News Briefs
By Catholic News Service
U.S.
At ground zero, pope offers silent prayer, comforts survivors
NEW YORK (CNS) -- In the most somber moment of his six-day visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI knelt alone at ground zero and offered a silent prayer. The cheering crowds were far away as the pope blessed the ground where the World Trade Center stood until terrorists forced planes into its twin towers Sept. 11, 2001. While the extraordinary security measures that surrounded the pope's entire visit tangibly demonstrated how the attacks changed the United States, the ground zero visit gave the pope an opportunity to speak to and console those whose lives were changed most directly that Sept. 11. Twenty-four people stood around a candle, a plot of earth and a tiny pond as the pope knelt in prayer; they were the survivors, the family members of the dead and representatives of the New York Port Authority, police and fire departments -- the first responders. At the bottom of the 70-foot crater where the towers stood, surrounded by steel construction rods, forklifts and steel beams, Pope Benedict did not read a speech. Instead, looking up past the skyscrapers shrouded in fog, he read a prayer.
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'Move forward' in faith, pope urges Catholics at Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK (CNS) -- At Yankee Stadium, transformed into an open-air church April 20, Pope Benedict XVI urged more than 57,000 Catholics to "move forward with firm resolve" in continuing the legacy of faith set in motion by the country's first Catholics. "Follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you!" he told the stadium congregation on a cool, breezy and overcast afternoon. "Past generations have left you an impressive legacy," he said, adding that "on these solid foundations the future of the church in America, must even now begin to rise." The congregation welcomed the pope to by waving gold and white handkerchiefs and cheering "Benedetto" ("Benedict" in Italian) upon his arrival and immediately after his homily. They cheered loudly and yelled, "We love you" while waving handkerchiefs upon the pope's final procession from the ball field on his last Mass during his six-day visit to the United States. During the pope's homily they applauded his message of defending the rights of "unborn child in the mother's womb" and his encouragement to young men and young women to "follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends." The crowd also applauded at the pope's final words of his homily, saying that Jesus is the way that leads to eternal happiness ... and the life who brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world."
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Pope achieved objectives critical to future of U.S. church
NEW YORK (CNS) -- On his first trip to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI achieved three objectives that could be considered critical to the pastoral future of the American church. First, the pope brought a certain closure to the priestly sex abuse scandal that has shaken the church for more than six years, expressing his personal shame at what happened and praying with the victims. Second, he set forth a moral challenge to the wider U.S. culture on issues ranging from economic justice to abortion, but without coming across as doctrinaire or bullying. Third, to a church that often seems divided into conservative and liberal camps, he issued a firm appeal to "set aside all anger" and unite in order to effectively evangelize society. In the process of his April 15-20 visit, the 81-year-old pope established his own identity in a country that did not know him well and in a sense came out of the shadow of the late Pope John Paul II. The pope addressed clerical sex abuse on five different occasions, beginning with his encounter with reporters aboard his plane from Rome. He spoke from the heart about the shame, the damage to the church and the suffering of the victims.
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In U.S., pope preaches message of hope built on faith
NEW YORK (CNS) -- From the White House to the U.N. General Assembly hall and from ground zero to the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium, Pope Benedict XVI preached a message of hope built on faith and a joint commitment to defending the dignity of the human person. He acknowledged the "evil" of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, met privately with a group of victims and encouraged the U.S. bishops to continue their work to restore trust in the church and its ministers. Celebrating Mass April 19 in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral with thousands of priests and religious, the pope urged the Catholic Church in the United States to move past divisions and scandal toward a "new sense of unity and purpose." It is time, he said, to "put aside all anger and contention" inside the church and embark on a fresh mission of evangelization in society. Repeatedly during his April 15-20 stay in Washington and New York, he made it clear that he believed the "genuinely religious spirit" of the American people had not been extinguished and could be strengthened. Tailoring his message to each group he met, Pope Benedict urged the people of the United States to resist the temptations and trends of modern society, maintaining their traditional values, defending human rights and reaching out with solidarity.
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Build on 'impressive legacy' of U.S. church, pope urges at final Mass
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Honoring the bicentennial of four U.S. archdioceses, Pope Benedict XVI praised the "solid foundations" of the American Catholic Church and said "the future of the church in America" must continue to build on that "impressive legacy." But in his homily for the final Mass of his April 15-20 U.S. visit, the pope also said the "impressive growth" of the U.S. church has been "not without its challenges," comparing those challenges to the "linguistic and cultural tensions" found in the early church. An estimated 57,000 people attended the Mass at New York's Yankee Stadium. "In these 200 years, the face of the Catholic community in your country has changed greatly," Pope Benedict said. "We think of the successive waves of immigrants whose traditions have so enriched the church in America." He also praised "the strong faith which built up the network of churches, educational, health care and social institutions which have long been the hallmark of the church in this land," as well as "those countless fathers and mothers who passed on the faith to their children, the steady ministry of the many priests who devoted their lives to the care of souls, and the incalculable contribution made by so many men and women religious." But he said the bicentennial should be "more than an occasion of gratitude for graces received." "It is also a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations," he said.
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U.N. room seen as reminder of world's need for prayer, meditation
NEW YORK (CNS) -- When he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to the United Nations April 18 and introduced him in the General Assembly hall, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that the world body is "a secular institution" with 192 member states and "six official languages, but no official religion. We do not have a chapel," he said, but "we do have a meditation room." He was talking about the Dag Hammarskjold Meditation Room, named for the Swedish diplomat who was U.N. secretary-general 1953-61. After delivering his General Assembly speech and addressing U.N. staff, Pope Benedict was given a brief tour, which included the meditation room. It was created by Hammarskjold specifically for the use of diplomats, staff and all visitors because he recognized that even in a secular institution there is a place for silent prayer and meditation. "We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence," Hammarskjold said in dedicating the room in 1957.
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Pope avoids politicking, urges strong moral focus in public policy
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although some had predicted that Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 visit to the United States would take a decidedly political turn in a presidential election year, the pope's major speeches avoided specific references to most domestic and international issues while defending the right of church leaders to speak out on public policy matters. In his homily at Yankee Stadium April 20 before his departure for Rome, Pope Benedict said working for the kingdom of God "means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, 'there is no human activity -- even in secular affairs -- which can be withdrawn from God's dominion.'" "It means working to enrich American society and culture with the beauty and truth of the Gospel and never losing sight of that great hope which gives meaning and value to all the other hopes which inspire our lives," he added. At the most overtly political event of his trip, an April 16 meeting at the White House with President George W. Bush, the pope said it was important to preserve the traditional role of religion in American political and social life. Religious values helped forge "the soul of the nation" and should continue to inspire Americans as they face complex political and ethical issues today, he said. Speaking to the U.S. bishops gathered at The Catholic University of America in Washington later that day, Pope Benedict talked about the role of the bishops in addressing the issues of the day, especially during an election year when church leaders cannot assume that "all Catholic citizens think in harmony with the church's teaching on key ethical issues."
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Pope says it was 'joy' to witness faith of U.S. Catholics
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CNS) -- Thanking Americans for their hospitality, Pope Benedict XVI departed the United States amid a cheering crowd of 4,000 people who had come to see him off. "It has been a joy for me to witness the faith and devotion of the Catholic community here," the pope said April 20 in brief remarks to those gathered in hangar 19 at John F. Kennedy International Airport. "It was heartwarming to spend time with leaders and representatives of other Christian communities and other religions," Pope Benedict added. Among those present were Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York; Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre; Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.; Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's representative to the United Nations; and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, whose diocese includes the airport. Also in attendance were New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D.-N.Y., and her husband, former President Bill Clinton; and Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne. The pope said that one of the high points of his six-day trip to Washington and New York was visiting the United Nations on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document he discussed in his April 18 address to the General Assembly. He also specifically mentioned his April 20 prayer at ground zero, saying it "will remain firmly etched in my memory."
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For pope's birthday, bishops give him gift of $870,000
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. bishops presented Pope Benedict XVI with a birthday gift from Catholics across the country -- $870,000 to support his charitable works. At the end of a vespers service at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception April 16, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the pope the bishops were privileged to be sharing his 81st birthday with him. He presented him with the money without specifying how the it had been collected. Earlier, in the shrine's upper church, employees of the USCCB and the Archdiocese of Washington sang "Happy Birthday," as did members of the crowd outside the shrine. The pope's 81st birthday, celebrated on his first full day in the United States, included multiple renditions of "Happy Birthday" -- in English, German and Spanish. At the White House, at the papal nunciature, nearly everywhere the pope went in Washington and New York, the crowd sent along birthday greetings.
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Diplomats welcome Pope Benedict's visit to United Nations
NEW YORK (CNS) -- Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil's representative to the United Nations, said the pope's April 18 U.N. visit will confirm the resolve of delegations to fulfill the world body's purposes, "including peace among nations, the respect for human rights and development for all." She was exuberant in her praise of the pope's presence at the United Nations. "It is the appropriate venue for a message that all peoples will hear with great interest and benefit," she said. Early in the morning April 18, diplomats streamed into the United Nations to attend the pope's speech in the General Assembly hall later that morning. His U.N. speech was followed by greetings to the staff and personnel. He also met with a smaller group of diplomats. The pope's U.N. address was the first event of the April 18-20 New York leg of his U.S. trip. He was in Washington April 15-17. By visiting the United Nations, Pope Benedict continued a papal tradition: Pope John Paul II visited the United Nations twice, in 1979 and 1995, and Pope Paul VI did so in 1965.
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WORLD
Colombian Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, Vatican family expert, dies at 72
ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, died April 19 at Rome's Pius XI clinic, where he had been hospitalized since early April with a respiratory infection. He was 72. The Colombian-born cardinal, who served as archbishop of Medellin from 1979 to 1991, had been president of the family council at the Vatican for nearly 18 years. But even before taking up the Vatican post, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo's influence was felt throughout Latin America and beyond because of his work as general secretary and later president of the Latin American bishops' council, known as CELAM. As president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo denounced proposals in several countries that would authorize same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. He helped local churches oppose legislation to legalize abortion or make it easier to obtain and called promotion of contraceptives a form of "biological colonialism" by drug companies and wealthy nations. He called drug addiction a modern "form of slavery that oppresses the whole world."
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South Korean bishop welcomes anti-discrimination law for disabled
SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) -- A South Korean bishop has welcomed a new law prohibiting any discrimination against people with disabilities, whom he urged others to care for with love. Auxiliary Bishop Lucas Kim Woon-hoe of Seoul said he expects the Anti-Discrimination Against and Remedies for Persons With Disabilities Act will enhance protection of the interests and rights of people with disabilities, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency. "The law stipulates that people with disabilities are equal to others in exercising their human rights, breaking from former legal notions that regarded them as objects of social welfare or care," he said in a statement released ahead of Disabled Persons' Day April 20. The new law is "a turning point for a new human rights paradigm," said Bishop Kim, episcopal vicar for social ministry of Seoul Archdiocese. "Now, it's time for not only people with disabilities themselves but the government, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), frontline social welfare institutes and the church to devise concrete plans to empower disabled people to decide their own matters and support themselves," the bishop said. The new law prohibits any form of limitation of rights or discrimination against people with disabilities and says institutions should provide proper facilities for these people. Schools, for example, cannot deny entrance to students with disabilities, but rather should provide facilities for them such as elevators and ramps, and alternative communication facilities.
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PEOPLE
Yankees' owner says pope's message of brotherhood 'rings loud, clear'
NEW YORK (CNS) -- The visit by Pope Benedict XVI "is wonderful for New York, our nation and indeed the world," said George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees. "His message of brotherhood rings loud and clear. We welcome him to Yankee Stadium with respect, reverence and enthusiasm," he said in a statement. The Yankees' home -- known by many as "the house that Ruth built," a reference to famous Yankee Babe Ruth -- was the site of an April 20 Mass celebrated by the pope. It was the final Mass of his six-day U.S. visit. Among the more than 57,000 Catholic faithful in attendance were Linda Robichaud and her husband, David, from Herman, Maine, who were there with their three children, Frances, 9, Hannah, 7, and David Henry, 3. They belong to St. John's Parish in Bangor, Maine. Linda Robichaud said they got five of the 100 Mass tickets available for the Diocese of Portland, which covers the entire state of Maine. Her husband closed the automotive shop he owns for three days so they could make the trip. The family waited for several hours on Fifth Avenue April 19 to see Pope Benedict pass by after he celebrated Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral for clergy and religious. "It was awesome to be so close to him," Linda Robichaud told Catholic News Service, adding that the family came "to strengthen the faith of the children. We'll never get this opportunity again as a family."
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Chance to meet pope sparks excitement, nervousness for 12-year-old
YONKERS, N.Y. (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI came to St Joseph's Seminary in the Dunwoodie section of Yonkers, Sara Carioscia, 12, of Pawling, N.Y., was among the youngsters chosen to greet the pope and give him gifts during the rally with seminarians and young people April 19. She was accompanied to the seminary by her mother, Gemma Carioscia, and her siblings, Gabriella, 11, Michael, 8, and Isabella, 4. Her grandmother, Josephine Caruana, was there, too. "There is so much energy here," said Sara's mother, referring to the crowd already forming in the early morning for the 5 p.m. youth rally at St. Joseph's Seminary. "It's the chance of a lifetime." Except for Sara, the Carioscia family members couldn't enter the field where the youth rally was taking place, so they stood well beyond the security perimeter to "offer moral support." Once the rally got under way, after New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan's opening remarks, three youths spoke; 10 youths presented gifts of dark bread, light bread, rice, unleavened bread and maize to represent various continents; and eight youngsters gave birthday presents to Pope Benedict, who turned 81 April 16.
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Catholic hospital personnel tend to needs of rally participants
YONKERS, N.Y. (CNS) -- More than 100 people at the April 19 papal youth rally sought treatment from two teams of volunteer medical personnel provided by St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers. Egbert Smith, nursing coordinator at the medical center, said the facility "is one of the few Catholic hospitals in the neighborhood" of St. Joseph's Seminary in the Dunwoodie section of Yonkers, the site for the rally. A crowd of 25,000 young Catholics from throughout the country, including 5,000 seminarians, gathered on the seminary grounds to see Pope Benedict XVI and listen to his address. "When the news came that the pope would be here, we were happy to offer our services," Smith told Catholic News Service. The medical center supplied 15 people, who staffed two medical tents with doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and registered nurses. The St. Joseph's staff said that most of the requests were heat-related. Other complaints included panic attacks, high blood pressure, breathing difficulty, a lacerated finger and an apparent allergic reaction that caused one man to be hospitalized because he was "itching all over."
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Video instructs priests, deacons on giving Communion to stadium crowd
NEW YORK (CNS) -- In preparing for the April 20 papal Mass at Yankee Stadium, the Archdiocese of New York posted an instructional video on the archdiocesan Web site for the priests and deacons distributing Communion to the more than 57,000 people at the Mass. Deacon Eugene R. Hamilton of St. Peter's Parish in Haverstraw and Deacon Frank Gohl from Regina Coeli Parish in Hyde Park were among those who climbed into the upper tiers to give pre-Mass instruction to the people who would receive the Eucharist during the Mass. Each priest and extraordinary minister of holy Communion was expected to distribute Communion to 100-150 people, four rows at a time. The goal was to give out the hosts in 15 minutes and by most accounts the goal was met. In an April 17 interview with Catholic News Service, Father Daniel O'Reilly, a New York archdiocesan priest, said the Yankee clubhouse was going to serve as the primary sacristy for the Mass. He was chosen to be the head sacristan. He said that he and four other priests who also live at the seminary would be responsible for consolidating the undistributed hosts and dry-purifying and packaging the 550 ciboria commissioned for the stadium Mass. The commemorative ciboria were to be distributed to each of the parishes of the Archdiocese of New York and each of the bishops concelebrating the Mass.
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops