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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Oct-5-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
High court considers states' rights, medical purposes in Oregon case
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Supreme Court Oct. 5 waged a lively discussion over whether then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was right to declare that assisted suicide is not a legitimate medical purpose and physicians who prescribed drugs under an Oregon law could be prosecuted under federal drug control statutes. It was the first major case to be heard by the court with new Chief Justice John Roberts on the bench. Several justices questioned Solicitor General Paul Clement over whether a future attorney general might use the same rationale to stop the use of drugs restricted by the Controlled Substances Act for state or federal executions by lethal injection. Clement said he believed other laws would protect doctors' ability to provide lethal doses of drugs in such cases, but Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter did not appear to be convinced. "The theory the government is advancing this morning ... that (assisted suicide) is outside the normal practice of medicine" might well be used to support the same argument against providing drugs for lethal injection, Souter said.
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Cardinal Mahony outlines plans for lay parish leaders
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- In a pastoral statement released Sept. 30, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles predicted a large increase in lay parish life directors beginning next year. He said such leaders will be called on to shape a parish's evangelical outreach and its vision of the reign of God. "Much more is called for from a leader than being an effective administrator. Or a 'human resources manager,'" he wrote. "The one who is designated to be the leader of the parish community is above all one who holds fast to the vision of the reign of God central to the meaning and message of Jesus. And then calls others to be faithful to that vision through the charism of leadership," he said. The statement, "As One Who Serves," was dated Sept. 4 but it was posted on the archdiocesan Web site and published in The Tidings, Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper, Sept. 30. In late September Cardinal Mahony hosted a meeting of about 70 church leaders from 18 Western dioceses to discuss future parish staffing needs in light of the priest shortage.
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Church leaders, legal experts fight bill to speed death-row appeals
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Current and retired judges and prosecutors are being joined by two former heads of the FBI and various religious leaders in trying to stop legislation that would curtail death penalty appeals and speed up the execution process. The Streamlined Procedures Act was to be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee in early October. A House version of the bill was expected to be the subject of an additional hearing by the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime. Bishop Arthur N. Tafoya of Pueblo, Colo., said in a Sept. 22 letter to Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., that the bill raises moral and ethical problems by restricting the federal courts' ability to consider appeals from prisoners who claim their rights have been violated or who have evidence of their innocence. The bill demeans the worth and dignity the church teaches each person has "by trivializing a person's right to life and liberty," he said.
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Diocesan money managers get insights into disaster planning, recovery
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- Whether dealing with a blackout, disease outbreak, hurricane or other emergency, people should never underestimate what can happen or the need to be prepared, according to diocesan and community officials from Toronto and Orlando who know only too well what can happen when a disaster strikes. That was the advice William Dunlop of Toronto and Dianne and Bill Kramer of Orlando offered to nearly 300 members of the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference meeting in Orlando Sept. 26. "None of what we faced can compare with what has been experienced by the people of Louisiana and Texas during the most recent storms," said Dianne Kramer, former deputy superintendent of Seminole County Public Schools, alluding to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "But hopefully we can share with you what we've learned from our personal experience with emergency situations." Dunlop, comptroller for the Archdiocese of Toronto, talked about issues raised by Pope John Paul II's visit for World Youth Day in 2002, the SARS outbreak in 2003 and what later that year was dubbed the "Great Blackout," which took out power in New York and Canada.
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Money not an awkward topic when diocesan fiscal managers meet
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- When Benedictine Father Lambert Reilly was archabbot of St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana, he oversaw a stunning reversal of fortune. Under his leadership, the archabbey increased its long-term investments by $31 million, increased cash by $4.3 million and erased $7.6 million in bank debt in less than 10 years. While money may be an awkward topic in many settings, it was the main topic when the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference met for its annual convention in Orlando Sept. 25-28. Catholic diocesan money managers from around the globe gathered for the four-day event to learn the most up-to-date financial management tools, network with other professionals and energize their spirits for the challenges and opportunities ahead. Father Reilly addressed close to 300 members representing more than 140 dioceses from the United States, the Caribbean and Australia. During his Sept. 25 speech, he spoke of developing relationships with various benefactors.
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WORLD
At audience, pope says people meet God in celebration of liturgy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the celebration of the liturgy, "God and man meet in an embrace of salvation," Pope Benedict XVI said. During his weekly general audience Oct. 5, as bishops from around the world met in small groups during the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, the pope focused on the meaning of true religious faith and worship of God. Pope Benedict did not specifically mention the synod, which began Oct. 2, but he offered special greetings to young people from several countries who had traveled to Rome for a meeting on eucharistic adoration. "I ask you, dear young people, to place the Eucharist at the center of your personal and community life, learning to live from the spiritual strength that flows from it," the pope said. Greeting Polish pilgrims at the end of the audience, the pope said six months had passed since the April 2 death of "my dear predecessor, Pope John Paul II. His entire teaching and the witness of his life remain important and current for us."
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U.S. cardinal says sin causes people to break bonds with God, others
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When people sin, they break the bonds of friendship with God and with their brothers and sisters, which is why penance and reconciliation are needed for an honest participation in the Eucharist, said U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford. The cardinal, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with the sacrament of penance and matters of conscience, was one of several U.S. and Canadian prelates addressing the world Synod of Bishops Oct. 3-4. The Oct. 2-23 synod was convoked to discuss the Eucharist. The Vatican released summaries of all the bishops' talks and provided briefings with fuller quotations from the speeches. While the church recognizes itself as the community of those redeemed, saved and reconciled with God through Jesus, Cardinal Stafford said, the church also recognizes that each of its members is tempted by sin and in need of reconciliation.
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Catholics must emphasize penance as well as Communion, bishop says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics need to give the same importance to the sacrament of penance as they do to the sacrament of the Eucharist if they are to deepen their relationship with Christ and the church, said a member of the Synod of Bishops. Lithuanian Bishop Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviskis said Oct. 4 that the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist "must give relevance to the need for the sacrament of reconciliation" or penance. The same day, other synod members discussed the issues of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics as well as keeping the Eucharist sacred, according to information on the speeches released by the Vatican. In his speech, Bishop Norvila urged the synod's participants to rediscover the gift of the sacrament of reconciliation in "a new light." The church needs to renew its practice of offering spiritual direction and penance, Bishop Norvila said in his written text. Priests also should be encouraged to develop "new attitudes toward personal confession," he added.
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Synod's briefing officers told to cut back on information to media
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The long-standing issue of secrecy surfaced quickly at the Synod of Bishops in October, as briefing officers in various languages were told to cut back on the amount of information given journalists. The move came Oct. 5, a day after the synod briefings divulged remarks by bishops on the sensitive topics of priestly celibacy and politics and Communion. The comments, made in an open discussion period of the synod, were widely reported by media in Italy and elsewhere. The daily one-hour open discussion period was a new feature created by Pope Benedict XVI at the Oct. 2-23 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. An Italian synod spokesman said it was decided that briefings would no longer provide details to journalists about the open discussions so as not to inhibit speakers from speaking freely and so reporters would not "get (the information) wrong."
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PEOPLE
Brazilian bishop goes on hunger strike to protest river rerouting
SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- Bishop Luiz Cappio received more than 2,500 visitors Oct. 4 in the small town of Cabrobo, in northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco state. While a few came to wish him a happy 59th birthday, most visitors came to show solidarity for the bishop's decision to go on a hunger strike to protest government plans to change the course of Brazil's Sao Francisco River. Coincidentally, Oct. 4 was the 504th anniversary of the discovery of the river, known as "Old Chico." The same day, after increased media coverage of the hunger strike, the government announced it was temporarily suspending the start of the project until President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a chance to speak personally to Bishop Cappio. By Oct. 5 there was no word on whether the bishop had agreed to stop the strike. Bishop Cappio, who has lived on the banks of the Sao Francisco for the past 26 years, left his home in Barra, in neighboring Bahia state, to go to Cabrobo, the starting point for the rerouting project. The bishop, known to many as the river's guardian angel, started his hunger strike Sept. 26 and said he would continue until da Silva agreed to halt the project.
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California woman on mission to preserve 'God's calling cards'
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Santa Barbara City College marketing and e-commerce professor Julie Ann Brown is the Internet go-to person for holy cards. Brown, 45, is on a mission to preserve and share what she calls "God's calling cards" lovingly made more than 75 years ago by European nuns and clergy. "My quest remains the same: to spare and share the beautiful holy images from those who have loved and lived before us," said the Catholic mother of two college students. Visitors to Brown's Web site, www.holycards.com, can e-mail a free virtual holy card to friends or download a Christian image for a one-time fee of $2 to $3, no royalty strings attached. During a 1996 shopping trip to an antique mall in Palmdale, Brown happened upon a collection of holy cards. "That day, I found the buried treasure of memories," Brown told The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
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Students' idea for printing enterprise becomes big business
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- What began as a pipe dream for a printing enterprise last December at St. Lucy Day School for Children With Visual Impairments is now a burgeoning student business. "Big companies are asking us to make cards for them," said the co-founder of the school's printing club, Sheila McLaughlin, a 9-year-old fourth-grader who has been legally blind since birth. "Our cards are special," added co-founder Amy Ryan, Sheila's classmate, who is also 9 and has been legally blind since birth. "Not many children are in a business to make cards," Amy said. "It's kind of easy. But it is hard." The beauty of the cards comes from the hearts and hands that craft them. "Visually impaired children make them, and the designs are very good, even though they can't see very well," Sheila said. "We can do things that people think that visually impaired children can't do."
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Family has taken care of tiny New Mexico church for generations
LA BAJADA, N.M. (CNS) -- One New Mexico family has had a devotion to St. Michael the Archangel since their ancestors braved the harsh elements of the New World as colonial settlers from Spain, homesteading 400 years ago in sometimes hostile territory. Eloy Montoya Sr.'s ancestors helped build San Miguel Church in La Bajada in the 1600s, and for generation after generation family members have been caretakers of the church. So the saint's feast day, Sept. 29, has always been a cause for celebration for the family, the church and the village. On Sept. 24, in anticipation of this year's feast day, a special Mass was concelebrated by Franciscan Fathers Cecil J. Kleber, a priest for 55 years, and Wayne Gibbeaut, both of whom are based in nearby Pena Blanca.
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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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