 |
MONDAY January 24, 2000 vol. 11, no. 16 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
e-mail: webmaster@dailycatholic.org |
|
| ||||
|
| ||
|
WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant: | ||
We continue with this special series introducing you to the Princes of the Church. Our one-hundred-forty-ninth red-hat we feature, in alphabetical order is nearly 69 year-old Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal, the Filipino Archbishop of Cebu who has served as shepherd there since 1982. He was elevated to the cardinalate during the Consistory of May 25, 1985 by Pope John Paul II. For more on Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal, see COLLEGE OF CARDINALS COLLECTION
Cardinal Ricardo J. Vidal is the youngest of the three Filipino cardinals. Like his colleagues Cardinal Jaime L. Sin and Cardinal Jose T. Sanchez he was born on the islands with Cardinal Vidal's homebirth taking place in Mogpoc on February 6, 1931 in the Diocese of Boac where he attended the minor seminary at Our Lady of Carmel, which was then the Seminary of the Most Holy Rosary. From there he matriculated to the major seminary in Manila operated by the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at San Carlo. Though he was trained by the religious order, he became a Diocesan priest on St. Patrick's Day in 1956 when he was ordained and was assigned as Spiritual Director of his alma mater minor seminary in Boac. Here he gained a widespread reputation for his simple, pious spirituality and ability to convey this to so many through his special gifts.
He remained on the faculty there until Pope Paul VI named him Titular Bishop of Claterna and Coadjutor Bishop of Melalos on September 10, 1971. He was ordained and installed on November 30, 1971. Two years later he was promoted to Archbishop of Lipa on the Feast of the Queenship of Mary - August 22, 1973. Here he assisted in forming the Catechist Missionaries of St. Therese of Lisieux which was a religious order with their main thrust of Catholic education with a special emphasis on spirituality. After eight years in Lipa Pope John Paul II named him Coadjutor Archbishop of the See of Cebu on the island of the same name in the central Phillipines archipelago on April 24, 1981. A year and a half later on August 24, 1982 he was promoted to Archbishop of Cebu where he has remained ever since.
Three years after taking the reins of the Archdiocese of Cebu, the Holy Father named him in his Consistory of May 25, 1985 receiving the prestigious red-hat and the titular church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Via Ostiensi. In addition to his duties in the Philippines, he enjoys curial membership in the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for Catholic Education as well as the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers. In two weeks he will turn 69 and is relatively assured of remaining in Cebu for at least another six years, bringing tremendous stability to the Island of Cebu which has witnessed an increase in vocations during his 18 years as shepherd there. The Philippines, first discovered by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who brought the Faith to this archipelago of 7,000 islands, is today 84% Catholic, remaining one of the most Catholic countries in the world.
On this date 882 years ago in 1118 Pope Gelasius II was elected the 161st successor of Peter during a time of great upheaval when antipopes and Roman clans threatened the stability of the Church. He was attacked at the Lateran and escaped, returning under disguise as a pilgrim to reclaim the papal throne but it was short lived for he would die at Cluny a year later on January 29, 1119 while trying to organize a Synod to restore the authenticity of the Papacy. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on this date, see MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
254 A.D.
Death of Saint Felician, Bishop of Foligno who is purported to be the first prelate other than a Pope to be presented the woolen pallium. This was done by Pope Saint Victor I when the Holy Father traveled to Felician's site in Italy to ordain him a bishop and make the presentation. Felician governed his see for five decades before being arrested by Decius and condemned to death. He died at the age of 94 from excessive torture and whippings being dragged behind a Roman chariot outside of Foligno.
268 A.D.
Death of Saint Zama, first Bishop of Bologna who was consecrated by Pope Saint Dionysius.
396 A.D.
Death of Saint Artemius, Bishop of Clermont who converted to the faith and became a priest and then a bishop. He had been a legate for the Spanish monarchy when he was delayed in France due to sickness and there his life experienced a conversion process that paved the way for his religious life.
580 A.D.
Death of Saint Suranus, Abbot of the Sora Monastery. Legend has it that when the Lombards threatened the village at Sora St. Suranus gave the refugees fleeing the city anything they could carry with them for survival, totally depleting the monastery for he knew the Lombards would level it anyway. They did as well as making St. Suranus a martyr on this date in 580 when they realized there was nothing to salvage.
772 A.D.
Death of Pope Stephen III, 94th successor of Peter who was born in Sicily and served as Supreme Pontiff for four years. Preceded by two antipopes, he immediately made good the harm caused by them. He corrected the conduct of Charlemagne and encouraged in every way the Christians in Palestine.
817 A.D.
Death of Pope Stephen IV, 97th successor of Peter. This Roman-born Vicar of Christ served for only nine months. During this short time he tried to avoid internal riots and rebellion by the institution of an oath to the Emperor subject to the latter's loyalty to the Pope. At Rheims he crowned Emperor Ludovico as King of the Franks.
1118 A.D.
John of Gaeta is elected Pope Gelasius II, 161st successor of Peter. He would die a year later. His pontificate would be short but stormy for he would be attacked in the Basilica of the Lateran and imprisoned by the rebel Cencio Frangipane. Genoese sailors would release him a few months later and he would return to Gaeta, dress in the disguise of a pilgrim and return to Rome under cover. Just before his death he would move to Cluny.
Historical Events in Church Annals for January 24:
250 A.D.
Death of Saint Babylas, Patriarch of Antioch, and his martyred companions. Besides the universally well-known Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Ignatius, Babylas is very popular in Eastern Catholic circles. He and his companions were thrown in chains and left to die during the terrible persecution of the Roman emperor Decius.
In addressing the new Roman Rota, responsible for final dissolutions of marriage, the Holy Father said in no uncertain terms that too many have taken marriage as a temporary thing which they can get out of through divorce and annulment in the Church and the Church must be tougher and uphold the indissolubility of Marriage. continued inside
During his meeting with the judges of the Roman Rota, the Vatican's ordinary Court of Appeal, known primarily for his specific function in annulment cases, the Pope acknowledged that the Church, after examining a situation through the competent ecclesiastical court, can declare "the nullity of matrimony," that is, that a marriage never existed. Proving that a sacramental marriage never took place is not opposed to the principle of indissolubility.
This is a doctrine taught by the Magisterium that "must be considered as definitive, even though it has not been solemnly declared in a definition," explained the Pope. "Moreover, this is a doctrine confirmed by centuries of practice in the Church, maintained with complete fidelity and heroism even in face of heavy pressures by the powerful of this world."
The new dean of the Roman Rota, Archbishop Raffaelo FunghiniIn, greeted John Paul II on behalf of the group. He lamented "the levity with which the matrimonial problem is addressed, even by parties who call themselves Catholics, the worrying debilitation of moral defenses, the lack of a sense of sin, the difficulty to accept a choice in life that includes a lasting and binding commitment in good and bad times, the rejection of sacrifice, an erroneous idea of liberty that becomes implicit acceptance of divorce as a solution to humanly adverse and painful situations."
This statement requires careful attention on the part of the Church and that also challenges ecclesiastical judges, who must evaluate "the influence of the consensus of a mentality like the present one -- radically secularized and opposed to the genuine concept of matrimony as sacrament," Archbishop Funghini said. ZE000012109
Many are under the mistaken impression that one can buy themselves out of a marriage because of the much-publicized cases of Princess Caroline, the Kennedy men, Frank Sinatra, etc. But the Holy See has made it very evident that money has nothing to do with annulments, confirming that 80% of the annulments have been done at no cost. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, JAN 21 (ZENIT).- Famous cases like that of Caroline of
Monaco, on which the Roman Rota has made a pronouncement, have spread
the rumor that a sentence of nullity of matrimony is a privilege of the
rich. However, the actual figures of this ecclesiastical Court of
Appeals are speak for themselves to the contrary. Moreover, not all the
cases this Court handles are related to matrimony.
In 1999, there were 205 cases decided by sentence or decree of the Roman
Rota, 150 of which were related to matrimonial annulment. Among these,
76 were affirmative decisions, with the consequent declaration of
nullity, and 75 negative, in other words, with confirmation of the
validity of the marriage. As of today, there are 963 cases pending in
the Roman Rota.
Far from being a privilege of the rich, the Court, and the people who
work there, including lawyers, have sponsored 123 causes at no charge to
the persons involved, that is, 80% of the cases ruled upon.
The Rota's College of Judges is composed of 20 prelatic auditors, who
belong to 10 countries from around the world.
ZE00012110
The Pope personally reaffirmed his great desire to visit Mt. Sinai and his reasons for this historic "Jubilee Journey" to where Moses was given the Ten Commandments. The Vicar of Christ also reaffirmed his great desire to still visit Ur in Iraq in retracing the footsteps of the great patriarch Abraham. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, (ZENIT) - The Vatican has officially confirmed John Paul II's visit to Egypt from February 24-26.
The purpose of the journey is simple: to visit the places of revelation, and Sinai, the region between the Gulf of Suez
and the northern shore of the Red Sea, is the traditionally recognized site of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the
Ten Commandments. Today that place is known as Jebel Musa.
For the Pope, peoples and geography have more value than simply exotic tourism. The witnesses to the great moments
of Salvation History -- and today their heirs -- lived in these lands. In the letter John Paul II wrote on June 29 announcing
this pilgrimage, he explained that on Mount Horeb -- another biblical name for Mt. Sinai, "Moses received the revelation of
God's name, the sign of his mystery and of his powerful saving presence: 'I am Who am' (Ex 3:14)."
"On the journey through the desert, it was again Sinai that was the setting for the sealing of the Covenant between
Yahweh and his people, thus linking the mountain to the gift of the Ten Commandments, the ten 'words' that commit
Israel to a life fully obedient to the will of God. In reality, these 'words' are indicative of the pillars of the universal moral
law written in every human heart, but they were given to Israel within the context of a mutual pact of fidelity, whereby
the people undertook to love God, recalling the wonders he had done in the Exodus, and God guaranteed his enduring
kindness: 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery' (Ex 20:2). God
and the people pledge themselves to each other," the Pope explained.
"If, in the vision of the burning bush, the place of the 'name' and of the 'plan' of God, Horeb, was above all 'the mountain
of faith,' now for the pilgrim people in the desert it became the place of encounter and of the mutual pact, in a sense,
therefore, 'the mountain of love.' How often down the centuries, in denouncing the faithlessness of the Covenant
people, did the Prophets see it as a kind of 'marital' infidelity, a genuine betrayal of God the bridegroom by the people, his
bride (Cf. Jer 2:2; Ezek 16:1-43)," the Holy Father continued.
While contemplating these passages of revelation, John Paul II admitted in his June letter: "It will probably not be possible
for me on my pilgrimage to visit all these places. But I would like at least, please God, to visit Ur, the place of Abraham's
origins, and then go to the famous Monastery of Saint Catherine, on Sinai, near the mountain of the Covenant, which in
a way speaks of the entire mystery of the Exodus, the enduring paradigm of the new Exodus that was to be fully
accomplished on Golgotha," the Holy Father concluded.
On the Feast of the virgin and martyr Saint Agnes, which means "lamb," the Pope blessed the traditional lambs wool to be used for the Pallium, a virgin wool stole with black crosses on it that was first instituted as an annual ceremony by Pope Saint Mark in 336. Also the ancient church of St. Agnes reopened in Rome after seven years of thorough renovation. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, JAN 21, 2000 (VIS-ZENIT) - In liturgical memory of the virgin-martyr St. Agnes, for whom the traditional symbol
is a lamb, Pope John Paul Friday blessed several lambs whose wool will be used to make the palliums given every year
to new metropolitan archbishops as signs of their office.
In a 1978 document, "Inter Eximina Episcopalis," Pope Paul VI restricted use of the pallium to the Pope and metropolitan
archbishops, In 1984 Pope John Paul decreed that it would be conferred on the metropolitans by the Pope on the June
29th solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
The blessing of lambs, who are under one year of age, is traditionally celebrated on the January 21 feast of St. Agnes,
who died about 350 and who is buried in the basilica named for her on Rome's Via Nomentana. The lambs are raised by
Trappist Fathers of the Abbey of the Three Fountains and the palliums are made from the newly-shorn wool by the
sisters of St. Cecilia.
Usually in attendance at the ceremony in the papal apartments are two Trappist Fathers, two Canons of the Chapter of
St. John, the dean of the Roman Rota, two ceremonial officers and two officials from the Office of the Liturgical
Ceremonies of the Supreme Pontiff.
At the same time, ZENIT reported that the Church of St. Agnes in Agony reopened Friday,
the saint's feastday, after over 7 years of restoration work. The
adolescent martyr is the patron of the city of Rome. She was beheaded
after suffering public shame in a brothel on the site of the Church.
In 1652 Pope Innocent X dedicated this grand Baroque church constructed
by the Rainaldis, with finishing touches and a facade by Borromini. The
church overlooks Piazza Navonna, which was a stadium in Roman times.
There is an account of her trial and the miraculous events connected
with it, given her conviction of faith and iron will to preserve her
virginity in spite of torture and the threat of death.
The restoration, which cost $2.8 million, was funded by a number of
patrons. The work began in 1992, and was carried out by a group of
employees of the Superintendence of Architectural Properties and the
"Ente Chiesa Sant'Agnese in Agone," which was given the Church by the
Pamphili family in 1992.
The two notable chapels in the Church are dedicated to St. Agnes and St.
Sebastian, famous for his martyrdom by a firing squad of archers. The
restorers have described the Sacristy as a church within a church -- the
place where the noble family of Pope Innocent X retired to pray.
Below ground level, under the Church, are remains of emperor Domitian's
stadium, the tombs of the Pamphili family, and St. Agnes' place of
martyrdom. The restoration of the Church is actually still underway. The
cost for the remaining work is double the amount already invested. In
addition, and in order to complete this beautiful site, there should be
posters explaining the history of the Church and the reason it was
dedicated to the young Roman martyr, who is proposed as a model of
inspiration for youth coming to Rome for the Jubilee.
ZE00012101
News & Views continued in SECTION FOUR
