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A famous statesman recently spoke of the human beings he admires most. He mentioned Pope Francis as “a genuinely good man.”

Pope Francis is not only the head of the Catholic Church. Why is he one of the most admired and influential world leaders?

The reason is simple. “We like to listen to this Pope,” said The Washington Post (by no means a Catholic newspaper) “because he talks like Jesus, acts like Jesus, and is like Jesus.”

As a bishop and cardinal, he lived in a slum among the poor, cooking for himself and another prelate. He used public transport for travel. When, at his election as Pope, journalists went to that slum in Argentina, they asked the local people, “Do you have a photo of the bishop?” “Yes,” most of them replied in delight. They would go into their poor house, and come out with a photo—not OF the bishop, but WITH the bishop. He was one of them, not someone who lived in a palace, with his office distributing framed photos to be kept in convent parlours.

One of his first trips as Pope was to the island of Lampedusa, the spot where African refugees, fleeing poverty and violence, tried to enter Europe. Many had perished in the Mediterranean Sea.

He lives in a simple room in the Vatican Guest House, not in the Apostolic Palace, where his predecessors had their quarters.

On Maundy Thursday, years ago, he shocked and inspired the world by washing the feet of refugees of different races, including some who were not Catholics.

Five years ago, he wrote Laudato Si, calling on all people of good will to care for the earth, our common home.

He also insists on certain priorities which make him the hated target of a several super-rich people and some church leaders who do not like his insistence on the church being poor and of the poor. His life and words challenge their comfortable life-style. He says what the world needs: “An economy centred around human beings, and not around profit.” Which profit-worshipping magnate would like to hear that?

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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We can all learn from—and be challenged by—by the vision and loving commitment of a highly qualified priest-professor who heart reaches out to the poorest. I have seen how the eyes of the poor, especially of children, light up when they see Fr Mathew. A model and a challenge.—Editor

What we see depends on where we stand. This a truism coming from our everyday experience. It can be understood both literally and figuratively. Literally, our physical sight is limited by the space that we occupy. We can see only what is around us. We cannot see, for example, what lies beyond the horizon. Figuratively, where we stand refers to what we stand for, ahat defines our personality and gives meaning to our existence. It is about our priorities, our value systems and our principles. So, our lives will be shaped definitely for the better or for the worse by where we stand and what we stand for.
If we stand in an airport terminal or a luxury shopping mall, then we will see the glittering side of the advancement brought about by science and technology – everything about it is so flashy and spectacular. There is a touch of class in the building, the furniture and the lay out. The rich top layer of humanity can be found there, as they go in and out of such places. If we stand in a slum surrounded by shanties infested with rats and dirt and slime, and with human beings swarming the area like maggots, we see another aspect of humanity and existence. Both these types of places that I have mentioned can influence our perspective and impact our ministry.
During the past decade—by a quirk of circumstances or Divine Providence, depending on one’s point of view—I have been doing ministry in places where I was able to encounter human misery in all its inhuman dimensions. Though it liked a quirk of circumstances, I believe it was the definitive plan of God that took me to such places and people. If we live for the Lord, we will find ourselves in the right at the right time. I am sure this is something that many people can vouch for from their experience. Besides my assigned responsibilities in the community, I was able to find time to reach out to the neighbourhood. I would like to share with you some of my profoundly heart-wrenching experiences in working with people in a garbage dump land-fill and a slum along a drainage canal.

………

Fr Mathew George SDB

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The one whom I’d like to hold up this month as a shining candle is a person who seems to be an extraordinary combination of intellectual prowess and spiritual depth, somebody whom we would always admire, applaud and praise God for.

But you may not have heard of Dr Francis Collins, the Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is not as widely known as Dr Anthony Fauci, who has been interviewed dozens of times by the American TV channels, on the country’s fight against COVID 19 that has killed more than 500,000 Americans in less than a year. But, in fact, it is Dr Francis Collins, who, as the boss of Fauci, oversees his contribution and that of so many others to the fight against the killer pandemic. The media have highlighted the fact that the way Collins has handled his job as the Director of NIH will help his country not merely contain this virus soon but also be prepared for the next pandemic.

Francis Sellers Collins, 70, is a physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. Homeschooled by his mother during his childhood, Collins was interested in science from the beginning. In 1970 he received a B.S. from the University of Virginia, and went on to Yale University to earn an M.S. and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. But he realized he wanted to be a doctor – not just a scientist. “I’m a physician scientist,” he says.  “It’s interesting when you read the life of Christ how much of his time he spent healing the sick. There must have been a reason for that—he was modelling for us what it is we are intended to do by following his path.”

After earning an M.D. at the University of North Carolina, Collins joined the University of Michigan as an assistant professor. His work there earned him a reputation as one of the world’s foremost genetics researchers. While leading the National Human Genome Research Institute, Collins was elected to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. In 2005, Collins and his colleague, Craig Venter, were honored as two of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report and the Harvard University Center for Public Leadership.

……..

Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

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I am Sr Prudentia, Provincial Superior. Our Province has a farmland. I want to sell the land and use the money to build a formation house. Before obtaining the permission from the General and her team, as required by our constitution, I sought the vote of the council. Two councillors voted in favour of selling the land, and two of them voted against it. Can I sell the land?

It is a genuine doubt of many major superiors who wish to discharge their responsibility in the spirit of subsidiarity and collegiality. Canon 638 §3: “For the validity of alienation, and of any transaction by which the patrimonial condition off the juridical person could be adversely affected, there is required the written permission of the competent Superior, given with the consent of his council” (CCEO does not have a parallel canon).

To answer this doubt, some pertinent questions must be asked. First of all: Is the particular congregation of pontifical or diocesan right? If diocesan, the provincial needs the written consent of the bishop of the diocese in which the Generalate of the congregation is located (can. 638 §4 of CIC).

In addition to the norms prescribed in the Code of Canon Laws and of the norms of particular constitutions, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life advocates all religious congregations (whether diocesan or pontifical) to obtain the nihil obstat (no objection) from the diocesan bishop of the place. It is not a consent from the bishop, but rather a statement that he has no objection to the sale of the ecclesiastical property. It is not a norm, but a praxis of the said Congregation. It is to be noted that “the temporal goods of religious institutes are ecclesiastical goods …” (can. 635 §1 of CIC; can. 1009 §2 of CCEO). When an ecclesiastical property is being sold, there must always be a just cause for selling the property (can. 1293 §1 of CIC and can. 1035 §1 of CCEO). And if the property is valued more than the sum the Holy See has allowed for a particular country—it is Rupees ten crores in India—the sale of the property should be informed to the Holy See. Congregations of Latin rite must inform the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, while those of the Oriental Rites inform The Congregation for the Oriental Churches or the Patriarch with the consent of Permanent Synod: – can. 1292 §2 of CICI; can. 1036 of CCEO.

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Sr Divya Thattil

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KEVIN

Greetings beloved Magnet family, or perhaps more appropriately, “Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 1:3)  As I write to you this month, I am filled with a great appreciation for who we are as children of God, members of the same family, the Body of Christ.

Memories at Mother’s Funeral

We are just back from my beloved mother’s funeral.  My mom, Marie Louise, was a wonderful, faith-filled mother of nine children. While partings are always somewhat sorrowful, I find myself full of joy and hope. Marie was 89 years old and suffering with dementia over the last six years. She remained a faithful woman who regularly shared with the Lord her readiness to be called home. God blessed her with a peaceful death and I am sure a rousing welcome into eternal life.

While the sadness comes naturally as a result of the death of a loved one, joy returns quickly when I reflect on what is lost.  As the song writer Joni Mitchell once sang, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” The days leading up to the funeral Mass were filled with family members sharing vivid memories of a woman of great faith and service. We all remembered our mother gathering her rambunctious brood around the radio to pray the family rosary on a Saturday night or standing over a hot stove preparing another freshly cooked meal for that same crowd every night of the week. In retrospect, it appeared as a gift of true grace, Christ Himself loving and serving our family.  I felt so blessed by God to have only positive memories, especially since I know that isn’t always the case for others.  Nine Kids and seventy years of loving and giving… wow!

Dad: Not Perfect, but a Blessing

It was so easy to be flooded with grateful memories of my mother, but one of the surprise blessings of the past week was the call of the Holy Spirit to reflect on the blessing that my father Thomas was in my life and the life of the family.  …….

Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

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Introduction

The scope of this article is limited to the understanding of “member” and “membership” in a Society (registered under the Societies Act/s) and not with other forms of organization, such as Trust or Company or Corporation, etc.  References will be made to the Society Registration Act 1860 (SRA-1860) legislated by the Central Government.

1.     Who is a member?

According to the SRA-1860, an individual human person will be considered a “member” of the Society when: (a) the person has been admitted according to its Rules and Regulations (R&R), (b) has paid the subscription fees, (c) has signed the roll or list of members, and (d) has not resigned according to its R&R.

Membership in a Society is a free act. A person cannot be forced to become a member of a Society, nor is it a matter of the religious vow of obedience. A Society too cannot be forced to admit a person to its membership against its R&R. The provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (such as, minimum age limit, sound mind, no moral culpability, communication to be done in writing, exercising free will, etc.), will apply when admitting/rejecting a person to membership. In a Society governed by Religious Congregations, admission to membership can be limited to the permanent members of the Congregation, and such a clause can be inserted into its R&R.

Granting of membership to a person is the prerogative of the Society and not an inherent right of any individual. A person cannot demand that he/she should be given membership. The key word in understanding membership is “admitted,” which supposes that there should be defined rules and procedures to be followed while accepting a person as a member.

2.     Procedure for admission

The rules for admission to membership should be clearly mentioned in the R&R of the Society, and these should be strictly adhered to. The procedure about application form, time-frame, etc., can be mentioned in the accompanying manual of administration of the Society. The procedure for admission may be along the following lines:

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Fr Trevor D’Souza OFM

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The January, February and March issues of MAGNET discussed mental health and mental illness in series of articles. In this article, we present the rights of mentally ill persons. Like every other citizen, they have certain legal rights, which we will do well to know, especially if we are caring for a mentally ill relative or community member or if our institution looks after persons will mental illness. Further, as other articles in this magazine have highlighted, any of us can be affected by mental illness, just as we can fall physically ill. No one is assured a life without ailments.. –Editor

Here are the basic legal rights of mental ill persons.

1. Right to make an “Advance Directive” (AD)

By law, every medical officer is bound to provide persons with mental illness adequate treatment in line with what is called “Advance Directive” (AD).

Every person who is not a minor has the right to make an AD in writing, stating  the way s/he wants or does not want to be treated in case of mental illness. In the case of minors, their legal guardian can make this statement.

It shall be made in the manner specified by regulations by the Central Authority, and it may be revoked, amended or cancelled by the person who made it at any time.  The AD shall not apply to the emergency treatment given under section 103 of the Act to a person who made the AD.

Medical Practitioners or Mental Health Professionals shall not be held liable for any unforeseen consequences on following a valid AD.  They shall also not be held liable for not following a valid AD, if they had not been given a copy of the valid AD.

2. Right to Nominate a Representative

Every person who is not a minor shall have the right to appoint a nominated representative in writing.  Where no nominated representative is appointed, the legal guardian shall be their nominated representative unless the concerned Board orders otherwise. The nominated representative shall consider the current and past wishes, the life history, values, cultural background and the best interests of the person with mental illness.

……

Fr Ravi Sagar SJ

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Sr Joan Chittister, an internationally known Benedictine nun, narrates the following incident from her novitiate days.  Every year, Mother Sylvester, the prioress, would visit the novitiate twice.  During both the visits, she would ask the novices the same question: “Why have you come to religious life?”  The novices would come up with different answers: “To give our lives to the Church;” “To convert the world;” “To serve the poor and the needy.”  Sr. Sylvester would shake her head disapprovingly and say ‘no’ to each of the answers.  When the novices would have exhausted all their answers, with a glint in her eyes, she would tell them: “You have come to religious life, dear sisters, only to seek God.”

Although seeking God is the primary purpose of religious life, Sr Chittister notes that “we have too often, however, been seduced with greater intensity by other explanations for religious life.”  As a result, we have sought to be “relevant,” set out to be “incarnational,” made efforts “to transform structures,” pursued “dialogue” with people of other religions, committed ourselves to the “empowerment of the marginalized,” and devoted ourselves to “the option for the poor.”  All these commitments are needed and praiseworthy, relevant and important.  All these are, so to say, God’s works.  These are not God.  And religious are persons who have made it their life’s goal “to seek God”; they are persons who have chosen God.

Revelation in Prison—and Deep Peace

Venerable Francis X N van Thuan of Vietnam was arrested by the Communist Government when he was the Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon (1975), and kept in prison for thirteen years, nine of which he spent in solitary confinement.   He says that in the first months in prison he spent many sleepless nights thinking about the many plans he had for the Archdiocese which would now go unrealized.  One night, while he was lying awake, agonizing over all his projects that would be unrealized, he heard a voice from the depths of his heart which said: “Why do you torment yourself like this? You must distinguish between God and the works of God. Everything you have done and desire to continue doing—pastoral visits, formation of seminarians, of men and women religious, of the laity, of the youth, construction of schools, foyers for students, missions for the evangelization of non-Christians—all of these are excellent works. These are God’s works, but they are not God! If God wants you to leave all of these works, do it right away and have faith in him! God can do things infinitely better than you can. He will entrust his works to others that are much more capable. You have chosen God alone, not his works!”

Fr Jose Kuttianimattathil SDB

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A young woman religious shares her journey from rejection to love, from confusion to a vocation choice, and how she met God in a destitute man’s little hut.

“Having an intimate relationship with God means realizing that abundant life will never be found in another person.”

Each one called by the Lord has a different vocation story. The stories go on.

I would like to narrate my experience—not of why God called me, but rather the unique circumstances in my life that led to the discovery of my vocation, what helps me sense His powerful presence in my life. If I may, I would take the liberty to say “Divinely Provoked” with a ray so sacred, that I could not help but share it with all.

My call is not a one-time grandiose event. It resembles more the call of Jeremiah 1:5, where God reminds him that it is He who formed him in the womb and knew him even before he was born. As I look back, I feel God was gradually and continuously revealing Himself over the years even before my birth.

Like many Indian female infants, I too had become a victim of my parents’ rejection and suffered the social taboo of being the second girl child. I was not raised by my parents, but by my grandmother, uncle and aunty, away from my small family. Occasionally coming home to my parents, and having no great bonding with them, I was sent to a boarding school. This decision of my parents caused me a lot of hurt and feelings of being unwanted and unloved. However, the situation didn’t remain the same.

A Home Away from Home

The hostel became a home away from home where I felt I belonged. I also felt accepted by everyone. I really found an extended family. The hostel became my new home, a very special happy family. My father was astonished to see me happy and accepted and loved by everyone. He found it difficult to understand and accept the fact that he had made a big mistake by taking me for granted. Probably that was the moment of self-realization for him that brought a paradigm shift in his attitudes towards me.

Six years later, it was time for me to move on from school life to another phase of life. I had a great desire and ambition to have a romantic married family life, with sweet children of my own.

…………

Sr Arul Penci PBVM

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“Rabbi, who sinned—this man or his parents?”

 Here is an invitation to be compassionate and understanding towards persons whose situation is not the fruit of their choice.

Yesterday, Maricela went to receive communion. As soon as the priest at the St Francis parish in downtown Bogotá gave her the consecrated host on her tongue, he bombastically cleaned his thumb and index finger on his sacred chasuble. Whoever did not see the over-acted gesture was blind! You see, Maricela is a transvestite. I do not think she has the money needed for hormone treatment, let alone for the operation. So, she has to fix herself as best she can. And I can tell you, she does not do a good job!

And today something worse happened. As soon as she came out of the pew to go in line to receive communion, one of my dear sisters in Christ intercepted her and asked her whether she had gone for confession.

Confession?

Why?

Is it a sin that Maricela was born XY but thinks or feels that she is XX?

Whose fault is it?

Hers or her parents?

“Rabbi, who sinned—this man or his parents?” (John 9:2)

∂           ∂           ∂

As I have already mentioned a few months ago, part of my job at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles was to minister to the gays, transsexuals, transvestites and transgender who were waiting their trial. At the time there were two big dorms with about one hundred and fifty inmates in each. I would conduct a weekly communion service to those who voluntarily came for it and then, once or twice a week, I would see them and counsel them in our chaplain’s office. There was a broad spectrum of men. The ones who looked and acted like men and who liked other men, to the ones who already looked and acted like women but whose anatomical features were still those of men (and that is why they were still housed in a men’s jail). In a way, it was fun to minister to them, because most of them were not in for big charges like murder, but rather drug-related crimes and prostitution, so, they took everything with a pinch of salt. Many times, they even joked about their condition and the environment they were living in.

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Brother Carmel Duca MC

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