In Rome, House Blessings for Easter

From A Young American in Rome:

I walked out of my apartment building this morning and noticed that an announcement was posted on the main door. I stared at it for a minute, trying to translate whether the building would be without hot water or have a temporary power outage.

None of that -- it was naming the date that a Catholic priest would be in the building to bless each residence with holy water for Easter. As I looked up and down the street, I saw that every door had the same sign posted. This caught me by surprise - I only know of priests coming to bless houses in exorcism horror movies!

Apparently, this is a ritual that was traditionally done on the eve of Easter. Homes are blessed by the parish priest in memory of the angel who signed door-posts with lamb's blood in Egypt. Although Easter is a ways away, I suppose Rome is just too big for the priests to hit every house the day before Easter.

Head of Cardinal Class?

While everyone will be thinking about the late, great Pope John Paul II as the first anniversary of this death approaches his most trusted companion will be made a cardinal. The Archbishop of Krakow arrives at his old home, the Vatican:

Needs of the Asian Catholics

Expressed by the new Cardinal of the Philipines, from Asia Italy News:

How do you think the Church should proceed towards this end?

Evangelization is the main challenge for the Church in Asia. But evangelization must have a new expression, adapted to the needs of this continent, while keeping to the same message: the word of Christ. I think we should follow the path of so-called “integral evangelization” indicated by Paul VI, sensitive to people’s problems and to faith inculturation, with the aim of freeing men and women from slavery: of vices, sins, and corruption. And this is especially evident and necessary in the Philippines.

Synod of Concerns

From Yahoo News:

Benedict's No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, opened the meeting by thanking the pope for seeking the advice of the cardinals, saying it "shows us the importance your Holiness places on the votes of our college."

The daylong session came on the eve of Benedict's first ceremony to elevate 15 prelates to the top tier of the Catholic hierarchy — additions the pope has said reflect the global reach of the church.

The agenda of Thursday's meeting appeared to be fairly open. Cardinals have said they expect the discussion to include relations with Islam and the Orthodox Church, international terrorism and the reform of the Vatican hierarchy.

Daily Audio Lenten Post

From the book of Lenten meditations written by me:

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life

Clarification on Title "Patriarch of the West"

And why it isn't being used anymore. From the Vatican Information Service:

"From a historical perspective," the communique reads, "the ancient Patriarchates of the East, defined by the Councils of Constantinople (381) and of Chalcedon (451), covered a fairly clearly demarcated territory. At the same time, the territory of the see of the Bishop of Rome remained somewhat vague. In the East, under the ecclesiastical imperial system of Justinian (527-565), alongside the four Eastern Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), the Pope was included as the Patriarch of the West. Rome, on the other hand, favored the idea of the three Petrine episcopal sees: Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. Without using the title 'Patriarch of the West,' the Fourth Council of Constantinople (869-870), the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) and the Council of Florence (1439), listed the Pope as the first of the then five Patriarchs.

"The title 'Patriarch of the West' was adopted in the year 642 by Pope Theodore. Thereafter it appeared only occasionally and did not have a clear meaning. It flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in the context of a general increase in the Pope's titles, and appeared for the first time in the 'Annuario Pontificio' in 1863."

The term 'West' currently refers to a cultural context not limited only to Western Europe but including North America, Australia and New Zealand, thus differentiating itself from other cultural contexts, says the communique. "If we wished to give the term 'West' a meaning applicable to ecclesiastical juridical language, it could be understood only in reference to the Latin Church." In this way, the title "Patriarch of the West," would describe the Bishop of Rome's special relationship with the Latin Church, and his special jurisdiction over her.

"The title 'Patriarch of the West,' never very clear, over history has become obsolete and practically unusable. It seems pointless, then, to insist on maintaining it. Even more so now that the Catholic Church, with Vatican Council II, has found, in the form of episcopal conferences and their international meetings, the canonical structure best suited to the needs of the Latin Church today."

The communique concludes: "Abandoning the title of 'Patriarch of the West' clearly does not alter in any way the recognition of the ancient patriarchal Churches, so solemnly declared by Vatican Council II. ... The renouncement of this title aims to express a historical and theological reality, and at the same time, ... could prove useful to ecumenical dialogue."

Islam and Freedom of Religion?

Not to mention, didn't we overthrow the "extreme" version?

In Afghanistan, from CNN:

In the days of the Taliban, those promoting Christianity in Afghanistan could be arrested and those converting from Islam could be tortured and publicly executed.

That was supposed to change after U.S.-led forces ousted the oppressive, fundamentalist regime, but the case of 41-year-old Abdul Rahman has many Western nations wondering if Afghanistan is regressing.

Rahman, a father of two, was arrested last week and is now awaiting trial for rejecting Islam. He told local police, whom he approached on an unrelated matter, that he had converted to Christianity. Reports say he was carrying a Bible at the time.