Encountering Those Of Different Faith Traditions

John Armstrong has an excellent post on ecumenism within a missional context if you haven't seen it do so. It is well worth the read. Here are some highlights of his post:

A regular reader of this blog, who is Roman Catholic in his faith and practice, told me that he was recently at an A.A. men's retreat conducted the Jesuit-run retreat center. This retreat was specifically geared toward men involved in A.A. but it incorporated the Spiritual exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. Because of this Catholic connection the retreat included Catholic prayers such as the angelus, the rosary, the daily and Sunday mass, morning prayers, as well as evening eucharistic adoration and benediction. In such settings no one is forced to participate in these spiritual practices that are specifically Catholic but all are invited to participate to whatever degree they choose to do so. What follows is an account writer (end edited by me) of the letter my Catholic friend sent to me a few days ago.

“There was a man at the retreat from out-of-state who had traveled some distance to be there. He is a Baptist and, according to my Catholic friend, has a very close relationship with Christ. He accepted the invitation to be the prayer leader for morning, angelus, and before-meals prayers. He also participated in the mass and received holy communion with the rest of us. I personally told him that I was very impressed at his willingness to share in these aspects of Catholic spirituality and practice. He shared with me that even though he doesn't agree with some of the teachings of the Catholic Church he sees much value in the practices and disciplines...“My own spirit was lifted up by this brother who had so much respect, not only for his other Christian brothers in A.A., but also for our own Catholic tradition. I'm sure some Christians on both sides of the Tiber would be scandalized by this story but I saw it as a genuine work of the Holy Spirit, and totally consistent with the spirituality of St Ignatius.”

What do I make of my friends letter? What do you make of it? I think it perfectly reflects the very missional-ecumenism that I teach and practice through the witness of ACT 3. I do not believe that we have settled our very real differences in some important areas of theology and practice. At the same time I do not believe that we are living in a sixteenth century context any longer. Some act as though we are still fighting the exact same battles in the exact same way. When they believe this way they will always continue to stoke the fires of controversy saying Catholics are not Christians or their church is heretical. Others live as if we are in a pre-Vatican II time warp. This is true of many conservative Protestants and some very conservative Catholics as well. When I began to really study Vatican II (for myself) I realized how totally wrong the ideas were that some has taught me about this Council. Rome does change, in spite of the oft mentioned idea that she does not. Any careful reading of Vatican II, especially the parts on the kingdom of God, ecumenism and mission will prove this point. Because Rome does not “revise” history but functions as a “living” tradition many Protestants act as of nothing has really changed but this is a failure to understand how Rome changes...I was once an anti-Catholic, or at least I was publicly known as such. (In my book I explain this chapter of my life clearly and openly so I will save that story.) The most important thing that changed all this for me was not reading theology, though I have read thousands of pages of Catholic and evangelical theology. The most important single change came about by meeting living, breathing, loving Christ-centered people like the Baptist and the Catholic in the story that my friend shared with me. How has this unfolding story of missional-ecumenism worked in your life? I would love to hear your story and add it to the bigger story we are all a part of by God’s sovereign grace.

I whole-heartedly agree that Christocentric living is the best way to move beyond our prejudices of other traditions within Christianity as well as other faith traditions. Truly at the end of the day differences do not matter in the long run as long as Christ is at the center though there are some differences that still need to be addressed. Love is more important than doctrinal agreement as it is the sum and substance of the Law:

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
---Matthew 22:35-39 (RSV).

Bierlein on Christians and Mythology

Here's an interesting post from The Sci Fi Catholic: Bierlein on Christians and Mythology:

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Bierlein on Christians and Mythology

I recently finished J. F. Bierlein's Parallel Myths and found it a fine little introduction to comparative mythology. Of most interest to readers of The Sci Fi Catholic will probably be Bierlein's essay in the final chapter on the relationship between myth and the three major monotheistic religions. Bierlein relates the following:

Some years ago, I attended a Christian conference and had occasion to speak to two women with dramatically different reactions to their experience in the study of myth.

The first woman had nothing whatsoever good to say about myth or mythology. The subject matter, she pointed out, exalted false gods. For her, the study of myth was merely a "tool of the devil" in the hands of "secular humanists" in a wholesale effort to devalue Christianity and excise its influence from society. The study of myth caused her to doubt her own faith. She did not want her children to study mythology in the public schools. She had even gone so far as to throw out her books on the subject in order to make certain that her home, her children's minds, and her own mind would never be contaminated by them.

The second woman drew the opposite conclusion from her studies. Lest you think that she was a "liberal" Christian, a New Age adherent, or anything but orthodox in her beliefs, think again. She was from Alabama, the heart of the American Bible Belt, and described herself as "born again" and "spirit-filled" She could not even remotely be construed as a "secular humanist." She had just completed the third of three classes in comparative religion at her local university and was enthusiastic about the effects on her religious life. The parallels between the myths of distant cultures and the stories of the Bible intrigued her and led her to see her faith as the satisfaction of universal human needs. She was fascinated, not threatened, by parallel virgin births and resurrections. For her, these motifs persisted in myth--and were expressed in Christianity--because they are true. [pp. 308-309]

Posted by D. G. D. Davidson at 5:48 PM
Labels: books, J. F. Bierlein, Parallel Myths, quotes of note

Oscar Romero's Assasination

In case you missed it---March 24th was the anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero's assassination, so here are some items related to that:

See: San Romero de las Américas.

Here's an excerpt from Travel Blog's post--- Mons Oscar Romero-Central America Caribbean » El Salvador » San Salvador
October 23rd 2008 by Sabbatical :

Seeing the chapel where Mons Romero was shot while celebrating Mass was inspirational. At 6.30 pm on 24th March, 1980, as he prepared the gifts for the Offertory, Archbishop Romero looked to the back of the chapel only to see his assassin pointing his gun at him. His last words were 'This is my gift'. It is little wonder that he became a target in the Central American setting of that time, seeing he was so insistent on justice. At Sunday Mass, for example, he used to name people from across Central America who had 'disappeared'. The government of that time did not want to be shown up!

The chapel at the Carmelite Hospial for Cancer patients
Mons Romero was standing behind the altar when he was shot from the back of the chapel with the gunman taking aim from within a car.

Mons Romero
The house where Mons Romero lived is located adjacent to the Chapel. The blood stains can be seen on these clothes and robes the Archibishop was wearing when he was shot.

The Tomb of Mons Romero
Mons Romero's tomb is located in the crypt of the San Salvador Cathedral. For a while it was located at a side altar in the Cathedral.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez - En su memoria

Pope Says Condoms Won't Solve AIDS

Pope Says Condoms Won't Solve AIDS
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, AP
posted: 7 DAYS 5 HOURS AGOcomments: 442filed under: Pope Benedict News, World NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (March 17) - Pope Benedict XVI said condoms are not the answer to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and can make the problem worse, setting off criticism Tuesday as he began a weeklong trip to the continent where some 22 million people are living with HIV.
Benedict's first statement on an issue that has divided even Catholic clergy working with AIDS patients came hours before he arrived in Cameroon's capital — greeted by thousands of flag-waving faithful who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in red dirt fields and jammed downtown streets for a glimpse of the pontiff's motorcade. In his four years as pope, Benedict had never directly addressed condom use, although his position is not new. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, often said that sexual abstinence — not condoms — was the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.
Benedict also said the Roman Catholic Church was at the forefront of the battle against AIDS.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane heading to Yaounde. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
The pope said a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease, as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters traveling on the plane. His response was presumably also prepared in advance.
The Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms as part of its overall teaching against artificial contraception. Senior Vatican officials have advocated fidelity in marriage and abstinence from premarital sex as key weapons in the fight against AIDS.
The late Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo made headlines in 2003 for saying that condoms may help spread AIDS through a false sense of security, claiming they weren't effective in blocking transmission of the virus. The cardinal, who died last year, headed the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.
Three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide in 2007 were in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 22 million people are infected with HIV — accounting for two-thirds of the world's infections, according to UNAIDS.
Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa said if the pope is serious about preventing HIV infections, he should focus on promoting wide access to condoms and spreading information on how to use them.
"Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans," said Hodes, head of policy, communication and research for the group.
Hodes said the pope was right that condoms are not the sole solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic, but added they are one of the very few proven measures to prevent HIV infections.
Even some priests and nuns working with those infected with the AIDS virus question the church's opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa. Ordinary Africans do as well.
"Talking about the nonuse of condoms is out of place. We need condoms to protect ourselves against diseases and AIDS," teacher Narcisse Takou said in Yaounde.
Stanley Obale Okpu, a civil servant working in the ministry of urban development in Cameroon, said: "What the pope says is an ideal for the Catholic church. But he needs to look at the realities on the ground. One should be aware of these realities. In the case of Cameroon — and Africa as a whole — condoms are very necessary ... You need condoms to prevent AIDS and birth control."
A crowd of photographers and cameras flashed as the 81-year-old pontiff stepped off the plane into the steaming 88-degree heat, with humidity levels measuring a wilting 90 percent.
It was the first stop on a weeklong pilgrimage that will also take Benedict to Angola as he seeks to draw international attention to Africa's problems of famine, poverty and armed conflict.
The pope was greeted by Cameroon's President Paul Biya, who has ruled since 1982 and whose government has been accused by Amnesty International of abuses in crushing political opponents.
The pope made no specific reference to the situation in Cameroon, but he did say in general remarks on Africa that "a Christian can never remain silent" in the face of violence, poverty, hunger, corruption or abuse of power.
"The saving message of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed loud and clear so that the light of Christ can shine into the darkness of people's lives," Benedict said as the president and other political leaders looked on.
Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Catholic church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches.
The pope said Tuesday he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn. He said while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.
He described the current crisis as the result of "a deficit of ethics in economic structures."
"It is here that the church can make a contribution," he said.
On the plane, Benedict also dismissed the notion that he was facing increasing opposition and isolation within the church, particularly after an outreach to ultraconservatives that led to his lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop.
"The myth of my solitude makes me laugh," the pope said, adding that he has a network of friends and aides whom he sees every day.

Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Emmanuel Tumanjong in Yaounde contributed to this report. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-03-17 13:52:10

Roman Catholic Good Samaritan

Priest Gives Away Thousands to Poor
By CHRISTINA HOAG, AP
posted: 1 DAY 23 HOURS AGOcomments: 95filed under: National News, Charitable NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA

LOS ANGELES (March 17) - Father Maurice Chase celebrated his 90th birthday on St. Patrick's Day by giving away green — and plenty of it.
The Catholic priest took $15,000 in cash to Skid Row and doled it out to hundreds of the city's most down-and-out residents outside the Fred Jordan Missions. Twenty wheelchair-bound people received crisp $100 bills, while the rest received $1 to $3 each. "This is the Lord's work," Chase said as he shuffled along the motley assemblage watched over by police officers. "I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them, that someone is concerned about them."
Chase is an institution in Skid Row, where he has given away cash, plastic rosaries and blessings every Sunday on the same corner for 24 years. A throng of several hundred people waits for him every week, lined up in the order that he sees as putting the most vulnerable first: handicapped, women and children, couples and single men.
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he's spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on urine-stained sidewalks.
"It's the place that makes me the happiest. I just love it," said Chase, who wore a Notre Dame baseball cap and a patched, fraying cardigan over his clergy shirt. "I look forward to coming here."
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his long tenure as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University. They include philanthropist Eli Broad; Dolores Hope, Bob Hope's widow; Barbara Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's widow; and Bob and Ginnie Newhart, he said. The California native retired from Loyola about a decade ago. The crowd broke into choruses of "Happy Birthday" several times. A few regulars presented him birthday cards, to his delight.

Travis Kemp, a 51-year-old double amputee with long wavy black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $100. He said he had no special plans for spending the cash. "He has a lot of respect from me," Kemp said. "I know I couldn't do it."
Others noted that outsiders usually come to donate food on Skid Row. "They never give money," said Lawrence Landry, who's lived on Skid Row for the past year after losing his job. "This is unusual."
Annette Matthys, who's trying to wean herself from a crack cocaine habit, said she queues up every week and usually receives a dollar or two from Chase. She uses the money to buy cigarettes or do her laundry.
"He's got a heart," said the 56-year-old woman who sleeps on the sidewalk when she can't find a shelter bed. "I never saw anyone like him. Some people are generous, but this guy ... I can't even describe it."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-03-17 19:45:05

Praise Pours In for Good Samaritans
AOL
posted: 2 DAYS 22 HOURS AGOcomments: 186filed under: National NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA

(March 21) - When times are tough, heroes emerge to save the day.
Father Maurice Chase is one of them. He celebrated his 90th birthday on St. Patrick's Day by doling out $15,000 in cash to hundreds of down-and-out residents in Los Angeles.
"I never saw anyone like him," said a woman who sleeps on the sidewalk. "Some people are generous, but this guy ... I can't even describe it."
Tracy Orr knows how she feels. The Dallas woman sat crying at a foreclosure auction in October until a stranger changed her life with one swift move. Marilyn Mock, moved by Orr's tears, bought her home for $30,000 and then handed the keys back to Orr. "People need to help each other and that's all there is to it," Mock said.
She was matched by billionaire Tim Blixseth, who wired a woman $20,000 when he heard her mobile home was destroyed during a move. "I've never seen anything like this," said Diane Bowling, who took Blixseth's original call to the mobile home office.
Even amidst the economic downturn, Americans are showing their generosity. The Salvation Army reported that its Red Kettle campaign set a record of $130 million in donations last year, a 10 percent spike from 2007 and the biggest one-year jump in more than a decade.
And some good Samaritans are giving much more than money. Dawn Verdick, who read a Craiglist ad from the daughters of a man who desperately needed a kidney, donated her own after realizing she shared his rare blood type.
....
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2009-03-21 21:04:21

Was Saint Patrick An Early Emergent And Reformer Of The Church?

Here is a snippet of a post by Dan Mayes:

Emergents are stepping on the scene as Christians who are willing to ask tough questions, challenge old traditions and theologies, and pursue a quest for a faith and theology that's relevant in a new day and age. Saint Patrick was perhaps the first emergent.


He is credited with having evangelized Ireland, being the first person to really get Christianity to take root there. But it wasn't easy. During Patrick's time, most Irish were involved in what would now be considered "pagan" religions. They followed the old religions of the Celts. So it was hard for people embedded in one culture and religion to give that up for a new one, especially one that came to them from Rome. So instead of dominating everyone and insisting on his way being better than theirs, Patrick took time and found connections between the Celtic religions and Christianity. Slowly but surely, these connections opened doors for him. What resulted was the spread of Christianity. But it was not Roman-dominated, Roman-cultural variety of Christianity. It was a Christianity no one had really encountered before. It was a form of Christianity that looked Celtic in nature, but had Christ at it's center core.


So as we celebrate Saint Patrick's day, celebrate someone who learned how to find faith in a way that was relevant and meaningful to the people around him.

I'd like to offer a few other thoughts to the question at hand. Saint Patrick used 'unconventional methods' for conversion in his day:

Methods for Conversion

Surely Saint Patrick openly preached the gospel message while among the Picts and Irish peoples, but that method does not alone account for conversions to Christianity. In terms of numbers, Patrick himself suggested that he baptized and converted “many thousands,” to the faith. It is true that Patrick had some success converting the sons and daughters of Irish Kings to Christianity, but actual figures of the numbers of converts among the entirety of the Irish population remain unknown. There is no solid mention of him teaching the catechism of the Church to new believers, so there is little evidence to suggest that the new converts maintained the Christian faith without a foundation in doctrinal teachings. It was quite possible that converts reverted back to their traditional pagan beliefs, especially without any clear support from Church leaders on the European mainland.

One way for Saint Patrick to ensure success for evangelizing opportunities while among the Irish was to live in solidarity with those whom he was trying to convert. Approaching the Irish as an equal while showing no pretense of superiority allowed the Irish to become more receptive of Christian teachings. In fact, Patrick himself avowed in his Confession that he “sold this nobility of [his],”[41] to enhance the commonality between himself and his Irish audience.

Although he may not have been as well versed in the teachings of the Church as other missionaries, Saint Patrick did understand the basic tenets of the Christian faith. Yet, Saint Patrick seemed to be haunted by his lack of education, and claimed that evangelizing among the Irish “revealed his lack of learning,” according to his own Confession. Limited education would prove to be an obstacle for Patrick, and considering that “every word [he] spoke had to be translated into a foreign tongue,”[42] communicating with the pagans in Ireland became a daunting task.

A complete lack of adequate translators hindered Saint Patrick’s attempts to explain the Gospel message and herald his message of the dogma of Jesus Christ. In fact, later Christian missionaries aware of the challenges faced by Patrick would ensure that a sufficient knowledge of foreign languages was known before embarking on missions abroad. Jesuit missionaries in later years would pay particular attention to the details of languages while traveling in Asia and North America.

Saint Patrick was able to preach and lead significantly by example, so when Bishops in Europe accused Patrick of various unknown charges, his reputation inevitably suffered among the Picts and Irish people. As a result it can be assumed that progress being made in gaining favor among the people would have diminished considering Saint Patrick’s authority as Bishop in Ireland became challenged. Overall, his mission to Ireland cannot be determined as successful or not in the missionary sense due to the limited knowledge we have concerning his life there. It can be assumed that the immensity of the challenges facing Saint Patrick would have made any significant change to the religious landscape of Ireland difficult.

Truly, Patrick lived a missional life with Christ at the center by living 'in solidarity with those whom he was trying to convert. Approaching the Irish as an equal...(and) showing no pretense of superiority, (which) allowed the Irish to become more receptive of Christian teachings.' Patrick was also very immersed in Celtic traditions and Celtic religious lore and unlike the legend, Patrick used the Celtic Triads and reverence for three-ness to teach the Trinity rather than the shamrock itself.

Saint Patrick and the Snakes:
Another tale about Patrick is that he drove the snakes from Ireland. Different versions of the story, tell of him standing upon a hill, using a wooden staff to drive the serpents into the sea, banishing them forever from Ireland.

One version says that an old serpent resisted banishment, but that Patrick outwitted him. Patrick made a box and invited the snake to enter. The snake insisted it was too small and the two argued. Finally to prove his point, the snake entered the box to show how tight the fit was. Patrick slammed the lid closed and threw the box into the sea.

Although it’s true that Ireland has no snakes, this likely had more to do with the fact that Ireland is an island and being separated from the rest of the continent the snakes couldn’t get there. The stories of Saint Patrick and the snakes are likely a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and driving out the pagan religions (serpents were a common symbol in many of these religions).

Patrick also created tension between himself and Pope Celestine I much like non-fundamentalists and fundamentalists today. Here is how:

Ireland's First Christian : Truth or Myth
So did Patrick or Palladius bring Christianity to Ireland? No, there already were Christians in Ireland before Patrick. The first Christians may have been people, like Patrick, brought to Ireland as slaves, or others who had traded with, or even lived for a time within, the Roman Empire. The evidence is compelling: for the Bishop Palladius to have been sent from Rome a Christian community must have been already been established in Ireland, probably arriving as early as the 4th Century.

The Celtic Church
An interesting issue about this early period is whether there was any distinction between the 'Celtic Church' and the more traditional Roman Church. Some see Patrick as the embodiment of the Celtic Church, with Palladius representing the latter. This is seen by many as an attempt to view the past through the political and religious distinctions of today. However, what may actually be being picked up here are tensions between the established Christian orthodoxy and the newer Irish Christianity built over older pagan ways. That tension came to its conclusion at the synod of Whitby in 664 when a debate over the use of the Celtic or Roman tonsure and method of dating of Easter was finally resolved with the Celtic Church adopting the Roman way.

Christianity in Ireland succeeded because of its ability to adapt older pagan customs to the new ways. A good example is the pagan festivals that became Christianised, Samhain becoming All Souls, and Imbolg becoming St Brigid's Day. Indeed, many of the holy wells associated with St Patrick, found all over the country, are believed to have pagan origins.

Also:

The Roman Church and the Celtic Christians

Unfortunately, neither the Celtic churches nor the movement Patrick founded lasted indefinitely. In the late sixth century, missionaries from the Roman church began converting the English (the descendants of the Anglo, Saxon, and Jute immigrants/invaders). Of course, the Roman missionaries couldn't help bumping into the "native" Christians. Nor could they help feeling uncomfortable with the hundreds of thriving Christian communities that didn't answer to Rome and saw no reason to follow doctrines, dogmas, and regulations that had entered the Roman church since the third century AD. Roman church leaders were also appalled at the married clergy, at the monasteries' lax discipline, at the lack of emphasis on Original Sin, and at the Celtic monk's haircuts, which looked silly to the monks on the continent.
When the time came to discuss reconciliation between the Roman and Celtic Christians, several points of serious disagreement could have been debated. But according to historical records, most of the emphasis seemed to be on when Easter should be celebrated. Without too much fuss, most of the Irish church leaders capitulated on when to celebrate Easter (and most other points of difference) by the year 697. The Irish monks changed their haircuts, and Ireland became Roman Catholic almost overnight. In return, Ireland got to keep her patron saint. (Clergy in the British Isles continued to marry for another four centuries, but that's another story.)

Sadly, many of Patrick's reforms, especially literacy, were reversed by later imperialism. After the English did invade Ireland, most Irish were denied the rights to read, to live above abject poverty, or even to speak their own language. Centuries of such treatment should have broken the Irish spirit forever. But Irish music, culture, and self-identity survived, and beginning in the 1800s, actually revived.

See also: St. Patrick's Day is March 17th New Style and March 30th Old Style!! and A Friar's Life: The Real St. Patrick. Here is a snippet of The Real St. Patrick:

Patrick the Mystic

"Patrick was a mystic who felt the presence of God in every turn of the road," Cahill says. "God was palpable to him, and his relationship to him was very, very close." In fact, he says, it was very much like the relationship in the Bible that Jesus has with God the Father. "It is very familiar and comfortable, and that is how Patrick saw God at work in the world."

So what are your thoughts?

Roman Catholic News

After Long Battle, Woman Allowed to Die
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, AP
posted: 23 DAYS 22 HOURS AGOcomments: 657filed under: Health News, World NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA


ROME (Feb. 4) - A woman at the center of a right-to-die debate in Italy was transferred Tuesday to a hospital where she is to be allowed to die after 17 years in a vegetative state. Anti-euthanasia activists heckled the ambulance crew that moved her, with some shouting, "Don't Kill Her."
The Catholic church and pro-life activists have mounted a campaign to keep Eluana Englaro alive, denouncing what they say would be her execution. Others contend that Englaro's father is trying to give her the dignified death she had sought.
Her nighttime transfer on Tuesday reignited a bitter national debate.
The Englaro case has drawn comparisons in Italy with that of Terry Schiavo, the American woman who was at the center of a right-to-die debate until her death in 2005. Schiavo's husband, who wanted her feeding tube removed against her parents' wishes, prevailed in a polarizing battle in the United States that reached Congress, then-President George W. Bush and the Supreme Court.
In 2007, the Vatican also joined the debate, condemning Schiavo's death as "arbitrarily hastened" and calling the removal of her feeding tube a violation of the principles of Christianity and civilization.
This weekend, Pope Benedict XVI said euthanasia is a "false solution" to suffering. His health minister, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, told La Repubblica newspaper that removing Englaro's feeding tube "is tantamount to an abominable assassination, and the church will always say that out loud."
Englaro was transferred by ambulance to the northeastern city of Udine from Lecco, where she had been cared for, in the early hours of Tuesday, said family lawyer Vittorio Angiolini.
A small crowd of anti-euthanasia activists gathered and heckled the ambulance as it was leaving Lecco. Some of the activists shouted slogans such as "Eluana, Wake Up!" "Don't Kill Her!" and "Eluana Is Alive." Englaro has been in a vegetative state since a car accident in 1992, when she was 20. Her father has led a protracted court battle to disconnect her feeding tube, insisting it was her wish.
An Italian court in the summer granted his request, setting off a political storm in this Roman Catholic country.
Her father sought to have her removed from the Catholic clinic in Lecco to Udine, in the region where the family is from. But the government issued a decree last month telling state hospitals that they must guarantee care for people in vegetative states, leading at least one hospital in Udine to refuse to take Englaro.
Eventually, the private facility La Quiete in Udine agreed to take her.
Angiolini refused to discuss what steps would now be taken to end Englaro's life. News reports said that the procedure to disconnect her feeding tube would begin in a few days and would take weeks to conclude.
Amato De Monte, the anesthetist who escorted Englaro on the ambulance, said she was very different from the youthful woman who has been presented in the media.
He defended the clinic's choice in the face of mounting criticism, saying in an interview to RAI state TV: "Eluana will not suffer because Eluana died 17 years ago."
Some in the conservative government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi have criticized the move, and Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said the government was investigating the transfer.
By law, Italy does not allow euthanasia.
Patients have a right to refuse treatment, but there is no law that allows them to give advance directions on what treatment they wish to receive if they become unconscious.
Many have urged parliament to adopt legislation to fill the hole. But the issue is charged with emotions and religious overtones, and positions differ even within the same political bloc.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-02-03 12:05:58

Here's another article of interest:

Priest Who Aided Lepers to Become Saint
By NICOLE WINFIELD, AP
posted: 6 DAYS 9 HOURS AGOcomments: 658filed under: World NewsPrintShareText SizeAAA

VATICAN CITY (Feb. 21) - A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii, and died of the disease, will be declared a saint this year at a Vatican ceremony presided over by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Rev. Damien de Veuster's canonization date of Oct. 11 was set Saturday. Born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, he took the name Damien and went to Hawaii in 1864 to join other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Nine years later, he began ministering to leprosy patients on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai island, where some 8,000 people had been banished amid an epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s.
The priest eventually contracted the disease, also known as Hansen's disease, and died in 1889 at age 49.
"He went there (to Hawaii) knowing that he could never return," The Rev. Alfred Bell, who spearheaded Damien's canonization cause, told Vatican Radio. "He suffered a lot, but he stayed."
De Veuster was beatified — a step toward sainthood — in 1995 by Pope John Paul II. The Vatican's saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession be confirmed in order for him or her to be beatified. De Veuster was beatified after the Vatican declared that the 1987 recovery of a nun of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was a miracle. The nun recovered after praying to Damien.
After beatification, a second miracle is needed for sainthood.
In July, Benedict declared that a Honolulu woman's recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the miracle needed for de Veuster to be made a saint.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints said Audrey Toguchi's 1999 recovery from lung cancer defied medical explanation. Toguchi, too, had prayed to Damien.
The Vatican announced the date for Damien's canonization and that of nine others. Five will be declared saints at a ceremony April 26, with the rest, including Damien, on Oct. 11.
Bell said Damien's concern for others was a model for all the faithful today, particularly the young.
"Father Damien's example helps us to not forget those who are forgettable in the world," he said.

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2009-02-21 12:17:13