Sentire Cum Ecclesia

The Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Melbourne has issued the following communique to the Clergy, Staff and Members of the Archdiocese:

The Holy Father announced during the Angelus a Day of Prayer & Fasting for Peace in Syria, in the Middle East and throughout the whole world next Saturday 7th September 2013.

Mindful of the appalling events in Syria, ongoing violence and unrest, you are encouraged to ask your people to pray with and for, those who suffer at this time. You may choose to use the Prayers of the Faithful or any other opportunity for prayer you deem appropriate. Pope Francis has indicated that non-Catholics too, may wish to join in these gestures of solidarity.

Pope Francis will lead a Prayer Vigil in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City at 7.00pm. He invites all the Church to unite with him in prayer and fasting for those whose lives are beset by turmoil and violence that peace may reign across the world.

Monsignor Greg Bennet
VICAR GENERAL

Like me, I hope you are all welcoming this initiative from Pope Francis. President Obama is pressuring Congress. Let us pressure heaven (in a manner of speaking).

Small spanner in the works: we have another event on Saturday, which is taking some of our nation’s attention. By 7pm this Saturday many of us will have already tuned in to the TV reports from the Election counting rooms, eager to know what the next three or so years might hold for Australian politics. Some have suggested that our time might indeed be better spent in prayer and fasting for world wide peace at this time, than watching the last hurrahs of the federal election campaign.

But – for those of you who like me will find the counting room specials irresistible (even flicking from one channel to another and following on twitter at the same time) – there is an alternative. Pope Francis’ vigil will be from 19:00 to 24:00 hrs Italian time on Saturday 7th. By my calculations, that will be the equivalent of 3:00 to 8:00 hours on Sunday 8th here in Oz. I am sure EWTN, Salt&Light, CTV, or some such will have live video coverage.

So, watch the electoral coverage, have a drink to celebrate (mutatis mutandis if you backed the losing party), grab a few hours sleep, then rise for an early matins vigil at 3am to join Pope Francis for the Vigil in St Peter’s square. Pray for peace in Syria, Middle East, and throughout the world. Then go to early mass on Sunday morning to give thanks that we live in a country where we been blessed with an authentic democracy and truly stable peace.

Then go home and catch up on your sleep.

Okay, sitting here at the Catholic New Media Conference (CNMC) Melbourne, and feeling a bit of a dinosaur. Fr John Corrigan sitting at the other end of the table. Fr Roderick Vohnogen is the main guest speaker, but we just had a very enthusiastic presentation by Catherine Smibert Toomey.

Here’s the summary so far: You could spend all your life on social media. If you are going to do that, make it count.

And the follow up message seems to be: There are a thousand different social media platforms out there. Use them all. (In fact, Cath just pointed us to a website called “Social Sprout” – which bills itself as a “social media management platform”. A platform for all your platforms.)

As many of you faithful followers who are still out there know, I’ve been at this blogging thing for almost 7 years. But I am still struggling to learn how to use Facebook (a lack of enthusiasm for this endeavour – upon which I am told my future prosperity depends – is admittedly a bit of an impediment), and only just learning to use Twitter.

My daughter uses Tumblr. Which yesterday James Bergin called “The Wild West of Social Media”. Thanks James. That’s where my daughter spends all her time…

I sense that most of you still reading this are fairly comfortable on the blogging platform. It’s great for writing on ideas and issues at length, and then exploring those ideas and issues in depth with the others around the commentary table (who’s got the port bottle?). Like me, you feel a little threatened by the proliferation of alternative electronic communications platforms. They’re too flashy, too faddy, too fast. We like slow.

I have the Feedly app on my devices, and I love following other blogs and news sites. It is like my own private newspaper every morning. I don’t have to “like” what I read, and I don’t have to broadcast to the whole world what I read this morning. But a co-worker recently told me that they they get all their news on Twitter. ????. Really. Feed-readers are so last year.

Anyway, I could go on. What I am feeling, among all these geeks (like Fr Roderick) and savvy young things (like Cath Toomey) around me, is that I am really a bit of a dinosaur (and that makes this ‘ere blog the prehistoric zone – something from the last decade). If I can’t even keep up with my blogging, what hope do I have on any other media?

“Fr John?”.
“Yes?”
“Do you use Prezi?”.
Blank look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”.
OMG. Thank you, Fr John, you make me fee so much better.

I think the huge response to my recent posts suggests that some of you have been really hanging out for a good controversy.

Can I suggest that you might like to follow me on Twitter @scecclesia? You don’t need to “tweet” yourself, but you can simply sign up at twitter.com to get an account, and “follow” your favourite bloggers, including Kate Edwards (@kate_edwards_oz), Jeff Tan (@jefftdm), Fr Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) etc. etc.

Admittedly, the combox is a bit limited at 140 characters…

Of course, if you don’t want to sign up for Twitter, you can read my tweets in the side column.

This is a sad and avoidable situation.

Here in Melbourne we have been working very hard to avoid the importation of tensions from overseas. The Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia, of which I am a founding member, exists to pour oil on just such troubled waters. Our president, Sheikh Riad Galil, recently (and somewhat bravely, I think, and with great integrity) attended the Coptic liturgy celebrated by Bishop Suriel in St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, highlighting the plight of Copts in Egypt at this time.

The next day, our JCMA “Super Sunday Seminar”, on the topic of “Sorry is the hardest word” met at the Mary McKillop Hall at the Dallas Catholic Parish (in the same vicinity as the Assyrian Church in this story). We had about 90 people there, including about 40 Muslims, and 20 Jews. Our meeting, which lasted from 2pm to 9pm discussing repentance and forgiveness in our three Abrahamic traditions, was rather surprised to discover that that evening in the Church right next door (sharing the same kitchen and foyer) the Syrian Catholic community were celebrating their mass and feast for the Festival of the Dormition of our Lady! Needless to say, there were some strange looks through the glass doors at our gathering, with hijabs and yamakas in great abundance (not to mention Sheikh Riad’s evening “call to prayer”).

Seeing the strange looks from the Syrian Catholics next door, I went in to talk to them to let them know who we were. I introduced myself as an employee of the Archdiocese and said that JCMA had been formed 10 years ago to promote harmony and understanding among the three abrahamic religions here in Australia so that the tensions and disagreements experienced between our communities overseas would not be imported here. They were a little suspicious – and perhaps thought that we were a bit gullible – but nevertheless, they wished us well in our endeavour.

I am afraid that the situation in this news story to which I have linked above does show a great deal of insensitivity on the part of the Council. We need to work hard here in Melbourne to build trust between communities, but in many cases we will need to be starting from scratch. I can fully understand – although I regret – the objections of our Assyrian brothers and sisters. I can fully understand the aspirations of the Muslim community in Coolaroo. There is an opportunity here for mediation. Perhaps JCMA can play a role. Perhaps the good relations between the Victorian Council of Churches and the Islamic Council of Victoria can play a role. Perhaps we can demonstrate to these traumatised and understandably fearful communities that there is nothing to fear from one another here in Melbourne.

But perhaps too the Hume City Council should have realised what a delicate situation they were dealing with, and used the resources of their excellent Hume Interfaith Network to facilitate some dialogue on the matter.

Here is another series of Year of Faith lectures that you might be interested in, this time at the Catholic Theological College in East Melbourne.

According to their flyer:

‘Open Minds and Believing Hearts’ Reflections on the Church’s Faith and Mission Today

You are warmly invited to join the staff of Catholic Theological College for a 5-part series of theological reflections of the many dimensions of Catholic Faith.

At each session you will hear three speakers from different fields of philosophy and theology, followed by questions and interaction.

These sessions will be of interest to people involved in the work and mission of Catholic parishes, schools and agencies, and to all who wish to reflect more deeply on what Faith means personally and communally.

Tuesday 20th August: Faith & Truth
Fr Shane Mackinlay, Sr Helen Delaney RSM, Fr Austin Cooper OMI

Tuesday 27th August: Faith & Beauty
Fr Brian Boyle, Sr Birute Arendarcikas RSM, Dr Cal Ledsham

Tuesday 3rd September: Faith & Goodness
Fr Laurie McNamara CM, Fr Mark O’Brien OP, Fr Phillip Gleeson SDB

Tuesday 10th Sept: Faith & Community
Sr Frances Baker RSM, Fr Steve Rigo, Dr Rosemary Canavan

Tuesday 17th September: Faith & Culture
Mrs Clara Geoghegan, Fr Kevin Lenehan, Fr Max Vodola

Venue: Catholic Theological College, 278 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne 3002
Time: 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm on Tues 20/8, 27/8, 3/9, 10/9, 17/9
Free admission. Tea & Coffee available.
RSVP: Jill Allen T: 03 9412 3304 E: jill.allen@ctc.edu.au

Except for smokers, whom we all know are pariahs on society and beneath our contempt and not worth respect that is due to any other consenting adult who wishes to practice any other act of his (or her) choice in the privacy of his (or his) own bedroom, lounge room, back verandah or city street.

Just a few hours ago, the Uniting Church Australia retweeted a tweet from Uniting Care Australia regarding the September 7 election:

@UnitingChurchAu: MT @UnitingCare_Aus Election Statement 2013: calling on a fair and just society http://t.co/5hbGgq3TMG #ausvotes #ajustsociety

I ask you, dear reader (as I pour you a glass of port – my God, it’s been a long time between drinks on this ‘ere blog), is there not something inherently UNfair and UNjust about a Government that would ask a mere 16.4% of Australian men and 13.9% of Australian women to foot the bill for a $5.3 billion shortfall in their budget? (according to the statistics of the Australian Cancer Council)?

How can they get away with this??? Why do we let them? Because the prejudice against smokers has reached a point in our society which would not be acceptable if it were directed against any other aspect of a person’s life, such as their race or their sexual inclinations/activity. Don’t fall for the rhetoric that tells you how much smokers cost society. It may very well be true that our hospitals have many people in them being treated for smoking related health issues and that this costs our society a lot of money. But let me tell you a secret: everyone gets sick and everyone dies. They do it only once and something causes it and the hospitals are there to treat it. Conversely, if you live to be 100 (because you have lived a really healthy life not smoking or drinking coffee or alcohol or eating McDonalds or chocolate etc.) then you STILL cost society a packet in aged care and pension. You don’t save money by reducing smoking. It is a myth.

What is not a myth is the huge income that our Government currently makes by taxing the smoking population to the absolute hilt (+25%). Just think of that figure they are proposing: $5.3 billion. Compare that to the amount they were hoping to get out of the mining companies – $10 billion or so. We rejected taxing big mining. Now they are proposing taxing ordinary private Australian citizens just wanting to do what generations of people all over the world have done, and what in many countries you can still do quite freely – but not in Australia. (For comparison: last November I bought five packets of pipe tobacco in Dubai for $12; here in Australia, the equivalent price is $185).

I am not an opponent of plain packaging. I am no fan of the big tobacco companies (who I think are actually smoking’s worst enemies). I don’t want to support organised crime by buying “chop-chop”. I currently smoke a mixture of 30% tobacco and 70% tea, because I can’t afford pure tobacco anymore. I just want the freedom to be able to enjoy a pipe when I am reading, writing or just relaxing. I wish that, like smokers of another drug of choice, I had the right to grow a couple of plants of tobacco in the back yard for my own personal use. But unlike that drug, tobacco is taxed, and hence is a huge source of revenue for the Government – to bypass that tax would be a crime.

Don’t listen to the rhetoric about wanting to reduce smoking. All the Government wants to do is reap (by an UNjust and UNfair tax) a windfall from a part of the population that no one respects or cares about any more. Only, I am not sure how the argument works. If they are really wanting to “stamp out smoking”, how will they get their $5.3 billiion budget plug? There must be a limit to how much you can tax a product before your income from that tax actually begins to go backwards…

I wrote in my introduction to the Encyclical Lumen Fidei (published by Mustard Seed Bookshop) that one should avoid the temptation to do “source analysis” on the Encyclical, trying to guess which bits were in Benedict’s draft and which bits Francis added.

But sometimes the source is so obvious that you cannot avoid the conclusion: “This was in the original draft by Benedict”. I am re-reading “Introduction” in preparation for teaching my Anima Education course on the Creed, and it is fascinating to see all the points where it connects with Lumen Fidei.

Here is a clear case. Chapter Two of Lumen Fidei is entitled “Unless you believe, you will not understand (cf. Is 7:9).” There then follows a rather interesting linguistic analysis of Isaiah 7:9 “If you will not believe, you will not be established” focusing on the Septuagint translation “If you will not believe, you will not understand”. He then goes on to construct a strong argument for the relationship of faith to truth.

It isn’t “word-for-word”, but it is “idea-for-idea” in line with a passage in Joseph Ratzinger’s 1968 classic “Introduction to Christianity” in a section entitled “Faith as standing firm and understanding” (p69 following in the Ignatius Press English edition). I won’t go into detail here, just check it out for yourself if you have time. It is fascinating to see how, after 45 years, his ideas are still fresh, relevant and inspiring.

You could note too that he did the same thing with the Encyclical Spe Salvi, by incorporating into it his ideas about Purgatory from his 1976 book “Eschatology“. Together, I believe that “Introduction” and “Eschatology” are the two most important theological works of his pre-papal career.

I am no fan of the Jerusalem Bible translation. I weep everytime I hear the Scriptures read at Mass that we have to endure this translation of a translation for years yet to come now that the plan to use the English Standard Version for our new lectionary was scuppered by the English speaking bishops around the world. And yet, it does produce in me interesting points of reflection during homilies, as I use the Universalis app to follow the mass, and that helpfully provides the Greek text for the Gospel lesson.

Since it doesn’t provide the Greek text for the other readings, however, I had to go looking on my Logos app to find the Greek text for today’s Second Reading. In particular, I was struck by the translation of Colossians 3:10-11 that was included in the JB lectionary.

This is how I grew up with it (RSV text):

[We are] being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

Here is how it reads in the ESV:

[We] have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is ?all, and in all.

Here is the JB:

[We have been] renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.

I tried embedding the Greek text here, but it didn’t come out right. Literally, the last line of the text reada “but [the] all things and in all Christ.” The standard conclusion to this text in standard English translations is “But Christ is all, and in all.” Where does the JB get “There is only Christ; he is everything and he is in everything.” I can live with “Christ is everything and in everything”, but isn’t the rest – “there is only Christ” – a bit of a stretch?

It IS a paraphrase of the Greek text, that is for sure. But the more I looked at it, the more I came to think: no, that’s the sense of it, isn’t it? The force of the “but” is adversative: There ISN’T “Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Skythian, slave, freeman”; RATHER (“but”) there IS Christ (with the implication that there is ONLY Christ), and he is “everything and in everything”.

So, after having a bit of a think about it, maybe the JB isn’t so bad on this text after all. It still is more of a paraphrase than a translation, but I can live with it.

My one criticism of all the English translations, however, is that they miss St Paul’s emphatic word order: his long list of what there isn’t ends on what there is: “Christ”.

Here’s my try at the last part of verse 11:

“there isn’t Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Skythian, slave, freeman; rather – everything and in all – [there is] Christ.”

I still vote for the ESV…

And while I am promoting everyone else’s stuff, I should point out that there is a new course starting on Monday night at Mary Glowrey House for Anima Education. Curiously enough, it is also on the topic of the Creed – although we will be covering both the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds.

Full details here on the Anima Education website. (BTW – Anima Education is on Twitter too: @Anima_Ed)