Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
The main ideas from this information are: 1. The death of Queen Elizabeth II and her impact on the religious community. 2. The U.S. Supreme Court's temporary block of a lower court order regarding an LGBTQ club at Yeshiva University. 3. The investigation of an on-campus drag show at Tennessee Tech University that mocked the Catholic faith. 4. The Pope sending his almoner to Ukraine to provide aid and support. 5. The tension between the Russian Orthodox Patriarch and the Pope regarding the Ukrainian conflict. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Vatican sends more aid to Ukraine, a missionary sister is killed in Mozambique, and we mark the 25th anniversary of a great saint, and a shopping mall honors the Blessed Mother. Welcome to In the News, a production of Holy Family Radio. Those are just some of the topics in the news that we hope to talk about today. I'm your guest host, Joe Apanik, sitting in for the vacationing Judy Desigottis. Joining me is my co-host, Father Bill Wehry. Hi, Father. Hello, Joe, and everybody out there. Yes. Welcome to the audience. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you. Father, we have a lot of things, as always, in the news to talk about today, and get your opinion on the Catholic angle on things that are in the headlines. The big story that I'm seeing everywhere around the world right now is the death of Queen Elizabeth II. What strikes me is the interesting part of this, not just her longevity and her impact on things for the 70 years that she was on the throne, but the fact that many people in the religious community are hailing her as a person who brought her Christian values to her job, if you will, and her life, and professed them and lived them out, including the Pope. That's right. I read one commentary that said, British people in general, this commentator said, we don't talk about our faith much publicly, especially in politics. American politicians do more than that, referring to God and prayer. But Queen Elizabeth was outspoken about that, and she did really include her faith in her public statements, and that is quite true, and quite moving as well. It's hard to imagine another world leader who might have that same belief and tact and public witness, if I can use that term. The outpouring is so touching in this sense, outpouring sentiments of the United States, considering that we went to war against them, of course, in the 18th century, and then secondarily that England split off from the Catholic Church in the 16th century. Yet despite all that, we can still extol and condole, extol the Queen and condole with the British people, despite that history that we have. And we've really patched things up magnificently, I think, ecclesiastically and politically. You're right, there have been, I guess we could call them schisms there, both politically and religiously, over the centuries, but they do remain, England does remain, Great Britain does remain our closest ally in many ways. That's correct. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, had wonderful things to say about her, was very sad by the death, and has an immense sense of gratitude, he said, for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth. Very, very good from the head of the Catholic Church in Britain. Yes, and the Scottish bishops, I think, also, their council had nice words to say, and of course, nobody has anything bad to say about her, and her long reign, and what she's done. We'll have to see, of course, how Prince Charles III moves forward, but for now, we'll pay our respects to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II there. Our next story is one, Father, that you suggested, and it's certainly an important one. The U.S. Supreme Court's Judge Sotomayor has let Yeshiva University continue to prohibit an LGBTQ club on campus. That bodes well for us. Now, this is just a temporary block of a lower court order that required Yeshiva University to recognize Pride Alliance, LGBTQ student club, and so it still has to be considered by the wider court, but I will say that in 2021, the Supreme Court sided with a Catholic foster care agency that refused to consider same-sex couples as potential foster parents, so they backed that up, so it looks good. But the New York State Appeals Courts have yet to rule on the merits of the dispute in general, which is slowing down the United States Supreme Court consideration, and the Supreme Court is still considering it the bigger issue, and they will issue a more permanent order at a later date, but as I said, it bodes well for us. I have great concerns about our adoption agencies and Catholic charities and what kind of imposition from the government, from the LGBTQ standpoint, is going to be placed upon us, and so I'm looking for help from the United States Supreme Court, and it looks like it's there. It looks like it. And the whole issue is a New York State public accommodation law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the question is, what about religious organizations, and are they going to be exempt or not? So it's a religious liberty issue, so we'll see how that comes out with later court rulings, but this is a good one, and we're grateful for it. Yes, I'm going to speak too, hopefully, but it's good to see that in these tests of religious liberty versus LGBTQ rights, the pendulum seems to be moving more in favor of religious liberty and what we consider a bedrock freedom here in this country. I believe you're right. I believe that's true, and we have to remember that every organization has a right to protect its own identity, and to force LGBTQ-type actions on us would be a violation of our Catholic identity, so the court should recognize that. Yes, and staying in on-campus news, so to speak, there was something in the news from Tennessee Tech University about an on-campus drag show that got blasted for mocking the Catholic faith that prompted an investigation down there, and it was a drag performer dressed like a Franciscan friar, and a video of that got posted, which then drew some very sharp remarks and rebukes about mocking the faith. That's right, and this happens off and on. I'm thinking of the performer, the recording artist, Madonna, a not-exactly-campus thing, but still outrageous anti-religious gestures and performances on her part, and it does speak to Our Lady of Fatima speaking about how our Immaculate Heart is wounded by desecrations against her and against the faith, and here this is another example that there has to be a call to accountability on this sort of thing, which there has been. I know Bill Donahue of the Catholic League, I believe, weighed in on this and has insisted on an apology, which they did get from the president of the college, and this is what we've got to do. We've got to call this stuff out and say it's wrong, and certainly not roll over and let it happen. So it was an outrageous thing, and I saw the video myself and was lamented that it had been made at all. Yeah, I agree with you, and hopefully those in our audience can take heed to this as well, that we do need to speak out, because I think too often we, pardon the phrase, roll over and just say, oh, turn the other cheek. Well, there needs to be something there, I think, where we step up, and not just leave it to the official church, and Bill Donahue does great work at the Catholic League, but individual Catholics and individual people of all faiths should speak up for what they believe and when they feel offended that they should say something. Absolutely. When those who are offensive hear from rank-and-file parishioners, that really enhances the credibility of our position, as opposed to clergy and those in official stature. So I would say absolutely to speak up and speak out. Moving to the other side of the world, the Pope is sending his almaner to make his fourth visit to the Ukraine. Now, of course, the thing there is, well, you know, what's an almaner? The official, the charity officer of the Pope, and it was a very low-key position for centuries, and the Pope has really ramped it up, but he's the one who distributes charity to the faithful on behalf of the papacy, and this man, the current almaner, is a Cardinal. From Poland, I think, yeah, I think he's from Poland. Exactly. And he's done a lot, he's done several trips to Ukraine, distributing help and aid from the Vatican, and from Caritas, which is an official Catholic charity organization worldwide that raises funds for the needy, and this is certainly apropos with those who are victims of war, the war in Ukraine, and the results have been devastating there. And what a great testimony, what a wonderful witness that this high-ranking Vatican official really on behalf of the Pope would be circulating in Ukraine and helping out those who are in trouble. Yeah, it is, and the fact that this is the fourth trip there where he's taking aid along, and also just there's some spiritual aid there, too, where he's – and this is aimed more at the religious institutions of the country, I believe. But he was – at one point, I think they took an ambulance over there, I think that was – That's right, the Vatican donated an ambulance, that's correct, yeah. And it's – I know in the news, currently, you're hearing that Ukraine is making major offenses, major gains on the ground game, and seems to be, if you can say, winning a war if there's such a thing, because there's such terrible devastation, and that's maybe good news for Ukraine, but the bad news, I think, that I'd like to ask people to keep in mind is winter is coming over there, and it's not a pretty place to be in the winter. The Ukraine is a pretty cold place. It's not Siberia, but it's darn cold. It is. And another interesting fallout is the relationship between the Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, and the Pope, and there's been a lot of tension between the two on this whole Ukrainian issue, and it has chilled dialogue, shall we say, and Kirill's already canceled a meeting with the Pope, a future meeting in Kazakhstan, it was supposed to happen, and Kirill has backed out of that, but that's all fallout from this war, that Kirill supports, and the Pope not so much. That's been a tough one, I think, for, not just myself, but a lot of people to get their heads around that you have a religious institution, a Christian religious institution, the Orthodox Church, that's supporting a war, and a very unjust war, I think, that almost everybody could agree on. I do want to make a call for, though, I know many people have been very generous about donating and supporting the folks and the people of Ukraine in this, but I'd say, you know, especially with winter coming, please think about making another donation through whatever charity you want to do to help the people over there. One I'd like to suggest is simply Catholic Relief Services, that's the overseas relief farm of the U.S. bishops, and you can find them at crs.org, it's a real easy thing, crs.org, if you want to help the folks in the Ukraine to prepare for the winter. Well, that brings us to the end of the first half of our program, we're going to take a quick break here, and we'll be back with more In the News, I'm Joe Aponik, along with Father Bill Leary. Well welcome back to In the News, here on Holy Family Radio, I'm your guest host, Joe Aponik, along with Father Bill Leary. Father, for part two of the program here, we want to start with some sad news, some really bad news, an Italian nun who was a missionary, who was killed recently in Mozambique as militants swept in there and killed her, she was 84 years old, and she left a voicemail message for her niece, just like the day before, saying that things were very tense in her area there, but that she was going to stay with her mission there, everybody else she said was fleeing and running away, but she was going to try to stand her ground and continue her missionary work. Yes, it was a terrible account, such tragic details, especially given the phone conversation just very shortly before her death with her niece, and it certainly does speak of the tensions that there can be in Muslim countries between Christians and the Islamic, and proponents of the Islamic, proponents of the Islamic faith, and there are these kind of acts of violence that do transpire, and it just leaves one questioning, you know, why people of faith would do that to one another, and this is to be lamented, this poor sister who was working so hard in the developing world, and would receive this kind of treatment. So the Muslims, of course, as everybody knows, they do worship the one true God, Allah, is God. If you attend a mass in Arabic, you will hear the word Allah over and over again, because it means God, and that's what it means, and they do worship the one true God, I'm satisfied with that, some Christians say Allah that they worship is a false God, but the Second Vatican Council documents indicate otherwise, that they have the faith of Abraham, they go back to the Abrahamic faith, or patriarch Abraham, and Lumen Gentium 16, that's the church in the modern world, the Second Vatican Council document, says, quote, the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among these are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham along with us, adore the one and merciful God, who on the day of judgment will judge mankind, unquote. So you know, there is, we do have that common ground, there's no doubt about it, that we can speak about that, but how we deal with the radical fringe of that faith is a difficult question. Yeah, there is a Cardinal in New Delhi, India, who is, I think he had a Vatican post, with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, back in, from 87 to 2002, Cardinal Fitzgerald, I think his name is, and he actually has a book out, about journeying with Muslims, listening, praying, and working together, and as part of that, he has suggestions for readings from the Holy Koran, that Christian readers can do, and to then contemplate these spiritual gems from another holy book, in his words. So that, basically inviting Christians to pray non-Christian texts, which I found interesting. That is very interesting, I mean, we could all address the one true God, there's no doubt about that, as the Koran does. It's interesting also to note some of the differences between our faith and theirs. Well, first of all, they do not espouse infinity, obviously, and they do not address God as Father, that is considered blasphemous, Allah is not your father, he is totally other. But I certainly advocate Catholics, well-informed Catholics, who are strong in their faith, to explore other faiths as well. So at least reading the Koran, I think would be a good idea, I've read excerpts from it, I've never read the whole thing, but often times you'll find it in a hospital meditation room, like in Lewistown Hospital, there is a copy of the Koran there, so it is available. I know occasionally when I travel, there's a Bible frequently in nightstands, that the organizations will leave around, and I do believe I have seen a copy of the Koran right side-by-side, along with the Holy Scriptures. Sure. Well, before we close this segment, I just want to ask people to pray for a Cambodian sister, Maria de Capa, who lost her life in that raid, from those insurgents, and just to hold the people that do missionary work in your prayers, and this just struck me, the coincidental timing in my life, I was just in a Mass in the Diocese of Altoona, recently, and there was a priest there from Mozambique, asking for funds to help support their missions there, and their work there, and certainly how impoverished the nation was, and so, with that in mind, please, for the listeners, please remember those people that are in mission around the world. And speaking of people that were in mission around the world, we just had a big anniversary, it was the 25th anniversary of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who passed, hard to believe it What a moving thing, and what a wonderful woman she was. She was from Albania, which was the most, during the communist era, was the most vicious, atheistic satellite country of the Soviet bloc. Hoxner was the premier's name there, but she was a woman of great faith, and I remember seeing the documentary on TV by Malcolm Muggeridge, and it was a British writer who was atheistic, and converted largely by virtue of his contact with her, and by doing that piece for television. So, God bless her, and what a great patron she is for the missions, no doubt. I have a quick story about that documentary that came to me back in the, of course, that was back in the 80s, I guess, late 80s, and I was working at the diocese at the time, and I took a call from a schoolteacher at a public school who called and said, could I get him a copy of that documentary so he could use it in his classroom? And I thought, well, you know, I'm a lot of mouths to feed, trying to support a lot of different ministries when I was there, and I'm thinking, you know, why is this public school teacher reaching out to me? And I was basically trying to put him off, because it was just not going to be an easy thing to do. And I asked him, I said, why do you really want this? And he says, I was telling my students, I think his students were, you know, at the most middle school, probably more like grade school, if I remember right, about this woman who works with the poorest of the poor, and the dying, and the real, basically, dirty people, and, you know, and reaching out to people that nobody else wants to touch. And the students basically didn't believe him. They thought he was making it up. Something like this could not exist. So with that in mind, we did, you know, get him a copy of the documentary so he could use it. Yeah. Many don't realize that she struggled with what is called dark night of the soul in Catholic spiritual theology, where she went through a lot of her years feeling sort of detached from God, and not really close to the Lord for all that she was doing. And she wasn't feeling the consolations from heaven that she had felt before. And she persevered through that. And I think that's comforting, because we all go through that. We feel God's not that close, and that he's not responsive to us. She went through that. But, of course, it's come out on the other side, canonized. And so that gives a great consolation to us as well. Absolutely. And Mother Teresa, I'm sure, went through, you know, periods of discernment, you know, not just for her vocation, but even because, if I remember correctly, she changed orders from what she was doing to begin the Sisters of Charity, and then moved to India. She was working in an exclusive girls' school in downtown Calcutta, I believe, a walled compound that was cut off from the city, and teaching the children of the rich and well-to-do, but always had that heartfelt draw toward the poor outside the walls, and finally moved on that by the grace of God. In that theme, the Pope recently spoke about the topic of discernment, and how to recognize God in unexpected ways in our lives. And I don't think he was just talking to, you know, people that have a religious vocation, but all of us who, you know, have a calling in life in any particular way. And he said, I think he used St. Ignatius of Loyola as an example, but he says, "...discerning the will of God means being able to listen to one's own heart and recognize the Lord's presence in the unexpected events of life." Yeah, that is so true. And the gift of discernment is the gift of knowing the sources of things. Knowing the sources of one's feelings, desires, and impulses. Do they come from God? Do they come from the devil? Or do they come from my own humanness? So to discern something, should I do A or B, is very, very important. Should I take job A or job B? What does God want me to do? And the example of Ignatius of Loyola is very good, recovering from battlefield injuries in the 16th century as a soldier, and reading the lives of the saints and of Jesus Christ, and discerning, so to speak, that that's the direction that he was to go in, away from the life of a soldier, life of chivalry. But it is paramount in all of our lives. But it requires prayer, that we be deep in prayer every day to hear the voice of God and to discern those impulses, whether they're sinful or virtuous. Right. And on the way driving here this morning, I don't remember what this commercial was for, but it was just something very secular about, listen to your subconscious, because that's where you can get your greatest joys in life. Boy, that's a dangerous statement to make. Sure can be. What is that subconscious, and where is the listening coming from? A lot of times, discernment is synonymous to decision-making, and there's something to that. But it's deeper than decision-making. It's knowing the source of what is driving you to a particular decision. And that's got to be the work of the Holy Spirit. I'm going to jump to the Philippines for a quick end of the program here we're coming up. This just kind of jumped out at me. It's something I can't imagine happening in this country, but it would be nice if it did. There's a Filipino mall that exhibited more than 50 images of the Virgin Mary to celebrate her recent nativity. Wow. Is that happening in Lewistown? No, I don't think so. Every now and then I'll hear about a shopping mall chapel, though. Yeah. Father, thank you so much today. This has been a fast half hour. We need to wrap up in the news here on Holy Family Radio. I'm Joe Aponik, and my guest here today, the co-host, is Father Bill Wehry. Always great to have him with us. If you enjoy local programming such as this, please consider supporting it at 720-WHYF.com. You can also find a podcast there. Joan Nembistinsky has provided technical support today, and our theme music was by David Hilowitz. Father, please close us out with a prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, please fill us with your grace, your peace, and your light by the power of your Holy Spirit. Raise us up in union with your Son's resurrection. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace. Thank you, Father.
