FROM THE PASTOR
By Father George W. Rutler
October 12, 2008
The Holy Eucharist unites each congregation with our fellow believers throughout the world, along with the faithful departed in Purgatory and the saints in Heaven. Thus it is often said that the Catholic Church is too universal to be merely "international." The concerns of local churches in other lands should move us from preoccupation with local matters. The word "parochial" is a good one, referring to the parish as the local family of the Church, but "parochialism" can mean an isolated mentality.
The mainstream media has been poor in covering attacks on the Church. For instance, in Vietnam, where the government has been confiscating Church property and intimidating the faithful. The Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, is under virtual house arrest, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has threatened "extreme actions" against Catholic protesters.
The situation has been even more volatile in the last month in India where small but potent groups of Hindu extremists concentrated in Kandhamal have burned down about 4,500 Christian houses, 100 churches, and 20 other Church institutions, including convents and rectories. An estimated 50,000 Christians have fled into forests or live now in refugee camps or with relatives and friends in outlying areas. The situation is producing martyrs, such as Lalji Nayak in Orissa who refused to renounce the Faith at the point of a knife and died of his injuries a few days later. So far, about 50 have been killed, including a nun who was violated and a father and son who were hacked to death. Institutions founded by Mother Teresa and run by her Missionaries of Charity were set on fire and some of the lepers in their care were blinded by chemicals. The missionaries intend to return as soon as p ossible to care for patients with leprosy and tuberculosis.
Coincident with this, the first female saint of India will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI this Sunday, October 12. Saint Alphonsa, daughter of Ouseph and Mariam Muttathupandathu, was born in Kottayam in Kerlala and died in 1946 at the age of 36 after many illnesses. India's first saint was Gonsalo Garcia, canonized in 1862. Garcia, who was from Vasai, was born of an Indian mother and Portuguese father in 1556 and was crucified in 1597 in Nagasaki. It is hoped that soon Blessed Teresa of Calcutta will also be raised to the altars. Mother Teresa walked through the streets of our parish more than once, and frequently remarked that the difficulties in her own land were not as bad as the materialism and indifference which afflicts so much of our own society. When we pray for our fellow Christians, we are doing a most concrete and practical thing. And when we contribute money we remember thankfully that part of it regularly goes to help others whose tragic conditions also occasion triumphs of holy religion.
By Father George W. Rutler
October 12, 2008
The Holy Eucharist unites each congregation with our fellow believers throughout the world, along with the faithful departed in Purgatory and the saints in Heaven. Thus it is often said that the Catholic Church is too universal to be merely "international." The concerns of local churches in other lands should move us from preoccupation with local matters. The word "parochial" is a good one, referring to the parish as the local family of the Church, but "parochialism" can mean an isolated mentality.
The mainstream media has been poor in covering attacks on the Church. For instance, in Vietnam, where the government has been confiscating Church property and intimidating the faithful. The Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, is under virtual house arrest, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has threatened "extreme actions" against Catholic protesters.
The situation has been even more volatile in the last month in India where small but potent groups of Hindu extremists concentrated in Kandhamal have burned down about 4,500 Christian houses, 100 churches, and 20 other Church institutions, including convents and rectories. An estimated 50,000 Christians have fled into forests or live now in refugee camps or with relatives and friends in outlying areas. The situation is producing martyrs, such as Lalji Nayak in Orissa who refused to renounce the Faith at the point of a knife and died of his injuries a few days later. So far, about 50 have been killed, including a nun who was violated and a father and son who were hacked to death. Institutions founded by Mother Teresa and run by her Missionaries of Charity were set on fire and some of the lepers in their care were blinded by chemicals. The missionaries intend to return as soon as p ossible to care for patients with leprosy and tuberculosis.
Coincident with this, the first female saint of India will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI this Sunday, October 12. Saint Alphonsa, daughter of Ouseph and Mariam Muttathupandathu, was born in Kottayam in Kerlala and died in 1946 at the age of 36 after many illnesses. India's first saint was Gonsalo Garcia, canonized in 1862. Garcia, who was from Vasai, was born of an Indian mother and Portuguese father in 1556 and was crucified in 1597 in Nagasaki. It is hoped that soon Blessed Teresa of Calcutta will also be raised to the altars. Mother Teresa walked through the streets of our parish more than once, and frequently remarked that the difficulties in her own land were not as bad as the materialism and indifference which afflicts so much of our own society. When we pray for our fellow Christians, we are doing a most concrete and practical thing. And when we contribute money we remember thankfully that part of it regularly goes to help others whose tragic conditions also occasion triumphs of holy religion.
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