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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Jul-17-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Critics say Massachusetts bill could aid growth of same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts have opposed a bill that would repeal a 1913 law used to bar most out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the commonwealth. The bishops and other critics of the bill believe giving marriage licenses to out-of-state couples whose home state doesn't legally recognize such unions would open the door for legal challenges in other jurisdictions. DignityUSA, an unofficial Catholic support group for gay Catholics and their families, applauded the legislation and said it would be another step toward "putting our families on equal footing with other families." The Massachusetts Senate passed the bill July 15 and the House was expected to vote on the measure before the end of July. The law was originally instituted at a time when many states in the U.S. were trying to keep interracial couples from crossing state lines to wed, but it eventually fell into obscurity. However, once Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, then-Gov. Mitt Romney began enforcing the law to prevent gay couples from coming to the state to marry and initiating litigation aimed at forcing their home state to recognize their civil marriage.
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Reports on Catholic losses to evangelicals called 'exaggerated'
SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- Large numbers of cradle Catholics in both the United States and Canada continue to identify with their Catholic roots even if they have become largely inactive in church life, Canadian sociologist Reginald Bibby told a San Antonio audience. And what's more, large numbers of them express openness to getting more deeply involved if parishes provide ministries that are meaningful to their family members, he said. Bibby, professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, shared those findings in a keynote address in late June at the Oblate Renewal Center in San Antonio in conjunction with the Oblate School of Theology's 2008 summer institute on "Megatrends in Church and Society." Bibby, a Baptist, said that Catholics by their sheer numbers occupy a privileged position. In the United States the Catholic population numbers 67 million, according to the 2008 Official Catholic Directory. That growth has roughly mirrored the rise in total U.S. population, from 218.6 million in 1979 to 232.4 million in 1999 and 305 million in 2008. Canada's Catholics number about 13 million out of a total population of 33.4 million.
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U.S. church official says Haiti desperately needs political stability
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) -- Haiti desperately needs political stability so that jobs can be created to lift the poor out of a critical situation, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy. "The situation is critical, although there is still a glimmer of hope," Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., told Catholic News Service July 16. "Haiti now needs a solid success story so that hope does not disappear." Bishop Wenski, who visited Haiti in mid-July, said that in a private meeting earlier that day, Haitian President Rene Preval expressed his thanks for the work of the Catholic Church in advocating for the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act and for the job opportunities it could create. The U.S. Hope Act I and II, as it is known, allows the United States to import Haitian textiles and could create 3,000 jobs in Haiti where, the bishop said, it is estimated that every job feeds an extended family of 10 people, so "3,000 jobs could feed 300,000 people." Without political stability, Bishop Wenski said, investors will not confidently invest their money into a job-producing market in Haiti.
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WORLD
Pope formally welcomed to Australia with 21-gun salute, military band
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI formally was welcomed to Australia with a 21-gun salute and bright sunshine that had only just begun drying the dew in the grassy garden of Sydney's Government House. Although he arrived in Australia July 13 and in Sydney July 16, the first days of his stay were dedicated to relaxation. Protocol took over July 17 with the government's official welcoming ceremony, complete with a papal review of members of the Australian armed forces, including the Australian Army Band, which played "Waltzing Matilda" only after the pope had left. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd welcome the pope as "an apostle of peace," a defender of the world's poor and "a voice of hope at a time in our planet's dealings when hope is most needed of all." Rudd said it was appropriate that World Youth Day was being celebrated in Australia July 15-20 because, like the Catholic pilgrims, Australia is young and includes people from every part of the world.
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Pope urges young people to respect life by safeguarding all creation
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Wonder and awe, tradition and novelty were combined July 17 as Pope Benedict XVI shared a 45-minute boat ride through Sydney Harbor, chatting with a handful of young people before formally addressing thousands of them. As the pope's boat left Rose Bay, he briefly sat in the wooden throne placed on the bow. But soon the young people introduced to him crowded around and he stood with them at the railing, chatting and waving to people on shore and on boats escorting them to the welcoming ceremony. At Rose Bay, Aboriginal elders greeted the pope, gave him gifts and, dancing, led him to the water's edge. Once the pope's boat reached the old dockyard at Barangaroo, a young Aborigine greeted the pope with a hug, and the pope stood with a broad smile on his face as young indigenous danced for him. The Book of the Gospels was carried forward on a wooden boat and was adorned with a lei as the deacon received it. In his address to the estimated 150,000 young people at Barangaroo, the pope said respect for creation means protecting and perfecting the person just as much as it means safeguarding the world's natural resources.
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Aborigines play prominent role in pope's welcome to Australia
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- To the haunting drone of didgeridoo, Pope Benedict XVI's arrival at Rose Bay began with a "sweeping dance" performed by three young Australian Aborigines. The clearing of debris from the ground ahead of the pope symbolized "purification and new beginnings," said one of the dancers, Matt Shields, 23, a Kamilaroi from western New South Wales. The dance was one of several events highlighting Australia's indigenous peoples July 17, the pope's first day of participating in World Youth Day events. Earlier in the day, Pope Benedict had spoken about new beginnings for Australia's indigenous peoples during a brief speech at Sydney's Government House when he applauded the government's recent apology to Aborigines for the stolen generations forcibly separated from their families. The Australian government's acknowledgment of injustices against indigenous peoples, the pope said, was "courageous." At Rose Bay, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the Sydney basin, welcomed Pope Benedict to Sydney Harbor's shore. Allen Madden, a 59-year-old Gadigal elder, welcomed the pope "as a man of hope, love and peace" into his ancestors' country.
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For some, absence of Iraqis dampens joy of welcoming pope to WYD
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- For some participants at World Youth Day, the joy of welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the World Youth Day celebration July 17 was dampened by the absence of a Chaldean Catholic delegation from Iraq. Salina Hasham, a World Youth Day employee, has been working for months trying to get the 170-member Iraqi delegation to Sydney. At first, it seemed the Australian government would not issue any visas to the group, Hasham said. Then 10 visas were granted and, finally, a total of 25 visas were approved. But as of July 17, she said, "they are stuck in Iraq. They have been at the airport for days, but flight after flight has been canceled." Hasham said the Iraqi youths were committed to celebrating World Youth Day even if they have to do it by praying together at home and organizing their own events. "But the 25 (who received visas) are still keen to represent their country in Sydney," she said. Hasham expressed hope that they will arrive before the July 20 closing Mass.
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In txts, BXVI urges WYD pilgrims to proclaim Christ & his luv
SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- Some well-connected participants at World Youth Day were told, "God & his people expect much from u." The message, using common cellular phone texting abbreviations, was signed "BXVI" for Pope Benedict XVI. It was the first of six messages that were to be sent to subscribers of Australia's Telstra cellular phone network. BXVI did not actually thumb the text messages into his cell phone. Telstra and World Youth Day organizers worked with Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, papal spokesman, to formulate the text messages and make them available at noon each day during the July 15-20 event.
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Church aid workers in Spain learn to focus on whole person
MADRID, Spain (CNS) -- More than 100 aid workers for the Catholic Church in Spain explored ways to eradicate poverty and other social problems by focusing on people's spiritual and mental health as well as their physical problems. Juan Antonio Almonacid, coordinator of the July 3-16 program held outside of Madrid, said the program aimed to "promote humanity" by training Caritas Spain employees and volunteers from 49 dioceses to care for the needs of the whole person. "If there is poverty, we do not just look to see if a person eats or does not eat. We also try to help with the person's mental and emotional health and fight against human weakness," Almonacid said. The program also sought to create a common culture among people who dedicate their lives to helping the marginalized. Caritas Spain is the local affiliate of Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization of Catholic aid agencies worldwide.
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Bishops, First Nations chief meet to discuss healing, reconciliation
OTTAWA (CNS) -- Healing and reconciliation formed the agenda for a meeting of Catholic bishops with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine in Quebec City July 16. "I recognize that thousands of Catholic men and women religious worked during the Indian residential schools era in what they sincerely believed to be in the best interest of Indian residential school students," Fontaine said in a written statement. "However, it is important for these religious entities to both openly acknowledge their role in Indian residential schools and to hear directly from First Nations regarding their experiences." Joining Fontaine were Archbishop Pierre-Andre Fournier of Rimouski, Quebec; Archbishop Gerard Pettipas of Grouard-McLennan, Alberta, president of the 50 Catholic entities involved in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement; Bishop Eugene Tremblay of Amos, Quebec; and Bishop Martin Veillette of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Fontaine said he viewed the Catholic entities as allies in the healing process for residential school survivors and their families. "The close cooperation of all stakeholders is crucial to the success of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission," he said.
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PEOPLE
Canonization cause formally opened for Father Kapaun, Korean War hero
PILSEN, Kan. (CNS) -- History was made in the Diocese of Wichita June 29 as nearly 700 people witnessed the formal opening of the canonization cause of Father Emil Joseph Kapaun at St. John Nepomucene Church in his hometown of Pilsen. But Father Kapaun's brother, Eugene, said his Korean War hero brother would have been humbled about the gathering and wouldn't have said much about the formalities, just a couple of words, perhaps: "Aw, shucks." Father John Hotze, the episcopal delegate for the cause, also had two words after the ceremony was over: "Thank God!" Father Hotze, who works in the diocesan marriage tribunal, was relieved that many months of work finally reached a milestone. Father Kapaun, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, died on May 23, 1951, in a North Korean prisoner of war camp. He was serving as a U.S. Army chaplain when he and his men were overrun during battle. In the church's process leading to canonization, the first step is the declaration of a person's heroic virtues, after which the church gives him or her the title venerable. In general, the church must then confirm two miracles before sainthood is declared. The first miracle is needed for beatification and the second for canonization.
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President Bush joined hundreds who gathered for Snow's funeral
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- President George W. Bush was among the hundreds of mourners who gathered July 17 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington for the funeral Mass of Tony Snow, former White House press secretary. Snow, 53, died July 12 after a long bout with colon cancer. "Tony Snow, the professional, is a hard act to follow, Tony Snow, the man, is simply irreplaceable," said Bush in a tribute immediately following the opening procession. He also noted that once Snow's cancer returned for the second time, "he did not turn to despair. He saw it as another challenge to tackle. He found comfort in the prayers he received from millions of Americans." Vincentian Father David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America, was the main celebrant and homilist. Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, rector of the national shrine, was a concelebrant. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington was presiding bishop. The basilica, the largest Catholic church in North America, was filled nearly to capacity for the funeral Mass.
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Divine Word priest once jailed by Chinese authorities dies at 92
TECHNY, Ill. (CNS) -- A funeral Mass for Divine Word Father John Swift, once imprisoned for three years in China for defying communist authorities there, was celebrated July 9 at the Society of the Divine Word Chapel in Techny. Father Swift, 92, died July 4 in Techny. Born in 1915 in New Richland, Minn., Father Swift began studying with the Society of the Divine Word in 1936 and professed vows as a brother in 1938, taking the name Brother Matthew. He worked as a printing press operator at Divine Word Mission Press in Techny and became a master printer. In 1947, he was assigned to manage the Catholic press of the bishop of Tsingtao, China. While there, he defied communist authorities by refusing to publish passages of a textbook that contradicted the Catholic faith. While in prison, his captors held him in handcuffs for two months and in solitary confinement for nine months. A judge demanded he give up being a brother as a condition of being released. Father Swift composed a note telling the judge that after 18 years as a brother he had finally decided to give up his vocation and study for the priesthood."
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Patricia Buckley Bozell, co-founder of Catholic opinion journal, dies
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Patricia Buckley Bozell, who helped her husband start a journal in the 1960s called Triumph to counter what they considered left-wing elements in the Catholic Church, died at her home in Washington July 12 of throat cancer. She was 81. A funeral Mass for Bozell was celebrated July 16 at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, followed by interment at St. Mary's Cemetery. Born Patricia Lee Buckley to William F. Buckley Sr. and Aloise Steiner Buckley on April 23, 1927, in New York City. She grew up in Connecticut and South Carolina, but received much of her early education abroad. She attended the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Conn., and graduated from the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York before going on to Vassar College, where she earned her undergraduate degree in 1948. In 1949, she married L. Brent Bozell Jr., who helped her brother, the late William F. Buckley Jr., who was dubbed the godfather of modern American conservatism, start the National Review. In 1966, the Bozells started Triumph magazine, a monthly journal of Catholic opinion. L. Brent Bozell was the senior editor and his wife was the managing editor.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
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