For those interested, here’s an article from Catholic News (6th July) that might be worth a read:

“If the faith is to flourish… It needs to strike deep roots”

This article is the papal address by Pope Benedict XVI given to the archbishops and bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei when they were in Rome for their Ad Limina visit.

One of the things I like most about Pope Benedict is his simple addresses. He might be addressing his fellow bishops, but he speaks using a language that is simple enough for anyone to understand, especially the laity. This is a mark of a good speaker, and kind of reminds me of Father William Goh, who is also able to speak at the level of his audience. Perhaps it has something that theologians have in common?

On a topic related to the title of this post, did you know that Pope Benedict does not live in Rome? I remember this from reading an encyclopedia when I was a kid - that the Vatican City though located in Rome itself, is not Rome. It’s a separate state of its own and is the smallest independent state in the world in terms of both population and area.

So what’s the Pope’s address? Well, actually, I don’t know. I know that he stays at the Papal Apartments of the Papal Palace just off St. Peter’s Square, but if you were to write a personal letter to the pope, how would you address it? I don’t think…

Pope Benedict XVI
Papal Apartments
Papal Palace
State of the Vatican City

… would cut it… do you?

Well, this is it, off I go to attend my very first World Youth Day (WYD). I don’t feel youth-y anymore, not since 2004. I feel like an old man. I’m glad seeing the pope will put my age into perspective.

I never blogged about WYD, so some of you might be hearing this for the first time. The reason I never blogged about WYD is because I’ve not been particularly excited about going. Why? Well, I’ve been to Australia before - three times in fact, and this will be my fourth. I don’t really like travelling, especially the hassle that comes with travelling. But I suppose since this isn’t my first time going there, there isn’t the sense of unfamiliarity that I don’t like about travelling to somewhere new. As you can see, I’m not a very adventurous person.

I’ve just spent the last 6 hours packing and repacking and repacking my backpack. Nutella’s a genius when it comes to packing. Thank goodness I will be carrying less stuff (I hope) when I get back, otherwise I’d never be able to pack all the stuff in on my own. And also thank goodness my track pants are mostly $2 a piece (just bought from another jumble sale I stumbled across), so I can dump them if need be.

I will be going with the Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre (CAYC) contingent. We will first be going to Melbourne to prepare spiritually for World Youth Day with the Days in the Diocese programme, before going to Sydney proper for the actual Youth Festival.

I remember the first WYD preparation with the CAYC contingent. One of our team leaders, Edwyn d’Souza - who is also one of the few official youth coordinators of the diocese - was facilitating the session, and he got us to share in small groups: What are we most afraid of?

My greatest fear is getting lost in Sydney and Melbourne.. But now armed with maps - and I’ve checked out the exact house in Melbourne I’ll be staying at with Google Maps - and handy little pilgrim guides that I’ll be getting when I’m there, I think even getting lost might be quite an adventure.

At least I’m thankful that I’m not one of the 50 U.S. pilgrims stranded in some Australian city (Adelaide, I think) because they thought that Sydney was only an hour away from it.

There are a number of other reasons why I wasn’t looking forward to this trip, but I’m not going to think of them now. I’m going to psyche myself up and adopt a proper attitude of openness to encounter the Lord in Australia this month because, like army, the amount of enjoyment one experiences is directly proportional to the attitude that one has towards it.

Speaking of army, one of the most valuable experiences in packing comes from army. Army always teach you - when you pack your full pack, make sure to divide your stuff into groups to be packed in zip-lock bags… for three good reasons.

1. You can squeeze all the air out and save a lot of space.

2. Each set of items is grouped together, so is easy to find. Also easy to remove items and replace them.

3. Each set of items is water-proofed, in case you get caught in rain.

I suppose one thing I can look forward to is that the actual days of the youth festival will be free and easy, and no need to stick to a certain schedule. Ever since my last bad tour experience in New Delhi following a Youth Expedition Project in Ooty, South India back in 2004, I promised myself not to go for another tour if I can help it. I’d much prefer free-and-easy… although that probably increases my chances of getting lost.

Another thing I’m looking forward to are the beef pies that are found only in Australia. I forgot the brand name but it’s quite a famous one. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into those pies again.

I also intend to attend one talk by Christopher West, author of “Theology of the Body for Beginners”, and “Good News About Sex & Marriage”. These two books changed my life and the way I practised and understood my Catholic faith, and I want to meet the author and thank him in person. Maybe I’ll even get his autograph.

Although I will probably have access to the Internet while in Australia, I’ve lined up some articles to be published every 2-3 days while I’m away, in case I don’t have time to write much. In the ideal case, I’d be able to share photos with you while I’m there.

So, when you’re saying your prayers everyday, remember to pray for me to have a great trip and that I might “Receive the power” of the Holy Spirit (theme of WYD08).

[By the time you read this post, I will probably be at the airport already.]

I’ve always said that the use of contraception leads to abortion.

Foremost Expert on Contraception Says the Pill is Not Working - It’s “Outdated”

By Hilary White

LONDON, July 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Pill is outdated and results in unplanned pregnancies; women should get hormonal implants or intra-uterine devices (IUD) instead, says a leading contraception expert in the US. Women do not take the Pill consistently says Professor James Trussell, and it ends up causing more unplanned pregnancies. But rather than encouraging people not to have promiscuous sex or to use Natural Family Planning, what is really needed is a method of contraception that can be forgotten but will still be foolproof, he indicated.

Trussell’s statements backed up the observations of those who work in crisis pregnancy centres who say that, despite the government’s insistence on more “contraceptive education,” a large number of unplanned pregnancies happen while women are on the Pill.

Trussell is the director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and was speaking in London at the conference of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Britain’s largest abortion-promoting organisation. He said that in the US, a quarter of all pregnancies are “unwanted” and a result of failed contraception. The Daily Telegraph coverage notes that half of unplanned pregnancies in Britain end in abortion.

The morning after pill, or “emergency contraception,” that in some cases causes an early term abortion, is also not the solution, he said. The real problem is that there is too much “unprotected” sex going on.

“It is not reduced unintended pregnancies in America or anywhere else that has introduced it. There is so much unprotected sex you would have to use so much emergency contraception to make a dent,” he said.

The answer, he says, is more and better contraceptives.

“The Pill is an outdated method because it does not work well enough. It is very difficult for ordinary women to take a pill every single day. The beauty of the implant or the IUD is that you can forget about them.”

An IUD is a device that is inserted by a doctor into the uterus that prevents the implantation of an already formed embryo in the uterine wall, and as such is an abortifacient device by definition, and not contraception. In 2001, Britain’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children forced the BBC to change its news coverage and admit that the IUD is not a form of contraception.

But such distinctions are immaterial to Trussell, whose determined advocacy of contraception is not a surprise given his associations with some of the largest abortion advocacy organisations in the world.

In addition to his position at Princeton, Trussell is a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, the research branch of Planned Parenthood, is a member of the board of directors of the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, the Society of Family Planning, and the National Medical Committee of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. He serves on the editorial advisory committees of Contraception and Contraceptive Technology Update.

- Source: LifeSiteNews.com

He says there’s too much “unprotected sex” going on. Uh… what exactly are we protecting against? I mean, the term “protected sex” is to protect people against sexually transmitted diseases, right? Does he mean that people have to be protected against pregnancies? That is to say, are pregnancies harmful?

I think the best advice I’ve heard so far is: “If you’re not ready for babies, don’t have sexual intercourse when you’re fertile.” That’s the basis of NFP, actually. Wouldn’t this bit of common sense be better than coming up with more contraceptives? But oh yeah, I forgot, contraceptives are big money.

I’ve just updated the “Useless Trivia” page which gives, well, useless trivia. A trend that is becoming apparent is that readership is dropping, presumably because I don’t write about sex so much anymore.

Catholic Writings crossed 200,000 views mark a few days ago. I’m not sure when, but I think it was on Jun 30, 2008. Thank you all for reading this blog, for linking to it, and for inviting others to come read it, making this blog the #1 Catholic Blog in Singapore!

]]> http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/blog-stats-update-2/feed/ Catholic Writer http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/book-review-52-volume-1/ http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/book-review-52-volume-1/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:57:39 +0000 Catholic Writer http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/?p=2743

Volume 1 of “52″ takes the first few issues of the weekly post-Crisis comic event and explores what takes place in the D.C. Universe immediately following Infinite Crisis.

Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have all taken a one-year break from their crime-fighting career. How does the D.C. Universe handle the absence of their three great superheroes?

Well, in Metropolis, Booster Gold, hailing from the future, tries to fill Superman’s shoes. Armed with knowledge of the present brought back from the future (the present is the history of the future), Booster tries to address disasters as they take place, leading to him becoming the media’s favourite superhero. He uses this popularity to take on product endorsements for his own glory, a system that seemed to work well until his computer appears to malfunction with mistaken predictions.

What is really happening is that the future is changing, thanks to Booster’s own intervention of the past (the present), and this leads to a future that contains a catastrophic event. What that is, I don’t know yet, because it’s not in Volume 1. At least this is what I think is happening…

Another mainline story in this graphic novel is how Elastic Man Ralph Dibny mourns the loss of his wife Sue. It was Sue’s death that pulled the trigger for the mindwiping of the supervillains that led to the formation of the Society of the Supervillains in “Villains United”, one of four lead-ins to Infinite Crisis.

In this story, Ralph discovers a group called the Cult of Connor that wants to resurrect Superboy Connor Kent who was killed in Infinite Crisis. The cult wishes to do a test run first, and they have chosen to raise Sue Dibny to life.

Ralph is faced with an ethical dilemma, torn between wanting to see his wife again, and knowing that it is an unethical thing to do. He also wonders if such a thing is even possible, and together with his superhero friends, they explore the cult and sees that it is a sham.

Together, they set out to destroy the cult in the midst of the resurrection ritual, and in the heat of the battle, all the artifacts used are destroyed and the temple is set on fire. It is then that Ralph hears his name being called out by a creepy-looking wicker figure that was to become his resurrected wife. Realizing his mistake, he turns to the cult leader and begs forgiveness for his disbelief and tries to persuade them to continue the ritual.

To which the cult leader says he cannot, because Ralph has destroyed all the artifacts needed. This heartbreaking part of the story concludes Volume 1 of “52″ with Ralph losing his mind from the emotional trauma.

“52″ is one of those graphic novels that is extremely hard to put down. It is written on a daily timeline e.g. Week 2 Day 4, etc. There are many other stories taking place, but these were the two stories that left the most impact on me.

If there is one thing I like about this collection, it is that at the end of each week, one of the artists or writers will write a little something about the week’s issue. It gives some insight into what’s taking place as well as little gems that are hidden in the story.

For example, while Superman is taking a break from the D.C. Universe, he still appears in the form of Clark Kent, such as where the mild-mannered reporter tries to interview Metropolis’ new hero Booster Gold.

What I also like is finding out that the writers don’t really know where they were going with “52″. They knew the end result, but the whole writing process was for them a relatively unknown one as well. That is to say, they were letting the story write itself.

I know exactly what that feels like, because it was the same for me when I wrote my Skyva’s Story fantasy novels.

However, the D.C. writers’ experience was complicated and compounded by the fact that there were four of them writing stories independently of each other, yet stories that were interlinked and would mesh up in the end.

That must have been a wild experiment, and in the beginning, even they wondered if it would work out well, but their gamble has paid off and produced a wonderful, exciting, and deep series. I look forward to reading Volume 2.

Attending a high-level event like the funeral Mass of Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong really shows the difference between a church photographer and one from the secular media.

It’s not that the church photographers are less professional (actually I think they’re more professional). It’s that church photographers are usually more polite. It also helps that we know what to expect from a Mass.

Secular press photographers like to push and shove a lot. Yes, I understand that there are some positions that are great for photo opportunities, but you don’t have to shove another photographer out of the way to get the shot you want, or cut in his direct line of sight. I mean, come on, the other guy got into position first! Let him take the shot then you can take it if the moment is still there.

Catholic photographers also have more camaraderie. We acknowledge each other’s existence, not turn our noses up at each other, like one guy did to me. But what really got me steamed was one guy who shoved my camera aside so that he could pass. I never met a photographer as rude as to touch another photographer’s camera without permission. I think he came from Channel NewsAsia, because I saw him talking to the CNA videographer a lot.

At least the Straits Times photographer was more polite, stepping out of the way to let others take the shot once she was done, and giving way to other photographers.

The highlight of the event, for me, was the gospel acclamation, when I learned which ones were photographers from the secular press. As you might know, the Cathedral Choir of the Risen Christ (more commonly referred to as Peter Low’s choir) was singing for the Mass and when all rose for the gospel acclamation, the choir burst into brilliant song. At that point, the altar servers came forward with the thurible and incense started to fill the air.

It was at that point when I truly appreciated the significance of the signs in the liturgy, which showed that the proclamation of the gospel is truly the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. This sign was not lost on the non-Catholics either. The secular press photographers suddenly emerged from wherever they were sitting, and rushed forward to the front of the altar, just behind the altar rails, and starting clicking away on their cameras with their flashes going off in rapid fire.

The other church photographers looked at one another curiously, with one of them joining in. Then I understood… that the signs of the liturgy (especially the choir) showed all gathered that something grand was taking place, hence photo-op, or so they thought…

Now that’s what I called good liturgy!

When I first started out at this photography thing, I was wet behind the ears, and I just followed whatever the other photographers did. When they pointed their cameras at something, I did the same. When they rushed to a certain location, I followed, all because I didn’t know better. That’s probably what that one church photographer did when he followed the other photographers to take photos during the gospel acclamation.

Now, after exactly three years and three days in the job, I have no more qualms about shooting photos in the direction opposite to the other photographers’ present. I know what shots I need to get, and I don’t need to follow the others. If anything, I’m probably more experienced than them when it comes to taking photos for church events, even if my number of years are fewer.

I know when the photo-ops are going to be before they come, and I know I don’t have to follow others and take photos that I won’t ever be using. I know the best moments to collect stock photos - and I often do it when every other photographer is focusing on something else (because it means my targets are also focusing on it, and it’s easy to take their photos then).

I also know that sometimes, the best photos are taken from angles that people (especially other photographers) least expect. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if there’s another photographer in the spot you want, find another spot. There’s no shortage of great spots, if you just develop the eye for it. Only a rude and insecure photographer steals another photographer’s shot.

Even so, I still get lucky and land a few choice shots which I do not expect. I can only thank God for putting me at the right place at the right time. I also miss some great photo-ops either because of insufficient preparation or because I just wasn’t fast enough.

I’m not at liberty to share all my photos with you now, because my duty goes first to my job, not my blog. But here are some that I can share:

This is a photo of the crowd inside the cathedral on 2 July 2008. I have never seen the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd so packed before! If you look closely (or if you had a high resolution photo, or if you were there), you might have seen people standing on the top level beside the pipe organ. Interestingly, I did not notice the presence of any Catholic politicians. Maybe they avoided the funeral Mass and came for one of the memorial Masses instead.

This is a photo of the crowd outside the cathedral. This is taken from the entrance at the right transept of the cathedral and you can see the crowds stretch under the tentage all the way to the Rector’s house. Now imagine this crowd on all four sides of the cathedral. It was hellish to squeeze in from the outside to where the casket was placed. Raymond, another more experienced photographer than me, chuckled as he saw me after I made my way in after him.

This is a nice photo of Archbishop Nicholas Chia blessing the casket before it was sealed and moved. Remember the CNA photographer I wrote about earlier? Well, he was standing behind me and some other photographers along the central aisle. He tried to shove his way past us, but I think the other photographers also had enough of his rudeness and we all stiffly refused to budge for him this time. He was left with no choice but to get a less than optimum shot.

The funeral Mass was attended by a number of bishops - the most I’ve seen in any Mass held in Singapore this year. They came from Malaysia, where Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong was Bishop of Penang for nine years before being appointed Archbishop of Singapore in 1977, a post he held until his retirement in 2000.

This is a photo of the procession of the hearse going around the cathedral building. Now here’s where I share with you something that you would not have heard on the news, and would only have known if someone who was there told you about it, or you were there yourself.

You know how the weather has been lately, right? Blistering heat? Well, yesterday was no different. In fact, it was so hot and sunny that many of the photos that I took inside the cathedral had a lot of glare. Even my external flash could not light up some faces. So here’s the strange part. At one point during the Mass - I forget which part - everyone heard a clap of thunder. Just one clap, no more. So strange at such a bright and sunny day.

Later, when I went out to take this photo, it started to drizzle. That explains the presence of umbrellas in this photo. I looked up into the sky, and was astonished to find one dark cloud hovering over the cathedral. No other dark cloud was present in the sky save for this one over our heads. How strange is that!

Anyway, this has been primarily the reason why I’ve been so busy these few days, with no time to blog. An interesting thing to look out for in the next issue of Catholic News are fond memories of our dearly departed Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong as remembered by our Catholic laity, religious, and priests. Collecting these responses reminds me of my own fond memory of this wonderful man:

I was in my first year in NUS Catholic Students Society, and was part of the Exco 18. Being a freshie and member of the Exco meant that I was pretty nervous when we had to make our formal visit to the archbishop and present ourselves. That year was Gregory Yong’s last year as Archbishop and was, in fact, only a few months before his retirement.

We were invited into his house for a seat and while we were wondering what this meeting was going to be like, all of a sudden we were each served a bowl of peppermint chocolate chip ice-cream covered with Baileys Irish Cream. That was the first time I ever tasted Baileys, or ever taken ice-cream with alcohol. It helped lighten the mood, and soon we were all laughing away at his many jokes. It was a great evening.

I had a couple more encounters with this wonderful man - once when I visited him with a friend at General Hospital; and once at St. Joseph’s Home with Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino. I think that was the last time I saw him alive.

It’s been great to have a brief look at this man who has touched the lives of so many people, and to see beyond what everyone remembered him most for - “True or false?”

I was at Church of Sts. Peter and Paul last Thursday 26 June, and on the weekend of 28-29 June to sell Befriending Jesus to the parishioners. Thanks to the generosity of former parish priest Fr. Thomas Lim, OCD (who just stepped down) and the parishioners and visitors to the parish, 440 copies of Befriending Jesus were snapped up in that one weekend!

Here are some photos of the weekend. I didn’t have time to take many, because we were all so busy!

If you wish to order a copy for yourself or as a gift for someone else, there’s a new link on the top of the left sidebar of this blog. This affordable little book is perfect for all who want to become friends with Jesus, particularly those in RCIA, Alpha, or catechism. Only S$4.00! Order your copy today!

[1 July 2008, 4.33pm, EDIT]: I’ve updated the link to order the book online from the Wellsprings website. International and local readers of this blog may now order their copy without hassle, but you will need to create an account with Wellsprings. It will be worth your while if you like to read Catholic books, because Wellsprings has a stock of great and affordable books. It’s also one of the few Catholic bookstores in Singapore that has a good online ordering system.]

]]> http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/over-400-copies-of-befriending-jesus-sold-in-1-weekend/feed/ Catholic Writer http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/book-review-foc-freedom-of-choice/ http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/book-review-foc-freedom-of-choice/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:17:23 +0000 Catholic Writer http://catholicwriter.wordpress.com/?p=2748

“FOC: Freedom Of Choice” is a collection of stories of real-life people people breaking free from sexual bondage. There are stories of homosexual persons who left behind a life of cruising and sexual encounters with strangers to get married and have a family; there are stories of how persons with same-sex attraction realized and grew to overcome their emotional dependencies; how men and women who had previously wished they had been born of the opposite gender came to accept their God-given genders… and many other enriching and edifying stories.

I especially enjoyed the story of how two parents reflected on their mistakes in life, such as the good husband turned unfaithful and had a second family, and how his son from the first wife turned into a homosexual mainly due to the father’s absence in his life, and how in the end, his first wife accepted him back and how they accepted their son’s choices in life.

All the stories are written in a characteristically humorous way that only the author Leslie Lung could have written. It’s one of the most addictive books I’ve read in recent months, and one that I found very hard to put down.

It gave me an insight into the struggles and difficulties faced by persons of varying degrees of sexual brokenness, and I found that I could relate to a number of them. Some stories made me want to cry as I read them, while others produced a spontaneous burst of laughter.

I thank Leslie for producing this wonderful piece of work and admire how he was able to put himself into the shoes of some 20 different people to tell their stories of freedom from sexual brokenness. These stories are truly edifying and brings hope to all who read them.

I recently got in touch with a friend from my junior college. He’s pretty well-known now as the owner of Singapore’s #1 blog on wedding. He started blogging in August 2006, and has developed a way to earn $1000-2000 a month through advertisements and such from his blog, and has written a book about it.

When I heard about it, my immediate first reaction was to say that, “Hey, I want this too! And I want it for Catholic Writings!” So I shot an email off to Clare, who taught me how to use WordPress to set up my own TheCatholicWriter.com website, which I use to consolidate all the (Catholic) writing that I do.

That night, I went to bed feeling extremely excited at the prospects of earning $1000-2000 from my soon-to-come Catholic blog, but I felt a great sense of uneasiness and unrest as well. I struggled hard to get to sleep, but could not do so.

Having been doing the Examen of Consciousness for some time, I have learnt to tell the difference between a spiritual consolation and a spiritual desolation. Although this adrenaline-pumping feeling coursing through me was very similar to the kind of rush I get while writing, I was able to identify that this feeling was in fact my gut feeling ringing alarm bells in my head.

Ever since my experience of nearly getting conned at Sim Lim, I have learnt to obey my gut feeling even if I can’t explain it rationally. I finally fell asleep.

The answer came to me the next day, during an MSN conversation with Clare. She wisely advised me not to go ahead with it and explained the reason for my uneasiness - Catholic Writings is a form of ministry, and I should not use this ministry for profit. She also gave a rational response - Catholic Writings will only attract advertisements from those who want to promote sex, pornography, masturbation, homosexuality, etc. How true!

So, once again, I see my hopes for turning Catholic Writings into a money-making machine fly out the window. But thanks to Clare, I now have a reason to keep Catholic Writings going as a ministry, and as the #1 Catholic Blog in Singapore!

P.S.: Look out for a viewpoint of mine in this weekend’s issue of CatholicNews. It concerns working in the church and my ongoing dilemma about money and ministry.

For those who haven’t heard about it, His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Gregory Yong passed away peacefully on Saturday, 28 June 2008 at 2.40pm.

His body is lying at St. Joseph’s Home on 28-29 June 2008, and will be at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on 30 June 2008.

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