Vatican official asks Cuban leaders for 'gestures of reconciliation'
HAVANA (CNS) --- The Vatican's secretary of state said he had asked Cuban leaders for "gestures of reconciliation" and confirmed he would be the first foreign official to be received by the island-nation's new president, Raul Castro. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who arrived Feb. 20 for an official and pastoral visit, met Feb. 25 with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. At a press conference after that meeting, he said he hoped his encounter with Castro would be one of "clarity, sincerity and sharing of ideas." Raul Castro was chosen Feb. 24 to lead the country after his brother, Fidel Castro, resigned. He also called the U.S. embargo against Cuba "ethically unacceptable" and said the Vatican is trying "to push the United States to eliminate it." "It is a violation of the independence of the people," the cardinal said. "The Vatican confirms this position." The cardinal also said he personally had asked "the United States government to facilitate the reunification of families" with members in Cuba and in the United States. "It is a humanitarian instrument. We will do everything possible in this direction."
Catholic leaders hope South Korean president will serve poor
SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) --- Catholic leaders in South Korea say they hope newly installed President Lee Myung-bak will serve poor and marginalized people as well as work for national unity. Lee was sworn in for a five-year term as the 17th president of South Korea Feb. 25. Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul told the Asian church news agency UCA News Feb. 22, "Most of all I hope the president will try to unify and integrate all the people for the country's development. I wish especially that the new government will care for the poor and alienated people, respect the value of life and human rights, and serve the people in humility," he added. The cardinal also said he hoped Lee would be remembered as a president who served and gave hope to the people. Lee was born in 1941 in Osaka, Japan, and came with his family to Korea after World War II. In 1977, he became chief executive of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Lee was a national legislator, 1992-1998, then mayor of Seoul, 2002-2006. He won the presidential election Dec. 19 with 48.7 percent of the vote.
Philippine bishops to issue statement on political crisis, corruption
MANILA, Philippines (CNS) --- Fifty-five Catholic bishops in the Philippines agreed to issue a statement on the crisis in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government amid allegations of corruption in a national broadband deal. Bishop Deogracias Iniguez of Kalookan, chairman of the public affairs committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, told reporters the conference president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, invited interested bishops to a special meeting Feb. 26 in Manila. The focus of their discussion was what is happening in the country in connection with the alleged overpricing of the broadband contract to pay off commissions, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Arroyo's husband has been implicated in the deal. Bishop Iniguez, who had celebrated Mass Feb. 25 to mark the anniversary of the 1986 "people power" uprising that deposed President Ferdinand Marcos, said the bishops' meeting was "extraordinary" because bishops meet in plenary session only twice a year.
Catholic leaders denounce anti-Christian violence in India
NEW DELHI (CNS) --- Catholic leaders denounced anti-Christian violence after suspected Hindu extremists damaged Massgoers' vehicles in the national capital and stoned a Protestant church in central India. About 20 people shouted anti-Christian slogans and attacked cars parked outside St. Sebastian Church in New Delhi during a Syro-Malabar Catholic liturgy Feb. 24. Capuchin Father Augustine Edakkalathur, parish priest, said the attackers belonged to the Hindu extremist group Bajrang Dal. They shouted slogans in Hindi telling Christians and Muslims to leave the country, the priest told the Asian church news agency UCA News Feb. 25. Divine Word Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesman for the Delhi Archdiocese, said this attack and another attack on a church in September show that "fundamentalists are getting bolder and increasing the extension of their terror." The church is "very concerned" about the attacks, especially when they happen "right under the nose" of the federal government, he said Feb. 25.
Society should support families caring for terminally ill, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Society and labor laws should give concrete support to family members so they can attend to terminally ill loved ones, Pope Benedict XVI said. While guarantees must be made for all people to receive necessary medical care, special provisions also must be put into place for the patient's family members, he said. The pope made his comments during a Feb. 25 audience with more than 300 participants in a Vatican-sponsored congress on the pastoral needs of and ethical obligations toward the terminally ill. Titled "Close By the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects," the Feb. 25-26 congress brought together caregivers, medical specialists and scholars in the fields of theology, law and bioethics. The international congress was organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life and was held to coincide with the Lourdes jubilee year, marking the 150th anniversary of Mary's appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France.
Pope appeals for aid to help victims of flooding in Ecuador
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI appealed for international assistance to Ecuador, where flooding has left 16 dead and forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes. The coastal flooding came as an eruption of the Tungurahua volcano forced residents of two interior Ecuadorean villages to evacuate, officials said. The pope, speaking at his noon blessing Feb. 24, offered prayers for people affected by both calamities. Ecuadorean government officials said the flooding had affected some 280,000 people and caused at least $200 million in damage to the nation's economy. Nearly 300,000 acres of crops have been destroyed, leading officials to warn of possible food shortages. About 20,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.
At White House Bush, pope to discuss Middle East, human rights
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- When President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI meet in April in Washington, they will continue discussions begun during Bush's 2007 visit to the Vatican on the two leaders' "common commitment to the importance of faith and reason in reaching shared goals," according to the White House. A Feb. 15 statement from the press secretary's office said that "these goals include advancing peace throughout the Middle East and other troubled regions, promoting interfaith understanding and strengthening human rights and freedom, especially religious liberty, around the world." The pope is expected to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington April 15 in the late afternoon. He will be greeted by Bush and the first lady, as well as by local church dignitaries, and both the pope and the president are expected to make brief remarks. On April 16 Bush will welcome the pope on the south lawn of the White House at 10:30 a.m., then the two leaders will go inside for private talks.
Media's watching evangelical voters, but Catholic votes still key
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- All the punditry about religion in this year's presidential election seems to be about evangelical Republicans. In this year's lively primary election season, there has been little attention to Catholics as a voting bloc --- at least not in the mainstream news media. There are, however, some trends apparent in how Catholics are voting. According to exit polling, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has been getting a majority of the votes of Catholics in nearly every Democratic primary, no matter who won. Only in Louisiana and Georgia did Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois get more votes from Catholics than Clinton did. In his home state of Illinois, which he won with 65 percent of the vote, Obama took only 48 percent of the votes of Catholics, to Clinton's 50 percent. Even in states such as Maryland, where Obama took 60 percent of the vote, Clinton was supported by a majority of Catholic Democrats. In Wisconsin, according to a CNN Democratic exit poll, Clinton and Obama just about split the overall Catholic vote, 50 percent and 48 percent, respectively. |