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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Nov-6-2006
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Wisconsin bishop warns priests not to support same-sex marriage
MADISON, Wis. (CNS) -- As the Nov. 7 election approached, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison warned his priests that he would consider "any verbal or nonverbal expression of disagreement" with church teaching on same-sex marriage "as an act of disobedience, which could have serious consequences." The bishop directed that each Mass during the Nov. 4-5 weekend include a 14-minute tape-recorded message from him in place of the homily. The message urged Catholics to support traditional marriage and to oppose the death penalty and embryonic stem-cell research. A constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and an advisory measure asking whether capital punishment should be reinstated were before Wisconsin voters Nov. 7. Bishop Morlino said his office had received reports "that in isolated cases priests have refused to cooperate with my requests in terms of preaching in defense of marriage and have even expressed disagreement with my clear wishes in this matter."
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Teaching, living faith is a lifetime endeavor, archbishop says
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Addressing more than 2,000 catechists, the archbishop of Washington stressed the courage to teach faith clearly, confidently and in full communion with the church. "The catechist is a believer, who knows the faith, receives the faith and lives the faith," Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said. The prelate presented the keynote address, "Teaching the Faith: Challenges and Opportunities," to an overflow crowd of priests, deacons, religious education professionals and parish volunteers at a daylong convocation Oct. 28 in Washington. Spanish and sign-language interpretation of the talk was made available while some participants also viewed the address on screens set up in front of an extra room. In his talk, Archbishop Wuerl called religious education "a lifelong process." Giving special recognition to parents who serve as a child's first catechist, the archbishop also outlined the responsibility of bishops, priests, deacons, teachers, catechists and volunteers.
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Photos of life on the border aim to 'rehumanize' immigration debate
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (CNS) -- Hundreds of 4-inch-by-6-inch photographs hang on a stark, white wall in the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. One picture shows the face of a middle-aged Mexican standing in the open desert. Next to it is a photograph of a white man, holding a pair of binoculars, scanning the same stretch of land. The photographs, part of the Border Film Project, represent the newest voice in the immigration conversation. "Immigration is just a crucial issue, an issue that has become incredibly politicized, an issue that we wanted to rehumanize," Brett Huneycutt, an organizer of the Border Film Project, told The Catholic Sun, newspaper of the Phoenix Diocese. To "rehumanize" the debate, Huneycutt and two friends purchased thousands of disposable cameras and distributed them to migrants preparing to cross the U.S.-Mexican border illegally and the Minutemen who hoped to stop them. The photographs documented everything from the beautiful Sonoran desert to lonely water jugs set up by humanitarian groups and American flag-adorned jeeps of the Minutemen.
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Philadelphia Catholic schools are 'beacons' in troubled neighborhoods
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- The parish schoolhouse door is staying open after the regular school day in five troubled Philadelphia neighborhoods, affording children there a haven from drug pushers and street violence. In September Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Mayor John F. Street announced the opening of five new "beacon schools." Involvement by the Catholic schools extends the city's current beacon school program already operating in 25 public schools. Under the new plan, Catholic Social Services of the archdiocese is working with the child advocacy organization Philadelphia Safe and Sound under a $2 million contract from the city. "Beacon" refers to a "beacon of light," a place of safety, activity and positive social activities, said Augustine J. Keirans, a vice president of the advocacy group and a member of St. Christopher Parish in northeast Philadelphia. Located in communities with high rates of youth violence, child abuse and other social ills, each beacon school will stay open after regular school hours, offering recreational and skill-development activities.
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Restored Baltimore basilica a gift to church, nation, cardinal says
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The $32 million restoration of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a gift not only to the Baltimore Catholic Church and community but to the entire nation, Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore said Oct. 30. The cardinal, seated in a wheelchair as he recovered from a broken ankle, spoke about the importance of the basilica as the first Catholic cathedral in the United States and as a symbol of religious freedom in the fledgling nation at a media preview less than a week before the basilica reopened Nov. 4. He said the reopening would fulfill "a long-held dream of sharing (the basilica) with the nation" as both a beautiful place to worship and as a reminder of a time, until the American Revolution, when Catholics were "persecuted as a devout minority." When the cornerstone was laid for the new church in 1806, it represented "the rights of Catholics and other faiths to worship openly," Cardinal Keeler said. At that time, Bishop (later Archbishop) John Carroll of Baltimore was the only Catholic bishop for the entire country.
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WORLD
Pope calls for an end to renewed bloodshed in Gaza Strip
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and for the immediate start of "direct, serious and concrete negotiations" between Israeli and Palestinian authorities. At the end of his Nov. 5 noonday Angelus prayer, the pope said he was following "with great concern news of the serious deterioration of the situation" in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces moved into the Gaza Strip Nov. 1 in an effort to halt rocket assaults on southern Israel. Five days of Israeli air raids and gunfire left nearly 50 people dead. Pope Benedict said his prayers were with all civilians "who are suffering the consequences of acts of violence." He asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square to join his prayers asking God to "enlighten the Israeli and Palestinian authorities as well as those of nations with a particular responsibility in the region."
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Jerusalem church leader says U.S. could guarantee Israel's survival
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- As violence increased in the Holy Land, the top Catholic official in Jerusalem said the survival of Israel could be guaranteed if the U.S. government were to change its policy toward the region. "The main question for the U.S. administration and for Israel is survival," said Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem during a Nov. 2 interview with Catholic journalists from the United States. "But if the U.S. wants Israel to survive, to be recognized, then it should take measures to surround Israel with friends. But current U.S. policy is surrounding Israel with enemies. That's not the way to protect your friend." Israeli forces moved into the Gaza Strip Nov. 1 in an effort to halt rocket assaults on southern Israel. Five days of Israeli air raids and gunfire left nearly 50 people dead. Patriarch Sabbah said the United States and Israel were provoking conflict and that the Palestinians were reacting to Israeli oppression.
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Vatican official says death penalty for Saddam would be wrong
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The head of the Vatican's justice and peace office said it would be wrong to carry out the death penalty against Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi president was sentenced to death by hanging Nov. 5 in a case involving the deaths of 148 Iraqis in 1982. Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said, "For me, to punish a crime with another crime, such as killing out of vengeance, means that we are still at the stage of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'" In a Nov. 5 interview with ANSA, the Italian news agency, the cardinal said both Pope John Paul II's 1995 encyclical, "Evangelium Vitae" ("The Gospel of Life"), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach that modern societies have the means to protect citizens from the threat of a murderer without resorting to execution. "God has given us life, and only can God take it away," the cardinal said, adding, "the death sentence is not a natural death."
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Pope says Christianity teaches death is passage to eternal life
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While death causes pain for loved ones left behind, the Christian faith teaches believers that death is a passage to eternal life with God, Pope Benedict XVI said. Celebrating a memorial Mass Nov. 4 for cardinals and bishops who had died during the past year and addressing pilgrims gathered Nov. 5 for the midday Angelus prayer, the pope offered thanks for the lives of the faithful departed. In his homily at the Mass, the pope said the November feasts of All Saints and All Souls "help us meditate on the final goal of our earthly pilgrimage." He said, "At the end of life, death deprives us of everything that is earthly, but not of that grace and that sacramental character" of baptism, which joins Christians to the death and resurrection of Jesus. "To know Jesus is to know the Father, and to know the Father means to enter into a real communion with the very origin of life, of light and love," he said in his homily.
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South African cardinal says late president caused problems for church
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Former South African President P.W. Botha, who died Oct. 31 at the age of 90, "created enormous difficulties for the church" when he led South Africa from 1978 to 1989, said Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban. "I have so many memories of his harshness and hard-headedness," Cardinal Napier said in a Nov. 1 telephone interview from Durban. Pieter Willem Botha, commonly known as P.W. or the "Groot Krokodil" (Big Crocodile) for his uncompromising stance on white rule, wagged his finger in warning at the late Cardinal Owen McCann of Cape Town in 1986, Cardinal Napier said. In a meeting with representatives of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, Botha "told Cardinal McCann, who was questioning him, to get out of the room if he didn't like what he was hearing," Cardinal Napier said. "I think he (Botha) felt that he had the whole Afrikaner nation behind him so he could take on anyone," he said, noting that Botha was "notoriously difficult to talk to."
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Pope: Scientific progress is God's plan if it doesn't threaten life
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Technological and scientific advancements in controlling the forces of nature are a part of God's plan as long as they are not a threat against human life and dignity, Pope Benedict XVI said to a group of scientists and theologians. "Christianity does not posit an inevitable conflict between supernatural faith and scientific progress," the pope told some 70 participants attending a Vatican conference on "Predictability in Science: Accuracy and Limitations." Top international scientists, including eight Nobel Prize laureates, attended the Nov. 3-6 plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In a Nov. 6 private audience at the Vatican, the pope told participants that God created human beings with reason and entrusted them to be the caretakers of nature and all its creatures. By being able to better predict nature, science "has contributed to the protection of the environment, the progress of developing nations, the fight against epidemics and an increase in life expectancy," the pope said.
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PEOPLE
Retired Bishop Larkin of St. Petersburg dies at 83
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CNS) -- Bishop W. Thomas Larkin, the second bishop of St. Petersburg, died early Nov. 4 at age 83. No cause of death was reported. Bishop Larkin guided the diocese for 10 years, resigning in November 1988 at age 65 for health reasons, citing advice from his doctor, although no specific condition was mentioned. A funeral Mass was scheduled for Nov. 9 at St. Jude Cathedral in St. Petersburg. "He was the first person with whom I spoke upon arriving in the diocese in 1995, and he remained a wise counselor and friend throughout," said a Nov. 4 statement from Bishop Robert N. Lynch, the current head of the diocese. "One of the first things I did after my appointment as bishop was to ask the priests and people of the diocese to specifically recall his name during every Mass celebrated, and I believe that those prayers added length to his years," Bishop Lynch said. Pope John Paul II and Bishop Larkin were classmates at the Angelicum University in Rome, 1947-49.
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Friends, family recall Marine as 'one of the good guys'
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (CNS) -- Marine Lance Cpl. Richard Buerstetta was "one of the good guys," Paul Buerstetta wrote of his 20-year-old son, who was killed in action in Iraq Oct. 22. "Thank God he was with us for the time he was." Paul Buerstetta's recollections were read by his son's cousin, Martin Barickman, at the end of the Marine's funeral Mass Oct. 31 at St. Matthew Church, where he and his family are parishioners. The Franklin church was filled with family and friends, Marines and sailors. "For everyone here today and elsewhere, Richard has made a difference," Paul Buerstetta wrote. "Richard was a truly good person. He had an innate sense of right and wrong." "He knew there was bad and good out there. He knew he wanted to protect the good," his father added. Lance Cpl. Buerstetta and Lance Cpl. Tyler Overstreet of Gallatin were killed while on patrol in Iraq's Al Anbar province. An improvised explosive device blew up as the armored Humvee the Marines were riding in passed. Two other Marines were wounded in the attack.
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Pope to be first buyer of bond supporting children's immunizations
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI was to be the official first buyer of a multigovernment bond that will support a campaign to immunize 500 million children in the world's poorest countries. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace announced Nov. 6 that Cardinal Renato Martino, council president, would go to London Nov. 7 to pick up the bond on behalf of the pope. The bonds will be issued by the International Finance Facility for Immunization, an international development funding agency supported by the governments of Great Britain, France, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Brazil. Pope John Paul II gave his specific support to the launch of the International Finance Facility during a June 2004 meeting with Gordon Brown, the British chancellor of the exchequer, who came up with the idea of selling bonds backed by governments in order to raise money quickly for development projects. The immunization project was designed to test the feasibility of selling such multigovernment bonds.
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Pope accepts resignation of Galveston-Houston auxiliary bishop
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Vincent M. Rizzotto of Galveston-Houston Nov. 6. On Sept. 9 Bishop Rizzotto turned 75, the age at which bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope. A priest of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1956, he was ordained a bishop in 2001 at age 69. At the time of his episcopal appointment, Bishop Rizzotto said, "I could make long speeches and tell you of visions and things like that, but that's really not my role. My whole mission is that I can be of assistance in helping you find a deeper walk with God." During his ordination Mass, he asked aloud about his ability to fill the role of bishop. "I took a look at myself in the mirror and said, 'Can I do that? Can I be the one that you -- the people of the church, the people of God -- will depend on for your life in Christ? And will you derive your life in Christ from me?'" Bishop Rizzotto asked. "I take that pledge very seriously and will try to fulfill it to the best of my ability."
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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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