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May 2012

May 24

Dublin's city center 'Camino' takes pilgrims to seven historic churches

May 24, 2012

DUBLIN - A new city center "Camino," or pilgrim walk, has been launched in Dublin as part of the celebrations surrounding the International Eucharistic Congress set for June 10-17. The walk, involving prayerful visits to seven of Dublin's most historic Catholic and Anglican churches, is partly inspired by the famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain and partly inspired by the traditional Dublin devotion of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday.

Toronto's new Lazarus House gives hope to schizophrenic women

May 24, 2012

TORONTO - The mentally ill occupy the streets of Toronto. They sleep there. They beg. They buy drugs. They rave, cry out in pain and frighten people. They pass through drop-ins, shelters, jails and the emergency wards but somehow almost always wind up back on the same little patch of urban territory. Seeds of Hope Foundation executive director Kimberly Curry thought there must be something we can do for homeless, schizophrenic women. Sr. Susan Moran, co-founder of Out of the Cold program almost 25 years ago, had the same thought. She never thought giving people a mattress in a church basement one night a week fulfilled our Christian duty.

Vatican publishes rules for verifying Marian apparitions

May 24, 2012

VATICAN CITY - To help bishops determine the credibility of alleged Marian apparitions, the Vatican has translated and published procedural rules from 1978 that had previously been available only in Latin. The "Norms regarding the manner of proceedings in the discernment of presumed apparitions or revelations" were approved by Pope Paul VI in 1978 and distributed to the world's bishops, but never officially published or translated into modern languages.

Most abuse allegations against Dublin priests were from 1980s

May 24, 2012

DUBLIN - A new analysis of allegations of abuse made against 98 priests over a 70-year period shows that the alleged abuse peaked in the 1980s. Fresh data released by the Dublin Archdiocese May 24 showed that 34 percent of complainants alleged their abuse happened in the 1980s. Just 1 percent of claims relate to alleged abuse in the period from 2000 to 2010.

Washington's Cardinal Wuerl urges young adults to stand up for religious freedom

May 24, 2012

WASHINGTON - Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd of young adults, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl encouraged them to pray and stand up for religious freedom. Such freedom is being threatened, he said, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' mandate that would force Catholic institutions to provide employee health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, all of which are morally opposed by the Catholic Church.

May 25

Vatican police arrest one source of "Vatileaks" documents

May 25, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican police have arrested an individual in possession of private Vatican documents in connection to the so-called "VatiLeaks" scandal that began in January. "This person now is being questioned by the Vatican magistrates for further information," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, who declined to name the person. He told reporters May 25 that the Vatican gendarmes "identified a person illicitly in possession of private documents." The committee of three cardinals Pope Benedict XVI appointed in April to look into the leaks had asked the gendarmes to investigate.

Catholic Movie Reviews - Men in Black 3, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

May 25, 2012

The Men in Black franchise is back after ten years, can it topple The Avengers from the top of the box office? Elsewhere we also have a review of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the new film about seven elderly Brits who travel to India.

Catholics can gain indulgence by praying for families, going to Milan

May 25, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Catholics who dedicate themselves to special prayers and efforts to promote the holiness of Christian families can receive special indulgences during the World Meeting of Families May 30-June 2 in Milan. Pope Benedict XVI authorized the indulgences for those who, "truly repentant and motivated by charity, dedicate themselves to the sanctification of the family," said a decree published May 25 by Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, which deals with indulgences.

Egypt's Christians support candidates who would check Islamists' power

May 25, 2012

CAIRO - Egyptian Christians voting in their nation's historic presidential election were throwing much of their support behind candidates who aimed to check the power of the Islamist parties. Although no official statistics on the Christian vote were reported, in the days before and during the election, many of Egypt's Christians said they would support candidates who served under ousted President Hosni Mubarak and said the ideals of the 2011 revolution might have been too ambitious.

Obama's support for gay marriage seen as unlikely to affect U.S. election

May 25, 2012

WASHINGTON - Going into the third week since President Barack Obama said he has come to support same-sex marriage as a matter of civil rights, polls show the revelation has had little effect on people's voting plans. When weighed against concerns such as the economy, very few voters are likely to make their choice for president on the basis of the candidates' positions on same-sex marriage.

St. Michael’s Choir School alumnus to perform all 32 of Beethoven’s sonatas

May 25, 2012

TORONTO - Beethoven has long been hailed as one of the most emotionally charged and technically demanding composers of all time. So The Beethoven Marathon is shaping up as quite a demanding day for Toronto-born pianist Stewart Goodyear. Goodyear will be playing all 32 of Beethoven’s sonatas. And, not just playing them — playing them all in a day and in order, no less.

Federal medical cuts for refugees more costly in long run

May 25, 2012

Agnes Raduly discovered she was diabetic after she arrived in Canada five months ago. She’s one of thousands of Roma from Hungary and the Czech Republic in Canada claiming refugee status, living on less than $1,000 a month, struggling with a new language and a vastly foreign culture. In mid-May she got a letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada telling her that her medication for diabetes won’t be covered by the federal government’s health plan starting July 1. The two pills in the morning and two in the evening are more than she can possibly afford, she said.

May 26

Toronto's youth workers seek extended aid for kids in care

May 26, 2012

TORONTO - There’s no map to guide foster kids from life in the system to life in the world. But Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and Covenant House think the Ontario government could learn from their experience leading kids through one of the most difficult passages in life. A report written by foster kids themselves — My Real Life Book based on more than 200 submissions from youth in care — is challenging Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services to do better for the province’s 8,300 crown wards. Crown wards are in the permanent care of the state in foster or group homes. Another 8,500 kids per year pass through the child welfare system in temporary care.

May 27

Pope's butler arrested in "VatiLeaks" probe

May 27, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed that Paolo Gabriele, the pope's private assistant, was arrested after private Vatican documents were found in his possession in connection to the so-called "VatiLeaks" scandal that began in January. Father Lombardi said Gabriele was arrested the evening of May 23 by Vatican police after they found the illegally obtained documents in his home, which is on Vatican territory. He was still under arrest as May 26, the day the Vatican statement was issued. The dark-haired assistant can often be seen with the pope sitting in the front seat of the popemobile, next to the driver during papal general audiences on Wednesdays.

Business acumen: How one Swiss Guard found inspiration in late pope

May 27, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Some might find the Vatican an unlikely teacher of business management, especially these days, given the ouster of the Vatican Bank's president for negligence and a leaked document scandal alleging corruption and incompetence in the Holy See. But according to one former Swiss Guard, the years he spent protecting Blessed John Paul II yielded life-changing lessons for a career in business.

May 28

Vatican bank board fires president, citing neglect of duties

May 28, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, president of the Vatican bank, was fired May 24 by the bank's board of supervisors, who censured him for neglecting his duties amid worsening management problems. The board of the bank, formally known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, issued an unusually blunt statement through the Vatican Press Office, noting that members had repeatedly expressed concern to Gotti Tedeschi about the bank's "governance," but that the "situation has deteriorated further."

Catholic spokesman in Greece: Orthodox leader intolerant, fanatical

May 28, 2012

OXFORD, England - Greece's Catholic Church accused a leader of the Orthodox Church of "intolerance and fanaticism" after he sued a Catholic archbishop for illegal proselytism. "I hope the court rejects his petition, which has no legal or juridical basis," said Nikolaos Gasparakis, spokesman for the Greek bishops' conference. "It's a pity he doesn't say more about the plight of citizens during our grave economic crisis, rather than just attacking Catholics."

Toronto diaconate grows by 14 after St. Michael's Cathedral ordinations

May 28, 2012

TORONTO - Ordaining deacons is just like Christmas. It's all about the word made flesh. "Deacons are ordained to assist the Apostles proclaim the word and make that word a reality," Bishop Vincent Nguyen told 14 men he ordained to the second order of deacons on Saturday, May 26 at St. Michael's Cathedral.

Commission lists Egypt among countries with religious freedom problems

May 28, 2012

WASHINGTON - As Egyptians began voting to replace ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Christian minorities were anxious to see if the next government would end restrictions on religious freedom and attacks on religious minorities that had been on the rise the past couple of years. Egypt was one of 16 countries that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom singled out for particular concern in its 2012 annual report, released in March. Egypt made the list for the second year in a row. "Over the past year, the Egyptian transitional government continued to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief," the report said. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TROUBLE SPOTS The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report lists governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom, according to the latest report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. [images/stories/_larger2011/Religious-Freedom.jpg]

May 29

GSA reversal puts church and government on collision course

May 29, 2012

The Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty has pulled a dramatic about-face by breaking a pledge not to force Catholic schools to use the term gay-straight alliance for anti-bullying clubs. Instead, Education Minister Laurel Broten has announced an amendment to Bill 13 to make it mandatory that Catholic students be allowed to name their clubs gay-straight alliances if that is their wish. "Under our amendments (to Bill 13), no school board or principal can refuse to allow students to use the name "gay-straight alliance" to describe their clubs," Broten said in a letter released to Liberal supporters on May 25.