Cardinal says government is ‘legislating for intolerance’
Mar 29 2007
LONDON – A British cardinal has said that by sponsoring legislation for gay rights, the government is “legislating for intolerance.”
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster also questioned “whether the threads holding together democracy have begun to unravel.”
“My fear is that, under the guise of legislating for what is said to be tolerance, we are legislating for intolerance,” he said during a March 28 lecture in London a week after the government forced through new gay rights legislation with minimal debate in the House of Commons.
Rights for gay, unmarried couples at odds with faith
Mar 28 2007
VATICAN CITY – Supporting legislation that gives legal rights to gay or heterosexual couples who are not married is a position that is not consistent with the Catholic faith, said members of the permanent council of the Italian bishops’ conference.
“The faithful Christian is obliged to form his conscience” in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church, the bishops said in a statement released March 28 as Italian politicians continued to debate legislative proposals recognizing unions formed by unmarried couples, including homosexuals.
The bishops’ statement quoted the 2002 statement of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on “The Participation of Catholics in Political Life.”
Church intensifies efforts to derail abortion bill
Mar 27 2007
MEXICO CITY – With protests, a pilgrimage and emphatic declarations, the Catholic Church has intensified its efforts to derail legislative proposals which would decriminalize abortion in Mexico.
The issue also reignited tension between the church and Mexico’s left, and led to renewed questions over whether clergy and Catholic groups can participate in political activism in a nation where religion and state are divided by law.
Events culminated March 25, when nearly 10,000 people took part in the Pilgrimage for Life in Mexico City to protest bills in the national Congress and the capital assembly which would allow abortions during the first three months of pregnancy.
BOAST defeated in committee
Mar 26 2007
A bill that would have provided business tax credits to businesses that support tuition scholarship programs was defeated on a 15-5 vote in the House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee March 22.
The bill would have established a program called BOAST, “Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers in Maryland,” allowing
businesses to claim a 75 percent state tax credit for donations to organizations that support Maryland’s K-12 public and nonpublic school students and teachers. The program would have been capped at $25 million.
Families, catechists adjust to new confirmation guidelines
Mar 25 2007
PHOENIX – Nearly two years after parishes in the Phoenix Diocese were asked to restore the order of the sacraments of initiation and begin confirming third-graders before they receive the Eucharist, students, families and parish leaders are still adjusting.
Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said the restored order “has gone remarkably well,” thanks to everyone working together.
He detailed the reasoning for the changes in a 2005 pastoral letter. Restoring the order means that, after being baptized, young Catholics are next confirmed and then, at the same Mass, receive first Communion.
Pope names three monsignors for Baltimore
Mar 25 2007
Pope Benedict XVI has recognized the exemplary ministry of three priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by conferring on them the honorary title of monsignor.
Cardinal William H. Keeler made the surprise announcement during a March 22 dinner at his Charles Street residence with the new monsignors –
U.S. peace activists visit Vatican
Mar 25 2007
VATICAN CITY – On the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, three U.S. Catholic peace activists paid a discreet but significant visit to the Vatican.
The officers of the Indiana-based Catholic Peace Fellowship were in Rome in mid-March to promote the issue of conscientious objection to war.
They didn’t know what kind of reception they’d get from Vatican experts, but after a week of talks and meetings, they left feeling like they’d received a sympathetic hearing.
“It’s been a miraculous trip,” said Joshua Casteel. “We’ve received great support and open ears here. It’s encouraging to see that we are part of a tradition that’s very sensitive to peace issues.”
Pope’s goal is reclaiming Christian identity
Mar 25 2007
VATICAN CITY – In the first two years of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has focused on strengthening Christian values in a world disoriented by indifference, relativism and increasing secularism, said a top Vatican official.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, made the comments in Milan, Italy, March 20 in a speech to Ethics and Finance, an Italian association of business people.
The cardinal said Pope Benedict’s overall goal is to reclaim the authentic Christian identity as understood by the faithful and practiced in the world.
Visit of World Youth Day cross, icon a blessing
Mar 24 2007
TUMON, Guam – Thousands of Catholic youths and young adults opened their arms to welcome the World Youth Day cross and a Marian icon to Guam March 8-11.
Guam was the first stop in the Mariana Islands for the symbols of the world’s largest youth event which have traveled tens of thousands of miles around the world.
The symbols will travel through 20 nations in Asia and Oceania and then through 28 Australian dioceses before they arrive at the World Youth Day opening Mass July 15, 2008, in Sydney.
In Guam, at Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Church in Tumon, Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana hailed the arrival of the cross and icon as a great blessing for the island. They were brought to the church directly from the airport.
It was fitting their first stop was Blessed Diego Church, named for the Jesuit martyr who established the Catholic Church on Guam about 400 years ago.
“Welcome to this blessed ground which our forefather Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores paved for us here on our island,” Archbishop Apuron said.
Pope names three monsignors for Baltimore
Mar 24 2007
Pope Benedict XVI has recognized the exemplary ministry of three priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by conferring on them the honorary title of monsignor.
Cardinal William H. Keeler made the surprise announcement during a March 22 dinner at his Charles Street residence with the new monsignors –
Pope names three monsignors for Baltimore
Mar 23 2007
Pope Benedict XVI has recognized the exemplary ministry of three priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by conferring on them the honorary title of monsignor.
Cardinal William H. Keeler made the surprise announcement during a March 22 dinner at his Charles Street residence with the new monsignors –
Destroyed by fire, Grantsville parish to rebuild
Mar 22 2007
The fire that devastated St. Ann in Grantsville two days before Christmas may have taken the tiny faith community’s church building but it failed to claim the parish’s spirit.
Parishioners now worship in the chapel at Newman Funeral Home in Grantsville and the religious education program has adopted a home-based approach under the direction of Camilla Rawe.
Godmothers of a different kind
Mar 21 2007
When St. Matthew, Northwood, parishioner Dorothy E. Alford is in need of a spiritual boost or a friend, this 95-year-old Idlewood resident contacts her ‘godparents.’
She is not praying to deceased family or friends who attended her baptism – but calling the two younger women who assisted in her conversion to Catholicism three years ago.
Rosalie Douglas, 81, of Ramblewood and Connie Fliegel, 55, of Towson have become two of the most important people in Ms. Alford’s life.
The three St. Matthew parishioners span three generations, three religious origins and three largely different backgrounds – but found a common bond in their devotion to God, community and spiritual growth.
Godparent plays important lifelong role
Mar 21 2007
When it comes to the role of godparents in a child’s life, Church of the Holy Apostles, Gambrills, pastor Father Jeffrey S. Dauses wants sponsors to heed their lifelong responsibility to be an active and present support in the life of the child.
“In the rite of baptism, there’s a question specifically directed toward the godparents; are they willing to be of assistance to the parent and to support the child in his or her life of faith, not just in the rite of baptism, but as a lifelong responsibility,” said Father Dauses, who conducts dozens of baptisms annually. “It’s always been my dream that godparents would also serve as the sponsor at confirmation, to show that ongoing connection and their ongoing presence in the life of this child.”
Catholic hospitals donate cord blood
Mar 21 2007
ALLENDALE, N.J. – A New Jersey health care initiative has reached its goal of getting Catholic hospitals in the state to donate umbilical-cord and placenta blood for adult stem-cell research.
During a March 9 press conference at the Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program facility in Allendale, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark and Father Joseph Kukura, president of the Princeton-based Catholic HealthCare Partnership of New Jersey, reported on the progress of an alliance among 10 Catholic hospitals that provide obstetrical services.