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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-22-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Federal judge denies parents' bid to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As Congress and President George W. Bush rushed into place a law granting federal court jurisdiction in the case of severely brain-damaged Terri Schindler Schiavo, Catholic leaders emphasized that she must continue to be given nutrition. But the law signed by Bush in the early morning hours of March 21 allowing Schiavo's parents to ask a federal judge to order the reinsertion of her feeding tube failed to achieve its goal when U.S. District Judge James Whittemore ruled against the parents' request March 22. Whittemore said Schiavo's "life and liberty interests" had been protected by the state courts and that her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" in the federal court process. The ruling was immediately appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
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Prisoners' religious rights at issue in case before Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a case with possible implications beyond the prison system, the Supreme Court considered whether a federal law dealing with prisoners' religious rights amounts to unconstitutional government favoritism of minority or fringe religions over nonbelief. In oral arguments over Cutter vs. Wilkinson March 22, Paul Clement, acting U.S. solicitor general, said the government can constitutionally favor religion over irreligion, even in cases where the religious beliefs at issue might seem bizarre to others. At issue is a 2000 law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which requires authorities at prisons that receive federal funding to accommodate prisoners' religious beliefs unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.
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Speakers debate ethics of U.S. withdrawal from Iraq
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The questions of how and when the United States should withdraw from Iraq present different ethical considerations from the issue of whether going to war was justified, speakers at a conference in New York said March 21. Just-war theory focusing on criteria for entering a war -- in traditional terminology stemming from St. Augustine called "jus ad bellum" -- and for determining ethical means of pursuing war -- "jus in bellum" -- needs to be supplemented by further development of thought about "jus post bellum," or obligations of the victor after a war, they said. "The United States won what I judge to be an unjust war in Iraq," said Franciscan Father Kenneth R. Himes, chairman of the theology department at Boston College, a Jesuit institution. But he said that "an unjust war must not become an excuse for leaving behind an unjust peace." Father Himes was a panelist at a conference at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus on "The Ethics of Exit: The Morality of Withdrawal From Iraq."
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Celebration of arts honors cardinal, showcases Catholic students
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Stefanie Anarumo stood anxiously offstage at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, silently awaiting her cue to lilt across the stage in her delicate lilac-colored dress. That's when Mary Jo Hutson, associate superintendent for Catholic schools in the Baltimore Archdiocese, appeared from a stairwell with a bottle of holy water, which she proceeded to sprinkle backstage. "I do this every time," said Hutson, smiling at the group of young dancers and glancing admiringly at a youth orchestra that accompanied teen soloists onstage. The informal blessing must have had an impact at the second Celebration of the Arts March 14. The live exhibition of music, song, dance, theater and visual arts featured more than 400 students from Catholic schools across the archdiocese and received rave reviews from Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler. The evening was dedicated to Cardinal Keeler in honor of the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
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Opinions vary about Christian celebration of Jewish Seder meal
FRANKFORT, Ill. (CNS) -- Christian celebrations of Seder offer insight into the symbolism of the traditional Passover foods that are used in the Mass, such as unleavened bread and wine, an Illinois spiritual director said. "It helps you understand the symbols Jesus was offering us in the historical context of the day," said Father Bob Colaresi, director of the Carmelite Spiritual Center in Darien, where an educational look at the Jewish tradition of Passover has been offered for more than a decade. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart hosted a Christian-style Seder March 14 at the congregation's motherhouse in Frankfort. The purpose was to deepen people's understanding of the Gospels and make them come alive, said Franciscan Sister Marilyn Renninger, coordinator. But Benedictine Father Philip Timko, professor of religious studies at Benedictine University in Lisle, said the connection of the Seder meal with Christianity ends after the historical context is understood. "It's a religious ritual that belongs to Judaism," he said. "There's no reason for Christians to celebrate it."
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WORLD
Lithuanian cardinal says country facing serious shortage of priests
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Lithuanian cardinal said vocations to religious life in his country were falling due to the country's high divorce rate and low birthrate. "Unfortunately, vocations are falling -- we need significantly more," said Cardinal Audrys Backis of Vilnius. "The main reason is the state of Lithuanian society. Families are broken, and very few have more than one child. This is bringing a severe demographic crisis," Cardinal Backis said during an early March speech to the Polish bishops' conference in Warsaw. His remarks were reported by Poland's Catholic information agency, KAI. The cardinal said recruitment and formation had been impeded by a lack of religious formation for the country's youth. "Most youngsters applying to seminaries come from divorced families and have many psychological problems, while the young generation's religious education is weak too," the cardinal said.
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Vatican newspaper says Schiavo condemned to 'an atrocious death'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Terri Schindler Schiavo has been condemned to die "an atrocious death" in a society that is "incapable of appreciating and defending the gift of life," said the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. A judge in the United States "has decided that Terri's life is not worth living, at the same time condemning the woman to an atrocious death: death by starvation and thirst," the paper said in its March 23 edition, which was released to reporters at the Vatican March 22. The paper gave its reaction to the case of the severely brain-damaged Florida woman in a front-page editorial. Schiavo, 41, who has been brain-damaged for the past 15 years, can breathe on her own but requires nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube. On March 22, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore refused to order the restoration of Schiavo's feeding tube, which had been removed March 18 by order of a Florida state judge.
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Indian church leader praises U.S. decision denying visa to politician
NEW DELHI (CNS) -- An Indian Catholic leader has praised a U.S. decision to deny a visa to an Indian political leader over his role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat state that killed more than 1,000 people. Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who heads the human rights organization Prashant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, said the U.S. government's decision to deny a visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi "is an indicator that the global community is becoming concerned at the happenings in Gujarat." "The denial will hopefully lead to the desired harmony and peace in the state," he said. Modi had been scheduled to speak to a group of Indian businessmen in Florida in mid-March. The U.S. State Department said it based its decision on its annual International Religious Freedom Report and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which faulted Gujarat leaders with failing "to control the persistent violation of rights of life, liberty, equality and dignity of the people of the state" in the riots.
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PEOPLE
Waiting for soldier son, woman begins project aiding Iraqis
AUBURN, N.Y. (CNS) -- Debbie Cornall takes comfort in the knowledge that she's helped improve the lives of children in war-torn Iraq. Through her Child to Child program, Auburn residents have donated more than 100 boxes of clothing, shoes and school supplies to Iraqis in need. Cornall, who belongs to Sacred Heart Parish in Auburn, began collecting the clothing and supplies after receiving a letter from her son, Joseph, who was stationed in Iraq. Joseph Cornall, a member of the New York National Guard, was deployed to Iraq in February 2004. In a letter he sent his mother in July, he asked her to consider collecting materials to send to Iraqi children. Debbie Cornall began advertising the project, which she dubbed Child to Child. She was amazed by the Auburn community's generosity, noting that at one point piles of donated clothing stretched toward the ceilings of her kitchen and porch. With the community's support, she raised $3,000 to cover the cost of shipping 100 boxes to Iraq.
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Nigerian-born Army chaplain becomes a U.S. citizen
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (CNS) -- March 11 was "a very special day for me," said Nigerian-born Father Christopher Opara. "America has blessed me so much." That Friday, Father Opara, an Army chaplain stationed at Fort Hood, was among 47 soldiers, sailors and airmen from 27 countries who took the oath of allegiance to become naturalized U.S. citizens. At the ceremony, held at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, former President George H.W. Bush and Eduardo Aguirre, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, congratulated the new citizens and thanked them for their service to America. Members of the armed forces may apply for citizenship under special provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. When asked why he wanted to become a citizen, Father Opara enthusiastically responded, "I love this country! I think it is the greatest in the world."
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Maryknoll announces winners of annual essay contest
MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) -- Students in Maryland and Minnesota each took first-place honors and a $1,000 prize in the annual essay contest sponsored by Maryknoll. Hillary Wright, a seventh-grader at St. Mary School in Landover Hills, Md., won the Bishop Francis X. Ford Award for students in grades six to eight. Kayla Ann Smith, a home schooled ninth-grader from Stillwater, Minn., received the Bishop Patrick J. Byrne Award for those in grades nine through 12. More than 5,400 entries were submitted for the contest, which asked students to describe a true experience when they or someone they knew about stood up for fairness and justice.
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