Catholic Associations or Organizations

 

ACYC 2012 (Catholic Youth Conference in Arabia, 2012)

Catholic Youth Conference in Arabia (ACYC) 2012 held @ St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi,UAE on Nov 15 - 17 2012 Under the auspices of H.E. Bishop Camillo Ballin and H.E. Bishop Paul Hinder,  the Vicariates of Northern and Southern Arabia      The Theme for ACYC 2012 - "All things are possible for one who believes"  Mark 9:23

 

 

ICCRS  (International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services)

The Vatican recognized International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) as a body for the promotion of Catholic Charismatic Renewal with a juridical personality according to Canon 116 and approved the Statutes of ICCRS. . Its recognition from the Pontifical Council for the Laity was given on September 14th, 1993.The ICCRS Office is situated in Palazzo San Calisto, Vatican. Michelle Moran (England) is the President of ICCRS Council and Cyril John (India) is its Vice-President. http://iccrs.org/en/index.php/

ICCRS Sub-Committee For Asia-Oceania (ISAO)

Serving Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Asia-Oceania Region

GCCRS (Gulf Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services)

In order to reach out to the needs of the CCR and to strengthen the fellowship within the Gulf region,

NCST-National Charismatic Service Team

2GCCRSLC- 2nd Gulf Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Leader's Conference

Held @  Sacred Heart Church Bahrain from 7 – 9 November, 2011.

CBCI (Catholic Bishops' Conference of India)

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (C.B.C.I.) is the permanent association of the Catholic Bishops of India. It was formally constituted in September 1944 at the Conference of Metropolitans held in Madras. Its objectives are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of questions affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in all matters concerning the interests of the Church in India. CBCI Secretariat was functioning in Bangalore until 1962 when it was shifted to New Delhi. The CBCI is at the service of 164 dioceses out of which 28 are Syro-Malabar, 8 are Syro-Malankara and 128 are Latin dioceses. Ø  President  : Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Ø  Vice-President-I  :   Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, Ø  Vice-President-II  :  Archbishop Mar George Valiamattam Ø  Secretary General: Archbishop Albert D’Souza

KCBC (Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council)

The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council is a permanent association of the Catholic bishops in Kerala. It is an association of three rites of the Church in Kerala- The Latin, the Syro Malabar and the Syro Malankara. Ø  President: Bishop Mar Andrews Thazhath Ø  Vice-President :   Archbishop Dr. Francis Kallarakkal Ø  Secretary General :    Archbishop Thomas Mar Koorilos Ø  Deputy Secretary General & Spokesperson : Rev. Dr. Stephen Alathara

Year of Faith

Year of Faith  (11th  Oct 2012 – 24th  Nov 2013)
Start	Oct. 11, 2012
End	Nov. 24, 2013
Base Word of GOD	The “door of faith”   (Acts 14:27)
Formal Announcement	Porta Fidei" ("The Door of Faith"), an apostolic letter released Oct. 17
Year of Faith Begin along with	50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th of the publication of the CCC.
Year of Faith conclude  along with	The feast of Christ the King.

 

Year of Faith

Pope Benedict XVI announced a special "Year of Faith" to help Catholics appreciate the gift of faith, deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others. Celebrating Mass Oct. 16 with participants in a Vatican conference on new evangelization, the pope said the Year of Faith would give "renewed energy to the mission of the whole church to lead men and women out of the desert they often are in and toward the place of life: friendship with Christ who gives us fullness of life." The pope said the observance would begin Oct. 11, 2012 -- the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council -- and conclude Nov. 24, 2013 -- the feast of Christ the King. Pope Benedict explained his intention more fully in "Porta Fidei" ("The Door of Faith"), an apostolic letter released Oct. 17 to formally announce the special year. "Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy," the pope wrote. He said the Catechism of the Catholic Church, first published in 1992, should serve as the handbook for helping Catholics rediscover the truths of faith and deepen their understanding of church teaching. In his apostolic letter, the pope said the year's focus will be on Jesus Christ because "in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfillment." Pope Benedict said that in addition to studying the catechism and gaining a greater understanding of the creed, the Year of Faith also must be accompanied with more acts of charity. Faith helps people recognize the face of Christ in those who are suffering, and "it is his love that impels us to assist him whenever he becomes our neighbor along the journey of life," the pope wrote. Pope Benedict said Catholics cannot "grow lazy in the faith."http://www.catholicnews.com See Porta Fidei" ("The Door of Faith"), an apostolic letter   : http://www.adoremus.org/1111PortaFidei.html

Catholic Church in the Modern World

Abortion

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.72 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.73 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.74 2323 Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being.

Euthanasia  (Mercy Killing)

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible. 2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable. 2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always, be respected. 2324 Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of. 2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God. 2325 Suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope, and charity. It is forbidden by the fifth commandment.

Drug Addiction

2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.

In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

In IVF, a fertilizable ovum is removed from a woman's ovary and put in a petri dish (the Latin for dish is vitrum) to which a few concentrated drops of sperm are added. On the third or fourth day the fertilized ovum is put in the woman's womb. Only a small percentage of fertilized ova result in a child being born. The other children are lost or killed. Church considers IVF to be mortally sinful. (1) in IVF, imperfect sperm are not screened out as they are in natural conception, (2) imperfect or supernumerary foetuses are often killed, (3) more children are born prematurely, with problems resulting from this; (4) medical problems for a woman can occur in IVF more than in natural pregnancy; and (5) the whole process is a degradation of parenthood, which should begin with an intimate and profoundly personal expression of love. From VATICAN DOCUMENTS: In-Vitro Fertilization

NFP – Natual Family Planning , Contraception

The Roman Catholic Church only allows 'natural' birth control, by which it means only having sex during the infertile period of a woman's monthly cycle. Artificial methods of contraception are banned.Thus the only way for a Catholic couple to be faithful to the Catholic natural family planning is a way to avoid or achieve pregnancy based on awareness of a woman's fertility.  Church's teachings on human sexuality and to avoid having children is to use 'natural' family planning.

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.174 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.175 Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."176 2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.177 If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense. 2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery: If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another's husband to herself.178 2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

The Catholic Church's Teaching on Homosexual Marriage

[2359] Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.' With regards to marriage and procreation: [2363] The spouses' union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple's spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family. The conjugal love of man and woman thus stands under the two fold obligation of fidelity and fecundity.'

Celibacy of Priest

Through celibacy, a priest, identifying himself with Christ, dedicates his whole life to the service of his Lord and the Church. Celibacy enables the priest to focus entirely on building up the kingdom of God here and now. Pope Paul VI highlighted these themes in his encyclical “Sacerdotalis Caelibatus” (1967), which was written at a time when some people questioned the need for mandatory celibacy. The Holy Father pinpointed three “significances” or senses to celibacy: the Christological, the ecclesiological and the eschatological. In the Christological sense, a priest must look to Christ as the ideal, eternal priest. This identification permeates his whole being. Just as Christ remained celibate and dedicated His life to the service of His Father and all people, a priest accepts celibacy and consecrates himself totally to serve the mission of the Lord. This total giving and commitment to Christ is a sign of the Kingdom present here and now. In the ecclesiological sense, just as Christ was totally united to the Church, the priest through his celibacy bonds his life to the Church. He is the minister of the sacraments, and, especially through the Mass, acts in the person of Christ, offering himself totally to the Lord. Celibacy allows the priest greater freedom and flexibility in fulfilling his pastoral work: “(Celibacy) gives to the priest, even in the practical field, the maximum efficiency and the best disposition of mind, psychologically and affectively, for the continuous exercise of a perfect charity. Finally, in the eschatalogical sense, the celibate life foreshadows a freedom we will have in heaven when perfectly united with God as His child. The Code of Canon Law reflects these three “significances” in Canon 277, which mandates clerical celibacy: “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore are obliged to observe celibacy, which is a special gift of God, by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and can more freely dedicate themselves to the services of God and mankind.” Throughout the Church’s teaching on celibacy, three important dimensions must be kept in mind. First, celibacy involves freedom. A man when called to Holy Orders freely accepts the obligation of celibacy, after prayerful reflection and consideration. Secondly, celibacy involves sacrifice, and a sacrifice is an act of love. The priest sacrifices to being “wedded” to Christ and His Church and serving their needs as “father.” Finally, celibacy requires the grace of God to be lived. Repeatedly, celibacy is seen as a gift of the Holy Spirit. http://www.catholic.com/tracts/celibacy-and-the-priesthood

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm  

New Age Movements- Catholic Teaching

Please Ref. below websites, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.htm http://catholicinsight.com/online/theology/article_653.shtml http://www.concernedcatholics.org/newage.htm

SG Rev. Mother Eliswa

Mother Eliswa was born on Oct.15, 1831 in an ancient noble Christian family at Ochanthuruth in the Diocese of Verapoly in Kerala and was brought up by her pious strict parents who practised their religion zealously and were generous in their charity. At the age of sixteen she was married to Mr. Vareed Vakayil who belonged to an ancient rich Christian family at Koonammavu, in Verapoly. The happy couple was blessed with the birth of a girl child, Anna. But after a year and a half Mr. Vareed fell ill suddenly and succumbed to death.
Eliswa refused a second marriage and found consolation only in spending long hours in prayer, solitude and helping the poor around her home. heart in full sincerity to Rev. Fr. Leopold OCD. This young Italian priest discerned it as Teresian Charism that was working in her. He became the confessor and spiritual director of Eliswa.
The Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (CTC) was founded on 13th February, 1866. It is the first Carmelite indigenous Congregation for women in India. God marvelously chosen Rev. Mother Eliswa to be the foundress of the said Congregation.

Mother Eliswa Died on  1913.The declaration as Servant of God will take place during the Eucharistic celebration at St. Francis Assisi Cathedral, Ernakulam, on 30th May, 2008.

Founder The Congregation of Teresian Carmelites (CTC)
Born	Oct.15, 1831 ,Ochanthuruth in the Diocese of Verapoly
Died	1913.
Servant of GOD	30th May, 2008