Update

Vatican to open wartime records

The Vatican has set Feb. 15 as the date it will open to scholars its archival records relating to Vatican-German relations during World War II.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Dec. 28 the Vatican would give scholars access to files in the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith relating to Germany’s National Socialist movement and the church’s condemnation of Nazi racism.

The Vatican first announced last February it would open the archival files early in 2003, a move it described as an “exceptional gesture” by Pope John Paul II to help put an end to “unjust and thankless speculation” about the alleged failure of Pope Pius XII and other church leaders to do enough to resist the Nazi rise to power and the Holocaust.

The documents cover the 1922-39 period in which Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, served first as nuncio to Germany and then as secretary of state. Navarro-Valls also reiterated that about four years’ worth of documents were destroyed in 1945 when the Vatican Embassy in Berlin caught fire during an Allied bombing. The entire Vatican archives from 1922-39-covering the pontificate of Pope Pius XI-are expected to be cataloged and ready for opening to scholars in 2005.

Newman Center leads pro-life trip

The John Paul II Newman Center is leading a trip to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life Jan. 21-25.

Events include the Jan. 22 pro-life march, meetings with experts and time to tour the city.

The $50 cost includes bus transportation, housing and meals. For further information, contact Father Stephen Newton at the Newman Center, (312) 355-3336, or [email protected].

News

Skeptical Vatican criticizes clone claim

The Vatican sharply criticized a report of the birth of a cloned baby, saying it was a sign of a “brutal” and unethical mentality.

A statement Dec. 28 by Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls expressed skepticism at the announcement in Florida that a healthy baby called “Eve” had been born Dec. 26 as a clone of her 31-year-old mother.

New job, new challenge

Loyola professor to lead order from Rome

When Notre Dame Sister Camilla Burns, popular Scripture professor at Loyola University Chicago, attended her religious order’s chapter meeting in Amiens, France, last summer, she had no idea what was in store for her.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, whose 2,000 members are dedicated to educating the poor worldwide, elected Burns their 18th superior general, a post she will hold for the next six years.

Pope marks Christmas with call to avoid war

Evoking the Christmas message of peace on earth, Pope John Paul II urged the world to avoid a new war in the Middle East and to quell the “spiral of blind violence” in the land of Christ’s birth.

The pope made his plea during a Christmas day blessing delivered “urbi et orbi”-to the city of Rome and to the world-and broadcast live to every continent.

Clergy sex-abuse cases move through courts

As cases involving clerical sexual abuse moved through the justice system around the country, an accusation against New York Cardinal Edward Egan could not be determined to be credible.

Several criminal cases against priests and ex-priests accused of abusing minors reached key points between Dec. 13 and 23.

U.S. Hispanics support church social teachings

A greater percentage of Hispanic Catholics agree with church teachings on divorce, abortion and homosexual activity than do non-Hispanic white Catholics, according to a national survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The survey also reported that Hispanics are assimilating rapidly into U.S. society from generation to generation, as judged by growing use of English and greater acceptance of mainstream social attitudes. Yet many Hispanics continue to hold firm to their support for stronger family ties and express concern about moral values their children are learning in the United States, it said.

Mixing cultures: Faith finds home on Wall St.

When Anthony Baldini works on a balance sheet he never forgets the big picture.

“Sometimes you wonder how is this helping,” said the 38-year-old accountant for J.P. Morgan Chase. “What is our purpose?”

High school student voices ecological concerns on NPR

Jen Schaeflein was sitting in her room last year, trying to write a commentary piece for an environmental science and ethics class at Queen of Peace High School.

As she sat and thought and looked around, she was overwhelmed by all the stuff in her room.

And that became the kernel for her class assignment-a project that was recorded and broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Living on Earth” program Nov. 30.

From the U.S. to Lithuania-with love

When Father Larry Bower told Randy Thomas to “get out and teach,” he never imagined just how seriously the Gulf War returnee would take that advice.

After they had that conversation—at a time when Thomas was wondering what to do with the rest of his life-he became principal of Aurora Catholic High School, Rockford, and later president of the White Pines Academy in Lemont.

He later founded Lemont-based Aquinas Tutoring Services which offers one-on-one coaching for K-12 students, as well as teacher training and educational consulting.

Follow the Leader

Helping others is a family tradition

Setting a good example is a great value; if you want the younger generation to follow, show them the way.

That’s a philosophy shared by Libertyville natives Mercy Sister Christian Molidor and her grandnephew James Molidor, co-owner of Chicago’s Vedanta Gallery.

Sister Christian Molidor has had a varied career. Today she is special assistant to Msgr. Robert L. Stern, Secretary General of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a position that enables her to travel to the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe. Her reports on the people and events there along with her photographs appear in CNEWA WORLD, the bimonthly magazine of the papal agency.