VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- The stability of stock markets and economies around the world relies heavily on the public's trust, something that was wavering after U.S. lawmakers failed Sept. 29 to approve a plan to bail out failing financial companies. Leonardo Becchetti, a professor of economic policy at Rome's Tor Vergata University, told Vatican Radio Sept. 30, "When trust --- a completely psychological element --- is in crisis, there is the risk of panic. Therefore, it is important to resolve this crisis in a clear and decisive manner and to do so rapidly, something which today's news seems to indicate is not happening," Becchetti said. After the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a proposed $700 billion bailout for financial institutions Sept. 29, Wall Street stocks plunged; the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 778 points. Worldwide markets also saw an initial drop. Becchetti's conviction that the U.S. Congress must act and must act quickly to head off panic in Europe echoed a statement by the European Commission, which runs the European Union's day-to-day affairs.

Catholics say impact of 'Faithful Citizenship'
goes beyond Nov. 4
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Across the country --- in group discussions, adult education programs, diocesan conferences, DVD presentations and Sunday Mass homilies --- U.S. Catholics are taking a close look at the bishops' 2007 document intended to help Catholic voters form their consciences on a variety of issues. Even though there is a push to review the document, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility," during the election season, many Catholics do not plan to put it aside after Nov. 4. "Voting isn't the end of being a faithful citizen. It's really about continuing to advocate for our visions and values," said Barbara Budde, director of the parish social ministry office of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Austin, Texas. "As a matter of fact, we're starting to turn our attention toward after the elections," she told Catholic News Service Sept. 26, noting that Catholic leaders are making sure people are knowledgeable about issues that might come up in the Texas Legislature and in Congress. "Faithful Citizenship" is on the Web at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.

Some Knights disagree with Anderson, start Web site supporting Obama
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Upset with a letter critical of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. for his views on abortion, some Knights of Columbus are preparing to introduce their own Web site backing Sen. Barack Obama for president. Led by Rick Gebhard, a member of Knights of Columbus Council 853 at Guardian Angels Parish in Manistee, Mich., the group planned to unveil its Web site, www.knightsforobama.com, by Oct. 3. A middle-school teacher in Manistee Area Public Schools, Gebhard said he decided to publicly demonstrate his support for the Democratic ticket after reading a letter from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson that invited Biden to meet with him and challenged the Catholic senator from Delaware to bring his personal views opposing abortion to the public policy arena by overturning legalized abortion. Gebhard, a member of Boston-based Catholic Democrats, said he contacted the organization to discuss how he could respond to Anderson's letter and learned that several other Knights shared his disagreement with Anderson. Within days of the letter's publication, Gebhard decided to pursue the Web-site option. "As that letter ended, it said Mr. Anderson was speaking for all Knights," Gebhard said. "He wasn't speaking for me."

U.S. archbishop at Vatican says Democrats becoming 'party of death'
ROME (CNS) --- The Democratic Party in the United States "risks transforming itself definitively into a 'party of death,'" said U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Vatican's highest court. An interview with the former archbishop of St. Louis was published in the Sept. 27 edition of Avvenire, a daily Catholic newspaper sponsored by the Italian bishops' conference. The newspaper asked the archbishop, the new head of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, if he knew that the August Democratic National Convention in Denver featured a guest appearance by Sheryl Crow, a musician whose performance at a 2007 benefit for a Catholic children's hospital the archbishop had opposed because of her support for abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. "That does not surprise me much," the archbishop said. "At this point the Democratic Party risks transforming itself definitely into a 'party of death' because of its choices on bioethical questions as Ramesh Ponnuru wrote in his book, 'The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts and the Disregard for Human Life.'"

Vatican official: Death penalty support denies basic Christian belief
ROME (CNS) --- Support for the death penalty is a denial of the basic Christian belief that God can turn any person from a life of sin, a Vatican official told a group of justice ministers, judges and lawmakers examining positions on capital punishment. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, spoke Sept. 29 at the conference "No Justice Without Life," which gathered representatives from 16 countries in Rome for a daylong meeting. The conference, sponsored by the Sant'Egidio Community, included government officials from Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Kenya, Benin, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Mexico, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Archbishop Marchetto said the United Nations' 2007 resolution urging a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was the "first necessary step" to abolishing capital punishment completely.

Catholic Charities looks to improve affordable housing options
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Catholic Charities USA has called for a nationwide effort to develop affordable housing options for low- and moderate-income people as they face mounting pressure to keep a roof over their heads. Focusing on the housing crisis gripping the nation, the agency is seeking a broad plan that would see partnerships develop between local, state and federal governments, nonprofit housing groups, developers, philanthropic leaders and faith-based organizations including diocesan Catholic Charities agencies. "The lack of affordable housing is one of the most pressing needs of the country," Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA president, said in introducing an afternoon-long program Sept. 26 at the agency's annual gathering in New Orleans and to a nationwide audience watching on the Internet. Father Snyder said the needs span all regions of the country and all types of communities, including rural, suburban and urban.

People must live morally, ethically, to save environment, says pope
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) --- The only way to put an end to environmental degradation is for people to live more simply and ethically, said Pope Benedict XVI. All of creation represents "an enormous gift from God to humanity" so people have a responsibility to "protect this treasure" and dedicate themselves "against an indiscriminate use" of the earth's resources, he said. The pope made his comments during a Sept. 27 audience with members of the Italian Tourist Youth Center and the Belgium-based International Bureau of Social Tourism. The audience also marked World Tourism Day which is sponsored by the U.N. World Tourism Organization. It was dedicated this year to the theme "Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change." The pope said, "Environmental degradation can only be stopped by spreading an appropriate culture of behavior that includes more sober lifestyles."