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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Mar-19-2010
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Congressmen who backed Stupak amendment support Senate health bill
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two Catholic House members who describe themselves as lifelong supporters of pro-life causes said they are convinced that the Senate-approved health reform legislation headed for a House vote does not expand federal funding of abortion. Reps. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., and Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, said at a teleconference sponsored by Faith in Public Life that they would vote for the Senate bill. The House vote was expected to take place March 21. Kildee, who as a young man spent six years in a Catholic seminary, said he had "always been pro-life" and had sought the counsel of his priest and "read the Senate abortion prohibition more than dozen times" before making his decision. "I'll be 81 years old this September, and at this point in my life I'm not going to change my mind and start supporting abortion," he said. "I'm not going to risk my eternal salvation." But his stand is in contrast to that of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has said the current Senate language would expand abortion funding in several ways and would require some people to pay a premium that would finance other people's abortions. The bishops have called for a "no" vote on the Senate bill unless changes are made. Wilson said he was "confident that the Senate language upholds my pro-life values" and does not provide any federal funding for abortion. "I've been a pro-life Catholic my entire career," he said in response to a question. "I have proven that and walked that walk. I do not think we are doing anything to hurt our people." Both congressmen were supporters of the abortion language proposed by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and accepted into the House health reform bill. The U.S. bishops have backed that language over what was adopted in the Senate bill, which they say "contains no relevant provision to prevent the direct use of federal funds for elective abortions."
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Baltimore archbishop urges vote on tax measure to help all schools
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CNS) -- On the same day the Maryland State Senate voted 30-17 to pass a business tax credit benefiting public and nonpublic schools, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien urged a House of Delegates committee to approve the measure and allow it to face a vote on the House floor. Testifying March 17 before the House Ways and Means Committee, Archbishop O'Brien told lawmakers that Catholic schools are facing enormous financial and enrollment challenges. He cited the Baltimore Archdiocese's recent announcement of what it called a consolidation plan affecting 13 schools. While the archbishop acknowledged that the tax credit would not solve all the problems, he said it will provide "a critically important tool" to assist families with children in school, whether nonpublic or public. The proposal -- called Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers in Maryland, or BOAST for short -- would grant businesses a 75 percent state income tax credit for donations to scholarship organizations for nonpublic school students. It also would support enrichment programs in public schools and professional development for public and private school teachers. "This initiative represents an opportunity for government, nonprofits and the business community to meet our mutual challenges in a way that benefits all students without taking away from anyone," Archbishop O'Brien said. The archbishop said it should be "abundantly clear" that Maryland's public schools "could not possibly accomplish their mission of educating the students of Maryland without the existence of their partners in the nonpublic school community." He pointed out that Catholic and other nonpublic schools save the state more than $1.5 billion in annual per-pupil expenditures.
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Catholic rural life directors discuss ways to connect farms, cities
CLEVELAND (CNS) -- Whether they're harvesting corn in a field or grilling corn at a barbecue at a city park, Catholics from the farms, suburbs and cities are connected by their faith and their kitchen tables. A March 11-12 retreat presented by the Ohio Catholic Rural Life Conference explored the issues of food availability, sustainable farming and how Catholics from different communities can come together to make sure God's creation is being used in just and socially responsible ways for the good of all. "We Share Around the Table" was the retreat theme. From a faith perspective, supporting farm families matters because when farms struggle to survive it affects the entire community through food prices and eventually support for schools and local parishes, said Jim Ennis, director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. He made the comments to the Catholic Universe Bulletin, Cleveland's diocesan newspaper, after the retreat. "The church has a lot to say around food and taking care of the land and taking care of your neighbor," Ennis said. "Food is a place where we all have a connection." Jim Tobin, associate director of the Department on Social Concerns for the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said the retreat was a time for members of the Ohio Catholic Rural Life Board to reflect upon the mission of promoting God's call to be faith-filled stewards of the land. It was a time of spiritual renewal and strategic planning, he said. "Understanding the importance of fair food policies and practices, and taking appropriate actions, is a challenge for every person, whether rural or urban," Tobin said.
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WORLD
Filipino archbishop warns against big election spenders
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Voters should not be easily swayed by politicians who spend excessively when campaigning for public office, said the archbishop of Manila. Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales made the statement in a pastoral letter signed with 15 other bishops under his pastoral jurisdiction. The letter was released March 13 ahead of the country's May 10 presidential, congressional and local elections. The letter encouraged people to freely choose leaders who would be accountable and serve the common good. "Excessive campaign expenses in the past did not augur good and responsive governance," it said. Free election means that there should be no physical coercion and no use of threats or money to influence or buy votes, the letter said. According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, candidates already spent more than two billion pesos ($43,763,000) on political advertisements, making the 2010 elections represent the biggest advertising expenditure in Philippine history. Corruption and poverty are the two biggest issues that are devastating the country because "as corruption increases, poverty worsens," the pastoral letter said. The worthiness of the candidates should be based on whether they believe in God, live a moral life, are free from vices, and respect life, it said. It added that government leaders should be concerned about the poor and the environment, and not about the pursuit of self-interests during election campaigns.
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Thai bishops urge Catholics to remain neutral in political conflict
SAM PHRAN, Thailand (CNS) -- Thai bishops urged all Catholics to remain neutral as the country's political conflict deepens. The call came as the bishops concluded their semi-annual meeting March 18 and the Thai government faced growing challenges by anti-government campaigners demanding new elections. "This is a very sensitive situation," Father Pipat Rungruangkanokkul, deputy secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand told the Asian church news agency UCA News. "The church shouldn't take any side and judge who is correct or wrong as this will create more conflict." He noted that individuals have the right to support any side, "but as church we have to promote mutual understanding." Thousands of supporters of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, known as red shirts for the color they wear, have descended on Bangkok, the Thai capital, demanding that the government dissolve the lower house of parliament and call new elections. Both the government and the protestors have kept the gatherings peaceful, although small explosions have occurred in some areas of the capital. Bishop John Bosco Panya Kritcharoen of Ratchaburi, secretary general of the bishops' conference, said the bishops are "very concerned about this current situation." The bishops released a formal letter to every church March 12 "asking for intense prayers, special Masses, sacrifices and silent meditation for peace in the country," he said.
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PEOPLE
Pro-life official sees need for healing after health reform divisions
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It might take time to mend the divisions among some Catholic groups about whether the Senate-passed health reform bill expands federal funding of abortion, a leading pro-life official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said March 19. Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, spoke two days before the expected House vote on health care reform at a teleconference with officials of the Family Research Council and the National Right to Life Committee. "The church does have some work to do in dealing with frayed nerves and divisions on policy questions," Doerflinger said. "But I don't think it is the moral teaching (on abortion) that is at the root of this. It's people who are not in Washington cooking the details of this every day" being misled by others, he added. Asked why the Catholic Health Association had endorsed the bill opposed by the bishops because of its abortion wording, Doerflinger said, "Like us, they have been very anxious to have health care reform for many years. But unlike us, they don't have policy people who work on these pro-life issues day in and day out." Doerflinger said the Senate bill "is morally unacceptable" because it appropriates billions of dollars in new funding that would not be subject to the provisions of the Hyde amendment, which bars most federal spending on abortion, and because it would create a "stunning new conscience problem" by requiring people in certain health plans to pay for other people's abortions. Representatives of all three groups said they did not expect any changes to be made in the abortion language of the Senate-passed bill and therefore would oppose its passage in the House.
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Three Brazilian priests suspended as police investigate abuse claims
SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- Three clergymen in the Diocese of Penedo, Brazil, have been suspended from the priesthood while authorities continue investigating claims of sexual abuse against them from altar servers. The suspensions in Arapiraca in the northern state of Alagoas followed the broadcast of a videotape in mid-March by a Brazilian television network showing what appeared to be retired monsignors engaged in sex with a 19-year-old man. Bishop Valerio Breda of Penedo said in a statement that in light of the "grave and lamentable facts made public on television" he suspended Msgr. Luiz Marques Barbosa, 82. Msgr. Raimundo Gomes, 52, and Father Edilson Duarte, 43 also were suspended, the bishop said, when other altar servers stepped forward with claims of abuse. Bishop Breda said the church was cooperating with police and that the church also would conduct its own investigation. "We reproach, without restriction and with hearts broken by shame and sadness, the facts in the report, which, despite their not having been proven, have outraged human and Christian conscience," Bishop Breda's statement said. The network, SBT TV, said the video was shot in January 2009 inside the monsignor's residence by another victim.
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