Archive for the ‘The Charlotte Observer’ Category
It’s a Country Within a City
Sunday, July 23rd, 2006
“The Charlotte Observer”
“It’s a country within a city”
Surrounded by Rome, Vatican City has its own money, stamps, train station
By John Bordsen
Travel Editor
Jeffrey Kirby, a 31-year-old seminarian from Columbia, has lived in Vatican City for three years, attending the North American College. He is to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest next July.
Q. Do you live in Vatican City – or in Rome, which surrounds it?
Actually in Vatican City, on the Janiculum Hill, the hill next to what was Vatican Hill. The Republic of Italy built a highway that separates us from the rest of Vatican City: When you walk into St. Peter’s Square, look to the left and you’ll see a high building with a hill. We’re next to that. We’re sort of like a Vatican colony.
Q. Is Vatican City much different from Rome?
It is. The Holy See – the official name for the government of Vatican City – is adamant about this distinction. Before you enter St. Peter’s Square, you see a series of markers and barricades. That’s the international boundary. This is to stress that the church’s teachings, and the See, are not based on any form of government but rather the teachings of the Catholic Church. Besides our own euro and stamps, the Vatican has its own helipad, its own train station and its own local government. The Vatican exchanges its own ambassadors and has a permanent ambassador at the United Nations, which it could join as a sovereign state if it wishes.
It is the smallest sovereign state in the world; you could fit eight Vatican Cities into New York’s Central Park.
Q. The Swiss Guard, in their Renaissance uniforms, are visual standouts in the Vatican. But do the priests and others there wear their “uniforms”?
In ceremonies, you see the Swiss Guard in their traditional costumes, designed by Michelangelo. But their only commission is to guard the person of the pope; when he goes somewhere, they go along in plainclothes.
They’re not well-decorated clowns; they’re well-trained soldiers. For every one you see in a ceremonial uniform, there are probably three in plainclothes.
Most priests who work in the Vatican are in the curia, the pope’s “cabinet”; they’ll be wearing their “clericals” – slacks and a clerical shirt. They wear their cassocks only if attending the pope or for a high occasion. You do see a large number of nuns who do wear their habits.
You see this all over Rome, not just the Vatican, because of the heavily Catholic environment. In Italy, for instance, they fly the national flag at half mast on Easter Sunday.
Q. Can you look at someone and tell what religious order they’re from?
Absolutely. And a lot of times, their nationality. Rome is the center of the world as in the old expression, “All roads lead to Rome.” You see Asians, Africans, people from Latin America, the United States and all the European cultures. It’s colorful, but serious.
Q. You live in a time-honored part of an ancient city. Is the Vatican also modern?
We’re definitely in modern Rome. Built for the 2000 jubilee is a parking lot – and parking lots are the new thing in Italy.
The building I live in was built in 1950. The American seminary left during World War II; after the war, Pious XII asked the Americans to come back. We chose Janiculum Hill to rebuild.
It’s one of the nicest areas of Rome, naturally beautiful and known as an artistic center. The previous seminary was down by the Trevi Fountain, which dates to the late 1700s or so.
Q. As “staff,” do tourists stop to ask you questions?
All the time. Some are serious: Can I go to confession? Can you bless this rosary? We can’t do these things until we are ordained, by the way.
Some questions are mundane: How do we get to the Vatican Museum? Where can we go to eat? We’re happy to answer questions.
Q. OK. So where do you eat?
I like to joke by replying, “I’m assuming you want to eat Italian. …” Living here for three years, my favorite is a German place near the Spanish Steps. There are only three German restaurants in Rome.
What’s good for Italian? Try Pollezze’s, near the Chiesa Nuova – “New Church,” built in the 17th century. For Romans, that’s still new.
A famous place to eat is Abbruzzi’s, near the Dodieci – which means “twelve,” short for the Church of the 12 Apostles. It’s especially famous for its green sambuca liqueur. The restaurant is housed in what was the palace of the exiled King James of England (known as the “Old Pretender,” 1688-1766).
Q. How many churches are in Vatican City?
There are only two parishes: St. Peter’s and St. Ann’s.
In the city of Rome, there are almost 400 active parishes. Active means they have regular Sunday Mass and a congregation. This doesn’t include the many chapels.
Q. All those churches and so little time. What do you recommend seeing?
Even though it’s the most popular church, I would recommend St. Peter’s Basilica. You should really walk it, and that would take almost half a day. Sometimes people fly in and out, especially if they’re on a tour. But the Basilica took almost 120 years to build – five architects, including some of the best of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. We’re talking about Maderno, Bernini, Michelangelo. …
Some say it’s still being built. They’re always adding statues and making renovations.
Q. Is there a better day to go?
You definitely want to avoid Wednesday; the day of the pope’s audience. That and Thursday tend to be crazy.
Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon to miss the tour groups. They’re not allowed in until 9 a.m., but the basilica opens at 7. That’s one of the best times: All the priests are saying Mass; there are 44 altars, and mass is said in almost all the major languages. The morning light is coming in and reflecting off the marble; there’s an enchantment about the building. If you’re looking for a spiritual encounter there, go in the morning.
Or, late in the afternoon. Normally it closes around 6 p.m. After 4:30, the tour groups are gone and the place is yours.
Q. One more place?
Immaculate Conception church, off the Piazza Barberini. It’s near the American Embassy. In an area called “Little America” – there’s a Blockbuster, Subway, Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood in the area.
Most people refer to this one as the “Bone Church”: It has a chapel that is made completely of human bones. The chandeliers are made of bone; the decoration in the chapel is of human bone. I took my mother there, and she walked right out! She hasn’t forgiven me for taking her there. Many who know about it prefer not to go there.
But it is a very peaceful place. You see the skeletons of the friars, still in their habits.
You see human mortality – death – looking at our faces. At the end of the chapel is a little sign written in all the major languages that says, “What you are, we once were; what we are, you will one day be.”
It’s a nice spiritual lesson: One day this journey is going to end.
It’s just a reminder to the guests at the church: We all die…so live life.
Posted in Press, The Charlotte Observer | No Comments »
Bishops Make Pilgrimage to Interfaith Friendship
Monday, October 17th, 2005
“The Charlotte Observer”
October 17, 2005
By Jeffrey Kirby
Special to the Observer
As a child growing up Catholic, I saw the pope on television and in pictures with a skullcap, which I thought was only worn by the Jewish people. I wondered why the leader of the Church was Jewish.
When I was a teenager and I realized that the pope was Catholic, I laughed at myself. I had mistaken his headgear, called by Christians a zucchetto, for a Jewish yarmulke. Of itself, it’s an innocent misassociation. Now, however, being older, I realize how close to the truth my original wonder may have been.
Recently, a small group of American bishops participated in a Catholic-Jewish pilgrimage and study group to Auschwitz and Rome. Among the bishops was Robert Baker of Charleston, S.C.
Meet Jesus, Meet Judaism
The meetings commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, where millions of Jews – men, women, and children – were put to death in the gas chambers and ovens.
This follows the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the synagogue in Cologne in August, where he declared, “Whoever meets Jesus Christ, meets Judaism.” Therefore, as the representative of Jesus Christ, maybe the pope can be seen as a “spiritual Semite,” as a “Jewish” person. Perhaps I shouldn’t laugh at my childhood thoughts.
The efforts of both Pope Benedict and the American bishops were labors to improve relations between the two religious groups.
The document of the Catholic Church that is the impetus for these meetings is Nostra Aetate. It was issued by the Second Vatican Council 40 years ago and revolutionized the thinking of the Church towards the Jewish people.
Continue the dialogue
Examples of this change can be seen by the removal of the Good Friday prayer that referred to the “perfidious Jews,” by new attempts to understand Hebrew theology and its connection with Christian belief, as well as a greater collaboration on issues of social justice.
In Cologne, Pope Benedict explained that he “wanted to continue on the path toward improved relations and friendship with the Jewish people.” Later he exhorted, “We must come to know one another much more and much better. Consequently, I would encourage sincere and trustful dialogue between Jews and Christians.”
The group of bishops sought to fulfill that suggestion. Led by Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz on the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding at Sacred Heart University, these church leaders were shown the Jewish Quarter in Krakow and the Auschwitz and Birkenau death camps. The bishops and Jewish participants shared a joint scripture study on Psalm 23 and Isaiah 56. The group was hosted by various churchmen and diplomats throughout their stay.
At the end of the trip, many of the bishops could voice a greater awareness of shared truths and endured hardship. They could assert, with Pope Benedict, that all “have the responsibility of handing down to young people the torch of hope that God has given to Jews and Christian, so that ‘never again’ will the forces of evil come to power” and that a more just and peaceful world could be built.
Jeff Kirby of Hopkins, SC, is a Catholic seminarian of the Diocese of Charleston, studying at the Pontifical North American College in the Vatican City State.
Posted in The Charlotte Observer, Writing | No Comments »
Decision to Take Communion One of Integrity
Monday, August 9th, 2004
“The Charlotte Observer”
By Jeffrey Kirby
Special to the Observer
Last week the archbishop of Atlanta and the bishops of Charleston and Charlotte issued a pastoral statement on Catholic politicians and the reception of Holy Communion. The recent meeting of American bishops in Denver left it to local bishops to decide the best approach on this issue for their own diocese.
Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston and Archbishop John Donoghue of Atlanta have chosen to deny Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians. Their statement also encourages all Catholics to refrain from the sacrament if they are in grave sin. The bishop’s statement takes center stage in the Carolinas, as John Kerry’s run for the presidency includes a North Carolinian running mate as well as possible visits to the Carolinas.
The bishop’s statement and the overall situation between Kerry and the Catholic hierarchy might appear an unimportant religious issue to many politically minded people. Others may view it solely as an internal dilemma within the Catholic Church. Either position, however, allows for inattention to the underlying moral issue – integrity.
Whether a person is Catholic, Protestant or nonreligious, the conversation concerning Kerry and Holy Communion should bring one question to mind: “Does John Kerry have the integrity to be the president of the United States?”
The importance of integrity cannot be overemphasized in a democracy where the entire governmental structure and judicial process depends on truth. We have already experienced the scandal in the Oval Office of a man who says one thing and does another. The Catholic Church itself, in its own recent crises, has re-awakened to a deeper understanding of the importance of truthfulness in leadership positions.
Kerry is freely associating himself with the Catholic Church, a church which is doctrinally and visibly a defender of unborn life. The senator claims that he is a practicing Catholic “in good standing,” while also supporting abortion legislation.
The leadership of the Catholic Church in the Atlanta province is informing Kerry and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians that their views are at odds with the church’s formal teachings. It is asking Kerry and others for integrity. They should either change their views or refrain from certain practices, such as receiving Holy Communion. This change of practice would provide a time of personal discernment for Kerry and others, while showing society his difference of opinion. It is an invitation to and insistence on integrity.
Not only Catholic America, but also Protestant and nonreligious America, even if they are uninterested in the specifics of this “Catholic” debate, should be concerned with the matter of integrity which is at the heart of these circumstances. It would be a mistake to allow a man who knowingly misrepresents himself to become a public official.
Kerry and others are asked to act according to what they claim to believe. Nothing less and nothing more. It is ultimately a question of integrity.
Jeff Kirby, of Hopkins, S.C., is a Catholic seminarian for the Diocese of Charleston, studying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Posted in The Charlotte Observer, Writing | No Comments »