News Briefs
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
Philly school mergers, closures signal new model of Catholic education
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Jan. 6, traditionally celebrated as Epiphany, represented a true epiphany for thousands of Catholic school parents and students in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. On that day, the Blue Ribbon Commission formed by Cardinal Justin Rigali a year earlier, formally presented its final report to his successor, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. While the scope of its recommendations were not unexpected, it was nevertheless stunning. If the recommendations are fully implemented, 45 of the 156 mostly parish-based elementary schools will cease to exist at the end of the present school year as will four of 17 archdiocesan high schools. In the case of the high schools -- West Catholic, Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast, St. Hubert and Conwell-Egan -- it is an outright closing, with the students free to choose any other existing high school. Technically the elementary schools are not closing. They are combining with one or more other schools at another location to form an entirely new school, but in the minds and hearts of the parents and students involved, their school is closing. The report recommendations were first explained by Blue Ribbon Commission members to pastors, principals and directors of religious education at a morning gathering at Neumann University in Aston. It was repeated in a shortened version in the afternoon at a packed news conference at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center. In a letter sent to all parents and guardians, Archbishop Chaput wrote of the trends that are impacting Catholic education in the archdiocese -- declining baptisms, an increase in charter schools and the rising cost of education, which have resulted in higher tuition costs for parents and heavy operating deficits for schools. Because of this, many of the affected schools were forced to eliminate such programs as art, music, foreign language, library, physical education and technology, among others. At the news conference, Archbishop Chaput commended the 16-member Blue Ribbon Commission for its work, and said, "I hope the people in the archdiocese join me in thanking them because we owe them a debt of gratitude."
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WORLD
Working quickly, Vatican gave reporters Wikipedia bios of new cardinals
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Along with statistics on the 22 new cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican press office offered journalists quick biographical notes -- mainly drawn from Wikipedia. "If we'd had a week, we would have prepared official biographies," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Catholic News Service Jan. 9. The vast majority of profiles handed out Jan. 6 were brief and factual. However, the biography of Dutch Cardinal-designate Willem J. Eijk of Utrecht also described him as a social conservative, "especially in matters of abortion and homosexuality, which have made him one of the most controversial religious leaders in the country; according to some, however, the bishop is doing nothing other than conforming to directions coming from Rome." Father Lombardi said the press office was trying to assist those journalists who work on tight deadlines. The biographies were handed out to accredited journalists and placed on the password-protected portion of the press office website, but were not made available to the general public.
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Pope baptizes 16 infants, says sacraments help parents raise kids right
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI baptized 16 infants and told their parents and godparents that prayer and the sacraments will give them the strength and guidance they need to promote a child's true well-being. Presiding over the annual liturgy in the Sistine Chapel Jan. 8, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the pope said the sacraments and putting one's trust in God through prayer offer "that light of truth" that illuminates the right path to take in their child's education and upbringing. The Holy Spirit "enlightens the mind, warms the heart of the educator so that he will know how to pass on an awareness of Jesus and his love," he said in his homily. Grounded in faith and in communion with God, parents and teachers will know how to be both "tender and strong, gentle and firm, be silent and speak at the right time, to scold and correct in the right way," he said. The infants, 10 boys and six girls including a set of twins, were baptized by the pope over a font that was supported by an ornately detailed bronze olive tree. One by one the parents suspended their babies over the font as the pope poured water from a gilded shell.
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In speech to diplomats, pope condemns 'religiously motivated terrorism'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI condemned "religiously motivated terrorism" and restrictions on religious freedom during his annual address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican. Looking both at signs of promise and areas of concern around the globe, the pope said human dignity, truth and justice demand governments safeguard all human life and recognize the importance of the traditional family based on the marriage of a man and a woman. But his strongest words Jan. 9 were reserved for the topic of religious freedom and religiously motivated violence. The pope paid tribute to Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic and government minister for minorities in Pakistan, "whose untiring battle for the rights of minorities ended in his tragic death" when he was murdered last March. "Sadly, we are not speaking of an isolated case," the pope told the diplomats gathered in a formal, frescoed hall of the Apostolic Palace. "In many countries, Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life; in other countries they endure violent attacks against their churches and homes," he said, mentioning particularly the Christmas Day attacks against churches in Nigeria. "In other parts of the world," he said, "we see policies aimed at marginalizing the role of religion in the life of society, as if it were a cause of intolerance rather than a valued contribution to education in respect for human dignity, justice and peace."
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February consistory to create new cardinals will feature changes
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In part to avoid giving the impression that becoming a cardinal is a sacrament or quasi-sacrament, Pope Benedict XVI will use a revised, streamlined prayer service to create 22 new cardinals in February. "The rite used up to now has been revised and simplified with the approval of the Holy Father Benedict XVI," the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, reported Jan. 7. The paper said there would not be a "ring Mass" the day after the consistory; the new cardinals will receive their red hats, their cardinal rings and the assignment of their titular churches in Rome during the same ceremony Feb. 18. They still will celebrate Mass with the pope the day after the consistory; at the beginning of the Mass, the first of the new cardinals -- Cardinal-designate Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples -- will express thanks to the pope on behalf of the group. The ritual was revised in order to maintain an atmosphere of prayer, while not giving the impression that becoming a cardinal is a liturgical event, the newspaper said. "The creation of new cardinals should be located within a context of prayer while avoiding any element that could give the idea of a 'sacrament of the cardinalate,'" it said. "In fact, historically the consistory was never considered a liturgical rite, but rather a meeting of the pope with the cardinals in relation to the governance of the church."
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Young and old, hundreds of pilgrims seek baptism in Jordan River ritual
QASR EL-YEHUD, West Bank (CNS) -- With 8-year-old grandson Jamal in tow, Hajeh Mattar made her way across a wooden platform alongside the Jordan River. Her plan: to baptize him in the waters of the river at the traditional site of Jesus' baptism. Jamal's father, Awad, his mother, Manal, and his sister Justine, 6, followed not far behind. For Hajeh, 65, it was the opportunity to fulfill a promise she had made at the site almost a decade ago when she prayed to God to see grandchildren from her son Awad, now 35. It was her way to observe the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 8 along with hundreds of Catholic and Orthodox pilgrims who made their way to the site. Awad was able to persuade his reluctant son to squat by the river as his grandmother cupped her hand into the cold water and poured it over his head and face. "I came here to thank God," Hajeh said as Awad gingerly dripped water over Justine's head as well. "Last time I came here I promised God I would bring my grandchildren here. I thank God for my grandchildren. This has strengthened my faith." Hajeh also made sure the children's legs were dipped into the river before she was satisfied her promise had been kept. "I hope they will have a good life with lots of success and are happy," said Manal. "I hope God will protect them." Nearby, a Mass celebrated by the custos of the Holy Land, Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, gave parents the opportunity to baptize their children by splashing water on their heads and dipping their hands and toes in the river. Adults renewed their baptismal vows by stepping into the river.
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PEOPLE
French president praises Joan of Arc for forging 'national conscience'
DOMREMY, France (CNS) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy praised his country's patron, St. Joan of Arc, for helping "forge the national conscience. For the church, Joan is a saint. For the republic, she's the incarnation of the finest French virtues, including a patriotism that consists of loving one's homeland without resenting others," the president said Jan. 6 after attending Mass at Domremy to mark the 600th anniversary of her birth. Celebrations throughout the year will include Masses, conferences and theater productions, as well as a national pilgrimage in February. In May, Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, president of the French bishops' conference, will celebrate a jubilee Mass in Domremy. St. Joan, a 19-year-old peasant girl, was burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431 after rallying a French army against English invaders and lifting the siege of Orleans. The national heroine, who was canonized in 1920, is widely credited with altering the course of the 1337-1453 Hundred Years War and strengthening French nationhood. In a speech at Vaucouleurs, Sarkozy said St. Joan had generated "sarcasm from those for whom courage could only be masculine" and skepticism about the voices she claimed to have heard, calling on her to save the country. "But Joan was really the face of the first French resistance in an era when the national conscience was being forged amid the most terrible ordeals," the president said.
Copyright (c) 2012 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops