International News

News from outside of Canada.

Irish bishops reiterate teaching on right to life of mother, child

November 21, 2012

DUBLIN - Expressing anguish and sorrow over the death of a pregnant woman in an Irish hospital, the country's Catholic bishops said that pregnant women must receive all treatment to save their lives, even if it results in the unintended death of an unborn child. The statement Nov. 19 came three weeks after the deaths of Savita Halappanavar, 31, who died after a miscarriage, and her unborn child. Halappanavar died after hospital medical staff determined they could not end the child's life because they could detect a fetal heart beat, even as the woman's husband, Praveen, urged them to save his wife's life. Halappanaver's death Oct. 28 at University Hospital Galway has led to an outpouring of public anger. Thousands of people have taken to the streets calling for the country's constitutional ban on abortion to be overturned. In its statement, the Standing Committee of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference described the case as "a devastating personal tragedy" for the Halappanavar family and acknowledged that the circumstances of her death had "stunned our country." The bishops' statement sought to clarify Church teaching on the need for medical intervention to save the life of a mother. The bishops said they believe Ireland's medical guidelines contain adequate ethical provisions to allow medical staff to intervene as long as necessary steps have been taken to save both mother and unborn child. The bishops insisted that the Catholic Church has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother. "Whereas abortion is the direct and intentional destruction of an unborn baby and is gravely immoral in all circumstances, this is different from medical treatments which do not directly and intentionally seek to end the life of the unborn baby," the bishops said in their statement. The bishops also reiterated a statement made by Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to Catholic News Service Nov. 18 that Ireland is a safe place for expectant mothers. Pointing to international health care data, the bishops said "Ireland, without abortion, remains one of the safest countries in the world in which to be pregnant and to give birth. This is a position that should continue to be cherished and strengthened in the interests of mothers and unborn children in Ireland." The maternal mortality rate in Ireland stands at 4.1 per 100,000 births and is among the lowest in Europe. Martin told CNS he believed doctors, nurses and midwives "set out always to save lives." "The fact that our maternal mortality is so low is a sign that there is something that is working well in the system," he said. Meanwhile, pro-life campaigners have expressed concern at the appointment of Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynecology at St. George's, University of London, as chairman of a Health Service Executive inquiry into Halappanavar's death. They cited a 2009 statement in which he argued that abortion should be a legal right for women.

Pope condemns escalating Gaza conflict, calls for truce, talks

November 21, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI condemned escalating hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, saying hatred and violence are never an appropriate solution to problems. He also called for greater efforts to promote a truce and peace negotiations. "I am following with great concern the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," the Pope said at the end of his general audience Nov. 21. "Hatred and violence are not the solution to problems," he said to applause from those gathered in the Paul VI hall. "I encourage the initiatives and efforts of those who are seeking to establish a ceasefire and to promote negotiations." He also called on leaders on both sides of the conflict to make "courageous decisions in favour of peace and put an end to a conflict that has negative repercussions throughout the entire Middle East region, which is already troubled by too many conflicts and is in need of peace and reconciliation." The Pope expressed his closeness to victims and all those suffering because of the violence. His appeal came as both sides in the conflict launched fresh attacks. Just hours before the Pope spoke, a bomb exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv, wounding at least 10 people. That attack followed a week-long Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip aimed at stopping rocket strikes by Palestinian militants. More than 130 Palestinians and at least five Israelis have been killed since Israel launched its offensive.

Catholics on both side of the Gaza border pray for hostilities to end

November 20, 2012

JERUSALEM - As diplomatic efforts were underway to reach a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel Nov. 20, Catholics on both sides of the Gaza border prayed for peace. "When we pray for peace, we pray for peace for everyone," said Fr. Yoel Salvaterra, who serves the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community in Beersheba, after a morning in which more than 20 rockets landed in the city. "Our prayers have no borders. We know we are suffering here and they are suffering there. It is just suffering." Egypt was reported to have been brokering a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli government late Nov. 20, according to news reports. The parish celebrated Mass Nov. 18 in the church bomb shelter, Salvaterra said, and only 15 people came to pray, about half the normal number. The community has about 150 members. "People live in fear," he said. "Everybody is staying home. Sometimes they call me for assurance, sometimes I call them. The situation has not been easy as even before the Israeli operation we suffered from rockets once or twice a month. The uncertainty was difficult." Though several homes in Beersheba took direct hits from the rockets, no one from the community has been injured, he said. Going to Sunday Mass is a way of supporting one another and finding strength through prayer, said Rafoul Assy, 50, who hails from the northern all-Melkite village of Fassuta and has lived in Beersheba for more than 20 years. Although Assy was unable to attend Mass because of his work, he said his wife and four children found comfort in the familiar routine of the prayers. "The Mass itself took only three-quarters of an hour but they stayed there for over an hour talking to the other people," said Assy. "It is difficult for the children. They spend their days in the bomb shelter. Every time there is a siren the little one grabs the iPad and runs to the shelter. They are afraid." In Gaza, George Antone, 31, project manager for the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, told Catholic News Service Nov. 20 that people are staying home because it is too risky to leave. No one knows where Israel's bombs may land next, he said. "The situation here is terrible. Last night it was as if we were living in hell. Every 15 minutes you could hear an explosion." One member of Holy Family parish in Gaza died of a heart attack during a bombing and had just been buried at the church cemetery, he said. Otherwise, people leave their homes only to get essentials. Supplies such as fuel and bread are running low because flour can't be delivered to the bakeries, he said. "I don't like the killing on either side. I respect life," Antone said. "This is not the way in which we can find a solution. Peace never comes with blood. That is what we say to the people in church. This will lead to nothing only a very bad scenario on both sides and the people will pay the price." He added that he sees the conflict between Hamas and the Israeli government as not only political but also one stemming from religious fanaticism from both Muslims and Jews. "We Christians are not political, we call for peace and to save lives," Antone said. "This conflict will lead to nothing. We pray a real truce will be reached and then afterward they have to start negotiating for peace. That is the only way to solve the problem. They have to sit and speak and find a way where there will be no war for our children and the coming generations." In a Nov. 19 report Sami El-Yousef, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's office in Jerusalem, noted widespread destruction in Gaza and said almost all of the Christian institutions have sustained some damage from the shelling in the form of broken glass and doors. He said children and the elderly are paying the heaviest price and called for prayers that the hostilities would end as soon as possible.

Nativity story's significance continues to unfold today, Pope writes

November 20, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The Nativity story, like the whole story of Christ, is not merely an event in the past, but has unfolding significance for people today, with implications for such issues as the limits of political power and the purpose of human freedom, Pope Benedict writes in his third and final volume on the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives is only 132 pages long, yet it includes wide-ranging reflections on such matters as the significance of the virgin birth and the distinctive views of nature in ancient pagan and Judeo-Christian cultures. The book was formally presented at the Vatican Nov. 20, and was scheduled for publication in English and eight other languages in 50 countries Nov. 21. In the book, Pope Benedict examines Jesus' birth and childhood as recounted in the Gospels of Sts. Matthew and Luke. His interpretation of the biblical texts refers frequently to the work of other scholars and draws on a variety of academic fields, including linguistics, political science, art history and the history of science. The book's publication completes the three-volume Jesus of Nazareth series, which also includes From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (2007) and Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (2011). Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said at the Nov. 20 book launch that the three books are the "fruit of a long inner journey" by Joseph Ratzinger, whose personal views they represent. While much of what the Pope says is accepted Catholic dogma, the texts themselves are not part of the Church's magisterium and their arguments are free to be disputed, Lombardi said. In his new book, the Pope argues that Matthew and Luke, in their Gospel accounts, set out to "write history, real history that had actually happened, admittedly interpreted and understood in the context of the word of God." The Pope calls the virgin birth and the Resurrection "cornerstones" of Christian faith, since they show God acting directly and decisively in the material world. "These two moments are a scandal to the modern spirit," which expects and allows God to act only in ideas, thoughts and the spiritual world, not the material, he writes. Yet it is not illogical or irrational to suppose that God possesses creative powers and power over matter, otherwise "then He is simply not God." Pope Benedict examines the political context of the time of Jesus' birth, which featured both the so-called "Pax Romana" — the widespread peace brought by the Roman ruler Caesar Augustus — and King Herod's thirst for power, which led to the slaughter of the innocents. "Pax Christi is not necessarily opposed to Pax Augusti," he writes. "Yet the peace of Christ surpasses the peace of Augustus as heaven surpasses Earth." The political realm has "its own sphere of competence and responsibility"; it oversteps those bounds when it "claims divine status and divine attributes" and makes promises it cannot deliver. The other extreme comes with forms of religious persecution when rulers "tolerate no other kingdom but their own," he writes. Any sign God announces "is given not for a specific political situation, but concerns the whole history of humanity," he writes. The Pope writes that the Three Wise Men symbolize the purification of science, philosophy and rationality. "They represent the inner dynamic of religion toward self-transcendence, which involves the search for truth, the search for the true God," the Pope writes. The Pope also argues that the star of Bethlehem was a true celestial event. It "seems to be an established fact," he writes, that the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn happened in 7-6 B.C., which "as we have seen is now thought likely to have been when Jesus was born." A key topic in the book is the role of human freedom in God's divine plan for humanity. "The only way (God) can redeem man, who was created free, is by means of a free 'yes' to His will," the Pope writes. It is precisely "the moment of free, humble yet magnanimous obedience," such as Mary and Joseph showed when listening to God, "in which the loftiest choice of human freedom is made." Jesus, too, in His human freedom, understood He was bound to obedience to His heavenly Father, even at the cost of His earthly life. The missing 12-year-old, rediscovered by an anxious Mary and Joseph in the Temple, was not there "as a rebel against His parents, but precisely as an obedient (son), acting out the same obedience that leads to the cross and the Resurrection," the Pope writes.

Pakistani High Court dismisses blasphemy charge against Christian girl

November 20, 2012

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNS) -- The Islamabad High Court ordered police to dismiss blasphemy charges against a Christian Pakistani girl whose arrest and detention drew international condemnation. The ruling from Chief Justice Iqbal Hammeed ur Rehman Nov. 19 said there was no evidence that Rimsha Masih burned papers from the Quran, reported Pakistan's Dawn news agency. "The court has quashed the case, declaring Rimsha innocent," Akmal Bhatti, the girl's attorney, told Agence France-Presse. Rimsha was taken into police custody Aug. 18 after a resident of the area in which the girl and her family lived accused her of burning pages of the Islamic holy book. She was released on bail Sept. 8. Two weeks after Rimsha was picked up, Khalid Jadoon Chishti, the imam or prayer leader who accused her of burning pages of the Quran, was taken into police custody. According to a police official quoted by the Associated Press, witnesses claim the imam tore pages from a Quran and planted them along with burned pieces of paper in the girl's bag. He faces charges of planting evidence and desecrating the Quran used against the girl. The courts have yet to rule in the case. Rimsha's parents said she is 11 years old and has Down syndrome; a court-appointed physician reported she was about 14 and is developmentally delayed. Paul Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan's federal cabinet, confirmed the high court had dismissed the case. "I welcome this order. Justice has been done and the law of the land has been upheld by the court," he told Agence France-Presse. "It will send out a positive image of Pakistan in the international community that there is justice for all and that society has risen up for justice and intolerance," he said. Out of fear for their safety, Rimsha and her family moved to an undisclosed location after the girl's release.

Catholic relief workers praised by Muslim refugees in Indian camps

November 20, 2012

KOKRAJHAR, India (CNS) -- Besides her family, the most valuable things Majoni Bibi has these days are a few clothes, medicated mosquito nets, cooking utensils, water storage buckets and sleeping mats. Bibi, a Muslim refugee forced with her family from their home as fighting erupted in July between tribal Bodos and Muslim settlers in Assam state, praised Catholic relief workers for the donations as her family continues to live in a camp for internally displaced people. "We are very happy the Christians have helped in a big way. But for them, our life would have been miserable," said Bibi as she held her infant, who was born the camp at Basagaon. Bibi is among hundreds of thousands of people displaced by months of ethnic clashes. She told Catholic News Service that had it not been for Catholic-run charities and the efforts of the Missionaries of Charity sisters, she and her family would have little. "These sisters cared for us and (church workers) gave valuable and useful things," said Bibi, pointing to Sister Jacoba, superior of the Missionaries of Charity convent in nearby Bongaigaon. Church workers have visited the camp and several others in the region, providing food and a variety of services and supplies. The fighting has left more than 90 people dead and about 500,000 homeless in Kokrajhar region. More than 200,000 refugees -- the majority of them Muslims -- languish in 130 relief camps scattered across four districts. Several Muslim refugees shared their appreciation for the workers' dedicated service in the camps in the Bodo heartland. "The only people who came out to help us were the Christians," said Jahanara Begum, living in a riverbed camp in Basagaon. Begum told the church workers that she had lost thousands of pounds of raw rice she had stocked in her home for sale when she, her husband and five children fled Dewalguri, a village attacked July 23. "The church workers have shown real love for us and visited the camps regularly and attended to our people," Begum said. Father David Napoleon, director of the Bongaigaon Diocese's social service program, said he has coordinated his work with Catholic Relief Services and Caritas India. More than two dozen emergency workers, including medical teams from St. Augustine Hospital in Bongaigaon joined the Missionaries of Charity sisters in visiting the camps. "But it has not been easy. Nearly 15,000 Christians among the Bodos have also become homeless and some of our people have been strongly objecting to reaching out to the Muslim refugees," he said. "But we told them that this was a humanitarian crisis and as true Christians, we have the duty to help all those in need," he added. Harun Rashid Mondal, coordinator of a relief committee distributing rice and other food to refugee families, told CNS that "whatever may be the international talk of conflict between Muslims and Christians, here Christians are helping us like real brothers." "The care and attention the Christians have shown to our people has helped change their attitude to the Christians. Real friends are those who help the people in need. The sisters have shown us what is real love," Mondal, a Muslim, said of the Missionaries of Charity who had helped bathe refugee children. The anxiety of the Bodo community over Christians reaching out to Muslims was evident during a visit to Bodo relief camps in the town of Kokrajhar. "My husband was stabbed (to death) and how can we can go back and live in the same place?" asked Korida Sanhala of Fakiragram village, who was at the Bodo camp. "Sister, why do you still go to the camps of those (Muslim) people?" posed another Bodo woman to Missionaries of Charity Sister Leo Therese, even as men of the Bodo community rejected the plea of government officials to return the refugees to their village. "They should not be helped," a young Bodo refugee woman reminded another nun when the church workers reached the Catholic relief camp at Kailo Mailo, more than 60 miles from Basagaon. "Now our main focus is on youth-centered programs to deal positively with their trauma and anger and foster healthy interpersonal relationship," said Kaplianlal Thangluai, program officer for CRS in northeast India. The program is facilitated by CRS-trained volunteers selected from among the refugees and residents of the host villages. "We are also running a child-friendly space for children in the relief camps, as the children do not go to school," Thangluai added.

Health is universal good to be defended, not commoditized, says pope

November 19, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Good health is a benefit that needs to be defended and guaranteed for all people, not just for those who can afford it, Pope Benedict XVI told hundreds of health care workers. The new evangelization is needed in the health field, especially during the current economic crisis "that is cutting resources for safeguarding health," he said Nov. 17, addressing participants at a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry. Hospitals and other facilities "must rethink their particular role in order to avoid having health become a simple 'commodity,' subordinate to the laws of the market, and, therefore, a good reserved to a few, rather than a universal good to be guaranteed and defended," he said. Nearly 600 people who work in the field of health care attended the council's Nov. 15-17 international conference, which focused on the theme: "The Hospital, Setting for Evangelization: A Human and Spiritual Mission." The pope told them that, on the one hand, advancements in science and medicine have led to greater possibilities for curing the physical ailments of those who are ill. "But on the other hand, it seems to have weakened the ability to care for the whole and unique person who suffers," he added. Such advancements, the pope said, seem "to cloud the ethical horizons of medical science, which risks forgetting that its vocation is serving every person and the whole person, in its different phases of existence" from conception to its natural end. It is important that the Christian concepts of "compassion, solidarity, sharing, self-denial, generosity and giving oneself" become part of the vocabulary of all people involved in the world of health care, he said. "Only when the wellbeing of the person, in its most fragile and defenseless condition and in search of meaning in the unfathomable mystery of pain, is very clearly at the center of medical and assisted care" can the hospital be seen as a place where healing isn't a job, but a mission, the pope said. Bringing life-giving and evangelizing assistance to others will always be expected of Catholic health workers, he said. "Now more than ever our society needs 'good Samaritans' with a generous heart and arms open to all," he added. Being Catholic brings with it a greater responsibility to society, and Catholics need to live their lives with courage as a true vocation, he said. Professionals and volunteers working in health care represent "a unique vocation, which necessitates study, sensitivity and experience," he said. However, it's also necessary to go beyond academic qualifications and develop a true capacity to respond to the mystery of suffering and see one's work as a human and spiritual mission, he said. Faith has a lot to teach about the mystery and value -- or "science" -- of suffering, and Catholic health workers "are qualified experts" in this field, the pope said. "Your being Catholic, without fear, gives you a greater responsibility in the realm of society and the church," Pope Benedict said. "It's a real vocation" that was lived in an exemplary way by many saints including St. Gianna Beretta Molla and servant of God Jerome Lejeune, the French Catholic geneticist.

@PopeBenedict to be up by year’s end

November 18, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Once the Vatican launches Pope Benedict XVI’s official Twitter feed before the end of the year, it’s hoped all the fake papal tweets will cease and desist, said a Vatican official. There are dozens of unofficial @PopeBenedict handles and usernames in a number of different permutations and languages on Twitter; many are using an official portrait of the Pope as their avatar and some boast thousands of followers. Some of these Twitter accounts are being run “obviously by people of goodwill” who tweet about real news and activities of the Pope, said a Vatican official who requested anonymity. However, “We hope they will give up when they see the official site is up,” the official said. The Vatican will have a verified and authenticated papal Twitter account, which will help users distinguish the official Pope Benedict stream from the imposters, the official said. No specific date has been set for its launch other than “before the end of the year,” he added. Unfortunately, there are some phony accounts “that aren’t very helpful” because they obviously don’t have the best interest of the Pope or his teachings in mind. For example, some bogus feeds produce off-colour or inappropriate commentary. But if it’s obviously satire, comedy or parody, “nothing can be done about that because of freedom of expression,” the official said. Yet, there’s little risk of people mistaking those accounts with the official account, he added. However, if an account holder is using the Pope’s name with the aim of misrepresentation, misleading users or “username squatting” in order to prevent the Vatican from using the name or to illicitly offer the account name for sale, “then Twitter can close them down,” he said. All the details about the official Pope Benedict Twitter account have not been hammered out, he said, such as which Twitter handles will be used and if there will be one username or different handles in different languages. Feeds will be offered in five or six major global languages, though it’s not sure if Latin — the official language of the Church — will be one of them, he added. Even though the Pope won’t be physically typing and sending the tweets, each message will be approved by the Pope himself, he said. The idea of having an official papal Twitter account has been bouncing around for quite awhile. To date, the Vatican offers a handful of official Twitter feeds in different languages, including Vatican news @news_va_en; Vatican communications @PCCS_VA; and the social network @Pope2YouVatican. Pope Benedict sent his first ever papal tweet in 2011 when he inaugurated and launched the Vatican’s online news portal, www.news.va, which aggregates news content from the Vatican’s newspaper, radio, television and online outlets. “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va. Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI,” the Pope said with a tap on an iPad, sending the message onto the news site’s Twitter account. Pope Benedict has long urged Catholics and Catholic media to use the Internet and social networks for evangelization.

Bishop says Israel, Hamas must make tough decisions to end violence

November 16, 2012

UPDATED 19 NOVEMBER 2012 JERUSALEM - The Israeli government and leaders of Hamas must make courageous decisions to end the violence that has once again forced residents of Southern Israel into their bomb shelters and residents of the Gaza Strip into their homes, said Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem. "We are sad for this escalation. It does not lead to peace but only leads to more violence," Bishop Shomali told Catholic News Service Nov. 16. "This is a vicious circle of violence and (retaliation) is really not the solution. Courageous decisions need to be taken from the part of Israel and also on the part of Hamas not to remain in the circle of retaliation." He said simultaneous international intervention from Egypt and the United States is needed for the violence to stop. "Left alone, Israel and Hamas will remain in a circle of retaliation," he said. "The most important thing is to find a comprehensive solution to the whole Palestinian-Israeli conflict; if not, we will remain with the same retaliations and the same problems," he said. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 120 rockets were fired into southern Israeli communities from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14, when Israel launched air strikes that targeted and killed Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari. More than 90 Palestinians and at least three Israelis had died in the violence as of Nov. 19. In a Nov. 15 statement, Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal expressed his deep concern at the escalation, reiterating that violence will not solve the crisis. Only a global solution can find a resolution to the conflict, said a statement from his office. "In this particular tense context, the patriarch is in solidarity with all victims who are at the center of his thoughts and prayers," the statement said. "He also prays that all those in position of responsibility in this situation do not give in to hate." Throughout the crisis Zion Evrony, Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, was making phone calls to Vatican officials and journalists to explain his country's position. "The Palestinian people are not our enemy; Hamas and the other terrorist organizations are," he told Catholic News Service Nov. 19. "We deeply regret the loss of life of non-involved civilians." The ambassador said the Israeli government made "tens of thousands of phone calls" and dropped leaflets in Gaza advising people to stay away from Hamas organization buildings and rocket launch sites before it began its retaliation bombing. Israel cannot "sit idly by and not respond" when Hamas now has rockets and missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, putting an estimated 3 million people at risk. The current tension will end, he said, only when Hamas stops firing missiles and rockets into Israeli territory. But in the end, the real solution to the ongoing conflict will have to be "the existence of two states living side by side in peace." Sami El-Yousef, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's Pontifical Mission office in Jerusalem, said he has been in touch with the organization's partners in the Gaza Strip and it appears that Israel is specifically targeting the Hamas leadership, as opposed to the 2008 incursion that involved large-scale destruction of civilian residential areas. "So far in this early stage we are not seeing the large-scale destruction (we saw in 2008). It remains to be seen if ... it will escalate to much greater damage," El-Yousef said Nov. 16. As many as 1,400 Palestinians died in the 2008 incursion. He noted that Egypt is also under a different regime, and it is likely that the borders to Gaza will be more open and accessible to moving goods and services and allow people to reach hospitals. After the election of the Hamas government in 2007, Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak enforced the blockade during the 2008 attacks. El-Yousef said civilians in Gaza rushed to bakeries to buy bread following the assassination of the Hamas leader, and many food stores have run out of supplies. People are under curfew and are very concerned about any possible ground operation escalating the violence. "The next couple of days will be critical as to where this is heading," he said. "Based on that, we need to assess the situation and decide how to respond." El-Yousef said he had been in Gaza three weeks earlier and "things were looking up." CNEWA was hopeful that staffers would be able to look at sustainable issues where people could take over their lives and move out of the humanitarian needs, he said. The situation will continue like this, he said, "unless both sides are willing to take difficult decisions." He said Israel was wrong to think that if it can get rid of a Hamas leader, the whole organization will collapse. "There will be someone to replace him ... and they will have to deal with someone much worse. With each possible new person, they are dealing with a more and more extreme leadership, and the likelihood of reaching a solution becomes more difficult," he said. "The cycle gets worse and worse. This is going nowhere and just creating more hatred." He said he hopes that new leaders in the Middle East might play a positive role in calming things down so that a lasting solution can be found. "What we have now is conflict management rather than resolution," he said. - - - Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden at the Vatican.

New archbishop of Canterbury shaped by Catholics

November 15, 2012

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - The newly appointed leader of the world’s Anglicans is a former oil executive who said his spiritual director was a Catholic monk. Bishop Justin Welby of Durham, who will become the new archbishop of Canterbury, did not name the monk, but told a Nov. 9 news conference at London’s Lambeth Palace that he was influenced by both Benedictine and Ignatian spirituality. He also told reporters that he would be voting in favour of the ordination of women as bishops when the General Synod will decide the matter at a two-day meeting beginning Nov. 19. Welby’s appointment as the primate of England and the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion was announced Nov. 9 following selection by the Crown Nominations Commission and approval of Queen Elizabeth II, the supreme governor of the Church of England. The 56-year-old will be enthroned as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury Cathedral March 21 in succession to Archbishop Rowan Williams, who leaves the post in December. Welby has been described as an Anglican evangelical with sympathy for the Catholic tradition. A Nov. 9 press release by the Church of England said he has “frequently said that the Roman Catholic approach to Christian social teaching, beginning with the encyclical of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, up to Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas Veritate, has greatly influenced his social thinking.” Welby told the Lambeth press conference he knew the Church of England was “facing very hard issues.” “In 10 days or so the General Synod will vote on the ordination of women as bishops, and I will be voting in favour and join my voice in urging the synod to go forward with this change,” he said. The archbishop-designate also noted that the Anglican Communion was divided over issues of sexuality but said that it would be wrong to tolerate “any form of homophobia in any part of the church.”