Up to 22 U.S. bishops could retire for age reasons in 2008
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- With the Jan. 24 retirement of 77-year-old Bishop John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo., up to 22 U.S. bishops (none from California) could retire because of age this year. There are 14 active U.S. bishops, including four cardinals, who have already turned 75. Seven more will celebrate their 75th birthday in 2008. At age 75 bishops are requested to submit their resignation to the pope. Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit turned 75 March 18, 2005. Cardinal Bernard F. Law, archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome and a cardinal since 1985, turned 75 Nov. 4, 2006. Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York, whose 75th birthday was April 2, 2007, also celebrated 50 years as a priest last year. Cardinal F. James Stafford, a Baltimore native who marked his 75th birthday July 26, 2007, has been the Vatican's major penitentiary since 2003. Pope John Paul II often asked cardinals to stay on the job after they reached the age of 75. Pope Benedict XVI has given no indication that he will change that practice. Even when a cardinal retires in his 70s, he remains an active member of the College of Cardinals, eligible to enter a conclave and vote for a new pope, until age 80.
Bush praised for stand on cloning, 'ethical' stem-cell research
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- U.S. pro-life leaders praised President George W. Bush's support for a ban on human cloning and for increased funding for "ethical medical research" on stem cells that does not involve destroying human embryos. Bush commented on both in addressing "matters of science and life" in his seventh and final State of the Union address Jan. 28. "We certainly welcome the president's emphasis on increased funding for ethical stem-cell research, and we agree that passage of a ban on human cloning is long overdue," Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the U.S. bishops' Office of Pro-Life Activities, told Catholic News Service Jan. 29. An official with the National Right to Life Committee in a Jan. 28 statement also praised Bush's stand on cloning and his "continued commitment" to funding research that does not destroy life. On the issue of stem-cell research, Bush said, "We must trust in the innovative spirit of medical researchers and empower them to discover new treatments while respecting moral boundaries."
Pope offers condolences to Greek Orthodox mourning leader's death
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI offered his condolences to the Orthodox Church of Greece on the death of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens, who "opened a new era of cordial cooperation" between Catholics and Orthodox. Archbishop Christodoulos, the 69-year-old primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, died Jan. 28 in Athens after a long struggle with intestinal and liver cancer. In a telegram to Orthodox Metropolitan Seraphim of Karystia and Skyros, Pope Benedict called Archbishop Christodoulos a "distinguished pastor" and praised him particularly for welcoming Pope John Paul II to Greece in 2001, a visit that was opposed by many Orthodox bishops and priests. Welcoming Pope John Paul and then traveling to the Vatican in 2006, Archbishop Christodoulos "opened a new era of cordial cooperation between us, leading to increased contacts and improved friendship in the search for closer communion in the context of the growing unity of Europe," Pope Benedict wrote.
Man held for Mexican cardinal's killing, but church claims cover-up
MEXICO CITY (CNS) --- Mexican soldiers detained an alleged hired killer for the 1993 slaying of Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, but church officials said the arrest is part of a long-standing government cover-up. Alfredo Araujo Avila, known as "Popeye," was seized at a house in Tijuana Jan. 26 and taken to a high-security prison near Mexico City Jan. 28. Araujo is the 13th person to be arrested in connection with the killing, in which Cardinal Posadas was ambushed and riddled with bullets while he was sitting in his car at the airport in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. Gen. German Redondo, commander of military operations in Tijuana, said Araujo has worked as a triggerman for the Arellano Felix drug trafficking cartel for more than two decades, and there has been a warrant out for his arrest for the Cardinal Posadas slaying since 1998. Araujo has links to Southern California gangs and is also wanted in the United States on various charges, Redondo said. However, church officials in Mexico City and Guadalajara said that the government's case is full of holes.
Cardinal formally opens sainthood cause for Paulist Fathers' founder
NEW YORK (CNS) --- Paulist Father Isaac Thomas Hecker was "a real-life saint like you and me," Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York said Jan. 27, describing the founder of the Paulist Fathers. "He was a person who suffered, who made his way through life bearing crosses and who taught that sanctity can be captured in many different ways," the cardinal added. He made the comments during a Mass that marked the opening of the cause for Father Hecker's canonization and the 150th anniversary of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, the parish he established on Columbus Avenue in New York. More than 1,000 people attended the bilingual Mass, concelebrated by several priests. Before the processional, Cardinal Egan blessed the tomb of Father Hecker, which is inside the church in the northeast corner. In his homily, Cardinal Egan traced the "troubles and tribulations" that led Father Hecker to found the Paulists as a distinctly "American approach to announcing the Gospel."
Mob brutally kills priest amid continuing violence in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) --- A mob brutally killed a priest of the Diocese of Nakuru in Kenya's Rift Valley amid continuing post-election violence which has pitted rival ethnic gangs against each other. Father Michael Kamau, 42, was killed on a Rift Valley road Jan. 26 because the mob reportedly was avenging a death in their community. As the violence continued Jan. 28, the personnel from the Diocese of Nakuru worked to evacuate church workers trapped in the violence, reported the Catholic Information Service for Africa, a missionary news agency in Africa. Father John Mbaraka, a local priest, told Catholic News Service that Father Kamau was a member of the Kikuyu ethnic community and that his attackers were most likely of the Kalenjin ethnic community. Father Mbaraka said Father Kamau knew his attackers because he used to pay their children's school fees when he was a parish priest in the Diocese of Eldoret. "It is sad that religious people are killed. We are appealing for Kibaki and Raila to address the impending problems in the country," said Father Mbaraka, referring to Kenya President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Odinga Raila.
Pope says science can't help people discover their true identity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- While the sciences may help people live better in many ways, there is no way they can ever help people discover who they really are, Pope Benedict XVI said. "No science can say who man is, where he came from or where he is going," the pope said Jan. 28 in a speech to participants in a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences. The academies were discussing changing notions of human identity, a subject the pope said is inextricably tied to the question of human dignity "from the embryonic stage to natural death." Human identity cannot be defined simply by looking at a person, studying his physical and intellectual abilities or by summarizing his experiences, the pope said. The human person, he said, is a mystery "marked by otherness: a being created by God, a being in the image of God, a being that is loved and was made to love." The ability to distinguish right from wrong and the freedom to act on those decisions makes the human person different from any other being, the pope said. |