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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-13-2006
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Conscience must concur with church's moral teaching, politicians told
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Responding to a recent statement by Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives affirming "the primacy of conscience" in their voting decisions, three key leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said conscience "must be consistent with fundamental moral principles," including the church's opposition to abortion. "As members of the church, all Catholics are obliged to shape our consciences in accord with the moral teaching of the church," said a "Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life," which called abortion "a grave violation of the most fundamental human right -- the right to life." The March 10 statement was signed by Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, chairman of the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians; and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on Domestic Policy. In their Feb. 28 statement, 55 of the 73 Catholic Democrats in the House acknowledged Catholic teaching on "the value of human life and the undesirability of abortion" and pledged to support alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, improved access to children's health care and child care, and "policies that encourage paternal and maternal responsibility." They said they "seek the church's guidance" on those issues but also believe "in the primacy of conscience." Some of the politicians who signed that statement are strongly pro-life while others support keeping abortion legal.
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Catholic Charities in Boston Archdiocese to end adoption services
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic Charities of the Boston Archdiocese announced March 10 that it will stop providing adoption services rather than continue to comply with a state law requiring no discrimination against gay and lesbian couples who seek to adopt. The same day Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called it "a mistake for our laws to put the rights of adults over the needs of children" and said he would seek legislation allowing religious agencies to perform adoptions without violating their religious tenets. Prompted by a similar issue arising at Catholic Charities of San Francisco, a top Vatican official has said Catholic agencies should not be involved in adoptions by same-sex couples. "We have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve," said Father J. Bryan Hehir, Boston Catholic Charities president, and Jeffrey Kaneb, chairman of the board of trustees, in a joint statement March 10. They said the agency "cannot reconcile the teaching of the church, which guides our work, and the statutes and regulations of the commonwealth," under which archdiocesan adoptive services had placed 13 children with same-sex couples over the past 20 years. A 2003 Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith document says it would be "gravely immoral" to let same-sex couples adopt children.
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Judge: No parish funds to pay abuse claims until courts resolve issue
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) -- A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Portland has indicated she will not permit sex abuse plaintiffs to be paid from parish property before the issue of parish ownership has been resolved in the courts. Judge Elizabeth Perris, who is hearing the Archdiocese of Portland bankruptcy case, also opened the door in her Feb. 28 ruling for capping the estimated amount the archdiocese will need to pay all claims. "This is one of the most encouraging rulings we have received," said Thomas Stilley, lead bankruptcy attorney for the archdiocese. The committee for those claiming sex abuse had proposed a plan that would have trials proceed, with judgments paid as the trials are concluded on a case-by-case basis, tapping into parish and school property when needed. Perris, acknowledging that many unresolved issues remain regarding the parish and school property, was skeptical of the ability of the Tort Claimants' Committee, a group representing abuse victims, to implement such a plan.
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March, rally for immigrants draws tens of thousands in Chicago
CHICAGO (CNS) -- Judging by the turnout at a March 10 immigration rights march and rally, the Chicago-area priests who have committed themselves to work for just immigration reform this spring have plenty of company. A crowd estimated at 100,000 people filled the streets from Union Park, the march's official starting point, to Federal Plaza, about two-and-a-half miles away. Marchers were still leaving the park when the leaders arrived at the plaza, and people were shoulder-to-shoulder along the entire route. Among them was Dominican Father Brendan Curran, who came with three busloads from St. Pius V Parish in suburban Pilsen. "The legislation in Washington has demanded our attention," Father Curran said. "It was a red flag. ... This is a time of danger." Even so, he said, the many efforts to support humane immigration reform have made people "cautiously hopeful." "Humane" reform, as defined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, would unify rather than divide families, create a workable system for people to cross the border for jobs and forge a path to legal permanent residency, said Elena Segura of the Chicago archdiocesan Office for Peace and Justice.
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Bishop urges Anglos, Hispanics to improve relations with one another
TULSA, Okla. (CNS) -- A meeting of the Tulsa diocesan Hispanic Apostolate on a proposal to establish consistent standards for parents and godparents preparing for the sacrament of baptism evolved into a wide-ranging discussion of the state of relations between the Hispanic and Anglo Catholic communities. "One thing that bothers me, and I don't know how to solve it is that we have two dioceses now," said Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa. "I'm the bishop of the Hispanics and the bishop of the Anglos, and we should start thinking about possibilities of bringing them together." He and other meeting participants agreed that there are many barriers to better relations between the two communities and any efforts to bring them together will take time. Father Steve Austin, pastor of Church of the Resurrection, said the problems facing the diocese are in parishes, too. "People are afraid of any changes," added Father David Medina, Hispanic Apostolate director.
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WORLD
Pope temporarily merges four Vatican councils under two presidents
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the start of what may be a sweeping reform of the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI merged the leadership of four of the Vatican's councils under two presidents. The Vatican announced March 11 that French Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, also would serve as the interim president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and that Italian Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, temporarily would head the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. The Vatican announced that the pope accepted the retirement of the head of the migrants' council, Japanese Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, who turned 76 March 9. To fill the vacancy, the pope united "for the time being" the presidency of the office with that of justice and peace. Cardinal Poupard's assignment as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue filled a post made vacant after the pope Feb. 15 named its former head, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, to be the new ambassador to Egypt and the Arab League.
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Holy Land at critical stage, Cardinal McCarrick says during visit
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The Holy Land is at a critical moment in its history following the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections and preceding March 28 Israeli elections, said Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick. "There is the sense that this is a very crucial moment, and it will require an enormous amount of wisdom and courage and prayer because there are so many intangibles we just don't know," Cardinal McCarrick told Catholic News Service March 10, the final day of a three-day visit to the Holy Land. The Washington cardinal said both elections could "very significantly change the equation" of keeping the peace in the Holy Land. The elections also may make it more difficult for the U.S.-backed "road map" -- designed for a permanent, two-state solution for Israeli-Palestinian peace -- to move forward, he said. The cardinal said the U.S. Catholic Church is committed to the road map, developed in 2003. Despite the challenges during this time of transition, the United States needs to be dedicated to a two-state solution that gives Israel "recognized borders and freedom from terrorism" while at the same time giving Palestinians a "viable and peaceful state," he said. "Unquestionably, our country has a lot on its plate right now, but I believe the commitment the president made to the road map is a most important and essential one, and we still believe we have to follow (it) and encourage our government not to give up," he said.
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Pope says every Christian must share love of God with others
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first obligation of every Christian is to share with others the love of God and his promise of salvation in Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope met March 11 with people from about 100 countries attending a conference on the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's decree on the church's missionary obligation. The conference was sponsored by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Urbanian University. Pope Benedict said the Vatican II document gave new energy to the church's missionary work, outlined the theological foundations of missionary activity and emphasized its "value and relevance in the face of global transformations and the challenges that modernity poses for preaching the Gospel." The document reminded all Catholics that in every age they are called help others hear "the truth of the Gospel message and, in that way, open for them the way of salvation," the pope said. The Christian vocation, he said, always includes a missionary obligation.
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Pope says Christ is with church, like he was with disciples in storm
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Despite troubles and tensions, Christ is with his church just as he was with the disciples caught in a storm on the sea, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope, thanking retired Cardinal Marco Ce of Venice for leading his March 5-11 Lenten retreat, said the cardinal's 22 meditations strengthened him and top Vatican officials. The weeklong retreat, the pope said, was a "period of physical and spiritual rest." Pope Benedict also spoke about his retreat March 12 during his midday recitation of the Angelus with thousands of visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square. Comparing the retreat to the disciples' experience of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, the Sunday Gospel reading, the pope spoke about the "grace of having a strong experience of God." For a moment, he said, it gives people a hint of heaven. "Usually, it is a brief experience which God occasionally concedes, especially in view of harsh trials," the pope said. "No one, however, can live on Tabor while on this earth," he said.
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Vatican officials relatively quiet about 'The Da Vinci Code'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Is "The Da Vinci Code" on the Vatican's radar? You wouldn't know it by public pronouncements. Vatican officials have said little or nothing about the book, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, or the upcoming movie, expected to open the Cannes Film Festival in May. The dominant school of thought at the Vatican is that it is always best to ignore a book or film that presents the church unfairly. "You're only feeding the publicity," said one Vatican official. "I don't think the Vatican will say much about this movie when it comes out -- if anything." But not everyone feels that way, and there are signs that the Code phenomenon may be reaching the critical mass necessary to provoke something stronger from the Vatican. Last year, Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, formerly No. 2 at the Vatican's doctrinal congregation, said it was "truly sad and terrible" that "The Da Vinci Code" had become such a popular book among Italian high school students. What left him aghast was that young people were uncritically accepting the novel's premise that the Catholic Church had tried to obliterate the feminine aspect from the Gospel narratives and from the life of the church. "There is nothing more false," Cardinal Bertone said. He pointed to the importance the church gives to Mary and the attention given in the Gospel to Jesus' female disciples, including the women who announced to the male disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead.
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PEOPLE
Former Polish communist regime official fined for insulting late pope
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Poland's former communist regime spokesman has been fined for insulting Pope John Paul II in a 2002 newspaper article, in the first binding court judgment of its kind. In a March 7 ruling, the Warsaw Appeal Court rejected a claim by former spokesman Jerzy Urban that he acted "within the bounds of free criticism" in writing the article, in which he described the late pope as a "hoary idol" and "living corpse." The court said Polish law did not permit free speech to be cited for "violating the honor of public figures." Urban, who gained notoriety in the 1980s as spokesman for the regime of Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, published the front-page article, "Mobile Sado-Masochist," in his satirical weekly, Nie (No), on the first day of Pope John Paul's August 2002 visit; he urged the then 82-year-old to "die and save us all embarrassment." In his article, the spokesman urged "all sensible people" to write to the pope, advising him to "go to bed" and "stop making a scary spectacle of himself."
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Culture is key to interreligious dialogue, says Vatican official
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Culture is the key to engaging in dialogue with people of other religious faiths and those who profess no religious beliefs, said the head of the Vatican's councils for culture and interreligious dialogue. Through culture, Catholics can reach out to those in their communities and discuss the importance of basic human values, French Cardinal Paul Poupard told Catholic News Service in an interview before he was named interim president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue March 11. The cardinal has been president of the Pontifical Council for Culture since 1988. Culture is not just about colorful local customs, culinary specialties, or what hair or clothing styles each new generation of young people have adopted; "culture is the soul of a people," he said. It includes how people see or define concepts such as "love, suffering, the 'Weltanschauung'" or the overall perspective from which one interprets the world, he said. Pope John Paul II created the Pontifical Council for Culture in 1982 with the aim of helping the world's cultures encounter the message of the Gospel. He named then-Archbishop Poupard head of the new council's executive committee, then president of the council six years later.
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Paralympian says he fell in love with sled hockey as a youngster
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CNS) -- Chris Manns was not even a teenager when he lost the use of both his legs in a train accident. The Buffalo, N.Y., youngster was jumping train cars and fell. He was lucky the accident didn't kill him, but it did result in a bilateral amputation. He lost his left foot as well as his right leg above the knee. That's when an 11-year-old Manns was introduced to sled hockey, a sport that would give him direction and focus, and lead him to elite competition. Manns, now 25, was named to his second U.S. Paralympics sled hockey team, which was competing in this year's Paralympic Games March 10-19 in Turin, Italy. He was in Colorado Springs in early February for the USA Cup at World Arena. While it's easy to get caught up in competing at a high level, he keeps it in perspective while maintaining a strong Catholic faith. "God's given me a second chance in life, as to where other people who go through this don't survive or don't have the ability to do what I have done," Manns said. "Every time I can praise the Lord for giving me a second chance and giving me the opportunity to be where I am today, I take advantage of it."
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Teachers, students from Alito's high school recall his brilliance
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Teachers and fellow students from Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, N.J., recall the brilliance of Samuel A. Alito Jr., the newest associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. When senior William S. Agress selected Alito as his debate partner in 1965, he could not know that Alito, then a sophomore, was destined for the high court four decades later. Although Alito had never debated, Agress agreed to interview him. "He struck me as being extremely intelligent," said Agress, now 57, of Lawrenceville, N.J. "He was extremely bright, to the point of really being brilliant. When he spoke, he spoke very well." According to Agress, he and Alito won most of their debates that year. "I recall Sam as being very good at doing the research, and he had an excellent memory for facts," he said. Years later, Agress noted, he read that Alito said he first knew he would pursue a law career when he began debating. On Jan. 31, Alito, a Catholic, was confirmed by the Senate to sit on the court. "I'm very proud of him," Agress told The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. "Everyone in the area is extremely proud of him." One other thing about Alito stood out for Agress. "High school kids can be mean, but Sam wasn't like that," he said. "(Alito) never spoke ill of anyone. Sam was just a very kind, decent guy."
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Entrepreneur develops Catholic comic books
ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- There's a new line of comic books out, but the "superheroes" featured in each issue don't have X-ray vision, super strength or the ability to fly. Instead, they have a power most parents would much rather their children read about -- faith. "Stories of the Saints," published monthly by Arcadius Press, is a four-book packet of comics, each featuring the life of a different saint. "For example, a recent packet had St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joan of Arc and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton," said Tony Sansone III, chief operating officer of Arcadius Press. A subscription for the packets can be ordered online at www.arcadiuspress.com; packets are $11.99 a month plus shipping.
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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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