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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Oct-1-2008
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Catholic agencies cautiously prepare for economic future
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Officials at Catholic aid agencies said it is too early to tell how the shaky economy will affect their donations and investments and noted they are cautiously preparing for the future. John F. Galbraith, president and chief executive officer of the New York-based Catholic Medical Mission Board, said nonprofit organizations tend to react more slowly to market punches than other sectors of the economy. Although "it is premature to look at our results (of donation revenue) in the past two months," he told Catholic News Service Sept. 30, the board has "to be prudent at this point in time." "The psychology of the stock market is just as important as the reality of the stock market; if people think they have less money we have to prepare for it -- that they will give less money," Galbraith said. "If they are on a fixed income, they will be much more diligent. We're not going to lose them (as donors), but they will be more careful of how they allocate that portion of money they can afford to be charitable with." The Catholic Medical Mission Board sends medical supplies and volunteers to poor missionary countries.
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End food commodities speculation, religious groups, others urge
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- While much of the nation's attention has been focused on the stock market, a coalition of religious, social justice, rural and environmental groups is working to bring attention to damage it says has been caused worldwide by a speculative commodities futures market. "Food is not a speculative investment," said the coalition in a Sept. 23 letter to President George W. Bush and members of Congress. "The artificial demand that has been created by investors' rampant speculation in commodities futures has put tremendous upward price pressure on food and energy commodities." More than 3 billion people around the world subsist on less than $2 a day, half of which goes to pay for food, the letter said. With the doubling or tripling of food prices caused by speculators, "many of the world's poor can no longer afford the food that they need to survive," it added. Although commodity futures prices have recently come down, the letter said, "the regulatory loopholes that undermine the intent of the Commodity Exchange Act remain open, ready to reintroduce extreme market volatility, political instability and much human suffering."
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New book, report assess status of abortion at state level
CHICAGO (CNS) -- A new book by constitutional scholar Paul Benjamin Linton assesses the legal status of abortion in each of the 50 states, concluding that more than half the abortions performed in the U.S. would remain "constitutionally protected" if Roe v. Wade were overturned. "Abortion Under State Constitutions" was published with the assistance of the Thomas More Society in Chicago. At about the same time, the Chicago-based Americans United for Life released its annual report on abortion-related actions in state legislatures around the country in 2008. Linton's book provides "a road map for the pro-life movement in every state of the nation," said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel for the society, a national public-interest law firm. The Americans United for Life report says 45 states considered nearly 450 measures related to abortion in 2008, a 12 percent increase over the previous year. "We are seeing more and more legislation designed to protect women from the negative consequences of abortion," said Denise Burke, vice president and legal director of the organization.
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Hope, faith in abundance at first Mass on Galveston Island since Ike
GALVESTON, Texas (CNS) -- An hour prior to Mass, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston was walking around the grounds of St. Patrick Church, taking time to speak with those who showed up early for the first Mass on Galveston Island since it was battered by Hurricane Ike Sept. 13. They all shared similar stories. Some had lost everything. Some had only lost their utilities and were still waiting. Some were born on the island. Some weren't. Regardless, they all shared in the hope that the historic island would recover as it has after previous storms, and they all shared the same faith -- that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist would lift their spirits during these challenging times. And like his predecessors -- from Bishop Jean Marie Odin to retired Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza -- Cardinal DiNardo was present to his flock when they needed him most, sharing a smile, a word of hope, or just a simple pat on the back. "I want the people of Galveston to know that faith is going to be pretty important for them as they begin all of their cleanup and rebuilding and we are here with them," the cardinal said.
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Cardinal Rigali calls upon Catholics to 'build a culture of life'
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- All Catholics are called "to help build a culture of life in which every human life without exception is respected and defended," the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities said in a message for Respect Life Sunday Oct. 5. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia invited Catholics to build a culture of life and to "rededicate ourselves to defending the basic rights of those who are weakest and most marginalized: the poor, the homeless, the innocent unborn, and the frail and elderly who need our respect and our assistance" in a statement released Sept. 30. The statement outlined the cardinal's immediate concerns regarding assisted suicide, embryonic stem-cell research and abortion. Cardinal Rigali's full statement can be found online at www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2008/08-141.shtml.
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Number of parishes in Lansing Diocese will be trimmed under new plan
LANSING, Mich. (CNS) -- A three-year process to determine how the Diocese of Lansing will look in the future has resulted in a plan to trim the number of parishes from 97 to 80. Unveiling the plan at a recent press conference, Bishop Earl A. Boyea said it does not mean the closing of 17 churches, but it does call for the merging of several. "If everything were to be implemented, say, within four or five years, then what we would anticipate is a reduction from the current 97 parishes to 80," Bishop Boyea said. "Now that doesn't mean there would be 80 churches. A lot of those parishes would have two churches." The plan was set in motion in August when the diocese closed three Flint parishes. It calls for closing three more churches -- Sacred Heart Chapel in Jackson, Transfiguration in Ypsilanti and St. Leo in Flint. A source in the diocesan offices, however, indicated another Flint parish, All Saints, would close when and if its pastor retires. If that happens, Flint would go from 13 parishes to eight.
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Brooklyn Diocese plans to create regional structure for its schools
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) -- The Brooklyn Diocese has announced a new consultation and reconfiguration process to preserve Catholic elementary education in Brooklyn and Queens. In a series of meetings with pastors, principals and directors of religious education, Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Brooklyn released a schedule of consultations and planning meetings that will result in a reconfiguration of schools in the diocese and greater involvement of the laity. The long-term goal is to shift schools from being parish-based to regional institutions, shore up the economic viability of those schools, ensure their Catholic identity and increase the role of laypeople in the governance of Catholic schools. "Catholic schools are here to stay for the long term," explained Bishop Caggiano. "But it's going to demand a lot of planning to make this happen. "The mission of Catholic schools is to educate young people in the Catholic faith -- intellectually, socially and in their lifestyles," he said. Academic excellence, faith formation and the participation of parents will be emphasized, he said.
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NCCW general assembly gets lesson about toxins in consumer goods
SALT LAKE CITY (CNS) -- More than 600 women attending the 2008 general assembly of the National Council of Catholic Women got a chemistry lesson at this year's annual gathering, learning about the dangers of toxins in some of the most common consumer goods. The lesson came during a workshop led by Pat Smuck of the Chicago Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. Her presentation was part of NCCW's eight-year-old Children and a Safe Environment program. A motivational speaker, Smuck said toxins such as phthalates are found in women's makeup, children's toys and food packaging. Exposure to phthalates can lead to cancer, mental disturbances and tremors, she said. Lipstick also poses a danger because it contains lead, Smuck added. "What you put in your bodies today will affect your offspring for the next seven generations," Smuck told delegates who gathered from across the country Sept. 24-28 in Salt Lake City. "If we are not healthy, then our children will be unhealthy."
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Indian-American Christians urge end to violence in region of homeland
BELLWOOD, Ill. (CNS) -- Several hundred Indian-American Christians gathered outside the Syro-Malabar Catholic cathedral in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood Sept. 28 to raise awareness about the Christians murdered and terrorized in the Indian state of Orissa. Christians from several denominations came together to call for an end to the violence and a restoration of peace in the region. "The central government (of India) remains a silent observer of this atrocious cruelty," said Father George Madathiparampil, vicar general of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago and rally coordinator. "We have to raise our voices for the sake of these helpless victims -- our brothers and sisters," he said. Hindu extremist mobs have murdered Christians, vandalized churches, destroyed homes and burned convents, orphanages and schools. The Sept. 30 killing of a woman who was axed to death raised the number of confirmed deaths to 47 in the violence that began in the eastern Indian state Aug. 24.
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WORLD
Freedom means imitating Christ, especially serving poor, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian freedom is not being able to do anything one wants, but being free to imitate Christ, especially in serving the poor, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Let us allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, trying to live in the freedom that finds direction in faith in Christ and becomes concrete in service to our brothers and sisters," the pope said Oct. 1 at his weekly general audience. "Being increasingly like Christ is essential. That is how one becomes truly free," the pope told an estimated 20,000 people gathered for his audience in St. Peter's Square. The pope's audience talk focused on how St. Paul and the other apostles resolved differences they had, particularly regarding whether new Christians from pagan families were required to observe Jewish law. "In the light of his encounter with the risen Christ," St. Paul understood that righteousness for the new Christians came from following Christ, the pope said.
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Placing profit before values ensures failure, says Vatican official
ROME (CNS) -- The financial crisis rocking the United States and sending tremors through the world financial markets is proof that placing profit before any other value is an attitude bound to fail, said the Vatican secretary of state. "When God is ignored, the ability to respect the rule of law and recognize the common good begins to vanish," Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Sept. 30 in an evening address to the Italian section of the Aspen Institute, which promotes values-based leadership on public policy issues. "I think this is confirmed by today's financial crisis," the cardinal said. When a person's only goal is his own quick profit and when short-term profit is "practically identified as a good in itself, one ends up wiping out the profit itself," he said. Cardinal Bertone insisted that the Catholic Church did not want to impose its moral values on society and has no desire to dictate public policy, but it has an obligation to remind people that God created the world and that God is the final arbiter of what is good.
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Kenya's bishops urge government, businesses to consider the poor
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- Kenya's Catholic bishops urged their country's government and businesses to make laws and policies that favor the poor, whom they said were now the majority in the country. In a three-page statement, "Inflation and the Rising Cost of Living," the bishops said prices of fuel, electricity, fertilizer and food had increased considerably. They said economic activity cannot be independent of people's needs. The bishops also challenged the corporations in the country to balance the need for profit with sensitivity to the poor and the vulnerable. "It is regrettable that despite the problems our economy is facing many corporations are recording super profits, which barely trickle down to the masses," the bishops said, noting that the church recognizes the proper role of profit as the first indicator that a business is functioning well. The statement, signed on the bishops' behalf by Bishop Peter Kairo of Nakuru, chairman of their justice and peace commission, was issued in late September.
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Spain's Supreme Court rules church can keep baptism records unchanged
MADRID, Spain (CNS) -- In 2006, Manuel Blat Gonzalez renounced his Catholic faith and asked to have his name removed from the baptismal book at his Valencia parish. That same year, Jose Helguera Prado of Madrid also asked to be taken off church records. "I did not want to be listed as part of something I am not," Helguera told Catholic News Service Oct. 1. However, on Sept. 30, Spain's Supreme Court ruled the Catholic Church is not required to modify baptismal certificates to reflect changed beliefs. Valencia Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco Vicente had appealed a lower-court ruling that Spanish citizens have a right to remove their names from church baptismal records. In 2006, Blat and Helguera did not get responses from their archdioceses. Blat persisted, first directing his petition to Cardinal Garcia-Gasco. When the cardinal did not remove his name, Blat went to the Spanish Information Protection Agency, which regulates the treatment of personal records. Under Spain's Information Protection Law, Spanish citizens have the right to remove personal information from public records.
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PEOPLE
Ukrainian cardinal criticizes Orthodox call for priest's canonization
WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church criticized Orthodox calls for the canonization of an Orthodox priest who helped engineer the Eastern Catholic church's Soviet-era suppression. "Canonizing such a controversial figure wouldn't be wise, especially in present circumstances," said Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych, Ukraine. "Although one can interpret his actions and intentions in various ways, he isn't well-regarded by Catholics. Such a move would cause unnecessary tensions." He said that making Orthodox Father Gabriel Kostelnik a saint would "make no difference to the average Catholic, but it would cause serious tensions between faithful members of each church." Russia's Interfax news agency reported Sept. 23 that documentation for the priest's canonization was being collected by Ukraine's Russian Orthodox Church at the request of Ukrainian Orthodox Archbishop Augustine of Lviv and Halych.
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Congolese archbishop discusses poverty, health of country
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) -- Archbishop Francois Maroy Rusengo of Bukavu, Congo, visited the U.S. to raise awareness of the desperate and dangerous living situations the Congolese people are facing. In late September, the archbishop met with leaders from several charities that deal with improving the situation in Congo, a country that has been ravaged by war, disease and extreme poverty. He focused on the health issues of the Congolese people and stressed that peace is the most important thing the country needs. The World Health Organization reports that 21 percent of Congolese children under age 5 are acutely malnourished while 44 percent are chronically malnourished. He acknowledged how difficult it is for Americans to understand the levels of poverty in Congo and invited people to visit and see the situation for themselves. The meeting at St. Mary Church in Alexandria was organized by Great Lakes Restoration and Jatukik Providence Foundation, two groups dedicated to improving the lives of the Congolese people.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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