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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Oct-29-2009
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Texas bishops say health care reform must protect life at all stages
AUSTIN, Texas (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of Texas in an Oct. 27 statement emphasized their support for "genuine, life-affirming reform" of the nation's health care system, but also expressed concern that current health care proposals fail to guarantee fundamental rights and protections for humans at all stages of life. "Health care reform is a vital concern to us in Texas, as our state has one of the highest numbers of uninsured persons in the nation," the bishops said in a statement released by the Austin-based Texas Catholic Conference, which represents the state's 15 dioceses on public policy. They noted the numerous Catholic health care facilities in Texas, saying that the Catholic Church in the state "brings both everyday experience and strong convictions to the issue of health care reform." The bishops said health care reform must include: restrictions on funding of abortion and respect for the consciences of health care providers who do not want to perform procedures or prescribe treatments that violate their religious principles; cost structures that do not impose excessive financial burdens on low- and moderate-income individuals and families; measures that safeguard the health of all of society, including the poor, the elderly and immigrants; access to comprehensive and affordable health care coverage by legal immigrants and their families; and an adequate safety net for those who remain uncovered.
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More than 4,000 attend third annual ministry conference in Dallas
DALLAS (CNS) -- From strategies for coping with tragedies to reconciling the predicament of being truly Catholic and politically engaged in America, the University of Dallas Ministry Conference offered numerous insights and programs at the Dallas Convention Center Oct. 23-24. More than 4,000 attended the third annual conference to enrich their grasp of ministering to members of the Catholic Church. The conference, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Dallas and the Diocese of Fort Worth, offered numerous topics and workshops pertaining to the central theme, "Walking Together in Faith." Participants included priests and women religious; school administrators and teachers; and catechists and ministers in areas such as youth, music and grief counseling. From the outset, the atmosphere celebrated the strength and harmony possible when ministries support one another. In his Oct. 23 keynote address, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington emphasized the importance of recalling Jesus as the eternal word, the Son sent by God to be his voice. He called on conference participants to rejoice in the church and said Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S. last year served to encourage evangelization, catechesis and education.
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CCHD collection focuses on helping families struggling in bad economy
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "Families are struggling. Faith is calling" is the theme for this year's national collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which will be taken up in most U.S. Catholic churches the weekend of Nov. 21-22. "This year, our call as Catholics to bring glad tidings to the poor ... to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free is more important than ever before," said Bishop Roger P. Morin of Biloxi, Miss., who is chairman of the U.S. bishops' CCHD subcommittee. He made the comments in a letter to parishes asking Catholics to be as generous as possible during the annual collection that is the primary source of support for the U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty program. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds support projects in the diocese where the funds are collected. "The mission of CCHD is crucial in 2009 -- to uplift and embolden all who are one layoff or one medical scare away from the poverty line -- and all who are already there," the bishop said. The nation's current economic crisis has left many families and individuals without the security of a job, health care or a sufficient retirement fund, a press release on the collection noted.
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Not all solutions to infertility problems moral, says draft document
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although the Catholic Church shares the pain of married couples facing "unanticipated childlessness," some reproductive technologies "are not legitimate ways to solve" infertility problems, the U.S. bishops say in a document that will be before them in November. The 22-page document, "Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology," is designed as a companion to the bishops' 2006 statement, "Married Love and the Gift of Life," which urged Catholic couples to reject the use of artificial contraception and to learn how natural family planning can benefit the marital relationship. Like the earlier document, "Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology" is in question-and-answer format, with a short introduction. "In an age of advances in reproductive medicine, many solutions are offered to couples going through" infertility problems, says the draft of the new document, prepared by the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. It will be debated and voted on during the bishops' fall general assembly Nov. 16-19 in Baltimore. "Some solutions offered to infertile couples do justice to their dignity as individuals and as a couple, and to the full human dignity of their child, by helping their marital act to be life-giving," the document says. "Others are morally flawed efforts to replace the marital act that are not worthy of the tremendous gift God offers to husband and wife by calling them together as spouses and parents. In short, procedures that assist the marital act in being procreative are morally acceptable, while those that substitute for it are not," it adds.
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New resource helps prepare deaf Catholics for reconciliation rite
LANDOVER HILLS, Md. (CNS) -- The National Catholic Office for the Deaf has developed a new series of 12 lesson plans on DVD to assist in preparing Catholics who are deaf or hard of hearing for the sacrament of reconciliation. "This new resource is unique in that everything is in American Sign Language," said Sister Kathleen M. Schipani, a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who is director of religious education and administrator of the deaf apostolate in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The DVD also has English-language captions and voiceover in spoken English. "The story that goes through the entire video portrays a family who is deaf in their everyday life focusing on the lived experience of sin, sorrow, forgiveness and reconciliation," she added. "The Scripture stories are told by well-known deaf storytellers or are acted out by deaf young people." The DVD and printed manual are available for $60, plus $4 shipping and handling, from the National Catholic Office for the Deaf, 7202 Buchanan St., Landover Hills, MD 20184. The DVD with the manual on CD costs $50, while the DVD, printed manual and manual on CD cost $80.
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WORLD
Pope calls for strengthening of religious freedom in Iran
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called on Iran to strengthen guarantees of religious freedom for the country's tiny Catholic minority. Welcoming Iran's new ambassador to the Vatican Oct. 29, the pope praised the "deep religious sensibility" of the Iranian people, and said the Catholic community there -- which dates to the church's early centuries -- has a long history of living in harmony with the Muslim majority. "The Holy See trusts that the Iranian authorities will know how to strengthen and guarantee for Christians the freedom to profess their faith," the pope told the ambassador, Ali Akbar Naseri, in a speech. He said the Vatican expects the Iranian government to "assure to the Catholic community the essential conditions for its existence, notably the possibility of having sufficient religious personnel and ease of movement throughout the country to ensure religious services for the faithful." The pope said he hoped for a dialogue with authorities that would help "improve the situation of Christian communities" in the context of civil society. In Iran, a country of about 70 million people, there are about 100,000 Christians, the vast majority of whom are Armenian Orthodox. According to Vatican statistics, Catholics number about 17,000.
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Vatican honors Jesuit missionary to China, Father Matteo Ricci
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A new Vatican exhibit highlights the life of a Jesuit missionary whose extraordinary intelligence, culture and open-mindedness helped him bring Christianity to imperial China four centuries ago. The exhibit is part of a series of events marking the 400th anniversary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit who spent 28 years evangelizing, absorbing Chinese culture and bringing Western science to the faraway Asian continent. The show, which was to open Oct. 30 in the Braccio di Carlo Magno hall in St. Peter's Square, is titled "On the Crest of History, Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610): Between Rome and Peking" (the name formerly used for the Chinese capital Beijing). It was Father Ricci's scientific acumen and enthusiasm for cultural exchange that won the trust and admiration of the Ming Dynasty Emperor Wanli. The relationship ensured that he and his Jesuit brothers would have the freedom to evangelize, the show's organizers explained in a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 28. A proficient cartographer, Father Ricci was perhaps most appreciated for the maps of the world he made for the Chinese, who at the time had little knowledge of the other continents, said Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums and head curator of the exhibit.
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Church must adapt to the way media are impacting culture, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- New media are not just instruments for communicating, but they are having a huge impact on culture -- on the way people interact and think, Pope Benedict XVI said. "This constitutes a challenge for the church, called to proclaim the Gospel to people of the third millennium," the pope said Oct. 29 during a meeting with members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The content of the Gospel message remains unchanged, he said, but the church must learn how to transmit that message to new generations and must do so by taking advantage of the new technology and new attitudes toward communications. Pope Benedict said one of the marks of the new media culture is its multimedia and interactive structure. New technology is not leading to developments only in television or radio or the Internet, but is "gradually generating a kind of global communications system" in which media are used together and the audience participates in generating content, he said. "I want to take this occasion to ask those in the church who work in the sphere of communications and have responsibility for pastoral guidance to take up the challenges these new technologies pose for evangelization," the pope said.
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PEOPLE
Cardinal, archbishop place friendly wager on outcome of World Series
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York have placed a friendly wager on the outcome of the 2009 World Series. The two longtime friends spoke the evening of Oct. 27 to settle the terms of the bet. If the Phillies win, Archbishop Dolan will ship a dozen bagels to the City of Brotherly Love; if the Yankees prevail, Cardinal Rigali will send a box of Tastykakes to the Big Apple. "Cardinal Rigali is one of my closest and dearest friends; for several years he even served as my archbishop so I feel a particular loyalty to him. I know he has exquisite taste in most matters. I just wish he had better taste in baseball teams," Archbishop Dolan said in a statement. Archbishop Dolan was ordained a priest of the St. Louis Archdiocese in 1976, and from 1994 to 2003 then-Archbishop Rigali was head of the archdiocese. The New York archbishop also was an auxiliary bishop in St. Louis, 2001-02. "I have great esteem for Archbishop Dolan. He is a gifted spiritual leader who has been a true friend for many years," Cardinal Rigali said in a statement. "That is why I am so sorry he will be disappointed when the Phillies successfully defend their world championship." The Phillies beat the Yankees 6-1 in the first game of the series Oct. 28.
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Retired exorcist reminds students of the power of Jesus within them
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (CNS) -- Msgr. John Esseff, retired exorcist of the Diocese of Scranton, Pa., shared his experiences with demonic spirits in a talk to students at Bowling Green State University, but his main message for them was the power of Jesus within them. "Your power through him and with him and in him is enormous," he told the 400 students in attendance Oct. 22. In describing one of his exorcisms, he said: "As she came in, she saw me and she shrieked -- and the language and the growls -- and then she slithered across the floor and was going up the wall. Well, there was obviously a force here, a presence. And I just simply silenced her in the name of Jesus." He told the students that movies like "The Exorcist" have led many people, including Catholics, to fear the devil and to think he can "come and zap them." But he believes the opposite is true. "The devil is afraid of you -- if you would just awaken to who you are," he said. Each baptized person is united to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, he explained. Msgr. Esseff read passages from the Gospels in which Jesus exorcized demons and then sent his disciples to do the same.
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