Archbishop Levada celebrates Cathedral Mass

LOS ANGELES --- Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels July 31, with concelebrants Cardinal Roger Mahony (back left) and Auxiliary Bishop Alex Salazar (right), among others. This summer the archbishop will relocate to Rome to head the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican agency charged with protecting and promoting the church's teachings on faith and morals. He is the first U.S. prelate to serve as prefect of the congregation, a position previously headed by Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Prior to his departure, Archbishop Levada, 69, a native of Long Beach, traveled to Los Angeles to visit with family and friends, including former classmates from St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. During the Mass, the archbishop said he would rely on God's generosity to assist him in his new position.

Salvadoran Day festival will kick off with soccer tournament

LOS ANGELES --- This year's Salvadoran Day festival will kick off with a first-ever soccer tournament "Copa El Salvador del Mundo" Aug. 6 beginning at 10 a.m. at Exposition Park in Los Angeles (Vermont Avenue and Exposition Boulevard). The festivities continue with a final soccer game Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. and ongoing cultural and musical performances and food booths. Around 2 p.m. a caravan will arrive with the image of "El Salvador del Mundo," the patron of El Salvador which translates as Jesus the Savior of the World. The annual commemoration of the Transfiguration of Jesus ("La Bajada") will take place at 8 p.m. "We are determined that our sons and daughter born outside of El Salvador inherit our roots and our culture," said Salvador Gómez Góchez, general director of the Salvadoran American National Association (SANA).

Orange Diocese honored for programs to protect children, young people

ORANGE, Calif. (CNS) --- The Diocese of Orange's Office of Faith Formation, which oversees the diocesan schools, will be honored for its efforts to educate teachers and students about domestic violence, teen dating abuse, family violence and sexual abuse. The office will receive the Family Violence Project's Award for Inspired Action Aug. 12. The Family Violence Project is a nonprofit organization funded largely by the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime, which trains key community members to recognize and respond to all types of family violence and abuse.

Pope Benedict calls IRA announcement 'wonderful news'

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI said the Irish Republican Army's announcement that it had ended its armed campaign was "wonderful news" that must be followed by efforts to promote trust and reconciliation. "To the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Patrick and all the saints of Ireland we entrust our common prayer for this intention," he said July 31. The pope praised the IRA's decision to end its armed struggle and rely solely on peaceful negotiations. "This is wonderful news, which contrasts with the painful events we are witnessing daily in many parts of the world," he said. The IRA decision, announced July 28, "rightly has given rise to satisfaction and hope on the island and to the entire international community."

Cologne's Jewish leaders hope pope's visit helps
Catholic-Jewish ties

COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) --- Jewish leaders said they hope Pope Benedict XVI's visit to a Cologne synagogue will help improve Catholic-Jewish relations. "We hope that the visit will be a sign for the future," said Michael Rado, a member of the board of the Cologne synagogue, which the pope is scheduled to visit Aug. 19. "In spite of the efforts of the church in recent years, there is still anti-Semitism based on religious grounds in the minds of some people. If the pope takes the step of visiting a synagogue, it will make once more clear that the movement in the church is away from such anti-Semitism," he said. Synagogue board member Ebi Lehrer said the fact that it is a German pope who is visiting is not a major issue. "We see him as the pope, as the head of the Catholic Church, and not so much as a German," he said. "Perhaps it even makes it easier for him to visit a community in his home country."

Businessman named ambassador to Holy See

WASHINGTON (CNS) --- L. Francis Rooney III, an Oklahoma and Florida businessman who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to recent Republican political campaigns, has been nominated by President George W. Bush to be ambassador to the Holy See. The seat has been vacant since former ambassador Jim Nicholson was confirmed as secretary of Veterans Affairs in January. Rooney, 51, and his wife Kathlee, are Georgetown graduates and Catholic.

Nepalese Catholics await visas to attend
World Youth Day in Germany

KATMANDU, Nepal (CNS) --- Armed with new passports but still awaiting visas, a small group of young Nepalese Catholics prepared to go to Germany for World Youth Day celebrations with Pope Benedict XVI. "We are staying at the church and praying that we are granted visas by the German Embassy," said Santlal Murmu, one of the six delegates, most of them converts to Catholicism. They were chosen from five of Nepal's six parishes to represent local Catholic youth at the international event scheduled for Aug. 16-21 in Cologne. The six young people waited at Assumption Church in Katmandu, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Murmu, a 23-year-old tribal youth, had just arrived in the capital July 26 with two other young men after a 16-hour bus ride on muddy roads from eastern Nepal. Monsoon rains on the roads were not the only hazard; Maoist guerrillas regularly call strikes, block roads and attack vehicles.