The Catholic New World - News Digest





		12/23/01 Update Pope: Show the love of Christ Blessing Nativity scene statues of the Baby Jesus, Pope John Paul II said those who believe in him must bring concrete signs of his love to all they meet. “Humanity today yearns most of all for joy and peace,” he said Dec. 16 before reciting the Angelus at midday in St. Peter’s Square. Hundreds of children came to the square carrying the Baby Jesus figures they would place in Nativity scenes in their homes, schools and parishes. Blessing the figures, Pope John Paul told the children he prayed “for peace and serenity for you and your families.” The joy that marks the liturgy of the third Sunday of Advent “has a precise motive: The Lord is near,” he said. Cemetery protest French and British Catholics are protesting plans for a third Paris airport on the site of a mass World War I military cemetery. “Several locations have been considered over the past decade, and we’re still not sure this is the right one,” said Genevieve Pasquet, a spokeswoman for the French bishops’ conference. “It would be the first time war graves were moved, and (the airport) isn’t a good enough reason for doing so,” she said. Transylvanian tree for Vatican Romania’s president gave Pope John Paul II an 82-foot-tall Christmas tree from the forests of Transylvania. President Ion Iliescu, accompanied by Catholic Archbishop Ioan Robu of Bucharest and Orthodox Bishop Vincentiu, vicar of the Bucharest patriarchate, formally presented the tree to the pope during a Dec. 17 audience. Even while the presentation was taking place in the apostolic palace, Vatican workers were completing the task of trimming the tree with gold and silver ornaments, multicolored lights and silver tinsel. Iliescu and the bishops returned to the Vatican in the early evening along with two Romanian choirs to witness the lighting of the tree with U.S. Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, governor of Vatican City State. Terror tops news In near-unanimity, Catholic editors chose terrorism as the top religious news story of 2001, followed by the war in Afghanistan and the controversy over research involving embryonic stem cells. Voting was closer for the top newsmaker of 2001, with President Bush eventually edging out terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and Pope John Paul II, who has won the poll most often in recent years. But bin Laden received more first-place votes than any other candidate for top newsmaker. A full wrapup of the year in review will appear in the Jan. 6 issue of The Catholic New World. CTU to develop teen program Catholic Theological Union has received a $30,000 planning grant from the Lilly Endowment to develop a program to encourage high school students to consider vocations in Christian ministry and to engage in theological inquiry. Angela Appleby Purcell, director of liturgy at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, will coordinate the program. CTU officials expect a full implementation grant to follow the planning grant. Marking Kwanzaa The National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life is urging black Catholics to celebrate Kwanzaa for Life Dec. 26-Jan.1 and to put respect for life at the center of their celebration. “Kwanzaa for Life is an opportunity for black Catholics to celebrate their rich African-American heritage (and) pray that the culture of death will be replaced by a culture of life and love for one another,” said Franciscan Father James E. Goode, president of the New York-based apostolate. Kwanzaa is a nonreligious celebration of African-American history and culture, focusing on community and family. St. Lawrence O’Toole Parish, 4101 St. Lawrence Ave., Matteson, will host a Kwanzaa celebration at 1 p.m. Dec. 30. ‘Respect’ urged Following a meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Holy Land’s Catholic leaders, the Vatican said Middle East peace hinged on respect both for Israel’s right to security and Palestinians’ right to an independent state. The Dec. 13 meeting, which took place amid a sharp escalation of Israeli-Palestinian violence, focused on ways to preserve the region’s tiny Christian presence, which officials said was shrinking largely because of the conflict. One key participant, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, said Israel held the key to defusing Palestinian violence, and warned that extremist resistance would continue as long as Israel maintained its occupation of Palestinian territories. Rights warning A joint reflection issued by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the National Council of Synagogues called the loss of civil liberties to fight terror “a Faustian bargain.” The reflection said, “A general expansion of law enforcement powers beyond those necessary to fight terrorism cannot be justified if such an expansion comes at the expense of core civil liberties principles of privacy, due process and freedom of association.” It added, “Such a Faustian bargain compromises the very idea of freedom, the idea which our adversaries have attacked, and which we are pledged to defend.” Titled “Filled With Sadness, Charged With Hope,” the reflection was approved Nov. 28 in Baltimore during a meeting of the Catholic-Jewish Consultation of the synagogue council and the bishops’ committee. —Staff and wire reports Saint Ambrose Church 1012 East 47th Street, Chicago Read more in Parish Pride... 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a column of benevolent gossip

Mary melodies — Advent and Mary are naturals, but the Beatles and Mary? In a recent issue of Catholic Digest, there they were. Reprinted from Crisis Magazine it was a kind of meditation on the Beatles’ 1969 hit, “Let It Be.” Written for Paul’s earthly mother, named Mary, author Charlotte Allen said she felt there is no lovelier hymn to Mary in modern English: “When I find myself in times of trouble / Mother Mary comes to me, / Speaking words of wisdom: Let it be.” Both Paul and George were raised Catholic, although some songs seemed to mock the faith. But author Allen hears Mary’s fiat “let it be done to me….” rising above everything in this final song before their breakup: “And when the broken hearted people / living in the world agree / There will be an answer / Let it be.”

Mission notes — Lay missionary Sherry Meyer sends her Christmas greetings early this year from Uganda. Because of anthrax concerns in the USA, her “air mail” letters now take one month for delivery. . . . Maryknoll Missionary Father Roy Assenheimer who graduated from St. Barbara’s (Brookfield) sends greetings from Japan where he has ministered for years, among addicts in alcohol and drug rehab centers.

Saying adieu to Christianity and the Arts — It wasn’t too good to be true, maybe it was just too good. Marci Whitney-Schenck created a marvelous magazine—every issue for eight miraculous years was a keeper, if it was your cup o’ tea. With a workload of 10-12 hours a day and a patient husband, Marci followed her desire to connect the arts and faith through print and photos. She put money where her dreams were and, for starters, invested a life savings of $53,000 into the venture. Through the myriad articles that filled those glossy, glamorous pages, she fostered understanding between Catholics and Protestants, liberals and conservatives. More than once she was offered grants and gifts if she would “just drop the word Christianity from the title.” Marci stayed true to herself and mustered 5,000 subscribers, got a grant from the Lilly Foundation and won awards, but it wasn’t enough. Her final issue is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And what will this unusual, gifted lady do now that she’s completed her task? “I intend to walk the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain this coming summer, and beyond that, I will wait to hear that still voice.”

Sept. 11 and beyond — The Knights of Columbus delivered some of the first checks firefighters’ next of kin received in greater New York. Using its network of insurance agents in the metro area, they delivered checks as soon as Sept. 14 to many grieving households. So far 417 families of deceased police, firefighters and EMT personnel have each received checks for $3,000 from the KofCs, regardless of religious affiliation or membership. The Knights annually distribute about $110 million a year to the needy. . . . Regina Dominican High School juniors raised $1,300 for the family of Frank Palombo, a Brooklyn firefighter who died in the Twin Towers attack and who left behind his wife Jean and their 10 children. Junior Kathryn Vela delivered the gift personally. . . . An American flag, signed by relatives and friends of some victims of the World Trade Center tragedy, is now flying at the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit camp in Afghanistan. The names of 27 police officers, victims at Ground Zero, were inscribed in black felt pen on Old Glory. The flag was given to the Marines by members of New York’s Police Department, since many of the victims were from Marine families and because Marines are the first ones into the fray. . . . St. Paul Books and Media has published a new little prayer book since Sept. 11, “A World on Its Knees, Honest Prayers in Uncertain Times.” Compiled from people of many faith traditions around the world, here’s a sample offering from “Rosemary in the USA.” It’s called “Be Not Afraid!” “Father of peace, / gather all terrified hearts into the vast stillness of your infinitely quiet heart. / We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, / who calls to us clearly across the deep waters, / ‘Be not afraid.’ Amen.”

Question — What message would you put in a rocket bound for another planet?

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