Madrid Interfaith Conference Concludes, Hope Continues

300 religious leaders of the world, Hindu, Islamic, Jews, Christians, Shinto, and Confucians concluded their interfaith conference today. For three days they all meet in Madrid Spain, guests of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

The conference reflects the current world situation. Terrorism, intolerance and war to stop violence are tearing allies apart, maiming innocent victims and making the followers of intolerance stronger. The possibility of the world dissolving into a full culture war becomes more real everyday. Fear spawns a need for simple answers where none exist. So the conference was timely.

The conference called on the U.N. to institute an on-going dialogue. The Madrid Declaration acknowledges the unity of human kind. Calls for greater dialogue, greater respect and defines terrorism as a world phenomena. It calls for a refined definition of terrorism and a reasonable and international plan to cooperatively combat terrorism. Finally it calls for protection of the environment.

Our faith is one that demands that we love, demands that we forgive, demands that we reach out to our enemies and forbids us to judge. Dialogue, sounds like something we can all live with.

WYD, Father Stan and Suffering

Fr. Stan Fortuna - Everybody Got 2 Suffer

While watching the World Youth Day 2008 specials I came across Father Stan Fortuna. No surprise there. If there are young people, if there are Catholics, if there is praise and worship than this Franciscan will be there.

For me he is a most unlikely priest. I don’t expect to see brothers playing jazz, I don’t expect to hear Fathers rapping. But there he is over and over again being cooler than cool. But it is not an act and the rap is not the message, it is simply one of many mediums of expressing the message of Love.

I am excited to see him. He will be performing at the University of Saint Francis at the end of September. I especially like hearing his, “Everybody Got 2 Suffer”. The topic of suffering came up over and over again in my Pastoral Counseling classes. It is a focus of Disaster Mental Health. My Buddhist Monk friends in Fort Wayne talk about suffering constantly. All faiths struggle to make sense out of suffering. Why does a loving God allow it? What function does it serve? How can we endure it? For the Christian, how can I offer it up?

So, I love the video even if usually prefer listening to Sinatra to listening to rap.

WYD 2008: Images and Thoughts

"Sydney: Witness the Spirit" WYD08

Watching WYD 2008 is almost stimuli overload. So much to hear, to see and to imagine. I would love to be there, if I was younger and had more energy. How does the Holy Father keep going? I get tired just watching him!

His message is similar to his message in the United States, love, reconcile, take responsibility and take care of your world. However, it is the faces of the pilgrims that fascinate me. Folks from all over the globe who took years preparing for this event. People who gather together with strangers and leave with new friends. People forever transformed.

The other thing that fascinates me is all of the symbols and rituals, beside liturgy, that touch people in such powerful ways. When I first watched the video on the WYD Cross and Icon I found myself thinking about our Jubilee Cross in our diocese. When I saw the Icon I thought of the icon I bought at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. I though of my love of icons, of how they are made, their history, their veneration and their power. I appreciate the simplicity of some Protestant churches but I would miss the symbols that serve as gateways or focal points of prayer.

Yep, World Youth Day, I love it.


WYD08 - Journey of Cross & Icon

An Axis of Hope?

World Youth Day 2008

What a week for the world. Every week we are confronted with another species that is endangered due to global warming. Every week we learn of the cost of war and violence, of human rights violations, of the excesses of greed and pride. This week is different.

This week, from two sides of the planet we heard words of hope, of reconciliation, of faith.

In Madrid Spain King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia hosted a three day Global Interfaith Conference. It is a beginning for a series of dialogues between faiths. The goal is not some warmed over, watered down agreement that we all can agree on such as liking rainbows and hugs. Rather it is an honest assessment of what the faiths of the world hold in common and where they differ. It is a call for real understanding, a call for authentic faith in action. The hope is that such a dialogue will free people of faith from confusing fanaticism and intolerance with the teachings of their faiths. The hope is greater peace, at home, in our families, our communities and between nations. We shall see.

On the other side of the planet the Holy Father arrived in Australia for World Youth Day 2008. Last night I watched him arrive in Sydney Harbor. I watched his ship sail into Barangaroo. The scene was wonderful. Here was the Successor of Peter surrounded not by cardinals and bishops but by youth from around the world. The poorest of nations found ways to send these young pilgrims to WYD. I watched him on the deck of the ship surrounded from youth from Africa, Oceania, the Pacific Rim, Europe and the Americas. It was a clear reflection of the Universal Church.

I watched as the Holy Father praised Australia for its act of reconciliation toward the aboriginal peoples of the nation. I watched as the Pope called for believers to work for peace and to care for the environment. I look forward to following WYD as it promises to inspire a new generation of Christians to live in love and peace with a world that needs to be loved.

So, it has been a good week. While these two events are monumental and will be markers in history I find myself wondering how many smaller markers, acts of hope occur everyday that are over looked. I find myself wondering how many miracles everyday go unnoticed.


Franciscans WYD

Preparing for THE Encounter

Bishop Gabino Miranda Melgarejo of Peru spoke at a Hispanic Eucharistic Conference in Atlanta Georgia. What he said had the impact of a “grandmother speech”. In other words, it just made good common sense.The bishop spoke of the need for folks to attend church more than the minimum of one time a week. To get the most of this encounter with the ‘Body of Christ and the Real Presence, to get nourished required some preparation.

The bishop stated that to get the most out of Mass we need to be prepared internally and eternally. We need to dress the part, we need to take time to be with God, to be spiritually ready for a meaningful encounter. His examples were basic and to the point. If we were going to a party we would spend time on our appearance, so why not for an encounter with God and His Church?

Part of being prepared is to understand and pay attention to all of the outward symbols of the Mass. That includes the vestments of the priests, the colors, songs and special additions to the church. It means appreciating 20 centuries of liturgy.

I enjoyed reading about the conference. It made sense and now I have to put my jeans away and find something else to wear to church!


Atlanta Eucharistic Congress 2008

Interfaith Conference in Madrid

I know the Beijing Olympics is right around the corner. However, that is hardly the only important international event of the summer. Come 16 July there will be an interfaith conference in Madrid Spain. The conference is hosted by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The fact that the ruler of a nation associated with the Wahhabism School of Sunni Islam, the nation that is the birthplace of Islam and the center of the faith cannot be stressed enough.This is an important conference and an important step in a series of steps toward greater dialog and closer relations between faith communities. Spain seems a very wise choice since it is a bridge between the Christian culture of Europe and the Islamic culture of northern Africa.

The conference will bring together members of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The purpose of the conference is to stress the core beliefs the world religions hold in common. The king believes that if members of each faith actually stay true to the core values of their faiths then peace may be achieved, families strengthened and a cultural war avoided.

The conference will bring together leaders in a variety of fields or disciplines. That includes theologians, political scientists, political leaders, behavioral scientists and advocates for human rights.

The Vatican is not neutral in this endeavor. Recognizing the importance of the conference the Vatican is dispatching its top leader in interfaith dialog, Cardinal Tauran.

Israeli Rabbi David Rosen, the president of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations will be attending the conference. In fact the conference will have approximately 200 attendees from many faiths and nations. It is planned as only one of a series of conferences to promote interfaith cooperation and dialogue.

This conference is too important to be ignored or viewed simply as a curiosity. The world is hemorrhaging. The cries of crisis are all too common. From religious conflicts to human rights violations to a planet facing an ecological disaster the world needs for its leaders to be able to talk and to listen to one another. If our religious leaders cannot do this then how can we expect our secular leaders to talk to one another in peace and with respect? We must pray for their success no matter how long it may take.

The Year of Saint Paul

Saint Paul the Apostle Rome Italy

The Feast Day of Peter and Paul marked the beginning of the Year of St. Paul. Pope Benedict declared the year to mark the 2000 anniversary of the apostle’s birth. I look forward to a year of focusing on this key person in the development of our faith.

He is a lightening rod of controversy. Some of that controversy is of his own making. He was a man of strong conviction and did not always express those convictions diplomatically. He was also a sophisticated writer and orator. However, much of the controversy appears to be our habit of interpreting the words and actions of a person from 2000 years ago through the cultural prism of today.

So it is easy to attack this saint as being anti women. However that requires that one ignore his writings to women deacons and female leaders in the Roman Christian community. It also requires one to ignore that he demands that husband treat their wives with respect.

It is easy to point out his condemnation of homosexuality. However, a fuller reading would reveal he condemns all hedonistic pleasures of the flesh that are not focused on love and sacrifice.

One can point out he advocated for celibacy and almost sounded anti flesh, as if he hated this body. However, a more balanced view would be that he called out for balance, between the spirit and the body.

Some Christian denominations go in the other direction. Their branch of Christianity is almost exclusively Pauline. This reflects that he is the most extensive contributor to the Christian Scriptures. I believe St. Paul would either be embarrassed or angered at such a development because his writings, his focus was always on Jesus.

Last week I attended Mass at a different church. The priest stated that he looked forward to the year so he could learn more about the saint. The priest stated that while the Letters of Saint Paul were read each week during liturgy he rarely addressed the writings in his homily. He stated that was because he found the writings too philosophical and abstract and he hoped this year would change that for him.

I was surprised. I found myself thinking if he found Paul challenging how did he ever get through the writings of St. John? However, I also found his honesty refreshing and I suspect he connected with a number of his congregates who shared his experience.

I love the writings of St. Paul. I don’t believe the writings of one of the core leaders of the Ancient Church should be an easy read. However, I find his readings grounded in love. I find his writings to be some of the most beautiful writings in Scripture. I believe it is important to have a model of such a strong man who can also express such tender feelings.

1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant…”

So I look forward to learning as the world celebrates this Year of St. Paul. I look forward to Turkish Catholics as they mark this year in the land of St Paul. I look forward as Churches around the world study the works of this crucial early leader and saint.

Marking the Beginning of the Year of St. Paul in Singapore