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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Dec-5-2007
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
News reports say cardinal has said he was assaulted over abuse crisis
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Los Angeles Cardinal Roger M. Mahony told archdiocesan priests in October that he was assaulted during the summer by a man who was angry over the church's sexual abuse scandal, according to reports from priests who attended the annual meeting. The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and New York Times reported Dec. 5 that Cardinal Mahony talked about the assault during an Oct. 1 priests' pastoral meeting, as an illustration of the toll the abuse scandal has taken on everyone in the church. The three news organizations each quoted several priests confirming that Cardinal Mahony had described being knocked down and beaten or kicked by a man who shouted obscenities and made angry statements about sexual abuse by priests. The Los Angeles Daily News broke the story Dec. 4. Carolina Guevara, archdiocesan spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, declined to comment to any of the publications or to Catholic News Service.
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Hermitage raises chickens as 'creatures of God,' with no cages
BERRYVILLE, Ark. (CNS) -- At Little Portion Hermitage in Berryville, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity have a rule and constitution they live by -- to be agrarian in nature and to pursue a contemplative life. But the members of the monastery also want it to be self-sustaining. Five years ago these two aims led the monastery into a growing field -- natural foods, specifically pasture-raised chicken. Currently the hermitage, founded in 1980 by John Michael Talbot, has about 30 members, including celibate brothers and sisters, single people and families with children. To protect a way of life centered on prayer, the members needed a commercial industry in addition to income from Talbot's music ministry, which has fallen off in recent years because of changes in the recording industry, said Richard Ims, a married member of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity who helps raise, market and deliver the chickens. The hermitage sits on 400 acres, but it's not great farmland because it's in a valley and full of "Ozark mountain clay and rock," he told the Arkansas Catholic, newspaper of the Little Rock Diocese.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe called 'Mother Without Borders' in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Thousands of Catholics from throughout the greater Los Angeles area gathered in East Los Angeles Dec. 2 to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe as the mother of all peoples -- from every language, race and culture. A mile-long procession, the oldest religious procession in the city honoring Mary, led participants to East Los Angeles College Stadium, where Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and the auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles, numerous priests and more than 15,000 of the faithful gathered for Mass. The theme this year was "Mother Without Borders: Bringing Down the Walls of Injustice." The event was part of a statewide call to action for comprehensive immigration reform by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops. "The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of hope and compassion for all who are marginalized," said the cardinal. "Today she continues to unite us as a humble people of God in search for understanding, compassion, peace and human dignity for all -- especially for our immigrant brothers and sisters who are being kept in the margins of society by a broken immigration system."
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Nun-critic offers media literacy guide for 'The Golden Compass'
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Sister Rose Pacatte, a Daughter of St. Paul who has written books on spiritual themes in movies, has developed a "media mindfulness strategy" for the new film "The Golden Compass." "'The Golden Compass' film challenges believing adults to articulate their faith and values and to brush up on church history, theology, and literature and literary forms to do so -- not because the film deals with these issues but because of the culture surrounding the release of the film," Sister Rose said in her guide to the movie. "This film is an opportunity for us to develop our critical thinking skills: to ask questions and seek and articulate the answers: the answers to 'why?'" she added. The movie, which was to debut in theaters Dec. 7, stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. It is based on the first book of British author Philip Pullman's trilogy of fantasy novels for young readers, titled "His Dark Materials" and considered by many to be an overtly anti-Christian work. Pullman describes himself as an atheist. The complete guide can be found online at: http://journals.aol.com/rosepacatte/MyMovies/.
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WORLD
Pope says Advent is reminder that God will never abandon his children
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Advent is a time for prayer and trust that God will never abandon his children, even during turbulent times, Pope Benedict XVI said at his weekly general audience. "The Lord will fight to defend you," he said, quoting St. Chromatius. "It is God who brings victory in the end." During his Dec. 5 general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI hall, the pope continued a series of talks on writers of the early church with a catechesis on St. Chromatius, the fourth-century bishop of Aquileia in northern Italy. The bishop stayed close to his flock and "opened their hearts to trust in God who never abandons his children" even during times of trouble and insecurity, the pope said. The Lord will protect his loved ones not because of their merits, but because he is a loving and merciful God, he said. He said God asks the faithful to call on him in times of trouble, and the Lord will say, "I will free you and you will give me glory."
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Archbishop says synod on Bible should reignite passion for Scripture
ROME (CNS) -- The world Synod of Bishops on the Bible should help reignite "passion for the word of God in the church," said Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the synod. "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" is the theme Pope Benedict XVI has chosen for the Oct. 5-26 synod. During a Dec. 4-5 conference at Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, Archbishop Eterovic spoke about the synod and about the hundreds of submissions made by bishops' conferences, religious orders and individuals about an outline of the topic and a list of questions about Catholics and the Bible published last April. The archbishop said the responses show a widespread desire to recover the interest and enthusiasm for studying and praying with the Bible that marked the years immediately after the Second Vatican Council. The council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation ("Dei Verbum") led to a greater appreciation for the Scriptures, which in turn led to a renewal in the fields of preaching, religious education, theology, spirituality and ecumenical relations, Archbishop Eterovic said.
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Pope OKs plenary indulgence for Lourdes' 150th anniversary
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France, Pope Benedict XVI authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence for taking part in any public or private devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, said U.S. Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with indulgences and matters of conscience. As Christians strive to become more holy, they can look to Mary who "calls the faithful to her son and his sacrifice and to the love of the Father," said the cardinal, quoting from "Lumen Gentium," the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. The Vatican published the cardinal's statement announcing the indulgence and outlining the requirements for receiving it Dec. 5. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due for sins committed. A plenary indulgence is the remission of all punishment. Cardinal Stafford said the indulgence can also be applied to the souls of the faithful in purgatory.
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Young parishioners in Tajikistan observe Advent with new tradition
KURGAN-TUBE, Tajikistan (CNS) -- Young parishioners in Tajikistan are observing Advent with a new tradition introduced by their Argentine parish priest. For Advent Father Pedro Lopez has invited the approximately 60 parishioners of St. Roch Parish in Kurgan-Tube to help provide the bedding for the infant Jesus in the parish's Nativity stable. He has encouraged them to write an offering or sacrifice they will make on a small piece of paper and contribute the paper to the Nativity scene. "Everyone can choose an intention such as praying the rosary, helping a neighbor or not watching TV during Advent. The parishioners place the paper in the crib to make the bedding for Jesus with all the good things they wish to do," Father Lopez, an Incarnate Word missionary, told the Asian church news agency UCA News. Father Lopez said the tradition has a Ukrainian background and was brought to Tajikistan by a Ukrainian nun. "The devotion is new for parishioners, so we want people to think about the intentions they want to offer," he added.
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Amid Nicaragua's poverty, religious groups, aid agencies offer hope
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CNS) -- At Managua's La Chureca garbage dump in Nicaragua, thousands of vultures swarm through thick, acrid smoke rising out of burning and smoldering mounds of garbage. Thousands more vultures pick through garbage on the ground. They also compete with a herd of cattle that have been put here to graze on the waste of a city. In their midst, hundreds of men, women and children, many in bare feet, scramble to find their own scraps of food and bits of recyclables. A city garbage truck drives into the dump and the fittest and swiftest men run and jump on, riding along until it stops. They want to be the first to use their makeshift picks and bare hands to sift through the fresh load of refuse. Seventeen-year-old Edwind has been coming to La Chureca every day for three years. He works at the dump 6 a.m.-5 p.m., earning $3 per day. Nearly one-half of Nicaragua's population of 5.5 million lives on less than $1 per day. It is one of the poorest countries in the Americas. Yet, in the midst of the poverty, religious groups and international aid agencies offer hope.
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PEOPLE
Canadians still signing petition for pope to visit Quebec
OTTAWA (CNS) -- When Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet met with Pope Benedict XVI in late November to discuss the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress, he presented a petition signed by thousands of people asking the pope to visit Quebec City in June. Among the signatories was Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who also sent along a letter to the pope. The congress, to be held June 15-22, coincides with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Quebec City lawyer Marc Bellemare, a former justice minister, started the petition in late October. By early November it had 4,000 signatures. As of Dec. 4, that number had risen to 12,000, which includes more than 6,000 electronic signatures -- names from those who logged onto the Web site www.pape2008.com. "It's going well," said Bellemare, who decided to keep the petition active since the pope has not decided whether he is attending the congress. In early November, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told Catholic News Service, "I have not seen any plans for a visit to Quebec."
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Jesuit superior says he often mediated conflicts to ensure unity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In almost a quarter-century as the superior general of the largest men's religious order, Jesuit Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach has had to mediate between individual Jesuits and Vatican or local church officials who thought a Jesuit had stepped outside the bounds of Catholic theology. "The attitude required in the majority of situations of conflict," he said, was to ensure fidelity to the unity of the church, to truth and to charity. Father Kolvenbach, 79, formally will offer his resignation to the Jesuits' general congregation in early January. He was elected superior general in 1983. In an interview published Dec. 5 in the Italian Catholic journal Il Regno, Father Kolvenbach said, "Just as at the time of (Jesuit founder St.) Ignatius, the Jesuits refer to the vicar of Christ on earth so as not to wander onto erroneous paths and to ask the way to follow for the greater glory of God and for the true good of all humanity." The superior said the Jesuits see themselves as men on a mission to bring the Gospel to places where it has not been heard or where it is misunderstood.
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Catholic rock duo dedicates new single to Pope Benedict XVI
MADISON, Wis. (CNS) -- In their first release since a self-titled album in 2006, Oremus, a Catholic rock duo from Madison, is hoping listeners will find the truth in their new single honoring Pope Benedict XVI. "If you're looking for the truth, the church has got it," said Chris Reitz, the guitarist and co-vocalist for Oremus, of the message contained in "The Song of Benedict." In a world where truth often gets lost, Chris Reitz, 23, and his brother Tom, 20, say they are trying to reach out to their peers with a Catholic counterbalance to heavy metal bands like Metallica and Guns N' Roses. "We're trying to show there's a better alternative out there," Chris Reitz said. Through an infusion of rock with faith, they show that "you can be Catholic and cool at the same time," Tom said. The brothers, regular Massgoers at Madison's downtown parishes who often participate in perpetual adoration at Holy Redeemer Parish, have been performing music since their childhood and were members of a church choir for several years.
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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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