World Notes & Quotes

True Ecumenism and the Eucharist

IRISH TIMES, Sept.15—Around the world, the Church has made it clear: communion must only be offered to those who recognize it to be the body of Christ and are in a state of grace. In Ireland, however, non-Catholics continue to push for a change in the norms first reported by St. Paul. The Irish Times reported that some opponents are now pointing to marriage as a reason to change the norms.

Anglican Bishop Richard Clarke of Meath and Kildare recently argued that those married to Catholics, regardless of their own beliefs or state of grace, should also be allowed to receive communion, said the report. But that question has been addressed recently by the Church, the paper noted. Basil Cardinal Hume personally asked Prime Minister Tony Blair in England not to receive communion with his wife, it said.

Father Raymond Moloney SJ defended the Church's eucharistic faith, said the article, writing that it “is not at the disposal of the worshiper but is essentially dependent, as is the faith generally, on the meaning given it by Christ and declared through his Church…. [T]he sacrament makes no sense apart from the faith of the Church which brings Christ's Eucharist to us.”

Father Moloney called for true ecumenism, adding that “certainly for one party to put moral pressure on members of another Church to go against the norms of their Church can scarcely be seen as a truly respectful form of ecumenism.”

Mormon Editorialist Applauds French Bishops

DESERET NEWS, Sept. 22—"Three cheers and then some for the Catholic Church,” begins an opinion piece by John Robinson, an editorial writer for Deseret News, a service that covers Mormon and secular news.

He cited the French Bishops Council's condemnation of legislation that would give marriage-style benefits to cohabitating couples — including homosexuals. He quoted the bishops’ statement which said, “It is not necessary to put a new statute on the legislation books that risks further destroying the idea of being a couple and a family. … [Marriage] is not a simple contract or private affair but constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of society.”

Added Robinson, “Anybody know what happens when the pillars of a structure are knocked over?”

He concluded, “Marriage is a sacred and desirable institution. And it needs to be viewed as such from an early age. Thanks to the Catholic Church for reminding us of that.”

Movie Takes “Realistic” Look at Damien's Challenge

LOS ANGELES TIMES, Sept. 21—Filmmakers recently finished filming a new movie that does not flinch from the harshest aspects of the story of Father Damien's mission to a leper colony on an island in what is now Hawaii, said a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The new $10 million European-financed film features Peter O'Toole, Kris Kristofferson, and Sam Neill in the story of the Belgian priest's 19th century mission, and includes details story-tellers have flinched from. The colony was a haven for many forms of immorality before the priest brought the faith there, said the paper. It remains to be seen how the movie will handle that material.

But 47 remaining island patients support and appear in the production, it said.

“At first, many of them objected to [the film], but then they all fell in love with it,” an island official told the paper. Dutch-Australian director Paul Cox said he was grateful.

“The actual patients offered us their hands without fingers, their faces without eyes,” he said. “It was an amazing experience. It wasn't about making people up as lepers, it was having real patients playing these parts. It was very moving.”

The film, written by Oscar-winning Gandhi screenwriter John Briley, is based on a book by Hilde Eynikel who exhaustively researched the story of the Blessed Damien.

“For two months, he did not risk contagion, but he found out he was unable to get the trust of the people,” Eynikel told the paper. Then a bishop gave him permission to risk his own health. “From that moment, he took all the risks. He ate with them, touched them, bandaged their sores.”

Italians Propose New Rules for Sacramental Wine

CHICAGO SUN TIMES, Sept. 23—The Church may be considering new rules for the production of sacramental wine, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

The possibility of a change was initiated by Italian priests who say current wines are “unfit to drink,” said the report.

“The news was a surprise to the Archdiocese of Chicago, which knew of no problem. But its priests use California wines,” said the paper. The report quoted canon law, which requires that the wine be “natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.”

Italian wine makers, however, say that other regulations there have put constraints on the production, cultivation, and bottling practices that cause greatly deteriorated quality, according to the report. Vatican officials and wine makers are working to draft new proposed rules, it said.

“It seems this is a very Italian kind of thing,” a Chicago Archdiocesan spokesman said. “I have not heard American priests complaining about the quality of sacramental wines.”

The Sun-Timescited the London Daily Telegraph as contributing to the report.