cardinals links faith, science, and nature - The Leaven

16 LOCAL NEWS THE LEAVEN • february 5, 2010
Continued from page 1
Hit the ground running
The arrival of the distinguished archbishop
to this inner-city neighborhood
was just the beginning of a grueling
36-hour visit from Jan. 30-31 that gave
the cardinal a chance to see a corner of
America he’d never seen before — and a
chance for Kansans to see him.
Cardinal Schönborn was here to inspect
an initiative that is very close to
his heart, the establishment of a monastery
of the Little Sisters of the Lamb.
The Little Sisters, the female branch
of the Community of the Lamb, came to
the inner core of Kansas City, Kan., approximately
18 months ago after being
invited by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann.
The order was founded 35 years
ago in France.
Cardinal Schönborn is very close to
the community. Not only does it share
its Dominican charism, he is also a personal
friend of the foundress, Little Sister
Marie, who was also here during his
visit. The cardinal is, in fact, the community’s
most notable patron.
After his overnight stay at the Little
Sisters’ monastery, Cardinal Schönborn
— accompanied by the Little Sisters,
Archbishop Naumann and other archdiocesan
officials — traveled north to
Benedictine College in Atchison.
Benedictine highlights
Austrian cardinal draws overflow crowds
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Austria, addresses an audience at Benedictine College in
Atchison on Jan. 31. The cardinal was in the United States for several days and had other planned
stops in Washington and New York.
When the cardinal told the archbishop
that he would be willing to give a lecture
at an appropriate venue while he was
here, Archbishop Naumann contacted
Benedictine College, and president Stephen
D. Minnis was quick to proffer an
invitation.
Although the cardinal would only be
on the campus for a few hours, Benedictine
rolled out its metaphorical red
carpet in grand fashion.
First, Cardinal Schönborn was the
main celebrant and homilist at a noon
Mass held at St. Benedict’s Abbey
Church. The church was filled to capacity
. . . and then some.
In a homily delivered in excellent, if
accented, English (one of the six languages
he speaks), the cardinal first
charmed the congregation.
“This monastery has been built by
monks from Bavaria,” he said. “Our
Holy Father comes from Bavaria. So, at
least two good things come from Bavaria.
And beer.”
He then used the Gospel reading of
the day, Lk 4:21-30, as a springboard
to the main theme of his homily, what
he described as one of his greatest concerns.
In this reading, Jesus returned
to his hometown of Nazareth, and the
people tried to kill him. Jesus passed
through them and never returned.
“Sometimes I have this frightening
vision,” said the cardinal, “that Europe,
which has rejected so much of its Christian
heritage, is like Jesus’ hometown of
Nazareth.
“Lord, do not abandon us,” said the
cardinal. “Do not leave our countries.
Do not leave the church in Europe.”
“Brothers and sisters,” he said, “this
vision sometimes, so to say, in the dark
night obsesses me. I ask you to pray that
the Lord may not go, pass through the
midst of us and go away.”
Cardinal Schönborn was joined at
the altar by Archbishop Naumann,
Bishop Robert Finn from the Diocese
of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and Abbot
Barnabas Senecal, OSB. Other concelebrants
were from Benedictine Abbey,
Conception Abbey in Missouri, local
priests, and visiting priests.
The music was provided by a mixed
choir comprised of the Little Sisters of
the Lamb, Little Brothers of the Lamb,
monks of the abbey, and Benedictine
students.
After the Mass, the cardinal, members
of the Community of the Lamb,
the bishops, the abbot, archdiocesan officials
and Minnis retired to the atrium
of the student union for a late lunch.
Afterward, they proceeded to O’Malley-
McAllister Auditorium for the cardinal’s
lecture.
There, the cardinal was greeted by
a crowd of more than 500, with some
standing. A video feed was viewed by
more than 100 additional people in the
gym, site of overflow seating.
Before the lecture, Minnis presented
the cardinal with the college’s highest
honor, the Cross of the Order of St.
Benedict.
“Dear father abbot, dear president,
you make a great risk,” said the cardinal.
“You give me the award before the
talk.”
“Just kidding,” he added, after the
laughter died down.
The cardinal’s speech was entitled
“Pope Benedict, Regensburg, and the
Controversy of Creation and Evolution.”
Pope Benedict was only 42 years old
when he became a professor of theology
in 1969 at the University of Regensburg,
Bavaria. Among the students of
then-Father Joseph Ratzinger was the
young Father Christoph Schönborn.
Today, Cardinal Schönborn belongs
to a group of the pope’s former doctoral
and post-doctoral students called the
“Schülerkreis,” or “circle of students.”
They still meet with their former teacher
to discuss theological and philosophical
topics.
Cardinal Schönborn’s lecture drew
in part from those scholarly discussions,
his own interest in the relationship of
science and faith, and the controversy
that ensued after the pope’s lecture on
Sept. 12, 2006, in Regensburg. In that
lecture, the pope cited a quote from a
Byzantine emperor to which some of
the Islamic faith took offense.
“So my plan this afternoon — this
evening — is that we look first at the
famous Regensburg lecture that has
provoked such a thunderstorm in the Islamic
world, so that the Western world
forgot to read the text, because it is addressed
mainly to the Western World,”
said the cardinal.
In his lecture, which lasted close to
an hour, the cardinal talked about the
relationship of faith and reason, and
faith and science. Faith is not enthusiasm,
nor is it sentiment, he said. It is
something reasonable.
The church needs faithful, committed
Christians who are able to give the
deep reasons for their faith and hope,
he said. As Christians we do not believe
because of reason, but because of God.
However, faith corresponds to the deepest
insights of our intellect, and that is
why the question of the relationship between
faith and reason is so important.
The cardinal rejected attempts to
classify himself as either a creationist or
an evolutionist, and said that every new
discovery of science has served not to
undermine his faith, but to strengthen
it.
After the lecture, the cardinal was
shown a check for $15,000, raised by
the Benedictine College community
and its supporters, for Haitian earthquake
relief. He also blessed baskets
of Benedictine jubilee medals. Some
were given to students and some will be
placed in the foundation of a new building
on campus.
Since the cardinal celebrated his
65th birthday on Jan. 22, he was presented
with a small cake, and he blew
out the candles. Doro Ludwig, a student
from Germany, sang “Happy Birthday”
in German, which was followed by the
entire assembly singing it in English.
Finally, the students sent him off
with a raucous Benedictine cheer.
Vespers and a soiree
After his visit to Benedictine, the
cardinal, his hosts and his entourage
proceeded to Savior Pastoral Center in
Kansas City, Kan., where he presided at
vespers with priests from the archdiocese
and the Diocese of Kansas City-St.
Joseph.
Members of the Community of the
Lamb led the signing, and priests of the
archdiocese proclaimed the readings.
After the service, the cardinal met
with author Petroc Willey and visiting
teachers from the Maryvale Institute,
located at St. Mary’s College in Oscott,
in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, U.K.
Cardinal Schönborn is a Maryvale supporter
and patron of its journal, “The
Sower.” Willey is the institute’s deputy
director.
A dinner followed the reception,
during which Archbishop Naumann expressed
his thanks to the cardinal and
the Little Sisters.
The cardinal was presented with a
print of St. John Vianney, the Curé of
Ars, painted by local artist Jason Jenicke.
The archdiocese also gave the
cardinal a generous financial gift to
support his project, the International
Theological Institute in Schlossgasse,
Austria. Two institute graduates attended
the lecture at Benedictine.
Following the dinner, the cardinal
returned to the monastery of the Little
Sisters of the Lamb. There, he greeted
the people who had first greeted him,
the people of the neighborhood, said
Father Gary Pennings, archdiocesan
chancellor.
The little monastery, the former rectory
of St. Benedict Parish, was packed
with people. They told him how having
the Little Sisters as neighbors had
blessed their lives.
The following day, the cardinal flew
to New York, where he was to celebrate
Mass on Feb. 2 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
and on Feb. 4 at St. Matthew Cathedral
in Washington, D.C., according
to an Austrian newspaper, the Austrian
Independent.
On Feb. 3, Cardinal Schönborn was
scheduled to give a lecture entitled
“Christianity: Alien Presence or Foundation
of the West?” at Catholic University
of America.
Finally, on Feb. 4, he was planning
to meet with officials of the U.S. State
Department to discuss the situation of
Iraqi Christians.