Head of bishops' conference, accused of sexual abuse, denies claim
SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has denied a woman's claim that he sexually abused her more than 40 years ago when she was a minor. Diocesan attorney Greg Arpin said in a March 8 statement, "Bishop Skylstad categorically denies the accusation." "I have kept the promise of celibacy that I made when I was ordained a deacon 47 years ago," Bishop Skylstad said in the statement. "I hope that the Spokane community will join me in praying for all those who have come forward to report sexual abuse. Please pray for me as well." The statement said that the diocesan sexual abuse review board and Archbishop Pietro Sambi, papal nuncio to the United States, have been advised of the accusation. News of the claim was reported by media outlets March 8, but the news stories said it was filed last December as part of the diocese's bankruptcy process. Bishop Skylstad, 72, has been a priest since 1960 and a bishop since 1977. He has headed the Spokane Diocese since 1990.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Market forces will set pace of New Orleans' recovery, says expert
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The pace and extent of New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina will be decided in large measure by market forces, but it is too soon to know if the city's infrastructure will ever again support a pre-Katrina population of 485,000, a planning expert told officials of Catholic Charities USA during their visit to the Archdiocese of New Orleans March 4. "(Louisiana's) major city is indeed in a crisis," said Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans planner whose statistical models have been used to craft broad outlines for how billions of dollars in federal funds eventually may be allocated to flooded-out homeowners. "I think the recovery is beginning, but the city is at risk," he said. "The need for affordable housing is tremendous. Unless we come up with an intelligent solution to this, we will lose 40 to 50 percent of our population." Rigamer spoke to nearly three dozen members of the Catholic Charities USA board of trustees who visited the Gulf region for an update on recovery efforts since the Aug. 29, 2005, storm.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holy Childhood Association promotes missionary spirit among children
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CNS) -- The Holy Childhood Association offers young Catholics "an opportunity to grow in faith through mission education, sacrifice and service to others," according to Art Leamy, who coordinates the association's programs for the Joliet Diocese. Holy Childhood, one of four pontifical mission societies, finances and supports thousands of projects aiding the neediest children in developing countries. Founded in 1843, the international organization's membership is made up of students in Catholic elementary schools and religious education programs. It's about children helping children. They plan fundraisers, donate money and pray for needy children in other countries. One aim of the society is to animate a missionary spirit within children, ages 4-13, by encouraging them to learn about the countries to which they are donating. According to Leamy, a membership in the association costs about $1.25 per child and entitles them to a membership card; a subscription to the association's newsletter, It's Our World; and a membership guide for teachers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catholic health care groups to run medical clinic outside New Orleans
CHALMETTE, La. (CNS) -- Six months after Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard's Parish, a civil entity just east of New Orleans, looked as if the hurricane just occurred. There was no longer standing water, but the businesses, homes and shopping centers in the small towns and neighborhoods were completely in shambles. Ten percent, or 7,000 residents, have returned to an area with almost no electricity or running water. On March 4, the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Chalmette was as packed as it may have been in its pre-Katrina days, but the people were there to get free lunches from a charity-run food tent, consult officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or insurance workers in trailers on-site, or receive health care at a triple-wide trailer run by three local doctors with financing and staffing assistance from the U.S. Public Health Service. The federal contract for the clinic, which has been seeing about 150 patients a day, is about to run out. Two Catholic health care systems -- Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System based in Baton Rouge and Ascension Health in St. Louis -- have stepped in and are planning to run the clinic in the near future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Jesus Decoded' site launched to counter claims in 'Da Vinci Code'
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new Web site sponsored by the U.S. bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign has been established to provide accurate information about the life of Jesus, the origins of Christianity and Catholic teaching to counter claims made in the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. The Web site,
www.jesusdecoded.com, was launched March 9. A film version of the book is slated for nationwide release May 19. The site contains information that refutes claims made in the book about the nature of Jesus; his relationship with Mary Magdalene; the first four ecumenical councils of the early church and how they shaped today's teaching about Jesus; contemporaneous accounts of Jesus' life that were not selected for the New Testament; the role of women in the church throughout history; and the "Last Supper" paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and other artists of his era. The site also has production information on the CCC's "Jesus Decoded" TV special, including information on air dates and times in cities around the United States.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORLD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vatican says wealthy nations should reconsider farmers' subsidies
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Justice requires that wealthy nations reconsider the level of subsidies they offer their own farmers and the barriers that countries place on the import of agricultural products from developing nations, the Vatican said. Focusing on the precarious situation of people living in the rural areas of developing nations, the Vatican outlined concerns it hoped would influence the deliberations of the March 7-10 conference of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on agrarian reform and rural development. The international meeting was being held in Porto Alegre, Brazil; the Vatican released its position paper March 9 along with the text of a speech to the conference by Archbishop Janusz Bolonek, the nuncio to Uruguay who represented the Vatican at the conference. In the position paper, the Vatican said the conference must give priority to the "longing for justice and the desire for development" of poor people living in rural areas in the developing world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cardinal-designate says comments show fear of Sino-Vatican relations
HONG KONG (CNS) -- Cardinal-designate Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong said recent criticism of his papal appointment from a leader of the government-approved church body in Beijing "shows how worried he is about the prospect of normalization of relations between China and the Holy See." Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the government-approved Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, told the British news agency Reuters March 8 that many Chinese believe Pope Benedict XVI's appointment of Cardinal-designate Zen showed the Vatican wants to challenge Beijing. Liu also described Cardinal-designate Zen as a threat to the Beijing government just as the late Pope John Paul II was a threat to the communist regime in Poland and said the Hong Kong bishop is "widely known as an opponent of communism." The government church official made his comments as the March 3-13 plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was convening in Beijing. Liu is a standing committee member of the conference.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
African synod to discuss dialogue with other Christians, Muslims
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Synod of Bishops is planning the next synod for Africa, which will focus on dialogue with other Christians and Muslims, among other issues. The Vatican said in a written statement issued March 8 that synodal themes, "far from being a mere socioeconomic analysis" of what is happening on the continent, "should be marked by a strong" emphasis on Christ. The statement said the church in Africa is dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel message, to inculturation and promoting social programs as well as to promoting dialogue with other Christians and believers of other faiths, "in particular with Muslims." It also said it recognized that the lay faithful were "the protagonists" in bringing the light of Christ to the world. The secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, and members of a special council for Africa attended a Feb. 23-24 meeting in Rome to discuss preparations already under way for the next synod for Africa. The last was in 1994; the date for the next synod has not been announced.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bishop urges French to eat chicken for Lent, despite bird flu scare
DAX, France (CNS) -- A French bishop has urged citizens to eat as much chicken as possible during Lent as a "sign of solidarity" with local farmers during the current avian influenza scare. "The government and the experts never stop insisting the consumption of poultry carries no risk ... to the population -- despite this, consumption is noticeably falling," said Bishop Philippe Breton of Aire and Dax, in the Landes region of France. "In these worrying circumstances, it is important that the people of Landes stay close to those facing this ordeal. Everyone should find the most judicious means of coping and acting." In a statement read at Masses March 4-5, the bishop said the livelihood of local farmers was "at great risk," while many faced "serious financial problems" and the loss of jobs "at very short notice." Once the virus is discovered, birds often are slaughtered to prevent its spread. "As bishop, I ask Catholics to use sense, maintain their traditional eating habits and carry on consuming poultry normally," said the bishop, who has headed the southwestern diocese since 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PEOPLE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian cardinal-designate battles for traditional moral teaching
BOLOGNA, Italy (CNS) -- For more than 30 years, Cardinal-designate Carlo Caffarra of Bologna has been on the front line of the cultural battle over traditional moral teaching. A trusted lieutenant of Pope John Paul II in defending the dignity of marriage and the family, Cardinal-designate Caffarra is known for strongly reasserting Catholic teaching on marriage, contraception, abortion and homosexuality and for meticulously outlining the logic behind his beliefs. Pope Benedict XVI announced Feb. 22 that he would induct the 67-year-old Italian into the College of Cardinals March 24. Cardinal-designate Caffarra was the founding president of the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in Rome in 1981. He presided over the opening of the Washington affiliate of the institute seven years later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Ukrainian bishops in Connecticut, Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishop Paul P. Chomnycky was installed Feb. 20 as the fourth bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford, Conn. The following day the new auxiliary bishop of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Bishop John Bura, was ordained. Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev-Halych, Ukraine, leader of the world's Ukrainian Catholics, presided at both ceremonies. In the Eastern Catholic churches, dioceses and archdioceses are called eparchies and archeparchies. Canadian-born Bishop Chomnycky, 51, was in charge of Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain before his appointment to Stamford. He succeeds Bishop Basil H. Losten, who had headed the Stamford Eparchy since 1977 and retired in January. Bishop Bura was born in Germany in 1944 but raised in the United States after his family moved to New Jersey in 1950. Before he was made a bishop, he was pastor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Wilmington, Del.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Korean cardinal-designate defends life, works to reunite peninsula
SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) -- Korean Cardinal-designate Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul is known for defending life, evangelizing North Koreans and efforts to reunite the families of the Korean peninsula. The cardinal-designate affirmed his role as the defender of Catholic teaching on bioethics when he met with controversial Dr. Hwang Woo-suk last June to discuss embryonic stem-cell research and the use of cloned stem cells. The doctor later was discredited for using fake research and phony data. That same year, Cardinal-designate Cheong's archdiocese created the Life Committee to encourage research and development about serious bioethical issues such as stem-cell research. According to UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, the committee said it plans to raise $10 billion for the study of adult stem cells, rather than embryonic stem cells, which often come from aborted fetuses. Cardinal-designate Cheong will be among 15 new cardinals Pope Benedict XVI will elevate March 24 at the Vatican.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archbishop blesses dogs leading 58-year-old rookie on Iditarod race
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNS) -- When Eric Rogers stepped onto the runners of his dog sled and slid out to the snow-packed Iditarod course March 4, it was, as it is for many rookie mushers, the culmination of a long-held dream. The 58-year-old member of St. Patrick Parish in Anchorage has been preparing for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for more than a decade and has been dreaming about it for most of his life. The long hours, midnight sled runs, time spent away from home and the funds and focus required to train a dog team add up quickly, but Rogers' family was effusive in their praise for him before the race. "He's awesome. He's an inspiration," 28-year-old Dawn Keith said about her dad. "He's almost 60 years old and he's accomplishing his lifelong dream. I'm so glad he's getting to do this." Keith traveled from North Carolina with her three children to support Rogers at the start of the race. Marti Rogers, director of faith formation at St. Patrick, has been married to the musher for 34 years and said her husband receives strength from his "deep faith."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
