News Briefs
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Federal judicial panel rules California Proposition 8 unconstitutional
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- By a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the California ban on same-sex marriage, saying that it violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizens due process and equal protection under the law. The majority opinion, issued Feb. 7, said that the state, which had given homosexual couples the right to marry, could not revoke that right. The National Organization of Marriage Education Fund, in a statement issued by its director, Brian S. Brown, accused the judges of "finding a 'right' to same-sex marriage in the United States Constitution! This sets up an all-or-nothing showdown at the United States Supreme Court," said Brown, who asked for contributions to help fund a possible Supreme Court challenge to the lower court's ruling. Auxiliary Bishop Gerald E. Wilkerson of Los Angeles, president of the California Catholic Conference, expressed disappointment in the ruling but also confidence that it would be reversed. "We are disappointed by the ruling today by a panel of the 9th Circuit that would invalidate the action taken by the people of California affirming that marriage unites a woman and a man and any children from their union," he said in a Feb. 7 statement. "However, given the issues involved and the nature of the legal process, it's always been clear that this case would very likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Marriage between one man and one woman has been -- and always will be -- the most basic building block of the family and of our society," Bishop Wilkerson added. "In the end, through sound legal reasoning, we believe the court will see this as well and uphold the will of the voters as expressed in Proposition 8. We continue to pray for that positive outcome."
- - -
North Carolina bishop, laity protest play portraying Mary as lesbian
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CNS) -- Led by Bishop Peter J. Jugis, Catholics in the Charlotte Diocese were protesting a newly opened play for its "gravely offensive" portrayal of Mary as a lesbian and its mocking of the virgin birth. "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," which opened Feb. 2 at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, also retells the Creation story with two homosexual couples. "The implication that the Blessed Virgin Mary is a lesbian is gravely offensive to Catholics and to all Christians, who hold Mary in the highest regard as the mother of the Savior," Bishop Jugis wrote in a Jan. 31 letter to the performing arts center. "Please do not allow this play to be performed. Please cancel these performances out of consideration for the religious sensibilities of Christians and all people of good will." Written by Paul Rudnick in 1998, the play is being performed by the Queen City Theatre Company and was scheduled to run until Feb. 18. According to The Catholic News Herald, Charlotte's diocesan newspaper, a statement from Glenn T. Griffin, the theater company's artistic director, was emailed to one of the Catholic laypeople opposing the play. Griffin defended the play and refused to cancel it, saying: "QCTC will strive to create theater that not only entertains but enriches, educates, and challenges our audience. We are a theater company that is known for producing works that make people think. ... This show will not be closed down."
- - -
Vanderbilt: No break for religious groups on nondiscrimination policy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Students at Vanderbilt University packed a town hall meeting on campus to protest a school nondiscrimination policy they say is being applied unfairly and is a threat to religious liberty. The policy requires that membership as well as leadership positions in any student organizations registered with the university be open to all, which means religious organizations also must open their leadership positions to anyone, regardless of beliefs. For more than two months, Vanderbilt Catholic, the campus ministry program, and other student religious organizations on campus were hoping the university would not apply the policy to their groups' leadership spots. But university administrators were on hand at the Jan. 31 town hall meeting to reiterate that they would not back down from enforcing it. The meeting followed a Jan. 20 letter from Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos that made Vanderbilt's position clear. "The university does not seek to limit anyone's freedom to practice his or her religion. We do, however, require all Vanderbilt-registered student organizations to observe our nondiscrimination policy," Zeppos stated. "That means membership in registered student organizations is open to everyone and that everyone, if desired, has the opportunity to seek leadership positions." Vanderbilt Catholic chaplain Father John Sims Baker rejects the claim that "all" Vanderbilt registered student organizations are bound by the nondiscrimination policy. "There are literally dozens of student organizations that are exempt. All fraternities and sororities are discriminatory in leadership and membership. They don't let just anyone join," he said. "The policy is unfairly applied to religious groups."
- - -
Lent marks renewed effort to bring Catholics back to church
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Just as they have during the season of Advent in recent years, some U.S. dioceses make concerted efforts at Lent to invite Catholics who have stopped going to church back into the fold. Some dioceses have reported success with the "Catholics Come Home" campaign, while others have set their focus on using the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent to draw Catholics back who have drifted away from the practice of their faith. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which this year is Feb. 22. A day of fast and abstinence, it is not a holy day of obligation, but is one of the top three solemn occasions in the church that draws the biggest crowds. Catholics Come Home, an organization based in the Atlanta suburbs, has been used in 33 dioceses with television commercials reaching an estimated 40 million viewers in regional Lenten and Christmas campaigns -- and 250 million in national campaigns, said the organization's founder and president, Tom Peterson. Not all dioceses have before-and-after numbers, but "in those dioceses that have had historical census data and have been able to track since Catholics Come Home, Mass attendance has increased an average of 10 percent," Peterson said. Waging such a campaign, especially with TV ads, can seem costly, Peterson admitted. "Bishops and dioceses don't have extra money to do things like this, but when families and parishioners are asked if they have a relative, a friend, a neighbor or a co-worker away from the church, nearly 100 percent say yes," he said. "And when they're asked, 'Would you like them to come home?' tens of thousands of people say yes" by contributing to the cost of such a campaign.
- - -
Polish cardinal tours Florida shrine, recalls 1998 papal trip to Cuba
MIAMI (CNS) -- Blessed Pope John Paul II was mindful of his prayerful struggles against Nazism and communism in Eastern Europe as he undertook his historic 1998 visit to Cuba, according to a Polish cardinal who as a priest served as the late pope's secretary. "Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was proclaiming the Gospel in spite of this (communist) system; he was defending the dignity of each person who was created in the image and resemblance of God," said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who has been the archbishop of Krakow, Poland, since 2005. He celebrated Mass and visited with the Cuban-American community at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity Feb. 5 during a visit to the south Florida region. Accompanied by Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski and retired Miami Auxiliary Bishop Agustin A. Roman, a native of Cuba, Cardinal Dziwisz discussed some of the context of the late pope's visit to Cuba and his legacy overall. The papal trips to Cuba have been a source of lively discussion among Cuban exiles in south Florida as the hemisphere, with Pope Benedict XVI's first papal visit to Mexico and Cuba set for late March. In going to Cuba, Pope John Paul was primarily demanding religious freedom for the people, "which is not a privilege granted by the government, but a natural law of every human being, "the cardinal said, adding that the subsequent opening of Cuba to international religious congregations and missionaries was a measure of the pope's intervention in Cuba. "During his historic trip to Cuba, this was the most important message to this beautiful island, which is so dear to all to you and which continued to occupy a special please in his heart for it had shared same cruel experiences as his nature Poland under communist domination," he said.
- - -
New study examines factors that spur growth of US congregations
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new study of U.S. congregations found that some factors are more prevalent than others in spurring the growth of a congregation, among them the age of a congregation's members, family activities and a commitment to recruiting new members. But the study's author noted that only a minority of congregations of all denominations are actually growing. "There were about 30-35 percent that were experiencing the highest level of growth," said C. Kirk Hadaway, congregational research officer for the Episcopal Church and chair of the research task force for the Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership, the study's sponsors. "There's as many congregations that are plateaued and declining (as) are experiencing rapid growth," Hadaway said during a Jan. 31 webinar on the study, "Facts on Growth." He added: "A relatively small percentage of congregations are sort of driving the growth to the extent that is occurring in U.S. society. It's not really clear to what extent growth is occurring." Hadaway said that of the congregations surveyed, only 6.4 percent were either Catholic or Orthodox, but that the numbers were weighted to reflect their proportion in the U.S. population. "Facts on Growth" is the fourth in a series of national congregational surveys that began in 2000. The sample for this latest study included 11,077 congregations. Faiths represented included the Catholic Church, United Methodist Church, Southern Baptist Convention, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Church of the Nazarene, Baha'i faith, Episcopal Church, Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish congregations, and nondenominational and black churches.
- - -
Military chaplains told not to read archbishop's letter on HHS mandate
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A directive from the U.S. Army chief of chaplains that a letter opposing the Obama administration's contraceptive mandate not be read from the pulpit by Catholic military chaplains violated First Amendment rights of free speech and free exercise of religion, according to the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio spoke with Secretary of the Army John McHugh about the chief of chaplains' response to the archbishop's Jan. 26 letter and the two "agreed that it was a mistake to stop the reading of the archbishop's letter," according to a statement released by the military archdiocese to Catholic News Service Feb. 6. The two also agreed to McHugh's suggestion that one line, which read "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law," be removed from the letter because of "the concern that it could potentially be misunderstood as a call to civil disobedience," the statement added. "The issue was quickly resolved and the archdiocese considers this matter closed," John Schlageter, general counsel for the archdiocese, said in an email to CNS Feb. 7. Archbishop Broglio's letter had been issued as part of a nationwide campaign by U.S. bishops protesting the Department of Health and Human Services requirement that all health plans -- even those covering employees of Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable institutions -- cover contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions, and sterilization free of charge.
- - -
WORLD
Lent is time to help others spiritually, materially, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI called on the faithful to be concerned for one another and "not to remain isolated and indifferent" to the fate of others. Materialism and a sense of self-sufficiency are obstacles to a Christian life of charity, the pope said. Instead of looking first to God and then to the well-being of others, people often have an attitude of "indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for 'privacy.'" He said that God's commandment to love "demands that we acknowledge our responsibility toward those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God." The annual Lenten message was presented during a Vatican news conference Feb. 7 by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the office which handles the pope's charitable giving, along with Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, the council's undersecretary. The cardinal highlighted the pope's call for "fraternal correction" and the church's prophetic mission in denouncing situations of injustice and poverty in the world. To overcome such injustices, one must get to the moral roots of such situations, he said. Corruption, accumulation of wealth, violence, and living off the work of others without contributing are all cancers that weaken a society from within, the cardinal said. But, he said, the true root of the world's injustices stems from ignoring or denying God's existence. By not acknowledging there is a creator and Lord who is greater than man, society degenerates into a "conflictual individualism" and a struggle of one person against another, Cardinal Sarah said. The theme of the 2012 Lenten message was taken from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews: "Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works."
- - -
For Midwestern bishops in Rome, tradition and topical concerns
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Gaylord, Mich., said he was not sure what to expect when he made his first "ad limina" visit to the Vatican in early February. Together with other members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Region VI, which includes parts of Michigan and Ohio, Bishop Hebda -- a bishop for a little more than two years -- started his first full day in Rome at Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, before the Altar of the Tomb of St. Peter. That Mass was a "humbling experience but a real energizing moment as well," Bishop Hebda said, "an opportunity for us to refocus what it is that we're doing, reminding us that we're part of an institution that's been passing on the teaching of Christ for 2,000 years." The bishops' periodic visits are formally called "ad limina apostolorum," which means "to the thresholds of the apostles" Peter and Paul, who were martyred in Rome. Traditionally, the visits serve as an occasion for leaders of local churches to draw inspiration as well as guidance from the center of Catholicism. A major topic of discussion this time was the message that Pope Benedict XVI sent in his speech to another group of visiting American bishops in January. "Radical secularism" threatens the core values of American culture, the pope warned at that time, as he called on the church in the U.S., including politicians and other laypeople, to render "public moral witness" on crucial social issues. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit said that Vatican officials underscored the pope's message. "Everybody here is very attentive, they are watching what we do to defend the liberty of the church," the archbishop said, "not just for freedom of worship, but that the church should be free to act for the common good."
- - -
PEOPLE
Pope names vicar general of Oklahoma City to head diocese in Kansas
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI has named the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Msgr. Edward J. Weisenburger, to head the Diocese of Salina, Kan. Bishop-designate Weisenburger, 51, succeeds Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, who was appointed Oklahoma City's archbishop in December 2010. The appointment was announced Feb. 6 in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate Weisenburger's ordination and installation as 11th bishop of Salina was set for 2 p.m. May 1 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina. It was to be followed by a public reception at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. Edward J. Weisenburger was born Dec. 23, 1960, in Alton, Ill. He spent two years of his childhood in Hays, Kan., but grew up primarily in Lawton, Okla., where he graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1979. "Even though this is a new and surprising turn of events, I very much feel this is a homecoming," he said at a Feb. 6 news conference in Salina. "I feel very blessed to be called here." Referring to his upcoming 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, he said, "I am unabashedly a huge fan of the priesthood. It's been a wild, roller-coaster experience, never dull, filled with blessings and, best of all, intense meaning. I've always viewed the priesthood as an incredible privilege, one undeserved in my case. But I finally had to accept that God oftentimes chooses the frail, the ordinary and the weak and then does some pretty good work of his own."
- - -
Brazil's Archbishop Krieger mediates police strike in Bahia state
SALVADOR, Brazil (CNS) -- Archbishop Murilo Krieger of Salvador is mediating an eight-day military police officer strike that has caused havoc and left at least 95 people dead. Archbishop Krieger, 69, was called in as a mediator Feb. 6 to a meeting of government officials and representatives from the striking police officers that lasted until the early hours of Feb. 7. An archdiocesan spokesman said the archbishop resumed negotiations later that morning at his residence. Bahia Gov. Jaques Wagner called in the armed forces Feb. 6 after strikers refused to leave the state's legislative building. Dozens of women and children were also in the building. The legislature was surrounded by troops, and water and electricity were turned off to try to force out the strikers. During the strike, more than a dozen stores have been looted, shows and events have been canceled, and schools closed. Salvador is known for its violent streets, but homicides have doubled since the strike began.
Copyright (c) 2012 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops