Catholic educators ask Bush to ease hassle on federal services
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Representatives of Catholic schools from Washington, New Orleans, Chicago and Bridgeport, Conn., urged the Bush administration to follow up on the president's stated support for parochial education by making it easier for them to participate in various federal programs. In a private April 13 meeting with a dozen representatives of schools, dioceses and independent Catholic education programs, President George W. Bush heard repeated voices of appreciation for opening up access to some federal education programs to religious schools. However, that thanks was tempered with the polite but oft-repeated complaint that getting government funds for their participation in those programs is often difficult and slow. The 45-minute session in the Roosevelt Room at the White House was informal and conversational, with the educators explaining the challenges of reopening hurricane-flooded New Orleans schools; of starting the corporate-supported Cristo Rey network of Jesuit schools for low-income children; and of getting reimbursement from local public school districts for offering Supplemental Educational Services at Catholic schools in the Bridgeport Diocese.
Maryland bill to let illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition fails
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- A bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates died in a Maryland Senate committee April 9, the final day of the Maryland General Assembly's 2007 session. Though the bill passed in the House of Delegates in March, Senate Republicans threatened a filibuster if it actually made it to the floor of their chamber. Democratic Gov. Martin J. O'Malley had vowed to sign the bill if it reached his desk. The Maryland Catholic Conference lobbied in favor of the bill, asserting it would give Maryland immigrants who have lived in the state since they were children access to a college education. "In many cases the children who would benefit from this legislation came to our country not of their own choice, but of their parents' (choice)," said Julie Varner, associate director of social concerns for the Maryland Catholic Conference. "They deserve the same opportunity to succeed, using their own talents and hard work, as their fellow Maryland classmates."
After sending 'strong signal,' nuncio attends Holocaust ceremony
JERUSALEM (CNS) --- In a reversal of an earlier decision, the papal nuncio to Israel attended a Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial ceremony after receiving a personal letter from the memorial's chairman. Archbishop Antonio Franco said he decided to attend the ceremony April 15, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, after receiving assurances from Chairman Avner Shalev regarding the memorial's willingness to review any new documentation regarding Pope Pius XII's actions during the Holocaust. Archbishop Franco said his earlier announcement that he would not attend the ceremony was meant to be a "strong signal" of the need to "reconsider the way Pius XII is presented at Yad Vashem." He said the depiction of the World War II-era pope in a photo caption at the museum was offensive to his sensibilities and those of Catholics worldwide. Archbishop Franco said his intention had not been to dissociate himself from the commemoration or to "make a polemic statement" but to "reach an aim of consideration" of how the pope is presented. "I have no further reason not to go," the nuncio said before the ceremony.
Bishop weighs in on debate over care of dying Texas boy
AUSTIN, Texas (CNS) --- Citing difficult decisions in his own family and the example of Pope John Paul II, Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin said Catholic teaching would permit the withdrawal of extraordinary medical treatment for Emilio Gonzales, a dying 17-month-old boy at Children's Hospital of Austin. Catarina Gonzales, the boy's mother, has been fighting for continued medical treatment of her son at the hospital, which is part of the Seton Family of Hospitals, a 31-facility Catholic health system in central Texas. The boy's physicians and other hospital officials have recommended that the child be removed from a respirator and given only "comfort care." Emilio, who has been blind and deaf since birth and was admitted to the hospital Dec. 27 with a collapsed lung, has been diagnosed with Leigh's disease, a rare disorder that is causing his central nervous system to break down. The disease is considered incurable. "I cannot imagine the pain that Catarina experiences as she faces these terrible questions that no mother wants to face," Bishop Aymond said in an April 15 statement.
Christians flee Lebanon amid signs of growing Islamic fundamentalism
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) --- Christians are fleeing Lebanon to escape an ongoing political and economic crisis amid signs that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in the country. Forty-three percent of Maronite Catholics --- the largest of the country's 12 Christian denominations --- polled recently said they were considering emigrating. Nearly a third of them have applied for visas in the last six months, according to the study by Information International, an independent Beirut-based research body. The study, which was to be published in May, was released early to Catholic News Service. "Some 60,000-70,000 Christians have left the country in the last six months," said George Khoury, executive director of Caritas Lebanon, the local agency of the Caritas Internationalis confederation of Catholic relief, development and social services organizations. "In some ways Lebanon is becoming increasingly Islamized because of the demographic shift." The high emigration statistics also are impacting Lebanon's Muslims, many of whom are thought to have left Lebanon since last summer's war between the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Israel.
Bush expected to meet formally with pope in early June, says Vatican
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to have his first formal audience with Pope Benedict XVI in early June, the Vatican spokesman said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said April 14 that Bush is expected to visit the Vatican June 9 or 10 after participating in the summit of leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized countries in Germany. Bush made his last visit to the Vatican for the April 8, 2005, funeral of Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict, celebrated the funeral Mass. The president had met Pope John Paul three times. The president's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, led the U.S. delegation to Pope Benedict's inaugural Mass. Also April 14, Father Lombardi told reporters that former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami would visit Pope Benedict at the Vatican May 4.
Animal rights group asks pope to quit wearing fur
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- An Italian animal rights group called on Pope Benedict XVI to stop wearing fur out of "respect for the sacredness of the lives of all living creatures." The Italian Anti-Vivisection League made the appeal ahead of the pope's April 22 visit to the Italian city of Pavia, where he was to receive a fur cape made of white ermine pelts. Having the pope give up fur would be of "great religious and ethical significance" and be "a praiseworthy example of Christian charity," the group said in an April 13 press release. Vatican tailors had custom-ordered the fur cape from the Pavian furrier, Annabella, according to the fur company's owner, Simonetta Ravizza. "It will be the pope's decision whether to wear (the fur) or not," she told the Italian news agency ANSA April 13. For outdoor events during the colder winter months, Pope Benedict would sometimes wear a "camauro," a red velvet cap trimmed with ermine, and for special occasions a red velvet, ermine-trimmed cape -- called a mozzetta.
Italian officials open case on priest, 84, accused of abuse
ROME (CNS) --- Italian prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the case of an 84-year-old priest accused of sexually abusing minors for decades in his parish near Florence, Italy. State authorities began the investigation of Father Lelio Cantini April 10 based on charges of aggravated and repeated sexual abuse of minors after accusations came to light April 8 in the Italian press. A number of alleged victims and priests from the diocese made their claims and concerns public after the priest received what they considered to be "too light" a punishment from the church. Cardinal Ennio Antonelli of Florence said a church administrative penal process had found Father Cantini guilty of sexually abusing young girls between 1973 and 1987 as well as "false mysticism" and the coercion and manipulation of consciences. For the next five years, the priest cannot hear confession, celebrate Mass in public, celebrate the sacraments and take on ecclesial duties, Cardinal Antonelli said in an April 15 article published in the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire.
Statistics released on enrollment, staffing in U.S. Catholic schools
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- Enrollment figures for Catholic schools in the 2006-07 academic year show "a continued significant decline in the elementary school population and a slight increase in secondary school enrollment," according to a report by the National Catholic Educational Association. Total enrollment fell by 1.8 percent, or 42,569 students, said the annual statistical report prepared by Sister Dale McDonald, a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is NCEA director of public policy and educational research. The 51-page report was released during the April 10-13 NCEA convention in Baltimore. "While enrollment has declined in all regions of the country (12.5 percent since 2000), the largest decreases have been centered in the large urban areas (15 percent), principally in the Mideast and the Great Lakes, areas that were populated by high concentrations of Catholic immigrants in the late 19th and 20th centuries," said the report's executive summary. "The good news is that there is a strong demand and enthusiasm for Catholic schools in areas of the Southeast and Far West," it added. "Waiting lists now exist in 34 percent of the schools, primarily in suburban areas." |