Italy: message for Pro-Life Day”The strength of life: a challenge in poverty”. That’s the title of the message that the permanent Council of the Italian Bishops’ Conference has written in view of the 32nd Pro-Life Day which is due to be celebrated on 7 February 2010. “Each life – says the message – is worthy of being lived even in situations of great poverty. A distorted use of material goods and exaggerated consumerism may in fact result in a life bereft of meaning and poor in noble ideals, leading us to ignore the needs of millions of men and women and irreparably damage the earth, of which we are custodians and not masters. Besides, all of us know people who are poor in material resources, but rich in humanity and able to enjoy life, because capable of generosity and self-giving”. The bishops’ message (Agensir.it – documents) adds that “the economic crisis we are going through can be an occasion for growth. For it prompts us to rediscover the beauty of sharing and the ability to show our care for others. It enables us to understand that it’s not economic richness that constitutes the dignity of life, because life itself is the first and most fundamental richness of all, and therefore needs to be strenuously defended in all its stages, also by denouncing once again the crime of abortion, without any surrender or compromise on the level of ethical judgement”. The bishops of the permanent Council conclude their message as follows: “It is precisely the phase we are going through that impels us to be even more supportive of those mothers who are fearful of the spectre of economic recession and may thus be tempted to renounce or interrupt pregnancy; it pledges us in real terms to come to their aid and express our solidarity with them. It makes us recall that, in richness or in poverty, no one is the master of his/her own life and that we are all called to cherish and respect it as a precious treasure from conception to natural death”.France: Cardinal Vingt-Trois on the followers of Monsignor LefebvreMay the Holy Spirit blow on the delegates of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X who are participating in talks with members of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei: that’s the hope expressed by Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris and President of the French Bishops’ Conference, in an interview published on the website of the Parisian archdiocese in the run-up to the first of a series of meetings with members of the society founded by Marcel Lefebvre in 1970, to be held in the Vatican. “We know very well – said the archbishop – the sore points” of a doctrinal character that pose difficulties for full communion. “Questions – added the cardinal – such as those relating to freedom of conscience, or ecumenism and relations with Judaism. There are also a number of points, and very important ones, relating to the Second Vatican Council that have not been accepted [by members of the Society]. And a further sore point is the fact they don’t accept the liturgical reform enforced by Paul VI, an absolutely legitimate reform”. “The hope is – concluded the archbishop – that the Holy Spirit may blow and give a more conciliatory impetus to the protagonists, so that they may accept not to remain tied to the line they have hitherto been wedded to, i.e. that of saying ‘we are willing to discuss so long as the Church adopts our opinion'”.Spain: bishops against HalloweenThe Spanish Catholic Church is warning Christians about the growing popularity of the “pagan”, and “not Christian”, festivity of Halloween. The director of the Liturgical Commission of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Father Joan Maria Canals, has criticized the parents who pressure their children to don fancy dress for the celebration of Halloween, saying they ought instead to encourage their participation in the celebration of All Saints and the Commemoration of the Dead. “Young children dress up as witches, vampires, and ghosts; they wear the masks of cadavers and skeletons – said Fr. Canals in an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo -. Parents ought instead to encourage the participation of their children in the Christian days of festivity that have to do with the signs of death and life in holiness. The paradoxical thing is that when a member of the family dies, these same parents prevent their children from seeing his/her dead body”. In actual fact – points out the Spanish liturgist, the feast of All Saints on 1st November and that of the Dead on the following day, during which Spanish family traditionally visit the tombs of their loved ones, “is a feast that glorifies life and not death”. And he adds: “Christian piety suggests a visit to the cemetery to pray for our loved ones and for the families that suffer the pain of separation from them”. Father Canals also observes that “on pedagogical grounds, it is essential children discover the value of life and holiness and not be encouraged to evoke death”, with face masks and fancy dress. The Bishop of Sigüenza-Guadalajara, the Most Rev. José Sanchez, goes even further, declaring that Halloween “is not an innocent festivity” because it is based on the occult and anti-Christian propaganda”.
