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The first official pastoral visit to Boston-USA by Bishop Andrew Nkea of the Diocese of Mamfe to the Cameroon Community in 2014 was the pacesetter that led to the creation of the Catholic Women Association [CWA] Boston chapter. The dream came to fruition on Sunday February 22, 2015, as all the catholic women in Boston assembled to open a new chapter and elect their pioneer executive for a four year mandate. In a spirited holy mass celebrated by Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai and Fr. Edmund Ugochukwu that preceded the election, the catholic women in Boston baptized the newly created CWA Boston chapter as Queen of Peace Branch. The election that followed after the Holy Mass produced the following outcome; Pioneer president Mofa Patricia Nanje, Secretary General Ma Mpey Arrey Evelyne, Financial Secretary Bridget Aroke, Treasurer Bridget Dohmatob, Social Secretary Adel Njike, Liturgy Ashu Cecilia, First Adviser Amina Margaret, Second Adviser Pauline Acha and Spiritual Director Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai.
In a conversation with Cameroon Concord the pioneer president Mofa Patricia Nanje noted that women are the soul of the Cameroon community in Boston. "Therefore we CWA Queen of Peace Branch Boston will embark on a crusade mission of evangelizing the word of God, teach catholic doctrines and encourage both married and unmarried women to join the association". Patricia Nanje added that CWA Boston will work to bring catholic women closer to the Eucharist and also to bless their marriages in church. The new president also announced her plan of action which involved inter alia charitable acts such as visiting homeless and handicap children centres in the city of Boston. In a rare recognition of our coverage of the Holy Roman Catholic Church on earth, Cameroon Concord US Bureau Chief Bertrand Etukeni Agbaw-Ebai was given an honorary position as a Patron of the newly created CWA Queen of Peace Branch in Boston. The new executive will be officially presented to the Cameroon community on Easter Sunday.
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German Catholics are reportedly leaving the church in droves as bishops continue to challenge the Vatican by questioning the church’s teaching on marriage. A new capital gains tax levy, which came into effect in January and revealed to Catholics in 2013 via the media rather than church authorities, was reportedly a factor in causing 178,000 Catholics to formally leave the church in 2013, up 60,000 from the previous year. The new tax will further increase revenue to the German Church, which is already one of the wealthiest in the world — deriving 70 percent of its income from the state church tax. Revenues in 2013 amounted to approximately $6.71 billion, making it one of the wealthiest churches in the world. Its wealth has led many to question how far short it falls of Pope Francis’ call for a “poor church for the poor”. The church maintains that it carries out a great deal of amount for the poor and marginalized. Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the German bishops, pointed out to me that 27 German dioceses offered 73 million euros for refugees who have sought asylum in Germany. But he omitted to mention the high expenditure of various German dioceses which eclipses many projects for the poor. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop of Munich, is reported to have spent 130 million euros on a service center in his archdiocese. He, himself, lives in a palatial 90 square meter apartment, recently renovated at a cost of 8 million euros paid for by the state of Bavaria.
The German prelate reportedly has an income of 11,500 euros per month and lives rent free. His cars include a luxury 730i BMW. Meanwhile, the archdiocese says it has a guesthouse in Rome worth 9.7 million euros but denies it is a luxury, insisting it was paid for by diocesan assets and not tax revenues. The opulence of the German Church has led to it being accused of complacency and arrogance. Mass attendance is declining — only 10 percent now attend weekly — but a guaranteed income from the church tax, considered vital to maintain over a million people on the German Church’s payroll, means bishops do not have to worry about declining participation. To ensure the funds continue, the hierarchy also appears willing to accede to secular trends. One example came to light last month when the European Union issued a directive mandating the morning-after pill to be available over the counter in all member states. Polish bishops reacted by issuing a strong statement condemning its use a “grave sin” and the EU directive a violation of Polish criminal law. By contrast, the German bishops were largely silent, simply saying they had “serious concerns”.
Other areas also point to compromises with secular values. It’s highly likely the bishops will change the church’s labor law to allow employment of divorced and remarried Catholics and those in same-sex relationships. Opponents fear the move would directly undermine church teaching in this area, but the bishops appear intent on passing the reform in April. They are also openly pushing for a change in the church’s approach to remarried divorcees The bishops have insisted they want the divorce and remarriage issue, important to the October Synod on the Family, to be debated among the faithful. But critics firmly believe this is simply theater and that the bishops will press ahead with reform anyway. The corruption of the German Church is also not going unnoticed in Germany. In a highly critical Dec. 29th article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Markus Günther said the Catholic Church in Germany today is comparable to the former Communist East Germany “in its later days.” It looks stable, he wrote, “but it stands on the verge of collapse.”
As they did in the dying days of the East German regime, many officials “are fooling themselves,” Günther added. “Pastors and bishops, as well as many active parishioners, see blooming landscapes where there is nothing but desert. Love, as they say, is blind. And where existential threats are concerned, a calculated optimism often clouds a sober view of reality.” “As long as they believe that everything is fine, people from both sides of the spectrum will depart,” a source close to the German hierarchy told me. “Those who dissent from church teaching will leave because they don’t want to pay the church tax, and those faithful to church teaching will want to leave because they won’t want to belong to an institution emptied of faith and led by prelates wanting to adapt the teaching of the church to ensure the institution survives.” The Pope and Vatican officials, some of whom are sympathetic to the bishops’ concerns, are unlikely to rein in the German Church. Their influence is likely to grow as the next synod draws closer. All of Germany’s bishops are to meet the Pope in September on their yearly visit, likely using the occasion to push their agenda. Observers say the German Church is meanwhile moving slowly but irrevocably towards collapse.
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It is difficult to believe that Pope Benedict XVI freely renounced his ministry as successor of Peter.'
'I am forced to resort to this public means of expression because I fear that any other method would be greeted by a brick wall of silence and disregard.'
'... increasingly evident that the Vatican through the Secretariat of State has taken the course of political correctness.'
The letter, written by Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, hopefully will serve as a much-needed wake-up call to Catholics who have buried their heads in the sand for far too long. Let us pray more of his brother bishops will have the faith -- and the backbone -- to stand up and be heard before there's nothing left to defend.
Reflections on some current problems of the crisis of the Catholic Church
I had the experience of living with priests who were in Stalinist prisons and camps and who nevertheless remained faithful to the Church. During the time of persecution they fulfilled with love their priestly duty in preaching Catholic doctrine thereby leading a dignified life in the imitation of Christ, their heavenly Master. I completed my priestly studies in an underground Seminary in the Soviet Union. I was ordained a priest secretly during the night by a pious bishop who himself suffered for the sake of the faith. In the first year of my priesthood I had the experience of being expelled from Tadzhikistan by the KGB. Subsequently, during my thirty-year stay in Kazakhstan, I served 10 years as priest, caring for faithful people in 81 localities. Then I served 20 years as bishop, initially as bishop of five states in Central Asia with a total area of around four million square kilometers.
In my ministry as a bishop I had contact with Pope Saint John Paul II, with many bishops, priests and faithful in different countries and under different circumstances. I was member of some assemblies of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican which covered themes such as “Asia” and “The Eucharist”. This experience as well as others give me the basis to express my opinion on the current crisis of the Catholic Church. These are my convictions and they are dictated by my love of the Church and by the desire for her authentic renewal in Christ. I am forced to resort to this public means of expression because I fear that any other method would be greeted by a brick wall of silence and disregard. I am aware of possible reactions to my open letter. But at the same time the voice of my conscience will not allow me to remain silent, while the work of God is being slandered. Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church and showed us in word and deed how one should fulfill the will of God. The apostles to whom He bestowed authority in the Church, fulfilled with zeal the duty entrusted to them, suffering for the sake of the truth which had to be preached, since they “obeyed God rather than men”.
Unfortunately in our days it is increasingly evident that the Vatican through the Secretariat of State has taken the course of political correctness. Some Nuncios have become propagators of liberalism and modernism. They have acquired expertise in the principle “sub secreto Pontificio”, by which one manipulates and silences the mouths of the bishops. And that what the Nuncio tells them appears as it would be almost certainly the wish of the Pope. With such methods one separates the bishops from one another to the effect that the bishops of a country can no longer speak with one voice in the spirit of Christ and His Church in defending faith and morals. This means that, in order not to fall into disfavour with the Nuncio some bishops accept their recommendations, which are sometimes based on nothing other than on their own words. Instead of zealously spreading the faith, courageously preaching the doctrine of Christ, standing firm in the defense of truth and of morals, the meetings of the Bishops’ Conferences often deal with issues which are foreign to the nature of the duties of the successors of the apostles.
One can observe at all levels of the Church an obvious decrease of the “sacrum”. The “spirit of the world” feeds the shepherds. The sinners give the Church the instructions for how she has to serve them. In their embarrassment the Pastors are silent on the current problems and abandon the sheep while they are feeding themselves. The world is tempted by the devil and opposes the doctrine of Christ. Nevertheless the Pastors are obliged to teach the whole truth about God and men “in season and out”. However, during the reign of the last holy Popes one could observe in the Church the greatest disorder concerning the purity of the doctrine and the sacredness of the liturgy, in which Jesus Christ is not paid the visible honour which he is due. In not a few Bishop’s Conferences the best bishops are “persona non grata”. Where are apologists of our days, who would announce to men in a clear and comprehensible manner the threat of the risk of loss of faith and salvation?
In our days the voice of the majority of the bishops rather resembles the silence of the lambs in the face of furious wolves, the faithful are left like defenseless sheep. Christ was recognized by men as one who spoke and worked, as one, who had power and this power He bestowed upon His apostles. In today’s world the bishops must liberate themselves from all worldly bonds and – after they have done penance – convert to Christ so that strengthened by the Holy Spirit they may announce Christ as the one and only Saviour. Ultimately one must give account to God for all that was done and for all what wasn't done. In my opinion the weak voice of many bishops is a consequence of the fact, that in the process of the appointment of new bishops the candidates are insufficiently examined with regard to their doubtless steadfastness and fearlessness in the defense of the faith, with regard to their fidelity to the centuries-old traditions of the Church and their personal piety. In the issue of the appointment of new bishops and even cardinals it is becoming increasingly apparent that sometimes preference is given to those who share a particular ideology or to some groupings which are alien to the Church and which have commissioned the appointment of a particular candidate. Furthermore it appears that sometimes consideration is given also to the favour of the mass media which usually makes a mockery of holy candidates painting a negative picture of them, whereas the candidates who in a lesser degree own the spirit of Christ are praised as open and modern. On the other side the candidates who excel in apostolic zeal, have courage in proclaiming the doctrine of Christ and show love for all that is holy and sacred, are deliberately eliminated.
A Nuncio once told me: “It’s a pity that the Pope [John Paul II] does not participate personally in the appointment of the bishops. The Pope tried to change something in the Roman Curia, however he has not succeeded. He becomes older and things resume their usual former course”. At the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, I wrote a letter to him in which I begged him to appoint holy bishops. I reported to him the story of a German layman who in the face of the degradation of the Church in his country after the Second Vatican Council, remained faithful to Christ and gathered young people for adoration and prayer. This man had been close to death and when he learned about the election of the new Pope he said: “When Pope Benedict will use his pontificate solely for the purpose to appoint worthy, good and faithful bishops, he will have fulfilled his task”. Unfortunately, it is obvious that, Pope Benedict XVI has often not succeeded in this issue. It is difficult to believe that Pope Benedict XVI freely renounced his ministry as successor of Peter. Pope Benedict XVI was the head of the Church, his entourage however has barely translated his teachings into life, bypassed them often in silence or has rather obstructed his initiatives for an authentic reform of the Church, of the liturgy, of the manner to administer Holy Communion. In view of a great secrecy in the Vatican for many bishops it was realistically impossible to help the Pope in his duty as head and governor of the whole Church.
It will not be superfluous to remind my brothers in the episcopacy of an affirmation made by an Italian masonic lodge from the year 1820: “Our work is a work of a hundred years. Let us leave the elder people and let us go to the youth. The seminarians will become priests with our liberal ideas. We shall not flatter ourselves with false hopes. We will not make the Pope a Freemason. However liberal bishops, who will work in the entourage of the Pope, will propose to him in the task of governing the Church such thoughts and ideas which are advantageous for us and the Pope will implement them into life”. This intention of the Freemasons is being implemented more and more openly, not only thanks to the declared enemies of the Church but with the connivance of false witnesses who occupy some high hierarchical office in the Church. It is not without reason that Blessed Paul VI said: “The spirit of Satan penetrated through a crack inside the Church”. I think that this crack has become in our days quite wide and the devil uses all forces in order to subvert the Church of Christ. To avoid this, it is necessary to return to the precise and clear proclamation of the Gospel on all levels of ecclesiastical ministry, for the Church possesses all power and grace which Christ gave to her: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and I am with you always unto the end of the world” (Mt 28, 18-20), “the truth will set you free” (John 8, 32) and “let your word be Yes, yes; No, no: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil” (Mt 5, 37). The Church cannot adapt herself to the spirit of this world, but must transform the world to the spirit of Christ.
It is obvious that in the Vatican there is a tendency to give in more and more to the noise of the mass media. It is not infrequent that in the name of an incomprehensible quiet and calm the best sons and servants are sacrificed in order to appease the mass media. The enemies of the Church however don’t hand over their faithful servants even when their actions are evidently bad. When we wish to remain faithful to Christ in word and deed, He Himself will find the means to transform the hearts and souls of men and the world as well will be changed at the appropriate time. In times of the crisis of the Church God has often used for her true renewal the sacrifices, the tears and the prayers of those children and servants of the Church who in the eyes of the world and of the ecclesiastical bureaucracy were considered insignificant or were persecuted and marginalized because of their fidelity to Christ. I believe that in our difficult time this law of Christ is being realized and that the Church will renew herself thanks to the faithful inner renewal of each of us.
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Only two religious orders audited by child safety watchdogs have demonstrated good compliance with rules to protect youngsters from abusers. Following reviews last autumn, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NSBCCCI) warned seven congregations have considerable work to do on the issue. The two orders praised by the review team were the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, an order with 18 priests working and living in London, Dublin and in the Cavan-Monaghan area, and the Dominican Sisters, based in Dublin, Galway, Wicklow and in the North, working largely in education.
Teresa Devlin, chief executive of the NBSCCCI, warned that much work was needed for seven orders to fall into line with the official child protection standards. "In relation to the large reviews, I'm disappointed that, for the majority of Orders, the whole area of safeguarding is only being bedded down in the last couple of years," she said. "Of the nine only two orders have demonstrated good compliance with the standards, and have demonstrated their commitment to putting in place good safeguards for children as well as prompt responses to allegations of abuse. For the other seven there is considerable work to be done."
The board found poor record management in many cases making an assessment of child protection practice difficult. Opportunities to safeguard children were missed, known abusers were allowed to remain in ministry in 1990s. The board - the Catholic Church's own watchdog in Ireland - found management plans relating to accused priests and nuns have improved significantly over time but it warned there is still room for improvement, in terms of clarity of roles, review of restrictions, and sharing of information.
It noted that support for complainants is good in many cases with evidence of pastoral support, outreach and direct contact with survivors of abuse. The board warned of variable delays in reporting allegations to the civil authorities up until 2009 but it also said some practices did not improve until 2013. "A series of recommendations have been made within each report and the board expects that these will be acted upon," Ms Devlin said. The board has requested the orders to make progress reports on the recommendations in nine months.
In the case of the Franciscan Friars, the watchdog points out that there were three "prolific" abusers within their ranks, although allegations had been levelled against 28 friars since 1975. A significant number of the sexual abuse allegations relate to two friars, both of whom were convicted and served prison sentences. One remains under supervision within the Order while the other left in 2003. The watchdog said the Franciscans either delayed or failed to notify state authorities about the abuse and also delayed taking action under the Order's own canon law.
Furthermore, the Order had poor records of contact with victims and of monitoring friars under supervision. It was concerned that the Order seemed to put more importance on legal processes rather than the pastoral support of victims in some cases. "It is the opinion of the reviewers that civil settlements provide financial compensation but do not address other needs including counselling, care and support for the survivor," the report states. "A more caring pastoral response is required and this is being reflected in the current Minister Provincial's willingness to reach out to survivors publicly in recent months."
In a statement, the Order's Minister Provincial, Hugh McKenna, said the report describes "the stark reality of abuse perpetrated" by Irish Franciscans over a 45-year period and also highlights the Order's "failure" to deal with the abuse. "We regret that there were significant missed opportunities, as highlighted in the report, in terms of protecting other children from abusive behaviour," he said. "As Provincial of the Irish Franciscans, I apologise unreservedly to each and every survivor for the pain and harm inflicted on those who suffered abuse while under our care.
"I apologise for the breach of trust, and the suffering victims and their families endured. "I also know that no apology can ever be sufficient, and acknowledge with deep shame and sadness that the Franciscan Order failed you." The report notes a change in safeguarding practices since 2009, which it says was further strengthened under Fr McKenna since his appointment in July 2011.
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Pope Francis has warned Catholic clergy against trying to cover up sexual abuse, urging it to cooperate with a new Church panel aimed at protecting children in the face of possible sex offences. "Families need to know that the Church is making every effort to protect their children," the pontiff said in a strongly-worded letter to the heads of national bishops' conferences and religious orders on Thursday.
The letter came as the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors met for the first time on Friday at the Vatican to drive reforms on the sexual scandals of the Catholic clerics which have caused severe damage to the Church's authority and reputation around the world. “Priority must not be given to any other kind of concern, whatever its nature, such as the desire to avoid scandal, since there is absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors," said the Pope.
Last month, 10 priests and two Catholic lay workers were charged with the sexual abuse of altar boys between 2004 and 2007 in the Spanish city of Granada. In the case, the biggest of its kind yet in Spain, the Church was accused of covering up the sex scandals. The Roman Catholic Church has been hit by numerous scandals all over the world in the past few years, including allegations of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests, to protect pedophiles as well as its own reputation. Rights groups have lashed out at the Vatican for its handling of Catholic priests’ child sex abuse cases.
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