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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Apr-14-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Obama, Clinton take on tough faith questions at Compassion Forum
GRANTHAM, Pa. (CNS) -- The two Democratic senators seeking their party's nomination for president sought to define themselves in terms of their religious faith in an April 13 forum at Messiah College in Grantham that was broadcast live on CNN. Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York talked about the role of faith in their lives, about the place they think religion should hold in civil society, about their beliefs on when life begins and how that influences their political stances on abortion and end-of-life care. The Compassion Forum, held at an evangelical liberal arts college in a state holding its Democratic presidential primary April 22, marked a significant shift in the way Democratic candidates are willing to talk about religion. "This wouldn't have happened even a couple of years ago," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., after the forum. Both candidates have been fairly open about the influence of religious faith in their lives, Casey told Catholic News Service. "I think this was a very important forum for the country and for the Democratic Party," Casey said.
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Survey assesses Catholics' beliefs, practices on Mass, sacraments
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As the U.S. Catholic Church prepared to welcome Pope Benedict XVI, a new survey found big differences among Catholics of different generations about the importance of the sacraments in their lives. Asked which sacrament was most meaningful in their lives, 39 percent of respondents named baptism, 26 percent said marriage and 25 percent named the Eucharist. Among those who said they attended Mass weekly or more often, 52 percent said the Eucharist was most meaningful in their lives. The study also divided respondents into four generations in relation to the Second Vatican Council: pre-Vatican II, comprised of those born before 1943; Vatican II, born between 1943 and 1960; post-Vatican II, born 1961 to 1981; and millennial Catholics, born after 1981. While those of the first three generations chose the Eucharist as their most meaningful sacrament, 43 percent of the millennial Catholics said marriage was the sacrament most meaningful to them. The survey of 1,007 self-identified adult Catholics was commissioned by the U.S. bishops' Department of Communications and conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington. A 178-page report on the results was released April 13.
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Yankee Stadium Mass to mark bicentennials of four U.S. archdioceses
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium will mark the bicentennials of the archdioceses of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky., which was founded as Bardstown, Ky. The four dioceses, before being named archdioceses, were erected in 1808 from the Baltimore Diocese, the nation's first diocese, which became an archdiocese that year. The coats of arms of the five archdioceses will be displayed in right, left and center fields at the stadium. Their archbishops are scheduled to be concelebrants at the Mass; they are: Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., and Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of Baltimore. The New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville archdioceses have been marking their bicentennials with yearlong celebrations including special liturgies, youth gatherings and programs of spiritual renewal.
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New Orleans restructuring aims for 'smaller but stronger' church
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans said the biggest challenge he faced in deciding on the second phase of a major restructuring plan for parishes, schools and ministries in the archdiocese was the prospect of adding another burden to Catholics already laboring to recover from Hurricane Katrina. "The losses in the Katrina and post-Katrina experience have been a very difficult cross for people to carry, and the last thing in the world I want to do is to complicate that for people," the archbishop said. "I know how much people look to the Lord, to his church and to their local churches for strength and comfort," he said. The plan that will take effect July 1 provides a facilitation process lasting up to six months to allow parishioners to discuss the impact of mergers and closures. Although it affects dozens of parishes, the plan results in a small overall decrease in the number of Sunday worship sites. Currently there are 117 parishes and five missions operating in the archdiocese -- a total of 122 Sunday worship sites. After the plan takes effect, there will be 108 parishes, nine missions and two university campus ministry sites, a total of 119 sites for Sunday Mass.
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Study explores support for vocations, response to decline in priests
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although three-quarters of U.S. Catholic respondents in a new survey have noticed a decline in the number of priests serving in parishes, few of the men said they have considered becoming a priest and less than a third of all respondents said they would encourage their own child to pursue a religious vocation. Those were among the results of a survey of 1,007 self-identified adult Catholics conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington. The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The 178-page CARA report, titled "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics," was made public April 13. It summarized responses to a wide range of questions about Catholics' attitudes toward and participation in the Mass and the sacraments, their knowledge of the Catholic faith, their views on church leadership and teachings, and their experience with vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
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Ground broken for Baltimore garden dedicated to Pope John Paul II
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Church and civic leaders were among the dignitaries who pressed gleaming golden shovels into a patch of soil not far from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary April 11 to break ground on the long-awaited Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden in downtown Baltimore. Heralding the 8,000-square-foot sanctuary as a future oasis of peace and contemplation, the leaders said the garden is meant for all people of all faiths. Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien said the garden will serve as a monument to the historic papacy of Pope John Paul and a "living postcard" of the Polish pope's 1995 visit to Baltimore. It also will be a monument to religious freedom and to "the friendship with our sisters and brothers of other faiths -- a brotherhood so richly rewarded by the service of our late pope and our own Cardinal (William H.) Keeler," retired archbishop of Baltimore, said Archbishop O'Brien, who sprinkled holy water on the site.
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Pope comes to U.N. as 'a beacon of peace,' archbishop says
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will visit the United Nations April 18 as "a beacon of peace," Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's U.N. nuncio, said April 9 at Columbia University's Earl Hall. The pope "will say that might doesn't make right, (that) our future must be based on universal truth and common peace for humanity," the archbishop told an audience of 250 people. "I've been besieged with questions of what the pope will say at the U.N.," he said. "I don't mind the questions though. It's proof that people are interested in what the pope has to say to the world." The archbishop was one of four panelists who discussed the pontiff's teachings and their relevance to American culture. The event, which had as its theme "Only Something Infinite Will Suffice," was co-sponsored by the Crossroads Cultural Center, which is a local project of Communion and Liberation, and Columbia University's Catholic campus ministry.
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WORLD
Pope says U.S. visit will be 'special missionary experience'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Two days before his first visit as pope to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI described the trip as a "special missionary experience" and requested prayers for its success. The pope made the remarks at his weekly noon blessing at the Vatican April 13, his last public appearance before his April 15-20 visit to Washington and New York. When he appeared at his apartment window, a group of well-wishers in St. Peter's Square unfurled American flags. Others held up a huge sign that read "Buon Viaggio" ("Have a good trip"). Speaking in English, he looked forward to the visit, which includes a major address at the United Nations headquarters in New York and 14 other encounters. He summarized the message he will bring throughout his trip. "With the various groups I shall meet, my intention is to share Our Lord's word of life. In Christ is our hope," he said.
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Franciscan says Catholic schools in Holy Land must be supported
LONDON (CNS) -- Christianity could vanish from Israel and the Palestinian territories within two generations unless more is done to support Catholic schools, said the head of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, whose order maintains most of the Christian biblical sites in the Holy Land, said the religious identity of Christians had grown extremely fragile as more of them migrated abroad for a better life. He told an April 11 press conference in London that the main challenge for the Christians, who form 1 percent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian territories, was how to remain united. Father Pizzaballa was in London to address the Terra Sancta Education Trust, a U.K.-based charity for the advancement of education and relief of the poverty of Holy Land Christian families. He urged British Catholics to support Holy Land Christians through pilgrimages and initiatives such as the twinning of schools in the U.K. and in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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Pope urges world to slash military spending, funnel savings for peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged nations to slash military spending and funnel savings into peaceful development projects around the world. He also called on nations to halt the spread of handguns and other small-caliber weapons "that fuel local wars and urban violence and unfortunately kill too many people across the world every day." The pope made his comments in a written message presented to participants gathered for an April 11-12 seminar sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The Vatican released a copy of the papal message April 12. The international seminar, which brought together dozens of experts and representatives from the church, governmental agencies and grass-roots groups, was titled "Disarmament, Development and Peace: Perspectives for an Integral Disarmament." In his written message, the pope praised the gathering, saying the topic was "timely" and "urgent."
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PEOPLE
Pope names Slovakian cardinal as envoy to eucharistic congress
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has named Slovakian Cardinal Josef Tomko to be his representative at the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City. The 84-year-old cardinal was president of the Vatican's office for organizing the international event from 2001 to 2007. Previously he served for 16 years as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The June 15-22 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec coincides with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Church and government officials had invited Pope Benedict to preside over the congress, and Canadian Catholics even launched an Internet petition urging him to attend. The Vatican announced April 12 that the pope had appointed Cardinal Tomko to be his representative at the gathering, which will include speeches and workshops on different themes related to the Eucharist, opportunities for eucharistic adoration and Masses.
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Nigerian archbishop calls for end to weapons of mass destruction
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, called for an end to weapons of mass destruction and held out hope for world peace at a Mass in the University of Notre Dame's Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The April 13 Mass opened the Catholic Peacebuilding Network's Conference on the Future of Catholic Peace-building, the capstone of a five-year project to develop a systematic theology of peace. "I believe it is true to say that humanity is at a crossroad on the crucial issue of peace," Archbishop Onaiyekan said in his homily. "On the one hand, our planet is sitting on a dangerous time bomb of huge stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction sufficient to blow ourselves up many times over. It is no longer enough to insist on nonproliferation and breathing hot air on the necks of those some decide to consider not responsible enough to keep these weapons," he said. "It is necessary, if we are to be consistent and effective, to be serious about total elimination of such weapons."
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