|
|
|
|
News Briefs
|
NEWS BRIEFS Jul-28-2009
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Interfaith discussion on health reform gives timeliness top priority
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Rev. Drew Nettinga opened a prayer breakfast July 28 at the U.S. Capitol with a reminder to Congress that he and other people of faith will be vigilant and persistent on the issue of health care reform. "Congress may be taking a recess, but we have work to do," Rev. Nettinga said, referring to the break members of Congress traditionally take in August. President Barack Obama has pushed for the House and Senate to pass health care reform before the recess begins Aug. 2, but as the date approached there was little consensus on any reform bill and a vote became increasingly unlikely. Rev. Nettinga of San Lorenzo Community United Church of Christ in San Lorenzo, Calif., urged Congress to pass legislation this year and said failure to pass a bill could "derail" the entire effort. Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a national Catholic justice lobby, echoed many speakers' concerns about time. Fear of change, she said, is what is holding back members of Congress now. Instead of making a decision many representatives are getting confused by insignificant details, she said. Sister Simone, a Sister of Social Service, encouraged those gathered at the Capitol to keep up their efforts, because she said there is no recess from the health needs of America. "Let's stay on message, as they say here in Washington, because here the message is the truth," she said.
- - -
Latest stem-cell advance said to prove again no need to kill embryos
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The work of two teams of Chinese scientists who created live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells is "another demonstration that researchers don't need to destroy embryos" to achieve stem-cell advances, according to a pro-life official at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The research done by separate teams in Shanghai and Beijing and published July 23 in the scientific journals Nature and Cell Stem Cell showed that the so-called iPS cells have "the full range of uses that embryonic stem cells are proposed for," said Richard M. Doerflinger, associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. "The immediate finding is that induced pluripotent stem cells, created without harming any embryos, really are as versatile as embryonic stem cells," he said. But Doerflinger also warned in a July 27 interview with Catholic News Service that this latest breakthrough in stem-cell research shows that iPS cells are "so powerful" that researchers "might be able to put them in a human embryo and change the genetic makeup of that child and all the future generations" related to the child. "It's an ominous thing, that they could be remaking people's genetic traits," he added. "It's a powerful technology and it could be misused."
- - -
Catholic official to help Chicago cemetery recover from scandal
CHICAGO (CNS) -- The director of the Chicago Archdiocese's Catholic Cemeteries division has been asked to restore order to an Illinois cemetery where employees were charged in early July with unearthing corpses and reselling empty plots for profit. Roman Szabelski was appointed by the Circuit Court of Cook County at the request of the sheriff's department to oversee the process of digitizing burial records and putting finances in order at the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip. The cemetery, owned by Perpetua Inc., is the Chicago area's first black cemetery and the resting place of Emmett Till, a Chicago boy whose 1955 beating death in Mississippi was a key moment in the civil rights movement. Szabelski originally estimated that the cemetery, which was closed to the public during an FBI investigation, could reopen as early as Aug. 1, but by July 22 he had decided it would take longer to organize the records. He also wanted to come up with a system to welcome people back to visit their loved ones' graves so the cemetery would not face an influx of thousands of families when it opens its gates.
- - -
Programs help international priests minister in US, gain acceptance
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It was simple for Uganda native Father Alfred Onyutha to bring his ministry to America almost four years ago -- he filled out a form and was on his way. "I didn't have much (of an) interview," Father Onyutha said from his office at St. Margaret's Church in Woodbury Heights, N.J. But behind the scenes, the Diocese of Camden, N.J., had a lot to consider when reviewing Father Onyutha's credentials. He needed to commit to five years, have a working knowledge of English and bring enough money to buy a car. His sending bishop needed to sign off on things like physical and psychological health, the ability to live and work with people of diverse backgrounds and freedom from demanding family obligations, according to guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Because dioceses are not required to follow the bishops' guidelines, procedures vary widely for accepting and orientating international priests. Some common steps are background checks, training in the Virtus child protection program, Homeland Security procedures and visa assistance. Foreign priests made up 16 percent of the U.S. priesthood in 1999, the last year a major study on them was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington.
- - -
Do all to be in Jesus' presence, archbishop tells clergy conference
SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- Catholic clergy and laypeople must imitate the spirit that led friends of the paralyzed man in the Gospel account to do "everything they could so that the man could be in the presence of Jesus," because "real joy comes when we make Jesus the center of our lives." That was the message from Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio to participants in the recent annual conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a support and education organization for U.S. Catholic priests and deacons. Archbishop Gomez called the story -- in Chapter 9 of Matthew's Gospel, the paralyzed man was lowered through a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching -- a "graphic example" of healing. Christ told the man, "Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven." Why, the archbishop asked, is this pardon the first gift Christ gave the man? After all, it prompted the Pharisees to anger and an accusation that Christ was blaspheming. "What does forgiveness have to do with making the man walk again? Sin is a real disease that makes us spiritually blind, deaf, mute and lame. We are disabled so that we cannot perform the works of mercy. Sin is a disability making us unable to reach out to God or our neighbor," he added.
- - -
Dutch monks brew new ale to mark 125th year, benefit Ugandan monastery
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- A 10-day whirlwind tour of the U.S. to promote his monastery's new ale was a lot to take in for a contemplative monk who normally lives in "an atmosphere of silence." That silence extends to the time spent brewing beer, and it's good for drinking beer, too, said Trappist Father Issac Majoor, prior of the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven in the Netherlands. "Don't drink it too quickly," he advised. "Create an atmosphere of silence and peace. It helps you to reflect on your day." The new brew is named Isid'or after the monastery's first brewer. This summer Father Majoor embarked on his U.S. tour to promote the brew, which is being made and marketed by the abbey to celebrate its 125th anniversary. According to Father Majoor, proceeds from the sale of Isid'or will be used to help build a new monastery in Uganda. His trip started with a monastic retreat in Dubuque, Iowa. It included stops in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York before wrapping up June 28 in St. Paul, where he made a quick stop at the city's summer beer fest. More information about the Koningshoeven brewery is available on the Web at: www.latrappe.nl.
- - -
WORLD
Promoting common good includes regulating economy, cardinal says
ROME (CNS) -- The fastest way to recover from the current economic crisis and the only way to ensure that a similar financial meltdown does not occur again is for governments to take seriously their role as regulators, the Vatican secretary of state told members of the Italian Senate. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state, outlined the contents of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth") at a special meeting of the Senate July 28. He said the encyclical was not calling for government control of the economy or the market, but for an awareness of the fact that democratic governments have an obligation to protect and promote the common good of their citizens, including their economic well-being. In addition to asking governments to take their regulatory responsibilities seriously, the cardinal asked governments "to allow, or rather to favor, the birth and growth of a pluralistic financial market, a market in which subjects that have different goals for their activities can operate in conditions of parity." In particular, he said, governments must look at how their regulations may have hindered the activities of credit unions, micro-credit lenders, cooperative banks and ethical investment funds.
- - -
Canadian bishop urges Catholics to fight plan to ease euthanasia laws
OTTAWA (CNS) -- The president of the Canadian bishops' conference is urging Catholics to fight legislative efforts to ease laws governing euthanasia and assisted suicide. Archbishop V. James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Manitoba, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, also asked Catholics to contact their members of the Canadian Parliament to express their views on the issues. Parliament is in recess for the summer. "Euthanasia and assisted suicide are the antithesis to what should be at the heart of human civilization: trust, respect, concern and solidarity, based on reverence for all human life," the archbishop wrote in a July 17 letter to his fellow Canadian prelates. He suggested that they invite Catholics to become informed about euthanasia and assisted suicide and join with other faith groups and organizations in opposing efforts to change the current law. Archbishop Weisgerber described the matter as urgent in light of bill introduced in Parliament that would amend Canada's criminal code to legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
- - -
Irish dioceses take precautions as swine flu slowly spreads
DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- As swine flu begins to spread in Ireland, Catholics are being given wide-ranging advice about the precautions they should take to avoid contracting the illness. In the Cork and Ross Diocese and the Derry Diocese, at either end of the country, priests have been told to ask their congregations not to shake hands during the sign of peace at Mass. The practice has been suspended in many other parishes throughout the country, even though no formal advice has been given by other diocesan authorities. In the Ferns Diocese, however, shaking hands at the sign of peace has not been suspended. "We consulted with the Health Service Executive regarding the issue and the current position is there is no need to suspend the practice," a diocesan spokesman said. "The Diocese of Ferns respects this advice and, at present, there is no plan to change the current practice." However, the spokesman said, the diocese is aware of health officials' concerns about the dangers that people with flu symptoms pose if they attend Mass or other church services.
- - -
Vatican laicizes ex-spiritual director to Medjugorje visionaries
LONDON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has laicized a Franciscan priest who served as the spiritual adviser to the Marian visionaries in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The pontiff, in a document issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative), returned Father Tomislav Vlasic to the lay state and dispensed him from his religious vows as a member of the Order of Friars Minor. Vlasic was confined to a Franciscan monastery in L'Aquila, Italy, in February 2008 after he refused to cooperate in a Vatican investigation of his activities for suspected heresy and schism. He also was being investigated for "the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspected mysticism, disobedience towards legitimately issued orders and charges contra sextum (against the Sixth Commandment not to commit adultery)," as stated in the interdict signed by Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to the congregation, all the charges against Vlasic were "in the context of the Medjugorje phenomenon."
- - -
PEOPLE
Benedictine sisters' love of music results in CD recording
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A pair of Benedictine sisters in Minnesota, both in their 70s, aren't afraid of trying new things: They learned how to record a CD -- and are using a blog to promote it. The CD is "Sisters in Sync," performed by Sister Ellen Cotone, who played both the piano and the accordion on the recording, and Sister Margaret Mandernach, who played the electric bass and the harmonica. Both live in retirement at the Benedictines' St. Scholastica retirement home in St. Cloud, Minn., six miles away from their monastery in St. Joseph., Minn. Sister Ellen and Sister Margaret played at social gatherings organized at either the monastery or retirement home, and people started asking, "Where can we get a tape of your music?" Sister Ellen and Sister Margaret, neither of whom had stepped into a recording studio before, recorded the CD's 30 songs in just two days, with each session lasting about two hours. They used a third day to do overdubs with Sister Ellen on the accordion and Sister Margaret on the harmonica, "just for variety's sake," Sister Margaret said. Information about ordering the "Sisters in Sync" CD is available by contacting Benedictine Sister Thomasette Scheeler at Monastic Enterprises by calling (320) 363-7073 or sending an e-mail to tscheeler@csbsju.edu.
- - -
Vatican spokesman clarifies how pope fell
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI broke his wrist when he tripped in the dark looking for a light switch; he did not slip in the bathroom as reported earlier, the Vatican spokesman said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who was at the Vatican July 17 when the pope fell and underwent a surgical procedure to align the bones in the wrist, later joined the pope and his entourage at the Salesian-owned Alpine chalet in Les Combes, Italy, where the pope was staying July 13-29. Father Lombardi, who initially had said the pope slipped in the bathroom, was asked July 27 for a fuller explanation of how the pope fell. He told the Italian TV news channel Sky TG24: "It's very simple. The pope got up during the night in a dark room -- a room different from the one where he sleeps in Rome. He was moving around looking for the light switch, tripped on the leg of the bed, fell and hurt himself. That's all. The next day, it was swollen and still hurting. Nevertheless, the pope wanted to celebrate Mass. Then the doctors were called and they said it was best to go to the hospital."
- - -
Bishop Domingos Lam Ka Tseung, first Chinese bishop of Macau, dies
MACAU (CNS) -- Retired Bishop Domingos Lam Ka Tseung of Macau, the first Chinese bishop of the 433-year-old diocese, died July 27. He was 81. Bishop Lam became ill in March and was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. He had been hospitalized since May, according to Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng, his successor. Bishop Lam led the diocese, created in 1576 as the first Catholic diocese in the Far East, through Macau's political transition from Portuguese to Chinese rule in 1999. Portugal administered the special administrative region of China for more than 400 years. A funeral Mass is scheduled for July 31 at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. Under the leadership of Bishop Lam the Macau Diocese served refugees from East Timor, also a former Portuguese colony, Filipino workers and local Chinese Catholics while evangelizing new migrants from mainland China. Ordained coadjutor bishop of Macau in 1987, Bishop Lam succeeded Portuguese-born Bishop Arquiminio Rodrigues da Costa as the diocese's 22nd bishop the next year.
END
Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250
|
|
|
|
