Catholic Media Report

Fighting Hunger, Beefing Up Unions Part of Pope's New Social Encyclical

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:04:57 -0500

In his long-awaited new encyclical on the economy, Pope Benedict XVI appears set to call for new global “synergies” among labor unions in order to resist cuts in social safety nets, stronger efforts to combat world hunger, and greater protections for the “ecological health of the planet.”

Beyond those policy matters, the pontiff also will apparently strike three vintage personal themes:

• Social justice depends upon individual conversion, and the roots of the present crisis are in an “ethical deficit” within economic structures, especially greed;

ADL Testifies for Hate Crimes Bill

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:01:16 -0500

The Anti-Defamation League testified Thursday at the Senate Judiciary Committee in support pf hate-crimes legislation.

ADL Washington counsel Michael Lieberman spoke in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would permit greater federal involvement in investigating hate crimes and expand the federal definition of such crimes to include those motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

Religious and Nonprofit Leaders Bemoan Budget Cuts

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:55:19 -0500

Bishop Lee Piché, in his first official public act after his June 29 ordination as a bishop, joined religious leaders and about 200 people on the Capitol steps June 30 to lament Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget cutting plan, termed “unallotment.”

The group, including parishioners from the Minneapolis parishes of St. Stephen and St. Joan of Arc and representatives from the Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice, walked in a funeral-like procession from Christ Lutheran Church in St. Paul to the Capitol to deliver notes to the governor expressing its concern.

Caritas Ends Joint Venture

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:47:50 -0500

U.S. Nuns Facing Vatican Scrutiny

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:42:34 -0500

The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition.Nuns were the often-unsung workers who helped build the Roman Catholic Church in this country, planting schools and hospitals and keeping parishes humming. But for the last three decades, their numbers have been declining — to 60,000 today from 180,000 in 1965.

Public Speaks on California Lethal Injection Proposal

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:38:51 -0500

Dozens of speakers lined up to speak Tuesday on California's new proposed rules for executing condemned inmates, but the public hearing quickly morphed into a debate over the morality and practicality of capital punishment.

George Husaruk and his wife drove two-and-a-half hours from their home near Willits to argue that California can no longer afford the death penalty.

Priest Goes Into Hiding After Honduran Soldiers Attack Protesters

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:53:37 -0500

An activist priest in Honduras went into hiding after soldiers attacked a group of protesters who had blocked a rural highway in support of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Father Jose Andres Tamayo, the parish priest in Salama, told Catholic News Service by telephone July 1 that he and hundreds of other residents of the rural province of Olancho were on their way to Tegucigalpa June 29 to join a pro-Zelaya march when soldiers shot out tires on their seven rented buses near the town of Los Limones, about 100 miles from the nation's capital.

Utah Faith Leaders Urge Repeal of Senate Immigration Bill

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:41:52 -0500

Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Protestant leaders gathered Tuesday evening in a Lutheran Church to pray, preach, plead and lament the passage of an immigration bill. They even called for it to be repealed.Their words cannot stop Senate Bill 81 from taking effect today, but they hoped to provide comfort and express solidarity with Utah's undocumented immigrants.

Keeping Catholic Priorities on the Table

mrichards — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:34:04 -0500

As they work with lawmakers this summer to help craft health care reform legislation, Catholic health ministry leaders say they will push for measures that will sustain principles of human dignity and justice, and extend coverage to the nation’s poor and vulnerable.

G8 Country Bishops Urge Protection of Poor

mrichards — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:46:20 -0500

In a letter to leaders participating in the G8 Summit in Italy, July 8-10, the presidents of the Catholic bishops’ conferences of the G8 nations urged Summit leaders to “take concerted actions to protect poor persons and assist developing countries.”

The bishops observed that poor persons and nations have contributed the least to creating the economic crisis and to the human cause of global climate change, but in both cases are likely to suffer tragic consequences.