We are not talking about familiarity with social networks but about simple wonders of information technology, which have revolutionized the way we communicate with others.

Let us start with the bare essentials. Years ago, some people were reluctant to use typewriters, and today they keep themselves far away from computers. Some even think computers and the internet are agents of evil.

The  gap between those who feel at ease with modern technology and those who do not is formed not necessarily on the basis of age but outlook, perspective and reasoning capacity.

Internet and email are considered the most essential means of communication in a world where speed is the criterion of efficiency. If I were to take a survey of the bishops, clergy, religious men and women who are familiar with internet and email, it would be quite revealing. I would be happy even if one half of them were making best use of them.

Unfortunately in today’s context, the Church’s mode of communication is still from the pulpit, with the traditional forms of passing on a message. The Indian Church has not adequately thought of novel ways of taking the Word to people who are techno-savvy. Some religious congregations and churches have begun online prayer rooms, counseling rooms or SMS Bible quotes, which provide immense service to those in need, and what is beautiful about them is that they are often offered free of charge.

To make the best use of technology today, all you have to do is sift the gadgets and technologies offered on a platter and choose only those which best serve the vision and mission of the congregations.

I would recommend moving slowly and taking every step cautiously.

The Internet is a web of information, where one can be led in many different directions. Seeking guidance from those already experienced in technology is a wise way to go.

It is heartening to note that about 10 years ago, when the internet was still a rare phenomenon, many clergy and religious took to the technology and made best use of it. I remember one of our senior fathers in his 90s each day opening his email account, replying to the mails which required attention, and before many others in the community read the Newsletter of the Province, he had already read it online.

Similarly there are a few of our fathers in their 80s but quite at home with internet and email. There is no age limit for catching up with information technology.

I should add in the same vein that many young men and women seem to be allergic to computers and avoid the internet and email.

A year ago, when I was editing a newsletter, I was getting handwritten reports from one of the fathers, who was not too old, but was adamant not to touch the computer. He had computers and internet facilities at his disposal, but he would not touch them.

While some bishops, priests and religious know how to make best use of technology, often many others are reluctant to make the effort. There are bishops who do not know the rudiments of internet and email and have to depend on their secretaries to operate their personal and official email IDs, thereby sacrificing confidentiality.

We are becoming more and more aware of the ecological reforms that we could start effecting from our homes, and luckily there are ample avenues in the information technology to save paper and still convey the message that we want to communicate. Internet and email are paperless, effective methods of communication.

Technological innovation moves quickly. However, this does not mean that we need to chase every new brand of cellular phone or laptop or iPod. This is yet another of the dangers of those who, due to lack of knowledge and correct information, may think they have to keep pace to changing technology as soon as products reach the market.

If the priests and religious spend a lot of money on the purchase and maintenance of equipment – computers, modem, routers, printers, scanners, LCD projectors, digital cameras – it is basically because they do not know even the bare essentials, and therefore the salesman finds it easy to take them for a ride.

Even basic knowledge of software and hardware would save so much of our time, energy and even money. But the question that we can ask is: Are the priests, religious and those in formation prepared to learn about them to get more efficient?

It is time that we move from printed newsletters, magazines, circulars and even invitations to soft copies, or electronic versions, of the same sent via email, with an appeal to the receivers not to print the content unless it is necessary. Encourage more and more people to use the e-mail version rather than printed copies. By doing this we are saving paper, cartridge ink, postal charges, and more than all, our precious time and the environment.

Make use of free SMS services to be in touch with a large group of people. One of my friends decided to store the cellphone numbers of all her province members and send them an appropriate Bible quotation each day using a free SMS service.

Most Indian church officials are media shy but think any information they may communicate to the media is equivalent to blowing their own trumpet. There are several ways of providing information to the world about what a religious community is doing. One of the most efficient ways is to make use of free website hosting sites and subscribe to them. If you want a personal blog of Daily Reflections, for instance, all you need to do is to register with BlogSpot and in five minutes you have a free site to host your daily blogs.

Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger and Skype provide excellent free services for voice and video chat. All  you need is an internet connection and an account. You can even have conference calls anywhere in the world.

For those who think modern means of communication are far too expensive and may go against our religious vow of poverty, one thing is certain: technology provides ways of reducing our expenses, if only we know how.

We need to educate one another about how best to use communication media to be in touch with the world around us. We need to have openness to learn from the younger generation about the blessings that these media bring into our lives.

Let me add a line of caution.

While the internet has brought the whole world in front of us, we need to use it prudently and judiciously. Personal information we provide becomes public property, and if we are not careful, we may regret it.

Facebook and Twitter are good ways of keeping in touch with people we love and care for, but they cannot replace actual communities and families. Living in virtual communities is not going to help us live better religious lives.

The marchers headed to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Bacolod City to seek quicker distribution of land.

A delegation was to travel to Manila and link up with other farmers from around the country before picketing the main DAR office in Quezon City.

The farmers accuse President Benigno Aquino of “not prioritizing” the plight of the poor.

“It has been two years now since he promised us a better life. But we still go hungry,” said Romeo Española a farmer’s leader.

He said the government has dragged its feet in implementing the agrarian reform program.

The agrarian reform department has only distributed 86,209 hectares out of 210,323 hectares the government promised to share out last year, farmers say.

They also say the department has spent $4.7 million on training but has not provided support services, like seeds and irrigation.

“We have land, but we have nothing to plant on it,” said one farmer, Jose Charito Celis.

The Catholic Church has been supporting the farmers’ call for full land distribution in two years.

Bishop Vicente Navarra of Bacolod is scheduled to celebrate Mass with the farmers tomorrow in a show of Church solidarity.

Task Force Mapalad, a national organization of farmers and farm workers, noted that the country’s agrarian reform law stipulates the distribution of at least a million hectares of land to farmers by 2014.

The seminars, held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), were part of efforts of the archdiocese to devote a period of catechesis before it is implemented on the first Sunday of Advent this year.

“This is to prepare the priests in the changes of the translation of the Mass in English so they understand what has been changed,” said Father Genaro Diwa, the head of the Ministry for Liturgical Affairs.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is to preside over a special meeting on February 10 with high ranking officials from the government inspectorate, four ministries, and Hai Phong city representatives, according to an announcement issued today by the government office.

On Jan 5, Peter Doan Van Vuon and his relatives used homemade guns and bombs to try and prevent around 100 policemen and soldiers evicting them from land which had been allocated to them several years before.

The confrontation injured six policemen and soldiers and saw the arrest of Vuon and several of his relatives. Their two-storey home was demolished by the authorities.

“This case can be seen as a warning that people’s anger could boil over if it is not solved reasonably,” said Le Duc Tiet, a lawyer  and vice chair of the Advisory Council on Democracy and Law of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

Tiet and several committee members recently made a fact-finding trip to the scene of the violence and will report their findings to the prime minister.

He said local government officials went too far and made administrative decisions not based on the law.

“It was a mistake when they mobilized troops to take back land, as it forced people into a corner, prompting them to retaliate with violence. They cannot blame the people and cannot vindicate their own actions,” he said.

Nguyen Duy Luong, the deputy chief of the farmers union said his organization will be supporting the legal rights and interests of Vuon at the meeting.

Related report:

Anger increases over land disputes

The fishermen were abducted in the Indian Ocean last October. However, the families had assumed they had been lost at sea and were only informed of their capture last month after the pirates demanded a US$6 million ransom.

All the fishermen are from the town of Negombo, about 40km north of Colombo.

“We only found out their boat was seized by Somali pirates in January. [They] had demanded an unthinkable amount,” said Rohini Fernando, the sister of one of the fishermen Jude Nishantha.

“We pray the government will intervene and save them,” she added.

She said the Church through her parish priest has offered support to the families and promised to help get them back.

The boat owner said he also thought the men had been lost until he got a call from the pirates last month demanding $1 million for each of the captives.

He said the pirates threatened to shoot them and let the families hear the shooting over the phone unless the ransom is not paid.

Government minister Rajitha Senarathne said negotiations have already begun through an intermediary for their safe return.

“We tried to go through the Somali government but it has no contacts with the pirates, so now we are trying through a third party,” he said.

Related reports

India releases six detained fishermen

Caritas wins fishermen’s release

Fishermen fight poaching by Indians

Father Flavianus Kuftalan was allegedly attacked last week with a stungun-style weapon in an apparent road-rage incident after he stopped his motorcycle at a traffic light in front of district attorney’s office clerk El Amalo’s car.

The marchers went from St. John the Baptist Church in North Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara province, to the district attorney’s office, urging the law enforcement officers to speed up the legal process.

Police promised Amalo would “face a thorough legal process for what he has done.”

Victims rejoiced on Friday as the Supreme Court Chamber at the UN-backed tribunal scratched the original sentence against Duch and awarded him the maximum penalty under Cambodian criminal law – the rest of his life behind bars – for crimes the chamber called “undoubtedly among the worst in recorded human history”.

However, rights groups and monitors are concerned the chamber’s dramatic sentence contains elements which could have dark ramifications for fair trial rights and the court’s remaining three cases.

“The decision to overturn the legal remedy for Duch’s unlawful detention and to provide no alternative may be perceived as a case of public opinion trumping human rights,” Amnesty International’s Rupert Abbott said on Friday.

The former chairman of the notorious interrogation facility was illegally detained by the Cambodian Military Court for eight years, a breach of human rights the Trial Chamber at the court had originally sought to remedy through a sentence reduction of five years.

However, in a decision disputed by two of the international appellate judges, the chamber counted Duch’s illegal detention by the Cambodian Military as time served.

Full Story: Duch verdict worries

Source: Phnom Penh Post

Speaking on RTE radio, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said that Pope Benedict is still considering an invitation to travel to Ireland, but added that the Pontiff thinks “his coming would have to fit into the overall timetable of the renewal of the Church in Ireland.”

Archbishop Martin said that he wholly agreed with the Pope’s assessment:

“We have to see and understand ourselves where we want to go with the Catholic Church. I think a papal visit will only have a significance when many of these issues of our past are fully addressed.”

Last year rumors circulated in Dublin that the Pope would attend the International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in the Irish capital in June. Vatican officials visited Dublin during the summer, apparently making early preparations for a papal trip. However, any planning for such a visit was halted later in the year, as the eruption of a sex-abuse scandal in Ireland and harsh criticism of the Holy See by the government led to a sharp cooling in relations between the Vatican and Ireland.

Full Story: Ireland not ready to receive Pope, says archbishop

Source: CatholicCulture.org

Cardinal William J. Levada, a former archbishop of San Francisco who now heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with jurisdiction over abuse cases, stopped short, however, of requiring bishops to report abuse cases to prosecutors or police.

Speaking to a Vatican-sponsored conference on the church’s response to the scandal at Rome’s Gregorian University, Levada admitted that the church’s relations with civil authorities “may be different from one nation to another,” but stressed that this must not affect the basic principle of cooperation.

He also urged bishops to be “more proactive” in their response to the crisis, rather than wait for the scandal to erupt in the media.

Last May, the Vatican gave all bishops conferences around the world one year to draft voluntary “guidelines” on preventing abuse, caring for victims, disciplining abusive priests, and reporting suspected abuse to local police.

An estimated 4,000 cases of sexual abuse by clergy have been reported to Levada’s Vatican department during the last 10 years, he said.

Full Story: Cardinal says bishops must ‘cooperate’ with police on abuse

Source: Religion News Service

In fact, they were so righteous that they became self-righteous. They felt they had no need of God’s mercy or forgiveness, for they performed well all that was required of them. Observance of ritual saved them, is what they thought.

In the episode presented today, the Pharisees take up something small – the custom of cleansing oneself before sitting down to a meal – and badger the disciples about why Jesus exempts himself from these legal niceties. How can he be good, if he neglects these details of the Law, is what they say.

In reply, Jesus draw a distinction between what ‘goes into a man’ through the food he eats, and what ‘comes out of a man’ from the thoughts he thinks.

Food of itself cannot contaminate you, he says, and the distinction made between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ food is artificial. Food which is tainted can at worst give you a stomach-ache, but it leaves your character intact. But what can harm you are the thoughts which fester in your mind – lustful desires, plans for revenge, the ambition to grab what isn’t yours, the urges to violence. All these urges lead one to evil action. So it’s what comes out of a man’s heart which can hurt him even more than…the kind of food he eats.

The Pharisees fastened on the external action, the ritual. Jesus looks at the interior disposition, the attitude. It’s no use pretending to perform intricate rituals, when one’s heart is far from God. This is why the word ‘pharisee’ today describes the consummate hypocrite, the one who pretends to piety, while his heart is consumed with evil.