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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Nov-8-2005
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
With fewer priests, Rochester churches cope with change
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (CNS) -- A new world awaits the Catholics of Rochester's southwest side as members of five parishes consolidate under one roof in a pastoral plan approved Oct. 25 by Bishop Matthew H. Clark of Rochester. The five parishes, currently worshipping in four churches, together serve 776 families. That is an average of fewer than 200 per church, well below the diocesan average of about 1,000 families per church. Of the five parishes, which together make up a diocesan planning group, three have been clustered with a shared pastoral leader and staff since 1992, designating themselves as the Roman Catholic Community of the 19th Ward. The other two joined the planning group in the late 1990s. Under the plan Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Augustine churches are to discontinue Masses in the near future and parishioners will begin worshipping at St. Monica Church. Emmanuel Church of the Deaf Parish will move its Masses from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church to St. Monica as well. Within the next two years, Ss. Peter and Paul Church also will close, leaving St. Monica as the planning group's only remaining worship site.
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Catholic school fires teacher who volunteered for Planned Parenthood
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CNS) -- Officials at Loretto High School in Sacramento fired a drama teacher in mid-October after they were presented with evidence that she had recently been volunteering as an escort at a local Planned Parenthood clinic. Marie Bain, who since August had taught at the all-girls high school operated by the Loretto Sisters, was dismissed after a parent complained to school officials, presenting photos of Bain earlier this year escorting clients into the clinic in Sacramento. After school officials consulted the diocese's schools department and Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand regarding the complaint, the bishop sent a letter to Loretto Sister Helen Timothy, president of the high school. The letter clarified Catholic doctrine on abortion and restated the long-standing diocesan policy that people who participate in abortion-related activities are disqualified from teaching in Catholic schools. Bain is not Catholic.
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Farmers try binational path to protect themselves in trade pacts
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Not long before the leaders of 28 nations held a November summit meeting on trade, two Mexican farmers participated in a U.S. tour with its own summitlike goals. With the help of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and Catholic Relief Services, Jesus Leon Santos and Pedro Torres Ochoa took their perspectives on the good and bad of free trade agreements directly to farmers in the United States. Their 10-day September visit brought them to meet with farmers around the United States with the idea of allying to protect their common interests as future trade agreements are negotiated and considered. The two men argue that the North American Free Trade Agreement and similar pacts benefit only large corporate farming operations and leave too many individual producers out of the market, forcing many people to leave their homes and head elsewhere to look for work to support their families.
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Legalization of assisted suicide eroding medical care, says doctor
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- The legalization of assisted suicide is eroding medical advances and decent treatment, said one leader of a coalition of doctors who find the practice troubling. Dr. Kenneth Stevens, a veteran professor of radiation oncology at Oregon Health Sciences University and vice president of Physicians for Compassionate Care, criticized Oregon's assisted-suicide law because he said it is devaluing human life and reversing the healing role of physicians. He and other Oregon doctors who oppose their state's law say allowing the use of legal lethal prescriptions tends to result in fewer efforts on the part of doctors to find a solution to patients' distress. "Once a patient has the means to take (his or her) own life, there can be decreased incentive to care for the patient's symptoms and needs," Stevens said during a recent panel discussion at the University of Oregon. He cited testimony from the Netherlands, where one doctor was at a loss to address a gastrointestinal obstruction because the patient had wanted euthanasia and then changed his mind.
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Couple to Couple League updates teaching approach, materials
CINCINNATI (CNS) -- The Couple to Couple League, an international provider of fertility awareness education, is updating its teaching and outreach methods to incorporate the theological thought of Pope John Paul II and make the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning more user-friendly. Linda Kracht, chairman of the organization's board of directors, said the league "is approximately six months into a three-year project to completely update its materials and teaching approach." She said in a statement, "Besides incorporating the theological thought of John Paul II, (the organization) is developing a streamlined sympto-thermal method of natural family planning; thus its teaching notes and slides are being revised, including its main textbook." The Couple to Couple League "is in the process of developing new educational materials in formats that utilize technology, such as DVDs and the Internet, attractive to this iPod generation and others," Kracht added.
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Catholic high school's program brings together teens, senior citizens
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia is onto something good -- so good the principal and students want to share it with other schools. Its Alumni-Student Intergenerational Service Team, known as ASIST, takes the Gospel message and puts it into practice in service to others, according to Robert O'Neill, Roman's principal. "Out of all our programs, this one really puts faith into action," O'Neill said. "Students get involved to provide community service and help alumni of the school, and in return they are mentored by the people they help, receiving life lessons that stay with them. "It's a win-win situation," he told The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. The program is spearheaded by alumnus Ed Keenan, class of '54.
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WORLD
Democracy must be moral to guarantee religious tolerance, says pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Democracy cannot guarantee tolerance and respect among people if it lacks a strong moral foundation that upholds the rights and dignity of all, Pope Benedict XVI told participants in a conference on interreligious dialogue. "A healthy society always promotes respect for the inviolable and inalienable rights of all people," the pope said in his written message. An "objective moral grounding" is key to building a peaceful society, because without it "not even democracy is capable of ensuring a stable peace," he wrote. "In this sense, moral relativism undermines the workings of democracy, which by itself is not enough to guarantee tolerance and respect among peoples." The pope's message, released by the Vatican Nov. 8, was presented to participants of an interreligious conference sponsored by Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the U.S.-based Appeal of Conscience Foundation.
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Podcasting could be important pastoral tool, says Jesuit magazine
ROME (CNS) -- Podcasting, already a popular innovation at Vatican Radio, offers an important new way for pastors to reach contemporary Christians through their digital jukeboxes, an influential Jesuit magazine said. The church should not pass up the opportunity to make liturgies and prayers available via podcast, as well as downloadable sermons by "podpreachers," said the magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, in its Nov. 5 issue. Podcasting allows individuals to download audio or video files from the Internet to their iPod or other digital device, for listening or viewing at a later time. Users can subscribe to podcasts and have episodes delivered automatically to their computer and digital player. The popularity of podcasting has generated a subcategory called "Godcasting," which refers to efforts by churches, preachers and religious media to tap into the digital communications boom.
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Polish church sets up tribunal to gather testimony about pope's life
KRAKOW, Poland (CNS) -- In the Krakow cathedral where the future Pope John Paul II celebrated his first Mass as a priest, a special tribunal was established to gather testimony about the pope's life and holiness. Although the Diocese of Rome is handling Pope John Paul's sainthood cause, a secondary tribunal was set up in Poland to interview Polish witnesses and review the things he wrote as a student, priest, auxiliary bishop and archbishop of Krakow before being elected pope in 1978. Krakow Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope's longtime secretary, presided over an evening prayer service Nov. 4 as the Polish tribunal members took their oaths of office. Archbishop Dziwisz became the future pope's secretary in 1966, serving him first in Krakow, then in Rome. "I had the good fortune to remain with him for almost 40 years, and I can say that he never treated anyone badly," the archbishop said during the service.
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Israeli authority says it might have found Holy Land's oldest church
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The Israel Antiquities Authority said it has uncovered what may be the Holy Land's oldest church. The antiquities authority said the find -- during the course of construction at a prison in Megiddo, Israel -- signified an "important contribution to the study of the development of early Christianity into a recognized religion." Two well-preserved mosaic tile floors with three Greek inscriptions were discovered during the exploratory excavation, which was carried out as required by Israeli law before any construction can be conducted. Rather than crosses, the mosaics are decorated with the figures of two fish, early symbols of Christianity. One of the inscriptions memorializes a woman named Akaptos, who donated a table to the church, as a "lover of God who contributed to the God Jesus Christ." Yotam Tepper, Israel Antiquities Authority excavation site director, said the wording of the inscriptions, the letter forms and other finds date the structure to the third or fourth century. Other biblical experts, however, questioned categorizing the find as the oldest church. "I think this is a little myth to boost tourism," Franciscan Father Michele Piccirillo, a biblical archaeologist from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem, told The Guardian newspaper in Britain.
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Czech cardinal welcomes court ruling on Prague cathedral
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (CNS) -- A Czech cardinal welcomed a court ruling that gave the Catholic Church ownership of Prague's cathedral and surrounding land after a 16-year legal dispute. "Although there's still no general settlement of property issues between church and state, we are glad this ordeal is nearing its end," Cardinal Miloslav Vlk of Prague told the Daily Monitor in Prague Nov. 3, after a late-October district court ruling. "This is a clear response to those who claimed, using communist vocabulary, that the cathedral belongs to all the people and to the nonsense that the church could purloin the national heritage by taking it away to the Vatican." Government officials have vowed to appeal the judgment. "Since it was founded, this cathedral has been the symbol of Czech nationhood," Adam Halmosi, a spokesman for the government's Office for Representation in Property Affairs, told the Czech News Agency.
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Radio, TV must serve public good, Vatican official says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Radio and television must be more than "an electronic billboard" hawking products and services -- they have a duty to serve the public good and maintain "certain standards of good taste," a top Vatican official told European broadcasters. U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said "the airwaves belong to the public, frequencies are assigned to serve the public." He said, "While commercial broadcasters have a right to make a living, they have no right to make a killing -- and public authority has a right to demand that even commercial broadcasters maintain certain standards of good taste and also provide programming which truly serves the common good, including public service programming." The archbishop made his remarks in a speech Nov. 8 at a meeting of the European Broadcast Union in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Vatican council released a copy of the archbishop's speech the same day.
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At Yad Vashem, survivors of two genocides meet, compare stories
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Yolande Mukagasana came to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial to honor the memory of her three murdered children. Mukagasana, 51, is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In three months of violence, she lost her children, her husband, her parents and four of her five siblings. Her husband was killed by a neighbor at the outset of the slaughter, and her teenage children were tortured so they would tell about her hiding place, but they died without revealing where she was, she said. She said she barely escaped being raped and killed. In early November Mukagasana, who now lives in Belgium, brought her memories, her fears and her desire to memorialize her children to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. "I wanted to do something for my children's memory, but also for all the children of Rwanda who were killed and raped," said Mukagasana, who was raised Catholic. "When I saw the memorial here, I felt like my children were calling to me."
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Maronite bishops caution against calls for president's resignation
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Lebanon's Maronite bishops cautioned against demands for the resignation of the nation's president and said the office should remain above political controversy. "The controversy about whether the president of the republic keeps on or resigns his post has hauled the country into a critical situation," the bishops warned. The dispute "paralyzes the political situation in Lebanon, diverts authorities from caring for the citizens, collapses daily life and further damages the economic situation." "The position of the presidency must remain above this controversy, for fear that the post will lose the awe of reverence and respect surrounding it," the bishops said following their monthly meeting Nov. 2. According to Lebanon's Constitution, the presidency is designated for a Maronite Catholic. Since the release of the U.N. investigation team's findings regarding the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, calls for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud have escalated. Syrian security officials and their Lebanese allies were implicated in the probe.
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PEOPLE
'Extraordinarily ordinary' Italian mother was model of holiness
VICENZA, Italy (CNS) -- An Italian woman who raised 11 children was beatified and held up as a model of sainthood for all mothers. Eurosia Fabris, known simply as "Mamma Rosa" throughout her adult life, was beatified Nov. 6 in the northern Italian city of Vicenza, not far from the farming town where she was born. Pope Benedict XVI has stopped presiding over beatification Masses, but a decree was read in his name by Cardinal Jose Maria Saraiva Martins, head of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. Beatification is the last major step before sainthood. Fabris was born in 1866, and as a young woman was known for her deep sense of faith. She taught religious education and sewing to children in her parish. At 18, she began caring for two babies whose mother had died. After marrying, she had nine children of her own; three of them became priests. After a life dedicated to homemaking and charity work, she died in 1932. "Mamma Rosa should be seen as a model of holiness for everyone," said Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Vicenza, who celebrated the Mass.
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Belgian priest in Rwandan prison says he is treated well, prays
KIGALI, Rwanda (CNS) -- A Belgian priest imprisoned in Rwanda said he was being treated "quite well" and spent time praying with friends he made during his more than 20 years of work in the African country. Wearing the pink shorts and button-down shirt of the Rwandan prison system, Father Guy Theunis, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, appeared to be in relatively high spirits as he joked with reporters before a Nov. 8 court hearing to determine if he should be transferred for trial in Belgium on charges of genocide. The proceedings were conducted primarily in Kinyarwanda, the chief spoken language in Rwanda, which Father Theunis speaks fluently. The Rwandan and Belgian governments reached an agreement in October to transfer Father Theunis to Belgium; the Nov. 8 hearing, which was continued to Nov. 9, was the final step in the extradition process.
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Nun runs New York Marathon to support program for women, children
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) -- For Sister Janet Kinney, a Sister of St. Joseph, running the New York City Marathon and directing Providence House, a transitional home program for women and children, have a lot in common. As a matter of fact it was the similarities that pushed Sister Janet to consider pursuing her first marathon Nov. 6. One of 36,000 athletes in the New York event, she finished with a time of 5 hours, 7 minutes and 29 seconds. "The idea has been brewing for two years now," explained Sister Janet, who runs regularly with a group in Brooklyn. "It all started with a casual conversation during a shorter race organized by the New York City Road Runners. One of my fellow runners said 'Wouldn't it be nice to run a marathon?' I laughed about it at the time." But, she later saw similarities between the event and her work. "When I realized that the marathon is 26.2 miles long and that Providence House will be 26.2 years old in November, the coincidence was just too much to pass up. I said I really have to run it," she told The Tablet, newspaper of the Brooklyn Diocese.
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Nun to receive papal honor for her work with poor in West Virginia
WHEELING, W.Va. (CNS) -- Marist Sister Constance Dodd, director of the Catholic Neighborhood Center in Wheeling, has been named a recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross by Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of her dedication to the care of the poor in Wheeling. The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross ("for the church and the pontiff") signifies the pope's recognition of distinguished service to the church. It is the highest award that a noncleric can receive. This medal has not been bestowed on anyone in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston for more than 25 years. Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston nominated Sister Constance because of her service through her leadership at the Catholic Neighborhood Center and for dedicating her life to ministry to the poor. "All of us in this city should be grateful for the gift of this wonderful religious woman who teaches all of us to love the poor," he said. The bishop will present the medal to Sister Constance during an evening Mass Dec. 10 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling.
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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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