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November
6 , 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 19Oakland,
CA
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Vietnamese
chapel in D.C. CNS PHOTO/MATTHEW BARRICK/NATIONAL SHRINE |
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Life
in a cemetery CNS PHOTO/ROMEO RNOCO/REUTERS |
Lay
ministers no longer can cleanse vessels
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- At the direction of Pope Benedict XVI, extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion will no longer be permitted to assist in the
purification of the sacred vessels at Masses in the United States.
In an Oct. 23 letter, Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked his fellow bishops to inform all
pastors of the change, which was prompted by a letter from Cardinal Francis
Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Sacraments.
The U.S. bishops had asked the Vatican to extend an indult -- or church
permission -- in effect since 2002 allowing extraordinary ministers of
holy Communion to help cleanse the Communion cups and plates when there
were not enough priests or deacons to do so. Bishop Skylstad, who heads
the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., said Cardinal Arinze asked Pope Benedict
about the matter during a June 9 audience, “and received a response
in the negative.”
Mexican
cardinal calls border fence shortsighted
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Building a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border is
a shortsighted move that may hurt the U.S. economy and shows a serious
lack of respect for the dignity of Mexican workers, said a Vatican official.
“This wall, together with the fact that this border is patrolled
by thousands of armed men ready to shoot on sight those who try to cross
it, certainly is not respectful of the dignity of the human person,”
said Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical
Council for Health Care Ministry.
President George W. Bush signed a bill Oct. 26 authorizing construction
of the fence along a total of 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border.
Cardinal Lozano said the bill’s passage and signing were a sign
of a “lack of intelligence” in U.S. efforts to find solutions
to its border problems as well as a lack of political courage to take
a moral stand just before the November elections.
He said the fence is unlikely to stop illegal entry into the United States,
but is likely to lead people “to try to cross the border in increasingly
risky ways or by putting themselves into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers.”
In addition, the cardinal said, “from an economic point of view,
it does not seem to me to be a very farsighted choice.”
Bishops
told to find the truth about sex abuse
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said priestly sexual abuse of
minors was a “heart-rending” tragedy that requires an effort
of purification by the Church.
Addressing Ireland’s bishops at the Vatican Oct. 28, the pope encouraged
them to establish the truth of past sex abuse cases, take steps to prevent
future crimes and bring healing to the victims.
“The wounds caused by such acts run deep, and it is an urgent task
to rebuild confidence and trust where these have been damaged,”
the pope said.
Irish church leaders have had to deal with hundreds of allegations of
clerical sexual abuse, many of which came to light in recent years.
The bishops set up an advisory committee and an independent, lay-led commission
to study the problem, and earlier this year published “Our Children,
Our Church,” a child protection policy that included new measures
more consistent with state procedures.
Catholic
organizations gain from increased giving
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The concept of “donor fatigue” did not
seem to afflict the United States’ largest endowments, nonprofits
and charitable groups in 2005, with Catholic organizations seemingly benefiting
from increased giving as much as most other major philanthropic groups,
according to a survey conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
In its annual study of the 400 largest philanthropic organizations, the
average increase in private donations was 13.2 percent, but some Catholic
organizations eclipsed even that strong showing.
Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore registered a whopping 146.3 percent
jump in donations, ranking 32nd out of the top 100 organizations with
$342.6 million in contributions. The Catholic Medical Mission Board, based
in New York City, took in $196.74 million in donations, an increase of
60.4 percent. It was ranked 73rd. The other Catholic group in the top
100 -- Catholic Charities USA, based in Alexandria, Va. -- ranked 14th
with support amounting to $646.19 million. Its contributions rose 11.2
percent.
Britain
abandons plans for church school quotas
LONDON (CNS) -- The British government has abandoned plans to impose quotas
of non-Catholic students in publicly funded church schools after fierce
opposition from the Catholic Church. Alan Johnson, secretary of state
for education, said he no longer intends to amend the Education and Inspections
Bill to force new faith schools to take up to 25 percent of students from
families of a different faith or no faith at all. He said that after exchanging
correspondence with Catholic leaders he did not feel that “the legislative
route is necessary or appropriate.”
Priests
face criminal charges after pilgrimage
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Two leaders of the underground Catholic community in
eastern China who visited the Vatican have been charged with “illegal
exit” and will probably face trial, an Asian church news agency
reported. Local Catholics hired a defense lawyer after learning that the
priests might be given a trial.
Father Peter Shao Zhumin, vicar general of the Diocese of Wenzhou, and
Father Paul Jiang Surang, sometimes known as Jiang Sunian, the diocesan
chancellor, were arrested Sept. 25 in Shenzhen, China. They were transferred
to Putaopeng Detention Center in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, UCA News
reported.
Claretians
in southern Philippines close schools
ISABELA CITY, Philippines (CNS) -- All Claretian schools in the Basilan
province were closed indefinitely after Muslim parents warned a group
of Catholic nuns and teachers of a possible attack from Abu Sayyaf guerrilla
recruits.
Daughters of Charity Sister Felipa Javen, a teacher at Claret High School
in Basilan’s Maluso town, said Muslim parents warned her and three
other nuns at a school meeting Oct. 15 that the Abu Sayyaf separatist
group had targeted Claret High School and its faculty for an attack. About
half of the school’s students are Muslim. She said the nuns have
always had good relations with Muslims in the area.
Young
mayor credits Catholic faith for success
PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- Luke Ravenstahl, Pittsburgh’s new 26-year-old
mayor, said he would not be in the position he is in today without his
Catholic faith. “I’m not shy to say it, and I do say it whenever
I can,” said Ravenstahl.”I would not be where I’m at
without my Catholic upbringing and my Catholic education.”
As president of the City Council, Ravenstahl became the mayor of Pittsburgh
Sept. 1 following the death of Mayor Bob O’Connor from lymphoma
of the primary central nervous system.
“The foundation that was instilled in me and my two brothers, both
through my family as well as the school and the Church, are something
that I use on a daily basis,” said Ravenstahl, a Democrat, who attended
Incarnation Academy and North Catholic High School, both on Pittsburgh’s
north side.
Chicago
begins Polish-language newspaper
CHICAGO (CNS) -- The Archdiocese of Chicago has begun publishing a Polish-language
Catholic newspaper, believed to be the first publication of its kind to
be sponsored by a U.S. Catholic diocese.
Katolik, a 20-page tabloid with six pages in color, will be published
on the first Sunday of every month. It will include news and information
about Poland, Chicago’s Polish community and the Catholic Church
on a local, national and international level.
