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June
18, 2007 • VOL. 45, NO. 12 • Oakland, CA
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Refugee
camp in Baghdad |
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Seminarian
recovers Seminarian Edmund Luciano III, 23, walks in his Kendall Park, N.J., neighborhood with his sister Danielle, left, and cousin Lisa Scarano in late May. He is recovering from heart transplant surgery. CNS PHOTO/CAROLYN HUGHES/CATHOLIC SPIRIT |
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Priest
murdered in Iraq Chaldean Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni and three subdeacons from the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, Iraq, were killed June 3 while leaving the church after Mass. Their car was blocked by a group of armed militants who shot the clergymen and then booby-trapped the car with explosives. The priest was ordained in Rome in 2001. His church has been bombed several times in the past months. CNS PHOTO/ASIA NEWS |
Sanctions
discarded against Mexican cardinal
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexico’s Interior Ministry has discarded a
complaint against Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City and
another church official for campaigning against a city law that legalized
abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Local lawmakers who approved
the initiative April 24 had filed a complaint accusing Cardinal Rivera
and Father Hugo Romero Asencion of violating a constitutional passage
that prohibits religious figures from participating in politics.
In a June 9 statement, the Interior Ministry said that “it was not
appropriate to apply any sanctions” in the case.
Iraqi refugees in Jordan in great need
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The thousands of impoverished Iraqis spilling into
Jordan each year are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, said the head
of Caritas Jordan. However, Jordanian government officials are reluctant
to let international nongovernmental organizations offer assistance to
Iraqis “because they don’t want to have a repeat of what happened
with the Palestinians,” when the Palestinians, fleeing violence
from the war of 1948, stayed, said Wael Suleiman, executive director of
Caritas Jordan.
While the Jordanian government “accepts the Iraqis as guests,”
it is hesitant to give them legal or refugee status, he said.
Chinese bishop has been detained by government
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, China, has been
detained by government authorities since June 5 when he was taken away,
said various sources. A priest of the diocese in Hebei province said that
surveillance at the cathedral in Wuqiu village, near the provincial capital
of Shijiazhuang, has intensified since then.
Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar, who, like Bishop Jia, has not registered
with the government, said he did not think there is a high possibility
of a mass arrest of non-registered Church leaders due to Pope Benedict
XVI’s highly anticipated letter to Chinese Catholics. However, Bishop
Wei acknowledged that Bishop Jia’s arrest might be an exception
because Bishop Jia frequently has been detained when important events
are expected to happen. Bishop Jia was detained June 25-Sept. 25, 2006.
Caritas
official warns about war in Congo
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo is on the brink
of full-scale war unless the government and international community intervene,
said a Caritas official. Bruno Miteyo, director of Caritas Congo, said
that “all the elements are there to bring the country to war.”
Weapons are being taken into the country over the borders and civilians
are being killed, raped or kidnapped, stirring up lingering ethnic hatreds
and fueling fresh clashes, Miteyo said.
Congo is still struggling to recover from years of ethnic violence and
a 1998-2003 civil war that displaced 1.6 million people and left another
4 million people dead, making it one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts
since World War II.
Spokane
Diocese emerges from bankruptcy
SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- The Diocese of Spokane emerged from bankruptcy
May 31, two-and-a-half years after it entered Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy
proceedings. The diocese and its parishes still have to raise millions
of dollars for the $48 million fund that will be used to compensate childhood
victims of clergy sexual abuse and to pay the professional fees of the
bankruptcy proceeding and expenses incurred in determining the claims.
The $20 million that diocesan insurers contributed to the settlement was
wired to the fund May 31.
As part of the reorganization, 76 parishes were incorporated as separate
entities within the diocese. Parish properties were handed over to the
newly incorporated entities but are pledged as security for the $10 million
that the parishes must raise to contribute to the fund. The diocese is
raising about $5 million by selling diocesan properties, including a 1,000-acre
farm it owned and the building used for its diocesan offices.
Other Catholic entities in the diocese, including cemeteries, Catholic
Charities, a youth camp and a retreat center, will contribute $6.4 million.
The bishop will have to borrow or raise about $7.5 million from other
sources to complete the diocese’s contribution to the fund.
Conviction
overturned for Vatican Radio officials
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An Italian appeals court overturned the 2005 convictions
of two former Vatican Radio officials accused of polluting the environment
with electromagnetic waves from broadcasting towers. In a June 4 ruling,
the Rome appellate court absolved Cardinal Roberto Tucci, former president
of Vatican Radio’s management committee, and Jesuit Father Pasquale
Borgomeo, formerly the general director.
Vatican Radio continually has defended itself against the charges, saying
that even before Italy issued legal limits for electromagnetic emissions,
the agency had been adhering to international norms.
Documents
coming soon on China, Tridentine Mass
ROME (CNS) -- A leading Vatican official said two important documents
from Pope Benedict XVI -- a letter to Chinese Catholics and a decree liberalizing
use of the Tridentine Mass -- were coming soon.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, told an Italian
newspaper that the pope had “definitively approved” the text
of his letter to the Church in China.
As for the document granting wider latitude for celebration of the Tridentine
rite, Cardinal Bertone said that “one shouldn’t have to wait
long to see it published.” The cardinal said the pope was “personally
interested in making this happen” and that the pontiff had prepared
an accompanying letter explaining the move and expressing the hope for
a serene reception by the Church.
Vatican
documents show Pius XII helped Jews
ROME (CNS) -- Thousands of Vatican documents demonstrate that Pope Pius
XII worked quietly but effectively to help Jews and others during World
War II, a top Vatican official said.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, said June 5
that the documentation of papal charity is the most convincing response
to the “black legend” that has depicted the late pope as indifferent
toward the victims of Nazism. The cardinal said a fair reading of history
must recognize “the enormous work of charity that the pope promoted,
by opening the doors of seminaries and religious institutes, welcoming
refugees and the persecuted, and helping all.”
