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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Jun-8-2009
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Fight secular trends, base ministry on love, health care leaders urged
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- A Franciscan physician and ethicist warned Catholic health care leaders June 7 not to let their ministry become an entirely secular operation that sees patients as customers and leaves out the vital component of love. Brother Daniel P. Sulmasy recounted his experiences with an unfeeling bureaucracy one evening at his own hospital, St. Vincent's in New York. He contrasted it with the approach of a nurse at a local secular hospital whose care of patients mirrors more closely the love that saints, heroes and founders of Catholic health care brought to their work. "Perhaps we can ask ourselves why Mother Teresa went to Calcutta," he said. "I think we all know that it wasn't for the outcomes." Brother Sulmasy spoke on the opening day of the annual assembly of the Catholic Health Association, which brought almost 800 leaders in Catholic health care to New Orleans June 7-9. A medical doctor who also holds a doctorate in philosophy, he is to become a professor of medicine and medical ethics in the divinity and medical schools of the University of Chicago July 1. "We are frequently guilty, I think, of turning the Catholicity of our hospitals into a series of moral codes," Brother Sulmasy said. "But none of these codes can serve as replacements for the ever-new and ever-renewing encounter with the person who is love," he added. "That encounter must be the foundation of our health care systems and our institutions."
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Father's suicide attempt leads Catholic family to help others
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Patricia Gallagher vividly recalls the day in 1999 when she was dropping off film to be developed and a kind Wal-Mart clerk asked whether her husband, John, who was in a wheelchair, had been in an accident. "No, he jumped out of a third-floor window," Gallagher told the clerk in a rush of words. "But don't tell anyone because even two of our kids don't know" that their father had attempted suicide. "I was so embarrassed at what I'd said that I never went back to pick up the photos," Gallagher said in a June 4 telephone interview with Catholic News Service from her suburban Philadelphia home. But the Gallagher family -- John, Patricia and their four children, now ages 18 to 26 -- has moved beyond embarrassment and now wants to help others by sharing the story of John's return from depression and a suicide attempt that crushed both his legs. In their new book, "No More Secrets: A Family Speaks About Depression, Anxiety and Attempted Suicide," each member of the family -- including Patricia's mother, Claire Mohan -- tells the story from his or her own perspective. The second half of the book offers advice and resources for families confronting similar problems. John Gallagher says in the book that since his decision to go public, "I feel like a sack of bricks has been lifted from my back." He believes that "God spared me for two reasons: so that I could heal and be a father for my kids, and so that I could help other families deal with comparable experiences." The Web site for the book is www.speakingaboutdepression.com.
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Immigration reform advocates enthusiastic, but wary of its prospects
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- An enthusiastic clamor of supporters rallied for immigration reform at a June 4 town hall meeting, though a subtext of frustration arose around the postponement of a meeting with President Barack Obama. Advocates from 31 states gathered at the Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill to build support for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. It was one part of events launching the Reform Immigration for America Campaign, a national effort bringing together grass-roots organizations, labor unions, business interests and faith-based communities to support a revamped immigration policy. At a June 3 press conference that officially launched the national campaign, speakers affirmed their confidence that legislation will get moving this year, citing Obama's campaign assertion that immigration reform is a top priority for his administration. But an unanticipated announcement that the White House had postponed a summit between the president and reform advocates because of scheduling conflicts generated some mixed feelings at the town hall meeting. The next day at the closing luncheon of a three-day conference of 800 organizers, Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs for the White House, said Obama is committed to pushing comprehensive immigration reform this year, as he said during the presidential campaign and numerous times since then. "I have a message for you," said Munoz, a former vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a leading promoter of immigration reform. "We want to get this job done. This is not for show."
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WORLD
God's presence evident in all creation, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said God's presence as an orientation toward love is evident in all things, from the farthest galaxies to the human identity or "genome." The pope spoke about the relationship between God and man at his noon blessing June 7, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. "God is totally and only love, love that is pure, infinite and eternal. He does not live in splendid solitude, but instead is an inexhaustible source of life that unceasingly gives itself and communicates itself," he said. The pope said God's identity can be grasped when looking at the "macro-universe" of planets, stars and galaxies, and also at the "micro-universe" of cells, atoms and particles.
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Pope visibly upset to hear of child abuse, Dublin archbishop says
DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI was visibly upset to hear June 5 of the abuse suffered by thousands of Irish children in the care of religious congregations, reported the archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. Speaking at a June 8 press conference, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the pope was saddened to hear "how the children had suffered from the very opposite of an expression of the love of God." Archbishop Martin and Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, president of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, met with Pope Benedict for 45 minutes to brief him on the findings of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which released its report May 20. "The Holy Father listened very carefully, very attentively and very sympathetically to what we had to say" during the 45-minute private meeting at the Vatican, Cardinal Brady said during the press conference." He said in reply that this was a time for a deep examination of life here in Ireland in the church, Cardinal Brady said. The independent commission was established by the Irish government in 2000 to hear evidence from people alleged to have suffered abuse at institutions since 1940. Funded by the state but often run by Catholic religious orders, the institutions included schools, orphanages, hospitals, children's homes and other facilities where children were in the care of nonfamily members.
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Christian Brother who guided church in Madagascar is beatified
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - An energetic convert to Catholicism who guided the church in Madagascar through extreme difficulties was beatified in the country's capital. Brother Raffaele Rafiringa, born in the African country in 1856, was declared "blessed" in a ceremony June 7 in Antananarivo by Archbishop Antonio Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes. In an interview with Vatican Radio on June 6, Archbishop Amato traced the remarkable history of Blessed Raffaele who, as a lay Christian Brother, found himself at the helm of the fledgling church organization when the country's ruling family expelled ordained missionaries. During the exile of the priests from 1883-86, Blessed Raffaele's leadership "not only did not damage Catholics, but actually increased their number," Archbishop Amato explained. When the missionaries were allowed to return, he said, they found a flourishing Catholic network: schools to prepare catechists to teach in the countryside, retreats organized for missionary sisters and excellent schools for children. On Sundays Blessed Raffaele directed a very well attended Liturgy of the Word, Archbishop Amato said.
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Pope expresses 'spiritual closeness' to families of fire victims
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI expressed condolences to the families of the 43 children killed in a fire in a Mexican day care center and assured them of his "spiritual closeness" as they deal with the tragedy. In a telegram to the Archbishop Jose Ulises Macias Salcedo of Hermosillo, the pope spoke of his "profound pain" at the deaths of the youngsters who died in the devastating fire on June 5. The pope "assures his prayers for the small victims and gives his apostolic blessing as a sign of comfort and hope in the resurrected Lord," and "expresses his spiritual closeness to the families of the victims and all those struck by this tragedy," the telegram said. Dozens of children and adults remained hospitalized, some in critical condition, after the blaze at the ABC day care center in the capitol city of the northwestern state of Sonora. The fire broke out when the 142 children of working or indigent mothers were sleeping.
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Vatican paper highlights agreement with U.S. bishops on life issues
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican newspaper has again emphasized that when it comes to the Obama administration and pro-life issues, the Vatican and the U.S. bishops are in full agreement and that no compromise is possible on the right to life. The newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said it was a mistake to view its press coverage of Obama -- which has been positive on many issues -- as evidence that the Vatican is following a "different strategy" than the U.S. bishops in dealing with the new administration. The comments came in the newspaper's June 5 edition, in an article criticizing the Obama administration's restoration of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. The newspaper appeared to be defending itself against accusations by some U.S. Catholic commentators that its editorial line was too soft on Obama. The Vatican newspaper said it wanted to underline that "in reporting on recent statements and initiatives of the president of the United States, L'Osservatore Romano has certainly not intended to express appreciation for his positions on questions of ethical importance." The latest statement from L'Osservatore came at the end of an article that ran on an inside page. The same day, the newspaper published a front-page article giving good marks to Obama's speech to the Arab world in Cairo. Pope Benedict XVI and the president and expected to meet in July.
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Jerusalem prayer service spotlights call for peace in Holy Land
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Christians must first and foremost be a people of prayer, said Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal in his homily during a June 7 ecumenical prayer service for the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel. "We Christians are called before all else to be people of prayer," he said. "We are called to seek God and to seek prayer." He recalled the message of peace Pope Benedict XVI gave during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May, saying his "prophetic message of justice and loving kindness" and "walking humbly with God" should be used as a guide. The importance of prayer was one of the important lessons of the pope's visit, the patriarch said. "The pope reminded us that prayer is hope in action," Patriarch Twal said. Quoting Pope Benedict, the patriarch said "love of God and love of neighbors are one for Jesus and for those who seek to follow him. Prayer opens the world to God, we are convinced that God listens and that he can act ... in our history" "In order to fulfill our roles as peacemakers, we need the courage to imagine a different future, the courage to change the mentality and speech," Patriarch Twal added.
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PEOPLE
Pope names Philadelphia vicar for clergy as an auxiliary bishop
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has named Msgr. Timothy C. Senior, vicar for clergy in the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 2004, to be an auxiliary bishop there. The appointment was announced June 8 in Washington by Msgr. Alexander Cifuentes Castano, charge d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature. Bishop-designate Senior's installation Mass will be July 31 at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. "My heart is filled with gratitude first to almighty God for the gift of life and for the gift of my Roman Catholic faith. I treasure the gift of faith and the priceless gift of friendship with Jesus Christ who has called me to share in his sacred priesthood," Bishop-designate Senor said at a June 8 press conference in Philadelphia. Bishop-designate Senior was born in Philadelphia May 22, 1960. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pa., and earned a bachelor's degree in 1981. He was ordained a priest for the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 1985.
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Former Protestant minister first married priest ordained in Nebraska
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (CNS) -- Father Sidney Bruggeman is not the only Catholic priest to be ordained this year in Nebraska, but he is the only one with a wife, children and grandchildren. Ordained June 5, he is among approximately 100 married priests in the country -- and the only one in Nebraska, said Bishop William J. Dendinger of Grand Island. The Vatican in 1980 granted permission for married former Protestant clergymen in the United States to become priests on a case-by-case basis. Father Bruggeman last served as an ordained minister for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from 1988 to 1995. There will be stipulations to Father Bruggeman's status as a priest, Bishop Dendinger said. For instance, he cannot be named a canonical pastor of his own parish, although he can be an associate pastor or work in a social services capacity, such as in a hospital or a school. Father Bruggeman and his wife, Carol have four children and 10 grandchildren with two more on the way. Before he could begin studying to become a Catholic priest, he had to receive approval from the Vatican. It came through in April 2005 after a two rounds of documentation. He began classes at St. Paul's Seminary in September 2006 and spent a month in Rome after he finished classes in January 2009.
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