Updates

Pro-lifers push partial-birth ban
A spokeswoman for the U.S. bishops urged the Senate to follow the House in approving a bill to ban partial-birth abortions. The House approved the ban in a 274-151 vote July 24.

“Americans are appalled by partial-birth abortion, which they recognize as a cruel and barbaric procedure with no place in our society,” said a statement issued later that day by Cathleen Cleaver, director of planning and information for the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities.

She applauded the House vote and urged the Senate leadership to allow a vote on its version of the bill. Cleaver said the House bill addresses concerns raised by the Supreme Court in 2000 in overturning Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abortion, which is typically used late in pregnancy.



Rice Bowl grants to 45 pantries
Forty-five Chicago and suburban food pantries and other programs will receive a total of $42,675 in Operation Rice Bowl grants, distributed by the archdiocesan Office for Peace and Justice. Grants range from $300 to $2,000.

Operation Rice Bowl is the Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services, offering parishes, schools and families an opportunity to fast, pray and give alms while learning about people in developing countries. Seventy-five percent of the money raised helps support CRS development projects overseas and 25 percent stays in the dioceses where it is raised.



News:

National panel holds first meeting on abuse
Chicagoans among those on National Review Board
As the U.S. church’s newly formed National Review Board on clergy sexual abuse prepared to start its first meeting July 30, Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating said the board “will not abide delay, obfuscation, drift” in enforcing the bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

“Transparency is transparency. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance,” Keating, chairman of the new board, told the staff of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at a half-hour introductory session before the board began its business.



Cardinal challenges culture that ignores ‘affordable’ housing
“Economic segregation is about the only kind of segregation that remains acceptable today,” but making affordable housing a reality in most Chicago neighborhoods will be easier said than done, Cardinal George said at a mid-July initiative aimed at creating more “affordable” housing.

The cardinal met July 19 with nearly 100 representatives of the 10 member organizations of the Balanced Development Coalition, which has been seeking a city ordinance to mandate developers to make 30 percent of all new or rehabbed housing units affordable.



In Toronto, pope urges youths to follow Christ, transform world
Capping a week of prayer and celebration by more than 500,000 Catholic youths, Pope John Paul II urged the church’s younger generations to follow Christ and transform a world torn by hatred and terrorism.

He also asked them to keep loving the church and its ministers, despite the harm done to the young by a small minority of priests.

The pope’s words and his presence highlighted World Youth Day ceremonies July 23-28 in Toronto, where an army of young people in T-shirts and backpacks spent the week praying, listening to homilies and making friends among their peers from more than 170 countries.



Swapping souvenirs: Pilgrims take home more than soggy clothes
A glance at the backpacks of many World Youth Day pilgrims revealed what many of them were taking home with them besides sunburns, blisters and soggy clothes.

For many, the red and beige backpacks given to all World Youth Day delegates were either covered with signatures from other pilgrims from around the world or decorated with buttons obtained in the thousands of trades made during the week.

Some of the collections were inside the backpacks and included everything from e-mail addresses, key rings, magnets, bracelets, medals and rosaries to bandannas and shirts.



Guatemala celebrates
Pope appeals for appeals for justice for region’s poor
Appealing for justice and dignity on behalf of Latin America’s poor, Pope John Paul II arrived in Guatemala to canonize a 17th-century missionary who ministered to the country’s downtrodden and destitute.

After the cemonies in this Central American nation, the pope was scheduled to head to Mexico City July 31 to canonize Blessed Juan Diego, the indigenous man who saw the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531. The next day, he was to beatify two lay missionaries martyred in 1700. (Because the papal festivities in Mexico took place after this issue of The Catholic New World went to press, full coverage will appear in the next issue, Aug. 18.)



Church efforts facing HIV/AIDS pandemic
The HIV/AIDS patients, ministers and caregivers who assembled at Loyola University Chicago July 18-23 were invited to “Come Away and Rest Awhile,” taking time to catch their breath at the 15th National Catholic HIV/AIDS Ministry Conference.

Father Robert J. Vitillo, president of the National Catholic AIDS Network board of directors, said they’d better take a deep breath, because there is plenty of work to be done as the HIV/AIDS pandemic grows.



Study finds ‘generation gap’ on HIV/AIDS
A study of AIDS education within the Catholic Church found what HIV/AIDS advocates characterize as a “generation gap” between young people and their teachers and youth ministers.

Young people want more practical information about how to avoid becoming infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and guidance on making decisions about sexual activity. Educators focus on a more theoretical approach, wanting to talk about the Catholic faith tradition and what it says about the impact of AIDS on individuals and on human society, said Father Robert J. Vitillo, president of the board of directors of the National Catholic AIDS Network.

Our Lady of the New Millennium
The Our Lady of the New Millennium statue will be at the following locations:
August 4-18: Casa Italia, Stone Park, IL.
Aug. 18-Sept. 1: St. Eulalia, 1851 S. 9th Ave., Maywood, (708) 343-6120.
Sept. 1-15: St. Frances of Rome, 1428 S. 59th Ct., Cicero, (708) 652-2140.

Movies at a Glance
Capsule reviews of movies from the U.S. Catholic Conference's Office for Film and Broadcasting, judged according to artistic merit and moral suitability. Go to reviews

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