cormacburke.me.ke - Church

Opus Dei in the service of the Evangelizing Mission of the Church

webmaster — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:24:52 +0000

The Personal Prelature of Opus Dei in the service of the Evangelizing Mission of the Church (Conference, CEFA, Kinshasa, November, 2007) [translation]

Renewal, Personalism and Law (Onclin Chair Lecture, Louvain 1995)

webmaster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:41:55 +0000

Renewal, Personalism and Law (Onclin Chair Lecture, Louvain, 1995)

Renewal.
The Second Vatican Council was aimed at formulating principles for the renewal of ecclesial life in all its aspects. More than thirty years later, varying evaluations of the results are made. Some persons, perhaps feeling that renewal was a dangerous idea in itself, hold that in any case it went off the tracks from the start. Others think that it ran into too much entrenched opposition from conservative forces, and is now largely dead-ended, an ideal or a dream they no longer really believe in. For others again, it remains a program of hope, which is still being attempted or needs to be attempted. Pope John Paul II is evidently one of these; he is a firm believer in renewal and, as I see his ministry, it is being constantly spent in seeking to bring it about.

La prélature personnelle de l'Opus Dei au service de la tâche de l'évangélisation de l'Église

webmaster — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 05:37:19 +0000

La prélature personnelle de l'Opus Dei au service de la tâche de l'évangélisation de l'Église (Conférence, CEFA, Kinshasa, Novembre, 2007)

Catholic Identity

webmaster — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:36:57 +0000

Identity as a Catholic: Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Ed: Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor, 1997)
When we speak of some people being "very human", or others as "lacking in humanity", what we mean is that they are fulfilling - or falling away from - the models or standards befitting human nature. "Human nature" or "what it means to be human" is not something each one decides for himself or that can be changed at will. It has an objective content: one given by God when he made man "in his own image" (Gen 1:27).

La Natura Pastorale delle Leggi Ecclesiastiche

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:45:18 +0000

La Natura Pastorale delle Leggi Ecclesiastiche (Studi Cattolici (324) 1988, pp. 83-87)
[In taluni ambienti cattolici è radicata la tesi secondo cui l'azione pastorale non tollererebbe leggi ne strutture istituzionali, lesive, per l'astrattezza e la generalità della dogmatica giuridica, di quel principio personalistico che così peculiarmente, connota l'insegnamento del Concilio Vaticano II. Alla luce dei documenti conciliari e con frequenti riferimenti al nuovo Codice di diritto canonico Cormac Burke, uditore della Sacra Rota, sviluppa una puntuale confutazione della suddetta posizione concettuale, troppo disinvoltamente incline a enfatizzare la spontaneità e la sperimentazione nell'attività pastorale, e mostra come nella vita della Chiesa le istituzioni e le norme abbiano l'eminente funzione di servire e proteggere la persona, aiutandola a far crescere ogni giorno di più la propria vocazione cristiana]
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"Personalismo, Individualismo, «Communio»": Studi Cattolici 396 (feb. 1994), 85-90

webmaster — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:03:27 +0000

"Communio": ecco il tema centrale e dominante del Concilio Vaticano II che presenta la Chiesa come la comunione del popolo di Dio, aperta a tutti gli uomini: iniziativa e forza divine per unire tutti in uno. "La Chiesa è in Cristo come sacramento, cioè segno e strumento dell'intima unione con Dio e dell'unità di tutto il genere umano" (Lumen Gentium, n. 1). Infatti il Concilio formula una chiamata poderosa e traccia le direttrici fondamentali per il rinnovamento della Chiesa e del mondo attraverso questo senso di "communio" [1].

The People of God: Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Ed: Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor, 1997)

webmaster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:33:49 +0000

The ecclesiology of Vatican II centers on "communio", the vital union of each member of the Church with Christ, and of all with one other in Christ. As a more concrete way of expressing this "communio", the Council dwells on the expression "People of God".

The Church: nature, origin and structure: Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Ed: Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor, 1997)

webmaster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:32:38 +0000

1. The sacramental nature of the Church.

It is common to speak of the "mystery of the Church". "Mystery" in a religious sense does not imply something closed and inaccessible, but rather a reality so deep that we can always discover more to its meaning without ever exhausting it. The Church is more than she appears, and the key to grasping her full reality is faith; "it is only 'with the eyes of faith' that one can see her in her visible reality and at the same time in her spiritual reality as bearer of divine life" (CCC 770).

Membership in the Church: Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Ed: Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor, 1997)

webmaster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:30:25 +0000

The CCC (no. 837), under the title of "Who belongs to the Catholic Church?", teaches that full incorporation into the Church is possessed by those who "by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion, are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ". This of course means that others, without being fully incorporated, still belong in some way to the Church. All of those in fact who have received Baptism begin to live the life of Jesus Christ and become *de facto members of the People of God (cf. c. 204). But non-Catholic Christians, though participating in the life of Christ, do not enjoy all the benefits or means of sanctification that Jesus wished his followers to have, for the completion of their growth in him (cf. Eph 4:12-13).

Magisterium: Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Ed: Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor, 1997)

webmaster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:29:24 +0000

Jesus Christ is the light of the world (Jn 8:12), the Savior of all mankind (Jn 4:42). He spent the three short years of his public life teaching his followers. He was their "Magister", their Teacher; for them he had "the words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68).

For each person, the one really important thing is to meet Jesus, to be enlighted by him, to follow him. Even with failures, our efforts will be fruitful if they are directed toward believing our Lord's Revelation and doing his will. We will be on the right track, even though we often run it badly. But if we mistake his words or his will, we may apparently run well, but off the track.