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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-17-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Cardinal Egan says he looks forward to pope developing theme of hope
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will emphasize the theme of hope -- and what that means to Catholics -- on his upcoming visit to New York and Washington, said Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York. "It's going to be interesting to see how he develops it," the cardinal told Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, during an hourlong interview at his residence. Noting that Pope Benedict addressed that topic in his most recent encyclical, "Spe Salvi" (on Christian hope), the cardinal said he expects that on the U.S. trip the pope will continue to emphasize "that about which we're hopeful" and the role of hope in "strengthening our moral and spiritual life." Pope Benedict's trip, the theme of which is "Christ Our Hope," will be his first visit to the United States as pope. He will be in Washington April 15-17 and in New York April 18-20. Cardinal Egan said he hopes the papal visit to the New York Archdiocese will offer an opportunity to focus on "what the Catholic Church is all about -- the Gospel, prayer and our commitment to justice and charity."
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Cardinal says pope to interact with as many New Yorkers as possible
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Although security will be tight and tickets limited by the size of the venues that will host Pope Benedict XVI, careful arrangements have been made to allow him to interact with as many New Yorkers as possible during the visit, said Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York. The cardinal made the comments in a recent hourlong interview with Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper, at his residence. The pope will be in Washington April 15-17 and in New York April 18-20. One of those "close-up" opportunities with him will be at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where people will be on the steps awaiting his arrival April 19. Cardinal Egan, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and cathedral rector Msgr. Robert T. Ritchie will greet the pontiff's car and walk with him up the steps to the main bronze doors, where he likely will turn to wave and offer a blessing to the crowds gathered on nearby streets before entering the cathedral.
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Upcoming book links parishioners' politics with their priests' views
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A small study to be reported in an upcoming book on the political influence of parish priests found huge differences in the types of political messages being emphasized from one parish to another, which may come as no surprise to anyone. But whichever subjects their priests address, said author Gregory Smith, a fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, people clearly are being influenced in their political thinking by what they hear from the pulpit and read in their parish bulletins. Smith spoke March 14 to a group of editors of U.S. and Canadian Catholic publications and staff members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at USCCB headquarters in Washington. For his upcoming book, "Politics in the Parish: The Political Influence of Catholic Priests," Smith conducted detailed case studies at nine parishes in adjacent dioceses in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, and analyzed data from the Notre Dame Study of Parish Life, which was conducted in the mid-1980s. The book, published by Georgetown University Press, is set for an April 15 release.
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WORLD
Pope steps up appeals for end to bloodbath in Iraq
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI stepped up appeals for an end to the bloodbath and hatred tearing apart Iraq. Mentioning the recent tragic death of an Iraqi archbishop and the upcoming fifth anniversary of the start of the U.S.-led campaign against Iraq, the pope issued "a loud and concerned outcry." "Enough with the bloodshed, enough with the violence, enough with the hatred in Iraq," he said immediately before reciting his noonday Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square March 16. He launched an appeal to all Iraqis, "who for the past five years have borne the consequences of a war that has caused the upheaval of civil and social life." He said, "Beloved Iraqi people: Lift up your heads and let it be you yourselves who, in the first place, rebuild" the life of the nation. "May reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and respect for the civil coexistence among tribes, ethnicities and religious groups" be the harmonious path the people take so as to achieve peace in God's name, the pope said.
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Jesus' power was the power of love, pope says on Palm Sunday
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The power Jesus demonstrated was the power of love, which heals and reconciles, Pope Benedict XVI said. "He did not come as one who destroys; he did not come with the revolutionary's sword. He came with the gift of healing," the pope said March 16 as he celebrated Mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square. Along with the pope, more than 350 young people and more than 200 cardinals, bishops and priests processed through the square carrying palm and olive branches as they marked Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before his arrest, passion and death. The young people chosen for the procession to represent their peers around the world were a special part of the liturgy, which also marked the diocesan celebration of World Youth Day. Pope Benedict noted how the Gospel tells of the young people of Jerusalem waving palm branches and exclaiming "Hosanna" as Jesus entered the city.
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Pope meets Greek ambassador, expresses hope for Pauline year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he hoped the upcoming jubilee year for St. Paul would help remind Europeans of the continent's deep Christian roots. In an address March 15 to the new ambassador from Greece, the pope recalled St. Paul's evangelization work in Greece, in particular his "powerful preaching of the mystery of Christ to the Corinthians." He said, "His words still resound in the hearts of men and women today. They can help our contemporaries to appreciate more deeply their human dignity, and thus promote the good of the entire human family." The pope has proclaimed a year dedicated to St. Paul as a model of Christian evangelization, to run from June 2008 to June 2009. He told the Greek ambassador that St. Paul's efforts reflected "the vibrant exchange between Hellenistic culture and Christianity" that allowed Christians to communicate the Gospel more coherently and persuasively.
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West Bank procession participants desire freedom of worship, movement
BETHANY, West Bank (CNS) -- The small Palm Sunday procession wound up the hill in this Palestinian village, making its way to where residents of Bethany once could cross the street into the Palestinian village of Bethpage. Boutros Abu Shanab, 54, a Christian from Jerusalem, was reading from the Gospel of Mark in Arabic when the group reached the top of the hill and stood in front of the Israeli checkpoint at the gate of the Israeli separation barrier, or wall. The checkpoint is meant to allow Palestinians with permits through the wall. In practice, said local residents, no one is allowed through the gate. The Passionists' monastery is cut off from Bethany by the wall, but the Comboni Sisters' convent straddles the border and has an entrance in Bethany. A border policeman could be seen on the Passionists' property. "This is a procession of faith, and it will have a resolution of peace," said Abu Shanab.
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PEOPLE
Sainthood cause for Knights of Columbus founder takes step forward
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The sainthood cause of the founder of the Knights of Columbus has taken a major step forward. On March 15 Pope Benedict XVI approved a decree of "heroic virtues" for Father Michael McGivney, a U.S. priest who, after establishing the Knights of Columbus, worked as a pastor until his death at age 38. Father McGivney can be beatified if a miracle is attributed to his intercession. Canonization -- a declaration of sainthood -- requires an additional miracle. Supporters of Father McGivney's cause are hoping he will be the first U.S.-born priest to be canonized. Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Conn., in 1882. The fraternal order for Catholic men has become the largest lay Catholic organization in the world with more than 1.7 million members, sponsoring a wide range of educational, charitable and religious activities.
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Latin patriarch says Holy Land needs leaders ready to die for peace
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- In what he called his last Easter message as patriarch, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem said the Holy Land needs leaders who are ready to "offer their lives" for peace rather than those who "issue orders to kill." "We are in need of leaders who can make peace because this is the sole path to put an end to extremism and to start the true way toward security and tranquillity," he said in his March 17 message. "The leaders have to choose between two paths: either peace or increasing extremism and insecurity." Patriarch Sabbah, who read the message at a press conference at the Latin Patriarchate, was flanked by Coadjutor Archbishop Fouad Twal, who will replace Patriarch Sabbah upon his retirement. Sources said the change in leadership is expected to take place in mid-June. Patriarch Sabbah said the violence that has left more than 100 people dead in the Gaza Strip, the eight Israeli victims of a Jerusalem seminary shooting, and other violent incidents "form a chain of inhumane and futile violence" no matter who is behind it.
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Planning papal visit tough but rewarding job, says church official
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's visit to New York, with all of its special events, needs to run as smoothly as the limousine that carries him from John F. Kennedy International Airport into Manhattan. One man is responsible for seeing that it does. Mark G. Ackermann is the executive director of the archdiocesan Office of the Papal Visit. His job is to oversee almost every detail of planning and managing the visit of the pope and those who will be traveling with him. That includes such tasks as working on security; arranging for lodging and hospitality for visiting dignitaries, including U.S. cardinals and bishops; distributing tickets for papal events; booking popular entertainment for a papal youth rally; making sure that reporters and other media people have lodging and any technical assistance they need; and seeing to it that the papal schedule is followed to the minute. Ackermann, who spent 25 years at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan and was most recently its chief administrative officer, seems both exceptionally qualified for the job and delighted to be doing it.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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