The Catholic News

I HOPE TO throw some light on adverse comments on “U.S. bishops back Phoenix Bishop in nun excommunication abortion case” (CN, Jul 18, 2010).

The USCCB statement makes it clear right from its title and opening paragraph that what the hospital did was an intrinsically evil act (killing a baby). It was not a legitimate medical procedure amenable to further assessment by the principle of double effect in which the first requirement is a morally good act.

The body of the statement clarifies the difference, in principle, between the two (evil and legitimate) as contained in the U.S. Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services and the last sentence concludes, “Nothing therefore can justify a direct abortion.”

Like St. Thomas the Apostle, however, some need to see before they can believe how horrific are the evils promoted by secular bioethics.

But what is a morally good act?

THE BENEDICTINE NUNS of Holy Trinity Monastery are located in East Hendred, U.K. – in the Roman Catholic diocese of Portsmouth – where they are committed to searching for God according to St. Benedict’s threefold pattern of prayer, work and study. One of the things that makes them unique is that a lot of their work is digital. And they are using their website and other technology as an effective way to share their vocation with the world.

Aside from creating audio books for the blind and digital books for online, their website also offers podcasts, video, real-time web conferences with them, pictures of their work and life, a blog, a forum, and you can follow them on Twitter, too. Oh, and you can submit prayer requests directly to them through their website. I don’t think they’ve left anything out!

ANTHONY XU JIWEI has been ordained Bishop of Taizhou, having received both papal mandate and government recognition.

His ordination took place at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral at Taizhou city on Jul 10, attended by 500 people, ucanews.com reports.

It was conducted by Bishop Joseph Li Mingshu of Qingdao with Bishops Joseph Zhao Fengchang of Liaocheng, Joseph Xu Honggen of Suzhou and Joseph Han Yingjin of Sanyuan, who are all in communion with the pope.

The open community now has one bishop, four priests, eight nuns and three deacons.

Bishop Xu becomes only the second bishop of this diocese in Zhejiang province, filling a position that has remained vacant since Bishop Joseph Hou Jo-shan, one of China’s first ever native bishops, died in 1962.

Several Catholics and priests who attended the ceremony expressed the hope that the new bishop would work to develop the Church.

“The diocese has 25 churches and mission points, but only about 3,500 regular churchgoers,” one said. “Priority should be given to spreading the Gospel.”

For the full news report, please refer to the print edition of the CatholicNews.

POPE BENEDICT’S INAUGURATION of the “Year for Priests” from Jun 19, 2009 to Jun 18, 2010 was very fitting indeed. As St. John Vianney rightly declared, “O, how great is the priest! ... If he realised what he is, he would die.”

The priesthood which began at the Last Supper with the institution of the Eucharist remains enigmatic because it is not for all, but for the ones who are called to give up everything to serve. They could very easily live their own lives with their families in obscurity but they courageously chose the more difficult path to the priesthood. They have to study nine to 10 years and pass difficult examinations on scripture, theology, philosophy and even languages.

“THE REAL PROBLEM in Papua is corruption,” Jayapura Bishop Leo Laba Ladjar, OFM Cap. has said, referring to street protests and rallies in Jayapura by an independent group of mainly young people, and the recent requests for a referendum on independence from Indonesia.

Protesters organised a “Long March” Jul 10 starting from locations outside the city to the provincial Parliament building, where there was a sit-in lasting a day and a night.

According to the protesters, Papua is still too poor (38 percent of the population is below the poverty line) despite the great natural resources it has and it lacks minimum respect for human rights by the Indonesian government in dealings with the local population.

Participants at the inaugural Social Mission Conference in 2008 gather to understand more about social issues and what Catholics are called to do. Photo provided by Paul Goh Photography

SINGAPORE – The bi-annual Social Mission Conference organised by Caritas Singapore Community Council (CSCC) will be held on Saturday Aug 21 at St. Joseph’s Institution’s (SJI) Performing Arts Centre.

The theme of the day-long conference, inaugurated in 2008 and into its second year, is “Transforming ourselves and society in charity and justice”.

According to Caritas Singapore, the conference “provides participants with invaluable insights into the Church’s teachings on charity and justice”, challenges the faithful to go beyond the call of charity to help the needy build their lives with dignity, examine the root problems and how justice can be better served.

There will be five in-depth discussion tracks focusing on the poor, migrant workers, family, overseas humanitarian efforts and the marginalised. These discussions aim to provide attendees with deeper insight and knowledge of the needs of these groups.

The keynote speaker will be Dr Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary General for Caritas Internationalis. Dr Knight will share her vision of an economy with a conscience based on ethics and values, and how her organisation – a Vatican City – based Catholic humanitarian aid confederation of 164 national Catholic charities in 200 countries – is helping to realise that vision.

WE HAVE BEEN living in Punggol for seven years. There are many young couples with young families in this area and it is expanding rapidly with many new HDB flats in construction.

Currently there are already two temples, one mosque and another piece of land allotted for a future mosque (Straits Times, May 22, 2010), one Christian church and one more renting a place at Punggol Marina. Yet there is no Catholic Church to serve the community in Punggol.