LOS ANGELES --- The series of 10 video conferences on current topics of interest and importance to parishes, schools and everyone in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles continues Oct. 27-28 with "Ministry by Megabyte in the On-Line Era."

Participating sites are the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, Los Angeles; Bishop Mora Salesian High School, Boyle Heights; Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Northridge; St. Louis de Montfort Church, Santa Maria; and St. Louise de Marillac Church, Covina.

The conferences take place Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m., and Wednesdays, 10-11:30 a.m. Pre-registration is required; online registration for all sessions is available at http://sharepoint.la-archdiocese.org/videoconfreg. For information, contact Eileen O'Brien, Archdiocesan Catholic Center operations director, at eeobrien@la-archdiocese.org.

Bishop says bankruptcy 'best path' to fairly compensate abuse victims
WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) --- The "painful decision" to have the Diocese of Wilmington file for bankruptcy is "the best path to achieve healing, reconciliation and fair compensation for all the victims of child sexual abuse by clergy of our diocese," Bishop W. Francis Malooly said Oct. 19. Speaking at a press conference the day after settlement negotiations broke down with representatives of eight victims of abuse whose trial was scheduled to begin Oct. 19, the bishop said he had hoped and prayed that the Oct. 18 Chapter 11 reorganization filing under bankruptcy law was a decision he would never have to make. "(But) we have a finite amount of resources" and it became clear from the dollar amounts being discussed in possible early settlements that the diocese "would never get through to 142 claimants in any fair or equitable way," he said. The filing halts lawsuits against the diocese. Only the corporation known as the Diocese of Wilmington Inc. is seeking reorganization, not parishes, schools, religious orders or other organizations with their own corporate identities. Most of the 131 civil cases filed against the diocese came during a two-year window (July 2007 to July 2009) opened by Delaware's 2007 Child Victims Act, which allowed individuals to file suits previously barred by the statute of limitations.

Report finds weakened state of U.S. marriage, some encouraging signs
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Although several measures of the health of marriage in the U.S. have declined sharply since 1970, there are some signs of improvement this decade, according to a new "marriage index." The index, produced by the New York-based Institute for American Values and the National Center on African-American Marriages and Parenting at Hampton University in Virginia, assesses the strength of the institution of marriage by using five indicators: the percentage of people ages 20-54 who are married; the percentage of married adults who describe themselves as "very happy" in their marriages; the percentage of intact first marriages among married people ages 20-59; the percentage of births to married parents; and the percentage of children living with their own married parents. The combined score for the five "leading marriage indicators" dropped from 76.2 percent in 1970 to 60.3 percent in 2008, according to the index. But since 2000, there have been small gains in the percentage of intact first marriages (from 59.9 percent to 61.2 percent) and the percentage of children living with married parents (60.5 percent to 61 percent).

Father Jenkins elected to second term as president of Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) --- Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, was elected to a second five-year term Oct. 16 by the university's board of trustees. The new term begins when his current term ends June 30, 2010. "The vision and leadership that Father Jenkins has demonstrated in his first four years in office have been inspiring and innovative," said Richard C. Notebaert, board chairman, in announcing the priest's re-election. Father Jenkins said with the support of the trustees he will continue to pursue the goals he cited at his presidential inauguration in 2005: "offering an unsurpassed undergraduate education, becoming even more pre-eminent as a research university, and ensuring that our Catholic character informs all that we do." Earlier this year Father Jenkins came under heavy criticism for his decision to invite President Barack Obama to deliver the commencement speech at the May graduation and to present him with an honorary law degree. The decision also ignited a national debate on the university's status as a Catholic institution. At least 70 bishops and other critics said Obama's support of legal abortion and embryonic stem-cell research made him an inappropriate choice to be commencement speaker at a Catholic university. The priest and other university officials said Notre Dame was not condoning Obama's support for legal abortion or embryonic stem-cell research.

Nuncio: Not clear if politicians heeding church appeals in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNS) --- The Vatican's ambassador to Honduras told Catholic News Service that although the two men with claims on the presidency are Catholic, it is unclear whether appeals from the church for a resolution of the political situation are having an effect. Archbishop Luigi Bianco, who was named nuncio to Honduras in January, told CNS Oct. 19 that "it's difficult to know" whether the church's public and private efforts at mediation have been persuasive with Manuel Zelaya, removed from the presidency June 28, or Roberto Micheletti, installed as interim president by the congressional leaders who ousted Zelaya. Both men are practicing Catholics who, since June, have used religious imagery and language that echoes church leaders, such as the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, in their political rhetoric. Archbishop Bianco said Pope Benedict XVI issued a statement July 12 asking for reconciliation between the parties. The pope asked both sides to overcome "partisan tendencies" and "pursue the common good." The local church in Honduras has been helping with mediation efforts, Archbishop Bianco said.

Tens of thousands protest liberalization of Spain's abortion law
MADRID, Spain (CNS) --- Tens of thousands of people rallied against legislation that would allow girls as young as 16 to have abortions without parental consent in traditionally Catholic Spain. The nation's Catholic bishops had urged people to participate in the Oct. 17 rally down a major boulevard in Madrid. In late September, the government formally approved the Bill on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy. Among other actions, the legislation would make abortion available on demand in Spain up to 14 weeks into a pregnancy as long as, at least three days before the procedure, the woman receives information about her rights and about the help she can expect to receive as a mother if she continues her pregnancy. The measure still must be considered by the Spanish parliament. Abortion is currently allowed in Spain for the first 22 weeks of pregnancy, but only in cases of rape, genetic defect or threats to a woman's health.