Papal trip to Brazil May 9-13 turns spotlight on Latin America
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI is making his first trip to the Western Hemisphere in mid-May, traveling to Brazil to open a strategizing session with Latin American bishops. The May 9-13 visit begins with a string of pastoral events in Sao Paulo, where the pope will meet with young people and canonize the first Brazilian-born saint. Then he moves to the basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida, where he will inaugurate the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrating Mass and delivering a major speech to participants of the May 13-31 meeting. The trip turns a spotlight on Latin America, a geographical area that has had little attention from this pope to date, but where 43 percent of the world's Catholics live.

Bishops fight contraception mandate in Connecticut Catholic hospitals
HARTFORD, Conn. (CNS) --- Declaring that "Catholic institutions should have a right to be Catholic," the Connecticut bishops stepped up a campaign urging lawmakers to amend or defeat a bill that would require all Catholic hospitals in the state to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. The legislation passed the state Senate 32-3 April 25 and now heads to the House. In an April 25 letter to House and Senate leaders, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford and Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport said the bill's requirement that objecting hospitals hire a third party to dispense the "morning-after pill" marketed as Plan B would still "involve the hospital in a way that would violate Catholic moral principles of cooperation. It is important to repeat that Connecticut's Catholic hospitals do provide emergency contraception when that medication can act as a contraceptive by preventing ovulation," the letter said. "The Catholic hospitals do not provide Plan B only when the medication would act as an abortifacient and therefore contrary to Catholic religious beliefs and moral values."

Archbishop pulls support for hospital benefit over singer's stands
ST. LOUIS (CNS) --- Saying that it sent a "contradictory message" for a Catholic institution to raise funds by featuring a musician who supports abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis announced April 25 that he had withdrawn his support for an upcoming benefit for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. Rock musician Sheryl Crow, a native of Kennett, Mo., has been an outspoken supporter of keeping abortion legal. She also supported Amendment 2, a Missouri initiative passed last fall that constitutionally protects human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. Crow was scheduled to perform at the annual Bob Costas Benefit April 28 at the Fabulous Fox theater in St. Louis. Sportscaster Costas and comedian Billy Crystal also were to participate in the benefit, with tickets ranging in price from $35 to $100. At an April 25 press conference at the archdiocesan offices, Archbishop Burke said Crow's connection to the benefit event was "an affront to the identity and mission of the medical center, dedicated as it is to the service of life and Christ's healing mission."

At Vatican, Kissinger discusses dialogue, diplomacy, Mideast
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- The international community needs farsighted individuals and institutions capable of promoting values that will increase dialogue, justice and peace, said former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The almost 84-year-old professor said he agreed to come to the Vatican and address the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences because he was interested in a philosophical discussion of the nature of international relations. However, meeting reporters April 28 in the Vatican Gardens, Kissinger also spoke about the importance of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the importance of dialogue for peace in the Middle East, the complexity of the situation in Iraq and the need for a bipartisan U.S. foreign policy.