For the past two years the Worship Committee, a sub-committee of the Parish Pastoral Council, has recommended moving the tabernacle from its current position in the church to a more fitting location. They did not believe it was placed in a dignified position since it is right at the throughway from the church into the chapel. This was most apparent during the Children's Liturgy of the Word when a significant number of children passed by the tabernacle with little sign of reverence before the Blessed Sacrament.

Although I was sympathetic to their suggestion, I did not act on it because we were preparing for and then getting used to the new translation of the Roman Missal. It just was not the right time to bring on another change. However, planning and painting the interior of the church this past fall necessitated much study and reflection on the church's architecture. St. Mary's is a beautiful church and its design is meant to draw one's attention straight into the sanctuary of the church to the high altar, the place where the tabernacle was originally located. Thus the focal point of the church's interior design was meant to be the Blessed Sacrament, which is reserved

inside the tabernacle. This is not surprising since the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is at the center of our faith, indeed the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.

Given this reality one wonders why the tabernacle was moved in the first place. The decision to move the tabernacle was made in 1993 and it was done under the inspiration of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' document Environment and Art in Catholic Worship (EACW), which was published in 1978. This document urged the separation of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle from the space dedicated for the celebration of the Mass. Although it had no binding force other than the official church documents it cited, it was widely applied in the Archdiocese of Boston and throughout the country. Thus the tabernacle was removed from the sanctuary and placed in the side niche, which also led to placing the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus outside of the niche it was designed for.

Churches built after 1978 were able to incorporate the spacing recommended by EACW and separated the tabernacle from the altar while still creating a dignified and central location for the Blessed Sacrament. Imposing this separation in older churches has not been so successful and has led to the diminishment of the Blessed Sacrament. This marginalization has greatly contributed to a lack of belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and a subsequent indifference and lack of reverence before the Blessed Sacrament.  Pew research polls show that fifty percent of Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This crisis of faith in the Eucharist is the number one reason why Catholics fall away from the Church and the rediscovery of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the primary reason Catholics return to the Church. Thus right belief in the Eucharist is essential for the new evangelization of our Catholic faith.

Next week I will continue this discussion, in the meantime I invite you to reflect on the placement of the tabernacle in the church and the importance of the Eucharist in your life of faith.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Cannon

Today our nation celebrates Mother's Day, a special day for each one of us to lovingly recall our mothers and to thank God for them. Pope John Paul II gives a wonderful reflection on motherhood in his Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, No. 18, given on August 15, 1988.

"Motherhood is the fruit of the marriage union of a man and a woman... This mutual gift of the person in marriage opens to the gift of a new life, a new human being, who is also a person in the likeness of his parents. Motherhood implies from the beginning a special openness to the new person: and this is precisely the woman's "part." In this openness, in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the woman "discovers herself through a sincere gift of self"...Motherhood is linked to he personal structure of the woman and to the personal dimension of the gift...

The eternal mystery of generation, which is in God Himself, the one and Triune God is reflected in the woman's motherhood and in the man's fatherhood. Human parenthood is something shared by both the man and the woman... Although both of them together are parents of their child, the woman's motherhood constitutes a special "part" in this shared parenthood, and the most demanding part. Parenthood - even though it belongs to both - is realized much more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who "pays" directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs the energies of her body and soul. It is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman. No program of "equal rights" between women and men is valid unless it takes this fact into account.

Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman's womb. The mother is filled with wonder at this mystery of life, and "understands" with unique intuition what is happening inside her. In the light of the "beginning", the mother accepts and loves as a person the child she is carrying in her womb. This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings - not only towards her own child, but every human being - which profoundly marks the woman's personality. It is commonly thought that women are more capable than men of paying attention to another person, and that motherhood develops this predisposition even more. The man - even with all his sharing in parenthood - always remains "outside" the process of pregnancy and the baby's birth; in many ways he has to learn his own "fatherhood" from the mother. One can say that this is part of the normal human dimension of parenthood, including the stages that follow the birth of the baby, especially in the initial period. The child's upbringing, taken as a whole, should include the contribution of both parents: the maternal and the paternal contribution. In any event, the mother's contribution is decisive in laying the foundation for a new human personality."

Blessed Pope John Paul II also shared some inspirational words on motherhood in his homily at the 1994 beatification of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who refused cancer treatment for herself so the child in her womb could live. She died one week after giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

"We would like to pay homage to all brave mothers who dedicate themselves to their own family without reserve, who suffer in giving birth to their children and who are ready to make any effort, to face any sacrifice, in order to pass on to them the best of themselves... How hard they have to fight against difficulties and dangers! How frequently they are called to face genuine ‘wolves' determined to snatch and scatter the flock! And these heroic mothers do not always find support in their surroundings. On the contrary, the cultural models frequently promoted and broadcast by the media do not encourage motherhood. In the name of progress and modernity, the values of fidelity, chastity, sacrifice, in which a host of Christian wives and mothers have distinguished and continue to distinguish themselves, are presented as obsolete.

As a result, a woman who is determined to be consistent with her principles often feels deeply alone, alone in her love which she cannot betray, and to which she must remain faithful." (Taken from Our Sunday Visitor, May 12, 2013)

Thank you to all mothers including the many spiritual mothers who have had a tremendous impact in their own right, you are truly appreciated and loved.

Happy Mother's Day!

Fr. Cannon

Even after one week it is difficult to comprehend all that transpired last week beginning with the bombings at the marathon and ending with the violent shootout in Watertown, which killed one of the perpetrators and seriously wounded the other. Four people lives came to an abrupt end and about 200 people were wounded, many having serious injuries including the loss of limbs.

This act of terrorism affected not only the victims and their families but all of us who witnessed this barbarism. Since 9/11 we realized our world had changed but in the dozen years that have passed we have grown complacent until this painful reminder on Patriot's Day. Once again we have to face the fact that there are people in the world who hate us and will do anything, including killing innocent lives, in order to further their political aims. The fact that this hatred is religiously motivated is obscene. It is not a reflection of God but clear evidence of evil working in our midst.

In faith we know that there are three Persons in one God; God is a God of communion. We, as human beings, are made in the divine image, "male and female He made us". By our very nature as human beings we are called to communion, communion with God and with one another. The first sin ruptured this perfect communion and every sin since then wounds the communion that is meant to exist between us and God and between persons. Discord and division are signs of sin and the presence of evil.

Reflecting on this evil in our midst I was reminded of the words Karol Cardinal Wojtyla spoke at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976 when he said: "We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence; it is a trial which the whole Church, and the Polish Church in particular, must take up. It is a trial of not only our nation and the Church, but in a sense a test of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations." Two years later Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, who we now also know was a mystic. Mystics see farther and clearer than the rest of us.

What was not clear to the rest of us in 1976 is painfully clear to us today. In his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate promulgated in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI said this: "The real problem at this moment of our history is that God is disappearing from the human horizon, and, with the dimming of the light which comes from God, humanity is losing its bearings, with increasingly evident destructive effects." He goes on to say: "In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God. Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai: to that God whose face we recognize in a love which presses ‘to the end' (cf. Jn. 13:1)-in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen."

Only the power of God can change hearts both ours and those who try to harm us, but this requires prayer and renewal. Once again the words of Pope Benedict, which he proclaimed at the beginning of his Pontificate on April 18, 2005, are relevant to us. "Light can also be taken away from us and we do well to let this warning (Rev. 2:5) ring out with its full seriousness in our hearts, while crying to the Lord: ‘Help us to repent! Give all of us the grace of true renewal! Do not allow your light in our midst to blow out! Strength our faith, our hope and our love, so that we can bear good fruit!'"

May each of us take these words to heart as we strive to bear the good fruits of peace and justice in our world.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Cannon

This Sunday concludes the Octave of Easter in which each of these eight days is celebrated as a solemnity of Easter.

St. Faustina (1905 - 1938) a Polish nun received interior messages from Jesus, which she recorded in her diary under the guidance of her spiritual director. Our Lord indicated to her His desire that the Second Sunday of Easter should be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II, who canonized St. Faustina in 2000, said this: "By this act today, I pass on the message of Divine Mercy to the new millennium. I pass it on because I want people to know the better face of God, and that of His Divine Mercy, and through it, the better face of their brethren. The light of the message of Divine Mercy, which the Lord wished to renew the world, will be as much a beacon of hope for the third millennium, as the apostles were in the first."

To further stress the importance of Divine Mercy, the Church has granted, "under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) a plenary indulgence for the faithful who, in any church or chapel, in a spirit completely detached from the affection of sin, even a venial sin, on Divine Mercy Sunday take part in the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, along with a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. "Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!")".¹ The sacramental confession must be made within twenty days before or after the Feast.

In the Gospel today Jesus encounters His disciples on that first Easter morning and gives them the gift of peace, the Holy Spirit, and the authority to forgive sins, which is the foundation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. These are His Easter gifts to His Church.

The gift of peace is what every person desires; it is more than the absence of conflict. The peace Jesus gives is a peace that flows from His Spirit and it speaks of a soul being in right relationship with God. To be in right relationship with God implies being reconciled with God and that means taking advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis (once a year is the minimum obligation for us). Through this sacrament we are washed clean of our sins opening us up once again to the sanctifying grace God makes available to us. It truly is a sacrament of divine mercy.

This Sunday we will have a Divine Mercy service making the Sacrament of Reconciliation available and fulfilling the obligations necessary for everyone to receive the plenary indulgence mentioned above. I invite you all to come and I ask you to invite someone you know who has fallen away from the Church to come with you and experience God's mercy on this great day of Divine Mercy.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Cannon

¹Apostolic Penitentiary, DECREE, Indulgences attached to devotions in honor of Divine Mercy.

"HABEMUS PAPAM"

This year 2013 has begun with some significant surprises in the life of the Church. One month ago Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the office of Pope; the first Pope to exercise this option in 600 years. Today the Cardinals have chosen an Argentinian as the 265th successor to Peter, the first Pope ever chosen from the "New World." In addition, Cardinal Bergoglio is the first Jesuit ever selected as Pope and he chose the name Francis, a name not previously used as Pope.

The name a Pope chooses gives a good indication of what he would like to emphasize. Blessed Pope John Paul II, like his immediate predecessor, was named after Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI indicating he wanted to continue to implement and carry out the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, which took place under their pontificates. Pope Benedict XVI looked back almost 100 years to Pope Benedict XV, who assumed his office just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Benedict XV wanted to be an agent of peace hoping to stop the madness of a pending war among the European powers. Benedict XVI wanted to warn and persuade Europe and the West of the dangers of relativism and its tendency toward cultural suicide. He taught and spoke boldly of these dangers while offering a beautiful alternative made possible through a life lived in Christ.

The name "Francis" immediately calls to mind the "Poverello", St. Francis of Assisi probably the most popular saint of all time. Francis was called by our Lord at the start of the 13th century when the merchant classes were beginning to acquire wealth leading to an over emphasis on money and material things. Francis' own father was a wealthy merchant of fine cloth. In the ruin church of San Damiano Francis heard our Lord speak to him from the cross: "Repair my house, which is virtually ruined." Francis rebuilt San Damiano and a little later while he was attending Mass at the Portiuncula he was inspired by the Gospel passage in which Jesus sent out His disciples to preach (Mt. 10:7-19). Embracing a radical poverty Francis set out and preached the Gospel more through his way of life than his words. Francis attracted followers and he wrote a simple rule of life, which Pope Innocent III approved giving birth to the Franciscans. Francis' emphasis on poverty and the mendicant communities that sprang up as a result became the antidote for the Church, which had become decrepit through corruption and worldliness.

Our new Pope is a Jesuit, not a Franciscan, so he also must have had another great saint in mind when he chose Francis and that is St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits St. Ignatius gathered around himself at the University of Paris. St. Francis Xavier is known as the Apostle of the East, who in ten years' time traveled over 10,000 miles to bring the Gospel to the peoples of Asia in the 16th century. He is a reminder that the Church by her very nature is missionary; all the baptized are called to bear witness to Christ and share the good news that is the Gospel.

Perhaps it is too soon to tell, but expect Pope Francis to steer the barque of Peter back to a simpler and more humble witness to the Gospel, a witness that will attract followers as the Gospel is lived and proclaimed throughout the world. As part of this great work of salvation, each one of us is called to contribute to this holy enterprise by growing in holiness and living our faith for it is through personal encounters that others will discover or rediscover Christ.

Let us pray for our new Holy Father, for our bishops and priests, and for one another that we may do the will of God and restore the beauty of the Bride of Christ, the Church.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Fr. Cannon

As a Church we are in a time of transition with the end of Pope Benedict's papacy. Our Cardinals are meeting in Rome and discussing the situation of the Church worldwide as they prepare for the upcoming conclave and the selection of our next Pope, who will be given the responsibility of steering the barque of Peter. Although no date has been set at this writing the conclave is expected to begin this Monday, March 11th.

Every time a new Pope is elected it is a time of transition, but this time even more so because our next Pope will be the first Pope who did not actually attend the Second Vatican Council, which began fifty years ago this past October. Both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI attended all four sessions of Vatican II and were important contributors to the work of the Council. In addition, John Paul II was on the committee that drafted Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, and Benedict XVI was on the committee that drafted Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. These are two of the most important and most cited documents of Vatican II.

It is not surprising that these two Popes did much to clarify the teachings of Vatican II, which were badly misinterpreted and abused following the Council. These misunderstandings led to much confusion within the Church and contributed greatly to the crisis of faith we experience as a Church today. The true reforms of Vatican II are only now being realized and will produce much good fruit as we move forward as a Church.

The new Pope will have to address many issues in the Church, but in my opinion the authentic implementation of Vatican II will be his most important work. This task is not the work of one man alone but of the whole Church; all of us are responsible for revitalizing and furthering the mission of the Church through our fidelity and lived witness to her teachings.

If you follow the media coverage of the conclave, with all its speculation, it is important to remember that the secular media really does not understand the Church or the Papacy. The Church's doctrine is not up for grabs and no Pope has the authority to change Church dogma despite the media's insistence that he do so. Also, the Pope is not a monarch or a CEO of the Catholic Church; he is the Bishop of Rome and first among equals. As a successor of Peter he is given primacy and the responsibility of protecting the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church by our Lord. Otherwise the Church is a highly decentralized institution for it is a living organism lived in each particular Church under its Bishop; in our case Cardinal O'Malley. For the most accurate and informative coverage of the conclave, tune into EWTN or Boston Catholic TV.

The Cardinals are given the task of choosing the next Pope; our task is to pray for them and the Church at this time of transition. As a Church we have been blessed with a succession of strong and effective leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI who had a remarkable reign these past eight years. May the Holy Spirit descend on the conclave and give our Cardinals the wisdom and discernment they need to choose God's candidate.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Cannon

The Church's teaching on reserving the ordination to the ministerial priesthood to men concluded my discussion on issues in the Church of special importance to women, but a small controversy this summer necessitates a few words of clarification. The story in question is the so-called "Vatican crackdown on the nuns."

The controversy began when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) sent a doctrinal assessment to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) on April 18, 2012 outlining reforms needing to be implemented by the LCWR in order to ensure their Catholic identity. In addition the CDF rebuked a controversial book by the religious theologian Sister Margaret Farley. In initiating these actions the Vatican and specifically the CDF were carrying out one of their most vital functions, which is to guard the deposit of faith.

Things escalated following a June meeting between Vatican officials and members of the LCWR when William Cardinal Levada stated the LCWR could be decertified by the Vatican if the LCWR does not accept the reforms mentioned above. Although still hopeful about coming to terms with the LCWR, Cardinal Levada was obviously frustrated and warned of a possible "dialogue of the deaf". The current series of talks have been going on for four years and have apparently produced no fruit.

At this point the LCWR went to the media and spun a story of Vatican bullying and implying the Vatican depreciated the work of religious sisters in America. They were using Marxist social analysis and responded to the Vatican response in political language, not in the language of faith as used by the CDF. In the spirit of a political crusade the "nuns on the bus" were organized to take their message to the American people. In reality there were only two nuns on the bus, who did have other sisters join them for short rides in their jaunt across the country. However whenever there was a photo op the bus was full.

In truth the Vatican, and all Catholics, appreciate the generosity and service of countless religious sisters who were instrumental in building up the Church in the United States and elsewhere and who continue to contribute in important ways to the works of the Church. The Vatican has been concerned for some time by the direction of the LCWR, which was established in 1956 under the Holy See and to which it answers. For instance, at the LCWR national assembly in 2007 their keynote speaker spoke on moving "beyond the Church or even beyond Jesus" (NB: Jesus is the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity and the founder of the Catholic Church). This August during all this controversy the LCWR invited Barbara Marx Hubbard, a New Age Leader, to speak at their assembly (NB: New Age is a syncretism of various faiths incompatible with Christianity). This act shows the unwillingness of the LCWR to take seriously the doctrinal assessment given to them by the CDF.

It is important to remember that all religious, women and men, profess the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Obedience is made to one's superior but also to the bishop in whose territory a community resides and it goes without saying to all that the Church teaches and professes. Those living the consecrated life provide a powerful witness to the faith, but when they deny the very faith they professed they give scandal to both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Concerned by the direction of the LCWR a number of women's congregations formed a new national organization in 1992 called the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious as an alternative to the LCWR. Interestingly communities under this new organization are thriving whereas the communities under LCWR continue to age and struggle to find vocations.

This whole controversy is yet another example of why we must be careful in listening to secular reports on Church matters. We pray that the LCWR will accept the Vatican assessment and make those changes necessary so their respective communities can once again flourish and continue the important task of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, our Lord and King.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Cannon

Last week we left off with the definitive statement of Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women" (n.4). As he stated earlier in his Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, "In calling only men as His Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner. In doing so, He exercised the same freedom with which, in all His behavior, He emphasized the dignity and the vocation of women, without conforming to the prevailing customs and to the traditions sanctioned by the legislation of the time" (n.26).

Throughout the Gospels Jesus upheld the dignity of women and in fact women were some of His earliest followers (Lk. 8:2) and Mary Magdalene is known as the apostle to the Apostles (apostle means one who is sent) (Jn. 20: 17). Furthermore, the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can it be construed as discrimination against them. Rather, it is to be seen as the faithful observance of a plan to be ascribed to the wisdom of the Lord of the universe" (OS n.3). Thus the male priesthood is a matter of faith.

To understand this divine prerogative better it will be helpful to see who a priest is and not reduce him to what he does. The priest is one who is called by Christ to the ministerial priesthood to serve the faithful by carrying out Jesus' own ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. Furthermore, he is a sacramental symbol, an efficacious sign that is what it signifies, as he carries out his ministry in the Church. This is why we say a priest acts in persona Christi, which is most evident in the sacrifice of the Mass where Christ is both priest and victim.

At Mass we commemorate the first Mass, the Last Supper of our Lord, when He instituted both the Sacrament of the Priesthood (Holy Orders) and the Sacrament of the Eucharist while prefiguring His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven (the Paschal Mystery). Every Mass celebrated since our Lord's resurrection re-presents, makes present sacramentally this Paschal Mystery. Since Jesus became human as a man it is logical to have Him symbolized by a man. Furthermore, Jesus is the Bridegroom and His bride is the Church. When we receive Holy Communion it is the consummation of the union between Christ and His bride the Church, all of us. We would not symbolize the Blessed Virgin Mary with a man; we would have her symbolized by a woman. The same holds true for Jesus the proper symbol for Him is a man. Furthermore, if a woman acted as a priest we would lose the important spousal imagery that is a reality at Mass.

It seems to me there are two things that especially drive this issue: ministry in the Protestant Churches and  the current idea that men and women are functionally equivalent. The root word of Protestant is protest. The reformed churches came into being by denying certain truths of our Catholic faith, one of which is the Sacrament of Holy Orders. They saw/see ordination as a commission to pastoral ministry for the ministry of word and sacrament (Baptism and the Lord's Supper in which they also deny the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist). In this non-sacramental understanding of ministry it makes no difference whether the minister is male or female.

Back in the summer I spoke of a shift in feminist understanding on human dignity in the 1960s when they stressed the functional equivalent of men and women. This was done for one reason so they could rationalize the practice of abortion, which is the ending of human life. The traditional and Church understanding of human dignity stems from being created in the divine image, "male and female God made us". Human dignity is innately possessed by every single human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Men and women are equal in dignity but complementary in purpose.

The goal of the Christian life is sanctity not becoming a priest, bishop or even pope. The Church is blessed  to have many great women saints once again demonstrating that Christ shows no partiality. Each of us has received a vocation and the gifts necessary to carry it out from our Lord. May we be good stewards of our gifts and put them at the service of Christ and His Church as we grow in holiness and sanctity.

God bless you,

Fr. Cannon

After a long hiatus I would like to return and respond to why some people have stopped coming to Mass. We left off speaking about women's issues explaining how the moral teachings of the Church are not up for grabs but have been entrusted to her by our Lord and therefore cannot be changed to adapt to the latest cultural trends. In the process we have shown that these teachings do not discriminate against women but rather reinforce and protect their dignity as human beings made in the Divine image.

One question we did not deal with regarding women is why they are not allowed to receive ordination to the ministerial priesthood. Since Christ founded His Church it has been the unbroken practice to reserve Holy Orders for men following the example of Jesus, Himself, who chose those whom He willed in union with the Father through the Holy Spirit (cf. Mk. 3: 13-14; Jn. 6: 70; Acts 1: 2). However, there have been a few times when this practice was called into question. "A few heretical sects in the first centuries, especially Gnostic ones, entrusted the exercise of the priestly ministry to women: This innovation was immediately noted and condemned by the Fathers, who considered it as unacceptable in the Church."¹ Later in medieval times this question once again arose but ordination of women to the ministerial priesthood was rejected on similar grounds, the essential reason being "that by calling only men to the priestly Order and ministry in its true sense, the Church intends to remain faithful to the type of ordained ministry willed by the Lord Jesus Christ and carefully maintained by the Apostles."²

Since the scholastic period the Church's practice of ordaining only men to the ministerial priesthood was commonly accepted by all the faithful until about the middle of the last century when the Christian communities stemming from the Reformation began admitting women to the pastoral office on par with men. This development posed an ecumenical problem and necessitated the need for the Church to make her thinking known to all, especially since some saw women's ordination as merely a Church discipline that could be overturned by the Church's Magisterium. As a result Pope Paul VI asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to examine the various arguments relating to this issue, which led to the Declaration "Inter Insigniores" cited below.

Inter Insigniores affirmed the Church's tradition of ordaining only men to the ministerial priesthood based "on certain fundamental reasons, namely, the constant tradition itself, universal in East and West, of admitting only men to priestly ordination; the will of Christ, known from His example in choosing only men to belong to the Twelve; the practice of the apostles who faithfully followed the Lord's example in handing their office on to others; and the fact that this tradition has always been regarded as normative for the Church."³ It is important to note that nowhere in this document is there expressed or inferred some deficiency on the part of women as a reason for not permitting them to receive priestly ordination.

This document should have been sufficient to end this discussion but some theologians still insisted that the question of women's ordination was a matter of Church discipline. Drawing upon Inter Insginiores Pope John Paul II, in His Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, made a definitive statement that is to be held by all the faithful "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women." This means the question of ordaining only men to the ministerial priest is not a matter of Church discipline but rather belongs to the deposit of faith. We will continue this discussion next time.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Cannon

_______________________________

¹ Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Declaration "Inter Insigniores: On the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood", 15 October 1976, #1 (from the Vatican website).

² Ibid.

³ Sr. Sara Butler, "Embodied Ecclesiology: Church Teaching on the Priesthood", from "Women, Sex, and the Church", Erika Bachiochi, ed., Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2010, 147-148.

This Tuesday, January 22nd, marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in our nation. As in every year that followed this fateful decision there will be a march in Washington D.C. supporting the right to life. There also will be similar marches throughout the country, most notably in San Francisco on the West Coast. Even though there will be over a million people participating nationally, these marches will get little or no coverage in the major media or if they do cover these events they will grossly underestimate the number of people involved and they will always show the significantly smaller number of those marching in support of the right to abort.

Over these four decades our nation has remained divided, although the number of people who oppose legalized abortion keeps growing each year. Today the majority of Americans is against legalized abortion or at least would limit abortion to certain restricted categories. Hearts are being changed and all the young  people involved in these marches for life are a sign of hope as well. Through our prayers and continued witness to life we will overcome this intrinsic evil and cornerstone of the culture of death in our land.

Since 1973 over fifty million lives have been lost through abortion and in the African-American community it is the leading cause of death surpassing those caused by cancer, heart disease and violence combined. In addition, countless lives have been destroyed as a consequence through depression, substance abuse and suicide because of the emotional and spiritual wounds these people are carrying. Most of these people are women, who are often victims themselves.

To bring healing and wholeness back to these women, and men as well, there is a very effective ministry in the Church called Project Rachel. We regularly post notices of their "Come to the Waters of Healing" one day retreats held in Natick. In early December they had a training session for priests at the Pastoral Center in Braintree to assist them in helping those burdened with the emotional and spiritual trauma of having an abortion. An important part of the healing process is receiving our Lord's forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Toward the end of our seminar a woman about fifty years old shared her story and the pain and suffering she endured most of her adult life after having an abortion against her will when she was seventeen. Even though she married and had children she was deeply wounded and suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression. She eventually was committed to a psychiatric ward. Despite her skepticism she was able to turn her life around after participating in one of Project Rachel's retreats, which led her along the road of recovery. Today she is part of the retreat team for Project Rachel helping other women find healing and wholeness.

Because of its defense of life and steadfast opposition to abortion the Church is often characterized as being against women, but the Church knows how harmful abortion is to women in particular and to society at large. We can be proud that the Church is at the forefront of bringing healing and wholeness to women who have had an abortion and to all those who have formally or informally cooperated in this evil practice.

If you or anyone you know have had an abortion please check out Project Rachel (www.hopeafterabortion.org).  May all of us do what we can to end abortion and assist with our prayers those who suffer from its emotional and spiritual effects.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Cannon