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December
12, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 21Oakland,
CA
 |
Struggle
to survive RNS PHOTO/REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic |
 |
Ordinations
in Vietnam RNS PHOTO/REUTERS |
Vatican decries attack on Catholics
in China
VATICAN CITY (RNS) – The Vatican has expressed “grief and
disapproval” over reports detailing an assault on Roman Catholic
nuns and the arrest of priests in China.
The Vatican-affiliated news agency Asianews reported that 16 Franciscan
nuns were severely beaten in Xian province by a band of 40 “thugs.”
Five of the nuns were hospitalized with serious injuries from the Nov.
23 assault. The Vatican was seeking clarification on the assault and on
the arrest of six priests in Zhengding province Nov. 18.
Phoenix Diocese bars Mass at
events center
MESA, Ariz. (AP) – The Phoenix Diocese has barred a Mass at a private
events center that was recently rented out for a Planned Parenthood event.
The Corona Ranch and Rodeo Grounds in south Phoenix will go forward with
the annual Our Lady of Guadalupe vigil and celebration without the Mass.
Father David Sanfilippo called Planned Parenthood “one of the largest
abortion providers in the nation,’’ and said it would be inappropriate
for a Catholic Mass to take place at the same location it used.
General Manager Alex Corona said the events facility rents out its facilities
to all comers.
``We do business with everybody,’’ he said.
Detention of Haitians without
charge decried
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – A U.N. human rights official criticized
Haiti’s justice system for jailing hundreds of people without charge,
including Father Gerard Jean-Juste, an activist priest he compared to
a political prisoner.
Louis Joinet’s comments marked one of the strongest recent condemnations
of Haiti’s inefficient and corruption-prone justice system from
a member of the international community.
The exact size of Haiti’s prison population isn’t known, but
the overcrowded National Penitentiary in the capital of Port-au-Prince
holds more than 1,700 inmates, only a few dozen of who have been charged.
Rome complains about tax break
for churches
ROME (AP) – The city of Rome complained Nov. 28 it would lose $29
million if a proposed tax break for the Catholic Church and other religious
institutions is included in the nation’s 2006 budget.
Under a provision in Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s budget, which is
awaiting final approval in parliament, all church premises leased for
commercial purposes would be exempt from property tax. Churches and venues
of worship already are exempt.
Chile authorizes sale of morning-after
pill
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Chile’s Supreme Court voted last month
to authorize sale and use of the so-called morning-after pill that helps
prevent pregnancy.
The 5-0 vote upheld a decision by the Santiago Court of Appeals, which
had turned down a request to ban the pill which is considered by some
to be a form of abortion. Abortion is illegal in Chile.
The Catholic Church has strongly opposed the use of the pill, but the
government firmly has ordered its distribution free to women who had been
the victims of rape. After the ruling, which cannot be appealed, the pill
can be sold at drug stores, but a doctor’s prescription is required.
Possible miracle by late pope
in France
ROME (AP) – Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, Krakow’s archbishop,
said Nov. 29 that a Church tribunal will investigate a possible miracle
attributed to the intercession of Pope John Paul II in France as it pursues
the case for beatification.
Archbishop Dziwisz, who was personal secretary to Pope John Paul II, told
reporters in Rome that ``there are no problems with miracles because there
are many, but they have picked one because they don’t need more.’’
Pressed further, he added: ``Maybe this I can say: they have picked (one
in) France.’’
The Vatican needs proof of a miracle before it can proclaim Pope John
Paul II eligible for sainthood, and a Church tribunal from the archdiocese
of Krakow, Poland, has been gathering evidence from witnesses.
Pope urges that Latin be taught
to the young
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI said Nov. 28 that Latin should
be taught more and more to the young, saying the great Latin treasures
of the Catholic Church shouldn’t be lost.
Pope Benedict made the call – in Latin – during an audience
with members of the Latinitas Foundation, which Pope Paul VI established
in 1976 to promote Latin through conferences, publications, competitions
and language courses. ``Let the knowledge of the Latin language be reinvigorated
in the Church and taught in Church rites and disciplines,’’
the pope said.
Target targeted for policy on
‘morning-after’ pill
NEW YORK (RNS) – The Planned Parenthood Federation of America is
targeting Target Corp. over the retailer’s policy allowing pharmacists
in its stores to refuse to fill prescriptions for the “morning-after
pill” for religious reasons.
Target’s policy requires objecting pharmacists “to take responsibility”
for getting a customer’s prescription filled “in a timely
and respectful manner,” either by another Target pharmacist or at
a different pharmacy, a company statement said.
The retailer expressed surprise and disappointment at Planned Parenthood’s
reaction. “Our policy is similar to that of many other retailers
and follows the recommendations of the American Pharmacists Association,
so it is unclear why Target is being singled out.”
Anglican Church warned about
women bishops
LONDON (RNS) – The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have warned
the Church of England that going ahead with women bishops risks destabilizing
both the Church of England and the whole Anglican Communion.
In a report, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales referred
to “tremendous and intolerable ecclesiogical risk” involved
in ordaining women bishops without the assurance that it is right and
irreversible.
The Church of England decided in 1992 to allow the ordination of women
to the priesthood, and its first women priests were ordained in 1994.
It is now considering whether to allow women to become bishops, with a
debate expected at its general synod next February.
