First of all, Joan's Rome sounds like it will be a most enticing show. Second, Joan's life and work in Rome sounds divine and is enviable! Third, see the highlighted, translated text of the Greek Archimandrite Ignatius Sotiriadis which apparently received great applause...
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A CORRESPONDENT....
Joan Lewis
Monday, October 13, 2008
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A CORRESPONDENT....
I just received a phone call from a friend of a Chicago-area cousin who, with her husband and two other couples rented a villa in Tuscany for nearly a week. My cousin had alerted me that the six friends were coming to Rome this week and I said that, even though it would be the most hectic week of the year, I would try to at least see them for a coffee or a meal. Well, things have piled up so unbelievably that not even a coffee will be possible before they leave Thursday morning.
Because I will be out of the office for entire days - as you are about to discover - this column will not appear again until Friday, if then.
I have dedicated most of today and will dedicate all of tomorrow to re-reading, editing and polishing the mini-scripts I have researched and written for a series of TV spots EWTN is calling “Joan’s Rome.” These spots will feature places in my life - in Joan’s Rome - that have been important to me and my work and my life over the years I have lived here - places I am always writing about in my blog: St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, Vatican City, Sant’Anna Church, Santa Susanna Church, the North America College, the Casa Santa Maria, Piazza Navona, whose St. Agnes Church became our parish for eight years when Santa Susanna’s was being renovated, and more. There will also be some delightful surprises in what will be a total of about 25 spots. I don’t know when they will be edited and will air but I’ll alert you as soon as I know.
Wednesday four of my EWTN colleagues arrive and we immediately begin filming.
Thursday I am scheduled to attend an all-day conference on Human Rights to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed December 10, 1948. The conference, entitled “For Everyone, Everywhere: Universal Human Rights and the Challenge of Diversity,” has been organized by the U.S Embassy to the Holy See and Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon. I am trying to balance attending the conference with appointments scheduled for me and my colleagues during their three-day stay in Rome. Those appointments continue into Friday.
Now, add the following Vatican-related events to the mix:
- A reception tonight at the Polish embassy to commemorate the approaching 30th anniversary of John Paul II’s election (To my sorrow I will miss that, as Ambassador Hanna Suchocka is one of my favorite people in Rome) - A concert at 6 this evening at St. Paul’s Out-side the Walls Basilica in the presence of Pope Benedict and in honor of the Synod of Bishops. It is offered by the Pro Musica and Sacred Art Foundation and will feature the Vienna Philharmonic, led by Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, playing Anton Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony. - Four press conferences in three days: October 14, presentation of the International Inquiry on Reading the Bible in an Ecumenical Perspective, before which the Catholic Bible Federation and the United Bible Societies will sign an agreement of cooperation for translating and disseminating the Bible; Also October 14: The Knights of Columbus will release the results of a nationwide survey of Catholic voters at a news conference at the National Press Club In Washington and simultaneously in Rome with Supreme Knight Carl Anderson who is attending the Synod of Bishops. The survey of 1,733 adults was conducted between September 24 and October 3 by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. An oversample of American Catholics was done to provide statistically significant data on Catholic attitudes during this election year; October 15, presentation of the film “Testimony,” from the book “A Life with Karol,” by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow and former secretary for 40 years to John Paul II, with Gian Franco Svidercoschi. The film will be shown in the presence of the Pope in the Vatican on October 16, the 30th anniversary of the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as John Paul II. Cardinal Dziwisz will be at the press conference as will actor Michael York and producer Przemysław Hauser (regretfully I will miss this because of filming the EWTN spots. I have known Cardinal Dziwisz for some time and would love to be at this conference – I have asked for tickets to the film premiere); October 16, the presentation of the Relatio post disceptationem of the Synod of Bishops by the three cardinal presidents: Cardinals William Levada, George Pell and Odilio Pedro Scherer, and by three members of the Commission for Information: Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and Bishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Imus, the Philippines.
Amidst all of this, the Synod of Bishops is obviously carrying on with its work in morning and afternoon sessions. Most days end about 7 p.m. There were many reports over the weekend by prelates who spoke of the difficulties of being a Christian in their respective countries either because they are small minorities and persecuted or because of ongoing situations of wars and conflicts that make life difficult for entire populaces. The prelates who spoke of these situations came from Sudan, Iran, Vietnam, Zambia, the Congo-Brazzaville, and India.
One talk Saturday received huge applause. Archmandrite Ignatius Sotiriadis, Counselor of the Representative of the Greek Church to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, said the Pope should be the visible sign of unity among ALL Christians.
These are his words released by the Synod, translated from the original Italian: “Magistra in the path of the Church, Sacred Scripture, the Word of God, enlivens in omni tempore, at all times, and genuinely interprets according to Sacred Tradition, every faithful and leads him to the Eucharist, that is to say the personal union with God the Logos. However, the history of Christianity is full of crimes, sins and errors. There is a need for metanoia and the metamorphosis of our weak hearts.
“Our society demands of us Christians (Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans) a common witness! Here lies our responsibility as pastors of the Church in the 21st Century! Here is the primary mission of the First Bishop of Christianity, and, above all, of the Pope who is Magister Theologiae: to be the visible and paternal sign of unity and to lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and according to Sacred Tradition, together with all the bishops of the world, all humanity to Christ the Savior!”
Zenit news added that the archimandrite said the following in conclusion: "This is the profound desire of those who have the painful longing in their heart for the undivided Church, 'Una, Sancta, Catholica et Apostolica. But it is also the desire of those who, again today, in a world without Christ, fervently, but also with filial trust and faith, repeat the words of the apostles: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’!"
The Synod Fathers Sunday attended the canonization presided over by Benedict XVI of Blesseds Gaetano Errico, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1791-1860); Maria Bernarda Butler (nee Verena), Swiss foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1848-1924); Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception (nee: Anna Muttathupandathu), Indian professed sister of the Congregation of Poor Clares of the Third Order of St. Francis (1910-1946), and Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, Ecuadorian lay woman (1833-1869).
Thousands of Indians - priests, men and women religious and lay faithful, were among the 40,000 pilgrims who attended the Mass and canonization ceremony in a sun-splashed St. Peter’s Square. After Mass, at the Angelus, Pope Benedict gave assurances of his prayers "during this difficult time" for Christians in India, homeland of Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception. "Commending to the providential care of Almighty God those who strive for peace and reconciliation," he said, "I urge the perpetrators of violence to renounce these acts and join with their brothers and sisters to work together in building a civilization of love.” He also spoke of violence in Iraq against Christians. Indian media reported Sunday that the Pope’s words were not welcomed by the government, who saw his remarks as interference by a religious leader in the secular sphere.
Changing subjects: Here is an October 6th report by online Polish news - Thenews.pl: “Vatican officials told a Polish Radio correspondent at the weekend that it is possible the late John Paul II may be beatified together with Pope’s Pius XII and Paul VI. Speculation is increasing as to when the beatification ceremony of John Paul II will take place, as the 30 year anniversary of the start of his pontificate - on October 16 - approaches. The premiere of a documentary film - Testimony - based on the memoirs of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz’s experiences of being JP II’s close aid for many years is scheduled to take place on October 16. The event will be attended by Pope Benedict XVI. Thenews.pl understands that President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk will not be attending, however. Earlier this year the Italian news agency SIR quoted the Vatican’s Father Slawomir Oder, saying that John Paul II will be beatified by the Spring of next year. Usually beatification takes place no sooner than five years after death - John Paul II died on 2 April 2005 - but a fast-track beatification process was set underway on the 9 May 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI.”
Well, that’s it for today. I will report to you again on these pages as soon as my schedule allows. God bless!
Write to Joan at:
joansrome@ewtn.com
With a B.A. in French at St. Mary’s College of Notre Dame, Indiana and a Diplome from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, Joan Lewis taught French for 5 years in the U.S. She moved to Rome and began an extensive journalism career, specializing in the Vatican. She was invited in 1990 to work for the newly-created Vatican Information Service in the Holy See Press Office as the English language writer and editor.
While working for the Holy See, Joan was named a member of Holy See delegations to United Nations conferences: Cairo Population Conference, September 1994; Copenhagen Social Summit, March 1995; Beijing Conference on Women, September 1995; Istanbul Habitat Conference on Human Settlements, June 1996. SheI also attended two conferences in Doha, Qatar: May 2004, Christian Muslim Dialogue and November 2004: the Doha International Conference on the Family.
Appointed Rome Bureau Chief for EWTN in the fall of 2005
Books Published: “JUBILEE 2000 IN ROME,” December 1999.
Honors: Dame of the Order of St. Sylvester - named by Pope Benedict on June 24, 2005 Dame of the Constantinian Order of St. George.
Extra-curricular: Member of the Board of Regents of Marymount International School in Rome.
Member of the parish council at Santa Susanna’s Church in Rome. The Paulist Fathers have been serving the American community here since 1922
Volunteer once a week at the Bishops Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican at the Casa Santa Maria, part of the Pontifical North American College.
