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Philip Boyce, O.C.D., Bishop of Raphoe (Ireland)

From a religious point of view the period in which our lives are now placed at the turn of a millennium is not the most buoyant. At least in Western Europe the truth of religion, with its daily practice and influence on behaviour, is under severe pressure. “The cause of truth, never dominant in the world, has its ebbs and flows,” Newman once wrote. “It is pleasant to live in a day when the tide is coming in”

In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II lists some priorities for pastoral care in the new millennium. Above all he recalls the vocation of all Christians to holiness. “First of all, I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness”. A modern guide to holiness is John Henry Newman.

Sr. Kathleen Dietz, FSO

“Such were the thoughts concerning the ‘Blessed Vision of Peace,’ of one whose long-continued petition had been that the Most Merciful would not despise the work of His own Hands, nor leave him to himself;-while yet his eyes were dim, and his breast laden, and he could but employ Reason in the things of Faith” (Dev., 445).

I. Introduction

It’s no secret that the Catholic Church has been rocked with scandals over the past several years. Nor is it a secret that the media has enjoyed a heyday of scandal-mongering and Pope-bashing. Nonetheless, a recent