A federal judge in South Dakota ruled Aug. 20 that a 2005 South Dakota law requiring doctors to inform patients that abortion kills a human being is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier handed down the decision in a lawsuit filed against the state by Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Schreier said that although doctors must use the term "human being," it can be used in a "biological sense" and not an "ideological" one. The law specifies that a woman must be told that abortion "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."

In the same ruling she overturned a requirement in the law that women be informed that abortion can spur suicidal thoughts, increasing the risk of suicide. She termed such disclosures "untruthful and misleading."

MSMC offers shuttle between Union Station and Doheny Campus
LOS ANGELES --- Mount St. Mary's College announced an initiative encouraging faculty, staff, and students to use public transportation to travel to the downtown Doheny Campus. The college recently signed a contract to use a berth in the Nick Patsaouras Transit Plaza at Union Station, where college shuttles will pick up passengers bound for the campus on Chester Place. The college anticipates that shuttle riders will make their way to Union Station via Metrolink, or the Metro Red, Gold or Purple lines, among other rail routes throughout the Southern California region.

With three pickup times each morning, the shuttle service seeks to entice more employees and students to "go green" on their way to the campus, said Patricia Williams, MSMC transportation manager. A shuttle will return riders to Union Station at three afternoon times.

"There's money to be saved for the commuters that they would have spent on gas or just wear-and-tear on their cars, and this service contributes to the quality of the air in a positive way," said Williams. "In Southern California, we just need to stop this madness on the freeways. There is so much gridlock and it's just going to get worse if we don't implement new options for commuters."

Vancouver archbishop leads convocation at Thomas Aquinas College
SANTA PAULA --- Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia, presided over convocation ceremonies at Thomas Aquinas College Aug. 24 as the Santa Paula school welcomed 102 freshmen.

The day began with the first-ever opening Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated in the recently dedicated Chapel of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, followed by matriculation ceremonies in the St. Joseph Commons, with faculty and members of the college's governing board processing in academic regalia. College president Peter DeLuca and Archbishop Miller welcomed the freshmen and addressed the entire student body.

Family dinners can deter substance abuse, say Family Day officials
NEW YORK --- Advocates of Family Day, celebrated the fourth Monday in September, are urging families to make to time for frequent dinners together in order to strengthen family unity. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University launched Family Day in 2001 after its research consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. Children who have "infrequent" family dinners (less than three per week) are one and a half to two and a half times more likely to use marijuana, tobacco or alcohol than children who have "frequent" family dinners (five or more per week), CASA reported. "Dinner is the perfect time to connect with your kids on a daily basis," said a letter to parents from the organization. "Through the reflective prayers said during grace, you can help continually feed your child's mind, body and soul." To learn more about Family Day (this year, Sept. 28), visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.

Majority of Catholics have no opinion on Tridentine Mass availability
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Catholics surveyed said they have no opinion on the increased availability of the Tridentine Mass since Pope Benedict XVI made it easier for parishes to offer the traditional liturgy two years ago. Overall, 63 percent of Catholics held a neutral opinion about the availability of the Tridentine Mass, according to findings released Aug. 24 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a research center based at Georgetown University in Washington. "Such a large segment of the Catholic population has no experience of this; they tend to have no opinion," said Mark Gray, a research associate at the center. For "even some people who attended this Mass as children, the interest has faded a bit," he added. "It's not negative. They just have no opinion." Of the survey's 1,007 Catholic respondents, those who favor having the traditional Mass offered more widely outnumbered those who oppose the increased availability of the Tridentine rite by more than a 2-1 ratio, or 25 percent to 12 percent.

Catholic schools urged to prepare for potential flu outbreak
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- As Catholic schools begin their fall classes amid threats of flu outbreaks, hand sanitizers are going to be more of a staple than ever and school officials will be urged to follow large doses of common sense. At many schools, more than the usual cleaning up took place over the summer as desks and chairs were scrubbed with bleach in an effort to sterilize classrooms and rid them of possible germs associated with the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu. But despite schools' best efforts to stay germ-free, flu outbreaks are still anticipated. If students at Catholic schools are diagnosed as having the H1N1 virus, school officials are advised to follow the same protocol as public schools --- to close the school only as a last resort and instead make sure those who are ill stay home until they are no longer contagious. This advice was announced Aug. 20 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education. Marie Powell, executive director of Catholic education for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent notices during the summer to Catholic school officials urging them to be aware of government guidelines for handling the flu and advising them to make the necessary preparations.

New U.S. ambassador to Vatican sworn in at State Department ceremony
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- With a roomful of theologians, college professors and presidents, political activists, leaders of various church organizations, and family and longtime friends looking on, Catholic theologian Miguel Diaz was sworn in as ambassador to the Vatican Aug. 21. In a brief, invitation-only ceremony in the ornate Benjamin Franklin room at the State Department, Assistant Secretary of State Phil Gordon administered the standard governmental oath of office and supervised as Diaz signed an assortment of official papers. The process of stepping into the job as ambassador concludes with Diaz's formal presentation of his diplomatic credentials to the Vatican. Diaz, a professor at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict, both in Minnesota, is the first Hispanic and the first theologian to represent the U.S. at the Vatican. His predecessors have all come to the job with more extensive backgrounds in political activism or diplomacy. Diaz was active in President Barack Obama's campaign, serving on his board of Catholic advisers and as a campaign representative at times, particularly with Spanish-language news media.

Scottish priest who visited bomber in jail is glad al-Megrahi was released
LONDON (CNS) --- A Scottish priest who served at Lockerbie, Scotland, at the time an airliner was blown from the sky by terrorists has welcomed the release from jail of the only person convicted of the attack. Father Patrick Keegans said he was "delighted" by the Aug. 20 release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer. Al-Megrahi was jailed in 2002 for a minimum of 27 years for the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town. It was the worst terrorist attack in British history and killed 270 people, including 189 Americans and 11 people on the ground. But al-Megrahi was released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after physicians confirmed his prostate cancer was at an advanced stage and he had only months to live. He returned to Libya Aug. 20. The decision, authorized by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, has angered relatives of the victims and was described as a "mistake" by U.S. President Barack Obama. But Father Keegans, a priest of the Diocese of Galloway, told Catholic News Service in an Aug. 20 telephone interview that he had visited al-Megrahi in prison and now believed an "innocent man has gone home from Scotland."

Syndicated columnist remembered as a man dedicated to his faith and family
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Robert Novak, a syndicated columnist and television pundit, was not only a well-known political commentator, but a man dedicated to his family and his faith, said the priest who celebrated his funeral Mass. "Robert Novak, the man we remember today, will be remembered for his talents, his career in journalism and broadcasting. Robert Novak must also be remembered as a man who loved God, as a man who was devoted to his wife and family," Msgr. Salvatore Criscuolo, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Washington, said during the Aug. 21 funeral Mass for the journalist at the downtown church. Novak, who wrote a political column with Rowland Evans for more than 40 years and was a frequent commentator on CNN, Fox News and other channels, died Aug. 18 after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 78. Born Jewish, Novak entered the Catholic Church in 1998, when he was 67.

Moscow court gives man 14 years in prison for 2008 murder of Jesuit
MOSCOW (CNS) --- A Moscow court has sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for the 2008 murder of a Jesuit priest. The Interfax news agency reported that a jury found Mikhail Orekhov guilty of the murder of Jesuit Father Victor Betancourt, whose body was found Oct. 28. The court sentenced him Aug. 25. Interfax said the jury ruled Orekhov was not guilty of the murder of Jesuit Father Otto Messmer, also found dead at the same time. Orekhov had been charged with both murders. Fathers Messmer, 47, and Betancourt, 42, were found dead with severe head wounds in their apartment in a Jesuit-owned building in downtown Moscow, not far from where they worked at the Church of St. Louis of France. Interfax reported that investigators said Orekhov, who was intoxicated, hit Father Betancourt on the head with a dumbbell at least 11 times after the priest tried to induce him to commit a "joint sex act." Investigators said they believed Orekhov killed Father Messmer when the priest returned from Germany to the apartment; they said they believed the second murder was designed to conceal the motive for the first murder.