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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-27-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Catholic education must focus on risen Lord, archbishop says
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Catholic education is fundamentally about "the risen Lord," Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk told Catholic educators during the opening Mass for the National Catholic Educational Association convention March 25 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. "Every educational undertaking of the church -- colleges, high schools, elementary schools, seminaries, parish schools of religion, adult education programs, novitiates, the publication of textbooks -- they are all ultimately about the risen Christ," he told about 2,500 educators. He also said that if the Resurrection is separated from Catholic schools, they cease to be Catholic. "Nothing that we do, nothing that we teach can be detached from the resurrection of Christ and still claim to be Catholic education," Archbishop Pilarczyk said in his homily. "If we can't point to some connection with the risen Christ in what we do and teach, then we are not doing and teaching Catholic education."
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Archbishop, Catholic community welcome inmates as they join church
CINCINNATI (CNS) -- Ten inmates at Lebanon Correctional Institution north of Cincinnati experienced the sense of hope and promise of new life that accompanies the Easter season when they were welcomed into the Catholic Church March 23. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati celebrated an Easter Mass at the prison during which the men received the sacraments of initiation. Since last fall, they have been part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, along with their sponsors, many of whom are also incarcerated at Lebanon, a state prison known as a "close-security" facility, which is one step down from maximum security. The men wrote letters to Archbishop Pilarczyk petitioning him to celebrate an Easter Mass at the prison and confer the sacraments, and along with the volunteers and Lebanon staff they were thrilled to welcome him. Joining the catechumens and their sponsors were volunteers from the prison's Kairos program and many of their family members.
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WORLD
Vatican official discusses Saudi king's idea to initiate dialogue
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The importance of marriage and the family and the values needed to sustain family life can be an appropriate starting point for interreligious dialogue, said an official of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Franciscan Father Gianfranco Grieco described as "interesting" Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Aziz's idea to initiate a dialogue with Muslims, Christians and Jews to defend the family, moral values and the importance of religion. While Saudi Arabia is a strictly Islamic country where the public practice of any other faith is illegal, King Abdullah announced March 24 that he had been consulting Muslim religious leaders about the possibility of inviting "all religions to sit together with their brothers, faithfully and sincerely, as we all believe in the same God" to discuss "the crisis all humanity is suffering in the current time." The institution of the family has been "weakened and dismantled," a lack of faith and religious practice has spread and "there is a lack of ethics, loyalty and sincerity," he said.
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Popemobile shipped to U.S., scheduled to arrive in early April
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While Pope Benedict XVI probably has not begun packing his bags for his April 15-20 trip to the United States, one big Vatican package was prepared just after Easter. The white, 2002 Mercedes-Benz popemobile has left the Vatican and will be delivered by an air cargo company in the first days of April, said Alberto Gasbarri, the chief organizer of papal trips. The Vatican has three popemobiles currently in use. One is a four-month-old, open-topped Mercedes based on the company's G500-series sport utility vehicle, used almost exclusively in St. Peter's Square. The vehicle has an attachable, curved windshield that can protect the pope from rain and wind. Mercedes describes the color as "Vaticanmystic white." The other two are closed, white popemobiles, which are modified versions of the Mercedes-Benz ML430 off-road vehicle. The "glass" top is a cube made of advanced, bulletproof plastic. Both vehicles feature a high seat so the pope can still be visible. One of the ML430 models is being used for the U.S. trip, Gasbarri said.
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Vatican spokesman: Muslim convert has right to express his own ideas
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI welcomed into the Catholic Church a Muslim-born journalist often critical of Islam, it was not a sign that the pope accepts everything the journalist believes, said the Vatican spokesman. The Italian journalist, Magdi Allam, "has the right to express his own ideas. They remain his personal opinions without in any way becoming the official expression of the positions of the pope or the Holy See," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi. Father Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, made his comments March 27 in response to a statement from Aref Ali Nayed, a spokesman for the 138 Muslim scholars who initiated the Common Word dialogue project in October and who established the Catholic-Muslim Forum for dialogue with the Vatican in early March. Father Lombardi said baptism is a recognition that the person entering the church "has freely and sincerely accepted the Christian faith in its fundamental articles" as expressed in the creed.
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Mexican church officials downplay impact of constitutional proposals
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- A proposal by the Mexican bishops to change the country's constitution to allow more clergy participation in political and social activities has drawn criticism, but church officials are downplaying its potential impact. Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City endorsed the concept of keeping church and state separate in a mid-March message, telling Catholics that "for no reason" can the bishops' proposal "be thought of as competition for or an intrusion into Caesar's power." Armando Martinez, president of the College of Catholic Lawyers, told Catholic News Service that the proposed reforms would replace "antiquated" laws and bring the Mexican Constitution in line with the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In late February, the Mexican bishops called for the constitutional amendments to enshrine the concept of "freedom of religion" in the constitution. Currently, the language guarantees "freedom of worship." Bishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Texcoco, president of the Mexican bishops' conference, assured people in February that no one wanted a bishop "to be president of the country."
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Shanghai Diocese launches activities to mark arrival of Catholicism
SHANGHAI, China (CNS) -- The Shanghai Diocese has launched a series of activities to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism in the region. The celebration will trace the development of Catholicism in the diocese, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi told the Asian church news agency UCA News in March. He said the events would highlight the life of the first Catholic in Shanghai, Xu Guangqi, the values he embraced through his faith, and how he evangelized among family, friends and colleagues. Bishop Xing, 44, said he hopes local Catholics will learn from Xu's example of evangelizing to his family first. Catholics today are less spiritually fervent and family-oriented, he said, which poses a challenge for the church. When young Chinese Catholics seek a spouse, few make finding a Catholic partner their first priority, he said. The bishop said he also hopes priests, nuns and laypeople will deepen their spirituality and intensify evangelization efforts through the commemoration, which will include a historical photo exhibition and seminar.
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Chinese church leaders respond to topics discussed at Vatican
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Several Chinese bishops interviewed by an Asian church news agency expressed concern about the "government of dioceses," an item the Vatican said was recently discussed at a meeting of a special church commission on China. "I understand the importance of normal diocesan management," said Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar, in northeastern China. However, the bishop, who has refused to register with the Chinese government, told UCA News that restrictions on religious activities often make pastoral work inconvenient. Bishop Anthony Dang Mingyan of Xi'an cited religious formation as a key issue in how dioceses are run. He told UCA News that "each member of the church should be conscious of his or her responsibility and mission of spreading the Gospel." In 2006 his diocese established pastoral, economic and vocations committees, which he said "have operated on track and have eased my workload." Bishop Peter Feng Xinmao of Hengshui, in China's Hebei province, said he might form diocesan committees, as canon law allows, to enable young priests to jointly manage the church and boost formation and pastoral work.
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PEOPLE
Slain family members were active in Iowa City parish
IOWA CITY, Iowa (CNS) -- Steven Sueppel, his wife and four children were active members of St. Mary Parish in Iowa City and a "warm, loving, faith-filled family," said Sister Agnes Giblin, pastoral associate at the parish. Sheryl Sueppel and children Ethan, 10, Seth, 7, Mira, 5, and Eleanor, 3, were found dead at their Iowa City home the morning of March 24. Police found the bodies of Sheryl and the four children after they responded to a 6:31 a.m. 911 call March 24 made from a cell phone and asking police to go to the family's home. A body, which was later identified as Steven, was found in a Toyota Sienna minivan that burned the same morning in a fiery crash on Interstate 80 just east of Iowa City, city police reported. Autopsies revealed that Sheryl and the four children died from "multiple blunt-force trauma injuries to each of their upper torsos and heads," a news release on the city's Web site states. In response to the tragedy, Sister Giblin, a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Father Ken Kuntz, pastor at St. Mary, prayed at the family's house and visited Steven's family March 24 at the home of his parents, Bill and Pat Sueppel. Steven, a former vice president of Hills Bank & Trust, reportedly was facing charges of embezzling more than $500,000 from the bank.
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Book is glimpse into faith of retired Army officer known for heroism
MOBILE, Ala. (CNS) -- "A General's Spiritual Journey" gives a rare glimpse into the mind, heart and soul of a battlefield warrior and faith-filled American hero, retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. It's a story of the courage, compassion, faith and servant leadership of a man whose heroism goes beyond the battlefield and points to the ultimate goal -- eternal life -- or, as Moore puts it, "the final cut." "My principal hope is that a reader of this small booklet will derive some comfort as well as an urge and desire to become closer to God, whatever his or her religion," Moore, who is now 86, told The Catholic Week, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Mobile. A longtime resident of Auburn and a daily communicant at St. Michael Church, Moore is well known for his heroic actions in the battle of Ia Drang, the first major U.S. military confrontation in the Vietnam War. The battle was Nov. 14-16, 1965, and was led by then-Lt. Col. Moore, of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry. More information is available by sending an e-mail to the book's publisher at: wildgooseministries@comcast.net. The publisher's Web site is: www.wildgooseministries.org.
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