Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year

 
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Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020                                                      1

The national Catholic newspaper                           June 14 - 27, 2020 • No. 591

   Caritas Lent                            SVDP launches
   appeal down                             National Recovery
   this year                             2 Appeal                               10

           Ordained at last

                                                      Lockdown led to
                                                      seven week delay
                                                      of ordination – pg 3

                                  www.nzcatholic.org.nz
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
2        NZ News                                                                                                                                NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020

 INSIDE THIS ISSUE                                                  Caritas Aotearoa NZ Lent Appeal
                                                                    funds down 30 per cent on past years
                    Staying in NZ
                    before ordinations

                                                                    by ROWENA OREJANA

                                                                        Amid the pandemic, Caritas Aotearoa New
                                                p17                 Zealand managed to raise some $683,000 during
                                                                    its 2020 Lent Appeal, a figure that is more than
                                                                    30 per lower than the amounts they raised in
                                                                    recent years.
                                                                        Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand director Julianne
                                                                    Hickey said, in the past, the Lent Appeal raised
                                                                    $1million.
                                      p20 Our Lady of                   Still, Mrs Hickey said, they “are encouraged by
                                             Kāpiti Church          the generosity of our communities during these
                                             blessed                difficult times”.
                                                                        “Their ongoing support and prayers continue
                                                                    to enable us to do our work, and we are thankful
                                                                    for their commitment to helping those in need
                                                                    around the world and in Aotearoa New Zealand,”
                                                                    she said.
                                                                        The reduced amount means community proj-
                                                                    ects in West Papua, Bougainville, the Philippines                        Julianne Hickey
                                                                    and Holy Land that were supposed to be funded
                   p5                                               this year would be set aside for next year.            n Donations
                                                                        “Caritas is carefully examining our 2020               Caritas communications advisor Rebecca Sees
                                                                    operational budget to focus our expenditure to         said the agency is still accepting donations to the
               Masses                                               help those most in need and make cost savings          Lent Appeal.
               resume                                               on budget lines such as travel,” Mrs Hickey said.          “As the bishops’ agency for justice, peace and
                                                                        “Our volunteer programme, Catholic Volun-          development, our mission is to serve as [a] vehi-
               in Dunedin                                           teers Overseas (CVO), will not be sending any fur-     cle for all New Zealand Catholics to engage with
                                                                    ther volunteers to the Pacific this year, although     the social mission of the Church: to overcome
       p6    A message for Catholic media                           we continue to support two volunteers who are          poverty, protect lives and relieve suffering. This
                                                                    already in Papua New Guinea,” she added.               mission is more important than ever, as we face an
       p8    Penecost and the fire in our cities                        Mrs Hickey said priority will be given to com-     unprecedented humanitarian challenge in which
                                                                    munities in the Pacific and around the world with      the poor and vulnerable will continue to be the
       p9    Mapping a way forward after lockdown                   whom Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has long-            most heavily impacted,” she said.
                                                                    term relationships.                                        “With the help of our supporters, we can con-
                                                                        “Our priority is to continue to work with our      tinue to be love-in-action for these communities,
             Meghan Markle’s surprise
      p19 graduation speech                                         partners on the ground in these communities to         providing essential assistance on the ground,
                                                                    respond to their most urgent needs. Currently, we      both in our region and around the world, to those
                                                                    are working with these communities to help them        who are most in need.”
On the front cover: At the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit for the     prepare for the effects of the pandemic,” she said.        Caritas is also accepting donations toward its
ordination of Fr Peter Trung Nguyen (front centre) on June 6 were       Mrs Hickey said they will be supporting these      Pandemic Appeal, which will go towards support-
                                                                    communities’ efforts “in health care and mes-          ing vulnerable communities’ efforts at Covid-19
(from left, front) Bishop Owen Dolan, Bishop Peter Cullinane,       saging, well-being, livelihoods and food, so that      prevention.
Cardinal John Dew and Bishop Denis Browne, with many priests        people don’t go hungry, and to ensure that the             “However, we recognise that now is a difficult
(back rows). (Photo supplied)                                       spread of disease is contained”.                       time for many, and some people who may want
                                                                        “No community in the world is immune to the        to give financially won’t be able to do so. The
                                                                    ongoing impacts (of the pandemic),” she said.          support of our work through prayer and advocacy
                                                                        Mrs Hickey said another on-going project they      is just as critical to our success in the midst of
                                                                    have is the development of school and parish           the pandemic. We ask our Catholic communities
                                                                    resources for Social Justice Week in September.        to join us in raising the voices of those on the
                                                                        “This year the focus is on Catholic Social         margins, and in praying for all who are affected
   Pompallier Diocesan Centre, 30 New Street, Ponsonby,             Teaching, which will help us all reflect on the        by this crisis, from the sick and the suffering to
  Auckland. P.O. Box 147-000, Ponsonby, Auckland 1144.              core principles that guide our decision-making,        the helpers and the workers,” Ms Sees said.
          Phone: (09) 360-3067 or (09) 378-4380.                    participation and involvement in our communi-              More information about how to get involved
               Email: admin@nzcatholic.org.nz                       ties,” she said.                                       can be found at: www.caritas.org.nz

                                                                    New vocations director for Chch
               Website: www.nzcatholic.org.nz
               Publisher: Bishop Patrick Dunn
     Editor: Michael Otto Journalist: Rowena Orejana
      Marketing and Administration: Claudia Cachay
             Design & Advertising: Anne Rose
                                                                    by ROWENA OREJANA
               Advertising enquiries contact:
                  design@nzcatholic.org.nz
                                                                        Christchurch Bishop Paul Martin, SM, has ap-
   NZ Catholic is published fortnightly. Subscriptions: One
                                                                    pointed Fr Tien Cao, assistant parish priest at St
   year, $73; two years, $135. Overseas airmail extra. The          Peter Chanel, Waimakariri, as the diocese’s new
  contents of NZ Catholic are copyright and permission to           vocations director.
    reprint must be obtained in advance. ISSN 1174-0086                 Fr Cao said as the new vocations director, he
        Member Australasian Religious Press Association and         is looking forward to accompanying men “who
            Australasian Catholic Press Association                 have received even the slightest call from God
                                                                    to priesthood”.
                                                                        He said his own “first director” of vocation was
                                                                    his mother and he acknowledged the essential
                  St Dominic’s                                      role of parents in building a strong foundation
                                                                    for the vocation of priesthood.
                  Catholic College                                      “It was God who chose me from eternity to
                                                                    be the priest of Christ, but it was the faith and
                  Founded by the Dominican Sisters
                                                                    the life witness of my mother, at home and at
                  Catholic School For Girls Years 7-13
                                                                    the local church, that made me realise the call,”
                                                                    he said.
                                                                        He said, though, that young men who grew
    • Year 9 retreats going well.                                   up without much support in their faith life are
    •	Great to celebrate Mass once more in our Chapel.             also encouraged and invited to discern priest-
                                                                    hood.
    • S amoan Language Week well celebrated, led                       Fr Cao grew up in Central Vietnam and came
      by Pasifika leaders Lisa Pesefea and                          to New Zealand 12 years ago to be a priest in
                                                                    Christchurch diocese. He was ordained in 2016
      Esther Utaiaana.                                              and served in the parishes of Greymouth and
    • Our first ever school vans well received.                     Mairehau.
                                                                        Fr John O’Connor, who was the former voca-
                                                                    tions director of the diocese, is currently acting
                   www.stdoms.ac.nz                                 director of the National Liturgy Office.                                   Fr Tien Cao
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020                                                                                                                 NZ News                   3

Fr Trung ordained after lockdown delay
by ROWENA OREJANA

    The much-awaited ordination
to the priesthood of Fr Peter Trung
Nguyen — which was initially sched-
uled for April 18, but was postponed
because of the Covid-19 lockdown
— finally took place on June 6 at
the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in
Palmerston North.
    It was a very emotional moment
for Fr Nguyen when he thanked his
mother and father and the rest of
his family who couldn’t be there
due to the closure of New Zealand’s
borders. His voice broke and he had
to pause to collect himself.
    His family, instead, followed the
livestreaming of his ordination on
the diocesan website. His parents
are in Vietnam, while his five broth-
ers and a sister are in religious and
diocesan communities in France, En-
gland, American, Colombia, Belgium
and India.
    “Thank you, Cardinal John [Dew],
for ordaining me a priest today,
and all clergy and people who are
present really and virtually to sup-                       Newly-ordained Fr Peter Trung Nguyen (right) at the altar during the ordination Mass. (Photo supplied)
port me on this special occasion,”
he said. He also thanked resigned              “[Being] . . . self-possessed means          “It was a common practice in              Zealand. She accepted his decision
bishop Charles Drennan, who went            being comfortable in who we are              Vietnam for young men to serve the           after a while.
to Vietnam and met his (Fr Nguyen’s)        before God. Being content in who             parish. Quite a lot of young men                “Before I left my family, this is
family and invited him to serve in          we are and knowing that God has              wanted to do it. It was a privilege (to      what mum said to me: ‘Go in peace
Palmerston North.                           chosen us for service. And knowing           be chosen),” he said.                        and our prayer is with you and for
    In his homily at the ordination,        that God chose us and loves us. Be-             He said even at a young age, there        you. Your happiness is our happi-
Cardinal Dew thanked Fr Nguyen              ing self-possessed is knowing we can         was “something in the back of my             ness’,” he said.
for following Jesus’ call to serve in       do nothing by ourselves. We can only         mind that said: I want to be a priest”.         Before entering the seminary in
New Zealand.                                rely on the grace of God and learn              He went to university in Ho Chi           New Zealand, Fr Nguyen reportedly
    “Anyone who makes the decision          to be grateful that God’s grace is           Minh City and studied philosophy.            learned English at the English Train-
to follow the call of Jesus and try to      always at work in us,” Cardinal Dew             “I had a lot of fun and had the           ing College in Palmerston North.
live as his disciples, knows that it        said.                                        normal student life. But deep in my             He said, as a priest, he would
means that we die to ourselves in              As the ordination took place              heart, I wanted that lasting joy,” he        want to strengthen the ties between
some way and in whatever way that           during restrictions on numbers at            said.                                        school and parish.
is. That’s what gives glory to God,”        public gatherings under Covid-19                In his fourth year at the universi-          Fr Nguyen was also appointed
Cardinal Dew said.                          alert level 2, only 100 people were          ty, he met a Kiwi priest who invited         vocations director of the diocese
    “That’s very true of any of us          allowed to be present inside the ca-         him to serve in Palmerston North.            before his ordination.
who choose to follow Jesus and the          thedral itself. Others could view the           He asked his spiritual director              “My message to young people
priesthood, or who accept that he           Mass by livestream in other rooms.           for advice and spent a lot of time           is — don’t be afraid to take further
(Jesus) has actually chosen us first.          Fr Nguyen told NZ Catholic his            in retreats before he made the de-           steps towards vocation. It might be
Jesus chose you, Trung.”                    journey to priesthood began when             cision.                                      a challenge, but it is a wonderful
    The cardinal also reminded Fr           he was 12 years old. He left his                Initially, his mum had no prob-           journey.”
Nguyen of St Paul’s words to Timo-          family home to assist the priest in          lem with him becoming a priest, but             n Further photos from the ordination
thy, “be self-possessed”.                   his parish.                                  she didn’t want him to go to New             Mass are on page 21.

NZ and Holy See Covid-19 free almost to the day
by NZ CATHOLIC staff                                       announced that the last Vatican employee who               restrictive measures.
                                                           had tested positive for the coronavirus was test-             But the Pope cautioned everyone to continue
   New Zealand has joined the Holy See in a se-            ing negative. A total of 12 cases were reported            to be careful.
lect list of nations that have successfully seen           among Vatican employees since late February.                  “Thanks be to God we are coming out of the
off Covid-19.                                              None of the 12 died, reported the Catholic News            epicentre stronger, but always with the rules
   On June 8, it was announced that New Zealand            Service.                                                   [that] the authorities give us,” he said.
has no more active cases. With no new cases                   According to a report in The New Zealand                   The Pope reminded people, however, that “the
reported for 17 days, the nation moved within              Herald, Johns Hopkins University in the US stated          virus continues to claim many victims” in other
hours to alert level 1.                                    there were seven other small nations that had              countries.
   Two days beforehand, the Vatican press office           registered infections, but had no active cases as             “I wish to express my closeness to those pop-
                                                           of June 8.                                                 ulations, to the sick and their families, and to all
                                                              These other nations were Montenegro, Eritrea,           those who care for them. With our prayer, let us
                                                           Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Saint Kitts and              be close to them.”
                                                           Nevis, Fiji, and East Timor.
                                                              The list did not include nations such as Vanu-
                                                           atu that had kept the virus out completely.
                                                              The Catholic News Service reported that, on
                                                           June 7, Pope Francis prayed for people living in              ST. PETER’ S COLLEGE
                                                           countries where Covid-19 is still causing a huge              EPSOM, AUCKLAND
                                                           number of deaths, and he cautioned people in                  A CATHOLIC SCHOOL FOR BOYS
                                                           Italy to continue to be careful and follow health
                                                           precautions.
                                                              “Be careful, do not sing ‘Victory!’ yet, do not             •   1st XV v King’s College @ Cage 2.30pm
                                                           celebrate victory too soon! It remains necessary
                                                           to follow the rules in force carefully because                     Saturday 27 June.
                                                           they are rules that help us to prevent the virus
                                                           from gaining ground,” he said on June 7 after                  •   Farewell College Receptionist
                                                           reciting the Angelus prayer from the window of                     – Mrs Denise Lindsay
                                                           the Apostolic Palace.
                                                              He greeted the few hundred visitors who had                 •   Sacramental Programme resumes.
                                                           assembled in St Peter’s Square, maintaining social
                                                           distancing and many wearing masks.
The crowd in St Peter’s Square as Pope Francis leads the      Seeing people in the square, he said, was a sign
                                                                                                                              ST PETER’S COLLEGE BUILDS OUTSTANDING MEN
Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking the      that “the acute phase” of the pandemic in Italy                             ST-PETERS.SCHOOL.NZ @SPCNOW
square at the Vatican on June 7. (CNS Photo)               was over, which had led to the gradual easing of
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
4      Masses in Level 2                                                                                                                 NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020

           Contact tracing and hand sanitising before a Mass at Blenheim                                        A Mass finishes at Blenheim.

Masses resume in Marlborough
by CATHIE BELL                                              “People are just being a bit cautious here in          However, the Marlborough parish is working to
                                                         Blenheim. Those that came seemed happy.                ensure that, if larger numbers of parishioners do
    Masses resumed in Marlborough last weekend,             “Everyone feels a bit disappointed we can’t sing.   show up for a particular service, the group can be
with most of the churches in the Te Whetu o Moana        We’d like to have the singing, but understand the      split up, should the alert level 2 public gathering
Star of the Sea parish holding services.                 reasons why not.”                                      limits still apply.
    Acting parish priest Fr Pat McIndoe, CP, said           Fr McIndoe said Marlborough didn’t have the big        “With the help of high-tech parishioners, we
that, while the turnouts were lower than usual,          populations of people such as parishes in Auckland     have people go into the community centre as well
people were happy to be back at church.                  had. (Some Auckland parishes did not have Sunday       and have the Mass live-streamed from the church.
    He celebrated Mass in Kaikoura, while assistant      Masses in level 2.)                                    We have been doing quite a bit of work behind the
parish priest Fr Jacob Kuman, CP, celebrated Mass-          “We have modest numbers,” Fr McIndoe said.          scenes to get ready.”
es in Blenheim and Seddon.
    “We were good. People were social distancing.
It was very well-organised, they made sure people
put their names down for contact tracing. I sani-
tised my hands before Communion.”
                                                         Parishioners’ joy as Takapuna Masses return
    Fr McIndoe said people were happy to be back,        by ROWENA OREJANA                                      being back, as well as their gratitude for the ef-
with about 85 people at Mass in Kaikoura.                                                                       forts we made to provide Masses, taking . . . Covid
    “We had a good turnout, about 85 people. That’s         About one-third of the parishioners at St Jo-       requirements into account. People also expressed
very good for Kaikoura. One or two didn’t come,          seph’s Church in Takapuna, or a total of 544 peo-      gratitude for efforts made by the parish team to
they’re still being careful because of health issues.”   ple, went back to church for Mass under level 2.       communicate with parishioners during the earlier
    He said that, in Blenheim, the congregation was         St Joseph’s parish priest Msgr David Tonks          phases of the pandemic,” he said.
an older age group, more so than Kaikoura, and           said there was a total of 544 people who attended,        Msgr Tonks said, in the North Shore deanery,
there were fewer people at three Mass services. A        spread over six Masses. Their Sunday Mass count        Devonport, Glenfield, Beach Haven, East Coast
5pm Saturday vigil service was held, with a 10am         average as of November last year was 1411.             Bays, Hibiscus Coast and Wellsford all provided
Sunday Mass and an extra 4pm Sunday service                 The church prepared its hall and the St Joseph      Saturday and Sunday Masses.
also celebrated.                                         Primary School hall in the event that more than           “Most parishes put on extra Masses, trying to
    Congregations were about half the size of usu-       100 people would show up at a given Mass. The          avoid having people ‘shut out’ because of the 100
al services, and Picton’s Word and Communion             plan was to livestream the Mass to the two halls       limit. All parishes experienced relatively small
service was only about half the size of usual at-        and bring the Eucharist to the parishioners in         numbers at the Masses,” he said.
tendance too.                                            these areas.                                              “However, priests agreed that last Sunday (May
                                                            “We used the church hall only for 11am Mass.        31) was not necessarily an indication of how the
                                                         We didn’t use the school hall, although the lives-     future might be: there were many people away for
                                                         tream relay there was set up,” Msgr Tonks said.        Queen’s Birthday weekend. We know that a sig-
                                                            In terms of attendance, the 11 am Sunday Mass       nificant number, especially of those older, have
                                                         had the highest at 133, while the 7pm Sunday           decided to play safe, and not return to Mass until
                                                         Mass recorded the lowest at 44.                        we return to level 1, or move beyond the period
                                                            “So many parishioners expressed their joy in        of restrictions,” he said.

                                                         Whanganui return with pre-bookings
                                                         by SUE SECONI                                          spread the message and be clear what returning
                                                                                                                to Mass would look like,” Fr Leslie said.
                                                             There was a sense of joy when parishioners of         On entering the church main doors, a new role
                                                         the Catholic Parish of Whanganui — Te Parihi Ka-       of parish co-ordinator ensured that Government
                                                         torika Ki were finally able to receive Communion.      regulations were obeyed i.e. sanitising hands,
                                                         But with Government limitations in place for the       complete contact tracing register, adhering to the
                                                         celebration of Mass, there was a sense of strange-     2-metre social distance when seated and receiving
                                                         ness as well.                                          Communion and locking the church doors at the
                                                             Public Masses started in St Mary’s Church in       Our Father. The sign of peace would be expressed
                                                         the town centre as soon as the new restrictions of     with a nod or smile, Communion in the hand, and
                                                         level 2 came into effect, on Friday, May 29. The       no holy water when making the sign of the cross.
                                                         suburban Churches of Holy Family in Gonville and          Since the lockdown Frs Leslie and Brazil pro-
                                                         St Anne’s in Whanganui East were closed through-       vided daily live streaming Masses in their lounge
                                                         out the Covid-19 crisis.                               house ‘bubble’ with thousands viewing. A final
                                                             In preparation, parish priest Fr Vaughan Les-      farewell Mass from this site was celebrated on
                                                         lie, in regular emails to parishioners, asked them     Thursday, May 28.
                                                         to pre-book which of the two Masses each day              “Parishioners have become very comfortable
                                                         (9.30am and 5.30pm) they wished to attend that         with Mass online. I was asked if streaming would
                                                         would become their “Sunday”. Nominating this           continue, to which I was rather direct and said: no,
                                                         Mass preference would avoid the risk of being          people need to get back to Mass,” Fr Leslie said.
                                                         turned away should numbers reach 100.
                                                             “People have spread themselves over the 14
                                                                                                                       Public gatherings with no more than 100 people pres-
                                                         Masses on offer, which means that no one would
                                                                                                                  ent were permitted in New Zealand from May 29. Some
                                                         be turned away from Mass.” Fr Leslie said.
                                                                                                                  parishes went ahead with weekday and Sunday Masses
                                                             The three local priests — Frs Leslie, Nathaniel
                                                                                                                  under the conditions stipulated. NZ Catholic’s staff and
                                                         Brazil and John Roberts — fronted a “returning to
                                                                                                                  correspondents describe on this page and the next how
                                                         Mass” safety video for the parish’s facebook page
                                                                                                                  it happened in various parishes throughout New Zealand.
                                                         to familiarise everyone in what to expect.
                                                                                                                  Sunday Mass obligations had been lifted.
                                                             “I’m pleased we did, because it gave us time to
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020                                                                                         Masses in Level 2                                     5

People return to churches in new Chch parishes
by MINA AMSO                             nion again,” Fr Head said.                                                                   “My prayer is that this day marks
                                            He said it was still a challenge                                                       the beginning of new life and grace
   It was a doubly special Pentecost     to connect with all his parishioners                                                      in each of our hearts, in our faith
Sunday for the newly-formed Christ-      given the restrictions still in place,                                                    communities and in our diocese.
church South Parish.                     namely the 100-person limit at                                                            Please pray for the new parishes that
   Parishioners finally returned         public gatherings, and the fact that                                                      come into existence today and for all
to two of their four churches for        a number of senior parishioners de-                                                       our parishes, that the Holy Spirit will
Mass after about two months of the       cided to stay at home.                                                                    inspire us, all the members, to work
churches being closed. It was also          Extra Mass times were added to                                                         together for the mission to which we
officially the beginning of the new      accommodate the limited number                                                            are called.”
parish.                                  of people per service.                                                                       Speaking of Christchurch South
   “It was a wonderful celebration.         “The focus [in conversations] was                                                      Parish, Fr Head told NZ Catholic that
To see the parishioners again after      more on [the parishioners] and how                                                        “there’s no way” they could maintain
so long,” said parish priest Fr Peter    they were and how things were for                                                         four community churches plus the
Head, SM.                                them. And they were interested in                                                         Carmelite monastery in the future.
   The parish of Christchurch            asking how we were. That’s under-                                                            “I am in total agreement with
South is made up of two previous         standable after so long,” Fr Head                                                         Bishop Paul and his vision for the
parishes —  ­ Sancta Maria (Add-         said.                                                                                     future.”
ington and Beckenham) and Our               He said he couldn’t open all                                                              He said the signalled move from
Lady Queen of the Apostles (Hoon         four churches at once due to the                                                          maintenance to mission is the way to
Hay and Halswell). The Carmel-           management that was required for                                                          bring life and vitality to the Church,
ite Monastery is also in the new         reopening.                                                                                which typically sees more senior pa-
parish.                                     “Having the churches commer-                                                           rishioners attend in the area.
   Sacred Heart church in Adding-        cially cleaned [was in order] to meet              Bishop Paul Martin, SM                    Fr Head said work on the amal-
ton, Sts Peters and Paul church in       all the requirements expected of                                                          gamation slowed down due to the
Halswell, and the Carmelite Mon-         us with regards to setting up the         mission to go out and spread the                pandemic, and the focus now is to
astery chapel were opened to the         churches for the health and safety        Good News of Jesus Christ. The life             reconnect with parishioners.
public on Pentecost Sunday.              for all concerned.”                       of God dwells in us, giving us the                 “The consultation and discussion
   Fr Head said parishioners who at-        In a pastoral letter, which was        strength and power to be his wit-               has all gone on hold because of the
tended Mass expressed how grateful       read out during Mass to all the par-      nesses in our world.”                           situation we are living in . . . the key
they were to be able to return.          ishes in Christchurch on Pentecost           He noted the establishment of the            aspect is our parishioners . . . with
   “An expression of gratitude that      Sunday, Bishop Paul Martin, SM,           new parishes for the Christchurch               regard to the building of the new
they could be back in the church         reminded people of the significance       and Selwyn areas.                               church and what is required, well
with the priest and together to cel-     of the day.                                  The 12 previous parishes have                look, that will come into focus once
ebrate the Eucharist. Secondly, an          “We have received this same Holy       now amalgamated into five: North,               a number of other things have been
opportunity to receive Holy Commu-       Spirit. We have received this same        South, East, West and Selwyn areas.             addressed with the parishioners.”

Dunedin return like start of a school year
by JEFF DILLON                                          warmly greeted people as they entered.                     of singing that could take place.
                                                            Worshippers were counted as they complet-                    There were no altar servers and just one
    Pentecost Sunday witnessed the return to            ed the initial tasks. The final task before going          reader and one extraordinary minister of the
celebration of the 10am Mass in St Joseph’s Ca-         through into the main body of the cathedral was            Eucharist. When it came to Holy Communion,
thedral in Dunedin after many weeks of enforced         to use the hand sanitiser dispenser attached to            certain aisles were selected to come up in single
abstinence from receiving Holy Communion in             the wall near the open door. Inside on a table             file, and other aisles had to remain seated until
physical form.                                          were baskets for the offering envelopes, as there          it was their turn. Similar arrangements were ap-
    It was a tentative return, being in the middle of   was to be no collection baskets passed along the           plied when it came to leaving at the end of Mass.
a long holiday weekend, and the need to conform         pews before the Offertory.                                     Once outside at the end of Mass, small gath-
to stringent new rules controlling the way the pa-          In the main body of the cathedral, the pews            erings of parishioners glad to be back chatted,
rishioners and visitors gathered and participated.      were clearly identified with yellow dots placed            but kept social distance.
So they arrived like pupils arriving for the first      to indicate a suitable seating position, which
day back at the beginning of a school year, with        allowed a metre spacing while every second row
nods and slightly awkward waves and smiles.             of pews contained a notice to prevent anyone
    Entry to the cathedral was restricted to a          sitting there. Couples and family groups could
single door at the car park end. On one of the          sit together.                                                  Auckand’s Catholic
large glass doors were several notices spelling
out requirements under the Covid-19 conditions.
                                                            There was no problem about having to turn
                                                        anyone away as the congregation had reached
                                                                                                                       Funeral Specialists
Parishioners checked notices while some reached         just 35 by the time Mass started. The assembled
for their phones to check in using the displayed        congregation ranged in age from children through               Davis Funerals has been
QR code. Some handed in their completed Con-            to some “vulnerable” seniors. With the addition                caring for Catholic families
tact Tracing Sheet which had been emailed out in        of the choir numbers, the total reached 45, which              for over 80 years. We are a
advance, or else filled in their details on the copy    was less than half of the allowed number. As a                 family managed business
in the foyer. In that place, Msgr John Harrison         precaution, the choir was restricted in the amount             that has proudly provided
                                                                                                                       over three generations of
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                                                                                                                             80
                                                                                                                                                        davisfunerals.co.nz
          Massgoers observe social distancing during Commumion at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Dunedin.

                                                                                                      NZ Catholicv2.indd 1                                               4/09/19 12:38 PM
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
6      Opinion                                                                                                                          NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020

A message for Catholic media – don’t let print die
M
        arshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher       people are less likely to multitask when reading         and newspapers do not curate content for the
        of media, was best known for the phrase         hard copies and, if you are paying for an ad, you        individual, so subscribers see a greater variety of
        “The medium is the message.” That quote         want people to pay attention. According to a 2018        opinions side-by-side than they likely would when
has been subject to numerous interpretations —          study by the London-based media consultant firm          skimming their social media feed.
and some have even been accurate. At the risk of        Ebiquity, print advertising still has the highest            What else is communicated through the “an-
oversimplifying, it means that the vehicle through      return on investment.                                    cient” medium of print? As early as the 1970s,
which a message is communicated is as important            This is not hard to believe. How many times           scientists measured brain waves to demonstrate
as the message itself.                                  have you picked up your phone to do something,           how we interact differently with various forms
    McLuhan argued that “the medium” commu-             only to be distracted by a text alert, forgetting        of media, and discovered that we have a more
nicates something beyond the content but, like a        momentarily why you picked up your phone in              “active” response to print. “We shape our tools
fish in water, we are often unaware of what that is.    the first place? Phones and digital tablets are great    and thereafter our tools shape us,” John Culkin,
    Take wedding invitations, for example. I have       tools, but they certainly do not generate undivided      S.J., wrote in a 1969 article about McLuhan in the
38 cousins, and it seems like at least one of them      attention. In 2017, a study by the marketing firm        Saturday Review.
gets married every year. They always send a paper       MarketingProfs reported that 92 per cent of 18- to           By choosing print, publishers communicate that
invitation, not a digital RSVP. They are communi-                                                                what they have to say is at least worth the cost of
cating — consciously or not — that this particular                                                               paper. They also signal that their message is worth
message is special. This is not an invitation to a
trivia night or happy hour or even a 5-year-old’s       J.D. Long-Garcia                                         taking up physical space, however small, on your
                                                                                                                 coffee table or on your nightstand.
birthday party.                                                                                                      I do save copies of my favourite magazines.
    And I react differently to the paper invitation.    23-year-olds found print easier to read than digital     And I refer to them as “mine.” My print magazine
Maybe I will save it longer. It occupies space,         content. Perhaps surprisingly, this age group was        arrives at my home, whereas I visit a website to
however small, in my home. I stick it to my fridge      also more likely to trust and respond to print ad-       read something online. We use different words
with a magnet. When things arrive via the post          vertising over other media forms. That may explain       to describe these interactions because they name
office, I treat them differently than when I receive    why the total number of magazine readers in the          a different relationship. As a reader, I am more
something in my email inbox. I receive a news           United States grew between 2012 and 2018.                invested — financially, emotionally and psycho-
magazine’s digital newsletter every day, but when           In terms of Catholic media, 24 per cent of US        logically — in printed publications.
I get my print copy I stop, admire the cover, thumb     Catholic households receive a diocesan print                 The trend toward digital is inevitable. The
through it and let my wife know it has arrived.         publication, according to a 2018 compilation of          Church needs to engage with audiences using
    We all know this at some level. If I hand some-     statistics from Faith Publishing, based on the 2017      digital platforms and to do so more often. But we
one a gift in a brown paper sack, I know I am saying    Kenedy directory, or Official Catholic Directory,        cannot throw away print. Choosing to produce only
something by the wrapping (or lack of it).              and 2011 data from Georgetown’s Center for Ap-           a digital product is choosing economics over evan-
    Today, leaders of Catholic publications — news      plied Research in the Apostolate. Catholic televi-       gelisation. It is choosing who you are evangelising
outlets, diocesan periodicals and other tools of        sion, reaching 7 per cent of Catholic households,        with, even though faith is meant to be universal.
evangelisation — are asking themselves important        is a distant second among forms of media. Catholic           Being a Church that communicates effectively
questions about their print products. Can they          radio reaches 5 per cent, diocesan websites reach 4      requires being aware of the strengths of each
continue to produce hard-copy newspapers and            per cent, and diocesan accounts on Facebook and          medium. This is the classic “both/and.” Being
magazines at the same frequency, if at all? Perhaps     Twitter combined reach 5.5 per cent of Catholic          committed to communicating via print and digital
more importantly, should they?                          households.                                              platforms says the Church is committed to reach-
    These are not easy questions. There are many                                                                 ing people in whatever platform they prefer.
dimensions to consider beyond dollars and cents.        n Communication                                              Print will, without question, continue, even if
But advertising is nevertheless a good measure.            These numbers indicate that targeted print            it never regains dominance. Those who continue
    “In the world of advertisement, you do not          publications are still an effective means of com-        publishing will stand out from the rest, and will
start by the creation of an ad, but by studying the     munication. And a 2018 report from the printing          be signalling that what they say is worth the extra
effect you wish to elicit,” McLuhan said in a 1972      company Freeport Press found that readers prefer         expense. The Catholic Church in the United States
interview with L’Express. “You create the cause         print magazines over digital versions. The study         and throughout the world has a story to tell. And
after the effect has been defined.”                     also found that most magazine subscribers report         it is a story that is worth telling in print.
    Advertisers consider their audience, and what       spending more than 30 minutes with each issue.               J.D. Long-Garcia is a senior editor at America, a
they would like their audiences to do after they           This is not surprising, considering the atten-        Jesuit publication based in New York. This commentary
see their ad. Advertisers still like print because      tion that print demands of us. Print magazines           was posted on the magazine’s website on May 20. (CNS)

Ronald Rolheiser
                                                 Faithful friendship
I
   grew up in a close family, and one of hardest        through our lives, so that, at a point, the question         At the end of the day, fidelity is not about how
   things I ever did was to leave home and family       necessarily arises: How does one remain faithful         often you physically connect with someone, but
   at the age of seventeen to enter the novitiate of    to one’s family, to old friends, former neighbours,      about living within a shared spirit. Betrayal is not
the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. That         former classmates, former students, former col-          a question of separation by distance, of forget-
novitiate year wasn’t easy. I missed my family in-      leagues, and to old acquaintances? What does             ting an anniversary or a birthday, or of not being
tensely, and stayed in touch with them insofar as       fidelity to them ask for? Occasional visits? Occa-       able to stay in touch with someone you cherish.
the rules and communication of the day allowed.         sional emails, texts, calls? Remembering birthdays       Betrayal is moving away from the truth and virtue
I wrote a letter home every week and my mother          and anniversaries? Class reunions? Attending             you once shared with that person you cherish.
wrote back to me faithfully each week. I still have     weddings and funerals?                                   Betrayal is a change of soul. We are unfaithful to
and cherish those letters. I had left home, but            Obviously doing these would be good, though           family and friends when we become a different
stayed in touch, a faithful family member.              that would also constitute a full-time occupation.       person morally, so as to no longer share a common
    But my life became a lot more complex and so-       Something else must be being asked of us here,           spirit with them.
cially demanding after that. I moved to a seminary      namely, a fidelity that’s not contingent on emails,          You can be living in the same house with
and began to live in a community with 60 others,        texts, calls, and occasional visits. But what can lie    someone, share daily bread and conversation
with people entering and leaving constantly             deeper than tangible human contact? What can be          with him or her, and not be a faithful family
throughout my seven years there, so that, by the        more real than that? The answer is fidelity, fidel-      member or friend; just as you can be a faithful
time I’d finished my seminary training, I had lived     ity as the gift of a shared moral soul, fidelity as      friend or family member and not see that friend
in close community with more than 100 different         the gift of trust, and fidelity as remaining true to     or family member for 40 years. Being faithful in
men. That brought its own challenges. People            who you were when you were in tangible human             remembering birthdays is wonderful, but fidelity
you’d grown close to would leave the community          community and contact with those people who              is more about remembering who you were when
to be replaced by others, so that each year there       are no longer part of your daily life. That’s what       that birth was so special to you. Fidelity is about
was a new community and new friendships.                it means to be faithful.                                 maintaining moral affinity.
    In the years following seminary, that pattern          It is interesting how the Christian scriptures            To the best of my abilities, I try to stay in
began to grow exponentially. Graduate studies           define community and fidelity. In the Acts of the        contact with the family, old friends, former neigh-
took me to other countries and brought a whole          Apostles, we read that, before Pentecost, those in       bours, former classmates, former students, former
series of new persons into my life, many of whom        the first Christian community were all “huddled in       colleagues, and old acquaintances. Mostly, it’s a
became close friends. In more than 40 years of          one room”. And here, though physically together,         bit beyond me. So I put my trust in moral fidelity.
teaching, I have met with several thousand stu-         ironically they were not in real community with          I try as best I can to commit myself to keeping the
dents and made many friends among them. Writ-           each other, not really a family, and not really faith-   same soul I had when I left home as a young boy,
ing and public lectures have brought thousands of       ful to each other. Then, after receiving the Holy        and which characterised and defined me when I
people into my life. Though most of them passed         Spirit, they literally break out of that one room and    met all those wonderful people along the way.
through my life without meaningful connection,          scatter all over the earth, so that many of them             Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher, and
some became lifelong friends.                           never see each other again and now, geographi-           award-winning author, is president of the Oblate School
    I share this not because I think it’s unique, but   cally at a distance from each other, ironically they     of Theology in San Antonio, TX. He can be contacted
rather because it’s typical. Today that’s really        become real family, become a genuine community,          through his website www.ronrolheiser.com Follow on
everyone’s story. More and more friends pass            and live in fidelity to each other.                      Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser.
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020                                                                                                                         Opinion                    7

      To fight racism,                                        The Habit
      we must hunger
         for justice
 Guest Editorial

T
        he protests across the nation make clear the
        injustice of George Floyd’s killing, and its
        roots in a long national history of racism, in-
cluding contemporary patterns of police brutality.
    Catholics cannot be content to stand on the
sidelines of this struggle. In the face of racism,
Catholics must hunger for justice as we hunger for
the Eucharist. The Gospel calls us, as we prepare
for Communion, to “go first and be reconciled”
(Matthew 5:24) with our sisters and brothers.
    . . . . [P]erhaps the Holy Spirit is moving, in these
days of Pentecost, to give us the strength to stay
the course and work for lasting change. Catholics
should be held to account six months from now
and a year from now — and for our part at America,
we ask to be — for what actions we have taken in
response.
    Here are five ways to begin.
    Repentance: The church in the United States has
been sadly complicit in the systemic injustices of
white racism. (As a Jesuit publication, we must ac-
knowledge our own part in this history: American
Jesuits and their institutions owned and sometimes
sold enslaved people until 1838.) White Catholics                                                                              The Body and Blood        my voice to the call for
have often ignored and marginalised the voices of
Catholics of colour calling for the Church to listen
                                                              Letters                                                      of this sacramental Jesus
                                                                                                                           Christ will achieve Chris-
                                                                                                                                                         action within the Church
                                                                                                                                                         to right the imbalance of
                                                                                                                           tian Unity (especially at     power that male domina-
and respond to the needs of their communities.
                                                             Covid-19
                                                                                             the Lord. We lost our         2020 Pentecost). We hu-       tion has inflicted over the
    Catholic institutions have only just begun to                                            daughter, but tens of thou-   mans have been talking        centuries.
acknowledge our part in the history of American                                              sands of immune-chal-         about the subject for 2000         The origins of our
racism, from slavery to Jim Crow, from housing                                               lenged people were saved,     years. Stop the “hui hui”     Church lay in the free
segregation to police brutality. This work of mem-               Covid-19 and the lock-                                    and start the “doey doey”.    “consent” given by Mary
                                                             down has continued to           praise the Lord.
ory must continue, it must be public and it must                                                As a Catholic group,           “Do this in memory        to bear and give birth to
                                                             cause inconvenience, es-                                      of Me”.                       Jesus, God in human form.
not shrink from hard truths. In order to be the              pecially perceived by re-       our prayer should be for
body of Christ, the Church must share in both the                                            patience and humility                    James Donald,      She was there, as were
                                                             ligious and faith groups.                                            Howick. Auckland.      other women, named
suffering and the repentance of all its members.             Much lobbying, social           and gratitude for small
                                                                                             mercies.                                                    and unnamed, in the as-
    Solidarity: Catholics do not need to invent              media posting and gen-                                                                      sembly of disciples right
                                                                                                     John and Dianne
                                                                                                                           Broadcasting
new ways to fight racism. There is plenty of work            eral grumbling has been                                                                     throughout Jesus’ life.
                                                             taking place.                                      Farrell,
already being done for racial justice. Yet many                                                              Pukekohe.                                   Women were also there
Catholics seem too timid to listen and collaborate               As a family which has                                                                   in the early Church in a
with new movements, such as Black Lives Matter,              experienced serious up-                                                                     more emancipated way
                                                             heaval, caused by sick-                                           With the repeat-
                                                                                             Eucharist
that are leading today’s charge for justice. Bishops,                                                                      ed graphic showing of         i.e. Priscilla, Phoebe, Junia
                                                             ness over the past 18                                                                       and others.
pastors and lay leaders ought to make overtures to           months, culminating in                                        George Floyd’s killing,
anti-racist activist groups present in their commu-                                                                        television news broad-             Gradually women have
                                                             grief, observations must                                                                    been shut out and exclud-
nities. In addition to showing solidarity in the work        be made. Yes, it was tough          “Here we go again”, my    casting in New Zealand
                                                                                                                           has reached an all-time       ed from any form of co-op-
of organising, Catholics also can show economic              not being able to visit a       Christian pastor friend                                     erative decision-making
solidarity by supporting black-owned businesses              dying young mother of           replied when I invited        low.
                                                                                                                               While the news must       as the Church has revert-
in their own communities, and through giving alms            five in hospital. It was        him to go to Eucharist.                                     ed to the Old Testament
to organisations working for racial justice, and             tough gathering in groups       “No thanks, out of respect    be told, there is no need
                                                                                                                           to show the graphic hor-      hierarchical structures
ministries directly serving black Catholics.                 of 10 to pray, and sur-         for the teaching of the                                     of temples/churches and
                                                             round our daughter with         Roman Catholic Church         ror of such a brutal, ca-
    Presence: A previous generation of clergy and                                                                          sual, cold-blooded [act],     priests with associated
                                                             expert nursing care. It was     on Eucharist — it is only                                   gender roles.
religious left us with iconic images of Catholics            tough to think only eight       for Catholics.”               especially at times when
marching hand in hand with prominent civil rights                                                                          children could be watch-           Yet in Jesus’ short
                                                             of a family of 70 could             During Covid-19, I                                      public life, I can find no
leaders. Today, when images and videos of pro-               farewell our daughter in        read the life story of Car-   ing.
tests are shared more quickly and widely than ever,                                                                            If such displays of       trace of such structures,
                                                             the local funeral parlour.      dinal Nguyan Van Thuan.                                     but simple spontaneous
collars and habits have been sparse. Catholics,              We are a close family — it      On page 132 it was stated:    sadistic cruelty continue,
                                                                                                                           we will become inured to      assemblies of people all
especially those whose presence and dress visibly            was not easy, but we man-       “The Eucharist sustains                                     looking and listening to
symbolises the church, ought to attend protests in           aged bedside prayer and         a loving relationship be-     the sufferings of others.
                                                                                                                               I would like to urge      Jesus’ stories, parables,
order to demonstrate the Church’s commitment.                Communion, and extreme          tween God and human-                                        lessons on living a more
                                                             unction the night before        ity.”                         like-minded others to
    Formation: To ensure deep, lasting change,                                                                             make their views known        God-centred life. Then,
Catholics will need to examine the ways we form              death.                              While in a Vietnam                                      as he left us, he gave us
                                                                 On Friday, May 15, we       prison, Buddists, others      to the Broadcasting Au-
consciences, especially in the work of education.                                                                          thorities. This can be        a simple way of remem-
                                                             farewelled our daughter         and non-Christians, ex-                                     bering him by breaking
Those in charge of institutions of formation, from           with a beautiful requiem        perienced the influence       done on-line or by writing
seminaries to grammar schools, should examine                                                                              to Broadcasting Standards     bread and sharing wine
                                                             Mass attended by 50 and         of Eucharist — the sac-                                     — a ceremony we can all
curricula to see how the history and present real-           watched by thousands            ramental Jesus Christ         Authority, P.O. Box 9213,
                                                                                                                           Wellington, 600.              co-operatively share in,
ity of racism are addressed. Students formed by              on TV. God was good, we         as “The Lord of pardon,                                     with the knowledge we
Catholic education should recognise racism both              were fortunate, and as a        peace and love”.                        Patricia Brooks,
                                                                                                                                            Tauranga.    are following Christ as the
as an intrinsic evil and as a primary manifestation          family became extremely             I remember Father                                       people we are — “in spirit
of social sin. The ability both to assess curricula          grateful for small mer-         Tom Keyes saying in
                                                                                                                           Women
                                                                                                                                                         and truth”, all baptised
and to educate students regarding these issues               cies.                           2004 — “The Eucharist is                                    into the one body whether
                                                                 During lockdown, I          dynamic, vital and trans-                                   we be “Jews or Greeks,
necessarily involves the presence of people of               attended Mass daily, re-        forming”.
colour in positions of responsibility and authority.                                                                                                     slaves or free persons”. Je-
                                                             ceived Holy Communion               How much more “hui            What an illuminating      sus didn’t get side-tracked
    Prayer: Prayer is one of the most effective              three times and firmly          hui”, wishful thinking,       article by Rowena Orejana
modes of public witness Catholics possess. Cath-                                                                                                         into dealing with real es-
                                                             believe the Holy Spirit         essays, books, sermons,       (NZ Catholic, May 31) on      tate rather than people.
olics are united for various causes by novenas,              intervened and gave us a        letters etc. do we have to    Catholic theologian Dr                        Judy Wilton,
processions, rosary campaigns and holy hours. It is          beautiful requiem Mass.         endure before the “table      Rocio Figueroa‘s take on                       Lower Hutt.
no accident that these spiritual means, depending                We, as a nation, con-       of the Lord is open to        women within the Cath-
more on the grace of God than our own strength,              quered Covid-19, praise         more than just Catholics”.    olic Church. May I add        n Abridged — Editor
bind us together and announce the Gospel of mercy
and justice more effectively than proclamations
                                                                  Except for our own edi-     NZ Catholic welcomes readers’ letters, although receipt of a letter does not guar-
of moral principles can alone. Catholic groups,
                                                             torials, opinions expressed      antee publication. No correspondence will be entered into concerning publication.
starting with the bishops and national organising
                                                             in NZ Catholic do not neces-     Letters should be no longer than 220 words and should be topical, to the point, and
networks, and continuing down to the local parish,
should promote a campaign of prayer for healing              sarily reflect the opinion of    include the writer’s address and phone number. Ad hominem attacks are not welcome.
                                                             the newspaper or of its own-     Emailed letters should be sent as part of the text message — not as an attachment — to
from the sins of racism.
                                                             er, the Bishop of Auckland,      editor@nzcatholic.org.nz and include the writer’s physical address. Pseudonyms are not
    ­— Excerpts from an unsigned editorial (June 1) on the
                                                             unless otherwise indicated.      accepted, except by special arrangement.
website of America magazine (Jesuit). (CNS)
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
8      Opinion                                                                                                                           NZ Catholic: June 14 - 27, 2020

            Pentecost and the fires in our cities
I
   t is in a way providential that the Feast of Pen-
   tecost arrives this year just as our country is
   going through a convulsive social crisis. For
the Holy Spirit, whose coming we celebrate on
Pentecost, is a power meant to transform the
world, or in the language of Psalm 104, “to renew
the face of the earth”. Pentecost, accordingly, is
never simply for the Church; it is for the world by
means of the Church.
    One of the principal biblical metaphors for
the Spirit is the wind, and indeed, on Pentecost
morning, the apostles heard what sounded like a
strong driving wind as the Spirit arrived. But the
wind, elusive and unpredictable, is never really
known in itself, but only through its effects. On
the scriptural reading, the first effect of the Holy
Spirit is the formation of an ekklesia (a church),
which in turn is designed to transform the wider
society into the Spirit’s image. In the words of the
Nicene Creed—accepted by Orthodox, Catholic,
and Protestant Christians—this ekklesia is “one,

Robert Barron
holy, catholic, and apostolic”. The wind of the Holy
Spirit produces these qualities, and therefore it is     Minnesota Army National Guard chaplains take a knee with protesters during a peaceful demonstration near the Min-
by them that the Spirit’s action is discerned. So        nesota State Capital on June 2. (CNS Photos)
let us analyse them one by one.
                                                         the life of the Church — sacraments, the Eucharist,      of the divine love.
n Unity                                                  the liturgy, preaching, the witness of the saints,
    The Acts of the Apostles gives us the great          etc. — is meant to inculcate love. I will confess        n Apostolic
icon for the unity of the Church in the picture of       that I frequently shake my head ruefully when I             And finally, the Church is apostolic. The word
the Apostles gathered in prayer in one place with        come across Catholics on the Internet, who pro-          “apostle” is derived from the Greek apostelein,
the Virgin Mary on Pentecost morning. The Holy           fess passionate commitment to the sacraments,            which means “to send”. The original twelve
Spirit is nothing other than the love that connects      doctrines, and practices of the Church, and who          apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit and
the Father and the Son, which explains why one           yet are obviously filled with hatred. I want to tell     then sent into the world to evangelise. Though
of his great titles in the tradition is vinculum         them, “You know, all of your devotions are fine,         they received the Spirit while they were hunkered
amoris (chain of love). Thus, the Spirit draws all       but in your case, they’re not working!” Did not          down in the Upper Room, they were never meant
of the followers of Jesus together in unity. This        Jesus himself say, “By this, everyone will know          to stay hunkered down. From the beginning, there
is not an oppressive or imperialistic oneness, for       that you are my disciples, if you have love for          has been an expulsive, centrifugal energy to the
indeed there is a marvellous variety of personal-        one another” (John 13:35)? Willing the good of the       ekklesia, an instinct for the ends of the earth. The
ities, theological schools, and pastoral emphases        other is the great flag of the Holy Spirit.              original flame of the Holy Spirit was meant to be-
in the Christian community. But in essentials,                                                                    come a conflagration, for Jesus said, “I have come
the community of Jesus is meant to be united,            n Catholicity                                            to light a fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49). One of
and in that unity to find its power to unify the            In the third place, the Church is marked by           the principal themes in the writing and sermon-
world. Origen of Alexandria said “ubi divisio ibi        catholicity, a word derived from the Greek phrase        ising of Pope Francis is precisely this missionary
peccatum” (where there is division, there is sin).       kata holos (according to the whole). By its very na-     nature of the Church. He wants believers in the
Consequently, the Church’s missionary task is to         ture, the ekklesia of Jesus is universal in scope and    Lord to leave their sacristies and get out onto the
overcome division, wherever it might be found.           mission, for it is meant to bring the whole world        streets, to stir things up, even to overturn what
The night before he died, Jesus prayed “that they        to Christ. Jesus said, “Go and teach all nations,        needs overturning.
might be one, as you, Father, and I are one” (John       baptising them in the name of the Father, and of
17:22). In this prayer, he intended not just the         the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19),        n Racism
Church to become one, but the world by means             and that when the Son of Man is “lifted up,” he              All of which brings me back to the situation
of the Church.                                           “will draw all people” to himself (John 3:14, 12:32).    in which we find ourselves this Pentecost. The
                                                         To be sure, there is a terrible history regarding        riots and unrest which are convulsing our country
n Holy                                                   attempts to achieve this unity through violence          were prompted by the killing of George Floyd, to
    Secondly, the Church is meant to be holy, and        and imposition, but that is simply the story of          be sure, but their deeper cause is the racism —
it achieves this quality precisely in the measure        how nominal Christians refused to cooperate with         systemic and personal — that has bedeviled our
that it is filled with the Holy Spirit. And since the    the Holy Spirit. What is most important to see in        society for over 400 years. Though undoubted
Holy Spirit, as we saw, is none other than the love      this regard is that the Church’s task is to be light,    progress has been made in the course of these
that connects the Father and the Son, holiness           salt, and leaven for the whole society (kata holos),     four centuries, there is still irrational hatred in
consists in love, which is not an emotion, but the       never suppressing the plurality of cultures, but at      the hearts of far too many in our country. And
act of willing the good of the other. Everything in      the same time, bringing them under the influence         for all the years that racial tension and violence
                                                                                                                  have endured — from slavery and segregation to
                                                                                                                  the racism, both overt and indirect, that obtains
                                                                                                                  today — the overwhelming majority of people in
                                                                                                                  our land have been Christians — which is to say,
                                                                                                                  people baptised into the divine life, filled, at least
                                                                                                                  in principle, with the Holy Spirit. In the measure
                                                                                                                  that the scourge of race hatred remains, therefore,
                                                                                                                  we know that the ekklesia of Jesus has not been
                                                                                                                  fulfilling its mission, has not been living up to
                                                                                                                  its identity. If Christians have been the dominant
                                                                                                                  presence in our country for all of these centuries,
                                                                                                                  why isn’t there more unity? Why isn’t there more
                                                                                                                  love? Why is it painfully obvious that so few of us
                                                                                                                  have really gone on mission?
                                                                                                                      May I offer a challenge to all the members of
                                                                                                                  the ekklesia today, Protestant, Catholic, and Ortho-
                                                                                                                  dox? Celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit this
                                                                                                                  Pentecost, but then get out of the Upper Room!
                                                                                                                  Light the fire of love in the streets, in the halls
                                                                                                                  of government, in the world of communication,
                                                                                                                  in business and industry, in schools, and in the
                                                                                                                  hearts of your friends and neighbours. The stub-
                                                                                                                  born survival of the awful cancer of racism in the
                                                                                                                  body politic proves — and I say it to our shame
                                                                                                                  — that we have not been the ekklesia that the Holy
                                                                                                                  Spirit wants us to be.
                                                                                                                      Bishop Robert Barron is an auxiliary bishop of Los
                                                                                                                  Angeles. This article was first published at www.wordon-
     A demonstrator wearing a protective mask takes part in a protest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on June 3.       fire.org. It is republished here with permission.
Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year Ordained at last - Lockdown led to seven week delay of ordination - pg 3 - Caritas Lent appeal down this year
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