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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Jan-21-2008
By Catholic News Service
WORLD
Jesuit working in Asia elected new head of order
ROME (CNS) -- Spanish-born Father Adolfo Nicolas, moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, was elected superior general of the Society of Jesus Jan. 19. The 217 voting delegates to the Jesuit General Congregation elected Father Nicolas, 71, on their second ballot. He succeeds Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, 79, who had asked to resign because of his age. Pope Benedict XVI was informed of the election of Father Nicolas before the Jesuits announced it publicly. The election came after four days of prayer, silence and quiet one-on-one conversations among the voting delegates, who were chosen to represent the more than 19,000 Jesuits around the world. Father Nicolas was ordained to the priesthood in Tokyo and is the former Jesuit provincial of Japan. He also had served as director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila.
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Vatican official says pope does not want to abandon liturgical reform
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of launching a liturgical "return to the past" but would like to recover some important elements that have been lost or forgotten in recent decades, the Vatican's liturgist said. Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, made the comments in an interview Jan. 19 with Vatican Radio. He was asked about fears that the pope wants to abandon the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council. "These are certainly incorrect inferences and interpretations," Msgr. Marini said. The path of Catholic liturgy is "development in continuity," in which change never loses touch with the church's living traditions, he said. "This may also require, in some cases, the recovery of precious and important elements that along the way have been lost or forgotten," he said. On Jan. 13 the pope celebrated a Mass in the Sistine Chapel using the original main altar, which meant he faced away from the people during parts of the liturgy. Since Vatican II, Mass usually is celebrated facing the people. Msgr. Marini said the change in direction reflected the special artistic circumstances of the Sistine Chapel and was not out of line with Vatican II reforms.
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Tens of thousands fill St. Peter's Square to show support for pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Tens of thousands of Romans filled St. Peter's Square in a show of support for Pope Benedict XVI, three days after he canceled a university appearance because of protests. When the pope appeared at his apartment window for the noon blessing Jan. 20, he was met with a long cheer from the people in the square. Crowd estimates ranged from 100,000 to 200,000. The Diocese of Rome had urged people to turn out in great numbers to demonstrate support for the pontiff. The crowd included political leaders, students and families, many of them carrying homemade signs. "Free to listen to you!" proclaimed one banner held aloft by university students.
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Catholics should unite with sick, suffering, pope says in message
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Receiving Christ in the Eucharist, Catholics should in turn give their lives for others, especially those who are sick and suffering, Pope Benedict XVI said. In his message for the Feb. 11 celebration of World Day of the Sick, the pope asked Catholics to consider "the close connection that exists between the mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the plan of salvation and the reality of human pain and suffering." World Sick Day is marked each year on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes; 2008 marks the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in the grotto in Lourdes, France. In his message, Pope Benedict said, "Mary is the model of total abandonment to the will of God" and, in following her example, Christians learn to place their entire existence in God's hands, including their "joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments in an awareness that trials, pain and suffering enrich the meaning of our pilgrimage on earth." Mary is near to all who suffer, standing alongside them as she stood alongside her son as he suffered, the pope said.
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Pope: Church-run schools need Christian perspective amid diversity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said modern education is threatened by exaggerated rationalism on one hand and religious fundamentalism on the other. In order to fight against this "educational crisis," church-run schools and universities should propose a distinctly Christian perspective, even as they welcome cultural and religious diversity, the pope said. He made the comments Jan. 21 to members of the Congregation for Catholic Education meeting at the Vatican. The pope said the world today faces a double challenge: a rationalism "falsely liberated and unchained from every religious reference," and "fundamentalisms that falsify the true essence of religion with their incitement to violence and fanaticism."
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Cardinal outlines Rome basilica's activities for Pauline year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Dedicating 2008-2009 to reading the letters of St. Paul and rediscovering the zeal that led him to establish Christian communities throughout the Mediterranean basin, the Catholic Church also hopes to promote Christian unity, an Italian cardinal said. Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, said that if Christians seriously follow the apostle's example of allowing Christ to work in and through them, they naturally will draw closer to one another. Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the special Pauline year, which will begin June 28, to coincide with the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth. In Rome, the basilica where his tomb is located will be the focal point of Catholic as well as ecumenical activities. Presenting a brief outline of the kinds of activities the basilica will host during the year, Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo also announced Jan. 21 that a special Web site -- www.annopaolino.org -- had been launched and would be updated as events are confirmed.
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Vatican official: Growing number of countries favor cluster-bomb ban
ROME (CNS) -- The tide is turning among a growing number of the world's diplomats and government officials in favor of a ban on cluster bombs, said a Vatican official. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Vatican representative to U.N. agencies in Geneva, said, "The sensibility is increasing to be more reasonable and to spend less on military hardware." While the United Nations continues to negotiate proposals on cluster munitions, a separate treaty begun with the so-called Oslo process is making major progress, he said in a Jan. 21 telephone interview with Catholic News Service from his office in Geneva. During the Jan. 14-18 negotiations in Geneva on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the archbishop called the use of these munitions "unacceptable" and urged nations to pay the price of peace and eliminate stockpiles of such weapons.
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Church's most important tasks strengthened by God's word, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The most important tasks facing the Catholic Church, including evangelization and ecumenism, are based on and strengthened by the word of God, Pope Benedict XVI said. "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" is the theme Pope Benedict has chosen for the Synod of Bishops Oct. 5-26 at the Vatican. The pope met Jan. 21 with members of the synod's council, who were putting together the working document for the synod. Pope Benedict told the council members, "The great tasks of the church community in the modern world -- among the many, I want to underline evangelization and ecumenism -- are centered on the word of God and at the same time are justified and supported by it."
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Colombian prelate says church trying to set stage for hostage release
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- A Catholic Church official said the church is moving ahead to set the stage for negotiations with a Marxist guerrilla group to free hostages. "We are working with great enthusiasm and interest," Archbishop Luis Castro Quiroga of Tunja, president of the Colombian bishops' conference, told reporters in mid-January. The church is trying to designate a demilitarized zone for representatives of the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC. The idea is that the rebels would negotiate to release their kidnap victims in return for the government freeing hundreds of imprisoned rebels.
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PEOPLE
New superior urges Jesuits to strengthen service to poor
ROME (CNS) -- Spanish-born Father Adolfo Nicolas, the newly elected superior general of the Jesuits, called on the more than 19,000 members of his order to strengthen their service to the poor and those excluded from the benefits of economic globalization. Father Nicolas, who had been moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, was elected superior general of the Society of Jesus Jan. 19 and celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving Jan. 20 in Rome's Church of the Gesu. The new superior, who said his election was "a shock," began his homily by saying, "This is not a message for the world, but a simple reflection." "As Christians, as Jesuits, as people of God," he said, "we are called to serve. The more we serve, the more we please God." Father Nicolas emphasized the Jesuits' missionary focus and said there are "other nations, not geographical, but human, who ask our help: the poor, the marginalized and the excluded."
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Cuban Catholic leaders hope cardinal's visit reinforces faith
HAVANA (CNS) -- A decade after Pope John Paul II's historic trip to Cuba, church officials hope a Feb. 20-26 visit from the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, will reinforce the faith of the island's Catholics. The itinerary planned for Cardinal Bertone is almost the same as the one followed by the pope in January 1998, said Havana Auxiliary Bishop Juan de Dios Hernandez Ruiz, secretary-general of the Cuban bishops' conference. "This is a visit, thanks be to God, highly awaited by the Cuban government, its authorities, which shows great willingness to facilitate everything needed (for the visit) and fulfill our expectations," Bishop Hernandez said.
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Cardinal Foley calls trip to Holy Land inspiring, informative
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley said his first trip to the Holy Land as grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher was "both inspiring and informative." While he was struck by the "very distressing" living conditions of Bethlehem's residents and the restrictions on some seminarians' freedom to travel, he was also touched by the enthusiasm and faith of the area's Christians, the cardinal told Catholic News Service Jan. 18. His Jan. 7-13 trip to Jerusalem, the West Bank, Jordan and "all the major shrines" was "a great joy" and "very necessary for me in my new job." Pope Benedict XVI named Cardinal Foley pro-grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in June. The chivalric organization is dedicated to supporting the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to responding to the needs of Catholics in the Holy Land. The 72-year-old Philadelphia native met with numerous bishops, dignitaries, and local Christians and helped celebrate Mass at a number of venues, including at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which, the cardinal said, was a very moving experience "especially given my new job."
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