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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Feb-28-2006
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
In third round, Supreme Court again finds for clinic protest rights
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Supreme Court's 8-0 decision rejecting attempts to use racketeering laws against abortion clinic protesters was hailed by one of the successful petitioners as a victory for free speech. It was the third time the high court had ruled in the case, which dates back to 1986 when the National Organization for Women attempted to use racketeering laws in class-action lawsuits against abortion clinic protesters. The Feb. 28 ruling reversed the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' interpretation of the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling in the case. The lower court had found that the Supreme Court's decision for Joseph Scheidler and Operation Rescue neglected to deal with four out of 121 instances in which a jury had found abortion protesters violated laws that prohibit acts or threats of violence to person or property. Scheidler, who heads the Pro-Life Action League, said in a statement that he is "mystified that I had to go to the trouble and expense of appearing before the Supreme Court three times. The court was right when they ruled in 2003, but the National Organization for Women refused to acknowledge defeat." In the latest decision, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that to violate the Hobbs Act -- a 55-year-old law prohibiting extortion -- physical violence or threats of violence must be related to extortion.
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Nashville religious education programs to teach child safety
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Lessons to teach children how to protect themselves from child molesters, bullies, gangs and Internet prowlers are becoming part of the religious education program at every parish in the Diocese of Nashville. Some parishes already use the Safe@Last curriculum in their religious education classes and all parishes are required to use it by the end of 2006, said Joceline Lemaire, diocesan director of ministry formation services. "We want religious education kids to get the same child safety education that we provide in Catholic schools," Lemaire said. The Safe@Last curriculum has been used in Catholic schools in the diocese for several years. The diocese was hosting a series of six training sessions for religious education directors and teachers in the first four months of 2006.
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For Maui Catholic churches, selling special bread a sweet fundraiser
HONOLULU (CNS) -- A local islander visiting one of the other Hawaiian Islands would be remiss if he or she did not bring home a particular treat for which that island is known. That might be candy from the island of Hawaii, bread from Molokai, a particular brand of cookies from Kauai, or Chinese dumplings from Oahu. Thanks to small, dedicated groups of Catholic parishioners on Maui, Portuguese sweet bread is quickly becoming the food of choice to stash in a suitcase when returning from that island. The fluffy golden loaves, baked and sold by women's groups to raise money for their parishes, are on their way to becoming a tasty Maui trademark. Dorothy Gomes of St. Joseph Parish in Makawao has been making some of Maui's best Portuguese sweet bread for more than three decades. She is a descendent of Portuguese immigrants who first started arriving in Hawaii in the late 1800s, bringing with them their strong Catholic faith, their prodigious baking skills and a small musical instrument that would later be renamed the ukulele.
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Maryknoll exhibit offers visitors glimpse into missionary life, work
OSSINING, N.Y. (CNS) -- An exhibit at the new Maryknoll Visitors Center will give school groups and others "an opportunity to learn about the lives and cultures of people in the many regions of the world where Maryknoll missioners are working to improve their quality of life," according to the order's superior general. Maryknoll Father John Sivalon said the order's headquarters in New York's Westchester County always has been open to the public, "but now we have a hands-on exhibit through which we open up the world of mission work and the people we help to visitors." The exhibit, which opened Feb. 22, has as its theme "We Are Called to Mission." The interactive media experience includes eight computer kiosks and the 50-seat World Mission Theater, in which visitors can see videos and attend lectures. A computerized system is tuned to provide humid heat or frigid air representing the local climate of whatever film is featured.
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WORLD
Pakistani church works to strengthen peace after cartoon protests
NEW DELHI (CNS) -- With protests about the cartoons satirical of the prophet Mohammed turning violent in Muslim-majority Pakistan, the Catholic Church is taking steps to promote harmony with Muslims and keep protesters from victimizing the small Pakistani Christian population. After an emergency meeting Feb. 22, "we once again condemned the offensive cartoons that have hurt our Muslim brethren," Catholic and Protestant church leaders said in a pastoral letter scheduled to be read March 5 and 12 in churches. The letter also denounced "the irresponsible mob violence and destruction of private properties," referring to attacks by Muslim protesters on Christian targets, including churches, schools and hospitals. Describing the current situation in Pakistan as "tense and difficult," the church leaders urged the "clergy and lay leaders" to set up interfaith peace committees as suggested by Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz when church leaders called on him Feb. 22 following the recent violence against the Christian community.
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Mexican bishops urge officials to probe mine blast that killed 65
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexican bishops have called on authorities to investigate why a coal mine that had just been visited by federal safety inspectors exploded and left 65 miners dead. After a Feb. 19 gas explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine, near the town of San Juan de Sabinas in Mexico's Coahuila state, rescuers worked for a week to reach the trapped men. Then, after tests showed the air in the mine was far too poisonous for the miners to breathe, Bishop Alonso Garza Trevino of Piedras Negras joined the state governor Feb. 25 to tell the miners' families that there was no hope of finding any of the men alive. Grupo Mexico, the company that owns the mine, said that the air in the mine was about 40 percent methane, the flammable gas behind the explosion that brought down part of the mine shaft. Also, the company said the explosion probably reached the part of the mine where the men were working, about 1.5 miles down the mine shaft and about 220 yards below the surface.
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Catholics, Orthodox will find path to full unity, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With deeper conversion and greater love, Catholics and Orthodox will find the path to full unity, Pope Benedict XVI told staff and students from a Greek Orthodox theological college. Meeting the group from the Apostoliki Diakonia theological college of Athens, Greece, Feb. 27, the pope said that, despite "the forces of evil" that have kept Catholics and Orthodox from full unity, visits, cultural exchanges and joint projects have brought new hope to ecumenism. Progress in dialogue, he said, brings hope for "a new dawn, that of the day on which we will understand fully that being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ means concretely finding a way to overcome our divisions through personal and communal conversion, the exercise of listening to the other and prayer in common for our unity." The pope said the exchange program with the Orthodox Church of Greece, which includes a scholarship program for Orthodox priests and seminarians to study in Rome and Catholic priests and seminarians to study in Athens, is especially important for preparing future church leaders for ecumenism.
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Vatican document says church fails to defend Gypsies from prejudice
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite movements to protect minorities and to value other cultures, civil society and even the Catholic Church often fail to defend Gypsy communities from blatant prejudice and discrimination, a new Vatican document said. "From habitual prejudices to signs of rejection," Gypsies still suffer exclusion and expulsion, "often without any reaction or protest from those who witness them," said the document from the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. The council's "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies" was released at a Feb. 28 Vatican press conference. Msgr. Bruno Nicolini, who coordinates pastoral work among Gypsies in the Diocese of Rome, said the document provides ideas and norms for ministry, "but it will be more difficult to change the ideas of the people of God. It will take longer than establishing specific pastoral projects because people have to be convinced that we can live together."
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Catholics make public their complaints against Australian cardinal
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- More than two dozen prominent Australian Catholics, several of whom are known for dissenting with church teaching on issues such as contraception and abortion, have gone public about their complaint that Sydney Cardinal George Pell's statements on conscience conflict with Catholic doctrine. The 25 -- including academics and religious -- wrote to Cardinal-designate William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in November, asking for clarification of statements made by Cardinal Pell over the last 20 years. The group alleges that Cardinal Pell's teachings on primacy of conscience are "inaccurate, misleading and not true to the Catholic tradition." Cardinal Pell, who was a member of the doctrinal congregation for 10 years and now is chairman of the Australian bishops' Committee for Doctrine and Morals, issued a statement Feb. 18 that dismissed the complaint as "a real hoot" put up by "a loyal opposition of Catholic dissenters."
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Police seek witness in investigation of Mexican seminarian's murder
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexico City's chief prosecutor said the success of an investigation into the murder of a Catholic seminarian, who was soon to be ordained, hinges on a witness to the shooting coming forward and testifying. "He is the one who could have seen something. He was walking down the other side of the street," Mexico City Attorney General Bernardo Batiz told reporters Feb. 27. "We need him to present himself and give information -- something about the killer, (like) if he was driving a car or if he was on foot," Batiz said. Deacon Francisco Castrejon Aguado, 34, was driving through an upscale neighborhood in Mexico City during the early hours of Feb. 26 when one or more unidentified gunmen shot and killed him in his car. Batiz said two witnesses and two police officers who have testified so far in the case have been of no use, and police do not know if Deacon Castrejon was trying to resist a robbery or if the killer confused him with someone else.
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Indian church leaders glad Hindu meeting over, concerned about future
NEW DELHI (CNS) -- Catholic leaders expressed relief that a massive convention of Hindus in Gujarat state has ended peacefully, but expressed concern about the future of the church there. "We are relieved that nothing untoward has happened," said Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat state, which is controlled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Hindu groups threatened to reconvert thousands of tribal Christians during a mid-February religious convention attended by half a million Hindus. "The momentum generated by the 'Kumbh Mela' (a solemn religious ceremony) is expected to trigger the return of thousands of Christian converts back to the Hindu fold," said the fliers distributed by Hindu groups before the convention that drew national attention. The Gujarat state government, which is controlled by the Hindu nationalist party, has been widely viewed as using the solemn religious ceremony to wage a campaign against Christians.
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PEOPLE
Archbishop Fiorenza resigns in Galveston-Houston
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston. With the resignation, Coadjutor Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo automatically becomes head of the archdiocese. The announcement was made in Washington Feb. 28 by Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli, charge d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature. Archbishop Fiorenza turned 75 Jan. 25. Age 75 is when bishops are asked to turn in their resignation. Archbishop DiNardo, 56, was appointed coadjutor in 2004. He had been the bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, since 1998. From 1998 to 2001, Archbishop Fiorenza was president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops-U.S. Catholic Conference, now called the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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Author says McGivney bio could help restore respect for priests
ROME (CNS) -- Supporters of the sainthood cause of Father Michael McGivney are hoping that he will become the first American-born parish priest to be canonized. A new biography is introducing a wider audience to the 19th-century priest -- and may also help restore respect for the many good priests in the United States, said one of the book's authors. Julie M. Fenster, a historian who co-wrote "Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism," spoke about the book to U.S. priests and seminarians Feb. 27 at Rome's Pontifical North American College. At a time when the image of the U.S. priest has been damaged by sexual abuse committed by a small minority of clergy, the book chronicles the good work of a priest who, after founding the Knights of Columbus, worked as a simple pastor until his death at age 38. "I'm hoping this book might act as a gyroscope to reset some of the balance for people whose only exposure to parish priests is out of those headlines" on sexual abuse, Fenster said in an interview.
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Rome to mark anniversary of Pope John Paul's death with rosary
ROME (CNS) -- The Diocese of Rome will mark the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death April 2 with the nighttime recitation of the rosary in St. Peter's Square. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome, said the 9 p.m. rosary would allow Catholics "to relive the climate of intense prayer that accompanied the passing of Pope John Paul II to his definitive encounter with the Lord." Thousands of people were in St. Peter's Square praying the rosary and keeping vigil when the pope died. Announcing the anniversary rosary Feb. 25, the Diocese of Rome said Pope Benedict XVI will greet those gathered in St. Peter's Square from the window of his apartment.
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Ghanaian is living proof CRS' Operation Rice Bowl is effective
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- Thomas Awiapo is living proof that the coins and bills Catholics stuff into cardboard rice bowls each Lent can cultivate hope out of hardship. As an orphan in the village of Wiaga, Ghana, young Thomas survived by begging and becoming a child laborer. He would move from farm to farm, offering to work for food. He had never even considered going to school. The idea was beyond his world -- until he heard that students got lunch. School was for him, he decided. Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency, provided the food that drew Awiapo. He sat through classes mostly for the meal of wheat and sorghum cereal and milk powder. "The crux of the matter is that if there had not been that snack at school, which was paid for by Catholic children and adults from the U.S., my life would have been much different," Awiapo told the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Portland Archdiocese. "I am grateful for their sacrifices." Today Awiapo works for CRS in the northern Ghanaian city of Tamale, and he recently toured U.S. cities on behalf of CRS and Operation Rice Bowl.
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Gynecologist employs natural family planning principles in practice
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (CNS) -- For Dr. Daniel Greene, there's no more debating the point: God made the human body, and he knows what's best for it. As a result, Greene, a gynecologist and member of St. Mary of the Hills Parish in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, has decided that natural family planning is the only form of birth control he will prescribe. "It's crystal clear to me," said Greene, who has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 11 years. "It makes perfect sense as to why one would choose to live the culture of life or practice natural family planning or embrace the church's teaching on human sexuality. I think a lot of people just haven't looked at it," he told The Michigan Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Natural family planning refers to forms of birth regulation which, in conformity with Catholic teaching, do not involve the use of any artificial means of contraception. Different natural methods all share two basic elements: monitoring of the woman's monthly fertility cycle and abstinence during her fertile period except when the couple wants to have a baby.
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Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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