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November
19, 2007 • VOL. 45, NO. 20 • Oakland,
CA
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CNS PHOTO/JANEZ A. SEVER, SJ |
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CNS PHOTO/ISMAEL ABDI/REUTERS |
Pope to visit U.S. April 15-20,
2008
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI will be in the United States, April
15-20, to visit Washington D.C. and New York City where he will address
the United Nations.
While in Washington, he will meet with the bishops of the United States
at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
“This is a blessed moment for our nation,” said Bishop William
Skylstad of Spokane, president of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB). “Pope Benedict is not just the leader of Catholics,
he is also a man of inspiration for all those who work for peace.”
Bishop urges diplomacy, not military action in
Iran
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although “the prospect of Iran developing
nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” the U.S. government must exhaust
every option before considering military action to resolve the situation,
the chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Committee on International
Policy told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“The use of force must always be a last resort,” Bishop Thomas
G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., said in a letter to Rice made public Nov.
9. “In addition, the failure to be transparent about one’s
nuclear energy program is not grounds for military intervention, nor is
the possession of nuclear weapons or the issuing of bellicose statements,”
he added.
In U.S. efforts to ensure Iran’s compliance with international law
in developing its nuclear energy program, “dialogue is essential,”
the bishop said. “It is not a reward for good behavior, but rather
is a means to achieve important ends.”
Natural family planning gets insurance recognition
ST. LOUIS (CNS) — The medical coding system used by the government,
insurance companies, medical clinics and health care providers now includes
two codes specifically for natural family planning. Behind the push for
the new codes was the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals.
Diane Daly, director of the Office of Natural Family Planning for the
St. Louis Archdiocese and a member of the academy, headed the committee
that worked several years for the new codes.
Bishops defend refusal to sell morning-after pill
SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) — Chilean Catholic bishops have defended a
Chilean pharmaceutical company’s right to refuse to sell the morning-after
pill because it considers the drug abortive. Auxiliary Bishop Fernando
Chomali Garib of Santiago, a member of the bishops’ bioethics commission,
wrote in early November that forcing the pharmaceutical industry to sell
the drug is wrong.
At least one pharmaceutical company said the government is forcing it
to sell the drug. In mid-October, the Chilean Health Ministry fined three
pharmaceutical companies that control 90 percent of the Chilean market
for not selling Levonorgestrel 0.75 as required by law. The companies
are appealing the fines of $68,000 each.
New document urges compassion to animals
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Religious leaders have signed a document urging
people of faith to make compassion to animals an integral part of their
religious teachings. The document says in part that animals “have
intrinsic value as part of God’s creation and are entitled to live
lives free of cruelty and exploitation.”
The document was signed by members of at least 20 faith traditions, including
Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Pentecostal, Lutheran,
Presbyterian and Quaker representatives. They called on people of faith
to stop wearing fur, reduce meat consumption and buy only from farms that
use humane methods, as opposed to practices such as confining chickens
in small cages and raising livestock in factory farms.
English bishop supports legalizing prostitution
PORTSMOUTH, England (CNS) — A Catholic bishop has said he supports
a controversial campaign to legalize prostitution in Britain. Bishop Crispian
Hollis of Portsmouth said he did not condone prostitution but could see
the merits of regulating the practice. “If you are going to take
a pragmatic view and say prostitution happens, I think there’s a
need to make sure it’s as well-regulated as possible for the health
of people involved and for the safety of the ladies themselves,”
said the bishop.
“That’s not to say I approve of prostitution in any way. I
don’t. I would be very much happier if there was no prostitution
in Portsmouth or anywhere else, because I do regard those involved in
any way as involved in some form of immorality,” the bishop said.
“But it’s going to be there whatever we do — it has
been from time immemorial, so I think that’s something we have to
be realistic about,” he added.
Seven Catholic schools in D.C. to be charter schools
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Washington has finalized its
decision to reconfigure its current 12-school center-city consortium.
Four schools will make up a new smaller consortium. Seven schools will
be converted into charter schools and one will become a parish-run school.
The Center City Consortium began in 1997 to help schools facing decreasing
enrollment, budget deficits, deteriorating buildings and the threat of
closure. Through the consortium, schools pooled their resources and have
been assisted by consortium staff with development, fundraising and purchasing.
The shift to charter schools was developed in response to several crises
facing the consortium, including a $7 million shortfall this school year,
a projected $56 million deficit over the next five years, a 19 percent
decline in enrollment and an increase in the number of the city’s
tuition-free public charter schools.
Collapsed economy puts Zimbabwe on the brink
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Continued drought and a collapsed economy have
put Zimbabwe on the brink of a major humanitarian crisis, said the second-largest
aid network in the world. Caritas Internationalis, an umbrella group of
Catholic humanitarian aid and development agencies, made the warning Nov.
5 as it launched a $7 million appeal to help stave off disaster.
More than 4 million people are at risk of not having enough basic food
supplies if they do not receive immediate aid, the Vatican-based organization
said. Failed harvests due to insufficient rainfall and poorly planned
land reform are some of the elements generating increased suffering for
the people of Zimbabwe.
Lay Catholics call for greater civility in politics
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Charging that the debate leading up to the 2008
elections “is increasingly filled with attacks on private conduct
and recriminations,” a group of prominent lay Catholics called for
a “spirit of civility” in all political discussions and said
the Church must be protected “from being stained by the appearance
of partisan political involvement.”
Signers of the “Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate,”
released on Election Day 2007, include 11 former U.S. ambassadors, former
chairmen of both the Democratic and Republican national committees, a
retired undersecretary-general of the United Nations, past and current
university presidents, business executives, attorneys and former officeholders.
