U.S. Lithuanians Brought Eucharistic Devotion with Them

To Lithuanians in the United States, Corpus Christi has an added significance. Eucharistic processions were illegal after the invasion of Russian communists, and immigrants are happy to have the opportunity to honor the Blessed Sacrament here.

This year's Corpus Christi date also coincided with the June 14 anniversary of the deportation of 35,000 Lithuanians to Siberia by invading Russian communists in 1941. Danute Surdenas, a Philadelphia participant in eucharistic devotions told the Philadelphia Inquirer June 21: “All of us had relatives who were deported,” that year. Eucharistic devotion is a way to participate in the same celebration as those relatives.

Said the report, “In the procession, [Father] Peter Burkauskas carried a gold monstrance containing a communion host to four altars erected outside the church, stopping at each one to chant a prayer while the congregation sang hymns.”

Father Burkauskas said of the processions, “We bring the Lithuanian heritage out of the church to show the world our devotion to the Eucharist. On this day, we reverence the memory of our people who suffered and thank God that the light of freedom and the blessing of independence has returned to Lithuania.”

Lebanese Christians Wary of Present Peace

Unusual in the Arab world, Lebanon's politics, culture, and economy have been dominated by Christians for 50 years. But no longer, said an Associated Press report June 22.

“The Christians today are splintered,” Father Joseph Sukkar, a Maronite Catholic priest there, is quoted saying. “They are nowhere to be found in government or in politics.”

The devastating 1975-1990 civil war there was lost by Lebanon's Christians when they surrendered authority to stop the fighting. The powerful Maronite Catholic presidency and the guaranteed Maronite majority in Parliament have been lost due to new census procedures, said the report, while “long-time Christian leaders are in prison, in exile, or in the grave.”

Lebanese Christians also feel the absence of support they once received from Europe, America and, occasionally, even from Israel. The present peace comes at the cost of Syrian control — which many Christians consider antagonistic to them.

While Christian suburbs in Beirut and elsewhere flourish, critics point out that the only war crime successfully prosecuted after the long civil war was against the brutal warlord Samir Geagea, of Maronite descent. Crimes by Syrians have not been pursued, they say.

Christian leaders, perhaps fearing a rekindling of the violence, are calling for Christians to become more active in civic life in the Arab nation.

British Parliament Lowers Age of Consent for Homosexuals

The British parliament has taken the first legislative step to legalizing pedophilia, London wire services reported June 23. The British Commons voted by a 3-1 margin that homosexual men and lesbians could legally have sex with consenting 16- year-olds in England.

Homosexual activists reportedly consider the move a “first step” and eventually want the consent age lowered even further — initially, to age 14, according to the report.

The measure passed by a 3-to-1 majority, and it is unlikely that the House of Lords will overturn it.

Basil Cardinal Hume, archbishop of England and Wales, strongly opposed the measure. He is quoted saying: “I would urge [Members of Parliament] to reflect on the signal they wish to send to the nation.”

After the vote, he said, “Whatever the legal age of consent, the Catholic Church's teaching remains that homosexual sex acts are morally wrong.”

Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey also warned that the measures would send “the wrong messages.”

One amendment was proposed to prevent men from sexually preying on boys in their charge. It would have raised the consent age to 18 where one party was in a position of “authority, influence, or trust.” That amendment was rejected, allowing teachers, supervisors, or bosses to legally engage their charges in a sexual relationship.

The age of consent for heterosexual sex acts had previously been lowered to 16 in England, and homosexual sex acts are permitted with 16 year olds in much of the European Union, according to the article.