The Dialog

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — School-choice initiatives, akin to the quiet students in the back of a classroom, have kept a relatively low profile in recent years while steadily working their way to the front. The movement was given a big boost in late March when the Indiana Supreme Court upheld one of the country’s most comprehensive school-choice programs. The state court backed a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said that because school vouchers primarily benefit families, they could not be viewed as an unconstitutional state support for religion.

Currently, there are 30 school-choice programs in 17 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 250,000 students. School-choice programs, primarily vouchers and tax-credit scholarships, have continued to grow since 1990, when the first school-voucher program started in Milwaukee, followed close behind by similar programs in Ohio and Florida. Read more »

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — Fifty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took a group of white Alabama clergymen to task for suggesting he find ways, other than demonstrations and protests, to seek racial equality.

The civil rights leader did not mince words telling the group that included Protestant pastors, a rabbi and a Catholic bishop, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Durick of what was then the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, Ala., that he was “disappointed with the church.” Read more »

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Two U.S. cardinals described Pope Francis as an ideal choice to lead the church in the modern world.

“He is the perfect choice for this moment in the church,” said Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl March 14.

New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told reporters March 13 that the pope met all of the cardinals’ qualifications.

U.S. cardinals walk to board a bus from the Pontifical North American College to attend the Mass for the election of the Roman pontiff in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 12. Pictured from left are Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Timothy M. Dolan of New York, Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and Sean P. O’Malley of Boston. (CNS/Paul Haring)

He said they wanted to “choose the right man” who would be “a man of God, a man of good pastoral governance, with a sense of the church universal and a good communicator.”

“He fills those bills,” he said.

He also said the pope’s nationality is a plus.

“Where he comes from is gravy, and we got a lot of good gravy with a man coming now from Latin America. You talk about a booster shot to the church in the Americas. This is going to be a real blessing.”

The cardinals noted that the pope has a style that will appeal to many Catholics.

Cardinal Wuerl said the pope’s style reflects the church’s emphasis on new evangelization, “inviting people to take a look again at the church’s Gospel message.”

“His invitation is not just by words but by personal witness,” he added, pointing out that the new pope, former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, had been “an active presence” among Catholics in his archdiocese, often making parish visits and attending church events.

“He does this as pastor of souls,” he added, pointing out that this will “be a hallmark of his pontificate.”

Both U.S cardinals said the pope’s style was particularly obvious in the way he greeted the massive crowd assembled in St. Peter’s Square when he was first announced.

Cardinal Dolan said it was “magnificent” when the pope asked everyone in the square to pray in silence for him and the whole square was completely hushed. He also loved how the pope led everyone in praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be, saying that was similar to something a father, a good teacher or a good catechist would do.

He said another aspect of the pope’s personality was revealed right before the pope was supposed to appear to the crowds. Many people inside the apostolic palace wanted to speak with him first, but the pope had heard that it had been raining and said he should go to the balcony first because he didn’t want to keep the people waiting.

“That’s a very spontaneously, gracious remark to make,” the cardinal told reporters at the Pontifical North American College.

Cardinal Wuerl appreciated that the pope immediately greeted the crowd by saying good evening in Italian, which he said “pushed aside all formality.”

He noted that Pope Francis has “firmness in faith and gentleness in dealing with people.”

“Isn’t that what we look for in a bishop?” he said.

The cardinal said he worked with Cardinal Bergoglio on a synod council and found the then-cardinal to be “mild mannered, soft spoken and clear in thought.” He said he enjoyed working with him because of his “great clarity” and also the pastoral experience he brought to discussions.

He said the former archbishop of Buenos Aires had not been afraid to speak up on issues defending the church’s “counter-cultural message.”

He also said it was significant that the pope chose the name Francis, pointing out that St. Francis of Assisi was “not a mild retiring person. He was demanding of himself and others … but he did it in such a way that you couldn’t help but love him.”

By Carol Zimmermann

and Carol Glatz

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The tens of thousands of rain-drenched pilgrims who filled St. Peter’s Square March 13 joyously cheered the new leader of the church, Pope Francis.

Cheers of “Francesco! Francesco! Francesco!” resounded throughout the square as he greeted the exuberant crowd in Italian and blessed them from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

When the name of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was initially announced, the crowd was momentarily quiet and visibly puzzled about who he was, but they clapped and cheered when they heard the name Francis, even if they still didn’t know much about him. Read more »

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Though the Vatican has become increasingly savvy with more modern forms of communication, I’’s still sticking with more primitive methods, swirling smoke and tolling bells, to announce whether a new pope has been elected.

In a similar vein, the Vatican press hall will not immediately issue an official bulletin, email alert, SMS or tweet to tell the 5,000 accredited journalists and other observers whether “Habemus papam.”

Members of the fire and rescue service set a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel before the conclave at the Vatican March 9. Smoke coming from the chimney will be the only sign to the world of how things are progressing inside the chapel during the conclave. White smoke signals that the cardinal electors have elected a new pope. Black smoke indicates voting was inconclusive. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman and head of the press office, said he would prefer people “live the moment” and try to figure out on their own what color the smoke is “rather than have a communique from the press hall.”

“Therefore, I won’t be spending time sending SMSs at that moment; I believe we should be living it,” he said to a round of applause from journalists during a news briefing March 9.

It was a surprising response from media whose 24/7 schedules and digital demands have long clashed with the Vatican, which still uses faxes, conducts almost all news conferences in Italian and most often closes shop between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Perhaps those applauding the more romantic notion of “Carpe diem” were unaware that, with smoke colors high in the Roman sky, it’s always been “Hard to see ‘em.”

Telling whether the smoke is white (a successful election) or black (unsuccessful) has never been easy, even during the 2005 conclave, when the Vatican started using chemical packets to enhance the color of the smoke.

Even Father Lombardi said he was not sure what color the smoke was when gray puffs curled out of the Sistine Chapel chimney after a successful round of voting that chose now-retired Pope Benedict XVI.

In addition to the packets of chemicals, which are concocted by Vatican workers, the Vatican had also decided it would toll the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica with a successful vote in order to remove any doubt about the results. However, in 2005, the bells did not start ringing until about 10 minutes after the smoke had been wafting out.

Father Lombardi recalled phoning Vatican officials to see if the bells were going to be rung or not and said the uncertainty is actually part of “the beauty of these events.”

It was “very beautiful and (the confusion) lasted just a few minutes. I find it more interesting” this way rather than having everything run smoothly and predictably “like a Swiss watch,” he told journalists.

“Let’s see what happens this time. Obviously everyone will try to do their best,” he said, predicting that this time people should know fairly quickly whether a pope has been elected even though “a minimum amount of suspense” is needed.

Father Lombardi said Vatican television will be broadcasting the “fumate” (smoke) live with a camera positioned about 10 yards away from the chapel chimney, giving people a shot that’s “right in front of your nose.”

People unable to make it to St. Peter’s Square can tune in online at http://player.rv.va/.

Or they can get on social media like Twitter and follow the many handles offering “on-the-roof” coverage and alerts such as @PapalSmokeStack, @ConclaveChimney, @ConclaveStove and @PopeAlarm and PopeAlarm.com which are promising “When the smoke goes up, you’ll know what’s going down” via email or SMS.

At the end of the day, the old-fashioned way may be the most reliable. Emails can end up in a spam filter, servers can crash, cell phones run out of battery power, bandwidth at huge events gets saturated, making sending or receiving calls or messages impossible.

Whatever method people chose, the following is the expected “smoke schedule:”

• The first smoke signal is most likely expected about 7 p.m. (2 p.m. EDT) March 12 — if the cardinal electors decide to cast a vote the first day of the conclave.

• Beginning March 13, smoke would be expected at about noon and again about 7 p.m. (7 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT).

• However, if a pope is elected on the first ballot of the morning, the white smoke would billow forth between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. EDT).

• If the pope is elected on the first ballot of the afternoon, the white smoke would be seen between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. (12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. EDT).

• After a white smoke signal, it takes about 40-45 minutes before the announcement of the name of the candidate who won. He must accept the office and change to white vestments, and the cardinals must pledge their obedience and pray again before he comes out on the balcony.

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Centuries ago, prior to mass media, popes and the conclaves to elect them did not have the worldwide attention they do now, a historian told reporters.

Jesuit Father Norman Tanner, dean of church history at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, told reporters March 11 that the papal candidates from all over the world reveal the globalization of the church while the “preoccupation with the personality of popes” can often be unhealthy in choosing a new pontiff.

There is “wisdom” he said, in just focusing on the office itself.

But the priest historian also acknowledged that popes have been world figures since the 1846-1878 pontificate of Pope Pius IX. He also noted that personalities have played a part in the role, particularly with Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI “tried to de-emphasize” the pope’s personality, he added.

Father Tanner said popes would be wrong to exclude reaching out to people and staying within their offices but they also “need to be careful that (their personality) doesn’t dominate.”

“Popes come with mixed gifts and deficiencies,” he said, adding that they have to then do their best with these skills in complex situations and in a very responsible role.

When a reporter asked if a strong personality, such as Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York or Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, Philippines, would be key for the church in its evangelization efforts, the historian noted that the new pope certainly should have a public presence but that is “just one of many characteristics.”

The main role of the pope, he said, has nothing to do with personality.

He needs to “preserve the barque of Peter,” he said, keeping the church “afloat and in the right direction.”

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

ROME — At the March 10 Mass he celebrated at his titular church, the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains), Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl urged members of the media, a large part of the congregation, to get the word out about the importance of praying for the upcoming conclave.

“Your presence,” he told the camera crews and reporters, “”makes it possible for everyone at home to join us in prayer.” He said the cardinal electors particularly need prayers to be sure “the Lord will work through each of us.”

‘We need all the prayers we can receive,” he added.

He described the conclave as a “sacred moment for the church’ continuing the papal line which goes back 2,000 years.

The cardinal said that because of the oaths the cardinals make, he could not say anything specific about the conclave, only to say it was starting March 12.

In his homily, he spoke of the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation, describing it as an opportunity to be “assured of God’s love and forgiveness.”

He urged those present to seek this sacrament particularly at this time in Lent as a ‘way to renew in our hearts” God’s forgiveness and experience the grace of God who “never, ever stops waiting for us.”

During Mass, several tour groups and random tourists walked along the church’s perimeter to get a closer look of Michelangelo’s statue of Moses at the front right. They could only view it from the side during Mass as a guard kept them from getting a closer view near the altar. The statue, which dates from 1515, was originally intended as part of a 40-statue funeral monument for Pope Julius II.

In a reliquary under the main altar are the chains which give the basilica its name. According to tradition, these blackened chains held St. Peter when he was imprisoned in Rome and Jerusalem.

Cardinal Wuerl said the church, located near the Colosseum, is “very special” to him. Although he celebrated the Mass in English, he gave remarks in Italian at the beginning and end of Mass and afterward greeted some of the Italians who seemed to know him well.

One couple teased him about the possibility that he might be pope and he politely urged them not to even joke about that

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — A major issue facing today’s U.S. Catholic Church is that many people express “absolutely no problem with faith, but they do have a problem with religion,” said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.

He said this is an issue facing many religions, but noted that for Catholics it is “a particularly pointed challenge because Catholics believe Jesus and his church are one; it’s a package deal.”

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, right, talks with Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana, left, and an unidentified cardinal as they arrive for the fourth day of general congregation meetings in the synod hall at the Vatican March 7. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

“To recover that intimacy of a relationship with Jesus and his church is a major pastoral challenge,” he told Catholic News Service several days before the cardinals agreed to a media blackout March 6.

Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was asked about issues the cardinals would likely consider in their general congregation sessions before the conclave when they discuss a variety of needs facing the universal church.

He said he had some ideas on these challenges, just based on what he has seen in U.S. dioceses from recent reports submitted to him by U.S. bishops in preparation for the next synod of bishops.

As these reports have been coming in, he said he is “seeing a clear pattern.”

He said the U.S. bishops are concerned with what they describe as an “ecclesiological challenge” as more and more people separate religion from faith and also say they ‘don’t have a problem with Jesus but they do have questions about the church.”

“That’s not just a Catholic problem, every religion seems to be experiencing this,” he added, but it is still a major challenge Catholic leaders cannot ignore.

Another major challenge is the vocations crisis, he said. Cardinal Dolan said he was not just referring to the vocation to the priesthood and religious life but marriage and family.

“The polls are showing that Catholic people are marrying at (the) same low rate as the rest and are divorcing close to the national rate. That means we have a vocation problem,” he said.

He also cited the issue of religious freedom and said there is a strong feeling that the church “needs to be more robust in its defense of religious freedom not only where Christians are subjected to outright persecution and harassment” but also what he described as a “more insidious kind of harassment” when the “ability to give public witness to the faith is curtailed and thought to be inappropriate.”

“Something tells me that those three challenges are not exclusive to the United States’ and that they would likely be “priorities for the next pope,” he added.

When asked what qualities the new pope should have, he said he should be holy, theologically erudite, have an appreciation of the needs of the universal church. He said he should also have linguistic skills, pastoral competency and leadership sense.

With that said, he added there is “not a job description for the pope.”

He acknowledged that the qualities he is suggesting “nobody can meet up to” but added, “I think that’s what the cardinals will be looking for.’

Contributing to this report was Francis X. Rocca.

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — After completing their third pre-conclave meeting, the College of Cardinals still had not announced a date for the conclave. Instead, they used the March 4 and 5 meetings to discuss needs of the church.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, could not give specific details of the discussions because he is bound by an oath of secrecy to give only general information. He said March 5 the subjects were “broad and varied,” and included “the activity of the Holy See and its various dicasteries, their relationships with the bishops, the renewal of the church in the light of the Second Vatican Council, the situation of the church and the needs for new evangelization in the world, including in different cultural situations.”

Cardinal Bechara Rai, Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch, and Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, arrive for a general congregation meeting in the synod hall at the Vatican March 5. The world’s cardinals are meeting for several days in advance of the conclave to elect the new pope. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

He noted that by the end of the March 5 session, 33 cardinals “from every continent” had addressed the group. The meeting was attended by 148 cardinals.

Although he said the cardinals made “no decision” about the start of the conclave, there was a presentation that day about the modifications Pope Benedict XVI made to the conclave rules, allowing the cardinals to begin a conclave less than 15 days after the end of a pontificate.

“I did not hear them propose any specific day for voting on the date” for the conclave to begin, Father Lombardi said. “I believe that it is premature to guess the date.”

He also noted that the conclave date is “a theme that is open. The congregation of cardinals is still determining how long it will need to make adequate preparations for a decision as important as a conclave. They don’t want to rush things,” he added.

Father Lombardi also announced that the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will take place, was officially closed to tourists beginning the afternoon of March 5 so workers could begin preparing it. The major work involves putting in a false floor so there are no steps, then putting in tables and chairs for the cardinals. Two stoves will be installed: one to burn ballots and the other to burn chemicals to create different colored smoke to let the public know if a pope was selected or not.

During the conclave, the cardinals will use three urns for the ballots. Video images of the urns, commissioned by the Vatican for the 2005 conclave, were shown to reporters during the March 5 news conference.

One urn is for the ballots cast in the Sistine Chapel, another is for ballots cast in the Domus Sanctae Marthae by cardinals too ill to go to the chapel. Once those ballots are counted, they will be placed in the third urn and carried to the stove for burning.

As of March 5, 110 cardinal electors had arrived in Rome, Father Lombardi announced.

The cardinals who had not arrived do not need to be present in order for the college to vote on a day to begin the conclave, provided the other cardinals know they will arrive by the starting date.

The five electors yet to arrive were Cardinals Antonios Naguib, former Coptic Catholic patriarch; Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany; Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, Poland; and John Tong Hon of Hong Kong.

Father Lombardi said the cardinals who have yet to join the other cardinals had personal reasons for their delay but plan to arrive soon.

The cardinals met twice March 4. Arriving only in time for the afternoon session were Cardinals Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch; Joachim Meisner of Cologne, Germany; Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin; Dominik Duka of Prague; and Theodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar, Senegal.

At the March 5 morning session, two cardinal electors joined: Cardinals Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid and Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Father Lombardi said March 4 that only two cardinals — Indonesian Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, the 78-year-old retired archbishop of Jakarta, and Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 74, who retired as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh after being accused of sexual misconduct — have formally informed the Vatican that they will not attend the conclave

The cardinals also accepted a proposal to conduct an evening prayer service March 6 at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals.

“The cardinals hope to give a good example of the call to the whole church to live in prayer this time of preparing for the important moment of electing a pope,” Father Lombardi said.

During the second day of pre-conclave gatherings, the cardinals also thanked Pope Benedict XVI for his “tireless work’ and example of ‘generous pastoral concern.’

The telegram, dated March 5, was signed by Cardinal Sodano and sent on behalf of all the cardinals present.

The Vatican said 4,432 journalists had requested accredited just for the interregnum and conclave by March 4; they join some 600 reporters, photographers and videographers accredited to the Vatican permanently. The media represent 1,004 outlets from 65 countries and work in 24 languages, Father Lombardi said.

By Carol Zimmermann

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — The tens of thousands of participants at the annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 25 demonstrated just how determined they are not only by showing up in such large numbers on a bitter cold day but by continuing a 40-year tradition of protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing abortion.

“Forty years ago, people thought opposition” to the Supreme Court’s decision “would eventually disappear,” Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley told the crowd assembled on the National Mall for a rally prior to the march along Constitution Avenue to the front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, shouts pro-life slogans through a bullhorn in front of the Supreme Court building during the March for Life in Washington Jan. 25. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against abortion in the nation’s capital marking the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the nation. (CNS photo/Daniel Sone)

He noted that Nellie Gray, founder of the annual march who died last year, “was not going to allow that to happen” nor was the pro-life movement.

“The march grows stronger every year,” said the cardinal, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

A March for Life spokeswoman told Catholic News Service Jan. 29 that the organization did not have an official number for the crowd but said there were “hundreds of thousands” of participants.

Many speakers praised the resiliency of the crowd, braving a cloudy 20-degree day and standing on snow dusted ground, but they also spoke of the pro-life movement getting re-energized by young people who are becoming the movement’s new torchbearers.

Hundreds of high school and college groups were scattered in the rally crowd, their members texting, taking pictures and creatively protesting by wearing pro-life stickers on their faces and carrying placards in the backs of their jackets.

Their placards did not have jarring images or messages but predominantly took a gentler tone such as: “Abolish Abortion Courageously” or “I am the pro-life generation.”

Jeanne Monahan, new president of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund, is 40, just as old as the movement protesting the 1973 Supreme Court decision.

Monahan praised Gray for her long dedication to the cause and several speakers also credited her for getting the pro-life movement on its feet with the first march and leading each one until her death. During the rally, a video tribute to her was shown on the giant Jumbotron.

This year’s rally did not include speeches by dozens of politicians. Nine legislators were announced and only a handful spoke.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus, told the crowd: “Know this, the pro-life movement is comprised of noble, caring, smart and selfless people. It is an extraordinarily powerful, non-violent, faith-filled human rights struggle that is growing in public support, intensity, commitment and hope.”

Another new aspect at this year’s rally was more use of social media technology, with speakers prior to the rally’s start urging participants to tweet about the rally and follow March for Life on Facebook.

One tweet read to the crowd, which drew a lot of cheers, was from Pope Benedict XVI, which said: “I join all those marching for life from afar, and pray that political leaders will protect the unborn and promote a culture of life.”

Rueben Verastigui, youth activist, had a message for the crowd’s youths.

“You can’t just sit around waiting for change to happen have to get up and make it happen.” He told them to be involved in pro-life work in their schools and that even if they feel they are alone they should remember this experience. “Look around, we are not alone. We are not the future of the pro-life movement; we are the pro-life movement.”

But that message could apply to any age.

Mary Salmon, who has been coming to the march for the past 15 years, said she is energized by the march to continue her work in crisis pregnancy centers.

Salmon, a parishioner from St. Andrew’s Parish in Clifton, Va., said the pro-life movement cannot just keep responding to opposition they face but need to take the lead.

“We have to do something more,” she said.