| from
Catholic News Service, updated the weekday evening of 1/7/2009 |
 U.S.
Archbishop O'Brien hits Baltimore airwaves with pitch for generosity
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Standing beneath three bright floodlights at Our Daily Bread Employment Center, Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien looked straight into a slow-rolling television camera and made a heartfelt pitch for generosity. "Please consider contributing your gifts of time and treasure to worthy causes like our Catholic Charities' Our Daily Bread," said Archbishop O'Brien, placing a plate full of steaming chicken and rice atop one of two tables filled with hungry guests. "Come, help us make God's love known to others through Catholic Charities' programs in the Archdiocese of Baltimore," the archbishop said. "Our doors and our hearts are always open." With that, an official from the television crew declared it a wrap and the guests applauded. It took just 10 takes for the archbishop to finish his fourth 30-second commercial promoting the archdiocese's many ministries. The weekly spots are set to air on a Baltimore television station throughout most of 2009, with a new ad appearing every two weeks. Archbishop O'Brien told The Catholic Review, Baltimore archdiocesan newspaper, that he hopes the commercials will raise awareness about the diverse ministries of the archdiocese.
Malaysian government expected to soon lift ban on Catholic paper
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Malaysian government is expected to lift the ban on the Malay-language section of a Catholic newspaper after a controversy over the use of the word "Allah." Jesuit Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, a Kuala Lumpur-based Catholic weekly, told Catholic News Service in an e-mail Jan. 7 that a Catholic Cabinet minister told him the government should be issuing a letter soon to revoke the ban. However, Father Andrew said, the paper might not be able to use the word Allah until an ongoing High Court case resolves the dispute regarding the use of the word. The court will resume a hearing on the subject Feb. 27, he said. The controversy began when the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the paper Dec. 31 that the Malay section of the paper was banned for its use of the word Allah to describe God. Malay is the official language of Malaysia. The government claims the word is exclusive "and should be used by the Muslims only," Father Andrew said. He said the Catholics in Malaysia have used Allah in liturgies and prayer books for centuries.
New Orleans Archdiocese gets police help to end parish occupations
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The Archdiocese of New Orleans, with help from the New Orleans police, ended a 10-week occupation of two closed churches with the arrest of two people. Police gained entry into Our Lady of Good Counsel Church to ask parishioners to leave or face arrest Jan. 6. Two people were arrested and another, a cancer patient, was escorted home. About 12 blocks away at St. Henry Church, police charged one parishioner with criminal trespassing. New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes made the decision Jan. 5 to request police intervention when it became apparent that the people occupying the closed churches would not leave after being asked to do so by archdiocesan officials. The archdiocese had changed the locks and secured Our Lady of Good Counsel Church Jan. 3 after asking one man to leave and not seeing anyone else on the church property. A few hours later, a group of former parishioners somehow regained access to the church. During a Jan. 3 press conference at the archdiocesan administration building, the archbishop said his decision to close Our Lady of Good Counsel was in response to safety issues uncovered during previous inspections.
Finance must serve 'great slice' of society, says Vatican's UN nuncio
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Put the reeling global economy on a moral footing and give more financial trust to those who are not rich and their faith-based allies, said the Vatican's representative to the United Nations. "Finance is not a game," Archbishop Celestino Migliore told Catholic San Francisco in a late-December interview. "Among some big and wealthy financial agencies, they just play finances as a game. Really, finance works as long as it's put in the service of the common good and especially the great slice of our society which is composed of poor people or people who are not rich." Rich nations must not respond to today's economic crisis by retrenching to protectionism but must play an ever stronger role in global development, Archbishop Migliore said. Recounting his address to the Nov. 29-Dec. 2 U.N.-sponsored meeting on international development in Doha, Qatar, he said stronger nations must continue their aid commitments to support some 40 countries too weak to manage on their own.
WORLD
NEWS BRIEFS Jan-7-2009
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Standing beneath three bright floodlights at Our Daily Bread Employment Center, Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien looked straight into a slow-rolling television camera and made a heartfelt pitch for generosity. "Please consider contributing your gifts of time and treasure to worthy causes like our Catholic Charities' Our Daily Bread," said Archbishop O'Brien, placing a plate full of steaming chicken and rice atop one of two tables filled with hungry guests. "Come, help us make God's love known to others through Catholic Charities' programs in the Archdiocese of Baltimore," the archbishop said. "Our doors and our hearts are always open." With that, an official from the television crew declared it a wrap and the guests applauded. It took just 10 takes for the archbishop to finish his fourth 30-second commercial promoting the archdiocese's many ministries. The weekly spots are set to air on a Baltimore television station throughout most of 2009, with a new ad appearing every two weeks. Archbishop O'Brien told The Catholic Review, Baltimore archdiocesan newspaper, that he hopes the commercials will raise awareness about the diverse ministries of the archdiocese.
Archbishop O'Brien hits Baltimore airwaves with pitch for generosity
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Malaysian government is expected to lift the ban on the Malay-language section of a Catholic newspaper after a controversy over the use of the word "Allah." Jesuit Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, a Kuala Lumpur-based Catholic weekly, told Catholic News Service in an e-mail Jan. 7 that a Catholic Cabinet minister told him the government should be issuing a letter soon to revoke the ban. However, Father Andrew said, the paper might not be able to use the word Allah until an ongoing High Court case resolves the dispute regarding the use of the word. The court will resume a hearing on the subject Feb. 27, he said. The controversy began when the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the paper Dec. 31 that the Malay section of the paper was banned for its use of the word Allah to describe God. Malay is the official language of Malaysia. The government claims the word is exclusive "and should be used by the Muslims only," Father Andrew said. He said the Catholics in Malaysia have used Allah in liturgies and prayer books for centuries.
Malaysian government expected to soon lift ban on Catholic paper
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The Archdiocese of New Orleans, with help from the New Orleans police, ended a 10-week occupation of two closed churches with the arrest of two people. Police gained entry into Our Lady of Good Counsel Church to ask parishioners to leave or face arrest Jan. 6. Two people were arrested and another, a cancer patient, was escorted home. About 12 blocks away at St. Henry Church, police charged one parishioner with criminal trespassing. New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes made the decision Jan. 5 to request police intervention when it became apparent that the people occupying the closed churches would not leave after being asked to do so by archdiocesan officials. The archdiocese had changed the locks and secured Our Lady of Good Counsel Church Jan. 3 after asking one man to leave and not seeing anyone else on the church property. A few hours later, a group of former parishioners somehow regained access to the church. During a Jan. 3 press conference at the archdiocesan administration building, the archbishop said his decision to close Our Lady of Good Counsel was in response to safety issues uncovered during previous inspections.
New Orleans Archdiocese gets police help to end parish occupations
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Put the reeling global economy on a moral footing and give more financial trust to those who are not rich and their faith-based allies, said the Vatican's representative to the United Nations. "Finance is not a game," Archbishop Celestino Migliore told Catholic San Francisco in a late-December interview. "Among some big and wealthy financial agencies, they just play finances as a game. Really, finance works as long as it's put in the service of the common good and especially the great slice of our society which is composed of poor people or people who are not rich." Rich nations must not respond to today's economic crisis by retrenching to protectionism but must play an ever stronger role in global development, Archbishop Migliore said. Recounting his address to the Nov. 29-Dec. 2 U.N.-sponsored meeting on international development in Doha, Qatar, he said stronger nations must continue their aid commitments to support some 40 countries too weak to manage on their own.
Finance must serve 'great slice' of society, says Vatican's UN nuncio
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- True worship entails honoring God, not in the abstract, but concretely in one's daily life, Pope Benedict XVI said. Christians are called to offer themselves "as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God," and to glorify God in their "full daily existence," he said Jan. 7 at the first weekly general audience of 2009. In a hoarse voice, the pope extended his New Year's greetings to about 4,000 pilgrims gathered inside the Paul VI hall. He apologized, saying "I lost my voice, but I hope I will be able to make myself understood." Those at the audience then burst into applause. The pope called on the faithful to renew their dedication to "opening one's heart and mind to Christ." May the faithful continue to seek to live as true friends of Christ, he said. "His companionship will mean that, even with this year's inevitable difficulties, the year can be a journey full of joy and peace," he said.
True worship entails honoring God concretely in daily life, pope says
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong and some Christian legislators have objected to a proposed amendment that would extend a law on domestic violence to cover same-sex cohabitants. The Asian church news agency UCA News reported that a Jan. 5 statement from the cardinal said extending the law to same-sex couples would "definitely lead to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the concepts of marriage and family, thereby undermining the foundation of our society." Even though the church fully agrees that everyone, irrespective of background, must be protected from any form of violence, "distorted concepts of marriage and family will bring about other serious consequences," he said. He added that the well-being of local families is a core social value that must be safeguarded. Cardinal Zen said he is obliged to appeal to the government to make "the common good of our society the basis of its legislation on marriage and family." Later this year Hong Kong's Legislative Council is scheduled to convene a public hearing on the bill, which would amend the 1986 Domestic Violence Ordinance, UCA News reported.
Hong Kong cardinal objects to extending domestic violence law to gays
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- The death of a 21-year-old member of Holy Family Parish in Gaza is a loss to the entire Gazan community, said the parish pastor. "His mother is weeping like a slave," said Msgr. Manuel Musallam, noting that the youth's parents, Manerza and Salameh Sabbah, are dedicated members of the parish. The Sabbahs had been staying with extended family after their home was bombed in an Israeli attack Jan. 6. Early Jan. 7, Naseem Sabbah went to check on his housewares and dry-goods store, Msgr. Musallam said. The young man was standing outside the store when an Israeli shell landed nearby and killed him, said the priest. "Naseem's death not only affects the people of the parish but all of his friends. He was living in a Muslim environment and he had many friends. They will miss him and we will miss him," he told Catholic News Service in a phone interview. "He is one of many (Gazans) who have been killed," the priest said. Nearly 700 Palestinians, including 300 civilians, have been killed since Israel began its attacks on Gaza Dec. 27 to root out the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
PEOPLE
Gaza priest: Death of young parishioner is loss to whole community
PORTLAND, Maine (CNS) -- The bishop of Portland has warned an advocate for abuse victims to stay away from him and the cathedral or risk being arrested and losing the right to participate in the church's sacraments. Bishop Richard J. Malone said in an article posted on the diocesan Web site that after years of harassment by Paul Kendrick he felt it necessary to seek the assistance and protection of the Portland Police Department, and as bishop to caution Kendrick about possible ecclesial repercussions. Bishop Malone's action came after Kendrick sent the bishop a letter saying he planned to attend Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and would act in ways intended to remind him about a local case of sexual abuse by a priest. Kendrick told reporters he was frustrated that Bishop Malone had not met with one particular victim's mother. Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese, told Catholic News Service Jan. 7 that the woman in question had years ago had a meeting with one of Bishop Malone's predecessors, Bishop Joseph J. Gerry, which Kendrick attended. Bernard said that when the woman recently asked to meet with Bishop Malone about how the case was being handled he referred her to the vicar general and the head of the diocesan review board. Bernard said those men would have had more complete information about the case than Bishop Malone, who has been in the diocese since 2004.
Copyright
©2009 Catholic News Service, U.S. Catholic Conference.
The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such
means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution
method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority
of Catholic News Service.
|
U.S.