Catholic Charities: The issue at hand is whether or not the religious protections included in the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act extends to programs of Catholic Charities and other faith based organizations

The Catholic Times has an online exclusive story regarding the recent judgment in favor of Catholic Charities, with my emphases and comments (comments I have repeatedly made in previous posts will not be restated here):

A Sangamon County judge ruled July 12 that Catholic Charities of the Springfield, Joliet and Peoria diocese may continue to serve children in their foster care and adoption services program.


In the ruling, Judge John Schmidt said the order is temporary until a hearing scheduled for August [17th].

The state of Illinois June 11 had notified Catholic Charities in the Springfield, Joliet, Belleville and Peoria dioceses that they are no longer eligible for state foster care and adoption services contracts.

The Department of Children and Family services notified the Catholic Charities agencies July 8 that current contracts with the state would not be renewed for the new fiscal year.

“Your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,” DCFS said in the notice. “That law applies to foster care and adoption services. Thus, there is no meeting of the minds as to the FY12 Foster Care and Adoption Contracts.”

The law legalizing civil unions in Illinois went into effect June 1. Catholic Charities of the Springfield, Joliet and Peoria dioceses filed the suit in Sangamon County Circuit Court June 7 to ask for a legal declaration confirming that Illinois law protects the right of Catholic agencies not to place children with unmarried, cohabiting individuals.

The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a union, instituted by God, between one man and one woman and that sex ual activity outside of marriage is contrary to God’s law. The long-standing practice of Catholic Charities has been to place children with married or single, non-cohabiting persons only. Non-married cohabiting couples were referred to other agencies [Note: they were not refused services, but referred to other agencies].

In a July 12 statement, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Springfield diocese said, “For the sake of the children in our Catholic Charities Foster Care program, I am grateful that Judge John Schmidt of the Circuit Court of Sangamon County has issued a preliminary injunction freezing the State’s contract with Catholic Charities as it was before the State decided to cut it off earlier this month.

“It is tragic that some State officials are moving to push Catholic Charities out of foster care and adoption services by refusing to contract with us. Contrary to statements of certain government officials, the practices of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois fully comply with the new Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which includes a provision that says, “Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body,” Bishop Paprocki’s statement continued. “It is the State of Illinois that is violating this provision of the law by seeking to force us to act against our religious beliefs. If these services of religious organizations like Catholic Charities are terminated, it would be the children who would suffer because some politicians have put their political agenda ahead of the best interest of the children, who have been served by the top-quality, nurturing care of Catholic Charities since 1921.”

“We pray for a final outcome of this case that will allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide a faith-based approach to foster care and adoption services in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services,” the bishop’s statement concluded.

Steven Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Springfield diocese, said the issue at hand is whether or not the religious protections included in the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act extends to programs of Catholic Charities and other faith based organizations.

“The state’s position is that the only religious protection in the new law relates to not forcing churches to perform religious ceremonies for same-sex couples,” Roach said. “This is a ridiculous argument because no law could ever be passed that could force a church to perform any kind of religious ceremony — that is already constitutionally prohibited. It’s a bit like selling someone a car and telling them you will throw in the steering wheel.

“If the state argues that this is the only religious protection in the new law then they are arguing that in fact there are no religious protections in the new law despite its title,” Roach said.

Roach said that Catholic Charities will argue that the real religious protection in the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act is explicitly spelled out in the Senate record.

Roach said that during the debate the bill’s sponsor (Senator David Koehler, D-Peoria) was directly asked if religiously sponsored organizations such as Catholic Charities providing social services are protected from any interference or regulation from the implementation of this new law.

“A definitive, affirmative answer was given by Sen. Koehler who stressed the intent of the bill in no way was meant to negatively impact the activities of religious organizations,” Roach said. “Terminating decades-old contracts with Catholic Charities is certainly a negative impact.”

Roach said he believes the state is basing its actions on a belief that completely ignores the religious protection intent of the new law.

“We vehemently disagree for obvious reasons and that is why we are in court,” Roach said. “The state prematurely decided to terminate contracts with Catholic Charities because it believes our desire to place children in the homes of only married couples and single non-cohabitating individuals is in violation of the new law.

“However, if the court finds Catholic Charities is not in violation of the new law (as we believe) then there obviously is no reason for the state to eliminate Catholic Charities as a valuable resource to address the plight of abused children in Illinois,” Roach said. “This is clearly a matter of the law and we are hopeful that all parties will respect the decision of the court in this case.”

According to DCFS, almost 2,000 children receive services from Catholic Charities in four of the six dioceses of Illinois. In June, 267 children were receiving care through Springfield Catholic Charities.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Chicago ceased foster care and adoption services due to liability protection issues and the Diocese of Rockford announced May 26 that its Catholic Charities offices would no longer offer state-funded adoptions and foster-care services once the civil unions law took effect.

DCFS refuses to allow Catholic Charities to place a child from another agency

In light of the recent legal suit between Catholic Charities and the State of Illinois, the final sentence of a story in the State Journal-Register ought to be a story in itself.

An unnamed agency has a child to place in a foster home but does not have foster parents available at this time.  The agency sought to place the child through Catholic Charities, who does have foster parents available at this very moment to receive the child, but the Department of Child and Family Services refused to allow Catholic Charities to place the child, even after a Sangamon County judge ruled the State cannot end its contracts with Catholic Charities until the requested declaratory judgment is given.

This should be an outrage to people of all good will.  It clearly shows that DCFS and the State of Illinois is not truly concerned with the welfare of children but only with their own political ideology.

The text of the updated article follows, with my emphases and comments:

Catholic Charities programs in Illinois won a preliminary injunction Tuesday preventing the state from canceling its foster care contracts with the agencies [Notice: the State attempted to cancel its contracts with Catholic Charities; the State made the first move].

"I'm putting a freeze on this case until we can (argue) the issues," Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt said. "We're not going to be removing children from homes."

Schmidt said he was returning the situation to what it was on June 30, before the Department of Children and Family Services terminated contracts it held with Catholic Charities in Springfield, Joliet, Peoria and Belleville.

A total of 1,997 children have been placed in foster homes through the four agencies.

Schmidt scheduled another hearing on the case for Aug. 17.

DCFS terminated foster care contracts it had with Catholic Charities in the four dioceses because the agencies had made it clear they would not place foster children in the homes of couples who are in civil unions, which became legal in Illinois June 1 [Catholic Charities has not placed children in the homes of cohabiting couples and has never had to do so].

Catholic Charities said its position is a matter of religious principle. Representatives say Catholic Charities does not place children in the homes of any unmarried couples.

"This restores some hope for us continuing our relationship with the state," said Steven Roach, executive director for Catholic Charities of the Springfield Diocese [though the final sentence of this article suggests the State is unwilling to work with Catholic Charities].

Attorneys for Catholic Charities have argued that a clause in the law allows religious organizations not to recognize civil unions if it conflicts with their religious beliefs [Curiously, this clause has not been quoted yet in an article; I suppose it's easier to ignore the actual law.  The clause states: "Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body."  That seems pretty straight forward].


“It is the state of Illinois that is violating this provision of the law by seeking to force us to act against our religious principles,” said Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki in a statement.

Assistant Attorney General Deborah Barnes argued that the state isn't forcing the agencies to accept state contracts [but the State has tried to refuse to honor its contracts].

"The government isn't compelling them to take these contracts," Barnes said. "The state has chosen not to renew voluntary contracts. Contracts are not renewed automatically."

Catholic Charities lawyers said the contracts require 30 days notice of cancellation, which did not happen.

Barnes said children placed in Catholic Charities foster homes are not at risk.

"These children are not going to be ripped out of homes," she said. "The facts show no emergency."

Roach, though, said his organization was approached by another agency because it needed to place a child in a foster home and had none available. Catholic Charities was able to arrange a placement, Roach said, but DCFS refused to allow it.

Why is this line sentence not a front page story in and of itself?

Paprocki responds to court decision

With my emphases:

STATEMENT OF BISHOP THOMAS JOHN PAPROCKI

REGARDING THE STATE’S EFFORTS TO PUSH CATHOLIC CHARITIES OUT OF FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION SERVICES

For the sake of the children in our Catholic Charities Foster Care program, I am grateful that Judge John Schmidt of the Circuit Court of Sangamon County has issued a preliminary injunction freezing the State’s contract with Catholic Charities as it was before the State decided to cut it off earlier this month.

It is tragic that some State officials are moving to push Catholic Charities out of foster care and adoption services by refusing to contract with us. Contrary to statements of certain government officials, the practices of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois fully comply with the new Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which includes a provision that says, “Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body.”

It is the State of Illinois that is violating this provision of the law by seeking to force us to act against our religious beliefs. If these services of religious organizations like Catholic Charities are terminated, it would be the children who would suffer because some politicians have put their political agenda ahead of the best interest of the children, who have been served by the top-quality, nurturing care of Catholic Charities since 1921.

We pray for a final outcome of this case that will allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide a faith-based approach to foster care and adoption services in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

+ Most Rev. Thomas John Paprocki

Bishop of Springfield in Illinois

SJ-R: Catholic Charities wins foster-care injuction against state

From the State Journal-Register, with my emphases and comments:

Catholic Charities won a preliminary injunction Tuesday preventing the state from canceling foster care contracts it has with the agencies.


Sangamon County Judge John Schmidt said he was returning the situation to what it was on June 30, before the Department of Children and Family Services terminated contracts it held with Catholic Charities in Springfield, Joliet and Peoria.

“I’m putting a freeze on this case until we can (argue) the issues,” Schmidt said. “We’re not going to be removing children from homes.” [the judge has a heart]

DCFS terminated the contracts because it said Catholic Charities made it clear they would not comply with state law and place foster children in homes of couples who entered civil unions [I'm glad the SJ-R is reporting a little more accurately now].

Catholic Charities said it is a matter of religious principle and that it does not place children in the homes of any unmarried couples.

BREAKING NEWS: Judge stops State from dropping Catholic Catholics

From The Chicago Tribune, with my emphases and comments:

SPRINGFIELD --- A judge in Springfield today ordered that Catholic Charities can keep serving foster children despite the state’s decision to eliminate their contract.


The order is temporary and a hearing will take place in August on the issue.

Sangamon County Judge John Schmidt issued the ruling after both sides offered lengthy arguments in court this afternoon. Schmidt said that his order freezes the state’s contract with Catholic Charities as it was before the state decided to cut it off earlier this month [this is very good news].

Three Catholic Charities groups sought the injunction to continue serving families and abiding by Catholic principles that prohibit placing children with unmarried cohabiting couples.

"We're not sure what the state is intending to do or how it's intending to do it," said Peter Breen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society representing Catholic Charities. "It's a surprise. But it's also very disturbing. The impact on the [nearly 2,000] children in Catholic Charities care will be catastrophic."

In letters sent last week to Catholic Charities in the dioceses of Peoria, Joliet and Springfield and Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said the state could not accept their signed contracts for the 2012 fiscal year. Each letter said funding was declined because "your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act," which the state says requires prospective parents in civil unions to be treated the same as married couples.

"That law applies to foster care and adoption services," each letter stated. "Thus, there is no meeting of the minds as to the (fiscal year 2012) Foster Care and Adoption Contracts."

Vatican Newspaper: Voldemort is like many modern men and women who think they can do without God and without others

L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, has extolled the virtues of Harry Potter.  With the final film of the series being released this week, the editorials are timely.

The Catholic News Service has the story, with my emphases:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The last battle of the almost-grownup Harry Potter may be too scary for young viewers, but it champions the values of friendship and sacrifice, the Vatican newspaper said.


"The atmosphere of the last few episodes, which had become increasingly dark and ominous, reaches its pinnacle," said one of two reviews of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" printed July 12 in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

The darkness "may disturb younger audiences," said reviewer Gaetano Vallini.

"Death, which was a rare occurrence (in the previous Harry Potter films) is the protagonist here," which is another reason the film may not be appropriate for everyone, he said.

"As for the content, evil is never presented as fascinating or attractive in the saga, but the values of friendship and of sacrifice are highlighted. In a unique and long story of formation, through painful passages of dealing with death and loss, the hero and his companions mature from the lightheartedness of infancy to the complex reality of adulthood," he said.

Young people introduced to Harry Potter through the seven books by J.K. Rowling and the films based on them have grown with Potter and his friends, Vallini said, "and they certainly have understood that magic is only a narrative pretext useful in the battle against an unrealistic search for immortality."

In the second review, Antonio Carriero reaffirmed one point Vatican reviewers have made since the Harry Potter books first appeared in Italian: The story captured the imagination of millions of children around the world and got them reading books.

And, he said, the saga championed values that Christians and non-Christians share and provided opportunities for Christian parents to talk to their children about how those values are presented in a special way in the Bible.

Potter's archenemy, Lord Voldemort, "does not represent Satan, as it would be easy to think, but is a man who has made bad choices in his life," Carriero said.

Voldemort has chosen not to love others and sees himself as the center of the universe, he said.

Carriero said Voldemort is like many modern men and women who think they can do without God and without others, they don't believe in heaven, and yet they are the most frightened of dying.

"Eternal life is reached through death, not without it. And Harry Potter, although he never declared himself a Christian, calls on the dark magician to mend his ways, repent for what he has done and recognize the primacy of love over everything so he will not be damned for eternity," he wrote.

The "Deathly Hallows" demonstrates that "from the pure of heart like the young Harry, ready to die for his friends," come big lessons, Carriero wrote.

The film also teaches that "it's possible to change the world. It is Harry, with his inseparable friends, who demonstrates that it is possible to vanquish evil and establish peace. Power, success and an easy life do not bring the truest and deepest joys. For that we need friendship, self-giving, sacrifice and attachment to a truth that is not formed in man's image," the review said.

More on the State vs. Catholic Charities

The Bellingham Herald reports that "Illinois doesn't renew Catholic Charities' foster, adoption contracts."  Their text follows, with my emphases and comments:

CHICAGO The state of Illinois has declined to renew its foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities across Illinois, possibly ending a historic public and private partnership initiated by the Roman Catholic Church a half-century ago and potentially severing the relationship between 2,500 foster children and their caseworkers.

Lawyers for three of the Catholic Charities agencies will seek an injunction from a Sangamon County judge on Tuesday.

In a letter sent last week to Catholic Charities in the dioceses of Peoria, Joliet, Springfield and Belleville, the Department of Children and Family Services told all four agencies that the state could not accept its signed contracts for the 2012 fiscal year because "your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act."

"That law applies to foster care and adoption services," each letter stated. "Thus, there is no meeting of the minds as to the (Fiscal Year 2012) Foster Care and Adoption Contracts."

Last month, Catholic Charities in the dioceses of Springfield, Peoria and Joliet sued the Illinois attorney general and DCFS for threatening to enforce new policies that accommodate civil unions. The three agencies asked the court to declare that they are legally justified to preserve their current policy of exclusively granting licenses to married couples and single, non-cohabiting individuals and referring couples in civil unions to other child welfare agencies.

Since March, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Gov. Pat Quinn's legal team and DCFS have been researching the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Civil Union Act and the Illinois Constitution to determine whether they prohibit agencies from considering sexual orientation as a factor in foster care and adoption. In Illinois, all adults who adopt or become foster care providers must obtain foster care licenses.

During a meeting last month, lawyers for the attorney general's office and DCFS reportedly told Catholic Charities that couples in civil unions must be treated the same as married couples when it comes to providing foster care services, said Peter Breen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society representing Catholic Charities.

"We're not sure what the state is intending to do or how it's intending to do it," Breen said. "It's a surprise. But it's also very disturbing. The impact on the 2,500 children in Catholic Charities care will be catastrophic."

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office confirmed there was a June 20 meeting.

"We will respond to Catholic Charities' arguments in court. Our focus remains on doing what is best for the care and welfare of children in the foster care system in Illinois," said Robyn Ziegler, a Madigan spokeswoman.

Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for DCFS, said the state couldn't agree to do business with partners who have declared their intention to violate state law. Though Catholic Charities in Joliet, Springfield and Peoria had suspended issuing new licenses for foster care and adoptive parents until a ruling was made, they also had signed new contracts for another year of public funding. Those contracts were denied.

"We cannot enter into a contract for services with anyone who has publicly affirmatively stated that we will not follow the law in delivering those services," Marlowe said. "These agencies have chosen this course and we must now plan to transition these cases with the least disruption for the children we serve."

Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Rockford voluntarily ended its publicly funded foster care and adoption services last month. Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley, an Ottawa agency, expanded and took over all of Catholic Charities' cases, staff and real estate.

"We have a strong community of private sector, not-for-profit child welfare agencies who stand ready to take these cases," Marlowe said.

Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Chicago ended its foster care services in 2007 after losing its insurance coverage. Cases and caseworkers scattered to a number of different agencies.

Persecution Watch: Nigeria

From Catholic World News:

A bomb exploded outside a Protestant church in the central Nigerian city of Suleija on July 10, killing three. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram--which means “Western education is sin”--is suspected.


In the northeastern Nigerian city of Maidiguri, churches were closed on July 10 following a shootout between police and members of Boko Haram, which had reportedly threatened to target churches that day.

Two links are provided at the jump.

Persecution Watch: 4 Chinese Bishops kidnapped by government

Catholic World News provides the following summary of a story from Asia News reporting the kidnapping of four Chinese Bishops by the Chinese government.  The summary follows, with my emphases and comments:

Four Chinese Catholic bishops have been seized by police and are being held incommunicado, apparently so that they can be forced to participate in the ordination of a new bishop arranged by the Catholic Patriotic Association.


Bishops Liang Jiansen of Jiangmen, Liao Hongqing of Meizhou, and Joseph Gan Junqiu of Guangzhou—all of them recognized by the Vatican—are being held by authorities. Chinese Catholics loyal to the Holy See expect that the bishops will be brought by police to the scheduled ordination of a new bishop in Shantou on July 14.

Officials of the Patriotic Association have announced that they will proceed with episcopal ordinations, such as the one in Shantou, without Vatican approval. The Vatican has countered with a reminder that anyone who participates in an episcopal ordination without approval from the Holy See is subject to the penalty of excommunication. While noting that his penalty would not apply to those who participate under compulsion, the Vatican has urged Chinese Catholics to resist pressure, emphasizing the the illicit ordinations harm the unity of the Church.

In the Liaoning diocese, priests have surrounded Bishop Paul Pei Junmin to protect him from being seized by authorities. With police ringing the cathedral, the priests have announced that they will remain there to protect the bishop [Good for them!  Let us remember them in our prayers!].

The Vatican Insider also carries the story.

Breen: The executive branch is ingoring the legislative intent of the law

The Catholic News Agency has a story on the State of Illinois' stance against Catholic Charities, the text of which follows, with my emphases and comments:

Chicago, Ill., Jul 12, 2011 / 03:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic Charities of Illinois plans to challenge the Department of Children and Family Services' unexpected decision to end its foster care partnership with three local dioceses.

“We are going into court tomorrow [which means today] in an attempt to stop this, because we believe it's an illegal action for several reasons,” said Peter Breen, Executive Director and Legal Counsel at the Illinois-based Thomas More Society, in a July 11 interview with CNA.

“What the Quinn administration has done,” he said, “is a statement of wanting to end, unilaterally, an over 30-year partnership with Catholic Charities to provide foster care for the children of the state of Illinois. He said the move would “displace 2,500 children in foster care across the state, who are under the care of Catholic Charities.”

Catholic Charities' dispute with the state centers on Illinois' recently-implemented Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act [note the first half of the title of the Act, which the State seems to continuously ignore], which gave a measure of legal status to same-sex partnerships.

The three dioceses claim that their Catholic Charities offices remain free, under that law, to place foster children only with married couples and single individuals without live-in partners. In June 2011, Catholic Charities sued the state of Illinois, seeking to confirm their status as a foster care agency under the new law.

However, on July 8, Department of Children and Family Services Director Erwin McEwen wrote to inform Catholic Charities that their contracts could not be renewed, over an alleged refusal to comply with the civil unions law.

“The Department of Children and Family Services is unable to accept the offer and execute the contracts,” McEwen wrote, “because your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn confirmed the decision at a press conference on July 11. He said Catholic Charities had “made a choice” not to “voluntarily participate with the state,” and that the state was “not going back,” according to the Capitol Fax website [the position of Catholic Charities has not changed; it was the State that changed].

Breen criticized Quinn and the department for an action he described as “reckless” and an “end-run around the court.”

“The legislature made clear that it was protecting religious entities as it passed the civil unions law,” Breen stated.

“Now the executive branch is ignoring the legislative intent of the law, and pushing a partisan political agenda instead of enforcing the laws as they were written and intended by the General Assembly.”

He said the Department of Children and Family Services' decision violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, “which protects firmly held religious beliefs and religious practices of people and organizations.”

Breen also argued that the relationship between the state and a competent long-time contractor was subject to “different rules” than those which would govern a situation where no prior contract existed. And he noted that the state did not have the right to withdraw its contract over a “bad interpretation of state law.”

He drew an analogy between the Department of Children and Family Services, and an employer who terminates an employee on illegal grounds.

“In employment law,” he noted, “you can have an at-will employment relationship with someone. But if you terminate that person for a reason that's illegal, then you can't terminate them.”

Please keep this suit in your prayers.

Bishop calls for Confirmation before First Communion

The Catholic News Agency has a story reported that His Excellency the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Fargo, has called for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation before the reception of First Holy Communion.

As someone who was confirmed when he was baptized just after death [Update: Correction: make that "after birth."  Oops!] (I was not expected to live long and the Franciscan priest knew what he was doing), I couldn't agree with him more.

CNA's text follows, with my emphases and comments:

Mundelein, Ill., Jul 9, 2011 / 06:58 am (CNA).- Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo in a recent lecture examined the sacrament of confirmation and explained his reasons for believing children should receive it before First Eucharist.


“One can speak of the many effects of confirmation and the impact it makes upon one’s life, but it is always important to remember that the divine person of the Holy Spirit is received in confirmation,” he said in July 6 remarks at the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary. “We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit, every day, every hour, every minute and every second to live a life that gives glory to the Father as Jesus glorified the Father.”

The bishop explained that he had initially favored the view that confirmation was a “sacrament of maturity” that should be reserved to high school students only. However, his view changed after further studies, work with the sacraments of initiation and experience with young children who were confirmed when they entered the Church.

Placing confirmation after First Communion “only muddied the primacy of the Eucharist as the completion of initiation into the Church and the life-long nourishment of the relationship established with the Trinity and the Church in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation,” the Fargo bishop said.

In an August 2002 pastoral letter, Bishop Aquila instructed that after children receive the sacrament of reconciliation in second grade, they should receive confirmation and First Eucharist in the third grade during the same Mass.

The bishop’s July 6 remarks surveyed the history the sacrament. Originally, confirmation was part of a “continuous rite of initiation” leading up to the reception of the Holy Eucharist. This is still the practice in the Eastern Catholic Churches.

After the fifth century, Bishop Aquila said, it became difficult in the West for a bishop to travel to all parishes to baptize and confirm all at once and so the administration of the sacraments became separated.

The custom of receiving First Communion as a second grader and later receiving confirmation in middle or high school is “a recent practice of the Church” and the Second Vatican council had called for a revision of the rite of confirmation.

Turning to the present administration of the sacrament, Bishop Aquila questioned whether the common placement of confirmation in late adolescence treats it as “a reward, or worse, as something earned or deserved for attendance and work in a parish catechetical program.”

“Should the fear of not receiving a sacrament ever be used as a means to keep a young person involved in the life of the Church? Should the gift and strengthening of the Holy Spirit be denied young persons in their most formative years?” he asked.

Bishop Aquila also wondered whether the special attention and length of preparation given to confirmation makes many perceive it to be more important than baptism and the Eucharist [this is a very good question].

The view that confirmation is a way for young people to make a personal commitment to their faith “distorts” the sacrament [very much so; it is not the one receiving the sacrament who does the confirming, but the Bishop who does the confirming!  What is more, every time a Catholic recites the Creed, renews his baptismal promises or receives Holy Communion he renews his commitment to the faith!], he said.

“Confirmation is not marked by a choice to believe or not believe in the Catholic faith. Rather as disciples we are chosen by God to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit ["It was not you who chose me..."], to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit generously bestowed by God, and we are called to cooperate with that grace,” he explained.

Confirmation confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that is ordered to “the life of worship,” the bishop said while summarizing Catholic thought. It helps the person achieve a “more perfect integration” into the Body of Christ. This helps us understand how confirmation is ordered to the Eucharist.

In this light, it appears “odd” to have someone participate in the Eucharistic life of the Church if he or she has not received “the seal of the Holy Spirit which perfects the personal bond with the community.”

While some have said that maturity is necessary for the sacrament, the bishop said that children can be mature spiritually [often moreso than adults].

"If they are mature enough to receive the Eucharist, the crown of the sacraments, are they not mature enough to receive a sacrament that is ordered to it?” he asked.

“I have found the third graders to be most receptive to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their childlike trust and wonder is beautiful to behold. Many times their ability to see the truth and have complete trust in God is strikingly better than our own. It allows for a deeper receptivity of the graces of the sacrament.”

By contrast, too many young adults have regressed spiritually into a state of indifference or despondence towards God.

He suggested that restoring the order of the sacraments of initiation will aid the local community in forming effective catechesis which acknowledges growth in faith as a life-long process.

Why do we withhold the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit until many young people have already erroneously formed the consciences?  Give them the gifts of the Spirit when they are young so that as they grow and mature they can call freely upon the grace of the Spirit to guide them and form them with his seven-fold gifts.

Stop forwarding that crap to me!

Fortunately, I don't get very many e-mail forwards anymore, not since many years ago when I started replying to those silly things.

Someone sent me a mass e-mail falsely reporting on Dr Pepper's atheism. After less than 20 seconds of research I found evidence quite to the contrary and used the nice "reply to all" button to correct the false report. I - perhaps somewhat snarkily - invited the sender and the receivers to follow the link and not to forward such things without first verifying their accuracy.

After that little episode, I did the same with similar fowards and now I am happy to say I receive almost no such e-mails. I highly recommend the method.



At any rate, what prompted this brief little post is a post at The Deacon's Bench last week; Deacon Kandra recently posted a great song by Al Yankovic titled, "Stop forwarding that crap to me":

Brummer: Perhaps the day when we realize the dignity of the human person, God will give us the grace to discover a means to destroying cancer

Over at Lux Mundi, my friend Craig recently posted his thoughts on charitable donations, prompted the recent Relay for Life in Effingham.  His text follows, with my emphases:

Incited by a visit to my local Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, as well as a call today asking for a repeated pledge to the same society, for research and the like, I decided to look into their ethical standards. http://www.all.org/ , the website for the American Life League, proved to be my best resource. They offer a short description of different companies and associations, basing their rating on a number of human life-related ethical standards.


American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, and Lance Armstrong's Livestrong campaign, all failed according to the ALL. All of these, as well as an enormous number of others, use some sort of embryonic stem cell research directly, or support its funding. Unfortunately, the evil of cancer has often misguided many people to donate large sums of money, most especially to the American Cancer Society, in pursuit of finding a cure for cancer. While I must admit that I am highly ignorant in this area of scientific discovery, I do believe that the differences between research in adult stem cells, and embryonic stem cells, is enormous. Contrary to popular belief, the adult stem cells have proven to offer many more successful results.

All I want to convey, here, is that anyone considering donating money to a research organization, especially in such areas as cancer (where the research is extensive, expensive, and a long work in progress), one should first do a bit of research into the organization. Many of the big name research organizations trample over embryos, aborted fetuses, and fetuses in utero, in search of a cure for cancer. Perhaps consider another organization, or do your part to educate those soliciting the donations to see some of the evil that is being done to find a cure. Once again, the ends never justify the means. And a human person, as many a great ethicist has said, may never be used a means of something else, but rather must be respected as an end in and of himself.

That's my two cents, sparked by what seems to be innocent and good-willed work towards using science for the good of humanity. Hopefully, in the years to come, we can help educate people to understand that no cure, no matter how amazing or life-changing it may be, should ever take the life of a human person in order to be discovered. In the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we humans have been utterly redeemed, and our bodies and souls made holy before the eyes of God. Perhaps the day when we realize the dignity of the human person, God will give us the grace to discover a means to destroying cancer, and preventing it for the future. Until then, we must pray and hope that we, as the human family, do not overlook the weakest of our brothers and sisters.

A Prayer for Priests

Last week Deacon Greg Kandra posted the following Prayer for Priests composed by Father William Doyle:

O my God, pour out in abundance Thy spirit of sacrifice upon Thy priests. It is both their glory and their duty to become victims, to be burnt up for souls, to live without ordinary joys, to be often the objects of distrust, injustice, and persecution.


The words they say every day at the altar, “This is my Body, this is my Blood,” grant them to apply to themselves: “I am no longer myself, I am Jesus, Jesus crucified. I am, like the bread and wine, a substance no longer itself, but by consecration another.”

O my God, I burn with desire for the sanctification of Thy priests. I wish all the priestly hands which touch Thee were hands whose touch is gentle and pleasing to Thee, that all the mouths uttering such sublime words at the altar should never descend to speaking trivialities.

Let priests in all their person stay at the level of their lofty functions, let every man find them simple and great, like the Holy Eucharist, accessible to all yet above the rest of men. O my God, grant them to carry with them from the Mass of today, a thirst for the Mass of tomorrow, and grant them, ladened themselves with gifts, to share these abundantly with their fellow men. Amen.

States seeks to end foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities with minimal disruption

The State Journal-Register has lengthened its piece on Governer's stand against Catholic Charities.  The updated text follows, with my emphaes and comments:

The state of Illinois has notified Catholic Charities in Springfield and three other cities that it will not renew foster care and adoption contracts with those agencies.


Attorneys for three of the agencies will be in court in Springfield this afternoon seeking an immediate order to continue the contracts [they have filed for a declartory judgment].

The Department of Children and Family Services notified Catholic Charities in Springfield, Peoria, Joliet and Belleville on Friday that it will not offer contracts to provide foster care and adoption services for the new fiscal year.

“Your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,” DCFS said in the notice [this is not true; we are awaiting the declaratory judgment to see if DCFS can force Catholic Charities to place children with unmarried couples; Catholic Charities has not placed children with unmarried couples in the past and this has not been an issue.  The new act guarantees the protection of religious freedom and says, "Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body."  DCFS seeks to do just that]. “That law applies to foster care and adoption services. Thus, there is no meeting of the minds as to the FY12 Foster Care and Adoption Contracts.”

The Springfield, Peoria and Joliet agencies sued the state last month seeking a court order [a declaratory judgment] that they do not have to place foster children with unmarried couples, including those in civil unions. Steven Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Springfield Diocese, said at the time that such placements would require the charities to violate their religious principles.

Roach could not be reached for comment Monday.

Quinn: ‘Not going back’

During a bill-signing ceremony in Chicago Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn said the charities sparked the state action [I don't believe that is true; had the law not been signed, this would not be an issue.  Catholic Charities has not changed it policies].

“We have a law in Illinois. We’re not going back,” Quinn said. “

The charities said they are willing to continue their current practice of referring unmarried couples to other agencies, but the state said that isn’t enough.

“We cannot enter into a contract for services with anyone who has publicly, affirmatively stated that they will not follow the law when they deliver these services,” said DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe [the law itself says it shall construe with the free practice of religion; therefore Catholic Charities is following the law]. “We must now plan to transition these services with the least interruption possible” [or you could wait for the court to issue its declaratory judgment to see who is in violation of the law].

Marlowe said just under 2,000 children are receiving Catholic Charities services. The Springfield Diocese had 267 children in foster care in early June.

An attorney representing Catholic Charities said the state should have allowed the lawsuit to be heard before making its decision.

“If we are going to do this process, then, for heaven sake, don’t disrupt the children’s lives,” said Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society. “We’re not aware of a single entity that could take all of these kids. The difficulty is when you change caseworkers on a child in midstream, it greatly increases the chance the child will not have a positive long-term outcome.”

Minimal disruption

Marlowe said DCFS is confident it can place the children with other agencies with minimal disruption.

Earlier this year, Catholic Charities in Rockford bowed out of foster services rather than have to place children in the homes of same-sex or unmarried couples. All 300 children in the Rockford agency’s care were placed with Youth Services Bureau of Illinois Valley by the end of June. Also, DCFS placed 1,000 children who were with Catholic Charities of Chicago with other agencies after ending contracts with it.

“Illinois has a strong non-profit child-welfare community that stands to reach to take these cases if necessary,” Marlowe said.

Breen said it is clear the General Assembly did not intend to force religious institutions to recognize civil unions if it conflicted with their beliefs.

“We think we have a strong legal position and a reasonable interpretation of the law,” Breen said.

The Two Benedicts

Today the Holy Father Benedict XVI celebrates his nameday when the Church observes the Memorial of Saint Benedict, the founder of western monasticism.

Shortly after his election to the See of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI explained why he chose to be called "Benedict":

I wanted to be called Benedict XVI in order to create a spiritual bond with Benedict XV, who steered the Church through the period of turmoil caused by the First World War. He was a courageous and authentic prophet of peace and strove with brave courage first of all to avert the tragedy of the war and then to limit its harmful consequences. Treading in his footsteps, I would like to place my ministry at the service of reconciliation and harmony between persons and peoples, since I am profoundly convinced that the great good of peace is first and foremost a gift of God, a precious but unfortunately fragile gift to pray for, safeguard and build up, day after day, with the help of all.


The name "Benedict" also calls to mind the extraordinary figure of the great "Patriarch of Western Monasticism", St Benedict of Norcia, Co-Patron of Europe together with Sts Cyril and Methodius, and the women Saints, Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein. The gradual expansion of the Benedictine Order that he founded had an enormous influence on the spread of Christianity across the Continent. St Benedict is therefore deeply venerated, also in Germany and particularly in Bavaria, my birthplace; he is a fundamental reference point for European unity and a powerful reminder of the indispensable Christian roots of his culture and civilization.

We are familiar with the recommendation that this Father of Western Monasticism left to his monks in his Rule: "Prefer nothing to the love of Christ" (Rule 72: 11; cf. 4: 21). At the beginning of my service as Successor of Peter, I ask St Benedict to help us keep Christ firmly at the heart of our lives. May Christ always have pride of place in our thoughts and in all our activities!

During his pilgrimage to Monte Cassino in 2009, home of the abbey founded by Saint Benedict and his final resting place, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Abbot's lasting legacy in the Church and in the world (with my emphases):

Dear brothers and sisters, at this celebration we hear resonating St Benedict's appeal to keep our hearts fixed on Christ, to prefer nothing to him. This does not distract us, on the contrary it is an even greater incentive to build a society in which solidarity may be expressed by concrete signs. But how? Benedictine spirituality, well known to you, proposes an evangelical programme that is summed up in the motto: ora et labora et lege prayer, work and culture. First of all is prayer which is the most beautiful legacy that St Benedict bequeathed to the monks, but also to your particular Church: to your clergy, the majority of whom were trained at the Diocesan Seminary, for centuries housed in this same Abbey of Monte Cassino, to the seminarians, to the many people educated at the Benedictine schools and "recreation" centres and in your parishes, to all of you who live in this region. In lifting your gaze from every village and part of the diocese you can admire the Monastery of Monte Cassino, that constant reminder of Heaven, to which you climb every year in procession on the eve of Pentecost. Prayer, to which with its sonorous tolling the bell of St Benedict summons the monks every morning, is the silent path that leads us straight to God's Heart; it is the breath of the soul that restores peace to us in the storm of life. Furthermore, at the school of St Benedict, the monks have always cultivated a special love for the word of God in lectio divina, which today has become the common patrimony of many. I know that your diocesan Church, in adopting the guidelines of the Italian Bishops' Conference, takes great pains to acquire a deeper knowledge of the Bible and indeed has inaugurated a programme for the study of the Sacred Scriptures, this year dedicated to the Evangelist Mark, which will continue over the next four years and conclude, please God, with a diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land. May attentive listening to the divine word nourish your prayers and make you prophets of truth and love in a unanimous commitment to evangelization and human advancement.


Another pivot of Benedictine spirituality is work. Humanizing the working world is characteristic of the soul of monasticism and this is also an endeavour of your community that seeks to be beside the numerous workers in the large industry present at Cassino and in the businesses connected with it.

I know how critical the situation of many of the workers is. I express my solidarity to all those who are living in a worrying and precarious plight, to workers on redundancy pay or who have actually been discharged. May the wound of unemployment that afflicts this territory induce the public authorities, entrepreneurs and all who have means to seek, with the help of all, effective solutions to the employment crisis, creating employment in order to safeguard families. In this regard how can we forget that the family urgently needs better protection because this institution is dangerously threatened at its very roots? Then I am thinking of the young people who have difficulty in finding dignified work that will enable them to build a family. I would like to say to them: do not feel discouraged, dear friends, the Church does not abandon you! I know that at least 25 young people of your Diocese took part in the last World Youth Day in Sydney. In treasuring that extraordinary spiritual experience, may you be Gospel leaven among your friends and peers; with the power of the Holy Spirit, be new missionaries in this land of St Benedict!

Lastly, attention to the world of culture and education is part of your tradition. The famous Archives and Library of Monte Cassino contain innumerable testimonies of the commitment of men and women who meditated upon and sought ways to improve the spiritual and material life of human beings. In your Abbey the "quaerere Deum" is tangible, that is, it is possible to feel that European culture has consisted in the search for God and the readiness to listen to him and this also applies in our day. I know that you work with this same spirit in universities and schools so that they may become workshops of knowledge, research and enthusiasm for the future of the generations to come. I also know that in preparation for this Visit, you recently held a congress on the theme of education, to inspire in everyone a keen determination to pass on to the young the indispensable values of our human and Christian heritage. In today's cultural effort which aspires to creating a new humanism, faithful to the Benedictine tradition, you rightly intend also to pay attention to the frail or the weak, to the disabled and to immigrants. and I am grateful to you that you are giving me the opportunity to inaugurate on this very day the "House of Charity" at which a culture attentive to life is being built with deeds.

His Holiness has also devoted one of his Wednesday General Audience addresses to the life of Saint Benedict, which will be well worth you read on this his feastday.  In it, he urges us to "listen to the Rule of St Benedict as a guiding light on our journey. The great monk is still a true master at whose school we can learn to become proficient in true humanism."

Happy Name Day, Holy Father!

Governer takes stand against Catholic Charities

The State Journal-Register reports today that Governor Pat Quinn, himself a Catholic, will not sign contracts with Catholic Charities of the Dioceses of Springfield in Illinois, Joliet, Peoria and Belleville, with my emphases and comments:

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is defending the state's new civil unions law in a dispute over adoptions with Catholic Charities [while at the same time ignoring the state's new religious freedom protection law, which are, strangely, the same piece of legislation].

State officials say they won't renew foster care and adoption contracts with the group that has received state money for placing children [but has never been required to place them with non-married couples until now, seemingly against the new law regarding the protection of religious freedom].

Quinn has sent letters to the four remaining Catholic Charities agencies that place children letting them know Illinois won't accept contracts because they won't comply with the civil unions law [the law itself says, "Nothing in this Act shall interfere with or regulate the religious practice of any religious body."  Quinn and others are attempting to do just that in what seems to be a violation of the new law]. The agencies are in the dioceses of Peoria, Joliet, Springfield and Belleville.

Some Catholic groups say the new civil unions law, which gives gay couples many of the same rights as married couples, threatens their religious beliefs [which, clearly, it does].

Quinn says Catholic Charities has "made a choice" and Illinois has a law and isn't going back [quite wrong.  The practice of Catholic Charities has not changed.  It is the State that has "made a choice"].

Effectively, then, the Governor is ignoring the first part of the title of the Act that made civil unions in Illinois legal: Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act.  What happened to the protection of religious freedom?

Catholic Charities has asked to continue State contracts as they have been, by which Catholic Charities has only placed children for adoption and foster care with married couples.  By not allowing Catholic Charities to continue with its placement Catholic Charities is being forced out of adoption and foster care services.
 
For more background information, see Bishop Paprocki's column in which he explained the four Dioceses are seeking clarification on religious freedom protection.

Update: I was just informed that Catholic Charities does place children with single people, but not with cohabiting couples.

Blessed Marianne honored with kahili

Not too long ago a relic of Blessed Marianne Cope, who ministered with Saint Damien among the lepers on Moloka'i, enshrined in Honolulu in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and placed between two kahili.

Now two kahili have been placed at her final resting place in Syracuse, New York.  YNN has the story, brief as it is:

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sisters of St. Francis from all over the globe came to Syracuse to honor one of their own, Blessed Mother Marianne Cope.


The Catholic nun served in Utica and Rome more than a hundred years ago. She also aided in the effort to care for victims of leprosy in Hawaii. She was beatified in 2005.

Thursday, sisters from Hawaii joined local sisters to honor Cope with Kahilis, which are standards of royalty made with ten thousand feathers, each representing a prayer for the beholder.

Sisters say honoring Cope not only keeps her memory alive, but inspires others to follow in her footsteps.

"For us, all of us, the sisters as well as our friends here in Central New York, it is to know that we can also do something purposeful with our lives," Sister Patricia Burkard said.

Followers are still waiting on a decision by the Vatican to determine if Cope will become a saint.

Let us pray for her canonization:

Lord Jesus, You gave us Your commandment of love of God and of neighbor, and identified Yourself in a special way with the most needy of Your people; hear our prayer. Faithful to Your teaching, Mother Marianne Cope loved and served her neighbor, especially the most desolate outcast, giving herself generously and heroically for the victims of leprosy. She alleviated their physical and spiritual sufferings, thus helping them to accept their afflictions with resignation, as a pledge of God’s love and their eternal happiness. Through her merits and intercession, grant us the favor which we confidently ask of You (mention request) so that the People of God, following the inspiration of her life and apostolate, may practice fraternal charity, according to Your word and example. Amen.

United Nations increases funding to Planned Parenthood as governments withdraw funding

Even as several States have begun to withdraw taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood, the United Nations is stepping in to make up the loss, reports Life Site News, with my emphases and comments:

NEW YORK, July 7 (C-FAM)- UN agencies have stepped up funding of International Planned Parenthood Federation [IPPF] despite an economic downturn and increasing government reticence to fund the organization over abortion.


Although governments have reduced or eliminated funding of Planned Parenthood, UN agencies are still filling IPPF coffers with grants. In 2010, UNFPA increased its contribution to over $1.6 million. The newest UN agency, UN Women, debuted on IPPF’s list of donors with a contribution of over $330,000. UNAIDS gave IPPF more than $1 million. Rounding out contributions from UN agencies, the World Bank, UNAIDS and the WHO also gave over $400,000 collective, despite not contributing at all in 2009.

While UN agencies gave more, governments gave less. Government grants, which comprise 71% of IPPF’s total income were down in 2010. Blaming the global recession, IPPF reported that Japan, Sweden and Germany had reduced their grants.

Most of IPPF’s funding decrease was due to the Canadian government’s decision not to fund the organization in 2010, a decision totaling over $5 million. The Canadian federal government is still debating IPPF’s funding for 2011 and as of April, no decision on IPPF’s grant application had been made. Similarly, in the US a growing number of US state governments have decided to defund Planned Parenthood.

IPPF is reporting a $16 million dollar decrease in income in 2010 [this is certainly a good sign]. In its recently released 2010 financial report, the abortion industry giant reported the loss represented 11% of its total annual income as compared with the previous year.

For the most part, the reduction of income led to a reduction in IPPF program spending, but the organization did increase its funding for advocacy work in 2010. IPPF specifically touted its 2010 UN advocacy that pushed for “progressive language in key UN documents.”

[snip]
Despite the decreased income, IPPF’s most current figures still have the organization providing a record number of “abortion-related services” totaling over 1,411,000 and distributing a staggering 152 million condoms.

Paprocki to run for life in Kansas City

From Life Site News, with my comments:

KANSAS CITY, July 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When St. Paul exhorted Christians to run the race with endurance, he probably didn’t mean they should pull out actual running shoes, but Bishop Thomas Paprocki is taking St. Paul’s exhortation literally anyway.


Paprocki, an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago [no he isn't, and hasn't been for more than a year; he's the Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.  Someone needs to do better fact checking], is travelling to Kansas City this October for the Kansas City Marathon. He will be joining LIFE Runners, a team of pro-life runners dedicated to spreading the Gospel of Life and raising funds for pro-life charities.

To donate to the 2011 LIFE Runner marathon, click here.  [more]