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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS May-8-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Many new U.S. priests are in their 30s and foreign-born, study says
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The age and nationality of many of the new priests to be ordained in the United States this year continues a trend of recent years as more foreign-born men in their mid-30s are entering the priesthood. The average age for this year's ordinands is 36 for diocesan priests and 39 for priests joining religious orders. About 30 percent of new priests are between 25 and 29 years of age and about 39 percent are in their 30s, according to a national study. The annual survey of new priests is conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. The survey was initially developed in 1998 by the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation. Two years ago, CARA began conducting the survey for the U.S. bishops. The study of the ordination class of 2008 shows that one-third of this year's new priests were born outside the United States. The largest numbers are from Mexico, Vietnam, Poland and the Philippines.
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University seeks support, prayers following devastating fire
SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- The skyline of San Antonio was changed the night of May 6 as a massive fire gutted the historic Main Building at Our Lady of the Lake University, destroying some of the structure's unique silver spires and severely damaging other majestic steeples that adorned the top of the more than century-old facility. Built in 1895, the imposing Gothic-style structure was designed by renowned architect James Wahrenberger and was a crown jewel in the improverished west side neighborhood that is home to the coeducational liberal arts institution. More than 2,800 students are enrolled in the university, which was founded in 1895 by the Congregation of Divine Providence, which has a convent and a convalescent home located on the campus. The four-alarm blaze illuminated the evening sky and was fought by 120 firefighters and close to three dozen firetrucks from the San Antonio Fire Department, more than half the city's resources.
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Response to war, violence must be love, compassion, priest says
BURLINGAME, Calif. (CNS) -- The response to terrorism should not be war and violence, but love and compassion, Franciscan Father Louis Vitale said May 1 at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Burlingame. "We should not be using physical energy which can destroy the world, but rather spiritual energy which was a part of what created us," said Father Vitale, who recently completed a five-month prison sentence connected to a protest held at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Along with Jesuit Father Steve Kelly, Father Vitale unsuccessfully attempted to introduce evidence about torture during his trial for federal trespass at Fort Huachuca. "War reflects a lack of imagination," the priest told nearly 100 people gathered at the church for his talk.
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Tight finances lead to reduced subsidies for Miami parishes, schools
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a budgetary move meant to maintain ministries and meet the needs of a growing Catholic population, the Archdiocese of Miami will reduce funding for financially strapped parishes and schools. Archbishop John C. Favalora told department heads in April that growing needs brought on by an increase in the Catholic population and rising poverty in the three counties of the archdiocese are forcing officials to prioritize spending and reduce subsidies to cover parish debt and to cover shortfalls in the operation of parish schools. "In today's economy and the circle of poverty affecting our community, I must be a good steward and can only do what our finances will allow," the archbishop said. "With the current financial status facing every corporation, institution, organization and family, we too must be financially responsible. Each year a greater number of parishes and programs are seeking our financial help and therefore we must prioritize," he added. "We can only work with what we have."
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WORLD
Pope urges Melkite Catholics to participate actively in Pauline year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the Melkite patriarchate based in Damascus, Syria -- the destination of St. Paul when he was converted to Christianity -- Pope Benedict XVI asked Melkite Catholics to be enthusiastic participants in the upcoming Pauline year. The pope asked each Melkite Catholic, diocese and parish for "a more intimate knowledge of the person of Christ, thanks to a renewed reading of the Pauline literature." Meeting Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham of Damascus, members of the Melkite bishops' synod, heads of Melkite religious orders and hundreds of pilgrims at the Vatican May 8, the pope said a renewed faith would lead to a powerful witness to the Gospel and would "guarantee a flourishing future for the Melkite church." The Melkite church is one of 22 Eastern Catholic churches. The pilgrimage was part of the Melkite church's preparations for the Pauline year, which Pope Benedict will open in late June to mark the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth.
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Pope welcomes Chinese orchestra to Vatican, greets nation's Catholics
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In welcoming China's Philharmonic Orchestra to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said he was extending a hand of friendship to the Chinese people and greeting the country's Catholics. The pope also wished the people of China well in their preparations for the upcoming Olympics, calling the games "an event of great importance for the entire human family." The Beijing-based, state-run orchestra, together with the Shanghai Opera House Chorus, performed for the first time a concert in honor of the pope in the Vatican's Paul VI hall May 8. Led by conductor Yu Long, the 145 musicians and singers performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Requiem" and a Chinese folk song, "Jasmine Flower." Some 7,000 people, including top Vatican officials and diplomats, attended the hourlong concert. Before beginning the performance, Yu said the concert was of "historical significance" and said he hoped it would "help spread a message of peace and love."
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Catholic aid agency already in Myanmar faces travel restrictions
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNS) -- A Catholic aid agency already working in Myanmar when Cyclone Nargis struck has been grappling with travel restrictions as it tries to assess the situation and help survivors in the Irrawaddy delta region. "We would be able to do noticeably much more in terms of aid if our team could travel to the affected region in the Irrawaddy delta area. But the Myanmar government does not allow our international aid workers to go there," Ingo Radtke, head of Malteser International, told the Asian church news agency UCA News May 8. UCA News, based in Bangkok, received an e-mail from officials at Malteser's offices in Germany. Malteser's international staffers are prohibited from traveling to the project areas where they were working before the cyclone hit May 3. An agency official said Myanmarese staffers have to inform the authorities before traveling outside Yangon, the capital. Malteser International, formally the Order of Malta Worldwide Relief, has been working in Myanmar since 2001 on several humanitarian projects, including health care and safe drinking water.
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Newspapers say pope may apologize to Australian clergy abuse victims
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- While in Sydney for World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI may apologize to victims of clerical sexual abuse, according to Sydney's largest circulation newspapers. "The pope is set to make an historic apology when he visits Sydney in July -- to the tens of thousands of Australians sexually and physically abused by predatory Catholic priests," reported The Daily Telegraph May 8. The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney and former head of the church's abuse panel, as saying he hopes "the Australian bishops will quietly ask the pope to say something on the issue of abuse when he comes to Sydney. It was young people who were abused so it's not irrelevant to World Youth Day. From what I hear, the things the pope said in the United States and especially his meeting with victims did help," said Bishop Robinson.
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PEOPLE
First president of National Catholic Bioethics Center dies at 87
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A funeral Mass for the founding president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center was celebrated May 5 at Holy Rosary Church in Houston. Dominican Father Albert S. Moraczewski died May 1 at age 87. "Father Albert can rightly be regarded as one of the pioneers of the discipline of bioethics," said Peter J. Cataldo, former director of research at the center. "At a time when society and academe was beginning to evaluate the new technologies of biomedicine, Father Albert was at the forefront of applying faith and moral reason to these new questions. A true scholar and person of virtue, Father Albert should be emulated by all those who call themselves bioethicists." Having lived as a priest-in-residence at Holy Rosary for the last several years of his life, he was being treated for pneumonia at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston at the time of his death, said Mary Gaffney, parish secretary.
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Rector named to head bishops' secretariat for clergy, vocations
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Father James Steffes, rector of Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn., is the new executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. He succeeds Msgr. Edward Burns, who will return to the Pittsburgh Diocese for pastoral work. His appointment begins Aug. 1. Father Steffes holds a licentiate in sacred theology from the Institute of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He became rector of the seminary in 2002 after serving for five years as director of spiritual formation. The Minnesota priest was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Winona in 1993 after completing studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He taught at Loyola High School in Mankato, Minn., and served at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Mankato, Holy Family Parish in Crystal Lake and the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona. He also was diocesan vocations director and director of seminarians, 1996-2002.
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Barber at CUA retires with many friends after 47 years on campus
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Barber Dominic Spadaro likes to think that barbershop friends are friends for life. For 47 years in his shop at the Theological College of The Catholic University of America, Spadaro, 77, has barbered for well-known theologians, nuns and young students alike. He has swapped stories, discussed the day's news and shared photos of children -- and then grandchildren -- with his customer-friends. He has been a confidant to some and offered advice to others. It comes with his job, especially for someone as familiar as Spadaro has been around the Catholic University campus. "I get a lot of pleasure from other people's pleasure," he said. "It's a one-on-one kind of relationship. And that's very special." Spadaro's tenure as a professional barber comes to an end May 9, when he cleans his clippers and folds his crisp striped aprons one last time in his small shop in the McCormick Pavilion at Theological College and retires to pursue his love of painting, gardening and spending time with family.
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