The Catholic Leader Flipbook - Issue 5577 - November 10

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The Catholic Leader, November 10, 2019
Conversations
act of putting them out. Based on the Law of
God – the first commandment – idolatry is a grave
sin and is not to be mixed with Christian liturgy.
Throwing them out, can be against human law,
but bringing the idols into the church was a grave
sin, a crime against the Divine Law”.
We were told the Amazon Synod’s main goal
was to bring the Good News to the people of that
region and yet ironically the synod was import-
ing paganism and syncretism into the heart of the
Church.
Also, as many commentators have clearly dem-
onstrated, the synod was not about bringing Jesus
Christ to the people of the Amazon, but more
about introducing Pantheistic, eco ideology into
the Church, advocating for married clergy, women
ordination and other liberal theologies.
What the organisers of the synod are forgetting
is that Jesus Christ is the only Way, the Truth and
the Life and any other way is false and idolatrous.
shocked many faithful Catholics.
This pagan ritual was performed in front of
bishops and other high-ranking clerics.
The idols were then placed in a prominent
position in the church of St Mary’s in Traspon-
tina.
As widely reported the two pagan statues
were then taken by unknown persons and
thrown into the Tiber River.
Pope Francis apologised to the organisers
of the synod for the actions of those who had
taken the idols from the church, causing more
controversy.
Cardinal Gerard Mueller expressed an alter-
native view, where he states, “the great mistake
was to bring the idols into the church, not the
Have your Say
Post: GPO Box 282,
Brisbane, QLD 4001 @
Prayer List
THIS MONTH
POPE’S INTENTIONS
Dialogue and Reconciliation in the
Near East –
That a spirit of dialogue, encounter and
reconciliation emerge in the Near East,
where diverse religious communities share
their lives together.
THIS WEEK
Iraq – The UN says more than 220
people have been killed across Iraq since
anti-Government protests began at the
start of October.
Ethiopia – Seventy-eight people were
killed in violence during recent protests in
parts of Ethiopia.
South Sudan – Nearly one million peo-
ple in South Sudan were affected by heavy
flooding in recent weeks, forcing hundreds
of thousands from their homes.
Mission for all
FR Carter Griffin (Faith
in Life, TCL 3/11/19) sees
great value in mandatory
priestly celibacy.
His reasons for retaining
it seem to confuse the role
of ordained ministry with
the state the Church knows
and honours as religious life.
The mission of the Church, the mission of
all baptised people, is to spread the kingdom of
God, to tell the Good News found in the person,
Easter mystery and teaching of Jesus Christ.
Since 99.9 per cent of Christians are lay
people, this great mission must primarily be the
work of lay people.
The laity carry out this mission under the
direction of the leaders of our local churches,
our bishops.
From the time of the Church’s first years in
Jerusalem, the leaders invited and appointed
others to assist them in organising and strength-
ening the members of the community.
This role of encouraging, affirming, sustain-
ing, celebrating, consoling, healing, sometimes
directing, often learning from, occasionally cor-
recting the laity in their mission is the essence
of episcopal, priestly and diaconal ministry.
Of course the most common and greatest way
we see this support given is through the celebra-
tion of the sacraments.
The nature of the sacraments, all of them
works of the Holy Spirit, does not require
celibacy on the part of the celebrant for them to
be effective.
Celibacy voluntarily undertaken for “the sake
of the kingdom” can indeed help make a person
a clearer image, an icon, of Jesus Christ in and
to the world.
Along with poverty and obedience, again
both voluntarily embraced, it is one of the “Gos-
pel counsels” that are the basis of religious life.
Priests may wish to live religious life; many
do.
So do many other members of the Church,
men and women, without being ordained.
It is a wonderful state of life, a treasure of the
Church, a radical witness to Christ.
But living a kind of informal religious life is
not necessary for a priest or deacon to minister
energetically and lovingly to Christ’s faithful as
they go about their great baptismal mission.
‘Idolatry’ concern
THE YouTube video taken
in the Vatican gardens
during the Amazon Synod
where about 20 individu-
als, including a Franciscan
Friar, are seen prostrating
and worshipping two pagan
idols, called “Pachamama”,
supposedly representing Mother Earth, clearly
The views expressed in the Letters to the Editor are
not necessarily endorsed by and do not necessarily
represent the views of The Catholic Leader or the
Archdiocese of Brisbane. Letters are submitted on
the condition The Catholic Leader may edit them in
a manner which meets publication and style require-
ments.
Gerard Hore
Toowoom-
ba, Qld
Tony van
Dorst
Gunnedah,
Qld
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Idols: A wooden statue in the Church of St
Mary in Traspontina as part of exhibits on the
Amazon region during the Synod of Bishops
for the Amazon. Several copies of the statue
were stolen from the church and thrown into
the Tiber River. Photo: CNS
Retweet THE Melbourne Cup came under increased scrutiny after the
deaths of horses on the track and the ABC’s Four Corners
report about the slaughter of retired racehorses.
And if you succeed in
destroying the racing industry
all of the horses will be sent
to slaughter. Focus on those
who break the rules rather than
ushering in the extinction of a
species.
KON KARAPANAGIOTIDIS
Lawyer
KIMBERLEY OXLEY
Animal activist
NICK QUINN
Media presenter
ALEXANDRA MARSHALL
Artist
Instead of placing a bet this
#MelbourneCup, how about
donating to one of the many
rescue groups working to res-
cue & rehabilitate horses? It’s
a ‘winning bet’ every time…
If you have a flutter every
day or like a bet once a year
hopefully today you have fun
and find a winner
If you don’t like horse racing
that is fine, but don’t aggres-
sively try and ruin the day for
those who do
Please show others the
respect shown to you
A public holiday built on
the pillars of animal cruelty &
gambling is no day worth cel-
ebrating for me. A day where
family violence in the home
also skyrockets as a direct
consequence of gambling. I
can’t value a day based on
exploiting animals for our en-
tertainment. #MelbourneCup