zondag 6 september 2009

Wanted: Permanent Deacons for Frontline Ministries

By Mike James


In the Acts of the Apostles 6 it is recounted that as the disciples of Jesus increased in numbers, the Greek speaking converts began to express concern that the widows in their community were not receiving sufficient attention from the Apostles in the daily distribution of food to the poor which was one of the service priorities of the early church. Acts 6:2 records that the twelve Apostles called together the community of disciples and told them, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, choose among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and Wisdom whom we will appoint to this duty. Meanwhile we Apostles will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word”. The seven were duly appointed and the apostles laid their hands on them and commissioned them. The first group of Deacons included Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. But the time St Paul’s first letter to Timothy he would set out their duties and qualifications , “Deacon must be serious, not double tongued, not addicted to much wine not greedy for gain; they must hold the mystery of faith with a clear conscience” (I Tim 3:8).


Given their role in the church it is not surprising that they were called deacons which is derived comes from the Greek diaconia, meaning servant or service.


Last week CELAM, the Episcopal Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean sponsored a meeting in Panama of representatives from Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean on the Permanent Diaconate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Region. The office of Permanent Deacon which was gradually phased of in the Roman Catholic Church by the 11th Century was restored by II Vatican Council. Representatives from some of the countries represented reported that since 1969, the number of permanent deacons ordained and serving the Church has increased quite steadily. Bishop Luis Felipe Gallardo, Bishop of Vera Cruz, and Head of the Mexican Episcopal Commission on Priestly Vocations and Ministry and the Permanent Diaconate, reported that there are now 709 deacons serving in Mexico. In the Dominican Republic there are 511 deacons and in Puerto Rico 456 deacons, serving in all the dioceses in that country, while in Cuba there are 72 deacons


It was also reported at the meeting that the country with the largest number of Permanent Deacons is the US with some 14,000 deacons, followed by Italy and Germany with about 3,000 deacons each.


On the other hand there are many dioceses in the region which have not reintroduced the permanent diaconate and even within countries there is a significant fluctuation. Bishop Gallardo reported that while there are 380 deacons in the diocese of Chiapas, a large rural mountainous with a large majority of indigenous people, some 47 of the country’s 85 dioceses have no deacons.


In the AEC Antilles region, there are 88 permanent deacons serving and 70 in training, with Jamaica accounting for the largest numbers 27 deacons. 24 are now completing in training in Trinidad. One the other hand 7 of the 23 dioceses in the AEC do not have diaconate programmes.


In the review of the different ministries being undertaken by permanent deacons across the region, all the country reports noted that in addition to liturgical and service of the Word functions, most deacons are heavily involved in services to the wider community in areas such as chaplaincies to prisons, development agency work, social services, education and work with remote rural communities as well as in marginalized urban areas.


Representatives strongly endorsed the stress placed on the priorities for diaconal service at the last General Assembly of CELAM in Aparecida. The Conference had noted that Deacons “are ordained to serve the Word, charity, and the liturgy, especially for the sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony; also to aid in the formation of new ecclesial communities, especially in geographical and cultural frontline areas, where the Church’s evangelizing activity ordinarily does not reach.” (Aparecida Document Art 205)


The meeting addressed priority inputs for a Continental meeting of CELAM scheduled for 2011 in Brazil. Representatives urged that the Continental Meeting place high priority of training and commissioning deacons to work in “frontier ministries” especially with indigenous and other marginalized groups who have little or only sporadic contact with the church. They also recommended that the Church in the Continent give greater publicity and recognition to the need to foster vocations to the permanent deacons as well as to the priesthood and religious life. In welcoming a message from Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation of the Clergy to all permanent deacons encouraging them in their vocation, representatives also recommended that consideration be given to making the Topic of the Permanent diaconate the subject of one of the periodic Synods of Bishops in Rome.

Statement by Archbishop Pinder on Marital Rape Legislation in the Bahamas




Beloved in Christ:

(Statement on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2009)


Consultation and dialog are essential aspects of the formation of public policy in a vibrant democracy. As a dialog partner in the current public conversation regarding the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2009 (commonly referred to as the “marital rape ban”), I offer this contribution on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church.

From Genesis through the writings of St. Paul, it is evident in Sacred Scripture that God created man and woman in such a way that through their bodies it would be self-evident that they are called to love and give themselves to one another in the gift of Marriage.

Love generating life is the fundamental description we have for God who created us and redeems us. The reality (mystery) of God’s love for us is made present in a unique way in Marriage. This is at the basis of our Catholic understanding of Marriage as a Sacrament. This is the essential insight of Ephesians chapter 5 where Marriage is placed in the context of life redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There we are told: “He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” (Ephesians 5:28b-31) By its nature, then, marriage is an intimate union of life and love.

The nuptial blessing found in the Rite of Marriage puts it in these memorable words. “Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church. Father, by your plan man and woman are united, and married life has been established as the one blessing that was not forfeited by original sin or washed away in the flood.”

Marital life, of which conjugal love is an essential aspect, must reflect the reality of this intimate union of life and love. This love is to be above all fully human, that is to say, a compound of sense and spirit, reflecting each party’s free gift of self to the other. It is also to be an act of free will, whose trust is meant not only to survive but to grow. This love of spouses for each other is to reflect, totally, a personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything. In Marriage man and woman become husband and wife and they love each other not only for what one can give the other but each loves the other for his or her own sake. This means each respecting the unique dignity of the other as a human being and as an equal partner before the Lord.

The radical equality between man and woman in Marriage is made manifest in the Genesis story of creation. It describes the relationship between the first man and woman as the originating model of Marriage: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.’” (Genesis 2:18) In response the man states, “This one at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh….” (Genesis 2:23) This response expresses the profound equality and intimacy between the man and the woman as intended by God. In other words woman and man exist in a partnership where one partner completes the other partner. The relationship is one of complementarily and not ownership. No person can be the possession of another. Human dignity does not allow this. The legacy of slavery and its abolition has surely taught us this lesson.

It is from this perspective that the Catholic Church in The Bahamas addresses the proposed legislation amending the Sexual Offenses Act. When an individual is forced to engage in sexual activity against his or her will then the perpetrator does violence to the dignity and value of the human person created in the image and likeness of God.

When forced sexual activity takes place within the context of Marriage, the biblical understanding of Marriage is distorted and the relationship between husband and wife is ruptured. Such sexual activity is not conjugal love and is rightly seen as a crime against the dignity of the human person.

It must be clearly understood that rape is never an act of love nor is it ever an act of intimacy. It is always an act of violence against the person. Like any act of violence, be it physical, verbal or otherwise, rape has no place in the communion of life and love which is Marriage properly understood.

In our tradition of moral thought rape holds a place of unique disdain as an act of violence which is never allowed or permitted or justified or rationalized under any circumstance whatsoever. In our Bahamian community today we need to become much less accommodating of violence in our domestic and social transactions.

Clearly this proposed amendment is not without its difficulties relative to the application of the law. When husband and wife share a common home, it is reasonable to presume that they engage in sexual activity. Under the circumstances it may be very difficult, in some cases, to prove that such sexual activity was achieved without the consent of the wife. Such cases make the application of the law difficult.

Therefore every effort must be made to ensure that this law serves its purpose well. In particular care must be taken to protect against false accusations of rape within marriage so as to safeguard the presumption of innocence which is a fundamental right of all persons.

Toward this end it may indeed be necessary to amend section 6 of the Act to provide that no prosecution may be commenced against a person accused of marital rape without the consent of the Attorney General.

To the extent that the proposed legislation seeks to address the unfortunate reality of marital rape and in the measure that it seeks to preserve the dignity of every person and to safeguard Marriage as a covenant of life and love between a man and a woman, the Catholic Church offers its prayerful support.

May God bless our efforts to seek Wisdom, Truth, Justice and Peace. May God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Devotedly yours in Christ,


August 27, 2009

Most Reverend Patrick C. Pinder
Archbishop of Nassau

Cardinal Hummes writes to the Church's Deacons


My Dear Permanent Deacons:

The Church discovers more and more the richness of the permanent diaconate. Whenever Bishops come to the Congregation for the Clergy, on the occasion of their ad limina visits, the theme of the diaconate, among others, is often commented upon and the prelates are generally very much pleased and full of hope in regard to you, Permanent Deacons. This fills all of us with joy. The Church thanks you and recognizes your dedication to your qualified ministerial work. At the same time, the Church would like to encourage you on the way of personal sanctification, in your prayer lives and in the spirituality of the diaconate. To you one can equally apply what the Pope has said to priests, for the Year for Priests, that is that it is necessary “to work in favor of this pull of priests toward spiritual perfection, upon which, above all, depends the efficacy of their ministry.” (discourse of March 16, 2009).

Today, on this feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, I would like to invite you to reflect upon two areas, your ministry of the Word, and your ministry of Charity.
We recall with gratitude the Synod on the Word of God, celebrated in October of last year. We, ordained ministers, have received from the Lord, through the mediation of the Church, the task of preaching the Word of God to the ends of the earth, announcing the person of Jesus Christ, who has died and risen, His Word and His Kingdom, to every creature. This Word, as the final Message of the Synod affirms, has one voice which is His, Revelation, has one will which is His, Jesus Christ, and one Way which is His, Missionary Activity. To know Revelation, to adhere unconditionally to Jesus Christ as a fascinated and enamored disciple, to base oneself always upon Jesus Christ and to be with Him in our Mission, this is then what awaits a permanent deacon, decisively and without any reservation. From a good disciple a good missionary is born.
The ministry of the Word which, in a special way for Deacons, has as its great model St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, requires of ordained ministers a constant struggle to study it and carry it out, at the same time as one proclaims it to others. Meditation, following the style of lectio divina, that is, prayerful reading, is one well traveled and much counseled way to understand and live the Word of God, and make it ones own. At the same time, intellectual, theological and pastoral formation is a challenge which endures throughout life. A qualified and up to date ministry of the Word very much depends upon this in depth formation.
We are awaiting, in the proximate future, a document of the Holy Father regarding the Synod which we have referred to. This must be welcomed with an openness of heart and with profound commitment to study it

The second reflection regards the ministry of Charity, taking as a great model St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. The diaconate has its roots in the early Church’s efforts to organize charitable works. At Rome, in the third century, during a period of great persecution of Christians, the extraordinary figure of St. Lawrence appears. He was archdeacon of Pope Sixtus II, and his trustee for the administration of the goods of the community. Our well beloved Pope Benedict XVI says regarding St. Lawrence: “His solicitude for the poor, his generous service which he rendered to the Church of Rome in the area of relief and of charity, his fidelity to the Pope, from him he was thrust forward to the point of wanting to undergo the supreme test of martyrdom and the heroic witness of his blood, rendered only a few days later. These are universally recognized facts.” (Homily Basilica of St. Lawrence, November 30, 2008). From St. Lawrence we also take note of the affirmation “the riches of the Church are the poor.” He assisted the poor with great generosity. He is thus an ever more present example to permanent deacons. We must love the poor in a preferential way, as did Jesus Christ; to be united with them, to work towards constructing a just, fraternal and peaceful society. The recent encyclical letter of Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), should be our updated guide. In this encyclical the Holy Father affirms as a fundamental principle “Charity is the royal road of the social doctrine of the Church” (n. 2). Deacons must identify themselves in a very special way with charity. The poor are part of your daily ambiance, and the object of your untiring concern. One could not understand a Deacon who did not personally involve himself in charity and solidarity toward the poor, who again today are multiplying in number.
My dear Permanent Deacons, may God bless you with all his love and make you happy in your vocation and mission! With respect and admiration, I greet the wives and children of those of you who are married. The Church thanks you for the support and multifaceted collaboration which you give to your respective spouses and fathers in their diaconal ministry. In addition, the Year for Priests invites us to manifest our appreciation for our dear priests, and to pray for them and with them.

Vatican City, Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, August 10, 2009

Claudio Cardinal Hummes
Archbishop Emeritus of Sao Paulo
Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy