Adopt A Family donations welcomed to assist families in need
LOS ANGELES --- The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels' Adopt-A-Family program is accepting donations to support the purchase of food and gifts for more than 350 needy families. In addition to those living in the area of skid row and downtown Los Angeles, this year's recipient families include some from a battered women's shelter and a maternity home. Small portable heaters are desired, along with warm clothes, blankets, food and school uniforms and supplies for children. The gifts will be distributed by volunteers on "Delivery Saturday," Dec. 15, following a 7 a.m. prayer service at the Cathedral. Cash contributions are also welcome. For information on donations or assisting as a volunteer, contact Lydia Gamboa, (213) 637-7501, or visit www.olacathedral.org, and click on the Adopt-A-Family link on the home page.
Pope concelebrates Mass with new cardinals, gives them rings
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Concelebrating Mass with 23 new cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI gave each of them a gold ring as a symbol of their new bond with Rome. The rings were engraved with the scene of Christ's crucifixion, and the pope told the cardinals it should remind them always "which king you serve" as they assume their new role in the church. The Nov. 25 Mass in St. Peter's Basilica came the day after the pope presided over a consistory to formally create the new cardinals. Among them were U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley, grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, and Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. The basilica was packed with prelates and pilgrims from around the world, and applause rang out when the pope slipped the ring on each new cardinal's hand. "Receive this ring from the hand of Peter, and know that with the love of the Prince of the Apostles your love toward the church is strengthened," he said.
Church officials reopen Mexico City's cathedral with police support
MEXICO CITY (CNS) --- Church officials reopened Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral with the support of nearly 50 police officers after services were suspended when protesters interrupted a Mass and kicked over pews. A statement issued by the Mexico City Archdiocese Nov. 26 said it trusted the city police department would protect the church and its worshippers with a contingent of officers stationed there permanently. "We are resuming services as the civil authorities are guaranteeing the security of the faithful, the church officials and the building," the statement said. A heavy fence was erected around the cathedral; police were posted inside and outside the building and searched people entering the cathedral. Hilda Benitez, 53, said she did not mind being searched by police as long as she was safe. "Security is the most important thing," she said. Auxiliary Bishop Antonio Ortega Franco of Mexico City said the church did not want any more conflict with the protesters.
Pope to sign, release encyclical on hope Nov. 30
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI will sign his second encyclical, a meditation on Christian hope, Nov. 30 and the document will be released the same day, the Vatican announced. The encyclical, titled "Spe Salvi" ("Saved by Hope"), will be presented at a Vatican press conference by Cardinal Georges Cottier, the retired theologian of the papal household, and Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a retired professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. Sources have said the encyclical, about 65 pages long, explores the theme of salvation and the hope offered by Christianity in light of modern philosophy and contemporary culture. The title comes from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, in which he said: "For in hope we have been saved."
Vatican official says stem-cell studies show science can be ethical
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Recent studies showing that human skin cells can be reprogrammed to function as stem cells demonstrate that scientific progress can be achieved without violating basic ethical norms, said Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. "If this technique is validated, it would be a historic discovery," the bishop told Vatican Radio in late November. Separate studies from teams in Japan and in the United States demonstrating success in creating stem cells without using and destroying human embryos were published online Nov. 20 by two scientific journals. By adding four genes to human skin cells, the scientists were able to create stem cells that genetically match the donor and have the ability to become any of the 220 types of cells in the human body. "The church conducted this battle for ethical reasons, encouraging researchers to move ahead with adult stem cells and declaring illicit the destruction of embryos," Bishop Sgreccia said.
Vatican official: Homelessness demands Christian, government response
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Homelessness is "a global pandemic" that demands a Christian response and government intervention, a Vatican official said during the Vatican's first international conference addressing the pastoral needs of the homeless. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, said more than one billion people are homeless or lack adequate shelter, and that number is on the rise. Some 50,000 people, mostly women and children, die every day because they lack decent shelter, clean water and proper sanitation, he said in a Nov. 26 address. In the United States alone, 3.5 million people are estimated to be homeless with up to 1.4 million of them children, he said. He said these "figures should startle, if not shock us, and they should goad us to greater pastoral action" and advocacy work aimed at tackling the root causes of homelessness and poverty. The archbishop was one of about 50 participants from all over the world who met at the Vatican Nov. 26-27 to share ways the church could continue to provide basic material assistance for people on the street and find new ways that promote their dignity and value.
New Catholic Web site offers resources to connect faith, daily life
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) --- A new Catholic Web site, www.ActiveParishioner.com, is aiming to bridge the gap between the Catholic faith and everyday life by offering books for sale and other timely resources for free. The site, which launched Nov. 5, was founded by Ana Kelly, who worked for nearly 10 years at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth. "When I worked at the bishops' conference, I received many requests for good Catholic resources," Kelly said in a news release. "I realized that there was no central location for Catholics to find the many wonderful resources that exist. ActiveParishioner.com fills that need by serving as a one-stop shop for finding excellent Catholic resources." Books are grouped into relevant topics, such as decision-making, careers, caregiving, parenting, children's books, illness and disability, prayer, forgiveness, grief and mourning, God, miscarriage, interfaith relations and travel.
101-year-old Josephite priest dies in Baltimore
BALTIMORE (CNS) --- Josephite Father Robert O'Connell, 101, died Nov. 24 at St. Joseph Manor, a Josephite retirement and recuperation facility in Baltimore. A funeral Mass was said for him Nov. 27 at St. Joseph Manor. He was buried in the Josephite section of New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore. Ordained 66 years ago, Father O'Connell did not retire from active ministry until after he suffered a fall in 1996. To date, he was the longest-lived Josephite priest. Born Sept. 5, 1906, the second of three children in his Buffalo, N.Y., family, he was educated in the city's Catholic grade schools and a local high school. He left school at age 16 to work in sales at Bethlehem Steel. Father O'Connell later served as a corporal in the New York State National Guard until 1928. In 1929 he entered Epiphany Apostolic College, a Josephite college seminary in Newburgh, N.Y. In 1935 he began a temporary membership in the Josephites and entered St. Joseph Seminary in Washington. He professed as a Josephite in 1940 and was ordained in Washington in 1941. |