Christian Suffering in Iraq

No comment on whether the US and its allies should withdraw from Iraq in the near future; however, in a sermon reported by Catholic News Service, Bishop Ibrahim draws attention to often overlooked facts about the treatment of Christians in Muslim lands.

The full article is available at Catholic Online. Below are excerpts.

‘Let Iraqis kill each other,’ Catholic bishop says, calling for U.S. withdrawal
...
Bishop Ibrahim said the situation of Christians in Baghdad, Iraq's capital, "is very, very bad," with Islamic terrorists threatening that they must convert to Islam or pay a special tax as protection money.

Even if they choose to leave, they are being threatened to leave any unmarried daughters behind so they can be taken as wives by Muslims and forced to convert to Islam, the bishop said.

But Bishop Ibrahim said he does not believe the Muslims killing and threatening Christians are from either of Iraq's two Muslim groupings – Shiites or Sunnis – but rather al-Qaida terrorists from outside Iraq.
...
"For a Christian to be killed in the Middle East is nothing new – it often happened in the second, third and fourth centuries that Christians were martyred for their faith – but for Christians to be killed in the 21st century, when the world's major superpower has 150,000 troops in that country, is a terrible thing," he said. "Why are they there if they cannot defend human life and human rights?"
...
The current situation puts Christians in the hazardous position of being perceived as being allied with the foreign occupiers, but the Americans provide no special protection for them, the bishop continued.

"We do not have weapons, we do not have a militia, and nobody is supporting us," he said. And even with some of the additional troops from the planned surge in U.S. forces already in place, there is no security in Baghdad, he noted.
...
When Father Ganni and the three subdeacons were killed June 3 by men wearing masks after leaving a church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul following Mass, the police did not even come to investigate, Bishop Ibrahim said. "Their bodies lay on the streets for two hours after they were killed."
...
Remon Samir Jiddou, parish council vice president at Mother of God, said there is not much fellow Chaldeans back in Iraq can do about the dangers they now face. "It's out of our hands; that's why we pray to God. All we have is our faith in God, that he will protect us."

For the full article, click here.

A Busy Week at the Vatican

This is turning out to be a busy week for news at the Holy See.

First, there was the "motu proprio" altering the conclave procedures for the election of the pontiff.

Granted, this wasn't the motu proprio some people have been looking for...

Then, there was the small but significant shuffling of several curial officials (including Archbishop Foley to a position that takes him firmly out of the communications wing of the Vatican.

And if that isn't enough, almost on the heels of this news, we have word that the motu proprio many in the Roman Church have been eagerly awaiting for two years (i.e., since the election of Pope Benedict) really is coming.

Yes, that motu proprio!

News is leaking that the motu proprio allowing for more generous celebration of the Roman Mass of John XXIII will be officially publish on 7 July 2007.

Here are a few links to this breaking story:

Kath.Net (in German)

Catholic World News (CWNews.com)

What Does the Prayer Really Say

Whispers in the Loggia (For once, Rocco didn't get the scoop!)

The New Liturgical Movement

The Cafeteria Is Closed

I can almost hear Tillie saying, "Well, all hell done broke loose now!"

PS When officially published, look for that Motu Proprio to be available here.

Yet Another Victory for Freedom in Turkey

Turkish court rules out international role for Orthodox Patriarch

Ankara, Jun. 27, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A court in Turkey has ruled that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople does not have the right to the title "Ecumenical Patriarch." Patriarch Bartholomew has legal standing only as the head of his local Orthodox community in Turkey, the court ruled.

The Turkish court ruling will not affect the Patriarch's standing in the eyes of the world's Orthodox faithful, who generally regard the Patriarch of Constantinople as the "first among equals" in the world's Orthodox hierarchy. However the decision does bolster the efforts of Turkey's secular government to downplay the international importance of the Constantinople patriarchate.

The court ruled that Patriarch Bartholomew has jurisdiction only over the small Orthodox community in Istanbul. Because he does not head other religious communities, he should not be described as "ecumenical," the court argued.

The Turkish government currently requires that the Patriarchate of Constantinople must be a Turkish citizen. Patriarch Bartholomew had recently called for a change in that requirement, arguing that a wider pool of potential candidates should be eligible for the post. The court's ruling severely damages chances for that policy change.

The world's Orthodox churches are generally divided along national lines, with each Church governing its own affairs. The Patriarch of Constantinople is regarded not as having authority over the other Orthodox bodies, but as having primacy among Orthodox patriarchs. The Russian Orthodox Church in particular has been insistent that the Ecumenical Patriarch should not be seen as the Orthodox equivalent of the Pope, but as a peer of the other patriarchs.

While some of the argumentation made by the court is valid (given Orthodox ecclesiology on the equality of bishops), this is but yet another in the historic 'legal' oppression of the Church in secularist Turkey.

Key Word "assent"

VATICAN CITY, JUN 26, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy Father gave his assent to the canonical election by the Synod of Bishops of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church meeting in Ain Traz, Lebanon, from June 18 to 23, of Fr. Yasser Ayyach, pastor of the Melkite parish of Amman-Alwabdi in Jordan, as archbishop of Petra and Philadelphia of the Greek-Melkites (Catholics 31,300, priests 28, religious 21), Jordan.

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is one of several sui iuris churches that collectively make up the Catholic Church. The largest sui iuris church is the Church of Rome, whose Archbishop is fairly well known. Thus, the Holy Father does not 'consent' to the election of a Bishop for the Melkites, he 'assents' to it. This assent is a sort of formal courtesy that respects the rights of both the Melkites and the Church of Rome. When a Patriarch is elected, he and the Pope exchange letters that confirm their unity in the Faith and mutual recognition.

The Patriarch of the Melkites is His Beatitude Gregorios III (Laham), the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria, of Jerusalem.

See my earlier post on the Melkites here.

Ukraine and Constantinople Express Desire for Unity

2007-06-26 16:19:00
Ukrainian president and Patriarch of Constantinople
discuss establishment of united Local Church in Ukraine

Kiev, June 26, Interfax - Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople discussed, in Istanbul on Tuesday, the establishment of a united Local Church in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president's press service reported.According to the press service, the patriarch also expressed hope that the situation in Ukraine will stabilize after the early parliamentary elections and added that he was praying for the unity of Ukraine. Patriarch Bartholomew conveyed through President Yuschenko his blessing upon the Ukrainian people.They also discussed the religious formation of young people on the basis of Christian ethics.In conclusion of their meeting, President Yuschenko and Patriarch Bartholomew exchanged tokens.

Let us pray that the unity for which the President and the Patriarch pray will include reunification and full recognition of the rights of Ukrainian Greek Catholics. I have intuited for some time that Ukraine could be the linchpin for true Ecumenical progress between Rome and the Separated Eastern Brethren of the Byzantine Rite.

American Rabbi Speaks on the End Times

One of the results of my reading Jesus of Nazareth has been an increased interest in Jewish interpretations of Scripture and Jewish views on moral and social matters. Look forward to my own comments regarding Rabbi Neusner's book A Rabbi Talks With Jesus in the near future.

In the meantime, the following piece from LifeSiteNews piqued my interest.

"America's Rabbi" Warns:
"Enormous, Humanic and Historic Upheaval" Rapidly Approaching
Interview with Rabbi Daniel Lapin
on How Today's World Compares to the Days of Noah
By John-Henry Westen

WASHINGTON, DC, June 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The recent death of Mrs. Ruth Graham, the beloved wife of preacher Billy Graham, has caused renewed reflection on her oft quoted comment: "If God does not judge America soon, he'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." Indeed, with the culture war raging on abortion and same-sex 'marriage', many a Christian has wondered about a coming purgation - a cleansing as in the time of Noah and the flood.

It may come as a surprise to some, but Orthodox Jews too have a belief in a coming purgation. As the man popularly known as "America's Rabbi" told LifeSiteNews.com, we are "moving towards some kind of enormous, humanic and historic upheaval."

Nationally acclaimed speaker and best-selling author, Rabbi Daniel Lapin spoke with LifeSiteNews.com about his newly released audio series "The Gathering Storm: Decoding the Secrets of Noah", in which he looks at the similarities between the time of Noah and our present day.

Rabbi Lapin is the founder and leader of Toward Tradition - a ground-breaking coalition of Jews, Christians and other Americans united in fighting secular fundamentalism and promoting traditional, faith-based American principles of constitutional and limited government, the rule of law, representative democracy, free markets, a strong military, and a moral public culture.

Key to interpreting the Bible (the Old Testament) suggests the Rabbi, is the Hebrew language. In that language, he notes, the Bible tells that in the time just before the flood there were aborted babies. "Everyone is familiar with that section just before the flood, of giants," said Rabbi Lapin. "The King James translation refers to these people as giants - one thing, in the Hebrew, it becomes immediately very clear is that what we really are talking about is aborted people, aborted fetuses."

"In Hebrew," explained the Rabbi there is "one word for giants (and) aborted fetuses." Comparing the time of Noah to the current day, the Rabbi said, "Babies that are aborted eventually bring about a culture of death that destroys society."

Asked if Jews, like some Christians, feel a time of purgation is coming, Rabbi Lapin replied bluntly, "Yes, it is extremely intense."

The Rabbi stressed however that a Judeo-Christian view of the end of time is a hopeful one, in contrast to the secular view of the end of time which sees only doom and gloom. "There is a dichotomy here between a secular world view in which the end of time is hopeless," Rabbi Lapin told LifeSiteNews.com. "It is doomed. It ends in oblivion . . . Right now it is global warming, a few years ago it was nuclear winter. Before that it was that we were all going to starve and die naked and cold when Thomas Malthus at the end of the 18th century made his predictions."

"The secular world view will generate an end of time picture of hopelessness and doom and by contrast a Biblical world view of both Jews and Christians shows an end of time picture that, while it may have its turbulent threshold, is a time of some kind of unimaginable solution to all human problems."

Asked, if it would be "a time of renewal of goodness on earth?," the Rabbi replied, "Exactly right. Yes."

As for God having to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah for not acting on America for its sins, Rabbi Lapin suggests God is in fact acting on America. "God doesn't necessarily act towards every culture in the same way," he said. "Every culture that adopts abortion and homosexuality as normal is a culture that begins to decline and eventually vanish off the stage of world history - that is God acting."

"That is precisely the point. It is not that hard to see in many ways the fortunes of the US of A are simply not where they were before these twin scourges became prevalent. Yes, He is acting - He is not going to have to apologize to Sodom at all. He is being very consistent. He may not be burying us in thunderbolts and mountains of salt but the damage that the US of A is enduring is no less fatal."

Rabbi Lapin sees another striking similarity between our day and the time of the Biblical flood. Noting the political situation in the United States, where the major argumentation seems focussed on abortion and same-sex 'marriage, Rabbi Lapin observes: "Undoubtedly, it was very significant, that never before in a presidential election has there been this much focus on the faith and beliefs of the candidates which again brings us back to this Noah like period in which divisions between people are lining up very clearly on a spiritual level."

While Rabbi Lapin rejects any attempt to fix a date on the coming upheaval, he does say that it is rapidly approaching. "What is unquestionably crystal clear is that time and history is accelerating. Things happen more quickly now than ever before so it is moving rapidly towards this event, whatever it will look like."

Pope Benedict on Truth and the Baptist

Rocco has the scoop again!

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today, 24 June, the liturgy invites us to celebrate the solemnity of the Birth of St John the Baptist, whose life was wholly oriented toward Christ, like that of his mother, Mary. John the Baptist was the precursor, the “voice” sent to announce the incarnate Word. In reality, then, to commemorate his birth means to celebrate Christ, the fulfillment of the promises of all the prophets, among whom the Baptist was the greatest, called to “prepare the way” leading to the Messiah (cf Mt 11:9-10).

All the Evangelists begin the narrative of Jesus’ public life with the story of his baptism in the Jordan at the hand of John. St Luke places the Baptist’s entrance onto the scene within a solemn historical frame. My book Jesus of Nazareth also treats the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan as an event that would have enormous resonance for his times. From Jerusalem and from every part of Judea the people came to listen to John the Baptist and were baptized by him in the river as they confessed their sins (cf Mk 1:5). The repute of the prophet-baptizer would grow to the point that many asked themselves if it was he who was the Messiah. But – as the evangelist underscores – this he quickly denied: “I am not the Christ” (Jn 1:20). He remains, however, the first “witness” of Jesus, having received the indication of heaven: “The man on whom you will see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who will baptize in the Holy Spirit” (Jn 1:33). This happens precisely when Jesus, having received his baptism, rose from the water: John sees descending upon him the Spirit as a dove. It was then that he “understood” the full reality of Jesus of Nazareth and began to make him “known to Israel” (Jn 1:31), pointing to him as Son of God and redeemer of man: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).

By authentic prophecy, John remained a witness to the truth without compromise. He denounced the transgression of the commandments of God, even when the powerful were its protagonists. And so, when Herod and Herodiade [Salome] accused him of adultery, he paid with his life, signing with martyrdom his service to Christ, who is the Truth personified. Let us invoke his intercession, together with that of Mary Most Holy, that in our own times, too, the church may know to keep itself faithful to Christ and to witness with courage his truth and his love for all.

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae....