Priest’s ‘Horrible’ Job of Telling Newtown Parents of Children’s Deaths

ABC News:

A Newtown, Conn., priest had the “horrible” job of informing families this morning that their children had been killed in the elementary school massacre.

There were 20 children among the 27 people brutally killed the day Adam Lanza, 20, invaded Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire on staff and students. Lanza was also found dead in the school.

Most of the children were between the ages of 5 and 10, President Obama said on Friday.

Medical examiners have completed the grim work of identifying all of the victims at the school and families were informed early this morning that their loved ones had been killed.

“We were gathered until after midnight and we were sent out with teams to go to the homes of the victims,” parish priest Monsignor Robert Weiss told “Good Morning America” today. “We went to their homes early this morning to confirm the death of their children and it was just horrible.”

“The uncertainty…even though they knew in their hearts that this was real,”  he said. “And the questions they were asking, the regrets they had. ‘Why did I send my child to school today?’”

Weiss said some of the parents shared the last moments they had with their children. One dad said that, for some reason, his child got up early Friday morning and came down to tell the father how much she loved him. Another parent said their child had asked what dying was like just the day before.

“Parents are really going through a tremendous amount of pain and hurt right now, trying to deal with not just their personal loss, but what happened to their child in the last moments of their life,” he said.

A number of the victims’ families are part of Weiss’ parish. He baptized some of the children and some of them went to his parish’s nursery school.

“It’s hard to believe that these little children are gone,” he said.

Weiss met with the families from his parish who lost children and said the hurt and the anguish are “just settling in now” and then “there’s going to be anger.”

“And then they’re going to have to live with this reality that this big part of their life is gone for them,” he said.

Weiss said he has “no answer” when families ask him why their children have been taken from them…

 

Priest Blesses New 787

In the Huffington Post:

Boeing delivered LOT Polish Airlines’ first 787 Wednesday with a blessing from a Catholic priest from a largely Polish congregation in Seattle.

Stanislaw Michalek who came to Washington from the Archdiocese of Poznan in Poland blessed the plane with holy water during the ceremony at Everett’s Paine Field.

Poland’s LOT was Europe’s first airline to purchase the new model with an order for eight. It plans to fly its first Boeing 787 on short-haul flights in December in Europe. Early next year it will fly routes between Poland and New York, Chicago and Toronto.

It was the 35th 787 Boeing has delivered overall, and 803 more are on order.

Boeing says the 787 is the first mid-size plane capable of flying long-range routes, allowing airlines to open new, non-stop flights.

A godless generation simply no longer recognises the value and importance of such actions (blessings).

 

Fit for Ministry: Addressing the Crisis in Clergy Health

The Christian Century:

Being a pastor is bad for your health. Pastors have little time for exercise. They often eat meals in the car or at potluck dinners not known for their fresh green salads. The demands on their time are unpredictable and never ending, and their days involve an enormous amount of emotional investment and energy. Family time is intruded upon. When a pastor announces a vacation, the congregation frowns. Pastors tend to move too frequently to maintain relationships with doctors who might hold them accountable for their health. The profession discourages them from making close friends. All of this translates, studies show, into clergy having higher than normal rates of obesity, arthritis, depression, heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes and stress.

But research also says that pastors’ lives are rich in spiritual vitality and meaning. Pastors say that they have a profound calling and are willing to sacrifice to fulfill it.

Is there a way for pastors to be both physically and spiritually healthy? What would enable clergy to become physically healthier? What effect does physical health have on spiritual well-being, if any? The Clergy Health Initiative is trying to find out the answers to these questions. Funded by the Duke Endowment, the CHI is the largest and most comprehensive effort ever made to study clergy health and to improve it.

Read on here.

HT

 

Now I Sell Jesus Christ…

Canadian priest’s unorthodox evangelization drawing people to the pews.

Over at The Deacon’s Bench:

Details, from the Catholic Register:

A financial analyst turned priest, Fr. Mario Salvadori is marketing an unorthodox and unapologetic formula of evangelization — and youth are flocking to it.

Salvadori, the only priest at Thornhill’s St. Joseph the Worker parish, jokes that he has “more degrees than a thermometer.” He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science, a master’s degree in theology and a master’s in business administration. Before he was a priest, Salvadori was a businessman. In many ways, he still is.

“I used to be able to sell a glass of water to a drowning man,” he said. “Now I sell Jesus Christ.”

His congregation in this Toronto suburb seems to be buying it.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” said Vlad Mamaradlo, the lay minister Salvadori hired to work with youth. Mamaradlo said every Mass is standing room only. “Even the foyer is full.”

And in the five years since Salvadori joined the parish, he’s paid off a $1.3-million renovation and $600,000 more off the mortgage.

Salvadori’s success stems from his approach to Mass. For him, evangelization is no different than marketing. “It’s just a different word,” he said. He and Mamaradlo look at Catholicism as a product they are selling. Something that, they say, the Church has failed to sell.

“In society, people are given options,” Mamaradlo said, “so let’s give them options.”

What Salvadori has given them is a refreshing twist on the traditional Mass. When he ordered the church renovation back in 2009, he made sure it would accommodate his style for delivering just that.

“We’re competing against 60-inch TVs, iPods and every other stimulation that’s out there,” Mamaradlo said.

So, Salvadori brought the technology to Mass. Every homily, his laptop is plugged into the pulpit, at the ready to bring up a clip on the two huge screens on either side of him.

He invites guest speakers and tackles current and controversial topics that many priests tend to shy away from — topics that weigh heavily on everyday life. One homily he delivered in May included a clip of U.S. President Barack Obama speaking about gay marriage. That homily has collected more than 300 views on YouTube as have some of his other videos posted on the site.

There are other options too, opportunities to connect with the congregation outside the now lessthan-traditional construct of Mass. There are trips downtown to feed the homeless, youth groups, parish events, even retreats in the United States that young people can sign up for.

Read more.

 

When was Jesus Ordained a Priest?

Via The New Theological Movement:

No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest.

While St. Paul, in his Letter to the Hebrews, generally distinguishes our Savior from Aaron (showing that the priesthood of Christ is greater than that of Aaron), in this place the Apostle emphasizes this point of similarity between the Levitical priesthood and the eternal priesthood of Jesus.

Namely, St. Paul tells us that, just as Aaron was called and ordained a priest, so too was our Lord. For no man can be a high priest of himself, but only when he is so called by God.

When, we ask, was Jesus called and ordained to the priesthood? When did he become a priest?

The answer here.

 

Three Priests Kidnapped in Eastern Congo

Kinshasa, Congo (AP) — Congolese civic leaders say that three Roman Catholic priests were kidnapped in eastern Congo.

The three priests were taken captive from their monastery by about 10 gunmen on Saturday night.

Omar Kavota, the Vice President of the North Kivu civil society, said the abductions took place in Beni, north of Goma, in North Kivu province.

The three, indentified as Wasukudi Anselm, 41, Jean Ndulani, 52, and Edmond Kisughu, 53, were tied up and taken away by the armed men, who witnesses say spoke Swahili.

More than a year ago, in the same area, Dr. Paluku Mukongoma, medical director of the General Hospital Oicha, was kidnapped and nothing has been heard of him or of his abductors.

Source

 

Riot Police Break Up Mass and Stomp on Eucharist

Knock the Priest down and stomp on the Eucharist:

Cheju diocese has demanded an official apology after about 20 riot police disrupted a Mass yesterday on Jeju island. The police were clearing a path for a cement truck to enter the construction site of a controversial new naval base.

Father Bartholomew Mun Jung-hyun, who was presiding over the Mass at the gates of the site, was knocked to the ground while administering communion. It is claimed that a policeman also trod on the Eucharist.

Father John Ko Buyeong-soo, president of Cheju diocese’s Committee for Justice and Peace, visited the site shortly after the disturbance.

He told ucanews.com that he would demand an explanation and an apology from police.

“To step on or damage the Eucharist is an insult to Catholics,” he said.

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency yesterday issued a press statement in which it denied any wrongdoing.

“There was no violent force throwing Fr Mun to the ground or stepping on the Eucharist,” the statement said.

Woo Jeong-sik, chief inspector of Jeju police, later said it remained unclear whether Fr Mun was knocked down and added: “the policeman who allegedly stepped on the Eucharist said he did not do so.”

More here.

HT:  The Deacon’s Bench

 

Why Does the New Testament Use the Word Presbyter or Elder for Priests?

Dr Taylor Marshall:

Protestants often note that the NT usually refers to clergy as “presbyteroi” which means “elders,” and not as priests. Why does the New Testament use the word Presbyter or Elder for Priests?

One confusion centers on the word “priest.” The English word “priest” comes directly from the Greek word “presbyteros.” This is examined in detail in my book The Catholic Perspective on Paul.

Presbyteros > Presbyter > Prester > Priest

Here is an example of how presbyter is used in the New Testament:

“The elders therefore that are among you, I beseech who am myself also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come.” (1 Peter 5:1)

Here’s another:

“Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests (presbyterous) of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:14, D-R)

The Greek word for sacrificial, Old Testament priest is “hiereus.”

One key verse is in the third chapter of Hebrews, where Saint Paul writes:

“WHEREFORE, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly vocation consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1, D-R)

Here the apostleship is paired with high priesthood. Christ is THE Apostle and High Priest. His New Testament ministers participate in this office. Hence, an apostle is a high priest. Apostolic succession transmits this apostolic priesthood.

The use of presbyteros instead of hiereus in the NT is for two reasons:

1) The word hiereus (priest) is related to hieron (temple). Now the temple in Jerusalem was still standing. Hence, in Hebrews and other epistles, hiereus is avoided since the temple stands.

This, by the way, relates to a previous blog post about the different spellings of Jerusalem based on it being an earthly “temple city” or heavenly.

2) The NT priesthood is a return to the ancient primogeniture priesthood prior to Moses. This “priesthood of the firstborn” (father to son; Noah to Shem; Abraham to Isaac) is a reflection of the relationship between God the Father to God the Son. The Levitical priesthood was a temporary TRIBAL solution to gold-calf worship. Originally, God planned for a “first born priesthood.” Saint Thomas speaks of the “first born priesthood” as pertaining to natural law prior to Moses.

This is why priests are always called “Father” since they represent the Father.

The argument of Hebrews is that Christ, as the “Firstborn Son of God,” not only supercedes but precedes the Mosaic Levitical arrangement.

Priests are called “presbyteros” for this very reason. They are representative “fathers” or “old men” within the assembly. The NT priesthood is a primogeniture priesthood in Christ – extended not by Levitical natural generation but by supernatural generation in the Spirit.

This is why priests are celibate (the Father-Son dynamic is a non-nuptial generation), why priests should wear the tonsure (bald old fathers), why they are called presbyteros (old men), and why they are called “father” (old men). Presbyteros is the title Saint Peter prefers. See the Si dilgis Mass epistle.

The identity as “father figure” or “older man” or “patriarch” is more noble and excels the Levitical temple title “hiereus” or “priest.”

For all these reasons, Saint Paul is hesitant to use “hiereus” for the NT ministry. However, he does do so in Greek in Rom 15:16 (regretfully the Douay gets this verse wrong in English).

Short answer: presbyteros hearkens back to the primogeniture priesthood of natural law (which is purer than Old Law). Christ’s priesthood is the eternal primogeniture priesthood.

ad Jesum per Mariam,

Taylor

PS: If you are interested in this subject, please visit Paul is Catholic.com

 

Priest Deported from Zambia over Homily

Cath News:

Zambian authorities have deported a Rwandese Catholic priest after he was detained for two days and questioned for preaching about poverty and justice for the poor during a Mass, according to a Catholic News Service report on NCR Online.

Edgar Lungu, minister of home affairs, confirmed that Father Viateur Banyangandora, pastor of the parish in Lundazi, Zambia, was sent to his homeland on August 1. He declined to say why the priest, 40, was deported.

“Father Banyangandora’s conduct was found to be a danger to peace and good order in Zambia,” Lungu said.

Zambian church officials had no immediate comment on the deportation.

Father Banyangandora was picked up at his residence by police on July 30, and taken to Lusaka, the Zambian capital, for questioning, said Father Evan Sakala, the parish’s parochial vicar.

Father Sakala explained that police pointed to comments that Father Banyangandora made in which he castigated the government over its handling of an impasse between cotton growers and cotton ginners.

He said the authorities apparently considered the comments capable of inciting people to rise against the government.

The following statement has been released by the Church regarding the deportation:

A Statement to Catholics on the deportation, by the Zambian Government, of Fr. Viateur Banyangandora to Rwanda

To be read in all Catholic Parishes of Chipata Diocese

DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED (John 14:1)

On 12 August 2012

1. To Priests, Religious Sisters, Brothers and the laity of Chipata Diocese. To all Catholics and men and women of goodwill in Zambia!

2. Let me from the outset express my deep appreciation to all of you who have sent messages of solidarity to me and to the Diocese of Chipata on the unfortunate deportation from Zambia of our beloved Parish Priest of Lundazi Catholic Church, Fr. Viateur Banyangandora by the Zambian Government. I am particularly grateful to messages of solidarity from my Brother Bishops in the various Catholic Dioceses of Zambia.

3. I first learnt of the abduction of Fr. Viateur on Monday, the 30th July around 17:00hrs when he, himself phoned me. He asked for permission to meet me in Chipata before proceeding to Lusaka where he was being taken. I met him at Chipata Police Station where I had a brief chat with him. He told me that the security officers who took him did not clearly explain to him the reasons for his arrest except that it was in connection with Sunday Homily in which he spoke about cotton prices. He assured me that he never attacked government in any way. His message was about the have sharing with the have nots as the readings of the day were saying. On the day before his abduction, Fr. Viateur spoke passionately about the plight and poverty of his parishioners and the people of Lundazi. He was exercising his prophetic ministry as any Catholic priest would and should (2Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15). He shared this with me in the presence of police officers.

4. I asked him as to whether he had eaten something before leaving Lundazi to which he said no. We then prepared something for him to eat. After his meal, he was on that very night driven to Lusaka. I informed Bishop Benjamin Phiri who was by then in Lusaka and Monsignor Joseph at the Nuntiature about this issue and asked them to pursue the matter and establish two things: (1) Why he was picked and (2) his destination because the Commissioner and her deputy here in Chipata expressed ignorance about the whole thing. They said that they were simply obeying orders from Lusaka.

5. In Lundazi, I am reliably informed that Fr. Viateur was interrogated on Monday 30th July, 2012 by various officials, including the District Commissioner (a politician!). Fr. Viateur was later that day brought to Chipata where he was further interrogated by a combined team of Immigration, Police and Office of the President (OP) agents. During his interrogation and traumatising ordeal, he was not availed a lawyer and not a single diocesan official was present nor notified of Fr. Viateur’s arrest. Without being charged, Fr. Viatuer was later that very evening, driven to Lusaka in the night. From then on there is a black-out of information. Where was Fr. Viateur taken? Was he beaten, tortured? Was he being fed? What did they do about his Diabetic medicine? His BP medicine? What really did the State do to Fr. Viateur? We will need answers. What crime did Fr. Viateur really commit? Has preaching the Gospel in a so-called Christian Nation become a crime?

6. When Fr. Viateur was being held by the security wings, my colleagues and I at the Diocesan administration of Chipata Diocese made several and frantic attempts to secure the release of Fr. Viateur. We spoke to politicians, heads of the various security wings both in Chipata and in Lusaka. In most cases the people we spoke to were tight-lipped and did not want to give us any information. Most of them, their overzealousness notwithstanding, were clearly afraid for their jobs. All in all, we did not get a satisfactory answer from anyone we spoke to on the Tuesday of 31 July 2012. I personally even phoned and spoke to the Republican President on the issue. He only promised that he would get back to me..

7. In a desperate move, and working with our staff at the Catholic Secretariat in Lusaka, we engaged a lawyer, Mr. S. Mambwe and associates to comb all Lusaka Police cells and find Fr. Viateur. All was in vain. We have been kept in the dark about the safety and the whereabouts of Fr. Viateur for four days until the announcement after the deportation by the Zambian Government on the evening of Thursday 2nd August 2012 by the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Edgar Lungu who finally confirmed, through the media, of his deportation from Zambia to Rwanda. The reasons given were that our beloved priest was deported for violating the laws of Zambia and that his conduct was found to be a danger to peace and good order in Zambia contrary to Section 39(2) of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No. 18 of 2010. Even after this confirmation, there was no courtesy on the part of government to inform me about the plight of our priest. I too, heard it through the media.

8. To the parishioners and people of Lundazi. You have been unjustly deprived of your pastor. As your Shepherd, I grieve with you at this great injustice that has been done to one of our own by our Government. We all know and have lived with Fr. Viateur. He is a good priest and a man of peace and integrity. No amount of explanation will ever convince us that he would behave in a manner that would cause a breach of peace of this country. Despite this injustice done to him, I still appeal to you all to remain calm and peaceful.

9. Fr. Viateur was ordained in 2004 and thus he became our priest. He became a priest of Chipata Diocese. He chose to remain in Chipata as one of the diocesan priests till his death.
10. I, like the rest of the members of the Catholic Church, are still in a state of shock that such a thing can happen to him and government does not care to explain as to why he was abducted, where he was taken. We urge the government to seriously consider revoking the deportation order for the sake of unity.

11. I further wish to remind the Patriotic Government (PF) that; You were voted into government on a popular platform of correcting the injustices of the past and entrenching good governance and a democratic culture where the rule of law would reign supreme. The manner in which Fr. Viateur was abducted and deported has not only perplexed us but has shocked us to the bone. We never thought we would see the day in this current government when the freedom of expression, let alone at the pulpit, would be criminalized in Zambia. We earnestly urge the government to address the real issues that are today affecting the poor people.

12. Notwithstanding the fact that Fr. Viateur holds a Rwandan passport, his human and constitutional rights have been grossly violated by the state. The way he has been treated flies in the face of natural justice. He was not given opportunity to be heard; he was not allowed legal representation of his choice and he was detained in secret location.

13. To the priests of the diocese, religious men and women, parishioners of Lundazi and Catholics in general, I appeal for calm. It may take one week, one month or many years but we will not rest until justice and truth are served in this matter. We believe that justice and truth will be served one day! Fr. Viateur will one day return to us.

14. A special appeal to our Catholic priests: Do not be intimidated by anyone. You were ordained to preach the Gospel and this must be done even in the face of persecution. In doing so, you will be carrying out the prophetic role of being the conscience of society. As Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both Soul and body in Gehena” Matt. 10:28. No one shall be allowed to silence our priests.

15.In conclusion, I commend you all to pray for Fr. Viateur Banyangandora, his family and also the Rwandan refugee community resident in Zambia. In the January 2012 Pastoral letter, we the Catholic Bishops highlighted the plight facing the Rwandan refugee community in Zambia. Could the deportation of Fr. Viateur signal the start of worse things to come for this community and for our priests? Only God knows.

United in prayer, for the unity of our Diocese and beloved country, Zambia.

“That they have life and life in abundance” (John 10:10)

Rt. Rev. George Cosmas Zumaile Lungu

Bishop of Chipata Diocese

c.c. Most Rev. Ignatius Chama, Archbishop of Kasama Archdiocese and ZEC President.

c.c. Most Rev. Telespore G. Mpundu, Archbishop of Lusaka

c.c. Most Rev. Julio Murat, Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi

c.c. Rt. Rev. Benjamin Phiri, Auxiliary Bishop of Chipata Diocese.

c.c. Rt. Rev. Bishop of Ruengeni Diocese, Rwanda.

 

Pray for Priests…

Thanks to Fr Christopher Phillips for this prayer posted today:

…and not just generally, but pray specifically for particular priests by name. Here’s a brief prayer to help you:

O Lord Jesus Christ, great High Priest and gracious Shepherd; bless thy servant N., whom thou hast consecrated to minister unto thee in holy things; and grant him such purity of heart and life, and such zeal for souls, that he may bring many into union with thee, and fulfill his ministry in holiness to thy glory, our Lord and Saviour; who livest and reignest in the unity of the Father and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.