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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Oct-18-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Black Catholics gather for Mass on first day of Millions More events
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- On the evening before African-Americans from around the United States converged on the nation's capital for the Millions More Movement, black Catholics gathered for a special Mass at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington. The main celebrant at the Oct. 14 Mass, Washington Auxiliary Bishop Martin D. Holley, condemned racism -- which he said is often embedded and masked in American society -- and said people must not be lulled into complacency "as long as one poor person, black or whatever race, is denied basic rights." "We have come too far; it has taken us too long, for us to put this (effort) down," he said. Attending the Mass were about 220 people, including 65 young people and 25 adults from the Archdiocese of Detroit who made a special pilgrimage to Washington to attend the Millions More Movement gathering that weekend. The multiracial and multicultural group from Detroit included Precious Blood Father Clarence Williams, director of black Catholic ministry in the archdiocese, and Alejandro Torres-Antonio, coordinator of urban youth ministry, along with representatives of eight parishes in the Detroit area.
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University symposium tackles complicated end-of-life choices
DAYTON, Ohio (CNS) -- As the end of life approaches, who makes decisions about your care and comfort? With advances in technology, how do you now define ordinary or extraordinary measures to sustain life? And will the decisions you make about your life be in harmony with state and federal regulations? Prompted by the Terri Schiavo case in Florida, with the additional goal of advancing discussion and clarity about such issues, the University of Dayton School of Law's 2005 Gilvary Symposium on Law, Religion and Social Justice gathered legal, health and church professionals Oct. 11-12 to discuss "End of Life: Who Decides?" Among the participants was Bill Kurtis, the anchor of A&E's "American Justice" and a former CBS reporter, who talked about how media influences the law. Other topics ranged from information on standards, the Constitution, court decisions and the disabled to the influence of religion. Schiavo's probable legacy will be as a catalyst for much-needed discussion about preparation for death. According to Sister Carol Bauer, a Sister of Charity who is vice president for spiritual effectiveness at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, conversations and commitments about decisions related to treatment are needed most.
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Catholic schools in New Orleans area honored at stressful time
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- When Susan Perry, principal of St. Clement of Rome School in Metairie, learned that the U.S. Department of Education had named the school one of its "blue-ribbon schools of excellence," there was no one to share the news with. The selections were announced Sept. 23, as southeast Louisiana was preparing to flee from the approaching Hurricane Rita. "We had closed so the faculty and staff could make their preparations that Friday," Perry told the Clarion Herald, New Orleans archdiocesan newspaper. "When it became clearer that we were going to be spared, I went over to the school to do some work, since I live in the neighborhood. So I just happened to be in the office when the call came -- and I had no one to share it with." St. Clement was one of three schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to receive the honor this year. The others were Christian Brothers School and Stuart Hall School for Boys, both in New Orleans. The principals were to travel to Washington to receive the awards Nov. 10.
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Author relishes chance to introduce 'new' poetry by Merton
HONOLULU (CNS) -- It isn't often that the opportunity comes along to introduce a new selection of poems by Thomas Merton. For Kathleen Norris, a well-known poet and spirituality author herself, the once-in-a-lifetime chance was one she couldn't refuse. The selection is a just-released 235-page softcover book that compiles the famous Trappist monk's poetry from the mid-1940s to his death. Titled "In the Dark Before Dawn: New Selected Poems of Thomas Merton," it is published by New Directions and edited by Lynn R. Szabo. In the book's five-and-a-half-page introduction, "I said that, like Walt Whitman, he (Merton) contained multitudes," Norris said. "Here is a guy who spent a good part of his life in a monastery, but his experience of human life is so broad and vast that he writes about many different things in many different voices." Merton, born in 1915, became a Trappist monk in 1941 and died in 1968 of electrocution in Thailand. A well-known author and poet, his most famous work is his autobiography, "The Seven Storey Mountain."
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Georgetown University to offer doctorate in religious pluralism
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Georgetown University's theology department will launch a doctoral program in religious pluralism, combining the fields of theological and religious studies, beginning in the fall of 2006. Gerald M. Mara, interim dean of Georgetown's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said the new program "provides the university with a unique opportunity to address a vitally important question in academically serious ways." Doctoral candidates will investigate the themes of religious pluralism, including how various religions have dealt with diversity. Each student will conduct course work in two specific religious traditions, one of which typically will be Christianity.
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WORLD
Pope, synod members gather for eucharistic adoration to show devotion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With simplicity and long stretches of silence, Pope Benedict XVI and members of the Synod of Bishops gathered Oct. 17 for eucharistic adoration in St. Peter's Basilica. A monstrance containing the Eucharist was placed on the main altar, decorated only with a white cloth and six white candles. Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, presided over the service, leading the prayers and blessings. Pope Benedict knelt before the Eucharist in front of the synod participants, but did not speak. When the Oct. 2-23 synod on the Eucharist began, the early evening adoration service was not on the schedule, but after several bishops said they should show their people their devotion to the Eucharist and not just talk about it, Pope Benedict invited synod members to join him in the basilica.
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Pope Benedict's public appearances drawing huge crowds
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's public appearances are drawing huge crowds of pilgrims to the Vatican -- even more than those of his beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II. According to Vatican statistics, more than 1 million people have attended the pope's weekly general audience or his Sunday blessing since his election in April. That's more than twice the number of pilgrims who attended the same events in 2004 which were presided over by an infirm Pope John Paul. Observers cited a "new pope" effect, saying people want a personal look at Pope Benedict. Interest may have broadened after the global media attention given the Vatican during the period of papal transition. Many of the pilgrims say they are coming to see two popes, visiting the tomb of Pope John Paul in the Vatican grottoes and attending an audience or blessing with Pope Benedict.
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Synod proposes greater vocations efforts, no easing of celibacy rules
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a draft list of propositions, the Synod of Bishops recommended no relaxation of church rules on priestly celibacy and instead proposed greater vocations efforts as the answer to the shortage of priests. The idea of ordaining married men in the Western church is "a road not to follow," said Proposition 11, one of 50 propositions presented to the synod Oct. 18. After possible amendments, the propositions were to be voted on later in the week. Catholic News Service obtained a copy of the propositions, which were read in Latin on the synod floor. The propositions contained proposals on other topics of interest during the Oct. 2-23 synod on the Eucharist. Proposition 40 said Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment "cannot be admitted to holy Communion" because they are in clear contrast with church teaching on marriage. It encouraged other pastoral efforts toward such Catholics. Proposition 46 said there is no "eucharistic coherence" when Catholic politicians promote laws that go against human good, justice and natural law. It said bishops should exercise prudence on whether specific politicians should receive Communion.
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Cardinal says synod won't propose married priests, women deacons
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ordaining married men and women deacons will not be options proposed by the Oct. 2-23 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist as ways to solve the problem of priestless parishes, said an African cardinal. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Cape Coast, Ghana, said the synod has recognized that the shortage of priests is a problem "and the fathers are looking for different solutions to it." But while the suggestion by some synod members to allow for the ordination of married men of proven virtue has been listened to, it is being shelved for the time being, the cardinal said. Synod participants from the Eastern churches that have married priests "are advising us a lot on this" question, he said at an Oct. 18 press briefing. But the prevailing feeling of the majority of the voting members is "let's keep (the idea of married priests) on the shelf awhile," perhaps for further study or consideration, he said. The overall opinion is "let's exhaust the other possibilities first before we come to this," he added.
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Bishops from mainland China express regret they couldn't attend synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Four bishops from mainland China, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, wrote to express their regret at not having been able to attend. The Latin-language letter, sent on behalf of the bishops by 83-year-old Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng of Fengxiang, was read to the synod Oct. 18 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state. The synod's English briefing officer told reporters the bishop said he was sorry he could not attend the synod, citing his own health problems, but also acknowledging there were other difficulties. The bishop expressed his hopes that diplomatic relations between China and the Vatican could be restored and expressed his unity in prayer with the synod, the briefing officer said. The Vatican said it would release the bishop's letter and Pope Benedict's response at a later date.
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Philippine archbishop says government policy should be challenged
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- After police used water cannons against a procession that included nuns and priests, the president-elect of the Philippine bishops' conference said a new government policy prohibiting demonstrations without permits should be challenged in an "appropriate court." On Oct. 15, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, the president-elect, said in a written statement that the previous day's "violent dispersal" of protesters intent on holding a prayer assembly near President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's office was "uncalled for and objectionable." In that incident, police dispersed hundreds of marchers headed to San Beda College in downtown Manila for a Mass organized by a movement for a nationalist economy. The nationwide movement of business leaders, scholars, urban poor and others is calling for Arroyo's ouster and the establishment of a nationalist government to replace her administration. Former Philippine Vice President Teofisto Guingona and Father Robert Reyes were among those in the front lines who were drenched. Retired Bishop Julio Labayen of Infanta was following in a van because the 79-year-old prelate could not walk the whole route, said Father Reyes.
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PEOPLE
Former secretary says he expects late pope's beatification in June
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II's former secretary has said he expects the late pontiff to be beatified in June, when Pope Benedict XVI is expected to make his first visit to Poland. "I hope it can happen as early as next year -- a lot of people yearn for him to be proclaimed a saint straight off," said Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, who began serving as Pope John Paul's secretary in 1966, when the late pontiff was archbishop of Krakow. "No one doubts his sanctity, not only here in Krakow or in Poland. The whole world saw and knew him and has already canonized him in practice. The current beatification process serves to gain moral certainty," Archbishop Dziwisz said in an interview before John Paul II Day, celebrated Oct. 16 as a public holiday in the late pope's homeland. In an Oct. 16 interview with Italy's Avvenire daily, Archbishop Dziwisz said he personally knew of "many miraculous healings" through Pope John Paul's intercession and believed the pontiff's beatification awaited "only official confirmation" by his successor.
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Pope confers human rights award on Czech bishop, Polish intellectual
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI presented an international human rights award to a Czech bishop and a Polish intellectual who were dedicated Catholic activists during the period of communism in their respective countries. Auxiliary Bishop Vaclav Maly of Prague, Czech Republic, and Stefan Wilkanowicz of Krakow, Poland, received the John Paul II Prize in a private audience with Pope Benedict at the Vatican Oct. 16. The date to confer the award was chosen to celebrate the 27th anniversary of Pope John Paul's election. The prize, dedicated to the late Polish-born pope, was established in 2003 by the Institute of Human Rights of Oswiecim, Poland. Oswiecim is the town where the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz was located. The honorary award pays tribute to "the people that practice John Paul II's philosophy of human rights and develop this philosophy" in their fields of activity, said a statement released by the Polish institute.
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Underground Bishop Zhang, 90, dies in China
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Underground Bishop Petrus Zhang Boren of Hanyang died of heart ailments Oct. 12. The bishop, also known by the name Chang Bai Ren, was 90. His funeral was Oct. 15 in his native Zhangjiazhuang village, near Xiantao city, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Both Hanyang Diocese and Xiantao are in Hubei province. A Catholic source in mainland China who requested anonymity told UCA News Oct. 13 that Bishop Zhang was "a holy man" who had converted many people -- especially those he exorcised -- through his enthusiasm and spirit of evangelization. When UCA News spoke with Bishop Zhang in 1998, he told stories of how he drove "evil spirits" away from sufferers, some of whom later were baptized. A church source in Hong Kong told UCA News Oct. 13 that Bishop Zhang had lived in the government-recognized church for a period of time in the 1980s. Later, he decided to return to Xuwan village, near Xiantao, to live with underground Catholics until he died.
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Artist finds designing kids' page more fulfilling than corporate work
MILWAUKEE (CNS) -- His past clients read like a who's who listing of the country's movers and shakers: NBC News, Apple Computers, Amoco, Harley Davidson, Toys "R" Us and Microsoft, to name just a few. He's designed artwork for Disney, Warner Bros., Perkins Restaurants and DC Comics, and his creations appear on the "Thomas Saves the Day" video in Atari's Thomas the Tank Engine series. But the work that brings artist Mario Macari the most satisfaction is the "Catholic stuff" that has begun appearing in the Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. Macari, 44, a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Greenfield, produces a weekly kids' page including puzzles, trivia, cartoons, a saint biography and message for kids from Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, for the Catholic Herald. While Macari, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, said the corporate clients pay the bills, "it's the Catholic stuff that is so fulfilling and so rewarding."
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CARA honors Sister Katarina Schuth for seminary research
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate honored Franciscan Sister Katarina Schuth Oct. 5 for her extensive research on U.S. Catholic seminaries. Researchers must report their findings with wisdom and accuracy and avoid being "co-opted by partisans on either side of an issue," but they must also "have compassion and concern for those who will feel the impact of the results of the research," she said after receiving the award. Sister Schuth is a professor of the scientific study of religion at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She is the author of two major studies, in 1989 and 1999, of U.S. Catholic theologates and seminaries and is co-author of a forthcoming study, "Educating Leaders for Ministry: Issues and Responses." She received the Father Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD, Award for Exemplary Church Research, named after the Divine Word priest who was CARA's founding executive director.
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Blessed Hurtado worked to attack roots of injustice
SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) -- Blessed Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga used to say that injustice created many more ills in society than Christian charity could repair. So he not only roamed the streets with his green pickup truck searching for homeless children to take to the shelter he founded, but also dedicated a great part of his life to attacking the roots of that injustice. Nearly all Chileans know about his most famous and lasting legacy, the Hogar de Cristo movement, but few are familiar with his efforts organizing youth groups to study the church's social doctrine and educating workers to become labor leaders so they could promote social change from their workplaces. Blessed Hurtado is one of five men Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Oct. 23 at the Vatican. "Father Hurtado's deep identification with Christ was the basis for his concern for the poor, which he expressed in two main areas: individual charity for those who suffer and social charity, contributing to long-term structural solutions to lessen ... injustice," said Father Samuel Fernandez Eyzaguirre, dean of the theology faculty at Santiago's Catholic University and director of the university's center of studies and documentation on Blessed Hurtado.
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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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