Historic visit
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for his first visit to Rome’s
main synagogue, Jan 17. He affirmed the Church’s commitment
to improving Catholic-Jewish relations, its respect and appreciation
for Jewish faith, its condemnation of anti-Semitism and his own hope
that Catholics and Jews can work together to bring biblical values
back to society.
CNS PHOTO/REUTERS |
U.S. grants protected status
for Haitians
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Haitians currently living in the United States
without legal status will be granted temporary protected status, allowing
them to remain in the country and legally hold jobs, announced Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Jan. 15.
Napolitano said temporary protected status will be extended to Haitians
who were in the United States as of Jan. 12, the day a magnitude 7 earthquake
flattened much of Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. The designation
will continue for the next 18 months.
Pope meets, forgives Christmas Eve attacker
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As a sign of his forgiveness, Pope Benedict
XVI met with the woman responsible for knocking him down during a Christmas
Eve Mass. The pope met with Susanna Maiolo after leading his weekly general
audience Jan. 13 in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.
In a private room of the audience hall, the pope held a brief meeting
with Maiolo and members of her family in order to “demonstrate his
forgiveness,” to see how she was doing and to “wish her good
health,” a Vatican statement said. Maiolo told the pope she was
sorry for what had happened during the Christmas Eve Mass.
Maiolo, 25, jumped a security barrier at the start of the Dec. 24 liturgy
as Pope Benedict processed into St. Peter’s Basilica. As Vatican
guards tackled her, she was able to grab the pope’s vestments, causing
him to lose his balance and tumble to the floor. She was taken for mandatory
psychiatric evaluation to a hospital in Subiaco outside of Rome and released
Jan. 9.
Group fasts to close Guantanamo Bay prison
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Undertaking 11 days of fasting, prayer, meditation
and public action, a group of Catholic and other activists has renewed
its push for the immediate closing of the military-run prison at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
Members of Witness Against Torture, established in 2005 with the goal
of closing the prison housing suspected terrorists, began their fast Jan.
11 at the White House. The group marked the eighth anniversary of the
prison’s opening with a demonstration and a procession through downtown
Washington.
The group contends that the men cleared by the government of any wrongdoing
should be released and that those suspected of terror-related activities
should face trial rather than continue to be held indefinitely without
charges.
During a demonstration at Lafayette Park near the White House, several
group members expressed disappointment that President Barack Obama has
not adhered to his pledge to close the prison within one year of taking
office.
Philippine bishop urges Catholics not to fear
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Catholics must continue living their
faith without fear, the bishop of Jolo said after a grenade blast outside
his cathedral. “Whether in your office, in the marketplace, inside
the city hall, wherever you are, you must live your Christian faith, as
we cannot act as if we are afraid,” Bishop Angelito Lampon said
in a Jan. 11 interview over church radio.
A grenade exploded outside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo
about 20 minutes before the first Mass Jan. 10. Police reported no casualties.
It was the first day of the gun ban being implemented nationwide before
the May 10 general elections.
Funeral Mass said for slain CIA agent
ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) — Harold Brown Jr., one of seven CIA agents
killed in a bombing in Afghanistan Dec. 30, was a loving and involved
husband and father, said a fellow parishioner at Brown’s Virginia
Catholic parish. “He was a bright light in the community —
always very pleasant, just an outstanding man,” said Peg Telesca,
director of religious education at St. Mary of Sorrows Parish in Fairfax.
Brown, a native of Massachusetts, lived in Fairfax Station with his wife,
Janet, and the couple’s three young children. A funeral Mass for
Brown was celebrated Jan. 9 at St. John’s Church in Clinton, Mass.
Deported Bethlehem U. student completes degree
JERUSALEM (CNS) — Bethlehem University officials traveled to the
Gaza Strip to celebrate with Berlanty Azzam the completion of her bachelor’s
degree despite having been deported to Gaza three months earlier.
Azzam, a 21-year-old Christian business administration student originally
from Gaza, was detained and deported Oct. 28 after being stopped at an
Israeli checkpoint on Palestinian territory. The Israeli army claimed
she was in breach of a travel permit given to her in 2005. She had only
two months of studies when she was deported.
Despite numerous legal appeals to the Israeli High Court through lawyers
from Gisha, an Israeli organization that works to protect freedom of movement,
Azzam was not permitted to return to Bethlehem to complete her studies.
American Indian bishop dies at age 64
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Retired Bishop Donald E. Pelotte of Gallup, N.M.,
64, the first American Indian bishop in the United States, died Jan. 7
at a Florida hospital. He had been head of the Gallup Diocese for 18 years
before resigning because of health problems in 2008. Bishop Pelotte was
named coadjutor of Gallup in 1986 at the age of 40 and became head of
the diocese in 1990. He was born April 13, 1945, to an Abenaki father
and a mother of French-Canadian descent.
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