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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS May-1-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Philadelphia cardinal praises proposed human-animal hybrid ban
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, praised legislation introduced in the House in late April that would ban the creation of human-animal embryos for research. The cardinal said he welcomed the ban as "an opportunity to rein in an egregious and disturbing misuse of technology to undermine human dignity." The Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act was introduced in the House April 24 by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. Identical legislation was introduced in the Senate last fall by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. "I commend Sen. Brownback and Rep. Smith for their leadership in seeking to prohibit the creation of human-animal hybrids," said Cardinal Rigali in an April 30 statement. "While this subject may seem like science fiction to many, the threat is all too real," he added, noting that England is preparing to authorize the production of cloned human embryos using human DNA and animal eggs, setting the stage for the creation of embryos that are half-human and half-animal.
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Bishop: Balance needed when deciding liability claims in civil cases
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Multimillion-dollar awards in civil lawsuits place a burden on the free exercise of religion and undermine the Catholic Church's ability to continue its charitable works, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Chicago told the National Diocesan Attorneys Association. Speaking at the association's annual meeting April 27 in Arlington, Va., Bishop Paprocki said balance must be achieved between providing adequate compensation to plaintiffs in cases of wrongdoing and "preserving charitable viability" for the church. "My point is that the pendulum has swung from the complete protection of charitable immunity to the complete exposure of charitable liability, and, in some cases, all the way to charitable bankruptcy," Bishop Paprocki said. The Chicago auxiliary is chairman-elect of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance and will begin a three-year term as chairman in November.
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Conscience safeguards crucial to human dignity, Arizona bishops say
TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) -- Declaring that conscience is "at the heart of human dignity and freedom," two Arizona bishops have issued a call for support in facing up to the challenges posed by laws that threaten "the freedom to act upon our moral convictions." In a pastoral statement on behalf of the Arizona Catholic Conference, Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas and Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said, "Just because something is legal ... doesn't mean it is something morally good." Titled "Freedom of Conscience," the pastoral letter released April 21 said, "Today in our state and elsewhere in our nation, health care professionals and institutions find themselves struggling to preserve their rights of conscience, especially in matters that would involve the taking of human life." The rights of people to follow their religious beliefs and moral convictions are being "compromised, undermined and increasingly disregarded today" by some, the bishops said. Society benefits, they said, "when people are free to live by their conscience."
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Survey reveals confusion on resources for pregnant college students
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) -- According to a survey commissioned by Feminists for Life of America, U.S. college campuses frequently lack the resources for pregnant or parenting students or, if they have them, students are not always aware of their availability. The survey, "Perception Is Reality," stemmed from the pregnancy resource forums conducted by Feminists for Life, based in Alexandria, over the past 11 years. Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life, moderated the first of these forums at Georgetown University in Washington in 1997 in order to evaluate resources on and off the campus. "This survey confirms everything I have been told during the last decade," said Foster. "Even when students who are not feeling the pressure of an unplanned pregnancy try to look for resources, either they can't find them or the resources are inadequate or expensive." "Perception is reality," she added, noting that a "perceived lack of resources" can drive pregnant women to have an abortion or drop out of college. The survey was released April 23.
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WORLD
Chinese Catholics pray for Olympics as torch arrives in Hong Kong
BEIJING (CNS) -- Catholics in China prayed for God's blessing on the Olympic Games as the Olympic torch arrived in Hong Kong en route to the capital Beijing. In the capital, where the games are scheduled to begin Aug. 8, Catholics marked the 100-day countdown with a Mass April 30 at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also known as Nantang or South Church. Bishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing and about 20 priests concelebrated the Mass, a Beijing diocesan source told the Asian church news agency UCA News the same day. The estimated 1,000 people at the Mass included a dozen seminarians and about 20 nuns. The diocese also invited officials from the municipal government and the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games to attend the liturgy. Earlier, Father Zhao Qinglong of the Diocese of Beijing, the leader of the Catholic volunteer team set up to serve in the Olympic Village, told UCA News the diocese would pray at the Mass that the games would proceed smoothly and successfully. He said he wished all athletes good results.
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Mexican archdiocese welcomes removal of jail time for migrants
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Catholic officials in Mexico City welcomed the elimination of criminal penalties for undocumented migrants, many of whom pass through this country on the way north to the United States. "It is without doubt a great humanitarian advance," the Archdiocese of Mexico City said in a written statement to Catholic News Service. The statement added that the federal government frequently chides its northern neighbor for the mistreatment of Mexican migrants in the United States, but "violates the human rights of undocumented Central Americans." Most of the illegal migrants in Mexico originally come from Central and South America. Lawmakers said the decriminalization of migration would provide Mexico with increased moral authority when lobbying against anti-immigrant initiatives that would endanger the well-being of undocumented citizens in the United States. "We have been demanding that the U.S. authorities ... not criminalize the migrant situation in the United States," said Fernel Galvez, a federal deputy from Chiapas, a state sharing a porous border with Guatemala. "But we haven't been acting very congruently since Mexico has been criminalizing immigration."
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Australian bishops warn of risks in accessing online pornography
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Australia's bishops have warned against the availability of online pornography and its ability to wreck healthy relationships by ensnaring users in the "secret, shameful ... fantasy world" of its addiction. Describing the Internet as "a constantly unfolding entity" that in 20 years "has changed our lives in extraordinary ways," the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a pastoral letter that unfettered access to online pornography puts at risk "the physical, spiritual and emotional safety ... of both children and adults." The bishops released the letter to mark World Communications Sunday, celebrated in Australia April 27. For the first time, the bishops accompanied the letter with a video on the subject posted on YouTube.com. "One of the most evil uses of the Internet is the ready availability of pornography. The relative anonymity of the Internet and its private nature means that there is a real danger of Internet addiction," the bishops said in the letter.
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Austrian, Swiss churches plan evangelization drive for Euro 2008
OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Catholic Church leaders in Austria and Switzerland plan an evangelization drive for the Euro 2008 soccer championship in June. "Sport isn't the most important thing in human life, but it's an occasion for bringing people from very different backgrounds together," said Erich Leitenberger, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Vienna, Austria. "Vienna itself is home to Christian communities of every European language, and we hope to make approaches to the thousands coming here with their help. The government and sports organizations have welcomed our church initiatives." This year's Union of European Football Associations Cup tournament will be held in eight cities in Austria and Switzerland. The tournament is held every four years, and the associations cover 54 European countries. Leitenberger told Catholic News Service April 30 that Auxiliary Bishop Franz Lackner of Graz, who heads the Austrian church's sports commission, would outline plans for the championship during a May 7 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI; Reinhold Lopatka, Austria's state secretary for sports; and players from the soccer league.
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Charity announces plans for Marian statue in London
LONDON (CNS) -- A charity has announced plans to erect a statue of Mary in London in memory of the medieval Catholic shrines destroyed in the Reformation. The work will be called "Mary Most Holy" and will stand on land once owned by St. Thomas More, alongside the Thames River at Chelsea. St. Thomas was the lord chancellor of England and was beheaded in 1535. It has been commissioned by the Art and Reconciliation Trust, a charity set up to promote awareness of the negative effects iconoclasm has on culture; the work will cost approximately $2.5 million. The sculptor who will make the statue is Paul Day, whose previous work includes a memorial of the Battle of Britain in central London. The proposed work, a bronze triptych on a granite plinth, will feature a statue of Mary holding up the child Jesus against the backdrop of ruins. Two side panels show reformers beheading the statues of saints and destroying a crucifix.
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PEOPLE
Follow-up on pope's visit depends on U.S. Catholics, theologian says
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The impact of Pope Benedict XVI's pastoral visit to the United States "depends on us," said theologian Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, national director of the Catholic lay group Communion and Liberation. "The pope did his job. It was beautiful and magnificent," the priest said, but he quickly added that U.S. Catholics are "left with a lot to reflect upon" and it would be a "mistake of our freedom" to not read and study the pope's words. Msgr. Albacete, a physicist, author and columnist based in New York, spoke to Catholic News Service April 30 from Boston, between speaking engagements at a Buddhist gathering and an interreligious meeting. He suggested that homilies reflecting on the pope's words would be one way to "keep the memory alive and keep the conversation going." He also said Catholics should look at why Pope Benedict said what he did at the many venues of his U.S. visit.
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Pope's trip to Australia to take 10 days, including three for rest
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will spend 10 days on his July trip to World Youth Day in Australia, including three days of rest to recover from jet lag, the Vatican said. The pope will depart Rome July 12 and return July 21, according to a Vatican calendar released April 30. He is scheduled to participate in a welcoming ceremony in Sydney July 17 and other World Youth Day events July 18-20. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service that the pope would arrive in Australia early so that he could have "three days of rest, without doing absolutely anything." In this way, the spokesman said, the 81-year-old pope could absorb the effects of the trip from Rome, which crosses nine time zones. The total flight time is expected to be about 20 hours. The Vatican has not said whether Pope Benedict will make other stops on his trip to Australia, which will be the longest in time and distance of his pontificate.
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Cardinal accepts apology after being turned away from Western Wall
DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has accepted an apology from the Israeli government after he was turned away from Jerusalem's Western Wall May 1 for wearing a cross. Cardinal Brady is leading an ecumenical delegation from Ireland that includes the leaders of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. The delegation attempted to make an unscheduled visit to the Western Wall, the holiest site within Judaism, after visiting the nearby al-Aqsa Mosque. Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan of Palestine and Jordan said that an Israeli security official initially agreed they could wear their crosses going through the Western Wall's checkpoint. However, a settler objected and threatened to confront the church leaders. Bishop Younan said the security official referred the matter to his superior officer and promised he would arrive at the scene to make a decision. After seven or eight minutes, Bishop Younan said Cardinal Brady decided that he could not risk a confrontation with the settler.
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Catholic student traces her Jewish history on trip to Germany, Poland
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) -- Jackie Rothschild never thought much about her last name. "I knew my grandfather was Jewish, but that's about all I knew about him," she said. The Catholic girl with a Jewish name was raised in Fort Worth, Texas, and is now a student at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame. During her classes as a religious studies major, she began to question her background as she learned more about the Jewish faith. Her interest in religious studies led Rothschild to the University of Notre Dame where she began to take peace studies as well. It was during a Holocaust class that Rothschild decided she needed to learn more about her Jewish grandfather, Julius Rothschild, who died before Rothschild was born. She talked to her father about her grandfather and joined a class trip to Germany and Poland. The group visited the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland, a Jewish synagogue, and several former concentration camps in both countries. Rothschild was able to find evidence at the Berlin Holocaust Museum that two of her grandfather's brothers were killed at Auschwitz, in Poland.
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