UNITED NATIONS (CNS) --- When immigration is seen as "a problem to be solved," it may be "painted as a threat and ... manipulated for short-term political gain," the Vatican's representative to the United Nations told the U.N. Commission on Population and Development April 5.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the international body, said such an approach can be detrimental to "the most natural rights of all human beings -- the right to life, to citizenship, to work and to development." The archbishop said, "For this reason, the upcoming high-level dialogue on this subject is very welcome; indeed it is a long overdue discussion on a perennial social question with consequences for people far beyond the 191 million or so presently considered migrants." The commission met April 3-7 at U.N. headquarters in New York to prepare for the Sept. 14-15 dialogue on international migration and development, also to be held in New York.

Christian Churches Together in the USA is officially started
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Christian Churches Together in the USA --- the broadest, most inclusive ecumenical movement in U.S. history --- was officially founded during a March 28-31 gathering near Atlanta. Its founding 34 Christian churches and national organizations represent more than 100 million Americans. Twenty-two additional churches and organizations are participating as observers or are in the process of deciding about joining, and more than 30 others are in conversation with Christian Churches Together. Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, who hosted a 2001 meeting in Baltimore at which plans for the new organization first took shape, will represent the Catholic Church as one of its five co-presidents. He said he was "delighted that the work we began in Baltimore has continued to prosper." Christian Churches Together is intended as a forum of ecumenical dialogue and witness involving the participation of representatives from all five major Christian families of churches in the United States: Catholic, Orthodox, historic Protestant, evangelical/Pentecostal, and historic racial/ethnic.

Minnesota bishops disappointed at legislative
inaction on marriage
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) --- As a proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution on marriage appeared headed toward defeat in the state Legislature, the state's Catholic bishops expressed disappointment that the matter will remain in the hands of judges. "We commit ourselves to ongoing efforts to educate Catholics and others of good will about the authentic meaning of marriage and family," said an April 7 statement signed by seven bishops. "We will continue to uphold marriage as a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman." The Senate Judiciary Committee of the Minnesota Legislature voted 5-4 April 4 against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have limited marriage "and its legal equivalent" to the union of one man and one woman. Although supporters could still bring the measure to the full Senate for a vote, its passage was considered unlikely. If approved by the Legislature, the amendment would be placed on the November ballot.

Archbishop reopens New Orleans church
after dispute is resolved
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) --- New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes April 8 re-consecrated a historic New Orleans black church he had ordered closed "for the foreseeable future" after a protest disrupted Mass there two weeks earlier. The March 26 demonstration at St. Augustine Church was organized to protest the archdiocese's decision to close the parish and merge it with a neighboring parish, but keep the church building open for one Mass each Sunday. Archbishop Hughes announced that the archdiocese and parishioners who want their parish to remain open had settled their dispute. He re-established St. Augustine Parish for the next 18 months. The archbishop said he hoped the resolution of the dispute would become a symbol of reconciliation for the entire city. He said the parish could remain open longer if it met agreed-upon guidelines for viability and vibrancy. The archbishop re-consecrated the church during a 45-minute ritual attended by about 75 parishioners. Afterward he held a news conference outside the church to announce the settlement of the dispute.

Send-off of pilgrim cross opens countdown
to World Youth Day 2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- With the unveiling of a logo, the handover of a pilgrim cross and the cheers of young Australians, the "road to Sydney" and World Youth Day 2008 were officially opened at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI sent the World Youth Day cross on a two-year trip across Africa and Oceania after a Palm Sunday liturgy April 9. Accepting it were young Australians, eager for the spiritual spotlight that will soon begin to swing across their country. With Australian flags unfurled, the young people indulged in some lively celebration after the liturgy in St. Peter's Square. "That was the spirit of Sydney on display," Morris Iemma, premier of the Australian state New South Wales, remarked at a press conference afterward. He predicted that young people would find Sydney "the friendliest city and the most welcoming city" in the world. Pope Benedict XVI gave the organizers a morale boost when he told pilgrims, "See you in Sydney, God willing."

Vatican confirms pope's visit to Poland in May
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- The Vatican confirmed Pope Benedict XVI will visit Poland May 25-28, and the trip will include Pope John Paul II's hometown and the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. Formally announcing the trip April 8, the Vatican said the pope would spend one night in Warsaw, Poland's capital, and two nights in Krakow, the city where Pope John Paul had served as archbishop. While a detailed itinerary was not released, the Vatican listed the places the pope would visit each day: May 25, Rome to Warsaw; May 26, the shrine of Our Lady Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, then on to Krakow; May 27, Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul, and the shrine to Christ's passion at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, 30 miles outside Krakow, then returning to the city for the night; May 28, Auschwitz, then returning to Krakow for the flight back to Rome.