Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien said it has been “tough to be in ‘purgatory’” for the last nine months since his appointment as pro-grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. He has done two jobs in that time, as head of the worldwide order dedicated to support of the church in the Holy Land, and as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Looking relaxed and smiling the evening before the installation of his successor, Archbishop William E. Lori, as the 16th archbishop of Baltimore, the cardinal noted that it’s good that the new bishop is here, calling him a good man, and a smart man.
He said the work he has done since his appointment to the position in Rome has been made easier by his two staffs at the Archdiocese of Baltimore and at the headquarters in Rome of the Equestrian Order. Fortunately, he said, he has not had to deal with any crises, and the administration on both sides of the Atlantic has been very capable and helpful.
He expects to be “very relieved” once the installation is over May 16, and he leaves for Rome about 24 hours after that, arriving May 18. He’ll have a quiet weekend and then get down to the full-time affairs of the Holy Sepulcher next week.
He will return to the U.S. occasionally, but he does not have a lot of plans so far, other than an investiture for the order’s Eastern Lieutenancy. When he is in the United States, Baltimore will be his home base, with a suite of rooms at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
He also is making plans for his first trip to the Holy Land as grand master of the order, likely this fall, at which time he will be formally welcomed there.
He presided over a vespers service at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during which he sat in that church’s cathedra below his episcopal coat of arms in Baltimore one last time. When incoming Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori during his homily thanked Cardinal O’Brien for his great service to the archdiocese and to the church, the congregation responded with a standing ovation.
May 16, 2012 11:33
By Christopher Gunty
Or in your email.
The email that arrived yesterday morning was very convincing. It
seemed to come from one of the priests in the archdiocese and mentioned that he
and another priest were in Spain for a conference, where they had been robbed
of all their cash. It mentioned a very specific conference title. It pointed
out that they still had their passports and had contacted the embassy, but
needed help.
Hello
How are you doing, I and Rev. [name withheld], Pastor of [his actual parish],
came over here to Spain for a program tagged FINDING GOD IN UNSETTLED TIMES: A
CONFERENCE ON IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY. unfortunately, We were mugged at the park
of the hotel where we stayed, all cash and credit card were stolen off us but
luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at
all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're having problems
settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we
settle the bills Well I really need your financial assistance..Please Let me
know if you can help us out? Am freaked out at the moment!!
Thanks
Fr. [name withheld].
Pastor.
I’ve seen this kind of phishing expedition before. In fact,
by typing the words “email spoof robbed embassy” into Google, I found several
examples, including one in which the second paragraph of the scam email was
identical to the one in today’s email. You can generally detect these phony by
the bad punctuation and grammar.
Still, as a journalist, I check things out. It seemed suspicious,
since the Ignatian Spirituality conference was genuine, but it was taking place
in Maryland. But I wanted to know: Were the priests actually out of town, and
in trouble? I left messages at both rectories, and on the cell phone of the one
whose account had apparently been hacked.
Within a few minutes, a couple other staffers asked me if
I’d gotten the email from the priest (whose name is being withheld to protect
his privacy, which has suffered enough). In fact, someone had hacked his email
account, gotten a hold of his online address book and spammed his contacts in
hopes of getting at least one gullible helper. This is how online phishing
works.
When the secretary at one priest’s parish called back, she
said they had been getting all sorts of calls that day. She wondered why
whoever did this didn’t take the energy it took to send email spam and instead “go
out and help somebody. They could have gone to
Our Daily Bread for two hours,”
she noted, but instead, they made life difficult for two unsuspecting,
hard-working priests. You could almost hear her sigh.
When the priest from whom the email supposedly came called
back later in the day, he sounded exasperated, but his infectious laugh was
still present. Yes, he admitted, it was a very convincing email, and he had
gotten a lot of calls about it. He didn’t think most people would be fooled by
it.
I pointed out that all it takes is a one or two well-intentioned
people who want to help out their friends or a couple of good priests to
respond. If they take the bait, then they’ll become victims of the scam.
“The point is that all those who would have responded have
gotten in touch with me today,” the pastor said with a laugh.
Then he looked at the bright side: “Am I not lucky to have
so many people to love me that much?”
Yes, he is. But we all also ought to learn a lesson.
Don’t respond to email scams. If it seems fishy – or phishy
– it probably is. Check it out, on Google or
snopes.com (a great site for
debunking Internet rumors and hoaxes).
And change your passwords often, especially on gmail and
other such sites. In fact, I think I’ll do that right now.
May 04, 2012 04:20
By Christopher Gunty
Seven years ago, about a dozen colleagues in the Catholic press were preparing to journey to Poland to learn and write about the life of John Paul II. We knew his life was nearing its earthly end; he had been struggling valiantly for years with Parkinson’s disease, and he had been growing weaker. His witness to hope in illness, as in strength, were signs of his immense faith in the Lord.
In fact the day before I was to leave, there were (erroneous) news reports that the pope had died. It was even announced during a Mass of prayer for the ailing pontiff in the cathedral of the Diocese of Orlando, and the cathedral’s bells tolled in somber tribute. The news was premature, but not by much.
As we met in New York for our flight to Poland, we heard the news, definitive this time: John Paul II was dead. We headed to his home country in somewhat a state of shock.
Mourners gather April 3, 2005, for an impromptu
vigil in a large park in Krakow, Poland, to acknowledge the death the night
before of Pope John Paul II. (Christopher Gunty|CR Staff)
What had been planned months earlier as a chance to learn about the people and places who shaped the life of Karol Wotyla, who would become Pope John Paul II, became all that and something much more. We landed in Poland as a nation mourned a beloved son – and father.
The first night in Krakow, we happened upon a massive candlelight vigil, impromptu, we found out, in a park that had been the site of Masses celebrated by the pope. Thousands upon thousands of candles dotted the park. We worked our way through the crowd, listening to the prayers and songs, hearing the pain and sorrow.
A quarter-million people lined the streets of
Warsaw, Poland, April 8, 2005, on the night of John Paul II’s funeral for a
candlelight procession in tribute to their fellow countryman. (Christopher
Gunty|CR Staff)
And so it was, everywhere we went. In Wadowice, where Karol grew up, the church where he was baptized had hundreds of candles placed around his statue in front of the church. Displays of flowers and candles were on streets corners and in parks. Papal flags and Polish flags draped with black bunting hung from homes and apartments.
Candles and flowers are left as tributes in the
week after the death of Pope John Paul II near a bust of the pope near the
church where he was baptized in Wadowice, Poland, across from where he grew up.
(Christopher Gunty|CR Staff)
In Krakow, at the Archbishop’s Residence, where he had lived while he was the cardinal-archbishop of the see, people came at all hours of the day to pray. After one long day of writing and sending photos and stories back to the states via computer, a colleague popped his head into my room. “Do you want to see if anyone is there at the Archbishop’s Residence?” At 1 a.m., we weren’t sure if it would be worthwhile, but we went, and the crowd was incredible, lighting candles and weaving their prayers with the tapestry of others. A woman had come more than two hours to be there, just to feel his presence, she said, choked with emotion.
A woman expresses her anguish in silent prayer
over the death of Pope John Paul II in the week after his death outside the
Archbishop’s Residence in Krakow, Poland, where he had served as
cardinal-archbishop before being elected to the papacy. (Christopher Gunty|CR
Staff)
Our planned itinerary took us to Warsaw later in the week, which serendipitously brought us to the capital city on the day of the pope’s funeral. We joined hundreds of thousands who watched the funeral broadcast live in the city’s Pilsudsky Square, tears in their eyes, as they watched his coffin carried away accompanied by a 21-cannon salute in the square.
Later that evening, a quarter-million people thronged the streets of Warsaw in a candlelight march in tribute to their countryman. At the moment in the evening he had died, six days later, the procession stopped. They raised their voices in song, and then, as one, burst into an ovation that lasted several minutes. I know now the literal meaning of the term “thunderous applause” – as the sound rolled along the streets and echoed off the buildings, it set off car alarms.
Last year, I had the privilege to be in St. Peter’s Square as Pope Benedict XVI declared John Paul II among the “Blesseds” of the church. More than a million people attended the beatification ceremony. Many more are expected when the canonization is announced.
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the beatification
of Blessed Pope John Paul II May 1, 2011, at the Vatican. More than a million
people filled St. Peter’s Square and filled the nearby streets to attend the event.
(Christopher Gunty|CR Staff)
Something about Blessed John Paul II strikes a strong chord for so many people. Certainly, his fellow Poles feel a kinship, one I experienced in a visit in 1984, and again in 2005 just after his death. But it goes much deeper. His 26-year papacy means that he is the only pope that many people know or remember. The depth of his teachings continues to touch so many areas of our lives, even seven years after his death.
April 03, 2012 02:18
By Christopher Gunty
This week, tens of thousands of pro-life activists, young and old, gathered in the nation’s capital to tell Congress, the president and the Supreme Court that they will not give up on vital issues of abortion and health care.
The marchers certainly have much to say about the recent notice from the Obama administration that the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge will not include much of an exemption for religious organizations. That threat to religious liberty deserves attention. It makes no sense to require every health plan to include such coverage, since for the most part contraception and sterilization are not required for a woman’s health – much less at no charge, while many preventative medications for the heart, for example, require high co-pays. Also, if the government is going to require such a policy, it is supremely unfair not to allow conscience exemptions for religious organizations.
The speeches on the National Mall always include rhetoric about governmental policy, but this year they help us remember life is a 365-day-a-year effort. The day-to-day issues are epitomized by the death of a baby girl earlier this month about only four and a half miles from where the marchers gathered on the Mall. The infant, wrapped loosely in a towel, was left on a doorstep in Northeast Washington. The baby, found by neighbors who alerted emergency personnel, was pronounced dead a few hours later.
When found, she was stiff, and bleeding from the nose and mouth. But it’s possible this little baby could have had a chance at a normal life, because the District of Columbia, like every state in the Union, has a haven law for infants. Parents, and in some cases another adult designated by the parent, may leave a baby at a hospital or other location. The locations and number of days allowed vary in each jurisdiction, but Washington, D.C., is one of the most generous: a baby can be left within 14 days of birth at a hospital, fire station, police department or EMS unit. Here in Maryland, the law allows 10 days for a parent to leave the child at a hospital or other designated facility or with another responsible adult.
The haven laws illustrate the heart and soul of pro-life efforts. For a woman who is so confused about having borne a new life, there is still hope. We are grateful she did not choose abortion, but instead of abandoning her child in a Dumpster or on a doorstep, or subjecting her child to abuse, she could have turned the newborn over to those who could find a family to welcome the child and provide a new life.
Those in the trenches of the pro-life movement do all of this and so much more every day of the year – from providing formula and diapers to helping pass legislation to allow the preservation of umbilical-cord blood to fighting against funding of embryonic stem-cell research in favor of funds for projects using adult stem cells.
Pro-life work does not happen just one day a year in January, when thousands gather in Washington and march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court. It goes on every day, in myriad ways, because life itself goes on day after day.
January 25, 2012 01:02
By Christopher Gunty
There are two places that I always dreamed it would be great to be for Christmas midnight Mass: Bethlehem or Rome. This year my wife and I got the chance to be in Rome, at the Vatican for Christmas, and it was amazing.
As a schola chanted hymns before Mass, the basilica filled up with cardinals, bishops and dignitaries, and people who had waited in St. Peter's Square as early as 2 p.m. to enter the basilica at 8:30 p.m. for the 10 p.m. "midnight" Mass. Those who were in the square early got to hear an hourlong concert around 5 p.m. that accompanied the unveiling of the Vatican's outdoor Nativity scene.
The outdoor crèche features figures that stand about 15 feet tall in a grotto next to a Christmas tree lit with green and blue lights and gold ornaments. Pope Benedict appeared silhouetted at his window toward the end of the concert for less than a minute and held one lit candle. Notable, the manger was empty, since the Christ child has not yet arrived.
Inside the basilica for the Mass, the altar is decorated with thousands of white flowers and assorted greens. A statue of the Madonna and Child against a red velvet background adorned the left side of the altar.
A Nativity scene inside the basilica, smaller than the one outside, also features an empty manger. The pope traditionally blesses the statue of the infant at the end of the midnight Mass.
Though the Mass is in Italian, the first reading, from Isaiah (Is 9, 1-6), was proclaimed in English and the second, from Titus, was in Spanish. Some responses were in Latin. The crowd came from all over the world.
Walking out of the basilica, a young woman cradled her child in her arms, and gently hummed "Silent Night" into her baby's ear. Perhaps, a couple millennia ago, Mary herself would have been humming to the infant Savior on this very night.
It was an incredible privilege to be a part of this international celebration of the birth of Christ at the heart of the heart of the church.
Someday ... Bethlehem.
December 24, 2011 07:03
By Christopher Gunty
UPDATE, July 28: Catholic News Service reports that Archbishop Pietro Sambi passed away July 27, apparently from complications from lung surgery three weeks ago.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio to the United States, has been placed on assisted ventilation after “delicate lung surgery” according to Catholic News Service. The Baltimore Sun reported today that the nuncio, who is essentially the Holy See’s ambassador, was being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien passed along a request from the apostolic nunciature in Washington for prayers for Archbishop Sambi, and asked that parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore include an intention for the nuncio in the prayers of the faithful.
I’ve met Archbishop Sambi on several occasions, at meetings of the U.S. bishops’ conference and at various dinner functions. He has always been gracious and humble. The most recent occasion was a chance encounter, at Washington’s National Airport, as my wife’s family was dropping off her brother to return to Arizona after the funeral of a family member.
My wife and I – both Catholic journalists – recognized Archbishop Sambi, reintroduced ourselves, and asked him for his prayers and a blessing for the family. He agreed, and as he headed off for his own flight, asked us to pray for him as well.
We did, of course, and will continue to do so.
The Vatican diplomatic corps plays a unique role around the world. The church is “in the world,” but not “of the world.” One goal, certainly, of church diplomacy is to uphold the dignity of people and to ensure religious freedom, and to make sure that people have the rights to which they are entitled by God and natural law.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, speaks at the opening session of the Catholic Cultural Diversity Convocation at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana May 6, 2010. (CNS photo/Matt Cashore, courtesy University of Notre Dame)
Over the years, I’ve had occasion to visit the Vatican nunciatures in Malaysia and Haiti, countries with unique needs for diplomacy. Haiti, a predominantly Catholic nation, had overwhelming humanitarian needs, in which Catholic non-governmental organizations and the church played a huge role. My 2004 visit there was just after a tropical storm had ravaged the country, but its poverty was ongoing, even before a 2010 earthquake caused even more devastation. In Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, the nuncio served several southeast Asian countries, and dealt with issues that had to do with religious freedom and other topics unique to the culture.
The Vatican diplomat plays a delicate role in balancing the concerns of the Holy See and the pope, and it was a role that Archbishop Sambi has filled in many places; the United States assignment followed responsibilities in Israel, Cypress and Palestine.
Keep Archbishop Sambi, and all Vatican diplomats in your prayers. Their task is never an easy one.
July 27, 2011 08:35
By Christopher Gunty
I'm a little wistful today, as I watch media coverage of the final launch of the space program. As a college journalist, I covered the very first shuttle launch, STS-1, April 12, 1981.
STS-1, Columbia, clears the tower at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, April 12, 1981. Photo © 1981 Christopher Gunty
I had followed the shuttle program all through high school and college, and as the launch date came closer, I realized I really wanted to be there for this historic occasion. I called NASA PR in Florida and learned how to get media credentials. I convinced our editor, also our best photographer, that we should make a road trip. We convinced our school advisers that the trip was worthwhile. And we talked my parents into loaning us a car. We rented camera equipment and were on our way within a day.
We arrived in Florida the night before the scheduled launch and were met with a long line of traffic. Stuck outside the media gate, we nearly missed the launch, until it was scrubbed because of a mechanical problem. With the two-day delay, we picked up our credentials, found a hotel room 60 miles away, and then came back the night before the launch, spending the night on the ground in the press area.
We set up our cameras next to Time magazine with its six-camera rig, and Imax, with its new technology camera for high-definition, large-screen movies.
As the shuttle lifted off, we witnessed history. We could not only hear the rumble of the powerful engines, we could feel it in the ground.
Eventually, I saw several more shuttle launches over the years, on visits to Florida, and while I lived there.
[slideshow]
The tragedies of the losses of the Challenger and Columbia crews marred the program, and it never fulfilled the dream/vision that it would be a weekly "space truck" ferrying cargo 50 times a year to low earth orbit. But the benefits that came from exploration and experimentation in space have been great. The views of the cosmos from the Hubble Telescope make it difficult to not believe in a supreme Creator who has an intelligent design for the universe. The advances in medicine and other technology serve us in many ways.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said last week that human space flight will continue. At the National Press Club July 1, he said the foundation is set for space exploration for the next half-century, "and for us at NASA, 'failure is not an option,'" echoing a line often attributed to former Apollo program flight director Gene Kranz that has come to reflect NASA's can-do attitude.
NASA's reach, and the shuttle's reach, is everywhere, even in Maryland, where Goddard Space Flight Center plays an important role.
Today is a chance to salute all those who perished in human space flight, and all those who have been part of this endeavor in which we strive to explore and learn.
At this point, with launch scheduled about an hour from now, the crew awaits a "Go for Launch" while they wait for weather to clear.
And I recall that day in April when the "Go for Launch" sent Columbia into the heavens, and started this incredible journey for all of us.
Godspeed, Atlantis.
July 08, 2011 10:38
By Christopher Gunty
The Endeavor Shuttle and International Space Station astronauts had a chat May 21 with Pope Benedict XVI. They talked about science, courage, violence and world peace, and the beauty of the planet.
What a great opportunity for both the scientists and the pope to share their views.
Here, from NASAtv, is the 17-minute link-up.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81jAmb_e1pg&w=640&h=390]
May 23, 2011 04:26
By Christopher Gunty
Though Karol Wojtyla spent the better part of his life and priesthood in Poland, his cause for beatification was led by the Diocese of Rome, which he led as bishop for more than a quarter century.
Today, the beatification rite will be led by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome. At the beginning of the celebration, he asked the Holy Father to declare as Blessed the Servant of God John Paul II.
He began in Latin with: "Most blessed Father, Your Holiness' Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome humbly asks Your Holiness to beneficently deign to inscribe the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II in the number of the Blessed."
He then read a fairly detailed biography of Karol Wojtyla, beginning with his 1920 birth in Wadowice, Poland, and ending with his death on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday 2005.
The biography, to be read in Italian, is printed in Italian and six other languages in the Mass booklet distributed along the via della Conciliazzione.
It closes with these words: "A touching testimony of his life was seen by the participation of delegations from all over the world and of millions of men and women, believers and non-believers alike, who recognized in him a clear sign of God's love for humanity."
In Latin, Cardinal Vallini then thanked Pope Benedict XVI, saying, "Most blessed Father, the Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, gives thanks for conferring the title of Blessed to the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II."
The pope responded in Latin and formally declared John Paul II, pope, "Blessed" and set his feast day as Oct. 22 (the anniversary of his liturgical inauguration as pope in 1978).
From Vatican City,
Christopher Gunty
The Catholic Review
May 01, 2011 03:01
By Christopher Gunty
A dawn of a new day and throngs are heading to St. Peter's Square. Singing, waving flags and generally being tolerant of the direction of the gendarmes and carabinieri who point the way. Some try for a short cut, only to be pointed back the way they came when they hit another blocked street.
From my vantage point now, on top of the collonade -- Bernini's great colmns shaped like "arms" that embrace Piazza San Pietro -- the Square and Via della Conciliazzione are filling up in anticipation of the 10 am Mass, two and a half hours from now.
From Vatican City,
Christopher Gunty
The Catholic Review
May 01, 2011 01:27
By Christopher Gunty
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