Copyright (c) 2008 The Georgia Bulletin http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world Catholic news happening around the world from the The Georgia Bulletin 25774 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-1/?s= SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Calling recent nationally broadcast comments by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "in serious conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church," Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco invited the Catholic lawmaker "into a conversation with me" about church teaching on abortion, the beginning of human... 25775 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-2/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Positioning himself as a Republican outsider, Sen. John McCain pledged to reform politics as usual in the nation's capital while upholding a culture of life as he began the final two months of the long presidential campaign. Accepting his party's nomination for president Sept. 4 in St.... 25776 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-3/?s= BATON ROUGE, La. (CNS) -- Catholic Charities USA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are joining in a new pilot program that aims to help hurricane victims receive federal and state assistance they need with less hassle and red tape. If people cannot return to their homes... 25777 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-4/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, La., was spared the worst of Hurricane Gustav, which roared through Louisiana Sept. 1. Most of the diocese's 39 parishes suffered some kind of damage to their properties, according to Bishop Sam G. Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux, but he said he knew that at... 25778 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-5/?s= TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CNS) -- The executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference said he is disheartened by a Sept. 3 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court that prevents voters from deciding whether the state constitution should be amended to allow public funding of faith-based and school-choice programs. In August a... 25779 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-6/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The economy will be a key factor in choosing a president this fall for Ithaca, N.Y., resident Kathryn Hughes and her husband, who are struggling financially to send two children to college and assist another daughter who is a single mother with three young children. As a... 25780 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-7/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- St. Paul was a Jew. An evangelist for Christ, yes. But always a Jew. His writings tell us so. "That's the hard thing for us (to understand)," said Jesuit Father Thomas Stegman, a biblical scholar who is associate professor of New Testament at Boston College's School of... 25781 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-8/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The quest to understand what God is saying in Scripture has been pursued for centuries. In the church's early days, Scripture was accepted largely on faith and any critical look was seen as distorting God's message. However, a more critical look at Scripture began emerging among Catholic... 25782 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/us-9/?s= ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- Catholic Republican politicians emphasized their party's pro-life platform at a Sept. 3 event held at the Hilton Garden Inn-St. Paul City Center in conjunction with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, former... 25783 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/world-1/?s= LONDON (CNS) -- The Vatican has authorized "severe cautionary and disciplinary measures" against a priest who served as spiritual director to the visionaries in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has written to Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno, whose diocese covers Medjugorje, to inform him that... 25784 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/world-2/?s= HAVANA (CNS) -- Church officials are working to deliver aid to the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, one of the areas hardest hit when Hurricane Gustav struck Cuba. Maritza Sanchez, director of Caritas Cuba, told Catholic News Service that arrangements were being made with the Cuban government to... 25785 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/people-1/?s= BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Laith Kasshana left Baghdad, Iraq, early in 2007, when his 2-year-old daughter Media was an infant. In Baghdad, Kasshana's life was threatened and his brother was shot. "I felt so afraid," he told Catholic News Service. "Even today, when I talk about Iraq, I feel full... 25786 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/people-2/?s= OTTAWA (CNS) -- Father Raymond Gravel said he will step down as a Bloc Quebecois member of Canada's House of Commons after receiving an ultimatum from the Vatican. "My bishop had received instructions from Rome that I must make a choice between the priesthood and the calling of an MP... 25787 5 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/05/people-3/?s= INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Emma Preuschl had heard the doubts and the words of caution many times in her life, and each time she found a way to deal with them: She ignored them. But this time was different for the 23-year-old Preuschl, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish... 25763 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/us-1/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Upholding its long-standing view that life begins at conception, the Republican Party decried the practice of abortion and repeated its call for a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution in its 2008 political platform. Adopted Sept. 1 at the start of the GOP's national convention in... 25764 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/us-2/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee, disclosed her teenage daughter's pregnancy, the announcement stirred a whirlwind of political commentary. For some, it also put a necessary spotlight on the real issue of teen pregnancy. For those working with pregnant teens on a daily... 25765 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/us-3/?s= SEATTLE (CNS) -- Organizations ranging from disability-rights groups to medical associations oppose Initiative 1000, the Washington state ballot question that would legalize assisted suicide. But click on the Web site of physician-assisted suicide advocates and you'll find but one party identified as the opposition: the Catholic Church. Several links on... 25766 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/us-4/?s= DENVER (CNS) -- About 1,000 people showed up at Denver's Rude Park Aug. 28 to march in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. The rally, held to coincide with the Democratic National Convention in the city, ended a mile away in Lincoln Park. The march and rally were supported by a... 25767 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/world-1/?s= ROME (CNS) -- The Pontifical North American College welcomed its largest incoming class in 40 years Aug. 28 when 61 seminarians arrived. While classes at the pontifical universities in Rome do not begin until mid-October, the new students at the seminary sponsored by the U.S. bishops arrived early for orientation,... 25768 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/world-2/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as a president turns to his economic or military advisers for expert opinions on issues in those areas, the pope has his own team of biblical scholars for research and advice about the Scriptures. In fact, more than a year before the Vatican told bishops'... 25769 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/world-3/?s= LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- Catholic bishops in Peru's jungle dioceses have thrown their support behind indigenous organizations, calling on the government to negotiate with native peoples before passing laws that affect their lives and livelihoods. In an open letter released Sept. 2, bishops from six dioceses called on the government... 25770 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/world-4/?s= MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Catholic bishops in the southern Philippines will meet to find ways to promote peace in their region after the government announced it has ended peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Bishop Romulo de la Cruz of Kidapawan told the Asian church news agency UCA... 25771 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/people-1/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The superior of the Missionaries of Charity offered prayers to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, asking for her intercession to stop the violence in India's Orissa state. Between the Aug. 26 anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth and her Sept. 5 feast day, thousands of people were... 25772 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/people-2/?s= NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- There are bad days -- and then there are incredibly bad days. Cobble enough of those together, as Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas O'Dell did in August 2005, and the sobering result was "the worst month of my life," a snapshot of death and despair that won't... 25773 4 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/04/people-3/?s= DETROIT (CNS) -- Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit said the city will survive the departure of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned Sept. 4 as part of a plea bargain to avoid trials on numerous felony counts, as well as a gubernatorial hearing that could have forced his removal... 25732 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/us-1/?s= BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) -- "It could've been worse." "At least not as bad as Katrina was." "We dodged a bullet." "Whew!" Conversation along the Mississippi Gulf Coast seemed to be a litany of cliches the day after Hurricane Gustav made landfall in south-central Louisiana Sept. 1. Located in the northeast... 25733 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/us-2/?s= SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Pro-life groups are asking California voters to approve a measure that would prohibit abortions involving underage girls until 48 hours after a parent or other family member has been notified. Proposition 4, commonly referred to as "Sarah's Law," qualified for the Nov. 4 ballot. It will... 25734 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/us-3/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A dialogue group made up of Catholics and Orthodox Jews has issued a statement defending the "special standing" of marriage between a man and a woman against efforts to classify same-sex unions as marriages. "We recognize that all persons share equally in the dignity of human nature... 25735 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/us-4/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Tom Giuliani eagerly participated in the academic year opening Mass at The Catholic University of America in Washington Aug. 28, not because it's the start of his senior year, but for how it unifies his faith and intellectual development. So, when Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl spoke... 25736 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-1/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While St. Paul had a dramatic personal experience of the risen Christ and received a mission directly from him, he still had to be baptized and become part of the church community, Pope Benedict XVI said. "There is only one proclamation of the risen Lord because... 25737 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-2/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After decades of widespread global acceptance of the cessation of all brain function -- brain death -- as true death, new questions are being raised, said an article in the Vatican newspaper. However, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the article did not reflect a... 25738 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-3/?s= NEW DELHI (CNS) -- The Catholic Church in India has petitioned the country's Supreme Court to protect Christian lives and property in Orissa state. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar told the Asian church news agency UCA News Sept. 2 that the church decided to approach the highest court "as we... 25739 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-4/?s= NOGALES, Mexico (CNS) -- It's not uncommon for pregnant women who cross the U.S.-Mexican border illegally to have a miscarriage on their journey. Sister Maria Engracia Robles, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, knows this all too well. She also knows that unaccompanied women are the most... 25740 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-5/?s= KAUNAS, Lithuania (CNS) -- A Lithuanian archbishop said freedom and Western ideas have led to a resistance to Catholic teaching and severe clergy shortages in the former Soviet republic. "Freedom has brought people many possibilities, but most aren't capable of using it responsibly, and this is also a test for... 25741 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-6/?s= KATMANDU, Nepal (CNS) -- The Catholic Church is providing food, medicine and relief materials for people affected by heavy flooding in Nepal and India. Father Silas Bogati, director of Caritas Nepal, told the Asian church news agency UCA News Sept. 2 that his agency is "doing whatever we can to... 25742 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/world-7/?s= JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Israeli archaeologists uncovered the remains of two distinct southern walls of ancient Jerusalem on Mount Zion, establishing the size of the city during Jesus' time as well as during the Byzantine period. At a Sept. 3 press conference archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority said locating the... 25743 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/people-1/?s= WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Kentucky pediatric cardiologist who lost her own young daughter to heart disease will become the 31st recipient of the Catholic Church Extension Society's Lumen Christi Award in Chicago Sept. 27. Dr. Carol Cottrill, 71, of Lexington, Ky., was selected to receive the nation's top Catholic missionary... 25744 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/people-2/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Writing in the Vatican newspaper, a biographer of Cardinal John Henry Newman criticized what he called the "homosexual lobby" for its objections to moving the cardinal's tomb ahead of his possible beatification. The article argued that Cardinal Newman, who is currently buried next to his most... 25745 3 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/03/people-3/?s= MILWAUKEE (CNS) -- Don't let their veils and name -- Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida -- deceive you. Members of the Milwaukee order aren't just brides of Christ. They're biker girls. "We're part of a gang," the sisters laughed over coffee. They belong to the Sisters of the... 25719 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/us-1/?s= NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- Though it appeared Sept. 2 that the Archdiocese of New Orleans sustained minimal damage to its buildings and operations from Hurricane Gustav, New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes feared the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux was battered the hardest of Louisiana's seven dioceses during the Labor Day-weekend storm.... 25720 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/us-2/?s= BELLEVILLE, Ill. (CNS) -- The Diocese of Belleville was ordered to pay $5 million in a sex abuse case after a jury determined that it had fraudulently concealed information and thus prevented the plaintiff from filing suit earlier. James Wisniewski, now 47, filed a civil suit against the diocese for... 25721 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/us-3/?s= GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) -- In a ceremony steeped in the traditions of the Catholic Church but with a touch of country-western music and a nod to Green Bay's football heritage, Bishop David L. Ricken became the 12th bishop of Green Bay Aug. 28 in St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. "With... 25722 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-1/?s= CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI sent a special greeting to Cuban Catholics and asked them to be missionaries of the Gospel in their society. The pope, speaking in Spanish at a noon blessing Aug. 31, noted that the Cuban bishops recently launched a three-year preparation period for... 25723 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-2/?s= ROME (CNS) -- Scholars who wrote their doctoral dissertations under the direction of then-Father Joseph Ratzinger have set up a foundation to promote the study of their professor's work. The 40 scholars put the finishing touches on the Joseph Ratzinger-Pope Benedict XVI Foundation during their annual meeting Aug. 29-Sept. 1... 25724 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-3/?s= CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said the global phenomenon of immigration represents a social emergency that must be faced with a sense of responsibility and humanity. He called on richer countries to be attentive especially to the needs of illegal immigrants, but said immigrants themselves must respect... 25725 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-4/?s= VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Poverty, particularly the growing gap between the world's rich and poor, is one of the most dramatic situations the world is facing and requires a response by Christians as well as by governments, said Cardinal Renato Martino. The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice... 25726 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-5/?s= MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Manuel Ramirez last saw his daughter Monica in December 2004, shortly before she was kidnapped in this sprawling metropolis of more than 20 million people. The family physician found out about the crime through a text message sent from her cellular phone, demanding a $25,000 ransom.... 25727 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-6/?s= HONG KONG (CNS) -- The Diocese of Xichang in China's Sichuan province is helping victims and assessing damage to church buildings after an earthquake hit less than four months after a May quake killed tens of thousands. Father John Lei Jiapei, diocesan administrator, told the Asian church news agency UCA... 25728 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/world-7/?s= NEW DELHI (CNS) -- Hindu groups demonstrated in front of Catholic institutions after schools closed in protest of anti-Christian violence in India's eastern Orissa state. More than 40,000 Christian educational institutions throughout India closed Aug. 29 in a nationwide protest against Hindu groups targeting Christians in Orissa. In turn, Hindu... 25729 2 Sep 2008 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2008/09/02/people-1/?s= ROME (CNS) -- Former Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt said it was "a dream come true" to meet Pope Benedict XVI. Her voice still breaking with emotion a few hours after meeting the pope Sept. 1, Betancourt said she was fairly certain she broke Vatican protocol "because as soon as I...