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul attended, making it the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians attended a Roman Pope's inaugural mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.
The Vatican said the mass was rich in the symbolism that links Pope Francis to the first pope.
Before the mass, Francis collected his newly minted gold ring and pallium, a liturgical woollen band worn around the neck, that had been placed overnight on the tomb of St Peter under the basilica's altar.
He also toured St Peter's Square in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof popemobile often used by Benedict.
Francis stopped frequently to greet those in the sprawling square.
For the mass he wore plain white vestments, trimmed with gold and brown, and black shoes.
The ceremony was shortened to two hours after a three-hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy.
Pope Francis has already set out some clear themes of his pontificate.
They include a return to simplicity and humility and to the need for the church to minister to the poor.
His informality and sense of humour have also struck a chord with keen Vatican observers.
Pope Francis has aroused enormous enthusiasm and interest in the Catholic world.
In the six days since his election, he has referred to himself only as Bishop of Rome, the position from which his authority flows.
He has hinted he plans to reduce Vatican centralism and govern in consultation with other bishops.
Francis was receiving the visiting political leaders in the basilica after the mass.
Brady calls for prayers for new pope
Cardinal Seán Brady has asked Catholics to join him in praying every success for Pope Francis as he faces into the many challenges of his ministry.
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland was among the many con-celebrants at the Argentine Pope's inaugural mass in the Vatican this morning.
In a statement, he said the new Pope has often worried about the danger of "spiritual worldliness", meaning that one can be so obsessed about oneself that one has no interest or time for anyone else.
This in turn means that we can be so sure that we are alright that we do not need Jesus and can pass judgement on everyone else.
He urged people to take to heart the pontiff's request "protect with love all that God has given us!"
He added that the pope, during his first week in office, has advised that this can best be done by seeking to know Jesus Christ and to live one's life in His presence.
The hallmark simplicity of Francis, the first Jesuit pope, has fuelled hopes for change and renewal in a Church beset by a deep global crisis.
The mass formally installed Pope Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
Pope Francis issued a strong appeal for the protection of the environment and the defence of the weakest members of society, urging the world to shun "the omens of destruction and death".
"It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.
"It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about," he said in the homily.
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins exchanged greetings with the new Pontiff following today's inaugural mass.
A spokesman said Mr Higgins spoke in Spanish, saying: "I want to wish you every success in your vision for the Church. My wish for you is the best of health in your mission on behalf of all humanity."
Mr Higgins also thanked Pope Francis for his St Patrick's Day message "so early in your Pontificate".
Pope Francis told President Higgins in English that: "I send my greetings to the people of Ireland, and I ask them for their prayers."
The President concluded the greeting in Irish wishing Francis success in the Pontificate "and its advocacy on behalf of the poor of our vulnerable planet".
Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, took his name in honour of St Francis of Assisi, a symbol of poverty, charity and love of nature.
Addressing an estimated 200,000 people and many foreign leaders gathered in St Peter's Square this morning, the Pope underlined his message that the Church's mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged.
As well as over 30 heads of Christian churches, there were 16 representatives of Jewish organisations at this morning's mass.
Numerous Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh leaders were also expected.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul attended, making it the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians attended a Roman Pope's inaugural mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.
The Vatican said the mass was rich in the symbolism that links Pope Francis to the first pope.
Before the mass, Francis collected his newly minted gold ring and pallium, a liturgical woollen band worn around the neck, that had been placed overnight on the tomb of St Peter under the basilica's altar.
He also toured St Peter's Square in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof popemobile often used by Benedict.
Francis stopped frequently to greet those in the sprawling square.
For the mass he wore plain white vestments, trimmed with gold and brown, and black shoes.
The ceremony was shortened to two hours after a three-hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy.
Pope Francis has already set out some clear themes of his pontificate.
They include a return to simplicity and humility and to the need for the church to minister to the poor.
His informality and sense of humour have also struck a chord with keen Vatican observers.
Pope Francis has aroused enormous enthusiasm and interest in the Catholic world.
In the six days since his election, he has referred to himself only as Bishop of Rome, the position from which his authority flows.
He has hinted he plans to reduce Vatican centralism and govern in consultation with other bishops.
Francis was receiving the visiting political leaders in the basilica after the mass.
Brady calls for prayers for new pope
Cardinal Seán Brady has asked Catholics to join him in praying every success for Pope Francis as he faces into the many challenges of his ministry.
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland was among the many con-celebrants at the Argentine Pope's inaugural mass in the Vatican this morning.
In a statement, he said the new Pope has often worried about the danger of "spiritual worldliness", meaning that one can be so obsessed about oneself that one has no interest or time for anyone else.
This in turn means that we can be so sure that we are alright that we do not need Jesus and can pass judgement on everyone else.
He urged people to take to heart the pontiff's request "protect with love all that God has given us!"
He added that the pope, during his first week in office, has advised that this can best be done by seeking to know Jesus Christ and to live one's life in His presence.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Latin Mass Propers for the Feast of St. Patrick for the dioceses of Ireland
(excluding
dioceses of Armagh, Dromore, Kilmore and Ross)
Introit
Egredere
de terra tua et de cognatióne tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terram
quam monstrábo tibi. Faciámque te in gentem magnam. Ps. Confitémini Dómino, et invocate nomen ejus: annuntiáte inter
gentes opera ejus. Glória Patris ...
Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and
out of thy father’s house, and come into the land that I shall show thee. And I
will make of thee a great nation. Ps Give
glory to the Lord and call upon His name: declare His deeds among the gentiles.
Glory be to the Father ...
Prayer
O God, who didst vouchsafe to send Blessed Patrick, Thy
Confessor and Bishop, to preach thy glory to the nations: grant, through his
merits and prayers, that what thou commandst us to do, that same we may, by Thy
mercy, be able to accomplish. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ ...
Epistle
From Letter of St Paul to Romans 10:10-18
Brethen, with the heart we believe...
(See
Epistle Nov 30th Feast of St Andrew)
Gradual
Misit
ante eos virum: in servum venúmdatus est Joseph. Donec venire verbum ejus.
Elóquium Dómini inflammávit eum.
He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a
slave. Until his word came. The word of the Lord inflamed him.
Tract
Ego
Dóminus vocávi te in justíta, et apprehéndi manum tuam, et servávi te. Et dedi
te in foedus pópuli in lucem géntium. Ut aperíres óculos caecórum et edúceres
de conclusion vinctum, de domo cárceris sedéntes in ténebris. Ego Dóminus, hoc
est nomen meum: glóriam meam álteri non dabo, et laudem meam sculptílibus.
I the Lord, have called thee in justice, and have taken
thee by the hand and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of
the people, for a light to the gentiles. That thou mightiest open the eyes of
the blind and bring forth the prisoners out of prison, and them that sit in
darkness out of the prison house. I, the Lord, this is my name: I will not give
my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
Gospel
Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St Luke
10:1-9
At that time, the Lord appointed also other seventy-two:
...
(See
Gospel April 25th Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist.)
Offertory
Eduxit
eum foras, et ait íllí: Súscipe caelum, et númera stellas, si potes. Et dixit
ei: Sic erit semen tuum.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up
to heaven and number the stars if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy
seed be.
Secret
May this clean oblation be acceptable unto Thee, O Lord
of Hosts, which, as it hath pleased Thee, shall be offered unto the greatness
of Thy name among the nations, through the labours of Blessed Patrick, from the
rising of the sun even to the going down thereof. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ
...
Preface
for weekdays
Communion
Manus
Dómini confortávit te, et ídeo eris benedíctus in aetérnum.
The hand of the Lord hath strengthed thee, and therefore
thou shalt be blessed for ever.
Postcommunion
O God, who dist ordain the Sacrament of Thy Body and
Blood as a pledge of love among the peoples: grant in Thy mercy that those who
Thou hast hallowed by the divine mystery may, through the intercession of
Blessed Patrick, be knit closer together, day by day, by the bonds of peace and
concord. Who livest and reignest...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Pope Francis to be invited to visit Ireland
From http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0314/376592-pope-inaugural-mass/
Cardinal
Seán Brady has said he believes that Pope Francis will continue the
policy of Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul to address clerical child sex
abuse in Ireland.
He said that policy was to face the facts of what happened, take care of the victims, ensure that it does not happen again and do justice to all.
Cardinal Brady said that Pope Francis would be invited to Ireland.
Last night thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square to witness the announcement of the new Pope.
This morning, Pope Francis quietly left the Vatican to pray for guidance at a Rome basilica.
The pope went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the oldest church in the world dedicated to the Madonna, where he prayed before a famous icon of the Madonna called the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.
"He spoke to us cordially like a father," said Fr Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with the Pope.
"We were given ten minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming."
The first South American pontiff and the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Pope Francis is also bishop of Rome.
In his first words on Wednesday night he made clear that he would take that part of his role seriously and made good on the promise by visiting one of the capital's most important churches. Later today, he is due to go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to meet Emeritus Pope Benedict.
A spokesman said he had also travelled to the church-owned residence he has been in for most of his visit to Rome, collected his bags, paid his bill and thanked the staff before returning to the papal apartments.
A Vatican spokesman also clarified that the pope chose the name Francis after Francis of Assisi rather than St Francis Xavier, the renowned Jesuit missionary.
Earlier, it was announced that Pope Francis' inaugural mass will be celebrated next Tuesday in the Vatican.
His inauguration on the Feast of Saint Joseph is expected to attract religious and civic leaders from around the world, including President Michael D Higgins.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will represent the Government at the ceremony.
A Government spokesman said Minister Noonan would be accompanying the President because Taoiseach Enda Kenny had a long-standing arrangement to visit the United States over the coming week.
A leading Peruvian cleric, Monsignor Miguel Irizarto, remarked that the Argentine Pope's election showed that old patterns have been reversed and the Americas, Africa and Asia must now teach Christianity to Europe.
Fr Tony Flannery, the silenced founding member of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, hailed the election of what he called "a total outsider" from the developing world.
In a message to the new Pope last night, President Higgins said his election would bring great joy to the people of Argentina, as well as to the Jesuit community across the world.
Offering his congratulations, the Taoiseach said Pope Francis had the best wishes of all Irish people, of all traditions.
Argentina's President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner wished her fellow countryman a "fruitful pastoral mission" and expressed the hope that he will work toward justice, equality and peace for all.
US President Barack Obama offered warm wishes to the Pope and said the selection speaks to the strength and vitality of the Americas.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he looked forward to cooperation under Pope Francis' wise leadership.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the hopes of "millions of believers in Germany and the world, now rest with the new Pope", while EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head José Manuel Barroso urged the pontiff to try to bring the world's people and religions closer together.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope
Cardinal Bergoglio was born into a family of seven, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife.
He became a priest at 32, nearly a decade after losing a lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies.
Despite his late start, he was leading the local Jesuit community within four years.
Cardinal Bergoglio has a reputation as someone willing to challenge powerful interests and has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Ms Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Displaying his conservative orthodoxy, he has spoken out strongly against gay marriage, denouncing it in 2010 as "an attempt to destroy God's plan," and is expected to pursue the uncompromising moral teachings of Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Cardinal Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope. The order was founded in the 16th Century to serve the papacy and is best known for its work in education and for the intellectual prowess of its members.
At a dinner after his election Pope Francis said: "May God forgive you," raising loud laughter from the cardinals, according to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Pat Kenny, Jesuit Priest Fr Kevin O'Higgins described Pope Francis in his early days as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
He said: "Bergoglio, as he was then, would have been seen as certainly theologically conservative, somewhat cautious, but then I think, especially as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, surprised a lot of people by becoming very outspoken on social justice issues."
Fr O'Higgins said he had "a huge amount of contact with the poorest of the poor. He'd have public masses, for example, in Buenos Aires, often spontaneously, within a public square for beggars, prostitutes in the streets".
Announcement captures TV viewers
A peak audience of 992,000 people watched RTÉ’s Six One News last night as the historical events in Rome unfolded live.
An average of over 723,000 people watched the entire programme, with an audience share of 52%.
The peak audience figure is the highest for a news programme since the State of the Nation speech by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in December 2011.
He said that policy was to face the facts of what happened, take care of the victims, ensure that it does not happen again and do justice to all.
Cardinal Brady said that Pope Francis would be invited to Ireland.
Last night thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square to witness the announcement of the new Pope.
This morning, Pope Francis quietly left the Vatican to pray for guidance at a Rome basilica.
The pope went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the oldest church in the world dedicated to the Madonna, where he prayed before a famous icon of the Madonna called the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.
"He spoke to us cordially like a father," said Fr Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with the Pope.
"We were given ten minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming."
The first South American pontiff and the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Pope Francis is also bishop of Rome.
In his first words on Wednesday night he made clear that he would take that part of his role seriously and made good on the promise by visiting one of the capital's most important churches.
A spokesman said he had also travelled to the church-owned residence he has been in for most of his visit to Rome, collected his bags, paid his bill and thanked the staff before returning to the papal apartments.
A Vatican spokesman also clarified that the pope chose the name Francis after Francis of Assisi rather than St Francis Xavier, the renowned Jesuit missionary.
Earlier, it was announced that Pope Francis' inaugural mass will be celebrated next Tuesday in the Vatican.
His inauguration on the Feast of Saint Joseph is expected to attract religious and civic leaders from around the world, including President Michael D Higgins.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will represent the Government at the ceremony.
A Government spokesman said Minister Noonan would be accompanying the President because Taoiseach Enda Kenny had a long-standing arrangement to visit the United States over the coming week.
A leading Peruvian cleric, Monsignor Miguel Irizarto, remarked that the Argentine Pope's election showed that old patterns have been reversed and the Americas, Africa and Asia must now teach Christianity to Europe.
Fr Tony Flannery, the silenced founding member of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, hailed the election of what he called "a total outsider" from the developing world.
In a message to the new Pope last night, President Higgins said his election would bring great joy to the people of Argentina, as well as to the Jesuit community across the world.
Offering his congratulations, the Taoiseach said Pope Francis had the best wishes of all Irish people, of all traditions.
Argentina's President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner wished her fellow countryman a "fruitful pastoral mission" and expressed the hope that he will work toward justice, equality and peace for all.
US President Barack Obama offered warm wishes to the Pope and said the selection speaks to the strength and vitality of the Americas.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he looked forward to cooperation under Pope Francis' wise leadership.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the hopes of "millions of believers in Germany and the world, now rest with the new Pope", while EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head José Manuel Barroso urged the pontiff to try to bring the world's people and religions closer together.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope
Cardinal Bergoglio was born into a family of seven, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife.
He became a priest at 32, nearly a decade after losing a lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies.
Despite his late start, he was leading the local Jesuit community within four years.
Cardinal Bergoglio has a reputation as someone willing to challenge powerful interests and has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Ms Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Displaying his conservative orthodoxy, he has spoken out strongly against gay marriage, denouncing it in 2010 as "an attempt to destroy God's plan," and is expected to pursue the uncompromising moral teachings of Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Cardinal Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope. The order was founded in the 16th Century to serve the papacy and is best known for its work in education and for the intellectual prowess of its members.
At a dinner after his election Pope Francis said: "May God forgive you," raising loud laughter from the cardinals, according to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Pat Kenny, Jesuit Priest Fr Kevin O'Higgins described Pope Francis in his early days as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
He said: "Bergoglio, as he was then, would have been seen as certainly theologically conservative, somewhat cautious, but then I think, especially as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, surprised a lot of people by becoming very outspoken on social justice issues."
Fr O'Higgins said he had "a huge amount of contact with the poorest of the poor. He'd have public masses, for example, in Buenos Aires, often spontaneously, within a public square for beggars, prostitutes in the streets".
Announcement captures TV viewers
A peak audience of 992,000 people watched RTÉ’s Six One News last night as the historical events in Rome unfolded live.
An average of over 723,000 people watched the entire programme, with an audience share of 52%.
The peak audience figure is the highest for a news programme since the State of the Nation speech by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in December 2011.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected Pope, to be called Pope Francis
From http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0313/376399-cardinals-to-resume-conclave-in-vatican/
Argentinian
Jorge Bergoglio has been elected Pope, the first ever from the Americas
and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium.
He chose the name Pope Francis.
After announcing "Habemus Papum" - "We have a pope" - a cardinal standing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica revealed the identity of the new pontiff, using his Latin name.
Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict XVI, who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years.
The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina.
He chose the name Pope Francis.
After announcing "Habemus Papum" - "We have a pope" - a cardinal standing on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica revealed the identity of the new pontiff, using his Latin name.
Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict XVI, who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years.
The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Black smoke emerging from Sistine Chapel indicates no pope chosen after first vote
From http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0312/376196-cardinals-conclave/
Black
smoke rose from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel this evening, signalling
that cardinals have not elected a new pope in the first vote of their
secret conclave.
The black smoke was seen by thousands of visitors to St Peter's Square.
It means the 115 cardinals will hold a new round of voting tomorrow morning.
They will remain sequestered behind the Vatican's mediaeval walls until they elect a successor to Pope Benedict, who abdicated last month.
The cardinals will hold four ballots a day from tomorrow until one man has won a two-thirds majority - or 77 votes.
When the cardinals agree on a pontiff, white smoke will rise from the makeshift chimney on the chapel roof and the bells of St Peter's basilica will peal.
Earlier, the cardinals filed into the chapel praying for divine guidance in their choice of a man to succeed Pope Benedict at one of the most difficult times in the history of the Catholic Church.
With the Latin command, "Extra Omnes" (Everyone Out), the master of ceremonies ordered all those not involved in the secret ballot to leave the chapel.
The doors were then shut. A few assistants are allowed to stay inside to help but must leave each time the cardinals vote. A mass to mark the opening of the conclave took place at St Peter's Basilica this morning.
Dean of the College of Cardinals Angelo Sodano was the main celebrant and thanked Benedict XVI for a "brilliant pontificate".
His words were followed by a spontaneous burst of applause from the cardinals present and the congregation.
Cardinal Sodano said he wanted to renew the gratitude of the church to Benedict and prayed that through the conclave, God would "grant another good shepherd to the church".
The cardinal said it was important that the church worked "together to build upon the unity of this whole church".
There were prayers in Swahili and Portuguese and a reading in English.
Cardinals moved into Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican hotel, this morning where they will reside and eat until a new pope is elected.
The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five days.
As in medieval times, the cardinals are banned from communicating with the outside world.
The Vatican has also taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy in the 21st century, including electronic jamming devices to prevent eavesdropping.
The cardinals will emerge from their seclusion only when they have chosen the 266th pontiff in the 2,000-year-history of the church.
Vatican insiders say Italy's Angelo Scola and Brazil's Odilo Scherer have emerged as the men to beat.
The former would bring the papacy back to Italy for the first time in 35 years, while the latter would be the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also been mentioned, including US cardinals Timothy Dolan and Sean O'Malley, Canada's Marc Ouellet and Argentina's Leonardo Sandri.
Pope Benedict XVI abdicated last month saying he was not strong enough to confront the church's woes of sex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and the rise of secularism.
The black smoke was seen by thousands of visitors to St Peter's Square.
It means the 115 cardinals will hold a new round of voting tomorrow morning.
They will remain sequestered behind the Vatican's mediaeval walls until they elect a successor to Pope Benedict, who abdicated last month.
The cardinals will hold four ballots a day from tomorrow until one man has won a two-thirds majority - or 77 votes.
When the cardinals agree on a pontiff, white smoke will rise from the makeshift chimney on the chapel roof and the bells of St Peter's basilica will peal.
Earlier, the cardinals filed into the chapel praying for divine guidance in their choice of a man to succeed Pope Benedict at one of the most difficult times in the history of the Catholic Church.
With the Latin command, "Extra Omnes" (Everyone Out), the master of ceremonies ordered all those not involved in the secret ballot to leave the chapel.
The doors were then shut. A few assistants are allowed to stay inside to help but must leave each time the cardinals vote.
Dean of the College of Cardinals Angelo Sodano was the main celebrant and thanked Benedict XVI for a "brilliant pontificate".
His words were followed by a spontaneous burst of applause from the cardinals present and the congregation.
Cardinal Sodano said he wanted to renew the gratitude of the church to Benedict and prayed that through the conclave, God would "grant another good shepherd to the church".
The cardinal said it was important that the church worked "together to build upon the unity of this whole church".
There were prayers in Swahili and Portuguese and a reading in English.
Cardinals moved into Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican hotel, this morning where they will reside and eat until a new pope is elected.
The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five days.
As in medieval times, the cardinals are banned from communicating with the outside world.
The Vatican has also taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy in the 21st century, including electronic jamming devices to prevent eavesdropping.
The cardinals will emerge from their seclusion only when they have chosen the 266th pontiff in the 2,000-year-history of the church.
Vatican insiders say Italy's Angelo Scola and Brazil's Odilo Scherer have emerged as the men to beat.
The former would bring the papacy back to Italy for the first time in 35 years, while the latter would be the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also been mentioned, including US cardinals Timothy Dolan and Sean O'Malley, Canada's Marc Ouellet and Argentina's Leonardo Sandri.
Pope Benedict XVI abdicated last month saying he was not strong enough to confront the church's woes of sex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and the rise of secularism.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Priest says modern slave trade rooted in abortion, contraception
From http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/priest-says-modern-slave-trade-rooted-in-abortion-contraception/
.
Unprecedented rates of human trafficking can be traced to the rise of abortion, contraception and pornography in modern culture, says a Catholic priest who has researched the topic for nearly a decade.
“There are more people trafficked now in the 21st century than in the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th, the 18th, or the 19th century,” Denver priest Fr. David Nix said at a local Theology on Tap address on Feb. 18.
Today an estimated 27 million people are enslaved, 800,000 of whom are trafficked across international borders for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 2 million of whom are children.
When he first began researching the issue, Fr. Nix said he thought that abortion and contraception “facilitated” modern-day slavery. However, after researching the FBI’s resources on sex-slavery, he realized that “trafficking is founded upon contraception.”
The account he read cited a 2004 story from The New York Times which detailed a police raid on a suburban home in Plainfield, N.J. Acting on a tip, the city police raided the home expecting to find an underground brothel.
Instead, they found girls ages 14 to 17 who were Mexican nationals with no documentation living in what was described as a “squalid, land-based equivalent of a 19th century slave ship, with rancid, doorless bathrooms; bare, putrid mattresses; and a stash of penicillin, 'morning after' pills and misoprostol, an antiulcer medication that can induce abortion.”
“Honestly, whose life do you think is made easier by the morning after pill: the 14 year-old girl who is taken ten or twenty times a night, or her 40 year-old trafficker?” Fr. Nix asked the crowd.
“Contraception and abortion,” he told CNA in a later interview, “are the new slave ships upon which children are trafficked.”
Along with contraception and abortion, Fr. Nix said pornography is the one of the other “rails” of modern-day slavery. Although, “porn is the demand” he said, “children are the supply, even if you’re looking at adults.”
While not everyone who looks at pornography will be lead to the child sex trade, Fr. Nix says the industry is so interconnected that no aspect of it is isolated from the other. If a consumer supports one part, he or she is contributing to the entire issue at large.
“Every time you look at pornography,” Fr. Nix stated, “you’re making sure children stay in slavery.”
As disturbing as this issue is, Fr. Nix said he fears that Catholics will “miss the boat” in working to abolish this slave trade as he says they did in the 19th century.
“Who ended the slave trade?” he asked. “We think of people like William Wilburforce,” the English politician who helped lead the abolitionist movement.
Evangelical and Protestant groups, Fr. Nix pointed out, have had more success in freeing victims from slavery than any government organizations, as the award-winning 2011 documentary, “Nefarious,” details.
This is not because Christian groups are “better at what they do,” but rather because “only the Cross of Christ can go as deep as those wounds.”
This is because “the shame of a girl who has been raped tens of thousands of times by the time she is 15 years-old is nothing money or education can fix.”
However, Fr. Nix said, without the Catholic Church, they will not be able to end trafficking.
Although Catholics “have so much to learn from evangelicals on this topic,” he said, “they won’t be able to beat trafficking until we bring them the Mass and Our Lady.”
The Mass is essential, the priest said, because it “makes un-bloody reparation for this bloody child-sacrifice that is demon-based.”
The intercession of the Virgin Mary is needed, he explained, because “whatever she asks – God gives!”
During the time of Lent, Catholics should devote their sacrifices to the end of human trafficking and abortion, especially while meditating on Christ’s Passion since he was also “trafficked.”
“He was handed over by a friend, put in a basement, had his body abused in a different way, and finally left for dead outside the city limit like so many kids in Asia,” Fr. Nix said.
Fr. Nix said along with prayer, people can get involved by being aware of and reporting any suspicious behavior, even in their own home towns, to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888.
.
Unprecedented rates of human trafficking can be traced to the rise of abortion, contraception and pornography in modern culture, says a Catholic priest who has researched the topic for nearly a decade.
“There are more people trafficked now in the 21st century than in the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th, the 18th, or the 19th century,” Denver priest Fr. David Nix said at a local Theology on Tap address on Feb. 18.
Today an estimated 27 million people are enslaved, 800,000 of whom are trafficked across international borders for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 2 million of whom are children.
When he first began researching the issue, Fr. Nix said he thought that abortion and contraception “facilitated” modern-day slavery. However, after researching the FBI’s resources on sex-slavery, he realized that “trafficking is founded upon contraception.”
The account he read cited a 2004 story from The New York Times which detailed a police raid on a suburban home in Plainfield, N.J. Acting on a tip, the city police raided the home expecting to find an underground brothel.
Instead, they found girls ages 14 to 17 who were Mexican nationals with no documentation living in what was described as a “squalid, land-based equivalent of a 19th century slave ship, with rancid, doorless bathrooms; bare, putrid mattresses; and a stash of penicillin, 'morning after' pills and misoprostol, an antiulcer medication that can induce abortion.”
“Honestly, whose life do you think is made easier by the morning after pill: the 14 year-old girl who is taken ten or twenty times a night, or her 40 year-old trafficker?” Fr. Nix asked the crowd.
“Contraception and abortion,” he told CNA in a later interview, “are the new slave ships upon which children are trafficked.”
Along with contraception and abortion, Fr. Nix said pornography is the one of the other “rails” of modern-day slavery. Although, “porn is the demand” he said, “children are the supply, even if you’re looking at adults.”
While not everyone who looks at pornography will be lead to the child sex trade, Fr. Nix says the industry is so interconnected that no aspect of it is isolated from the other. If a consumer supports one part, he or she is contributing to the entire issue at large.
“Every time you look at pornography,” Fr. Nix stated, “you’re making sure children stay in slavery.”
As disturbing as this issue is, Fr. Nix said he fears that Catholics will “miss the boat” in working to abolish this slave trade as he says they did in the 19th century.
“Who ended the slave trade?” he asked. “We think of people like William Wilburforce,” the English politician who helped lead the abolitionist movement.
Evangelical and Protestant groups, Fr. Nix pointed out, have had more success in freeing victims from slavery than any government organizations, as the award-winning 2011 documentary, “Nefarious,” details.
This is not because Christian groups are “better at what they do,” but rather because “only the Cross of Christ can go as deep as those wounds.”
This is because “the shame of a girl who has been raped tens of thousands of times by the time she is 15 years-old is nothing money or education can fix.”
However, Fr. Nix said, without the Catholic Church, they will not be able to end trafficking.
Although Catholics “have so much to learn from evangelicals on this topic,” he said, “they won’t be able to beat trafficking until we bring them the Mass and Our Lady.”
The Mass is essential, the priest said, because it “makes un-bloody reparation for this bloody child-sacrifice that is demon-based.”
The intercession of the Virgin Mary is needed, he explained, because “whatever she asks – God gives!”
During the time of Lent, Catholics should devote their sacrifices to the end of human trafficking and abortion, especially while meditating on Christ’s Passion since he was also “trafficked.”
“He was handed over by a friend, put in a basement, had his body abused in a different way, and finally left for dead outside the city limit like so many kids in Asia,” Fr. Nix said.
Fr. Nix said along with prayer, people can get involved by being aware of and reporting any suspicious behavior, even in their own home towns, to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-3737-888.
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