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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Sep-9-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Spokane Diocese appeals bankruptcy ruling
SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- The Spokane Diocese Sept. 6 moved to appeal a bankruptcy court decision that said parishes and schools were part of diocesan property and must be counted as diocesan assets in an attempt to make a financial settlement of sexual abuse claims. The motion requesting an appellate hearing said the court's ruling "would pit the debtor (the diocese) against the true beneficial owners of the disputed property -- the parishes and schools -- in violation of the civil and canonical trust relationship" between the diocese and its parishes. In a letter prepared for distribution in all parishes at weekend Masses Sept. 10-11, Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane said he was appealing the decision because he believes it was incorrect. "The diocese does not own the parishes," he wrote. "They do not belong to me. I can no more sell parishes than I can choose the house or lake cabin of a Catholic parishioner and sell those properties to satisfy claims." He said that the mission of the church in Spokane will continue during the appeals process, which some believe could take as long as 10 years, and afterward.
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Bishop says storm's effects range from 'catastrophic to devastated'
BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) -- "Our building is still standing," Bishop Thomas J. Rodi of Biloxi said Sept. 6 as he greeted a Catholic Charities disaster response team from Florida and the neighboring Diocese of Jackson, Miss. "We have 80 miles of coastline that ranges from catastrophic to devastated," said Bishop Rodi. More than 20 percent of churches and one third of schools in the Biloxi Diocese were destroyed or severely damaged in the hurricane. We have areas that are devastated." Portions of the roof of the Diocesan Pastoral Center building, which houses administrative offices, were covered with blue tarps and inside some offices' tiles were missing from the ceiling where water had leaked in after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. Outside the building a huge silver tube pumped air from a disaster cleanup truck into rooms to dry wet carpet and later a team of workers pulled wet sheetrock from the walls. Telephone service was restored in the building the morning of Sept. 6.
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Complexities of trade need ethical guides, broader view, speakers say
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The cardinal who heads the justice and solidarity department of the Latin American bishops' council said at an international conference on the moral aspects of trade that ethical approaches to trade cannot be imposed from the outside. "Ethics have to come from within," said Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, at the Sept. 7-8 conference in Washington. "They can't be imposed from without." Other sessions at the conference touched on trade integration of the Americas, the effects of trade agreements on economic growth, agriculture, the environment, indigenous populations and intellectual property concerns. The gathering was sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Latin American bishops' council, known as CELAM, and the Inter-American Development Bank. It was the first time the three organizations sponsored such a meeting together.
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Mississippi parish hall gets new use as distribution center
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (CNS) -- Father Tom Conway's cell phone never stops ringing. The pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Hattiesburg has been getting calls for help and offering help since his cell phone started working again in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane winds swept through his town 70 miles north of the Gulf Coast taking down hundreds of trees, roofs, metal signs and power lines in its path. Huge trees fell on the property of St. Thomas Aquinas and the church also sustained roof damage and flooding, but Father Conway had bigger concerns: helping hurricane victims. His parish turned itself into a distribution center to provide food, cleaning supplies, water and lots of baby items -- formula, diapers, wipes and jars of baby food -- to those in need. Donated items were arriving by the truckload from Catholic Social Services, the Salvation Army and Catholic churches across the country. Before distributing the goods, volunteers from the parish and surrounding parishes were unloading the trucks and organizing everything.
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Diplomat or big-money pal? Ambassadors of both types may have a place
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- If businessman and political fundraiser L. Francis Rooney III is confirmed by the Senate as ambassador to the Vatican, he'll be among several dozen major Republican fundraisers who have been named to head embassies despite having no diplomatic expertise. Whether the lack of specific experience tends to make someone more or less suited to represent the United States internationally is a question that predictably gets different answers from career foreign service employees and previous political appointees to diplomatic posts. Rooney, 51, is chief executive officer of Rooney Holdings, a company based in Tulsa, Okla., and Tampa, Fla., with construction, insurance and electronics businesses. He is a Catholic graduate of Georgetown University and its law school, with longstanding ties to President George W. Bush. As has been a U.S. tradition in both Democratic and Republican administrations, Rooney's nomination as ambassador rewards his financial support. He contributed several hundred thousand dollars to Bush and other Republican candidates in the last election, helped raise hundreds of thousands more, and his company kicked in $250,000 to help pay for 2005 inauguration festivities.
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PBS offers intriguing programming, kicks off with look at 1960s
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Don't expect "Fear Factor" bug-eating contests or "American Idol"-like competitions on your public television station. PBS continues to offer the most consistent quality programming on the tube, and this fall is no exception. This being PBS, it's always a good idea to check local listings. But there are plenty of gems worth hunting for. The distribution service -- technically PBS is not a "network" -- kicks off its season with a sort of tribute to the 1960s, anchored by the three-and-a-half-hour documentary "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" -- directed by Martin Scorsese, no less -- for the "American Masters" series Sept. 26-27. Other relevant programs include "Best of the Beatles," a look at the Fab Four through the eyes of their original drummer, Pete Best, Sept. 28-29; "The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation," Sept. 29; "Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop Music & Protest," Sept. 28; and even an edition of "Antiques Roadshow" that spotlights the 1960s, along the with the '50s and '70s, Sept. 26.
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Networks may pray for hits, but viewers pray for decent shows
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Autumn is the time of year when network television executives join Catholics in professing "hope" as a virtue, especially as they trot out their new fall shows and, with fingers crossed, pray for a hit. This season will not be a good one for planet Earth, with no less than three alien takeovers planned, including CBS's "Threshold" and ABC's "Invasion." The supernatural will also be big in shows like CBS' "Ghost Whisperer" and the WB's appropriately titled "Supernatural." New unscripted series will supply padding where needed, but the "reality" craze seems to have subsided while traditional sitcoms are trying to make a comeback with half-hour comedies like NBC's "My Name Is Earl," Fox's "The War at Home" and CBS' "How I Met Your Mother," and two series involving a chef as protagonist. Crime dramas remain a mainstay, with the networks unveiling several new (and increasingly graphic or kinky) procedurals, CBS' "Criminal Minds" and Fox's "Killer Instinct" among them. Predictably, in addition to violent content, many of the debuting series continue to push the envelope when it comes to sexual situations and strong language.
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CPA sets up fund to help publications in hurricane disaster area
RONKONKOMA, N.Y. (CPA) -- The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada has set up a fundraising effort to provide financial help to member publications in the Gulf Coast area affected by Hurricane Katrina. The money raised for the Hurricane Katrina Publication Assistance Fund will be available to publications to replace equipment, cover insurance deductibles and finance expanded news coverage because of the hurricane. "All of us in the Catholic Press Association feel deeply the pain of our sisters and brothers in the Gulf states affected by Hurricane Katrina and want to extend whatever assistance possible to the publications affected by the disaster," said a resolution approved Sept. 8 by the CPA executive committee. Contributions to the fund are tax deductible. People and organizations wishing to contribute to the fund may send a check payable to the CPA and earmarked for the Hurricane Katrina Publication Assistance Fund. Contributions should be sent to: Catholic Press Association, 3555 Veterans Memorial Highway, Unit O, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779.
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German exorcism served as inspiration for 'Emily Rose' movie
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" retains just a few of the characteristics of the real-life 29-year-old German exorcism case that inspired it. Among the few similarities between "Emily Rose" and its German inspiration are: the exorcism -- in the German case, a months-long exorcism -- failed to achieve the intended effect; the young woman who was the focus of the exorcism wasted away and ultimately died -- the German woman, Anneliese Michel, weighed only 68 pounds at the time of her death; and the priest -- or, in the German case, priests -- was put on trial for having contributed to the girl's death and was found guilty. Other incidentals common to the real and the fictive exorcisms include the use of a tape recorder to record what took place, but the trial in the movie was not based on the German trial, according to director Scott Derrickson, who co-wrote the movie with Paul Harris Boardman. The German exorcism took place in 1976 in Klingenberg, a town of about 6,300 that is less than 50 miles from Frankfurt.
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WORLD
What's the buzz? At Vatican, officials wait for curial changes
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI returns to the Vatican at the end of September, he'll find his "in" basket full and the rumor mill humming. On the docket in coming months are a Synod of Bishops, an ecumenical trip to Istanbul, commemorations of the Second Vatican Council, an upcoming encyclical, five canonizations, several rounds of bishops' visits and a full slate of daily meetings with church groups, religious representatives and political leaders from around the world. Meanwhile, the buzz around the Roman Curia has concentrated -- not surprisingly -- on possible changes in the Roman Curia. Murmurs of a clean sweep of several top Vatican officials and a major "shrinking" of Vatican departments have been echoing down the marble hallways for several weeks. Like his predecessors, the pope chose to spend most of his summer at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. He returns to the Vatican Sept. 28, just fours days before the start of the Oct. 2-23 synod on the Eucharist. Many observers believe the synod will help delineate the role of collegiality in Pope Benedict's governing style.
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Brazilians gather in cities to demand land reform, political reform
SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- More than a hundred thousand Brazilians gathered in the country's main cities to participate in this year's Cry of the Excluded, a movement created in 1994 by the Brazilian bishops' conference and the Landless Peasant Movement. In Aparecida Sept. 7, approximately 90,000 pilgrims who gathered outside one of the country's most famous basilicas, Our Lady of Aparecida, demanded that the government keep its promise to give land to the poor and to punish those charged with corruption. After the protest, Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida celebrated Mass and asked people to sign a document asking for political reforms. The Brazilian bishops will present the document to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The document, written by the bishops during their annual assembly in August, points to the need for political reform that "will face the ambiguities which favor corruption."
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Swiss scholars want famous church returned before Turkey joins EU
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Swiss scholars have petitioned the European Parliament to ask that Istanbul's sixth-century Church of Hagia Sophia, now a museum, be restored for Christian worship before Turkey joins the European Union. "This is not a public building that changed ownership with the conquest of a war -- Hagia Sophia is a place of God, Christendom's grandest place of worship for over 900 years, and arguably the most perfect and beautiful church erected by any Christian people," the group said in statement on a Hagia Sophia blog, or Web log. "Turkey has long severed its ties with darker aspects of its Ottoman past. It aspires to join the European Union. The time has come to restore Hagia Sophia's spirituality as a place of Christian worship," the Swiss scholars said. The statement noted that Turkey was trying to convince the European Union it deserved membership by 2015. "We need a million signatures to force the European Union to consider this proposal seriously and debate it immediately," said the group, chaired by Zurich University psychologist Angeliki Papagika.
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Belgian priest's arrest in Rwanda forces more questions on genocide
KIGALI, Rwanda (CNS) -- The arrest of a Belgian missionary at the Kigali airport on charges that he incited people to kill in the 1994 genocide has forced the church to answer more questions about the role of its members in the slaughter. Father Guy Theunis, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, was picked up at the Kigali airport Sept. 8 on his way back to Belgium from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Missionaries of Africa work within the parish system in Rwanda and report to Rwandan bishops. "For the moment the church is concerned about Father Theunis, but we are waiting for the official version for the reason for his arrest," said Father Emmanuel Ntabomenyereye, assistant secretary-general of the Rwandan bishops' conference. "But at the same time we address the same message of solidarity to our religious congregations. For the moment, we don't know what he did." Father Theunis is alleged to have reprinted for a wide audience articles from the anti-Tutsi newspaper Kangura. He faces trial in front of a Kigali Gacaca court, one of the traditional courts set up to prosecute the majority of genocide suspects.
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PEOPLE
Papal appointees to synod include U.S. cardinal, archbishops
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI appointed one cardinal and two archbishops from the United States to be part of October's world Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, president of the office governing Vatican City State, Ukrainian Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia and Melkite Archbishop Cyril S. Bustros of Newton, Mass., were chosen by the pope to take part in the Oct. 2-23 synod. Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, Australian Cardinal George Pell of Sydney and English Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds were other pontifical appointees for the synod. A total of 34 bishops and two priests were chosen by papal appointment. A list of the appointments was released Sept. 8 by the Vatican. More than 250 participants from around the world were expected to attend the synod's general assembly, said one Vatican official.
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Director of 'Emily Rose' hopes film prompts viewers to examine faith
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The director and co-writer of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" said he wants the movie's patrons to ask themselves, "Is there a devil? and, more importantly, is there a God? and, if so, what's the implication of that?" "Those are questions to be reckoned with, and I'm unabashed in the belief that everyone has to reckon with those questions. Everybody has to answer that question. In some way, everyone lives their life based on what they believe," Scott Derrickson said in an interview in New York City. "This movie is intended to stretch and provoke everyone who sees it, including Christians," he added. Echoing the closing argument made by a lawyer played by Laura Linney in the movie: "Either there's a God or there's not. And whichever way you decide, it's still a terrifying aspect to contemplate." Derrickson said one purpose of making "Emily Rose" was precisely to ask these questions, although to do so he had to make "a scary, entertaining film."
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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