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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Apr-10-2005
By Catholic News Service
WORLD
One day after funeral, cardinals say they won't speak to reporters
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One day after Pope John Paul II's funeral, cardinals announced that they would not speak to reporters ahead of the conclave. "They have unanimously decided to avoid interviews and meetings with the media during these days. Journalists are thus kindly invited to refrain from requesting interviews or any other comment from cardinals," the Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said in an April 9 statement. The cardinals reached their decision as they gathered for the sixth time since the pope died April 2 to handle practical matters of the interregnum period and prepare for the coming conclave, set to begin April 18. All 183 cardinals, including those age 80 and over who are not eligible to vote for the next pope, may participate in the preconclave daily meetings, known as general congregations.
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Scottish cardinal says church must stress 're-Christianization'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Scottish cardinal said the church's priority should be "re-Christianization" and predicted a "groundswell of opinion" for choosing a pope in the coming conclave. "Looking around the world now, we can see moral standards have fallen -- people's lives aren't as good as they used to be," said Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland. "Re-Christianization of Scotland is one of the goals I set myself as cardinal. We now need to re-Christianize the world and the church, so Christ's followers will be as he wanted them. "The next pope must be a deeply spiritual and holy man, but the attraction of John Paul II was that he didn't flaunt his spirituality," the cardinal said. Speaking to journalists April 7 at Scot's College in Rome, the cardinal said he was unwilling to speculate about Pope John Paul's successor or possible future changes in church doctrine and discipline.
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Two cardinals to miss conclave for health reasons, spokesman says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Two cardinal-electors will not participate in the conclave for health reasons, a Vatican spokesman said. With the April 9 announcement that Filipino Cardinal Jaime Sin, retired archbishop of Manila, and Mexican Cardinal Alfonso Suarez Rivera, retired archbishop of Monterrey, were too ill to make the trip to Rome, that left 115 cardinals under age 80, still the largest number to vote in a papal election to date. Cardinal Sin's absence also meant that U.S. Cardinal William W. Baum, the former archbishop of Washington and retired head of two Vatican offices, would act as the senior cardinal priest in the conclave, set to begin April 18. Cardinals are divided into a three-tier internal hierarchy: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests and cardinal deacons. The cardinal bishops include only six Latin-rite cardinals, one of whom, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is dean of the College of Cardinals. Diocesan bishops make up the bulk of the rank of cardinal priests, while cardinal deacons are mostly members of the Roman Curia.
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African cardinal says church needs smart pope with good leadership
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a world suffering from war, hunger, environmental crises and disease, the next pope should be "an intelligent person who can provide good leadership and a critical look at issues," a Ghanaian cardinal said. Pope John Paul II "wanted dignity and respect for the human person in all forms," said Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana. The cardinal noted that Pope John Paul spoke out on issues such as world hunger, ethnic warfare and the modern slave trade and established a foundation in Burkina Faso to address problems related to drought and the expansion of deserts in Africa. During Pope John Paul's pontificate, the Catholic population in Africa grew by 150 percent -- to 137.5 million.
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Sources say underground Chinese Catholics watched since pope's death
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Underground Catholic communities in some places in China have been under surveillance since news broke of Pope John Paul II's declining health and subsequent death April 2. A source told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, that in China's Hebei province, many underground bishops have been under surveillance since news of the pope's deteriorating health was reported in late March. Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding was allowed to celebrate Mass privately inside the church where he resides. Two deacons accompanied him, but no one has been allowed to meet the bishop, the source said. "One or two police cars are parked in front of Bishop Jia's church. Public security officials are barring outsiders from entering the village," the source said. However, he added, Bishop Jia was able to advise Catholics not to gather for a large memorial Mass but to hold the liturgy in smaller groups for the sake of security.
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PEOPLE
English seminarian who sang Gospel at funeral says he was unfazed
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The English seminarian who sang the Gospel at Pope John Paul II's funeral said he was unfazed by the experience and looks forward to "bringing beauty to the liturgy" as a parish priest. "I wasn't auditioned -- I just got a phone call out of the blue, asking if I was prepared to sing," explained Paul Moss, a 28-year-old student in his final year at Rome's English College, which trains priests for England and Wales. "I obviously knew it would be a large event. But I wasn't really nervous at all -- just relaxed, prayerful and contemplative," he said. In a Catholic News Service interview, the seminarian said he had been touched after receiving messages from long-lost friends who had seen him on TV at the April 8 funeral. "Walking back from St Peter's Square, different priests also stopped to congratulate and thank me for singing so movingly," Moss said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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