ok for catholic priests to marry?

The answer continues to be No. The newly-elected head of Roman Catholic bishops in Germany recently declared that the concept and practice of priestly celibacy is “theologically unnecessary.” Predictably, conservative bishops swiftly denounced the proposal as being “out of line” with official thinking (source: SPIEGEL).

The current pope (Benedikt XVI) comes from Germany and is a super-conservative. Among other backwards moves he advocates the return to Latin as the proper language for church services and views musical instrument other than the organ as inappropriate during services.

Question: does God prefer to communicate in Latin and does He really not like guitars and tambourines? Apparently someone in Vatican City has the answers. According to the principle of apostolic succession, Popes are thought to be direct descendants of St. Peter, Christ’s first disciple, and, by their own decree, infallible. Interestingly, said Peter (previously known as Simon) was married (Mark 1:29-31).

PS: I confess to have been raised a Catholic, including Holy Communion; left the Church at age 14; frequently enter churches for contemplation and organ concerts; been on retreats with Franciscan, Benedictine, and Camaldolese monks; consider the Eucharist a most mysterious sacrament; know people who’re practicing Catholics; and think of Jesus as a great teacher. 

image: Benedikt XVI

peace be upon you

My interest in inter-face dialogue lead me to a news story from Malaysia about political correctness (PC) and religious expression. I was reminded of the ban on Christmas trees from public schools and buildings (our own British Columbia Legislature, for instance), the sanitizing of Christmas cards to read Seasons Greetings, and the ongoing controversy surrounding hijabs (headscarves) worn by Muslim girls and women.

Even my little world of volunteering in a hospital palliative care unit has felt the heavy hand of PC censorship. Senior staff have told me to stop telling co-workers about this blog as “someone complained of being sent to a Buddhist website.” The hospital has one chaplain and one chapel, both clearly Christian. The District has a policy of honouring all religious and spiritual practices; its website offers twelve prayers from several faith traditions, including two Buddhist blessings.

The following excerpts come from “Similarities in faiths not unusual” by Wong Chun Wai, posted at OneStarOnline on December 30, 2007:

“The Malaysian government has prohibited the word Allah to be used by non-Muslims. The Deputy Internal Security Minister …was quoted as saying that ‘only Muslims can use Allah, it’s a Muslim word, you see. The word Allah as published by the Catholics, it’s not right.’

“Anyone travelling across the Middle East can tell you that tourists would be greeted with Assalamualaikum, even among Christian Arabs, but Malaysians are told that it is for use exclusively among Muslims. Even the Arabs are perplexed by this. ’Peace be upon you’ is such a beautiful and meaningful greeting, and we wish for it to be used by Malaysians of all races. It is also such a positive introduction to the world of Islam, where followers wish others well. The Arabs prefer salam, as with the Malays here, while the Jews use shalom. There is no religious context in such greetings.    

“Christians in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Indonesia and many parts of Africa with huge Muslim communities have used the word with no problems. In fact, the Church of Nativity where Jesus was born is located at the Palestinian side and Muslim leaders have no problems attending the church mass annually, as part of the respect accorded to the church.  … A Muslim holds the keys to the Church of Nativity because of the factional fight between church groups.

“There is something positive [in all] this controversy – it’s good to learn and appreciate each other’s religions. As individuals, we are all constantly seeking out God in our personal journey …. Let us do so with our eyes, our minds and our hearts open.“ 

canada’s near the top

According to a report by the Suzuki Foundation, Canada ranks 53rd out of 56 in a comparison of the climate change performance of the world’s top emitting countries.

What keeps us (Canadians) from bringing our awareness and ingenuity to bear on this issue? Why were Canadian politicians/delegates such bullies at the Bali conference? Is it all about pleasing the Bush Gang? Are we–in light of our historical reliance on abundant natural resources–too myopic to comprehend the implications of global warming? Who is driving this arrogance–politicians, bankers, captains of industry, investors, you and I? I’m perplexed and, especially while travelling abroad, embarrassed by my country’s stance.

Below a summary of a report by Avaaz.org, a community of global citizens who take action on the major issues facing the world today. The aim of Avaaz.org is to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decisions. Avaaz.org members act for a more just and peaceful world and a globalisation with a human face. 

“Arriving in Bali, most countries wanted to work towards a new global treaty on climate change as well as new targets for carbon emissions by rich countries. But late last week, the US and Canada teamed up to undermine the talks — the US blocked the whole Bali summit consensus, and when a smaller group of Kyoto treaty countries tried to move ahead without the US, they were blocked by Canada.

The summit was in danger of deadlock. In the final hours of the summit, Canada backed down completely and allowed Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions, and the US team, now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world’s diplomats, compromised and agreed to call for “deep cuts” and “reference” the 2020 targets. It was not a complete victory, but this paved the way for the summit to agree to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2009.

Usually these conferences are stuffy diplomatic affairs - but this time the world was watching, and speaking, each day. Together, we brought people-powered politics to the halls of power, and put our governments on notice: in the fight to save our environment, we will not be spectators.”

Click here for a report on this campaign with videos and pictures.