Clarification on Condom--Aids Study by the Vatican

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 25, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See is preparing a "study" for internal dialogue, not a "document," on condoms and AIDS, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, clarifying information published recently in the media, told ZENIT that this "profound study," requested by Benedict XVI, takes into account "both the scientific and technical aspects linked to the condom, as well as the moral implications in all their amplitude."

The Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers does not have the "competency to present a document to the Church. It is the Holy Father who has the competency or whoever he entrusts" with the task, the cardinal explained.

"We are in the first stage," the 73-year-old cardinal said. "This study is promoting a dialogue only at the level of the Holy See and it is not finished yet. Once it's finished, will there be a document? There might or might not be. To issue a document is not proper to this dicastery. That it is or is not issued by another dicastery depends on the Holy Father."

The question the study addresses in particular is that of couples united in sacramental marriage, in which one of the spouses suffers from AIDS. The discussion as to whether in such cases it would be licit to use a condom to save a life arose with the idea of the establishment of the Good Samaritan Foundation in September 2004.

The Vatican-headquartered group aims to financially support the neediest sick, in particular those suffering from AIDS. "In that process the discussion arose over the action of condoms in cases of married couples with AIDS," Cardinal Lozano Barragán said. "This discussion took place in John Paul II's last months of life, but John Paul II was very, very conscious of these problems. I know it through personal experience, because I had access to him in this respect."

"When the Holy Father Benedict XVI did me the favor of granting me an audience he told me that it would be appropriate to talk about this subject" among competent persons of the Holy See, the cardinal said.

"It is a question of examining scientifically and morally how things are." The study responds first to the question: What guarantee exists to prevent infection with AIDS through a condom? A second question is: Is it morally licit to use a "technical" condom?

To respond to these two questions, the cardinal explained, "there are two important principles, which are the Sixth Commandment that says, 'You will not commit impure acts,' and the Fifth, which must always be taken into account: 'You shall not kill.'" General principles "Both commandments must be taken into account," he said.

"But these are very general principles. The study is being done reflecting on the different opinions of experts on the application of both principles to the concrete case of the condom in these specific circumstances.

"The theologians give their opinions. We, as a council, cannot say, 'I adopt this opinion.' We contribute the existing opinions to the dialogue that, on the other hand, are known."

Cardinal Lozano Barragán added: "The Holy Father will see the results of this dialogue and with the help he has from the Holy Spirit must tell us, if he wishes, where we must go. He might also think that it isn't the appropriate moment to pronounce himself.

CARA study on Catholics' trust in their bishops

CARA--the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate-- released a 37 page study of 10 national surveys of Catholic attitudes and practices between January 2001 and October 2005. Their findings?"

• Those Catholics who say they are aware of the church's policies and actions in response to clergy sexual abuse are more likely to give bishops high marks in leadership.
• The study found little to no change from 2001 to 2005 in the percentage of Catholics who give to their parish, in their church attendance patterns or in the proportion of U.S. adults who identify themselves as Catholic.
• Despite the intensity of coverage of sexual abuse allegations in the media, only a minority of Catholics in CARA's polls say they have heard of a priest in their local diocese being accused of sexual abuse.
• CARA found the decline in numbers who say they contribute to the diocese -- from 38 percent in the earliest survey to 29 percent in the latest -- "statistically significant."
• General Catholic satisfaction with church leadership dipped significantly during the sex abuse crisis but gradually climbed back up in 2004-05 to about the same level as before the crisis.

Revenge is not justice

From Zenit (ZE060423): A legislative movement to allow the filing of decades-old sexual-abuse claims could devastate the resources of the Catholic Church in the United States, warns an archbishop.

Archbishop Charles Chaput, writing in the May edition of First Things magazine, points to the efforts being made in more than a dozen state legislatures to remove statutes of limitation on old claims of clerical sex abuse.

The Denver prelate warns that amending the civil statutes could "decimate the remaining resources of the Catholic faithful in the United States and steal the religious future from a generation of Catholic young people."

Archbishop Chaput notes that statutes of limitation exist for good reason: to protect justice through the timely and fair resolution of claims.

However, as sex abuse claims have steadily declined since the early 1990s, plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to open up new avenues for suing the Church, a lucrative target.

Allying themselves with victims' groups, these attorneys are working with legislators to create loopholes in the statutes and apply them retroactively to sex abuse claims, some more than 70 years old.

Media pressure

According to Archbishop Chaput, savvy media campaigns sensitize the public in a target area, which puts pressure on lawmakers "to provide 'justice' for those victims whose claims have expired due to statutes of limitation."

The 61-year-old prelate argues that it is questionable whether singling out the Church and other private institutions for "retroactive liability" really serves justice, especially since public schools that record high instances of abuse are largely immune from lawsuits.

"Catholics," notes Archbishop Chaput, "can live with hard laws if they serve the common good." But those laws, he says, must apply equally to "all offending persons and institutions."

"Justice is a right balance of competing legitimate rights and obligations; it is not a form of auctioneering."

He adds: "Communities of faith have an obligation to generously help people who have been hurt by their members, past or present. But they also have a right to maintain their mission of serving others and to be protected from predatory judgments designed to gut their resources and identity.

"Revenge is not justice, no matter how piously one argues it."

New Book

Last night I was reading the book What is the Point of Being a Christian. What a wonderful read. Timothy Radcliff offers a vision of the world that is vast, deep, and free, one which points the way forward even amidst the confusing and complexity of the modern world. He writes on page 141:

When Thomas Merton left his monastery after sokme years, to visit the local town for the first time, he was overwhelmed with a sense of the beauty and goodness of the people whom he had met: "It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God Himself glorified in becoming a member of the human race. A member of the human race! ...There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.... There are no strangers.... If only we could see each other as we areally are all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.... I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other...the gate of heaven is everywhere."

What a wonderful tonic after reading the daily newspaper!

Signs of Hope

We have all been reeling from the continual news for the past four years regarding sexual abuse of children by clergy in the Catholic Church. Yesterday Sr. Joan Paula went to the day-long meeting of financial transparency for the Archdiocese of Boston. I wanted to share with you some of the signs of hope from the day.

Cardinal Sean stated that his elevation to Cardinal signifies the importance of the diocese of Boston. He acknowledged we have been through a lot in these past four years, and that we are still suffering from sexual abuse and the closure of parishes. We also face the deterioration of financial funds and the alienation of people from the Church. Though the financial picture is of great concern, the needs of the victims of sexual abuse are even greater and we put these people first and foremost. He stated, "Not a day goes by that we don't ask for pardon and forgiveness."

John Conner who is the head of the committee that acts as the financial council said these words of hope: "It is a new day." He believes this is the beginning of a new day for the archdiocese. He encouraged the priests and all those present not to concentrate on the losses, but on what you still have: a holy mission to nurture God's Church. Some may be disillusioned, he stated, but we are at the beginning of a new day. We need to have hope.

Another sign of hope: 75 young men attended the retreat for discernment at the seminary for the priesthood.

In the darkest hours, God is with us, guiding us through painful purifications, through our own Calvary into resurrection. One lesson learned? We need to be on our knees every day of our lives asking for grace and strength to allow God to work in us and through us.

An offensive Mohammed cartoon published in Catholic magazine

Zenit reported Sunday that a cartoon showing the prophet Mohammed in hell was published by the magazine Studii Cattolici, edited by Cesare Cavalleri, a member of Opus Dei.

The cartoon, based on a passage of "The Divine Comedy," shows Italian poets Dante Alighieri and Virgil on the edge of a circle of flames looking down on Mohammed, whose body is cut in half. Dante comments that the prophet is cut in half because of the division he brought to society.

A statement released by Marc Carroggio, director of the Opus Dei press office in Rome, stated: "We consider it deplorable that this cartoon should appear in a magazine that has the name Catholic in its title. Its publication shows a lack of sensitivity and Christian charity."

"Although the Opus Dei has no responsibility for this magazine," the statement continued, "and each person is responsible for his or her own actions, we wish to ask forgiveness for the offense given."

The statement adds that "religions and their symbols should be respected and religious sensibilities should not be subjected to ridicule. The only road to peace and brotherhood is respect for others' convictions and practices. Such respect cannot remain at the level of theory, but should be expressed in concrete gestures and actions."

The Way of the Cross at the Colisseum

I printed these out and am using them for prayer today. This Way of the Cross which was led by the Holy Father on Good Friday is the best I've seen for years. I'll share with you the introduction:

A Few Words Along the Way

In making the “Way of the Cross”, we are struck by the certainty of two things: the destructive power of sin and the healing power of God’s Love.

The destructive power of sin: the Bible never tires of repeating that evil is evil because it hurts us: sin is self-punishment; it carries its own retribution. A few texts of Jeremiah clearly make this point: “They went after worthlessness, and became worthless themselves” (2:5); “your wickedness will punish you, and your apostasies will convict you; know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you” (2:19); “your crimes have made all this go wrong, your sins have deprived you of all these favours” (5:25).

Isaiah is equally insistent: “Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: because you reject this word, and trust in oppression and deceit, and rely on them; therefore this iniquity shall become for you like a break in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse; its crash comes suddenly, in an instant; its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a sherd is found for taking fire from the hearth, or dipping up water out of the cistern” (30:12-14). And, voicing the deepest convictions of God’s People, the Prophet cries out: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (64:6).
The Prophets likewise denounce the hardness of heart that leads to appalling blindness and prevents us from perceiving the gravity of sin. Let us listen again to Jeremiah: “For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace. They acted shamelessly, they committed abomination, yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush” (6:13-15).

Jesus entered into this history ravaged by sin, and took upon himself the burden and brutality of our sins. When we look upon Jesus, we see clearly the destructive power of sin and the sickness of our human family. Our own sickness! Yours and mine!

Yet – and this is the second certainty – Jesus countered our pride with humility; he countered our violence with gentleness; he countered our hatred with the Love that forgives. The Cross is the event which enables God’s Love to enter into our history, to draw close to each of us, to become a source of healing and salvation.

Let us never forget: from the beginning of his ministry Jesus had spoken of “his hour” (Jn 2:4), of the hour “for which he had come” (Jn 12:27). It was an hour which he joyfully welcomed, when, at the beginning of his Passion, he cried out: “The hour has come!” (Jn 17:1).

The Church treasures this memory, and in the Creed, after professing that the Son of God “became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man”, she goes on to say: “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried”.

For our sake he was crucified! Jesus, at his death, embraced the tragic experience of death as it had been fashioned by our sins; yet, in his death, Jesus filled death itself with Love, he filled it with the presence of God. By Christ’s death, death itself was vanquished, for he filled death with the one power capable of cancelling the sin that had spawned it: Jesus filled death with Love!

Through faith and Baptism, we have access to the death of Christ, to the mystery of the Love by which Christ himself tasted and conquered death ... and this in turn becomes the first step of our journey back to God, a journey which will end at the moment of our own death, a death experienced in Christ and with Christ: in Love!

As you begin this “Way of the Cross”, let Mary take you by the hand. Ask her for just a bit of her humility and docility, so that the Love of Christ Crucified will be able to enter your heart and recreate it after God’s own Heart.

God bless you on your way!

+ ANGELO COMASTRI

I still forgive him

On the way to chapel this morning for Good Friday morning prayer, my attention was caught by the Boston Globe open on the table. In bold letters across the top were the words, "I still forgive him." I stopped to read the article of a five year old girl in court forgiving the man who had short her two years before, paralyzing her for life:

The little girl said the word porch and then began sobbing loudly. After her mother comforted her, 5-year-old Kai Leigh Harriott looked up from her blue wheelchair in the hushed courtroom yesterday and faced the man who fired the stray gunshot that paralyzed her nearly three years ago.

''What you done to me was wrong," the dimpled girl with purple and yellow plastic ties in her braids said softly. ''But I still forgive him."

On a summer night in 2003, Anthony Warren of Hyde Park fired three gunshots into the air outside a three-decker in Dorchester to scare two women who lived on the first floor after an argument. One bullet severed the spine of Kai, then 3, who was sitting outside on her family's third-story porch with a sister, singing ''Down by the Bay" from the ''Barney" television show.

Yesterday, in emotionally wrenching victim-impact statements that left many spectators in tears, Kai and four members of her family told a Suffolk Superior Court judge that the shooting had changed their lives forever, but had also shown them the value of forgiveness.

''We're not victims here; we're victors," said Kai's mother, Tonya David, addressing the court.

Forgiveness, such a lonely forgotten concept in these days of suing and legal action. Without it, we live in fear of mistakes, of accidents, of ourselves. How much forgiveness would change our lives and our world. Imagine what would happen if Christians were known today for their forgiveness. The old song says it, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love...." It is the miraculous and mysterious courage of unexpected people that teaches me how to live my own discipleship to Jesus. Thank you Kai Leigh and everyone else whose stories are burned in my memory as examples of love and discipleship.

Survivor Show turns Catholic

It's finally happened: Reality TV has found religion. In the A&E cable channel's new five-part "God or the Girl," four young men with a calling to the priesthood must decide whether to enter the seminary or serve God as laypeople.

The series will air, appropriately enough, during Easter week, with the first two episodes premiering on Easter, April 16, 9-11 p.m. EDT. (The third and fourth hours debut Monday, April 17, 9-11 p.m. EDT, with the finale Sunday, April 23, 10-11 p.m. EDT.)

Apart from the slightly sensational title -- actually a misnomer as none of these devout men would ever consider abandoning God -- the series created by Darryl Silver, Stephen David and David Eilenberg and executive-produced by Silver and Mark Wolper offers a surprisingly reverential treatment of a profound life passage.

In its essentials, the series is as serious-minded as a public television documentary on the subject, albeit fitted out with all the trappings of "Survivor."

read more

Neither liberal nor conservative

A professor and mentor at the theological center from which I received my degree said to me once, "You don't have to be liberal or conservative." I was tired playing the games of hide and seek, trying to duck the labels and see through the mirage of name-calling. His words were welcome refreshment. Archbishop Sambi, the new apostolic nuncio to the US in an interview this week seems to think likewise. He said: “I don’t like to speak inside the Catholic Church about liberal or conservative, but about people faithful to Jesus Christ and to his church. The church has been established by our Lord to continue the mystery of the salvation of human beings. It is not your invention, it is not my invention.… The question of the church is not only a question of culture, it is a question of the gospel.”

In the same interview he stated: “There are problems in the church of the United States, I also know also there is a lot of vitality – I would like that this be more known.”

As a widely travelled diplomat, Sambi has seen the problems of the Church all over the world, so as we welcome the hundreds of thousands of people who are joining the Church for the first time at Easter here in the US, we can reflect that maybe things aren't that bad after all.

Day of Action for Immigrant Justice

Hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, often joined by their Catholic bishops, took to the streets to join rallies, marches and prayer services yesterday to call attention to the contributions of immigrants and to ask for changes in immigration law and policies just days after senators left Washington for a two-week recess without voting on a comprehensive immigration bill worked out in a bipartisan compromise.

Organizers support legislation that would make it possible for the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants to legalize their status.

In St. Louis, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke said, "It is not right to make immigrants the scapegoats of social and political problems of our nation. It is profoundly unjust to place the blame for the acts of terrorism perpetrated by a few at the door of all immigrants."

On a stage where he was joined by Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders, he said: "Our presence here today expresses the teaching common to our different religious traditions which instructs us to receive immigrants as true brothers and sisters."

The Gospel of Jesus Revisited

James Martin, SJ, in the New York Times, points out several reasons why the storyline of the gnostic gospel The Gospel of Judas doesn't make sense:

It seems unlikely that Jesus would have had to entice Judas to betray him. There were ample opportunities when Jesus himself could have sufficiently enraged both the Jewish and Roman authorities, who were often members of the crowds that witnessed his miracles or heard his subversive teachings. Jesus could easily have gotten arrested on his own.

And it seems unlikely that Judas would have done it for money. Why would Judas have been traipsing around the desert for three years if he was looking to get rich?

But the biggest roadblock to all these interpretations is Judas's suicide, reported by Matthew in his gospel -- written earlier than the Gospel of Judas, and therefore probably more accurate. (In Acts, Judas's death is both more unclear and more gruesome.) If he was in cahoots with Jesus, and hoping for the death of Jesus, as the Gospel of Judas contends, why would he have killed himself?

Perhaps the most plausible explanation was articulated several decades ago, by the Scripture scholar William Barclay, author of the widely used ''Daily Study Bible." Barclay contended that the most compelling reason for the betrayal was that Judas, frustrated with Jesus' slowness in overthrowing the Roman overlords, hoped somehow to force his master's hand. Perhaps he hoped that after being arrested by the Romans, Jesus would have to act, ushering in a sort of miraculous revolution. What happens instead horrifies Judas: His friend is tortured and executed. Overcome with remorse, Judas kills himself. As Barclay concluded, ''This is in fact the view that best suits all the facts."

In the end, Judas wanted a God of his own making, an avenging God who would serve justice by tossing out the hated occupiers and restoring the fortunes of the people of Israel. What Judas got was very different: a suffering God who accepted a shameful death on a cross. Tragically, Judas didn't stick around to see what happened on Easter morning.

The Gospel of Judas will continue to be fodder for television shows, magazine covers, and lunchtime conversations. But the answer to the question raised every Good Friday remains the same. Why did Judas do it? Because Judas, like many of us, wanted to make God in his own image -- rather than the other way around.

The Rev. James Martin is author of ''My Life With the Saints."

Stats on sexual abuse by teachers in public schools raises questions

Last night I read an enlightening article in The National Catholic Register, with statistics that show that the national press has seriously underreported public educator sexual miscondiuct. While it regularly and graphically reports of incidents of sexual abuse involving Catholic clergy from 20, 30, 40 years ago, they rarely, if ever, look for the same patterns in public institutions. While it has been good that so much has been done to protect children in Catholic schools and churches, as a result of news coverage of the abuse, it is curious why journalists are not as eager to protect children in public schools:

Last year, Archdiocese of Denver staffers invited a leading Colorado newspaper – the Denver Post – to research national patterns of sexual misconduct among public educators and other groups, and then compare them with similar patterns in the Catholic clergy. The Post ignored the story for six months. The archdiocese finally released the information itself as part of current Colorado General Assembly hearings.

California is the poster child for this biased kind of coverage of the sex abuse facts. A quick overview of press reports on child sexual abuse in major California newspapers, sorted by offending institution, is revealing.

For the first six months of 2002, California newspapers carried 1,783 reports of sexual abuse involving Catholic entities, but only four regarding public schools – even though Hofstra University’s Charol Shakeshaft, the leading national expert on educator sexual misconduct, testified that there are more victims of educator misconduct in California public schools than the entire enrollment of students in California Catholic schools.

The situation in Colorado is just as lopsided.

Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Denver secured a selection of Colorado teacher files from the statewide teacher-licensing authority under Colorado’s Open Records Act. Note that, in the view of Shakeshaft, this sampling of Colorado data is almost certainly much lower than the real statistics.

When specific public school districts and county health departments were asked for sexual misconduct data, every one of them – without exception – refused to provide any information. One county’s Department of Human Services offered to provide the relevant information if the Colorado Catholic Conference first paid a $250,000 research fee.

In reporting on the files received by the Archdiocese of Denver, I’ve edited out the offending teachers’ names and used numbers instead. I’ve also deleted the victims’ names.

Nonetheless, even these partial records show that 85 Colorado teachers lost their teaching licenses for sexual misconduct over the eight-year period from 1997 through 2005. Nearly all of them taught in public schools. If this pattern persisted over the same 50-year period of the current lawsuits facing Colorado dioceses, more than 350 offending Colorado teachers would be a reasonable projection.

Many of the license revocations only occurred after a criminal conviction.

Equally troubling, many of the stipulated settlements in these cases only require the former teacher to promise never again to seek employment in a public school, thereby making it permissible for the perpetrator to seek future work with private or religious schools or in other settings with children without violating the settlement. These files dispel any notion that sexual misconduct and abuse with minors are uniquely – or even predominantly – a “Catholic Church” problem.

Teacher No. 1 was hired by a Colorado public school district in August 2001 – four years after a court order restrained this person from practicing psychotherapy because he had repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with his former client. Teacher No. 1 was eventually charged in July 2002 with seven counts of sexual assault on a child, 10 counts of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust, and five counts of aggravated incest. Even so, he kept his teacher’s license for 14 more months.

Teacher No. 6 sexually abused a 9-year-old girl and pleaded nolo contendere to kidnapping in 1979. Despite this, his state teacher’s certificate was granted in 1980, and then renewed in 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1995. He did not lose his license until October 1997.

Teacher No. 11 was convicted of felony sexual conduct in 1991 and sentenced to eight months in jail and three months on probation before he was hired by a Colorado public school district.

Teacher No. 24 had sexual relations three times with an 18-year-old male student and provided alcohol to students watching athletic games at the teacher’s home. Instead of firing this teacher and thereby compromising her future ability to acquire replacement employment, a Colorado charter school allowed the teacher to resign effective March 23, 2001, and then placed her on paid administrative leave through May 31, 2001.

Teacher No. 26 was arrested stalking a jogger but thereafter was hired by a Colorado public school district. Later he pleaded guilty to two counts of enticement of a child – including exposing himself to an 11-year-old after pretending he was going to take her to church. And it still took 18 months before the state revoked his license.

Teacher No. 27 – after sexually assaulting a child and pleading guilty to third-degree assault – had his teacher’s license restricted for merely four years.

Similar stories inform many of the remaining 79 summaries.

What’s the moral of this tale?

Civil statutes of limitations exist for very good reasons: Memories fade; witnesses and perpetrators die; evidence disappears or grows stale. Retroactive liability – which amounts to changing the rules and penalties after the fact – is an especially punitive idea.

The problem of public school educator sexual misconduct and abuse with minors is at least as prevalent as – and arguably much worse than – sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. But public institutions in most states – including public schools – enjoy special legal protections like strict damage caps and government immunity. So guess at whom these so-called “sex-abuse statute of limitations reforms” are really aimed?

Catholic families around the country should check their wallets. Plaintiffs’ attorneys already have them targeted.

Save the Sudan

The hopeful signs that the genocide in Sudan is becoming the center of people's concern and what you can do about it.

The whole article is worth reading but if you don't have time, here is the nuts and bolts of what you can do. It only takes a minute to help save the millions of starving and dieing Sudanese:

Third, pending before Congress this month is an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill that would add $175 million for peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. This would be used to bolster the thin line of African Union troops trying to restore order and protect humanitarian efforts in that devastated region.

Fourth, and related to the third point, the Save Darfur Coalition is promoting this week (April 2-9) as a week of prayer and action. Further information can be found at SaveDarfur.org. The Coalition seeks to bring a million voices to bear on this issue, through an on-line postcard to President Bush (takes only a few seconds to include your voice). In addition, take a moment this week (or next) and send a message to your representative in Congress, urging additional funding for a multinational force to end the genocide in the Sudan. And as you go to Palm Sunday Mass, dedicate it through your prayers to the people of Darfur.

More information on The Gospel of Judas

A Professor from the Moscow Theological Academy explains why The Gospel of Judas cannot change the vision of Christ's life that we already have from the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John:

Moscow, April 7, Interfax - Deacon Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy, is convinced that the so-called Gospel of Judas published in the USA can add nothing to the canonical vision of the life of either the Saviour or the apostolic community.

'This document cannot be traced back to Judas Iscariot for the simple reason that Judas hung himself on the day Christ was crucified and no Gospel of Judas can exist. Most probably, this work was created by one of the 3th-4th century Gnostic sects', Father Andrey said in an interview to Interfax.

He said all kinds of pseudo-Christian occult sects thrived in that period, especially in Egypt. Some of them deliberately appropriated the names of negative biblical characters. For instance, Ophite (Greek for serpent) sect worshipped the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve in Eden, while the Cainite sect named itself after Cain, the first murderer in the Old Testament.

'I believe the so-called Gospel of Judas can certainly clarify our ideas of the Gnostic beliefs of that time, but this manuscript will hardly change in any way our vision of the life of either Christ or the apostolic community of the 1st century', Father Andrew stated.

The Gospel of Judas

The National Geographic Society headquartered in Washington D.C. announced that they have pieced together and translated the Gospel of Judas which has been lost for almost 1,700 years. Also called the codex, the National Geographic Channel will premiere a television two hour event on April 9th called "The Gospel of Judas.”

What does the Gospel of Judas say? The Gospel of Judas which was written on 26 pages with 13 sheets of papyrus with writing on both front and back, says that Jesus requested Judas to act as a traitor.

The Gospel of Jesus is a Gnostic Gospel. (The DaVinci Code is based on The Gospel of Mary which is also a Gnostic Gospel. The underlying theme of the novel is that the Bible cannot be trusted to give us the real truth about Jesus which the Church has been hiding all along. It successfully hid the truth by banning the gnostic gospels from inclusion in the canon of Scripture.) Gnostic Christians believed that salvation is attained through mystical knowledge imparted by Jesus, rather than through his death and resurrection.

They believe that humans are fundamentally spiritual beings imprisoned in physical bodies, and they seek to explain why there was so much suffering in the world.

The key passage of the Gospel of Judas appears to be Jesus' statement to Judas, after reviewing the mistakes of the other apostles, that ''you will exceed all of them, for you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." In other words, Jesus' spirit will be released from an evil body. Gnostics see the body as evil.

Gnostic groups and texts proliferated in the first centuries after Christ's death, but went into decline after the year 180, when they were pronounced heretical by Irenaeus of Lyon, an influential church father.

So this discovery will be important to understand the different strands of Christianity in the ancient Church, but what it has to say about Jesus and Judas is certainly not an eyewitness account since it was written at least 150 years after Jesus died. The four Gospel included in Scripture (a choice that was made during a period of hundreds of years) are chosen because they are ancient, written by the apostles or someone who knew the apostles, and their teaching is orthodox. It is to the New Testament that we must turn if we really want to know Jesus and to encounter him in truth.

Intelligent design absurd according to Vatican Observatory director

In America magazine, April 6:

The director of the Vatican Observatory called the concept of intelligent design “absurd” and part of a religious fundamentalist movement in the United States, which wants science to show that God exists. “They are using the Bible as science, as a source of scientific knowledge. This is wrong,” George Coyne, S.J., told Catholic News Service after a lecture on March 27 in Washington, D.C. The earliest date given for the start of modern science is the 13th century, more than 1,000 years after all of the books of the Bible were written, he said. “How could biblical writers draw on science when modern science didn’t exist yet?” said Father Coyne. He also discussed intelligent design in his speech on the evolution of the universe and in a subsequent question-and-answer period. His talk was sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Intelligent design is a religious movement based on fear that if you don’t teach an alternative to evolution, we will have a lot of little atheists running around,” he added.

Thousands take steps toward joining the Church this Easter

Across the US tens of thousands of prospective Catholics began the final phase of preparation for joining the Church, a process that will culminate with the sacraments of Christian initiation at the Easter Vigil. Some numbers: In Washington D.C. 1,133 catechumens; Arlington, Va. 697; Little Rock, Ark. 560; Nashville, Tenn. 500; Albany, N.Y. 264; Hartford, Conn. 269....

The Spirit is present, even as we suffer as a Church. For me, it is a reminder to turn my face to gaze on God, to stop a minute from endless chattering and planning about debating, and wonder in silence at why we are all here in the first place, together, united, one Body... the Body of Christ.

Marriage Debates--who will decide?

The Culture of Life Foundation yesterday reported on a paper, "Why a Marriage Amendment is Necessary," published by the Republical Policy Committee. The paper basically says that if the Senate fails to act at the beginning of June on a proposed Constitutional amendment that defines marriage as consisting only on the union of one man and one woman, it will be decided state by state in the courts, leading to a national fragmentation of marriage definitions.

In the end the chaos that will be created by the differing state legislations will necessitate it being brought to the Supreme Court. In other words, if the Senate doesn't decide, the courts will decide. So the questions is do we want the courts to be the arbiters of the definition of marrage, or do we want it to come from the people.

The president of the U.S. bishops' conference is asking prelates that they and the people in their dioceses become involved in the effort to support a federal constitutional marriage amendment.

Bishop William Skylstad, in a letter to all U.S. Catholic prelates, also said that the Knights of Columbus have initiated a national postcard campaign to promote support for the Protection of Marriage Amendment. The amendment defines marriage as consisting only of a union between a man and a woman.

"Today there is a growing sense shared by many people, including a wide range of religious leaders, that a Marriage Protection Amendment is the only federal-level action that ultimately will protect and preserve the institution of marriage," Bishop Skylstad said.

The entire text of the announcement from the Culture of Life Foundation follows:

GOP Policy Committee Says
Marriage Amendment Needed to Stop Courts


By Mark Adams



An important Senate committee says in a new policy paper that if a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman is not passed, state and federal courts may eventually impose same-sex marriage. The paper says that advocates of same-sex marriage plan to challenge state marriage laws producing a patchwork of laws across the country that "will inevitably end up playing out in the courts, as same-sex marriage puts new stresses on the legal system."

"Why a Marriage Amendment is Necessary," published by the Republican Policy Committee comes in anticipation of the impending June 5th debate on the floor of the Senate over a proposed Constitutional amendment defining marriage as consisting "only of the union of a man and a woman." Majority leader Sen. Bill Frist announced that the Senate will vote on the amendment on June 6th. The policy paper details the status of marriage law today and includes a discussion of the overwhelming popularity of traditional marriage laws at the state level and the challenges those law are already facing in the courts.

The paper says, "Failing to act to protect traditional marriage laws by a constitutional amendment will, in the end, likely result in the judicial imposition of same-sex marriage on a nationwide basis." This will come about through a three step process. First, "some state supreme courts undoubtedly will strike down state marriage laws" resulting in "national fragmentation of marriage definitions." Second, the fragmented status will become untenable as cases that come before courts "involving everything from divorce to child custody to health care to probate will be more complicated and require case-by-case analyses in the courts." Such "a patchwork of definitions is not likely to endure" leading to the third step in which the issues becomes federal and the "ultimate arbiter will be the Supreme Court."

The paper says the Supreme Court would have "Have a duty to assist the lower courts in the management of the plethora of thorny legal problems that same-sex marriage will have created in a patchwork system. The Court will be under enormous pressure to craft a national solution." The paper says that regardless of whether or not an amendment is passed, there will eventually be a federal definition of marriage with the only question being whether it come from the people or the courts.

Right now 45 states have laws defining marriage according to traditional norms. Of those 45, 19 have state constitutional amendments and at least seven states are considering an amendment in 2006. The paper also notes that in the 19 states that have considered a state constitutional amendment, not only has the amendment passed but it has done so with an average of 71.5 percent of the vote. As of March nine states face court challenges to their laws defining traditional marriage and in four of those states lower courts "have already struck down the marriage laws and found a right to same-sex marriage in state constitutional provisions dealing with equal protection and due process."

Manifesto of the international congress "Women and the media"

The image of women is exploited, abused, and used in the media.... No secret. But someone is doing something about it. Not boycotting or angry editorials. The Athenaeum Regina University's Institute of Higher Studies on Woman held an international Congess entitled "Woman and the Media." Their conclusions were synthesized into the following 10 points:

The manifesto reads:

1. We defend and promote in the media a respectful image of woman's identity and of the dignity of femininity.

2. We combat the abuse of the feminine image as an advertising or consumer instrument.

3. We promote correct and true information on the problems affecting the feminine world.

4. We commit ourselves to avoid sensationalist tones and refuse to make a show of information.

5. We defend the role of woman as co-responsible with man in the edification and development of society.

6. We promote a culture of freedom and peace, which respects the contribution of the feminine genius in the humanization of society.

7. We defend and promote the irreplaceable role of woman as educator of society in the defense of the more authentically human values, such as love, respect, dignity in suffering and weakness, tolerance.

8. We defend and promote the active presence of woman in public life and the world of work.

9. We promote the dignity of woman and the equal rights of woman and man.

10. We commit ourselves to responsibly provide information and sensitization by detecting, documenting and speaking out against situations and practices that limit freedom and violate the rights of women and girls.

100% Debt cancellation for 17 impoverished countries

The debt agreement will cancel 100% of 17 impoverished countries' debts to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and African Development Bank in 2006.

In a statement posted Friday on the U.S. episcopate's Web site, Bishop Wenski called the decision "a concrete application of Pope John Paul II's call for the 'globalization of solidarity.' The poverty that traps so great a portion of our human family shocks us."

Completion point

The plan for implementation of debt cancellation originally under consideration at the World Bank Board would have required impoverished countries to keep making non-refundable debt payments to the World Bank, even after reaching the "completion point" when they become eligible for debt cancellation.

But in the plan that was finally approved, impoverished countries that complete mandatory economic reforms and reach "completion point" in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's debt relief program will see their debts canceled within three months of qualifying.

This will enable a country like Malawi, which is estimated to reach completion point this June, to see debt cancellation to the World Bank on July 1, rather having to wait until July 2007.

Benedict XVI supports two day fast for peace in Iraq and the world

Zenit reported that at today's Angelus message Benedict XVI invited all Catholics to join in fasting and prayer for peace in Iraq:Benedict XVI encouraged believers worldwide to fast and pray Monday and Tuesday for peace in Iraq and the world.

After reciting the midday Angelus today from the window of his study, the Pope echoed the initiative announced in a message signed by Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Babylon and Iraqi bishops.

"We are estranged from God with our deeds," wrote the patriarch in his message, "we do not fulfill his will, and we have abandoned piety, virtue and forgiveness and, because of this, the blood of so many brothers has been shed and so many children have been left orphans.

"We must return, repentant, to the house of the Father to do the will of our sovereign God; to attain this sublime objective, we invite all Iraqis, in and outside of Iraq, and all believers and men of good will, to prayer and fasting on next Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th, so that the Lord will restore peace, tranquility and security to Iraq, country of beloved Abraham."

Benedict XVI invited "all to join this initiative of our brothers of that tormented country, commending this intention to the intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Peace."

100,000 people expected at the Vatican for anniversary of John Paul II's death

Catholic News Service reports that as many as 100,000 pilgrims are expected at the Vatican this weekend to mark the first anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.

One year ago, thousands of the faithful gathered spontaneously in St. Peter's Square for a prayer vigil to accompany their beloved Pontiff during the final hours of his life, and many thousands more arrived to pay homage after his death on April 2, 2005.

Although many different observances are planned, in Rome and around the world, the focal point will be the prayer vigil organized in St. Peter's Square on April 2, with Cardinal Camillo Ruini (bio - news)leading the Rosary and texts from the late Pontiff used as meditations. At 9:37 in the evening-- the time of the Pope's death one year ago-- Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will speak. The next day, the Pope will preside at a memorial Mass in St. Peter's Square.