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News Briefs
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NEWS BRIEFS Sep-7-2010
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Interfaith leaders denounce anti-Islamic actions, call for cooperation
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Dozens of religious leaders across the spectrum of faiths issued a joint statement Sept. 7 denouncing past and planned attacks against Muslims and Islamic houses of worship and calling for a new era of interfaith cooperation. In a news conference at the National Press Club, dozens of clergy men and women flanked Ingrid Mattson, the president of the Islamic Society of America, as she described recent attacks on Islam as an aberration of the true views of American Christians, Jews and nonreligious people alike and pleaded with Muslims around the world not to take the hateful views of a minority as representative of the whole nation. The event focused on the plans of a small Gainesville, Fla., evangelical church to publicly burn copies of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, on Sept. 11, the ninth anniversary of terrorist attacks on the United States at the hands of Islamic extremists. Plans for mosques to be built in several parts of the country have met strong opposition this summer, with vandalism to construction equipment and other incidents. The statement also noted that "we have become alarmed by the anti-Muslim frenzy that has been generated" over the plans to build an Islamic community center near the site of ground zero in New York. It said the group's concern in meeting that day was not to debate the New York project, "but rather to respond to the atmosphere of fear and contempt for fellow Americans of the Muslim faith that the controversy has generated."
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Two priests, nun among five indicted for role in anti-nuclear protest
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Five people, including two priests and a sister, have been indicted on federal charges 10 months after an All Souls' Day demonstration at a U.S. Navy nuclear weapons storage depot in Bangor, Wash. In indictments unsealed Sept. 3, a federal grand jury in Tacoma, Wash., charged Jesuit Father Bill Bichsel, 82; Jesuit Father Stephen Kelly, 61; Sacred Heart Sister Anne Montgomery, 83; Susan Crane, 65; and Lynne Greenwald, 61, with conspiracy, trespass, destruction of property on a naval installation and depradation of government property. Calling themselves the Disarm Now Plowshares, group members defended their actions as a requirement of their Catholic faith and as necessary under international law. The five are accused of using bolt cutters to cut holes in three chain-link fences to enter the Naval Base Kitsap's Bangor complex, 20 miles west of Seattle. The base is the West Coast home of the Trident nuclear-armed submarine and the Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific where more than 2,300 nuclear warheads are stored. The government said the five posed a danger to national security. "All citizens are free to disagree with their government. But they are not free to destroy property or risk the safety of others," said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan in a statement announcing the indictments. All five are scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Tacoma Sept. 24. Each could face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
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Mass, stamp unveiling honor Mother Teresa's life and legacy
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More than 3,000 people packed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Sept. 5 to mark the 13th anniversary of the death of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, attend a memorial Mass and witness the unveiling of a commemorative stamp in honor of the nun. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, was the principal celebrant of the memorial Mass in the upper church that preceded the U.S. Postal Service's unveiling of its commemorative stamp in honor of the centennial of Mother Teresa's birth. In his homily, Archbishop Sambi recalled the nun's "infectious and untiring work for her spiritual children," and said, "Mother Teresa loved God more than herself. Mother Teresa loved the church more than herself. Mother Teresa loved the poorest of the poor more than herself." He also praised her for "her passion in defense of life. She said the greatest disease is not being wanted and the greatest destroyer of peace is abortion." Two dozen priests -- including Washington Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout and Msgr. Walter Rossi, the national shrine's rector -- concelebrated the Mass. Also in attendance was Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired archbishop of Baltimore.
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No natural gas drilling at Pittsburgh Catholic cemetery, director says
PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- The recent comments of a Pittsburgh city councilman "unnecessarily frightened a number of people" associated with a Catholic cemetery by giving the false impression that natural gas drilling might occur there, according to the head of the local Catholic Cemeteries Association. "There has been no interest whatsoever expressed by the gas company to drill for gas at Calvary Cemetery," said Annabelle McGannon, executive director. "Even if there were expressed interest, the Catholic Cemeteries Association has reserved the right to designate and approve the location of such drilling." She was responding to comments made Aug. 17 by City Council President Doug Shields, who raised the issue of lease agreements between a gas drilling company and the Catholic Cemeteries Association. Shields opposes any Marcellus shale drilling activity within the city of Pittsburgh. Marcellus shale is found behind the earth's surface, primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, and can be a source of natural gas. McGannon confirmed that a five-year mineral drilling lease agreement was signed in September 2008 with Huntley & Huntley Inc., an oil and natural gas development firm. But she added, "The board of trustees and the management of the Catholic Cemeteries Association are committed to maintaining the sacredness of our Catholic cemeteries and would never permit any activity at the cemetery that is incompatible with our mission." There is currently no Marcellus shale drilling activity of any kind occurring at any diocesan cemetery, and there are no discussions about any activity taking place, McGannon said.
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Catholic student group wrongly denied funding, court rules
MADISON, Wis. (CNS) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that the University of Wisconsin imposed unconstitutional limits on the activities of a Catholic student group at the school. The Aug. 30 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling is a victory for the Badger Catholic, which has been arguing with the university for years about which activities are eligible to receive student-fee funding, according to Inside Higher Ed, a Washington-based higher education news journal. The decision was based on several U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have upheld the use of public funds for the activities of religious organizations, Inside Higher Ed reported. Nico Fassino, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and chairman of the Badger Catholic board of directors, said that when the Catholic organization was able to receive funding, programs with a religious feel were "more effectively able to serve the student." Since the university decided to deny student-fee funding, however, the Badger Catholic was not able to offer programs that explicitly involved prayer or worship, Fassino told the Catholic Herald, official newspaper of the Diocese of Madison. "It's been a struggle for an organization that's fundamentally rooted in religion to serve the needs of students on the campus without addressing their spiritual needs," he said.
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WORLD
Vatican opposes Iran stoning, but works diplomatically, priest says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican opposes the stoning of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery, but it does not intervene publicly in other nations' "humanitarian" affairs, said the Vatican's spokesman. Instead, it addresses such issues behind-the-scenes through its own diplomatic channels, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said in a statement Sept. 5. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted of adultery by an Iranian court in 2006 and sentenced to be stoned to death. She retracted her confession, saying it was made under duress. She earlier had been sentenced to 99 lashes for an "illicit relationship" with two men. Father Lombardi said that the Vatican is following Ashitiani's case "with attention." The Catholic Church is against the death penalty, he said, "and stoning is a particularly brutal form" of capital punishment. He said when people request that the Vatican contact authorities of other countries to intervene concerning particular "humanitarian issues," the Vatican normally "does so not in a public manner, but through its own diplomatic channels."
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Pope to highlight ongoing relevance of Newman in visit to Britain
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's decision to travel to Great Britain to personally beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman will give him an opportunity to highlight Cardinal Newman's teaching about the relation between faith and reason, the role of conscience and the place of religion in society. During his Sept. 16-19 trip, the pope will visit the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow before traveling to London and Birmingham for the beatification. Cardinal Newman was a 19th-century theologian and intellectual who was a leader in the Anglican reform effort known as the Oxford Movement before becoming a Catholic. The pope will celebrate open-air Masses, meet Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister David Cameron and make a major address to leaders of British society. His visit includes a meeting with leaders of other religions, an ecumenical prayer service and a visit to a home for the aged. But the Vatican has billed the trip as a pastoral visit "on the occasion of the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman." Since his election more than five years ago, Pope Benedict has presided over several canonization ceremonies, but he always has delegated the task of presiding over beatifications to highlight the different importance of the two ceremonies. The pope's decision to make an exception for Cardinal Newman demonstrates his personal admiration for the British churchman, an admiration he once said went back to his first semester of seminary theology studies in 1946.
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Christians need concrete teachings to put faith into action, says pope
CARPINETO ROMANO, Italy (CNS) -- Every pope and pastor of the Catholic Church is called to give his flock a concrete message, not abstract truths, that can help people put their faith into action, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope spoke during a brief Sept. 5 visit to Carpineto Romano, the birthplace of Pope Leo XIII. As part of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Pope Leo's birth, the pope celebrated Mass in the town about 35 miles southeast of Rome. Pope Leo, like many pastors, sought to address the burning questions and problems of his day in a way that was faithful to Catholic tradition and teachings, Pope Benedict said in his homily. Pope Leo's 1891 encyclical, "Rerum Novarum" (on capital and labor), marked the start of modern Catholic social teaching; the document emphasized workers' rights and the responsibility of employers to promote the common good. During Pope Leo's pontificate from 1878 to 1903, poverty and slavery existed hand in hand with a nascent industrial revolution while political movements were often strongly anticlerical, the pope said.
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Retired bishop skeptical of British report tying priest to '72 bombing
DUBLIN (CNS) -- A Catholic bishop who became synonymous with peace-building in Northern Ireland has questioned the rush to judge a dead priest accused of being a terrorist bomber. Bishop Edward Daly, who served as bishop of Derry from 1974 until his retirement in 1993, said he was skeptical of British intelligence about Father James Chesney. An Aug. 24 report from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman found that police intelligence had suspected Father Chesney of being involved in a 1972 Provisional IRA bombing that killed nine people in Claudy, Northern Ireland. "The (ombudsman's) report aired suspicions about him that were based solely on intelligence reports. But intelligence and evidence are completely different things. Why was the ombudsman unable to find evidence against him after years of investigation? He found only these 'intelligence reports,'" Bishop Daly told Catholic News Service in early September. "Personal involvement in several major miscarriage of justice cases, for example the Birmingham Six, has bred in me constructive skepticism," he said. "I have seen convictions based on signed admissions and forensic evidence completely overturned years later." Bishop Daly campaigned for the so-called Birmingham Six, Maguire Seven and Guildford Four for many years. All were Irish citizens convicted of IRA bombings who were released on appeal decades later after courts ruled evidence had been falsified. "Media have not questioned key aspects of the ombudsman's report" about Father Chesney, Bishop Daly said. "Everyone takes the same unquestioning line and competes to write the most lurid headline. "The once-sacrosanct presumption of innocence has been dispensed with and replaced with a presumption of guilt," Bishop Daly told CNS.
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PEOPLE
Diocese of Spokane welcomes Bishop Cupich as its sixth bishop
SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- The Diocese of Spokane welcomed Bishop Blase J. Cupich as its sixth bishop with joyous celebrations of prayer in word and music Sept. 2 and 3. The celebration began with evening vespers at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes Sept. 2. Before the beginning of the service, the K-town drummers of the Colville tribe in Keller greeted visitors with singing and percussion on the steps of the cathedral. As the time came for vespers to begin, Bishop Cupich, accompanied by Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett of Seattle and Msgr. John Steiner of the Spokane Diocese, raised a mallet and pounded on the closed doors of the church. As the doors opened, Bishop William S. Skylstad, retired bishop of Spokane, with Father Steve Dublinski, the cathedral's rector, and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, invited Bishop Cupich into his cathedral, filled with friends, relatives, and representatives of diocesan, civic and denominational leaders. In his homily, Bishop Cupich offered special thanks for the ministry of Bishop Skylstad. "No one could have asked more of you, but the record shows that whatever task you have been given, you responded with a generosity which both motivates and inspires," he said. The congregation affirmed his words with long, sustained applause.
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Bishop for Lithuanian military feels close to late pope at consecration
VILNIUS, Lithuania (CNS) -- The new U.S.-born military bishop of Lithuania said he felt a special closeness to the late Pope John Paul II as he was consecrated at a ceremony at the Cathedral of Sts. Stanislaus and Vladislaus. Bishop Gintaras Grusas was consecrated Sept. 4 , the same date and in the same place where, in 1993, Pope John Paul met and prayed with the Lithuanian clergy. At the time, the new bishop was head of the papal visit committee. "Today I got to head the military ordinariate, which was established under Pope John Paul II as part of the agreements between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See," Bishop Grusas added. Leaders of the Lithuanian army and government, dignitaries and hundreds of Catholics attended the consecration Mass, whose main celebrant was Cardinal Audrys Backis of Vilnius. He was joined by the members of the Lithuanian episcopate and bishops from Poland, Belarus and Romania, as well as the papal nuncio to Lithuania, Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi. "Today the world has a difficulty in understanding that (a) bishop is not a sovereign or an honorable decoration of gatherings, but first of all a man of prayer and spiritual life, who is not afraid of unpopular decisions, because he is guided by the holy Scripture, which demands obedience to God rather than men," Cardinal Backis said in his homily. He urged the new bishop "to have no fear to be a sign of scandal" and "be a good shepherd together with his fellow chaplains."
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Physician, bioethics expert elected new head of Dominican order
ROME (CNS) -- A French physician and professor of bioethics, Father Bruno Cadore, was elected superior general of the Dominicans Sept. 5. Voting delegates at the general chapter of the order elected Father Cadore, 56, to succeed Father Carlos Azpiroz Costa, to the nine-year term of office. About 130 delegates from all over the world were meeting in Rome Aug. 31-Sept. 21 for the general chapter, the highest governing body of the order. The new superior will be charged with implementing the chapter's decisions. Before his election, Father Cadore had served eight years as head of the Dominicans' French province. He already was a physician and had worked in Haiti for two years when he entered the Dominican novitiate in 1979. He was ordained a priest in Lille, France, in 1986 and received his doctorate in moral theology.
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