Catholic News Service News Briefs

As a service to our readers, America is pleased to offer the latest stories from Catholic News Service. This feature is updated daily.

Online News Archive of Catholic News Service News Briefs

NEWS BRIEFS Mar-12-2010

By Catholic News Service

U.S.

Two national conferences to mark 10th anniversary of Encuentro 2000

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Two national conferences will mark the 10th anniversary of the Encuentro 2000 multicultural celebration in Los Angeles by continuing the dialogue about challenges and opportunities brought about by the church's growing racial, cultural and ethnic diversity. An estimated 300 church leaders -- bishops, priests, religious and laity representing various ethnic and cultural families and all walks of life -- will meet May 6-8 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana for the Catholic Cultural Diversity Network Convocation. More than four months later, the National Congress on Hispanic Ministry, Sept. 23-26 in Rosemont, Ill., will bring together hundreds of Catholic leaders and dozens of national associations that minister to Hispanic Catholics. The Notre Dame gathering is sponsored by the university and its Institute for Church Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and many others. The September conference, with the theme "Roots and Wings 2010," is organized by the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry in collaboration with the USCCB cultural diversity secretariat.

- - -

Court's ruling on 'under God' in pledge seen as 'breath of fresh air'

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- A federal appeals court's ruling upholding the constitutionality of the phrase "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is a "breath of fresh air from a court system that has too often seemed to be almost allergic to public references to God," according to the head of the Knights of Columbus. Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight, also called the March 11 decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, a "victory for common sense." The Knights of Columbus, which led efforts to persuade Congress to add the phrase to the pledge in 1954, joined the case as defendants when it was filed in 2005 by California atheist Dr. Michael Newdow, a physician with a law degree. Writing for the majority in the 2-1 opinion, Judge Carlos T. Bea said, "Not every mention of God or religion by our government or at the government's direction is a violation of the Establishment Clause" of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "The pledge is constitutional," Bea added. Newdow had charged that references to God in the pledge disrespected his religious beliefs. In an earlier challenge to the phrase, Newdow had said recitation of the pledge in public schools violated his daughter's constitutional rights and the 9th circuit court agreed in 2002. But the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2004 on technical grounds, saying that Newdow lacked standing to sue on behalf of his daughter because he did not have primary custody of her.

- - -

Model for policymakers seen in encyclical's focus on truth, justice

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," while not intended to be a treatise on economics, offers a framework for solving the current financial crisis, according to panelists at a March 10 U.N. event. The encyclical's focus on truth, trust and social justice is a model for policymakers to consider, they said. Their presentations addressed globalization in the context of the encyclical. The event was sponsored by the Vatican's U.N. mission and the Path to Peace Foundation and coincided with the 54th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. "With this document," said Archbishop Celestino Migliore, papal nuncio to the United Nations, "Pope Benedict writes to us not as a politician, or an expert in finance and economy, but as a man of faith trying to read the signs of the times in light of God's wisdom; not to give out recipes and solutions, but to shed light on different human situations and help people make sense of and find hope and the necessary resilience to confront new situations and events." Joseph E. Stiglitz said the crisis is taking a toll on people all over the world, but it "has a 'Made in USA' label on it." "We exported the deregulatory philosophy that created the crisis and allowed it to move quickly around the world," he said, "but we also exported our toxic mortgages," which were purchased largely by Europeans.

- - -

Obama tells immigration advocates he's committed to quick reform

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Just over a week before tens of thousands of people were expected in Washington for a rally in support of immigration reform, President Barack Obama told grass-roots and faith leaders that he remains firmly committed to passing legislation this year. For their part, participants in the meeting with Obama urged Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to release before the March 21 rally their plans for a comprehensive immigration bill -- an outline of which the senators brought to their own meeting with the president the same afternoon. Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. bishops' migration committee, told Catholic News Service that he came away from the meeting with the president greatly encouraged about the prospects of getting reform legislation turned into law. "We know his commitment is real," Bishop Wester said. Over the last couple of months, Catholics around the country have been asked to sign postcards to their members of Congress urging them to back immigration reform that keeps families together, unclogs the system for legal immigration and provides an avenue for legalization for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants now in the country.

- - -

WORLD

Vatican rep to UN calls upon governments to respect religious freedom

GENEVA (CNS) -- The Vatican's chief representative to the U.N. agencies in Geneva called upon the nations of the world to respect the right of all people to practice religion freely and urged world leaders to punish those who persecute religious minorities. Addressing a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the Swiss capital March 12, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Vatican representative, said harassment of religious minorities often is "encouraged by the silent collusion of state authorities and by a judicial system that is ineffective or partial." The archbishop called for the world's governments to pass legislation imposing tough sanctions against those found guilty of harassing people because of their faith. Citing recent surveys that found nearly 70 percent of the world's population living in countries that restrict religious practices, Archbishop Tomasi recalled how some religious minorities face physical harm or death threats, the loss of their homes and the destruction of houses of worship.

- - -

Students prepare for possible Obama visit to his Indonesian school

JAKARTA Indonesia (CNS) -- Students at the elementary school once attended by President Barack Obama are planning to give him a warm welcome should he visit the school during his March trip to Indonesia. Obama attended St. Francis of Assisi School from 1968 to 1970, when he lived in Jakarta with his American mother and Indonesian stepfather. "We do not know for sure if President Obama will visit this school, but we are prepared for the visit," Maria Yohana, head of the school's planning team for the visit, told the Asian church news agency UCA News. "We will serve fried rice and rambutan, his favorite food." Rambutan is a tropical fruit. Yohana said students are preparing several cultural performances for Obama, including Jakarta's betawi dance, which is performed to welcome people home. Students also are rehearsing the pendet dance of Bali, and a musical performance featuring an angklung, a traditional percussion instrument. The school planned to ask Obama to sign an inscription which would be displayed after the president's visit. Yohana said it reads, "We respect President Obama as an alumnus of this school. We want to thank him for inspiring and motivating the school's students."

- - -

Conference examines growing religious role in public life

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The role of religion in public life, long written off by many in secular societies, is growing steadily around the world and demands closer attention by civil authorities, speakers at a Rome conference said. "Religion has been and will continue to be a powerful force that shapes and is shaped by historical experiences," said Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. "In our times, we have all witnessed the positive as well as the negative impacts of religion at the level of national and international relations," Diaz said. "Today, consensus is on the rise that no nation can bypass the contribution of religion if we are to address successfully the signs of our time." The ambassador spoke at a conference March 11 on Christians, Muslims and their relationship with civil authority, sponsored by the Italian Catholic magazine "30 Giorni." Fred Dallmayr, who teaches political theory at the University of Notre Dame, told participants that today's "post-secular" society offers a role for religion that was foreseen when Christ urged his followers to be the "salt of the earth" -- a term that Dallmayr said rejects religion's retreat from the world as well as its complete assimilation with the political order.

- - -

Web site showcases South African church's diversity to World Cup fans

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The diversity of the church in South Africa and its many ministries and programs are being promoted to thousands of World Cup soccer fans on a new Web site launched by the country's bishops. The effort is tied to the 2010 World Cup tournament, which opens in South Africa June 11. The site offers soccer fans alternative activities between matches involving their favorite teams, said Father Chris Townsend, information officer for the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference. "We're saying to football fans, 'You can't watch all the time, come and see what the church is doing and the projects it's involved in,'" Father Townsend told Catholic News Service from Pretoria, South Africa. The site provides basic information about the Catholic faith, locations of parishes in relation to stadium venues, Mass times, church accommodations for visitors and general news about the Catholic Church. In a video on the site, www.churchontheball.com, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban can be seen kicking a ball and blowing a vuvuzela, a long horn commonly blown by soccer fans during a match.

- - -

Archbishop calls for detailed norms for initial abuse investigations

ROME (CNS) -- The Vatican should prepare a document giving local bishops and their tribunals a detailed procedure based on Canon Law for conducting their initial investigations of accusations of sexual abuse against a priest, said Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican's supreme court. Thanks to the media and to lawyers, the public has a mistaken impression that the Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law is not capable of dealing effectively and decisively with accusations against priests, Archbishop Burke told a conference on the priesthood. "One cannot help but observe, for example, that there already exists a universal norm -- Canon 1722 -- that contributes to the prevention of scandal and other dangers as a penal process is being carried out," the archbishop, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, said March 11. The canon he cited says: "To prevent scandals, to protect the freedom of witnesses, and to guard the course of justice, the ordinary, after having heard the promoter of justice and cited the accused, at any stage of the process can exclude the accused from the sacred ministry or from some office and ecclesiastical function, can impose or forbid residence in some place or territory, or even can prohibit public participation in the Most Holy Eucharist." The Vatican in 2001 issued new norms for the way the church handles sex abuse cases, requiring local bishops to report probable cases of clerical sexual abuse against minors to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

- - -

US museums lend masterpieces to major Caravaggio exhibit in Rome

ROME (CNS) -- Three Caravaggio masterpieces, originally painted in Rome but now part of U.S. museum collections, returned to Rome as part of a historic exhibit of the artist's work. In a way, the paintings are on a pilgrimage back to their birthplace, said Elizabeth Lev, a Caravaggio expert and professor of art history at the Rome campuses of Duquesne University and the University of St. Thomas. "Caravaggio's vision was carried across the ocean thanks to these works, but now these paintings are making a pilgrimage back to the city where they were born," Lev said. "The bulk of Caravaggio's greatest hits were produced in Rome, so U.S. museums allowing these works to return home to commemorate the 400th anniversary of their creator's death strikes me as more than fitting," Lev said. The show, simply titled "Caravaggio," opened in February and runs until June 13 at the Scuderie del Quirinale, an exhibition space in central Rome that once housed the pope's horses and carriages. The exhibit was strictly limited to works that were authenticated by art experts as unquestionably executed by the hand of Caravaggio. No "schools of Caravaggio" or "students of Caravaggio" were permitted.

- - -

Pope approves German church rules in abuse crisis, archbishop says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI encouraged German bishops to continue with their efforts to aggressively confront and seek solutions to the widening scandal of sexual abuse of minors in Catholic schools, the head of the German bishops' conference said. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg told reporters that in a 45-minute private meeting March 12 the pope encouraged him to move ahead "with decision and courage" in investigating old cases and preventing new ones. At a news conference held at the Teutonic College inside the Vatican, Archbishop Zollitsch said the pope was "deeply moved" and listened to the facts surrounding the many claims of abuse of minors in his native Germany "with great interest and great dismay." He said German bishops "are profoundly disturbed that this was possible within the church environment." He said that as cases came to light over the past several weeks, he had apologized to victims and that "I would like to do that again here in Rome." Later March 12, the Vatican responded to a German report about a priest accused of sexually abusing a child who was allowed to return to pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising at the time Pope Benedict XVI was archbishop. The Vatican press office said in a brief statement that the archdiocesan official who made the decision at the time had taken "full responsibility" for the decision.

- - -

PEOPLE

Diocese opens inquiry into possible miracle credited to Bishop Baraga

MARQUETTE, Mich. (CNS) -- Nearly 60 years after his cause for canonization began and more than 140 years after his death, an alleged miracle attributed to the intercession of Bishop Frederic Baraga is under investigation. Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette announced the investigation March 10, with the inquiry process formally opening March 12 at diocesan headquarters. Father Ronald Brown, diocesan moderator of the curia, said the case involved a patient who was believed to have a liver tumor but who showed no signs of the tumor after a stole that had belonged to Bishop Baraga was placed on the patient's abdomen and prayers were said for the bishop's intercession. The tumor "showed up on various tests, including a CT scan and an ultrasound," but was not found in exploratory surgery after the prayers to Bishop Baraga, Father Brown said, adding that the patient "reported that the pain went away" at the touch of the stole. The priest released no other details about the patient but the diocese said the supposed miracle took place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula region.

- - -

Pope says priests called to be prophets of God's presence, fidelity

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Priests are called to be prophets, especially today in a world that acts as if God doesn't matter and as if fidelity were either impossible or an attack on personal freedom, Pope Benedict XVI told more than 550 priests, bishops and cardinals. "In his way of thinking, speaking, judging the what happens in the world, serving and loving, relating to others, even in his dress, the priest must draw prophetic strength from his sacramental belonging" to Christ, the pope said. Pope Benedict met at the Vatican March 12 with participants in a two-day theological conference on the priesthood, which was sponsored by the Congregation for Clergy as part of the Year for Priests. The pope said that too many people, including priests themselves, equate a priest's identity with the functions he carries out in the church and the world, "almost like a social worker." But when he receives the sacrament of Holy Orders, a man's very being changes and he becomes part of the one priesthood of Jesus Christ, the pope said.

- - -

Chicago Archdiocese begins sainthood process for first black US priest

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Father Augustine Tolton was the first U.S. priest of African descent and may one day be a saint from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The archdiocese is introducing the priest's cause for canonization, according to an announcement by Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George. "It is appropriate that, during this Year for Priests, we recall our forebears who were holy men in the presbyterate" of the archdiocese, the cardinal told the Catholic New World, Chicago archdiocesan newspaper. Having Father Tolton as a saint would be a blessing for the whole Catholic Church but, in particular, for Catholics in Chicago, he said. "First of all, saints intercede," he said. "We need his prayers and his help, especially to become a more united church. Secondly, his example of priestly dedication, his learning and preaching, are great examples for our seminarians and priests and should inspire the laity."

END