Religião e internet

ROME, JAN. 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The advent of the Internet and other new media technologies is rapidly expanding the ways for churches and religious organizations to promote their message. On Jan. 3 the Fides news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples published the first part of a dossier, “The People of God on the Internet.”

The report says that in Italy it is almost impossible to count the number of Catholic sites due to the rapid growth in this sector. The number of links gives an idea of how the Catholic sites are flourishing. Links to one of the most popular sites, www.totustuus.it, can be found on almost 50,000 Web sites.

Another site, www.siticattolici.it, has more than 10,000 Catholic sites from Italy registered. Almost a quarter of the total belong to parishes; another 2,000 belong to private groups and organizations. Religious and missionary institutes account for 1,222, and sites associated with official Church structures and pastoral activities total 589. In descending order are: personal Web pages of Catholic nature — 589; universities and cultural centers — 403; and associated media sites — 353.

The turnover of sites is notable, with 1,400 sites no longer available compared to two years ago. But the growth rate in the overall number of sites is strong, with an increase of 25% in the last two years. Growth has been particularly strong in the field of Christian music, an increase of 33.6%; Catholic radio and television, 32.8%; and religious art, 31.5%.

The United States, of course, is also home to a flourishing Internet culture on religious matters. Jonathan Last, online editor of the Weekly Standard, gave an overview of the situation in the December issue of First Things magazine.

Blogging

In his article, “God on the Internet,” Last cited a 2004 Pew survey that found 64% of users — 82 million people — say they use the Web for religious purposes. Of these, 32% reported they use the Internet to keep up with religious news; 17% use it to look for places to worship; and 11% go online to download spiritual music.

And the more recent phenomenon of blogs is not exempt from religious use. A blog — short for Web log — is a Web site in which journal entries are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The total number of blogs in the United States is thought to be around 8 million. Last October saw the first religious bloggers convention, GodblogCon, organized by John Mark Reynolds, a philosophy professor at Biola University, a Christian school in California.

Reynolds told Last that there are “literally millions” of religious bloggers. Among these there are a couple of thousand who write for a market that is wider than the immediate family or community. The readership numbers vary widely. A smaller Godblog may only receive about 115 page-views a day, while others can get thousands. Even priests are getting into the act; Last estimates that around 50 priests now have their own blogs.

Last also notes that almost every church in America has its own Web site. Protestant churches generally having more advanced sites compared to Catholic sites, although this disadvantage is partly offset by the enormous popularity and depth of the Vatican site.

The proliferation of activity on the Web is not without its drawbacks, adds Last. Anyone can start up a site or blog — so users need to be wary about the quality of information. Then, the nature of the medium lends itself toward trivialization or polemics on occasion. Commercialization is another trend to be wary of, as sites spring up to part users from their money selling all sorts of goods.

Downloading the good word

The growing popularity of iPods is opening up new ways to transmit religion. IPods are a type of portable digital audio players. They handle podcasts, a kind of publishing that uses downloadable audio files. Now, podcasts are becoming Godcasts, reported the British newspaper Telegraph last Aug. 5.

A growing number of people are using their portable music players to download homilies. The article recounted how an Anglican vicar, Leonard Payne, was stunned when, within a short time, more than 2,400 users had downloaded one of his posted sermons. And this was for a vicar in a remote rural parish.

On Aug. 29 the New York Times reported on the growing use of downloading religious audio material in the United States. In just one month last year, July, the number of people or groups offering spiritual and religious podcasts listed on one site grew to 474 from 177.

Among all religions, Christian groups have been the most active in the area of podcasts, the Times said. One popular Catholic site, run by a Dutch priest, Father Roderick Vonhögen, already had more than 10,000 listeners for each program. Vatican Radio also makes available material to download in a number of languages.

Another popular means of communication are SMS — text messages sent via mobile phones. There too religion is finding a space, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in Australia reported Oct. 6.

The Bible is now available for sending via SMS. So instead of reading in Genesis how: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” it will now be a case of: “In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth.”

The initiative came from the Bible Society in Australia which translated all 31,173 verses of the Bible into text. They can then be accessed over the Internet for free and people can send individual verses to family or friends as SMS.

“The old days when the Bible was only available within a somber black cover with a cross on it are long gone,” said Bible Society spokesman Michael Chant. It took just one person about four weeks to convert the entire New and Old Testaments to text. “The idea is that the Bible can be used and be relevant and up-to-date, just like getting a verse of the day or reading a horoscope,” said Chant.

Big-screen churches

New media techniques are also being used to liven up church services. So far the tendency is more common in Protestant churches. Last Saturday the Los Angeles Times described how the Santa Margarita United Methodist Church, in Orange County, uses large screens to put up the words for hymns. When the pastor gives his sermon he uses film clips from movies to accompany his words. Three cameras record everything for use on the church’s Web site.

According to the article, last year more than 60% of the nation’s Protestant churches used a large-screen projection system, up from 39% in 2000. And the percentage of congregations using video services doubled over the same time, to 61%. Some churches also send out material via e-mail and podcasts.

The technology doesn’t come cheap. The Orange County church spent about $75,000 in equipment, plus $15,000 a year for staffing and maintenance.

Not all are enthusiastic about the changes. Baptist pastor Ken Uyeda Fong said some people don’t see the new aids as being very religious. Others aren’t keen on people just staring at screens in church, instead of more active and traditional means of participating.

At the individual level multimedia programs are also flourishing. Annual sales of religious software have reached the $80 million mark, the Boston Globe reported Jan. 2. A multitude of programs exist offering Bible translations, images, commentaries and other material. God’s word, it seems, is indeed spreading fast.
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Time to Defuse a Demographic Bomb
Concern Is Now About Population Decline

SOFIA, Bulgaria, JAN. 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A number of countries have published data revealing a serious deficiency in the number of children being born. On Jan. 9 a report by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences predicted that the country’s population will fall from 8 million in 2001 to 7 million in 2020, according to Agence France-Presse.

If the current number of children being born per woman, 1.2 to 1.3, were to continue in coming decades the population could even drop to 4.5 million by 2050. Some European countries have seen birthrates increase. But others, such as Spain and Italy, are at the same level as Bulgaria.

Italy has seen a slight rise in its birthrate in the last couple of years, but the situation is still grave. According to official data, reported in the newspaper Corriere della Sera last Oct. 21, the average age of men when their first child is born is now 33. The average age for first-time fathers in Spain and France is 30 to 31.

Moreover, 40% of Italian men ages 30 to 34 still live at home with mom; the comparable figure for women is 20%.

The effects on the age structure of Italy’s population are becoming ever more evident. On Nov. 4 Reuters reported that the ratio of those 65 years of age and over to those under 15 reached 137.7 to 100 in 2004. Other European countries — Germany, Spain, Portugal and Greece — also have more over-65’s than under-15’s, but the disequilibrium is not as severe.

Russia also has serious problems. The British newspaper Guardian reported Dec. 29 that a combination of high mortality (especially for men), lots of abortions and few births has led to an almost 7% drop in Russia’s population in the last 15 years. Now at 143 million, it is predicted to drop by up to 20 million in the next two decades.

The Guardian cited a report by a business lobby group, Delovaya Rossiya, warning that the country will lose up to $400 billion in the next 20 years if it fails to tackle the population implosion.

“The deficit of labor is already being noticed,” said Andrei Korovkin, a labor resources expert. “Even with a pessimistic view of economic growth, by 2010 it will become the most serious fact limiting the development of Russian industry.”

Japan shrinking

Just before Christmas Japan announced that for the first time on record its population dropped. A Health Ministry survey showed deaths outnumbering births in 2005 by 10,000, the Associated Press reported Dec. 21. The current average number of children per woman, 1.29, is also at a record low.

Just prior to the publication of the statistics a government report warned that Japan’s population could shrink by half by the end of the century, Reuters reported Dec. 16.

“Compared with nations that have recently boosted their birthrates, such as France and Sweden, we cannot say that our nation’s policies are really sufficient,” the report said.

In South Korea, government officials are also worried about the lack of children. In fact, after decades of promoting birth control South Korea and other Asian countries are now trying to persuade parents to have more children, the New York Times reported Aug. 21.

“In the next two or three years, we won’t be able to increase the birthrate,” said Park Ha Jeong, a director general in the Health Ministry. “But we have to stop the decline, or it will be too late.”

The average number of children per woman in South Korea has plummeted to 1.19. Taiwan is not much better, at 1.22.

Not until last year did the South Korean government commit itself to raising the birthrate. “We should have started these policies in the late 1990s,” Park said, “but we had been focused on decreasing the birthrate for 40 years and it was hard to change directions.” It remains to be seen how much success the government will have in reversing fertility trends.

Aging trends

The population is also aging rapidly in Canada, announced the official body Statistics Canada. The number of people aged 65 and over will overtake those under 15 by 2015, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported Dec. 15.

By 2031, the number of seniors is expected to be 8.9 million to 9.4 million, almost 25% of the population compared with 13% now. The number of children, by contrast, is projected to be 4.8 million to 6.6 million. At the same time, the number of people of working age (15 to 64) will decline from the current 70% to about 60% in the years after 2030.

In the United States, the population is also aging. A Washington Times report Dec. 26 noted that the first of 78.2 million baby boomers, defined as those born from 1946 to 1964, are about to turn 60. And over the next 25 years the whole country will start to have an age structure like that of Florida, where 20% of the population is 65 or older.

This change presents serious challenges for welfare programs and government finances. The number of people receiving Social Security or Medicare will grow by 27 million in the next two decades, while those working, and paying taxes to finance these benefits, will grow by only 18 million.

Economic impact

“On the path that we’re headed on today,” said David Walker, head of the Government Accountability Office, a federal agency, “either there have to be dramatic changes in entitlement programs and other federal spending, or dramatic tax increases to close the fiscal gap.”

In fact, over the next half-century health and welfare benefits could reach a combined level of around 24% of gross domestic product, which is about equivalent to the entire amount of federal government spending in all sectors currently.

Aging costs were also examined recently by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. An OECD study warned that global economic growth will decline to about 1.7% a year over the next three decades, the Financial Times reported Oct. 11. That growth rate would represent a fall of 30% compared with past decades, unless older people are encouraged to work longer to offset declining birthrates.

By 2050 there will be an average of more than seven older, inactive people supported by just 10 active workers in developed economies, compared with a ratio of four to 10 in 2000. In Europe the ratio will be one to one.

Faced with these facts some erstwhile supporters of family planning have recognized their errors. Adam Werbach, former national president of the Sierra Club in the United States, published an article Oct. 5 on the Web site American Prospect Online admitting that population control policies were a mistake.

In recent years a group within the Sierra Club attempted to adopt policies against immigration, a move successfully resisted by Werbach and others. “In the population-control frame, the number of people and their placement on the planet is the root problem that needs to be solved,” he explained.

But, Werbach continued, this is not the key problem. He called upon “population activists” to change course and concentrate instead on working for improvements in conditions for women, and better health care and education. Instead of worrying about population control we need to unleash human potential, Werbach explained. A lesson many countries are only starting to learn as they face population decline.
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VATICAN DOSSIER

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A Drive to Clear Judas’ Name? Hardly, Says Official
Monsignor Brandmüller Calls Media Reports Baseless

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 19, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See has not launched a campaign to rehabilitate Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, says a Vatican representative to whom the media have attributed words he never said.

The question arose after the news that the Swiss-based Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and U.S.-based National Geographic magazine intended to publish at Easter the content of a first-century manuscript, with the apocryphal gospel of Judas.

Until now, knowledge of this writing came only from the second-century bishop, St. Irenaeus.

The announced publication sparked a debate in Italy over the figure of Judas Iscariot.

The Turin newspaper La Stampa, for instance, reported Jan. 11 that some sources said the apocryphal manuscript would lead to a favorable re-evaluation of Judas.

In this connection, La Stampa quoted comments of writer Vittorio Messori and of Monsignor Walter Brandmüller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

No foundation

On Jan. 12 an article in the Times newspaper of London claimed that Monsignor Brandmüller is leading a campaign from the Vatican to convince believers of Judas’ goodness.

The Times also stated that some biblical scholars believe that the negative view of Judas has been influenced by anti-Semitic texts.

But in statements to ZENIT, Monsignor Brandmüller clarified that “this news has no foundation.”

“Reading the Times I discovered that a campaign exists to rehabilitate Judas and that I am the leader,” the Vatican official said. “I have not talked with the Times. I can’t imagine where this idea came from.

“In regard to the manuscript, it must be emphasized that the apocryphal gospels belong in the main to a special literary genre, a sort of religious novel that cannot be considered as a documentary source for the historical figure of Judas.”

Monsignor Brandmüller continued: “We await the critical edition, which will certainly be interesting from the point of view of the history of ancient literature, but it is impossible to express judgments in advance.”

2nd-century text

He added: “Around 180 A.D., Irenaeus of Lyon, [in] ‘Against the Heretics,’ I,31,1, spoke of an alleged apocryphal gospel of Judas. Later, Epiphanius and a pseudo-Tertullian spoke of it. According to these sources, the apocryphal gospel of Judas was a Greek text of Gnostic origin, written by the Cainites’ sect, in the middle of the second century.

“The Gnostic sect of the Cainites attributed a positive value to all the negative figures of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, such as the tempter serpent, Cain — hence their name — Esau and Judas. In any case, the discovery of this manuscript is very interesting, from the point of view of knowledge of paleo-Christian literature.”

Some observers maintain that an eventual rehabilitation of Judas would favor the dialogue with Jews.

Monsignor Brandmüller responded: “The dialogue between the Holy See and the Jews continues profitably on other bases, as Benedict XVI mentioned in his visit to the Synagogue of Cologne, in the summer of 2005 during World Youth Day, and as he stressed last Monday in his meeting with the chief rabbi of Rome.”
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Congress on Charity to Precede Encyclical
Organized by Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 19, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI’s forthcoming encyclical “Deus Caritas Est,” on the dimensions of love, will be preceded by a congress on charity organized in the Holy See.

The Jan. 23-24 meeting, convoked by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” will have as its theme a quotation from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians: “but the greatest of these is love” (13:13).

Benedict XVI’s first encyclical will be presented Jan. 25, feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

The purpose of the meeting is to support the Pope’s interest “in keeping alive in the Church the Christian meaning of commitment for one’s neighbor,” said a “Cor Unum” press statement. “Cor Unum” encourages and coordinates the aid of Catholic institutions worldwide.

About 200 people are expected to attend the meeting, including cardinals, bishops, ambassadors, directors of Caritas and international aid organizations, and of non-governmental organizations.

Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of “Cor Unum,” will open the working sessions Monday.

2 sectors of aid

Among the speakers are James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005, and Denis Vienot, president of Caritas Internationalis. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland, will moderate.

Highlighted during the discussions will be the two great sectors of humanitarian aid: that of civil society and of the ecclesial world.

The participants will be received on the same day by Benedict XVI, who will deliver an address to them.

On Monday afternoon, Joaquín Navarro Valls, director of the Vatican press office, will present six testimonies on “experiences of charity.”

On Tuesday, the working sessions will begin with an interview with Italian movie director Liliana Cavani, whose films include “Francis: A Biography of St. Francis of Assisi.”

Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, will deliver a theological lecture on charity.

The congress will close with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, vice dean of the College of Cardinals and retired president of “Cor Unum.”
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Benedict XVI Says Encyclical Is Due Out Jan. 25
Wants “to Show the Concept of Love in Its Different Dimensions”

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI announced the publication Jan. 25 of his first encyclical, entitled “Deus Caritas Est,” God Is Love.

The Pope’s announcement today was applauded by 8,000 pilgrims, gathered in Paul VI Hall for the weekly general audience.

The date of publication chosen by the Holy Father coincides with the feast of the Conversion of the St. Paul the Apostle, the day on which the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends.

“With this encyclical I would like to show the concept of love in its different dimensions,” said the Pope, leaving his notes to one side, as “today, in the terminology that it is known, ‘love’ often seems something very remote from what a Christian thinks when he speaks of charity.”

According to the Holy Father, “The ‘eros,’ the gift of love between man and woman, comes from the same source of the Creator’s goodness, as well as the possibility of a love that denies itself in favor of the other.

“The ‘eros’ is transformed in ‘agape’ in the measure in which the two really love one another and one no longer seeks oneself, one’s enjoyment, one’s happiness, but seeks above all the good of the other.”

“In this way, the ‘eros’ is transformed in charity, in a path of purification, of deepening,” he said.

Wider family

This love, Benedict XVI pointed out, “from one’s family opens wide to the larger family of society, to the family of the Church, to the family of the world.”

At the same time, this love “must also be expressed as an ecclesial act. In other words, the Church, including as Church, as community, must love in an institutional manner,” he added.

“And this ‘Caritas’ is not a mere organization, as other philanthropic organizations, but a necessary expression of the profound act of personal love with the God who has created us, awakening in our hearts that thrust to love, reflection of God-Love, which his image makes us,” the Pope said.

He concluded: “I hope it might illuminate and help our Christian life.”

The Vatican press office announced the encyclical will be presented at midday Jan. 25 at a press conference.

The attendees at the conference are expected to include Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as well as Archbishop William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum.”

The Pope wrote the encyclical in German — though the official text will be in Latin — last summer, during his holiday in the Italian Alps.

A pope’s first encyclical usually has a programmatic character, in the sense that it marks the style of the pontificate.
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Papal Program for Lent and Holy Week Has Novelties
Includes Mass for Repose of the Soul of John Paul II

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The coincidence of a liturgical feast and the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death will mark Benedict XVI’s first Lent in the papacy.

Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 1. At 5 p.m. Benedict XVI will preside over Mass and the blessing and imposition of ashes in the Roman Basilica of St. Sabina, according to the calendar of liturgical celebrations published by the Holy See.

At 6 p.m. the following Sunday, March 5 — the first of Lent — the Pope and Curia will begin their Spiritual Exercises in the Apostolic Palace’s Redemptoris Mater Chapel. That retreat ends Saturday, March 11. During that week, the Holy Father will suspend his audiences and dedicate himself to prayer.

At 9:30 a.m. on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 26, Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, will make his second pastoral visit to a Roman parish and preside over Mass.

At 9:30 a.m. on March 19, the Third Sunday of Lent and feast of St. Joseph, the Holy Father will preside over Mass for workers at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The first anniversary of John Paul II’s death, April 2, coincides with the Fifth Sunday of Lent. The anniversary will be commemorated with a special ceremony on Monday, April 3: Benedict XVI will preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s for the repose of the soul of his predecessor.

Penitential service

At 9:30 a.m. on Palm Sunday, April 9, the start of Holy Week, the Pope will preside over the blessing of palms, the procession and Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

The calendar shows two novelties. On Holy Tuesday, April 11, the sacrament of reconciliation will be highlighted with a communal celebration also presided over by Benedict XVI. The celebration, which includes individual confession of sins, will take place in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The sacrament of reconciliation is carried out this way in many parishes, which includes individual faithful approaching a priest for confession and absolution.

The second novelty is the day on which the celebration will take place. According to Archbishop Piero Marini, master of papal liturgical celebrations, “Until the Renaissance, this was also one of the traditional appointments and it took place on Holy Thursday,” reported the Italian episcopate’s newspaper Avvenire.

The whole Roman Curia will be invited to the Holy Tuesday celebration. The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff is studying the best way to make an adequate number of confessors available in the Vatican basilica during the rite.

The reason for changing this rite to Holy Tuesday is “not to crowd even more a day like Holy Thursday,” explained Archbishop Marini.

Triduum

That morning, the Chrism Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s and, in the afternoon, the Easter triduum will begin. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will be celebrated in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Benedict XVI will preside over both celebrations on April 13, at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.

At 5 p.m. on Good Friday, April 14, the Holy Father will preside over the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, in St. Peter’s Basilica and, at 9:15 p.m., over the Way of the Cross, at the Colosseum.

Last year, at John Paul II’s request, the meditations and prayers for the Way of the Cross were written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope).

Benedict XVI will also preside over the Easter Vigil Mass that begins at 10 p.m. Holy Saturday in St. Peter’s Basilica.

At 10:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday, April 16, the Holy Father will preside over the Mass in St. Peter’s Square and at noon will impart the blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of the Vatican basilica.

But for the exceptions mentioned, the Pope plans to keep to his schedule of general audiences on Wednesdays, his meeting with pilgrims on Sundays and holy days to pray the Angelus, and his private audiences.
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Begin the Year Seeking Christ, Urges Pope
Comments on Beginning of Ordinary Time

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 15, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- The secret of Christian life lies in seeking and finding Christ, says Benedict XVI.

“To be a disciple of Christ: This is enough for the Christian,” the Pope told the thousands of people gathered today in St. Peter’s Square on a cold winter morning.

Speaking from the window of his study on the first regular Sunday of Ordinary Time of the liturgical year, he explained: “The beauty of this time lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a way of holiness, that is, of faith and friendship with Jesus, continually discovered and rediscovered as teacher and lord, way, truth and life of man.”

The new year is “a time in which we want to renew our spiritual journey with Jesus, with the joy of seeking and finding him incessantly,” said the Holy Father before reciting the midday Angelus.

“The most authentic joy, in fact, is in the relationship with him, having found, followed, known and loved him thanks to a continuous tension of the mind and heart,” he said.

The Master

Benedict XVI, who spoke in six languages, said, “Friendship with the Master assures the soul profound peace and serenity, even in dark moments and the most difficult trials. When faith goes through dark nights, when one no longer ‘hears’ and ‘sees’ God’s presence, friendship with Jesus guarantees that, in reality, there is nothing that can separate us from his love.”

He added that it is “an incessant search and new discovery as Christ is the same yesterday, today and always, but we, the world, history, are never the same, and he comes to us to give us his communion and his fullness of life.”

The Pope expressed the hope that all Christians might “follow Jesus, experiencing every day the joy of penetrating ever more in his mystery.”
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WORLD FEATURES

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Americans Fear Poverty Will Worsen, Poll Finds
Poll by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, JAN. 19, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Nearly two-thirds of Americans fear that poverty will increase in the United States in 2006, while seven in 10 believe there are more poor people today than a year ago.

So says the latest Poverty Pulse survey by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The poll found that 63% of those surveyed worry that they could themselves become poor.

The poll, whose results were presented today at a news conference in New Orleans, also found that nearly all Americans, 97%, think that it is important to decrease or eliminate poverty in the United States.

More than half, 56%, had donated money to organizations that assist the poor.

But the Poverty Pulse found Americans divided on assigning “the greatest responsibility” for responding to the needs of poor people and addressing poverty overall: 31% said the responsibility lies with the federal government, while 29% said it is the task of “everyone — the general public.”

Another 17% assigned the task to the poor themselves and 2% held churches responsible.

However, 90% of the public said that it is important for the federal government to ensure that all poor people have health coverage. And 91% believe that health care should be guaranteed to all children.

Conducted among 1,131 members of the general adult population in December, the poll is the sixth yearly Poverty Pulse survey since 2000. Unlike the previous years, however, the December poll involved online questioning rather than telephone calls to gauge public opinion. The survey’s possible margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

CCHD, the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. bishops’ conference, uses the Poverty Pulses to assess understanding of poverty in America.

In other findings, the Poverty Pulse learned that:

— asked to name “the single best way to permanently break the cycle of poverty in the United States,” 28% said “pay living wages to low-income workers,” 20% responded “better education for children,” and 14% said “a better economy.”

— most people think that an increase in poverty will detrimentally affect everyone, with 35% predicting it would reduce the quality of life for all Americans, 28% saying it would increase crime, and 20% anticipating more homelessness as a result.

— when respondents were asked (without suggested answers) to name “the single biggest social problem facing the U.S.,” poverty ranked third on the list (chosen by 7%), just below health care and racism (each at 8%) which both ranked first, and above war-U.S. involvement in war, named by 4%.
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Hospital in Nazareth: A Bastion of Healing and Hope
Facility Brings Together a Range of Faiths

NAZARETH, Israel, JAN. 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Friar Serafino Acernozzi thinks that the Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth is doing more than just heal bodies.

“We are a living proof that coexistence is possible,” said the prior of the hospital, a facility run by the Brothers of St. John of God and by the nuns of the Child Mary congregation.

“No one tends to love or hate genetically. Man fears only what he doesn’t know,” Friar Acernozzi affirmed.

“We think that our hospital, in its daily service, plays a small but significant role in the peace process because we are educating our workers and patients to live and work together. We are certain this is possible,” he told recent visitors to the hospital.

Friar Acernozzi explained the history and service that this humanitarian endeavor carries out.

The center is recognized as a private, non-profit entity; it was founded by the Brothers of Saint John of God in 1882. It is known popularly as the “Italian hospital,” much loved by the population in Galilee.

All faiths

The hospital’s staffers and workers come from a range of backgrounds. On a daily basis, Jews, Arabs, Muslims and Christians of all denominations take care of one another in the hospital.

In 2000, when the hospital’s executives were planning to enlarge the facility, the intifada came and put a halt to expansion plans — for a while. Then, a new managing director arrived and breathed life into the center.

The vigor led to the opening of a new maternity ward in 2005. Groups of friends and Italian associations contributed to the project.

Aristide Colombo, an Italian volunteer, came up with a crucial idea to make the maternity ward a reality.

When the Italian province of Lecco decided to dismantle a 500-bed hospital which was closed down, Colombo’s group Metals for Solidarity asked that all the reusable material be made available for other needy centers, including the Holy Family Hospital of Nazareth. Thus, refurnished beds, flowered curtain and operating-room equipment all made their way to the new maternity ward.

Staffers at the ward include women religious from Italy and India, as well as Christian and Muslim nurses who lovingly hover over newborns in their cribs. Some 1,500 children a year are born in the hospital.

IBM veteran

On a typical day a Muslim anesthesiologist, a Jewish surgeon and a Catholic nun work in the operating room. Some 50,000 patients a year are received in emergencies, hospitalized or attended to in outpatient clinics.

Overseeing the operations is the hospital’s general manager, Giuseppe Fraizzoli. He used to work for International Business Machines in the United States.

One day in 2001, a colleague called Fraizzoli: “They are looking for a director willing to go to the front line where shots are fired, do you understand? It is for the hospital of the Brothers of St. John of God of Nazareth. Are you interested?”

Fraizzoli told his bosses at IBM that he wanted to take the new job. He bought a one-way ticket to Israel and was just about to board the plane on Sept. 11, 2001, when he saw New York’s twin towers destroyed.

He had to wait a few days for the airports to reopen. By then it was clearer than ever to him that he should go to Israel.

When Fraizzoli arrived and visited the hospital for the first time, he realized he didn’t have an office.

He found a table and a chair and began to work near the kitchen.

“For some months, I worked there without a computer, without a telephone, or fax or secretary, surrounded by the aroma of the hummus, the typical sauce based on chickpeas and oregano,” Fraizzoli recalled.

No state funds

The hospital is part of ARAN, the Israeli national network for emergencies, though it does not benefit from government funding.

The hospital has big plans for 2006: a new dialysis unit; a new department for neonatal therapy; and a new respiratory unit, the first of its type in the Arab sector of northern Israel.

All of this would be paid for by private donations. The associations supporting the hospital promote a range of activities: to make the hospital known, to initiate contacts with benefactors, and to find volunteers, in Italy and Israel. See www.hospitalnazareth.org.

Asked about what he thought of the future of the hospital, Fraizzoli answered: “As a careful economist, I have invested in the city of the three persons who have counted most in the history of humanity: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I think it is a long-term investment. What do you think?”
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Silence on Religious Freedom Is Lamented
European Institutions Criticized

STRASBOURG, France, JAN. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Political, civil and Church figures criticized the silence of some European institutions in the face of the grave violations of religious freedom in the world.

The criticism was articulated today at a press conference by Mario Mauro, vice president of the European Parliament; by Father Bernardo Cervellera, director of the AsiaNews agency; and by Attilio Tamburrini, director of the Italian section of Aid to the Church in Need.

The three speakers criticized European institutions’ lack of attention in the face of the growing phenomenon of violations of religious freedom in many countries.

Mauro observed: “Religious freedom is a social problem, which serves as a test to measure the level of all liberties within a state; if this one is violated, all liberties are violated.”

Based on his experience as a missionary in China, Father Cervellera lamented the abduction of bishops, who have died in prison or after years of forced labor, the torture and imprisonment of Tibetan Buddhist monks, and the torture of thousands of members of the Falun Gong movement.

Treaty violations

For his part, Tamburrini, author of an annual report on religious freedom, mentioned the extent of the problem of religious freedom in the former Communist countries of Europe. He said that commitment to vigilance is needed on the part of international organizations, since it is a question of violations of treaties endorsed by U.N. member-nations.

Mauro contended that the European Parliament is often silent in the face of these enormous violations of the fundamental rights of millions of people and, yet, it makes criticisms “of an ideological character.”

On 30 occasions over the past 10 years, the European Parliament has criticized the Holy See for interfering with and violating human rights, while Cuba and China have been condemned an average of 15 times for these reasons.

Mauro appealed to European deputies to take into account violations of religious freedom when concluding agreements, including commercial ones, with other countries.
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INTERVIEW

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Good Will Equals Salvation? (Part 1)
Theologian Ilaria Morali Responds

ROME, JAN. 15, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- If it is enough to seek peace with good will to be saved, of what use is Christianity?

This is the question posed after Benedict XVI’s address during the Nov. 30 general audience, in which he spoke about the possibility of salvation for non-Christians.

In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT, theologian Ilaria Morali, a professor of theology at the Gregorian University, and a specialist on the topic of grace, explains the Pope’s words, and the Church’s magisterium on the subject.

Q: The Pope said in that general audience that the salvation of non-Christians is a fact: “There are people who are committed to peace and the good of the community, despite the fact that they do not share the biblical faith, that they do not know the hope of the eternal city to which we aspire. They have a spark of desire for the unknown, for the greatest, for the transcendent, for an authentic redemption.” How is this possible?

Morali: According to what I have been able to read in the press or hear on the radio, the Holy Father’s words have caused great surprise. It would seem that he said something absolutely new and revolutionary.

Some believe that with these words the Church has admitted at last that it isn’t necessary to be a Christian to do good and to obtain salvation; that what matters is to be men of peace regardless of the faith one professes. It is, of course, a very hasty and superficial reading of the Holy Father’s words.

To understand this address we must first emphasize three aspects.

The Holy Father made this affirmation in the context of St. Augustine’s commentary for this Psalm: For St. Augustine, as for Christians of the first centuries, Babylon was the symbol par excellence of the city of evil, of idolatry. It is the opposite of Jerusalem, which, on the contrary, represents the place of God, the place where Christ’s redemption was accomplished.

In Christian tradition the antithesis Babylon-Jerusalem has very many meanings. Essentially, the Pope presents two of them, which are intertwined. According to the earlier meaning, Babylon is the present in which we are prisoners, while Jerusalem is the heavenly goal.

The second meaning is of a different sort: Babylon as the city or area where people live who do not profess the biblical faith. On this level is encased what the Pope sees in St. Augustine as a “surprising and very timely note,” the fact that the saint recognized the possibility that also in such a city, where faith in the true God is not cultivated, there can be people who promote peace and goodness.

A second aspect that must be pointed out of the Pope’s words is the point of departure, taken from St. Augustine’s words. The Pontiff stresses three specific characteristics: In the first place, that the inhabitants of Babylon “have a spark of desire for the unknown,” desire for eternity; in the second place, that they harbor “a kind of faith, of hope”; and in the third place that “they have faith in an unknown reality, they do not know Christ or God.”

A third and last point refers to these people’s fate. The Pope affirms with St. Augustine that “God will not allow them to perish with Babylon, being predestined to be citizens of Jerusalem.” But with a very specific condition: “That they be dedicated with a pure conscience to these tasks.”

The Pope, as the words of St. Augustine themselves demonstrate, try to remind us of a truth that belongs from the beginning of Christian history to our faith and that profoundly characterizes the Christian conception of salvation.

This truth contains two fundamental principles: The first is that God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, as St. Paul says in the Second Letter to Timothy. To know, in this sense, means to adhere, to welcome the Lord in one’s life.

The second: Historically, the Gospel has not been able to conquer all hearts, whether because it has not arrived materially in all places on earth, or because, though it has arrived, not all have accepted it.

Q: And, in this context, what is the Christian doctrine of salvation?

Morali: The Christian doctrine of salvation is very clear. To explain it, I would refer to two texts of the magisterium: The first is an address of Pius IX on the occasion of the consistory that took place on December 8, 1854, on the occasion of the solemn proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Pope said that those who do not know the true religion, when their ignorance is invincible, are not culpable before the eyes of God.

Years later he wanted to take up this teaching again clarifying the meaning of invincible ignorance in the encyclical letter “Quanto Conficiamur Moerore” of 1863. “It is known,” he wrote, “that those who observe with zeal the natural law and its precepts engraved by God in the hearts of all men, can attain eternal life if they are willing to obey God and lead a good life.”

Pius IX proposed again a conviction consolidated for centuries in Christian theology: There are men and women who, for various reasons, whether because of cultural conditionings, or because of an experience or a negative contact with the Christian faith, are unable to consent to the faith.

Although it might seem that these people consciously reject Christ, one cannot make an unquestionable judgment on this rejection.

Invincible ignorance indicates precisely a condition of lack of knowledge in regard to Christ, the Church, the faith, a lack of knowledge that, for the time being, cannot be overcome with an act of will.

The person is blocked, as though unable to express a “yes” to faith.

As we see every day among our acquaintances, the reasons why many people say no to Christ are many: disappointment, betrayal, poor catechesis, cultural and social conditioning.

Pius IX himself admitted the difficulty of delimiting the cases of invincible ignorance, stating: “Who will arrogate to himself the power to determine the limits of that ignorance according to the character and variety of peoples, of regions, of spirits and of so many other elements?”

Pius IX taught us therefore a great prudence and great respect for those who do not have the gift of faith in Christ.

We are not able to understand altogether the reasons for a rejection of faith, nor can we know with certainty that someone who seems to have no faith, in fact has a very imperfect form of faith.

Q: Given the fact that a Christian is baptized, can he think he is already saved?

Morali: Of course not. Baptism is not an automatic guarantee of salvation. If it were so, the effort to lead a Christian life would be futile. Every Christian must make the effort to merit this salvation with a life of fidelity to God, of charity towards his brothers, of good works. However, no one can be certain of his own salvation, because only God has the power to grant it.

[Part 2 of this interview appears Monday]
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Is Faith Necessary for Salvation? (Part 2)
Theologian Ilaria Morali Responds

ROME, JAN. 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Is faith necessary for salvation?

Ilaria Morali, a professor of theology at the Gregorian University, and a specialist in the subject of grace, responds to this question in Part 2 of this interview with ZENIT.

The interview took place with an eye toward understanding better Benedict XVI’s address at the general audience of Nov. 30, during which he spoke about the possibility of salvation for non-Christians.

Part 1 of this interview appeared Sunday.

Q: Since the Second Vatican Council, what has been the Catholic view of nonbelievers?

Morali: The question offers me the occasion to touch upon one of the aspects the Pope has commented upon regarding the “spark” harbored by those who do not have biblical faith.

Vatican II places among the latter both people belonging to other religions as well as people who are specifically nonbelievers. They are two profoundly different groups, but united by the fact that they do not have the faith of Christ. The former cultivate some form of religious belief; the latter affirm that they do not have faith.

In No. 16 of the dogmatic constitution “Lumen Gentium,” the Council, recalling the principle of the universal saving will of God, affirmed that those who seek God with sincerity, and make an effort under the influence of grace to do his will with works, known by the dictate of conscience, may obtain eternal salvation.

This affirmation reflects indirectly the teaching of Pius IX, but it emphasizes an aspect not considered until now: that of grace. The search for the good, the determination and the will to carry it out are effects of the action of grace.

Moreover, the Council added, almost to stress this principle, “Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life.”

According to the Council, no effort can take place “without grace.” That means that God is also close to those who do not know him. This same teaching is found in the pastoral constitution “Gaudium et Spes,” where in No. 22 the Council acknowledges that grace works in the hearts of all men of good will.

The people to whom the Holy Father refers are, in a certain sense, the same as those of whom the Council spoke. However, some one might object that the Council, in No. 7 of the decree “Ad Gentes” on missionary activity, underlines the principle of the necessity of faith for salvation, in addition to the need of baptism and of the Church.

It might also be underlined that in this number Vatican II affirms that “those cannot be saved, who though aware that God, through Jesus Christ founded the Church as something necessary, still do not wish to enter into it, or to persevere in it.”

According to Catholic doctrine, faith of course, is necessary for salvation. This principle, sanctioned in the Letter to the Hebrews 11:6 has been accepted by the Christian tradition since its beginning. And here, in this context, it is proposed again in a clear way.

Q: And who does not have a complete faith?

Morali: Christian tradition itself acknowledges that not all have received the gift of the fullness of faith and that there can also be very imperfect forms of faith.

In the chapter on faith, the Roman Catechism, which was composed after the Council of Trent, acknowledges that there are different degrees of faith: There are those who have a great faith and others who have a fragile faith.

It takes this teaching from the Gospel, in reference to the many words that Jesus Christ pronounced on the faith of his disciples, of the people with whom he met.

However, we cannot pause on this first part of the Council’s reflection proposed in No. 7 of the decree “Ad Gentes” on the necessity of faith, but we must also read what follows: “Though God in ways known to himself can lead those inculpably ignorant of the Gospel to find that faith without which it is impossible to please him, yet a necessity lies upon the Church, and at the same time a sacred duty, to preach the Gospel.”

This means that God has his ways to lead men to faith and we certainly cannot penetrate in the inscrutable divine action in the hearts of men. In its complexity, the teaching of “Ad Gentes” helps us to understand two principles.

First, that it is not possible to be saved without faith. As history teaches us, men have certainly existed and will exist who consciously deny God, staining themselves with atrocious faults. They will have to answer before God for having exiled and excluded him from their lives, converting that of others into a hell. It is an inescapable fact that there is no salvation for these.

Second, there are many more people who, even stating that they are not believers, will obtain eternal salvation. These are people who give Christians an extraordinary example of generosity and rectitude. If I accept the conciliar teaching, then, for me, who am a believer, the good that they do is already the effect of grace that works in a hidden way in them and I must pray that this grace will one day give them the possibility of being led to an explicit faith.

Moreover, I must admit that in this invisible work of grace, God leads them to faith in an absolutely mysterious way.

Q: Is it necessary to let grace act on its own in those people in whom it acts in a hidden way?

Morali: That does not mean that, as a Christian, I must not do everything possible so that this grace that acts in a hidden way in these people of good will might attain to fullness, though it might not always achieve this. My witness and my prayer are a support to the divine work, but God has his times and his designs.

Speaking again of the “spark” of which the Pope spoke in his address, I would like to recall an affirmation of Tertullian: “alma naturaliter Christiana” [the soul is naturally Christian]. He said this referring to people who lacked education in the faith, but who experienced inklings of faith.

Tertullian’s expression has entered the reflection on faith of those who seem not to have faith, as it reflects the longing, in the depth of every man, to know God.

This longing is inscribed in a person’s heart and, as Henri de Lubac would say, is the proof that we are created in the image of God and that this image is as an indelible sign. Man longs for Jesus Christ because he bears the image of God in his heart, and the image of God is Jesus Christ.

Tertullian also says that “fiunt no nascuntur christiani,” which means: “Christians are not born, but made.” It means that this longing needs to be corresponded by knowledge of God and this knowledge only Jesus Christ can give.

The longing of the heart for fullness is not enough; one must come to this fullness in fact. Thus is understood the importance of the evangelizing work of the Church, called to lead men to that fullness that is realized with baptism and perfected throughout a Christian’s life.
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