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Early Christian
artifact
A Jordanian shows an artifact discovered inside
a cave underneath St. Georgeous Church in the northern town of Rihab,
Jordan. Jordanian archaeologists say the cave was used as the world’s
first Christian church — a claim that other scholars have
questioned.
CNS PHOTO/ALI JAREKJI/REUTERS |
Priest-designed clothing
A model displays a selection from an organic
clothing line designed by Father Andrew O’Connor, assistant
pastor at Holy Family Church in New York. His new organic clothing
line, Goods of Conscience, provides healthy labor opportunities for
poor workers in Guatemala and the East Bronx section of New York.
CNS PHOTO COURTESY OF GOODS
OF CONSCIENCE
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Myanmar survivors
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis wait to receive
food supplies from an aid agency in Myanmar’s cyclone-ravaged
Irrawaddy delta. Catholics and Muslims in south Florida have joined
forces to raise money to aid people in Myanmar in the aftermath of
the May 2 cyclone.
CNS PHOTO |
Pope wants Latin Mass in each
parish, official says
LONDON (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI would like every Catholic parish
in the world to celebrate a regular Tridentine-rite Mass, a Vatican cardinal
has said.
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos also told a June 14 press conference in
London that the Vatican was writing to all seminaries to ask that candidates
to the priesthood are trained to celebrate Mass according to the extraordinary
form of the Latin rite, also known as the Tridentine Mass, restricted
from the 1970s until July 2007 when Pope Benedict lifted some of those
limits.
“The Holy Father is not returning to the past; he is taking a treasure
from the past to offer it alongside the rich celebration of the new rite,”
the cardinal added.
Rights groups applaud Guantanamo decision
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Leaders in the human rights and anti-torture
movements said the June 12 U.S. Supreme Court decision defending the right
of habeas corpus for detainees at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay prison in
Cuba is a hopeful sign that upholds American values for anyone accused
of even the most heinous offenses.
At the same time, they expressed concern the court’s narrow 5-4
decision may be limited in scope, leaving detainees in detention centers
around the world with no access to the courts while continuing to expose
all detainees to interrogation techniques that some consider torture.
The United States opened the prison Jan. 11, 2002, at the U.S. Navy base
at Guantanamo saying it was beyond the reach of American courts. The June
12 ruling marked the third time the court has decided in favor of detainee
rights since 2004.
Bishops’ vote on liturgy document inconclusive
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — Following a lively debate, the U.S. bishops
left a 700-page translation of one section of the Roman Missal in limbo
June 13 when the document failed to obtain the number of votes needed
to approve the text or to reject it. The translation of the proper prayers
for Sundays and feast days during the liturgical year requires the approval
of two-thirds of the 250 Latin-rite members of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
But after more than a dozen bishops spoke against the translation, results
of the voting were inconclusive. USCCB members not present at the spring
general assembly in Orlando will vote by mail on the issue.
Russert remembered for his fondness for church
WASHINGTON (CNS) — NBC News Washington bureau chief and “Meet
the Press” moderator Tim Russert, who died June 13 at the age of
58, was remembered for his warm lifelong ties to the Catholic Church and
his support for Catholic education as well as for his career covering
politics. An active Catholic who apparently kept a promise to God to never
miss Sunday Mass if his son was born healthy, Russert spoke often and
fondly of his Catholic school education and of the role of the Church
in his life.
Providence Diocese offers relief from high gas costs
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (CNS) — Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence and
Alfred J. Moscola, general manager of the transit authority, known as
RIPTA, announced the launch of the Catholic Charity Fund RIPTIKS program
June 11 on the steps of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. The new
initiative, sponsored by the Providence Diocese, provides public transit
coupons to needy Rhode Island residents who are struggling to cope with
the constantly rising cost of gasoline.
Thanks to a $17,500 grant from the diocesan Catholic Charity Fund, the
diocese has purchased 1,166 RIPTIKS booklets. The booklets, worth $17.50,
have tickets for 10 rides.
Vatican rejects appeal on Boston parish closings
BRIGHTON, Mass. (CNS) — The Catholic Church’s highest court
has rejected appeals of the closures of eight Boston-area parishes. Boston-area
Catholics have vowed to continue their fight to have their closed parishes
reopened. The Apostolic Signature sided with the archdiocese, which closed
the parishes. Representatives from all the former parishes will ask the
court to reconsider their appeals, according to Capuchin Franciscan Brother
James Peterson, assistant to the moderator of the Boston archdiocesan
Curia for Canonical Affairs.
Archbishop sets rules for Legionaries of Christ
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore
has established a series of requirements under which the Legionaries of
Christ and its lay branch, Regnum Christi, must operate in the archdiocese.
Saying pastors in recent years have raised concerns “regarding a
lack of pastoral transparency at times and a tendency to conduct parallel
programs within our parishes without the knowledge of local pastors,”
Archbishop O’Brien outlined the requirements under which the Legionaries
must operate in his column in the June 12 issue of The Catholic Review,
the archdiocesan newspaper.
The archbishop said that while the work of the Legionaries has “operated
with the blessing of the Holy See,” the order’s activities
“have not been without certain tension” in the United States
and the archdiocese. His column was not specific except to say that “undue
pressure was placed on individuals to conform to the rule of Regnum Christi
and in a context of secrecy.”
Zimbabwe church groups in danger
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — Zimbabwean church groups are “in
danger of police interference at any time,” a Catholic official
said after the Ecumenical Center in the capital, Harare, was raided June
9. “No one is immune to these raids,” said Alouis Chaumba,
head of Zimbabwe’s Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace.
Harare’s Ecumenical Center houses a variety of groups, including
the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Christian
Alliance. “Heavily armed members of the police, central intelligence
and military personnel” raided the center and arrested five staffers,
including the Student Christian Movement general secretary, Prosper Munatsi,
said Chaumba.
Pakistani church urges end to discrimination
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNS) — The Catholic Church in Pakistan has urged
the country’s new government to end religious discrimination and
establish the equality of all citizens under the law through proposed
constitutional amendments.
“In order to make the constitution more democratic, the multi-religious
and multicultural aspect of Pakistani society should be recognized,”
the Pakistani bishops’ National Commission for Justice and Peace
said June 1. About 95 percent of Pakistan’s 160 million people are
Muslim. Less than 2 percent are Christian.
The Church’s statement came in response to a proposed constitutional
reform package that contains provisions ensuring a parliamentary democracy,
doing away with some presidential powers and ensuring at least a minimum
representation of minority religious communities in the senate.
2008 Path to Peace Award for El Salvador president
UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — Archbishop Celestino Migliore, apostolic
nuncio to the United Nations and president of the Path to Peace Foundation,
presented the 2008 Path to Peace Award to President Elias Antonio Saca
Gonzalez of El Salvador June 10. Archbishop Migliore said the Salvadoran
president was the unanimous choice of the board of the Path to Peace Foundation,
an agency established to support the work of the Holy See mission to the
United Nations. A member of the National Republican Alliance, known by
its Spanish acronym ARENA, Saca was elected president of El Salvador with
nearly 58 percent of the vote March 21, 2004, and took office June 1 of
that year.
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