News/International

As miners are rescued, Chileans unite in prayer

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Chile MinerSANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) -- As miners were pulled one-by-one from the tunnel in the San Jose mine in Copiapo, where they'd awaited rescue since Aug. 5, Chile's churches were hosting round-the-clock vigils, special Masses appealing for the men's safety and other prayers of thanksgiving.

At a Mass that began near midnight Oct. 13, as the first miner was being brought to the surface, Santiago Auxiliary Bishop Cristian Contreras Villarroel said the lives of the 33 miners should be seen as a sign of the need all people have for redemption.

"There is no saint without a past, nor sinner without a future," he reminded the congregation in El Sagrario chapel next to Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral.

IVF opened 'wrong door' to treating infertility, says Vatican official

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BabyVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While honoring one of the inventors of in vitro fertilization with the Nobel Prize for Medicine recognizes his contribution to human reproduction, it ignores the ethical consequences of his opening "the wrong door" in the fight against infertility, said the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

British scientist Robert Edwards, a retired professor at the University of Cambridge, England, was named the Nobel winner Oct. 4 for the development of in vitro fertilization.

His work led to the birth in 1978 of Louise Brown, the world's first "test-tube baby."
Archbishops Thomas Collins and Terrence Prendergast

Collins, Prendergast begin meetings with Irish archbishops to probe abuse scandal

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Two Canadian archbishops will be among Vatican officials discussing upcoming apostolic visitations with Irish archbishops over that nation's sexual abuse scandal in the Church.

The meeting will take place Oct. 5-6 at the offices of the Congregation for Bishops and be chaired by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the former archbishop of Quebec City, said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., who along with Toronto's Archbishop Thomas Collins is among the apostolic visitors named by the Vatican.

Bishop, D&P step up pressure to pass responsible mining law

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Bishop Alvaro RamazziniTORONTO - Last year Goldcorp Inc. pulled 2.2 million tonnes of rock out of the ground at its Marlin Mine in San Miguel, Guatemala. Using a process that sucks up millions of litres of water and adds cyanide to the mix, the company separated 7,793 kilograms of gold and 117,835 kilograms of silver from the ore.

The gold sold for an average of $982 per ounce and the silver for $15.07 per ounce.

It costs Goldcorp $192 to free an ounce of gold from the rock in San Miguel, making it one of the world’s most profitable mines, ever. In Northern Ontario it costs Goldcorp $585 to mine and mill an ounce of gold at its Musselwhite mine, $447 per ounce at the Porcupine mine, and $288 per ounce in Red Lake.

Irish archbishops called to Rome to prepare Vatican probe into abuse

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Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland and Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh VATICAN CITY - Irish archbishops will travel to Rome in early October to meet with Vatican officials about the apostolic visitation of their dioceses ordered by Pope Benedict XVI in response to the priestly sexual abuse scandal, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference announced.

The four archbishops were called by the leadership of the Congregation for Bishops to help prepare for the visitation, which the Pope said would help them address the sexual abuse scandal, improve assistance to victims and perfect preventative measures.

Haitian bishops considering program to oversee church reconstruction

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Haiti ChurchWASHINGTON - Haitian bishops were expected to agree Sept. 24 to the creation of a broad-based reconstruction program involving Church partners from around the world that will guide how parishes and Catholic schools destroyed in the January earthquake are rebuilt.

They were meeting in Miami Sept. 22-26 with Catholic officials from Canada, the United States, Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guadeloupe and Mexico and the Inter-American Development Bank. The bishops were considering the proposal developed over several months primarily by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services.

Vatican bank head named in money-laundering probe

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vaticanVATICAN CITY - The president of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, has been placed under investigation by Italian magistrates in a money-laundering probe, the Italian state television RAI reported.

RAI, citing judicial sources, said the move followed the seizure Sept. 20 by Italian treasury police of 23 million euros ($30 million) that had been deposited in a Rome bank account by the Vatican bank.

Internet helps D&P raise more than $1 million for Pakistan flood relief

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Pakistan floodsTORONTO - With the deadline for federal matching funds extended to Oct. 3, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has raised more than $1 million for flood victims in Pakistan.

Toronto parishes have so far turned in an additional $237,061.11 to ShareLife, the archdiocese's charitable fundraising arm. ShareLife funds will eventually be turned over to Development and Peace, the development arm of the Canadian Catholic bishops that is one of a select group of agencies eligible for federal matching funds.

In Britain, despite protests, Pope gets a fair hearing

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Pope Benedict XVI walks with British Prime Minister David CameronLONDON - In terms of his primary objectives — preaching the Gospel to his flock and defending the influence of religion in society — Pope Benedict XVI can look at his four-day visit to Great Britain as a major success.

The big question going into the Sept. 16-19 visit was whether the German Pope would be given a fair hearing in a country where skepticism about religion runs high. The answer was a resounding "yes." Not only did the Pope speak his mind, but he also received unprecedented gavel-to-gavel coverage in the British media.

Pope expresses sorrow, sense of shame to sex abuse victims

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Pope WestminsterLONDON (CNS) -- In a personal meeting with five victims of clerical sexual abuse, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "deep sorrow and shame" over their suffering and promised the church would do "all in its power" to investigate cases of abuse and safeguard the young.

The encounter Sept. 18 in London took place just hours after the German pontiff, speaking at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral, denounced what he called the "unspeakable crimes" committed by some priests against young people.

Benedict XVI offers British schoolchildren a lesson on sainthood

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Pope Queen and school childrenLONDON - In a rousing encounter with some 4,000 schoolchildren, Pope Benedict XVI asked them to make friendship with God the centre of their lives.

"We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only He can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts," the Pope said Sept. 17 in Twickenham, a suburb of London.
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