LONG BEACH --- Noted liturgical composer and theologian Bob Hurd will perform in concert and lead a ministries retreat April 20-21 at two parishes in the San Pedro Region. The concert will take place April 20, 7 p.m., at St. Cyprian Church, Long Beach. Cost is $5; call (562) 421-9487. On April 21, Hurd will lead a retreat for liturgical ministers, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at St. Paul of the Cross Church, La Mirada. Call (562) 921-2914. Hurd has been one of the Catholic Church's leading liturgical composers for the past 25 years, embracing a variety of genres. Published through Oregon Catholic Press, he has a doctorate in theology from DePaul University and has taught at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, the Graduate Pastoral Ministries Program at Santa Clara University, and St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park
Nuncio tells NCEA convention teachers are world's 'greatest artists'
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- Calling teachers "the greatest artists in the world," Pope Benedict XVI's representative to the United States opened the National Catholic Educational Association convention in Baltimore April 10 with praise for the "special qualities of mind and heart" that educators bring to their work. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., said many call Michelangelo the greatest artist ever because of his sculptures such as "The Pieta," which depicts Mary holding her son Jesus after his crucifixion. "But I think the greatest artists of the world are teachers, because you sculpt the best of what you are, not in a piece of marble but in human beings who are the glory of God," he said. Archbishop Sambi said he was the son and brother of schoolteachers and that Pope Benedict, from whom he brought greetings, "understands perfectly the labors, the greatness and" the usefulness of the mission of education, since he was "a teacher for a large part of his life." Up to 10,000 people were expected at the Baltimore Convention Center for the April 10-14 NCEA convention on the theme "Anchor of Faith, Harbor of Light."
British bishop criticized for remarks about Iran's release of troops
LONDON (CNS) --- The head of Great Britain's military diocese has come under fire from politicians, military leaders and the media after he welcomed Iran's release of 15 sailors and marines as religiously motivated "good deeds." Bishop Thomas Burns of the Bishopric of the Forces was called naive, accused of wishful thinking and was the subject of several critical newspaper editorials. Meanwhile, the Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had sent a written appeal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, urging the release of the 14 men and one woman captured by Iran in contested waters March 23. An informed Vatican source said that in an effort to quell increasing international tensions over the crew's seizure Pope Benedict sent the letter for "exclusively humanitarian" reasons. The Vatican would provide no details on the contents of the letter or when it was sent.
More than 2,000 in St. Peter's Square protest capital punishment
ROME (CNS) --- More than 2,000 people protesting capital punishment marched through Rome to St. Peter's Square on Easter morning. The Easter March, as it was called, was designed to put pressure on the Italian government to propose a moratorium on capital punishment at the U.N. General Assembly April 23. The April 8 march was organized by the Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic lay community, and Hands Off Cain, an international nonprofit organization that works to end capital punishment. Various Italian political figures --- including Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni and Marco Pannella, a member of the European Parliament --- participated in the march. Pannella, founder of Italy's Radical Party, had been on a hunger strike since March 21 to push the Italian government to take action against capital punishment. The marchers arrived in St. Peter's Square just moments before Pope Benedict XVI delivered his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and to the world) in which he lamented the wars, disasters and horrors that plague the world today.
Bishops say threats along Colombian coast interfere with church work
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) --- Recent threats against Catholic institutions, indigenous and human rights organizations along Colombia's Pacific coast have formed a pattern of intimidation that has increasingly interfered with the church's human rights work, said the Colombian bishops' conference. The bishops said in the statement April 1 that there has been a "considerable increase in selective killings, disappearances, massacres, displacements, threats and generalized fear in the civilian population in many parts of the region." They said the group sending the bishops threats by e-mail March 20 calls itself "New Generation. The bishops called on the military and government agencies to address the region's crisis |