U.S. cannot remain silent on Darfur, bishops say
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- As thousands of Americans gathered at "Save Darfur" rallies across the country April 30, the nation's Catholic bishops joined with other religious and political leaders in calling for greater U.S. efforts to end the genocidal campaign against the non-Arab population of Sudan's Darfur region. "Sunday's 'Save Darfur' rally should remind our leaders that our nation cannot remain silent in the face of killings, rape and wanton destruction," said Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Policy. "Our country can and must do more, much more, to defend and protect innocent civilians in Darfur. Anything less would be unworthy of us as a people committed to human life and dignity," he added. At the chief "Save Darfur" rally, held on the National Mall in the nation's capital, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington reminded an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 participants that people of the world are all brothers and sisters. "What happens to the people of Darfur happens to us," he said.

Differing views on death penalty stem from beliefs,
panelists say
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Dale Recinella, a lay Catholic chaplain for prisoners on Florida's death row and in long-term solitary confinement, knows how religious beliefs influence the way people think about the death penalty. Prior to working in the ministry he began eight years ago, Recinella said, he "hadn't realized how many people felt the death penalty was God's word." Now he frequently hears Christians back up their support of capital punishment by citing passages such as "an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth." When he explains spiritual reasons against the death penalty to people of faith, the reaction he often gets is one of relief "that they are not bound by their faith to support something that is against their instincts," he said during an April 27 panel discussion on "Religions and the Culture of Life." It was part of the April 26-27 International Prayer for Peace interfaith conference at Georgetown University in Washington, co-sponsored by the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, the Archdiocese of Washington, Georgetown University and The Catholic University of America.

Bush visits New Orleans home,
praises Catholic Charities volunteers
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) --- President George W. Bush praised the work of Catholic Charities volunteers in helping to rebuild New Orleans during an April 27 visit to a Ninth Ward home ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and the floods that followed. He also called for another 2,500 volunteers "to come down to New Orleans to help people get back on their feet" through Operation Helping Hands, the Catholic Charities volunteer project that has already gutted 311 damaged homes to prepare them for rebuilding. Another 776 homes remain on the project's waiting list. At the home of Ethel Williams, a 72-year-old widow, the president said, "The amazing thing that's happened in her home is that there are people across the country who are helping to rebuild it." "Catholic Charities, in this case, has provided the volunteers to help Ms. Williams reclaim her life," Bush said. The 15-member team that worked on Williams' home came from Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

Pope says church must be more selective
in picking saint candidates
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- The Catholic Church should be more selective and very rigorous in choosing candidates for sainthood, Pope Benedict XVI said in a message to the Congregation for Saints' Causes. The pope, who as a cardinal expressed concern over the number of causes being promoted, wrote to the congregation as its members met April 24-26 for a plenary assembly. Congregation members discussed a new instruction for the initial diocesan stages of the sainthood process and were looking at possible changes to the formal criteria for determining martyrdom and for miracles. Pope Benedict told the congregation that, from the moment of his election a year ago, he had put into effect changes that met the "widespread hope" that the difference between beatification and canonization would be underlined and that local churches would be more involved in the entire process. Modern men and women need true models of holiness, he said, and they must be chosen with care.

Vatican officials, experts examine challenges
modern children face
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- A four-day Vatican conference examined a long list of challenges, from child labor to gender selection of fetuses, that modern children face. After hearing continent-by-continent reports, organizers said they were especially worried that older generations are no longer viewing children as the hope of the future --- as evidenced by the declining birthrate in developed and developing countries. The vulnerability of children should make this topic a priority for Catholic social teaching, said Mary Ann Glendon, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Glendon spoke May 2 at a Vatican press meeting at the end of the conference, which for the first time included young participants from several continents. Detailed papers presented at the meeting analyzed such themes as the impact of globalization and child labor law on young people in Asia or the efforts by China and India to stem the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses.

Church leaders in Europe urge legislators
to consider migrant workers
LONDON (CNS) --- British and French church officials have urged legislators to remember immigrants and migrant workers, often society's most vulnerable, when they consider proposals to change immigration legislation. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, England, called for amnesty for illegal immigrants who work but do not have a criminal record. The cardinal said the presence of hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers in London had created "social misery." The suffering of migrants has been marked by exploitation, low pay and an absence of rights and benefits, the cardinal said during a May 1 Mass for migrant workers in London's Westminster Cathedral. Meanwhile, in France, church leaders said legislation proposing to curb immigration and asylum would have "serious consequences" for the most vulnerable in France. "We regret this bill contains only measures which will further restrict the possibilities of regularization for foreigners," said Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox leaders in a letter to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

Auxiliary Bishop Charles G. Maloney dies at 93;
was bishop 51 years
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNS) --- Auxiliary Bishop Charles G. Maloney of Louisville died April 30 at Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville. At 93 he was the second-oldest U.S. bishop and had been a bishop for 51 years, longer than any other current bishop in the country. His funeral was scheduled for May 4 at the Cathedral of the Assumption, with burial to follow in Calvary Cemetery in Louisville. With Bishop Maloney's death, there are only five remaining U.S. bishops who attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, 1962-65. Born and raised in Louisville, Bishop Maloney was ordained a priest of the Louisville Archdiocese in 1937. Pope Pius named him an auxiliary bishop of Louisville Dec. 30, 1954, and he was ordained a bishop Feb. 2, 1955. He was the first and only auxiliary in the 198-year history of the archdiocese.

Spiritualize politics without dividing society,
say panel speakers
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Spiritualizing politics has to promote inclusion rather than sectarian divisions in society, said several speakers on a panel examining the relationship of religion and politics. Spiritualizing politics should be seen as bringing to public issues the ethics and values which many people can share, said Rabbi Marc Gopin, professor of religion, diplomacy and conflict resolution at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., a Washington suburb. Rabbi Gopin cited the example of black civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was a Southern Baptist minister. "He never demonized whites," said Rabbi Gopin. "He spoke of a world in which white and black babies grow up equal." The April 27 panel on "Spiritualizing Politics Without Politicizing Religion" was part of the April 26-27 International Prayer for Peace interfaith meeting held at Georgetown University in Washington. The meeting was sponsored by the university, the Washington Archdiocese, The Catholic University of America and the Sant'Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic lay organization.

Vatican official suggests Catholics
boycott 'The Da Vinci Code' film
ROME (CNS) --- Catholics should consider boycotting the film "The Da Vinci Code" as one way to let the world know the story offends and defames the church, said Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. If the kind of "slander, offenses and errors" contained in Dan Brown's best-selling book and the film based on it had been written about "the Quran or the Shoah (the Holocaust), they rightly would have provoked a worldwide uprising," the archbishop told Catholic communications directors. The archbishop spoke April 28 at a Rome conference for church communications personnel sponsored by the Opus Dei-run University of the Holy Cross. In responding to questions at the end of his talk, Archbishop Amato declined to issue a clear call for all Catholics to boycott the film. However, during his speech, he did tell the communications directors, "I hope you all boycott that film."

Archaeologists discover unusual network
of burial chambers in Rome
ROME (CNS) --- Archaeologists repairing a Roman catacomb have discovered an unusual network of underground burial chambers containing the elegantly dressed corpses of more than 1,000 people, a Rome official said. The rooms appear to date back to the second century and are thought to be a place of early Christian burial. Because of the large number of bodies deposited over a relatively short period, experts believe a natural disaster or epidemic may have occurred at the time. The corpses, dressed in fine clothes embroidered with gold thread, were carefully wrapped in sheets and covered in lime. Balsamic fragrances were also applied, according to Raffaella Giuliani, chief inspector of the Roman catacombs, who spoke with Vatican Radio May 1. Giuliani said the burial chambers were found accidentally in 2003, when experts were repairing a cave-in located in the Catacomb of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, one of Rome's lesser-known catacombs that is closed to the public. The discovery will be officially presented in June by the Pontifical Roman Academy of Archaeology.

Bishop: Perpetrators must face justice
to prevent future genocides
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Those who take part in genocide must face justice if future genocides are to be prevented, according to an Armenian bishop who before he came to Washington for an interfaith gathering watched as more than half of his nation's citizens paid tribute to fellow Armenians who were victims of genocide 90 years ago. "If the perpetrators of past genocides are punished, we can prevent other genocides around the world," said Bishop Vicken Akayzian of the Armenian Church in America during an April 27 forum, "Religious Contribution to Genocide Prevention," part of the two-day International Prayer for Peace event at Georgetown University in Washington. Bishop Akayzian spent 22 hours in transit from Armenia to the United States to speak at the panel discussion. He said he had to stay in Armenia April 24 as the country recognized its own victims of genocide at the hands of the Turks -- a genocide the Turkish government has insistently and repeatedly denied ever occurred. "Out of a population of three-and-a-half million, 2 million people came to visit the memorial site," Bishop Akayzian said. "It was a great pleasure for me."