In Brief...

The Holy Father’s Intentions

Pope John Paul II has announced the following general and missionary intentions for November and December 2000:

November

That politicians and economists may feel it their duty to attend to the welfare of all people, giving first place to the most poverty-stricken.

That reflection on the missionary roll of religious institutes may foster new and holy vocations to the consecrated life.

December

That the celebration of the Jubilee may become the source of a new commitment in men and women of good will to protect and promote human life.

That children may be respected in their dignity, and that all child abuse may stop.

“People can get terribly angry at a priest. He can’t change a single one of the Ten Commandments to make life easier for them. He can’t do a great deal about Church law to accommodate them. So they get angry at him—not really at him, but at the Church . . . It’s part of being a priest. The disciple can’t be greater than the Master.

—Cardinal John O’Connor

(1920-2000)

Lt. Col. William S. (“Bill”) Lawton, Jr. (1923-2000)

It is with great sorrow that we mourn Lt. Col. William J. (“Bill”) Lawton who reposed in the Lord this September. Bill served as vice president of CUF International from 1976-88 at our New Rochelle office and was an invaluable worker who soon became known to many for his tireless enthusiasm and inspiring passion for the CUF apostolate. He helped extend CUF’s presence with chapters, with recruiting new members, and by engaging in extensive correspondence with bishops, priests, and laity to explain the CUF apostolate and advance the teachings of the Church. An ebullient personality, he was, in truth, CUF’s “contact man” with those who found in him a ready-made source of information, assistance, and consolation. He represented CUF in visits to Roman congregations, NCCB meetings, and in presentations to the U.S. Bishops’ Liason Committee. Bill proudly promoted CUF’s “Faith and Life” series and ably presented CUF’s “Statement on Vocation and Mission of the Laity in the Church in the Modern World: Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council” to Vatican officials during the deliberations of the 1987 World Synod of Bishops. Those who worked with him will recall his long hours at the CUF office, and the always gracious hospitality with which he and his wife Peggy often entertained the many visitors to the CUF office and to their home.

To his beloved wife Peggy and the Lawton’s six children and 14 grandchildren, the CUF board of directors and officers and staff express their own deep sense of loss for one who so charitably promoted the CUF apostolate.

Requiem aeternam dona ei Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat ei. In memoria aeterna erit justus.

ESTHER . . . The Girl Who Became Queen

With the retelling of the classic Bible story Esther, the artists at Big Idea Productions could go in only one direction: spectacular! Taking their animation to new heights, Big Idea’s latest release hits Christian retail stores on Saturday, September 30. Kids and parents alike will learn a powerful lesson in courage in the 14th installment of the wildly popular Veggie Tales video series.

Esther and her Veggie friends are all creations of Big Idea Productions, a family media company committed to providing wildly entertaining stories that help parents teach children important life lessons. The much-adored children’s property was one of 1999’s top four best-selling kids’ direct-to-video series and has sold 18 million videos in its short history. Using award-winning computer animation and an innovative approach to storytelling, the multi-media company creates products filled with wacky humor, infectious music, and lovable characters that entertain and educate.

ESTHER—The Girl Who Became Queen may be ordered by calling Benedictus Books toll-free at (888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a 10% discount.

Knowing and Living the Faith

On August 19, the 16th annual “Church Teaches Forum” was held in Louisville, Kentucky. It was co-sponsored by three national lay organizations: Catholics United for the Faith, the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation, and Eternal Life of Bardstown, Kentucky.

The Forum’s topic was “Knowing and Living the Faith.” That was the message delivered by four prominent churchmen: Bishop Raymond Burke of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Fr. Edmund McCaffrey, O.S.B., former abbot of Belmont Abbey; Fr. John Hardon, S.J., founder (at Pope John’s request) of the Marian Catechists; and Fr. Robert J. Levis, theologian and founder of the Pontifical Catechetical Center at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The speakers recalled the Holy Father’s 1992 apostolic exhortation “Pastores Dabo Vobis,” (“I will give you pastors”). According to the exhortation, the Church needs priests and laypersons who are capable of living an intimate life with Christ, can model the attributes of apostolic zeal, are able to present sound doctrine, and are willing to follow Christ’s command to “Go and teach all nations!”

Catholics must re-emphasize God’s plan for men and women, and restore the stability of family life where the faith is taught and lived. They must uphold the indissolubility, unique sacredness and life-giving nature of marriage.

Now more than ever, in this new millennium, fidelity to Christ requires knowing as well as living our faith.

Ave Maria School of Law

The 26th Catholic law school in the United States is now open in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ave Maria School of Law saw an opening day class size of nearly twice the original goal with 77 students enrolled and another 24 deferred to the fall of 2001.

According to Michael O. Kenney, Dean of Admissions at Ave Maria, the school’s first-rate faculty, a distinctive curriculum, generous scholarship program, and other benefits are drawing attention. “With notable faculty such as Judge Bork, a premier library, and a state-of-the-art facility that includes convenient Internet access, many highly qualified students are considering Ave Maria. These students could attend any number of law schools,” said Kenney. “Additionally, we offer a series of courses examining law and ethics and, in particular, the Catholic intellectual tradition’s contribution to the development of Western legal thought. Ave Maria students study the law and the politics that support the law.”

Ave Maria’s campus consists of an 84,000 square foot building on an 11-acre site. Of special note is the school’s library that houses 225,000 volumes—thousands more than required by the American Bar Association for accreditation.

The Ave Maria School of Law offers students a comprehensive legal curriculum enriched by its grounding in natural law and the enduring teachings of the Catholic Church.

For more information on Ave Maria School of Law visit its website at www.avemarialaw.edu.

Declaration “Dominus Iesus”

(On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church)

Pope John Paul II ratified and confirmed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s newly published declaration that reiterates and clarifies particular truths of the Christian faith. The intention of the document, addressed to “bishops, theologians, and all the Catholic faithful,” was “to give reasons for [the Church’s] hope in a way that is convincing and effective” in light of “problematic and even erroneous propositions” circulating today. The text emphasizes the essential role of the Church in the face of “relativistic theories which seek to justify religious pluralism….[and] hinder the understanding and acceptance of the revealed truth.”

The declaration remedies those errors by reasserting the consistent truths of the Catholic faith. The Church upholds the “definitive and complete character of the revelation of Jesus Christ”—as opposed to His revealed truth being merely complimentary to other religions. The declaration also reaffirms the unity and salvific universality of Christ, and in connection, the unity of the Church founded by Him. The document further states that the Church of Christ is single, and it “subsists in the Catholic Church,” and therefore “it must be firmly believed” that the Church “is necessary for salvation.”

You will not walk away from this text with the erroneous assumption that “one religion is as good as another.” This important 36-page document is divided into six chapters. It informs the faithful of dangerous ideas hindering the acceptance of the faith in its revealed truth, and it provides ample support in refuting these prevalent errors. 

Click here for the full text of the Declaration.

Pastoral Letter of Bishop Schulte on the “Call to Holiness”

The Archdiocese of New Orleans received a wonderful pastoral letter from their bishop reflecting on the call to holiness of all Christians.

“It is in time, in the everydayness of our existence, that we are called to be one with God. There is no area of our life that escapes the call to be holy.” And it is the Lord Himself who calls us into His very being: “You should be holy, because I, the Lord, am Holy” (Lv. 19:2).

Jesus reveals a face of holiness in a world of rebellion and self-promotion by showing us “the way of self-donation, humble service in obedience to the Father’s will and the surrendering of life in order to be reborn.” After Pentecost, the call to holiness was entrusted to the community of faith, God’s Church, and the “life of holiness is nourished through the supreme act of worship”—the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The pastoral letter goes on to highlight six major aspects of our call to holiness as expressed by Vatican II, and concludes by recommending for our consideration the “faces of holiness” in New Orleans: The canonization of Mother Katharine Drexel, the beatification of Father Francis X. Seelos, and the introduction of the cause for sainthood for Mother Henriette Delille. The bishop closes this superb letter with an appeal to the youth: “Be Not Afraid”

Click here for the full text of the Pastoral Letter.

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