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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-24-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Obama's speech on race seen as a model for a needed conversation
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race March 18 at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center may or may not significantly affect his prospects for being elected president in November, but either way it charted a new course for how race can be discussed in the United States. "This has given us an alternative way to deal with racial conflict in the public discourse," said Precious Blood Father Clarence Williams, who is senior director of racial equality and diversity initiatives for Catholic Charities USA. Political analysts debated whether Obama's speech will prove effective at overcoming criticism of the Illinois Democrat's ties to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, over some of the minister's more sensational comments, particularly about race and government. Father Williams looked at Obama's speech not in political terms, but as "a model for what to do with racial conflict." He likened conflict about race in the United States to a chronic illness "that surfaces again and again. It might be in remission at times, but it's always going to return."
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Cardinal says papal visit, like one in '79, will be 'moment of grace'
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II to the nation's capital "was a great gift," as will be Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-17 trip to Washington, said Cardinal William W. Baum. The cardinal, now retired, was Washington's archbishop from 1973 to 1980 and hosted Pope John Paul's visit. He recalled that those who had to prepare for it had only a short time to get ready. "We only had a couple of months!" he told the Catholic Standard, Washington's archdiocesan newspaper, in an interview at his residence. He chuckled and said, "Looking back, I don't know how we did it." Then he answered, "With God's grace!" The first pastoral visit by a pope to the capital of the United States remains a cherished memory for Cardinal Baum, who retired in 2001 after 11 years as head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican office that deals with matters of conscience. Before that he was prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education for 10 years. Cardinal Baum once summarized the 1979 papal visit to Washington as "a moment of grace."
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Belleville priests issue statement calling for bishop to resign
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (CNS) -- More than half of the active priests of the Diocese of Belleville have signed a public statement calling for Bishop Edward K. Braxton to resign, citing frustration with his leadership and their conclusion that "he has lost his moral authority." In response the bishop issued a letter to Catholics in the diocese dated March 20, Holy Thursday, in which he stated he intends "to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Belleville for as long as the Holy Father wants me to do so." In their March 14 statement, the priests said that "because of the bishop's lack of cooperation, consultation, accountability and transparency, it is the judgment of a great number of the presbyterate that he has lost his moral authority to lead and govern our diocese." "Therefore, it is requested that Bishop Braxton resign from his office as bishop of the Diocese of Belleville for his own good, for the good of the diocese and for the good of the presbyterate," it said. Forty-six priests signed the statement, which was sent to local news media, who posted it on the Internet. The Official Catholic Directory lists the Belleville Diocese as having 77 active diocesan priests.
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WORLD
Pope says risen Christ vanquished sin, death
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the darkness of night in St. Peter's Basilica as well as under dark skies unleashing torrents of rain on St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI said the risen Christ vanquished the darkness of sin and death. "It is true: In the solemn Easter Vigil, darkness becomes light, night gives way to the day that knows no sunset," he said March 23, giving his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world) in St. Peter's Square during a storm. "We pray that joy will be present among us despite these circumstances," he said at the end of the blessing, which capped a Mass punctuated with thunder and lightning. Tens of thousands of people packed into St. Peter's Square armed with umbrellas. Members of the Swiss Guard stood at attention despite the rain dripping off their helmets. The night before, the pope celebrated the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica, lighting a fire and the large Easter candle in the darkened church. During the service, he baptized five women and two men, including an Italian journalist who was born in Egypt to a Muslim family.
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Jerusalem patriarch: Find new ways to break cycle of violence
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The political situation in the Holy Land has become deadlocked and new means must be found to break the cycle of violence, said Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem in his Easter homily March 23. Politicians have come to accept the "routine of death," believing that they only need to govern it without trying to find a solution that can give people a new life. Criticizing both Palestinians and Israelis for recent violence, the patriarch said the continuing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and the murder of eight Jewish seminary students at a yeshiva in Jerusalem are "no more than sterile repetitions of the events of all the past years." Life in the Holy Land, he said, has become "a permanent cross." "We will not stop repeating that security cannot be achieved by inflicting insecurity on others," said Patriarch Sabbah during a Mass at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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In Jerusalem, pilgrims speak with awe of walking in Jesus' footsteps
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Despite the uneasy political situation in the Holy Land, thousands of pilgrims converged on Jerusalem to celebrate Easter March 23. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition holds that Jesus was buried, pilgrims from around the world converged for a Mass celebrated by Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah. Other worshippers found solitary spots along the walls of the cavernous 10th-century church for a moment of silent meditation and prayer. Noticeably absent were local Palestinian Christians, most of whom normally celebrate Easter Mass at their home parishes. Many visit the church later in the day, following festive family lunches. Israel issued travel permits for Christians from the West Bank, and they were allowed through checkpoints despite the complete closure imposed on the West Bank during the Jewish Purim holiday, also celebrated March 23 this year. Purim marks the Jewish defeat of a Persian king who wanted to annihilate the Jewish residents of his city.
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Priest: Swaziland would not need food aid if government spent wisely
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Swaziland would not need international food aid if its government spent wisely, said Father Pius Magagula, an official of the justice and peace commission of Swaziland's Manzini Diocese. Noting that Swazi King Mswati III has spent millions of dollars on overseas property for his family, Father Magagula criticized the king for "complaining that the nation is hungry when money is splashed out like that." Government spending on the country's agricultural needs "would lessen our dependency on aid, which we cry out for year after year," Father Magagula said in a telephone interview from Manzini. "Food aid does not help much," he said, adding, "We get genetically modified food thrown to us, because we are pretending to be beggars." The "culture of food aid breeds laziness, when there is so much satisfaction to be gained from knowing that we are able to feed ourselves," he said.
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Lebanon's political, social affairs 'not giving hope,' says cardinal
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- The "ferocious fight" for Lebanon's presidency and the "social confusion" into which the country has plunged are "not giving hope" to the Lebanese people, said Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church. In his annual Easter message, released March 21, the cardinal expressed his pessimism over growing divisions and "persistent efforts (by some parties) to overtake the country." He urged the Lebanese to "overcome disagreements and return to their consciences." Lebanon's presidency -- a post reserved for a Maronite Catholic under the country's power-sharing system -- has been vacant since November. Cardinal Sfeir also spoke of the deteriorating economic situation and said foreign businesses were withdrawing their investments from the country. Contrasting Lebanon's "deplorable" state to the prosperity of neighboring Persian Gulf countries where many Lebanese have emigrated for work, Cardinal Sfeir said, "It is obvious to see around us that certain countries have transformed their deserts into cities, whereas we have turned our vistas into deserts."
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PEOPLE
Pope offers condolences after death of Mexican Cardinal Suarez
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI offered his condolences to the people of Monterrey, Mexico, after the death of Cardinal Adolfo Suarez Rivera, 81, whom he said had served the church "so intensely and generously." The cardinal died March 22 after being hospitalized for a stroke the previous day. A few hours before the cardinal's March 24 funeral, Pope Benedict sent a telegram of condolence, encouraging members of the cardinal's family and his archdiocese to draw strength and hope from the resurrection of Jesus. The death of Cardinal Suarez left the College of Cardinals with 197 members, 119 of whom are under the age of 80 and, therefore, eligible to vote in a conclave. Eleven months before being inducted into the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II in 1994, then-Archbishop Suarez was a key figure in bringing an end to the fighting in the southern state of Chiapas that followed the uprising of the Zapatista National Liberation Front.
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Catholic novelist-professor Jon Hassler dies at 74
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (CNS) -- A funeral Mass was scheduled for March 27 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for Jon Hassler, an award-winning novelist and a professor emeritus of fiction at St. John's University in Collegeville. Hassler died at Methodist Hospital in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park March 20, 10 days shy of his 75th birthday. He had suffered for more than a decade from progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder that causes serious and permanent problems with control of gait and balance. Hassler had graduated from St. John's in 1955 with a bachelor's degree in English. He was writer in residence at the university from 1980 until his retirement in 1997. In a statement, Benedictine Brother Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John's, said Hassler was one of the nation's "great storytellers," and his themes were "about our struggles with choices between good and evil in their everyday manifestations."
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
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