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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Jun-4-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
'We are all God's family,' say participants in immigration rally
CHICAGO (CNS) -- About 1,000 people made their way into Chicago's historic Holy Family Church May 29, singing and praying as they walked -- one woman on her knees -- to declare that "we are all God's family" and ask that immigration policies that separate families be changed. The people came from Chicago and its suburbs, with groups of Latinos and Anglos mingling as they walked in procession from the John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago to Holy Family, a distance of a little more than a half-mile. At the church, they participated in a two-hour interfaith prayer service, with testimony from people affected by deportations, recognition of "signs of hope," Scripture and prayer. Participants brought family photos that were presented during the service to demonstrate the unity of the family. Prayers and blessings were offered by Catholic, Jewish, Presbyterian and Muslim clergy, and the walk started with a Native American cleansing ceremony.
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Pro-life law professor stunned by priest's refusal of Communion
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- For Pepperdine law professor Douglas Kmiec, a constitutional lawyer who often writes on religion in the public square, the situation had uncomfortable echoes of the last presidential election cycle -- a priest was refusing to give Communion to someone on the basis of the man's support of a candidate. This time, though, the surprised Massgoer turned away by a priest was Kmiec himself. The former dean of the law school at The Catholic University of America in Washington is an architect of the Reagan administration's stance against abortion whose pro-life credentials include serving as keynote speaker at the March for Life's annual Rose Dinner a few years ago. When the priest upbraided the law professor from the pulpit for his endorsement of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and then refused to give him Communion, Kmiec was stunned, he told Catholic News Service June 4 in a telephone interview. (Since 2002 Kmiec has been a monthly columnist for CNS.) The incident occurred at a Mass preceding the meeting of a Catholic business group in California at which Kmiec was the featured speaker.
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Priest says he erred by backing McCain at pulpit, still endorses him
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A well-known New York priest said he shouldn't have endorsed Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona for president during the invocation at a May 29 Republican dinner, but added that his only error was the setting in which he made the remarks. Msgr. Jim Lisante told Catholic News Service June 4 that he erred in making the endorsement and criticizing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois during the invocation at a New York State Republican Party event, but said it wouldn't be improper for him to do so away from the pulpit. "I freely admit I'm a supporter of John McCain, mainly because of his unwavering record on pro-life issues and, as a private citizen, I not only have the right to express my point of view, (but) the greater mistake would be to remain silent," he said. "I knew some members of the Catholic Church wouldn't agree with me, but others have expressed their support." The Catholic Church prohibits clergy from endorsing candidates or political parties. Recently a Chicago priest was reprimanded by his bishop for getting too closely involved in the U.S. presidential campaign.
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New San Antonio auxiliary bishop is nation's youngest Catholic bishop
SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- At age 41, newly ordained Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu of San Antonio is the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States. More than 1,100 people attended his episcopal ordination June 2 at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in San Antonio; they included his mother, Maria de Jesus Cantu, his seven brothers and sisters, much of his extended family and friends who made the trip from Houston and other places around the country. Bishop Cantu was pastor of Holy Name Parish in Houston, his family's home parish, when he was appointed to San Antonio April 10. He is the 25th active U.S. Hispanic bishop and he succeeds Auxiliary Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of New Orleans as the youngest bishop. Bishop Fabre was 43 at the time of his episcopal ordination in March 2007. For Bishop Cantu's ordination, San Antonio Archbishop Jose H. Gomez was the principal consecrator, joined by two co-consecrators from Galveston-Houston: retired Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza and Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vasquez.
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Wichita priest ordained auxiliary bishop of Denver Archdiocese
DENVER (CNS) -- More than 800 Catholics filled the pews of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver May 30 for the episcopal ordination of a Wichita, Kan., priest as an auxiliary bishop for the Denver Archdiocese. New Denver Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita when he was appointed to Denver April 10. The entrance procession for his episcopal ordination Mass included more than 175 priests, more than 70 deacons, a dozen bishops and two abbots. Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was principal consecrator. The co-consecrators were the new prelate's childhood friend, Bishop Paul S. Coakley of Salina, Kan., and Bishop Michael O. Jackels of Wichita, Kan. In his homily, Archbishop Chaput said, "The heart of a bishop is no longer his own. It belongs to Jesus Christ. It should burn with the love of a husband for his local church; a brother for his priests and deacons; and a father for his people and those consecrated in religious life."
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WORLD
Pope, at audience, says Scripture must be read with humility
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians must read sacred Scripture with humility and the desire to gain spiritual nourishment, not "theoretical knowledge" of God's word, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Intellectual humility is the most important rule for whoever seeks to penetrate supernatural reality starting with sacred writings," he said during his June 4 general audience in St. Peter's Square. Delving into Scripture solely to "satisfy one's own desires for knowledge means to give in to the temptation of pride and to expose oneself to the risk of slipping into heresy," he said. The pope's remarks continued his catechesis on the life and teachings of St. Gregory the Great. The sixth-century pope and doctor of the church "was a passionate reader of the Bible," Pope Benedict said. He said St. Gregory believed Christians ought to glean from sacred Scripture "not so much theoretical knowledge but rather daily nourishment for their soul."
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Children unable to return to school in Myanmar, archbishop says
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With their lives still in a state of disarray, another reality has hit the children of Myanmar after a cyclone devastated their villages and towns. June 2 marked the beginning of the school year, but in Aima, a village in the southern Irrawaddy delta region, "all the schools have been destroyed," said Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon in e-mails in late May and early June. The archbishop said he believes that "the start of the school year is also an important reminder that we must prioritize the needs of children who have been affected by Cyclone Nargis." He called on the church to "ensure that children can also return to school as soon as possible." In his e-mails, Archbishop Bo gave updates on the Asian country's state of affairs. After recently traveling 10 hours by boat to Aima, he also shared the stories of what he saw and heard from survivors. "For the children of Aima, the horror of the cyclone still haunts them," said Archbishop Bo. "Many of the children cry at night and when it rains. The children fear the worst and relive the trauma of the night" of May 2, when Cyclone Nargis hit, he said.
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Cardinal Kasper gives upbeat report on meetings with Russian Orthodox
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's top ecumenist gave an upbeat report on his recent meetings with leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church, saying historic tensions have been replaced by an eagerness to cooperate. "We're at the beginning of a new situation and a new reality, in which the confrontation of the past seems to have vanished," Cardinal Walter Kasper said after his 10-day visit to Russia at the end of May. "Everything seems to point in the direction of a possible meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Alexy II (of Moscow.) There is not a concrete agenda, but there are many signs of reconciliation," the cardinal said in an interview June 3 with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Cardinal Kasper traveled to Russia at the invitation of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, president of the Russian Orthodox Church's office for ecumenical relations. The trip featured a meeting with Patriarch Alexy and visits to Orthodox centers in four major cities. Cardinal Kasper said he received a warm welcome that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
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Church official: Excommunicated archbishop not drawing large crowds
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is not drawing the crowds that he used to in his home city of Lusaka, Zambia, a church official said. "As archbishop (of Lusaka) he could fill a football stadium, but now he is easily able to use the conference room of the motel he is staying in to hold his healing ceremonies. That tells the story," Father Joe Komakoma, general secretary of the Zambia Episcopal Conference, said in a June 3 telephone interview with Catholic News Service from the Zambian capital, Lusaka. While "the media is still fascinated by him," Archbishop Milingo "is largely ignored by Zambian Catholics now that he is no longer a member of the church," Father Komakoma said. Archbishop Milingo, 77, who was married in a Unification Church ceremony in 2001, is on his first visit to the southern African country since he was excommunicated by the Vatican in September 2006 for illicitly ordaining married men. The Unification Church is known now as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
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Pakistani bombing was type of violence priest hoped to avoid
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) -- The June 2 car-bomb attack in front of the Danish Embassy in Islamabad is the latest example of the violence Father Aftab James Paul has been hoping to avoid. The priest, director of the Faisalabad Diocese's Commission for Interfaith Dialogue, understands why Muslims and Christians get upset when anyone denigrates their religion, as with the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers. But he rejects the recourse to violence, especially against innocent people, he told the Asian church news agency UCA News. The eight people killed and numerous other casualties -- most Pakistanis -- of the June 2 suicide attack "were neither publishers nor editors of the newspapers in which the blasphemous cartoons were printed," Father Paul told UCA News. Media reports claim the bombing may have been the work of the al-Qaida terrorist group in response to Danish newspapers reprinting the cartoons in February.
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Quebec cardinal says he hopes congress pilgrims ready to give witness
TORONTO (CNS) -- Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet said he hopes pilgrims to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress will be prepared "to receive and to give." The cardinal told Catholic News Service his message to pilgrims arriving in Quebec City for the June 15-22 event was: "Open your hearts. Open your arms. We welcome you wholeheartedly. We need you; we need your testimony of faith," he said. "We need your openness to communicate to the people surrounding the event." The cardinal said many of the events at the congress would be held in public areas of Quebec, where people who choose not to attend the congress would be able to watch. "If they see the joy and the spirit of openness in the congress," they might be impressed with the Catholic Church, the cardinal told CNS after a May 30 speech to journalists attending the Catholic Media Convention in Toronto.
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Vatican working on interreligious dialogue guidelines, official says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican is working on a new set of pastoral guidelines for interreligious dialogue, a leading official said. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue began pulling together elements for the guidelines at its plenary session in Rome, said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, council president. "After many years of hesitation about the suitability of such a document, the time has arrived to offer pastors and the faithful some general orientations, which obviously will have to be adapted to local situations," Cardinal Tauran said in an opening address to the council's plenary meeting June 4. The cardinal said the guidelines would be inspired in part by the Ten Commandments, which remain universal principles in a believer's relationship with God and with neighbors. Cardinal Tauran offered no timeline for the new document, but said the council's meeting should provide ample material for its preparation. His comments were reported by Vatican Radio.
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Chinese Catholics try to resume normal life in rural quake-hit areas
GUANGYUAN, China (CNS) -- Despite fears of continuing aftershocks, Catholics in this quake-hit area of Sichuan province are in good spirits and optimistic about rebuilding their homes soon, said a local priest. Father Joseph Ye Yong of the Chengdu Diocese has visited all eight churches in Guangyuan parish, traversing mountainous areas about 160 miles northeast of Chengdu on his motorbike, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Chengdu is the provincial capital. Father Ye, the assistant parish priest, told UCA News June 2 he was relieved to confirm no fatalities among his 20,000 parishioners. Most of them are farmers who now live in relief tents, their houses having collapsed in the earthquake, but they have returned to work in their terraced fields because the wheat-harvesting season has begun, he said. Some are still nervous, he added, especially when aftershocks hit.
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PEOPLE
Cardinal George asks Father Pfleger to take leave from parish post
CHICAGO (CNS) -- A Chicago Catholic priest criticized for a speech in which he mocked Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has been temporarily removed from his pastoral duties by Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago. In a statement released late June 3, Cardinal George said though Father Michael Pfleger doesn't agree that he should take a leave of absence from his post as pastor of Chicago's St. Sabina Catholic Church "I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the church's regulations for all Catholic priests." Father William Vanecko -- pastor of Chicago's St. Kilian Parish -- will serve as temporary administrator of St. Sabina to ensure ministerial services are uninterrupted, the cardinal said. This was not welcome news to several parishioners of St. Sabina. "We respectfully request the cardinal immediately reinstate Father Pfleger as full pastor of St. Sabina," the parish council's president, Gerald Stewart, was quoted as saying in the Chicago Sun-Times daily newspaper.
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Virginia Tech tragedy leads bereaved mother on journey back to faith
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Before April 16, 2007, Marian Hammaren of Westtown, N.Y., thought she knew what she'd been put on the earth to do: to be Caitlin's mother, to guide and protect her. But 19-year-old Caitlin Hammaren, a sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in French and international relations and an only child, did not survive the tragedy on campus that day and Marian Hammaren was left wondering: "What's my job now?" In a May 30 telephone interview with Catholic News Service, Hammaren described the dark times that followed the campus massacre that left her daughter and 32 other students and faculty members at Virginia Tech dead. But she also spoke about a book that "set me back on the journey to God" and helped give her a new role in life. That book, Anthony DeStefano's "Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To," led her to the Bible and other spiritual writings. "Despair doesn't even describe it," she said of the weeks following her daughter's death. "Heavy-hearted is a word you don't even grasp until you go through something like this."
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