January 15 2020 issue of Profiles in Catholicism

A Message from the Editor

2019 was a year marked with increased Antisemitism, especially in the United States and Europe To review some of the reports on Antisemitism, please review our web on Antisemitism.

In addition to some of the most current reports on AntiSemitism, we are featuring an interview with Dr. Eugene Fisher that addresses some of the causes of this increase in hated and violence.

Special Prayer

A Prayer to Defeat Antisemitism

Dear Jesus, Mary and Joseph, you were Jews and lived up to your faith, Judaism, all your lives.

You worked and taught the deeper meanings of your faith, not just to Jews, but through us Christians, both Jewish and gentile, to all humanity.

Oh Lord, we ask for forgiveness, as Pope St. John Paul II did, for the centuries of persecution Christians throughout the world perpetrated against your chosen people, the people of the Jew, Jesus, who died, as our Creed states clearly, at the hands of the Romans.

Oh Lord, the Second Vatican Council clearly condemned the false canard that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. Tragically, this false canard was believed by many Christians over the centuries, and became the basis for modern racial antisemitism. We repent for this as well.

Lord Jesus, we see in you the sacredness of your people, the Jews. We pray that we will have the resolve to act, to do whatever we can and whatever is necessary, to defeat the evil of antisemitism, which we see with horror is now spreading again with acts of terror against synagogues and innocent Jews simply walking the streets around their homes.

We resolve to join together with good people of all faiths and none to fight the evil that is antisemitism. We resolve to teach our children in our Catholic classrooms that Jews remain the Chosen People of God and that to attack Jews is thus to attack the One God of all humanity.

We resolve to work with our communities, law enforcement agencies, local, state and national legislators, and all three branches of the federal government to call out antisemitism for the danger it presents not just to Jews but to all Americans, and indeed to the very idea of what it means to be American.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will infuse our souls and minds| to enable us to follow through on joining our sister and brother citizens of good will, to establish an American society that lives up to the best of what it means to be persons of faith and faithful American citizens.

Amen by Dr. Eugene Fisher Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer for Those Who Died, were Injured, or Suffered Loss lo due to the Wildfires in Australia

Heavenly Father, together we pray for all those affected by the fires in Australia. We fall to our knees crying out, hearing of the suffering of so many people and the destruction of your sacred earth. Please bring hope and healing to those who have lost so much, and protection to all the wildlife. by Mike Hoffman Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer for Those Who Died in the Iran Plane Crash

Good and Gracious God,

We place before you a request to help all those whose families were travelling on the plane from Iran. They are people who were hoping to return to Canada and other places at a time of turmoil in the Mideast. Help the families of those on the plane to heal and forgive. Help us all to strive for peace in a world that has been at war with someone or the other for a great deal of our existence as humans.

Lord, help us to put you first in our hearts and our minds. Help those who are leaders in government to soothe and protect those who are in need. Help us to reach out to one another so we can realize the importance of a world at peace. Help us do that by starting in our own neighborhood and community. Let us reach out to one other person today to offer them peace in whatever way that is good for them. We ask you this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer on the Challenge of Abortions

The headlines stream about thousands of abortions.

The news is disheartening.

More, it is heart saddening.

Truly sad.

Not for the infants. They are with the Lord

But consider the sorrow and pain of mothers and fathers who are driven to such ends.

How their hearts must ache. How their hearts must bleed.

Lord, look with pity on them. Touch them. Heal them. Forgive them.

Please. Please forgive them. Heal their pain. by Father David O. Brown, O.S.M. Profiles in Catholicism

A Quote to Remember

"God has never stopped believing in the alliance made with Israel and, through the terrible trials of these past centuries, the Jews have kept their faith in God. And for this, we will never be grateful enough to them, as the Church, but also as humanity at large." by Pope Francis

Interviews

• Dr. Eugene Fisher

• Kirsten Mahon

• Beth Reece

• Father Tom Smolich SJ

• Father William Watson, SJ, D. Min

General Articles/Commentaries

• Stabbings, shootings and assaults weigh on U.S. Jewish youth by Luis Andres Henao Associated Press/America Link to Antisemitism

• The keys to understanding American anti-Semitism - and fighting back

by Rabbi Sacks The Jewish Telegraphic Agency

• London cardinal condemns hate speech after anti-Semitic graffiti appears

by Andrew Ehrkamp Catholic Canada

• Back From the Dead .After an amazing feat of genealogy, a Holocaust survivor tells Yad Vashem he’s alive after all

by Hillel Kuttler Tablet Magazine

Link to The Holocaust

Featured Report

• The defenders of human rights.

by Father.Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism

Link to Human Rights and to Featured Reports

• Catholicism, War, America, and Christ: Intro by Gabriel Blanchard Patheos Link to War/Acts of War/Terrorism/Genocide

• What is the Vatican’s response to Trump’s attack on Iran? by America Staff America

• Are Targeted Drone Strikes Allowed Under Just-War Theory? by Matt Hadro CNA/National Catholic Register

• After Soleimani assassination, Pope warns war ‘brings only death and destruction’ by Elise Harris Crux

• Iraqi cardinal: Innocents will 'be the fuel' for fire after drone strike by Dale Gavlak Catholic News Service/Chicago Catholic

• Trump’s attacks against Iran bypassed Congress. Here’s why that’s a bad thing. by Maryann Cusimano Love America

• 9 big questions about Qassem Soleimani’s killing, answered by an expert by Dylan Scott Vox

• Iraqi cardinal: Innocents will 'be the fuel' for fire after drone strike by Dale Gavlak Catholic News Service/Angelus News

• Morality of drone warfare questioned after attack on Iranian general by Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service/America

• US faith groups condemn US aggression towards Iran by Independent Catholic News

• Cardinal Tagle: ‘Shock and Sadness’ Over Suicide Rates in the Philippines by Catholic News Agency/National Catholic Register Link to Suicide/Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia

• Archbishop Paglia: never euthanasia, assisted suicide and abandoning the sick by Luca Collodi Vatican News

• Cardinal Nichols condemns hate speech after anti-Semitic graffiti appears by Simon Caldwell Catholic News Service/America Link to Antisemitism

• The Prophet by Jacob Siegel Tablet

• Catholic leaders join New Yorkers in march against hate

by Catholic News Service/Angelus News

• As Australia burns, Catholic Church on the front lines of mourning and relief

by Elise Harris Crux

• At New Year’s Mass, bishop says religious prejudice cannot be tolerated by Catholic News Service/Crux Link to Fear, Hate, Prejudice, and Discrimination against Others

• Catholic, Christian, Muslim voices condemn knife attack on N.Y. rabbi

by Catholic News Service/America

• Brazil judge orders Netflix to remove film with gay Jesus by Associated Press/.Crux

• Traditional Catholic Procession in the Philippines brings Millions to the Streets for the 'Black Nazarene' sculpture of Jesus by Jesus Caritas Est Catholic News World Link to Spirituality and Art

• There’s little evidence to support Pence’s tweets tying Qassem Soleimani to 9/11

by Isaac Saul Vox

• Mideast Catholic patriarchs pray for those suffering, appeal for dialogue by Doreen Abi Raad Crux’

• Australian Bishop Calls for Prayer and Support as Fires Continue to Rage. by Catholic News Agency National Catholic Register

• Dangerous Disconnects? Seminarians, Theologians, & the Life of the Church by Massimo Faggioli Commonweal

• What a shocking medical experiment can teach us about Christ’s atonement by M.T. Bennett America

• The War Game That Could Have Ended the World

by Richard Hollingham BBC

• War with Iran – not a Catholic option by Tony Magliano Acting Franciscan

• Trump’s new Iranian oil sanctions may inflict pain at home without serving strategic objectives

by Gregory Brew The Conversation

• 9 big questions about Qassem Soleimani’s killing, answered by an expert

by Dylan Scott Vox

• Meet the young teen who competes in triathlons with his younger disabled brother

by Cerith Gardiner Aleteia

Link to Disabilities

• She Shouldn’t Have to Carry It Alone by Vanessa Camacho Taller de Jose Link to Migrants, Refugees, and Immigrants Challenges

• Cities of Ice. A dispatch from frozen Harbin, where Jews once flourished—and melted away by Dara Horn Tablet

• The Nuba Mountains Doctor by Godfrey B. Kampamba Vatican News

• Mexico and Guatemala protest US migrant agreement by James Blears Vatican News Link to United State Immigration Challenges

• Priest in Mexico in ‘Serious Condition’ After Being Kidnapped, Shot by Catholic News Agency/National Catholic Register

• First responder (who was once a seminarian) baptizes dying baby and she revives by Aleteia

• Vatican magazine looks at women in the church in the age of Pope Francis by Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Link to Women's Challenges

• 7 Reminders from the Popes that Catholics Must Oppose Anti-Semitism by Brendan Gottschall, SJ The Jesuit Post Link to Antisemitism

• Sitting Ducks. New criminal-justice reforms combined with restrictive gun laws are making it impossible for Jews to be safe in New York by Liel Leibovitz Tablet

• Empowering Children and Youth with Disabilities in Jordan by International Catholic Migration Commission

Link to Disabilities and to Children Outreach/Protection

• He’s 4 years old with Down syndrome, and his brothers’ joyful keeper

by Annalisa Teggi Aleteia

Link to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Reparations Mark New Front for US Colleges Tied to Slavery by Carolyn Thompson Associated Press Link to Racial Challenges

• What it’s like to have cerebral palsy at Mass

by Matthew BeDugnis America

Link to Cerebral Palsy

• How Dorothy Day’s granddaughter feels about facing prison time for peace activism

by Jesuitical America

Link to Martha Hennessy

• Amid year's violence, Catholic leaders decry shootings, urge policy changes

by Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service

Link to Gun Violence

• Pope Francis appeals for prayers for Somalia blast victims by Associated Press/Crux Link to War/Terrorism/Genocide

• Pope Francis Prays for 176 Victims of Iran Plane Crash by Hannah Brockhaus CAN/National Catholic Register

• He’s 4 years old with Down syndrome, and his brothers’ joyful keeper

by Annalisa Teggi Aleteia

• Why Trump Vilifies Whistle-blowers and Venerates War Criminals

by Eric Levitz Intelligencer

Link to United States Politics

• Not a Sham. Why the Democrats Were Right to Impeach by The Editors Commonweal

• The 'ecological sin' debate by Jean François Channon Denwo La Croix International (with Catholic News Service) Link to Environment and Climate Challenges

• Everyday Heroes: NFL kicker’s friendship with teammate strengthens faith by Andrew Fowler Catholic News Service/Crux Link to Sports and Spirituality

• Cultivating virtue through sports by Patti Maguire Armstrong Our Sunday Visitor

• NFL Scout Takes Ride to Playoffs in Stride with His Catholic Faith by Trent Beattie National Catholic Register

• Former Indianapolis Colts' GM Enjoying Ride to Playoffs With the Seattle Seahawks by Trent Beattie National Catholic Register

• The story of Notre Dame icon Rudy Ruettiger? It's almost too good to be true by Ryan McGee ESPN

• How a Former Bank Robber Saved Her Football Star Son from a System Unkind to the Mentally Ill by Vince Beiser Los Angeles Magazine Link to Mental Health/Illness

• We need to protect the least among us: the unborn by Matt Malone, S.J. America Link to Abortion

• Lawmakers in Mexican state defeat bill to expand legalization of abortion

by Catholic News Agency

• Optimism and uncertainty for the prolife movement in 2020

by Russell Shaw National Catholic World Report

• A New Report Highlights the Shocking Racial Disparity Among L.A.’s Homeless Population by Zoie Matthew Los Angeles Magazine Link to Homeless

• Church must deal with ‘fear factor’ keeping bad bishops in power by Charles Collins Crux

• Puerto Rico: ‘An unprecedented level of need’ by Catholic News Service

• Growing number of U.S. Latinos leaving Catholic Church for Islam by Deacon Greg Kanfra Patheos

• Why Pope Francis’ Appointment of Cardinal Tagle Is Significant by Father Raymond J. de Souza National Catholic Register

• Kahlil Gibran on Silence, Solitude, and the Courage to Know Yourself by Maria Popova Brain Pickings

• GOP Lawmaker Plotted Insurrections to Establish Christian State by Eric Levi Intelligencer

• To fight hunger, fight climate change, Catholic charity expert says by Crux Staff Crux Link to Environment and Climate Challenges

• Catholic agencies intervene in Zimbabwe climate change crisis by Tawanda Karombo National Catholic Register

• Washington Post publishes Vatican report on West Virginia investigation

by Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service/Angelus

• A Woman Ran Over a Teenager Because She Thought She Was Mexican by Amanda Arnold The Cut

• A Catholic Sister learns to serve people with AIDS Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS & the Catholic Church Featured in Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS & the Catholic Church/America Link to HIV/AIDS

• “Little Prince” Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on Losing a Friend by Maria Popova Brain Pickings

• “I Serve a Mighty God Who is Using This Suffering for a Purpose Greater Than Myself” by Susan Klemond National Catholic Register

• UNICEF: “deadly decade” of violence against children. The United Nations children’s fund UNICEF has noted a 3-fold rise in verified attacks on children since the start of the decade. by Robin Gomes Vatican News Link to Children Outreach/Protection and to General Violence Challenges

• Fantasy, Vampires and Grace: An Interview with J.B. Toner by Sophia Feingold National Catholic Register

• US Mass Killings Reach New High in 2019 by Lisa Maue Pane Associated Press Link to Murder

• Forgive and be free: Reconciliation and the legacy of Nagasaki by Communications Office Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

• Mom with less than a quarter to her name wants to help others by Cerith Gardiner Aleteia

• The Politicization of the Sacrament of Penance by John Clark National Catholic Register

• What all sinners have in common with addicts by Terrance Klein America

• A Man Who Saves Children, Especially the Ones Trained to Kill by Innocent Eteng Those Catholic Men

• Children of Scientology: Life After Growing Up in an Alleged Cult by Ash Sander Rolling Stone

• Floods and Landslides in Indonesia cause 26 Deaths and Displace 62,000 People by Jesus Caritas Est Catholic News World

• Netherlands euthanasia death linked to loneliness. by Alex Schadenberg Catholic Canada

• Absolute Faith: How Phil Turned His Own Pain Into Helping Domestic Abuse Survivors by Beth Simkantin Catholic Diocese of Memphis Link to Domestic Violence

• Shelter in Bolivia empowers young female victims of abuse by Giovana Soria Crux

• For those on death row, redemption of souls is what matters most by Joshua Hren America Link to Death Penalty

• In Cameroon, face off between government and Catholic bishops Intervention by prelates in the Anglophone crisis irks civil authorities

by Jean François Channon Denwo La Croix International

Link to African Challenges

• China continues 'war on the soul' by jailing pastor

by Jean François Channon Denwo La Croix International

Link to Catholicism and China

• Cardinal Sarah: Nigerians killed by terrorists are ‘martyrs’

by Catholic News Agency /Catholic Canada

• It's time to change the abortion debate in America

by Patrick Carolan and Brian McLaren National Catholic Register

• UNICEF urges 2020 be “a year of peace for Syria’s children”

by Robin Gomes Vatican News

• 20-year-old filmmaker wins award for powerful 1-minute film about marriage by Zoe Romanowsky Aleteia

• The Doctor, the Dentist, and the Killer by Skip Hollandsworth Texas Monthly

• A new solution for America’s empty churches: A change of faith

by Ashima Krishna Crux

• Social Justice in Detroit by Robert Rockaway Tablet Link to Social Justice

• Nigeria: Abducted pastor makes video plea by Independent Catholic News

• The True Cause of the Opioid Epidemic

by Olga Khazan The Atlantic

Link to Substance Use/Addiction

• Meet the researchers helping the Jesuits address their history of slaveholding

by Sean Salai, S.J. America

Link to The Society of Jesus

• Meeting of Church heavy-hitters calls for ‘adjustments’ to priestly formation

by Christopher White America

• Back From the Dead. After an amazing feat of genealogy, a Holocaust survivor tells Yad Vashem he’s alive after all

by Hillel Kuttler Tablet Magazine

Link to The Holocaust

• Mob sets fire to Catholic church serving Chilean police

by Catholic News Agency/ Catholic Herald

• Church workers join aid distribution after Jakarta floods leave 60 dead

by Catholic News Service/EarthBeat

• The Medal of Honor winner with a devotion to St. Michael

by Catholic News Agency/Angelus News

Link to US Military and Veterans

• A World Without Pain.

by Ariel Levy The New Yorker

• New Documentary Offers Rare Glimpse of Benedict XVI’s Life in Vatican Gardens

by Edward Pentin National Catholic Register

• Francis criticizes world's 'very weak' response to climate change in address to diplomats

by Joshua J. McElwee EarthBeat

• Priests join residents in Quảng Bình to protest against dangerous new dam

by Thanh Thuy AsiaNews.it

• Campaigners voice dismay as government rejects plan to help child refugees

by Jo Siedlecka Independent Catholic News

• Primate of Ireland Archbishop Martin encourages New Rosary Prayer initiative for "...population of Ireland to pledge to pray the Rosary...every day.."

by Jesus Caritas Est Catholic News World

Link to The Rosary

Please support one of our organizations and people who need help

• Please send a donation for help save the life of my close friend Alwin Rex in India. Please read the article How do we love our neighbor as ourselves? and send a donation of $10.00 or more to help cover his healthcare costs to Father Thomas Ayyaneth, Syro Malankara Catholic Eparchial Chancery,1500 DePaul Street, Elmont, New York 11003, USA with a notation that the donation is for Alwin Rex. Father Thomas will process donations and send them to his pastor. Thank you Gordon Nary Editor, Profiles in Catholicism

• Donation request for mentally retarded children in India

• When Children are Set Free by Father Shay Cullen Preda Foundation

Book Reviews/Commentaries

• The Busy Person’s Guide to Prayer by Deacon Greg Kandra Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism

• Begin The Begin by Robert Dean Lurie” Reviewed by Father Jake Martin, SJ America

• Wounded Shepherd by Austen Ivereigh Reviewed by Bill McCormick, S.J. America

• The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson Reviewed by Jenny Shank America

• Our Mother Earth: A Christian reading of the environmental by Pope Francis Commentary by Independent Catholic News

• Wounded Shepherd by Austen Ivereigh Reviewed by Bill McCormick, S.J. America

• The Overstory by Richard Powers Reviewed by Brianne Jacobs America

• Enchantments of Mammon by Eugene McCarraher Reviewed by David Bentley Hart Commonweal

• Sontag: Her Life And Work by Benjamin Moser Reviewed by Randy Boyagoda America

• St. Peter’s B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints by Mary Ann B. Miller (editor) Reviewed by Kevin Spinale America

• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green Reviewed by Vivian Cabrera America

• The Problem With Everything
  

by Meghan Daum

Reviewed by Jonathan Malesic America

• The Catholic Writer Today

by Dana Gioia

Reviewed by Liam Callanan America

• Solid Seasons
  

by Jeffrey S. Cramer

Reviewed by Cynthia-Marie Marmo O'Brien America

Film Reviews/Commentaries

• Bombshell by Joseph McAleer Catholic News Service

• A Hidden Life Reviewed by Steven D. Greydanus National Catholic Register

• Little Women Reviewed By Kurt Jensen Catholic News Service

• Marriage Story Reviewed by Stefano Rebeggiani Angelus News

• Cats Reviewed by Daniel Drake The New York Review of Books

Television Reviews/Commentaries

• The Crown

Commentary by Bichop Robert Barron Independent Catholic News

• Evil

Reviewed by Paul Asay and Kristin Smith Plugged In

• His Dark Materials

Commentary by John J. O’Keefe America

Art Reviews and Commentaries

• Ancient Nubia

Commentary by Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J. America

Music Reviews/Commentaries

• Broken Silence

by Craig Shepard

Commentary by Maggi Van Dorn America

Feasting with the Saints

• January 17 St. Anthony's Feastday

Prayers

I Am Becoming a Catholic

He called me...At first it was a tiny call and I said:

"Well I am listening" He called again and again I said:

"I am listening"

Sometimes His voice is strong and clear,

other times I can hardly hear Him,

Sometimes He calls me when I am looking at a beautiful sunset,

Sometimes He calls me when I am helping to serve the homeless,

sometimes He calls me when I am out to dinner with friends.

I am still listening

He wants me to follow Him now and always.

He wants me to follow Him in joy and solitude.

He wants me to follow Him when others are in need.

He wants me to follow Him when I have chosen to hurt Him

and then say I am sorry.

He is after me night and day.

He is after me at the dawn of a new day.

He is after me when daylight disappears.

His never ending loving call is for ME!

I want to belong to Him and His Church.

I want His presence to become stronger in my everyday life.

I want Him to love me now and forever.

I say YES and again YES.

He hugs me with a strong embrace.

He and I are together with the rest of His followers.Now and forever. by Holy Name RC(A Committee Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer to End Gun Violence

Lord Jesus, as you approached the city of Jerusalem, Before your passion, As your people waved palms in your honor, You saw the city and wept over it because you Loved it.

You knew of the violence and chaos you would suffer In that beloved city still you loved it and wept over it. Lord Jesus, look upon our cities, weep over them, Love them and protect them. Weep over us and strengthen us as we suffer Violence and chaos. Weep over us and love us. Lord Jesus, weep over us and love us. (See Lk 19) by Father David O. Brown, O.S.M.. Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer for Migrant Children

Good Lord, who said “Whoever receives one of these little ones, receives me,” bless the little ones who are caught in the struggle of migration, separation, and abuse. Give all those adults who are responsible for them and for their welfare the wisdom and courage to do the children justice and to protect them. Make our hearts more ,loving and willing to do the right thing by them. May we see in all people young and old your image and so reverence their great dignity. We make our prayer through you who came among us as a child and who was forced to flee the threat of violence Amen by Father Louis Cameli Profiles in Catholicism

Videos

The 2015-16 Aaron-Roland Endowed Lecture with John Pawlikowski

THE "JUST WAR" THEORY - Fr Bill on the Brett Winterble Show (Historical Perspectives)

by Fr. William Nicholas

HE DIED AND MET GOD, AND HE WASN'T READY. The incredible near-death experience of Fr. Rick Wendell.

Pregnant politician gives emotional speech against Illinois' radical new abortion law

Our next Pope? Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle talks to Colm Flynn