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Padre Benito Ángeles Fernández, de la Republica Dominicana, miembro del Instituto de Sacerdotes Diocesanos de Schoenstatt Father Benito Ángeles Fernández, Dominican Republic, member of the Institute of Diocesan Priests Pfr Benito Ángeles Fernández aus der Dominikanischen Republik, Mitglied des Instituts der Diözesanpriester |
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Entrevista en la Oficina de Prensa Interview in the Press Office in Schoenstatt Interview im PressOffice Schönstatt |
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Intercambio con el P Martin Dörflinger y la Hna Mirjam, asesora de la Rama de Madres en la diocesis de Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Alemania Sharing with Fr Martin Dörflinger and Sister Mirjam, working with the Schoenstatt mothers in the dioceses of Rottenburg-Stuttgart Im Gespräch mit Pfr. Martin Dörflinger und Schwester Mirjam, die bei den Müttern der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart arbeitet Fotos: POS Fischer © 2005 |
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, mkf. In September of 2004, the Mothers' Branch of Rottenburg-Stuttgart crowned the Blessed Mother as Queen of Human Dignity; and as a sign of their devotion to her, they gave her crowning gifts to facilitate her work for human dignity. This gift consisted of a monetary donation for a hospital for children with cancer in Germany and for an activity promoted by Father Benito Angeles Fernandez, Member of the Diocesan Institute of Schoenstatt Fathers and secretary of the Episcopal Conference of the Dominican Republic, that promotes the creation of a center of assistance for pregant women of limited resources. The objective of this center is to protect human life in its initial stage, threatened today by abortion, an option that young girls many times choose basically because of extreme poverty, ignorance and shame...
In an interview with Schoenstatt Press Office, Father Benito Angeles Fernandez spoke about his motives and desires and additionally gives a broad response to the question of how Schoenstatt spirituality impelled him to work for pregant adolescents.
What is the "Hope of new Life"? the Press Office asked Father Benito Angeles Fernandez. As if a button had been pushed, he began to speak with contagious enthusiasm, developing a vision that goes beyond a center for assistance:
Fr .FERNANDEZ - "<<Hope of new life>>: this project was born beginning with a restlessness that I have had in search of a response to the doctrine of the Church - specifically in the Dominican Republic - about the problem with abortion, the defense of human life, and the protection of pre-natal life. It is a concrete response to needs above all of adolescents with undesired pregancies and with the intention to abort. This project was very well received by the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, who embraced it so that it would be implemented in the Archdioceses of Santo Domingo. Naturally, the vision is that it will also reach the eleven dioceses in the country and that at the same time it could be replicated in any other diocese of the world. To begin working out a project of response to a woman with an undesired pregancy, we went to Mexico. There they have a very good experience, with multiple centers in different parts of the country that are dedicated to exactly this service and that is why we organized a four day workshop with doctors, psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses and professionals from several disciplines, to learn the methodology of work in this type of response to a pregant woman.
We already had this workshop and the enthusiasm for the project has grown in such a way that the Dominican Association of Catholic Doctors, in their sister city of Santo Domingo, to say it is some manner,<<has taken over>> this project and they transformed it into a program within their commitment of voluntary services for human life. This Association already has a very good experience in regard to the annual celebration of the day of the baby about to be born. We had united these initiatives and His Excellency the Cardinal offered a site, that must be remodeled and adapted, in the colonial zone of Santo Domingo. At this moment we are looking for economic resources because these works will cost from 3.5 million pesos.
The girl will be well received, so that she will feel protected
P. O. - What are the first steps to make this dream of helping a pregant girl come true?
Fr. FERNANDEZ - "Everything that comes after this project is the big thing. At this moment I am speaking of a project that is in gestation, that was recently implemented and that is looking for an infrastructure, a building. The house is simple, because we now have it as fruit of the generosity of the Cardinal. To equip the house, for example, we have the donation of a sonogram, an examination bed, to tend to pregant women, a computer, some desks, a television, a VHS (to reproduce video), because the program includes that the girl to receive information in a confidential manner and that she receive the information with almost the same criteria as the secret clinical centers. And when they call by telephone based on the information given a recording that we plan to place in all the universities, schools, or colleges, that will say something like: Are you pregnant? Is your pregnancy a problem? Call this number. For this we need a calling center where the girls, boys or the family who has a problem can call and they will be given an immediate response to set up an appointment. The girl will be very well received in a very comfortable room, as beautiful as possible and very warm, and from there she will take the next step; she will visit the doctor for an examination. Normally, what the girls want is an abortion and we begin to attend to her health.
After being diagnosed with the sonogram, the doctor has the obligation to show it to her: Look at what you have in your womb, it is a boy, it is a girl, it is a living person. Frequently, when a girl sees this she will ask: Do I have that in my womb? There is much ignorance on the part of the woman and this begins a treatment. Then she goes to an orientation room where there are two guidance counselors already qualified through the workshops
I mentioned earlier, well prepared to shed light on the situation in which this girl or couple is facing. Generally, they will present the problem that the parents are unaware of the pregancy, or of an unwanted pregancy because they do not want to miss school or college. Usually they present the excuse that they do not have money to deal with this pregancy and this when the center for assistance has to act."
Convince her of the value of the life that she carries in her womb
P.O. What is the plan of action?
Fr. FERNANDEZ - "First convince her of the value of the life that she carries in her womb, in the second place offer some solutions, for example; medical attention, or nourishment during pregancy, assure her of a hospital or clinic where she can give birth...or if she says she does not want the child, the center should have families or shelters for children who are abandoned by their parents...This center should offer multiple servides and that we are already organizing, because we already have some hospitals that are willing to give us these services. We are also going to have some women who will work solely in preparing baskets with everything that a little boy or girl needs at the moment of birth. Because what if the mother says: I do not have clothes for the child, and we want to assure her of clothes, health, nourishment, medical attention, psycological orientation. And finally, we are also going to offer spiritual orientation, that we cannot present immediately, but it will come later on. In this same center we are contemplating on installing a small chapel where the Blessed Sacrament can be exposed. Volunteers will be praying there while psychologists, and counselors speak with the girls in the office, with a VHS video, giving them one to one orientation, and the prayer will be permanent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We already have the Monstrance, although we still need the tabernacle, that is, we are taking this project step by step, but the vision for the future is that we will have more than one unit.
Surely there will be many times that it will be necessary to orient families, for this reason the project includes priests and religious who are going to provide the spiritual orientation, to the pregant girl as well as the boy who impregnated her and the parents of the girls, who many times would accept an abortion to avoid facing what they call shame because the girl has made them look bad. We must show them that the life of the child is more valuable than what they call the shame they may have because a merely cultural phenomenon."
Mary's yes to life is argument number one
P.O. What moves you as a Schoenstatt priest to do this?
Fr. FERNANDEZ - "In the first place, I must say that what has moved me to be a defender, a protector, and at the same time a proponent of the defense of human life, has its most deepest meaning in the option of the Blessed Mother in the moment in which the angel announced that she would conceive a child in her womb. If she had said no, the salvation of the world would not have come. With this yes Mary gave life of God, in God, and for God, giving us the possibility of salvation. For me, this is basic theology, if it can be called that, and Mary's yes to life and this is the number one argument that I present to a pregant woman when I face these cases, because although we are creating a center for this service, it does not mean that I have not dealt with many such cases as a priest, as a spiritual father, and in my speciality in moral theology. A second point for me is the idea of life, the new man for the new community, proposed by Father Kentenich not only as an ideal, but as a reality for persons. For me it is an absolutely enlightening thought of concrete actions for the new man. Because death is an expression of the old man: we were not born for death, nor did God give us life to die. If we have a good beginning we will never have an end. But it is very sad, that when God gives a life, for this life to be mistreated and worse still to be destroyed. Now we do not ask in what particular situations that human being was conceived, but that we value that same life.
Then for me there is another very important point in the Schoenstatt spirituality that is Marian instrumentality. I have come to understand that God's will in my daily life to assume pain and joy, has to do absolutely with his Plan of love, and when I feel that I get an enlightening idea of service to society, families, or youth, behind all this, the Blessed Mother is there indicating a way. This also gives me as a Schoenstatter a great strength, a great light and something important: a great conviction. And what nourishes me for social spirituality, is mission consciousness as an organic vision, that cannot separate what God has wanted to unite. And he has united the body and soul, heaven and earth, man, woman, and God, and for this reason which means a minimum, simple and even humble care for a person , will always be a humble and simple service to God himself, even more if this refers to the life of a human being. It is a great satisfaction to have contributed a spiritual orientation to many persons so that they would not abort, but I think when we systemize this project, not only is an idea going to be systemized, but also the mission consciouness of many men and women who are already involved in the project and the other thousands who will get involved in the future.
I firmly believe that Providence realizes its work of life facing so many threats...Violence in the world sometimes appears with large print in the media, but the secret violence of abortion is stronger than world violence."
Translation: Celina M. Garza, Harlingen, Texas, USA