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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Jun-26-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Religious leaders among officials calling on president to ban torture
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Religious leaders, former government officials and retired generals are calling on President George W. Bush to sign an executive order outlawing torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees as tools in the so-called global war on terror. Speaking at a teleconference convened by the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture June 25, representatives of the group introduced a declaration of principles which they are asking the president to follow when drafting an order that would ban any methods of interrogation that the United States would not find acceptable if used against American prisoners. About 200 prominent individuals from around the country have signed the statement to date, said Douglas Johnson, executive director of the Center for Victims of Torture. Signers include Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., chairman of the international justice and peace committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington.
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Catholic death penalty foe commends court decision in rapist's case
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A leading Catholic advocate against capital punishment commended the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling June 25 barring the death penalty for anyone convicted of raping a child. The decision said the death penalty was reserved for murder and crimes against the state such as treason, espionage and terrorism. Although the opinion in Kennedy v. Louisiana did not deny the pain and suffering inflicted in childhood rape, the court found the death penalty was not a "proportionate penalty for the crime" and thus amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment. In a June 25 e-mail, Frank McNeirney, national coordinator for Catholics Against Capital Punishment based in Bethesda, Md., told Catholic News Service that "the court would have made the system even more disproportionate and unfair" if it had extended "eligibility for execution to people who commit crimes that do not result in the loss of human life." The court's decision struck down a 1995 Louisiana law that allows the death penalty for people convicted of raping children under the age of 12.
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Common language critical to health care reform debate, speakers say
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In the debate on health care reform that is expected to follow the election of a new president and the start of the 111th Congress, a common understanding of the language used will be critical, speakers told a workshop session at the Catholic Health Assembly in San Diego June 23. "Language counts and context counts," said Wade Rose, vice president for external and government relations at Catholic Healthcare West in San Francisco. He said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was able to achieve a universal health care program for the city by focusing on the need for a "medical home" for every San Franciscan. The term means that each person would have a place to go for health care when he or she needed it. "It was an image that people understood," Rose said. "So the plan had 86 percent support right off the bat." But the average American does not necessarily understand concepts that might be commonplace to Catholic health care administrators, he said.
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While one nun's house is saved, others assess Midwest flood damage
BUFFALO, Iowa (CNS) -- The flood of 2008 is doing for Mercy Sister Ludmilla Benda what no other flood has done for 32 years. She's leaving her home in Buffalo, a small Iowa town along the mighty Mississippi River, and moving to the city. Although her home 11 miles southwest of Davenport was spared by the record floods thanks to the heroic efforts of dozens of volunteer sandbaggers and pump operators, Sister Ludmilla is packing up and leaving three decades of memories behind. "I'm moving out for good," Sister Ludmilla told The Catholic Messenger, newspaper of the Davenport Diocese, with a tinge of sadness in her voice. Others across Iowa were not as fortunate. Msgr. Francis Henricksen, retired editor of The Catholic Messenger, said flooding that inflicted severe damage on his home in Cedar Bluffs along the Cedar River came as a surprise. He was one of several priests whose retirement homes were damaged by floodwaters from the Cedar River June 13. "I had five inches of water in my bedroom and water was bubbling up through the registers," he said.
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USCCB introduces study guide that examines torture as moral issue
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The dignity and respect of the human person is the cornerstone of a new study guide on torture as a moral issue published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The guide, titled "Torture: Torture Is a Moral Issue, a Catholic Study Guide," looks at church teaching as it relates to the use of torture by government authorities around the world and mixes in biblical passages that evoke Jesus' call to "love your enemies." The guide was written by David Gibson, retired editor of Catholic News Service's Origins documentary service, in cooperation with the Catholic Leadership Council within the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. It was developed for use by discussion groups and classes in Catholic settings as well as individuals, families and others interested in studying the issue. The guide was introduced June 23 in the midst of Torture Awareness Month as designated by religious, human rights and civil liberties organizations. The guide is available for downloading on the Web at: www.usccb.org/sdwp/TortureIsAMoralIssueCatholicStudyGuide.pdf.
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Newly ordained Society of the Divine Word priests serve around world
TECHNY, Ill. (CNS) -- The first assignments for the nine men ordained as priests of the Society of the Divine Word in May will take them around the globe. The new priests -- eight are of Vietnamese descent and one is from China -- will serve in the order's western and southern U.S. provinces and in Mexico, Mozambique and Paraguay. Historically, Divine Word priests have "transcended boundaries -- geographically, philosophically and culturally. Globally, we work together," said Father Mark Weber, Chicago provincial superior for the Society of the Divine Word located in Techny. The men were ordained May 24 in Techny by Auxiliary Bishop Dominic Carmon of New Orleans, who was ordained a priest for the Society of the Divine Word, known commonly as Divine Word missionaries and as Verbites. The Society of the Divine Word was founded in 1875 and currently has more than 6,000 members who serve the spiritual and social needs of people in 70 countries.
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WORLD
Vatican: Receiving Eucharist kneeling will be norm at papal liturgies
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling before the pope will become the norm at papal liturgies, said the Vatican's liturgist. While current norms allow the faithful to receive the Eucharist in the hand while standing, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated a preference for the more traditional practice, said Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies. Kneeling and receiving Communion on the tongue highlights "the truth of the real presence (of Christ) in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful and introduces the sense of mystery more easily," he said in a June 26 interview with the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. Pastorally speaking, he said "it is urgent to highlight and recover" these aspects of the sacredness and mystery of the Eucharist in modern times. Generally at papal Masses, those receiving Communion from the pope stand and the majority choose to receive on the tongue.
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Pope urges Honduran bishops to teach beauty of marriage
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI praised the constitutional ban against same-sex marriage in Honduras and urged the country's bishops to teach "the truth and beauty" of marriage between a man and a woman. "It is correct to recognize the important step that has been taken to include in the constitution of your country an explicit acknowledgment of marriage" as being only between a man and a woman, he said in a June 26 audience with Honduran bishops. The 11 bishops were at the Vatican for their "ad limina" visits, a series of consultative meetings made approximately every five years. The Honduran legislature unanimously approved a constitutional amendment in 2005 prohibiting gay marriage and adoptions by same-sex couples. The amendment also does not recognize same-sex marriages or unions that were carried out legally in other countries.
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Belarusian archbishop expresses hope over Vatican official's visit
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Belarusian archbishop has welcomed the results of a visit by the Vatican's secretary of state, calling it a "new chapter" for the Catholic Church in the former Soviet republic. "It's been decided to draft an agreement between Belarus and the Apostolic See -- I think this is an extremely important step, since it will give our church greater legal powers in society," said Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, Belarus, in an interview with Vatican Radio's Polish section June 24. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, visited the Eastern European country June 18-22. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said he hoped the promised international accord, once negotiated, would enable the church to "feel stronger" in Belarus, which is seen as one of Europe's most repressive states.
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At Lebanese summit, religious leaders condemn fanaticism, violence
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Lebanese Christian and Muslim leaders condemned fanaticism and violence, and called for a national dialogue to tackle differences among feuding political factions. Most of Lebanon's 18 religious faiths were represented at the June 24 spiritual summit hosted by recently-elected President Michel Sleiman at the presidential palace. The leaders also called for the swift formation of a new Cabinet. In the summit's final statement, the religious leaders stressed the need to adhere to the May 21 accord reached in Doha, Qatar, which "prohibits recourse to weapons to achieve political objectives and encourages the rival parties to settle their differences within the constitutional institutions of the Lebanese state." They also called for the liberation of the remaining Israeli-occupied territories, referring in particular to the Shebaa Farms, an area where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet.
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Church stunned by sex scandal in India's Kerala state
BANGALORE, India (CNS) -- A religious order in southern Kerala state has moved quickly to dismiss a nun after an embarrassing sex scandal in India's largest Christian region. The Congregation of the Mother of Carmel expelled the 37-year-old woman, whose identity is being withheld, soon after a video showing her having sex with a driver for a Catholic hospital in Aluva was circulated over mobile telephones and came to the attention of the congregation's leaders in mid-June. "This is really embarrassing for the church," Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of Verapoly, president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, told Catholic News Service June 25 from his office in Cochin, the commercial capital of Kerala. However, Archbishop Acharuparambil lauded the congregation for acting "promptly and in exemplary manner," saying that "when things like this happen, we have to deal with it sternly. This incident shows that religious life demands great sacrifice and constant vigil against human frailties," the archbishop said.
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PEOPLE
Pro-lifer says abortion is leading cause of death in black community
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) -- As she held an umbrella to protect her from the blazing sun, Beverly Anderson clutched her rosary beads and prayed on the sidewalk near an abortion clinic on Duke Street in Alexandria June 21. She was joined by about 15 others who prayed for an end to abortion. It's something she does every week. However, for her as a black woman June has been particularly poignant because it is abortion awareness month in the black community. For the last seven years the New York-based National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life, headed by Franciscan Father James Goode, has declared June to be "Abortion and All Acts of Violence Awareness Month in the African-American Community." "Abortion is the leading cause of death in the black community," said Anderson. "People are not aware of that." According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's abortion surveillance report, 35 percent of abortions in the United States are performed on African-American women, who make up 12 percent of the U.S. population.
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CHA honors go to two women religious, laywoman, Maine food center
SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- The Catholic Health Association honored two women religious, a laywoman and a Maine center that fights malnutrition during its annual assembly June 22-24 in San Diego. Sister Monica Heeran, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace and former president and current board member of PeaceHealth, a six-hospital system based in Bellevue, Wash., won CHA's lifetime achievement award. Mercy Sister Doris Gottemoeller, senior vice president for mission and values integration at Catholic Healthcare Partners in Cincinnati, received the Sister Concilia Moran award, given annually to "a trailblazing leader whose innovative ideas and achievements take Catholic health care in a new direction." Rose Shandrow, system director of spiritual care services at Franciscan Health System in Tacoma, Wash., was the recipient of CHA's midcareer award for her efforts to use business principles to standardize how spiritual care services are developed, assessed and improved. CHA's achievement citation went to St. Mary's Nutrition Center of Maine in Lewiston, operated by the Sisters of Charity-run St. Mary's Health System.
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Cardinals celebrate Marian spirituality of Pope John Paul II
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, one of the men who knew Pope John Paul II the best, celebrated Mass in Washington June 25 in honor of the late pope's Marian spirituality. Cardinal Dziwisz served as personal secretary to Pope John Paul for nearly 40 years. Joining him in concelebrating the Mass at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center were Cardinals Adam J. Maida of Detroit and Theodore E. McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington. "We know the achievements which were made during the pontificate of John Paul, who totally entrusted himself to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, our Mother," said Cardinal Dziwisz, who gave the homily in his native Polish. An English-language text of his homily was released at the Mass. Cardinal Maida read the English translation, alternating with Cardinal Dziwisz speaking in Polish. There was a strong presence of Polish-Americans at the Mass.
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