Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement

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Nathalie Becquart the Pioneer, Women in the Church

Nathalie Becquart the Pioneer,
Women in the Church

New paths are opening up for women's participation in a Church that is becoming synodal.

The first woman in the history of the Church to be appointed undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops with voting rights, Sister Nathalie Becquart, participated in a worldwide online conference on Friday, June 18.

Gabriela Arce
June 30, 2021

“Women in the Church: The Challenge of Synodality” 

“Women in the Church: The Challenge of Synodality” took place last June 18 in a virtual form. . It was organized by the Latin American Academy of Catholic Leaders and by the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations. Also present were Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Lozano, Secretary General of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM); Sophie Gladima, Senegal’s Minister of Energy and the only Catholic in the Muslim government of her country; and Cristiane Murray, Deputy Director of the Holy See Press Office.

Women in the Church: synodality is the way

Sister Nathalie Becquart highlighted the path of synodality already begun as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. She also emphasized the recent measures of openness that Pope Francis has taken, with the possibility today of having women in instituted ministries, such as the acolyte, lectorate, and catechist.

 

Regarding this point, Moseñor Lozano emphasized that “The Church has a woman’s face: our assemblies, parish groups, liturgical celebrations, pastoral ministries in our communities, the quality of reflection and the warmth of dedication to the poor and abandoned, is woven mainly in the feminine womb, whose core is a space of shelter and protection.”

The vocation: being a woman, being the Church

Sister Nathalie worked for 10 years in the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and Vocations within the French Episcopal Conference and referred to the issue of women in the Church saying that “it is a matter of helping women to discern, discover and listen to their unique vocation, because God calls everyone in a unique way. To find one’s vocation is to find one’s place in the Church, in society.”

A challenge for the Church

One of the great challenges through this synodal mission, not only in the Church but also in businesses and organizations, is that we are invited to exercise responsibility in a new way in the form of service and participate in a vision of shared governance, Sister Nathalie pointed out. It is about exercising authority in a way that is at the service of the people we serve and their freedom, she added emphatically. This will put us to work as a team, men and women united and at the same time interconnected with the community. “I do not exist without those I serve and therefore I owe my life to them, thus making us engage in a vision of reciprocity,” concluded Sister Nathalie Becquart.

We do not want authority we want credibility

Cristiane Murray, deputy director of the Holy See Press Office, pointed out: “I feel that being a woman, in my role, is peculiar and different (…) I like to think that women in leadership positions do not want authority but credibility. Personally, I establish a relationship of openness and continuous listening with all colleagues, creating a synodal working environment.”

 

Finally, Sister Nathalie added that in this way we are advancing on the synodal path, “all of us together in this synodal Church, and the Church will be synodal, and women will be able to continue to unfold their charism, their vocation, at the service of all. Because a charism is always to be placed at the service of the community.”

To close Becquar invited us all to participate, get involved and walk together wherever we are and enter the synodal journey bringing the voice of women to the next Synod of Bishops entitled “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”, which will have an initial local and diocesan stage, in October of this year, and to which we are all invited.

 

“The path of synodality is the path that God expects from the Church of the third millennium. Church and synod are synonymous because the Church is nothing other than walking together“. (Pope Francis)

 

Photos: vatican.va

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Latin American Bishops focus General Assembly on renewal process

Latin American Bishops focus General Assembly on renewal process

The Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) began its 38th General Assembly on 18 May, finalizing its reorganization and renewal process started in 2019.

By Lisa Zengarini
20 May 2021

The Latin American Bishops’ meeting, which runs until 21 May, was originally planned in Puerto Rico but, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is being held virtually instead.

The General Assembly is attended by 85 participants, including six cardinals and fifty bishops, under the theme: “Weaving dreams, renewing commitments”.

Nine renewal principles to be approved

The assembly, which will be deliberative, is expected to approve nine reorganization and renewal principles, following a two-year consultation process, in which all its 22 member Bishops’ Conferences have been involved.

The process is aimed at making the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean more missionary, synodal and outgoing, as indicated by Pope Francis. The nine principles include: synodality, collegiality, integral conversion, being a prophetic voice, having an integral vision, effectiveness, networking, promoting decentralization, welcoming and contributing to the Magisterium of the Church.

CELAM “a driving force” for an outgoing and synodal Church

Opening the session on Monday, Peruvian Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos of Trujillo, President of CELAM, emphasized the role of CELAM as “a driving force” for awakening a missionary conscience of the Church in the Continent, for promoting a permanent pastoral conversion and an outgoing and synodal Church, which “walks with the People of God and the Episcopal Conferences”.

 

Focusing on four great dreams of “Querida Amazonia”

Archbishop Cabrejos outlined the main features of the renewal process, saying that the hallmark will be the four prophetic “dreams” – “social, cultural, ecological and ecclesial”.

The four dreams were proposed by Pope Francis in his the Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia following the Synod on the Amazonia in 2019.

CELAM a “generator of processes and not of events”

The President of CELAM emphasized the need for a greater agility, flexibility, integration, intercommunication within the Council to make its services more effective for the Episcopal Conferences and for the People of God in Latin America and the Caribbeans.

“We want to lay the foundations of a synodal Church in the Continent, to move from episcopal collegiality to synodal collegiality,” he explained.

Archbishop Cabrejos clarified that, as an episcopal council, CELAM remains a subsidiary body which is sensitive to “the different realities and pastoral challenges arising” in each context. CELAM, he added, wants to be “a generator of processes and not of events” and offer more agile services to “strengthen the action of the Bishops’ Conferences.”

Preparing for the November Ecclesial Assembly

Archbishop Cabrejos finally pointed out that the Council is presently focusing on three directions: its own renewal process, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) which was established in 2020 following the Synod on the Amazonia, and the first Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be held in November in Mexico City on the theme “We are all outgoing missionary disciples”.

During this important event participants will examine, reflect on, and strengthen the outcome of the Fifth Episcopal Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean, of 2007, also known as the “Conference of Aparecida”.

As explained by Pope Francis in a video-message on 24 January this year, this will be the first event of its kind in the history CELAM involving the entire people of God walking together in mission: laypeople, consecrated men and women, priests, bishops, who have all been involved in the preparation process.

The Latin American Episcopal Council 

The Latin American Episcopal Council was established in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a body of communion and cooperation supporting Bishops’ Conferences in Latin America and the Carribeans.

Based in Bogotá (Colombia), after the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) it has extended its scope. CELAM meets every four years for its Ordinary Assembly in which the presidents of the 22 member Bishops’ Conferences outline its pastoral guidelines and elect its directive bodies.

Periodically, it also holds general conferences on major issues, the first of which was held in 1968 in Medellin, Colombia.  The last one was the Aparecida Conference in which then-Archbishop Bergoglio played a central role.

 

Source: https://www.vaticannews.va/

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Youth: the great challenge for the Church in the US

Youth: the great challenge for the Church in the US

An eye-opening report from the National Dialogue

Enrique Soros
April 17, 2021

Bishops in the US together with the Catholic Pastoral Ministry, composed of numerous institutions of lay leaders who interact with bishops, priests and nuns, both as members and as leaders and advisors, have worked for years trying to discern priorities for the national youth ministry. There have been several meetings and surveys in which approximately 10,000 youth and young adults have participated.

On March 2, a webinar conference was held in English on the conclusions reached by the National Dialogue “on the Catholic ministry with youth and young adults”, titled “Final Report“.  A similar conference was held in Spanish on March 16 for the Hispanic community.  Renowned leaders exposed the main guidelines used for the process by which the above-mentioned document was redacted and a summarized version of the content and pastoral reach of this document was explained.

10,000 young voices in 10 ideas

Ten recommendations presented by the document were given after a thorough process of discernment by the National Dialogue.  We could call these “The 10 commandments of the Youth Ministry in the US”.

They are:

  1. Connect more intentionally the life of faith with the lived experiences of young people
  2. We all need to do more synodal listening to one another
  3. Address the “authenticity gap”
  4. Increase investment in accompaniment
  5. Expand ministry with young adults
  6. Re-imagine faith formation
  7. Reconsider a new approach to the preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation
  8. Partner with parents and enhance family ministry
  9. Transform the ministry leadership
  10. Embrace complexities

For every millennial who joins the Church, there are six who leave

The bishops are aware of the lack of values crisis and the loss of the faithful in the temples, especially among youth and young adults.  According to a June 2019 report by Bishop Robert Barron (then chairman of the USCCB’s Commission on Evangelization and Catechesis) presented at the Bishops’ General Assembly, 50% of millennials left the Church.  For every millennial who joins the Church, there are six who abandon it. Eighty percent of them do it before turning 23. The median age at which they leave the Church is thirteen. Bishop Barron also presented a report from the Pew Research Center which found that 69% of Catholics in the US believe that the holy host is merely a symbol of the Body of Christ, not his real presence.

Confronted with these facts, it is not uncommon to see that the recurrent answer and eventual solution is to go deeper in the catechetical formation, to motivate the intellectual knowledge of the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith, and to motivate the participation in liturgical events, especially in Mass.

Bishop Barron’s answer to these problems given at the next Bishops’ Assembly, in November 2019 is explained in “Five keys to reach the religiously unaffiliated”. These are: “Get young people involved in works of social justice; use the via pulchritudinis -the way of beauty-; stop dumbing down the faith; turn every parish into a missionary society; and creatively use the new media”.

Experiencing a great love

Motivated by Bishop Barron’s presentation on June 2019 at the Bishops’ Assembly, MovCom US, “Catholic Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in the US” wrote a letter to Bishop Barron, in October 2019 as chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, and to Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman-elect of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, in which the following ideas were expressed:

“We would like to share with you an excerpt of Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit in which he emphasizes the importance of a personal love to be able to fully participate in the life of the Church:

‘Rather than being too concerned with communicating a great deal of doctrine, let us first try to awaken and consolidate the great experiences that sustain the Christian life.  In the words of Romano Guardini, “when we experience a great love…everything else becomes part of it’. (Christus Vivit #212)”

Isn’t this the most important issue faced by the Church?

Every enterprise often reviews its strategies and results.  What company could survive if it loses six clients while only acquiring one?  Can we afford not to involve the whole Church, all the Bishops, all the laymen, to jointly analyze what is causing the youth to abandon the Church and suggest concrete solutions?

Combined with family and marriage, isn’t this the most important issue faced by the Church worldwide?  As soon as hearts are conquered for the Lord, every social and apostolic activity will make profound sense, not the other way around.

Young people need life, community, accompaniment

It is noteworthy that the surveys emphasized insistently on the importance given to life, to personal testimony, to experiences tied to the faith, to accompaniment, and walking together. They also stressed the need to venture into new forms of evangelization, to include parents in the ministry processes, to abandon the comfort zones and be open to what is different, to leave the known and safe structures so that the youth ministry may become more experiential, more relatable, stemming from young people’s reality, and listening to their concerns.

Maybe we should frame the “Ten commandments for the Youth Ministry in the US” and hang it on every ministry and parish office in the country.

What is the Church doing?

As mentioned above, some bishops, priests, laymen and nuns are working on the youth ministry through direct contact with the young people.  Exaudi spoke about this with Paul Jarzembowski, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries and with Mar Muñoz-Visoso, executive director of the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity of the Church, both of USCCB, to find out how the Episcopate is dealing with the youth ministries.

Jarzembowski said that “the Church is responding to the challenges presented at the National Dialogue through various initiatives by the Conference of Catholic Bishops in the US, including:

  • Forming a special working committee of bishops to deal with issues related to youth and young adults,
  • The commitment of the bishops, the ministry’s leaders, and the young adults to hold an intercultural conversation for three years,
  • A mobilization process called “Journeying Together”,
  • Follow Pope Francis’ initiative to establish Christ the King Sunday as the new world day of recognition and celebration of youth in our parishes and local communities”.

He continued stressing the need for openness to young people’s reality saying that “all these efforts show that the path to follow with respect to the youth and young adults must be one of genuine solidarity and it is important to build trust among the generations and cultures in our communities.  Young people need to know that the Church sees them and truly cares for them, no matter their past circumstances or their level of commitment to practice their faith.  All these efforts involve processes, and this is something we have learned through the National Dialogue and from Christus Vivit: that is, to know that our journey with the youth, while we all walk towards Christ, each one in his own way, will take time, investment, and perseverance…but, at the end, we are hopeful of what is to come”.

The young want a community and to be heard

Muñoz-Visoso mentioned that “the final report from the National Dialogue confirms the Synod’s as well as Pope Francis’ intuition in Christus Vivit.  Young people want to be heard and for us to walk with them along the way, allowing them to be the protagonists of their own history without outside intervention dictating solutions to problems we do not understand and that do not address their reality.  They want us to become involved, to be authentic, but above all, they want to create community, personal as well as virtual communities, places where their concerns and worries are addressed, where they feel they can contribute with their ideas, skills and talents, and where their sense of belonging is reinforced as well as the growth of their faith; a place that speaks to their everyday reality, challenging them and challenging us”.

Journeying Together, an initiative that confronts reality

The director of Diversity in the Episcopate expressed that “through the Journeying Together initiative, our Secretariat, in collaboration with the departments of Youth, Education, Evangelization and, more recently, Vocations, is bringing together young people and leaders of the youth ministries, as well as the campus ministries, with several bishops who are interested in a process of inter-cultural dialogues. The objective is to have the message of the Gospel and the vision of Christus Vivit reach youth and young adults from every cultural and socioeconomic group and to promote a conversion in the adults in charge that may lead to a more authentic and effective ministry”.

She concludes: “At a moment in which the country is divided by ideologies, acrimony, hate, violence and racism, the youth, together with their bishops, are giving us an example of what is possible through dialogue and mutual accompaniment so that we may be able to dream and plan for a better future.  The synodal way works!”

Bishops, priests, ministry leaders, have we received the message?

Will the bishops, priests, ministry leaders, catechists and communicators acknowledge what the youth and young adults are consistently and recurrently asking for?

Will we react and take the 10 suggestions as basic ones to be implemented in our dioceses, parishes, institutions, and movements?  Will we understand the main idea of the human communal and testimonial connection as a way to a personal conversion in Jesus and a growth in faith?

The National Dialogue Report leaves no doubt.  That is what the young people have been waiting for.

The Church’s future is at stake.  It is up to all of us to become a Church of authentic men and women, welcoming, embracing, brotherly, communal; a Church that is attractive to every young person and their families.

Everything else the Church has to offer will become part of that great love.

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A new international catholic news agency is born: Exaudi An interview with Alberto Ramírez, CEO:

A new international Catholic news agency is born:
Exaudi

An interview with Alberto Ramírez, CEO. Exaudi’s objectives:
- to reinforce unity with the Pope,
- evangelization,
- and to fill the information gap left by the suspension of Zenit.

Enrique Soros
15 April 2021
Alberto Ramírez, CEO of Exaudi, with Pope Francis

A new international Catholic news agency was formed in February 2021.  Its name is “Exaudi” and consists of three sections corresponding to the three languages in which the news are published: Spanish, English and Italian. On its web page, www.exaudi.org, it states that it is “a voice that provides information about the life and activities of the Pope and the Church”, destined to “shed light on current topics and different realities that affect man’s life in the world through information, opinions and analyses.”

On the page it sustains its apostolic character: “Exaudi’s aim is the evangelization of the world. It is born to strengthen the Church’s unity with the Pope”.  It also mentions that it “is promoted by a group of Catholic businessmen convinced of the necessity to evangelize the world.”

Exaudi’s values are based on “Christian humanism”, “fidelity to the Pope and to the Magisterium of the Church” providing its “professional, rigorous and missionary journalism” as service to both of them.

The language coordinators are Larissa López for the Spanish section, Andrea Acali for the Italian section and Deborah Castellano Lubov for the English section.

Schoenstatt International interviewed Exaudi’s CEO, Alberto Ramírez:

Why was Exaudi created?

Last December we had to leave Zenit due to economic issues, since it lacked the resources to continue and because of this, Zenit’s proprietors decided to suspend the English, Spanish and Italian services and dismissed all of us. We received so many messages from our readers and subscribers that, with the support of several businessmen, we decided to start a new news agency with the whole team that had left Zenit: journalists, translators, and myself.  We had three objectives: reinforce Catholics’ unity with the Pope, evangelization, and recover the information hole left by Zenit’s absence.

Why was it given the name Exaudi?

Exaudi means to listen, and that is what we want our readers to do. In these difficult times in which we have so much to do, we must make time to listen to what He want to tell us. We encourage our readers to listen, understand/comprehend, and discern.

Exaudi gives rigorous information, without hearsay or criticism. We strive to remain faithful to the events and to the life and activities of the Pope and the Church.

Deborah Castellano Lubov, coordinator of Exaudi English
What kind of relationship do you keep with Zenit owners?

The owners of Zenit are the Legionaries of Christ Congregation, and my relationship with them is very good. While I was their agency’s CEO, from February 2011 to December 2020, they gave me their full support in my mission. I am extremely grateful to them. Zenit is a great work that has done and may continue to do a lot of good.

Sustaining an international news agency with professionalism is not easy and is quite expensive.  How do you subsist?

Exaudi has three income sources: a fundraising campaign through our readers, sponsors, and the agency’s proprietors. We believe that an agency like ours should involve, attract, and get the support from everyone who approaches it. For anyone interested in forming part of the agency, I will be at their disposal at my personal email  address aramirez@exaudi.org. We think there is a huge void for our agency to fill within the communication field.

Exaudi not only wants to inform, but it wants to help Catholics with testimonies through its interview section; in the voices section we present the explanations of relevant and discerning personalities on important topics. They are not personal opinions, but rather reflections for Catholics, taking as a reference what the Pope and Magisterium of the Church have said.

In the analysis section we bring to our readers research work, questions and issues that do not require interpretation and need to be explained in order to make them known. The purpose is to help Catholics in their family, friendship, and professional environments to explain why things are the way they are. Issues such as euthanasia, social justice, vaccination as a contribution to the common good, rediscovering confession, and many other topics. We hope you like them; we are at your disposal and look forward to your contributions and comments at info@exaudi.org.

Can you define the Pope in a few words?

He is a man of God, courageous in difficult times. He knows how to talk about common topics in a new and relatable way. He is sensible to today’s problems, without leaving anything pending. A wonderful pastor.

What would you tell the Pope if you met with him again?

To keep making demands on us Catholics since the Church is not only his, but our responsibility as well. We must become one with the Pope and show society that we are faithful to the Pope and to the Church. I would tell him that he can count on us and that we pray for him every day.

Can you define today’s Church in a few words?

An institution upheld by men who make mistakes, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, with the best message there is, the word of Christ, and that we are here to serve others. That, in spite of difficulties and adversities, our Mother takes care of us and guides us. All Catholics should be as loyal as we are demanding in doing good. We are all called to holiness.

What do you expect from the Church in the following years?

First, for the Church to be united. As Archbishop José Gómez (archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) said in a recent interview for Exaudi, “Unity does not mean that we do not have differences. But it does mean that we understand our differences in light of what unites us. And what unites us is that we are children of God’’.

The Church must not remain in mere words, but rather in action. Pope Francis said it quite clearly, “I want a Church that is ready to go”. 

What do you expect from Exaudi?

For us to be able to help our readers in their lives. For us to awaken in them the desire to be better persons in the Christian vocation for the good of humanity. For us to unite the Church with the Pope and to return the world towards Christ again. For Exaudi to join the good media sources available today.

 

It’s possible to subscribe to Exaudi’s daily or weekly bulletin on its website:  www.exaudi.org.

Translation: Maribel Acaron

Rosa Die Alcolea, coordinator of Zenit Spanish Aug. 2017 - Sept. 2020, with Larissa López, coordinator of Exaudi Spanish
Andrea Acali, coordinator of Exaudi Italian

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Inauguration of the “Amoris Laetitia Family Year”

Inauguration of the
"Amoris Laetitia Family Year"

Author: Heinrich Brehm

In Rome, on the fifth anniversary of the publication of The Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the inauguration of the “Amoris Laetitia Family year” took place with a message to participants in a webinar on the topic “Our Daily Love” organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Roman Diocese, and the John Paul II Theological Institute.

Taking loving care of frailties and wounds

In his message to the webinar participants, Pope Francis reiterated the invitation to reread and reflect on his Amoris Laetitia apostolic exhortation published five years ago, and to draw conclusions.  “The main intention of the document”’, said the Pope, “is to communicate, in a profoundly changed time and culture, the need for a new look at the family by today’s Church: it is not enough to affirm the value and the importance of doctrine if we do not become custodians of the beauty of the family and take care of its frailties and wounds with compassion”.

He explained that “On the one hand, we proclaim to couples, spouses and families a word that helps them grasp the authentic meaning of their union and love, the sign and image of Trinitarian love and of the covenant between Christ and the Church. It is through the ever-new Word of the Gospel that every teaching, including the teaching of families, can take form”.

“It is a demanding word”, he said, “since it seeks to free human relationships from everything that may disfigure its image and make them unstable: the dictatorship of feelings, the exaltation of the temporary which discourages lifetime commitments, the preponderance of individualism, the fear of what is to come”.

“By distinguishing the value of marriage as God’s plan and as a vocation”, he said, “the aim is to show that even a path marked by failure, downfalls and change, can lead to human fulfillment and become a leaven of fraternity and love in society”.

Logo des "Jahres der Familie Amoris Laetitia" (Grafik: laityfamilylife.va)

The Church must immerse itself in real life

“This message cannot and must not be given from above or from outside”, continued Pope Francis. “The Church is incarnated in historic reality, as was her Master.  So, when it proclaims the Gospel of the family, it does so by immersing itself in real life, knowing firsthand the daily struggles of couples and parents, their problems, their suffering, all those small and large situations that weigh down and sometimes hinder their journey”.

“The Church is called to accompany the journey of families,” said the Pope. “Not only to chart the direction, but to make the journey with them. This is especially important in times of the pandemic, with its psychological, economic, and health difficulties. We have seen that the family ties have been and will be put to the test, but at the same time it has been clear that they are the strongest point of reference, the greatest support, the irreplaceable guardian of the stability of the entire human and social community”.

Father Alexandre Awi Melo, Schoenstatt father and Secretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life together with Dr. Gabriella Gambino, undersecretary, presented a brief video in which they encouraged the faithful all over the world to join in the celebration of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, deepening family ties and participating in the pastoral initiatives organized by their communities, parishes, and dioceses to enhance the values and the profound richness of the family.

Source: www.schoenstatt.de