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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Oct-14-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Hard work, creativity enable Gulf Coast Catholic schools to reopen
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic schools in the devastated areas of the Gulf Coast region did not take kindly to forced closures caused by Hurricane Katrina damage. For many of these schools, if they could be repaired, they were, and if they could be reopened -- even at odd hours, in unusual locations or by merging with other schools -- officials did not hesitate to do so. That was the case for St. Thomas School in Long Beach, Miss. The school was destroyed by the hurricane, but five weeks later students were back in classes -- at a former roller rink. The setting was not the typical learning venue, but students and faculty were just glad to have a place to go. The rink was purchased by a local Knights of Columbus council that lost its center in the hurricane and is now sharing the property with St. Thomas for its school and parish. St. Thomas, in turn, is sharing the temporary school quarters with students and faculty from St. Paul Elementary School in Pass Christian, which was also destroyed by the hurricane.
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Election Day 2005: It's about the issues, not the names
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although a few well-known names will be on state ballots during the off-year elections in 2005, the hot-button issues of same-sex marriage, parental notification before a minor's abortion and budget cuts promise to generate a lot more interest on the national level. When Americans go to the polls Nov. 8, they will elect mayors in 490 cities, including New York and Detroit, where incumbents Michael Bloomberg and Kwame Kilpatrick are seeking re-election. New Jersey voters will elect a governor and state Assembly members, while those in Virginia will choose a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and members of the House of Delegates. But in seven states, voters will consider 38 ballot propositions on topics ranging from smoking in public places to medical malpractice to the use of union dues for political purposes and transportation bonds. And as they do in most elections, Catholic leaders are offering guidance on how some of those issues should be decided by voters who follow church teaching.
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'Roe' of Roe vs. Wade addresses pro-life event for L.A. Hispanics
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- More than 100 parishioners from a dozen East Los Angeles parishes turned out Oct. 8 at Resurrection Church for a Spanish-language respect life program featuring Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" of the Roe vs. Wade 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. "I think the archdiocese (of Los Angeles) is trying to light a spark in the Hispanic community regarding the pro-life movement," said organizer Jay Hernandez, a member of the archdiocesan Family Life Issues commission. "When you show people what abortion is, you get their attention," he said, noting that community feedback has been positive since the Spanish-language respect life campaign kicked off in August. As part of the program, participants saw the film "Dura Realidad" ("Hard Reality") produced by Hispanics for Life, which shows aborted babies that were found in trash bags a few years ago in Houston. "People are deeply touched when they see the film," said Hernandez. In his talk, Hernandez said abortion providers target the local Hispanic community with their "death zone" of seven abortion mills in a one-mile area of MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.
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Father watches son's football games at his Afghan post
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- There are many things that Maj. Chris Beaver will miss about his home and family during the year he spends training members of the Afghan military. But thanks to the understanding and support of 12-year-old son Hal's football coaches at St. Henry School, watching the school's football games will not be one of them. The guardsman can see them on a DVD created especially for him. When it became clear that Beaver would be deployed to Afghanistan this past July along with the 196th National Guard Infantry unit based in Chattanooga, his wife, Wanda, asked Coach Chris Marchetti to keep an eye on Hal. Marchetti and his other coaches took that request to heart. "I thought about how tough it would be to be separated from your family and wondered if we could do something for Hal and his family," said Marchetti. "After talking to the other coaches, we decided to dedicate the first game to Hal's dad," the coach told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese. In addition, the winning football was autographed by all the players on the team, and then sent to Afghanistan along with a DVD of the game.
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WORLD
Vatican official assures Muslims of church's commitment to dialogue
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Muslims prepared to celebrate the end of their monthlong Ramadan fast, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald assured them the Catholic Church's commitment to dialogue would continue under Pope Benedict XVI. The archbishop, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, sent written greetings to Muslims around the world about to celebrate the Nov. 3 feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. In the message, released Oct. 14, the archbishop said many Muslims joined Catholics in following news about Pope John Paul II's illness and death in April. "Many had appreciated deeply the pope's constant efforts on behalf of peace," he said. "It was faith in God and confidence in humanity that impelled the late pope to engage in dialogue," the archbishop said. "He constantly reached out to brothers and sisters of all religions with respect and a desire for collaboration." Archbishop Fitzgerald said the Catholic Church's commitment to dialogue was encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, which concluded 40 years ago.
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Jesuit magazine calls professional boxing 'attempted murder'
ROME (CNS) -- An influential Jesuit magazine condemned professional boxing as "a form of legalized attempted murder," saying it has left more than 500 boxers dead over the last 100 years. The magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, said in an editorial that the moral judgment on boxing can only be "gravely and absolutely negative." In addition to suffering tremendous violence, boxers are first exploited, then abandoned by huge economic interests and often finish their days punch-drunk and impoverished, it said. The magazine's articles are reviewed before publication by the Vatican Secretariat of State and are thus thought to reflect Vatican opinion. The editorial against boxing appeared in the Oct. 15 issue, about three weeks after U.S. boxer Levander Johnson died from brain injuries suffered in a lightweight title fight. The magazine called Johnson the latest victim of a sport that seems to accept the death of boxers. "The dead don't count for anything in boxing. Instead, what count are the enormous interests that lies behind boxing matches," it said.
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In parts of Guatemala, aid workers say recovery will be long process
NAHUALATE, Guatemala (CNS) -- A group of men and children unrolled a banner along the side of the highway in southern Guatemala: "Here we need help. Affected area!" On the other side of the highway, trucks lined up for nearly a mile, waiting for a major bridge to open. This dirt-road neighborhood in the town of Nahualate was affected when the Nahualate River overflowed its banks, filling houses with water and burying cars, mattresses and crops under several feet of silt. The river, swollen with rain left by Hurricane Stan, also took out the Bailey Bridge connecting the southwestern Guatemalan coast to the rest of the country. On Oct. 13, eight days after the flood, relief workers were still struggling to get food, clothing and medicine to needy communities. Though many of those forced into shelters by the storm had returned home, experts said recovery would be a long process, as most of the victims already lived in precarious situations.
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Rising stars: Synod a good spot to watch ecclesial careers
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Traditionally, the Synod of Bishops has been a good place to watch ecclesial careers on the rise. The church's future all-stars are often found in the lineup of top synod positions like presidential delegate or recording secretary and among the small number of papal appointees to the assembly. Many officials in Rome remember how young Cardinal Karol Wojtyla came to the attention of the global church through a series of synods: in 1969 as a papally appointed member, in 1971 as an elected member of the synod's general council, and in 1974 as the synod's recording secretary. This October, those on the presidential dais included three presiding delegates: Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, Mexican Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez and Indian Cardinal Telesphore Toppo. Cardinals Arinze and Sandoval were mentioned as possible papal candidates in the last conclave. Cardinal Toppo, 65, is a relative newcomer to the synod's higher echelons. He got there by catching people's attention: At a 2001 synod the Ranchi archbishop said bishops need to live with the poor in the style of Jesus -- a revolutionary step that he said could attract many Asians to the Gospel.
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PEOPLE
Were-Rabbit: English isle's locals won't cotton to this tale
PORTLAND, England (CNS) -- They may be Oscar winners and loved by film critics across the world, but in one small corner of England no one really cares if cheese-loving Wallace and his dog, Gromit, are wearing the wrong trousers. Now the dynamic duo's latest screen epic, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," has been quarantined by the residents of the Isle of Portland in Dorset. For as long as anyone can remember, the "r" word has remained unspoken on the island because rabbits are considered bad luck. The reason is Portland's stone quarries are literally undermined by the long-eared ones whose constant burrowing causes frequent landslides. Posters advertising the new Wallace and Gromit movie have been banned except for one that states: "Something Bunny Is Going On." While the rest of England may regard such superstition as medieval, a spokesman for the isle's only Catholic church defended locals' concerns.
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Parish helps quadriplegic woman regain privacy, independence
MEDINA, Minn. (CNS) -- Angie Novak, 24, anxiously awaited the completion of her remodeled bedroom apartment. Like any young woman her age, she was ready for some privacy, independence and a social life, said her mother, Georgia. But Angie Novak is not like any other woman. She has been quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator since she was hit by a car Aug. 31, 1994, while crossing the street on her bicycle. "This completely robbed me of a normal, physically able-bodied life, and just about everything that goes with one," Novak said on her Web site, created earlier this year by a volunteer with Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Medina, which took on the Angie's Place project. Many of the 600 volunteers who worked on Angie's Place joined Father Jonathon Licari, pastor of Holy Name, for the blessing and dedication of Angie's Place, a 1,000-square-foot handicap-accessible addition to the Andover home that Novak shares with her parents, Georgia and Jeff Novak.
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Worcester priest is president-elect of Canon Law Society of America
TAMPA, Fla. (CNS) -- A priest of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., is the new vice president and president-elect of the Canon Law Society of America. Msgr. R. Stephen Pedone, judicial vicar and vicar for canonical affairs in the Diocese of Worcester since 1993, was elected at the national convention held in Tampa Oct. 3-6. He will serve one year as vice president before succeeding Msgr. Daniel Hoye as president at the conclusion of next year's convention. Msgr. Pedone, who earned his licentiate in canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, also is pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Worcester. Msgr. Hoye, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., succeeded Mercy Sister Sharon Euart, who concluded her term as president at the end of this year's convention.
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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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