International News

News from outside of Canada.

Nigerian archbishop, others question plan to dialogue with Boko Haram

November 6, 2012

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) -- A Nigerian archbishop joined others in his country in questioning the wisdom of a plan that the Nigerian government dialogue with the Boko Haram Islamic sect, responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the past several years. Critics, including Archbishop Felix Job of Ibadan, urged Nigerian authorities to be cautious of negotiating with an extremist "faceless group" that had been involved in maiming and killing of innocent Nigerians. Archbishop Job also criticized a Boko Haram suggestion that among its delegates to the negotiations in Saudi Arabia would be former Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the country's military ruler from 1983 to 1985 and a presidential candidate in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Archbishop Job told Catholic News Service by telephone: "Is it not funny that the Boko Haram group, a faceless group, has a spokesman" and is seeking "dialogue with the Nigerian government as a means of resolving the insecurity?" "Nigerians have not been told who are the sponsors of the faceless sectarian group that had been maiming and killing innocent Nigerians over time," he said. He said he wondered if the general's nomination might be "translated into meaning that he is indirectly one of the financiers of the sect." Bishop M. John Goltok of Bauchi wondered why Saudi Arabia was chosen as the venue for the dialogue. "There are a lot of complications involved in the issue,'' he said. Among Boko Haram's targets have been Christian churches. One of the most recent attacks occurred Oct. 28 in the city of Kaduna, when a car bomb slammed into St. Rita's Catholic Church, killing at least eight people and injuring 135 -- many of them children.

Family is key ally in fighting crime, Vatican official tells Interpol

November 6, 2012

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The absolute frontline in the prevention of crime is the family, a top Vatican official told members of Interpol, the international police organization. To prevent crime and violence, societies must educate citizens about their own dignity and the value of each human life, promote solidarity and instill a sense of justice in society -- all values that can be learned earliest and best in the family, said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states. The archbishop spoke to members of Interpol holding their general assembly Nov. 5-8 in Rome. The 190 country-members of Interpol not only coordinate crime-fighting efforts, but also work together on crime prevention programs. An increase of crime, particularly brutally violent crime, around the world calls for even greater preventative actions, Archbishop Mamberti said. Prevention requires "the removal of factors which give rise to and nourish situations of injustice. In this field a primary and preventative role belongs to education inspired by respect for human life in all circumstances," he said. Only with the recognition of the value of each life, he said, will it be "possible to create a strong social fabric united in its fundamental values and able to resist the provocation of extreme violence." "In this context, the most important place in which human beings are formed is the family. There, children experience the value of their own transcendent dignity, as they are accepted gratuitously on the basis of the stable and reciprocal love of their parents," he said. In the family, people have their first experiences of "justice and forgiveness, which cements family relationships and acts as a foundation for the correct insertion into social life," Archbishop Mamberti said. The archbishop also insisted that the respect for human dignity at the basis of good social order also must be extended to those who have disturbed the social order. "The criminal, no matter how grave the crimes he committed, always remains a human person, endowed with rights and obligations," he said. "The state must take steps to prevent and repress criminal activity and compensate for the disorder caused by criminal action," the archbishop said, "but doing this, it always must abstain from mistreatment and torture, and assure the safeguarding of the fundamental rights that every person enjoys."

Pope Benedict hopes new Coptic leader can help foster peace in Egypt

November 5, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI praised the choice of the new patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, saying he was confident the new leader would help build a new Egypt that would serve the common good of the nation and the whole Middle East. Bishop Tawadros, 60, was chosen Nov. 4 to lead Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian community in the country. He will be ordained Nov. 18 as Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Pope Benedict said in a telegram to the new pope that he was "filled with joy" upon learning of the news and extended his "good wishes and prayerful solidarity." "I am confident that, like your renowned predecessor, Pope Shenouda III, you will be a genuine spiritual father for your people and an effective partner with all your fellow-citizens in building the new Egypt in peace and harmony, serving the common good and the good of the entire Middle East," Pope Benedict wrote. "In these challenging times it is important for all Christians to bear witness to the love and fellowship that binds them together," mindful of God's call for Christian unity, the Pope said. Pope Benedict noted the "important progress" in ecumenical relations that was made under the guidance of the late Pope Shenouda, who died in March at age 88 after leading the Church for four decades. More than 2,400 bishops and elite lay leaders voted to reduce a five-person short list to three nominees for a new pope. Bishop Tawadros' name was drawn from a glass bowl by a blindfolded child in a traditional ceremony held at Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral; the Coptic Orthodox Church says the process lets "the hand of God" make the final choice. Bishop Tawadros, whose birthday fell on the day of his selection, is bishop of Beheira. He studied pharmaceutical sciences at Alexandria University and reportedly ran a medicine factory before taking his vows. "He is young — 60 is not so old — and he is well-educated," Fr. Rafic Grieche, spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic bishops' conference, told Catholic News Service. "He can make interior changes to his Church and at the same time be open to other churches and to the country's Muslims." But the new pope will face a raft of challenges, with political debate in Egypt over how prominent a role Islamic law should play in the country's long-awaited constitution. His reaction to incidents of sectarian violence, which peaked in the months following Egypt's early 2011 uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, will also be key. Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association, was one of the laymen who participated in the complex election process. He told Vatican Radio Nov. 4 that people saw in Bishop Tawadros a man "who could unite Egypt's Christians in these very difficult times, a man of dialogue." Dialogue and reconciliation with other Christian churches are critical, Meunier said, "because we are faced with many other challenges from hardliners" and extremist elements in the Muslim community. "On a whole there is no future for Christians in Egypt without dialogue with Muslims. We have to engage moderate Muslims in the political fight that we face in Egypt, for example the new constitution being drafted; there are a lot of fanatic elements in society and they are going after moderate Muslims, they are going after women and they are going after Christians," he said. "It is important to have a pope who believes in dialogue with Muslims because it's the only way to help promote democracy, religious freedom, human rights and respect for all these values that we hope for," Meunier said. Bishop Tawadros will have to win back the support of many Coptic youth, suspicious of the Church's involvement in politics during the Mubarak era. At the height of the 2011 uprising, Pope Shenouda implored Coptic Christians to remain at home, solidifying the Church's reputation for unquestioned loyalty to the state. Speaking to television cameras at a monastery after his election, Bishop Tawadros suggested he might revise the explicitly political role the Church held under Pope Shenouda's leadership. "The most important thing is for the Church to return and live consistently within its spiritual boundaries because this is its main work, spiritual work," he said, pledging to "rearrange the house from the inside." Activists welcomed the new approach, but voiced skepticism over how easy it would be to achieve, given the increasingly important role of religion in Egypt's political discourse. Islamists won more than two-thirds of the seats in the country's last Parliament — dissolved in June — and President Mohammed Morsi is from the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. "It will be very difficult to get himself out of the political arena, when the (Muslim Brotherhood) mixes religion with politics," said Mina Thabet, a 23-year-old Coptic rights activist. "But I think he should." "It has to change," said Grieche, referring to the days when the Church would back candidates from Mubarak's party in parliamentary elections.

Catholic-owned Michigan company wins injunction against HHS mandate

November 5, 2012

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A U.S. federal district court judge in Ann Arbor granted a Michigan business, Weingartz Supply Co., a temporary injunction from the Health and Human Services' contraceptive mandate. The judge also dismissed a lawsuit filed by a non-profit Catholic group, Legatus, because he said the religious organization qualified for the Obama administration's temporary "safe harbour" from having to comply with the mandate. But he also stipulated the federal government must provide monthly updates on the status of the process for amending final regulations covered by the safe harbour period. Erin Mersino, lead counsel for Thomas More Law Centre, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, which represented the plaintiffs, told Catholic News Service Nov. 2 that she was "happy with the court decision" and described both decisions as "a straight win for us." Daniel Weingartz, president of the supply company, which sells outdoor power equipment and employs approximately 170 people, is a Catholic who says the mandate conflicted with his faith. In the ruling, Judge Robert Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan, said the "loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury." He did not rule on the mandate's constitutionality, but his decision keeps the company from having to comply with the mandate until the constitutional claims are resolved. "The harm in delaying the implementation of a statute that may later be deemed constitutional must yield to the risk presented here of substantially infringing the sincere exercise of religious beliefs," he said in his 29-page opinion. Mersino called the ruling "not only a victory for our clients, but for religious freedom." The HHS mandate requires all employers, including most religious employers, to cover the costs of contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions, and sterilizations in employee health plans. It does not include a conscience clause for employers who object to such coverage on moral grounds. A narrow exemption applies only to those religious institutions that seek to inculcate their religious values and primarily employ and serve people of their own faith. In July, a Colorado judge similarly granted a temporary injunction from the HHS contraceptive mandate to Hercules Industries, a Catholic-owned company that provides heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment. The Michigan judge denied without prejudice the motion for preliminary injunction on behalf of Legatus, an organization for Catholic business leaders. Cleland said Legatus fell under the "safe harbour" provision and as such does not have a claim the mandate violates the organization's rights. In August, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a "temporary enforcement safe harbour," a year-long period that protects employers from immediate government action against them if they fail to comply with the mandate. The final rule on the mandate takes effect in August 2013. In a similar court case, a federal judge in Oklahoma City began hearing arguments Nov. 1 for a lawsuit filed by the Christian business Hobby Lobby against the federal government's HHS mandate. Hobby Lobby, based in Oklahoma City, has more than 500 retail stores in 41 states. Its practices include remaining closed on Sundays and hiring company chaplains to minister to employees. "We have always operated our company in a manner consistent with biblical principles, including integrity and service to others," said David Green, an evangelical Christian who is founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. "We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate." Hobby Lobby is the largest company to file suit against the HHS mandate and the only one not owned by a Catholic. About 50 Catholic dioceses, universities and entities throughout the United States have filed lawsuits against the mandate.

Remembering the dead is profession of hope in eternal life, pope says

November 5, 2012

VATICAN CITY - When Christians remember their beloved deceased, they proclaim that their bonds with them are not broken by death and they profess their hope in eternal life, said Pope Benedict XVI. Especially by visiting cemeteries and other burial grounds, the pope said, people "reinforce the bonds of communion that death could not break." Pope Benedict celebrated a Mass Nov. 3 in St. Peter's Basilica in memory of the 10 cardinals and 143 archbishops and bishops from around the world who died in the past year. The evening before, Pope Benedict had paid a private visit to the grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica to pray at the tombs of the popes buried there. The November commemorations of All Saints and All Souls, as well as other memorial Masses traditional during the month, are not simply ways Catholics remember those who have gone before them, the pope said, but they also are expressions of Catholic faith in the reality of eternal life. "Death opens to life -- eternal life, which is not an infinite copy of the present time, but something completely new," the pope said. "Faith tells us that the true immortality to which we aspire is not an idea or concept, but a relationship of full communion with the living God." Remembering the deceased cardinals and bishops, he said, the church prays that the Lord will give them "the eternal prize promised to faithful servants of the Gospel." Pope Benedict said the 10 cardinals and 143 bishops were the "meek, merciful, pure of heart, peace-making disciples" mentioned in the Beatitudes of the Gospel. They were "friends of the Lord who, trusting in his promises -- also in times of difficulty or even persecution -- maintained the joy of their faith and now live with the Father forever." Reciting the Angelus Nov. 4 with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict said the saints are those men and women who tried to live the commandment to love God and to love their neighbors as themselves. The pope said a deep, loving relationship with God is the best way to ensure that one becomes capable of loving others, "just as a child becomes capable of loving starting from a good relationship with his mother and father." And just as parents love their children not only when they are being good, God always loves us and tries to help us see when and where we go astray, the pope said. "From God, we learn to want to do only what is good and never what is bad. We learn to see others not only with our own eyes, but with the gaze of God," looking beyond the superficial to see the other person and what he or she needs, the pope said. "Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable," he said.

'VatiLeaks' trial of Vatican computer tech begins

November 5, 2012

VATICAN CITY - A Vatican computer technician charged with aiding and abetting the papal butler in stealing confidential documents went on trial amid legal arguments over the definition of the charge and questions about the "anonymous source" who reported him to officials.

Vatican to begin trial of computer tech accused of helping papal butler

November 4, 2012

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A second criminal trial opens Nov. 5 in the little courtroom on the ground floor of the Vatican's tribunal building, located just behind the apse of St. Peter's Basilica. Claudio Sciarpelletti, a computer technician in the Vatican Secretariat of State, is to be tried on charges of aiding and abetting Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler, who was convicted of aggravated theft for stealing or photocopying private Vatican correspondence -- including letters to and from the pope. The Vatican court's indictment of Sciarpelletti was released Aug. 13 along with the indictment of Gabriele. The papal butler was arrested May 23 after a police search of his Vatican apartment turned up hundreds of sensitive documents, including many that had been leaked to an Italian journalist. Informed of "continual contacts" between Gabriele and Sciarpelletti, the Vatican court authorized a search May 25 of Sciarpelletti's office in the Secretariat of State, the indictment said. Sciarpelletti himself led police to their key piece of evidence against him: an envelope in his desk. On the outside of the envelope was written: "Personal: P. Gabriele," the court said. The back of the envelope was marked with the secretariat's seal. The computer tech was arrested May 25 and held by Vatican security overnight. According to the court documents, his descriptions of his relationship with Gabriele and of the origin and destination of the envelope changed several times over the course of the investigation. Originally, Sciarpelletti was accused of giving false testimony, conspiracy to commit aggravated theft, aiding and abetting a thief and violating the secrets of his office. The Vatican court said Sciarpelletti first claimed he knew Gabriele only in passing, but it turned out the two communicated frequently and saw each other -- with their wives and children -- socially as well as at work. He initially said Gabriele gave him the envelope "a couple years ago," asking him to read it and let him know what he thought. The next day, he said that the envelope was given to him by someone identified in the indictment only as "W," and that he was supposed to pass it on to Gabriele. "The contrasting version of facts furnished by the accused Claudio Sciarpelletti may have hindered the investigation," the indictment said. However, the charges were reduced to "aiding and abetting," which is the closest crime the Vatican has to an accusation of being an accessory after the fact. The arrest and trial of Gabriele made headlines around the world, and newspapers carried photographs of him on duty before his arrest riding in the front of the popemobile and assisting the pope with his coat. But Sciarpelletti is not known publicly, and Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the Vatican court already has accepted a request from the defense that there be no television cameras or photographers -- not even the Vatican's own -- in the courtroom. During the Gabriele trial, the three-judge panel hearing the case severely limited any testimony about the contents of the documents Gabriele was accused of stealing and leaking to an Italian journalist. Many of documents that were published concern financial mismanagement, corruption and careerism in the Vatican. In the indictment, the Vatican court said that among the papers in the envelope Sciarpelletti had was an account titled "Napoleon in the Vatican," which appears in the book published by Gianluigi Nuzzi, the journalist who received documents from Gabriele. The account focuses on how Domenico Giani, the head of Vatican security, quickly and quietly dealt with an incident in which a vehicle with Vatican license plates was hit by four .22-caliber bullets while parked at a Rome restaurant where Vatican police were eating with colleagues from Interpol. In the end, the incident was attributed to an unknown person with emotional problems who saw the Vatican license plates and started shooting. A restaurant employee who heard the shots reportedly told police he thought they were fireworks. "Napoleon in the Vatican" also talks about two Vatican police officers and a staff member who reportedly own shares in Italian security firms. Nuzzi says "conflicts of interest" could arise in the future if the Vatican were to ever enter into business with the firms. Sciarpelletti's attorney already has called Giani and Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, one of the police officers, as witnesses in the trial. Other witness include: Gabriele himself; Msgr. Carlo Maria Polvani, Sciarpelletti's superior in the Secretariat of State; and Maj. William Kloter, vice commander of the Swiss Guard. Sciarpelletti spent one night in a Vatican jail cell and then was released on his own recognizance. If found guilty, he is not expected to be sentenced to jail time, although the charge could carry a penalty of up to one year in prison.

Romney’s ‘Mormon moment’ a test of tolerance in United States

November 4, 2012

WINDSOR, ONT. - Much has changed since the controversial 1960 campaign when John F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, ran for the American presidency. For starters, the United States has become both more secular and more tolerant in accepting non-Protestant religious groups, such as Roman Catholics. At the same time, the country has become more politically partisan and seen religion take on a greater role in electoral politics than it did 50 years ago, according to Dr. David Campbell, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. “Kennedy faced at least a potential stained glass ceiling,” said Campbell, an expert on religion, politics and civic engagement. The native of Medicine Hat, Alta. was speaking at Windsor’s Assumption University as part of a series examining the current presidential campaign. He said that in becoming America’s first Catholic president, Kennedy overcame the obstacle of his religion after a historic speech in which he declared “Catholicism will not guide me” in policy decisions. Today, a Catholic candidate such as John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, or vice-president Joe Biden, might be questioned because they aren’t “Catholic enough” on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Catholics are now fully accepted in the political mainstream. But according to public polling, that’s not the case for candidates from all other religions, including Buddhists, Muslims and Mormons. Fifty-two years after Kennedy, Mitt Romney is attempting to become America’s first Mormon president. Campbell said that “almost everyone” has a family relation, friend or neighbour who is Catholic, Protestant or Jewish, and recognizes them as “good people.” But that’s not the case for smaller faith groups. For Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, “that’s a problem.” Campbell said that while Jews, for example, make up about the same proportion of the population as Mormons, they have integrated into society over the years by “building bridges” to other faiths. That isn’t the case with Mormonism, which Campbell says has a huge degree of internal “bonding” or “sticking together.” Although Mormonism might not be fully tolerated, Campbell said religion generally plays a more important role in American politics, particularly among the political right. “Religion has become a very powerful force shaping how Americans vote,” he said. So, Campbell said, Romney has to walk a fine line between showing he fits into mainstream America without alienating the Republican base, which includes many Evangelicals. Campbell said Romney has echoed Kennedy by emphatically declaring that his church will not “exert influence on presidential decisions.” In the second presidential debate Romney affirmed his belief in Jesus Christ and implied that voter acceptance of his faith will be a “test of our tolerance.” The presidential campaign is “Romney’s moment,” Campbell said. If the Republican is elected, his Morman faith, like Catholicism 50 years ago, could start to be recognized as a more conventional religion.

Pope prays for Hurricane Sandy victims, encourages rebuilding efforts

October 31, 2012

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI expressed his concern for everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy and encouraged all those working to rebuild from the disaster. "Conscious of the devastation caused by the hurricane which recently struck the East Coast of the United States of America, I offer my prayers for the victims and express my solidarity with all those engaged in the work of rebuilding," he said Oct. 31 at the end of his weekly general audience. Nearly 1,000 miles wide, Sandy's strong gales reached as far west as Lake Michigan. As of Oct. 31, it caused at least 55 deaths in seven states and left more than 8.5 million homes and businesses without power from the Carolinas to Ohio. In the Caribbean government officials put the death toll across the islands at 69, with more than 50 in Haiti, where widespread flooding devastated parts of the already impoverished country. After reciting the Angelus Oct. 28, the Pope called for prayers and concrete help for the people of Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas, where, he said, the hurricane struck "with particular violence." During his main audience talk Oct. 31, the Pope underlined the importance of the Church in preserving and passing on the faith across generations and throughout history. Some 10,000 people gathered under the rain in St. Peter's Square to hear the Pope's catechesis. Though finding Christ is an intensely personal experience that transforms one's own heart, mind and individual existence, "faith is given in and through the community of the church," the Pope said. The Creed and one's beliefs are not built upon a "private dialogue with Jesus," but are the result of a dialogue and a listening that shatter individualism and open one up to God's love and to others, he said. "Faith comes to me given as a gift from God through a community of believers, which is the Church," he said. People discover through baptism that they are not only united to Jesus, "but also to all those who walked and are walking the same path" toward holiness. "Our faith is truly personal only if it is communal: It can be my faith only if it lives and moves in the 'we' of the Church, only if it is our faith, the common faith of the one church," the Pope said. It is important to remember that faith is born in the Church and leads people to the Church, he said; "No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as mother." Tradition is "an uninterrupted chain of the life of the Church, the proclamation of the Word of God and the celebration of the sacraments that reaches us" from the past, he said. Tradition is what "gives us the guarantee that that which we believe in is the original message of Christ, preached by the Apostles," he said. This way, every man and woman from every generation and every continent can have access to the "immense resources" of sacred Scripture and the faith, and "enrich themselves from the treasures of grace" given to humanity by God, the Pope said. In fact, the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium," reminded people that God doesn't seek to make people "holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges him in truth and serves him in holiness." By radiating the truth of the Church, each person becomes a point of reference for others by passing on the person of Jesus and his message, Pope Benedict said. Only by "letting oneself be guided and molded by the faith of the Church," Christians, who despite their weakness, limits and difficulties, become "like an open window" that lets God's light shine on the world. Keeping one's faith closed up inside oneself contradicts the very nature of faith, the Pope said. "We need a Church in order to have confirmation of our faith and to experience the gifts of God: his word, the sacraments, the support of grace and the witness of love," he said. In a world of rampant individualism which only weakens human relations, "faith calls us to be church, carriers of love and of the communion of God for all humanity," he said.

Church workers in Haiti, Cuba begin cleanup after Sandy

October 30, 2012

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the U.S. Oct. 29, church workers in Haiti and Cuba began cleaning up after one of the worst storms to hit the Caribbean in years. Government officials raised the death toll across the islands to 65, the vast majority in Haiti, where widespread flooding devastated parts of the already impoverished country. "The whole south is under water," Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe told the Associated Press. In addition to 51 dead, 12 people were still reported missing in the country. Crews from church agencies were working to assist some of the 17,800 people who were forced to flee to temporary shelters due to the storm. In Cuba, Caritas officials estimated some 100,000 homes were affected, including roughly 20,000 that were destroyed. Eastern Cuba was hit hardest, officials said. In Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city, "there was not a block that did not suffer significant damage," Maritza Sanchez Abillud, director of Caritas Cuba, said in a written report. The storm damaged schools, health clinics, government buildings and some "90 percent of the churches and chapels, including the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in the village of El Cobre," which the pope visited in March, Sanchez said. Cuban government officials said it was the worst storm to hit the island since 2005 when Hurricane Dennis caused more than $2 billion in damage. In Holguin, a province of slightly more than 1 million people in northeast Cuba, church workers said the damage was widespread. "It ripped off roofs of houses. There's a lot of material damage, much more in the countryside than in the city" of Holguin, the provincial capital, said a church worker at the Holguin Diocese. Santiago, Holguin and the province of Guantanamo, also in eastern Cuba, were worst hit, church workers said. "Crops (were) ruined, roads swept away, thousands and thousands of people (found) their homes flooded up to their chests," Gustavo Andujar, cultural director of the church's Varela Cultural Center, told Catholic News Service in an email. Sanchez said Caritas was planning to distribute food, water, building materials and other emergency materials to residents in eastern Cuba. But she said the "reality is overwhelming, so we are going to need financial support from elsewhere."