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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS May-16-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Catholic leaders decry court ruling striking down ban on gay marriage
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco and other California Catholic leaders condemned the May 15 ruling by the California Supreme Court that struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage. In a statement released shortly after the ruling, Archbishop Niederauer said Catholic teaching on marriage is clear and based on the teaching of Jesus Christ, who said God "made them male and female" and "for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife." "At a moment in our society when we need to reinforce the strength of marriage and family, this decision of the Supreme Court takes California in the opposite direction," he said. Several gay and lesbian couples joined the city of San Francisco and gay rights groups to sue the state government to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage. The 4-3 ruling -- which said that domestic partnerships currently recognized by the state are an inadequate substitute for marriage -- would make California the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex couples to wed. Opponents said they would fight the ruling; the court's order was to become final in 30 days.
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Archdiocese of Indianapolis sues Facebook over phony Web page
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Archdiocese of Indianapolis is suing the online social networking site Facebook to learn the identity of the person who developed a phony Facebook page that targeted a high school administrator by using his name without his permission. The suit was filed May 9 on behalf of Tim Puntarelli, dean of students at the archdiocesan-run Roncalli High School in Indianapolis. Archdiocesan spokesman Greg Otolski told Catholic News Service May 15 that the suit was filed after Facebook failed to turn over information about who established the Web page and sent inappropriate messages to students. Facebook, based in Palo Alto, Calif., allows users to communicate with friends, fellow students, co-workers and others. Users can post photos and messages on individual Web pages. The phony Web page's anonymous developers must be identified in order for the archdiocese to determine if additional legal action is required to protect and restore Puntarelli's reputation, Otolski said. Facebook declined comment on the case.
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Bishops' vote on missal translation just one step in long process
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When the U.S. bishops take up the English translation of the Roman Missal at their June 12-14 general meeting in Orlando, Fla., it won't be the first time they've looked at the project -- and it will be far from the last. The section of the missal translation under consideration this spring involves the proper prayers -- the opening collect, the prayer over the offerings and the prayer after Communion -- for Masses during Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter as well as the Sundays of ordinary time and the solemnities and holy days of obligation. The nearly 700-page section is the second of 12 units into which the Roman Missal has been divided for translation purposes. The first unit -- the Order of Mass, involving the main constant parts of the Mass, including the penitential rite, Gloria, creed, eucharistic prayers, and other prayers and responses used daily -- was approved by the bishops in June 2006 in Los Angeles. The Committee on Divine Worship of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops plans to present several units to the bishops for approval at the bishops' general meetings in November 2008, June and November 2009 and November 2010.
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Trial begins for Cleveland Diocese's former chief financial officer
CLEVELAND (CNS) -- The Cleveland Diocese's one-time chief financial officer belied the trust of diocesan officials in engineering a kickback scheme involving nearly $785,000 in diocesan funds, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Siegel said in his opening salvo in the trial of Joseph Smith, the former CFO. "It was easy for people to trust him and trust his judgment," Siegel told the 11-woman, five-man jury in U.S. District Court in opening arguments May 14. But, he explained, that trust was misplaced. "Mr. Smith was making decisions for his own personal interest instead of what was best for the diocese," he said. Smith, 51, is charged with 23 felony counts including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS, mail fraud, money laundering, making false personal income tax returns and endeavoring to obstruct tax laws. In response, defense attorney Phillip Kushner gave sympathetic opening arguments, even introducing Smith's wife, Ann, and the couple's two children who were in the courtroom. He said evidence will show that Smith did nothing illegal.
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Centuries-old debate still rages over religion's role in public life
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although today's often vitriolic rhetoric about the role of religion in public life seems like a modern-day affliction, Americans have been debating how to balance tensions between faith and politics for more than 230 years. The key question: How much should religion -- and by inference God -- influence the political landscape? The question isn't the problem, said Stephen Schneck, director of the Life Cycle Institute at The Catholic University of America in Washington. More so, it's how the question is addressed. It's the malicious nature of the debate over the proper role of religion today which has people like Schneck concerned. Schneck approached the subject from a historical perspective during a May 13 panel discussion on the need for civility as the 2008 election plays out.
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Sports, camaraderie mark Focolare youth event held to promote peace
HYDE PARK, N.Y. (CNS) -- On the corner of Peace Avenue and Joy Street in a Hyde Park community dedicated to Mary, more than 250 members of the Focolare movement gathered May 10 in the name of world peace. They came together for Run4Unity 2008, a day of fun, songs, games, athletics, prayer, Christian camaraderie and interfaith dialogue. Similar events took place in all 24 time zones around the world. First held in 2005, Run4Unity promotes sports, games and camaraderie as instruments for peace. In Hyde Park, the event was held in the Mariapolis Luminosa community. Established in 1986, it describes itself as "the little city of the Focolare movement for North America." "Mariapolis" is Greek for "city of Mary." "Luminosa" refers to the oldest friend of the late Focolare founder Chiara Lubich and one of the first people to join Lubich's new lay spiritual movement, which began in Italy in 1943. Run4Unity was launched by Young for Unity, the Focolare movement's youth branch. It brings together youths of different cultures, languages and ethnic backgrounds in 182 nations to live for a more united world, spreading a culture of giving, peace and brotherhood.
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Minister apologizes to Catholics; some question if politics behind it
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- After the Rev. John Hagee, a San Antonio televangelist, sent a letter to the head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights apologizing for any comments he made "that Catholics have found hurtful," the league's president, William Donohue, said that "the case is closed." Other Catholic leaders said the gesture toward reconciliation should be graciously accepted but that there was a ring of partisan political maneuvering to the publicity about Rev. Hagee's anti-Catholic rhetoric and the apology. The words of the minister, the pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, became an issue because of his endorsement of a presidential candidate. Richard R. Gaillardetz, professor of Catholic studies at the University of Toledo in Ohio, said while Rev. Hagee's May 12 letter "goes beyond the garden variety 'I'm sorry if someone was offended' apology," the way the controversy has played out seems to have political motivations in addition to concern for decrying anti-Catholicism. When presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain received a highly publicized endorsement by Rev. Hagee, Donohue blasted the Arizona senator for seeking the support of someone who "has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church." McCain has condemned Rev. Hagee's remarks but has continued to say he's glad to have his endorsement.
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WORLD
Keeping the faith: Muslim immigrants integrate with Christians' help
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the Vatican combining priorities into one meeting, the special needs of immigrant families were the center of attention at the plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. The members of the council -- cardinals and bishops from around the world -- and invited experts spent three days reviewing church teaching on the family, exploring the latest statistics on immigration patterns and offering practical advice for pastors. A recurring theme of the meeting was the challenge posed by cultural and religious differences between new arrivals and their host countries. Sara Silvestri, an Italian political science professor at City University in London, spoke of the importance of intercultural dialogue in helping immigrant families stay united, integrate into their new societies and strengthen those societies with their values. Looking at the countries the immigrants came from, their reason for moving and when they resettled, Silvestri is convinced that the key obstacle to integration is economic difficulty, particularly because of unemployment or underemployment.
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Pope: Poverty, trivialization of sexuality must be ended in Thailand
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If the trafficking of women and children and prostitution are to be stopped, poverty and the "trivialization of sexuality" must be tackled, Pope Benedict XVI said. The media and entertainment industries' trivialization of human sexuality "fuels a decline in moral values and leads to the degradation of women, the weakening of fidelity in marriage and even the abuse of children," he said. The pope made his remarks May 16 during a private audience with Catholic bishops from Thailand at the end of their "ad limina" visits, in which they reported on the status of their dioceses. The pope praised the bishops for their efforts in trying to address the problem of poverty through the church's development programs. But the way human sexuality is depicted also must be "acknowledged and collectively addressed if this abhorrent human exploitation is to be effectively confronted," he said.
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As rain pours, Myanmar church teams reach out to cyclone survivors
YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) -- For the teams of church volunteers from Yangon fanning out into the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta, the human cost is clear. It is not just realized in the bloated dead bodies the volunteers pass on the rivers or in the fields; it is in the loss reflected in the eyes of survivors, grieving for family members as they huddle in the few large buildings left standing. The Asian church news agency UCA News reported that dozens of volunteers from the Yangon Archdiocese, Karuna Myanmar Social Services, and the newly created Myanmar Disaster Relief Committee have been visiting badly affected places to begin addressing the humanitarian disaster caused by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar May 3. Myanmar's government said May 16 that close to 77,800 people have died. The Red Cross said the toll may be as high as 128,000; the U.N. estimates more than 100,000 died. The United Nations also said 2.5 million people are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care.
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Pope: Families in crisis need help from government, church, community
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Families in crisis desperately need help from the government, church and local communities, Pope Benedict XVI said. "There is an increasingly urgent need for a common commitment to support families by every means available, from the social and economic point of view as well as the juridical and spiritual," he said. The pope spoke May 16, the day after the International Day of the Family, in a special audience with several European Catholic family associations. He praised their efforts at fostering awareness among government officials and the public about the importance of stable families based on marriage between a man and a woman. It is this kind of union "of life and love" that "represents an irreplaceable good for all of society" which should never be confused or equated with other types of unions, he said.
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Bomb damages entrance of Catholic school in Gaza
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- A bomb by unknown assailants damaged the entrance of a Catholic school in Gaza May 16. Father Manuel Musallam of Gaza's Holy Family Catholic Church said there were no injuries in the early-morning explosion that, according to The Associated Press, was powerful enough to be heard in the surrounding neighborhood. Father Musallam said, however, that it was a small explosion and damaged only the front gate of the Zahwa Rosary School where both Christian and Muslim students study. Two nuns were in their convent adjacent to the school when the explosion occurred. "The sisters were very terrified in the morning," said Father Musallam. Last June, unknown assailants ransacked the school and convent. That attack took place during a week of heavy fighting between the rival Palestinian forces of Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah. At the end of the fighting, Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip.
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PEOPLE
Pope seeks prayers that Chinese Catholics not live in fear
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called on the universal church to pray that Catholics in China never live in fear of spreading the Gospel message and remain loyal to the Holy See. In a special prayer released by the Vatican May 16, the pope asked that, despite the hardships Catholics in China face, they "continue to believe, to hope, to love." Last June, Pope Benedict established May 24, the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, as the world day of prayer for the church in China. Mary is venerated under that title at the Marian shrine in Sheshan, outside Shanghai, China. Titled Prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan, the prayer was released in eight different languages, including traditional and simplified Chinese.
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Israeli ambassador emphasizes 'smoothing things up' at Vatican
ROME (CNS) -- Israeli ambassadors to the Vatican have a tradition of being press-friendly, and Mordechay Lewy is no exception. Three days after presenting his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI, Lewy sat down with six Vatican journalists for a conversation at the Israeli Embassy in Rome's Parioli neighborhood. Over coffee and cookies May 15 he chatted about his new job and did a little parsing of the pope's speech, which was handed to him at the credentials ceremony. Lewy left no doubt that he relishes the role of ambassador to the Holy See. He said that when diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel were established in 1993 he told himself, "That's a job for me." He's had a long interest in the history of religion in the Middle East. Lewy told reporters that his meeting with the pope was very positive, on the whole. Lewy said he did not come into his job with a "blueprint," but predicted that his work would focus largely on bilateral issues and also on Catholic-Jewish relations. Asked what his general approach would be, he stood and ran his hand over the rounded edge of his wooden desk and said, "I'm for smoothing things up and not for stressing the corners."
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Chinese priest calls for end to search for loved ones in debris
DUJIANGYAN, China (CNS) -- Four days after the deadly earthquake shook his parish in the Diocese of Chengdu, a priest asked his parishioners to refrain from searching for their relatives and friends in the debris. "I'm afraid other dangers may emerge," such as an outbreak of disease and further collapse of buildings, said Father Francis Wang Fuxuan of the Dujiangyan parish. Father Wang told the Asian church news agency UCA News May 16 that the most urgent thing is to help the people living in tents outdoors because they lost homes or do not feel safe in them amid still-frequent aftershocks. Hygiene in the city has worsened due to the accumulation of corpses, he said, with flies, mosquitoes and rats rampant. But Father Wang thanked God that almost all of the rural Catholics in his parish survived the earthquake. Dujiangyan is only 15 miles from the epicenter of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that shook Sichuan province in southwestern China May 12.
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At end of Israeli visit, Bush tours museum of biblical-era artifacts
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Capping off his three-day visit to Israel, U.S. President George W. Bush toured a museum showcasing biblical-era artifacts that trace the common roots of the three monotheistic religions. Amanda Weiss, managing director of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, said the president and first lady Laura Bush were inspired by the collection that speaks about biblical history. She took the couple through the museum's permanent exhibition May 16, making stops in the Gallery of Written Communication, which chronicles the development of writing from its earliest origins through the alphabet, and at the special exhibit Three Faces of Monotheism. "He is one of the more personable, warm, friendly people I have taken through the museum," said Weiss. "He asked a lot of questions, made lots of comments and was very interested." Bush was in Israel to mark the nation's 60th anniversary and attend Israeli President Shimon Peres' special "Facing Tomorrow" conference.
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Conway resigns as Catholic Press Association executive director
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic Press Association Executive Director Tom Conway is leaving the CPA to work for another trade association. In a surprise announcement May 15, CPA president Bob Zyskowski said Conway, hired 18 months earlier, is moving on to become the chief financial officer of the 43,000-member American Society of Anesthesiologists based in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Ill. CPA headquarters are in Chicago. "We were anticipating he would be with us for a long time," Zyskowski told Catholic News Service May 16. "We're hoping we're not going to miss too many beats." CPA board members met via conference call soon after Conway announced his resignation May 15 to begin charting a path for hiring Conway's replacement. Zyskowski, who is associate publisher and general manager of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said the board should finalize a job description at its regularly scheduled meeting May 27 in Toronto and circulate it during the Catholic Media Convention there May 28-30.
END
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